The Violent World of Ichiro Itano, Part One

Ichiro Itano is probably best remembered as a mechanical animator and action choreographer for the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross, as well as a few of the later films and OVAs. If that isn't impressive enough, Itano also directed the first installment of the classic Megazone 23, as well as providing animation and storyboard work to the later episodes. In the early 2000s, Itano would go on to direct the series adaptation of Hiroya Oku's Gantz, a futuristic tale of teen angst, bloodsports, and aliens. While Gantz is certainly violent, it pales in comparison to the past violent world of Itano and the rise of the wonders of OVA. Itano may be best remembered for his involvement with multiple mecha classics during the 80s, but there was a time when Itano shocked and disturbed audiences, creating some of the most violent and obscure home release anime of the late 80s and early 90s.

Battle Royal Highschool 1987
Why the long pause, AnimEigo? Battle Royal..............High School. Were they so baffled and confused as I was? So dramatic. Or did some dolt work in the art department? Every time I pick up the DVD case I stare at it, baffled. Even the DVD has the odd punctuation emblazoned on it. Such a despicable use of ellipsis, yet it conveys the amount of confusion that ensues once the product at hand.................is watched.

Itano's first foray into the violent and weird world of the OVA was the one-shot adaptation of Shinichi Kuruma's manga, Battle Royal Highschool. BRH plays victim to the common problem in many OVAs: too much material to be covered with too little time. Elf 17, Maps, Bastard!!, and many others have fallen victim to such a sad fate. The ultimate blue balls predicament for the anime superfan, as you're left in the cold, hungry and begging for more. Consequently, BRH is riddled with plot holes, poorly introduced characters (if at all), and a string of loose ends at the finish.

Now, a convoluted plot and the unexplained don't necessarily spell out disaster. Some of the finest tokusatsu productions revel in such absurdities. Pulp fiction in itself wouldn't exist if everything were so fine tuned! If one were to tell me that BRH high school starts with a high school wrestler in a Tiger Mask-inspired leopard mask who happens to fuse with a doppelganger demon from another dimension that must battle evil fairies and possessed high school students, with an equally bizarre subplot(?) of an interdimensional Space-Time police officer and a clearly inspired Demon City Shinjuku-like exorcist with a wooden sword. Throw in the obligatory cute high school anime babe and a scene with a giant evil teddy bear and you have the ingredients for what should be the perfect one-shot OVA. Sadly, BRH only does about half of this right. The inspiration and material is certainly there, yet time seems to be the major constraint, resulting in a 50 minute mess of unfulfilled desires and meager bits of action and violence. Just enough to whet your appetite.

Still, if anything BRH seems like a training lesson for Itano, sort of a precursor to the mastery of animated violence and debauchery to come. Battle Royal Highschool has a good chunk of carnage and depravity with some interesting demonic mutations and high school girl exploitation, yet it remains fairly tame in comparison with the chunk of material that manifested in the some of the more infamous OVAs of the 80s. The aforementioned AnimeEigo DVD is currently long out of print, and for being such an odd title, it's beginning to fetch some questionable prices and scarce appearances in the aftermarket, resulting in the inevitable fade into obscurity. You'd be best to invest your money on something like Baoh or Yotoden if you're planning on buying a relatively rare R1 OVA DVD of quality.

Up next, part two: Violence Jack 2: Evil Town!

U-Jin's Tales OVAs; or, how everyone is a pervert.

I check this blog every few days or so. I'm generally fairly curious to how people find it, how many people have come across it, and what they were searching for to find it. I like to pry into your personal life and exploit it. Maybe I'm the disturbed one? Here at Anachronistic Otaku, we explore the darker realms of the anime world and delve into the psyche, asking such provocative questions. Some of the results are quite comical; some are fairly disturbing, which also kinda branches over to the lurid corner of the comical netherworld. Seeing someone look up hentai for Minky Momo and find my page was slightly questionable, yet probably generated some sick form of cynical entertainment for myself, admittedly. It seems like it never fails, but whatever anime or manga I talk about, someone will look up porn to it, and thus, find this blog.  Nausicaa doujinshi seems to be quite a popular one (how dare you), as well as Kentaro Miura Berserk rape. Usually one big, googled sentence fragment of nastiness. Can I not please you without displaying the erotic? Am I too boring?

 Well, guess what? I'm here to answer your call of perversion and to sate your animated carnal desires!

U-Jin was, and still is, an erotic manga artist. Not strictly hentai in every work (as I will go over shortly), but an artist who could tell and draw sensual stories, yet with an emphasis on comedy, rather than stimulation. U-Jin's tales have the ability to question one's sexual morals and fetishes, which at times can be somewhat disturbing, yet truthful in its humanism. But...yeah, most of it's just perversion.

