Scoopers

Solidly mediocre 80s sci-fi anime.

Reporter Yoko and her unique photographer Beat are on the prowl, seeking answers about the mysterious Mr. X, a terrorist who has been making a name for himself by blowing things up. Along the way there are robots, mechs, and monsters to stop them.

It's standard stuff—so standard that I'm a bit surprised that there was only one OVA made. It seems like the kind of thing that would have really found an audience back in '87. There's just enough blood and bare skin to lure those who need that flavor in their anime, and for the others there's the draw ... of the playful friendship between Yoko and Beat.

The character and mechanical designs are fine. The animation is serviceable. There's not a lot to dazzle the viewer, though there is an act that takes place inside a computer with primitive CGI shapes and lots of hand-drawn grids. I'm surprised the sequence hasn't been mined for GIFs to accompany synthwave mixes on YouTube.

If you're in need of a one-off OVA, long for the "future tech" 80s anime predicted, want to see some androids kicking butt, and don't really need every loose thread tied up, well, you might want to spend an hour with these two Scoopers.