Dual! Paralle Lunlun Monogatari

Out of my entire collection of anime, this is the MOST replayed title in my player. When it comes down to it, if I'm seriously bored, Dual! gets popped into my player and I watch it straight through. I was kind of skeptical at first glance. I'm not too big on mecha (save Robotech) and my first misconception was that it was going to be more action than a tenchi clone. After the first few episodes, I was insanely hooked into it. The story starts out with Kazuki, a typical high-schooler with a not-so typical overactive imagination. So overactive, that he sees things that other people don't like giant robots battling outside his classroom. He is then noticed by the school's most popular girl, Mitsuki. She has an interest in Kazuki's "visions" and it goes on from there.

Since I am a Tenchi mark, the plot (to me) was very good. You have this loser that gets marked as such and then all of a sudden he's zapped into this other dimension where he ends up being a hero and most wanted bachelor for some women. A loser turned hero story is pretty trite, but when done the way it was in Dual! it brings that simple story into a great series. The art/animation is similar to Tenchi Muyo so that was a plus. A hint of relation between TM and Dual! comes up at the end of the series where one of the mecha is explained to have "Light Hawk Wings" just like in TM. That and the robot itself is the only connection to TM in the way of coincidence. If you have watched TM GXP, you'll notice the robot "Idol" is a exact copy of Dual's robot, "Jinbu". The fact that both robots are in both shows would show some type of relationship. However, I think that there really is no connection because both stories were set in a similar period of time. Unless GXP was based solely into the "future", it's impossible to have the same robot in both series at the same time.

Back to the review. The reason why I watch this over and over again was based on the relationship that Kazuki had with Mitsuki. It started out as curious and then evolved. I just enjoyed Mitsuki's stubborness about her feelings towards Kazuki. She reminds me of Ryoko of Tenchi Muyo. Both Mitsuki/Ryoko like Kazuki/Tenchi but both are to stubborn to admit it. Mitsuki is a lot more stubborn because she has never shown her true feelings (except in one episode where she asks Kazuki to stay with her in their own world). Probably the only thing that I didn't really like was that Kazuki was a lot more dense than Tenchi was with the other girls. Plus, the fact Kazuki is more of a wimp than Tenchi. He's way less interested in the girls who were fawning over him and more interested in getting home.

In the end, the characters were great which complimented the entire story. The story itself was very good and it made the package well worth the money I've spent on this series. For those who have wanted to see something after the TM series, jump into this one. For a series like this one, it's worth the investment. This is #2 in my top ten, right underneath the TM franchise.

KBanger1's rank: A+

This series starts off as an obvious parody of Neon Genesis Evangelion. For starters, the mecha look like the mecha of EVA only with high heels. The pilots consist of two girls and one guy. Their training is like EVA. But as a story, this wasnt very funny nor compelling. To me, this was kind of boring but that's just me.

Fortunately Kajishima-sensei decided to go to what he knows best make a harem series of this title. It is here that suddenly he seems to find a story which becomes very interesting. When we learn some items about one of the leaders of the Rara armies, the story really gets interesting. With the harem elements added, the series finds most of its humor as well. Sadly, just as things are getting good, the series comes to a close. While everything is mostly brought to a conclusion, explanations of many items are few and far between.

I did have one problem though -- the secret of the artifact technology. Kajishima-sensei has stated that all of his series are linked in some fashion or other. He links Dual! with Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki, specifically with Tenchi Muyou! GXP. In my initial viewing, I was very disappointed by this linkage. Since I wrote this review in 2003, I've had more time to reflect and having a better understanding of K-sensei's mind, it doesn't bother me like it once did.

Bottom line: Kajishima fans & harem fans will for sure want to check this title out. Mecha fans may find some items of interest but nothing special. Its worth a rent though.

Sorry, but I do have to chime in on this series ... OK.. A-class anime?... This series is not, but if you can enjoy a B-class anime series that does not try to introduce anything new or kick-something up to a new level, but does tell a very fun and escapist B-class anime tale, then you will enjoy this series too.

While this series is not grand, it does tell a very fun (if a bit simple) story of adventure of a boy stuck between two worlds. I purchased the R1 English dub release and there are those moments in which I will put this series in the DVD player and enjoy one-more-time again.

It is really should be rated a <rent+>, but I like this series and am not afraid of flagging it as being a fun < rent+++/buy > addition to my anime library.

Drama : Med
Comedy : Med
Action : Med
SciFi : High
Ecchi : Low

This is a rather sweet show. I think the story is more like El Hazard: The Magnificent World or Wanderers than Tenchi Muyou, since it is about a guy who travels to another world (in this case, a parallel dimension) and discovers an unexpected ability (in this case, piloting a giant robot). Figuring out the correspondences between the two worlds makes for an interesting puzzle. Character design is stylized, rather like the designs in Tenchi Forever, and the computer-generated sequences are a bit distracting in my opinion. The characters are probably the weakest part of the show, but I still liked them well enough all by the end. Episode 13 ends on a definite "awww!" note. After seeing the epilogue (episode 14) I actually wouldn't mind a sequel to this series.

Bottom line: Harmless fluff with a few interesting twists.