Vandread ヴァンドレッド (Vandread) Genre Space Opera, Science Fiction, Mecha, Ecchi, Comedy, Romance TV anime Directed by Takeshi Mori Studio GONZO Network Original run 3 October 2000 – 19 December 2000 No. of episodes 13 TV anime : Vandread: The Second Stage Directed by Takeshi Mori Studio Gonzo Network Original run 10 October 2001 – 18 January 2002 No. of episodes 13 Vandread (ヴァンドレッド, vandoreddo?) is an anime series directed by Takeshi Mori and created by GONZO and Media Factory animation studios. Vandread, as a science-fiction space opera anime, aims to combine elements of action, romance, ecchi, comedy, and mecha space combat. This anime presents a mix of comedy ranging from slapstick to subtle humor. Vandread also utilizes well-animated characters and cleanly rendered CG action sequences. The Vandread series is composed of two seasons (Vandread, released in 2000 and Vandread: The Second Stage, released in 2001), each composed of thirteen episodes of twenty-five minutes. The first series is summarised in the Vandread Taidouhen OVA of 2001, and the second in the Vandread Gekitouhen ("Turbulence") OVA, released in 2002. Contents 1 Plot 2 Characters 2.1 The Women 2.2 The Men 2.3 The Perxis 3 Mechas 4 Songs 5 External links Plot Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. Set in a universe where men and women are completely segregated (on completely different planets, Mejale by the women, Tarak by the men), the gender wars are more than just a metaphor. Hibiki Tokai, a 3rd class laborer, takes up a bet to steal a high-tech humanoid robot, known as a Vanguard, from the male attack force about to fight the "evil females". Caught onboard when it takes off, the ship is rapidly attacked and all males evacuated, with the exception of Hibiki, Duelo McFile, and Bart Garsus. Stuck onboard the damaged warship with female pirates all around, things seem to have hit an all time low until the retreating males fire a rather large torpedo at the ship to prevent it from falling into women's hands. Perxis, the core of the ship, a mysterious crystalline entity, protects itself by eradicating the missile, forming a wormhole sending the pirates and warship to a distant sector, and fusing the large warship with the female craft. This results in a quirky ship with very smooth lines, a host of technical problems, which episodes are often aimed at solving, and various hidden capabilities that become apparent in later episodes. The "Vanguard/Bangaata" Hibiki attempted to steal has also been altered along with three of the women's fighters, known as Dreads, allowing the separate ships to combine. The fusion of Hibiki's mech with one of the fighters is called a Vandread, the title mecha of the series. In this alternate, futuristic universe men and women consider each other to be completely separate species (Hibiki gains the nickname "Mr. Alien" from Dita Liebely, one of the many female leads), and the three put up with much abuse at the hands of their female captors, but gradually make their presence accepted: Hibiki as a mecha fighter and technician, Duelo as a skilled doctor and engineer, and Bart as the ship's helmsman and navigator. The story of the season is the trip to the system where Mejare and Tarak are located from the distant sector. Along the way, the crew encounters strange, robotic creatures that are both enigmatic and rather Borg-like, though they do not communicate at all. The subsequent battles provide the action sequences for the first two seasons, with the setup for a third season being quite clear. After a few fights with the unknown enemy, the crew manages to take some data sample from a desert planet. The data is read out. "Blood platelets, white blood cells, red blood cells..." The whole crew is stunned. Their enemy kills people and then harvests the body parts from them. Not only this, but a later encounter with the flagship of the "Harvester", as it is called, fleet reveals that the robots were sent on their mission by the people of Earth, the world which colonized Mejare, Tarok, and countless other planets. Some time later at the start of the second season, they rescue an escape pod from the enemy. The pod contains a girl called Misty Cornwell from Pluto, the last planet in the Earth system to be harvested, and a virus which enters the ship's systems. When the correct passcode, the sound of an infant's cries, is entered, the virus shuts down and the crew is given access to the hidden data that the pod brings. Following the initial drive to colonize, pollution has devastated Earth, making any life on the planet impossible. Huge metal gears now cover the Earth's stratosphere in an attempt to create a living environment for people in massive structures surrounding the planet. Earth's people, alone and dying on a toxic planet, begin to question the humanity of the colonists. Eventually, they convince themselves that only