The cover: "The hard-working men and women of the Bokuto Traffic Corps are back on the scene, but this time they've got more to worry about than everyday traffic violations! During a routine arrest, they recover a secret document. Contained in it are step-by-step instructions to terrorists on how to wipe Tokyo off the map! Even the precinct station isn't safe from the bloodthirsty murderers that want this information, or from the rogue who wrote it. Can Miyuki and Natsume rally their fellow officers in time to save themselves and the city? Or is Tokyo doomed to destruction at the hands of a vengeful madman?"

My initial comments: "The story revolves around a group of terrorists who find out a perfect plan for taking over Tokyo exists and they want it at all costs. They started off by testing one aspect of the plan and attack the infamous Bokuto police station, knowing that most of the officers are off on a wild goose chase, except for Miyuki and Natsume, who try to hold down the fort, Die Hard style, as their reinforcements hopefully arrive in time to save them. The terrorists up the ante, when it's learned the secret plan has actually been updated and could be used to destroy a lot more than Japan. When the gals of the Bukuto Traffic Corps find this out, they pull all stops to creatively fight off the bad guys and secure the city, and the world, from the machinations of the unknown bad guys. Along the way, they also are confronted by an internal problem when the Chief is placed under arrest by his boss.

Personally, I like the television episodes better than any of the specials or the feature movie itself. The zany antics of the cute young traffic cops who will do anything they have to get a mission accomplished is appealing to me. The YUA: Mini-Specials series was pretty solid in that regard as well. The biggest limitation of the feature is that it takes characters I'm used to being outlandish in day to day circumstances and it places them in a whole different light. Normally, I'd applaud the growth of the characters but there was simply too big a leap here without anything pressing to explain it away. That doesn't mean I didn't like the show-far from it-I just would've preferred something a little lighter than what was shown here."

It'd be easy to say that the movie doesn't live up to the thematic elements of the television series since it was almost a completely different circumstance. As a movie though, it had a lot to enjoy and the basic characterizations remained the same in most cases, with some character development enhancing them (to a point mind you). I'm going to rate the movie as Recommended for the general anime loving crowd and suggest it even higher for those fans who either don't have the original or want the superior technical qualities of the enhanced version released last month. While I hate double dips as much as the next guy and thought the lack of extras sucked, this was what a lot of people were waiting for.

Picture: You're Under Arrest: The Motion Picture was presented in a newly remastered 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen release. The minor flaws of earlier editions have largely been corrected and the amount of added resolution and detail were noticeable on several television sets, especially a friend's high end set up and my projection TV. While I won't go so far as to say the difference between this one and the first release I reviewed (You're Under Arrest: The Motion Picture ) were as great as the difference between that one and the VHS tape it came out on, it was significant enough that true fans of the show will want to spend the money and pick it up (the audio was a lot better too).

Sound: The audio was presented with a choice of a 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround track in the original Japanese and the English language dub, both with optional English subtitles. This was an area where the newly remastered DVD shined as well with the special effects and music getting the best boost in terms of overall clarity. Now sounding crisp and clear with some enhanced separation, the old version (that didn't sound bad to me at the time since I was comparing the tape with the DVD) was truly put to shame.

Extras: Although it sported a brand new cover that looked kind of intriguing, the only extras were some trailers to other ADV Film releases. This was an area that could've truly set the release apart even further since the original was so lacking here too. How tough would it have been to do something, anything, in order to really make this version stand out as a reason for a double dip to fans?

Final Thoughts: You're Under Arrest: The Motion Picture was fun to watch and a good showcase for remastered DVDs even though the ball was dropped on the extras section of the disc. In all though, this popular series was deserving of such an enhanced version that has been long awaited so I hope ADV Films takes notice that something for fans that already bought the original seems fair. In the future, perhaps a program where a rebate or some bonus extra could be offered to those of us who dropped the dough initially (paving the way for the remade version in the first place) as the company seems poised to start churning out other versions of popular shows in coming months. Regardless, if you enjoy the YUA universe, you'll now be able to breath a sigh of relief that ADV Films has taken the time to do the right thing and offer up the show in a nicely remastered version.

If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVDTalk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003 and Best Of Anime 2004 article or regular column Anime Talk