Blue Gender (Vol. 1)
Having been diagnosed with an incurable disease, teenager Yuji Kaido enters suspended animation in 2009 to await the discovery of a therapy. He's awakened 22 years later to find that Earth has been conquered by the Blue: monstrous, insectlike aliens. Yuji is rescued by tough-as-railroad-spikes mecha pilot Marlene Angel, who serves in an elite Sleeper Recovery Team from the satellite Second Earth. Yuji is apparently a valuable asset in the struggle against the Blue, despite his illness. As he does little but stare blankly and whine, and voice actor Laura Bailey delivers Marlene's lines--including an account of the destruction of human civilization--in a robotic monotone, they're not an engaging pair. The action scenes are violent, bloody, and generally well choreographed. Unrated; suitable for ages 17 and up: Graphic violence, brief nudity, sexual situations, grotesque imagery.--Charles Solomon