When I watched Shinesman, I had no idea what to expect. I had heard that it was a business world send-up of group-of-five-superheros-in-spandex anime, but I've seen some pretty lame parodies, and it being dubbed added to my skepticism. Upon watching it, I was delighted to find one of the most hillarious and original comedies in years.

Based on the manga by Kaim Tachibana, Shinesman follows the exploits of Hiroya Matsumoto, a young new recruit of the Right Corporation (and loving older brother), who is selected to become one of the company's elite Special Duty Combat Unit. (When questioned what color a superhero should be, he selects red at his brother's suggestion... which stands out among his peers, since their colors are sepia, moss green, gray, and salmon pink...)

Meanwhile, the company's potential client has been infiltrated by aliens trying to (what else?) take over the world, and when the know-it-all princess arrives, her resident brother is less than excited. When the two companies sponsor a show of Hiroya's brother's favorite anime at a theme park. Of course, Princess Sheena gets into trouble (in the form of a Godzilla costume), and all sorts of chaos ensues.

What most surprised me about Shinesman was the dubbing. Costal Carolina Studios has had a great track record (having done the highly-acclaimed You're Under Arrest and Oh My Goddess! dubs), and fumbling recently with the dub of Earthian. The Shinesman dub, while having an occasional low-point, actually improves on the Japanese version by adding sarcasm and humor that truly only works in English. Having seen it, I can't even imagine watching it subtitled. Only with an English version can the true irony of lines like "Sheena, get in the glowing green square!" truly be appreciated.

Even if you're normally a person that thumbs his nose at dubs, see this one dubbed. You owe it to yourself.