Kitty Media/Media-Blasters released a compilation of various U-Jin OVAs into one DVD released, titled The Tales Trilogy. Originally, all three sections (Tales of Titillation, Tales of Sintillation, Tales of Misbehavior) were released on VHS individually for outrageous prices. The DVD release came out in the early 2000s for about 50 bucks, which was really quite a deal, especially considering each VHS release went for about the same price, with only a third of the content. Oddly--and thankfully!--enough, the DVD is still in print for about half the price, although one must be aware this was an early DVD release, so features are minimal and picture quality certainly isn't stellar. I'll be going over each "theme" and the stories within, with pictures from most. Boob slippage and dirty implications will be in order, but nothing graphic for all those that search up sensual anime at work. I know you're out there.

Tales of Titillation

 Easily the best of the three anthologies, both in animation, narrative, and delivery. Nothing like starting off with a bang.

Playground Nostalgia

 Playground Nostalgia is the first of the Tales of Titillation anthology, and easily one of the best animated. Any fan can instantly note the art of Satoshi Urushihara of the leading lass. Urushihara was also one of the lead animators in a few of the stories, so one can expect high quality and fluid animation--oh, and, uh...jiggling. Playground Nostalgia emphasizes sexual humor, but as well as some rather taboo fetishes, making this one of the most disturbing tales of the lot. A geeky stereotype with freckles and glasses makes an attempt to look at a girl's panties, whom happens to stroll by a local playground each day for a fairly disturbing reason. Bordering(?) on pedophilia, I'd easily imagine it's the most uncomfortable tale I'll review. The geeky virgin must dress up like a schoolchild to fulfill his sexual desires, which can kinda imply where this story goes. Imagine Dorf Goes Fishing and a teenage girl that enjoys being poked by children. Not really the first time Urushihara has delved into such a theme (see his Lady Innocent art book if your curiosity must be filled), but I guess it could be worse. But the animation is really good, right!?

 How to Get a Pizza For Free

Delivering pizza to the local legends, the Saotome family, is unheard of! No pizza delivery boy has made it back unscathed! The Saotome family always gets their pizza for free, as it's impossible to deliver one to their high-rise apartment in under 30 minutes. A local pizza restaurant gets another call from the Saotomes, and the entire staff feigns disability, leaving a rookie--and presumably virgin--pizza delivery boy to do the job. Nose bleeds everywhere, for every step the poor pizza boy takes, one of the young girls of the nymphomaniac Saotome family awaits at every corner to deter him. Changing clothes in an elevator, masturbating on the stairs, and sticking her naked backside against the window are a few tricks to getting a free pizza. Free information for anyone who cares to try it.

Sailor Warrior Akko

 

 Part Magical Girl, part Kaiju, Sailor Warrior Akko is probably the funniest--and dirtiest--story of all. Mainly appealing to me and my infatuation for all things giant monsters and clever sexual humor, Akko delivers on all fronts. From the Darius-inspired "WARNING: A PERVERTED SALARY MAN IS APPROACHING" to a giant man having sex with a building, this is hilarious perversion done right; or, perfect comedy for sick bastards who love classic anime and science fiction. You choose. Acidic semen attacks, tokusatsu fighting, sailor magic girls; everything is here. If this was a series, It'd probably be my favorite thing ever. If I ever get rich for writing shit blogs about old anime, this is the series I'll make. Maybe a kickstarter is long overdue.

Tales of Sintillation

The weakest of the anthologies, with a comparative time restriction and more stories than the other two anthologies to blame. Six stories shoved into 35 minutes is certainly pushing it. Some have their charm, but largely part two is comprised of silly one-shots with a pinch of flesh for good measure. A lack of screen caps due to volume, with exception from the worthy stories.

What a Happy Story

The ugliest, nastiest, fattest loser in school accidentally has sex with the prettiest, blondest, most popular girl in school. Short and to the point, and mildly humorous in its execution of slapstick, this story works for what it attempts to accomplish. I laughed, and I have no soul. But I'm also a deviant.

How to Get Over a Slump

 SPORTS HUMOR. A pitcher is going through a slump. He can't throw a strike, or even a straight ball for that matter, and the game is about over--that is, until the female manager steps in as catcher! One can assume from the screen cap why the pitcher instantaneously becomes the Nolan Ryan of anime. Sex saves the day, as always!

Aim at the Ace!

A hilarious parody of the popular tennis manga and anime, Aim for the Ace! Bold lines, stark lighting and freeze frames are brilliantly parodied from Osamu Dezaki's distinct style. A diehard, pushy coach trains his all girl team everyday, but at the end of practice one of the girls are chosen for "special training." Hilarious, short parody, yet with a pretty blunt, hateful ending in regards to unattractive women. Welcome to misogyny!

Actually, the rest of the stories are pretty bland. Maybe I'm lazy? Judge me if you will. Brief summary: Three girls go hiking; they talk about horror stories that aren't funny. Toilet humor within. A doctor creates an android to fight evil, but can't stop having sex with it. And a group of super deformed characters find an ugly woman in a safari setting. Another Satoshi Urushihara story as well, but it's not a very interesting one. A Chinese esper becomes a call girl and pleases guys without touching them. Fantastic animation as one could expect, and worth seeing for any Urushihara fans, yet not up to par with the rest of the anthology, and I'm getting lazy. First half of Sintillation is well worth watching, but the last half really isn't even worth talking about. OR I'M LAZY.

