Soukou Kihei Votoms: Big Battle

Clicking on BIGGU BATTERUUUU was really nostalgic for me.The OVA side-story feels just like an extended episode of Votoms down to the music. Hearing the familiar music and sounds, from the whirring Scopedog "skates" to the episode title jingle, made my heart do flip-flops. It delivers on that promise of a good time that comes with the series, and I wasn't disappointed: The C Team fights a land battleship. Chirico narrowly avoids certain death every five seconds, like he has literal plot armor or something. Gotho is a greedy bastard. Vanilla is a greedy Token. Cocona's pants are too fucking big, goddamn. That Quentian guy ... gets like, zero screentime.
Big Battle doesn't tread any new ground, and doesn't even offer much else than some padding to make the Votoms universe seem bigger. Thankfully, the OVA's budget doesn't suffer from the constraints the show had, and you can see the main ATtraction with sexy 80s OVA animation. Even with the bigger budget, the OVA isn't shiny enough to make you think it was an OVA, and the art style jives well with the visual precedent set by the series.

I recommend watching it sandwiched in with the rest of the Quent Arc episodes. While it doesn't do anything new, it's entertaining, and gives Votoms fans what they love best: Chirico writing the book on badass.

The Big Battle OVA is enjoyable from start to finish. I'm surprised it doesn't even reach a 7 when it comes to average ratings, but good taste doesn't grow on trees.

Unlike Red Shoulder Document / Roots of Ambition, Big Battle is a self-contained 'side-story,' an adventure that has little to do with the main series. It doesn't tell us anything new about Chirico, Fyana, or Ypsilon.

That's great.

Niva is the star of the show here, being introduced and having his whole story finished within one sitting. He's a straight forward antagonist.

With Fyana being present, those who have finished AT VOTOMS know that there is still something ... at risk; and that makes for better emotional investment as Big Battle's simple, but enjoyable storyline unfolds.

Give it a watch if you like VOTOMS.