SYNOPSIS:
Afraid of losing control and attacking Aki or the Space Knights, D-Boy finds himself paralyzed in battle. The team is rescued by Balzac, piloting the military's Powered Suit, the artificial Tekkaman, Sol. Then the invading Radam aliens step up their attack, and D-Boy can't transform into Tekkaman Blade. Noal and Aki step in to protect him.

Meanwhile, Tekkaman Evil searches the Earth for the escaped Tekkaman Rapier, who is really D-Boy's sister Miyuki. Miyuki ends up befriending Aki, and she is given a terrible choice. She can either keep her promise to wait for her brother, or sacrifice herself to protect her new friend from the assault of Tekkaman Axe, Lance and Sword.

This collects episodes 16 to 33 on 3 DVD discs.

REVIEW:
This arc really shines as space opera pure and true. With D-Boy imprisoned by the military and crippled by his own fears and doubts, he has become useless and unable to transform into Tekkaman Blade. He couldn’t have picked a worst time as Evil returns to attack the Allied Defense Forces base where D-Boy is being held. Only Aki’s words can reach D-Boy and he fights to reclaim his sense of self and rejoin the battle before it’s all too late.

There’s so much that happens in these episodes that it is packed with action, drama and pivotal events in this operatic sci-fi saga. You’ll witness the extent of Colbert’s insanity and how it leads to the potential destruction of the Allied Defense Forces headquarters. Also between battles with Tekkaman Evil, D-Boy’s sister Miyuki appears, and with her, he reveals to the Space Knights his tragic past and the secret to the Tekkamen and the Radam invasion.

The story only picks up speed from there. Now Evil is joined by three other Tekkamen to battle Blade and they’re willing to demolish the Space Knights’ base to do it! Wanting to help save her new friends and her brother, Miyuki is forced to make a painful decision, but will it be in time to save the base and everyone in it?

When the Radam makes a surgical strike against the planet, it ushers in a new story arc to the overall story of Blade and the Space Knights. With the Space Knights scattered, it is months before Blade is reunited with his comrades. Together they now travel the Radam ravaged Earth, coming across scattered remnants of humanity struggling to survive the Radam infestation. Together, the Space Knights now search for the crystals of the three Tekkamen that had joined Evil, in the hopes of using them to get to the moon and stop the Radam forces completely.

With all the suspense, action and excitement, this arc also affords some stand alone type episodes focusing on the supporting cast such as Noal, Levin and Balzac as they all travel the Earth and meet with various individuals who have deep impacts upon them. Levin’s story, completely new to fans as it was cut out of the English dubbed versions, provides some interesting insight into his/her character. As a man who dresses and emulates a female, some might mistake him for a cross-dressing gay man, however, this new episode reveals that perhaps he is in fact a transgender character who is really a female born as a man and trying to live out her life true to herself. It was a particularly touching episode. It is far from being the only new take on characters and the story many Western fans knew as the Teknoman Saga. As this is the original Japanese series shown for the first time uncut, uncensored and completely, many moments take on new nuances and more layers as the story is at last seen as it was originally intended. Also keep your eyes and ears open for the new opening and ending theme songs that show up on disc 5 of this set.

EXTRAS:
Bonus features include alternate opening and eyecatch animation, stock footage reel, promo reel, and previews of other Media Blasters titles.

IN SUMMARY:
Tekkaman Blade has hard hitting dramatic action, lots of melodrama and a great and inspiring sci-fi epic story line. Tekkaman Blade is space opera at its best.

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.

Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.6
AkoComment © Copyright 2004 by Arthur Konze - www.mamboportal.com
All right reserved

Did you enjoy this article? Please bookmark it onto: