----- For those of you who read (and liked) my
sarcastic, yet accurate, summary of OAV 2 you can expect more of the same.
The shear bizarreness of this OAV just asks for a sarcastic outlook.
After putting off watching this thing as long as possible, I finally
sat down and took a few notes. First of all I would like to point out
a few things about the Message OAV series in general. You won't find
a lot of kick ass fight scenes here. It is meant to be a primarily
reflective OAV where the Ronins think back to their fights with Talpa, the
Dynasty, and Mukara (see OAV 2). If you remember from the end of OAV
#2 all of the Ronins lost their armor and are apparently without any sense
of purpose in their lives.
----- It is set in 1991 during the break between
the school years. Sai is starting his first year in college while the
others are finishing high school. This OAV is packed with dialogue
and lots of old footage. Each volume of the OAV focuses around one
trooper. Volume 1 is all about Rowen (insert fanfare here). I'm
guessing only about 50% of this thing is new animation. I'm not sure
what the writers were on when they made this because it doesn't make much
sense. Without further babbling lets get to the summary.
----- The story opens up with some Japanese text
written on the screen in front of a city. Some lady (Suzunagi) is chanting
something in the background. Rowen is running though Shinjuku (that
is the busiest section of Tokyo, Ronin Warriors fans know it as Toyama) wondering
why the Ronins are being called to action again. He gets into an elevator
and takes it up to the top floor of a building across from city hall. He
looks out over the city and remembers the times he had fighting with the
troopers.
----- Insert several minutes of old footage from the first season of the TV series here while Rowen babbles about his past in a long boring dialogue. I start getting bored and get myself some OJ to drink.
----- Back to the present. Suzunagi appears (she looks dumb, very very dumb) on top of city hall and Rowen somehow recognizes her. A few bolts of energy are fired from the large cross necklace (it looks like a large necklace with a large cross hanging from it and some bells or beads on it as well). The energy bolts rip thought he windows and Rowen flips to avoid them. A few more come and are about to nail him when all of a sudden an energy shield appears around him blocking the energy bolts. Suzunagi mentions that he still retains some of the armor's power.
----- Flashback time again people. This time it is World War II, somewhere in Japan. US bombers have destroyed a shinto shrine that the Ancient has traveled too. He jumps though a trap door and winds up in the cellar. We see a large box with the Strata (Tenku) symbol on it wrapped in chains. The ancient chants something and the chains fly off the box. A vacant Strata armor bursts forth from the box. The Ancient is about to send the armor to find its wearer but Suzunagi appears (this time she looks like a child, her appearance will shift from adult to child a lot in this OAV). She tells the Ancient that he must not revive the armors. The ancient is surprised by the fact that she is a very powerful spirit.
----- Apparently she decides the hell with this talking crap and does something original. She blasts him. The Ancient is able to block with his staff. So being a persistent little bitch (in case you can't tell I really don't like her), she blasts him again. Here we see that two of the beads or bells from her necklace detach and convert to an energy form. This energy then fires off as an energy bolt. Looks pretty cool I think. This time the Strata armor gets up and bodily blocks the shots which are deflected back to Suzunagi. She vanishes.
----- Present day again. Now we see Rowen sitting on a couch with the child form of Suzunagi sleeping with her head in his lap (weren't they killing each other a little while ago?). She is clutching a bunch of papers which promptly blow away in the wind, enlarge and surround Rowen. On each of the enlarged papers you can see an armor suit drawn (these are new armors which are eventually given, or perhaps forced upon, the Ronins). The child Suzunagi gets up and talks.
----- Yes folks you guessed it, flashback time again (joy, rapture, yeah)!! This time the flashback is to OAV #2. Where we see Mukara fighting Sage and Ryo. After a few minutes of old footage we shift to some new stuff. The 5 Ronins are standing around as the White and Black Inferno armors (damaged) are encompassed in flames. The two armors fall down and what is left of the White armor's helmet falls at Suzunagi's (adult) feet.
----- Suzunagi, apparently having a great deal of angst to deal with, picks up a bloody sword and precedes to severely wail upon the Ronins. She strikes them each down with one hit except Rowen. Rowen is now running in the dark as the vacant Strata armor pops up and fights Suzunagi. The armor tosses the bow to Rowen who catches it. Suzunagi then drops the bloody sword. He pulls back the string and an arrow appears ready to fire.
----- Suzunagi asks him to shoot her. Then a vision appears behind Suzunagi. The vision is of her crying as a child while flames roar around her. Rowen wonders why he can't seem to shoot her (I think it is because he contracted Sai's lamer disease, read the OAV 2 synopsis). Suzunagi tells him that her past sadness has led her to this and that it is fate for him to shoot her, just as it is his fate to be a Ronin.
----- Then the rolls of silk fly up from the ground as Suzunagi summons the Strata armor. Rowen screams 'stop' over and over again. We see a new armor appear (one of the same armors featured in the drawings that Rowen saw). The armor is vacant and then Rowen appears in it with his eyes closed.
----- So Rowen is now trapped by Suzunagi. Thus ends part 1.
|
----- Want to mail me?? Sure you do. Send me pictures, comments, ideas, suggestions, anything that could help these pages. Heck just mail me and tell me that you like the site. Send all mail to: valex37@ix.netcom.com |