The Daichis Earth's Defense Family Vol-3: Pay Day (2001)
Animation Production: Bandai Visual/Group TAC
Released by: Geneon Entertainment
Running Time: 125 Minutes
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

After what has been somewhat a short journey today we reach the end of the Daichis: Earth Defense Family. The series, which had what is becoming more of the standard nowadays in terms of total episode run (capping out at 13), has so far impressed the JH anime labs with its retro anime stylings, comedy and strange sci-fi angles. However, will it reach a satisfactory conclusion with its final episode? I was very curious about this, seeing that the show had some interesting subplots running and so little had been revealed about the extraterrestrial entities that granted our heroes their advanced powers and subsequent bills for using that technology.

So how does it fare? Let’s go right into it my friends…

Story

"As the alien attacks become more and more sophisticated, the Daichi's become more and more dysfunctional. Mom still won't admit to being married in public, dad can't stop running away into video games and the kids continue to freak out over the stress. In the end, will the Daichi's remember their love for each other in time to save the Earth and their family? " -- DVD Box

Review

The third volume in Geneon’s release of The Daichis Earth Defense Family features episodes 10 through 13 in the series, which include:

Episode 10: Eight O'Clock at Hachiko Plaza
The aliens continue to invade the Earth, but thankfully the Daichis are ready for them! However, when the latest mecha attacker appears in the middle of Tokyo our heroes are confronted by a force that may finally put a stop to their mission, the paparazzi. If their pictures are taken and shown to the world their covers will be blown and the Earth Defense Family will not be able to operate effectively anymore. Will they be able to figure out a way to avoid this Earthly-threat!?

Episode 11: The Darkness Hanging Over the Daichis
Will Mamoru finally confront his wife on his suspicions that she is cheating on him with another man? The future of his entire family and the Earth itself may depend on whether he can summon the emotional will power to do so!

Episode 12: The Birthday of Flames
It’s Seiko’s birthday and Dai has made her promise that she will be at home tonight for a birthday dinner. Unfortunately Seiko seems to forget this and breaks her promise to Dai. Things only get worse when another giant alien shows up and only Dai and Seiko are on hand to fight it as a team!

Episode 13: Final Battle! Flowers for You
Ellen is suffering some type of space disease and if she doesn’t get the antidote quickly she may die! Hurry Dai, you’re the only one who can save her!

I have to say that I was surprised by this final collection of episodes. On the one hand they continue to build on the themes that we’ve been exploring over the past nice chapters of this anime series, but on the other we never reach any type of conclusion on those or even begin learning more about those elements which have not been at the forefront of the show thus far, such as who exactly is it that is behind the Daichi’s advanced technology, why they picked this family to protect the Earth, what are these aliens invaders really after and who Dai’s little friend in school (who works for the mysterious alien benefactors of Earth is).

I would have to assume that based on where they leave off the series was more than likely cancelled midway through early production. Either that or it was planned as two separate parts, with the second one yet to materialize (sort of like Submarine 707R). This is very unfortunate because the story definitely had some potential were the writers to take advantage of the setup they developed and the world they put these dysfunctional characters in.

The main theme that runs across these four episodes is the family itself and the relationships within it, with a particular focus on Mamoru and Seiko, whose marriage has long been on the rocks and now seems to be even closer to falling apart, thanks to the stress that being the Earth Defense Family is putting on them along with each one’s interest in other people (Seiko’s co-worker and Dai’s teacher, who Mamoru talks to over the Internet using cute animal caricatures for Avatars). This tension rubs off on everyone else and results in Nozomi carrying the burden of the financial headaches that the Earth Defense weapons are creating for the family and Dai emotionally separating from everyone in a desperate bid for attention.

They also introduce a more interesting angle in the relationship between Mamoru and Ellen in the final two episodes as they become closer friends, but due to the lack of time we don’t see this subplot reach full fruition and never learn what becomes of the two young heroes. This was a bit of a letdown as they have built up Ellen as a seemingly important character that reports to the aliens that have chosen the Daichis to defend the Earth, but because the story ends so suddenly we don’t really see much come out of everything they hinted and worked up to at this point in the show.

When it all comes down to it this show was all about the family, what it means to be a part of it and how it comes before everything else. Without this essential unit operating in society everything would probably crumble apart. As with most families in the world the Daichis weren’t a perfect grouping of people and at times you even questioned why they would stick together, but those family bonds in their small group were stronger than any adversity, even an alien invasion. In the end they all stuck it out and overcame many challenges together while at the same time protecting their world and fellow men.

Done in a stylish way and infused with tons of humor this show was a fun ride while it lasted and a truly unique release in the U.S. market that seems to have gone mostly unnoticed. This show reminded me a lot of several classic anime series, but it never went into any one area so far that it seemed to be ripping off ideas from elsewhere, rather it felt more like a melting pot of anime elements that have worked really well in the past and some interesting ideas that you don’t often see in anime productions such as the use of surfer/California-style beach music.

Production quality was similar to that of the previous episodes. The frantic pace during action sequences continues here and in some instances is surpassed, but use of canned key sequences is more frequent too. The frame rate is smooth and visual effects are used mostly for attacks and transformation scenes. The color palette remains bright with lots of pastel colors being put to good use.

The music soundtrack continued to be upbeat and kept the show’s energy up by matching what plays on the screen perfectly. I really like a couple of the more laid back tropical California surfing-style pieces and the opening theme, which kicks off the show in a super powered up way with a fast and furious song! The more relaxed ending theme song is the perfect stop after each energy-exploding episode. On the voice acting side I loved the entire cast on both tracks, they do an amazing job.

On the DVD front this release benefits from better extras than the last one. These include a collection of TV commercials that originally aired on Japanese TV to promote the series, alternative scenes, a full -lenght alternate episode 11(which I'm surprised wasn't included in the regular run, since it's actually pretty good) and previews for other Geneon anime releases. There is also a small insert inside the box with more info on the release dates for the Daichis’ series. The video and audio transfers for this one were perfectly carried out with no noticeable issues. Subtitles were easy to read and well timed.

Final Thoughts

Not the best ending to what has been a very entertaining series so far, but it has it moments. If you’ve been following this show, then by all means go out and get this final DVD, with 5 episodes (4 featured ones and the bonus one) you really can’t go wrong with this one. Fans of animated hero series should also consider giving this one a closer look.

Very fun show all things considered.

Jeffrey Couto