KO Beast II

Comedy antics abound in the second series of KO Beast. There has been a slight change, with Fujishima Kosuke taking over the clothing design. As a result everyone looks more "RPG", and Mekka/Tuttle has a nifty wide brimmed hat that makes him suitable for wild west adventures.

In these episodes the search for Gaia continues, and first the musketeers search for a man who might be able to repair their totems. The man is actually a boar ... who disguises his shortness by standing on top of his son and wearing a long flowing cloak.
A town of beasts was a good opportunity to show beasts living on a day to day basis. V-Darn tracked the musketeers by wearing a beast disguise, which was funny enough ... but then he stole fish from a stall.
'You can't pay?' said the owner, knocking him to the ground, 'Then you shall pay in pain!', and the townsfolk joined him in kicking him when he was down. At times, the humour is riotous. The town of sea-beasts was slightly less interesting, although Mei-Mer's mother was a hoot. V-Darn and V-Sion's "sexual tension" was brilliant, as was Akumako's comeuppance.
The serious stuff was also good, with lots of inobtrusive exposition explaining almost everything that you could possibly want to know ... with the exception of the biggest twist that the writers sprung. Even at the end, it wasn't quite certain where one of the characters actually came from.

Gone from this series also were the recurring jokes of the first; there was no more licking ... none of the main stuff other than Bud's incredible English. This allowed for some great new traditions, such as Yuni's glee at any sort of pain being inflicted upon anyone. The characterisation was generally strong, and Mekka's dedication to protecting the others (as he's not part of the inner circle) was again well developed). Although, where did the Humans get a tiny demon that feasts on souls from? It's best not to wonder these things.

Only two problems manifested themselves with the translation: "This must be what an octopus feels like in a trap" becomes "This must be what a Pokémon feels like in its Pokéball!" and the character CC Gal is renamed "SP. Icegal". The first seems an out of place pop-culture reference. At least it's anime, but messing with subtitles is not cool! As for the name change, it's very unwieldly. How is one supposed to even pronounce that?

Still, not much use quibbling over an otherwise highly enjoyable OVA from back when anything was possible. Oh, some very impressive animation at times, too.