There are so *many* things that are awful about Ryuusei Sentai Musumet, I’m at a loss where to begin. ^_^

I had high hopes for this anime, I really did. The logo is very Charlie’s Angels and I hoped for something that was self-consciously kitschy and satirical. Unfortunately, what I ended up with was something that was just dull. Oh, it *tries* to be kitschy and satirical…but fall short, and ends up being the kind of thing that teen boys make Beavis and Butthead noises about, while entirely missing that *they* are the ones being made fun of.

Musumet starts with three color-coded girls: Kurenai (red), Aoi (blue) and Midori (green). They live in a lab/HQ/complex along with an older guy who was Kurenai’s father’s best friend, a repulsive midget child, a requisite flaky, yet super genius inventor megane girl and a competent and probably homicidally frustrated blonde second-in-command. A random male classmate (who appears to be in a completely *different* anime most of the time,) finishes the lineup. The supporting cast are, apparently, three sisters, one who is half American and speaks highly amusing Jinglish/Engrish, one who is half Chinese, who is too cute to be as offensive as the normal Chinese stereotypes are usually, and one who is, inexplicably, half Brazilian (?) and seems to function in an expository manner most of the time.

In every episode, thus far, a random handsome guy has turned into a very stupid Monster of the Day, and been defeated by one or more of the Musumet girls – usually by the girl that liked him. Utterly yawn-making.

The satire portion of this series has been limited to henshin scenes in which only the helmet transforms and a few gags – mostly predictable, a few midly amusing. The self-conscious quality is completely missing…even the fanservice lacks irony.

And irony is what this series so desperately needs. Instead of being a funny parody of the sentai genre, it reads like one more of a zillion lame-ass fanservicey shounen attempts at magical girl. I anticipate tentacles any day now, in the same way that I anticipate a cavity at my next dental check up.

There is NO Yuri here. The first three episodes were virtually dedicated to proving how heterosexual these three girls are. I was *so* hoping for a Kate Jackson-like character, who was if not gay, at least cool and competent and slightly butchy…but no.

I can’t imagine a plot ever developing, either. What would they do? Why would anyone care? And yet, there was the vaguest hint at the end of the fourth episode, that a plot is forthcoming. I shudder to think.

Ratings:

Story – 3
Characters – 4
Art – 3
Music – 8, because it’s appropriately cheeseball
Yuri – 0

Overall – a lame, limping 4.

It’s series like this one that make me wonder *who* exactly are being targeted? I mean, if *I* thought this series was great, I’d be worried about me. On the whole, if I want crap, I’ll stick with the likes of Lingerie Soldier Papillon Rose – now *that’s* quality. ^_^