Argentosoma
Bandai DVD
Review
by
: Matt
McConnel
Like
Arjuna, Argentosoma is very creative and pushes
the boundaries of an otherwise overused and boring genre in
anime. Drawing upon such antecedents as varied as Evangelion,
Frankenstein, and Macross, Argentosoma is very intresting
as a series and bears at least one viewing.
The back
of the box does not give much away. It simply talks about
Takuto and how an accident lands him in the care of FUNERAL
with the new name Ryu Soma. What is does not talk about is
perhaps as telling as what is does, while Ryu is the protagonist,
he is an anti-protagonist who joins FUNERAL merely as means
unto an end; namely, the destruction of the human made alien
robot EX-1. But perhaps some background is in order.
Apparently
the year is somewhere in the mid to late 21st century. The
exact year is never made explicit, but it is clear that things
have changed. Sometime in the 2040s, the Earth was attacked
by aliens that could only be described as giant robots. There
are different types, but they all seem to have one purpose.
They land, and destroy anything on their way to some unknown
location. Takuto is a metallurgy student who has dreams of
space travel; because the Earth is under attack, these dreams
have been quashed. Instead, he focuses his attention on his
work and his girlfriend Miki. She however, is engrossed in
her own work with a rather batty professor. When Takuto finds
out about the project, he is shanghaied onboard and then an
accident occurs. The professor had been building a piecemeal
alien from parts leftover from battles, and he was being funded
by the UN. Apparently, the UN decided against the project,
and instead of just cutting funding, they decide to bring
the entire base down around the abomination and the team.
Takuto is the only survivor, but he is badly hurt, and scarred
for life.
Then a
rather strange man in a lab coat who has a penchant for spouting
Shakespeare and the Bible shows up and offers him the opportunity
to destroy the robot that Takuto believes killed his girlfriend.
Takuto is given the name Ryu Soma and is entrusted to the
care of the private anti-alien organization known as FUNERAL
who has obtained the robot, calling it the EX-1, and a rather
odd young girl named Hattie who the robot is apparently inclined
to protect. Hattie has her own turbulent past, and she is
inclined to think of EX-1 as a fairy or elf that is her friend.
The whole
situation is a mystery of which the characters seem to know
more than the audience, but like any good mystery, just enough
is let go to string the viewer along. While it is hardly Christie
or Doyle, the mystery is nevertheless engaging, and commands
the viewer's attention. Similarly, while the pacing is slow
and a little plodding, the story is told in such a manner
that one must keep going to answer the questions. While the
show is nominally about Ryu's desire for revenge and FUNERAL
protecting the Earth, the real appeal is in the other story
and the questions it raises. Who is the madman who offered
Ryu the choice? What are the aliens and why are they trying
to go? Why does Hattie look like Ryu's dead girlfriend and
how does she know and love the same little song that Ryu and
Miki did?
The animation
is alright, nothing really to go gaga over. The designs however,
are very much thought out. The Ex-1 really does look like
a Frankenstein's monster, and the FUNERAL ships are very strange
compared to like mecha in other series. The character designs
are good, though they tend to fall into cookie cutter stereotypes.
There is the stolid American captain, the hot headed Brit,
the young but incredibly able pilot, etc, etc. The supporting
character's designs are practically lifted from other series,
and like their personalities really do not merit a second
glance. There are attempts to make them more rounded, but
they generally look futile. The extras are also not especially
spectacular, but Bandai did pack a full five episodes onto
disc one, so there is a trade off there I suppose.
The closest
comparison to anything recent that could be made is perhaps
Blue Gender, but thankfully Argentosoma lacks
the oppressive post-apocalypse tone of Blue. In Argentosoma,
humanity thrives the face of intermittent and not all entirely
effective alien attacks. Bandai has a real winner with this
one.
Email
Matt, our resident anime guru, here.
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