Green Legend Ran

A story of future Earth - A warning for mankind: In the future, our planet will be transformed into a strange new world where human life struggles on an Earth without rain or oceans - only vast, parched deserts.

Two youths fight for survival on our hostile planet and find hope. The sea, the sky and the land had been completely polluted by mankind when mysterious objects fall from the heavens. These titanic vessels smash into the planet and suck up the air, water, and most living creatures into their womb, stealing away the very essence of Earth`s nature.

The few remaining inhabitants struggle for survival against a hostile environment and an oppressive ruling race known as the Rodo. One young, hot-blooded human named Ran, fights against the Rodo and a world in which rain is only a legend. He strives to join an Anti-Rodo group known as the Hazzard, not only to defeat the Rodo, but also to hunt down the man who killed his mother.

(Source: AniDB)

Aira Main

Yayoi, Mitsuki Japanese

Ran Main

Kikuchi, Hidehiro Japanese

Kiba Supporting

Aono, Takeshi Japanese

Honran Supporting

Tomizawa, Michie Japanese

Narrator Supporting

Yamaguchi, Ken Japanese

Rurei Supporting

Namikawa, Daisuke Japanese

Ran's Mother Supporting

Inoue, Kikuko Japanese

Lazlo Supporting

Futamata, Issei Japanese

Chimin Supporting

Yamadera, Kouichi Japanese

Jeke Supporting

Hazama, Michio Japanese

Saga, Satoshi Director, Storyboard, Setting, Key Animation

Watanabe, Junichi Episode Director, Storyboard, Setting

Yamamoto, Yuu Script

Yoshikawa, Youichirou Theme Song Composition, Music

Reviews

Dec 25, 2019

JuneNephthys

Recommended

I first stumbled upon this quaint little OVA at a used bookstore, in a similar fashion to how I first discovered Ginga Ojōsama Densetsu Yuna… I thought the cover looked interesting and bought the VHS for a $1 on the clearance rack! The $1 was well worth the investment—Green Legend Ran changed my life, in my teens, and I still think about it quite often in my ‘20s!

—Story/Characters

Green Legend Ran takes place on a post-apocalyptic Earth that has become a barren wasteland after an alien invasion. Six of the “Rodo”—a race of giant monoliths that are revealed to be more than what they seem later ... in the OVA—crash through the atmosphere and, through emitting a force field of carbon dioxide in the areas where they land, causing all of the planet’s food and water to erode. The massive climate change causes the divide between the wealthy and poor to become more extreme, leading the wealthier class to monopolize the remaining reservoirs.

The two factions are:
a) The ‘Rodoists’—the wealthy have taken to hoarding the remaining sources of food and water from the poor. They also fanatically worship the Rodo, despite their lack of communication with the monoliths. They refer to the areas around the monoliths as the ‘Holy Green.’
b) The ‘Hazard’—a revolutionary movement that opposes the Rodoists.

Travel between communities is infrequent, at a certain distance away from the monoliths, because of the carbon dioxide, the air between the impoverished and the ‘Holy Green’ can’t be breathed—necessitating *pressurized vehicles and suits. The only people that are legally authorized to use the pressurized vehicles and suits are merchants that bring the small villages food and water from the ‘Holy Green’ but it is barely enough to survive on and many of the villagers die from either starvation or dehydration.
*The suits and vehicles are very similar to equipment used for space travel.

Ran is a young, orphaned boy who seeks to survive, join the Hazard, and enact revenge on the man who murdered his mother, a muscular man with a scar on his chest. During a failed Hazard attack, he meets *Aira. During their meeting, Aira slaps him for trying to kill a wounded Rodoist and she says that he’s no different from them if he’s a murderer. After spending some time around Aira’s tranquil aura, Ran’s anger begins to wane.

Suddenly, the Rodoist army attacks the Hazard base and Aira is abducted. Ran tries to board the Rodo *sand ship as it is taking off, doubly enraged at the sight of the man who killed his mother, but fails. Ran attempts to traverse the desert in a stolen pressure suit to rescue Aira from the Rodoist’s base and is rescued by traveling merchants, right before the oxygen tank in his suit runs out.
*Think Frank Herbert’s Dune.

