Soukou Kihei Votoms (Armored Trooper Votoms)

A century of bloodshed between warring star systems has plunged nearly 200 worlds into the flames of war. Now, an uneasy truce has settled across the Astragius Galaxy...

Chirico Cuvie, a special forces powered-armor pilot is suddenly transferred into a unit engaged in a secret and highly illegal mission to steal military secrets—from their own military! Now he's on the run...from his own army!

Unsure of his loyalties and to cover their own tracks, Chirico is left behind to die in space. Surviving by luck, the renegade is now hunted by both the conspirators and military intelligence.

He is driven by the haunting image of a mysterious and beautiful woman—the objective of their mission, and his sole clue to unraveling their treacherous scheme. But the conspirators will do anything to preserve their mysterious agenda...

(Source: AnimeNfo)

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Adaptation:	Soukou Kihei Votoms
Spin-off:	Kikou Ryohei Mellowlink, Soukou Kihei Votoms: Case;Irvine, Votoms Finder
Side story:	Soukou Kihei Votoms: The Last Red Shoulder, Soukou Kihei Votoms: Big Battle
Prequel:	Soukou Kihei Votoms: Red Shoulder Document - Yabou no Roots, Soukou Kihei Votoms: Pailsen Files, Soukou Kihei Votoms: Pailsen Files Movie
Sequel:	Soukou Kihei Votoms: Kakuyaku taru Itan
Summary:	Soukou Kihei Votoms Recaps, Soukou Kihei Votoms Vol.I: Stories of the "A.T.Votoms", Soukou Kihei Votoms Vol.II: Highlights from the "A.T.Votoms"

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Cuvie, Chirico

Main

Gouda, Hozumi
Japanese

Fyana

Main

Yanaga, Kazuko
Japanese

Rochina, Jean Paul

Supporting

Ginga, Banjou
Japanese

Vartla, Vanilla

Supporting

Chiba, Shigeru
Japanese

Vartla, Coconna

Supporting

Kawanami, Yoko
Japanese

Gotho, Bouleuse

Supporting

Tomita, Kousei
Japanese

Potaria, Pol

Supporting

Hayami, Show
Japanese

Yu, Kan

Supporting

Hirose, Masashi
Japanese

Ypsilon

Supporting

Kami, Kyounosuke
Japanese

Borough, Serge

Supporting

Ogata, Kenichi
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Takahashi, Ryousuke

Director, Episode Director, Script, Storyboard, Theme Song Lyrics, Original Creator

Yatabe, Katsuyoshi

Episode Director

Kase, Mitsuko

Episode Director, Storyboard

Tsuda, Yoshizou

Episode Director, Storyboard

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Opening Theme

"Honoo no Sadame (炎のさだめ)" by Tetsuro Oda

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Ending Theme

"Itsumo Anata Ga" by Tetsuro Oda

Reviews

Mar 9, 2023

bruhsenko

Recommended

PREFACE
I'm going to try writing these just to log my thoughts on anime as I complete them, so neither this nor future reviews should be considered impartial assessments. I don't really care if these read as subjective or personal, because I think any engagement with a piece of work can only be that. Masquerading an opinion as fact feels dishonest for me to do.

EXPECTATIONS (TONE)
Anyway, after completing this, I'm not sure why Armored Trooper Votoms is described as as a gritty, military-based show by its fans. For instance, nothing about the dynamic between Gotho, Coconna, ... and Vanilla (a trio of recurring major characters from the beginning of the show) strikes me as serious. They feel like a mischievous rag-tag team true and through, which I don't consider a dig on the show at all—in fact, seeing them show up was always a treat—it just conflicts with what fans of this show advertise it to be. It can be serious and hard-boiled, no doubt, but much of Votoms is either light-hearted or feels like 80s Saturday morning fare. I find that this can be the case because of those three characters, the funky, synth-abundant soundtrack, and some of the major characters in the Kummen jungle arc that struck me as cartoony (e.g., Kan Yu, Gon Nu, and Kiderra).

