Kite Liberator
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese original video animation
series and sequel
to Kite
. It was also adapted as a manga
serialzed in Comic Valkyrie
magazine.
Meanwhile in Tokyo during night time, two police officers pursue a violent pedophile through the streets and into a train station. The criminal enters a women's washroom and takes a young girl hostage after shooting two bystanders. The officers attempt to defuse the situation but are rebuffed with gunfire. The criminal forces the young girl into a stall, with the intention of fondling/raping her. However, the lights go out and the criminal is attacked and killed by the "Angel of Death", a female assassin. Hearing gunfire, the officers enter but find only the assassin's calling card: a flurry of white feathers on the dead suspect. Escaping the station on an outbound train after changing clothes, it is revealed that the "Angel of Death" is none other than Monaka Noguchi.
That same night, Monaka Noguchi, who is actually the Angel of Death, goes to work at Apollo 11, a maid cafe
usually patronized by the same perverted customer who enjoys harassing the waitresses sexually. While she is not on a mission, Monaka plays a nerdy, but very coy clumsy gentle high school girl. And because the nature of her work place, she is easily targeted of harassment from customers and flirtations from the manager. "the customer is always right," implies their sleazy manager. However, Mukai, the mysterious oldest associate, does not take kindly to such behavior and retaliates such as putting spicy Habanero in drinks or kicking a rude customer in the groin. It is never explained why the Manager never fires her, but it is speculated Ms. Mukai (who bears a striking resemblance to Sawa) is, or was, more than just a waitress there and looks after Monaka. While they are working, the sleazy manager received a phone call from the real Tsuin, the older brother of the criminal the Angel of Death killed at the train station, stating his younger and only brother was murdered by Gaga. When Monaka returns home from work, she receives a package from Azuki, her cousin. While Monaka opens the package, Azuki gets a Häagen-Dazs
ice cream from the mini fridge. Azuki becomes jealous at the discovery of Monaka's gift; a bracelet made of rocks from Mars. Monaka then approaches her window, looks up at the night sky, and thanks her Father.
Back at the Space Station, Orduo and the other crew member's condition have gotten worse. Their bone volume have increased again. The Doctor realize the cause of this was due to Sun's radiation and Mr. Doi's space food. The infected bodies are becoming abnormally large due to the growing bones. As Orduo groans in agony and semi-conscious, he thinks about his daughter and we see a brief flash back on Earth with a kid Monaka and him. The next morning, Monaka logs into her laptop and goes to a secret folder where it contains a list of targeted people. On her way to school, she stops by at the apartment complex where her next target lives and proceeds on her way. During the day she sees Mukai walking with a child, and is told by her sleazy manager that Mukai is a single mother, the father is unknown. When evening arrives, she then returns to the area to kill her next target, the owner of the apartment complex for his murderous crimes of killing several people. Disaster strikes at the Space Station. Orudo and the crew member have transformed into homicidal monsters, successfully killing most of crew members and ISS Police units. Prior to escape, they were able to kill one of the monsters by blowing up the Space Station. However, the second monster was nowhere to be found. Only the Doctor, Mr. Doi, Orudo, and couple others escaped in Space Pod back to Earth. The crash landing to a building drew Defy Food Company's attention and hired agents to solve problems and rid any evidence that may jeopardize their reputation.
That night, back at Apollo 11 maid cafe, the perverted customer was back and tried to fondle Monaka, but Mukai intervened and sent the injured customer to a hospital. Due to obstruction of business, Mukai is held liable and has to pay for the hospital bills. After work, Mukai invites Monaka out in the back for small fireworks. They had an interesting, but vague, discussion of Mukai's life. After saying good bye, Monaka runs into Gaga, who was waiting for her by the steps. When he tells her she was a minor and he was a police officer, she tried to reason with him, even offering a free drink next time. In return for his silence, and having a secret crush on her some time, he finally asks her out. She obliges. Meanwhile, a monster emerges out of the sea near downtown. In a hotel room, agents are demanding silence from the Doctor and Mr. Doi. When they receive news about a monster roaming around the city, they inform the space chef about it, basically blaming him. Mr. Doi, feeling guilty, protests it wasn't his fault. The next day, at a local park, Sputnik, dressed entirely in an animal costume (cat) from head to toe, meets up with Monaka. Her current assignment gets postponed and she is given a new one: To eliminate the monster. In the next scene we see Monaka as the Angel of Death collecting weapons. Her sleazy Manager realize she favors "Red Club" (The gun of Destiny), which was used by the previous assassin like her. The Manager adds that the gun was made by a friend of his who died at the same time of the assassin's disappearance several years ago. "I see...what was her name?" was all Angel of Death says. Although it isn't answered, we know it was Sawa.
