Najica Blitz Tactics

Publisher
ADV
Director
Katsuhiko Nishijima
Production
Amber Filmworks, Studio Fantagia
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
12 episodes
Year
2001

Najica Blitz Tactics vol 2 (eps 5-8) & 3 (eps 9-12)

By John Huxley
21st Sep 04

Now, I'm no expert director, I'm not even a halfway decent assistant director, but every now and again I come across something that makes me wonder what on God's green Earth the filmmakers were thinking. Who, pray tell, thought that shoving a pillow up Arnie's jumper would be an hilarious laugh-riot? And why oh why oh why did they force Godzilla to be nice to kids (and give him a speaking role, for that matter)? They're just idiotic directorial decisions that ruin otherwise perfectly decent films. Najica is one such instance. For reasons unknown, the creative staff working on Najica decided that it would be a good idea if they filmed the entire series from the viewpoint of the heroine's panties...or anyone else's panties, for that matter. Otherwise perfectly enjoyable scenes are spoilt, made laughable by this incessant desire to show us the crotch area of any vaguely attractive female in the vicinity. It's just plain ridiculous!

Which is a real shame, because at its best Najica is one of the finest anime action series to be released this year. If you can ignore the whole panty obsession thing and dig a little deeper, you'll find yourself enjoying what this has to offer a whole lot more. At its core, Najica is an action spy/thriller in the vein of James Bond or Mission Impossible, albeit with a mostly female cast and a few robots thrown in for good measure. It's all incredibly unplausible and lacks any real originality or subtlety, but it is very well executed and, more importantly, lots of fun.

The second volume kicks off in much the same fashion as the first, with the perfumer-by-day, secret agent-by-night Najica Hiragi and her humaritt (android) partner Lila taking orders from the bigwigs to eliminate rampaging humaritts wherever and whoever they may be (I mean, they wouldn't be proper robots if they didn't eventually go bonkers and try to kill all humans, right?). And they've got plenty of rogue humaritts lined up for the scrap heap, including deadly snipers and psycho combat models that would make the terminator look like a bit of a lightweight.

Being the sexy ladies that they are, Najica and Lila take it upon themselves to carry out this most deadly of tasks whilst wearing as little clothing as possible. They're very rarely entirely nude, but the distasteful way in which these girls are filmed may leave a bitter aftertaste for some of the more conservative amongst you. That said, when we're finally ‘treated' to a nude scene it's strangely solemn in atmosphere and entirely unerotic in its presentation, which I guess is true of the series as a whole. If Najica were supposed to be a semi-erotic experience then it has failed abysmally in this respect, yet this is something of a blessing in disguise (depending on your standpoint) because it could well have been utterly intolerable had they succeeded.

Nevertheless, if you have the patience to look beyond these crude panty shots you will be rewarded with some highly enjoyable, often spectacular action sequences that are easily the rival (if not superior) of many equivalent series. Both Najica and Lila get in on the act with some high-kicking close combat and elegant gunplay, the balance between the two helping to add a little variety. In many ways the action sequences in Najica reminded me of Noir, with the young, emotionally distant protegee aided by a more experienced veteran as they fight (and inevitably triumph) against seemingly overwhelming odds. The stories of both Noir and Najica may be worlds apart, but the characters, the visuals and action share similarities that are hard to ignore. And whilst Noir might be the more accomplished series of the two, Najica can undoubtedly boast the better action (or at least action that's of a more consistently high quality). This is thanks to some stellar direction and solid animation that helps bring the fights to life with the kind of velocity and style that was sadly missing from the majority of Noir.

I'd love to say that the third volume wraps up the series in style and end this review on a positive note, but unfortunately that isn't quite the case here. After a couple of loosely connected episodes we're presented with a two-part story that tries to resolve the mystery of the rogue humaritts. Which is all well and good, but if truth be told they (the directors, the writers, whoever) never really needed to address this issue (I mean, come on, they're killer robots! Who cares?) and some might argue that in attempting to so they have diluted an already successful formula. With a plot. And character development. The kind of things that would normally be seen as an asset to a regular anime are here little more than a hindrance to the real meat & potatoes of Najica - the high-kicking, gun-toting, panty-licious action. That's not to say that with the introduction of these elements (actually, that's a bit unfair, the character development has always been present...even if only a little) Najica suddenly leaves the action and excitement behind, only that there's a clearly visible shift in focus that only serves to highlight Najica's weaker aspects. I enjoyed it more when I didn't have to think.

It's really a simple equation. If you're looking for an engaging, thought-provoking story with interesting, believable characters you'd best look elsewhere. If you want kung-fu, gunfights and girls in short, short (a smidgen too short) skirts...you know where to go.

R2 DVD Notes

Features: Volume 2: English 5.1 & Japanese 2.0 audio, English subtitles, clean open/close, production sketches, ADV previews, commentary by Andy Mcavin (Gento) & Mike Kleinhenz (Majima), Japanese TV spots, Lila's on call mission announcement. Volume 3: English 5.1 & Japanese 2.0 audio, English subtitles, clean open/close, production sketches, ADV previews, commentary by David Williams (director) & Kira Vincent Davis & Monica Rial, Diligent Circle of Ekoda (video)

Release information: UK: Vol 2: 19th April 2004, ADV. Vol 3: 21st June 2004, ADV

Notes: Oooooh, look at all those extras! ADV have done a splendid job with this release. Not only are the covers and boxes them selves a lovely pristine white and adorned with some very provocative artwork, the discs themselves are packed to the brim with goodies. On top of all the usual clean open/close and production sketches there's two commentaries from the US voice actors & crew to enjoy, Japanese TV spots and even a music video. For myself the music video was a real highlight because it let me enjoy an extended version of the ultra-funky theme tune. But all the other extras are well worth checking out if you have a spare minute between episodes, plus the white boxes will stand out your shelf. Unless you put them next to RahXephon.

-- John Huxley 21st Sep 04

Najica Blitz Tactics Images