The 1986 movie Project A-Ko is a classic of '80s anime, spawning three theatrical sequels and an OVA series. Known for its incredibly quirky sense of humor, interesting twists on genre tropes and intense action sequences, the film is well-loved among old school anime aficionados. The cast is filled with strong female characters, none of which particularly fall into any magical girl cliches.
Oddly enough, this action-packed flick full of damsels in destruction was originally going to be a hentai! Here's the history behind what could have been one of anime's seediest blockbusters.
Passion Project
When it first entered production, Project A-ko was going to be an entry in the Cream Lemon OVA series. This hentai anthology began in 1984, and was known for the ridiculous lengths the entries would go to in order to justify the sexual situations. Beyond their outrageous sexual elements, which cover all manner of fetishes and kinks, the stories in the Cream Lemon series also cover numerous different genres, such as fantasy, science fiction and horror. Due to their less-than-story-driven nature, they were also short compared to most full-length theatrical movies.
Some of Project A-ko's sketchier origins can be seen in some scenes and designs. B-Ko's bathtub scene is the one direct holdover from its original Cream Lemon production. Several characters from the Cream Lemon series also show up in cameos as students. At some point in the film's production, it was decided that the movie had much more potential as a mainstream project. The movie's combination of well-animated action and parodies of other popular shows were too good to waste on a hentai. Seeing no reason to cut the potential audience off at the knees, production studio A.P.P.P. changed the direction to the irreverent PG-13 adventure fans know and love today.
Of Mechs and Maidens
The film's unusual title, inspired by the Jackie Chan movie Project A, was initially just a working name. It also stems from the generic placeholder monikers for the protagonists, A-ko, B-ko, C-ko, and D. These names are used as placeholders for background characters in anime, similar to common names like John Smith or Jane Doe.
The story involves the eponymous A-ko, a superpowered teenager in Graviton City. Defending her best friend C-ko against her jealous rival B-ko and her army of combining mechs, A-ko is targeted by the mysterious detective D. Believing that one of the girls is the long lost princess of his extraterrestrial society, D alerts the aliens of the Lepton Kingdom, who subsequently abduct C-ko in the middle of A-ko and B-ko's tumultuous battle. The two girls briefly team up to save C-ko, but before long, B-ko attacks A-ko and the aliens. This results in another all-out battle royale, which returns the girls to Earth and destroys the alien fleet. The movie ends with the girls on their way to school, the alien threat reduced to destitute beggars, and B-ko itching for another earth-shattering fight.
The series has several references to other anime, including Fist of the North Star, Macross and Mobile Suit Gundam. On top of that, A-ko's superhuman powers are explained by the fact that her parents are none other than Superman and Wonder Woman! She's not the only one with famous, possibly copyright-infringing parents: it's heavily implied that B-ko's father is Marvel Comics' Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man. The franchise would continue with three more theatrically released movies, ending with Project A-ko 4: FINAL. Beyond that, there was also a spin-off/reboot OVA titled A-ko the Vs, which had A-ko and B-ko hunting monsters together.
While it might not have had the most family-friendly of origins, Project A-ko would go on to become an incredibly exciting piece of animation accessible to a wide range of anime fans. The film can now be enjoyed whenever and wherever through RetroCrush.
