Gall Force: Eternal Story (1986)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Sukehiro Tomita and Hideki Kakinuma
Directed by Katsuhito Akiyama

Features:

• Character image gallery
  
• Comics page
• Song listing

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• Adam & Eve in hard sci-fi
• Paranoia will Destroy’ya

Released by: Central Park Media/U.S. Manga
Region: 0
Rating: NR
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 format

My Advice: Rent it.

An interstellar war is being waged between the all-female Solnoids and the Paranoids, a race of ooze-creatures who use mecha to get around. You know the Solnoids are the good guys because they’re humanoid and busty. The victim of a vicious Paranoid attack, the Solnoid ship Star Leaf must attempt to wend their way to the planet Chaos, where they can achieve safe haven. But with their ship torn to pieces, betrayed and manipulated, and only seven of them left alive, will they make it past the many dangers of outer space? And are they really being used as cogs in the wheel of an interstellar conspiracy?

The plot of this title seems simplistic at first, but there really is more going on here than a simple first glance reveals. There are a few surprises and interesting developments in the latter part of the film to keep viewers interested.

The real weakness of this film is the characterization, or lack thereof. The Solnoid females are pretty much all alike, with perhaps one minor trait to differentiate them (and not always even that). This film would have been much more engaging and rewarding had the characters been more interesting to watch and more well-rounded. Not knowing the people involved blunts the inevitable tragedies when they occur, which short-changes what could have been a truly great film and instead makes it a matinee feature.

The features on this release are nice enough. We have a character gallery that will please viewers who liked the look of the show, and we also have a separate song listing. If only those songs made more sense in the context of the plot...ah, well. There is also a nice little comics page.

The audio and video quality of this film are both mediocre to good. The age of the film is showing a bit, making some of the colors rather dull or washed out, and the sound is similarly muted in places. It’s about as good as an older television show, but could have benefited from a touch-up of the original animation cels. Additionally, the simplistic style of the animation seems to take away a bit from the emotional impact of the title, as does the oddly incongruent soundtrack choices. The music is at times greatly at odds with the on-screen action, creating a strong feeling of cognitive dissonance in the viewer--are we supposed to be cheerful during the battles? Amused during a death scene? Instead of creating tension and impact, the incongruity is just odd and rather annoying in places.

Overall, if you enjoy space operas or older anime aesthetics, then you should enjoy Gall Force. The plot is complex and interesting enough to satisfy most science fiction fans, especially if you count the twists and turns at the end. If, on the other hand, you demand strong characterization, then you might be disappointed, rating this film only a rental. The real problem is just that the film’s few problems drown out the good things about it. The Gall Force saga as a whole is very interesting; too bad the individual chapters like this film just aren't strong enough to stand completely alone.