Aoki Ryuusei SPT Layzner (Blue Comet SPT Layzner)

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Blue Meteor SPT Layzner, Layzner, SPT Layzner, Aoki Ryusei SPT Layzner, Layzner Super Powered Tracer

Japanese: 蒼き流星SPTレイズナー

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Information

Type: TV

Episodes: 38

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Oct 3, 1985 to Jun 26, 1986

Premiered: Fall 1985

Broadcast: Thursdays at 17:30 (JST)

Producers: None found, add some

Licensors: Discotek Media

Studios: Sunrise

Source: Original

Genre: Sci-Fi

Themes: Mecha, Military, Space

Duration: 24 min. per ep.

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 7.02¹ (scored by 1,827 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #4306²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #7367

Members: 7,045

Favorites: 33

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Synopsis

The story takes place in an alternate reality based in the year 1996, where humanity is advanced enough to develop long-range space travel, as well as bases on both the Moon and Mars. However, the Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union have not ended; rather, they've escalated as both sides build military facilities in space, and the shadow of nuclear conflict looms over humanity, both on and off Earth.

Meanwhile, on the Red Planet, an exchange program created by the United Nations to promote peace and understanding is about to begin; the "Cosmic Culture Club," consisting of 16 boys and girls, as well as their instructor Elizabeth, arrives at the UN Mars base. Among the passengers is Anna a 14-year-old girl who serves as the narrator for the story.

Suddenly, four unidentified humanoid robots classified as Super Powered Tracers are detected, engaged in fierce combat with each other. The UN base is caught in the crossfire and quickly destroyed, killing all but six members of the "Cosmic Culture Club"—Elizabeth, Arthur, Roan, David, Simone and Anna, and leaving them stranded on an inhospitable planet that has suddenly become a battlefield. As the battle ends, the lone SPT standing lands next to the terrified group and opens up revealing a pilot, who simply announces to them, "Earth is at stake."

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Background

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Related Anime

Alternative version:

Aoki Ryuusei SPT Layzner OVA

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Asuka, Eiji

Main

Inoue, Kazuhiko
Japanese

Stephanie, Anna

Main

Emori, Hiroko
Japanese

Kalra, Egiel

Supporting

Sasaki, Run
Japanese

Gueler

Supporting

Mitsuya, Yuuji
Japanese

Dr. Nizon

Supporting

Tokumaru, Kan
Japanese

Getey

Supporting

Satou, Masaharu
Japanese

Bohn

Supporting

Hashimoto, Kouichi
Japanese

Cubs

Supporting

Yara, Yuusaku
Japanese

Dillinger

Supporting

Fujishiro, Yuji
Japanese

Manjuro

Supporting

Shioya, Kouzou
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Ueda, Masuo

Producer

Takahashi, Ryousuke

Director, Episode Director, Script, Storyboard, Original Creator

Yatabe, Katsuyoshi

Episode Director, Storyboard

Amino, Tetsurou

Episode Director, Storyboard

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Opening Theme

"Melos no You ni —Lonely Way— (メロスのように —LONELY WAY—)" by Airmail from Nagasaki

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Ending Theme

	1: "Go-Fun Dake no Wagamama (5分だけのわがまま, Just 5 Minutes of Selfishness)" by Seiko Tomizawa (eps 1-25)
	2: "La Rose Rouge (ラ・ローズ・ルージュ, The Red Rose)" by Seiko Tomizawa (eps 26-38)

Reviews

Sep 23, 2021

Atelier_Weiss

Recommended

Aoi Ryuusei SPT Layzner is Ryousuke Takahashi's fifth creative work and one that stands out among his other mecha works for feeling a lot more representative of the genre. While Dougram is a much more politically focused show with action that feels more comprised of guerrilla efforts than giant robots punching each other, Layzner is something that feels a lot more distinctively like a real robot show making it more derivative compared to his other contributions to the industry up to this point yet refreshing in its execution.

Layzner tackles some very interesting concepts within the mecha genre. Taking place in an alternative history where the ... Cold War continued for decades trust between nations is still very weak among the two main superpowers of the aforementioned war which maintained their political and militant prevalence. It's an era where all it takes is one askew action to set off a war and when an unknown alien force helms the charge of a battle on Mars, it was all it took to lead to a mass missile attack on both sides' military bases on the red planet. What's great about this premise is how volatile it can be. Trust between nations is tense after all so when word of a mass attack on a nation occurs each side assumes the other is the cause. In reality it's an entirely alien force known as Grados, humanoid beings very similar to earthlings who using this knowledge of tension declares this attack to make each side attack each other.

