OBSCURE O.V.A.S, *Iczelion

Titled Iczer Girl Iczelion in Japan, Iczelion is the third entry in the Iczer anime franchise, as well as the final one so far. Toshiki Hirano returns as the writer/director for this "supergirls from space" saga, even though it appears to take place in an alternate universe from the previous two Iczer anime titles. There was a trio of radio drama albums that is supposed to bridge Iczer Reborn to this new 2-episode OVA, none of these CDs were available in America. This was available on dubbed and subtitled VHS through ADV Films with so far no DVD release. Iczelion was one of the last in a line of anime titled like Bubblegum Crisis and Ronin Warriors where it's a team of heroes that use special armor to fight bad guys.

Sent in what is probably modern Earth, yet another girl named Nagisa gets pulled into a fight between good and evil aliens. This time, it's the remaining Iczer sisters from the previous two anime titles who have created a new form of AI called Iczels which take on the form of robotic suits that merge with the natives on other planets, sort of like being drafted into the Lensmen or Green Lanterns. The opposing aliens are the cybernetic overlord Chaos whose forces called the Gaes plan to take over the Earth as soon as they take out the four Iczel warriors assigned to it. This includes the Black, Silver, and Gold Iczelions, as Nagisa is now the White Iczelion who is constantly being hunted down by Chaos' sister Cross. Nagisa's hope to be a female wrestler might be an homage to Iczer-3's original voice actress herself being a real-life wrestler, but the whiny girl keeps running away from the deadly droids while her wouldbe teammates handle the bulk of the fighting.

Iczelion does feature decent animation for a 1995 release, even the plot seems to dive more into the superhero market like various sentai or magical girl shows at the time. The dub is tolerable, even though if you were familiar with ADV Films' track record its not too hard to notice the lack in quality. If you were looking for an all-girls take on Saint Seiya, then this is a good if not brief enough attempt at that formula.

ANI-MOVIES, *Son Of The White Mare

After 40 years, the lost animated fantasy epic is finally available in English. Originally titled Feherlofia, the translation of which is Son Of The White Mare is based on a Hungarian fairy tale that borrows elements from Norse mythology. The late Marcell Jankovics was the director of this full-length movie who already had created the first Hungarian animated movie, Johnny Comcob, and his style seems to reflect that of the Yellow Submarine film. Marcell Jankovics was later asked to be a consultant for Disney on their abandoned Empire Of The Sun project which eventually became The Emperor's New Groove, and you can see his work reflected by future animators like Genndy Tartakovsky in Samurai Jack and Primal. The film has been gloriously restored by American company Arbelos Films making it fresh and new for post-20th Century audiences.

A god king known as Forefather has his kingdom taken from him by a trio of multi-headed dragons which capture his son's wives causing the princes to be killed and have their own castle locked off in the Underworld. A single white mare manages to get away and she gives birth to three human sons, the last of which, Treeshaker, receives messages from Forefather's spirit to stay with his horse mother until he has finally come of age. Treeshaker leaves his deceased equine parent behind as he seeks out his other two brothers, the bumbling earth mover Stonecrumbler and the weapons forging Ironrubber. The brothers have to deal with a taunting long-bearded gnome who keeps ruining their dinner plans, only to have Treeshaker finally succeed in descending into the Underworld with a special sword his brother crafted for him. The youngest son takes on each dragon separately, freeing all of the princesses, but he gets trapped in the Underworld. Treeshaker gets help from a griffin after protecting its children who gives him a flight back upstairs. We learn that the brothers were reincarnations of Forefather's original sons, and they go on to be with their former wives each in their own kingdom.

Son Of The White Mare is a fantastic ride employing constantly shifting visuals both in the characters and backgrounds. You can see how stories like this one went on inspire future fantasy properties such as Masters Of The Universe and Marvel's Thor. The original Feherlofia tale is formatted like other creation myths, although there are elements of modern influence in the movie adaptation like some of the dragons appearing like machines of war. The legacy this film left behind made its mark first among 80s animation aficionados, and now has the chance for a totally fresh generation of viewers.

OBSCURE O.V.A.S, *Yotoden: Wrath Of The Ninja

From 1987-1988, anime studio J.C. Staff released a popular 3-episode OVA series titled Yotoden that was popular enough for Japan's version of MTV to put together a compilation movie that was released out English under a new title, Wrath Of The Ninja. This was one of the first anime to stick its flag in the ground under the genre of historical fantasy, and even got a one-shot manga adaptation. Yotoden wasn't a samurai epic, but more of a supernatural martial arts series co-written by Ultraman author Sho Aikawa.

Set in an alternate version of 1580's Japan, the tyrannical Oda Nobunaga starts a campaign to take over the country by sending his armies of disposable ninja monsters lead by his cadre of generals with their own unique powers, like being able to summon up a giant triple-headed caterpillar out of nowhere or possessing an enemy's body like a parasite. Nobunaga's forces had already destroyed two villages that each had the last descendants in the line of a martial arts schools escaping with a special weapon. One of them was Ayame wielding a short sword, the other is the katana toting Hayate who meets Ayame after she encounters some random bandits. They both head to the village of Hagakure which is the last of three fighting schools where they are joined by Ryoma who owns an enchanted halberd. All three weapons are supposed to be the only thing that can defeat Nobunaga and his demonic forces. The trio goes through multiple campaigns and personal struggles before finally reaching their fight with the evil ninja lord, only to find that the whole war was a scheme cooked up by Nobunaga's right-hand man, Ranmaru. The creepy underling had manipulated all these characters to generate enough negative energy to open a door to the underworld. The three heroes of course stop Ranmaru thanks to Ryoma's sacrifice.

This was dubbed by Central Park Media, although numerous bootlegs were shoved on to the American market, some of which labeled under ADV Films but unauthorized. The mid-80s anime design and fighting sequences are above average for the time, but if you want the full version try to find The Complete Yotoden Saga edition.

R.I.P., Buichi Terasawa