Geneshaft, Vol. 3: Orbit (2001)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Created by Kazuki Akane
Screenplay by Sho Tokimura and Miya Asakawa
Directed by Kazuki Akane

Features:

• mecha gallery
  
• character gallery
  
• Geneshaft glossary
  
• DVD credits
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• bouncy jubblies
• angst and more angst
• nasty, wicked, evil kid
• just plain irritating kids

Released by: Bandai
Region: 1
Rating: 13+
Anamorphic: No

My Advice: Get it if you like sci-fi.

Geneshaft volume 3 opens with the Bilkis in an awful mess: the Shaft's software still doesn't work reliably, even though Dolce and her staff have been working non-stop, Mika is still a White, Captain Hiroto is in a coma, Jean has arrived to menace and threaten, and Mir, confused and lost for the first time in her charmed life, is like a ghost.

The plot of the show takes a sudden left turn here in this volume, much like volume four of Nadesico did, where things get weirder, but then suddenly make more sense. The plot is bigger than we realized it was, and while there are still many secrets to be revealed, the show is more interesting because of it. New issues arise, such as what "abomination" really means, what it means to be human, and why a human could or should hate humanity and what can be done about it.

The audio quality of the disc is quite good, and the rockin' soundtrack deserves a special note. Not only are the voice actors skilled at actual acting along with simply reading lines, the audio engineers do an excellent job of weaving together the voice tracks with the sound effects and the music.

The look of the show is similarly good; while the art isn't as perfect as a Yu Watase creation, for example, it's still wonderful to look at and very appropriate for the science fiction genre. The look of the show is very crisp and colorful, perfect for outer space adventure. The cool menus by Ascent Media DVD also deserve note, replicating as they do the menu screen of the Shaft, complete with "panic" warning.

The extras are fun if not earth-shattering. We get a mecha gallery with one image for each of the major mecha, and we also get a character gallery with one concept image each for several secondary characters. The images are a nice treat for fans of the show's look. There's also a Geneshaft glossary that defines and explains various terms from the show; if anything in the show doesn't make sense, look here for clarification and some backstory. There's also the full DVD credits, which is great when you want to know who did the translations or some aspect of graphic design that appealed to you.

Overall, if you enjoy a good science fiction story, even if you don't consider yourself an anime fan, then check this one out. Like the best anime and the best movies, it combines interesting, complex characters with good visual design and an engrossing, if not totally original, us-vs.-them plot.