AIKa

I have to say in all the shows I have watched up to this point; Agent Aika succeeds in being probably the most dreadful one to date. As has been stated in some of the other reviews I have seen for this show, you can find plenty of unintentional comedy gold in this show. But even that can’t save this from being a completely uninspired waste of time.

This is where I usually write about the story. Except in Agent Aika, the director decided to skip such trivial matters and focus on what is really important. Namely panty shots, boobs, tentacle inspired ... action, camel toe, and nudity. Yes it’s true; I challenge anyone to find ONE shot in any episode that contains a female character that does not show a panty shot. Yes there really is that many. I didn’t even bother to count them. I would imagine if you strung all these shots together they would take up at least 80% of each episode. And it’s not like this is something that offends me, but all of these things from the pantsu to the nudity are done in such a tacky and exploitative manner that really that’s the plot of this series. Panties and how many we can show in one episode. All of the action revolves around panties or ripping off clothes. Everyone falls in the same way; face down ass up exposing themselves. It’s so pathetic that it actually becomes a bit humorous after awhile.

Supposedly this show is about the main characters being salvagers. In 3 hours of show I think they spent less than 60 seconds actually "salvaging". The director didn’t have time for more than that, must show more panties! Nothing the main characters do is adequately explained. Aika has strange mysterious super powers which involve her becoming naked and wielding tentacles. We are given a name for this power but honestly I forgot what it was 5 minutes after they told me. There are lots of gun fights, classic military vehicles battles, and martial arts action but these are just tools to de-cloth the heroes and villains or show their underwear.

I know I have spent a lot of this review talking about underwear. Well that’s because that’s what this anime is about. The biggest problem is it even fails and this. If you’re going to show me 200 pairs of panties per episode then at least show me some different kinds! Apparently in the world of Agent Aika everyone shops at the same store and buys the same style and color panty. You can tell that a man was in charge of all of this too because any woman knows you don’t wear white panties under a black miniskirt. Note to the director: mix in a little color, some blacks, pinks, reds, or blues. The animation continuality also sucked. Characters would be wearing one outfit and the next episode in a scene that is supposed to be taking place immediately following events from the previous episode they would be wearing different clothes. We also were treated to panty shots from people who were not even wearing panties 30 seconds previously! In the one scene I saw a main put on something other than plain old white when she exposed herself 5 minutes later guess what? Yep standard white! Come on if you’re going to do something at least do it right!

Maybe the only thing worse than the story though is the characters. Aika gives us perhaps the most uninteresting cast in the history of anime. The characters have zero personality, we learn nothing of their pasts, and they just conform to whatever stereotype they were put in. Aika as the hero is completely uninteresting besides her physical measurements. Rion plays the sidekick and she is probably the only genuinely interesting character in the show. Almost all of the "intentional" comedy flows through her. All the other supporting characters are ridiculously shallow and boring. Some are downright stupid. Namely the idiotic girly man they introduce halfway through the show whose sole purpose seemed to be getting beat up by Rion or cross dressing or saying other creepy lines while talking through a puppet.

The villains are also a train wreck. There are two story arcs. The first involves a creepy purple haired lipstick wearing bishounen who at least has an evil plan that makes a bit of sense. Of course he has a creepy sister who is obviously involved in an incestuous relationship with him. Later we have underlings from the previous villain who have probably the stupidest motivation ever. None of them are the slightest bit interesting either, but at least they are all girls so we get to see their boobs and panties.

The only thing Aika does right is the artwork. Despite my problems with continuality and the boring panty designs the characters all look really good. Especially given this shows age and some of the garbage that came out of its era. At least all the naked girls look good, that’s something I guess. The audio is pretty mediocre. The OP/EN songs are not inspired but the voice acting is ok in parts.

In the end I can’t recommend this show to anyone. If you like tits and ass there are better shows out there than this you can get your fill from. Go watch Ikkitousen instead, at least that has a few interesting characters and a rudimentary plot. You would be more usefully occupied spending the time you would use watching this show to surf the internet for porn than in watching this crap. Stay far away.

If you intend to watch this series: Be warned!

Depending on your point of view, it's either a catastrophal train-wreck of an anime series or actually so damn bad it's absolutely hilarious again.

