Weekend Review – Genesis Climber Mospeda

This week we’re taking a look at the series that provided the third part of Robotech (which we also previously reviewed), Genesis Climber Mospeda.

Cast and Crew
Bin Shimada as Stig Bernard
Hirotaka Suzuoki as Yellow Belmont (Male)
Mine Matsuki as Yellow Belmond (Female)
Miki Takahashi as Aisha
Hisao Ohyama as Ray
Miko Doi as Houket Enrose
Sanoe Miyuki as Mint Rubble
Tomomichi Nishimura as Jim Austin

Directed by Katsuihiso Yamada
Episodes Written by Kenji Terada, Ryo Yasumura, Satoshi Namiki, & Sukehiro Tomita
Animation by Tatsunoko Production & ARTMIC Studios (Mechanical Design)
Music by Joe Musashi

Premise
Earth has been occupied by a mysterious alien race called the Invid. The last attempt to liberate the planet from their control has failed. When the second attempt also fails, one of the survivors, a pilot named Stig Bernard, finds himself stranded on Earth. He must find any survivors he can from the earlier attempts and form a resistance so they can disable the Invid’s defenses, and allow the earth to be freed.

High Points
The series has some incredibly well done and tense action sequences, with an also well executed melencholic tone, that fits very well with the post-Apocalyptic setting. Also, this is the first anime to be scored by Joe Musashi, who would become a long time collaborator with Hayao Miyazaki, and you can tell here why Miyazaki decided to work with him.

Low Points
The writers aren’t very good with geography. After the heroes get through South America, they go to North America by fixing a boat and crossing the Carribean. From there, they go from the Gulf Coast to Denver, Colorado. They then go from Denver to New York City, and from there to Reflex Point – which is alnog the Great Lakes. The thing is, to get from Denver to NYC, they would have to go past Reflex Point – and they also don’t establish the NYC trip as being a detour.

Content Notes
A couple episodes have female nudity, and the aliens bleed green.

Scores
Originality: This is generally an original series, as it’s not based on a manga or anime. However, there are some clear stylistic connections between this and Robotech, so I can understand why Carl Maeck picked this show to be the 3rd chun of Robotech. 4/6.

Animation: This isa TV anime from the very early ’80s, and it shows. I’d say that the animation doesn’t particularly get past decent for much of the show. 4/6.

Acting: The cast generally does a decent job, but this is one of those cases where nothing stands out for me. 3/6.

Story: Unfortunately, while the action sequences in this show are well done, the stories of the episodes themselves don’t stand out that well, with a few exceptions. 4/6.

Emotional Response: The show maintains a consistant melancholic tone throughout – which works well (thanks to the occupied setting). However, because of this, it also makes it difficult to tell episodes apart. 4/6.

Production: The show steps into stock footage for stuff like mecha transformations, but otherwise it’s not that bad. It’s just not great. 3/6.

Overall: If you are a fan of Robotech, you should really take the time to own this. Otherwise, I’d consider it a decent rental. 3/6.

In total, Genesis Climber Mospeda gets 25/42.