Audience reviews
12 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
JakCooper2
Dallos is a 4 episode OVA series from 1983-1985 that's notable for being the first ever anime OVA (original video animation), a format that would become immensely popular, especially throughout the 1990s, but has seemingly become almost extinct in the modern era with the rise of ONAs (original net animation). The pedigree of being the first anime OVA is the main reason I wanted to watch this anime, but beyond that it's nothing too special. I don't think it's bad either, though. It was a fun watch, it's extremely short, it has drama, action, moral ambiguity, and some good sci-fi ideas. I think that if it got a full TV anime series it could have been much greater. But as it stands it was somewhat enjoyable, but it's still hard to recommend for any other reason than watching the first anime O…
Read at the sourceifasurfer
Dallos (and its contemporaries) exists in the rough edges that capitalism has sanded away from anime as an artform over the past 40 years. In 2024, the presence of a highly advanced "anime industry" and all it means - merchandising deals, strategic branding meetings, business influences broadly - ensure that Dallos could never be made now. It is too coherent, daring, and honest to be produced by a major studio in 2024.
Dallos's historical significance as both "the first OVA" and part of the early careers of multiple masters of the form (including Mamoru Oshii) make it additionally worth watching for anyone who wants to consider themselves seriously interested in anime.
What a pity that shows like this are not & cannot be made anymore!
Read at the sourceuiorwejklfsd
Knew nothing about this show before going in and was completely blown away. Animation was phenomenal. Bluray remaster looked fantastic. It has everything you want from the sci-fi action genre: mech battles, spaceship battles, AK47 battles, laser explosions, basically nonstop gorilla warfare. It probably should have been called moon wars. It's too bad the 4 short OVAs weren't enough time to tell a completed story, but also this is quite normal for old-school OVAs. Surprisingly not a lot of gore in this, but when it does show up it is quite shocking. It's an absolute must watch for fans of 80s style animation.
Read at the sourcestmwg01
Dallos as we know it would serve better as an intro to a full fledged series. Unfortunately, it's short run leaves it feeling short of fully developed and short of fantastic.
The story line to Dallos is well rounded. You have a love story, a story of jealousy, a story of neglect and a story of revolution. With all these avenues working in harmony, which I commend as well done, I felt that by the time we reach the end, I'm left wanting more. While I understand that this OVA was really the emotional journey of one man, it builds a world with rich depth that is begging to be explored. If you like Star Wars, you'll find a lot of similarity to the general premise of Dallos.
Art is about average. There really isn't anything to note. At times it can feel a bit awkward animation wise, but those…
Read at the sourceAssthete
The worst thing Oshii has ever laid hands upon. Rebels fighting the government for four episodes. Both sides feel generic and unconvincingly brought about, probably due to the staff forcing their conflict into the narrative without fleshing things out enough so the audience could actually give a shit. Self-serious exploration of a theme that goes nowhere thematically, and the drama is cringeworthy with eye-rolling interactions, contrived chemistry and a final sequence that pretends to be epic while being just hard to sit through. Basically, 80s cheese trying to be more than what it is and whose only redeemable aspect would be Oshii's directing, which to be honest is far from noteworthy in here. How he went from this to directing one of the most beautiful pieces of arthouse ever in little m…
Read at the sourceGundroog
Dallos has some historical value behind it being the first official OVA and all that but otherwise it's a rehash of a Earth vs Space colony story without any meaningful interactions on it. The basic premise is already in the synopsis and it doesn't get much beyond that.
The whole plot revolves around younger generation of moon colonists resisting the regime forced upon them by Earth government that treats them like cattle who are marked with number rings on their forehead and exist to mine resources to pay off the debt to Earth. I don't remember the show ever explaining why anyone would move to the moon knowing they will be pretty much wage slaves for many generations until they return what Earth has invested into them. It also doesn't explain why after that anyone would agree to work un…
Read at the sourceCountZeroOr
This review originally appeared on my blog.
