Another edition in the "Under the Radar Video" series has just rolled by. "Spiral Zone" is another 80s animated gem that unfortunately rolled faster than anyone could pick it up on their radar scope; I was a kid from the 80's and I honestly never even knew about the existence of this series let alone toy line. I think the real reason this show rolled under the radar was that it was another of those shows late for the party; this show came out in the late 80s and a lot of animated franchises like "G. I. Joe", "He-Man" and more have just ended, which does make it a little hard to jump onto train that you've never ridden as you've just said good bye to one that's rolled away. However, this show isn't totally forgotten as time went on it's became a sleeper cult gem, and it was referenced in the book "Ready Player One".
This show you can say is "G. I. Joe" doing Richard Matherson's "I am Legend" well sort of. This show is one of those ones you don't see everyday especially in animation, as this is a show that is set in the post apocalypse which is cool as there really were many animated shows in the 80's that did that except for two TV shows "Thundarr the Barbarian" and "Visionares" (both shows I've reviewed), like those shows it has its own spin on in.
Animation is solid, it's the 80's style, but I like there is a slight sophistication to it where it could almost be an animated show from the 90's. From the character models, vehicles, power armor and even backgrounds, it really showed how far animation was coming and that it was starting to go steps further. Action is solid, it' s well-choreographed as you see shoot outs but also vehicular action, in fact it's slightly more violent than from what we got from past cartoons, once again showing steps forward.
Really love the music in the show which has a lot of rocking tunes which fit the show being fast hard-hitting action. But I really love the theme song which is one of my favorite theme songs of all time; that both gives the synopsis of the show but also feels like it powers you up for action and excitement.
Characterization is solid, I wouldn't say their deep characters, but they have some persona, along with some good voice acting most notable from Dan Gulivan whom always fits like a glove for the heroic voice role, this is the third time he's played the lead hero (other two were from "Dino Riders" and "Sectaurs" both shows I reviewed) who is uninspiringly named Courage. Really like the vehicle he drives, which is the only one that is unique from the rest (there were probably going to be other unique wheels but due to the toy line ending it couldn't happen). From the color navy blue, which is cool as blue's my favorite color. And there is that cannon on top though the only disappointment is he never really gets to use it much in the show.
But what makes this show stand out is in its premise and its execution of it. We do see there is a viral zombie like infection that has taken over but hasn't totally broken things. It's always a common trope in post-apocalyptic stories where most of everything is broken and lost. But here we see that life in both the infected and non-infected areas still go on, it's a bit like that world in the movie "Hardware" where despite the dire circumstances they still have electricity, high tech, and all other resources available.
The zoners are interesting because their all a different spin on zombies and the infected. In most to almost all the viral thrillers and zombie films, the person always acts completely out of character, acts like parts of themselves have been stripped away. But this show doesn't do that, here we see the infected/zombies can think, do things, and probably even have lives of their own.
We even see the zone realms which despite being dirty and in slight ruin still function as a society as there are shops, video arcades, casinos and more places that are running. The Zone is pretty much a twisted utopia, as we see there is a sense of peace and unity. However, only catch to living and being a zoner is to be infected which means losing free will. In a way this is a little commentary showing how despite all the goodies they would be losing something more valuable, human freedom.
I even like there is some depth even a bit of development in both plotline and even characters. This was something that wasn't common even on regular TV. It gives the storyline weight as it feels like it's adding up to something. We see how the war has affected the good guy and even a little on a few of the bad; each side and the people making certain decisions and its outcomes. This also added weight to the show, showing some realities about war, like how it's not one-sided, hardships it can create, but also simply the uneasiness in doing what's right.
It would be cool to have a revival of this show or even a licensed comic series based on this show, with this we can take things further. Give more depth to the characters, along with development in both characters and plot, the Spiral virus more established rules and it's true origins like you could give it a Lovecraftian spin like you can say this virus is some mutagen came from unknown space that dropped down to Earth long ago and built on since then. Maybe even do some more things with this Spiral virus like it can mutate animals or even create other worldly. But also, more depth into the characters from the infected to non-infected, who they are and how the war has affected them. Their thoughts to consider any.
This show is worth a spin.
Rating: 3 stars.