Tales of Misbehavior

A good anthology within. Humor, perversion and holiday cheer. Not quite up to par with the first anthology, but superb animation, humorous stories and attractive character designs.

Lusty Long Distance Commute

Japan has a problem with subway groping, so it's really no surprise a story like this exists in the anthology. A decent, hard working salary man hops on the train for the commute home, only to be bombarded by multiple occasions of accidental oral intercourse! Humorous in the delivery, and especially in a few scenes of "x-ray" animation, the story irregardless remains slightly disturbing with the prevalent subject material. Girls fall asleep on your crotch all the time, but only when your pants are unzipped, right? It ends happy, though, as he vows to work even harder for his family after his unexpected ride home. Salary man sexual epiphany gives me hope for the future!

Matches For You

Matches For You is a holiday story of a hardworking, innocent family man that just received his bonus. Off from work, he runs into a melancholy street vendor girl who is trying to sell roses. Touched by her sweet innocence and the brazen display of disrespect from the other citizens, the man decides to buy a rose from her, as she is obviously struggling on this cold, Christmas eve. The man is quite surprised that each rose amounts to 10 dollars a piece, yet he still donates for the poor girl's cause. Joyful in his donation, the girl claims these are special roses and pulls him into a dark alley, for when a single rose touches a spot on her panties, that section disappears. Amazed, the man seeps into debauchery and desire, spending every last cent he owns in his moment of sexual desperation. A charming holiday story, indeed! The only serious tale, and quite a depressing one. Brutally honest in its depiction of morals and sexual drive of the underlying temptation of urban humanism, Matches For You may be the best tale; or, at least the most ambitious one.

Part-Time Nurse

A young nurse is "volunteered" to help out this particular evening, as most of the staff has departed and tension is in the air. A certain recurring patient has been administered in the hospital, leaving the doctor in panic. The young nurse must rise above and help the patient, but the only way to do that is to take off her clothes! Probably the summary of most anime with nurses, but not as nasty as the aforementioned ones as well. A giant body builder routinely comes to the hospital in question, only to show how buff and tight his muscles are! No needle can penetrate his perfect body! As the doctor cowers in fear, it's up to the young nurse to expose a certain vulnerable body part and dispose of the narcissistic muscleman! A good way to end the anthology, as well as the trilogy. I wish I was that buff.

A nice Project A-Ko reference in Matches For You

Each anthology also ends with some classic 90s Jpop, which I will upload whenever I have the time. All perverted songs by teenage girls, of course! If I don't, someone remind me and I'll gladly do it. 

 

Hope you're satisfied, pervs.

 

 

Lost in Time: Time Stranger

It's not really that often that I feel compelled to write about something for the sake of writing. I do enjoy the act, but ambition and time are usually major constraints, as well as that lethargic muck I've seemed to wallow in and can't scrape off my boots. But then something comes along, usually out of nowhere; something prodigious and inspiring, yet other times so infuriating that the only way to contain my hate is through prose. Not hate, this time.

It generally seems like the best things are found by accident--or, really, I'd just like to credit it that way, for it sounds much more grandiose than saying I lurk the internet in the wee hours, combing every crevice for hidden gold and lost animated treasure. The 3:00 a.m. vigil tells no lies. Ah, but the subject, Time Stranger, is sort of an accident in a way. The inevitability of discovering it is quite certain, but within a few days I received multiple suggestions and leads onto the film, which are oddly by the same director of some past entries, Kunihiko Yuyama, who's films Leda: The Fantastic Adventures of Yohko and Windaria have been quite praised on here. Somehow I missed Time Stranger in my extensive (obsessive) research. Destiny, perhaps? I knew my life had some meaning. My parents were wrong about me.

Noticeably from the few pictures of the female lead, Time Stranger sadly doesn't hold the same collaboration between director Yuyama and character designer Mutsumi Inomata from the aforementioned films--which isn't a bad thing! Character design and animation is still very solid, with designs by Hideyuki Motohashi, character designer for the Fushigi Yugi television series, as well as animation director for Sailor Moon R and S, among multiple Lupin III and Urusei Yatsura specials. Characters have that ostensibly vibrant and strong look of other great 80s anime at the time, yet it still manages to differentiate itself from the rest with the female protagonist, Remy Shimada. Remy is a strong female lead. Slightly tomboyish, yet very ladylike. The most impressive thing about Remy and her design is the strong display of sexual appeal, as well as the lack thereof. As the viewer, you never get the feeling of blatant aesthetics, of "fan-service", or even a hint of gratuity. Remy remains a modest character design; a real person, as you will, which is a lot of the appeal. As most 80s anime babes go, Remy sort of breaks the mold, especially for a relatively obscure film of the era.
*Note: Not hating on 80s anime babes. Obviously. I've admitted in past posts that I am a shallow wanker and adore all the animated ladies committed to celluloid.

