History Anime / ProjectAKo

->''[[RantInducingSlight Today I woke up early.]] [[LateForSchool This may never happen again]]! But you! You! Over a stupid, petty... B-Ko, '''YOU [[{{Baka}} IDIOT]]!!!'''''\\

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Maruten laments this in ''The Vs.'', but considering he's [[CrouchingNiceGuyHiddenJerkass not that nice of a guy himself]], it's a bit hypocritical.

* SheIsAllGrownUp: Non-romantic version (and possibly an [[InvertedTrope inversion]] as she's a childhood ''enemy'' rather than a ForgottenChildhoodFriend)- according to A-ko's flashback to their childhood, she and C-ko back then used to look more or less like chibi-versions of their present day forms. B-ko, on the other hand, was described (accurately) by A-ko as having a "basin haircut, piggy eyes and dumpy legs" but grew up into ''easily'' the most beautiful of the three girls (A-ko is a HotAmazon and C-ko is TheCutie, but B-ko is just outright ''gorgeous''). No wonder A-ko didn't recognise her at first.

* FunbagAirbag: Played as an OhCrap moment in addition to a gag, as it's A-Ko running into [[HotAmazon Liza]] after having kicked her through a wall.

* PrincessCurls: B-Ko.

** SuperSpeed: Fast enough to [[BulletCatch deflect bullets]] [[BeyondTheImpossible from dozens of machine gun-weilding government agents]] with her bracers and jump from missile to missile of a MacrossMissileMassacre and use that to ''move forward'' towards the source.

* FoeYay: A-Ko and B-Ko, [[{{Shipping}} at least to some]].

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: B-Ko has bluish-silver hair.
** Grash in ''The Vs.'' has dark blue ShonenHair.

* FreezeFrameBonus: Including some very close {{Panty Shot}}s and some fired missiles actually being soda pop cans (as a reference to Macross).

* {{Otaku}} / OtakuSurrogate: C-ko displayed shades of this from time to time. Prominent examples include:

** The design of teacher Ms. Ayumi is a Shout Out / {{Homage}} to magical girl series ''CreamyMami''.

* FlyingBrick: A-Ko, except the flying part. She has:

* FreezeFrameBonus: Including some very close {{Panty Shot}}s.

* GirlPosse / QuirkyMinibossSquad: B-Ko's flunkies Ine, Ume, Asa, and Mari.

* ImpossiblyCoolClothes / {{Stripperiffic}}: B-Ko's Akagiyama-23 battle suit; this was [[LampshadeHanging Lampshade Hung]] and parodied when everyone who first saw it was mostly embarrassed for her.

* TheOjou / AlphaBitch / RichBitch: B-Ko.

* LesYay: Sort of. In the original film, B-Ko seemed to have a rather ardent fixation on C-Ko, which was made clear in a scene in which B-Ko, bathing in a giant Roman bath, touches her breast as she thinks about C-Ko; while the lines in both the original Japanese and the dub are ambiguous in their meaning, the implication is clearly there, and is likely a holdover from its hentai origins (see Bleached Underpants above). B-Ko's...affection for C-Ko was toned down in the sequels, and practically non-existent in ''A-Ko the VS''.
** It does arise again in one of the direct sequels, as the main characters each interrupt class in turn with their DidIJustSayThatOutLoud excitement over their spring vacation plans: B-Ko's plans apparently involve "one night of passion with C-Ko".

** SuperSpeed: Fast enough to [[BulletCatch catch bullets]] [[BeyondTheImpossible from dozens of machine gun-weilding government agents]] in her bare hands and jump from missile to missile of a MacrossMissileMassacre and use that to ''move forward'' towards the source.

** NotQuiteFlight: She jumps real good, combined with the classic RoofHopping...which, all together, makes her a true [[{{Trigun}} Humanoid Typhoon]] when she runs.

