Rob Kelk
1st July 2004, 06:00 PM
(continued from Part 2)
E
EARLY REINS: If you love classic bullets-flying-everywhere Western
movies and good-looking anime girls, this one's for you. No steampunk
or any other modern trappings (unless you count one character's short
skirt, and even then, no panty shots). Very reverent (but not without a
sense of humour), very entertaining, very recommended. One OAV.
[Entry by David Watson]
EARTH GIRL ARJUNA: Juna Ariyoshi is involved in a mysterious
motorbike accident with her boyfriend Tokio. She awakens to find
herself "dead", and privy to a horrifying vision of the destruction of
Earth's environment by man, and controlled by fearsome worm-like
creatures known as Rajah. She is given a second chance at life by the
apparition of Chris Horken, a crippled telepath, if she agrees to
become the Avatar of Time and protect Earth from the Rajah. But Juna
is not at ease with this role - although she utilises her power to
save Tokio, she is petrified of the monstrous Rajah, and has
difficulty reconciling her environmental awareness and protection with
her modern life - how would you feel if you heard the voices of all
the creatures killed to make your food each time you ate? An
extremely high budget shows through in the detailed character
animation and computer effects - although some rendering doesn't mesh
very well - and another high quality soundtrack from Yoko Kanno
present an extremely polished show. However, the environmental
message can become extremely heavy handed, which aggravates many
viewers - this thought-provoking "magical girl" show tends to polarise
viewers.
ARJUNA is being released in North America from Bandai, and in
Australia from Madman.
[Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
EL HAZARD: Makoto is your average high-school kid. A bit of a
nebbish, he likes Nanami and is constanly hounded by her big brother
Jinnai, though not about Nanami per se. Makoto and several of his
classmates get sucked through a portal to another world where he and
his friends each seem to manifest a superpower. There is a war going
on between the human people of the world and the insect-like Bugrom.
Makoto and his friends try to help the humans, aided by the three
priestesses of Muldoon, while Jinnai ends up on the wrong side,
helping the Bugrom. Hilarity, action and adventure ensue, including
the discovery of an ancient evil power, a woman named Ifurita who only
Makoto can defeat. Good art and animation. Silly and fun. This
summary applies only to the OVA version; there is also a TV series
with the same characters. Comedic violence only. Seven OVAs. From
Geneon.
[Entry by Ben Cantrick]
[Parental Advisory: Some characters in this OAV series have what
has come to euphemistically be called "alternative lifestyles", and
not all of them are villians. If this bothers you or your children,
watch the TV series "El Hazard: The Wanderers" instead of the OAV
series. - Rob Kelk]
ENDLESS WALTZ: see GUNDAM
ESACAFLOWNE: see VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE
EVANGELION: see NEON GENESIS EVANGELION
EXCEL SAGA: This anime is an example of insanity in motion. Each
episode is a parody of different styles of anime, and in the first
episode the heroine, Excel Excel dies several times, then goes off to
kill her manga artist (talk about breaking down the 'fourth wall'). In
later episodes you meet others that get involved in the story, and she's
joined by Hyatt, a girl that dies about as much as possible, but she
keeps on getting back up. Not to mention the fact that she keeps a
stray dog named Menchi (that somehow looks like a cat every now and
then) as an emergency food supply. Released by ADV in North America.
[Entry by Bill Martin]
[CONTENT ADVISORY: ADV Films quite properly rated this show at
"17+". Many episodes have a high violence quotient, some of the
language is inappropriate for minors, and the final episode should be
listed in the Anime Hentai Primer. Definitely NOT for children. - Rob
Kelk]
F
FAM AND IHRIE: see RUIN EXPLORERS
FIRE TRIPPER: One of the more serious of the "Rumik World" stories
by Rumiko Takahashi. A young woman gets sent back in time to feudal
Japan, but how? And what happened to the young boy that was with her?
Was available from USMC.
[Entry by Rob Kelk]
FANCY LALA: FANCY LALA is the story of a girl and her magic sketch
book. I think that cleared all of the DBZ heads out. For the rest of
you, no, there are no magical princesses fighting evil by moonlight,
nor are there any convoluted love polygons. What we have here is a
simple show about how a young girl, Shinohara Miho (all names in
Japanese name order) obtains the power to grow just a bit older from
some 'funny dinosaurs' (Pigu and Mogu, her wise helpers...yea right,
they spend more time arguing and eating all the food than helping) and
her not so meteoric rise to stardom. Her alter ego's name is Lala,
for short (Fancy Lala in full). She's got powers that every little
girl would want: growing older, drawing all the cool clothes you
could ever want with a magic pen (just say Dabu Dabu and the clothes
become real!) and meeting all your favorite stars (in Miho's case it's
the fabulous male idol, Aikawa Hiroya).
However, this show's best aspect is its unusual realness. Lala's
rise to stardom is no instant success. It's a lot of hard work full
of bright lights, pushy stars, and time spent away from friends. Her
time as Miho isn't all sugar sweetness wrapped in a candy cane either.
Miho's a rather real little girl, genki or not, and she gets
frustrated and tired. An interesting point is the depth of character
is actually accentuated by Miho having two forms. Seeing how
characters react to each form shows their characters in more detail
than otherwise would be possible. That's it, except for maybe that
mysterious guy... (Fushigi-san, called 'Mystery Man' in the
commercial version). Maybe he has something to do with Miho's
spectacular transformation? This 26 episode series was on Japanese TV
in 1998, and now is released in the US by Bandai Entertainment. An
extra note: it's a homage to CREAMY MAMI, a 1983 magical girl show
along the same lines (both done by Studio Pierrot).
[Entry by Hana no Kaitou]
FULL METAL PANIC: Popular high school girl Chidori Kaname,
unbeknownst to her, is one of a group of people called the Whispered.
The Whispered are people who have buried in their memories knowledge of
something called Black Technology. Black Technology is military
technology so advanced and powerful that the nations of the world will
go to any extreme to get their hands on it. To protect Kaname from
falling into the wrong hands a covert anti-terrorist organization called
Mithril assigns a bodyguard to watch over and protect Kaname without her
knowledge. Unfortunately the person they select for the job is Sagara
Sousuke, a teenager who has spent his entire life on battlefields and
military camps. Consequently he has no concept of how to cope with
ordinary civilian life. Needless to say Sousuke's reactions to even the
merest perception of a threat are extreme. As a result he proceeds to
turn Kaname's life completely upside down while defending her against
some of the nastiest terrorists ever to appear in anime. This has the
apparent effect of having Kaname start to fall in love with him. Anyway
Sousuke's military skills are unparalleled and he is expert in this
world's preferred combat mech, the Arm Slave.
[Entry by Kyle Thomas Pope]
[Trailer available at
<http://www.advfilms.com/cool_stuff/trailers.asp> - Rob Kelk]
FUSHIGI YUUGI (a.k.a. MYSTERIOUS PLAY): One of the most emotional
anime of all time, truly heartwrenching, though it does delve into sap
a little by the end. The anime focuses on a young girl, Miaka, who
gets pulled into an ancient Chinese text and becomes a part of the
story - a priestess, in fact, of one of the book world's four gods,
Suzaku. When she tries to get out, her best friend Yui is taken in
her place! Miaka goes back in after her, but things have happened
since Miaka returned to the real world... With her guardians, the
Suzaku Shichiseishi, and her love Tamahome, Miaka must go through many
trials in order to regain both peace for her warring kingdom, and her
best friend as well. (Geneon)
[Entry by KireiSarah]
G
GALL FORCE: A series of nine SF OAVs about cute girls with guns
and space ships. All the men of the race died in the everlasting war
with the Evil Paranoids, and there's nothing left but sexy young women
who reproduce by cloning. But, they have a plan... Available subbed
from USMC. A parody of the series called Ten Little Gall Force was
available from AnimEigo.
GENSOMADEN SAIYUKI: An amazing adaptation of the original "Journey
To The West". In this retelling, the Sanzo priest (Genjo Sanzo) is
accompanied by Son Goku, Cho Hakkai (with his flying dragon Hakuryu),
and Sho Gojyo. On their way to investigate the resurrection of Gyumaoh,
they encounter several demons, and that's about where the similarities
end to the other versions. Sanzo's a cursing, drinking, gun-toting monk
with blond hair, Goku's always hungry, Hakkai uses chi blasts, Hakuryu
can turn into a jeep, and Gojyo's a poker playing womanizer. Basically,
to rip off an old car commercial, this isn't your father's "Journey To
The West". The main force trying to stop the Sanzo party is led by
Kougaji, who is being forced to oppose Sanzo by Gyukumen Koushu,
Gyumaoh's concubine. Aiding Kougaji are his half-sister, Lirin, and his
trusted friends, an apothecary named Yaone, and a warrior named
Dokugakugi. Action, adventure, mystery, mysticism, introspection, an
awesome opening song, and a sense of humor that shows up whenever it
feels like it, all make this a top-notch anime.
[Entry by Bill Martin]
GENESIS SURVIVER GAIARTH: A post-apolcalyptic world sees a young
boy with no parents brought up by a stranded war robot (warroid) as a
soldier but when a mysterious enemy slaughters the only parent he had
ever had, he goes to war only to find that the war had ended many
years before. He meets up with a battered warroid who has no memory
of his past but seems to be full of surprises and a girl who gets the
hots for him, when she isn't thinking of money, and the group go off
treasure hunting, only to find that their hunt will eventually turn
into a fight to save the planet and end the long dormant war...
Available from AnimEigo.