Time Stranger isn't actually a stand alone movie, though. It's quite odd, as it is actually a sequel set 40 years in the future to the early 80s super robot series GoShogun. To my knowledge, the original GoShogun does not have a fan sub, or even raws available online. I may be wrong, but even doing a multi-region search I could not come up with any proof that GoShogun is available even in its native land, making it quite difficult to see unless some VHS tapes exist somewhere in the abyss; or, of course, if it is still broadcasted on television in Japan. Still, from what little information I can find, GoShogun starred Remy and most of her friends--or so it seems--that appear in the feature sequel. Knowledge of the previous show isn't necessary; the eponymous GoShogun--or any other robots and mecha--do not appear in the film. Action and mystery unfold across a surreal, Middle Eastern landscape. Dreams, flashbacks and present time create a unique narrative, that while at times confusing, always remains interesting, intriguing and exhilarating throughout.

Most of the plot of Time Stranger takes place inside of Remy's conscience, with little of the film dealing in the present time, or the 40 years after GoShogun. A hasty hover car accident at the beginning of the film lands Remy in the hospital, leaving her friends (and cast of GoShogun) waiting at a hotel for their integral reunion after many years. A prompt phone call is made and the group assembles, waiting anxiously at the hospital as Remy lies in critical condition. Remy lies unconscious as memories effuse, integrating with a haunted past and a phantasmic landscape that she finds herself stranded in. Remy finds her friends young again, stuck in this disoriented new world as well. A somber, child Remy frequently appears from the shadow, heeding an austere message of impending doom to the adult woman and her friends. Time is trickling away as a dour, cat-like beast prowls the shadows; the streets fill with faceless crowds that wear death under their cowls; messages are delivered, showing the methods of torture and death that shall be the fate of the group, all as an ancient city and a consecrated burial ground appear ever nearer with each passing day, eagerly awaiting the inevitable admittance of Remy and her friends.

Time Stranger really is an odd movie. For the decade, it certainly carries the style and attitude of what made 80s anime so enthralling: the art style, action, catchy music, science-fiction and attractive women. Time Stranger, though, is genuinely a strange movie. The entire film retains the surrealist image. Present time can certainly be discerned, as the male characters--oddly not Remy--have all considerably aged. Remy's "dream world" is never fully explained to the audience. Is this all a dream? Are these really flashbacks? This information can only be subjectively interpreted, and while some things are quite obviously flashbacks from a troubled childhood, much is left for the viewer to decide. Such intertwined worlds can cause confusion, resulting in a very mystifying, yet attractive and moving film. Time Stranger never tries to be artsy or convoluted; it's the story of a woman trapped in a dreamworld, coming to terms with her past and reiterating the value of friendship and loyalty. This is what good science-fiction anime is about.

Arcade Appetite

It was my birthday awhile back. Another year older, another year more obsessed with collecting crap and corralling everything I can get my grubby phalanges into my home, waiting for the inevitable doom of the surging mound of hobby to finally lose stability, tumble, and crush my frail body beneath. Truly a fit funeral, much like that of the Collyer brothers or whatever. Point is, though, it was my birthday; and on my birthday I treated myself to something--something that has initiated some sort of virus or parasite inside of me. An arcade bug, in some sense of the matter.

A gentleman I'm acquainted with on a certain forum traded for a Konami Sexy Parodius arcade PCB awhile back. Something inside me ticked. I was jealous. Envious. Destined. I see this shit all the time: someone gets an arcade board of some game I love, and instead of searching the game out, maybe save up a little bit of money, I sulk and whine and conclude I'll never be able to afford anything like that. That's when the pathetic side of you demands some sort of arbitrary excuse to make some form of purchase like that yourself. Ah, a birthday! Why not. So I bought a goddamn Sexy Parodius board. From the gentleman in question, at that.

Konami's Parodius series of games are some real cherished gems in my twisted, black heart.. I hold them in such high regard as I do other series like Metal Slug, Valis, Splatterhouse, etc. Not really any similarities there, yeah, but they each have numerous titles and are all sprite based--the good stuff! Each Parodius game has a distinct anime art style, much like most arcade games out of Japan at the time. The stuff I really fuckin' dig, and you know, (mainly) bunny girls.

For those that don't know, the name Parodius is derived from Gradius, and the fact that it's a parody of other Konami games, as well as cameos and implementations from other series. Characters, scoring, backgrounds and other elements are taken from games such as Twinbee, Castlevania, Anarctic Adventure, Salamander and a handful of other titles to create a hilarious and highly entertaining horizontal shmup. I won't go much into it, but Sexy Parodius is my favorite of the series. As you can see, its got quite the inventory of anime babes and slightly suggestive Cephalopods. All the main games of the series are actually available on the Japanese Sega Saturn, with a few on the JP PS1, Super Famicom, and other systems. The Saturn ports are all quite accurate and certainly worth it. Or you can just buy the arcade board, mortal. Further information can be found in Hardcore Gaming 101's fantastic and informative article on the series: http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/parodius/parodius.htm

...and of course I would need to supplement an arcade board with an arcade cabinet, right? Not entirely the main incentive, but I'd been looking for another decent, cheap arcade cabinet for quite some time. Not many show up in my area, and when they usually do it's always for some exorbitant price, usually for a machine that won't even power on or looks like it survived the L.A. riots. I snagged The Combatribes (picture up top), a decent beat-em-up by Technos, for a fantastic price and in decent enough condition for my liking. The machine itself isn't the most cosmetically appealing, but it kinda adds character. Sticks and buttons were recently replaced, and despite a bit of burn-in on the monitor it certainly sates my appetite for now. The Combatribes itself isn't a fantastic brawler by any means, but the connection type is Jamma, so I can shove most boards into it if I desire. Although I must hand it to technos, The Combatribes may be slow and unfair, but goddamn, it's pretty brutal. Curb stomping, windmilling, faces smashed together--it's pretty nasty vigilante work. I can dig. Now my Neo-Geo 2-Slot isn't lonely, at least!

Speaking of the Neo-Geo, I recently (finally) acquired a genuine Shock Troopers MVS cartridge, as of yesterday, to be precise. Been after this for well over a year, and while it's not a hard cart to come by, the price has been sort of gouged for it as of late; either that or I always miss my chance on the number of forums I visit. Shock Troopers could be best described as a mix between the vertical gunplay of Mercs, combined with the aesthetics and heart of Neo-Geo's Metal Slug. Multiple routes, eight character choices, frantic action and a pumping drum n' bass soundtrack make it one of the Neo-Geo's best games. Absolutely sublime. It can be played in a variety of ways, be it MAME, digital download (on the Wii, I think) or through SNK's SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 for Playstation 2.

I was on a roll, so why not just buy all the games I've wanted for years. Put a hole in that wallet. It's not doing anything but hurting my ass when sitting down, anyhow. The cat is not an arcade game. Deceiving, I know. I love that cat. I love Capcom. I love CPS2 hardware. I love Progear no Arashi. The game I told myself I'll probably never buy is now mine. Sadly, it's not the real deal, but is instead an absolutely flawless, phoenixed conversion of another CPS2 board. I'm generally not a fan of owning bootlegged material. It's hard to describe why, but it's a collector quirk. But when it comes down to it, some shit just has a highly unattainable monetary value for broke-ass collectors like myself. If a conversion or a bootleg is done right, and I've only done this one (twice now), I'll do it. I can't shell out $400 or $500 bucks for Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire for the PC-Engine, so I bought an almost identical reproduction awhile back for a fraction of the ludicrous cost. I can get over my little collector quirk when it comes down to something like that. Call me a sinner, I know.

Now that I've admitted my idiosyncrasies and betrayal to myself I can talk about this phenomenal game. At the time, Progear was a join effort with well known shmup company Cave and produced using Capcom's CPS2 arcade hardware, making this Cave's only horizontal shmup before 2007's Deathsmiles. Set in a magnificently beautiful steampunk setting, Progear is a manic shmup--or the dreaded wording "bullet-hell"--with a complex scoring system and some of the most awe inspiring and beautiful sprite work I've experienced in classic arcade gaming. Such precise details were put into each background: the stonework in the ramparts and  parapets; the lush countryside and green hills; the snow-covered mountainside and the far off peaks; even such details of schools of fish escaping the combat in the water or a flock of birds departing the tree tops from the encroaching and upcoming boss. The entire game is so stunning to look at that it's almost interrupting from the frantic gameplay within. Sadly never available in console form, and probably never will due to legal issues with Cave and Capcom, it can thankfully be played with through the likes of MAME. A game that certainly deserves an entire write-up of its own--one I'm not suited to give with my inefficiency with scoring mechanics and skill. But now, having the means to practice, that could certainly be a different story in time to come. I'm set for quite awhile--and so is my wallet.

Things That Should Have Been Left Alone: Ginrei Special

There's been a lot of stuff throughout the years that shouldn't have been made. It happens all the time. It's inevitable in media. How many times is Gainax going to remake Evangelion? Ah, but that's an entirely different story. I'm more so wanting to whine and complain about needless OVAs. If it's a success, odds are good it'll have an OVA--trust me, I'm not complaining! If anything, I generally accept OVAs with open arms, regardless if they are necessary or not. I'm glad there's a bunch of Urusei Yatsura and Project A-Ko OVAs, and especially stuff like the 10 episode Dirty Pair or some extra back story for Armored Trooper Votoms. Hell, it's usually a fan's dream for extra material, right? A lot of times it can feel a bit superfluous, or maybe not as good, but it can still present a bit of extra entertainment and whet your appetite for just a slight bit more of that series you adore so much, right?

