Our Project A-Ko review series continues with “Project A-Ko: Love and Robots”, which is the US release of 3 half-hour long short films featuring the main characters of Project A-Ko.

Cast, Crew, and Other Info

Emi Shinohara as Biiko "B-ko" Daitokuji
Houchu
Ohtsuka as Hikari Daitokuji
Michie Tomizawa as Shiko "C-Ko"
Kotobuki
Miki Itou as Eiko "A-ko" Magami
Asami
Mukaidono as Miss Ayumi
Daisuke Gouri as Mari (angry voice)
Megumi
Hayashibara as Ume
Sayuri Ikemoto as Mari (female voice)
Shuuichi
Ikeda as Captain Napolipolita
Tesshô Genda as D (and Kei in
Cinderella Rhapsody and
Final)
Yoshino
Takamori as Ine
Youko Ogai as Asa
Directed by Yuji Moriyama

Premise

Plot of the Daitokuji Financial Group:
It’s 3 weeks after the events of the Project A-Ko movie, and it’s
also Summer Vacation. The aliens from the movie are now stranded on
earth and trying to make the best of what is looking to be a long
stay – but their leader, Captain Napolipolita is desperately
looking for a way home, and she sees a way with the help of A-Ko and
B-Ko. However, B-Ko’s father is looking to steal the high-tech
secrets that lie within the alien’s ship.

Cinderella Rhapsody:
During Spring Break, A-Ko meets a handsome young motorcyclist and
falls for him. B-Ko decides to seek his heart as well (either for her
on reasons or because A-Ko is interested in him). Hilarity ensues.

FINAL: A-Ko, B-Ko, and
C-Ko’s high school teacher, tired of being single and seeing her life
passing her by, is marrying Kei, after getting hooked up by B-Ko’s
father. A-Ko and B-Ko object. And then there’s the matter of that
massive alien fleet moving into the system…

High Point

The comedic references to other anime
are coming fast and furious here, both serious (Fist of the North
Star, Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack) and
comedic (Ranma 1/2). As before, if you get the references,
they add an additional level to the humor. If you don’t you may end
up scratching your head a little.

“Plot of the Daitokuji
Financial Group” and “FINAL” have some of the best
moments of the collection, with the former being the best of them
all.

Low Point

Frankly, all the big action sequences that made the original movie
so great, with the exception of “Plot” aren’t here. The
humor is there, particularly in the first and last parts, but the
action is not. As it is, Cinderella Rhapsody is,
overall, the weak point of the collection.

Nudity and Violence

There is much more nudity
here – not just topless shots, but full on nudity – not
full frontal shots (your rarely get that in non-H anime, at least
not with *ahem* details), but several profile shots.

The Scores

Originality: It’s a sequel to an adaptation (technically,
as the 3 parts of the collection were released separately, three
sequels). 3 out of 6

Animation: The animation is alright, not quite on par with
the original, with the exception of FINAL, which is superior to the
original. 4 out of 6

Story: The “Plots” story is good, and makes for
a nice outgrowth of the last movie – the rest of them are meh.
3 out of 6

Voice Acting: The voice acting is pretty good. I have to
give particular note to Tesshô Genda for playing two characters
without me noticing until I read this review.
4 out of 6

Emotional Response: Again, my emotional response was pretty
“meh” with the exception of annoyance with “Cinderella”
which is basically your bog standard love triangle.
2 out of 6

Production: The production value is alright. The music is
okay, the sound effects are decent.
3 out of 6

Overall: All the episodes
basically do what they say on the tin and in general it’s halfway
decent, pretty much. It’s nothing really special, but nothing really
awful either. 3 out of 6

In total, Project A-Ko: Love and Robots
receives a 22 out of 42.