The appeal and review of "Kishin Corps": A must-see mecha anime masterpiece

A comprehensive review and recommendation of Kishin Heidan

■ Public Media

OVA

■ Original Media

novel

■ Release date

March 25, 1993

■Release and sales

Pioneer LDC

■Frequencies

half an hour

■ Number of Episodes

Episode 7

■Original Story

・Original work: Masaki Yamada

■ Director

・Director: Takaaki Ishiyama

■ Production

・Production: AIC

■Works

©Masaaki Yamada, Chuokoron-Shinsha, PIONEER LDC.INC.
Characters©PIONEER LDC.INC.

■ Story

The story is set in Shanghai in 1937. On August 13, the Japanese Army's Shanghai Marine Corps is suddenly attacked by a mysterious enemy, aliens. They barely manage to fend them off, but among the remains of the enemy's robot soldiers, they discover a "module" that has the ability to self-replicate programs. The world's great powers then succeed in developing a giant robot weapon, "Kishin," that combines alien technology with pre-World War II technology and machinery. On the eve of World War II, an unknown technology is suddenly brought to a world shrouded in dark clouds, and an unexplored history that no one could have imagined is about to begin...

■Explanation

This work is part of an OVA series planned by Pioneer LDC (now NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan) to popularize the recording medium LD (Laser Disc). Other titles include "Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki", "Moldiver", "The Mysterious World of El-Hazard" and "ARMITAGE III". The original is a Japanese science fiction adventure novel by Yamada Masaki, published in 10 paperback volumes by Chuokoron-Shinsha C★NOVELS from 1990 to 1994. The story and setting have been significantly changed based on the anime adaptation (the protagonist, a boy named Takamura Taishi, and the addition of the fourth mechanical god, Shiki-Kigami). As a media mix development, a manga version by Oka Shohei was serialized in the magazine "Shonen Captain" (Tokuma Shoten). The manga version follows the basic setting of the original (novel version), but the design of the mechanical gods is closer to that of the anime version. Among the OVA lineup at the time, this work attracted attention for its unique setting as a robot science fiction story set during World War II, and was highly praised by some fans, but it is less well known and is considered a hidden masterpiece by some fans. One particularly noteworthy scene is the activation sequence of the robot (Kishin), which is carried out while vacuum tubes are crackling, by forcibly connecting the technology of the time (during World War II) with alien technology, and shows a depth and precision that cannot be seen anywhere else. Starting with the activation sequence, each action of the massive robot (Kishin) is drawn very carefully in this work, making it one of the examples of robot anime.

■Cast

・Takamura Taishi/Fujita Yoshiko・Takamura Ritsushi/Takayama Sakae・Sofia Takamura/Terase Megumi・Katsuro Yoshimitsu/Furukawa Toshio・Masumi Kimihiko/Hironaka Masashi・Sakaki Daisaku/Shimada Bin・Byakuranka/Kawamura Maria・Eva Braun, Maria Braun/Tsuru Hiromi・Shinkai Matome/Wakamoto Norio・Goto Masao/Kakegawa Hirohiko・Fujishima Yoshiko/Yamamoto Yuriko・Captain/Nishihara Kumiko・Pearl/Kasahara Rumi・Mac/Numata Yusuke・Fay/Mitsuishi Kotono・Cookie/Hagimori Ryoko・Jack/Horikawa Ryo・Al/Tanaka Kazumi・Lifeguard/Kawazu Yasuhiko・Angler/Tanaka Kazunari

■ Main staff

・Original story by Masaki Yamada (published by Chuokoron-Shinsha C-NOVELS)
・Director, composition: Ishiyama Takaaki・Direction: Mizuno Kazunori・Production: Galactic Empire・Producers: Yamada Hisao, Tamura Tsuneo・Character design: Goto Masayuki・Animation director: Goto Masayuki・Mecha design: Yamazaki Takeshi, Sato Masahiro・Assistant animation director: Yamazaki Takeshi, Sato Masahiro・Music: Wada Kaoru・Music producer: Kawase Akira・Sound recording: Kanbara Hiromi・Casting: Furuichi Toshio・Concept advisor: Yamazaki Taishi・Mechanic advisor: Mochizuki Yutaro・Cooperation: Tsuji Office・Distributor: Pioneer LDC

