Anime / Agent Aika

The girls - and their panties - are back!

— Tagline on a trailer for one of the OVAs.

Agent Aika (or AIKa) is an Original Video Animation series produced by Studio Fantasia and directed by Katsuhiko Nishijima. It was released from 1997-1999.

20 Minutes into the Future, the Earth has been ruined due to a catastrophic earthquake; lots of places are now submerged deep under the sea. Enter Aika Sumeragi, a beautiful woman who works as a "Salvager", a scuba diver hunting for valuables under the sea, in a little family-owned company managed by the father-daughter team of Gozo and Rion Aida. Since Gozo's policy of good service for a low price manages to drive the company to bankruptcy, he decides to accept a high-paying mission: finding a material named Lagu.

After recovering the Lagu, Aika and Rion are captured by an effeminate but oversexed man named Rudolf Hagen, who wants the Lagu so that he can bring about The End of the World as We Know It and repopulate the planet with his own descendants; to that end, he has created an army of scantily-clad and skilled women called the Delmo Corporation.

Aika has a secret, though: when she was younger, she was the victim of some nasty experiments, and as a result, she possesses a super corset that transforms her into a superpowered version of herself. When Hagen discovers Aika's secret, he thinks she will do fine in his harem. After Aika rejects the prospect, she takes it upon herself to find a way to defeat Hagen, his even more disturbing sister, and his entire army with the help of Rion, Gusto, a Salvager who has a crush on Aika, Bandra, and the enigmatic spy Miss Maypia.

Two Prequel series, AIKa R-16: Virgin Mission and AIKa ZERO, were released in 2007 and 2009, respectively.

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Tropes:

• Ace Pilot:
  • Aika can pilot various types of fighter jets quite well.
  • Bandra, who piloted the space shuttle when Aika's friends rescued her.
• Action Girl: Aika and just about every other girl in the series.

