K.O. Beast Anime Review

Quick Review

• Reviewer: Marc
• Review Date: 2005-11-10 (updated 2012-07-20)
• 2 stars out of 5 (?)

K.O. Beast is exactly what it looks like: stupid, manic, juvenile comedy. Do not expect any original plot whatsoever, anything that looks like backstory, or anything remotely resembling character development. Even the jokes, which aim low and hit even lower, are about as stale as they come (with a few rare exceptions). Thankfully, at least it's reasonably good stupid, manic, juvenile comedy. The banter is non-stop and likably acted with plenty of spunk in both Japanese and English, the animation is colorful and fast enough to keep up, and there are even a couple of jokes stupid enough to be really funny. Sadly, the first couple of episodes and the final one are much lighter on the humor and heavier on the drama, and therefore also mostly bad.

K.O. Beast is not for people looking for anything even close to originality, or for people who do not have an extreme tolerance for lame, overused jokes and endless pratfalls. If you're so inclined, though, it should at least make for an amusing diversion once you get past the first couple of episodes.

Read the full-length review...

Full Review

• Reviewer: Marc
• Review Date: 2005-11-10 (updated 2012-07-20)
• 2 stars out of 5 (?)

K.O. Beast: Doing its part to prove that you can never have too many series involving bickering idiot heroes who randomly transform into animals trying to save the world from posturing villains. Nope, there's about as much original material in here as leftovers on their third run through the microwave, but to its credit there is plenty of manic humor and "little things hitting each other."¹ It neither starts nor ends well, though, so on balance it's only barely worthwhile even for what it is.

K.O. Beast's plot is the sort of embarrassingly bad material you'd expect in a lame kids' show. The series' biggest issue is that at the beginning and end it's moving slowly enough to notice, plus you're not being distracted by the equally juvenile but decidedly better-executed comedy. There's a pretty clear bell curve to it: The set-up episode is cringe-worthy if you've hit puberty, and the second is only marginally better, but in the third through sixth the lame comedy is fast-and-furious enough to be worth a few laughs. Then it tries to get serious and wrap up the story in the final episode, which amounts to a long, boring cliche. If you're not too ashamed to sit through enough to get to the meat, and overlook the end, it's not nearly as bad as it looks at first.

Here's what not to expect: Any original plot whatsoever (random village-leader heroes must save the world from bad people in big shoulder pads), anything resembling backstory (the setting makes zero sense until the pointless exposition of the final episode), or anything even close to character development (so little I can't even think of anything sarcastic to say). Even the jokes, which aim low and hit even lower, are about as stale as they come (with a few rare exceptions). Nope, K.O. Beast is exactly what it looks like: stupid, manic, juvenile comedy.

Thankfully, at least it's reasonably good stupid, manic, juvenile comedy. Once it gets going, the three main heroes rev up the banter and insist on putting their own stupidity and base desires above absolutely anything else so relentlessly that it's actually pretty funny. (The fourth hero, Tuttle,² does nothing but whine dramatically and wear a cool hat.) The pacing is rather harried, running over some punch lines, and the jokes push even my fairly high tolerance for dumb-but-rapid-fire humor, but at least it rarely slows down long enough for you to realize how lame it really is.

The only other thing worth mentioning is a small handful of sufficiently wacky tidbits--mostly little throwaway things in the background like Mei-Mer's shocked expressions--that are just enough to register on my lame-but-good humor meter. If you're watching the Japanese version you'll also be treated to Bud's dramatic-yet-awkward exclamation of "Son of a bitch!" (in English) while flipping off the villain (yes, a bird flipping the bird). Bud's Star-Spangled-Top-Hat-bedecked grandfather is also out-there enough to elicit a chuckle.

The voice acting carries all this chaos, and is the series' main strength. The three veteran leads in the Japanese cast--Kappei Yamaguchi as chipper Wan, Mika Kanai as Mei Mer, and Takehito Koyasu as smooth-talking Bud--pull off all manner of screeching, hollering, panicking, and (in the case of Bud) rapid switches between greasy-smooth cheese and entirely un-cool squawking (both figuratively and literally). Koyasu also manages to do a passable job of pronouncing the English his dialogue is heavily seasoned with. On the villainous side Naoko Matsui gives the little devil Akumako an amusingly screechy little voice, and V-Darn, voiced by Yasunori Matsumoto, isn't bad either. The rest of the cast isn't so good--Kouzou Shioya is so so as Tuttle/Mekka and Rumi Shishido as Yuni is downright weak--but thankfully neither of them have much to say. Ai Orikasa also makes an appearance late in the series in a semi-dramatic role, but has little worthwhile to do.

The English is, surprisingly, just about as good. The standout is definitely Sam Regal as Wan, who keeps up remarkably well with the chipper, goofy Japanese version, but Bud's smooth-talkin'/high-pitched squawkin', supplied by Liam O'Brien, is also right up there. The translators (and actors, and director) also do a remarkably good job with some very tough-to-follow dialogue, matching the action and original dialogue relatively well while still keeping up the flow and plenty of funny. The dub crew also managed a good transition from Bud's English-sprinkled Japanese dialogue to something appropriately cheesily-smooth without the benefit of being able to insert "I'm so cool" English phrases all over the place.

The old-school visuals certainly do their part to hold up the action. Cute, somewhat old-fashioned art (it has that rougher, early-'90s look to it), lots of bright colors, and a whole lot of animation that's actually fast enough to keep up with the barrage of humor--about all you could really ask for. Throw in several dramatically cheesy robot transformation sequences and you're set.

Oh, yes, there's also music in there. Hirohiko Fukuda's background music is barely even noticeable, but the opening themes are quite amusing. On one hand there's the lively classic rock and roll intro that RightStuf used for all seven episodes, and on the other there's a terribly sung but also terribly catchy theme that was originally used on the first three episodes (they thankfully kick it in as a bonus on the first DVD).

In all, K.O. Beast is not for people looking for anything even close to originality, or for people who do not have an extreme tolerance for lame, overused jokes and endless pratfalls. It is, however, plenty manic, and the spunky banter between the lead characters in both languages is enough to at least make for an amusing diversion for those so inclined. Just beware of the "dramatic" episodes taking up space at the beginning and end.

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When it comes to frantic, stupid, old-school comedy/action, the reigning king is Gokudo--relentlessly weird and considerably funnier. The obscure Dragon Slayer is also worth a look as a truly hyperactive fantasy romp, and there's always Slayers for characters with a mission far more serious than themselves.