Taiho Shichauzo Special

—by Charles McCarter

The last time we saw the fearless police team of Natsumi and Miyuki, they were busy trying to solve the terrorist crimes happening in the TAIHO SHICHAUZO MOVIE. The movie was quite a departure for the pair, and marked a more serious departure from their previous TV and OVA appearances. Some liked it, and some didn't.
Their latest outings are chronicled in the TAIHO SHICHAUZO SPECIAL, a six-volume collection of more misadventures. Originally airing as part of the television series WONDERFUL, each episode is rather short—approximately nine minutes, much like the most recent incarnation of Fujishima's other famous manga creation, AH! MEGAMISAMA.
And like the ADVENTURES OF THE MINI-GODDESSES, these TAIHO adventures are a lot more comical than their previous anime productions. In fact, many of the stories are taken straight from the manga. In the first volume, which is comprised of four shorts, the girls must tackle a reckless driver, teach traffic school to a bunch of idiots, stop a panty thief, and in the final installment, teach a swimming safety class and stop a panty thief!
These stories capture the feel of the manga and the essence of the characters. While a lot of the jokes are sight gags and slapstick, they work well, especially given the main character's somewhat erratic behavior. These loyal police officers aren't above using their feminine wiles to put an end to a situation. Seeing Natsumi and Miyuki teach Driver's Ed their way is certainly worth the price of admission. Likewise, when Miyuki and Natsumi finally deal with the panty thief (the first one), it's a fitting climax to a rather funny episode.
The DVD menus on this release are—surprisingly—more than one would expect. Most Japanese DVD menus are still menus with no music and maybe an illustration or two. This one however is nicely laid out. When you select an episode, the image on the right rotates like a puzzle and changes to a different picture. Sure, it doesn't seem like much, but compared to other Japanese DVD releases, it's practically a bonanza. It's cute, but that alone won't make you want to buy this DVD.
The character designs are once again by Nakajima Atsuko, who has done all the other TAIHO anime (as well as RANMA 1/2 and HAUNTED JUNCTION). The animation quality is good for a television series, no doubt helped by the fact that the episodes are so short. The original cast reprises their roles as well. This means that the story, art, and voice quality are all up to the standards that fans of TAIHO have come to expect.
This series is spread over six volumes, each one containing four episodes. The exception is Volume 6, the final volume, which presents a single thirty-minute story. Both the quality and comedy factors remain high throughout the series, and I can wholly recommend it to fans of Fujishima's work or comedy anime.
The only discouraging thing about this release is the price. At ¥4500 (approximately $45.00), many anime fans—especially DVD anime fans—may find this expensive, given the continuing debates about what prices should be for domestic anime DVDs. But fans of the show and die-hard anime fans will likely not even give the price a second thought, especially when the show is this good. And they're certain to find that it's worth it.

Bandai Visual
DVD, 30 minutes
BCBA-0216
¥4500
Available Now in Japan
Where to buy