Review of Zeoraima Project Hades / Project Hades 2

Introduction

This is supposedly `classic anime` from the halcyon mid to late 80`s period and has been available for a while, though `Project Hades` and `Project Hades 2` have not been available to date on a single disc.

Retailing at a reasonable £9.99 (which means that this can probably be picked up for circa £7.99-ish) this isn`t being peddled as a major release by the UK based `Manga` - though may be a welcome arrival for fans.

It`s a bleak tale that starts with a young teenage boy (Akitsu Masato) being kidnapped and imprisoned by a secretive governmental body, and then abandoned by his parents who, it turns out, were just being paid to raise him and who clearly had no emotional attachment to him beyond that.

But this is no ordinary teenager; he`s been `chosen` to save the world from a nuclear meltdown.

It turns out that the top secret `Steel Dragon` society have been plotting to take over the civilised world by unleashing the `Hakkeshu`, huge and powerful robots capable of destroying whole cities. In theory there are eight of these, though one is missing. The biggest mother of them all - the Zeoraima. So the `Steel Dragon` society figure they`d better track it down and destroy it before it puts pay to their plans for global domination.

Of course, it turns out (SPOILER - LOOK AWAY!!!) that Masato was actually born from an embryo stolen from the Steel Dragons at the same time as the Zeoraima.
He is destined to become the monster robot`s pilot.

The cruel Empress Yuratei had created the Zeoraima as her own combat robot though it was stolen from them by original robot creator Kihara Misaki when he became aware of her diabolical plans. Now she wants it back and hell hath no fury etc etc!!

So Masato is eventually persuaded to fight the onslaught of Yuratei`s Hekkeshu
along with Himuro Miku, a mysterious girl who also seems to have some role in controlling the Zeoraima.

Though there are plenty of plot twists and character developments, these pale in importance when compared to the giant robot clashes which is what this anime is really about. Expect much in the way of huge fights and huge sound effects.

Video

The picture quality here is OK, though a little grainier than the digitally produced anime`s of recent times, which is no surprise. This is probably accentuated, as there are many dark scenes where grain is more noticeable. Not a bad transfer though, and much superior I`m sure to the original VHS releases.

Audio

Quite a selection here. There`s original Japanese in Dolby Stereo, Dolby 5.1 and DTS 5.1. And there are English versions available in all three audio formats too. I had a quick flick through and suspect that very little additional separation and audio-post happened between the two 5.1 versions so that just comes down to personal preference. Either way, don`t expect much from the rear speakers.

This is a budget dub that does a fine job but won`t be the biggest audio experience you`ve ever enjoyed. Nearly everything is mixed to the centre with occasional stereo sound effects. That said, the battles create plenty of noise whatever system you select!

Features

Nothing except for a whole heap of trailers for upcoming and existing Manga releases including the excellent `Read or Die`.

Conclusion

`Zeoraima` is a piece of `classic` 80`s anime. That means extreme battles by machines that are tied to the very psyche of their pilots (think Macross / Akira et al).

It tries hard on several levels to create interesting plot twists and deep characterisation - though in truth generally descends into `battle of the giants` by the end of every episode.

This disc contains all four `Project Hades` episodes, cut for convenience into two `feature length` pieces (well, under an hour a piece).

It`s worth noting (from the end credits) that the English dub was created in Cardiff in `97, which is curious as most voices still sound American. It`s clear that `Manga` are still dedicated to the cause, despite there being plenty of competition now that they have established the market. The UK thirst for Japanese anime shows no signs of abating and `Manga` continue to make a healthy contribution to the availability list.

`Manga` have done the decent thing here and are retailing this at a lower price than more recent offerings so for hardened fans it may be worth picking up.

It was certainly enjoyable enough though I can`t see myself watching it again in a hurry.