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Reviews
Uchû no senshi (1988)
Starship Troopers Anime
This depiction of Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" is interesting mainly for its portrayal of the mobile infantry. Without the benefit of English subtitles, the story appears simple; focused on Johnny Rico's training and integration in a mobile infantry unit, and quest to win the affection of a young woman he attended school with. The animation is good but modest.
The scenes with the mobile infantry's powered armor suits are where this anime production shines. The design of the powered armor fits Robert Heinlein's vision with the soldiers able to move rapidly and fight under intensive combat conditions with substantial firepower, and the series adds autonomous track-wheeled robots that fight alongside the armored soldiers. The series also features the mobile infantry's capability for atmospheric entry via individual protective capsules, as described by Heinlein, when they fight the bugs in the final episode.
Overall, the series is okay. The combat scenes with the mobile infantry are worth watching, though the tactics appear less than sophisticated for a force equipped with advanced technology, and the battle with the bugs in the final episode is somewhat anti-climactic. Nonetheless, this anime production remains an interesting portrayal of Heinlein's mobile infantry.
Sole Survivor (1970)
Ghost Story of a Missing Aircrew
Sole Survivor is an interesting made-for-TV movie about the ghosts of a missing U. S. Air Force aircrew who reunite with the crewmember who abandoned them during their fatal bombing mission in World War II. Trapped for years at the crash site of their bomber in the remote wilderness of the Libyan desert, the ghosts appear on the verge of closure after an oil exploration flight discovers the remains of their bomber, resulting in the Air Force dispatching a team to investigate the fate of the missing crew. However, the surviving crew member, now a general officer, intends to obstruct the investigation to conceal his abandonment of the crew-leaving the ghosts to languish in the desert for eternity.
The ghost theme is eerie and clever. The lost crew add tension observing the investigators' efforts to solve the mystery of their disappearance while the Air Force general avoids providing information crucial to the investigation. The ghosts know the answers but are unable to communicate with the investigators as the general appears to have the upper hand; however, he remains unnerved by the sight of the old airplane, sensing an unearthly presence.
Apparently inspired by the U. S. Air Force's actual investigation of a missing B-24 bomber found in Libya years after World War II, Sole Survivor is a good and unique ghost story. While the production is modest, it is well done.