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I like old OVAs from the 80s and 90s so I have a high tolerance for crap (I even enjoy it a lot of the time) but this was pretty bad. Just for fans of the manga, I guess, but there's probably not too many of those anyway. The plot was stupid (derp let's find the LEGENDARY BLUE FISH) and didn't go anywhere. The climax was pretty laughable and ended abruptly. Very bad and not even entertaining aside from an unintentionally funny rotating naked couple at the end. Sigh.

I gave it a 3 because the animation and art are passable and I guess someone put ... some time into this so I feel bad giving it a 1. That doesn't mean it's enjoyable, though.

Boobs, violence, guns, motorcycles, and detailed artwork. If this combination is enough to make a series worth reading for you, then you'll probably want to check this out. Otherwise, it's hard to say whether you'll enjoy this somewhat mindless pulp series by Shouji Sato.

Don't get me wrong. Personally, I love Triage X. It knows exactly what it's trying to accomplish, and doesn't hold back at all. Now, before I go into detail, let me do my best to explain the story. The head doctor of a certain hospital believes the only way to bring justice to certain crime lords ... is by "excising" them from the city (in other words, killing them). To achieve this, he has a crack team of assassins, all of whom he apparently saved from the brink of death. This team includes employees of the hospital, the daughter of a yakuza family, a pop star, and the doctor's late son's best friend.

As of now, there's no explanation for why this ragtag team is so powerful and skilled with weapons and vehicles. But I get the feeling that if you're the kind of person to question "why", this is not the series for you. "Why are they so skilled?" Because it's cool! If you want to read the series, you shouldn't need any more reason.

Rating the story in this case is very difficult for me. On one hand, no, it's not cerebral at all and won't make you think after you finish reading, nor is it the most creative idea in the world. But on the other hand, again, it does exactly what it sets out to do, which is to provide a stage to display boobs and guns and motorcycles, and it does actually have some interesting turns that keep me wondering what's going to happen next. The story is not so far along as of this writing, so I guess it could end up in any number of directions, but for now, I'll rate it a 7. It accomplishes what it wants, but don't think too hard about it.

The art is the same distinctive style found in Shouji Sato's other recent series, Highschool of the Dead and Fire Fire Fire, so if you've read either of those, you should know what to expect here. It might not be as detailed as some other artists and maybe the boobs are unnaturally big, but I'll be damned if those guns and vehicles aren't incredible-looking... The female characters are all attractive as well, but if you're the type who's turned off by fanservice, then you won't like this. The art is great, but maybe not up everyone's alley. 9/10

As for the characters, well, they're a bit silly and exaggerated to take seriously most of the time, but they're all very distinct from each other and I don't find myself disliking any of the main cast. I feel like one of Shouji Sato's strong points is creating a likable cast, and he's done a great job here. There are a lot of characters and they all get a lot of screentime, so if you have a favorite character, you'll probably be seeing a lot of them. 9/10

As for my enjoyment, it gets a definite 10/10. There are a lot of series that try to place emphasis on action or girls but fail to keep interest. What sets Triage X apart from many other mindless series is that it seems very well aware of what it is. It's very tongue-in-cheek (you may catch some homages and references to other manga) and I'd go so far as to call it "shameless" in everything from the female character designs to certain plot threads. Once you see the pop star sing to the victims she's about to blow up with explosives or see the doctor cut a car in half with a katana then deliver a goofy one-liner, a definite flag should be raised in your mind. The series is silly and is probably comparable to a lot of B-movies in that respect.

So, what more can I say? If you want something absurd and mindless with lots of well-drawn action and fanservice, then this is your series! If you're the type who considers yourself to be an intellectual, then you should probably avoid this like the plague (and everything else by the author, for that matter). I hope this review will help you make an informed decision.

This is a short oneshot in the same vein as Portball! by the same author, and it shares some similarities to the author's big series, Yomeiro-Choice.

I'd say this is not quite as insane as Portball!, though really, that isn't saying much; Portball! had a character who ran around giving blowjobs to players on the other team in order to win a game, but there's no "actual" sexual content going on in this one. Still, it does go pretty far, so if you have no tolerance for ecchi stuff, then run far, far away.

Like the author's other works, this has numerous references to famous ... manga/anime series and has about as much logic as one of the stranger episodes of Dexter's Laboratory, but with lots of sexual references.

I really don't have a lot to say here that I didn't already say in my Portball! review. These two oneshots share the same insane, intentionally stupid spirit, but they're different enough that if you liked one, you'll almost certainly like the other. I hope to see some more short stories from the author like this in the future, because being a short story gives a lot of freedom for crazy endings without having to revert back to the status quo, but unfortunately she (yes, the author is a "she") seems to be too busy with the monthly Yomeiro-Choice for now. Oh well.

