Super Atragon ADV 100 minutes English/Japanese English Subtitles 08/20/2002

You know, I don't particularly mind when things go overboard, I'm not Andrew. Take my beloved robots, I certainly do like some of them that are over fifty stories tall and carry axes/swords of a smiliar length. However my adoration will always be with the ones behind which is sound backing. You know what I'm talking about, stuff like Gasaraki, things where it feels like the mech designer actually thought for a minute "Hey, eighty foot robots with electric turkey carvers are all well and good but shouldn't we just make the mech a more reasonable twelve feet and give it a belt felt machine gun instead?" I imagine that first one was burned at the proverbial Japanese stake for being a heretic, and probably the one after that too. Japanese are a culture not well accustomed to change, and if you want robots that make sense you better be prepared to become a martyr for your cause because things like that don't come easily in the land of the rising sun.

But ridiuclous shows like this certainly do. Hey, you know what doesn't really make any sense at all? Super Atragon. I'll paraphrase something I often do in my reviews of shoddy T&A anime. Christ, I mean it's like the creators have never even seen a submarine before in real life, crap...I'd be surprised if they saw a photo of one. Super Atragon just feels like they're making it up as they go along and it's obvious that the story shouldn't have been condensed into a 100 minutes of basically nothing but sitting around while giant hula-hoops blow up the entire UN fleet. Then three quarters of the way through everything becomes solved by some deus ex machina reason that isn't exactly clear to me. I'm pretty sure I started reading Jerry's cookbook about halfway through. And it sucks, because Super Atragon had so much promise it was coming out of its ears. I imagined scores of cool captains barking orders and doing crazy stuff just like this was some spiritual brother to my much beloved Silent Service. I figured if it was anything near the caliber of that release I would gladly sit through all the anti-American propoganda and the ships with giant drills that are obviously phallic references.

 

Unfortunately, Super Atragon doesn't do much in the way of cool subnautical manuvers as it does in not making any sense. Indicative of remakes, a lot of the story in this feels left out and I don't feel particularly inspired to go dig it up. While I liked Super Atragon in a way, it was so bogged down by all the technicalities that I could barely stand it. I mean, come on...why the hell are the characters wearing sunglasses while they're watching a nuclear explosion ON TV? Doesn't that strike anyone else as a little odd? And that's just a few of many technical details the show flips out on, let me ask you a question, do you know submarines don't have giant deck guns? If you said yes, then you're probably qualified to make a more sound submarine anime than Super Atragon. But at the same time, I'm not docking it more points because I understand it wasn't trying to be especially realistic. And you guys know me, I don't go off the handle about such things like Andrew does, or recent recruit Bear. I'm the one that's more inclined to let people feel out their style and show me what they can do. Hey, by the way, did you know the Japanese had a super awesome -mega sub- during World War II? It was better than the A-bomb, they just didn't use it for some reason!

Super Atragon felt like a slap in the face at times because it really had a lot going for it. Excellent character designs, pretty good dub (Rob Mungle of Nadesico fame, what else do you need?) But sometimes there's only so much off the wall crap you can see before you get tired of it. I think Atragon's biggest flaw is that it presents itself as a pretty realistic show one moment and then BAM! The fucking submarine blasts off into outer space! I don't know about you guys, but I certainly don't mind the intentions of the show being telegraphed once and awhile. End all be all, there just isn't enough cool shit going on. There's one particularly cool sequence of animation involving a stopwatch and a third of a second, but that's about all the submarine and its crew do that doesn't involve being boring. I'd say Super Atragon is something worth watching...but don't take that to mean that you're exactly going to -enjoy- it while you do. Caveat emptor never applied so well. Pick up Super Atragon if you feel so inclined, but realize that you're not in for the ride of your life.