Anime Hajime Review: Metal Fighter Miku

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Metal Fighter Miku. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

The year is 2061. The sport of Neo Pro-Wrestling is taking Japan and the world by storm. Contestants suited in high tech armor fight it out to see which team is the strongest. Most do it for the glory. Miku (voiced by Konami Yoshida), on the other hand, does it for the love of the game.

As the newest member of the up and coming team, the Pretty Four, Miku is looking to fulfill her dream. At last, she is a professional wrestler. Along with her teammates, Ginko, Nana, and Sayaka (voiced by Ai Orikasa, Mariko Onodera, and Michiko Neya), the Pretty Four are the fastest growing group in the league.

And now they have the chance to prove themselves.

Teams from around the country face off for a chance to become the Neo-Pro Wrestling Champions. Though their ambitions are high, the Pretty Four’s skills could use some work. To do so, they decide to hire a new coach, Eiichi Suo (voiced by Kiyoyuki Yanada).

Miku underestimates how hard this journey will be. However, this doesn’t stop her from giving it everything she has. Her raw talent holds unimaginable potential. But to get to her goal, Miku must face Japan’s very best.

Series Positives

There was one reason why I wanted to cover Meal Fighter Miku. His name is Akiyuki Shinbo.

Miku

If you’ve been following this site for some time, odds are you’ve seen Shinbo’s name come up before. The short synopsis is, he’s a veteran director and producer with numerous works under his belt. That’s nothing to scoff at. Although it is a gross downplay of reality.

Shinbo has become synonymous with a little company known as Shaft. He has been credited as director for almost every series produced by the studio since 2005. Under his direction, Shaft productions have a reputation for their visuals and storytelling. Their'S a style unlike any out there.

If you’re still not following me, let me put it this way. Akiyuki Shinbo gave us the Hidamari Sketch franchise and Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. As well as what I consider to be Shaft’s crowning jewel, the Monogatari series. 

Why am I saying this for Metal Fighter Miku? Simple. This was Shinbo’s directorial debut.

And it was awful.

This show was bad. Wow. You know how they say, “you only get one chance at a first impression.” Back in 1994, had you told me this director would make some of the most outstanding anime ever, I'd have laughed at you.

Now how much of this mess was Shinbo’s fault I can’t say. But like it or not, his name is on that director’s credit. This wasn’t a great start.

Metal Fighter Miku was bland, boring, and lacked any sense of charm or character. This series had an idea, I’ll give it that. What it had hoped to do with that idea I haven’t a clue.

There were a ton of storytelling choices that were misguided at best and moronic at worst. Never was there a moment when I was enjoying this series.

With that, there were a few things that kept me going. Yet like a painkiller, these aspects didn’t fix any of the problems. They just help numb the pain.

Eiichi Suo

This has nothing to do with liking this character. I’m not going to remember him. He so happened to be one of the few characters who didn’t annoy me.

Almost everyone in this show was whiny. No one would stop complaining about things they should’ve been doing anyway. For instance, why was it so mind boggling that the training regimen for a professional wrestling team would be intense?

This never got better, but it did tone down by the end of the series. The only thing keeping me from bashing my head through the wall was Suo. When everyone began acting up or boasting, he would be there to smack them across the face with the truth.

The Pretty Four believed their popularity meant they were strong. They weren’t. I don’t know what kind of practice they were doing before. It was, without out a doubt, not as strict as Suo’s. Though the team’s adamant resistance makes me think they weren’t doing anything.

When Suo arrived, he put everyone in their place. He never responded when the team tried talking back to him. He didn’t care if things were too hard. The Pretty Four’s ego got them into a tournament they would’ve otherwise been destroyed in.

This gave Suo, perhaps an undeserved, but none the less tangible air of credibility. He was the only one who seemed to understand what this sport was.

Please keep in mind. I’m saying Suo was one of Metal Fighter Miku’s better characters. I’m not saying he was a good character. He was a drunk. He wasn’t pleasant to be around. His level of discipline was at an eleven. Whereas a solid eight would’ve been more than enough.

Also, Suo was, like everything else, inconsistent. Sometimes his insight was spot on. He could tell when people were giving him a load of bull. Then when people were obviously giving him a load of bull, he didn’t seem to care.

There was nothing about Suo that left a lasting impression. Even this series’ “strongest” character was lackluster to his core.

The Final Episode

This wasn’t a good episode. There weren’t any good episodes. However, episode thirteen was by far the most interesting.

For starters, this episode had the only fight that was kind of exciting. The action was not dull. It was crude and looked cheap, sure. Yet no other point of the show reached even this bare minimum of excitement. And there’s a reason for that.

This was the only time during Metal Fighter Miku where I saw an Akiyuki Shinbo show. Was it at the level of Monogatari? Not even close. But some of the trademarks were there.

Colorization, lighting, camera angles, many of the foundations of modern Shaft productions. Granted, they were rudimentary when compared to what we have now. Yet they were still there. Not to mention out of place.

