[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Future Boy Conan episode 8: Escape
It’s a welcome return to form for Future Boy Conan as he makes a daring escape with Lana, right under the noses of Captain Dyce, the crew of the Barracuda and even Lepka and his men. After a couple of episodes that didn’t progress the story much, this outing at least offers some nail-biting action and suspense.
This ep was one dramatic set piece after another with plenty of chases, explosions and precarious situations: for a series of this age the animation quality is pretty darned good, which is just as well considering how much is going on, and how quickly it’s all happening. There are one or two minor inconsistencies (just how long can a kid hold his breath underwater??) but for a children’s show this is to be expected.
The biggest plus for me in this epsode is that Lana is able to do more than act as the damsel in distress: she is out of confinement for a change and actually gets the chance to rescue Conan at one point. It’s a nice turnaround for this series - Lana finally exhibits the gutsy and tough ‘Miyazaki heroine’ persona in between the fainting, drowning and crying out for help. She actually deserves Conan’s affection now! :o) Gimsy also brightens up the scenes he’s in, which isn’t many for the time being unfortunately.
I really enjoyed this episode. It was a fast-paced action/adventure again and Conan’s and Lana’s characters work really well on-screen - some really sweet scenes in here. Hopefully the story will get moving again now they’ve escaped but as always there are minor details that keep the viewer’s interest in the meantime. The sight of our two heroes gazing innocently on a chillingly forlorn battlefield of the the old world (above) is one of many occasional reminders of the darker background to this series.
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