Iczer-One is the classic sci-fi anime where a reluctant young girl, Nagisa, is drawn into a conflict where she must partner up with Iczer-One, a powerful and beautiful Elfish android against the evil Big Gold and the women of the Cthuwulf in order to save the Earth. Probably not the most revered of Animes, Iczer-One was the creation of the man behind other anime series such as Dangaio, Vampire Miyu(?) and more. Iczer-One had several spinoffs including at least 3 different Manga series and 2 anime sequels (well one sequel and one... weird thing loosely based on the whole "Iczer" series) Iczer-3 and Iczellion.
Iczer-1 is mostly based around Nagisa as the main character and her relationship with Iczer-One. There's enough nudity and sexual innuendo that this is definately not one for the kids, but the feel of the series is quite sugary and extremely dark at the same time. A truly awkward series this stands as one of my all time favorite Anime series, but even that won't save it from the ranty...
Why it sucks: The dubbing as a start. This was a US Renditions production, for those who aren't exactly in the know, US Renditions is one of the older Anime Distributors in the states and touted titles such as Dangaio, Kabuto, Guyver Bio-Booster Armor, Giant Robo, Macross II and a host of other anime. Sadly the poorly funded company was bought out by the European monster company, MANGA. Fortunately, most of the titles have been re-distributed by MANGA, but were either re-dubbed or altered in some way or another. Sadly there's still a LOT of great anime that Manga has yet to re-distribute, Iczer-One as a start, and even more to put onto DVD. But I've strayed way too far off of my main topic.
I mentioned the dubbing is far from great, which is true. Nagisa's voice is almost painful to hear and since the main cast is ALL FEMALE it's alarming when you hear that many women keeping their voices at such high pitches. Well, mostly it's just Nagisa and the Cthuwulf girls, save for their leader and Iczer-2. However, the voices actresses sound so awkward (Bad direction?) which is strange, they sound like the stereotypical "Kung-Fu" badly dubbed moves, but keep in time with the lip flap. While I'll admit I'm overexaggerating this, the ladies in this I've heard in other anime and their previous characters never sounded so... fake. The animation is far from the best you'll see. It's by no means as outdated as the original Mobile suit Gundam, but it's a far cry from Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. And the silly costumes, monsters and ridiculous vehicles are the equivalent of the rubberiest Godzilla costume this side of Yokohama. Looks totally ridiculous and is VERY hard to take seriously. Then there's the flimsy story which is also fairly hard to take seriously, several major plot points (mostly surrounding the unusually happy, yet bittersweet ending) such as Iczer-1 all of a sudden becoming God(?!), Iczer finally having emotions when there was nothing to indicate she didn't since the series began (She tells Nagisa that she LOVES HER!!! Love is an emotion!!! >_<), the weird "pocket universes" that keep popping up where the bad guys try to trap Iczer-1 and Nagisa repeatedly and then there's Big Gold... Big Gold is some sort of... Evil Djin or something that took command of the Cthuwulf and turned tons of them into monsters and is SOMEHOW is some ridiculously convoluted way a PART of Iczer-1. Eh? Other than those details, nothing else springs to mind as a big problem. Except the horrifying monsters, those things give me nightmares ^_^;
Why it rules!: The soft spoken Iczer-1, the bloodthirsty Iczer-2, Mournful Cepia, Timid Nagisa... It's a frickin' Anime babefest!!!! :D I can't get enough of it! I crave to get this DVD!!! The robot fights are awesome, and though the mediocre fights between Iczers 1 & 2 aren't the best, when you see Iczer-1 got toe to toe with some of these monster/robot things (Boids? Zoids? Voids? Could never quite understand what they were saying) I guarantee you'll be at least somewhat impressed. And despite the wholly awkward feel, this anime has a classic charm that showcases drastic differences from things you normally see in the USA. Lesbians, graphic violence, cheesy costumes, wicked fight scenes, scantily clad anime babefest and big robots. A predictably strange combination that was successful for some strange reason. The characters were extremely likeable, even Iczer-2 and the Cthuwulf's leader had some decent bit of characterization to them that you actually CARED for them. A great work altogether that you should really try if you can find it. VERY worthwhile.
I Smell Tie-in: Well, there weren't a whole lot of merchandising blitzes for the Iczer saga. However the was an artbook released featuring several pictures of Iczer-1 and Nagisa as well as cover art from the videos and a theatrical style poster piece. Also there's the various manga/comic book series most of which I believe are available through Antarctic Press.
Then there's the Sequel, Iczer-3, starring a young android of the same name who fills in for Iczer-1 after she's hurt badly fighting the pockets of resistence Big Gold's influence has left behind. Iczer-3 goes to earth to find Nagisa and bond with her in the same way Iczer one did in order to stop yet another terrifying menace.
And as much as I'll try, I can't forget the non-canon OAV Iczellion. Pretending the entire original Iczer saga didn't happen, the original Nagisa's grandaughter (at least that's the backstory I recall) who just happens to aspire to be a famous wrestler. Nagisa is thrust into a secret world of super heroines who by day lead normal (if eccentric) lifestyles, but by night, battle monsters with the help of their robot partners/suits called "Iczellions". An OKAY anime, but nothing worth beating old people to get. Other than that, there isn't a whole lot of Iczer related swag out there.
Overall: Iczer-1 stands as one of my favorite series in all my anime fandom. It has this irresistable charm to it few anime can boast as well as having a strangely likeable cast. Now I won't lie and say that the anime hottie onslaught didn't earn this thing some bias points, but I haven't heard a whole lot of complaints from those who I screened it with. I just hope this particular title will come onto DVD and special features be damned, I simply want the anime!!! >_< However, not that I'm complaining, but this whole thing has borderline hentai all over it! Tentacles, boobs, lesbian sex, short skirts, skin tight jumpsuits... *sigh* Er, not that a lot of uh, MY anime has this sort of stuff in it... But this one definately aimed at tesosterone pumped males or ladies who fancy other ladies. I doesn't have any real sex bits, but there's enough nudity and suggestive stuff to make it a little past softcore anime porn. It still rocks, but this is something to keep in mind as either a buying point or deterrent. ^_^