Gall Force 3: Stardust War (1988) Anime OVA Review

Gall Force 3: Stardust War is a 1988 science fiction anime OVA directed by Katsuhito Akiyama and written by Hideki Kakinuma, featuring the voices of Hiromi Tsuru, Naoko Watanabe, Yûko Mizutani, Waka Kanda and Chieko Honda. It’s a sequel to Gall Force Eternal Story (1986) and Gall Force 2: Destruction (1987), the third and final entry in the Gall Force original trilogy, made by a lot of the same creative team.

In Gall Force 2, the annihilation of Terra, Earth, was stopped by Lufy and her new team. However, both factions, the Solnoids and the Paranoids, now plan to use their Planet Destroyers in order to secure the total destruction of both races and end the war once and for all. Lufy and her fellow soldiers plan a last chance to avert complete devastation.

While most of the positive aspects of the previous OVA's are still present here, I think Stardust War feels incredibly different and discordant in tone and atmosphere compared to the previous one. We once again follow Lufy and the survivors of the last fight from the climax of Destruction, but this time we have a lot more emphasis on the worldbuilding and backstory of the creation and development of this all-female intergalactic race. There are lengthy explanations about the origin of the species and its creators, as well as what could possibly happen in the future. These exposition scenes are very well executed as they are engaging and interesting since they do give answers to a lot of questions you might have had regarding the mere concept of the franchise.

There's a sense of dread and doom throughout Startdust War, the title itself refers to the fact that by the time the final battle is done the only thing left might just be stardust, so that sets up the stakes of this mission. There's zero comedic relief, or at least it's minimized as much as possible. Most of the OVA has a serious feeling and a lot of it carries a great amount of weight. Lufy's decision to have a moment of redemption or at least to set things right and make her companions' struggle not be in vain is quite moving. The despair is real and the actual conclusion might leave some people with a bittersweet feeling because of the ending but the film handles these complex emotions very well.

Some people might be disappointed because this entry doesn't feature a high amount of action set-pieces, probably because the budget was lower, but even if the quantity goes down the heaviness and intensity of the battles make up for that. It's all meaningful and everyone plays a very important part, so this pretty much continues with the important themes of the franchise like collective action in order to achieve a better future, putting the necessities of the group above your own independent needs and the fight or search for a better world in the horizon without losing hope.

Another very solid OVA, this one has a satisfying conclusion to the original Gall Force trilogy without feeling overly long or stuck while also explaining things in a logical way that makes sense and doesn't break what we have seen before.

Gall Force 2: Destruction (1987) Anime OVA Review

Gall Force 2: Destruction is a 1987 science fiction OVA directed by Katsuhito Akiyama and written by Hideki Kakinuma, featuring the voices of Hiromi Tsuru, Naoko Watanabe, Yûko Mizutani, Waka Kanda and Chieko Honda. It’s a sequel to Gall Force Eternal Story (1986) and the second in the Gall Force original trilogy, made by a lot of the same creative team.

The seemingly eternal war between the Paranoids and the Solnoids it's still strong ten years after the Star Leaf incident. Fierce pilot Lufy is found and revived, long after being left floating in deep space during the last film. She is picked up by a Solnoid cruiser and after her recovery remembers very little outside of recognizing Catty, or at least someone who resembles her. She is then informed that the home planet for both factions at war has been destroyed and that they now plan to go to the 9th system and put an end to their conflict.

This time taking one of the more unique and stand out characters from the first movie, Lufy, this OVA follows her trying to cope with the events that took place in Eternal Story, with human life developing in Terra while Lufy and her new allies try to battle the Paranoids on their way to the planet where the unification of their species took place as the war practically destroys everything it touches. A lot of the epicness and fluid starship encounters are still awesome and breathtaking but you can tell this one went direct to video just by noticing the length of the film.

Once again, the collectivist attitude permeates the whole movie. Simply trading the colorful main group from the original with some similar-but-not-really new girls who, while not being badly designed, are not as particularly striking and visually arresting as the first crew. Most of them are not as remarkable and the color coding does very little compared to the rainbow rule that gave the original crew their iconic look. Another issue is that because the length of the OVA's from here on becomes so short you don't really have time to warm up to many of them and we end up with stories that end just before the conflict could get any more juicy and reach a greater climax. It's not like what we have seen seems bad, but it simply can't leave some space to develop even further, which I guess it's a compliment to want more of something.

The action is again quite wonderful and inventive. We don't get as much variety due to the short duration of the OVA but the spacecraft battles with so many laser beams, missiles and explosions to dazzle you are more than enough to entertain. Makes sense that this type of combat would be the primary focus since Lufy is known for being an expert pilot and now that we follow her she can show off her talent in extended space action sequences.

Very recommended if you enjoyed the first one, even people who disliked that they got rid of Lufy in the first movie might like this sequel.