AYANE NO HIGH KICK

It's the Eye of the Tiger!



Review by: Stan

Genre: Sports/comedy
Episodes: 2
Watched: both, dubbed

Well, back again, back again. It's weird what you see going through the anime section at your local Blockbuster. There's the obvious DVDs: Noir, Hellsing, Berserk, Eva, etc. Then there's this little VHS case sitting on the shelf, the cover catches your eye for some reason and you wonder what the Hell is this thing all about. This was the case with Ayane's High Kick. I saw some fine-looking girl in boxing and thought "hey, this might be for me", and gave it a rental. So did I mark out, or was I knocked out?

Plot Summary: Ayane Mitsui is your typical energetic tomboy schoolgirl. What's not so typical is Ayane's dream, to become a professional wrestler and defeat Toyoda for the All Japan Women's Championship belt. Unfortunately, Ayane's wrestling audition doesn't go so well as she botches a Space Rolling Tiger Drop and takes out the entire judge's table (Bah gawd, the carnage!). A mysterious trainer, Kunimitsu, offers to take Ayane under his wing and teach her to harness her "powerful legs". What Ayane doesn't know is that Kunimitsu isn't training her to be a wrestler, but rather a kickboxer. Hilarity, of course, ensues.

Animation: The art style is pretty crisp. Some might call it dated, but I have no quarrels with it. The designs are pretty vibrant, and the fight scenes are more realistic than most. You still get speed lines, but for the most part it's like watching the anime version of Rocky or something.

Music: Yet another Rocky comparison going. There's a lot of upbeat music all around, especially during the sequences when Ayane is training (and we all know what that means: a sports training montage!). But all in all it's nothing really memorable.

Characters: With only two episodes, you don't get a lot of character development. You do get a pretty good sense of strength from Ayane. She's one of those people that will face adversity no matter what the cost. But that doesn't take away from how unbelievably dense she is in the beginning. Honestly, how can you train for kickboxing and not know about it, only in anime' Her best friend Mayu is a your typical, meek, glasses-wearing, nerdish girl who supports Ayane through everything she goes through. Her other friend Kappei is a total kickboxing nut who looks down on pro wrestling. Kinda sounds like those UFC junkies I know (why watch people flipping off ropes when I can watch two men hold each other on the mat for 10 minutes, or until I fall asleep, whichever comes first). Kunimitsu is a total sleazebag, but it's apparent that he care about Ayane's well being. Ayane's vice principal is so evil to the point of cliche as he stops at nothing to get her suspended (since participating in outside pro sports is against school policy). Then there are some random kickboxing people who Ayane fights. The only one worth noting is Sakurako Miyagawa, an egotistical and beautiful kickboxing champion who is none too please with Ayane taking the kickboxing world by storm.

Plot: The synopsis earlier basically summed up the entire first episode. Since there's only two of them, there's not a lot that can be said for plot. Basically, Ayane tries to get out of kickboxing, gets put into a match anyway, rinse, repeat. The fact that only two episodes of this were made should tell you something. I should mention that wrestling will get a lot of references such as: Manami Toyoda, Ayane's rival (and real life legend in women's wrestling in Japan), Kurakuen Hall (a famous arena in Japan), and Aja Kong (another legend that Ayane mentions challenging, does she have a death wish or something)?

CHICKS!!!: For years, I thought being a HUGE pro wrestling mark would be a detriment to my scoring of anime chicks. Ayane proves me wrong by being every bit the mark as I am. We would get along so well it's not even funny. I could show her the world in a squared-circle, we'd spend nights watching Ring of Honor, TNA, NJPW, and even some ECW so she can learn how to be hardcore. My infatuation is so bad I have my own continuation of the series in which I free Ayane from her deal with Kunimitsu and take her around the world and train her to be the best damn wrestler since Chris Benoit (her kickboxing background alone makes her likely to be the female equivalent of Low-Ki). Ahem... Mayu is good for you glasses-lovers out there (and I know you're out there), so you know the drill. Sakurako is a total bitch and I wouldn't hesitate to put her in the Anaconda Vice if we ever met.

Overall: Ayane's High Kick is definitely rental material, albeit good rental material at least. It'll only cost you a few bucks and only an hour of your time, so go ahead and give a shot. It's fun, but that's about it unless you're a big fan of pro wrestling or boxing.

IN A NUTSHELL:
+ Nice chicks
+ Good-looking fights
+ Just wacky enough to enjoy
-- Only two episodes
-- Cliched characters
-- Not a lot of plot
Final Grade: 7/10



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