Taiho Shichauzo 2 (TV)

Man, I love this series. The writers (and producers) made a sequel that manages to retain the elements fans loved from the initial YUA OAV and TV series and built upon it. This was accomplished initially with the introduction of Saori-chan to the regular cast. She'd been a high school girl who idolized Miyuki and Natsumi and thus wanted to be a cop in the first series. Now she's graduated from high school and has become a cop. So that was a really nice thing to see. The first few episodes give us a new look at the Bokuto Police Station through Saori-chan's eyes which comes off very well.

YUA 2 is somewhat more mature than its predecessors. There's still much of the same juvenile humor as before, but in addition to seeing the older Saori-chan, we get to see the kindergarten kids now in grade school, reflecting the passage of time. The relationship between Natsumi and Toukarin gets some work early on, then again when Toukarin is away and Natsumi thinks Kachou (chief/captain) is coming onto her. Natsumi had a crush on him in the first half of YUA, but once she fell for Toukarin, this was forgotten. So it was nice seeing this element brought back, but then Natsumi be forced to make a mature decision. A similar story can be told for Miyuki and Nakajima. They've had this flirtation for ages, but then when Nakajima sees Miyuki in the arms of another man, he's forced to finally deal with his feelings for her and what (if anything) he should do about it. Miyuki also has to deal with how she feels about Nakajima-kun and whether this other man is more suited to her. On top of that, Miyuki has to deal with the possibility that her best friend and partner Natsumi may leave for good. So there are a lot more mature themes here.

But it isn't all tissues and "soap opera" stuff. "Strike Man", "Scooter Woman", and even Yoriko's rival all show up to add to the fun. There are a lot of good laughs in YUA 2. Many laughs are the result knowing and loving the characters in YUA. The art and animation are very good, taking advantage of the newer technology of the time. Miyuki and Natsumi get new eye colors though. Miyuki now has purple eyes and Natsumi has green eyes, but they work.

Bottom line: if you liked the first OAV, the first TV series, (and the movie), you'll really enjoy YUA 2.

Last updated Saturday, May 01 2004.