Roots Search | KYOTO VIDEO

[@platinumhawke]

The blank check era of the 80s was such a wild time that we'll never see again.

[@Kooljupiter]

Blank Check!!😂classic

[@GleeChan]

When the behind-the-scenes story is more interesting that another Alien rip-off.

[@jacksquatt6082]

*My theory about the plot:* The end credits shot of Moira sleeping inside a machine (also the VHS box art) is the only part that is real, and the rest is her dream. She is being kept under sedation, nearly in suspended animation, and is linked into machines that utilize her psychic energy to power the ship through deep space. The monster in the dream is her id, her resentment at the crew for keeping her captive as a power source, and it enacts Moira's unconscious desires on the crew members, something she herself is too timid to even consciously consider. Buzz is the hero of her dreams, the one to save her from loneliness, most likely someone who visited the ship and she sensed him, but he left before she grew to hate him like the rest of the crew. Moira escaping the ship with Buzz was her goal. Even if she ended up walking into Hell with him, it would be better than staying on the ship, a situation that - in the waking world - she is sadly still stuck in. Is this explanation giving the anime WAY too much credit? Yup, but it makes the story more entertaining for me. And honestly, I don't hate this anime. I kinda dig it, in a guilty pleasure sort of way.

[@samwill7259]

Anime made with yakuza blood money and a mysterious creator that fled into hiding in New Zealand. Alright, Kaiser, I'll give you this one, couldn't have seen that coming.

[@Launchpad05]

If nostalgia's a hell of a drug, that makes Doug Walker A SERIOUS addict.

[@JinxTheLooneyToon915]

Chef Skinner (Exactly!)

[@stickershock66]

I remember reading 1990s anime guides treating this and "Crystal Triangle" like they were some sort of essential viewing...

[@KaiserBeamz]

Oh, Crystal Triangle is another one for the chopping block

[@JesseSlater]

Somehow I don't think I've heard of this one, or it's a haze from an issue of Animerica gone by. Now I'm intrigued.

[@NozomuYume]

@@KaiserBeamz Crystal Triangle has some good animation, a coherent plot, and an epic story with all sorts of amazing, memorable scenes. OK so it's the same as Roots Search in that God is a goofy space alien, but at least it makes sense and has a reasonable ending. It's stupid anime, but it's stupid in a good way. Crystal Triangle is a semi-competent Indiana Jones ripoff. Roots Search is a half-assed ripoff of Solaris with a smidge of Alien. (I'm appalled you mentioned Event Horizon without mentioning the classic Russian film Solaris, which is what Event Horizon ripped off.)

[@MegaFat1]

This was an era where getting any anime at all was difficult, so that's probably why it was being hyped up.

[@baileygeorge5984]

Enjoyed the Lesley Gore reference. Nice touch.

[@cousinted]

A minor correction that probably supports the slap-dash, shady nature of this anime's production: Roots Search technically isn't an Alien rip-off, it's a rip-off of an Alien rip-off. The plot actually seems to take a lot more cues from Roger Corman's 1981 Alien mock-buster Galaxy of Terror, specifically the presence of an alien monster that kills people by projecting their greatest fears and regrets.

[@noildoof1602]

I'm one of those weirdos who loves Roots Search, but I am 100% honest with myself and everyone else about how bad it is. I just love awful 80's OVAs like a dog loves eating out of the trash.

[@KenPurchase]

Back when I was complete novice to anime I picked this up on VHS in a three-for-one deal. I was probably lacking the wider context of the genre to recognise this as "bad", but my main memory is of watching the confusing non-ending and thinking "...uh, is that it?"

[@KaiserBeamz]

Some research I did find really showed that this anime was a little more well-regarded in the days when in anime in the States was just way harder to find in general.

[@Silas-Serdar]

Products like Roots Search serves as the perfect example, how NOT to do a work.

[@retroanimemike]

Just gonna mention the cult SF novel Solaris by Stanislaw Lem, where people are tormented by the ultimately unknowable alien world that inexplicably returns the dead that press on ones conscience to them, repeatedly. It's required reading at Starfleet Academy, so to speak, and can serve to show how the themes used in Roots Search can be used in a meaningful way.

[@Kolbatsu]

You know this is a good reminder that not every anime in the 80s were perfect despite what older anime nerds would want us to believe. For every Project A-ko there's 5 more Roots Search.

[@TJTheEmperor]

Thank you. I love older anime as much as anyone here, but saying it's inherently superior to newer stuff is just flat out wrong.

[@Kolbatsu]

@@TJTheEmperor I think that idea comes from the fact that nowadays with streaming we're getting almost everything that aired in Japan. So not only we're getting the A-kos but also the all Roots Searches.

[@CraftsmanOfAwsomenes]

@@Kolbatsu Yeah, people these days are looking at every single thing that releases and assessing the quality as a whole when for the past they only look at the greats

[@ivannovak3414]

Whoever said that? -.- Don‘t make shit up It was also these „old, stupid nerds“ that made up the „90 percent pf everything is crap“ rule too

[@NozomuYume]

Yeah but Roots Search makes Dog Soldier and Crystal Triangle look good in comparison.

