The '96 to '97 run of the TV show You're Under Arrest follows on from the OVA series of the same name, and in fact pretty much everything is the same from the OVA to the TV show, outside of the animation quality. The characters are the same, the police precinct they work at is the same, and even the music the same, with Kou Otani continuing the composition work started on the OVA series. In fact, some of the same background music tracks from the OVAs even get recycled into the TV show, in case you needed even more of a hint that this is not a re-telling of the story, but a continuation of it. The music that was not a repeat from the OVA was collected into three different albums. The first album, given the highly original name Original Soundtrack 1, roughly covers the background and other music from the first third of the show.

The album starts with the first opening and closing themes from the TV show, To Be Myself by Flying Kids and Thank You, Love by Keiko Terada. To Be Myself is a slightly sub-average pop song with almost nothing to recommend it. There's nothing really wrong with it, and some of the lyrical rhythm in the chorus is catchy, but it is easily forgettable. Thank You, Love, the closing theme, is one I actually like. With a good blend between the acoustic guitars, bass, and vocal, this is an easy song to like, if a bit on the mellow side. Both songs are presented in their TV edit size.

From there, we move on into the main body of the album, consisting of general background music used throughout the show. A lot of this is done on a synthesizer, though other instruments appear from time to time, including electric guitar and saxophone. Tracks 3 to 15 consist of these pieces. If you check out the review I wrote of the OVA soundtrack, you will know everything I have to say about this music, as my opinions have not changed over the years. It is somewhat boring, generic stuff, though it isn't offensive. It's just... not interesting. It serves its purpose in the show, but to just sit down and listen to it makes for a rather dull experience. The arrangement of these tracks on the album doesn't seem to follow any specific rhyme or reason. There probably was some logic involved, but I can't figure out what it might be.

If that was all we had, this would be a pretty lame album. What saves it from that fate is the last section of the album, consisting of five vocal tracks that make various appearances throughout the TV show. Let Me Call You My Friend is a duet sung partly by the actress that plays Yoriko, the precinct gossip who is both the glue that keeps everyone together and a nosy trouble-maker. The other singer is Michiko Neya, who plays Yoriko's nemesis from the police academy, Chie. The song itself is fairly pedestrian, but kind of funny. The next track, Dear Mr. Strikeman ~We're the Strike Girlscouts!~, is pretty much the reason I own this album. See, there was this one episode (#18) where Strikeman (a hilarious, baseball-themed spoof of American vigilante superheros) wants to get some sidekicks, so he advertises around town, hoping to get some strapping young lads to join his quest for justice. Who actually ends up responding are a trio of young girls that are tired of boys picking on them, and want to get some revenge. Soon enough, the young heroines of justice are turning the tables on the boys in one of the most hilariously cute sequences of action I've ever seen. And this song, which otherwise holds no real musical virtue, plays in the background, so I always associate it with little girls firing their hyper bazooka at the boys who tormented them, and that makes me smile.

As you should be picking up on by now, there is no reason to own this album if you aren't already a fan of the show and the characters therein. It won't do anything to make you like the show, and even if you kind of like the show, I wouldn't search this album out. However, if you happen to LOVE You're Under Arrest like I do, then there is much under-stated humor to be found in these last few songs. The album concludes with songs by Bin Shimida, the voice of Ken; Sakiko Tamagawa, the voice of Natsumi; and Akiko Hiramatsu, the voice of Miyuki. Thus, every major character but Aoi gets their own song.

To summarize, this is an album for fans only. The non-fanatic will probably look a bit askance at this album, for good reasons. A true fan, however, one who knows the characters and appreciates them, will find just enough good stuff to warrant a purchase. Maybe.