Copyright © 1992 Katsura Masakazu

I'll keep this review short and sweet: VIDEO GIRL AI is as cute and fun as its main character. Why it took so long for this delightful OVA series to be released in a licensed English translation is beyond me!
Based on the manga by Katsura Masakazu, VIDEO GIRL AI takes one lovelorn teenager, Moteuchi Yota, the female classmate he has a crush on, Moemi, and, Ai, a magical girl who comes to life by jumping out of Yota's TV and VCR. Can Ai teach "dateless" Yota how to win Moemi's heart before the VCR's timer runs out? The show really makes you care about these characters, and when Ai claims that "video girls can't fall in love" with a tear rolling down her cheek, only the heartless wouldn't feel an emotional twinge themselves.
VIDEO GIRL AI is not afraid to push your sympathy buttons, but it is clever enough not to get sappy. This anime can be very funny too, if in an occasionally bawdy way. Ai is a playful little vixen, and she shows no modesty or mercy when it comes to complaining about the bust size of her physical incarnation. The omake sections nearly made me cry with laughter as well, particularly the first one which imagines Ai as an enormous, fire-breathing, Tokyo-destroying monster.
The animation quality is simply superb, even for an OVA series, and naturally it is very true to the original manga artwork. Whether it depicts slapstick comedy or tender moments, the animation captures the moments beautifully with detailed lines, inventive angles and the occasional super-deformity. Ai lunging for Yota in slow-motion when he messes with the remote control, Yota sobbing in the rain after Moemi had her heart broken or the silhouettes on a window shade of Ai trying to bathe a reluctant Yota: scenes like these were truly a pleasure to behold.
Excellent animation, a fanciful story with wonderful characters and plenty of humor—what more can you ask for? This is probably the closest you are going to get to meeting a video girl of your own!

Released in N. America by Viz Communications, Inc.
VHS, 60 minutes
English Dubbed: V-VGE01, $24.98
English Subbed: V-VGS01, $29.98
Available now in the USA
Where to buy