Freedom Project

Plot synopsis:
Freedom is about a child, Takeru, discovering a secret that could change the very society he depends upon. Civilization on the Earth was destroyed by a permanent abnormal climate shift. Cities with millions of people had been built on the far side of the Moon and became the only place where humanity still survived. The remaining population declared the foundation of Republic Eden, then set forth expanding those lunar colonies that loved peace and freedom.
More than 160 years have passed since then. In Eden, children complete their compulsory education program when they are 15 years old. They are then integrated into the society as citizens. During their brief moratorium they are granted freedom. Like other boys, Takeru decides to take part in a race with his friends using machines particular to the moon, called “Vehicle”. But what distinguishes Takeru is that he has constructed his own vehicle. When his vehicle catches fire on a public road he is sentenced to 10 hours of "volunteer" work outside the dome, where he discovers the remains of a small crashed capsule bearing photographs and articles seemingly sent from Earth. Structures visible in the background identify the location they were taken as the Kennedy launch facility in Florida.
Infatuated with a young woman in the photograph, Takeru attempts to research conditions on Earth and finds that the library's information on the home planet is heavily censored. Furthermore, nobody is permitted to travel far enough from the dome over the lunar surface to get within visual range. He discovers a small enclave of people living in a facility outside of Eden's centralized control, and after befriending the enclave's leader is given access to a moon rover with sufficient range to get a view of Earth. He sees that the Earth is blue; it has recovered from the disaster that befell it and is now habitable again. The authorities of Eden pursue Takeru, attempting to suppress this discovery, but Takeru and his friend Bismarck manage to commandeer an old "escape" rocket and leave Eden to explore Earth first hand.
The escape rocket's capsule comes down slightly off course, landing in the ruins of Las Vegas, and Takeru and Bismarck use Takeru's vehicle to make the overland trek across the United States.

Tags: violence

Review:
Simply amazing!. There are actually seven 25min long episodes and a 6min prologue. I don't understand why this anime hasn't been publicised more by the studios or even by the American company which holds a licence and released a blu-ray version in the states.It was created as promotional material for a noodles brand in Japan (which the characters regularly eat), but is still one of the best animes i have seen, comparable to Akira but without being as confusing in places.Keeping the look of the traditional hand-drawn animes but still remaining modern, FREEDOM is a visual masterpiece, and includes character design from Akira's Katsuhiro Otomo. I cant decide if this would have been better off as one long movie or if the episode "cliffhangers" make you want to watch more.You will have to see it for yourselves!. Stunning futuristic scenery in a top-notch anime. The Akira (1988) resemblances are inescapable, but this one stands quite well on its own, thanks to the well-made animations. The story and characters are mediocre, but that might just be me, as I'm not exactly a fan of OVAs but I felt like this wasn't rated as high as it should be. What you can expect is the usual over-the-top emotions, loud screams and eyes wide open, but if you can look past that, you will be able to enjoy the beautifully drawn futuristic scenery of Eden. Easily amongst the best recent sci-fi anime films, almost as visually stunning as Marudukku Sukuranburu: Asshuku (2010). Recommended not only for people who enjoy Akira or anime in general, but any open-minded sci-fi buff!. Freedom fails to live up to the hype. The fact that director Shuhei Morita only directed one 25 minute animation prior to this series, goes a long way to explaining why the Freedom Project is all over the place. The futuristic story has epic written all over it: the earth has become uninhabitable due to a massive disaster and a colony of humans living on the moon are humanity's only hope. With such a set up, the finished project is sadly less than half-baked.Freedom has awesome set, vehicle and character design, but as it uses cell-shaded computer models rather than the traditional, hand-drawn method, it lacks the heart and the human touch that makes real animation worth watching. There's a lot of one frame shots  (which to be fair Japanese anime is notorious for) sometimes subtly, sometimes it's painfully obvious.There are 3 main characters: Kazuma, is likable enough, Biz is just outright annoying and Takeru (the main character) rebels against Eden's authorities, risks his life, and travels all the way to earth (with no way of getting back) in order to  try and meet a cute girl! That's the motivation for the whole Freedom story! And if that didn't drag the series down enough, the voice acting in the English dub is terrible (the Japanese version is fine) with the Nissin tie-in easily the most awkward product placement I've ever seen. I'm sorry to say that the 10/10 reviews that Freedom has online are both undeserved, and a bit suspicious.