review

Ayane gets her chance and auditions for a spot in the WWWA under the watchful eyes of judges and the reining women's champion; unfortunately she fails to capture the attention of the WWWA but captured the attention of another spectator, Kunimitsu Tanguay from Tanguay Gym. Kunimitsu meets with Ayane and convinces her that she can definitely become a champion if she trains under his leadership, Ayane accepts the challenge and her adventure begins.

Ayane's High Kick is a fairly fast paced and funny show about a girl that gets tricked into kickboxing. As much as she resists the idea (she downright refuses to fight), there are always situations and trickery that forces her to get into the ring.

The story is very entertaining and the animation is very good. Dialogue is clean and dubbing is excellent, at least there are no REALLY stupid scenes that will make you want to fast forward or turn it off. The action sequences are well paced and fight scenes are very good.

This is an anime based in the real world with fictitious circumstances, no special mental powers or hidden lethal weaponry under the skin. It also takes under consideration rules from governing bodies (school and Kickboxing). It is also a story about friendship and some student hardships.

Ayane's High Kick would be a good addition to any anime lover's library, it would also be an acceptable choice for parents because there is no bad language, no compromising adult situations, no sex and the violence would be considered par with wrestling. The only drawback is that Ayane does lie to her mother about her activities.

Note: There is only 1 tape (DVD) available for this anime (Round 1 and Round 2), no other has been produced from what I can find (or not find). If you love Ayane's High Kick, you will find the series incomplete but if you encompass all the flaws of the idea, you will understand why it never went forward.

Why would the series be a success?
Ayane's High Kick would have made a great 8 part OAV, it has just enough to keep scripts coming in for a full 8 rounds... maybe. Ayane is very interesting as a person and her dream is very different (becoming a pro wrestler). There is a lot of room for action, heartache, revenge, loss and victory. Kickboxing could have been explored in more detail and family life could have been entwined in the story. Her friends are a bit on the weaker side, especially Kayoko; she could need to lighten up or to let Ayane live her life without annoying intrusion. Maybe she could have also become a sparring partner to toughen herself up. In any case, I would have enjoyed some conclusion to the story; this would have been a proud addition to my anime library.

Why would the series fail?
Ayane's High Kick has a serious flaw: time. The story is based around a high school student working towards fame. Usually, to have a title shot, you need quite a bit of experience before going for the gold. Ayane is already in grade 12; she would have about 9 months to go before graduation if it is near the beginning of the school year. The students are already getting ready for the entrance exams; it is more likely about 3 to 4 months into the year giving her about 5 or 6 months to become a champion. Also, one of the main villains is the vice-principal of the school, working hard to have her expelled.

If Ayane graduates before winning the title, most of the story is gone. If she wins before graduating, the story becomes unbelievable, she would have to fight every 3 weeks, giving her no chance to recuperate or gain the vital experience needed by constant practise and sparring (we must remember she has a student life meaning she must study to avoid failing school).

I was very surprised when I finally found out how tall she was; she is only 5' 2" and 125 lbs (fighting weight of 108 lbs). Although I can understand a girl of her weight and height in kickboxing, I can't see her in wrestling. There are probably 2 reasons why she didn't make it into the WWWA, either she is too small or she would have conflicted with the styles of the current champion. Ayane is a high flying girl, so is Toyoda san, and 2 high flying girls in the ring just would not be right.

They would need to make up a lot of excuses and tricks to get Ayane into the ring, then it would become old. Ayane would need to embrace kickboxing and acquire more signature moves for this to continue and make it a bit more "real"... even if it is just a cartoon.