here a info from the newsgroup alt.fan.sailor-moon about the SuperS special,
the only time when Haruka and Michiru do a cameo appearance in the SuperS
anime besides the SuperS movie at
http://groups.google.ca/group/alt.fan.sailor-moon/browse_thread/thread/f3ac810cb\
65280a3/b4da6172e77eca8e#b4da6172e77eca8e
or http://tinyurl.com/jppn3
thanks for reading, arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Kern" <chriskern99@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Thursday, October 05, 2006 10:25 PM
Subject: Re: 200 Days of Sailor Moon - SuperS Special
> On Thu, 05 Oct 2006 22:12:36 -0400, Phoenix <phoenix@...>
> posted the following:
>
>>The SuperS Special was a 45 minute episode that was aired between
>>episodes 131 and 132.
>>
>>It was made up of three mini-stories as follows:
>>
>>A Magnificent Transformation? Crybaby Usagi's Growth Diary
>>A brief recap of the previous seasons
>>
>>The Return of Haruka and Michiru! The Ghostly Puppet Show
>>A separate but somewhat related SuperS episode featuring Haruka and
>>Michiru. This will be their only appearence in the SuperS TV season.
>>
>>Chibiusa's Adventure! The Dreaded Vampire Castle
>>a story adapted from Chibiusa's Picture Diary manga
>>
>>I will be watching it this weekend and commenting further, but I
>>wanted to get this posted today so it will take its proper place in
>>the 200 day lineup.
>
> I may watch these this weekend too if they are easily available -- do
> you know if they're either on youtube or if they can be downloaded via
> torrent? Since these actually fit into the continuity (loosely) I may
> go ahead.
>
> -Chris
Here a post from the newsgroup alt.fan.sailor-moon thanks for reading
arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kirk Rende" <Kirk_Rende@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Saturday, October 07, 2006 8:38 PM
Subject: Hotaru / Saturn anime music video preview posted on YouTube
>I have uploaded a preview of my Hotaru / Saturn anime music video on
>YouTube.
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1tyG78Nrug
>
Here a info from the newsgroup alt.fan.sailor-moon thanks for reading,
arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Kern" <chriskern99@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2006 8:39 AM
Subject: 200 Days of Sailor Moon - Episode 144
> Episode 144 - Shining summer days! Ami, the sea breeze girl
>
> Another Ami episode, with Ando doing the art again. This happens too
> often to be a coincidence.
>
> The reason Ponko-chan didn't want to say the shortened version of her
> final attack is (probably) because it would have been "kintama"
> (testicles, but literally "golden ball").
>
> FE had another mission in the last episode, and here's another point
> for TE. TE 11, HE 4, FE 3.
>
> -Chris
Hey, everyone!!
How are you all doing??
I just wanted to let you all know, that I've been working on a
project, an HTML Game called 'The AntiKing RPG'. If you want to try
out my brand new role-playing game, here's the addy:
http://www.antiking.cjb.net
It's tons of fun, and if you like games, you have to try it.
Enjoy,
ScarletSniper
Here a info from the newsgroup alt.fan.sailor-moon thanks for reading,
arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Kern" <chriskern99@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Monday, October 23, 2006 8:36 AM
Subject: 200 Days of Sailor Moon - Episode 149
> Episode 149 - Mirror of dreams! The Amazon final stage
>
> This is probably my favorite "final MotM" episode -- the Amazon Trio
> finally realizes the value of dreams and helps Sailor Moon. I do
> wonder about her mirror of dreams being shattered. It seems like if
> you could do that they would have done it with all their targets to
> prevent Pegasus from hiding in there.
>
> Mr magic pierrot would be funny in a different episode, but here he's
> a pretty grim MotD.
>
> Now it's back to weeks of filler again.
>
> -Chris
Here a info from the newsgroup alt.fan.sailor-moon thanks for reading,
arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Kern" <chriskern99@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Wednesday, October 25, 2006 9:34 AM
Subject: 200 Days of Sailor Moon - Episode 151
> Episode 151 - Explosion of true power! Ami's melody of the heart
>
> This is the infamous "nude Ami" episode -- screenshots and videos of
> it were floating around the net in the early days of US Sailor Moon
> fandom, prompting a lot of "Is this real? What episode is it?" posts
> on a.f.s-m. The girls are finally going to get some new powers; their
> first since R.
>
> At least Ando didn't do this episode; we finally get an Ami-centered
> episode that isn't bubbleheaded.
>
> There still is an almost complete lack of Ami-Mako occurrences. It
> seems like in Classic and R it just happened too often to be a
> coincidence -- if it was some sort of writer or animator inside joke,
> though, it ended with S. The writers are the same throughout the whole
> series, so maybe it was on the animator side.
>
> -Chris
Here a info from rec.arts.anime.misc thanks for reading, arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ru Igarashi" <ru.igarashi@...>
Newsgroups:
rec.arts.anime.music,rec.arts.anime.misc,rec.answers,news.answers
Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2006 12:28 AM
Subject: Welcome to rec.arts.anime.music [FAQ]
> Archive-name: anime/music/welcome
> Posting-Frequency: every 4 weeks
> Last-modified: 28 June, 2003
> Copyright: (c) 2001-2003 Ru Igarashi
> Disclaimer: Approval for *.answers is based on form, not content.
> Maintainer: Ru Igarashi <ru.igarashi@...>
>
>
>
> Welcome
> to
> REC.ARTS.ANIME.MUSIC
>
> Edited by Ru Igarashi
> Based on the work of Steve Pearl
>
> This article can be freely distributed for non-commercial use,
> as long as all credits and notices remain intact. If this is to be
> used in any publication, including CD-ROM collections, please
> contact the maintainer for permission at
> e-mail:ru.igarashi@....
>
> Please e-mail all additions/corrections/comments to:
> ru.igarashi@...
>
> Changes since last posting:
> - none
>
> FAQ Entries needed (submissions welcome):
> -
>
> Contents:
>
> 1. About this FAQ
> o WHAT IS THIS FAQ FOR?
> o WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF THIS FAQ?
> o WHAT ARE THOSE OTHER ANIME MUSIC FAQS?
> o WHERE CAN I FIND THE LATEST VERSION OF THIS FAQ?
> 2. The News Group
> o WHAT IS REC.ARTS.ANIME.MUSIC?
> o HOW OLD IS REC.ARTS.ANIME.MUSIC?
> o WHAT ARE THE OTHER ANIME GROUPS?
> o HOW TO USE REC.ARTS.ANIME.MUSIC (For NEW UseNet users)
> o ARE J-POP DISCUSSIONS ALLOWED?
> o CAN I POST SOUND FILES TO REC.ARTS.ANIME.MUSIC?
> o SO IT'S OK TO TALK ABOUT SOUND FILES AND TRADING THEM?
> o HOW ABOUT MUSIC VIDEO OR COVER IMAGE FILES?
> o HOW DO I CREATE/POST SOUND FILES?
> o CAN I POST FOR SALE/FOR TRADE/AUCTION MESSAGES?
>
> A. Contributors
>
> B. Disclaimer
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 1. About this FAQ
>
> o WHAT IS THIS FAQ FOR?
>
> This FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) is a companion to a set of FAQs
> for the rec.arts.anime.music newsgroup and anime music in general.
> It is intended to be a reference of basic information about the news
> group, e.g. the kinds of topics that are intended. As a set, the
> FAQs are intended as a reasonably accessible reference to basic
> information about the news group, rec.arts.anime.music, and topics
> that are frequently encountered as a fan progresses from novice to
> "expert". They are posted once a month in rec.arts.anime.music.
>
> They are not by any means comprehensive, and are subject to the
> changes of the times. Items that could do with more input are
> tagged with "editor's note" and a note, delimited by '[' and ']'.
> If you have any suggestions, corrections, or submissions, please
> send them to me or post them in rec.arts.anime.music.
>
> This FAQ (Welcome to rec.arts.anime.music) provides general
> information regarding the newsgroup rec.arts.anime.music, but
> primarily regarding what are or aren't considered appropriate
> topics for postings. See the other anime music FAQs for
> music related information and glossary of terms typically
> used in the newsgroup.
>
> o WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF THIS FAQ?
>
> This rec.arts.anime.music FAQ was originally created and maintained
> by Steve Pearl, the moderator of rec.arts.anime.info, who saw the
> need for introductory FAQs for many of the rec.arts.anime news groups
> as they were being created in 1996. He maintained them until the
> fall of 1998.
>
> In January of 2001, maintainance of this FAQ was assumed by the
> current maintainer, and after significant revisions and updates,
> regular posting resumed in March, 2001. Steve's entries are
> attributed by [SP], or [SP,RI] where I've made significant changes.
>
> In May of 2003, the FAQ was split into two documents, one for
> information about the newsgroup (this one) titled "Welcome to
> REC.ARTS.ANIME.MUSIC" and one for anime music information titled
> "Anime Music FAQ for REC.ARTS.ANIME.MUSIC". The latter was split
> into multiple parts.
>
> The current maintainer and this news group owe a debt of gratitude
> to Steve Pearl, for his foresight at the birth of this news group
> and the effort he put into this and other rec.arts.anime FAQs.
> Wherever you are, Steve, Thanks.
>
> o WHAT ARE THOSE OTHER ANIME MUSIC FAQS?
>
> "Anime Music FAQ for REC.ARTS.ANIME.MUSIC" - an FAQ with various
> types of information ranging from disc specific to commercial.
> http://www.geocities.com/ruigarashi/FAQS/raa_music/
>
> o WHERE CAN I FIND THE LATEST VERSION OF THIS FAQ?
>
> This FAQ is posted every 4 weeks to
>
> rec.arts.anime.music
> rec.arts.anime.misc
> news.answers
> rec.answers
>
> The most recently posted version can also be found at the *.answers
> archives:
>
> ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/rec/arts/anime/music
>
> This is a bit slow to update, but generally within a week of the
> posting of this FAQ, the rtfm.mit.edu site should be up to date.
> There is an HTML version at
>
> http://www.faqs.org/faqs/anime/music/
>
> but that archive uses the rtfm.mit.edu ftp site as its source, so
> the version there lags even more than the above ftp site.
>
> The latest working copy that contains changes going into the next
> official posting can be found at
>
>
http://www.geocities.com/ruigarashi/FAQS/raa_music/rec.arts.anime.music_welcome.\
html
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 2. The News Group
>
> o WHAT IS REC.ARTS.ANIME.MUSIC?
>
> The NetNews charter list has this entry for rec.arts.anime.music [SP]:
>
> rec.arts.anime.music Music as it pertains to Japanese animation.
>
> An unmoderated newsgroup for the discussion of anime-related music,
> involving music as it pertains to the work as a whole. For lyrics,
> singing artists, Japanese Pop, available CDs, soundtracks,
> translations, radio, sheet music, etc.
>
> o HOW OLD IS REC.ARTS.ANIME.MUSIC?
>
> The first anime news group was rec.arts.anime, which dates back from
> the dawn of news groups. There were two subsequent splits, and in
> the second one, in March 1996, rec.arts.anime.music was created.
>
> o WHAT ARE THE OTHER ANIME GROUPS?
>
> In the "Big-8" (rec.*, comp.*...), the anime-related news groups are:
>
> rec.arts.anime.music Anime related music, CDs, songs, etc
> rec.arts.anime.info Anime related news, synopses, reviews
> (Moderated, but seems to only post
> "auto-approved" messages)
> rec.arts.anime.marketplace Buying & selling of anime related
> merchandise
> rec.arts.anime.misc Renaming of the original rec.arts.anime
> newsgroup.
> rec.arts.anime.models All about Anime Models and modelling
> rec.arts.anime.games Anime related games (Card, Video,
> Roleplaying, etc)
> rec.arts.anime.creative Anime related fan-created works
> (Moderated)
> rec.arts.anime.fandom Devoted to the fandom aspects of anime.
> The "otaku no newsgroup".
>
> When posting to moderated groups, please be sure to read the posting
> guidelines, which usually appear every 2 weeks. Because these
> newsgroups are moderated, articles have to be "approved" first.
> Reading of the guidelines will greatly increase the chances of your
> article being approved and posted. Rec.arts.anime.music is not
> moderated, so you don't have to worry about moderation if you
> don't crosspost. But if you do crosspost to a moderated news group,
> the posting will not appear anywhere until the moderator approves
> it, so avoid doing so (if you have to post a message in a moderated
> group, do it separately). [SP,RI]
>
> There are several other newsgroups not in the rec.arts.anime
> hierarchy which may be of interest to the anime fan. However,
> these are beyond the scope of this FAQ, and more information can
> be found in the "Welcome to rec.arts.anime.misc" FAQ posted in
> rec.arts.anime.misc.
>
> [editor's note: Um, what about other anime music discussion
> news groups?]
>
> o HOW TO USE REC.ARTS.ANIME.MUSIC (For NEW UseNet users)
>
> If you're a new NetNews reader and don't know the correct protocol
> and etiquette for posting messages, the following files accessible
> in the news.announce.newusers newsgroup are recommended reading:
>
> - "A Primer on How to Work With the Usenet"
> - "Rules for posting to Usenet"
> - "Emily Postnews Answers Your Questions"
>
> Some basic tips:
>
> - If you don't see postings about a subject you're interested in (and
> which is related to this newsgroup), don't gripe, POST AN ARTICLE
> ABOUT THAT SUBJECT! If you receive no reply in a week, TRY AGAIN!
> Fires don't always start with the first spark.
>
> - If you feel the need to insult someone, do it by electronic mail,
> or better yet, write a scathing message and then throw it away.
> Please don't do it here. It's irritating to the bystanders, and
> harmful to your public image.
>
> - Before you submit a follow-up to a message, read the rest of the
> messages in the newsgroup to see whether someone has already said
> what you want to say. If someone has, don't repeat it.
>
> - It doesn't hurt to quote the message you are following up, but
> try to only include the parts you are responding to, rather
> than the whole message.
>
> - If you want to send a test post, don't do it here. Use one of the
> "test" news groups, such as test, alt.test, <region>.test where
> <region> could be uk, can, us, etc.
> [SP,RI]
>
> - Remember that rec.arts.anime.music is primarily an English language
> newsgroup (most rec.* groups are, by default). While there are
> Japanese terms that are well known, it's probably best to assume
> readers here wouldn't know what you meant if you did write something
> Japanese.
>
> o ARE J-POP DISCUSSIONS ALLOWED?
>
> No and Yes. In principle, discussions should be limited to
> anime-related music, i.e. anime-related j-pop. But during the
> discussions that resulted in creating this group, it was
> acknowledged there was no Big-8 forum specific to J-pop, and that
> given the choice between the ultra-general rec.music.misc and the
> japanese orientation of rec.arts.anime.music, the latter would
> probably be the prefered location. However, soc.culture.japan
> explicitly allows discussion of J-pop, thus discussions of
> J-pop in general should really be taken there if at all possible.
> If there is ever a J-pop news group outside of rec.arts.anime,
> the anime limitation should be be taken more seriously.
>
> o CAN I POST SOUND FILES TO REC.ARTS.ANIME.MUSIC?
>
> You shouldn't. Keep in mind that this is a discussion group.
> Binaries, such as sound files, do not constitute discussion
> (though they may be the subject of discussion). Furthermore,
> there is a general policy for rec.* groups that binaries not be
> posted in them. That applies to all rec.arts.anime news groups
> except possibly rec.arts.anime.creative (consult the guidelines
> there). If you need to distribute a sound file, either post to
> one of the alt.binaries.sounds.* groups, or, better yet, put it
> up on an FTP or web site, and then post the address in
> rec.arts.anime.music. The same applies to image and video
> files, as well as most files that are not human readable (e.g.
> postscript is text, but it isn't human readable).
>
> Some possible alt.binaries.sounds.* groups you could use are:
>
> alt.binaries.sounds.anime
> alt.binaries.sounds.jpop
> alt.binaries.sounds.midi MIDI music files
> alt.binaries.sounds.mods .MOD, .S3M, etc, music files
> alt.binaries.sounds.cartoons Sound files related to animated features
> alt.binaries.sounds.movies Movie-related sound files
> alt.binaries.sounds.music
> alt.binaries.sounds.tv Sound files from TV series
> [SP,RI]
>
> Note: Not everyone gets these news groups, so don't be surprised
> if you can't find it.
>
> o SO IT'S OK TO TALK ABOUT SOUND FILES AND TRADING THEM?
>
> Keep in mind that trading of sound files is usually a violation
> of copyright laws, and some folks that read this news group view
> this also as ethically inappropriate (it's piracy). You may not
> want to advertise your trading activities in rec.arts.anime.music
> if you do not want the criticism.
