Somehow, a copy of one of these DVD's made it onto MY shelf. That's only because I explicitly sought it out. I'm a fan of the "Sorcerer Hunters" anime series and discovered that this OVA existed as a spin-off of that "universe". And I also like me some good trashy 90's OVA, so I knew I had to have this.
Indeed, this is a spin-off of "Sorcerer Hunters". It's almost like you could say "Meanwhile, elsewhere on the Spooner continent..." in the middle of "Sorcerer Hunters" and skip off into this story. While there are no references to the sorcerer hunters as an organization or characters like "Big Momma", it sports many of the same story elements. For example a corrupt town run by an aristocratic sorcerer which has some monster running amok. If you've seen "Sorcerer Hunters" this feels exactly like one of the "sorcerer of the week episode" plots from that series.
Likewise, if you're familiar with Akahori's manga, or the "Sorcerer Hunters" anime, you'll recall that he's got this weird penchant for using of food, beverages or other proper nouns from other languages to name various characters. Such as it goes here, with multiple examples like "Gin Fizz" or "Count Cuttlefish", again just like in "Sorcerer Hunters". The main character here warrants special note as he is a sorcerer literally named "Chivas Scotch" after the famous blended Scotch whisky brand Chivas Regal.
The whisky brand again provides the name of the manga "Chivas 1-2-3". Ergo, this anime is also known as "Chivas 1-2-3" in Japan, identical to the manga title. However, the US retail DVD title is "Sorcerer on the Rocks". One assumes ADV, the original and so far only US licensor, changed both the title and the character name (in subtitles and credits) to "Shivas Scotch" to avoid legal issues with the Chivas Brothers corporation. Well and also it's a translation technicality. The word "Chivas" is really a surname and is pronounced more like "sheh-vis", even by the Scots themselves, as is evident in the word's rendering in Japanese Katakana as "シーバス" which when transliterated into romaji is "shiibasu". Additionally, using "Sorcerer" in the retail DVD title also kind of ties it into the "Sorcerer Hunters" brand for marketing purposes, I suppose (Note: ADV originally licensed the "Sorcerer Hunters" TV and OVA in the US as well).
Aside from Chivas himself, the rest of the primary cast includes Chivas' three companions/servants. These are; a chaste raven-haired cleric-maiden named "Gin Fizz" (usually referred to as "Fizz"), a spunky green-haired sylvan animagus girl named "Kiss the Wolf" (usually referred to as "Kiss") and a red-haired male swordsman named Gemini. This motley crew is ostensibly a team of bounty hunters, but Chivas will do pretty much anything if the money is good and he's interested in the work.
Right at the outset in the anime it's made clear that our titular MC Chivas is a massive cocksure bastard. Highlighted in a particularly puerile opening conversation between he and Fizz. Not too much further in, we're also shown that he's an unabashed hedonist. He loves to live up the nightlife on the seedy backstreets, drinking, gambling and womanizing in dive bars, brothels and casinos. He's also a bit of a deadbeat, currently in debt to a female loan shark named "Million Dollar".
In general, Chivas' characterization is consistent with the established premises from "Sorcerer Hunters"; that all sorcerers are in general bastards or are otherwise irredeemable. Apparently Akahori writes them as exemplars for the the epithet that "all power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely". In "Sorcerer Hunters" we saw this repeated time and again with the "sorcerer of the week" episodic stories showing corrupt self-centered aristocratic sorcerers abusing their power for their selfish or hedonistic desires. Indeed some were characterized as grotesquely degenerate. Even the sorcerers portrayed as having the best of intentions were revealed as ultimately corrupted by the use of their power. Certainly, Chivas further exemplifies these general characteristics.
With that back premise, it's not completely surprising then that Chivas' morals are shown to be even more questionable when it appears that Fizz and Kiss are somehow enslaved to him. They both wear what look like collars with a few chain links attached to represent this fact (though Kiss's may also represent a "dog collar" considering her wolf form). Additionally they refer to Chivas as "master" and he literally commands them to do things to which they seem unable or unwilling to disobey. A salient example is, after Chivas gambles and looses all their money he forces Kiss and Fizz to work as lewd dancers (wearing bunny costumes, of course) in a bar to pay for their lodgings and other daily expenses. This situation being much to Fizz's chagrin; obviously not something she would choose to do of her own volition.
While the ever perky Kiss seems completely happy being Chivas' slave/servant (again playing up the dog/wolf angle), it's strongly implied that Fizz is only associated to Chivas because he must have somehow enslaved her against her will. Mainly because their intrinsic natures are diametrically opposed. As previously mentioned, Chivas gets off on things like gambling, drinking and prostitution, all of which are anathema to Fizz.
Chivas is also a very powerful sorcerer and is a stereotype model of the "over-powered main character" trope. He can cast a spell called "chaser" which turns him into a giant winged sentinel clad in gold armor. In this form he can summon a mighty sword and wields devastating magic. However, in this state his real body becomes a vulnerable crystalline shell. Nevertheless, Chivas' prowess is legendary and this feeds into his already egotistical personality.