It is apparently trying to be an ecchi light-hearted action-comedy, but it puts it on so thick that it can only count as a parody of that genre.
If it excels at anything , it's how the producers managed to cram so very many panty shots into it: Girls in other series wear t-shirts and sweaters that reach farther down than the skirts of the characters in this series. It also helps that the villain's ... underlings are all female and wear the same skimpy uniforms. And if all else fails, there's still frog's perspective.
I actually got so captivated by the sheer amount that I started counting them...

By the end of the first episode I had reached 140 and stopped counting. With an episode length of roughly 30 minute that makes about 4.6 panties on screen every minute.

That almost deserves credit... but that's not all! Aside from the general stereotypical stupidity of the plot (Some sort of catastrophe has destroyed the planet a little and made the water rise, so now special divers called Salvagers dive up valuable sunk junk but you'd barely even notice that if it wouldn't be mentioned occassionally) it's plot has some very precious highlights of mental retardation:
The main Villain, Hagen, is an effeminate man who actually wants to destroy the world with the power of a mysterious substance called Lagu only so that he can repopulate it with the offspring of - yes, you might have guessed - himself and every member of the all-female crew of his spaceship/submarine/headquarters.
Which sadly, seems to include his own sister.

(Although details are shaky. They're both test tube children as far as got)

But alas, that's not yet the deepest deep of this really awful plot, the main part hasn't even been mentioned yet: The heroine is in possession of a sentient artifact created by science (could as well be magic) that gives her super powers (and also transforms her into an tanned, sexier version of herself with long blue hair and a white bikini).

It has the form of a golden bustier.

And of course, Hagen, who eventually crushes on the name-giving heroine of the series, eventually makes his own super-powered panty to give his sister.

Add to that wacky hi-jinx of various useless side characters like Aika's stupid meganekko-sidekick, a manly salvager who yells "Bip-Bop-Balooba!" while fighting in rhytm, a mysterious (also female) secret agent that inflitrates Hagen's group and is as inept as all the others and you have a piece of truely outstandingly stupid piece of Animated Entertainment.

I kept thinking constantly: "They're.. they're not actually serious, are they?"

I make no bones about Agent Aika being my all-time favorite anime guilty pleasure and how much I just plain LOVE this show. Beyond the paper-thin rip-off of the plot from Moonraker, this show is all about hot looking, long legged girls in ridiculously short skirts and high heels for as far as the eye can see, not to mention the almost endless number of panty shots and the imaginative camera angles used to display same (Just for fun, I actually tried counting all the panty shots during one viewing and lost count after around 250!). To call Aika outrageous would be an understatement, this ... show isn't enlightening, emotionally gripping or even intelligent, but for sheer fun on an amazing scale, Aika fills the prescription!

Overview:

Today, the man regarded as the "master" of anime spoofs is Imaishi Hiroyuki. His works Gurren Lagann, Panty and Stocking, and Kill La Kill (despite how much I personally hate them) are widely beloved by otaku in both Japan and the US. Who was his predecessor though? In the 1980s, the lord of the spoof was named Katsuhiko Nishijima. Mr. Nishijima created the anime Project A-ko, which despite a rather cool reception by today's otaku, was absolutely beloved back in 1986. A-ko perfectly skewered all the anime cliches and tropes from the early 1980s and late 1970s. A-ko also made fun of animation techniques and ... featured many inside jokes for animators and anime staff workers. Back in its day, A-ko was THE definitive anime spoof. Unfortunately for Nishijima, he wasn't able to build on his early success. He took some time off to direct hentai and came back in the 1990s to try spoof and "satirize" echii anime by recycling his old formula of lampshading cliches and going way over the top. However, audience tastes had changed and despite a decent reception in Japan, his next work Agent Aika was largely despised in the US. Here is a look at a shitty anime that may have gotten a much better reception if it had only come out at a different time.