The rest of this series wasn’t anything special. This wasn’t a particularly good-looking show. There was no question Metal Fighter Miku was from the nineties. Except when you compare start to finish, somethings off. It’s almost as if Shinbo gained a bit more freedom to do what he wanted.

I want to believe that’s true at least.

Series Negatives

I don’t know where to start.

Metal Fighter Miku did that thing where an anime tries to save budget by reusing clips. It wasn’t that uncommon from this era. Hell, Sailor Moon did it all the time. The difference is, shows like Sailor Moon had a story and characters you cared about. There was a charm to the limitations. That wasn’t here.

I started skipping through the rather lengthy transformation sequence. They were in every episode. Which by the way, why was there a transformation sequence? In fact, why were there a lot of things in this show?

The one that comes to mind almost made throw up. It wasn’t disgusting or anything. It was just so stupid. For diligence sake, spoiler warning. So, if you don’t want spoilers for garbage show that’s almost twenty-five years old, I can’t help you.

There was bad blood between the heads of the Pretty Four’s agency, TWP, and their rival, Shibano Enterprises. The series tried to build this up. But every fiber of being told me the reason why this was would be dumb. I was right. Too bad I didn’t expect to be as right as I was.

Since they were kids, the head of Shibano Enterprise had bullied the head of TWP. That’s it. I don’t want to down play bullying or anything. Except these guys were grown ass adults. They had not been in contact with each other for years. And considering both were weaselly old men, I can’t imagine the severity ever went further than poo-poo head or doo-doo brain.

That, of course, is complete speculation on my part. Except I shouldn’t be speculating that. This show should’ve given a real answer. It kind of requires one too. The head of Shibano Enterprises had no problem sending armed soldiers to get rid of the Pretty Four. That’s a thing that happened.

Speaking of things that happened, let’s list off a few, shall we?

Night raids from enemy teams were a common thing and were okay according to the rules of Neo Pro Wrestling. Then again maybe not since none of the rules made any sense. That or the rules were made up on the spot because of reasons. Reasons often involving contestant's power suits.

Which while we’re at it, why were power suits even a thing? Why was this show set in the year 2061? I guess it had to be so that a devastating earthquake had time to destroy Shinjuku at some point. Something that was mentioned only once and only so Miku had a reason to fight a kill-bot in a war zone. This was sports anime mind you.

Metal Fighter Miku went off the deep end. Like I said there was an idea here. An idea that had no chance of becoming anything since this series forgot to take one huge step.

The Characters

I’m going to stick with the Pretty Four. For anyone else, I don’t care enough.

These were our main heroines. I had to keep telling myself that was the case. We learn nothing about them. Who are they? What do they like? Why do they like wrestling? Why did they start wrestling? Do they actually like each other?

Someone help me. Were the Pretty Four underdogs or prodigies? Though they were up against powerful teams, they had tons of fans and were quite successful. So, people expected things from them. Yet they weren’t prodigies since they didn't have a hint of potential. They were always getting destroyed.

The first episode did not set these girls up. They fought one match and I didn’t even what their names were. Then by the end of episode one, they ego tripped their way into the one and only tournament of the series. That meant they had to win every single match because of course, they were going to get to the finals.

Okay, that would be fine if the series took the time to get to know the Pretty Four. Too bad there was no character building. The closest anyone had that was Ginko. One episode dealt with her feeling underappreciated. Neat, except it hadn't been established that she had that problem.

Don’t even ask me about Nana and Sayaka. Seriously, please don’t. I have any idea who they are.

Then there was Miku. For her, I have only two questions. Who is she and why should I care? This is the lead I’m asking about.

In the first half of the series, the members of the Pretty Four were about equal in strength and skill. There was nothing about Miku that separated her. Oh, there was one thing. Her name was in the title. Therefore, lead character.

Madoka Kaname. Homura Akemi. Yuko. Anyone from Monogatari. These are characters. They have hopes and ambitions. They have people they care about. They have people that care about them. We know what they like. We know what they’re afraid of. We know their strengths. Their weaknesses. At the very least we know why they are important to their stories.

The same cannot be said about Metal Fighter Miku’s Pretty Four. Had the action been better. Had the animation been crisper. Had every other aspect about this show been alright, this would’ve undone it. This was this series’ biggest failure.

Final Thoughts

Let me paint a specific scenario. If you’re a fan of Akikyuki Shinbo’s other works, you may want to check this one out. It was fascinating to see his beginnings. You do that, though, be warned. This series is bad.

A pointless story. Weak action. Nonsensical happenings. Characters that do not exist. There’s nothing to like about this one. There are only things that are tolerable. And that’s me being generous.

I said it earlier. Everyone only has one chance at a first impression. But if this show proves anything, it's this. You sure as hell can make up for that first impression.

Metal Fighter Miku is one you can skip.

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