Twinkle Nora Rock Me! (1985) — What am I Watching!?

The 1980s were a fascinating period in the history and evolution of anime. While it’s all too tempting to wax on about the “good old days,” every now and then a piece of work surfaces from the era that throws a shade over the proverbial nostalgia filters. Twinkle Nora Rock Me! (1985), however, is not only one such example, but also one that goes even further into the realm of “What the hell am I watching?”

Clocking in at just over 29 minutes long, it has re-emerged online in recent years to become a meme among otaku, for good and ill. Though to really understand, you need only look up the film itself and the circumstances behind it.

Opening of Twinkle Nora Rock Me! (1985), showing both the best and worst aspects of the OVA at once. (Source: YouTube)

Mikuriya’s Wild Ride

Twinkle Nora Rock Me! is the brainchild of Satomi Mikuriya, a mangaka from Nagasaki who was particularly active in the 1970s and ‘80s. Although little information is available online in English, he’s also, among others, responsible for directing the CGI sequences in Golgo 13: The Professional (1983). Having already made a name for himself in the industry, it seemed logical to take the next step and create his own original anime.

Technically speaking, Twinkle Nora, which came out on Laserdisc and VHS on November 20th, 1985, isn’t his actual debut. That “honor” would go to Nora, which came out on January 21st that year as an adaptation of a manga he wrote in 1977.  Both of these had him take a direct role as director, writer, and even storyboard artist. With animation staff at his disposal and the support of production company Filmlink International (which was also involved with the Golgo 13 OVAs), it looked as though he had enough to make his vision a success.

For all such aspirations for greatness, however, Mikuruya would slide into relative obscurity. Given the results, you don’t have to be an expert in anime history to figure out why.

Space Madness

Set in a sci-fi future full of adventure, Twinkle Nora Rock Me! follows the titular protagonist, a female bounty hunter named Nora Scholar (Yuriko Yamamoto). After deftly stopping a hostage situation in a spaceport, she’s hired by the Galaxy Police to track down a psychic felon named Fúchuro (Ichirô Nagai). Arriving on the planet the villain’s lording over, she encounters and befriends a dwarf named Max (Akio Nojima). Together, they track down and bring the heinous criminal to justice, while having some hijinks along the way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wAVpcvIrQM

Snippet from the first four minutes of the OVA, showcasing the animation at its worst, in all its slideshow glory. (Source: YouTube)

Or at least, that’s as much plot and sense as it gets. Though you’d more likely be paying attention to the animation, or lack thereof. The first 4-5 minutes alone have so little in the way of in-betweens and frames that they might seem as if the VHS or Laserdisc player was lagging, which is to say nothing of the similarly infamous dance number in the middle. This also means that all sorts of mistakes are on full display, whether it’s misspelled English, ugly stills and special effects, poor scene transitions, o,r in at least one case, “QUALITY”-tier faces straight out of a kid’s sketchbook. Not that the rest of the OVA’s much better when it’s more than 1-3 frames per second, with janky movements, poor lip-synching, and an overall lack of polish. It says a lot that the Laserdisc cover looks much better than the anime itself.

The writing is also a letdown. While there is an actual storyline that’s followed, it serves more as an excuse to drop Nora into different scenarios, whether it’s a hostage situation or an obvious rip-off of Tatooine’s Mos Eisley bar. The characters themselves tend to be either bland or utterly useless, especially Max. Nora herself is so absurdly overpowered that at no point is she in any real danger. Indeed, she acts less like a bounty hunter and more akin to a supernatural force cosplaying as one, given how she just does whatever she wants, though you never really get to know more about her.

To call this a trainwreck, by modern standards or in the context of the 1980s, is an understatement. This isn’t helped at all by the 15-minute Twinkle Nora Rock Me! the Extraction, a “making of” documentary that, according to George J. Horvath of The Land of Obscusion, doesn’t really cover much of the OVA’s production. More than anything, it’s more an excuse for the staff to goof off and for Satomi Mikuriya to make his “first love” come to life, which may explain a few things about Nora. At any rate, this would the last anime he had any direct involvement in. According to Japanese sources, he eventually went on to found a development company involving the Philips CD-I, and by the 2000s became a university lecturer.

Far-Away Glimmers

As horrid as the end result is, this isn’t to say that Twinkle Nora Rock Me! is complete trash. While it takes some effort, you might find some bits that really stand out.

The audio, for one, is surprisingly decent. With a soundtrack performed by synth-rock band VIGILANTE, you’re at the very least treated to a musical feast that really drives home the feel and excess of the ‘80s. The voice acting, featuring the likes of Yuriko Yamamoto and the late Ichirô Nagai, is also decent, with the cast evidently making an effort to salvage the less-than-stellar visuals.

Kenny Lauderdale’s review of the OVA, showing clips from the “making of” documentary. Circa 2019. (Source: YouTube)

Speaking of which, the sights are also not without merit. There’s Nora herself, for instance. Attractive, spunky, and bursting with energy, she’s easily one of the most memorable aspects of the anime, and with better writing could have been a solid protagonist. As revealed in the documentary, the art was also done through computers, reflecting Mikuriya’s penchant during that period for being at the cutting edge of technology. While this detail, in addition to the quality of the music, can make you question how the budget was spent, it’s still rather impressive for the time.

A fan-made edit of the notorious dance sequence, showing how better it looks when put to 60 FPS. Circa 2019. (Source: YouTube)

That faint sense of potential may be in part why, alongside the atrocious animation, Twinkle Nora has gained a new lease from obscurity online as meme material. It’s also no wonder why there are those entertaining the thought of reanimating it, finally giving Nora the anime she deserves to be in.

At the very least, the OVA isn’t a complete waste of time.