| | Alternate title : Vandread First Stage
Studio : GONZO
Licenced by : Geneon Entertainment (USA)
Length : 13 Episodes
Year : 2000
Genre : Action - Adventure - Comedy - Ecchi - Science-Fiction
Synopsis :
Women are monsters!?! Or so the men of Tarak are left to believe. Male and Female live on their own worlds. When Hibiki gets caught up in an all female pirate raid on a male ship, well, you can take it from there. Rediscovering the lives of men and women working together sure makes for some funny plot devices. Can it be done? Or will everyone become part of the harvest? Great animation with a nice CG mix for the space and mecha action.
Added : 2005-10-30
Synopsis by : Specky
Last update : 2005-11-28
Last update details : Link removed
Score : 8.52
Number of reviews : 31
Song(s) :
Opening #1 : Trust
Ending #1 : Himegoto (Secret)
Release(s) :
2004-02-24 -- Episode(s) 13 by Anime-Xtreme. BT Link
Found 1 releases. Click here to [ Find them! ]
Hits : 30676
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Posted by : disgaea
Posted on : 2007-07-20 
Vandread is one of the animes I started watching and never regretted watching it. The story is quite original since there aren't many animes where male and female are separated into two different planets and they think each other as organ eating monster, lol.
The characters are quite well drawn with each of them having their own unique personality. The character development for each character is nicely done. The graphics and animation are very good for an anime out in the year 2000. It was very clear and well done.
The music fit the fight scene quite well. The opening is pretty interesting. The ending is well a bit awkward and weird.
Overall is a pretty good anime, and also don't forget about the 2nd stage for Vandread.
Posted by : mangaddict 
Posted on : 2006-07-26 
I personally enjoyed this anime. The characters are funny, the setting is funny, and this whole story has harem written all over it. A few problems.
The whole origin of both male and female planets are confusing. Why males and females hate and fear each other, I have no idea. They probably forgot a long time but we would love to know. There was an episode that takes about less than half a minute to explain the origin of their separation but it is extremely short and slapped together.
I think the male and a female mech combining together is a half-baked, stupid idea and the male mech and 3 female mechs combining together... does that represent an orgy or something?
The mysterious enemy they're fighting, isn't explained at all. In fact this whole season is just half a season. Why this anime series was split into two seasons, I will never know.
I hate Hibiki's voice. Whenever he talks there is a boot getting thrown at a cat or a blackboard is getting scratched somewhere in the world.
This anime is a lot of fun and I would recommend it to any shoujo fan out there. Don't watch it if you don't intend on seeing the next season.
Posted by : animetayl
Posted on : 2006-03-20 
This anime deserves 5 stars because it delivers exactly what it promises. The series is funny, light-hearted, sentimental at times, serious at others and there's enough action here to keep you rooted. The storyline is unique and entertains immensely. What fault can I give it? Animation is beautiful, Japanese voice actors are great... The only thing I could maybe fault it for is the ending, but sometimes things just don't end how you expect or want them to, and that's fine. This anime kept me entertained throughout the entire span of it, and that's exactly what it should be doing. In other words, a success in every sense.
Posted by : ariq
Posted on : 2006-02-20
The show had everything, great animation, great music, and very fun and interesting characters. However the show lacked in the heaviest category for either a movie or a show, that is the plot.
What would you do if a normal human girl that see's you as a guy refered to you as an "alien"?
Let's see the plot started out very silly, guys and girls live in seperate planets, and they are enemies. Guys get into a new ship, the ship takes off, then they get attacked by the girls. The guys "grandpa," abandons the guys and the girls take over the ship. Three guys are left and the ships and they are surrounded by bunch of chicks.
Wow think of the possibilities, you may think this story may take a "hentai" direction but it does not, its just ecchi comedy. Basically there is not much of a plot that develops from here, but the growing relationship between male and females. From there were some good battles here and there, some fanservice, and comedy. The good thing is that the ending left you all ready for the sequel to this show.
Characters to the show, were very fun to watch. It was quite funny how Dita only refers Hibiki as an Alien despite her knowing that his name is Hibiki. Dita is a girl that is a UFO/Alien fanatic, so pretty much when she saw Hibiki which was the first time for her to see a guy she called him an alien and was very,very happy. Hibiki is a character that always tries to avoid Dita cause he thinks that she is annoying, till he changes his mind about her near the end of the series. The only thing you can describe about him is that he is a guy that does not give a crap about anyone, and only gives a crap about food. However that changes near the end of the first stage. Maie her character at first was a very strong,stubborn, but actually very weak in the inside character. At first her and Hibiki never got along with eachother. but when she got injured and thinked about her family who is dead, she changed, and gained alot of confidence. Later she also got along well with Hibiki. I can say that overall the characters were very fun to watch.
