The world’s cities are flooded, the remaining population huddles upon the rooftops of skyscrapers, and the Blue Fleet prepares for the final assault against Zorndyke. Lost? Well, welcome to the first episode of Blue Submarine No. 6 - where none of your questions will be answered, but you won’t mind at all. No, really!

Blue Submarine No. 6 is a four episode OVA series released by Bandai. It is an exciting, experimental series that is recommended to action fans, sci-fi lovers, and anyone who loves a great story. Keep in mind that not much is revealed at first. But even though the story unfolds slowly, the ever-present action makes it easy to put your questions on a skyhook until the later plot revelations occur.

Without spoiling too much, Zorndyke is a scientist who has brought destruction to the earth by raising the levels of the planet’s oceans. His mutated creatures (amalgamations of man and beast) wage a war to eradicate the human race. The Blue Fleet, with the flagship Blue Submarine No. 6, fights to stop them and protect the remaining survivors of humanity. The story starts in the third act, so the viewer is basically exposed to the climax for the four episodes. But, don’t expect this to be a cut and dry series: everyone thinks they’re doing the right thing, blurring the barriers between any absolutes of right and wrong. The series focuses on Hayami, an underwater fighter-sub pilot, who gave up on war and fighting - actually, he just plain gave up. As the series opens, we find him living in a slum-like building working as a “hyena of the sea” salvaging for profit, using drugs to forget his past life. Enter Kino, an 18 year-old pilot assigned with the unenviable task to talk Hayami into returning to No. 6 with her.

Vibrant cel art is reserved for the animations of the characters. Here, Kino and Hayami are going down the hatch to Blue Submarine No. 6.	The cel animation is complemented by stellar use of CG sequences which blend flawlessly with the more traditional animation techniques.

Within five minutes, we get an excellent idea of their views on war, life, and so forth, and are already thrown head-first into some of the most amazing action sequences I’ve seen in a long while. The next 20 minutes are spent fighting an undersea invasion force and a giant whale-like creature called a Musuca that is as big as No. 6 - and faster.

While watching the series, secrets are released to the viewer very slowly. After episode 3, you have to wonder if they can really finish the series with just one more show. All told, however, they do a fairly good job tying up loose ends while leaving enough time for a really powerful grand melee battle between Hayami and the main villain, Verg. And, as with all great stories, by the end we understand and sometimes pity the villain - who, in this case, only wanted to please his father.

The art style is phenomenal. From character design to backgrounds, it’s all high-quality work. Using the computer-aided coloring techniques of Serial Experiments Lain and Sol Bianca, the animators have succeeded in making the colors vivid and exciting. CGI has never been put to better use in any anime, in my opinion. It blends nearly seamlessly with the animation cels, and when it doesn’t, it adds a certain otherworldliness that contributes rather than detracts from the show. Blue Submarine No.6, and the other underwater vehicles, are totally computer animated, but the show shifts to cel techniques for character interaction. No scenes are reused; the animation is totally original throughout the series. Of special note are the mechanical designs by Shoji Kawamori of Macross and Escaflowne fame.

While I am very biased towards subtitles, the American cast does a superb job of making the characters their own. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend watching it in English for someone new to anime. Moving past the dubbing, the music by The Thrill is amazing. The soundtrack is of a jazz/fusion sort and unlike most other scores. You’ll hear huge brass sections of trumpets, saxophones, and more, as well as guitar and base. Not relying on a synthesizer has made all the difference. The sound effects are excellent as well. Overall, the sound is superior on the Japanese channel of the DVD.

I would highly recommend Blue Submarine No. 6 solely on the basis of its action and animation: the fact that it has a great Armageddon storyline and excellent human interest content is just icing on the cake. The main complaints (one episode per tape/DVD, sudden story resolution) are so minor that they really shouldn't influence a purchase or rental.

Special Notes: Oddly enough, there is only a single 30-minute episode per tape/DVD. This is somewhat distressing when we’re seeing many DVDs with 4 and 5 episodes apiece. Fortunately, the prices on the single episodes are pretty low - an online search shows the prices between $13-15, and the final episode is over 50-minutes. The DVD menus are amazing and the picture quality of the OAVs makes this a showpiece series for anyone who owns a DVD player. Finally, this review is based on the individual DVDs, not the recently released Cartoon Network edited movie that removes scenes and actually degrades the picture and sound quality.

Distributor: Bandai
Creator: Bandai
Released: 1998

Plot: A
Character Design: A
Animation Quality: A+
Music: A+
Overall: A