Vandread

Vandread, directed by Takeshi Mori, is an anime that attempts to combine elements of action, romance, comedy, and the occasional piece of Star Trek-ish technobabble, and is achieved with a certain degree of skill. Vandread presents a mix of cleanly rendered CG-combat, well-animated characters in the BESM style, comedy ranging from slapstick to subtle humor, and characters and action sequences that aim to be both memorable and entertaining.

The setup for this anime is fairly implausible (although it is later explained), but in this universe where men and women are completely segregated (on completely different planets, at that!), the gender wars are more than just a metaphor. Hibiki Tokai, a 3rd class laboror, takes up a bet to steal a high-tech humanoid robot, known as a Vanguard[?], from the male attack force about to fight the 'evil females.' Caught onboard when it takes off, the ship is rapidly attacked and all males evacuated, with the exception of Hibiki, Duero McFile (Ship's doctor and total badass[?]), and Bart Garsus (Designed as an unfortunate and pathetic character who doesn't really mature until the 2nd season, when he becomes genuinely likable. Oh, Bart is also the only one who can pilot the Nirvana). Stuck onboard the damaged warship with female pirates all around, things seem to have his an all time low until the retreating males fire a rather large torpedo at the ship to prevent it from falling into women's hands. The core of the ship, a mysterious crystalline entity, protects itself by eradicating the missile and fusing the large warship with the female craft, making a quirky ship with very smooth lines, a host of technical problems, which episodes are often aimed at solving, and various hidden capabilites that become apparent in later episodes. Three guys on a ship full of girls, might seem like a great setup for a hentai, but it's not that simple.

In this alternate, futuristic universe. Men and women consider each other to be completely separate species (Hibiki gains the nickname 'Mr. Alien' from one of the many female leads), and the three put up with much abuse at the hands of their female captors, but gradually make their presense accepted: Hibiki as a primo fighter, Duero as a skilled doctor AND engineer, and Bart as the ship's navigator.

This review is heavily focusing on the three males, simply because it is easiest. There are many female leads, and it's far more fun to watch the anime than read an explanation of the development of various relationships.

The story of the season is the trip to the female homeworld, and along the way the crew encounters strange, robotic creatures that are both enigmatic and rather borg-like, though they do not communicate at all. The subsequent battles provide the action sequences for the first two seasons, with the setup for a third season being quite clear.