, officially translated in Japan as ''Blue Sub 006'', is 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 ...

3-volume

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated by Satoru Ozawa. The manga was published in 1967 by

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

's ''

Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, making it ...

'' magazine. When the

OVA , 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 ...

adaptation was announced by

Gonzo Gonzo may refer to: People * Gonzo (nickname), a list of people with the nickname * Radislav Jovanov Gonzo (born 1964), Croatian music video director Radislav Jovanov, also known as Gonzo * Matthias Röhr (born 1962), German musician whose stage ...

, the manga was remade under the name ''AO6''. It was published by Sekai Bunkasha and was serialized in Sebun Comics magazine in June 1997. The OVA series was released in 2000. The OVA had also received two video games for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

and

Dreamcast The is the final home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was released in Japan on November 27, 1998, in North America on September 9, 1999 and in Europe on October 14, 1999. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, prec ...

Plot

The story is set in the distant future, when the Earth's oceans have risen and flooded most of the sea-lying land on Earth. The rogue scientist Zorndyke caused the flooding, which killed countless individuals, and most of humanity's remaining cities have been attacked or destroyed by Zorndyke's army of half-animal "hybrids". The remaining humans begin to wage war against Zorndyke's seagoing creations for survival. Humanity's best hope for a resolution to the conflict lies with its

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

forces, among which is the focus of the story, Blue Submarine #6. It is revealed that Zorndyke is attempting to decisively end the conflict in the favor of his hybrid children by artificially inducing a polar switch using

geothermal energy Geothermal energy is thermal energy extracted from the crust (geology), crust. It combines energy from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay. Geothermal energy has been exploited as a source of heat and/or electric power for m ...

at the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...

Characters

*: The lead protagonist who is a pilot for underwater vessels. He is contacted by Kino to help with the Blue Fleet operation. *: A young woman around 18 years of age who enlists Hayami to help the crew of Blue 6. *: The Captain of Blue 6. While serving in the Marine Self Defense Force Submarine Division, he became an alcoholic and his wife and child left him. He became an instructor at the International Naval Academy by swearing to give up drinking. He is a veteran of Musuca battles and has experience in fighting Verg. Understanding his former student; Tetsu Hayami's great abilities and seeing the need for them, he pushed him to rejoin Blue Fleet. *: The antagonist of the story, who is supposed to be attempting to destroy humanity. He has created a series of hybrid creatures to carry out various tasks, known as the Army of Chiron. Many seem to have gone beyond his control, though they claim to be doing his will. *: The "Admiral" of Zorndyke's navy. He is very prone to fits of anger and jealousy and even savagely attacks Mutio for interacting with a human. His biggest motivation appears to be his "Papa"'s approval, and he constantly seeks it by killing humans. He foolishly believes that humans make his "Papa" sad, and not the war(s) they are involved in. *: A member of the aquatic hybrid race created by Zorndyke (often referred to as

nereids In Greek mythology, the Nereids or Nereides ( ; ; , also Νημερτές) are sea nymphs (female spirits of sea waters), the 50 daughters of the 'Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanids, Oceanid Doris (Oceanid), Doris, sisters to their bro ...

). She is saved by Hayami and she later returns the favor. She becomes an outcast due to her interactions with Hayami. Even though she was banished by Verg and brutally beaten by her sisters, she still consoles him in the last episode. This forgiving nature may have developed during her interactions with Hayami and the Musuca Red Spot, or because of her natural

compassion Compassion is a social feeling that motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental, or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is sensitivity to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based ...

