The planet Earth, as we all should know by now, is one fragile biosphere. It's the responsibility of everyone to use resources wisely and always recycle. Of course, there are those who have a much more cavalier attitude towards their home, and that causes just a bit of a problem. The plight of our planet is a recurring theme in anime, and Artsmagic presents its latest release in this motif, the computer-generated anime BLUE REMAINS.

In the depths of space, a transport winds its way through the asteroid belt en route to Earth. The captain, his wife and young daughter Amamiko are excited to carry on this vessel the seeds to revive the haggard planet. The alarm blares - on the Earth the final nuclear war has begun. The transport - already in planetary descent - crashes into the sea...

90 years later the survivors dwell in undersea cities, waiting for the radiation to subside before trying to reclaim the surface world. In the wreckage of the transport, Amamiko looks forlornly at holograms of her parents. Riddled with radiation, they put Amamiko in suspended animation to protect her; she is still just 14 years old. Furthermore, her parents leave the message that she must be the one to sow the seeds of the new Earth. The central computer - Mayzamik - reminds Amamiko to continue her search for human survivors to assist in this awesome responsibility. Meanwhile, the human survivors are lead by a triumvirate of 'pure energy' creatures (giant floating brains). One of these brains, Glyptofane, decides humans are the cause for all the world's problems, so it's best to wipe them out. Glyptofane appoints himself enforcer and begins the hunt for the seeds. His siblings, opposed to his plan, send Captain Malloz and his crew to keep Amamiko and the seeds from destruction.

Amamiko searches for the humans, but is found first by Glyptofane and his horrid starfish craft. He almost succeeds in taking out the girl, but Amamiko is rescued by a dolphin - ally to the humans. Taken to Malloz's sub, Amamiko is to be transported to the triad's undersea city. However, Glyptofane and his mech minions are in hot pursuit. It's a nearly constant battle as Malloz attempts to fulfill his mission, so Amamiko can fulfill her destiny. Will they succeed in reviving the devastated Earth, or will Glyptofane have the last say in silencing the human race for good?

Much like it's sister release "A-li-ce", BLUE REMAINS is one of the first fully computer generated anime features. While the technical work is indeed a marvel, the results are somewhat of a let down. The picture image, even for an undersea setting, is awfully murky, and the hues tend to be dark and flat. Only when the heroes finally reach the surface does the picture pop with a vivid palette of color. There are some nice underwater vistas, but these get obscured very quickly when battles begin or the action moves inside. The animation is a cut above "Reboot," but not on par with any Pixar films. Story-wise, BLUE REMAINS is a little thin. The dialogue is terribly repetitive, and the plot is simply one big chase to the finish. There is a lot of technical exposition (which becomes confusing) and secondary characters are given perfunctory roles. There's a lot of potential there that is ignored by the writers - when they finally do add some color to those characters, it's just before they get bumped off. The main characters are given more depth, but even here potential is wasted. Amamiko is a naive teen, and never really progresses from that stage - it would have been nice to see her evolve during the course of the adventure, although there is a nice plotline concerning Amamiko's relationship with her robot companions and the dolphin Carl. The audio 5.1 mix is used very well, with nice swooping effects in the undersea battling between Malloz's sub and Glyptofane's ship. The dub job is adequate, but there's no attempt to synch the voices with the animation at all.

Artsmagic has released BLUE REMAINS with only a few extras. It's nice to view the film in wide screen for the seascapes (as brief as they are) and for the finale. There is a short interview with BLUE REMAINS director and bio/filmographies of the director, writer and designer. Included as well are trailers for BLUE REMAINS and it's sister "A-li-ce". A 'making -of' featurette would have been a nice addition, but alas, we are forlorn.

BLUE REMAINS reminds us how fragile our beloved planet Earth is, and our responsibility as inhabitants. However noble the theme, thin story, repetitive dialogue and a dusky image lessen the potential impact of the film. Just go with the flow and BLUE REMAINS can be a decent evening's entertainment.