Powerful 13 episode 'sci-fi' OAV
I rate this OAV drama PG-13 for acts of war described, including torture, rape, death, and just plain miserable life. This is an anime for adults or teenagers.
I enjoyed viewing this OAV: it has a solid movie-quality storyline that got me through all 3 DVDs in one shot.
It compares favorably to Jin-ro or Roujiin-z and would probably hit a 7/10 for an anime fan. It's not as good in my book as Grave of the fireflies, Wings of hoannemise or the hard to follow Akira classic, which I all rate 8~9/10.
The drawing is pretty standard Japanese animation style, of pretty good quality, though the DVD sleeve has nice but misleading stylized drawings with no relation to the actual anime.
Plot line:
Shu, a teen meets a strange girl, and get kidnapped into some parallel world or other planet...
Lalaru the girl is sought after because she has the power to control water in a world where water is rare, by a mad dictator who plans to rule the world with her help. He already has decimated most population not under his rule, most being peasants with little means of retaliation against his powerful army.
This story describes a pitiful humanity struggling in misery; people making deliberate choices that eventually can hurt others hoping for a better future for themselves. There's no good vs bad guy, and like good non-Hollywood movies, and still... it gets from bad to worse while Shu the hero stays hopelessly positive the future will be better.
The only downside is the dictator is hard to believe (character too monodimentional), and reasons for the soldier's motivations for obeying are a little weak. Also the going back-and forth between universes is not explained, and for example why not steal water on earth? That part is just an excuse to get clueless characters in that world.
I enjoyed viewing this OAV: it has a solid movie-quality storyline that got me through all 3 DVDs in one shot.
It compares favorably to Jin-ro or Roujiin-z and would probably hit a 7/10 for an anime fan. It's not as good in my book as Grave of the fireflies, Wings of hoannemise or the hard to follow Akira classic, which I all rate 8~9/10.
The drawing is pretty standard Japanese animation style, of pretty good quality, though the DVD sleeve has nice but misleading stylized drawings with no relation to the actual anime.
Plot line:
Shu, a teen meets a strange girl, and get kidnapped into some parallel world or other planet...
Lalaru the girl is sought after because she has the power to control water in a world where water is rare, by a mad dictator who plans to rule the world with her help. He already has decimated most population not under his rule, most being peasants with little means of retaliation against his powerful army.
This story describes a pitiful humanity struggling in misery; people making deliberate choices that eventually can hurt others hoping for a better future for themselves. There's no good vs bad guy, and like good non-Hollywood movies, and still... it gets from bad to worse while Shu the hero stays hopelessly positive the future will be better.
The only downside is the dictator is hard to believe (character too monodimentional), and reasons for the soldier's motivations for obeying are a little weak. Also the going back-and forth between universes is not explained, and for example why not steal water on earth? That part is just an excuse to get clueless characters in that world.
- niceguy68
- 25 ago 2004