Fafner: Arcadian Project, Vol. 1

Although the island of Tatsumiya has successfully avoided the planet-wide destructive invasion by the Festum, an alien life form bent on assimilating all humans, the sudden appearance of a giant warship in the sky spurs the adults to quickly activate ALVIS, a secret military defense system built around a powerful humanoid-type mecha called Fafner. The Fafner can only be piloted by the island's children (who were unaware of the ongoing war and the monitoring being done to produce the best potential Fafner pilots), and when the current pilot is killed in the initial attack, teens Kazuki and Sochi must become Fafner pilots overnight. While the animation here is very good (especially the golden reflective surface of the Festum), Fafner's multidimensional, cross-generational characters are the real draw, both the teens suddenly thrown into battle, and the parents forced to put them in harm's way. Drawing on classic sci-fi plots from Orsen Scott Card's Ender's Game to Lieber's Metropolis, this fine sci-fi/mecha series will appeal to fans of Gasaraki, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and RahXephon. Rated 13-up, this opening four-episode, dual-language disc is recommended. [Note: Fafner, Vol. 2 is slated for release on Sept. 20, with Vol. 3 debuting on Nov. 15.] Aud: P. (J. Halsall)