>
> Also, it has been pointed out that some law enforcement agencies
> use the same newgroup servers as us ordinary folks. That means
> whatever piracy/bootlegging postings we see, they can see.
>
> However, if you want to talk about sound files that you made for
> yourself only (e.g. what your best compilation CD would be),
> then you can probably chatter away with little criticism (you
> may even be worshipped as the god of compilations).
>
> o HOW ABOUT MUSIC VIDEO OR COVER IMAGE FILES?
>
> As mentioned regarding sound files, the same policy and recommendations
> for sound files applies to video and image files. It applies to all
> types of files that can't be read by people as straight text. For
> example, Postscript files are text files, but they can't be viewed
> properly by simply reading the content. Many folks also consider HTML
> as inappropriate for the same reason. But there is no question about
> digitized audio/visual files, posting them is against policy. The only
> types of "binaries" considered acceptable are small (a few lines worth)
> PGP and similar encryption key/ID signatures. So no samples of your
> music video handiwork, no images of CD covers for others to translate,
> in this news group.
>
> o HOW DO I CREATE/POST SOUND FILES?
>
> How to post sound files is beyond the scope of this FAQ
> (and rec.arts.anime.music). One of the alt.binaries.sounds
> news groups might have an FAQ with this.
>
> o CAN I POST FOR SALE/FOR TRADE/AUCTION MESSAGES?
>
> You really shouldn't. The news group rec.arts.anime.marketplace
> exists for just that purpose, and the general news group policy
> is that if a group exists for a certain kind of posting, it
> shouldn't be posted elsewhere. Furthermore, such postings aren't
> really in the discussion category. Finally, surveys indicate
> the majority of rec.arts.anime.* readers don't want them in any of
> the groups except in rec.arts.anime.marketplace.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> A. Contributors
>
> As with most FAQs, the information documented in the
> rec.arts.anime.music FAQ comes from many people (yes, anime fans
> are people, too). Our thanks should go to these people.
>
> Steve Pearl (who started the rec.arts.anime.music FAQ)
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> B. Disclaimer
>
> This document is provided without any warrantees, implied or
> expressed. The editor assumes no responsibility for damages
> resulting from the use of the information the document contains
> or the lack thereof.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Edited by Ru Igarashi.
> E-mail submissions to and questions about the newsgroup to
> ru.igarashi@....
>
>
>
I spotted this fanart of the Sailor Scouts/Senshi wearing spy suits of Totally
Spies on Deviantart at http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/11099934/
thanks for reading, arigato
Stéphane Dumas
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I spotted this AMV on the newsgroup alt.fan.sailor-moon, an AMV combining
Sailor Moon and City Hunter (an anime from the late 1980s-early 1990s)
thanks for reading, arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "swlucky" <swlucky@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2006 2:24 AM
Subject: Sailor Moon - A View To A Kill
> This is one they showed at Anime Weekend Atlanta.
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwzVC0xQfnA
>
Here a info from the newsgroup alt.fan.sailor-moon thanks for reading,
arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Kern" <chriskern99@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2006 8:59 AM
Subject: 200 Days of Sailor Moon - Episode 159
> Episode 159 - Chibi-usa's little rhapsody of love
>
> I had forgotten about this episode; it's quite funny. I especially
> liked the scene in the restaurant.
>
> Why are they playing "Watashi-tachi ni naritakute" in these scenes
> with Pegasus and Chibi-Usa? The song is pretty sad and seems to be
> about lost love, which isn't really appropriate.
>
> Where is the "new moon"? Shouldn't the outers have stopped the Dead
> Moon invasion?
>
> I think this episode may have the least developed target of any of the
> episodes -- he appears literally about 30 seconds before JunJun takes
> his dream mirror, and his name isn't mentioned (even in the credits).
> I think he has one line of dialogue.
>
> -Chris
Here a info from the newsgroup rec.arts.anime.misc thanks for reading,
arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob Kelk" <robkelk@...>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime.fandom,rec.arts.anime.misc
Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2006 6:54 PM
Subject: [INFO] The Anime Primer, or "What Anime Should I Watch Now?" (1/6)
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> Archive-name: <http://robkelk.ottawa-anime.org/primer/>
> Posting-frequency: monthly, on the 1st
> Last-modified: Mon 23 Oct 2006
>
>
> The Anime Primer
> or
> WHAT ANIME SHOULD I WATCH NOW?
>
> Usenet edition
> Edited by Rob Kelk
> Based on the work of Bruce Carlson & Steve Pearl
>
> 23 October 2006
>
> ****************************************************************
> This document is always undergoing revision.
> New entries are needed and should be sent to Rob Kelk.
> ****************************************************************
>
> This is intended for English-speaking fans who are new to anime, and
> looking for some suggestions of what to watch next. While this list
> concentrates on North American releases of anime, there is some
> information about the availability of translated anime in other parts
> of the world mentioned as well.
>
> Additions and corrections to this information are welcome; please post
> them in reply to this posting.
>
> This Primer is also available on the World-Wide Web. The primary site
> is <http://robkelk.ottawa-anime.org/primer/>; there is also a mirror at
> <http://anime-faqs.org/anime/primer/index.html>.
>
> New Contributor This Month:
> Justin Palmer
>
> New or Heavily Revised Writeups This Month:
> YUKIKAZE [Justin Palmer]
>
>
> - ------------------------------
>
> Subject: 1. Table of Contents
>
> 1. Table of Contents
> 2. Important Note to Parents
> 3. Credits and Legal Notes
> 4. How to Find Anime
> 5. Why would an anime not be on this list?
> 6. Other Recommendations
> 7. The List Maintainer's Current Favourites
> 8. Capsule Descriptions of Anime
>
> - ------------------------------
>
> Subject: 2. Important Note to Parents
>
> While some of the entries in the Primer have Parental Advisory notes,
> it is not safe to assume that the shows described without advisories
> are safe for young children. These movies and television shows are
> made in Japan, to that country's standards of what is and is not
> suitable as children's entertainment. Those standards might not match
> your home's standards.
>
> Also, many of these shows were not intended to be children's
> entertainment at all. (For example, CHOBITS was intended for a
> college-aged audience.)
>
> If you intend to let your children watch any of the shows reviewed in
> the Anime Primer, please view them yourself beforehand.
>
> - ------------------------------
>
> Subject: 3. Credits and Legal Notes
>
> This is a monthly posting intended for those who are new to anime, and
> looking for some suggestions of what to watch next. This article can
> be freely distributed for non-commercial use, as long as all credits
> and notices remain intact. If this is used in any publication,
> including APAs & CD-ROM Collections, copies must be sent to:
> Steve Pearl
> PO Box 11044
> New Brunswick, NJ 08906-1044
> USA
> and
> Rob Kelk
> (contact FAQ maintainer for address)
>
> Please send all additions/corrections/comments to Rob Kelk.
>
> Contributors to this FAQ:
> Past Maintainers:
> Bruce Carlson Steve Pearl
> Current Maintainer:
> Rob Kelk <robkelk -atsign- gmail -period- com>
> Writers:
> C Andersen Chris "Blade" McNeil
> Dave Baranyi Dave Menard
> Jack Bohn Karl Merris
> Gerardo Campos Hanno Mueller
> Ben Cantrick Travers Naran
> Robin Casady Mark L. Neidengard
> Anand Chelian Justin Palmer
> Bobby Clark Kyle Thomas Pope
> laurie cubbison bobbie sellers
> David Damerell David Simmons
> Scott Delahunt Charlie Smith
> Abraham Evangelista Robert Sneddon
> Scott Fujimoto Andrew V. Tupkalo
> Shawn Granger Terrence Walker
> Bruce Grubb Austin Watkins
> Arthur Hansen David Watson
> Jeanne Hedge D.Eric Wilson
> Andrew Hollingbury Phil Yff
> Matt "Kosher Pickle" Huber "Akodo Bob"
> Brad Jackson "Antaeus Feldspar"
> Derek Janssen "Captain Nerd"
> Chris "Chika" Johnson "Dot Warner"
> Rob Kelk "Hana no Kaitou"
> Andrew Kieswetter "HiEv"
> Cathy Krusberg "IwillneverbeaJedi"
> Paul Lepant "KireiSarah"
> Ray Li "MimiE"
> Michael Lo "Royal Orange"
> D B Malmquist "Shez"
> Bill Martin "Slithy Tove"
> Rob Maxwell "Sultan Of Swing"
> Chris Meadows
> Nicholas A. "QuestionMark" Jalowick
> Catherine "Fish Eye no Miko" Johnson
>
> If there is no credit given for an entry, then it was inherited from
> the original "Anime Primer" maintained by Bruce Carlson & Steve Pearl.
> (Currently, only five entries do not have attributions: LEGEND OF
> GALACTIC HEROES, LOCKE THE SUPERMAN, TIME STRANGER, VOTOMS, and
> WINDARIA.)
>
> Most (if not all) of the company names mentioned in this document are
> trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective companies. No
> challenge to their trademark status is intended by their mention in
> this document.
>
> All reviews in the Anime Primer are copyright their respective
> authors, and are used with permission. The compilation copyright for
> the Anime Primer is held by Rob Kelk.
>
> - ------------------------------
>
> Subject: 4. How to Find Anime
>
> Anime programs come in three flavors: TV shows, Movies, and Original
> Animation Video (OAV or OVA - what North American studios call "direct
> to video"). In general, movies have the best animation quality, while
> TV shows use less motion, and OAVs vary widely between those. Also,
> newer shows tend to have better animation than older shows do, since
> the state of the art has advanced. But animation quality is rarely an
> indicator of how good an anime is.
>
> The vast majority of Japanese animation is only available in Japanese,
> of course. Sturgeon's Law ("90% of *everything* is crap") also
> applies to anime, so the professionals and fans translating anime into
> English tend to work with the 10% that isn't.
>
> Professionally-translated anime can often be found at large video
> stores and comic book shops (brick-and-mortar or online). Sometimes,
> they are also available for individual purchase directly from the
> translation company. Secondhand copies of anime can also be found for
> sale on the <news:rec.arts.anime.marketplace> newsgroup.
>
> Fan-subtitled items were historically available as tape-to-tape copies
> from clubs (see below), individuals, and other volunteer distributors.
> Nowadays they are usually found online via the various file-sharing
> peer-to-peer systems in formats designed either for viewing directly
> on computer screens or for transfer to DVD for playing in DVD players.
> Since fansubs are "derivative works", they are technically illegal in
> most countries (so don't get fansubs if you don't want to break the
> law), but this is largely ignored by the copyright holders as long as
> nobody makes a profit and anime that have been professionally
> translated aren't also fan-subtitled. It is beyond the scope of this
> document to describe how to obtain fansubs - please ask on the
> <news:rec.arts.anime.fandom> newsgroup for assistance.
>
> (There are still some fansub distributors who advertise tapes or VCDs
> on the World-Wide Web. Be warned, though, that many of these people
> are taking advantage of other fans' goodwill by selling tapes or CDs
> at a profit. Worse yet, there are now many people who are selling
> fansubs for a profit on eBay and other online auction services. You
> shouldn't pay more for a fansub than you would pay for the blank tape
> or blank CD, plus postage. Also, some less-scrupulous fansub
> distributors sell fan-subtitled copies of anime that have also been
> translated professionally. The best defence against being caught by
> one of these distributors is to know what shows have been
> professionally translated. Read the Grand High License List at
> <http://www.animeondvd.com/licenselist/>, then ask on
> <news:rec.arts.anime.misc> if you still aren't sure.)
>
> Most cities of even moderate size have an anime club somewhere. They
> probably meet periodically and view the latest stuff, and many have a
> decent video library. A good way to find your local club is to ask at
> the local stores that sell anime, or to post a question in the
> rec.arts.anime.fandom newsgroup if your town doesn't have an anime
> store.
>
> Many science fiction conventions have an anime program in a room
> someplace these days. An anime convention is probably the best way to
> sample *large* amounts of anime at once (if you can tear yourself
> away from the Guests, panels, and other activities to actually watch
> the stuff).
>
> - ------------------------------
>
> Subject: 5. Why would an anime not be on this list?
>
> You may have seen an anime that you liked, but isn't on this list.
> That doesn't mean your taste in anime is bad!
>
> First, this is not a comprehensive list of anime titles (for that, see
> the Anime News Network encyclopedia of anime, found at
> <http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php>), or even a
> list of all good anime. It it simply a list of shows that people on
> the anime newsgroups like enough to review and recommend to others.
> Please keep in mind that tastes vary, and not everyone will think that
> every anime on this list is good. (You could ask twenty different
> anime fans what the best anime are, and you'll get twenty different
> replies.) But we hope that this list will help you find something
> *you* think is good.
>
> Also, if the anime you saw and liked has erotic or pornographic
> content, it shouldn't be listed here. Listings for this type of anime
> can be found in "The Anime Hentai Primer", a companion to this
> posting. The list maintainer chose to split the list so that this
> list could be given to people who should not, or do not wish to, watch
> erotic or pornographic animation.
>
> If the anime you saw and liked isn't included in either Primer, it's
> quite possible that we simply haven't seen it yet. If you think we
> should add a capsule description of a title not on this list, please
> write the description and post it as a reply to this posting, or
> e-mail it to Rob Kelk at <robkelk -atsign- gmail -period- com>.
>
> Should you decide to write a capsule description of a good anime
> title, please also mention who translated the anime. This is
> especially important when the show is only available fansubbed!
> (Commercially-translated anime can be purchased in specialty shops,
> but fansubs are only available from people within the anime fan
> community. Knowing who translated a show often helps other anime fans
> find the translations.)
>
> The list maintainer makes a habit of acknowledging all Primer entries
> received, either through e-mail or by posting to the newsgroup
> <news:rec.arts.anime.fandom>. If you do not receive a reply to your
> submission after a week, then it probably was not received and you
> should re-submit your entry.
>
> - ------------------------------
>
> Subject: 6. Other Recommendations
>
> Most of these descriptions are sparse, but we can't really offer more
> in Usenet posts! However, there are places on the World-Wide Web that
> offer more in-depth reviews, including reviews of shows that aren't as
> good as these are.
>
> Gilles Poitras, author of "The Anime Companion" and "Anime
> Essentials", has a page of recommendations on his website. He also
> has pages of recommendations for manga and books about anime.
> <http://www.koyagi.com/recommended.html>
>
> Andrew Shelton is building the "Anime Meta-Review" site, which lists
> roughly three times as many titles as this FAQ does. He also reviews
> shows that he *doesn't* recommend, which may be of interest to some
> people.
> <http://amr.nextstudio.net/>
>
> The Anime News Network maintains an online encyclopedia listing almost
> every anime title in existance, with user-submitted ratings of most of
> the shows.
> <http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php>
>
> - ------------------------------
>
> Subject: 7. The List Maintainer's Current Favourites
>
> It's come to my attention that the Anime Primer, while useful, is
> simply too large to act as an introduction to all anime available now.
> Also, there are some people on <news:rec.arts.anime.misc> who have
> expressed an interest in knowing what other fans are watching.
>
> This is a list of my top twenty favourite anime titles as of the last
> time I updated this list. (That would be 8 September 2006.) The list
> is subject to change on my whim - it's a list of my favourites, after
> all, not a list of what's acknowledged as "good". The North American
> translation companies that have released these shows are listed so
> that you can more easily find the anime.
>
> Taking a riff from David Letterman ... From the home office in
> Ottawa, here's Rob Kelk's Top Twenty Favourite Anime:
>
> 20: SABER MARIONETTE J / SMJ AGAIN (Bandai)
> 19: MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO (ADV)
> 18: RUIN EXPLORERS (ADV)
> 17: YOU'RE UNDER ARREST! (AnimEigo, ADV)
> 16: OUTLAW STAR (Bandai)
> 15: REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA (CPM)
> 14: PORCO ROSSO (Disney)
> 13: EARTH DEFENSE FAMILY (Geneon)
> 12: NADIA (ADV)
> 11: MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (Disney)
> 10: READ OR DIE / R.O.D THE TV (Manga, Geneon)
> 9: AH! MY GODDESS (movie) (Geneon)
> 8: TSUKIKAGE RAN (Bandai)
> 7: ANGELIC LAYER (ADV)
> 6: CARD CAPTOR SAKURA (Geneon)
> 5: RISKY SAFETY (AN Entertainment)
> 4: FIGURE 17 (Anime Works)
> 3: KAMICHU! (Anime Works)
> 2: CHOBITS (Geneon)
> 1: PRINCESS TUTU (ADV)
>
> - ------------------------------
>
> Subject: 8. Capsule Descriptions of Anime
>
> And now, the reviews:
>
> .hack//SIGN: "The World" is an online multiplayer RPG taking the
> world by storm. One player, a Wavemaster (magician) named Tsukasa,
> gets stuck in The World, unable to quit back to the real world - and
> all the while players are falling into mysterious comas. There is
> obviously something rotten in The World, but it will take a whole team
> of players to sort it out, and the problems may reach deeper than they
> think.
