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[R1 DVD art]
AKA: Crown Knights: Jajauma Quartet
Genre: Silly fantasy / action comedy
Length: OAV series, 2 episodes, 30 minutes each
Distributor: VHS and R1 DVD from US Manga Corps out of print.
Content Rating: 13+ (violence, fan service)
Related Series: N/A
Also Recommended: Elf Princess Rane, Excel Saga
Notes: Based on a radio drama of the same name.
Rating:

Wild Cardz

Synopsis

Giant chess piece-shaped mecha fly through the air as your typical cute group of Fan Service maidens fights for its home turf using the power of ... playing cards. Whose home turf IS this, anyway?

The girls of the hour are:
Sunday Spades - the poker-faced leader and possessor of the mysterious trump power!
Jo Diamonds - who can run at the speed of light!
Casa Clubs - combat expert who possesses hyper-senses!
Coco Hearts - the tricky master of psycho-magic!

Be afraid. Be very afraid.


Review

This was utterly silly. First off, the giant chess pieces, and indeed, the heroines themselves, are given only the briefest of introductions before they start flying (literally) across the screen. The names of the characters were so utterly stupid that I had struck them permanently from my memory until CPM decided to license this thing for reasons fathomable only a select few (most of whom reside in mental institutions).

The girls' powers, the mecha, the reasoning behind everything ... absolutely nothing is explained. Instead, this thing is nothing but action and weirdness, like a jumbled mixture of Elf Princess Rane and Maze, with giant chess pieces and collateral damage. It *was* interesting, in a sick, infantile way, I guess.

Animation is bright, cheerful, and adequate, and that's about all you get, as the characters are shallow, silly, and almost completely interchangeable. At least they're cute, but if you read the review on Voogie's Angels and Debutante Detective Corps, you'll know full well that cute characters aren't the only thing that make an anime *good*.

Plot? Again, I must ask. WHAT PLOT? It's wonky wannabe SF/F that was obviously thrown together over an evening of sake bombers and a wild ride through the board game aisle. Chess, cards, and mahjongg are all equally abused as plot points, and it would be great fun if it weren't so damn stupid.

Wild Cardz is not the worst thing out there, and for people in the mood for dumb fun, go right on ahead. Personally, I'd rather leave this DVD on the shelf, right where it belongs.

This thing is just too weird for me. And I'm a weird kind of guy. But I will give it one thing: the main characters ARE cute.Carlos/Giancarla Ross

Recommended Audience: Not very objectionable content-wise, except for a LOT of violence. This is a show for teens. Silly Dragon Ball Z, really.



Version(s) Viewed: digital source
Review Status: Partial (1/2)
Wild Cardz © 1997 Studio OX / Movic / BMG JAPAN INC
 
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