Special Duty Combat Unit Shinesman
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese anime
OVA
. It was released in Japan on February 21, 1996. It was written, based on the manga
by Kaimu Tachibana, by Hideki Sonoda, and directed by Shinya Sadamitsu. The character designer was Akiharu Ishii. The video was produced by Gakken
, Aniplex Inc., and Movic
. The film has been dubbed
into English
by AnimeWorks/Media Blasters
, and released on both Region 1 and 2 DVD
.
of the famous Super Sentai
series of tokusatsu
programmes. As such, the plot is fairly thin and formulaic, but deliberately so. Essentially, the king of the alien planet Voice has declared war on the planet Earth
. However, their war takes a most peculiar form — a war of Big Business
. The king's plan is to send Prince Sasaki and his strategist, Seki, to Earth and form a corporation large enough to rule the world. They plan on achieving this by funding the television series "Greatman" and its marketing. However, Earth has its own team of heroes ready to fight back — The Special Duty Combat Unit Shinesman! Created by the Right Trading Company, the Shinesman team is inspired by the superhero television shows of the day, though their costume colors and weapons are distinctly absurd. The team, consisting of Shinesman Red, Shinesman Sepia, Shinesman Moss Green, Shinesman Salmon Pink, and Shinesman Gray, uses such weapons as "Business Card
Cutters" and "Tie Clip Bombs" to combat their alien foes.
Unusually, the dubbed version has attracted much praise amongst anime fans. Described as "quite simply, perfect" and "the best-written and well-acted dub I have ever seen or heard".
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
OVA
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
. It was released in Japan on February 21, 1996. It was written, based on the manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
by Kaimu Tachibana, by Hideki Sonoda, and directed by Shinya Sadamitsu. The character designer was Akiharu Ishii. The video was produced by Gakken
Gakken
is a Japanese publishing company founded in 1947 by Hideto Furuoka, which also produces educational toys. Their annual sales is reported at ¥ 821 billion ....
, Aniplex Inc., and Movic
Movic
is a Japanese company which specializes in the publication of trading cards, figures, CDs, and other general media related to the anime industry. Movic is a part of the Animate group.-Anime involved in:*Ah! My Goddess: The Movie: Production...
. The film has been dubbed
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by AnimeWorks/Media Blasters
Media Blasters
Media Blasters is an entertainment corporation founded by John Sirabella and Sam Liebowitz, based in New York City. They are in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American market manga compilations and anime and live-action movies and television series to home-video...
, and released on both Region 1 and 2 DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
Overview
The video is a parodyParody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the famous Super Sentai
Super Sentai
The is the name given to the long-running Japanese superhero team genre of shows produced by Toei Co., Ltd., Toei Agency and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi...
series of tokusatsu
Tokusatsu
is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects ....
programmes. As such, the plot is fairly thin and formulaic, but deliberately so. Essentially, the king of the alien planet Voice has declared war on the planet Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. However, their war takes a most peculiar form — a war of Big Business
Big Business
Big business is a term used to describe large corporations, in either an individual or collective sense. The term first came into use in a symbolic sense subsequent to the American Civil War, particularly after 1880, in connection with the combination movement that began in American business at...
. The king's plan is to send Prince Sasaki and his strategist, Seki, to Earth and form a corporation large enough to rule the world. They plan on achieving this by funding the television series "Greatman" and its marketing. However, Earth has its own team of heroes ready to fight back — The Special Duty Combat Unit Shinesman! Created by the Right Trading Company, the Shinesman team is inspired by the superhero television shows of the day, though their costume colors and weapons are distinctly absurd. The team, consisting of Shinesman Red, Shinesman Sepia, Shinesman Moss Green, Shinesman Salmon Pink, and Shinesman Gray, uses such weapons as "Business Card
Business card
Business cards are cards bearing business information about a company or individual. They are shared during formal introductions as a convenience and a memory aid. A business card typically includes the giver's name, company affiliation and contact information such as street addresses, telephone...
Cutters" and "Tie Clip Bombs" to combat their alien foes.
