Title - "Taiho Shichau Zo!"
Alternative title(s) - "I'll Arrest You!"/"You're Under Arrest!"
Genre(s) - Action, comedy and drama

"Taiho Shichau Zo!" is based on a 1986 Fujishima Ksuke-sensei manga. Eight years after the manga was introduced, he brought us the anime. The latest special that came out was "No Mercy" and that was released back in May, if I remember correctly. Besides that, you have the 4 OVA's, the three television series, the first special, and a couple of movies, I believe. There's also a live action series which is dandy except for the ending song.

This is one of those series that deal with everyday life in Japan. The series deals with the Bokuto police station in Tokyo. See the many adventures Kobayakawa Miyuki and Tsujimoto Natsumi encounter. There are also other characters like the caring, yet funny Nakajima Ken and the force's kanch.

At first, some of you may think that this is just some boring police anime. Think again. The series has a lot of joy and spirit. Plus, what's so good about "Taiho Shichau Zo!" is that this is a series that's suitable for the whole family.

Fun - 8

The category says what "Taiho Shichau Zo!" is: fun. Seeing Natsumi beating down some pervert, hearing Miyuki's saying some dialogue in either language, I love this series. It's that good.

If there is a big fat flaw in the series, it deals with the later parts of the series. As you watch the later parts of the series, it starts to lose its flavor and though I don't want to say it, "No Mercy" continues this trend. At least the atmosphere is sincere to Los Angeles.

Life - 9

This is a very good series to keep in the long run. Yeah, the later parts will haunt me, but the series as a whole carries a lot of fun. That's what matters.

Story - 8

If you like watching everyday life of Japan, this is a good series.

Audio - 10

The music is so great. Many of them are joyful and upbeat. This matches the feeling of the series.

If you watch the Japanese version, some of the seiy might be familiar to you. A note to keep in mind: Hiramatsu Akiko-san plays as Miyuki (which is probably her most famous role) and Tamigawa Sakiko-san plays as Natsumi (which is her most famous role as well). They form the Tokyo police woman duo, since they played as officers and the series takes place in Tokyo. Plus, both actresses are from Tokyo.

If there is one act I regret about the series, it's that I have never heard the wonderful dub yet. I am serious. I have seen several episodes subbed and none dubbed.

Note to self: buy the "Taiho Shichau Zo!" DVD's.

What's funny is that the page of Animeigo, the company that picked up rights to "Taiho Shichau Zo!" early on and now has been dubbed by ADV ever since, linked to a column at Anime News Network saying that the dub's track is better than the Japanese one. So, I read the article and I would find out that the director, Furuhashi Kazuhiro-san, saw the dub. He was so excited about the dub that he made the group of seiy watch it before recording the TV series. Then I saw a list of clips. "Clips of the 'Taiho Shichau Zo!' dub?" As I was done wondering, I would listen to them and I was like "Wow!" at the end. The dub is just as good as the original. That tells you to believe that the dub is that good.

Art - 9

Yes, I love the art. The atomsphere is so wonderful. The characters look great.

So, why can't I give a perfect? The art loses a bit of quality in the later parts of the series. Well, that's because you don't see Fujishima-sensei do all of the art here. Yeah, I know. Oh well.

Overall - 9

"Taiho Shichau Zo!" is wonderful, but with some future fixing, the series can be perfect.

+

Great art, great audio, you will have a lot of fun with the series as a whole.

-

The later parts of the series have let me down a bit.

Date of creation - 12/14/02

Last update - 8/10/04

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