Gall Force: New Era (1991-1992) Anime OVA Series Review

Gall Force: New Era is a science fiction anime OVA series that was released from 1991 to 1992 and has only two episodes, forty minutes each. It 's the sixth entry in the Gall Force media franchise and is the last one to feature the same creative team that involves writer Hideki Kakinuma and director Katsuhito Akiyama. Voice actress Naoko Watanabe returns as Catty but we also have in the cast Miki Ishioka, Chisa Yokoyama, Yuri Shiratori, Kaoru Shimamura and Nozomu Sasaki.

In a futuristic Earth in the year 2085, reincarnations of all of the girls (now called Ruby, Crys, Pearl and Diamond) with slightly different designs (by Kenichi Sonoda again) meet after a disaster caused by the GORN, AI that wants to destroy humanity, rises after 200 years to attack the new world. Led by Catty, the group escapes their city in a starship and must now battle the machines.

Going from space battles to post-apocalyptic ground combat, we now found ourselves in another conventional setting: the futuristic, technologically advanced world on the edge of crisis. While several space operas and pulp stories had space as setting, we never quite saw anything like the original Gall Force setting and world, but by the time we arrive at the sixth entry in the series it's very evident that it slowly turned more and more traditional and borderline indistinguishable from other science fiction stories like Dirty Pair or Bubblegum Crisis (the Kenichi Sonoda designs help to make it feel part of that series as well), but while it manages to find some ways to relate it to the Gall Force mythos and lore, it does feel like a natural evolution.

If you noticed, the girls resemble their original versions a lot more in their designs, and they were also given more outward gestures or reactions that add personality to the girls with their exaggerated expressions (this was never “missing” from other entries but it was increased here). Their roles are also more faithful to Eternal Story but since we now get to have a "fall of civilization" type of story we get to see some of their previous normal lives before joining the war against the robots. This context was pretty much missing from almost every other entry since all of them dropped us in the middle of their armed conflicts. With this in mind, I can see why some people might get more invested and might enjoy this one if they felt Eternal Story lacked explanations and strong characterizations.

The conflicts and clashes between the characters are a bit more pronounced than in Eternal Story but it usually doesn't really go anywhere particularly new or different, they are mostly there to give you a sense of how the team behaves and what they are able to do in such an extreme situation. The villain isn't anything interesting and he's the lamest part of the two episodes. Also, the animation from episode to episode is inconsistent and there’s a drop in quality in the second episode, things look flatter, movements are a bit stiffer and the colors arent quite there. This isn't a dealbreaker for me because I thought the designs were cute and I understood that the budget issues and time constraints are normal in anime so I was more forgiving but it could be distracting for others.

New Era highlights an idea inherent to Gall Force and that was an important subtext to its stories: the value and importance of human life (as a collective, a group, a race) on earth, and the sacrifices we are willing to make in order to fight for our species. The ending is kind of bittersweet, in part because of the nature of the story but also because, while a beautiful idea, it's not really much of an ending, it's more of a way to do the same set up we have seen in the first three movies. So it feels sort of like a lot of steps just to get to the same place or repeat the same old thing.

I can probably recommend this one if you had some issues with the first movie. This one has a few drawbacks, mostly because it’s a long set-up rather than a complete epic storyline, but it’s more than watchable. If you liked the previous series and OVA’s then you will most likely have a good time with New Era as well. 

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.