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skysenshi (02.10.2002)
A pleasant surprise!
I've yet to see a Yasuomi Umetsu film that didn't have a depressing
ending, so I was very eager to see how this one would end. I won't
spoil anything for you guys so I'll just give you a sneak peek
as to why this deserves a perfect 10 in my book.
That animation and artwork—where the women are gorgeous
and the men look like dogs that miraculously evolved—get
a two-thumbs up is already a given, as some people who are familiar
with masterpieces such as Kite
and Yellow Star would agree
to. Gruesome action scenes with all the bloody details showing
the aftermath of violence would also be expected. Hentai scenes
that are explicit and leave nothing to the imagination have always
been his strong points. Ah, yes, and never forget the absolutely
mind-boggling titling that would have you thinking of moderately
loud sound—as what mezzo forte actually means in the field
of music—when the plot doesn't have anything to do with music
at all. Why, was Kite about flying piece of paper held by long
strings? It wasn't either. I won't pretend to understand how Yasuomi
Umetsu's mind works so I'll leave it at that. Who knows, it could
actually mean something symbolic?
Women empowerment anyone? Just like in Kite,
the girls here look positively deceiving. They are defined by
cutesy clothes, pastel fluffs, and even panda icons etched on
just about every non-living property. But watch out for their
hands and feet because they can make grown men cower to the floor
in pain, agony, and fear. What's more, it's just out of the ordinary
how the "Orange Girl" and the "Psycho Bitch",
as they are called in the movie, are somehow psychically linked
despite their obvious hatred for each other. This makes for an
interestingly creepy angle, one that makes you wonder if they
might come from the same gene pool.
What makes Mezzo Forte different from all other hentai anime,
and even from the other Yasuomi Umetso works I've seen are the
amazing display of counter intelligence and the insertion of humor
in the overall gory scenario. Thank heavens for that, because
I really had a craving to see h-anime characters make good use
of their gray matter soon after watching mentally incapacitated
titles like Shusaku and
its successors.
Yes, you read me right when I mentioned humor. I actually found
it in Mezzo Forte. Fancy that. It's such a refreshing change to
experience hilarity in an anime that is meant to be violent and
horridly graphic. You can find it in little things like in how
the characters execute assassination jobs, or how a beetle car
can climb gutters and sewer stairs, or how old tricks still work
on stupid blundering gun toting dickheads. It's just sheer poetry
how surprises are pulled off and leave you satisfied. Like I said,
it's a nice blend of counter intelligence and dry wit.
I just wish more hentai titles like Mezzo Forte would come out.
Maybe then we wouldn't actually have to defend our appreciation
for hentai by rationalizing that there really is something mentally
stimulating in this particular arena.
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