Legend of Lemnear
This is an OVA for people who like breasts. The reason for this is because it is by a man who very much likes breasts, so much so that over the decades he has earned the mantle of “Master of Breasts”. Legend of Lemnear is the first project where illustrator Satoshi Urushihara was allowed free reign on design. He had already started making a name for himself through his contributions to Transformers: The Movie and Megazone 23. While those were wholesome outings, all things considered, this was the first step in Urushihara indulging his inner lewdness. Lemnear was the thin edge of the wedge in a career that would eventually give the world the likes of Plastic Little, Chirality, and Ragnarock City. Legend of Lemnear is an OVA that mixes high fantasy, violence, and nudity in a fairly simplistic way that was common to the medium in the 1980s.While Lemnear does have its fair share of exposed breasts throughout, the show is very tame by today’s standards because that’s all there is and it’s largely confined to a specific scene. Nevertheless, it does give viewers a taste of where Urushihara’s priorities are. Taking in this OVA as a whole, though, one can see that it is very clearly divided into three segments. First, it introduces the fantasy world in which it is set and the show’s heroine, Lemnear. Next the action heats up, one thing leads to another and Lemnear finds herself in the harem of one of the villain’s stooges, bam!, breasts. Finally, Lemnear breaks free and she’s off to a final confrontation with the actual villain of the show. It’s very cut and dry, feeling more like a paint-by-numbers approach to including what audiences expected from an OVA at the time: a basic story, sex, and violence. Lemnear has all of this, and it’s actually quite tame. Not even five years later, OVAs would be significantly more intense about this stuff.
The story itself isn’t anything special, and is mostly there to move things along from one scene to the next. Lemnear has been wandering the world for a few years after her village was destroyed by a powerful wizard. She’s the sole survivor and out for revenge. As it turns out, she is some sort of prophecized warrior called the Warrior of Silver, and only through her and another warrior, the Warrior of Bronze, can this wizard be killed. So here she is, searching for the wizard and looking for an opportunity to destroy him. Of course, the chance arises during the OVA, and the wizard was even kind enough to have taken the Warrior of Bronze prisoner. So, all Lemnear has to do is free him and together they can have their revenge. It’s a very straightforward plot with nothing memorable about it. Viewers are taken for a fun ride for 45 minutes, then the credits roll.
With all of the action and nudity, clearly there will be a lot of focus on Legend of Lemnear’s presentation. The attention to detail is certainly there. Lemnear looks quite good with her hair standing out thanks to its quintessential 80s anime big hair styling. She also has quite the nice bikini armour for those who like that sort of thing. Meanwhile, everyone from supporting cast with bit roles to the evil wizard Varhol are all well designed. Environments too are interesting, helping to paint an ancient, magical world.
Comparatively speaking, the music is merely okay. Much of the OVA happens in silence, with music only coming in to add dramatic flair to certain scenes. When it does come in, viewers are greeted with guitar-driven pop instrumentals much of the time. There’s nothing special about them, and it’s unlikely that anyone will find themselves humming the tracks later on. At best, they serve their purpose of adding a little something extra to what’s happening on screen, but that’s as far as it goes.
Legend of Lemnear is hardly an excellent OVA, but it is a reasonably entertaining little romp. People who are at least familiar with Satoshi Ururshihara will get the most out of the show. It marks the beginning of his move into lewder material where he has a lot of say in how it is created. Those who are curious, but have concerns about the show being super dirty need not worry. There are some exposed breasts for a scene, and that’s about it. The rest of the time, viewers will see Lemnear adorning her bikini armour. Only in later works does Urushihara really dive into more sexually explicit content. Here we have a short, fun fantasy adventure with a bit of sex and violence to spice things up, nothing more. It’s fairly common to action movies of the era. So, people looking for something like this with some nice art may want to set aside some time to check out Legend of Lemnear.
- IroIro
April 2, 2019
Character Design: Satoshi Urushihara
Studio: AIC
Released: 1989
Episodes: 1
Japanese DVD Cover
Lemnear with her mount
The Warriors of Bronze and Silver
Bikini armour, ahoy!