Ranked #3593

URDA

A thirty minute OVA showcasing unbelievably bad CG, and one of the worst storylines ever to be brought to DVD.

Story: 1
The plot's only redeeming factor is that it is present. The show is essentially about a duo of rebels who attempt to stop a group of Nazis from obtaining a time traveling NASA space shuttle with the help of an incompetent astronaut girl from the future. While this may sound like it could make for some mindless fun, the way in which it was presented failed to do so. Furthermore since this is a set of five very short episodes it is covered incredibly fast, so much so that if any redeeming factors were present in the plot, you wouldn't have the time to absorb them. Even the shows clincher is incredibly weak and easy to predict.

Animation: 3
The series is almost entirely CG and all the characters in the show are textured using cell shading. This is not to say it looks good however. The processed framerate is extremely sporadic; animation can be smooth one scene, and stuttered in the next. This wouldn't be much of an issue if the show was drawn, but since they chose to use CG they should have kept the framerate higher. Additionally character models move unnaturally, background textures have a low resolution, and facial expressions look incredibly awkward. Some of the particle effects and vehicle models are decent however.

If this all seems a bit critical, keep in mind that this was released in late 2003 and computer animation was very advanced then. In fact less than 6 months after this was released the 2004 iteration of Appleseed hit theaters, also showcasing cell shaded CG, but of an infinitely higher caliber. While Appleseed obviously had a much larger budget to work with, that doesn't change the fact that this looks like it was made in the early 90's.

Visually the show resembles a cumulative project for a computer graphics school, rather than something made by a professional company.

Sound: 4
This is the shows strong point, but only for the fact that you won't hate it. Musical compositions are reminiscent of those you would find in a typical RPG, with both orchestral and piano pieces. There's a wide variety of sound effects but they aren't edited especially well, and you will recognize many of them from other shows. The voice acting is okay considering what they had to work with, but any expressed emotions are usually ruined by the awkward facial animations anyway.

Character: 2
The characters are so cliché it's laughable. From the female protagonist with superhuman combat ability, amnesia and big breasts, to her cycloptic Nazi mentor who can smack rocket propelled grenades out of the air with her bare hands, there isn't much to take seriously. The show does try and use its ridiculous plot to develop the main protagonist (Erna) somewhat, but it's all too predictable and rushed.

Enjoyment: 3
All enjoyment pertaining to this show lies in how terrible it is. It would be best to watch this with a group of friends to get a few laughs. Even the combat scenes are spoiled by awkward character animations and poor music.

Overall: 2
While still beyond redemption this show could have been easily improved by scrapping the CG idea altogether, and slowing down the pacing. Furthermore there are so many things in here that have been done before, it's almost like the show is trying to poke fun at the anime industry in its entirety. If this review seems overly critical you probably haven't seen this show. If you have, you should watch it again with my sympathies. read more

Nazis, time travellers, girls with guns... URDA is pulp fiction in motion.

URDA is unrealistic as it gets despite being set in a real historical setting. This very short OAV takes the most ridiculous concepts and tired old clichés and uses it for its own benefit.

An amnesiac well-endowed super shooter fights against a Nazi badass while she tries to send a bio-engineered girl from the future back into a wormhole. Yeah, that's the story. Nothing this silly is meant to ever be taken seriously. What URDA wants from its audience is to let them turn their brain off and just watch as they recycle old and certainly unusual elements of cinematic history and make something usable with them. The trick of enjoying this anime is to be aware that it aims to be nothing more than what it is--it is not going to give you a wink and nudge like parodies or satirical anime do. But this is not a parody or satire; it is an homage to sensationalism. If you miss that tidbit, you miss the entire point of this series.

URDA's story is not actually about politics, Americans versus Germans, or even war--it is action anime that is a testament to time travel. Taking it as a whole, we realise it is a nod to the notion that no matter what we did in the past, what we do in the present, and we will do in the future, everything is pre-ordained and ultimately unchangeable. Taking it in bits and pieces will make us realise that it is an anime about a chick fighting a lot with another chick with lots of explosions in the background. And we should see it as that because that it was URDA is as well.

The art of an anime is not only how pretty it is, how much detail is in it, or its colours. To measure it would be to also analyse the way the scenes are directed, camera angles, how movements are executed, the importance of the settings and the characters movements and positions in a frame. URDA, while it is not eye candy, is rather impressive when you consider all the other facets of its artwork and animation.

The action scenes in this anime are actually rather terrific in terms of conception though less so in execution. There is the typical shoot out on top of a moving train and rather than be dull, we get an amazingly directed sequence involving the characters running as the carriages fall down a cliff one by one, helicopters shooting missiles, a motorcycle darting around falling debris, and lots of explosions. Despite all this action taking place at the same time, the scene is well executed and exciting. There is even one stunning scene where the protagonist stands on a cliff side at dusk holding up a big ass gun while several fighter jets in the distance dance around the sky. The director of these scenes is nothing short of a visionary--it's a shame he had such limitations in terms of the presentation. Which then leads to the only downfall of the art: the style.

URDA utilises CGI throughout; the 3D aspects of the animation makes the movement rather choppy than fluid, and garish rather than good. There is no doubt that given either a higher budget, more detail or even a more traditional 2D art style, URDA would have been a spectacular looking anime with some jaw-dropping, over-the-top action. Nothing needs to be changed, since the art direction is damn near perfect. Flashbacks are spliced right into present action, which in turns allow the story to progress in a non-linear fashion keeping you interested and entertained while still giving you information as to not be completely confused.

Intense piano-driven scenes accentuate the background of URDA. The score is fairly standard and what you would expect to hear in series or movies based on World War II. The voice cast is pretty underwhelming and that can be chalked up to the lack of variety in the scenes. This anime is a sci fi action, so most of what you hear is dialogue based on scientific explanations or screaming and shouting. The cast of this series is based on archetypes and the characters never grow out of their roles. Erna is the tough badass with no memory and questionable moments of compassion, Clls (pronounced as "Chris") is your typical helpless "needs to be rescued all the time" girl, the cruel and brutal Grimheld is the anime's antagonist who is just all grand plans and crazy behaviour, there's the laid-back sidekick chick, and then there's Alan who is... just there.

Not an inspired cast here at all. They exist solely for the purpose of carrying the plot, but even as they stand, they are not impressive characters nor will they be characters you care about or remember. Good pulp makes you at least involved in the characters' lives, whether you despise them or not, as pulp-masters like Tarantino have shown us over the years. (In fact, URDA should be considered as believable and accurate as Inglourious Basterds.)

URDA plays out like the summary of a movie or series. It gives you the crucial scenes, vital moments of action or exposition, and the history of the characters all in a short span of time. And even with its shortness, this anime manages to pull off a pretty decent plot twist within the last minute that makes the entire viewing experience just all the more satisfying.

This anime is quite lean--the fat is all trimmed, which is a good thing as it is not bogged down with dull or unnecessary scenes, but the downside is that perhaps too much was taken off. URDA lacks the meat of a good series, which would include deeper characters and a more developed story.

What we have here is the skeleton of what could be a great and estranged action/sci fi adventure. The good thing about URDA though it that all it aims to be IS that skeleton. And in that regard, this anime succeeds. URDA does not attempt to be anything more than it already is, thus we should not consider it to be something less because of that.

URDA is for those who can handle their orange juice (and anime) with lots of pulp. read more