Plot: What’s it about?
When I was a little kid, one of my favorite activities was watching the Anime that would play early on Saturday mornings on the SciFi Channel. It was fantastic. Ultra-violent Manga Video releases from the Eighties would play for roughly three or four hours every Saturday morning and I would watch it and then try to draw the cool machines and motorcycles from the movies. My first exposure to anime was when I was maybe nine years old and watched Akira on a Saturday morning. I am not lying when I say that it absolutely changed my life and made a lifelong fan of dystopian films and anime. I am not going to pretend to be an authority on anime. I don’t watch it very much any more now that I am older. I have seen some of the bigger releases like Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Shamploo, but I am typically more old-school favoring nostalgia over newer releases. When I was a kid, Venus Wars was cool as anything. So, how does it hold up now that I am an adult?
Venus Wars takes place in the seventh second year that Venus has been colonized after an asteroid impact delivers enough water to help sustain life in 2003. There are two large factions that are vying for control of Venus. Caught in the crossfire are a blonde reporter that just came from Earth and a group of motorcycle racing renegade youths. One of the motorcycle racers, Hiro, tries his best to resist the forces that have occupied his city. As his relationship with the virginal Maggie turns into love, Hiro leads the other racers in uprising against the occupying tanks and soldiers. They are helped along by a grumpy mechanic named Gary.
As an adult, watching Venus Wars was enjoyable as a nostalgic trip, but obviously the plot is pretty far-fetched and lacking. The plot is really just an excuse for some well-orchestrated battle scenes and motorcycle action, and whenever the film tries to take itself too seriously it feels absolutely ridiculous. I still think that this movie has some redeeming qualities though. The action scenes hold up well and still are really neat and well done. Character designs and art are fantastic throughout the movie. That said, this movie may be best remembered as a kid instead of watched as an adult. My son walked into the room halfway through and thought it was awesome, so my guess would be that it still has the potential to make some new young fans who like motorcycles and explosions.
Video: How’s it look?
Discotek Media has done an exceptional job of presenting the film on Blu-Ray. The animation cells look fantastic and it still holds up really well visually. I actually prefer this hand drawn style of animation over the newer CGI-heavy animation that Japan has been known for in recent years. Visually, this movie still looks absolutely fantastic and the Blu-Ray shines in comparison to the previous DVD release that I own ( that’s right…I have bought this movie three times now. My nostalgia knows no bounds.)
Audio: How’s it sound?
The Blu-Ray carries both an English and Japanese LPCM 2.0 track. I was actually struck by how immersive and bombastic these two stereo tracks were. There is constantly a lot going on, with explosions and mortar cycles and tank effects throughout the movie, and there is much more directionality than would be expected from an LPCM 2.0 track. I grew up watching the movie dubbed in English, so I really like the cheesy dub, but purists may prefer the Japanese track. Also, the ridiculously over-the-top 80s synth and J-pop score is all there. This is solid work by Diskotek.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- English Credits for the movie
- CPM Trailer
The Bottom Line
Venus Wars is not an essential movie to add to a collection, but it is a good example of the anime style that I enjoyed the most growing up, with beautiful hand-drawn art and extremely ridiculous science fiction premises. Fans of the film will be happy to see the delicate care given to its visual and audio presentation.
