Anime Review No. 84 (Sound of the Sky)

Sound of the Sky

Director: Mamoru Kanbe

Script: Hiroyuki Yoshino

Studio: A-1 Pictures

Now onto a show that isn’t only great, but I consider it an underrated gem of the decade thus far. That show is Sound of the Sky, or Sora no Woto. In some time fan in the future, private Kanata Sorami, a new recruit for the Helvetian army is being sent to her first military assignment. That being at the Clocktower Fortress, a far off fort on the edge of the frontier, near the frontier town Seize. Kanata is also a bugler, though her instrument playing needs a bit of work but she has the urge to improve. She was inspired by an encounter as a child by a mysterious blond bugler, whose identity is a mystery plot point throughout the show’s run. Although, the fortress is home of the 1121st platoon, though it is more like a squad given the small size of it. It has a varied cast of characters that get their own stories and time to develop/grow, be it the stern mentor Rio, the kind motherly Fillica, the bratty Kureha and the sleepy but stoic Noel.

Kanata is bliss (and also reminds me of some other character hmm)

Airing in January-March 2010, Sound of the Sky was the debut project of Anime no Chikara. This project, translated roughly to ‘The Power of Anime’, was a collaboration between TV Tokyo and Aniplex put together in 2009 as an effort to do original anime productions, free of ties to other works like manga, visual novels and video games. So, Aniplex tapped A-1 Pictures (their own animation studio) with the task of making these productions. The project unfortunately only did 3 shows in 2010, in back-to-back seasons: this, Night Raid 1931 and Occult Academy. No further word on this project, which is a bummer but then again A-1 Pictures is too busy making SAO because it is really necessary for the world.

Yeah Kanata, I don't know why A-1 has some done more SAO then more of this or Zvezda Plot

What is interesting in Sound of the Sky is the unique mash-up of genres. It is basically a Girls Club SoL show in a war zone setting. I like the intricate world building present here. Granted, much of it is based on early 20th century European style (buildings, uniform/clothing, culture, partially names etc). It has a local story focus with glimpses of a wider world. The story has a nice blend of soft light hearted SoL vignettes and serious war drama. In addition, there is quite a lot of legend and lore dispensed within this 13 episode show, the legend of the Flame Maidens and also how that ties into a past catastrophe that is hinted at, but never fully revealed. But that’s ok, since the mystery of the catastrophe is more interesting than the thing itself. This is also a quite solid series from start to finish, never dragging down or going too fast.

The only bit of the omake episode I am showing you xD

My favorite episodes of the show were episode 7.5, 8 and 13. Now while the show is 13 episodes, its technically 12 with 2 DVD exclusive episodes, which thankfully Right Stuf (through their Nozomi Entertainment licensing/distribution label) included in the DVD collection. I got to say its for the best as episode 7.5 is one of the most funny omake/OVA style episode I have seen for an anime yet. Episode 8 is a fine bottle episode, focusing in on one location and letting the situational story that takes place to drive the episode. I won’t spoil what that is, you will have to see for yourself. Finally episode 13 is a quite sublime series finale, hinting at a possible and natural extension for the story to go and yet I feel the story is complete as it is. That, in my mind, is the mark of a great show.

It was at this moment, I knew that this was something special

Sora No Woto OP

Music is a bit of a theme and the power of it in shaping or even improving our lives. The song ‘Amazing Grace’ is the constant song played during the course of the show, and I like that ties into the other themes present in the show, rather than ‘Ode to Joy’ which is plastered on a lot of anime, regardless of whether or not it makes sense (looking at you Gunslinger Girl). Anyway,the animation is quite solid overall but then again its A-1 Pictures they tend to go a good job on certain shows.Music is quite great with some nice sweeping orchestral moments coupled with gentle guitar strumming and haunting strings . If the OP animation looks a little similar to Elfen Lied, then yeah that is because Mamoru Kanbe directed this and Elfen Lied, hence the rather Klimt-esque art style. The upbeat energetic ED.is standard and often a nice respite from some of the more darker episodes.