> Released as part of Bandai's massive .hack multimedia campaign,
> .hack//SIGN comes from Bee Train, the studio behind NOIR, and features
> many of the same hallmarks with blaring (although excellent) Yuki
> Kajiura music drowning out fairly cryptic dialogue. If this is to your
> taste, there's a lot to like about .hack//SIGN, with an intriguing
> cast of characters and some particularly good background artwork, but
> be prepared for a lot of talking.
> Released by Bandai in Region 1 and UK Region 2, and by Madman in
> Region 4. The original Region 1 release came in several special
> editions including soundtrack CDs, which are unfortunately not
> available separately, and the last disc's special edition came with an
> extra bonus episode - I believe this is available in the recently
> released .hack//SIGN Collection.
> [Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
>
> 3X3 EYES (a.k.a. SAZAN EYES): Pai, the last of a race of three-eye
> immortals known as Sanjiyan Unkara, desires to become human. She has
> been sent to Yakumo by his late father to obtain an artifact called
> the Ningun No Zou or Statue of Humanity which is needed to accomplish
> this. Unfortunately, one of her demon friends is let loose and Yakumo
> is mortally wounded in the resulting chaos. To save Yakumo she pulls
> his soul into her, turning him into a Wu (an undead-like immortal).
> To become human again, Yakumo must help Pai become human.
> Unfortunately there are others who want the Ningun No Zou, the
> immortality of being Wu, or Pai herself. Complicating matters is that
> Pai has a totally different personality when her third eye manifests.
> The North American DVD release by Geneon combines the two OVAs
> "Immortal" and "Legend of the Divine Demon". 3X3 EYES is available in
> Australia from Madman.
> PARENTAL ADVISORY: The "Immortal" OVA has several violent gorish
> scenes - Yakumo gets badly beaten several times and his hand is
> chopped off. His girlfriend is used as a hostage during which she is
> painfully attacked from the inside by a demon. "Legend of the Divine
> Demon" is far less gory, though there is the death of Yakumo's mentor,
> a blind Tibetan priest.
> Detailed web page: <http://www.sazan.net/digest/>
> [Entry by Bruce Grubb]
>
> 801 T.T.S. AIRBATS (a.k.a. AOZORA SHOUJOTAI): A series based
> around a female aerobatic team within the Japanese Air Self Defense
> Force, made up of misfits including a gambling addict, an airhead, a
> pilot with a major chip stuck on her shoulder and another that is
> always at war with her. Oh yes, and one rookie airplane and mecha nut
> with whom both of the latter two pilots are besotted with. Available
> from ADV Films in North America and Madman in Australia.
> [Entry by Chika]
>
> A
>
> ABENOBASHI MAHOU SHOUTENGAI (a.k.a. MAGICAL SHOPPING ARCADE
> ABENOBASHI): 11-year-old friends Satoshi "Sasshi" Imamiya and Ayumi
> Asahina are bemoaning the fact that their Osaka neighbourhood is now
> decaying, and wondering about the animal statues on top of some of the
> shops. When Arumi's grandfather accidentally knocks down the pelican
> statue on top of his restaurant, things get trippy for the two kids,
> and they end up in various re-settings of their neighbourhood, based
> on a different theme in each show (i.e. sword and sorcery, China,
> outer space), where parodies of examples of the genres follow,
> frequently at blur speed. Add dashes of juvenile humour here and
> there (including a young woman appropriately named Mune-Mune, who
> supplies the fan service), plus the odd touching moment, blend, and
> serve. A collaboration between Gainax and scriptwriter Akahori Satoru
> (SABER MARIONETTE J, SORCEROR HUNTERS and MON COLLE KNIGHTS, among
> many others).
> Available from ADV.
> R1 official website: <http://www.abenobashidvd.com/>
> [Entry by David Watson]
>
> AD POLICE FILES: This series chronicles the (mis-)adventures of AD
> Police rookie Leon and his colleagues as they defend the near-future
> cyberpunk city of MegaTokyo (and sometimes themselves) from boomers -
> humanish androids. There are three episodes, each with a different
> plot line, but each asking the same question - what happens when the
> line between man and machine blurs? Forewarned, this series is
> extremely dark, violent, gory and sexual. Therefore I do not
> recommend it for anyone under 17 years old unless they are very
> mature. Well drawn and animated, and certainly engaging to watch. If
> you liked "Bladerunner", you might like this series. Three episodes.
> Subbed. From AnimEigo in North America and Madman in Australia.
> [Entry by Ben Cantrick]
> [NOTE: There is a recent remake titled AD POLICE, that has been
> released by ADV Films in North America. The FAQ maintainer has not
> yet seen the remake, and nobody else has yet written a capsule
> description of the show. - Rob Kelk]
>
> ADVENTURES OF THE MINI-GODDESSES: Loosely based on a series of
> four-panel comic strips that themselves were loosely based on Kosuke
> Fujishima's AH MEGAMISAMA story, this is a series of short (five- to
> seven-minute) episodes featuring cute versions of Urd and Skuld as
> they have adventures with Gan-chan, a rat that lives in the temple.
> Belldandy sometimes gets in on the fun, too (although not as often,
> because her original seiyuu was unavailable when the earliest episodes
> were made). While some of the episodes have educational content, most
> are simply excuses to tell silly stories from the four-panel comic
> strip (such as the "Let's Make a Band" storyline), or parodying
> popular Japanese culture (such as the "Gan-chan becomes Godzilla"
> stories).
> There's little if any serious meaning to this series, but it's
> ideal for the times when you're too tired or rushed to watch something
> that takes itself too seriously.
> Geneon has released this series on DVD in North America.
> See also OH MY GODDESS!, AH! MY GODDESS (MOVIE), and AH! MY GODDESS
> (TV).
> [Entry by Rob Kelk]
>
> AH! MY GODDESS (MOVIE): Set later in the AH MEGAMISAMA storyline
> than the OH MY GODDESS! OAV series, this movie tells the story of
> Belldandy's mentor Celestin and his attempt to go against the will of
> Kami-sama for the sake of love. One of the side-effects of Celestin's
> actions causes Belldandy to lose her memory, so the goddesses and
> Keiichi have two problems to solve at the same time.
> This is quite possibly the best animated AH MEGAMI-SAMA story yet.
> All of the characters are shown as they are in Kosuke Fujishima's
> manga, as opposed to the caricatures of Belldandy and Keiichi in the
> OAV series, and the plotline is reminiscent of Fujishima's best work.
> (The only real problem some people have with the movie is that Mara
> once again doesn't make an appearance, but, given the subject matter,
> there's really no logical way for her to have been in the story.)
> This movie is available in North America on DVD from Geneon, and in
> Australia from Madman.
> See also AH! MY GODDESS (TV), OH MY GODDESS!, and ADVENTURES OF THE
> MINI-GODDESSES.
> [Entry by Rob Kelk]
>
> AH! MY GODDESS (TV): Meet Keiichi Morisato, nice guy, human
> doormat, and unluckiest guy you'll ever meet. One night, after a
> strange call, and a girl popping out of a mirror, his life changes
> forever. The girl, Belldandy, turns out to be a First Class Goddess,
> and explains that he's been given a wish, any wish. He could have
> money, power, whatever his heart desires. After talking with her, he
> says the first thing that pops into his mind, that he wished he had a
> girl like Belldandy to stay by his side forever ... and that's when
> life stopped being ordinary for Keiichi. He gets kicked out of the
> male-only dorm, and must find a place to stay, get a job, and try to
> teach Belldandy how to act normally while still going to college.
> Note: No previous knowledge of the OAVs, movie, or manga required to
> enjoy ...
> Released by Anime Works in North America.
> See also OH MY GODDESS!, AH! MY GODDESS (MOVIE), and ADVENTURES OF
> THE MINI-GODDESSES.
> [Entry by Bill Martin]
>
> AH MEGAMISAMA: see OH MY GODDESS!, AH! MY GODDESS (MOVIE), AH! MY
> GODDESS (TV), and ADVENTURES OF THE MINI-GODDESSES
>
> AI YORI AOSHI: A young college student sees a beautiful Japanese
> girl dressed in a kimono and sandals lost in a train station. From
> this unlikely coincidence, childhood sweethearts Kaoru and Aoi are
> re-united.
> Kaoru was the heir of the Hanabishi family. Aoi is heiress to the
> Sakuraba family. Kaoru ran away from the Hanabishis and Aoi was
> simply told "the engagement is off". Aoi would not accept that her
> her first true love would end like this, so she rushed off to Tokyo to
> find him. The story gets more complicated when Aoi's mother sets them
> up in an old house to hide their romance. Miyabi, Aoi's guardian,
> hides their secret by running the house as a boarding house,
> accidentally attracting a harem of young girls all vying for Kaoru's
> attention.
> This anime has two stories going on: a classic Japanese romance
> from the age of the samurai and a LOVE HINA'esque harem story. But at
> its heart, AI YORI AOSHI is a very strong character anime; all the
> characters are interesting with depth. Tina Foster, an American who
> grew up in Japan, acts the extrovert to hide her loneliness of feeling
> like a stranger in both cultures. Mayu is rich and intelligent, but
> her parents treat her more as a prized piece of furniture than their
> child; the only love in her life came from an act of kindness by
> Kaoru. These complex stories enmesh and develop over time. The
> characters are explored even further in the second series, AI YORI
> AOSHI - ENISHI.
> It's a really good series for those who like romantic stories with
> a strong ensemble cast.
> Age: 14+ Warnings: Frequent fan service, suggested nudity and
> mature situations. Available in North America from Geneon.
> [Entry by Travers Naran]
>
> AIM FOR THE TOP!: see GUNBUSTER
>
> AISHITERUZE BEIBE (a.k.a. LOVE YOU BABY): Kippei is a
> lackadaisical high-schooler, popular with the girls but not ready for
> commitment. One day he arrives home to find his young cousin, five-
> year-old Yuzuyu-chan there. Her mother has abandoned her and the
> family decide Kippei should be the one to look after her. Thus begins
> a story of responsibility and maturity on Kippei's part and a chance
> for stability and happiness for Yuzuyu-chan.
> Like fungus, this anime grows on you. Yuzuyu behaves like a real
> five-year-old, scared by her mother's disappearance, comforted by
> Kippei-onii-chan, making friends at the kindergarten. There is a
> little drama; Kippei becomes the focus of a stalker and Yuzuyu gets
> caught up in the action, but mostly this is Kippei learning that
> actions have consequences and Yuzuyu learning that she is still loved
> and her mother's disappearance was not her fault.
> Tsuzurahara Miyu, Yuzuyu's seiyuu, makes her sound like a real
> five-year-old. The animation quality is not very high but carries the
> story adequately. The OP and ED songs are catchy and addictive,
> matching the upbeat mood of the series.
> This series is still unlicensed. The manga is being translated by
> Viz.
> [Entry by Robert Sneddon]
>
> AKIRA: An adaptation of a longer manga work, the story (as far as
> the anime is concerned) surrounds a gang, in particular the leader,
> Kaneda, and his friend, Tetsuo, and a secret government/military
> project to tap the psychic abilities of children. Tetsuo encounters a
> "child" from these experiments and soon after starts to exhibit some
> abilities of his own following his abduction by the military. Kaneda
> is caught up in the events that follow as first he tries to find his
> friend and find out what has happened to him, then has to battle with
> Tetsuo as his new found powers start to run out of control. Who is
> Akira? A question that runs through the whole convoluted plot but, to
> find out, Tetsuo risks himself, his friends and the whole city.
> The production was masterminded by Katsuhiro Otomo, and has been
> touted as one of the best productions of its type, having won awards
> around the world. However people that are fans of the manga series
> should be aware of the compacted nature of the production. There is
> also one attempted rape scene.
> Originally released in the US by Streamline Pictures, later
> licenced to Geneon (aka Pioneer). In Australia this is available from
> Madman, in the UK it is available from Manga Video.
> [Entry by Chika]
>
> ALL PURPOSE CULTURAL CAT-GIRL NUKU-NUKU: The Mishima Heavy
> Industries corporation wants its prototype android back, to use as a
> war machine. Lady Akiko, head of Mishima, wants to take her son
> Ryuunosuke from her ex-husband - preferably by force. Ryuunosuke, on
> the run with his brilliant and eccentric father, just wants the
> friendly kitten he finds on Christmas Eve. When it all comes
> together, the result is "Nuku Nuku" Natsume - the brain of a cat, the
> appearance of a lovely schoolgirl, and the raw power of a war machine,
> living with Ryuunosuke and 'Papa-san' as Ryuunosuke's sister and the
> family's protector.
> The original six OAV series is nicely animated, delightful
> action-comedy. The TV series that followed kept most of the same
> characters but changed the situations heavily, and is reported to have
> suffered from a Monster-of-the-Week plot. The later OAV series, NUKU
> NUKU DASH, not only changed the situations but changed Nuku Nuku's
> character design and her personality from bubbly and upbeat to teary,
> and is generally considered disappointing by fans.
> Available from ADV.
> [Entry by Antaeus Feldspar]
>
> ANGEL LINKS: The second show in Sunrise's "Toward Stars" universe,
> but nowhere near as wide in scope as its sister series OUTLAW STAR,
> ANGEL LINKS tells the story of Li Meifon, a teenager who is named heir
> to a large interplanetary corporation on the condition that she
> operate a pirate-hunting service for free. This seems simple enough
> on the surface, but why does Meifon already have a grave marker?
> This is science-fantasy space opera, but not quite in the same vein
> as its sister show - the scope is much smaller than what's shown in
> OUTLAW STAR. It's also half the length of the previous series, mainly
> because the writers didn't have to explain everything to the audience.
> ANGEL LINKS is available as a four-DVD box set from Bandai in North
> America.
> [Entry by Rob Kelk]
>
> ANGELIC LAYER: Mizaki Suzuhara is moving to Tokyo. Upon arriving
> at the train station, she gets lost (it's her first time in Tokyo) and
> wanders outside, where she witnesses a battle that wows her on a
> gigantic screen. It turns out that the battle was part of Angelic
> Layer, a game that's very popular. She gets drawn into the game and
> goes on a wild adventure. This series has something for everyone,
> from the comedic wiggly-squiggly Icchan, to more heart-felt moments,
> and even intense battles. So go out now, and see the series that one
> of the voice actresses calls "DRAGON BALL Z for Girls!" Available
> from ADV films.
> R1 official website: <http://www.angeliclayerdvd.com/main.php>
> [Entry by Bill Martin]
>
> AOZORA SHOUJOTAI: see 801 T.T.S. AIRBATS
>
> ARIA: In Neo-Venezia, despite a backdrop of science fiction
> technology, life has returned to simpler times. Akari Mizunashi has
> lived on Neo-Venezia for half a year, employed as a 'Single' or
> apprentice undine (gondolier). Together with her friends and fellow
> trainees Aika and Alice, Akari spends her days training to become a
> full-fleged undine, and experiencing the joys of life, love, and
> friendship among the canals of Neo-Venezia.
> ARIA is a laid-back, slice-of-life story that shows the "Magic of
> everyday life" through Akari's eyes. Cooked from the same recipie as
> YOKOHAMA KAIDASHI KIKOU, Aria's episodic pace and lovely background
> music can best be described as relaxed. Warm and fuzzy feelings are
> the order of the day for Aria.
> ARIA spans two seasons of 13 episodes each (ARIA and ARIA THE
> NATURAL), and is available fansubbed.
> [Entry by Abraham Evangelista]
>
> ARJUNA: see EARTH GIRL ARJUNA
>
> ARMITAGE III: In the future, mankind has terraformed and settled
> Mars. We've also developed a line of human-like androids with
> designations of "first," "second" and "third". Ross Sylabus, a police
> detective from Earth with an antipathy for androids, has transferred
> to Mars. What he finds there is a political conspiracy that covers
> two planets and involves his colleague, the child-like female
> detective Armitage. Well drawn and animated, with moments of both
> levity and action. Some violence. Four episodes, or one movie which
> is the episodes edited together with some omissions. Subbed and
> dubbed both available. From Geneon, and Madman in Australia.