Plot and characters: 1/10

Much like his final attempt at directing, the absolutely disastrous Najika Blitz Tactics, Nishijima completely threw plot and character development out the window to focus on one thing: Panty shots. Agent Aika manages to have over 300 panty shots in a run time of about 2 hours. BRILLIANT! Much like Hiroyuki, Nishijima believed that the definition of a good spoof was simply going "full retard" and beating tired tropes to death for the sake of comedy. The basic story is that Aika is a secret agent tasked with recovering a powerful artifact called the Lagu. She must find it before an extremely cheesy villain uses it to wipe out all of humanity, except himself and 100 beautiful women, and make Earth his own giant harem. All of the echii cliches are here in full force and the characters are the most cardboard stereotypes possible. The problem with simply abusing cliches in a shallow and repetitive manner is that it isn't "brilliant" spoofing. It is simply a shitty anime that is self aware of its own badness. Unless the audience has VERY low standards, that really shouldn't be considered good enough to warrant praise!

Animation: 4/10

Even for the 1990s, the animation and art in Agent Aika really isn't very good. Occasionally the goofy animation actually works with the comedy, but mostly it just looks ugly and lazy.

Enjoyment: 4/10

As horrible as this anime is, I actually find it a bit easier to enjoy than the likes of Kill La Kill because it doesn't have annoying fanboys screaming in my ear how bloody clever it is! The fact that it is simply, unapologetic-ally SHIT makes it easier to laugh at!

Overall: 3/10

Although Japan actually liked this piece of shit and gave it enough fanfare to warrant multiple sequels, America stood strong and said "NO!" to this low quality style of spoofing. If only Panty and Stocking and Kill la Kill had come out in the 1990s when they would have been quickly discarded and bashed just like Aika. Of course, I'm sure Mr. Nishijima wishes he had released this bullshit in the 2010s when it would have received a MUCH warmer reception in the West. My point is that there was once a time when we Americans could recognize that complete idiocy that happens to be self aware was NOT the same as a brilliant and clever spoof. We can reach that level of criticism again!

**Spoiler Warning**

This is probably one of the worst anime that I have ever watched and that's saying something because an anime has got to do a lot of things wrong in order for me to actually hate it.

The plot-line of this anime is a catastrophe has happened on planet earth that has caused the majority of the landmass to be underwater and the main character Aika has the job of being a salvager in order to excavate artifacts from the watery ruins. However she is asked to retrieve a specific artifact but unfortunately someone else is after this same artifact and wants to use to ... take over the world.

I really wanted to like this anime just on its premise alone because it actually sounded really interesting. I really wanted to like this because it comes from my favorite timeline of anime.

Let's look at the good of this anime because unfortunately there is not a lot of good to look forward to in this anime. The world that this anime takes place in is actually quite interesting, but its barely touched upon. To have a planet that still retains civilization on very small land masses is actually a pretty interesting concept but its not touched upon very often. The art and animation in this anime is actually very beautiful for its time with very vibrant colours and excellent designs with regards to some of the vehicles used in this anime. The music is really good with a jazzy pop feel to it and I actually like one of the ending songs from this anime. Those are the only things that I actually liked about it.

The biggest problem with this anime is its literally a few steps away from being a hentai. If for some strange reason, you have a panty shot fetish than this anime is for you. Fan-service is usually expected with regards to any anime you want to watch but usually some fan-service has some humour to it, but this anime has no humour to it. This anime has more groan inducing moments than anything else. Literally all of the characters are generally unlikable with no proper character development and the plot is beyond absurd even by anime standards. The main bad guy wants to destroy the world so that he can make his own perfect utopia by impregnating every member of his crew once the world is destroyed. All members of his crew are female.

The first 4 episodes focuses on Aika trying to prevent this from happening and I'm not even kidding when I say that one of the episodes is called naked mission. The next three episodes focuses on the female crew trying to take revenge on Aika for killing their master. By the end of it they just give up with no significant build up because they know they'll never beat her. As a fan of english dubbing this anime has one of the worse english dubs I've ever heard of. The action in the anime isn't very good at all and it was a real pain to get through. For some apparent reason that isn't really explained completely, but Aika wears this object called alternate metal that gives her super powers but its never really explained why. It's just something that contributes to the blatant fan-service in this anime.

Overall despite the world building, the colourful art style, and some really good music this anime is a complete waste of time. However if your in the mood to watch something beyond bad then I'm giving you a fair warning.

Favorite Character: Aika
Least Favorite Character: Nina

I find this anime outstanding, lots of fanservice and I mean lots of pantyshots to keep audience glued to thier monitors in amidst of what's gonna happen next (which no anime is fun to watch without it, so fanservice is a vital important indgredient for an anime regardless what genre).

