| Blue
Submarine No. 6 |
|
| Based
on manga by: Satoru Ozawa
Director: Toshiyuki Inoue, Takeshi Honda
4 episodes in 4 volumes |
In
the near future, the polar icecaps have melted, the coastal lands have
flooded, and billions have died. Mutant man/animals have risen up against
humanity, which is fighting just to stay alive. This is all the work
of one man, Professor Zorndyke, a genius gone mad who for unknown reasons
has caused so much devastation. In the middle of all of this is the
submarine "Blue Submarine No. 6", of the Pacific Blue Fleet,
and her crew. They and what's left of the navies of the world are on
a last effort to defeat Zorndyke and his aquatic armies.
Blue
Submarine No. 6 stands out among OAVs in several ways. The fist, and
most obvious difference between Blue Sub 6 and other anime is the extensive
use of 3D computer animation. While this is done in other anime, a very
large portion, including every vehicle combat scene, is done in CG.
At times it can be a little disorienting switching between flat, 2D
animation and 3D graphics, but it doesn't take long to get used to it.
Zorndyke's mutant armies stand out as well, ranging from mutant animals,
to combat whales, to new races of mer folk. Zorndyke himself has a pretty
strong Dr. Moreau complex, complete with tropical village of beast-people.
Zorndyke's character is is creepy, with a calm even voice that makes
him sound completely insane. He also looks a little like Bill Gates,
which is even creepier.
Blue
Sub 6 has plenty of action, great visuals and sound, with a complex
story. On the downside, the story may be a little too complex for an
OAV, it would have done better with 6 rather than 4 episodes. Some of
the character motivations are left unclear, and the story seems a little
too compressed. Also, expect to shell out a lot of money for this OAV,
each episode is released as a separate DVD. There is also an edited
movie version available, that was shown on Cartoon Network. It might
be your best bet, as far as affordability goes.