#215: Debutante Detective Corps (1996)

Director: Akiyuki Simbo

Screenplay: Juzo Mutsuki

Direct Cast: Natsumi Yanase as
Yoko Ryuuzaki; Rumi Kasahara as Nina Kirov; Sakura Tange as Reika Shuu; Shiho
Niiyama as Kimiko Ayanokouji; Yuko Nagashima as Miyuki Ayanokouji; Toru Furuya
as Nomura Keiji

Considered in Jap with English Subtitles

[Some Major Spoilers Throughout]

Among the many slightly about a imprecise
straight-to-video titles I in actuality maintain encountered in anime, many I uncover in actuality feel
love pilots for programmes that by no components came to be, right here digging into the imprecise
VHS expertise of ADV Films too, who would
originate releasing titles in the UK on tape in the nineties as grand as
the USA. This has the added contact that it moreover had a video recreation, for the PC-FX, a 32-bit dwelling video recreation console
developed by NEC and Hudson Soft. It changed into released in 1994 and
discontinued in February 1998, the recreation for this anime a maze puzzle recreation
where, with this anime’s leads those you’d moreover must defend faraway from, you play a thief attempting
to rob precious objects¹.

This OVA then again has a bigger
twist to it, that this marks an early title of Akiyuki Simbo in the director’s seat. Lengthy forward of he cemented
himself, he labored on titles love this or Twilight
of the Dim Master (1997). By the level he gains elevated recognition for his
definite auteur touches, he hit it out of the share with Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011), the bleaker subversion of the
magical girl kind which many after maintain tried to repeat afterwards, and the
long and prolific Monogatari sequence (2009–2018),
one between one-offs to sequence which feels love a dimension and a fandom in
itself.

By itself, Debutante would maintain been a interesting slapstick work by itself,
starting up with the introduction of the leads, nearly all crashing during the
doors (and walls) of their school campus on the introduction day. Miyuki
Ayanokouji, a mechanical knowledgeable, on a bike; Yoko Ryuuzaki, a master of
hide; Nina Kirov, a Russian born figure, losing in by her possess assault
helicopter, and letting it wreck when she ejects in the air; Reika Shuu, a
Chinese language martial arts knowledgeable; and Kimiko Ayanokouji, more gracefully but frivolous
in hiring the total police power to rob her to faculty, the sister of Miyuki who
claims to be a sturdy psychic. All of them near from rich and extra special households
– one dubious contact, merely a minor detail which did no longer may well moreover light be integrated,
is that Yoko Ryuuzaki has Adolf Hitler as an ancestor – all of which is
documented in textual snort which the ADV Film’s
video originate subtitled.  

It is far sooner or later revealed, as an oblivious
goofball, that Kimiko has employed men to succor bond them as a detective squad in a
“misleading” chance on their lives, but these women folks can tackle themselves. Debutante…. is a goofy motion comedy,
where common sense may even be thrown out of the window for a gag, one where you’d moreover maintain a
easy premise for one episode which may well maintain been a total sequence. The archetypes,
following a improvement of all feminine groups who grew to change into central to anime titles, is
that each person expresses a stereotype, and in mind that about a of the correct can
flesh these characters out fully over a dimension, this at the same time as a foolish comedy had
enough to work with.

Miyuki as the most grounded, dumbfounded
by her sister’s oblivious hubris, somebody with trusty psychic energy but, with a
promo shot of her bending spoons, is a prat. Yuko is actually chameleonic, a
meek bespectacled young lady ready to alternate her stammer and, with instruments, can
even turn trusty into a center ancient and better male policeman. Add to this the stoic Nina
and Reika, as the clumsy fighter who yet becomes huge powered when she takes
the arm weights she has on off, and the work is slightly customary but a extra special
starting up. Almost any memoir may even be stretched into one thing particular, and this
items up what form of premise this may well maintain taken, with three mercenaries sent
after them. Serving to this as smartly in tone is that there is moreover the unfastened
truth at play, as a form of mercenaries is able to develop trusty into a towering
combating monolith the scale of a building. The slippery common sense of physicality,
deliberate, does work smartly.

It is probably going you’ll well no longer in actuality swear this reveals Akiyuki Simbo’s directorial kind for
the future, other than for the future recordsdata that, acknowledged for his idiosyncratic
compositions of scenes and artwork styles, OVAs love this may maintain let him hone
this visual side in a differ of assorted genres. With personality designs by Miyabi Kizaki and Shinji Ochi, this appears to be like of a definite time, with in actuality substantial eyes
and exaggerated coloration choices which in actuality feel exaggerated as smartly to a advantage. Previous
this, there is no longer plenty else to add, as at thirty minutes, this is awfully most interesting longer
than a used first episode. Nothing is continuously adult – a shower
scene comes with nothing but a extraordinarily weird slit back, for a unusual moment, of a faked
wreck scene with gore as a warning to the leads. Brooding about Kimiko is the one
in the support of this, it’s miles shiny, but alongside Yoko’s skill to actually alternate
gender and shape with her disguises, ready to “destroy” her vocal cords
to the most interesting tone, and likewise you’d moreover maintain with Debutante
Detective Corps a premise with its surreal tone you’d work with. That it
did no longer adds to the curiosity, a forgotten half where, satirically, it’s much less
the director who stands out but the total manufacturing altogether.

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1) Here’s referred to from One Controller Port, with Ojousama
Sousamou – PC-FX English E-book, an introduction from September 15th
2021 to succor anybody who can no longer discuss Jap if they fancied having fun with that
video recreation adaptation.