Characters
The characters are each named after the original Japanese actors who performed their voices, many of whom are well known actors in their field. This was a deliberate ploy on the author's part in hopes that should a series ever materalize they would hire the seiyū she wanted for each role.Right Trading Company
- Hiroya Matsumoto / Shinesman Red – A young man devoted to his little brother Yota who's a fan of the Greatman TV show, particularly Greatman Red. Matsumoto joined the Right Trading Company because his father was a loyal company employee. Imagine his surprise when he learned that he was to wear a costume. During his job interview, he was asked what color a superhero should be by Kyoko Sakakibara. Remembering his brother's preference for Greatman Red, Hiroya's response of red would ironically be the color of his Pro-Suit.
- Ryoichi Hayami / Shinesman Moss Green – Appears to be quite a ladies' man indeed ("I have a date with Turkish twins"). Basically Hayami shows Matsumoto the ropes at Right Trading Company.
- Shogo Yamadera / Shinesman Grey – Yamadera is the kind of fellow who is so crazy about his car, a MonteroMitsubishi PajeroThe Mitsubishi Pajero is a sport utility vehicle manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors. It was named after Leopardus pajeros, the Pampas Cat which is native to the Patagonia plateau region of southern Argentina. However, since pajero is an offensive term for "wanker" in Spanish, alternative names have...
, he tends to worry himself sick when someone else is working on it. Considers his color to be a regal, manly color.
- Shotaro Ono / Shinesman Sepia – A devoted husband and father; his little daughter Tamari, seen on a photo on his desk, is the apple of his eye, so he buys her stuffed toy fish. He is not impressed with the team's weapons.
- Riko Hidaka / Shinesman Salmon Pink – The sole female on the team; an Office LadyOffice ladyAn office lady, often abbreviated OL , is a female office worker in Japan who performs generally pink collar tasks such as serving tea and secretarial or clerical work. Like many unmarried Japanese, OLs often live with their parents well into early adulthood...
who is not too crazy about being sent for cigarettes or coffee. She tends to crush things without meaning to.
- Kyoko Sakakibara – Manager of Human Resources and the team's second-in-command. She fantasizes about being a Shinesman herself and is not impressed with four of the team's colors. Her assistant is called Shi Nakamura.
- Hitomi Kasahara/Lafure – A sweet natured but timid secretary who is actually from Planet Voice.She came to Earth in search of her brother, who disappeared from her homeworld. Only Ms. Sakashibara knows her secret.
Antagonists
- Prince Sasaki – In charge of the invasion by the will of the King of Planet Voice, he is rather infuriated about posing as a corporate employee. He is not exactly happy to hear that his cousin Shiina had come to Earth either.
- Seki – Lafure's brother from Planet Voice. He was once opposed to the invasion of Earth but he has been brainwashed into joining Prince Sakaki. He has also forgotten his sister, so when Seki meets Hitomi/Lafure, he assumes that she is a spy. This particular plot point has not been resolved (see the notes below).
- Princess Shiina – Sakaki's excitable and ditzy cousin. She had come to help her cousin defeat the Shinesman team, much to his annoyance. She refuses to show any male her bare skin because, in her own words, she has to "kill or marry" him. Shiina ends up developing feelings for Matsumoto/Shinesman Red. She finds out while battling the Shinesman that Matsumoto is Shinesman Red and changes her mind about invading the earth. She is an anime only character as she does not appear in the manga. The author of the manga has drawn images of her though for the drama CD which accompanied the anime.
Critical reaction
The film enjoys a reasonably large fanbase, especially for a two episode OVA. Most reviews are favorable, describing it as "the single funniest anime I had never heard of", "a must have", and "outright hilarious". The video does, however, have detractors. For instance, one reviewer described the plot as "dry", the animation as "nothing special" and stated that he "[didn't] get what the thrill was".Unusually, the dubbed version has attracted much praise amongst anime fans. Described as "quite simply, perfect" and "the best-written and well-acted dub I have ever seen or heard".
External links
- http://www.ming-ling.net/nothing/works_shinesman.html