Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

I'm just going to take a brief moment to brag about my tiny imprint on Epinions history. Way back in the day, when I wanted to review an anime title, I found that while I could eventually find the movie I was looking for, I had to hunt for nearly an hour. So I wrote the Movies Category Manager... and in a couple of days, my suggestion led to the creation of the anime category. I find it fitting, then, that I talk about one of my favorite anime that I haven't already reviewed for Kenshin-Guy's write-off.

So I simply thought, what would be good to talk about? I'd need something short, incredibly zany, and with one of those absolutely absurd titles that can only be found in a fairly direct translation from Japanese. Well, I have just the video: All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku. I swear, that is the full title on the box. But for simplicity's sake, how about we just call it Nuku Nuku for short?

Well, the story revolves around Natsume Ryunosuke, and his parents. You see, they argue about many things, and his father decides to seperate from his wife, to allow the boy to grow up in a less stressful environment. And dad takes Ryu with him. So far, this doesn't seem strange.

Until you realize the fact that Dr. Natsume Kyusaku is a scientist that works on androids and too little sleep and his wife is Mishima Akiko, Chief Operations Officer for Mishima Heavy Industries, the military manufacturer that formerly employed Kyusaku. So Akiko, the scorned and lonely mother, wants her son back. And is willing to incite an arms race to get Ryu back, with Kyusaku in a relatively small number of pieces.

So after an accident involving an attack helicopter, a cat caught in the wrong place, and the two least likely canidates for the title of "Office Lady," Kyusaku has the brilliant, if demented, idea to put the poor cat's brain into an android chassis, build an attractive high school teen body around it. Well, doesn't that make perfect anime sense. The only thing that would make more sense is if Kyusaku decided to keep an eye on her by posing as her science teacher... oh wait, he does that too.

As you can guess, this starts off with your typical anime ludicrous premise. We have powerful androids, attack helicopters and other ordinance beyond current technological capabilities. However, this only is in relation to the battle of little Ryu. The entire rest of the world is just the modern, normal world we live in today. Which, as you can imagine, is there to be blown up.

So first off, the discussion of this anime has to rely on the dialogue. As something that is deliberately silly, you have to just go on how well the dialogue fits in with the absurdity of the whole situation. Nuku Nuku does this admirably, as the heroine will say near non-sequitirs. Come on, she is a cat after all. My own personal favorite is when asked for her favorite food, she replies "Horseflesh and Mackerel." It gives her strong bones and the ability to throw logs through bulletproof glass.

In addition, the supporting characters play up their oddities to the hilt. Kyoko and Arisa, the two would-be office ladies, are the same "good cop, bad cop" team that every silly anime seems to find. They fit well, although Kyoko, as the "good cop," is underdeveloped to show off Arisa's destructive skills. Kyusaku combines the scatterbrained tendancies of your typical kooky and loveable good scientist with a caring and attentive concern for his son, like a good, if nutty, parent.

However, the real treat in this whole anime is Akiko. Despite the emphasis on Nuku Nuku, the estranged mother is perhaps the most complex persona of all. Alternatingly sweet, demure, broken, and psychotic, Akiko shows a full range of emotions, and each one is played for the best effect. Also, throughout the series, she is notable for being the only character who starts and maintains a consistent growth. What, you thought the cat brain would? Let's put it this way - when was the last time your cat went through emotional growth? Probably for 5 seconds when he heard the can opener.

The animation in the show is fairly strong, which makes sense since only 6 half hour episodes were made. The characters are fairly detailed, and the colors are bright and plentiful. In addition, the art makes sure to highlight the obviously high tech, like Nuku Nuku herself, from the mundane world, letting you know exactly what will and will not be destroyed immediately. It's like a helpful viewers guide.

Of course, the series also has its fun theme songs. I find Nuku Nuku to be particularly entertaining with this, since you'll notice that half of the song is in poorly accented English. The opening song, "Happy Birthday to Me," is a delight of Japanese inability to properly integrate English into their vocabulary. Perhaps the best line is the literally translated "The nice Process (process said in Japanglish) will begin now." A karaoke gem.

The series does have serious flaws though. For example, the voice acting can quickly grate. Even Hayashibara Megumi, who as Japanese law dictates is doing the voice of the lead character, is at her most annoying. Except for Kyusaku, every character will range about 2 octaves in their speech. It gets annoying how inconsistent everything is.

In addition, the battles sometimes forget to be incredibly silly, and they don't play up the camp that the rest of the series has going for it. While the battles still have some silliness (One phrase: Armored Octopus), they still play out too straightforward to be much beyond filler to keep action fans happy.

Finally, the 'cheesecake,' or suggested naughtiness, factor is high. We've got the "well-endowned" female, who's "father" is her teacher, and who obediently does everything he says. We've got alot of fighting and the tendancy to remove tatters of Nuku Nuku's clothing. And, of course, we have a heroine that is as intelligent as your average cat, through no fault of her own. Some scenes will make a more mature watcher thus groan.

But if you're willing to take this all in stride, the anime is fairly entertaining overall. While not quite the romp that Dragon Half (the only other anime in history to be labeled with "Ridiculous violence" on the box) was, this is still a fairly light trip into a mildly psychotic episode with bright colors and ridiculous ideas. Or, in short, this anime is rather the one that creates the stereotype. But even in there, you have Akiko, who is much more than she appears. Similarly, so is Nuku Nukum, both the heroine, and the anime.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older