the inhabitants of Earth are human, and all other humans exists solely to ensure their continued existence. Their solution is to send out the Harvesters, fleets of machines created from the same basic material as the Nirvana's core. The Harvesters raid and dominate colonies to obtain body parts and with technology the Earthlings replace their own dying body parts, becoming immortal through the lives of others. Mejare and Tarak are targeted to be harvested for human sexual organs. Along the way the crew meet people targeted for their skin and for their spinal cords, as well as unidentified parts from some planets. Now fighting is not just about defeating the enemy and surviving. They need to rush back to their homeworlds in time to warn their planets. But will the leaders of the planets listen to their almost impossible tale? Characters The Women Dita Liebely is one of the female co-leads that is romantically involved with Hibiki. From the start, she refers to him as "Mr. Alien" ("Uchuujin-san"), while Hibiki refers to her as "UFO Girl". Dita has a bubbly lively personality that usually shows in almost every aspect of life, even when she is fighting (at first, refers to the enemy as "bad aliens"). She admits to having feelings for Hibiki since she met him (love at first sight?). She has reddish brown hair that grows almost all the way to the floor (approximately below the knee). When her Dread unites with Hibiki's Vanguard (Bangaata), they become the Vandread (Dita-type), a blue giant mecha that has access to powerful laser and energy cannon weaponry (high attack power). Although Hibiki never admits to liking her until the end of the second season, when he finally calls her by her name, it is apparent that he feels something for her. She loves cooking for Hibiki, she feels happy and fulfilled to see Hibiki eat. Hibiki quickly becomes a fan of her cooking, perhaps because all the food on the men's planet comes in the form of pills. Strangely enough, while her character is too childish, she got her co-lead rank just under Jura and Barnett. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately, depending on one's opinion, Dita gains competition for Hibiki's affections from Misty Cornwell, a new woman rescued by the crew at the end of the first season of Vandread as a cliff hanger. Unlike the girls of Mejare, Misty is from Earth and has many old-fashioned ideals about men and women, such as boy-friend and girl-friend relationships which confuse the others and makes Dita feel jealous. Like Dita, Misty is an excellent cook and uses her knowledge of men along with that to her advantage. In a way though, her competition with Misty allows Dita to see her now romantic feelings for Hibiki. Meia Gisborn at first has the behavior of an Amazon—she hates men and is disgusted whenever Hibiki saves her. She rarely smiles (only doing so twice;during the second season when she had to babysit Ezra's baby and during the final fight with the enemy), suffers from claustrophobia, and has a traumatic past. As a young girl the life support systems on her home quadrant failed and there was a mass evacuation with not enough lifeboats. She lost her parents when they pushed her aboard the last ship off the quadrant among the crowd. Then she resorted to gangsterism and street fights to make a living, cause she felt insecure with people blaming her parents for the catasthropy. She joined the pirates when Magno Vivian appeared and tossed a laser ring to her asking her to join them. With a new will to live, she gained ranks quickly. As squadron commander, she leads the other Dreads in battle, and is usually called "leader" or "chief" by others. Everyone appreciates her and normally try to throw a surprise birthday party for her. She hates such occasions though and once she flew off in her Dread to scout ahead of the Nirvana just so that she would not be irritated by the crew. When her Dread unites with Hibiki's Vanguard, they become the Vandread (Meia-type), which resembles a silver eagle. (High speed) Its main form of attack is speed—. It first uses this to cut through the interior of a sea urchin-like Harvester ship. Jura Basil Elden is the secondary leader of the Dread fighting force, although she is quite bad at leading. She became secondary leader but rarely trained to be one due to her spoiled personality and her dependent to Barnette, and Meia also seemed to avoid contacts with her teammates other than mission necessity. She has long blonde hair that she takes great care of. She is extremely vain and in the first few episodes keeps trying to unite with Hibiki's Vanguard. She bears a sword (rapier, to be exact), but seldom got the chance to show her abiltiy with it. It's assumed that she is the lover of Barnette, another Dread pilot and antique firearms collector. She is shocked at the look of her Vandread (Jura-type) when she first unites with