> [Entry by Ben Cantrick]
> [There is also a sequel movie ARMITAGE III - DUAL-MATRIX, which
> contains spoilers for the original ARMITAGE III story. - Rob Kelk]
>
> ARSLAN SENKI (a.k.a. THE HEROIC LEGEND OF ARSLAN): 5 part OAV
> running approximately 4 hours total. Slow paced historical fiction.
> The kingdom of Pars is overrun by a neighboring kingdom, with inside
> help. The king is imprisoned and it's up to the young prince and his
> loyal retainers to win the kingdom back. The story is more sword and
> political intrigue than it is sword and sorcery, not much fighting, no
> comedy, full of shoujo-esque character designs, and is unfinished, the
> remainder of the story is available in novel or manga form. Original
> novels by the same author as LEGEND OF GALACTIC HEROES. DVD box set
> includes all OAVs. By U.S. Manga Corps.
> [Entry by MimiE]
>
> ASH WINGS ALLIANCE: see HAIBANE RENMEI
>
> ASTRO BOY (originally TETSUWAN ATOMU/MIGHTY ATOM): The first real
> Japanese anime TV series aired in 1963, ASTRO BOY was made by the
> anime "God" Osamu Tezuka. It is a story of a little robot boy, who
> ages and becomes mature through the series. It was the first anime
> which featured familiar things such as continuous story and plot for
> the entire series, character development, and so on. And remember, it
> was the first TV anime series!
> (This description refers to the original series, not the later
> remake.)
> Licenced by The Right Stuf International in North America, and by
> Madman in Australia.
> [Entry by Andrew V. Tupkalo]
>
> AURA BATTLER DUNBINE: Motorcycle racer Show Zama is pulled into an
> alternate world where he is drafted as an Aura Battler. An Aura
> Battler is a person from Upper Earth (our world) that has the aura
> power to control the insect-like mechs this world uses to fight its
> wars. While the natives can also drive these things they cannot do so
> with the proficiency of Upper Earthers. Show finds himself involved
> in a war of conquest led by Drake Luft and soon decides he's on the
> wrong side. It's quite an epic from the man who gave the world
> GUNDAM.
> Licenced by ADV Films.
> [Entry by Kyle Thomas Pope]
>
> AZUMANGA DAIOH: Popular 26 episode comedy series which follows the
> fortunes of seven girls, two teachers, and one dog through the three
> years of senior high school. Much of the story centres on Chiyo-chan,
> a ten year old genius who has been put in their class and whose
> combination of cuteness and superior academic ability inspires
> ambivalent feelings amongst her considerably older classmates. Each
> character is sharply defined and a lot of the humour arises from our
> anticipation of their inevitable behaviour, from the narcoleptic Osaka
> who lives in a dream to the manic Tomo whose hijinks go a little too
> far. The animation is minimal and at times repetitive, but the images
> are beautifully drawn with a refreshing look and equally good
> background music.
> Available from ADV.
> Note: the AZUMANGA DAIOH "Movie" (included on the sixth ADV DVD,
> not included in the box set) is actually just a five minute widescreen
> short which reworks a few scenes from the series.
> R1 official website: <http://www25.advfilms.com/titles/azumanga/>
> [Entry by Shez]
>
> B
>
> BAKUEN CAMPUS GUARDRESS (a.k.a. COMBUSTIBLE CAMPUS GUARDRESS or
> CAMPUS GUARDRESS): Girl is sister to boy who is the reincarnation of
> a man whom the girl's previous incarnation loved. He died last time
> saving the world for evil monsters from another dimension who are bent
> on world conquest. And now it's happening all over again. How will
> the girl ever manage to save her brother and the world at the same
> time, how will she deal with her incestful feelings for her brother,
> and how can she deal with her mother making moves on her boy?
> This is a bimodal show with characters and input from Hagiwara, the
> author of BASTARD! DESTRUCTIVE GOD OF DARKNESS. As such, it is a
> combination of the sublime and the profane in a very cute mix. The
> attack names are a wonderful throwback to some of the spells in
> BASTARD!, and have such names as "Thousand Slices of Radish Attack" or
> "Puppy Dog Attack".
> If you liked BASTARD!, you'll like this one.
> [Entry by Anand Chelian]
>
> BASTARD!: It was an age of lawlessness
> Of disorder and Chaos
> Blood and steel, flesh and bone
> An age of Magic
> The four kingdoms are under siege from the evil dark armies of
> Chaos. The only one who can save them is the evil wizard who nearly
> conquered the world 15 years ago.
> BASTARD!!
> A tale of sorcery and combat, of scantily clad maidens and a more
> scantily clad hero. High Shonen Fantasy at its most extreme. Enter
> a world of action, excitement, danger, and ... laundry.
> Available from Geneon in North America.
> [Entry by "Akodo Bob"]
>
> BATTLE ANGEL (a.k.a. BATTLE ANGEL ALITA or GUNNM): The Scrapyard
> is the name given to a large decaying city that exists due to the
> garbage dumped from the floating city above it, named Zalem. Humans,
> androids and cyborgs live in this dark and dirty place, all
> intermingling. Living with each other, trading with each other,
> sometime mugging each other. Ido, A brilliant cyber-doctor, discovers
> the wreckage of an extraordinary cyborg in one of the city's junk
> piles, and restores it to full health with his skills. She has no
> memory of her past, so he names her Gally and raises her as his own
> daughter. However, there is more to her than meets the eye ... Good
> artwork and animation. From the much-acclaimed manga of the same name
> by Yukito Kishiro. Contains violence, gore, nudity.
> Was dubbed and subbed from ADV Films, but is no longer available in
> North America (possibly due to an expired license). However, BATTLE
> ANGEL ALITA is still listed in the Madman catalog, so Australians can
> still obtain this anime.
> [Entry by Ben Cantrick, edited by Rob Kelk]
>
> BATTLE ATHLETES VICTORY: Battle Athletes Victory chronicles the
> trials of a 15 year old athlete, Akari Kanzaki. Akari's dream is to
> become the Cosmo Beauty, the title given each year to the greatest
> athlete in the Solar System. The title is fought for at the
> University Satellite, a space station that orbits Earth. Akari lives
> in the shadow of her mother, Tomoe Midoh, who was widely regarded as
> the greatest Cosmo Beauty ever. Akari's journey begins at a training
> school in Antarctica, but stretches past the University Satellite ...
> Available from Geneon.
> [Entry by Matt Huber]
>
> BATTLE FAIRY YUKIKAZE: see YUKIKAZE
>
> BATTLE SKIPPER: A new intake and the usual scrap for the best by
> the school hobby clubs, but three young girls end up taking the fast
> track into the secret world of one particular club, a cover for some
> pretty heavyweight mecha in the usual clash of good bot meets bad
> bot ... apparently the folk who did PLASTIC LITTLE had much to do with
> this title. (CPM/USMC)
> [Entry by Chika]
>
> BIG O: Roger Smith is a Negotiator, an agent for hire in the
> amnesiac city of Paradigm, enclosed in giant glass domes. Alongside
> his mysterious Megadeus (giant robot), the Big O, the deadpan android
> R. Dorothy Wainwright and his ever reliable butler Norman, he polices
> the city where the military police cannot. Yet Paradigm City holds
> many secrets, "Memories" of what happened forty years ago before all
> the residents of Paradigm lost them, and there are those who will stop
> at nothing to gather them - and Roger's Memories may be some of the
> most important of all.
> Highly influenced by "Batman", this odd mecha series owes its
> success partly to the US Cartoon Network, who funded the second
> season. Written by the ever confusing Chiaki Konaka (LAIN), the
> fairly superfluous (although very well animated) mecha fights take a
> back seat to the utter madness of the plot, particularly in the
> superior second season. High production values and interesting
> characters - R. Dorothy is a particular fan favourite - contribute to
> make an intriguing addition to the mecha genre.
> Available from Bandai in Region 1 on seven DVDs, with two extremely
> inexpensive collections available of both seasons.
> [Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
>
> BIGWARS: Man has colonised Mars and an alien race doesn't much
> care for that. This is a tale of Man's struggle against the odds as
> the alien, who styles itself as a kind of god, uses awesome weapons to
> beat back the expansionist humans. It's now down to one last
> chance ...
> (CPM/USMC)
> [Entry by Chika]
>
> BINZUME YOSEI: see BOTTLE FAIRIES
>
> BLACK HEAVEN: see LEGEND OF BLACK HEAVEN
>
> BLACK MAGIC M66: A side story to Masamune Shirow's manga BLACK
> MAGIC, this movie tells the story of one of the first combat androids
> ever built. Unfortunately, the military scientist who designed it
> used his daughter as the test subject for the android to target. Even
> more unfortunately, the android has escaped from the aircraft
> transporting it from the test facility ... If you liked "The
> Terminator", you'll probably like M66. The anime was previously
> available from Manga Video (the licence has expired), and the
> collected comic is available from Dark Horse.
> [Entry by Rob Kelk]
>
> BLACKJACK: He's called Blackjack, and he is a practitioner of
> "underground surgery". A Tezuka character of old, in this story he is
> caught up in a mystery concerning the appearance of "Super Humans",
> and the lethal secret behind it. BLACKJACK is based around a manga
> where he is a character that appears, performs surgery that no
> legitimate surgeon would consider, charges high fees for it then
> vanishes. Released by Manga in North America, and Madman in
> Australia.
> [Entry by Chika]
>
> BLEACH: How far would you go for your friends? Would you even
> challenge the Gates of Heaven? BLEACH is a Shonen Jump adventure
> story with well-crafted characters more real than your average shonen
> anime, great visuals and really interesting ideas.
> Ichigo Kurosaki is a 15 year old high school student with a
> penchant for trouble and protective of his little sisters. One night,
> a ferocious demon called a Hollow appears, drawn to Ichigo's spirit
> power. For reasons he does not understand, he can *see* the demon,
> and more importantly, the Death God (shinigami), Ruchia, pursuing it.
> In the fight for his life, Ichigo borrows Ruchia's power, becoming a
> Death God himself, and defeats the Hollow. But this just begins a
> sequence of events that leads him on a journey that will test his
> spirit to the brink of death and beyond.
> The series derives its strength from its well written characters.
> You feel loyalty to Ichigo: a sarcastic delinquint who will literally
> bleed for his friends. You care about Ruchia: the young Death God who
> tries to be a serious professional, but is still an awkward teenage
> girl. You want to protect Orihime who is delightfully ditzy, but not
> as weak as she seems. Their adventures test them and help you bond
> with them while leading up to their biggest challenge. A story more
> epic than the initial episodes would lead you to believe.
> Age: 12 and up (if they can handle horror movies, they'll be OK)
> PARENTAL: Swordplay, violence and some coarse language. Scary
> scenes for young children.
> [Entry by Travers Naran]
>
> (continued in part 2)
>
> - --
> Rob Kelk <http://robkelk.ottawa-anime.org/> e-mail: s/deadspam/gmail/
> Any Usenet message claiming to be from me but posted from any server
> other than individual.net is a forgery. Please filter out such
> messages if you have the capability.
>
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>
Here a info from the newsgroup rec.arts.anime.misc thanks for reading,
arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob Kelk" <robkelk@...>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime.fandom,rec.arts.anime.misc
Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2006 6:54 PM
Subject: [INFO] The Anime Primer, or "What Anime Should I Watch Now?" (3/6)
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> (continued from part 2)
>
> G
>
> GALAXY ANGELS: The universe is a dangerous place. Pirates,
> aliens, and terrorists are everwhere, threatening to destroy
> civilization as we know it. But fear not! The gun loving, boy crazy,
> cosplay obsessed, obsessively religious, and super lucky Angel Brigade
> are here to make a buck and save the day!
> Resembling a harem anime without the boy, GALAXY ANGELS takes the
> classic "Cute Girls Doing Bad Things", and puts it in space. An
> episodic half length anime, GALAXY ANGELS is mostly character (or
> often character flaw) driven comedy, with the occasional foray into
> melodrama.
> Available in R1 from Bandai Entertainment
> [Entry by Abraham Evangelista]
>
> GALAXY FRAULEIN YUNA: With a carefree heart, a perpetually-hungry
> android companion, a collection of other powerful friends who've taken
> it upon themselves to be her bodyguard, and a giant robot, Yuna
> defends goodness in her corner of the universe as the Champion of
> Light. But she isn't all business; finding lost puppies and taking
> part in Iron Chef tournaments is just as important to Yuna as is
> thwarting those who try to take over or destroy the galaxy.
> On the surface, GALAXY FRAULEIN YUNA is a parody of shows like
> SAILOR MOON (try to spot the Senshi cameo in the first episode) or
> ICZER-1, but with more giant robots and fewer male characters (even
> the tuxedo-garbed flower-throwing "love-interest" character is
> female). But if you look deeper than that, you see a story about a
> champion of goodness who truly *is* good, down to the core. In
> situations where other heroes would set aside their principles to save
> the world, Yuna remains steadfast to the values which made her the
> Champion of Light, which puts her head and shoulders above all the
> other magical warrior girls.
> Two OAV series released on one R1 DVD, available from ADV.
> [Entry by Rob Kelk]
>
> GALL FORCE: A series of nine SF OAVs, split into two distinct
> series, based around the actions of a group of girls. Each series
> follows the same group, although they are often recast for whatever is
> going on in the series. In one series, they are the last surviving
> group on one side of a space battle which they attempt to escape,
> sacrificing much in the process, to reach a planet on which they can
> shelter. In the other series, Earth is attacked, and the survivors
> have to get help, find ways of getting off the planet and survive
> whilst doing it. There was also a parody of one of the stories - 10
> LITTLE GALL FORCE was a parody of STARDUST WAR. The team(s) also turn
> up in the ArtMic parody OAV, SCRAMBLE WARS. The series is available
> in the US from USMC/CPM, whilst the parodies were available from
> AnimEigo.
> [Entry by Chika]
>
> GENESIS SURVIVER GAIARTH: A post-apocalyptic 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]
>
> 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.
> Licenced by ADV in North America, and by Madman in Australia.
> Official website:
> <http://www.enokifilmsusa.com/library/saiyuki.htm>
> Official North American website:
> <http://www.advfilms.com/favorites/saiyuki/>
> [Entry by Bill Martin]
>
> GEO-ARMOR: see KISHIN HEIDAN
>
> GEOBREEDERS: It's a time when cats are feared. They possess the
> ability to change into nekojin (cat-people), enter electronic
> equipment, and they torture humanity. The best way to defeat them is
> with the use of talismans that have been plugged into a computer.
> However, not all of the "Phantom Cats" are evil. Such is the case
> of one named Maya who hangs around Yoichi Taba, the lone guy working
> for Kagura Security. When Maya gets kidnapped, Yoichi gets "forced"
> into hiring his Kagura Security compatriots to get her back. Hijinx
> ensue when the ladies try to take advantage of his situation.
> Available in North America from CPM.
> [Entry by Bill Martin]
>
> 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]
>
> GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND-ALONE COMPLEX: The latest animated
> version of the story of GHOST IN THE SHELL, a series originally
> created by Masamune Shirow, features all the characters that were made
> famous in the original series and just about all the same mecha and
> premise of the original. This version, however, bears closer
> resemblance to the manga original with all the humour still very much
> present from Batou's flippancy to the adventures of the "Tachikomas",
> the robot tanks with their own AI and a short series to boot at the
> end of each episode: "Tachikomatic Days". In this post-WWIII
> setting, most folk are at least partially cybernetically enhanced,
> including the use of artificial brains. This leads to a number of
> possibilities for crime which section 9 must deal with. The series is
> divided mostly into stand alone episodes and an ongoing story about a
> serial blackmailer known as the "Laughing Man". Available from Manga
> Video.
> [Entry by Chika]
>
> GOKUDOU-KUN: Sword and Sorcery go "slumming" in this bawdy tour
> across the myths and magical tales of dozens of countries. Teenaged
> thief, swordsman and sometime sorcerer Gokudou wants the simple things
> in life: unlimited wealth, beautiful women, and a chance to get away
> from his old witch Mother (who happens to be a very good sorceress).
> He sets off on a series of adventures that take him to strange lands
> with odd companions and the occasional body switch. Comedy,
> adventure, pretty girls and even musical reviews make GOKUDOU-KUN a
> fast-pasted and fun piece of "low fantasy".
> Licenced by Media Blasters in North America.
> [Entry by Dave Baranyi]
>
> GOKUSEN: A successful comedy based on the manga which also spawned
> a live-action series (drama).
