Before I begin, I watched and read Rurouni Kenshin long before the creator's unpleasant crimes came to light. This review will only judge the quality of the work not the person who drew it.
Kenshin Himura has been wandering the lands for many years, the older than expected samurai was formerly Battousai the Man Slayer, taking out every foe possible bar the Shinsengumi, he eventually crosses paths with Kaoru Kamiya, a woman who teaches a more peaceful sword art compared to Kenshin's own Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu which he practices with a reverse bladed sword to stop killing and atone but still defend himself should he find himself attacked which is frequently.
Joined by a former bandit, a thief and a medic dubbed a witch, the band of misfits and outcasts setout to stamp out remaining corruption from the remnants of the wars that Kenshin fought, everything from ninja, former Shinsengumi, pretenders to the Man Slayer title and finally the brother of the lover that Kenshin slain.
Kenshin draws alot of comparisons to Trigun with a man wandering around trying to be a pacifist but is constantly drawn into conflict, the difference being that Kenshin's world has more political weight to it as actions often have a much wider effect on the world, it's a very well written story certainly in the manga but the anime had more than it's fair share of problems ranging from poor filler arcs, a poorly executed final season, frequent tonal whiplash and a lacklustre dub.
When it does do something right, it becomes quite compelling and gripping to watch, the ending also comes with a conclusion while sad is strangely fitting.
That's the crux on which I judge Rurouni Kenshin.
Final Verdict: A fantastic samurai story in the manga but the anime suffers with unbalanced tone, poor story structure and an inability to take things seriously especially with that first opening theme, it can do decent fight scenes but that's about it.
Sorry ADVfilms month hasn't really pumped out much, there's alot of anime to come next month so that'll make up for it.
Sukeban Deka is a much bigger franchise started in the mid 70s about a delinquent school girl turned undercover cop.
The anime starts with Saki being asked to go undercover in her old school to get to the bottom of a mysterious coach crash that killed half the students, Saki initially refuses but she's told to do it or her mother faces the death penalty.
Bitter at having to do cop work, she's partnered with Jin who gives her a more powerful yo-yo with a police badge inside, her job is to bring the Mizuchi Sisters to justice, she plays low for a bit even letting herself take a beating and tolerating the advances of obsessive nerd Sanpei and making friends with Junko whom she saved earlier in the episode.
Things get complicated for Saki when she's framed for Junko's kidnapping while Junko gets drugged and killed off by the Mizuchi henchman.
Saki quickly dismantles all the Mizuchi Sisters clout along with their father with help from the teacher that initially arrested Saki.
Things reach a climax as Remy the eldest sister kills off her family leading to a final showdown with Saki.
They really crammed alot in two episodes, the art style keeps the presence of a shojo style series but takes on as much action as possible and really sells Saki as a big threat and a delinquent.
It's a solid entry into the franchise.
The dub is laughably bad but not out right terrible.
My only real complaint is that the Mizuchi sisters are too close to Go Nagai creations rather than anything unique to the Sukeban franchise.
Final Verdict: A solid entry to a very much forgotten yet very important franchise to the whole concept of female anime characters.
Another solid gem dug up from the artist behind Area 88 and Cleopatra DC.
Mariko Rosebank is the captain of an elite all female anti terrorism team known as CAT Counter Attack Terrorism, the group was formed after brutally losing her son and husband in an airport bombing, and leaving Mariko with a distinct rose scar, the mission chosen for the OVA takes place in Switzerland around the final days of the Berlin Wall as CAT are assigned to protect the politicians from a terrorist attack aimed at stopping the iron curtain from falling, girls of all shapes and sizes and roles take part in the mission, Mariko feels that the terrorists are one step ahead as the operation is going too well.
What makes this anime work and artist Kaoru Shintani's other works is that the female cast are drawn in a shojo style as opposed to more traditional styles of the era within the action genre, great emphasis on the eyes makes Mariko and the other girls stand out as very feminine, even larger build girls like Jessica and more mischievous characters like Irene, but are also more than capable of subduing an Edelweiss Swiss Special Forces Soldier in seconds, all their actions speak so much about the characters it's unreal that this only got a single episode, Shintani is really good at setting up 80s action manga that ticks all the right boxes and Desert Rose is such a unique gem that there is no other series like it.
A dub isn't impossible but will need some talent especially with best girl Irene.
Final Verdict: An 80s action show dressed in the finest shojo style, Desert Rose is one of the most sophisticated, unique action anime of the era and there is no other anime like it.
It's a New Year so let's start with Megami Paradise. (Yes it still says 31st December 2022 but it's already New Year here in the UK and I refuse to wait for the Americas to finish)
The title of Mamamega is passed down to each high priestess charged with protecting the Astro Star, an artifact used for purifying the Earth of it's evils; while shrine maiden Lilith recruits more Maidens to aid the newly crowned Mamamega, the former high priestess is assassinated by Yamimama and her own Maidens. With Lilith kidnapped and set up for sacrifice to rid the world of the Astro Star, the other Shrine Maidens and Mamamega step in to stop Yamimama.
This is yet another experimental anime from a PC Engine Game no one cared about, it's crowning achievement is having really amateur protagonists, seriously they really struggle to do anything to the villains only succeeding by winging it or by virtue of Mamamega saving them.
The very 90s design do make the all female cast stand out but at the same time I see this being remade as a harem or hyper sexualized like Queen's Blade, this is the same people behind Agent Aika after all but there was at least some restraint in this early work.
No dub, but considering how early this ADVfilms license was picked up, you can already guess who will play which character.
Final Verdict: A very average anime with weak protagonists that's nice looking but really shows how utterly weak the short-lived PC Engine era was.
Funny how much content comes out when you feel sick.
Yuna is a typical ditzy teenager but after winning the Galactic BishÅjo Contest, she becomes The Savior of Light, a title bestowed on the champion magical girl, along with her mecha, her forever hungry friend Yuri and an extensive cast of other girls who were part of the same contest, Yuna will triumph over evils in the universe or become a TV star following her idol Polylina.
The two OVAs tell two complete stories, the first being a rather poorly written plot of trying to frame Yuna for crimes she didn't commit while the second involves Yuna and her friends confronting a trio of killer android sisters while ultimately failing to be dramatic.
This isn't a good anime by any stretch, it's problem being it relies on the viewer knowing the games story which is very much Japan exclusive, watching the OVAs feels like we've started season 2 instead of season 1 and it really shows, this is also back in the days where magical girls were more Sci-Fi in nature.
The sub and dub battle is very much a pick your poison, very childish sounding Japanese VAs or slightly grating early era American VAs, both are terrible.
Final Verdict: Unless you know the games, this anime is a lost cause, it's poorly written, poorly acted and it's not even funny.
