The Show:

I haven't seen a good giant robot anime in a very long time. Ever since the classic days of yore, when colossal mechanical warriors fought giant creatures, there haven't been any to faithfully capture the concept and the feel of the genre, at least not until now.

Godannar is a new series from ADV and it has absolutely everything a robo-fanatic could ever dream of. First off you have giant robots clashing and fighting through cityscapes with equally titanic monsters. Secondly those massive robots can combine with others to form even bigger robots to unleash more destruction and havoc. Even better is that the organization of pilots are paired into teams, so there are many partners to get to know and see in action. This series pays homage to shows of the past while slightly parodying itself with a great sense of humor and gratuitous amounts of fanservice. It doesn't take itself too serious and proves to be a ton of fun as it takes you along for the ride.

It's the year 2047 and five years have passed since the Mimetic Beast War had come to an end. The Earth was on the verge of annihilation and many of its cities lie in ruin due to the fierce battles. The planet had been saved thanks to the Dannars, who were a group that operated giant robots that were used to battle the monsters during the war. Those pilots are still operational, though one of the most quintessential among their ranks has been out of service since the end of the conflict.

Goh Saruwatari was revered among his colleagues thanks to his service and skill, but no matter how good he was, he couldn't prevent his partner and lover (Mira) from getting killed. Even though five years have passed, Goh is still haunted by her memory and has been out of commission. Time passes and old wounds begin to heal, so we join him as he is about to wed a pink haired girl named Anna, whom he happened to save during the war.

Even though Anna is significantly younger than Goh is, she proves herself to be a formidable pilot in the first episode of the show. Their wedding is broken up by the appearance of a Mimetic Beast, so Goh and his robot, Godannar, find themselves leaping into battle and into trouble. Fortunately for them, Anna stumbles upon Okusaer, who is Godannar's sister robot. The two robots and pilots join forces to destroy the beast in a flurry of action and comedy as their domestic squabble carries on throughout the fight.

Anna wants to train to be Goh's partner, not only in marriage, but also in combat. This simple fact brings Goh to face his past loss and he swears that he will do whatever it takes to ensure that he gets to live and love Anna for a long time. While Goh objects at first, his new mother-in-law also happens to be his boss, so there's not an awful lot that he can do about it. This is mostly due to the fact that when it comes to being married the women wear the pants in the relationship, even if she is only a high school teenager. Hilarity ensues as the duo continues to bicker throughout the show and their relationship lends itself to a lot of humorous situations.

They aren't the only pilot team that shares the spotlight though and there are many other groups. China, England, America, and Russia all have Dannar teams that are just as capable as Japan's. The countries all work together to destroy the beasts, but the focus of the show is on Goh and Anna's unit, which is arguably the most destructive.

Along with the constant humor and action, there is also a ton of bra and panty-shots, butt-shots, and all manner of bouncy breasts. I've seen plenty of fanservice in my days, but some of what happens here takes the cake. Every female has ridiculously large chests that stick out and defy gravity, perfectly round buttocks, and doesn't seem to mind flaunting them wherever they go. Even the female giant robots have equally preposterous bodies.

This is one of those shows that could have gone either way. The giant robot genre had pretty much dried up, but Godannar seems to breathe life back into the anime staple. This is mostly thanks to the fact that the show doesn't take itself seriously at all, as is evident thanks to the fanservice. It is a little silly at times, but it proves to be a ton of fun and a very easy concept to get into. The first volume contains five episodes that are pretty stand alone. This could be an appreciative nod to series of the past, but I hope that the show gets the chance to expand upon a much larger story.

The DVD:

Godannar is presented with a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and is positively gorgeous. I didn't notice a single bit of aliasing, cross coloration, or pixilation. There were a few extremely minor moments where some grain seeped into the image, but those were few and far between. The palette for this show is just about as vibrant as I have ever seen with a lot of very well pronounced colors and nice contrast.

I absolutely loved the design and overall style of the show as well. The style is a little old school mixed with new, and the animation is very frenetic and fluid. There were a couple of points where transformation animations were reused, but those are symbolic of the robot genre. Overall this is a fantastic looking series that features some slick fast paced animation and a very high quality DVD transfer.

Godannar gets the standard English 5.1 and Japanese 2.0 audio treatments. The English track provides a better sound effect and music presentation with some very nice directionality, but a couple of the voices leave something to be desired. The Japanese track offers the best voiceovers, but lower quality because of the stereo sound. This is a particularly loud show with a lot of screaming and explosions, plus all kinds of mechanical bits. Overall it is a very good sounding show, but the aural presentation is not as strong as the visual.

I am very pleased to report that Godannar volume 1 houses a decent selection of bonus material, though it is mostly informational. For starters there are some clean opening and closing animations, as well as some ADV previews. Some character profiles are also available with various artwork, information and plot points surrounding the characters. This volume offers profiles for Anna, Goh, Kiriko (Anna's large breasted mother), Lou, Lowe, and a variety of images for secondary characters found in the first five episodes.

Some mechanical profiles are also available and focus on some of the robots and their combat techniques. Rounding out the profiles is a collection of information for the Mimetic Beasts that around battled in this volume. Aside from all of that the only other offering is a selection of keywords specific to the Godannar series, such as types of attacks, referential names, etc.

Final Thoughts:

It may be a little corny thanks to all of the fanservice, but I have to admit that I really, REALLY, got into Godannar. The show has a great personality and sense of humor, plus offers up a ton of action and eye candy. I personally would have liked more robot actions and a little less focus on cleavage and such, but you take what you can get. It really boils down to boobs, robots, and robots with boobs.

The DVD also offers some fantastic video quality with a nearly flawless transfer and amazing animation. The audio quality is great as well, though not without its minor annoyances. If you ever had a place in your heart for giant robots and don't mind excessively bouncing breasts, then Godannar could be the series you have been waiting for. Highly Recommended

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