Venus Wars Review

Number 5 was this past Monday, and number 4 is today. The old gears are starting to movie around again, and the new gears are slowing down. Pretty soon things are going to shift back into their original position, but that doesn’t mean we still can’t have a little more fun before hand. So without further delay, here’s a look at another sci-fi cult classic, Venus Wars.

Story/Setup
Taken from the anidb page:

“In the 21st century, mankind lives on two worlds. Following the collision of an ice asteroid, massive terraforming has made Venus a planet now capable of supporting life. Colonists from Earth tamed the hostile world and have thrived for four generations. But they also brought the darker side of humanity. Venus is about to become hostile again.

Hiro Seno, a hotshot motorcycle jockey, witnesses the first strike against his country Aphrodia, by the rival nation of Ishtar. Huge battle tanks and war planes quickly lay waste to the city. The Aphrodian army is quick to mobilize and retaliate... and despite his opposition to warfare, Hiro finds himself fighting for his life on the front lines.”

While a fun story, Venus Wars feels very much like a standard sci-fi story. You’ve got many of the standard science fiction trappings (Positive & negative), you have the predictability of the story (You kinda know what’s gonna happen to people, and you kinda know what’s gonna happen by the end), and all in all is actually kinda weak. In hindsight, this setup is still fun, but don’t expect anything deep or philosophical.

Setting
I’ll say one thing about the story of this movie, and it’s that they weren’t wrong about the changes to the planet Venus. Unlike a bunch of science fiction anime, the way they depict Venus is a combination of Utopian & Dystopian aspects. The terraforming done to the planet has created a brand new world to live on, and on the surface, it does look like a nice place to live. Once the invading armies come in, the anger & fury that was bubbling underneath it all comes to the surface, and the once glorious city becomes ruined by acts of war. The duality of it all works, and creates a unique environment.  

Characters
Sadly, the characters of Venus Wars aren’t really interesting. They’re really there just to move the story along, and not much else. The only character that has something to her is Susan, and it’s only because of how bubbly she is. It’s a shame, cause all of the character seem interesting. At least on the surface, that is.

Animation
Thanks to the remastering, Venus Wars looks fantastic! You can still tell that this movie was a product of it’s time (This came out in 1989), but because of the improvements to the visuals (And to a lesser extent, the voice acting), things look a little more modern. Don’t get me wrong, Venus Wars is a child of the late 80s, but because of the remastering, things look smoother, and the various characters & vehicles have more fluidity to them than before.

Voice Acting
Although the version I downloaded only has subs, this was released with an English dub. At a later time, I’ll update this section if I ever watch the movie in English.

Episodes & Episode Length
Once again, Venus Wars sits among the numerous OVAs of my marathon that are afternoon killers. Running at an hour and four minutes, this movie is fast-paced, but not so fast-paced that you loose track of things.

Availability & Pricing
Venus Wars is a partially tricky title to locate. I say partially, because this was re-released back in 2012. Unfortunately, I never saw it in stores, and Amazon only has 6 new copies available at this time (Prices start at about 18 dollars). Your best bet would be to go for the older versions, as while there isn’t as many of them in terms of being new, there are plenty of used copies. As I’m typing this, the beginning price of the used copies is a little over 5 dollars, which is much more easier on the wallet than 18 dollars.

Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.

General Impression & Rating
Venus Wars isn’t a bad movie , but it’s not what I’d call a great movie. If anything, I’d call it an above-average movie with a lot of potential. I’m not kidding with that last part: there really was a lot that could have been done with this move, but ultimately fails. While I liked the movie, I don’t think I’ll be watching it over & over.

Venus Wars gets a 6.5 out of 10.

See you all this Friday, when we be enjoying some blood & sex! Until then, stay Otaku!