Venus Wars

bunda6662 Aug 13, 2022

8.5

What a nice surprise, this one is very, very good. The story starts a little bit slow but soon picks up and keeps you engaged all the way through and even the ending is heartwarming. The animation is stunning, definately one of the best from the 80's along with Akira. The action scenes are very well animated, especially the interactions between the characters and the machines, the explosions, the speed, everything is masterfully done. There were some scenes which used a composite of real footage and animated footage, which was awesome and totally fit with the rest of the animation. (also I had never seen something like that before, probably it was a first). The sound is not on par with the animation but gets the job done, while the music goes along perfectly. The characters are likeable for the most part. Overall this is an absolutely must see for everyone, not only anime fans.

iamanimelover2 Oct 22, 2012

9

Well since I am no big fan of sci-fi it makes this review all that more praising of the anime. When i first started wacthing the anime I was not sure what to expect but the characters were well rounded in most parts, the story was well thought and the animation was decent for the time that it was produced. Let me know if this plotline sounds familar to a certain 1984 movie starring a certain Patrick Swayze, a bunch of kids get caught up in a war between two rival nations. After a one day war in which their nation is all but defeated these children go on to strike back at their occupiers. Some strategically placed drama breaks in a little over half way through the movie to break up the constant ass-kicking that these kids are unleashing upon the enemy occupiers. The characters are decent but some get killed off rather quickly were it would have been better to keep around for the plot. Other times it seems that the producers added random characters just to make a some-what cloudy point to die only about three and a hlaf minutes later. The ending is a little chessy with the background music and such but it does not take away from the overall quality of the anime. The movie also drops one hell of a easter-egg that makes it that much cooler of a anime. In the end this is overall  a very good movie and I would tell anyone who wakes up too early, wants to kill time or wants to watch a good movie to check it out.

herano Nov 18, 2011

6.5

The setting is Venus, which is cultivated so that humans can live there, but war broke out between two rivaling nations for supreme power over the planet. This is the plot that plays on the background, but the story focuses on a hotshot motorcycle biker (Hiro) his gang of underdogs, and a feisty reporter from earth (Susan). The storyline closely follows their movement, as they try to coop with the war, and decide to fight and film respectively. The movie's story is definitaly disjointed and it doest finish all the plottraits it starts at the end. Still, I do not think is is the worst thing possible: you need to watch this for the action and cheezy characters, not the story.  What really made an impression on me is the animation, which is really fluent and well done. This gives the diverse fights and flights an edge. Venus wars goes for a more realistic sci-fi setting (so no multicolored giant robots here) and has a diverse range of vehicles: giant tanks, huge airplanes and one-wheeled fighter-bikes which move and turn realistically. The character designs are typical 80ties, what may of may not be good depending on your taste. I found hiro's character design a bit bland (the typical hothead) but some of the more cartoony side characters reminded me of 'the castle of cagliosto', which is of course a compliment. The animation again was great and made the characters come alive with a lot of different expressions. The music was also typical 80ties, nothing really special. What I did like was the use of silence to accentuate more dramatic scenes. After an intense pursuit where the main character escapes every time, he is surrounded. The music stops and you know: he is not going to escape this time.The characters themselves are good, but most of them do not break the mold of the archetype. Something I really wondered about was why Susan was even there. She did not add much to the plot. At first I thought that she and hiro where destined to become lovers, but that never happens. Which is a plus for originality, but it makes her character a bit superfluous. The more humorous side characters are fun to watch. You really should watch 'the venus wars' for its good gritty sci-fi action. It shows its age, but the animation rivals some recent releases.