K.O. Beast, Vol. 1: Password to Treasure!
The first of two linked OVA series,Password to Treasureplays like a  cross betweenEscaflowneandSlayers. Far in the future, Earth  is divided between humans and metamorphic humanoid-animals. Wan turns into a  half-tiger whenever he sneezes; Bud becomes a bird when he's embarrassed, and  Mei-Mer is a mermaid-princess. They want to recapture the Jinn statues, the  totems of their villages, which were stolen by V-Darn and V-Sion, the nasty  agents of human leader Czar Master. Both sides are searching for the unknown  entity Gaia, and the little girl Yuni is the key to it all. Although the  future of humanity is supposedly at stake, the battles are more slapstick  than violent. The third episode ends on a cliffhanger leading into the second  series, butK.O. Beastis so silly, there's no point quibbling about  story structure. (Rated 13 and older: brief nudity, violence, minor  profanity, alcohol use)--Charles Solomon