Animation to the show. The show had alot of fanservice, especially giving one of the female characters enormous breasts. The art style was pretty "space like" I guess that is how I would describe the art of the characters and backround. Now the action, first ever show for me where the whole mecha show is done in cg. Yes no cartoon style mecha action, the mechs, and the setting is all cg, which is quite different.
Music to the show, I really liked. The opening is pretty catchy, and fun to listen to. The ending is pretty good itself, but I liked the opening better. The backound music was also well done, especially at the parts where the action and pace start to pick up.
Really you can say that in all the categories I liked, but in the plot where it weight rating is the heaviest took down my rating and opinion about the first stage. The show it self is very fun to watch, and worth a good laugh. If you are looking for story then you will not find that in the first stage.
Posted by : shadowangel
Posted on : 2006-01-30
Frankly, I loved the graphics for this anime. They were highly superior, esp to the ones at the time of 2000 IMO. The plot is pretty interesting, and they used 3D effects for the fight scenes in space. Sadly, I cant really compare the fight scenes to animes like gundam etc.
The plot was quite interesting, with Hibiki searching for the meaning of his life and why exactly he existed. Later on in the story, the fights get more interesting and the plot (with a bit of Hibiki x ____ ) too, but I guess it isn't too much of the fight scenes that appeal to me. There is much humour throughout the whole series, and a bit of fanservice, so you probably wouldnt get too bored watching this.
The graphics were very good for a 2000 anime. The quality of animation was clear and very well done. Also the 3D effects for the fight scenes were quite suitable I guess, but I wasn't too used to it at first.
The voicers were okay, and as always I hate the dubs. The voicers for each character were suitable and distinct, but I can't say much cause I haven't watched this in quite a while.
Decent music, can't say much there but nothing I am against.
Overall, I loved the graphics and how they blended 2D-3D animation. An above average anime considering it was from 2000. However they could have improved the plot, and I really recommend you watch Second Stage with it. Otherwise it will seem incomplete.
Posted by : Miravarge
Posted on : 2006-01-20
This is the first ever anime I have ever watched and until today it remains one of my most favorite anime. The space battle cg is one of the best I have ever seen and they have the BGM fit perfectly for every scene.
though the story line is quite predictable but it is still captivating and that's what drove me to watch the sequel. this is one of the few anime that I actually followed the main characters feeling and emotions. All the characters personality fits in the story like a wondrous jigsaw puzzle and made this anime a great one to watch from the beginning until the end unlike Gundam Series which I lose interest in after watching a couple of episodes.
This anime also gives the viewer a new angle to look at especially when it concern about life and also brought forward quite a few philosophies though some of them are questionable. Overall this anime have a bit of everything in it. I highly recommend watching it.
Posted by : FFmaniax
Posted on : 2006-01-15
I am not here to give you a synopsis, but rather my position on the anime and to offer you useful if not interesting information on my experience with the series.
Vandread has been quite the anime, it has funny looking graphics, and a cliche and predictable sidestory route, but the main storyline remains quite untainted and original. The fight scenes are not as interesting as Gundam Seed's and neither is the storyline as emotionally addicting but neverthless this anime deserves everyon'e respect for being original. Apart from all the serious talk this anime is quite entertaining with the romance side stories, and is funny (note not extremley funny "just funny") to watch the relations between two different gender races go so unexpectedly.
This anime is worthy to watch, but doesn't give a complete ending, that is why a sequel was made to make up for that. So be sure to watch the sequel too if you decide that you want to watch this.
Posted by : fresh_no_concept
Posted on : 2005-10-11
Vandread is a series that I havd watched a while back but never got to an actual review. Well, I finally was able to watch the series in its entirety again and it's nice to know that the second time around was just as fun as the first. =)
The anime begins quite interestingly, with a planet with nothing but men amidst a war against women. Women are portrayed as flesh eating monsters of which there is no escape. Three hapless males are apprehended by a female pirate ship. However, due to some certain events, the ship and its crew suddenly find itself light years away from their home planet. So the female pirates must cooperate with the three males to return home. Oh, there's mecha robots involved as well.
