Bad Idea Train Part 2: Green Legend Ran

Time for the second installment featuring characters making terrible choices.  This is another title that came to mind when I chose this topic.  Without further ado, I present to you:

Green Legend Ran

Background:
Released By: Pioneer
Length: 140 minutes (Includes Bonus Features)
Language: Sub and Dub both included, Dub reviewed
Available on Netflix: Yes
Green Legend Ran was released by the now defunct Pioneer Entertainment as a movie instead of in the original 3 OVA format.  The VHS release was edited to remove scenes of nudity and some profane language.  This version was also shown on the Sci-Fi Channel in the 90's.  Pioneer eventually released an uncut version as their first ever DVD release.  They had an odd way of releasing this DVD.  Pioneer placed the DVD in a CD jewel case which slid into a DVD sized cardboard sleeve.  I was lucky enough to find one of these original releases as pictured below.  A normal case was issued later on.

Original DVD Casing

Characters and Organizations
 There are three major forces at work in this series; the Rodoists, the Hazzard, and the Food and Water Merchants.  That last one will make more sense in a bit.  First I'll introduce the protagonists.  Ran, the series namesake, is a fairly standard male lead.  He is brash, orphaned and full of angst.  Ran has two main goals in life prior to meeting our heroine; harass the Rodoists and find the man with the scarred chest who killed his mother. 

Trying to look manly, and failing

I'm so ANGRY!!!!!!!!

Aira is our female lead, easily distinguished by her silver hair.  She is a caring and compassionate individual with odd visions.  She starts off the series as a member of a local branch of the Hazzard.  Her main duties are collecting water and medicinal herbs for the injured warriors.

Aira collects scarce water for the Hazzard

Weird Psychic Visions

Now for the three major groups involved.  First off, the Rodoists.  This is the religious groups that controls the scarce water and plant resources of the planet.  Despite their grotesque appearances the Rodoists are humans.  They were apparently mutated from living too close to the Holy Green sites.

Rodoists doling out water to the, understandably, unwashed masses

Archbishop, leader of the Rodoists, and his topless water wench 

The Hazzard is a guerrilla mercenary group trying to destroy the Rodoists and their god, the Holy Mother.  They have local branches in most cities and a roaming central command.  Unlike the local branches, the central command and their general, Kiba, are ruthless.  They have no qualms about torturing children and attacking innocent civilians.

This is as happy as Kiba gets

Kiba believes torture needs that personal touch

The last group is the Merchants.  They collect and sell water as well as edible rocks.  This group splintered off from the Hazzard when that group became excessively violent and bloodthirsty. Their leader Jeke was the former leader of Hazzard.  The merchants are trying to covertly broker peace between the Hazzard and the Rodoists.

From left to right; Forgettable Guy, Comic Relief Guy, Badass Female, Jeke

Sounds appetizing huh? Jeke applying a handmade label,

The Bad Idea:
Spoiler Alert
This bad idea happens towards the end of the movie, so if you don't want to know how it ends, skip this.

When Aira meets with the Holy Mother, she learns that her power is needed for Mother to have plants annihilate humanity.  Aira agrees to help Mother in order to spread water and forests across the planet again, but only if Mother agrees to spare humanity.  The Holy Mother claims that any revitalization of the forests will kill humanity by converting them into plants.  After hearing this, Aira still agrees to help her.  If this wasn't stupid enough, Ran stumbles upon their conversation.  He asks Aira to reconsider.  She says she needs to stay with Mother.  Rather than try to stop them from destroying humanity, Ran gets mad and storms off, leaving them to start the doomsday scenario.

That's Aira in the center. Clearly, this entity she should be trusting.

Story:
A long time ago ships from space came to Earth.  These shipped absorbed the world's plants, water, animals, and clean air and then just stayed put for some reason.  The only places to find these life essentials were in the areas immediately surrounding the ships, which became known as Holy Greens.  The only animals left, other than people, are weird, mutated, desert dolphins.

Gotta sacrifice somethin'

During the main time-frame of this movie there are only a few elders left who can even remember what rain was, let alone how society functioned before the Holy Greens. Ran is a young man who directs his teenage angst at the establishment, which in this case is the Rodoist religion.  His idea of sticking it to the man is stealing small amounts of water and giving it out to elderly villagers.  He also smokes while complaining about how polluted the air is.  You have to wonder where he got the paper for the cigarette, let alone the tobacco in a society that has so little water.

Ah, flavor country

After a botched attack by a local branch of the Hazzard, one of their members is saved by the manager of the orphanage Ran lives at.  When the stranger refuses to take Ran on his next mission, Ran sneaks into the same complex the Hazzard are trying to infiltrate.  He makes it in with ease and stealth, while the actual revolutionaries trip every trap and alarm on their way in.

Difference between me and you?  I make this look good.

After Ran saves the remaining members of Hazzard attack party, they agree to take him back to their base.  Here he is introduced to Aira, apparently the only attractive girl Ran has ever met.  These two agree to go on a quick and easy mission to gather water and medicinal herbs in a small green area the Rodoists don't know of.  While there, Aira tells Ran she is self-conscious about her silver hair.  She also has her fist vision telling her to "Come home."

