Director: Masato Tamagawa, Masatsugu
Arakawa, Yasuhiro Takemoto and Yoshitomo Yonetani
Screenplay: Armstrong Takizawa
and Tsuyoshi Tamai
Whine Cast: Halko Momoi as Komugi
Nakahara; Ikue Ōtani as Koyori Kokubunji; Yūji Ueda as Mugimaru; Ai Shimizu as
Posokichi; Akiko Hiramatsu as Yui Kirihara; Atsuko Enomoto as Megumi Akiba; Ikue
Ōtani as Goddess Maya; Masaya Onosaka as Shiro Mibu; Michiko Neya as Runa
Tokisaka; Mitsuki Saiga as Kyousuke Date; Yukari Tamura as Asuka Sakurai
Considered in Japanese with English Subtitles
The rapid element about Nurse Witch Komugi, a five episode OVA
launch, is that it’s miles a tear-off to a 2001 tv sequence known as The SoulTaker, a extraordinarily early directorial
effort from Akiyuki Shinbo, sooner than he
grew to change into more critical, which used to be a darkish supernatural myth and an strive by the
legendary studio Tatsunoko Production to compose
a more grownup work. Paradoxically, the humorous tie-in following a facet persona,
recognisable in her nurse’s outfit and used to be a smaller persona within the forged, has
entirely obscured the distinctive work completely in historical previous. The main lead persona,
a bland male named Kyosuke, turns into the male admire ardour for the titular
Komugi to change into more acknowledged as a protagonist, a girl blessed with the skill to
change into a bunny nurse themes magical lady to battle humanised viruses. If ever
there used to be an argument that female characters are in total more sharp as
leads for your reveal, a persona that stood out in visible compose, allowed to change into
a bumbling if cute protagonist is a correct example, more so the case as,
while The SoulTaker vanished,
Kumogi bought two extra straight to video episodes in 2004, and a 2016 reboot in
the compose of a tv sequence.
The following title, which used to be
released with out context by itself within the UK by ADV Movies, itself requires no previous
knowledge of the distinctive sequence, one other in a line of madcap comedies from the
time I seen a lot. This one, following Komugi with her adorable bunny mascot Mugi-maru,
each and each the unhappy area of abuse but also an undefeatable pervert in toddle
contexts, is positively a title that borders on a guilty pleasure, as properly
being a title that it’s essential to always uncover onto its wavelength to utterly like. I
will grunt now, what used to be as soon as a median OVA after I first seen it has grown on me
each and each in nostalgia from seeing titles like this, affectively a nostalgia for an
ADV Imaginative and prescient/Manga Leisure world of my first anime years, but also because
the arena and the characters believe the virtue that you need to perchance almost definitely almost definitely define on them
in a longer format and, for these who kept the same absurdities and colourfulness in
gawk, it could perchance per chance almost definitely had been immense.
It’s critical a remake came a
decade later, even though alongside a clear sense of the persona being one with
fondness for, or as a minimum the functionality to return to as a magical lady parody,
they’ve modified the persona designs over time. Here’s a shame in a technique,
with out seeking to dismiss the 2016 remake in case it proved immense in itself,
however the premise of the distinctive if humorous and originate adequate to work with. An melancholy
virus has escaped an replacement world, known as Vaccine World, and invades ours,
the utilization of a stand-in known as Magical Maid Koyori, an melancholy representation of maid
cafe workers member with magical abilities, to win hotspots that could perchance generate
monsters, whether the tensions of a tech convention or distilling a highway’s
value of facet highway rage. Komugi is now now not an excellent heroine, a cosplay idol piece of a
expertise company known as Kiri Legitimate that is scrapping by, with her enjoy career
kneecapped by her continuously having to head in her secret persona to battle the
monsters. At times grasping and egotistical, Komugi is alternatively likable, but
an added humorous myth (and doable little bit of stress) is that Magical Maid Koyori is
truly her most productive good friend Koyori Kokubunji, a likable young lady her age who
nonetheless has a split persona, one she is entirely unaware of, which is
melancholy and takes over at surprising times.
Certainly one in every of the elements to
undergo in tips with the distinctive OVA is that, for what I loved in regards to the reveal,
a number of the humour has worn seriously. Openly, correct to give you a
perspective of what a number of the humour is, and why the short reveal could be a
title some readers will combat, could perchance almost definitely be confirmed in how one in every of the most famed
adjustments I’m in a position to glace at is that Koyori’s persona compose is tremendously less
busty. There is now not any blueprint to switch spherical this, but masses of Komugi’s humour,
alongside slapstick and being a Tatsunoko
that could perchance parody their reduction catalogue, is sex comedy, from Mugi-maru being a
pervert who keeps making the mistake of being within the lavatory when Komugi
bathes, but also about characters obsessing about their lack of a bust or gargantuan
portions of on others. Again here’s a title that causes me to ponder whether
there is a cultural area in Japan in regards to the region of a girl’s bust, or
whether here is correct a trope male writers believe repeated as a gag of their
expense. In particular with Komgui and her be conscious Kiri Legitimate co-member Megumi, who
derides Komugi as being as flat as an ironing board while she is more
bodily spherical in areas, you need to perchance almost definitely almost definitely be going to believe to position up with masses of this
humour all the blueprint thru, correct like the skimpy outfits, or the scenes (with out sincere
nudity) of bathing, or a excellent episode villain, an alien schoolteacher who
brainwashes most of Japan and has been comically over-provided in anatomy.
