Pandora to Akubi

Pandora to Akubi is a very lovely surprise to a weary anime traveller like me. Very clearly a passion project, I’m sad to see it go unnoticed in the western anime sphere. I put a ‘maybe?’ next to this show on my list of 2019 movies I still want to watch and that ‘maybe?’ very much stands for ‘maybe this will get subtitled’. Yet, as it does time and time again, the passion of a small group of creators I know almost nothing about, manages to reach halfway across the globe through the power of the internet, reminding me in the process of the power ... of anime. I’m not making that up, by the way. This anime is very much a love letter to anime, with it proudly showing off a bunch of characters from old Tatsunoko Productions shows from the 60s and 70s. I have very little idea how a project like this could come to be, but It seems to be linked to the 50th anniversary of the anime ‘Hakushon Daimaou’, and I guess a bunch of other Tatsunoko characters got caught up in the mix in the celebrating studio’s drunken stupor. Still, what ultimately matters is that this production shows off some real talent on multiple fronts and, though its presentation is somewhat inconsistent, it’s a real joy to watch.

Pandora is a clumsy girl who, after opening a box, accidentally sends magical shards of ‘calamity’ across multiple worlds and, together with a goofy, magical girl named Akubi, travels through dimensions in order to collect these shards before bad stuff happens. This is very much not an original plot for an anime, but I don’t think it has to be. The creators of the show clearly just wanted a generic anime bullshit plot so they could fill it with fun stuff. Anime bullshit to facilitate more anime bullshit, that’s what this anime is and I love it.

What ultimately makes this anime stand out, however, is that it manages to find an interesting balance between the goofiness of the premise and its main characters and some more serious elements. Especially episode one feels somewhat grounded in that the characters and setting are shown off more or less realistically. So when two girls claiming to be from another dimension to collect an evil stone that will do bad stuff, barge into town, no one takes them particularly seriously and the two of them are somewhat surprised about this. Yet no one makes a big stink about this and the only policeman in town, Speedracer, and his girlfriend genuinely try to be helpful, even if they don’t know what’s going on.

What’s even more interesting is that Speedracer and his girlfriend Doronjo genuinely have some depth behind them. Speed put behind his dream of being a racer to protect the people of his home town, which is very much not a thing he would have done if he was anything like the speed we know from the original show. Doronjo wants to support his dream of being a racer, but she’s also being chased by her criminal past which might put the whole town in danger if she stays there. These characters feel very real and lived and put an emotional core behind an otherwise silly and baffling show. Sadly episode two isn’t as grounded and is overall a lot less engaging. What’s interesting is that the serious and silly nature of the show is present in the character designs as well. Our two protagonists are very cutesy and moe, but Speed and Doronjo feel like modern , mature renditions of the original characters in a similar vein to ‘The woman called Fujiko Mine’. I’m very impressed by how this show manages to fit these very opposite aesthetics under one character design style.

And it’s not just the characters, the art in general in this show is stellar. The character art is very bouncy and animates wonderfully, the background art is gorgeous and stylized and the colour pallet is one of the best I’ve ever seen. Overall the art by itself is already wonderful, but then it’s backed up by a lot of fantastic animation, mostly of the very fluid, very web-gen kind. Seeing Akubi bounce around like a goofball was an absolute joy and there was some great action in the mix as well. At the end of both episodes the characters end up transforming into characters from gatchaman and yatterman and this results in some great fighting sequences accompanied by some equally fantastic music.

I can very much understand that some people might not get into this anime the way I did, considering it’s very weird and it throws a lot of conflicting stuff at you. For me personally, this anime threw together a bunch of great things into a wonderful mix that really resonates with me. In an anime landscape that is dominated by very stale visual productions the colourfulness and the poppyness of this anime is a sight for sore eyes. The anime industry is composed of passionate people who row against the tide to be able to facilitate the creation of good anime, so when I see an obviously passionate production like this come out, I can’t help myself but be excited. Talented people making good shit, that’s what this show is. The world needs more passionate people making good shit. That’s what I preach.

Pandora to Akubi is a nostalgia-driven “down the rabbit hole” type of adventure action comedy movie that packs a lot of punch into less than an hour of runtime.

Pandora is a cute travelling witch voiced by the ever adorable Ogura Yui and Akubi is an incompetent-but-eager genki genie-themed character voiced skillfully by the relatively unknown Amaki Sally. The highlight of this entire movie by far is these 2 characters optimism and positive attitude as they explore. You will smile and laugh along with these cuties as they unravel the mysteries of chaotic worlds and meet zany characters. If you are looking for some serious drama ... you are looking in the wrong place as most of the conflicts that arise in this movie are resolved in fun and simplistic ways that can fit cleanly into the short runtime with the typical anime theme of the “power of friendship” prevailing. After Pandora & Akubi resolve one conflict they are eager to jump into the next world and keep the fast paced action up.

One of the main appeals for an older audience that may be watching this movie with their kids is the nostalgia-driven elements. The movie features dozens of characters from Tatsunoko's long and storied history of producing popular anime since the 1960s. Pandora and Akubi find themselves interacting with characters from Speed Racer (1967), Yatterman (1977), and Gatchaman (1972). As an ignorant westerner born decades after these series were popular this was not a major appeal for me. However I still feel a sort of nostalgia via proxy. I can tell these characters are old and beloved and that the creators are re-imagining them in a new context. This element of the movie as a sort of ultimate crossover between Tatsunoko franchises is a welcome addition for sure although from my perspective I would not mind a sequel featuring the main duo setting off on brand new adventures that don't need to crutch on existing IPs.

Lastly I just want to comment on the art and animation aspect. The show is extremely colourful and the animation is bouncy and fluid. Overall the art and animation highlights an upbeat and optimistic attitude that the characters carry. Paired with the fun original opening and ending songs, the fundamentals are all here for an aesthetically pleasing experience.

Basically Tatsunoko Dragon Ball GT, without the annoying characters and forgettable plot, it is charming and a mix of a lot of old properties from Tatsunoko with that adventure/journey style of narrative were two characters need to settle their differences in order to get set amount of McGuffins or get to a place.

Akubi is so cute, Pandora is a nice distinct character who clashes in the right amount with the genie girl. The mix of old properties and even the little action at the end of each part makes it compelling and engaging. Even if you only played Tatsunoko vs Capcom or remember some of ... the Tatsunoko Animes that were localized in English or in your country, I truly believe you will find some appreciation of the stuff here, the way they have written this in such creative situations also adds to the enjoyment even if you aren't the diehard Tatsunoko-fan.

Final score 8/10 very good, this needs a sequel