Future War 198X
Tags: melodrama

Plot synopsis:
On September 16 of a certain year in the 1980s, the United States conducts an orbital test of the new Space Ranger antimissile laser defense system. American scientist Burt Gains oversees the test under the aegis of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency with the target warhead being launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base as the international media covers it. The Space Ranger module successfully destroys the warhead and the crew of the Space Voyager shuttle carrying the module returns to worldwide adulation. Gains looks at the successful test as a sign that nuclear war can be prevented, but has reservations about its potential to inflame the arms race. His sister Laura, and his best friend Wataru Mikumo soon find out that he was kidnapped by Soviet spies while heading off to work. A Soviet Alfa-class submarine is tasked to transport Burt to Vladivostok. Seeing the danger of Burt forced to replicate his Space Ranger work for the Soviets, US President Gibson orders the submarine sunk with nuclear torpedoes.
Tension builds up between the US and the USSR in the wake of the sinking, with President Gibson attempting a peaceful solution with the Soviets, who promptly put their forces in Eastern Europe on high alert. Wataru is promoted to lead the Space Ranger research team as Laura is medically confined due to depression over her brother's death.
On Christmas Eve, the Soviets get the news that an elite Soviet Air Force pilot has defected, flying the USSR's most advanced strike aircraft, the Black Dragon, to a German Air Force base in West Germany. Fearful of NATO getting their hands on the Black Dragon's technology, the Soviets launch a Spetsnaz commando raid to kill the pilot and destroy the plane. The raid is but the first act of the Soviets and the Warsaw Pact going into battle, easily blasting across West Germany and capture Paris.
The Soviets keep up the offensive, with attacks on Iran, Turkey, and the Near East to capture oil resources while launching airstrikes on Japan; China joins the war as well, ordering PLA forces to attack the USSR. US forces invade Cuba. Soviet First Deputy Premier Kutuzov convenes the Politburo on Premier Orlov's behalf and proposes a ceasefire to secure oil rights to the Middle East while plotting to arrest Defense Minister Bulgarin, who earlier pushed Orlov to go to war. However, Bulgarin appears and has the entire Politburo arrested.
A Soviet Navy ballistic missile submarine receives orders to launch on the US, but comes under attack from the US Navy and gets badly damaged. Waiting for a recall order from Premier Orlov himself, the submarine captain refuses to launch the missiles, but with the sub rapidly sinking, his executive officer kills him and completes the launch with his communications officer. Several US cities are destroyed in the attack and President Gibson authorizes a massive nuclear counterstrike. Bulgarin launches a second strike while one of his assistants kill Orlov as he tries to negotiate peace with Gibson over the hotline. The Soviet attack hits more US and allied cities, with casualties estimated at 20 million. Gibson learns that Vandenberg is still safe and authorizes the Space Ranger's deployment with Wataru sent up as well. Meanwhile, survivors in the war zones begin a peace movement together with deserting soldiers. When Bulgarin learns that the deserters include Soviet and Warsaw Pact troops, he prepares to launch all remaining Soviet nuclear missiles, but Kutuzov reappears in a bid to force him to stop. Bulgarin is killed, but not before he presses the launch button with the override canceled.
Word of the new strike inbound reaches Gibson and the Space Ranger forces, with four modules in orbit to stop the warheads. While the satellites destroy many MIRV warheads, three are destroyed by the Soviets' killer satellite network and one warhead severely damages the fourth and the Space Voyager shuttle. Wataru decides to head to the last remaining satellite and repair it ahead of another wave of MIRVs before his oxygen ran out. The module is repaired and Wataru shoots down seven MIRVs, but is forced to maneuver the satellite to get close and shoot down the eighth bearing down on Los Angeles, but the blast shakes him loose from the module and out into space. Laura, who was evacuated to the US after being caught in the Soviet airstrikes on Japan, flies in another shuttle to save Wataru while Kutuzov orders the crew of a nearby Soviet space station to rescue him.

Review: Future war 198x out of VHS in Australia. This anime is ahead of its time.It was cutting edge animation and controversial when it first came out in 1982.The anime is inspired by General Hackett's book The Third World War and its depiction of war is as realistic as anime can get.(note: for war enthusiasts, the huge tank battles on the North German plains are shown here and are quite good).Anyways, it came out from Wizard Video in Australia in the 80s(its in PAL) and its in English albeit not a full translation but an English narration.They also cut several scenes from it(I saw the original Japanese version) but its still quite good.Forgot to add:The original Japanese version is 125 minutes longThe German version is 115 minutes longThe English version(from Wizard video, narration instead of dialogue, added soundtrack from Tangerine Dream, Asia(Only Time Will Tell & Wildest Dreams) & Rush(Witch Hunt). The added soundtrack worked quite well with the Witch Hunt music really complementing the massive tank battle on the North German Plain and the ending music of Only Time Will Tell(which made me get more Asia music btw)) is 90 minutes long.. Heartrending war melodrama. It's a shame this movie is so hard to come by. I only managed to get a hold on it through the Internet.This story tells of WWIII and was written during the Cold War. From the beginning, it shows the war through many sets of eyes: civilians', the engineers', the world powers, and the soldiers'. Probably the most realistic portrayal of war in a cartoon.It's extremely somber and depressing, which is the right tone for it. That is, until the end. I felt the ending of it really reversed all of the buildup and drama the movie had going for it.But even though it's heartbreaking, it ends on a note of hope. There's something to be learned from that.The Japanese music is better in my opinion. Not too much that is important was cut, though, just a scene showing Japan's involvement and some of the gorier details (for instance the shot of a bloody stump of a soldier's arm is cut). Laura is also implied to be in a relationship with the character who was her brother in the original.Either way, it is wonderfully animated and a real gem, making it a shame that it's so obscure.