Hanappe Bazooka (OVA)

Type: or “Go Nagai’s Hanappe Bazooka”

Synopsis: A teenage boy accidentally summons two demons while masturbating. The demons then sexually assault his mother and sister, and buy his father off with cash. In exchange, the boy gets the power to seduce any women. He tries it, but gets assaulted instead by women he is not attracted to. The demons temp him into using it on his longtime crush, but he refuses. Then, in an effort to harden his heart, the demons reveal that the protagonists crush was actually trading sex for good grades. Devastated, the boy tries to go home, only to find that his entire family has given into their lust and now side with the demons. Feeling trapped, the boy kills himself. It all sounds a lot darker when you write it out like that.

Pros: This was created by Go Nagai. Yeah, Devilman’s Go Nagai. So you can expect a lot of messed up demon imagery, which is great if you’re into that kind of thing. The OVA also has a lot of violence, and a surprising amount of immature sex jokes. Like with most late 80s/early 90s OVAs, I did expect a lot of nudity and sex, but the sex jokes did catch me off guard. Like, a woman flicking a demon dog’s dong just isn’t something you expect to see. And lesbians! Always welcome to the party. I think this anime works best if you view it as a showcase of Go Nagai’s personality and interests. He likes demons, he likes penis jokes, he likes sex, and he likes showcasing humanities darkest vices that we tried to hide under the thin veneer of madernity.

Cons: If you pay attention, this is actually kinda disturbing. If you get past the boner humor, this is a story of a boy being exposed to the ugliest sides of everyone he cares about. Within the first 15 minutes, Hanappe learns that his father would sell out his entire family for enough money. He sees his mother raped, and then stay with said rapist. His sister also gets raped, and then develops a BDSM fetish. The scene where he yells at the demons to stop it was horrifying. And not a few minutes before we were seeing him comedically wank off to some porno! Later on, he learns that his crush that he was idealizing is the kind of person that uses sex for personal favors from authority figures. Hanappe literally kills himself rather than live with any of this. What I’m trying to say is, American Pie this is not. Don’t watch this expecting something super lighthearted. Apart from that, the ending doesn’t make a lot of sense. After Hanappe kills himself, the female demon (Dance) suddenly develops a conscious and goes to the the afterlife to save him. Mind you, this is the same demon that raped his sister and killed his crush. She stops Hanappe from being reincarnated by a giant tree women after he was inserted into her vagina. Hanappe then has sex with Dance, leading her to give birth to a seed (?) or something. That’s how the OVA ends.

Watch it?: …no. Well, maybe if you like Go Nagai.

MVP: Youtube

That’s where I watched it.

Best Moment: Hanappe’s spiral into madness was interesting to watch. A real monkey’s paw situation.

Interspecies Reviewers

Type: Of course Funimation dropped this!

Synopsis: What are you, high? This is literally a show about reviewing sex workers. I’m all for sex positivity and artistic freedom, but let’s be real here.

Pros: As stated above, this show is about a group of adventurers basically starting a review board about escorts. The gimmick is that the show takes place in a fantasy world where a lot of different magical races exist. So every episode has the cast visit about two brothels with different fantasy creatures, or “succu-girls.” The shop was quickly dropped by major anime stream sites in the United States because of it’s overt sexual content. The plot of every episode is the crew visiting a new brothel, having sex, and then describing the experience. The sex part is what got the show in trouble, since the scenes are very explicit. The show can be considered soft core porn since there is no actual penetration depicted, just a lot of humping and moaning. Outside of the controversy, is the show worth a watch? I would say yes. While the premise of the show could be considered juvenile, and offensive depending on your stance of prostitution, it does explore an interesting spectrum of sexuality in a comedic fashion. The show is actually pretty creative in integrating different kinks into a fantasy world. Aside from vanilla sex, the show depicts the some of the following: gender bending, sex with dolls, giant sex, fairy sex, public sex, slime play, the girlfriend experience, s&m, tentacle sex, rape play, excretion play (sort of),  and technically necrophilia. I really like that the cast is game for all of these, and that the show has at least one character that will always give each type of sexual experience a good score. I also liked that the show had characters like Stunk and Zel who are more lascivious, but also a character like Crimvael, whose more passive and shy. Don’t get me wrong, this show is pretty stupid, yet I can’t help but admired it’s sincerity. Overall, I think the show is enjoyable. It’s porn with a plot, and who doesn’t love that!