The merchant leader, a contemplative man named Jeke, offers Ran his assistance to rescue Aira. They infiltrate the ‘Holy Green’ disguised as supply shipment, and it is revealed that Aira is not only abducted by the Rodoists to *extract water from her veins but to also as *a source of communication with the Rodo. Meanwhile, Ran catches up with Aira—after the man who killed his mother, Kiba, comes face-to-face with Jeke, who is then revealed to be Ran’s father!
*Aira is a descendant of Rodo, born from the monolith, so she’s a plant-human hybrid. Rodoists are able to distinguish descendants of Rodo apart from normal humans because of their silver hair. In captivity, she meets Rurui, another descendent of Rodo, who talks to her telepathically before he dies from having all of the water extracted from his body. It’s not explicitly stated but it implies that they keep her alive, as a source of communication, because she’s a sexually attractive female and the previous descendent was male.

Rodo manifests itself into a human form and tells Aira that the Rodo can replenish Earth’s greenery, but are waiting for the remaining humans to kill each other, so all other lifeforms of Earth won’t be destroyed by human greed. Rodo urges Aira to join the past maidens in a collective conscious to let humans be their own undoing. Aira pleads with Rodo to give humanity another chance; Rodo concedes and decides to leave the planet with the other monoliths.

Jeke leaves behind an escape plan for Aira and Ran to be ejected from Rodo’s alien pods that are filled with seeds. Jeke then blows up the Rodoist’s base, killing most of them, himself, and Kiba; and the Rodo lifts up into space and it begins to *heavily rain; and the Earth begins to go back to how it used to be, before the apocalypse. The end.
*In the first OVA, it only shown to sparsely rain. To the point where the people in the Hazard faction can barely even glean sustenance from how little it does.

Before Green Legend Ran, many of the OVAs I had seen weren’t able to form a cohesive story; that’s why my mind was blown upon my first viewing! The conclusion with hopeful melody of ‘Tears and Rain’ by Ichirō Suzuki playing, while Aira and Ran glance lovingly at each other is one of the greatest endings!

The characters weren’t the strongest but the duality between Ran and Aira’s demeanors, as well as the roles that they played—more than made up for it! I still believe that Green Legend Ran is a criminally underrated gem, and after revisiting it, I still believe that! If only, more people would just sporadically find something at a used bookstore and decide to check it out on a whim. I still am fairly sporadic with streaming, but there was a certain magic to staring at a physical VHS cover and eagerly anticipating whether it would be good or not!

—Technical

There are a couple of A-list seiyū in this production, which is surprise seeing as it was a *Mushi Production animation. Some of the notable voice actors include:
*Mushi Productions was a studio founded by, none other than the father of manga himself, Osamu Tezuka! Mushi Productions used to crank out a lot of high quality series until the ‘00s, examples of some of their productions are: Ashita no Joe, Moomin, Belladonna of Sadness, Astro Boy, Princess Knight, Dororo, and Kimba the White Lion.

• The voice of Aira—Mitsuki Yayoi, a seiyū famous for her roles as:
1) Riquinni Nonderaiko, Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise
2) Chan Agi, Mobile Suit Gundam, Char’s Counterattack
3) Lena, Shamanic Princess

• The voice of Ran—Hidehiro Kikuchi, a seiyū famous for his role as:
—Hiroto Honda, Yū-Gi-Ō!

• The voice of Chimin—Kōichi Yamadera, a seiyū famous for his roles as:
1) Spike Spiegal, Cowboy Bebop
2) Beerus and Tenshinhan, Dragon Ball Z
3) Kōichi Zenigata, Lupin III—待て, ルパン!! WAIT, LUPIN!!
4) Ryōji Kaji, Neon Genesis Evangelion
5) Papacharino Nanadan, Photon
6) Mew and Lugia, Pokémon
7) Ryōga Hibiki, Ranma ½
8) Akihito Kayaba, Sword Art Online
9) Abert Desler, Uchū Senkan Yamato 2199
10) Meier Link, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
11) Sorata Arisugawa, X/1999

