Daimajū Gekitō: Hagane no Oni
Entry updated 21 July 2025. Tagged: Film.
Japanese Original Video Animation (OVA) (1987; vt Demon of Steel: Battle of the Great Demon Beasts; vt Steel Devil). AIC. Directed by Toshihiro Hirano. Written by Shō Aikawa. Voice cast includes Toshio Furukawa, Kazuhiko Inoue, Osamu Saka, Mayumi Shō and Sakiko Tamagawa. 60 minutes. Colour.
In 1999 a research station on the island of Sansara discovers a new type of quark ("the quark of Malhuder") (see Physics), leading to the development of the Malhuder particle laser (see Weapons), which is installed in a satellite and tested by firing into the sea. This creates a hole in the sky, with a huge object passing through and sinking into the ocean: Takuya (Furukawa) and Haruka (Inoue), two young Scientists monitoring the test in a miniature submarine, are ordered to collect a sample from the object. Takuya, angered at the risk they were put under, leaves the research station; but Haruka stays to study the sample. Three years later Takuya receives a letter from Haruka asking him to return and kill him.
Puzzled, Takuya visits Sansara, only to have Haruka deny sending the letter – but Rui (Tamagawa) and Lyse (Shō) – Haruka's girlfriend and Takuya's ex, respectively – say he has become increasingly schizophrenic. When a radar centre on another part of the island is destroyed by a giant Monster, a piece of material it leaves behind resembles the sample; Takuya questions Galun (Saka), the centre's director, who reveals Haruka's theory that "the quark of Malhuder" was a "dimensional particle ... and by transforming the energy of these particles with the laser a path to another Dimension" was opened. Since then his research has involved "trying to recover bodies from other dimensions" using this technique. We subsequently learn that he succeeded, but has been possessed by what he brought through. The army – concerned at recent events – now takes over the research centre; Haruka kills a prying soldier, and then Rui, the latter act presumably rousing his suppressed self to phone Takuya and again beg to be killed.
Takuya's mobile phone tracker enables him to locate Haruka at his laboratory, where the scientist explains his experiments led to "a spirit of destruction" crossing into our dimension, something which he welcomes. Under pressure, the real Haruka briefly surfaces and gives a location, but then – as the army and Lyse arrive – he screams, a screen behind him shatters and he levitates into the mouth of a monster at the back of his laboratory, which attacks. As the research centre is torn apart, Takuya and Lyse speed via motorcycle to the location Haruka gave (Lyse dying as they arrive); here Takuya finds a submersible, which he uses to reach the currently inanimate being that sank three years ago. He and his vehicle are subsumed into the body and a vast Mecha awakens and arises from the sea-bed. As with Haruka, cables from the creature have entered Takuya's body (see Parasitism and Symbiosis): there is a battle which ends a little confusingly, though Haruka's mecha is vanquished and Takuya is left floating on a piece of wreckage, perhaps alive, perhaps dead.
The mecha, which look a little as if composed of dinosaur skeletons, seem partially organic but (in this dimension at least) need to be linked to a human to become active: it might be argued they are Cyborg mecha. Haruka's held "a spirit of destruction": what Takuya's was is not explained. Galun had supported Haruka's research because he believed the other dimensions could be a source of matter and energy (see Power Sources). Most of the time Daimajū Gekitō: Hagane no Oni's animation is merely functional, though with occasionally interesting backgrounds: it steps up in battle and other scenes of destruction. More about the mecha and their origin would have been welcome, as their partially organic nature is potentially interesting. The Anime's major faults are the characterization and the cast's performance: Takuya is petulant and charmless, whilst Galun is played as a major Villain, complete with evil laugh, which seems disproportionate to his actions of setting his staff a dangerous task and being accused of taking credit for others' research. Rui does help Takuya at one point, but she and Lyse mainly fret; their deaths are casually treated, particularly Lyse's (see Women in SF). [SP]
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