Sep 12, 2023
Unfortunately, I am essentially re-iterating what seems to be the popular opinion surrounding this title.
Nuku Nuku DASH is the swansong of the animated shows surrounding this cast of characters. Unlike its self-aware, wonderfully cheesy comedy predecessors, this one takes itself way too seriously despite its generic monster-of-the-week plot. I was always eager to watch another episode of the OVA or TV show, but this comparatively felt like a drag to finish. While comparing DASH to its predecessors doesn't feel fair to its own production, it heavily borrows assets from the Nuku Nuku TV show released earlier in the year which makes it easy to point
...
to for reference.
Because it has a history to live up to, it falls flat by not properly adapting its characters to fit this new tone. Ryunosuke has been aged up a couple years and acts like a stereotypical bratty teenager who now has the hots for Nuku Nuku when they were simply just siblings in the other shows. In some episodes he is downright insufferable and other characters often fail to correct his behavior. He's a far cry from the straight-man that he used to be in his younger incarnations. Nuku Nuku herself no longer feels like a hyper, cat-brained androbot and lacks agency and emotions. She solely exists to be the pretty girl who Ryunosuke likes and can get mad at when he fails to convey his feelings to her like a normal person. She occasionally stops bad guys under her combat-designed facade, but she's no more than a One Punch Woman who rarely has to consider risks in her battles. Ironically enough, Nuku Nuku's transformation (basically a pair of sunglasses) is enough for everybody to immediately think she is a different person, which is a running gag throughout the TV show aired earlier in the year.
It appears the same director was behind both the TV show and DASH. Comedy was likely more of their strong-suit as a result. A more serious attempt at telling a story with these characters was and still is possible, this just felt like a half-baked attempt. If the two main stars of the show, Ryunosuke and Nuku Nuku, weren't so respectively annoying and vapid, this would probably receive a stronger recommendation. As it is, I can only recommend it to those who have a completest / OCD problem like me and wanted to see what all the Nuku Nuku multiverse had to offer. If not, there's still pleasant animation and a memorable soundtrack that heavily utilizes the Roland D-50, so that's gotta mean something to somebody (also me).
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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