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Super Gals! The
Iron-Clad Collection
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A girl's gotta have her own ThinPak collection.
Ummmm . . . no, I'm not talking about me, though the length of my
hair has caused some confusion (and there's nothing like having
someone at a store or restaurant refer to me as "miss" to put me in
a bad mood.) I'm talking of course about the Super Gals,
Japan's slice of life series that looks at life from a young ladies
perspective. The first season of the offbeat anime is back in a
brand new collection, and these girls just wanna have fun.
So, just who exactly are the Super Gals? You could think of
them as the Charlie's Angels of the anime world, though they are
quite a bit younger, and they aren't fighting crime . . . . . though
maybe in their own special way. The "gals" are Japan's well-known
kogals, trendy high school students with a sense of fashion all
their own. There's Ran Kotobuki, something of the "leader" who is
trying to deal with troubles at school (which she generally brings
on herself) and avoiding following in her parents footsteps of law
enforcement. Along with her friends Aya Hashino and Miyu Yamazaki,
the trio will set Shibuya on its ear.
What do Super Gals do? Well . . .. . they shop, they try and
get money for the latest and greatest fashion accessories, they go
to karaoke, they work on their hair and makeup, and of course they
chase boys. I know what some of you might be thinking; Super Gals
sounds like the Japanese answer to America's Bratz, but I can
assure you that isn't the case. You see, Super Gals doesn't
teach little girls to become whores, and it's a hilarious series
filled with all the issues and concerns that Gals might have. Most
importantly, it's highly entertaining, and it's not just a series
for women either; men can enjoy it just as much.
When you're re-releasing a series of this magnitude, the collection
has only one thing that's needs to be focused on, and that would be,
you guessed it, Gals, and all three of them are here. Both faces of
the box feature Aya, Miyu, and Ran ready to do what they do best. On
one side, you'll see them in their typical shopping attire . . . .
or is that boy chasing attire? It doesn't matter, but they are ready
to hit the streets and shops of Shibuya. A gal, or three of them,
also need to hit the beach (or water park) and you'll find the three
friends ready for fun in the sun and water. School is important as
well . . . . maybe not as much as shopping, but the spine of the box
features Ran in her school uniform. The same style is seen on the
top of the box, though in a Super Deformed version with Ran doing
one of the things she does best; sleeping.
The additional features for Super Gals have been removed for
this collection as, just like with other ADV collections, the number
of discs has been decreased. However, this is a case where I'm not
opposed to it. The original DVD's included the standard clean
versions of the opening and closing animations and there was also
segments entitled The Super Gals Explain it All. This talked a bit
about the cultural references, but these were also done only in
English. The absence isn’t truly missed in my opinion.
So, the real question is, will fans ever see the second season here
in the United States? Will Ran and her friends pay a return visit?
That still seems to be up in the air, but I would guess that if
sales of the ThinPak collection do quite well, there’s always that
chance that maybe they will come around again (though it could be a
licensing issue.) You don’t need to be a girl to enjoy what the
Super Gals have to offer, and you don’t need to be a kogal
either, and hopefully you’re not a ganguro, they certainly aren’t
welcome. No magic power, no alternate dimensions, and no super busty
action, but the Super Gals prove that isn’t always necessary
to make a great series, and both Shibuya and North American will
never be the same thanks to these ladies.
-mike-
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