Armoured Trooper VOTOMS was a major milestone in the history of animated storytelling. It was proof that a hard-edge, real-world feel could go hand in hand with mecha, delivering a world that was not only compellingly believable in its nightmare, but as far removed as possible from the super-weapon space age that permeated its siblings.

It followed the story of a man named Chirico Cuvie, trained, used, and betrayed by his own government. On a quest for revenge and answers about his past, Chirico set off across the galaxy, leaping from one place to another with a handful of allies, and a heart full of anger. If this sounds familiar, let me stop you there. Unlike your typical Gundam hero, Chirico is not the least bit likeable. He was not built to service an audience in terms of vicariousness. Living through Chirico is sufficiently difficult because of how hard-edged he is, and also how utterly ethical. This is a man who believes in killing when killing comes, but takes no pleasure from it. He believes in duty and responsibility, and yet makes few if any friends. He isn’t sociable, and he isn’t likeable. He shares very little of himself and prefers to think on his own.

Let me stop you again if you’re beginning to frame him as an emo child.

While another character might subscribe to adolescent whinery, Chirico is sufficiently departed from that archetype. His problems are real problems, his pain is real pain, and his personality, though unlikeable, is grounded in reality. He has few if any tendencies towards whining or angst, and that perhaps is what saves him as a character. He has real integrity. It is this man which provides us our insight into the universe of VOTOMS, a universe that has been fraught with war for countless generations, for reasons no one even remembers.

Enter the Pailsen Files.

This OVA takes place a short while before the original series. I’m sad to say I’ve never seen beyond the Ooedo City arc, and so my picture of VOTOMS as it was is rather incomplete. The Pailsen Files however, serve as an excellent backstory to who Chirico is and how he came to be. We see a mildly softer, less experienced Chirico, who is nonetheless a very diligent soldier and already being used by the government in what appears to be a socialised military experiment.

Of the first episode, I’d just like to get my criticisms out of the way quickly, for they are few. Firstly I think this is one of the more awful openings I’ve come across, and the music is downright atrocious. The ending doesn’t fare much better either. This is surprising because I rather liked the original’s opening and adored its ending, and here the OVA has decided to use much of the same music throughout. However, the intro and outtro grate on the ears in such a way that I could barely sit through either on the first try, and have skipped them altogether on subsequent viewings.

Secondly, the opening is visually uninteresting, and the way they handled the credits is rather hokey. Most of the scenery is a montage of CGI armoured troopers (ATs) marching into different battles, with one silhouetted and then blocked out with the credits plastered on its body. It’s an unnecessary, jarring effect, and one which makes the opening that much harder to swallow.

However, here is where my complaints end. Within the first episode we are treated to a very Normandy-esque beachhead, where a good 1400 ATs are attempting to take a coast. A single pillbox and other reinforcements on the cliffs are their main opposition, and prove more than equal to the task. Dummy dropships carrying spiked pillars float in and are promptly shot down, though this seems to be the point. Once sinking, the ships drop their pillars which then become anchors onto which the ATs can attach tow cables and ski themselves in on. It’s a very impressive display of military technology, and it shows that the creators have thought rather meticulously about how things should work.

A sidebar on ATs: These are your standard-issue mech in the VOTOMS universe. Generally green, with a tri-reticule mono-eye setup, and built from the highest-grade papier maché. They invoke Mobile Suit Gundam’s Zaku unit rather readily, from the paintjob and bowl-head design, down to the fact they explode at the slightest provocation. The difference is that it was a Gundam blowing up the Zaku; a superweapon versus a standard issue mobile suit. Here, it’s AT vs AT. Carnage is at a maximum.

This is what knits VOTOMS together in a very real way. Artillery equipment on the battlefield is essential, yet rather easy to destroy. Anything is in this day and age. From landmines to grenades to rocket launchers, there’s a wide variety of hand-carried weaponry that can take out a tank or a helicopter in mere seconds. The whole point is to use these machines in a strategic manner, rather than as brute force. ATs are no different. If you screw up, you will get killed. That’s the reality of VOTOMS.

Well, back to the episode. I don’t want to say much about the actual story since that would negate the point of watching it, but I was rather impressed. Chirico is more likeable this time around by virtue of being a softer individual, yet you can still tell it’s him. He’s going to become that sour, disillusioned individual of Ooedo City, and all the portents are there. The government has taken a keen interest in him. His very presence at the battle seems to be a plant. His survival is of great importance to the military — the very same military who considers losing thousands of soldiers “just the price of war”.

As to the animation itself, it’s of a rather high calibre. It’s clearly on a limited budget, but it doesn’t cut any serious corners. I was put off at first by the use of CGI mecha, but they grew on me rather quickly, and outside of the intro it’s all rather well implemented. In fact, I think it might be rather hard to demonstrate some of the battlefield technology and tactics used, had they gone with more traditional methods on such a modest budget. As it is, the mechs do rather well in 3D, and help to accentuate the grittiness of Chirico’s reality.

Amoured Trooper VOTOMS: Pailsen Files comes highly recommended. It upholds the spirit of the original flawlessly, and brings it into the modern era with updated visuals and pacing. Colour me impressed.