"Arrakis. Dune. Desert planet..."
Okay, not really. But Five Star Stories does evoke a sense of scale that is in many ways reminiscent of Frank Herbert's sci-fi epic.
Five Star Stories is set thousands of years in the future in the Joker "Galaxy" or Star Cluster, a collection of inhabited star systems where various empires, kingdoms, and republics vie for power. Warfare is common, with mortar headds - giant piloted robots - being the major weapon of war. The original manga series focuses on the characters of Amaterasu and Lachesis, two people who's destiny will chart the course of history for everyone in the Joker Cluster.
The movie tells only a small portion of a much larger story, and is geared more toward fans of the manga who would already be familiar with the characters, cultures, and terminology. But the film is still a solid piece of animation for its time.
The story follows Ladios Sopp, a young mortar headd meister (mechanic) on his way to the planet Addler for the public debut of Lachesis and Clotho, two fatima created by Dr. Chrome Ballanche. Fatima are living computers, engineered beings in the form of beautiful women who serve as co-pilots for mortar headds. Some also have human emotions. Through flashbacks, we see that Sopp and Ballanche are friends, and Sopp met both Clotho and Lachesis when they were younger, Lachesis being particularly taken with Sopp, so much so that she insisted they would one day marry and requested he build a gleaming gold mortar headd for them to be wed under.
Ten years later, both fatima are mature, but were stolen by the seedy Grand Duke Juba who intends to keep them for himself. Fatima are controlled by a strict set of laws and must be subject to a form of mind control in which they choose a headdliner (mortar headd pilot) to bond with for the rest of their lives or until the pilot's death. But Ballanche reveals to Sopp that neither Clotho nor Lachesis have been mind controlled. They cannot be forced into choosing a master, and if they are unable to do so at their debut, then they will remain with Juba.
Headdliners and dignitaries from all over the Joker System have come for the debut, including the renowned Emperor Amaterasu and his entourage of Mirage Knights. Sopp strikes up a friendship with the rough-and-tumble Voards Viewlard, a headdliner and the official representative sent to oversee the debut. Sopp also has to deal with his own feelings, unsure if Lachesis would really be happier with him.
As you've probably guessed, there's quite a fair amount of baggage here. The film opens with a brief introduction concerning the Five Stars, mortar headds, headdliners, and fatimas, so the audience isn't left completely floundering in the dark without any explanation. The story movies along at a good pace without flagging, aided by a running time of just over an hour.
The visuals and animation are top notch for a film released in 1989. Character designs are distinctive and unique for each individual, helping add to their personalities. Sopp himself is very slim and feminine in appearance, and is even mistaken for a woman by Viewlard at first. This helps add to the comedy of a later scene, where a drunk Viewlard makes advances on Sopp. There's also the Mirage Knights: they look quite scary and intimidating, and in any other movie or series you'd swear they were villains, but they are a case of not judging by appearances.
While the martar headds are important to the culture of this future society, the mecha themselves take a backseat to the story and characters, but once again each machine has a personality of its own shown through their designs: these are not merely cookie-cutter mass-produced weapons, but symbols of status and power to their pilots and the nations they serve. The most detail is lavished on Sopp's own Knight of Gold, a very impressive piece of design.
The culture itself has that exotic mix of the high-tech with low-tech and classic: the town of Lent looks like any typical desert settlement you'd find on Earth, with the common folk dressed accordingly to the environment. Those of higher status can be seen in outfits ranging from suits to resplendent robes. It speaks of the mix of influences from the various states and nations, a society that has countless thousands of years of history behind it.
There's still several elements that will leave viewers confused without prior knowledge, especially the ending (which points the way to the larger story ahead), although a little bit of research afterward can clear this up. Research beforehand will reveal certain revelations though, so beware unless you don't have an issue with spoilers.
There are a couple scenes of graphic violence. Bodies are hacked to pieces, but the effect is more red paint than gore.
I've been aware of Five Star Stories for some time, and after watching the film my interest is piqued even more. Like I said in the opening, whether or not this was directly inspire by Dune, is has the same pedigree: an expansive story with a sprawling cast of characters and a rich, deep world to explore. It's sad and frustrating that the manga has never been liscensed in the States. Mamoru Nagano, the manga's creator, set up a company to do an in-house English translation. Due to this, availability is limited.
If you like epic future scifi - as long as you're willing to put up with a certain level of confusion - this film is as good as any, and one that does not feel dated despite being twenty years old.
