This was obviously an attempt to resurrect or at least imitate Lupin III - a comedy series centered around a gentleman thief and the frustrated cop whose job it is to take him in. Even the opening song echoes themes from the Lupin movies. But here, in addition to the robbery angle is a truckload of gratuitous lingerie. A cornucopia of DD-cups, a treasure house of T-backs, a panoply of pantie shots; sometimes the animators track up underneath a female character who is asking a question or making a speech just to get an upskirt angle. It's either distracting or great depending on your viewpoint, but be prepared for enough skimpy lingerie to fill a Victoria's Secret special. The female characters are dressed in what amounts to fetish gear to pull robberies! The heists themselves are pretty good on their own, although they pale when compared to the wackiness and outrageousness of Lupin's exploits. Plus the action animation sometimes leaves a bit to be desired - speed lines and cutaways rather than fully animated chase or fight sequences. So what you have is an okay-nothing-special action comedy with lots and lots of cleavage and thongs. There are worse ways to waste 75 minutes.
3 Reviews
Like the Worst of LUPIN III and TENCHI MUYO - REALLY Not for Kids or Feminists!
drprod18 February 2009
Warning: Spoilers
The premise is as the title of this review suggests - a cross between LUPIN III's high-tech 007esque "gentleman thief" and TENCHI MUYO's "easily-embarrassed young man with an adoring harem of pretty ladies." In and of itself, fine - even making the gentleman thief a *bishounen* ("beautiful boy") could work within the context of the series, provided the characters are engaging, and the robberies light-hearted and cleverly done. MOUSE has none of this - the capers are either ludicrous or incoherent, while the central characters are indifferent knockoffs of their far superior predecessors when they're not exhibiting some downright Gorean attitudes about women.
Don't get me wrong - I'm fine with BDSM themes in adult-based entertainment. But here, on a series that would otherwise earn a 12+ Rating (Mouse's secret identity is of a junior art teacher at an all-grades girls' school, and his harem are all fellow instructors who outrank him), the explicit sex scenes and the constant references as to why the women are totally devoted to "Master" are a bit creepy, IMO.
In the end, this feels like the writer was more interested in showing us his sex fantasies of being a Nice Guy Dominant Master than of writing a decent caper show. Pick up Hayao Miyazaki's Lupin III adventure CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO instead....
Don't get me wrong - I'm fine with BDSM themes in adult-based entertainment. But here, on a series that would otherwise earn a 12+ Rating (Mouse's secret identity is of a junior art teacher at an all-grades girls' school, and his harem are all fellow instructors who outrank him), the explicit sex scenes and the constant references as to why the women are totally devoted to "Master" are a bit creepy, IMO.
In the end, this feels like the writer was more interested in showing us his sex fantasies of being a Nice Guy Dominant Master than of writing a decent caper show. Pick up Hayao Miyazaki's Lupin III adventure CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO instead....
A good, campy and also cute little series
otaku31218 November 2006
This year, I sat down, I saw, and I experienced an ecchi-action-comedy series like none that I've ever seen before: Mouse.
Although not mainstream material, it has some appeal. The animation and character designs, for one, were great. Also, the English dubbing director cast just the right actors/actresses to make the roles believable. Case in point: Mouse's female "assistants". The voices make them utterly likable, to a point where guy viewers begin deciding on which one(s) they like best.
What astounded me the most was the creators ability to cram a generous amount of fan-service within each 15 minute episode. If there were a World Records title for "providing so much of one element in a TV show in such short run time," Mouse would get it hands down.
So if you like a mix of action, comedy, and sexiness, then Mouse is your ticket. But one thing though: Don't take it seriously. It's not epic japanimation like "Princess Mononoke" or "Howl's Moving Castle". It's a fun little series to watch, especially IMO on a Friday or Saturday night.
Although not mainstream material, it has some appeal. The animation and character designs, for one, were great. Also, the English dubbing director cast just the right actors/actresses to make the roles believable. Case in point: Mouse's female "assistants". The voices make them utterly likable, to a point where guy viewers begin deciding on which one(s) they like best.
What astounded me the most was the creators ability to cram a generous amount of fan-service within each 15 minute episode. If there were a World Records title for "providing so much of one element in a TV show in such short run time," Mouse would get it hands down.
So if you like a mix of action, comedy, and sexiness, then Mouse is your ticket. But one thing though: Don't take it seriously. It's not epic japanimation like "Princess Mononoke" or "Howl's Moving Castle". It's a fun little series to watch, especially IMO on a Friday or Saturday night.
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