This week's review is on Moldiver, a 6 episode anime series that came out back in 1993. This title I've owned for a few years, having come across it at a discount video store. It was done by AIC/Pioneer LDC and distributed by Geneon, which went under back in 2007, which makes this title particulary rare. But, is it a rare treasure or a rare piece of junk?The plot of Moldiver takes place on Earth in the far future of....2045. Nice choice there, lolz. It features the adventures of Mirai Ozora as uses the Mol unit (which has a supersuit) developed by her older brother. Which, she uses to thwart the evil deeds of Professor Machinegal and his legion of hot android amazons (Really?!) as the hero Moldiver, while balancing out her everyday life (rivals and romantic feelings for Mr. Misaki, a friend of her older brother).
Basically, the series is a rather clever parody of both superhero and magical girl series. It has a fine mixture of silly slice of life comedy and Sci-Fi action for the first 3 episodes. Mostly involving Mirai using the Mol unit more as a means to her own ends, but ending up saving the day from some crisis. It has one of the most obvious villain-Professor Machinegal/Amagi, who was mentor to Mirai's older brother. From the first time I saw him on screen, I was like "OMFG, that's the villain, no doubt about that!". Then again, its a satire so I suppose it makes sense.
Then, from episode 4 to 6, the show takes a more serious tone, with more of an emphasis on the Sci-Fi action. At first, it seems such a tone shift would disorient the viewer, being myself. But, in this instance, it works as the show builds up the tension and the stakes are raised, as our heroine must save the love of her life from certain doom.
That's all I am going to say, as I try not to spoil much since I want to inform others.
Anyway, onto the positives. Moldiver has a well-rounded English dub cast, featuring voice actors like Steve Blum, Doug Stone, Joshua Seth, etc. The performances are rather even, without being either bad or very excellent. Even the OP and an insert song from episode 2 were done in English, and I have to say it's very well done. The animation, well, is pretty good and consistent. Though, like Otaku No Video, it is a bit on the aged side. But, I like that quality of it anyway.
The negatives are not much at all. The plot is straightforward, though by the end there are some elements thrown in from left field for no real reason. Minor quips, I'm sure.
Final Score is 8.5/10. A very good Scifi action/comedy romp. Well worth a look at, as it is an early example of parody, which shows up more often nowadays then back in the day when this title came out. Though, it might be just a bit hard to find since Geneon, the company which licensed and distributed this, is no longer in existence (dang shame really).
Laterz,
I shall post up something involving my reviews for next month, in a bit.
The Eclectic Dude ^_^
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