12 (Nice) Moments of Anime 2011 No. 10 – A Anticlimactic Crisis
You’re god damn right I’m putting California Crisis in the “nice” section.
California Crisis is about two dumb teenagers in an anime without a Wikipedia page who end up stealing a steel box with a magic alien MacGuffin inside, whereupon they start driving to Death Valley. Also, there’s an inexplicable bar scene in the middle. And everything looks like it was drawn by Roy Lichtenstein.
What I would say separates California Crisis from, say, Garzey’s Wing is that California Crisis is so committed to being straight up dumb that it works. It’s not pretending to be something it isn’t: It’s just a brainless anime about two dummies driving across pop culture California with a meaningless artifact desired by every military macho man within a 100-mile radius.
There’s also an odd amount of real-life brands in this OVA. California Crisis is fond of giving the finger to copyright law. More like California Chrysler, amirite? Ain’t no SOMYs here, motherfucker!
Anyway, I agree with this man of refined taste that the best part of California Crisis is the end. It’s such a deliberately terrible ending that it makes me laugh. I certainly didn’t watch this OVA and come out caring about the characters, so the ending is a riot to me. It’s literally the point where the creators say to themselves, “Welp, that was fun. Let’s go drinking!” and then they just end the anime.
No delusions at all about its place on the anime pecking order, and that’s what makes California Crisis so amusing.
12/16/2011 at 3:23 pm
I think most people in Terribad missed the scene where main character dude is just parked at the side of the road and then mafia guys pull up across the street and literally have the loudest conversation about national secrets ever.
12/16/2011 at 3:44 pm
bahahaha I totally forgot about that. I need to rewatch this some time.
12/16/2011 at 3:42 pm
Totally gotta pimp out my post on California Crisis: http://mecha-guignol.com/2010/09/05/the-anticlimax/
Yes. My love for this thing is 100% devoid of irony. It’s the sort of genuine exploitative trash that I love. Would say something like “it’s the sort of thing we never see anymore,” but then we were blessed with Rio this year.
12/16/2011 at 3:45 pm
Yeah, I remember when we watched this in terribad, a couple of us linked the others to your post.
12/16/2011 at 8:09 pm
TERRIBLE SHOW IS TERRIBLE >.<
12/16/2011 at 8:10 pm
I think you meant to comment on my previous post.
12/16/2011 at 11:14 pm
well that show is bad too but this one pissed me off >.<