.gif)
Kimera (anime)
Encyclopedia
Kimera is a two-volume manga series written and illustrated by Kazuma Kodaka
and serialized in Super Jump
. It was adapted into a single episode original video animation
by Toho
in 1996. Both the manga and OVA were licensed and released in English by ADV Films. It focuses on a man named Osamu, who falls in love with an adrogenyous vampire-like man named Kimera, being held by the Air Force and hunted by two other vampires. One vampire wishes to use Kimera as the mother to revive their dying race, while the other wishes to kill her to save her from a fate she didn't desire.
creatures. Osamu is blown into a trailer where he finds a beautiful, green-haired androgynous-looking woman inside an cryogenic container. A silver bell he recently purchased and wears around his neck rings, waking the creature inside who kisses him through the ice. Two of the creatures arrive, with a beautiful male attacking Osamu, and a disfigured one defending him. They disappear, and Osamu and Jay are taken to the Air Force base. They are released as Jay's father, Dr. Gibson, is on the research team there.
He tells them to forget everything that happened, though Jay argues that they can't do that. Gibson is called away, accidentally leaving his security card behind. They use it to search for Kimera, with Osamu feeling her calling him in the right direction. Meanwhile, the beautiful vampire from the night before is going through the facility killing people in search of her, wearing a bracelet that makes a sound similar to Osamu's bell. One of the research team members, Dr. Fender, meets with the disformed vampire, Ginzu, to discuss the status of the "Mother" system, and Ginzu complains about the lifeless food Fender brings "them".
Osamu and Jay find Kimera in a garden and free her from her container after Osamu's bell awakens her again. The beautiful vampire attacks them, explaining Kimera will bring about the downfall of the planet. Huge snakes break through the glass to attack him, along with Ginzu, as Gibson and his team arrive having found their dead companions. Kimera begins glowing and the rooms explodes. She disappears along with Osamu. Jay learns that Kimera is an alien who arrived with the other two vampires two weeks before.
Kimera reappears in the city, wearing only the lab coat Osamu had put on her. Two men pick her up and attempt to rape her, but she drains them of blood and kills them. Osamu dreams of Kimera's past and learns that the beautiful vampire, Kianu, and she were in love. Before, she lived peacefully, refusing to drink blood and having no desire to become "a mother" after seeing what one was. Kimera arrives and tries to make love to Osamu, though he tries to tell her that he isn't Kainu. Ginzu attacks capturing Kimera and having Fender install her in the Mother system in hopes of creating at least two or three children before Kimera is killed. He explains to Osamu that the vampires have been betrayed by humans repeatedly through the ages, and now on their planet the adults are dying and unable to reproduce. Only Kimera can reproduce, but neither Ginzu nor Kianu can make children with her because they are not fully functional men.
Kianu arrives and attacks again. As he and Ginzu fight, Fender finishes connecting Kimera to the system and is subsequently killed by Ginzu as he is no longer needed. Wounded and unable to free Kimera himself, Kianu transports Osamu to her location and orders him to kill her. As Osamu stands in front of her with a gun, the building collapses, killing Ginsu and Kianu. Jay finds Osamu's bell crushed in the debris and mourns his friend; however, Osamu is shown to be together with Kimera in the desert, driving to an unknown location. Though he knows she believes he is Kianu and that their child may destroy the world, Osamu wants to have hope for the future, and is happy being with Kimera because he loves her.
features, thinking her to be male rather than female.
The art for the manga has been described as reminiscent of Yuu Watase
.
Kazuma Kodaka
is a Japanese manga artist. Kodaka made her debut in 1989 in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion with Sessa Takuma!. She mainly writes manga in the Boys Love genre, featuring homosexual relationships between men for women, and has been described as "a pioneer and top-ranked artist" in the genre...
and serialized in Super Jump
Super Jump
, is a biweekly manga anthology published by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. Released in Japan on December 20, 1986, the magazine provides serialized chapters of various seinen manga series. The manga series are published under the Jump Comics Deluxe imprint.- History :The magazine...
. It was adapted into a single episode original video animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
by Toho
Toho
is a Japanese film, theater production, and distribution company. It is headquartered in Yūrakuchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group...
in 1996. Both the manga and OVA were licensed and released in English by ADV Films. It focuses on a man named Osamu, who falls in love with an adrogenyous vampire-like man named Kimera, being held by the Air Force and hunted by two other vampires. One vampire wishes to use Kimera as the mother to revive their dying race, while the other wishes to kill her to save her from a fate she didn't desire.
Plot
Two cereal salesmen, Osamu and Jay, are driving along when they come upon an accident scene. They are ordered by Air Force to flee, but before they can they are attacked by vampiricVampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
creatures. Osamu is blown into a trailer where he finds a beautiful, green-haired androgynous-looking woman inside an cryogenic container. A silver bell he recently purchased and wears around his neck rings, waking the creature inside who kisses him through the ice. Two of the creatures arrive, with a beautiful male attacking Osamu, and a disfigured one defending him. They disappear, and Osamu and Jay are taken to the Air Force base. They are released as Jay's father, Dr. Gibson, is on the research team there.
He tells them to forget everything that happened, though Jay argues that they can't do that. Gibson is called away, accidentally leaving his security card behind. They use it to search for Kimera, with Osamu feeling her calling him in the right direction. Meanwhile, the beautiful vampire from the night before is going through the facility killing people in search of her, wearing a bracelet that makes a sound similar to Osamu's bell. One of the research team members, Dr. Fender, meets with the disformed vampire, Ginzu, to discuss the status of the "Mother" system, and Ginzu complains about the lifeless food Fender brings "them".
Osamu and Jay find Kimera in a garden and free her from her container after Osamu's bell awakens her again. The beautiful vampire attacks them, explaining Kimera will bring about the downfall of the planet. Huge snakes break through the glass to attack him, along with Ginzu, as Gibson and his team arrive having found their dead companions. Kimera begins glowing and the rooms explodes. She disappears along with Osamu. Jay learns that Kimera is an alien who arrived with the other two vampires two weeks before.
Kimera reappears in the city, wearing only the lab coat Osamu had put on her. Two men pick her up and attempt to rape her, but she drains them of blood and kills them. Osamu dreams of Kimera's past and learns that the beautiful vampire, Kianu, and she were in love. Before, she lived peacefully, refusing to drink blood and having no desire to become "a mother" after seeing what one was. Kimera arrives and tries to make love to Osamu, though he tries to tell her that he isn't Kainu. Ginzu attacks capturing Kimera and having Fender install her in the Mother system in hopes of creating at least two or three children before Kimera is killed. He explains to Osamu that the vampires have been betrayed by humans repeatedly through the ages, and now on their planet the adults are dying and unable to reproduce. Only Kimera can reproduce, but neither Ginzu nor Kianu can make children with her because they are not fully functional men.
Kianu arrives and attacks again. As he and Ginzu fight, Fender finishes connecting Kimera to the system and is subsequently killed by Ginzu as he is no longer needed. Wounded and unable to free Kimera himself, Kianu transports Osamu to her location and orders him to kill her. As Osamu stands in front of her with a gun, the building collapses, killing Ginsu and Kianu. Jay finds Osamu's bell crushed in the debris and mourns his friend; however, Osamu is shown to be together with Kimera in the desert, driving to an unknown location. Though he knows she believes he is Kianu and that their child may destroy the world, Osamu wants to have hope for the future, and is happy being with Kimera because he loves her.
Reception
The general reception to the anime was largely unfavorable, due to lack of proper story and character development. Viewers have expressed ill response to Kimera's hermaphroditeHermaphrodite
In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...
features, thinking her to be male rather than female.
The art for the manga has been described as reminiscent of Yuu Watase
Yuu Watase
is a female Japanese shōjo manga artist. She received the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo for Ceres, Celestial Legend in 1997. Since writing her debut short story "Pajama de Ojama" , Watase has created more than 80 compiled volumes of short stories and continuing series...
.