ARMITAGE III OVA

* Published July 28, 2012: http://goboiano.com/read-more-news.php?id=235

I have seen online advertisements promoting the recent release of Armitage III: The Complete Saga for some time now. At some point Funimation's massive advertising assault finally paid off and I decided to watch the series. Lest I sound like a miserable victim of commercial enterprise and subliminal messaging, I also happen to love cyberpunk anime, so Armitage III was a nice treat. Having already seen a myriad of cyberpunk classics like Akira and Ghost in the Shell, I wanted to see if Armitage III achieved something its more famous counterparts could not.

 

Armitage III integrates its sci-fi themes into a 1980's – 1990's Hollywood detective story, with violent shootouts likely inspired by John Woo, and a plot driven by political intrigue and corporate greed. Our protagonist, police officer Naomi Armitage, is working with Ross Sylibus, a cop from Earth who recently requested a transfer to the Martian Police Department. As soon as Ross steps onto Martian soil to meet Armitage all hell breaks loose, as a madman assassinates a famous singer and Armitage fails to apprehend the suspect. To everyone's surprise, the singer was an illegally manufactured Third Series robot, a model indistinguishable from natural born humans. The runaway murderer has taken it upon himself to eliminate all Thirds from Martian society, a sentiment much of the robot hating populace supports.

Naomi Armitage is part of the enduring tradition of synthesized females who assert their right to lay the smack down on society's ne'er-do-wells; celebrities such as Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost in the Shell), Gally/Alita (Battle Angel), and even Birdy Cephon Altira (Birdy the Mighty) helped to pave the way. As far as personality, Armitage isn't presented as a mysterious noir woman; she prefers to wear her emotions on her sleeve. The only enigma about her would be the extent of her powers, which are displayed but never explained. She happens to be a Third Series android that utilizes unique hacking abilities, often through the use of high-tech sunglasses that display digital information. Neither the OVAs nor the edited feature length adaptation, Armitage III: Polymatrix, go into much detail about her origins.

The Third Series conflict centers in on an issue many cyberpunk works touch but do not focus on: a fundamental difference between humans and machines is the ability to reproduce. The Third Series androids are capable of physical reproduction, and one of the murder victims is in fact pregnant when she is killed. Instead of taking the Ghost in the Shell film's cold and analytic approach towards replication of digital information in the stead of physical DNA, or even Ergo Proxy's convoluted tank-breeding system engineered by demi-gods, Armitage III emphasizes the human desire to produce physical progeny. Armitage III doesn't treat the subject as a grandiose or philosophical problem; people love to have sex, and sex makes babies! The reasons for this Third Series feature are revealed towards the end of the story, and have to do with the whole “political intrigue and corporate greed” bit I mentioned earlier. It's also a blatant excuse to have Ross and Armitage develop a physical relationship.

As for production values, it was a mixed bag. The background art in most pre-digital animations is spectacular, and Armitage III is no different. The setting mimics generic future cities in movies like Blade Runner, a conflagration of neon guiding society's refuse towards strip clubs and bars, and corporate structures in the city proper dotted with lights that never go out, symbols of the relentless capitalist machine. Armitage III even has cities that seem to float above one another – upside down! The animation for the characters is okay, but not always appealing. I'm not sure of what to think of Armitage's techno-prostitute costume, other than maybe Motoko Kusanagi shopped at the same store when considering what to wear in Stand Alone Complex.

If the show's mise-en-scene doesn't let you know you're watching animation from the 90's, the music sure will. The introductory mash-up of synthesized bass and music video montage at the beginning of each OVA is a nostalgic throwback for Generation Y children. It's also the most memorable song in the series, out of a total of four or five themes. The soundtrack is all synth and reminds us that in the future only electronic music will remain, with music producers depending on R2D2 and Transformer noises to make their profits. It's happening at this very minute. Ever heard of dubstep?

In a similar vein, the voice acting for the English dub is questionable. Elizabeth Berkley and Skip Stellrecht do a nice job as Armitage and Ross, respectively. Stellrecht works in anime regularly, most notably as Cowboy Bebop's Vicious and Naruto's Mighty Guy. The Polymatrix film version of Armitage III features Kiefer Sutherland as the voice of Ross, and he does an absolutely terrible job. He's monotone and barely audible. I wouldn't blame anyone for watching Armitage III subbed.

It took several screenings for me to appreciate Armitage III. It's unique brand of Hollywood cyberpunk is admirable, and any attempts to make the anime too serious are mitigated by the obligatory vigilante shootouts that bring us closer to solving the Thirds mystery. Doing so helps maintain the easily marketable and unambitious Hollywood status quo, however; Armitage III almost settles for being a violent cyberpunk fracas. The series is good, really good, but not fantastic.