is a Japanese

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

created by Syufo (real name ). The story was later adapted into an

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

film directed by

Kōichi Mashimo (born June 21, 1952) is a Japanese anime animation director, director and the founder of the animation movie studio, studio Bee Train. Since the creation of the studio, Mashimo directed or otherwise participated in a large number of the studio's ...

and released on July 26, 1986.

Plot

In 1983, off-duty policeman Reiden picks up a suspicious couple, Kei and Ai, who claim to be father and daughter but appear to be close in age. Reiden thus becomes involved in a fight between them and the female fighter K2 who is chasing them. Kei draws out his latent ability to the maximum by a Legendary "Trigger" and Ai blows away K2. The night sky splits and strange space is shown. Their enemy is the

secret society A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...

"Fraud" of para-

psionics In American science fiction of the 1950s and 1960s, psionics was a proposed discipline that applied principles of engineering (especially electronics) to the study (and employment) of paranormal or psychic phenomena, such as telepathy and psychok ...

, which is commanded by Kuu Ragua Lee. Kei, Ai and Reiden meet the assassins whom Fraud sends out one after another.

Characters

Ai's companions

; I2 (Ai) : Ai is Headmeters who escaped from Fraud with Kei, but she does not have the operation yet. Her original name is "I2". She is a clone of Kei's lover Etsuko (also known as "I") who was killed by Fraud, and adores Kei as a father. Fraud suspects that she is legendary "Trigger" who draws out others' dormant faculties and amplifies them, and so pursues her. "2" of "I2" stands for "the second generation of the clone of Headmeters I". However, nobody of Headmeters knew who "I" or "I2" are, there is no information about the two in the memory bank of Fraud's computer, and "Headmeters I" is a missing number. It is not clear why they recognized "I" and "I2", but the two people did not exist actually. ; K (Kei) : Kei is Headmeters who escaped from Fraud to defend Ai. He was anaesthetized suddenly and was made to undergo the operation for Headmeters on his college days. He was given the

code name A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in industrial c ...

"K". He was proud of being Headmeters, but he became despondent because his lover Etsuko died from the same operation as him. Then, a girl appeared who was just like Etsuko, only ten years younger. She introduced herself as Ai-"I2". "I" was a code name of Etsuko. Kei decided to behave as her father. : Kei has both abilities of Headmeters and Tuned-man exceptionally, because Kuu Ragua Lee, the leader of Fraud, operated on Kei in person. However, he is a defect product as Headmeters and has only the faculty for incomplete mind reading. The number of his headmeter has risen only to level 5 by the shock of Etsuko's death, but the number rises to infinite when Ai draws out his latent abilities. His performance as Tuned-man is less than 1/10 of the output of Yi or Lyan, but Fraud performed the operation which is different from them on Kei. Sensors which are embedded on the 108 vital points of his body control his muscles,

internal organs In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a ...

and brain, and he can always utilize his muscles at 100% (people usually use only about 20%). ; Cat : The stray cat who touched the

topology In mathematics, topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is concerned with the properties of a mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformations, such ...

wall, and lost the tail. Ai brings along the cat after she treats the injury. ; Reiden Yoshioka : The obliging policeman involved in the Kei and Ai versus Fraud fight. He is 34 years old, automania, and his car is an

Alpina Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH & Co. KG is an automobile manufacturing company based in Buchloe, in the Ostallgäu district of Bavaria, Germany that develops and sells high-performance versions of BMW cars. Alpina works closely with BMW and ...

based on BMW cars. He is in a dilemma between his wife Akemi and K2, currently charmed by him. ; K2 : K2 is Kei's feminized clone who was born through

chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

manipulation. She is a high-ranking Headmeters of Fraud who is the same level as Mr. J in capability, and commands the pursuit corps to Kei and Ai. She loves Kei by fervent

narcissism Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism exists on a co ...

and demands him to love her. She wants to kill Ai for monopolizing his love. She lost her memory and regressed to an infantile state of mind by touching the topology wall and took to Reiden, who saved her. She recovers her memory later, but she does not change her mind. ; Lee : Lee is an old

security guard A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) from a variety ...

at a supermarket. He looks after Ai for Kei. He is a kind old man, but also mysterious and is revealed to actually be Headmeters of level 100.

Residents of floor 1983

; Akemi Yoshioka : Akemi is Reiden's wife and she dominates him. She is possessed by Alloy, who makes her its puppet. ; Sugiura : One of the hoodlum group of 3s. He is a little man with

suspenders Suspenders (American English, Canadian English), or braces (British English, Australian English) are fabric or leather straps worn over the shoulders to hold up skirts or trousers. The straps may be elasticated, either entirely or only at attach ...

