Series: Fafner: Complete Collection The story takes place in the future on an island paradise known as Tatsumiya Island. Life pretty much seems to be like any other island community, with kids going to school, parents working in their shops, and little exchange between the mainlands that are hundreds of miles away. The lead character is Kazuki, a high school kid that is no stranger to a fight and generally seems slightly withdrawn. When Soshi returned from an extended trip to Tokyo, all heck started breaking loose with announcements made for the residents to go to a series of what appear to be bomb shelters. Kazuki is taken to a small military base and soon finds himself piloting a large, powerful humanoid shaped robot called Fafner with the assistance of Soshi due to a series of inter-related circumstances involving an attack on the island by a golden robot called Festum. Festum is routing all the other defenses and after a brief bit of exposition, we find out that several of the students have the right genetic code to pilot the Fafner but Kazuki is most suited. He stumbles through the fight as several initially important characters bite the big one and we find out the history of the island, with few bits of interesting facts about the devastation of Earth in recent years (that the youth of the island had no idea about).

More than just a fight the robot show, Fafner zeroed in on the characters very quickly after establishing the overall background and setting of the series. With the first four episodes being 1: Beginning (Paradise), 2: Life (Confession), 3: Truth (Labyrinth, and 4: Departure (Escape, the series got off to a quick start but barely seemed to scratch the surface of the various people initially introduced in the volume. Leaving me with more questions than answers, Fafner 1: Arcadian Project may well be one of those rare breed of shows from Japan that transcend the genre or it could quickly digress into yet another wannabe, depending solely on the writing and creativity displayed in forthcoming chapters. That said, it was fun, had plenty of excitement, and seemed to be a cut above the majority of what you'll find available these days, and let's face it; there's actually a lot of good series available if you like the genre as much as I do.

Fafner: Ultimate Sacrifice (V2) spends more time with character exposition than the first set of episodes in the series did but this is to be expected. The groundwork was laid and now the series attempts to suck us in further by getting us to care about what happens to the various protagonists as they seek to survive against the alien threat as well as the forces of Earth's political body, the Neo United Nations. The episodes this time were 5) Pledge (Promise), 6) Sacrifice (Soaring High), 7) Parent & Children (Family), and 8) Koyo (Strife). The leaders of the moveable island (a concept throwback to the Macross series) or "The Alvis", broker a deal to share their advanced technology with the leaders of the Neo UN in hopes of returning to their hidden way of life. As the deal goes down, the Festum (alien attackers) pop out of nowhere and start hammering away at the Neo UN's fleet of ships. The islanders come to the rescue but not without cost and one of the lead characters dies to save the day from the invaders. The ramifications are then felt throughout the following episodes as a black ops group tries to gain some secret information, inadvertently waking up a powerful new threat that seems to have come from the same project that established Tatsumiya Island. The exact nature of the threat was only touched on as the cast was dealing with the loss of their friend but it set the stage for more adventures to say the least.