[Entry by Chika]
GEO-ARMOR: see KISHIN HEIDAN
GHOST IN THE SHELL: Hong Kong, years from now, and a collaboration
work between Masamune Shirow and western influences to produce a
special police force on the hunt for a mysterious creature that steals
peoples' "ghosts" and reprograms them for its own purposes. However,
it seems to be so elusive that it is questionable if it is actually
one person, or even human. The common factor with the force is their
cybernetic upgrades. Based on the successful manga series, though the
manga is nowhere as dark as the film. Some folk refer to this film as
"Frain's Folly" as it saw the end of Andy Frain at Manga Video after
poor sales in the UK.
[Entry by Chika]
GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES: A powerful and moving story about two
children orphaned when their village is fire-bombed in WWII. This is
an excellent work by Studio Ghibli that should include the warning
"May cause severe sadness." The art is fabulous and the story has a
strong emotional impact.
[Entry by Robin Casady]
GREAT TEACHER ONIZUKA: see G.T.O.
G.T.O. (a.k.a. GREAT TEACHER ONIZUKA): Even though the series starts
off with an shot up a schoolgirl's skirt, the series follows the
exploits of Ekichi Onizuka in his quest to be a great teacher and all
the troubles he encounters. From the vice principal to the class that
hasn't keep a teacher all year in who knows how long, he's got his hands
full, then there's the fact that he's got the hots for a fellow teacher.
Released by TokyoPop in North America.
[Entry by Bill Martin]
GUNBUSTER (a.k.a. GUNBUSTER, AIM FOR THE TOP!): Takaya Noriko is a
teenage girl enrolled in a school for giant robot pilots in the near
future. After her father dies in a battle with aliens, Noriko vows to
go into space like him, and fight to save the human race. GUNBUSTER
is the story of her struggle to develop the skills that will allow her
to pilot the mighty robot Gunbuster, humankind's ultimate weapon
against an encroaching alien menace. She is joined in her quest by
her 'big sister' Kasumi whom she idolizes, their stern teacher Coach
Ota, and her sometime-rival, the brilliant and beautiful Jung-Freud.
Their story, deftly directed by Hideaki Anno and produced by the
famous GAINAX team, is sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, always
moving and entertaining.
GUNBUSTER is both a gentle satire of older giant robot shows, and a
homage to them. Its major theme is that staple of fiction, the
education of the hero and the development of heroic character, as we
watch Noriko's often agonized struggle to grow from weakness to
strength, from incompetence to mastery, from inconsequentiality to
heroism. A secondary theme is the damaging effects of near-lightspeed
travel on human relationships.
The show's tone changes radically as it progresses, being
lighthearted and comic at the outset, but darker and more serious in
the later episodes. You'll be laughing during the first episode, on
your feet cheering at the end of fourth, and the bittersweet end of
the final episode will probably leave you in tears. But they're good
tears. Fans usually rate GUNBUSTER's ending as one of the best in
anime, and the show has been a fan favorite since it was released.
This should be on your short list of anime to watch, even if you don't
think you like giant robot shows.
Content advisory: Some bouncing breasts and female nudity, no
sexual activity or innuendo. Lots of violence against alien lifeforms
that resemble titanic space-going cauliflowers. Six OAV episodes,
total running time about 3 hours.
As of May 2001, the six GUNBUSTER episodes are available in the US
from Manga Video, subtitled on 3 VHS tapes. No dub is available. No
date for a DVD release is known.
[Entry by Slithy Tove]
GUNDAM (MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM, STARDUST MEMORIES, WAR IN THE POCKET, MS
TEAM 08, ZETA GUNDAM, ZZ GUNDAM, CHAR'S COUNTERATTACK, GUNDAM WING,
etc.): One thing to keep in mind with GUNDAM is that there are two main
continuities. One is known by the Universal Calendar and the other is
the After Colony calender. The UC timeline is the original, while the
newer Gundam Wing universe uses the AC timeline. Other than that they
have giant robots and semi-realistic near-future Earth space
civilizations at war, they don't interelate much.
MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM was the first 'gritty' and 'realistic' giant robot
stories, paving the way for other series. Before MS GUNDAM, most giant
robot stories were vehicles for selling toys in Japan. GUNDAM
revolutionized the genre by putting a background and a more realistic
use of giant robots. GUNDAM is war story, with extras.
Adding in ambiguous allies and enemies and an unusual manifest
destiny, it managed to tell a compelling story of a young man thrust
into the middle of an unwanted war. He and the ship he ends up on
become the pivot on which their history is decided. The UC timeline has
the colonies rebelling against a static Earth Federation. One of the
more interesting points is that no one is really good or evil, per se.
Both have faults and heroes, both have their villans. The Gundam units
are on Earth's side for the most part.
MS GUNDAM, STARDUST MEMORIES, WAR IN THE POCKET and MS TEAM 08 all
are based (loosely) in the UC timeline. They all use or make mention of
the One Year War.
Many GUNDAM shows are available from Bandai in North America.
GUNDAM WING (and the finale, GUNDAM WING: ENDLESS WALTZ) are based
in the newer AC (After Colony) timeline. A repressive Earth government
is tyranizing everyone, holding an iron grip over their colonies. The
colonies finally rebel, using five Gundam mobile suits. Piloted by
young freedom fighters, they are the colonies best hope to break the
iron grip of Earth. Part soldiers and part terrorists, the young pilots
fight and interact with foes. Still a war drama, GUNDAM WING puts an
effort into some social commentary on war and death.
GUNDAM WING has been televised in the U.S., and is available from
Bandai in North America and Madman in Australia.
[Entry by Arthur Hansen]
GUNDAM WING: see GUNDAM
GUNDAM WING: ENDLESS WALTZ: see GUNDAM
GUNNM: see BATTLE ANGEL
GUNSLINGER GIRL: This is a thirteen-episode series set in modern-day
Italy, rife with political and police corruption, organised crime and
terrorism. A shadowy government agency uses cyborged adolescent girls
as assassins, tied to their supervisors ("fratello", or siblings) by
brainwashing and mental conditioning for obedience and loyalty. The
story is often bloody and violent but also includes scenes where the
girls interact with each other and their fratello in a remarkably
sympathetic manner. Each of the girls featured has a distinct
personality, often mirroring their fratello for whom they feel
"affection" in differing ways.
In the wrong hands this series could have been superficial; Madhouse
are to be congratulated on avoiding the obvious pitfalls. The character
animation is not the finest but the backgrounds are faithful to the
Italian cities the stories are set in. The violence is realistically
displayed; blood and death are inextricably linked in this series.
Technically, the depiction of firearms is pretty well spot-on. Each of
the girls has a signature weapon and uses it appropriately, a rarity in
anime. American R1 licencing was announced by FUNimation in June 2004;
the R2 Japanese DVDs are already being released.
[Entry by Robert Sneddon]
GUNSMITH CATS: Rally Vincent and May Hopkins are bounty-hunters in
Chicago. Rally is a sharp-shooter with a passion for fast 70's sports
cars, and May likes explosives - lots of explosives. A BATF agent
named Bill Collins "hires" Rally to help him break up a gun-smuggling
ring, and big trouble ensues, leading eventually to the Mayor's
office. Based loosely on the manga by Kenichi Sonoda. Good art and
animation. Some violence and lots of shooting. Three episodes.
Subbed and dubbed. From ADV Films.
[Entry by Ben Cantrick]
H
HAIBANE RENMEI (variously translated as ASH WINGS ALLIANCE,
CHARCOAL FEATHERS FEDERATION, or variations on these; review written
after 3 episodes): HAIBANE RENMEI is a mysterious and low key story
about a girl who wakes up to find she's become an angel, complete with
wings and halo. Unable to remember her past life or even her name,
she finds herself in a community of angels (or Ash Wings as they call
themselves, due to their pale grey wings), who live a pretty ordinary
life near a town of normal people who treat the angels as a
subservient race: tolerated, but not allowed to possess money or wear
new clothes. But the town is surrounded by a high wall, and no-one
knows what lies beyond it, and no-one has ever been beyond it apart
from the crows and some mysterious beings who periodically visit the
town but whom no-one is allowed to talk to. The main character and
general look of the people are reminiscent of LAIN, and HAIBANE RENMEI
seems to have started life as a (LAIN?) doujinshi.
[Entry by Shez]
HERE IS GREENWOOD: Hasakawa has the worst luck: He's late for his
high school entry exams, then he's late for high school, and his older
brother has married the woman of his dreams. As he heads to school,
he figures things are looking up, until he finds out he's been put in
"GreenWood", the dorm notorious for its weird residents. Having a
roommate who looks like a girl is the *least* of his problems ...
[Entry by Catherine Johnson]
HEROIC LEGEND OF ARISLAN: see ARSLAN SENKI
HIKARU NO GO: This series runs to 75 episodes and a couple of
specials. Shindou Hikaru, a lazy 12-year-old boy, is possessed by the
spirit of a thousand-year-old master of the game of Go, Fujiwara no Sai.
In his attempts to let the ghost play the game it loves, Hikaru
encounters a child prodigy, Touya Akira, who becomes obsessed with
Hikaru's unbelievable skill at Go (Sai is invisible to everybody but
Hikaru and can only play through him). He determines to find out the
secret behind Hikaru and thus begins a story of obsession, rivalry,
triumph, disaster, and occasional humour.
Ooookaaay. Go doesn't appear to be the best basis for an engrossing
drama, but this anime conversion from a popular manga is surprisingly
good. Hikaru's development from lazy kid to determined adolescent is
engaging, as are the accompanying characters who get involved as he
learns to play Go for himself and chases after Touya, aiming for a
career as a professional Go player and attempting to discover the "Hand
of God", the perfect move. The animation quality is usually very good
(with occasional lapses). Time passes and the characters grow up,
visibly, over the years. The Go games that are the focus of the story
are animated in a surprisingly dramatic manner and the tensions between
the players are made clear. The details of the Go world in Japan, China
and Korea are accurately portrayed; the writers did a lot of research to
enhance the story.
