Review: Project A-Ko

Then a huge spaceship from a planet of women comes for their missing princess, and things get strange...

There are three DVDs in the Project A-Ko series (the original movie, a collection of 3 OVAs in "Love & Robots", and "Uncivil Wars"). The first DVD is by far the best; the remainder are generally watchable but not as good as the original.

Briefly, Project-A-Ko fits the plot outlined above; the OVAs (Plot of the Daitokiji Group, Cinderella Rhapsody and Final) continue on from it; and Uncivil Wars place new versions of the original characters (with some changes) into an entirely new outer space setting.

A-Ko itself is deservedly regarded as a classic. The followup OVAs, while not as good, are still quite funny, with "plot of the Daitokuji group" in particular retaiing the over-the-top flavour of the original. "Blue" and "Gray" (the OVAs in Uncivil Wars) are a little disappointing but still watchable.

Characterisation is good and the plot somewhat sensible, but ultimately this is a parody and everything, wherever possible, is played for laughs. This is a good thing; it's not as madcap as Excel Saga, but it's a lot easier to track what's going on.

Cinderella Rhapsody gets sickeningly sweet at times, but the comedy never quite takes a back seat; A-Ko Final, on the other hand, is starting to lose its focus.

A-Ko was produced in 1986, and the animation shows its age to some degree. You won't find any fluidly animated CGI spaceships here. That said, I have no real complaints about the quality of the animation. Colours are bright, animation is for the most part fluid, and the characters shine out through their animation. It's 80s animation, but it's very good regardless.

Voice acting is also pretty much spot on, with each voice being distinct and conveying character well. However I haven't really even spot-checked the Japanese track at this point.

Packaging involves colourful box designs with fairly standard cases.