Vandread
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| Vandread | |
|---|---|
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| ヴァンドレッド | |
| Genre | Adventure, Romance, Comedy, Mecha, Science Fiction, Shounen, Ecchi, Harem |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Takeshi Mori |
| Studio | GONZO |
| Network |  WOWOW Encore WAM |
| Original run | 3 October 2000 – 19 December 2000 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| TV anime : Vandread: The Second Stage | |
| Directed by | Takeshi Mori |
| Studio | Gonzo |
| Network | Animax Encore WAM |
| Original run | October 10th, 2001 – January 18th, 2002 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
Vandread ヴァンドレッド (Vandoreddo?) is an anime series directed by Takeshi Mori and created by GONZO and Media Factory animation studios. Vandread, as a science fiction space opera anime, aims to combine elements of action, romance, ecchi, comedy, and mecha space combat.
Vandread presents a mix of comedy ranging from slapstick humor to subtle humor. It also utilizes well-animated characters and cleanly rendered CG action sequences.
The Vandread series is composed of two seasons (Vandread, released in 2000 and Vandread: The Second Stage, released in 2001), each composed of thirteen episodes of twenty-five minutes. The first series is summarized in the Vandread Taidouhen OVA of 2001, and the second in the Vandread Gekitouhen ("Turbulence") OVA, released in 2002. There is a Vandread Extra stage (manga), that explains the events after the last episode (#13 Trust), containing 5 short stories. [1]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Set in a universe where men and women are completely segregated (on completely different planets: Mejare by the women, Taraak by the men), the gender wars are more than just a metaphor.
Hibiki Tokai, a third-class laborer, takes up a bet to steal a high-tech humanoid robot, known as a Vanguard, from the male attack force about to fight the "evil females". Caught onboard when it takes off, the battleship is suddenly attacked and all males evacuate, with the exception of Hibiki, Duelo McFile, and Bart Garsus. Stuck onboard and held as prisoners with female pirates all around, things seem to have hit an all-time low, until the retreating males retaliate by firing torpedoes at the ship, to prevent it from falling into women's hands. The Paeksys Plagma, the core of the battleship, a mysterious crystalline entity, protects itself by eradicating the missile, while forming a wormhole that sends the pirates and warship to a distant part of the galaxy, and fusing the battleship with the females' pirate vessel. This results in a quirky ship with very smooth lines, a host of technical problems, which some episodes are often aimed at solving, and various hidden capabilities that become apparent in later events. The "Vanguard/Bangaata" Hibiki attempted to steal has also been altered along with three of the women's fighters, known as Dreads, allowing the separate ships to combine. The fusion of Hibiki's mech with one of the fighters is called a Vandread, the title mecha of the series.
In this alternate, futuristic universe, men and women consider each other to be completely separate species (Hibiki gains the nickname "Mr. Alien" from Dita Liebely, one of the many female leads), and the three put up with much abuse at the hands of their female captors, but gradually make their presence accepted: Hibiki as a mecha fighter and technician, Duelo as a skilled doctor and engineer, and Bart as the ship's helmsman and navigator.
The story of the first season revolves around the crew's trip back to the system where Mejare and Taraak. Along the way, they encounter strange, robotic machines, both enigmatic and rather Borg-like, though they do not communicate at all. After a few sorties with the unknown enemy, the crew manages to take some alien data samples from a desert planet. The data is read out: "Blood platelets, white blood cells, red blood cells..." The crew is stunned; their enemy kills human beings and harvests their body parts from them. Not only this, but a later encounter with the flagship of the "Harvesters", the name given to the enemy, reveals that the robots were sent out by the people of Earth, the same planet which humans originated from, and where its colonists would eventually colonize Mejare, Taraak, and countless other planets. At the start of the second season, they rescue an escape pod from the Harvesters. The pod contains a girl called Misty Cornwell from Pluto, the last planet in the Earth's solar system to be harvested, and a virus which enters the ship's systems. When the correct passcode, the sound of an infant's cries, is entered, the virus shuts down and the crew is given access to the hidden data that the pod brings, revealing why Earthlings are harvesting their own species.