Cons: If you are against sex work, specifically prostitution, then you are not going to like this. If you dislike sex comedies from a male perspective, then you are not going to like this. If you don’t find fan service all that funny, then you are definitely not going to like this. Objectively, this show’s main issue is that it’s repetitive. Like I said, the show is just brother-sex-review-repeat. Subjectively, I only had 3 real issues. First, in ep.03, the cast goes to a gender bending brother to experience having sex as a woman. Each of the cast chose a female worker, but when they thought Crimvael was going to chose a male worker, they got a little judgemental. Which was weird because each of the characters got penetrated while in the brothel. Out of all the things depicted in this show, I didn’t think it was cool for the writers to suggest that Crimvael having sex with a man was weird. Second, ep.06 has the cast visit a “golem” brothel where they get to build their partner. The cast all build a model of Meidri, the local bar maid and the show’s straight woman. While the cast does get their punishmen, its still made the characters a little too creepy. Third, I would have liked little more perspective from the succu-girls. Maybe an episode where they review customers would have been nice. Something to flesh them out a little. Again, this is porn with a plot, and not everyone loves that.

Watch it?: We’re like Crimvael. We know we shouldn’t, but do it anyway. (4/5)

MVP: Crimvael

The “corruption” of Crim is hilarious.

Best Episode:  Ep. 10 “Let Your Eyes Behold the Glory and Mystery of the Brothel with a Perfect Score! Take a Newlywed or a Horny Tutor or a Little Piggie as Your Lover! They’ll Squeeze, Squeeze, Squeeze It Outta Ya! Infinite Pleasure Over a Satisfying Three-Day Excursion! True Happiness Awaits!!!” (These titles are something else)

DBZ Abridged

Type: It was the hype!!

Synopsis: It was hilarious, and we will all quote everything it said.

Pros: Dragon Ball Z: Abridged is probably the best anime abridged series in the history of the medium. It’s certainly the standard bearer. I say this with no hyperbole. For over 10 years, Team Four Star created one of the funniest, silliest, and weirdly emotionally resonant parodies on the internet. I think that a part of being a fan is secretly wishing to add to your fandom, at least a little. Team Four Star lived out that dream. Not only did they get to play around with the Dragon Ball Z characters, they made one of the best entries in the franchise. This may sound odd, but I would argue that DBZ: Abridged is the best way to ingest Dragon Ball after the original airing. DBZ: Abridged acts as a loving reflection of all the horribly funny inconsistencies in the greatest shonen story of all time. How many of us witnessed the Saiyan, Freeza, and Cell Saga and thought: Ya know, Goku is kinda a bad father, Piccolo is much better…I wonder what the human Z-fighters think about all these Super Saiyans running around…Now that I think about it, PoPo probably is some sort of Eldritch horror. But in all seriousness, I think that DBZ’s greatest legacy is that for a group of fans, myself included, it kept the Dragon Ball flame lit during some very dark times. It was a 10 years gap between Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods. This show started in 2008. The abridged series made me fall in love with Dragon Ball Z again, and got me excited for new entries like Dragon Ball Super and DBZ Fighters. I guess it’s a little poetic that DBZ abridged is ending right as Dragon Ball got another resurgence. After reigniting passions for the franchise, making it’s own mark on the industry, and even creating it’s own lore, it was time to move on. Team Four Star made us laugh and care about Dragon Ball again, and they did it there way.