The keyword is tension, as the first 24 episodes is very invested in this theme. Trust issues between different parties, the fear of being attacked by a superior alien force, the tension of trying to run from them. From the first episode there's a very clear air of bleakness, a sense of helplessness in an effort to survive a battle that can't be won. And in its execution it's damn good. The main cast comprises mostly of students from a club that were brought to Mars as a peace effort between nations and being thrown into the deep end with civilians that don't have any battle experience puts you in a similar position to them. You're witnessing and feeling the sense of dread they are as giant robots piloted by aliens destroy the one location that separates them from a planet with no atmosphere. It makes the characters feel boxed in, and by extension yourself, following them trying to find any possible survivors and a chance to make their way back home.

That is with the exception of a wild card with the main character, Eiji Asuka. Eiji is the solace in this hopeless situation yet an explosive one that seems to help the civilian crew but given their situation have a hard time trying to trust him. It's a reasonable response as there's no reason for our heroes to figure that there's a coup occurring within an alien army that no earthling is even aware of. Eiji is the bridge that becomes the hope as well as the evidence that the alien adversaries aren't all evil. And it's an endearing experience watching him try to gain the trust of everyone.

The cast of Layzner is really great, it's not going to be winning awards for being groundbreaking but everyone is personable and have varied, believable reactions to what's happening and in general have very likeable personalities. Every character slowly falls into serving a role in the story and it all feels natural. They all receive development that makes you really root for them and become concerned of their wellbeing -- or in some other cases, make you hate them. The further the story goes the more it feels like everything will work out for them. Even when the story does take a significant shift the characters remain who they are and continue to develop remaining true to themselves and not being adjusted to fit the new tone.

I will touch upon the second part of this show briefly because I don't wish to spoil much. Layzner is somewhat infamous in circles that are aware of it for having a pretty drastic shift in tone after episode 24. It loses a lot of the drama and nail-biting suspense as it moves in direction that is a lot more action packed and bombastic. Really, it almost feels like a completely different show. But I want to clarify that this change isn't weak, it's just very different to what came before. As far as individual episodes go I'd almost say it's as good as the first part of the story. The problem more lies in that it's a cancelled show. Layzner is one of the most unfortunate examples of a cancelled show as something that was clearly being created with the intention to be 50 episodes and around 35 episodes in got asked by the Sunrise executives to give it an ending. Narratively, it's not a graceful finish. However when it comes to what it offers within its episodes all the way up to the end Layzner does hold itself intact fairly well, albeit with a few hiccups with how it handles some of its secondary and main characters. Bear in mind as I say this that I did not watch the original TV ending and only viewed the ending that came in the OVA a few months after the show's airing.

With that out of the way, I want to talk more about the positives which include the visuals. Layzner is a gorgeous looking show for its time. As far as TV animation goes for the era, Zeta Gundam's one of the only shows I can think of that looks as detailed and well animated as Layzner, and even then I'd say Zeta's inferior. And it's not just animation, the art is very detailed with mecha designs that are more complex than most in the era and mature character designs that are reminiscent of a softer, less gruff Fist of the North Star. Its storyboard and layout is very nice too, with shot composition that at times can evoke a lot of emotion. There were some visual moments in the show that really stood out to me that I had to pause it or go back and re-experience it.

I also really enjoy the opening theme and animation. Among the fans that's not a unique opinion but it really is great sequence that's well choreographed. I love the change between the first and second openings when Eiji's running as it changes from a determined expression with less urgency in his face to a more aggressive expression that makes him seem at wit's end, running at full speed doing everything his body can handle to complete his mission. It represents well the shift in urgency from the first part to the second.

Regarding the soundtrack it's also quite strong. The aforementioned opening theme is good of course but the soundtrack itself is varied offering a range from classical influences to pop to Aoki Nozomi-like orchestral jazz & rock. It's not a large soundtrack but unlike Dougram which fails in having strong themes Layzner actually benefits from this being able to make some tracks represent certain characters. When you hear certain themes you're a lot more likely to get excited or to react in a particular way compared to Dougram which with its tiny soundtrack and double the runtime ends up making its great tracks carry less weight to them.

All in all, I feel like I could talk more about this show in greater detail but as a written review I'd much rather hit the bullet points and give you a taste of what this show offers. It's something that should be seen for yourself especially if you're a mecha fan. It does have its problems and has a very rushed ending but the content that comes before it and even the ending itself in isolation is highly entertaining. This was a show that came so close to being absolutely amazing, if it was given the chance to be complete it might've become one of my favourite mecha shows of all time. And to have that impression planted upon me despite its handicap is something to be worthy of note.

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Oct 20, 2020

Cecihoney

Recommended

So yeah, this had no review up to now ( october 2020) and I think it deserves one to tell people if this anime is for them or not - yes it is not for everyone.

Story: 6
Well I like the fact that in a way the aliens are quite similar to humans, which is relevant to the plot, but it is kinda simple and the series try to cover it in mystery for way too long. Also certain events feel a bit forced to happen or simply doesn't make much sense, specially after the 3 year jump which happens at one point.
Yet the same jump ... makes other aspects better - more world building and some interesting plot twists.
Also whenever they do those jumps forward they do so in the middle of climax letting us guess how that event or battle ended. While not horrible since you make up more or less what happened it kinda breaks the narrative.
So it has nice structure, but becomes a bit random and absurd at times.

