Long ago I reviewed the TV Series of Xabungle, #6 in fact, and maybe I wrote that one a little too soon after the start of CAM? But it was still fresh in my mind after viewing and I have since moved on, much like all my others postings to build up what is here today. I debated a follow-up as I missed the hijinks of this comedic mecha show, but I have to plow forward right? Maybe… In the end I edited it as it was a bit sloppy in a lot of areas, but… but… I wanted another shot at it… and then I remembered… 1983… compilation movie… Xabungle Graffiti. Let’s GO!!
Welcome once again to the planet Zola, a world with a western, or steampunk vibe. A world where you have three days to avenge wrong doing then it is forgiven by the law. A world where physics and a sense of humor can be on par to that of the Looney Tunes… <3. This is a cartoon being a cartoon, no need to take everything to seriously because this is anime! A character even says this near the end of the film when attempting to make the giant Iron Gear (explain what this is later) fly even though it more than likely can’t… we can break all kinds of rules 😀
You want to see some mecha battles while surfing the waves of the deep blue sea? You got it! What about a mecha catching an intercontinental ballistic missile bare handed only to toss it off to the side? Heck YES! Even an instruction on how to make your own Xabungle robot… and even a moment of key animation in place of the final cel-shaded artwork… yes indeed! It’s fast paced, seemly appearing random, but it follows the plot of the original TV version almost verbatim just in a trimmed down fashion. And as a note here, this movie is not a substitute for the original! View it more as supplementary. Even the running sequence at the end is included… and expanded. And as a reminder, this anime, or another example if you wish, for many of us, is artwork that brings joy and happiness and can be a comfort during the rougher times of life. That final running sequence expresses this perfectly.
Xabungle Graffiti is, was, as stated before, a compilation movie, so nothing new in terms of plot though there are moments of deliberate addition to help move the plot along faster, like including tons of chapter bumpers usually reserved for commercial breaks to section segments. All the cast are back, especially those aboard the once upon a time trading flagship, the Iron Gear (see I keep my promise), which now serves as our home to our dysfunctional family of heroes. We again have our humble hero Jiron, brash Rag, smart-ass Blume, adorable Chill, bossy and sweet Elchi and even the loyal and sort of mute Fatman (yes that’s the dude’s name) and the ever handsome Arthur Rank (‘Oh Arthur-sama’ scream all the girls) to name a few. The villains are back as well and badder than ever, including the ever vile Timp Sharon.
Commonplace before the invention of the direct to video OVA was the release of longer compilation movies, or shorter, 15–20 minute clip films. Xabungle Graffiti would be part of this trend along with The Ideon movies and the original Mobile Suit Gundam Trilogy. All of which, including Xabungle Graffiti, would be helmed by the infamous Yoshiyuki Tomino. Goes to show Kill ’em All Tomino can actually be funny and lighthearted too! These films are more of a lost aspect of anime now that we have a variety of physical and digital media at our disposal. A different time perhaps, but these films still survive on today, tomorrow and… who knows? I’ll part ways by leaving my personal one word description of Xabungle Graffiti… joy! It’s been fun.
… by the way, catch the small reference to Aura Battler Dunbine if you can!
Returning to a heavier political drama more in line with Zeta Gundam, compared to the more spastic Gundam ZZ, Char’s Counterattack was a breathe of relief. The return of Bright Noa and family and even Cameron Bloom were also welcome, but I missed not seeing Sayla Mass again. The sibling reunion sadly never happened (Sayla is Char’s sister in case you did not know). New faces like a teenage Hathaway Noa and the spoiled brat Quess Paraya had their place in the plot as well, but did Quess have to be so annoying… uber bitchy is more fitting. And finally Amuro Ray, piloting a new Gundam mech known as the Nu Gundam, how fitting. Even the spirit of Lalah Sune returns for this last time to bask in the sun between the rivalry of her two suitors. Ironically grown men should talk out the problems and find a peaceful solution, but the feud between Amuro and Char is beyond any form of negotiation.
