Salamander
Entry updated 2 September 2024. Tagged: TV.
Japanese Original Video Animation (OVA) (1988-1989). Studio Pierrot. Loosely based on Salamander (vt Life Force; vt Raifu Fōsu) and Gradius, scrolling shooter arcade Videogames created by Konami. Directed by Hisayuki Toriumi. Written by Kazusane Hirashima. Voice cast include Noriko Hidaka, Kazuhiko Inoue, Sumi Shimamoto, Hirotaka Suzuoki and Koji Tsujitani. Three episodes of circa 53 minutes. Colour.
The three OVAs were released with English subtitles as Volume 1 Salamander, Volume 2 Salamander: Meditating Paula and Volume 3 Salamander: Gofer's Ambition. Narratively this makes Meditating Paula a prequel to Volume 1. However, at the end of that OVA there is an unsubtitled promo showing events from Volume 1, as if promoting the next release, and The Anime Encyclopedia lists the OVA in the following order: Salamander Basic Saga: Meditating Paola, followed by Intermediate Saga (describing the events on Latis – called Lotus here) and finally Advanced Saga: The Ambition on Gofar. On the assumption the original Japanese OVAs were released in the latter sequence, this entry follows that order, though using the names from the English subtitled version.
Meditating Paula gives the year as 2381: it opens with a black cloud destroying the Spaceship carrying the President of Gradius. Investigating, three space pilots – Stephanie (Hidaka) (the President's daughter), Dan (Tsujitani) and Eddie (Inoue) – come across a derelict spaceship whose Suspended Animation pods hold one survivor, named Paula (Shimamoto). She warns of the Bacterian, a black gas cloud that covered her planet, Sonul 5, turning all inorganic matter organic. The cloud now arrives in Gradius' solar system, but Paula says that meditation has enabled her to identify (see ESP) the Bacterian's base, a Living World: the three fly there but are attacked, only surviving because of a warning voice in Stephanie's head, which she recognizes as her father. Later, Paula tells Eddie the Bacterian must have a co-ordinator on Gradius, leading him to a buried obelisk that resembles an Easter Island statue and persuades him to destroy it. She then reveals herself to be a Bacterian agent – the obelisk was the only thing protecting Gradius: her mission now complete, she turns into a dragon and departs. Eddie feels betrayed: a refugee from another planet himself, he had felt a kinship with Paula (he compares them both with boat people). Meanwhile, Stephanie and Dan have reached Fortress Zelos, a giant spaceship, led there by Stephanie's father: he has become the "cyberbrain" (presumably a Cyborged Brain in a Box) that coordinates the Bacterian attack. A little of his humanity remains, but it is failing – he implores Stephanie "destroy me with your own hands". This is done, though Dan seems to be the one that fires the fatal rockets.
In the middle OVA, a Space Obelisk resembling the one in the previous volume orbits the planet Latis, emitting electrical waves that spaceships use to navigate. Below, work to build a statue for the late king uncovers an identical obelisk and – despite fears voiced by Priest Doromo (see Religion) that it will awake the sleeping dragon of legend – the heir, Lord British (Suzuoki), insists it be moved. Unfortunately, this is botched and the obelisk is broken. There are earthquakes and floods (see Disaster) caused by a dragon stirring inside the planet, whilst above the Space Obelisk splits in two and disappears. Another planet now approaches Latis, which Doromo identifies as Salamander, inside which another dragon sleeps: the Latis military investigates, only to be shot down.
Aware of vague stories that the planet Gradius had faced similar problems with Bacterian – and despite a history of animosity between the two planets – Doromo invites three heroes from Gradius to help: Dan, Stephanie and Eddie. Dan has some idea of the concept of diplomacy, the other two less. After they brief Lord British he orders an attack, despite their protests at this rashness; he insists this is a problem for Latis to solve – but his fleet is virtually wiped out by Salamander's organic spaceships. Stephanie slaps him, irate at this slaughter and remembering her father's death, whilst Eddie says he will leave – now revealing himself to be a descendant of Latis' old royal family, who fled to Gradius (thus the planets' acrimony). Lord British, a pilot himself, says he will take his place. Their three ships enter Salamander's core, but the planet's seemingly indestructible dragon prevents them from destroying the Bacterian's brain. Eddie now reappears, unable to desert his friends, and sacrifices himself by killing the dragon from the inside – the others duly destroy the brain, getting out just before the planet explodes. Later, Lord British concludes the obelisks were built by Scientists long ago, with their purpose eventually forgotten. He then proposes to Stephanie, who says if he is still waiting after all the Bacterian have been destroyed, she will think about it.
The final OVA opens with the signing of a peace treaty between Latis and Gradius (see Politics), with Lord British trying to work up the confidence to propose to Stephanie. However, Stephanie is kidnapped by a Bacterian dragon, whilst an artificial sun has appeared in the Gradiun solar system, which a Bacterian spaceship is seen entering through a sunspot. Stephanie was aboard: once in the sun Paula informs her she will become the cyberbrain for Gofer, a Monster. There is a battle between Gradius and Bacterian fighters, during which Dan and British manage to sneak their craft aboard the Bacterian's giant spaceship, and so enter the sun without being burnt up – enabling them to free their friend before she is assimilated. They depart, and the knowledge Stephanie has gained from the Bacterian enables them to fight off its attacks. Paula decides she will have to be Gofer's brain, becoming a giant phoenix-like dragon: but Stephanie pilots British's ship and, with Dan, destroys it – though Stephanie senses Paula's spirit escaping. British, seeing how well they work together, realizes Dan is the ideal partner for Stephanie.
Salamander is a moderately enjoyable Anime series; budgetary constraints mean the animation is usually unremarkable, though there are some good set pieces. Watching it in the English subtitle order (that is 2-1-3) does deepen the poignancy of Eddie's story, as the viewer realizes Paula is betraying him as soon as they see it is an obelisk she wants destroyed. The nature of the Bacterian – which is able to create organic spacecraft – does seem to shift, being described as a "space bacterium ... a biohazard" (see Biology) at one point, but becoming crystalline by the third OVA. The relationship between it and the dragons is unclear; familiarity with the videogame might help here. The Anime Encyclopedia praises the original's "cogent hard science script" but condemns the English version as having "the worst subtitling in anime history": it is certainly bad, with such lines as "thousands of light years in the future". [SP]
further reading
Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy. The Anime Encyclopedia: Revised and Expanded Edition: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917 (Berkeley, California: Stone Bridge Press, 2006). [encyclopedia: pb/Tezuka Pro]
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