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| Rent |
 Jan-Chan
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[series:2240#967] | ||||||
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Wow … what a visual fest!! By combining the thematic elements of Planetes with the latest CGI graphics, OXYBOT (the production company responsible for this title) has proven that they learned from their earlier mistakes. They got dinged last year for their release of Vexille which had great animation paired with a problematic story. By borrowing a pair of classic 1984 SciFi stories and putting them to computer-generated animation, OXYBOT may have gotten it right this time. Episode 1 - Elliptical Orbit (42min). The orbital cargo platform, Midnight Bazooka, is responsible for launching all freight containers destined for the bases on the moon. The sudden arrival of the deep space cargo vessel, the Flying Dutchman, in need of emergency repairs reopens long forgotten wounds between two senior officers. The Dutchman’s cargo of ‘liquid protons’ holds a promise of meeting earth’s energy needs for decades, but at a price that might be troublesome. A surprise attack by a group of rebel soldiers who want to seize the protons threatens not only both ships, but also the lives of many thousands of moonbase citizens unless they can be stopped. This chapter’s story is reminiscent of Planetes’s conflict of prioritizing resources to meet the need of earth’s starving citizens versus securing resources to meet the world’s future needs. In short, a good mix of personal drama and action worthy of a RENT rating. Here are some images from episode 1. Episode 2 - Symbiotic Planet (46min). With earth’s resources diminishing, humanity has been forced to attempt to colonize other worlds. The fifth planet of the β-Hydra system has been settled by two competing research facilities. The United Eurasian colony is a Japanese Chinese facility, while the other base is sponsored by the USA-European alliance. The planet that they are attempting to colonize is a world full of life: with numerous types of fungi and symbiotic lifeforms that float above and crawl across the surface. But the politics over the struggle for resources has been imported from earth and there are warmongers within both colonies intent on sabotaging or eliminating the other side. Against this surreal backdrop on a strange world and in the midst of a threat of war, an American researcher named Aon and the daughter of the Japanese colony leader, Elaine attempt to carry on a romance. Doing an updated spin on Shakespeare's ↗Romeo & Juliette, this episode tells a story of an ill-fated couple romancing one another on a distant star. And how despite the difficulties of having to survive in such an alien environment, humanity brought along all of its pettiness and biases to this new world. With an interesting story and great graphics, this episode won me over and is worth a RENT+ or BUY-. Here are some images from episode 2. To summarize, these are two good titles that are certain to provide a few hours of fun. Last updated Saturday, January 09 2010. Created Friday, December 25 2009. | ||||||||
Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| English Language Wikiped Listing | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Nights |
| Official AVEX (Japanese) Web Site | http://mv.avex.jp/to/index.html |
