fter a century of hiding in underwater cities, humanity is about to become extinct. According to one estimate, the human race will die out within three years unless it can return to the planet's surface and its accustomed modes of living. But Earth is in the hands of an invading force called the Space Emigrants, or "SE," and any human ship that emerges from the ocean is quickly obliterated by a giant hovering supercannon. Even this technological superiority isn't enough for the aliens; the oddly girlish SE commander known as "Master Teddy" is ready to put the Human Eradication Project into high gear.
With humanity's future at stake, the Earth's military forces must do more than maintain their defenses. They need to drive the invaders away from Earth quickly and completely. The mysterious Dr. Crimt (who looks oddly like Allen from Vision of Escaflowne) offers a solution: five cyborg superwomen whose minds have been conditioned to forget their pasts, accept orders without hesitation, and use their phenomenal powers to fight the SE. The team, known as the Angels, does surprisingly well in its first battle, although its success has little to do with the Angels' skills and a lot to do with the powerful experimental weapon they've been given. If anything, they succeed in spite of themselves; for all their inhuman power, four of the five women are still fractious, clumsy, hyperactive and prone to large-scale accidental destruction.
Oddly, this penchant for mayhem isn't what turns Earth's military leaders against the Angels. A high-ranking officer demands the team be shelved simply because of his prejudice against sentient machines. He characterizes them as "mechanical dolls" and refuses to work with them. The rejection is a turning point for the Angels, who begin to question their pasts, their natures and their missing memories. Of course, when the SE strikes again, the Angels are still ready to head for the front lines, no matter what their orders.
Ready for more? Too bad.
Voogie's Angel is packed full of intriguing but insubstantial ideas that flit in and out of focus like fireflies on a foggy night. The three OVAs (original video animations) on this tape were inspired by a Japanese radio serial, and they're distinctly geared towards fans who already know the back story and are excited just seeing the characters in vibrant, jiggling motion. The anime actually defines very little about the Angels' world and doesn't come to any sort of conclusion; it feels like the opening of an ongoing series, but Media Blasters says that no further episodes were produced. (Not counting the "superdeformed" humor OVAs, which are currently only available in Japan.)
Keeping up with all of Angel's brief, contextless revelations can be difficult. For instance, after a series of confusing statements about time flux and dimensional guns, the characters abruptly reveal that the SE supercannon actually travels through time to whenever it's needed. It's an interesting idea, but it never comes to anything. Nor does the cyborg-prejudice debate, which is quickly explained in a flashback and just as quickly becomes irrelevant. Neither is the idea of the human race dying out as a result of prolonged life underwater ever explained or justified. (All the Terrans in the series seem healthy enough, if a bit cranky from being in the middle of a losing war.) Many fascinating plot hooks are scattered throughout this tape, but few of them are ever used. Only the Angels' reconditioned memories ever get full plot treatment, in a series of gripping, starkly beautiful black-and-white flashbacks that go a long way toward justifying the gratuitious titillation and over-the-top comedy of the previous episodes.
Voogie's Angel has distinct ups and downs. Highlights include a dramatic confrontation with an SE cyborg and a recklessly silly Ninja Scroll/Rurouni Kenshin parody that inspires Voogie to remake herself as a samurai. The low points are scattered throughout the OVAs, as plot and parody alike take a back seat to illogic and "fan service" (layered minimalist costumes, lanky bodies, and gigantic pointy breasts that occasionally evoke Aeon Flux). But ultimately the worst thing about Voogie's Angel is that it's just good enough to whet the appetite for more, and more doesn't seem to be forthcoming.
