Cleopatra D.C.

I'm mainly reviewing this because none of the reviews are positive on this show yet but I really liked it. This is like Gunsmith Cats but way cooler. If you found your way to this page you're probably already ok with cool unique 90s OVAs and this is one of the best. What a welcome surprise. The girls are super cute and capable, the technology is advanced and the situations try to feel like what'd be used by a super secret spy program.

The main girl Cleo and her secretary have some of my all time favorite character designs. The set designs are beautiful too, ... constantly going to New York and Dubai and France with all the best spots being depicted in the accompanying shots. It's just good solid spy movie fun, like a a more light-hearted James Bond. If any of this sounds good to you then check it out!

This is a review of the DVD version of "Cleopatra DC" released by Media Blasters in 2002. It was viewed with English subtitles.

"Cleopatra" falls into the category of action with some sci-fi elements mixed in.

Parental Guidance:
There are a few very brief scenes with female semi-nudity. The dialog includes some profanity. There is also a significant amount of violence, but nothing graphic. Overall, the content is roughly on par with what one might see in a typical summer action movie rated PG or PG-13.

Story: 7/10
The series includes three episodes, the last of which is almost as long as the first two combined. ... All of the episodes are quite good, and they are able to stand on their own and be viewed separately. In each, the main story revolves around the actions of Cleopatra (Cleo) Corns, who is the leader of a powerful financial group known the Corns Group.

Several of the scenes are located in the U.S. while others occur in different regions of the world. Given that so many anime works tend to be based in Japan, this is a refreshing change, and it would be nice to see more stories set in other parts of the world.

As the plots unfold, there are a lot of action sequences, some of which reminded me of scenes from some successful 80’s action films. In addition, there are elements of spy thrillers and some interesting sci-fi plot devices sprinkled in along the way. At various points, Cleo seems a lot like a female version of James Bond but without any romantic interests thrown into the mix.

Characters: 6/10
Cleo is charming and sexy, and she seems to be quite capable in combat as well. However, she seems rather non-plausible as the leader of a huge organization like the Corns group, even if it may be her birthright. She is a bit naïve at times, which reinforces her youth and inexperience. Overall, she is a very likeable character, despite a few flaws.

One of the more prominently featured supporting characters is Suen. As Cleo’s personal assistant, her wisdom helps provide somewhat of a counter to Cleo’s brashness and naivety in various scenes. Unfortunately, this character is not explored much further, which seems like a bit of a missed opportunity.

Other supporting characters and villains are fairly well done. Some of them appear in each episode, which helps develop and strengthen their impact.

Art / Animation: 4/10
The art and animation are the weakest part of “Cleopatra DC”. Starting with the character designs, some of the faces seem a bit odd, sometimes uneven, and at the very least, rather outdated. In particular, the noses seem problematic from various angles. Another oddity is that Suen’s hair covers one eye, yet the eye shows through. While this isn’t the only anime character to have this style, it’s simply unnecessary, and a better approach would be to cover the eye completely or change the hairstyle to allow it to be seen.

Meanwhile, the animation is generally fluid. However, it tends to look very dated by today’s standards.

Sound / Voice: 6/10
Soundtrack and background music and is good. Sound effects were generally good. I can’t judge the voice work since I don’t speak Japanese and that was the only audio option available.

Enjoyment: 6/10
Between its story, action scenes and characters, “Cleopatra DC” strikes a good balance making for an enjoyable watch.

Other info:
The “Cleopatra DC” DVD is very sparse. It only has one language option (Japanese with English subtitles), and virtually no other extras beyond a couple of previews. I don’t generally consider the other DVD contents when judging an anime, but in this case, the lack of additional contents is somewhat glaring and hard to overlook.

Final Verdict: 6/10
For anyone looking for an action anime, and that is willing to overlook the somewhat dated animation and character designs, “Cleopatra DC” is a decent option to consider. Despite the relatively short length, the three episodes pack a lot of action.

“Cleopatra D.C.” tries to be a fun, action-filled series, but falls short due to its messy, disjointed plots and poor attempts at humor and fanservice.

The three episodes, which are self-contained but linear, follow the adventures of Cleopatra Corns, the CEO of the titular company, and her “four aces” or company executives/friends working with her, as they get involved in all manner of global-scale events befitting an action series.

It’s not explained why a 16-year-old is the head of a company that supposedly runs half of the US economy, or how these other people came to work with her, or even who their main enemies are, exactly. ... Perhaps there are details about all of that in the manga. These people own or have special privileges with OPEC, the UN, NASA, NORAD, and even Coney Island, and you’re just expected to roll with it.

The unrealisticness of the premise aside, the stories themselves are messy, and tend to have jumpy progress that isn’t logical. Some of this is done in an attempt to be funny, but the jokes usually fall flat. Key elements of the stories also do not make sense sometimes. For instance, in the first episode, Cleo calls President Bush (really) to ask him to fire a missile at an oilfield in Saudi Arabia that’s on fire, in an attempt to put out the fire. How would that even work? But somehow it does.

The first two episodes are 37 minutes long and based on manga chapters, while the third is 50 minutes in length and is mostly anime original. In contrast to the strictly action-thriller style of the first two episodes, the third one adds in a sci-fi twist and is a bit more serious in tone. However, it’s still full of plenty of “humor” and nonsensical deus ex machinas.

Although the episodes are linear, no real character development takes place, and most of the characters besides Cleo, Suen, and whoever the main person they’re dealing with in that episode is get little screentime.

The art of “Cleopatra D.C.” is unique. While the male characters look generic, the female characters are oddly proportioned, and have massively thick eyelashes. This style has the potential to be appealing, but due to the shoddy animation, it’s difficult to look at at times. There’s another review here that touched on this, but one of the characters has an eye that’s drawn over her hair, which is somewhat distracting. By the way, Cleo is supposed to be Black, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at some of the promotional art for this series. At least her skin tone is largely consistent throughout the series itself.

The voice acting is okay, but nothing special. Cleo’s voice can get a bit irritating. The dialogue tends to be corny, even during the “serious” moments. The three ending themes and background music are forgettable.

Despite the lighthearted nature of this OVA, there is plenty of objectionable content, with the most obvious being the fanservice. There are butt shots galore in this one — even one of the male characters’ bare butts gets shown. There are also almost-but-not-quite bare breast scenes a few times, and Cleo in particular is almost always wearing revealing clothing. There is some violence, with a few minor character deaths and some blood shown. There are scenes of a plane flying into a building in New York City, and a space shuttle exploding — these are reminiscent of actual events, so sensitive viewers may want to avoid this one.

Overall, I found very little to be appealing in this OVA. It certainly wasn’t the worst I’ve seen, but due to the convoluted, farfetched plots that were likely a result of trying to cram way too much into a short runtime, and the attempts at “comedic” fanservice, I found it difficult to watch. Not recommended.