Maze OVA

MAZE: THE MEGA-BURST SPACE OVA (1997)

Format: 2 28-minute OVA episodes plus 1^st episode of TV series on one DVD

Rating: R (N, AC, AL, GV) for OVA, PG-13 (AC, AL, V) for TV series

American Production: Software Sculptures

Japanese Production: JVC/J.C. Staff

Grading
Premise:	C
Story:	C
Writing:	C
Character Design:	C
Mecha Design:	C
Animation:	C
Artistic Merits:	C
English Dub:	C
Musical Score:	C+
Opener:	C
Closer:	C+

Humor Content:	B-
Action Content:	C+
Drama Content:	C

DVD Presentation:	D
DVD Extras:	B-

OVERALL:	C

Synopsis

Maze, a character drawn from an alternate “real world” reality who is a woman by day and man by night, travels through a fantasy world with the deposed Princess Mill and an assorted cast that includes a pair of freelance warriors (Aster and Solude), a female knight (Rapier), and a former Royal Adviser who is quite knowledgeable and skilled with grenades (Woll). Along the way to escorting Princess Mill to safety they encounter a fairy (Randy) and become guests of a Duke who is obsessed with building a glorious tower and who has cut a deal with members of the Jaina Holy Group, which seeks to have Maze destroyed since he/she is a powerful wizard in this land.

The Long View

I am unclear whether the OVA or TV series for Maze came first, but the OVA will make more sense if you have seen the TV series first, and this review will make more sense if you have read my review for the TV series (reviewed here) first.

The two OVA episodes of Maze seem to fall somewhere in the middle of the TV series storyline. The fairy Randy is introduced in a different manner, Rapier’s hair is a different color, and the female Maze seems distinctly more willing to be aggressive, but otherwise the characters, action, and humor more or less conform to the standards set by the TV series. The graphic content in the OVAs is considerably more mature, most notably when it comes to nudity (which is not unusual in the OVAs) and the suggestive sexual content is distinctly stronger. The use of soundtrack does vary from what is heard in the series, and both the opener and closers are different from any used in the TV series.

Overall, the OVA episodes for Maze do not distinguish themselves in any sense. It is very run-of-the-mill anime in terms of both technical merits and storytelling. See the review of the TV series for details on the first TV episode.

DVD Extras

Company Trailers, a “Meet the Cast” feature which shows English and Japanese vocal credits for a handful of key characters, and a DVD-Rom feature which contains gallery shots, production sketches, and scripts. This DVD suffers from the same organizational defect as those of the TV series, in that it does not put the opener and closers for each episode in separate chapters.

Principle English Voice Actors

Role	Voice Actor
Man Maze	Greg Wolfe
Woman Maze	Angora Deb
Princess Mill	Elisa Wain
Aster	Michael Schwartz
Solude	Tara Jayne
Rapier	Suzy Prue
Randy	Michelle Medlin
Woll	Tristan Goddard
Gorgeous	Rik Guiltor
Chic, assorted minor roles	Yotee
Female Jaina Creator	Shannon Conley
Mix	Stacia Crawford
Duke Den Den	William Rodham