** NotQuiteFlight: She jumps real good, combined with the classic RooftopHop...which, all together, makes her a true [[{{Trigu}} Humanoid Typhoon]] when she runs.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lt/ako.jpg

->''A-Ko, the depth of my vexation is beyond your comprehension!''\\
-- '''B-Ko Daitokuji'''

->''[[RantInducingSlight Today I woke up early.]] [[LateForSchool This may never happen again]]! But you! You! Over a stupid, petty... B-Ko, '''YOU [[{{Baka}} IDIOT]]!!!'''''\\
-- '''A-Ko Magami'''

In Graviton City, Japan, [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture sometime in the future]], Eiko ("A-Ko") Magami -- a teenage girl endowed with absurdly high levels of superhuman strength and spe

In Graviton City, Japan, [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture sometime in the future]], Eiko ("A-Ko") Magami -- a teenage girl endowed with absurdly high levels of superhuman strength and speed -- attends high school with her best friend, the blonde and bubbly Shiiko ("C-Ko") Kotobuki (who is both TheDitz and a LethalChef). Unfortunately, their incredibly intelligent (and gorgeous) GadgeteerGenius classmate Biiko ("B-Ko") Daitokuji apparently [[strike: has a lesbian crush on]] really, really wants a RomanticTwoGirlFriendship with the blonde dimwit. She is determined to win C-Ko for her own, and attacks A-Ko at every opportunity with HumongousMecha or her [[{{Stripperiffic}} revealing]] [[BattleBikini battlesuit]]. Things get just a ''bit'' more complicated when an alien warship descends upon Graviton City with the goal of capturing one of the girls -- or rather, ''rescuing'' her, as [[RagsToRoyalty she seems to be their long-lost princess]]...

A blend of over-the-top screwball comedy, action, and science fiction, ''Project A-Ko'' was one of the shows ''everyone'' saw during the prehistory of anime in America, especially because it was one of the first "non-arty" anime imported commercially back in TheEighties. The show's general level of goofiness can be seen in the girls' names -- quite simply, the three main characters are named "Girl A", "Girl B" and "Girl C". (There's even another character who simply goes by "D".) Despite over two decades passed since its release, ''A-Ko'' remains a persistently influential, respected, and well-loved film. As an example, in 2003 a group of independent filmmakers in the United States released ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0275799/ Xtracurricular]]'', a live-action film which the filmmakers admitted was directly inspired by ''Project A-Ko'' (for example: the three main characters' names start with A, B, and C).

