Let’s begin with the story, taken from the IMDB page:
“Fubuki Sakuragasaki is a Japanese Jr. High school student and an avid player of arcade games, known far and wide for her skills. However, during the Japanese BAG tournament finals, an evil organization rears its ugly head, and for some reason, it's targeted Fubuki as a threat! With the help of her friends, the stranger known only as Mr. Mystery, and special underwear that increases her gaming prowess, Fubuki takes on all challengers as she fights for gamers everywhere!”
Without getting into the details, this story, despite all it’s wackiness, is basic in it’s implementation. We have the underdog & her best friend, a rival that later becomes her friend, other gamers that become her friends, and the evil organization that constantly fails, and in the end obviously loses. This basic setup works quite well, but at the same time, it is exceedingly predictable. Hell, even the twist at the end I could see from a mile away, although to be fair, I didn’t completely see it coming.
Next up are the characters. Much like the story, the cast is predictable. Fubuki is the stereotypical shy, innocent, but happy & hopeful girl that just wants to enjoy gaming in piece. Her friend is nuts but means well. The stalker character is there just to get his ass kicked & produce fan service moments (more on this in a moment), and everybody else fits the standard niche that they’re assigned (Ditzy girl with big boobs, rival that becomes friend, etc). The good guys are likable (Except for one, but that’s in the fan service section), but things fail when the bad guys come around. I can say for certain that while they may be comical, they’re incredibly stupid (It’s never explained about how their plan to take the world will work), even when one of them has a glimmer of cleverness in a scene. The only bad guy I like is the leader of the organization, as I can kinda sympathize with him. I can’t reveal who the leader is, but many of you might see who it is a mile away.
Now we get onto an element of Arcade Gamer Fubuki that can get creepy at times, and that’s the fan service. Usually I like fan service (Girls Bravo corners the market on this), but most of the fan service either doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to work, or it doesn’t work at all. Case in point: there’s a scene in the 2nd episode where Fubuki is questioning herself, when Mr. Mystery (The one good guy that I don’t like) jumps right through the window of her house to try a bring hope back to her. I can’t describe how awkward & creepy this scene is, so take a look at it below (Apologies for the off-sounding audio):
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As you can see, Mr. Mystery is one of the creepiest anime males ever (Even his clothing options are bizarre). Even if that scene wasn’t in there, the biggest aspect of the fan service in Arcade Gamer Fubuki that just makes me go “Huh!?” is the so-called “Passion Panties”. Right now, I believe I’ve heard all of your jaws collectively hit the floor, so let me explain. Basically, Fubuki wears this special pair of white panties, and when her skirt is blown around to reveal her underwear-covered bottom, somehow the energies of the world’s gamers travels to her, and she becomes a gaming god. Unfortunately (At first), Fubuki comes across a girl that wears an identical pair of black panties, and the battles these two have are absolutely bizarre. To reveal what goes on will ruin the experience.
Luckily, to balance out the WTF-ness, Arcade Gamer Fubuki has some of the nicest animation I’ve ever seen. Everything is bright & colorful, and nothing looks ugly. The faces seems strange sometimes, but in the end the people move around alright. The world also happens to be a place that I want to go to, especially since there doesn’t seem to be hate towards gamers & gaming. Kudos!
Voice acting is also a plus. With the exception of one character (The voice actor is trying too hard to replicate a southern accent), all of the primary & secondary characters sound like they’re done by people who want to be there. In fact, the voice actor for Fubuki was also the voice actor who voiced Amelia from the Slayers series, as the fun yet shy voice shines through on a frequent basis.
Lastly, depending on how you look at it, Arcade Gamer Fubuki is a cheap show to buy, but it can be a little difficult to find. Released by the US Manga Corps (Which closed in 2009) in 2004, Amazon is the only place that I’ve been able to buy the show, but as I said, the show is very inexpensive. New copies start at $3.44, and the used copies start a $3.17. If you decided to buy this show, your wallet won’t feel a thing.
I’m giving Arcade Gamer Fubuki a 5.5 to 7 out of 10, but seeing all the hate towards this show, I’m assuming that some of you give it a far lower rating.
See you all next week. Until then, stay Otaku!
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To see the original review that started this style, click “***” to read it.
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In this show, BAG stands for “Best of Arcade Gamer”. Yet another aspect of the show that just makes you go “Huh!?”
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Quick apologies to posting this up a day late. I simply lost track of time, and hopefully it won't happen again anytime soon!
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