Project A-ko is a 1986 action comedy sci-fi anime movie directed by Katsuhiko Nishijima (Agent Aika, Megami Paradise, Sailor Victory, Najica Blitz Tactics), written by Nishijima along with Tomoko Kawasaki and Yuji Moriyama. It starts voice actors such as Miki Itō, Emi Shinohara, Michie Tomizawa and Asami Mukaidono. Musicians Richie Zito and Joey Carbone did the score and music for the film. The project started as an episode of the Cream Lemon hentai OVA series but it was eventually elevated into a theatrical release after its potential was noticed. Named after Jackie Chan's Project A (1983) and taking inspiration from several series and movies the animators and the creative team were familiar with (from Fist of the North Star to Captain Harlock), the film was essentially a giant inside joke among not only anime nerds but also just between the crew working on it. It was meant to be such a light hearted movie that the generic names of A-ko, B-ko and C-ko were left in as the final character names.
Young A-ko has been transferred to the all-female Graviton High School alongside her absent minded and infantile childhood friend C-ko, who seems to be platonically infatuated with A-ko. Another potent obsession is awakened inside the composed but somewhat maniacal rich girl B-ko, who wants C-ko for herself. The problem is, A-ko was gifted with astounding superpowers (she’s the daughter of Superman and Wonder Woman, no joke) and is able to defeat powerful enemies as well as sprint at inhuman speeds when she is late to school. This story unfolds as a wild and unrelenting series of encounters between the girls and their fight over the childish blondie, who also happens to be a cosmic princess in the sight of aliens who want to take her back.
Cute anime girls being silly, fighting with each other alongside robots and mechanical devices with their superpowers and being the subject of pantyshots, those are most of the things you will see here. It's a hard-hitting roller coaster ride with all of its exhilarating ups and downs. The sense of marvelous fun and otaku references are things Project A-ko is known for, but there's a little bit more to it.
One of the first things you notice is the magnificent animation, with it being ultra dynamic and full of weight as the physics allow you to feel the crushing and bending of metal and cement, the flexible and firm bodies of the characters, supplemented by their fast and rapid movements are all skillfully animated and give volatility and variety to the form with all of its stunning techniques. Most of the animators came from Urusei Yatsura, and the work of Katsuhiko Nishijima, Yoshiharu Fukushima, Shōichi Masu and Tsukasa Dokite is top notch.
Sometimes the movie is criticized for not being too concrete in its treatment of the girl's relationship, being quite ambiguous regarding whether or not they are romantically interested in each other, but since the movie deals with a more childish mentality I would say that it's actually about this obsession kids may have with being friends with each other and building some sort of bond just because they find someone likable or cool, something that doesn't intrinsically relate to a romantic feeling. I feel like this is the subject of parody and having this banal and silly want be the main driving force behind the characters as it is exaggerated to unreal degrees is part of the overall joke. However, you can also read it the other way and it wouldn't really affect much.
The movie starts out as a low stakes story determined by a semi-episodic structure with a very light thread building under the surface. Most of the story concerns A-ko's constant run-ins with the nefarious B-ko, whether this involves fighting against the alpha girl's minions and machines or against B-ko herself in her armor. Deep into the movie the b-plot involving the intergalactic menace kicks in, not only setting the stakes to a higher level but also unleashing an array of intricate action set-pieces with prolonged fights escalating in both intensity and humour until they reach a hilarious crescendo.
The already mentioned escalation, along with the disregard for a strictly logical world achieve a sublime unpredictability that allows the film to unchain itself from the bounds of reason and jump into absurdity, with constant movement and rapid-fire pace to entertain all the way, without even expecting the spectator having to understand all of its objects of parody, which become more and more assimilated into the story as the plot becomes nullified by its arbitrary twists and turns, and also because of the way they are stretched and incorporated into the world by the sequels, but we will see that later on.
Not having a "serious" tone allows the film to go for a much more parodic angle in which normal logic and sane thinking don't really apply, letting the animators get away with phenomenal images as the animation talent goes into the fights and jokes without rest. Constructed as a series of gags building on top of each other there is a nonstop craziness that runs through Project A-ko, with all of its goofiness and creative sequences overflowing with craft and care for the animation process.
A movie that shows that both simple stories and references are enough to make a film if there's enough craft and structure backing it up in order to arrange its elements into a complete work. Highly recommended for any anime fan.
The movie would become one of the most popular and influential anime works of all time and gained a popularity in the USA that was unheard of at the time for a Japanese animated movie. This would lead to several OVA sequels, a reboot, comics and more. Cemented as a classic, Project A-ko is a wonderful piece of anime history that stands to this day.
