#244 : Andromeda Stories

Who says life can’t exist on other planets? I mean the whole universe is alive in it’s own way! Case in point, in the galaxy of Andromeda we visit the planet of Astria… and in even even finer scope, the Cosmoralian Empire. This medieval Arabic inspired civilization is about to witness a royal wedding between it’s king and new queen. A lovely start for all of the planet’s population. But as life is a cycle of rise and fall, situations and circumstances will quickly change as we begin Andromeda Stories.

Originally a manga featuring the writing of Ryu Mitsuse and the artwork of Keiko Takemiya, Andromeda Stories would find it’s way into the world of animation in 1982 via Toei Animation. Takemiya is familiar to me as she is the  creator of To Terra, or Toward the Terra, a futuristic dystopian tale concerning the concepts of individuality, freedom and choice as well as a mechanized technocratic society. Andromeda Stories is very similar thematically, though much more action oriented. And you can’t forget the additions of body snatching alien machines, a bad-ass female samurai (Il), a mysterious scientist (Koof) and the savior hero born of the royal lineage of Cosmoralia (Jimsa) who would eventually have to go into exile for a time. A very familiar hero archetype with yet another face… thank you Joseph Campbell. … oh yeah and I forgot about Jimsa’s twin sibling born of that same union, which is apparently a bad omen? What happened to this twin? I am not saying a word… 

Science fiction’s beauty, when done well, is in its ability to depict contemporary social commentary through a fantastic alternative circumstance which allows for blurring the edges in a subtlety of intelligent protest. While Andromeda Stories is very centered on a technological invader, the bigger meaning is in the unconscious following of a system in total blind ignorance. The mechanical invaders rob those who they connect with of their complete freewill, thus becoming robots themselves, LITERALLY. The majority of the population become mindless, or more so as I stated before, unconscious. We see drones who blindly concede acquiesce in return to receiving the promise of happiness and eternal bliss. 

Unable to reason, those under the system’s spell become cogs in the machine fulfilling the desires of another with no regard towards the consequences of themselves, or others. Still there are glimpses of hope, even though as the story progresses things get very desperate. Looking beyond the above average story, this plot has so much depth from its core subject matter that it can’t be ignored. Even the characterization is strong. In particular the main cast, or those I see as the main cast: the hero, the female samurai and that mysterious scientist. Slowly we watch the development of our reluctant hero grow into a state of maturity. And as for the other two, we gradually learn about who they really are and the skeletons hiding in their respective closets. It’s these three that made Andromeda Stories, at least for me, an enjoyable watch. 

Rewatches are often needed as at times it can be years since my last viewing… memory can only go so far sometimes. Even after this most recent viewing I needed yet another watch as this one off TV special moved at times quite quickly. In my opinion it could have been better told as a short TV series as there are a lot of elements that can get rushed or confusing. Just as I was about to rewatch again I discovered that Andromeda Stories was dubbed into English as well and released on VHS… so I gave that a shot to help tie up loose ends and see if there are any differences in the process. Retitled Gemini Prophecies, it is very faithful to the original, even including the cheesy soundtrack. Notable additions for the dub version include a lot of renaming and early plot spoilers that ruin a few surprises later revealed in the original Japanese version. Plus, in typical American fashion for dubbing back in the day, there has to be a narrator to fill in the quieter scenes. I am mixed on that one, but either way, Andromeda Stories is a solid piece of science fiction that ends into ironically a new beginning… and I’m not giving away any hints on what that could be 😉

#243 : Aura Battler Dunbine: The Tale of Neo Byston Well

Sequels, common place for being completely unoriginal (so much so now a days with endless releases of large franchise properties, anime and otherwise), or perhaps a followup chapter to something from before. An epilogue perhaps. Often a sequel can give extra closure, an alternative perspective, or something completely out of left field.  For Aura Battler Dunbine: The Tale of Neo Byston we have a little of all three.

After the total all out massacre of the original 1983 TV series, the question remained what happened to the fantasy land of Byston Well? Aura Battler Dunbine was a show I enjoyed dearly in terms of the medieval European like scenery, the organic insect like mecha designs blessed by a supernatural (if not metaphysical) connection between their pilots, the intense passionate drama and the cast of heroes, villians and everyone else in between. It is in my opinion one of Sunrise’s best mech shows from the 1980s and one of four shows I hold dearly by creator Yoshiyuki Tomino (the other three being original Gundam, Zeta Gundam and Ideon). So why not make a small release three episode OVA as a sequel… ok, well what further tales does the land of Byston Well have to share?

Almost more of the same except this time 700 years in the future. Wow then perhaps this is a side story because that is quite  a distance from the original? That’s until we learn of one survivor from the previous wars, the brilliant and conniving Shot Weapon (yes that’s his name, lol). And there is also one Ferario of Silky/Silkie Mau, who bears a very similar name, if not the same (seems the spelling goes back and forth between both series?), to another of Byston Well’s mystical cast members. Ferario is a fancy word for basically a fairy (I like it) and little Silky, at the very beginning of episode 1, has been caught by our main protagonist Shion… who bears a similar name and appearance to TV series main man Sho Zama. Hmm, interesting an interesting tidbits of info, what’s next? Well you have a coming conflict between two factions, piloted mecha, a captured princess, an evil warlord, a little backstabbing and most importantly the coming of the next ‘holy warrior’ to pilot the Dunbine.

