Review of You`re Under Arrest: The Complete OVAs

Introduction

Kosuke Fujishima is better known in the West for his delightful Ah My Goddess manga, which at long last has had the television series treatment. For an earlier success from Fujishima, you would have to look at You`re Under Arrest, a similar in tone series that relates the trials and tribulations of the Tokyo traffic police through two of their members. But as with many early anime series, we in the UK got the short end of the stick. 52 episodes of You`re Under Arrest were released in the US, but all we got were the Mini Specials, the You`re Under Arrest Movie, and these four OVA episodes that kicked the whole anime adaptation off.

Natsumi Tsujimoto and Miyuki Kobayakawa are partners in the Tokyo traffic police, and these four episodes relate how that partnership began, as they face reckless drivers on the streets, and relationship troubles in the office.

1. And So They Met
It isn`t the best start for a new job. Natsumi is late for work on her first day, loses her lunch, nearly runs over a cat, and winds up being ticketed by her future partner. The outspoken and brash Natsumi and the meticulous and refined Miyuki seem ill suited to each other, then a red Mini starts tearing up the neighbourhood.

2. Tokyo Typhoon Rally
There`s bad weather on the way, which is the signal for a Yellow Lancia to make its appearance. Every year in typhoon season the thoughtless driver threatens the city streets. But more importantly, a pregnant kitty needs help.

3. Love`s Highway Stars
Motorcycle cop Ken Nakajima and Miyuki have an unrequited love thing going, and Ken gets the wrong end of the stick when Miyuki takes a weekend off, just when he sparks up the gumption to ask her out. He`s going to need some moral support, and Natsumi is there, but wires are bound to get crossed.

4. On The Road Again
Miyuki and Natsumi`s partnership may be over before it even gets started. The strains are beginning to show, and when Natsumi gets the chance to be a bike trooper, she jumps at the chance for promotion, even though it means a transfer. Then the phantom mini makes a reappearance.

Video

This disc is positively creaky. It`s a port of an even more decrepit US disc, and as such the age really does tell. The 4:3 image is soft, prone to pixellation, with a couple of tape artefacts betraying its roots. There is some aliasing and cross colouration, but it is still possible to enjoy the disc despite the flaws.

It`s still something of a shame though as the animation is simply marvellous, and stands up well against current shows, despite the 13 year gap and complete absence of CGI precision. The character designs are charming, as you would expect from the same source as Ah My Goddess, but the animation is fluid and energetic, and the attention to detail is stunning. This could be a show designed for petrolheads. The cars, bikes and similar machinery are drawn with a spectacular degree of realism. Add to that the attention paid to shadow and light, the animation of reflective surfaces, and the end result puts theatrical features to shame.

Audio

An early disc means all that you get is a DD 2.0 English track, although the credit songs are in Japanese with burnt in subtitles. The stereo is effective, with some nice placement of effects, but there is a slight distortion on the higher end of things. The English dub is eccentric, with some odd word choices, and there are more than a few US colloquialisms that seem totally out of place in the Tokyo police department, but the voice actor performances suit the characters well, and the end result is pleasing.

Features

There is a photo gallery with 48 stills from the episodes.

Conclusion

You`re Under Arrest is sweet, charming and fun. It`d be hard to expect otherwise from the creator of Ah My Goddess, and this show is more about the characters than it is about hard-bitten criminals and dastardly crimes. This is more Heartbeat and Blue Heelers than it is CSI or Hill Street Blues. There may be a fair few car chases, but they rarely get hairy, and more important are the interpersonal relationships at the office, the health of a needy pussycat, and the enforcement of good driving discipline. Any miscreants collared by our heroes are more likely to get a stern talking to than any serious jail time.

The emphasis is on comedy, with the usual awkwardness of unrequited love between Ken and Miyuki making for much of the fun, especially as the rest of the office simply has to get involved, either to `help out` or just have a good gossip. It gets to the point where the Captain has to take a personal hand in matters.

In a show about traffic police, there is a delightful attention to detail in the design of the machinery, from the dashboards to the tyres. A fair portion of the budget must have gone on licensing fees, given the degree of accuracy with which the cars and bikes are recreated. And contrary to every Hollywood production that will have you believe that all car chases have to involve 5-litre muscle cars the size of tanks, the cars in You`re Under Arrest are small and nippy, as suits a crowded urban nation. The Italian Job showed that Minis could be even more fun than Dodges and Mustangs, and it`s nice to see a Mini pop up again here.

Your Under Arrest is a delightful anime, with charming characters and light fluffy stories. It`s the perfect show to watch when you just want a feel good experience. It`s very rare for an old anime to get a re-release in the UK, but the animation has more than stood the test of time. It`s still better than many shows being made today. You`re Under Arrest: The Complete OVAs would really benefit from a re-release, given a decent transfer as well as the original Japanese audio. But until that day, this barebones disc will suffice. It`s well worth looking up.