Battle Athletes
A reboot manga, "Pale Blue Dot: Battle Athletes Daiundōkai ReSTART!", was serialized from July 2020 to March 2021, and a new anime series was announced. The new anime television series by Seven aired from April to June 2021 on TV Asahi's block. Funimation licensed the new series. Plot. Battle Athletes. "Battle Athletes" is a six-episode OVA set in the distant future where, after many years of war with an extraterrestrial race, a contest of physical strength between one representative from each race is agreed. Although the alien race is far superior to the humans, the human  champion prevailed, marking an era of peace for humanity. A University Satellite is created where the greatest athletes of the age train with women competing for the title of Cosmic Beauty. Akari Kanzaki, daughter of a former Cosmic Beauty, arrives at the University Satellite excited and ready to compete. After watching defending Cosmic Beauty Lahrri run faster than she ever has despite the artificial gravity being turned up, Akari realizes just how far she needs to go. Helping her are her fellow team members and roommates Kris Christopher, a soon-to-be priestess from the moon, and Anna Respighi, a  shy girl with a secret so hidden even she is unaware of it. Kris is marked as a standout athlete and competes on a level near Lahrri drawing the wrath of another top competitor Mylandah onto the team as they prepare for the final competition. Battle Athletes Victory. The television series is not a sequel to the OVA, but a complete retelling of the story. The basic premise of the series remain intact, as Akari still strives for the title of Cosmic Beauty, but the plot line and characterizations are often radically different. The characters and stories of this series  tend to be more outrageous in tone than the first series. The story begins with Akari Kanzaki at a school on Antarctica in the year 4999. There are a series of tests that she and her classmates must go through to determine who'll be the representatives to go to University Satellite, a satellite training facility. Living under the shadow of her mother, the legendary Cosmic Beauty Tomoe Midou, Akari, emotionally fragile in this version, struggles as the worst athlete at the training school. Eventually, with the help of her best friend Ichan, Akari succeeds in making it to the  University Satellite where she competes for the title of Cosmic Beauty and trains for a mission that will decide the fate of the human race. Development. At first, the creation of the franchise was set for a public radio drama at start of 1996 on "Orikasa Ai's Moonlight Cafe". When the end of 1996 approached, a video game of the same name was released for the Sega Saturn system. It was followed up by the OAV series (the first video adaptation) and, some months later, by the TV version. Two more games were released eventually ("Alternative" in 1998, also  for the Saturn, and "GTO" in 1999, for the PlayStation). There was also a comic adaptation, subtitled "A.D. 4999". Media. Manga. A manga adaptation also exists. The story is very different from the anime series which involves Akari being a new candidate in the Antarctica Academy. There she meets her male instructor aa he helps her improve her skills. Akari meets some of the athletes as some become her good friends and some as her sworn rivals. There is a few differences with most of the characters: Akari: In the anime series, she is hardly an athlete who believes she  shouldn't be an athlete like her mother Tomoe Midou and believes she should quit. In the manga, she wanted to improve herself to see if she is worthy of being a true athlete like her mom. Ichino: In the anime series, Ichino and Akari have been friends since they were twelve years old and Ichino is helping Akari to keep going of being a worthy athlete. In the manga, Ichino first met Akari when Akari enrolled to the academy and become friends right away. Ichino still acts hot-headed sometimes. Jessie: In the anime series, Jessie acts kind to  everyone except to Akari because Akari is the daughter of Tomoe Midou, for Jessie's goal is to become the next Cosmo Beauty Queen and surpass Tomoe Midou. She wants to be the best to everyone including Akari. In the manga, Jessie is a lot more cheerful and is nice to all the athletes which she doesn't see Akari as a rival but a friend. She sees all sports as her favorite hobby to do and have fun. Tarnya: In the anime series, Tarnya has darker skin and acts all funny. She looks like a cat and acts all  childish. In the manga, Tarnya is close to resemble her OVA appearance has less childlike personality and likes to do fun stuff. Ling Pha: In the anime series, Ling Pha is a princess of China and has a selfish personality that she would do anyway of becoming the new Cosmo Beauty Queen even if it means by cheating. In the manga, Ling Pha is much kind to her friends, has a ponytail, and doesn't cheat. Her father is a very rich merchant who sells special medicine which Ling Pha gives some of her medicine to her friends to help  them out, in which case the medicine backfires of that cause side effects for which Ling Pha doesn't know much about the medicines she gives out. She is close friends with Tarnya. Ayla: In the anime series, Ayla's hair style is a wrap of pigtails and has calm personality. Ayla likes to remain calm and never losses her cool. In the manga, Ayla's hairstyle is a well groom pouf fashion and has a dark personality. She watches on all the athletes to learn of their skills and to know of their weakness as she gathers information (data ) on them and take them out. Reception. "THEM Anime Reviews" reviewed the 1997-1998 OAV series and the 1997-1998 TV series, the latter entitled "Battle Athletes Victory". For the OAV series, reviewer Tim Jones criticized the art style as "recycled" and said the plot is "no winner" but that the animation and characters is what makes the OAV worth watching. He added that while the series is "hardly revolutionary," it is fun, sweet, and "riddled with eye candy." For "Battle Athletes Victory", reviewer Carlos Ross said that it is different from the OAV series, as it has a "more  lighthearted feel" and it has a different cast of characters, noting that while there are various stereotypes in this series, along with people of all races, there is humor, like a female character having "a crush on her female superior." Ross also said that while the animation is "beautiful" and it has a lot of "cute girl characters," the storyline is "seemingly inconsequential" and it reminds him of "Gunbuster".