Instead of being mortal enemies constantly at each other’s throats like in the movie and previous OVAs, in “The Versus,” A-Ko and B-Ko are partners who make a living as bounty hunters on an alien planet. C-Ko is the (adopted) daughter of the head of a major conglomerate, and due to a botched kidnapping attempt in outer space by the antagonists, she lands on A-Ko’s and B-Ko’s doorstep. A-Ko and B-Ko decide to fight the antagonists to save her, and uncover a nefarious plot about multiverses and an ancient witch in the process.
In general, the plot makes sense, but is driven forward primarily via the use of deus ex machinas, which makes story developments somewhat unsatisfying. The OVA also has characters with unexplained overpowered abilities, characters who should have died but inexplicably didn’t, out-of-character plot twists and confusing flashbacks. The second episode features the destruction of entire planets shown in a comedic light, and later tries to be serious but sorely misses the mark.
The main characters, the 3 “-Kos,” are similar to how they are in the rest of the franchise, but A-Ko and B-Ko are more like quarreling friends here, which is nice to see. Also, C-Ko is not with them as much, and most of the time she’s either sleeping or possessed by a witch, so the more annoying aspects of her character are toned down here. Due to the multiverse theme, we get a few glimpses into what the 3 “-Kos” are like in alternate worlds, including that of the first movie, which is interesting. The antagonists in this OVA are okay, but their motives are unclear. The main antagonists do state what they’re trying to achieve, but it comes out as a pseudo-philosophical jumbled mess. If they were to achieve their goal, it’s difficult to say what would actually happen. And the lesser antagonists’ motivations are even less understandable. Rounding out the cast are C-Ko’s doting father and attendant, and Maruten, a small, Doraemon-like ally of the protagonists.
The technical aspects of this OVA are all average to above-average. The animation is decent, but the facial expressions are a little cheap and static, and the art doesn’t look as nice as in previous installments. The background music is pretty good, and the ending themes, both sung by B-Ko’s voice actress, are pleasant to listen to, although not all that memorable. The voice acting and direction are good.
Similar to the previous OVAs and movie, “A-Ko the Versus” has a fair amount of objectionable content, particularly nudity and suggestive shots (about six or seven such scenes in both episodes). These scenes aren’t relevant to the plot and seem superfluous. There is also a fair amount of violence and even death in this OVA.
Overall, “A-Ko the Versus” isn’t a terrible OVA, and offers the chance to think of what the franchise could be like if it were rebooted in a different setting. However, the contrived and botched execution of the plot often leads to nonsensical outcomes at the expense of character development, and the dispensable fanservice does this OVA no favors. I would recommend watching this only if you are a huge fan of the “Project A-Ko” characters, or are in the mood to watch a superficial sci-fi action comedy and don’t care too much about character development or a solid plot.