Worse and more lasciviousness examples exist in anime I believe seen from this
length, however the sex humour positively makes the OVA believe some guilt to its
enjoyment. More so because it’s now now not subtle, nor truly inspired, more an
excuse to gander at drawn busts like young boys, which will get repetitive for ever
completely different humorous myth that lands.
You will must undergo in tips as properly
many obscurer (by a Western eyepiece) anime references too, namely amongst
many Komugi’s tendency befitting a cosplayer to with out be conscious seem in costume as a
persona from one other reveal for a minute. It’s, which ability that, meant for a fan
melancholy that will get the references. It will get to the level “Nabeshin”, the
intriguing persona of anime director Shinichi
Watanabe, makes a cameo a persona that came to the West because of ADV Imaginative and prescient releases, namely Excel Saga (1999-2000), the build his
intriguing persona, synonymous for his crimson jacket with yellow tie and an afro,
has a complete running facet space by himself. Merely a cameo here as a
disgruntled anime director, he even title assessments Puni Puni Poemy (2001), an OVA from this generation which is a much more
infamous work for its lewd humour and weirdness that managed to be banned in
Recent Zealand. One of the important most jokes here even needed to be censored, within the Japanese
dub and visually on a signal, seemingly because of crossing Japanese copyright, and
within the first, potentially referencing a sincere existence case of an otaku who dedicated a
defective crime for a extraordinarily sick humorous myth.
Luckily, internal mentality of
throwing anything at the wall to gawk what sticks, you uncover many which work. This
mentality also makes Komugi unpredictable and, with an ardour trouble of
characters to work with, it manages to hit the designate a lot between its scattershot
of jokes. It’s probably you’ll per chance almost definitely almost definitely now now not learn about Science
Ninja Crew Gatchaman, the distinctive version of the Tatsunoko intriguing sequence nor its Westernised Battle of the Planets version, however the humorous myth the build Komugi with out be conscious
turns into a five particular person team and their aged male mentor on a show,
duplicating herself, to stride in a immense combat airplane is quiet doubtlessly humorous
because a) she is struggling with a constructing, which used to be as soon as for a comics convention,
grew to change into into a massive robotic, b) because Mugi-maru spends the topic entirely
baffled what the hell is occurring, and c) with missiles on the airplane too
bad to make utilize of, this boils sincere down to the tactic of blowing up one’s airplane and
smashing it into one’s opponent for a excellent switch. The reveal is deeply silly, and
for every humorous myth which you produce now now not uncover the reference for, or has now now not worn properly, a
lot are ridiculous and crawl for the strangest belief.
Surprisingly for an early 2000s
title, it’s miles quiet unfortunately relevant when the first virus monster turns
other folks into knowledge superhighway dialogue board contributors arguing over fetishes and going in
spats, excellent with less toxicity. You uncover a Velocity
Racer humorous myth, but also a piss take of early laptop intriguing anime the build
even Mugi-maru feedback the physique price has change into broken mid-shot. Episode 3
devotes itself to Komugi being insensible for most of it, ensuing from truck, left to
languish haunting her colleagues as soon as they are grateful she is long gone, and even
having a novel existence change into many unique lives when she keeps loss of life. Scattershot is
positively the correct replacement of length of time for the reveal, amongst many with their manic
tones I believe seen over the years, but masses of these titles as properly believe their
enjoy deliciously surreal mentalities you need to perchance almost definitely almost definitely with out problems gloss over for these who be taught a
lot of anime. The reveal is conscious about this as, for its conclude credit tune, you believe a
realizing female sung pop tune but with nonsensical lyrics whose strangeness are
piece of its theme.
This awareness even comes with
the blueprint the reveal needed to work spherical delays per episodes releasing, promising
they’re going to uncover the reveal out at a toddle date or having a seventies broad robotic
parody with that aforementioned constructing-robotic for an ending preview gag. There
is even an Episode 2.5, which is effectively padding and its enjoy particular, an
excuse for two tune videos with their very enjoy toddle looks, but also in itself cute.
For what’s a tangent, in terms of the reveal settling down and, trouble at some level of
Komugi and her colleagues working in a festival cafe, bearing in tips some persona
constructing, it provides to the unpredictable nature in its enjoy sedateness. In the damage
here’s a reveal the build every Japanese monument, trouble to a licensed Toho studios
orchestral march, reworking into a robotic or self defence weapon from a kaiju
film to defeat a villain, including a scathing critique (even though fictional) of
a constructing which collapses and is merely known as a waste of tax payers’ money. For
ever humorous myth which introduced on me to roll my eyes, so critical revisiting Nurse Witch Komugi used to be funnier for me. Even as
as critical of here is, again as talked about, nostalgia, as critical of that fondness in
itself comes from this style of work, namely as properly these early 2000s
OVAs, the build in minute time they produce believe their very enjoy quirks and idiosyncrasies if
you had been lucky to believe had a correct one licensed within the UK. It’s
with criticisms, but namely with ardour within the 2016 tv sequence,
there used to be adequate to like on this return too.
