Ranked #666

Soukyuu no Fafner: Right of Left

This short has a very good story concept, albeit a sad one. However it is not very thought out or explained. I watched this with a feeling that I was missing something through the entire thing. Perhaps there is some sort of prequel that I haven't heard of? Anyhow, onto the review.

Story:
The last safe island on earth. A government which subliminally trains the children of the island to know about the war going on outside, and how to pilot the Fafner mecha which are used in the war. Silicone monsters that attack, and can mostly only be beaten using a Fafner. Fafners can only be piloted by the children, however if they pilot it to much they turn into crystals and shatter. All of this comes together to form a rather good story, however they don't have any back story, the characters aren't explained very much, and all in all it leaves you asking a whole lot of questions.

Art:
I just didn't like the lines on the cheeks. It makes them all look dirty, or wounded all the time.

Sound:
Really, I never know how to analyze this. I think it's fine.

Character:
They don't give you much as far as this goes, but it's refreshing the the character with a weak constitution isn't pathetic for once.

My overall rating is really just that it felt short and incomplete, but it was a relitively well done show. Not great, but not bad either. read more

Right of Left is one of the best OVA's of a series I've seen in a long time. Taking place shortly before the events of the main Fafner series, Right of Left presents the tale of an almost completely new cast of pilots who do their very best to protect Tatsumiyajima island from the invasion of the alien species, the Festum. Taking place on a submarine, the objective of Right of Left is to use a small team of pilots to act as a decoy, thus preventing the main settlement from being engulfed in the war.

Note: I watched this AFTER watching the main Fafner series, having seen both, I see no need for them to be watched in that order, but doing so *may* change the viewer's opinion of this OVA and/or the main series.

Story:
This is easily the best thing about Right of Left, the story revolves around the struggle of a group of poorly trained, ill-equipped pilots desperately struggling to fight off the vastly more powerful enemy, the Festum. Now that is no different from most other Mech shows, except for a few small details. Firstly, the strategies involved are amazingly well thought-out, as the pilots struggle not only with their enemy, but also with their own equipment and supplies. Now that may sound a bit cryptic, but I am trying to avoid spoilers, so I can't be any more specific than that. Secondly, as most of the crew are not main characters in the Fafner series, there is no need to "character shield" them. What I mean is, keeping people alive in situations where they would otherwise die, simply because the plot needs that character to go on, is not an issue. Now I'm not saying who lives or who dies (if anyone), but the fact that all the characters are not bound to the plot gave the writer a lot of freedom, which allowed him to write a good, coherent story.

Furthermore, as well as having it's own self-contained plot, Right of Left addresses a few things that confused me when watching Fafner the first time. Re-watching the first couple episodes of the main series after watching this puts Fafner in a totally different light. This is quite the feat, the OVA actually makes the main series better. Kudos to the writer.

Art:
Taking place before the Fafner series, the mechs and weapons, as well as Festum, are all less powerful, less refined and scream "prototype". This is good, as it gives the viewer something new to look at, as well as establish the timeline and continuity. Furthermore, the quality of animation is a bit higher than the main series, as is generally the case with an OVA. The backgrounds and characters are all good and help establish the mood well. Overall, the artwork is of a very high quality.

Sound:
Nothing noticeably good nor noticeably bad, so I'd give this the thumbs up, for failing to give me anything bad to write.

Character:
One would expect that in an OVA of this length, that the characters would be pretty shallow. This is not the case. The characters have alot of development in this short period of time, and indeed put the actions of some of the main characters in the Fafner series in a totally different light. The characters are all well depicted and well developed.

Overall:
Right of Left is fairly unique among OVAs in that rather than taking place in a "side story" or a sequel, this takes place in a prequel and fleshes out many plot devices mentioned, although not adequately elaborated on, in the main series. Furthermore, it has a very well written self-contained plot, so the OVA in general is a must-watch for anyone who's seen Fafner, or indeed, anyone who is interested in watching Fafner in the future. read more