Tylor OVA 2 |
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While putting together a batch of
OVAs based off of the T.V. series, the writers of Tylor
had a strange idea. Namely, a group of six episodes that
barely features the title character. A brave move,
although some would say maybe it was a little foolish.
The characters from Tylor have strong personalities,
personalities that you get to know throughout the course
of the TV series. Almost like in Patlabor, the characters
aren't your generic "stock types." All of them,
at this point, have fully fleshed-out personalities. But
will they be able to carry these episodes on their own? The answer is "kind of." While knowledge of the TV show really helps when it comes to understanding the characters, it's really not needed to watch these six episodes. The story starts by focusing on the members of the Soyokaze. With the war at a stalemate, both the Ralgon Empire and the Federation are waiting for the opposing side to make a move. Meanwhile, the members of the famous ship are now assigned to ground duty, or another similarly boring fate. Tylor himself is forced to do paperwork, not exactly fitting for a captain who doesn't do things by the books. The characters all take their own paths, and eventually meet up again when things with the Ralgon start to get a little sticky. The first OVA on this disc was probably my favorite out of the whole bunch. It deals with Alazlyn returning to a planet that the Ralgon does "business" with. There she meets a man who she was friends with in the past, but finds out that he's in a catatonic state after the death of his father. Her family caused the death of the man's father, and once again Azalyn's position as leader of the Ralgon gets in the way of her wish to have a normal life. There are some very nice scenes here, and I must say the music really carried this episode, but more on that later. The second OVA had to be my least favorite on the disc. It dealt with Kojiro, one of the most minor of the minor characters in Tylor. I don't understand why they didn't just throw him in the next episode with the marines, but then again, he was the only part of the crew from Tylor to represent the pilots. He meets up with a flying legend named Musashi(sort of an inside Japanese joke, as Kojiro and Musashi were legendary rival samurai), who has broken more records than Kojiro could ever have dreamed of. Kojiro ends up saving him, and the two find out just what their strengths really are, along with majorly ripping off a scene from The Right Stuff. This episode really wasn't a favorite of mine, mainly because Kojiro isn't that interesting of a character. This episode would have been a little more interesting if they would've thrown in Emi and Umi, as the twins and Kojiro play off of each other beautifully in the series. In the next episode, the marines are adjusting to their new lives. They're forced to put up with all new technology, learning that their old mechs are becoming obsolete. The new military mech is introduced, looking more like a Gundam than anything else. It was developed by a friend of Andressen's, someone who didn't like fighting but developed military weapons anyway. Soon after the unveiling of the new robot, it runs amok and the marines have to use old-school tactics to stop it. This episode was better than the second, but it still wasn't terribly interesting. The story seemed to be ripped of from a Patlabor TV episode and movie that I watched recently. While the marines are interesting characters, the whole "fish out of water" thing has been done to death. Still, it was pretty funny to see them try to take out a mech with blunt objects. Tylor finally appears in the fourth episode on this disc. Yuriko is looking for a date on Christmas Eve, and Tylor is the most obvious candidate. Tylor isn't exactly the most punctual guy in the world, so Yuriko ends up waiting a very long time. Meanwhile, Tylor runs into a little boy on the street that has no one to share Christmas with. On his way to see Yuriko, Tylor shares a little bit of the Christmas spirit with everyone, and Yuriko forgives him. Most of this story has been swiped from about eighty percent of all of the Christmas specials I've ever seen, yet I still enjoyed watching it. It's rare to see a Christmas episode of any anime series, so it was kind of nice to have something to play around the holidays. Nothing warms the heart quite as much as Christmas cheese. The last two episodes sort of act as a mini movie. These OVAs being more like the X Files than anything else, Yuriko is assigned to a job that puts her life in danger. Kidnaped by Ralgon agents, Yuriko's only hope is Yamamoto, who gets a lot of character development in these two episodes. Actually getting to be the hero for once, Yamamoto loses a little bit of his Buzz Lightyear attitude and his change towards the carefree attitude of Tylor is subtle, yet interesting. While I love suspenseful movies, this episode really didn't feel like an episode of Tylor, and that was my main problem with all of these OVAs. Perhaps I'm spoiled by having seen the wonderful TV series of Tylor, but something from all of these episodes seems to be missing. Namely, the carefree spirit of the show. The tone of these episodes is so serious, watching them made me long for the fun atmosphere of the TV series and the first OVA collection. In fact, after watching these six episodes I came to the conclusion that Yuriko is in desperate need of some anti-depressants. I do appreciate the fact that something new was done with these characters, but for some reason it all doesn't come together. I loved the first episode, but things really went downhill after that. Perhaps the writers of these episodes didn't realize something; these characters work best as a team. They're not boring characters, and their personalities are deep, but for some reason they just don't work too well on their own. The absence of Tylor didn't bother me as much as the blandness of some of the stories, especially Kojiro's. I compliment them for trying to do something new, but a show that gets an "A" for effort isn't exactly a good show. This second collection of OVAs were done a little bit after the first collection was completed(in Japan, anyway), so the entire original production team was not involved in the production of the OVAs. Even the character design was changed. My question is, "Why?" The original designs were much better, and much more "animated." These new designs are clean and realistic, but they lack that nifty late eighties/early nineties look of the original Tylor. Not to mention that the animation is much more stiff than it should be. The space battles are indeed awesome, but the character animation is a few steps below that of the TV series. The transfer on the DVD is great, and even a little better than that of the last DVD, given the fact that these episodes are a little newer. Everything is bright and clear, and even though I wasn't a big fan of the color palette the show used, I must admit that everything looked very nice. I can't go any further without mentioning the music. The one thing that the new Tylor staff changed for the better is the music of the OVA series. The original music was fun, but quite possibly one of the cheesiest and most eighties-sounding soundtracks out there(despite the fact that the show came out in the nineties). These OVAs have a real, orchestrated soundtrack, and I have to commend whoever composed the music for them. After finishing the DVD, I have to admit that I was sticking around during some episodes just to hear the music. Especially in the first episode, after watching you'll agree that the music makes the whole production a beautiful experience. It really made the changed atmosphere of the show apparent to me. The extras on this disc are very nice, and compliment the extras on the last disc very nicely. Included are some very nice and humorous music videos(animated by the old staff with the old character designs... sigh), along with very comprehensive liner notes by translation king Neil Nadelman. His notes made the episodes a lot more enjoyable, as I would read the liner notes after every episodes to see just what I missed or to have explained what I didn't understand. He also explains a lot about the time lines of the series, and included lots of information about the novels, something that most American anime fans don't have access to. The menu setup is exactly the same as the last disc, but I have to say that it's very attractive, despite not being very practical. The Right Stuf is becoming a real contender in the presentation department. While I love Tylor, I find this group of OVAs disappointing. The are some good moments, and two wonderful episodes, but it seems like the new staff doesn't understand just what Tylor is all about. The atmosphere is too serious, and there aren't enough fun "Tylor" moments to make this show really enjoyable. I expect a little more from Tylor, but perhaps I'm just spoiled after watching the entire TV series. Hopefully the OVAs can redeem themselves with the release of the final volume. - Bob Mackey |
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