It was first animated by the A.P.P.P. studio as a six half-hour OAV serial, directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo, released in November and December 1993 and July, August, October and November 1994. That was a dramatization of the manga’s then-current action, well into the story. A second, seven-volume OAV series, directed by Futamura and Furuse and released between May 2000 and November 2001, was based upon an earlier sequence telling how the team of heroes fighting Dio first met. This American DVD release from the producer (Super Techno Arts is the American subsidiary of A.P.P.P.) combines both OAV series, placing the latter episodes first so Americans will see the adventure in coherent order.

The beginning of the story, not yet animated, is summarized in a DVD extra. In the 1880s, two British youths were affected by an ancient supernatural talisman. The evil Dio Brando became an immortal vampire and began to create a criminal kingdom; Jack the Ripper was one of his first puppets. The good Jonathan finally defeated Dio at sea where both were lost. The anime begins in the present, where a brawny half-Japanese teen, Jotaro Kujo, has begun to develop frightening “evil spirit” powers — a destructive ethereal double.

His still physically powerful British grandfather, Joseph, reveals the family history. The Joestars were psychically linked to Dio; the awakening of these psychic doubles (Joseph also has one) must mean that Dio has finally escaped the sunken ship where he was trapped for a century. Their psychic “ghosts” are a manifestation of their life forces, which they can control to become superheroes. The Joestars must stop Dio from rebuilding his criminal empire. Dio uses his own powers to turn skilled athletes into zombie super-assassins to kill the Joestars.

The second series (now opening) episodes are variations on Joseph and Jotaro tracking Dio around the world, using their psychic super-doubles (Hermit Purple and Star Platinum) to battle super-killers with names like Hierophant Green and Silver Chariot, breaking Dio’s control of his pawns’ minds and adding the grateful fighters who still have superpowers to their team. The first series, now the conclusion, shows the Joestar team hammering their way through Dio’s new gang of willingly evil killers to his lair in Cairo.

The animation is limited, but nicely directed to project powerful emotional tensions by camera angles, body language and subtle movement like slowly raised eyebrows and faint smirks. The plot is not complex, but the deadly traps and battle tricks that the adversaries use against each other show more imagination than in most martial-arts-driven action fests.

Kai Doh Maru © Manga Entertainment.

Kai Doh Maru.
OAV (45 minutes), 2001. Director: Kanji Wakabayashi. 75 minutes, including 30-minute production report. Price & format: DVD bilingual $24.95. Distributor: Manga Entertainment.

Kai Doh Maru (a direct-to-video release on December 19, 2001) was reportedly a project to enable the staffs of the affiliated Production I.G, I.G Plus and SME Visual Works studios to get acquainted with new computer graphics technology. “Set in the political intrigue of Japan’s Heian era, [...] this fully digital animation tour de force features elaborately drawn 3D backgrounds, showcasing a unique colorization scheme reminiscent of Japanese artwork from the period.”

Kai Doh Maru is specifically set in 894 A.D. Judging by this production, Heian-era artwork must have been extremely stylized and delicately colored. The emphasis is on muted pastels (light turquoises, beiges, pale grays and pinks) often slightly blurred as if being viewed through a gauze veil or a heavy mist. There are some nice action scenes (and dramatic splashes of scarlet blood), but much of the plot involves political intrigue at the royal court where nobles move slowly in stately, dignified poses.