Customer Reviews

Vandread - Enemy Engaged (Vol. 1)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I admit I was never a huge fan of anime shows. But one dull night at home and nothing else to watch on tv changed all of that. I couldn't find anything else to watch and I came across a few late night anime shows on Starz action channel. I would usually watch for a while just to pass the time. Until I saw Vandread. It was already near the end of the first stage but the episodes I saw were amazing! The story was interesting, with the women and men getting to know one another after years of being separated from the other and the 3D action was outstanding! It totally blew me away. Ever since then I watched the rest of the first stage and all of the second stage and it just kept getting better and better, I didn't want the series to end and I had to see how it all started so now I'm in the process of buying the series DVDs.

Unfortunately the DVDs don't really offer anything on them: all you get is a language choice (English & Japanese), English Subtitles, Scene Access, Promo videos, Design Gallery, Textless openings. Plus four episodes: Boy meets girl, And...I lost my way, This is the path I choose to live, I want to know more about you. Even though I love the episodes especially in letterbox version the DVD itself isn't worth twenty-six dollars.

But that's okay, I still want the entire series on DVD and will pay for it, the series is that good! LOL! It also turned me on to watching other anime shows like Inuyasha, cowboy bebop, et al on the cartoon network and other late night starz action channel anime shows. So I guess it opened up the world of Anime to me.

Vandread is a fun, unpretentious series that doesn't aim to be sophisticated. The loser hero, Hibiki, is found in many other anime shows, but this guy grows up to be a fighter. I admire this hotheaded fool for trying his best. Unlike in other boy-surrounded-by-girls shows, Hibiki eventually takes control over his predicaments. Some will find some annoying Shinji-like traits in this fellow--this show is another one catered to angry young men. Others will find the heroine, Dita, to be annoying--it depends on how much cuteness and idiocity you can tolerate. The assortment of other female cast members is among the best found in the multiple-girls anime genre.

If only the doctor Duero and the helmsman Bart can pilot Vanguards, things will become much more interesting. As it is, only Hibiki can combine with Dreads.
Though the CG designs, a major selling point of the show, are easily overtaken by those produced by American and Canadian studios, the execution of the space fights are so fast and the camera angles are so perfect that you know this can only be done in 3D. When it comes to moving CG camera angles, Gonzo studios is the best. So, if you're unashamedly male, buy this video. If you're female and really want to understand why men are so stupid, buy this video.

I like boy-meets-girl space themes with action and decent graphics, with slinky gals, occasional jiggling, people who aren't [bad], and this has them. I prefer anime where the genders mix and goofs happen and comedy occurs and sometimes there is heart break. The plot and story aren't necessarily new: Martian Successor Nadesico and a few other series have similar plot. There are pirates, transforming mecha, battles, glitzy affects, and so on just like others. But, it is told with enough original details to make it fresh (beleive me, I have watched a lot of shows, and a lot are pretty dull, so I won't say that without need).

Perfect? No. I am also looking for mature (not twisted nor peverted, just mature) themed anime along the lines of boy-and-girl-have-already-met-and-married-and-have-kiddies to get out of the kiddies in high-school level most are, but since most anime is intended for young kids and serial TV showing, I don't really complain that I don't find it. Series like these make the wait okay.

Nudity? Hmm, gotta look harder I guess. Haven't seen any real nudity in it. Maybe some of the reviewers haven't seen the show? (Or maybe they think of nudity as something other than really naked people?)

This series is hilarious! After being seperated for 3 generations, men and women are coming together again for the first time, which leads to some unintentional humor on thier part(like the second time a Vandread is formed, and the aftermath. I won't spoil it here, but it is too funny.)

The who whole thing is about discovering things about the opposite sex. Lots of cool space battles, lots of humor.(Male Doctor "She has a parasitic organism inside of her." Female navigator "No, I pregnant!")

All in all, a good series.

Just as with Gatekeepers and Blue Submarine No. 6, Gonzo has picked another winner of an anime. Gorgeous girls, cute guys, awe-inspiring machinery--and that's just the cast! The storyline is Boy Meets Girl with a definite twist that will be hard for the characters to completely overcome. The English dub is great--as a matter of fact, I PREFER it over the original Japanese. The original version is terrific as well, but there is just something about the English version that does the series justice. There is a good amount of action, but the focus of the story is really on how the characters interact with each other and their situation. Kudos to the makers of Vandread--my new favorite sci-fi series!

Gonzo, the production company, did an excellent job on the animation. The sequences are smooth and the "CG" blends well with the "standard" animation.
The premise is simple: men think women are evil, women think men are barbarians and untrustworthy. It's like going back to when I was in school and thought girls carried weird diseases. The interaction resulting from this makes the episodes entertaining, if not always hilarious.
After watching the episodes a few times, it became clear that the characters are being developed. Each has a personal history that slowly reveals itself and makes the interactions between them understandable. I look forward to finding out more as the series continues.
The situations are not overtly sexual in this series, but the theme is adult in nature. (One viewing of the end credits should be enough to get the idea.)

My personal view:
If you're a mature viewer that enjoys anime with flying machines and somewhat adult humor, you'll probably like this series. I'd place this series in a similar line as Tenchi and Love Hina.

Vandread is such a fun series to watch. The setting, which sees women and men separated between two warring planets, is just great for hilarious scenarios and good gags. The first season of Vandread (the first 13 episodes) stands very well by itself, and sets the stage for a great second season (which is currently running in Japan). This first volume is a great introduction to a really fun series.

For those of you who enjoyed Martian Successor Nadesico, think in terms of Akito like Hibiki the pilot who wanted to prove himself that he can pilot a mecha. Throw in an over hyper active female who has never met a male species before and watch as she meets Hibiki... then they chase each other around in a captiol spaceship that Hibiki snuck aboard to pilot a Vanguard... while an ambush of the female race that is dressed with alien battle uniform with highly technologically advanced weaponary is looking for her within this captiol ship... Hibiki who's called "Mr. Alien" by her soon finds out this female's name is Dita... though acknowledging his own history runs in sheer terror at the sight of this female... why? Well... check out this awesome Anime title and see for yourself!

Buy it, watch it, then wait for the rest because this series pays off. One of my favorite anime series alongside Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Hellsing, Gundam, and Evangelion. Aside from a plot that continually improves, characters that grow on you, a multitude of hysterical moments, and a pretty good mix of j-pop, this series leaves little to be desired.

When I heard it was made by the people who released 'Blue Sub 6', I had my doubts, but I bought it anyway. And I do not regret it. And this isn't some soft adorable anime (cough. pokemon, cough.), it contains alot of sex-based humor. This anime is a comedic satire dealing with differences between men and women.

Outstanding Points:
1) Adorable / Innocent / Energetic / Cute Female Characters
2) Music Is Exellent.
3) Voices Exellent, English Voices O.K.
4) Animation Exellent
5) 3D scenes kinda cheesey (the Final Fantasy movie is probably to blame for that).
6) GENIUS! I've been waiting SO long for a multi-episode dvd/vhs that does NOT include previews for the following episodes (ie a preview for episode 2 after episode 1 even though there's 5 episodes or so on a dvd). FINALLY!!!

Report Card:
Animation: A+
Vocal (sub): A
Vocal (dub): B
3D Scenes: C-
Music: A
Storyline: B+
Characters: A-
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Overall: A