Imagine growing up as a normal girl, with the normal routine of school, family and crushes on cute boys. Then imagine your entire world turning upside-down - you're actually an alien princess and the possessor of the most incredible armor in the cosmos! This is the situation schoolgirl Hikaru faces in the anime action adventure HYPER SPEED GRANDOLL!

Episode 1 - Eventful Double Date. Nutty professor Kauichi proposes to his lady Miki at the town's waterfront, vowing on a star to be her love forever. However, that star turns out to be a crashing alien ship, and inside the professor and Miki find a surprise - a little girl! Ten years later, Hikaru wakes up late again for school. She meets her best friend Haruna, and thanks to Dad's somewhat explosive invention, crash into school in time for class. However, they land right on top of tennis player Narazaki, on whom Hikaru has a terrible crush. Meanwhile, an alien ship orbits the Earth. Commander Sigil and her jerky subordinate Peos argue about how to acquire the legendary Royal Armor, apparently somewhere down on the planet. A robot warrior - Garbigi- is sent by Peos to find the armor. On the surface, Hikaru and Haruna discuss boys, until an errant tennis ball hits Hikaru, activating another of Kauichi's defensive devices (much to the girls dismay.) Observed by Garbigi, the alien concludes one of the girls is the possessor of the armor.

That night, a small statue (which contains the spirit of the 'GranKnight') on Hikaru's desk activates, and sends a message to the sleeping girl. It warns her that 'they have come' and 'she must fight' to save the Earth and the entire universe. Hikaru dismisses it as a crazy dream when she gets up the next morning. But events are unfolding that will prove her wrong. Will she embrace her destiny and foil the aliens' mad plans to conquer the universe? Or will that ruin her date with Narazaki?

Episode 2 - Heroic Student Transfer. Hikaru continues to learn more about her true heritage while she sleeps. Sigil vows to retrieve the armor for the sake of her leader (and savior) Friedshalf. The next day, a strange new transfer student helps Hikaru and Haruna when another of Kauichi's inventions goes haywire. Yep, the new student is Sigil, who immediately challenges Haruna to a duel (she believe Haruna, not Hikaru, is the heiress to the armor). However, Hikaru is fascinated by Sigil, although the GranKnight warns her of Sigil's evil intentions. A timely arrival by Hikaru at the duel sends Sigil to the school's infirmary, where Hikaru tries to make friends with her. The alien warrior realizes then that Hikaru is the heiress. Going to Hikaru's house, Sigil is amazed by the technology, and gets into an argument with the spirit of the GranKnight, who tells her Friedshalf is evil. Unable to accept her benefactor as the villain, Sigil leaves a very confused Hikaru and head back to her ship. Meanwhile, idiot-boy Peos decides to do his own thing, and kidnaps Narazaki to force Hikaru to turn over the armor! Can Hikaru stop the weasel and save her boyfriend? And who's side will Sigil choose?

Episode 3 - Give Me Courage. Friedshalf makes everybody happy and vaporizes the jackass Peos. Hikaru and Sigil have some quality bonding time in the bathtub, and later in bed Hikaru tells Sigil she believes that when the time comes, the warrior will do the right thing. Suddenly, Mom and Dad burst in - Friedshalf has transmitted a warning over the airwaves that if the princess doesn't turn over the GranDoll armor, Earth will be destroyed! Sigil can't believe Friedshalf is doing such a heinous thing and jets off to see him. Hikaru is so upset she's willing to fork over the armor, but the GranKnight tells her if she does, the entire universe is toast. As things head to the inevitable final confrontation, Sigil has a face-to-face with Friedshalf, and Hikaru accepts her destiny as the heiress to the GranDoll armor. But will this mean anything if Friedshalf plans works and he wins?

Well, in the grand scheme of anime, HYPER SPEED GRANDOLL is right there in the middle. The animation is the standard for TV, which is just fine. The characters are pleasant and have some depth to them - they're not 'stock' characterizations. The comedy bits with Kauichi's inventions are clever, and the complex relationship between Hikaru and Sigil is handled well. However, there is entirely too much redundant dialogue in the episodes; the same issues are talked about endlessly and it really gets tiresome. The action sequences are far too short - the final battle between Hikaru and Friedshalf is over in like, two minutes. There are numerous gratuitous nude shots - nice to look at sure, but they don't move the story along at all. The ideas behind HYPER SPEED GRANDOLL are sound, but the entire project should have been tightened up and structured better to avoid the lengthy expositions (which we the audience already know) and have more action scenes, really spotlighting what the GranDoll armor can do - it is the most powerful weapon in the universe y'know. HYPER SPEED GRANDOLL tries to have something for everyone, and winds up without enough for anyone.

Central Park Media has again done a great job in releasing HYPER SPEED GRANDOLL on DVD. The picture quality is top-notch, and the sound is clean and clear. The dubbing job is pretty good as well. Unfortunately, they've included only a few extras on the disc. There is a trailer for the show as well as an art gallery. Besides the obligatory previews for other CPM product, that's it.

HYPER SPEED GRANDOLL is by no means a bad show; however, it adds nothing new to the anime genre. HYPER SPEED GRANDOLL would be a good introduction to new fans because it does have a little bit of everything in its mix, but for hardcore fans, it's strictly mediocre. If the producers continue this series, I hope they concentrate on making HYPER SPEED GRANDOLL a unique series to stand on it's own. As it stands now, HYPER SPEED GRANDOLL is an entertaining time-filler, but will most likely sit on the shelf after the initial viewing.