Daphne in the Brilliant Blue Vol-1: Initiation (2004)
Animation Production: Bandai Visual/Group TAC
Released by: Geneon Entertainment
Running Time: 100 Minutes
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

So why was this entry, Daphne In the Brilliant Blue volume one, accepted by the JH anime labs? I hate to admit it but we really liked the cover art, that’s the sole reason we thought to check it out. As it turned out the show was fun on its own! Good thing too because otherwise the lab staff would have kicked itself on the head for judging a DVD by its cover. In any case good job to the folks who put that piece together, your efforts were not in vain!

So now, the show itself! Let’s just go right into the colorful world of this series and see why Daphne is in the Brilliant Blue!

Story

"Maia is having a very bad day. Her life-long dreams to join the elite Ocean Agency wither and die, when, despite everyone's high expectations, she fails the entrance exams. Then, with the loss of her student status, she gets evicted! Penniless, homeless, and unemployed, Maia finds herself in the middle of a shoot-out between fugitive convicts and the Nereides- sexy agents who only take the most high-paying and dangerous jobs. Desperate, Maia takes the first job offered to her: to take a starring role in the next Nereides operation- as bait! " -- DVD Box

Review

The first volume in Geneon’s release of Daphne in the Brilliant Blue features the first four episodes in the series, which include:

Episode 1: Maia's Longest Day (Part-1)
Maia dreams of the day she’ll be officially accepted to the Ocean Agency, an organization dedicated to preserving the world’s waters. Her dreams are more than a mere wish however as she ranks at the top of her class and has done an incredible job throughout the testing process. No one doubts she will be accepted at all and even though she won’t admit it she thinks so too, hopeful that she’ll be able to follow in her Grandfather’s steps.

Then in classic TV fashion her world is turned upside down as she learns that she’s been rejected! This in turn snowballs into the worst day of her life as she loses her home and has no means to support herself. Will a run in with members of the Nereides organization help her turn things around? This really is her longest day!

Episode 2: Maia's Longest Day (Part-2)
After rescuing Maia from a criminal who used her as a shield Rena, the leader of the local Nereides branch decides to use our young heroine in one of their open cases to help her nab some criminals. The experience proves to be a stressful one as Maia ends up being kidnapped! Will Rena and Shizuka be able to rescue her or will this be the end of our hopeful character?

Episode 3: Thre's no Business Like Nereides Business?
Today is the beginning of Maia’s new career with Nereides! Will she be up to challenge of all the tasks she’s handed or will she crumble under the pressure? Perhaps a helping hand from Shizuka will prove helpful to their newest member.

Episode 4: Chaka Chaka Bang Bang
Maia has a new partner, Gloria, a gun crazy member of Nereides, who doesn’t hold back when it comes to doing the job. In fact, the more dangerous and reckless the situation the more exciting it is to her. Will Maia be able to not only hang in there, but survive this latest situation? What about her dreams of joining the Ocean Agency?

Right from the beginning this show grabbed my attention with its brilliant use of the color blue. From the waters where the students are being tested to the rich looking skies there is a softness and attractiveness to the artwork of this show that’s hard to ignore. Not that visuals should be the commanding element of any series, but here they just happened to impress and was the first thing that came to my mind when I started this typing this review. Anyway so how about the actual story and characters?

The plot starts on an upbeat enough note as Maia goes through some of the tests being administered by the Ocean Agency to determine who will make the cut for this year’s new group of recruits. Everything seems to be going perfectly for our protagonist and all her friends don’t doubt that she will be one of the lucky ones to make it, but things take a surprising turn when she learns that she has been rejected by the agency. However as bad as that may seem, it’s only the beginning of Maia’s misfortunes as a sequence of separate events leads to her ending up homeless and with nothing to her name except the possessions being held by the school’s warehouse.

Just when things looked like they could not get worse Maia ends up being rescued from a thug on the streets by members of Nereides, an organization that specializes in helping people that can’t count on the police being of assistance (as long as they can pay the organization’s premium fees) or of any real productive effect. Having nothing to lose and nowhere else to go she accepts their offer of a job and housing, thus becoming their youngest member! From this point on the show takes on a very different direction from what was hinted at in episode one and the goal of being accepted into the Ocean Agency although still present becomes secondary to the missions that Daphne takes up as part of Nereides.

From episode two on the show takes a decidedly more Burn Up-like flavor as each story focuses on the female members of Nereides and the missions they undertake for the duration of any said episode. I don’t doubt that the initial focus of the series and the main driving force behind Maia’s character (joining the Ocean Agency) will come back as the story progresses, but I was surprised to see it almost thrown completely aside so quickly and almost forgotten. Maia is designed as a character of academic brilliance and innocence to some degree so having her play the fish out of water in each episode could be a dangerous gamble if not handled properly.

The good news is that in these episodes it’s an extremely entertaining hook as Maia is forced to contend with a set of characters that are very unlike her and who’s personalities bounced rather well off of her straight-man persona. Episode four in particular plays off of this set up quite nicely with the introduction of Gloria, an over the top member of Nereides who is extremely efficient at what she does (almost too good) and whose passion for money and guns is quite funny within the context of the story. I have to admit that some set ups here actually had me laughing out loud, such as the scene where she describes how she ended in a raft in the middle of the ocean (while what really happened plays on screen to show what really happened).

The only are of the series that really had me scratching my head were the “uniforms” that Nereides employees seem to be required to wear. I understand why the producers of the series would want to use female characters for the leads (as the above mentioned Burn Up franchise which took that idea all the way to the bank of great riches), but the outfits here, which were obviously used to bring in anime fans looking for “fan service” scenes really have no practical function in their line of work. In fact I would say they serve to undermine the characters’ skills and limit what they can do when chasing the bad guys! Ah well you knew that was coming, I’m not one for these fan service angles.

On the animation front as I mentioned at the beginning of the review this series is very well put together. The frame rate is smooth and several visual effects are put to good use to bring the city and the waters surrounding it to life. The show starts with a very bright color palette that is heavy on the blues and greens, but then it moves to a darker range as we follow Nereides’ missions inside the city and at night time.

The music soundtrack was suitable for what the show’s premise and features some beautiful instrumental pieces that share the stage with more pumped up action-oriented numbers. The voice acting was good on both the Japanese and North American ends. Overall the casts put in a solid performance.

The DVD package is well together in typical Geneon fashion. The exterior of the DVD case ports a great piece of Maia waving as she seemingly walks by over a soft purple/pink background. On the reversed side there is an alternative DVD cover that features Shizuka as the cover character. Inside the box there’s a small insert with the dates of all the other volumes in this release on one side, chapter stops info on the other and a mini poster on the inside that features the entire cast. DVD extras are limited to a clean copy of the opening and previews for other Geneon products.

Final Thoughts

I loved the first Daichis Earth Defense Family DVD and I continue to enjoy the show with volume two. Lots of little hints are dropped here about the true purpose of the alien benefactors of the Earth, but nothing is really elaborated on so I’m looking forward to seeing how it all unravels in the third and final volume of this series.

Very recommended for all anime fans, especially sci-fi enthusiasts. There are enough gadgets and aliens here to satisfy even the most hardcore of sci-fi anime fans!

Jeffrey Couto