Review of Submarine 707R

Introduction

The Original Video Animation or OVA has faded into relative obscurity in the West of late. Back in the 1990s during anime`s first major ascendance, OVAs shared half the shelf space with serial animes, and the idea of a story told in a few fifty-minute shows held a certain allure. Not bound by the requirements of television broadcasters, OVAs were less limited in the stories they could tell. It seems that we`re in the middle of anime`s second ascendance, but the majority of shows that make it to UK shores are now serialised stories, 25-minute shows that extend to 13 or 26 episodes per series. One off stories appear to be fewer on the ground; at least the ratio is certainly tipped more towards longer series. Submarine 707R is the first new OVA that I have seen in quite a while, and the idea of sitting down and watching a story unfold over 50 leisurely minutes sparks feelings of nostalgia. Aniplex, the studio behind Full Metal Alchemist bring this anime undersea adventure to the screen, two 50-minute episodes based on a Manga from the 1960s, updated to give it a futuristic feel that will resonate with contemporary audiences.

The oceans of the future are venue for a bitter conflict between the world`s navies and a sophisticated terrorist group, The Undersea Silence Revolution (USR). Admiral Red and his sophisticated UX submarine are sending countless warships to a watery grave. To that end, 10 of the world`s great seafaring nations join forces to create the Peace Keeping Navy (PKN) tasked with hunting down and destroying the USR. 10 great nations and the laughing stock that is Japan, who can only afford to send the ancient and decrepit 707 submarine. But when Red interrupts the sea borne conference and lays waste to the assembled fleet, it`s only the heroic sacrifice of Captain Hayami that saves the Apollo Norm flagship. Six months later, Hayami is gifted a new submarine, also named 707, and his crew is reassembled to set sail once more. The PKN has pernicious plans for Hayami however, Red has become obsessed with the 707 since it spoiled his fun, and Hayami will be central to the PKN`s strategy against the USR, even if it means using the new 707 as bait. But plans go awry, and Red is prepared for the PKN. When the pride of the PKN fleet, the US submarine Great Guardian falls victim to the UX, only the 707 remains to stand against Red and his total mastery of the oceans.

Video

These recent OVAs get a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer, and it is something of a mixed bag. The image is clear throughout, if a little soft at times, the only problem being a few minor compression artefacts when motion gets too frenetic, and one instance of macro-blocking that I noticed. The colour palette tends towards pastels and muted shades, giving the animation a fairly mellow feel. That`s carried through to the credit sequences that are rendered in beautiful sepia designs. The animation itself is a little weak. There`s no denying that the vessel designs and mechanisms are glorious to look at. The undersea animation is accomplished with CGI, and the ocean going scenes are glorious to look at. The problem is with the character designs, which are simplistic to the point of looking out of place against the detailed backgrounds. The character animation is fairly static too.

Audio

Manga Entertainment does its usual `filled to the brim with soundtracks` routine presenting DD 2.0, DD 5.1 and DTS Japanese and English soundtracks, with optional translated subtitles. Listening to the DD 5.1 track, I found it to be fairly vibrant, but not too dynamic, with most of the action focussed to the front. There was hefty use of the LFE though. The music contributes strongly the mellow feel of the show, especially the theme tunes. I feel that Manga missed a trick by not subtitling the songs during the credit sequences. As usual I listened to the Japanese track, and found it preferable to the English dub. The dub is acceptable but some of the character voices seemed out of place.

Features

Were this the Region 1 Limited Edition, you would be looking at Clean credit sequences, Japanese trailers, a gallery and interviews with the show`s creators. This is Region 2 though, and all we get are the usual Manga Entertainment trailers, with the addition of a Submarine 707R trailer as well.

Conclusion

This is a tough one to review, as I find that I had more fun watching the show than I do trying to write about it. It isn`t a show that invites analysis, and picking at the flaws soon makes it fall apart. It`s apparent from the off that this is very much an experiment, testing the waters to see if there is an audience for this type of show. It helps if you have a passing familiarity with the Manga. I don`t, and felt a little lost at sea, cast into the middle of a story. This is very much a snapshot, the characters get little introduction or development, and the overriding story is merely alluded to, with plenty of loose ends left over when the end credits roll. This doesn`t mean that the immediate story is left untold, but I was left wanting more at the end, which is a good thing in a way. The longer OVA format also seems ideally suited to the submarine genre, which traditionally has long pauses between the action, plenty of worried looks at pressure gauges, ponderous creaking and the slow wait for sonar echoes. Submarine combat can be summarised by long periods of boredom interrupted by brief brown-trouser moments, and having 50 minutes to tell this type of story is a godsend.

The two episodes on this disc are very different in tone, with the first setting up the story and ambling its way to a climax, while the second puts the accelerator down in terms of pace, and practically races to the end, full of action and tension. The story is a little implausible and simplistic, Red apparently has an infinite supply of torpedoes on his boat with which he wreaks havoc, and the rest of the world`s navies are made to look like idiots, while only the crew of the 707 can cope. Far more detrimental are the characters, which just remain simplistic and one-dimensional throughout. Red is perhaps the character given most thought in the story, and is presented as a Captain Nemo type, dedicated to clearing the seas and saving the world for his family from the blight of humanity. We get to see his wife and four children, but we see little of what motivates him. Similarly we get to see Captain Hayami and his family, but once again, this character dynamic isn`t explored. The new 707 also picks up some new crew, three young seamen, who are assigned to sonar and minisubs, and it`s obvious that these characters have import in the grander scale of things. But these OVAs leave this, the PKN machinations and the ultimate fate of the battle against the USR hanging. What I disliked most about the show was that the key characters committed the ultimate crime of telepathy. When the first 707 is attacked, Hayami`s wife somehow knows it thousands of miles away. The two opposing sub commanders also display a canny awareness of each other`s locations, not even needing to look at the sonar to aim their torpedoes. It`s the sort of unreality that makes me scoff.

Submarine 707R is shallow (pun intended), and at times feels like a 100 minutes of trailer for a larger and more accomplished story. The characterisation is thin to the point of anorexic, and the story lacks nuance. But there is that nagging truth that I enjoyed it so much. It was enlightening to see another genre brought to the anime medium, and submarine shows are light on the ground. And I was utterly chuffed to see that the hero was a short chubby guy. Submarine 707R is fun that just doesn`t bear up under scrutiny, but it does look gorgeous at times, and as entertainment goes it delivers on the excitement. I`m giving it 7 out of 10, but only because I can`t find the 6¾ option. It`s definitely one to try before you buy.