Mezzo Forte (anime)
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| Mezzo Forte (anime) | |
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| メゾフォルテ (Mezzo Forte) |
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| Genre | Hentai Action Comedy Thriller Crime Sci-Fi |
| OVA | |
| Directed by | Yasuomi Umetsu |
| Studio | Green Bunny |
| No. of episodes | 2 |
| Released | 1998 |
| Runtime | |
Mezzo Forte (メゾフォルテ) is a 2001 anime OVA directed by Yasuomi Umetsu.
The OVA, which concerns a young woman, Mikura Suzuki, and her mercenary business, the Danger Service Agency, could be considered an unofficial follow up to Umetsu's Kite, as both feature the continuing elements of a highly trained female protagonist, extremely violent and slickly directed over-the-top action sequences and explicit pornographic sex scenes. Because of this, the OVA was released both in the United States and Japan in two different versions, one with these scenes taken out and the other with them left intact, the Director's Cut.
Both versions however, retain the more violent aspects of the movie. The US release contains 20 minutes of extra footage not seen in the Japanese release, however none of the pornographic content from the Japanese director's cut was included. The abriged version of Mezzo Forte, however, has no sex scenes and only contains two naked scenes, both showing the breasts, nipples and labia. But the shortened version is still rated 16 and up by US distributor Media Blasters. Two versions were released in the U.S. - a general release and a "Director's Cut" edition, which includes three minutes of footage not suitable for minors.
In addition, an International Version was released in Japan on July 23, 2004. This version includes 20 minutes of extra footage, but none of the adult scenes found in the Director's Cut.
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[edit] Synopsis
Momokichi Momoi, the owner of a professional baseball team known as the Peach Twisters, has a unique way of dealing with ineffective players ... killing them! And if this mob boss wasn't bad enough, there's his daughter Momomi, who is twice as twisted as her father.
Mikura and the Danger Service Agency is hired by a mysterious old man to kidnap Momokichi. But during that attempt, they run afoul of Momomi. Before the resulting firefight, Momokichi dies when his head falls on a ventalation pipe. Now Mikura and the D.S.A. have to come up with a new plan before they end up as Momomi's next victims.
[edit] Characters
The series concerns three characters who comprise the Danger Service Agency (D.S.A.)
- Mikura Suzuki (鈴木 海空来), the team's combat specialist who enjoys shooting first and asking questions later. She also has a limited precognitive ability which enables her to see brief glimpes of the future, but she cannot control it. Mikura is strong , highly proficient at fighting and using firearms. She is determined, strong willed and can be a cold blooded killer if the situation requires her to be one. She is very competitive and unsociable, but she has a kind soul deep down. She also has a love of karaoke.
- Kenichi Kurokawa (黒川 健一), their leader who is an ex-cop and loves eating noodles. An ex-cop who is partners with Mikura and Harada in the DSA or Danger Service Agency ( often referred to as the "Risk Their Lives Trio" in the press). He loves noodles, drives a yellow Volkswagen Bug, howles at hot women and always cracks lame puns. Mikura and Harada refer to Kurokawa as "Pops" for short. He likes to think that he is in charge, and more often-or-not, he does arrange jobs for the DSA. However, his knowledge in underworld dealings is valuable to the team. When the DSA, was contracted to kidnap a baseball owner, he thought he recognized his face.
- Tomohisa Harada (原田 智久), the member who knows about all things technical. Member of the Danger Service Agency, He's a pointy-haired young man who is infatuated with Mikura, but won't admit it to himself or others. He is an expert on androids and all things technical. In the beginning, he was working on a prototype for a sex robot who acted as a prostitute and did sexual favors to those who would pay.
- Momokitchi Momoi, the baseball owner in question. The owner of the Peach Twisters, Momokitchi has had to deal with constant losing seasons of his beloved team. However, the usual tactic he employs to unload ineffective players is by killing them. He was one of the team owners suspected in "The Bloody Pennant Race", a series of killings of baseball players ten years prior. He is also an avid bowler, and would often be challenged by his daughter Momomi at a bowling alley he owned, the Peach Bowl.
- Momomi Momoi, Momokitchi Momoi's daughter. A very beautiful, large-breasted woman, Momomi is also very violent, often killing people out of a whim. On all versions, she appears naked in a shower scene, which show her breasts and labia. To cross this woman would be considered suicide.
- The instances of Momomi's talent for murder and violence are many. One rumor has it that she celebrated her tenth birthday by killing someone. Another rumor says her favorite color is red... blood red. Her room decor could be described as "phycotic panda", which is a wide-eyed cartoon giant panda. In the anime, she killed the manager and the pitching coach of the Peach Twisters for threatening to leak scandalous stories about Momomi. And after Momokitchi was kidnapped by the D.S.A., Momomi responded by taking an automatic pistol and killing her father's bodyguards for failing to do their jobs.
- Momomi, by account of her lesbian lover Sakura Sakurada, is also Mikura's half-sister, and possesses the same precognative ability as Mikura. She had two visions that had involved Mikura, leading to an uncertain future.
[edit] Rating
The Director's Cut carries an NC-17 rating; however, the edited version is only close enough for a high R rating. [citation needed]
[edit] Trivia
Near the beginning of the movie (Around five minutes into the movie) in the car scene, Sawa, the female protagonist from Kite makes a pop-up scene; she looks straight in to the car.
[edit] Spinoffs
Mezzo Forte also later spawned a TV series, called Mezzo DSA, in 2003. Mezzo: DSA is a sequel, with the events taking place after the events of Mezzo Forte.
[edit] External links
- Internet Movie Database entry
- (Japanese) [Green Bunny's Mezzo page] (Site is closed)
