written: 12-13-1996
Super Atragon is a fast paced, science fiction, action-adventure brought to us by AD Vision. It's based on a book called "Kaitei Gunkan" which was one of the inspirations for Space Cruiser Yamato (A.K.A. Star Blazers). The mechanical designs are done by the same person who did them for Nadia: Secret of Blue Water. AD Vision did an excellent dubbing job, but for the rabid anti-dubbers out there it is available dubbed and sub-titled on tape as well as on bi-lingual, closed-captioned laserdisc.
Besides the mechanical designs, Super Atragon also contains some Jules Verne-esque plot elements, the hidden, hyper technologically advanced race living inside the Earth, for instance. The focus of the story is The Undersea Battleship Ra. Essentially, take a Yamato class battleship, turn it into a submarine, add some Jules Verne-ish super tech from the hidden underground civilization (gotta love that big, conical drill on the front), and that's the Ra. Of course, we have to have our super-secret organization maintaining the Ra, expressly for the purpose of fighting the hidden underground civilization. The story has political intrigue and lots of action. The animation quality is superb and the musical score is, in this reviewer's opinion, the best thing to come along in Anime since Space Cruiser Yamato's main theme.
This title is highly recommended. I place it in the must-have class for sure.
Yours In Anime,
Jay The Obscure