Cleopatra DC

Rating:
Summary: High-fashion heroine a feast for the eyes in high-tech anime
Review: CLEOPATRA DC is a rather unusual three-part OAV anime series, in Japanese with English subtitles, that doesn't quite fit the usual categories. Its first two episodes offer up plots of international/industrial intrigue, laced with broad comic touches, while the third is straightforward science fiction dealing with a genetically created android girl on the loose after escaping a secret lab. Even these labels, however, don't do the series justice. Its distinguishing feature is its perky blonde heroine, Cleopatra Corns, the teenaged chair and CEO of the super-rich conglomerate, the Corns Group. Cleo is extraordinarily sexy and parades around in an endless array of elegant, but eye-popping fashions that will have the boys in the audience silently mouthing, "Wow!" and the girls exclaiming, "Oh, that's so cool!" So there's something for everyone here: a nonstop fashion parade, sexy, proactive girls, semi-nude scenes, handsome male helpers, high-tech adventure, sci-fi, comedy and a fast-paced global backdrop that takes Cleo and her crew from New York to Nice to Saudi Arabia to the Rocky Mountains and back to New York. Cleo never has time for romance and there's never any hint of sexual activity. She's always too busy helping out even younger females in distress and fighting off the aggression of a rival corporate group.

The animation style and design date this unmistakably back to the 1980s (the first two episodes were done in 1989 and the third in 1991). The character design is quite stylized, with angular facial structures, small mouths and huge eyes, but boasts some intriguing and original touches. The girls' eyes are invariably encircled by long black lashes and contain painstakingly detailed oval pupils. The bodies are all long-limbed and slender. The backgrounds, while not as detailed as we've come to expect from anime, are rendered boldly and in bright colors. New Yorkers will enjoy the glimpses of Times Square, Central Park and Coney Island. The jazz-inflected score includes a couple of catchy songs sung in English. Overall, it's not the most compelling storytelling we've ever gotten from anime, but it does add up to a charming and moderately engaging entertainment, suitable for adolescents and older.

Rating:
Summary: An angel from the underworld
Review: Think that nothing can top the girls of Charlies Angels? Try this. A blonde girl who performs goverment missions and (unlike Charlies Angels) takes her job seriously and actually thinks. The tape contains two 30 minutes episodes and one 50 minute episode. The first episode concentrates with warfare over an oil feed. The second involves some crytals, satellites and lasers which made it very exciting. The last one is by far the best involving an android who wants to set off a bunch of nukes! The best thing I like about this movie is that it is all about political intrique. No romance or that crap you found in Charlies Angels. The music is a nice jazz mix and puts this tape on a level of Lupin 3 and Cowboy Bebop. Overall, a great video that I recommend to anyone who enjoys a good old fasioned action movie. Highly recommened.