Planzet Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Planzet Blu-ray Movie Review

No, that's not a typo.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 26, 2012

There’s obviously something almost genetic in the Japanese soul that lends itself toward the dystopian apocalyptic elements that infuse so much anime. The list of futuristic animated projects where humans are living in a world devoid of hope, and often beset by marauding aliens, is long, if not especially varied. Adding to that list is the 2010 offering Planzet, a really interesting if somewhat truncated mini-epic that hits most of the major points of virtually all of the many offerings in this sub-genre, without pausing to really ruminate about any of them. The title itself may be the most innovative thing about Planzet, and in fact some may wonder if it’s a typographical “error” which is supposed to be read “Plan Z: ET”, which in fact kind of makes sense given the film’s plot. But, no, Planzet is a weirdly morphed version of “Plan Zed”, the “last” plan the humans in this film have up their sleeve to hopefully vanquish some big, bad ultra-meanie aliens (who are actually never seen) who have descended to our planet and made it a vast wasteland. Planzet is a brisk film, running not quite an hour, and as such there’s very little time for decent character or plot development. But given its brief running time, there’s a surprising amount of information delivered rather quickly and well. This is almost like one of those Reader’s Digest condensed books adapted for anime purposes, where all of the major bits are hit, but some of the more nuanced background information is left in the alien invaded dust. For those without the patience to make it through something like the Ghost in the Shell franchise, or even less demanding fare like Akira, Planzet is a really cool looking short film that is full to the brim with action, but frankly not much else, despite some attempts to give at least sketches of various characters.

Part of the problem with Planzet is that it tries to cram a lot of background into just a few minutes of exposition, and that may leave some viewers scratching their heads. What’s especially confusing is the film’s emphasis on a Mars colony in the early going, a colony that really has little if any impact on the basic gist of the film’s main plot line. The film begins with a “flashback” (a relative term, since the entire film takes place about 50 years or so in the future), where we see a young man named Hiroshi playing a handheld videogame as his brusque father berates him. Looking out the window is Hiroshi’s little sister Koyomi, who mimics her father’s disparagement of her brother. The father is obviously some kind of soldier or governmental operative and he receives a call that he’s needed in some official capacity. He leaves, but not before promising Koyomi he will make up missing taking her to the movies, something he had promised the young girl before the phone call. And then we segue to “present” times, where a narrator tells us that was the last time the children ever saw their father.

The missing father turns out to be the least of the kids’ problems, as in the meantime Earth has been attacked by invading aliens who have been given the acronym FOS by the few surviving humans. The aliens have basically decimated the entire planet in one fell swoop, but a small coterie of Japanese defenders have taken refuge in a super secret base buried in the depths of Mount Fuji. Among the defenders is none other than Hiroshi, now older and out to avenge his father’s death. He is also desperately (and just as brusquely as his father once treated him) trying to get his little sister to fly off to Mars, where she’ll supposedly be safe.

The rest of Planzet is basically an extended battle scene. Earth has been kept relatively safe by a huge force field which is “delivered” from the Mount Fuji headquarters, but Plan Zed (the last, best hope for Mankind) includes letting down the force field for around 15 minutes while a huge sonic cannon is revved up which will hopefully decimate the huge planetoid mother ship which hovers above Earth. That means that Hiroshi and two of his comrades need to divert the aliens’ attention by donning their huge mechas and running interference. In the meantime Koyomi does not board a spaceship to Mars (big surprise there) and instead ends up in the Mount Fuji base, looking for Hiroshi.

Planzet’s final act (if something this short can even be said to have “acts”) is a really fun, hyperbolic attack sequence that includes some fantastic looking CGI. The mechas are gigantic and almost three dimensional, and one of the huge spaceships manned by the unseen aliens opens up to reveal a sort of eye like device that blasts things hither and yon. The spaceship also sends out tons of little Frisbee like discs that are mini attack “dogs”, so to speak. Hiroshi of course ends up being a hero, but only after an epochal battle that actually sees Plan Zed failing—for a moment, anyway.

What’s kind of odd about Planzet is that it wasn’t developed into a longer feature film. This has all the elements of a classic Japanese post-apocalyptic anime, but while there’s no filler at all here, there’s also no real chance to get to know or care for these characters. Even an added fifteen minutes or so would have really beefed up the back story and provided a much more satisfying overall entertainment. What’s here, though, is a fantastically cool looking piece of CGI. It may not make a lot of sense, or even give viewers anything to even think about, but it’s a whale of a lot of fun to watch.

Planzet Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Planzet's is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Sentai Filmworks with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. As befits a product created entirely in the digital domain, there's really nothing to worry about in terms of the transfer itself. The CGI is rather interesting, evidently a combination of motion capture and other digital techniques. While the character design here is kind of on the "videogame" side of things, and is especially cumbersome with regard to the mouth movements, everything surrounding the characters is fantastic looking. The opening flashback sequence has been given a "distressed" and slightly desaturated look, and even the "contemporary" sequences don't boast too much amazing color, at least until the huge alien ship comes into play. The animation style tends to favor an intentionally slightly soft look, and it is also quite dark a lot of the time, again no doubt by intentional design. But detail is incredibly strong throughout this presentation and this boasts a very sleek and impressive look that should delight lovers of this kind of CGI-fest fare.

Planzet Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Both the original Japanese language track as well as an English language dub are presented on Planzet via DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes. Aside from the voice work, these mixes are virtually identical in terms of immersion and general levels, and even the voice work is rather close in style and tone between the two languages. (The English language dub features a bunch of voice actors FUNimation fans will recognize. What is up with so many anime labels being located in Texas?) Fidelity is very strong and there are some fantastic sound effects zooming through the sound field once the main battle sequence gets underway. Dynamic range is extremely impressive throughout both of these tracks. One thing that will probably bother some people in both of the languages is how ill fitting the mouth movements are with what's being spoken.

Planzet Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Mamoru Miyano (Hiroshi) (1080i; 10:16)


• Interview with Kaori Ishihara (Koyomi) (1080i; 10:05)


• Interview with Jun Amazu (Original Creator) (1080i; 14:28)


• Side by Side Animatic Comparison with Director Jun Awazu (HD; 21:49)


• Commentary with Jun Awazu (Director) and Takeshi Maeda (Voice Actor). This Japanese language commentary (with English subtitles) offers Maeda, who voices Nakamura, acting as host to Awazu. This is a fairly scene specific commentary where Awazu goes into some detail about what he was trying to convey in each sequence. This is conversational but very enjoyable and informative.


• Japanese Trailer Collection (HD and 1080i; 3:32)

Planzet Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Planzet could have been a complete tour de force, at least within the rather narrow confines of Japanese post-apocalyptic anmes, had it simply run a bit longer and taken more time to develop its plot and especially its characters. What's here is more like a sketch, albeit a sketch with an incredibly detailed visual aspect. The animation style here is easily the best thing about Planzet, and it will probably be enough to sway lovers of this sort of alien invasion subgenre who would otherwise be less than impressed with Planzet's cursory plot and character elements. This Blu-ray features reference quality video and extremely effective audio, as well as some good supplements. Recommended.