Hibiki's Vanguard (it resembles a crab with glowing green discs). The Vandread she and Hibiki pilot has the ability to use its shielding systems to envelope entire planets and protect them from attack. (High defense) Also one disc was used to draw water out from a planet and then directed at a Harvester seedship. The force of the water destroyed it. Barnette Orangello is one of the many Dread pilot co-leaders under Meia's command on the Nirvana, and surely has a higher rank than Dita in the Dread Squad. It is assumed that she is Jura's lover and this becomes evident at many times throughout the series. Unlike the three other Dread pilots featured in the series (Dita, Meia, and Jura), her Dread cannot combine with Hibiki's Vanguard due to her position when the Perxis alter the Dreads. She is perhaps the most aggressive member of the Nirvana in terms of both her fighting style and her attitude towards the men who have been integrated into the Nirvana's crew. She has a very impressive firearms collection (including a Calico pistol, an Uzi, and a Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun) and is also quite the cook. At the 2nd Stage she voluntarely replaced Gascogne to lead the registry system after an incident. Gascogne Rheingau runs the Nirvana's Registry system and is responsible for supplying the Dread fighters with all of their weapons for their battles. While her Registry crew might lose their heads in the excitement and intensity of some of the battles the Nirvana engages in, she is always able to help them maintain their cool by reminding them to "Smile, smile!" On top of her duties as the head of Registry, she is perhaps Magno's third-in-command after BC. She is very much like a big sister to the rest of the Nirvana crew and is there to give sarcastic advice whenever it is needed (although sometimes not appreciated). She enjoys playing poker with Hibiki in her spare time. She seemingly despises being called "Gasco" and surprisingly has a sorrowful past with her. In the series' Second Stage, the Nirvana has become caught in a seemingly impossible battle against one of Earth's harvester motherships. In an attempt to save Barnette's dread from being crushed by one of Earth's units, Gascogne (in the delivery ship) flies in and shoots missles at the unit. Although Barnette was jarred loose from the impact, the unit turned its rage on to Gascogne and impaled the delivery ship on its claws. As it fell into the mothership and burst into flames, the delivery ship is swallowed up and Gascogne is unable to escape. It is assumed that she did not survive the crash, but she does, and shows up during the final battle with Earth in piloting the same mothership. Buzam A. Calessa "BC" is the sub-commander of the Nirvana. She is stern and all-business and looks after the general welfare of the crew as well. She is a tactical person who gives orders firmly and decisively. She seems like a workaholic, constantly staying near the bridge to access data and review the crew's performance. Through season one's opening, she is seen to secretly take a small disc from the bridge's database though Boss interrupts her with some speech. However, her suspicious actions do not seem relevant until season two, where it is revealed that she is actually the Commander of the Tarak Intelligence, whose real name is Tenmei Uragasumi, a male spy for Tarak. This would explain why he is so adept in handling a whip when battling a sword-wielder in an arena on a space station recently ravaged by the harvesters. However, in the end, Magno Vivian forgives him and retains his position as sub-commander, on the provision that he stays as BC. Parfait Ballblair is the ship's Chief Engineer, a cheerful, somewhat geeky girl with huge glasses and brown hair she keeps in two large pigtails. Spends most of her time monitoring the Perxis and the ship's engines, but also has time to devise other inventions for the crew on special occasions. She quickly befreinds Duelo, a friendship that eventually develops into a physical attraction. Pai Wei Underberg is the ship nurse under Duelo, though her uniform looks more like a frenchmaid's outfit than a nurse's. Prior to the appearance of the men she was the ship's only doctor. During the first season she spent her free time trying to exploit the bad habits of the men. She would secretly keep tabs on the men and either jot notes in a journal or, takes pictures with her camera. This would soon pay off and sparked a raid that got all the men, including the drifter Rabat, locked up for awhile. However she stops this after a combination of seeing Dita's reaction to Hibiki's imprisonment and the discovery that men and women were of the same species, but she still takes pictures and jot notes. She carries a frog hand puppet with her all the time and is often seen talking to people with it in a gruff low pitched voice. Later