Char’s Counterattack is a great film in terms of the Gundam collective, gorgeous in presentation, yet for me something about it seems a little off. I am sure director Yoshiyuki Tomino was tired of coming up with more stories to satisfy Bandai and Sunrise and wished he could just end Gundam so he could move onto other pastures. And yet even after this ‘final’ film, Gundam still just keeps on going and going and going and… yeah you get that picture. For 1988, Char’s Counterattack was the final line drawn in the sand for the epic rivalry between Char and Amuro. With all the other elements either good, or disappointing depending on one’s opinion of this movie, Char’s Counterattack made a huge statement. This is an epic film, a true successor to Zeta Gundam, if only this was Gundam ZZ instead. My biggest gripe is that Char’s Counterattack was a one-off film and not a longer developed series. It took me several watchings to appreciate this film because it lays out so much so fast that one viewing can’t take in the scope of the drama.
If one who has lived life on the highest level we often think of that as great success. But much like the legend of Icarus, one can fly so high only to be burned and end up falling to their death. Char’s ambitions became corrupted in Char’s Counterattack, absolute power corrupts absolutely. What happened to you my old friend? Why the anger? Why did you realize your humanity when it was too late? Amuro you were so righteous, a moral knight who gave his life for humanity, did you also have to sacrifice yourself you altruistic soul? Tomino fell back to an old trait in order to end this feud, “Kill ‘em all!”. The only question remains, can these two men so intertwined in combat with each other ever find peace now that they are not tied to this physical realm anymore?
Often times I end up in tears when watching certain anime. I often expect this from really great work that brings you into the story. This can either be from something very sentimental between characters, or more often, the death of someone dear to the cast and plot of the show. During the last two episodes of Dunbine, I cried… very hard. The brutality of the war and watching one by one heroes and even sometimes antagonists go down was as painful as many of the largest loses of my life. Dunbine may be Tomino’s most brutal series in terms of his “Kill ’em all” trademark? I would say even more so than the likes of Ideon and Zeta Gundam, two series I truly love. Yet Dunbine is not all dark and gloom, there is a lot of light and at times comedy, but it’s the finale that often defines how a series feels for me in the end.
The medieval European influence of Byston Well’s environment was a different take on the usual far future, outer space and/or alien invasion themes so prevalent to traditional mecha anime. Mixed with a form of fantasy laden technology and pagan mythological wonder, Dunbine would include insect like mecha designs (Aura Battlers), psychic powers and even fairy like characters that have a number of translated variations in English. This is a world where individuals like you and me are transported via the Aura Road to Byston Well from Upper Earth to play out in a struggle between power hungry despots, moral crusaders and nature priestesses that control the balance of Byston Well in their hands. A hopeful motorcycle enthusiast, Sho/Show Zama, is one of these select few who lands in Byston Well and learns quickly of the power games and ambitions of one local lord Drake Luft. Sho/Show eventually defects with his acquired Dunbine (his Aura Battler) to the opposing side and eventually earns the trust, as well as admiration of another Upper Earth exile, Miss Marvel Frozen, one of the best female mech pilots of all time. And to top things off Sho/Show acquires a sidekick (maybe cheerleader is a better term?), one of the Ferario (the fairies I mentioned earlier), Cham Huau, one of my favorite characters from Dunbine.
Byston Well and the concepts of aura power could relate heavily to our subconscious, both individual and collective. Byston Well was noted for being a place between sea and shore, a land where our souls come to rest after death, or perhaps even before birth. A world of dreams that in one aspect is outside our human existence, yet also running concurrently with it. The use of aura power reminds me of Ideon’s Ide power and Gundam’s newtype abilities. These are latent powers that are within us, where a select few learn to channel them, or awaken to them, like a Gundam newtype. Or perhaps it is the collective energies of our emotions, either peaceful, or destructive that shapes how we correspond with the universe much like Ideon’s Ide. Aura power also makes me think of the concepts: ‘thoughts create things’ and ‘the words we speak create our reality and actions’. Out of the subconscious comes forth our conscious reality.
Currently I have watched Dunbine in total twice and I will say like many of Tominos’s shows, it is best to have multiple viewings to gain as much perspective as possible. Tomino can tell a good story, but he does not always give the information in an expected manner. Lastly I can’t dismiss the character designs of Tomonori Kogawa as perhaps my favorite from his vast resume (Ideon, Southern Cross, Cool Cool Bye, Xabungle as examples). As part of a unique trilogy of mecha series created by Sunrise in 1983, including Armored Trooper Votoms and Galactic Drifter Vifam, Aura Battler Dunbine is mecha anime at it’s best featuring a world of fantasy with reality, joy with hardship and spiritual power with technology.
The Classic Anime Museum 
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