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<< The VANDREAD Cast (From Right) Hibiki Tokai, Diita, Meia, and Jura VANDREAD is a futuristic, post-holocaust story where there are two empires: the Men's Planet Taraku and the Women's Planet Mejeiru. The societies of both are composed only of one sex and procreate asexually. Because there have been various rumors about how each empire lives, the men of Taraku think that the women once held their empire in ruin and eat their livers. They built Ikazuchi, (Thunder) a powerful ship that holds a lot of "banggeta" or powerful mechas to fight the women.

A third-class citizen named Hibiki Tokai however, manages to move into the Ikazuchi and get a hold of one banggata. However, in that crucial time, the women from Mejeiru, skilled as pirates, capture the Ikazuchi. Their ships are called Dreads and mistakenly calling the "banggatas" as Vanguards try to find the secret of Taraku technology. A new enemy wishing to harvest humans is now a threat whether they be man or woman. Hibiki Tokai though has managed to successfully man a banggeta and defeat enemies. Diita, a happy-go-lucky perky girl aboard her Dread, is very fond of Hibiki Tokai (calling him Mr. Alien). The merger of the Vanguards and the Dreads produce a more powerful enemy. Will this defeat the common enemy? Because there is a Vandread: Second Stage continuing on WOWOW, Noodle-chan will not post a review on Okashi simply because the Second Stage just continues the saga where the first season left off. In other words, the series is NOT YET COMPLETED to warrant a review. The overwhelming success of the first season in 2000 warranted a second stage in the succeeding year. The first season actually ended with a hanging question regarding the new enemy. It is now being resolved today in the second season. The same characters in the same season are still on Vandread: Second Stage, plus the addition of a new character named Misty who will give much needed information on the enemy and its plan for the "harvest." Produced by Gonzo, the same producers who gave you Gatekeepers, expect full mecha nonstop action on this one. Innovation is most definitely promising in that all the battles are done in 3DCG! Looking at the CG however, I find the effects a bit raw although it delivers substantial effects and details in the mecha design. Considering however, the length of the series, compositing and rendering too many 3DCG battles can take too much work compared to most extensively budgeted movies. What will make you see this though is the intriguing concepts such as the merger of the Vanguards and the Dreads, as well as the story where both man and woman discover the secrets and ways of living of each other.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CREDITS: October - December 2000. Takeshi Mori (director). Gonzo. WOWOW. Second Stage: October 5, 2001 until this time. Media Factory, G.D.H., Gonzo.

<< Houshin Engi Senkaiden Houshin Engi is an anime based on a Chinese legend of the same name. This one however has a lot of intriguing magical characters that never cease to amaze. Two storylines merge into one. The first volume is about to released on December 18, 2001. See the review here >>> - Previews by Firesenshi.