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Episode 3: Koko Wa Ma-Oh No Mori
(The Making of Here is Devilwood)



Distributed by: (Japan), Software Sculptors (North America)
Length: 30 minutes
Rating: NR, parental guidance suggested
Format: Original Japanese dialog (LD), subtitled (VHS) and dubbed (VHS)

Based on the manga series by: Nasu Yukie Screenplay: Mochizuki Tomomistu Director: Mochizuki Tomomistu Producer: Studio Pierrot English version by: Koike Hitomi and Neil Nadelman


[ plot summary ]

volume 2

It's school festival time and the various residences are competing with each other to win a popularity contest. Up for grabs is 15% of the student council festival operating budget. Determined to win the competition and to make a killing on the gambling assets, Shinobu decides that Greenwood will put together a movie, with Mitsuru playing the lead role. With both Mitsuru and Shinobu endorsing Greenwood, how could they not win? Then again, will Kazuya agree to be Mitsuru's lackey in the play? This is a behind the scenes look on producing a movie at Greenwood and all the foibles associated with the residence.


[ capsule review ]

(Subtitled version) Boy, does this one bring back memories... I was heavily involved in high school theater productions when I was growing up, so there was a lot here that I could relate to. (Admittedly, video equipment back then was virtually unattainable for us common folk, so Super-8 film or live theater were the medium of choice. But I digress...) We again have that minor quirk in time lines -- Mitsuru is once again dorm president, and Shinobu is still Student Council President, but that's a very minor point. But sheesh! Someone please get rid of that god-awful synthesizer they use for background music. It was unpleasant earlier, it's just plain unbearable now. Simple plot, but the humour is great! (Yeah, we used to have some pretty tacky school productions as well.) The behind-the-scenes peeks how our heroes put together this "blockbuster" is great. I especially like how anything and everything is conscripted into service. Plus, there's a sneak peek at another production that Shun's involved in. Ahh, those were the days... - AN

(Dubbed version) Heyyyy... Wait just one minute! Is that a male voice (Cliff Hosgrove) I hear for the manga artist? I still wish they would have replaced the soundtrack for the English dub. And why do most of the tertiary characters sound the same? Wait a minute! No! Please don't do the trailer for the next episode! Someone, quick! Another Gravol! - AN


(Subbed Version) Yet another odd-ball episode! This time with the school play. Still, if you've ever been involved in school clubs or lived in res., you often see the interesting means of volunteering tbat can sometimes happen. There's not much story in the episode except perhaps for the movie that Greenwood is putting together. Devilwood itself as a story is a little unusual as well, but I suppose we're to expect that sort of thing for a high school festival production. (How many more people does he have to kill?!)

The animation is again nothing special, and neither is the music. Still, there were some good moments in this episode. I especially liked how Kazuya and Mitsuru get into arguing (again!) right at the beginning. This series' humour really appeals especially since so much of it deals with things that most of us have gone through in school productions, clubs, or just res. living. Gotta love it! -JYN

(Dubbed version) As if things weren't bad enough with the voice acting, things get worse still in this episode! The one saving character in the first episode and even partly in the second was that Shun's voice was halfway decent and the acting wasn't too bad. Unfortunately something has since happened to make her start heavily overacting her role and there is now no saving grace to this version of the English production. While watching this program, it was all I could do to keep myself from either gagging to death, or just putting the tape through the shredder! One interesting point which actual almost made me laugh at the sheer pathetic nature of this episode was that all the male student voices sound very similar, to the point that I was starting to have difficulty telling them apart! It was just too pathetic. Their voice caster obviously likes one specific voice type and *really* stuck to it. Despite being well done, the fact that the translations were so literal is really a shame. They could have had some real fun playing with the translations for the script for "Devilwood". Oh well. - JYN



[ café rating ]

Original: Subbed: Dubbed:
Story: N/A 3 stars 3 stars
Direction: N/A 4 stars 1 star
Acting: N/A 3 stars turkey
Animation: N/A 2 stars 2 stars
Music: N/A 1 star 1 star
Translation: N/A 5 stars 4 stars
Overall Rating: N/A 3 stars turkey

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