Well, after two weeks of really good anime (Master of Mosquiton and Alien Nine), this week I am looking at Voogie's Angel (or Dennou Sentai Voogie's Angel).
The DVD cover This 3 episode OVA from 1997, done by JC Staff and distributed by Media Blasters (through AnimeWorks), is an interesting yarn, kinda. It is a "after the bomb dropped" story, or in this case, alien invasion. In an Earth far in the future, the remnants of humanity dwell in underwater bases. They are in fear of SE (Space Emigrants) who have taken control of the surface and threaten from above. So, Dr. Crimt (a mysterious scientist) assembles a team of Angels, cybernetically enhanced young women.
So, that's the premise. It has some good promise. But that's one of the few things I like about this OVA. For the first 2 episodes, there are problems with characterization and tone/mood. First off, characterization is poorly done here. The main cast, you know, the heroines that we have to give a dang, are 1-dimensional at best or vastly underdeveloped. Voogie is a overwhelmed leader, Rebecca is a gun crazy bunny, Shiori is a non-factor (she does feck all in this story) and Merrybell is an annoying pansy. The other characters are just as bad. Dr. Crimt is well just mysterious, while the main villain is named Master Teddy (how can I take this seriously?!). The only character I kinda liked was Midi, the 'mother' figure for the team, as I got the feeling that she wanted to do more for the team, but couldn't.
Also, the tone/mood for the first 2 episodes is very jarring. A serious moment would be followed up by a utterly silly moment. Or, a scene that should be tense and stern would have something that dragged it down. It seems to me it tries to be both a cheesy scifi action piece and a serious post apocalyptic tale. Problem is, they don't gel well together.
Also, the writing and acting are terrible. For instance, one of the enemy thugs (who is also a cyborg), his first line is "Isn't it obvious? I'm the bad guy!" Most of the english dub actors are clearly overdoing it (or underdoing it in some instances). The OVA spends a lot of time flapping about until the action happens. When it does happen, it make no sense anyway.
The few positives lie in the final and third episode. Apparently, the director of the 1st 2 (Masami Obari) was replaced after the second episode was done. Aoi Takenouchi directed the final episode and wow it is a replacement (nominally, mind you). It is all rather dark and somber, the tone/mood problems of the first two episodes seem to have evaporated. Though, it seemed to be a oh-so subtle Eva pastiche. It has a conclusion that is rather ambiguous. Shame that these 3 episodes are all that was made.
Final Score is 4.5/10. This is quite frankly crap, but crap that could've done so much. It had potential, but ultimately wasted it. It fails so hard in the first 2 episodes, but then straightened itself up in episode 3. Of course, it was bit too late.
Next weekend is a week off.
Next 2 weeks of review will be covering another one of my favorite anime:
Nov. 27-Burn Up (1991 OVA)
Dec. 4-Burn Up W (1996 OVA)
Until next time,
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