Gokudou-kun Manyuuki

As a 26-episode fantasy comedy Anime series, Gokudo is outrageously wacky, offbeat, and howlingly hilarious, crammed to the bone with more laughs than one would expect. If there were any title to rival Slayers for its humor and zaniness, Gokudo would be a worthy candidate, in that it refuses to take itself seriously while moving along at a zippy, roller coaster pace.

The title character of this tale is the most unlikely kind of hero anyone would ever want to meet--he's selfish, greedy, obnoxious, and has only two goals on his mind: money and hot babes! Gokudo is unabashedly an anti-hero, all right, and so ... one gets the impression that we're not supposed to identify with him. And yet, in spite of his disreputable qualities, there is actually something about Gokudo who is very likeable--perhaps because his personality is so over-the-top that one cannot help but laugh at him. The most comparable character to Gokudo is Lina Inverse, but unlike our favorite flat-chested sorceress, Gokudo has almost no redeeming qualities whatsoever--and yet he is all the more amusing for it. (He also tends to break wind in more than one location--particularly dealing with major baddies.)

His motley crew is an equally interesting bunch--there's Rubette, a tomboyish princess who shares Gokudo's temper and feistiness (somehow I know that these two are destined for each other), Niari, a lovesick womanizer of a prince who falls for every woman around, a gender-changing genie, a pregnant male panda(!), a pair of Chinese witches... and especially an annoying little midget from Hell, Ikkyu. With the exception of the genie, they are all some of the most self-serving, argumentative group of heroes you'll ever see--and yet the continuous laughs they provide throughout are precious.

The misadventures that Gokudo and his "friends" continually get into literally bounce off the walls with non-stop silliness and unpredictable plot twists. The story is divided into five "parts": In the first, Gokudo is sent to rescue a damsel from a castle with the promises of a rich reward and the life of a king as the prize. Then he decides to get involved in a desert trek that builds to a showdown with a mechanical giant. After that, we visit the kingdom of the Buddhas and Gods, where they manage to pick up a pint-sized brat of a goddess as an unexpected ally. The fourth arc, which is arguably the LOOOOOOOONGEST of the show, involves Gokudo and his friends switching bodies and exploring the underworld. In addition to being slowgoing, this arc makes the grievous mistake of recycling a sequence that may have been entertaining in one moment (the pop-idol quartet musical number) but now tedious in the next. The last arc involves a trip to some kind of native paradise where they face off with a pair of powerful gods and, of course, the final confrontation with the most unlikely antagonist imaginable--a manipulative old hag. Although the unexpected twists of the plot hamper the entertainment value at times (and the animation and music being little more than cheesy, low-grade quality), Gokudo is nonetheless a showstoppingly funny fantasy farce which should be a hit with comedy-fantasy-adventuregoers.

While people are bound to be, well, opinionated about dubbing in general (an argument not uncommon with Anime series and movies), I have to say that this particular English language track produced by New York-based Headline Sound is loads of fun. Daniel Kevin Harrison simply *is* Gokudo, the loud-mouthed, crude, impulsively selfish anti-hero of the piece. He sinks his teeth into the role with demonic, zany glee, and one of the primary reasons why the dub works is because of his performance.

He shares terrific chemistry with Angora Deb, another one of my favorite NY actresses, who plays Rubette. I have heard Deb in various other roles for dubs, my favorite of which is Leaf from Lodoss TV, but this is the first time I got a chance to experience her playing a lead, and she does so with glorious hamminess. One of her best moments is the episode where Rubette sings "red, red, red"; I was in complete stitches. Ed Paul also does a great job with Prince Niari; he sounded very suave and sexy while very courageous and daring at the same time.

The rest of the cast includes Greg "Ghim" Wolfe (credited here as Chunky Mon) as the Male genie, Jessica "Excel" Cavello as her female counterpart, Georgette Reilly as Ikkyu, J. David Brimmer as two basso-voiced heavies, Pete "Wagnard, Hiroyuki Miyazawa" Zarustica as the Panda, and various incidental roles performed by Rachel "Martina" Lillis, Billy "Parn" Regan, Lisa "Deedlit, Lina, Azalyn, etc." Ortiz, Megan Hollingshead, Meg "Pirotess" Frances, Liam "Hideaki Asaba" O'Brien, and others from the New Yawk dubbing crew. Add to this an equally entertaining adaptation provided by director Bill Timoney and, for a few episodes anyway, Rachel Lillis (which occasionally "Americanizes" Japanese jokes and strays from the original subtitle script, but not by much), and you have one heck of a dub to check out.

