"Look alive gearheads!" Not actually Japanese anime, but certainly inspired by classic mecha, the CGI-animated TV series Heavy Gear, based on the popular role playing game, is set on the off-Earth colony of Terra Nova in the year 6132. Sporting five seamlessly integrated episodes, Heavy Gear: The Dragon's Shadow ostensibly chronicles young Marcus Rover's quest to become a Heavy Gear Ace Pilot with the Shadow Dragons, one of two quasi-military robot war machine units (the other, believe it or not, is named Vanguard of Justice) whose members go head-to-head in the tournament arena while an announcer delivers the blow-by-blow ("let's mash some metal!"). I say "ostensibly" since plot is pretty much secondary to the extended fight sequences that comprise the lion's share of any episode. Although the combatants are predominantly testosterone-heavy, muscle-bound males, each team has a token female (like Yoji, whose softer sentiments are expressed in such semi-redundant interpersonal communiqués as: "I'll punk ya good, punk!"). Fans will enjoy the disc's two commentaries (one by the filmmakers, and one for techies) and art galleries. Unexceptional on a narrative level, Heavy Gear nevertheless boasts impressive CGI animation and, based on its technical achievements, should be considered a strong optional purchase for larger anime and computer-animated collections. [Note: A second volume, Battle for the Badlands, is also available at the same price.] Aud: P. (R. Pitman)
Heavy Gear: The Dragon's Shadow
(2002) 99 min. DVD: $24.95. Columbia TriStar Home Video (avail. from most distributors). Color cover. ISBN: 0-7678-9288-7. Volume 17, Issue 5
Heavy Gear: The Dragon's Shadow
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: