Blue Gender (1999–2000) User Reviews

Emotionally Driven Cartoon

[james-obeirne · 8/10 · 3 August 2008]

I'm not really a big anime guy; in fact, the genre as a whole sort of repulses me. Blue Gender really only piqued my interest because it was on Adult Swim's lineup around two, three years ago (back when AS was worth watching) and I caught a couple episodes. I'm a total sucker for post-apocalyptic scenarios, and giant, mutilating bugs never hurt anything, so I recently got hold of the series in complete. 36 hours later, I'd watched the series from beginning to end; not so much because it was gripping (that's only partially true), but more because I'm a maniac.

Blue Gender is driven not by the prototypical giant robot action Japan is (in)famous for, nor the horrendous monsters, nor even, for that matter, the dialog. The viewer is compelled through Blue Gender by the characters and their subsequent emotional arrangements, more specifically the leads, Yugi and Marlene. It's basically an epic, sci-fi soap opera with heavy metal and big bugs.

Marlene is the ideal woman. (Yeah yeah, she's a cartoon, "ew gross", get over it: that's not the point. The point is the idea being conveyed by whatever layered ink it travels through:) Marlene portrays the aesthetic of an ideal woman: strong, self-sufficient, but irrevocably feminine. I'd argue that she's more of a focal point for the viewer than Yugi, but Yugi is also a necessary component.

Yugi is a bumbling, sometimes whiny character that often accomplishes incredible things. This the viewer can appreciate and identify with; his relationship with Marlene, because of the viewer's identification with him, is the key in the ignition for this work. The audience is propelled through the series hoping intensely he'll get himself together and snag this pristine idol of a woman.

The interactions that follow the setup between these two are worth the 500-whatever minutes of moderate quality animation and dialog.

The other characters, for the most part, are semi-interesting. Some, however, are notable (eg, Dice). The atmosphere and setting are kind of cool; the creators do a pretty good job of portraying an insect infested planet Earth, but again, this is mostly beside the point.

In this ultimately lonely life, people often underwhelm us. I'm constantly disappointed by the trite selection of people placed before me. Fiction provides a remedy to this, allowing us to construct a composite ideal of characters we'd like to know within the stage of our minds. After all, the only difference between memory and reality is the level of detail.

Anyways, philosophic drooling out of the way, I'm glad to say that this series instilled in me memories of a character I appreciate, and I'd endure double the length of these episodes, spotty details and all, just to glean what I have.

On an end, this series has softened my harsh glare towards cartoons. While I doubt I'll be browsing the Anime section anytime soon, I'm a bit more open to taking animation for the ideas it's portraying as opposed to the raw, intrinsic value of the animation itself.

Oh, also, keep a keen eye out for the hilarious Engrish used in the animated computer interfaces... "Meesuement Impossibility!".

Despite tropes all over the place, it is still a very good animated sci-fi series worth a watch.

[badcgishark · 7/10 · 4 August 2020]

I remembered watching the first episode of this show way back in the early 2000's on adult swim. I didn't care for it at the time, but due to the current pandemic I have been watching numerous anime series that feature a bleak, hopeless earth on the verge of collapse. Blue Gender fits this profile nicely and the story is dark, brooding, and besides the two main characters, there is little to no plot armor for anyone. There are numerous tired tropes that you will likely groan at during the show, however it has a strong enough plot and main characters to drive the story along.

Very good. Nothing amazing, but very good.

Old School Apocalypse with frustrating protagonist

[k-gordo17 · 7/10 · 21 May 2023]

Blue Gender is an old school anime with a familiar post apocalypse story where you have insect monsters exterminating mankind. The main character is awaken from cold sleep after several decades and is needed to help save Earth from the creatures once and for all. Mechs included.

There's many positives to point out. The story is always changing things up and keeping the characters moving. One location to the next. Sometimes its man vs. Insect, and sometimes its human vs. Human conflicts. The show has a great musical score and sound effects for the guns, insects, and machinery which goes a long way in building atmosphere and weight to scenes. The violence is brutal and you feel the intensity of the action. The show was able to keep my interest for the entire run time and rarely hit pacing issues. If you love post apocalyptic anime, then you will probably enjoy this show despite its flaws.

The main issues that really drag down the show from potential greatness is the animation and the main character. The animation is very rough and was distracting countless times. Shots are reused, badly inserted animation on top of backgrounds, and other eye sores that needed polishing. Even for shows AIC was producing around the same time such as "Now and Then, Here and There", its below average quality. I'm usually forgiving when it comes to hand drawn animation, but even for me I couldn't ignore its issues.

The main character is hard to root for the majority of the show. At the first half he complains and screws things up way too much, and then he becomes unlikable for another section in the second half. To be fair, the show sets up the character to be this way in the story, and had the show handled it better i would have had no problem with it. However, the show takes way too long for this flawed character to change to the point to where you start to hate the main character and that is never good. They either needed to tone down the character, or have his arc flow more naturally. I want more flawed characters in anime, but he just did not work for me at all.

Overall, its a slightly above average anime. Even for those who do like this anime, I can't see that many of them claiming its an overlooked masterpiece or anything.

Wake Up: It's the End of the World

[PeterGriffinLives · 9/10 · 19 July 2007]

Yuji Kaido is an average guy with a problem: he's sick, and there's no cure. Doctors simply don't know enough to fix the problem, but they can offer Yuji an amazing opportunity. After reluctantly agreeing, Yuji is cryogenically frozen until a cure for his condition is discovered. But things are very different when he wakes. Tokyo (the entire Earth, for that matter) is in ruins, consumed by merciless, insect-like predators known as the Blue. Pursued by the massive arthropods, Yuji is rescued by icy professional soldier Marlene Angel, a member of a military team assigned to recover "sleepers" like Yuji and transport them back to the orbital space station where humanity has taken refuge. As the Blue hunt them at every turn and team members start to die, Yuji and Marlene will have to rely on each other to survive and to escape from the planet.

This is an exceedingly well-made show. The Blue are interestingly designed and frighteningly portrayed, the characters are likable (well, the good guys are), and the storyline never bores the viewer. The general film "rules" about who can and cannot die (children are safe, noncombatants are safe, etc.) are not rigidly followed here, and the series is all the more suspenseful for it.

There are a few issues, like a small amount of nudity that can jar you if you're not expecting it, and an environmental plot element that can feel somewhat preachy at times. However, these aren't enough to justify taking away any more than one star.

Blue Gender has a dark tone and its fair share of violence, and is not for everyone. However, if you enjoy the genre, this is a visually and, I kid you not, emotionally appealing series that can be horrifying, exciting, and even touching.

Dark Anime

[SeanSmith · 3 June 2004]

I've seen a lot of anime, this is by far the darkest, most disturbing anime I have ever seen. It's great!! When I first saw the trailer for Blue Gender I got goosebumps. It's really a fantastic series that has twists and turns around every corner that leaves you wondering what's going to happen next. The voices are dark and haunting, the music is dark and scary. FUNimation did a fantastic job with this. With the voices of Eric Vale (DBZ's Future Trunks) and Laura Bailey (Kid Trunks, Keiko Ukimura). Word to the wise: Don't get too attached to any character, because there aren't any Dragonballs to bring them back. I got attached to a few characters that were killed off pretty quick. I wasn't happy. Also, the voice actors speak very low, so you might need to turn the volume up, but that captures the darkness about it. All in all Blue Gender is a very unique and dark series that any anime fan would love.

Incongruity Of Continuity Is The Biggest Drawback

[cyguration · 6/10 · 24 March 2024]

I'm not a big anime fan, and I only put this on my watchlist because YouTube randomly recommended me a video list of gritty/gory anime featuring mechs, and this was on it. So it seemed like it was worth checking out.

The first two or three episodes were really good, and set the tone of how dreadful the world is within this anime series, but the entire middle section of the series has way too many filler episodes. Even then, I could have tolerated that had the continuity of the series been much better.

In some episodes vehicles and mechs were heavily damaged, but in the next episode (or even later in the same episode) the vehicles and mechs were restored. Later in the series they were better about the continuity, but early on there were a ton of issues like this, which made it hard to get immersed in the series, since moments that should have and could have had more impact were lessened due to immersion-breaking incongruities.

A good example is that characters seem to have infinite amounts of ammo just until the story doesn't need them to have infinite amounts of ammo. Mechs are highly capable just until they're not, and they become cannon fodder for the bugs.

I didn't have any problems with the over-arching story and what the series was trying to get across (even though it was wrong in its assessment of what's happening on the planet). But the continuity didn't improve until the second half of the series.

