ADV Kids presents

Super Duper Sumos: Absolutely Flabulous (2002)

"You have dishonored my sandcastle!"- Kimo (Ben Hur)

Stars: Matt Hill, Ben Hur, Cusse Mankuma
Other Stars: Richard Newman, Chantal Strand, Deborah DeMille
Director: Kevin O'Donnell

Manufacturer: MOFC
MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (bodily humor, cartoons in sumo thongs, gratuitous use of the word "butt")
Run Time: 01h:52m:40s
Release Date: 2003-03-18
Genre: animation

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
B+	C	A	B	D-

 

DVD Review

For someone over the age of 12, watching Super Duper Sumos is pretty painful. The series is definitely aimed at a younger demographic, as the adventures of sumo brothers Booma, Marmoo, and Kimo operate in the mindset that big fat guys in thongs equals funny, especially if they talk a lot about their butts. The tubby trio faces off each episode against the minions of Ms. Mister, and when things get tough, they can do a butt-bump and transform into slightly more muscular fat guys (and the animators can save some cash by reusing the metamorphosis sequence over and over).

This time around, I kept my sanity by ignoring the insipid, idiotic heroes and concentrating on the quirky, somewhat enjoyable villains. They're all your usual bumblers, of course, and their bickering becomes tiresome, but at least they get some clever dialogue once in a while. My favorite is the evil overlord Ms. Mister, who looks like a cross between Elvira and Jack Skellington. Her constant irritation at the ineptitude of her henchmen is fairly amusing, even if her entire organization is an excuse for "It's so hard to find good help these days" comments.

Another plus is, once again, the animation. I love the look of the show. The character designs are quirky and fun and the colors are eye-catching. The backgrounds have a skewed, simplistic look that is likely the result of cost-saving measures, but it actually contributes a lot to the flavor of the animation. If the level of writing were as impressive as the drawings, I'd have little to complain about.

Yes, there are better shows your kids could be watching. No, it's not really that bad. Trying to think up something constructive to say about such brainless entertainment probably actually makes it seem worse. And that theme song is quickly becoming the bane of my existence. This cleverly-titled DVD includes five episodes: Eviction Conviction, Beach Blanket Sumo, Handle with Care, Rest Area 51, and Car Yak'd.

Rating for Style: B+
Rating for Substance: C

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: Once again, the best thing about Super Duper Sumos is the bright, colorful animation, and it transfers wonderfully to DVD. Colors are eye-popping with no cross coloration, and there is no artifacting or aliasing to be seen. The show is pretty bright, so black level isn't really an issue, though dark textures do appear to be well rendered.

Image Transfer Grade: A
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	no

Audio Transfer Review: The included DD 2.0 English mix is fairly basic, but suitable to the material (note that no Japanese track is included, since this show was produced for the U.S. market). Dialogue is always crisp and clear, and is nicely balanced with the music and sound effects. There's no action from the surrounds, but the front soundstage offers a solid presentation, though one that lacks definition—don't look for directional effects or panning or anything like that.

Audio Transfer Grade: B 

Disc Extras

Static menu with music
Scene Access with 5 cues and remote access
6 Other Trailer(s) featuring Zone of the Enders: Delores, Medabots, Street Fighter, Mega Man, Knights of the Zodiac, Saiyuki
Packaging: Amaray
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: single

Extras Review: Like the last disc, the only extra is a trailer gallery. There are spots for Zone of the Enders: Delores, Medabots, Street Fighter, Mega Man, Knights of the Zodiac, and Saiyuki (which looks very cool).

Extras Grade: D-
 

Final Comments

It's been less than a month since I did my first Super Duper Sumos review. I haven't changed much, and the show certainly hasn't. It remains lowest-common-denominator entertainment through and through, and the biggest selling point for kids is, I assume, the ubiquitous bodily humor. I can't fault ADV for the quality of the disc, but I suggests parents might want to leave the room.

Joel Cunningham 2003-03-02