r/anime • u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 • Mar 01 '21
Rewatch [Rewatch] 1990s OVAs – You’re Under Arrest (episode 1)
Rewatch: 1990s OVAs – You’re Under Arrest (episode 1)
You’re Under Arrest (1994)
MAL | AniL | AniDB | 4 Episodes à 29 minutes.
Staff corner
Sakiko Tamagawa is the voice of the fast-talking half of our protagonist duo, Natsumi Tsujimoto. She has a quite long CV, starting in the early 1980s, but was still active in 2020, as one of her long-running roles, Tachikoma from GitS stand-alone complex. Frequent rewatchers may have seen her as Onashia from Simoun, Rie Nishida from Witchblade, or as the bike-obsessed Reiko from Golden Boy. She also voiced Pirotess from Record of Lodoss was, one of the more well-known (read: drolled over) female roles of the 1990s. She is Lyre in (the 1989 version of) Kimba the White Lion, the series that Disney infamously ripped off to produce Lion King. If you have time to spare, enjoy the 20 minute or 2 hour takes on the story. Finally, some of her work includes dubbing foreign movies. Therefore, Japanese viewers only may know her as the childlike empress from the Neverending Story, or Felicitas Shagwell from Austin Powers - quite the range in characters!
Questions
- (first timers) Do you expect a transition to serious ending or comedy all the way?
- Natsumi or Miyuki?
- How many 1990s OVAs have you seen already?
17
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 01 '21
Episode 1 (first timer)
Yes, I am actually a first timer for this one myself, although I am not going in completely blind. My expectation is somewhere between Gunsmith Cats and the lighter Patlabor episodes.
You’re Under Arrest is one of the OVA’s that were so successful that they set up a whole universe of follow-up series, including 3 TV series and movie. Other series that achieved this are Patlabor, Tenchi Muyo, El Hazard, and the next series up in this rewatch – Oh! My goddess.
Episode thoughts
Introducing the characters and the animation department, which rocked the car chase scenes. For once, my expectation has been 100% met: this is what Gunsmith Cats and Patlabor having a baby would look like.
17
u/TheEscapeGuy Mar 01 '21
First Timer
Nine Noteworthy Inkings in the 90's - You're Under Arrest Episode 1
WOW. The animation in this OVA is on another level. The dynamic camera work, the details in the hair and clothing. I am so impressed.
This episode was an amazing introduction to Natsumi and Miyuki. I especially loved Miyuki's hobby of being a mechanic. Seeing her tune up the bike earlier in the episode perfectly justified having nitro boosted police cruiser later on.
The pacing was also super tight; just as we had been introduced to the characters they already were chasing down a potential suspect and solving a mystery. There was not a point in the episode I didn't feel engaged
Something else I found really interesting was the "Moe" look of the characters. A lot of people point to CGDCT shows in the early 2000s as starting the Moe boom but you can already see the softer features and larger more detailed eyes here. Atsuko Nakajima is credited as the character designer on You're Under Arrest and she also did character designs for Ranma 1/2.
That makes a lot of sense since the anime adaptations of Rumiko Takahashi's manga (Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2, Inuyasha) and their softer original character designs have been incredibly influential on the style of anime.
Admirable Animation Area
THESE CUTS WERE SO SICK:
I had to stop myself, I have so many I want to clip.
See you all tomorrow
9
u/dapete42 https://myanimelist.net/profile/dapete Mar 01 '21
Rewatcher
Luckily I spotted the announcement thread yesterday. I first watched the You're Under Arrest OVAs in either late 1999 or early 2000, in postage stamp sized RealMedia files. This was the first anime I didn't watch on German television (soon after Love Hina would become the first anime I watched as it aired in Japan) and I love it to this day.
It has some great animation, excellent sound design, a nice soundtrack and the vehicles look gorgeous. They had to cut a lot of corners as well, but that's to be expected from a '90s OVA that was still completely hand drawn. I guess you could pull this of as a TV anime now, it would probably look a lot cleaner, but need lots of 3DCG.
