By Joseph Walter
Tekkaman Blade
(TV Series/Anime)
---
The Good: The decidedly dark and bleak storyline makes for an impressive tragedy of Shakespearean proportions: it starts out as a cool sci-fi plot, but slowly twists into a grim exploration of psychological trauma. This isn't a typical "superhero" tale: Blade's awesome powers are not a gift, they are a burden, and it's fascinating to see this side of the "superhero" coin be explored. Rounding things out, the series features gripping performances from a wonderful voice cast (infamously, Blade's voice actor destroyed a microphone with his voice during the recording of one particularly furious scene), impressive pacing (particularly during the second half), and incredibly well-developed, three-dimensional characters. There's also one hell of an epic transformation sequence, and the impressive character and mechanical designs (especially Blade's armor) have had an enormous impact on me. Lastly, there are three excellent OVAs ("Twin Blood," "Burning Clock," and "Missing Link") to complete the Tekkaman Blade experience, with "Burning Clock," in particular, being one of the most soul-crushingly depressing and devastating character studies I've ever seen.
The Bad: Aside from a few spectacular moments here and there, the majority of the series' animation is horrendous due to being stilted, off-model or both, and this can be hard to overlook, even if the power of the story and writing deserve it. And I can't stress enough how tragic, depressing and often times disturbing the story gets, with deep dives into warped psychological complexes and deep seated familial issues, so if that's not your thing, definitely avoid. Another thing to avoid would be the bafflingly awful sequel series, Tekkaman Blade II.
Oh, and you'll need to read subtitles.