jet2r0cks

While there is a lot of ecchi embedded in the plot (usual panty flashes, touching, talking about reproductive organs) there is something to the story of Vandread. I like the idea of men and women not getting along together, then throughout the series they learn to work with each other and win their battles. There’s also the theme of making a difference to prove you’ve existed, which is Hibiki’s goal throughout the series. Now that I mentioned battles, I’m really not good when it comes to mecha battles. Intergalactic wars tend to either confuse or bore me, but because of the CG I was a bitcaptivated. The battle scenes did look a bit busy, I wasn’t sure on what was happening all the time. The technical dialogue kind of made it worse, but compared to other mecha series I’ve watched, Vandread wasn’t so bad. I did watch it more than twice. One of the reasons why I like Vandread is the cast of characters. I was impressed that everyone was able to get a good amount of screen time, even for the supporting characters such as Ezra and Paiway. That’s always difficult to accomplish, especially for an anime with so many characters. Also, Hibiki and Dita probably makes up one of the sweetest couples I’ve ever seen in anime. I think it’s because of their innocence. Like I said, the CG was quite good. It blended with the hand drawn scenes very well and it wasn’t overwhelming. The color coordination was really good too – there was a myriad of colors that made the visuals of Vandread even more stunning. I have to note that the drawing styles would waver a bit, like for example, the characters’ designs have noticeably changed from the first episode to the second episode. At the middle of the series, I have noticed that the art became more consistent though. The voice acting was actually good, but I prefer it if Tomokazu Seki was Hibiki instead of Bart. I’m not saying Hiroyuki Yoshino did a terrible job of playing Hibiki, but Tomokazu Seki is one of my favorite seiyuus. I also noticed that a lot of the major voice actors in Vandread also worked on Eureka 7 – another mecha anime I like. The music was very poppy and upbeat, and it fit the theme of Vandread really well. Both tracks are very contemporary and they both show different aspects of the anime. I like the opening “trust” by Salia as well as “Himegoto” by SiLC. The BGM was equally impressive – I always like it when there are plenty of BGM tracks so that the mood and feel of a certain scene are heightened and conveyed at its best. As I mentioned earlier, I’m not really a huge mecha fan. Vandread, however, is different because it’s got a lot to offer. Whether you’re into comedic anime, a mecha addict, a harem anime enthusiast, or just an ecchi fan, Vandread’s for you.

kawaiimisato

Vandread is an excellent space/sci fi/mech/comedy anime with a premise not found in any other show (that i am aware of anyway) and that is that men and women live on different planets and know nothing about eachother. With that set in, the character interactions are amazing and comical. The show is more comical than serious, but it definitely has its moments of seriousness. The animation is done amazingly well with a mix of drawn anime and CGI space battles. Normally when the two mix it turns out pretty bad (Divergence Eve) but Gonzo managed to pull it off. The story isnothing to intricate but as it progresses, its gets deeper and deeper which brings a lot more action and battles into play. The character development is pretty good as well, no empty characters are really present (with exception of the third tier people you see occasionally) Some plot holes are presented but if you watch the entire show (by that i mean season two) then everything will be answered and there are some pretty good twists in it to make it extra enjoyable. I have seen both the english and japanese versions and i have to say the dub actually isn't bad, but i would go with the japanese. I would say this is one of my top rated shows, definitely worth watching. Oh and something worth mentioning is the awesome soundtrack, keep the volume up during battles, the music rocks.