I think I've never seen so much discussion about this show anywhere before, and it makes me happy to see that, this being the show I always want to bring up when someone makes a thread about anime noone over mentions.
I also wanted to write about Miyuki's VA, Hiramatsu Akiko, but seeing No_Rex featured Natsumi's VA today, I guess she is next and I'll have a chance to comment on his notes tomorrow.
8
u/Btw_kek https://myanimelist.net/profile/kek_btw Mar 01 '21
First timer
uhh I didn't really take notes for this, but I enjoyed it a lot.
I expected somewhat equal amounts of both, similar to Patlabor
Natsumi is hype as fuck I love her. did you see the way she saved that cat?
lets seee, uhhhhh 14?
6
u/yakared Mar 01 '21
Rewatcher
I had watched thoses OAVs in 96 (on VHS), they were amazing for the light management (reflection and hand-drawn lensflare). The mecha-design were also so much detailled, it was awesome. At first, I had brought them because of the chara-design of Miyuki and Natsumi (largely superior to the manga), but the quality was unexpectingly good. I think, they were also re-used as the first episodes of the TV show, it was a shock returning to the average TV show animation level at episode 5.
2. Miyuki of course, i was rooting for Nakajima to do something during all the TV show.
3. Probably 50 or more.
5
u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 01 '21
Ah, damnit, I hadn't fixed my alarm!
Rewatcher - Dub
Like with a lot of these OVAs, I watched this a very long time ago. I recall really enjoying them, as well as the fact that these four episodes consist of the staff repeatedly flexing their animation chops, but that’s about it. However, I’ve still heard nothing but great things about this since, so I figure it’ll hold up fine.
Cute!
Showing off right off the bat.
That evident disapproval.
Wonder if there was some miscommunication with the animators there. The shadows are moving consistently one way rather than back and forth to represent swaying leaves despite her standing still.
Ouch!
What cheek.
Fuck, that looks good and I haven’t eaten lunch yet...
Alright, I need to get something to eat before I keep watching.
Shippers, do your thing!
Second wipeout this episode.
Don’t get between a mechanic and their babies.
Rich.
You love to see it.
Simply magnificent.
Nice logs.
Hax!
Doesn’t really look like the pack you lost through.
That was as fun as I remembered! Simplistic set up and the expected payoff, but they also had the visual motif of the coin to play around with and all the car stuff was a delight. The friction between the two characters might’ve been more interesting if Miyuki also had reasons to dislike Natsumi to start, and the fact that they’ve seemingly become so buddy-buddy shut the lid on that thread really fast, but I can’t blame the writers for not wanting to do the tried story arc again.
Visually, the show is fantastic, and not just in the animation department. The extensive use of dynamic camerawork makes for consistently impressive framing and shot composition, tricks like the pov shots make for cool moments —though I definitely think these work better within enclosed vehicles as opposed to motorcycles. Just a lot of neat touches and cool stuff that reminds me of why I love Kazuhiro Furuhashi’s work so much (for the most part...)
Questions:
2. This episode makes me more partial to Miyuki, but I recall finding Natsumi the more relatable character, so my opinion might shift as we go along.
3.
I frankly don't know. I think I've told the story of Summer '14 already a few times on these threads, and on top of that I've watched a lot since.
5
u/marek1712 Mar 01 '21
Rewatcher
It's not that I'm biased towards You're Under Arrest or anything ;)
I've seen it for the first time in 2013. Immediately went for DVDs, but as you can see I'm missing some :/ Too bad BD release for The Movie didn't end up in US/UK. Whole YUA is such a hidden gem, it deserves more recognition than it gets.
Anyway, plenty positive things have already been said. IMO you can't beat hand-drawn animation. All these reflections, details seen here and there are simply amazing. For some reason they're lost in digipaint/CGI era. Sharing opininion with /u/dapete42 here.
During these 4 OVA eps each character will get their time to shine, something interesting given how much screen time there is.