[@LowellLucasJr.]

Man this titles gives some Galaxy of Terror vibes...heavily!

[@kidprime6863]

With Event Horizon mixed in there too

[@LowellLucasJr.]

I don't mind anime trash once in a while. As an 80s otaku, I know my fair share. Not everything is a hit and you'll get an appreciation for the ones that are!

[@bryanc7094]

I hope you talk about DANCOUGA. These designs are familiar.

[@TheCompletionist]

Another stellar review as always kind sir. Sometimes when it comes to loving anime from the 80's and 90's you have to take the good with the bad because unfortunately not everything can be a masterpiece. I have not seen this myself but I'll certainly give it a try in order to succumb myself to the pain of it.

[@NozomuYume]

Which ripped off Solaris.

[@NemesisApoc]

I did not expect the main takeaway from this to be that Event Horizon kinda ripped this off, not that anyone would know because everything it ripped off from Roots Search was left on the cutting room floor.

[@TheHeroOfTomorrow]

Oh man...Don East's review of this back in the day really made me curious as to where the hell this came from. I was not expecting the yakuza to be involved.

[@stanleyteriaca2184]

Why not? Organized Crime is everywhere.

[@warrenjehosephat231]

Allegedly, a lot of the fun 80s horror and action movies in the west were also funded with mafia money (specifically Steven Seagal movies, weirdly enough). Even old Hollywood had huge ties to organized crime.

[@TheHeroOfTomorrow]

@@stanleyteriaca2184 Perhaps, but one doesn't exactly expect that 'everywhere' to include the animation industry, as sleazy as it can often be.

[@GlenGarcia1961]

So, one might surmise, the use of the "flashy things" throughout this production would be the anime equivalent of SCTV's Count Floyd gesticulating and shouting, "Wooooo, that was REALLY SCARY, eh keeds?!"

[@BigBossMan538]

My friend showed me this. It certainly is an experience I will remember for a little bit for how insane it is

[@pandaraph]

your videos makes me head feel large. love your content thank u

[@ConspiracyOpossum]

as an epileptic I've never been able to finish this anime

[@ParchmentScroll]

I will say that this entire time I was thinking of Lily C.A.T., which managed to rip off both Alien and The Thing, and made me care about the characters.

[@SleeperInTravel]

Your channel is amazing! I've been binging your content and am so looking forward to watching each and every video.

[@TBoneTony]

When it comes to Alien Horror Anime, I think nothing can beat Alien from the Darkness. An obvious H-Anime inspired version of the Alien movie.

[@andrejg4136]

Alien From The Darkness was one of the go-tos for oldtaku perverts. I remember finding a copy online as just kinda being smitten with it for a little while. I mean there have been 'better' material for that sub-genre but it is still worth a peek or two, at least to me.

[@redalchemy7322]

I really do feel for the animators and creators who get into a position like that. To think about what could have been done with the money and time if put to better use.

[@cubdukat]

16:50 Note: by this point, Buzz had been blinded by the alien…

[@EvaFull]

Another Laserdisc Anime added to my wishlist.

[@Launchpad05]

'Whatever happen to The Laserdisc, Laserdisc!' #StrongBad

[@NozomuYume]

Aw man this takes me back. For a couple of reasons. As a kid I remember Roots Search as being the worst anime I'd ever seen, and it remains that way to this day. I've seen stuff that's worse in any particular way, (worse animation, worse writing, worse direction), but Roots Search was just the unholy combination of poor execution. It also brought a tear to my eye to remember Fred Patten. When I was a teenager he was like anime grandpa to all us fans who would hang out with him. Had lunch with him numerous times and got to hear him tell stories. I miss him.

[@streamlinedub]

Been looking forward to this one

[@gamerssansfrontieres]

Have you seen Hell Target? The plot and the gore looks so much like, there were many alien space horror rip offs during the 80's and 90's.

[@apdo6107]

Hells target is so dark and dim it's hard to see anything lol

[@mysteriousguy7966]

I would recomend you to do a review about Iria: Zeiram the Animation. It's a good 6 OVA sci-fi anime. At least will take off the bad taste of Roots Search of your mouth

[@humanwaveform]

One of my favorites. Watched the English dub many times as a kid.

[@DragonKingX78]

That is a great one to do a video for...other ones I would like to see videos for are Ah!/Oh! My Goddess, Battle Angel Alita, Cutey Honey(90's OVA), Devil Hunter Yohko, Dominion Tank Police, Gunsmith Cats, Otaku no Video, Lensmen, Plastic little, The Guyver, etc.

[@otaking3582]

1:52 Since when is Popeye known for wearing overalls? Or are you talking about the fastfood chicken place?

[@KaiserBeamz]

I'm referring to the Japanese magazine of the same name 64.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyf6cqibMW1r6ckk1o1_640.jpg

[@stanleyteriaca2184]

Was expecting a Sailor Man myself. With the huge biceps and the, well, pop eye.

[@Launchpad05]

@@KaiserBeamz 'Well blow me down!'

