This 'quest for the power crystal' story combines SF technology elements into its otherwise fantasy styling, so that we have power-suited warriors and large mecha fighting alongsaide ethereal maidens in picturesque landscapes. The forces for good and bad are sluggin it out over pieces of the legendary Zalem lens, which, when combined, has the power to rejuvenate humna life. The Ladius of the title is a mammoth mecha used by Randall - the good guy.
There is nothing particularly great about Ladius, but for several reasons it is eminently watchable. Knowing dialogue makes sure that it doesn't take itself too seriously, and there are a couple of cute artificial female assistants to aid our hero. The twins, drawn in a simpler style than the other characters, can only be distinguished by their differing colour hair - pink and purple. Something like a cuter, less blatantly sexy version of Dominion's Puma twins. Thanks to brief scenes and rapid plot development the story unravels at a pace and the 45(ish) minute running time soon passes. Director Hiroshi Negishi was responsible for Judge, an early Manga release in the UK (which got a thumbs-up from me), and shares a similar approach with manga-style screen cut-ups showing several images at once.
Rob Dyer
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