Invincible Fleet
Invincible Fleet (毋適航, mja-stêk-gang) was a Themiclesian animated alternate history series written by Charles M. Krat and produced by Burt House in 1979. The series focuses on an alternate development of the situation in the Meridian Ocean in the 14th century, where military dominance abruptly shifted from Themiclesia to Menghe. The series postulates that Themiclesia does not lose control over the Meridian coastline and instead expands its imperial power into the continent; however, the astronimical demands on human and natural resources causes civil war, climate change, betrayal, massacre, famine, and ultimately the death of every Themiclesian person and transformation of Themiclesia into an uninhabitable desert, while the titular Themiclesian fleet, having defeated its final enemy and simultaneously exhausted its victuals, succumb to starvation and die.
Invincible Fleet consisted of four seasons and 120 half-hour episodes broadcasted on Public Films Station, from June 10, 1981 to Nov. 1, 1984.
From its release, Invincible Fleet has received conflicting reviews, focusing chiefly on its allegorical anti-war message and liberal dispensation with causality and chronology to express the same. While some considered it to have pioneered in the genre of psychological horror, others found the sanguine and unfortunate deaths of its main characters to be illogical and a device to solicit unearned emotional response. It was considered the most influential animation in Themiclesia for three years running, from 1981 to 1983, and a number of other writers and animation artists have cited it as an inspiration on their work. The Art of Animation called it "a vivid work that lures out the base desire for power and dominance in its viewers [...] it fulfils those fantasies but tortures their tenderest senses at the same time. You want to know what happens next but you know you would be cowering and whimpering on the sofa. That is the transfixing power of Invincible Fleet."