At Gaga's apartment that same night, he gets attacked by the older brother, Tsuin. The two engage in a gun fight. Sensing he is unable to easily kill the officer, he flees. It becomes a chase, just like with his younger brother. Not so far away, the monster is causing havoc. The Angel of Death uses a Sniper rifle
from a roof top first but after few shots, she ceases firing and sees the monster unharmed. She gets closer by using a grappling hook
and then fires an automatic weapon at it. And when that doesn't kill it, she uses her Red Club, but even the explosive bullets do not cause sufficient damage. After running out of options, she feels beaten and retreats by using the grappling hook back to the rooftop. She tried to escape, but the monster eventually pins her against a wall, the impact causes one of her contact lenses to fall off. Thinking this is the end, she waits for her death, but it never comes. Just as her Nemesis is about to finish her off, it sees and recognizes the bracelet. When she sees her chance to escape, she fired a few bullets into its mouth and sends it flying backwards to the lower street level where it falls on top of a car. Badly injured, the monster tried to show sympathy toward Angel of Death. However, she is too stunned to do anything but stand there. The car explodes. Doi persuades her to get in his car with two agents. The agents take them to an isolated indoor parking lot, discussing the incident. She learns that the monster she was sought out to kill was actually her mutated father.
The two agents try to shoot her, but she kills them demands answers from Mr. Doi. The two men pretended to be from NASA
, but were really agents to keep things under control and get rid of any evidence. After shooting Mr. Doi execution style, she runs back to the area where she fled from her father. However, she runs into Tsuin who takes her hostage as Gaga gets closer. Tsuin threatens to kill her if he comes any closer. Unfortunately for Tsuin, the hostage is a skilled assassin. She is able to break free easily and ends up killing him before Gaga arrives. After discovering the body, he tried looking for the hostage, finding only a dark ribbon on the ground nearby. Outside, Monaka gets tired from running and catches her breath. While she was regaining her strength, a passing truck explodes. The monster has regenerated itself and the two meet once again. It is unknown what happens next as the screen goes black and the closing credits
roll.
Part II OVA all those years ago as well as numerous things since then. Hopefully it will be another ten years before he can be pulled back to this franchise so he can focus on more interesting projects." — Chris Beveridge, Mania.
"Only, and I mean only, because of the artwork. Otherwise it’s a load of crap. Go watch the first one instead, or even better, watch the Anime Music Video called Hidden Fury. That’s what I’d really want to see, not this crap." — Isaac Cynova, T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews.
"The straight-forward nature of many scenes doesn't quite maintain the goals of the piece as a whole. But taken as a gentle, self-reflective Tarantino-style satire, it works." — Justin Sevakis, Anime News Network
.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese original video animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
series and sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to Kite
Kite (film)
, also known as A Kite, is a highly controversial Japanese anime OVA written and directed by Yasuomi Umetsu.The original Japanese release ran for two 30 minute episodes...
. It was also adapted as a manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
serialzed in Comic Valkyrie
Comic Valkyrie
is a Japanese science fiction and fantasy seinen manga magazine published by Kill Time Communication. Its target readership is males between their teens and thirties. The first volume was released on July 25, 2006, and ran in bimonthly volumes until it switched to monthly publication, starting with...
magazine.