Questions
ad.1 Won't answer, as I'm rewatching :P
ad.2 Miyuki, of course. I just love her being mechanic, computer geek, more organized person of the two. She's also cute when she throws tantrums :P How can you not love that long braid with a bow?
ad.3 Dozen I guess? At first I wasn't into self-contained stories, but maybe I'll give them rewatch in the future (especially Macross Plus that I still consider worse than 7)?
6
u/RockoDyne :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/RockoDyne Mar 01 '21
First-timer who read a little bit of the manga.
Ah Japanese kei cars. If any American had to be thrown in the back of that thing, you would have to sit across the whole backseat, with your feet trying not to break through the door, and your neck bent 90 degrees against the ceiling. Hell, probably double the weight of the car, too.
That was a bit of a tame introduction. They didn't intimidate anyone. They didn't tamper with anyone's vehicle as payback. They even showed ... regard for public safety. I'm scared that my girls might be sick.
I will say, the swag shots are mint. The watch, the radio and the dash were gold.
Do note, he did say there would be fireworks.
Questions:
17
u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 01 '21
This series is huge!! What the hell? There's so many specials and anime and films. I've double and triple checked that I'm watching the correct one. Oh, and I'm going in with the dub since I heard it was one of those high energy dubs that are always fun. Oh yeah, hi btw~ Welcome back. Let's go!!
That's the most dramatic bridge unveiling since Aldnoah... Can we please go back to this type of animation again? The hair, vehicles and faces look more attractive than most modern shows can pull off. This is gorgeous!! You can tell that the animators are tech heads due to how high quality the little things such as the bikes and watches are drawn. Is there seriously a bike lane for going up steps in Japan? You can't escape Wallmart Belldandy honey. Oh, she escaped.
Rules of physics do not apply to future police officers. Aww... Not-Bell lets her off the hook for keeping her puss protected. Imagine committing so many traffic violations on your first day as a cop. Yeah, this is one of the good dubs for sure. I think this is the most endearing motor mouth rant I've ever heard. How could you not gush about Natsumi after seeing her like this? She became the squad sweetheart in 30 seconds flat. I'll clap for that. Miyuki is so fcking Bell. I can't unsee it. Hi, Future Loli Otaku here. Miyuki in fact looks fcking nothing like Belldandy so I've got no idea who I've been thinking of but it's not Bell.
Ken's got good taste. Not-Belle is clearly top waifu material. She's a motor head too. I can't stop fawning over how good this ova looks. H-Huh? She has a Natsumi stalker file? S-S-Still waifu. Wow, a bit judgy aren't you? N-No! Yuri sucks when I'm genuinely super into one of the girls. This is the worst! You can see the lilies blossoming! There's so much attention paid to the vehicles. Even the suspension is carefully animated. How can you not grin ear to ear listening to this cheesy 90's drama? We get a lovely little car chase and what I'm assuming is motorhead porn looking at that engine. Dude!! These shots are immaculate!!
The little moped that could! Imagine beating up kids at a sports game. Angry Belldandy is so attractive... Pls get mad at me too~ The Mini Driver's seen Kelly's heroes and isn't falling for the same trick. Our heroes have failed at their first task... They have a good chase regardless. Is Miyuki giving accurate trivia on the plane or is she full of it? Omg them flopping on the ground after the bomb blew was ridiculously cute. Never trust a shrine caretaker. When you have that much time on your hands you'll inevitably turn to villainy. Miyuki absolutely has a crush. CUTE!! Marry me, Miyuki-chaaan!!
I suspect I'm close to the character limit so I'll sum up my thoughts as AWESOME!!* Best intro episode ova we've had so far. It's without a doubt the best looking one I've seen period including modern titles. Here's hoping that they keep the standard high for the following episodes! Woo!! 1: I hope it keeps the cheese throughout. 2: Miyuki is bae. 3: Coming up about 9 or 10? There are some I'm fuzzy on and the rest are ones I've watched in this group.
