Baldr Force EXE Resolution

Mechas in cyberspace with Uzis. What more could one ask for?

Baldr Force EXE Resolution is a four-episode OVA sequel to a (Comparatively less well-known) top-down shooter for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 by the name of Baldr Force and directed by Takashi Yamazaki. FUNimation Entertainment licensed the OVA for North American distribution on July 21, 2007 and was released on May 20, 2008 including all 4 episodes on one DVD. FUNimation released the OVA under the name Baldr Force EXE, dropping "Resolution" from the title.

Tohru Sohma is a member of a fearless gang of hackers calling themselves "Steppenwolf" - but when tragedy strikes and the group is disbanded, Tohru is forced into the ranks of FLAK, a military organization charged with protecting the hidden data paradise deep within the vast network of servers. Indentured into service and out for revenge, Tohru cannot let go of the dead of the past even as a ghost of the present takes shape.

Faced with the loneliness and confusion of being trapped between two worlds, there is only one question... What is reality?

Tropes used in Baldr Force EXE Resolution include:

• All Just a Dream: Another of Leviathan's powers.
• A Mech by Any Other Name: Simulacrums
• Anti-Hero: Ayane is an example of Type III
• Assimilation Plot: Ren/Leviathan gives the impression of one of these during episode 4, although formal observation indicates that Leviathan leans more towards Planet Eater tendencies.
• Battle Discretion Shot: CHAAAAAAAARGE 'EMMMMMMMMMMMM! *cut to black*
• Bland-Name Product: An example of this based around McDonald's appears in the end credits.
• Clock Punk: Leviathan's interior.
• Conspicuous CG: Mostly justified, in that the majority of cases of this occur within the Wired World.
• Contagious AI: Leviathan
• Creepy Child: "I want us to be friends..."
• Do Not Adjust Your Set: Ren/Leviathan are able to do this once they break free.
• Flatline: The FLAK terminology for death while connected to the wired.
• Gorn: Helloooo, first episode...
• Humongous Mecha: Of the virtual variety, no less!
• Inverted Portrait: Some of the main female characters, alongside upright and sideways variations.
• Kill the Ones You Love: Tohru must kill Ren to keep her from destroying the Wired.
• Lock and Load Montage: The virtual equivalent of one of these (An obvious Shout-Out to The Matrix) occurs preceding the final battle with Leviathan.
• Lotus Eater Machine: See All Just a Dream.
• Macross Missile Massacre
• Naughty Tentacles: Leviathan's core does this to Tohru's simulacrum during the finale.
• Never Say "Die": FLAK refers to deaths as "flatlining".
• Nostalgic Music Box: Ren's long-decayed corpse holds one of these.
• (Virtual) Planet Eater: Leviathan thrives completely off of consuming data, right down to any living beings connected to the wired.
• Playful Hacker: Bachelor and each member of Steppenwolf comes across as these.
• Powers Via Possession: Leviathan
• Rape as Drama: Good grief, episode 2.
• Soul Jar: Ren/Leviathan
• Suddenly Sexuality: Shidou Ayane is stated to be a lesbian in the first episode, but she's never shown to be. It is noteworthy that in the original game she's one of the main heroines, and is indeed attracted to Tohru.
• Theme Music Power-Up: The theme tune plays over the final battle.
• The Virus: Leviathan is classed as one of these as it reaches the attention of more high-profile authorities.
• Tragic Monster: Ren, the Dead Little Sister Tohru forgot he had, exists in mind and spirit in the Wired, where she manifests as a Planet Eater.
• Win to Exit: Happens in the first episode to the misfortune of Yuya.
• X Meets Y: The Matrix meets Ghost in the Shell meets Serial Experiments Lain, with a touch of Scanners.
• Yandere: Ren/Leviathan becomes this during the finale. Tohru has a leg and two fingers bitten off.
• Your Head Asplode: Hellooooo, first episode...
• Your Mind Makes It Real