Taiman Blues: Ladies-hen - Mayumi

“Taiman Blues: Ladies-hen - Mayumi” tells a simple and straightforward story about growing up, finding yourself and moving on. The plot can be a little too black-and-white at times, and upon close scrutiny, some elements that drive the plot forward are unexplained or difficult to believe. However, the story is told competently, so it keeps you invested. Although “Mayumi” is considered a spinoff of “Taiman Blues: Shimizu Naoto-hen,” it’s a completely separate work, with a different story and characters. And that’s a good thing, because this is a superior work to “Shimizu Naoto-hen” in all respects. The plot is interesting, the characters are easy to sympathizewith and their development seems realistic, and the animation, voice acting, etc. are generally decent. The story revolves around a 15-year-old girl named Mayumi who runs away from home after her new stepfather tries to rape her. She ends up in Osaka, and immediately gets kidnapped by a biker gang that gets caught by the police, only to get rescued by a woman named Noriko, a 19-year-old who lives by herself. Finding out that Mayumi doesn’t have a place to stay, she lets Mayumi stay with her, and helps her find a job at a gas station. Through more run-ins with dangerous gangs, Noriko decides to form a ladies’ motorcycle riding group, with Mayumi as one of the members. As they continue to deal with rival gangs that just don't want to let them have fun, and keep picking on them because they’re women, Mayumi gains a lot of life experience and a sense of camaraderie with her fellow bikers. But something tragic happens, which brings all of this to a halt… In hindsight, the way the story plays out is rather predictable, but it’s still engaging, and I especially like how the characters are depicted as growing up and going their own separate ways, while still maintaining their friendship. Most notably, Mayumi starts out speaking standard Japanese, but in the second episode, which occurs after a 2-year timeskip, she’s speaking with a Kansai accent like a local, which signifies her character’s development. Other members of their group don’t get into the spotlight much, but they have distinct personalities and designs, and we see glimpses of their lives outside of the group (one works in a salon, two others work in a cafe, etc.) Characters outside of this central group are just barely there, especially the guys. The most important male character is probably Mayumi’s love interest, Tashiro, but he doesn’t get much on-screen time. The focus here is primarily on the ladies. As mentioned above, the technical aspects are decent, although the timeline can be a bit jumpy in both episodes, which makes things confusing at times. The direction in general is pretty good, however. The animation is above average, but sometimes still shots are used during action scenes, and facial expressions can be stiff. The voice acting is good. The soundtrack has a very rock-and-roll feel to it, with a number of catchy songs, mostly sung by the same person/group. The ballad that ends the second episode, and the upbeat song that plays during the slideshow afterwards, stand out in particular. Regarding the slideshow, like the first “Taiman Blues,” there’s a slideshow at the end of each episode with actual pictures of delinquents that I guess they sent in to be featured on this OVA, which is an interesting feature. As for objectionable content, there’s an attempted rape scene, a scene where a guy forcibly starts making out with and inappropriately touching a girl, a rather traumatic death scene, and graphic violence (gang fights). On the whole, it’s pretty tame, however. Overall, “Mayumi” was a pleasant surprise in that it was not only watchable, but also engaging. I felt invested in the story, and wanted to see what would happen with the characters. Although it can be rather simplistic at times, the fundamental aspects of the story are solid. Recommended.