Holding Out For A Hero Part 1: Moldiver

If there is one thing I love, besides animation of course, it is superheroes.  I love the serious heroes like Batman, the parody heroes such as The Tick or the Mystery Men, and the occasional "realistic" heroes including Defendor.  All of them.  So doing a month of superhero anime is the best of both worlds for me.  While the defenders of Japanese justice are often quite a bit different from our own, the title character in this week's offering shares a lot with America's caped crusaders.  Prepare to be wowed by the manly power of:

Background:
Released By: Pioneer/Geneon
Length: 180 minutes
Year of Production: 1993
Language: Sub and dub, dub reviewed
Available on Netflix: No

I don't remember the circumstances behind finding my copy of Moldiver.  My memory of this one was vague until I popped in the DVD and the theme song started up.  For whatever reason, Pioneer decided to re-record the theme song in English.  While not too uncommon these days, it was an odd move when the DVD was released stateside 10 years ago, especially considering it wasn't aired on TV.  The song is fantastic though and I've been singing it at work all week.  As this OVA is 3 hours long, I'll just be summarizing the first 3 episodes, but that should give you a solid idea of what this series is about.

The Hero
Hiroshi Ozora is the secret identity of Captain Tokyo aka Moldiver.  He creates a device that cloaks the user's naked body in a field that can selectively alter how the laws of physics affect the user.  Any type of wave, mass or energy can be controlled or eliminated from interacting with the suit, which theoretically could make the user invisible or pass through walls.  Hiroshi mainly just uses it to fly and be super strong because he knows his classic hero powers.  He also wants to use it for standard hero missions, like saving children, protecting a futuristic Tokyo and stopping villainous heists.  The device has a time limit of 666 seconds, and it has no flaws, at least until his sister gets a hold of it. 

Faster than a speeding bullet train.

Story:
The OVA opens with an explanation of the Mol-Unit's power and abilities, which I have summarized above.  The next scene is a more domestic affair, showing the two younger Ozoras, Mirai and Nozumo, discussing how to hide their credit card statements from their oldest brother.  The middle sister implies she has a way to get the bills paid with just a bit more time.  That night Hiroshi attends an exhibition his employer ZIC is hosting, displaying replica Formula One racing cars from the 20th century.  He meets with his mentor and NASA engineer, Professor Amagi and the two show off the latest additions to their antique electronics collections. 

I'll see your obsolete movie formats and raise you a hot blond. 

Mirai meanwhile is backstage with her best friendMao, both preparing for a Race Queen Beauty Pageant, also sponsored by ZIC.  The winner of the competition will get the privilege of being displayed with the car and driver at an upcoming race.  The good professor is one of the judges at the competition.  Hiroshi does not respond well to seeing his sister in a beauty contest, which is apparently only one of many she has entered for the prize money and won.

An appropriate response to seeing your kid sister leered at

As Mirai prances across the stage in a swimsuit the prof signals his assistant and all of the light go out.  A troop of spider-like robots materialize in the room and start trashing the replicas while waving a banner declaring "Machinegal is on top!"  Hiroshi is elated, and ducks under a table so he can strip naked and try out his super suit.  Not as classy as a phone booth, but as a new hero Hiroshi is still working out the details.  Machinegals' robots carefully grab the authentic race car, complete with Mirai and Mao.  Moldiver makes quick work of the robots, smashing them with great enthusiasm and gusto, and rescuing his sister, whom he accidentally calls by name.

"Gretings scantily clad civilian with whom I have no association!"

The robots teleport away from the scene of the crime using heretofore unknown technology and the battle is over.  Being low on time, Hiroshi flies from the scene as well, leaving his suit behind for Mirai to find.  Not being an idiot, she immediately realizes her brother was the muscular masked man who saved the day.  She brings his suit home and barges into his room where he is sitting as nonchalantly as a man in a small towel can.  Mirai asks Hiroshi how he avoided getting arrested on the way home.  She also reminds him that they promised not to keep secrets from each other while their parents are away on work.  Mirai seems to enjoy taunting her brother.

Unexplained nudity should be an exception to their "No Secrets" rule

Professor Amagi who, no surprise, is secretly Machinegal returns to his base where he berates his all female staff.  He starts a villainous rant about how the world's old technology only has value in his hands.  Machinegal reveals he will try to steal the car again at the big race and unmask the mystery hero at the same time.  In the days leading up to the race, Hiroshi performs more heroic deeds and becomes a media darling.  He is given the name Captain Tokyo and Mao is head-over-heels in love with him.

"Dating a superhero could really help my modeling career!"

