UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie Volume 1: Bedlam, Bathouse and Beyond - Fineartsmanga.com
- Fineartsmanga.com
- Holly Ellingwood
- 02/19/06
- click here
"...a great off-the-wall romantic comedic..."
"...fun sci-fi action, and a touch of sweet romanticism with a hint of raciness makes this series addictive so watch out!"
"If you loved Steel Angel Kurumi you?ll fall in love with Valkyrie."
UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie is a great off-the-wall romantic comedic anime from ADV Films, filled with cat girls, laser guns, a bath house, and a myriad of gorgeous warrior women from space. What more can one expect from the creator of Steel Angle Kurumi?
Synopsis:
Despite his parents? protests, Kazuto Tokino has taken it upon himself to run his late grandfather?s bathhouse. But with no previous management experience, Kazuto must rely on his sunny disposition to keep his new business afloat. And when the alien Princess Valkyrie destroys the bathhouse, mortally wounding Kazuto in the process, dark clouds seem poised to rain on his parade of optimism. With a magical kiss, the princess saves Kazuto?s life, but at a grave cost to her own: transformed into an 8 year old, she is stranded on Earth, unable to fend for herself. Now, with an entire solar system out searching for her shrunken highness, Kazuto must defend the Tokino bathhouse, not only from hordes of alien invaders, but also from his new, hyper-adorable, sugary-sweet little houseguest!
Review:
Valkyrie is a racy, sexy comedy with a creative romantic twist. It relies on the typical harem comedy formula of one nice, clueless guy surrounded by scads of women. What gives this the innovative twist is the romantic angle. Kind Kazuto looking after a bathhouse is killed in an accident when a space ship crashes into him. It was Valkyrie?s ship, and having a strong sense of sympathy and responsibility she shares her soul with him in order to revive him and let him live his life. The problem is that she has to remain with him because with only part of her soul she?s changed into an 8-year-old girl and acts like a spoiled one too! However, crazy rivals, cat girls with transforming laser guns, and a host of other challenges rise up. For Valkyrie to get her powers back she must kiss Kazuto to reclaim her soul and become an adult again and fight to protect him. I love the romantic twist of having Kazuto and Valkyrie becoming, through this quirky twist of fate, literally the other half of the other?s soul. It sets the series up nicely for wacky comedy and sweet romantic moments very much alike in tone to the anime series Steel Angel Kurumi. If you loved Steel Angel Kurumi you?ll fall in love with Valkyrie. The fist volume does a great job of caching interest right away, setting up the main characters and their relationships as well as introducing the zany cast that will be enjoyable to see what they get up to in each episode. The animation style is popping with color and the catchy, upbeat opening theme will play through your head all day after hearing it. Enjoyable moments that had me laughing out loud, fun sci-fi action, and a touch of sweet romanticism with a hint of raciness makes this series addictive so watch out! It starts off strong at a rank of 8.5 out of 10 kendo swords.
Posted on Sunday, February 19, 2006 (Archive on Sunday, March 19, 2006)