Common Name: Tide-Line Blue
Score: 7/10, 3/5
Length: 12 Episodes
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Military, Political
Summary: Following environmental catastrophe known as "The Hammer of Eden," an event that melted the polar caps and flooded 90% of the world's landmass, peace has become a priority to ensure any chance of humanity's survival. In the interest of uniting the world's remaining nations under one banner, the New United Nations has been working ceaselessly to solve disputes diplomatically. Having lost his subordinates during one such peace negotiation, a former US military officer, Commander Gould, has given up on peaceful negotiation. Taking command of the nuclear submarine Ulysses, Gould has decided peace can only be created through overwhelming military might. To prove his determination, Gould sets his sights on the city of Yabitsu, a place the beached nuclear aircraft carrier Electra, the New UN, and a rambunctious teen named Keel call home.
Review: So, I finally get a taste of trying to recall and review an anime that no one else seems to like or remember, though that's not to say I'm any different. I specifically recall appreciating this title solely on the basis that I saw it while everyone was still going crazy about Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth." It is also worth noting, however, that Tine-Line Blue is an anime very different from its ilk. Where most anime take direction from the standards developed by Japanese video games, visual novels, and manga, Tide-Line Blue seems to take its cues more from Hollywood than Akihabara. In particular, it seems to take inspiration from military dramas like Hunt for the Red October. With a comparison to such a classic film, you'd think that means this is bound to be good, right? Guess again! While it does take cues from that classic, nautical military drama, it also follows Hollywood standard in that, after drawing such a noteworthy parallel it then proceeds to bog down all the drama and political intrigue with youthful hero's journey bullshit.
That's right! It's time for Hyperactive Common Man-Boy to save the day and steal screen time
away from all the characters that are actually interesting in the process!
While the actual drama and action of the center around the actions of both the New UN and the actions/motivations/ultimate plan of Commander Gould's forces, the show itself if focused primarily on the like of the rambunctious youth known as Keel (Yes, I think it's a dumb name too). Calling Keel obnoxious would be something an understatement, but it is generally understood that he's a good kid at heart. Granted, it's kinda hard to see that when you first meet him--the adopted son of the New UN's leader who has no real problems but feels so confined around the woman that he regularly runs off with a gang of friends to either cause trouble or cheat at gambling. In other words, the kid's a regular Henry V kind of character. The only real moments when he's even remotely tolerable, i.e. when that "good at heart" aspect starts to shine, is when he's around his love interest, Isla. Romancing Isla is kind of a difficult task for Keel, though, since he is emotionally inept and she is a 16-year-old pregnant with a fatherless child. Yeah, they're cheesing it that hard. To Isla's credit, she doesn't let her situation prevent her from being a strong, independent, take-charge kind of woman, instantly making her my favorite character in the whole show. Keel, on the other hand, only gets a few "good boy" points because he fights tooth and nail to keep Isla and her baby safe and happy.
Were he helping her out of general human decency, I'd give him full credit in his Protagonist 101 class
but his taking the initiative only because he's romantically interested in her is a pretty heavy demerit.
Unfortunately, the plot for the show is just about as cringe-worthy as Keel's name and attitude combined. Contrived and railroaded doesn't even begin to cover how atrocious it is. Just to give the broad strokes of the start of this story, Commander Gould's army attacks the city of Yabitsu as an apparent attack on the New UN, establishing his notoriety and determination to see the world made peaceful by force. In the middle of this attack, Isla goes into labor and, in a last-ditch effort to get her to safety, Keel drags one of Gould's young soldiers and begs him to help. Being a generally good person, the young soldier named Tean (or Teen depending on the translation) gives the both of them the ability to flee the now burning city via the submarine that's attacking it--solid choices all around. Suddenly appearing to be good people who didn't just kill dozens of civilians to start a war, the crew of the Ulysses decides to take on the fugitive youths so long as they behave and pull their own weight--a la Castle in the Sky. Once everything calms down a bit, it's revealed that Tean helped them specifically because Keel is both Gould's adopted son, thus giving him the authority to do so, and Keel's long-lost twin brother. And so the plot goes on, contrivance after contrivance, until eventually the final push for peace arrives.
Rest assured it all ends with some high-minded nonsense about how
to create true peace and things like that.
Along with Isla being Isla, I will admit that I had another reason to like this show: its message. Once peace and humanity's future is fairly well-secured, it is revealed that Gould had likely never intended to accomplish world domination. While the specifics are left up to interpretation, it can be inferred that Gould's attacks were meant to convey a message and ultimately save humanity at the cost of a few lives and being forever damned as a heartless warmonger. To be more specific, Gould's plans seemed to follow a line of logic that claimed forcibly eliminating all nuclear threats from the world and offering a reminder, via launching his own warheads, of how disastrous nuclear weapons would be in a world without nearly as much land inhabit would save humanity. In short, the show seems to believe that global disarmament is the key to peace. Well, that, and the desire to leave future generations a place to call home, focusing heavily on the show's themes of youth being a treasure that is far more valuable than one's own, selfish desires.
Even if they're obnoxious little shits.
Now, would I recommend this show? To be honest, not really, but I'll also say you could do far worse. Contrived and annoying as it is at points, Tide-Line Blue was still a show that had a lot of heart and a message to offer, albeit a controversial one. Even though I only liked a small portion of the cast--namely Isla and her baby--they did give me enough to get invested in the story and care about the future of this world. Also, as much as I bash him, Keel does eventually get his shit together to become the Henry V he was always meant to be, though he still pales in comparison to the growth of his twin brother. In fact, a good way to think about it is that the brothers, Keel and Tean, function and grow in much the same way the Elrichs did at the end of FMA: Brotherhood--Ed growing up and becoming a more responsible person while Al grows more wise and worldly. On top of those solid points to the show's credit, I will state firmly that the show's soundtrack is surprisingly good in spite of the show itself. The opening, in particular, became something I looked forward to with each episode, watching it as it appeared on Comcast On Demand back in the day. Similarly, I'll also say I was rather fond of the show's art and animation which bears a striking resemblance to Suisei no Gargantia, which I understand to be a gorgeous show. So, in the end, I'll reiterate that the show isn't necessarily bad but neither is it particularly good. If ever you find yourself with the time and ability to watch this, I'd say at least give it a shot since it at least has some heart and substance like a lot of schlock these days. In other words, it might be schlock but at least it's good schlock.