Nozomi Entertainment’s release of Sound of the Sky is rather bare bones, just some character profiles, clean OP/ED and trailers. There’s an alternate episode 1 but when I watched it the only difference I noticed was that it included the OP. It is also sub-only, so I can’t really speak on the voice acting, but it is quite good. Right Stuf used to, back in the boom (as KO Beast and Kare Kano can attest) they would pick up shows and then farmed out the dubbing to other studios (mostly in New York and LA) as the company is based out in Iowa

Sound of the Sky is available from Nozomi Entertainment (once in 2011, thinpak in 2013). Of course, if you just want to watch it without buying, then don’t fret: It’s up on Youtube (Sound of the Sky episode list) for mostly free of cost. You got literally no excuse to check this out and watch it.

SO yeah, next time, who wants to go down the rabbit hole?

NO NOT THAT HOLE >.<

Til next time, dear readers.

Anime Review No. 83 (KO Beast)

KO Beast (OVA) aka KO Century Beast Warriors

Initial Home Video Release: 1992-93

Director: Hiroshi Negishi

Script: Satoru Akahori

Studio: Animate-Film/Project B4

Well, well, it’s been a while, folks. But I am now getting back into the groove of doing reviews on a regular basis. Also, its my 3rd year anniversary for the blog so this month will be full of special reviews. Now, as I posted before, first off the bat: KO Beast!

Our gang of heroes, everyone ^_^

In the far future or something, the earth has been split in half. By what force that is explained but it makes very little sense. Beastmen roam and have taken over and are in a war against Human technomages as the two vie for control of the planet. KO Beast follows the adventures of Wan, Bud Mint, Mei-Mar and Tuttle as they contend against the villainous V-Darn and V-Sion and their sadistic fairy Akumako, whose boss is Czar Master a mysterious but evil being who wants to, of course, take over the world. Luckily, Wan (a prototype of every shonen protagonist for the next 20+ years) and his band of warriors have some tricks beneath their sleeves. For one thing, they can transform into anthromorphic versions of themselves, being human-animal hybrids. Wan turns into a tiger upon sneezing, Bud turns into a chicken when he gets goosebumps, Mei-Mar and Tuttle turn into a mermaid and turtle respectively. They have Yuni, daughter of Dr. Password who holds a secret power that might be the key to an united future. Lastly, they got these I-Jinn statues which can turn into giant mecha that can combine…..so like nearly every Sentai in that respect. I am going this far because I feel that this is a show meant to see to be believed.

I like the mecha designs (done by Rei Nakahara who would go on to work for  Blue Seed and Angel Links ), very old school

KO Beast OP

Now, this is a very silly and ridiculous show, to be frank.I mean, the OP pretty much tells you that right off the bat. Especially when I first saw this, I was like ‘what the fudge is this?’ but then as I continued I warmed up to its insanity. That is probably because KO Beast is just so optimistic and full of fun and very earnest. It is a lovely combination of adventure, shonen action, fantasy/sci-fi ever encapsulated in 7 episodes. The 7 episode OVA is split into two different stories: Episodes 1-3 being a shonen style quest adventure while Episodes 4-7 transitioning from that to being a rescue mission story. There is promise of further adventures but thankfully this OVA is relatively self-contained, something not many of KO Beasts’ contemporaries did.

Our heroes have the right things in mind lolz

There is not a serious bone in this show’s body and it is certainly proud of and/or well aware of this fact. Even when it does get serious, it manages to do that and crack a grin in the midst. It had me laughing all the way through, which is most likely the result of the writer and director for this OVA. Hiroshi Negishi and Satoru Akahori, two guys big in the anime scene of the ‘90s, make their debut more or less here. The CV for these two (Negishi would go onto do Burn Up W, much of 90s Tenchi Muyo and Saber Marionette J while Akahori would write for such shows as Nadesico, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, Maze the Megaburst Space, Sakura Wars, etc) is quite a sight to behold, even Negishi was responsible for that trainwreck known as Amazing Nurse Nanako, but yeah we all can’t be perfect.

The OVA has some nice backdrops

Hmmm.,.....nah that couldn't be!

