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 Vandread
is a 26 episode TV series, divided into two 13-episode
"stages". It was televised in 2000 and 2001,
directed by Takeshi Mori, and was a product of Gonzo
Studios, the same studio that animated the Nadesico
and Gatekeepers series. The anime was released commercially
outside Japanese shores by Pioneer Animation.
The
action of Vandread focuses on a ship that is eventually
called the Nirvana, with an all-female group of pirates
that come across the "aliens" called men for
the first time. Conversely, the few men that do make
contact with the women are under the impression that
women are really demons that, among other things, cause
destruction and eat men's livers. A normally stock sci-fi
anime story with mystery and action is injected with
new life because of these misconceptions the genders
have about each other. The background in which Vandread
is set serves to enhance this, as the history of men
and women - once together, then separate, and now together
again - adds an interesting dimension to the action
that unfolds. The women and men of the ship will eventually
learn to work together (and the secret of their machines'
"unification" will also no doubt be uncovered),
but for now, just discovering each other all over again
is adventure enough.
Vandread's
slapstick gags involving the differences between men
and women (the women want to know why the men have a
strange "tube" in their pants while the men
are left to wonder how women make food that isn't in
"pill" form) are seemingly part of the core
of the series, and they work to great advantage and
amusement. While the characters themselves get almost
equal time in the story, they are not really original
characters, and are ones you would probably find in
many other anime series. But, as I've said before, the
background and innovative setting of the story more
than makes up for this, as the situations in which the
men and women find themselves in continually test the
boundaries of this "gender rediscovery".
While
it may seem to be focused on this one premise, Vandread
is backed up with a solid plot, animation, and other
things which make it entertaining. Like some other anime
series, Vandread ventures into the world of CGI (computer-generated
images) animation to achieve its unique look. All the
space and robot/ship scenes are done in CG, and though
it may take getting used to, the images are all beautifully
created and great to watch as they unfold in front of
us. Sequences such as the unification/transformation
of various mecha are especially worthy of note.
In
general, Vandread is one of the most interesting series
to come upon, story-wise. It's worth a look, if for
nothing else to put a new spin on the classic gender
wars by placing it in space.
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Vandread
is definitely one of the better anime series out there,
and its unique mix of science fiction, action, and the
war of the genders is not to be missed. If you don't really
know what Vandread is or are new to the series, you'll
want to check out what we have in this section. You'll
find an overview of the series and find out what it's
about below. 
