Metal Fighters - Miku...
Sometime in the mid 90's, I picked up the VHS version of Metal Fighters - Miku...
Metal Fighters - Miku is basically a wrestling soap opera told in six volumes. So, if you don't mind soap operas and wrestling then you'll probably have fun with it. I lost interest about five volumes into the series. I used to have the series on subtitled VHS. In the aftermath of the Ultimate Otaku Fall Cleanup, I decided not to keep Metal Fighters - Miku in my archive. I gave Metal Fighters - Miku a 2 out of 5.
Volume 1
Women's Neo Pro-Wrestling is the most popular sport in the year 2061. It's wrestling with the added twist of equipping its contestants with high-tech powered Metal Suits. Clad in these armored suits, the fighter's speed and power is amplified to allow for spectacular high energy fighting action.
Entering this highly competitive sport is The Pretty Four. Miku, Ginko, Sayaka, and Nana, face the likes of the monstrous Crushers and the deadly Lady Ninjas. When The Pretty Four enter a grand championship elimination tournament, they find that they need help to prepare.
Help comes in the form of drunken Metal Fighter coach Eiichi Suo. What Suo lacks in appearances he more than makes up for in skill. And soon, Miku and the other girls are on their way to Neo-Wrestling stardom.
Volume 2
After their blazing entrance onto the Neo Pro-Wrestling scene, Miku and the other members of the Pretty Four settle in for the grueling tournament which awaits them. But Miku soon learns that the competition isn't always confined to the ring!
With the arrival of a new girl to join the ranks of TWP, it looks as though Miku's found both a doting fan and a new friend. But when mysterious accidents begin striking everyone on the team except Miku herself, she's soon under suspicion by everyone around her. Coach Suo's solution? A battle royale between The Pretty Four themselves! Because, as he says, someone so weak who has to resort to cheating could never win in a fair fight.
Later on, the Pretty Four go on the road for their next match. When Miku sprains her shoulder in an accident, it looks as though the Star of Beauty may fall in her next battle. But when SWWP's Beauties of Nature cut down everyone in their path, Miku is once again all that stands between defeat and victory. What will be the outcome when "Miku Turns Chicken"?
Volume 3
With Ginko still in the hospital recovering from the last match, Miku and the other girls get some well deserved time to themselves. But Shibano and his son Naoya are still hard at work trying to destroy the TWP, and now they've come up with their most devious plot yet: if you can't destroy them from without, set the Pretty Four up to destroy themselves!
This cunning plan takes the form of a two-pronged strike on the girls' morale, with Naoya playing the doting new boyfriend for an unsuspecting Miku while offering Ginko a chance at stardom in the American Neo Pro-Wrestling leagues. As Miku begins to doubt whether she wants to continue living her rough and tumble life, a sorely tempted Ginko considers a decision that will break the team apart forever.
But when Ginko is told to prove herself to the recruiter by beating the next team single-handed, she's setting herself up for another crushing defeat. Will her pride destroy her? And can Miku give up her chance to be a "normal" girl for the sake of the team?
Volume 4
The Pretty Four leave the semi-finals behind in a blaze of victory! But now, Miku and the rest of the girls must prepare for their greatest challenge yet -and their training and skills will be completely useless! The Pretty Four must step into the ring... and sing!
That's right, Harajuku's latest marketing scheme for his idol wrestlers has them cutting a CD. And now, as the girls try to prepare for their final match against the Moonlight Jewels - and Sapphire who's looking even more invincible - can they focus on anything but trying to get the edge on Sapphire's killer team?
As both teams square-off for the final showdown, the great Aquamarine waits and wonders what surprises her former coach has in store for the Moonlight Jewels. Will the Pretty Four triumph and face Aquamarine in the championship, or will Shibano and his minions pull off one last dirty trick to rob them of their victory?
Volume 5
Since the last match was declared invalid, Miku prepares for a one-on-one rematch against Sapphire. But despite Yoko's insistence that Sapphire can beat Miku without resorting to dirty tricks, Shibano plays his trump card - and he's not bothering with subtlety - this time it's all out war!
Recruited from a war zone on the far side of the planet, a mercenary surfaces in Tokyo, armed with a military-class Metal Suit. His objective: to make absolutely sure the Pretty Four never set foot in the ring again. Soon, Nana and Sayaka are hospitalized, Ginko is kidnapped - and Miku is next. But Sapphire is a little annoyed by her employer's constant interference, and won't be denied her rematch with Miku. Get ready for the ultimate team-up, as Miku and Sapphire join forces to rescue Ginko!
But even if the daring duo should succeed, can Sapphire beat Miku in a fair fight? A mid-air deathmatch awaits -and only one can advance to challenge Aquamarine in the championships!
Volume 6
Miku is slated to face the Great Aquamarine, JWMF Champion and Queen of the Neo Pro-Wrestling world, in a one-on-one battle royale. The eyes of millions of fans are upon her, and Coach Suo isn't letting up one bit - but Miku's starting to have second thoughts.
Her coach's obsession with defeating Aquamarine finally drives Miku from the seaside training camp where she had been training. While visiting her former teammate, Kyoko, who is recuperating after their last match, Miku confesses why she can't go through with the match: Aquamarine represents her goal... her ideal. How can Miku defeat her own dreams?
Aquamarine is also approaching the match with mixed feelings. Coach Suo has changed since he was her coach - and Miku represents everything that's changed between them. If Aquamarine wins, will she find the answers to her questions? The final match is about to begin, and Coach Suo has something planned that could rock the Neo Pro-Wrestling world to its very core...
Metal Fighters - Miku is basically a wrestling soap opera told in six volumes. So, if you don't mind soap operas and wrestling then you'll probably have fun with it. I lost interest about five volumes into the series. I used to have the series on subtitled VHS. In the aftermath of the Ultimate Otaku Fall Cleanup, I decided not to keep Metal Fighters - Miku in my archive. I gave Metal Fighters - Miku a 2 out of 5.