Of course, the writing and direction are complemented by an impressive art style and animation, even for the time. Sometimes it does get a bit cartoony and rubbery but hey it fits the tone and attitude of the show. Of course, consider when this first came out, its the early 1990s, as anime was coming out of the gritty, ultra-violent/sexed up OVAs of the 80s/early 90s. Sailor Moon was just out in 1992 on TV for instance and anime that came out in 1992 read like efforts to distance themselves from those kind of material. Anime studios began moving towards a broader eclecticism (at least in terms of the kind of shows/genres/stories they produced adaptations ). Essentially KO Beast came out at a time when more shows geared to genres like fantasy, sci-fi, slice of life, drama, etc which continues to this day. Not to say shows of those genres existed prior, but they were at the fringes of the anime fandom at the time when the only known shows from that era were space operas like Macross and Gundam or ultra-violent schlock like well, anything infamous from that era take your pick. Not to say that KO Beast was a pioneering series for the japanese animation field, but it stands as part of a vanguard of early to mid 90s anime.

Only in this anime does Lisa Ortiz voice a sadistic devil-Navi for the dub lolz 

The English dub, produced back in 2003, is a steady effort from NY Headline Studios, one of the better studio groups from that area. While certainly not their best effort (Kare Kano) but it is not that far off from that in terms of quality. It is somewhat notable for starring early career Liam O’Brien and Sam Riegel as well as NY dub mainstays like Angora Deb, Rachael Lillis, Lisa Ortiz, Jessica Calvello and J David Brimmer. Granted it gets a bit repetitive in terms of the additional/bit parts but otherwise a fine dub overall. Note this is one of a few shows that has both an American and British dubs. But, The British dub was only for the first 3 episodes and seems lost to history though a friend of mine has seen some of it and called it ‘legendary’. The best bonus for the US release is the english dub outtakes which are hands down the funniest I’ve heard. Granted, its mostly the actors flubbing their lines or inserting unneeded references into the scenes as one would expect from bloopers, but one can definitely tell that this was a riot to record, for sure.

So yeah I like this show, its got a special place in my heart when it comes to 90s OVAs, right along with Magic Users Club and El Hazard. It got some good stuff going for it and any sort of shortcoming are forgiven because it is just so darn funny and entertaining.

KO Beast is available by Right Stuf, though only as 3 DVD singles that are out of print but can be found easily on Amazon or eBay.

But you know, things can't all be fun and games all the time.....

Til next time, dear readers.....

Anime Review No. 53-Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko

"Let's Get This Party Started!"

Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko

1996-97 OVA, 6 episodes

Studios: JC Staff, Kadowa Shoten and Starchild

Based on novels by Shoji Takashi

Ok, now we are talking. Unlike last time's review of Debutante Detective Corps, this will be more substantive. Made within the next year and a half of that, comes Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko. Along with Tenamonya Voyagers (1999), this OVA also display some aspects of Akiyuki Shinbo''s style, which will be discussed further. Also, spoilers.

OVA I (March-June 1996)

Episode 1: Get Ready!

Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko tells the story of Yamamoto Yohko and her friends who get transported to the future via power of time-travel technology developed by chief engineer Lawson, to work for the Terra fleet. In this future, wars are not so much battles but more like video games (no one dies due to ejector warps and one afflicts damage much in the same way in paintball).

Team Terra consists of:

Yamamoto Yohko: reckless, very capable, headstrong, determined, confident but not cocky

Ayano: quiet, demure girl

Momoji: country bumpkin tomboy

Madoka: Lil Miss Priss with huge forehead

They engaged in competition against Team NESS Red Snappers, led by Miss Rouge and her 3 sisters, all whom are named after words based on the word 'red': Erutron (quiet dark haired girl), Lubrum (punk girl) and Lote (blond ditz). Yamamoto Yohko gets her own specialized ship TA 29, top of line spacecraft for the combat matches. She also gets egged on by tough words of Miss Rouge of the Red Snappers team, as well as her own built-in confidence in herself.

Their Opening game is taking place at the Star Prominence, which has uranium deposits. It is sort of like a drag race in space, where they run a course around the star, ending on a fuel station. However, Red Snappers are bunch of dirty players, willing to do anything to win. All this complemented by a 90s J-rock soundtrack. Team Terra seems to be in trouble, bu then Yohko flies in just in time to save her teammates from danger.

But once they get to the star, a problem occurs in that the team must orbit around the star but not too close or get caught in the star's gravity. I do have to say that there are some really stunning background visuals like solar flares and star field. Just as Yohko is planning to get to the finish, Lote (the blond ditz of the Red Snappers) destroys the goal post, which leads to some instability in the star. With little hesitance, Yohko handles the risk and finish the race on time, thereby winning the competition. End on an upbeat J-pop song, moving onto the next episode!

