Uchuu Senshi Baldios (Movie)

I'll begin this by saying that the Baldios movie is arguably the "true ending" of the series ala Be Invoked for Ideon. The TV series was cut short and so while its ending is a uniquely depressing one, the movie develops it far more in a horribly inevitable twist which is no less powerful for its predictability.

It's very rare for a super robot show to have its heroes fail completely by the end - even Ideon and Zambot 3 have some measure of a victory in them - but Baldios certainly has that.

The essential plot is that an evil army called Aldebaran invade Earth to ... capture it as a new homeworld after some massive disaster has destroyed their homeworld, S1. The hero, a S1 man called Marin, fights alongside human experts in the robot Baldios, and along the way many revelations become apparent until the shocking ending plays out with the heroes powerless against it.

The story is bleak and hopeless, setting up plot events that the audience know cannot hope but play out no matter what the heroes do, and it is this which makes Baldios such a good movie. Much like Zambot 3, themes of distrust and paranoia play into the plot, and Marin's relationship with his fellow S1 and humanity provide a key conflict.

In terms of animation, Baldios is superb throughout. There is surprisingly little combat for a super robot movie, but this doesn't feel like a bad thing since the focus is really on Marin's conflict with the S1 refugees on a personal level. Admittedly, the flaws of the plot show through at times - a subplot about two S1 soldiers is given two scenes but could have been developed on in interesting ways, as is a plotline about the ruthlessness of S1 command, while on the human side, the governments of Earth aren't given the time that perhaps they could have been.

The soundtrack is also excellent, the ending and insert songs being incredibly powerful and moving, while the TV OP is used in an instrumental form throughout although often abbreviated.

Since Baldios in movie form attempts to retell the plot of the series while also expanding upon it, some of the character development suffers in the same way as in Do You Remember Love. Much focus is given to Marin and Aphrodia, arguably the two leads, while the other villains, Gattler and Negros, don't get as much focus. Similarly, the rest of the Blue Fixer's crew aren't given enough focus, which makes their response to the climax of the film a little less effective.

If, however, you are prepared to accept Space Warrior Baldios as a retelling of a series which unfortunately was cut short, and understand that while it is named for a super robot, the robot isn't really the main focus, you'll find a very good movie that's up with Be Invoked, Macross: Do You Remember Love, Soldiers of Sorrow and Macross Plus as one of the best mecha movies of all time.

First off, I'd like to note that there might be spoilers in the story and character section due to my analysis.

Baldios and its companion movie are probably the greatest story I have ever seen. I myself own the movie in its original VHS form and watch it several times a year, it's easily one of my most treasured possessions. The movie usually gets a bad rap compared to the series, but if you look beyond the fact that the clips were thrown together rather sloppily, you can see a true masterpiece.

The movie is basically a recap of the entire series plus the true ending we ... didn't get, where justice triumphs at the end, but at a horrible price. You can't really note anything spectacular about the story of the movie as it's rushed and a majority of great scenes are cut out to make it fit the timeframe of 97 minutes. We lose many battle scenes with the great Baldios, and those that are included are spliced in rather randomly, with cuts happening without warning.
I must admit, Baldios comes off as rather cheesy, but inside, the themes run deep.
We constantly find a struggle between two people who are very similar, but different at the same time, and at one point, the line between who is good and who is bad can be blurred. As we see that the people of S-1 are human like the Earthmen, it's really hard to want any side to win as they both have the right to live on the Earth as humans.

The art is on par with the standards of 80s mecha, with the broad line strokes and the underdetailed, but seemingly detailed character designs. Once again, the art itself can seem rather cheesy, and it's very Super Robot-esque, but I guess that's what makes it so enjoyable.
The sound is quite horrible in a good way as well. The English dub is laughably cheesy and seems over dramatic at bad times. An especially good example would have to be when soldiers as shot or blown up, where they make these hilarious grunts. It really adds to the whole experience in my opinion.

Arguably the deepest part of Baldios itself is the characters and how they develop over the period of the movie. Marin is the best example of this. You can very well say he is a tragic hero and has a pure heart. He constantly stares out to the ocean and admires the clean atmosphere of the Earth, which is what he had always dreamed of and what his father would have wished for. I like to call him the original Captain Planet because he fights to protect the Earth from pollution and to keep it the blue planet it is, unlike S-1 which was polluted beyond reason. However, in the end, he still loses what he loves most.
Aphroditia (and the lighthouse as well) is an important character for the development of Marin. Their constant meetings bring them closer to one another, and Aphroditia begins to doubt what she originally believed. In addition, the lighthouse is an important theme which stems their relation.
E.x. "You remember the day at the lighthouse, Aphroditia?" "Let's go back to the lighthouse, Aphroditia."
Lastly is Gatter, who is one of the most important characters due to his standing as the primary antagonist. However, as evil as he seems, he still has a just cause. All he wished to do was give the people of S-1 a clean and safe world to inhabit, however, he was blinded by the power he had and made the one fatal mistake where we find that Earth and S-1 aren't as different as we originally thought; and thus, his seemingly noble cause ended up being nothing but a waste.

Baldios is an interesting show, where it's many themes run deep, waiting to be discovered. It is a very enjoyable movie and I hope people can give it a chance to see how great it actually is.
Overall it gets a 7 through averaging.

Baldios the movie is a good opportunity to experience a long gone era of anime in a convenient way. It hooks you in by collecting all the storytelling tools known at that time in the genre and tying them into a picture that is simply beautiful in its sadness and tragedy.

It is worth seeing. In a nutshell - for the sake of mood and, excuse me for being so trivial, strong drama. Due to the extraordinary atmosphere of inevitability and sadness interwoven with the message of attention to our planet. The war and the tragic love story of people who, by the will of ... fate, find themselves on opposite sides of the barricades. The main character, fighting on the side of the Earth against the invaders from his abandoned home planet and the female commander of these troops, who are looking for a new home after the severe pollution of their old one.

The internal conflict of the female antagonist makes the romantic subplot special in its own way. She is torn between her feminine, secretly romantic personality that wishes to be loved, and between the role of a ruthless executioner. The film can be praised for a well-planned risk of trying to make you sympathize with someone as heartless as her. Especially taking into account the musical insert in the middle, very sincere and sensual.

An emotional burden would be the perfect description of the film. But we need such burdens in media sometimes. The film does not try to force you pitying someone with cheap shots, but gazes at you with a sorrowful look, so to speak. There's no direct bashing of humanity akin to what Matsumoto does, only an observation of the inevitable from the outside. Political strife, war and disaster. People dying, dying en masse and in vain. It feels sorry for them, just like a normal human being would, but there is nothing left but to stand by the shore and look at the sea.

It's not perfect, and could've been shorter and a bit brighter in terms of action scenes with the robot (his name is in the title after all). Regardless of imperfection it simply deserves a chance. Maybe you'll get engrossed in its charming atmosphere of sorrow just like I was.