. She is the only fish-woman seen with red eyes and red spots (as opposed to the normal blue), a rare sign of

genetic diversity Genetic diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species. It ranges widely, from the number of species to differences within species, and can be correlated to the span of survival for a species. It is d ...

amongst her species in the series. *:is a 10-year-old crew member who works with the sonar and communicates with Zorndyke's creatures. She is a child genius and a

sonometer A monochord, also known as sonometer (see below), is an ancient musical and scientific laboratory instrument, involving one (mono-) string ( chord). The term ''monochord'' is sometimes used as the class-name for any musical stringed instrument ...

who uses the " Lorenzini System" included on the Blue Fleets Submarines. She is the sole member of Blue 6 who operates this system. She works in conjunction with Katsuma as guides for the crew. She was born and raised in a wealthy family. Her father is French and her mother is Vietnamese. Because she is gifted with extra sensory abilities, she was involved in a project at the Oceania Marine Development center. After the Zorndyke conflict began, Yamada saw her talent and had her join the Blue Fleet. Despite Huang's remarkable skills, she is still quite young and very emotionally frail, often time she is seen clutching her stuffed bear and is very disturbed by all the death that occurs during battle. She dislikes any kind of conflict and feels burdened by her psychic abilities.

Cast

Media

Manga

The original ''Blue Submarine No. 6'' manga was written by Satoru Ozawa and serialized

's ''

'' magazine from January 8 to November 5, 1967. Three ''

tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...

'' (collected chapter books) were released by

Akita Shoten is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Teio Akita in 1948. As of May 2023, the company's president is Shigeru Higuchi. The company is known for publishing the manga magazine '' Weekly Shōnen Champ ...

between March and August 1974. The manga was later remade under the title ''Blue Submarine No. 6 AO6'' with cover illustrations provided by

Kazutaka Miyatake , better known as , is a Japanese visual artist and anime designer known for the mechanical design of the ''Macross'' TV series and a number of its continuations from Studio Nue, of which he is a founding member. He has also contributed to the me ...

to complement the OVA adaptation. This version was published by Sekai Bunkasha and serialized in Sebun Kansha magazine. The new manga series has been collected into five volumes and republished in a two volume '' kanzenban'' format released October 1999. Another two-volume collection was released on June 20, 2011. ;Ao no Roku-gō ;Ao no Roku-gō AO6

OVA

The OVA version was directed by Mahiro Maeda, written by Hiroshi Yamaguchi, and character designs provided by

Range Murata is a Japanese illustrator and manga artist, known for his unique style combining dieselpunk and japanese Moe (slang), moé elements. He is best known for his conceptual design work on anime series ''Last Exile'' and ''Blue Submarine No. 6''. He ...

and Takuhito Kusanagi. It uses a hybrid approach, combining

3D computer graphics 3D computer graphics, sometimes called Computer-generated imagery, CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional Computer-generated imagery, computer graphics, are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian coor ...

with

traditional animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawing, drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation of the 20th century, until there wa ...

(digital ink and paint), and is a pioneering example of this technique. The jazzy and atmospheric score was provided by

rock n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African American music such as jazz, rhythm and ...

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

The Thrill. The OVA adaptation was released in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on April 4, 2000.

Bandai Entertainment was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution company, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America. Most of the anime and ...

originally announced that it would air on July 8, 2000, on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late-night television programming block that broadcasts Japanese anime and American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and currently produced by Williams Street, a subsidiary of W ...

block, however, Toonami had made no confirmation. Bandai then confirmed that it was delayed until October due to production issues, originally planned to air from October 16 to October 19, 2000. It would finally premiere in the

on Cartoon Network's Toonami block from November 6 to November 9, 2000. A DVD box set was released in Japan titled . The box set contained 3 discs with the first two containing two episodes each. The third disc contains interviews from Satoru Ozawa, Mahiro Maeda along with the OVA staff, trailers and interviews for the PlayStation video game Blue Submarine No. 6: ''Antarctica''. The anime was initially licensed by Bandai Entertainment until their shutdown in 2012.

Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. History Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retr ...

has since licensed the OVA and re-released on DVD and

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

on September 24, 2013. However, issues were raised when Discotek Media accidentally added in the dub of the Toonami version. Discotek stated that the dub was received from the Blue Fleet box set in which uses the dub of the Toonami version with some modifications to fit into Cartoon Network's standards and practices. Discotek continues to state that they were unaware of there being two versions and will release a single disc DVD with the original dub from Bandai Entertainment along with Japanese Audio and subtitles in 2015. They would eventually release the series on a single-disc DVD on May 31, 2016. It is a bare-bones release, however it comes with both versions of the dub, as well as DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio on the Japanese track.

Music

Two soundtracks for the OVA have been released. The first soundtrack is titled and was released on October 28, 1998. The second soundtrack is titled and was released on April 28, 1999.

Video games

Two Japan-exclusive video games based on the ''Blue Submarine No. 6'' OVA have been released. The first is titled, , and was developed and published by Bandai Visual for the

and released on September 28, 2000. A soundtrack sharing the same name of the video game was released on July 28, 2000. The second video game titled, was developed and published by

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

for the

on December 7, 2000.

Planned live-action film

In 2005, Shōji Murahama of Gonzo stated with ''NewWords Magazine'' that a live-action ''Blue Submarine No. 6'' film will be produced for approximately 10 billion yen (US$84 Million). Masahiko Ōkura has been confirmed to direct the movie. This is to be G.D.H.'s first live-action project with 30 more live-action projects under consideration. However, since the announcement, there has been no news nor reports of any progress.

Reception

Eric Luce of ''Ex'' criticized the second manga for its characters and pacing stating: "This manga moves so slowly, one is tempted just to skip pages at a time to find a scene where something is happening. The characters seem to exist without a past so they lack any real depth". The ''Blue Submarine No. 6'' OVA was ranked as the 70th best anime of all time by the Japanese magazine ''

Animage is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine published by Tokuma Shoten since July 1978. Notable works serialized in the magazine include Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, and manga artist. He co-founded Studio Ghibli a ...

''. It was ranked 25th best anime of all time by Wizard's '' Anime Invasion''. The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation awarded the it "Best OVA, U.S. Release" for 2000. Anime News Network praised the OVA for its animation stating: "Oceanscapes are beautifully rendered, aircraft looks extremely realistic, and the underwater fighting is simply breathtaking". However criticized the characters stating: "The characters, although nicely designed, are sparsely drawn and shaded, and there is absolutely no personality to them whatsoever". Eric Luce also praised the graphics and animation stating: "The producers of this show are pushing many boundaries in composition and editing. this show is probably one of the best uses so far of integrating the two". Bryce Coulter of Mania criticized the plot stating: " The flashy production and great musical score doesn't mean a whole lot without a decent plot. Blue Submarine No. 6 tends to ride the fence in this area". Carlos Ross of THEM Anime Reviews initially praised the series for its graphics, plot and characters. However a decade after the review and CGI and cel shading became the norm in animation, he updated his review criticizing the characters and plot. He had since referred it as a transition between classic "acetate age" and the modern computerized form of Japanese animation. For the Blu-ray release of the OVA, Anime News Network gave a more positive review stating: "Despite some dated-looking CG, on the whole Blue Submarine No. 6 stands up surprisingly well. Its writing flaws may have become more apparent over time, but it can still be a thrilling view and its roughly 120 minute total length keeps the story so compact that viewers do not have much opportunity to get bored".

Helen McCarthy Helen McCarthy (born 27 February 1951) is the British author of such anime reference books as ''500 Manga Heroes and Villains'', ''Anime!'', ''The Anime Movie Guide'' and ''Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation''. She is the co-author o ...

in ''500 Essential Anime Movies'' claimed that anime had "an interesting story, beautifully animated, with some jaw-droppingly good design concepts". She praised the characters design, especially Zorndyke's and stated that director Maeda "is one of the most imaginative visualists in anime". McCarthy, Helen. ''500 Essential Anime Movies: The Ultimate Guide''. — Harper Design, 2009. — P. 16. — 528 p. —