Even when water is scarce, wet T-shirt contests are a must!

That night the Hazzard base is attacked by Rodoists.  In the confusion the Hazzard leadership flees, taking Aira with them.  Ran attempts to board the ship, but misses the commanders hand, and instead rips off his shirt.  This is how Ran discovers Kiba is the man with the scarred chest who killed his mother.  Ran decides to chase after them the next morning despite not knowing their destination.  He also doesn't have adequate gas, food, water, or knowledge of hovercraft use/repair.  Unsurprisingly he ends up unconscious and stranded in the desert.

The plan looked good on paper.

While Ran is lost in the sands, Aira is being held against her will by the Hazzard.  While trying to escape, she finds another silver-haired child who is on the verge of death.  Kiba admits he tortured the child to get information on the Holy Mother.  Kiba's goal is to eradicate the Holy Mother along with the main Holy Green.  To get more information, he tortures Aira until her powers cause him to have a horrible vision of his own death and Mother tells him to back off.

Kiba is not known for his hospitality

The Rodoists locate the Hazzard ship and attack, intent on capturing Aira.  They succeed but Kiba isn't upset.  They didn't find his ultimate weapon, the Super High Efficient Incendiary Device.  He is planning on using this against the Rodoists in a plan he calls, Operation Fireball.  At this point, Ran is fortunate enough to have been picked up by Jeke and his merchant pals.  They had been tracking Kiba, hoping to broker a peace deal when they see the Hazzard ship get boarded.  Ran tells them about his situation and they give him the choice between revenge against Kiba and saving Aira.  He chooses Aira, so they make the pilgrimage to Green 5, the Rodoist capital, Holy Land, and home to the Holy Mother.  Inside Green 5 Aira is being pampered and dolled up for her meeting with the Bishops who have traveled from the other Greens to meet her.

Aira with her creepy, mostly naked guards

Jeke, meanwhile, attempts a peace talk with Kiba.  It is here we find out their relationship as well as Jeke's former association with Hazzard.  Since Kiba refuses peace talks, Jeke and his crew attempt to break into the palace so Ran can save Aira and Jeke can meet the Archbishop.  The Bishops test Aira, and decide she is not the prophet they were looking for .  As they prepare to scalp her for being a false prophet, her powers awaken and she opens up the doorway into the inner sanctuary.  Mother calls to her and Aira enters.  Ran finishes his infiltration shortly thereafter and makes it through the portal just before it closes.  Jeke and company find the Archbishop who gives them all a history lesson on the Holy Mother.  It seems she came to earth to protect the water, plants, animals and air from mankind's pollutants.  She then created silver haired maidens to preach her message, but they were mostly wiped out by the angry masses.  If 12 maidens return to the inner sanctuary of Green 5, Mother can begin taking her revenge on mankind.  As it turns out, Aira is number 12, and Mother couldn't be happier.

World destruction really brings a family together.

At this point Ran catches up to Aira and they have the exchange detailed in the "Bad Idea" section above.  When Ran storms off he finds Kiba, who also managed to get inside the sanctuary, making preparations for Operation Fireball.  Kiba has seen better days as the exposure to the Sanctuary's core mutated all of his men and the right side of his body into trees.  Ran uses this opportunity to try his hand at revenge until Jeke stops him, calls him an idiot, and tells him to go back and get Aira.

Ran and Kiba settle things like men.  Or at least like a kid and a plant mutant.

This is also the point where it is heavily implied by Kiba that Jeke is actually Ran's father.  While Ran heads off to avert Bloomsday, Kiba and Jeke work together to finish Operation Fireball.  While Ran wasted his time trying to fight Kiba, the Holy Mother started her plan of converting all of mankind into plants, starting with the residents of Green 5. 

Archbishop in full tree mode

With Operation Fireball beginning, the Holy Mother loses her hold on Aira.  Ran and Aira make their escape, leaving the eleven other silver-haired maidens to die in a horrendous fireball.  They find a seed launching machine that shoots them out of the sanctuary in something resembling a giant dandelion.  Jeke and Kiba sacrifice themselves but are able to destroy the Holy Mother so that once again the resources of the earth flow freely. 

Aira and Ran make their escape.

The rains come again!

Why Watch?

1. The Backgrounds - They quite literally don't make them like this anymore.  The beautiful and detailed hand drawn background art is lovely.  On my second viewing of "Ran" I frequently found myself paying more attention to landscapes than the characters themselves.   

Weird Plant Launching Machine

This is the prettiest shanty town I have ever seen.

2. The Bizarre Visions - This show has some bizarre dream/vision sequences.  They are fairly short, but the imagery is great.  The further you get in the movie, however, the differences between dreams and reality become less dramatic.

Ran sees his dead mother

I'd like to see Freud's interpretation of this.

Bleeding Blood and Sprouting Sprouts

Should You Be Watching?
I'll have to say yes for this one.  The story may not be the most original but it is competently executed.  The art and animation is fantastic and if you appreciate the design styles of old, you will want to check this out.  The only downside is that this DVD is fairly low quality so the images aren't as crisp as they could be.