Plastic Little

Original Title: プラスチックリトル
Romanized: Purasuchikku Ritoru
Literal: Plastic Little

Plot Synopsis

Tita, captain of the good ship Cha Cha Maru (that's a submarine ship, not a space ship), and her crew rescue a girl being chased by a villain with really huge shoulder pads, ambitions of world domination, and an army at his control. They decide to put an end to this fellow's machinations and lots of action ensues.

Review

Rating: 3 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2003-08-27

Urushihara's specialty done right. The basic idea is pretty much the same as everything else his name is attached to: Start with some good looking girls, take their clothes off occasionally (Tita's ship has a built-in "bath tub" the size of a swimming pool, complete with water slide), drop in a tall skinny bad guy (this time with the world's largest shoulder pads--he looks like a freestanding shower curtain with a head), add a healthy pile of explosions and destruction, toss in a pinch of romance, and shake vigorously. Very vigorously. The resulting dish may not have much in the way of plot, but if your taste is simple and you don't have a problem with a huge slice of cheescake on the side, it's a lot of fun anyway.

To be fair, even if the relatively convoluted story isn't much more than an excuse for the action and occasional exposed skin (isolated to one long scene), there are still some fun characters. Tita is a spunky, no-nonsense girl who is never reduced to a damsel in distress; when she needs rescuing, she does it herself, and also pulls off one of my all-time favorite denouements. Tita's "love interest" and Elysse aren't much more than filling space, but the two older crew members on the Cha Cha Maru are an appealingly wizened pair in contrast to their spunky young captain. And the doctor, Mei, is... well, very attractive, and the only female character who is never naked.

But it's pretty obvious from the get-go that what makes Plastic Little worth watching is the visual style. The art is very true to Urushihara's style--clean and very attractive, with fun, varied character designs by the man himself. The animation is well above par, too--nice character animation, and watch for some great chase scenes.

The background music is more disappointing--things are remarkably quiet in fact--but I really like the mellow end theme (even though it has nothing to do with the story).

Overall, while you'd better not be watching Plastic Little for the plot, and it borders on tasteless at times (not necessarily a down side, depending on your taste), there is enough action (and bath scenes) to keep almost any fan of that kind of thing happy.

Related Recommendations

Sol Bianca (and its sequel) is a well done but less sleazy version of the same sort of thing. For a similar feel with a very different setting, try Cutey Honey. Be warned that the other of Urushihara's animated features, the Legend of Lemnear, did not fare as well as this one. Though the formula is the same, the feel is sleazier, and it's just a lot less fun.

US DVD Review

The DVD is a quality ADV production: sharp video, nice audio in both languages, and subtitles for just the songs or everything, plus a nice gallery of sketches and storyboards. It also (whether this is a good thing or bad) shamelessly panders to the audience Plastic Little was written for: it features what may be the world's first "Jiggle Counter," a menu-selectable feature that will cause a small counter to appear in the top corner of the screen at appropriate moments. Tasteless in the extreme, but I had to admit pretty funny if you watch it with the right mindset (and group of jeering/leering friends).

Content Guide

Appropriately rated 17+ by ADV, for a lot of nudity and some relatively graphic violence.

Violence: 3 - Several bloody deaths, as well as some city-scale destruction.

Nudity: 3 - Lotsa upper body nudity; one extended nude scene, and a couple of others.

Sex/Mature Themes: 1 - Even with all that nudity, there's not much more than some cute romance and a couple of nosebleeds.

Language: 2 - Some light profanity.

Notes and Trivia

There is also a one-shot Plastic Little manga by Urushihara, on which this is based. It features an assortment of stories about the crew of the Cha Cha Maru, and quality artwork by Urushihara. It is available in English from CPM Manga as a 5-part comic series, and as a graphic novel called Plastic Little: Captain's Log.

ADV's subtitles on this one aren't as "creative" as some of their releases, but the subtitles on the end theme have almost nothing to do with the actual lyrics (I'm assuming this was an attempt to make it read like a song). We did a full translation of it if you're really curios.

Availability

Available in the US from AD Vision on an "anime essentials" bilingual DVD, which is a re-release of an earlier disc (buy from RightStuf). Was previously available on subtitled VHS.

Looking to buy? Try these stores: RightStuf (search) | AnimeNation | Akemi's a(nime)Store