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"What you see is what you get." Take a look at the cover art and it best sums up what AMAZING NURSE NANAKO is all about. Much like AGENT AIKA or JUNGLE DE IKOU, NANAKO is mainly an excuse for fluffy (relatively non-ecchi/adult) fan service. Not that this is bad or anything but, in all honesty, you are fooling yourself if you come in expecting a life shattering plot and deep character development. The real question: is there enough plot and character in order to stop you from feeling guilty about watching Nanako's chest bounce?
The story starts off with hints of some high level conspiracy between the Pentagon (those American military guys again) and the Vatican (those Catholic guys again). Then the scene changes to a military base where we are introduced to Nanako, who appears to be a very ditsy maid in the employ of Dr. Ogami Kyoji, an arrogant young man who seems out to cause Nanako trouble. We also see a bit of the rest of this household on the base with a strange collection of doctors (almost out of TENSHI NI NARUMON).
The first episode, "The First Spiral," has a church subordinate deliver a strange alien specimen to Dr. Ogami to examine. We also see how clumsy Nanako can really be, and witness the strange relationship between her and the doctor (and that he eventually plans on transplanting her brain to some new invention). "Memories of You" has Nanako (understandably) run away while camping, which causes the doctor and others to search for her. These episodes start to hint that there is more to Nanako than just a busty girl with the IQ of a flashlight.
In any case, not much really happens in these episodes. There certainly is a decent chunk of "fan service" with the various tasks the doctor has Nanako do, but I did not really find Nanako to be very funny as a comedy. After seeing these two episodes I can see it potentially leading up to more next time—but then again, maybe not.
The video quality is up to OVA levels, as the print is very crisp and the character animation and backgrounds are relatively well done. The DVD itself is a great transfer and another excellent Pioneer disk, with the standard options (dual language, small gallery, TV spots). Pioneer also included a Nanakotronic (a joke on their Animetronic music videos) with music set to most of the bouncy scenes. The DVD also included a small clear plastic standup of Nanako.
AMAZING NURSE NANAKO is currently another "Babewatch" of anime. However, so far there is not much more to it, though I could see the alien conspiracy plot expanding in later episodes. But if you like the main character design and would like to see more of it, by all means NANAKO is exactly what it looks like and should serve you well.

Released in North America by Pioneer Entertainment
60 minutes
Bilingual DVD (Japanese subtitled / English dubbed): #10437, $29.98
Japanese subtitled VHS: #71235, $24.98
English dubbed VHS: #71169, $24.98
Available now in the USA
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