• The voice of Honran—Michie Tomizawa, a seiyū famous for her roles as:
1) Shiiko (C-ko) Kotobuki, Project A-ko
2) Rei Hino, Sailor Moon
3) Roberta, Black Lagoon
4) Linna Yamazaki, Bubblegum Crisis
5) Pony, Gall Force
6) Sumire Kanzaki, Sakura Taisen
7) Doris Lang, Vampire Hunter D

• The voice of Jeke—Michio Hazama, a seiyū famous for his roles as:
1) Walter von Schönkopf, Ginga Eiyū Densetsu
2) Bruno J. Global, Macross

• The voice of Kiba—*Takeshi Aono, a seiyū famous for his roles as:
*Sadly, Takeshi Aono passed away on April 9th, 2012 from cerebral infarctions.
1) Kami, Dragon Ball
2) Gengai Hiraga, Gintama
3) Vanilla Ice, JoJo no Kimyō na Bōken (1993)
4) Wagnard, Lodoss-tō Senki
5) Gambling King, Ranma ½
6) Hades, Saint Seiya: Meiō Hades Jūni Kyū-hen
7) Shirō Sanada, Uchū Senkan Yamato
8) Yosho ‘Masaki’ Jurai, Tenchi Muyō!
9) Sugoroku Mutō, Yū-Gi-Ō!

• The voice of Ran’s mother—Kikuko Inoue, a seiyū that is so famous that everyone reading this has probably already heard of her.

• The voice of Rurei—*Daisuke Namikawa, a seiyū famous for his roles as:
*American voice actor, Vic Mignogna, has been cast as two of Namikawa’s roles—including Benawi from Utawarerumono and Fai D. Flōrite from Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE.
1) Narsus, Arslan Senki (TV)
2) Rokurō Okajima, Black Lagoon
3) Ulquiorra Cifer, Bleach
4) Jellal Fernandes, Fairy Tail
5) Waver Velvet, Fate/Zero
6) Leonard Testarossa, Full Metal Panic
7) Van Hohenheim, Fullmetal Alchemist
8) Kei Kurono, Gantz
9) Seiya Ichijō, Kaiji
10) Tōru Oikawa, Haikyū
11) Rumaty Ivan di Raginei, Hanasakeru Seishōnen
12) Walter C. Dornez, Hellsing Ultimate
13) Italy, Hetalia
14) Hisoka Morow, Hunter x Hunter (2011)
15) Yashiro Isana, K
16) Shōta Kazehaya, Kimi ni Todoke
17) Yū Narukami, Persona 4
18) Fai D. Flōrite, Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE
19) Benawi, Utawarerumono

The solid scripting is thanks to the writer, Yū Yamamoto, who also wrote Mobile Suit Gundam. Yoshiyuki Tomino often gets all the credit for creating Gundam, so much that the people under him efforts are depreciated in the process. Despite my nostalgia for Green Legend Ran, one of the reasons that I rate it so highly is because of its tight story telling!

The director of Green Legend Ran, Yoshimitsu Ōhashi, doesn’t have many series that he chiefly directed: Amnesia, Aquarian Age: Sign for Evolution, Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto, Galaxy Angel, and Kokkoku—while many of the series aren’t above aren’t very widely acclaimed, Galaxy Angel and Kokkoku both have their own niche followings! Ōhashi also did key animation for a lot of animations that I am a fan of, like Bakuen Campus Guardress, Darkside Blues, Fushigi no Umi no Nadia, Tokyo Babylon, and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust!

Conclusively, Green Legend Ran is story that still tugs at my heartstrings—after more than a decade of initially watching it. My eyes still tear up when I hear the opening verse of ‘Yasashisa wa Furu Ame no Yōni’ or when I think about Aira and Ran’s scene together at the reservoir or when Aira pleads with the Rodo to forgive humanity for its mistakes; Green Legend Ran is a powerful OVA that is still near and dear to my heart! It’s an animation that will always be beautiful to me and stands the test of time!
NOTE: Gin'iro no Kami no Agito borrowed a lot from Green Legend Ran’s story, but blundered in its execution.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Sep 2, 2016

ue6o7

Mixed Feelings

Green Legend Ran is an interesting little OVA from the early 90s that's probably too ambitious for its own good. It's got ancient aliens, a post-apocalyptic earth, opposing factions consisting of religious extremists and their corresponding resistance, a revenge plot, a love story, and some kind of environmental message. Taking place in such a detailed setting with such a detailed lore, it doesn't quite know where to start and where to end.

