Ranking: 12th worst
[3,809 out of 3,821]
TANJOU ~DEBUT
Also known as: Debut
Debut, or Tanjou Debut, is a 2 episodes long OVA made in 1994 by Studio Pierrot. In case you didn't know, they're the studio who made the anime versions of Bleach and Naruto, alongside with other well known animes.
Not many people know about this anime. I found it impossible to find any in-dept information about it even after some major Google-digging. The plot summaries seem to differ also... Apparently there was a video game made out of it, which I don't know anything about. The voice actors aren't big names, so if you happen to look at them changes are you've never even heard about them. I know I hadn't.
Moving onto the plot, Debut revolves around four high school-aged girls and as I said, consists of two episodes, which are both stand-alones. The first one is a short love story, where the characters don't know each other besides from Aki and Kumi. The second one three of them, the ones I just mentioned and Saori have been friends since childhood and now unite together to dig up an old time capsule they buried ten years ago, only to find something surprising.
And now, the actual review.
Story [6/10]
As I said, the first episode is a love story. Since the episode only lasts for under half a hour, you don't really get to know a lot from the characters, but I'd say it's enough to make you feel sad for Aki at the end if you're a sensitive person. Nowhere enough to make you cry or even teary eyed, but sad in general. I thought it was fine.
The second one revolves around a time capsule. Here a box is used, what has items from the girls who buried it into the ground ten years ago, when they were kids. When they open it, they discover something unexpected, but without spoiling the plot I can't really say anything else. The episode in general has supernatural elements, having to do with a ghost and weird unearthly stuff. The characters from the first episode are in completely different relationship with each other, apart from Aki and Kumi, as I mentioned earlier.
I personally liked the episodes. They weren't great, but they sure weren't anywhere near from the worst series I've watched in the past.
Look, a Sailor Moon reference! Somehow, this doesn't surprise me at all.
Animation [6/10]
I don't personally see what's with the complaining about Debut's animation. People keep saying it has horrible animation, and the medal you get from watching it [Anime-Planet] says 'even animators can have a very bad day'. Tell me, what's so wrong with it? Debut was made in year of 1994, same as Sailor Moon's third season for example, or Magic Knight Rayearth, and I would say the animation is close to it. The art-style isn't bad, it's just really basic. Nothing memorable really. I wouldn't say it's eye-candy or anything, because let's face it, it's not, but it's not something that makes your eyes burn either.
Only problem was the bad quality, but it couldn't be helped due to the episodes originally being released on VHS, hence it didn't affect my score for this series' animation. But no, I wouldn't call it bad by a long shot.
Sound [6.5/10]
Opening and ending
The opening is pretty happy going. It's not bad, but not something you want to listen over and over, hence I skipped it from the second episode. It REALLY reminds me of some other song, but I just can't get into my head what song that is. Such a shame. For the ending, I never listen to endings really... Unless they're really good. Debut's ending wasn't one of them. Same as with opening, it's not bad, but it's not great either, and not something you want to listen to when you can just skip to the second episode or end watching the series if you just finished it.
Voice actors
The voice actors of Debut aren't too big names, but you still might've heard them in other series. To mention them from series I've seen; Aki's seiyuu is the voice for Myojin Yahiko from Rurouni Kenshin, which actually confused the heck out of me because those two characters sound nothing alike. Saori's seiyuu is also the voice of Hououji Fuu from MKR. Kumi's seiyuu is Houjou Satoko's from Higurashi, thus the most likely for people to recognize, Jigglypuff's from Pokemon (this is also very, very confusing) and Shiina's from Vampire Princess Miyu. Sachiko's seiyuu is also the voice of Hikaru Shidou from MKR.
I've got no complaints here either. They suit their characters well enough and I personally think they're pretty good.
Background music
I wouldn't call it great, but it's good enough. Again, nothing memorable, but pleasant enough for the ears. Maybe it's a good thing, since it's pretty much impossible to find a soundtrack for Debut. Some tracks are pretty nice, those kinda you'd maybe want to listen for an extended period of time. But yeah, to sum it up, the music isn't bad either.
Characters [5.5/10]
You can't really expect to get to like the characters a lot or form a deeper understanding etc for them because the whole OVA series lasts for under an hour. I don't like the designs, apart from Aki, whose hair I just simply said love. Kumi's hair looks stupid, and Saori's and Aida's are just basic stuff. For their personalities there isn't much to say either. They're just characters that stick with you for two episodes and then disappear into thin air. They're not unpleasant though, and could've watched them for a few episodes longer. Not much else can be said about it.
Overall [6/10]
Overall, Debut isn't too memorable. I know I've said that a billion times during this review, but it's really the only word to properly describe it: unmemorable. You might want to watch it and judge if it's really that bad as majority of people seem to think, but I really can't recommend it to anyone. Even finding this series can be really difficult, due to it being anything but popular.
That said, I still think Debut is underrated, and it deserves a chance.
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