on before the ending of the 2nd Stage, she revealed that she has a special crush on Duelo, when Jura cuddled to him. Magno Vivian is the boss of the pirates and everyone calls her 'boss'. She is one of the 1st generation that was onboard the colony ship that gave rise to Tarak and Mejare, being a young girl at that time. She is about over a hundred years old and is full of knowledge and wisdom. She often hands out pieces of advices and directs the crew in their duties. Also, though not directly stated, she may be Hibiki Tokai's sister. This can be derived from the picture she has of herself when on the colonization ship holding the infant Hibiki. However, it can be argued that this may not be true, as stated by Hibiki's "grandfather" during a conversion near the end of season two, that he remembers Magno always coming to play with the infant Hibiki on the colony ship. The Men Hibiki Tokai is the third-class citizen of Tarak that gets thrown into the mess with Duelo and Bart. He was at first unwilling to do anything but hide when the Nirvana was attacked by the Harvesters when they appeared half-way across the galaxy. However, after a talk from the sub-commander, BC, Hibiki gets into a Vanguard (Bangaato), in an attempt to help the female pilots fight the enemy. He is very rash, but gets the job done and often ends the enemy threat quickly. By the end of the series he is revealed to be the son of the empress of Mejare and emperor of Tarak, Lady Grandma and Lord Grandpa respectively, who was frozen in hibernation, but woke up mysteriously. Being that his father is leader of Tarak and one of survivors of the 1st generation, both Hibiki and Magno technically each have a seat of power. Hibiki may very well be the heir to the thrones of both Tarak and Mejare. His uncle, whom he refers to as "grandpa," took care of him when he accidentally emerged from cryostasis fourteen years ago. It is also his pep talk to the two planets that convinces all of them that they should fight for their rights to live. During the course of the series Hibiki and Dita have an odd couple relationship. During the first few episodes Hibiki would run away from Dita every time she came after him, finding her very annoying. He even screamed at her, getting her to leave him alone during one episode, in which he indirectly apologized to her later. Hibiki gets used to being around Dita, often helping her out on board the Nirvana. He also falls in love with Dita's cooking and eventually with Dita herself. The crew on board the Nirvana sees the romanting feelings developing between Hibiki and Dita, often wondering when the two will admit their feelings for each other. The crew wants to see a romance story unfold, and to know if it's at all possible for a man and woman to be that close. Duelo McFile The ship doctor for the Nirvana, Duelo quickly takes over medical emergencies often at the objection of the female pirates, but ignores them, assuring the crewmembers that he is not a threat. Being that he is the only liscensed medical doctor on board the Nirvana, and being that the medical facilities on board the female pirate ship were no longer operational, the female pirates were left with no choice but to have him as their official doctor. A very calm and collected character, it was said that Duelo got whatever job he wanted simply by submitting a blank resume with his name on it as he was one of Tarak's elite. While very analytical, he also makes an important discovery during the series regarding Hibiki's heritage. He eventually becomes close friends with Parfait, the first woman he worked closely with. He fits the anime classification of a Bishōnen, randomly acts yaoi-like and never show the right side of his face. Bart Garsus is a first-class citizen from Tarak, coming from rich parents who owned a food production company. He is initially an easily excitable, weak, and cowardly character, and ends up becoming the helmsman of the Nirvana when the ship chose him for the job. Early in Vandread: The Second Stage, Bart showed compassion for a sick little girl and shaves his head in honor of her dying wish he met on a polluted planet. Towards the end of the series, he develops feelings for BC not knowing her secret, but even after he finds out, he is not swayed, and continues to pursue BC for a relationship. While more settled late in the series, Bart remains a comic relief character. The Perxis Perxis Plagma is the green energy entity that is located at the Nirvana's core. It originates from a different universe but encountered earthlings and became separated in two when it was used for Ikazuchi (the Tarak colonial ship that fused with the Pirate ship becoming Nirvana) and its twin affected by the earthlings' ill-thoughts. Due to its unique properties, it has been used to generate energy in various ships, without the builders realizing the nature of the Perxis. The