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 😉
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 (
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 
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.
Often compared to the live action film Alien, Roots Search would not be my first choice for an anime based on the inspiration of a foreign invader out to massacre a crew on a spaceship. 
Roots Search: Shokushin Buttai X, Roots Search: Life Devourer X where to begin? A crew of four aboard a research station encounter a ship that magically came out of warp space and into their general vicinity. Aboard the Green Planet, the name of the ship (for real?… yes) is one surviving human and some kind of a gray alien thing that does not look all that inviting. They soon jettison the alien only to find like a boomerang, it comes back… and with vengeance on its mind. Literally it says to all of them that it plans to take them all out! Of course our stowaway from Green Planet also concours and tells the crew that it prays on their fears and attacks both physically as well as more importantly, psychologically.
Know what this means? Holy crap we got to get out of here? Exactly. Turns out the creature was sent by God to punish humanity and take out each and every one of us as punishment… dude your concept of God sure does not match up with how others see it. Nothing says division like politics and religion. One by one the crew fall prey to the violent attacks of the alien, thing, soldier of God… until we are left with two. The guy from Green Planet and the singular girl character who happens to have some abilities to see and read the future. In the most dire of circumstances these two end up falling for each other, professing love and kissing to seal the deal. After all they have a future together to live happy ever after… but aren’t you two in a life or death situation at the moment. Talk about an awkward date?
Spoilers galore, but I will leave it up to you to experience the last five minutes of this 45 minute OVA. You have total permission from me and maybe even a few others to just fast forward to the end and thank us all later. This is all I will say… talk about a twisted ending with no resolution. Roots Search starts off as a horror sci-fi suspense schlock fest and then suddenly adds a twist of romance into the closing stages, which totally makes sense. If they only included a unicorn into the production I would let Roots Search pass, but of course they didn’t. Um. what did I just watch?… scratch that… never make me watch this again, please! There are many anime classified as ‘bad’ that I think are brilliant and entertaining, 
The Classic Anime Museum 
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