Nayuta

Every so often, an anime reminds you that magic mushrooms used to be legal in Japan. This is one of them.
The plot: humans who have unlocked their inner ESPer abilities in an eternal war with the reptilians who keep us trapped in the reincarnation cycle. Nayuta, the main character, is a teenager girl who stumbles into this war when a little boy wearing a tiara and his dying mom appear before her. The little boy eventually teleports to Pluto and when he comes back, he's 20 and hot. He and Nayuta then lead the rebellion against the lizard men who keep us trapped on ... the prison planet.

This...slaps.

This OVA is one movie, but you can think of it in three parts. First, it's a shoujo anime about a tiara that grants psychic powers. Then it turns out that there's many tiaras and they are also the sunglasses from "They Live." And then it commits to the science fiction and keeps doubling down on being delightfully weird as fuck for the rest of it. There's obvious shojo romance overtones to relationships in this, which worked fine even if they were rushed and not the point. The transition to high-concept action from there was smooth, as was the consistent stakes raising.

If it seems a ... little slow at times, I recommend watching it at 1.5x speed or more, but that's not so unusual.

This OVA is one of the strangest things that I have ever seen. Period! Despite the single sentence descriptor of it online, there is a lot to unpack. There are "They Live"-inspired aliens that masquerade as humans, golden headbands that unlock the potential of human consciousness (and thus, imbue the wearer with psychic powers), and an expansive sea of stars that is at risk of being utterly obliterated by the "Big Bang"! This is like if "Space Runway Ideon" took another hit of LSD and wandered into the dementia category! "Nayuta" is just THAT insane!

⚠️ This review will contain spoilers ⚠️

—Story/Characters

Synopsis: Sci-fi tale of a ... young girl who acquires ESP powers.

The description above is the official synopsis on MyAnimeList, but boy, that doesn't even reach the surface of the matter! So, Nayuta is introduced as a below intelligence girl, who is perhaps too naïve for her own good, I mean she thinks that all flying aircrafts can be classified as UFOs, after all! After her brief show of stupidity in the classroom, she meets a mysterious foreigner boy (with his sickly mother) and he has a peculiar-looking, golden headband. And then, after taking her to the hospital with Nayuta, she is apparently murdered by the evil, green people (more formerly referred to as the "Azadd") and they, then, disappear into a dimensional wormhole!

Then, after the little boy ("Kiro") teleports into Nayuta's room, she takes pity on him and lets him stay at her parents house, and apparently they aren't phased by this at all. He even teleports food at the dinner table, but they don't seen to care! Nayuta, herself, doesn't even seem worried about mysterious reptilian people killing his parents! Y'know, just a normal everyday thing happening there! She then steals his golden headband while he's sleeping and wears it school? And, it's literally the same thing as the "They Live" sunglasses, where now, she can see the green people — camouflaged as humans!

She then encounters a psychic ("Ryōtaro"), while getting cornered by hordes of the Azadd, and he rescues her... but then, she spits out her tongue at him and gets on a moped with an alien, disguised as her teacher, and he is forced to save her again? The character writing in this OVA makes little to no sense! Ryōtaro then takes Nayuta back to his dingy apartment and teleports underground, where the rest of the psychics are taking refuge. There's this one guy who's bald and is wearing a tank-top with hearts on it, with white trousers, and the gold headband is resting on his bald head, and he is the best design in this whole show! That was a freakin' incredible, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure-tier design, right there!

Their leader is a silver-haired woman, that seems to be like six or seven feet tall, and she telepathically gives Nayuta an exposition-laden timeline of their history with the Azadd. In this spiel, it is implied by the show that UFOs are a government psy-op for drones, that are used to killed aboriginal people in jungles. So, that was a plot point. She then gets an epiphany that her family might be in danger and her intuition is right, her house is on fire. For some reason, Ryōtaro rides a moped across a pond to reach them! But, I digress! Nayuta finds out that her parents have been killed by a bishōnen with a tunic the length of a mini-skirt, and it is later revealed that the man is an adult version of Kiro. This confused me, because he's wearing his own golden headband, but Nayuta stole his before she went to school that day? So, did the Azadd give him another one?

It is then revealed that he was abducted by the Azadd and weaponized against Earth's people, and he states that he wasn't the one who killed her parents. Nayuta activates her psychic powers and escapes, meeting up with the other psychics. Kiro then kills all of them, except for Ryōtaro, with ease... wait, what was that spiel about not being a cold-blooded killer? Nayuta then gets shot, but doesn't die for some reason, ※even though it was same laser beam gun killed the other psychics? Huh? And then, after Nayuta is transported away, Ryōtaro teleports himself into a funhouse mirror (don't ask why this is in a space ship) and kills Kiro, along with himself, by blowing up the entire ship.

