Landlock (Series Review)

Zanark intends to rule the world and to do that he will need to seize the power of the wind from a peaceful nation. Of course, this is just the final step in a plan that has been decades in the making. Can he be stopped?

Landlock (Series Review)

What did you watch?

Part of me wondered whether it was overkill to write up a series review for an OVA that only had two parts, even if each part was forty-five minutes long. Well, guess what? I decided to do it because I wasn’t done talking about Landlock and this seemed like the perfect way to bring everything to a close. I have been slowly collecting olders series, especially in the OVA format so you can expect many more reviews of obscure series from the nineteen-nineties, back when I was beginning my anime adventure. Anyhow, less about me and more about Landlock!

What happened?

Luda’s father, Mobe was the user of the wind. With that power, he defended the peaceful land of Zul. However, a megalomanical tyrant called Zanark had set his sights on Mobe’s powers in his attempt to conquer the world. However, it wasn’t Mobe that he needed. Instead, he was after Luda since he had a single red eye. He sent his daughter, Agahali to attack Zul, kill Mobe, and bring Luda back. The two parts went to plan, however, capturing Luda was far more difficult. When Agahali killed his sister, Ansa, he lost control of his powers, and flew off into the distance. Agahali returned to Zanark to report on her failure. He was not impressed and sent her to finish the job.

Agahali found Luda in a distant land, but when she tried to take him in, Ansa appeared out of thin air and pleaded with Agahali to think about what she was doing. After all, both Agahali and Ansa had the same mysterious birthmark on their backs. Agahali captured them both and took them to her father. He took what he needed from Luda and then ordered Agahali to execute them all. However, after talking to Ansa once more, she realised that they were twin sisters, and that Mobe was her father too! Zanark had used her in the most cruel fashion, and she wasn’t about to let him get away with it. But, Zanark had to power of the Red Eye and the Blue Eye now. Could anyone stop him?

What did you think?

Had I watched this series back in 1996 when it aired, I would have loved it. However, watching it today after spending most of my life analysing story structure and learning about character development, I find myself holding a very different opinion. I did like the series, but it was littered with problems. The most noticable aspect of the series is the character and mecha designs, which were all done by the legendary Masamune Shirow, one of my favourite artists. That’s what attracted me to the series and it was the thing that I enjoyed the most, so I can’t have too much to complain about… right?

What was your favourite moment?

Even though, we didn’t really have too much of an idea what was going on and why, I’d say the initial attack of Zul in which Agahali killed Mobe and then Ansa, before trying to capture Luda was the highlight of the series from an entertainment point of view. It was chaotic, and I think it was supposed to be, so that made sense. The monologue that preceeded it was a bit of a waste, especially as it didn’t really tell us anything either. It was simply an attempt to sound philosophical and mysterious. Anyhow, there were mechas falling from a giant ship and attacking the city. Agahali emerged from one wearing some sort of thong battlesuit, weilding a samurai sword. It was classic Masamune Shirow, and I loved it.

What was your least favourite moment?

Apart from the sheer confusion of trying to piece together what was going on and why, the thing that really annoyed me was the fact that had Luda and Agahali not made it back to Zul to face Zanark, he would have lost anyhow. We learned that Ansa also had a Blue Eye like Agahali, meaning that the power Zanark had taken from her was incomplete. He didn’t have the strength to control the incomplete power, which ultimately killed him. Basically, nothing they did impacted the outcome of the story. That might be fine in real life, but in a story, you expect the protagonists actions to lead to an outcome, whether good or bad. Sadly, this series did not achieve this, which is the bare minimum when thinking about story structure.

Who was your favourite character?

Agahali was defintely my favourite character, and not just because of the thong battlesuit and samurai sword. I mean that helped a lot, but it wasn’t everything. I do think that the story progressed far too quickly for Agahali to really deal with the implications of what happened to her. She was stolen as a baby and raised by Zanark, who tricked her into killing her own father. She also killed her sister (if only temporarily). Then, when she discovered what had happened, she confronted Zanark only to learn that he had no reason other than his own sadistic desires. She went through a lot, and seeing that have a real impact on her would have been far more interesting. It may seem like a crazy idea, but this story needed more time.

Who was your least favourite character?

Luda was fairly annoying, but Zanark was easily the worst character in the series, and there was Luda’s friend who was obssessed with insect fossils… Zanark was the worst kind of moustaching twirling pantomine villain. He was evil simply because he wanted to be. He obviously had the power and the technology to change to world for the better, but chose to use that to attempt to conquer and control. I’m not saying he needed a redemption of any sort, but showing us a little more of why he was like that wouldn’t have been a waste of time.

Would you like some more?

So, after saying this series needed more time to flesh out the story and develop the characters, I’m fine with it ending here and that being it. Given what I saw, I’m not convinced that the team behing this would have made the best use of more time. It needed someone who understood story to oversee the project. If only Masamune Shirow had been given more of a role than just character design.

What have you learned?

I’ve known for a long time that at some point in the story, the characters need to make things happen. They need to make decisions that will drive the story forwards, even if that decision is to not do anything. However, their decisions need to contribute to the resolution of the story. If their actions ultimately had no impact on anything, then what was the point of telling that story. I’m definitely going to make sure that I check everything I write to ensure that the characters’ actions have meaning.

Series Information

English Title	Landlock
Japanese Title	Landlock
Genres	Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Anime

OVA	Landlock
Released	Spring 1996, Summer 1996
Animation Studios	Sanctuary
Episodes	2
1	Red Eye!
2	Blue Eye!

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