Hey guys Wolvenciel here. I said back in the Fafner review that I'd watch the movies and review them as well so here it is. I totally regret that decision though... Again, this is a movie so I'll be omitting some of the criteria of my review.
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| I'll leave this daunting countdown as a title picture. Fafner you ruined me. |
Important Note: If you haven't read my Fafner review, you don't actually have to. This movie is a prologue to the series so there is actually no harm done in knowing what this is first. If you have read it though (and watch the anime god bless you), you'll have a better general idea of what's going to go down.
Overview
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| The 3DCG looks amazing as hell |
Genre: Drama, Mecha, Sci-Fi, Military, Special
Episodes: 1
Length/Episode: 51:01 minutes
Studio: Xebec
Date Aired: 2005
Summary
Right of Left takes place approximately two years before the Fafner series and it focuses on a group of people who... uh... Are selected to remain in a submersible part of Tatsumiyajima Island (its a moving island cum military base) and fend off Festums (silicon lifeforms which aims to learn from humans by way of assimilating them) and drawing the enemy attention to them.
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| These are Festums. They look like angels. They're anything BUT. |
Basically, they're bait. Cannon fodder. Yes. That's the ugly truth. THE NAME OF THE OPERATION IS OPERATION LEFT. AS IN GETS LEFT BEHIND. F******G HELL.
Character Layout
The movie focuses mainly on Yumi Ikoma (the daughter of the scientist who proposed the plan) and her high school sweetheart, Ryou Masaoka. From the beginning its mostly just about them and their backgrounds, their struggles and so on. I guess because its a movie and they haven't much time on their hands, they had to prioritize on who to focus on and such. It is fine that way too I guess.
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| Yumi and Ryou, sitting in a tree. K-I-SS-I-N-G. |
There are a few appearances from the people in the series (which will happen in two more years) but its just that. Appearance. They don't actually do much to the plot. The other Fafner pilots are also just there to add emotional impact and to be really honest, because they didn't actually say much about the other pilots, the impact wasn't as strong.
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| The other guys... |
Rough Plot Structure
Well. The movie starts off by showing the island and introducing viewers to the two main characters and the series character a bit and then jumps to the crisis at hand. Things escalate rather quickly in Right of Left and as in the Fafner series, its a bit frustrating to watch. I am not going to expand more on the plot and just say that shit goes down as fast as possible in this movie. I MEAN IT.
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| Xebec's character design is... questionable in their early years. Lol. |
Weight of the Anime
If by any chance, you think that this anime is a happy, rainbow-filled mecha anime with plot armor, you're wrong. This one doesn't have that. This anime is heavy in the sense that it jabs at your frustration levels and show off these teenage angst that gradually just turn into despair.
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| Fafner? Why not Coffin instead? Or Deathtraps? Huh? |
Sure it doesn't have much technicality to it, but more often than not the movie questions whether it was the right decision to leave the people (the ones chosen to fend off enemies on that submersible part of the island) behind while saving themselves some time and still live in peace. Was it worth their precious lives or not? That kind of stuff.
The Ending
If you did watch Fafner already, you can surely guess what's going to happen in the ending. I don't particularly have any beef with the ending myself. Its just that I can't really accept the fact that in the series, they don't really mention these guys (from Right of Left) much. I don't know.
I'll just assume they're unsung heroes and such I guess. The ending is peaceful to say the least. I'll leave it at that.
Mech Design
Similar to the ones in the Fafner series, these ones sport a more feral, unrefined look than their series's counterparts. I kind of prefer these ones to be honest but still, I can't quite like the design myself. The shoulder joints still bug me.
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| No its not awesome. It looks weird if anything. Like it can snap at any time. |
But yes. I prefer these ones to the ones in the series. Even if they're a little more... erratic. Sigh.
In A Nutshell
I feel that they could have done better with this prologue and at least do the characters in it some justice by giving them significance in the series. However, the movie is made a year after the series so I get that its a bit hard to relate with each other unless you really plan the whole series carefully and all that.
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| Again, this kind of visuals. Isn't something you get in 2005 I reckon. Damn. |
The movie is, by all means not for the faint of heart and I really hope you guys don't watch this. Skip it if you can. I'll review Heaven And Earth (the epilogue of the Fafner series) and I think its better for you guys to watch just that.
Anything you want to ask, just ring me up down below. Any and all comments are appreciated. Really.
Wolvenciel, signing off.
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