Synopsis
Taking place several years after the events in the original Kite film, Kite Liberator starts off with crew members of ISS along with Kōichi Doi, a food formulation researcher at Defy Foods, returning to the Space Station on a Kudryavka shuttle. Doi had been researching various methods of preserving bone mass in zero gravity conditions, leading to healthy but frequently unappetizing food. While some members of the crew voice their distaste, the mission leader Orudo Noguchi reminds them of the necessity and benefits of the space foods. However, when it is found that Noguchi and another crew member have space radiation exposure and abnormally increased bone volume during a periodic medical check-up, Doi strangely questions the safety of his food, hinting that there may be more going on that is apparent. The two men are ordered by the doctor to discontinue any further missions to prevent further radiation exposure. In his room, Noguchi observes pictures of Monaka, his only daughter and gives Doi a small package to deliver to her.Meanwhile in Tokyo during night time, two police officers pursue a violent pedophile through the streets and into a train station. The criminal enters a women's washroom and takes a young girl hostage after shooting two bystanders. The officers attempt to defuse the situation but are rebuffed with gunfire. The criminal forces the young girl into a stall, with the intention of fondling/raping her. However, the lights go out and the criminal is attacked and killed by the "Angel of Death", a female assassin. Hearing gunfire, the officers enter but find only the assassin's calling card: a flurry of white feathers on the dead suspect. Escaping the station on an outbound train after changing clothes, it is revealed that the "Angel of Death" is none other than Monaka Noguchi.
That same night, Monaka Noguchi, who is actually the Angel of Death, goes to work at Apollo 11, a maid cafe
Maid cafe
Maid cafés are a subcategory of cosplay restaurants found predominantly in Japan. In these cafés, waitresses dressed in maid costumes act as servants, and treat customers as masters in a private home, rather than as café patrons...
usually patronized by the same perverted customer who enjoys harassing the waitresses sexually. While she is not on a mission, Monaka plays a nerdy, but very coy clumsy gentle high school girl. And because the nature of her work place, she is easily targeted of harassment from customers and flirtations from the manager. "the customer is always right," implies their sleazy manager. However, Mukai, the mysterious oldest associate, does not take kindly to such behavior and retaliates such as putting spicy Habanero in drinks or kicking a rude customer in the groin. It is never explained why the Manager never fires her, but it is speculated Ms. Mukai (who bears a striking resemblance to Sawa) is, or was, more than just a waitress there and looks after Monaka. While they are working, the sleazy manager received a phone call from the real Tsuin, the older brother of the criminal the Angel of Death killed at the train station, stating his younger and only brother was murdered by Gaga. When Monaka returns home from work, she receives a package from Azuki, her cousin. While Monaka opens the package, Azuki gets a Häagen-Dazs
Häagen-Dazs
Häagen-Dazs is a brand of ice cream, established by Jewish-Polish immigrants Reuben and Rose Mattus in the Bronx, New York, in 1961. Starting with only three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and coffee, the company opened its first retail store in Brooklyn, New York, on November 15, 1976...
ice cream from the mini fridge. Azuki becomes jealous at the discovery of Monaka's gift; a bracelet made of rocks from Mars. Monaka then approaches her window, looks up at the night sky, and thanks her Father.
Back at the Space Station, Orduo and the other crew member's condition have gotten worse. Their bone volume have increased again. The Doctor realize the cause of this was due to Sun's radiation and Mr. Doi's space food. The infected bodies are becoming abnormally large due to the growing bones. As Orduo groans in agony and semi-conscious, he thinks about his daughter and we see a brief flash back on Earth with a kid Monaka and him. The next morning, Monaka logs into her laptop and goes to a secret folder where it contains a list of targeted people. On her way to school, she stops by at the apartment complex where her next target lives and proceeds on her way. During the day she sees Mukai walking with a child, and is told by her sleazy manager that Mukai is a single mother, the father is unknown. When evening arrives, she then returns to the area to kill her next target, the owner of the apartment complex for his murderous crimes of killing several people. Disaster strikes at the Space Station. Orudo and the crew member have transformed into homicidal monsters, successfully killing most of crew members and ISS Police units. Prior to escape, they were able to kill one of the monsters by blowing up the Space Station. However, the second monster was nowhere to be found. Only the Doctor, Mr. Doi, Orudo, and couple others escaped in Space Pod back to Earth. The crash landing to a building drew Defy Food Company's attention and hired agents to solve problems and rid any evidence that may jeopardize their reputation.
