SOREYUKE! UCHUU SENKAN YAMAMOTO YOUKO (1999)

DESCRIPTION

CAST

OVA AdventureSoreyuke! Uchuu Senkan Yamamoto Yohko
OVA ActionSoreyuke! Uchuu Senkan Yamamoto Yohko II
MANGA ActionSoreyuke! Uchuu Senkan Yamamoto Youko
NOVEL ActionSoreyuke! Uchuu Senkan Yamamoto Youko

REVIEWS

• 

  PulpGodd

  68/100
  This is NOT a fun anime about sexy girls piloting Formula One spaceships.

  The first thing to be aware of is that there is another anime version of Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko in the form of a brief OVA series–also directed by Akiyuki Shinbou under the producers at JC Staff. It’s not necessary to watch either before the other, but they are stylistically and tonally different adaptations. In the 1990s it wasn’t unusual for a popular anime franchise to first release as an OVA series before a longer TV version followed in stride. AIC notably took this approach with Tenchi Muyo, El-Hazard, and Ah Megami-sama. With those titles, there is some shifting of plot and characters between their respective OVA and TV versions, but the tone and presentation at least remain in the same ballpark. The Yamamoto Yohko anime are not like this, however, and it is intriguing how two anime adapted from the same source material, by the same director, with the same producers can feel so different. I’ll briefly touch on what makes the two versions different, so readers can decide which would be more their speed, before getting deeper into this TV series specifically.

  The OVA series is a fun comedy romp with a silly surreal space setting while the TV series is an atmospheric experience with surrealism dosed out as heady abstraction. The OVA series moves quick and emphasizes action while the TV series moves slow and features a lingering mood. That’s the general idea. A major difference between the two anime in terms of staff is Kazuto Nakazawa and Akio Watanabe as character artists; OVA and TV respectively. Kazuto Nakazawa is of AIC fame with his work on El-Hazard and Tenchi Muyo, and Akio Watanabe should be a household name by now for his work on many influential series (The Soultaker, Popotan, Bakemonogatari, Grisaia). The results are possibly different than one might expect, or at least it was for me. From the cover art on this page featuring the epic Yohko tummy, one might expect the TV series to have more sex appeal, but it’s the opposite. The OVA is the version which presents Yohko with a steady degree of assumed ecchiness. And while the TV version employs cute character art from Watanabe, the focus of the animation doesn’t often highlight such a tangible anatomical essence through certain poses, wardrobing, and angles. I am personally an ecchi fan and found the subtle hotness of Yohko in the OVA to enhance her personality and charm as a character. While I was a little disappointed by the general lack of this appeal in the TV version, I recognize others might prefer it the other way. Regardless, I think the lack of this specific enjoyable element is at least partially offset by the rest of the TV anime’s visual prowess.

  The OVA definitely has its share of visual Shinbou-isms, but it’s all cranked up to 100 in the TV version. I’ll quickly add that the TV anime is unfortunately presented in 4:3 aspect ratio, which I think is disappointing and probably against Shinbou’s wishes, but it was the standard for the time. In any case, the shots are consistently avant-garde and genuinely creative. It’s rather abstract stuff; I’m sure most people are familiar with the final episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion and End of Evangelion; well it’s kind of like that, but all the time for 26 episodes straight. The atmosphere and mood this creates is deeply engaging and memorable, but also might be too dense for the average viewer to chew (this has been admitted by Shinbou himself). These experimental shots involve an out-of-the box approach to perspective, lines, and lighting–eschewing production base colors and sacrificing character detail for maximum artistic impact. The visual content will often simply hang on the screen to invoke a deep feeling, and this in turn dictates the entire pace of the show. Dialogue is often set to match the visual quip and the episodes typically feel slow and twisted.

  While the overall mood is primarily influenced by this art direction–the setting, story, and subject matter contribute as well. It’s a bizarre mix of melancholy emotions and surreal comedy. The story can be anywhere at any time, with little consistency in any area. It’s straight up not the kind of anime for people who are concerned about world mechanics and plot holes. For almost the entire anime there’s no clear cut purpose for the things that happen, any indication if it’s a story with a villain or not, and not much explanation as to what is happening or why, as subplots and characters appear and disappear for seemingly no reason. I personally had my doubts in the middle of the series, but the team does a decent job of pulling the plot together by episode 26. In the end, at least some sense is made of the strange events that occurred over the course of the anime. There’s also a big meta-otaku angle to the plot that’s revealed in a strangely fleeting/lowkey way; something I really enjoyed, but was immediately doubting if it had really happened and how much it was intended to influence the actual story.

  There are a few central themes consistent with what I consider to be otaku values. The main theme is the enduring power of true friends, but it’s not all rakusho and happiness since the writers also do a reasonably good job at presenting many challenges to the girls’ relationships. There’s also the sense of a chosen-one element in this anime (common in most hyper-otaku works like this), but I am disappointed it’s so diminished in the TV anime when compared to the OVA series. In the OVA series, it’s driven home that Yohko is a proud arcade gamer otaku summoned 1000 years in the future to kick ass and save humanity with her legendary skills. This relatable element is referenced in the beginning of the TV anime, but ultimately completely lost in the confusing whirlpool that ensues.

  I ultimately consider this a good, yet flawed anime in its own right. When compared with the OVA series, it certainly elevates all the supporting characters (characters who aren’t Yohko), but it also loses the OVA’s important essence of fun, excitement, and realness which I think should be present in any story about fighting alongside friends. I also think this anime meanders way too much, and would probably have more overall impact if it had been a strongly concerted effort over 13 episodes instead of 26. An anime like Kidou Senkan Nadesico does a better job of blending heavy emotions with tongue-in-cheek comedy because of its intense focus on writing in the details and making sure gears actually mesh. Nadesico is also a much higher budget project, so I guess it’s up to the viewer to meet Yamamoto Yohko (TV) halfway and accept it for what it is. The silver lining here is that Yamamoto Yohko (TV) is essentially the rough draft for a favorite anime of mine and near-masterpiece (imo) that is The SoulTaker. Akiyuki Shinbou would take this core team of Akio Watanabe, Mayori Sekijima, and Junichi Higashi to make an even more demanding anime which–once again–left general anime viewers behind (Shinbou and Watanabe’s words). In the case of The SoulTaker, however, I think they only make the good visual aspects of Yamamoto Yohko better while remedying the flaws of the story in a plot that was way better suited for this kind of experimentation. I mention this because it’s personally important for me to watch Yamamoto Yohko with its historical significance in mind. When I rate anime, a 7/10 is the cutoff point where everything above that mark is something I own on DVD. This TV version of Yamamoto Yohko is a decent anime with awesome cinematography, it’s also somewhat enhanced by the existence of its OVA counterpart and quasi-sequel The SoulTaker, making it a hard DVD set for me to pass on. So, I think I will buy the DVDs and rate this a 68/100 for the review.

  Continue on AniList

SIMILAR ANIMES YOU MAY LIKE

• ANIME

  ComedyMetal Fighter MIKU
• ANIME

  ActionVandread
• ANIME

  ActionGenerator Gawl
• OVA

  AdventureTenamonya Voyagers
• ANIME

  ActionKidou Senkan Nadesico
• ANIME

  DramaStarship Operators
• ANIME

  ActionKiddy GiRL-AND
• OVA

  ActionTop wo Nerae 2! DIEBUSTER