OBSCURE O.V.A.S, *Blue Submarine No. 6

Based on a late 60s manga by Satoru Ozawa, Blue Sub 006 as its called was made into a 4-episode OVA series at the turn of the century by former Gainax studio, Gonzo. The manga was updated by Ozawa in the mid-90s, which prompted the anime adaptation, which took on a completely new approach to releasing anime in America at the time by Bandai Entertainment.

In a Waterworld-like post-apocalyptic Earth, the fanatical Dr. Zorndyke shifts the planet's poles, causing massive flooding around the world killing billions, and then the mad scientist creates a race of human/animal hybrids and living aquatic battleships to wipe out the rest of humanity. The remaining surviving forces unite with a plan to nuke Zorndyke's army with the advanced new submarine labeled Blue 6. Hayami is an ex-mariner asked to be part of the program by the orphaned ensign Kino, and reluctantly agrees, but becomes ensnared in a strange relationship with one of Zorndyke's creation, the quiet mermaid Mutio. Hayami is reunited with the Blue 6 crew after one of the sentient battleships communicates to him Zorndyke's intent to test humanity when pushed to the brinke, leaving Hayami and Kino to have a final confrontation with the mad scientist whose death could result in the end of all life.

Bandai had a strange release with the English adaptation of Blue Submarine No. 6. Firstly, the dub wasn't done by their regular group of voice actors from Bang Zoom Entertainment, but instead Coastal Studios which handled all of Animeigo's dubs. The other is that at the time most OVAs were released in either VHS or DVD with at least two episodes each, but Bandai decided to instead put it out with one episode per volume, meaning you had to get four different tapes/discs to collect the entire series. There was a special edition on Cartoon Network that was released in an abridged version known as the Toonami Cut, but a bunch of the nuances are left out(including the mermaid boobs!). The OVA was directed by Mahiro Maeda, who later went onto do anime like Gankutsuou and Last Exile, all of which captured the blending of traditional animation with CGI models. The original animation does seem dated by today's standards, but doesn't deprive your average viewer of what was at the time a real game changer.