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Title:
Megami Kouhosei (Candidate For Goddess) |
Format:
6 VHS (w/ 2 EP Each) / 4 DVDs (w/ 3 EP Each) |
Production:
Bandai Visual
Xebec |
Rating:
A- |
Comments:
A must-see anime series with astonishing computer graphics fused with nicely done traditional anime artworks. |
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ANIMEfringe Reviews:
Megami Kouhosei
By Ikusabe Wataru
Ever since late 1998 and early 1999, computer graphics have been playing an increasingly important role in many of the major anime projects, which most viewers haven't noticed until these days, when computer graphics (CG) can no longer be ignored. Among the first anime series that initiated the use of CG were Yushaoo Gaogaiga ("King of Braves Gaogaiga") and the famous Tenkuu no Escaflowne ("Vision of Escaflowne"). In these two series, CG were mainly used to produce visual effects in combat scenes such as shock waves, power blasts and in the case of the Escaflowne series, the appearance of the dragon in the first episode.
As time goes on, with countless brand-new anime series coming out each month, the use of computers has become an essential part of anime production. One of the most significant changes that computer technologies brought for the world of Japanese Animation (at least for some of the series, anyway) is the implementation of the online coloring process, replacing the traditional hand coloring process as a means to cut down on the cost of production, and, more importantly, the time needed to complete an anime series. Standing out in the new generation of CG-aided anime is the Megami Kouhosei ("Candidate For Goddess") series.
Instead of occasional CG effects, computer-generated graphics play a major role in this futuristic science-fiction story. With the smashing success of Initial D (also a CG-aided anime series) in the past as a guiding light, Bandai Visual and Xebec had decided to boldly increase the amount of CG to be used in this brand new series, from the usual amount of one third as in the Initial D series, to approximately one half for each single episode, which means for a half-hour episode, fifteen minutes of the show would be entirely or partially made up of computer generated graphics.
The story itself take place in the distant future of human history, in the year 4088. With all but one of the planets destroyed by some gigantic living creatures referred to as VKDM (pronounced as "Vicckudimu", a close approximation would be "Victim", maybe there is a meaning to that name but right now it's uncertain if there's any significance to that). The only livable planet left is Planet Zion, which the kanji version was written as "Kibou no Hoshi" - "Planet of Hope". To defend and protect the last planet, space agency "GOA" was established. With the headquarters as a floating platform orbiting Planet Zion, the GOA serves not only as the storage, dispatch and repair station for the Five Goddesses, the five most powerful fighting machines of all and the rest of the backup combat units, but also as the training center for potential candidates for future Goddesses pilots (hence the title "Candidate For Goddess").
Among the five new candidates arriving at the GOA headquarters at the beginning of the series is Candidate Number 88 - Zero Enna, a bright young man with limitless energy and the grand vision of becoming one of the pilots of the Goddesses. Even though Megami Kouhosei only consists of twelve episodes, the series itself covers Zero's entire journey from a newcomer in the GOA agency to one of the elite pilots of the Five Goddesses, the people he meets along the way (such as our heroine of the series, Kizuna Touriku), his past and of course, the secrets behind the reason of VKDMs restless attacks over the years and the true nature of the Goddesses.
First aired on satellite Channel Two of the NHK network in Japan (on Mondays between January 10th and March 27th of this year), the story of Megami Kouhosei was, like many anime series in the recent years, adapted from a popular manga series with the same title. The manga version of Megami Kouhosei was first published in the bimonthly magazine Comic GUM, created by the hands of Sugizaki Yukiru, a famous artist well known for his work in the original manga versions of Brain Powered (published in monthly magazine Shounen Ace) and D.N.Angel (published in monthly magazine Asuka).
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