The series is still available on fansub from Elite-Fansubs as no
licencing deal has yet been agreed. The manga is being published by
Viz.
[Entry by Robert Sneddon]
HUMANOID: Fairly retro feel here in a story about the creation of
a scientific genius, referred to as a "humanoid". The planet on which
this happens is also the resting place of other and greater
technology, power which the planetary governor wouldn't mind getting
his hands on. The story seems to revolve around the development of
the humanoid, some of which is voluntary, indeed resonant of KEY THE
METAL IDOL, and around the deeds of the governor as he realises his
folly...
[Entry by Chika]
I
I CAN HEAR THE SEA: A snotty Tokyo girl moves to a provincial sea
town, there she clashes with her new classmates in high school. Told
from the perspective of one of the local boys who is first appalled by
her, but later befriends her when he finds out about the divorce of
her parents and helps her cope with her family problems. A sweet,
subdued story about growing up to be an adult and about first love
with some interesting insights into everyday life of Japanese school
and college students.
[Entry by Hanno Mueller]
ICZER-1: A three-part SF OAV involving hideous monsters from
space, cute but lethal girls, and two giant robots. Meant to be taken
only semi-seriously, but has some great slime-monsters that'll make
your skin crawl.
[Was available from US Renditions when US Renditions was still in
operation. - Rob Kelk]
ICZER-3: Earth has been taken over by Big Gold's daughter (see
ICZER-1) and Iczer 1 is in no fit state to do anything about it. All
there is left is Iczer 1's little sister, Iczer 3, but she is very
much a rookie. Just as well that Nagisa is waiting aboard the only
remaining Earth ship, sitting waiting on the moon along with its crew.
The story is very similar to Iczer 1 except that there isn't quite so
much body-snatching; each episode seeing the crew and Iczer 3 battle
each of the baddies (mostly rejects from the Negaverse!!!). Iczer 1
and Iczer 2 both emerge at the end, by the way. Iczer-3 is available
subbed from USMC.
[Entry by Chika]
INU-YASHA: Hundreds of years ago in Feudal Japan, during the
Sengoku Jidai (or Warring States Era), there was a half-demon,
half-human hybrid named Inu-Yasha. He sought to capture the Shikon no
Tama (or Jewel of Four Souls) for himself, but Kikyo, the priestess
who had guarded the jewel, sealed him away with a sacred arrow. On
her deathbed, she was cremated along with the Jewel ... but the story
does not end there. In the modern age of the present day, Kagome
Higurashi, a seemingly ordinary girl, is thrust back into the Sengoku
Jidai by a magical well, and must now protect the mysteriously
reappeared Shikon no Tama from the fearsome demons and ogres that
wander across the land. But can she rely on Inu-Yasha, the
resurrected half-demon, to help her defend this enigmatic jewel? A
gothic horror/adventure series, with romantic comedy elements, from
Rumiko Takahashi (creator of RANMA 1/2 and MAISON IKKOKU). Licenced
by Viz.
[Entry by Nicholas A. Jalowick]
IRIA (a.k.a. ZEIRAM, THE ANIMATION): Set in a future time Iria is
a bounty hunter in training. She, her brother Gren and their boss Bob
are hired to for a rescue mission when the most dangerous lifeform in
the galaxy Zeiram shows up as part of the cargo. Escaping to the
planet Taowajan with no idea on the fate of Gren or Bob, Iria must
deal with the authorities idea of urban renewal which is to allow
Zeiram to run loose in a city slum. Later on all records of the
rescue mission have vanished and Iria must contend with a conspiracy
that wants to silence her before she can find out what their plans for
Zeiram are. (6 episode series on VHS and DVD by US Manga)
[Entry by Bruce Grubb]
IRRESPONSIBLE CAPTAIN TYLOR: Through a series of coincidences (or
are they?), Justy Tylor (aged 20) becomes captain of the Battle
Cruiser Soyokaze, which is full of misfits and rejects. His
easy-going, do-your-own-thing manner annoys and confuses friend and
foe alike, and his amazing successes keep people wondering: Is he
incredibly lucky or incredibly clever? Available from The Right Stuf.
[Entry by Catherine Johnson]
J
JOURNEY TO THE WEST: see GENSOMADEN SAIYUKI
JUBEI NIMPUUCHO: see NINJA SCROLL
JUNGLE TAITEI: see KIMBA THE WHITE LION
JUUNI KOKKI (aka THE TWELVE KINGDOMS, CHRONICLE OF TWELVE
COUNTRIES, JUUNI KOKUKI): Youko Nakajima is summoned into another world
alongside two of her classmates after she is attacked by mysterious
beasts at school, and becomes embroiled in a political struggle over the
rule of one of the Twelve Kingdoms that make up this world. This is
only one of the storylines that occupies this 45 episode series, however
-
later story arcs follow others who have been swept into the Twelve
Kingdoms through Youko's perspective. What perhaps seems like a
slightly stale coming-of-age girl-in-another-world story is given a
darker twist than many other such shows, featuring racism, assassination
and betrayal. There's a lot more focus on political and cultural
aspects compared to, say, ESCAFLOWNE, although the slow pace and
excessive angst may put some off. The first two story arcs are
available on DVD in Region 1 from Media Blasters, with the first disc of
the third arc due shortly.
[Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
K
KALEIDO STAR: (Review written after five episodes) A shoujo show
that doesn't exclusively pander to girls, this is the story of Sora, a
girl who moves from Japan to the U.S. to audition for a circus troupe
that's loosely based on the Cirque du Soleil. Besides beautiful and
dynamic acrobatic routines, there's some nice interaction that happens
between the characters, plus Sora has a good deal of chutzpah and
doesn't act like a fish out of water. The series also throws in quite a
bit of believability in the hurdles and humiliations that she faces in
her quest. There are some cliches to begin with, but there seems to be
a move away from that later and the series so far has some good humorous
touches. In all, this is a beautifully drawn series that carries itself
with a lot of vitality and gusto without being overly bombastic or
saccharine.
This was directed by Junichi Sato, the director of SAILOR MOON,
PRETEAR, and MAGIC USERS CLUB. It's rare to see a series that is so
visually exuberant and that conveys a strong sense of wonder. The
director also curbed the usual excesses that sometimes show up in a
Studio Gonzo feature.
Available in North America from ADV Films.
[Entry by Michael Lo]
KAMIKAZE KAITOU JANNU (a.k.a. KAMIKAZE PHANTOM THIEF JEANNE): TV
series, 40+ episodes. Maron is a 16 year old girl with two secrets:
an inner loneliness due to her divorced parents' failure to contact
her in years; and the fact that she's the reincarnation of Jeanne
d'Arc (Joan of Arc). Sadly, Maron's adventures seem to have nothing
in common with those of her namesake, except that both are on missions
from God. Egged on by the diminutive angel Fin that only she can see
or hear, Maron must steal and destroy art treasures that have become
possessed by demons. Her missions are hampered by a detective's
daughter who is determined to capture Kaitou Jeanne, and by masked
rival Sindbad. The bishoujo character styling is very SAILOR MOONish,
whilst the storyline is CARDCAPTOR SAKURA with added cops'n'robbers.
Although the episode plots are feeble and cartoonish, the central
character Maron is engaging and just deep enough to make you want to
see "just one more" episode.
Originally fansubbed by Sachi, a new high-quality digisub using the
same scripts is now also doing the rounds.
[Entry by Shez]
KARESHI KANOJO NO JIJYO (a.k.a. KAREKANO; HIS AND HER
CIRCUMSTANCES): Yukino Miyazawa is an intelligent and popular student
who craves the attention this gives her, and she works hard to keep
the impressions she makes in all her classmates' minds. However, on
the day of her high school entrance ceremonies, she finds that the
position of incoming class representative that she wanted so much has
been taken by a boy named Arimi Souichiro. While this enrages her,
she eventually finds herself drawn closer to him, and he to her. When
their popular masks finally slip in front of each other, they find
that they have fallen in love.
This romantic drama was Gainax's first TV series after the
legendary NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, and carries over some of its
experimental tendencies, only this time to more comic effect; they
carried that over and built on it in future series such as FLCL and
ABENOBASHI MAHOU SHOUTENGAI. Based on the popular shoujo manga by
Masami Tsuda, and, whilst a quality series, the anime has a
frustrating non-ending, since the manga is still running in the
monthly LaLa at the time of writing.
Licenced by Right Stuf.
[Entry by David Watson]
KAZEMAKASE TSUKIKAGE RAN: See TSUKIKAGE RAN
KEY THE METAL IDOL: Tokiko "Key" Mima is a strange, pale, waifish
little girl who claims to be an android. Raised by a scientist in a
small town, she is forced to strike out on her own when he dies. His
dying words to her are a puzzling "In order to make yourself a real
girl, you must make 30,000 friends." But things only get stranger
from there. Who is the evil Ajo and his henchman "D"? Why are they
interested in Key? Is Key really an android? Decent art and
animation. Subbed and dubbed. 13 episodes. From Viz.
[Entry by Ben Cantrick]
KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE: Kiki, a 13-year-old witch, leaves her
home and family as a rite of passage, and finds a new city in which to
live and practice her craft. She is given a place to live by a
friendly woman baker, and finding she has no special skills with which
to support herself, decides to use her ability to fly on her broom to
run a parcel delivery service. Kiki and her black cat, Jiji, have
many adventures and a few disasters as they explore their new city,
grow up, and find their place in the world. A boy her own age named
Tombo offers his friendship, and an older girl artist named Ursula
becomes a mentor and confidant. As the story progresses, Kiki matures
from a sometimes callow and uncertain girl into a resilient and
capable young woman. A crisis of confidence in her witchy powers
leads to the film's intense and satisfying conclusion.
