One of the most prolific series of the late 1980's in Japan was GALL FORCE, an all-girl team of warriors fighting the menace of evil mechanoids. After the success of the initial GALL FORCE movie, there were a number of series continuing their adventures. EARTH CHAPTER is the fifth in this series focusing on the exploits of Sandy, a Gall Force fighter teaming up with the surviving men to battle the MME, the robotic despots of post-apocalyptic Australia.

CHAPTER ONE - Earth forces discover nuclear missiles left over from the initial Human/MME war. The Earth leaders decide the only way to stop the MME is to use these missiles to utterly destroy the MME's Citadel - the nerve center for all the mechanoids. Sandy and her team secure one of the missile silos while awaiting a supply drop from their allies on Mars, but are ambushed by a MME patrol. They manage to take out the MME force; however, another attack annihilates their transport vehicle. Believers in a strange new religion, the Geo-Christs, rescue Sandy and her crew. The Geo-Christs want the war between humans and MME to stop because of the devastation done to the Earth's environment. They worship the 'Tree of Revival' and hope to replant the world with its seeds when the war is over. To that end, they have sabotages the missile base. Sandy is incredulous and tosses them all in the brig while getting the silo back on line for the Earth force's attack. Unknown to Sandy, Gorn, leader of the MME, learns of the imminent nuclear strike, and laughs at the humans. What is up with that? Will the humans turn their own world into a wasteland? Can Sandy uncover the truth in time to prevent a horrible mistake?

CHAPTER TWO - On Mars, leaders are divided between helping the Earth forces in the fight against the MME and writing them off as a lost cause. They have built a new weapon, a plasma cannon ship, which can destroy the MME Citadel from space. However, it may also destroy the entire continent of Australia as well! Unaware of the threat, Sandy and her team continue the fight. In a pitched battle, Sandy is captured by Gorn's robots! Interrogated by the MME leader, she learns the mechanoids were built by humanity and then rejected by their creators. They have become the reflection of mans' hatred. The Mars leaders decide to use the plasma cannon despite the risks. Lamidia, a Mars Force officer, cannot deal with this decision, so she and her crew steal a ship to try and stop the madness. Can she thwart the destructive power of the plasma cannon? Will Sandy escape from the MME? And why isn't Gorn the least bit worried about this next attack?

CHAPTER THREE - The Mars military plan an all=out attack on the Citadel, but discover the MME has infiltrated nearly 75% of their computer systems! They must strike quickly or all will be lost! In the midst of battle, Sandy stumbles across a mysterious girl, who begs her to stop fighting. Sandy takes her back to her crew, and they discover she is an android, but not part of the MME! The android reveals the MME can be shut down, but again tells Sandy the only way to true peace is not to annihilate the MME, but to find a way of stopping their hatred of humanity. A new strategy by the humans - flinging meteors from space- exposes the Citadel, and the final assault begins! Sandy and her team breech the walls of the Citadel and search for Gorn. When Sandy and Gorn meet face-to-face again, the future of the Earth will be decided.

GALL FORCE EARTH CHAPTER is a bit of a departure from previous GALL FORCE series. For one thing, while there are many strong woman characters, they are not independent of the men; just very capable soldiers in the military struggle against the MME. They don't have that original uniqueness of the 'all-girl' battalion. The story itself becomes repetitive and is very padded to fill the allotted time slot. Whole chunks of dialogue are lifted from one chapter into the next - way too much redundant exposition. That said, the theme of the story is interesting and there are some clever twists in the battle scenes (the MME's defense against the plasma cannon; Nelson's ultimate fate). The animation is rather pedestrian by today's standards - it's not bad, but it's nothing memorable. The picture quality is fine by TV standards. The audio is Dolby stereo, but again nothing spectacular. Oh yeah, there is also the required 'annoying cute little girl' character that's annoying and cute. There are some fine ideas in GALL FORCE EARTH CHAPTER, but unfortunately, it's a long slow ride to the finish.

The DVD for this latest GALL FORCE adventures includes a few extras. Most important is a text synopsis of the entire GALL FORCE storyline to this point - important information for those of you who've come in late. There are trailers for the previous GALL FORCE titles, an art gallery and previews of other similar anime.

GALL FORCE started as the 'girls' answer to all those 'guy' space epics like ROBOTECH, but by EARTH CHAPTER, they're just one of the boys, so to speak. Any of the originality of the first series has become routine. While padded and slow, EARTH CHAPTER still has entertainment value, but if you want a real treat, watch Lufy and the original Gall Force crew. There is some truth in the old cliché' about going to the well one too many times.

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