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| A Walkman can do wonders. |
Leda: The Fantastic Adventure of Yohko (幻夢戦記レダ, Genmu Senki Leda) is a direct-to-video anime film released in Japan on March 1, 1985. It was also released in theaters on December 21, 1985. Directed by Kunihiko Yuyama, who's known for his work in Kimagure Orange Road: Summer's Beginning, The Three Musketeers, and Pokémon among other Animé.
The story is that of Yoko Asagiri who finds that the love song she wrote acted as a bridge transporting her to a fantastical alternate world called "Ashanti." Yes, you read that right, a movie with a strong connection with music. Especially, 80s music. There, in this magic world, Zell, the ruler of it, wants her song so that he could use it to open a doorway to Yoko's world and conquer it with his armies. Using the artifacts left behind by the legendary warrior Leda who prophesied her arrival, Yoko and her new found friends must stop the tyrant's ambition and return both worlds to their proper place and balance.
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| Yohko listens to her own songs. how cool is that? |
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| The most 80s device can lead you to other worlds. |
Because Yohko wrote a song, it’s important to note that the music is an
important factor in this anime because she uses this as a catalyst to
confess her feelings for her secret crush. There are piano pieces, synth
(now dubbed as city pop and/or synth-wave in the music community), and orchestrated music that some untrained viewers may find rather unusual for a sci-fi/fantasy adventure. However, her song and walk-man are the required Mcguffin for this story.
The sci-fi is a little out of place in an anime that’s mainly about
legends and fantastical beasts. It’s not melded in very well and it’s
kind of weird that after learning about Leda, there’s a throwaway line
about hopping their robots. Perhaps it’s to help understand how Leda
managed to make Master Zell bring Yohko to Ashanti and try to discover
the secrets of her walk-man. Despite this, though, the random inclusion of
sci-fi isn’t terribly distracting or take the audience out of the show.
It’s used to help understand how the people of Ashanti live on the land
without just saying, “it’s just because of magic”.
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| From 80s teenage girl. |
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| ...To heroic Valkyrie. |
Yohko is a very good lead character – she seemed adaptable and definitely capable, though the fact that it’s only one episode hurts her character a little bit. She’s not shown to have some kind of athletic ability until she arrives in Ashanti and starts running, and lifting herself from the vines. It does show that she has an ear for music since she composed the song her self but it’s not too bad.
The other characters, Ringum, the talking dog, and Yoni, the remaining Leda shrine maiden, are very good characters as well. They can stand on their own and they really are interesting in their own rights but they never seemed to overshadow the main character herself. As for the world, it would have been nice to know if there were other villagers in this particular world to show how devastated it actually is when it seemed that Leda abandoned them.
A problem, though, with the characters, including and especially Master Zell, they act as actors playing a certain archetype instead of being actual characters. Usually, this would be a really bad thing, the archetypes, but it’s not as annoying in this OVA. It’s pretty much downplayed as something that someone with an affinity for cheesy 1980s media would enjoy.
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| Yoni. |
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| Ringum. |
The animation, especially for its time, is absolutely stunning! Granted, there are quite a few flubs here and there but it’s not so bad that the viewer wouldn’t be too distracted from it. Certain angles, colors, and the atmosphere of the anime itself is extremely well done and pretty effective. It certainly works with what’s going on and the colors aren’t over-saturated with a singular one. All in all, it’s gorgeous to look at!
As for the magical girl component, well, it’s there. She does get powers and there is a cute mascot. There is a sequence and she does eventually return to her more normal every day life. If there’s an appropriate way to help understand, it’s pretty much a lite version of “Conan the Barbarian” but with sci-fi & magical girl tropes added in.
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| I want that walkman! |
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| That state-of-the-art Walkman is the key. |
Now just by that plot, you can see that this show isn't particularly new. The odds and ends of it show up in Magic Knight Rayearth, Fushigi Yugi, and plenty of other shoujo (or women's) anime. Together with characters that fit stereotypes more than real people, Leda starts off with a hard load to carry. Yohko is so much an everygirl that she isn't particularly compelling, and her acceptance in becoming a warrior in a single moment is silly. Lingum is fun, but primarily there for the cute factor. Yoni is a plot device. Zell is ridiculous, right down to his sorcerer's robes. And that's essentially it for the characters.
So why can I still recommend this piece? It's because you will see things here you won't see anywhere else. You'll see creatures that Lewis Carroll would have envied. You'll see mecha that make you rethink how cool Gundam is. You'll see better mechanical designs than in a half-dozen other shows combined. This is a fantasy world that is indeed fantastic. Combined with some sharp action sequences, a soundtrack that's still a worthy listen in 2021, and nice animation, there's plenty to enjoy. And yes, it's fun, a joy at times to just sit and watch.
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| This is how perfect the Blu ray edition looks. |
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| SD versus HD. |
It's also the rare title that has major crossover appeal to both sexes. As the deodorant commercial goes, Leda's strong enough for a man but made for a woman. Despite my picking on certain character choices, there are some very interesting choices here too. Because we never see Yohko's choice in a man, we don't make judgments on her; we simply accept him as the embodiment of unrequited love. We feel for Yohko not because we know her, but because we know ourselves and our own pangs of love. And that isn't a storyline limited to either of the sexes.
I've grown fonder of Leda over the years, enough that I wanted to watch it again before writing a revised review. I caught some flaws I didn't remember, but I also was reminded of why this title works. It's like listening to the 80s station and hearing a tune that floods you with memories, not because the melody is great but because it connects with you at some deeper level. Leda's surface is glittery and sometimes too predictable, but underneath is a love song waiting to be heard.
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| Ready to fight the good fight. |
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| A talking dog is always an asset. |
It’s really enjoyable and I’d recommend this OVA especially to those who enjoy some lite 1980s anime cheese.
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| Impressive fanart! |
Here's the original 3 minute promotional trailer for the VHS release:
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