• Amazon Brigade: The Delmo Corps is made up entirely of attractive young women. Justified, since they're also Hagen's harem and he wants to repopulate the planet by impregnating them.
• Ambiguously Brown: Aika gets brown skin once she transforms. Additionally, she has blue hair as well.
• Ambiguously Gay:
  • Rion is this towards Aika as she's clingy towards the latter.
  • Karen is very ambiguous in R-16 and ZERO thanks to her behavior towards other females. This is partially due to her hanging out with Eri.
• Anti-Villain: With exception of Rudolf and Neena, who want to bring about The End of the World as We Know It, pretty much everyone else isn't really a bad guy.
• Applied Phlebotinum: "Ultranate" is what Aika's corset is made of.
• Awesome by Analysis: Rie, who can react to Aika's fighting style after watching one fight. Aika pulls this on her when she realizes this and uses a different move to beat her.
• Badass Normal:
  • Rion has no powers but gets by with smarts and guile.
  • Gusto gets by on bravado and gunplay.
• Barbie Doll Anatomy: While bared breasts are shown with nipples, groins are featureless.
• Beach Episode:
  • In "The Golden Delmo Operation", the cast goes on vacation at a resort.
  • Episode 2 of R-16, "Peach Peach Beach", takes place on the beach.
• Bespectacled Cutie: Rion is a cute girl who's smart and wears some big glasses.
• Between My Legs: Due to the nature of the series, this shot is often employed for easy upskirt shots.
• Bifauxnen: Valarie is able to trick Aika into believing that she's a man named Pierre Valimore.
• Big Bad:
  • The original series has Rudolf and Neena Hagen, a Brother–Sister Team contracted by the military to find the Lagu, but whom wish to kill all of humanity and replace them with Rudolf's children. They are later replaced by their Dragon Ascendant, the unnamed White Delmo Commander, who tries to avenge Rudolf's death.
  • R-16 has Risako Nagisa, Aika's teacher, who turns out to be an agent for a secret organization that tries to stop Aika's expedition.
  • ZERO has Miyu Shiratori, the leader of the White Knights that terrorize the school.
• Bio-Augmentation: What Aika's transformation is as her appearance changes when this happens.
• Body Horror: This happens to Neena when her body breaks down after she tries to use the reproduced Aika's nanomachine enhancement. Unfortunately for her, there's nothing Aika and Rion can do to help her.
• Bodyguard Babes:
  • The Delmo Corporation is this for Hagen as they were created to serve this role so Hagen can repopulate the world with his own descendants.
  • They're featured in R-16 and ZERO. In this case, however, they're mind controlled school girls being used for this purpose.
• Boring, but Practical: Bandra's wardrobe leans towards grease-stained coveralls instead of a skirt, but she makes up for it with Cool Shades and an orange mohawk.
• Bratty Teenage Daughter: Rion occasionally acts this when she wants to do something.
• Breast Attack: Aika's on the receiving end of one in R-16. Risako Nagisa drives her high-heeled sandal right into Aika's breast, making sure to grind it in a bit for good measure. With only a skimpy swimsuit on, there wasn't much to protect Aika's breast.
• Bridge Bunnies: The bridge of Hagen's battleship is manned by the White Delmos.
• Brother–Sister Incest: Rudolf and Neena are siblings who are in a sexual relationship.
• The Brute: Tonia, who is the only member to hold her own in a one-on-one fight with Aika.
• Captive Push: When Rion is captured by the Delmos, she is handcuffed and taken to a cell at gunpoint by a Blue Delmo. When they arrive at the door, Rion is pushed with the weapon while the Delmo orders her to enter in the room.
• Cat Fight: Fights between Aika and any female villains are played for fanservice and only ever result in knockouts without lasting injuries despite the occasional brutality of the heroine's wrestling moves.
• Cherry Tapping: One mook gets knocked out after being hit on the head with an orange in R-16.
• Colour-Coded Characters:
  • Black Delmos are lowly foot soldiers and menial administrators of Hagen's/the Delmogeny's battleship and outposts.
  • Blue Delmos are highly-trained assault troops and guards.
  • Pink Delmos are mechanics, technicians and heavy-ordnance operators.
  • Golden Delmos are a post-Hagen special-ops task force.
  • White Delmos are the top-ranking commanders second only to Hagen himself and his sister and second-in-command, Neena. They're Hagen's closest personal bodyguards, and also serve as the Bridge Bunnies for Hagen's battleship.
• Combat Tentacles: One of the Ultranate's powers is to create multiple and very useful tentacles.
• Cool Big Sis: Aika acts this way towards Rion as she's very protective of her.
• Cool Plane:
  • Aika seems to have a thing for old Russian fighter jets. In her first encounter with Hagen and the Delmos, she flies a 2-seat MiG-21, which has been modified for V/STOL (Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing). Later, she has a 2-seat MiG-25, modified for an additional passenger space in the nose area.
  • In ZERO, Aika flies a small single-seat passenger jet, which is later modified into a makeshift fighter jet with four machine guns.
• Disc-One Final Boss: Rudolf and Neena die in Episode 4, but the Delmos are still around and continue to pose a threat to Aika and company.
• Disney Death:
  • Aika appears to have died in an explosion. However, she survives.
  • In ZERO, E.T.A.I. appears to have died saving Miyu. It's later revealed that both survived.
• Disposable Intern: Maypia is not really an intern, but despite being a certified Class-A agent, her employers decide to just blow up the ship she's infiltrated without even warning her or giving her time to escape. When she calls them out for this they just say it was a "political decision".
• The Dragon: Bianca is the leader of the Golden Delmos and the one with the biggest grudge against Aika.
• Dragon Ascendant: The White Delmo commander following the deaths of Rudolf and Neena.
• Dressing as the Enemy: Rion and Maypia does this, but so does Michikusa, who just think the Delmo outfit is cute.
• Drop Dead Gorgeous: Fights in the series always leave piles of knocked out women in eroticized poses who are then carried away over somebody's shoulder with their butts up the air. Downplayed in that none of them ever die, even when ZERO portrays one girl getting repeatedly shot up with tranquilizers and another getting impaled butt-to-mouth by an energy spear like something out of a snuff film.
• Drunken Boxing: Played straight with Gozo, who manages to beat up a bunch of Delmos and sing karaoke at the same time, all while completely shitfaced.
• Dull Surprise: Hagen tends to react to everything with a monotone "What?" in the English dub.
• Easily Forgiven: Despite being one of Aika's first foes, Risako still assists Aika, Eri, and Karen in ZERO.
• Evil Genius: Rie, who almost beats Aika by analyzing her fighting style.
• Fanservice:
  • Usually in the form of upskirts and revealing clothing. There are also plenty of bare breasts, which are usually drawn with nipples intact. However, the groin area is strictly Barbie Doll Anatomy.
  • Surprisingly, bouncing breasts aren't as prevalent as the massive amount of fanservice would suggest. In R-16 and ZERO, however, this happens a lot with Eri and Risako.
• Flooded Future World: In the future, disastrous earthquakes have caused most of the Earth's land to sink under the sea. As this has left a great many cities and treasures underwater, divers known as Salvagers make a business out of diving to the bottom of the ocean to recover these things.
• Form-Fitting Wardrobe: There's no way the Delmo minidresses can get any tighter.
• Four Is Death: The four Golden Delmos are the special forces of the Delmos.
• Furo Scene: Two of them in the first two episodes of ZERO between Aika, Karen, and Eri.
• Good Is Not Soft: Aika refuses to kill and goes out of her way to incapacitate her opponents without doing permanent damage. That being said, she's still capable of some surprisingly brutal takedowns, even though they're non-fatal.
• Handsome Lech: Hagen purposely created women to his liking to work for him.
• Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: Aika occasionally does this, especially when she's placed in an uncomfortable situation with other females.
• Heroic Sacrifice: In ZERO, E.T.A.I. saves Miyu by taking a spear of light. Luckily, despite it looking otherwise, both are fine and even get a happily ever after.
• Hide Your Lesbians: Subverted. The relationships between members of the Delmos is underplayed until the second half of the original series.
• Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: It's doubtful if the Delmos have little, if any marksmanship training. This is lampshaded when Bandra comments if they managed to hit something despite their pansy marksmanship.
• Improperly Placed Firearms: Those assault rifles the Delmos use appears to be StG-44 rifles.
• Instant Sedation: The darts from Aika's pistol knock out the Delmos instantly.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Gusto lusts after Aika but performs some pretty heroic actions.
• Killed Off for Real: The only ones who die are Rudolf and Neena.
• Last Episode, New Character: Sania and Tonia, the last half of the Golden Delmo, are introduced in the final episode.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Rion, after seeing Aika transform for the first time:
  Rion: "It's wonderful! Like something out of anime!"
• Leg Focus: Almost all the female characters have long legs and short skirts.
• Likes Older Women: In R-16, Gusto is seen being attracted to Risako.
• Lingerie Scene: Rion breaks into one of the Delmos' lockers, trying to find some clothes to let her blend in. She finds some rather skimpy lingerie instead. She wears it anyway.
• Lipstick Lesbian:
  • The Delmo commander and her second-in-command.
  • Eri is heavily implied to be this in R-16 and ZERO.
• Locked Up and Left Behind: After Rion easily escapes from her captor, she leaves her stripped of everything and bound. She is not heard from again.
• Mad Bomber: Sania serves this role within the Golden Delmos.
• Male Gaze: It would be easier to count the scenes in which T&A are not shown prominently.
• Market-Based Title: The Japanese title for the original series is just AIKa. However, for the English market, it was retitled Agent Aika.
• Meaningful Name: "Delmo" (rōmaji Derumo) is an anagram of "model" (rōmaji moderu), as in "fashion model". Don't let the initial connotations fool you, however.
• Minionshipping: A lot of the minions are flirtatious or explicitly in relationships with each other.