I think from episode 14 or 15 onward things really ramped up and improved greatly. Also there's a much stronger focus on the consistency of the characters, battle damage, and the war effort. So it made it feel much more grounded in its depiction of the world and battles.

Characters regularly repairing their mechs, and the damage they encounter makes more sense later in the series, which, again, makes the story flow and action scenes mean a lot more.

For this reason it's a difficult series to judge. A lot of the filler episodes are insufferable and mostly pointless, and some episodes seem to be filled with the two leads constantly just yelling out each other's names (especially on the space station).

But the back-half of the series really picks it up and is quite impressive. You can tell a large portion of the budget was put into the first half of the final episode with the big battle scene, which was really well done. And again, there was consistency with the way the battle played out. It's just a shame that there were so many wasteful episodes getting to that point, as well as a lot of ridiculous plot contrivances for certain characters as well. I think if the first half flowed better and they weren't so quick to kill off certain characters within the first handful of episodes, it could have been a much better series.

Still, the premise is awesome. The first two episodes are intense, and the back-half of the series really improves the flow and storytelling pacing. It's just a shame that there is a lot of filler getting to that point.

Set me free

[WeAreLive · 9/10 · 22 June 2020]

Yuji Kido (Eric Vale) is your normally average joe who has a sickness where there is no cure. The Doctors don't know how to fix his problem but they offer him to go into a sleeper program where he is put to sleep into a cryogenically sleeping program which would cure his condition. At least 20 years later he wakes up only to find the earth in a very devastating sate. A soldier called Marlane Angel (Laura Bailey) is assigned with her team to recover a sleeper sample (him) to a space station.

The anime is definitely in my opinion very different from what I am watching normally while not everyone will like it but it's a fun watch. As there is quite a lot of gore as well as a bit of nudity involved in it.

I would say the action in this is pretty good, the voice cast in the dub is excellent pay no attention to any garbage sub-turds/sub elites (if there are any, i haven't read anyone elses review). The sound track as well is very good as well.

Robotech with sex and violence

[jeff_winkles · 7/10 · 5 August 2010]

This series despite being less than perfect has it's share of moments. The premise of the series is much like Robotech perhaps in the Invid storyline where a bunch of mysterious bug monsters have seized control of earth. The monsters are truly disturbing and there are some heart wrenching moments in the series. The truly spectacular part of this series is the emotional journey of the main character as he awakens in the future to find the world he knew destroyed and his desperate fight for survival. Where this series is very different from Robotech is that it treats it's subject matter in as gruesome and horrifying a way as it rightfully deserves to be.

Exciting and emotional 'bug-hunt' anime

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 3 August 2013]

When Yuji Kaido is diagnosed with an untreatable condition he is put into suspended animation in the hope that one day a cure will be found. Twenty two years later he is awakened but it isn't because a cure has been found! He discovers that the Earth has been overrun by creatures called 'The Blue' and a group of heavily armed soldiers is intending to transport as many 'sleepers' as they can to Second Earth; an orbital space station. Amongst the soldiers is one called Marlene and she is the series second protagonist.

As they make their way to spaceport, faraway in Russia, they must confront numerous Blues and inevitably take heavy casualties. Getting to the space station isn't the end of their troubles; once there Yuji learns why they wanted the Sleepers and finds himself in the vanguard in the struggle to retake Earth from the Blue.

I watched the opening episode of this series years ago and didn't think too much of it at the time so dropped the series but wanting something new to watch I decided to give this a second chance… I'm glad that I did as I quickly found myself gripped by Yuji and Marlene's struggle against the Blue. These to protagonists were pretty good as their characters developed nicely during the twenty six episode run; secondary characters also get some development meaning that we care for those who are killed along the way… and there are quite a few of those. The action is pretty solid and fairly gory at times… anybody who has seen a 'bug hunt' film like 'Starship Troopers' will know the sort of thing to expect. As well as quite a bit of gore there is some sex and nudity although it is fairly tame… if you are old enough to watch the violence it shouldn't offend you! The animation is pretty good especially in the action scenes even if there are the occasional 'shaky still frames' rather than full animation. Overall I'd say this is well worth watching if you like bug-hunting sci-fi.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

Insects of the giant type have taken over the world!

