Gokudou-kun Manyuuki

—by John Yung

For those of you SLAYERS fans who can't get enough comedic fantasy action, along comes GOKUDOU-KUN MANYUUKI. Like SLAYERS, GOKUDOU-KUN is about an anti-hero in a fantasy setting with lots of comedy thrown in, but both series have other things in common. Both series began as serialized novels in Kadokawa publications, and both are currently being serialized in manga form in the DRAGON JR. magazine.
But the main character, Gokudou Yuukotto Kikansukii, isn't as cute and appealing as Lina Inverse. In fact, he doesn't really have any redeeming qualities: he lies, he steals and he picks his nose in front of people. It's part of the series' humor; you don't feel sorry about laughing when Gokudou is abused, and he gets abused a lot.
It all starts when Gokudou steals a pouch from a fortuneteller, thinking that it contains a gem. Instead, it turns out to be a rock, from which emerges Djinn. The genie grants Gokudou the standard three wishes, but our anti-hero doesn't think heavily about his wishes. Gokudou does get his wishes, though not exactly in the fashion that he expected. The best thing he gets out of his wishes is Honou no Maken, a magical sword that enables its owner to do fire attacks and it can be summoned from anywhere in the world.
Even with an enchanted sword, Gokudou doesn't get much respect. He gets turned into a woman by Djinn, who is also a shapeshifter. He is followed by Rubette La Late, a potential love interest who is more interested in adventure, karaoke and outperforming Gokudou. He gets whapped on the head a lot, especially by the fortuneteller who reappears throughout the series just to plague Gokudou it seems. Later in the series, he gets another sidekick, a former evil magician named Prince, who is more handsome and a better womanizer than Gokudou.
There doesn't seem to be a grand overall plot to the whole series, for the first half at least. The misadventures of Gokudou and his motley crew are told in story arcs that flow from one setting into another. In one misadventure, he's in Egypt, tricked into rescuing beautiful women; in another, he's in the Underwater Palace, seeking a cure for an aging curse. Each episode's plot is not overly complicated, but some of the jokes are verbal, so that sort of humor is lost on people who need the aid of translation. Fortunately, there's plenty of slapstick humor that's quite universal.
The show's production values are pretty good for a TV series. The character designs by Shimogasa Miho are quite stylized and fairly detailed for the main characters. The animation is consistent and well directed; when limited animation is used, it's mostly cleverly disguised as video game footage with the characters in super-deformed mode, or as scene changes that happen with the help of Usagi, the bunny-eared transition girl. These segues may get irritating for some people, but they are very much a part of the show.
The music for GOKUDOU-KUN is also well done. Both the opening and ending songs are rock pieces that reflect the show's rebel attitude. "PRISM," the opening song, is performed by BAISER, a Japanese glam rock band, and CHISATO, a popular solo act, wraps up each episode with his ending song, "WAKE UP!" The sound score for the show enhances the mood of each episode without becoming intrusive to the dialogue. The music also does an excellent job of not telegraphing most of the jokes, so the humor actually seems fresh when the punchline is reached.
For a fantasy action-comedy, GOKUDOU-KUN MANYUUKI is actually pretty funny. The story has a plot direction, but it never takes itself too seriously. The characters have a certain chemistry and they probably take themselves too seriously, but that's part of the humor. GOKUDOU-KUN, as a rival to SLAYERS, is doomed to failure because SLAYERS is far too popular for GOKUDOU-KUN to take over as reigning series of the genre, but as a companion show, it makes a great compliment to a SLAYERS fan's diet.

Volumes 1-6
Released by Pioneer LDC
VHS | LD | DVD, 75 min (except volume 1, which is 50 min)
Act-1 - VHS: PIVS-9061 / LD: PILA-7001 / DVD: PIBA-7001 ¥3700
Act-2 - VHS: PIVS-9062 / LD: PILA-7002 / DVD: PIBA-7002 ¥6600
Act-3 - VHS: PIVS-9063 / LD: PILA-7003 / DVD: PIBA-7003 ¥6600
Act-4 - VHS: PIVS-9064 / LD: PILA-7004 / DVD: PIBA-7004 ¥6600
Act-5 - VHS: PIVS-9065 / LD: PILA-7005 / DVD: PIBA-7005 ¥6600
Act-6 - VHS: PIVS-9066 / LD: PILA-7006 / DVD: PIBA-7006 ¥6600
Available now in Japan
Where to buy