Hi everyone! As I promised, I’m finally giving you a review for this weekend. Granted, it’s a little late, but I’m putting it up regardless. So, without any other delays, here’s the second half of my review for Devil Hunter Yohko. Pardon the repeat information (hence the quotations).
“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.”
By the time we reach episodes 4, 5, and 6, Yohko has reluctantly embraced her role as the 108th devil hunter, and is surprisingly quite good at killing the baddies. She’ll need her skills however, as the prime enemy of the Mano family, Tokima, is attempting to return to Earth to take it over. Not only that, but a look-alike appears to not only wanting to destroy her, but to also become the true 108th devil hunter. Naturally, Yohko overcomes both odds, and remains triumphant in her devil killing role.
“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. Just like the first 3 episodes, the animation style changes between episodes 5 & 6. Ironically, despite the changes between the episodes, they look great, pushing their early 90s look into perhaps the mid 90s as far as animation. Like I said in the first half of this review, this is more of a minor annoyance than a actual full-blown negative.
“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.”
This next negative is perhaps the strangest I’ve ever come across so far in any of my reviews. The fourth episode isn’t actually an episode, but instead is a half hour music video. Titled “4-Ever”, this episode is nothing more than music from the show put to scenes and artwork from the production and final edition of, you guessed it, the show. It’s nice and all, but I found that it actually broke up the pace that the episodes had setup. I wanted to see more Yohko, not a music video!
“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: Episodes 4 to 6 get a 6.2 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, the 4th episode isn’t really an episode, 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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