Ever since my earliest days of otakudom, I had intended to get into retro anime. I kept hearing about the awesome old classics like Tenchi Muyo and Sailor Moon, but I wasn’t really sure where to start. For a long time, the oldest show I had seen was 1999’s Crest of the Stars, not counting the odd Gundam series or Miyazaki film. I was just too absorbed in modern shows to bother with anything classic. Then, this February, I ran across an article on Mania.com called “10 Great Out of Print Anime We Want Back.” Despite being rather mundane in its own right, this article had one passage that particularly intrigued me.
9. Project A-Ko
Another ‘80s title that saw release in the West in the early ‘90s, Project A-Ko is an action comedy that actively parodies other action movies. The premise centers around the rivalry between Eiko (A-Ko) and Biko (B-Ko) who constantly fight over the affections of the bubbly Shiiko (C-Ko). The popularity of Project A-Ko spawned a few followup OAVs, though none were as well received as the original. But its irreverent humor and ridiculous premise are prime examples of the type of insanity anime was able to get away with in the 1980s.
Dusty is a huge fan of cheesy 80s action movies, and I’ll admit I somewhat enjoy their wacky, over-the-top nature. I mean, Schwarzenegger might be a horrid actor, but seeing him casually toss buzzsaws through people’s skulls is pretty epic. Upon hearing that Project A-Ko was a parody of these kinds of films, it jumped straight to the top of my must-watch list.
