Votoms Finder

It's a fun little Armored Trooper VOTOMS spin-off of a guy named Aki. He lives in a giant gap called Bottom, in a small village where he navigates through tunnels with his AT to find broken ATs from the Hundred Year War and junk them for a living. Sometimes he encounters creatures that burrow through these tunnels and tries to kill them. Normally he sits around and daydreams about going to the city above called Top.

This OVA is just a fun little thing the creators decided to do and pretty much nothing more. If you watch this hoping that characters from the original series show ... up, best not watch this with those hopes. This OVA has no relation with the original series and from what I read, it takes place centuries after Phantom Arc.

If you are a VOTOMS fan and feel like watching this for fun, then go ahead. Knock yourself out. You'll enjoy Aki's antics and his small adventure to save a kidnapped girl.

Votoms Finder is an alternate universe one-off in the Votoms franchise that stars the titular mechs and a new cast of characters. Aki Renso is a Bottomer, a mercenary and parts scavenger who survives in the slums contrasting the Toppers, who live in a luxurious modern city. Aki is bored of his environment and dreams of some day climbing the wall that separates him from the Toppers and achieving greatness. When Toppers hire Aki to rescue their chairman's daughter, he likens himself to a prince rescuing a princess and lives out his fantasy.

Not exactly breaking new ground here. Hell, everything's cliche, but the original Votoms ... series wasn't very clever to begin with, so that's not why we're here. So we must be here for the defining super-realistic technology, right? That's where Votoms Finder will particularly disappoint. Though mostly reasonable, the OVA takes liberties when it comes to the laws of physics, specifically when these heavy machines do all sorts of acrobatics. Other than that though, there are no special powers, and weapons are still physical or ammo based.

Votoms Finder makes up for its flaws by having the greatest production values yet. The animation is fantastic. The mechs are CG, but unlike the usual they don't at all clash with the 2-D animation. The focus of this OVA is on the stunning fight sequences which trump anything before in Votoms tenfold. And Votoms has always been primarily an action franchise, so this means a lot.

Though simple, the OVA is short enough that the story doesn't overstay its welcome and combined with its action scenes it thoroughly entertains for a good 40 minutes, and there were many parts in the original Votoms series where I couldn't say the same. Just a good spectacle, and it could've made a series that surpassed the original.

I can tell you right now that this thing is in the critical gutter (by MAL standards) for two big reasons: no Chirico and no scopedogs. Is it fair? Maybe not, but it's understandable. What's here is adequate, serviceable, and watchable. It's a very modest standalone OVA with almost no ties to the series it's named after. The plot concerns scavengers and greedy politicians, elements that aren't out of place from the show, but the whole affair isn't suspenseful or thrilling either. The hero Aki Tesuno is the brash, starry-eyed youth one can expect from shōnen anime, and most of the characters follow archetypes that ... don't step outside their typical boundaries.

The primary saving grace of Votoms Finder is the visuals, which amaze with fluidity and stylish grace. The Altros are a fine design, and the CG meshes well with the 2D animation. It certainly doesn't look like something that was released 14 years ago, and kept me engaged through most of it.

So that's Votoms Finder. A 39 minute OVA with top shelf visuals and no staying power. Is that such a terrible thing? I'd argue not, but it'll be different for everybody.