Episode 2: Nine Ball at Steam Rising Hot Springs

It starts off very 'meta' with a commercial of the Red Snappers promoting a holiday planet, getting a vacation deal in exchange. Yohko and Team Terra also gets a reward for all their current wins, going to the same holiday planet. When they get there, the whole planet is a hot spring called Funky Bubble for some reason that escapes me now. Now while that might seem cool, it is very impractical. The science fiction here seems plausible even if it is ridiculous beyond belief. The actual holiday planet looks like Japanese hotspring town from well any anime, pick one. With some notable exceptions, such as strip shows, arcades and a Banana and Crocodile Garden, where one can watch bananas moving and eat crocodiles like bananas. Meanwhile, the Red Snappers are enjoying arcade games and karaoke bar.

In midst of this, Lawson is trying and failing at the crane game, getting ownership rights to a planetary system. Predictably, this leads to conflict with the Red Snappers, who also want the planetary system. Rouge and Yohko engage in a crane game and a ping pong match. When word gets to the hotel executive gets word of this, he gets a brilliantly bizarre idea.

The two teams get worked into doing "Space Nine Ball", which is basically billiards in space; ships as sticks and planets as balls. Once again, this is an example of ridiculous but plausible science fiction, that's awesome. Yohko and Miss Rouge engage on an one-on-one match, which Yohko would have won had it not been for the Red Snappers' interference. Sweet Victory once again, though Lawson however didn't get the golden ball for RP 71, oh bummer for you. Next!

Episode 3: Memories of Roses

While the first two episodes have fun and exciting space adventure, the third episode takes on a more serious/dramatic tone. This episode also centers around Miss Rouge and the Red Snappers

They arrive at a space graveyard, where there is a science vessel where their mother was doing genetic experiments on roses. The ship has a micro-black hole radiator within its engine, as it was from a past era. Despite the serious tone, there are comedy moments come from Lote, the blonde ditz of the group, whose humor is very silly and relies sometimes on poorly translated wordplay (oh old 90s dubs).

However the ship is re-activated; uh-oh. Fortunately, Yohko and Team Terra are called to intercept it as the ship is direct course for Earth (an accidental Earthshock?). Meanwhile, a mystery occurs on the ship: disappearance of the roses, accidental merging with another ship, odd energy signals. Of course, the Red Snappers aren't aware of what's doing on outside, so dramatic irony will be stretched beyond belief.

Once there, Yohko and her team are stopped by the ship's defense system. The battles, like most of the OVA, are very well done, not cutting too many corners on animation. However, there is a big shock: The ship will blow up or as Lawson puts it: "There will be a very big boom." This could lead to the possible extinction of the Earth, oh noes. Luckily, the two groups finally get in touch with each other. After some initial misunderstanding and Rouge's reluctance to leave, Yohko once again saves the day with her special weapon ya-woo! A visually poignant ending as Yohko rescues the Red Snappers and the ship explode, leaving space with a nice tasteful stain of red.

OVA II (August-December 1997)

The Opening Song seems very like the ending song for Tenamonya Voyagers, leaving one with the impression that this is a Space Western, which this certainly isn't. Anyway, onto the second OVA, which does pick up after the events of OVA I. Suffice to say, anyone who watches this should both OVAs. Now, onto the episodes!

Episode 4: Summer Challenger

So, Yohko and her friends are back in the present, about to enjoy their summer vacation. Then engage in typical summer activities: Water Park, Eating Ice Cream, Basketball Match, Photo Booth, Toy Store, etc. But someone is watching Yohko from afar, causing some near accidents which Yohko avoids through sheer power of insight.

In the future, NESS and Terra fleets are dealing with an issue. Mr Fuligar, commander of the NESS fleet is introduced and Miss Rouge has a crush on him. It turns out someone has gone rogue and stolen a LS ship and teleported to the past using Lawson's teleport system. One would think that these organizations would have more security than just a singular guard, if that was the case.

Next day, Yohko is woken up by the mysterious stalker. Except there's an issue: a spaceship has appeared in the sky over the Earth. The mysterious stalker reveals herself to be Sylvie Dread. She challenges Yohko to a duel in orbit. If not, Sylvie plans to smash Tokyo to a pancake, as expected of villains like this.

