Vandread: Difference between revisions

An examination of gender politics and cultural divisions played out as a [[Space Opera]] [[Mecha Show]]...no, really.

 

 

Tarak is the Orwellian, industrial, militarized planet of men. All food is synthetic, flavorless pills. [[Rated "M" for Manly|All public gatherings are related to sports, marching, and being manly]]. Everyone wears a uniform. [[Cloning Blues|Babies are made by merging your genes with those of your buddies in a factory]], and they are raised by dedicated orphanages/schools.

The story follows a young man named Hibiki Tokai, a factory worker from Tarak who wants more than anything to be a mecha pilot. When his attempt to steal a [[Humongous Mecha]] get him thrown into the brig of reconstructed battleship, things seem to be looking down...until the ship gets attacked by [[Space Pirates]], and Hibiki, a [[Bishonen]] doctor, a cowardly officer and a malfunctioning robot wind up as prisoners on a ship full of women. [[Rock Bottom|Things couldn't possibly get any worse]].

 

 

All of the sudden, Hibiki's the focus of [[The Unwanted Harem|three girls with different personalities]] whom all want to try and "merge" with him. Of course, [[Het Is Ew|none of them have any concept of heterosexuality]], and Hibiki doesn't even seem to know about ''any'' sexuality. They clumsily rediscover their biological imperatives as they fight a mysterious shadow enemy across the universe.

* {{spoiler|In addition to all this, the "Super Vandread" (aka "Vandread Pyoro"), formed by combining Hibiki's Vanguard and all three Dreads with Pyoro at once, is a massive humanoid mecha with the abilities of all three Vandreads. It can also mix their abilities, such as combining Vandread Dita's cannons and Jura's shields into a [[Wave Motion Gun]]. It even gets enough chairs and control stations for everyone. [[An Aesop|See what happens]] when [[The Power of Friendship|we all work together?]] The controls for the Super Vandread have Hibiki and Dita sitting in a way similar to the way they are in Vandread Dita, Meia having her own console behind them facing backwards, and Jura sitting on a lower level in front of Hibiki having a wall of unlabeled buttons that she has to figure out. Take that for whatever symbolism that you will.}}

 

 

 

* [[Absent Aliens]]: The closest thing we have to real aliens are a bunch of psychic Navajo expies who border on ''Homo Novus''. It runs into [[Human Aliens]] with Ma-Ger and Tarak, the inhabitants think the people on the other planets are evil aliens, when they're really just male and female humans trying their damnedest to be [[One-Gender Race|One Gender Races]] with genetic engineering.

** Arguably, {{spoiler|Earth}} as well.

* [[Abridged Series]]: So far there's just [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5_AFJACVBk one episode], but the next one should be up soon. With actual girls playing the females too!!

* [[Absolute Cleavage]]: Jura. Just look at the page picture.

* [[A Father to His Men|A Grandmother To Her (Wo)men]]: Magno Vivan.

** {{spoiler|It is later revealed that they were not willing to lose any ''natural'' children (i.e. conceived and delivered the traditional way)of the rest of the original colonists -- the vast majority of whom still remain secretly secured in cryo-stasis, guarded over by the man who raised Hibiki -- hence, the reason for the genetically-engineered sons and daughters of Meger and Talark respectively, who were secretly considered to be merely [[Expendable Clone]] 's, and thus sacrificeable to the Harvester Fleets of Earth.}}

* [[Armor-Piercing Slap]]: Meia delivers one to Hibiki after he angrily accuses Gascogne of always trying to act calm and cool under pressure and not knowing what frontline fighters have to feel and suffer like. Shortly after we get to see exactly why Gascogne acts the way she does...

* [[Bare Your Midriff]]: Jura and Dita.

** Hibiki does this in episode 6 by shooting a laser at his squadmates and having their shields reflect it towards the enemy ships.

** The [[Big Bad]]'s ship at the end of Season 2 is also capable of this type of attack.

* [[Big Damn Heroes]]: Several examples, generally Hibiki anytime he merges with one of the dreads, Bart has one, and Paksis saves the crew a couple of times as well.

* [[Big Eater]]: Despite Misty's [[Hammerspace|implausible]] [[Crazy Prepared|food storage]], Hibiki can still wolf down ''all'' of her intentionally prepared cooking without feeling full.

** Pyoroh mentions when Dita finds the stockpiles of [[Food Pills|Tarak rations]] that a single pill contains enough vitamins and nutrients to keep the eater working for 300 hours. [[Fridge Brilliance|The regular food served by the Mejalans simply doesn't provide the raw nutrition that Hibiki is used to]].

