Been watching a lot of Anime retrospective lately and
many of them focus on titles from the OVA boom that began in the 1980s. For those not in the know, OVAs are the Anime
equivalent of Direct to Video features and can range from movies to miniseries
to full on shows. They usually what I
refer to as “The best of both worlds”, the budget of a feature film that can be
applied a TV series length project.
Early OVAs also had a greater emphasis on the more extreme elements of
Anime due to their direct to video status.
This meant more violence and gore, nudity and sex, even horror that
pushed the boundaries of terrifying.
Because of this and more, OVAs became the most sought out titles in
Anime and boosted Anime’s worldwide appeal during it’s heyday between the Mid
80s to Mid 90s. Some of these titles
were gateway points for many Anime fans.
Recently, I’ve reviewed a great deal of these classics and…I haven’t
exactly had great things to say about them.
Maybe it’s because I wasn’t introduced to them so early on or maybe I’m
being too critical. But a lot of those
golden age OVAs have a ton of issues in terms of plot, pacing and characters
that you think would be more tightly controlled given how short they are. I do understand their influence on the genre
and fandom but they are flawed as heck.
It’s been a thought at the back of my head over the last year having
tackled some of these titles recently, so on today’s Top 5 Wednesday, I’m
counting down the Top 5 Classic OVAs I Just Cant Get Behind.
When I was litte, I noticed this title on the Blockbuster
Anime VHS shelf with a creepy cover and the same “not for kids” sticker that
was plastered on Akira’s VHS tape.
I
hoped to one day see Doomed Megalopolis and after a sneak peak at Otakon in
2021, I was even my hyped.
Then I
watched it and…wow what a let down.
For
an Anime deemed to be one of the craziest and scariest ever made, I’ve seen far
more nightmarish images in Hentai.
The
generational storyline doesn’t allow you to connect with any characters and the
continued thwarting of the main villain cosplaying as M. Bison from Street
Fighter makes him less and less intimidating.
Feel like this Doomed Megalopolis was as ambitious a failure as Francis
Ford Coppola’s own doomed Megalopolis movie.
#4-Battle Angel
Legends tell of Director James Cameron’s determination to
bring this title to live action, becoming a passion project…a project he’d
abandon in favor of overblown Avatar movies but that’s not here or there.
And while the Battle Angel Alita film saw the
light of day and was actually pretty good, the Anime source it took inspiration
from is surprising in that it’s one of the most dull and boring Anime I’ve seen
in recent year.
From lackluster
animation and action sequences to character storyarcs being rushed because this
was only supposed to be a Anime preview for the Manga, Battle Angel makes me
question if it was the original Manga that inspired Cameron cause who the heck
would want to make a movie out of this dreg?
(Btw, the Movie does hue pretty close to the OVAs storyline and actually
enhances it quite a bit).
#3-Demon City Shinjuku
Yoshiyaki Kawajiri is one of my favorite action Directors
but his early work was a little rough.
Wicked City laid the ground work for big things to come but his
directorial follow up, Demon City Shinjuku, was not a good next step.
This is a title that boasts everything that
new Anime fans would crave from stylish animation to over the top violence and
apocalyptic imagery.
And yet, Demon City
Shinjuku never takes full advantage of its premise or does anything to truly
impress.
The action is lackluster after
the opening.
The hero is lead is boring
and the plot is regurgitated whole sale every few scenes like it doesn’t trust
that anyones paying attention.
Probably
the biggest shoutout this movie got after its release was a small cameo in
1995’s Johnny Mnemonic.
Honestly, they
could have chosen a better title to slot into that scene.
#2-Megazone 23
Considering this is a title that’s inspired a ton of
popular scifi movies including Dark City and The Matrix, Megazone had a lot to
live up to when I sat down to watch its trilogy of stories.
What I got instead was a trilogy that only
got worse the more it went on.
Competing
animation styles, a story full of potential that was constantly wasted, this
OVA was clearly made on the fly with no plan or proper direction.
It’s animation is solid and I can see why
Megazone 23, Part 1 in particular was selected to become the feature film basis
for Robotech: The Movie. But outside of pretty visuals and a decent soundtrack,
Megazone 23 is pure nonsense that somehow inspired more thought provoking scifi
in its wake
#1-Bubblegum Crisis
Ooof, this one is rough.
Bubblegum Crisis should have everything I’d personally want in an Anime:
hot girls in mech suits battling bad ass cyborgs in a world inspired by Blade
Runner to the tunes of a kick ass 80s inspired soundtrack.
Instead, Bubblegum Crisis is all style and
little substance.
Yes, the music still
slaps today and the mecha designs are pique 80s Mecha legend.
But there’s no good story to go along with
them and the characters vary in terms of likeability and effectiveness at their
jobs.
This is a prime example of trying
to get by on cool factor alone and it does not work and Bubblegum Crash is
actually even worse as a supposed “finale”.
Do yourself a favor: watch the first episode of this OVA then watch the
much better TV adaptation: Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040.
It may not have the same timeless OVA visuals
but it’s a helluva better product than this unfinished disappointment.
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