Art: 9
I am taking in to consideration the anime's age and the mecha genre as factors here. Mecha design is quite amazing, full of detail and they try to give as much dept as possible. Settings are also interesting and character designs are full of personality, specially over the 3 year gap when they look different.
Combat scenes tend to be pretty cool and intense, be it on mecha or with characters fighting on foot.

Sound: 8
The music is great, opening can get easily stuck in your head for days xD Background music works just fine and adds to the mood. Sounds are your usual mecha anime ones and they work just fine.

Characters: 6
Well characters have a cool base and premise until they start making weird choices which won't fit them, like villains letting the heroes go off when they could pursue and terminate them.
Main character is overly pacifist - I get it that he descends from both aliens and humans and sometimes he fights relatives or friends, it is hard to fight your sister for example. But he even avoids killing dangerous foes who he actually never met and had all reasons to despise, feels kinda like forced pacifism and eventually other characters fall to that as well.
On the good side, secondary characters are kinda interesting and they get far better when they grow a bit after the 3 year fast forward.

Enjoyment: 7
There were points when I was so hooked that I couldn't stop watching one episode after another, others when I was watching and liking it, but sometimes the plot skipped forward or closed an arch and I left it untouched for a few days.
So yeah, it is exciting in key moments, has some mysteries to make you wonder but has some boring bits here and there.

Overall: 7
So, is this for you? If you are into mecha, action and sci fi or if you want to know how a Gundam Like anime can mix with Hokuto no Ken, by all means watch this :3
Ig not then well, there is better stuff out there with better characters and plot.
Bottom line: Cool mecha show but slightly bellow average as regular anime.

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May 31, 2023

Babeldiosu

Recommended

Spoiler

Layzner is a very mixed show depending on how you look at it.
It is a slow paced show with incredible animation, a strong emphasis on character development and dynamics, and a situation that feels utterly hopeless. The characters almost never feel safe, and yet are allowed brief moments of brevity that develop them from a group of victims into a family. While the main character Eiji is kept at a distance at first, as the show goes on he experiences peaks and valleys of being part of that "family", and being viewed as a potential aggressor. Even ... when the characters make it to Earth and feel like they'll finally be free, the show throws us through twists and turns about the character of Eiji and the aliens who have served as the show's antagonist, as well as the true nature of the titular Layzner itself. The show itself ends with a cliffhanger, Eiji rushing off to potentially sacrifice himself for the sake of humanity, and we are left in the dark about whether or not he succeeds, leaving the audience with a 10/10 masterpiece of mid 80's animation.
Is what I wish I could say. Everything I just told you was about the first 24 episodes of the show. If you want to experience Layzner as a near perfect piece of anime, then watch the everything until the end of episode 24 and pretend that every episode you see after that is actually a result of a really bad joint you smoked prior to starting the show, a mere mirage.
If you wish to ignore my warning and continue watching past that point, then Layzner will become drastically worse as a whole. The last 14 episodes are not wholly bad. Existing in a timeskip off of the cliffhanger from ep. 24, Earth has been conquered by the enemy aliens, and is currently under occupation. Bits of humanity still exist in a resistance movement, but their situation seems dire, as they don't have any weaponry that can compete with Gradosian SPTs. Despite how this synopsis sounds, the slow pacing and utterly oppressive atmosphere of part 1 is entirely lost, feeling less like Layzner and more like Fist of the North Star with badass robots. The only character to genuinely be interesting in this second part is the new main antagonist, Lu Cain, who is a fun and over the top villain that goes through legitimate development after learning about the nature of humanity and Gradosian relations (which were revealed to us back in part 1). Tragically, by the time they actually start making him an interesting character, its the end of the show.
The actual end of the show is an OVA expansion of the final episode, turning the incredibly rushed finale into a 40 minute or so short film. In spite of all this new time, the ending still feels incredibly rushed. In spite of how rushed said ending was, the episode spends a lot of time focusing on the twist revealed to the audience back in part 1, treating it as new information. Layzner also gets an upgrade that looks and acts the exact same as regular Layzner, and also does not make sense, considering that humanity still can't make SPTs comparable to the Gradosian ones.
If I were to rate the first and second halves of the show as their own separate programs, part 1 would be looking at a ridiculously strong 10/10, while the second part would be a nearly as strong 5/10. And so, sadly, by watching Part 2, it inevitably brings down the quality of the show itself. As said earlier in the review, if you want to watch SPT Layzner, finish episode 24 and pretend that's the end.

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Aoki Ryuusei SPT Layzner

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Kalra, Egiel

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Aoki Ryuusei SPT Layzner

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