Wedding Peach, Vol. 1: Love Wave (1995)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Original Story by Sukehiro Tomita, Nao Yazawa, and Tenyu
Directed by Kunihiko Yayama

Features:

• Reversible cover
  
• Clean openings and closings
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• Pink and more pink
• Wedding bells a' plenty
• Preteen girls with crushes
• Soccer dudes
• Wicked villains

Released by: ADV Films
Region: 1
Rating: 13+
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 format.

My Advice: Must-see for fans of the magical girl genre.

Momoko, an ordinary junior high school student, has inherited a ruby ring from her mother--a ring that a mysterious floating villain named Lord Pluie is determined to take from her. Pluie works for the wicked Raindevila, who is determined to strip the world of love and make it less painful to those with loveless, hate-filled hearts. When a handsome angel named Limone comes to Momoko's rescue, he gives her a magical compact called the Saint Miroir; when Momoko opens the compact, she sees the Goddess Aphrodite looking back out at her and commanding her to transform into her secret identity, the Legendary Angel Wedding Peach. Momoko is stunned to say the least, but she obeys and learns that she really is this mystical warrior for love.

On this disc, we also learn that Momoko's friends, predictably enough, are similar angels, Angel Lily and Angel Daisy, each with their own power item. The girls are initially united in their affections for the captain of the school's soccer team, Yanagiba, but his friend, Yousuke, runs interference and draws the eye of Momoko.

The show sounds in print like a rather more unabashedly romantic rip-off of Sailor Moon, and in a way, it is. But it's also more than that. It has the same kind of irresistible charm that girls this age really do have. Some viewers may be alarmed by the idea of pre-teen brides, but whether we like it or not, many girls spend the years between ten and fourteen dreaming of bridal veils and giggling over boys, especially, it seems, young Japanese girls who are inexplicably fascinated by the trappings of Christian/Western weddings.

Adult Japanese women these days often choose to have a wedding that looks Christian without the religious elements; it's oddly trendy. Make no mistake--the weddings and gowns displayed so often in this show are solidly in the fluffy, white Western tradition, not the Buddhist or native Shinto tradition of Japan itself. So if it bothers you, see it for what it really is--girls still in their horsey phase fascinated by the idea of true love and foreign wedding traditions. No, it's not very traditionally feminist--but, after all, isn't that part of the point of feminism--that girls and girly things are also worthy of respect?

Another note is that while Momoko is a bit of a dimwit at times, she's far from as goofy as Serena/Sailor Moon. Any viewers who wished for a bit of a brighter hero and friends will appreciate the characters here: clever, feisty, kind Momoko, tomboy Hinagiku, and smart, quiet Yuri. All of the girls are remarkably mature, even given their crush on a boy; they spend more time in their Angel Warrior costumes than in their Angel Wedding Gown costumes, after all.

The audio and video of the show are both solid. The show sounds good in both Japanese and English, and both casts are surprisingly free of the annoying screeching that you might expect. The show looks a bit better than you might expect from a decade-old show as well. The colors are clear and bright, and the art is attractive and appropriate to the show. I have to say that the wedding gowns are not, on average, to my personal taste, but to each her own.

The features list is decent if unimpressive. We get a clean closing and opening, which should please fans of the show's art and music, and a reversible cover, but that's all we get. It would have been nice to have had some character or item profiles, especially as complex as this tale is in some ways. A closer look at the Magical Girl's magical tools are always appreciated, as would be a comparison between the manga and the anime, or simply some outtakes.

People who love shows such as Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura or the Pretty Soldier/Magical Girl genre in general will love Wedding Peach. Those anime fans who tend not to care for such unabashed adolescent femininity will probably not like this one, but may want to give it a shot just in case the overall charm of the show can win them over. If you are a closet romantic at heart, then try this one; it's not nearly as brain-dead or giggly as you think it will be.