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Najica Blitz Tactics (Vol. 2)

ADV Films // Unrated // September 30, 2003
List Price: $29.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]

Review by Don Houston | posted October 25, 2003 | E-mail the Author
Movie: As the anime market continues to explode, there are a lot more choices for fans of the genre to pick from. Some of those choices are best suited for children, others for fans of action, and still others for a more adult taste (to name but three). In a recent release from ADV, Najica Blitz Tactics 2, the company manages to combine the spy action of Noir, the android adventures of Pioneer's Heat Guy J, and the panty fetish of Colorful. If you're looking for some light-hearted fun, read on.

The show details the adventures of a woman, Najica Hiragi, who is a wealthy perfumier by day and a secret agent by night. A Humaritt android by the name of Lila joins her as the two take on a series of missions to further the side of good in its war with evil. All in all, it's not an overly serious show although there was a lot of killing going on, and I hope the perverts out there will give the show a chance.

M5: The Fragile Dream With A Crimson Colored Horizon:
The team is sent to recover a stolen nuclear weapon and a missing Humaritt. The terrorist possessing both of the targets has them on a ship at sea and plans to use them in order to stage a coup de tat of a small nation. Lila is wounded in battle while the plan falls apart. Can the ladies stop the missile in time?

M6: The Beautiful Beast's Eyes With A Lonely Shadow:
A transport plane carrying a powerful military Humaritt is shot down over a neutral zone. The device has yet to be programmed and that makes it a prime target for an evil group of bad guys. Najica's mission is clear, capture or destroy the Humaritt in order to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.

M7: The Murderous Bullet Shot With A Wry Smile:
Lila is still damaged and healing so Najica is sent on another mission by herself. This suits her just fine since that's how she operated for years before recently taking in Lila. The mission is to save a math prodigy and her guardian from the forces of an evil government who seek to use her abilities against her will. While the mission sounds easy compared to some of her past exploits, Najica knows something else is going on too.

M8: The Sky Of Desire With A Swirling Battle Flame:
Lila is back on duty and the two are sent to recover a stolen experimental jet plane. The arms dealer that took it has other plans, of course, and a Humaritt assisting him tries to finish off the team. This was the episode with the audio commentary so listen to it after watching the regular version in order to get a bunch of laughs.

Okay, the show is fairly harmless fun and about half of the scenes are viewed from the point of view of a 3-foot tall midget in order to continually show panties and up-skirt shots. I think it still merits a rating of Recommended for the same reasons I enjoyed the First Volume, it's not a perfect show but it does have the right amount of laughs to leers that some of us are looking for.

Picture: The picture was presented in 1.33:1 ratio full frame format as originally shot. It was fairly clear with a lack of detail in many scenes and a somewhat faded look to the print. It wasn't great looking but good enough for a guilty pleasure. The DVD transfer was solid enough with only a few artifacts and other visual problems (some patterns shimmered).

Sound: The sound was presented with a choice of either Dolby Digital 5.1 English or 2.0 stereo Japanese with optional English subtitles. I preferred the original tracks for my preliminary viewing but the English tracks had some additional value themselves. In some of the fight sequences, the 5.1 track was better but overall, both had their own flavor.

Extras: The best extra was an audio commentary by Andy Mcavin (English vocal performer for Gento) and Mike Kleinhenz (English lead for Majima) on one of the episodes. Like the commentary on the first volume, the two guys really didn't add a whole lot to the background information but it was fun to listen to them cutting up a bit. There were also the usual clean opening and closing, a Japanese promo spot, a short commercial announcing a contest that aired in Japan (viewers got to pick their favorite episode), some production sketches, trailers, and a paper insert.

Final Thoughts: If you're looking for some slightly adult flavored fun and a spy show besides, you might like the antics of Najica and Lila. I don't think there was more than a couple of minutes, if that, where I didn't see some "crotch-cam" or panty shot in full view and my concern is that the show might not have the legs of a more fully rounded anime series. My last point is related to my review of volume one. The characters are showing some growth and that makes it more enjoyable to watch. The primary growth in a somewhat two-dimensional show is with the relationship between Najica and Lila. As they become more attached, Najica starts to see Lila as more than a nuisance, a major inroad considering her initial views.

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