AWOL Compression Remix

The 1998 series AWOL is infamous in anime history because of its lethargic pacing. It was so poorly regarded that the original TV series was never released on home media in Japan. Instead, the series was re-edited, compressed by a third, and released as four double-length OVAs under the title AWOL Compression Remix. Even that version never made it past VHS tapes and laserdiscs.

The series would have languished in obscurity except for a fortuitous chain of events. First, the original TV series was licensed and released in the United States on VHS tape, with English subtitles; it is now rather hard to find. Second, the author of the Land of Obfuscation blog wrote two detailed reviews, the first on the original TV series and the second on AWOL Compression Remix. These provided a guidebook to how the two were related. Third, a rip of the subtitled VHS tapes came Orphan's way. Last, Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions had most of AWOL Compression Remix in his collection, and I was able to buy the missing volume for him. All the pieces for subtitling the show were in place.

That was almost two years ago. The project languished, for a variety of reasons. To me, the script assembly process looked rather daunting. Most movie specials or "compressions" - like the Dallos Special - are done by assembling all the scripts in order and then knocking out lines corresponding to deleted scenes. AWOL Compression Remix, on the other hand, jumped around. The Land of Obfuscation guidebook provided a general outline, but like the Technical Challenge in The Great British Baking Show, a few important details were missing. With lots of new and complete scripts available from the Orphan translators, AWOL Compression Remix was a challenge I could cheerfully duck, and no one else in the team was interested in playing script detective.

As I've mentioned in other blogs, starting a year ago, Real Life carried off Orphan's translators, and the backlog of new scripts ran out. I continued to procrastinate by doing revised versions of several shows with new raws, but then the backlog of encodes ran out too. I had to tackle AWOL Compression Remix, at long last. The first episode was very difficult. I couldn't find the cold open. Quite a lot of the first two episodes had been cut (the third episode was cut entirely). The subs and the audio on our copy of the TV series were badly out of sync. Gradually, I was able to develop a rhythm and put a script together. It became easier as the series progressed and I stumbled across missing pieces. (For example, the cold open of Remix episode 1 came from TV episode 6.) There were some additional challenges. Remix added signs to keep the viewer grounded about scene changes; they were not in the TV series. Each volume of Remix had a promo video at the end; they were not in the TV series either. But with a little help from my friends, the scripts came together.

AWOL (and Compression Remix) was a follow-on project from the team that did Next Senki Ehrgeiz, and it was also intended to be an action-oriented sci-fi thriller. Vicious terrorists calling themselves Solomon attack the Allied Planets, stealing weapons of mass destruction called Planet Destroying Bombs (PDB) and gaining control of a network of satellite-based laser weapons called the Planet Link Plan (PLP). The lasers render the Allies' space navies useless. The terrorists proceed to blow up one planet after another and to destroy fleet after Allied fleet. In desperation, the Allies put together a small counterstrike team under Major Jim Hyatt. He recruits not only capable pilots and soldiers but also criminals with special skills, like computer hacking and bomb making. Hyatt's team must find and take out the terrorists before the terrorists blow up the Earth. The show plays a bit like a cross between Condition Green and The Dirty Dozen.

The plot will not withstand scrutiny, of course. Solomon is run by a former military officer, Duran Gash. His motives are never spelled out; he behaves like a comic book villain who likes really big explosions. His ally is Peat Culten (yes, that's how it's spelled), the operator of the laser satellite network. The Allied Planets' military built the network secretly, without informing the civilian government. Further, they gave Culten total control, with no oversight and no backups. (What would happen if he was asleep or on vacation during an emergency is not specified.) Culten has control not only of the satellite network but of every one of the military's computers. Early in the show, an Allied anti-terrorist team successfully boards Gash's ship, but instead of blowing it and all of Solomon up, they try to recapture the PDB missiles. When it's Jim Hyatt's turn, he has recruited exactly the right people to meet every emergency and unforeseen problem that arises during his mission. And so on.

The science is a bit dicey too. The speed of light limit is sort of honored - it requires "hyper-drive" to get around space - except when it gets in the way of the plot. Communications are instantaneous, so that Pete Culten can control the PLP satellites in real time from light-years away. Hyatt's pilot can see laser beams coming, so she can dodge them. Well, consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds anyway.

AWOL Compression Remix is nowhere near as slack as the original TV series, but it still has some pacing problems. In particular, the endless bickering between the representatives of the civilian government and the military leaders brings the show almost to a dead stop whenever it happens. Much of this was cut, but even more should have been. In addition, the show ends very abruptly; there's no epilogue to show what happens after. Mission accomplished, followed immediately by THE END. Do the criminals get pardoned? Is the military punished for its stupidity? Do the civilian and military officials who wrangled pointlessly all through the show finally strangle each other? We'll never know.

