Moldiver...

I picked up the VHS version of Moldiver at a time when Pioneer was still a relatively new player in the anime distribution industry and long before Pioneer went out of business...

The superhero world of muscle-bound maxi-men and cranium-enhanced techno-dweebs is about to get a makeover... with Moldiver, Pioneer Animation's wonderfully wacky sarcastic take on superheroes. Desperate to prove himself the world's greatest scientific genius, the exceptionally pathetic Hiroshi Ozora creates the "Mol unit" a dimensional barrier device that cancels the laws of physics. Now most of us might waste this precious invention on curing world hunger or ending war, but super-geek Hiroshi knows better, and right away creates a superhuman, crime-fighting physique for himself. Unfortunately for Hiroshi's testosteronic dreams, his 17-year-old mallrat sister, Mirai, discovers the Mol unit and decides to give the suit a little more "style," after which Hiroshi finds himself trying to save the world in silk stockings and high heels. Eventually, he has no choice but to turn the Mol unit over to young Mirai and now the world had better get ready for a superhero who'd rather shop than fight.

Volume 1
Metamorforce
Tokyo, 2045 - Young Hiroshi Ozora, a Technical Development Engineer at frontier technology conglomerate ZIC, creates a super-suit which bends the laws of physics and makes him feasibly the strongest superhero of all time. Quickly his exploits earn him the moniker "Captain Tokyo" as he becomes a media darling.

At the same time, the "Dolls," a group of deadly, but glamorous teleporting female androids under the control of a mysterious evil scientist calling himself "Dr. Machinegal," embark on a weird crime spree. Moldiver foils their first attempt to steal a classic formula 1 race car from ZIC's race queen contest.

The winner of that contest just happens to be Mirai Ozora, college student, mallrat and younger sister of Hiroshi. When Mirai stumbles upon the suit plans in her brother's bedroom, she decides to implement a few "design changes." Later, when the Machinegal Dolls make another attempt on the formula 1 car, during the race itself, Hiroshi springs into action, only to discover that his wondrous suit now looks like... his little sister. Hiroshi is unable to control the suit in its new form and eventually has to hand it over to Mirai, who despite a few "control" problems, manages to defeat the Dolls and save the day. A new hero has been born in Tokyo, a hero called MOLDIVER.

Volume 2
Overzone
Hiroshi Ozora is off to Florida for a business trip. He invites his sister Mirai and brother Nozomu to tag along so they can all catch a concert by international pop superstar Amy Lean. Mirai begs off with the excuse that "travel expenses are such a waste," the actual translation of that being she has to work part-time to cover her gargantuan shopping bill.

When Mirai learns her brother is being accompanied by astronaut-stud Mr. Misaki and Mirai's best-friend and co-idolizer of the aforementioned a-s Misaki however, Mirai throws caution and creditors to the wind and jets off to Florida on a bargain fare courtesy of Moldiver Air. Lucky thing... because during the concert, the Machinegal Dolls show up to hijack the Space Shuttle being launched nearby. Blast off with the second episode of Pioneer's riotous science fiction superhero farce.

Volume 3
Longing
"There's something I want you to pick up for me..." is the message, but to Mirai this is her chance for an encounter with her "lust-puppy" astronaut Mr. Misaki. However, a series of misunderstandings and coincidences create a chronic and comic missed meeting. Finally, in desperation, Mirai uses Moldiver to search the city at super-speed. What she doesn't know is that the Machinegal Dolls have been waiting for Moldiver to appear in order to battle test the suit's efficiency. As soon as Mirai transforms, the Dolls converge and a tremendous battle ensues. But who can fight when romance calls?

Volume 4
Destruction
For the Centennial Celebration of the sinking of the famous W.W.II battleship Yamato, Professor Amagi is directing the monumental task of raising of the 100-year-old wreck from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Unbeknownst to all however, Professor Amagi is also Dr. Machinegal, and his actual motive for raising the Yamato is to enable the "Dolls" to steal the ship, along with the experimental Moltron Ultra Dimension System Professor Amagis' grandfather was testing, 100 years ahead of its time, on the Yamato when it was sunk. As the Dolls begin their attack, Mirai activates the Moldiver and races to the scene. A battle begins.

There's an X-factor no one counted on though, in the form of Nozomu Ozora, Hiroshi's 10-year-old brother, who stows away on the Yamato. A precocious technical genius in his own right, Nozomu manages to start the Moltron system, wreaking havoc with both the Yamato and Moldiver.

Volume 5
Intruder
After much effort, Hiroshi finally succeeds in duplicating the Mol-unit. Use of the unit is essential to a successful launch of the new ZIC Sakigake dimension-warping rocket piloted by Mr. Misaki, which could otherwise turn into a glorified suicide mission. Taking the second Moldiver unit, Mirai transforms and speeds to the rocket's Mount Fuji test site.

Meanwhile, Professor Amagi believes fully that the project is doomed, but unwilling to face the shame of failure, he decides to use the "Dolls" of his alter ego Dr. Machinegal to sabotage the project. Using the Mol theory, the now "SuperDolls" prove a powerful adversary for Moldiver. Finally, as the battle rages, a mysterious third Moldiver appears, promising to be the most powerful adversary yet!

Volume 6
VERity
The Sakigake continues to speed up in preparation for launch, but comes under attack by the mysterious - and obnoxious - Moldiver III, with not only greater strength than Moldiver, but a strange new weapon that can break down Moldiver's protective dimensional barrier. Pushing herself to her limit, Mirai is able to delay Moldiver III long enough for the Sakigake to launch, but without the Mol-unit essential to the survival of its pilot and Mirai's love interest, Mr. Misaki. Both Moldiver and Moldiver III launch in pursuit of the rocket, with very different intentions. At the same time, Isabelle, last and most powerful of the Dolls, has used Professor Amagi's Mol-unit to push her strength to the maximum and is after Moldiver intent on vengeance. Can Mirai survive the onslaught of two foes more powerful than her own Moldiver and save Mr. Misaki? In the cold of space and the shadow of the sun, the Moldiver series draws to a "heated" climax with episode six, "Verity."

Moldiver is a nice family-friendly super hero spoof. Of the six volumes, the fourth is my favorite. It contains an homage to Starblazers. I used to have the entire series on subtitled VHS as well as the promotional video for Moldiver on VHS. The promotional video was only available via a special offer from P-Anime, Pioneer's early attempt at an anime fan community. I enjoyed the series enough, that I repurchased it on DVD. I gave Moldiver a 4 out of 5.