AKA: 花平バズーカ

Genre: Softcore hentai stupidity

Length: Television series, 55 minutes

Distributor: Subtitled VHS from ADV Films

Content Rating: 18+ (violence, sex, rape, deaths, suicide)

Related Series: N/A

Also Recommended: I'm not sure I WANT to recommend any similar shows here. There's always other Go Nagai features, but watch those at your own peril.

Notes: Editor's Notes: Based on the manga by Go Nagai serialized in Young Jump. (Technically by the normal naming procedures, he's Nagai Gou, but we make an exception for the sake of tradition here.) Bizarrely, this is released as a "general audience" title by ADV Films with a 16+ rating.

Rating:

Hanappe Bazooka

Synopsis

Hanappe, a semi-perverted and wimpy loser goes from longing for a girl he knows nothing about to being beat up by a gang of bullies until he pisses himself. And just as you think you can't bring yourself to hate him any more, he gets a visit from two demons who give him a gift of "point at someone and you can manipulate them into doing or thinking whatever you want."

Unfortunately, since he didn't bother reading the fine print, he made his parents' house into a demonic shag-fest/house party in the process.

Review

I just have to say this: when the DEMONS become the most likable characters in a show, you know there's something very wrong with it.

Unfortunately, Hanappe Bazooka just punctuates this by having everyone being selfish, misogynic and sex-crazed by nature. Even Hanappe's "pure and innocent girl" ended up being something more than what he bargained for. If it wasn't for Kama Sutra (which was "just mediocre") I would just dismiss all Go Nagai's efforts as crap.

The art is your typical Go Nagai art, and represents one of the two things I liked about this OAV. For all that I generally dislike his anime titles, I think his art style is good. The animation, however, leaves something to be desired. Not being outright BAD, it nevertheless shows signs of low-budget workings.

The scary part of this OAV is that it's supposed to be a comedy (albeit with some serious elements). There was preciously little to laugh about in this one, though. Outside of a fart joke and a fun character in the form of our main male demon character, the guy with the bazooka, everything here is sex -- with some rape included -- and, like I said, having Hanappe being beat up until he wets his pants. Ha ha. I am beside myself with laughter. No, really.

I would dismiss this one completely too, if the two main demon characters weren't bringing at least a TINY amount of fun into the picture and for not being outright bad like the other characters in this show. Granted, they didn't make the best of first impressions, but seeing the two mounting a rescue operation because Hanappe KILLED HIMSELF did make an impression on me. An especially fun character would be the cloak-wearing, bazooka-toting demon, who seems to have a bazooka shell for every occasion. (And, surprisingly enough, not all of them for exploding something.) Give this character his own show right now.

In the end, it only goes to show that even explosions and bazookas can't save this show. Leave well enough alone, already.

One extra star for the bazooka toting demon. You go. *pumps fist* — Stig Høgset

Recommended Audience: Lessee. Sex (though softcore at that), suicide, a rape or two, demon gangbangs (again; softcore), and violence to the point of pantywetting. I would recommend this to adults only, but since this is such an awful title, I recommend it to no one.