"Vandread" (2000) TV series 2000-

Creator:

Takeshi Mori
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2

Genre:

Action | Animation | Comedy | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot Keywords:

Surrealism | Anime | Space War | Space Pirate | Buxom

Cast

Mari Devon

...

Gascogne (13 episodes, 2000)

Series Directed by
Takeshi Mori		(13 episodes, 2000)
Takeshi Yamaguchi		(2 episodes, 2000)
Tatsuya Abe		(1 episode, 2000)
Makoto Bessho		(1 episode, 2000)
Yoshimasa Hiraike		(1 episode, 2000)
Seiji Mizushima		(1 episode, 2000)
Ken'ichi Takeshita		(1 episode, 2000)
Kazuki Tsunoda		(1 episode, 2000)
Shin'ichi Tôkairin		(1 episode, 2000)
Shigeru Ueda		(1 episode, 2000)
Masato Ujibe		(1 episode, 2000)
Yûsuke Yamamoto		(1 episode, 2000)
Hiroyuki Yokoyama		(1 episode, 2000)

Series Writing credits
Takeshi Mori		(13 episodes, 2000)
Atsuhiro Tomioka		(13 episodes, 2000)
Natsuko Takahashi		(4 episodes, 2000)

Series Produced by
Tetsu Kayama	....	executive producer (13 episodes, 2000)
Takeshi Mori	....	planner: Gonzo (13 episodes, 2000)
Shouji Murahama	....	producer (13 episodes, 2000)
Katsuji Nagata	....	producer (13 episodes, 2000)

Series Original Music by
Fuminori Iwazaki		(13 episodes, 2000)

Series Art Direction by
Jun'ichi Higashi		(unknown episodes)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kazuki Tsunoda	....	assistant episode director (13 episodes, 2000)

Series Art Department
Takeshi Mori	....	storyboard artist (3 episodes, 2000)
Shin'ichi Tôkairin	....	storyboard artist (2 episodes, 2000)

Series Sound Department
Yota Tsuruoka	....	sound director (13 episodes, 2000)

Series Visual Effects by
Tatsuya Kono	....	3dcg director (13 episodes, 2000)
Akira Suzuki	....	3dcg director (13 episodes, 2000)
Tetsuya Watanabe	....	3D CG mechanical director (13 episodes, 2000)

Series Animation Department
Kanetake Ebikawa	....	mechanical designer (13 episodes, 2000)
Sora Inoue	....	original character designer (13 episodes, 2000)
Tomohiro Kawahara	....	mechanical animation director (13 episodes, 2000)
Kazuya Kuroda	....	character designer / chief animation director / ... (13 episodes, 2000)
Mahiro Maeda	....	mechanical supervisor (13 episodes, 2000)
Shôichi Masuo	....	mechanical animation director (13 episodes, 2000)
Yoshikazu Miyao	....	mechanical designer (13 episodes, 2000)
Hiroshi Yamaguchi	....	mechanical supervisor (13 episodes, 2000)
Tateru Namikaze	....	animation director (2 episodes, 2000)

Series Other crew
Shinji Higuchi	....	planning assistant (13 episodes, 2000)
Umanosuke Iida	....	planning assistant (13 episodes, 2000)

Production Companies

• Gonzo
• Media Factory

Distributors

• Pioneer Entertainment

Also Known As:

"Vandread: The Second Stage" - USA (second season title)

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:PG (some episodes)

Company:

Gonzo

Trivia:

Hibiki only addresses Dita directly by name three times in the second season (Vandread: Second Stage). Once in "Red Angel" when Dita is chasing him in her pajamas about visiting her room right after their meeting about a shared dream. Then he says it twice in "Trust": when Dita is rushing in to save his Vanguard as it fights off the planet killer's self-destructive gateway; and when he's inviting Dita onto the shuttle to Taraak at the very end.

Quotes:

Duero McFile:You'd better get the infirmary ready. It looks like we're gonna be busy.

Deeply entertaining

I thought this might be another kiddish shoot-em-up anime, and like others here, I also mistook it for a feminist series early on. Well, it ain't either.

Allow me to make a toast to a team of writers who actually seem to understand human emotions! Unlike too many soulless anime series these days, Vandread's actually funny (both the physical and written humor) and its characters have personalities and chemistry. For that reason, the drama works, too, and the series is thankfully free of those forced incidents engineered to conveniently create melodrama. Heck, even the dorky premise that the show rests on -- males and females literally being from different worlds -- is used to good effect.

I'm also a fan of the artwork, and the hot/cute female characters make the fanservice welcome. The mecha action scenes are pretty invigorating, too (even if things move a bit fast to see what's going on). Cinching the deal, both the intro and ending theme songs kick ass.

The second season ("Vandread 2nd Stage") was a bit of a disappointment, regressing to the typical repetitive clichéd humor that defines all too many anime comedies, but to me the first season ranks right up there with Neon Genesis Evangelion in sheer awesomeness.