| Rating: *** Genre: Anime Action/Kickboxing MPAA: YRV (I think it should be PG) Review #: 5 English Language Version (1997) Cast: Ayane...Debbie Rabbai Kunimitsu...Grag Wolfe Kayoko...Roxanne Beck Vice Principal...Jack Taylor Principal/Commissioner...FlavioRomeo Sakurako...Rose Markisello Additional Voices...Nick Sulklivan Additional Voices...George Leaver Additional Voices...Johnny Blonde Additional Voices...Ed Kissel Additional Voices...Kappei...Jonathan Boggs Original Story and Director Takahiro Okao |
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| Review: This really isn't a movie. I saw it at Blockbuster Video, and thought: "It's anime, and I get free rentals", so I rented it. It turns out that this is the first two episodes of a TV series. Unfortunately, they haven't translated any other volumes! The story goes like this: Ayane Mitsui is a 12th year high school student, but her dream is to become a professional wrestler! When there are wrestling tryouts at a local gym, she fails completely, because she flattens several of the judges when she misses a special move and flies out of the ring. On her way home, she is approached by a trainer named Kunimitsu who insists that Ayane has the greatest legs that he's ever seen, and she should be able to train them into muscular kicking machines! After much training, Kunimitsu enters he in her first match. Little does she know that it's not wrestling at all, but kickboxing! Matters are further complicated by her nosy, overbearing Vice-Principal who is more than eager to use her violent extra-curricular activities as an excuse for expulsion. |
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Ayane becomes an instant star, due to her 'Golden High Kick'
move. This fame also brings her to the attention of the reining
champion, Sakurako, who is jealous of the newcomer who has taken
her place on the cover of all the kickboxing magazines. When
Sakurako makes a formal challenge to Ayane over loudspeakers in
front of the school, expulsion seems like the only choice, but
the Principal offers her an ultimatum: If she wins the match,
bringing fame to the school in the process, she can graduate, but
if she loses, she's outta there! This series was a lot of fun, and it is full of wild takes and humor. The plot is nothing to write home about, and very predictable, but is able to pull it off in a way that only Anime can. Go out and rent it. It's worth the few bucks, but don't buy it unless it's seriously on sale. Keep watching for more volumes, but it's been so long since the first one that I think it's hopeless. And I wanted to see more! |
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