Queen Emeraldas
Publisher
ADV
Director
Yuji Asada
Production
Dynamic Planning, Maxam, OLM, Queen Emeraldas Production Commitee, Tsuburaya Eizo
Country of origin
Japan
Format
OVA
Running time
60 mins
Year
1998
Queen Emeraldas
By John Huxley
12th Aug 04  Even if you haven't heard of the name Leiji Matsumoto before now (also known as Reiji Matsumoto, but we'll stick with Leiji for now), you've undoubtedly come across his work in some shape or form. His distinctive character design with their slender figures, flowing hair and sharp facial structure will be familiar to all but the most reclusive amongst us, thanks in part to his work on the Daft Punk videos and the Interstella 5555 feature (also reviewed on this site). Whilst he may have found a new audience in working with the French musicians, his most important and influential work is certainly his 'Harlock Universe', an approximate continuation which includes Galaxy Express 999, Captain Harlock himself and Cosmo Warrior Zero amongst others. Queen Emeraldas is the latest addition to the Harlock stable, and the first time the Emeraldas character has been given the starring role since her TV special Eternal Voyager Emeraldas. Split across two half hour OVA episodes, Queen Emeraldas tells the story of a legendary warrior who wanders the stars in memory of love long lost. As beautiful as she is wise, Emeraldas sparks fear in the hearts of her enemies and admiration and respect from her followers. Opposing Emeraldas is the ruthless Arfressian fleet, led by Queen Bararuda and her loyal underlings. It is these overzealous minions that threaten the livelihood of a small mining town on a nearby planet called Daibaran, an act of oppression that Emeraldas won't take lying down. Having befriended Hiroshi, a spunky young lad who dreams of one day becoming a legendary adventurer like Emeraldas and Harlock, Emeraldas and the people of Daibaran take up arms against the Arfressians in a bid for their freedom. Considering that Emeraldas adorns the cover of the DVD and lends her name to the title you might be surprised to learn that she is in fact not the main focus of Queen Emeraldas at all. This honour goes to Hiroshi instead, a lively and determined youth who finds himself right in the middle of the action having caught the attention of a particularly intolerant Arfressian soldier. The writers and the director, perhaps wisely, must have considered Emeraldas not to be strong enough to carry this feature on her own. Her cold, dour personality and lack of real emotion makes for an intriguing character that brings a certain something to the mix, but given the lead role I think she would struggle to maintain our interest for long. Sharing the limelight with Hiroshi not only keeps the momentum going throughout, but also gives our intrepid heroine the opportunity to show herself to be more humane than her otherwise emotionless appearance might suggest; helping the young lad and his friends escape the clutches of the evil Arfressians is an act of chivalry that puts us in no doubt as to where her intentions lie. Character development is obviously thin on the ground considering the short running time, but we are treated to a little background information on Emeraldas thanks to a few timely flashbacks (involving Tochiro and Harlock, no less!). It would be easy to blame Queen Emeraldas for assuming too much of the viewer and requiring them to have some familiarity with the Harlock Universe, but in fact this is not the case at all. Although they may be a little brief, each character is afforded their own introduction during the first episode that tells you all you need to know and helps set the scene for the finale. Sure, you're not clued-up on every little detail, but you're told all you need to know to really enjoy Queen Emeraldas; it's a great introduction to the Harlock Universe. The obvious drawback of dedicating time to introduce each character is that the first episode ends up feeling like time wasted, leaving only the last half hour to come up with the goods. It certainly could have benefited greatly from an extra few minutes running time. In case you hadn't guessed already, the world of Queen Emeraldas is not one of subtlety and nuance. Bold, dramatic and sentimental, Leiji Matsumoto's story telling is full of crystal-clear morals and hackneyed dialogue that would make George Lucas jealous (indeed, some argue that Lucas was influenced by Matsumoto's Space Battleship Yamato when creating his 1977 epic Star Wars, but this is unproven). This is classic space opera that's very (and quite rightly so) unashamed of its heritage. No attempt has been made to update the story to suit modern demands; there is no trace of Evangelion's heavy shadow here, and Queen Emeraldas is all the better for it. Along with this outdated ethos comes an equally antiquated set of character designs. A hotchpotch of various influences, Matsumoto's universe is a wonderfully stylised creation that as beautiful as it is eccentric. For example, Emeraldas sports a rather fetching pirate-like costume (complete with jolly roger), sailing through the stars aboard her wooden (!) boat shaped spaceship that's powered by what would appear to be a gigantic WWII submarine/zeppelin hybrid. We're taken from Star Trek to the wild west to Treasure Island in the space of minutes. And if that all sounds a little bizarre to you, that's because it is! But somehow everything clicks in to place with the greatest of ease; only the most tasteless would argue that Queen Emeraldas is anything but a visually opulent piece of animation. Much like Mazinkaiser, Queen Emeraldas' main appeal lies in its retro heritage. However, unlike the updated Mazinger outing, Queen Emeraldas does not quite have the credentials to support the impressive resume. The short running time cripples an otherwise solid story and really leaves us wanting more. That said, Matsumoto fans will want to snap this one up without hesitation, and if you're looking for an introduction to his famous Harlock Universe, you could do much worse than Queen Emeraldas.
R2 DVD Notes
Features: English 2.0 and Japanese 2.0 audio, English subtitles, character profiles, scene slide video
Release information: UK 19th July, ADV
Notes: The first thing that will catch your eye when you pick up the Queen Emeraldas case is the gorgeous cover artwork that has a sultry Emeraldas splayed across her chair in an effortlessly cool pose. A similarly attractive painting adorns the single page leaflet that's packaged alongside the DVD, with a few ADV adverts on the reverse. Extras are thin on the ground with only character profiles and a scene slide video to keep you interested. The character profiles are brief and only cover the two central characters; given the scope of the Harlock Universe it would have been nice to have a little more information on some of the secondary characters (although this might have been difficult if not impossible considering the almost nonexistent continuity of this 'universe'). Likewise the scene slideshow is something of a disappointment also, with only a few still images of the OVA to browse though. Even considering all the regular audio and subtitle options this is a mediocre DVD at best when compared to some of ADV's other recent releases.
-- John Huxley 12th Aug 04
Queen Emeraldas Images                
|