■Subtitle

・Ichi / "Deploy! Raijin activation command"
・Part 2: "Surprise Attack! Battle of the Fortress Island"
3/ "Struggle! Explosive Train Operation"
・4/"Machine God vs. Armored Knight (Part 1)"
5. Machine God vs. Armored Knight (Part 2)
・6/"Attack! Enemy Alien Base" (1994/08/25)
・7/"Boys, be ambitious!" (1994/08/25)

■ Related works

Cast of each episode
(one)
Takamura Taishi: Fujita Yoshiko Takamura Tatsushi: Takayama Sakae Sophia Takamura: Terase Megumi Katsuro Yoshimitsu: Furukawa Toshio Masumi Kimihiko: Hironaka Masashi Sakaki Daisaku: Shimada Toshihaku Ranka: Kawamura Maria Eva Brown/Maria Brown: Tsuru Hiromi Shinkai Matome: Wakamoto Norio Goto Masao: Kakegawa Hirohiko Fujishima Yoshiko: Yamamoto Yuriko Captain: Nishihara Kumiko Pearl: Kasahara Rumi Mac: Numata Yusuke Faye: Mitsuishi Kotono Cookie: Hagimori Yuko (The "ku" in "ku" has been changed to "hi")
Jack: Ryo Horikawa Al: Kazumi Tanaka Lifeguard: Yasuhiko Kawazu Angler: Kazunari Tanaka Cooperation: Aoni Pro ▲Go up
(2)
Takamura Taishi: Fujita Yoshiko Eva Braun/Maria Braun: Tsuru Hiromi Katsuro Yoshimitsu: Furukawa Toshio Masumi Kimihiko: Hironaka Masashi Sakaki Daisaku: Shimada Binshi Ranka: Kawamura Maria Shinkai Matome: Wakamoto Norio Goto Masao: Kakegawa Hirohiko Fujishima Yoshiko: Yamamoto Yuriko
Mr. Catsburg: Ginga Banjō Nakajima: Saka Osamu Correspondent: Satouchi Nobuo Pilot: Masuda Arihiro Patrolman: Yamada Shinichi Cooperation: Aoni Production
(three)
Takamura Taishi: Fujita Yoshiko Eva Brown: Tsuru Hiromi Katsuro Yoshimitsu: Furukawa Toshio Masumi Kimihiko: Hironaka Masashi Sakaki Daisaku: Shimada Binshi Shira Ranka: Kawamura Maria Shinkai Matome: Wakamoto Norio Goto Masao: Kakegawa Hirohiko Fujishima Yoshiko: Yamamoto Yuriko Staff Officer Tamura: Yara Yusaku Oishi Engineer: Kishino Yukimasa Hanzawa Engineer Assistant: Nitta Sanshiro Mochizuki Soldier: Kawazu Yasuhiko Maintenance Soldier: Masuda Arihiro Messenger Soldier: Egawa Hiroo Female Soldier: Nakamura Naoko Cooperation: Aoni Pro ▲Go up
(four)
Takamura Taishi: Fujita Yoshiko Eva Braun/Maria Braun: Tsuru Hiromi Katsuro Yoshimitsu: Furukawa Toshio Masumi Kimihiko: Hironaka Masashi Sakaki Daisaku: Shimada Binshi Ranka: Kawamura Maria Shinkai Matome: Wakamoto Norio Goto Masao: Kakegawa Hirohiko Fujishima Yoshiko: Yamamoto Yuriko Hans Ringel: Shiozawa Kaneto Albert: Kakegawa Hirohiko Helen: Terase Megumi Oishi Engineer: Kishino Yukimasa Nakajima Captain: Saka Osamu Jack: Horikawa Ryo Hanzawa Engineer: Nitta Sanshiro Yoshida Assistant Engineer: Ota Shinichiro Cooperation: Aoni Production
(5)
Takamura Taishi: Fujita Yoshiko Eva Braun/Maria Braun: Tsuru Hiromi Katsuro Yoshimitsu: Furukawa Toshio Masumi Kimihiko: Hironaka Masashi Sakaki Daisaku: Shimada Bin Shira Ranka: Kawamura Maria Shinkai Matome: Wakamoto Norio Goto Masao: Kakegawa Hirohiko Fujishima Yoshiko: Yamamoto Yuriko Hans Ringel: Shiozawa Kaneto Staff Officer Tamura: Yara Yusaku Jack: Horikawa Ryo Pearl: Kasahara Rumi Captain: Yamaguchi Kappei Hanzawa Engineer: Nitta Sanshiro Yoshida Engineer Assistant: Ota Shinichiro Driver: Anzai Masahiro Professor: Yanami Norijiro Cooperation: Aoni Productions ▲Go up
(VI)
Takamura Taishi: Fujita Yoshiko Eva Braun/Maria Braun: Tsuru Hiromi Katsuro Yoshimitsu: Furukawa Toshio Masumi Kimihiko: Hironaka Masashi Sakaki Daisaku: Shimada Binshi Shira Ranka: Kawamura Maria Shinkai Matome: Wakamoto Norio Goto Masao: Kakegawa Hirohiko Fujishima Yoshiko: Yamamoto Yuriko Hans Ringel: Shiozawa Kaneto Tamura's Staff Officer: Yara Yusaku Jack: Horikawa Ryo Taicho: Yamaguchi Kappei Hanzawa Engineer Assistant: Nitta Sanshiro Al: Kawazu Yasuhiko Suzuki: Kobayashi Toshio Kamimura: Kazama Nobuhiko Cooperation: Aoni Productions
(7)
Takamura Taishi: Fujita Yoshiko Eva Braun/Maria Braun: Tsuru Hiromi Katsuro Yoshimitsu: Furukawa Toshio Masumi Kimihiko: Hironaka Masashi Sakaki Daisaku: Shimada Binshi Ranka: Kawamura Maria Shinkai Matome: Wakamoto Norio Goto Masao: Kakegawa Hirohiko Fujishima Yoshiko: Yamamoto Yuriko Hans Ringel: Shiozawa Kaneto Jack: Horikawa Ryo Hanzawa Engineer: Nitta Sanshiro Phileo: Matsumaru Takuya Signal Soldier: Kono Yoshiyuki Troop Member: Masutani Yasuyuki Al: Kawazu Yasuhiko Cooperation: Aoni Productions Inserted song: "Teppo to Hana" (gun and flower) sung by Kawamura Maria

