Category: Anime Title: Chouja Reideen Produced by: Sunrise Inc. / Asatsu Content Status: Bishounen red alert; action packed; involves scenes that should not be seen by those who do not believe that bishounen figures are works of art - by Melissa Koh: safyre@jade-court.darkgod.net - - website: http://safyre.tsx.org - Basic Layout: Chouja Reideen is about two idol groups, one pop (The Angels) and one rock (The Hearts), trying to defend earth from befalling into the clutches of Luche the Makai-oh (which briefly translates to Demon World King) and stopping him from awakening a robot-like entity known only as God Reideen. The first half of the show is basically fluff, where most of the jokes and gags take place. Please beware of the parody, because it might be offensive to people who aren't yaoi-inclined (meaning that you should skip the parody section if you're anti-yaoi). Also take note that the parody does not affect the show at all, since I seriously believe that they're basically created to lighten the mood, though I often wonder why. After all, the first half of the show usually sets most people into fits of laughter, which is quite typical of most Japanese anime. Either that, or the script writer was seriously stressed out when he was churning out all those episodes. On the other hand, the second half of the show show the serious side of the Reideen. This is the part when your heart wrenches at the sight of the characters, when the Hearts are propelled to take an action so drastic that they almost destroy themselves. To find out how and why, you have to watch the show yourself. I'm not going to spoil everything for you. Not yet anyway. Character Design: Hello Bi.Shou.Nen ~! Hai, Chouja Reideen has a number of very interesting characters, two of whom sport nice long hair, another two who are just too innocent to ignore, one whose big-brotherly love for his little sister and devotion for his girlfriend draws attention to him like bees to honey, and a cunning and infinitely cool Makai-oh with a very intelligent, devious mind to match. This is one of Sunrise's most charismatic villain so far. Amazing, ne? The art of the Reideen is quite beautiful, not to mention unique. Or at least, it has some traits that we haven't seen in the early Sunrise works. The characters are well portrayed, despite the large cast, and we get to see both sides of the characters. Their emotions are quite real, and the art effectively expresses the current state of mind each character is in. What really caught my attention, however, was the villain. Luche himself is unique as an individual character. Rarely do we see charismatic, cool, level-headed and devious villains like him who succeeds in getting what he wants. Despite the fact that we don't see very much of him in the later part of the series (that's an understatement) his appearance has made an impact on me. Look at it this way, most of the villains we see anywhere else are just plain evil with no streak of charisma in them, even if they are bishounen. Heck, villains who have beauty are usually far more concerned about their looks than on the job they're supposed to do, not to mention they're too dumb to do anything right. But not Luche. He does not preen himself in front of the mirror, and neither does he act like a deprived psycho maniac half the time. Either that, or it's because most anime give minimal exposure to their villains. Strengths & Flaws: That's toughie. Maybe I should complain about the little exposure given to the Hearts. I mean, come on, they're the Reideen as well. How can anyone devote all their time to the Angels and not the Hearts? The Hearts are only seen on a regular basis in the later part of the show, when they're basically trying to kill the Angels for some reason about wanting to prevent the destruction of Earth. Oh, and not forgetting how Luche "died". Note the inverted commas because it's not confirmed whether he's really gone or not. After all, he reappeared in the drama CD. He just went poof, into thin air, which was really annoying because I was expecting a more spetacular one. The ending is pretty amusing (this is one of those scenes that should not be watched by the weak-hearted), to say the least. Ruri (the lead character's girlfriend) awakens and the series ends, just because she is one of the main components in controlling God Reideen. The art in the last episode is a little on the worrying side; we can't help but wonder whether they're rushing through the job. The "live" performance of the Hearts puts most of us in doubt since they're pretty stiff. But I suppose we can give grace to Sunrise because it's very rare that they produce anime that is related to showbiz, which can otherwise be compared to Marcross. Reideen can be confusing as well, because some of the flashbacks that take place are incomplete, especially the ones about their pasts, their previous incarnations. Fortunately, there's something known as the CD cover, which does a lot to explain the background of the Reideen. Now, let's move on to the strengths. The first thing that we'll notice is the portrayal and exposure of the villain. At first sight, we might detest him, but as the series progresses, we're left stunned, jaws literally hanging, by the sheer complexity of his mind. This is a work of pure art. At times, he almost seems human, and by the way, he's not. Music. Chouja Reideen is about music as well. The life, the vigour, the enthusiasm that must be brought onto stage as well as in battle. Also, some of the characters bring up very interesting points that leave us thinking. Not to mention the devotion between two characters [Hayate & Fujimaru]. There are times when such scenes bring about tears, although it must be mentioned that these scenes are not particularly safe. Erotic art, some call it. Characters. Who can ignore Fujimaru-kun, whose talent is with the keyboard, and please don't compose anymore haiku, onegai! And Shinobu, who does push-ups whenever he's bored. Chouja Reideen has characters with quirks of their own, contributing a lot to the gags in the show. Chouja Reideen is a show definitely worth watching. For one thing, at least the gags are clean and not sexist, especially when compared to certain anime / manga. =================== Completed on: 25.06.1999 Afterword: I'm bored, suffering from a writers' block and if it doesn't clear soon, I'll never write again! Yes, I write reviews whenever I'm suffering from a block, thus explaining why half the reviews I write are so dry. Sometimes, I think it's a terminal affiliction after designing webpages. I'm so drained that everything that I've written is now in the trash can, waiting to be recycled. I probably shouldn't have started writing in the first place... Ouch, I hope I didn't break anything... Suffering from terminal depression, Hypertia Tsuyu Member of Society for the Manic-Depressed - End Review - Copyright (c) Melissa Koh 1999. All Rights Reserved.