Ozma is set on a future Earth where the oceans have evaporated and the land has become an arid desert. There is a lifeform called an ozuma, which is a sand whale. Sam Coyne, the main character of the series, searches for this lifeform.
Sam is a member of the crew of the Baldanos, which he joined after his brother was taken. Unfortunately, Sam tends to bring about trouble, which causes him to be made fun of by the crew. One day, while out hunting for the sand whale, Sam sees a mysterious woman named Maya being chased by the Theseus Army. He rescuses Maya and takes her back to the ship. Near the end of the first episode, the Theseus Army comes to the ship in order to take Maya into custody.
The only other character given any real focus in the first episode is a young woman named Mimay. She is Sam's childhood friend, and is also a member of the Baldanos' crew. It's apparent that Mimay has feelings for Sam, but he doesn't seem to notice.
Animation-wise, I wasn't surprised to see that Matsumoto's character designs are the same designs we've seen appear in his other works. However, there are other elements of the series that feel recycled from his other works as well. Like in Space Battleship Yamato, there's a doctor who enjoys drinking alcohol that owns the cat; the only difference is that the doctor in this series is female rather than male. Also, the basic idea of a futuristic Earth that has undergone a dramatic change due to some kind of outer space catastrophe feels recycled from Space Battleship Yamato as well.
When I went into watching Ozma, I had really wanted to like it, because I do enjoy Matsumoto's work. Unfortunately, the first episode is rather lean in regards to development, so it's hard to feel much of anything for the characters or the story. I find this lack of development a little frustrating due to the fact that Ozma is only a six-episode series.
Personally, I would recommend Ozma to anime viewers who enjoy apocalyptic sci-fi and are more patient than I am in regards to character and story development. I would also say that the series is appropriate for anime viewers who are 13 or 14 years of age and older.
| Ozma | 6 | 2012 | Takahiro Ikezoe/Ryosuke Takahashi | LandQ Studios/Gonzo | N/A |
