Anime / Moldiver

"Metamorforce!"

In 2045, gadgeteer Hiroshi Ozora (voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa) has created the crowning achievement of his brief career: the Mol Unit — a device which can enclose its user in a customizable pocket dimension, protecting him from all harm and allowing him to interact with the world in ways that would seem to defy physical laws — in effect, to become Superman. Naturally, the lean and lanky Hiroshi sculpts the "event horizon" so that he looks like a muscular Super Hero when the device is activated. Its only drawbacks are that the Mol Unit can only operate for 666 seconds at a time, and its user must be nude or else the formation of the event horizon shreds his clothing.

At Zamtech Industry Corporation's headquarters, Hiroshi intends to show off the Mol Unit to his old mentor Professor Amagi (Joji Yanami), with whom he shares both a friendly rivalry as a technologist and a love of old 20th-century devices. But before he gets a chance, agents of a mysterious new supervillain calling himself "Professor Machinegal" strike the social event they are both attending. Piloting insectoid mecha, they attempt to steal its centerpiece — a painstakingly restored Formula One race car from the 20th Century. Hiroshi is forced to actually use the Mol Unit to stop the thieves — and in the process becomes Tokyo's first superhero, Moldiver.

Afterwards, Hiroshi's ditzy younger sister Mirai (Yukana) becomes suspicious and investigates, eventually finding his development notes and system. Intrigued and excited, she modifies the Mol Unit so that has a second "look" — one that's more Sailor Moon than Superman. Unfortunately, the changes add just a little instability to the Mol Unit, making it impossible for the wearer to be completely sure just which appearance he — or she — is going to get when it activates.

As Mirai gradually assumes the mantle of Moldiver from Hiroshi, matters swirl around them and seem to converge: Machinegal's continuing depredations, an accelerating deep space exploration program, the unexpected discovery of a maximum number of uses in the Mol Unit, the arrival of a mysterious third Moldiver, and even a family friend on whom Mirai has a crush. Everything is resolved in a romantic and optimistic climax that is conclusive but still holds out the possibility of more adventures.

Moldiver is a six-episode OVA miniseries created and directed by Hiroyuki Kitazume (Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, Megazone 23, Genesis Survivor Gaiarth) and produced by AIC for Pioneer LDC (now known as NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan) in 1993. Traditionally animated, it generally has good to excellent production values. Pioneer Entertainment brought it to the United States as part of its very first salvo of anime imports in the early 1990s, and as was usual for Pioneer at that time, the dubbing cast is one of the best.

The story is clearly having fun playing with both the superhero and magical girl cliches in a setting that would seem to be inhospitable to both, and it's not afraid to turn other cliches on their ears, as well — one of the most delightful ironies in the series is that the "civilian identity" of the villainous Professor Machinegal is also the lowest-bidder contractor tasked with the job of repairing the damage caused by his own crime sprees — damage that escalates whenever Moldiver gets involved, driving him to distraction with the plummeting return-on-investment he gets from his crimes.

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This show provides examples of:

• 20 Minutes into the Future: While the OVA was released in 1993, the premise is explicitly set in 2045 as confirmed in the Secret of Moldiver special.
• The Alcoholic: Vivien, the third Machinegal Doll, is fond of drinking alcoholic beverages despite being a gynoid.
• Beach Episode: Since the episode "Overzone" takes place at Florida's Cape Canaveral, the Ozoras and their friends initially spend their time on the local beach.
• Beauty Contest: In "Metamorforce!", Mirai and Mao participate in ZIC's race queen contest to celebrate the announcement of the upcoming Tokyo Restored Car Grand Prix. It's also where Hiroshi uses his Moldiver unit for the first time to stop Jennifer from stealing the P-34 machine. The contest ends with Mirai winning first prize and Mao coming in second.
• Big Bad: Amagi/Machinegal is responsible for all of the danger in the OVA's plot, and Mirai must stop him before he and the Machinegal Dolls can cause havoc on Earth.
• Bittersweet Ending: At the end of the series, Mirai goes back to her daily life with Mao after defeating Isabelle and helping Misaki carry out his deep space mission, while Hiroshi upgrades his Mol unit. But Amagi/Machinegal and his Dolls are still alive, and Nozomu is developing his version of the Moldiver suit.
• Bland-Name Product: WcDonalds, ZIC (a reference to the show producers, AIC)
• Brought to You by the Letter "S": The Machinegal Dolls's super suits and mecha have the "MG" initials on the front, while their suits have the initials of their names on it (i.e. "B" for Brooke).
• Bruce Wayne Held Hostage: A curious inversion happens during the second episode, "Overzone". At Cape Canaveral, Machinegal tries to kidnap Idol Singer Amy Lean during her concert, and dares Moldiver 1 to stop him. This is because he thinks Moldiver is in the audience — specifically looking at Misaki, who looks just like you'd think Moldiver 1 would look without a suit. Except he's not Moldiver 1 — Hiroshi just modeled its physique after him because he wanted to look buff. So the villain, the poor guy's date, and the crowd all want Misaki to transform and try to save the hostage being launched into orbit, while he tries to convince everyone he's not the superhero, and Hiroshi realizes his Mol unit isn't working.
• By the Power of Grayskull!: Subverted. To transform into the titular Moldiver, the Mol unit user must yell "Metamorforce!" while unclothed.
• Call-Back: Towards the end of "Intruder", Mirai sends Elizabeth crashing into the ground in a similar vein to what she did to Brooke back in "Metamorforce!".
• Canon Foreigner: Kenji Kuwabara, who appears as a high-tech crime unit investigator for the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, was created specifically for the manga adaptation.
• Clark Kenting: Amagi/Machinegal; All he did was change his clothes and put on some goggles.
• Clothing Damage: The Mol units will disintegrate any clothing the user is wearing unless they are unclothed.
• Company Cameo: In the first episode, the computer data for Hiroshi's Moldiver Version 6.66 includes credits for series producers AIC and Pioneer LDC.
• Decoy Protagonist: In the first episode "Metamorforce!", Hiroshi in his Moldiver 1 form appears in the opening sequence. His development of the Mol unit and battle with the Machinegal Dolls's mecha at the race queen contest takes up a major part of the episode's first half. However, it's all to set up Mirai as the true protagonist of the series.
• Destroy the Villain's Weapon:
  • In the episode "Overzone", Mirai uses her titular suit to charge into Professor Amagi/Machinegal's satellite laser weapon while in space, destroying it in the process.
  • In "Intruder", despite Vivian and Brooke firing their tank lasers at Mirai, the latter charges towards the tanks and destroys them.
• "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: Yukana sang the opening and ending themes in addition to voicing Mirai.
• Doomed New Clothes: The Transformation Sequence causes the user's clothes to get shredded if they don't undress first. When we see the main character buy some expensive new clothes, their fate is inevitable.
• Dying Smirk: A subverted example occurs at the end of "Intruder" when Brooke, after being bisected by Mirai Ozora's punch, flashes a brief grin as she uses a bomb to blow up the Sakigake's catapult. However, she actually survives.
• "Eureka!" Moment: In "Intruder", Mirai is cornered by the Machinegal Dolls in their Super Doll uniforms. However, she quickly deduces the suits are partly protected by a psuedo-molecule as opposed to the Moldiver suit, which is fully protected by said molecule and comes up with a plan to take the Dolls down.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Though Isabelle works as Amagi/Machinegal's secretary, she can be frequently appalled by his unpopularity.
