Hey, Sports fans! It looks like the time has come for me to make my debut on the FBR, so I am going to kick things off with the 1999 animated series Blue Gender, which was localized by Funimation in the US between 2001 and 2003.

Today we’re going to take a look at the very first episode of the series, the episode that started it all, and see what it’s all about.  The episode is at the bottom of the review, so if you want to watch it before reading the review, scroll on down (it’s split into pieces, all are down there).

Diagnosed with an incurable disease and put into temporary stasis with the hope of a cure, Yuji awakes to find himself alone and fearing for his very life in the ruins of a facility that’s under attack from the Blue, insect-like creatures that are entrenched in a battle with humans.

Getting right into the thick of things let me emphasize one thing: Blue Gender’s first episode is rather ‘different’, to put it as simply as possible. While many shows would use the tried and true method of introduction that puts into perspective the world and the main characters well before anything really meaningful happens, and setting the stage and the pace for the viewer to follow along with, Blue Gender takes a different approach to this.
The approach, in this case, is the decision of telling the viewer nothing of any kind and focusing on a “John Doe” who holds no better grasp of the situation at hand than the viewer, its as if the creators were intent on playing with the viewers head, and to good effect; what little we actually learn only puts into perspective John Doe himself (cleverly without telling his name until a bit later), and its only by the end we’re vaguely introduced to the real hell that has unfolded.

It’s a good joke. Yes, “go, uh… guy! Don’t get eaten… I guess….”

Thinking about it, in writing it seems more than a little uninspired, the concept of a vague and almost cryptic introduction; yeah, haven’t seen that one before. But in actual execution it feels no where near as hollow, striking me with a sense of sympathy for the poor guy and his position; thrust into the midst of a desperate situation, powerless and alone.

As I mused above, it seems like the real goal of this episode was to be as cryptic, confusing, and vague as possible, and to that extent I think they did as good a job as possible without it feeling corny, although light on substance, the direction worked well enough to catch my interest if only for the fact that it wasn’t pushed so far that it became a joke on its own.

I am not entirely certain it’s possible for me to say that it was an enjoyable episode, simply because there wasn’t a whole lot to it; but at the same time it has given me several questions I wish to see answered and, more than that, a desire to continue watching and see where things go from where there, curious as I am about learning (or in this case, relearning) where the story will take our hero, in all of his pissed pants glory, in the episodes to come.

Oh, and if you’re wondering why I said “relearning”, I must confess that once upon a time I had seen a good portion of the series, but this was a long time ago, and my memory not being what it used to be, I no longer remember much of anything about the series beyond the basic plot, so it was actually rather nice to experience this episode as if I had never seen it before. And at that rate it would be a lie if I said I won’t continue watching.

Overall Score: C+

Funimation disabled embedding on Youtube, so here are the links to the episode.

Part 1- Opening
Part 2- Part A
Part 3- Part B
Part 4- Ending

Tags: Animation, Anime, Blue Gender, Funimation, Review, w/ Episode