Burn-Up Excess (バーンナップEXCESS, Bānappu EXCESS) is an animated Japanese television series, directed by Shinichiro Kimura, animated by Magic Bus and AIC. It aired from 1997 to 1998, ran for 13 episodes, and 4 volumes of videos were released on VHS and DVD in North America by ADV Films.
The series is a tongue-in-cheek look at a special operations unit in the Tokyo police force called "Team Warrior", with large amounts of fan service thrown in for good measure, exemplified by the inclusion of ADV's trademarked "Jiggle Counter" on the DVD's along with Plastic Little.
The story revolves around Rio Kinezono, a buxom member of the team who consistently overspends her paycheck, but is also a top-flight martial artist and a valuable member of the team. In the field, Rio is usually flanked by Maya Jingu, the green-haired team sniper who appears to have a serious lust for ranged weapons (specifically assault rifles). Their antics are backed up by the inventions of Nanvel Candlestick, the exotic team engineer whose job is to devise and implement special combat and surveillance hardware for the team's use. Lilica Ebett, the sprightly pink-haired girl who's a computer expert, can pretty much crack into any information system, and Yuji Naruo, a perverted, camera-toting voyeur, always serves as Warrior's drop-operation pilot and driver. Maki Kawasaki, the mysterious, bespectacled superintendent, is charged with commanding Warrior in the field and administering their various missions as they arise.
The series chronicles the team members' adventures as they slowly track down a sinister city plot.
It was preceded by the OVA Burn-Up W, although there are some inconsistencies with several elements, the most notable of which is the malignant and calculating Ruby, who seems to be a completely different character altogether in Burn-Up Excess, despite the two anime being considered canon.
Main characters
Rio Kinezono
Voiced by: Yuka Imai (Japanese); Amanda Winn Lee (English)
This busty blonde is the main character of the series. She's trained in martial arts and is always the person leading an attack. She likes to look good and loves buying pretty things. Unfortunately, her spending habits keep her in eternal debt, so she's always looking for good-paying jobs to support her lifestyle. She has a desk job working for the police in Policetown and counts on work with Team Warrior to pay her bills. Always trying to find the easy way out, she tries to hook up with any rich guy she can find in the hopes that he'll be able to buy her all the pretty things she desires.
Lilica Ebett
Voiced by: Sakura Tange (Japanese); Kimberly Yates (English)
The computer expert of the group, Lilica is usually seen in a control room. With her pink hair done up in bows, she hacks into computer systems and gives intelligence support to the rest of the group.
Maki Kawazaki
Voiced by: Mami Kingetsu (Japanese); Beth Wernick (English)
Team Warrior's commander. A no-nonsense type of leader, she does remember one of the reason's she was awarded the command... which would later come back to haunt her.
Maya Jingu
Voiced by: Maya Okamoto (Japanese); Lani Minella (English)
Maya loves her guns and treats them like her men. She has green hair and is almost always seen wearing a headband.
Nanvel Candlestick
Voiced by: Yuri Amano (Japanese); Allison Keith (English)
Team Warrior's resident engineering wizard. She is the one responsible for creating a lot of the high-tech gadgets the team uses. But she has a bad habit of coloring her creations either purple or pink, for example a recon device constructed as a pink cockroach.
Yuji Naruo
Voiced by: Ryotaro Okiayu (Japanese); Jason Lee (English)
Yuji is the guy of the group and the team's vehicle expert. He is constantly hitting on Rio, much to her chagrin, and as we find in episode two, is a lover of female legs and undergarments. He is a great example of a hentai (pervert). He also has a bad habit of showing up in the girls' locker room while they're either changing or taking a shower (which gets him beat up a lot).
