Gall Force: Earth Chapter (1989-1990) Anime OVA Series Review

Gall Force: Earth Chapter was an action sci-fi war anime OVA series that was released from 1989 to 1990 and functions as a continuation to Rhea Gall Force (1989) and it's the fifth installment in the Gall Force franchise. The same creative team with Katsuhito Akiyama and Hideki Kakinuma was incharge of it, with the voices of Naoko Watanabe, Michie Tomizawa, Eriko Hara, Yuko Mizutani, Maria Kawamura, Hiromi Tsuru, Chieko Honda and Naoko Matsui.

We follow the same human resistance against Paranoid machines. Sandy leads her group of guerrilla fighters to face off against their non-human foes traveling across Earth and uniting the entire race against the menace, awaiting Martian reinforcements and meeting a group of ecological christians, the Geo Chris, as the MME menace approaches.

I do think that the post-apocalyptic setting was a nice modification to the Gall Force formula, it was a fun way to show a needed counterpart to the space setting of the first trilogy, but while Rhea benefited from a short runtime and wonderful action this sequel OVA three-parter isn't as fortunate, even with its merits. The drama is pretty weightless and most of the plot points don't really have much staying power with you, the personality of the characters has also been put on a secondary plane, with the exposition-heavy talks taking the majority of the screentime.

It's a shame that they didn't explore more of the characters considering that this time we follow the exact same ones for an increased amount of time, would have been neat to see more of Score and Sandy developing as friends, or maybe the vagrant Mitty could have been fleshed out or could have been given a bigger role in the narrative but not much is done with them. Score never really does anything else besides being a badass chick with weapons who says one liners and mocks others, but she is very good in that role so I cant really complain about that. At certain moments they make her more sensible and she begins to worry a lot about her companions, giving her a bit of character, stopping her from becoming some sort of walking cliche for some brief scenes. Sandy is the same optimist and the intimate relationship she feels, the responsibility, is very palpable and allows her to reflect on the relationship between her enemies and herself as well as her kind. This pays off to some degree in the climax of the series.

We have some pretty awesome action but the overall animation kind of varies in quality throughout the three episodes, it never reaches the level of incompetent but you can tell there were some shots and scenes that feature some stilted or downgraded animation. Nothing awful but it's a bit distracting. The rest of the OVA series has some delightful sci-fi action that keep you entertained, but they aren't the most impressive or fantastic out of the franchise and might not be enough if you want to binge the series.

It's nothing stellar but it gets the job done as a light action anime. It's a bit convoluted at times, which hurts the engagement and the pacing, but in general I believe that even non-fans of the franchise can jump on either Rhea or Earth Chapter and get something out of it, considering that most of the essential elements were removed or altered.

I mostly recommend the show to those who are already into Gall Force and are completists, stick with it until the final OVA to see how the conflict from the previous chapters gets resolved but don't expect a breathtaking script or outstanding animation.

Kali: Avenging Angel (2024) Review

KALI: L'ange de la Vengeance is a French production directed by Julien Seri, a Luc Besson alumni who debuted in 2001 with Yamakasi. At first it looks like a very typical action film but with some French elements, and while that description is not wrong I think it still has a little more to offer even if it's not really original. 

Lisa a.k.a Kali, played by Sabrina Ouazani (Taxi 5, Kung-Fu Zohra, Prière d’enquêter : Elli et Clément) is an ex-special Forces recruit whose life took a dark turn after the death of her child and her  relationship with her husband turned shaky soon after. She is informed that her husband was killed by a drug trafficking organization, Kali must now investigate her husband's involvement with them, was he in on their operations or was he investigating them? She will go to Brazil and use her skills and rage to find out, starting shootouts, street fights, blowing up grenades and torturing criminals in brutal ways. 

While the plot isn't anything special I think what sets this movie apart is the intimate angle it takes as it is sprinkled with heartwarming moments that, while a bit simple, still work and give a bit more depth to the story than the average action product. Although, the actual combat sequences with gunplay and fighting are well shot, properly choreographed and executed in an exciting manner.

The solid performances are able to convey hard emotions in very little time, almost as soon as the movie starts (in a very personal moment as well), you feel with the characters even if you don't really know them that much at this point. It's somewhat believable at handling the emotional responses. As I mentioned, there´s more emphasis on emotions and inner feelings than in action, which is why the movie sets up everything in the very first scene, the rest delves into the heroine´s mental state. 

The movie is about two things: Character study of a troubled woman and the corruption  investigation that leads to detective work. There's also a focus on maternity in the film, from two pregnancies and mothers and their children appearing all throughout the runtime.

Our protagonist is relentless and violent, I think this ends up working fine and gives her a hard edge. I do feel like we need more development through her actions or perhaps more substantial conversations regarding her backstory and her emotional state, most of it feels too cold to care fully. Maybe some flashbacks would have been nice like in Kill Bill (2003-2004). There is a compelling dream sequence that makes the movie stand out a bit more and I like the way they turned the deity of Kali into a more spiritually violent symbol rather than the bloodthirsty goddess she is usually portrayed as, when Kali says she is “The goddess of destruction and transformation,” this speaks about the protagonists´ both inner and outer strength. 

The cinematography is polished, the textures almost makes it feel like one of those old school and gritty crime thrillers, aside from the modern touches. The camera is dynamic, the editing cuts to the chase and the color grading is pleasing to the eye, integrating the color quite well into the shots, very organically, something that makes the images stand out more, all subtly too. Some of the color gels and neon lighting are very derivative of modern action cinema but it works well here because it's not overused. 

While the film is very well directed and acted it may have a plot that's too generic for most audiences, and some people have noted the stereotypical and unrealistic way Brazilians are portrayed in this picture, so have that in mind. Otherwise, this is a good entry to the action genre that delivers the goods and becomes more worthwhile than most of its kind because of it´s sentimental conflicts.

I also think it tackles a very interesting subject when it comes to action female leads: the fact that they are able to take a life and to give life at the same time. A dichotomy that´s fascinating and perhaps not as conflictive as it seems. Looks like Seri learned some lessons on deadly females from Besson.