Cobra—The Animation: Complete Collection

Saucy stuff in the sexy pin-up space-adventure tradition of Barbarella (albeit one could argue that Barbarella had more characters who actually looked Asian), Cobra—which is based on a long-running Japanese comics franchise—centers on the titular quick-thinking, cigar-chomping, muscular “pirate” (more a master thief) who has a “Psychogun” in his left arm. Cobra is the most wanted criminal in the future galaxy, yet this smirking adventurer is largely engaged in do-gooder missions (sometimes partnered with a former lover reborn as a shapely robot) that involve various femmes in scanty futuristic thong beach-wear. Cobra fights to divert an ancient, planet-sized spaceship on a doomsday course with the sun (not-so-spoiler alert: the engine-room key is a woman's nude body with perfect proportions); climbs a mountain of treasure with a bizarre expedition who are being murdered one by one, as in an Agatha Christie whodunit; and gets blackmailed by a villainess into joining the quest for a legendary plant whose human-faced flowers generate diamonds. The imaginative creature/mecha designs and CGI-assisted art help to distract a bit from the pulpy plots that don't make a lot of sense but deliver abundant action and fan service. Compiling all 13 episodes from 2010 along with six OVAs (from 2008-09) in separate DVD and Blu-ray editions, rated TV-MA, and presented in Japanese with English subtitles, this is a strong optional purchase. (C. Cassady)