California Crisis: Tsuigeki no Juuka

Ever wondered what a '70s Corman chase film might look like as an anime? Give this a look. The entire plot of some kids stumbling into something crazy which leads to tons of wacky, over the top chase scenes reminded me a lot of the Corman films of the 70s. The alien sub-plot is pretty second rate though, I'm not sure why they even went with it. Hell, I don't think those involved knew what to do with it, as the ending is incredibly flat and ultimately hurts an otherwise fun flick. I should also mention the animation style, which oozes cool. I honestly have ... never seen anything else like it. It's hard to describe, but at times it looks almost silhouetted, but with super high contrast colors. It genuinely looks like a moving comic book. If not for that awful ending, this would have scored higher.

If you're a fan of all the American 80s action movie cheese that checked every box on the stereotypes of those movies at the time, this is the anime for you.

Or if you just came around for the art and its aesthetic.

Everything about this anime made me feel like I was watching some b-movie from my dad's collection, albeit not in English without all the slang. Aliens, car chases, Coca Cola, California, hot rods, the fashion, it checks all the boxes for me.

The story and characters are very flat and lacking. There isn't really anything spectacular about this anime outside of it being ... a love letter to the cheesy action movies in somebody's dad's cabinet, but it might be nice if you're bored or looking for a certain artistic vibe. A lot of aesthetic kids have slowly been looking into this anime, so even if it's lame and unfinished, at least the art style is nice.

Aside from the character designs and music, this anime has little to offer.

The animation is minimal and badly directed, with many scenes confusingly edited together and at times barely comprehensible. Most of this OVA consists of an uninteresting chase scene that leads up to a very unsatisfying conclusion. The plot is practically non existent, with the mystery presented halfway through the OVA having zero payoff in the end and what few characters are introduced are uninteresting and pointless. I've seen many describe this OVA as "underrated" but it's better described as something that's obscure and boring.

Overall, I'd say the only enjoyable way to ... experience this anime is to listen to the OST or watch vaporwave/city pop/future funk videos that use clips from this OVA. Viewing this anime on it's own isn't an engaging experience.