[@EricMontreal22]

Another brilliant review. I remember this being recommended to me as a teen in the 90s... Somehow I avoided it.

[@SlapstickGenius23]

Can we all look at some of the most disappointing 80s anime films and OVAs on record as well? Let’s look at Kenya Boy. It’s a cruddy film based on a successful comic strip (which began life as a cancelled Kamishibai play!). Being surreal in a Crud way, the plot hastily condensed the strip’s first seven Kadokawa volumes into a crappy portfolio for someone who’s a fan of mid 70s-mid 90s anime works.

[@krunkle5136]

The ending theme and box art (and album cover for the soundtrack that exists) are better than the content.

[@uptown710]

Can anybody tell me the song that plays at 00:29?

[@Hchris101]

Scary 😧

[@mazimadu]

1:25 Does that count as violence against animals? No! Good! I like meat!

[@lazchurchyard1229]

Honestly though, after the Saturday morning cartoon tripe I grew up on in the mid 80s, this still would have impressed me as a 14 year old. I mean, Christ, "Rude Dog" was the most popular Saturday morning cartoon when I was nearing middle school, iirc. We didn't have cable, so whatever the ABC execs decided to throw a few pennies at was what we got.

[@Launchpad05]

I believe 'Rude Dog' aired on CBS for a very brief period, and is one of Rob Paulsen's more obscure works.

[@lazchurchyard1229]

@@Launchpad05 I mean, it was licensed from a clothing brand - I recall stationery as well. There were so many cartoons that where regurgitated plots and walk cycles. What the fuck was up with foofur, and why do humans insist on cartoons of blue dogs?

[@Launchpad05]

@@lazchurchyard1229 Apparently, Nickelodeon ran with the 'blue dog' concept with 'Blue's Clues'.

[@andrejg4136]

@@Launchpad05 Blue is the only blue dog I stan.

[@retroanimemike]

At least it wasn't another sequel prequel or reboot of a long standing franchise. Making something original, as unoriginal as Roots Search actually was, comes with a risk of maybe making something worthless. But damn is it boring when creators just take no risks!

[@andrejg4136]

I think creators would take more risks if studios would let them. The way work in the industry is an almost literal meat grinder just precludes the necessary "try-fail-try" we need to keep that vital energy in the medium. Basically I'm saying big corporations are like weeds when it comes to 'commercial art' and they are strangling flowering plants before they can even bloom.

[@SaintsnakeY2K]

whats that bgm at the start of the video?

[@Acidonia150reborn]

So the alien in this looks like Bio Brolly a bit so im gonna call this mess a Prequel to that DBZ movie which it self was well a mess that made no sense so like this then.

[@elbarto6668]

Nice

[@YunierViada]

Never heard of this one OwO

[@ArtificialOrangeStudios]

When we getting a review of M.D. Geist?

[@KaiserBeamz]

When the DVD with all the special features and commentary is no longer out-of-print. Hoping Discotek answers my prayers considering they are doing a film-restoration of Angel Cop this year.

[@ArtificialOrangeStudios]

@@KaiserBeamz Here's hoping, because I'd love to hear what you have to say about it.

[@andrejg4136]

M.D. Geist is definitely deserving of its spot in the Canon of Violence (see the Genocyber review). The 80s and early 90s just had a glut horribly bleak meat grinders of OVAs and limited release films. Even the cleaned up stories on TV were only so much better (looking at you Zeta Gundam).

[@AtariDad]

Castle Super Beast brought me here!

[@Rexodiak]

you mean this is somehow worse than Lily Cat?? somehow I did watch that one, and oof... it's rough

[@drewdederer8965]

Well, this wasn't entirely a waste of my time. Now I want to watch Animalympics again, were you going for that? (jumps on head).

[@andrejg4136]

Animalympics is a good family-friendly comedy, regardless of how some people think it furry pandering (they weren't really enough of a fandom to pander to, yet).

[@minaverry]

I was totally expecting an Alien ripoff but this OVA subverted my expectations by also ripping off Lucio Fulci's The Beyond.

[@abrahamstark2944]

To me is kind of unfinished or very cutting movie

[@dwainsimmons3447]

Can you do the Yugioh duel monster series

[@stanleyteriaca2184]

Is it a classic series? I mean from the 60's, 70's, 80's, or 90's? Last I knew Yugioh was the 00's. Also, exactly what do you want him to cover? An entire television series? He never covered an entire television show before.

[@dwainsimmons3447]

@@stanleyteriaca2184 no from the early 2000s

[@stanleyteriaca2184]

@@dwainsimmons3447 That is what I mean by the 00's. The modern turn of the century.

[@dwainsimmons3447]

@@stanleyteriaca2184 I think he should cover Rayearth Both series and OVA from the 90s.

[@stanleyteriaca2184]

@@dwainsimmons3447 That's more like it.

[@stevieg3761]

I see a bit of Galaxy of Terror in here. I wonder if it was taking some inspiration from rip offs of Alien. 2nd generation rip off, if you will.

[@mattdisney1132]

Too horrible