An
overview of the series by the guy who introduced me
to it, my good friend and partner in crime,
K.A.
Pezzano.
He's also the anime and Dreamcast game
reviewer for ANT.com,
a video games and related entertainment website.
Check it out!
Phase
I: Ah, the origin episode! Nuku Nuku was quite
an adorable little kitten! Of special note here are
Kyusaku's interesting teaching style, and boys so
enamoured of our kitten heroine that they aren't in
the least discouraged when she mentions some of her
favourite foods! I also liked Nuku Nuku's attempts
at fitting in as a human... such as screaming at
ear-splitting level when informed that yowling in
pain is a natural reaction for humans when someone
puts a cigarette out on their hand (as Kyusaku as
inadvertently done on Nuku Nuku's nigh-invulnerable
metal frame). Their neighbours must love them! We
also discover that Kyoko is up on her Arnold action
films (though I suspect that Arisa does all the
video rentals).
Phase
II: The beach episode! Hubba hubba! I do wonder
at the rather revealing OL outfits Kyoko and Arisa
wear. Anyway, I have one major thing to say about
this episode: Yoshimi's uncle rules! A goofball
totally enamoured of Nuku Nuku (what can you say?
He's a red-blooded male!). Ryunosuke's relationship
with his mother is more developed here, as well. He
loves her, but she's just so OUT THERE! Akiko's at
her creepiest here, brainwashing poor Yoshimi to
get at Ryu. She's also at her sanest, letting her
son stay with his father because it's what Ryu
wants, and he saved her life. Arisa's in top form,
gleefully bashing things up in her armoured
octopus, and Nuku Nuku's special swimming outfit is
cute!
Phase
III: Nuku Nuku makes like Jerry Springer, and
tries to get Akiko and Kyusaku back together again.
Of course, things are bound to explode. Kyusaku's a
bit of a jerk in this one, making Akiko do domestic
drudgework if she wants to spend time with her
beloved son. Though his motives are relatively
pure, he comes off as rather chauvinist! Such
treatment, of course, doesn't sit well with Akiko,
and she eventually snaps. And when she snaps, out
comes the giant robot! Faced with things like
"mother's love missiles", even Nuku Nuku has to
retreat... all the more so because she's growing as
a human being, and refuses to do anything bad to
"mama-san" any more. Arisa, too, has a touching
moment, as she realises that the domestic-burdened
Akiko is no longer the strong, independent woman
Arisa herself idealises and looks up to (this might
explain why she stays with a boss as definitely
employee-unfriendly as Akiko). Kyusaku saves the
day with a chibi-Nuku toy powered device that won't
hurt Akiko, and Nuku Nuku discovers that true love
sometimes is expressed in the oddest way. Oh, and
she also catches a mouse, flies an unusual kite,
and has a rather hot-looking gym outfit!
Phase
IV: Enter Eimi, the cutest little death-dealer
outside of Sailor Saturn! Eimi has to be one of the
greatest characters ever! She's even more psycho
and weapon-happy than Arisa, but also more indirect
at first. She's quite the manipulative little minx,
too, making friends with Ryu in order to get to
Nuku Nuku, in order to snatch Our Heroine's
superior robot body. Eimi IS cute, too... at least
when she's being nice. She's still weird, though...
especially her story about Akiko (which doesn't
seem to throw Kyusaku at all... but, to be fair, he
HAS been up for three days when that revelation is
uttered). I LOVE the "I want your body" gag in the
public bath, too! Anyway, as if all these clues
weren't enough to make one suspicious, Eimi flips
out! And she looks WEIRD, all bug-eyed, pop-veined,
and heavily-armed! Nuku Nuku, of course, thinks
it's all one big rough-housing game. And, natch,
there's a GIGANTIC hole left in Tokyo when it's all
over. Eimi is made even cooler as a character,
though, because she only wants Nuku Nuku's robot
form (her own is fatally defective... and Eimi
doesn't want to die! She even quotes haiku to
explain herself (before strapping on a missile
backpack, admittedly). She also comes to honestly
care for people, like when she buys Ryunosuke
carnations for him to give to his mom on Mother's
Day, for a reason that even SHE can't explain. Very
human.
Phase
V: My favourite episode! Nuku Nuku is forced to
take a job as a waitress to buy Ryunosuke a new
bicycle, and she's (surprisingly!!) VERY good at
it! The restaurant's sales boom, and since it's
owned by Akiko, she's more than willing to let
bygones be bygones when it comes to a certain
catgirl android. Kyoko and Arisa, perhaps affected
by the heat, aren't gonna stand for Nuku Nuku being
that high in their boss' eyes (especially after all
they've been though against her! These girls should
get hazard combat pay, really), and set out to
discredit her! What follows is simply the best
collection of insanity in a half-hour animation
EVER, as faux-schoolgirl disguises, mouse attacks,
several obsessed boys willing to do anything for
their Goddess Nuku Nuku, Nuku Nuku's family
dropping by, Mongolian chefs, impromptu iced
coffee, machine guns, and catnip rocket launchers
all combine to eventually destroy the restaurant
completely! Of course, Akiko is far from pleased.
Nuku Nuku looks incredibly cute with her hair up in
Chinese-style cloth buns (and that outfit!
*clutches chest*), and Akiko and Kyoko are at their
best, willing to accept any humiliation (even,
*gasp*, getting jobs alongside Nuku Nuku and
sucking up to her!) in order to defeat their
nemesis. Also noteworthy are the four wierdboys,
whose character designs resemble those from Urusei
Yatsura's Lum-obsessed weirdoes, who even managed
to clobber Arisa and Kyoko themselves when they
verbally harassed poor Nuku Nuku!
Phase
VI: Eimi returns!! Despite the cliff-hanger
ending (well, sorta), most everything in the series
is resolved in this episode. And Nuku Nuku looks
incredibly cute with her daydreams about how
everyone will react to her Xmas presents to them
(hand-knitted scarves). She's pretty much all
human, despite her kitten brain and android body.
Eimi also is in top form, seen wearing a cute
little skirt while lugging around an Arnold-type
gigantic rotary minigun. In the tussle between the
two, Nuku Nuku's handmade scarves get destroyed!!
Aiiee! That makes her madder than almost anything
else in the show did! In the fight, Akiko also
accidentally gets targeted by a killer satellite
built by her company. Nuku Nuku, Eimi, Arisa, and
Kyoko are all launched into space (uh-oh... THAT'S
gonna be trouble) to combat it and save Akiko! The
satellite, natch, turns into a giant robot, Eimi is
mainly concerned with getting revenge on Nuku Nuku
(until the attacking satellite-robot just gets on
her nerves too much!), and Kyoko and Arisa end up
fishing from a wrecked space shuttle in the
pacific. Needless to say, the day is saved, and
Akiko, Kyusaku, and Ryunosuke seem to reach an
understanding that reunites them. They're a family,
and love each other, and they always did! Even
Arisa and Kyoko realise that Nuku Nuku cares for
their boss, and doesn't deserve being blasted after
all! Of special note is Eimi's orbital Buddhist
prayer, Nuku Nuku kicking satellite butt, and a
brilliantly stupid strawberry-strong barrier
gag.
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