Vandread: V1 Enemy Engaged! (ep.1-4) [DVD]

Features

• Type: DVD
• Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
• Language(s): english, japanese
• Subtitle(s): english
• Director(s): Hiroyuki Yokoyama, Kazuki Tsunoda, Ken'ichi Takeshita, Makoto Bessho, Masato Ujibe, Seiji Mizushima, Shigeru Ueda, Shin'ichi Tôkairin
• Actor(s): Tony Oliver, Mari Devon, Dan Lorge, Hiroyuki Yoshino, Yumi Kakazu, Julie Maddalena, Fumiko Orikasa, Yu Asakawa, Catherine Battistone, Beau Billingslea

In this sophomoric sci-fi series, men and women live on separate planets (Talac and Majel) in a state of mutual hostility and ignorance. Mechanic/third-class citizen Hibiki stows away aboard the new Talac flagship and gets caught by the attacking Majel pirates. He's thrown into contact with Dirda, a girl it would be charitable to describe as ditsy--during a battle, she cries, "These guys are really bad aliens!" The women are forced to enlist the aid of Hibiki and two other male prisoners when they're attacked by unknown aliens who look like something made with a high-tech Lego set. The visuals are a jarring mixture of 3-D computer graphics, flat monochromatic artwork, and 2-D drawn animation. With its many explosions, mecha, scantily clad women, and underdog hero, Vandread is clearly aimed at adolescent boys with raging hormones, despite the male-bashing humor. Contains the first 4 of 13 episodes. Rated 13 Up: Nudity, violence, risqué humor. --Charles Solomon