Dual! |
 | Summary:Combination mecha/comedy/parody/romance centers around a young student, whom after witnessing apparitions of terrifying 'mechs', is transported to a "parallel dimension' to prevent a cataclysm of the Earth. Despite some painfully obvious animé influences, it's refreshingly appealing characters, crisp designs and engaging plot apppeals to nearly any fan seeking entertaining fare. |
| Title Aka: | Parallel Trouble Adventure Dual! |
| Company/Distributors: | AIC;Pioneer Animation |
| Year: | 1999 |
| Length: | 13 Episode Series |
| Rating: |  |
| Genres: | Science Fiction, Romance |
| Format: | OAV Series |
| Content Level: | N/A |
| Comments: | N/A |
"Dual!" (1999):
Meet "Kazuki Yotsuga", a perhaps less than ordinary name in Japan's advent of contemporary mech anime titles. Kazuki is like most, he's mild mannered & assertive when necessary; calm & clinching, a true hero. Or is he?... Well, to put it more bluntly, Kazuki is just another average teen with a very small problem; he sees visions of giant mecha roaming around his city and his school. And furthermore, Kazuki might even be presented with the dilemma of having to tell his classmates, teachers and friends about it... But who'd believe him anyway, right? But Kazuki's problems don't simply end there of course. With the ridicule of classmates & visions of destruction growing, a popular girl at school has 'all-of-a-sudden' become interested in him (though it's actually just in his apparitions). Enter the second main character: "Mitsuki Samada", the most popular girl at Kazuki's school. Things start off very simply of course, there are aroused suspicions of a pact between the two (and not always good ones). But sooner or later (or so the anime realm would have it), Kazuki soon finds himself in another dimension preventing Earth's cataclysm. The seemingly comely (& wealthy) Mitsuki has already discovered a way to somehow join a meeting with Kazuki and her father, "Ken Sanada". A mad scientist of sorts with a knack for good humor, but mostly just ends up annoying Kazuki.--Yet, 'alls-well-&-ends-well', Kazuki battles evil with mechs looking suspiciously like "EVAs", & a threat to wipe out the universe is accompanied by Takahashi-esque love triangles. Of course, this nearly-accurate description would be quite close to summing up the main plot of "Dual!" Well I hope that three paragraph summary of Dual's plot does the trick for ya, because it sure as heck doesn't do it for me; considering I've spent half my pondering, simply pondering the terrain of this show. Terrain which somehow manages to cover amusing wavelengths of both "El Hazzard", "Neon Genisis Evangelion", "Tenchi Muyo!" & "Oh My Goddess!". "Dual!" has often been described by fans as a joint venture of any one of those four; and that just about sums it up for anyone remotely interested in the idea. The job of me as a reviewer however, is to carefully distinguish those ideas which I find to be either good, bad or simply recycled trash. Study. Also, promote my constructive anaylsis of someone else's fine art. I myself admit, I didn't know what to think of this series when I first saw it. It's sort of like a permutation of both "Tenchi Muyo!" & "Evangelion"; as if the cast of each interchanged realms & traded one another's souls, in order to produce a T.V. series... Did I say "as if", I meant literally. I hadn't heard that much about Dual!, up until the time I had first seen it, having only heard a few things here & there about it; through various articles & friends. Well, in all seriousness (pretending to believe that Tenchi & EVA never existed), I sat down quietly and watched the strenuous 13 eps... Boy, could I have been any more wrong? If Dual! is a huge animé in-joke, as well as the definition of "guilty pleasure"; it's both of those things & much more. I was expecting extreme sci-fi/anime exploitation, something for the ardent onlookers to sink their teeth into, ponder & criticize. I expected long, LONG half-hour episodes. Which would go by slowly like implements of torture (some of the atrocious Hentai fandom comes to mind, & right back out again*_*..!). I guess it should also be noted, that Dual gets off to the slowest start I've ever seen in an anime (even more than Rurouni Kenshin T.V.). But it's a wait that's both enduring & worth it. Succeeding in encompassing everything I love about anime both good & bad. Which comes to my point: don't get (entirely) the wrong idea about this show; we've all seen it's kind before. The main gist centers around a hostile force known as the "Rara", they engorge the "alternate dimension", which Kazuki has somehow become a part of; which he also happens to reside in, within the other universe (don't ask, just watch). There are supposedly two alternate UN's, each one with headquarters based in both worlds led by "Ken Sanada" (who is actually Mitsuki's father in both worlds--it would seem that it doesn't matter who leads "National Defence Forces" in animes these days). To attempt to examin the story of Dual is to get yourself in a mad frenzy; pointless and mindbending, depending on how you look at things. Despite all this, the showcase here is the wonderful relationship between the two main characters: Kazuki & Mitsuki. Kazuki meets many people in the alternate world. Some of the more interesting ones are in the form of a spunky teacher named "Yayoi", and the elusive "D". No, not the vampire hunter, the always noble and friendly "bio-droid" who's kind of like a mellowed-out "Ryoko" & "Ayeka" w/all the trimmings. However, on account that she's nearly mute, & has a thing for self-sacrifice speaks wonders for the "Rei Ayanami" realm & elseware; you be the judge... Of course, we're not pressing SPOILERS here either. All in all, I liked Dual a lot; for many reasons. Mainly because it succeeds in establishing a unique pace of it's own. It's more concerned with simply telling a good story, than it is in exploiting styles or random elements. All of which here, have been derived from abundant sources; but all in good humor nonetheless. The characters in Dual however, are not so much in depth as they are passive. They seem to fill the void on screen more than they encompass a world of their own. But I suppose that's the whole catch of Dual, we're expected to sit back and enjoy things without acquiring our intellect to do so. It was refreshing to see a series which just gets back to basics, without exploiting them to the point of silliness. As shallow and contrived the characters are in Dual, there is not a single one which I could say I did not care about. All the way down to the eccentric & brilliantly mad scientist Ken Sanada, and the lovely "Mitsuki Rara" (who's actually the counterpart of Mitsuki Sanada, minus the 'Asuka Langley Soryu'-attributes; she also reminds me of "Belldandy" from "Oh My Goddess!"). All in all, "Dual" makes a good weekend's worth watch; with good characters & animation to boot (which is a bit plain, but nice considering the tone & plot). I highly recommend Dual!, and I enjoyed it on all these levels. As a mech or sci-fi, it's not exactly your A-grade "Chardonnay", but it sure beats the heck out of your plethora of 'cold duck' wannabees. Seen here, or in any alternate parallel dimensions of entertainment. Click Here To See Overvew! |
