areaseven Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 (edited) Nurse Witch Komugi-chan Magi Karte ( ナースウィッチ小麦ちゃんマジカルて ) Tatsunoko/Kyoto Animation/Toshiba Entertainment/Pioneer LDC, 2002 ADV Films, 2004 Directed by Yasuhiro Takemoto (The SoulTaker) and Masatsugu Arakawa (Time Stranger Kyoko) Rated 15+ for violence, T&A & HLA. Spinoff of the 2001 TV series The SoulTaker. When the evil Ungrar threatens to unleash a catastrophic virus on Earth, the guardian Mugimaru travels to the planet to look for a hero to vaccinate the threat. Instead, he bumps into Komugi Nakahara, a former cosplay idol barely making a splash in the film industry. Using her newly-acquired powers, Komugi transforms into the magical Nurse Witch Komugi-chan to confront her new rival - Magical Maid Koyori-chan. Little does she know that Koyori is also her classmate and best friend. Story: C We've all seen otaku-based companies like GAINAX and GONZO parodying the industry giants. In the case of Nurse Witch Komugi-chan Magi Karte, it's the other way around. Animation giant Tatsunoko, along with Toshiba and Pioneer, throw jabs at fanboys while, at the same time, parodying themselves. The best example is on episode 2, when Komugi-chan (dressed as all five members of the Gatchaman team) squares off against Koyori-chan (dressed as Tekkaman) and the giant robot Big Sightron (a parody of Gold Lightan). Unfortunately, the series is only limited to fan service and a few laughs. It's funny, but not as good as Excel Saga or other parody anime titles. Episode 2.5 is almost a waste of time, as it's mostly music videos. Animation: B Don't expect any high-caliber animation here. Just something that looks decent and has some flashy colors. Akio Watanabe ports his SoulTaker character designs to Nurse Witch Komugi-chan. Soundtrack: B+ There are some catchy songs by UNDER17's Haruko Momoi, who plays Komugi-chan. As for the soundtrack (by Ryuji Takagi), it's barely noticeable. Also featured in the soundtrack is the "Big Sightron" theme by Akira Kushida (Sentou Mecha Xabungle, Shinkon Gattai Godannar!!). Sub vs. Dub Reprising their roles from The SoulTaker are Haruko Momoi (Tenbatsu Angel Rabbie, Mii in Popotan) as Komugi-chan, Mitsuki Saiga (Tsukasa in .hack//SIGN, Junior in R.O.D -The TV-) as Kyosuke, and Yukari Tamura (Ranpha in Galaxy Angel, Talim in Soul Calibur II) as Asuka. Also starring are Ikue Ohtani (Pikachu in Pokemon, Merle in Escaflowne) as Koyori-chan, Yuji Ueda (Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoi-yo! Masaru-san, Keitaro in Love Hina) as Mugimaru, Atsuko Enomoto (Steel Angel Kurumi, Misaki in Angelic Layer) as Megumi, Michiko Neya (Nancy in Read Or Die and R.O.D -The TV-) as Runa, Akiko Hiramatsu (Yukari-sensei in Azumanga Daioh, Miyuki in You're Under Arrest) as Yui, and Masaya Onosaka (Vash in Trigun, Don Patch in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo) as Shiro. For the English version, ADV brought in Jocelyn Loewen (Merle in Escaflowne, Quess in Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack) and Brad Swaile (Mousse in Ranma 1/2, Nightcrawler in X-Men: Evolution) to reprise their SoulTaker roles as Komugi-chan and Kyosuke, respective. Personally, I wouldn't care, as both ADV and Ocean Group's dubs are sub-par. DVD Extras: B+ Surprisingly, the DVD comes with some pretty entertaining omake. Headlining the extras is a "How to Anime" documentary hosted by a plush-doll version of Mugimaru. Also included are episode trailers, character introductions and textless opening/ending sequences. Not worth clamoring for is the English audio commentary by Jocelyn Loewen and ADR director Scott McClennen. The Bottom Line Nice try, Tatsunoko. Leave the fanboy service to the smaller companies. Links Komugikko Club (Japanese) ADV Films' Official Nurse Witch Komugi Homepage Reference Anime News Network Edited November 13, 2004 by areaseven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jemstone Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 Good review. I saw this a couple weekends ago (and then the first episode again alst weekend) and I couldn't agree more. Too far few laughs in betweenand mroe fan service than anything. It did however make me wonder if the companies involved producing this thing even really respect their fans and fellow otaku. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
areaseven Posted October 29, 2004 Author Share Posted October 29, 2004 It did however make me wonder if the companies involved in producing this thing even really respect their fans and fellow otaku. Well, since this is MW, and we're talking about Tatsunoko, you should've already known the answer by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JELEINEN Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 I saw the first ep of this. Didn't find it funny at all, but at the time I thought it was because I never saw much of Soul Taker (first ep is all, I think). Glad to hear that missing the in-jokes didn't make much of a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnollman Posted October 30, 2004 Share Posted October 30, 2004 I rented it for a dollar, and thought the show was about worth that. I loved the character designs and the OP piece, but that alone won't make me buy the DVD for 30 bucks.... I'll wait to see more before I make a final call, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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