I confess, today’s review is being done because I saw Bennett The Sage show it off at the end of his most recent video. This post isn’t being done in an attempt to thwart him, but rather because it sent a ping to my memory. A memory of a purchase that, in hindsight, I somewhat regret. A acquisition of an anime that, while not awful, isn’t one of the best I’ve seen. What show would cause me to think this? Well, take a look at my review of Demon Fighter Kocho, and see the “Derp” I got myself into.
Story/Setup
Taken from the DVD Case:
“Heian University may not have much class-work, but it does have the only Astrology program which offers hands-on experience! When a horde of angry spirits terrorize the school, a nubile young astrology student, Kocho Enoki, must use both her magical powers and her sexy curves to subdue the invaders. Along with her beautiful sister Koran, and the human demon-bait Kosaku, she fights to protect Heian University. But what will the hapless demon hunters do when a female spirit attacks one who is immune to Kocho's feminine charms?”
Compared to some of the other story descriptions from shows I reviewed, this truly is all that’s there. It’s not very deep, not really engaging, and overall is pure unadulterated fluff. That said, there are some WTF moments here & there, but more often than not they are spaced between chunks of “Meh”. In an odd move, this story plays out over the course of a single OVA rather that a small few episodes. If it played out over 3 to 4 videos it might have actually worked, but alas this was not meant to be. Even worse, this plays out for under a half hour. 25 minutes & 37 seconds to be exact......and that’s excluding the credits!
Also, this OVA has to be the biggest Devil Hunter Yohko ripoff I’ve ever seen! Similar setup, similar characters, you name it. Sure, Yohko wasn’t the deepest 90s anime, but it had way more substance & personality than Kocho!
Animation
Despite coming out in the late 90s (May 21st of 1997 to be exact), Demon Fighter Kocho looks like it comes from the early 90s. It’s not an ugly OVA to look at by any means, but you can definitely feel an amateur vibe from it. There are moments where things look a little better, and there’s some trippy sequences, but they’re few & far between. I wouldn’t necessarily correct anyone if they thought that the animation was done with the bare minimum. In short, your eyes won’t be bleeding, but at the same time you’ll probably go “Eh”.
Voice Acting
The English dub of Demon Fighter Kocho was honestly not that bad. Everybody seems to be pulling their weight during the course of the OVA, even if some of them become forgotten by the time it’s done. Jessica Calvello is perfect as Kocho, Mike Pollock works as the wise & pervy Professor Kamo, and Jamie McGonnigal captures the youthful energy of Kosaku. Koran is the only one that seems lost in the shuffle, but that’s because I can find nothing on the character’s voice actor (Amy Fitz). Everybody else does a fine job, but they don’t stick in my head.
Also, my favorite line is early on in the OVA, and it’s as follows. “Titty booby titty booby! Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy!”. To make it more ridiculous, this was an original line also, not one made by the studio.
Characters
Characters are a hit or miss in Demon Fighter Kocho......but mostly a miss. On the one hand, we got 4 characters the OVA concentrates: the titular Kocho, her boyfriend Kosaku, their teacher Professor Kamo, and Kocho’s dirty little sister Koran. They have a majority of the screentime, and thus we learn about them the most. On the other hand, they never change their personality over the course of the show. Kosaku & the professor are pervy but helpful, Kocho is plucky but badass, and Koran is just a brat. On top of that, every secondary character is incredibly forgettable. Even the big baddie doesn’t really have anything to them, and I can’t remember if they have a name or not!
Availability & Pricing
Demon Fighter Kocho is a shockingly expensive OVA. Not by a massive amount, but it does costs a little. Over on Amazon there are only 3 new copies available, with the price ranging from 21 dollars to 34 dollars. Used copies fair much better, with the range between 10 to 20 dollars. It’s not surprising that there aren’t many copies around, since it’s an Anime Works title. Ironically, I actually bought my from Genericon years ago, and it was a new copy for I believe 10 dollars. For such a trash show, I could have done worse.
Overall Impression & Rating
Demon Fighter Kocho is.....not good. There are plenty of trash anime titles that are out there to watch (Read my review for a great trash anime here), but don’t make this one of them. It’s not an abomination by any means, but due to it’s lack of depth, character, and running time, it’s forgettable by the time it’s done. If you are absolutely desperate to waste a half-hour, you can do much worse than Demon Fighter Kocho. Otherwise, just leave it on the shelf if you see it.
Demon Fighter Kocho gets a 6 out of 10 at it’s best, but a 5 out of 10 at it’s worst.
So that was my first anime review of 2019. Again, this wasn’t a great OVA to start off the year with, but it wasn’t a complete abomination. However, I got one more thing to review in January, so get ready for some Obscurus Metalus!
***
One more thing: the biggest highlights of Demon Fighter Kocho were the extras. Seeing the actors in the booths was cool & funny, and watching the viewing party of the OVA kinda brought a smile to my face in a weird way. Also, this OVA was actually based on a manga. I can’t find any pages, save for some low-quality images of the volume covers you see below.
Demon Fighter Kocho (Sub)
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