L-sama
04-23-2007, 09:19 PM
Title: All-Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku DASH! A.K.A Bannou Bunka Neko-Musume DASH!
Genre: Action/Romance/Comedy
Company: MOVIC/Project Banneko DASH
Format: 12 OVA
Dates: 9/23/1998 to 12/23/1998
On his way home, 14-year-old Ryunosuke Natsume witnesses a mysterious girl save a cat from a speeding truck with super-human agility and grace. He returns home to tell his parents of the event not only to find the same girl from before sitting in his living room, but to also discover that she’ll be living with them! Her name is Atsuko Higuchi, or rather Nuku Nuku, and she has Ryunosuke smitten for her. However, there’s more to her than meets the eye, for when someone threatens Maneki City or its inhabitants, she becomes a super strong Androbot fighter born to destroy that which threatens life!
Summary by L-sama
Score: 62%
http://www.animenfo.com/image/anime_37.jpg
Highs: Occasionally funny; The second part tries to redeem itself
Lows: Sub-par animation; Atypical Nuku Nuku; Useless fan service; Cop-out Ending
Released as a sister project to the Nuku Nuku TV series, Nuku Nuku DASH! is a totally different take on the Nuku Nuku story in comparison to the TV series as well as the OVA that came before it. Unfortunately, it seems as though too many things were changed, as this anime ends up being the weakest of the three.
DASH! still keeps one thing in common with its predecessors: comedy. Several moments made me chuckle (many of them focusing around Ryunosuke's pining over Nuku Nuku), but overall, the comedy that Nuku Nuku fans know and love just isn’t there. This is mainly because Nuku Nuku isn’t her normal, bubbly self. In DASH!, she’s much more soft spoken (not to mention sporting a totally different hair color) and with the exception of one episode, shows none of the cat-like traits that made her so funny before. Even Megumi Hayashibara's performance as Nuku Nuku is lacking. Most of the comedy from before is replaced with attempts at drama in DASH!, which fall well short of their intended targets. Fan service levels are also alarmingly high by Nuku Nuku standards, especially after watching the TV series. After the first five episodes alone, I almost decided not to finish the series due to the barrage of breasts that did nothing for an already shallow plot.
On a higher note, the action gets boost here in terms of frequency. However, it quickly falls under the “Villain of the Week” routine as each episode becomes very predictable: Someone tries to capture Nuku Nuku, the city gets threatened, Nuku Nuku transforms and attacks, the end. A good deal of these action sequences, as well as Nuku Nuku’s transformation sequence, are made of reused animation cycles that reminded me of such anime as Sailor Moon. There is just one fight that ends up being interesting, but nothing is developed after it, leaving me rather disappointed. The overall poor animation for this OVA does nothing to help out at all; even at its best, it pails in comparison to its older 1992 sibling.
In spite of all of this, the second part of this series, starting at episode 8, begins to show some promise. A main villain appears with real motives other than capturing Nuku Nuku, and some answers finally make themselves known in Nuku Nuku’s past. Though the plot devices are rather clichéd, it is still a welcome change to the former. Everything begins to gain steam, seemingly headed for a monumental final clash between Nuku Nuku and the evil forces of Mishima Industries only to turn into one of the biggest cop-outs I’ve ever seen.
Fans of the first OVA and the TV series should steer clear away from this, as virtually nothing is the same outside of character names. For anyone else, this series might be good for a weekend rental at best. Perhaps I set my hopes too high. Perhaps I expected too much from this anime. Regardless, DASH! is still a disappointment and an ill-fitting final installment of the Nuku Nuku franchise
Genre: Action/Romance/Comedy
Company: MOVIC/Project Banneko DASH
Format: 12 OVA
Dates: 9/23/1998 to 12/23/1998
On his way home, 14-year-old Ryunosuke Natsume witnesses a mysterious girl save a cat from a speeding truck with super-human agility and grace. He returns home to tell his parents of the event not only to find the same girl from before sitting in his living room, but to also discover that she’ll be living with them! Her name is Atsuko Higuchi, or rather Nuku Nuku, and she has Ryunosuke smitten for her. However, there’s more to her than meets the eye, for when someone threatens Maneki City or its inhabitants, she becomes a super strong Androbot fighter born to destroy that which threatens life!
Summary by L-sama
Score: 62%
http://www.animenfo.com/image/anime_37.jpg
Highs: Occasionally funny; The second part tries to redeem itself
Lows: Sub-par animation; Atypical Nuku Nuku; Useless fan service; Cop-out Ending
Released as a sister project to the Nuku Nuku TV series, Nuku Nuku DASH! is a totally different take on the Nuku Nuku story in comparison to the TV series as well as the OVA that came before it. Unfortunately, it seems as though too many things were changed, as this anime ends up being the weakest of the three.
DASH! still keeps one thing in common with its predecessors: comedy. Several moments made me chuckle (many of them focusing around Ryunosuke's pining over Nuku Nuku), but overall, the comedy that Nuku Nuku fans know and love just isn’t there. This is mainly because Nuku Nuku isn’t her normal, bubbly self. In DASH!, she’s much more soft spoken (not to mention sporting a totally different hair color) and with the exception of one episode, shows none of the cat-like traits that made her so funny before. Even Megumi Hayashibara's performance as Nuku Nuku is lacking. Most of the comedy from before is replaced with attempts at drama in DASH!, which fall well short of their intended targets. Fan service levels are also alarmingly high by Nuku Nuku standards, especially after watching the TV series. After the first five episodes alone, I almost decided not to finish the series due to the barrage of breasts that did nothing for an already shallow plot.
On a higher note, the action gets boost here in terms of frequency. However, it quickly falls under the “Villain of the Week” routine as each episode becomes very predictable: Someone tries to capture Nuku Nuku, the city gets threatened, Nuku Nuku transforms and attacks, the end. A good deal of these action sequences, as well as Nuku Nuku’s transformation sequence, are made of reused animation cycles that reminded me of such anime as Sailor Moon. There is just one fight that ends up being interesting, but nothing is developed after it, leaving me rather disappointed. The overall poor animation for this OVA does nothing to help out at all; even at its best, it pails in comparison to its older 1992 sibling.
In spite of all of this, the second part of this series, starting at episode 8, begins to show some promise. A main villain appears with real motives other than capturing Nuku Nuku, and some answers finally make themselves known in Nuku Nuku’s past. Though the plot devices are rather clichéd, it is still a welcome change to the former. Everything begins to gain steam, seemingly headed for a monumental final clash between Nuku Nuku and the evil forces of Mishima Industries only to turn into one of the biggest cop-outs I’ve ever seen.
Fans of the first OVA and the TV series should steer clear away from this, as virtually nothing is the same outside of character names. For anyone else, this series might be good for a weekend rental at best. Perhaps I set my hopes too high. Perhaps I expected too much from this anime. Regardless, DASH! is still a disappointment and an ill-fitting final installment of the Nuku Nuku franchise