KIKI is a gentle work, devoid of the battles and violence that mark
many of Miyazaki's other films. Like much other anime, it's a story
of growing up, of a teenager learning how deal with life's challenges
and setbacks, and becoming an adult in the process. For a non-action
film, there's a fair amount of action, often involving Kiki's antics
and accidents while flying on her broom, and director Hayao Miyazaki,
who loves airships of all kinds, even manages to drag in a dirigible
near the end. The works of Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli are
generally considered to be among the finest anime, and KIKI is no
exception. This a famous and much-loved film, and you should make a
point to seek it out.
Content advisory: nothing offensive. Running time: 102 minutes.
KIKI is available in the US from Disney/Buena Vista on DVD.
[Entry by Slithy Tove]
KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD: A TV series, many OAVs, and a movie.
Contemporary high school students work out their love triangles and
try to grow up, even though one has ESP "powers". A kindly, comic
look at the youth experience, relatively easy to understand.
Available from AnimEigo.
KIMBA THE WHITE LION: Another old US import from the pen of Osamu
Tezuka originally titled JUNGLE TAITEI (Emperor). Note any similarity
to Disney's "Lion King"?
KINO'S JOURNEY: A quietly nihilistic series that makes for a nice
contrast with the large number of colourful and perky series out there,
KINO'S JOURNEY tells the story of a young wanderer and a robotic
motorcycle who journey through various countries, staying no more than
three days at a time. Many of the countries and individuals encountered
either engage in self-destructive behaviour or have ugly aspirations.
Kino, while largely a moral agent, at times skirts the line of amorality
in just drifting through these situations.
This is a fascinating series with solid storytelling that's chock
full of black humour, irony, surrealism and cynicism. Despite the
general downbeat nature of this series, there's a undercurrent of
happiness to it (not a little of which is embodied in the very laid-back
Kino).
Available in North America from ADV Films.
[Entry by Michael Lo]
KISHIN HEIDAN (a.k.a. KISHIN CORPS or GEO-ARMOR): An interesting
admixture of World War II, an Alien invasion, and the giant robots
captured alien technology makes possible. Fast-paced adventure,
available from Geneon dubbed or subtitled.
KODOMO NO OMOCHA (aka KODOCHA; CHILD'S TOY): Sana Kurata is a
child actress renowned for her hyperactivity and her role on the TV
show of the title (yes, a show within a show; cute, innit?), and is
the adopted daughter of the eccentric author Mariko Kurata. Despite
her stardom, she still goes to a non-exclusive school, in which her
class is terrorized by a bully named Akito Hayama, a cold and quiet
boy who manages to rally the other boys around him and make the class
hell for the teacher. When Sana decides enough is enough and stands
up to him to try to get him to stop, she discovers just how troubled
he and his life actually are, and eventually goes from enemy to
friend ... or is it even more?
Zany comedy and very touching drama exist side by side in KODOCHA's
shoujo frame, and it still manages to work very well. While the TV
series still hasn't been announced as licensed yet (and it's hard to
say if it ever will, since it's over 100 episodes long and its pace
and puns make it difficult to translate), TOKYOPOP is now releasing
Miho Obana's manga under the name KODOCHA.
[Entry by David Watson]
KOKO WA GREENWOOD: see HERE IS GREENWOOD
L
LAIN: see SERIAL EXPERIMENTS LAIN
LANDLOCK: Firstly, this is *not* a Shirow story. It merely uses
some character designs. A typical brother and sister eventually find
that they have more to them than meets the eye. Or two eyes; each one
a different colour! This story is a typical quest to save the world
against insurmountable odds and evil mentors. Available from Manga
Video.
[Entry by Chika]
LAPUTA, CASTLE IN THE SKY: A great fast-moving action adventure
by children's film-maker Miyazaki, and features designs Jules Verne
would approve (not to mention Swift.) Two kids flee pirates, the
army, and other parties in a race to find the legendary Laputa. Great
soundtrack, too. A Must See.
[Dubbed to English by Streamline, and again by Disney - the latter
is available on DVD in North America. - Rob Kelk]
LAST EXILE: A steampunk Sci-Fi/fantasy epic, this is a lavishly
beautiful series that once again has a strong director who restrains the
worst inclinations of Studio Gonzo. Set in an alien environment of
islands floating in the sky, the main characters of this world are a
pair of impoverished orphans who dream of crossing the boundary of the
world but wind up caught in the middle of a war for control over a key
to immense power. With more than a few nods to old Miyazaki features
involving flight, this is series look at a world that's in the early
stages of an Industrial Revolution in the shadow of a futuristically
advanced political faction.
LAST EXILE treats the "punk" in steampunk as more than just a token
word as it looks hard at the idea of chivalry in battle and the schism
between the elite nobility and the working poor while staying tight with
the story. The series often carries itself in a larger than life way,
especially with the bombastic military march music and grandiose "ship
of the line" battles, but it also takes the time to flesh out the
characters and peer into their microscopic stories behind the macrosm of
the great war and power plays. Also, one of the major characters gets
time by herself, and the animation sequences involving that are strongly
reminscent of ones seen in old Disney shorts.
This is a beautiful series that strings together a lot of strong
moments and doesn't rely on its considerable visual flash. It may be a
shonen adventure, but like KALEIDO STAR it doesn't exclusively pander to
that crowd. This series may be the closest thing so far to an heir of
ESCAFLOWNE.
Available in North America from Geneon, and in Australia from Madman.
[Entry by Michael Lo]
LAUGHING TARGET: Another serious story from Rumiko Takahashi (in
her "Rumik World" series), this takes many of Takahashi's favourite
cliches (unwanted engagements, a love triangle, teenaged protagonists,
etc.) and puts them into a supernatural-horror story. Was available
from USMC.
[Entry by Rob Kelk]
LEGEND OF GALACTIC HEROES: A far-future SF epic in which two vast
space-faring governments, the Empire and the Federation, vie for
supremacy amid the sea of stars. Against this backdrop two young
heroes on the opposing sides wage war with each other and politics
with their peers.
LENSMAN: Loosely based around the E.E. "Doc" Smith stories, an
ex-patrolman suddenly finds his planet being ripped apart, but all is
not lost! His son inherits a "lens", which because of the nature of
the info on it, the enemy would really like it back, hence its
destruction of the planet and relentless pursuit of the boy from that
point onwards through all sorts of weird scenarios. However he
gathers allies on the way, so the enemy doesn't get it all its own
way...
[Entry by Chika]
[Chika is understating matters - this anime uses little more than
some of the names from the original series of novels. It isn't a bad
story, but don't expect it to be anything like "Doc" Smith's
masterpiece. Lensman was available dubbed from Streamline when
Streamline was still in business. - Rob Kelk]
LOCKE THE SUPERMAN: An intergalactically famous superbeing lured
out of voluntary seclusion helps save Earth from a group of elite
ESPers bent on galactic conquest. The design sense is rather
primitive but the story line is lean, exciting and propulsive,
revolving around the title character, a powerful female ESPer, and an
evil conclave. Admittedly, these are simple premises, but the action
& storytelling are first-rate.
LODOSS WAR: see RECORD OF LODOSS WAR
LOST UNIVERSE: Lost Universe is done by all the same people who
did SLAYERS, and it's pretty much SLAYERS in outer space. It's a
Sci-Fi comedy which follows the adventures of Kain Blueriver, a
psychic troubleshooter that hires himself out to solve problems and
looks like he could be the child of Lina and Gourry, and his ship the
Swordbreaker, which is one of the lost ships belonging to a highly
advanced lost civilization. Joining him is Canal, the holographic
image which the ship projects to communicate, and Millie, a dead shot
who blows up kitchens cooking and wants to become the best something
or other in the Universe (exactly what changes with every episode).
Despite some not so great animation, those fuzzy dots that move around
are not because of a bad TV, the series is an enjoyable comedy done in
SLAYERS fashion, and although it doesn't quite live up to its parent
anime it's the closest thing out there to a fourth season of SLAYERS
right now. Available from ADV Films.
[Entry by "Sultan Of Swing"]
LOVE HINA: Keitaro Urashima, a 20 year old "ronin" (student who
has failed his university entrance exams) gets a job as the caretaker
at his grandmother's old hot springs inn. What he doesn't know is
that she has turned it into a girls-only dorm. The girls aren't
pleased at first to have him there, but eventually accept him, and
Keitaro starts to fall in love with one of the girls, named Naru. But
Keitaro is haunted by the vague memories of having promised, when he
was young, to go to Tokyo U with a girl whose name he has since
forgotten.
What develops is a romantic comedy, with a fair amount of surreal
humor, and a number of fun, memorable characters. This was a big, big
hit in Japan. Non-Japanese fans of the manga version tend to have
real problems with the anime version since it varies a lot from the
manga. I saw the anime first, then read the manga, and tend to like
the anime more.
Available from Bandai in North America, or Madman in Australia.
[Entry by Anthony D. Baranyi]
LUPIN III: A semi-modern series of (TV & OAV) stories about a
stylish thief with a heart of gold and his gang. My personal favorite
installment is CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO (directed by Miyazaki), although
THE FUMA CONSPIRACY is one of the most action-packed and entertaining
anime around. Most LUPIN III is not by Miyazaki, but by a fellow who
calls himself "Monkey Punch" (I'm not making this up, you know).
["The Fuma Conspiracy" is available from AnimEigo, under the name
"Rupan III". "Castle of Cagliostro" is available from Manga Video.
Other Lupin III shows exist, but many, including one also available
from AnimEigo, are not recommended by the fans. - Rob Kelk]
(continued in Part 4)
--
Rob Kelk <http://robkelk.ottawa-anime.org/> robkelk -at- jksrv -dot- com
"I'm *not* a kid! Nyyyeaaah!" - Skuld (in "Oh My Goddess!" OAV #3)
"When I became a man, I put away childish things, including the fear of
childishness and the desire to be very grown-up." - C.S. Lewis, 1947
E
EARLY REINS: If you love classic bullets-flying-everywhere Western
movies and good-looking anime girls, this one's for you. No steampunk
or any other modern trappings (unless you count one character's short
skirt, and even then, no panty shots). Very reverent (but not without a
sense of humour), very entertaining, very recommended. One OAV.
