Armored Troopers Votoms

Despite its age, Armored Trooper Votoms is still very solid.

by Peter Cahill

The copyright is thirteen years old. Once you accept that, the rest is either explained or forgiven. Let's not pull punches, a decade is a long time in the anime business. Both the stories and the animation have grown more sophisticated and more appealing. When is the last time you actually said "Wow!" during a G-FORCE episode? This series' animation looks as if the viewer were through the manga at a slightly accelerated rate.
Now, throw everything I have just said out the window. Not because it is false; the series is old and it shows. But it does not matter. This really is classic anime. The story line is solid, engaging, and just as bleak as can be. (Where would anime be without all those great anti-heroes?)
The action sequences are not as slick as something like MACROSS PLUS, but they are not meant to be. They should not be. This is a more gritty look at war. Speed and seat-of-your-pants flying are not the heart and soul of AT VOTOMS. Angst, betrayal, and revenge are.
And there is plenty of action! Aside from the narration scene and the really big explosions, the first episode has an "up close and personal" body count of about forty. And our hero, Chirico, is not blasting away ugly aliens who threaten his loved ones. He is shooting friendly troops, and half the time he doesn't even know why!
So, duped into criminal acts, betrayed, tortured, and now hunted by both the bad guys and the not-quite-as-bad guys, Chirico has thoroughly lost his innocence and is looking for some payback. How is that for an anti-hero? Clint Eastwood would've loved to direct this show!
Most Renaissance plays are not as downright cool as INDEPENDENCE DAY. But like them, this show has enough tragedy, violence, and questionable morality to make up for the age difference. At the risk of sounding like a high school English teacher, I think this series will help you build a solid grounding in the anime classics. See it. We will discuss it on Monday's class.

DIRECTOR/ORIGINAL STORY: TAKAHASHI RYOSUKE
SUNRISE / EMOTION VIDEO, ¥42000 (Box Set)