Maps (anime)

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MAPS is the English title for two Japanese anime OAVs: the original MAPS (Maps: Densetsu no Samayoeru Seijintachi, 1987) and the remake (Maps densetsu no fukkatsu, 1994). Both are based on Hasegawa Yuichi's manga series MAPS (マップス), serialized monthly in Nora magazine from 1985 to 1994.

The basic story is that normal Earth boy Gen and his girlfriend Hoshimi meet Lipumira, a scantily-clad blond woman from outer space, who tells Gen that he is the "mapman," meaning the map to a great treasure is coded in his genes. Gen and Hoshimi go off into space with Lipumira in search of the treasure. They often fight evil space people who also want the treasure.

Notable aspects of the series are the spaceships (which look like giant silver women, often described as "hood ornaments") and Lipumira's skimpy outfit (a red ribbon wrapped over strategic areas and clasped with a metal circlet at her left hip). Reviews of both series are generally mixed-to-negative.