View Larger Image |
The Venus Wars Director: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Number of Items: 1 Format: Animated, Color Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Running Time: 104 minutes Studio: Central Park Media C Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2003-01-28 Buy from Amazon |
|
From Amazon.com Yoshikazu Yasuhiko directed this 1989 feature based on his own manga. The new frontier of Venus has degenerated into a dystopia ravaged by the civil war between Ishtar and Aphrodia. Bubbly reporter Susan Sommers arrives in the capitol of Aphrodia just before it's captured by Ishtar. She falls in with a bunch of teen-agers who live for a sort of motorcycle version of Roller Derby. Daredevil rider Hiro and his friends reluctantly join the struggle to free Aphrodia from the invaders. Not surprisingly, Hiro proves an ace at piloting the mono-cyles that are the Aphrodians' secret weapon in the key battle. Venus Wars holds better than many early anime features. The American-influenced designs may annoy purists, but the characters are well developed and the battle scenes well staged, despite the limited technological resources available at the time. (Rated 13 and older: violence, profanity, alcohol use, risqué humor) --Charles Solomon |
 "Mr.what can I say...that's manga"This is the first manga film that I watched, and the reason to develop my interest and look for more movies. And thanks to the baby I found "Akira", for which I won't stop being gratful. The movie, simply said, has it all. There's action, thrill, criticizing general issues, a bit of romance. The big influnce comes from Hiro - he's a boy, deeply interested and amazed by all the unfairness in this world, and as we can see, does everything in his powers to fix it all. He's an amazing character cause of his seriousness and bravery. rated 13 up: violence, profanity, alcohol use, risque humor "Long Short War"takes place in the far future, where humans have already colonized several planets including the planet, Venus. People lived in peace for many years until the humans meet up with an alien race (which look and act human), trying to dominate the universe. The humans were no match alien's weaponry and technology. They weren't even able to make a dent on their battle tanks. The Human alliance did not know how to penetrate the armor of the monstrous tanks the aliens used. The aliens eventually conquered every colony on Venus and became the new world government. The people of Venus were oppressed by the alien's tyranny until a small group of rebels started to fight back and win. Venus wars can be compared to World War II and how the Germans, tried to dominate the world. Especially the analogy of the tyranny of the aliens and their battle tanks with thick armor which the allies had trouble penetrating. Good story telling with a science fiction twist, and the characters where well developed. Venus Wars feels like an epic movie, but without have the epic length of one (which is a good thing). My only complaint with this movie is that it seems like it was supposed to continue, but a sequel was never made! Silky animation, minor blood and gore. Good for teenagers and adults. "How great this moive/DVD is......."This is a great moive for anime lovers. Its story is nice and well put together. Based on a war in venus a young battlebike rider ((a game on venus)) finds himself stuck in the war and not having fun. He spends most his free time with his battlebike rider pals and maggie, his girl. I love this moive and watch it 24/7, you should watch it!=)  "Venus in Flames"Gundam veteran Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's "The Venus Wars" is a great war anime with a moderately well-done, if somewhat cliched plot and surprisingly deep characters. It deals with many themes: how occupation affects people, the role of journalists in war, as well as the loyalties and feelings that drive people to fight. Released originally in 1989, the style of animation is very much of the time with muted colors and large smoke filled explosions. The film begins with an Earth reporter, Susan Somers, landing on a colonized Venus, hoping to get a great story out of the brewing war between the states of Aphrodia and Ishtar. Meanwhile, Hiro, a reckless young battlebike racer, is busy trying to win a race for his team The Killer Commandos. After a few laps the people in the stadium notice a group of airships approaching, tanks begin to descend and the Aphrodian capital of Io is bombed. Hiro and his friends leave the stadium, running into Susan who was taping the chaos and from then on her life becomes intertwined with that of the Killer Commandos. The film is filled with beautiful shots of the battered Venus landscape, using light skillfully to highlight the different shades of red, which is the predominant color of the planet. The action scenes are fast paced and well directed, the scene where Hiro and his team decide to take on an Ishtari tank occupying the stadium is especially well handled. With the characters treating the attack as a game until they realize just how dangerous their situation is. The film also has many somber scenes where the characters reflect on the cost of war. One scene that stood out in particular, was when Maggy, Hiro's girlfriend, is brought to tears when she sees her favorite shopping spot littered with bullet holes and bomb damage. The Japanese voice acting is good if not spectacular. The English dub is fairly well done with the voice of General Donner standing out, being appropriately rough, yet elitist. Though the English dub script does swerve radically from the subtitle translation, changing the meaning of entire scenes in the process. The music by acclaimed composer Jo Hisaishi is fantastic, at times optimistic and in other times crushed and cynical. Fast paced during the action scenes and slow during the more evocative moments. Though it does get redundant, since the majority of the music is just a variation of the main theme. Overall, "The Venus Wars" is a great science fiction action film mixed in with interesting characters and a satisfying story. It is not a classic, yet it is a great war film to watch from time to time. "A feel modern anime hasn't given in a while"When you go back to the 80s anime and early anime, you see less of the bouncy fanservice existent EVERYWHERE. You go back to the anime/manga back then, it had more of the violence and grit you would crave for. It had less of that feeling where it's quickly hashed out, or obviously influenced and tailored to the American viewers. The only gripes is the views of back then, such as sexism against women (who usually play the extreme princess who can't fight), and music from that time (this is selective to some). Hiro isn't the usual gundam main character: why're we fighting? oh well, i'll fight to protect. Hiro is more of what you'd expect, a hotheaded teenager. Another, thing is that action sci-fi in general, is great at retelling lessons completely based on reality. This is no exception. Venus Wars resembles a lot of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (it only took a couple days to gain a surrender). The monobikes w/ railguns, chase scene, liberation, etc. Its all there. The rousing action, where the whole city gets pissed off and overthrows their occupiers! After growing up on handpainted cels, you just don't feel the love and dedicated work presented in modern anime, which uses computer. It feels so impersonal and for the money. Don't get me wrong anime is great, no matter what era its from. Its just that, it's no longer as conceptual art in motion, you no longer see any of the stages, its too clean and straight lined that its like standing in a decontaminated room. Or eating a well-done steak. When you have an explosion, it's supposed to be messy, and this anime gives that to you. |
