Hi guys! Just recently, I watched an anime. An anime that awed me, moved me, and may have even opened my third eye. It was so...screw it, here's my review for Devil Hunter Yohko.
Before I go on, I have to state two things. First, as you can tell, this review will only count the first three episodes. I did order all 6 episodes, but the second volume turned out to contain a DVD Catalog instead. I hope to have episodes 4, 5, and 6 soon. Also, if you're an old-school ADV Films (R.I.P.) fan, you'll no doubt recognize this show as the first title they ever released. Granted it had subtitles at the time, but a historic first release it was. Now, onto the review!
Created by Studio Madhouse with directing from Akiyuki Shimbo, and produced by Toho, Devil Hunter Yohko was eventually released in the US (with subtitles) by ADV Films in 1992, a dubbing in 1995, and a DVD release in 2002 to celebrate 10 years of operation. The story of this show couldn't be cheesier, and counts as the show's first positive. For many centuries, the Mano family has been keeping the world safe from demons. Yohko Mano, the 108th devil hunter of the family. Her mother, Sayoko, was originally going to be the 108th devil hunter, but as Yohko's grandmother Madoka put it: "She couldn't control her hormones, and she gave birth to you!". You see, in order to be a devil hunter, one must be pure and virginal in order for her mind to remain clear. This is a bit of a problem, as Yohko is a 16-year old in high school, is crazy for a number of guys, and her mother is constantly trying to push her into having sex, and thus losing her virginity.
As you can see, this story sets up a lot of comedic moments, and they all hit the mark. We got fanservice jokes, sex jokes, age jokes, and all other sorts of jokes. There was nothing I didn't watch that wasn't funny, and even the rare moment that wasn't funny, I was at least chuckling for a second or two.
However, comedy isn't the only thing that Devil Hunter Yohko has going for it. The show's second positive is it's other genres, and how they mix with the comedic moments. In addition to comedy (and to an extension, the ecchi and fanservice moments), we also have a show that contains horror and magical girl moments. An anime fan in this age wouldn't believe that this combination of genres would work, yet it somehow does. Hell, the first few moments has ecchi, comedy, and horror all working together at once to create a hilarious opening. Not a lot of modern shows in this day can claim this feat.
Up next for positives is the voice acting...for the primary characters. Although they all do a great job, the two voice actors that stand out the most are Amanda Winn Lee and Tiffany Grant. Amanda does an incredible job of bringing out Yohko's youthfulness, her craziness for boys, and just connecting with his strange form of naive nature. Tiffany Grant, who was a relatively established actor at the time of Devil Hunter Yohko's dubbing, performs well as Yohko's best friend Chi, who's both caring yet tricky at the same time.
Unfortunately, Devil Hunter Yohko has some blemishes on it's otherwise nice face. For starters, we have one story element that irks me. Throughout the first episode, the viewer is told that there can only be one devil hunter at a time, and Yohko is the current devil hunter. However, when episode 2 rolls around, we're given a new main character by the name of Azusa (who's voiced by Kimberly Yates, and actually does a good job. Should have put that in the good voice acting section.), who's come to Yohko to train as a devil hunter. Wait, what!? If she's supposed to be a new devil hunter, then was all that was explained in the first episode just nonsense!? Don't get me wrong, the character is likable, but with her coming in as a devil hunter in training, it just throws off the rest of the story.
This all leads into the second negative of the show. This one is actually more of an annoyance than a actual negative, but I believe it needs to be addressed. In the first episode, we're treated to a nice looking show, complete with some surprisingly good visuals. When we reach the 2nd & 3rd episode, the visuals change slightly. They're not bad or anything, but it's slightly annoying to see a small shift in how things look. Like I said, not a real negative, just a minor annoyance.
However, the next negative for Devil Hunter Yohko is a little more damning. As I said above, there's some great voice work for the primary characters, but there isn't quite so hard work put into the secondary characters. They do an okay job, but they really don't feel like they're putting their all into their respective role. To make matters worse, none of the side characters are really memorable, regardless of voice or because of themselves.
The final negative of Devil Hunter Yohko is perhaps the hardest to cope with: there aren't many copies of the show left around. Amazon has a few copies, both on tape and on the DVD release, but they're a bit on the pricey side. You're best bet is to simply buy them used, as the used prices are far more easier on the wallet. If you're hardcore however, then dive on in! Either way, you're making a smart purchase.
Devil Hunter Yohko gets a 6.5 out of 10. The show has a great story, the comedy is fantastic, the other genres mix in well with the funny stuff, and the voice acting for the primary characters is nice, but that once story element makes me scratch my head, the looks slightly change between the episodes, the voice acting for the secondary characters are forgettable, and the show is hard as hell to find, as well as a decent pricing.
See you all next week. Until then, stay Otaku!
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Don't worry. I'll eventually review episodes 4, 5, and 6...when I get them.
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