While somewhat cliched, Vandread's plot was easy to follow and fun to watch. Dita and company are interesting to watch as they learn about their male prisoners and as various battles of the sexes begin. Character relationships are what's important for this anime and I believe Vandread was able to flesh out many of the relationships it created. Certain memorable moments come to mind when I reflect on the anime: Dita's inability to call Hibiki by his actual name, Gascogne's invincible poker hands, Jura's vein attitude, Meia's growing capacity to express herself, and Pyoro's growing human complexes. They are all just a joy to watch develop in the anime.
Oh, and then there's the mecha battles in which this anime will probably be most known for. The battles are pretty original and quite fun to watch. It is a treat to see the Vanguard fuse with the various Dreads for the first time. And although the space battles seem very chaotic at times, it's easy to figure out what's going on and where everyone's at. Very well done.
Perhaps what this anime stands out for is its blending of CG and regular animation. This was perhaps one of the first animes that I have seen that impemented this kind of animation. I believe that the CG and animation complemented each other quite well rather than detract from each other. Music is pretty standard anime fare. Nothing quite special here.
Great story and characters, nice animation and some decent music. It all adds up to good anime. And it gets better with the second stage... =)
Posted by : Guido
Posted on : 2005-09-06
The first time I got acknowledged with Vandread was by looking at some promo art pics hanging on a board. The show was to be exhibited in an anime group session, and I was absorbed with the pics that I decided to attend and watch the show.
Indeed, this is GONZO's first, classical sci-fi masterpiece for its mecha genre, and the one which has remained within the hearts of its loyal fans for the starting years of the 21st century.
The story follows the established sex wars with an added twist:
"Two neighboring planets had been at war for nearly a century, and each of those worlds are inhabited by women and men respectively who had been cut off contact from the opposite sex and, therefore, have no clue as what the other gender looks physically alike leaving an opening door for myths and superstitious propaganda used for war campaigns.
An issue of skirmish ensues when a rebellious group of female pirates, who happen to severe all relations with their homeworld, on their own assault a men's battle flagship in order to steal the technology inside. Once victorious, they proceed to deport all the male crew except for three: a cowardly wuss who is a fast tongue talker, a cold but caring physician who looks at the unknown-for-him matters with scientific curiosity, and a stowaway who had enough with the miserable life he was leading in his homeworld and wanted to achieve something of greater worth to prove his existence.
Realizing all lost hopes, the men military fires at their own flagship in a last attempt to annihilate the pirate women, but the ship's engine core comes unexpectedly to life and transports both the men's and pirate's ships thousand of light-years away from their solar system.
Before each of the survivors start to realize any clues as what happened they suddenly come to being attacked by aliens, neither men nor women, which have taken particular interest in the crew's home origins.
Coming to terms with the danger posed by the aliens, both females and males are left with no choice but to call a truce for cooperation to reach their homeworlds first and alerting of the imminent threat.
And so the voyage home begins....."
I really welcome the comicity that Vandread delves with its sex wars theme. Mainly it introduces visual or reference jokes about both men and women feeling puzzled with the opposite gender's anatomy.
For example, Dita eavesdrops a comrade female discussing jokingly what's the deal with men walking with a tube between their legs.
Moreover, you can prevent from laughing out aloud and even when the fanservice is shown at opportunistic times.
Another example would be Hibiki running literally into Jura, and the camera takes a close-up of his face pressed on her cleavage.
Especially true when it happens that nearly all women are presented wearing provocative, skimpy-clad fashion or space suits that endow and make prominent the physique of their bodies, although toned down when compared to the female cast of Shikon Gattai Goddanar.
However, it's interesting to point out that as the story progresses and each chapter turns more dramatic than the previous one, the fanservice shots are quickly called off and only being used at random times.
Vandread's auxiliary theme is the clash of two worlds suddenly thrown together and accepting to come for help from the other, understanding that both are in a dire situation, and their only chance of survival is through cooperation.
At first, relationships with the female pirates and the prisoner men are strain, and relunctantly offer assistance only when need arises but not to coexist.
Few brave souls like Parfait, Dita, and Duero feel the curiosity and inquiry to take a liking for what the other side does, and thus the first bonds of communication among the two groups are formed.
Friction, distrust, and struggle are to be expected at first since both groups are unawared and unknown of what the other could be capable of. However, as time goes on and both females and males come into contact more often than they should, they begin to delve deep inside the other's cultures and finally into their respective personalities.
The first stage sets up the pilot for men and women to build their relationship and aim toward fraternity of mutual companionship and trust, as they eventually realize that by overcoming their disdain and working out their differences they both come across that either gender is the same human just like the other.
