Android Kikaider: The Animation

The feature-length Android Kikaider: The Animation consists of three episodes from the Japanese anime series about an android who has taken up a wandering, solitary life because of human prejudice directed against mechanical beings. These three episodes are not lacking for melodrama: the android Jiro is chased by the police after being falsely accused of terrorism, but he soon discovers the violence is being perpetrated by one Professor Gill and his army of homeless men. Meanwhile, his human benefactor, Mitsuko, is kidnapped by an evil android named Golden Bat and imprisoned in her childhood home, where she begins to relive all the sour memories and bitter mysteries she endured while growing up. Can Jiro save the day, or even try to comprehend the lunacy that is going on around him? More importantly, can we? Even by anime standards, none of this makes very much sense. Still, the film's giddy slambang action and wall-to-wall commotion compensates for the lack of cogent storytelling, and Jiro himself is a fairly engaging character who is definitely closer to James Dean than C3P0 in terms of robotic sex appeal. Too, the discrimination that Jiro fights as a member of the android minority provides a rare in-your-face anti-prejudice angle, which has long been taboo in Japanese entertainment. Rated 13-up, this Cartoon Network-aired dual-language DVD, which includes an art gallery with character descriptions, is recommended. Aud: P. (P. Hall)