• Ms. Fanservice: With all the revealing outfits, panty shots, and leering camera angles, the only female character who doesn't qualify is Bandra.
• Mugged for Disguise: Rion gets a uniform by knocking out a Blue Delmo. As a result, the Delmo is left in the humiliating image of being knocked out, tied up and locked there in just her underwear.
• Nerves of Steel: After Aika and company's fight against a group of Delmos in a Parking Garage, Neena fires multiple bullets in Aika's direction as a warning to back off. Aika doesn't even flinch, instead continuing to glare at Neena.
• Never Trust a Trailer: Among other things, Rion wears Aika's corset in an official trailer. She doesn't wear it in the series itself, however.
• Nipple and Dimed: While nipples are shown, this isn't the case concerning genitalia.
• No Name Given: All but one of the White Delmos are not given name at all, and the one given name is not the leader.
• Non-Action Guy: Michikusa. During one of the fight scenes, Aika and Rion do all the work while he just stands around and does a weird interpretive dance.
• The Nudifier: Aika's transformed outfit isn't just revealing; the Applied Phlebotinum it's made of removes all of her regular clothes before transforming her.
• Omnicidal Maniac: Hagen with his Moonraker-esque scheme of using the Lagu to purge humanity so that he and the Delmos girls can reign over it.
• Over-the-Shoulder Carry: Yet another way of ensuring a Panty Shot.
• Paid Harem: Hagen wants to "cleanse the world from the unworthy" using the Lagu, and "repopulate it with the Delmos' assistance", and he offers the captive Rion a chance to "help" him in this endeavor. Needless to say, she tells him in no uncertain terms that she does not appreciate the "offer" at all.
• Panty Fighter: Just about all the fights in the series involve ladies in very short miniskirts, kicking and doing all sorts of acrobatics that usually results in their panties being in full view. And when they get knocked out, the camera is always positioned at their crotch.
• Pet the Dog: In ZERO, after capturing E.T.A.I. and Miyu, the end credits show that Hagen eventually let them go after studying their abilities and they're shown living happily together.
• Phlebotinum Breakdown: Aika's transformed state has its limits and will revert to corset-form to recharge when its energy is depleted. This can take hours or days, depending on the energy drain. If it's really low on energy, it will compress into a small black ball.