. Alloy possesses him and manipulates him any way it wants. They bear a grudge against Reiden for reporting their injustice in the university entrance exam to the police, and they ambush him at his home and attack him. They had parents hush up the rape and the violence till then. ; Miyasaka : One of the hoodlum group of 3s. He is a big-boned man. He is pushed away on a road by Sugiura controlled by Alloy and is run over by a car. ; Takenaka : One of the hoodlum group of 3s. He is a foppish man who wears sunglasses, dyes his hair brown and has a permanent. He shoots Reiden with a gun, but the bullet is

teleported Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction literature and in other popular culture. Teleportation is oft ...

to the inside of his body and he dies.

Residents of floor 2183

; Kuu Ragua Lee : The leader of "Fraud", which is the highest consultative body of "Floor 2183" and manages "Floor 1983". Supported by Headmeters with

supernatural power Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

, he is in opposition to the chief delegate Lai Lou Chin. He himself is Headmeters, level 100. He is a skinhead and a brawny big man. He equips his head with the metal electronic device which covers his eyes, mouth and forehead. He believed that he was the governing class who managed the human beings of Floor 1983, who will live in 1983 fixed forever, but he notices that he is also a captive himself managed by higher-ranking inspectors. He then decides to challenge them to fight. ; J (Mr. J) : Mr. J is a high-ranking Headmeters of Fraud, at level 40. He is a sexless youth of long hair. He is Kuu Ragua Lee's page boy and admires and loves him. He always fears that Kuu Ragua Lee will lose his concern about him. He commands the operational unit which pursues Kei and Ai. ; A (Miss A) : Miss A is a leader of Headmeters, Kuu Ragua Lee's right-hand woman and a daughter of the Coedes family. She is a muscular woman. Her younger brother "B" is in Headmeters. ; Yi : Yi is a

secret agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

of Fraud. He is a Tuned-man who was converted by Fraud with fighting power at the same level as a

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

. He can shoot rays from his finger-tip. He dresses in black from head to toe, wearing a

Mao suit The modern Chinese tunic suit is a style of male attire originally known in China as the Zhongshan suit () after the republican leader Sun Yat-sen (Sun Zhongshan). Sun Yat-sen introduced the style shortly after the founding of the Republic of ...

, round-framed glasses and a black hat. He makes a combination with Lyan and both chase Kei and the others together. ; Lyan : Lyan is Yi's partner and a Tuned-man converted by Fraud as well. His clothes are black like Yi's. He is killed by "Cat" who had his power amplified by Ai. ; Talkative dolls : "Talkative doll" is a general term for the

androids An android is a humanoid robot or other artificial being often made from a flesh-like material. Historically, androids were completely within the domain of science fiction and frequently seen in film and television, but advances in robot techno ...

who serve as an operator in Fraud headquarters. Their appearance resembles that of a naked middle-aged man with a skinhead. ; Lai Lou Chin : Lai Lou Chin is a chief delegate of "Floor 2183" and is the only person who opposes the leader of Fraud, Kuu Ragua Lee. He is a poor-looking old man with a bobbed hair style. He always soaks in a capsule filled with special solution in the nude. The capsule is set in the position ranging from the body to the head of the large-sized

humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and ''-oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20t ...

robot. The robot serves as a substitute for the body of Lai Lou Chin and the capsule has the function to prevent "mind reading" of Headmeters. He is called "

Enema An enema, also known as a clyster, is an injection of fluid into the lower bowel by way of the rectum.Cullingworth, ''A Manual of Nursing, Medical and Surgical'':155 The word enema can also refer to the liquid injected, as well as to a device ...

head" by Miss A, because the form of the capsule resembles a disposable syringe.

Residents of the upper floor

; Alloy : Alloy is in the floor above where Ai and Kei are, and sends only speculation into lower floors from there. The identity of Alloy is a thing invented based on "Program alloy" which is against Ai and tries to incorporate the gene in itself when it finds the gene that the program does not have. Alloy was invented by incorporating the program in a monster

cell Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life Cell may also refer to: Locations * Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery ...

discovered by chance. Alloy stores billions of human genes in the cell. Since Alloy is an infinite form, it interferes in the world by getting into an organism and controlling its consciousness. However, the host whose consciousness Alloy influences becomes very suggestible. Alloy possesses "Cat", a staff of Fraud, Sugiura, Yoshioka, Akemi, the artificial body of Lai Lou Chin in sequence, and handles their body. Alloy can draw out potential capacities of those whom Alloy touches and possesses like Ai.