Fafner: Human Force (V3) brought on a bit of a generic change to it that didn't work as well initially. The episodes this time were 9) Separation (Assimilation), 10) Disintegration (Crossing Paths), 11) Human Forces (Old & New), and 12) Desperation (Absence). A lot took place this time yet I was left hanging more often than not since the characters that had already been established started acting out of character, new characters were introduced so flippantly that they were either disposable or in great need of more explanation, and the events transpiring seemed to be a continuous stream of attacks from the Festum designed to play a sleight of hand game that the series is backtracking most of the original concepts. The lead protagonist of the show, Kazuki (spelled wrong on the back cover by the way), has been completely against fighting and the resulting consequences have been felt by all those around him (who consider him dangerously inadequate) is used to spirit out the advanced Fafner unit by a mole. He then finds out his fate is tied to the machine more than ever as a new pilot with quirks of his own embraces his role far too readily in battle, leading to some probably interesting consequences in future episodes but laid down as making him a goofball here. The secondary characters were played up slightly more but since they were never properly established in the first place, I didn't care what happened to them; not a good sign when you're midway through a series suffering from sophomore slump syndrome. Fafner: New Divergence (V4) was the volume that answered a lot of questions for me as Kazuki was put on the spot by his biological mother that had been assimilated by the Festum years prior just as they were trying to do to him at the current time. Weighing his loyalties that have been drummed into his head since birth, his current role as the leading Fafner pilot, and the unraveling of the deceptions he had grown up with took a toll on him exactly as the Neo-UN launched their attack to take over the island. The strength of this set of episodes was with how the answers set in motion some of the events that would later cause a rift in all three factions on Earth, the approach taken to shelter the pilots like Kazuki eventually leading to the downfall of some of the key leaders that figured it was for the best. The Festum had their own problems too as their presence was betrayed with the advent of a new product of the converging cultures, one that their hive mind could not tolerate without causing significant issues with how they were set in their ways (mimicking in many ways the human dynamic that was not significantly different, at least in terms of the leaders and people in power). The episodes this time were 13) Festum (Erosion), 14) Occupation (Awakening), 15) Welcome Home (Friends), and 16) Scream (Memory). Kazuki is given a different perspective by his Neo UN captors as he finds out he has been partially assimilated by the Festum. This seemingly small detail plays a huge role in later developments as it becomes clear that the agency not only employs a leading scientist originally from Tatsumiya Island but also has some limited ties with Festum that are observing humanity, including his long gone mother. The Neo UN decide to launch an attack on the Island as their fastest means of gaining access to the technology of the Fafner robots used to fight the enemy and that forms the majority of the basis for the rest of the volume with the Festum making plans to attack of their own. With the apparent loss of Kazuki to the Neo UN and recent losses to the Festum, the Islanders have little hope of fighting off two enemies simultaneously; especially since they refuse to fire on other humans.

Fafner: Rebirth (V5) then showed this taken to another angle: The episodes this time were 17) Device (Survival), 18) Memory (Father), 19) Sight (Maya), and 20) Light (Lantern). The inevitable strategic withdrawal of the Neo UN from the island during the Festum attack on the Core causes them to decide it makes more sense to destroy the technology than let it fall into enemy hands. This prepares them mentally to launch a nuclear attack on the families of the island for the "better good" of mankind. Thankfully, they disagree with this idea and work to stop it and the Festum with all available resources. Still, Kazuki is left with the feeling that all is not right with his world as he reaches into his past to figure out the context of what is going on around him, causing some trouble for the Alvis. The emergence of Maya on the right side of the conflict after nearly killing them during a battle marks a step towards the ending as her skills come in mighty handy. The emergence of Tsubaki from her womb-like cocoon also adds another dimension as she seeks to reconcile the various forces in the little time she has to do so. This was where the series continued the path towards the various enemies working things out even as the attacks stepped up a notch.

The three episodes from the sixth volume of the series, Fafner: Next Evolution, were 21) Future (Sakura), 22) Power (Protection), and 23) Decoy (Pillage). The Festum have learned enough about humanity by this point, both through their mind reading of the Neo UN forces and their former affiliation with them, which they have become smarter with how they attack. Knowing that the Fafner connections cause their pilots to become assimilated as they spend too much time in them, the Festum have begun a war of attrition that sends a new attack out every three days or so. The frequency takes a toll on the pilots even as a surprising development occurs in regards to the possible pregnancy of the first child in 30 years. Tsubaki takes a more open role in trying to manipulate the Festum who have been a single hive mind in her remaining months of freedom, seeking to convey the importance of human emotion to the alien entity that seeks a single outcome to the struggle. The residents of the island also find that the cyclical nature of life has been reestablished as flowers, trees, and even previously thought dead insects bloom and die to the point where her actions are questioned by the Commander himself. As a last but dangerous technological breakthrough is made, the attack on the North Pole base of the Festum is planned, one that will rely on a lot more than firepower or luck.