Mirai is disgusted by the design of Hiroshi's suit and breaks into his office to force a redesign.  Having no idea how his advanced suit generator works, she causes it to smoke and fume.  Mirai flees the scene of her crime, as obviously nothing bad can come of her unintended sabotage.  The day of the race the Ozora brothers are in the stands and Mirai is with the pit crew motivating the drivers.  Even Professor Amagi is present, acting as the color commentator for the race.  As Mirai is polishing the driver's helmet (not a euphemism) during a pit stop she notices an out of place crew member fiddling with the back of the racer.

He'd probably be happier without that cloth in the way

Machinegal announces his presence again and his staff takes control the car remotely.  His female minions use the authentic car to force the replicas to crash.  Hiroshi uses his device to transform and rushes in to save one of the drivers.  As the dust clears the crowd is shocked to see not Captain Tokyo, but a leggy schoolgirl in a miniskirt.  Hiroshi is less than pleased and very confused.

This normally doesn't happen to Hiroshi without some hard liquor

Hiroshi claims he can't fight with the slim, girly arms of his new form and convinces Mirai to try transforming in his stead.  This idea that the female version of Moldiver is somehow weaker is ridiculous, what with the ability to ignore physics and all.  Regardless, the two duck into an empty stairwell so the beauty queen can strip down and transform. For no conceivable reason, Mirai becomes the burly man version of Moldiver and rushes off to save the day.  She takes a brief break  to inform the media her name is not Captain Tokyo, but Moldiver.  Mirai is very pleased by her new found, poorly controlled power.

His/her smile is just precious!

 One of Machingals's gals, Brook, equips a robotic suit to challenge Moldiver and the two get into a footrace with the F1 as their end goal.  They fight as they run, but Brook can't keep up with Mirai's speed.  Eventually the speed causes the lackey's suit to malfunction and she must be teleported to safety.  Mirai manages to transform into the female Moldiver (with a brief glimpse of nudity in between) which increases her speed and allows her to catch the car while simultaneously shredding the pavement.  The day is saved!  Oh, and while all this is going on Hiroshi's clothes are stolen by a wayward dog, so he has to put on Mirai's race queen outfit.

All this to avoid being a super-powered female

Episode 2 starts off with the two Ozora brothers ogling hot American females in Florida, Cape Kennedy to be specific.  While they are enjoying the view a muscle bound jock approaches them.  Rather than kick down their sandcastle, he greets Hiroshi and we are introduced to his old classmate Misaki.  Misaki is in training as an experimental astronaut, Hiroshi is studying old space shuttles, and Nozumo is there for the Amy Lee Idol Concert.  Professor Machinegal meanwhile is furious that the concert is going to take place in front of the old space shuttle and works on an evil plan to steal the shuttle and ruin the show.

"Back in my day we held concerts on the back of a dead mastodon!"

Mirai stayed back home in Tokyo because she couldn't justify the cost of airfare.  Instead she chose to work and ended up blowing all her money on new clothes.  Mirai hopes to use her clothes to impress Misaki who she has apparently had a crush on for years.  At the same time she is clothes shopping, her crush asks Hiroshi for an unnamed favor to be revealed later.  Machinegals' minions are using this time to swap out the real shuttle with a fake.

The mostly transparent visor perfectly masks his identity

 Hiroshi ends up finding the shuttle while looking for the bathroom and ends up defiling it.  When he gets back in line for the concert with Nozumo and Misaki, they spot Professor Amagi.  The resulting reunion reveals that both men were students of the professor in college.  Amagi also notices that Misaki's mass of bulging, rippling muscles seems to match Moldiver's build exactly.  He excuses himself and rushes back to his base to get his computer's opinion on the matter.  The Machinegal supercomputer agrees that Misaki has the exact same shape as Moldiver.  Mao is also in Florida and latches onto Misaki almost as soon as she finds him, although she does take a brief moment to call Mirai and brag about seeing a concert with their mutual love interest.

That isn't a haunted mirror, it is a futuristic video phone

Mirai clealry can't tolerate her friends delusional rambling, so she turns into Moldiver and flies off to Florida, which can apparently be traveled to in 666 seconds.  The boys, and to a lesser extent Mao, are enjoying the start of the Amy Lee concert.  Nozumo's favorite starlet appears to have a very mean-spirited costume department.

It looks like she is wearing a loaded diaper

Machinegal announces his presence yet again and has one of his ladies strap the idol to the shuttle and threatens to launch it into space unless Misaki reveals himself as Moldiver in front of the crowd.  Since Misaki is unable to comply despite the crowds chants, Hiroshi sneaks off to attempt his transformation.  Sadly he grabbed a tape deck and not his Mol-Unit.  Hiroshi also loses his clothes in his haste to transform.  Machingal grows impatient and launches the shuttle just as Mirai crashes into the stage. 

