Studio Gainax at it's best

Not your average anime in any way, shape or form... Behind all the wierdness and seemingly random plot devices, is a straightforward boy-meets-girl story. The difference being Yoji Enokido's imagination and the outstanding direction of Kazuya Tsurumaki..

The story follows Naoto, a young fellow from a fictional town called Mabase. Naota is very keen to appear mature and sensible, he idolizes his older brother (who is a pro-baseball player signed up by a US team). Mamimi is the older brother's girlfriend. She's depressed, lonely and never goes to school - preferring to mooch around playing games and adopting stray animals. She is very friendly with Naoto, much to his consternation.

The catalyst is Haruko - who's just crazy. To go into her character too much would involve numerous spoilers, and it's best left to you to interpret her role in this series. She rides a Vespa (which, incidentally, is owned in the 'real world' by the show's writer), carries around a blue Rickenbacker bass guitar which she uses to great effect.. I think she works for an organisation called 'Galactic Space Police Brotherhood' - say no more..

Esoteric, frentic and groundbreaking animation. Chopping from one style to the next with stunning cohesion - we have matrix-style 'bullet time', black & white & even a scene drawn as a manga. Eye-candy is an understatement...

Only drawback, the translation is a little off in places. One wishes they'd gone to a fansub group for their translations, rather than relying on the american production company who licensed this in the West. But it really doesn't detract, most of what is missed is idiosyncracies very specific to Japanese culture, so would probably be lost on most viewers.

Sci-Fi, comedy, drama, romance and downright odd. RENT IT!