Some Quick OVA Impressions: Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, Appleseed XIII, Kung Fu Cooking Girls, The Epic of Zektbach and Koi Sento

This is me, clearing a bit of backlog in terms of OVAs. I’m not going to make a single post for all of them, but I do want to say a few things about them. Hence, a compilation post.

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn – 04

This episode illustrates the worries that I had when I started watching this OVA perfectly. Talk about a solid direction! Talk about great action. Some of the characters were really good here, like that female lead, the various captains. This really was epic…. if only it wasn’t for the excessive whining from the male lead. Dear god, I thought he’d never shut up. This episode just kept showing him angst over and over. He ignores orders just like every other bloody Gundam lead, and in the middle of a war he gets too scared and keeps whining towards everyone to stop fighting. Good lord, this really feels like watching Zeta Gundam all over again.
OVA Episode Rating: 7,75/10

Appleseed XIII

Okay, with this Appleseed XIII is much more character-centric than the movies have ever been. this was a bit of a weird episode where the tensions in the relationship between Deunan and Briarios stood central. And seriously Deunan, get some controls on your hormones! Nevertheless, the subject matter of this episode was very inspired. I especially liked the role of Deunan’s father in this episode, and how she both considers his upbringing of her a blessing and annoyance. It’s probably because of this that she’s also trying to get away from Briarios. They are really turning into interesting characters, although the facial animation still needs some MAJOR work here…
OVA Episode Rating: 8/10

Kung Fu Cooking Girls

I jus realized that I forgot a bunch of OVAs throughout the year. This one is a Chinese production, but it’s a really good example of interesting animation. It’s only eight minutes long, the animation is a bit messy, but very detailed and especially the fight choreography is really well done. Apart from the animation though, there’s not much more that makes it worth watching. There is in particular this very annoying guy who keeps looking for food who distracts the flow a little too much and the pointless fanservice is also pretty pointless here.
OVA Episode Rating: 7,5/10

The Epic of Zektbach

This is an attempt to tell an epic ancient warfare story… in just under 30 minutes. Okay, I give the creators credit for actually trying this, but the results are just completely bizarre. In the first ten minutes a massive war that is spread across the entire country is being one… by just one woman who happens to have a really powerful sword. This could have been something if 1) it had more time (seriously, the things it tries to cram in here lack serious development) and 2) better actors. Aside from the main character, none of the characters stand out and are just complete archetypes, and even the main character is forgettable. I appreciate the experiment though: now we know that you can’t tuff an epic storyline in half an hour.
OVA Episode Rating: 6/10

Koi Sento

This is a romantic adventure of about 20 minutes long, fully animated in Cell Shaded CG. Its content is really romantic fluff, but the execution is really fun and enjoyable. It’s got good acting and characterization and the characters are all pretty colourful and enjoyable to watch, and it’s got some great ideas to fill its airtime with. In particular the deer was hysterical. I love that animal. I believe that this aired right next to Norageki, which is pretty similar in terms of production (although completely different in terms of story content). Norageki is much better in the end, but as a way to randomly burn 20 minutes, this is quite an enjoyable way.
OVA Episode Rating: 8/10