Several anime have the theme of college preparatory as part of the major plot line of the main protagonist. Sometimes comedic, sometimes serious, it is a common practice for many students, Japanese or anyone else, to want to get into a great school. Have you ever asked yourself why this is so? I am sure many of you went through this rights of passage… I did for sure. Was a college education worth that much trouble, pressure and sometimes, heartache? Not really, but in a way it was mine, or our decision. It was and still is a form of social conformity many of us had to endure. Let us return again to what was once called Student Days.
Masao Kume was from some minor research, a well known and popular author, playwright and poet. The adaptation of his story Student Days would become part of the large omnibus show Animated Classics of Japanese Literature, except this narrative would be broadcast a year after the initial season of the show as a special follow up. Spanning only one episode we follow Kenkichi, a young man looking to give his second attempt to apply to Ichiko. For him a lot is on the line, he must get into this school which includes impressing a friend of his sister, Sumiko, who he has a crush on, who seems to have taken a liking to him. With so much encouragement what could go wrong?
Well… one of Kenkichi’s friends we find out decided to take the entrance exam for another school which is easier to get in to… bummer. Another friend is just squandering his family’s money because all he has to do is just take the test, no strings attached here to succeed… grrr. And finally we arrive at the nail in the coffin, the arrival of younger brother, Kenji, who plans on taking the Ichiko test as well. Yet Kenji has no expectations, it’s only practice, a trial run… no strings attached. Even Sumiko has shown some interest in Kenji. What is Kenkichi to do? Give everything he has for duty, a hope that getting into Ichiko will solve his problems and lead to happiness.
Student Days takes the obsession of college entrance perfectionism to a logical extreme, which by the end made me ask, how did it all come to this? What began as a hope for the future would eventually turn sour. Kenkichi’s blind ambition towards a goal out of a duty to look acceptable to others instead of following something more sincere is such a common occurrence in the human experience. What we do for an occupation, or the manner in which we move up the social ladder, in the end is not truly who we are, but in youth we often don’t realize this. Be careful for what you think you desire, it may do more harm than good.
This long time veteran of western fandom represents what anime was once thought of in many minds. You had a choice between robot shows, sci-fi space operas, or violent action flicks… stuff for the ‘boys’. Of course this was not true in the bigger scale of focus, but there was this niche for a while. Devilman was released by Manga Entertainment (MANGA!) way back when and this OVA was a good representative of their catalog. Yet there is much more than what is on the surface. Yes this is an action, horror, superhero production with some violent scenes and at times blood (remember the sabbath scene?), but it is also a unique tale of the hero harnessing the power of what we often term as the villain.
When considering Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey we often find a protagonist attempting to grow beyond their mundane life by going on a quest of sorts. At one time, or another, the hero has to go down into the depths of darkness to find one’s true strength to overcome any shadows, or inherent weakness. Devilman veers off the common path of this time honored route by making the pure and just, ‘good’, hero merge with the side of ‘evil’ to become the ultimate champion of justice. Honor and own your ‘dark’ side to defeat an even ‘darker’ side! For mild mannered Akira Fudo/Fodou this means become a vicious monster… while holding onto one’s morality in the process. Devilman would tell this story previously in the anime world as a 1972 television series, but for this 1987/1990 OVA, Devilman would stick closer to its manga roots. Needless to say this OVA version would break many of the conventional set in rules hampered by the original TV release.
Even for those of you who would never touch Devilman with a ten foot stick you cannot deny this is a well crafted production visually. Devilman is just a hair short of being cinematic quality: fine line work, rich vivid colors and fluid motion are all present. Even the acting and writing are well done… only if you watch the original Japanese dub with subtitles. As a native English speaker I had that MANGA dub to work with first and I will say this turned me off to this OVA years ago. I don’t like to judge if something is good, or bad, in terms of quality, but I can safely say the English dub from Manga Entertainment makes Devilman laughably bad, though entertaining. The original Japanese track has more subtle nuances in terms of storytelling and vocal delivery, which drastically changed my view of this OVA. …it’s always a good idea to watch something a second time subtitled if ever a dub rubs you the wrong way.
Still… Devilman’s original OVA release has one flaw… besides that English dub, hehe. In all seriousness, it is very short. Just two hour long episodes. TWO!? Many older OVA releases are often cut short whether by design, or chance so there is much that is left unfinished in terms of the bigger overarching story. While at times Devilman shows a theme of the ultra violent, the character of Akira/Devilman has moments of pure depth and emotion mixed in with the high octane fight scenes. We can learn much from Devilman in terms of exploring, adopting and owning one’s own shadow side. When channeled properly towards something productive it can become your greatest asset. … as well as that other piece of timeless wisdom… it’s always a good idea to watch something a second time subtitled if ever a dub rubs you the wrong way.
What if you mixed the premise of The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman with The Incredibles? Or maybe the senate fighting of 
Have you seen the intro for Bionic Six? Perhaps one of the best examples of short animation from the 1980s? To no surprise the name of TMS, or Tokyo Movie Shinsha, is credited as a co-producer of the show. I have numerous times gushed my love for this studio and for one of it’s star directors who happens to appear in the credits, Osamu Dezaki. Every episode is A-Grade beautiful, no cheapening out for visual budget. Bionic Six may not officially be anime, but like 
Remember I mentioned this is a family show as well as a superhero title? The family in question that are the heroes of Bionic Six are the Bennetts. A mixed family including dad, Jack; mom, Helen; and kids Eric, Meg, J.D. and Bunji (the last two being adopted), they are via the help of Professor Sharp and the “miracle of modern science” the ultimate sentai squad, the Bionic Six. BIONICS ON! With the help of cybernetic technology the family becomes Bionic-1, Mother-1, Sport-1, Rock-1, IQ and Karate-1 respectively. After all isn’t stopping bad guys the ultimate family bonding experience?
Their main nemesis are the followers of one Dr. Scarab, including the corrupt Doctor himself… “HAIL SCARAB!” They are an oddball collection with names like Glove, Mechanic, Klunk, Chopper and the elusive Madame-O, they are fun in terms of being “the bad guys”, but they are way too monster-like in a cartoonish way. I often wonder if this ‘evil’ group was recycled later into shows like Captain Planet and the Planeteers? Many toy related shows of the era were very similar in terms of plot and tone, basic good guys vs. bad guys, but I think the inclusion of a family dynamic makes Bionic Six stand out. It was perfect for television and if production was was tweaked slightly, this could have been great for primetime as after all… bad cartoons only appeal to blind consumption of products and great cartoons can often times tell a visual story better than anything live action… just my opinion. 
The Classic Anime Museum 
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