You're Under Arrest (OAVs) Anime Review
You're Under Arrest (OAVs)
/ OVA / Comedy / 7-up
Bottom Line
Light, clean, well-done comedy.
It’s Like...
...Oh My Goddess! with police officers instead of deities.
Vital Stats
Original Title
逮捕しちゃうぞ
Romanized Title
Taiho Shichauzo
Literal Translation
I'll Arrest You
Animation Studio
Studio DEEN
US Release By
Genre
Police Precinct Romantic Comedy
Series Type
OVA
Length
4 25-minute episodes
Production Date
1994-09-23 - 1995-11-25
What's In It
Categories
Look For
- Cute Kids (watch for the soup kid)
- Police Chases
- Slapstick (a bit)
- Parody (just a tad)
Objectionable Content
- Violence: 1 (mild)
- Nudity: 1 (mild)
- Sex: 0 (none)
- Language: 1 (mild)
Plot Synopsis
Miyuki is a down-to-business cop with a passion for her job and a mechanical streak. Natsumi is a cop, too, but her penchant is for tooling around on a moped at unsafe speeds. And together, they are Bokutoo Precinct's newest pair of partners on patrol. At least, they're supposed to be...their styles don't exactly match, and before they've even met, Miyuki ends up chasing Natsumi around Tokyo and eventually nabbing her for half the moving violations in the book--and that's on Natsumi's way to work. Thus begins the tumultuous relationship of Bokutoo's fearsome female duo.
Quick Review
Note: This review is of the four-episode OAV series; these same four episodes make up the beginning of the TV series.
Fujishima Kosuke is best known for the light romance, wacky comedy, and gentle-heartstring-tugging of Oh My Goddess! You're Under Arrest! has a slightly different story and theme, but it's got the same feeling of light-hearted fun as his other "exclamation point included" series.
You're Under Arrest! is basically the story of two young female cops: Natsuki, a hothead with a motorbike, and Miyuki, the levelheaded one with a souped up mini-patrol car that she loves like a boyfriend. They of course don't get along well at first, but after a series of adventures (none of them terribly dramatic--rescuing cats and chasing joyriders through a hurricane) they learn to live with each other, and maybe offer some assistance with the ol' love life too. The friendship aspect is formula but light and fun, and some romance covers the drama toward the end of the series. The action is also fun, but isn't what you'd call life-threatening or even all that meaningful. Still, just as Oh My Goddess! managed to turn a sweet and very low-drama love story into an endearing series, this one manages to turn a formula situation comedy into an enjoyable little ride. Visually, You're Under Arrest! is a bit heavy on the pastels for my taste but the character designs are cute and the action isn't bad at all.
All in all, it's not as good as Oh My Goddess!, and its not a series for fans of drama or hard-hitting action, but it is a lot of fun to watch in spite of how lightweight it is.
Notes and Trivia
The original title, Taiho Shichauzo, translates literally as "I'll arrest you!", but since it's what Japanese Police yell at criminals, "You're Under Arrest!" is an appropriate translation. One other note about Japanese cops--the mini patrol car looks pretty silly by American police standards, but Japan is a different place, and it actually isn't that far from reality (nitrous oxide booster aside).
Staff & Cast
Original Japanese Cast
(names listed family name first)
Tsujimoto Natsumi: Tamagawa Sakiko
Kobayakawa Miyuki: Hiramatsu Akiko
Captain: Masamune Issei
Nakajima Ken: Shimada Bin
Nikaidou Yoriko: Kozakura Etsuko
Part 1:
Oshou: Arimoto Kinryu
Additional Voices: Shinno Toshimasa, Takemoto Takeshi, Hirosawa Megumi
Part 2:
Oshou: Arimoto Kinryu
Lancia Man: Matsuyama Takashi
Additional Voices: Konishi Takayuki, Shinno Masatoshi, Hirosawa Megumi, Ebata Hideyuki, Sudou Yuumi, Nakajima Tomomi, Outaki Yukihiro, Irino Jiyuu, Ono Yasutaka, Outaki Junpei
Part 3:
Kido: Okada Tatsuya
Hiroko: Itou Hiromi
Satomi: Hirosawa Megumi
Fumie: Hase Michie
Minako: Nakamura Chiharu
Additional Voices: Fukumoto Shin'ichi, Fukushima Mariko, Fujii Motonari, Ebata Hidehisa
Part 4:
Oshou: Arimoto Kinryu
Sakai: Nagashima Yoshiko
Instructor: Matsuyama Takashi
Additional Voices: Ebata Hidehisa, Fuji Motonari, Katsumata Tadashi, Gotou Kumi, Outaki Yukihiro, Outaki Junpei, Irino Jiyuu, Ono Yasutaka, Sudou Yumi, Takano Akika
Crew
Character Designs/Chief Animation Director: Nakajima Atsuko
Mechanical Designs: Murata Toshiharu
Music: Outani Kou
Director: Furuhashi Kazuhiro
Screenplay (part 1): Shimada Michiru
Screenplay (parts 2, 3, 4): Yokote Michiko
Animation Director (parts 1, 3): Matsutake Tokuyuki
Animation Director (part 2): Matsumoto Norio
Animation Director (part 4): Yamada Makoto
Animation Production: Studio DEEN
Availability
Available in North America from AnimEigo as the first volume of the TV Series box set. Was originally available on four individual subtitled or dubbed VHS tapes, or on two hybrid LDs.
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