Sunday, October 24, 2010

Video Backlog: "Glass Fleet"

Publisher: Funimation (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English Subtitles
Length: 26 Episodes x 24 mins
Production Date: 2006
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

Story Outline: The start of a war begins in a far flung galaxy where Holy Emperor Vetti Lunard Sforza de Roselait has to fight off the People's Army, led by a noble named Michel Volban de Cabelle. However the People’s Army are no match for the Holy Imperial Army. A saviour comes in the disguise of a space pirate called Cleo. He and his ship which bears the crest of the old Royal Family attacks and forcibly takes control of Michel’s ship. An uneasy partnership begins and Cleo reluctantly joins the People’s Army to fight against the oppressors in his nearly undefeatable glass-like battleship. But both Cleo and Vetti unwittingly share a common bond.

Mini Review: There are a lot of great ideas in this show and the plot is quite good. The big problem is the execution. First I think the show does take a while to reach full speed. Once it does it’s a decent ride, but then falters. Some of the characters are bit clichéd (did we really need the maid?) and some have annoying catchphrases and traits which get really old fast. The animation quality also takes a massive dip mid-way through. Lots of really off model animation. I note that a fair wack of the animators are Chinese. Not saying they're bad, but even the Korean animators are top notch and beat the Japanese at their game now days (OK, maybe I am saying Chinese animators are crap...). The designs are pretty good, though the inconstancies in technology really got up my nose. Shoji Kawamori and Kazutaka Miyatake were the mecha designers, and they have produced some quite good work here. Summing up, yeah it’s like “Rose of Versailles” and “Legend of Galactic Heroes” mashed together, but nowhere as good as either show. Mediocre with flashes of greatness occasionally. 6 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 17 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

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