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Project A-Ko FAQ

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PROJECT A-KO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


Introduction

This is a list of the most common questions regarding the movie series PROJECT A-KO. A-Ko started out as a parody of anime, and is arguably one of the best (and best-known) anime available outside of Japan.

With contributions from: Derek Upham, Ken Arromdee, Jon Beckett, Enrique Conte, and Curtis H. Hoffmann.
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Why is the title of the anime Project A-ko?

It's a pun on "Project A", which was the title of a popular movie by Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan, about an ex-navy man fighting pirates. Chan acknowledged the in-joke in "Project A II", where he had 4 characters introduce themselves as Mr. A, Mr. B, Mr. C, and Mr. D...
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What's with the asteroid?

That's what was left of the ship C-ko came in, along with all the advanced technology which was used to rebuild Graviton. What's left of the "asteroid" became the tower that is standing in the middle of the lake.
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Why are the names of the characters "A-ko", "B-ko" and "C-ko"?

"Eiko" is a common female Japanese name, which sounds like "A-ko". "B-ko" and "C-ko" follow the sequence. In Japanese, the "-ko" (kanji for "child") suffix is only used in feminine names, so it means that A-ko and the others are female.

Another possible explanation is that the names describe their attributes. A-ko = Athletic, B-ko = Brainy, C-ko = Cute. (So what's D?)

The use of letters could also emphasize the simplicity of the plot. A and C are friends. Here comes B, who wants to have C for herself, and tries to get A out of the way. Meanwhile, D is looking for a lost princess...

The full names of the characters are "A-ko Megami", "B-ko Daitokuji" and "C-ko Kotobuki".
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Why are A-ko and C-ko wearing different uniforms from the rest of the girls?

It's traditional in Japanese schools to have transfer students wear their old school uniforms until they get their new ones. Note that by the end of the film A-ko and C-ko have the same uniforms as the other girls.
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Is B-ko a lesbian?

Maybe, maybe not. In the second sequel, A-ko and B-ko chase the same man, so B-ko is at most bi. But, since most of the characters in this universe are female, what else is she going to chase?

Originally, Project A-ko was intended to be another installment in the Cream Lemon series of adult anime. Sometime during pre-production, the decision was made to tone down the sexual situations and make a more mainstream anime film. It may very well be that B-ko was intended to be an overt lesbian in the original anime. (Given that the team who did Project A-ko was the same team who had just finished the acclaimed "Pop Chaser" installment of Cream Lemon, one has to wonder how the adult version would have turned out...)
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Is C-ko a lesbian?

YOU SICK PUPPY, YOU!! ^_^ After the incident with the wolf (in the flashback) C-ko developed an extreme case of hero-worship on A-ko.

C-ko has no interest whatsoever in sex.
(Perhaps because the word is too long for her to understand...)
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Is "D" a man?

- No. EVERYONE in the alien ship is female (even Captain Napolipolita).
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Why is B-ko dancing with those fans?

The fans are called "tessen", and she's doing a victory dance (note the 'V'-sign she does at the end). See, her flunkies have arrived, and they have C-ko!!
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Is A-ko's father Superman?

Yes, and her mother is Wonder Woman. It should be pretty obvious from the cameo shot in the living room at the end of the first movie. The animators who did Project A-ko are familiar with quite a bit of American and British SF, as well as anime.

"Dad" is reading the "Daily Plenet", and the headlines are taken from the 1940's Superman cartoons by the Fleischer Brothers (which I heartily recommend). The one on the left is from "The Bulleteers", while the one on the right is from "The Mad Scientist".

We meet B-ko's father in Project A-ko 2. Mr. Daitokuji has an uncanny resemblance to Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man. This would explain the money (Stark is a rich industrialist), the powersuits (Iron Man's abilities come from his armor suit), and the rivalry (Marvel Comics publishes Iron Man, while arch-rival DC Comics publishes Superman).
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What was B-ko watching at the very end of the movie?

A-ko and C-ko, so she can start her morning fight.
Some things never change.
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Are there any sequels?

5 of them. Project A-ko 2 to 4, and Project A-ko the Vs: Grey Side, and Blue Side. All of them were made-for-video releases, while Project A-ko was a theatrical release. They have all been released in the US.
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What's this about in-jokes in the movie

Project A-ko has a mind-boggling number of in-jokes referring to other animated and live-action SF shows, as well as product in-jokes. A partial list follows:

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Translations

Project A-Ko, and all of its sequels have been both subtitled, and dubbed, into English by U.S. Manga Corps. There have also been fan translations for all of the sequels floating around for several years.
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The Manga

Project A-Ko wasn't really based on a previous manga, from what I can tell. However, after the first movie was released, a manga was created excerpting the movie.

There is an orginal comic book series published by ??? studios. The artwork is by Tim Eldred, previously the artist of the American Captain Harlock comics. Curtis Hoffmann is not at all impressed by the artwork in the American comic, and has never been pulled in by the writing enough to actually read any of it.

If someone else wants to review the American Comic, they can do so here.
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Project A-Ko Web Sites

There are several Web Sites that have some information concerning, and/or focus on Project A-Ko. There are even more locations that have screen captures and sound samples from the movies. However, since web pages come and go all the time, it would be too much work to attempt to compile all of these URL's here. Instead, I suggest that if you want to locate some of these other sites, you start with:

The Anime Web Turnpike, the best set of web links on the net.

The Anime Pocket Guide has a short description of the OAVs, and is also a good general information resource.

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The Main Cast

[A-ko] A-ko Megami: a super-strong, slightly naive high school girl. Daughter of Superman and Wonder Woman, A-ko hates waking up early in the morning.
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[B-ko] B-ko Daitokuji: a super-talented girl, and A-ko's rival for C-ko's attention. B-ko may or may not be a lesbian, but she certainly hates being shown up by anyone else at anything that she does. B-ko's father is (a thinly disguised) Tony Stark, the Iron Man.
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[C-ko] C-ko Kotobuki: The ultimate airhead. C-ko is an alien princess, somehow lost on Earth. She worships A-ko, and can't remember who B-ko is (when they'd last met years before, B-ko was an ugly little brat that liked picking on C-ko.) C-ko always talks in third person, can not cook to save her life, and will burst into tears at the slightest sign of disapproval from anyone else.
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[Agent D] Agent D: An enthusiastic, if dense, alien spy sent to Earth to locate her people's princess. Big and ugly, D really is female, although it's hard to tell at first.
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Captain Napolipolita: Captain of the alien ship sent out to rescue C-ko and return the princess to her home world. The Captain is quite intrepid, but inclined to drink when under pressure.
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Everyone else: Too numerous to mention. Unless one of you guys decides to send me updates to this file.
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Seiyuu List

The below list of Japanese voice actors from Project A-Ko and A-Ko the Versus comes from the
Voice Actors Database maintained by Hitoshi Doi.

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Misc. Stuff

This FAQ is currently being maintained by
Curtis Hoffmann.
You can contact him to pass on comments or suggested changes.

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