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You're Under Arrest

You're Under Arrest

List Price: $29.98
Your Price: $26.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Too much lifeless dialogue and not enough action
Review: As usual, the powerful female figures on the front of the DVD got to me. First, I watched all of the OVAs. They disappointed me so bad I ended up sellign the whole tape. Then I bought the manga, and I thought it was decent. Then comes the movie. I will agree that the animation was excellent and the effects they used were amazing, but the content of all of it suffered. I'm going to give the series one last chance: I'll soon buy the mini-specials. Get Dirty Pair: Project Eden instead.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Too much lifeless dialogue and not enough action
Review: As usual, the powerful female figures on the front of the DVD got to me. First, I watched all of the OVAs. They disappointed me so bad I ended up sellign the whole tape. Then I bought the manga, and I thought it was decent. Then comes the movie. I will agree that the animation was excellent and the effects they used were amazing, but the content of all of it suffered. I'm going to give the series one last chance: I'll soon buy the mini-specials. Get Dirty Pair: Project Eden instead.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great, but Freeze-frames Detract :-(
Review: I was quite surprised at just how dark and gloomy You're Under Arrest!: The Motion Picture is compared with the upbeat and funny situations of the OAV series and the Specials that I had seen from the series previously. While "purists" of the series will likely balk at the dark overtones (which are highly prevalent even in the scenes which take place in broad daylight), all the "negativity" and the terrorizing of Tokyo actually works quite well, with the series' penchant for comedy coming through at just the right moments for brief levity.

Overall, the storyline is excellent. Mystery, drama, and action are all interwoven into a beautiful narrative which is absolutely enthralling. Yet while prior knowledge of the You're Under Arrest! series would certainly be beneficial for the viewer, such familiarity with the series is definitely not needed... although the viewer may then wonder about why certain over-the-top feats take place in various scenes.

Where the film fails greatly, however, is in the occasional use of freeze-frames in key, high-action moments. Given that non-theatrical anime is typically produced under a very stringent time schedule and with a sub-par budget, cost-cutting tactics such as reusing scenes (such as the transformation scenes in any magical girl anime) or using freeze-frames to cut down on the number of animation cels (and the time to create them) is not surprising. But for a theatrical-release anime which inherently receives a higher budget and (at least in theory) more time for production to achieve the higher level of quality viewers expect in a theatrical release, the use of freeze-frames is this film's major pitfall. The freeze-frame concept works well for comedy, such as A-ko jumping from missile to missing in Project A-ko; the freeze-frame concept to highlight a high-action/high-drama moment fails miserably, at least in this film.

The freeze-frame fiasco aside, You're Under Arrest!: The Motion Picture is definitely not the stereotypical anime offering available in the States. Although this is really not meant for young children, they could probably enjoy this as well. While female characters are VERY prominent in the film, they are not super-endowed or fetishized or denigrated in any way. Nothing is gratuitous in this film, although some of the action is definitely over-the-top. And perhaps most importantly, the flow of the film is so natural and engrossing that it almost feels "real..." at least, until a freeze-frame occurs. Overall, this is a definite must-see film for any anime enthusiast, and a good place to start for those wishing to learn about anime.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Girls, cars, and fireworks!
Review: Some anime series have it all. Case in point: "You're Under Arrest!", based on the super-cool comic series of the same name by the legendary Kosuke Fujishima. Beautiful female lead characters? Check. Heart-thumpin' action? Check. Interesting plot twists? Yup. Humor? You bet. I could go on, but neither of us have all day, do we? The bottom line is, this is one of the slickest OVA series ever produced. The story starts out with a pair of female police officers who find out they're partners after one busts the other for reckless driving on the way to her first day on the job. Needless to say, they get off on sort of the wrong foot at first, but later on they put on an excellent display of teamwork in catching a runaway "terrorist". It's made all the more exciting with one of the most well-animated car chases in the business. The animation and writing teams did a wonderful job of capturing Fujishima's passion for vehicles of all kinds and attention to detail was right on par with the comic. The animation itself is nearly flawless; clean and fluid, the way an OVA should be. The "Starsky-and-Hutch"-ish soundtrack is a nice touch as well. I'd highly recommend this series for any anime fan, and this is a good place to start for those just getting into anime as well. Word of caution, though; now that all four episodes are available on one tape, the "Criminally Complete Collection" would be a wiser choice (and you'd save a few bucks, too!)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Girls, cars, and fireworks!
Review: Some anime series have it all. Case in point: "You're Under Arrest!", based on the super-cool comic series of the same name by the legendary Kosuke Fujishima. Beautiful female lead characters? Check. Heart-thumpin' action? Check. Interesting plot twists? Yup. Humor? You bet. I could go on, but neither of us have all day, do we? The bottom line is, this is one of the slickest OVA series ever produced. The story starts out with a pair of female police officers who find out they're partners after one busts the other for reckless driving on the way to her first day on the job. Needless to say, they get off on sort of the wrong foot at first, but later on they put on an excellent display of teamwork in catching a runaway "terrorist". It's made all the more exciting with one of the most well-animated car chases in the business. The animation and writing teams did a wonderful job of capturing Fujishima's passion for vehicles of all kinds and attention to detail was right on par with the comic. The animation itself is nearly flawless; clean and fluid, the way an OVA should be. The "Starsky-and-Hutch"-ish soundtrack is a nice touch as well. I'd highly recommend this series for any anime fan, and this is a good place to start for those just getting into anime as well. Word of caution, though; now that all four episodes are available on one tape, the "Criminally Complete Collection" would be a wiser choice (and you'd save a few bucks, too!)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Awesome graphics and lots of fun!
Review: The graphics on this anime is truly awesome. Attention to detail, especially on the cars, is truly impressive. That is understandable, considering car chases are the main theme of this anime. Very vibrant and fun anime to watch.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: YUA 5-minute Shorts
Review: This DVD has the 5-minute shorts (20 episodes) that comprise the "You're Under Arrest Specials" series. The final episode in this series was a full-length episode which is included in the AnimEigo collection (last DVD of box-set four). For those of you who enjoyed the AnimEigo English dub of the series, you are in luck. ADV used the same company, so the dub cast is the same.