> Kumiko Yamaguchi is a nerdy, glasses-wearing new teacher anxious to
> start her new future of molding the impressionable minds of Japan's
> youth at an all-boys school! But her dream takes a slight detour when
> she's given the worst class in the school - filled with delinquents.
> If that's not enough, she's also the last surviving heir of Yamaguchi
> clan - the largest, most powerful yakuza clan in Japan - and if her
> Grandfather's lackies have their way, their next boss.
> Even though Kumiko (or Yankumi as her students nickname her) may
> seem geeky and weak, she was raised in a yakuza household where she
> learned to fight and be strong from the toughest yakuza in Japan. As
> a result, she is able to save her students from all sorts of trouble,
> but eventually the students, and even the faculty, begin to suspect
> she's more than just a bookworm. Especially when she lapses into
> yakuza lingo and rough talkin'.
> The series creates plenty of laughs just with the tension Yankumi
> faced being a teacher to delinquents and the demands placed on her
> being a yakuza heir, but it's the characters make this series. The
> characters are troubled and rough, but likable. And Yankumi is so fun
> and spirited that her optimistic spirit is infectious. You can't help
> but root for this motley crew of hooligans and gangsters.
> Age: 14+ Warnings: Fighting (fisticuffs), swearing (in the dub),
> and criminal behavior.
> [Entry by Travers Naran]
>
> 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.
> Available in North America from CPM.
> [Entry by Robin Casady]
>
> 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. AIM FOR THE TOP!): An affectionate parody of
> mecha anime and a good story concerning the life and times of Takaya
> Noriko, a schoolgirl whose father died in mysterious circumstances
> during an ongoing war with a strange alien race. Noriko has to learn
> how to control her mecha, make friends, deal with a traumatic love
> affair that ends badly, and try to prop up her mentor who, while she
> starts out strong enough, she suffers later on. All this set against
> deteriorating friendships caused by the effects of time dilation!
> Previously available on VHS in the US from US Renditions, then from
> Manga Video; the licence has expired. Be aware that the UK version,
> distributed by Kiseki Films, is edited.
> [Entry by Chika]
>
> 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 interrelate 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 villains. 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 tyrannizing 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]
> Official website: <http://www.gundamofficial.com/>
>
> GUNDAM WING: see GUNDAM
>
> GUNDAM WING: ENDLESS WALTZ: see GUNDAM
>
> GUNNM: see BATTLE ANGEL
>
> GUNPARADE MARCH: Don't be fooled, it is not what it seems. The
> trailer, the box blurb, and even the first few episodes make GUNPARADE
> MARCH seem like a second-rate GUNDAM (with lots of girls) versus the
> alien invaders who will save the Earth saga. The army mecha division
> is even based at an all-girls' high school with only two boys on
> campus for extra shonen-ness.
> Ever hear of 'a wolf in sheep's clothing'? This series is a shoujo
> high-school romantic-angst story masquerading as a shonen mecha
> adventure. In truth, there are few battles, and when we leave this
> little corner of the war, the war goes on. Also, even though there
> are girls everywhere, there is basically no fanservice except for the
> single change-of-pace romantic-comedy episode that has some above
> average bloomer service. There is, however, an adorable little
> 8-year-old girl with a tragic backstory.
> Available from Media Blasters.
> [Entry by Rob Maxwell]
>
> 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.
> Available from ADV Films.
> [Entry by Ben Cantrick]
>
> H
>
> hack//SIGN: see .hack//SIGN
>
> HAGANE NO RENKINJUTSUSHI: see FULL METAL ALCHEMIST
>
> HAIBANE RENMEI (variously translated as ASH WINGS ALLIANCE,
> CHARCOAL FEATHERS FEDERATION, or variations on these): HAIBANE RENMEI
> is a mysterious and low key story about a girl (Rakka) who wakes up in
> an unfamiliar but seemingly normal world, except she now has pale grey
> wings and a halo. Unable to remember her past life or even her name,
> Rakka is welcomed into a community of other winged and haloed girls.
> Are they angels? None of them know what they are, so they simply call
> themselves Haibane (grey wings). The nearby town is populated by
> normal people, who seem to view the Haibane as little more than
> beggars. A high wall surrounds the entire district and no-one,
> Haibane or human, knows what lies beyond; only the crows and some
> mysterious visitors to the town are able to go beyond the wall. In
> the early episodes Rakka spends her time making friends and finding
> out about her new world, but her carefree days come to an abrupt end
> halfway through the series when one of her new friends mysteriously
> disappears, leaving Rakka bewildered and grief-stricken. From then on
> the series has a much darker tone, as Rakka looks into her soul and
> wonders how she ended up in this walled place (a refuge or a prison?),
> and tries to learn the secrets of the inscrutable Haibane Renmei
> (Haibane Union), the monastic order which regulates their lives.
> The series is by Yoshitoshi ABe who also did the character design
> of LAIN, who Rakka resembles. 13 episodes.
> Licenced by Geneon in North America, by MVM in the UK, and by
> Madman in Australia.
> [Entry by Shez]
>
> HAPPY LESSON: Most ordinary boys Chitose Hitose's age can only
> dream of a harem of beautiful women. Many of them are at that
> rebellious phase in thier lives, fighting their parents at every step.
> Imagine his surprise when in one fell swoop, Chitose suddenly finds
> himself living with a harem of five beautiful women, who all want to
> be his mother!
> Ordinary boys of Chitose's age might for at least part of the day
> replace the annoyances of family life with the annoyances of school
> life, but even here, Chitose finds no reprieve, as his "mothers" are
> also his teachers!
> Throw in a cute younger sister, an idol older sister, an "evil"
> genius, and the class representative who wants his head on a platter
> (or a string tied around his heart), and it's a safe bet that Chitose
> Hitose's life is anything but ordinary.
> A harem comedy that turns the genre on its head, HAPPY LESSON is a
> fun filled romp of an answer to the question, "What is family anyway?"
> Available in North America from ADV.
> [Entry by Abraham Evangelista]
>
> HARE+GUU: see JUNGLE WA ITSUMO HARE NOCHI GUU
>
> HARE NOCHI GUU: see JUNGLE WA ITSUMO HARE NOCHI GUU
>
> HELLSING: Great Britain's secret weapon against things that go
> bump in the night is a paranormal division called Hellsing, which
> keeps a vampire named Alucard as its ace agent. He is very effective
> in dealing with the targets, but he's also snarky, sadistic, and has
> the hots for his "Master", one Integra(l) Hellsing. This tale of
> vampires as vampire hunters has it all: a buxom young vampire who
> angsts about losing her humanity, a kickass butler with killer floss,
> a division of the Vatican dedicated to wiping out monsters, and of
> course the aformentioned Alucard and Integra. Some of the animation
> quality is atrocious, but overall the series is dark, cool, and leaves
> you cheering for more. 13 episodes, subbed and dubbed.
> PARENTAL ADVISORY: Extreme violence (blood, gore, torture, and
> Alucard doing really scary stuff), swear words up the wazoo (bleeped
> out on TV, mostly), and lots of sexual tension.
> Licenced by Geneon in North America, by ADV in the UK, and by
> Madman in Australia.
> [Entry by Dot Warner]
>
> 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 ...
> Previously released on VHS in North America by Central Park Media;
> the North America DVD licence is held by Media Blasters.
> [Entry by Catherine Johnson]
>
> HEROIC LEGEND OF ARISLAN: see ARSLAN SENKI
>
> HIKARU NO GO: Hikaru was your typical hot-blooded youth who had no
> interest in Go until he met Sai, a go-obsessed spirit who died before
> he could achieve his fondest wish: to play the "hand of god", the
> perfect move. After being possessed by Sai, Hikaru begins taking
> interest in this strange "old man's game" (as well as gaining the
> rivalry of Touya Akira, another go prodigy), and discovers that he's
> surprisingly gifted, even without Sai's help. Basically, it's go as a
> sports anime, a premise that works surprisingly well, understandable
> even for people who don't play the game. The series contains 75
> episodes and a handful of specials.
> [Entry by Dot Warner]
>
> HIS AND HER CIRCUMSTANCES: see KARESHI KANOJO NO JIJYO
>
> HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE: Although only 18 years old, Sophie Hatter
> lives like a much older woman. One day during an outing in the town,
> she attracts the attention of two powerful sorcerers, the bishounen
> Howl Jenkins and the well-preserved Witch of the Waste. Becoming a
> pawn in the conflict between them, Sophie is turned into an old lady.
> Seeking to break the spell, Sophie leaves her home and makes herself a
> job as the cleaning lady in Howl's castle (think steampunk RV).
> Based on Diana Wynne Jones' novel of the same name, Miyazaki's
> version of HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE incorporates a wartime context for the
> pseudo-European setting and provides Howl with the motivation for
> fighting the act of war rather than in a war. Unlike Miyazaki's other
> work, which focus on young characters, HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE explores
> issues of maturity and aging as Sophie and Howl come to terms with
> adult responsibilities and the Witch of the Waste faces up to her true
> age.
> [Entry by laurie cubbison]
>
> 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]
>
> HYPER POLICE: It is the distant future, normal humans are
> considered an endangered species. It is the time of the monsters/half-
> breeds. This is the story of a 6-year old cat-girl by the name of
> Natsuki Sasahara. She works as a bounty hunter with various other
> monsters. However, the company that she works for is having financial
> troubles, one of her co-workers has a crush on her, one is trying to
> eat her, and those are just her partners ... Can she survive when
> times are tough? Can she get her own Bounty Hunter license? And ...
> can she find a pair of undies that she doesn't have to cut out a
> portion for her tail?
> [Entry by Bill Martin]
>
> 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: An ongoing battle between races with planet-trashing
> abilities comes to Earth. Humans suddenly start turning into weird,
> bloodthirsty monsters without warning. Into this havoc comes Iczer-1,
> a girl (well, she looks like one, anyway), and she enlists the
> unwilling help of a young human girl called Nagisa to help pilot the
> big Iczer-Robo mecha. The story behind this is a bit convoluted and
> difficult to explain without introducing spoilers, but there is a link
> between Iczer-1 and her enemies, and there is a bigger menace waiting
> in the wings. A later series, ICZER-3, is based on this series.
> Was available from US Renditions when US Renditions was still in
> operation; currently licenced by Media Blasters.
> [Entry by Chika]
>
> 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]
>
> I'M GONNA BE AN ANGEL: see TENSHI NI NARUMON
>
> 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 International.
> [Entry by Catherine Johnson]
>
> J
>
> JOURNEY TO THE WEST: see GENSOMADEN SAIYUKI
>
> JUBEI NIMPUUCHO: see NINJA SCROLL
>
> JUNGLE EMPEROR LEO: see KIMBA THE WHITE LION
>
> JUNGLE TAITEI: see KIMBA THE WHITE LION
>
> JUNGLE WA ITSUMO HARE NOCHI GUU (a.k.a. HARE+GUU): Pure madness in
> a jungle that seems to have escaped from a Salvador Dali painting.
> Ten-year-old Hare's quiet life in the Jungle with his mother Weda is
> turned into a comic inferno one day when Weda brings home "cute"
> little Guu, a girl who appears to be around Hare's age. But Guu turns
> out to be an inexplicable being - unimaginably powerful and yet a
> cynical trickster who seems to be there specifically to turn Hare's
> life into a living damnation. HARE NOCHI GUU is a brilliantly witty
> series with astoundingly imaginative writing that at its core is based
> upon some very memorable and likeable characters.
> Licenced in North America by AN Entertainment.
> R1 official website: <http://www.hareguu.com/>
> [Entry by Dave Baranyi]
>
> JUUNI KOKKI (a.k.a. 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
>
> KACHOU OOJI: see LEGEND OF BLACK HEAVEN
>
> KALEIDO STAR: Sora Naegino travels to America to fulfil her dream
> of joining Kaleido Stage, an incredible circus. Even getting in is
> hard enough, however, and with opposition from the prima donna of the
> Stage, Sora's journey to become a Kaleido Star is certainly not going
> to be plain sailing.
> KALEIDO STAR adds little new to the shoujo sports cliche
> established back in AIM FOR THE ACE with its story of one girl's rise
> to the top, but it is endlessly entertaining thanks to a brilliant
> cast of characters, a heroine you can really root for and some
> excellent animation from Gonzo (especially during the various
> "production numbers" the circus puts on).
> The first season of 26 episodes is now available from ADV on Region
> 1 DVD, with the second forthcoming shortly.
> R1 official website:
> <http://www25.advfilms.com/titles/kaleidostar/>
> [Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
>
> KAMICHU!: Hitotsubashi Yurie surprises her middle-school friend
> Mitsue one lunchtime by announcing she has become a God ... thus
> begins a delightfully sweet story of friendship, godhood, aliens,
> calligraphy, unrequited love, adventure and the climbing of many steep
> hills. Set in the town of Onomichi on Japan's Inland Sea, this
> superbly animated series mixes Shinto mythology with schoolwork, magic
> with lost cats, and makes passing references to other popular anime
> series like AH! MY GODDESS and READ OR DIE.
> The entire series runs to 16 episodes on DVD. Twelve
> slightly-edited episodes have been shown on TV in Japan, and Geneon
> has announced an American DVD release for all 16 episodes starting in
> June 2006. A manga is currently running in Dengeki Daioh.
> [Entry by Robert Sneddon]
>
> KAMIKAZE KAITOU JANNU (a.k.a. KAMIKAZE PHANTOM THIEF JEANNE): TV
> series, 40+ episodes. Animated by the SAILOR MOON anime team,
> KAMIKAZE KAITOU JEANNE takes the storyline of SAINT TAIL and gives it
> some new twists. 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.
> [Entry by Shez]
>
> KANNAZUKI NO MIKO: In a town named 'Paradise' lives Kurusugawa
> Himeko, a quiet and clumsy girl who lives life at her own pace. A
> pretty if unremarkable girl, her only specialties are photography and
> being late.
> Himeko quite literally falls into the life of Himemiya Chikane, the
> 'princess' of the school, and daughter of an influential family.
> Chikane's popularity is rivaled only by the school's 'prince', Oogami
> Souma.
> Souma is Himeko's childhood friend and every bit Chikane's rival in
> athletics, popularity, and his attraction to Himeko. Souma's family
> tends the shrine outside of town.
> Upon learning that she shares a birthday with Himeko, Chikane
> schedules a "private birthday party for just us."
> Then things gets weird.
> The night before the birthday arrives, and Himeko's musings on the
> coming party are interrupted by a black moon, and the coming of one of
> Orochi's heads, who rises from lake as mecha, with the stylings of a
> Gundam, but a matrial arts move list stolen straight from the
> Super-Robo genre.
> Will it be a happy birthday? Who win Himeko's heart? Will the
> Orochi bring eternal darkness to the world, or will the sun and moon
> priestesses seal him away? Stick with KANNAZUKI NO MIKO, and find
> out!
> Loosely based on the legend of the Orochi, KANNAZUKI NO MIKO is a
> compelling shoujo yuri unrequited love story with shounen fantasy
> elements and mecha. KANNADUKI NO MIKO spans 12 episodes, and is
> available in R1 from Geneon Entertainment.
> [Entry by Abraham Evangelista]
>
> KARESHI KANOJO NO JIJYO (a.k.a. KAREKANO, or 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
>
> KERORO GUNSOU (a.k.a. Sgt. Keroro): There are aliens living
> amongst us, and they are plotting the downfall of the Pokopon (or what
> the Pokoponians call "Earth")! But first, they have to vacuum the
> living room. KERORO GUNSOU is a hilarious anime based on the idea of
> cute frog-like invaders coming to Earth to conquer us, but instead,
> through their own ineptness, get in the daily life of a typical
> Japanese family.
> Fuyuki Hinata is a high school student with an obsession for the
> paranormal, especially UFOs. One morning, he accidentally discovers
> Sgt. Keroro, the leader of the advanced platoon, hiding behind his
> wallpaper. Through a series of inept accidents, mostly Keroro's own
> fault, he accidentally orders the invasion fleet to abort the mission
> and return to Keron, abandoning him and his team on Earth. His
> subordinates are Tamama, a sweet natured bi-polar private; Giroro, a
> no nonsense soldier with a crush on Fuyuki's sister; and Kururu, the
> tech-wizard and part-time DJ.
> Now, Sgt. Keroro and his team are at the mercy of Fuyuki's older
> sister, Natsume: a fearsome, bossy sister who is the head of the
> household when their manga-editor mother isn't around (which is most
> of the time). She puts Keroro to work cleaning the house to pay for
> his "freeloading" while also trying to foil their plans. So in
> between making the dinner and dusting the furniture, Keroro, Tamama,
> Giroro and Kururu, his band of equally quirky frog soldiers, do what
> they try to do every day: try to take over Pokopon!