[Entry by David Watson]
EARTH GIRL ARJUNA: Juna Ariyoshi is involved in a mysterious
motorbike accident with her boyfriend Tokio. She awakens to find
herself "dead", and privy to a horrifying vision of the destruction of
Earth's environment by man, and controlled by fearsome worm-like
creatures known as Rajah. She is given a second chance at life by the
apparition of Chris Horken, a crippled telepath, if she agrees to
become the Avatar of Time and protect Earth from the Rajah. But Juna
is not at ease with this role - although she utilises her power to
save Tokio, she is petrified of the monstrous Rajah, and has
difficulty reconciling her environmental awareness and protection with
her modern life - how would you feel if you heard the voices of all
the creatures killed to make your food each time you ate? An
extremely high budget shows through in the detailed character
animation and computer effects - although some rendering doesn't mesh
very well - and another high quality soundtrack from Yoko Kanno
present an extremely polished show. However, the environmental
message can become extremely heavy handed, which aggravates many
viewers - this thought-provoking "magical girl" show tends to polarise
viewers.
ARJUNA is being released in North America from Bandai, and in
Australia from Madman.
[Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
EL HAZARD: Makoto is your average high-school kid. A bit of a
nebbish, he likes Nanami and is constanly hounded by her big brother
Jinnai, though not about Nanami per se. Makoto and several of his
classmates get sucked through a portal to another world where he and
his friends each seem to manifest a superpower. There is a war going
on between the human people of the world and the insect-like Bugrom.
Makoto and his friends try to help the humans, aided by the three
priestesses of Muldoon, while Jinnai ends up on the wrong side,
helping the Bugrom. Hilarity, action and adventure ensue, including
the discovery of an ancient evil power, a woman named Ifurita who only
Makoto can defeat. Good art and animation. Silly and fun. This
summary applies only to the OVA version; there is also a TV series
with the same characters. Comedic violence only. Seven OVAs. From
Geneon.
[Entry by Ben Cantrick]
[Parental Advisory: Some characters in this OAV series have what
has come to euphemistically be called "alternative lifestyles", and
not all of them are villians. If this bothers you or your children,
watch the TV series "El Hazard: The Wanderers" instead of the OAV
series. - Rob Kelk]
ENDLESS WALTZ: see GUNDAM
ESACAFLOWNE: see VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE
EVANGELION: see NEON GENESIS EVANGELION
EXCEL SAGA: This anime is an example of insanity in motion. Each
episode is a parody of different styles of anime, and in the first
episode the heroine, Excel Excel dies several times, then goes off to
kill her manga artist (talk about breaking down the 'fourth wall'). In
later episodes you meet others that get involved in the story, and she's
joined by Hyatt, a girl that dies about as much as possible, but she
keeps on getting back up. Not to mention the fact that she keeps a
stray dog named Menchi (that somehow looks like a cat every now and
then) as an emergency food supply. Released by ADV in North America.
[Entry by Bill Martin]
[CONTENT ADVISORY: ADV Films quite properly rated this show at
"17+". Many episodes have a high violence quotient, some of the
language is inappropriate for minors, and the final episode should be
listed in the Anime Hentai Primer. Definitely NOT for children. - Rob
Kelk]
F
FAM AND IHRIE: see RUIN EXPLORERS
FIRE TRIPPER: One of the more serious of the "Rumik World" stories
by Rumiko Takahashi. A young woman gets sent back in time to feudal
Japan, but how? And what happened to the young boy that was with her?
Was available from USMC.
[Entry by Rob Kelk]
FANCY LALA: FANCY LALA is the story of a girl and her magic sketch
book. I think that cleared all of the DBZ heads out. For the rest of
you, no, there are no magical princesses fighting evil by moonlight,
nor are there any convoluted love polygons. What we have here is a
simple show about how a young girl, Shinohara Miho (all names in
Japanese name order) obtains the power to grow just a bit older from
some 'funny dinosaurs' (Pigu and Mogu, her wise helpers...yea right,
they spend more time arguing and eating all the food than helping) and
her not so meteoric rise to stardom. Her alter ego's name is Lala,
for short (Fancy Lala in full). She's got powers that every little
girl would want: growing older, drawing all the cool clothes you
could ever want with a magic pen (just say Dabu Dabu and the clothes
become real!) and meeting all your favorite stars (in Miho's case it's
the fabulous male idol, Aikawa Hiroya).
However, this show's best aspect is its unusual realness. Lala's
rise to stardom is no instant success. It's a lot of hard work full
of bright lights, pushy stars, and time spent away from friends. Her
time as Miho isn't all sugar sweetness wrapped in a candy cane either.
Miho's a rather real little girl, genki or not, and she gets
frustrated and tired. An interesting point is the depth of character
is actually accentuated by Miho having two forms. Seeing how
characters react to each form shows their characters in more detail
than otherwise would be possible. That's it, except for maybe that
mysterious guy... (Fushigi-san, called 'Mystery Man' in the
commercial version). Maybe he has something to do with Miho's
spectacular transformation? This 26 episode series was on Japanese TV
in 1998, and now is released in the US by Bandai Entertainment. An
extra note: it's a homage to CREAMY MAMI, a 1983 magical girl show
along the same lines (both done by Studio Pierrot).
[Entry by Hana no Kaitou]
FULL METAL PANIC: Popular high school girl Chidori Kaname,
unbeknownst to her, is one of a group of people called the Whispered.
The Whispered are people who have buried in their memories knowledge of
something called Black Technology. Black Technology is military
technology so advanced and powerful that the nations of the world will
go to any extreme to get their hands on it. To protect Kaname from
falling into the wrong hands a covert anti-terrorist organization called
Mithril assigns a bodyguard to watch over and protect Kaname without her
knowledge. Unfortunately the person they select for the job is Sagara
Sousuke, a teenager who has spent his entire life on battlefields and
military camps. Consequently he has no concept of how to cope with
ordinary civilian life. Needless to say Sousuke's reactions to even the
merest perception of a threat are extreme. As a result he proceeds to
turn Kaname's life completely upside down while defending her against
some of the nastiest terrorists ever to appear in anime. This has the
apparent effect of having Kaname start to fall in love with him. Anyway
Sousuke's military skills are unparalleled and he is expert in this
world's preferred combat mech, the Arm Slave.
[Entry by Kyle Thomas Pope]
[Trailer available at
<http://www.advfilms.com/cool_stuff/trailers.asp> - Rob Kelk]
FUSHIGI YUUGI (a.k.a. MYSTERIOUS PLAY): One of the most emotional
anime of all time, truly heartwrenching, though it does delve into sap
a little by the end. The anime focuses on a young girl, Miaka, who
gets pulled into an ancient Chinese text and becomes a part of the
story - a priestess, in fact, of one of the book world's four gods,
Suzaku. When she tries to get out, her best friend Yui is taken in
her place! Miaka goes back in after her, but things have happened
since Miaka returned to the real world... With her guardians, the
Suzaku Shichiseishi, and her love Tamahome, Miaka must go through many
trials in order to regain both peace for her warring kingdom, and her
best friend as well. (Geneon)
[Entry by KireiSarah]
G
GALL FORCE: A series of nine SF OAVs about cute girls with guns
and space ships. All the men of the race died in the everlasting war
with the Evil Paranoids, and there's nothing left but sexy young women
who reproduce by cloning. But, they have a plan... Available subbed
from USMC. A parody of the series called Ten Little Gall Force was
available from AnimEigo.
GENSOMADEN SAIYUKI: An amazing adaptation of the original "Journey
To The West". In this retelling, the Sanzo priest (Genjo Sanzo) is
accompanied by Son Goku, Cho Hakkai (with his flying dragon Hakuryu),
and Sho Gojyo. On their way to investigate the resurrection of Gyumaoh,
they encounter several demons, and that's about where the similarities
end to the other versions. Sanzo's a cursing, drinking, gun-toting monk
with blond hair, Goku's always hungry, Hakkai uses chi blasts, Hakuryu
can turn into a jeep, and Gojyo's a poker playing womanizer. Basically,
to rip off an old car commercial, this isn't your father's "Journey To
The West". The main force trying to stop the Sanzo party is led by
Kougaji, who is being forced to oppose Sanzo by Gyukumen Koushu,
Gyumaoh's concubine. Aiding Kougaji are his half-sister, Lirin, and his
trusted friends, an apothecary named Yaone, and a warrior named
Dokugakugi. Action, adventure, mystery, mysticism, introspection, an
awesome opening song, and a sense of humor that shows up whenever it
feels like it, all make this a top-notch anime.
[Entry by Bill Martin]
GENESIS SURVIVER GAIARTH: A post-apolcalyptic world sees a young
boy with no parents brought up by a stranded war robot (warroid) as a
soldier but when a mysterious enemy slaughters the only parent he had
ever had, he goes to war only to find that the war had ended many
years before. He meets up with a battered warroid who has no memory
of his past but seems to be full of surprises and a girl who gets the
hots for him, when she isn't thinking of money, and the group go off
treasure hunting, only to find that their hunt will eventually turn
into a fight to save the planet and end the long dormant war...
Available from AnimEigo.
[Entry by Chika]
GEO-ARMOR: see KISHIN HEIDAN
GHOST IN THE SHELL: Hong Kong, years from now, and a collaboration
work between Masamune Shirow and western influences to produce a
special police force on the hunt for a mysterious creature that steals
peoples' "ghosts" and reprograms them for its own purposes. However,
it seems to be so elusive that it is questionable if it is actually
one person, or even human. The common factor with the force is their
cybernetic upgrades. Based on the successful manga series, though the
manga is nowhere as dark as the film. Some folk refer to this film as
"Frain's Folly" as it saw the end of Andy Frain at Manga Video after
poor sales in the UK.
