WOW, this was mid-80's all the way. When city pop was at its all time high. Two years ago I found this anime while looking for some of the most obscure anime on MyAnimeList that can actually BE considered "anime". I don't know how -- maybe I was browsing. I hadn't watched a second of it and barely new the story, but I decided it was something I needed to watch. It's been on my "Will Watch" list since then, but I haven't gotten around to it. Then the acclaimed "obscure anime" YouTuber Kenny Lauderdale made a video about it and I knew it was time. Tbh, I wasn't disappointed.
It was simple but chaotic, both definitely traits that rightfully earn it a low score... but nevertheless, I was shocked to have watched it and found myself enjoying it the full way through. I was preparing myself for garbage, but this actually wasn't bad imo. It's literally just Urusei Yatsura except the MC feels the opposite way about the waifu and that she's naked the entire time...
The animation was fine, the music was banger after banger, all the character designs are good (even the cartoony ones)... everything was average (in an amusing, non-negative way) except for the story, which was all-over-the-place and a little inadequate. But at LEAST it was easy to understand. It wasn't convoluted. As chaotic as it was, I think it was all easy to follow -- by the end of the anime, I wasn't left feeling confused about anything. It was just a goofy little 40-minute OVA to pass the time, and I think it did its job.
Usually, anime characters intended to be "cute" (especially from this era) miss the mark, but something about the Asami character was just so frickin adorable.
On a side note, there was a song around the 23:40 mark. The whole soundtrack consisted of bangers, but this one in particular really appealed to me and I found myself searching for it. Shazam picked up nothing and the lyrics were yielding no results on Google -- I was beginning to think it was lost media. But then I noticed that the OP, ED, and Asami character shared the same VA, so I deduced that the "Fun Fun Fun" song also featured Miki Takahashi (the VA). I Googled her name, plus "Fun Fun Fun" and sure enough, I located the song. (I didn't bother Googling "fun fun fun" because there's probably a lot of songs with those lyrics and I didn't think I'd get any results in my favor). Turns out, the song's (possibly) from an album called "Dress Up" released 1985-1986 at the height of city pop. It's a hard album to locate but a small YouTube channel hosts a video with the full album in it.
Anyway, Kenny Lauderdale said this OVA would be a waste of one's 40 minutes. I love the guy, but I'd have to respectfully disagree. And I'd also disagree with the score the majority has bestowed upon this OVA. I know I said it was understandable, and it is for the most part, but I think the OVA is more worth a 5-6. There are some good Urusei Yatsura episodes, but it seems like 50% of them are worse than this Majo Demo Steady OVA. The humor and quality of the two are pretty similar. So the drastic score gap surprises me.
Like I was saying, I actually feel surprisingly fulfilled after watching this. Like I just bore witness to a hidden gem. Their heart was in the right place, and you can at least tell they tried with this anime. The effort is there.
EDIT: I noticed a lot of people rated this show poorly because the story sucked arse. I can understand that. But I do think it was intentionally chaotic. It starts off with a run-of-the-mill stock protagonist office worker, and then erupts into police chases, motorcycle chases, jetpacks, pyramids and alternate dimensions. It's such a gorgeous juxtaposition between the MUNDANE and the SURREAL. I don't think it was experimental or intentionally abstract -- rather they were trying to impose a WTF reaction unto the viewer.
Not just that but there are so many REWATCHABLE moments in this little OVA (and catchy music), so it's great for the VHS market... I'm the kinda person who can only watch something once because I can't get reimmersed if I know the story..... but the lack of story in this OVA makes it akin to a music video, in which you can rewatch solely for the fun of it. |
張大です for 張大勇督察
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