Earth has a different red Perxis that has been infused with Earth's hatred and refusal to open their hearts. As the Nirvana crew learns that the Perxis is a sentient being, they also start to bond with Pyoro, a navibot that was flushed with the Perxis and developed a personality and perhaps a life. Occasionally, the Perxis can override Pyoro's systems to communicate with the crew members. Machines flushed with the Perxis may also 'evolve' to some extent, thus resulting in the creation of the Vandreads and even more, the upgraded Vandread which can unite to Vandread(final form, or hibiki type), since three Dreads and a Vanguard were flushed with the Perxis. The red harvesters also evolve at a horrifying pace to become stronger and can even make corrupted copies of the Vandreads themselves. Also, the Perxis has a self-preservation instinct, which it revealed when it fused the male ship and Magno's pirate ship, creating a wormhole and transporting the crew light years away from Tarak and Mejare. Mechas Nirvana is the battleship the characters use throughout the series. It houses the Perxis Plagma as the ship's core, powering almost anything within the vessel. After the Ikazuchi battleship and Magno's pirate ship were thrown into the wormhole, created by the Perxis, both ships began to fuse with one another. At first, the crew was unsure what to call their new ship, but after a lottery was held in giving a name, Magno christened the vessel from a list of entries 'Nirvana'. Bart Garsus fills in as the ship's pilot. The only armament the Nirvana carries are a series of turrets that encompasses the ship's hull, all which fire a laser that automatically locks-on to enemy units, while bypassing all friendly units. Dreads are the space fighters used by Magno's pirate crew. Most Dreads are armed with vulcans, missiles, and laser cannons, depending on how the Dread is customized. Before battle, each Dread goes through the Registry system and fitted with an assorted of weapons, as per the pilot's taste. Along with Gascogne's supply vessel, a Dread can be refilled with ammunition during battle. When the Perxis creates the wormhole, only Dita's, Meia's and Jura's Dreads undergo changes. All three Dreads become structurally different than the other, while possessing firepower greater than an average Dread. When either Dread fuses with Hibiki's Vanguard, it becomes the all-powerful Vandread. In Vandread: Second Stage, after becoming united into Vandread (final form), the three fighters receive an additional boost of power from the fusion. Vanguards/Bangaata are the newly introduced mobile weapons of Tarak. These machines carry an assortment of melee weapons, ranging from swords, axes, spears to chainsaws. As well, they can easily withstand artillery fire. Initially, along with the Ikazuchi battleship, the Vanguards were used to eliminate any hostiles (mainly, space pirates and the women of Mejale) that threatened Tarak airspace, until Magno's pirate ship hijacked the battleship. Hibiki's Vanguard (though it really wasn't his), like the Dreads, was also affected by Perxis, transforming it into an even bulkier version of its original self. Later, when fused with either Dita's, Meia's or Jura's Dreads, it becomes the all-powerful Vandread. In Vandread: Second Stage, after becoming united into Vandread (final form), the Vanguard receies a small physical transformation, and possibly an additional boost of power from the fusion. It is later discovered that the reason that it can fuse into 3 difrent forms is because Hibiki has earned the support of 3 powerful spirits due to his willpower. The blue kachina (Dita-type), the white wings(Meia-type), and the red claw(Jura-type). Ikazuchi is the name of the flagship of the Tarak Imperial Fleet. Formerly a colony vessel, it was reformatted to become a battleship. Its purpose was to eliminate any hostiles (mainly, space pirates and the women of Mejale) that threatened Tarak airspace, until Magno's Pirate ship hijacked it. The wormhole created by the Perxis Plagma fused the Ikazuchi and Magno's pirate ship into a completely different vessel, later to be called the Nirvana. Songs Good Day Friends by Yumi Kakazu (Dita) Himegoto ("Vandread" ending theme) by SiLC Justice ("Second Stage" opening) by Kudou Aki Moon Light Lullaby by Fumiko Orikasa (Meia) Spacy Spicy Love Trust ("Vandread" opening theme; also used as the ending theme in the final "Second Stage" episode) by Salia What a Wonderful World by Donna Burke Yes, Together ("Second Stage" ending theme) by Yasunori Iwasaki, sung by Aki Kudou Somedays by Donna Burke External links Geneon's official Vandread Web site Bandai Channel's Vandread page Media Factory's Vandread site Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandread" Categories: Anime series | Anime dubbed into English | Comedy anime | Science fiction anime | LGBT television series