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Kekko Kamen
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Title Info
- seen: 1-2 of 2
- type: OAV
- grade: flawed
- people: Go-Nagai
- genre: hentai
- made: 1991
- Review created: Fri Sep 29 11:20:14 EST 2000
- mod: none
The Anime Movie Guide (review book) is largely responsible for me bothering with this anime. It also gives the derivation of the title explaining that Kekko translates as `I got lucky today' and Kamen means `masked'. It also says "It's a hoot, and about as harmful as a Carry On film or smutty seaside postcard. You'll be too busy laughing to look for the parodies". No, i'm afraid not, I was too busy thinking that as a review source the guide is completely out to lunch. I can only assume this is an example of having such a wide mind that you can trip over the edges.
Before anything else this is a Go Nagai product, which says a lot about what to expect. It means that one fairly feeble, and desperately ecchi, concept has been extended into a full length animation. In this case the stage is `sparta college' managed by the headmaster `satans toenail' which has a bunch of moronic students (would any one with a brain be at this school?) who are routinely `punished' by the perverted teachers. This offers the chance for a bit of S&M victimisation, nudity and `comedy' as the teachers get off on the above. However when the new punishment teacher `Gestapo girl' is at work the masked heroine Kekko Kamen comes to rescue her victim, and all other students, from these perversions. Although KK has her own problems, while she's got martial arts skills and a mask (albeit with dumb bunny ears) she apparently didn't have time to make a costume. As she says, "everyone knows my body, but no one knows my face".
Of course the main problem is that no sane viewer cares about either. I couldn't help but wish that Go Nagai would either make a full on hentai title or leave it alone. These pathetically sad `smutty' pieces do no one any favors. It may have parody aspects, but these are more an indication of its lack of originality and inability to take itself seriously than anything else. The characterisation is negligible, the story completely one dimensional and the whole atmosphere very, very sad indeed. There are various appeals to the audience, such as characters talking to the audience, but this has all the charm of a smelly guy in a dirty raincoat trying to tell smutty jokes that might have been amusing in primary school. While the content may not be too offensive, the complete lack of any worth and the absolute base level of the humor makes this a title with absolutely no redeeming value. Any anime with lines like, "Big titted women go for guys with huge muscles" that then form the core plot of an episode is, at best, an embarassment. Oh, and I hope the distributors (ADV) feel some sense of guilt for this. The second OAV was clearly done at a different time (and thus is actually Kekko Kamen 2) it's got a bit more storie, a bit less `twisted' in the humor, but still of no value whatsoever.
As for the animation? well, it's better than it deserves to be. While fairly low detail and with massively unsubtle color it is reasonable animation. Most of the character designs are oddly unpleasant, and there are lots of SD moments, but the actual animation is quite smooth. Of course all this means in practice is that you start to wish the money had been spent on something worthwhile. The action is very basic, and some of KK's moves are completely cringe inducing. There is suprisingly little erotic potential in KK herself, although the long `torture' sequences of the token `victim' schoolgirl are obviously intended to make up for this. The voices are unsubtle, well suiting the moronic dialogue.
Hm, it appears that Lord Carnage is at the same lunch as he gives it a positive rating in this review. Utterly ridiculous, sure it is, you have to laugh? No, I don't. It is a shame that this is the only review from my regular sources, but I guess between the movie guide and carnage i'm out-voted. So feel free to try it for yourself and make your own mind up. But either way, don't buy it without trying.
Words by Andrew Shelton, Web by Ticti, Last Compile: Wed Aug 5 12:39:20 WST 2009