You’re Under Arrest! ~ Full Throttle #01 — Welcome Back to the 80’s

October 4th, 2007

Just remember, if your name is Marty McFly, don’t sleep with your mother.

Impressions:

Yawwwwwwn. I feel like I’m watching Miami Vice or something, only with women picking up little boys instead of James Crockett and Rico Tubbs picking up whores. I suppose it’s at least a step sideways.

The show is very low budget and seems torn straight out of the 80s when stuff like City Hunter and… well…. You’re Under Arrest… were popular. The art is consistent so doesn’t absolutely reek of awfulness, but it’s just plain boring to look at. Combine that with very little animation and you’re relying on the characters and story to carry your show. Unfortunately, neither is particularly strong either. YUA has never been a series to wow and amaze, but a drama to just endlessly go on… kind of like the writer’s sister work, Ah! My Goddess.

If you’re a rabid fan of YUA and can’t get enough of the old feel, then good news, here’s yet more of it. For everybody else though, it just feels like a relic with a slightly new coat of paint. There’s no real hook to bring you in, and knowing the tone and overall flow of the manga and previous YUAs, I wouldn’t really hold any hope for it ever taking your breath away.

No summaries for the first episodes. I write as I watch, and I don’t know if I’ll care about a show until after the first episode.

Posted in Anime | 17 Comments »

17 Shouts From the Peanut Gallery

  • robin says:
    October 4, 2007 at 7:53 pm

    YUA has always been about the relationship(s) between Miyuki and Natumi. While the character designs have improved, the animation looks really flat and dull, that’s CG for you. Still, I’m interested to see where they take this season if only because I’ve been a huge fan of the series.

  • daRAT says:
    October 4, 2007 at 8:29 pm

    Same here, I am a big fan of the series. This appears no where near as bad as the first season from episode 5 to the end, the animation then was sooo bad it ranked below cheap Saturday morning cartoons, I know because I own most of the dvd’s.

    Season two animation really was sharp, but like season one it was really episodic, as Robin said, it is the interaction between Miyuki and Natsumi.

    This is a must see show for me.

  • nooneofconsequence says:
    October 4, 2007 at 8:47 pm

    When was YUA’s animation ever supposed to be knockout stunning? It always had a muted quality to it that has always suited it well.

    You’re a little bit too harsh there Arudoc. So what if it has a retro feel and the slower old school pacing? It’s kinda refreshing considering the all the other shows we’re getting this fall.

  • nanoha fan~ says:
    October 4, 2007 at 8:49 pm

    yeah i see major improvement in the designs as well
    YUA is the first animation i started off with so i’m watching this as a fan of it as well. I know sometimes the story is really boring but heck Miyuki is still my favourite. :P

    well i wonder how the directors will take this season just like robin have say in the first comments.

    maybe some character love relationship improvement?
    i mean they have been always gf and bf but no improvements… season 2 ended with nakajima wanted to propose to miyuki with his months of salary ring but ended up in the river thanks to natsume’s sneeze.

  • fugue says:
    October 4, 2007 at 11:57 pm

    i love YUA (i think i just confirmed i’m an 80’s kid by saying that :P). i agree, the character designs have improved, and compared to what the animation was like in the previous TV series (gulp), this is actually good. a must watch for me.

  • Aroduc says:
    October 5, 2007 at 12:20 am

    The YUA series in general is just a little too mundane for my tastes. I tend to steer away from shows that aren’t… for lack of a better word… full. Full of -something-; humor, drama, explosions, things that make you go “wow” or “mmmm~.” Taiho is just a bit too far on the slice-of-life side of the tracks for me. *shrug*

  • Iori says:
    October 5, 2007 at 1:17 am

    Godly ending is godly!!

    Damn, I’m such a sucker for soft-yuriness and Chiaki Ishikawa…

  • Assone says:
    October 5, 2007 at 3:47 am

    I’m a big YUA fan I own all the dvd and some inport for the 2nd season for me I hope Ken do something like ask the big ? he didn’t do good job at the end of 2nd season.
    (This is for people who seen the 2nd season they know what I’m talking about.)

  • kenjiharima says:
    October 5, 2007 at 3:25 pm

    the flintstone breaks are back… XD

  • Kazu-kun says:
    October 6, 2007 at 1:58 am

    The ending is just soooo beautiful!!! I don’t care if the series doesn’t have any actual yuri, with this ending I can forgive everything else. I love it!!!!!

  • ehuman says:
    October 7, 2007 at 1:07 am

    I don’t understand. Is the ending fanservice, or actual probable shipping? Damn, and here I am hoping for yet another legendary, light-hearted season 1-like feel.

    I guess I should stop hoping. I’m better off watching Azumanga Daioh again if I want to see something that is not repressed.

  • ZIpPy says:
    October 7, 2007 at 2:40 am

    I just came across this blog randomly and I must say the review is a bit harsh.

    This genre sorta falls in “slice of life”. For those say it’s boring, they simply don’t get it. The anime isn’t suppose to be full of anything. It’s exactly what it is, a slice of life. If you enjoy Azumanga Daioh, Aria, strawberry marshmallow, you’ll probably enjoy this.

  • DK says:
    October 7, 2007 at 3:47 am

    No more Saori…? ;_;

    Ah well… first episode was kinda bland… but the end credits just makes up for it by leaps and bounds. Go implied yuri images!!!

  • yuvraj says:
    October 8, 2007 at 10:32 am

    I still am a fan of all the YUA series and dramas, but full throttle’s episode 1 was a letdown. No excitement amongst characters, and if they were real people, you’d call it wooden. The old series used to get you involved, I really hope YUA:FT improves. Seriously, I almost fell asleep watching it.

  • Natsumi fan says:
    May 5, 2008 at 4:43 pm

    I love it

  • Nato says:
    November 13, 2008 at 2:02 am

    As someone who first had the original OVA’s on VHS tape then the first season TV series on Laser Disk from Japan,I have always been a great fan of YUA. No the TV series episodes especially the first season lack the beautiful full animation that the original OVA’s had ,but then television is low budget and the episodes have to be cranked out quickly to meet on air deadlines. Everything did improve some with season 2 I have only the Japanese DVD’s as no one in the US has ever licensed the 2nd season. Now the specials (short episodes) have the best animation work since the original OVA’s. Full Throttle is as nicely done as the Movie, or the later one where the gals are in California. I purchased the first 9 episodes on two DVD’s in one pack that were released in China,so the English subtitles are sometimes in broken English and all the character and place names are in translated Chinese, this is a hoot to view it this way, I’am getting use to characters “Mexing”, “Xhanshi” “Lasi” etc. I hope I can get more of these Chineese DVD’s because I do not think anyone at present will pick up Season 2 or Full Throttle which is too bad so this leaves Fansubs or imports. Nato.

  • shane says:
    July 21, 2009 at 10:56 pm

    will tokairin and Natsumi be married?