Switch OVA

It was only recently that I got hold of the second episode of Switch OVA although it was released in February 2009. The first episode was released in fall season year 2008. As a bonus, I also got my hands on the stage performance. I didn't know they made a theater out of it. Cool ^_^

Based on a manga by Naked Ape, this OVA is about the two cops from the Narcotic Control Department (or also known as the Matori): Etou Kai and Kurabayashi Hal. I won't go into details on how these two are. You can read that from my review on the manga. Although this story is not exactly like the manga, it still have the key theme which is, you guessed it, SWITCH.

In this OVA, the Matori wants to stop the drug dealer Asaya that sells illegal drug named Funny Angel (F.A). Hal was sent working undercover to investigate Asaya and the elusive Kotetsu. Meanwhile Kai was sent to investigate a botanical worker named Katagishi. There, he met with Kagura Akito who I think could be the trap of this story *chuckles evilly*

In the middle of the investigation, Hal got a called from someone unknown and asked him about the key to Switch. I already know who that is because I read the manga. Spoilers sucks sometimes. It kills the suspense. Only a little though because the ending is pretty neat.

I bet we are going to have the series soon once the manga is a bit far ahead. This OVA is a nice setup.

Gah I love how cool Hal is! @_@

I can see why one might mistaken this as shounen-ai. They were kinda implied that situation in this OVA which is ridiculous because it's fucking NOT!

No BL guys... NONE

Alright that was it for the story. As for the art, there is nothing really special about it. It definitely does not stand out from the rest of the anime. It was not bad, but quite average in quality. I can't say that I am fan of the character design either because Hal if not Kai, is definitely hotter in the manga. But kudoes nonetheless because they kinda got their characteristics right.

They made Hal looks like Kira's twin brother -__-

Kai is not a redhead >_>

The OP and ED are pretty rock on. However I don't find it appealing. It was appropriate for the theme of this OVA though, just not appropriate for my ears. The seiyuu casts are excellent though. We have Jun Fukuyama as Kai. Who? Well, he's Lelouch. Win? Yes. We also has Takahiro Sakurai as Hal. He's the same seiyuu who does Kururugi Suzaku and Kusuriuri. Hell yes? Hell yeah!! The most awesome however is Tomokazu Sugita as Kagura. I mean, he's my favorite male seiyuu (Gintoki!!) so having him doing a serious character is still made of fucking win. Sugita just plain roxx0r!

No, I did not forget to mention how awesome your seiyuu is, Kagura @_@

So basically I like what Switch OVA has to offer. It might be your typical police/mystery gag but it still provide with some good suspense moments, even for me, a manga reader of the series.



art 8/10
story 8/10
sound 7/10
character 9/10
enjoyment 9/10
overall 8/10

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Switch

Switch is a collaboration manga between Otoh Saki (story) and Tomomi Nakamura (art). Together they are known simply as the Naked Ape.

Switch featured the criminal investigator Kai Etou and his partner Hal Kurobayashi. These two do not see eye to eye, or I should say that Hal appeared to be very annoyed with Kai. They have totally opposite personalities so that's probably why. However as they work together, they created a bond between partners which run pretty deep.

Both of them are part of the Narcotic Control Department or Matori and their goal is to catch the Ryuugen, the most elusive drug dealer ever. So far Sawaki, one of the Ryuugen front men, has made himself known to Hal. This only increased Hal's determination to catch Sawaki and both the Right Arm and the Left Arm men of Ryuugen. Together with their comrades, Hal and Kai solve case after case hoping that it would get them closer to Ryuugen and crack the mystery behind [switch].


Hal can be considered the ace of the Matori. He is cool, smart and aloof and pretty much perfect as a cop. He is the kind of guy that won't make mistake in an investigation and who is not afraid of death if it means that he can get the work done.

Etou on the other hand screwed up a lot and caused the department substantial lost when it comes to catching their targeted criminals. But once he gets serious you don't want to be his enemy. He's like the police's psycho resident. The manga is yet to reveal what the deal is with his split personalities though. Even Hal is in the dark about it. The only one who might has the slightest idea about it is Hiki.

There are other interesting characters as well, like Sawaki. He's a badass badass. Very elusive and the only one who escaped from Hal. That gotta say something about him. There is Ibu, the self-proclaimed front man for Intelligence Department but he really does do most of the work. There is also this chic Mari who is an excellent drug appraisal expert. She has a crush on Kai. And then there are Keigo Kajiyama and Hiki Masataka. Keigo is the Chief of the 1st Division of Matori. Hiki is the big boss of Matori. He might be smiling all the time but he's very sly and you don't want to mess with him. He reminded me of Aizen.

I like the art. If I do not I would not have picked up the manga in the first place. However, the translator sucks sometimes. Sometimes I need to read twice to get what was going on in a panel. It has nothing to do with Otoh's story writing. I am just ranting because it can be frustrated at times.

Hal: my favorite character of [switch]

I recommended Switch to some of my friends and for whatever reason, they said they kinda read shounen-ai in between the lines. I said WTF?! because there is no BL in this manga. We even have Mari trying to get in Kai's pants all the time and Hal always pulls the ladies-man persona whenever he's undercover. So seriously, WTH man... I'm a big yaoi fans and if I can't detect any BL in this one, it means that it has NONE!

art 9/10
story 9/10
character 9/10
enjoyment 9/10
overall 9/10

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