Otaku, No Video

Crusher Joe: The Movie

© Sunrise, Haruka Takachiho

Origin: Light novels by Haruka Takachiho (creator of Dirty Pair, founder of Studio Nue)

Studio: Sunrise

Director: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko (Venus Wars, Mobile Suit Gundam [character designs])

Made in: 1983

Genre: SF / action / space opera

Premise: A team of adventurers get mixed up with the wrong side of the law, and spend a lot of time fighting hand-to-hand, fighting with guns, crawling through sewers, and fighting.

Show x Show: It’s Star Wars meets Dirty Pair

Length: 2-hour movie

Is there a plot? Very much so, but this is space opera. The plot exists to move the characters to the next action set piece. It’s about as much plot as Star Wars Episode IV.

How goofy is it? The characters survive against ridiculous odds. Again, it’s space opera. Leave your brain at the door and bring with you your sense of wonder.

Can I show it to my Mom? Sure, but she probably wouldn’t get it.

Can I show it to my kid brother? Definitely, though be aware of the nude girl.

Nude girl? The Maguffin of this story is a late-teen girl in suspended animation. Of course, she’s naked.

Can I show it to a non-anime fan? Probably not. The animation and plotting are very anime, and mid-1980′s anime at that. However, the plot should appeal to any science fiction fan who’s willing to watch a cartoon.

Does the art quality vary from shot to shot? Nope. That’s one thing Sunrise usually has licked.

Quality of action sequences: They have a big budget, so the animators piled on the cels. Sunrise has a distinctive animation style, so it doesn’t look like Ghibli, but it doesn’t look bad; just stylized.  People run with arms akimbo.

Music: Perfectly appropriate, bombastic music, from a guy who hasn’t done much else.

Editing: Basic early 1980′s stuff.

Voices: I listened to the English dub, which is cheesy but has a lot of spirit.  None of those drab, dead-guy voices that plague other English dubs; at least these voice actors are having fun with their roles.

Availability: Released by AnimEigo in 2003, in a box set along with the OAV (which tells a different story). Out of stock everywhere now.

Weird anime connection #1: The Dirty Pair appear on a drive-in movie screen in the movie.

Weird anime connection #2: The crew consists of a serious young man; a pretty girl; a big, scarred, dark-skinned ex-cop; and a red-haired hacker kid, who wander the galaxy in search of bounties. Remind you of Cowboy Bebop at all?