Call Me Tonight

Just to avoid any kind of confusion, I would like to state that this anime is an 80’s style mix of Sci-fi and lite hentai themes. But is not in fact a hentai title. It just has similar content, but never reaches the border of one.

Its funny too, when I first saw "Call Me Tonight" on the MAL database, I was expecting some creepy guy to be calling this young women late at night, being a sort of "stalker" title. But no this OVA is far from that!

Story: 3/10
I can promise you one thing, the whole story will either confuse you, or make you laugh ... at its content. Basically this one girl that works for this phone service company (I believe its one of those places where lonely guys call hot women), receives a call from this guy that seems to turn into a monster when ever he is either masturbating, or sees anything that might turn him on. Even as bizarre as that sounds it get even more weird. The head manger of the company takes the job and seems to fall in love with him the very next day, not to mention everyone that finds out about his whole little "monster problem, " either seem to not care or find it fascinating enough to want to experience him doing it for themselves. I just couldn’t help but find it odd that everyone seems to go along with it so well. Now at the end of the title it is explained why he turns into this, but not why it happens regarding the whole "erotic viewing" situation of his. Which now brings me to that point, when I stated earlier that this title was a mix of lite hentai themes, it was true. You get quite a few viewings of topless and/or naked women every so often, not to mention the main male actual gets mounted on by this one naked lady who starts moving very erotically...if you get my drift. (he is fully clothed though) Even so, perhaps your little brother or Grandma should step out of the room when you view this. The whole sex tone isn’t a whole lot considering its only half an hour, but its still very much there for an 80’s title! Which is what this OVA is really all about, erotic sexual behavior topped off with a bit of Sci-fi style themes for good measure. Its not really bad in that regards, they just never really focused on much else regarding the overall story or character chemistry. As everything pertaining to who the characters really are, and the love scenes in general...feel very much rushed and not believable. However I think that’s almost to be expected, because with these style of generas its not really suppose to be about a good story.

Artwork: 8/10
Its very nice to look at, so long as you keep in mind that this title was indeed made in 1986. The art design with both the character creations as well as monster style art, all scream out 80’s! For me, watching this title brought back fond memories of when this type of anime (disregard the erotic parts) was all over the televisions in Japan. In fact for older views such as myself, the whole title may bring you back to another series called "Project A-ko, " though not nearly as memorable. The characters move with good fluidity during some of the action scenes, even if they are pretty sparse in general. Backgrounds as a whole were pretty nice to look at, even if some where not quite as nice as others. And the monster that the main guy changes into...while not exactly creepy, is pretty cool!

Soundtrack: 8/10
Once again...80’s! You get a pretty catchy j-pop techno song at the beginning, along with background music of the same sort, only without the vocals. So if that type of music annoys you, then you’ll probably be frustrated more than anything else. I have to say that the character voices did seem to match the characters pretty well, even if some you really don’t get a chance at knowing and therefore have to simply judge by their appearance.

Characters: 3/10
Sadly there is no character chemistry or any depth to them whatsoever, as many of the characters seem to be tossed into the picture just for the sake of doing it. Even the whole love attraction of the two main leads is very much rushed as I had said earlier. Could you really fall in love with someone you have only known for less than 24 hours? Especially considering that this guy masturbates to pin-up posters and changes into a monster? I don’t know about most people, but I certainly would at least ask for a second date before coming to that conclusion.

Bottom Line: 6/10
Even though "Call Me Tonight," doesn't really feel well planned out as a whole, it's also not really all that bad either. And you may find some decent enjoyment from this, especially for those who like this sort of erotic style of play, which I have to admit was kind of amusing. Its main concept actually feels more along the lines of an experimental title to see if it would catch on in Japan. (perhaps in order to see if this would make it as a series) So as far as its content appeal goes, it ends up being a mixed baggage. Some will like it...while others won't. I personally felt it was worth a viewing of, since it is only one episode long.

So as soon as I saw a clip of this on Youtube and got over my initial "WTF" reaction, I pretty much had to see this OVA. I mean it's about a guy who turns into a giant monster when he gets aroused...how could I refuse? I couldn't, that's how. And neither can you.

This will be one of the weirder things you watch. At only one episode I wasn't expecting a masterpiece. The story was rushed, as to be expected. They probably could have stretched this out to at least 3 episodes. If only for the sake of giving the characters a bit more ... depth. With the 'villains' of the story, I couldn't for the life of me figure out why they did what they did, or how they imagined it would work out for them. There was just no logic behind it. It's like they just randomly decided, "Hey! Let's be idiotic jerks today!" The romance between the two main characters was rushed, but at least they did have chemistry so it was believable. Romance-wise I think they did the best they could with the time they had.

The art and music were decent. To be honest I didn't really notice them except for this one instance where the movement became a bit choppy when they were walking. It's from the 80's....really now. Embrace the retro style I say; and this certainly is retro.

Besides all that there were no fatal flaws that turned me off watching. At only 30 minutes, I could handle all those minuet details thanks to the fact that it was funny and enjoyable, flaws and all. This will probably stand as one of the most original and freaky show I've seen to date. I think I laughed like a maniac throughout the whole thing. Give it a shot. It's short, sweet and funny. A great combination.

Call Me Tonight carries some of the fundamentals of the horror genre, but isn't something that will scare. It's hard to say if its intention was to scare in the first place, but I can safely say that this is a horror flick you can easily laugh along with. This OVA is odd and can likely be related to many plots of hentai stories. There is a consistent relation of sex, lite body-horror, and romance.

The animation isn't terrible and isn't anything too special. It serves its purpose and has a somewhat enjoyable, old style. There are definitely moments where the animation is wonky, yet the ... art itself is usually detailed enough to forgive that a bit (along with taking into consideration when this OVA was released). This is an OVA of the 1980's and that definitely shows. The soundtrack is what you would expect from the 80's, which will be up to the individual whether that will be enjoyable or not. I didn't find any track memorable or particularly good, but it did add to the intrigue of the entire experience.

The characters are average and the motives behind them are comical. When not taking this OVA seriously, it certainly adds to the enjoyment. Even so, no character does something inconsistent with their personality, which should be given some credit. They are naturally and consistently peculiar. The story is also where most of the enjoyment is to be had, returning to the earlier mention of the relation of sex to lite body-horror. There is arguably some sex in this OVA, but it's definitely not hentai. There is also plenty of nudity that comes with that. I also claim the body-horror as "lite" because it's very cartooney in its presentation and won't really make anyone cringe from grotesqueness. This isn't a disturbing OVA in that regard, but more so when one considers the ridiculous setup and the focus on human bodies.

Call Me Tonight is visually similar to many 80's anime, but likely not as similar when considering stories (while simultaneously shifting away from hentai). It was probably a good thing that the OVA was as short as it was because, even though a lot of the elements of the OVA is rushed, the actual setup would likely not keep interest for more than two or three episodes. I wouldn't consider Call Me Tonight some hidden gem or a must-watch, but it's an experience that can be enjoyable if not went into expected to scare. However, if the goal of entering this was to disturb, it may not be in the way one expected, but it will likely follow through with that one way or another.