DICE

Publisher
Bandai
Director
Jun Kamiya
Production
Bandai, Studio Galapagos, XEBEC
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 episodes
Year
2004

D.I.C.E. V4

By David Rasmussen
30th Dec 05

We’re coming near to the end of 2005, so let’s bring this series some closure review wise before then… though more than likely the last reviews will probably post at the start of January (so apologies if I’m still talking about New Years resolutions at the start of January).
Breakfast… does it weight on your mind? Does it haunt your every thought? Are you thinking of it now… and it’s not morning wherever you are living?
If that is the case then perhaps you are living a life of Saturday mornings, and once again in the virtues of Saturday mornings of shows you watch for the campy fun we go back to the series that lives the life of the Saturday morning (one review at a time), BANDAI’s D.I.C.E. (DNA Integrated Cybernetic Enterprises). Once again -- wait, this time we’ll need a recap.

D.I.C.E. DVD V. 4 - The Phantom Knight
Previously…
Well after so many episode who would have thought that the time would come for recaps, but now that information has come to light concerning the Phantom Knight (who may or may not be Jet’s long thought dead bro), a mysterious group (who seems to know something about a planet of eternal youth and pack their own DinoBreakers which isn’t supposed to be since D.IC.E. is supposed to have the only DinoBreakers), and inklings of strange things to come we come to the point that a underlying plot that’ll tie the series up in a nice tidy conclusion is coming… now what?

Episode 15 - Terror Under the Sea
Under the sea! Under the sea… please, no badly sung Jamaican music about the wonders of “under the sea”! The Little Mermaid was enough of that for me!

When an unmanned freighter crashlands deep in the sea of a planet presently suffering a “cold war” with an aquatic race on another planet it looks like there may be more than meets then eye on this “salvage”.
Word is there should be a “subspace engine” on board, and D.I.C.E. is sent in to retrieve it, only that is most certainly NOT what’s on that ship, and it looks like this little “Cold war” may turn cataclysmic.
Today’s lesson? Friends don’t let their governments build doomsday weapons.

Episode 16 - Miss Lily’s Memories
So where do you go after a near cold war calamity? How about we take Jet down to the ball game…
(cue “Take me out to the ball game!”) Take him down to the ballgame, take him down to the game! Buy him some hot dogs and then you watch, as he fights with an old woman over lunch! Root root root as he gets stuck with cleaning duty, only to get stuck stuck watching that old woman from the old ball game!
(Ok, ok, I’ll stop singing).

Yeah. Apparently she liked him so much that she hired his “help” to get her to this planet for a “vacation”! Sure she’s generous and all, and abit cranky, but what is the deal with her! Maybe being on that world she wanted to go to will reveal something… which it will.
WARNING : Get ready for some serious elder road rage served up with a side of “love story gone wrong”.

Episode 17 - Fugitive Android
Somehow I don’t think this’ll be like that other Fugitive, not starring either Harrison Ford or Tommy Lee Jones. But it does have a cute female bot so I guess that’s better than Harrison Ford!
When a cute female bot offs and absconds with vital data after being declared “obsolete” by her uncaring owner it looks like she’s going to be declared “Enemy of the State” by the status quo authority!
Even the “Phantom Knight” is out to get her for some reason, and boy is she going to get no tea nor sympathy from anyone it seems! Talk about a bad day!

Episode 18 - Trusting the Enemy
Looks like we’re going back to the cold war planets of Episode 15, and it looks like that female spy who was responsible for the incident of Episode 15 might be helpful in saving a fellow D.I.C.E. member from a different unit who crashlanded on her homeworld. And in order to help she… is going to be broken out of the prison she’s being held in?!? Damn!! Looks like torture is not approved by D.I.C.E., so goodbye cold war sensibility, hello intergalactic strife! It can only get “D.I.C.E.-ier” from there. Oh, yeah, things will be D.I.C.E.-er especially since the guy they’re looking to save landed on a not so friendly island paradise.

Ok. Breakdown time.

D.I.C.E. Breakdown the 4th
What’s Hot?
We keep to the premise that we’re still living that Saturday morning, especially now that we have a underlying “plot” that should wrap up the season at the end… you know, the thing about the planet where eternal youth can be found and the organization hot on hiding it’s secrets.
Anyway at least this DVD doesn’t harp on it like last DVD, and you return to the episodial thing (though you do have the “ongoing” thread of the cold war in two episodes so that’s OK too) and that’s a good thing.

What’s Not?
It’s not everyone’s cup of tea (Earl Grey, hot), so you might not be the biggest fan of the series. Still if you like a good campy yarn with a little depth to it (not too much but some) it should be interesting to you.
The voice acting is still sketchy and not the best, but it’s not the worse you’ve heard (and after repeated exposures to Azumanga Daioh in English I’m beginning to change my opinion of it) so you can’t judge it on that at least. You don’t have to watch it, BANDAI has a ton of series for you if this isn’t your fave, but still if you like campy excess then you might find a spot in your heart for it. Who knows!

Moments to Remember?
It has it’s moments, once again, just so you know.

What to Ignore?
Episode 17 was abit frustrating… not my favorite to say the least.
Now the thing I can’t stress enough… the EXTRA! I know it’s far too late to bring this up, but BANDAI should not have used the same PS2 game trailer over and over and over again as the one and only extra. I know I mentioned this last reviews but I’ll say it again, this needed more variety and depth even if it was only to focus on the game, but what we got… it was not good. Please, don’t do it again.

Overall?
Saturday morning lives, and it lives in the house of D.I.C.E.
I don’t know how not to get cured, but what’s an campy immune system?
It’s not like I’m proclaiming that I believe salmonella is a kind of dinosaur or anything, but a little campy might be well received if you like that sort of thing. Of course BANDAI carries a ton of fan fave series so it’s not like you must watch D.I.C.E., but if you do let me know what you thought of it.

-- David Rasmussen 30th Dec 05

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