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[Project A-ko Versus box art]
AKA: Project A-ko Vs Battle 1: Grey Side, Project A-ko Vs Battle 2: Blue Side
Genre: Quasi sci-fi
Length: OAV, 2 episodes, 50 minutes each
Distributor: VHS and R1 DVD from US Manga Corps out of print.
Content Rating: PG (violence)
Related Series: Project A-ko
Also Recommended:
Notes: A spinoff of the Project A-ko series.
Rating:

Project A-ko: Versus

Synopsis

Vs. Red Side/Vs. Grey Side takes place in an alternate universe separate from any of the other Project A-ko movies. C-ko, the daughter of a wealthy corporate CEO, is kidnapped by space pirates (why anyone would ever want to kidnap her is beyond me). Enough said.

Meanwhile, A-ko and B-ko are living together on a deserted planet, making their meager living by snaring giant horseshoe crabs (why anyone would WANT one is, again, beyond me). It was just another day for them, when suddenly out of the blue (well, the black; it was night at the time) down comes C-ko, having apparently fallen out of the spacecraft of the pirates (yes, she's that stupid).

Of course, the space pirates aren't gonna just let her get away like that, since C-ko's actually the key to reawakening an ancient witch with the power to completely reform the universe. Fights, and ... stuff. Yeah.


Review

Yick yet again. I didn't care much for this one at all.

Defenders of Project A-ko tell me that Project A-ko is a comedy and a parody, and thus not to be taken seriously. I understand that. What I don't understand is why the producers of this movie apparently equate "comedy" with "stupid." The humor is so base, it's painful to watch. Emotions and reactions are exaggerated to the point of grotesqueness, and the jokes fall WAY flat (maybe it's the dubbing, or something, which, while not bad, wasn't great, either). Some of the gags made me chuckle, and were actually quite funny, but unfortunately they were in the vast minority.

The plot is so inane it isn't even fun to make fun of anymore. Some witch has to reawaken a dragon to reform the entire universe, but you can kill it with a special sword. Bleah. If they were trying to make fun of the cliche, they did a poor job of it because the plot was the one thing that the movie seemed to try and take seriously. And some of the plot twists so defied logic and reasonability that I was tempted more than once to shut the VCR off before the anime had even finished, something that has only happened to me twice. I don't even want to talk about it.

Animation was adequate, nothing fancy, nothing terrible, either. The characters (except for A-ko, who I felt was the most likeable out of the lot, and only probably because she looks a bit like onna-Ranma) were all either completely unengaging or completely irritating. Geez.

In short, I didn't like this one one bit. I've heard that the earlier A-ko movies are much better, so I'll try and see the first one. But this one is definitely not for me. Maybe I'm too stuck up to appreciate that kind of humor.

Stay far, far away, unless you're of the opinion that Pee Wee Herman epitomizes the essence of sophisticated humor.Raphael See

Recommended Audience: No nudity per se, although A-ko does tramp around in her skivvies for a while, and the female Space Pirate is quite, um, built for a kiddie show. Cartoon-type violence. Probably okay for the Dragon Ball Z crowd; however, that doesn't mean they should watch this thing.



Version(s) Viewed: VHS, Japanese with English subtitles
Review Status: Full (2/2)
Project A-ko: Versus © 1990 Final-Nishijima / NEXTART
 
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