And that's a major problem for Green Legend Ran: It has lots of interesting ideas, but it doesn't spend the appropriate amount of time on each one, and in that way its two ... hour run time paradoxically feels both too long and too short. The narrative that's woven between all of these concepts can be a little jarring as a result, causing the motivations of some characters to come into question. Some holes are present in the plot, too. While it's not really hard to catch on eventually, it is hard to feel engaged when you're not always invested in what's going on. And, although the concepts can be interesting, they're sometimes relegated to expository dialogue instead of being explored through actions.

The main characters of this OVA are Ran and Aira, and they have some pretty good chemistry together. In fact, the best scene of the series is simply a lighthearted one that features the two of them playfully getting to know each other while on an errand to fetch some resources. The animators portray their body language so fluidly and realistically here that it's just really fun to watch. But, as fun as it is, the scene's simply not long enough to convince the viewer that Ran already feels as strongly as he does for Aira. As soon as she gets snatched up by the bad guys, he's already dead set on risking his life for her, and they've only talked for what was maybe twenty minutes at best. Not only is this abrupt parting unsuccessful in providing a compelling character motivation for Ran, it also robs the rest of the series of further interactions between these two characters, which is especially disappointing.

Ran himself isn't exactly the most likable character, either—at least sometimes. It's an odd situation where the show clearly tries its hardest to make you care for him...and you know, it does work to an extent, but there's just something about it that doesn't feel genuine—like they were going through a checklist of things they could mix together to make a protagonist that would earn your sympathy, when ultimately he just comes across as a nasally-voiced little shit half the time. The emotional climaxes of his arc seem kind of awkward, too, probably due to him hardly getting the chances to interact with those characters who are supposed to be so important to him. However, Ran does have some cute moments with Jeke that do manage to feel genuine despite their predictability.

What probably ends up being the most fascinating aspect of this series is its atypical interpretation of environmentalism. It's almost the antithesis to the idealistic pro-earth beliefs of someone like Hayao Miyazaki; here, rather than being put on a pedestal, the forces of nature are represented by an oppressive alien god who actually feels like an exaggerated mockery of the type of person who would love nothing more than to see the earth purged of us "rotten humans" who do nothing but destroy it. This series proposes that wishing for such a thing would probably be going too far and that moderation is important for both sides. To be fair, though, Miyazaki's works never quite go that far either, as they usually end on the hopeful note of giving humans a second chance. However, nature is usually portrayed as the side that's deserving of the most respect in his stories, and it'll certainly never be painted as the villain. (And, if you've read certain quotes from the man, you'll know he's the type who'd probably be more in agreement with the "screw humanity" creed of the alien god of this story.) Regardless, it is refreshing to see an anime that tackles this subject matter from an angle that's different from what's seen most of the time.

Now, if there's one thing that's clear about this OVA it's that it looks very good. It's got appealing character designs, the animation is stellar, and there's a lot of momentum that's given to every action; objects and characters have a nice physicality and weight to them. The setting of the series also really comes through in the creative shot compositions that show off the gorgeous landscapes of the desert and the rows of rusty industrial buildings. There's also a great use of lighting here, where vivid, colorful rays and other shapes frequently shine though and pop against the darker backdrops creating an atmosphere with a lot of depth. The only negative when it comes to the look of the show is the occasional use of black gradients that are thrown on top of shots which looks pretty lazy and distracting. But, other than that, the visuals provide nothing but eye candy throughout the entire series.

The more I think about it, the more the story of Green Legend Ran actually feels like something better suited for a long JRPG, where all of its ideas could've had the time to shine. Some scenes even feature segments that could've easily been gameplay instead, particularly one moment where Ran has to follow directions written on notes left by another character in order to make it through a mysterious maze. That being said, the glimpse we do get of this world, however disjointed, is one that's filled with imagination. Its attitude towards the environmentalism debate is intriguing enough on its own.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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May 24, 2017

ktulu007

Not Recommended

Green Legend Ran is an OVA from the early 90s. It was brought to us by AIC, the same studio that was responsible for Battle Athletes, Blue Gender, SoltyRei, Explorer Woman Ray & a variety of others. I don't know anything going into it besides it being science fiction. So, let's take a look and see if this one, unlike the last OVA I dug up, is worth a look.

