Devil Hunter Yohko (1990) Anime OVA Series Review

Mamono Hantā Yōko - Devil Hunter Yohko is a 1990 action comedy fantasy anime OVA mini-series that was released until 1995 and consists of six episodes. It was directed by Katsuhisa Yamada, Hisashi Abe, Jun'ichi Sakata and Akiyuki Shinbo with scripts by Sukehiro Tomita, Hisaya Takabayashi, Katsuhisa Yamada, Tatsuhiko Urahata. The cast includes Aya Hisakawa, Konami Yoshida, Yūji Mitsuya, Hiromi Tsuru, Chieko Honda and Noriko Hidaka. Aya Hisakawa also gives us some wonderful songs on the soundtrack, which take prominence as a way to sell the series. The success of the OVA series was enough to warrant a manga created by Gaku Miyao in 1996.

Teenager Yohko lived a normal life in Japan but one day she finds out that every woman in her family becomes a powerful demon hunter, who must go after the forces of evil once they are unleashed. Backed by her grandmother, her friend Chikako and an unwanted apprentice named Azusa, Yohko must both struggle between her new life as a demon fighter and maintain her virginity or else she will lose her abilities.

This coming-of-age fantasy action show with strong ecchi elements plays out like a normal storyline involving a girl that comes from a lineage of demon hunter women who battle the forces of darkness with their powers and abilities. This, of course, comes with the price of having to neglect some typical teenage stuff in favor of her duty. This is where some of the main conflicts in the show are found but none of it really becomes the focus as every episode changes the stakes drastically. Every chapter is a self-contained story, this episodic structure could have worked better if the show had far more episodes instead of just six (well, five actually but we can't count episode 4). So even though the episodes are fun and captivating you end up wanting a lot more.

I think my issue is that most of the series doesn't have a throughline outside of just presenting the main set-up in its near perfect first episode. The rest are just secluded plots with their own narrative, not relating much to each other. Not only that, but episode four is just a clip show that consists of new music videos with some footage from the series. It's of no real interest outside of some cute new animation but it works as something you can put on the background. Either way, the other storylines aren't bad, they are fun and playful while having enough emotional load to be worthwhile.

I gotta say some things about the series are quite disturbing or creepy, it invokes scenarios and images that are somewhat crude and daring in how much they want to deliver in the fanservice department but while having such inappropriate elements. An example is the female teacher harassing a male student or the several panty shots of the girls, some who are very young. It's weird but it's all greatly animated and brought to life that it looks nice. The animation itself is a highlight as the amazing battles between the main girl and the demons are outstanding in how majestic and epic they are executed. This is something that really couldn't have been as polished and detailed if it was a proper TV series, so the lack of episodes ultimately works out.

With great technical aspects and some entertaining episodes, Devil Hunter Yohko is a highly recommended retro anime series that will be more than enough for vintage anime fans.

Wanna-Be's (1986) Anime OVA Review

Wanna-Be 's is a 1986 action sports sci-fi wrestling anime OVA directed by Yasuo Hasegawa and written by Toshimichi Suzuki. It features character design work done by manga artist Ken'ichi Sonoda and Yoshiharu Shimizu served as animation director. The voice cast features Eriko Hara, Miki Takahashi, Shūichi Ikeda, Akio Nojima, Eiko Yamada and Urara Takano. It also had metal music by Japanese band Seikima-II and an ending theme by Saori Saitō. Produced by Anime International Company, Wanna Be 's became a cult direct to video release among otakus, particularly because it took advantage of the Japanese wrestling craze of the time.

Miri and Eri are two female wrestlers known as the Wanna-Be's, who fight furiously in the ring against their local foes the Foxy Ladies. However, things get shady when the mysterious Kidou Corporation offers them a chance to better their capabilities. The girls begin to feel some strange and awkward changes in their bodies and uncover the company's nefarious hidden plans.

Considering that this was just a year after Dirty Pair, it's not strange to see a leading pair heavily inspired by them and with similar designs and personalities. The redhead with the short hair embodies a tomboyish attitude and her fiery nature, while the long haired girl with a less arresting color has elements that signal her calm demeanor and more "feminine" personality. The two have some chemistry and enjoy modernity through the futuristic lenses the show sets up, sharing a strong bond and a love for combat. The only difference is that the Wanna Be's don't cause a giant mess everywhere they go.

This OVA is quite awesome from the start, it goes right to the point and gives you the money shots you expect, it really grabs you from the start and never lets go, putting you on a short but very enjoyable roller coaster of wild wrestling action up to the science fiction brawl from the climax with all of it making perfect sense and never feeling out of place. I honestly wasn't expecting the turn it took around the half way mark but it was a very welcome surprise. The versatile genre elements it shuffles really do come together seamlessly.

As you might expect, we also witness some potent wrestling anime action, you can tell the animators and directors took their time and studied the different moves and maneuvers that were common at the time in the sport, having the girls perform them and be victims of them, arriving at some striking poses. The actual direction is also solid as the shots are dynamic, intense, well timed, edited smoothly and with the angles emphasizing the ferocity of the encounters. It's a shame we weren't gifted with even more matches or perhaps more characters in the ring. We have a good variety of bodies and colors in there, but it would have been cool to get more lady matches in there as a way to expand the world because the few that we see kind of make the world seem a bit narrow.

This is a radically deranged and out there anime OVA that mixes both sports fanservice with the imaginative thrills of a sci-fi monster anime of its time quite expertly.