The original film was followed by three [=OVAs=] which continue the story of the film -- ''Plot of the Daitokuji Financial Group'', ''Cinderella Rhapsody'', and ''Final'' -- and a two-part AlternateContinuity OVA called ''A-Ko the VS.''
----
! ''Project A-Ko'' and its sequels provide examples of:
* ActionDressRip: A-Ko, per the page illustration; this actually happens in the film during her fight with D.
* AffectionateParody
* AfterSchoolCleaningDuty: At one point A-ko is assigned AfterSchoolCleaningDuty for being habitually LateForSchool. While it went well at first, with A-ko using her super strength to easily stack up the desks, a run in with B-ko's gang left the classroom (and a good portion of the school itself) completely demolished, much to her teacher's chagrin.
* AGlassOfChianti: Captain Napolipolita.
* AliensSpeakingEnglish: The Alpha Cygnans speak Japanese.
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Maruten laments this in ''The Vs.'', but considering he's [[CrouchingNiceGuyHiddenJerkass not that nice of a guy himself]], it's a bit hypocritical.
* AllLoveIsUnrequited
* AlphabeticalThemeNaming
* AlternateContinuity: ''A-Ko the VS.''
* AmazonBrigade
* AntiVillain: Gail, possibly. His methods are evil, his goal just. He just bet on the wrong horse.
* BattleBikini: B-Ko.
* [[BeautyBrainsandBrawn Beauty Brains and Brawn]]: C-ko, B-ko, and A-ko, respectively.
* BerserkButton: A-ko - cutting her face, making her late when she made an effort to be early; B-ko - A-ko winning; Captain Napolipolita - Sobriety.
* {{Bishonen}}: Gail of ''A-Ko the VS.'' Also a WhiteHairedPrettyBoy.
* BleachedUnderpants: The series began life as part of the ''Cream Lemon'' series of {{hentai}} before becoming a full-fledged feature film; the hentai short that appears in ''Cinderella Rhapsody'' is actually recycled from the show's own initial storyboards. Which can be found on the web if you care to look.
* {{BFS}}: Played with in the fight between D and A-ko. In D's hands, it's sized appropriately. When A-ko gets it, it's this trope. No problem, though, because A-ko has super strength.
* BoobsOfSteel: Liza from ''A-Ko the VS.''; A-Ko refers to her as a "jiggling juggernaut" at one point. She's tough enough to give A-Ko a challenge in a hand-to-hand fight, and that's saying something.
* ClingyJealousGirl: C-Ko.
* CloudCuckooLander: C-ko and Miss Ayumi.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: All of the sub-tropes apply. (This is a parody series after all.)
* CrossDressingVoices: Subverted by D, Mari, and Captain Napolipolita.
** Mari actually plays it straight ''and'' subverts it. When fighting, Mari sounds like a deep voiced male, but when actually talking, she speaks in a very high pitched girl's voice.
* CulturalCrossReference: "The Colonel!"
* CuteBruiser: A-Ko.
* TheCutie: C-ko.
* DaddysGirl: C-ko in ''A-ko the VS''.
* DistressedDamsel: C-ko played this role in the beginning.
* TheDitz: C-Ko (though she does seem to have moments of insight) and Miss Ayumi.
* DoppelgangerSpin: An InformedAbility of B-Ko's Max 5000 mecha.
* DVDCommentary: Central Park Media's rerelease of the film included one by character designer and animation director Yuji Moriyama.
* ExtraordinarilyEmpoweredGirl: A-Ko and B-Ko.
* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: [[spoiler: C-ko.]]
* HairDecorations: C-ko.
* EvilKnockoff
* FanDisservice: D's battle bikini and Daitokuji Hikari's Akagiyama-23 battle suit.
* {{Fiction 500}}: B-ko and her family can afford to make mecha, although her father draws the line at her making HumongousMecha just for her rivalry. It has to be used for better purposes.
* FightingFromTheInside: [[spoiler: C-ko, when Xena takes over her body in ''The Vs.''.]]
* FlyingBrick: A-Ko, except the flying part. She has:
