Post number 5 looks at Police anime You're Under Arrest

I find it oddly appropriate that this review is on a franchise that has been around for 30 years as I have also reached that milestone in age as of last week.
You're Under Arrest is about the life and times of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department particular the officers of Bokuto Police Station and on the partnership of two of their finest Traffic Police Officers Natsumi Tsujimoto and Miyuki Kobayakawa. Every episode along with the movie focuses on a crime or a personal character development moment in which we watch the station handle each episode, while the focus stays on the friendship of main characters Miyuki and Natsumi we also get some glimpses of the secondary cast as well.
The show can be very slow paced, very tame and a little sketchy with it's own stories but in general you can pretty much jump in at any time and not know the whole backstory and you can pretty much work out how each of the characters functions as well but to sum up.
Natsumi is the reckless one.
Miyuki is the bad ass driver.
Nakajima is the manly one who is a little awkward with romance.
Nikaidou is the klutz.
Aoi Futaba is probably the best portrayed transgender character in any media.
Saga is another klutz but more tolerable than Nikaidou.
And Toukairin who is Natsumi's foil.
Add in a souped up Honda Today (Common Japanese Car in Japan only) and you've got your whole story there.
Couple of things to really bring up, the same creator did Ah My Goddess and Ex Driver so the art style is quite noticable and the cars are always done to perfection which showcases the creator's love for cars.
And again with Aoi Futaba, you cannot find me another transgender character done any better than Aoi Futaba which is one of the shows main strengths along with the friendship of Miyuki and Natsumi, it's any wonder that there have been four series, a live action version and a movie, yet they all appear to share the same sort of stories.
So it's not for everyone, mainly because it's rival is the eternally famous Kochikame but for a Police show it never really takes it's set pieces onto a higher plain, granted I don't want to see it turn ultra violent but at least show some teeth. Dub is average, some cases of screeching and over acting especially if your name is Nikaidou.
Final Verdict: Take it or leave it, this is very much an anime that will suit some fans better than others, the action crowd will lose out a bit on the tame and low levels of violence but it can be made up by those fans who like character development and nice cars.