Following the initial drive to colonize, pollution has devastated Earth, making any life on the planet near impossible. Huge metal gears now cover the Earth's stratosphere in an attempt to create a living environment for people in massive structures surrounding the planet. Earthlings, alone and dying on the toxic planet, began to question the humanity of the colonists. Eventually, they convinced themselves that only the inhabitants of Earth are human, and all other humans exists solely to ensure their continued existence. Their solution, therefore, was to send out the Harvester fleet of machines created from the same basic material as the Nirvana's core, the Paeksys Plagma. The Harvesters raid and dominate colonies to obtain body parts, allowing the Earthlings to replace their own dying body parts, thus becoming immortal through the lives of others. Mejare and Taraak are targeted to be harvested for human sexual organs. Along the way, the crew meet people targeted for their skin, spinal cords, and other parts from some planets.
For the crew, fighting is not just about defeating their enemy and surviving; they need to rush back to their respective homeworlds in time to warn their people. But will the leaders of the planets listen to their almost impossible tale?
[edit] Characters
- Dita Liebely: One of the female co-leads that is romantically involved with Hibiki.
- Misty Cornwell: She is rescued by the crew at the beginning of the second season of Vandread.
- Meia Gisborn: At first, she has the behavior of an Amazon. As squadron commander, she leads the other Dreads in battle.
- Jura Basil Elden: The secondary leader of the Dread fighting force, although she is inexperienced.
- Barnette Orangello: One of the Dread pilot co-leaders under Meia's command.
- Gascogne Rheingau: She runs the Nirvana's Registry system, and is responsible for supplying the Dread fighters with all of their weapons.
- Buzam A. Calessa "BC": The sub-commander of the Nirvana.
- Parfet Balblair: The ship's chief engineer.
- Paiwei Underberg: The ship nurse under Duelo.
- Magno Vivian: the commander of the pirates; everyone addresses her as 'Boss'.
- Ezra Vieil: Part of the bridge crew of the Nirvana.
- Hibiki Tokai: A third-class citizen of Taraak that gets thrown into the mess with Duelo and Bart.
- Duero McFile: The ship doctor for the Nirvana.
- Bart Garsus: A first-class citizen from Taraak. He is initially weak and ends up becoming the helmsman of the Nirvana.
[edit] Glossary
[edit] The Paeksys
Paeksys Plagma is the green energy entity acting as the Nirvana's core. It originates from a different universe, but encountered earthlings and became separated in two when it was used for the Ikazuchi; its twin stays on Earth. Due to its unique properties, it has been used to generate energy in various ships, without the builders realizing the nature of the Paeksys. Meanwhile, the Paeksys on Earth takes on a red color, after infusing with Earth's hatred and refusal to open their hearts. As the Nirvana crew learns that the Paeksys is a sentient being, they also start to bond with Pyoro, a navibot that was flushed with the Paeksys. The result was Pyoro becoming sentient, and developing a personality of its own. Occasionally, the Paeksys will override Pyoro's systems to communicate with the crew members. Machines flushed with the Paeksys may also 'evolve' to some extent, thus resulting in the upgrades to Dita's, Meia's and Jura's Dreads and Hibiki's Vanguard. These upgrades would provide the basis for the three Vandread types, and eventually, the Super Vandread, which is the fusion of all three Dreads and the Vanguard. The Harvesters, from the influence of the red Paeksys, can also evolve and become stronger through combining smaller Harvester units, creating almost-exact copies of the Vandreads, as well as the Nirvana. Also, the Paeksys has a self-preservation instinct, which it revealed when it fused the Ikazuchi and Magno's pirate ship, creating a wormhole and transporting the crew light years away from Taraak and Mejare.
[edit] Vehicles & Mechas
Nirvana is the battleship the characters use throughout the series. It houses the Paeksys Plagma as the ship's core, powering almost anything within the vessel. After the Ikazuchi battleship and Magno's pirate ship were thrown into the wormhole, created by the Paeksys, both ships began to fuse with one another. At first, the crew was unsure what to call their new ship, but after a lottery was held in giving a name, Magno christened the vessel from a list of entries 'Nirvana'. Bart Garsus fills in as the ship's pilot. The only armament the Nirvana carries are a series of turrets that encompasses the ship's hull, all which fire a laser that automatically locks-on to enemy units, while bypassing all friendly units.
