Kite Liberator

Summary: >

In the future mankind built an enormous space station. The low gravity environment takes it's toll on astronauts, but a new food supplement is developed to help maintain bone mass. One of the astronauts has a daughter on earth named Manoka. Manoka is a good little girl, but at night deals vigilante justice by executing sex offenders. So back up in space (didn't think I was just going to drop that topic did you?), Manoka's dad mutates into a monster with a super exoskeleton, but crashes an escape pod in Japan. With Manoka's reputation, she's been secretly hired to terminate this alien life form. What will happen when she realizes it's her father?

Thoughts: >

This is a Yasuomi Umetsu anime: declared before anthing starts. That struck me as a warning more than a proclamation. Umetsu is a producer known for anime featuring impressive artwork and crap stories. The pinnacle of his story telling was Mezzo Forte, which was only mostly lame. If the original Kite was anything, it was controversial. Kite Liberator throws all that out the window. The only thing they have in common is a girl kills criminals (and a passing reference to the original). You'd think someone willing to throw out the poorly realized concept of the first Kite might actually GET it, but you don't know Umetsu if you're thinking that. Some day he'll learn to let someone else write the script. Until then we get things like Kite Liberator.

Manoka is a timid little brainy girl who's a klutz and works at a maid cafe. Aside from a vigilante killing hobby, her normal life is uneventful and boring. Then they decide to graft Genocyber into it (old school monster anime that wasn't good if you don't know). It feels like a botched attempt to sandwich two bad anime concepts together. Manoka shooting bad guys isn't a bad concept. It's just shallow and doesn't go anywhere. On top of that, add a terrible ending.

Traditionally you may overlook this in an Umetsu anime due to attractive designs, and great animation as he's given life to some of the most violent and creative action scenes I've scene in anime (as seen in the first Kite).. In Liberator nothing stands out, and some parts like cheesy CGI feathers don't blend well. The animation is decent, but nothing stands out.

Kite Liberator is easily ignored. It's not all bad, with fair animation and character designs. Also, the maid cafe manager is so creepy it's hard not to credit the originality his character at least. But story wise Kite Liberator bombs big time.

Screen Caps: >