That night, back at Apollo 11 maid cafe, the perverted customer was back and tried to fondle Monaka, but Mukai intervened and sent the injured customer to a hospital. Due to obstruction of business, Mukai is held liable and has to pay for the hospital bills. After work, Mukai invites Monaka out in the back for small fireworks. They had an interesting, but vague, discussion of Mukai's life. After saying good bye, Monaka runs into Gaga, who was waiting for her by the steps. When he tells her she was a minor and he was a police officer, she tried to reason with him, even offering a free drink next time. In return for his silence, and having a secret crush on her some time, he finally asks her out. She obliges. Meanwhile, a monster emerges out of the sea near downtown. In a hotel room, agents are demanding silence from the Doctor and Mr. Doi. When they receive news about a monster roaming around the city, they inform the space chef about it, basically blaming him. Mr. Doi, feeling guilty, protests it wasn't his fault. The next day, at a local park, Sputnik, dressed entirely in an animal costume (cat) from head to toe, meets up with Monaka. Her current assignment gets postponed and she is given a new one: To eliminate the monster. In the next scene we see Monaka as the Angel of Death collecting weapons. Her sleazy Manager realize she favors "Red Club" (The gun of Destiny), which was used by the previous assassin like her. The Manager adds that the gun was made by a friend of his who died at the same time of the assassin's disappearance several years ago. "I see...what was her name?" was all Angel of Death says. Although it isn't answered, we know it was Sawa.
At Gaga's apartment that same night, he gets attacked by the older brother, Tsuin. The two engage in a gun fight. Sensing he is unable to easily kill the officer, he flees. It becomes a chase, just like with his younger brother. Not so far away, the monster is causing havoc. The Angel of Death uses a Sniper rifle
Sniper rifle
In military and law enforcement terminology, a sniper rifle is a precision-rifle used to ensure more accurate placement of bullets at longer ranges than other small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for optimal levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military...
from a roof top first but after few shots, she ceases firing and sees the monster unharmed. She gets closer by using a grappling hook
Grappling hook
A grappling hook is an anchor with multiple hooks , attached to a rope; it is thrown, dropped, sunk, projected, or fastened directly by hand to where at least one hook may catch and hold. Generally, grappling hooks are used to temporarily secure one end of a rope. They may also be used to dredge...
and then fires an automatic weapon at it. And when that doesn't kill it, she uses her Red Club, but even the explosive bullets do not cause sufficient damage. After running out of options, she feels beaten and retreats by using the grappling hook back to the rooftop. She tried to escape, but the monster eventually pins her against a wall, the impact causes one of her contact lenses to fall off. Thinking this is the end, she waits for her death, but it never comes. Just as her Nemesis is about to finish her off, it sees and recognizes the bracelet. When she sees her chance to escape, she fired a few bullets into its mouth and sends it flying backwards to the lower street level where it falls on top of a car. Badly injured, the monster tried to show sympathy toward Angel of Death. However, she is too stunned to do anything but stand there. The car explodes. Doi persuades her to get in his car with two agents. The agents take them to an isolated indoor parking lot, discussing the incident. She learns that the monster she was sought out to kill was actually her mutated father.
The two agents try to shoot her, but she kills them demands answers from Mr. Doi. The two men pretended to be from NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, but were really agents to keep things under control and get rid of any evidence. After shooting Mr. Doi execution style, she runs back to the area where she fled from her father. However, she runs into Tsuin who takes her hostage as Gaga gets closer. Tsuin threatens to kill her if he comes any closer. Unfortunately for Tsuin, the hostage is a skilled assassin. She is able to break free easily and ends up killing him before Gaga arrives. After discovering the body, he tried looking for the hostage, finding only a dark ribbon on the ground nearby. Outside, Monaka gets tired from running and catches her breath. While she was regaining her strength, a passing truck explodes. The monster has regenerated itself and the two meet once again. It is unknown what happens next as the screen goes black and the closing credits
Closing credits
Closing credits or end credits are added at the end of a motion picture, television program, or video game to list the cast and crew involved in the production. They usually appear as a list of names in small type, which either flip very quickly from page to page, or move smoothly across the...
roll.
