If you enjoy weird, twisted anime then Haré + Guu may be just what you're looking for. It conveys the cuteness of Strawberry Marshmallow mashed together with the irreverent insanity of Excel Saga. Granted this particular series isn't quite as self-referential as the latter but believe me when I tell you that the humor is out there.

This bizarre little anime ran for 26 episodes in Japan and was followed up by two OVA's of the same name. Here in America the DVD releases are up to the third volume though the fourth is on the horizon, but this is the first chance we have had to check out the series. Coming into an anime late in its run is a difficult thing to accomplish. Luckily Haré + Guu is easy to get into, very episodic, and strange beyond the point of needing an explanation.

The entire show takes place in a jungle and follows the life of Haré and his buddy Guu (obviously). Haré is your typical ten year old jungle boy who loves playing videogames, drinking cola, cleaning the house, and doing whatever his mom wants him to do. His friend Guu is a completely different story.

On the surface she appears to be a young girl about Haré's age, but her behavior and overall personality points to something else. When I say something else, I really mean something not human. Her stomach is essentially another dimension of sorts where cats with 100 legs walk around, squid fly through the air, and some random people reside. To top it all off her limbs are super stretchy and she apparently has the ability to transform into an adult version of herself in extreme moments.

In this third volume for the show things start off with Haré's mother, Weda, getting hit with a major craving for fish. Naturally since Haré is the good son that he is he grabs a fishing rod and goes to the water to fish with Guu. Of course I don't think he was expecting Guu to tie herself to the end of a long rope and walk into the ocean to ingest sea creatures to help him. Before long she returns and spits up all manner of critters from a whale to a seal and even a beautiful young lady.

Naturally freaked out by this, Haré's inspection of Guu's findings is interrupted when his friend gets hit upside the head with a volleyball. This escalates into an all-out war of throwing things at each other as Guu assaults the person responsible even though he apologizes. Eventually Haré gets thrown at Guu and wakes up inside of one of her stomachs. Like I said before, this anime is weird stuff.

The following three episodes on the disc maintain the very episodic and stand-alone nature that this show embraces. The ninth episode in the series involves Weda being attacked by a big black creature in the jungle while out on a hunting party. Haré and Guu travel deep into the wood to rescue her and they eventually come face to face against the monster. The next episode features the local doctor being sexually harassed by an elderly woman and the final episode involves a trip to the beach that sees Haré and his mom lost at sea.

If you have been following the show to this point then I assume you'll love these episodes as well. From the standpoint of someone that hasn't seen the first two volumes I actually enjoyed the content here, though it was sometimes a little beyond my tolerance for oddity. Guu is a hilarious character that is portrayed perfectly and Haré's reaction to her most of the time is just as funny. You really need to have an appreciation for irreverent comedy in order to get into this show, but if you fit that bill this one is definitely worth a look.

Haré + Guu looks exceptionally good on DVD even though it's presented with a 1.33:1 full frame aspect ratio. The picture is very clean with only a few scenes where grain was noticeable. The visuals for this show are certainly unique and the animation matches perfectly, though it's not as fluid as one would hope. Since this series takes place in a tropical environment you can rest assured that it's one of the most colorful, sun-drenched shows around.

With English and Japanese tracks the presentation for Haré + Guu is sadly in the form of 2.0 stereo. Not that a whacky comedy series like this one with limited music and sound effects needs to have a 5.1 surround set up, but it certainly would have been nice. For what they are both languages offer decent voiceovers though I found myself preferring the Japanese one more than the English.

Haré + Guu's third volume actually packs a decent amount of supplemental material onto the disc. There are some trailers and clean animations as well as a production sketch gallery to peruse. Seven pages of "Linguistic Lessons" are included with some light Japanese translations on some of the material in these episodes. Some Japanese TV spots for the show are included on the disc, but the real treat is the English recording outtakes. Sure there's nothing here that made me bust a gut laughing, but the simple fact that such a rare feature was included was enough to make me enjoy watching it.

While not every comedy series I check out does it for me, the genre has a place in my heart as one of my favorites. I'm pleased to say that after checking out Haré + Guu we may have another winner on our hands. It's entirely nonsensical and silly beyond belief most of the time, but if you enjoyed stuff like Excel Saga or Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi then it may be right up your alley. The third volume here offers four good stand-alone episodes that give a real taste for what the show is about.

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