Nineteen 19

An OVA released in 1990, Nineteen seems to have slipped into the vast abyss of overlooked anime.

Story

Well, with it's story alone, I don't think that Nineteen will win over too many fans. It is presented as a somewhat standard coming-of-age teenage love story the likes of which has been told many times through both live-action and animated film. It's nothing groundbreaking, but we are at least given a coherent plot with a proper climax and resolution.

Art

Backgrounds are all very detailed and well done. It's fun to see all of the name brand products and familiar places that are included. There are also a ... few creatively directed scenes set to only clips of music which I found to be quite enjoyable. The characters have the standard late 80s/early 90s OVA design so nothing in that department particularly stands out. If you're a fan of the style, you'll be a fan of what's here as well. Overall, a great job by Madhouse that's still looks good 18 years later.

Sound

The music of Nineteen is what will make this OVA memorable. It's soundtrack consists of mostly dance/pop tracks from the late 1980s. As this was distributed by Victor Musical Industries, I can only assume that the music was considered to be an important part of the production. The result of this is a highly successful soundtrack with my personal highlight being the use of Sabrina Salerno's "Boys (Summertime Love)" in a very memorable sequence. The voice acting is also above par with the entire cast providing convincing voice work. Additionally, we get to hear an early performance by Kikuko Inoue as the lead female, Fujisaki.

Character

This OVA has a very small cast which places the focus on only our two main characters, Kubota and Fujisaki, his love interest. Since the story is told through Kubota's perspective, we don't get to know much of what Fujisaki feels beyond what she makes obvious to Kubota. This is an aspect that left me slightly frustrated and disappointed, but on the other hand, I can understand the reason for this as it made me sympathize with Kubota a bit more than I otherwise would have. There was some character development for both and I liked that they behaved realistically in their situations. The remainder of the cast play minor roles and are really nothing more than set pieces. However, with there being only 45 minutes available, I think that you can't ask for much more than we were given.

Enjoyment

I went back intending to view just one particular scene again and ended up re-watching just about the entire show. That is, in fact, what prompted me to write this review. Therefore, I can say that there is certainly some replay value here.

Overall

Nineteen is an above-average OVA which seemed to have been lost in the large sea of mediocre videos produced at the time. Hopefully, as I myself was only able to discover it recently, others will also follow suit. It is definitely worth a look.

So to start, the plot is mostly an excuse to string a series of amazing music vidoes together. The musical selection in this OVA is the best thing about the whole production so the decision to go all out on the music video sections is the correct one. Now, seemingly the plot is mediocre and the character's motivations lacking but this is only because they represent something much bigger. I am going to somewhat spoil the plot here but honestly this is an art project not a to the book story. Everything means something and honestly watching the OVA through a lens is much more ... rewarding than watching it without any analysis.

This OVA was made in 1990 and it is a reflection back on the 1980's bubble burst in Japan. Kazuya represents the new Japan post bubble burst. He is meek and shy and doesn't really know what to do just like Japan as it tried to sort itself out after the burst. The love interest represents the methods of economic development that 1970's and 80's Japan used. The girl's ex represents Japan before the burst as he is very confident and forward much like Japan was with all of their projects and ambitions before everything burst. The break up is the bubble burst. So when the girl tries to hook up with Kazuya, the old methods of doing business and managing the economy are trying to find a place in this new meek and shy Japan (Kazuya). But, the new Japan (Kazuya) decides that shedding those methods (by leaving and driving away in the OVA) would be the best way forward rather than repeating the same mistake. (The scene where Kazuya meets the ex in the apartment is representative of Japan reflecting back on how it used to be and deciding whether or not it wants to continue in the same direction as before.) That is the point of the plot. This OVA is a metaphorical presentation of the feelings and events in Japan as it went through the bubble burst.

Never has a story so petulant and juvenile been given such adult and mature artistic treatment. Visually speaking, this is probably one of the most inspired short OVAs I have ever seen - especially considering that it doesn't feature gunplay, tentacles, or car chases. It plays like a time capsule of 1990 - baggy suits, club dancing, euro-sounding pop. But where it all falls apart is the predictable clumsy handling of relationships - freighted with the confusing (to us gaijin) baggage of Japanese dating and gender culture (and it's unfortunate but predictable misogyny). ... I found the ending to be an unsatisfying and headscratching as any of the worst in anime history, and makes no sense given the evolution of the main character from the story's beginning.