California Crisis: Tsuigeki no Juuka

I absolutely ADORE this. If you grew up on vaporwave tumblr aesthetics you'd very much feel at home while watching this, it's like a pure dose of that nostalgic energy blasted into you. The story is simple, the voice acting is par for its time, the music is really good actually, and our main character didn't try to mess with the minor (hooray). It's agreeable in all regards but that's not necessarily the reason you'd be watching it. It's the glossy characters against the backdrop of neon Los Angeles. The dreamy endless desert. The palm trees against the sky. If you still find yourself with ... a penchant for the 80's and that cheesy dolled up California dream I would highly recommend.

If you're a fan of all the American 80s action movie cheese that checked every box on the stereotypes of those movies at the time, this is the anime for you.

Or if you just came around for the art and its aesthetic.

Everything about this anime made me feel like I was watching some b-movie from my dad's collection, albeit not in English without all the slang. Aliens, car chases, Coca Cola, California, hot rods, the fashion, it checks all the boxes for me.

The story and characters are very flat and lacking. There isn't really anything spectacular about this anime outside of it being ... a love letter to the cheesy action movies in somebody's dad's cabinet, but it might be nice if you're bored or looking for a certain artistic vibe. A lot of aesthetic kids have slowly been looking into this anime, so even if it's lame and unfinished, at least the art style is nice.

Aside from the character designs and music, this anime has little to offer.

The animation is minimal and badly directed, with many scenes confusingly edited together and at times barely comprehensible. Most of this OVA consists of an uninteresting chase scene that leads up to a very unsatisfying conclusion. The plot is practically non existent, with the mystery presented halfway through the OVA having zero payoff in the end and what few characters are introduced are uninteresting and pointless. I've seen many describe this OVA as "underrated" but it's better described as something that's obscure and boring.

Overall, I'd say the only enjoyable way to ... experience this anime is to listen to the OST or watch vaporwave/city pop/future funk videos that use clips from this OVA. Viewing this anime on it's own isn't an engaging experience.