Sunday, April 3, 2016

Otaku no Seiza

In a post a while back about anime shows that apparently never made it to DVD, I asked, "Is anyone really waiting for DVD versions of Hi-Speed Jecy or Hashire Melos or An Adventure in the Otaku Galaxy or AWOL, to name just a few shows available only on VHS or Laserdisc?" Well, we now have an answer to part of that with OnDeed's release of 1994's Otaku no Seiza (An Adventure in the Otaku Galaxy), encoded from DVDs.

OnDeed and Orphan are both groups that like to explore anime's back catalog, and occasionally we've shared more than just having the same initial letter in the group names. OnDeed generously provided their script of Dream Hunter Rem's first episode (non-hentai version), which allowed Orphan to sub the hentai version. Now I've had the opportunity to return the favor by QCing the scripts for Otaku no Seiza. I hope the two groups will have further opportunities for collaboration.

Otaku no Seiza is a parody that, as OnDeed says, is "fraught with gratuitous fanservice fillers." The plot, if you can call it that, centers on the quest of The Man With No Name to save the universe from the blight of Otaku Disease, spread by the mysterious idol group the Aurora Girls. They in turn work for the demon Indra, who wants to Conquer The Universe. (Seriously, what else would a demon want to do, anyway?) Aided only by Nekketsu, who's an idiot and a parody of the typical student council president, and Jonjon, who's a cross-dresser and a parody of the typical trap, The Man must first conquer each of the Aurora Girls (romantically and/or sexually), rescue his long-lost love Maya, and then confront Indra's Final Challenge. Along the way, there show features lots of gratuitous fanservice, endless complaints about the stupidity of the scriptwriters, and general mayhem with the conventions of anime. It ends up with an implied six-way featuring The Man and the women he has encountered. Love Conquers All, I guess.

The voice actors do a fine job with this material and eventually went on to bigger roles.
Yamadera Kouchi (The Man) voiced Spike in Cowboy Bebop, Ryoga in Ranma 1/2, and Togusa in the Ghost in the Shell properties. More recently, he has played Inspector Zenigata in Lupin III. Kikuchi Misami (JonJon) went on to play the male leads in the Tenchi Muyo and Aa! Megami-sama! series. Chiba Shigeru (Nekketsu) had ongoing roles in several long-running series, including Ranma 1/2, Urusei Yatsura, and Yu Yu Hakusho.

So here's another "lost" 90s OVA for your perusal, courtesy of OnDeed. I could write a fairly serious essay on how Otaku no Seiza exemplifies the contemptuous treatment of LGBT characters in Japanese anime, but it's too silly for that. Enjoy your Adventure in the Otaku Galaxy.