Blue Submarine No. 6 |
 | Summary:Combination CGI/traditional cel anime follows a crew of pilots in a battle against hostile sea creatures. Despite some innovative effects and fast-paced action, It's worn-premise, flat dialouge and uneven score throws off some. |
| Title Aka: | Aono Rokugo |
| Company/Distributors: | Emotion;Toshiba EMI;Gonzo;ZRO Limit Productions;Bandai Visual |
| Year: | 1998 |
| Length: | 4 Episode Series |
| Rating: |  |
| Genres: | Science Fiction, Action |
| Format: | OAV Series |
| Content Level: |
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| Comments: | N/A |
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Synopsis:
-In the near future, the world is a vast technological wasteland, one plagued to the endless depths of water which cover every corner of the planet; as well as an unseen futile enemy powerful enough to destroy the Earth, and what is left that dwells upon it. "Blue Submarine No. (Number) 6" is an epic environment envisioned by "Mahiro Maeda" and one which is visually brought to the screen through the efforts of the visionary "Shoji Kawamori" (Macross Plus, Cowboy Bebop). It is a story much seen in retro sci-fi, as well as vintage "Hollywood" action films like "Waterworld". Though surprisingly enough, the series still manages to level out that same anime magic fans have come to know; it is what makes a worn-premise worth watching after all. The story begins with the hostile "Zorndykes", powerful and deadly creatures which enhabit the ocean depths and rise to the surface to plague the human race with destruction. Though nobody at first realizes the reasons behind this. With a new war and battle erupting within the depths and the land, mankind is now placing all it's hopes in a new advanced water-vessel "Blue Submarine No. 6". The crew of this new vessel is led by a team of talented and willing soldiers. One of which is "Mayumi Kino", a young and willing pilot. Her job is to re-recruit a man named "Tetsu Hayami" to blue six. Hayami refuses the job, despite the fact that his old comrad is now the captain of the vessel. Frustrated, Mayumi returns without Hayami. They encounter one another once again, after Mayumi finds herself in a struggle with the Zorndykes. Hayami rescues her, and he is soon re-joined. Now Hayami and Mayumi must work with the crew of blue six to once again bring peace to the Earth. And perhaps even finding a new hope for starting over the planet as it once was. However, this will not at all be easy with the Zorndykes not far behind.
Review:
A fairly straightforward plot and palpable characters make "Blue Submarine No. 6" an almost good anime. From the start we already notice some problems dealing in dramatic and storyline presentation. Indeed, blue submarine is no masterpiece; this is of course a plot we all have seen The series is classified as action-thriller, though often sequences seem random and out of place. This results in a storyline which lacks any suspense or excitement. The lackluster action doesn't help to better serve the story. And it doesn't do any good attempting to do so either. Technically speaking, the series is a sort of gamble. While utilizing traditional cel, Blue Submarine No. 6 contains a high amount of CGI; which is not always the most artistic and high-quality method to present a storyline in animation. Merely considering the "pasty look" of the character designs (Also by Kawamori) matted against CGI which is hardly matching in some segments. Overall, it matches pretty well in presenting a unique visual look; something which the animators cannot achieve by mere cel. Perhaps the vision of blue submarine could not have been achieved by mere cel animation alone. Dazzling, yes; but is it great?...probably not, at least by my standards of a good anime. The artistic rendering of Japanese animation is known for being achieved by work in fluid cel, by combining images; animators utilize different styles in order to envision the ideals of the director. In this case, I feel "Maeda" is out of place in this presentation. Most everything about it is lackluster in every sense. Though the effects are often striking, the series fails to obtain any energy throughout; it goes into a sort of daze which offers little or no entertainment value. Though in the end I feel it's more a matter of preference. The series is simply not appealing enough to reach a wide audience. But blue submarine may be good enough for some's standards. The only other factor is the highly inappropriate and mismatched score for blue 6, which actually is most annoying in my opinion. If you are impressed by the crisp CGI effects, go on ahead and watch the series; since you may be entertained regardless of some paper-thin story content elements. These aspects cannot at all save Blue Submarine No. 6, from sinking all the way to the bottom as a storyline. One that can't survive multiple viewings, let alone a single one; despite some influential artists behind the production itself. Click Here To See Overview! |
before. The most amazing thing about the series is that (Like most) it somehow manages to remain considerably interesting throughout. This is probably due to the fact of the impeccable talents of legendary anime icons like "Kawamori". Though blue submarine has a unique production style all it's own, "Maeda's" noticable problem with this series is that he does not really succeed in presenting a gripping enough storyline in addition to this technical design. Though it may often be technically appealing, Blue Submarine No. 6 does contain it's share of flaws. It's a story of self discovery, peace, war and hate towards a race which inflicts destruction. The characters must learn how to cope with one another in order to defeat their enemies. The plot in blue submarine often fails to do justice to it's characters. Characters whom are underdeveloped, uninteresting and downright boring at times. Blue Submarine No. 6 is basically formulaic sci-fi, and what the series fails to achieve with this approach in storytelling, is that it simply does not work by presenting the characters in this mannor. The series fails to display any character depth within the on-going story. But instead, "Maeda" has given us a war epic with a clustered sci-fi feel. Blue Submarine often doesn't know how to distinguish it's storyline motives with it's character development. I feel this series works better as segments of other parts of series. Which is why it doesn't seem to connect very well. The director can simply not cram an extensive comic into a four part OAV. Or at least be as effective as some more greater achievments by these artists, such as "Macross Plus"; which was indeed vastly superior.