This is where I usually write about the story. Except in Agent Aika, the director decided to skip such trivial matters and focus on what is really important. Namely panty shots, boobs, tentacle inspired action, camel toe, and nudity. Yes it’s true; I challenge anyone to find ONE shot in any episode that contains a female character that does not show a panty shot. Yes there really is that many. I didn’t even bother to count them. I would imagine if you strung all these shots together they would take up at least 80% of each episode. And it’s not like this is something that offends me, but all of these things from the pantsu to the nudity are done in such a tacky and exploitative manner that really that’s the plot of this series. Panties and how many we can show in one episode. All of the action revolves around panties or ripping off clothes. Everyone falls in the same way; face down ass up exposing themselves. It’s so pathetic that it actually becomes a bit humorous after awhile.
Supposedly this show is about the main characters being salvagers. In 3 hours of show I think they spent less than 60 seconds actually "salvaging". The director didn’t have time for more than that, must show more panties! Nothing the main characters do is adequately explained. Aika has strange mysterious super powers which involve her becoming naked and wielding tentacles. We are given a name for this power but honestly I forgot what it was 5 minutes after they told me. There are lots of gun fights, classic military vehicles battles, and martial arts action but these are just tools to de-cloth the heroes and villains or show their underwear.
I know I have spent a lot of this review talking about underwear. Well that’s because that’s what this anime is about. The biggest problem is it even fails and this. If you’re going to show me 200 pairs of panties per episode then at least show me some different kinds! Apparently in the world of Agent Aika everyone shops at the same store and buys the same style and color panty. You can tell that a man was in charge of all of this too because any woman knows you don’t wear white panties under a black miniskirt. Note to the director: mix in a little color, some blacks, pinks, reds, or blues. The animation continuality also sucked. Characters would be wearing one outfit and the next episode in a scene that is supposed to be taking place immediately following events from the previous episode they would be wearing different clothes. We also were treated to panty shots from people who were not even wearing panties 30 seconds previously! In the one scene I saw a main put on something other than plain old white when she exposed herself 5 minutes later guess what? Yep standard white! Come on if you’re going to do something at least do it right!
Maybe the only thing worse than the story though is the characters. Aika gives us perhaps the most uninteresting cast in the history of anime. The characters have zero personality, we learn nothing of their pasts, and they just conform to whatever stereotype they were put in. Aika as the hero is completely uninteresting besides her physical measurements. Rion plays the sidekick and she is probably the only genuinely interesting character in the show. Almost all of the "intentional" comedy flows through her. All the other supporting characters are ridiculously shallow and boring. Some are downright stupid. Namely the idiotic girly man they introduce halfway through the show whose sole purpose seemed to be getting beat up by Rion or cross dressing or saying other creepy lines while talking through a puppet.
The villains are also a train wreck. There are two story arcs. The first involves a creepy purple haired lipstick wearing bishounen who at least has an evil plan that makes a bit of sense. Of course he has a creepy sister who is obviously involved in an incestuous relationship with him. Later we have underlings from the previous villain who have probably the stupidest motivation ever. None of them are the slightest bit interesting either, but at least they are all girls so we get to see their boobs and panties.
The only thing Aika does right is the artwork. Despite my problems with continuality and the boring panty designs the characters all look really good. Especially given this shows age and some of the garbage that came out of its era. At least all the naked girls look good, that’s something I guess. The audio is pretty mediocre. The OP/EN songs are not inspired but the voice acting is ok in parts.
In the end I can’t recommend this show to anyone. If you like tits and ass there are better shows out there than this you can get your fill from. Go watch Ikkitousen instead, at least that has a few interesting characters and a rudimentary plot. You would be more usefully occupied spending the time you would use watching this show to surf the internet for porn than in watching this crap. Stay far away.
