Vandread Complete Series DVD

In the far future, humanity has split into two completely separate civilizations: the all-male planet Taraak and the all-female planet Mejeer, each convinced that the other gender is a monstrous enemy. Hibiki Tokai is a third-class laborer on Taraak — hot-headed, easily provoked, and determined to prove himself — who decides to steal a top-secret mecha called a Vanguard during its military debut. He gets caught. Then the ship gets attacked by female pirates from Mejeer, a mysterious crystalline energy source called the Paksis goes haywire, and the Taraakian warship fuses with the pirate vessel to create an entirely new ship: the Nirvana. Hibiki finds himself stranded aboard with two other Taraakian men — the calm, methodical doctor Duero and the cowardly, self-serving Bart — surrounded by a crew of women who regard them with everything from fascinated curiosity to barely contained hostility. The Paksis has also merged their combat machines, allowing Hibiki's Vanguard to combine with certain Dreads piloted by Dita, Meia, and Jura into powerful new hybrid mecha called Vandreads. They're going to need them. A terrifying threat called the Harvest has been quietly consuming human colonies across the galaxy — and it's heading for both home worlds.

Vandread is one of the most cleverly constructed mecha series to emerge from the early 2000s — a show that uses its absurd gender-war premise not for cheap jokes but as the foundation for genuine character development, cross-cultural understanding, and a steadily escalating science fiction thriller. Produced by Gonzo and Digimation and directed by Takeshi Mori, the series ran two seasons of 13 episodes with Gonzo's then-groundbreaking CG integration giving the space combat sequences a visual energy that still holds up. The second season, Vandread: The Second Stage, significantly deepens the mythology and raises the emotional and narrative stakes of the first. Originally released in North America by Geneon Entertainment on individual DVD volumes, the complete series was later compiled and rereleased by FUNimation Entertainment in 2009. This boxset contains all 26 episodes across both seasons.

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Takeshi Mori (Otaku no Video)
Series Composition: Yuoichi Higashi
Character Design: Kazuhiro Ochi
Studio: Gonzo / Digimation
Opening Theme: "Trust" by Salia
Ending Theme (Season 1): "Confidence" by Aki Misato
Ending Theme (Season 2): "Ai wa Taiyou" by Aki Misato

Cast:
- Kishou Taniyama as Hibiki Tokai
- Yumi Kakazu as Dita Liebely (Ceres, Celestial Legend)
- Fumiko Orikasa as Meia Gisborn
- Yu Asakawa as Jura Basil Elden
- Michiko Neya as Barnette Orangello (Nadesico, Full Metal Panic)
- Tomokazu Seki as Bart Garsus (Chobits, Arjuna)
- Hideki Tasaka as Duero McFile
- Yoko Soumi as Buzam A. Calessa
- Sayaka Ohara as Ezra Vieil
- Mayumi Asano as Gascogne Rheingau
- Hisako Kyoda as Magno Vivan

DVD Features

- Clean Opening & Ending Animations
- FUNimation / Geneon Previews

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: ヴァンドレッド (Vandoreddo)
Runtime: ~600 Minutes (Complete Series, 26 Episodes — Seasons 1 & 2)
Director: Takeshi Mori
DVD Release Year: 2009 (FUNimation Complete Series Release)
Original Release Date (Japan): October 3, 2000 – January 18, 2002
Publisher: FUNimation Entertainment
Rating: TV-14
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Mecha, Action, Comedy, Romance
Themes: Battle of the Sexes, Gender-Segregated Worlds, Mecha Combination, Survival Thriller, Cross-Cultural Bonding

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.