ENJOYMENT
With that said, although I don't think much of this show survives purely critical evaluation, I do believe it succeeds in satisfying viewers through its searing imagination. Ryosuke Takahashi, the original creator of Armored Trooper Votoms, lends such a fascinating view of the future that my intrigue in the world and its machinations was greater than my investment in the way the story plays out. I worry that that may read as confusing, but I basically mean to say that I don't really mind that the final 12-episode run is undoubtedly rushed because experiencing the intricate, visually striking mechanical design and battles that utilize them was satisfying enough for me to enjoy the show as a whole. Bear in mind, though, that I don't dislike the story of Armored Trooper Votoms; I enjoyed the mystery surrounding Chirico and the body he stumbles upon and seeing the truth gradually unfold, but I think it's a shame that the show ended in a way that feels somewhat condensed.

PACING
In fact, while I've just mentioned the rushed finale, I find that much of Votoms feels rushed or sudden. One particular instance comes to mind: a big showdown at the end of the third arc plays out so quickly that I was in disbelief that the next arc was beginning already. The final arc seems to be notorious for this, with its many big, rapid-fire reveals, but even the use of music can be jarring in this way. I can think of several moments throughout the show in which a piece of music abruptly cuts to another track to match what's now happening. If there's one thing I consider to be an absolute negative in Votoms, it would be that. I don't know how the random music switches can do anything but easily pull viewers out of the experience by drawing attention to its hard cuts. I think it's especially annoying because I really enjoy the soundtrack, so the jarring transitions sucked a bit of the immersion out of me.

ACTION
I felt Votoms was at its most immersive during its mecha/space combat; luckily, at least in the case of the former, there's no shortage of it here. If memory serves me right, there's at least one battle per episode. I loved watching all the ATs in action, but sometimes they were more noise to me than anything, especially if Chirico's involved. I thought the battles were at their weakest during the second arc (Kummen jungle) because they seemed to play out too similarly. Enemy units explode in droves at the hands of Chirico, whose AT damages get repaired before the next episode regardless of how severe the damage is. The combat sat better with me in every other arc, but I enjoyed it during the last two in particular due to the designs of the Balarant ATs and their involvement in space combat.

OPTICAL ATTRACTION
On the topic of visual spectacle, I should note that despite me being somewhat underwhelmed by the animation of Armored Trooper Votoms, I still found the show to be visually pleasing. Much of the motion of mechs and people seemed wooden or awkward to me, but the show still succeeded in satisfying my eyes due to its mechanical design, character design (including wardrobe), and storyboarding (i.e., the composition and framing of scenes). This isn't to say that the animation is a letdown entirely, though; the latter half of Votoms has some mecha action that I thought was really impressive. I also liked much of the action in Uodoo, the first arc of the show. Additionally, this is such a minor observation, but while I do think Votoms features exemplary visual design, I should mention that this is yet another 80s sci-fi anime that features corded phones. It's easy to point and laugh at that now 40 years later, but it's kind of amusing that a show that takes place in the year 7215 still uses old phones.

IN OTHER WORDS...
I liked Votoms quite a bit. It offers some to be desired, particularly in its pacing and motion, but I can't deny that I was sad to part ways with the show in the end.

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Jan 23, 2022

SCLFI

Recommended

VOTOMS is a series that adheres to a more grounded approach to mecha than the genre usually seems interested in depicting. You won’t find any high schoolers or kaiju here, only war, and that alone elevates it above most works out there, I’m here to see robots, no need for some stupid romantic drama with some slag who’s just as stupid.
In any case, one of the clear focuses of VOTOMS was on its titular mecha designs. The AT units (armoured troopers) have a utilitarian charm to them, every aspect of their design has actual purpose, as should be expected for a mass-produced unit, no room ... for pointless ornamental features in industrial warfare. The ATs are highly adaptable, and throughout the series you’ll see them in a multitude of configurations, with a complex arsenal at hand that they can be equipped with to suit the situation at hand – over the course of the series, they’ll utilise ATs with flamethrowers, rocket launchers, machine guns, or any combination the above, with as many barrels as they’ve decided is necessary, or if that’s too complicated, pugilism’s always an option. Point is, the mecha design is not arbitrary, there is a considerable amount of depth and pertinence when it comes to not only their conception, but their usage within the series, which has just as much depth, making each of the battles feel dynamic and not completely identical, which is quite an important matter, because there sure are a lot of battles, you can almost always rely on seeing at least one per episode.