But sometimes disaster strikes. You get sick to your stomach. They change the art style, the voices, or even the entire tone of your favorite series. It's usually all to make a quick buck, which is quite obvious. Sure, some may be a love letter to the fans or tie up some loose ends--but really, in this world it usually just boils down to a product on the shelves and a fat ass wallet. Look at the Kimagure Orange Road OVA for example. It's garbage. It's absolutely dreadful. I can't even finish it. Sure, the art style is still there, the characters, the voice acting--what's wrong? It's nothing like the original series. They can get away with more skin now, so of course Madoka Ayukawa is flaunting it. Sexual tension and flirtation was always a central theme, but it's way overdone to a point of promiscuity and needless fan-service. Obviously I have no problem with fan service. I'm a damned self-described otaku with an infatuation for all things Go Nagai and Satoshi Urushihara and figurines of questionable positions. This isn't a damn moral conflict--this is about preserving a character, goddammit! Ruins it, you stupid fat hobbit. The show deals with espers and some silly stuff happens every once and awhile concerning such. That's the extent of it,  for the primary theme is that of a love triangle amongst young lovers. First OVA episode they add a ghost story that the characters "remember" during a ski trip. Another episode they go on a vacation and get kidnapped and escape the bad guys. What ever happened to unrequited love and teen romance? Who cares when you can completely change the show and show more teenage cleavage and scary ghosts and adventure! What about the cast of Maison Ikkoku getting stuck on a desert island? Or what happened to the cast of Armored Trooper Votoms 20 years after the series ended? The fans obviously crave nonsensical garbage to soil their favorite show as long as they get some extra screen time, right? I could bitch for hours. And I probably will, but I'll stick to just one show in question. Now that I'm good and pissed, it's time to get to the perpetrator of my 2 o'clock hateful vigil blog: Giant Robo's Ginrei Special. Goddammit.

Ginrei Special is a three part OVA that showcases the character Ginrei from another OVA, Giant Robo: The Animation, an adaptation of the manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, creator of Tetsujin 28-go, also known as Gigantor. Giant Robo: The Animation in itself is a fantastic OVA, almost sort of a hidden gem of 90s anime. It's got a beautiful orchestral score, fluid animation, a moving story, and splendid character design from Toshiyuki Kubooka, best known for his designs on the fantastic Lunar games for SegaCD (later on Saturn and PSX) and Albert Odyssey, and more recently The Idolm@ster. The titular Ginrei--pun possibly intended--stars as an INTERPOL agent with a certain secret very important to the central part, so I can't really give that away. Throughout Giant Robo Ginrei wears a Chinese dress and a leg holster for her pistol. She's got long legs and the dress is short, but the character never really becomes suggestive to the viewer. Even in a short top not a line of skin is ever drawn to imply cleavage, despite what is a relatively large bust. Certainly, the character is sexually appealing, yet it is done appropriately and left to your imagination--however perverted you may be (and judging by my recent page hits, you're all a bunch of sick bastards). All in all, it's a pretty solemn OVA with a lot of melancholy, environmental commentary and a fair share of character deaths among the main cast.

As I insinuated earlier, I am indeed a pervert and in no way any type of moral authority in the anime world. I knew what I was expecting. I wasn't looking for much. The Ginrei Special OVA seemed like it would be a bit of inane fun and plenty of eye-candy in the form of Ginrei herself. Still, I grew to like the character, so it felt a bit odd that the first shot of the special showed more skin than the entire 650 minutes of Giant Robo. Slightly hypocritical, but I had gained respect for the character and that wasn't her, so it felt kinda weird, regardless of how my male hormones thought. I grew to love her mystical allure and that Chinese dress. I just wanted to see her jump around and go on an adventure and shoot some bad dudes. Maybe show a little leg or somethin', you know--but nothing more. Hell, I was even fine with the cleavage shot at first. And then she got in the shower...

 Cue like a billion shots of her ass and some side boob and another character's ass within the first five minutes. Eh, a little fan-service can't hurt, I told myself. Then shit got batshit stupid. Daisaku, the kid who commands Robo, sees Ginrei naked and goes all googly-eyed and passes out; Robo itself has a nosebleed. Uh...Ginrei runs around naked and grabs her breasts, which are actually bombs, and throws them at the bad guys. Turns out it wasn't really Ginrei, but another member of the International Police Organization. End of first episode.

I lie to myself a little bit and say, "Well, that wasn't too bad."

I'm a fucking liar. What little integrity the first episode had the second one vomits the rest out and wallows in its own excrement. Any structure is gone. Every character has reverted to a childlike form. It is a complete parody of itself--and a terribly unfunny one, at that. The characters get drunk--including the child--and they goof off. The enemies have drinking contests. They stumble around and make fools of themselves. They make a giant robot of Ginrei.

Look how wacky he is!!! He's a kid! And he's...drunk!! Oh, the fans are going to think this is hilarious!

It's a boy...in a dress!!!!! That's the wrong gender! Boys can't wear dresses!!!!!! What will they do next?!?!?!

OHHHHHHHHHHHH THE ENTIRE CAST IS WEARING DRESSES! THE SAME DRESS AS GINREI!!!!! SOME OF THOSE CHARACTERS ARE BOYS!!!!! FIRST STOP LAUGHTER STATION.

They make a Ginrei robot, now controlled by an upset--and drunk--Daisaku, in the dress still, of course. Everyone tries to destroy it, but since the robot is modeled after Ginrei they all freeze up. Some of them try and look up the robot's skirt. It's pathetic. Ginrei gets embarrassed and her boobs grow three times the size they usually are and she pulls a rocket launcher out of her cleavage. She blows up the robot. Then she has a cocktail with a bad guy and swims in the ocean. Then all the characters go in a bathroom stall and glance at each others cocks to see who's is the biggest. The hilarity ensues. Ginrei gets stripped naked in the ocean. Then her robot is back and fights another robot. The end.

