Fire tripper is a interesting little OVA and while watching it i couldn't help but think it was the first draft of Inu Yasha or it borrowed heavily from it for inspiration. Of course it is made by Rumiko Takashi the maker of Inu Yasha so it is not a far stretch to believe she borrowed elements as she has done in the past and currently does.
The story is all within this one episode and it feels very fast paced. In the amount of time used it actually creates a fairly interesting plot with a good ending with a rather enjoyable surprise. I think they did good with the story over all and maybe had the ova been 30 minutes longer or two episodes they may have been able to resolve any pacing issues.It feels like a short story in that you understand everything cause its laid out openly but its short,sweet and to the point.
The characters are hard to identify with or grow attached to in such a short amount of time but that does not mean they are bad characters. Revolving around only the two main characters you do get a decent understanding of there feelings even if you don't have enough time and content to attach yourself to them personally. The characters do whats intend effectively and you can appreciate the simplicity of it all.
The Art and Audio are very early 80s and make me personally feel nostalgic of a lot of Rumic Works. I have no complaints about either department as they both look and sound perfectly fine for the time it was made and the budget and length of the project itself. I actually like the male leads character design and his color pallet. The main leads both resemble characters from Inu Yasha a great deal.
Overall i really enjoyed this Ova in particular over the other Rumic Ovas, it was just enjoyable. I felt interested the whole time and i wanted to see the conclusion as it built. Being a big fan of older anime i recommend this to anyone who likes classic. Modern anime viewers may not enjoy it as much cause of its age.