Dreads are the space fighters used by Magno's pirate crew. Most Dreads are armed with vulcans, missiles, and laser cannons, depending on how the Dread is customized to the pilot's taste. Before battle, each Dread goes through the Registry system and is fitted with the chosen weapons. With the help of Gascogne's supply vessel, a Dread can be re-armed during battle. When the Paeksys created the wormhole the Dreads of Dita, Meia and Jura underwent changes. All three Dreads became structurally different from the others, while possessing greater firepower than an average Dread. When any of these Dreads fuses with Hibiki's Vanguard, they become a powerful Vandread. In Vandread: Second Stage, after becoming the Super Vandread, the three fighters receive an additional boost of power from the fusion, noted from Parfait's analysis.
Vanguards/Bangaata are the newly introduced mobile weapons of Taraak. These machines carry an assortment of melee weapons, ranging from swords, axes, spears to chainsaws. As well, they can easily withstand artillery fire. Initially, along with the Ikazuchi battleship, the Vanguards were used to eliminate any hostiles (mainly, space pirates and the women of Mejare) that threatened Taraak airspace, until Magno's pirate ship hijacked the battleship. Hibiki's Vanguard (though it really wasn't his), like the Dreads, was also affected by the Paeksys, transforming it into an even bulkier version of its original self. Later, when fused with either Dita's, Meia's or Jura's Dreads, it becomes the all-powerful Vandread. In Vandread: Second Stage, after becoming the Super Vandread, the Vanguard receies a small physical transformation, and possibly an additional boost of power from the fusion.
Ikazuchi is the name of the flagship of the Taraak Imperial Fleet. Formerly a colony vessel, it was reformatted to become a battleship. Its purpose was to eliminate any hostiles (mainly, space pirates and the women of Mejare) that threatened Taraak airspace, until Magno's Pirate ship hijacked it. The wormhole created by the Paeksys Plagma fused the Ikazuchi and Magno's pirate ship into a completely different vessel, later to be called the Nirvana.
Vandread Dita-Type is the first Vandread to appear. It is the fusion of Dita's Dread and Hibiki's Vanguard. This Vandread resembles a giant mobile fighter, with its main armament to be a pair of long-range energy cannons. They can also be used as a pair of cutting weapons, whenever in melee combat. Finally, the cannons themselves can be removed from the frame of the machine and interlock to become a throwable spear. Other armaments include its massive, physical strength and bulky armor. More or less, this Vandread incorporates offensive strategy.
Vandread Meia-Type is the second Vandread to appear. It is the fusion of Meia's Dread and Hibiki's Vanguard. This Vandread resembles a silver eagle, with its main form of attack to be a high-velocity ram, which pierces all enemy units in its path of flight. It has also demonstrated the ability to fire an energy beam from between the horns on its head. It is also the only Vandread not refered to by name.
Vandread Jura-Type is the third Vandread to appear. It is the fusion of Jura's Dread and Hibiki's Vanguard. This Vandread resembles a crab with around 8 green discs orbiting the machine and one large disc as part of the machine's frame. More of a defensive weapon than an offensive one, its main armament is an enhanced shielding system, which allows it to cover any object, up to the size of a planet. Other armaments include a laser from each disc that fires in all 8 directions, its moveable arms, and even redirecting matter with the large disc (in one episode, the Vandread draws water from a planet to destroy a Harvester machine).
Super Vandread is the final Vandread to appear. It is the fusion of Dita's, Meia's and Jura's Dreads, Hibiki's Vanguard, and Pyoro (which prompts him to christen the fusion "Vandread Pyoro"). The overall power of this machine is unknown. However, it can be said that the Super Vandread incorporates all three Vandread types into its design: with a wave of its hand, the Super Vandread can erect a shield strong enough to absorb any enemy fire (Jura-type); the discs scattered around its frame can form to fire an extremely powerful laser (Jura-type, Dita-type); a large energy sword, created from the hands, easily slices any Harvester unit (Dita-type); it still maintains significant speed for a combined machine (Meia-type).
[edit] Songs
- Good Day Friends by Yumi Kakazu (Dita)
- Himegoto ("Vandread" ending theme) by SiLC
- Justice ("Second Stage" opening) by Kudou Aki
- Moon Light Lullaby by Fumiko Orikasa (Meia)
- Spacy Spicy Love
- Ikutose Karuka/Many Many Tears
- Trust ("Vandread" opening theme; also used as the ending theme in the final "Second Stage" episode) by Salia
- What a Wonderful World by Donna Burke
- Yes, Together ("Second Stage" ending theme) by Yasunori Iwasaki, sung by Aki Kudou
- Somedays by Donna Burke
