Tatakae! Iczer-1 - The 1985 adult manga and anime

December 6 2020

Iczer One, known in Japan as Fight! Iczer-1 (戦え !! イクサー 1, Tatakae !! Ikusā Wan), is a 1983 yuri and sci-fi horror manga published in Lemon People magazine by author Aran Rei. In 1985 the story was adapted into a three-part animated home video film directed by Toshihiro Hirano. The story is about an alien invasion of Earth, which is opposed by Iczer-One and his schoolmate Nagisa. Together they can pilot the Iczer-Robo, a giant humanoid robot. The story features a strong body horror.

Iczer-1 also featured two published “sound novel” dramas. The first sound novel was released on an LP disc and was based on the first volume of the Iczer-1 manga, titled Golden Warrior Iczer-One. The second drama CD is a crossover with the anime Dangaioh.

History

Earth is attacked by an alien race known as Cthulhu or Cthulwulf (クトゥルフ, kutourufu). According to their initial strategy, the Cthulhu use parasitic creatures, called "vedim" (ヴェデム, vedemu), to infest and replace humans around the world. Their hope is to eradicate humanity and take over the world without harming it in open warfare. However, Iczer-1 appears and begins to eradicate and destroy the Vedimi. Upon learning of this, Cthulhu's plan to initiate a full military invasion of Earth.

Iczer-1 seeks its "synchronization partner", a human being whose sense of loss and anger at the destruction wrought by the aliens will allow it to co-pilot Iczer-1's mecha, the Iczer-Robo (イクサーロボ, Ikusā Robo), and unleash all his weapons capabilities. Eventually he chooses Nagisa Kanō, a Japanese student, as his partner. As soon as he makes contact with her, Cthulhu's agents begin trying to assassinate her, first at her school, turning her classmates into see me, and then turning her parents into another type of parasitic creature, the Delvittse (ディルウェッツェ, Diruvettsue).

Simultaneously, Cthulhu's pilot Cobalt prepares to lead their champion unit, a giant mecha called Delos Theta, against the human army with the ultimate goal of tracking down Iczer-One and destroying it before it can join its partner. First the aliens transport to their battle station, a giant black marble pyramid, which appears above the Tokyo skyline, causing vast devastation. Then Cobalt launches and begins destroying the city and all military forces in the area. Iczer-One senses the disturbance and teleports Nagisa and herself into her "other self", the Iczer-Robo, to confront Delos Theta. Initially, the battle goes badly for Iczer-1, but eventually Nagisa's anger over her parents' murder consumes her and she ignites, unleashing a huge beam of energy that paralyzes the enemy robot. Nagisa then delivers the final blow herself, killing Cobalt in the process.

Cthulhu's leader, Sir Violet, responds by developing his own version of Iczer-1, the burgundy-haired Iczer-2, and using Cobalt's traumatized lover, Sepia, as his partner. In the following days, the war between activated views and human forces devastates most of Earth's civilization, turning the world into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Nagisa discovers a young girl named Sayoko in the ruins of Japan, who takes care of her unconscious mother. He takes the family to his home, but the mother turns into a vedim and numerous others begin to teleport into the house. Nagisa uses a bracelet given to her by Iczer-One and is able to protect Sayoko and herself within a force field.

Iczer-1 fights Iczer-2 in a massive battle on the ruins of Japan and is defeated, but flees to regroup with Nagisa and save her. Iczer-2 and Sepia arrive in their giant robot, Iczer-Sigma. Iczer-Robo appears and Nagisa leaves Sayoko with her bracelet before going to fight Iczer-1. Once again the battle goes badly for Iczer-Robo until, in a fit of sadism, Iczer-2 tramples on Sayoko, who has come to watch. Immediately Sepia's morale is broken and Nagisa activates Iczer-Robo's beam weapon once again, destroying Iczer Sigma. Iczer-2 can barely teleport before the robot explodes. Sepia chooses not to flee, wanting to be reunited with Cobalt.

Iczer-1 is still badly injured from her fight with Iczer-2, and the two relax in a country meadow to recover. Sayoko is shown alive, thanks to Nagisa's bracelet. Iczer-2 retreats to a shadow realm to mull over its defeat before returning with two elite armored vedim, Reddas and Blueba, and kidnap Nagisa. Iczer-1 must then single-handedly attack Cthulhu's fortress to get Nagisa back and kill Big Gold. Meanwhile, Iczer-2 tries to convince Nagisa to join her voluntarily, threatening to coerce her otherwise. By the time Iczer-1 has reached the chamber where Nagisa is being held, it is already too late. She has been placed under powerful mind control by Iczer-2 and Iczer-1 is forced to kill her. In dying, however, Nagisa's spirit merges with Iczer-1 and for the first time they are fully synchronized. Iczer-1, fueled by Nagisa's sacrifice, defeats Iczer-2 and has its final confrontation with Big Gold. He later fights and kills Iczer-2, which reveals that he only wanted a partner like Nagisa.

Big Gold relates that she and Iczer-1 were both created at the same time, by an ancient alien machine built to fulfill the wishes of its creators. The Matriarch of Cthulhu, who would eventually become Sir Violet, had passed within range of the car just as she exclaimed desperately that her race would die in space and never find a new home. At that moment, Big Gold had appeared to tell her that her wish had been granted. He had turned his idyllic society into a fascist nightmare and had changed the once benign views into their current parasitic forms. Big Gold was an incarnation of "Desire" and had remade the Cthulhu race.

Iczer-1 was the other half of this prophecy. It was "Consciousness" and its role was to satisfy the desire of the matriarch of Cthulhu and destroy them all on the eve of finding a new home planet.

Iczer-1 destroys it. In a final act, using the power of their synchronization and tapping into the ancient wish-granting machine, Iczer-1 is able to restore Earth to the way it was before Cthulhu's attack. The Cthulhu also fade from memory and Nagisa is left behind the moment she first appeared in the film, daydreaming and late for school. He glimpses Iczer-1, but doesn't know who it is.

Technical data

Manga

Author Aran Rei
Editor Kubo Shoten
Magazine lemon people
Target seinen
1 edition 1983 – 1987

OVA

Regia Toshihiro Hirano
Film script Toshihiro Hirano
Char. design Toshihiro Hirano
Wick designed by Masami Ōbari
Music Michiaki Watanabe
Studio Anime International Company, Kubo Shoten, Toshiba EMI
1 edition October 19, 1985 - March 4, 1987
Episodes 3 (complete)
Relationship 4:3
Episode duration 30 min
Following by Bōken! Iczer 3