Legend of Lemnear… I find it funny how a DVD begins with a parental warning of, “The Following Program Contains Scenes of Nudity“ and yet mentions nothing of other scenes having violence, or even anything about a cheesy plot! I am not going to get into the moral argument here, but really? Legend of Lemnear is one of many late 1980s OVAs that can be classified as shovel wear and yet I am sure many of us have seen it. It was around way back when, released on a multitude of video formats here in the west, so no denying it, you have watched it!… or have you?
Imagine Leda: Fantastic Adventure of Yohko mixed with Amon Saga (ever hear of these two? they are worth a watch!) spiced with some scenes of “fan service”, or more precisely… bare breasts. We are adults here ok, or perhaps philosophically wise youths trapped in bodies of various ages, and just because some bits of nudity are shown does not equate porn. After all this was a project created by the same individual who did Plastic Little (oh lord not that one), among other things if you are at all familiar. Legend of Lemnear is at least watchable, with a plot and a supposed point… sort of, but it leaves a little too be desired. … and yes it is more than just a cheap ploy to show the upper halves of naked women.
The visual presentation is quite polished and well drafted, including anatomy… and not just the previously mentioned boobs, but also facial characteristics and muscle tone. Drawing talent was abundant for this 1989 release. Yet the story that holds it all together is bland and generic. A lone traveler comes into town wanting to avenge the killing of her parents and gets caught up in a maelstrom of action and mythology that ends up bringing everything around full circle. Yeah ok, sounds like a decent run of the mill fantasy and magic kind of tale, but I want to see the budget spreadsheets. My theory is that they spent 85% on drawing and 15% on story… what about the acting? Never mind that I am on a role here.
Like many one-offs that are just over a half hour in terms of total length of time don’t expect much here. I hope the next time that Lemnear gets released, which I doubt will happen, it will need to include, “The Following Program Contains Plenty of Cheese”. And let’s face it folks, we all like cheese, admit it or not. Some like Cheddar, some like Gouda, some like Provolone and even some like Cheez Whiz (that’s not even real cheese either!). I too like my share of cheese because I am human after all and yes I don’t love Legend of Lemnear, but I do watch it from time to time… and it’s not for the fan service, which is fairly tame for the most part. Now then, can you pass the Parmesan?
The Classic Anime Museum 
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