Over the years, a sort of unwritten rule has arisen regarding animated adaptations of popular video games. Be it an OVA or a television series, the show is doomed to limit its audience by either requiring too much prior knowledge for new viewers, or moving too far away from the original source, alienating the original fans of the title. Therefore, it comes as a bit of a surprise that Ohji Hiroi, one who has been blurring the bounds of anime and video games for years with his Sakura Taisen series, has managed to accomplish such a feat. The result is Moeyo Ken, a hilarious OVA that is sure to please fans of the series and non-fans alike.

Much like Sakura Taisen, Moeyo Ken places a branch of government-funded warriors against the forces of evil. This time, the era of choice is the Meiji period, and the setting is Kyoto. Instead of superpowered spirit-fueled mecha, the Mobile Shinsengumi is given magical armor and a Batmobile look-alike. The four episodes of the series are a nonlinear string of adventures that revolve around the heroines. Of course, a straight-out action show wouldn't exactly be the most interesting spectacle on the planet, so, as a twist, the main characters are incompetent beyond belief. These girls are so inept that, on several occasions, the bystanders actually seem more comfortable with the demons over the heroes. An actual plot is nonexistent through the series. Instead, it is very clear that the viewer is supposed to simply enjoy the situations presented, and not ask why.

For Moeyo Ken, the folks at RED hired famed manga artist Rumiko Takahashi as the project's character designer. The cast has the distinctive "Takahashi Style", which has been made famous by Urusei Yatsura, and refined up to this release. The animation for this release is fairly high-quality, and mixes both two-dimensional animation and three-dimensional CG. The CG is integrated well, and makes wonderful use of a technique known as "cel-shading." This technique has been tried many times in the past with video games, but the technique is still a rare occurrence in traditional animation.

Batman called. He wants his car back.	Bovine counseling is one of the Mobile Shinsengumi's many duties.

For the musical end of the production, RED hired experienced composer Takeshi Ike. Most of the compositions for the series consist of pumping techno beats and heavy use of synthesized harmonies. The show's vocal themes, "Moeyo Ken" and "Seishun no Matsuri," respectively are both upbeat techno numbers performed by the series' leads. The Japnese performance is top notch, and casts several popular actors, including Chisa Yokoyama (Tenchi Muyo!, Sakura Taisen), and Ai Orikasa (Saber Marionette J, Maze: the Mega-Burst Space). The cast puts on a wonderful performance, with a convincing chemistry between the actors. The English cast, on the other hand, seems to meander through its performance, with an overall weak and lifeless showing from a majority of the characters.

Those looking for a fun series with no long-term commitment will find satisfaction in Moeyo Ken. The Mobile Shinsengumi's humorous escapades provide a pleasant change of pace, and manage to shy away from seeming incomplete at the end of the feature.

Distributor: ADV Films
Creator: Ohji Hiroi/RED Entertainment
Released: 2004

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