Armored Trooper VOTOMS
It's been a few weeks since I finished this show, so my impressions may not be quite as vivid as I like; however, the bottom line is that this is a series I unequivocally recommend to anyone who has a smidgeon of affinity for
"real robot" shows.
VOTOMS is a 1983-4 TV series directed by Ryosuke Takahashi, a prolific director of mecha in the 80s. He later went on to write the scripts for a show that I hold near and dear, the King of Braves: Gaogaigar, but that is another post. Takahashi's work immediately preceding VOTOMS was Fang of the Sun: Dougram, a gritty depiction of a rebellion turned full-scale war that featured mecha designs that were functional as opposed to flashy. He wanted to do something similar with VOTOMS, except make a story that took place during a tense postwar atmosphere and focused on the inner life of a single character, rather than the political machinations of Dougram.
VOTOMS went on to become one of the pillars of the Sunrise empire, though it gets little attention in the West.
Look how much of it there is. Its output rivals that of Gundam, and, unlike Gundam, all the entries in the franchise take place in the same universe and all but three are about the same main character.
The mecha designs in VOTOMS are absolute classics. Though, as stated above, they aren't as elegant or elaborate as the stuff in Gundam or, say, Gurren Lagann, they have a ton of personality. And hey, Code Geass fans, VOTOMS is the genesis of the whole mecha on skates thing. The more you know...
Interestingly, some bits of each episode are done in this noir (correct me if I'm misusing the term) style that I haven't seen in anime before. The main character's inner dialogue serves to usher us in and out of episodes, and not in a "NEXT TIME ON VOTOMS!" sort of way. We are privy to his perspective, but it's not an omniscient one; he can be biased or wrong about things. In this way, we get to know him and how his mind works. Believe me, it doesn't come across as forced as it may sound.
This is a four cour show, and each cour feels really distinct from the rest. The same plot threads run through each of them, but the stark differences in setting (sprawling, decadent urban; tropical jungle; desert wasteland; caves), and also in the immediate objectives of the protagonists, serve to refresh the viewer every 12-13 episodes. I feel like this show also draws from a lot of different sci-fi resources, as much of it feels familiar (but not tired or tropey); however, I am blanking on specific names. Children of the 80s will probably have similar experiences to mine in this area.
VOTOMS is a pretty ambitious show in what it tries to do. It starts out firmly planted in the 80s mecha show sandbox, but it eventually wants to transcend the genre (note: this is different from deconstructing the genre) and go places you'd never except it to go. And, it succeeds wildly. It manages to increase the scale and importance of events to enormous levels without either becoming too abstract or ceasing to be a personal story. Unlike a lot of series that do these kinds of things, VOTOMS doesn't seem to be trying to say anything philosophically/metaphysically. There is no ulterior motive for its plot, it just wants to tell a great story. Not to say there are no themes because there are: war is hell, the power of love, friendship > being alone, etc. It's just that, unlike something like Evangelion or Kaiba or Rah Xehpone, there's no agenda for the plot to make a metaphysical point (note: this is not a criticism of such an artistic technique).
Science fiction greatness.
Space Adventure Cobra: the Movie
Wow, here's something we'll never see the like of again.
So, SAC (feels weird, huh GitS fans?) the movie was directed by the late, great Osamu Dezaki. A man of extremes, Dezaki helmed the likes of Cobra and Golgo 13 but also seminal shoujo works like Brother Dear Brother, Aim for the Ace, and Rose of Versailles (to say nothing of his children's films such as Nemo's Adventures in Slumberland, the first anime to grace U.S. theaters).
Though I am not too familiar with Lupin III, comparisons are often drawn between Cobra and he, i.e. "Cobra is Lupin in SPACE." At any rate, this movie is about this bro, Cobra, who has a gun arm. He calls it the Psychogun. He's wanted by the law but, since he's also an honorable dude, he has made enemies in the world of outlaws as well. Cobra's chief enemy, the unfortunately named Crystal Boy (a villain far too cool and creepy for that name), leader of a group called The Guild, always seems to be clashing with our hero. I won't spoil exactly what the clash in the film concerns, though, since it takes a nice long while to lead up to it and it is shrouded in a bit 'o mystery.
The story of this movie isn't really important. It's not the reason to watch this thing. The reason people ought to immediately go run out and see this is the
effing visuals. Good. Grief. The look of the backgrounds and the experimental nature of the way a lot of scenes are shot is totally worth the price of admission (a price that is exactly zero dollars if you are able to watch the Hulu English dub). Dezaki clearly has a lot of freedom here. The backgrounds and the architecture resemble Boston album covers. The whole movie has a quintessentially 80s fantasy/sci-fi art style that is not used anymore. And the direction. Many times, Dezaki just tries a shot because he wants to, not because the added visual affectation adds anything to the story. Thus, the mood of the movie is a bit different than you might expect, given its pulpy sci-fi trappings. SAC has a pretty ethereal feel to it that is a rare experience for me as an anime viewer living in the 10s.
While the art and animation can be experimental, it is never at the expense of telling the entertaining but conventional story. SAC is surreal without being incomprehensible. So, yeah, people should check this out (nudity warning though...for both series mentioned here, actually) if they are up for a unique visual experience.