Anime Pilgrimage RTT

Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko II – Episodes 1 to 3

April 26, 2004 on 5:52 pm | In Yamamoto Yohko | Comments Off on Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko II – Episodes 1 to 3

I really did not like this more than the first series. I did not like it at all.
Despite its OP set in the wild west, and its first ten minutes at waterparks, this isn’t an alternate universe, it’s a direct sequel. Everything that was wrong with the first three episodes remains as such here, although if it was possible less happens in these episodes.
Madoka is just a vehicle for tired shiny forehead jokes, and Ayano and Momiji are just … there. Yohko is self assured to the point of infuriation … and then Lote-chan of the first series drops in for fun. In the place of characterisation there’s long stretches of nothingness, as is the case for action scenes.
The idea of space war, not addressed since the first episode of the first series, becomes even more clumsily addressed as the episodes wear on. The horror based second episode had a few moments of atmosphere, but a couple of moments can do nothing to save this.

For anime made as recently as 1997, Yamamoto Yohko is ugly. The colours are all washed out, and the action sequences (described by some as “exciting dog fights”) are nothing more than blue and red lines against a background of stars. The four moments of fan service in both series were disappointing and failed to serve their purpose.
It’s a pity that such a talented cast was wasted on this production. Hayashibara Megumi, for one, is worse than she has ever sounded. It’s not about casting against type – she can do agitated characters quite well – it’s just … this role sucked.
I fell in love with Okui Masami through Shake It, the original theme of Yamamoto Yohko. It was a huge betrayal of my trust.

Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko was definitely not to my taste. It’s one of the more loathsome things I’ve watched in my time. Its inconsequential nature leaves a terrible taste in the mouth, despite the distinct feeling that in the last 90 minutes you watched nothing whatsoever.
Although it’s very cheap, I’ll give it that.