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Director:
Leiji Matsumoto
Producer:
Yoshinobu Nishizaki
Feature
length: 96 minutes
Extras:
Exclusive Interview With Voice Actors Peter Fernandez And Corrine Orr, Website
And Credits, Spaceship Database, Character Database, Mecha Database, Maps And
Episode Guides, Argo Mechanics, Locales And Trailer, Deleted Scenes
Languages:
English Dubbed Monaural Sound
Subtitles:
N/A
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 4 per episode/16 total
Sound:
Monaural Sound
Year
of DVD Release: 2003
Home
Video Distributor: Voyager Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
There
is a part of me that feels kind of sad as I sit here to write my final DVD
review of the third season finale as well as series finale of “Star
Blazers.” Watching “Star Blazers” over the last two years or so has been
like reliving my childhood. It will always have a place in my heart as my
favorite “Old School” anime series. The final four episodes of “The Bolar
Wars” ends the American adaptation of the TV series nicely with a message of
peace. There are some questions unanswered like, “What was the deal with
Planet Phantom and why did it even do what it did to begin with? “Is Queen
Gardiana a God or an advanced form of consciousness?” “How can Desslok carry
a conversation in the vacuum of space without any sort of protective gear?”
Yet I guess viewers can surmise their own answers to these questions or maybe it
is not all that important? I could go into detail about the final four episodes,
but I think it is better to leave it to your fans out there to see it for
yourselves rather than spoil how the whole story ends. Off the three series of
“Star Blazers,” I’d say “The Bolar Wars” are probably the most adult
with some scenes of violence as well as suggested violence and tragedy and even
a scene where we see can see a topless woman skinny-dipping on the “Eden”
like planet “Gardiana.” The shot is from aerial point of view looking down
and it is not gratuitous in any way, but it is the only time I’ve ever seen
anything like that in an episode of “Star Blazers” so that is why I noted
it. There is a sense of characters coming full circle as they learn the price of
war and the final scenes are truly poignant. Just before the end credits role
Series Producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki mentions that there will be one more movie
to complete the “Star Blazers” storyline in 1982. You have to understand
that when “The Bolar Wars” finally came to America it was already 1985 so
much like the first two series, American audiences were viewing something
Japanese audiences had seen years before. Of the three “Star Blazers” series
I’d say “The Quest For Iscandar” is the classic space opera of the three
with the epic battle between the forces of good and evil and humanity on the
verge of extinction. “The Comet Empire” is probably the most action packed
of the three seasons and my personal favorite. “The Bolar Wars” is the most
subdued of the three series and as I mentioned above, perhaps the most adult in
nature. All three make a great collection for any anime and sci-fi fan’s DVD
library and are worth checking out now that all three are finally available
individually or in gift sets.
The
extra features for this final volume includes an interview with Voice Actors
Peter Fernandez and Corrine Orr who discuss their other credits that include
voicing “Godzilla” and “Gamera” features, “Courage The Cowardly
Dog,” “Speed Racer,” and more. Fernandez reveals he was offered the
opportunity to work on the first two series, but ultimately did not actually
become a part of the “Star Blazers” saga until the third series began to be
adapted for American television years later. Corrine Orr recalls her early
career as young stage actress in Canada working opposite William Shatner and
both reveal how their lives and talent for creating multiple voices lead to
their careers that they are both still actively involved in today. Overall this
is a nice videotaped interview presented in a window box that fans are sure to
appreciate.
The
rest of the features are the expected standards that consumers who have bought
the previous sets should be familiar with. There are diagrams and notes on the
Mecha Database for the “Star Force” and “Bolar Federation” as well as
information on the gunnery of the various combatants that include the Bolar
Space Fortress Zespaze, Desslok’s gunship, the Bolar Black Hole Cannon,
Desslok’s Excelsior Cannon, which is more powerful than the Wave Motion Gun,
and the Hydro Cosmo Penultimate Cannon. (I just love that name!) Size
comparisons of the Bolar are Galman ships are provided though there is no
comparison to the Bolar Space Fortress. In addition there are stellar maps, a
synopsis for the final four episodes included on this DVD as well as character
diagrams and Argo mechanic sketches and locales seen in the episodes.
There
are two deleted scenes presented in their original Japanese two-channel monaural
soundtrack, but there are no English Language Subtitles for them. The episodes
themselves are presented in their (1.33:1) aspect ratio for the first time as
they were meant to be seen and not cropped for American television with picture
quality is equal to the previous releases in “The Bolar Wars” series on DVD,
which is among the best in the entire three seasons, and a two-channel English
dubbed monaural soundtrack is provided as well.
The
interactive menus are well rendered and easy to navigate and feature full motion
scene selections too. That’s it unless they should decide to make a new
animated series or better yet, a live action movie or television show.
Be forever Argo! “Star Blazers: The Bolar Wars: Series 3 - The
Lost Episodes: Part VI” is available on DVD-Video now at retailers on and
offline from Voyager Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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