Birth

Birth of the earliest OVAs.

Today's review is filled with personal nostalgia. Birth is a 1984 OVA based upon the Birth Planet Busters manga by Yoshinori Kanada, whose CV includes more than 50 television projects and OVAs. Some of his animation work include Cutie Honey and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA, Princess Mononoke, and Cyborg 009 just to name a few.

Birth was originally conceived to be an animator's delight. The action shots that move from one angle to the other, feature some of the most original, yet early attempts at taking the visual experience to the next level. Hence, the reason why some of the vehicle designs and especially Rasa Jupiter's ass is prominently featured from a variety of angles, speeds, and near/distant shots.

My experience with this gem was perhaps one of the earliest I had with Anime. Birth was imported by Harmony Gold, and released in home video (VHS tapes) as Planet Busters, and The Secret of the Talisman in 1987. At that time, whether you like or not, Animé was causing a big impression in the western world, so it became the next gold rush. I remembered very little from this little OVA back then. What I do remember is that one of the local TV stations would premiere Anime on the weekends during the Saturday morning cartoon block. Years went by and all I could tell my friends about it was "There was this group of rebel heroes, they had a magical sword, and a super powered weapon that ultimately destroyed their world". Fast forward to a few decades later, and thanks to the internet forums, I found the answer to my blurry memories: It was Birth! one of the first OVAs ever made, and a must watch for any serious connoisseurs.

 

Raza Jupiter.

Raza's vehicles demand this pose.

Birth story is quite simple. As a matter of fact, what I remembered was pretty much 70% of the plot. Our heroes, Raza Jupiter, Nam, Kim, and Luzen Bao take us into a road movie with one of the most unexpected endings ever seen in animated form. In a nutshell, planet Aqualoid isn't the paradise it once was. All thanks to the invasion of cybernetic creatures known as "Inorganics". Legend has it, SHADE, a magical sword that travels throughout the universe, is the key to defeating these invaders. However, the sword's actual power won't be revealed until the very end of the story. Character wise, we're introduced to a set of characters that have been doing whatever they've been doing for quite some time. Save for Luzen Bao who is a treasure hunter, we're never told about their motivations. While this put off many Anime fans who bashed Birth on their reviews, others enjoyed the mystery. On the other hand, the Inorganics have already invaded Aqualoid for reasons unknown. Perhaps, emulating Star Wars with the idea of an "already established world" was a bit underdeveloped here. However, we can't deny the animation quality this OVA has to offer. Detailed mechanical designs in every vehicle, beautifully drawn landscapes and city scenery, and characters whose body motion looks natural and harmonious even at their most frantic antics. 

Once the "Shed" sword finds its way to Nam, we are introduced to another key character in the story: Arlia, a superior being from an undisclosed distant planet in the universe. Although, only  a supporting character, Arlia reveals the true nature of the Shed sword, and which power it hides.

Early character designs.

More character designs.

Back then when I watched it on TV for the fist time, and on later rewatch through rental video, I had this feeling the main characters reminded of Robotech's New Generation Rook Bartley, Rand, & Lunk. Moreover, the inorganics looked very similar to the Invid. Little did I know back then that the original opening sequence for Genesis Climber MOSPEADA was animated by Yoshinori Kanada himself. Also, let's not forget how influential the Mad Max movie was for the Japanese animation industry with its dystopic future.

1987 was a prolific year for the animation industry, and while Birth premiered originally in 1984, American companies began to develop a serious interest in obtaining as many Anime/OVAs as possible due to the growing fandom. Bubblegum Crisis, City Hunter, Kimagure Orange Road, Zillion, Wicked City, Dangaioh, and Dirty Pair, all premiered in that glorious year. Of course, it would take a while to see them all outside Japan, yet they are all classics, and the ones I mention are only a few of the many released that year. Harmony Gold could smell money within thousand of miles of distance, so after Robotech was still a massive worldwide hit, they went Anime hunting, and Birth was one of the many OVAs they brought to the USA. Of course, we all know the treatment this company gave to their imported products: Replace the original soundtrack,change character names, delete scenes and even modify the original story. Nevertheless, this was a common practice in the industry. Other Anime received the same treatment way before Harmony Gold created Robotech, so it'd be unfair blaming it only on them.