As Yohko prepares for he duel, Lawson gives Yohko some exposition information. Sylvie Dread is a former pilot of Terra who is kind of a bitch, with some personality problems. Yohko replaced her as pilot for the TA 29, naturally that left Sylvie very jealous and angry. Good thing he delivered Yohko and her friends' ships into the present time period, though at different locations.

Yohko goes alone to fight Sylvie in the duel, as that's the honorable though probably based on her gaming experience. Fight is very gripping and exciting, all things considered. It comes down to the wire at one moment, it's so tense. However, the fight ends as Mr. Fuligar intervenes and captures Sylvie. It's at this point that Mr. Fuligar gets some character, as a strong, noble commander who admires Yohko's abilities as a enemy pilot. Cue end credits.

Episode 5: Nightmare of Legends

Yohko, Momoji, Ayano and Madoka along with Lote (dumb Red Snapper) get stuck on a planet

where the inhabitants (monk trio) treated as goddesses until they are taken as sacrifices to revive their ancient sleeping god, Pushuke. It is more or less like a Haunted House/Mystery Adventure, with the end of it being proper sci-fi again. This episode I like as it is the closest to anything in terms of modern Shinbo. Features like odd color/lighting schemes, unsettling and surreal atmosphere and weird camera angles/perspective pervade this episode. There is also a sub-plot involving the two fleets searching for them, while the NESS fleet recruiting Sylvie Dread to their side. This leads into the final episode.

Episode 6: Cinderella of the Cherry Blossom Moonlight

Sylvie Dread prepares for a rematch against Yohko once more. But there is a party with Cherry Blossoms cohosted by Terra and NESS to be had and only one team member can go to the party. For team NESS, Miss Rouge is glaming it up for the party as she plans to capture Mr Fuligar's heart. For team Terra, Yohko herself ends up going to the party, with the other girls acting as security They arrive at the Cherry Blossom Ring which I have to say is a very nice visual treat.

The party begins in earnest. Lawson dances with Admiral Rion (hot tanned beauty commander) while Rouge is seeking out Mr Fuligar. Yohko shows up in a blonde wig and nice dress, captivating Mr Fuligar on the spot. This party part is an echo of Cinderella of sorts. Yohko and Mr Fuligar dance together, much to Rouge's frustration.

However, Sylvie Dread breaks through security in order to crash the party it seems. At this point she is just one psychotic bitch. So, Yohko and Sylvie engage in a rematch. One thing I've noticed while watching this is how trope-aware (games and scifi tropes) this show is, and this final fight is no exception. It is an awesome fight, well done in action and intensity. However, it ends in a stalemate as Yohko views it no longer as a game, therefore not fun. Sylvie leaves promising to return again at some point. The OVA ends on an open note to say the least.

This OVA, along with Tenamonya Voyagers, I can wholeheartedly recommend. Akiyuki Shinbo makes these fun and enjoyable, and at the end of the day having some entertainment value is enough for me when it comes to anime. Yamamoto Yohko is a very good piece of comical scifi 90s OVA in its own right. Granted, a TV series for this was made but it has not made it state-side, doubt it ever will. But the OVA is sufficient for those interested.

Next review will be out on March 30^th See y'all then!

The Eclectic Dude

Anime Review No. 50 Valentines Day Special-His and Her Circumstances

"Journey and Love of Kindred Spirits"

His and Her Circumstances

1998-99 26 episode TV series

Studio: Gainax

Well, hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day. Yeah, I know its two days past that I'm posting this review but I still think it counts. Also, I have reached my 50^th review. Wow, it took me a year and a half to get to this point. Figured since I started this with a Gainax production, "Otaku no Video", I will talk about another Gainax production, "His and Her Circumstances". Full circle and all that jazz...

"His and Her Circumstances", or Kare Kano, was an original manga by Masami Tsuda. It tells the story of Yukino Miyazawa, a HS freshman student at Houkei Prefectural School. She may seems to be a model student: delicate, ladylike, always willing to help people out. But, it is all an act as she is very proud, obsessed with grades and appearance and strives to become the "The Ultimate Queen of Vanity". But, one day she meets Souchiro Arima, another perfect student. But, she later finds that he is also a fake, but for entirely different reasons, tying into his rather unpleasant past. Soon, the two fall in love and strive to "live for their true selves". Of course that's just the beginning.