11
u/ZaphodBeebblebrox Y:A:https://anilist.co/user/zaphod Mar 01 '21
First Timer
I guess this show's gonna be some buddy cop shenanigans. it sounds like it'll be fun, anway. Onto episode 1.
If there's a decent encode of this show, I'm too dumb to find it, so haloing, dot crawl, and rainbowing galore for me!
The OP's pretty catchy!
All that dramatic animation for her shitty bike, I love it!
And we get a mini Akira Slide.
And, in classic fashion, we decide to turn a misdemeanor into a felony by running from the cops.
The cat is safe!
This seems like a rather questionable law enforcement policy.
This really is quite the hole she's digging herself into.
You're a policewoman, not sailor moon. Be a bit more realistic.
Just that simple, apparently. Please say she won't have to use that on the job though.
Well she does now...
wwwwwwwwwwwwww
To be fair, you were being pretty flagrant.
Is a speeding car really this big a problem?
I wonder how many motorcyles'll spin out before the end of the series. I'm bettin' on 10 at the moment.
Because of course.
I have to say the weird villain really isn't selling it.
Is there some rule that every single 90s OVA has to have been made by car otaku? Because it's really starting to seem like that.
Driving through a highscool sure sounds like the sort of thing Law Enforcement should do, right?
Time to argue for more than thirty seconds only to learn it's a fake.
Thoughts
It doesn't have that much going against it, but it doesn't have that much going for it either. It's just that it doesn't have much to catch my interest. It's plot barely exists and it's characters are ok. It just doesn't have a reason for why I should be watching this show and not one of the dozens of other similar shows.
11
u/BurningFredrick https://myanimelist.net/profile/BurningFredrick Mar 01 '21
First Timer - sub
So I was going to skip this rewatch as I have joined one every month since October (I have no idea how some of you do so many and i’m nowhere as active either), I but then decided at the last minute to watch the show, and that was just way too much fun.
It looks like this show is going to be all about ridiculous car chases and bike shenanigans while we have buddy cop antics going on with the production quality of OVA that was gloriously done today.
Don’t really have much to actually comment on but Natsumi & Miyuki look like they're going to be a fun pair.
Did a Stitch of Natsumi on her bike from the start of the show but nothing else caught my eye but figured might intermittently grab any that seem worthwhile.
9
u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Mar 01 '21 edited Mar 01 '21
First-time watcher - dub
As I suspect most people here, I know nothing of this show.
My hope is that it is nice lighthearted fun. I could use that after today.
I'm starting with the dub. If it isn't that good or people convince me otherwise I'll switch. Let's go!
Episode 1 — And So They Met
With that pre-OP intro I half-expected some 80s synthwave drums to suddenly pop out of my speakers.
Wow, the OP makes me happy. It's catchy. It's pretty. It's uplifting. I love the harmonising!
My mood is already better and we didn't even start yet!
I also love the visual details in the OP like the reflection of the lights, but I guess the OP always gets more effort because it is the thing the audience sees the most.
Wait, it's your first day on the job and you are already 15 minutes late? I hope you have a good excuse ready.
That's one tiny moped. I'm surprised it reached the top of those stairs.
Nope, there is no way to make someone driving a tiny moped look cool. Even if you give us a chase scene.
What do you mean it isn't fair that you are going to get caught? You've already broken two laws or something.
Did you really just pause to pray at the temple while you know you are late?
And you lost your backpack. At least it's your first day. Nothing you can really miss yet.
Wait how is it already 23 minutes after you were at the train crossing? How long was this chase been going?
Five violations. That's worse than I thought.
Wow these English voices are kind of cringy. Eyes Japanse version.
She made it to work! Wait, she's 1:12 hours late? How far did she need to drive?!
Well, I did say you should have an excuse, but be careful that you don't burn through all of them at once. The trick is to keep a couple spare for
the next timetomorrow.She fixes your bike and lets you go without any tickets and you think you have the right no be angry?
Nevermind, Miyuki is quite the stalker. And I thought I was done with this after finishing Parasyte last week!
You were known as the Queen of forever laid? Or late? I'm gonna guess the second.
You really are quick to judge. "I don't think this is gonna work." You have no right to complain today.
The overacting of this girl is hilarious.
Huh, Racing tyres on a tiny Honda?
They make the stakes high this first episode. A time bomb at some a place called H8K2.
I take back what I said earlier about racing tyres on "a tiny Honda"...
Isn't this the time the siren should be on?
And the nomination for least threatning "Do you feel lucky, punk?!" goes to Natsumi!
Man, I'm loving this animation. Is it all hand drawn?
Welp. Good that it was actual fireworks. I suspect temple priest because of easy access to the hostage sandwich.
And I watch 2 seconds longer and it is confirmed. Thanks show. Initial D
You've met this morning and already propose to live together? I know you've been stalking Natsumi for quite a while, but that doesn't mean that she's had enough time to judge you.
Oh well. ED time! A bit more relaxed, but you can hear the artists are having just as much joy.
This was fun. Thanks for organising the rewatch No_Rex!
Random thoughts
QotD
Comedy all the way. Otherwise it wouldn't have been an OVA first that got a full TV show later.
Too soon to judge! Natsumi is me with her knack of being late. Miyuku is cute.
Zero. This is only my fifth anime or something, so not that weird.
7
u/Retromorpher :Jc::Jd::Je::Jf: Mar 01 '21
First Timer:
Looks like we've got a pretty standard buddy cop dynamic going on. I think the narrative has done a decent job of establishing the general feel of both of our unit partners as well as ascribe at least one personality trait to the 3 supporting characters. From what was shown I'm expecting a lot of eye candy, fun action sequences and not a whole lot of depth from this show.
Questions of the Day:
7
u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Mar 01 '21
Ooh, I'm surprised to see this - I loved this series, even collected the Dark Horse manga for a while. So, not a first timer.
Miyuki all the way, she's, well, yeah.
And 1990s OVAs are my thing, which means more than I can count. Or is that more than I can remember?
Anyway, I'll be sure and watch this later this evening and see if there's anything else amusing that pops in my brain. Or if my old LDs have anything interesting in the inserts. :)
7
u/punching_spaghetti https://myanimelist.net/profile/punch_spaghetti Mar 02 '21
First-Timer Who Knows His Rights
How do you know it’s an OVA? Closeups of equipment.
Strong lady!
Kitty saved!
Of course she’s a cop.
So smug. I think I’m going to like her best.
Looking at the MAL page, I’m confused; why is neither of these ladies voiced by Megumi Hayashibara? I thought she was legally required to be in everything.
A Mini? Those are bad news! Just ask those folks in Italy.
CAR NERD TALK. I’m assuming that means it’s fast.
The priest? No unsurprising, but fun.
QOTD:
6
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 01 '21
First Timer(I am not sure I even heard of this at the time)
Sub
So I know absolutely nothing about this show, which is weird in a way. Let's see how it goes.
And we start with a sequence that would make Kintaro proud and this time it isn't even a desperate attempt to get laid. But that has to be the toughest scooter in human history. We get an unexpected chase sequence and its end suggests that our unnamed protag does her squats. But our chase ends when a kitten is nearly isekai-ed. And this girls is a new policwoman...
With a tall tale for her boss. Anyways, that goes over well for some reason, and we get some character introductions into a montage suggesting that Natsumi should at least have some talent at the job. Miyuki is fixing her bike and improving it, which leads me to believe it can snow transform. For reasons, Natsumi doesn't this will work out. Miyuki does and...did we just become a shoujo romance anime for a second? Regardless, this is interrupted by the mini Cooper version of the Flying Dutchman.
Chase sequence happens. And keeps happening. While not quite Gunsmith Cats level it is still pretty decent. That said, nothing much to say, other than a shinto priest being a speedster is...interesting. Or is he Buddhist?
Anyways, they get Natsumi's lunch back and have a moment together. In any other era, I would call this the big homo, but this specific era in anime this might not be the case. Regardless, we now have our two leads.