■ Evaluation and recommendation

"Kishin Heidan" was released as an OVA in 1993, and is characterized by its unique setting and detailed depictions. Set in Shanghai on the eve of World War II, this work depicts the development and battles of a giant robot weapon called "Kishin" that uses alien technology, and was highly popular among some fans in the OVA market at the time. However, it is not well known overall, and is considered a hidden masterpiece.

The greatest appeal of this work is the start-up sequence and action scenes of "Kishin", which combines WWII technology with alien technology. The start-up sequence, which takes place amidst the crackling of vacuum tubes, exudes a sense of depth and precision that cannot be seen anywhere else. In addition, the action scenes in each episode are drawn with great care, making this a model work for robot anime.

The story focuses on the protagonist, a young boy named Takamura Taishi, and follows his growth and the deepening of bonds with his comrades during battle. In particular, the final episode, "Boys, Be Ambitious!", movingly depicts Takamura Taishi's growth and determination, leaving a strong impression on viewers.

In terms of the cast, the performances of the voice actors, including Yoshiko Fujita as Taishi Takamura, liven up the work. In particular, the insert song "Teppo to Hana" sung by Maria Kawamura is a song that further enhances the atmosphere of the work.

The staff includes the talented director Takaaki Ishiyama, character designer Masayuki Goto, and mecha designers Takeshi Yamazaki and Masahiro Sato, all of whom were involved in the production of OVAs at the time. Thanks to their skills, the work maintains a high level of quality.

The appeal of this work is the detailed depiction that makes the most of the OVA format, and the story that is set in the unique historical background of the eve of World War II. If you like robot anime or science fiction anime, this is a work that you should definitely watch at least once. It is also recommended as an opportunity to reevaluate this work, which is known as a hidden masterpiece.

In addition, there are also original novels and manga versions, so you can enjoy the work on a deeper level by reading them in addition to watching the anime. In particular, the original novels depict different developments and settings than the anime version, which will give fans new discoveries.

"Kishinheidan" is an attractive work with the quality that can only be achieved by the OVA format and a unique setting. It is a work that I would highly recommend to those who like robot anime and science fiction anime, and those who are looking for a new masterpiece.