The plot pretty much doesn't exist, or at the very least, if there was meant to be a plot buried within the 80s music and cake mix advertisements, I couldn't find it. There's nothing much to say about the art. It's exactly what you'd expect from an anime of its time. The character design from a visual point is fine, nothing too special, but they look alright. The only thing to properly judge by is their appearance because they have less personality than a Danganronpa protagonist. I've met more interesting rice cakes. As for the voice acting, well... I would bet money on the director just picking random people off the streets and seeing who was willing to read some nonsensical lines for $3.50. It genuinely pains me to say that the best voice acting in the entire thing was the cake mix commercial. The music, however, is entirely responsible for my enjoyment of this fever dream of an OVA. To see random snapshots of the main character's lives and the streets of New York City set to Footloose for a good 7 minutes or so was delightful. My overall rating was bumped up to a 2 instead of a 1 for the soundtrack. I'm tempted to have my mother watch it for the music alone.
Other miscellaneous notes: I could not and still can't tell the main characters apart. At one point they reused a shot of a crowd on the street, and I was forcibly reminded of a particular 18+ OVA called Tsui no Sora. One of the scenes was one of the brothers seemingly kissing the other while he was sick; I believe I actually paused the video and said, "What the heck?!" although with a few more expletives thrown in. At some point one of the characters' hair suddenly changes colour/style?? I think? No explanation is given. Cipher and Shiva's idea of breakfast food is apparently yogurt topped with vanilla ice cream, raisins, and peanut butter; I am horrified and disgusted. Finally, and most importantly, the Very Round Cat wears a bow tie.
Overall, Cipher the video is an unforgettable dumpster fire of an OVA. My life has been changed forever. Phil Collins playing during the credits where you just stare at a picture of the twins when they were younger is burned into my brain. This is one of those things that's so bad it's good. Or if not good, then at the very least it's the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. I enjoyed it tremendously. So if you're looking for something that embodies the 1980s like nothing else, something that will make you laugh yourself to tears, or just a calico cat with a too small bow tie, this is the OVA for you. I cannot recommend it enough.