** SuperStrength combined with [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength Does Not Know Her Own Strength]]. That's with her PowerLimiter on too. Without it, a flick of her wrist can send a shockwave out that can cut gouges in stone, cut tables in half and send nearby people flying.
** NighInvulnerability: she catches bullets with her hands and has taken blows and explosives with only scuff marks. Only an alien sword has ever cut her.
** SuperSpeed: Fast enough to [[BulletCatch catch bullets]] [[BeyondTheImpossible from dozens of machine gun-weilding government agents]] in her bare hands and jump from missile to missile of a MacrossMissileMassacre and use that to ''move forward'' towards the source.
** NotQuiteFlight: She jumps real good, combined with the classic RooftopHop...which, all together, makes her a true [[{{Trigu}} Humanoid Typhoon]] when she runs.
* FlungClothing: B-Ko's [[TheReveal reveal]] of her Akagiyama-23 battle suit.
* FoeYay: A-Ko and B-Ko, [[{{Shipping}} at least to some]].
* FollowYourHeart: The theme song, "Follow Your Dreams".
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Subverted in Final. [[spoiler:The prophecy foretelling the end of the world was just a coincidence when the aliens arrived. And Ms. Ayumi wasn't possessed by her charm. She just did incantations because she was told it would bring her luck.]]
* FreezeFrameBonus: Including some very close {{Panty Shot}}s.
* FunbagAirbag: Played as an OhCrap moment in addition to a gag, as it's A-Ko running into [[HotAmazon Liza]] after having kicked her through a wall.
* GadgeteerGenius: B-Ko designs and builds a new HumongousMecha ''every night'' to defeat A-Ko.
** ''The VS'': B-Ko builds a fast and heavily-armed sand skimmer from the wreckage of her & A-Ko's house after it gets destroyed by a sub-sand cruiser, again in only one night.
* GenkiGirl: C-ko.
* GirlPosse / QuirkyMinibossSquad: B-Ko's flunkies Ine, Ume, Asa, and Mari.
* TheGlomp: C-ko does this to A-ko sometimes.
* GloryHound: [[spoiler: apparently, Maruten in ''the VS''. After Xena is defeated, A-Ko, B-Ko, and C-Ko end up back on the sand planet. After meeting up with C-Ko's father, they discover that Maruten has taken all the credit for stopping Xena and the Dragon God. A-Ko & B-Ko are not amused and they vow to find him just before the credits roll.]]
* GoodMorningCrono: The first movie starts off like this. Getting to school on time is also a RunningGag.
* GoodOldFisticuffs: A-Ko is quite good with them.
* {{Gonk}}: Most of B-Ko's flunkies, especially Mari; also, D and Captain Napolipolita of the Leptons.
* HairOfGold: C-ko.
* HammerSpace: A rare instance where a pair of males use hammers out of nowhere on another male in Final.
* HeyItsThatVoice: Lots of them.
** A-ko is [[DragonBall Android-18]], [[{{Shuffle}} Asa]], and [[UminekoNoNakuKoroNi Eva]].
** C-ko is [[SailorMoon Sailor Mars]] and [[SakuraTaisen Sumire]].
** B-ko is [[SailorMoon Sailor Jupiter]] and [[{{Claymore}} Ophelia]]
** Captain Napolipolita is [[{{Gundam}} Char Aznable]].
* HeterosexualLifePartners: A-Ko and C-Ko; see BleachedUnderpants.
* HugeSchoolgirl: Mari, who is basically [[FistOfTheNorthStar Kenshiro]] in a sailor fuku.
* HumanAliens: The Alpha Cygnans.
* HumongousMecha: B-Ko's Robots-of-the-day.
** TransformingMecha: The Max 5000.
* ImpossiblyCoolClothes / {{Stripperiffic}}: B-Ko's Akagiyama-23 battle suit; this was [[LampshadeHanging Lampshade Hung]] and parodied when everyone who first saw it was mostly embarrassed for her.
** And [[FanDisservice made]] [[BrainBleach even]] [[NauseaFuel worse]] when, in ''Plot of the Daitokuji Financial Group'', B-Ko's '''father''' wore one.
*** This bears some explaining. Her father wears an exact copy of her suit. '''Without''' altering it in any way from it's female bikini-esque design
** D also wears a similar outfit when she fights A-ko, pretty much ending any doubt that she and all of the other aliens are all female in the process.
* JerkAss: A-ko in ''A-ko the VS'', as she was meaner and ruder than her original universe counterpart.
** Justified, B-ko makes her carry that giant pack because of her strength, and C-ko ate her food. Plus whatever we're supposed to believe happened before this story.
* {{Joshikousei}}
* {{Kawaiiko}}: C-Ko.
* LateForSchool: A-Ko, constantly.
* LawyerFriendlyCameo
