Aika

If you like panties you will like Agent Aikas escapades.

I was laughing so hard by the end of the first episode because of the relentless panty shots...I loved all of the panty shots...every last one. Even the evil guy who commands the huge aircraft carrier like vessel has his chair sunken in to the deck so that he can look at all of the beautiful pantied bottoms of the hot little sweeties under his command. Oh yeah...the story line is pretty good too, typical secret agent/bad guy/try to rule the world stuff with lots of shooting, explosions and fighting.

This series is just silly fun, and to make anything else of it is a waste of time. Don't gripe, just watch. At least it's not as bad as The English Patient.

Sometime in the future. In Japan two friends, Aika and Rion, are digging for lost treasures in the sea with a help of their submarine. The job is not doing too well. But one day their paths cross with an evil madman called Hagen who wants to destroy the earth with a help of strange substance called Lagu. His goal is to save himself ( and a lot of women ) in a spaceship before the catastrophe and to rebuild the world later...with his children. Of course, Aika and Rion will stop him.

Now, what to say about "Aika"? It's nonsense, but it's an amusing kind of nonsense. The people who claim this is "the worst anime in history" are exaggerating it a lot. The sci-fi action story is one huge fun ride in which you just have to relax and enjoy because it has many highlights: gadgets, spaceships, a bad guy who has a love relationship with his sister, a charming girl with glasses...

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Yes, the story has too much "fan service"( camera angles are always placed on the ground so they can catch the slips of women )but at the same time the characters are just so sweet you are willing to forgive every flaw. Just look at Rion. In one scene she is captured by the evil Hagen in a spaceship. Every crew member is a woman. Suddenly Hagen offers Rion a valuable role in the new post apocalyptic earth if she agrees to have his children( just like every crew member agreed ). But Rion gets furious beyond words and, among others, says: "You men are all the same! You just want one thing only!" I found that to be hilarious. I'm still not too fond of Aika's diadem that creates some kind of a super-woman out of her( although Rion likes it claiming she looks like a super hero )and leaves the story too sci-fi driven."Aika" is a weird comedy but it works.

Grade: 6/10

Agent Aika plays like an animated Russ Meyer movie. It's perfect 1:00 AM entertainment and great way to play 'count-the-panties' (you won't be able to keep up). I suggest watching the subtitled version, as the dub verges on unlistenable. Just kick back and have fun with this flick. DON'T TAKE IT SERIOUSLY!!!!

Whenever people are talking about Aika, the first things I get to hear are complains about panty shots, wannabe porn, wannabe hentai etc. Well, I guess for the vast majority of viewers, Aika is indeed nothing more than this.

However, a few will like the show, but for others things: The story is absurd, but funny and fast paced (I emphasize this because all the other Animes I've been watching so far seemed quite boring after some time). The characters are rather likable, except for Hagen and his sister, nobody is completely unappealing. There's a lot of violence in the show, but almost nobody gets killed and even seriously hurt (I really appreciate this in a action movie). Most of the characters are rather beautyful and some even admirable.

But the main reason for me to love Aika is the fact, that some of the characters even develop some deeper kind of identity. I mean, it is obvious that the creators didn't intend to make more than a simple action flick with only two dimensional characters. But nevertheless some of the characters seem to grow when the show is going on, and some of them I really learned to love (especially the White Delmo couple and the Golden Delmos).

In my opinion, the second series ("New mission", trial 5 to 7) is far better than the first, because it's less harsh but more entertaining (with these terrible Hagen and Nena being replaced by the much more appealing Miss Bianca and her crew).

Whether you enjoy the show or not, it's quite a matter of taste. However, there's more than just panties in it.

... and what it is mostly is an exercise in finding excuses for gratuitous lingerie shots, masquerading as a female-oriented spy thriller. To that end, most of the characters are young, female and attractive and involved in a lot of wild and occasionally skirt-raising action. The baddies have a literal army of short-skirted minions, viewed typically from a low angle, while our intrepid heroines seem to have great trouble finding clothes that can hold together in the whirl of battle.

It's all rather silly and obvious, but it's well-drawn, decently plotted and good-looking entertainment for what it is. Just don't expect Lupin III, and get ready for more fan service in the first half hour than in a whole season of any other show.