While the plot is very generic in many ways, can’t expect much from three episodes… eh actually I do, lol… I found the story to be sort of interesting and kind of dull. The artwork on the other hand is very enjoyable for my love of cel drawn animation. OVA’s usually have a little more budget than a TV series and this is a good example except sometimes it can fell a little stiff and rigid. The designs on the other hand are gorgeous if not almost post apocalyptic, no no, more ancient looking. The world of Byston Well seems more lush and magical this time round, if not more grounded… and again, ancient. The titular mecha Dunbine and the landscape itself, seems fossil-like now. A nice touch indeed! After all seven centuries have apparently passed.

Perhaps no where near the radar for many of you, this OVA for me was worth the minor effort since this is like a second ending to a TV series I loved… I had to try it since it’s an 80s anime!… afterall, that’s what I essentially do here! Of course there are those side stories released later like Wings of Rean and Garzey’s Wing, which I don’t have much interest in watching. The clips of Garzey’s Wing are enough for me for a general laugh. And can you believe to this day I still have not seen Garzey’s Wing proper. Perhaps that is best. Aura Battler Dunbine: The Tale of Neo Byston on the other hand is a good short sojourn back into Byston Well that is by no means a joke, but not something I may go back to… maybe. Though didn’t Cham Huau survive from the TV show? That would have been an interesting story to see what happened to her.

#242 : Hi-Speed Jecy

The 1980s OVA boom gave a fresh new perspective to distributing anime to an audience. Free of broadcast restrictions and an open ground for experimentation this avenue had an appeal to older fans who grew up with anime now had jobs and wanted to absorb media for their more mature standards. This wasn’t true for every OVA and there are many that were pure garbage, but by the late 1980s it was perhaps the best way to satisfy a fix for compelling science fiction that not only had action, stories and characters, but also beautiful line work and production value. 2001 Nights, Crusher Joe, Gunbuster, Gundam 0080, Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Patlabor were part of this elite crop… as well a name that until now had yet been given a fair chance of viewing by my eyes … Hi-Speed Jecy.

… Just a word of note before I begin, Jecy is pronounced like the name Jesse…

Hi-Speed Jecy has been on my radar for quite a while and it’s not because it was some super popular title that I had missed. In fact I am surprised this never got a release here in the west where I live during the VHS era. It wasn’t recommended by anyone either, nor was it easy to come by for a longtime… I never had luck with a fansub either since that looked like the only avenue left to watch this one. I’ll give you a hint now, look at the characters! Look familiar, they do to me? Anime featuring character designer Haruhiko Mikimoto’s work are a must in my book, regardless of what it is. I loved his work since I was a kid (Macross/Robotech), can you blame me? Many of the so called ‘heroic’ designs are some of the most gorgeous and attractive examples of human rendering regardless of gender. Other examples include Orguss, Gunbuster, Gundam 0080 and Salamander… wait a minute, two of those I mentioned earlier as high class examples, seems quality anime share, great character designs 🙂

Spanning a dozen episodes, several acting as two parters, Hi-Speed Jecy follows the exploits of Jecy Moore, a young man who is after revenge toward the tyrannical clan known as Bismarck… they murdered his parents when he was a child in front of his eyes. He is most likened to a super hero in a way though nothing is much out of the ordinary for his powers except the man is very agile, not keen on weapons and can run, or move extremely fast. Oh, kind of like Sonic the Hedgehog speed? Yeah, but perhaps faster! Joining him is his sidekick, perhaps love interest, Tiana and a priest from the group Heartland, Falk Green, who is a crack shot with a gun. After all it is his mission to hunt down supposed malefic folk by shooting them with his nerve gun… sounds like a strange religion to me, yet how often do people kill for their concept of ‘God’? In any case he is a vital ally. … and then there is Paolon, our fourth protagonist who I will let you find out who that is… don’t worry you will find out in the later minutes of episode one 😉

Much like the roll call of OVAs I listed earlier I would put Hi-Speed Jecy into a similar category as Crusher Joe. Both are dramatic (more so Jecy), at times funny (more so Joe), action packed space opera that are fun and exciting. Both also began as novel adaptations. Hi-Speed Jecy and Crusher Joe also feature a quartet of differing heroic characters that play off each other. Jecy as a character study  is a particular good one, his past and his major chip on his shoulder towards the clan of Bismarck are well represented in a few back story moments, including one whole episode. That being said a majority of the time we are essentially dropped into the middle of the action from the very beginning and asked to fasten our seatbelts and hold on tight, which to be honest… ain’t that bad an idea. Pass the popcorn!

There is just something about a space oriented sci-fi drama from the 1980s. Perhaps it’s nostalgia, or just the fact that I was spoon fed on it heavily as a kid, that it seems when unfamiliar good, or great, productions come into my view I kind of feel like I am at home. Jumpsuits, awesome hair, a synth-pop opening theme song (Please, Please Me no less, but not the Beatles song ), main characters with human flaws, it’s all beautiful. Though a product of another apparent time and place, Studio Pierrot’s work none the less (They do good work!), if you ask what keeps me going at looking at obscure anime, then Hi-Speed Jecy is just one answer I can give. Though my tastes have changed and expanded as I have matured, I always seems to find something to satisfy both the youth and adult in me, like Hi-Speed Jecy.