Astro Fighter Sunred – Playing the Role of Hero and Villain

I recently blew through both seasons of Astro Fighter Sunred and enjoyed both (though I prefer the first season). It’s very much in the tradition of the absurd meeting the mundane that you see in anime every so often (like Cromartie High School or this season’s Nichijou or whatever). The base of the show is the evil organization Florsheim (led by Vamp, the dude with the helmet and killer mustache/beard combo in the above screenshot) battling Sunred (pretty obvious who he is lol). But these battles are always anticlimactic (Sunred is guaranteed to beat the shit out of whatever monster Florsheim throws his way), and they are surrounded by characters — including the Florsheim monsters — living normal lives. They work normal jobs, go on dates, attend community meetings, and a few monsters even go clubbing at one point, haha.

And that’s where the absurdity comes in. Everyone (with one notable exception that I remember off the top of my head) plays everything straight. For the citizens of the town, every monster may as well be a human. The audience can never forget the fact of their appearance (not to mention their alignment), which makes a lot of what happens so damn funny. And there’s something about how Sunred plays with roles and appearances that not only amused me but that I also found somewhat interesting.