Of course, you would know of this much if you have even glanced at this show, as it goes out of its way to dump this info through all the episodes, an exposition overload as you will. Every episode has at its start a recap of what happens in the show. Old-fashioned you say, I say product of the times: It was a weekly show, and internet replay was practically non-existent.

In terms of story, this series shines quite a lot. I can say that most current romantic comedy slice of life series in anime are very dull. Focus is on how the main couple gets together, fraught with misunderstandings and contrived obstacles (cough Toradora, cough Love Hina, cough cough etc.). Thankfully, Kare Kano doesn't have that problem. It deals with how Yukino and Arima get together, sure, but then goes into how their relationship shapes up, with all the lows and highs, and how that influences their daily lives. Even when it isn't focused on the main couple, the stories of the supporting cast (Shibahime's changing family life for instance) are still interesting, touching on issues of family, relationships and love. I'm hard pressed to find that in most current rom-com anime, sorry to say.

Characters are similarly strong. Everyone in the cast is very interesting, even side characters (like the main couple's family members or other classmates) that don't get much screentime. They are all in their own way compelling, from Asaba the playboy-best friend to Arima even to Yukino's two younger sisters Tsukino and Kano.

Animation is a different matter. Studio Gainax produced the animated adaptation of this manga, directed and written by Hideaki Anno who also helmed the previous Gainax production Evangelion. The look of this show can be best described as 'postmodern mish-mash'. Take the animation style of the last two episodes of Eva and apply it to a rom-com anime, and tada! Kare Kano. Lots of still shots, storyboard drawings, SD chibi, real life pictures coupled with competent animation all strategically placed together to create a rather unique look overall. Anno at the same time reined in a lot of the psychoanalytic babble that plagued the last third of Eva, and that's for the best in regards to this show.

But, partway through production, Anno left the project and unfortunately it shows in the later episodes: Animation gets a bit inconsistent at times and the series suffers for that. Still, the animation is competent given the low budget that this production had. Cheap yet charming applies wholly to this series.

Lastly, the English dub is very good. This was a NY-based dub, so V.A.s like Veronica Taylor, Jessica Calvello, Megan Hollingshead, Rachel Lillis, Liam O'Brien, Lisa Ortiz, etc are featured in this English dub. Most of them do a good job, which coupled with a good adaptive script by Crispin Freeman, make me recommend strongly that one watches Kare Kano with the English dub.

Now, I have read some criticism directed towards this series. First off, is that the original mangaka disparaged the show as being too comical and not enough romance. To that I say, bull-pocky. The show has the right balance between romance/drama and comedy. Sure the comedy is wacky surreal OTT Gainax for the most part, but that's Gainax for you. Also, in every adaptation stuff will change-get used to it. Secondly, the Gainax ending doesn't actually come into play here. The series was canned after only one season. It doesn't so much as end as it just petered out. Which is a shame as towards the end it seems to pick itself up and getting ready to move forward then just stopped. What a bummer.

Final word: I recommend that everyone should at least check this out, even if you are not a fan of romantic comedies or jaded/indifferent by Gainax productions recently.

Next review is on Spice and Wolf Season 1, to be released on February 24.

Anime Review No. 32 "I Dream of Mimi"

I’m the Eclectic Dude and I review it for the lolz (especially this week).

Sorry, this review is up a day late-it’s a holiday weekend and I got sidetracked a little from the relaxation. Anyway, I’ll make an effort to post on time from now on that’s for sure.

DVD Cover Note the 17+ recommended. It's not a joke I'll tell you

Guilty Pleasures Month closes on “I Dream of Mimi” or Buttobi CPU as it is known in Japan. This 1997 OVA is strikingly similar to another OVA from that same year that I’ve looked at earlier this year. That would be My Dear Marie, an OVA deals with the relationship between a young man and his robot female companion/girlfriend. I reviewed that in February, so check that out for details, but for summary, it is a rather good if criminally under-rated OVA from the 90s, touching on a lot of issues like love, nature of humanity and reality, etc.

What is “I Dream of Mimi” about? Well, none of that interesting stuff. Instead, it’s a soft-core erotica masquerading itself as a sci-fi romantic comedy. Yes, seriously. Not surprising, since the company who made this OVA is Pink Pineapple, notorious for producing hentai (the animated equivalent of porn), though they apparently got some help from Oriental Light and Magic, who are most well-known for Pokemon. Take that what you will.

