, also known in the West as ''Planet Busters'' or ''The World of the Talisman'', is a 1984

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...

(OVA), which was released on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

by, variously,

Streamline Streamline may refer to: Business * Streamline Air, American regional airline * Adobe Streamline, a discontinued line tracing program made by Adobe Systems * Streamline Cars, the company responsible for making the Burney car Engineering ...

and

ADV Films A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gr ...

. The Japanese DVD was released by video game publisher

Atlus is a Japanese video game developer, video game publisher, publisher, Arcade game, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for the ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona (series), Persona'' ...

on March 25, 2005. It is based on the manga ''Birth Planet Busters'' by

Yoshinori Kanada was a Japanese animator originally from Nara, Japan. He is best known for his popular 1984 work ''Birth'', one of the first (after Dallos) original video animations released in the market. Though he did not create many character designs, he was ...

published in 1983. It is based on a far

futuristic The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently e ...

planet where four

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

band together to try and unlock the power of the ultimate weapon which can either save humanity or destroy it. Against

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines, typically depicted as piloted, humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japan ...

s and strange races, they sweep the vast planet to reach their goal.

Summary

Aqualoid was a prosperous planet, but an attack from a mysterious life force, the Inorganics, transforms it into a

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...

shell of its former self. When Nam finds a mysterious sword, he is suddenly the object of a planet-wide chase. With the Inorganics closing in, will Nam and his friends discover the secret of the sword and save their world? Or will they destroy Aqualoid in favor of a new Birth?

Production

acted as the OVA's

character designer Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * Character (novel), ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * Characters (Theophrastus), ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek se ...

, as well as one of the

animation director An animation director is the director in charge of all aspects of the animation process during the production of an animated or television film, or an animated segment for a live-action film or television show. Alternatively, the animation direct ...

s and key animators. Another noteworthy animator on ''Birth'' was a young

Hideaki Anno is a Anime, Japanese animator, filmmaker, Film producer, producer, and voice actor. His most celebrated creation, the Neon Genesis Evangelion (franchise), ''Evangelion'' franchise, has had a significant influence on the anime television industr ...

, who would go on to direct ''

Neon Genesis Evangelion , also known as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production, and directed by Hideaki Anno. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo and its affiliates from October 1995 to March 1 ...

''. Fellow

Gainax Gainax Co., Ltd. (stylized as GAINAX; , Hepburn: ) was a Japanese anime studio famous for original productions such as '' Neon Genesis Evangelion'', '' Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise'', '' Gunbuster'', '' Nadia: The Secret of Blue ...

founder

Yoshiyuki Sadamoto is a Japanese character designer, manga artist, and one of the founding members of the Gainax anime studio. Career When Gainax was originally founded as Daicon Film, Sadamoto served as animator on the second animated project, the Daicon IV op ...

worked uncredited as an animator.

English dubs

Two English dubs of ''Birth'' exist. The first was licensed in 1987 by Harmony Gold and released by

Streamline Pictures Streamline Pictures was an American media company. Founded by screenwriter Carl Macek and animation historian Jerry Beck, it was one of the earliest distributors of English-dubbed Japanese animation. History Founding Founded in Los Angeles, ...

in North America and the United Kingdom under the title ''The World of the Talisman''. According to ''

New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as a local offshoot of Singapore-based ''The Straits Ti ...

'', it briefly aired in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

in late 1987. The OVA was later retitled yet again to ''Planet Busters''. Harmony Gold's version changes some of the character names, tones down some of the more surreal Japanese humour to appeal to a younger audience, and contains more American-style dialogue, alternate music composed by Randy Miller and additional voice-overs. The second dub by

, released on DVD on July 13, 2004, is much more faithful to the original Japanese version.

Characters

In order of appearance - ADV (2004) / Streamline (1992, 1987) / Japanese (1984) * Monga -

Matt Hislope Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

/ __ /

Fuyumi Shiraishi was a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator. Career Fuyumi was previously affiliated with Aoni Production and after she left Aoni and joined Ken Production founded by the late Kenji Utsumi until the time of her death. Death Shiraishi ...

* Mu-nyo -

Cyndi Williams Cyndi Lou Williams is an American voice actress and script writer. She has mainly appeared in anime series by ADV Films. She was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Actress for her performance in Kyle Henry's film, ''Room'' ( ...

/ __ /

Chika Sakamoto is a Japanese voice actress who is affiliated with Arts Vision. Filmography Television animation ;1980s *'' Captain Tsubasa'' (1983) – Sanae Nakazawa *'' Cat's Eye'' (1983) – Ai Kisugi *''Nine'' (1983) – Yukimi Yasuda *''Super Dimension ...

* Rasa -

Alexis Chamov Alexis may refer to: People Mononym * Alexis (poet) ( – ), a Greek comic poet * Alexis (sculptor), an ancient Greek artist who lived around the 3rd or 4th century BC * Alexis (singer) (born 1968), German pop singer * Alexis (comics) (1946– ...

