Old, Obscure or Overlooked - KITE
What up. I'm another dude from the OA who kind of specializes in watching the old, obscure, or simply overlooked things other people don't. That, of course, means that I'm going to be writing about the old, obscure, and overlooked things I've watched every so often, starting today with the first of a triple feature on Yasuomi Umetsu. Today's OVA is...
Kite, or A Kite in Japan, is a two episode OVA from 1998, later released as a singular film and again re-released in 2008 under the name Kite Remastered to coincide with it's sequel Kite Liberator (which I'll be talking about in a later post). It was the directorial debut of Yasuomi Umetsu (who you might know from the more recent titles Galilei Donna and Wizard Barristers), penned as a Hentai OVA to have an easier time getting it funded. Animated by Arms, Kite is sometimes referred to as a cult classic, and indeed many people seem to either have fond memories of it or have talked to someone who did. It follows the story of orphaned college student Sawa (who also happens to be an assassin) and fellow orphan (and assassin) Oburi as they try to deal with, well, being orphan assassins, with all the pitfalls that being an orphan assassin bring.
At the behest of corrupt detectives Akai and Kanie, the two shoot bad people (and "bad" people) with neat little explosive bullets that tend to get blood, guts, or pieces of wall all over the place, because this is an OVA that can afford not only to animate but also actually show people getting blown up for both episodes of it's run. And it makes full use of that freedom, with some particularly spectacular action scenes. It did of course come in both a cut and uncut version, with the primary difference being the sex scenes.
I had watched Kite back in the day myself, but because back in the day is a time I barely remember, I recently rewatched it. Naturally, I opted for the uncut version for the full experience, as the sex scenes do sorta add something to the story. Not that that something is much. As a two episode OVA from the late 90s, Kite has consistent, generally fluid animation, which serves the purpose of bringing Umetsu's character designs to life fairly well. Unlike some similiar OVAs of the time, Kite boasts a surprisingly colourful palette, which combines with the choreography and environment to give a very clear, detailed presentation. In terms of art, Kite is pretty damn good.
Of course, as a two episode OVA from the late 90s, Kite also has a rather barebones story, sufficing to bring the characters and the action together but not really doing much more. The characters themselves fit the world and act fairly like you'd expect them to, but without particular uniqueness prove forgettable outside of the OVA itself. Not always a bad thing, of course, but a notable mention nonetheless.
In my opinion, your experience with Kite will mainly be influenced by Umetsu's direction, which is cinematically grand but has a distinct flavour of Hong Kong and Hollywood. The gritty, seedy world is juxtaposed with action that is equal parts gritty and zany, and it doesn't mind discarding reality to achieve a bigger spectacle. I'm no stranger to the less realistic, more zany action of OVAs like this, but certain scenes had me questioning what I had just seen, rather than merely enjoying the spectacle. Suspension of disbelief can only go so far, and while your mileage may vary, Kite tends to cut through that suspension like a knife through butter.
Of course, as I had watched the uncut version, I'll also make mention of the sex scenes. As Kite was primarily set up as a hentai for the funding, they're not particularly grand (alone at least, as combined they make up 15 minutes of the OVA's 60 minute runtime!), and generally don't exactly add all that much to the story. The topics the OVA covers naturally makes a few of them a lot more risque and uncomfortable, so if you'd rather not watch them, the cut version will still give you all of the story without the raunchy penetration bits, and indeed, the content has seen the uncut version outright banned in some countries, so you might also want to abstain from the uncut version for that reason.
Is Kite a perfect gritty crime drama? Of course not. But if it's zany direction appeals to you, you'll probably enjoy it regardless. Ultimately, despite my own shortcomings with Kite, I'd still recommend watching it. The art direction is top notch, the direction is nothing to scoff at, the animation is stellar for the time, and it's pretty much a poster child for the late 90s in OVA form.
Next time, I'll delve into Kite's "spiritual successor" Mezzo Forte, the second of the three Umetsu OVAs I'll be covering in these first three posts. Until then, I'll return to actually watching the old, obscure, or overlooked things I'll end up writing about later!