Fafner Vol-3: Human Force (2004)
Animation Production: Xebec
Released by: Geneon Entertainment
Running Time: 100 Minutes
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

What started as a simple Evangelion-like show has become something of a fantastic anime sci-fi voyage for me. With each DVD installment Fafner has become progressively better and more original than it seemed at first with a story that is rich in depth and character development, not to mention filled with some of the most amazing battle scenes and mecha designs to make an appearance in recent months.

Now with volume three we finally reach a point where the rollercoaster ride is ripe for its fully accelerated decent and I for one am glad to be onboard for the ride. Let’s check it out.

Story

"The team is in the fight of their lives when the Festum attacks them on a mysterious island. Koyo goes on a rescue mission and saves the day but at a great personal cost. After the dust settles the remaining pilots try to get on with their lives as best they can but Kazuki's mind wanders back to his childhood and to an unpleasant memory involving Soshi. But running away from his past only compounds his problems when he is duped into leaving the island and gets captured by the Neo U.N.!" -- DVD Box

Review

The third volume in Geneon’s release of Fafner features episodes nine through twelve in the series, which include:

Episode 9: Separation (Assimilation)
After being attacked by a large group of Festums on the mysterious island they landed on last episode Koyo is assigned to a rescue mission, but this proves to be tragic decision that will cost our hero more than he could have ever imagined, but will his sacrifice help everyone else understand just what it is that they are up against?

Episode 10: Disintegration (Crossing Paths)
As our heroes come to grips with what has happened to their friend after he was assimilated they begin to wonder why it is that they fighting this new war. One of the local students is particularly affected not only by this but by everything that is happening, locking himself in a school room and refusing to come out unless he’s allow to leave the island and pursue his dreams. How will our team handle this and help bring order back to their ranks?

Episode 11: Human Force (Old & New)
Kazuki has abandoned Alvis island and ventured beyond its boundaries to discover the world, a place that has long been gone thanks to the Festum invaders. What remains of civilization is nothing more than the ruins of our modern civilization, but among these ruins Kazuki will end up discovering a small band of Neo U.N. personnel who like him are piloting Fafner machines. Exactly what is it that they are after though?

Episode 12: Desperation (Absence)
Kazuki is behind enemy lines, but what he discovers and the people he meets are not what he anticipated. Meanwhile a new Festum is attacking Alvis island resulting in the deployment of three young pilots and their Fafners. Will they be able to counterattack and drive the enemy away?

This DVD felt like very similar to the previous one in tone and direction with the first couple of episodes, but once we go deeper into it, the show suddenly opens itself up to some very exciting new story possibilities and character play that add to the overall strength of the narrative and flexibility of its premise. The last two episodes here in particular set things up for a big shake up as we finally venture beyond the geographic boundaries of Alvis island and see for the first time what the outside world looks like, which much to the shock of us and our protagonist is a apocalyptic world where the all that remains are the ruins of the great cities that towered over the world in the past.

Before this happens and leading up to it however are a series of events and confrontations that leave everyone involved a changed person, a theme that comes to the forefront as Mishiro reveals how he truly values his comrades against the Fafners and as our young pilots witness for the first time what the effects of a Festum assimilating a human are. This latter development makes a particularly strong impression on our heroes as they come to the realization that they are really in a life or death situation every time they suit up and head out.

The loss of Kusugai to the Festum assimilation has a particularly strong effect on Kazuki, who this entire time has questioned what he is doing and the physical and mental changes that seem to have started overtaking him since he became a Fafner pilot. This entire time he has been looking for answers, but when they finally start coming to him, he doesn’t like what he hears, which drives him into the hands of Kariya, a spy for the Neo U.N. that decides to take advantage of the young pilot, resulting in Kazuki and her leaving Alvis island altogether onboard the pilot’s mechanical partner, the Mark Elf Fafner.

This event is perhaps the biggest surprise or turning point in the storyline of Fafner as it finally provides us with a fuller look inside the organization that the crew of the Alvis has been fighting and avoiding throughout the past 10-11 episodes. Now rather than spending all of our time with what so far had been portrayed as the good guys, we see what they’re enemy is all about and whether they are the questionable organization that they have been portrayed as up to this point. With Kazuki as our guide into their world it’ll be fun to see what he learns and how it changes his world view, all as his friends at Alvis are working double time to locate him and bring him home.

In terms of production values as with the first set of episode Xebec gives us another amazing piece of work with this round of stories. The animation is crisp, smooth and visually rich to a degree that is right up there with the best contemporary anime releases. The hand drawn piece of the equation is supported by very tightly integrated CGI rendered effects that add to the realism and complexity of the drawings (especially the mecha sequences) and background art.

The soundtrack featured again was rather good, with the opening and closing themes being particularly good. The BGM featured in the actions scenes also came as a nice surprise with its dramatic military stylings although it did suffer from not having any stand out pieces. The voice acting was superb and made the characters come to life brilliantly.

On the DVD front this is a basic release with a small number of extras contained in the disc. These include an art gallery as well as previews for other Geneon anime releases. There is also a small insert inside the box with more info on the release, dates for the rest of the series and soundtrack on one side and a mini poster on the other. Finally there is also a small trading card included inside the box. 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

Fafner continues to surprise by creating an atmosphere of mystery and science that brings you in and absorbs your attention completely. If the show continues to build on what it has here it definitely is headed for even more intriguing areas.

This one is recommended for all anime fans.

Jeffrey Couto