/ Sandra Snow /

Miina Tominaga , better known by her stage name , is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer from Nishi-ku, Hiroshima. She is currently attached to Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society. Tominaga is best known for her roles in '' Sazae-san'' (a ...

* Kim/Keen - Bradley Carlin / Ryan O'Flannigan /

Kaneto Shiozawa Toshikazu Shiozawa (, January 28, 1954 – May 10, 2000), better known by the stage name Kaneto Shiozawa (), was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Tokyo. At the time of his death, he was attached to Aoni Production. He had a distinc ...

* Bao/Mo/Pao - James Phillips / Greg Snow /

Ichiro Nagai , also known mononymously as , is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played for 28 seasons. He played the first nine years of his career with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and the next 12 years w ...

* Nam's Ostrich -

/ __ / * Nam/Talon - Brent Werzner /

Tony Oliver Tony Oliver is a Puerto Rican voice actor and voice director. He is best known for voicing Rick Hunter from ''Robotech'', Lancer from '' Fate/stay night'', and Arsène Lupin III from '' Lupin the Third''. He helped produce the live action sh ...

Kazuki Yao is a Japanese actor and narrator who is currently affiliated with Max Mix. He is married to actress Natsuki Hayashi. Biography As a child, Yao was very active, building secret bases with his friends and playing outside, and did not watch TV ...

* Arlia - Gemma Wilcox / __ /

Keiko Toda is a Japanese actress, singer and narrator. Her most famous role is the voice of the children's hero Anpanman on the long running anime ''Soreike! Anpanman''. She was also the voice of Thomas the Tank Engine in the Japanese dub of ''Thomas & F ...

* Orange Mole - Robert S. Fisher / __ / * Inorganic Biker #1 - Robert Matney / A. Gregory / Ryunosuke Ohbayashi * Inorganic Biker #2 -

/ __ / Yusaka Yara * Inorganic Biker #3 - Robert S. Fisher / __ / Kozo Shioya * Village Girl/Child -

Samantha Inoue-Harte Samantha Inoue Harte (born April 21, 1979) is an American voice actress and founder of an animation studio called Saiko Studios. She is perhaps most recognized for her role as the Chocobo in ''Final Fantasy: Unlimited'', the anime series, and as ...

Rebecca Forstadt Rebecca Forstadt is an American voice actress, best known for playing young female roles in various animated series. After studying theater at Orange Coast College, in Costa Mesa, California, Forstadt began her acting career by working at Knot ...

Noriko Tsukase was a Japanese voice actress and chanson singer active during the 1970s and 1980s. Her most popular roles included Spank in ''Ohayō! Spank'', Miss Alphonne in the original ''Cutie Honey'' TV series and Non (as well as Furu-Furu the cat) in ''Maj ...

* Grandma/Mother - Mary Agen Cox / Lisa Michaels /

Reiko Suzuki is a Japanese voice actress. Filmography Television animation ;1970s *'' Wakakusa no Charlotte'' ;1980s *''Birth'' *''Dragon Ball'' (1986) (Old Woman (episode 4), Sno's Mother) *'' Golden Warrior Gold Lightan'' *'' Lady!!'' (Brenda) ;1990s ...

* Grandpa/Father - Garry Peters / __ /

Joji Yanami Joji (じょうじ, 丈二, or 譲二, 城二, 譲治 multiple variants) is a Japanese masculine given name. It is also the Japanese pronunciation of the Western name "George" (ジョージ). It commonly refers to: * Jōji, an era in Japanese histo ...

* Inorganic Biker Kid/Kooni -

Jeffrey Mills Jeffrey may refer to: * Jeffrey (name), including a list of people with the name *Jeffrey's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada *Jeffrey City, Wyoming, United States *Jeffrey Street, Sydney, Australia * Jeffreys Bay, Western Cape, South Africa Art ...

/ __ /

Masahiro Anzai Masahiro Anzai (; ''Anzai Masahiro'') (26 November 1954 – 15 March 2021) was a Japanese voice actor and actor. Biography Anzai graduated from the . He retired from acting in 1997 due to his treatment for diabetes, which caused his lower left l ...

* Monster Octopus - Robert S. Fisher / __ /

Miki Takahashi is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Bunkyo, Tokyo. Together with her friend Chika Sakamoto, she participated in the third incarnation of the radio show Animetopia. She is a member of SplashDream. Anime TV *''Around the World in Eig ...

* Giant Inorganic - Vinnie Moxpar / __ / Yoko Ōgai * Monga's Tribe - Bigjyl, Jim Damm, Robert S. Fisher, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Wil Ragan, Jessica Simon, Ben Turrabiarte, Racel Vasquez, Dominic Vitucci, Kenny Weigel

References

External links

* * {{Ann, anime, 2662, Birth 1984 anime OVAs ADV Films Anime with original screenplays Films set on fictional planets Science fiction anime and manga Single OVAs