The primary plot unfolds with Chivas and crew down and out on the outskirts of the town of Gesoura; a known seedy burg filled with all sorts of characters of ill repute. After a few expository events, they make their way into town, whereupon Chivas promptly heads to the bars to get his drinking and womanizing game on. Not long after a massive monster appears and starts attacking the town, which prompts a perturbed Chivas to intervene. This, of course, gives us in the audience the opportunity to see Chivas' unrestrained power in fully-animated glory.
The next day Chivas visits the town's aristocratic sorcerer, Count Cuttlefish, to take him up on his bounty request to address this issue with the monster. For a massive cash reward, of course. However, the next encounter with the monster doesn't go to plan as Gemini, Fizz and Kiss attempt to handle it on their own. This premise provides an opportunity to mainly show a sequence with Gemini and Kiss fighting, including Kiss's transformation into her wolf form (girls turning into animals was a thing in the 90's). Eventually though, Chivas' has to suspend his debauchery at the bars and intervene. On arrival he eventually casts "chaser" but in the battle his crystalline body shell is damaged.
Apparently his physical body being damaged has happened multiple times previously, and when it does, Chivas' spirit takes up residence in Fizz's body until his real body can manifest physically again. This leads to the classic anime trope of a body swap or "shared body", and we now see a split personality version of Fizz; the normal Fizz and when Chivas takes over as himself in Fizz's body. Ultimately this plays out to the end of the second episode when his physical body is restored again.
Now, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that underneath all that massive ego Chivas has a heart of gold. Maybe he does in the manga, but in the anime he's little more than an unrepentant hedonist ass. Mainly in how he treats his crew. First, Chivas seems rather dismissive of Gemini. Mostly because Gemini comes across as gay for Chivas which Chivas absolutely rebukes. Though it does not appear Gemini is a slave like the girls, meaning Gemini is hanging around just because he's got the hots for Chivas. We don't get any hint that Chivas cares whether he's around or not. Chivas does otherwise treat the slave girls with a modicum of deference, but that's because to him they are his property. This is exemplified by a late scene where, in Fizz's body, Chivas receives a minor cut on her cheek, to which his response is (in the ADV subtitles) "how dare he scratch something of mine". Regardless of how they relate to him, Chivas still clearly believes he literally owns Fizz at least. Thus, in the very end, when Fizz seems to profess her devotion to Chivas, it sounds more like Stockholm syndrome taking hold than a genuine admission of affection.
As a final word on content, these kinds of OVA were never really meant to be broadcast on television, and almost always contain graphic prurient content. This one is no exception. Kiss is usually pretty scantily clad so she's around mostly for fan-service. We see both Kiss and Fizz in the bath at times, with various amounts of frontal nudity on display. Towards the end, a situation arises where Chivas, in Fizz's body has to awaken and save her, which leaves her (well Chivas as her) standing around basically buck naked for quite a bit of runtime. So, yes, this thing should be considered R18 or TV-MA.
Overall, this show can be a fun chaser to a re-watch of "Sorcerer Hunters", but on it's own isn't great. I mean, it's not bad for a classic 90's trash OVA. Production values are decent, above average for a two part OVA and the plot is mildly cohesive. Even the ADV dub is serviceable if you don't care to read the subs on this. I personally like it well enough for what it is. However, if you're into digging up nuggets like this, you probably should try to find it online somewhere streaming for free and just experience it once. That is unless you're a "Sorcerer Hunters" fan (like me) or are somehow an actual fan of the "Chivas 1-2-3" manga, then your best bet is to hunt for the ADV DVD on Ebay, or maybe a lucky strike at a used/trade-in video store if one exists in your town.
Really if anything about this sounds like your glass of Scotch, there are plenty other things out there now that are like it and much better. Primarily Yukiya Murasaki's "How Not To Summon A Demon Lord" light novel series. The TV anime adaptation of same is basically this same premise only different, or maybe "more 21st century". Instead of body-swap it uses the isekai trope to put an otaku into a fantasy world as an over-powered demon sorcerer. Said sorcerer has two slave girls, one's an elf not to dissimilar in style from Kiss but fills more of Fizz's role, and the other is a cat-girl mage who looks more like Fizz but provides the "furry factor" as an alternative to Kiss's role. That and it's got the same or more ecchi factor to it. Though the only drawback is some lolicon elements, which I personally find to be a disturbing 21st century anime trend (it's always been around but seems to have gotten worse). The one positive thing about these old 90's anime is, thankfully, lolicons weren't as much of a thing.
If you liked this (or maybe can't find it or don't care to) or it otherwise sounds interesting and would like something similar, Paladin recommends the following:
- "Sorcerer Hunters", obviously
- "How Not To Summon A Demon Lord", for reasons stated above
- "The Rising of the Shield Hero", similar themes including slave girls and bastard aristocrats
- "Sorcerous Stabber Orphen", over-powered MC who's a sorcerer and kind of a bastard
- "Bastard!!", another OP MC sorcerer who is literally a bastard, and also another classic (early) 90's OVA series
- "Overlord", yet another OP MC sorcerer with a literal army of sycophantic OP servants
- "Gestalt", over-powered sorcerers featured prominently, as are slavery themes; it's also another classic 90's OVA
