Anime Memories: Hamos the Green Chariot

    I personally think that the memories of a piece of art are more important than the work of art itself because they tend to be actually of much better quality than the work itself. This feeling caught me while re-watching Neon Genesis Evangelion and realizing how the second half of the show feels like its held by only duct-tape. This is true of many anime series that I watched as a child- my memories are much better than the show itself, so much so that I am afraid to watch some of them out of fear that I am going to ruin them.
    But, this is not always true, which is the case with the Korean animated series Hamos the Green Chariot, which ultimately shocked me- this show is actually much better than I remember it! What caught my eye first was the opening of the first episode, which is in itself just a huge exposition, telling us the history of the planet Terra, but the way that it is presented is absolutely stunning. This is reflected in the moment when the theme song kicks in and shows us the world is reborn. This song, called “Rick’s theme” is, in my opinion, one of the best pieces of music that have ever touched my ears to this day. It is kind of song that starts by the humming of the singer, before jumping into the subtly sung lyrics. This song is used throughout the show immensely, and it does not start being jarring after a while, but rather feels incredibly fitting for the scenes it is used in.
    Characters of Hamos are rather fairly simple to understand, starting from the main character Rick, who is funny and somewhat innocent, to the Gutpo, a robot who is the group’s voice of reason. Another one is Roto, who is a spoiled kid and doesn’t have much of a purpose throughout the series- he is more of a comedic relief character, while that comedic relief is mostly him being annoying. The character they meet at the end of the first episode is Bora, a mysterious girl that has a pretty big mystery behind it, but she does feel like Rei Ayanami, to be honest, and has a big purpose in one of the most emotionally tense moments at the end of the series. That moment is also tied to the another character- Merry Hunter, who also hides a decent mystery behind herself, and is a fairly tragic character at the end of the show.
    One of Hamos’ major strengths is its structure of its episodes- there is not a single one where nothing is happening, and adding to that each new episode we get new side characters, some of them just for one episode- but this instead of being a jarring thing it ends up working well in the context of the show, because the characters are all memorable, and in the end, when they save Terra, they show them being happy and you immediately recognize them, speaking volumes of the impression they leave on the viewer.

    The animation is actually excellent- feels incredibly fluid and it does not deteriorate as the show progresses. The composition of the shots is also excellent, and in my opinion, the scene of Rick entering his robot Patron is iconic, especially when combined with the theme song.

    Art style's major strength is its variety- deserts, megacities, meadows, even Arctic are all flawlessly tied together. No two episodes seem the same, and the design of the sci-fi areas is a subtle blend of common science fiction fare and some fantasy elements, to create a visual masterpiece.

    Speaking of that robot, it is the element that changes the show significantly- up till Episode 12, we are mostly focused on the group in the tank doing combat on the foot, and they end up running from the most of the enemies, especially in the city of robots, but when Patron appears, this changes- now battles are much more varied and Rick ends up destroying the threat instead of running. Mech designs in Hamos are very distinct- Karon and Patron are both very unique function-wise, as well as other two mechs piloted by show’s main villain, Nero.

   Speaking of them, show has ultimately two main villains, Dr. Chako and Nero, but they both have a twist related to themselves in the ending of the show. Chako, for example, is actually a positive character in the end and ends up sacrificing himself for the good of Terra- contrast that with his appearance at the end of the first episode!
   Show's finalle is what really struck me down to the heart- this is in fact saving the world type of story, but the way it is presented is absolutely stunning. One important element of it is appreciating saving the world as an experience in order to love the world more. That subtle feeling that the ties of cold winds of uncertain future and warmth of certanty produce in you. That's what is important. The greatness of the faith in the Earth echoes Hamos from the first to the last episode.
   You will be forever in my heart, as you head towards the red sunset, Hamos the Green Chariot.