Dallos

Despite being one of his first works, it is clear that Mamoru Oshii already had a flair for directing an anime with intricate political subplots, heavy themes of existentialism and intense combat.

However, it becomes clear; even from the first episode that all the ideas and concepts Mamoru Oshii had for Dallos was more fit for a 25 episode Tv series rather than a 4 episode ova. While the story is nicely interwoven with several subplots, half of them, including the many too-spontaneous acts of rebellion the the failure to explain the titular Dallo's true purpose are awkwardly explored and then disposed of altogether.
The ... only good thing I can give Dallo's story is its sense of scale. While the political situation is hardly well fleshed out, it is still enough to give the already epic combat scenes more punch. The action in most anime is usually more battle than total warfare; Dallos achieves the latter.

In such an overambitious plot, one thing is inevitable. In typical Oshii style, the characters end up slaves to the plot and central themes of the anime, having basic personalities and only reacting to the demands of the story. However, the character animation is absolutely superb and would tell you otherwise! Quite a shame.

It is quite clear now that this is a very flawed Ova and a underwhelming effort by Oshii; so why my high rating of 9/10?
Its the music and the art. The art isn't the greatest, though I am quite certain it was the pinnacle of art and animation for its time. The art designs are very above average but hardly jaw dropping.

The music on the other hand is absolutely perfect, to my tastes at least. Solidifying my opinion that early 80s/late 70s had the best music of any period of anime due to the residual influence of 70s pop music (which also happens to be the best decade of music). The Ost covers sweeping orchestra's mixed with memorable jazz funk fusion tracks. One of the best anime Osts I have ever heard.

In the end, Oshii's perchant for creating engaging military anime, the similarly militant/ space opera aesthetic of the art and especially the great music has a sum greater than its parts. Memorable scenes are created such as the cyborg dog attacks, armoured paratroopers, the raining of bullet casings, the light shows put on by Dallos and the moon graveyard (from the box art) to name a few. While many other animes are objectively superior, Dallos' memorable moments have an emotional impact that far surpasses them.

This ova may be interesting for anime history buffs who want to see the first ova made but it is a must watch for fans of military focused, sci-fi retro anime!

The OVA. A very important part of anime history. With the advent and rising popularity of VHS tapes in the early 1980s of Japan, OVAs were straight to video anime which grew widely popular amongst anime fans and helped to become the backbone of the industry for quite a while. While the lack of censorship also meant a lack of quality control leading to an influx of terrible animation it was also an opportunity for new talent to emerge and be celebrated such as was the case with the earlier Gainax shows like Otaku no Video and Gunbuster. But the OVA that started it all ... was Dallos, produced by Studio Perriot way back in 1983.

It was also the directorial debut of Mamoru Oshii who was currently working on the Urusei Yatsura TV series at the time and would later go on to direct Angel's Egg in 1985 and even the Ghost in the Shell film in 1995, so the OVA looked promising enough but unfortunately this OVA, outside of its historical significance, offers very little in the way of substance.

Set in the future, Dallos tells the story of an ongoing conflict between the people of Earth and the people of the moon who were sent to said place as a means of using the moons resources in order to prolong life on Earth. However, feeling that they're under the tyrannical rule of the earthlings, the people of the Moon fight back leading to an all out war on both sides. And that's where my main piece of criticism stems from; I simply do not care what is going on.

Neither side of the conflict has any characters to feel a damn for so its hard to care for anyone who is fighting on screen. Never do any of the main characters on both sides of the conflict project any kind of goal or type of mentality into winning this war and instead feel like lifeless robots, especially Shun who joins the rebellion just because. Its hard to feel the narrative weight of this struggle for independence when none of the characters are interesting to watch. The only kind of interesting character was Alex whose ideology and personality were a bit more fleshed out then the rest of the cast but still felt way too underdeveloped.

Another problem is the really bad pacing and lack of any flow between any of its scenes. The show moves at break neck speeds throughout its duration making it hard to keep track of or care for whatever is going on. Shun joins the rebellion for hardly any reason and not enough time is given to fleshing out his character or his ideals leaving him feeling like a bland robot. There is so much going on in this show that it's hard to keep track of without feeling like a mess

The main problem I have is with the show is how the themes and ideas are presented and how they all seem to clash awkwardly with one another. Nothing really feels all that developed or plays out in a satisfying way since none of the ideas presented are given any time or room to breathe. One idea that was never explained was in regards to a machine-like thing called Dallos that can apparently control the moon and even has its own type of consciousness. All we get are really vague speeches about how its a symbol for peace and nothing else beyond that. It could have been great if more time could have been spent on it, which is a shame too considering how well directed it is.

One great thing about this OVA however is the animation and the music. The general look and design for its characters and world are all great and there is no shortage of highly detailed mecha suits throughout the show. The action is very well done and entertaining to watch, even if I don't really care much for what is going on. The action scenes themselves were enough to keep me entertained throughout the show. Similarly, the music was great too with lots of tracks to keep you pumped for that 80S STYLE!

In conclusion, Dallos was a noble attempt at creating a action space show with lots of voilence along with some underlying themes of oppression but needed more time to work properly. As a spectacle alone I would recommend it if only the downtime wasn't so boring.

The worst thing Oshii has ever laid hands upon. Rebels fighting the government for four episodes. Both sides feel generic and unconvincingly brought about, probably due to the staff forcing their conflict into the narrative without fleshing things out enough so the audience could actually give a shit. Self-serious exploration of a theme that goes nowhere thematically, and the drama is cringeworthy with eye-rolling interactions, contrived chemistry and a final sequence that pretends to be epic while being just hard to sit through. Basically, 80s cheese trying to be more than what it is and whose only redeemable aspect would be Oshii's directing, which to ... be honest is far from noteworthy in here. How he went from this to directing one of the most beautiful pieces of arthouse ever in little more than a year remains a mystery to me.