VILLGUST
It ain't Slayers, but it's a start
Review by: Craig "Preeeeeciousssss..." Norris
Length: 2 episode OAV
Genre: Fantasy, comedy
Watched: All, subbed
In the end it was not an interest in fantasy that introduced me to this rather obscure title, but rather an uncompromising love of catgirls. However, patron of the art of anime that I am, I tried my best to refrain from drooling and hooting long enough to piece together my opinion of this OAV. So here's my view of this piece of fantasy BS (Before Slayers; what did you think I meant?).
Plot synopsis: Villgust used to be a prosperous, peaceful land. But now a dark and evil power has cast its shadow across the land and destroyed many villages. To help save the kingdom from evil, the goddess Windina has chosen eight heroes to band together and destroy this evil force and return Villgust to its former glory. The only problem is: the heroes have no idea what's going on.
Artwork: About what one would expect from an OAV from 1992. The character designs are interesting, as they look almost SD one hundred percent of the time. The heroes are described as young, but I seriously doubt that they truly are the ten year-olds that they look like. I'm thinking that the characters were designed that way to reinforce the comedic elements. The visuals are decent at best, falling in the middle range of quality in terms of its contemporaries.
Music: The soundtrack is okay, with a couple of closing themes that stand head and shoulders above the rest of the tracks. The first ending theme, sung by the catgirl Ryukia's voice actress Chisa Yokoyama, is adorable beyond compare, and actually made me want to listen to it multiple times before moving on to the second episode. The second episode's closing is more indicative of a fantasy series, with a well-rounded sound that pays adequate tribute to the victorious heroes. As for the rest of the songs, they do what they're supposed to do and nothing more. With two notable exceptions, the soundtrack as a whole is mediocre.
Characters: Since this OAV was released the same year as a SNES RPG, the characters all fall into relative convention concerning the genre. Kui is the save-the-kingdom-and-protect-the-girl-while-looking-snazzy-in-my-armor hero that every rudimentary RPG must have. He's the most skilled and serious fighter of his four-person group, and is predictably looked upon as the leader. Chris is the aforementioned girl that Kui wants to protect, but she is a decent fighter as well. She is referred to as a princess, but the specifics of that are not revealed. Yuuta is a semi-capable swordsman who rarely receives the respect he desires. Sometimes maligned and beleaguered, he is the "poor bastard" of the group. Fanna is an archer who is the chief source of anti-respect that Yuuta receives. She is modest and girlish, but can also hold her own in a fight. The second group of heroes (the two groups don't meet until the end of the first episode) is led by Murobo, who appears to be a dog-demon of some sort. He is extremely strong, and tries his best to use that strength to help others. Bostov is a slick-talking elf who sometimes takes advantage of people to get what he wants (usually money). However, he usually winds up on the short end of the stick. Ryukia is an energetic catgirl who often runs off from her party. She looks for any excuse to run around, whether it be chasing something or being chased herself. Remi is a sorceress who values integrity and valor above all else. As a result, she is sometimes at odds with Bostov. Gavady and his assistant Gilda are the main villains, and seek to resurrect an evil deity to lay waste to Villgust. Gavady is almost one-dimensionally evil, but seems to have a strange soft spot for his pet frog, Antoinette. Gilda is a typical inept henchman who gets repeatedly squashed, both in body and pride. Though tame and unimaginative by today's standards, one could argue that such characters helped pave the way for more successful fantasy series. When taken at face value, however, they are certainly nothing new.
Plot: A bunch of misfit heroes are chosen to save the world. Where, oh where have I heard this before? Let's see, maybe... EVERYWHERE?! In fact, the plot may even be more unimaginative than the characters. Although, I kind of like the twist about them being at odds when they first meet. Aside from that, events proceed pretty much as one would expect them to. On the plus side, there's enough humor present to prevent one from becoming totally bored, even if they are just pratfalls and breast jokes. The plot may make you roll your eyes more than once, but it certainly stops short of, say, inducing uncontrollable vomiting.
CHICKS!: As I said before, the character designs are a stone's throw from being chibis, so the chick quality has been tainted by the artwork. Of course, my main interest is the catgirl, Ryukia. As cute as I think she is, she's a bit too hyper for my taste. In fact, she's probably too hyper for anyone whose diet doesn't include ten pounds of sugar daily (ed. note: then, she's right up M.H.'s alley), or who can't run a hundred-yard dash in under three seconds. Chris is alright, but she seems to have eyes only for Kui, revealing the timeless weakness of RPG heroines for the valiant hero with perfect hair and shiny teeth. Remi's ability to heal might come in useful during a marathon sack-session, but there's really nothing else there (for me, anyway) that makes her extremely desirable. Fanna seems to be the one most fit for the role of wife or girlfriend, due to her concern for her appearance and her admitted interest in finding a husband. Maybe if she didn't look like a grade-schooler I would give her more praise, but I can't get excited about girls who don't look old enough to take the training wheels off their bikes.
Overall: Not great, but not bad, either. Considering that this OAV was made when fantasy anime still didn't have much of an identity, I think that it is adequately entertaining for someone who has not been spoiled by the genre. At the very least, it's not a horrible way to spend an hour.
IN A NUTSHELL:
+ A couple of nice tracks
+ Some funny moments
- Bland and unimaginative
- Seen it done better
Rating: 6.5/10
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