The Charge

Naughty and hilarious!

The Case

Yukinari is a high-school sophomore with a serious case of gynophobia. In fact, he's so afraid of girls he breaks out in a rash whenever he's touched by a member of the opposite sex. His life takes a sudden turn for the strange when he discovers that his bathtub is a portal to a mystical world where the men never seem to be around and the women are in need of some lovin'.

The first four episodes of Girls Bravo are included on this release; here's a brief synopsis of each:

• Episode 1: "Bravo from the Bathtub!"
Yukinari returns home from another humiliating day at school to find his neighbor, Kirie, using his shower. Kirie, angered by Yukinari's stares, and even more angered by his admission that her naked body does nothing for him, forces him to the ground and knees him in the face. Yukinari is knocked into his tub, sinks into the magical depths of the water, and surfaces in the tub of Miharu, a young girl who lives in the land of Seiren, a realm in which the women outnumber the men nine to one. Miharu is elated at the arrival of Yukinari, and Yukinari is shocked to discover that being touched by Miharu doesn't cause his skin to break out. Yukinari is later chased by much of the female population of Seiren, including Miharu's horny older sister, Maharu. Yukinari escapes and decides to return to Earth, but he doesn't count on Miharu returning with him.

• Episode 2: "Bravo at School!"
Miharu begins eating Yukinari out of house and home. She tries to follow him to school in hopes of finding some of the curry bread sold on campus. Not knowing where the school is located, Miharu wanders around town for a few hours. She finds a produce stand, becomes fascinated by the bananas, and then proceeds to devour the stand's entire supply while the owner rambles on about why he first decided to go into the produce business. She eventually makes her way to the school, where she catches the eye of Fukuyama, the campus's resident horny idiot.

• Episode 3: "Cooking is Bravo!"
Miharu enrolls in Yukinari's school; her first day is one she'll never forget, as she soon finds herself in the middle of a black-magic ritual involving Yukinari and a crazy blonde named Lisa, who just happens to be Fukuyama's sister. Seems Lisa's astrological obsessions have led her to believe Yukinari is her soul mate, so she has her bodyguards kidnap him and bring him to the school gym, where she plans to summon a demon whose power will forever bind her to Yukinari. Miharu foils the plan, although Lisa later drags Yukinari to her apartment. She prepares a feast in his honor and tells him she has a way to cure his phobia. It doesn't work.

• Episode 4: "Bravo in the Mansion"
Kirie and Yukinari think Miharu has been kidnapped by Fukuyama, so they head to his mansion in an attempt to rescue her; unbeknownst to them, Miharu has actually accepted a job as Fukuyama's maid in order to help pay the grocery bill. Kirie is allowed to enter the front gate, but Fukuyama doesn't entertain male callers, so Yukinari has to sneak in. Unfortunately, Yukinari finds himself in an endless hedge maze; to make matters worse, Fukuyama has armed guards patrolling the maze, so Yukinari ends up running for his life. Meanwhile, Kirie finds herself conned into acting as Fukuyama's nurse, being groped by an errant spirit summoned by Lisa, and fighting off the advances of Lisa's female bodyguard.

I didn't find anything particularly entertaining about Girls Bravo. It's not funny, it's not sexy, and it gets old really fast. Each episode features repetitive jokes about Yukinari's stunned reactions to Miharu's openness about her body, which invariably leads to Kirie (who, surprise, surprise, is secretly in love with Yukinari) walking in and mistaking Yukinari's stunned reactions for ogling, which of course means she has to kick his ass. And it seems like half of the second episode consists of footage of Miharu simulating oral sex on an endless supply of bananas; it's not funny in the first shot, and it only becomes less funny as the scene plays out. I don't really see what the point of the series is, unless it's fan service, which is delivered in spades. If you're looking for panty shots, jiggling breasts, and shower scenes, this will be right up your alley. If that's not your cup of tea, stay away.

Geneon delivers on the technical end of this release. The transfer is clean and clear, with bold, bright colors. Both stereo soundtracks perform nicely, with very good channel separation; what isn't so good is the voice acting in the English dub—to put it mildly, it sucks. Extras include clean opening animation, the original version of the opening credits sequence, a gallery of production artwork, and previews for other Geneon releases.

Like I said, if fan service is your thing, there's a chance you'll enjoy Girl Bravo. If, on the other hand, you're looking for something more, you'll need to look elsewhere.

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