It also displays how the main and supporting cast develops and grows up prematurely before the audience's eyes.
Hibiki At the beginning of the story, he's brash, reckless, loud-mouthed, and hot-boiled. He jumps into the heat of fire without measuring the consequences of his actions and easily provoked by insults. On the other hand, Hibiki is just annoyed that Dita chases him around and sticks on him.
Dita She has the personality of an eight-year-old, innocent, playful, inquisitive, enthusiastic, but compensates her lack of attention span with her piloting skills. Overall, Dita's goal is to bring happiness to all people surrounding her, plus she always pulls out a smile amidst the dreaded of circumstances. For a side note, she's the cause of Hibiki's grumpiness, because she's obsessed with UFOs and keeps calling Hibiki day in and day out Mr. Alien. This was due that the two of them when first met had their first contact semi-literally.
Meia Meia's the leader of the assault squads, and the fifth ranked officer within the pirate's hierarchy. Meia does not accepts help or contact from anybody else but herself due to a childhood incident that scarred her feelings. She came to understand that having a heart or emotions makes her weak and vulnerable. She purposefully close herself from worldly contact as not to be hurt or deceived. The only thing that keeps her spirit alive is her profficient accomplishment as a pirate and refined pilot for the Nirvana.
She's distanced, frivolous, calculating, self-reliable, mechanical, and introverted. Meia can hardly understand any concept of emotions and does not hangs with everyone else of the crew. At the first, she held a grudge against men because both her nurture and nature demanded so, but a humiliation, as she puts it, from Hibiki made her to slightly begin changing her views.
Her emotions are quite the opposite of Hibiki's, which would likely make her to develop a certain affinity for respect among the two.
Jura Jura's the pompous, snobbish female with the body of a goddess. She attempts to look cool and glamorous to enhance her status before her companions. She strictly cooks up every plan to lure Hibiki uniting his Bangata with her Dread, as the resulting fusion will end up in a beautiful shape that she imagines would be ideal.
She's narcissistic, vain, flagrant, wearing flamboyant but skimpy-clad dresses, and concerned about her hair.
All in all, the cast of Vandread makes it clear that for the First Stage each of the characters will have a past, a present, and a future to be told.
Posted by : Postman
Posted on : 2005-09-03
The first time I watched this anime, I thought that I was watching another gundam-series-like anime. However, as the story goes on, it turns out to be not as I expected. The funniest joke of the story is men thought women are monsters and vice versa 'cause they lived at 2 different planets.
The main character is Hibiki, for some reasons, he can control a vanguard, male's machine without much training. It's like his anger or emotion that move the machine. The coolest thing in the anime is when vanguard joined up with dread, becoming vandread. The animation is so cool, the best I had encountered. Definitely deserves 10/10
Posted by : wutang44
Posted on : 2005-08-23
Definitely another series that fits the "Love Hina" mold, this is the anime involving, you guessed it, a bunch of girls that start out hating this one guy, then slowly start liking him as he tries to resolve his feelings. Different, though, because he is the angry type, not the klutzy type. Anyway, that is just one of the subplots.
It is the year... whatever. Men and women not only live on separate planets, but are actually at war with each other! They have all been brainwashed as seeing the opposite sex as despicable monsters, blah dee blah. Anyway, after being captured by a female pirate raid, a small group of men is forced to live with the women as they fight for survival against alien forces. Typical Gundam-style battle, except no enemy Mobiles, only flagships. The main thing that separates this anime from mediocrity is that, with the proper ... motivation, the anti-hero guy can merge his robot with one of the women's to make a super-robot. Each one has its own specialty, such as speed or firepower, so he is forced to merge with the three main girls quite often. As this happens, love interests start to develop, despite the complete lack of knowledge on the oppositye sex. For example, there is one episode where the male doctor tries to walk a women through birth, but has troubles understanding that instruction manual because he doesn't know what a "birth canal" is. Things like this really make the series humorous, while the fights and drama make this a very serious anime throughout the actual plot. With strange friendships and relationships budding across the ship, men and women are forced to rely on each other in order to survive ... and you can guess what happens from there!
Decent art, nice stoyline, with good subplots to get a breather from all the serious drama. Overall, pretty good; however, it seems to me that it is merely a good mix of often-used concepts and cliques. I still like it, though.
Posted by : ForeverGoNe
Posted on : 2005-08-11
Vandread was a promising series from which I had heard. Not only from ears, but from looks, it did look promising. The animation and plot looked solid, added on top of that being created by GONZO. What was astounding was that a 5 year old series could turn out to look like this. I knew that it couldn't be something ordinary, that it was something worthwhile looking into.