Now would probably be a good time to actually elaborate on the story. In the midst of a several hundred year war between two factions whose names are about as irrelevant as their ideologies, Chirico, an AT pilot, is sent to steal secrets from his own military, and comes into contact with a human experiment named Proto One, and it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that the military doesn’t want anyone knowing about their highly classified and ethically questionable black projects, and after an “interrogation” which is really just an attempted extrajudicial killing, Chirico escapes and becomes an outlaw as the military and police chase after him. Despite their persistent efforts, it never seems to work in their favour, as Chirico’s elite military training allows him to out-maneuver, out-gun, and basically fucking obliterate anyone who tries to kill him, and the whole ordeal is one that will be familiar to anyone who’s watched First Blood.

The storytelling of VOTOMS is generally quite solid, with a certain level of connectivity, enough plot details are given in each episode to allow them to naturally progress into the next one, while still withholding enough information to create intrigue. There’s always the overarching story that is present throughout, although only in the more climactic episodes, usually the ones in which Chirico finally defeats a long-standing adversary, does it become a focal point, which works in its favour, unlike certain other anime out there, not naming any names, you won’t be subjected to a 10-minute long monologue every other episode.

From the very beginning, Chirico’s aptitude for AT combat is established, although the point I made earlier about the mass-produced nature of the mechs does to a certain extent work against it here, as in the midst of combat, you’ll naturally see lots of quick cuts, meaning that as a viewer, in order to understand what’s going on, it’s important that you’re able to easily identify who is who, which can be easier said than done, as the ATs lack any method of identification. There are no flags or markings representing which country they belong to, none of them are ever adorned with unique camouflage or any other visual indicator, and so, barring the few times in which Chirico will operate with the hatch open, at a glance it’s not always clear who is piloting a certain model of AT, and it’s especially bad in the later episodes when they start operating in larger numbers.

Towards the start of the series, Chirico’s characterisation is barebones to say the least, he has very little in the way of defining attributes, he’s good at piloting ATs, he’s bad at conveying emotion, and that’s about it. However, he does legitimately change and develop, in a manner that’s surprising to see for such an action-oriented series. Normally, when a stoic character develops, you can almost always expect it to be on a very simple trajectory from “doesn’t talk or smile” to “talks and smiles a lot”, but the way Chirico’s identity changes is a lot more nuanced, and I say identity, because from an outside perspective, he doesn’t really change that much, he’s still the quiet stoic killer he always was, and I think I only counted him smiling twice over the whole series, but with all the shit he has to deal with, he’s not got much to smile about.
Between his misfortune leading to him being a marked man in the entire galaxy, and his past traumas from his compliance in having engaged in war crimes, and to a lesser extent his acknowledgement of the fact that he enjoys the killing too much to stop, the man’s got a lot of emotional baggage to deal with. But that’s not to say that VOTOMS is a deeply psychological series, because it isn’t, even if Chirico is a main character with more in the way of actual character than most other examples, the focus of the series is still on the ATs, which is exactly how it should be. With that said, the supporting characters are one of the show’s weaker areas, as barring Proto One, who is essentially a direct parallel to Chirico (with the added irony that a robot is more emotional than he is), everyone else is largely forgettable. Having one comic relief character is pretty standard, but VOTOMS has three of them, three people who have very little else when it comes to a role in the story, of the trio, the woman spends the first arc being completely infatuated with Chirico for no particular reason, and after that point, none of the trio have any major role apart from incidentally being a deus ex machina, or getting themselves captured and forcing Chirico to save them, whichever of the two the story demanded at that particular point in time. The narrative tries to frame these people as his friends, but they really aren’t, as he’s too busy dealing with his PTSD to really have any sort of a relationship with these people, which kind of summarises Chirico in general, and I’d opine that the story would have been improved if the side characters just weren’t there, it certainly would make more sense thematically that way. Chirico has been condemned and is forced to always be on the run, and the only person he can really confide in is Proto One, and by confide in it’s more of sharing a mutual understanding within their similar circumstances, because neither of them really have the capacity to actually describe their predicaments. Chirico has become a killing machine, he is not able to form relationships with regular people, so there is no reason why the story should pretend that he does.

