2013-12-19

Mokuyobi Post - Maris the Super Gal

Maris the Supergal is a one shot sci-fi comedy romp by Rumiko Takahashi.  The OAV is based on the manga of the same name and was released in 1986.

    Maris is a young alien girl who lives a miserable and unfulfilling life.  Her home planet was destroyed when she was young, her father is a drunk and her mother spends too much on useless junk.  The biggest pain is her species' tremendous strength.  Maris and everyone else from her planet must wear restraints to keep their super human strength in check.  Maris works for the galactic police with her partner Murphy, a nine tailed fox type creature who can transform himself at will.  Maris, obsessed with riches, is forever in debt due to her useless parents and the trouble she causes during missions.  When the son of a filthy rich family is kidnapped for ransom Maris sees this as an opportunity to change her fate.

    This is a pretty funny anime and you can see Maris as a template for Ranma 's female form as well as A-Ko from Project A-Ko  Yet, with pretty much everything from the 80s this OVA is pretty dated and has done poorly over the test of time.  Originally released in North America by Viz as part of the Rumik World collection this title is still little known.  I'm not sure if this title has been released on DVD or Blu-Ray, but if you can find a copy of the VHS or something else pick it up and check it out.  It's a fun little romp and an interesting look at Takahashi's catalog.

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