Cons: After reading all that, you might be wondering: What the hell is Dragon Ball Z Abridged? To which I say: You go some attitude mister. DBZ: Abridged was an online video parody series about the story and characters of Dragon Ball Z. The show covers every episode and plot-line from the original show in a condensed, often satirical version. Everything is more or less the same, just bent or twisted for comedic effect. For example, in the show Guru of Namek is still the ruler of the Namekians, but he’s also an asshole and war criminal. Piccolo is still a stoic warrior, but also a bit of a tsundere. Some characters veer off their beaten track, and others go way off. Looking at you Mr. Popo. Despite my love and gratitude of this show, it’s not perfect in any way. The early episodes are rough, and the joke very in quality. There are some very lazy dick and drug jokes. I would say that this show, on average, is about at a mid-2000’s Adult Swim level of comedy. It’s stupid funny. That could be a compliment or an insult, depending on the episode.

Watch it: A must for DBZ fans! (5/5)

MVP: Team Four Star

Now they can live their own lives, and make their own futures.

Best Episode: Ep. 60, Part 1-3 (They were perfect).

 

Pop Team Epic (Anime of the Year)

Type: Is this a joke?

Synopsis: No really, is this a joke?

Pros: Pop Team Epic is…Pop Team Epic started as…f#$% it. Pop Team Epic is weird as s#$%.

Cons: Whether or not you like Pop Team Epic will depend on what you think is funny. There are 6 main types of skits. First, regular skits based off the manga. Second, Bob Team Epic, which uses disturbing looking animation that will haunt my nightmares until my last breath. Third, a lovely 3D runner in french. Forth, 8-bit bumpers that parody video games. Fifth, puppet shows and songs. Sixth, the rest. Apparently, the show had various animation studios and voice actors work on it throughout production. The show is actually 15 minutes, but it runs for 30, repeating the episode with different voice actors. The next episode preview is actually parodying love comedies that looks surprisingly disconcertingly interesting to me with “Hoshiiro Girldrop,”

Watch it?: Pop Team Epic isn’t a meme anime. It’s a sh#$post entity given life by our collective consciousness. (5/5)

MVP: Alien Cat

GET OUT OF MY HOUSE ALIEN CAT!!

Best Episode: Not ever going to try (too hard. too weird. f##$ you.)

To Be Hero

Type: A Superhero Tale

Synopsis: In a world of Men of Steel and Supersoldiers there stands a lone figure in the night, protecting us from all that may cause us harm. He is Ossan, the sh$tty father!

Pros: To Be Hero is a short, 11 minute an episode, series about a father who is transformed into a fat and ugly superhero. Since he can’t turn back, and all the words out of his mouth tend to sound perverted, he cannot stay with his teenage daughter. He tries his best to stay close to her, despite the occasional weird alien trying to kill him. The show mainly uses absurdist and toilet humor to get the comedy across. But the real hook of the show is the relationship between Ossan and his daughter Min, as Ossan’s transformation forces him to reflect on some of his selfish actions as a father and husband. The show never forgets to remind you of it’s central conflict, and thus retains your attention.

Cons: As said above, the show’s humor comes from absurd situation and toilet jokes. Hell, Ossan is actually a toilet salesman. That’s his job. So don’t be surprised if the show’s humor turns you off early on. Even I needed to take breaks from it, and the series is only 120 minutes long! The show can be crass at times, and a lot of the skits are more silly than funny. The show is kinda sloppy. However, it does have a strong ending, and those not wanting to watch the whole thing could simple just watch episodes 1,2 and 13.

Watch it?: It sticks the landing (3/5)

MVP: Min

She’s kinda the lynchpin of the show.

Best Episode: Ep.12 “Stay with me Daddy!” (I want to be a superhero…)

Comical Psychosomatic Medicine

Type: If you’re reading this article, please visit the Mental Clinic

Synopsis: A 5 minute anime takes the time to summarize various mental afflictions in bite size and easy to understand explanation.

