Its no secret that I love, watch and enjoy anime. My favorite type of anime is Mecha. I have watched old school Mecha anime, including the original Gundam, to new shows like Captain Earth. I am not here to write about either Gundam or Captain Earth, which are fantastic. I am here to write about a show that is ending soon called Argevollen.
Argevollen is an anime that depicts modern day war. The modern day characteristic is the use of drones in warfare. Before we dive into that topic it is appropriate to give a short summary of Argevollen. Argevollen is a Mecha anime show that depicts a war between two countries. The main character, Tokimune, is a soldier in one of the armies. Tokimune is one day out on patrol in a mecha unit and saves a truck that is carrying a secret, top of the line, mecha unit called the Argevollen. Tokimune jumps into the Argevollen, turns it on, and starts to use it in combat. As the series progresses the purpose of the Argevollen is revealed. The first agenda is to use it in combat experimentally, work out all the problems, so that it may be mass-produced. The other is to gather data to develop a new type of weapon. This weapon is an unmanned unit that has similar abilities to the Argevollen. Currently, as of December 13, 2014, that is where the story is.
Given a quick summary of the plot it raises an interesting question about unmanned units. Personally, I have watched many different types of anime, in particular Mecha anime, and have only seen the concept of unmanned units once and that was in Captain Earth. The unmanned units in Captain Earth had a very small part, only appearing in the show for a few episodes. In Argevollen the concept of unmanned units is the focal point of the show. A major part of the plot focuses on Tokimune’s sister. Tokimune’s sister was working on the development of the unmanned Mecha units. This project leads to her death. Her death is important as it lead to the development of the unmanned units that are a focal point of the series . The show’s similarities are immediately drawn between the anime and todays military operations. Furthermore, the show captures the increase of technology that has led to modern warfare by utilizing the unmanned unit. This is the closest thing to drones that are currently being used in 2014 military operation. The show examines the current military issue of drones used in warfare. Most anime does not deal with this issue and as a result this separates Argevollen from other Mecha anime. Currently, Argevollen can be viewed on Crunchyroll.
You can pick up a copy of Argevollen here.
