Firestorm (TV series)

Firestorm (ファイアーストーム) is a Japanese anime series created by Gerry Anderson and John Needham. It blends CGI animation for mecha with traditional 2D animation for characters. The series received a lukewarm response and never achieved a broad release.

Set in 2104, Earth has reached global peace, but a terrorist group called Black Orchid threatens it. The United Nations forms Storm Force, a military peacekeeping force with eight independent units, each operating from a large twin-hulled submarine. The series begins with a new elite unit, Storm Force 9, assigned a special mission codenamed "Firestorm." Early on, the team discovers Black Orchid is a front for an alien invasion; the aliens can disguise as humans and have developed a drug to enslave humanity, planning to introduce it into the water supply.

Episodes focus heavily on futuristic mecha. Storm Force 9 operates from the Ocean Storm, a twin-hulled submarine with a detachable jet aircraft called the Tornado—similar to the SkyDiver from Gerry Anderson's UFO. The Tornado visually resembles Thunderbird 2 from Thunderbirds but carries multiple smaller vehicles at all times, including two jet fighters, a tank, and several boats.

Key characters include Nagisa Kisaragi, a Japanese nano-engineering expert and Olympic marathon and free-fall parachuting record holder; Sam Scott, an American; Wesley Grant, an African-American; Laura Hope, an Australian bomb specialist and former navy commander; James Brady, a British officer; and Drew McAllister, the older captain of Storm Force 9. Other Storm Force members include Chuck Morgan, Geena, Lucy, Julia, Jack, Yuri, Sophia, Hiroko, and Tatsu, a mechanic. The unit also has a popcorn-dispensing robot named POP. Storm Force 2's captain, Inuma, is killed in episode 26. Storm Force 5 includes Mai Teranishi, a nuclear furnace expert. Black Orchid members include Carlo Morelli, Ruth Miller, and Petros Salo.

Vehicles include the Ocean Storm submarine; Thunderbolt fighter aircraft; the Tornado carrier; Seashark, a marine vehicle that also serves as a submarine; Combatcruiser, an armored van; Mountain Motorbike; Space Thunderbolt, a modified Thunderbolt; Gargantua, a hydrogen carrier destroyed by SF9; and Stargazer, a stealth telescope.