Residents in A.D. 1983

; Lee Kuwabara : Kuwabara is the head of Kasuga lab which existed in

Izu, Shizuoka is a city located in central Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 30,678 in 13,390 households, and a population density of 84 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Izu is ...

in Japan once. He won fame as a professor of the bionics department of Los Angeles Institute of Technology. However, he was expelled from the

bionics Bionics or biologically inspired engineering is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. The word ''bionic'', coined by Jack E. Steele in August 1 ...

society, because he repeated medical experimentation on a living person to artificially create a person with supernatural powers. When he was out of work, Sosuke Kasuga, his best friend and the head of Kasuga lab, gave him a job. Kuwabara assumed the head of the Kasuga lab after Sosuke's death, but Kuwabara betrayed Sosuke and his son after all, and returned to the society thanks to the program that they had studied. He is the original of Kuu Ragua Lee and old Lee. The two are his clones. ; Kasuga : Kasuga is the son of Sosuke Kasuga, the former head of Kasuga lab, and is the research worker. He lost his father and wife and daughter in a traffic accident at the same time in 1980. He completed "Program Ai", which Sosuke studied. He is the original of Kei.

Terms

; Floor : "Floor" is a cylindrical world with a radius of 440km which extends concentrically from its center at "Fraud Building (The Pillar of God)". It is surrounded by topology walls. ; Fraud : "Fraud" is para-psychicers' group. They are considered to be a national prime consultative body in Floor 2183. Kuu Ragua Lee violated custom and established

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

inside of "The Pillar of God", which he calls "Fraud Building". He lives in there. ; Headmeters :　"Headmeters" are members of Fraud who use para-supernatural power. They analyze others'

brain waves Neural oscillations, or brainwaves, are rhythmic or repetitive patterns of neural activity in the central nervous system. Neural tissue can generate oscillation, oscillatory activity in many ways, driven either by mechanisms within individual ne ...

with the help of many electronic devices buried in their bodies and read their minds (para-

telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W ...

). They can control

magnetic field A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and to ...

s to float in the air and move objects ( para-levitation and para-

psychokinesis Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

), and they can predict what will happen in the near future at high hitting ratio by communicating with the city computer directly (para-

precognition Precognition (from the Latin 'before', and 'acquiring knowledge') is the purported psychic phenomenon of seeing, or otherwise becoming directly aware of, events in the future. There is no accepted scientific evidence that precognition is a ...

). When they show their ability, their forehead displays the number suitable for the degree. They occasionally equip the power supporter which is the heavy armaments for anti-Tuned-man warfare. ; Tuned-man (

Cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

) : "Tuned-men" are combat cyborgs to whom artificial muscle, the metal skeleton, etc. are transplanted. They match a tank in fighting power. It is especially easy to read their minds for Headmeters. ; Diver : "Diver" is a

pet name A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek: (), from (), 'to call by pet names', sometimes also ''hypocoristic'') or pet name is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as ''Izzy'' for I ...

of new and powerful mobile sky soldier or combat

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

that Lai Lou Chin lent to Kuu Ragua Lee. Diver is a military escort for Kuu Ragua Lee to counter a new enemy, Alloy. Diver is a disk type and is propelled by a

jet engine A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term ...

. Diver divides into 2 parts, and the upper part (Diver1) transforms into a combat humanoid robot. The lower part (Diver2) can be used as a flying boat as it is after separation.

Film adaptation

An eponymous

OVA , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

was produced in 1986 and was shown at movie theaters affiliated with

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...

on July 26, 1986. The anime starts off sometime in the future, with Kei and Ai running for their lives. Ai is a girl who holds a terrible secret which could destroy the current world. The world is now populated by Headmeters, people who have psychic powers and whose strength is shown on their forehead when they fight. Kei was an experimental Headmeter subject, whose strength never went above level 5. In desperate moments, though, when Ai is in trouble, Kei can increase his ability to infinity. The one who is after her has a deep secret and is aided by a small dwarflike man who lives in a robotic suit. Eventually Ai is captured and Kei, a detective and another Headmeter who was converted to the good side when Kei unleashed his horrible powers must go and rescue her. Together they must save Ai and the secret she holds.

Reception

Helen McCarthy Helen McCarthy (born 27 February 1951) is the British author of such anime reference books as ''500 Manga Heroes and Villains'', ''Anime!'', ''The Anime Movie Guide'' and ''Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation''. She is the co-author of ...

in ''500 Essential Anime Movies'' praises anime film for having "one of the best endings in anime". McCarthy, Helen. ''500 Essential Anime Movies: The Ultimate Guide''. — Harper Design, 2009. — P. 36. — 528 p. —

References

External links

* * {{Ashi Productions 1983 manga 1986 anime films Ashi Productions Fiction set in 1983 Comics set in the 1980s Dystopian anime and manga 1980s dystopian films Futabasha manga Manga adapted into films Mecha anime and manga Science fiction comics Seinen manga Toei Animation films