Pros: Like most 5 minute anime, the show’s biggest strength is that you can view the entire thing in less than an hour. I think this one took about 45 minutes. The show’s gimmick is that is teaches about metal illnesses and conditions in a comical manner. It’s all mostly Psych 101 stuff, like basic anxiety, stalking, sleep disorders, and erectile dysfunction. Oh, that’s the other thing. The show main punch line is innuendo. So a lot of the topics have a sexual bent, like fetishism and exhibitionism. The show also manages to give seemingly mild disorders a sexual bent. Freud would be proud.

Cons: The shows are only about 5 minutes and the gimmick is largely one note. Someone comes in with a disorder, the doctor tries to explain, the nurse or nurses make a sex joke, and scene. The show does give a straightforward explanation for most of the condition it discusses, but don’t expect this be a substitute for good ol’ fashion flashcards.

Watch it?: A fun look at the human mind (4/5)

MVP: Himeru Kangoshi

Maybe I have complex

Best Episode: 5 minutes each (just pick the condition that most applies to you)

Golden Boy

Type: Very Educational

Synopsis: In this show that’s kinda porn, but not really, but still really close–I mean, you probably wouldn’t watch this in the office. But you probably shouldn’t be watching any anime in the office. Get back to work!– a guy whose basically a Temp helps various women by being a pathetic perv who’s a quick study.

Pros: The anime’s biggest strength is it’s serialized format. Each story is a stand alone tale about Kintaro meeting a woman at work, driving them away with his sick fetishes, but secretly helping them in a way that makes each woman fall in love with him. Most of the humor is based on sex jokes, as Kintaro has a very active libido. I watched the English dub, and Kintaro’s actor plays him very over the top. Even after seeing Kintaro save the day with his mary-sue like ability to learn, he still comes off as a weird loser in the next story. But his desire to learn about the world is admirable, and his positive personality does grow on you. And while the show is very fan service heavy, it is not pornographic, per say. The closest is probably episode 4, involving a woman and her motorcycle, which puts it under the category of a soft sore skin flix more than anything.

Cons: Kintaro’s toilet fetish. I don’t get it. People poop there man. But I guess I shouldn’t judge people’s tastes, fictional or otherwise. Other than that, Kintaro can be a little too much to handle at times, and can come off a a creep. And this is a very sex-joke heavy show, with more of the women being drawn as such. And weirdly enough, 4 out of the 6 women that Kintaro helps are condescending women of higher authority or status that are “humbled” by Kintaro’s kindness. I’m not really sure what that says about the author’s thoughts on gender dynamics, given his love for Dominant Women,  but I do know that the later part of the Golder Boy manga gets really philosophical about sex and gender, so….yeah. (p.s. the opening is poor and doesn’t really set up the show).

Watch it: It’s can be fun, but know what your getting into (3/5)

MVP: Kintaro’s voice actor

Doug Smith, you’ve done it again.

Best Episode: Ep.3 “Danger! The Virgin’s First Love” (the nicest and least sexual episode, which is ironic, considering that this is also the only episode with a sex scene in it)

Inferno Cop

Type: Yeah, this is a weird one.

Synopsis: Yeah, this is a weird one. I guess Japan finally discovered that they could combine flash animation and the internet together.

Pros: Yeah, this is a weird one. The only reason I’m even reviewing this is because it was made in Japan and is animated, technically making it an “anime.” The premise, if you can call it that, is that a cop with a burning skull for a face is a cop with a burning skull for a face. It’s nonsensical, random, cheap, and dammit, I can’t help but falling in love with it.

Cons: Yeah, this is a weird one. The only reason I’m even reviewing this is because it was made in Japan and is animated, technically making it an “anime.” The premise, if you can call it that, is that a cop with a burning skull for a face is a cop with a burning skull for a face. It’s nonsensical, random, cheap, and dammit, I can’t help but falling in love with it.

