Agent Aika
I'm sorry, could you explain your evil plans again? I was distracted by the panties.
Review by: Craig "Fruit of the Loom" Norris
Length: 7 episode OAV
Genre: Action, lingerie ad
Watched: 1-7 subbed
There comes a point in an anime where there is so much fanservice that it just becomes overly gratuitous and ridiculous. I'm not sure what that exact ratio of fanservice to content is, but I do know that this series stepped so far over the line that the only way it would ever see television is if it were licensed by the Playboy channel. Now, I love fanservice as much as the next sexually frustrated young man. But when it starts cutting into content and compromising the integrity of what might be a perfectly good anime, even I have to put my foot down.
Plot synopsis: In the future, a worldwide disaster has submerged nearly 95% of the world's land mass. As a result, a new business has emerged, that of salvaging; diving to the flooded cities below and recovering lost artifacts. Aika and Rion are employed by such a business, and on one retrieval mission, they stumble across a plot by the scientist Dr. Hargen to use a substance called lagu to restore the earth to its once pristine state. The only catch: it calls for the extermination of all human life.
Artwork: Yes, there are lots of panties to be seen. But they are well-drawn panties. The character designs are all decent, and the vehicle designs, such as planes, submarines, and ships, are also up to speed. The action sequences are well done, with each punch thrown and bullet fired clearly and smoothly animated. Honestly, the artwork in the series is pretty impressive, if not centered too much around a certain piece of clothing.
Music: Not great, but not bad, either. The opening theme is fitting for an action series, fast-paced but still a step or two below j-rock. The ending theme is much slower, and is accompanied by visuals of pan-ups of the main female characters in various degrees of undress. All in all the soundtrack doesn't leave a lasting impression, but it does provide enough to accompany the show successfully.
Characters: The show revolves around action (and panties, but I think we've already established that), so character development was given a back seat. Aika is an intriguing character, in that she was the subject of an experiment to fuse her with a metal alloy. The alloy is stored as a marble-sized gem in a gold bustier, and manifests itself as an ultra thin body armor when Aika is in danger. Not only that, but the metal even seems to have a life of its own, changing Aika's physical appearance and personality. She is also no lady, no matter what her form. She is not above beating people senseless, which she does most expeditiously throughout the course of the series. Rion is Aika's partner in the salvage business, and is also the daughter of the owner. She is extremely attached to Aika, and tries to help her even when she doesn't know how. She can be a brat at times, and is dead set on always getting her way. Gust Turbulence is one of the few men who shows up during the course of the series. He is Aika's business rival, but in reality he's got the hots for her. He's pompous and kind of a showoff, but he does have above average combat skills and can be pretty cool at times. Gust's sidekick is an androgenous-looking senior citizen with a pink mohawk named Bandara. She/he/it is kind of cool, and often tries to dissuade Gust from sticking his neck out for Aika. Hargen is a pretty-boy mad scientist who surrounds himself with a crew of short-skirted women just because he can. He looks like kind of a femme, but he is quite diabolical and holds little value for human life. Hargen's sister, Nena, can only be described as a hard-core bitch. She's very rough with her underlings, and gets highly jealous of anyone who captures the attentions of Hargen. She loves her brother tremendously. Maybe a bit too much, if you get my meaning. The characters are pretty much assigned a way of thinking and acting at the beginning of the series, and stray little from that formula throughout, eliminating room for growth and complexity.
Plot: Pretty outlandish, but nothing we haven't seen someone like James Bond tackle on a regular basis. Hargen's plot particularly impressed me. Basically he is out to destroy all of humanity, save for him and his few hundred female crew members. After the entire population is destroyed, he will personally repopulate the planet with the help of said crew members. It's so simplistic and perverted, that it made me all misty-eyed. However, that whole issue is resolved by the end of episode 4. The remainder of the show is all about Hargen's female crew members, organized under the name Delmos, trying to get revenge on Aika for interfering in his plans. But the plot was really used as an excuse to show panties and scenes of chicks wailing on each other. It's kind of entertaining, though, both the plot and the panties. If you want to get drunk fast, make a drinking game out of it and take a shot every time underwear is flashed. I guarantee you'll be plastered halfway through episode 1.
CHICKS!: A lot. There are several in the main cast, as well as more than several nameless ones that are just around to show us their underwear. Aika is about as hot as they get. Regardless of the situation, she never wears anything that covers below the top third of her thighs. Even more than that, she is shown full frontal more than once, and it is quite a sight to behold. And she kicks high. Really high. And when she transforms, she's like a totally different person, so it's like an Ayashi No Ceres type thing. Rion is more cute than anything else, with a slight build and glasses. Her affinity for Aika can possibly be construed as a budding lesbian relationship, which is strengthened even more when she becomes aware of Aika's ability to transform. Nena is every aspiring love slave's dream. She enjoys inflicting punishment in the form of spankings, and walking around in her underwear is no big thing. Plus, she's got more curves than a semester-long grading scale. Maypia is an agent who shows up for a couple of episodes. She's not the hard-body that Aika or Nena is, but she has a nice looking figure as well. Some of the Delmos get featured in each episode, and all of them are drool-worthy. And all of them show their panties. Really, that's the centerpiece of the show, so watch it with that in mind.
Overall: If I wanted to see that many panties, I'd flip through a Victoria's Secret catalog. But to cram that much into a single anime, especially when it's only 7 episodes, only acts as interference. It's a shame too, because if more focus was put on the actual plot and developing the characters, instead of peeking up a henchwoman's skirt, it would have been an entertaining and much more satisfying series. As it stands now, don't look into this seriously unless you enjoy voyeuristic camera angles or video games like Dead or Alive 2.
IN A NUTSHELL
+ Good artwork
+ Decent action
- Flat characters
- Death by fanservice
Rating: 6.5/10
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