 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | ADV FILMS | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 4:3 FULL SCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | ENGLISH DD 5.1 AND JAPANESE DD 2.0 | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 90 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | TV PG | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 04/01/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 03/31/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | SCOTT CAMPBELL |
You just can’t stop this one – Project Blue Earth SOS has this certain flare to it that just makes you go: “This is pretty cool – this anime has such a unique sense of style and presentation to it.” It’s like a 1950’s future world with all sorts of other influences that are hard to place, but are all so wonderful to look at. The story is also completely engrossing and entertaining, so it’s hard to know just where to start raving about it yet again with the delivery of volume two!
The unknown enemy that is targeting the human population of Earth is nowhere near done. They are unafraid of the human capabilities to defend the planet, in fact they seem to almost laugh and toy with the characters in relation to the upcoming invasion of the entire world. The second volume opens up with almost immediate tragedy all over the planet – the aliens make terrorist-like attacks against multiple targets in hopes of ruining the moral of the people they wish to control and perhaps even destroy entirely. In an odd turn of events, the terrorists who deliver the explosives to various targets are human beings! They are all people that have at one time been involved in a disappearance in space or during an accident or attack by the unknown alien forces. This leads us to believe that the aliens have actually been kidnapping these various people and brainwashing them into thoughtless puppets to do the bidding of their alien captors. In an even further twist, one of the bombers is Penny’s long lost father who disappeared years ago in a shuttle launch accident. Penny’s parents were actually both astronauts who were thought to have been killed in the shuttle launch that would have taken them into space. It is surprising and disorienting for him to see his father return to Earth like this when he thought he was dead, and only to find him dead yet again as he is killed by the bomb blast from the payload that he himself delivered to a top secret hanger containing a new man-made fighter. Penny deals with this odd occurrence as other disappeared persons return with silver suitcase filled with some very serious explosives. The aliens target G-reactor based weapons and technologies all over the globe. Billy gets to work right away on a solution to the problem as usual – he is hard to “get down” – he always has a lot of spunk and “go get it’ attitude. He develops a set of technologically advanced goggles that allow the wearer to see alien energy being emitted from those people who have been brainwashed and are being controlled. Billy and the crew set out to the next possible terrorist target and wait for their prey – in another heart-wrenching turn of events, the next brainwashed human to show up is actually Penny’s mother. He is overcome with a want to stop her, but to try to talk her out of what she is doing. It’s futile though as she is completely gone in her head and remembers nothing and no one. Her attempt to set off the bomb is foiled, and she almost falls to her death, but Penny catches hold of her hand. She actually tries to kill him because it isn’t really “her” inside her body, but she is shot through the chest and then does fall to her death in quite a bloody splat. This show does have it’s many cute and fun moments, but it is coming more and more apparent that it will have many sad moments also – this show is getting more serious for sure. Penny has to again deal with the death of his mother for a second time, and it’s difficult to watch. It’s such a strange situation – there’s no way he could have ever prepared himself for it. As if that wasn’t enough, the aliens soon after cause a world-wide blackout and the human population is left in absolute panic. The newest and biggest space warship that is being tested in outer space also loses power and is stranded with little hope of the crew surviving on their limited air supply. Billy’s father decided to go along on the test, as he had paid for much of the development of the ship – so that causes a lot of upset and panic in Billy and his friends. The warship must be rescued by any means possible, but does Billy have what it takes emotionally, and resource-wise to bring his father back? It’s quite the nail-biting little romp to say the least. The animation is still top-notch – no question about that at all. The colors and the vibrancy of the animation is just so cool and eye-catching – it just pops like nothing else. It is beautiful feature film quality animation being used in a television series – you just can’t ask for much more than that. If it hasn’t been mentioned before, the music in this series is excellent and even worth buying a soundtrack for – it’s very reminiscent of Cowboy Bebop and the great jazzy soundtrack that anime contains itself. The mechanical designs behind everything from buildings, to machines, to vehicles is all done with more imagination and style than most anime coming out right now – it’s really pretty special in its way. People who appreciate this sort of thing will fall in love with this series right away and will know exactly why. It just shines in so many ways – it’s a pretty cool story with eye-popping visuals around every corner. EXTRAS:
Clean Opening Animation, ADV Previews, and DVD Credits. IN SUMMARY:
Project Blue Earth SOS is becoming more varied and full of twists and turns with each new episode. What looked like a perhaps more “kids to teens title” is gaining more respect as it showcases nail-biting drama that many adults will appreciate whole-heartedly. Visually beautiful, with an imaginative storyline with many nostalgic influences that just make this whole package pretty awesome.
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