Part one of Ginrei Special is pretty bad, but it's watchable; this, however, is absolutely unbearable. It's quite possibly the most insipid, bland, unfunny, banal trash I've watched in quite awhile. The character design stays the same, yet at times the animation suffers and loses some of  its original merit, leaving part two with absolutely nothing redeemable. They even attempt to display gratuitous amounts of Ginrei's sensual body, yet can't even get the proportions right. One would assume the main attempt of such an unnecessary OVA would be for fan-service, yet they can't even animate it right. How perfectly fitting for such a horrid waste of time. One of the first times I've had to fast-forward anything in years.

Part three starts off a bit more promising. A sweet melody plays in congruence with a widescreen presentation of a windy, desolate desert as Ginrei narrates a peaceful introduction. The camera eventually pans to a quite shot of Ginrei in a poncho, the wind blowing her hair. Text slowly fades in, starting the main story.

Ah! Finally, something redeeming! Still, not exactly what I was expecting, but at this point I'd take about anything. The animation for part three looks especially nice, although the mock widescreen only lasts but the first five minutes or so. Anyhow, part three seems canonical, albeit being thrown somewhere arbitrarily into the mix of the events of Giant Robo, but that doesn't really matter. It's like a genuinely good OVA, right? Anyhow, part three is western themed, if one could ascertain that themselves by now. It's better, but it's still...okay.

Ginrei and company are dressing up as some sort of researchers for a college. They meet some people and uncover some plot and foil it and save the day. It's really a pretty bland affair, especially after the introduction seems to promising and elegant. Sure, it's certainly a welcome change from the abomination that is part one, and mainly part two, but it's still quite bland and forgettable. If you're in the mood for something of this nature I'd most rather recommend something like Explorer Woman Ray or for you to just go play Tomb Raider.

Conclusively, Ginrei Special has been one of the biggest letdowns I've ever had for something I wasn't even expecting much out of in the first place. I came in expecting just a little bit of fun, but that was obviously too much to ask. If you're in for skin, you certainly see a lot of Ginrei throughout, although it's usually poorly drawn and inconsistent. The entire OVA is completely devoid of any respectable humor, plot and just plain entertainment in general. If you want more Ginrei, just go get the art book. You've been warned.

Asuka Sugo PVC by Wave

Hey! I took a photo for this blog that wasn't blurry and dimly lit! I'm obviously moving up in the world; or, I just decided to go outside and use that infernal thing known as "natural light"--better known as the sun--to efficiently show the beauty of magnificent PVC in the form of anime hotties. Short blog, but a worthy one, I'd say.

The spotlight figure is Asuka Sugo from the Sunrise anime Futuer GPX Cyber Formula, which could be best described as a sort of Mach Go Go Go/Speed Racer meets the video game series F-Zero. I embarrassingly haven't seen the full duration of the original series, but that doesn't stop my bizarre infatuation of girls wearing visors--or, you know, anime babes from the golden years of anime. Plus, the character designer of the show also holds quite a bit of unexpected relevancy to this blog from some of my past posts about Windaria and Leda: Mutsumi Inomata. Kinda bizarre, yet it makes sense, for when Wave announced this figure earlier this year I immediately desired it, yet ultimately let it go under the radar due to funds and a short attention span, among other probable and culpable reasons. Alas, the first run of figures sold out quite quickly, resulting in a second run in April. Clearly a sign from Crom himself, I indulged and wouldn't be made a fool of again from the impudent realm of the internet and figure collecting.

There is probably a billion figure reviews for every release out there, so I'll kind of refrain from that and just focus on the goodies. If there isn't such a review, and one seeks more detailed information, I'd be glad to do a full review, so just let me know. I'm looking at you, internet lurker that found my blog looking for doujinshi hentai of Asuka on Google.

Anyhow, it's a 1/10 figure made of PVC by Wave, which stands at around six and a half inches. Not many accessories but the shown umbrella, but she also includes an exchangeable headband in replacement of the shown visor, much like in the show. Wave makes some pretty nice figures, and while they usually don't exceed the 1/10 size, they are usually quite affordable in this over-inflated market of figure collecting, usually within the range of 3,000-4,000 yen, depending on your method of purchasing.

In the middle of writing this I actually uncovered that Wave will be re-releasing the figure once again, this time in a "dengeki" version to commemorate the upcoming Blu-Ray collection of the series. Not much has been changed but for another exchangeable hair piece, this time giving the option of short hair, as well as the small inclusion of a wedding ring on her right hand. A worthy addition for those that missed the initial two runs, yet it seems the figure went up about 1,000 yen or more in price. Ah, and so goes the figure market.

There's about a thousand figures out there of Asuka Sugo from the various series and OVAs of Cyber Formula. Most had pretty limited runs and are now out of print, which is pretty usual for any company. There are a few other impressive figures of her that have been made, but most have a pretty mediocre design and stray from the original character depiction, while another handful are overtly sexual with misplaced proportions and the typical "fantasy" nudity and pronounced nipples and whatever else. Wave did a damn good job recreating the character in model form. Everything from Inomata's wonderful, large eyes to the lithe figure of the character has been faithfully transitioned from two-dimensional drawing to three-dimensional PVC. A must-have for a collector, really.

Shmupmeet 2012: Midwest is the Best

Another successful shmupmeet with the denizens of the shmups.com forum has come and went. Another big thanks to caldwert for his hospitality, snacks and massive collection of games, cabinets, pinball machines and a billion NEC XM29 Plus monitors. Played like shit in almost every game, per usual. I guess my approach of not practicing and hoping to magically get better isn't really working. Might have to change my methods up a bit, I guess. Also, it has been further embedded into my skull that I need to purchase some sort of Japanese candy cabinet as soon as possible. And buy a bunch of arcade PCBs. Imperative.

The playfield. Near impossible to get everything in the shot. Another monitor lies behind me with a U.S. TurboDuo and an NES hooked up. On the first monitor we had a PC-Engine Duo-R hooked up, as well as a model 1 Sega Genesis. Download 2, Spriggan, Gleylancer, Magical Chase, and a handful of others were played. Never had gotten around to playing Gleylancer before. Damned good stuff. On the next monitor--an NEC XM37 I believe; correct me if I'm wrong--we had a supergun hooked up to play PCBs. Replaying Gigawing on the actually CPSII board really affirmed my love for that game, further establishing my adoration for Capcom during their CPSII run. Blackheart also made a showing, which was quite unexpected, yet I sadly got a chance to play it this time. Later in our arcade marathon vigil we experienced the lack of sleep stupor that sets in after staring at monitors for 12 hours straight, resulting in a somnambulant-like outing of bizarre arcade games from the depths of caldwert's basement. Heated Barrel, a lost title from the equally enigmatic TAD corporation, stole the show and won the hearts of all. Or whatever. What was aptly described as a "horizontal Gun.Smoke" lasted what felt like a lifetime, yet was quite joyful to watch. Playfully racist (uh...), yet brightly colorful with cowboy ghosts, pot-bellied Native Americans and pink bears as enemies; complete with an impossible last boss with almost every attack completely unavoidable and full of damage. Also played was a Japanese Gauntlet clone (the name escapes me) and Psycho-Nics Oscar, a sort of inspiration for Turrican with a Gradius-like power-up system. On the far monitor we had a Japanese Xbox 360 hooked up that primarily played all the vertical Cave release: Ketsui, Mushihimesama-Futari, Mushihimesama HD, Pink Sweets, Muchi-Muchi Pork!, DFK, etc.

The wall of rape: Raiden DX and Same! Same! Same! (lit. Shark! Shark! Shark!), known as Fire Shark in the U.S.. Both games proved that I am a sick bastard and a masochist, for I kept coming back for more. Same! literally depressed me later in the night, yet I've thought about the game for the past couple of days. It's like some nasty hooker that gave me the clap that I keep going back to. Raiden DX is almost just as brutal and I still feel the pain. Damned good stuff, though.

Lil' baby Neo cab kinda made me envious and slightly inclined to exchange such a thing for my hulking brute of a wooden cabinet with dented corners, missing paint and slightly unbalanced. Shown here is the fantastic Shock Troopers, which is easily one of my favorite games on the MVS--that I still don't own for some stupid reason. Blazing Star, Sengoku 3, Aero Fighters 2, and an MVS conversion of Ironclad were a few of the games played.

Whirlwind and Rollersgames, two of the pinball machines in the back corner. Whirlwind is a pretty neat machine. I spent some time on it later in the evening and got my ass thoroughly kicked. I think I'm starting to pick up a theme here. Whirlwind was especially neat, for at certain parts of the game the fan on the top of the machine blows a bunch of pungent air into your face and makes you feel like Bill Paxton in Twister.

Earthshaker, a game that literally rumbled the floor with its earthquake theme. A pretty frantic, neat machine that I didn't have the chance to play but a time or two. It kept scaring the shit out of me when I was playing Sengoku 3 behind it.

Diner was probably the pinball machine I spent the most time on and enjoyed the most. It gave us some grief earlier on in the day but was eventually fixed. Believe it or not, but I sucked at this, too.

Shown here is friend and user drunkninja being his photogenic self, this time with the cabs running Armed Police Batrider on the left and DoDonPachi on the right. Batrider is really a game I'd like to get better at, as well as Battle Garegga, another phenomenal game by 8ing/Raizing. I figured if anything playing DoDonPachi again on an actually PCB would boost my confidence a bit after all the rapeage, as I usually can do quite well on a credit--well, relatively speaking, that is. I don't even want to talk about how bad I did. I, uh...need some practice.

There is plenty more to be said and I wish I would have taken some more pictures, but aye, it's too late for that and I've got chicken in the oven and a fat cat in front of the computer screen. Damned good time and a great group of guys. Hope to do it again soon! Maybe I can actually practice for this next one...