After taking a long break, we finally return to the 2008 in Retrospect series even as the year of 2009 draws to a close. This is the third of the anime section (first part, second part) and also the last, looking at what I consider to be have been the best in anime series all year for 2008. I also expect to finish the 2008 in Retrospect series before the end of the month, so stay tuned for the other categories.

This post will utilize the new personal rating system I set for myself, so please read that first before moving on with this post. Where possible, I will include the previous year’s winners of the same position.
 

Bronze

Image thanks to Hanners’ Anime Blog.

Winner: Real Drive (Spring 2008)
Studio: Production I.G.
Creator: Masamune Shirow
2007: Bokurano (Spring 2007)

Real Drive began airing in spring 2008 and finished in the fall of 2008, with the series spanning 26 episodes. It was a much overlooked anime series dealing with environmental issues and the advance of technology 50-60 years into the future, and the impact of humanity upon the earth and the biosphere. It also had a closer personal look at how humans developed relationships and had to rethink some of the age-old concepts such as what exactly is “human” with the advent of androids and digitized worlds, where people are so addicted they even almost live in such worlds completely, leading to serious health and mental problems.

It took me a long while to finish, but Real Drive was seriously a very good anime that almost nobody seemed to pick up on. Perhaps the issues and the lack of pulpable action (there were some) did not draw the general crowd in, but for me, it was pretty much sealed as to the third best anime of the year.
 

Holon in her usual attire, with Masamichi Haru. Image thanks to Taedium Edux Rerum.

Storyline/Plot

The plot began with the story as it happens now (where “now” in the anime refers to a few years ahead of our current time period, set sometime around 2011) involving Masamichi Haru, our protagonist who is a really skilled diver (without using any apparatus), and his partner Kushima Eiichirou, an eminent scientist, investigating what they call the Earth’s biorhythm. But while on a dive near the construction (which Kushima had been against) of an artificial island, the Earth seemingly responds and the accident that results leaves Masamichi in a coma for the next 50 years, after which he wakes up as an old man, with his brain digitized.

Technology has also advanced at this time to include the Material Network, more commonly known as the “Metal”, in which a person can digitally enter much like virtual reality, and in which parts of the Metal are like the ocean in character and style. To this end, Kushima does not stop at trying to recruit Masamichi back as a diver, only this time into the realms of the Metal.
 

Real Drive’s plot development also includes Aoi Minamo, a bubbly 15-year-old in 2061, who serves as Masamichi’s partner after he wakes, and Masamichi’s guardian android Holon. Aoi Souta, brother of Minamo, serves as a subordinate to Kushima, who now runs the artificial island’s scientific community.

The series had a well-developed foundation, and the plot did not really move as much as the character development; more of the various impacts of the Metal and both its beneficial and adverse effects were looked into. The development of a plot was slow in the initial stages with only hints at a general falling of the system that the artificial island was based upon. It was not until near the end that we see why Kushima and Masamichi were so worried about the Earth’s biorhythm and the impact of the technological advances that were being implemented and tested in that age.
 

In the aspect of a believable future, Real Drive did very well. Much like Planetes, Real Drive took what was available now, and what was being developed in our contemporary time, and took only small steps forward. The Metal is a strong move forward (in 2011 it was only being tested, in the series, as a theoretical basis, like the Internet was being tested in the 1970’s for military use) from our current form of the Internet, but is not VR already being made something of a fact?

The artificial island, the various digital implementations, economical power, and more are all included in Real Drive, with their impacts and effects taken as everyday occurrences by the people of that period. It was all very well developed and done, and there were even mentions of extinctions (one of them was the dolphin) in the ocean due to mankind’s inability (or unwillingness) to protect them. Masamichi also reflects upon his past in episode 13, bringing all the familiarity of the 80’s and 90’s straight into the first decade of the new millennium back to mind, contrasting the advances and all that he had lost during the 50 years that he spent in a comatose state.

It may not seem like it, but Real Drive truly deserves a grade worthy of the storyline. It was slow, but the story did not end on a rushed note, and it did not end on a totally good/bad ending; again like Planetes, the ending was of the type that had a significance one might not catch immediately.
 

Storyline/Plot grade – 20
 

Minamo Aoi, the female protagonist of the series. I do not like her much though, too lively, bubbly and airheaded. A little generic. Image thanks to Tim Maughan Books.

Animation

The animation for the series was pretty good, and they also had very good CG, though that is to be expected of Production I.G.’s current standards. Most of the scenes in the Metal, aside from the characters themselves, were done in CG, and the character designs and the art-style were no less magnificent. The ocean was often well animated, the artificial island no less so, and the quality of the animation was consistent throughout the series. Indeed, this is one series in which you will not be turned away by the animation quality; there were few things to nitpick over.
 

Animation Grade – 12
 

Music

The general state of the background music was not something that would be classed as “strong”; as befits a series without much of the generic shounen action, Real Drive took a softer approach to most scenes, even the action ones, but that did not take away from the musical quality of the series. With fitting music pieces for the various situations, Real Drive’s music was not only appropriate, but seemed to be doubly made so by the characters and the environment itself. It may not be outstanding, but it certainly is good enough that one will truly appreciate the music pieces as they play throughout the series.
 

Music Grade – 5
 

Characters

The characters themselves make up the biggest part of Real Drive, almost all the way until the end. The development of Holon as first an android to the viewer, for example, until the time she is taken instead to be like a human, is certainly something that is food for thought. Holon may appear first an android, but she later even develops feelings and manages to cry in one of the episodes, something that is, from the general viewpoint of a scientist that developed the android, not possible.

Other character development, such as the good relationships displayed between Masamichi and Kushima, as well as the relationship between Souta and the “governor” of the artificial island (I cannot remember her name, but Holon was developed in her image), Minamo’s relentless enthusiasm and more, makes the series more of a character-driven anime than a plot-driven one. That does not make it any less interesting; for me, character relationships can sometimes contribute far more for an anime series than the plot can. The characters themselves in Real Drive are more than just interesting; they display a variety of stereotypes and some unique character types, molding each so that you just view them, even if you are used to them, in a different way.
 

Characters Grade – 11
 

Personal Feeling

Real Drive gave me a very nice overall impression – for once, there is an anime that talks about environmental issues as they are in the future, in recent times (Planetes was the last one I remember, and it was in 2003). Further, Real Drive went a step further than Planetes and took a look at our digital development instead, by including the Metal, and possible ethical, personal and other issues that might arise from using it. The last episode might have detracted from the realistic tone the series had taken up to that point, but did nothing to lessen the impact of the series as a whole. Much of what happened in Real Drive, one can even relate to and empathize with, whether it be an emotional scene, or an insight into the harms or benefits of technology.
 

Personal Feeling Grade – 35
 

Overall Grade – 83

If you missed this series in 2008, and are interested in anime that explores technology, mankind’s relationships with its own inventions, the digital advances’ impact on mankind, and character relationships, then you should really give Real Drive a shot.

Related posts:

1. 2008 in Retrospect – Anime OP Theme Songs
2. 2008 in Retrospect – Anime ED Theme Songs
3. 2008 In Retrospect – Anime Part 2
4. 2008 in Retrospect – Anime Part 1
5. A Look At The 2008 in R Series