Project A-ko

Synopsis:

Transferring to a new school is never any fun and and Eiko (A-ko) Magami and her friend Shiiko (C-ko) Kotobuki are about to be late on their first day of class. While talking about their transfer to Graviton High School, Eiko notices the time and realizes they are about to be late and without a moments notice she grabs Shiiko's hand and starts running... at speeds in access of 100mph... Luckily they make it to school on time and introduce themselves to the class but Shiiko's lively introduction only garnishes the attention of the most wealthy and powerful girl in school, Biko (B-ko) Daitokuji. Biko is immediately smitten with Shiiko's cuteness and becomes determined to make Shiiko her best friend doing what ever it takes even if it means removing Eiko, but Eiko's unexplained superhuman strength and powerful bond with Shiiko isn't about to let that happen. Although Eiko not only has to deal with Biko's constant attempts to claim Shiiko for herself but she also learns that Shiiko is also the lost princess of a race of transvestite cross-dressing aliens that also intend to kidnap her and bring her back to their home planet. Whoever thought true friendship could be this complicated?


Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 1 (It's a movie)


Review:

Today, I've got the ultimate slice of life/comedy/action hit of the 80's, Project A-ko... and although it was released in 1986 it didn't see the local market until the late 90's. This movie set the standard of so many cliched plots still used today, such as... "she was a typical high school girl, but..." and the whole female sailor-suit school uniform wearing slice of life comedy routine was sort of initiated by this movie. Not only that, but this movie also parodies a multitude of classic anime flicks while providing a low level of comedic fanservice and panty shots now and then... and we're talking 1986 here people. To me, this movie set the standard for so many genres used to this day in the anime community, and I still enjoy watching it even today as it's hilarious in it's own way and the Japanese voice actors give a phenomenal performance and it's classic 80s soundtrack only works to the movies advantage. The character set here is nothing short of brilliant as these wonderful ladies are so different from each other yet offset each others screen presence perfectly with A-kos superhuman strength, B-kos determination of making C-ko her friend, and C-ko who is just plain annoying as hell, and Marie who only says a few lines but pulls off one the of most hilarious scenes in the entire movie. These girls give an amazing performance that catapult this movie to its iconic status that it still holds to this day. I also like the way this movie presents it's message of friendship while putting it with crazy over the top action, decent animation, and hilarious comedic routines, that still make me laugh every time I watch it.

Don't be put off by it's age, give it a try... you might actually like it. I understand how most will avoid a movie this old but it really was ahead of it's time and remains a staple for me. Rent it, buy it, hell... stream it! No matter how you watch Project A-ko, it's a true classic in every sense of the way.

Project A-ko (trailer)
Dance Away & Follow Your Dream (Project A-ko AMV)
Come Out and Play (Project A-ko AMV)

Recommendation: |High|

*Note - This movie has traded license holders so many times that I'm not gonna bother with the media info on this. It now currently belongs to some company called Discotek. As for me, I saw the U.S. Manga version on VHS. Y'know, those old gigantic video tape things... nevermind.