Real Bout High School: Enter the Samurai Girl (vol. 1) (2002)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Character Design by Keiji Gotoh
Directed by Shinichi Toukairin
Music by Takeshi Yasuda

Features:

• outtakes
  
• translator's notes
  
• trailers
  
• four making-of featurettes
  
• Japanese TV promo commercials
  
• contains 4 episodes
  
• English or Japanese audio
  
• English subtitles
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• panty-rific
• sparring at the drop of a hat
• hellooooo nurse

Rating: 13+

Anamorphic: N/A

My Advice: Own it.

A common trope in Anime is having an entire student body attack a single main character, usually a female, every morning before school. This time, it's Ryoko Mitsurugi, champion of the K-Fight, and reigning warrior of Daimon High. What is a "K-Fight", you ask? A K-Fight is the heart and soul of Daimon High, a spontaneous sparring match that breaks out whenever there is an issue to be settled or a duel to be fought. Real Bout High School, then, is about a school where fighting is not only allowed, but codified and encouraged. After one such K-Fight, Ryoko finds (sort of steals, actually) a mysterious pendant that periodically and with no warning transports her to the strange alternate world of Solvania, where she is hailed as a Demon Lord and expected to fight giant dragon-like demon beasts.

The characters in Real Bout High School are perhaps surprisingly engaging for a martial arts comedy. Ryoko is suitably dedicated to her swordcraft, but she is also bright, witty, and good-hearted. She even has a groupie: Daisaku, who stalks her with a camera most of the day. Ryoko has a crush on the kendo coach, Tatsuya, who respects Ryoko's talents, and this leads to her rival, Shizuma, the naginata-wielding leader of the ikibana club. Shizumo Kusinagi is the former champion of Daimon, recently defeated by Ryoko in a now-famous K-Fight, and so on. The characters may be stock in one sense, but they are so nicely developed and have enough unique peccadillos that you won't be bothered when one of them reminds you of a character in another title.

The art of Real Bout High School is good, and the digital conversion shows it off. The characters are cute, but they have individual looks that won't distinctly remind you of some other character from another series, even if they match a general type. The production values are blessedly high; too many titles have had good art ruined because of poor recording. The fight scenes are quick, but clear, and each motion is amazingly well tracked and depicted.

A special word should also be said about the menus, particularly. While motion-menus are becoming standard already, the motion menus of Real Bout High School are done particularly cleverly and with care. They are done in the style of a game console fighting game, something like Street Fighter. There's even appropriate sound. Hopefully, the level of care and artistry devoted to menus will increase, as it seems to denote a degree of dedication to the title in general.

The features on this disc are marvelous. I like the way TokyoPop is adding a section of out-takes to their discs--showing voice actors screwing up accompanied by the animation. Some of these out-takes are hysterical, and in any case, it's good to see behind the scenes, as it were. The featurettes may not always be something special, but again, learning more about the people behind the voices, as well as the creative talent is always a good thing. I hope the trend to treat Anime titles seriously continues; a good series deserves extras.

Real Bout High School is, overall, a solid comedy title. There may not be anything shockingly "new" here, but all too often, titles trying too hard to be "different" forget about being "good." Real Bout High School is funny, witty, well-drawn and produced, and the features are great. What more could you ask? Fans of titles like Ranma 1/2, Outlaw Star, and other comedy titles will appreciate the light-hearted slapstick blended with action and fantasy. Check it out and have some fun with Ryoko and crew.