Also bursting with Monica Rial

by Bolt Vanderhuge

A Show That’s Bursting with Yuri

There really isn’t anything special about this anime, other than Monica Rial, of course. It’s basically like any of the other dime-a-dozen giant mecha shows that feature lots of action, girls with guns, and plenty of fan service.  I admit to enjoying the show a little, but probably not in the sense that the show’s producers hoped I would.  Instead, I mostly found it funny.

Oh, there were some awkward attempts at humour from the show itself, but most of them weren’t really funny.  Instead, the over the top action, clichéd storylines, and fan service that just wouldn’t quite let itself be ecchi overshadowed any intentional jokes.

This show supposedly follows a typical whiny male protagonist, named Kyohei who’s going to college to be a chef. He lives in a near future where private gun ownership has been legalized in Japan, and large private security firms are taking care of law enforcement in the cities. One day he sees the kawaiiest job announcement poster and finds himself entangled with the show’s real main characters, Jo and Meg.  Jo is the short-haired tomboy running the giant robot of the series, and played by the wonderful Monica Rial.\r\n\r\nAs you might guess, Jo is the action girl and Meg is the Daphne of the series, basically existing to get captured so that Jo can rescue her again. Really, though, the two of them are what made the show for me.

Aren’t they a cute couple?

Sure, there are times the show tried to make it look like Meg was into guys, but there are so many times that the two of them have touching scenes together between Meg getting captured and Jo kicking ass as she rescues her, that it’s pretty obvious that the two of them have a “special” kind of relationship.  After all, Jo admits that she’s fighting for Meg, and more than once Jo risks everything to save her girlfriend.  Meg also says more than once that she doesn’t want to live without Jo.  And then there’s that who thing where and evil version of Jo wants to kill Jo and make Meg her bitch.

When it comes to story, well, let’s just say that this show is extremely lacking.  The “plot” is supposed to revolve around how the evil United States is conspiring with an evil pharmaceutical company and the evil mercenary company policing Tokyo to take over the world with giant glowing brains that control giant robots, which are in turn controlled by genetically engineered super-soldiers like Jo.  If that doesn’t make any sense, don’t waste effort trying to figure it out.

What it comes down to is that the most enjoyable aspect of this series is the silly, over-the-top action and Monica Rial kicking ass as a tomboy.

Maybe look it up:

Burst Angel (Bakuretsu Tenshi)
Written by Fumihiko Shimo, Directed by Koichi Ohata
Produced by Gonzo, Licenced by Funimation