• Quirky Miniboss Squad: The four Golden Delmos attack Aika in a way of Zerg Rush rather than skill.
• Ray Gun: Hagen has one especially designed to defeat Aika. The first time, it works very well; the second time, not so much because her Applied Phlebotinum has adapted. Also because Hagen can't stop running his mouth.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The Delmos' motives after destruction of the Lagu and death of Hagen. After seeing Aika defeat all her best fighters at the same time, the Delmos' leader ultimately decides that revenge isn't worth seeing her comrades get hurt.
• Sentient Phlebotinum: It certainly seems to have a mind of its own at times. Aika is definitely more aggressive and violent when transformed.
• Series Fauxnale: The original miniseries was initially planned to end with Episode 4, and the events of the episode seem to definitively wrap things up with the deaths of the Hagens and the failure of their plan. However, financial success led to three more episodes being ordered.
• Sex for Services: Aika attempts to use Hagen's lust for her in order to convince him to give her a data disc on his Ultranate experiments in exchange for sex. She's stopped at the last minute by Gusto catching them in the act and ends up stealthily taking the data disc from Hagen.
• She Is All Grown Up: If one compares the Aika Sumeragi from R-16 and ZERO to the Aika from Agent Aika.
• Shoddy Knockoff Product: Rudolf manages to copy some of the Ultranate's technology, making it into a pair of panties for Neena. Unfortunately, it's not as good as the original, and it breaks down after fighting Aika's Ultranate for only a few minutes.
• Shower Scene: There is one especially large all-female shower scene in ZERO filled with students about to be abducted.
• Soft Water: In "The Golden Delmo Operation", both Aika and Bianca land in the pool despite falling several stories at a hotel.
• Stalker with a Crush: Gusto is this towards Aika. Despite this, he's a good guy.
• States of Phlebotinum: Changes from solid (corset) to semi-liquid (mid-transformation), and back to solid again (fully-transformed). Then Aika can make it extrude Combat Tentacles for attack or defense, or anything else she needs, like helping to restart a jet engine in mid-air.
• Stealth Parody: Some critics, such as Bennett White, have suggested that the series' over-the-top sexualization may actually be satirical, pointing to elements like Aika's corset essentially molesting her when she transforms, along with Hagen's extreme perversion and eventual death at the hands of what amounts to a twisted manifestation of his own lust. This interpretation is helped by the fact that Katsuhiko Nishijima also directed Project A-Ko, which was a parody. On the other hand, Nishijima also directed multiple hentai, so the jury's still out.
• Stripperiffic:
  • Justified in the case of the Delmos, since Hagen wanted his army that way as to sexually use them to repopulate the Earth.
  • Literally in Aika's case, since before transforming her, the Applied Phlebotinum will first remove all of her regular clothing.
• Sympathy for the Devil: Aika and Rion are both saddened when Neena's nanites start to go haywire and destroy her body. Unfortunately, at this point, they can't do anything to help her.
• Tap on the Head: There are an ungodly amount of knockouts via physical force, but none of them appear to cause any real injuries other than a brief nap.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill: Aika only knocks her opponents out. While she may be rather brutal about it, for the most part, her enemies will be fine when they wake up.
• Token Mini-Moe:
  • Rie, who is the youngest member of the Golden Delmo.
  • One of the clones of Karen in R-16. She's tiny, adorable, and homicidal.
• Tranquillizer Dart: Aika's pistol fires darts. This isn't her main knockout method against her enemies, but it is used quite often. In R-16 and ZERO, all guns appear to fire bullets, but they have the same effect as tranquilizer darts.
• Utopia Justifies the Means: Hagen's motive is to create a utopia with only him and the Delmos.
• Villainous Incest: One of Rudolf's bedmates is Neena, his sister. Since they were test-tube babies, it's not clear if they're biologically related or were just raised together, but it's definitely skeevy either way.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Aika and Eri in R-16 and ZERO.
• What Measure Is a Mook?: Averted and defied. The Delmo Commander takes proper steps to ensure proper full evacuation of her crew twice. Also, her motivation for taking revenge, as well as the motivation of Valerie to act as "Pierre Valimore", is to avenge the Delmos that got pretty mauled in the previous battle.
• World of Action Girls: The girls outnumber the guys at least 10-to-1, and they're all action-oriented.
• Wrench Wench:
  • Bandra serves as this for Gusto as she's is a skilled mechanic.
  • As aforementioned, the Pink Delmos serve as the Delmos' mechanics.
• Wrestler in All of Us: Aika occasionally uses wrestling moves in order to defeat her opponents.
• Younger Than They Look: Bandra is 35 years old during the events of Agent Aika according to supplemental materials, but her appearance and voice give the impression that she's at least twenty years older than that.

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