By Susan Broadbent
As awesome as the
setting for ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ is, I’m going to go down a different road in
this edition and trade in the boots for some flippers. I’m quite excited for any
hot weather because it finally means going swimming again! I may not be as
extreme as Haru from ‘Free!’ when it comes to diving into the water, but it did
get me thinking about a few series that take place in a world completely
covered in water. Whether as a fantasy setting or post-apocalyptical scenario, they
all bear some similarity to the 1995 film ‘Waterworld’. Sorry Max, I hope your
car is waterproof….
Blue Submarine No.6 (1998)
The Earth has been flooded as part of scientist
Zorndyke’s grand plan to replace humans as the dominant species of the planet.
He has bred an army of sea-creatures to fulfil his vision, but humanity fights back
with the international Blue Fleet submarines. The crew of No.6 are the focal
point of this four part OVA who are joined by former underwater pilot Tetsu
Hayami after crewmember Mayumi Kino enlists him.
The story differs
from Satoru Ozawa’s original manga. Additionally the new characters for the OVA
were designed by Range Murata and Takuhito Kusanagi. Blue Submarine No.6 became known for its early combination of
traditional and 3D graphic animation. The relaxing jazz OST by The Thrill also
makes it stand out.
I remember catching
the English dub on TV many years back and I have rewatched it occasionally ever
since due to its stance on war and peace and the amazing nereid (mermaid)
designs. The ending may seem anticlimactic to some, but this anime takes you on
a two hour journey that leaves you wondering what could be long after.
Aqua Knight (1998)
Yukito Kishiro is
best known for his sci-fi work ‘Gunnm’, aka ‘Battle Angel Alita’. Loving his
art style, my friend purchased the three existing manga volumes of this more
light-hearted work, Aqua Knight.
Marmundo is not only
a world covered in water, it is effectively a disc which is split through the
middle. In the world of Marmundo, there exist knights who ride on orcas and are
equipped with armour that lets them battle beneath the water. Ruliya of Perla is
such a knight in training; after a storm she is swept onto a remote island and
is helped by a naïve young boy named Ashika and his father. In gratitude Ruliya
grants Ashika one promise, who in turn wishes to become a knight like her.
However when Ashika is kidnapped by inventor and scientist Alcantra, Ruliya
sets out on a quest to save him. Aqua
Knight is a great read for a fantasy adventure with a strong female lead
and well-thought out characters.
Admittedly Kishiro’s
random humour shines through and particularly Ashika’s nudity may take some
getting used to, but the art style is solid and so is the story line.
Officially it is on hiatus, so I hope it does get continued one day. I say if
you ever get a chance to read this manga, go for it!
Suisei no Gargantia (2013)
A more recent
series, Suisei no Gargantia was
recommended to me by a friend on the basis that a language barrier and cultural
differences existed between the characters.
The beginning of the
anime takes place in space in the far future with pilot Ledo and his mecha
named Chamber battling the aliens “Hideaaze”. Unable to return to the main
ship, Ledo enters a wormhole and winds up in a location unknown to him and
Chamber: a planet completely covered in water, known in his history as “Earth”.
He had been salvaged by the crew of the Gargantia, whose language, culture and
technology seem alien an primitive to him. Having served as a soldier his
entire young life, Ledo must adapt to a new life of community and peace, though
conflicts are never far off. Pirates roam the sea and it turns out there may be
something lurking below the waters, too…
There are
fan-servicey elements in this anime, with character designs by Hanaharu Naruko
this may not be surprising to some people
out there. Furthermore perhaps 13
episodes were too short a time for a storyline with so much potential. As much
as I loved the premise I didn’t feel as connected to the characters as I had
hoped and the genre is not really mecha or slice of life, making it hard for me
to recommend whole-heartedly like other series.
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