Ghastly Prince Enma Burning Up

Wollust Aug 8, 2016

7

  Completely Spoiler Free Review:   Story: 2/5  Everything is losely connected and either follows the manga strictly or with just a few changes. The end is quite different. Basically a modernized remake of the 1973 version. For better or worse. The story itself is nothing to write home about. The Youkai Patrol Squad from hell is tasked to terminate the Youkai invasion on earth and you follow their antics. Who is behind all this? Pretty standard and I don't think they even tried to achieve a big, thought-provoking story with this. It's a gag anime. Characters: 4/5 The characters are good and likeable, although a bit tropey. The dumb brute (aka. The hero of the story), his shy love interest, the butt of the joke and the "Straight Man".  But all characters have points that break the formula and tropes, so you don't get to the point of "I've seen that before!" The villains are likeable. All have their redeeming points and no one is "evil for the sake of evil" or just "annoingly mean". The character design is quite fresh and are modernized versions of the 1973 version and manga. It doesn't stray too far from the original. Well.. except for Kappaeru who is a cute, squishy mascot now. Animation & Style: 3/5 The style and art is very good. Very clear, crisp and polished, but more cartoonish than the 1973 version. The animation on the other hand... A few good scenes here and there, but also a lot of repetitions. A lot. Like.. a scene repeats itself about 5 times? Nothing to brag about. OP & ED: 4/5 Catchy, entertaining music for both OP and ED. Good video for it too. Not as good as the 1973 version.  The OP is pretty energetic and fun. The ED is mellow without trying to depress you. Voices: 4/5 Good job! Most voices are memorable, with a few exceptions. Yukiko was pretty weak for example, but the voice actor is better in other roles, so who knows what happened here. Fanservice: 6/5 It's crammed full of fanservice. Over the top. Like a turkey on Thanks Giving. You will drown in fan service. Everyone is naked at some point. EVERYONE! LITERALLY EVERYONE! Most of the the time it's used for over the top humor, so I was able to enjoy it, although I normally despise ecchi. Enjoyment: 3.5/5 Now we get to the heart of the problem with this show: The humor. Imaging a joke that barely wrestles a smile from you. Like a really wacky, cartoony joke. Now take that goof, notch it up to eleven and repeat it 10 times in an episode. No exaggeration. The goofs wear very thin after a short while. If you cut them to a reasonable length the show would be only 10 episodes long. But knowing a bit about Japanese folklore will save the show for you. It's full of nice references to it and that's where the strenghts lie. And the fanservice, if you like it. Remake Comparison: Compared to the 1973 version, the remake almost completely removed any violence and substituted it with cartoon physics. The nudity was defused: No dicks, no nipples. Less explicit overall. The humor was a lot better.  On the other hand: Visually the new one is obviously better. Recommendation: Stick to the original show and the manga, if you can get your hands on it. Although this version is not that bad, despite the big flaws. My adorable baby of the show: