Anime Overview: Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer

Note: The version I'll be talking about is the 2004 DVD cut. The original VHS cut has a longer intro scene along with some exposition and extra lines.

The 1990's were full of bad anime. The medium hadn't exploded in popularity in the United States quite yet, and development studios were mostly stuck in a rut due to being considered little more than ultra-violent tentacle porn by a majority of the public. Don't get me wrong, there was a good amount of classics and admirable pieces, but it was definitely easier to find mediocre and downright awful anime during the period. Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer, released in 1996 and based on the fighting game of the same name, unsurprisingly fits into the bad category. However, Gowcaizer manages to cross this threshold that other bad anime wish they could cross. It is so bad, that it's actually worth watching. It manages to be bad in ways that are actually entertaining to see, not ways that make it painful or hard to watch for the most part. Oh by the way, the game this OVA is based on was only available on the Neo Geo in America, so don't feel bad if you've never heard of it.

As with most bad anime of the time, Gowcaizer doesn't really have much of a plot or story to speak of, but there are a few facts. The events are set in a rebuilt city that was originally destroyed by an earthquake sometime in the past, with the rubble used as the battleground for our characters. The story centers around Isato Kaiza, a high school student gifted in martial arts who possesses a mythical thing called a Kaizer (spelling?) Stone which gives him superhero-type powers and a silly costume to wear under the name Gowcaizer. He's not the only one with a Kaizer Stone, however. There's also Kaiza's rival/friend/someone he spars with named Kash Mizuntani. His Kaizer Stone turns him into Hellstinger with his own powers and silly costume. The third part of the heroic trio is Karin Son, a spunky girl who instead of having a Kaizer Stone carries a big stick and an even sillier (and revealing) costume. Among the other characters are Kyosuke Shigure, a brooding transfer student out to get back at our main antagonist, the headmaster Shizuru Ozaki, with the help of his demon sidekick Kubira. Ozaki isn't acting alone, as there is a dark force inside him known as Omni-Exist that has him at his mercy. Ozaki gives out the Kaizer Stones to expert fighting students in the hope that they'll come defeat him and Omni-Exist in order to, you guessed it, save the world. However, you might take comfort in the fact that Ozaki looks suspiciously like Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII. There's also Shaia Ishizaki, the overly exposed side character with a spherical lackey robot named Ball Boy...you heard me. Finally, there's the minor antagonists named Ryo and Suzu Asahina. They're twins who are...closer than you would expect. You'll see what I mean soon enough.

Now I know I said that this OVA is bad, but there are some good things worth noting. Since the OVA is based on a video game and is a standard hour and a half, it moves along at a reasonable pace and doesn't get too caught up in forced drama trying to make the audience care. The action is also fun to watch if you're a fan of superhero-type fights and don't mind characters yelling their moves. The OVA as a whole kind of feels like a video game due to the progression between fights and even a multi-phase final boss fight. Gowcaizer also manages to somewhat escape the tropes that were prevalent in anime of the time by not being filled with over the top blood and gore. This makes it a bit easier to watch, but it cannot quite escape the times in which it was made. Finally, on a less important note, the ending theme is surprisingly awesome. Yeah, it's J-pop to the nth degree, but it fits and is a nice end after this particular OVA.

Now we're onto the negatives and there are plenty of them. First of, as I mentioned before, the plot does not even exist. There's no real way to tell what the characters motivations are except when they physically hit you over the head with what little exposition and character development there is. Also, remember how I said that Gowcaizer couldn't really escape the times? Well, that comes through loud and clear in the show's treatment of women. All of them are shown in incredibly revealing costumes with plenty of breast jiggle on display. I understand that anime has never really held the most progressive view of women in general, but it just gets silly in how much women get objectified and treated like sex objects, especially in 90's anime. It also doesn't help that Hellstinger goes out of his way to tell Karin that she should stay stupid in order to retain her beauty using words she obviously doesn't understand. Things like this are what give anime a bad name and can keep people from watching potentially good anime. Another uncomfortable part of this show is the blatant and obvious incest between Ryo and Suzu Asahina. I'm an extremely open-minded person and I'm not about to judge anyone's life choices or say anything moralistic, but when did anime developers decide that one of the most resilient cliche tropes in anime should be incestuous relationships? I'm not just talking about 90's anime, but also modern anime like Sword Art Online. The DVD cut does remove a direct reference in a line calling it "forbidden love" when Ozaki is talking to the twins, but there is still references to it by the twins as well as a love scene, though nothing goes into porn territory. If this is something you cannot stomach, then I would recommend you be paying attention so you can skip the incest references. Finally, the dub job freely slides between passable and downright silly. You might be okay listening to Kaiza or Hellstinger, but Omni-Exist sounds like she's eating while saying her lines and Karin is your typical screechy teenage girl. It's not the worst dub job in the world, but it definitely could have been better.

