[.ca] Project A-ko 2/3/4 DVD: Love and Robots

From Amazon.com:
Although these three OAVs (original animation videos) were released years apart--and years after the original Project A-Ko feature--they all share a single plot: the battle between A-Ko, who possesses super-powers, and the super-rich, mecha-building B-Ko for the affections of the infantile C-Ko. (The names of the characters play off the Japanese equivalent of "Girl A, Girl B" to designate extras in a script.) In "Cinderella Rhapsody," A-Ko falls for the dashing motorcyclist Kei. B-Ko wants whatever A-Ko wants, and they're soon fighting over Kei and C-Ko. But Kei only has eyes for C-Ko. In "Final," C-Ko turns out to be a long-lost alien princess whose people come to reclaim her, but the story remains underdeveloped. C-Ko leaves with the alien fleet but turns up at A-Ko's door the next morning and announces, "I came back." Viewers may wonder why everyone is so gaga about a whiny case of arrested development like C-Ko, whether she's a princess or not. In Japan, the pursuit of C-Ko is seen as a manifestation of the intense, platonic friendships among high school students, rather than lesbian attraction, but a weird sexuality pervades the stories, which include androgynous bodybuilders in dresses. All three episodes are silly enough to make Tenchi Muyo! sound like Nietzsche. Rated 13 and up for brief nudity, occasional sexual humor, and violence. --Charles Solomon

The English dub audio sucks!!:
The anime of Project A-Ko is good, this is just a review on the poorly mastered audio of the English dub. I didn't feel like reading the subtitles to this movie so I put on the English dub and the sound is terrible. I know the audio source is over 10 years old, but come on the Japanese audio (I don't think neither were remastered) which is about 16-17 years old sounds way better. I had to switch over to that and read it with subtitles to watch it. I mean, when they went through all the trouble to remaster the video (which looks amazing on DVD) why didn't they go through the trouble of remastering BOTH tracks. If you watch this on the new CE DVD please watch it in Japanese because I watched it with my new Home Theater DVD system and the sound was terrible for the English dub! The movie is really good though

Want a fun animation??:
The first animation I've seen...The best animation I've seen. Absolutely great movie without being too serious or too joking. It has almost every thing an Animation fan would want. Robots, Space Ships, Planes, Super Powers and Fighting. Add a little humor and a dose of seriousness and you've got yourself a good time. The movie is about A-Ko, your average high school gal...with super powers?? Yep!! And her best friend C-Ko who is so nice and ignorant it's down right annoying. And the super genius antagonist B-Ko who is trying to steal C-Ko's affection away from A-Ko. Everything goes screwy when Aliens come to Earth looking for their long lost Princess. All and all this movie is awesome. If you haven't seen it than you're not a true animation fan! Have Fun with this one!

NOOOOOOOO:
WHAT DID THEY DO TO THIS POOR MOVIE?! Is it just me or did the, uh, "remastering" process turn this great film into a nearly unwatchable mess? All the colors in this film are very "washed out" almost "bleached" so that all colors tend towards a white "glare" look. All in all, a pathetic job in touching up one of the better anime satire movies around. This movie shouldn't have been given to some lackluster video company who was obviously indifferent as to the results of their process (just watch the "remastering" part of the DVD - the man seems to take no interest in the film he was paid to touch up). This is one of those few anime classics that deserve a full treatment - ideally, not only a modern video filter but also a conversion to digital that would allow modern animators to touch up the animation directly frame by frame- thus making colors vibrant, smooth, beautiful and characters sharp and distinct. The only reason to buy this is for the free soundtrack that is included. Other than that, expect a seriously marred and flawed version of an anime classic. Ouch.

Didn't feel like A-KO:
All things considered this one is probably better than the first one. I just had one problem, different voices. Most of the voices on this one are probably best known for their roles in Ranma 1/2. Venus Terzo (girl-type Ranma) really didn't make a good B-KO I thought. C-KO, who's always been a bit annoying, is played by the actor who plays Shampoo on Ranma, which her high pitch voice adds to the annoyment. But worst yet, the captain from the first A-KO, who I thought was a man, is really a woman. Scott Mcneil did a good job playing him/her, except when he sings. If you watch the Japanese version then everything's the same. I would recommend checking it out if you're a big A-KO fan.

A fun anime movie!:
A 16 year old redhead babe named " A-Ko" has superhuman powers and has many adventures in the big city including challenging her rival "B-ko" to have "C-Ko" for best friend, battle tough gals and male-like female aliens from space. A very good, hilarious, action packed and wacky anime spoof with good laughs, neat ideas and parodies of anime such as " Fist of the North Star", it's a leave your brain at the door anime with fine artwork and hot toon chicks. Also recommended: Fist of the North Star, Dragonball Z Movie Trilogy, Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend, The Professional: Golgo 13, Perfect Blue, Ninja Scroll, Millienium Actress, Bio-Hunter, Wicked City, Demon City Shinjuku, Sailor Moon Movie Trilogy, Ranma 1/2, Kill Bill.