ASSEMBLE: INSERT - DVD review

The DVD According to Eddie:
Back in 2001, The Right Stuf released "Assemble: Insert" on DVD in the United States. The company is giving the title a second chance at discovering an audience with a new price point (lower than the original one), new DVD keepcase cover art, and a new glossy booklet in the keepcase. Apparently, the title has also lost its colon, too. At any rate, the DVD is well worth a look if you're a fan of Japanese animation and have a sense of humor about being a fan. :-)

If you've visited the website regularly, then you probably noticed my reviews of "Sakura Wars", "Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040", and the original "Bubblegum Crisis". In each of those shows, young women with extraordinary physical/spiritual capabilities don power suits to take on outsized enemies. These shows don't portray women as the equals of men--women are better than men, for they're the only ones who can save civilization from the forces of evil. One of the characteristics of these shows is to have the female characters do a lot of singing and acting. As if they wouldn't be busy enough with training and fighting, these poor girls have to perform in variety shows.

Made in 1998, the program "Assemble Insert" is a send-off of that particular sub-genre of anime. In "Assemble Insert", the Demon Seed gang terrorizes Tokyo at will. Gang members wear hard suits that enable them to beat back whatever the police throw at them. Out of desperation, the police department creates the Anti-Demon Seed Squad (like the AD Police in both "Bubblegum" series), but this unit is just as helpless as the regular police at fighting the Demon Seed gang.

Maron Namikaze, a young blond with super powers, is chosen to fight the Demon Seed gang. Since she's a girl, she is given a form-fitting power suit that provides an electric force field to protect her and to enhance her powers. The funny thing is, unlike Priss in either "Bubblegum", she can't sing at all. Yet, the Anti-Demon Seed Squad make a push for her to become the next IDOL of Japanese pop culture.

"Assemble Insert" is all about references to other anime series and Japanese pop culture. It makes fun of the Japanese fascination with musical variety shows and pop acts. It even makes fun of the cheesy commercials that appear on Japanese TV!

The show can get rather meta-theatrical as well. The self-conscious script has the characters saying, "I forgot my lines", as if everyone was in on the joke. Also, in one scene, two kids walk in front of a dark, brooding building, and they talk about the possibility that the place might be the secret hiding place of the Demon Seed gang. Immediately afterwards, the main villain is seen chuckling, saying that "not even the gods know where my secret base is".

Other funny bits include a cheesy, live-action commercial for a vitamin/power drink (the characters are shown consuming the beverage right after the commercial) and a YAMOHA brand, not YAMAHA, accordion. I had to laugh out loud when I saw it.

Like "Bubblegum Crisis", the title "Assemble Insert" has no apparent relation to anything in the story. What "bubblegum"? What "assemble"? What "insert"?

"Assemble Insert" skewers more than just anime's obsession with sexy crime-fighting girls who sing. It also addresses a problem that shows like "Bubblegum Crisis" ignore--our heroes usually do much damage when fighting the bad guys, but no one ever says anything about it. Here, the police, private interest groups, investors, etc. always complain about Maron's destructive sprees every time she fights the Demon Seed gang. Good and funny stuff, indeed!

The DVD According to Olen:
What an odd, entertaining little title, and coming in at less than an hour total of play time, I do mean little. It's tough for me to say whether or not you should bother to watch "Assemble Insert". On one hand, it made me laugh, but on the other hand, it's far too short to allow for little more than gags that pay off right away.

Another difficulty with this disc is that nearly all of the humor relies on the viewer being familiar with the "magical girl" genre of anime and Japan's obsession with idol singers. If you haven't watched a couple of different magical-girl shows like "Sailor Moon", "Nurse Angel Ririko SOS", and so on, then you won't find "Assemble Insert" to be very funny. (Unless of course, you find a girl with super-strength to be inherently humorous, that is.) On top of that, you'll need to be familiar with the idol singer industry in Japan, which could be most easily likened to "American Idol" taken to the tenth degree. There really are obsessive fan clubs that try to profile every behavioral quirk of their chosen idol, be it shyness, clumsiness, manners, likes, dislikes, ad nauseum.

There are plenty of other anime in-jokes packed into "Assemble Insert", from some older anime shows hinted at in a museum to various jokes based on mecha stereotypes, mad professors, and so on. These gags aren't essential to enjoying the show, but they help get you through the slower moments.

I don't think "Assemble Insert" is a good choice for people who haven't at least watched a variety of anime programs. If you can pick it up on the cheep, either for yourself or an anime-watching friend, go for it. It's funny enough to be worth watching at least once, but it's not going to make my all-time favorite list either.

Back to Eddie Again:
Video:
"Assemble Insert" arrives on DVD with a 1.33:1 video ratio (keeping its original 4:3 TV broadcast ratio). This one is a little hard to judge because the animation is of average quality. The nature of the visual material doesn't challenge your DVD player or display monitor much--not that many flashy explosions, a limited color palette, character motion only when necessary, etc. Still the image is stable, edge-enhancement has been kept to a minimum (unlike the "Bubblegum Crisis" discs from Multimedia 2000/AnimEigo), and artifacting is non-existent.

Audio:
You can choose either the Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo Japanese track or the Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo English dub. While limited in scope, there are quality directionality effects, and the music comes through nicely. The lively, humorous dialogue jumps out at the viewer. Being such a recent creation, the above-average performance of the audio is to be expected.

Optional English subtitles support the audio.

Extras:
The live-action commercial for the vitamin/power drink that plays in each episode is set aside as an extra in the "Bonus" section of the disc, and you get to look at the English language and DVD production credits as well.

--Miscellaneous--
A glossy fold-out booklet provides notes on Japanese animation, notes on the show itself, notes on the characters in "Assemble Insert", and song lyrics.

Film Value:
"Assemble Insert" is a laugh riot. Granted, some familiarity with anime and Japanese pop culture will help, but the cute spirit of the story and characters will charm you. This is the best parody/light-hearted tribute that I've seen in a while.

Those of you who bought "Assemble Insert" when it was first released will have to think hard about buying the DVD again. The contents on the disc itself remain the same, though the new keepcase art is better-looking than the old one. Also, the glossy booklet is a nice addition to the package. If you've never seen "Assemble Insert", then now is a good time to try out a cute lark of a send-off.