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Favorites - Combustible Campus Guardress
30,000 years is a long time to wait for revenge...
History is about to repeat itself, and Kijima Touta is seeking retribution from Chiryuu, Tenkuu, Jinno Hazumi, and Jinno Takumi for thwarting his plans. He was painfully close to opening a gateway to his home dimension, which would've allowed his army to invade the earth, when these four heroes put an end to his ambitions, trapping Touta and many of his forces (called Remnants for obvious reasons). While the battle was won, several foresaw the cyclic nature of fate, and prepared the subsequent generations for the eventual battle that would take place in the future. What better way to do this than build a high school campus on top of the gateway and train everyone in the area to fight Touta and his Remnants?
At first glance, this plot sounds like the setup for a serious confrontation between the forces of good (Guardians) and evil (Remnants); however, as you delve into the first episode and witness the battles between these two forces, you realize that something is a bit off. Perhaps the first clue is the fact that Hazumi is nicknamed (to her chagrin) the "Ally Killer". She tends to go a bit overboard in her attacks, doing as much damage to her allies and surrounding property as the enemy à la Dirty Pair. After that, one should start to realize that this series isn't taking itself completely seriously. One of Chiryuu's favorite activities is peeking up Hazumi's skirt. He doesn't even bother with subtlety, which leads to the usual results. There are also plenty of anime references and parodical advertising, so pay attention. Sailor Mars and Kamen Rider are only the tip of the iceberg.
As if that wasn't enough, it seems like everyone living in the area of the "Gateway Campus" has some sort of strange attack. For example, one of Hazumi's attacks is called Hissatsu! Tsukue gaeshi! - "Certain Kill! Desk Flipping!". Hazumi's mother, Jinno Kasumi, has an attack that throws Tabasco [sic], wasabi, black pepper, and curry. Attacking someone with pachinko balls and porno books (papercuts, ouch!) sounds like it may work, but using baby birds and ramen noodles seems to be stretching it a bit. Of course, I can't imagine being hit by a "Sexy Dyna Bust"...
I remember watching the final episode of this four part series on LD at a friend's house in Anchorage back in 1994. I never heard of it, and my friend had bought the LD on a whim because he saw a cool ad in an issue of Newtype. I was initially impressed at the high quality of the animation, but the twisted humor underlying the (melo)dramatic scenes particularly stood out in my mind. It took me over a year to see the rest of it, but it was well worth the wait. It still surprises me that this title has yet to be licensed. It's sad to see such a good series languish in the depths of obscurity after 10 years, especially since a lot of the stuff that is licensed today is crap. I suppose it's because the animation and humor seem a bit dated these days, but quality anime lasts.
It's four episodes of solid entertainment that ends with a bang. It was also the first time I can remember seeing a girl in an anime have her nose bleed from being... "stimulated".
That, alone, should be enough of a reason for you to watch this show...
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