The term "fanservice comedy" has been brought into a new light by the latest domestic release by the creator of Agent Aika. Labyrinth of Flames is Katsuhiko Nihijima's latest offering in the world of anime. The two-episode OVA series offers plenty of T & A that is not quite to the level of Agent Aika's, but close. It is almost ironic since the series was originally meant to be a historical drama, not a comedy. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing, since Labyrinth of Flames is another fine offering that fits in more along the ranks of Project A-Ko than Aika.

Being only two episodes, the plot is not allowed to stray from the main purpose. This is not necessarily a bad thing though, since everything gets solved without too much confusion. The story itself focuses around Galan, a wannabe samurai; and Natsu, his good friend, who is also a princess to a Russian province. Returning to the story, Natsu and her aide, Kasumi, walk over to the watchman's room in school to visit (apparently) long-time friend Galan. Galan, who desperately wants to be a samurai, is given a gift of a short sword by Natsu, much to Kasumi's chagrine and disgust. Natsu assures Galan that they have "these things lying around the house", and that it is not the sacred sword handed down in the family, and it has nothing to do with choosing her next husband. While this is an obvious hint, Galan remains clueless to the whole situation. Natsu then continues on to say that there are more swords at the house and that she will pick him up on her way back. Thus begins the hilarious saga known as Labyrinth of Flames.

From the beginning, the stage is set for a very fun experience, with what has to be one of the biggest parodies of a samurai action movie I have seen to date. The lead characters are introduced fairly quickly, which allows for a quick immersion into the story itself. The plot at a whole, is good, but slightly on the weak side. It is best described as a cross between Ranma 1/2, Agent Aika, and Meet the Parents. By this, it is meant that there are several women that surround the main character, all of which have gratuitous chest and/or panty shots. On top of that, the actual story is focuses more on Galan visiting the household of Natsu's family and the role of the sword than the girls themselves. This isn't to say the girls are meaningless, however. They all have some role to play in the story, from the royal guardian to a seemingly innocent American TV reporter. Of course, their true roles and motives are eventually revealed through the two episodes. Fortunately, the plot itself is very contained, and manages to sum itself up with few remaining questions at the closing of the second episode. On a negative note, since this was originally a drama converted to a comedy, this fact definitely shows in some points, giving a rough feel to execution of more than a few isolated instances. As a whole, the plot to Labyrinth is fun and cohesive, and executed well, but there seems to be something missing from the whole view of things.

Galan wants to be a samurai. Badly. The fact that he's in Russia does little to deter a courageous spirit, after all. Now if only he could get a katana....	In the immortal words of an Eva preview... "Saabisu, saabisu, saabisu!"

Labyrinth of Flames' characters are very beautifully designed, holding quite a bit of detail within their seemingly simple features. Many of the lesser details of the characters are given extreme care, from Galan's best (which has a Russian character on the back) to Shigamitsu's muscles, and even his pot-belly! The characters all follow the seemingly-standard "wild-hair-color" stereotype, but none of the colors really seem too far out of touch with reality, excepting Galan and the two antagonists. Clothing and accessories are given a generous amount of detail with little touches, such as the type of transfusion Kasumi receives (it changes, at least, maybe a few times), the intricate designs on the Sacred Short Sword, or even the outlandish costume that a certain character wears that can only be described as "Tuxedo Clown". The characters themselves are all very interesting and unique, all of which holding their own charms. The most notable, though, are definitely Kasumi, the infirm ninja that always carries around an IV and is very reminiscent to Excel Saga's Hyatt, minus the dying; and Galan, the show's main character who wears a cheap excuse for samurai garb, while always trying to get a real sword (which he even calls "Katana-chan" at one point). These two characters are very distinct, and are both very interesting in the fact that they rarely have normal expressions about them. There are a few instances where such details are not quite for detail, but for comedic effect. In several scenes (mainly involving the large-chested Carrie), a male character will be seen with a "comedic erection" to help emphasize an already funny moment. Suffice to say that the character designs are simply beautiful.

Labyrinth of Flames seems to take the whole OVA standard, toss it in a blender, and run with it from there. Labyrinth's animation seems to take several steps up over much of the competition with many subtle touches to the series that many would not ordinarily notice, including several gorgeous, fully animated dance scenes interspersed between certain scenes. It is quite rare to find such wonderful animation in a series that takes such a lighthearted tone. The rest of the series animates very nicely, save for a few scenes that are mainly a still pic over a white background, but such scenes seem to be thrown in for effect, rather than cost-cutting. There are several instances where superimposition of characters takes place, none of which really seems out of place. In normal scenes, the character movement is very fluid and seems quite natural for the characters (even Kasumi, with her portable IV). Overall, the animation for Labryinth is very good, using a mixture of techniques that almost always works well.

On a technical note, it should be added that since the masters for Labyrinth of Flames are very new, which makes for a beautiful transfer to DVD. There is no sign of grain, not is there any pixellation to the picture whatsoever. The solid blues come out beautifully in the background, with no signs of blocking. There is no cross-coloring, nor is there any sign of the dreaded "rainbow". In this reviewer's opinion, Labyrinth of Flames has to be the most beautiful DVD released yet this year.

Labyrinth of Flames offers a fun romp through the realms of fanservice humor without ever being TOO obscene for a many people's tastes. The series is a definite must-watch for fans of Agent Aika, Tenchi, or even the American movie Meet the Parents. Just don't go in expecting an animated masterpiece, and everything will be fun and enjoyable to watch.

Distributor: CPM
Creator: Emotion
Released: 2002

Plot: B-
Character Design: A-
Animation Quality: B+
Music: A
Overall: A-