A 90's anime, the cast were drawn perfectly. Story wise was great but only 7 eps. to show. I hope one day its creator (agent aika) will have a new version of this anime but with a 12 - 26 eps. span.

Superpowered heroin vs. ordinary military and combat weapons except Hagen's bazooka like anti ultranate ... gun (created and designed by himself).

I had to rewatch Agent Aika again, because I didn't remember much about the story or anything else, accept who she was and that she has some weird power.

About the series...well in short: panty shots, ecchi stuff, panty shots, some weird villain guy, panty shots, a reason why I forgot this show, not so much of a story and panty shots.

But not all is bad, I had a few laughs, because sometimes it's so wrong that it's funny. Also, I likes the old music that they used and the old school drawing style.

So, if you are looking for some amusement and don't mind ... to see a lot of panties, than this is just the anime for you!

- I came for the plot, but just saw a lot of panties... -

Come on~~

Agent Aika , what do you think?


the story...


I gave it 4

... nothing special really...

but it's almost hentai... so it's OK.
hentai does not have to have a plot.

The art I gave it 8

It was OK, especially the airplanes~~
so realistic.


Sound

6
nothing special

Characters 7

some were interesting


enjoyment 6

I dunno

come one guys.

a little too nothing special.
I think...
the 6th episode was interesting, very sexy.
but of of it... just pansy shoots.

It's sexy OK.

but come on.

and finally they show boobs.

Thats big plus.

no censure.

so for sexy moments my rating is so high.

hope you enjoyed my review.

feel free to write me your dots, or skunk me.

So, well... AIKa.. we all know what this show is about.

Before beggining with the review, some small notes: I remember have vaguely watched this when I was young, in the regional (latin america) Animax channel. Nowadays (I'd say 10 or even more years later) I decided to actually (re)watch this for real.

And don't forget that besides all things, this is a fanservice anime. With this thing in mind, let's go:

AIKa is a very decent show for being a pure fanservice show.
The story is good in escence, but it sadly gets developed according to the fanservice, and NOT viceversa, therefore I feel that it has ... A LOT of potential, which was of course wasted in favor of the pantyshots and stuff.
Art was okay too, same for the sound, it's overall decent considing the years this anime came to be. The openings and endings are very good, indeed, I really like them.
Now, I'm a bit iffy speaking about the characters, like yeah, the main cast is cool for sure (except one damn character which appears in the second half which is COMPLETELY USELESS) but again, the lack of story development directly affected the eventual character development we could have seen.
Enjoyment... oh boy, from where I do begin with... Well, as I said, this is a fanservice anime. Fanservice is sure enjoyable yes, but it would be a lot (and I mean A LOT) more enjoyable if they were developed at par with a good storyline progress. I mean, they're just 7 chapters after all, and they're not "empty" speaking of progress, as in every chapter there's a lot of things going (after all, the story begins and gets fully concluded in those 7 chapters), but everything happens that fast that it would be a lot better to calm the story down and develop it slowly, rather than just throwing up everything in just 7 chapters (becuase believe it or not, I really believe that with a good storyline progress this could easily give for 12 or more chapters).

Then, overall it's a 7 for me. Enjoyable for sure, more than I would expect with my already said poor previous knowledge about the series. But it definitely could have been better. A lot better.

Like Chii on Chobits said wisely on one episode: Pantsu! Pantsu! Pantsu!
Panty shot is when in an ecchi they show you a girl's underwear, just to attract the lowest common denominator's interest. It was used on Rosario+Vampire. It was used on Ikkitousen. Damn, the infamous Master of Martail Hearts used it too. But this is older that many of my generation think. Like many other ecchi tropes, this happened before.

AIka is an ecchi, released on the 90s. It's a 7 episode Ova. The plot is simple: Random catastrophe happened and now we are on post-apocalyptic world (lazy world building), the main and titular character works ... as a treasure hunters, there is a bad guy a with an harem, and she fights them. That's the plot. Pretty simple. Let's face it, this show is not remenbered for its plot, it's remenber for its fanservice.

