Maze OAV

After enjoying the series so much, I found the Maze two episode OAV which was basically supposed to be a set of individual stories that had nothing to do with the timeline of the show. Well, that’s true enough. The two part story has NOTHING to do with the show. In fact it creates its own timeline, which is annoying, but that’s not what bothered me the most about this OAV.

If you read my review of the MAZE TV series, you would know about the characters and their odd perversities, which thankfully were never allowed to be shown overly much in action during the run of the show. Hints and jokes abound in the show, but they were never allowed to actually DO anything with it.

Heh heh. Well, the OAV creators went WILD with this two-parter, and man did it suck. I felt extremely cheated having enjoyed the show so much, and then to watch the OAV unfold before my eyes like a cheap boatload of messed up trash. But let me start from the beginning.

The main cast of MAZE is traveling through a forest and are attacked by the forces of Jaina. That night they rest, and Woman Maze takes a bath in a river, only to have Solude the lesbian grope her in front of the camera, breast grabbing and all. Well, Princess Mill is TICKED about THAT, because no one gropes her Big Sister Brother!!

Anyway, they meet the fairy Randy (whom they met under different circumstances in the show), and she takes them to Babylon , a city lead by a selfish and perverted King. He has two children, a boy named Nuts and a daughter named Mix. Yes, you read that right. Even on the Japanese track their names are Mix and Nuts. Holy crap. Well, Mix does erotic dance for Maze and Co., and the little price is in love with Woman Maze. However, the King captures Maze and Co, trapping some underground in some caves with a truly hilarious dragon named Robulous, and Maze is kept prisoner above in quarters for optimum nudity factor.

Meanwhile Gorgeous, the “beautiful” member of Jaina who hates Maze is working with the King and wants Maze dead for scarring him. If there was any deeper storyline beyond that I missed it, or was too freaking distracted by the massive fan service.

I honestly was stunned how bad this was. The animation was good for Maze, but that was about the best thing going for it. They used up every excuse they possibly could to slip in some fan service and hard core cheesecake that I half wondered if Maze was originally intended to be a porn title. The action and humor are good when they exist, but the whole OAV was wasted for those of us who actually like Maze and her adventures because it got too preoccupied showing us booty (and worse).

I hate to say it, but this truly sucked, and if not for the first episode of the Maze series included on the end in optional Japanese this title would likely be on it’s way to Ebay. I could have completely enjoyed it, and there were some great moments I laughed hard at, but this whole OAV could be chopped into LESS than a normal TV episode if they would cut out all of the hentai.

Language: 1/2 The usual hard Ss are in this one, but strangely there are several points where the dialogue is suddenly covered over by the sound of a MACHINE GUN to mute some really nasty words. It’s actually quite funny, and depending on the situation it’s hilarious.

Animation: Pretty decent OAV stuff, but nothing to write home about.

Sexual content: 1/2 Here’s my official list of offenses, and this is just what I can remember (there may be more!) Maze gets breast grabbed in plain view of the camera not only by Solude, but also by the King of Babylon and little Prince Nuts. Princess Mix wears practically nothing while she dances for Maze and Co., and then she is practically raped by Man Maze who has sex with her, grabbing her boobs in plain camera view and expressing the desire to, “SCREW YOU!” There is a dream Mix has where she and Man Maze are nude, running around gaily, and for many more extended scenes she is quite buff. The sexual innuendo and discussion is also quite extensive, from Randy talking about the mating habits of fairies to a joke involving skeletons in a, ahem, love making position when they died. There are crude penis jokes, and it just goes on and on and on and on….

Story: 1/2 Like I said, there would have been a story to like if they had focused on it rather than getting full views of Maze’s milk duds.

Voice Acting: I liked the Japanese performances better most of the time, but the English cast does have some very good voices as well that fit the characters.

Language: 1/2 The usual hard Ss are in this one, but strangely there are several points where the dialogue is suddenly covered over by the sound of a MACHINE GUN to mute some really nasty words. It’s actually quite funny, and depending on the situation it’s hilarious.

Animation: Pretty decent OAV stuff, but nothing to write home about.

Heart enlightenment factor: 1/2 If you count the laughter of certain scenes which deserve it and the disgustingly cute Princess Mill than you can still factor in this

Soundtrack: Not bad actually. The themes are good, and there’s some really funky Arabic-like music that plays in one scene. Just watch out for those end credits!! Maze gets stripped by Mill!!!

Overall: This was the biggest letdown I’ve had in anime for a long while. Thankfully it is independent of the TV series, so it’s not at all vital to have it!!!!