Review of She, The Ultimate Weapon - Another Love Song

Introduction

Last year, Manga Entertainment brought She, The Ultimate Weapon a.k.a. Saikano to UK shores, entertaining us with a teenage love story set against the bleak background of an all out war. The story seemed implausible at first glance, yet it still managed to fashion a drama that was gripping and heartfelt. Two people fell in love, and had to overcome many obstacles to win through. To make life even more difficult, she had been engineered by the military into the Ultimate Weapon, and when called upon underwent a complete transformation into an avenging angel. It was the age-old story of boy meets girl, girl turns into weapon, girl has existential crisis about being a killing machine, boy can`t deal. You see it all the time.

Saikano turned out to be very successful, especially in its native Japan, based as it was on a best selling manga, and of course audiences wanted more. The trouble was where to go next. The series end makes any idea of a sequel pointless, while as the love story between Chise and Shuji, as well as the war, is neatly encapsulated in the show`s thirteen episodes, it makes a prequel almost as difficult to envisage. The result is the disc that I have just been watching, Another Love Song (alluding to the series tagline, `The last love song on this little planet`), which is more of a side-quel.

The events in Another Love Song take place in the background of the original story, and the show focuses on those characters that played a small part in the series, as well as introducing some new ones. It`s also a chance to focus on those aspects that were neglected by the series in favour of the love story, namely the war. The Another Love Song OVA tells the story from the military`s point of view, and we get to see the group that `recruited` Chise and turned her into the ultimate weapon. It also turns out that there was a prototype, a penultimate weapon so to speak. Lt Col Mizuki was grievously injured early on in the war, and her superiors offered her a chance to fight back becoming the first cyborg weapon. However, she is limited in her abilities, and Chise offers a better chance for victory. But Chise is unpredictable, a schoolgirl not a soldier, and she needs to be controlled. Which is where Mizuki comes in, who as a similar weapon can hear Chise`s thoughts, and can exert her influence and some semblance of military protocol over her. Through the link, Mizuki learns of Chise`s torment over what she is made to do, coupled with her conflicted feelings for Shuji. This in turn awakens buried feelings of unrequited love in Mizuki.

Video

A 1.85:1 letterbox transfer is a tad disappointing, but at least it preserves continuity with the series releases. Once you get used to the lower resolution, the transfer comes across as clear and sharp, with strong colours. The perennial problem of digital banding is apparent, but the animation exhibits the usual Gonzo splendour, with distinctive characters, and effective action sequences. Actually for the OVA, the action sequences take centre stage, and whereas originally the weapon aspects of Chise were mostly implied or in the background, here we finally get to see her and Mizuki in action, taking on those villainous invaders and destroying whole cities.

Audio

Unlike the previous releases, this is no multi-disc affair accommodating all possible soundtrack options. What you do get though, DD 5.1 English and Japanese, is more than acceptable, and succeeds in putting across the punchy action sequences. The music too is a little more epic than the series, and the show has a more orchestral feel to it. The subtitles are zoom friendly.

Features

This disc is somewhat extras light though, with only a Japanese TV promo, trailers for Naruto, Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence, and Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex: 2nd Gig, as well as a 5-minute Production Artwork slideshow.

Conclusion

There are several reasons not to have this in your anime collection, not least of which is financial. The RRP for a mere 60 minutes of animation does seem a little excessive, especially given the comparatively meagre extras. Then there is the fact that this episode just doesn`t work without the series. You need to have seen that first to understand what is going on here. As a narrative it leaves a lot to be desired. There is no distinct story to enjoy here, no discrete beginning or end, although there is a flow to the character arcs, so unlike OVAs and movies for other shows, it can`t be watched by itself. It really only works to supplement and fill out the series, and at that, the series works just fine without it.

Yet I thoroughly enjoyed Another Love Song. Of course this stems from the fact that I was charmed by the series, and this does provide a glimpse at those details that the series worked perfectly well without. We didn`t need to know about the war, and the technology behind Chise to appreciate the central story, but here we finally get to see how she was converted into the Ultimate Weapon, and we also finally get to see that weapon in use from close range. That`s just a gift to the fans of the show. And rather than rehash the Chise/Shuji storyline, we get to see something new, the pressure that the military bring to bear on her, and the reason for all her angst and heartbreak. And Chise`s agonising over her nature as a weapon, and fearing the loss of her humanity serves to highlight the central character arc in this story, that of Lt Col Mizuki. Mizuki is the polar opposite of Chise, a career soldier who after being wounded volunteers to become the first Weapon. When we meet her, she is emotionally scarred, deadened and inured to the violence. She`s insulted to see a civilian recruited, and is disdainful of Chise. However, through her link with Chise, and by sensing her thoughts and feelings, her own humanity and compassion reawakens. As this happens, she finds herself thinking of the unrequited love in her own life, the relationship with a soldier under her command that might have been. This in turn alters the way she relates to Chise.

It`s an interesting story that shows the other side of what Chise was going through, and offers some new perspectives on the choices she made and why she made them. That said, Another Love Song does have a couple of flaws. First there are a few moments where it seems that the Mizuki character was shoehorned into events that occurred in the series. Second, while the antiwar message in the series was comparatively tempered and balanced with the love story, here it seems as if you are being bludgeoned with it. Yes, war is bad; we got that with the whole apocalypse scenario. We don`t need the characters to spell it out for us.

She, The Ultimate Weapon: Another Love Song isn`t essential for fans of the series. It doesn`t plug any gaping plot holes, or offer any significant new insight into the story. But it is a useful addition, and given familiarity with the story it`s very enjoyable. Saikano completists will snap this up, but casual fans should take a look too. That just leaves the live action movie to come now.