The World of the Talisman.

Planet Busters.

Streamline Pictures also took an interest in importing Anime, or "Japanimation" as a few people would call it back then. Personally, it was just Japanese animation to me and most of my friends for a long time. Now, this company had some familiar names on board: Carl Macek, Robotech's creator and former HG's employee, was one of the founding members. The first Birth dub was released in 1987 by Harmony Gold as "The World of the Talisman" and that's the dub I was "lucky" to witness 36 years ago. Streamline's version would take longer, and it wouldn't be released until 1992. However, their legacy cannot be forgotten since they were responsible for an extensive list of Anime dubs. A few names I can think of are, Castle in the Sky, Lensman, Zillion, Fist of the North Star: The Movie, Golgo 13, Robotech (1992's home video collection),SDF Macross, SDC Southern Cross, Genesis Climber MOSPEADA, Megazone 23 part 1 & part 2, Dirty Pair, Space Adventure Cobra, and many, many more.

To this very day, Carl Macek is a controversial figure in the Anime fandom. The neverending "subbed versus dubbed" debate heavily criticized his "Americanized" dubs. Nobody asked I know, but I'm team subtitled all the way. In animation, just like in films in different languages, the only way to truly appreciate the actors' talent is through their own voices. Dubbing is for couch potatoes.

 

Wielding Shed with friends.

Fan service done right in the early ages of OVAs.

 

Anyway, Birth's story, as confusing it may be to some viewers, may hide a philosophical lesson: What does mankind do when it has the power to completely erase the planet and its inhabitants? Is this purge through massive destruction, the only way to start fresh, and make a better world for everyone? The animation wastes no time. The Shed sword is not the key to destruction, but the key to survival. The military created "Dongemahar", an even deadlier weapon, one that is believed to completely obliterate the Inorganics. However, there's a catch, and a big one I   might add. Fire, and everything will be turned into plasma until it disintegrates. 

For a kid, seeing the good guys being destroyed along with the bad guys and the whole planet they lived in, definitely caused an impression. I thought it was an unexpected ending that only would to that "dark & gritty" mood people used to label Anime with. "not kids stuff", ADV would say decades later on their DVD releases.

Arlia.

Nam.

Later I would find out that there was a novelization trying to answer all the questions the OVA created. On the other hand, the Manga was as confusing as the movie, although it did expand, and tried to cover the origin story of the characters, the very nature of it, made it nearly impossible to be cohesive. Moreover the production schedule of Birth was problematic since day one. However, it did allow artists involved to produce Leda: The Fantastic Adventure of Yohko., the second biggest selling OVA from the 80s, with the first one being Megazone 23, another Idol & Victor production where Kaname Pro was not involved.

All in all, one of the first OVAs ever made. Reason enough to give it a try and consider it part of Japanese animation history.Birth ended up being a commercial failure, but did make some waves in the small world that was budding otaku culture and the developing animation fandom. After all, OVAs would always be something of a niche market, and it was mostly Kanada fans who went to see this one. However off-model it was, Rasa’s design was pretty attractive and probably played a part in the lolicon boom that had started in the late 70s and that Kaname would contribute to with its round, plump and cute girl characters. In terms of animation proper, Kanada pushed further the limits of what you could do with background animation in one of the most amazing chase sequences ever made, and it was all hand drawn, which makes it even more amazing.

Raza inspired future heroines.

Sexy read head.

Birth theme:

Harmony Gold's The World of the Talisman opening sequence:

 

Another The World of the Talisman version scene. Raza's escape. Enjoy the animation!

An action scene from the Japanese Blu-Ray edition: