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Oct 25, 2023
This OVA is probably worth watching for Tylor fans, and anyone generally interested in classic anime, but one should be prepared for disappointment. The first episode sets up high hopes of more galactic intrigue and shenanigans, but the plot takes a nosedive right after the first episode, squandering the majority of this series in banal filler. At the very end, the plot threads set up at the beginning resume (in a jumbled way), and things seem to be finally heading towards a satisfying climax, only to be cut off right before the critical action begins. It's a frustrating conclusion to a mixed series.
Why would I
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say it's worth watching, then? The most obvious selling point is the production value. Even through all the filler episodes, the art and animation are beautiful. The sombre orchestral soundtrack evokes a more serious, cinematic feeling. The real problem is the writing and direction. I want to know why they decided to put these amazing resources of production into filler, rather than following the plot. I have a feeling that this was a sort of experimental vision, to try and create something more serious and reflective in the Tylor story world. Perhaps it was with the best of intentions, but I feel that this vision sacrificed a lot of the core things that make Tylor work as a story. Tylor himself barely appears in the OVA. If he were a real actor, and not paint on a cel, I'd think they had some kind of contract dispute with him, forcing them to tell side stories about the other characters and put the main story on ice.
I think my frustration comes from this having some sparks of greatness in it. Maybe the best way to watch this would be to look at it like an art book, or a series of sketches, creative possibilities. There are some neat moments in the OVA, even if it doesn't come together as its own story. In terms of narrative satisfaction, probably the best thing to do would be to watch the movie-length first episode, then pretend that nothing else was ever made after that. In that sense it's much like the second season of Twin Peaks: a strong beginning that carries on important plot threads that then dissolve into confusing filler that leads to an unsatisfying finale. Well, that undersells this OVA, because even with all its flaws, the last four episodes were better than the travesty of Twin Peaks Season 2.
Maybe a better analogy would be something like The Thief And The Cobbler. There are seeds of a story here and flashes of brilliance, bogged down by poor vision of one kind or another. Like that much-abused film, this OVA needs a fan edit to clarify the real story whose bones are sketched out but never fleshed out. Unfortunately, any fan edit would need to also somehow produce some new scenes to bring the story to a climax. So it's most likely only going to exist in the imagination, unless some divine combination of fine retro animation and fan patronage can be achieved.
Come to think of it, now, there are a lot of parallels from the time period this was made. Nadia had an even more notorious second arc, and even though that show pulled things together in the end, it never recovered fully from the damage its filler arc did to itself. 3x3 Eyes is another very cool early 90s anime with a fantastic first act and a very shaky second act. Is this some kind of lesson from the 90s anime scene? That to achieve such heights, we have to be willing to accept failure? If so, it's worth it to have these failures, since the high points are so transporting, so unique, so special.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Nov 8, 2018
Royal Space Force is one of the most unique animes I've ever seen. It's certainly flawed, and narratively it didn't really come together for me, but it has this outstanding quality as a pure creative endeavor that allowed me to enjoy it regardless.
The art is just spectacular. The level of detail, vividness, and imagination is something rare and special. The strongest part of this movie, for me, was probably its visual design. How often do you get to see a unique and thoroughly imagined alternate world portrayed so faithfully? I wish the story had told us more about that world. Unfortunately, most things are left
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fairly vague and unexplored. There's a lot of untapped potential here. Longform storytelling is hard, and I think this film would have been much more effective as a short, rather than a feature-length.
The relationship between the two main characters has some interesting subtlety, but is never really explored, like pretty much all the characters themselves. I was disappointed by how distant all the people in this film felt. I had a hard time relating to anyone, and never felt like I really knew or understood anyone's motivations. For a film going for more of a serious and philosophical tone, this seemed like a big oversight. The philosophy itself was presented in a fairly ham-fisted way, as well. It would have been more compelling if they could have illustrated their points more, instead of having characters yak about them. Oh well.
One other lacking aspect was the music. Loud, clunky synthesizers drag down otherwise perfectly fine moments, or create a confusing tone. One thing that puzzled me about this film is the tone itself -- I wasn't ever sure how I was supposed to be feeling at a given point in the story. Some scenes seem to be a weird mashup of screwball comedy and serious drama. A strong feeling of ennui pervades Royal Space Force, dampening the enthusiasm and fighting spirit that might otherwise shine through in a film about an underdog space program. Perhaps I'm missing the point of what they were going for, but I just had a hard time figuring out what exactly that point was, aside from the obvious: war is bad, humans have the capacity for evil, human priorities are often inverted. These are fair points to explore, but this film just stays on the surface, and never really explores them, simply presents them over and over again.
I had a hard time figuring out how to rate this. I loved the visuals and the worldbuilding, and didn't like much else. But there's a certain je ne sais quoi to Royal Space Force -- you can feel the creative energy behind it, and the world is rendered so compellingly that it's a pleasure to exist in it, even if the story taking place there isn't that great. It's impressive as a feat of imagination, and it's also impressive considering the inexperience of GAINAX at the time. I don't think it really holds together as a story, but as a creative work, it's certainly something worth experiencing.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 29, 2018
This felt to me like a long, lower-budget, weak episode from the Dirty Pair TV series. Production values seem lower across the board. Art is much rougher, though there are a couple nice backgrounds. Musical numbers are okay, but generally forgettable. The main weakness is the writing. Very little is explained as to why anything is happening; with all the surreal sequences mixed in, it just feels like a bad trip. Like a couple of the weaker episodes from the series, it feels like the elements of the story are all there in a rough form, but loosely jumbled together, like the writers didn't get
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enough time to revise and refine their ideas. The pacing is very wacky; there are several moments where something serious or deeply disturbing happens, followed immediately by some light-hearted comedy, which just comes off as jarring. Character motivations are also often confusing. Instead of problem-solving, like they usually do, the Dirty Pair ("Lovely Angels!!") seem to spend this entire OVA simply running around, while (often rather unpleasant) things happen around or to them. All this, combined with a more serious tone that cuts into the characteristic lighthearted charm of the TV series, makes this OVA kind of a drag.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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