Nanako Kaitai Shinsyo: Medical Comedy Love Action (Bionic Nanako)
by Adam "OMEGA" Arnold

Pioneer Entertainment and New Generation Pictures are hard at work bringing the latest in anime series including the unique reincarnation-based Nazca and re-release of both 3x3 Eyes OVA series to eager otaku everywhere. It is with great pleasure that ANIMEfringe presents this compilation of a number of Internet and print sources to take this look at the soon to be released series Nanako Kaitai Shinsyo: Medical Comedy Love Action (Nakako's Anatomy Report), tentatively titled Bionic Nanako, for a domestic release.

Meet Nanako (Maria Yamamoto), an ordinary high-school student... until her parents run into financial problems. So, the well-endowed young girl must take a job to help out with her parent's mounting debt. This reluctant job is a nurse's position at a 'highly suspicious hospital' that is run by the mad scientist, Kyoji Ogami, who also has a policy of hiring some other very odd doctors and experimenting with mecha. Nanako seems to be up against the wall with no other choice but to do her job. But will she be able to see the end of this mess? The only way to find out is to watch this six episode OVA series, comprised of six episodes that are referred to as ‘Operations.' These are opr.1 The First Spiral, opr.2 Memories of You, opr.3 Psycho Patient, opr.4 Fire-crackers, opr.5 The Last Spiral -Former Part, and opr.6 The Last spiral-Latter Part. In addition to the actual episodes, there are six audio and drama CDs as well as a special promo video that was released before the OVA came out in Japan.

AllAnime.com calls this series an 'End-of-the-Century romantic medical action comedy', an ambitious title giving this series has a lot to live up to. But not to worry, as Tenchi-Muyo! director Hiroshi Negishi is on the job to make this series as unforgettable as all the others he has touched. The series also sports character designs by Toshinari Yamashita of Burn Up W! and animation production by Radix (Sakura Wars, Silent Mobius, Nazca, etc). When combined with the witty characters, Radix's animation brings an unbelievable blend of 2D animation with the CG mecha that result from the various operations in the series.

Nanako Kaitai Shinsyo's subtitle ‘Medical Comedy Love Action' does not disappoint either. All these elements make for a unique blend of genres. Especially since the series is, at its core, a light-hearted and funny play full of ridiculous sex happenings. But, Unlike sex-filled, hentai titles like Ogenki Clinic, Nanako is more in line with 'soft-porn' shows like ADV's Metal Angel Marie (My Dear Marie) or Viz's Video Girl Ai. If there is such a comparison, that is it. It's no wonder that Hiroshi Negishi wanted to do this project after successfully presenting the mature sexual situations concerning Tenchi Misaki in Tenchi-Muyo! in Love 2.

Jonathan Klein, Vice-President of New Generation Pictures, has informed ANIMEfringe that Taliesin Jaffe, who directed the domestic release of Nazca, will be directing this series and it is most likely to get at least a '16 & Up' rating from Pioneer due to mature situations and brief nudity. Look for the tentatively titled Bionic Nanako later this year from Pioneer in both VHS sub and dub formats as well as a bilingual DVD.

Bibliography / Further Resources:

Animerica Vol. 7 #4
AllAnime.com
Radix
Pioneer LDC
Pioneer LDC's Official Nanako Kaitai Shinsyo Web Site

Special Thanks to Jonathan Klein of New Generation Pictures for all his help with information on the English release.