KIMERA

— by Charles McCarter

Yet another take on the vampire myth—this time based on the manga by Kodaka Kazumo. And this time, it's horror with a somewhat shoujo twist.
Osamu and Jay are the two "hardest working corn cereal salesman in America." As they are driving along, they happen across a military team trying to contain something—but what, they are not sure. As a battle begins, Osamu wanders into a trailer and finds a beautiful being inside an icy container. Their eyes meet and it's love at first sight. However, the attackers have other plans.
Jay and Osamu learn that these creatures are aliens who live off of human blood, and that the being named Kimera is one of them. And, while she looks like a man, she is actually a woman. Osamu is taken with her, and wants to help her gain her freedom.
Can Osamu prevent the evil aliens from using Kimera for their own fiendish purposes? And just what is this Kimera person, and why does she look like a man?
KIMERA answers these and other questions through a series of flashbacks and exposition by the major vampire/alien characters. However, the story itself seems to be an amalgam of several plots from the manga. As so often happens when manga is converted to anime, much of the detail seems to have been omitted for the sake of telling the story in a 45 minute OVA. The end result, while still understandable, seems a little too simple to be the whole story of the androgynous Kimera and her new lover.
The character designs are decidedly shoujo, with Kimera being the best example. She looks like a very beautiful man with long green hair. Adding to the androgyny, her voice (in the subtitled version) is performed by a man trying to sound very effeminate. And yet, while she looks like a man, Osamu and Jay both somehow recognize that she is a woman right away. But Kimera doesn't look like any woman I've ever seen. And because of this androgyny, the kissing scenes between Osamu and Kimera will undoubtedly not sit well with some viewers.
This OVA also offers another explanation of the popular vampire legends. And the vampires themselves have some unusual powers not normally associated with them, such as teleportation, throwing fireballs and energy bursts, and regrowing limbs.
But there's something about this video that just doesn't seem quite right. In trying to shoehorn so much into such a small amount of time, something suffers. The plot, while understandable, isn't very driving. And the characters are largely undeveloped, with the exception of Osamu and Jay.
The music is largely forgettable. The art, however, is very sharp and clean, and the quality of the animation is good.
KIMERA is a mixed bag, with some outstanding features and others that seem to be so average as to be indistinguishable from the next video on the shelves. However, if vampires or occult science fiction hold more than a passing interest for the viewer, they may find this latest entry into the sci-fi vampire arena entertaining.