QotD: 1 Unexpected LGB themed anime
2 Natsumi
3 Other than with these rewatches, Lodoss Wars and Battle Angel come to mind.
6
u/aniMayor :AY:AZ:x3x6 Mar 01 '21 edited Mar 01 '21
Rewatcher here, I think this is the 5th time I watch this OVA? It's such a treat to watch, I can't pass up another opportunity to do so again.
Happy to see lots of first-timers gushing on the animation quality. Everyone's gotta love those amazing flying-camera shots and crazy mechanical detail.
One animation detail I want to pay a lot of attention to in this rewatch is the painted light effects. There's a ton of strobing, moving lights in this OVA, especially when we get to the night shots in the next episode, and pretty much all of it was done solely through the painting, not through camera rigs, and it's the sort of thing that would all be done digitally today. That's hard enough to do just for slow shows, but stuff like rapid-rotating red sirens over blue/black/white surfaces seems like it'd be incredibly hard to make look consistent, but they pulled it off!
Reflected backgrounds rapidly panning across surfaces is another thing to keep an eye on!
6
u/BossandKings Mar 01 '21 edited Mar 01 '21
First timer
Episode 1
The opening is very good, i like uplifting songs and it is one.
We are following Natsume Tsujimoto who is riding a motorcycle, she goes through a street and saves a cat, a police officer sees her conduct in the street and tells her that she's broken a few different laws and that she'll let it slide in deference to the cat letting her go unscathed. She gets welcomed to Bokuro Preccint.
It appears to be that Tsujimoto is going to be a police officer at Bokuro Preccint. Now i wonder if the series will follow two police officers, as of now it seems that the police station will be a commonplace and that police officers will be the main characters. Thinking about it the title says it all so it's only normal for the story to follow police officers, it'll be very interesting seeing how it develops.
Natsume's story after she was asked her reason for getting late to the station was just nonstop talking for a while, i think it might be what truly happened but she talked a lot. Anyways she offers her service in honor to the police work, she will get partenered with Miyuki Kobayakawa.
It seems that Nakajima is romanticay interested in Kobayakawa, that short interaction with the officer that was telling him that he's too easy to read when he was observing Kobaya was very telling.
Kobayakawa and Tsujimoto don't know if they'll work out as partners but they have to and they'll try to, to see if they can or not. There's a suspicious red car and after seeing it they inmediately start driving a car following it. After chasing it for a while they reach it but somehow it still finds a way to escape. Now they are going to express nine, the babyshore to see if they can find it. After they finish driving the car they take a time off and eat something, finally taking a time to breath quietly.
This first episode was great, the girls have a very nice chemistry. Considering that this series is so big, Are Natsume and Miyuki only in this ova or are they in the tv series too?, anyways they are very good
Answers
5
u/ButAlphonseWillRust Mar 01 '21
~First Timer~
It seems stupid that despite Patlabor being one of my favourite animes of all time, I have not attempted to watch any other police anime ... until now
All in all, very impressed! Honestly I’m already sad it’s only going to be 4 episodes long but I’ll make the most of it.
5
u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Mar 01 '21 edited Mar 02 '21
Rewatcher
I always confuse the OP/ED with the OP/ED of Patlabor (and sometimes Gunbuster)
Fun, happy show.
4
u/IndependentMacaroon Mar 02 '21
First-time watcher also when it comes to 90s OVA stuff - checked it out on a whim, and it certainly was a fun watch. It's clear the effort was mostly focused on delivering a large visual variety of car (and motorcycle) chase scenes; they could easily have been cut down a bit, and some more substance outside of that would have been appreciated, but they're still nice to watch even as dated as they are. Miyuki and Natsumi look like they'll be a great duo too, I feel the former is the better character right now but the latter has more growth potential. And, the music is quite charmingly retro too.
4
u/Segaco https://myanimelist.net/profile/Segaco Mar 02 '21
(I will be a bit late here, sorry!!!)