*** Ezra develops this as a whacky pregnancy side-effect. [[Compressed Vice|Only for the span of a single episode, though]].

** Including Meia.

** The literal phrase ("big sister") wouldn't have been any clearer to someone who didn't understand the phrase as it's meant in Japan. "Dear sister" was close enough.

*** "Miss Meia" would still fit better.

* [[Birthday Hater]]: Meia. Episode 21 is entirely devoted to the rest of the crew's efforts to lure her into attending the birthday party they throw for her, which she skillfully evades (like in all her previous years on ''Nirvana''). Needless to say, said episode gives her a great deal of characterization beside that.

* [[Breather Episode]]: Episode 7, which deals largely with Hibiki and Dita's growing relationship.

** Episode 7 again, this time in Season two, which happens right after a [[Wham! Episode]].

** Hibiki is this when it comes to Dita, to the point that practically the entire ship teases him about it.

* [[Cat Smile]]: Ezra's baby has one when she's first shown. Ezra and Dita also display subtle ones occasionally.

* [[Christmas Episode]]: A [[Mood Whiplash]] scenario where everyone is enjoying food and Yuletime fun, looking a comet that looks like a flocked tree, and ''OMG the Evil Aliens are hiding in the comet's tail waiting to attack!'' Wait, Hibiki's there and [[An Asskicking Christmas|once again Christmas is safe!]]

** {{spoiler|Buzam aka. BC}} is the [[Big Bad]].

** Hibiki only combines with Dita.

* [[Cool Old Lady]]: Magno Vivan.

** Only in the first season. Second Stage has her in a different costume each episode, none of them terribly "protective".

*** It's more-or-less stated that she's gotten used to the guys by Second Stage.

** It's there in the first season, too

* [[Crazy Enough to Work]]: Hibiki often formulates some really off the wall ideas, but they usually work.

* [[Cross-Popping Veins]]: Happens to a few characters, especially Dita/Misty in regards to Hibiki.

* [[Cry Cute]]: Both Dita and Misty in episode 7 of Season 2.

* [[Curb Stomp Battle]]: Usually happens whenever Hibiki merges his Vanguard with the women's Dread fighters.

** Rabat delivers one to Hibiki when they first meet. Hibiki later comments to Meia that Rabat was holding back despite easily beating him, and could've easily killed him had he wanted to.

* [[Date Peepers]]: While they're not on a date per se, a lot of the girls on the ship seem to like spying on Hibiki anytime Dita or especially Misty is with him.

** The ENTIRE ship gets a reality show-like view as Jura has cameras focused on Hibiki and his antics with Misty and Dita in episode 7 of Season 2. Practically everyone stops what they're doing to watch after Jura locks Dita and Hibiki in a room together. The only that thing that "saves" them from this is a Harvester attack at the end of the episode.

** The Nirvana has some as well. While fairly strong, sometimes enemy attacks do breach it.

** Then again, there is only ''one'' depicted lesbian pair, and half of that one is [[Bi the Way|after Hibiki]].

*** It seems actually pretty safe to figure that ''most'' of the Mejale women ''are'' lesbians (or [[No Bisexuals|Bisexuals with no other option]]); the one who is after Hibiki seems to be drawn to the...novelty of having babies that way, sort of the equivalent of a modern lesbian asking a guy to be her sperm donor. Besides, it'd be a rather ''different'' sort of series if it spent much time on the sexual implications of [[One-Gender Race|One Gender Races]].

* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]] The pilots use "combining" in ways that make it sound an awful lot like something else men and women do...

** Jura does this most frequently with Hibiki in the early episodes.

** And Hibiki is inexplicably exhausted by the end of each combine battle.

** Hibiki first (joyfully) recognizes his Mecha "Partner" by the mark he had placed on a certain part. A certain part that juts forward right from the pelvis and seems to be vent.

** In all honesty, this probably got dropped on EVERYONE.

*** Except the captain. She knew about it the whole time.

*** Wrap your brains around ''that'' one.

* [[Earn Your Happy Ending]]: The crew of the Nirvana go through quite a bit, and have to constantly adopt new tactics in order to defeat the Harvesters who also try to develop new counters.

* [[Enemy Mine]]: The men of Tarak and the women of Mejale, along with various factions/planets that the Nirvana interacted with throughout the series, end up all fighting together against the Harvester fleets {{spoiler|from Earth.}}

* [[Everyone Can See It]]: The whole crew pretty much knows that Hibiki and Dita were meant for each other, even if he himself denies it.