Wearing her diaper just like a real astronaut

She is quickly filled in and chases down the rocket, tailed closely by another of the Machinegal gals, Jennifer.  Mirai has trouble with the Moldiver controls so she switches to girl form, breaks the idol free, and stuffs her inside the shuttle.  Jennifer tries everything to hurt Moldiver, but the hero is immune to blunt force, explosions and heat.  Mirai throws a rocket booster at her opponent, forcing her to warp out.

Apparently the Mol-Unit can produce oxygen

With her enemy defeated, Mirai turns her attention back to the shuttle, which is hurtling back to earth.  She can't stop the spacecraft but manages to slow it down to a less deadly speed and steer it away from the concert crowds.  Instead the fake shuttle crushes the real shuttle hidden, much to Machinegals' horror.  As the dust settles, Mirai joins her family in a costume stolen from Amy Lee and asks Hiroshi why everyone thought Misaki was Moldiver.  Her brother admits he modeled Moldiver after his classmate due to an inferiority complex.  Thus ends episode 2.

Thwarted Again!

Professor Amagi takes charge of repairing the roads damaged by Moldiver in Episode 1, because the government is unable to handle the damage.  The repairs are causing massive traffic congestion in Tokyo.  Amagi gives an interview in which he claims Moldiver is the reason the city is trashed, and Machinegal is a pinnacle of righteousness.  Subtle.  Amagi's minions alert him that they have finished the analysis on Moldiver.  He commands them to lure the hero out with small bursts of chaos around the city but demands they not damage Tokyo any further.  Either he is doing the repair work for free or he hates Capitalism.  Hiroshi meanwhile is leaving the house to meet up with Misaki and find out what the mysterious favor is that he needs.  Just after he leaves the house, Misaki calls saying he is stuck in traffic so Mirai agrees to meet him at the Hachiko statue.

Experimental astronauts are a busy bunch, no time to wait!

The remainder of the episode is a loop of Misaki waiting somewhere, getting tired of waiting, and Mirai showing up minutes too late thanks to the problems caused by Machinegal.  She also occasionally transforms to Moldiver in an attempt to track him down, which sets off the enemy's new Moldiver tracker.  This is repeated for about 20 minutes.  The episode is mostly a goofy, throwaway but there are a few major plot points.
1. Nozumo discovers Hiroshi's Moldiver program and spends the episode fiddling with the program.

Kids are always so much better with technology

2. Mao begins wearing increasingly ludicrous costumes for beauty contests.

Including the Japanese staple: Cat Girl

3.  Misaki's favor.  Misaki has collected a lot of information on Moldiver and wants Hiroshi to help him analyze it in order to replicate the suit.  It turns out that Misaki's experimental spacecraft is likely to kill him, but with the Moldiver suit he would have a better chance at survival.
The episodes ends with Mirai in a wedding dress, getting the data from Misaki just before he leaves for the launch pad in Osaka.  Needless to say, she had to punch her way through Machinegal's warriors to get there.  Hiroshi has spent the whole episode asleep on a park bench.
The end of the first half of Moldiver.  If you want to know how the second half plays out you'll have to watch it yourself. 

Why watch?
1. Theme Song - Moldiver has an amazingly well-dubbed theme song.  It is catchy, fun, and would fit right into a classic Saturday morning cartoon lineup.  Check it out:

2. Superhero Action - Moldiver is a combination of Japanese and American superhero styles, and it works very well.  The amount of actual fighting per episode is somewhat minimal, but the fights that do occur are a lot of fun to watch.

America and Japan: partners in butt-kicking

Why not to watch?
1. Mao - Mirai's friend is involved in some of the least enjoyable aspects of the show, which still aren't that bad.  She is a player in the cat-fighting over Misaki, and her bizarre costumes seem very out of place and a sad attempt at fanservice.  Mao has some decent moments, but the show could have easily survived without her.

Does this really add anything to a Superhero story?

2. Nudity - The gimmick of the Mol-Unit not working with clothes provides lots of instances of both Hiroshi and Mirai getting naked at inopportune times.  This gets pushed a little far at times, but honestly it isn't as tasteless as you might expect.

Mirai also becomes nude when switching between forms.

Should you be watching?
I'm going to give Moldiver a "You Must Watch" rating.  If you don't like superhero genre, you can downgrade that to a "Watch."  There is a lot to like about this title even if caped crusaders aren't typically your thing.  Good action, decent comedy and a fun villain.  The dub is also very good but has the feel of the older generation of American dubs.  Sadly, it isn't too easy to get a copy of Moldiver as Netflix surprisingly does not carry this title.  There are some used copies on Amazon.com for a decent price if you really trust my judgement on this one.