プロジェクトA子3 シンデレララプソディ AKA Project A-Ko 3: Cinderella Rhapsody is the third installment in the “Project A-Ko”
franchise, and while it improves the production values from its
prequel, the story suffers from the sequel Star Wars trilogy syndrome: it's a "Somehow Palpatine returned" plot twist not many people liked. I for one, enjoyed it anyway. Released in 1988, and now available on Blu-Ray, here's our review:
Synopsis:
In the middle of another break from school, A-Ko dreams of finding the
perfect boyfriend. Because of this, she and C-Ko get into an argument
that leads to C-Ko running away and nearly getting hit by a motorcyclist
named Kei. While working part-time at a fast-food restaurant to raise
money for a party dress, A-Ko meets Kei and immediately falls in love
with him. B-Ko happens to like him as well; however, both A-Ko and B-Ko
are unaware that C-Ko is the apple of Kei's eyes.
Disclaimer: While I spent some time googling for screen-caps from the fantastic blu-ray set, I found none, so the pictures I'm using do not mirror the HD quality, of the recently released OVA by Discotek Media. Get it on Blu-Ray retro animé remastered on high definition looks and sounds fantastic when producers do the the job right. On the other hand, I'm too lazy to take pictures directly on my TV and then post them here.
Now with more Mecha power!
...And superhero poses!
Anyway, the third part tries to shift focus from the apparent Lesbian love triangle A-Ko & B-Ko share with C-Ko. If you've watched the previous volumes with attention you'll notice this is only teased at certain moments. We never hear B-Ko saying "I'm in love with C-Ko" Neither we hear it from A-Ko. Their interest for C-Ko could be easily understood as "I want to win her friendship, so that you're no longer her best friend". A pretty childish concept, but you know this is a fictional work where comedy and fiction get along despite what reality might dictate. Let's remember that the Yuri genre in Manga and Animé is not always about depicting gay relationships. Sometimes rivalry, strong friendship and women as lead characters is all it takes. Moreover, characters are not always coming out, or revealing their sexuality. There's a thin line where the viewer has to decide how to interpret these characters relationships when they're not explicit. Such is the case of Project A-Ko, hence why a lot of people didn't like volume 3.
Example from the HD remaster. Worth every penny.
Not an actual screenshot from the Blu-Ray disc.
This OVA introduces a new character named Kei (nothing to do with Super Dimension Century Orguss), a motorcyclist who almost
runs over annoying C-Ko and is subsequently run over by A-Ko. Kei hardly speaks,
and he doesn’t do that much, but A-Ko and later B-Ko fall for him
immediately for no reason. I realize it’s part of the humor of the OVA
to have the two girls fall head-over-heels for a guy with seemingly no
personality, but after both of them spent so much
time fighting for/over C-Ko
in the past two installments, it seems a bit out of character for them
to suddenly be boy-crazy. C-Ko is also even more annoying here than in
the previous stories, especially in how she treats A-Ko. Meanwhile,
B-Ko’s minions get a little more screen time here, which is nice.
Setting the plot aside, I'd like to detour a tad to mention the opening dream scene where A-Ko is playing billiard with other people. The scene, has nothing to with the story at all. However, the animation style is clearly a homage to Megazone 23 Part II. While animation director Moriyama Yuuji didn't work in any of the Megazone films, it seems he asked episode director/key animation Masuo Shouichi who did work on the first one, to upgrade character designs to bring that high quality vibe the Megazone trilogy is known for (well, maybe not part 3). This could also explain why Kei is a motorcyclist, and how the overall look of Graviton City and A-Ko's job at McDonalds mirrors that of Shogo Yahagi in the above mentioned legendary trilogy of animation.
C-Ko is more annoying than ever here.
A-ko wants to grow up. Get a job, buy dresses.
Going back to Graviton City, the former alien invaders led by captain Napolipolita had devised a new commercial strategy to rebuild what's left of their spaceship in hopes of returing to wherever they come from in outer space. The latest attraction is Space-Ship Land, and it's opening day! Hotels, restaurants, shopiing mall, movie theaters, playland and their own Disney castle are ready to receive citizens under the professional surveillance of Graviton's policemen, and their secretly placed agents just in case.
So, for some reason A-Ko thinks Kei is in love with her, while at the same time B-Ko thinks she's best looking and could easily have him as her boyfriend instead. What both don't know until the climax, is that Kei's interest lies somewhere else. Somewhere unexpected it seems. The battle between A-Ko & B-Ko is to be won with different weapons this time. On the one hand, A-Ko is tired of being a school student with no money, so she decides to find a part-time job at a local Mc-Donald's. Why did the Japanese think working for a fast food joint was cool in the 80s? it beats me. Besides, you won't make a lot of money. Anyway, this also has an effect on C-Ko who disagrees with A-Ko leading a more adult life and having less time to spend with her. This premise seems quite promising but it's sadly underdeveloped to give way to the comedic tone of the franchise. On the other hand, B-Ko is still a rich annoying bitch, so the first thing on her to do-list is buying the dress A-Ko is saving money for. B-Ko's dad is nowhere to be found in part 3. Perhaps, he's in jail? Nah! it's Project A-Ko! one of the craziest 1980s Animé sagas! there's no time for serious business here. Real life begone!
The recently opened new battle ground.
Thankfully the Blu-Ray has subtitles here.
Speaking of real life, Project A-Ko 3 features a lot of Easter eggs and nods to other animé properties. Now, this is reason #1 you should collect the A-Ko saga on Blu-Ray. The guys at Discotek went the extra mile here. Each disc comes packed with extras! One of them being a Trivia section that explains every single Easter egg and nod on screen. A-Ko 3 features a scene in the school where our ladies are in class, most of the stuff written in the classroom and their notes are obviously in Japanese. The trivia section explains most of them. Not to mention if you didn't catch the nods, they also explain them. I won't spoil them so that you're pleased when enjoying them yourselves.
While the OVA may seem slow-paced to some, the crazy cartoonish destruction the franchise is known for, comes at the end with one of the craziest montage that leads nowhere! The police department won't let another spaceship disaster happen. Not on their watch! So the above mentioned hidden agents are called by the city major, and this is probably the most comedic Animé moment ever in the franchise. Agents have been secretly placed all over Graviton city, and while most of them have Sentai transformation scenes with their own cool mecha and battle poses, nothing happens! I fucking laughed my ass out at this scene. The final battle scene, as it has always been in Project A-Ko's world, is decided once again with A-Ko facing B-Ko while mayhem unleashes, and yes, Captain Napolipolita is probably going bankrupt for good this time.
Will these three ever have peace?
A-Ko thinks she's fat. Really?
Regarding fanservice, the producers have toned it down more and more with every volume. You still get a crazy scene where some men are at a porn movie theater, and the alarm that calls for all the secret agents, literally "interrupt" them from enjoying "themselves".
Overall, this OVA is a downgrade from the previous two installments of
the franchise, but it is still somewhat watchable and further explores
the zany characters of Graviton City. I recommend watching this only if
you have seen the movie and the first OVA, but I advise that you keep
your expectations low.
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