Genshaft 1: Ring
Content: A-
Video: A
Audio: A-
Presentation: A-
Overall: A-
Company: Bandai
Length: 100 minutes
There has been a significant lack of hard science fiction in anime of late. That is to say, anime that is serious in demeanor and uses the genre to explore a unique and different world or philosophy. Geneshaft fills the void nicely.
Shows like Cowboy Bebop are phenomenal, but, in reality, they truly take current situations and just upgrade the technology. In Geneshaft, a completely new society with its own mores has been created. After taking itself to the brink of destruction, mankind has decided that it must control the fate of the race through genetic manipulation. An artificial ratio of nine women to every man is enforced. People are genetically bred to specific tasks. The few men that exist are constantly monitored by personal “Registers,” women who record everything about their behavior and can even overrule their choices.
Society seems to function perfectly. The planet is beautiful again and there has not been a war for over 200 years. Still, dark currents exist beneath the surface that, through the view of 21st century Americans would cause us to view this society as dystiopian. However, further explanation would color a viewer’s interpretation, and this review is not about spoilers. Suffice it to say, there are many ways to view this culture that has been created in Geneshaft, and the first four episodes hint at an excellent series to come.
Rarely has a series so gleefully indulged in idol worship. It is virtually impossible to a go a single scene without some reference to a famous science fiction author surfacing. Each episode title is taken from a famous sci-fi novel, a base in named after Larry Niven, characters are named after Issac Asimov and Anne McCaffrey. James P. Hogan has an entire concept ripped off (not including naming the first episode after one of his books). Artistically, you get different images looking like either Möbius or Giger. In other words, the creators are really into the Western sci-fi continuum, especially the “hard science” writers like Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke.
Visually, the disc looks fantastic. Whether you like the animation or not will depend on your personal tastes. The series uses digital cel technology with CGI, often mixing the two. One of the more interesting techniques is a gentle blurring of the scenes in order to integrate the two forms in a more seamless manner. Personally, I thought it looked fantastic; others may disagree. The colors are vivid and the action scenes remain crisp. In any case, production quality is kept high throughout the disc.
The audio sounds excellent as well. I heard no distortion or dropouts on the Japanese track. Thematically, the series uses a heavy metal soundtrack, with a massive dose of guitars, to make an impression. Surprisingly, it works very well. The music is close to overpowering in the space scenes, but almost never becomes annoying. The almost comes about because the track gets looped multiple times in episode 4. Hopefully, this will not be a normal occurrence throughout the series. The Japanese cast seems to do an admirable job, as does the English cast, although Mika’s actress needs to settle into a more normal sounding voice rather than the characterature.
The DVD cover is very attractive, and, as is common with Bandai releases, it is reversible. The insert covers some nice information, but the real extras are on the disc. There is a very nice glossary of terms that includes quite a bit of in-depth information. An explanation of the ship’s program names is also available (based mostly on European football terms, oddly enough). A short pilot film is included, as well, but there is no information regarding what it was used for. Perhaps to either sell the series or provide marketing materials, but there is no way to tell.
The main protagonist is Mika Seido, a 2nd lieutenant in the Earth military. As the show opens, she has been transferred to an orbiting space station for a secret mission. Her friend Sofia, who has obviously been engineered for strength and combat, soon joins her. It quickly becomes obvious that several highly skilled military personnel have been recruited for a mission regarding the “ring,” a structure of alien origin that arrived in the solar system five years before. As it turns out, they are being assigned to the newest ship of the line, the Bilkis. Attached to the Bilkis is an enigmatic robotic weapon called the Shaft. The five military women assigned for the mission are potential pilot candidates for the Shaft.
The primary characters are all attractive, young women, not surprising for a genetically engineered society with a male/female ratio of 1:9. What is surprising is how serious the show takes itself. The first episode includes a fatal terrorist action, the destruction of several cities, and at least one murder. And most of this takes place as background to Mika’s arrival at the station. Mika acts like a young girl, but she begins getting quick lessons in the realities of life. The show often has a hard edge and seems to avoid the conventions of other space shows, such as Nadesico and Battle Athletes. That is until the introduction of a “cute, yet psycho” character at the end of the fourth episode. That one event seems to be the only one that rings untrue so far. Hopefully, there will be some sort of explanation for the character’s demeanor.
All in all, this looks like an excellent science fiction show. So far, there has been depth and intelligence in the writing. Like all good sci-fi, it helps us question where we’ve been and where we’re going by giving us a unique world to explore. If the story remains serious and focused, and the animation and production quality remain high, this could turn out to be an excellent series for anyone’s library.
A note about reviews: Reviews are graded on a scale from A to F, including +’s and –‘s. A typical good anime score would rank a B. Content refers to the plot, characterization, etc. Video refers to the picture quality as well as the animation. Audio refers to sound quality and music. Presentation includes the case, menus, and extras. Overall is a ranking of the worthiness of owning this DVD. Unless otherwise noted, all DVDs are bought out of pocket by the reviewer. Full disclosure will be made of any reviewables received by companies. Contact me at jayntampa@yahoo.com.
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