Dai-Guard
Publisher
ADV
Director
Seiji Mizushima
Production
Sotsu Agency, TV Tokyo, XEBEC
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 episodes
Year
1999
Dai-Guard volume 3: Checks and Balances of Terror
By John Huxley
28th Apr 04  If your only option to defend the Earth against giant monsters was a dilapidated twelve year old robot operated by office workers, what would you do? Build a better one and get some real pilots in, of course! This is exactly what happens in the third volume of Dai-Guard, much to the dismay of Akagi and the rest of the Dai-Guard crew. Having seen Dai-Guard humiliate them for the last time, the military unveil their new, more advanced robot called Kokubogar, looking something like a dark green version Dai-Guard. To the surprise of everyone at 21st Century Security, the man at head of this military project is none other than their very own Shirota, who defected back to his original employers after betraying everyone on the Dai-Guard team. Understandably annoyed by the whole situation, Akagi challenges Shirota and the Kokubogar to a televised showdown to settle the score once and for all. Little does he know one of the Kokubogar's pilots is an old teacher of his. Very little is made of this revelation; Shirota also has some connection to the teacher character but it's never really expanded any further. It seems like the character is only introduced to give the later action scenes a little more emotion, as both Akagi and Shirota try desperately to rescue their beloved friend and/or teacher. Kokubogar, however, is a plot device that doesn't feel tacked on. One of Dai-Guard's unique selling points is the realistic way in which it looks at the practicality of owning and operating a giant robot; saving lives is an costly business and 21st Century Security isn't best pleased that the pilots of their ultra-expensive robot are so reckless. So, when the military introduce a rival robot with a fully-trained and dedicated crew, the whole thing seems like a natural progression for the series. They're certainly willing to milk the scenario for all it's worth - Kokubogar sticks around for three episodes and the aftermath continues in to a fourth. Luckily for Dai-Guard and for us viewers, the introduction of Kokubogar prevents the show from becoming overly repetitive - there's only so many times you can watch Dai-Guard defeat yet another Heterodyne against all the odds before it starts to become routine. Giving them a new enemy to fight, if only for a few episodes, makes for a refreshing change. The Kokubogar storyline also gives Shirota the chance to once again play the bad guy, even if he's not at it for very long. For me, he's quickly becoming the most interesting character in Dai-Guard despite his bleak appearance. With these four episodes, I really think Dai-Guard has moved up a gear. It's still far from the best mech show around, but the introduction of the new storyline has given the series more direction. Hopefully these improvements can be carried through to the next volume, although with Kokubogar making his exit within the space of the four episodes on this disc, it remains to be seen if Dai-Guard can keep the same kind of pace with new storylines. Here's hoping it doesn't return to its old self...
R2 DVD Notes
Features: English and Japanese audio, English subtitles, clean open/close, production sketches, ADV previews
Notes: Almost identical to the last two discs, with the added inclusion of a mini documentary taking a look around Japan with the Dai-Guard (real-life) cast and crew. Lasting a few minutes, this is a series of location shots presumably used to scout potential locations for the show. That's only a guess, mind, as the feature doesn't contain any audio bar the music track. The menu system is clean, attractive and easy to navigate, as is the case with all of ADV's recent releases. The menu design mirrors the presentation of the packaging with bright, bold black and yellow stripes over a brush metal surface which really do catch the eye. An attractive package that looks great sitting on a shelf.
-- John Huxley 28th Apr 04
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