* [[Everything Is Better With Monkeys]]: Rabat has a pet orangutan.

** Averted? She opens her eyes once after giving birth for a few seconds.

* [[Eyecatch]]: Usually shows Jura, Dita, Meia, or Hibiki and their respective mechs. Season two usually shows their combo forms along with the respective pilots.

* [[Fantastic Racism|Fantastic Sexism]]: Due to their upbringing, the men of Tarak and the women of Mejale have been led to believe that the other is a demonic monster hellbent on destroying them.

* [[First Girl Wins]]: Not that she would allow any rivals anyway.

* [[Forgotten Birthday]]: Subverted. They TRY the whole "pretend everything is normal"-thing on Meia. She sees through them instantly, and when Misty ask why everyone is acting funny, Meia explains that tomorrow is her birthday. So, instead, they they start making plans on how they manage to keep her from hiding from the party...

* [[Genki Girl]]: Dita, especially around Hibiki.

* [[Giver of Lame Names]]: Pyoro, who gives Ezra's baby the name "Pyoro 2", and calls the Super Vandread "Vandread Pyoro". None of the other characters are too fond of them.

* [[Gunship Rescue]]: Hibiki usually when he merges with Jura or Meia, and Paksis does a couple, sometimes with Bart, sometimes without his input.

** Ezra and Rebecca's offspring has been described as "him", but surely this is a translation error since the offspring of their culture would surely be all girls.

* [[Heroic BSOD]]: Jura briefly suffers one in Episode 9.

** Dita goes through one anytime Hibiki lashes out at her too harshly, such as in episode 7.

** But not subverted when {{spoiler|Gascogne pilots her ship into the side of an enemy mothership, a suicide run that creates a hole in the ship that they use to attack it from within in the following episode.}}

** {{spoiler|Actually, it is subverted, she survived and repaired the defeated ship, now under her control.}}

*** Vanguards, too.

* [[I Just Want to Have Friends]]: Misty is understandably lonely considering she's been in stasis for a long time (the anime mentions she's 14 years old and was in stasis for 63 years) and is only survivor left from her family. When Hibiki runs after Dita, shes feels rejected, and tries to play off her wooing him as "being bored" and letting him go as to "not making enemies of Dita's shipmates/friends". But a few moments later, she [[The Woobie|begins to cry alone in the park bench]], and Meia tries to assure her that [[You Are Not Alone|she has friends here.]]

*** Or when the Woman first pilot the Vanguards, or when Hibiki uses his Vanguard on a planet's surface (with gravity) for the first time, or when he first combines with Jura, all giving them at least some problems for a few scenes.

** This troper believes it also refers to the fact that "Gas-cone" sounds like "Gas-Co", which {{spoiler|was her older sister's nickname for her, and doesn't want her memory of her sister to change.}} In the original Japanese, it's not so much a pronunciation issue as her refusing to accept her nickname of "Gasco-san".

* [[I Was Quite a Looker]]: An old photograph of the captain and her family illustrate this trope. It is also revealed that she still has a head full of beautiful golden hair.

* [[I Will Protect Her]]: Hibiki although he usually denies it. Played straight with Bart when he befriends an [[Ill Girl]] and defends the planet she's living on.

* [[Kinetic Weapons Are Just Better]]: While the series largely uses energy weapons, during episode 4 of Season 2, when Jura tries firing an energy weapon at the harvesters invading the inside of a space station, it doesn't do anything to it. Barnette suggests that she use the guns she brought, which uses regular bullets, and are quite effective against those things. At least while they have ammo for them.

* [[Lampshade Hanging]] Pyoro in episode four of Second Stage: He can ''smell'' the sexuality!!

** Also Gascogne yelling at Dita about her pulling off a [[No One Gets Left Behind]].

* [[Large Ham]]: Hibiki usually falls into this territory, particularly when playing cards with Gascogne, or usually around Dita.

* [[Lightning Glare]]: Dita and Misty exchange it with each other.

* [[Lover Tug of War]]: Happens to Hibiki between Dita and Misty.

* [[Marshmallow Hell]]: Hibiki in one episode bumps in Jura's breasts while she is telling him to combine with her.

* [[Meganekko]]: Parfait.

* [[Mid-Season Upgrade]]: Bart manages to give the Nirvana a [[Beam Spam]] attack in the second season, and the Super Vandread shows up as well, merging all the girl's Dreads with Hibiki's Vanguard.

* [[Mission Control]]: BC usually performs this role, but Magno sometimes assists or takes command.

* [[Ms. Fanservice]]: Practically every female character but the captain.