• Everybody Lives: At the end of "Verity", all of Machinegal's Dolls have survived their encounters with Moldiver, even Isabelle.
• Evil Wears Black: Isabelle frequently wears a black suit and is working for the Big Bad.
• Evolving Credits: The series replaces the central figure in its credits once it becomes clear in the story who the real hero is.
• Fan of the Past: Machinegal is already rich, famous and respected in his civilian identity; his heists aim to steal "antique" technology, and his favorite part of history is The '80s.
• Final Boss: In the final episode "Vanity", Isabelle becomes the main threat Mirai has to face.
• Flying Car: In the episode "Longing", Vivian and Sayuri (disguised as officers) try finding Moldiver in a police car, which has hovering capabilities.
• Genius Ditz: Within a couple hours of discovering her brother's work in the first episode, Mirai is able to re-engineer it to her own specifications despite having no technical training.
• Graceful Loser: At the end of "Vanity", Isabelle calmly closes her eyes in defeat as she's sent towards the sun.
• Half the Woman She Used to Be: At the end of "Intruder", Brooke gets non-fatally bisected through the waist by Mirai. In her last moments, she uses a bomb to try and destroy the Sakigake's catapult.
• Heavy Sleeper:
  • Hiroshi's nighttime work on the Mol units has left him sleepy to the point where Mirai has to wake him up each morning.
  • As pointed out by Nozomu in the first episode, Mirai frequently sleeps until the last minute.
• Henshin Hero: The Mol unit's transformations only lasts for 666 seconds.
• Hero Insurance: An averted example. Not only does the city have to pick up the tab for repairs after superbattles, it contracts them out to the lowest bidder — who happens to be Professor Amagi, and who is driven to distraction by the escalating levels of damage cutting into his profit margin.
• Hour of Power: The OVA is a rare example of a time limit that isn't a round hour, or even a round minute. It's still meaningful, though: 666 seconds.
• How Do I Shot Web?: Mirai, especially in the "Captain Tokyo" form, since Hiroshi's user interface is too technical. Fortunately, her design includes a simpler HUD and controls. Meanwhile, Hiroshi isn't able to use the different limb sizes of Mirai's Moldiver form easily.
• Humongous Mecha: Professor Machinegal's preferred method of attack.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The first letter of episode one to five's titles + the first three letters of episode six's = MOLDIVER.
• Idol Singer: Amy Lean, who Machinegal takes hostage in the second episode.
• Immune to Fire: Since the titular suit's outerwear is made out of a molecular level, it is invulnerable to fire and heat among other things. In the episode "Overzone", Mirai Ozora uses this immunity to her advantage when Jennifer throws the former into the Akron's engines, only for Mirai to bust out of one of the solid rocket boosters seconds later.
• It Must Be Mine!: Professor Machinegal is already wealthy, respected and famous, but there are technological artifacts he can only get by stealing, and he doesn't think anyone but him are worthy of them anyway. Hence, supervillainy.
• It Was a Gift: At the end of the OVA, Mirai gives Hiroshi's Mol unit to Misaki just before he goes into deep space.
• Light Is Not Good: Amagi/Machinegal primarily wears a white uniform and is the OVA's Big Bad.
• Like a Daughter to Me: Amagi/Machinegal frequently treats his Dolls as if they were his own daughters.
• Magical Girl: The Mol unit is technological rather than magical, but otherwise Mirai is a solid example. Her costume design was certainly inspired by magical girl shows.
• Mass "Oh, Crap!": Mirai, Mao and the other attendees at ZIC's race queen contest all shriek in terror when the Machinegal Dolls invade the contest and try stealing the P-34 machine.
• Meaningful Name: Mirai's first name means "future" in Japanese.
• Mid-Season Upgrade: In the episode "Intruder", Hiroshi splits his Mol unit into two, with the only setback being that the user can only transform into Moldiver once. Meanwhile, Amagi/Machinegal upgrades the Machinegal Dolls's suits to prepare for their battle against Moldiver.
• Mission Control: Hiroshi becomes this after Mirai tampers with his Mol unit and costume.
• Monumental Damage: Space Shuttle Discovery is destroyed at the end of "Overzone" after Mirai's sky battle with Jennifer and Akron's satellite causes the latter shuttle to crash into the space museum.
• Naked People Are Funny: Mirai always ends up naked when Moldiver's power runs out. Hiroshi ends up naked (or worse) when he's unable to transform himself.
• Named After Somebody Famous: Machinegal's Dolls all bear the names of famous Western and Japanese models and actresses, the most obvious being Nastassja (Kinski), Vivien (Leigh), Brooke (Shields), and Elizabeth (Taylor).