[Entry by Chika]
GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES: A powerful and moving story about two
children orphaned when their village is fire-bombed in WWII. This is
an excellent work by Studio Ghibli that should include the warning
"May cause severe sadness." The art is fabulous and the story has a
strong emotional impact.
[Entry by Robin Casady]
GREAT TEACHER ONIZUKA: see G.T.O.
G.T.O. (a.k.a. GREAT TEACHER ONIZUKA): Even though the series starts
off with an shot up a schoolgirl's skirt, the series follows the
exploits of Ekichi Onizuka in his quest to be a great teacher and all
the troubles he encounters. From the vice principal to the class that
hasn't keep a teacher all year in who knows how long, he's got his hands
full, then there's the fact that he's got the hots for a fellow teacher.
Released by TokyoPop in North America.
[Entry by Bill Martin]
GUNBUSTER (a.k.a. GUNBUSTER, AIM FOR THE TOP!): Takaya Noriko is a
teenage girl enrolled in a school for giant robot pilots in the near
future. After her father dies in a battle with aliens, Noriko vows to
go into space like him, and fight to save the human race. GUNBUSTER
is the story of her struggle to develop the skills that will allow her
to pilot the mighty robot Gunbuster, humankind's ultimate weapon
against an encroaching alien menace. She is joined in her quest by
her 'big sister' Kasumi whom she idolizes, their stern teacher Coach
Ota, and her sometime-rival, the brilliant and beautiful Jung-Freud.
Their story, deftly directed by Hideaki Anno and produced by the
famous GAINAX team, is sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, always
moving and entertaining.
GUNBUSTER is both a gentle satire of older giant robot shows, and a
homage to them. Its major theme is that staple of fiction, the
education of the hero and the development of heroic character, as we
watch Noriko's often agonized struggle to grow from weakness to
strength, from incompetence to mastery, from inconsequentiality to
heroism. A secondary theme is the damaging effects of near-lightspeed
travel on human relationships.
The show's tone changes radically as it progresses, being
lighthearted and comic at the outset, but darker and more serious in
the later episodes. You'll be laughing during the first episode, on
your feet cheering at the end of fourth, and the bittersweet end of
the final episode will probably leave you in tears. But they're good
tears. Fans usually rate GUNBUSTER's ending as one of the best in
anime, and the show has been a fan favorite since it was released.
This should be on your short list of anime to watch, even if you don't
think you like giant robot shows.
Content advisory: Some bouncing breasts and female nudity, no
sexual activity or innuendo. Lots of violence against alien lifeforms
that resemble titanic space-going cauliflowers. Six OAV episodes,
total running time about 3 hours.
As of May 2001, the six GUNBUSTER episodes are available in the US
from Manga Video, subtitled on 3 VHS tapes. No dub is available. No
date for a DVD release is known.
[Entry by Slithy Tove]
GUNDAM (MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM, STARDUST MEMORIES, WAR IN THE POCKET, MS
TEAM 08, ZETA GUNDAM, ZZ GUNDAM, CHAR'S COUNTERATTACK, GUNDAM WING,
etc.): One thing to keep in mind with GUNDAM is that there are two main
continuities. One is known by the Universal Calendar and the other is
the After Colony calender. The UC timeline is the original, while the
newer Gundam Wing universe uses the AC timeline. Other than that they
have giant robots and semi-realistic near-future Earth space
civilizations at war, they don't interelate much.
MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM was the first 'gritty' and 'realistic' giant robot
stories, paving the way for other series. Before MS GUNDAM, most giant
robot stories were vehicles for selling toys in Japan. GUNDAM
revolutionized the genre by putting a background and a more realistic
use of giant robots. GUNDAM is war story, with extras.
Adding in ambiguous allies and enemies and an unusual manifest
destiny, it managed to tell a compelling story of a young man thrust
into the middle of an unwanted war. He and the ship he ends up on
become the pivot on which their history is decided. The UC timeline has
the colonies rebelling against a static Earth Federation. One of the
more interesting points is that no one is really good or evil, per se.
Both have faults and heroes, both have their villans. The Gundam units
are on Earth's side for the most part.
MS GUNDAM, STARDUST MEMORIES, WAR IN THE POCKET and MS TEAM 08 all
are based (loosely) in the UC timeline. They all use or make mention of
the One Year War.
Many GUNDAM shows are available from Bandai in North America.
GUNDAM WING (and the finale, GUNDAM WING: ENDLESS WALTZ) are based
in the newer AC (After Colony) timeline. A repressive Earth government
is tyranizing everyone, holding an iron grip over their colonies. The
colonies finally rebel, using five Gundam mobile suits. Piloted by
young freedom fighters, they are the colonies best hope to break the
iron grip of Earth. Part soldiers and part terrorists, the young pilots
fight and interact with foes. Still a war drama, GUNDAM WING puts an
effort into some social commentary on war and death.
GUNDAM WING has been televised in the U.S., and is available from
Bandai in North America and Madman in Australia.
[Entry by Arthur Hansen]
GUNDAM WING: see GUNDAM
GUNDAM WING: ENDLESS WALTZ: see GUNDAM
GUNNM: see BATTLE ANGEL
GUNSLINGER GIRL: This is a thirteen-episode series set in modern-day
Italy, rife with political and police corruption, organised crime and
terrorism. A shadowy government agency uses cyborged adolescent girls
as assassins, tied to their supervisors ("fratello", or siblings) by
brainwashing and mental conditioning for obedience and loyalty. The
story is often bloody and violent but also includes scenes where the
girls interact with each other and their fratello in a remarkably
sympathetic manner. Each of the girls featured has a distinct
personality, often mirroring their fratello for whom they feel
"affection" in differing ways.
In the wrong hands this series could have been superficial; Madhouse
are to be congratulated on avoiding the obvious pitfalls. The character
animation is not the finest but the backgrounds are faithful to the
Italian cities the stories are set in. The violence is realistically
displayed; blood and death are inextricably linked in this series.
Technically, the depiction of firearms is pretty well spot-on. Each of
the girls has a signature weapon and uses it appropriately, a rarity in
anime. American R1 licencing was announced by FUNimation in June 2004;
the R2 Japanese DVDs are already being released.
[Entry by Robert Sneddon]
GUNSMITH CATS: Rally Vincent and May Hopkins are bounty-hunters in
Chicago. Rally is a sharp-shooter with a passion for fast 70's sports
cars, and May likes explosives - lots of explosives. A BATF agent
named Bill Collins "hires" Rally to help him break up a gun-smuggling
ring, and big trouble ensues, leading eventually to the Mayor's
office. Based loosely on the manga by Kenichi Sonoda. Good art and
animation. Some violence and lots of shooting. Three episodes.
Subbed and dubbed. From ADV Films.
[Entry by Ben Cantrick]
H
HAIBANE RENMEI (variously translated as ASH WINGS ALLIANCE,
CHARCOAL FEATHERS FEDERATION, or variations on these; review written
after 3 episodes): HAIBANE RENMEI is a mysterious and low key story
about a girl who wakes up to find she's become an angel, complete with
wings and halo. Unable to remember her past life or even her name,
she finds herself in a community of angels (or Ash Wings as they call
themselves, due to their pale grey wings), who live a pretty ordinary
life near a town of normal people who treat the angels as a
subservient race: tolerated, but not allowed to possess money or wear
new clothes. But the town is surrounded by a high wall, and no-one
knows what lies beyond it, and no-one has ever been beyond it apart
from the crows and some mysterious beings who periodically visit the
town but whom no-one is allowed to talk to. The main character and
general look of the people are reminiscent of LAIN, and HAIBANE RENMEI
seems to have started life as a (LAIN?) doujinshi.
[Entry by Shez]
HERE IS GREENWOOD: Hasakawa has the worst luck: He's late for his
high school entry exams, then he's late for high school, and his older
brother has married the woman of his dreams. As he heads to school,
he figures things are looking up, until he finds out he's been put in
"GreenWood", the dorm notorious for its weird residents. Having a
roommate who looks like a girl is the *least* of his problems ...
[Entry by Catherine Johnson]
HEROIC LEGEND OF ARISLAN: see ARSLAN SENKI
HIKARU NO GO: This series runs to 75 episodes and a couple of
specials. Shindou Hikaru, a lazy 12-year-old boy, is possessed by the
spirit of a thousand-year-old master of the game of Go, Fujiwara no Sai.
In his attempts to let the ghost play the game it loves, Hikaru
encounters a child prodigy, Touya Akira, who becomes obsessed with
Hikaru's unbelievable skill at Go (Sai is invisible to everybody but
Hikaru and can only play through him). He determines to find out the
secret behind Hikaru and thus begins a story of obsession, rivalry,
triumph, disaster, and occasional humour.
Ooookaaay. Go doesn't appear to be the best basis for an engrossing
drama, but this anime conversion from a popular manga is surprisingly
good. Hikaru's development from lazy kid to determined adolescent is
engaging, as are the accompanying characters who get involved as he
learns to play Go for himself and chases after Touya, aiming for a
career as a professional Go player and attempting to discover the "Hand
of God", the perfect move. The animation quality is usually very good
(with occasional lapses). Time passes and the characters grow up,
visibly, over the years. The Go games that are the focus of the story
are animated in a surprisingly dramatic manner and the tensions between
the players are made clear. The details of the Go world in Japan, China
and Korea are accurately portrayed; the writers did a lot of research to
enhance the story.
The series is still available on fansub from Elite-Fansubs as no
licencing deal has yet been agreed. The manga is being published by
Viz.
