Kandagawa Jet Girls is a multimedia project which includes a PlayStation 4 game and an anime television series. The focus here is on the anime, which was brought to us by TNK. It ran for twelve episodes during the autumn 2019 season of anime, though its last episode was delayed until January 7th, 2020.
HIDIVE showed the series uncensored as it aired, although the uncensored episodes were only available for a limited time. Those wishing to watch Kandagawa Jet Girls will have to put up with the censored version on the streaming service, at least at the time of writing.
Kandagawa Jet Girls revolves around the sport of jet racing, which involves two girls working together on board a jet ski. Their roles are Shooter and Jetter – the Jetter takes care of steering and boosting, that type of thing, whilst Shooters use water pistols (or other type of water-shooting firearm) to fend off opponents.
The more specific ins and outs of the Jet Racing are explained during the show, generally through a commentary team.
Our main characters are Rin Namiki and Misa Aoi. Rin wants to follow in the footsteps of her mother, and become a top class Jetter. Misa is a Shooter, but she is on the verge of giving up Jet Racing before meeting Rin.
Rin and Misa’s relationship plays a key role in Kandagawa Jet Girls; so much so that at times it feels like it is the main focus.
What we get here is a developing relationship between two characters, which happens to tie into their performances during the Jet Races.
Of course, as with any competitive sport, Rin and Misa are not the only ones participating in the Jet Races. Throughout the twelve episodes, the Kandagawa Jet Girls meet other teams.
The other teams all consist of plenty of fun characters. Much of the joy of watching Kandagawa Jet Girls comes from their interactions with their rivals, and it doesn’t always end up coming down to Jet Racing.
There are a variety of character archetypes in the show, most likely catering to different tastes. These characters are generally defined by a single trait, but that’s by no means a bad thing.
The variety of characters could also potentially tie into what makes Kandagawa Jet Girls a lot of fun to watch. It doesn’t fall into a pattern of introducing characters and then just having them race against Rin and Misa. Things are varied up quite a bit; so much so that there are a pair of characters who have no Jet Races until the end.
This all goes back into developing Rin and Misa’s budding relationship. It seems that those who share a close bond tend to do better in Jet Races, and Rin and Misa working towards that plays an important role in the series.
As for the actual races themselves, they are a lot of fun to watch – providing you don’t mind CG all that much. Seems there are some out there who feel that the show doesn’t provide the most interesting visuals, so that is something to keep in mind when choosing whether to watch this.
Kandagawa Jet Girls is an ecchi show, in case mentioning the uncensored broadcast at the start of this review didn’t clue you in. For those watching the uncensored version, expect to see lots of breasts.
The censored version makes the show almost unwatchable, though. Just expect to be blinded by the light. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, that is the only way to watch the show on HIDIVE. Whether they put up uncensored episodes in the future or something remains to be seen.
When it comes down to it, the Kandagawa Jet Girls anime may just be an advert for the PlayStation 4 game. But, none of that matters, as I had an absolute blast watching the anime. Rin and Misa’s relationship is undoubtedly a huge part of that, and being able to watch uncensored, too.
Score: 10/10
Kandagawa Jet Girls is an ecchi show, so the usual “it won’t be for everyone” thing applies here. Those wanting a show about two girls developing a close (perhaps intimate) relationship and taking part in a competitive sport will certainly find plenty to enjoy here. Overall, just a really fun time.
Rory Muses 