Super Duper Sumos, Vols. 1-3 (2001)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Created and Written by Kevin O'Donnell
Starring the voices of Matt Hill, Ben Hur, Cusse Mankuma, and Richard Newman

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• Butts
• Butts
• More butts
• Yet. More. Butts.
• And a yak. With a butt.

Released by: ADV
Region: 1
Rating: Safe for all ages
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 format.

My Advice: Run. Or get Sailor Moon instead.

Super Duper Sumos is a comedy cartoon (not to be confused with anime) relating the story of three sumo wrestlers who live and practice together in an apartment. Each sumo represents one of the sacred values of Peace, Honor, or Truth (or "PHAT"), and they are also nicely ethnically diverse, making it clear that white guys and black guys can be sumo, too. Throw Ms. Mister (ha) and her Bad, Inc. into the group as the supervillain and you have something so uniquely ordinary that the paradox just might kill you.

This show could have been funny, but instead it’s just silly. Aiming for an audience of pre-pubescent boys who still like butt jokes and think being loud is the same as being funny, the show just flounders in its own banality. There are a couple of amusing moments, but they are too few and too far between to really make this show a success or even very enjoyable.

The audio quality is fine, with crisp voices, though some of the sound effects and the music are oddly loud in comparison to the overall tone of the show; perhaps this is meant to appeal to the short-attention spans of the target demographic. The visual quality is fine, but then the art doesn’t ask much of it. The art is very primitive in style with unshaded, bright colors used almost exclusively. In addition, the detail given to drawing the large, butt lobes of these characters is disturbing in and of itself, and as they are constantly waved in the faces of viewers, you can’t help but see them.

There are, of course, also some racial issues with this show, in that the white character is portrayed as a rather brainless surfer-dude, the Asian character is predictably wise--but inscrutable and apparently humorless, and the black character is ignorant and a bit violent. Just calling them representatives of virtues isn’t enough to actually sell that association.

In short, if you love sumo, you’ll be horrified by this show, but if you enjoy jokes about fat, butts, and the occasional fart, then go for it. Fans of shows like The Powerpuff Girls might want to give this a rental just in case it appeals, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. It basically plays like a cheerful, kiddy version of Ren & Stimpy, and that’s not a compliment.