Aquarion: Volume 4 (Review)
Saturday, 20th February 2010, 18:31

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Introduction
We reach the final volume of Aquarion, and this should be where things get dark, ominous, and altogether more serious. I know I said that last time, and was utterly mistaken, but in a show about the confrontation between good and evil, it would be a poor confrontation if things didn’t get dark and serious at some point, and quite frankly, we’re running out of episodes in which to do that. Not that I mind all that much, as the sheer irreverence and fun of Aquarion is what makes it one of the few mecha shows that I can tolerate, let alone like. It’s been somewhat odd, looking forward to a new disc each month of this, on the surface, generic action show, but for me it has turned out to be the exception that proves the rule. I hope that it can keep that distinction for the final volume.

In Holy Genesis Year 0011, after 12000 years of slumber the Shadow Angels of Atlandia attack an Earth already weakened in the Great Catastrophe. They seek the prana energy that every human possesses, and the weakened inhabitants of the world have no defence. No defence, except the Mechanical Angel Aquarion, which was rediscovered by Fudo Gen, and has been put to use in defending against increasingly devastating attacks. The Aquarion is a giant robot, comprised of three vehicles or vectors. Each vector has to be piloted by a unique individual with a multi-dimensional aura, an Element User, and these Element Users are in short supply. When they merge their souls in perfect harmony, they can combine the elements of Aquarion to create an unstoppable fighting machine. Some elements are more harmonious than others, and a feral child named Apollo was plucked off the streets as he had the right multi-dimensional aura. More than that, prophecies state that he is the reincarnation of Apollonius, the greatest warrior of them all. Fellow pilot Silvia is apparently the reincarnation of Apollonius’ love Celiane, but she’s none too impressed by the foul-smelling, animalistic youth that they find, believing instead that her brother Sirius is the true heir to Apollonius’ soul. But they will have to work together to save the world.

The concluding 6 episodes of Aquarion are presented on this disc by MVM.

21. Crimson Path
Dreams now visit the Aquarion pilots once more, but while some are tormented, some are tempted, by a vision of a path of petals stretching to the moon. In particular, Sirius is questioning himself, and troubled by his ancestral heritage. When the next Shadow Angel attack comes, it’s Toma himself, seeking revenge for the fallen Futaba. But this time, his revenge is in the form of an invitation.

22. Wings Unseen
Is Sirius really Solar Wing? Some think so, while others are enraged at the suggestion. For Silvia it just causes stress, as she agonises over her brother. There’s trouble for Fudo Gen as well, as if he cannot retrieve the missing Vector, he’ll be removed from command. But when that missing Vector does return, it enters into battle against its former wingmates, showing a shocking new ability that overwhelms all in its path. Two Vectors alone can’t Merge, and all seems lost, when suddenly a new Aquarion appears, piloted by an old face.

23. Fleeting Wings
History appears to be repeating itself, with questionable science used to create the new Attack Aquarion. A former Deava pilot serves as guinea pig in this ultimate weapon, and as traitor battles perversion, Silvia finds that she has a choice to make.

24. Heaven’s Gate
Silvia made her decision, and it seems that she and Apollo will have a bright future together, providing anyone survives. For the Shadow Angels have created the ultimate weapon, Harvest Snow. Now portals are opening up all over the world, and the precipitation that falls from within is sapping prana energy by remote. With the final battle imminent, the Deava pilots take a moment to reflect. But Apollo and Silvia don’t even have that luxury, as the barrier surrounding the base is breached, and Silvia abducted. As the Aquarion pilots fall victim to the Harvest Snow, the only option is to breach the portals and take the fight to Atlandia and the Shadow Angels. But as soon as the portals weaken, the UN forces launch an attack of their own.

25. Final Battle! Atlandia!
As Pierre, Reika and Apollo follow the UN forces to Atlandia, the battle commences, but truths are yet to be revealed to both sides, and as 12000-year-old memories reawaken, it becomes clear that the very reason for which both sides fight, may wind up destroying the very world that they fight for.

26. The Day The World Begins
The conclusion.

Picture
Aquarion gets a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer, as befits a modern anime. As you would expect, it is an NTSC-PAL standards conversion, although there isn’t a major prevalence of softness of ghosting in the image. What you probably will spot is the judder in the pans and scrolls. Aquarion is a Satelight production, the same people who made Noein and Heat Guy J, so there is a comfortable familiarity in the character design style. However, for a comparatively recent anime, it does seem dated in the way that it blends, or rather fails to blend CG animation and traditional 2D stuff. The kick ass mecha and villainous Cherubim are depicted in bright, shiny, geometrically exact CGI, while the character designs are plainly 2D, and they don’t go together all that well. On a rare occasion, one of the characters would sprout polygons, and become CG him or herself, to better fit in a 3D background, a little like Vexille or Appleseed, and I’d be left scratching my head, wondering what had just happened. All that said, if you can put Aquarion’s visual oddities aside, you’ll also find that it’s a vibrant, and fluidly animated show, lacking in those static moments that I usually associate with anime, and instead showing the results of a higher budget and a greater number of man hours spent at the computers.

Sound
You have a choice between DD 5.1 English and DD 2.0 Japanese here, along with optional subtitles and signs. I can tell you that as usual I was happy to listen to the original language track, but I did sample the English and found it to be one of the good ones, with a decent cast and good performances. I think Aquarion is one of those rare anime that I’m happy to watch in either language, and given the action packed nature of the show, then the 5.1 soundtrack is definitely a plus. Besides, with Yoko Kanno’s great music accompanying this show, you want to hear it all at its best.

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