Edditing it's really important, and in animation, actually pretty underrated, specially when you realised it's harder on animation than live action because the staff must be really careful with what scenes should animate, and what they can do with them. If you see a few AIka's screenshots, you'll quickly realised what the staff's priorities was. Panty shots. Show as many panties a spossible, in every scene. So much that even the most faithful ecchi fans would get sick and tired before they finish.
Maybe i lied a bit, the AIka's plot is not only that. The first four episodes is she fighting the bad guy with a (magical?advanced technology?they never explained it) corsé that, after sexually haressed her, she turned her into a powerful invincible. The last three are the minions trying to get revenge after Aika lost the corsé. But the focus is always panty shots. That's the main problem not just with those OVAs, with all the ecchi genre: Too much focus on fanservice, not enough effort put on story or characters.

The art is average. Every female has the Barbie doll anathomy. The music is average and forgettable, too. One thing that gets my attention is why the characters, if they fight, wear uniforms with squirts so short and tight, when if they wear longer squirts, it would be more comfortable when they fight. But, unfortunetly, writers didn't want to get your attention away for things like characterization, when you can have pantsu.

The main villain has the looks he came from a Kunihiko Ikuhara's show. Her sister who want to bone him, too, specially because incest is her main motivation. His brother's motivation is pretty dull too: destroy humanity to have a world where the only inhabitants are hi and his harem, using the echologistic excuse (why media portray so often ecologist as the bad guys?). Pretty bland duo. The minions are also pretty bland. They are loyal to his master, but we never get a reason, or even a clue, why. It seems pretty unrealistic, that so many women love the same guy and just the sister get jealous, and for someone from the outside. What about all the women his brother has in the ship? She doesn't mind? Well, the answer is, don't try to make things have sense here.

There are not much more interesting characters on the good guys' side. We got an annoying teenage girl, a completely useless male character who appears from nowhere in the last three episodes whose only fuctions are being beaten by his females companions, because Lve Hina says a boy being hitting by women is funny, and dress up witht the female villain uniform, i don't want to know if with some purpose. Also, a boring Aika's love interest who is also a rival, a pevert and a jerk with a hidden heart, but we don't see enough of him or with Aika to get interest on him.

Agent AIka. There was always shitty ecchi shows. The only difference is that now there's more than ever.

sigh.... so where to start with this one...

Lets just start with this: Aika is something that is either actually bad, or its just a really really damn good ecchi joke.

Story: 4
its really horrible. plot holes everywhere. things don't flow naturally or chronologically. its astronomically bad. And i guess in this section too i want to say that this was also shot with the question of "how many pantsu can we fit into each episode" in mind. and the answer is: a whole f*cking lot. But back to the story. Its really trash and recycled. Theres two distinct arcs in this 7 episode series, and ... the first sets up the blueprint for the second. and the second arc isn't even really an arc its just three small stories that follow the same model as the first arc. So... yea. story is bad. butt.... if you're watching this anime, its probably not for the anime. Also cliches. they are rampant in this anime.

Art: 3
Part of me wants to give it higher because it is an old anime (this anime is legit older than i am), but i gotta say... the art is also not that great. so by todays standards... go in expecting nothing. theres no 720p nor HD options here. The art is very very old style, like think misty from the original pokémon series.
Also, this anime has a mild nudity rating, which means nipples. now back in 1997, nipples were just little cones apparently. so unfortunately, the fanservice, the nipples, are kinda wack. but... also not bad either. its definitely not on par with anything you might see nowadays, but there is something... endearing about them. something that does make you wanna see more.
Now on to the character designs. they're not bad. most of the costumes are recycled, and the colors are kinda pastel-y, but design wise its not bad.
Animation-wise, its also quite bad. i mean there are scenes where it looks literally like a paper cut-out stop motion film. but at a worse resolution.
Aika is really hot though in both forms so eh... silver lining.

Sound: 4
didn't bother listening to the op/ed, they're like super stereotypical 90s music. in anime sound is also old. its like the had a sound board with only 5 sounds and they used those sounds repeatedly for sFx. BUT i gave it one extra point because aika sumeragi's (the MCs) VA sounds super hot. like super super hot.
On to VA choice, besides the nominal character, its mediocre at best. nothing stands out as super good, but nothing is super bad either. good voice acting.

Character: 3
Absolutely no character development at all. ALL the characters are static, though you cant really expect all that much in 7 episodes. Most are made for comedy purposes or for showing off pantsu so yea cant really fault them for not having much character.

