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[ café reviews ]

Green Legend Ran

Episode 3: Holy Green


[ production info ]

Copyright: © 1992 AIC / Pioneer LDC, Inc.
Length: 57 minutes
Rating: NR, parental guidance suggested
Format: English Subtitled (VHS)

Director: Saga Satoshi Screenplay: Yamamoto Yu Music: Yoshikawa Yoichiro Produced by: M.T.V.


[ plot summary ]

VHS jacket

Aira has been captured by the minions of the Rodoists, and taken to the main Rodoist headquarters: Green 5. There, she is confronted by the ambitious members of the Rodoist elite: the five Bishops of the Holy Greens, whose bodies have mutated due to their continuous exposure to the Holy Mothers. Aira, it appears, is one of the 'chosen' who left the Holy Mothers 12 years ago... and prophecy states that when one of these children returned to their home, they would initiate a miracle. The Bishops mean to 'own' this miracle for themselves -- or sacrifice Aira as a fraud, should she fail.

Meanwhile, Jeke, Ran and Honran have managed to catch up to Kiba at Green 5. Jeke, hoping to gain an audience Archibishop, tries to stall Kiba's 'Operation Fireball'. Unable to come to terms with Kiba, it's a race against time for Ran as he must not only rescue Aira from the clutches of the Bishops, but the Holy Mother herself! And unbeknownst to Ran, the Holy Mother has a very specific task for young Aira -- one that could mean the end of humankind itself!


[ capsule review ]

This series features a depth of vision of the future of the Earth which is rare in a short OAV series, especially when you consider that Green Legend Ran isn't based on a manga series -- it was intended to be an anime feature from the outset. Part of this apparent detail is undoubtably borrowed from other universes; most likely David Lynch's vision of the Frank Herbert classic, Dune. Substitute the mutations of the humans by the Spice of Arakis with the mutations of the Bishops by their proximity to the Holy Mothers; and even the final ending, when Earth is finally restored to her people. (Actually, that was much more reminicent of Paul Verhoeven's vision of Mars in the 1990 SF thriller, Total Recall.)

Characterisations throughout this three-part series is mixed -- the make-up laden Rodoist soldiers are sometimes portrayed as your typical 'Stormtrooper' minions, yet at other times, are given some very human qualities... and why shouldn't they? They are merely the recruits of the Rodoist relious leaders after all. Perhaps that's part of what I enjoyed about this series: the characters each had specific personality quirks, and even over the short duration of three installments, managed to learn from each other.

Scripting elements are again well conceived; the 'seed-pod' launcher (which propels the huge dandelion-like seeds into the skies) is well integrated into the story-line, and provide an important escape device late in this episode. Unlike so many others shows, the motivations behind each character's actions are very believable. The one aspect that I couldn't figure out was the real role of the Archibishop. While his part might make sense from a theoretical point of view in this ficticional society, his role seemed minor, and extraneous at best in actuality.

The rather mean-spirited approach to several story elements was the most disappointing aspect of this series, especially when considering the amount of thought that went into the progression of the plot itself. While the basic premise was interesting enough -- if you don't take care of your homeworld, someone else might take on the caretaker's role -- the portrayal of the Rodo as just another race of beings bent on ending the human race might have come across better had there been less extreme. Still, overall as a series, this is a fine production, well worth a look.
- AN, 98.11.08



[ café rating ]

Original: Subbed: Dubbed:
Story: N/A 4 stars N/A
Direction: N/A 4 stars N/A
Acting: N/A 3 stars N/A
Animation: N/A 4 stars N/A
Music: N/A 4 stars N/A
Translation: N/A 3 stars N/A
Overall Rating: N/A 4 stars N/A


[ café trivia ]



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Page last modified 1998.11.11