Project A-ko was the launch anime for the Edinburgh week of Scotland Loves Anime, and it feels like a curious choice to kick off a festival. This 1980s feature is a stereotype of its era, focusing almost exclusively on a trio of 16-year-old Japanese schoolgirls.
The compère for the evening set expectations low, introducing the film as a “creature of its time” that possessed some cringe-worthy moments. He hoped the good would outweigh the bad; unfortunately, I am not convinced it did. Not all moments are equal, and the significant cringes, which include racial caricatures and a relentless focus on upskirt shots during action scenes, cast a long shadow over the entire experience.
Characters and Chaos
The plot, such as it is, centres on the relationship between three young women. We have the super-powered A-ko, her best friend C-ko, and B-ko, the rich rival they meet at their new school. B-ko immediately falls in love with C-ko and begins a campaign of manipulation and bullying to woo her.
This being anime, B-ko’s plans quickly escalate from schoolyard rivalry to building giant attack robots in order to steal C-ko away. This forms the primary conflict: A-ko, who possesses almost comedic levels of superpowers, must fight off B-ko’s increasingly madcap schemes. The relationships are entirely two-dimensional, serving only as a flimsy framework for the next fight. Thankfully, there is a complication: aliens invade about two-thirds of the way through, providing a new backdrop for the girls to continue their squabbling.
Frantic Animation, Fading Appeal
When the action finally arrives, it is dramatic and frantic. The brawl eventually moves from school grounds to the alien invaders, with A-ko deploying her martial arts and superhero-style powers against the new threat. Things escalate wildly from there.
The animation is certainly energetic, but the spectacle feels hollow. The audience here in Edinburgh laughed at some of the absurdity, but I definitely heard some uncomfortable cringes in those later laughs.
While Project A-ko is an interesting piece of anime history, it is difficult to celebrate in a modern venue. I am not surprised it was not a packed cinema. Perhaps we should simply accept this sort of thing happened in the 80s and move on. I am sure there are better anime to launch a festival week with; sometimes it is best to let past hits fade gracefully into history.
Unoffiical fan awards! If you liked Project A-Ko better than me, you can vote for it in the unofficial SLA-ED awards.
