An extremely odd opening sequence that combines olden Japanese instruments, chanting, and imagery with the perverse female silhouettes of the Cool Devices opening is a good start to this unique two-part OAV, one of the latest works of Project A-ko director Yūji Moriyama.

There's a lot here to suggest something extremely raunchy: First, Moriyama got his start directing a few episodes of the infamous softcore porn series "Cream Lemon" (one idea for this series was actually cleaned up and later became Project A-ko). Second, the OAV was distributed originally by Daiei Video, a company commonly associated with titles like La Blue Girl and Venus Five. Third, it's an ADV Films release, the same company that once marketed the original Burn Up! with the slogan, "Big guns. Big busts." (Kotetsu has a pretty fun slogan too: "Sugar and spice... and itchin' to slice!")

Well, surprise: Kotetsu is not much worse than your average Ranma 1/2 episode. Okay, so there's a lot of panty-shots and a female-female bath scene that gets a LITTLE too interesting for younger viewers, but overall, there's nothing too objectionable here.

For an anime with a plot that bears quite a bit of resemblance to other anime, Kotetsu has quite a bit of originality going for it. First of all, there's a pretty unique look that characters get when their eyes bulge or they look confused. Second of all, there's a pretty unique sense of humor going for it throughout. Those who liked Project A-ko will almost certainly love Kotetsu, as Moriyama's storytelling spark always shows through.

The dub is surprisingly well-done. Giving Linn a British accent is a good parallel for a Kyoto accent, but voice actress Kay Hest just isn't up to it, and comes off a bit irritating. Shawn Sides is excellent as Miho. While not in the same league as the second volume of Sorcerer Hunters, the dub is still very good.

While not quite epoch-making, The Adventures of Kotetsu is truly entertaining. Fans of Project A-ko should not miss it.