The ending volume of the series was Fafner: Going Home and the episodes this time were 24) MIR (Conversation), 25) Symbiosis (The Final Battle), and 26) The Sky (Azure). Throughout the series, Soshi has been both a friend and a mentor to the pilots as he served to interface with them in their fafner's so his loss to the enemy comes as a shock to them all. The coming battle between the forces of the NEO UN and Alvis hinge on a few remarkable discoveries, including the split from the Festum of some of their most recent assimilated pilots that strike a deal with the Commander. While the Festum can read the minds of most humans, Fafner pilots remain untouchable so the two groups attack without sharing much information, seeking to stop the enemy once and for all; a noble goal but nearly impossible to instrument under the recent losses both have suffered. Tsubaki's attempts to teach the Festum emotion seems to have resulted in a bit of a problem as well with the one they picked up on being hatred instead of what she was shooting for though it also brought forth an old friend to fight for them protecting the island while the four remaining Fafner pilots risk everything to save their friend (Soshi) as well as cripple the ability of the Festum to continue their mad assault on humanity. It becomes an all of nothing struggle though as the modified Siegfried System requires them to all remain viable in battle, connecting them to one another. The Festum aren't without a few surprises of their own so they use this limitation to full effect with the help of their nearly full control of Soshi. If you like battle sequences, this is the best of the series.

To me, the series worked better as a single boxed set, though as a TV series shown on a regular basis, it would have worked well too. The borrowing of concepts from some of the other mech-shows of contemporary anime was not as problematic this time and even my own experience with the show that had initially proven to be a roller coaster ride due to the delays in seeing the volumes proved to be overcome when the story was watched in two lengthy sittings. War is remarkably similar in how it plays out over the thousands of years we have perfected the idea and this anime release showed that very effectively from the anti-war standpoint, knocking off a chunk of change needed to buy a legal copy of all the volumes at once making it worth pulling the proverbial trigger as Soukyu No Fafner proved worthy of being Recommended or better in this newer. Complete package. I can honestly say I enjoyed it more as a complete boxed set than as individual volumes so if you haven't bought them yet, check out an episode or two on TV but get the set as the whole is greater than the individual components in this case, allowing for more understanding of the show if seen together.

Picture: Fafner: Complete Collection was presented in the original 1.33:1 ratio full frame color it was produced in for Japanese television. I saw no flaws in the picture with the colors looking great, the backgrounds being well handled, the overall detail being solid, and the levels of grain and/or noise barely noticeable. The anime style itself was a combination of the newer CGI and more traditional work now seeing widespread use throughout shows although the CGI was limited to some parts of the island, the shore fortifications, and the like. In all, it looked great which is no surprise considering that the show was just released in Japan.

Sound: The audio was presented with the usual choice of 2.0 Dolby Digital Japanese with English subtitles (the original track of course) or an English language dub. To be fair to both, I liked each of them for various reasons; the original flowed slightly better but the dub was as solid as I'd expect from a new Geneon release. The music and sound effects seemed to be the same this time and there were few flaws in terms of the vocals or miscast actors. There was some decent separation and dynamic range to listen to this time, particularly if you use headphones although they aren't necessary to hear the quality of the audio.

Extras: There really were not many extras here as trailers, creditless (AKA: "clean") openings and closings, and paper inserts were the main offerings here. I would have appreciated the inclusion of the series soundtrack or something new but at this lower price, it had some merit too.

Final Thoughts: Fafner: Complete Collection displayed similarities to Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gundam Seed and Neon Genesis Evangelion (among others) but provided enough original writing and style to make it a worthy title for your collections if you like anti-war mech series. It had some metaphysical wanderings that worked better when watched all in one or two sittings but the overall issues and themes explored made for decent conversation even with a hawk like me checking it out. The quality of the animation, direction by Nobuyoshi Habara, and even the voice artistry by both sets of actors (I liked the dub more than a little), made Fafner: Complete Collection one of the few full release sets of late that earned its collective keep so if you have not picked up the previous volumes, give this one serious consideration.

If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVD Talk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003, Best Of Anime 2004, Best of Anime 2005, and Best of Anime 2006 articles or their regular column Anime Talk.