* LesYay: Sort of. In the original film, B-Ko seemed to have a rather ardent fixation on C-Ko, which was made clear in a scene in which B-Ko, bathing in a giant Roman bath, touches her breast as she thinks about C-Ko; while the lines in both the original Japanese and the dub are ambiguous in their meaning, the implication is clearly there, and is likely a holdover from its hentai origins (see Bleached Underpants above). B-Ko's...affection for C-Ko was toned down in the sequels, and practically non-existent in ''A-Ko the VS''.
** It does arise again in one of the direct sequels, as the main characters each interrupt class in turn with their DidIJustSayThatOutLoud excitement over their spring vacation plans: B-Ko's plans apparently involve "one night of passion with C-Ko".
* LethalChef: C-Ko.
* LeotardOfPower: B-Ko's armor.
* LoveAtFirstSight: Kei when he sees C-Ko. She doesn't reciprocate.
* MacrossMissileMassacre: B-Ko's "Akagiyama Missiles", as well as several spaceships in the series.
* [[ManChild Womanchild]]: Despite being under 20, C-ko fits this.
* MegumiHayashibara: B-Ko's flunkie Ume.
* MoeCouplet: A-ko and C-ko.
* NaiveEverygirl: C-ko, to an extent.
* NewspaperThinDisguise
* TheOjou / AlphaBitch / RichBitch: B-Ko.
* OneGenderRace: The Alpha Cygnans are an interesting variation of this trope. They're all female, but some of them--such as D and Captain Napolipolita--look, talk, and act male.
** In the original, Napolipolita's cleavage is obvious if you're looking at her chest.
* {{Otaku}} / OtakuSurrogate: C-ko displayed shades of this from time to time. Prominent examples include:
** Her remark (in the Japanese version) about Miss Ayumi [[CreamyMami reminding her of someone]].
** On the Final Concert album, C-ko's solo song is basically a medley of old anime themes.
* TheOtherDarrin: A-ko was originally voiced by Stacey Gregg. Teryl Rothery voiced her from the second movie onwards.
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: The Dragon God in ''The Vs.'' is gigantic (it seems to grow at least as large as a planet), with three heads, and it's so powerful that it wipes out a number of planets and their defensive fleets with little effort.
* PapaWolf: Attempted by C-ko's father in ''The Vs.'', [[spoiler: but all he ends up accomplishing is bankrupting his company with his massive and fruitless search & rescue effort.]]
* PimpedOutDress: In ''Vs'', B-ko wears one as a disguise. A-ko comments on how odd that is, since they're trying to break into the villain's lair, not attend a party.
* PlayboyBunny: The waitresses in ''Love and Robots'', and B-ko in an alternate universe in ''vs''.
* PoweredArmor: B-ko's is more like a powered bikini. Also, [[FanDisservice her father has a similar one]].
* PowerIncontinence: A-ko; every day, her run to school leaves disaster and ruin in her wake.
* PowerLimiter: A-Ko's bracers are revealed to be these in ''Cinderella Rhapsody''.
* PrincessCurls: B-Ko.
* PrincessesPreferPink: [[spoiler:C-ko]] is seen wearing pink often.
* PsychoLesbian: B-Ko.
* RagsToRoyalty: [[spoiler:C-Ko]].
* RantInducingSlight: A-Ko delivers one of these when B-Ko has MechaMooks ready when she gets to school early for probably the only time in her life.
** C-Ko calling Liza "granny" in ''A-Ko the VS''. C-Ko wasn't trying to insult her, most likely Liza's over-sexualized appearance implies "older" to the childish C-Ko.
* RedheadedHero
* RedshirtArmy
* RestrainingBolt: A-ko's wristbands reduce her powers to ''almost'' manageably safe levels.
* RequiredSecondaryPowers: Played with. A-ko is shown several times to be hurt by fairly mundane things. Then she can kick robots without hurting her leg. Her super endurance must only work when she's fighting. RuleOfFunny fully applies.
** Original movie: Hits her thumb with a hammer (she probably isn't using her super strength there) with full cartoonish reactions which are just as easily forgotten and she trips on an ordinary piece of flawed sidewalk.
** Second movie: Tires after failing to get a piece of the Alpha Cygnian ship back in place. The pool incident doesn't count as "mundane".
** Vs.: Cartoon injury from being bonked by B-ko's hammer.
* RunningGag: A-Ko constantly running over D on her way to school.