Dallos is an anime that reminds me a lot of what got me into anime in the first place. I came into anime as a fan of science fiction and fantasy, and I came in through OVAs and films like Akira, Demon City Shinjuku, Ghost in the Shell, and Record of Lodoss War. So, when I found out that Dallos, an anime considered to be the first OVA (or one of the first alongside the Cream Lemon series), and which was directed by Mamoru Oshii (who also directed Ghost in the Shell and Angel’s Egg – which I’ve previously reviewed), had been licensed by Discotek Media, and later made available for streaming on Crunchyroll, I put it on my to-watch list.
As far as the premise of Dallos goes, it borrows a little bit from the concept of Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh…
Read at the sourceVoivodian
Despite being one of his first works, it is clear that Mamoru Oshii already had a flair for directing an anime with intricate political subplots, heavy themes of existentialism and intense combat.
However, it becomes clear; even from the first episode that all the ideas and concepts Mamoru Oshii had for Dallos was more fit for a 25 episode Tv series rather than a 4 episode ova. While the story is nicely interwoven with several subplots, half of them, including the many too-spontaneous acts of rebellion the the failure to explain the titular Dallo's true purpose are awkwardly explored and then disposed of altogether.
The only good thing I can give Dallo's story is its sense of scale. While the political situation is hardly well fleshed out, it is still enough to give the already epic com…
Read at the sourceLIQfilms
The OVA. A very important part of anime history. With the advent and rising popularity of VHS tapes in the early 1980s of Japan, OVAs were straight to video anime which grew widely popular amongst anime fans and helped to become the backbone of the industry for quite a while. While the lack of censorship also meant a lack of quality control leading to an influx of terrible animation it was also an opportunity for new talent to emerge and be celebrated such as was the case with the earlier Gainax shows like Otaku no Video and Gunbuster. But the OVA that started it all was Dallos, produced by Studio Perriot way back in 1983.
It was also the directorial debut of Mamoru Oshii who was currently working on the Urusei Yatsura TV series at the time and would later go on to direct Angel's Egg in 1…
Read at the sourcezeo1fan
Dropped after one episode. This OVA basically seems like an exercise in Mamoru Oshii atonally spitting Existentialist ideas at you. And because existentialism tends to be about chance and external meaninglessness, this show structurally holds together like plumbing held together with gum and tape. Why bring the protagonist home when that's the first place the police will look? Why break him out if it's only going to make more trouble for him later on? Don't ask me.
Read at the sourcesorcery
I was a little disappointed after watching DALLOS. I suppose I had too high of expectations... Think about it: It was the first ever OAV series, an entirely original story imagined by Hisayuki Toriumi, executed by the ambitious Mamoru Oshii, who had already directed Urusei "Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer". His studio was new, and yet had some noteworthy collaborators like Hiroyuki Namba...
So why did it bomb? In my opinion, it was a title full of potential but misguided nonetheless. Studio Pierrot is not Madhouse, if you know what I mean. While the staff isn't incompetent or inexperienced, they were far from perfect. Look at the animation; it's painfully ropey, especially during action scenes. I'm usually not exacting in this regard, but animation is a key component to an action driven series…
Read at the sourcePumpkinification
How could a show with ravenous cyberdogs and rocket-propelled moon-skiing be anything other than great? I guess when the story is less about those novel ideas and more an epic tale of Proletariat v. Bourgeoisie in Space.
Earth hasn’t been the happiest of planets these days. Lacking sufficient energy and dealing with increased pollution meant we had to look outside our pale blue dot to survive. Fortunately (or unfortunately as Dallos shows) that last hope happened to be a little dusty ball orbiting roughly a quarter-million miles away.
Sometime in the 21st century, the Moon was heavily colonized and turned into the biggest mining operation this side of the solar system. Things are finally getting better on terra firma, its inhabitants able to regain the idyllic days they used to know. Lif…
Read at the source