Ranked #5918

1+2=Paradise

1 + 2 = Paradise — if paradise is merely mediocre

Reviewed: December 2012
Version: English sub

Adapted from a five-volume manga, 1+2=Paradise is standard softcore-ecchi comedy fare featuring a male protagonist fawned over by busty babes. The audience is first introduced to this protagonist, 16-year-old high-school student Yamamoto Yūsuke, in a surreal dream at the beginning of the first episode, which is entitled ‘Bouncing Bosoms Everywhere’. This dream, in which Yūsuke is chased by bouncing breasts, sex monsters, and grotesque shapeshifting girls, sets up an important plot point: the young man is afraid of women.

Upon waking from his dream, Yūsuke is drawn by the sound of visitors at the door. Opening it, he encounters a pair of redheaded twin girls around his own age, whom he recognizes from his bizarre dream. His father, who works as a gynecologist at the local hospital, explains to Yūsuke that the girls, Yuka and Rika, both want to be nurses, and he will be guiding them through their studies. While this may be true to some extent, Yūsuke knows that there is another reason for the girls’ presence: his father hopes to cure him of his gynophobia.

It doesn’t take long before it’s pointed out that the single guest room in the house is too small for both sisters, and while Yūsuke hopes that this means they both will leave, Dr. Yamamoto has other plans: one sister will stay, and Yūsuke is given until the following night—Christmas Eve—to choose which one. It’s ten minutes into the storyline now, and time to cue the ramped-up sexuality as the sisters compete to prove their worth. Antics ensue for another fifteen minutes or so, until Yūsuke finally makes his choice. It should be no surprise that he can’t decide, and so the first of the two episodes is wrapped up by an invitation for both girls to stay, taking over Dr. Yamamoto’s room, while he moves to the guest room.

Unoriginal, predictable, and, boring—these are the words that best describe the first episode in regards to both its plot and the situational sexual humor upon which it relies. Its only real draw, for those who are inclined, are the mild nudity and softcore sexual situations—and when one considers that the art, including the characters, lacks precision and detail, then even these aren’t much of a draw.

Much the same can be said for the second episode, ‘Showdown! Pink Sisters vs. Lusty Queenbee’, which gains something in the originality department but, depending on how you like your anime, might just lose something to the sheer random weirdness it contains. The episode opens with an airship, which descends over the town and comes to a stop hovering over the local high school. A young woman, also of high-school age, appears atop the school, and then, after a peal of disturbing laughter, comes down to the ground to address the crowd of students who have gathered beneath the airship. This beautiful young woman is introduced by a clown as Matsubishi Barako, the owner of the circus the airship has brought to town.

Barako attracts the attention of every boy at the school, but she, inexplicably but not surprisingly, sets her sights on Yūsuke. So, what does she do? Of course, she enrolls as a student at his school and pursues him with singleminded fervor. But the twins (blondes now, instead of redheads!) are jealous and protective, and they designate themselves Yūsuke’s protectors—so, that very night, when Barako sets up a giant big top around the Yamamoto residence and kidnaps Yūsuke, it is Yuka and Rika who come to the rescue.

All in all, 1+2=Paradise isn’t bad as far as direct-to-video softcore is concerned. I won’t go so far as to advise avoiding it at all costs, but it’s far from the highest on my list of recommendations.

The breakdown

Story: 4

The storylines of the two episodes of 1+2=Paradise are uncommendable; really, there is no plot, just series of events providing flimsy excuses for the T&A that serve as the primary draw of softcore ecchi.

Character: 5

The characters in this anime aren’t meant to be the most original, but all things considered, they’re decent. The writing isn’t the best in places, but the voice actors manage to deliver their lines in a manner that doesn’t draw undue attention or criticism.

Art: 3

The artistic quality of both episodes is poor. Both background and foreground art, including characters, are rudimentary and lacking detail. I don’t know if the job was rushed or if the animators just didn’t care, but even for 1990, I feel the art could have been better.

Sound: 5

For a run-of-the-mill ecchi comedy, the sound quality is decent, neither outstandingly good nor outstandingly bad. The theme music and score aren’t really remarkable.

Enjoyment: 4

While I managed to maintain enough interest to see both episodes through to the end, I can’t say I really enjoyed either of them, nor am I likely to watch them again for entertainment purposes.

Overall: 4.2
Final Score: 4/10 or 2/5
Grade: C-

Rating: PG-16

1+2=Paradise is softcore ecchi, which means that it relies upon gratuitous nudity and sexual situations to draw viewers. Should one choose to view the program, expect to find such things in place of a fully developed plot.

Language/Thematic Elements: There is little to no objectionable language in either episode. Considering the nature of the anime, one might expect a great deal of sexual innuendo or outright vulgar sexual language, but the sexual content is pretty much confined to the visual realm.

Violence/Gore: There is no graphic violence to speak of, really. At one point, Yūsuke is whipped a few times, but it’s not in any way bloody or painful to look at and is intended more as humorous S&M.

Sexuality/Nudity: This is the category responsible for the PG-16 rating. There are breasts, butts, and panty shots throughout both episodes, beginning with a bit of grotesque breast imagery at the beginning of the first episode. There are also some comedic sexual situations, as when Yūsuke finds his face buried on more than one occasion in cleavage or panty-clad crotch. For those who are ultra-sensitive to the subject, it should be noted that all of the nudity in this anime is displayed by characters under the age of 18; indeed, flashbacks to Yūsuke’s early childhood show him and the twins both baring themselves in a sort of ‘you-show-me-yours-I-show-you-mine’ way, but this is done humorously, innocently, and with a lack of anatomical detail.

Final words

+: the copious amounts of softcore nudity and situational sexual comedy, which really is what the whole thing is about

-: poor art quality, poor plot development

Recommended to: softcore ecchi fans, viewers in search of a cheap but not too titillating thrill, or fans of prolific voice artists Yamaguchi Kappei and Chieko Honda, who portray Yūsuke and Rika respectively read more

Okay, so this anime is called 1 + 2 = Paradise

I will be honest, I only watched this because I wanted to see how it played out, I wasn't too surprised as most of it was somewhat expected.

First the story - boy gets 2 sisters ( not his sisters mind you ) living with him, ah a classic love triangle, right? Wrong. it turns out he is scared stiff of women due to an incident with two sisters in his youth. I won't spoil anything there.

Art - Here's where I feel it falls short, The art was okay for the first episode, but I think the art did a massive change in the 2nd episode, being from 1990 you can't really rate it higher either.

Sound - a lot of dialogue composed of "Ah! Yuusuke-kuuuuun" gets on your nerves after a while, but it was okay I guess.

Character - given a 4 because that's literally how many characters there are, not much to say apart from the fact just having the 2 sisters and Yuusuke.

Enjoyment - for a show from over 20 years ago it wasn't that bad, it was similar to the KissXSis of that era, I suppose.

Overall - Fair Number Six read more