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| Reviewer: Martin Gaston |
Run Time: 25 Mins per ep |
Format: Fansub |
Distributor: N/A |
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V A N D R E A D |
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Vandread is everything you expect in a good anime. It contains a good storyline, some great comedy, fantastic animation and some really amazing action sequences. In the future, men and women have separated from one another and formed new colonies on new planets. They both hate each other, so they’ve spread so much anti-men and anti-woman propaganda around, that men and women’s idea of each other is so warped, they may as well be two different races. Taraaku, the male planet, divides up the citizens into classes. Third class citizen Hibiki Tokai has had enough, a mech-engineer that’s condemned to work in factories for his entire life. He decides, on a dare, to steal on of the new Bangata mecha, stored on a freshly built battle ship. No sooner does he get on board the battleship as it launches into space to combat the women. Hibiki is captured on the battleship, and put in a cell to await execution. However, a group of female pirates arrive intent on stealing this new technology. In the following mayhem, Hibiki manages to escape into one of the Bangata’s, but in a desperate attempt to make sure the women don’t claim everything, the men split the battleship in half, and Hibiki is left with the pirates. However, the engine of the ship and a glowing orb called Plexis react, and the pirates, as well as Hibiki, are transported into a distant part of the galaxy. The reaction continues, and it merges the leftover part of the male’s battleship and the females ship together, as well as changing Hibiki’s Bangata and the Dreads (the mecha the women pilot.) The male and female stereotype in Vandread is often quite amusing, and is made funnier when the men and women try to learn more about each other. It’s filled with sexual innuendo and clever situations, and this just leads to an overall feeling of ‘fun’ that you get when watching Vandread. 
However, it isn’t all jokes and fun. Vandread carries some deeper messages
about finding your own identity, and the series gets more serious towards
the final few episodes. Gonzo are well known for their fantastic CGI sequences, and Vandread certainly delivers on expectations. The mecha battles in Vandread are truly amazing, and definitely have to be seen to be believed. It certainly seems to have proved itself in Japan - the second series is now doing the rounds on the fansub circuit - whether it lives up to the first remains to be seen! 9/10 - Vandread is certainly a most enjoyable series, great to watch over and over again. Back to Menu |
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| Space Cowboys... |  |
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For a slightly grittier but no less funky set of space adventurers,
take a look at Cowboy Bebop.Read the Review |
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