While Gokudo may probably wallow in the shadow of other shows of its kind (namely, of course, Slayers), those who give it a try will find it to be deliciously silly, zany, laugh-out loud fun.

I really enjoyed this anime! i don't normally laugh at animes but this one was truly hilarious the main character is so evil that hes good if you like evil main characters u will surely enjoy this anime! i would definetly check it out!

The trouble is he's crazy!
The trouble is he drinks!
The trouble is he's lazy!
The trouble is he stinks!

The trouble is he's growing!
The trouble is he's grown!
Gokudo, we've got problems of our own!

Although this review will have noticeable personal bias, I would like to review one of my personal favorite anime, Gokudou-kun Manyuuki, as an out there comedy focusing around the hero/villain in the title.
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Score Synopsis:
Story - 4
Art - 6
Sound - 6
Character - 10
Enjoyment - 8
Overall - 34/5 = 6.8 = 7

Story - 4
Okay, fine, I'll admit it: there really is no plot to this story. A good alternative title for this anime would be "The Misadventures of Gokudo". This anime is mention to be more of a random comedy focusing around the already crazy cast than an actual plot driven story. With a power struggle between Gods and Buddhas (and no, they are not the same in this case), random Mechas and (yes, I will say this) a pregnant male panda, the plot is all over the place to the point that watching "Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo" will not prepare you for this. For those who like weird plotless comedy, the only downside to this story is the attempt to be (somewhat) serious near the end and the completely out there final episode. Still, if you like random comedies, go Gokudo!

Art - 6
Oh, the sweet art style of 90's anime and how they tend to exaggerate everything for comic relief. Although some of the characters and abstract scenery might seem a bit out there and not as detailed as renown older anime like "Yu Yu Hakusho", I personally loved the art style as it definitely complimented the style of comedy this show was meant to be.

Sound - 6
The usual somewhat calm opening coupled with a jazzy ending. The music did its job but wasn't really able to stand out personally. Also, in terms of voice acting, don't expect too much from either language, their just the usual 90's VA performance.

Characters - 10
Okay, so we have the typical tsundere princess, a perverted prince, the naggy old hag, and so on. Sure, there's a genie that likes to drink, but how special is that? From this, you're probably wondering what I gave this section a 10...

Well look no further than the protagonist, Gokudo Yuccot Kikansky whose dumb name doesn't even come close to describing him. Despite being the protagonist, calling him and "anti-hero" would be way to nice for him. He drinks. He steals. He endlessly hits on women. He has no shame. How many characters will make a deal with the devil and offer his FRIEND's soul in exchange? How many protagonists will betray his "companions" to the point that said companions are no longer surprised? Gokudo makes the show. Also, although the rest of the characters might seem a bit overused, the interactions these characters have with Gokudo definitely makes them stand out when comparing them to over characters in the same categories.

Enjoyment - 8
It's not every anime that the story follows a character that many would label the villain. The random comedy kept me guessing what would happen until the end and I personally enjoyed Gokudo as a main character because of how bad of a character he actually is. Still, when they tried to be a little serious halfway through coupled with the VERY strange ending, I won't go as far as to state that this section should be a 10.

Overall - 7
Every story needs a hero. And many good stories need villains. But what happens when the protagonist is both? You get Gokudo! If random comedy is what you love and you're sick of the typical protagonist stereotypes, take a blast to the past and watch this comical gem.

An anti hero steals a magic rock from an old witch. Turns out that magic rock contains a genie, and Gokudou, the main character, has three wishes. But. The show isn't about wishes or genies. Its about adventure.

This anime became my instant favorite. It's really funny, and isn't afraid of taking itself not seriously and being just full on goofy, instead of trying to mix a bunch of genres to be original or whatever.

The story is really fun. it feels like you're playing DND with your friends, really fun to follow and find out what happens next. It actually makes you wanna see the ... next episode. Its very bingeable.

The characters are really dynamic and well written. All of them are different and have different personalities, and not once are they out of character. the development of the characters are very well written as well.

The art is somewhat outdated, but I kinda liked it that way.

I immensely enjoyed this Anime, it was a great escape from my life into a different world, a more fun world.

