Ground Defense Force Mao-chan

Director
Yoshiaki Iwazaki
Production
Kodansha, TV Tokyo, XEBEC
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Year
2002

Ground Defense Force Mao-chan

By Frank Orville
28th Apr 04

Japan is under attack by the Cute Aliens, and the government is in a bind. If they send the defense forces to attack such a loveable enemy, their popularity will plummet. The only answer is to fight cuteness with cuteness.

Enter eight-year-old Mao and her two friends, Misora and Silvie.

Ground Defense Force Mao-chan is much deeper than it seems at first glance. It may look childish and silly, but that is just the surface. There is a lot more to this show than inane cuteness and a ludicrous concept.

Mao-chan is an amazing parody of several different staples of Japanese TV, from magical girls to monster kaiju battles to military action shows. And it is all the more amazing because, in spite of how ridiculous the whole concept is, the characters all act in believable ways. The government ministers are politicians who watch the polls. The military officers are committed to their duty, but are still egotistical and often petty. The three girls obviously have no idea how serious their duty really is, and usually react to violence by running away and crying, just as real second- and third-graders would. The public, watching the battles on TV, treats the whole thing like a sporting event rather than a war.

The plot is also very well thought out, if not immediately obvious. Everybody has an agenda. The ministers want to improve their approval ratings. The military commanders want their particular wing of the Defense Forces to outshine the others. The alien agents are busy spying on the three girls and reporting to their masters. All of these different agendas collide on the battlefield where Mao and her friends defend Japan from the forces of cute evil.

The soundtrack bolsters the silly, cute atmosphere, while still effectively adding to the story. Except for the opening and closing theme, the soundtrack is almost entirely piano, hearkening back to the days of the old black-and-white silent movies.

The art is the one sore point, however. Most of it is hand-drawn, but every now and then it switches rather jarringly to smoother, computer-generated graphics. The sleeker look of computer graphics does not match the atmosphere of the show.

Fortunately, the use computer graphics is fairly rare, and there are really no other bad points to this show. Ground Defense Force Mao-chan is hilarious from the very first episode, and it is enjoyable for boys and girls of all ages. Small kids and their parents would love watching this show together, and so would older kids babysitting their younger siblings. And since each episode is only 15 minutes long, you can watch small bite-sized pieces without being completely overwhelmed by the sugary cuteness of it.

If you don't love Ground Defense Force Mao-chan, there is something wrong with you.

9/10

-- Frank Orville 28th Apr 04

Ground Defense Force Mao-chan Images