Ask John: Will Natsuki Crisis Be Released in America?

Question:
When is Natsuki Crisis coming out? Licensed or no licensed?

Answer:
Ironically, although Natsuki Crisis has never been licensed or officially released in America, seemingly the odds of it being brought to America in the future may be good. Although I don’t have first hand “insider” knowledge of all of the exact circumstances of today’s American anime industry, simple observation suggests that an increasing number of American distributors are licensing older, obscure anime possibly because they can no longer afford current titles. Just within this year, Prefectural Earth Defense Force, Riki-Oh, and Tekkaman Blade have been formally announced.

I’ve watched the Natsuki Crisis OAV series twice. It’s a two episode 1994 Madhouse produced show about a high school girl martial arts expert. Since it’s been years since I last watched the series, I recall it having fairly nice character design and plenty of exaggerated, comic action, but not much story development. The series is rather representative of the 80s and 90s OAV boom that saw the release of countless short, disposable anime series.

On one hand, the similar later OAV series Ayane’s High Kick has never been particularly successful in America, and most girl fighting anime in general- including Air Master and Shadow Skill- haven’t become big hits in America. So during the heyday of American anime licensing around 2002 and 2003, I would have said that the odds of Natsuki Crisis being licensed for American release were very slim. However, in 2006 with American licensors seemingly struggling to license any anime title they can get, older, possibly less expensive titles seem to be the acquisition of choice these days. And based on my vague recollection of the series, there are certainly worse older anime series than Natsuki Crisis that an American licensor could invest in.