Copyright © Daichi Akitaro * Madhouse/Bandai Visual

Madhouse is a studio with a reputation. After all, they've done a lot of great anime, including X (the movie), the new VAMPIRE HUNTER D, and of course NINJA SCROLL. But they've also done a lot less "hard core" stuff, including the fan favorite CARD CAPTOR SAKURA.
As one might guess from the title, JUUBEI-CHAN: SECRET OF THE LOVELY EYEPATCH falls into this latter category. The story opens in Japan's past. The legendary ninja Yagyuu Juubei is on his deathbed. He makes his assistant swear the he will not rest until he finds Juubei's successor. Overcome with emotion, this disciple of one of Japan's great historical legends vows to fulfill his master's dying wish, and immediately wishes that he didn't. For his master has described his successor as "lovely and cute," and "bouncy." Is Juubei in his right mind?
Cut to the present day. A girl named Jiyuu is doing her best to go to school, despite the weird antics of her father. On the way home after a trying day of classroom tomfoolery by her classmates, she bumps into Juubei's disciple, who has been wandering around Japan for over two centuries looking for the chosen one. When he sees this girl, he realizes that his task is at an end.
Well, nearly, for he has a hard time convincing her of anything, let alone getting her to wear some dumb heart-shaped eyepatch. But when one of her teachers shows up and tries to kill her, she reluctantly agrees. A magical transformation takes place and she suddenly becomes Juubei-chan, ninja warrior!
So now that she's Juubei-chan, of course suddenly people are coming out of the woodwork to try and kill her. But who are they? Are they spirits of long-defeated foes looking for vengeance? Are they mercenaries out for a kill? Or are they just dissatisfied substitute teachers?
However, JUUBEI-CHAN is not a typical magical girls show. In fact, it's not a typical show of any kind. It has a great deal of serious drama to it, a lot of beautiful animation, and at the same time it also has the bizarre comedy and art style reminiscent of KARESHI KANOJO NO JIJOU. The show moves from funny to serious in the blink of an eye, and somehow manages to pull it off.
This is probably not surprising, since the creator and main writer is Daichi Akitaro, who has worked on such shows as AKAZUKIN CHACHA, NURSE ANGEL RIRIKA, and KODOMO NO OMOCHA. He has developed a very strong ability to combine likable characters, bizarre situations, and just enough believability to keep viewers interested.
Character designs are done by SLAYERS veteran Yoshimatsu Takahiro, and the characters all look distinct and not like leftover designs he didn't use in a SLAYERS video. This may be because the original designs were done by Mucchiri Muunii and Yoshimatsu adapted them to animation, something he does very well.
However, JUUBEI-CHAN is not a perfect show. At times, the jokes seem a little sophomoric and pedantic, and the bust-size jokes are not terribly original. In addition, while the animation is good overall, it is of differening quailities throughout the show, but still not bad. The story is a little predicatable, with the bad guy of the week. And finally, don't expect to be hooked by a catchy opening sequence because there really isn't one—just Jiyuu pedaling on a bike for about a minute and a half.
But the style with which this show moves allows viewers to overlook these shortcomings. And the interesting and unique characters are what keeps the viewer waiting to see what will happen next. Will Jiyuu find love? Will she ever be free from this eyepatch? And who the hell are those guys who look like monkeys anyway?
JUUBEI-CHAN is a breath of fresh air in the most recent TV offerings, as it's not based on a video game, nor is it a remake of a once-popular OVA series. It's funny, it's interesting, and it's probably one of the most entertaining shows I've seen in some time.

13 episode Television series
Bandai Visual

Volume 1 (25 minutes)
LD BEAL-1383 ¥3800
DVD BCBA-0152 ¥ 3800
Volume 2 (73 minutes)
LD BEAL-1384 ¥6000
DVD BCBA-0153 ¥6000
Volume 3 (73 minutes)
LD BEAL-1385 ¥6000
DVD BCBA-0154 ¥6000

Available Now in Japan
Where to buy