Lets not mince words here. Sprite or Manami & Nami Sprite is awful. It just maybe one of the worst things I have sat through, but unlike forgettable crap this has stuck with me since the moment I watched it. This DVD deserves a case study in how companies like CPM would license anything cheap regardless of it's value or quality in the late 90s and early 00s. Popping this disc in will do more to explain why the anime bubble popped about a decade back then anything else you will read online.
The story is about as simple as it gets. Main character Tooru moves in with his cousin Manami because his mother is ill (Personally, I felt his mother was just sick of his shit). The only real twist on this formulaic plot is that Manami has a split personality named...get this Nami. And the split personality angle is played about as elegant as a pregnant cow being used as a wrecking ball. The front of the DVD includes a quote to a review that states 'The Anime Equivalent of Sybil'. Which excuse my lack of memory for the 1976 made for TV film but I don't remember that story being about a teenage girl with a slutty split personality. And yes Nami is just a loud slutty alter ego. Nothing more. While I don't want to spoil how Nami came about existing just know that you'll smack yourself in the forehead by the time the anime concludes.
Sprite was an OVA series which would lead you to assume that the art would fair better then say a TV series. Well you would be DEAD wrong. The corner cutting in animation is almost impossible to ignore. One of the most noticeable oddities is that Manami's feet were drawn with no toes. In fact they were all fused together like the artist forgot to draw lines to separate them. Then the team went to color and just didn't give a shit. And this isn't just from a distance. There are several close up shots were they are the focus point. The second episode fairs better in terms of quality but by that time the damage is done.
I know you want to ask me how the English dub is. And I can say it's one of the worst CPM has provided. I never got their practice of finding nobodies to fill in their bargain bin titles. If you weren't going to put any work into the dub why not just make it a subtitle only release? But then again common sense would have done wonders for the company. Case in point is the blatant dialog changes. See during my golden age of anime watching there seemed to be a paranoia about none adult characters (read: high school or younger) engaging in possible sexual acts. Which if you haven't been living under a rock is the general age of most protagonist. Fearing a lawsuit or a mob of angry parents companies would either put warning labels or lie about the ages. The issue with that one is that it isn't subtle. Two episodes the word 'college' is uttered enough that you could make a killer drinking game from it. These are high school students and everyone knows it. Saying they are in college doesn't change that.
The quality of the audio is what you expect from a VHS to DVD transfer. The Japanese dub is fair but let's face it if you are in the mood for trash the English dub is the only way. You also may have noted the score of 2 for the audio instead of a 1. This has nothing to do with the dub but instead has to do with a song played during the anime. This song is a complete rip off of the theme from Top Gun. Not Danger Zone from Kenny Loggins, but the 'Top Gun Anthem' itself. It is so obviously stolen it blew me away. And it's a highlight trying to find it once you know about it.
The less I say about the main cast the better. There isn't a single likeable person in the bunch. Tooru being the worst of them all. On the first night our main character masturbates to the thought of his cousins breasts. So if you find that to be a redeeming quality you may like him better then I did.
Despite my literal page worth of complaints I couldn't stop watching this. It's a train wreck, a shameless porn filled wreck. Oh did I not mention it becomes a porn at the end? Yeah the sexual content ramps to 11 with little warning it would become such. While it isn't hardcore you'll excuse me if I wasn't shocked by the semen run down Manami's mouth. In fact the DVD tells you this is a 16+ rated anime. However, the first warning that pops up on the movie is an 18+ rating. Which I completely ignored my first time through. Because let's face it who doesn't skip those? It seems that the only thing this anime got right with split personality was the DVD box.
If you have a group of like-minded friends this is a blast. The less you tell them about the ending the better because the look of confusion on their face will be priceless. This DVD is pretty damn cheap and the entertainment value is there if you are in the mindset. Just make sure someone brings the alcohol.