The voice cast includes many notable names:

• The redoutable Genda Tesshou (Jim Hyatt) played Colonel Muto in Joker Game, Moloch in Yondemasu Azazel-san, Rei in the Urusei Yatsura franchise, Moguro Fukuzou in New Laughing Salesman,  and "Oyaji" in Mitsuboshi Colors. He also played Paul Rusch in Yume Kakeru Kougen, the loyal lieutenant Galbreath in Next Senki Ehrgeiz, the dragonman Baguda in Greed, the narrator in Akai Hayate and Meisou-ou Border, Dog McCoy in Dallos, Hebopi in Wild 7, rebel leader Oosukune in Izumo, and Rikiishi's trainer Kuroki and Kirishima in Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Gorou Show, all Orphan releases.
• Nakamura Daiki (Chris Sheldon, Hyatt's criminal hacker) played Keith Winter in Condition Green (an Orphan release), the title roles in Dangerous Jii-san Ja and Demon Beast Resurrection, Dayakka in Gurren Lagann, Seiji Date in Ronin Warriors, and Liu Bei in Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi.
• Nakata Jouji (Nelson the Bomb, Hyatt's criminal bomber) is best known as Alucard in Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate and as the Count of Monte Christo in Gankuutsuou. He also played Shamon in Amatsuki (an Orphan release), Ashen Eye in The Ancient Magus Bride, Bandou in Elfen Lied, Hijikata in Golden Kamuy, Vladimir Putin (!) in Mudazumo Naki Kaikaku, Jin Kunugi in Rahxephon, Otou in Working!, and Diethard Ried in Code Geass.
• Nakata Kouji (Duran Gash, the terrorist leader) played the title roles in Kamui Gaiden, Ninpu Kamui Gaiden, and Seton Doubutsuki, the narrator in Dallos, and Admiral Maskanen in Yamato 2520. The last two are Orphan releases.
• Nakao Ryuusei, who gives a virtuoso performance as the cackling terrorist hacker Peat Culten, played the lead in Igano Kabamaru, King Falke in ACCA, Hephaestion in Alexander's Decision, Freeza/Cooler in Dragon Ball, and Akio in Chameleon, an Orphan release.
• Adachi Shinobu (Amanda Kessler, Gash's second in command) played Rabi in Madou King Granzort, the title roles in Calimero and Jagainu, Tom (Sawyer) in Huckleberry Finn, Kayra Su in Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack, and Chou of Benten in Usagi-chan de Cue.
• Miki Shinichirou (John Bishop, Hyatt's sharpshooter) played Kojiro in Pokemon, Fujiwara Takumi in Initial D, Urahara Kisuke in Bleach, Minamoto no Yorihisa in Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de, Shintarou in Lime-iro Senkitan, Bruce Wayne in Batman: Gotham Knight, Roy Mustang in Full Metal Alchemist (2009), Gintarou in Gingitstune, and Cyber-X in Hand Maid May, an Orphan release.
• Tanaka Atsuko (Dana McLaren, Hyatt's ace pilot) played Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell and Lisa Lisa in the JoJo's Bizarre Adventures TV series.
• Ootomo Ryuuzaburou( Zack Landis, Dana's trusted mechanic and copilot) played Crocodile in One Piece and Bear Walken in Gungrave.
• Kazuki Yayoi (Rachel Hurst, Hyatt's communications expert) was a stage actress and had no other significant anime roles.

The director, Kawase Toshifumi, also directed Next Senki Ehrgeiz. The music is by prolific anime composer Hamaguchi Shirou, who is best known for his work on One Piece, Girls und Panzer, and Ah! My Goddess; it's quite good. As with Next Senki Ehrgeiz, the opening song is a driving rocker, and the ending song a more soulful ballad.

Because of the origin of the shows, the staff credits are a bit unusual. Yogicat transcribed the VHS subtitles. convexity translated the songs, Sunachan translated the signs, and Iri filled in a couple of lines that were simply missing. I assembled the scripts and did very rough timing. ninjacloud did the fine dialog timing and the song timing. I edited and typeset; the signs are not difficult. BeeBee, Nemesis, and Topper3000 QCed. Erik of Piyo Piyo Productions encoded from his own Japanese laserdiscs. So lots of people had their hands, or at least their fingers, in this one.

In the end, is AWOL Compression Remix an improvement on the original AWOL? Yes, definitely. Is it enough of an improvement to be considered good? Not so sure. The old adage about silk purses and sow's ears applies. The creators of Remix were constrained by the original AWOL scripts. No new animation was added, only a few signs. The motives of the terrorists are never explained. The characters remain one-dimensional and functional. And the boring and pointless bickering among the Allies remains boring and pointless. On the other hand, there are lots of explosions, good action scenes, and some standout vocal performances. If you watch AWOL Compression Remix, it may not leave a lasting impression, but you won't tear your hair out either: Twinkle Nora Rock Me or Bavi Stock II it's not (thank the stars).

So unless someone wants to clean up and rip the rather rare VHS tapes of the complete series, this is as much of AWOL as we're likely to get. You can get AWOL Compression Remix from the usual torrent sites or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.