Ranked #297

Tentai Senshi Sunred

"Tentai Senshi Sunred. This is the magnificent story of the conflict between good and evil that takes place in the city of Kawasaki."

Have you ever seen an anime where the villain comes over to the good guy's house for dinner? Where the villain asks the good guy to build a killer robot for him? Where the villain actually likes cooking more than world domination? No? Well, this is one.

Story 8/10:
This anime focusses on the villains as much as the hero(es). Monsters from the evil organisation Florsheim lead everyday lives with jobs at grocery stores or restaurants while The Hero, Red, is just slacking off at home. Occasionally, they challenge Red only to get beaten immediately. It's an episodic anime with some random sidestories that make even less sense than the main plot. That's fine. This isn't supposed to be a layered story full of unexpected situations. What you see is what you get. This is a parody on the "hero"-theme, don't expect references to other anime (I wouldn't call this a parody of power rangers, it surpasses that).

Art 7/10:
There isn't much movement and the art isn't that great. Most of the villains have just one expression and don't move their mouths at all when talking. On the other hand, this simplistic artstyle is kind of fitting.

Sound 9/10:
The soundtracks are good - easygoing, relaxed BGMs. Furthermore, the sound effects are brilliant. The OP is hilarious because of the lyrics (For example: "He does pushups and stretches in his small six-tatami-mat room") and incredibly misleading. The ED as well - the lyrics are instructions for preparing chicken dumplings.

Character 11/10:
Brilliant. Just brilliant. The hero is a complete asshole (his catchphrase is: I'll bury you!) who never takes off his helmet. His girlfriend - who apparently doesn't mind that - is friends with his archenemy. This is the villainous general Vamp, one of the kindest persons around. Even the sidecharacters are memorable. They each have their own traits and unique personality and the voice acting only adds to that.

Overall 9/10:
This is an easygoing parody. Don't expect any action, there are no real fights. It's episodic so don't expect too much character development. Although the art isn't very good, it kinda fits and the comedy makes up for it. All characters are just great. Not only are the (in my opinion underrated) voice actors perfect for their roles, the character's personalities are unique and their parts in this story unexpected.

Watch this for a quick laugh (13 minutes an episode)! read more

Tentai Senshi Sunred. Superhero of the ages. This is the story of the battle between good and evil that takes place within Kawasaki.

Let me just explain to you where I'm coming from before I start. I hate Japanese humor. I don't think it is funny, at all. But what surprised me is that I liked Sunred. The episodes are filled with good, clever writing, and humorous ideas, that while it rarely made me laugh out loud, gave me a nice smirk and a chuckle now and then. And that really surpassed all my expectations for the series.

This is more a slice of life about a the bum superhero Sunred, and his competently sweet, yet naive archnemesis General Vamp. While the story is basically nonexistant, with very little continuity, this is more a slice of life of the characters, who are all brilliantly written.

The art is low budget, but it lends itself to the atmosphere of the show beautifully. The music is not terribly memorable, except for the ending theme, but supports the show well.

Overall, I enjoyed Sunred much more than I expected to, in no small part due to the writing and the characters. This is a clever show, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys superheroes, clever writing, and has the patience to get through the Japanese attempts at humor. read more