Project A-ko: Love & Robots (1987)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Directed by Yuji Moriyama

Features:

• Music videos
  
• Deleted scene
  
• Trailers
  
• Meet the cast
  
• Graphic novel
  
• English and Japanese audio
  
• English subtitles
  
• DVD-ROM Features:
  • Art gallery
  • Scripts
  • Song lyrics
  • Full credits
  
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• Pointless parental units
• Motorcycle rapscallion
• Gratuitous wedding gowns

Released by: U.S. Manga Corps/Central Park Media
Rating: 13+
Region: 1
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 format

My Advice: Get it if you like A-ko. Otherwise, skip it.

Back in Graviton City, A-ko must once again defend her friend C-ko from the attentions of the evil genius B-ko, as well as a host of aliens and others who want to get their mitts on C-ko for one reason or another. This disc contains three separate movies that stand alone but do share continiuity. In “Plot of the Daitokuji Financial Group,” B-ko’s father is set to take over the world with one of B-ko’s own designs for giant robots. In “Cinderella Rhapsody,” A-ko and B-ko are not only fighting over C-ko, but over the dishy scoundrel Kei, who, of course, has his heart set on C-ko himself. Then, in “Final,” the girls’ teacher, Ayumi, decides that she is a lost alien princess (not unlike C-ko) and she, too, wants to win the heart of Kei. But all of this is secondary as C-ko’s alien mother has returned, determined to bring back her daughter once and for all.

The plots of these three movies are not unlike the plot of the earlier A-ko film. They all revolve around the friendship of A-ko and C-ko, and everyone’s desire to take C-ko away for their own purposes. We have the addition of a new love interest, Kei, and some of the other characters, like the aliens and Ayumi, have more screen time than before, but really, it’s still just the same old thing. If you enjoyed Project A-ko, then you’ll enjoy these three films, as well.

The audio quality of this release is rather decent. The voices are all loud and clear, with no fading or overly loud music. The colors, on the other hand, are at times rather problematic, especially with reds. At times, characters who are standing still have shifting colors and edges, even to a rather distracting degree. There are also some fading and screen wash issues, as well as some unclear or faded outlines.

Like the other A-ko disc release, the features list is stacked. The deleted scene is basically a bit of fan service A-ko cheesecake, but the music videos are nice if you like the 80s score, and the graphic novel is a great bonus. The DVD-ROM features are also quite nice, especially the scripts, which let you look at voice actors with new respect, as they struggle to match the cadence of English to the pacing of the Japanese animation.

In short, we’ve all had the experience if liking something that you know isn’t all that good, but that for some reason speaks to you--cheesy romantic comedies, kung fu films from the 60s, or my own oddball weakness, giant animal monster movies. Project A-ko is one of those titles that seems to just appeal to people, even though they know the comedy is a little weak, the characters are alternately bizarre or stupid, and the parodies aren’t nearly clever or funny enough. If you like this series, then rejoice in it, and enjoy this disc as another installment in the A-ko saga. If you don’t already love Project A-ko though, you’re probably better off giving this one a miss. May I instead recommend the hysterical and gloriously cheesy Lake Placid? It has giant alligators!