Burn-Up Excess

Burn-Up Excess
Cover used for Burn Up Excess Volume 1 DVD
バーンナップEXCESS (Bānappu EXCESS)
Genre	Action, Comedy, Science fiction
Anime television series
Directed by	Shinichiro Kimura
Produced by	Kinya Watanabe Takeshi Akabane Yoshiyuki Matsuzaki
Music by	Koichi Namiki Shinobu Uchida
Studio	Magic Bus, AIC
Licensed by	^AUS Madman Entertainment ^NA ADV Films
Original run	December 12, 1997 – July 1, 1998
Episodes	13

Burn-Up Excess (バーンナップEXCESS Bānappu EXCESS) is an animated Japanese television series, directed by Shinichiro Kimura, animated by Magic Bus and AIC. It aired from 1997 to 1998, ran for 13 episodes, and 4 volumes of videos were released on VHS and DVD in North America by ADV Films.

The series is a tongue-in-cheek look at a special operations unit in the Tokyo police force called "Team Warrior", with large amounts of fan service thrown in for good measure, exemplified by the inclusion of ADV's trademarked "Jiggle Counter" on the DVD's along with Plastic Little.^[1][2]

Plot summary

The story revolves around Rio Kinezono, a buxom member of the team who consistently overspends her paycheck, but is also a top-flight martial artist and a valuable member of the team. In the field, Rio is usually flanked by Maya Jingu, the green-haired team sniper who appears to have a serious lust for ranged weapons (specifically assault rifles). Their antics are backed up by the inventions of Nanvel Candlestick, the exotic team engineer whose job is to devise and implement special combat and surveillance hardware for the team's use. Lilica Ebett, the sprightly pink-haired girl who's a computer expert, can pretty much crack into any information system, and Yuji Naruo, a perverted, camera-toting voyeur, always serves as Warrior's drop-operation pilot and driver. Maki Kawasaki, the mysterious, bespectacled superintendent, is charged with commanding Warrior in the field and administering their various missions as they arise.

The series chronicles the team members' adventures as they slowly track down a sinister city plot.

It was preceded by the OVA Burn-Up W, although there are some inconsistencies with several elements, the most notable of which is the malignant and calculating Ruby, who seems to be a completely different character altogether in Burn-Up Excess, despite the two anime being considered canon.

Characters

Main characters

Rio Kinezono

Voiced by: Yuka Imai (Japanese); Amanda Winn Lee (English)

This busty blonde is the main character of the series. She's trained in martial arts and is always the person leading an attack. She likes to look good and loves buying pretty things. Unfortunately, her spending habits keep her in eternal debt, so she's always looking for good-paying jobs to support her lifestyle. She has a desk job working for the police in Policetown and counts on work with Team Warrior to pay her bills. Always trying to find the easy way out, she tries to hook up with any rich guy she can find in the hopes that he'll be able to buy her all the pretty things she desires.

Lilica Ebett

Voiced by: Sakura Tange (Japanese); Kimberly Yates (English)

The computer expert of the group, Lilica is usually seen in a control room. With her pink hair done up in bows, she hacks into computer systems and gives intelligence support to the rest of the group.

Maki Kawazaki

Voiced by: Mami Kingetsu (Japanese); Beth Wernick (English)

Team Warrior's commander. A no-nonsense type of leader, she does remember one of the reason's she was awarded the command... which would later come back to haunt her.

Maya Jingu

Voiced by: Maya Okamoto (Japanese); Lani Minella (English)

Maya loves her guns and treats them like her men. She has green hair and is almost always seen wearing a headband.

Nanvel Candlestick

Voiced by: Yuri Amano (Japanese); Allison Keith (English)

Team Warrior's resident engineering wizard. She is the one responsible for creating a lot of the high-tech gadgets the team uses. But she has a bad habit of coloring her creations either purple or pink, for example a recon device constructed as a pink cockroach.

Yuji Naruo

Voiced by: Ryotaro Okiayu (Japanese); Jason Lee (English)

Yuji is the guy of the group and the team's vehicle expert. He is constantly hitting on Rio, much to her chagrin, and as we find in episode two, is a lover of female legs and undergarments. He is a great example of a hentai (pervert). He also has a bad habit of showing up in the girls' locker room while they're either changing or taking a shower (which gets him beat up a lot).

