"Ayane’s High Kick" (Anime)

[pkristen]

2 Episode Anime OVA. Originally reviewed April 7, 2001

Summary
High-schooler Ayane wants to become a female pro-wrestler champion. A trainer whips her into shape for the wrong sport: kick-boxing. She falls victim to much unwanted attention as well as a competitive stubbornness not to lose her first (and last?) match.

Review
Another one I picked up on a whim, put down, picked up again, put down, and said "Oh what the Hell", and bought it. Due to the cover art, I was expecting some overindulgent male fantasy about female athletes but instead was pleasantly surprised in finding a story with some charm and heart. Yes, there are the overly top-heavy female athletes, but the story-telling and characterizations made me forgive the creators for that. In fact, I would have liked this series to continue given that the ending seemed wide open for that possibility.

And if you're wondering how she can train for kickboxing and think it's for wrestling, well I could make the comment "She is a jock, after all." But I won't go there...

Lesbian Analysis
As I wrote in my review about this anime, I was very pleasantly surprised that there seemed to be a certain amount of charm and heart to this story of a girl who desperately wants to be a pro-wrestler but she ends up training for kickboxing by accident.

While this is not a romance work, and actually has some suspicious jiggle qualities about it, my “gaydar” was initially triggered by the mere fact that there was the lack of a romantic male lead for Ayane or her best friend Kayoko. Oh sure, there’s a guy friend who plays the role of the sports nerd, but there’s clearly no romantic interest on either side. Most of the personal interaction is between Ayane, Kayoko and her male trainer Kunimitsu (who has no romantic or sexual interest in the girls.)

Again, I would strongly emphasize that this is really a sports anime more than anything else, so if you’re watching it for high-romance potential, you’ll be disappointed. I just considered the relationship between the girls to be icing on an otherwise enjoyable anime.

Ayane: Desperately wants to be a female pro-wrestler, especially at a time when other students are studying for entrance exams

* Her motivation to become a wrestler seems to be clouded with a need to defeat the current champion. There’s clearly a hero-worship quality in the way Ayane regards the woman, which doesn’t necessarily translate to lesbianism but the point is that she is not inspired by any male approval or desire.
* She shares her wrestling ambitions with her best friend Kayoko, who is the only one she tells about her wrestling audition and even asks her opinion on what masks to wear. She clearly values her best friend and trusts her with her most personal thoughts and ambitions.
* When it comes to the final match, in trying to convince Kayoko to join in her training, she enthusiastically declares that she feels like she could win if Kayoko’s in her corner. Clearly no one else means enough to her to make that kind of plea.
* While seemingly driven throughout the eps by basic emotions like competition and ambition, Ayane doesn’t seem to be the type to have more “sentimental” or “romantic” feelings. So it’s very telling that in a pivotal moment in the series, she is clearly deeply affected by a passionate plea Kayoko makes to show how much faith the other girl has in her ability to succeed.

Kayoko: Best friend, co-conspirator in Ayane’s wrestling/kickboxing career, and school valedictorian.

* While Ayane seemed rather two-dimensional in her standard jock behavior, Kayoko’s actions proved to be more interesting to me. She clearly cares about Ayane’s level of success with anything the latter girl is currently dealing with, whether it’s the wrestling audition, this new suspicious trainer, or the matches themselves.
* I also found it interesting that in the opening credits alone Ayane is pictured lying down with her head in Kayoko’s lap. Not a sexual/sensual pose by any means, but an intriguing foreshadowing for the eps. (And note in contrast that this shot is followed with Ayane putting the guy-friend in a choke hold.)
* Kayoko knows Ayane so well that she’s able to wake her up in class despite the teacher failing by yelling at the top of his lungs.
* For the first kickboxing match, Kayoko buys a ticket on her own without her friend knowing, showing her level of devotion and interest.
* In watching the fight, she is terrified that Ayane will be beaten to a pulp and begs her to stop for fear of her safety. Of course, this kind of behavior alone doesn’t have to be lesbian, but when you add all of the other points together, it adds a layer of depth to Kayoko’s feelings for her best friend.
* The principal and vice-principal both notice with amazement at her presence in Ayane’s match. Even to the point that the principal positively comments on what a “beautiful friendship” the girls share.
* In the final fight, Kayoko gives Ayane the ultimate motivation to not give up in the fight despite the beating by the opponent, which shows their deep feelings for each other. What is also intriguing is that these moments have a distinctive romantic feeling underscoring them.

Special comments: So would I consider these two a full-fledge lesbian couple? The “best friend” dynamic can be read either way. It just becomes more suspicious in a story when the characters are of dating age and there’s no member of the opposite gender competing for attention. At the very least, I could say they are just cluelessly perfect for each other. I think they’ve got potential and would probably realize it shortly if the series had been allowed to continue.