Old-school

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I’ve been somewhat remiss lately.  It is completely my fault, between training and getting sick, I’ve had very little time and energy to devote to anime.  And that is most regrettable.

I started watching Armoured Troopers VOTOMs, and have completed just under a dozen episodes.  It’s pretty good so far, mixing some tropes together (tropes that probably spawned in part from VOTOMs due to when it was created), and breaking others.  Or perhaps someone took an educated guess on what would dominate anime later on and sought to be different from the very get-go.  Who knows.

Here’s the summary for VOTOMs from ANN.net:
The end of the 100 year war between the planets Bavalant and Melkia does not allow Melkian soldier Chirico Cuvie a moment of peace. His accidental involvement in a clandestine mission places him in danger, requiring him to escape and attempt to survive on what is left of his war-torn homeworld.

I realize that something as classic and well-known as Armoured Trooper VOTOMs has been reviewed and discussed to near-death already by a multitude of peoples and groups around the internet, but what can I say, I’m late to the party.

Let’s go over some of the basics:
-Scope Dogs, mass produced mecha that can be brought down by concentrated small-arms fire.  Quite unusual in the mecha genre.
-Plot armour … so far it doesn’t really exist for Chirico.  In one of his latest sorties he is nearly killed by police forces.
-Corrupt Federation.  Definitely a major product from the 80’s, but something that can still speak about today.  Who knew corrupt officials would continue to exist? (Not a serious question)
-Post apocalyptic setting due to war.  Except the war is still ongoing.  After 100 years of war, everyone on both sides have forgotten why the war is on and are just fighting for retaliation.

I can’t say too much more, partly because I don’t know any more.  This is a series in progress for me, and I haven’t marked for major spoilers, so yeah … expect a post later on about more VOTOMs.

But VOTOMs isn’t the only thing I’m late to the party for.  Next on the list is Akira.  I actually watched the scene transformation scene back in 2003 without ever realizing what it was I was watching.  I didn’t know it was Kaneda on the bike.

On the plus side, I was actually alive when Akira was first released, or at least very conscious of the fact that I was alive.  (VOTOMs finished airing in Japan just over 6 months before I was born)  I certainly wouldn’t have been allowed to watch Akira during when it was first released, I mean, my parents didn’t even let my brother and I watch Beetlejuice until we were both at least 13 years old.

“In the year 2019, thirty-one years have passed since the outbreak of World War III. In Neo-Tokyo, all authority is waging a never-ending struggle against the underground that virtually rules the shattered city. A top-secret child with amazing powers of the minds breaks free from custody and accidentally gets a motorcycle gang involved in the project. The incident triggers psychic powers within one of the members, Tetsuo, and he is taken by the army and experimented on. His mind has been warped and is now on the path of war, exacting revenge on the society that once called him weak.” (ANN.net)

I had to remind myself at times that this is 1988 animation, but with a budget that isn’t stretched over 13 or 26 episodes.  It was dubbed twice, once in 1990 by Streamline and again 2001 by Pioneer/Geneon.  A Western live-action adaptation has been unofficially (to my knowledge) announced/rumoured, and this doesn’t help anything.  I found this on AZM.com, and here are some “highlights” that Jamie sifted through:

  • Kaneda and Tetsuo are now brothers.
  • They are in their 30s.
  • Kaneda is an underground doctor. Tetsuo is a washed out drug addict.
  • The rebels are fighting against an evil corporation known as The Foundation.
  • The Foundation supplies the general population with personal ID chips called SubQ ID and uses them to create a consumer’s paradise.
  • Akira is a creepy psychic kid who walks around with a stuffed bear and creepily whistles childhood songs while randomly murdering people with his mind.
  • Kei is now Ky and is mostly eye candy for Kaneda and the audience to ogle.

And yet, I’d probably still see it.  I am nothing but a glutton for punishment it seems.

–CanadaMan eh?