The Brilliant Heretic OVA was made in 1994. It never actually got subbed, but a raw version is available, so I decided to check out its content. It’s set about 30 years after the end of the television series and so it’s the only OVA so far to be a sequel to the series, rather than a prequel. As a series from the Votoms Franchise, it just isn’t as refined as Ryousuke Takahashi’s other works, however it’s still an interesting watch.
One thing that will be hard to swallow in this OVA is that the main focus doesn’t fall on any of the lead characters. Instead, we have Chirico doing what he does best (fighting), Vanilla providing support, Gotho has degraded in some sort of a mad old man, and Fyana really has gotten the short end of the straw because she’s nothing more than a damsel in distress throughout the entire OVA. A role that she avoided so well in the TV-series! The rest of the cast doesn’t appear at all, and instead the depth in this series comes from the setting, and in particular one new female character.
This new character is actually pretty interesting, in the way that she fits in the political system of the setting, but she’s not perfect. She’s quite a bit cliched and her *sigh* romantic feelings fail to make any impact. The relationship with her father is very interesting, though. I think my favourite part were the ones that focused on the politics: at first sight they’re simple but they’re actually quite interesting.
The animation is very inconsistent: it ranges from very stiff to really good, though most of the animation edges to the former. There are a number of scenes that have the same kind really smooth animation that Ryousuke Takahashi would later perfect in Gasaraki.
However, because of one final twist this really is a must-watch for any Votoms Fan. I’m not going to spoil exactly what’s going to happen, but while this series doesn’t live up to Ryousuke Takahashi’s usual high standard, and the new characters while they have their times of depth also have their times of shallowness, it really doesn’t deserve that it’s not gotten subbed.
| Storytelling: | 8/10 – A bit disjointed, but interesting politics, the same dark atmosphere as Votoms. |
| Characters: | 7/10 – A bit of a mixed bag. |
| Production-Values: | 7/10 – Again: mixed bag. |
| Setting: | 9/10 – Interesting setting that tries out many new and different things. |
Vanilla’s not in this OVA at all, neither is Gotho. The crazed old man is Rochina.
While it is interesting, it’s a poor sequel, and there are reasons why this is so. It was originally meant to be 12 episodes but Takahashi was forced to cut it short due to interference by the group funding the production, hence the ending was not what Takahashi intended. He said he’d never let anyone interfere with his creative control over the VOTOMS franchise again and swore never to return to that part of the timeline.
Which is why we got a 12 episode prequel Pailsen Files. They give him an actual budget and timeframe to do it right.
Bro-lord subs have started subbing this. I believe they have subbed up to two episodes already.