> Warnings: PG. Fan service (no nudity) Age: 12+
> [Entry by Travers Naran]
>
> 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 (a.k.a. MAJO-NO TAKKYUBIN): Kiki, the
> thirteen-year-old daughter of a witch and a mortal man, strikes out to
> a new city to live on her own. Despite having no skills other than
> flying, Kiki manages to hold her own, discovers some secrets to
> happiness, and falls in love for the first time. A sweet, delightful
> coming-of-age tale full of Miyazaki's classic storytelling techniques,
> such as the sweeping visuals of Kiki's aerial scenes and the subtle
> plays of light and dark as the mood of the film reflects Kiki's
> blossoming maturity. Like most other Studio Ghibli films, this is
> just about the most family friendly anime you can get.
> KIKI is available in the US from Disney/Buena Vista.
> [Entry by Dot Warner]
>
> KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD: A tale of a "love triangle", the male
> protagonist middle school student Kasuga Kyosuke falls in love with
> Ayakawa Madoka from the moment he meets her but her best friend Hyama
> Hikaru (2 years younger) falls in love with him when she see what she
> believes to be an unaided athletic feat. But the Kasuga family hides
> a secret, that the children Kyosuke & the twins Manami and Kurumi
> whose mother died have PSI powers. Kyosuke gets into a lot of trouble
> with Ayakawa mostly using his powers to keep others happy. The action
> of the series revolves around Kyosuke concealing his love for Ayakawa
> from not only Hikaru but the classmates, Ayakawa's behavior
> ("kimagure" means "whimsical") and her old street gang pals, and of
> course Kyosuke's fantasies. The twins help to stir things up as well,
> and Kasuga Takashi (the PSI unpowered dad) is a photographer which
> leads to some very interesting episodes. Studying by the characters
> helps the story along, as do the grandparents.
> This series ran to 48 TV episodes with 8 OVAs and 2 movies,
> subtitled. The second movie is from the original author of the manga
> on which the whole series is based, Masumoto Izumi. During the
> series, reference is made to Ayakawa's musical ability and in the
> final movie she is a fully developed composer. The music used in the
> series is somewhat ambigous but suits the amine very well.
> Available from AnimEigo.
> [Entry by bobbie sellers]
>
> KIMBA THE WHITE LION: Created by Dr. Osamu Tezuka in 1950 as a
> manga titled JUNGURU TAITEI (Jungle Emperor), this is a story of what
> it means to be civilized, of love and loss, and of the need for
> greater understanding between all creatures, especially between humans
> and animals. Along the way you get spiritualism, greed, treachery,
> love, insanity, and sacrifice. In 1965, the first portion of the
> manga was adapted into the first color anime series, which kept the
> manga's title in Japan but became known as KIMBA THE WHITE LION in the
> rest of the world. This was a co-production between Tezuka's Mushi
> Productions and NBC Enterprises; as a result of the Americans' input,
> the story was changed considerably, but these changes served to
> highlight the aspect of the interaction between humans and animals.
> The American verison was expertly dubbed into English by ex-radio
> actors; unfortunately, they were ordered to lighten the tone of the
> stories considerably. A vital part of the success of the show was the
> musical score, written for full symphony orchestra by Isao Tomita.
> The show was shown in the US only betwen 1966 and 1978, but retains a
> huge fan base today. Since then, a new English dub (with new music)
> was produced in 1993, which is currently in syndication. A sequel
> series was produced in Japan in 1966, which made it to the US in 1984
> under the title LEO THE LION. Tezuka Productions made a revised
> series in 1989; in edited form this is partially available English-
> dubbed on home video as THE NEW ADVENTURES OF KIMBA. The latter
> portion of the original manga story was made into a feature film in
> 1997, available in English as JUNGLE EMPEROR LEO.
> Licenced in North America by Right Stuf.
> [Entry by C Andersen]
>
> KING OF BANDIT JING: Perhaps best described as a mixture of LUPIN
> III and early DRAGONBALL; this shows the adventures of a teenaged
> master thief named Jing and his love-hungry talking albatross
> sidekick, Kir. Jing and Kir go after great riches in a world full of
> bizarre characters, cities and kingdoms, often accompanied and advised
> by the mysterious Postino. If you like the more offbeat styles of
> anime, this is for you.
> Licenced by ADV in North America and the UK, and by Madman in
> Australia.
> [Entry by Andrew Kieswetter]
>
> 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.
> R1 official website: <http://www.kinosjourney.com/>
> [Entry by Michael Lo]
>
> KISHIN HEIDAN (a.k.a. KISHIN CORPS or GEO-ARMOR): Seven OAV
> Episodes of Mecha Action Against Aliens during the 1940's!
> Japanese mecha fight against exploding alien blobs in vaguely
> humanoid form that drop from the skies wielding machine guns during
> World War Two. (The command modules that control the mecha embody the
> alien technology.)
> Car chases, Railroad battles, Submarines; war orphans pulling
> together to help the good guys: the Kishin Corps.
> Our young hero Taishi grows up over several years as the scene (and
> the freight train) moves from Manchuria to Tunisia to Switzerland to
> the alien base in Germany. Nice scenery, including that Swiss lake.
> Several changes of allegiance, with the Corps on the side of the
> British and Americans. (Can you imagine Albert Einstein and Eva Braun
> on the same side?)
> The British Union Jack is displayed more prominently than the
> Japanese Hinomaru - but then, so is the Nazi Swastika.
> Released in North America by Pioneer/Geneon.
> [Entry by Austin Watkins]
>
> KODOMO NO OMOCHA (a.k.a. KODOCHA or 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. The
> anime is licenced by FUNimation in North America, and by MVM in the
> UK. TOKYOPOP is releasing Miho Obana's manga under the name KODOCHA.
> [Entry by David Watson]
>
> KOI KAZE: Koi Kaze deals with sibling love. It is also a warning
> against divorce and sibling separation. In this case the father is
> responsible for the divorce which separated the older brother, Saeki
> Koshiro, from his 12-years-younger sister, Kohinata Nanoka. The two
> meet without knowing who they really are, and a love begins.
> Nanoka has an easier time accepting her feelings than Koshiro, who
> goes through considerable emotional torment a severe emotional
> involvement. This contains lots of poignancy as the relationship will
> fall outside acceptable social limits and expose them to persecution,
> if not prosecution. Nanoka does have problems with love sickness
> noted by her high school friend, and then with the abandonment of the
> friend to be with Koshiro.
> A co-worker of Koshiro's, Chidori Kanane learns of the situation
> and externalises all the negativity he has been feeling. Nanoka
> drives her off as she attempts to come between the inappropriate
> couple. She also works the previews as a dominatrix.
> The most physical affection we see between Koshiro and Nanoka is
> hugging.
> If the creators had wanted a real polemic against incest, they
> might have continued down the path a few years after Nanoka has
> completed school and they live together under social pressure and in
> obscurity, but instead they concentrate on the initial encounters and
> the realisation of the problem. It ends hopefully with Koshiro's
> acceptance of his love for Nanoka.
> Three DVD volumes from Geneon, 13 episodes, fully acceptable
> English voice actors and good subtitles, standard extras plus a little
> bear playlet in the last volume.
> [Entry by bobbie sellers]
>
> KOKO WA GREENWOOD: see HERE IS GREENWOOD
>
> KURENAI NO BUTA: see PORCO ROSSO
>
> (continued in part 4)
>
> - --
> Rob Kelk <http://robkelk.ottawa-anime.org/> e-mail: s/deadspam/gmail/
> Any Usenet message claiming to be from me but posted from any server
> other than individual.net is a forgery. Please filter out such
> messages if you have the capability.
>
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
> Version: PGP 7.0.4
>
> iQA/AwUBRUkzGAKYYCCCxJ/PEQJv4wCguOdPg+IfrFSsmPBlprhLPPs9vpIAn0wK
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>
Here a info from the newsgroup rec.arts.anime.misc thanks for reading,
arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob Kelk" <robkelk@...>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime.fandom,rec.arts.anime.misc
Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2006 6:54 PM
Subject: [INFO] The Anime Primer, or "What Anime Should I Watch Now?" (4/6)
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> (continued from part 3)
>
> 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.k.a. TENKU NO SHIRO LAPUTA): Young
> Pazu's life is turned upside down when a girl, Sheeta, floats down
> from the sky into his sleepy mining village wearing a mysterious blue
> pendant. Together they search for the flying castle in the sky,
> Laputa, while pursued by nefarious government forces after the secrets
> that Sheeta and her pendant hold. A rip-roaring adventure classic
> from Studio Ghibli and master director Hiyao Miyazaki, with an almost
> relentless pace, animation that still impresses twenty years after it
> was made and amazing attention to detail.
> Available in both US Region 1 and UK Region 2 on DVD - the UK
> release is unfortunately dubtitled, although the dub (from Disney) is
> of excellent quality.
> [Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
>
> LAST EXILE: Claus Valca and Lavie Head, two young Vanship pilots
> in the flight-dominated world of Prestale, become embroiled in a
> massive war for power after rescuing a young girl, Alvis Hamilton,
> from the wreckage of a Vanship stalked by a mysterious mechanical
> creature. Gonzo's flagship series to mark their 10th anniversary is
> undeniably visually impressive, and perhaps most successfully
> recaptures the blending of shounen action and shoujo romance pioneered
> by ESCAFLOWNE of any recent series, although there are some moments
> when the plot could do with tightening up a little - overall, however,
> LAST EXILE is an epic adventure that should appeal to most audiences.
> Available on Region 1 DVD from Geneon, in Australia from Madman,
> and forthcoming from ADV in UK Region 2.
> [Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
>
> LAUGHING TARGET: Taken from the "Rumik World" series of short
> stories, this horror story concerns Yuzuru, who has a childhood
> sweetheart. When this girl, Azusa (bethrothed to him as a young boy),
> returns to his life, strange things start to happen, especially to
> Yuzuru's current squeeze. When people start dying and Yuzuru's
> girlfriend is threatened, Yuzuru has to start to find out about
> Azusa's past and make some unpleasant decisions. Was available from
> USMC.
> [Entry by Chika]
>
> LEGEND OF BLACK HEAVEN (a.k.a. KACHOU OOJI): On the outside, Ooji
> appears to be a typical Japanese middle-aged middle manager; married
> to a wife who wants a home of their own, father of a son who wants
> Dad's attention, working for a boss who just wants things to run
> smoothly, and so on. But things were not always this way, and years
> before Ooji was the lead guitarist in a fairly successful rock band,
> and the urge to look back and remember is never far away. Things come
> to a head when Ooji's wife throws out his old guitar and Ooji becomes
> despondent over the loss of this final symbol of his youth. But then
> a mysterious and beautiful new colleague tempts Ooji with a new guitar
> and a chance to play. Ooji is lead off as if in a trance and finds a
> chance to release his soul through his music. But there is a very odd
> catch to this bargain - Ooji's music is the source of power for the
> weapons of one side of an interstellar war that is going on
> unbeknownst to Humanity, and soon the very existence of the Earth
> depends upon Ooji and his ability to play. This story of a mid-life
> crisis that turns into a sci-fi adventure is simultaneously funny and
> poignant and is definitely for the "older" fan who may well also find
> himself "looking for his old guitar" from time-to-time.
> Available in North America from Geneon.
> [Entry by Dave Baranyi]
>
> 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 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]
>
> LEO THE LION: see KIMBA THE WHITE LION
>
> 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"]
>
> LOUIE THE RUNE SOLDIER: see RUNE SOLDIER
>
> 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 Dave Baranyi]
>
> LOVE YOU BABY: see AISHITERUZE BEIBE
>
> LUPIN III: Gentleman (err, mostly) thief, international man of
> mystery, exquisite lover (but only in his dreams), Lupin III decides
> to make a career out of flashy crimes and ridiculous car chases. The
> grandson of the infamous Arsene Lupin (without LeBlanc's consent,
> unfortunately, leading to a bit of a tiff in which the English
> translations temporarily went under the title of RUPAN), Lupin travels
> the world in search of the next big score while being hounded by
> Inspector Zenigata of Interpol. His companions are the sharp-shooting
> Jigen, the noble Goemon, and the occasionally back-stabbing Fujiko,
> whom Lupin never quite manages to score with. The quality of the TV
> series is rather subpar; the OAVs and films are better, but most of
> them have aged pretty poorly. Personally, I find it a fun throwback
> to the 70's "mod" style.
> PARENTAL ADVISORIES: Moderate violence (for comedic effect),
> implied adult situations, and lots of (interrupted) Fujiko beddings.
> [Entry by Dot Warner]
>
> M
>
> M66: see BLACK MAGIC M66
>
> MACH GO GO GO: see SPEED RACER
>
> MACROSS: Epic sci-fi space opera, influenced by GUNDAM and YAMATO.
> In the year 1999, a deserted alien space warship crash lands on Earth.
> The people on Earth spend the next 10 years refurbishing the
> spaceship, christening it the Macross. On the day of the Macross'
> launching ceremony, the Zentradi, an alien race of humanoid giants,
> appears above the Earth to claim the ship. The crew of the Macross
> are forced to perform a space fold to escape, unwittingly taking
> 50,000 civilians with them to the edges of the solar system. With the
> fold system mysteriously missing, the Macross is forced to slowly make
> its way back to Earth, while constantly being harassed by the pursuing
> Zentradi.
> Within the backdrop of this war, personal dramas are played out.
> Foremost among them is the love triangle that slowly forms between
> fighter pilot Ichijyo Hikaru, singer Lynn Minmay, and bridge operator
> Hayase Misa. Hikaru saves Minmay's life during the Zentradi attack,
> and falls in love with her when the two are accidentally stranded deep
> within the Macross. But as Minmay's singing career blossoms and her
> star rises, he wonders if their worlds are drifting apart. Hikaru and
> Misa begin their relationship with almost constant arguments, but
> their time together in the line of duty slowly brings them closer.
> MACROSS comprises 36 episodes, and originally aired on TV in Japan
> from 1982 to 1983. MACROSS is generally considered a classic, famous
> for its transforming Valkyrie mecha and its idol singer, Lynn Minmay.
> In the US, it was altered and incorporated into the 1985 ROBOTECH
> series as the Macross Saga.
> Was available subtitled from AnimEigo. Now available dubbed as
> part of ROBOTECH, and subtitled and newly-dubbed, from ADV.
> R1 official website: <http://www25.advfilms.com/titles/macross/>
> [Entry by Ray Li]
>
> MACROSS: DO YOU REMEMBER LOVE: Set in the MACROSS universe, this
> "film in a film" is a brief and somehow distorted retelling of the
> original TV series, SDF MACROSS. Any other description will be only a
> list of differences from the original story.
> [Entry by Andrew V. Tupkalo]
>
> MADOX-01: At first, the story seems like a remake of MEGAZONE 23 -
> a top-secret battlesuit falls off a truck, and is found by a college
> student. But MADOX-01 quickly takes a turn to the absurd. The
> student doesn't care about the suit; he just wants to be able to take
> the silly thing off and go on a date. The military man doesn't want
> the suit back; he wants to destroy it because it made his tank company
> look bad during tests. And the person who developed the suit wants to
> keep it intact because she wants to keep her position in the
> military/industrial complex. While the story is silly, the action
> scenes are coreographed well and the characters are engaging and
> all-too-human.
> MADOX-01 is available from AnimEigo.
> [Entry by Rob Kelk]
>
> MAGIC KNIGHT RAYEARTH: TV Season One: Three junior high school
> girls - Hikaru Shidou, Umi Ryuuzaki, and Fuu Hououji - meet for the
> first time atop Tokyo Tower on a field trip, when they are summoned to
> Cephiro by the Pillar, Princess Emeraude. Master Mage Clef informs
> them that they need to become the Legendary Magic Knights and save
> Cephiro from destruction, to be allowed to return home. High Priest
> Zagato has captured Princess Emeraude and set up obstacles to prevent
> the girls from fulfilling their quest.
> TV Season Two: In a second visit to Cephiro, the girls learn from
> Master Mage Clef that there are three countries from nearby planets on
> their way to invade Cephiro: Autozam, Farhen and Chizeta. During the
> battles, a more sinister force appears and the girls must defend the
> planet from destruction.
> Season one has 20 episodes, which must be seen before the 29
> episodes in season two since there are unresolved matters from the
> first season that get resolved in the second season.
> MAGIC KNIGHT RAYEARTH TV is available from Anime Works.