Minor Characters and Groups
Bob
The redheaded member of the Jingu crime syndicate in Osaka
Chi Mama
The leader of a group of transvestite thieves, although definitely not the brains behind his group's operation. Generally refers to Rio by a pet name for her, "Stephanie"
Drone bugs
Used by the Ruby and the Dawn Mirage to take over Neo Tokyo Tower
Gondo Construction
A crime syndicate in Osaka bent on taking over the Jingu crime syndicate
Henry
An advanced strategic tank with artificial intelligence and multiple forms of advanced weaponry, from standard machine guns to a large pulse cannon capable of destroying an entire division of standard tanks in seconds. One of Team Warrior's missions is to escort Henry from Japan to Switzerland, during which Rio accidentally triggers Henry's VIP guard system.
Jingu Syndicate
A crime syndicate in Osaka run by Maya's father
Ken
A chubby guy who wears glasses and is a member of the Jingu crime syndicate in Osaka
Maya's father
The boss of the Jingu crime syndicate in Osaka
Mecha Cops
The Mecha Cops are robotic police of mysterious origin being sold to the Neo Tokyo police. They have advanced artificial intelligence with black diamond CPUs, and are impervious to most normal weaponry. They are designed to subdue criminals using non-lethal force. They have many other features, including the ability to run faster than speeding cars and interface directly with computer systems in Police Town for quick data retrieval.
Miriam Bardo
A famous designer who visits Tokyo to host a fashion show.
Is actually Ruby in disguise
Miyuki
Miyuki is Rio's friend from the police academy. She works as a traffic cop.
Miyuki's boss
Just like Rio, Miyuki constantly gets in trouble with her boss. She shows up in a police car and yells at Miyuki if she starts slacking for even a second.
Prince Hasan
The heir to the most powerful oil company in the Middle East. Shows up in Tokyo and requests protection from the Warriors. Rio hoped to marry him and get him to pay off her debts until she found out that he is a crazed pervert.
Ramen shop owners
The couple that owns the ramen shop next to Policetown
Have two kids, a boy and a girl
Rio's boss
Rio's always getting in trouble with her boss for not finishing her work. She often uses her sexual charm to get him to let her off the hook.
Ruby
Ruby is the woman that coordinates much of the criminal activity against which Team Warrior fights. It is apparent that she has a considerable amount of funding for her operations; although her motives are initially unclear. She is also very adept in hand-to-hand combat.
Ruby's boss
A mysterious guy with scars on his face and hand. He goes under the name of Harry, although this is not his real name.
Shiguru Tomoyama
Former prime minister of Japan who becomes involved with the production of mechanized police and military personnel
Thunderstorm
A group that wants to kill Prince Hasan to cause disorder in the middle east
Tommy
A member of the Jingu crime syndicate in Osaka
Underwear thief
A masked thief who travels around Tokyo, stealing women's underwear
He's actually a cram school student
Yamada
A tall guy who wears glasses and is a member of the Jingu crime syndicate in Osaka
As the group's electronics expert, Nanvel's job is to design and build machines that will help the team achieve its goals.
Pinel
Pinel is a giant pink elephant that Nanvel advertises as a diet machine. It's able to project a hologram over someone to make that person look slimmer. People that want to change their looks wear receptors shaped like flowers on their heads and Pinel transmits the new images to those receptors which are then projected over their wearers. Chi Mama and her group of thieves realize that they can use the machine to disguise themselves while they carry out crimes. They force Nanvel to build them their own Pinel. In the end, she builds 3 versions of the machine, each smaller than the last. The final version is so small that it can be carried around by one person.
Pink Cockroach
A pink device the size and shape of a cockroach, designed to sneak into inaccessible locations and transmit audio and video back to the team. It can also be used as a communications device. Nanvel also states that if the cockroach's wings are opened, it can be used as a hand grenade; although this function is never demonstrated.
Pink Rabbit
This is a giant pink robot shaped like a rabbit. Nanvel rides in a large glass bubble that makes the rabbit's head. It doesn't have any weapons, but it has heavy armor and is able to punch, kick, and shoot its hands off like pop guns. She uses the rabbit to help fight the super androids in the last episode.
