Super Gals! Vol. 4: Look Out! Love is Dangerous! 2001 ADV Films Official Japanese Website Buy It Now

Having our website down for a couple of months has had a few major effects on some of the title that we’ve been reviewing. The case and point right here is Super Gals, a series that I was somewhat interested in checking out, but due to just not having anything running full time, we managed to miss the first three volumes of the series. But, now that we’re back, and have been for a few months now, that’s not going to stand in our way of getting back into the swing of things and picking up right at volume four, something that for the most part, we try not to do, but right now, with the sheer amount of things that we’re all trying to get caught up on, picking up the earlier volumes at this point would result in having far too much to do, and too little time to do it in.

I’ll dispense with the pleasantries and not bore those of you that are already on board with a recap on what the overall story is, but will touch on a few major points, once we take a look at just what’s going on here. Love is the name of the game here; at least it may be for Aya. She’s been swooning over Rei for a while now, and with a little help from Ran, she may finally be in a position where she can finally be alone with him and tell him her true feelings. However, love may not be in the cards here at all. There are some flashback as well here, and a cat fight or two, and this being my first time out with the series, it may not be confusing or hard to get into what’s going on, but I must confess that this is one strange title.

I definitely will be going back and checking out the first three volumes of the series, so I don’t want to go too far off the deep end and drain myself of all ideas and thoughts that I would be including in the review for the first couple of volumes, but I will touch on a few key points here. I never thought in my life I would see an anime based on one of Japans strangest sub-cultures, the kogeru. I’ve mentioned them in previous reviews before, they are those strange girls that have their skin too dark, wear terrible make-up, and bleach their hair blond. Ah, but if you’re wondering why these girls here don’t have bleached the horrible make up and dark skin, it’s very simple. The kogeru is much like a chameleon, and what is cool on moment can suddenly be replaced by something new.

The slang here is just bizarre, but very common in their world. Fortunately, this is covered on two ends. There is the translations that Japanese get in the series for those that don’t understand, and then we have a translation as well in the insert for the things we aren’t going to get. This is one of those series that comes off as not being just a comedy, but also somewhat of an educational piece as well. I can’t be positive that it was referenced at any point, but there is mention of “para para,” a dance that was popular at one point in Japan where the hands were used mainly instead of the feet. One of the seasons of Detective Conan featured this prominently. But, this is a series that has plenty of Japanese cultural references that are going to slip past most of us. Lastly, on the culture references, there is an insult throw at Ran about not needing school, and that’s because the popular opinion in the Tokyo area is that girls from Shibuya are notoriously stupid. I can’t say if that’s true of not, that’s just what they say.

The extras on the disc are a bit of good things, with a little bad, and then the commonplace goodies. The usual extra material includes a clean version of both the open and the close. The extra, The Super Gals Explain it All might have been better were it in Japanese. I find it very unbelievable to hear someone speaking English and talking about Shibuya. I do however really like the look at the original Japanese covers, and it is nice to see that the Japanese DVD companies have finally gone beyond having just two or three episodes on a disc and moving the total up to four, but that still doesn’t help keep the high retail down. The poster is helpful as well, especially with all of the references that are made in the series.

Yes, this is one that actually got me hooked. At first, I wasn’t quite sure, but after a few episodes I wanted to check out some more, and that’s always a good thing. Incidentally, for those that can read Japanese, my wife was kind enough to locate this site on the web that’s a kogeru slang dictionary. Good luck trying to make heads or tails of what these girls are talking about though. In the meantime, check out Super Gals if you haven’t already. I’d hate to see Ran go MK5 on you.

Episode 15 - Cold Revenge? © It’s Burning Hot ~ Snowboard Battle

Summer is here at last, and that means it the perfect time for . . .. snowboarding? Ran has managed to get her hands on a new board, and so she gets everyone together for a bit of boarding on the indoor slopes. It seems simple enough, until Yuya and Tatsuki end up in a head to head battle that has a very unexpected outcome.

Episode 16 – Dappled Sunlight © Sparkling Away ~ A Romantic Anniversary!

There’s a special anniversary coming up. Ran and Miyu take a look back at how the two of them became friends, even though they originally started as enemies.

Episode 17 – Feelings of Love? © Start Wavering! ~ Aya Confesses?!

Yuya has tickets to an amusement park and wants to invite Ran. That’s no problem, although she ends up inviting everyone else along as well. Aya meanwhile goes to pay a visit to where Rei works, but she still cant’ get the courage to say what’s really on her mind. 

Episode 18 – Odaiba Excitement! © Crackling Action ~ The Great Final Battle!

The game heads to the amusement park, but the main drawback is that Ran must watch after he sister as well as try and have fun. Aya has an unsuccessful moment alone with Rei, and Ran has a final battle with Mami.

-mike-