** In hindsight, {{spoiler|BC probably doesn't count anymore. Unless that's your thing of course...}}.

* [[Mundane Made Awesome]]: Hibiki during his card games with Gascogne. He always tries to place his cards down in a really dramatic fashion, only to have Gascogne nonchalantly beat his hand.

* [[Naked Apron]]: While not completely naked Barnette seems to prefer not wearing a top underneath the apron when she cooks.

* [[Nosebleed]]: Hibiki suffers one after Misty kisses him.

* [[Not So Different]]: The three men and the women aboard the Nirvana gradually learn to get along with each other, and then they learn the truth about the Harvesters {{spoiler|and Earth.}}

* [[One-Way Visor]]: the pluto colonists.

** Subverted again with the minefield ({{spoiler|it had to be spoken by a high-ranking official}}). Parodied with the Nirvana's lockdown, when Barnette set it to something that crew members should be able to guess easily, but Hibiki still had no idea what it was. Though that one was justified, since it was in a language the captors couldn't read (and they only had the ship for a day, tops).

** Also some what deconstructed in that {{spoiler|the [[Planet of Hats]] were created to be worn.}}

** Which, despite its sexual symbolism, has quite the degree of Narm to it.

* [[Redshirt Army]]: Hibiki runs into a [[Space Navy]] one in Episode 11. Despite their actions, they get wiped out pretty easily. Perhaps they shouldn't of shared their backstory with him...

* [[Running Gag]]: Pyoro constantly referring to Ezra's baby, Kahlua, as "Pyoro 2".

* [[Screw Destiny]]: The crew of the Nirvana tries to do this for every planet/space station they pass by whenever the Harvesters show up to gather the people living there. Some are thankful for their help, others slightly less so.

* [[She Is Not My Girlfriend]]: Hibiki vehemently invokes this trope anytime others mention how close he is with Dita. Dita likes to think otherwise however.

** Possibly justified by the Tarakians' [[Planet of Hats|hat]] being over-the-top manliness, making [[Ho Yay]], with the possible exception of [[Hard Gay]], unlikely.

*** Unless they model themselves on other warrior societies such as Samurai, Spartans, Romans, Athenians, the Big Nambas from Paupa New Guinea, the Vikings, Pirates. Actually almost all warrior societies come to think of it.

** Jura, for all her attempts to combine with Hibiki and trying to have a kid with him, is quite obviously gay for Barnette.

*** The two live together, spend most of their time together and when Jura first starts going on about having a baby, Barnette thinks she means -with her-. Yeah...I think they're a couple.

* [[Space Pirates]]: Pretty much the entire crew of the Nirvana, although they don't do it very much after the first episode. Rabat seems to play it straighter.

* [[Sterility Plague]]: The heroes come across a planet in the second season which had this done to them by {{spoiler|Earth.}} Needless to say, they cure it.

* [[Stripperiffic]]: Jura's daily costume.

* [[Supporting Harem]]: While Meia doesn't seem romantically interested in Hibiki, Dita, Jura, and Misty all seem to want him at one point or another. Jura's seems more like [[The Tease]], but Misty and Dita eventually butt heads about their rivalry regarding Hibiki.

* [[The Three Faces of Eve]]: Dita (child), Meia (wife), Jura (seductress)

* [[The Aesthetics of Technology]]: Tarak tech is rough and bolted on and they still use conventional firearms while Majarl has shiny spaceships and laser rings.

* [[Through His Stomach]]: Dita often uses this on Hibiki. It usually works, especially considering he only ate pills on Tarak.

** Misty does this as well in Season two.

* [[Uterine Replicator]]: Used by the men to reproduce in the absence of women.

* [[War Is Hell]]: While we never get to see Tarak fight Mejale directly (other than the first episode when the female pirates attack), as the show goes on, it shows how hectic and pointless fighting can be, and virtually everyone suffers from it in some way.

* {{spoiler|[[The War of Earthly Aggression]]}}

* [[We ARE Struggling Together!]]: The crew of the Nirvana at first seem to have no luck convincing most of the groups they encounter about the imminent threat posed by {{spoiler|Earth.}} But in the end, many of them show up to assist the Nirvana in the struggle when they all begin to realize that they in fact have a common goal, which is to not be used for parts by {{spoiler|Earth.}}

** The final episodes of Season 2, when Earth's forces invade Tarak and Mejale space.

* [[You Will Be Assimilated]]: Well, not so much turned into Borg-like creatures as much as the Harvesters going to human colonized worlds and capturing them for their organs.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Anime]]

[[Category:Geneon]]