Dual Genre: Action Comedy A. Amishi's Overall Score:  9.0

Reviewer: A. Amishi
Type of Review: General

Dual or what I like to call Eva-Lite, actually contains elements of at least three shows: Evangelion, Tenchi, and El-Hazard. There may be more but if there are, I haven't seen them yet. This was one of the first series that I purchased in its entirety. In fact, I saw Dual before I ever saw any of the other shows I mentioned. In that respect, Dual stands just fine on its own. While there were many humorous aspects of it that alluded me that first time around because I had no point of reference to these other shows, I still found it immensely entertaining and enjoyable.

The adventure actually starts twenty-two years in the past when a young construction worker named Yotsuka finds an ancient artifact at the construction sight he is working. His boss tells him to get rid of it. At that the universe takes to separate paths, in one reality, he tosses the artifact in the trash; in the other, he pockets it. Unwittingly, creating the stage for a series of adventures that will test his yet to be conceived son's courage.

Dual follows the adventures of Kazuki Yotsuka, an average 16 year old high school student with a problem. He sees giant mechas battling in the streets of his home town. He's the only one that sees them. He writes about what he sees on his website and is labeled a weirdo for it by everyone except the most popular girl in his school, Mitsuki Sanada. Kazuki suspects her interest is false, but she manages to convince him that her interest is genuine and brings him home to meet her father. Ken Sanada is a mad scientist who believes a dual parallel universe exists that is the cause of all their world's problems and the source of Kazuki's visions.

Accidentally, both Kazuki and Mitsuki are sent to the parallel universe. Here Ken Sanada is the commander of the Earth Defense Forces that is in a battle for the freedom of the earth against the RaRa Army, which is headed by Professor RaRa who was Ken Sanada's rival back in their own world.

Confused yet? Don't worry it all makes sense once you start watching it. Now for some of the tie-ins, we have three teens with the unique ability to pilot these giant mechas. One, D, is a clone of an alien whose remains were found with the artifacts. She speaks to almost no one and has difficulty understanding human emotions. Sound familiar. The other female pilot is Mitsuki, a skilled pilot who is just a little too overbearing and manipulative way from battle. Sound familiar. And of course, Kazuki, a brilliant pilot who is something of a doormat in everyday life. Sound familiar. In Kazuki's defense, he doesn't suffer from the mental and emotional baggage Shinji. If fact, I could help but think while watching Dual for a third time after watching Eva, that Kazuki was the hero Shinji should have been. But I digress. Add to this mix an assortment of interesting and funny characters and you have the workings of a hilarious and exciting show.

While the plot seems straight forward, good against evil, there are enough twists thrown in like the discovery of new mechas, a growing romance between your hero and one of the enemies, and the overall effect these battles are having on both worlds, that the story never gets dull. The pacing is right on but each episode manages to leave you wanting to know what happens next.

About the only drawback in this show is the animation. While most of it is very good, especially the mechas and the battle sense, sometimes the characters limbs appear to have been drawn in a rush and the mixture of drawn animation and CGI contrast a little too much sometimes. Still, overall, this remains one of my favorite anime OAVs. Oh, and be sure to catch the special 14 episode that is included in the DVD set. While it doesn't serve to further the story in any meaningful way, it has one of the funniest scenes I've ever seen in all of anime. When we watched this in my anime group, we laughed so hard and so long, we had to pause the DVD for a good five minutes for everyone to get their composure before we could continue. This is one anime I strongly recommend every anime fan add to their personal collection. You won't be disappointed.