Customer Reviews

You're Under Arrest 2 [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Mini-Specials are, sadly, the least enjoyable part of the You're Under Arrest franchise. While they are not bad, they suffer from a lack of creative energy and from their structure: these are truly "mini" episodes, lasting only a few minutes. Briefly, You're Under Arrest focuses on two unorthodox female police officers in Tokyo, with a large and likeable cast of weirdos (police and civilian alike) around them. If you haven't already gotten into the show, you don't want to start here--these mini-specials would be even less enjoyable not knowing who the characters are.

For those who do know You're Under Arrest, the problems are simple. First, much of YUA's charm comes from the interaction between the characters. That's severely hampered by the brevity of these mini-specials--the characters don't have much time to do anything other than charge through the miniscule plot that covers the few minutes allotted. Second, the episodes don't have much life to them. The fanservice and perverted elements are made much stronger here versus the show--there are multiple underwear thieves, peeping tom cameramen, and flashers on this one disc. There just isn't much else here, and because it's so single-mindedly fanservice oriented, it just lacks the charm of the TV episodes.

In sum, then, if you're a completist and have the rest of YUA, you might want to get this, particularly if you liked the more limited fanservice elements of the TV episodes. If you haven't checked out YUA, you should, but not via these mini-specials. Look at the TV series (or the original comic).

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!)

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.

Well, the Mini-Specials are far better than the movie with its dark tone, but there's still something missing in the series. It's like the magic the OAV's had has never quite been recaptured in the TV series, movie, or mini-specials. To be sure, You're Under Arrest works much better in small doses. However, towards the end, the Mini-Specials grow redundant (how many times can they crack jokes about people seeing the cross dressing officer's "thingie"?) and the plots never vary much from their formulas of panty thieves and/or teaching egotistical citizens a lesson (although the designers come up with good ideas to change the settings and scenarios slightly). Although it has good animation and voice acting, I think I had already seen everything that Miyuki and Natsumi would see in their daily lives before I watched this.

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.

"You're Under Arrest" is the famous anime series centering on two female traffic cops in Bokuto Station, Tokyo. The heroines, tomboy Natsumi and mechanical wiz Miyuki, constantly find themselves trying to solve bizarre crimes at the same time laying the smackdown on woman-loving perverts all across the city. Here are the main points of the story.

Cast

Natsumi- tomboy policewoman, has no respect for any man except for the Chief. Any man who crosses her will feel her superhuman wrath and Amazonian strength.

Miyuki- not just the tech whiz, but a bit on the cowardly side. She's much gentler than Natsumi and has a liking to Nakajima. The most likable character in the series.

Yoriko- a bespectacled girl with thousands of ideas, give or take a few good ones....

Aoi- I'm not into this character at all. She is supposed to be a he, but the most unfunniest thing about her is that we get little proof, at least in the DVD, that she's a he. Terrible character.

Chief- the authority lead. He often questions Natsumi and Miyuki's unorthodox tactics, with hilarious results.

Nakajima- also known as Kenny, he's the mild-mannered traffic officer who feels easily intimidated around the girls, but they all love him.

The episodes can be a mixed bag. They all have some hilarious jokes and play on the sexist theme very nicely, but one must endure through stiffly done animation (somebody say Pokemon?) and the time length for each episode (only 7.5 minutes). There's also the sad lack of a Japanese language track without subtitles, though the dubbed version isn't that bad at all. Still, this is 150 minutes worth of 20 episodes, so you get alot out of the characters, most of whom are great to watch. Voice acting helps solidly too, making Natsumi and Miyuki tough or sweet when the situation calls for it.

Highlight episodes include.....

-The whole police station losing their wallets, leading to a Rashomon-like whodunit.

-Natsumi and Miyuki trying to increase the popularity of the unpopular station cafeteria

-Natsumi and Miyuki getting involved with a suicidal man

-Natsumi and Miyuki chasing a Porcsche driver with a tricked out Mazda (Now that's too fast, too furious!)

-Natsumi and Miyuki using Nakajima to catch a peeping tom in a fitness building

-Natsumi and Miyuki vs. high-tech underwear thieves

-A robber who steals Miyuki's purse, and pays for it in ways you can't imagine!

Despite little extras, this DVD is great to watch and the quality is crystal. You'll want to get arrested by these officers anyday!

Your Under Arrest is a great anime series. If you haven't seen it you should. It is very humorous and has lots of car chases. The creator is Kosuke Fujishima who has made Ah My Goddess and is the character designer for Sakura Wars.

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.

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...

Your Under Arrest is a great anime series. If you haven't seen it you should. It is very humorous and has lots of car chases. The creator is Kosuke Fujishima who has made Ah My Goddess and is the character deigner for Sakura Wars.