#venuswars

Through a friend, I acquired a large stack of OAVs on VHS. Most of them turned out to be mediocre at best. There were a couple of gems in there, however. Though my interest in The Venus Wars began waning towards the end, I'd consider it one of the better titles I've seen so far.

Set in 2089, Venus has been colonized and divided among two separate nation-states: the northern Ishtar and the southern Aphrodia. Reporter Susan Sommers (voiced by Denica Fairman) arrives on the planet just as war breaks out. While documenting the capture of the city of Io by Ishtar's General Donner (voiced by Peter Marinker), she comes across a group of teenagers. The “Killer Commandos” sound tough, but they’re just a bunch of kids who used to play in a roller derby-like motorcycle game. These teens are ill-equipped for this new world of war.

The Venus Wars begins as a more realistic Red Dawn. The teenaged protagonists are not invincible commandos that will single-handedly win the war. They’re angry over their lives have been turned upside down and divisions between them quickly arise, making for some good drama. Some want to try and live as if nothing happened. Others are determined to join the fight.

A strong point is the female characters. You have the uppity and sly reporter Susan. She’s sort of the outsider, but being a reporter she also has a much more level head on her shoulders. Then, there's Maggie (voiced by Anna Albat) who is just a regular teenager and poorly equipped for the upheaval war brings. Her reactions help other characters decide where they stand. The characters involved in this plot are well developed and act like real people would, something that allows you to get involved in the story in a way that you don't expect from the setup.

For the first and second thirds of Venus Wars, I was enthusiastic. The animation is good, there are some cool war sequences, decent voice acting… and then the picture decides to focus on a single character. Ultimately, this film is not about Susan or the Killer Commandos, it’s about Hiro (voiced by Ben Fairman). He’s the typical anime hero, the one that’s instinctively good at riding the war machine, the flawless, slightly angry (but not so much that it makes him unlikeable) defiant go-getter who pushes everyone else aside so the spotlight can shine on him. You’ve seen this guy in dozens of other movies and when the picture decides he’s the star, it gets a whole lot less interesting.

I don’t foresee Venus Wars ultimately sticking out as a particularly memorable picture for two reasons. Firstly, the ending. It just makes the picture less interesting to have the generic hero as the lead. Secondly, the resemblances to Akira. If you have to choose between two movies with big government business happening while motorcycle-riding thug teenagers interfere as best they can even though they don’t really know what’s going on, no one will choose The Venus Wars over the 1988 masterpiece.

The Venus Wars is a fine OAV, the kind that pleasantly surprises you but, particularly if you have an affinity for this style of film. I don't know if I'd recommend you go out of your way to find a special edition Blu-ray whose shipping isn't free, but if you stumble upon it, you won't be sorry. (English Dub on VHS, February 24, 2016)