[Aaron1375 · 7/10 · 25 July 2009]

This anime was rather good, it really pulled you in the first few episodes, however at a point it loses some of its steam and is just not the series I was expecting it to be. Basically, the story starts off great as this dude with some mysterious illness is put into cold storage so that one day he can perhaps be revived when a cure is found. He is awakened, but not to a bunch of doctors saying "We did it!". No, instead he is awakened in a nightmare as the earth has been overrun with giant insect creatures, his only chance of survival a mysterious girl using some type of robot vehicle to fight off the many different creatures now seemingly intent on killing people. This part of the story is great, seems they have some plans on using the dude to stop the creatures, his illness being the key. A lot of people are now living in space and this is where the girl must get the boy so they can begin setting a plan of attack against the bugs in motion. It is a really good series up to the point you sort of find out what the people with this illness are needed for and you ask yourself "what"? I just never got what was so special about them, seems like they really had no special ability to me. The series once it reaches the go back to earth phase kind of loses its luster that it built up in the very exciting escorting kid back to the spaceship part of the show. I also never saw the last episode of this series so while I saw all the others I still feel incomplete when discussing this start with a bang series. Just needed work on the second half of the show.

Let down by this

[Kolir_Apu · 3/10 · 20 October 2018]

. Not everybody has to agree with me. This series had promise, but failed ultimately in its conclusion. Which was weak at best. Dialogues...I found it wanting for the most part. In spite of its good story build up, I found this anime wasted a lot of time on over-dramatic shots of characters emoting over and over. The theme of the story is thought provoking, about humankind destroying earth with our carelessness. But the ending is carelessly put forward (which I found predictable), it needed a lot more thought to wrap it up. I had hopes, but was sadly disappointed. Princess Mononoke or Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind handled similar themes more maturely; despite not being 'mature' rated. It is strictly my personal opinion. You may like it, try it out.

The best anime i've seen to date

[nofacemonster · 9/10 · 14 December 2013]

About a week back sat down to watch the blue gender without having really high hopes. But i was impressed with the first episode and how it goes, Everything i wanted to see in a anime or a movie or TV series was there, the action , the survival horror with aliens , science fiction, nice story line with good characters that spread far and wide through out entire 26 episodes. I've seen many anime's but this one is exceptional. I loved it so much for many reasons and i will re watch it many times because of it's good ending. I loved the ending, never left any loose ends, it was all over in a good way. That's something you don't get in anime everyday. I am a type of guy who loves to finish off things whether it's good or bad it has to end without loose ends and Blue Gender does it in a grandeur way according to my book.

Id say if you are a type of person who is looking for a good action filled anime with science fiction plot, awesome characters and robots and best of all a clean good happy ending after all the struggle. This one is for you. Without a doubt i'd recommend you to go ahead and see it. Only spoiler i am putting in to my review is that this has a "GOOD HAPPY AWESOME ENDING". that's all, rest you go ahead and find out.

Blue is Good

[Here_psycho_311 · 1 May 2004]

Yuji Kaido is a normal 20 something with the rest of his life ahead of him but after coming down with a serious and strange sickness he decides to go into suspended animation until a cure is found. Finaly in the year 2031 22 years after going to sleep he awakins to a nightmarish world no one could of expected. Upon his awaking he is saved by a group of futuristic military squad know as the Sleeper Recvoery Team, equiped with the heavest of weapons and lead by the cold yet beatuful Marlene Angel. Realizing the team is his only hope of survival and discovering now that the world is overrun by large bug-like creatures only known as the Blue. Yuji must now find his own destiny and ends up on a path that may not only save or destroy himself but the hope of mandkind. Without knowing who to trust on the real Earth or Second Earth(A Space station filled with survivors) Yuji turns to the only person who may be able to save him Marlene. A very good show if you've seen Starship Troopers and liked it then check this out. The best episode in the season is Episode 15 Calm. In the episode you really get the feeling of sparks between Yuji and Marlene. Check it out.

One of the best

[bluf2000 · 10/10 · 15 June 2009]

I can say that this is one of the best anime I've ever seen. Too bad that it's a bit lax in the last episodes, but over all it's excellent. Character development is very good, and it inspires a lot to attach to them. Too bad, because most of them are dying quite fast. Marlene is maybe the most important character, and I am sure that for a lot of watchers she can be the ideal woman. Yuji is the main character, and he goes through some memorable adventures, along with Marlene. Though, the movie is not so good, it actually spoils all the story development, in fact in contains not more than ultra condensed series, without very important explanations and introspections. That's why i highly recommend the series, which take from me 5/5, and forget about the movie.