> [Entry by Gerardo Campos]
>
> MAGIC KNIGHT RAYEARTH OAV: Three junior high school girls -
> Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu - make a wish to never get separated, a few days
> before their graduation and before they start to attend different high
> schools. While they are having fun, mages and warriors from Cephiro
> start to appear on Earth, some of them supporting Princess Emeraude,
> preparing the ground to receive her, and others Cephirians not really
> convinced that invading Earth will solve Cephiro's problem. The girls
> have an encounter with Mokona and later with Master Mage Clef whom
> start to give them magic powers, and receive the duty to find and
> awake their "mashins" to defend Earth.
> The TV series and the OAV episodes are set in different worlds; the
> stories are completely unrelated.
> This 3 episode OAV is available from Manga Entertainment.
> [Entry by Gerardo Campos]
>
> MAGIC USERS CLUB: see MAHOU TSUKAI TAI
>
> MAGICAL GIRL PRETTY SAMMY: Sasami Kawai is chosen by Tsunami,
> Queen of Juraihelm, to become the title character. With the aid of a
> magic wand and her cute animal sidekick Ryo-chan, Sammy rights wrongs
> and triumphs over evil, while desperately hoping no one she knows
> spots her in her ridiculous costume! Three-part OAV series featuring
> the magical-girl spoof character introduced in the TENCHI MUYO:
> MIHOSHI SPECIAL anime. Entertaining silliness that can be appreciated
> by fans of TENCHI as well as an affectionate send-up of the Magical
> Girl genre. Watch for the Evil Bill Gates clone in episode two!
> Available from Geneon.
> [Entry by Dave Menard]
>
> MAGICAL MEOW MEOW TARUTO: see MAHOU SHOUJO NEKO TARUTO
>
> MAGICAL NYAN-NYAN TARUTO: see MAHOU SHOUJO NEKO TARUTO
>
> MAGICAL PROJECT S: TV series version of MAGICAL GIRL PRETTY SAMMY
> and spoof of magical girl shows in general. Aimed more at children
> than the OAV series was. Catchier theme song, too. Suitable for all
> ages. Available from Geneon.
> [Entry by Dave Menard]
>
> MAGICAL SHOPPING ARCADE ABENOBASHI: see ABENOBASHI MAHOU
> SHOUTENGAI
>
> MAHOROMATIC (a.k.a. MAHORO: AUTOMATIC MAIDEN): Suguru, a nice
> young guy who girls fall for but who lives alone, decides to hire a
> maid. He ends up hiring Mahoro, a retired combat android, one of the
> best who ever worked for a secret government organization that
> protects the Earth from two other shadowy groups. She actually
> retired because combat has nearly worn her out and she only has a year
> to live, so she decides to work for the son of her old commander. But
> when strange forces try to capture Mahoro, Suguru's life gets much
> more interesting ...
> Available in North America from Geneon, and in the UK from ADV.
> [Entry by "HiEv"]
>
> MAHOU SHOUJO NEKO TARUTO (a.k.a. MAGICAL MEOW MEOW TARUTO or
> MAGICAL NYAN-NYAN TARUTO): NEKO TARUTO is about a young girl cat
> called Taruto. Now, this is not like most "cat girl" anime - Taruto
> is not a human with catlike characteristics, but a young cat with
> human qualities and intelligence. She lives with her master, Iori (a
> human college-aged youth), and his teenaged sister Kinako, who have
> just moved to a new seaside town that is very European in appearance.
> Iori is thrilled to be in this new town because he loves to make
> desserts, and this town specializes in Northern European-style
> desserts. But the town and the relationship between the humans and
> the cats in it are subtly different from our world. Not the least of
> the differences is that this world is tied magically to a world of
> sentient cats from which a kitten princess was lost during a terrible
> war some time before. Various forces from that cat world are now
> secretively roaming the human world, looking for the missing princess
> for different reasons. And Taruto appears to be at the center of this
> search. Taruto has certain abilities that suggest that she may be
> that missing princess - in particular she has some ability to do
> magic, albeit in a rather unpredictable and uncontrolled fashion. But
> every so often something seems to take over Taruto's usual kitten-like
> self that allows her to do much more than normal. Various funny,
> poignant, mysterious and antic events take place during the first
> three quarters of the series. Then the final story arc brings
> together all of the background events as forces of the cat world
> actively start to pursue their quarry.
> All-in-all, NEKO TARUTO was one of the most enjoyable, intelligent
> and sweet fantasy anime I've ever seen. The creators of this story
> took a classic plot, filled it with wonderfully likeable characters
> and brought a sense of self-consistent fantasy to the entire mix that
> made the story truly "magical". Each episode brought something unique
> and different to a very traditional story and managed to make the
> blend totally unforgettable. The best comparison I can make is in the
> way that everything comes together in some of the better Miyazaki
> fantasy movies. This is a "must see" anime for anyone who loves
> classic fairytale-style fantasy.
> Licenced by Bandai in North America.
> [Entry by Dave Baranyi]
>
> MAHOU TSUKAI TAI (a.k.a. MAGIC USERS CLUB): This series starts
> with an alien craft entering the Earth's atmosphere, devastating the
> carrier taskforce sent to intercept it, and ... stopping in the
> middle of the Pacific. Meanwhile, Sae is trying to make a good
> impression on her afterschool club leader Takeo so that he'll notice
> her, although it shouldn't be too hard to notice someone in a club
> that only has five members, even if it is a club for people who can
> actually cast spells (although the rest of the school thinks it's for
> people who practice stage magic).
> Despite the alien and the magic, this is a coming-of-age story
> about five unusual teenagers, told with compassion and humour.
> Six OAVs and a sequel TV series (which actually *is* a sequel
> instead of being a remake), translated by Anime Works.
> [Entry by Rob Kelk]
>
> MAI-HIME: 16 year old Mai Tokiha and her younger brother Takumi
> are transferring to their new school, the Fuuka Academy, by ferry.
> After an eventful journey involving mysterious shining red stars and a
> frenetic fight between the sword-wielding Mikoto and the gun-toting
> Natsuki, Mai discovers that she is a HiME, a girl with special powers
> who must defend Fuuka against Orphans, monstrous creatures that menace
> the area. As more and more HiMEs are discovered, the stakes hot up
> with mysterious prophecies, the consequences of their powers and
> several insidious organisations wanting to control the HiMEs - or
> destroy them.
> Studio Sunrise throws several cliches together - high school comedy
> drama, some bishoujo (and occasional bishounen) fanservice,
> superpowered action with "mecha" - and surprisingly manage to make
> something that sticks together fairly well. MAI-HIME is fairly
> unoriginal in execution, but the fact that there's something for
> almost everyone, coupled with excellent animation and strong
> characterisation, means it's almost bound to be enjoyable in some
> respects.
> At the time of writing, MAI-HIME is still running in Japan, with 18
> episodes of 26 aired - the Japanese Region 2 release has begun with
> the first two episodes on DVD.
> [Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
>
> MAISON IKKOKU: A young man in love struggles to achieve his
> impossible dreams. The widow who can't forget her beloved husband
> knows she has to move on. The handsome, worthy tennis instructor vies
> for the widow's love. The harpy-like friends keep the young man and
> the widow apart. That, in a nutshell, is MAISON IKKOKU: a slice of
> everyday life in a seedy suburban Tokyo boarding house.
> Real life is the setting for this romantic comedy from Rumiko
> Takahashi (RANMA 1/2, INU-YASHA). Godai is a "ronin", a young man who
> failed to get into college. While he struggles to pass his entrance
> exams, he moves to a boarding house closer to Tokyo and gets
> neighbours right out of a wacky sitcom, who drive him to distraction
> and tease him mercilessly. The day he swears to leave Maison Ikkoku
> forever, the love of his life shows up to become the new manager,
> Kyoko Otonashi.
> Kyoko is a young widow who hasn't recovered from her loss. Her
> father-in-law offers her the resident manager position at this
> boarding house he owns until she decides what she wants to do with her
> life. So begins the impossible dream for Godai.
> This love story is interesting because it breaks the rules. Godai
> is *not* the perfect hero. The rival, Shun Mitaka, isn't a complete
> jerk. It feels more realistic than other romance stories, yet is also
> a very typical one. The story is filled with laughter, touching
> moments and wonderful characters. And when the ending unfolds, it is
> a wonderful moment that just about breaks your heart. Even guys who
> hate romantic stories love this series. Advisory: Mature situations.
> Ages 13+.
> Available from Viz.
> [Entry by Travers Naran, edited by Rob Kelk]
>
> MAJO-NO TAKKYUBIN: see KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE
>
> MAMONO HUNTER YOHKO: see DEVIL HUNTER YOHKO
>
> MARIS THE CHOJO (a.k.a. SUPERGIRL MARIS): Unlike the other RUMIK
> WORLD stories by Rumiko Takahashi that have been turned into anime,
> this OAV is not at all serious. Maris is a super-strong
> troubleshooter who just can't stay out of debt. (She dreams of
> getting rich, or at least breaking even, but fate conspires against
> her.) One day, she's assigned to track down the kidnappers of one of
> the richest eligible bachelors in the galaxy ... This OAV is one of
> the few anime to have a Jackie-Chan-style "blooper reel" under the
> ending credits. Was available from USMC.
> [Entry by Rob Kelk]
>
> MARMALADE BOY: Miki is your typical teenage anime girl, popular in
> school, star of the girls' tennis team, happy with her life. Until
> the day she came home from school and her parents told her they are
> divorcing. Not just divorcing, but also swapping partners with
> another couple they met on their recent vacation. And this is just
> the first 5 minutes of episode 1! Based on the manga by Yoshizumi
> Wataru, MARMALADE BOY follows Miki, Yu, the teenage son of the other
> couple in the partner-swap, Meiko, Miki's best friend, Ginta, Miki's
> tennis teammate, Arimi, with her ever-present group of male followers,
> Suzu, famous teen model, and others through 76 episodes of high school
> romantic comedy/drama that often has viewers semi-suicidal with its
> unexpected plot twists and turns.
> Licenced by Tokyopop.
> [Entry by Jeanne Hedge]
>
> MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO (a.k.a. MOBILE BATTLESHIP NADESICO):
> Aliens attacking Martian colonies. Dead parents leaving orphaned
> children to defend themselves. Doesn't sound funny does it? How
> about a mech pilot who keeps hiding from the fights so he can cook? A
> Cyber girl with a deep depression? An anime fanatic who screams
> battle cries from his favorite anime? It all makes NADESICO one of
> the funniest anime around. There are even some good spoofs on just
> about every type of fan. Anime, Manga, and even action figure
> collectors are not spared. Stereotypes are used to enhance the humor
> and not because the writer was lazy. A space comedy of the best kind.
> Available from ADV Films; the "Essential Anime" release has had the
> original video readout animations restored.
> [Entry by Shawn Granger, edited by Rob Kelk]
>
> MASTER OF MOSQUITON: (OVA, 6 episodes) This dark comedy set in the
> 1920s follows the adventures of 17 year old girl named Inaho
> Hitomebore who continues her now two year search for immortality via a
> device known as the Opar assisted by the vampire (Alucard von
> Mosquiton) she has awakened and his two elemental servants Honoo
> (Fire) and Yuki (Ice). Complicating her search is Gregoria Rasputin
> who assisted by Mosquiton's old foe Sangermaine want to use the Opar
> as a weapon against the Star Lords, and former wife Camille Inaho
> Camilla who just wants Mosquiton.
> The OVA is full of little references that fans of 30s' and 40s'
> horror fans will quickly get (for example Alucard is one of the alias
> often used by Dracula in films of the period) The OVA inspired a TV
> series called MOSQUITON 99 which is set in 1999 and has Inaho after
> the Opar for monetary gain rather than immortality.
> Previously released on VHS in North America by ADV; the North
> America DVD licence is held by Media Blasters.
> [Entry by Bruce Grubb]
>
> MATANTEI LOKI RAGNAROK (a.k.a. MYTHICAL DETECTIVE LOKI): The
> Enjaku Detective Agency is run by the child-like Loki and his
> mail-order obsessed servant Yamino - together with the mystery fanatic
> Mayura Daidouji they solve any paranormal crime they come across.
> However, Loki is not what he seems - banished by Odin, Lord of the
> Gods, to Earth in a childlike form, he is hunted down by his fellow
> Norse gods, from the maniacal Heimdall to the idiotic Freyr.
> MATANTEI LOKI (or MaLOKI) is an odd blend of random slapstick
> humour and occasionally dark drama, which never quite gels together.
> The episodes (which usually follow a "mystery of the week" format) are
> frequently very repetitive, although often pretty funny, highlights
> including an "Iron Chef" parody and most of Freyr's antics (he rides
> around on a mechanical pig, Gullinbursti, attempting to woo Mayura on
> a regular basis). The show is at its best in its dramatic moments,
> however, particularly the action-packed confrontations between Loki
> and the other gods. Perhaps best described as DETECTIVE CONAN crossed
> with a magical girl show (Loki summons his magical staff or casts a
> spell with stock footage in most episodes).
> MaLOKI is licensed by ADV Films for a Region 1 release - the manga
> is already available from them, but only the second season (the
> RAGNAROK season) - ADV were unable to license the preceding 8 volumes,
> and as such the manga in US release is fairly incoherent.
> R1 official website: <http://www25.advfilms.com/titles/loki/>
> [Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
>
> MEGAZONE 23: MEGAZONE TWO THREE is a three part mecha anime OAV
> series (with some cyberpunk overtones). Part One was one of the first
> anime OAVs ever, and helped spark the OAV trend (in which movies were
> made directly for video release, instead of first hitting TV or
> cinema). Although the MEGAZONE OAVs are numbered Parts One, Two, and
> Three, they were actually entirely separate productions, related but
> released several years apart (like the first "Star Wars" trilogy).
> In Part One (aka just plain MEGAZONE 23), a Tokyo teen named Yahagi
> Shogo (inexplicably changed to "Johnny Winter" in the Carl Macek dub)
> comes into possession of a huge red motorcycle called variously the
> Garland, Garand, or Bahamode depending on what source you listen to,
> and is chased all over town by the military and government agents who
> want to get it back for their own nefarious purposes. In the
> meantime, there is a war going on with a hostile alien force, and the
> city of Tokyo is not all that it appears to be ...
> This OAV was redubbed and edited into part of the spectacularly
> unsuccessful ROBOTECH cinematic movie.
> Part Two picks up where the first part left off, but with character
> designs and animation style so dramatically altered that it is
> difficult to believe they are the same characters. This OAV follows
> the decline and final fall of the Tokyo Megazone as an ancient weapon
> of last resort comes into play.
> Part Three, the most cyberpunk-influenced, picks up decades or
> centuries later, with a new generation of rebellious teenagers and new
> Garland battle bikes piloted by virtual reality. It seems that
> mankind did not learn its lesson from the Megazones' past.
> The third MEGAZONE 23 was not very successful, and no further
> episodes have been made to date.
> Available in North America from ADV.
> R1 official website: <http://www25.advfilms.com/titles/megazone/>
> [Entry by Chris Meadows]
>
> MELLOWLINK: see the entry for VOTOMS
>
> MERMAID FOREST and MERMAID SCAR: Horror stories released in Japan
> as part of the RUMIK WORLD series by Rumiko Takahashi. Most people
> who eat the flesh of a mermaid die. The unlucky ones live forever,
> most becoming horrendously malformed in the process of gaining
> immortality. Two people were lucky enough to gain immortality without
> being changed. Now they wander through Japan, searching for others
> who might eat the flesh of a mermaid ...
> USMC and Viz have released the OAVs, and Viz has collected the
> translated manga into three volumes.
> [Entry by Rob Kelk]
>
> METAL ANGEL MARIE: see MY DEAR MARIE
>
> MEITANTEI CONAN (a.k.a DETECTIVE CONAN or CASE CLOSED): Since
> early 1996, Japanese families in great numbers have been tuning their
> TVs at 7:30 PM on Monday nights to watch a tiny, bespectacled
> detective solve mysteries in a classical detective story manner. No
> matter if you call the show MEITANTEI CONAN, DETECTIVE CONAN, or CASE
> CLOSED; if you like mysteries of all sorts, but in particular enjoy
> mysteries revolving around crimes of greed or passion, Edogawa Conan
> is your "man" of the hour.
> Brilliant seventeen-year-old rich kid Kudou Shinichi ("Jimmy Kudo"
> in the dub) is learning to enjoy his fame as a "great detective" as he
> solves crimes that adult detectives can't solve. But fate takes a
> hand in his life as Shinichi runs into more than he can handle one
> night while he is spying on a mysterious gang. Shinichi is surprised,
> knocked out and given a special poison that causes his body to "de-
> age" to that of a 7 year old boy. With his faculties still intact but
> his body now that of a small child, Shinichi has to try to hide the
> knowledge of his survival from that gang in order to protect his
> family and friends, and takes on the guise of a not-so-ordinary grade
> school kid, Edogawa Conan.
