Conspiracy Factor
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Conspiracy Factor is an animated show and graphic novel series about a universal war between the UGS (United Galactic States)-spearheaded Great Alliance and the Universal Accord Defense Coalition; told through the stories of a few important individuals that shape the course of the war. Little is actually known about the series but information about the animated series is starting to leak out. Unfortunately, the organization/company strictly mandates a policy of restrictive viewing do to legal issues and most all their animation is difficult to acquire. ‘Most’ members adhere to the organization’s demand for ‘complete radio silence’, meaning most members keep their mouths closed about the activities of the organization and thus prevents most leaks.
Originally part of the Downward Spiral series, Conspiracy Factor is a ‘free’ through-membership-only anime and graphic novel series from a company and organization that – officially do not exist (quite the ‘conspiracy’ don’t you think?). Rumored to still be in production, the Conspiracy Factor series expands to over one-hundred and fifty 25-to-45 minute episodes and over a hundred graphic novels. Conspiracy Factor is an American production sporting some uniquely Japanese characters, as rumored, including the entire cast of Tenchi Muyo! But the Tenchi crew is only a fraction of the more than four hundred unique characters to appear in the series.
Series
Only six variations of the Conspiracy Factor series are known to exist, not including the original Downward Spiral. The Downward Spiral: Void is said to be the first in the Conspiracy Factor series, boasting only three volumes, it was a highly-detailed comic about an unnamed agent in the United States’ secretive organization, known as the Internal Government, who, through espionage and butt-kicking, saves the US from the nuke-crazy KGB during the Puppet Wars (Cold War) but inadvertently creates a downward spiral of internal self-destruction that leads to his demise. It is unclear when the comic series was produce but it is believed to have been created around 1994.
The second variation, also the most well-known of the series, is the Conspiracy Factor animated series. Conspiracy Factor is divided into three 50-episoded anthologies (though there might be a fourth anthology in the works), and each anthology is subdivided into exactly 100 ‘cantos’ – essentially dividing each episode into two parts. The show has been described as richly detailed, both in animation and story-wised. Many of the show avid fans are draws to the show by the animators’ love of fast-paced violent yet aesthetically pleasing action scenes (not to mention the extensive battle scenes, some taking over a whole 30 minutes to an entire episode). The first few episodes were made in 1999 using costly traditional methods but by 2000 the producers were pioneering new computerized, cost-effective methods. Starting on the fifth episode, all episodes were made using computers only.
Conspiracy Factor has a well-developed but confusing story because there is no clear-cut story to begin with. Conspiracy Factor is not a story but a series of stories explaining, at least in their own way, a part of a greater story. You could watch the first two anthologies and not even realize that the majority of the characters are even related to the actual story, in fact, the main story is conveniently disguised as the backdrop for only a few (relatively unimportant) characters throughout most of the first two anthologies (that’s 2700 minutes [45 hours/60 episodes] before the main story even comes together!). But the main story, the conflict between the Great Alliance and the Universal Accord Defense Coalition, affects and is shaped by every single character in the series.
While many may consider Conspiracy Factor ‘noir-ish’ the animated series actually has a comical side to it, while things like the use of the Tenchi Muyo! cast adds a light, humorous side to an otherwise dark series the real comedy is in the show’s passive, esoteric humor; the use of Newspeak (1984, George Orwell) on all Internal Government structures, puzzling verbal and visual irony, blunt and intelligent humor, serious and sarcastic undertones, and more refresh the mood of series.
The third variation of the series fills in the plot-holes left behind by the animated series. Known as Conspiracy Factor: Complication; the series is the graphic novel version of Conspiracy Factor and includes more characters and situations.
The fourth variation of the series is known as the Downward Helix. Downward Helix is basically a director’s cut of the Conspiracy Factor animated series. As the title suggest, the Downward Helix has only two main characters, D (also known as D-001) and Ayeka Masaki. Since Conspiracy Factor mainly dealt with D and Ayeka’s relationship and their contribution to the conflict between the GA and UADC the ‘director’s cut’ compresses the ‘story’ into a smaller series.
The Fifth variation of the series is titled: Further Down the Spiral.
The Sixth variation of the series is titled: The Great Collapse .
On a side note, the animated series has two versions. 1.0 and the newly made 2.0; 2.0 is a total remake of the first anthology.