The music was all appropriate. What I enjoyed most was the OP for this series, which was very catchy. Regarding the background music, same old same old with any other series.
The storyline was very unique to approach. This is yet another forte of GONZO, that is their unexpected plots for a series. Mankind is on the brink of extinction, and yet mankind ensues a battle of the sexes. Ironic isn't it? The main factor that I became fond of was the separation into the two stages. The 1st stage shows progression towards their goal against the harvest, then followed the the 2nd where they would eventually take it out. With the separation of the stages, it made it alot easier to comprehend the plot and follow.
The only downside I found was the rush with the ending. I found that it was a bit to... cheesy this way, with the way it ended. We all see the joining forces, defeating enemies, happily ever after endings usually. Unique endings are what separate the good from the bad. Although the ending wasn't all that good, all the other pros of Vandread make up for it.
Posted by : glidedream
Posted on : 2005-08-08
Given the way AS has split up the two seasons, I feel compelled to give the first 13 episodes this score. Overall, I think that Vandread on the whole is a near perfect anime, but based only on the first 13 episodes it doesn't deserve anything higher.
The first season of Vandread is really just to set the tone for the second season, as the characters and introduced and the mood is built. The show is light hearted and funny, but it leaves a lot of things unresolved, which of course is for the second season to sort out. The initial premise is very interesting, and I think the show does a good job with the completely clueless angle of guys and girls not knowing anything about each other. The jokes are kind of ridiculous, but always funny, and it's entertaining to watch the cast interact. The characters are done pretty well, and some of the experiences they go through to change make for great drama. The music is average, but the animation is a joy to watch. As a mecha anime, Vandread is very unique in the presentation of the battles and not so unique concept of combining mechas. Still, the presentation of the combining is unique, as each vandread spawned form vanguard and dread is unique and has different abilities. Also, the jokes about girls asking Hibiki to combine with them is pretty great dramatic irony. Unfortunately, the ending is a little lackluster, but the second season definitely makes up for it. This show is definitely worth watching though, and it almost doesn't make sense to just watch the first season. You must watch the second season to get the full Vandread experience.
Posted by : kusoXhage
Posted on : 2005-06-27
One of the few mecha series that I actually enjoyed. I really am a big hater of giant robots, but the comedy thrown into the story likely was enough reason to grow a liking for Vandread.
At first sight the mecha theme looked bothersome, and from time to time it made me felt to stop and quit watching the anime; thank god I didn't have to. However, after a while you end up accustoming youself to look at the strange robots involved. Aside from that, the story itself is original, involving the gender war into a higher level. Basically, it narrates about both male and female genders (segregated as independent, planetary races) learning on how to work together to strive in space and returning to their respective home planets to alert the coming of a deadly invasion.
For a nice touch of humor, the plot also incorporates a romance theme to it, progressing to the most noticeable and natural manner. With respect to this element I personally thought it turned out quite laughable, because of both sexes initial reaction from one to each other. Even the commedy involves jokes referencing to common stereotypes frequently associated to both genders. What I also liked was that the jokes did not appear repetitive like some series that pull out a limited amount of comical material. To conclude, this show was definitely refreshing with all the plentiful comedy and the storyline advancing from episode to episode.
As I stated before, the animation for the mecha designs is something you'll just get used to. But other than that, it's an expected device plot from this generation. Anyways, I also grew fondness for the opening (trust) and the ending (himegoto) themes a lot.
Well, at last I finished the 13 episodes that comprise the first stage, so I'll look forward to watch the 2nd stage.
Posted by : toodamngood
Posted on : 2005-06-02
Unfortunately, I was very disappointed by this one. I watched it because of all of the positive reviews on this site, but Vandread stage 1 did not live up to my expectations.
The premise, men and women who currently live on separate worlds, but learn to work together to defeat a common enemy, was fine. I think it was just hard for me to get over how annoying I found the main female character, Dita. I like cutesy characters, but she seemed to be dumb for no reason. Her voice was grating and it seemed like she spent the entire series calling out for Hibiki (the main male character). The other women were much more interesting and I wish I would've gotten to know more about them (in the way we got to know more about Meia). The romances are not very developed and it really isn't even very funny. I did like the animation and the "vandread" mechas were cool, but this was not enough for this to make it into my top 5 or even my top 10.
I will still watch the 2nd stage, because I hope it's better than the 1st. But, I don't think everyone would be attracted to this show.
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