Assemble Insert

A well made parody anime mocking its fellows from years before, it takes a well thought out and wicked jab at genres like the simpleminded heroine, evil organizations and small task forces dedicated to fighting them in place of the normal police, super human and mecha anime, drunken but heart of gold head of staff, a department full of misfits, all of them steryotypes that get a good ribbing out of this show.
They break the 4th wall and make a mockery of advertisement and product placement in such a blatant way, that its actually effective!
Its definitely light hearted, and basic story line, several more in ... depth plot lines were hinted at but since it was cut to a 2 episode miniseries everything was pretty much left out if it wasn't going to be finished in those 2 episodes.
Classic late 80's early 90's style humor and the animation is surprisingly good for a low budget short run at the time it was made.
I recommend it for people who are fans of the classic light humor anime of the era.
But dont think that just because its a joke its not well written, the characters stand out and I found myself feeling for the main character quickly, all of them develop well, even in so short a show.
Much lighter of a story than Masami Yuki's typical stuff, but if you like comedy, or are into Masami Yuki's work, and are in the mood for something on the lighter side, then give it a try.
This is one of those not to well known gems that I have come to realize, I was damn lucky to have picked it up all those years ago. I still bring it out to show friends when they haven't seen it themselves.

Surprise, surprise - this was quite a bit of fun!

A small, neglected police task force is given the job of trying to stop a crime wave by a mwah-hah-hah-style eeeeeevil gang headed by an eeeevil mastermind and lots of powersuit mechas causing all sorts of damage. Conventional methods don't work, so they decide to audition to hire an idol singer to distract the public.

And it turns out their choice, the shy, naive, demure, young Maron, just happens to be ridiculously strong. Not only does she wipe the floor with the bad guys, she ... also become the nation's top idol in the process.

Okay, okay, the idea is pretty damn stupid. But that's kind of the point. This is a HUMOR show, where they are mixing in police drama with idol singers with mecha with the aforementioned eeeeevil antagonist. It's all for laughs. Think Prefectural Earth Defense Force.

I like the more-cartoony-style character designs, that suit the humor well. I like when they break the fourth wall (and usually I don't). I like the completely-out-of-place sponsor commercial in the middle of the show -- 100% live action to boot. It all seems to work.

This is just a little bit of fun, worth the watching.

Despite its flaws, “Assemble Insert” was more fun than expected, and it left me with a smile on my face.

The story centers on a junior high schooler named Maron who, due to her unbelievable strength, won an idol audition to fight a group of goofy villains called Demon Seed. The audition was set up by a special police force formed to find a solution to the Demon Seed issue; due to the villains’ powerful mobile suits, the police hadn’t been able to fight against them on their own.

Maron is somewhat of a reluctant hero. She spends most of her time training as an idol singer ... rather than as a fighter, and when it comes time for her to make her fighting debut (Demon Seed politely announced when and where their next heist would be), she gets nervous and almost runs away. However, the police group, which consists of 4 caricatured guys led by Chief Hattori, who is a caricature himself, encourages Maron and fully supports her, so she fights the bad guys — to comically disastrous results…

The story this 2-episode OVA presents is silly, but it works for the most part. It ends on an upbeat and semi-conclusive note, with a series of epilogue-type scenes interspersed among the end credits. Some of the story elements are a little too outlandish and don't get enough explanation, however, probably since the show is so short. As for the characters, they’re all distinctive and likable enough, but naturally they don’t get much development. In particular, Maron’s character comes off as rather flat, which is disappointing.

Since this is a parody anime, it’s filled with references to other anime and pop culture. Notably, there are cameos by characters from “Patlabor” and “Kyuukyoku Choujin R,” two of the original creator’s other manga titles. Although I’m not sure if this is a direct parody, Hattori’s character looks like the coach from “Gunbuster,” and even has the same voice actor. There are also a lot of puns (the character Sonoba Kagiri’s name is itself a pun, for example), instances where the fourth wall is broken, and a number of in-jokes. Some of the jokes, due to being outdated, in-jokes or jokes directed towards a Japanese audience, might be difficult for modern non-Japanese viewers to understand.

Technical aspect-wise, this anime is pretty good overall. The opening sequence is fantastic! It blew me away with the great camera shots, and it was timed well with the theme song (which is sung by Maron’s voice actress and is also very good). The rest of the animation is above average; the colors are washed out a bit and some of the drawing looks rushed, but the animation itself is fluid, and the direction is great. The character designs are unique; I haven’t seen designs like this in any other anime, and they’re very pleasing to the eye and memorable.

There’s a live action scene featured twice — a mock commercial of a fake energy drink — which is a running gag throughout both episodes. The commercial stars the two main voice actresses, and it’s pretty funny. You can tell they had a good time making this.

The voice acting cast in this show is solid, and they do a great job at delivering their lines. All of the music, including the background music, is good, and it feels like it was specifically made for this anime.

Regarding objectionable content, there is a slight bit of nudity near the beginning; the cover of an adult video that one of the policemen is renting is shown on screen for a few seconds. Also, some of the humor itself is sexist and outdated. One of the policemen (the same one who rented the adult video) has the rather disturbing tendency to keep notes on every aspect of Maron’s daily activities, for example. Also, the chief has planned out Maron’s life as an idol, down to her getting married and having a child, which is supposed to be funny but feels awkward. And there’s a weird joke with a pun on an accordionist's name that seems to be referring to diapers or menstrual pads.

Overall, while it’s not perfect and somewhat outdated, “Assemble Insert” is a delightfully funny show to watch. Recommended.