Risky Safety: Omishi Magical Theater. © AN Entertainment.

As the series progresses, Moe is tempted to help them win their promotions. But she can’t really let Risky tempt her school friends into killing themselves, and none are in such dire straits that Safety can win her halo by helping them. Besides, how can Moe help both Risky and Safety?

An average American adaptation of Risky Safety would turn the two sprites into a standard “devil” and “angel.” AN Entertainment’s translation retains Risky’s Japanese identification as a shinigami, literally a “death spirit” who leads souls of the newly dead to the Underworld. The traditional Japanese idea of hell is closer to that of Greek and Roman mythology; not a place you would want to visit, but without the atmosphere of evil, terror, torture and pain associated with the Christian idea of hell. Risky performs a needed service, so there is no moral problem with Moe wanting to help him. A subplot is that Moe is confused by the aspects of foreign culture she studies in school (misidentifying French words as English; to her everything is either “Japanese” or “non-Japanese”), and she is equally confused over differences between Christian, Buddhist and “traditional” ideas about the afterlife.

Risky Safety is the first release of the new AN Entertainment company. Vol. 1 includes a booklet of cultural notes covering details that most other companies would ignore, such as the differences between the honorifics: -san, -sama, -kun and -chan. Tokyo Tower, which is frequently seen in anime panoramas of Tokyo without any explanation, is described: “The world’s largest self-supporting iron structure, standing 13 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower. It’s also one of Tokyo’s most identifiable landmarks. Tokyo Tower is a relay tower for nine TV stations and five FM radio stations, and is a favorite tourist attraction for both Japanese natives and foreign tourists.” The original broadcast date for each episode is also given. Such thoughtfulness will gain AN Entertainment much good karma from serious students of anime and of Japanese culture.

Fred Patten has written on anime for fan and professional magazines since the late 1970s. He wrote the liner notes for Rhino Entertainment’s The Best of Anime music CD (1998), and was a contributor to The World Encyclopedia of Cartoons, 2nd Edition, ed. by Maurice Horn (1999) and Animation in Asia and the Pacific, ed. by John A. Lent (2001).