There are times when you really wonder how you ever got through a series. VOTOMS is a series that does its very best to paint an ugly, smouldering picture of the future, dispensing with the usual tropes of camp and weird extremity found in post-apocalyptic tales of its kind. Of course, it has some of what one would expect to find in such a tale. Giant robots? Check. Dilapidated cities overflowing with prostitutes and alcohol? Check. Biker gangs with ridiculous outfits? Check. But somehow, that doesn't relieve the sheer depression the story subjects you to. VOTOMS tells a tale of war and betrayal, set in a universe as gritty as one could ask for. This is no kind galaxy; it's a place of backstabbing and outcasts.

Chirico Cuvie, our protagonist, is a betrayed man. A war has been continually fought between the Gilgamesh Confederation (to whom Chirico is a loyal soldier) and the Balarant Union since antiquity, the reason for which is long forgotten. A member of the elite Red Shoulder Battalion, Chirico is the only one whose conscience is greater than his willingness to blindly follow orders. When he discovers a foul plot being hatched by his comrades, he is made a scapegoat and arrested as a traitor by the Gilgamesh authorities.

Locked up and tortured for information, Chirico is the victim of a political intrigue much larger than himself. But his will refuses to let him succumb to his jailers. In a spectacular bullet-ridden battle, Chirico makes a bold escape from the Gilgamesh compound and goes on the lam, leaving the Gilgamesh authorities with no choice but to pursue.

The relatively low-tech Astragius galaxy in which Chirico lives is the stage for this fugitive drama. It has no glittering Gundams, no massive Mortar Headds, and is deprived of both magic and psychics throughout. In many ways, VOTOMS is the closest one can come to science fact in such a far-flung setting. VOTOMS is in fact part of a larger mythology which encompasses the series Fang of Sun Dougram and Armour Hunter Mellowlink -- the latter of which takes place in the same universe but is otherwise unrelated. In all three cases, technology was brought as close to realism as possible, dispensing with the usual tropes of super-science otherwise prevalent in the mecha genre.

Uoodo City on the planet Melkia is the first stop in the lengthy VOTOMS tale. It is a place of utter corruption that stands somewhere between the festering metropolis of Blade Runner, and the dystopian wastelands of Mad Max. Multi-tiered at three kilometes deep and five wide, the city has plenty of terrain in which corruption can breed. Biker gangs rule the streets under the umbrella of a powerful mafia family, while the police force sits by, bribed into powerlessness. Pollution of both the environmental and social kind has stigmatized the city into general decay. Here, Chirico finds a brief respite from his pursuers, hiding out amongst the city's rundown populace as a commoner while he plots his revenge.

The question is: Do we care? Having seen everything Chirico goes through in the first volume, the action doesn't really begin until he hits the city, but it's already a struggle to follow the story. It isn't that events are confusing or poorly explained, but that Chirico is so damned difficult to like. When we first meet him, the young pilot seems to be somewhat naive and likeable, a growing man of conscience. But that all evaporates with his torture, and we're left with an utterly bitter cynic, who thinks only of his cause and the conspiracy at hand.

While in one sense it's refreshing to have a hero who isn't gung-ho about being positive, Chirico manages to be utterly depressing. It's not even an emo-kid level of depressing like Heero Yui from Gundam Wing tended towards. It's a genuine form of depression that sinks in deep and brings the audience down with it. I personally felt angry at the events surrounding Chirico, but I also had to stop and wonder if I cared all that deeply. He really is an asshole.

The supporting cast is a relief, though. To balance Chirico's constant drudgery, other characters have a more light-hearted approach to life. The oddly-named african-american (or equivalent thereof) Vanilla Vartla is a loudmouth and over-enthusiastic about profit. Being well-known throughout Uoodo's black market makes him a valuable asset as an ally, but his outspoken nature tends to land him and his friends in quite a bit of trouble. He provides a bit of the comic relief in VOTOMS, and thankfully so. He's frequently accompanied by Bouleuse Gotho, an aging mechanic and weapons dealer whose hunger for coin outweighs even Vanilla's, as well as Coconna, a young woman who falls for Chirico rather early and serves as his moral support. What she sees in the guy is beyond me.

It's not especially uncommon for the supporting cast to be more likable than the main character, but here it's for the wrong reasons. Chirico has a lot of potential as a character, but it's never fulfilled. He remains a depressed individual through the entirety of Uoodo City, and if not for his backup, I'd be hard pressed to recommend the series at all.

The story of VOTOMS is genuinely interesting and well-told. Chirico's mission before being betrayed was to retrieve both information, and a strange humanoid female entity in a compound on the planet Lido. That strange humanoid female reappears in Uoodo, causing Chirico no end of trouble. To reveal more would give too much away, and yet it feels rather cruel to end it right there. Suffice to say, her role in the story is a key to unlocking the conspiracy surrounding Chirico's fall from grace, and helps to explore certain themes about humanity and self-identity that makes the series more than it initially seems.

The animation is serviceable today, and still retains some of the polish it had back when it was made. But it's no shining gem, and its vintage shows. There's a lot of black-on-paint shading, rough edges here and there, and it generally reeks of having been animated in the early 80's. It's by no means bad, but you'll have to get past the animation if you're given to only liking shiny post-90's material.

One thing VOTOMS has going for it is mecha design. The Armored Troopers (AT's) are designed to look as though they could function in real life. Heavy-set like walking tanks, their overall design draws upon real-world military tropes to make it believable. Rivets and bolting finish off the armour plates, the colour scheme is low-key and military, and there are no frills to speak of. This is a gritty reality Chirico lives in, and even the mecha are built to reinforce that idea.

In total, I liked Uoodo City (I still can't pronounce the name though). Chirico is difficult to like, but I'm sure he's found a place in someone's heart. The world design and grittiness is sure to please mecha fans, and the supporting cast fill in the gaps that Chirico leaves quite nicely. Atop that, it has a strong underlying story, and the animation still serves it quite well even in modern times. A satisfying watch, although it's hard to go back once you're done. The overall atmosphere is very heavy, and anime fans looking for something even remotely light-hearted should steer far and clear of this one.