Those who are familiar with ‘70s anime action heroes will find Time Bokan enjoyable while all other fans will enjoy a nonsensical romp through the zany and often twisted humor of Japanese animators.

Time Bokan OAV
(2004) OAV series (two episodes). Director: Akira Shigino. 60 minutes. DVD bilingual $9.99. Distributor: U.S. Manga Corps

Tatsunoko Production is a legend in the anime community. Starting back in 1965 they have produced some of the most classic and beloved anime series ever. Titles, such as Gatchaman, Robotech and Speed Racer, are just a few of the gems to have sprung from the amazing talents at Tatsunoko Production. Even today they still produce some really outstanding anime, with series production highlights, such as Video Girl Ai and even a remake of Speed Racer.

So, I find it funny that when a studio like Tatsunoko creates an anime OAV series, such as Time Bokan. Apparently this story takes place after the original Time Bokan TV series that aired back in the early '70s. The amusing part about this DVD is not that it is a plot line continuation of the original TV series, but that it was intentionally produced to make fun of Tatsunoko Production. Yes, much like Joe Namath in panty hose or Ozzy Osborne attempting to sing the American national anthem, it is always funny when poking fun at a legend.

Well, for those out there who are more familiar with '70s anime action heroes like Tekkaman and Casshan, Time Bokan will be an enjoyable experience. The rest of fandom will find it to be a nonsensical romp through the zany and often twisted humor of Japanese animators. A certain degree of familiarity with the older anime series and characters is a prerequisite to understand most of the shows content and humor. That being said, for those that can mimic the hero pose of every '70s mecha, the comedy in Time Bokan is pure gold. So many excellent choices were made in the production of this show that only the most fanboy of all fanboys will truly appreciate this DVD. Time Bokan's story seems to really only exist to provide a platform for which the comedy may ensue. But, I will attempt to sum it up, regardless of the futility.

It appears that the main characters of this story are the Dorombo Gang. The first episode is a race between seven trios of villains each in their own mech. Each trio is the exact same set of three people, a tall skinny smart guy with a weird nose, a short hoodlum/thug type person, and a young lady for eye candy. They are all washed up villains from the previous TV series and the winner gets a part in an upcoming movie. In standard '70s villain style, cheating and dastardly deeds abound, all of which seem to end in slapstick goodness.

Time Bokan's style has gone beyond retro and harkens back to older anime's use of modern animation techniques. Original Japanese version Time Bokan 2002 Tatsunoko Production Co. Ltd. English version 2004 Tatsunoko Production Co. Ltd.

In the second episode, the Dorombo Gang receives orders from their leader Dokurobe to steal a stone from the hidden kingdom of Tatsunoko. With their new mech, which happens to be in the form of a little first grade girl, they set out on their mission. A ton of cameos are made in this episode and most of the fun is picking them all out. The bulk of this episode's humor comes from poking fun at every type of anime from kid stuff through hentai. If anyone remembers a mech that used to make little boys blush called Aphrodite from Mazinger Z (Tranzor Z) there is a joke in this episode that may cause loss of bladder control.

To begin with, the art style of this OAV has gone beyond retro and has landed squarely upon antiquated. 009-1 and other modern animes that have an art style that harkens back to the older animes utilize modern animation techniques like CG. The Time Bokan art style is entirely old school relying solely on hand drawn techniques. And, I wouldn't have it any other way, because the look of this show really is an integral part of the humor. If the copyright date was not printed on the back jacket I would have a hard time believing that this was produced in the 21^st century. The entire show is hand drawn with every cheesy little cheat that fans love to hate in shows like Speed Racer.

Each vehicle is only drawn from four angles -- front, side, back and front three quarters. No attempt was made to tween any additional rotations. Just like in Speed Racer, a vehicle will enter the frame in the correct perspective, but then will not change perspective until it moves into one of the other pre-drawn views. Character styles, especially their outfits, would have been right at home four decades ago. Everything is deliberately dated and stylized making things lots of fun to watch.

Audio has been given a similar treatment as the animation. All the music is performed in that synthesized '70s style tone. I half expected the audio to have a crackle in it from the recording. Even the sound effects are the same type used in older anime. It is a very nostalgic experience just listening to Time Bokan. The Japanese language version is very well done with perfectly mated voices to each character. English voices, while they are not going to win any awards, are at the very least a really good attempt. There is some added humor with various accents and impressions, but, sadly, they are not consistent throughout the episodes.