Minor Characters and Groups

Bob

The redheaded member of the Jingu crime syndicate in Osaka

Chi Mama

The leader of a group of transvestite thieves, although definitely not the brains behind his group's operation. Generally refers to Rio by a pet name for her, "Stephanie"

Drone bugs

Used by the Ruby and the Dawn Mirage to take over Neo Tokyo Tower

Gondo Construction

A crime syndicate in Osaka bent on taking over the Jingu crime syndicate

Henry

An advanced strategic tank with artificial intelligence and multiple forms of advanced weaponry, from standard machine guns to a large pulse cannon capable of destroying an entire division of standard tanks in seconds. One of Team Warrior's missions is to escort Henry from Japan to Switzerland, during which Rio accidentally triggers Henry's VIP guard system.

Jingu Syndicate

A crime syndicate in Osaka run by Maya's father

Ken

A chubby guy who wears glasses and is a member of the Jingu crime syndicate in Osaka

Maya's father

The boss of the Jingu crime syndicate in Osaka

Mecha Cops

The Mecha Cops are robotic police of mysterious origin being sold to the Neo Tokyo police. They have advanced artificial intelligence with black diamond CPUs, and are impervious to most normal weaponry. They are designed to subdue criminals using non-lethal force. They have many other features, including the ability to run faster than speeding cars and interface directly with computer systems in Police Town for quick data retrieval.

Miriam Bardo

A famous designer who visits Tokyo to host a fashion show.

Is actually Ruby in disguise

Miyuki

Miyuki is Rio's friend from the police academy. She works as a traffic cop.

Miyuki's boss

Just like Rio, Miyuki constantly gets in trouble with her boss. She shows up in a police car and yells at Miyuki if she starts slacking for even a second.

Prince Hasan

The heir to the most powerful oil company in the Middle East. Shows up in Tokyo and requests protection from the Warriors. Rio hoped to marry him and get him to pay off her debts until she found out that he is a crazed pervert.

Ramen shop owners

The couple that owns the ramen shop next to Policetown

Have two kids, a boy and a girl

Rio's boss

Rio's always getting in trouble with her boss for not finishing her work. She often uses her sexual charm to get him to let her off the hook.

Ruby

Ruby is the woman that coordinates much of the criminal activity against which Team Warrior fights. It is apparent that she has a considerable amount of funding for her operations; although her motives are initially unclear. She is also very adept in hand-to-hand combat.

Ruby's boss

A mysterious guy with scars on his face and hand. He goes under the name of Harry, although this is not his real name.

Shiguru Tomoyama

Former prime minister of Japan who becomes involved with the production of mechanized police and military personnel

Thunderstorm

A group that wants to kill Prince Hasan to cause disorder in the middle east

Tommy

A member of the Jingu crime syndicate in Osaka

Underwear thief

A masked thief who travels around Tokyo, stealing women's underwear

He's actually a cram school student

Yamada

A tall guy who wears glasses and is a member of the Jingu crime syndicate in Osaka

Nanvel's Inventions

As the group's electronics expert, Nanvel's job is to design and build machines that will help the team achieve its goals.

Pinel

Pinel is a giant pink elephant that Nanvel advertises as a diet machine. It's able to project a hologram over someone to make that person look slimmer. People that want to change their looks wear receptors shaped like flowers on their heads and Pinel transmits the new images to those receptors which are then projected over their wearers. Chi Mama and her group of thieves realize that they can use the machine to disguise themselves while they carry out crimes. They force Nanvel to build them their own Pinel. In the end, she builds 3 versions of the machine, each smaller than the last. The final version is so small that it can be carried around by one person.

Pink Cockroach

A pink device the size and shape of a cockroach, designed to sneak into inaccessible locations and transmit audio and video back to the team. It can also be used as a communications device. Nanvel also states that if the cockroach's wings are opened, it can be used as a hand grenade; although this function is never demonstrated.

Pink Rabbit

This is a giant pink robot shaped like a rabbit. Nanvel rides in a large glass bubble that makes the rabbit's head. It doesn't have any weapons, but it has heavy armor and is able to punch, kick, and shoot its hands off like pop guns. She uses the rabbit to help fight the super androids in the last episode.

