Birth: A War of Two Worlds!

to previous reviewer:

i found the original dub of Planet Busters to be one of the most entertaining english dubs I have ever heard. After finally getting Birth i was a little dissappointed in the original japanese diologue in comparison. The animation in this feature has a lot of quirky elements and I felt that the planet busters english language edit brought out that quirkiness the best. However, planet busters edit cut out a good amount of scenes from the feature (to presumably move the story along) however the story/plot is often convoluted because of this. So I am happy that when I viewed Birth I saw alot of new animated sequences and even certain elements to the story are different (some good, some bad differences). Of course the English dub on this ADV release is horrendously unwatchable (as usual), I was really hoping the english language version would be the Orion Planet Busters cut (maybe some day).

So overall: this feature is a hidden gem of action packed and interesting animation (as previous reviewer stated), and it is different cut than the Orion Planet Busters release (which is my favorite and i will always have a spot in my heart for). Still this release is quite a unique cartoon that any animation buff should check out.

Birth also known as Planet Busters or The World of Talisma, due to previous English dubs from Harmony Gold and Streamline pictures on VHS. This is a 1984 anime and is credited with being the very first direct to video released in Japan. Luckily ADV released this from the remastered Japanese print used on the R2 DVD release and the results are stunning. The colours literally jump off the screen.

The back story is Aqualoid was once a prosperous planet, but an attack from a mysterious life force, the Inorganics, transformeed it into a post-apocalyptic shell of its former self. When Nam finds a mysterious sword, he is suddenly the object of a planet-wide chase. With the Inorganics closing in, will Nam and his friends discover the secret of the sword and save their world? Or will they destroy Aqualoid in favor of a new Birth?

Birth was an ambitious, high production, experiment and is a must for any fan of vintage animation. The story is actually pretty good, it just takes time for it to unfold. At 80 minutes it's defintly worth picking up a copy up for a couple of dollars. One of the most memorable scenes is right at the end when the characters are in space and they talk to these deity beings about the meaning of life, only you hear no dialogue because human ears are not evolved enough to understand it yet.

Rating - A

I saw this movie when I was a kid, but did not understand the story...Now more than 10 years later, I can see why...There is almost none, as some Japanese animations do. Still the animation itself, directed by Kanada is superb in many aspects. Any fan of good animation will love this movie. This DVD lacks the ending dialogue!!