“Just when you thought the first two volumes were full of mecha action, vol. 3 just ups the ante of mecha battle goodness. Another awesome volume in the series that just continually gets better and better. Robot fans, check this series out! It’s 100% percent mecha ‘pron’!â€
DVD INFORMATION:
DVD TITLE: Super Robot Wars Original Generation: Divine Wars Vol. 3
DURATION: 72 minutes
DVD INFORMATION: COLOR/ MPEG-2 / DVD-5 / NTSC / Japanese Audio (Dolby Digital Stereo) / English Subtitles / 16:9 LB
CATALOG #: BUDH0131
COMPANY: Bandai Visual / Honneamise
RATING: 13 and up
STAFF INFORMATION:
ORIGINAL STORY: SR Production Team
DIRECTOR: Kakudo Hiroyuki
SUPERVISOR & SERIES PLANNER: Terada Takanobu
CHARACTER CONCEPTION: Kohno Sachiko
CHARACTER DESIGN: Ikeda Yuji
MAIN MECHANICAL DESIGNERS: Katoki Hajime, Miyatake Kazutaka, Okawara Kunio, Saito Kazue
ART DIRECTOR: Kato Kenji
PRODUCED By: SWROG PROJECT
CAST INFORMATION:
Ryusei Miki Shin-Ichiro, Ingram: Furusawa Toru, Yukiko: Sakuma Rei, Kusuha: Takahashi Mikamo, Tenzan: Kawazu Yasuhiko, Laker: Kiyokawa Motomu, Kenzo: MUGIHITO, Kai: Saizan Tadahisa, Hance: Masutani Yutaka, Shu: Koyasu Takehito, Bian: Iizuka Shoz
The third explosive installment of the series carving out new ground in the robot anime genre!
When the sacred flag is flown, the first strike of the blue devil will sound the call to war!!
It’s interesting that with each volume of “Super Robot Wars OG: Divine Wars”, I tend to talk about how the mecha battles escalate its impressive and awesome battles. Volume 2 really demonstrated battles that for me, it was a “homerun”.
Now watching volume 3 featuring episodes 6 through 8 of the series. If Vol. 2 was a “home run”, vol. 3 is a “Grand Slam” as the war between the Earth Federation and the Divine Crusaders has begun.
In episode 6 titled “Stage 06: Blue Devil”, the unveiling ceremony for a new form of weaponry is actually a smokescreen for the first attempt at negotiations between the Earth Federation Government and a potential alien menace.
With all eyes towards this ceremony which could help end the war between the humans and the aliens, EOTI Organization’s Shu Shirakawa has something else in mind as he takes the huge mecha robot Granzon and launches an attack on both the Earth Federation and the aliens.
Chaos ensues as the Earth Federation tries to defend themselves against the Granzon and Earth’s mecha protectors go to battle against the various aliens who want retribution for the attack during the peace talks.
We are quickly introduced to the skilled mecha team known as ATX led by Sanger Zonvolt. Both Zonvolt and ATX Team are known to be the best mecha team the Earth Federation has.
Part of the ATX team are test pilot Kyosuke Nanbu a gifted pilot and excels at close-range combat. Excellent Browning, girlfriend of Kyosuke and known for her high-mobility and long-range attacks. And the third test pilot for ATX Team, Brooklyn Luckfield who has the paranormal abilities of psychodriver and pilots the Gespenst MK-II Type-TT.
We get a glimpse of other forces with the Earth Federation who show off their fighting capabilities and an episode with all out mecha battles between the alien insect swarm, the Granzon and the forces from the Earth Federation.
In episode 7 titled “Stage 07: The Divine Crusaders”, The EOTI Organization led by Prof. Bian Zoldark has started the new generation called “Divine Crusaders”. A group that wants to defend humans against the aliens but feels the Earth Federation is in their way. Zoldark gives an International televised speech that humans can join him or go against him.
And to make things worse for the Earth Federation, the United Colony Corps has aligned themselves with the Divine Crusaders and begin attacking Earth Federation army bases.
This leads to a battle between the ATX Team and Divine Crusaders/United Colony Corps
In episode 8 titled “Stage 08: The Steel Ark”, The United Colony Corps now holds control of most of the Galaxy and the Divine Crusaders have captured many of the Earth Federation military bases in Southeast Asia.
A battle ensues at the Sasebo base which the SRX Team goes to battle against the Divine Crusader mobile squadron and Ryusei has to learn the about the casualties of war.
Also, the Divine Crusaders have captured ATX leader Sanger Zonvolt. What will happen when Zonvolt comes face-to-face with DC leader Professor Zoldark.
VIDEO:
As for the video, since it’s a newer anime series that aired back in the end of 2006 and early 2007, as expected, the anime is clear and colorful. Also, because it is a Bandai Visual release known for their audio and video quality, the anime is presented in 16:9 LB anamorphic with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1.
AUDIO:
Bandai Visual is known for their quality A/V and audio is encoded at 488kbps. There is no Digital 5.1 audio selection, just Dolby Digital Stereo. And primary audio is in Japanese. There is no English dub tracks, for those interested in that.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Surprisingly, there are no special features. I would expected maybe a textless opening or ending, especially for the JAM PROJECT fans out there who enjoy the opening theme. But unfortunately, there are no special features at all.
As for the DVD-insert booklet, there is an 8-page character guide and glossary.
When I first watched the OAV “Super Robot Wars Original Generation” and saw the various mecha teams within the Earth Federation, I wondered how long it would take to see these teams in the television series.
In episode 6, we are quickly introduced to all of them fighting amidst the chaos. If anything, the main focus of this third volume is the skilled ATX team.
Like the OAV, in the TV series the ATX team are just awesome in their fighting skills and their ability to wipe out their enemy in a variety of ways. But even more impressive are the mecha robots the ATX Team pilots, especially Sanger Zonvolt’s Grungust Type-D, a massive super robot with unparalleled output and attack capabilities.
I was very pleased with this overall volume. The first two have been pretty good but third really kicks things up into high gear and the action was just incredible.
It’s going to be interesting to see how the war develops overtime and how the Earth Federation can contend with the powerful Divine Crusaders.
If there is one thing that can be faulted in the eyes of a viewer is that too many characters are being introduced and if you are not paying attention, I can see some people getting lost and not knowing which team or side that pilot is on.
But I think the intention was to show that the Earth Defense Force has its share of assault teams and show them in battle and then take its time for character development for the SRX Team and the ATX team members. And with only eight episodes, its still a bit early in the series. So, there is much storytelling and character development left in the series.
But overall, if you have been curious about picking this series up and you are a true mecha fan, you do not want to miss “Super Robot Wars OG: Divine Wars”. It’s an awesome series and I look forward to volume 4!
+ “SUPER ROBOT WARS†in an animated television series based on a long running video game… A long time coming!
+ Mecha battle fest! Cool animated battles and cool ideas of weapon utilization.
+ Well done voice acting with many of the original voice talent from the video games involved.
– For those who need and prefer an English dub, this DVD is ONLY Japanese with English subtitles.