Enjoyment: 8
Now u may be wondering (or maybe not if you've read my other reviews) 'how can u enjoy this to an 8 even if u think the rest of it is trash'. Well. it is somewhat comedic. its stupidly bad that its actually quite hilarious how bad it is. Also nips and pantsu. A lot of pantsu and a decent amount of nips. lesbian action and incest as well. i enjoyed it quite a bit, especially the first few episodes before the story got recycled. But its enjoyable if you can overlook everything else

Overall: 7
This is a classic case of "its so bad, its good". The whole thing is basically one big joke. but in that theres also some enjoyment in that. Its definitely a bad anime, but its not the worst anime i've seen. Overall, everything is trash except for the enjoyment factor. If you like ecchi, nips, pantsu, and laughing without trying to criticize everything else, you'll like it. If you don't, then yea... dont bother watching it. Mathematically that 7 breaks down into 2 for enjoyment + 3 for Nips + 2 for aika sumeragi's all around hotness = 7.

peace

p.s. i was tempted while watching this to say, "this is too much fanservice" but too much fanservice is impossible.

This show is an action ecchi be warned, its uncensored


This show is pretty amazing to say the least, my girlfriend and i went to re watch it (only finished episode 5 beforehand) and we both were laughing our asses off.

Aika is the mary sue protagonist fighting against a harem of lovely ladies, with included yuri bait as well.

alongside the MC is accompanied with a series of tropes to go with her
the brash manchild
the caring father who with questionable past/affair with MC
... the annoying clumsy girl
the 'agent' who is shit at her job
the femboy


to name a few honestly it seems that the show gets better overtime, also please watch the special, it deals with some minor plot points and is hilariously funny


mayhaps my taste isn't the greatest, but id suggesting giving it a watch for being just an enjoyable show all around although id say it's gonna appeal more towards men.

This show promises you pretty women. You watch this show looking for pretty women and the show offers you pretty women.

If you like the 90's style of animation and its designs, as well as explosions and women fighting in miniskirts, this show is for you. If you are only interested in the plot, don't even think about watching it. The characters have very basic motivations or are never explained, however, There are some concepts that had potential, such as the new world formed after the crisis, the work of "antiquities rescuer" but this is hardly explored at all. Beyond that, it delivers nothing but ecchi ... and half-naked women's fights.

I'm not someone that's adverse to fan service anime, but there has to be some substance to the material as well as likeable characters for me to really enjoy it. The sake of tits and ass just for tits and ass gets old really quick. Agent Aika happily does have some substance and is a lot of fun from beginning to end. It features solid action and decent storytelling. Sure, it's mostly fluff, but not everything has to be world-changing entertainment. As the episodes go on, the panty shots and giant boobs get more and more frequent and absurd; I swear there's at least one ... panty shot every 15 seconds, and I couldn't help but laugh that EVERY SINGLE chick that gets knocked out during a fight manages to fall down ass-up or legs spread. If you're looking for an anime drinking game, take a shot every time a crotch shot pops up in this; you'll be wasted in 10 minutes.

Agent Aika is often celebrated as one of the greatest ecchi series ever produced. Its mastery in the art of fan service is executed with such finesse that it becomes an intrinsic part of the show's charm. Although the plot might not claim the title of the most profound, it stands out due to its unique twist, ensuring it's recognized for more than just its genre appeal.

The characters, while not particularly deep, are certainly memorable. They resonate with a charisma that's difficult to ignore, contributing significantly to the series' enduring popularity. This memorability is enhanced by some of the most iconic uniforms and costumes seen ... in ecchi anime history, which have become almost as celebrated as the show itself.

The true gem of Agent Aika lies in its art style, which is a quintessential representation of the late '90s animation quality, often regarded as the pinnacle of the era's animated offerings. The fluidity of the animation and a distinctive '90s color palette provide a visual treat that has withstood the passing of time.

Above everything else, Agent Aika remains an incredibly fun and endearing anime. It has cultivated a dedicated cult following, a community I am proud to be part of. The series does more than just exist; it continues to resonate with its fans, bringing about joy and a fond sense of nostalgia. Whether you're returning for another round or coming to it fresh, Agent Aika is an ecchi staple that promises entertainment with a knowing smile, assuring its place in the hearts of its audience.