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 4: Red Tape and Proud Hearts
By John Huxley
28th Apr 04  We've reached the half-way point of Dai-Guard. You know what that means. Yes, a god awful recap episode! Unfortunately Dai-Guard's recap episode is worse than most, not because the series generally isn't very interesting, it's because this episode offers very little that we haven't already seen or didn't already know. Compared to some of the more imaginative efforts over the years, this recap episode shows very little creativity. I really wouldn't blame you if you just skipped a few chapters to the next episode. Thankfully the recap episode is placed at the start of this disc, so we're blessed with three totally new episodes to help us forget all about it. The first of these sees the current 21st Century Security president Ookouchi dismissed, partially for his misjudgement during the original Heterodyne attack over twelve years ago. This would prove an interesting plot point if it were not for the fact that Ookouchi is a character that gets very little screen time - I couldn't even remember who he was until he showed his face! Ookouchi's departure paves the way for a new character; Shirota's young ex-subordinate and second military adviser to join the Dai-Guard team, Saeki. Having been trained by Shirota himself, Saeki is a hardened military man who won't tolerate the kind of recklessness the Dai-Guard pilots are accustomed to. For Saeki it comes as a surprise to see his former mentor a changed man, no longer the ambitious soldier he once knew. Saeki is a nice addition to the cast, taking over where Shirota left off; playing the bad guy in charge of the Dai-Guard and its crew. The presence of this type of character adds some much needed tension within the 21st Century Security offices. Later, Saeki's influence coupled with his dislike of the Dai-Guard crew sees a totally new division created within 21st Century Security, dedicated to the operation of Dai-Guard. Three new fully trained pilots are instated in place of Akagi, Ibuki and Aoyama who are willing to bend to Saeki's every order. Even worse, the whole of Public Relations Division 2 is to be dissolved, it's employees given new posts around the country. Despite its retro influences, Dai-Guard has the look and feel of a more modern show. The animation is adequate, never really pushing the limits either technically or artistically, yet also retaining the same decent standards throughout the first half of the series at least. The character design isn't as outlandish as the spikey sideburn creations of Go Nagai, but they are sufficiently detailed and expressive. The retro influence really beings to show through in the mechanical designs - Dai-Guard looks like a distant cousin of Mazinger Z and some of its adversaries wouldn't look out of place on an Ultraman show. It's an interesting mix of old and new that at least gives Dai-Guard a unique appearance. It's great to see Dai-Guard keep the interest level high with plenty of new happenings. After the last volume raised expectations, I'm glad to report this fourth disc really doesn't disappoint, regardless of the horrible recap episode. It's a series that's still haunted by the same old familiar problems, however, and I don't think it will ever overcome these unless it suddenly metamorphosis into a totally different series. It's still a decent series that I'm enjoying more and more since the first volume failed to impress. Miracles can happen, I guess...
R2 DVD Notes
Features: English and Japanese audio, English subtitles, clean open/close, production sketches, original Japanese TV spots, ADV previews
Notes: Another good turn out for Dai-Guard. All the regular features are back, including 33 production sketches. The original Japanese TV spots, a new feature for this volume, consists of a surprisingly large amount of Japanese TV adverts that are unfortunately all too similar to stomach watching for more than a minute or so. Even so, it's good to see some new features added to an already solid disc.
-- John Huxley 28th Apr 04
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