• Nervous Wreck: Nastassja, one of the Machinegal Dolls, can be frequently anxious around other people, including her sisters.
• No Full Name Given: Professor Amagi is only known by his last name.
• No One Could Survive That!:
  • In "Overzone", Jennifer throws Mirai out into Akron's engines to the point where Machinegal thinks Moldiver couldn't have survived the high temperatures. Seconds later, Jennifer becomes dumbfounded when Mirai comes out of the shuttle's solid rocket boosters.
  • In "Destruction", Jennifer tries firing a missile from the Yamato's cannons at Mirai. When the smoke clears, however, she and the other Dolls are shocked Mirai has grabbed the missile.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • In the first episode "Metamorforce!", both Mirai and Mao panic when the Machinegal Dolls commence their assault on the race queen contest's stage.
  • Mirai gasps in shock after her modifications to Hiroshi's Mol unit causes the computer to malfunction.
  • Hiroshi has a small panic at Tokyo Restored Car Grand Prix when he realizes Mirai has unknowingly changed his Moldiver form and later when he sees Brooke out of her pit crew disguise.
  • Jennifer briefly panics when Mirai throws one of the Akron's solid rocket boosters at her towards the end of "Overzone".
  • In "Longing", Brooke says "Oh, no!" when she realizes Mirai has tricked the Machinegal Dolls into flying through a cloud and they're about to hit the ground. Seconds later, Mirai has one when her suit's power is about to run out.
• Oh, No... Not Again!: In "Intruder", Brooke yells "Not again!" shortly before her tank is destroyed.
• Oh, the Humanity!: In the English dub, Hiroshi invokes the trope when Mirai uses her Captain Tokyo form to send Jennifer crashing onto the Tokyo Circuit Expressway.
• One-Book Author: The English dub of Moldiver was Julia Reyna Kato's only anime role.
• Pink Heroine: As the lead character, Mirai frequently wears pink clothing and her Moldiver costume includes a small pink cape.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: Brooke frequently wears red and black clothes and is one of the Dolls developed by the Big Bad Professor Amagi/Machinegal.
• The Rival: Several rivalries, on several levels. There is Amagi vs. Hiroshi, Mirai vs. Mao and so on.
• Robot Girl: Machinegal's Dolls; subverted in that they aren't at all robotic in appearance or behavior, and some viewers may not realize their nature until their defeat towards the end of "Intruder".
• Rule of Seven: The Machinegal Dolls are a group of seven gynoids consisting of Isabelle (their leader), Brooke, Vivien, Elizabeth, Jennifer, Nastassja, and Sayuri.
• Shoot the Television: In the episode "Overzone", Mirai becomes frustrated with Mao's teasing to the point where she hangs up and destroys the screen by throwing her phone at it.
• Shout-Out: Moldiver has a cameo in episode 8 of Tenchi Universe.
• Soft Glass: In the episode "Overzone", Mirai punches through a glass window on the Akron space shuttle to rescue Amy from Machinegal's clutches. Thanks to the suit's design, Mirai doesn't suffer a scratch anywhere.
• Space Battle: The episodes "Overzone" and "Verity" feature space battles between Mirai Ozora as well as Machinegal's Dolls.
• Spit Take: Hiroshi spits out his drink once he realizes Mirai has entered the race queen contest without his knowledge.
• Super Hero: Moldiver (particularly the Moldiver 1 / "Captain Tokyo" form) was designed to look like a classic comic book superhero.
• To Be Continued: The episode "Intruder" ends with a white "TO BE CONTINUED" caption.
• Too Fast to Stop: The first episode has a rather prolonged scene with Mirai running at supersonic speeds, tripping, and skidding along the ground for long enough to more or less destroy an entire race track. Come to think of it, this is pretty much the #2 go-to gag of the series behind crossdressing.
• Transformation Trinket: The Mol units, which look like portable music players (complete with earbuds).
• Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Every time Moldiver defeats the Machinegal Dolls, they are teleported away just before their suits and/or mecha are destroyed.
• "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: At the end of "Verity", Mirai works as a balloon girl along with Mao at the local theme park. Meanwhile, Misaki continues his deep space mission, Amagi/Machinegal works on repairing his Dolls at ZIC, and Hiroshi and Nozomu respectively develop updated versions of the Mol unit as well as the Moldiver suit.
• Wild Card: Moldiver 3, AKA Nozomu Ozora, who developed his own Mol Unit and opposes both Moldiver and Dr. Machinegal.

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