Movie: Fafner: Next Evolution builds on what took place before with the premise from the initial volume being: "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 The lead character is Kazuki, a high school kid that is no stranger to a fight and generally seems slightly withdrawn.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)."

It's been about a year since I saw the show but I picked up pretty quickly considering the often generic nature of the series. The back cover summed it up nicely here with: "The fight to defend Tatsumiya Island continues in this gripping volume of Fafner! The battle-weary pilots finally start to relax, only to be interrupted by yet another Festum invasion. As disaster looms, off-season blooms and the first sign of natural conception in 30 years spark hope for the island's survival. Meanwhile, Sakura hides a devastating secret as Festum attacks become increasingly strategic and complex. Tsubaki and Soshi step up to engage the enemy, even as Kenji succumbs to the heartbreak of battle. The island must unite to develop a defensive strategy as another Festum rushes towards Tatsumiya at a frightening speed. Can the island fend off the fatal attacks and still hold onto hope for the future?"

Essentially, there are three groups to the movie; the residents of a small island in the Pacific hidden away from the rest of the world under the guidance of a group called Alvis, the rest of the remaining world under the leadership (or lack thereof) of the Neo UN, and an alien force called the Festum. The Festum started attacking Earth thirty years ago, starting with a genetic attack that prevented mankind from reproducing naturally, forcing the use of gestation chambers to have children. They routinely attack cities and very little is left of the world's defenses by this time. Borrowing elements from a number of series (it looks like the Gundam Seed series and has a lot of the same themes as Neon Genesis Evangelion). The Festum have begun concentrating their attacks on Alvis and the Neo UN has grown really envious of the advanced equipment the islanders have developed, making them attack the island as well in an attempt to help advance their own forces in fighting the enemy off. Like Gundam Seed, the plot details hinge on the nuances of the character interaction rather than specific battle outcomes and reviews such as this are often forced into spoilers whereas a boxed set (coming in January of 2007) review would be much easier to write and easier to provide you with the generalities of the show (to make up your mind about buying or renting it).

The three episodes this time 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. I hated that this volume only had three episodes and while the material was worthy of checking out, the lack of decent extras and same retail price made me wish the full, value priced box set were already available but it was still well worth a rating of Rent It or better if you have deep pockets.

Picture: Fafner: Next Evolution 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: The only extras this time were the two creditless (clean) endings, some trailers, the paper insert, and true double sided DVD cover.

Final Thoughts: Fafner: Next Evolution was a good, though short, volume in the Fafner series. The change in the dynamic of the characters, the elements opening up the bigger picture aspects into the light, and the overall quality of the writing seemed to gel more readily. The show wasn't reduced to a fight a new alien style of episodic mess that so many other, almost identical shows have proven to be (again, using standards like Neon Genesis Evangelion as their far better guide) so I admit that it got better. In that sense, I wish I had seen the rest of the series when it came out but Fafner: Next Evolution, if watched after the previous volumes of the series, should prove to offer you a nice balance of creative writing and powerful battles to appreciate.

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