NoaIzumiAnime Review: You're Under Arrest, No Mercy!
January 1st 2009 20:58
In the second YUA special, Tokyo traffic cops Miyuki and Natsumi are temporarily transferred to L.A. But when Miyuki’s car is stolen by a car theft ring, all hell is going to break loose!
You’re Under Arrest goes to America. You knew it had to happen sometime. This review was harder to write than I expected, because I hate to speak ill of a franchise I’ve grown to love, but the awful truth is the awful truth. This was bad.
The scenario seems pretty good on its surface. Our favorite policewomen go to the States, poke fun at the American way of doing things, maybe the American characters poke fun at the Japanese way of doing things, good times are had by all. This isn’t the way things work out, however, and the potential of this is pretty much wasted.
The main strengths of the You’re Under Arrest franchise are the characters, but the special shoots itself in that particular foot right off the bat. I mean, Natsumi’s always been a wild card, but does it make sense for her to be blazing away with a shotgun on a city street during a car chase? And that’s just the first scene. Miyuki is more or less in character when she gets emotional over her car being stolen, but not so much when she buys all those guns later in the episode. It’s always good to see these two, but both characters feel forced.
The supporting characters aren’t present, of course, but in a sense, they are. The American counterparts are drawn almost exactly the same (except that Kenny is a blonde, and Yoriko is apparently Hispanic), and keep the same voice actors. The personalities, however, are very different. The captain and Sai have become Dirty Harries, Yoriko is now a scheming capitalist (where before she was a scheming gossip), and blonde Kenny is an annoying hound dog. And what’s with all the insinuations about the men being gay?
No. As a matter of fact, I don't feel lucky, now that you mention it.
The story itself isn’t bad, involving a chop shop and a cop who may be on the take, but the main story line is way too short to be really satisfying. And did they really have to have all that gun play? The big American gun show starts off with the opening theme, and ends up with a shoot-out at the criminals’ hide-out. I know that America has many more guns than Japan, and it’s traditional to point this out whenever an anime goes overseas, but this special makes the United States look like Dodge City. There is more gunfire in ten minutes of No Mercy than in the whole rest of the series, including the mangas. Now, that kind of portrayal can work in an over-the-top satire, like Miami Guns. But it’s too much in a light police comedy like You’re Under Arrest. That’s not a killer by itself, as long as there are interesting characters and a good plot, but No Mercy doesn’t have those saving graces.
YUA: No Mercy is not available (yet) on DVD outside of Japan, but fansubs have been produced. If you’re a YUA fan, you’ll probably want to see it just for completeness, so check Youtube and similar sites from time to time; you’ll probably stumble across it eventually.
For now, enjoy the Opening theme.
Great moments: None, although I liked the beach scene. Hey, whatever you think about the plot or characters, fan service is still fan service!
Summary: There’s no way a YUA episode can be really bad, but this is definitely the weakest of the series. Recommended only for the serious fan. Grade: C minus.
Age rating: 14 and up. Fan service; gun violence, but no deaths.
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