SUMMARY
In the city of Miami, crime runs rampant. Gangs rule the
streets. Violence is the law of the land. The Miami Police
have their hands full....but not because of the criminals.
Two of their own members, Yao Sakurakouji and Lu Amano are the
two most dangerous, violent, and insane cops on the force.
Nothing and no one is safe when these two psychos are on
duty....until now.
Yao has quit the Miami Police force after Lu arrests her friend
Nagisa as a member of the underworld. Convinced that The Crab
Brains Gang was responsible for Nagisa's evil ways, Yao decides to
wage a one woman war against their mysterious boss.
At the same time, the leader of The Crab Brains Gang has taken a boat
of dignitaries hostage, and is threatining to destroy Miami with a giant
missle.
Can Yao an Lu put aside their differences
DVD
VISION TEST
VIDEO:
AN Entertainment has done an
excellent job. There are no pixels, color bleeds or edge enhancement
to be found.
AUDIO: The Dolby 2.0 for both tracks are so evenly
matched, I can't tell which one is better. For the most part, the
voices come from the front, while the background noise is from the back.
EDITS:
100% uncut baby!
EXTRAS: AN Entertainment does a great job enhancing the standard extras typically found on DVD. The
character profiles have selectable production art work and cool pose
pictures. The production gallery contains additional artwork specifically
for each episode. A feature I really like is that the translation
and cultural notes have links to the scenes they are referencing.
Clean open and close, Commercial spots, previews of Risky Safety and for the next volume of Miami Guns rounds out the
cool extras.
WIDESCREEN
REVIEW
STORY:
Yutaka Hirata and the writing staff have taken Takeaki Momose's
entertaining manga and made it their own. While it shares the flavor
and energy of the manga, it isn't a straight adaptation. Like Excel
Saga, this series pokes fun at many different genres of anime and
movies. Miami Guns manages to make you laugh without leaving you
totally exhausted.
ACTING:
Both the Japanese and English cast do a top notch job.
First
up, the group from Phoenix Post Sound. I found Suzanne Willard a
perfect match for the cold and aloof Lu Amano. Her deadpan delivery perfectly
conveys Lu's personality.
Nicole Gibson's voice for Yao was
a little jarring at first. She sounded a little to old for a
teenager. However, the more I listened, the more her mouthy, cocky
attitude won me over.
Crystal Waters is my personal favorite. As the bitchy
Nagisa,
her voice can switch from sweet and innocent to evil in a snap. She
also has some great comedic timing.
The Japanese side is awesome as well. Megumi
Toyoguchi is perfect as the cute yet bitchy Yao. The ecstasy in her
voice when she is about to do some evil is down right sexy
Like
her American counterpart, Yukari Tamura is icy cold. Her voice
is a little too soft to be sexy, but then again, Lu isn't about sex
appeal.
FAN SERVICE:
Every female character winds up in a swimsuit at some point in this volume. The outfits that Yao and Lu wear aren't
exactly modest. Yao goes all out in one episode, with Kaken taking
some lovely pictures.
The other
kind of fan service is here. There are so many different pop culture references, both anime and live
action, that it will take you several viewings to catch them all.
Look for a popular entertainer to make a guest appearance.
CONCLUSION:
The third
volume in the hilarious "Miami Guns" saga continues to
bitch slap you silly with it's over the top antics, plentiful fan
service, and wonderful voice acting. I always knew that I was
going to like "Miami Guns", but thanks to volume three, I
am a total slave to this series.
This volume starts off with a gut busting homage to 1980's slasher
flicks. Along with the obvious "Friday the 13th" and
"Halloween" jokes, there are some from classic Japanese
horror films like "Ring" and Hino horror mangas.
While the episode plays a lot on the inherent Japanese fear of
ghosts and demons, American audiences will still be able to
"get it", thanks to the visual jokes.
One thing about this episode is that we get a fantastic
shot of Lu in her undies. She has quite the rockin'
bod. Actually, I think it's a little better than Yao's.
After the "terrifying" first episode, we segue into the
best episode on this disc. Yao has once again become a target
of hit men, thanks to her "friend" Nagisa. When
faced by insurmountable odds, there is only one thing Yao can
do; participate in a beauty contest.
If beauty pageants were like this one, I would watch them more
often.
Besides having a collection of lovely ladies, they have to survive an
obstacle course. Think of "Fear Factor" written by
Peter Benchly (the guy who wrote Jaws), staring the
girls from the Sports Illustrated swimsuit calendar, and directed by Luc Besson.
Fortunately for Yao, there is Antonio Banderas clone Julio
Peacemaker and his pet alligator Al to help things along.
Last is my least favorite episode of the series, "Zenigeba
Deka R". Centering around Yao, once again she has been
cut off due to her excessive and costly tactics. A rehash of a
previous episode, most of the jokes fall a little flat. It
does have some "cute" moments, but on the whole, it's take
it or leave it.
The more I watch, the more I dig Crystal Waters as Nagisa. A lot
better
than the Japanese voice actress, the energy in her voice sends chills up my
spine. Her all encompassing
hate for that "skinny bitch" Yao is just as good as the ecstasy
that Megumi
Toyoguchi purrs when she plays Yao. Crystal Waters is one VA to
watch out for in the next year or so. I can't wait for her next
project.
While I enjoy the Japanese cast, I think that the English cast
does a better job. Suzanne Willard's older and stronger voice
is more fitting for Lu than her Japanese counterpart. Nicole
Gibson as Yao is more aggressive than Megumi
Toyoguchi, playing up the "crazy bitch" aspects of her
character. Most improved performance goes to Ralph Redpath
as Ji. Giving Tomomichi Nishimura a run for his money, Ralph Redpath
delivers some great lines in the second episode, reminding me of the
awesome work of Mark Matney from "You're Under
Arrest". I can go on and on about the cast, but I will
save it for the next review.
AN Entertainment continues to show that they know what fans like. Like
the previous volumes, they have packed this
disc with many cool features. The addition of the promo spots, the linkable
references in their DVD liner notes, and the quotes from the staff in the
scene selection show the
love and care AN Entertainment put into this release. I also like to
mention that the menus continue to entertain and delight. They
are easy to navigate, and keep with the same over the top tone of
the series. If you have a good quality TV, or play it on your
computer, the main graphic is absolutely stunning.
Miami Guns vol 3 is another great addition to the Miami Guns series,
and your anime collection. The only truly bad thing is we only have
one volume left. Make sure you support AN Entertainment, and buy the
entire series. You will have a good time, and get plenty of service,
service!
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