[Entry by Robert Sneddon]
HUMANOID: Fairly retro feel here in a story about the creation of
a scientific genius, referred to as a "humanoid". The planet on which
this happens is also the resting place of other and greater
technology, power which the planetary governor wouldn't mind getting
his hands on. The story seems to revolve around the development of
the humanoid, some of which is voluntary, indeed resonant of KEY THE
METAL IDOL, and around the deeds of the governor as he realises his
folly...
[Entry by Chika]
I
I CAN HEAR THE SEA: A snotty Tokyo girl moves to a provincial sea
town, there she clashes with her new classmates in high school. Told
from the perspective of one of the local boys who is first appalled by
her, but later befriends her when he finds out about the divorce of
her parents and helps her cope with her family problems. A sweet,
subdued story about growing up to be an adult and about first love
with some interesting insights into everyday life of Japanese school
and college students.
[Entry by Hanno Mueller]
ICZER-1: A three-part SF OAV involving hideous monsters from
space, cute but lethal girls, and two giant robots. Meant to be taken
only semi-seriously, but has some great slime-monsters that'll make
your skin crawl.
[Was available from US Renditions when US Renditions was still in
operation. - Rob Kelk]
ICZER-3: Earth has been taken over by Big Gold's daughter (see
ICZER-1) and Iczer 1 is in no fit state to do anything about it. All
there is left is Iczer 1's little sister, Iczer 3, but she is very
much a rookie. Just as well that Nagisa is waiting aboard the only
remaining Earth ship, sitting waiting on the moon along with its crew.
The story is very similar to Iczer 1 except that there isn't quite so
much body-snatching; each episode seeing the crew and Iczer 3 battle
each of the baddies (mostly rejects from the Negaverse!!!). Iczer 1
and Iczer 2 both emerge at the end, by the way. Iczer-3 is available
subbed from USMC.
[Entry by Chika]
INU-YASHA: Hundreds of years ago in Feudal Japan, during the
Sengoku Jidai (or Warring States Era), there was a half-demon,
half-human hybrid named Inu-Yasha. He sought to capture the Shikon no
Tama (or Jewel of Four Souls) for himself, but Kikyo, the priestess
who had guarded the jewel, sealed him away with a sacred arrow. On
her deathbed, she was cremated along with the Jewel ... but the story
does not end there. In the modern age of the present day, Kagome
Higurashi, a seemingly ordinary girl, is thrust back into the Sengoku
Jidai by a magical well, and must now protect the mysteriously
reappeared Shikon no Tama from the fearsome demons and ogres that
wander across the land. But can she rely on Inu-Yasha, the
resurrected half-demon, to help her defend this enigmatic jewel? A
gothic horror/adventure series, with romantic comedy elements, from
Rumiko Takahashi (creator of RANMA 1/2 and MAISON IKKOKU). Licenced
by Viz.
[Entry by Nicholas A. Jalowick]
IRIA (a.k.a. ZEIRAM, THE ANIMATION): Set in a future time Iria is
a bounty hunter in training. She, her brother Gren and their boss Bob
are hired to for a rescue mission when the most dangerous lifeform in
the galaxy Zeiram shows up as part of the cargo. Escaping to the
planet Taowajan with no idea on the fate of Gren or Bob, Iria must
deal with the authorities idea of urban renewal which is to allow
Zeiram to run loose in a city slum. Later on all records of the
rescue mission have vanished and Iria must contend with a conspiracy
that wants to silence her before she can find out what their plans for
Zeiram are. (6 episode series on VHS and DVD by US Manga)
[Entry by Bruce Grubb]
IRRESPONSIBLE CAPTAIN TYLOR: Through a series of coincidences (or
are they?), Justy Tylor (aged 20) becomes captain of the Battle
Cruiser Soyokaze, which is full of misfits and rejects. His
easy-going, do-your-own-thing manner annoys and confuses friend and
foe alike, and his amazing successes keep people wondering: Is he
incredibly lucky or incredibly clever? Available from The Right Stuf.
[Entry by Catherine Johnson]
J
JOURNEY TO THE WEST: see GENSOMADEN SAIYUKI
JUBEI NIMPUUCHO: see NINJA SCROLL
JUNGLE TAITEI: see KIMBA THE WHITE LION
JUUNI KOKKI (aka THE TWELVE KINGDOMS, CHRONICLE OF TWELVE
COUNTRIES, JUUNI KOKUKI): Youko Nakajima is summoned into another world
alongside two of her classmates after she is attacked by mysterious
beasts at school, and becomes embroiled in a political struggle over the
rule of one of the Twelve Kingdoms that make up this world. This is
only one of the storylines that occupies this 45 episode series, however
-
later story arcs follow others who have been swept into the Twelve
Kingdoms through Youko's perspective. What perhaps seems like a
slightly stale coming-of-age girl-in-another-world story is given a
darker twist than many other such shows, featuring racism, assassination
and betrayal. There's a lot more focus on political and cultural
aspects compared to, say, ESCAFLOWNE, although the slow pace and
excessive angst may put some off. The first two story arcs are
available on DVD in Region 1 from Media Blasters, with the first disc of
the third arc due shortly.
[Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
K
KALEIDO STAR: (Review written after five episodes) A shoujo show
that doesn't exclusively pander to girls, this is the story of Sora, a
girl who moves from Japan to the U.S. to audition for a circus troupe
that's loosely based on the Cirque du Soleil. Besides beautiful and
dynamic acrobatic routines, there's some nice interaction that happens
between the characters, plus Sora has a good deal of chutzpah and
doesn't act like a fish out of water. The series also throws in quite a
bit of believability in the hurdles and humiliations that she faces in
her quest. There are some cliches to begin with, but there seems to be
a move away from that later and the series so far has some good humorous
touches. In all, this is a beautifully drawn series that carries itself
with a lot of vitality and gusto without being overly bombastic or
saccharine.
This was directed by Junichi Sato, the director of SAILOR MOON,
PRETEAR, and MAGIC USERS CLUB. It's rare to see a series that is so
visually exuberant and that conveys a strong sense of wonder. The
director also curbed the usual excesses that sometimes show up in a
Studio Gonzo feature.
Available in North America from ADV Films.
[Entry by Michael Lo]
KAMIKAZE KAITOU JANNU (a.k.a. KAMIKAZE PHANTOM THIEF JEANNE): TV
series, 40+ episodes. Maron is a 16 year old girl with two secrets:
an inner loneliness due to her divorced parents' failure to contact
her in years; and the fact that she's the reincarnation of Jeanne
d'Arc (Joan of Arc). Sadly, Maron's adventures seem to have nothing
in common with those of her namesake, except that both are on missions
from God. Egged on by the diminutive angel Fin that only she can see
or hear, Maron must steal and destroy art treasures that have become
possessed by demons. Her missions are hampered by a detective's
daughter who is determined to capture Kaitou Jeanne, and by masked
rival Sindbad. The bishoujo character styling is very SAILOR MOONish,
whilst the storyline is CARDCAPTOR SAKURA with added cops'n'robbers.
Although the episode plots are feeble and cartoonish, the central
character Maron is engaging and just deep enough to make you want to
see "just one more" episode.
Originally fansubbed by Sachi, a new high-quality digisub using the
same scripts is now also doing the rounds.
[Entry by Shez]
KARESHI KANOJO NO JIJYO (a.k.a. KAREKANO; HIS AND HER
CIRCUMSTANCES): Yukino Miyazawa is an intelligent and popular student
who craves the attention this gives her, and she works hard to keep
the impressions she makes in all her classmates' minds. However, on
the day of her high school entrance ceremonies, she finds that the
position of incoming class representative that she wanted so much has
been taken by a boy named Arimi Souichiro. While this enrages her,
she eventually finds herself drawn closer to him, and he to her. When
their popular masks finally slip in front of each other, they find
that they have fallen in love.
This romantic drama was Gainax's first TV series after the
legendary NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, and carries over some of its
experimental tendencies, only this time to more comic effect; they
carried that over and built on it in future series such as FLCL and
ABENOBASHI MAHOU SHOUTENGAI. Based on the popular shoujo manga by
Masami Tsuda, and, whilst a quality series, the anime has a
frustrating non-ending, since the manga is still running in the
monthly LaLa at the time of writing.
Licenced by Right Stuf.
[Entry by David Watson]
KAZEMAKASE TSUKIKAGE RAN: See TSUKIKAGE RAN
KEY THE METAL IDOL: Tokiko "Key" Mima is a strange, pale, waifish
little girl who claims to be an android. Raised by a scientist in a
small town, she is forced to strike out on her own when he dies. His
dying words to her are a puzzling "In order to make yourself a real
girl, you must make 30,000 friends." But things only get stranger
from there. Who is the evil Ajo and his henchman "D"? Why are they
interested in Key? Is Key really an android? Decent art and
animation. Subbed and dubbed. 13 episodes. From Viz.
[Entry by Ben Cantrick]
KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE: Kiki, a 13-year-old witch, leaves her
home and family as a rite of passage, and finds a new city in which to
live and practice her craft. She is given a place to live by a
friendly woman baker, and finding she has no special skills with which
to support herself, decides to use her ability to fly on her broom to
run a parcel delivery service. Kiki and her black cat, Jiji, have
many adventures and a few disasters as they explore their new city,
grow up, and find their place in the world. A boy her own age named
Tombo offers his friendship, and an older girl artist named Ursula
becomes a mentor and confidant. As the story progresses, Kiki matures
from a sometimes callow and uncertain girl into a resilient and
capable young woman. A crisis of confidence in her witchy powers
leads to the film's intense and satisfying conclusion.