Episode list

No.	Title	Original airdate
01	"Warrior Team Deploys" "WARRIOR shutsudou" (WARRIOR出動)	December 12, 1997
The first episode begins in a ramen shop next door to Policetown. It's the only place Rio eats because it's the only place she can afford. The owners have had to drop their prices to draw in business because just down the street, a giant structure called Neo Tokyo Tower has opened. Suddenly, the tower is attacked by a swarm of robotic insects. At the same time, a mysterious woman and a terrorist group called Dawn Mirage takes its occupants, including the governor, hostage. Team Warrior is summoned to rescue them.
02	"Undies, Go!" "Shitagi de GO!" (下着でGO!)
A series of jewelry thefts have been terrorizing Tokyo. Rio's in need of some money to pay her debts, unfortunately, the jewelry theft case has not been handed over to Team Warrior. Instead, Rio has to take a job tracking down a thief who's been stealing women's underwear. As she reaches the bottom of the underwear thefts, she believes she may have stumbled upon an even bigger case.
03	"From the Desert With Love!" "Sabaku yori ai wo komete" (砂漠より愛をこめて)
A middle-eastern prince visits town and is in need of some protection. A group called Thunderstorm is planning to kill Prince Hasan to cause chaos in his country. Rio's excited about the job because she hopes that she can marry him for his money and pay off her debts. She takes him away, in secret, to a favorite spot of hers, Gasolinetown, where thieves and miscreants rule. While there, the two of them are enjoying their time alone, they're attacked and it's up to Rio to get the prince to safety.
04	"Rogue Father"
Maya travels to Osaka to visit her sick father, the boss of the Jingu crime syndicate. When she arrives, she finds that the family is in desperate need of some money.
05	"An Idol Never Sleeps!"
Rio is given the mission of protecting the pop star Anna Katagowa from a stalker, while Ruby attends a conference and loses a special pen.
06	"Rambo Bravo! Rio Bimbo!" "Ranbo! Buraboo! Rio binboo!" (ランボ!　ブラボ―!　利緒ビンボ―!)
This episode is a flashback to Rio's first days with Team Warrior. Maki first meets Rio working behind the counter in a convenience store to earn extra money for her debts. She witnesses her fighting skills as Rio takes down a thief who's trying to rob the store. After putting Rio through some tests, Maki asks her to join. Rio refuses. What can Maki do to convince Rio that Team Warrior is the best place for her?
07	"Short Vacation" "Shooto Bakeeshon" (ショ―ト・バケ―ション)
Maki goes to the airport preparing to take off on her annual vacation. As luck would have it, at the same time she's gone, the police run into trouble in Policetown. While in the station's locker room getting dressed, Miyuki discovers evidence of a murder in the bathroom. The same day, Lilica finds evidence of a hacker who's been in the police's computer system, erasing data. Over the next few hours, officers throughout Policetown discover that many of their personal possessions are missing. Rio begins an investigation into what's behind the recent events, but with an old lady constantly bothering her about her missing little one, "Ta", will she be able to concentrate on finding the culprit of the recent crimes?
08	"Nanvel Kidnapped!"
Nanvel has won the prize for Inventor of the Year—again. Walking home from a celebratory dinner, she and Rio are kidnapped and threatened to force her to construct an invisibility machine to enable the transvestite gang to carry out bank robberies.
09	"Slam Tank Part 1"
Rio is given the task of guarding a "United Nations ViP"—who turns out, to her disappointment, to be a tank rather than a handsome man. The plane they are travelling in crashes, and Rio and the tank are the only survivors.
10	"Slam Tank Part 2"
Rio and the tank are stranded in the Desanian desert and must find their way to the border while evading capture.
11	"Watch Out for the Mecha Cop!" "Mekakoppu ni goyoujin" (メカコップに御用心)
A bank robbery takes place in Neo Tokyo. To avoid being captured by the police, the thieves raid a local school and take hostages. The police are trying to handle the situation when a business man arrives and sends in a robot police squad. They quickly subdue the criminals using non-lethal force. Over the next few days, the robotic police show their many other skills, including the ability to interrogate captives, rescue kittens from trees and run really, really fast. The human police force now faces new competition, humanoid robots serving as policemen! Nanvel and the rest of Team Warrior have their suspicions. The robots seem to be too advanced to be real.
12	"Invitation from the Past" "Kako kara no shoutaijou" (過去からの招待状)
Maki dresses the girls up in school uniforms and sends them into the Mecha Cop factory, claiming they're on a field trip. Using hidden cameras, they take pictures of everything, hoping to find the secret behind the malfunctioning robot police. They don't find much from their search, but they do discover that some very important people, including the former prime minister, Shiguru Tonoyama are involved. In the process, Maki discovers that a part of her past is not as dead as she believed it to be. Miriam Bardo, a famous fashion designer arrives in Tokyo to put on a fashion show. It gets cut short, though, when a group of extremely advanced killer androids attack.
13	"The Last Stage of Goodbye" "Ketsubetsu no Rasuto Suteeji" (訣別のラストステ―ジ)	July 1, 1998
Harry and Ruby introduce the new android weapons to the world. They have amazing agility, speed and power and can even heal themselves during battle. Nanvel brings out a new toy, a big pink rabbit that she rides in and uses to help fight the androids. Team Warrior must end the terrorist threat, but at what cost?

References

1. ADV Films Gets Jiggle Counter Trademarked
2. ADV Registers Jiggle Counter Trademark

External links

• Burn-Up Excess (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia