Line #56 Anime/Iczer


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/iczer_9370.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Lesbians, robots, and BodyHorror.]]
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4	The ''Iczer'' series is a group of three {{OVA}} series directed by Toshiki Hirano [[note]]at the time of this series' production, he was going by his real name, Toshihiro Hirano, but later started going by his current stage name towards the end of UsefulNotes/The90s[[/note]]: ''Fight! Iczer-One'' (3 episodes, 1985-7), ''Adventure! Iczer-3'' (6 episodes, 1992 -- The US DVD release was retitled ''Iczer Reborn'') , and ''Iczer Girl Iczelion'' (2 episodes, 1995). There are also the manga ''Golden Warrior Iczer-One'' and ''Legend of Iczers'', and the ''Anime/{{Dangaioh}} vs Iczer-One'' audio drama. ''Fight! Iczer-One'' and ''Iczer-3'' appear in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsL'' for the Nintendo DS.
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6	Rei Aran's original manga was a full on {{Hentai}} in the ''Lemon People'' Manga, with (ironically, given how dark hentai is known for often being) a [[LighterAndSofter lighthearted]] feel, and lots of sex. The pornographic elements were removed and the story was made much DarkerAndEdgier for the anime OVA release.
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8	In the first series, ''Fight! Iczer-One'', when the Earth is invaded by the [[MechanicalAbomination otherworldly android]], [[BigBad Big Gold]], and her/[[NoBiologicalSex its]] fleet of mysterious female aliens called the Cthulhu (or Cthuwulf, in some translations), the being called Iczer-1 arrives to fight them. To do this, she must find a synchronisation partner among the humans. The partner, Nagisa Kano, is someone who has been particularly traumatised by the events of the invasion, and Iczer-One must persuade her to aid against the alien menace.
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10	In the second series, ''Iczer-3'', Iczer-One has been hunting down the spawn of Big Gold. When she is wounded in battle against the most powerful of these, [[DragonAscendant Neos Gold]], Neos launches an invasion of Earth, and Iczer-One is forced to send her younger sister, Iczer-3, to stop her, alongside a descendant of Nagisa Kano.
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12	In ''Iczelion'', [[OverlordJr Chaos]] and his sister [[DaddysLittleVillain Cross]], [[BrotherSisterTeam two more of Big Gold's spawn]], invade. This time, Iczels, androids with the ability to synchronise with humans, are sent to help defend the Earth, and one of the recipients is another version of Nagisa.
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14	Blending elements of {{Tokusatsu}}, {{Horror}}, and {{Yuri\|Genre}}, ''Fight! Iczer-One'' is a dark, mature story that was quite popular at the time of release. It retains a small but dedicated fanbase in both Japan and the west, and is, for a surprising number of older anime fans, one of the first anime series they had seen. The sequels are LighterAndSofter, concentrating more on action, although the horror elements from the original don't entirely disappear.
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17	!!Tropes:
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19	* ActionGirlfriend: Iczer-1 is a Yuri version of this.
20	* ActionizedSequel: ''Iczer-3'' deemphasises the horror elements of the original and focuses more on cool fight scenes.
21	* AnyoneCanDie: [[spoiler:No, being a main character in this series does not give you PlotArmor. Just ask Nagisa. Though [[ResetButton she got better.]]]]
22	* ArtEvolution: The design of the mecha differ between the first episode, and the later episodes of the original OVA. Due to swapping out the original designer with animator Creator/MasamiObari.
23	* BolivianArmyEnding: [[spoiler:A ''positive'' one in ''Iczelion''.]]
24	* TheCameo: Look for a blink and you'll miss it appearance from [[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Kamille and Fa]] as well as [[Manga/{{Akira}} Tetsuo]] in a crowd scene in the first episode of the Iczer-1 OVA.
25	* CaptainErsatz: Nova in the second season of ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'' is clearly based on Iczer-2, which Hirano even admits.
26	* CatGirl: The original ''Lemon People'' manga version of Iczer-1 had cat ears. For the anime, they were changed to the elf-like ears that are more familiar to most viewers.
27	* ChestBurster: A good part of the horror in ''Iczer-1''.
28	* ColorfulThemeNaming: The Cthulhu.
29	* CombatTentacles: One of the Cthulhus' primary weapons. They are sometimes confused for a more adult tentacle trope.
30	* CosmicHorrorStory: Played straight as a razor for everybody on Earth but Nagisa, who are a RedshirtArmy at the absolute best. Even on the LighterAndSofter continuations, the Cthulhu and Neo Gold have a preference for making their abominations as hair-raising as possible.
31	* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler: Iczer-3 gets a brutal beatdown courtesy of her older sister Iczer-2.]] Even a ThemeMusicPowerUp doesn't help her.
32	* {{Crossover}}: With ''Anime/{{Dangaioh}}'' in a Drama CD
33	* CuteBruiser: Iczer-3.
34	* DamselInDistress: Nagisa, a lot of the time.
35	* DarkActionGirl: Iczer-2.
36	* DefeatMeansFriendship: [[spoiler: Iczer-2 in ''Iczer-3''.]]
37	* DualWielding: Iczer-3 and Atros use dual {{Laser Blade}}s.
38	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
39	** The original ''Lemon People'' manga version of Iczer-1 had cat ears instead of the more familiar elf-like ears of the anime.
40	** The audio drama version of Iczer-3 was Iczer-1's daughter instead of her younger sister, and illustrations showed her wearing a half-red, half-blue costume, rather than the black one of the anime.
41	* EvilRedhead: Iczer-2.
42	* ForTheEvulz: Chaos and Cross in ''Iczelion'' destroy planets for pleasure.
43	* FourIsDeath: Neo Gold's Four Masters of Heaven.
44	* {{Gorn}}: While not quite as gruesome as some other examples, the first OVA contains some rather graphic sequences featuring human characters being torn apart from the inside by the Cthulhu. Particular mention must go to Nagisa's semi-hallucination during class in episode one, where she sees one of the Cthulhu inside a gaping wound in the back of her classmate's head.
45	* HeroKiller: Iczer-2. She was a terrifying opponent even for Iczer-1 in the first series, and in the second, she shows she has not undergone VillainDecay.
46	* {{Identical Grand\|son}}daughter: Nagisa Kasumi/Nagisa Kai
47	* IdolSinger: Kiiro in ''Iczelion''
48	* InnocentFanserviceGirl: For a NaiveEverygirl, Nagisa from Iczer One shows a lot of leg, and [[SheIsAllGrownUp fills up]] her mini-dress really, really well. Concept art and [[https://68.media.tumblr.com/22bfc1edb22acfa7e39d8a7e84885dec/tumblr_mq41flv8MW1qlhvoso1_500.jpg some very sexy]] promotional materials make it clear just how much the obvious T&A angle is played up here.
49	* LaserBlade: All the Iczers wield these. In ''Iczelion'', Kawaii has Beam Boomerangs.
50	* LaserGuidedTykebomb: Iczer-2 and Atros.
51	* LighterAndSofter: ''Iczer-3'' and ''Iczelion'', in comparison to ''Iczer-One''.
52	* LivingBattery: In ''Iczer-One'', Nagisa is recruited by Iczer-1 to be her partner and help power her HumongousMecha, Iczer Robo. The risks of this are shown in the sequel series, ''Iczer-3'', where Iczer-3's inexperience causes her to nearly get Nagisa killed because of this. Well known in the early western anime fandom through a fan parody music video called "Nagisa Bonita" (to the tune of "La Isla Bonita" by Music/{{Madonna}}), where Iczer-1 repeatedly asks Nagisa to "be my battery".
53	* MakeMyMonsterGrow: After getting her ass kicked by Iczer-3, Insect turns into a giant insect (natch).
54	* MamaBear: [[spoiler: In retrospect, stomping on Sayoko with your mecha doesn't seem like such a good idea, does it, Iczer-2?]]
55	* MoralMyopia: The Cthulhu are ''very'' prone to this. Sepia's grief over Cobalt's death is sad, but Sepia forgets that her beloved was mass-murdering Earthlings. Possibly justified by the fact that the Cthulhu simply don't think killing humans is evil, just as we humans don't think killing cockroaches is evil.
56	* NoEnding: While all of the anime and Drama CD works had proper conclusions, the prequel manga ''Golden Warrior Iczer One'', and the alternate universe manga ''Legend of the Iczers'', never had proper conclusions and both ended on a cliffhanger. Hilariously enough, Hirano himself [[http://www.mangahere.co/manga/iczer_densetsu/c006/2.html hung a]] [[http://www.mangahere.co/manga/iczer_densetsu/c006/3.html lampshade on this]] in ''Legend of the Iczers''.
57	* OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo: Iczer-3 is the ''second'' OVA.
58	%%* OneGenderRace: The Cthulhu.
59	%%* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent: Nagisa.
60	%%* PoweredArmor: The Iczels in ''Iczelion'' transform into this.
61	%%* RedEyesTakeWarning: The Cthulhu and Iczers.
62	* RedShirt: The Fuji ships in ''Iczer-One'' are essentially red shirt battleships, although the ''Queen Fuji'' from ''Iczer-3'' manages to last until the end.
63	* ResetButton: [[spoiler:At the end of the first OVA series, one returns Earth to its pre-invasion state, with Nagisa's parents (and Sayoko's mom) still alive.]]
64	* SpinOffspring: The audio version of ''Iczer-3'' is Iczer-1's daughter. She was changed to her younger sister for the anime, but Nagisa Kasumi in the ''Iczer-3'' anime is the granddaughter of Nagisa Kano from ''Fight! Iczer-1''.
65	* ShoutOut: The First Fuji ship in Iczer-1 has design similarities (exaggerated) from the Gotengo from the film ''Atragon''.
66	* SuperRobot: Iczer Robo, Iczer Sigma, Delos Theta. ''Fight! Iczer-1'' is notable for being one of the first works to feature mecha with organic components.
67	* TamerAndChaster: It should be no surprise to anyone that this series originally began as a hentai manga, much like several other series Hirano directed (Anime/ProjectAko, Manga/{{Zeorymer}}), though this serie isn't quite as clean as other examples due to this being an OVA.
68	* WorldOfActionGirls
69	* WrestlerInAllOfUs: Iczer-3 is voiced by retired pro wrestler Cutey Suzuki (at least [[TheOtherDarrin in the OVA version]]). In ''Iczelion'', Nagisa wants to be a pro wrestler, and uses wrestling moves in battle. They aren't terribly effective [[spoiler: until the end]].
70	* YouHaveFailedMe: Neo Gold has a seemingly pathological fondness for this trope. [[VillainBall In fact, her fortress probably wouldn't have been so easily stormed if she hadn't killed off half her own minions.]]

Context Anime / Iczer