THUNDERBIRDS 2086, an anime adaptation of the 1960s show, was my first ever introduction to anime, or Japanese animation. I could have done better considering all the wonderful shows the genre has to offer, but this show makes for a great starting point and years later I still have a soft spot for it.
The premise is pretty much the same as the original show: an elite rescue force commandeers a fleet of special vehicles to disaster areas. Any updates made are fairly typical: as back in the 1970s-80s space operas were the rage, the show not only features perils from space (a critical space station reactor, a mutated plant, an explorer ship returning after nine decades), but also alien encounters (notably the recurring antagonist Star Crusher, an unseen but near-omnipresent being who can control peoples' minds). Fortunately the Thunderbird vehicles are suitably upgraded and made into awesome mecha: a shuttle that merges with two other ships to create a juggernaut carrier, a submarine, a space station, and a collection of other awesome mech, that the series puts to use in various episodes.
A word of warning though: despite the various adventures the cast experience, they aren't too well characterized - a young hero, his love interest, a veteran, a Texas cowboy and a token black cadet and their commander and that's about it. These aren't the cast from the original show, so that could put TB fans off (and ironically at the time of its first airing in Japan anime viewers were put off because it wasn't Japanese enough – no giant robots or alien invaders). Still, the episode stories are fairly good and more interesting (more dramatic and tense, as befits anime) to my mind than what the original show had.
The series boasts some spectacular space visuals, fairly good dubbing by anime veteran Peter Fernandez (SPEED RACER, STAR BLAZERS) and a stirring musical score from Kentaro Haneda (one of Japan's finest composers and piano players). It makes for a great compelling watch.