KIKI is a gentle work, devoid of the battles and violence that mark
many of Miyazaki's other films. Like much other anime, it's a story
of growing up, of a teenager learning how deal with life's challenges
and setbacks, and becoming an adult in the process. For a non-action
film, there's a fair amount of action, often involving Kiki's antics
and accidents while flying on her broom, and director Hayao Miyazaki,
who loves airships of all kinds, even manages to drag in a dirigible
near the end. The works of Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli are
generally considered to be among the finest anime, and KIKI is no
exception. This a famous and much-loved film, and you should make a
point to seek it out.
Content advisory: nothing offensive. Running time: 102 minutes.
KIKI is available in the US from Disney/Buena Vista on DVD.
[Entry by Slithy Tove]
KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD: A TV series, many OAVs, and a movie.
Contemporary high school students work out their love triangles and
try to grow up, even though one has ESP "powers". A kindly, comic
look at the youth experience, relatively easy to understand.
Available from AnimEigo.
KIMBA THE WHITE LION: Another old US import from the pen of Osamu
Tezuka originally titled JUNGLE TAITEI (Emperor). Note any similarity
to Disney's "Lion King"?
KINO'S JOURNEY: A quietly nihilistic series that makes for a nice
contrast with the large number of colourful and perky series out there,
KINO'S JOURNEY tells the story of a young wanderer and a robotic
motorcycle who journey through various countries, staying no more than
three days at a time. Many of the countries and individuals encountered
either engage in self-destructive behaviour or have ugly aspirations.
Kino, while largely a moral agent, at times skirts the line of amorality
in just drifting through these situations.
This is a fascinating series with solid storytelling that's chock
full of black humour, irony, surrealism and cynicism. Despite the
general downbeat nature of this series, there's a undercurrent of
happiness to it (not a little of which is embodied in the very laid-back
Kino).
Available in North America from ADV Films.
[Entry by Michael Lo]
KISHIN HEIDAN (a.k.a. KISHIN CORPS or GEO-ARMOR): An interesting
admixture of World War II, an Alien invasion, and the giant robots
captured alien technology makes possible. Fast-paced adventure,
available from Geneon dubbed or subtitled.
KODOMO NO OMOCHA (aka KODOCHA; CHILD'S TOY): Sana Kurata is a
child actress renowned for her hyperactivity and her role on the TV
show of the title (yes, a show within a show; cute, innit?), and is
the adopted daughter of the eccentric author Mariko Kurata. Despite
her stardom, she still goes to a non-exclusive school, in which her
class is terrorized by a bully named Akito Hayama, a cold and quiet
boy who manages to rally the other boys around him and make the class
hell for the teacher. When Sana decides enough is enough and stands
up to him to try to get him to stop, she discovers just how troubled
he and his life actually are, and eventually goes from enemy to
friend ... or is it even more?
Zany comedy and very touching drama exist side by side in KODOCHA's
shoujo frame, and it still manages to work very well. While the TV
series still hasn't been announced as licensed yet (and it's hard to
say if it ever will, since it's over 100 episodes long and its pace
and puns make it difficult to translate), TOKYOPOP is now releasing
Miho Obana's manga under the name KODOCHA.
[Entry by David Watson]
KOKO WA GREENWOOD: see HERE IS GREENWOOD
L
LAIN: see SERIAL EXPERIMENTS LAIN
LANDLOCK: Firstly, this is *not* a Shirow story. It merely uses
some character designs. A typical brother and sister eventually find
that they have more to them than meets the eye. Or two eyes; each one
a different colour! This story is a typical quest to save the world
against insurmountable odds and evil mentors. Available from Manga
Video.
[Entry by Chika]
LAPUTA, CASTLE IN THE SKY: A great fast-moving action adventure
by children's film-maker Miyazaki, and features designs Jules Verne
would approve (not to mention Swift.) Two kids flee pirates, the
army, and other parties in a race to find the legendary Laputa. Great
soundtrack, too. A Must See.
[Dubbed to English by Streamline, and again by Disney - the latter
is available on DVD in North America. - Rob Kelk]
LAST EXILE: A steampunk Sci-Fi/fantasy epic, this is a lavishly
beautiful series that once again has a strong director who restrains the
worst inclinations of Studio Gonzo. Set in an alien environment of
islands floating in the sky, the main characters of this world are a
pair of impoverished orphans who dream of crossing the boundary of the
world but wind up caught in the middle of a war for control over a key
to immense power. With more than a few nods to old Miyazaki features
involving flight, this is series look at a world that's in the early
stages of an Industrial Revolution in the shadow of a futuristically
advanced political faction.
LAST EXILE treats the "punk" in steampunk as more than just a token
word as it looks hard at the idea of chivalry in battle and the schism
between the elite nobility and the working poor while staying tight with
the story. The series often carries itself in a larger than life way,
especially with the bombastic military march music and grandiose "ship
of the line" battles, but it also takes the time to flesh out the
characters and peer into their microscopic stories behind the macrosm of
the great war and power plays. Also, one of the major characters gets
time by herself, and the animation sequences involving that are strongly
reminscent of ones seen in old Disney shorts.
This is a beautiful series that strings together a lot of strong
moments and doesn't rely on its considerable visual flash. It may be a
shonen adventure, but like KALEIDO STAR it doesn't exclusively pander to
that crowd. This series may be the closest thing so far to an heir of
ESCAFLOWNE.
Available in North America from Geneon, and in Australia from Madman.
[Entry by Michael Lo]
LAUGHING TARGET: Another serious story from Rumiko Takahashi (in
her "Rumik World" series), this takes many of Takahashi's favourite
cliches (unwanted engagements, a love triangle, teenaged protagonists,
etc.) and puts them into a supernatural-horror story. Was available
from USMC.
[Entry by Rob Kelk]
LEGEND OF GALACTIC HEROES: A far-future SF epic in which two vast
space-faring governments, the Empire and the Federation, vie for
supremacy amid the sea of stars. Against this backdrop two young
heroes on the opposing sides wage war with each other and politics
with their peers.
LENSMAN: Loosely based around the E.E. "Doc" Smith stories, an
ex-patrolman suddenly finds his planet being ripped apart, but all is
not lost! His son inherits a "lens", which because of the nature of
the info on it, the enemy would really like it back, hence its
destruction of the planet and relentless pursuit of the boy from that
point onwards through all sorts of weird scenarios. However he
gathers allies on the way, so the enemy doesn't get it all its own
way...
[Entry by Chika]
[Chika is understating matters - this anime uses little more than
some of the names from the original series of novels. It isn't a bad
story, but don't expect it to be anything like "Doc" Smith's
masterpiece. Lensman was available dubbed from Streamline when
Streamline was still in business. - Rob Kelk]
LOCKE THE SUPERMAN: An intergalactically famous superbeing lured
out of voluntary seclusion helps save Earth from a group of elite
ESPers bent on galactic conquest. The design sense is rather
primitive but the story line is lean, exciting and propulsive,
revolving around the title character, a powerful female ESPer, and an
evil conclave. Admittedly, these are simple premises, but the action
& storytelling are first-rate.
LODOSS WAR: see RECORD OF LODOSS WAR
LOST UNIVERSE: Lost Universe is done by all the same people who
did SLAYERS, and it's pretty much SLAYERS in outer space. It's a
Sci-Fi comedy which follows the adventures of Kain Blueriver, a
psychic troubleshooter that hires himself out to solve problems and
looks like he could be the child of Lina and Gourry, and his ship the
Swordbreaker, which is one of the lost ships belonging to a highly
advanced lost civilization. Joining him is Canal, the holographic
image which the ship projects to communicate, and Millie, a dead shot
who blows up kitchens cooking and wants to become the best something
or other in the Universe (exactly what changes with every episode).
Despite some not so great animation, those fuzzy dots that move around
are not because of a bad TV, the series is an enjoyable comedy done in
SLAYERS fashion, and although it doesn't quite live up to its parent
anime it's the closest thing out there to a fourth season of SLAYERS
right now. Available from ADV Films.
[Entry by "Sultan Of Swing"]
LOVE HINA: Keitaro Urashima, a 20 year old "ronin" (student who
has failed his university entrance exams) gets a job as the caretaker
at his grandmother's old hot springs inn. What he doesn't know is
that she has turned it into a girls-only dorm. The girls aren't
pleased at first to have him there, but eventually accept him, and
Keitaro starts to fall in love with one of the girls, named Naru. But
Keitaro is haunted by the vague memories of having promised, when he
was young, to go to Tokyo U with a girl whose name he has since
forgotten.
What develops is a romantic comedy, with a fair amount of surreal
humor, and a number of fun, memorable characters. This was a big, big
hit in Japan. Non-Japanese fans of the manga version tend to have
real problems with the anime version since it varies a lot from the
manga. I saw the anime first, then read the manga, and tend to like
the anime more.
Available from Bandai in North America, or Madman in Australia.
[Entry by Anthony D. Baranyi]
LUPIN III: A semi-modern series of (TV & OAV) stories about a
stylish thief with a heart of gold and his gang. My personal favorite
installment is CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO (directed by Miyazaki), although
THE FUMA CONSPIRACY is one of the most action-packed and entertaining
anime around. Most LUPIN III is not by Miyazaki, but by a fellow who
calls himself "Monkey Punch" (I'm not making this up, you know).
["The Fuma Conspiracy" is available from AnimEigo, under the name
"Rupan III". "Castle of Cagliostro" is available from Manga Video.
Other Lupin III shows exist, but many, including one also available
from AnimEigo, are not recommended by the fans. - Rob Kelk]
(continued in Part 4)
--
Rob Kelk <http://robkelk.ottawa-anime.org/> robkelk -at- jksrv -dot- com
"I'm *not* a kid! Nyyyeaaah!" - Skuld (in "Oh My Goddess!" OAV #3)
"When I became a man, I put away childish things, including the fear of
childishness and the desire to be very grown-up." - C.S. Lewis, 1947