Japanese
- Marina InoueMarina Inoueis a voice actress and singer. She is signed onto Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex division. As for voice acting career, she's employed by Sigma Seven...
as Monaka Noguchi - Akemi OkamuraAkemi Okamurais a Japanese voice actress and narrator from Tokyo who works for Mausu Promotion. She has had at least one song appear on the NHK program Minna no Uta. Okamura made her debut as Fio Piccolo in the 1992 film Porco Rosso.-Television Animation:...
as Manatsu Mukai - Masakazu MoritaMasakazu Moritais a seiyū and actor born in Tokyo, Japan. He currently works for Aoni Production. He is also the host of the radio show, Bleach B-Station. Morita is perhaps best known for his roles as Ichigo Kurosaki , Tidus , Auel Neider , Pegasus Seiya , Troy Bolton is a seiyū and actor born in Tokyo, Japan....
as Rin Gaga - Setsuji SatōSetsuji Satois a Japanese actor and voice actor from Tokyo. He is currently affiliated with Engeki Shūdan Yen. He graduated from the Osaka University of Arts.-Television animation:*Home Movies *Kekkaishi *Midnight Horror School...
as Kōichi Doi - Kei ShindōKei Shindois a female Japanese voice actress from Chiba, Japan.-Anime cast in:*Glass Mask as Ruri Egawa *Ikkitousen as Ryuubi Gentoku *Jigoku Shōjo as Aya's follower *Jigoku Shōjo Futakomori as Emi Motegi...
as Azuki Noguchi - MugihitoMugihito, better known by his stage name of is a Japanese voice and stage actor from Musashino, Tokyo. He is employed by Media Force. Mugihito was formerly credited under his birth name and also...
as Torokurō Amuzu - Yasuhiro as Kai Tsuin, Kichi Tsuin
English
- Xanthe Huynh as Monaka Noguchi
- Tara PlattTara PlattTara Platt is an American film and television actress as well as a voice actor. She is married to fellow voice actor Yuri Lowenthal....
as Manatsu Mukai - Grant George as Rin Gaga
- Doug ErholtzDoug ErholtzDouglas J. Erholtz is an American voice actor. He is well known for voicing Asuma Sarutobi from Naruto and Ichimaru from Bleach.- Anime roles :* Battle B-Daman - Joe, Biarce* Bounty Dog - Additional Voices...
as Kōichi Doi - Melanie Wagner as Azuki Noguchi
- Joe DiMucci as Torokurō Amuzu
- Derek Stephen PrinceDerek Stephen PrinceDerek Stephen Prince is an American voice actor who is most memorable for his various roles in the Digimon series, as well as the voice of Elgar in the live-action Power Rangers Turbo and Power Rangers in Space.While a talented actor, with vocal skills capable of anything from High School girls to...
as Kai Tsuin, Kichi Tsuin - Kaiji TangKaiji TangKaiji Tang is an American voice actor working primarily out of Los Angeles.Kaiji transitioned from screen acting to voice acting when had his first major role as the unusual character of Sputnik in Kite Liberator...
as Sputnik
Reception
"Umetsu's work has been a favorite of mine since I saw his designs in the Megazone 23Megazone 23
is a four-part original video animation created by AIC, written by Hiroyuki Hoshiyama, and directed by Noboru Ishiguro, Ichiro Itano, Kenichi Yatagai and Shinji Aramaki. The series was originally titled but the title was changed just before release....
Part II OVA all those years ago as well as numerous things since then. Hopefully it will be another ten years before he can be pulled back to this franchise so he can focus on more interesting projects." — Chris Beveridge, Mania.
"Only, and I mean only, because of the artwork. Otherwise it’s a load of crap. Go watch the first one instead, or even better, watch the Anime Music Video called Hidden Fury. That’s what I’d really want to see, not this crap." — Isaac Cynova, T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews.
"The straight-forward nature of many scenes doesn't quite maintain the goals of the piece as a whole. But taken as a gentle, self-reflective Tarantino-style satire, it works." — Justin Sevakis, Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
.