Anime Review: Armored Trooper VOTOMS

Hello:
	Well it's been a while since I sat down to watch any anime. (the
last
time was when I watched the 1st series of LotGH for the THIRD time
straight)  I figured I would give Armored Trooper VOTOMS a try.  Since
none of my local rental places didn't have it, I bought a copy of Volume
1 (Uoodo City) from my local game store. (If it turned out to be a
bomb... well... Caveat Emptor.)  Upon getting home, I popped some corn,
poured myself a whisky and soda, tossed the tape into the VCR and
watched....
	Very, very good!
	Like all GOOD anime (and a certain American science fiction
program I
could name), ATV appears to have an well-constructed story arc.  The
three episodes on Volume 1 kept opening up  question after question: Who
was that naked girl in the tube? (Grrrowllll... Hold on!  I better get
ahold of myself.  I'm getting hot over a cartoon character!")  Why is
she so important?  What is going to happen?
	For a tech stance, ATV is a very low tech universe.  I like
that.  That
means there is less PSB to deal with which means you don't have to
suspend your disbelief more than you have to.  BTW, I think I know where
a certain Canadian game company got the inspiration for the mecha in
their giant robot game.  (IMHO, imitation still is the highest form of
flattery.)
	Animation style was pretty good.  It's not Akira or Ghost in the
Shell,
but it's certainly not Speed Racer.  Music was nothing to write home
about.	If I could remix the musical score, I'd add lots of alternative
and heavy metal (no pun intended.)  The series uses the original
Japanese dialogue with subs.  Is it my imagination, or is anime better
when it's subtitled instead of a having a new english dialogue dubbed
in?
	We've got a lot of conversion potential here for DSII and SGII. 
There
is some space combat, but I haven't seen enough to justify a FT
conversion.  I've also picked up R. Talsorian's ATV RPG.  Although I'm
not a role-player, the book contains great info on the ATs and other
vehicles of the ATV universe that could easily be put to work for
wargaming purposes.  This is one universe I'm going to convert for Mecha
Carnage.
	It's going to be a little while till I can pick up the next
volume the
series.  I've got a few bills to pay first.  However, this is one series
I am definitely adding to my collection.
	I give Armored Trooper VOTOMS: 3-and-a-half stars out of a
possible 4.
-- 
Later,
Mark A. Siefert

	"I know I'll make it, love can last forever
	Graceful swans of never topple to the earth
	And you can make it last, forever you
	You can make it last, forever you"

				     --Smashing Pumpkins
				     "Thirty-Three"

cthulhu@csd.uwm.edu		 http://www.uwm.edu/~cthulhu/index.html
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