Project A-Ko 2: Daitokuji Zaibatsu no Inbou

While this OVA is a sequel to a movie, I honestly feel the viewer doesn't need to watch the movie to understand the OVA, yet this might end up being the best route given the issues which cropped up in the movie and how the shift in producers between the movie and OVA resulted in actual improvements.

I love the fact the sequel relies a lot less on references to other series and relies a whole lot more on being it's own thing. The wacky humor is more in line with the wacky humor we see in other shows of the crackfic genre which are successful ... in that while the audiences willing suspense of disbelief is pushed in an unexpected manner, they still end up being believable.

All three girls instead of the main protagonist A-Ko end up getting fleshed out, as do a few side characters such as the teacher and Mari. Some of the issues remain, though this comes down to the fact the show is definitely relying on what's previously established in the movie as canon, yet the in your face negative LGBT subtext which pains lesbians in a bad light isn't there, although in some ways this can be seen as a miss for those looking for LGBT rep.

Even the art and sound has improved, but the biggest deal - you don't have to watch the movie to actually understand what is going on.

This is just about the limit of wackiness you can achieve in a story without making it eye-rolling, and thankfully it keeps the balance well enough to guarantee that it's a hilarious time.

Because this one works as a twist-on-the-formula rehash type sequel that wastes zero time trying to explain anything from the previous movie, it's able to venture into much more hilarious territory much more quickly... so it might be better. Maybe. It's not as openly gay or anything, but it's not like the main characters AREN'T trapped in the world's lamest love triangle, it's just less stated this time.

B-Ko's dad is the MVP ... of this movie, bulge and all, but the best part of the whole thing is the buildup of spies hiding in the spaceship that all have the exact same outfit and all holding newspapers and it becomes increasingly apparent that every single government and corporate agency on the planet are trying to get into this thing. I wasn't expecting something so flagrantly stupid and I nearly choked on my water when I saw it.

“Project A-Ko 2,” the first OVA sequel to the movie of the same title, picks up shortly after where the movie left off, fleshing out the anime’s world and characters in a satisfying way.

The setup for the plot is a bit unrealistic, which is par for the course for this franchise. The spaceship that crash-landed precariously atop a tower (that was actually another crashed spaceship) in the movie has been turned into a massive entertainment complex in the span of just three weeks. The aliens are trying to raise money to repair the spaceship so they can return to their home planet (preferably with C-Ko), ... while B-Ko’s father, who’s just as loony if not loonier than B-Ko herself, wants to confiscate the spaceship to acquire its technological secrets. Meanwhile, A-Ko just wants to enjoy summer vacation with C-Ko, while B-Ko continuously tries to get in their way.

Despite the outlandishness of the premise, the plot is slightly more cohesive than the one in the movie. Plus, since we already have established the characters and setting, the story in this OVA is a bit easier to follow.

The characters haven’t changed at all from the way they were in the movie, and they don’t really receive any development, either, unless you count the “reformed” aliens (whose mass killings in the movie have been conveniently forgotten about). We get introduced to a new character, Hikaru Daitokuji, who is B-Ko’s father and head of a major financial conglomerate. His goofy antics rival those of B-Ko, and it’s easy to see that they’re related.

The animation and direction are comparable to those of the movie, although perhaps less “cinematic” in scope and scale. There are similar animation gags and Easter eggs that appear for a few seconds (or even just a split second) on screen, and some of the scene compositions are similar — the ending scene is even framed in an almost identical way to the movie’s ending.

All of the characters who appeared in the movie are voiced by the same actors here, so most of them sound good, but I still find C-Ko’s voice to be grating. The music is decent, but the ending theme is not as catchy as the one in the movie.

Compared to the movie, “Project A-Ko 2” does not have as much objectionable content. While there are scenes of the girls changing clothes and wearing swimsuits, there’s no nudity this time. The upskirt shots are still there, but have been toned down a bit. The violence is mostly cartoonish in nature, with robots shooting lasers and missiles, etc. Also, while there are some flashing lights, they don’t go on as long as they do in the movie, so it’s much easier on the eyes.

Overall, I would definitely recommend watching “Project A-Ko 2” if you’ve seen its theatrical prequel, as it’s nearly just as good and continues the movie’s story.