Babel II: Beyond Infinity, Vol. 2: Rise of Poseidon
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Original story by Mitsuteru Yokoyama
Screenplays by Takahiko Masuda and Kenichi Araki
Directed by Ikuo Shimazu
Translation by Julia Rose

Features:

• Outtakes
  
• Textless closing
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• Sexual harassment galore
• Coroners who leave amid autopsies
• Devil-worshippers
• Plot takes a 90-degree turn
• Deluded vampires

Released by: Anime Works
Region: 1
Rating: 13+
Anamorphic: No

My Advice: Rent it.

The first episode of the three on this disc deals with Koichi coming into his power more as he accepts his role as Babel II. He is ready to summon his third servant--just in time, as Yomi has powerful kraken machines that are creating havoc all over the world’s oceans. The second and third episodes of this disc, however, take a 90-degree left turn, as they seem to leave the personal battle with Yomi aside and trade the "hero with magical robotic servants" genre for the "mysterious virus/undead enemies" genre. Reika, instead of just being a servant of the enemy's organization, is now a police coroner, and she discovers some rather odd, drained bodies who seem to have been attacked by someone carrying the D virus created by Yomi. Reika’s dangerous new police partner seems to intrigue her, however, and it’s up to Koichi/Babel to rescue her when she inevitably contracts the D virus herself.

The plot of this series is hard to analyze, as the first disc plus first episode here almost seem to belong to an entirely different series than the final two episodes on this disc. Basically, the writers seem unsure of what will work and where they're going, and such meandering genres and plots are a lovely way to really alienate anime audiences. If the show could forget about Koichi's rapidly expanding collection of sidekicks and choose a direction, then the whole thing just might be savable.

That said, however, it is important to note the influence that this 1971 manga had on later shows. Even the much-vaunted Akira owes some creative debt to the reluctant "chosen one" of Babel II. Place the show in context, and some of its oddities make more sense and seem much less derivative.

The art of the show is decent enough, though the weird plot situations make the artists' jobs almost impossible. In one scene, we have a shot of the kid versus the evil minions, giant robot at the ready, straight out of Gigantor, but then in the next shot, we have Reika on a date. It’s hard to make the art flow that way.

The features are nice enough, if not outstanding--we have a textless closing for fans of the art, and a selection of outtakes. Some of the outtakes are amusing, and given that they don't cost the production company anything to produce, they’re always a good choice for anime DVD extras.

In short, if you found the first volume of Babel II to be somewhat mediocre, then still give this one a shot. The plot has basically changed from nonsensical kids adventure to a bit grittier urban police drama with vampires. It’s still pretty mediocre, but it at least holds a kernel of hope that it will improve.