| Astragius, September 7213: a strange man ambushes a military transport, knocks it out, and tells a helpless survivor "Tell Captain Dogman... I've come to see him from hell". He leaves a set of dogtags and disappears. Later, Keick Carradyne, an intelligence officer in the Melkean Armed Forces, is playing cards with Captain Dogman and an attractive female entertainer who is visiting the base. He is investigating the "Planpandoll Scandal", in which a huge amount of precious Jijirium disappeared just before an armistice took effect on the planet Miyoite. He is certain Captain Dogman was involved, and the implications in his cardtable chatter are making Dogman increasingly uncomfortable. Dogman is informed of the attack on the vehicle, and shown the dogtags, which nearly make him panic. He is certain that Balarant forces were responsible, in spite of the recent cease-fire agreement, and orders all units to go on the alert. The base is rocked by explosions, and as Dogman attempts to restore order the mysterious man appears on a monitor and accuses him of "framing us, the Schweppes Platoon, for hijacking military supplies". Carradyne and the woman are intrigued by this person, and help him avoid being caught. "Boy, what's your name?" she asks. "Mellowlink" he replies. |
| I'd heard of this series, a spinoff of Armored Trooper Votoms, some time ago, but was incapable of tracking it down until recently. The artwork and animation are definitely similar--quite eighty-ish. I was glad to see those trademark Votoms, with their rotating lenses on their "heads". For some reason, my first glance at the character designs reminded me of the main character from Wings of Honneamise. Is it just my imagination, or was there also a character in Votoms who was supposedly on the other side, but was disgusted by corruption and took an interest in the main character? I could have done without the usual "you-can't-hit-me-no-matter-how-many-bullets-you-shoot" action. Nevertheless, I'm fairly intrigued and wanting to see how this plot develops. Dogman's manners towards women could have used a little work! |
