Sep 7, 2014
Cyberteam in Akihabara integrates a distinct category of second-tier 90s anime that plays with equal portions of mahou shoujo, slice of life, romance and surprisingly good comedy.
The premise alone should help you leaving realism at the door: Hibari and her friends are proud owners of patapi, glorified tamagochis that became the most popular toy in Japan. Their patapi, however, turn out to be magical/technological transforming/summoning devices that bring the Divas to our world. The Divas are fighters so we obviously get a cast of bad guys (but not too much so) and a plot that lightly encompasses war and a certain magical castle in
...
the sky. There are some greek mythology references here and there and a little of plot development but that should not be the reason for you to pick this anime.
It's strongest aspect is the self-conscious humour and charming silliness. The cast of main characters come each with their share of absurdity and the patapi are a joy to watch. The best episodes are centred on bizarre premises (like "the curry of love") and take the most unexpected turns. While none of it's "themes" achieve considerable depth, neither the script nor the dialogue are ever too obvious.
And ah, the villains. They dress in funky costumes, summon monsters and fight for the affection of their master, but they all work 9 to 5 and are in fact a caricature of your average 20 - 30s women caught up between the woes of uninspiring professional life and their dreams of happiness and true love. They get a surprising amount of screen time, with episodes where you can see them meeting for drinks after work to talk about their past and why they stick by their Shooting Star-sama.
The big con is that the series suffers from being terribly uneven. It's all great until the 6th or 7th episode, and then it nosedives in terms of animation and script - only bankruptcy can explain that drop in quality. Except for some 2 remarkable villain-focused episodes, I would recommend skipping towards the finale, which is thankfully in the same high standard as the first arch.
I recommend this series for anyone looking for some 90s anime nostalgia - when fan service was humorous and self-aware as opposed to embarrassing and light-hearted plots could still be touching. There is something clever about Cyberteam in Akihabara. Don't be afraid to use an episode guide to enjoy only the best from this anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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