by Dai » Sat Jul 25, 2015 3:40 pm
I finally got around to buying Red Baron. Thankfully, Amazon marketplace sellers (or at least the one I bought it from) have correctly divided up the two releases of the series, so I was able to obtain the superior BCI version. I love the packaging design, especially the Soviet propaganda poster style of the individual DVD cases. August's booklet is essential too, with his essay providing a lot of detail on the production climate of the time. How else would I have found out that this show was cancelled because people stopped buying air purifiers? I was also surprised to read how popular it was at the time. I guess I underestimated it because it isn't one of the franchises that has run non-stop for decades.
As for the show, it's great fun. Episode plots are as basic as they come, but it doesn't matter because there's an infectious energy running throughout the whole thing. There's constant motion, whether its a martial arts multi-fight, a car chase or a robot battle. It operates somewhere between anime physics and full-on Looney Tunes physics. And then there's Rei Maki. I can't be the only person disappointed that they switched her uniform from a miniskirt to trousers after shooting the title sequence.
Another thing that surprised me was the army of identical masked goons who the heroes fight every episode. Just how old is that trope? I always assumed it started in Super Sentai, but this show predates that by a couple of years.