The Five Star Stories

Viewers unfamiliar with the long-running manga series The Five Star Stories would do well to read the extensive liner notes here prior to watching this anime. But it's worth the effort: The Five Star Stories--a magnificent, sprawling, plot-driven space opera spread across five star systems--features a huge cast of compelling characters and mecha. Power, politics, intrigue, and love drive the small piece of the story covered in this hour-plus adaptation, in which Emperor Amaterasu, who masquerades as the ordinary Ladios Sopp to move among the people, is enlisted by Dr. Ballanche to protect his newest Fatimas (computer androids that help the Headdliner knights run the Mortar Headd mechas), who must be formally presented at a debut on the planet Addler. Unfortunately, no more anime adaptations of The Five Star Stories are presently scheduled, making this well-done though brief treatment somewhat disappointing. Presented on a dual-language disc and rated TV-14, DVD extras merely include trailers and cast and crew biographies. Recommended. Aud: P. (J. Halsall)