The Humanoid (1986)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Koichi Minade
Directed by Shinichi Masaki
Character Designs by Hajime Sorayama and Jinpei Kohara

Features:

• Pop-up fun facts video
  
• Art gallery
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• Android fan service
• Mild violence
• Insipid plot
• Star Wars "analogues"

Released by: Central Park Media
Region: 1
Rating: 13+
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 format.

My Advice: Keep looking for something else.

The story begins with some scrolling text that explains why there are two races living on one planet, the Megalosians and the humans, setting up a bit of the situation. It seems that the Megalosian governor, named Proud, wants to help his princess find something called the Imperium, which will restore her to her full power and basically make her the ruler of All That Is. To this end, he's been digging up ancient technologies in the hopes of finding a ship to return him and the princess to their homeworld. We then meet the human genius Dr. Watson and his greatest invention, the android Antoinette, the titular "humanoid." Into this mix are thrown two crashed humans who help Dr. Watson defeat Proud with the help of the suddenly more powerful and competent Antoinette. But will Antoinette have to sacrifice herself for the human pilot she has just met and yet suddenly loves with a love truer than time?

Basically, the plot is so simplistic that it would be suitable for very young children, if only it had less violence, was less painfully bad in places, and lacked the gratuitous fan service. I'm willing to overlook the obvious sexism in anime if I am given a good plot, clever characterizations, or some depth somewhere, but here, we're given basically nothing but ways to ogle Antoinette's quasi-female body, which is, of course, the whole reason this film was made--so we could look at Hajime Sorayama's "sexy" art. The characters are flat and predictable, the plot is simplistic without being fun and or whimsical, and the art is, well, mediocre at least, but just.

It's never entirely clear why we're meant to hate the Megalosians, except of course that they aren't human and "Megalosians" sounds a bit like "megalomaniac." Ok, so Proud and his Princess want to rule the universe--how much would that actually mean to thousands of planets? This and several other plot holes and lackluster action sequences make this one mostly a loss. It's also very short--only about forty-five minutes--so we never really have time to care about anyone or anything.

The video quality is showing its age, as well, but looks okay for the most part. The digital transfer was done well enough, but there's only so much you can do with film stock this old, unless you remaster it. There are a few scratches and other problems, but not many. The art is rather uninspired overall, as well, though Antoinette looks nice, and there are a few other nice bits of animation scattered here and there. The audio is similarly decent, but not great; the Japanese track sounds a bit clearer for some reason, but both casts do a good enough job. The distinctly 1980s music and sound-effects are cheesy fun.

The release has a couple of nice features. The "fun facts video" is much like a traditional film commentary, except that instead of audio chatting, we get pop-up facts in the style of "Pop-up Video" or some such. The facts are fun and interesting and deal with anime topics and non-anime topics alike. More anime releases should try this. The other feature is an animated art gallery that is pretty standard, but a nice enough addition.

If you are afflicted with nostalgia for 80s-type anime, then go ahead and rent this as a cure. If this was your first brush with anime, way back in 1996 when the dub was released or even further back in 1986 when this one hit the shores as a direct-to-video release, then by all means, check it out again and give thanks that more anime and better quality anime is now making it across the big blue ocean onto our foreign shores. If this is the only anime that your local rental store or Suncoast outlet has, then do yourself a favor and get one of the Batman Beyond releases instead.