Legend of Black Heaven, The 8/10

The universe is in danger from an alien armada. The defenders are unable to stem the tide. What can save us all? A giant robot? A magical girl and her magic friends? Two giant robots? Of course not. Only one thing can save us. Only one thing can EVER save us.

ROCK AND FUCKIN' ROLL BABY!

Dating back to 1999 the 13 episodes here are pretty good for one of those early computer scanned and coloured shows. There are some awkward pans (I hate them soooo much) and a general lack of lighting effects but the show looks good overall. The backgrounds and character designs are above average though a little uneven in quality through the series. The VAs are great as usual but the main character is totally perfect for the part and stands out. Of course where this show really shines is the soundtrack, lots and lots of guitar here and it's all good. The OP is great but since variations of the same song appear again and again during the show I get a little tired of it after awhile. I don't care for the weird end theme but I REALLY like the final song in the last episode and the variant right after it as the credits roll so it all balances out.

So how exactly does the universe get saved by ROCK AND FUCKIN' ROLL? Well it all starts with a blond haired, green eyed alien girl named Layla who shows up to recruit our hero to play guitar. Our hero is Oji Tanaka. He has a wife and pre-pre-school son at home and a boring job but unlike your average salaryman he was once the lead guitar player in a band named Black Heaven that was pretty successful. Lately he's been down, his wife just threw out his last electric guitar and his kid plays frisbee with his favorite albums that he can't even play since his wife got rid of the player. Life kinda sucks.

Layla takes him to a guitar, in what he believes is some sort of night club, that he can play, but only when she calls. He quickly discovers that he's not at a nightclub at all but on an interstellar battleship and he's not playing for a crowd of fans but the spaceship control room where his guitar solos mysteriously power a super weapon to fight the aliens. The good guys are so advanced they managed to build a super weapon they're incapable of powering themselves and have no idea how it actually works. Gotta love anime.

This is show less about fighting aliens and more about Oji's problems with his work and family who constantly want him to conform. The whole space business is a secret so his wife starts to believe he's having an affair with Layla. Beyond fighting with his wife he also eventually has a falling out with Layla when he discovers that no one is really listening to his music, they just want him to power their weapon (which is becoming increasingly less effective). This becomes especially apparent when he tries a new song and the commander of the ship demands he play the same song he's been playing the whole time.

Of course he eventually gets over it and gets his old band back together to increase the power of the weapon. Also, Layla replaces their missing keyboard player and she eventually learns about the nature of music which her culture doesn't comprehend. The show culminates in a musical duel versus the aliens who've resurrected the formerly deceased Black Heaven keyboardist.

The finale of this show is truly fantastic. After the final fight the last scene plays against the end credits where Oji and Layla say goodbye. So many anime series don't portray relationships in any realistic manner and since Black Heaven does, especially in this last scene, I have to give it due props.

Along with all the music there is alot of great comedy with the 3 retarded girls from the spaceship helping out with tasks such as babysitting Oji's son and distracting his wife and generally being retarded throughout the series. It's some really funny stuff.

For being a great show on all counts I have to highly recommend it.