In regards to thematics, the closing arc of the series was definitely a step down in quality compared to the rest of it, as while up to this point the locations were varied, they still adhered to the general sci-fi setting, even the more decrepit examples, such as with a particularly desolate planet which was left in that state because Chirico’s battalion sacked the place. In the closing arc, they decided to set the story on a planet that was equally desolate, not because of warfare, but because people are too busy pissing about with voodoo to come up with any technological advancement over the course of several thousand years, except for the occasional bit of ‘super advanced tech better than anyone else in the galaxy can come up with, and nobody knows where this tech came from or how it works’, a scenario which feels more contrived than anything else. There was always something extra going on behind the scenes, as an example, in the opening arc one of Chirico’s main enemies were the police, who were shown to be corrupt, but at the same time somewhat powerless as they were being also being controlled by other parties more important than themselves, and at all times there was always someone carefully monitoring Chirico. Comparatively, the voodoo technology felt like a poor attempt to replicate that, an attempt to create intrigue in a setting that just didn’t really permit it.

Still, I would say that the writing of the closing arc, which is one of the shorter ones anyway, would have to be my only major complaint about the series. The only minor complaint I have is that the soundtrack is far too limited, there couldn’t have been more than 10 songs altogether, which really isn’t enough for a 52 episode series, or to be exact, 52 episodes plus about 5 recap episodes, all of which are strangely close together, you would assume they’d spread them out for obvious reasons, but that’s hardly an issue, 52 is either double or quadruple the amount I’m used to, and despite my distaste for its conclusion, the show doesn’t drag on or feel like it goes on too long for its own good. VOTOMS is a prime example of a mecha series done right, if you have even a vague interest in the genre, can’t go wrong with this one. Give war a chance.

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Mar 9, 2023

ThatAnimeSnobRE

Mixed Feelings

Historically speaking, Votoms is one of the first serious military-action anime. Beyond that, it is not a show for viewers who don’t fancy realistic warfare and nihilistic or expandable characters. Although Tomino’s Gundam franchise bridged the mecha and space opera genres a few years prior to this show, Takahashi Ryosuke took all that to the next level with Votoms and the result was plain weird. It’s an excentric anime that on one hand becomes the most “real” among Real Robots (the mecha in it have a highly realistic way of moving and fighting) and on the other hand feels mechanical, cynical, dry, and with little ... reason for the average viewer to find the appeal in its militaristic and a nihilistic view on life.

One thing that needs to be made clear right from the start is that you are not going to watch Votoms for the mecha action. Although there is a lot of it, it’s not cool. The robots are just tanks with legs or an exo-skeleton, they have no appeal beyond that and they are never the main attraction. The soldier characters get more focus, since it’s about what they are going through in each mission. Basically the anime is a war drama about opportunistic mercenaries and mega-corporations after energy sources and political agendas. It is not some sci-fi power fantasy about robots firing lasers at each other. That can be a huge detriment to enjoyment since aesthetics aside, visually-wise the show looks very dated and it can be dull to look at even for those who are accustomed to old-school animation. The artwork if fine, but the animation is less than stellar, the soundtrack has no memorable tracks, and voice acting is as dry at the atmosphere the show goes for.

The story can also be a hard sell since it’s separated into mini arcs that don’t have continuity or even the same support cast. Each one is a mission that the protagonist takes part in and regardless of what he does in it, it will have no impact on the next. Props for being about a power struggle for natural resources, but if you see past the premise there is no overarching plot, not much of a world-building, or something to spice things up. The plot is straightforward and usually comes down to the protagonist doing some really improbable comebacks during the battles. He gets an epiphany to things he previously had no clue about, or just looks plain badass. He is also the only one worth giving a damn about since he’s the one the viewer is following. He is also a great Rambo-like figure; the one from the first movie, not the dumb action hero of the sequels.

The last episodes become weird since they go for a religious transhumanism message that wasn’t presented in a way that makes much sense. What is this nonsense about god’s journey? Plus, treating the entire human kind as expandable units you are not supposed to care about is not helping the viewer to be invested in what is going on. You are supposed to be a distant and passive viewer of things that eventually are there just to make humanity look insignificant and because everything feels dull and cynical it will leave almost everyone indifferent. That is why this show is not for everyone despite standing out from most other anime.

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Cuvie, Chirico

Fyana

Rochina, Jean Paul

Vartla, Vanilla

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Gotho, Bouleuse

Potaria, Pol

Yu, Kan

Ypsilon

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