Tatsunoko is a Japanese production company powerhouse that has created many popular animated shows in its over 40 year history.  Speed Racer, Gatchaman, and Generator Gawl are only a few of the many shows this studio has cranked out.  One of their shows that is apparently well know in Japan is Time Bokan, a 65 episode series from 1975 that generated several spin-off series.  This DVD that CPM released isn't the first volume of this classic series.  It's actually a more recent 2 episode OVA series that parodies the classic show.  Since the original show (or it's many related shows) were never shown or released in the US, most of the jokes and guest appearances don't make a lot of sense to US viewers.

The first episode is basically an episode of Wacky Races.  Several groups of villains from the various series, all of which consist of a blond female leader, a buck-tooth brains of the outfit, and a strong dumb guy, each race their mechas.  The winners will get to star in the second episode of the OVA.  Since they are villains, they all cheat of course, and their plans often backfire.   This episode was just a waste of time.  I didn't know who any of the characters were, and the jokes were very juvenile; one mecha even slips on a banana peel.

The second episode was much better, though a lot still went over my head.  The winners from the first show star in a regular episode.  They climb in their mecha and sneak into Tatsunoko land, the place were all of the Tatsunoko characters live.  They see Speed Racer and end up fighting the Gatchaman group, Casshan (Robot Fighter) and some other characters I wasn't familuar with.  This would have been a lot more enjoyable if I actually had an idea who most of the people were.  As it was, there were a few laughs (I liked when half of the good-guys went home because they didn't have any lines) but not much else.

Overall, there wasn't a lot of plot, and only a couple on minor chuckles on this DVD.  If you grew up in Japan watching these shows, I'm sure it will bring back memories.  For a vast majority of US viewers though, this DVD is a waste of time.  It really makes me wonder why CPM released it.
 

Audio:

There are Japanese and English tracks, both in stereo.  They were both clean without any hiss or distortion, though the battles and explosions weren't as dynamic as I would have liked.  Overall, an average soundtrack.

Video:

The full frame video was also average.  The colors were bright, and the lines fairly tight, though there was a little aliasing present.

Extras:

There are only a couple of extras on this disc, a trailer for the show and an art gallery.

Final Thoughts:

A parody of a 70's TV series that was never released in the US, this DVD didn't do anything for me.  I can't imagine why CPM released it, since most of the humor involves knowing something about the show.  This would be a good disc to Skip.