As to the shorts, there's really not a lot one can do with five minutes. So instead, we get a lot of stuff with Miyuki and Natsumi solving petty crimes, primarily involving panty thieves, peekers, and the like. This is due to the increased fanservice in the series. If you want to see Miyuki, Natsumi, or the others in states of undress, well here's your chance. Personally I don't like fanservice so I whack the series for that. But in addition, the series weakens Miyuki by making her a screamer. Yeah, she's afraid of ghost stories, but in "You're Under Arrest" (AnimEigo) and "You're Under Arrest 2" (unlicensed a/o this review), she doesn't scream like this. Miyuki also becomes very sadistic in this series. She electrocutes people on three occassions.

On the plus side, there are laughs to be had in this DVD. Even though it was the sadistic Miyuki at work, the idea of her booby-trapping her purse was pretty funny. But the laughs aside, this series doesn't really have any part in the main "You're Under Arrest" series (the initial OAV, first TV series, movie, and 2nd TV series).

Bottom line: worth a few laughs. People who want to own every YUA DVD will want it in their collection. Kudos to ADV for looking out for dub fans and keeping the same dub cast as AnimEigo used.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This video is REALLY funny and exciting!
Review: Volume 1 of You're Under Arrest is GREAT! It starts with Natsumi being late for work, and she decides to take a shortcut. She is arrested by Miyuki for dangerous driving on a Moped, and finds out later that Miyuki is to be her partner in her new job! This is a very funny video, and is highly recommended. I really like the part near the end when Natsumi regains her lunch...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Get the newer release version
Review: Whatever you do, don't buy this copy of the YUA movie. ADV acquired the masters to this and then sat on it for so long that they released a VHS-quality version on DVD: non-anamorphic; missing the 5.1 audio; and from the look of it made from a composite (TV) master.

Fortunately ADV are re-releasing it in February 2005 as it should have been the first time around. Get that version instead. Do not support this crappy release by buying it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great anime, a great technical feat of animation ...
Review: You're Under Arrest, the OVA series, presented here is probably one of the finest technical achievements in animation history. For the first time, animation has successfully pulled off car and motorcycle chases with keen attention to detail and an impactful style of storytelling that rivals the best live action film makers in the world. The timing, design and effects are all marvelous and flawless. Occassionaly there are some cliche anime shots in order to save on animation, but they always give you some stunning artwork to dwell on while the stories progress. Each episode has a slightly different theme as you follow two young women who become traffic cops in modern Tokyo, live their lives and pursue their loves and desires. Great action sequences and cute characters. Everything about this series is an absolute winner. Every anime or animation fan should own this series. I only wish it were on DVD.


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