The 90's were full of bad anime, but none that got to quite the level of admirable mediocrity as Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer. It's bad, but it reaches the point where it's so bad, it's worthy of watching because you don't really see bad like this everyday especially in this day and age. It manages to mostly avoid being offensive, it's not boring and you don't feel dumber or angry after watching it. It's bad in the more awesome ways! From the nonexistent plot to the silly character designs to the mediocre dub, this OVA is lovable in its generally good-natured awfulness and worthy of getting attached to. It's the worst anime that I don't mind watching over and over again for a good laugh and some relaxation.

Recommendation: If you can find a copy or download it, watch it because you don't see something like this everyday anymore. You might even find yourself enjoying it like I do.

Anime Overview: Lucky Star

Note: I will be talking specifically about the 26 episode TV series

One of the great things about anime is that it allows people (non-Japanese people specifically) to get insight into another culture in a foreign country. Traces of Japanese culture exists in all kinds of anime back through the ages. Nowhere is this insight more clear and pure than in the Slice of Life (SoL) genre. Focusing on day-to-day life in Japan, SoL anime walks a fine line between being interesting/engaging and just being dull. Lucky Star, originally released in 2007, manages to show off enough of Japanese culture and society to be fascinating, but the actual story and character dialogue can take some effort to sit through. Bluntly said, it can get boring for most people.

The show follows the daily lives and adventures of four Japanese high school girls during their last 2 years of high schools. One of the most notable things about the show is the amount of anime references packed into the characters, setting and story despite being a SoL anime through and through. For example, the 4 main characters all fit a particular stereotype that has become a mainstay in modern anime. There's Konata, the lazy otaku. There's Kagami, the doting older sister to Tsukasa, the well-meaning airhead. Finally there's Miyuki, the wispy, almost sickeningly sweet cutie pie rich girl. Over the course of the show, we are introduced to many other characters who fit different stereotypes and cliches in anime, everything from the pervy geek dad to the over frail cousin and many more. The regular cast is colorful and diverse as well as familiar to anybody who regularly watches anime, but I'm not completely sold on the main cast. For example, Konata is lazy, uncaring about her future and kind of a bitch to Kagami about her weight, looks, etc. She then has the gall to get pissy when Kagami does the same to her. None of these traits make her a good person in my eyes, and I don't know how people can forgive all of this because she's relate-able as an otaku. The show attempts to play off Konata and Kagami's jabs at each other, but it gets downright hurtful-sounding after a while.

That's not to say Konata is the only problem with the show. Kagami can be a pain to listen to herself because she is so focused on the future that she will often rag on Konata and Tsukasa because they slack off more. She seems to have grown up too fast and doesn't know how to relax and let her over-maturity slide in favor of enjoying her time in high school more. Tsukasa and Miyuki, to me, are more bearable because I know of someone in real life who is like Tsukasa and Miyuki's warmth and friendliness make her easier to listen to. Another issue is that many of the typical love it or hate it stereotypes that have infested modern anime are present loud and clear in this show. You certainly won't be seeing much in the way of innovation or breaking away from the pack in this show. However, the main issue BY FAR is the overall pacing of the show. Like I said before, SoL anime toes the line between engaging and dull and Lucky Star seems okay with being just plain dull sometimes, especially in conversations between the girls. The show isn't dull across the board through all 26 episodes, in fact the show can get quite interesting at times, but it is the one sticking point that I can see keeping people away or leaving them disliking the show.

So what does Lucky Star get right? Well, it is a fascinating insight into Japanese society and culture. I've learned more about life in Japan from this show than I have from most other sources. If only the show didn't grind itself to a halt to focus on the girls talking about food or Konata procrastinating on homework to the point of absurdity. The show, particularly Konata herself, is also very relate-able for many different kinds of nerds. Some of her best moments come when she's nerding out over the MMORPG that she plays or getting a part time job to fuel her obsessions. The English dub for the most part isn't perfect, but the voices mostly fit the characters personalities and can hold their own compared to similar anime. I can also appreciate how much love there is for nerd culture in the show not limited to just anime. The show will even sometimes take on a look and feel that is a reference in and of itself, such as a driving scene that mirrors Initial-D and some humorous scenes involving over the top action beats centering around getting service from Konata (called "Legendary Girl A" by those side characters). The show as a whole is an entertaining sit when you're expecting how slow it can go, but the first time viewer can easily have trouble sitting through it without just calling it "boring".

Slice of Life anime can be a challenge to sit through if you're expecting engaging action scenes and swift storylines. However, it can be a great genre for the casual viewer or someone looking for a slower-paced kind of anime. While it is understandable that some may dismiss it as "boring", I still can recommend Lucky Star for someone looking to jump into a nerd-loving anime that shows a great deal more Japanese society and culture than one would expect. If you know what you're going to get (and what you're not going to get), Lucky Star can be an entertaining and relaxing anime. If, however, you need action and swift/sweeping storylines, then you might not be able to tolerate Lucky Star's slow and deliberate pace to get to the entertaining/humorous parts.

Recommendation: Worth watching if you know what you're getting into.