Armored Trooper VOTOMS is an anime series with a long history; 52 TV episodes that started in 1983, plenty of movies and games. VOTOMS is a mecha fighting series – but unlike Gundam the mecha are not giant space robots, they’re suits about 4 metres tall, they’re about as “man size” as powered fighting suits are likely to be. VOTOMS are fast and tactical.
As way of a summary; I’d suggest that the Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Pailsen Files movie is most likely to appeal to the VOTOMS fans; to people who already enjoy the breadth of the mythos. It was my first VOTOMS encounter and I struggled a bit. For example, Yoran Pailsen is arrested early on – fans, I’m sure, would be reacting to that whereas I lost the significance.
It’s also worth noting that there is a 12 episode OVA series for Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Pailsen Files of which the movie is a ‘summary’ of. In order to make the movie they’ve had to slice and dice from a much larger collection of material. I’m certain I would have enjoyed the full series more.
Don’t get me wrong; I don’t dislike the Pailsen Files movie – it was just clear to me that there could have been more. I needed more in order to get the best out of the movie and knowing that I was missing out on some of the character development and plot reveals was something that nagged at me.
The Pailsen Files is an action anime. CG is used to great effect in some of the scenes and it is fun to watch the VOTOMS wheel around in hi-speed combat. In particular, the D-Day landing inspired landing scene near the start of the movie is fantastic. It’s brutal. It’s worth a watch. In fact, the YouTube trailer that comes with this review gives you a sample of it.
Eventually the plot surfaces Chirico Cuvie as the character to follow (VOTOMS fans would know that already, of course) and points out that he has an uncanny knack in surviving. Once that penny drops a lot of the action sequences make more sense – we’re not just leaping from battle to battle; we’re watching horrible situations for soldiers to be in and we’re figuring out which of them also have that survive-at-all-costs ability.
The Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Pailsen Files movie is one to watch at home with a pizza and plenty of beer. It’s something to watch in order to conjure up enthusiasm for a mecha based RPG. It’s not something to watch if you want your brain to be thrilled.
Funny thing about the Pailsen Files movie – there are no female characters in it – none at all.
