NoaIzumiAnime Review: Hyper Doll
February 3rd 2009 12:23
Hyper Doll DVD cover
The Earth is in danger, until the Hyper Dolls appear! These two teenage girls will defend our planet with every ounce of their considerable strength, if they can stop bickering long enough, and if Akai, the one human who knows their secret, doesn’t accidentally blab!
The creative origin of Hyper Doll is not that hard to discern. Combine Dirty Pair with Ultraman and stick the resulting slacker superheroines on late twentieth century Earth. Even if you’ve never heard of Hyper Doll, chances are you’ve seen it, in elements of other animes and movies. Teenage girls who save the Earth? Check. Who are undercover as ordinary high school students? Check. Who transform into superheroes by a generic process, so you can recycle the same clip? Check. With vastly different personalities, so that they clash with each other as often as they clash with the bad guys? Check. Giant monsters that humans are incapable of dealing with themselves (“Save us, Hyper Dolls!”)? Check. One teenage boy who knows their secret? Check. One teenage girl who is close to finding out their secret? Check. Evil supervillain behind the attacks? Check. Fan service, in the form of a bathing suit scene? Check.
Not that Hyper Doll isn’t entertaining. Just predictable. All the elements do make an amusing story, and it’s an enjoyable way to spend an hour. At $15 retail, it’s reasonably priced as well, although I would strongly advise renting it first, or looking for a sale.
The giant monsters do have some originality. Giant jellyfish we’ve seen, but a giant jellyfish who samples pool water like it was fine wine? That’s a new one on me. The giant earthworm with a lousy sense of direction is probably the best, and it’s only fitting that he has an episode all to himself. He just gets more and more frustrated as he keeps getting lost, and when he finally gets taken on by Mica and Mew, you find yourself sympathizing with him in spite of his mission of destruction.
One weird thing about Hyper Doll, and this is a down check, is that it seems to start in the middle. It’s like the producers made eight episodes, but threw away all but the fourth and fifth, and released those in isolation. Proper introductions of the Hyper Dolls, the other characters, and the situation are all missing, and the discovery of the Mica and Mew's secret by Akai is treated only in an awkward flashback. Similarly, there’s no real conclusion to it either. The day is saved from the monster invertebrates, but the villain is still out there, ready to attack again, and no one is even aware of his existence at this point. And of course, two episodes are nowhere near enough for any kind of meaningful character development.
Great moments: No really great ones, but the scenes with the earthworm are pretty funny, as is the scene where Mica and Mew are putting on yukatas.
Extras: Despite what you may have heard, the extras consist of precisely zippo, zilch, and nada, unless you count the written descriptions of other Pioneer releases.
Geeking out: If the obvious parallels to the Dirty Pair weren't enough, during a conversation between the Hyper Dolls and their boss, he mentions the "Lovely Angels".
Summary: Makes for a mildly amusing hour, just don’t expect anything beyond that. Grade: C plus
Age Rating: 13 and up. Fan service.
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