The premise of “I Dream of Mimi” is as follows: Akira, the male geek and audience stand-in, comes home one day with a box supposedly carrying a new computer. Except it’s not; it’s a young naked woman! He’s very confused, as is the audience (yours truly) and then she turns on. It is revealed that she is a biomechanical computer, state of the art (from 1997!). She then requires ‘memory’ in the form of ‘active molecules’ from her owner. They do make a cute couple, to be fair.

If this sounds a bit familiar, well minus the sexual part, congratulations: You have seen/heard of Chobits, another anime that has a couple consisting of a young average male schmoe and a robot girlfriend. I am convinced that the girls at CLAMP (who are really great mangaka) at some point must have watched this OVA. Granted, I haven’t seen much of Chobits so can’t really say how much it’s different than “I Dream of Mimi”. Then again, one guy on the web says that this is the “R-rated Chobits”, so what do I know?

Sounds like fun, eh? Yeah the stuff in ‘ ‘ stands in for stuff that I shall not mention-draw your conclusions there, just take my word on it. The 3 episodes of this OVA follow Akira and Mimi (the android/bio-computer) as they deal with everyday life juggled with well having Mimi around. The first episode has them dealing with an out-of-control bio-computer in addition to introducing the characters of this little romp. Besides the main couple, there’s Shimada, Junpei and Futoshi. Of course, they have very little to no impact on the storyline, hence why just one statement on them.

This being an erotic piece, one would expect/assume a lot of sexual scenes in the style of a typical romance novel one find at the local grocery store (I don’t read those by the way). Not true here, for you see, the editing has a weird habit of either taking out the critical parts or substituting it for symbolism/convenient censorship. The result is that any sexual scenes aren’t really titillating but are rather unintentionally hilarious. There are also not a whole lot of them, so calling hentai doesn’t do it justice.

The science fiction is nominally better. It is severely dated, as evidenced from the loads of information on computers dispensed within the other 2 episodes. That’s because the other two episodes take place largely in ‘cyberspace’ or the inside of a computer network. I actually like this as the erotica blends well with the comedy. You see, Akira and Mimi end up going there since Mimi isn’t really a person (duh!). So, they are going to hack into a government site and insert false info about Mimi to elude suspicion. But, they ran into Forte, a high-grade bio-computer who doesn’t take kindly to our couple sneaking into her database.

But before punishment happens, another nemesis appears, the Nakinotsh sisters (pfft hahahaha xD). Seriously, I get the feeling the writer of this was a huge Microsoft fan, not that I’m complaining though (been a Microsoft user since childhood). They plan on doing something nefarious to the Japanese market of bio-computers, similar to taking over the world. Oh, and they are stereotypically Amero-centric (God Bless America!). Two of them (Quadra and Centris) show up in episode 2, with a third one (Performa) shows up in the third and last episode. All of them are dealt with by end of the last episode, but promise that they will be back. Haha, fat chance xD.

So, some other things of note for “I Dream of Mimi”: The English dub is absolutely hilarious. And quite a surprise too, as it features V.A.s like Angora Deb, Megan Hollingshead and Jessica Calvello (under a pseudonym-odd).    For the DVD, they include a outtakes track, which is very funny. The animation and music are stock-standard 90s with some neat early CGI, and very high quality more so then really necessary. Finally the opening is the best earworm of music you’ll ever listen to.

Now, I have a problem with recommending “I Dream of Mimi”. You see, it is very hard to find nowadays.  I managed to find it at a local video store (now a dying out species) for about five bucks last fall. Later, I checked to see if it’s available on DVD online. On Amazon.com, last time I checked, the VHS for it was available for about nine bucks (currently unavailable). Thankfully, someone posted them up on Youtube for anyone truly curious to watch this. It is very funny and entertaining, yet doesn’t take itself too serious. It is also fairly short, running a bit under 90 minutes with only 3 episodes. The manga that this is based off of hasn’t had an overseas release, and I doubt it ever will. Good luck finding it!

Well, that’s all. I am still sticking to the Sunday release schedule, as much as I can. Expect a schedule for next month on May 31.

Laterz,

The Eclectic Dude