※ It is implied that Kiro gives her some of his life force, but it doesn't really make sense.

Ryōtaro, existing as a "non-corporeal being" (this is the phrasing that the subs used), fuses with Nayuta and cohabitates with her, from within her body. The silver-haired leader of the psychic renegades then appears and is killed after Nayuta escapes, discovering before her death that Kiro has a clone replica in a glacier, cryostasis shell. After getting randomly stabbed by a unicorn and seeing an illusion of her dead parents, Nayuta then discovers the secrets of the universe and faces off, in a final battle against Kiro. Then, all of them end up fusing souls and wander into the vast expanse of the galaxy, in search for a way to save Earth from its inevitable destruction!

If that's sounds convoluted as all heck, it's because it is! It's hard to explain how I felt while watching it, partially dumbfounded, and the other half of me was charmed by Akio Sugino's pretty design aesthetics. If someone ever tells you that retro is better than modern shows, then I suggest sitting them down and showing them "Nayuta"! This OVA is a hot mess, if I've ever seen one!

Luna's Favorite Works by Each Respective Creator = ✅

Masami Hata (director), notable works:
* Aesop's World
* Anime TV de Hakken! Tamagotchi
* Chirin no Suzu ✅
* DT Eightron
* Elmer no Bōken: My Father's Dragon
* Gokū no Daibōken
* Hello Kitty no Alps no Shōjo Heidi II: Klara to no Deai ("Hello Kitty, the Girl of the Alps: Bond with Clara")
* Hello Kitty no Minna no Mori wo Mamore! ("Hello Kitty and Friends: Protect the Forest")
* Hello Kitty no Papa Nante Daikirai ("Hello Kitty and Friends: I Hate You, Papa")
* Hello Kitty no Shiawase no Tulip ("Hello Kitty and Friends: The Tulip of Happiness")
* Hello Kitty no Shōkōjo ("Hello Kitty and Friends: A Little Princess")
* Hello Kitty no Yume Dorobō ("Hello Kitty and Friends: The Dream Thief")
* Hello Kitty: Mahō no Mori no Ohime-sama ("Hello Kitty and Friends: The Sleeping Princess")
* Ike! Ina-chuu Takkyūbu
* Kero Kero Keroppi no Bikkuri! Obakeyashiki ("Keroppi and Friends: The Haunted House")
* Kero Kero Keroppi no Boku-tachi no Takaramono ("Keroppi and Friends: Our Treasure")
* Kero Kero Keroppi no Bokura no Ohimesama ("Keroppi and Friends: The Waiting Princess")
* Kero Kero Keroppi no Bōken: Pink no Kinoko ("Keroppi and Friends: Find the Pink Mushroom")
* Kero Kero Keroppi no Christmas Eve no Okurimono ("Keroppi and Friends: The Christmas Eve Gift")
* Kero Kero Keroppi no Dai Bōken ("Keroppi and Friends: The Big Adventure")
* Kero Kero Keroppi no Daibōken: Fushigi na Mame no Ki ("Keroppi and Friends: Jack and the Beanstalk")
* Kero Kero Keroppi no Ganbare! Keroppōz ("Keroppi and Friends: Let's Play Baseball")
* Kero Kero Keroppi no Gulliver no Bōken ("Keroppi and Friends: The Adventures of Gulliver")
* Kero Kero Keroppi no Kero Kero House no Himitsu ("Keroppi and Friends: The Frog's Secret House")
* Kero Kero Keroppi no Kyōryū ga Deta ("Keroppi and Friends: The Data on Dinosaurs")
* Kero Kero Keroppi no Robin Hood ("Keroppi and Friends: Robin Hood")
* Kero Kero Keroppi no Sanjūshi ("Keroppi and Friends: The Three Musketeers")
* Kero Kero Keroppi no Sora Tobu Yume no Fune ("Keroppi and Friends: The Great Flying Ship of Dreams")
* Kero Kero Keroppi no Sora wo Tobetara ("Keroppi and Friends: Flight on the Aeroplane")
* Kero Kero Keroppi no Tomodachi ni Narō yo ("Keroppi and Friends: Let's Be Friends")
* Kero Kero Keroppi no Tomodachi wa Mahōtsukai ("Keroppi and Friends: Magician Friends")
* Kero Kero Keroppi no Yowamushi-ōji no Daibōken ("Keroppi and Friends: The Adventures of the Coward Prince")
* Kiki to Lala no Aoi Tori ("Kiki and Lala's Blue Bird")
* Kiki to Lala no Habatake! Pegasus ("Kiki and Lala in The Fluttering Pegasus")
* Kiki to Lala no Hakuchōza no Ohime-sama ("Kiki and Lala in The Princess of the Cygnus Constellation")
* Kiki to Lala no Hansel to Gretel ("Kiki and Lala's Hansel and Gretel")
* Kiki to Lala no Hoshi no Dance Shoes ("Kiki and Lala's Starlit Dancing Shoes")
* Kiki to Lala no Ohimesama ni Naritai ("Kiki and Lala in We Wanna Be Princesses")
* Kiki to Lala no Papa to Mama ni Aitai ("Kiki and Lala in We Love Mamma and Pappa")
* Little Nemo ✅
* Nezumi Monogatari: George to Gerald no Bōken ("Mouse Story: The Adventures of George and Gerald")
* Sirius no Densetsu ("The Sea Prince and the Fire Child") ✅
* Stitch!
* Stitch!: Itazura Alien no Daibōken
* Super Mario Brothers: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Daisakusen! ("Super Mario Brothers: Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach")
* Tezuka Osamu Monogatari: Boku wa Son Gokū
* Yōsei Dick ("Hobberdy Dick")
* Yōsei Florence ("A Journey Through Fairyland")