Watch it?: Yeah, this is a weird one. (4/5)

MVP: Inferno Cop

Yeah, this is a weird one.

Best Episode: The one were his head is on fire (yeah, this is a weird one)

Ghost Stories

Type: Yes, that Ghost Stories.

Synopsis: ADV Films, in a moment of sheer brilliance, decided to take a very basic anime series and give it the ol’ “lets get weird” treatment. The result? 19 episodes of racist, sexist, and homophobic comedy. Enjoy!

Pros: This anime is infamous, infamous, for its English Dub. The story is that Aniplex, who had the license for Ghost Stories, tried desperately to find a distributor. But the Japanese version really, really, really sucked. They finally sold it to ADV Films for cheap, given them permission to do anything with it as long as it sells. Deciding to make Gold out of goat sh#t, ADV Films let its producers and voice actors go nuts. AND THEY DID. Every episode is a joke episode. A hard R comedy. No taboo is left untouched. This is an Abridged Anime series that happens to be licensed. You need to watch this, if just to experience this very abnormal event in North American Anime history.

Cons: I was not being hyperbolic when I described this show. When I say the filter was off, I mean that the filter was off. Every episode has at least one horrible racist, sexist, and/or homophobic remark. One of the characters is described as their “retarded little mascot.” If you’re easily offended by that type of humor, and I would totally understand and praise you if your were, then do not watch this show. If you’re the type of person who loves jokes like the one about the Gay dentist, then your shouldn’t watch the show either, you homophobic f@ck. Don’t enable your ignorance. But for the rest of us, especially long time anime fans, this is a treat.

Watch it?: Oh yeah, the plot is about 5th graders fighting ghosts (4/5)

MVP: Momoko

“And you remember … Matthew 21 :17”

Best Episode: Just give it 4 minutes (then you decide)

Prison School

Type: Boys are Gross

Synopsis: Five boys enroll in a previously all-girl’s school. Awesome right? Really puts the “not if you were the last boy on Earth!” excuse to the test. Well, think again! Because the boys, in classic boy fashion, fly a little too close to the sun and get caught peeping at the girl’s bath. Now they must serve their punishment by being kept in the school’s questionably legal prison for a month.

Pros: Kinda like Shawshank Redemption, but if all the prison guards were replace by a busty girl who cannot physically button up her blouse. The entire show is about the 5 male protagonist being in “prison” while the Underground School Council think of schemes to get them expelled. What I loved was the character work, as each character has their own motivations and characteristics, and the small cast of 8-9 characters allows the show to utilize them efficiently. The show does a great job capturing the prisoners vs. guards aspects of Prison-centric fiction. In terms of story, the first arc is Kiyoshi trying to figure out a way to escape to go on a date. The second arc involves the student council using a snitch to set the boys up for expulsion. And the third arc is the boys getting out of their expulsion. Now, the original manga is famous for its gratuitous fan service, which is still in the show. What really surprise me is that for a show that exploits a lot of the kinkier aspects of humanity, like the fluids, I still found myself rooting for the boys. I bought into their brotherhood, and reminded me that male friendship is a beautiful thing, even if it means getting a stick up your butt from time to time.

Cons: The series adopts what I can only refer to as “awkward realism.” You know, the type of show that allows its characters to be pathetic, sexually desperate, and kinda sticky. Every episode has an “anime is weird” example. The fan service skews more towards the kinky S&M side, with some waterworks thrown in. Hell, one of the subplots is the protagonist and one of the Underground School Council members being stuck in a cycle of fate and urine. So proceed cautiously. I also wasn’t crazy about Meiko’s design, because I felt her boobs were a little too big. Like “how can she function?” big. I know she’s the mascot, but what looks good in print may not always look good in animation.

Watch it?: It will get weird on you (4/5)

MVP: Takehito

The most noble of tacticians!

Best Episode: Ep.7 “Meiko’s Delicious Restaurant” (it was hard, but I think this captures a little but of everything)