* SamusIsAGirl: The Alpha Cygnans are all female, including D and Captain Napolipolita, both of whom look, sound, and act male.
* SandIsWater: The desert planet where A-Ko and B-Ko are living in ''the VS''.
* SchoolgirlLesbians: B-Ko, sort of.
* SchoolgirlRival: A-Ko and B-Ko.
* ShaggyDogStory: The [[{{Anticlimax}} anticlimactic]] introduction of the Max 5000.
* SheIsAllGrownUp: Non-romantic version (and possibly an [[InvertedTrope inversion]] as she's a childhood ''enemy'' rather than a ForgottenChildhoodFriend)- according to A-ko's flashback to their childhood, she and C-ko back then used to look more or less like chibi-versions of their present day forms. B-ko, on the other hand, was described (accurately) by A-ko as having a "basin haircut, piggy eyes and dumpy legs" but grew up into ''easily'' the most beautiful of the three girls (A-ko is a HotAmazon and C-ko is TheCutie, but B-ko is just outright ''gorgeous''). No wonder A-ko didn't recognise her at first.
* ShoutOut: More than can easily be counted...
** [[spoiler:A-Ko's parents are apparently Comicbook/{{Superman}} and WonderWoman.]]
** [[spoiler:B-Ko's father when he appears bears some resemblance to [[Comicbook/IronMan Tony Stark]]]].
** Captain Napolipolita is pretty obviously supposed to be a parody of ''CaptainHarlock'', in the same way that the bow of the Lepton mothership looks like the ''Arcadia''.
** The title itself is a reference to the Jackie Chan movie ''Project A''.
** The design of teacher Ms. Ayumi is a Shout Out / {{Homage}} to magical girl series ''CreamyMami''.
** Mari, B-Ko's underling, looks like [[FistOfTheNorthStar Kenshiro]] with pigtails.
** The plot of the first movie is a [[BroadStrokes rough]] re-hash of ''SuperDimensionFortressMacross''
* ShownTheirWork: Alpha Cygni, more commonly known as Deneb, is a real star. Estimated distance from Earth is 1,550 light years, with a 10% margin of error.
* SmallGirlBigGun
* SmittenTeenageGirl: [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation One interpretation]] of C-ko's affection for A-ko.
* SuperHero
* SupportingProtagonist: A-ko, as C-ko is the reason that the series even has a plot.
* ThemeNaming: The three main characters; the gag is that such naming is indicative of extras, not main characters.
* ThirdPersonPerson: C-ko in the Japanese version.
* TheThreeFacesOfEve: C-ko is the innocent, childlike figure, A-ko is the "protective big sister") figure looking after C-ko, and B-ko is the seductress (one can tell by her curvy figure and penchant for wearing a revealing power suit).
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: A-ko (tomboy) and C-ko (girly girl); A-ko and B-ko (girly girl).
* TransferStudentUniforms: A-Ko and C-Ko wear these throughout the film; they switch over to the proper uniforms at the end of the film, then wear them regularly in the sequel [=OVAs=], though A-Ko does switch back to her MemeticOutfit for the climatic battle in ''Final'', apparently just for the express purpose of irritating B-Ko (in which she succeeds.)
* TransformingMecha: But with poor planning on making the cockpit work in both forms.
* UnknownRival: B-Ko starts out as this to A-Ko.
* VillainousBreakdown: B-Ko.
* WaifFu: A-ko.
* WaveMotionGun
* WeirdnessMagnet: Whenever C-ko is the DistressedDamsel, it's usually because she's this.
* WhipItGood: "Black Jacovini Shooting Star Lash!"
* WhiteHairedPrettyGirl: [[spoiler:The Queen/C-ko's mother. She didn't look very old.]]
* WitchSpecies: Gail and Xena in the Vs. continuity. Maybe C-ko.
* WholeCostumeReference: B-ko's father dresses like Elvis when he pilots a mecha.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: B-Ko has bluish-silver hair.
----

* EveryGirlIsCuterWithHairDecs: C-ko.

* BerserkButton: A-ko - cutting her face, making her late when she made an effort to be early; B-ko - A-ko winning, Captain Napolipolita - Sobriety.

* TheOjou / TheLibby / RichBitch: B-Ko.