Time to review a true blast from the ancient past!
History:
Project A-KO came out in 1986. It was originally supposed to be part of an early hentai anthology called "Cream Lemon" that started in 1984 with "Lolita: the anime". Wow! If you thought Alan Moore's response to Watchmen the movie was bad, Vladimir Nabokov's response to the first Loli anime would have been on a different league of anger. He might have even gone full Super Slav in sheer rage.
Anyways, A-KO was changed at the last moment to be a zany spoof of all the popular anime of the time. However, the nudity and lesbian relationships were still left in...because why not? A-Ko spoofs Fist of the North Star, Space Battleship Yamato, Captain Harlock, and many others. Despite being a very goofy and frankly idiotic anime, it left a massive impact on comedy anime for years to come. The whole scene with the schoolgirl running with toast in her mouth has actually become a cliche at this point! That's how many anime ripped off A-KO!
Reception in the West:
Generation X: Loved it
Generation Y or "Millenials": indifferent
Generation Z: What the FUCK is this old piece of shit?!!
Story and characters:
The main characters are the energetic and super powered A-ko, the devious robot inventor B-ko, and the incredibly obnoxious C-ko. To get this out of the way, the suffix Ko is often attached to female characters. The names A-ko, B-ko, C-ko is animator shorthand for unnamed background characters. This was one of the first inside jokes in anime history aimed squarely at fellow anime workers.
The plot is that A-Ko and C-ko must constantly try get to school on time while fighting the robots that B-ko makes each morning. B-ko is the class bully, token rich kid, and also a lesbian who is after C-ko. One day, aliens invade the city to retrieve their long lost princess, who turns out to be C-ko. This means A-ko and B-ko must put aside their rivalry to defeat the aliens and rescue C-ko. The status quo is quickly restored and A-ko is revealed to be the daughter of Superman. The End.
Animation:
Fairly decent for its time. Really nothing spectacular today although it helps if you are a nostalgic sucker for all hand drawn animation.
Music and sound:
The English dub I watched was representative of other Central Park Media titles, which is to say pretty bad. The music is ok, but nothing great.
Overall:
Project A-ko was a monumentally influential anime in its day despite its odd beginnings. It set the standard for spoof anime and its influence can be seen in Excel Saga, Kill la Kill, FLCL, Gintama, and many more. Despite this, A-ko hasn't aged particularly well in my opinion. Most young anime fans wouldn't even understand what shows A-ko was trying to spoof. The comedy that worked for A-ko has been beaten to death by later anime. The random nudity isn't as titillating and awesome as it was in 1986, because nudity is FAR more common in anime these days. It is an interesting series from a historical perspective, but I really wouldn't rank it as one of the funniest anime I've ever seen. I recommend this one only to anime fans very interested in the history of the medium.