Overall this anime deserves a 10/10. You should really watch this anime if you haven't.

I just recently finished this anime and in general I found it to be entertaining. It is an older anime, but for the most part I found it enjoyable.

Story (7):

There is no main plot to this story. Basically the characters are adventurers and face several challenges and mishaps as they set out searching for treasure and adventure.

The best thing about this anime is the comedy. A lot of anime that are listed under comedy I don't find funny, but this one had me chuckling throughout the series. I watched the English dub and there are so many hilarious puns and breaking the fourth wall jokes ... that works well in its favor. The writing is clever, and it doesn't use tired cliches to try and force a laugh.

At some points (especially the body switching arc) it does drag. However it wasn't enough to turn me away from watching.

Characters (8):

I love the characters in this anime. Every single character has something endearing and likable about them.

To begin with, the title character Gokudo is probably one of the worst type of people. He's rude, selfish, greedy, and mean-spirited. In any other situation I would not like this character, but for some reason he has a charm that makes him likable despite his loathsome character traits. Whether it's the humor of the situation or the fact that nothing ever goes his way, it's difficult to despise him.

On the same note I would usually not like someone like Niari (a womanizer) or Rubette (an over-confident tough girl trope), but the writing of their characters and the humor makes both of them likable.

All the side characters are equally funny and lovable. The only character I find slightly annoying is the useless character Panda. Even though I felt he overstayed his welcome, he is still tolerable.

Art (6):

This is an older anime, so the art is not as great as more recent ones. For its time it is decent. I enjoyed watching the fight scenes.

There is nothing spectacular about any of the designs or the animation, but it's watchable, and in no way distracts from the story.

Sound (8):

Both the opening and the first ending songs are good. They are catchy and set the mood for this adventure story. I also found the background music fitting for the scenes.

The English dubbing is good (I didn't watch it in its original audio). Each voice matched the character perfectly. While watching it sounded like the voice actors were having fun recording the dialogue for this show.

Enjoyment (7):

While it's not the best anime out there, it is one of the more enjoyable ones I've watched recently. I didn't find too many annoying cliches. The story is fresh and entertaining with a lot of surprise twists.

The humor is actually funny. Sometimes the jokes made it feel like I was watching a comedic commentary. Not everyone will like the puns, but I found them funny.

In short, I enjoyed watching this one.

Conclusion (7):

The story is entertaining. The comedy is good. The characters are likable. The art is not the best, but it's certainly not the worst. There is good voice acting.

This is one that I would likely watch a second time.

7/10

Story about an anti hero who become a hero even he dont want to...Look confusing right...Theres a lot of comedy,action and quietly good character development....For 26 episodes anime,they have too much elements that make it so compact...With those elements,they can make another seasons without a doubt...They have to rush the ending and also the romance part on final episode...The romance part appears only on final episode and they must rush thing there...If they give the romance part another 2 episodes,it will be more interesting..This anime really have potential for another season...What can I say? That how it should be I guess...

Definitely a worthwhile comedy for anyone who likes "evil comedy". I'm the type who laughs at things like The World God Only Knows, Angel Densetsu, etc. Things that have an element of irony to them or cruel twists or laughing at someone's twisted world views. Something like Gintama I find very boring.

However I felt that the show was overall very crude and I felt that a lot of great plot elements were wasted. Looking at the characters and the plotlines, I thought that they had the elbow room to add a bit of drama to the series, but they ... never took advantage of it. I don't know if this is the result of the conversion to anime, but it felt hollow in many places because of it.

The characters are all pretty enjoyable. The morally superior Djinn who always talks of the importance of values over riches to the characters who have absolutely no interest in such things. Rubette who seems to mysteriously follow around Gokudou, (this is one of the unexplored plots to me, it seems to me she considers him a love interest but it never really advances.) Granny who has a tendency of turning up at the end of an arc just to make the main character suffer more. Most importantly Gokudou who cares for nothing but himself. He will abandon his friends in a heartbeat, never willingly risking himself, however he always ends up being cornered and fighting back ferociously.

The art and sound are extremely outdated, but they're from the 90s. It's a good show around yu yu Hakusho's level if you can put up with the dated technology.

Overall it's definitely worth watching. Most of my demerits were because there was the odd cheesy moment, or the dated tech (which can't really be helped), or the unexplored plot points. There isn't really anything I would consider to be a deal breaker, just minor stuff. So by all means watch it.