This is a short oneshot, and while it has virtually no substance to it, it's crazy and off-the-wall enough to keep you chuckling for most of the way through if you have the right mindset.

The best way to describe the humor in this is that it has about as much logic as one of those crazy cartoons that seemed so common in the 90s but with a focus on sex and with little restraint. This is clear from the beginning when the main character informs her club on the second page that they're being shut down, then she for some reason starts relaxing, getting ... undressed, and then soon enough she's fully naked and starts masturbating in the club room, only to be interrupted by a challenge from the boys' team, with the shortest member proclaiming that because he's "super gay" he won't be swayed by "that old [masturbation] trick". Yeah, seriously.

If you can put up with this sort of in-your-face bizarre ecchi humor, you should find a lot to like here, because this initial incident is a pretty good indicator of what to expect. If not, then... haha, leave now. RUN.

Now, looking at this critically, you could argue that the story is an overdone cliche, but that'd be ignoring the parody aspect of this. That's right, this isn't even trying to be original; Dragon Ball is directly referenced numerous times, and there's even a subtle MS Gundam reference, and I'm sure there are some other parodies that I don't recognize either. So criticizing the story would be missing the point.

The art is pretty good, but panels can feel a little crowded and the art is a little under-polished at times, but realistically, I'm not complaining; it more than gets the job done and beats out most ecchi oneshots by a longshot. The ridiculous writing style is quite unlike anything I've read before (except for the authors' other works) so I must say that this has a ton of character. Right on. And I was laughing pretty much the whole time, so all the more power to it.

So, to conclude, if you can turn off your brain and don't mind a ton of stupidity, give this a whirl. It's so crazy that you're almost guaranteed to get at least a couple laughs at it... that is, if you can get your jaw off the floor.

I'm not sure why some people insist on approaching this series so seriously. It's a boundary-pushing gag manga, and that's all it was intended to be. With how over the top and outrageous it can be at times, I think it's a great success. If the concept doesn't sound appealing to you, then do yourself a favor and just don't read the series.

The story itself makes no real world sense at all, but that's why it's entertaining. It's a bit like Back to the Future (in fact the series itself references the movie with several chapter titles and little winks and ... nudges here and there), but a little more complicated with its multiple timelines and it will make your head hurt if you try to make sense out of it. Basically, daughters with different mothers from different timelines in the future are in danger of disappearing from existence and are trying to make sure their father chooses their respective mother so that they get born. The story really is not why you should be reading this, but I think it does a great job at giving a ridiculous setting for the ridiculous gags to play out.

The art is pretty good. For a harem-type series, it's relatively detailed and dynamic-looking, but it's nothing amazing and often the panels seem very busy and crowded. The characters' designs themselves don't look like anything too special, but it's easy enough to tell them apart at least for the most part.

Speaking of the characters, most of them fulfill some common archetype. Saku is the loser harem lead, Karin is the childhood friend tsundere, Hiiro is the emotionless kuudere, etc. This may sound like a criticism, but because this is a parody gag series, it really works in its favor.

To expand on that point a bit further, many chapters seem to parody harem and general manga cliches by taking typical plots way beyond what you would expect to see and some of the gags are often a bit shocking, but that's a big part of the entertainment. Giving examples would only spoil the fun the first time through, so I'll restrain myself, but rest assured, you'll be left wondering if the publisher can even legally show some of this stuff.

The series is not perfect, though. Characters will often act completely out of character or become totally Flanderized for a single chapter in order to accommodate a certain story, and although this has an amusing comedic and cartoonish effect, it can feel a little damaging to the characters sometimes. Although the gags in the series are shocking and often gut bustingly outrageous, chapters that focus primarily on gags and move away from the relationships and characterization tend to be a bit weaker.

But those things hardly make this a bad series. Frankly I've really been surprised at just how entertaining I've been finding this series, and fortunately this sort of "ridiculous ecchi gag" thing seems to be the author's forte, so I look forward to seeing more ridiculousness from tenkla/Doi Sakazaki in the future. If you're looking for an ecchi harem series that really pushes the boundaries of what can be shown in a shounen manga or something that makes no sense at all and knows it (in a cartoony kind of way), then you've come to the right place.

EDIT: The series is over now, and my opinion and score remain the same. Without spoiling anything, the ending was downright ridiculous, but at the same time, it's exactly what you'd expect from this series. It was one of the few endings to a harem series I found satisfying, and it does actually wrap everything up neatly. For this, I think the author deserves some credit. She went all the way, and for that, this is a series I won't soon forget. Thanks, tenkla.