StoryThere is something endearing about old-school ecchi anime. Most of the
time it’s so bad, you just have to see it to believe that something so
bad could have been produced, and 1+2 = Paradise is certainly
no exception. In fact, the show even has moments in which I rewound
certain scenes to catch the utterly depraved hilarity once more.
The sloppily thrown together plot revolves around a young boy, Yuusuke,
who suffered a traumatic ordeal as a child at the hands of two
mischievous twins. Let’s just say playing “Doctors and Nurses” should
never involve a pair of scissors. Now, post puberty, he finds himself
face to face with the same girls once more as his gynaecologist father
attempts to cure his floozy-phobic son, who he sees as an embarrassment
to his profession. Competing for the opportunity to stay with the guy
and his father, sisters Rika and Yuka use every method at their
disposal to seduce their terrified victim. Employing dirty tactics such
as the naked apron technique, the two feel the need to help out with
some energetic polishing and vigorous rubbing as they clean the house.
Any bizarre cliché you can think of will not compare to the outlandish
behaviour unfolding onscreen; from one sister warming Yuusuke’s
underpants in her squish mitten, to the other's accidental slip that
sees her bound tightly against the protagonist wearing nothing but her
delicates, open mouthed disbelief is soon filled to the brim with
laughter.
Sadly, the second episode in this short OVA lacks the downright
perversion of the first. Introducing a third horny female just kills
the comedy love triangle that made the initial thirty minutes so
terribly hilarious. Watching four people chase around onscreen, the
show descends into a Benny Hill sketch, lacking only a trombone
accompaniment. A few more over the top situations find their way into
the latter show, such as Yuusuke somehow finding himself wearing a pair
of Yuka’s panties whilst she is still inside them, however they just
lack the finesse and depravity. It’s sad but true that removing the
ecchi from 1+2 = Paradise leaves nothing but a tedious husk that is almost painful to sit through.AnimationCheap, horrendous and not helped by a VHS rip, the visual quality of 1+2 = Paradise is god-awful. The poor character designs in the first of the two OVAs
almost seem like a Da Vinci masterpiece when compared with the bargain
bucket, budget slashed cast in the second episode. The once ginger
twins become squished faced blonde bimbos, and their rival Barako could
probably cut through a tin can with her angular chin. Emotions are
comically hammed up, and blank faces of disbelief are quite literally
that: warped wax heads where any features have completely melted away.
Verging on being awarded a medal for “most boobies shown in sixty
minutes”, the comical use of sweater potatoes is pretty dreadful, but
something to impress your friends with over a beer-fuelled conversation.SoundThe voice acting, although far from excellent, is actually passable.
Yuusuke sounds constantly tortured, and when not moaning sensually, the
harlot twins sound reasonably cute. The soundtrack doesn’t fair quite
as well, with the closing tune being instantly forgettable, and just
five minutes after watching the show, I can’t even remember if there
was any incidental music at all...CharactersI’m often curious about the mindset of a writer who seems to think that
a woman’s place in the home is to do nothing but pleasure her man.
Portraying every girl as a sex crazed maniac, character development is
forsaken in the name of showing more booby flesh, or exploiting another
panty shot. Yuusuke, although a complete wet flannel, is actually
relatively endearing. I usually tire quickly of sappy male
protagonists, but his reactions to having a female crotch ground
against his mouth never ceases to be funny.OverallIt’s sad but true, my bitchy reviews are car crash entertainment. As
soon as my fearsome wrath is unleashed and a bad score is given,
readers feel the need to go watch the show and find out for themselves
exactly how terrible the victim of my rating actually is. Although not
made of the same terrible awesomeness of Lingerie Senshi Papillion Rose, 1+2 = Paradise is definitely in the realms of shows so bad, they’re good.
Screenshots
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