Project A-ko: Love & Robots

“Project A-Ko 4” is the final entry in the main “Project A-Ko” series, and it’s arguably the weakest of them. It’s got plot threads that go nowhere, multiple fake-out endings and twists, and the girls continue to obsess over a guy who couldn’t care less. Even compared to the other three, whose stories are unrealistic to say the least, the way the plot develops in this OVA is pretty out there. I got the impression that the writers came up with 3 or 4 different storylines and tried to brainstorm a way to tie them all together before the episode ended. I say “tried” because theyweren’t successful; some of the plot threads just abruptly end — they attempted to turn them into gags but the punchlines fall flat. And the ending (the final one we get after the fake-outs) doesn’t make much sense. Similar to the previous OVA, in “4” the main characters tend to act out of character at times, usually with the purpose of delivering a joke that just doesn’t work. There are a few new minor characters introduced in this episode, and they don’t get much screen time and aren’t developed well. Also, although this is the last entry in the main series, the main characters have received little to no development (but I guess that’s normal for a show like this). We do get a little bit of development for the teacher, Miss Ayumi, though. The animation and art are on par with the rest of the episodes, as is the voice acting, so nothing to note there. The ending theme, “Sayonara no Signal,” is a rearranged version of the melody of the movie’s ending, “Follow Your Dream,” with completely different lyrics in Japanese. The background music is decent. Regarding objectionable content, this OVA has a few scenes with nudity, particularly one with a sex act being performed. There are some upskirt shots, which is normal for this series, and there is at least one crude joke in the dialogue. The violence is cartoonish. There are also some flashing lights here and there, so you may want to be careful when watching this if you are photosensitive. Overall, if you have watched “Project A-Ko” 1 through 3, you might as well watch “Project A-Ko 4” to finish the series, even though the conclusion is lacking in many aspects and won’t give you any closure. I wouldn’t recommend watching this OVA otherwise.

And so we come to the last Project A-ko film, and honestly, it's sort of a mixed bag. The plot is as zany as ever: A-ko and B-ko are still bickering over Kei, and then suddenly Miss Ayumi gets pulled into the mix with a marriage of convenience. On top of that, a huge alien invasion force decides to arrive at the worst time possible, of course. It's ridiculous, it's disorganized, and it's so A-ko. The thing is that while all the ingredients for a grand finale are present, the actual story never quite feels that strong. It just kind of jumps from joke tojoke without really making much of a conclusion, and that left me a little underwhelmed. The girls are just doing what they've always done, the good and bad of it. A-ko is still the super-powered, lovesick doofus heroine, B-ko is still the snobbish rich girl who overdoes things, and C-ko is still at the center of all the chaos. The new wedding plot gives them a reason to go crazy once more, and this is good for comedy, but not for adding anything in the way of depth. The rivalry between A-ko and B-ko, though, is still amusing, especially when their fights devolve into complete craziness. My personal favorite gag was when B-ko's bodyguards combined into mecha A-ko. That scene cracked me up, and it's precisely the kind of goofy parody that initially got me addicted to this show. Technically, I just can't complain. The animation is still fun to watch, with garish, over-the-top fight scenes that capture the tone of the series perfectly. The music continues the pace, and the voice acting is just as fine as it has been throughout all the installments. Although the story never really grabbed my interest, the production quality did hold up, which made the OVA even more bearable. Overall, I gave Project A-ko 4: Final a 6 out of 10. The comedy remains effective, the characters are as ridiculously silly as ever, and there are some great gags, but as a finale, it's really not very satisfying. It's a bit improved over the third entry, and I did enjoy it, but I can't help but regret that the series didn't conclude with a better finale.