Well, it's been a while. I got a bit busy, with projects and final exams for summer term to do in the later part of last month. Thankfully, it paid off. Hence why I changed my schedule for my blog around. I think this will be more manageable and easier for me.
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| Miyuki and Natsumi |
The OP is very nice, soft, light music, while the ED is more upbeat and energetic song (nice chibi dolls for one shot, I totally want one of them).
4
episodes
1: “And So They Met”
The basic premise of this series is this: Slice
of life/drama involving the cops at Bokuto station (Sumida Ward, in eastern Tokyo). We first meet Natsumi
Tsujimoto (rookie new to the force) dealing with her first day. She rides a scooter with expert skill, free
spirited, tomboyish, impulsive. Miyuki
Kobayakawa (her assigned partner) meets up with her by chance, thinking she’s a
speeder and catches up to her in little to no time. She is a mechanic (likes to fix things up) stickler
for rules, dedicated to her job.
Natsumi meets
the police chief and gets assigned to Miyuki as part of the Traffic Division, handling the daily duty of upholding traffic safety. She also meets Ken
Nakajima (motorcycle squad) and Yoriko (dispatcher). Ken has a thing for Miyuki, whereas Yoriko's a
rumor mill meganekko.
At
first, Miyuki and Natsumi aren’t exactly friends, but shows potential for
growth. This shows how Fujishima's works are all focused on: human relationships and drama/comedy/tragedy that brings. Anyway, the rest of the episode deals with a mysterious
red car speeding around in the local area, leading the duo on a wild goose
chase. It is a very well done car chase sequence, with
lots of detailed backgrounds. Though, it's not really the focus hence why I'm not talking about it much. Nonetheless, that side plot is resolved and the episode ends with Miyuki and Natsumi deciding to room together. It nice and sweet end for the first episode and brings promise to the other episodes.
2: “Tokyo Typhoon Rally”
A
Typhoon is coming into Tokyo, and some insane dude decides to speed around
during the storm, and that's the entire plot of the episode. Miyuki
and Natsumi are out on patrol, meet some grade schoolers with a sick kitty
(kudos to AnimEigo staff for using actual kids to voice the grade schoolers). They come
across the mad speedster, but don’t do much on it as it is revealed that the sick kitty is actually pregnant, and that becomes the focus: deal with this before the typhoon hits. The heavy rain comes anyway. Miyuki set to work
on refitting Ken’s bike in order to catch the mad speedster in the wet weather. The problems keep mounting: flooded roads, the pregnant kitty, the mad speedster , power problems
at the station, etc (Keep on mounting throughout the episode, creating lots of
tension and dramatic buildup). The climax of the episode shows the final
showdown against the mad speedster on a closed roadway, won by Ken and the
girls make it just in time for Chibi, the cat, to have her kittens (touching
moment). This episode is also pretty good.
3: “Love’s Highway Stars”
Miyuki
has got something going on for the weekend, the rumor mill starts up by Yoriko. Ken
and Miyuki’s relationship can best described as co-workers, but it seems a bit more than that. Natsumi and Yoriko try to help the relationship out, but with little success.
It turns out Miyuki
goes off to a school reunion event, whereas Natsumi and Ken hang out with each
other. She runs into old friends and admirers,
lots of character development for Miyuki. She basically is devoted to her job, not having decided to get hitched soon after school. This is an oddity given how conservative Japanese society is with regards to marriage. Miyuki is a career woman, tied to
her job as opposed to being a housewife.
Natsumi and Ken go to visit Miyuki as Ken gets concerned. However, the lapse in geographic thinking delays them-its a very comical moment. Miyuki
comes back to town, runs into a misunderstanding (Natsumi driving with Ken) and assumes not the best outcome. Dealing
with the misunderstanding equals very little success (not a very good track
record thus far).
Things
get awkward at the office as a result. So Natsumi apologizes to Miyuki and she accepts the apology. All
goes well, as the Captain basically orders Ken and Miyuki to go on a date
(wait, what?!). Yerah like that would happen in any sort of reality. Of course, they are getting tracked
by their fellow officers Natsumi and Yoriko. The date ends sooner due to getting back to
work, ending the episode. This episode is ok, due to over-reliance on misunderstanding and rumor milling to drive the plot along. On the other hand, Miyuki gets some nice background and development from this episode, it sort of balances out in the end.
4: “On The Road, Again”
It starts
off with Natsumi and Miyuki on patrol, chasing down a motorcyclist. Natsumi
hanging out with the old monk at the local Buddhist Temple hears of a new opportunity-joining the Bike
Troopers. They want Natsumi to join up, but she will have to transfer to HQ. The episode's focus is how Natsumi deals with her trying to make a
decision on this and the effect this decision will have on
her friends (Yoriko, Miyuki and Ken). Ken
and Miyuki are taking it surprisingly well, while Yoriko isn’t.
Natsumi
off to do bike training, with Yoriko now working with Miyuki. She’s slated to be escort for a local half-marathon. It is the same
event that the Bokuto station will be traffic control at (massive coincidence eh?). Miyuki isn’t taking the change well
as it first appeared, leading into an emotionally gripping scene.
An
incident at the half-marathon (a bike catches fire and is causing havoc, a
runaway gas truck). Oh noes!!! Natsumi decides to help out, even at the cost of leaving the Bike Troopers. Crisis is narrowly averted, thank goodness. Nice
ending (at least until the TV Series that came out a year later).
Final thoughts: This OVA is very good. Granted, some of the trademarks Fujishima became well-known for are a bit rough around the edges, but it shows lots of promise. The animation is very well done, though it's on the same level as the Oh My Goddess OVA, contemporary to this one. The focus is on the characters, as the plots of the episodes are rather simple and rote, but the characters and their relationships are engaging enough to carry it. The english dub is not bad, but not too good. Then again, most dubs from the 90s weren't that good, but I can tell they were trying their hardest and that should be commended. If you like Ah My Goddess and/or Sakura Wars, then check this out.
Next time is GA Gejijutsuka Art Design Class Episode 1/First Impressions.
Questions and comments-contact me at wm933042@gmail.com
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