Commentary: Mr. Hata makes some really gorgeous-looking films, but the script-writing is always a little bit questionable on all of them! I can't say that I'm particularly a fan of his work, the highest rankings that I've given his films have been a 6/10 to both "Little Nemo" and "Chirin no Suzu" but, man does director know how to create a dense atmosphere! I spent most of the run-time of "Nayuta" scratching my head, because nothing really seemed logical or made any sense, but it felt more profound than it actually was... BECAUSE Masami Hata was the one pulling the levers behind the Oz curtain! Inventive director that needs a better screenwriting team!

Akio Sugino (character design), notable works:
* 11-nin Iru! ("They Were 11") ✅
* Ace wo Nerae! (1979) ✅
* Ace we Nerae! 2
* Animation Kikō: Marco Polo no Bōken ("Marco Polo's Adventures")
* Arrow Emblem Grand Prix no Taka
* Ashita no Joe ✅
* Ashita no Joe 2 ✅
* Black Jack (1993)
* Black Jack the Movie ✅
* Black Jack: Futari no Kuroi Isha
* Bocchan
* Boku no Son Gokū
* Burning Blood
* Cat's Eye (Season One) ✅
* Cobra the Animation ✅
* Daikū Maryū Gaiking ("Dino Mech Gaiking")
* Genji Monogatari Sennenki ("Millennium Old Journal: Tale of Genji")
* Gensei Shugoshin P-hyoro Ikka OVA
* Ginga Eiyū Densetsu ✅
* Ginga Tetsudou 999 (Movie)
* Golgo 13: Queen Bee ✅
* Hakugei Densetsu
* Hi no Tori ✅
* Hiroshima ni Ichiban Densha ga Hashitta
* Ie Naki Ko ("Nobody's Boy: Remi")
* Jetter Mars
* Jungle Taitei Movie (1997) ✅
* Kasei Yakyoku ✅
* Kumi to Tulip
* La Seine no Hoshi ("Star of the Seine")
* Mighty Orbots
* Mori no Densetsu: Dai Ni Gakushō
* Onii-sama e... ✅
* Osamu to Musashi
* Oshin
* Reporter Blues
* Riki-Ō 2: Horobi no Ko
* Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae
* Shuranosuke Zanmaken: Shikamamon no Otoko ("Sword for Truth")
* Space Adventure Cobra ✅
* Space Cobra ✅
* Space Fantasia 2001 Nights
* Takarajima
* Takarajima (Movie)
* Ultraviolet: Code 044
* Urikupen Kyūjo-tai
* Versailles no Bara ✅
* Yuki no Jōu (TV) ✅

Commentary: Mr. Sugino is a legendary character designer! If you watch a few minutes of the Nayuta intro, those designs are instantly distinguishable! Amazing work, though sometimes he isn't attached to the best projects, ahem! "Sword for Truth"!

Good Seiyū Work = ✅

Really Enjoyed the Seiyū's Performance = ✅ ✅

One of Luna's Favorite Performances OF ALL TIME = ✅ ✅ ✅

Minako Fujishiro as Nayuta, notable roles:
* none

Commentary: Ms. Fujishiro's only other anime credit is singing an insert song in Kimagure Orange☆Road, after some digging, it seems as though she starred in one of the live-action "Sukeban Deka" films as well! I found a couple of credits to jidaigeki ("period drama") films in her répertoire, but there isn't much about her online! And, as one would expect, her performance does sound amateurish (especially compared to Akira Kamiya, see below for more info), but in experimental OVAs like this, I find the everyday (albeit, crude) approach to girl-next-door character is... kind of refreshing. Another example of this is Nagisa Kanō in "Tatakae!! Iczer-1" — the lack of polish to the voice made her seem like more of a believable high school girl. The dialogue and characterization for Nayuta could have been better, but besides occasional pitches of shrillness in her articulation, the acting was pretty solid. Great job, her short stint in the entertainment industry seemed good, while it lasted!

Akira Kamiya as Kiro, notable roles:
* Lane Tadatos, 11-nin Iru! ✅
* Athos, Anime Sanjūshi ("The Three Musketeers")
* Kō'ichi Yamano, Babel Nisei
* Kyusaku Natsume, Bannō Bunka Neko-Musume (series)
* Sō'ichi Tomoe, Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon S ✅✅
* Mamoru Daichi, Chikyū Bōei Kazoku
* Chirin, Chirin no Suzu ✅✅
* Ryō Saeba, City Hunter (series) ✅✅
* Sanshirō Tsuwabuki, Daikū Maryū Gaiking
* Kogorō Mōri, Detective Conan — Rikiya Koyama has reprised the role ✅✅✅
* Doctor Chichibuyama, Doctor Chichibuyama
* John Kyosuke Hiba, Dog Solider
* Garlic Junior, Dragon Ball Z Movie 01: Ora no Gohan wo Kaese!! — stand-in for Shigeru Chiba
* Muscat Tyler, Elf 17
* King Arthur, Entaku no Kishi Monogatari: Moero Arthur
* Jimmy Orion, Gasshin Sentai Mechander Robo
* Ryōma Nagare, Getter Robo (series) — Hideo Ishikawa has reprised the role for the newer series, i.e. Shin Getter Robo and Change!! Getter Robo: Sekai Saigo no Hi
* Gai Daido, Getter Robo Go
* Elizabeth, Gintama Movie 2: Kanketsu-hen (Yorozuya yo Eien Nare) — stand-in for Shinji Takamatsu
* Roi Kuran, Haja Taisei Dangaiō
* Makimura, Hi no Tori: Uchū-hen ("Phoenix: Space Chapter") ✅✅
* Kenshirō, Hokuto no Ken — the role has been reprised by Hiro Shimono, Takehito Koyasu, and Katsuyuki Konishi ✅✅✅
* Shizune Mejiro, Igano Kabamaru
* Zorori, Kaiketsu Zorori: Mahōtsukai no Deshi
* Suguru Kinniku, Kinnikuman (series) — Toshio Furukawa has reprised the role
* Isamu, Kōya no Shōnen Isamu
* Akira Tosaka, Kyūkyoku Chōjin R
* Ashram, Legend of Crystania and Lodoss-tō Senki ✅✅
* Roy Focker, Macross ✅✅
* Shun Mitaka, Maison Ikkoku ✅✅
* Claude, Mirai Keisatsu Urashiman
* King Arthur, Moero Arthur: Hakuba no Ōji
* Nyarome, Mōretsu Atarō (1990)
* Que, Mujigen Hunter Fandora ✅
* Kiro, Nayuta ✅✅
* Indra, Otaku no Seiza
* Nao, Outlanders ✅
* Siegfried Dubhe and Algol Perseus, Saint Seiya ✅✅
* Lord Calvert, Slayers Gorgeous
* Kyōichirō Jin, Sukeban Deka ✅✅
* Seki Ray Shiroe, Terra e...
* Dandan, Time Travel Tondekeman!
* Kazuya Ryuzaki, Tōshō Daimos
* Shutarō Mendō, Urusei Yatsura ✅✅✅
* Takuma Ichimonji, Wakusei Robo Danguard Ace
* Shinnosuke Kazamatsuri, Yawara
* Akira Hibiki, Yūsha Raideen
* Shin Fubuki, Zero Tester

Commentary: For some reason MyAnimeList has Kiro listed under the name of "Jiro" but, I went back and re-listened to the audio, and the characters are quite clearly saying "Kiro"! But, with that out of the way, Mr. Kamiya's performance (as always) was splendid! His timber has such a powerful presence, and so, with that... he was able to become the perfect anti-hero for this rather convoluted, philosophical drug trip! He can switch between the glass masks of being maniacal to sympathetic, in a matter of seconds! Very talented voice actor!

"Nayuta" is the anime for you, if you're looking for something that is a really out-there, "LSD watch" with attractive character designs and settings; the writing is pretty off the wall, as you can probably see by my description of the series, but it's enjoyable in the same way that watching "Garzey's Wing" or "Yōsei Ō" is. Watching this hour-long film is like having a surrealistic daydream and waking up, feeling utterly confounded. If that's your thing, then I would certainly suggest giving it gander, but ultimately, I give it a 3/10!

Rating: ★★☆☆☆