Genre Adventure, Mecha Studio TransArts Original network TV Tokyo Network TV Tokyo Program creator Gerry Anderson | Directed by Kenji Terada Licensed by Enoki Films First episode date 6 April 2003 Number of episodes 26 Director Kenji Terada | |
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Written by Concept by Gerry Anderson and John Needham, written by Kenji Terada Cast Masaya Takatsuka, Takeshi Aono, Kenji Utsumi, Tomoyuki Shimura, Jin Horikawa Similar The Day After Tomorrow, Dick Spanner - PI, Lavender Castle, The Adventures of Twizzle, Gerry Anderson's New Capt | ||
Firestorm (ファイアーストーム) is a Japanese anime series co-created by Gerry Anderson and John Needham. The series combines CGI animation for mecha and traditional cel animation for characters. Despite high-quality animation and an emphasis on futuristic vehicles traditional to Anderson productions (such as Thunderbirds), the series was not warmly received in Japan. Series availability in other countries has been limited.
Contents
Plot
By the year 2104, the nations of Earth have finally achieved world peace. However, that peace is threatened by a new worldwide terrorist organization called Black Orchid. To counter this threat, the United Nations has created a military peacekeeping force called Storm Force. Each Storm Force unit (8 total) acts independently, operating primarily from a large twin-hulled submarine. As the series opens, a new elite unit is formed called Storm Force 9, which is assigned a special mission code-named "Firestorm."
Early in the series, the Firestorm team discover that Black Orchid is secretly a front for a worldwide invasion of outer-space aliens who can disguise themselves as humans. The aliens have developed a drug which will turn humans into their mindless slaves, and scheme to put the drug into our water supply.
Each episode focuses strongly on futuristic vehicles (mecha). The Firestorm team operate primarily from a huge twin-hulled submarine, called the Ocean Storm. This submarine features a detachable jet aircraft called the Tornado, making it similar to SkyDiver from Gerry Anderson's 1970-71 series UFO. Visually, the Tornado resembles Thunderbird 2 from Anderson's 1965-66 series Thunderbirds. While Thunderbird 2 carried a variety of pods containing smaller vehicles, the Tornado carries a group of smaller vehicles at all times, including two jet fighters, a futuristic tank and several boats.
Storm Force 2
Storm Force 5
Storm Force 9
All members of Storm Force 9 wear snug-fitting, futuristic blue wet suits. Males tend to wear a blue military jacket over the wet suit when not working underwater.
Other SF officers
Black Orchid
Vehicles
Reboot
In 2014 Gerry Anderson's company Anderson Entertainment announced that it was launching a crowdfunding campaign to produce a pilot episode for a new television series of Firestorm using practical film-making techniques including practical special effects and puppetry. This was a ground-up remake, using Anderson's original documents. The setting is moved to the year 2202 and Operation Firestorm is the codename for the defeat of Black Orchid; Sam Scott, Nagisa Kisaragi, and Drew McAllister remain as the main characters. The miniature effects crew included Anderson veterans Steve Begg and Bill Pearson (who had more recently worked on recent Bond films Casino Royale) and Doctor Who's Mike Tucker, while puppets are to be made by the company Mackinnon and Saunders.
On 18 February 2016, Jamie Anderson announced to Kickstarter backers that the pilot would soon begin shooting. Filming began on 29 February.