▪	RELEASED BY:		ADV FILMS
		▪	ASPECT RATIO:		16:9 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN
		▪	AUDIO:		ENGLISH AND JAPANESE DD 2.0
		▪	RUNNING TIME:		100 MIN
		▪	RATING:		TV MA
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		05/20/2008
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		05/18//2008
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		SCOTT CAMPBELL

Gorou Saruwatari and Lostman are mountain climbers who have ascended some of the highest mountains around the world. At the peak of Mount Everest, they see the ISA Space Station in the sky above and become determined to go into space. At the same time, NASA begins a program to research and obtain a new energy source which has been discovered on the moon. Gorou and Lostman attempt to join the program through different approaches: Lostman becomes a pilot and Gorou takes a job as a construction worker.

As the story continues in volume three of the series, a number of different main characters and sub-characters are thrown further into the complex agenda of the International Space Association as they ready themselves for space exploration, and the equipment they will use there. Gouro spends a number of episodes entwined in a conspiracy related to a new two-legged moon walker he is testing on for the ISA. The walker never seemed right from the beginning, and all throughout the actual physical testing of it, the walker would fall over without too much trouble. This appears strange to Gouro, who knows that the walker was effective and fine in testing on a computer, so it doesn’t make sense as to why it would be so faulty in a real-life walking situation. During one of the tests, the moon walker falls really suddenly, and a worker is caught underneath it and dies from his injuries. Everyone working on the project is hugely pained by the accident and a lot of them lose faith in their work and the guilt that they feel over having someone die because of the machine they built is too much. Gouro doesn’t quite buy it though, and thinks there is something up – he’s the one who was piloting it, so he has a different sense of the situation. There is actually a cover-up relating to the walker and how it was built – it was built with faulty data on purpose to extend its testing phase. A certain official that everyone thought they could trust was actually sabotaging the project so that more funds would be needed, but he was actually keeping those assets for himself. It goes deeper then that, but any more information on this subplot would ruin the story. The volume finishes up with some frightening elusions to all-out war soon to take place on the moon as soldiers are trained and tested for space combat on the moon surface. It looks like things are going to get very interesting, very quickly.

Animation and art style wise, Moonlight Mile is fairly advanced and mature and still continues to impress with each new episode. Characters look closer to being based on actual human form, and a bit less like the large eyed, anime style that we know and love from our less serious favorite series in the anime world. This particular anime is going more for a “primetime drama” look and feel – if we were in Japan, this show might steal the time slot away from Grey’s Anatomy or something of the like. The animation is fluid and varied – the settings are so varied, so we get to see a lot of different aspects of style and light effects, and all that good stuff. We’re whisked off to everywhere from barren snowy mountains, to large cities, and even into outer space on moon landscapes and beyond. The use of facial expressions and the intensity of the animation in general really helps to convey all the drama and the emotions that this anime constantly brings to the forefront – it can get very intense and on-edge more often than not. This anime also makes really good use of computer graphics to add to the great look and feel of the animation when the CG is blended in with the tradition animation. The use of CG for a lot of the mechanical objects, robot soldiers, etc. is very fitting and looks great. Not every show can integrate CG animation into the works successfully, but Moonlight Mile most certainly knows how to handle itself. It’s reminiscent of Planetes and even “Magnetic Rose” from Memories (excellent!) – it is intelligently crafted science fiction with an understanding of the harshness of space and what is just beyond our understanding.

Story wise, this show is quite interesting – it doesn’t rush anything in relation to us being taken right to space and beyond, it takes the time to introduce the characters and let us know what they are all about first. It’s certainly character driven with a lot of back story and intrigue. Each episode alludes to many possibilities and leaves you hanging, wondering what could possibly come next. As for content, it’s not just the intelligence of portions of the story and writing that make this anime the mature title that it is. There is actually a fair bit of foul language, a bit of blood here and there, and even the odd semi-graphic sex scene thrown in. This is not a show for kids – I’d even venture that it’s most certainly a 16+ title. It’s just a very adult drama – it’s not trying to hide anything or make itself or its characters out as being saints, because they most certainly are not. All in all, it’s pretty intense throughout. Whether it be something violent, or something dramatic with a time limit quickly ticking away, or just an interpersonal disagreement with envious motives – Moonlight Mile has plenty of story and plenty of punch when it comes to entertaining us and keeping us interested enough to watch the next episode without stopping for a break. Just to throw it in there, it must be mentioned that the opening sequence is really great, and completely alludes to how this anime becomes a very out of control epic in later episodes.

EXTRAS:
The disc extras include a clean opening, a clean closing, ADV previews, and DVD credits.

IN SUMMARY:
Moonlight Mile is a suspenseful and gripping anime series from the moment it begins, and rarely lets up. It’s wonderful to see some more “mature” series being produced for us kids who refuse to grow up and stop watching animation – Moonlight Mile is a saving grace for those people.

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