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Perhaps one of the best dub jobs ever, the entire cast of Burn Up W should be given an award for their acting.

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Burn Up W

On The Case and In Your Face

Review by Matthew Anderson

4 Episode OVA series

Company: ADV Films

Running Time: 120 minutes (4 episodes)

Region: 1

Rated: R (Graphic Violence and Adult situations)

EXTERNAL EXAM

In the Tokyo Police Force exists a team of specialists who investigate crimes that exist outside of normal police work. They are called Team Warrior.

Team Warrior is by far the most mismatched team of nutcases ever put together. There is Rio, the financially troubled pointman. Maya, the trigger happy sniper. Lilica, the cute yet rich hacker. Nodvil the bubbly yet ditzy inventor. Yuji the oversexed transportation officer, and Maki, their budget conscious captain.

What first appears as a random series of events involving a terrorist attack by thrill seekers, a stolen virtual sex idol, and a mysterious VR system, turns into a life or death struggle for not only Team Warrior, but the entire police department. It is up to Warrior to figure out what is going on, before the creditors break Rio's legs.

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: Another Beautiful Job by ADV. After comparing the DVD with the LD we noticed a vast improvement in the quality. The colors were darker, and the lines looked sharper. The "washed out" effect from the LD was gone as well. Occasionally I noticed some pixels and some image enhancement but you really don't notice them.

AUDIO: About the same quality as the LD. Good solid sound on the English track. Occasionally, the sound effects overpowered the dialogue, but not so much as to decrease our enjoyment. The same goes for the Japanese track. However, the Japanese track is a little sharper than the English. The Spanish track is another matter. The background music is severely muted with the voices sounding like they were recorded in a tunnel.

EDITS: The Japanese closing credits have been replaced with two versions of English Credits. One with the Japanese cast, one with the English voice actors. Episode titles have been changed, and some of the opening credits have English over the Japanese text.

EXTRAS: Some "Case Photos", all screen shots. Great if you are making a web page. Oh, wait a minute, we are.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: Burn Up W is not a brilliant series. It was not made to impress the literate, amaze the anime savy, or break new ground. What it does do is put a smile on your face, and keep you entertained.

Screenplay writers Katsuhiko Kochiba and Sumio Uetake have given us a series chock full of witty dialogue, over the top action, and enough fan service to make any otaku thank God they are alive. The only down point is that the stories end only after 4 episodes.

ACTING: Perhaps one of the best dub jobs ever, the entire cast of Burn Up W should be given an award for their acting. ADV regulars Amanda Winn and Jason Lee both are perfect as Rio and Yuji. Ms. Winn does great portraying the bubbly optimism, sexual flirtation, and sense of honor that is Rio. Yuji would not be the hentai that he is without Mr. Lee's vocal talents. His hyper frantic voice works great. The Japanese voice actors do a fine job for this series. For most anime purist, they will find this the best way to watch the series. The voices do well to match the characters and work well. However, some of the voice are younger sounding that the others, but that is because the voices represent maturity, not age. The Spanish actors give a pretty flat delivery. To be honest, there were time I couldn't tell one female from another, and there were times that the Spanish took longer than the mouths spoke. You Spanish speakers may be disappointed.

FAN SERVICE: Burn Up W is fan service. This movie is wall to wall titillation, with nude bunji jumping, S&M looking battle suits, and plenty of bouncing bustlines. You also can see the holy grail of this series, Rio's nipples, in episode two. Just hit the step button on your DVD when Axia first attacks Rio, and you will get to see them. That is if you want to.

FINAL EXAM

Having been a fan of "Burn Up!" also released by ADVision, a natural check out of Burn Up W was required. To start off, Burn Up W is not a sequel or follow up to "Burn Up!" They only share a similar title and the same production and presentation companies, AIC and MRC/NCS. The character designs are quite interesting, with enough bouncing bustlines for any big busted battle babe fan.

The story is only 4 episodes long, so a lot of loose ends are left by the final episode. Fortunately, the series rolled over to Burn Up W Excess, where we hoped the answers would be fourth coming (it didn't). Fortunately, Excess is now available in the United States by AD Vision. All in all, I like this show. It's got some great comedy, and plenty of action, some of it inventive. Not a brilliant work by any means, it is the kind of "Lethal Weapon" influenced anime that has appeared in abundance over the last 15 years. This is an entertaining action flick to watch when you need a dose of gun toting babes who have fun.

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