AKA: ガルフォース地球章 (Gall Force: Chikyuushou), New Gall Force

Genre: Post-apocalyptic sci-fi

Length: OAV, 3 episodes, 55 minutes each

Distributor: VHS and R1 DVD from Central Park Media / US Manga Corps out of print.

Content Rating: 13+ (mild violence)

Related Series: Gall Force: Eternal Story, Gall Force: Destruction, Gall Force: Stardust War, Rhea Gall Force, Gall Force: New Era, Gall Force: Revolution

Also Recommended: Crest of the Stars, Gall Force: Eternal Story

Notes: I should state that this is the only saga of the Gall Force continuum that I've seen, and that might mean that I'm missing quite a few threads of plot elements carried over from the earlier series. Keep this in mind when you read the review.

Rating:

Gall Force: Earth Chapter

Synopsis

The earth is in ruins after the continuous attacks of the robotic armies of MMEs. Sandy Newman and her comrades in arms have to fend off attacks more or less constantly.

It is in the midst of battle, however, that she comes upon the followers of the Geo-Chris religion, who has been safeguarding the Mystical Tree of Revival, believing that it will grow again and restore the blasted-out earth.

Review

I just about bought this one on pure faith. I do enjoy post-apocalyptic adventure from time to time, and this one wasn't really bad by any stretch of the imagination. Although seeing as this is part of a continuum, I can't help feeling that I probably should have seen the predecessors of this OAV series. But, seeing as it does project a nice, stand-alone story, I would have liked more of an explanation on what lead to the current situation, and that's an explanation the preceeding titles might have supplied.

I guess you could say it was the artwork and character designs of Sonoda Kenichi that drew me in. I had already watched Gunsmith Cats and Bubblegum Crisis, so I didn't really think I could go wrong with it either. And I didn't.

And since we're on the subject of the artwork, both that and the animation was quite decent. It's a bit of an old title by now, but one that has aged decently enough. The show itself has a little bit of retro-styles going for it, which I find nice.

The dub, as I remember it, was also Manga Entertainment's usual decent fare. No award-winning stuff, but pleasant enough. The music is also ranked solidly in the "I can't remember it" section, so I guess it was acceptable but not impressive.

The plot wasn't all that bad, really. While I had no problems following what happened, I still got the feeling that knowing some of the backstory might have helped. Some of the plot elements, particularly near the end, felt a bit farfetched and I really wish they'd include more about the Martian allied forces (or whatever they were called.)

I'm currently wondering whether I should have undertaken this review at all. Despite having seen the entire thing, it's also the only part of the Gall Force saga I've seen. And what I've been left with as far as impressions go is that this is a decent if somewhat incomplete part of the saga. The ending was concusive enough, but the beginning left me feeling ever so slightly lost. Perhaps obtaining the predecessors to this series will remedy that. I'll have to keep that in mind for possible future pursuit.

It's a decent title, though perhaps only for the one who's been following the series up to this point. — Stig Høgset

Recommended Audience: There's your general redshirt deaths here. Nothing too excessive. Outside of that, nothing objectionable.