Story:

In the distant future our planet has been transformed into a world of desserts after giant extra terrestrials dropped onto our planet. There are contained patches of green, but they're few and hidden away. In ... this world, the ruling class is made up of the Rodoists, people who worship the invading aliens and control the water supply. An opposition faction called Hazzard has also stepped up to fight against the Rodoists while most people are caught in the middle. We follow Ran, a young man who wants to join Hazzard to take revenge for his mother's death. She was killed by a man with a scar on his chest during a confrontation betwixt the Rodoists & Hazzard. He meets up with Hazzard and befriends a girl his age named Aira. She's immediately abnormal because of her silver hair. Normally that wouldn't be strange in an anime, but in this one it's significant. What does her silver hair mean? Will Ran manage to find his mother's killer? What will happen between the factions?

While there are some interesting ideas on display, the execution leaves much to be desired. The series is pretty passable at building things up but its resolutions tend to last for all of thirty seconds and be unsatisfying. Ran spends most of the OVA repeating himself and contributing very little to the events that are happening. The story arc manages to simultaneously drag and skip over important elements. We'll get long, slow periods that will contribute little or repeat information we already have and then we'll skip ahead in time and be left with the impression that something important happened between the scenes but they aren't sharing what. The environmental message in this is also really unsubtle and in your face. On a scale of Captain Planet bad to a Miyazaki film, it comes considerably closer to Captain Planet.

To the OVA's credit, it does have some pretty strong moments when it manages to keep its focus. I also do kind of like the ending to the series. It does subvert the kind of ending you'd expect.

Characters:

There are some major problems with the characterisation in this OVA. First off, there are the villains. When a villain is supposed to be somewhat sympathetic, the series tries to hammer that in with really stilted dialogue. Which may or may not work. When a villain is just a villain, they're cartoonishly, over the top evil. Then we have Ran himself. He's a really dull character. It doesn't help that he's largely completely inept and just yammers on about the same things constantly. There's also the dynamic betwixt Aira and Ran. It comes across as completely contrived in order to move the plot. They spend maybe a day in one another's company and all of a sudden they're the best of friends and willing to completely rely on one another. I would only buy that if one of them was actually a dog. Not a dog in human form, but a literal dog of some kind.

Art:

The artwork and animation vary. On one hand, the OVA is quite good when it comes to strange, surreal imagery. There are quite a few scenes that employ that aesthetic effectively. In contrast, their stuff with ordinary people can be pretty bad. There are a lot of awkward movements that no normal human would do without actively trying to contort themselves, a lot of awkward facial expressions that don't actually match the emotion that the character is supposed to be conveying and a lot of action sequences weakened by a combination thereof. There's also the design of their desert suits to be considered. They look like they're made of heavy material and they have completely unnecessary shoulder pads. Because when you're under a hot sun, you want heavy material with extra features that weigh you down. There's also the question of how they're supposed to function. They look a bit like diving suits. Initially, I thought they might be like proto-stillsuits where they recycle a character's lost moisture but there's never any indication that they can get moisture from them. It's almost like they didn't even consider functionality and just designed something stupid. At least it wasn't a battle bikini.

Sound:

The performances in this aren't bad but they aren't good either. Ultimately what we get from Kikuchi Hidehiro, Yayoi Mitsuki and the others are passable performances. The music from Yoshikawa Youichirou is decent enough. It's not as good as the soundtrack he did for Iria, certainly, but it's all right.

Ho-yay:

Don't expect to find any here.

Final Thoughts:

Ultimately, Green Legend Ran is a series with a promising premise, that's held back by poor execution. The story ends up with more weak moments than strong moments. The characters are largely bland, or worse. The artwork is bad when it comes to conveying normalcy and the acting is just mediocre. It's not a bad little OVA, but in the end, my final rating is going to be a 4/10. It's weak. Next week I'll look at another OVA with AD Police.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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