Graviton City

Project A-ko 2: Plot of the Daitokuji Financial Group

This movie is set three weeks after the end of Project "A" ko. The aliens have settled in to their new life on earth, and have even managed to repair and convert their stranded space ship into a recreation centre, which they have donated to Graviton City as a good will gesture. The girls have returned to school, and with their new uniforms, they are settling in nicely. A-ko still runs late, and C-ko still hasn't got a clue. B-ko still hates A-ko and continues plans to take C-ko for her own. Everything seems wonderful as the school term ends, and the holidays are just around the corner.

This is how the movie begins. Graviton City is about as normal as it gets, and you have the feeling it is going to change very quickly: This is A-ko after all! Unfortunately it doesn't! At least not immediately. Where the plot and pacing of the first movie was almost flawless, Project A-ko 2 seems to spend the first half of the movie trying to get into a groove. The plot wanders aimlessly around from one amusing situation to the next. Once a story does begin to show itself, it is sadly lackluster. Showing as little imagination as the average "Scooby Doo" cartoon, the writers seem to have just taken the characters, and followed the logic though. There are no surprises, no twists and little to keep the mind going. A dramatic change from the first movie.

However, this does not make the movie completely unenjoyable! With characters as entertaining and as lovable as the ABC girls, it's hard to go wrong. Many amusing scenes occur throughout the movie, including several visual jokes reminiscent of the first movie. The trademark panty shots are present, though not with quite as much abundance, B-ko's magnificent battle suit makes an appearance, and the mecha just keep on getting BIGGER. But it's just not enough.

You can watch this movie and enjoy it for the visual humor, and the situations. You can enjoy the movie for the wonderful artwork, which is not diminished in the slightest. It is very easy to love the characters, just like you could in the first movie. Project A-ko 2 just does not measure up to the original however. There is nothing tying all the scenes, situations and characters together.

The English dub of the movie is also a complete turnaround from movie one. For starters, the entire voice cast is different. Gone are the voices of A-ko, B-ko and C-ko that we have identified with the characters we love. Its difficult to look at them in the same way again. The roles were read and not acted, and the result is a flat performance. I missed hearing B-ko's voice breaking when she talked about her torment, I missed A-ko's breathless battle cries, and C-ko's characteristic whining was grating instead of amusing.

The wonderful soundtrack of the first movie is gone as well. This may be due to the fact that Joey Carbone and Richie Zito did not work on this film, but the music was a major part of what made me fall in love with Project A-ko. Instead of the haunting "In your eyes" and happy "Dance away", we must be content with disjointed synthisised pop-rock pieces filling the gaps between scenes. The only song we hear is during the closing credits, with the original Japanese lyrics. This tune is comparable to other good anime music, but does not stand out.

I may sound overly critical about Project A-ko 2, but don't get me wrong! I enjoyed the movie for what it was, but after the brilliance of the first move, I have to confess, Project A-ko 2, The Plot of the Daitokuji Financial Group was a disappointment.