> Without revealing his secret, "Conan" convinces his former
> girlfriend, Mouri Ran ("Rachel Moore" in the dub), to take him in to
> live with her and her father, the not-very-successful private
> detective Mouri Kogorou ("Richard Moore"). Armed with some high-tech
> help from his inventor friend Dr. Agasa, Conan is able to continue his
> passion for detective work by enabling Kogorou to unknowingly get the
> credit and fame for solving tough crimes and mysteries that Conan
> actually solves, all the while hiding the secret of Shinichi/Conan
> from all but a few people.
> Over the years MEITANTEI CONAN has been able to maintain its appeal
> and freshness by having stories that are firmly grounded in the heart
> of the traditional detective mystery genre by developing a strong cast
> of characters who all add balance to the show, and by having an
> ability to alternate smoothly between episodes that are aimed at the
> youngest viewers and episodes that are aimed at the adult viewers who
> are watching along with their children. There has also always been a
> solid, professional sound track and the animation has gradually
> improved with time while maintaining its unique style. In addition to
> the 400-plus TV episodes there have also been eight theatrical movies.
> MEITANTEI CONAN is a must see for all "detective show" fans.
> Licenced by FUNimation in North America. Official MEITANTEI CONAN
> website: <http://www.ytv.co.jp/conan/index_set.html>. Official CASE
> CLOSED website: <http://www.caseclosed.com/>
> [Entry by Dave Baranyi]
>
> MIAMI GUNS: In a city that barely resembles a particular
> metropolis in the USA, police officers Yao Sakurakoji and Lu Amano
> work to keep the peace. Too bad Yao's no good at the job, except for
> the gunfights and car chases, but that's okay - she's rich!
> MIAMI GUNS is very much in the EXCEL SAGA style of comedy, but not
> nearly so manic or profane; it's safe to show this title to people in
> their mid-teens (but not to younger folks). They parody practically
> everything, including but not limited to "2001", "Friday the 13th",
> "Die Hard", INITIAL D, NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, COWBOY BEBOP,
> professional wrestling, beauty pageants, and themselves, so there's
> something for practically everyone to enjoy.
> 13 episodes, released on 4 DVDs in North America by AN
> Entertainment.
> R1 official website: <http://www.an-entertainment.com/miamiguns/>
> [Entry by Rob Kelk]
>
> MIDORI NO HIBI (a.k.a. MIDORI DAYS or MY DAYS WITH MIDORI): A
> fantasy with what is essentially a "dirty joke" as its central point
> turns out to be a sweet and funny story of the search for love.
> Seventeen-year-old "tough guy" Seiji would really rather have a
> girlfriend than another fistfight, but he doesn't know that he has a
> silent admirer - Midori - a rich girl from a different high school.
> But magic brings their two fates together as one morning Seiji wakes
> up to find that his "invincible" right hand has been replaced by a
> miniature living version of Midori from the waist up. Now they have
> to figure out how to "live together" with this very bizarre situation
> without being turned into a freak show. Great pacing and
> characterizations together with very sharp comic timing make MIDORI NO
> HIBI a minor classic in the realm of fantasy romances.
> 13 episodes, available in R1 from Anime Works.
> [Entry by Dave Baranyi]
>
> MIGHTY ATOM: see ASTRO BOY
>
> MOBILE BATTLESHIP NADESICO: see MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO
>
> MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: see GUNDAM
>
> MOLDIVER: He has an overdeveloped Sense Of Right And Wrong, an
> incredible brain, and not much else to recommend him. So he invents a
> superhero suit! Too bad his sister found out and accidentally changed
> the design ... Now they share the identity of "Moldiver" (although
> she gets to use it more often than he does) in battle against their
> arch-enemy - but is the arch-enemy evil, or just misunderstood?
> Starts as a comedy, but becomes more serious near the end. A six-OAV
> series available from Geneon.
> [Entry by Rob Kelk]
>
> MONSTER RANCHER: Another POKEMON-motivated "monster" kids show.
> Energetic young kid Genki is transported to a world populated by
> humans and intelligent monsters, where he joins Holly, a young girl
> with a mysterious pendant, and a small band of monsters on their quest
> to stop Mu by finding the Phoenix, the only monster capable of
> fighting him.
> English dubbed episodes televised, and available on video from ADV.
> [Entry by "Royal Orange"]
>
> MONONOKE-HIME: see PRINCESS MONONOKE
>
> MOSQUITON: see MASTER OF MOSQUITON
>
> MOSQUITON 99: see MASTER OF MOSQUITON
>
> MS TEAM 08: see GUNDAM
>
> MY DEAR MARIE (a.k.a. METAL ANGEL MARIE): Brilliant, nerdy Hiroshi
> creates an android replica of his dream girl, but finds things a
> little trickier than he'd planned when she turns out to have
> self-determination. Some may be turned off by the iffy nature of the
> sexual subtext (Android Marie has a definite 'thing' for her creator,
> despite him insisting on being her 'brother') but others may be
> intrigued by Marie's attempts to deal with her origins and her
> feelings. Three OAVs, released on a single tape from ADV Films. The
> third OAV is especially hilarious for all the references the sharp-
> eyed can spot to other famous anime.
> [Entry by Antaeus Feldspar]
>
> MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (a.k.a. TONARI NO TOTORO): Two girls move out
> to the country with their father (their mother is in the hospital).
> They discover the joys of nature and the power of family thanks to
> some unusual new woodland friends. Was available from FOX Video; now
> licenced by Disney.
> [Entry by Catherine Johnson]
>
> MYSTERIOUS CITIES OF GOLD: It is the sixteenth century. From all
> over Europe great ships sail west to conquer the New World. The
> Americas. The men, eager to seek their fortune, to find new adventure
> in new lands. They long to cross uncharted seas and discover unknown
> countries. To find secret gold on a mountain trail high in the Andes.
> They dream of following the path of the setting sun that leads to El
> Dorado and the Mysterious Cities of Gold. (opening theme)
> So begins the story of 12 year old Esteban, his new friends Zia and
> Tao, and the older sometimes ally/sometimes enemy Mendoza with his
> sidekicks Pedro and Sancho. A story of action, adventure, intrigue,
> mystery, trust, betrayal, discovery, prophecy, mysticism, and strange
> powers. Not to mention a little science fiction.
> Esteban is lured to the Americas where he is shipwrecked. The rest
> of the story is how he is caught up in navigating his way around the
> conquistadors and the various native tribes throughout Central and
> northern South America, searching for his origins and the cities of
> gold. They are caught several times, but manage to escape to
> eventually find the four cities of gold.
> Included all through the adventures are mini-history lessons.
> Nothing overt, but if you have a smidgen of knowledge of the area it
> deepens enjoyment of the story. Our intrepid heroes contact the Inca
> at Machu Picchu, the Aztecs at Tenochtitlan (Mexico City), the Maya at
> Central America, an Amazon tribe, and other lost civilizations all
> while trying to stay one step ahead of the conquistadors.
> A 1980's anime serial aimed for a 'tween audience, although the
> story and subplots make it interesting for an older audience and
> overcomes the dated animation.
> The last time I saw this on the shelves it was in the year 2000 on
> VHS. I have no idea whether or not it's been released on DVD or what
> distributor. My copies are the dubbed version that I recorded from
> Nickelodeon in 1986-87 on BETA.
> [Entry by D.Eric Wilson]
>
> MYSTERIOUS PLAY: see FUSHIGI YUUGI
>
> THE MYSTERIOUS THIEF SAINT TAIL: see SAINT TAIL
>
> MY DAYS WITH MIDORI: see MIDORI NO HIBI
>
> MYTHICAL DETECTIVE LOKI: see MATANTEI LOKI RAGNAROK
>
> N
>
> NADESICO: see MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO
>
> NADIA (a.k.a. SECRET OF BLUE WATER): Set in 1889 and extremely
> loosely based on Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", NADIA
> tells the story of Nadia, a girl who's trying to find out about her
> past, Jean, a boy who wants to build a flying machine, and the Blue
> Water, a mysterious gem of Nadia's with strange powers. Their world
> is home to two shadowy groups in conflict: Neo-Atlantis, who want to
> rule the world, and the crew of the submarine Nautilus, who have sworn
> to oppose Neo-Atlantis. These two plots are not unconnected ...
> ADV has translated this 39-episode TV series and the sequel movie
> (which is not as well received as the original).
> [Entry by Rob Kelk]
>
> NANAKA 6/17: 17 year old Kirisato Nanaka is a somber, serious
> student who is so obsessed with becoming an adult that she's alienated
> all of her classmates, including her childhood friend (and would-be
> romantic interest) Nagihara Nenji. When Nenji gets angry enough to
> tell her he never wants to see her again, she faints and falls down a
> flight of stairs. When she wakes up, she has no memories after age 6,
> and she believes that she, Nenji and her father have been affected by
> magic from her favorite "magical girl" anime, "Magical Domikal".
> Nenji and Nanaka's father agree to keep her amnesia a secret, but her
> romantic rival finds out, and (even though she tries not to be) is
> touched by the sweet-natured, friendly, and innocent "6 year old"
> Nanaka. Nanaka's new attitude and behaviour puzzles her classmates,
> but she wins them over while she tries to fit in as an "adult". But
> what happens when her 17 year old memories start to come back? Can
> she win over her new romantic rival, her 17 year old self?
> [Entry by Captain Nerd]
>
> NARUTO: Naruto is an orphan growing up in a ninja village. When
> he was a baby, the spirit of a demonic nine-tailed fox that had been
> destroying his village was sealed up inside him to defeat it. Twelve
> years later, our story starts with Naruto struggling not to fail in
> his ninja academy class. The head of the village has issued an edict
> to the villagers not to discuss the nine-tailed fox incident, not even
> to their children. In spite of that, both those who know the story
> and those who don't shun Naruto as an outcast. His clownish antics
> and miserable academic performance don't make it any easier on him. In
> spite of all the strikes against him, Naruto perseveres, and the
> outcast becomes the center of attention.
> Alternating between comedy and drama, NARUTO is a coming of age
> story. We follow him and his friends through school and on their
> subsequent adventures and travels. Strong on character development,
> it shows memorable people overcoming adversity. Even if you are not
> predisposed to like ninja stories, NARUTO is likely to win you over.
> If you do like ninja stories, this has everything going for it from
> fights to laughs. Of course, every good ninja story must have
> top-notch villains and NARUTO delivers in spades. Some of the
> villains are defeated, some of the villains are reformed, and some of
> the villains are not really villains but souls gone astray.
> [Entry by Phil Yff]
>
> NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND: A thousand years after the
> fall of technological civilization, the people of the Valley of the
> Wind make their homes in their sheltered valley, near an area where no
> human can live unprotected. When the Valley of the Wind is caught
> between two warring powers, Princess Nausicaa is forced to set aside
> her pacifism and act to save her people from both sides while
> discovering one of the greatest secrets of her world.
> NAUSICAA was based on Hayao Miyazaki's manga of the same name, and
> directed by Miyazaki in the middle of the manga's run. Technically,
> this is not a Studio Ghibli film; the success of NAUSICAA provided the
> money to found Studio Ghibli and the credibility to get Studio Ghibli
> movies into theaters in Japan.
> A poorly-received edited translation, WARRIORS OF THE WIND, was
> released some years ago but is no longer available. (The edits made
> to NAUSICAA to create WARRIORS OF THE WIND are the direct cause of
> Miyazaki's insistence of a "no cuts" clause in North American
> distribution contracts of his movies.) Disney has released a newer
> English translation of NAUSICAA.
> [Entry by Rob Kelk]
>
> NEKO TARUTO: see MAHOU SHOUJO NEKO TARUTO
>
> NEON GENESIS EVANGELION (a.k.a. SHIN SEIKI EVANGELION): Fifteen
> years after the Second Impact that wiped out half of humanity, Ikari
> Shinji is recruited by his father to fight alongside Ayanami Rei and
> Asuka Langley Soryu to save mankind from the invading mechanical
> Angels. This psychological drama amongst a cast of flawed characters
> filled with intrigue, deception, and carnage has two vastly different
> endings.
> North American availability: ADV Films has released the 26-episode
> TV series, and is re-releasing a "Platinum Edition" of the TV series
> with improved video quality on DVD. The two movies "Death and
> Rebirth" and "End of Evangelion" (an alternate ending to the series)
> were released by Manga Video.
> Official website:
> <http://www.gainax.co.jp/anime/eva/evaindex-e.html>
> R1 official website: <http://www25.advfilms.com/titles/evangelion/>
> [Entry by Rob Maxwell]
>
> NERIMA DAIKON BROTHERS: see OROSHITE MUSICAL NERIMA DAIKON
> BROTHERS
>
> NEW CUTEY HONEY: This is an eight part OAV that is based on the
> 1970 TV series CUTEY HONEY (sometime romanized as Q-TEY HONEY). In
> the TV series, Cutey Honey is a high school girl, the only daughter of
> an elderly single-parent scientist. When her father is murdered, she
> finds out that she is not human but an android that he created. She
> has the ability to transform herself into different superheroes, each
> with her own special abilities and equipment. She avenges her
> father/creator's death and defeats an extensive crime syndicate.
> The OAV takes place many years after Cutey Honey has graduated from
> High School. Being an android, she has not aged. Because she had
> lost her memory, she had not been active as a superhero. When the
> powers of evil resurface, she recollects who she once was and, as
> before, battles a monolithic crime syndicate that employs the dark
> arts to subjugate the city. Some of the characters from the TV series
> resurface. Unlike Cutey Honey, they have aged considerably.
> To a western audience, the OAV is very risqué. There is brief
> nudity and suggestive sexual innuendoes. To a Japanese audience, this
> aspect is much less pronounced. The OAV was marketed in such a way as
> to capitalize on viewer nostalgia; in many ways, it was just a
> grown-up form of a show that men and women had watched as children.
> The TV show (which catered to all ages) had some brief nudity itself,
> although it was much more subdued in comparison to the OAV. The OAV
> mixes light-hearted action with cutting satire. It makes extensive
> in-jokes, assuming that the viewer is familiar with the TV series and
> with a wide range of anime and manga (especially the magical girl,
> superhero, and mecha genres). However, if the non-Japanese viewer is
> able to accept the cultural differences, CUTEY HONEY has a certain
> charm and can be appreciated for its entertainment value if not for
> its satire and wit.
> [Entry by Phil Yff]
>
> NIEA_7: Meet Mayuko, a poor, introverted, hard-working student who
> lives in a rented room above an old-style Japanese community bath.
> Her roommate is an "under 7" category alien called Niea who freeloads
> off of Mayuko while doing nothing really. In this alternate version
> of our world, an alien spacecraft crash-landed near Tokyo almost a
> decade ago and brought humanity's first contact with aliens, but the
> series isn't even really about that.
> The series is kind of odd, because there is no major arc or plot
> through the series. It's just a look into a year in the life of
> Mayuko and Niea and a particular period of change for both of them.
> Even the supposed back story of the alien crash is barely mentioned;
> aliens are part of modern-day Japan and people just accept it. The
> main thrust of the series is observing the people of this small ward
> somewhere in Tokyo's sprawling suburbs.
> There are two surprising things about this show. The first is the
> way it examines changes in Japanese culture over the last 50 years
> almost allegorically, and the subtle way it develops of the
> characters. The aliens' arrival on Earth and their integration into
> Japanese society seems to reflect Japan's experience with a flood of
> foreign people and culture after WWII. A lot of the issues in the
> series are familiar to foreigners living in Japan: alien registration,
> culture clashes, aliens trying to out-assimilate the locals,
> multi-culturalism, trying to increase the status of aliens in society,
> etc. It's also just looking into the lives of some very normal
> characters. Mayuko is introverted and painfully shy, but so is her
> childhood friend who would like to confess his feelings for her, but
> can just never say them. Even Kaana, an alien, finds herself
> attracted to the same boy. But this entire subplot is done without
> dialog. It's just watching people's reactions to each other and
> situations, something you very rarely see in anime.
> With NIEA_7, don't expect a lot of action. It's very
> "Seinfeld"-like in being a show about "nothing". There is no grand
> arc or exciting payoff. It's just the passing of life and enjoying
> the journey.
> [Entry by Travers Naran]
>
> NINJA SCROLL (original title JUBEI NIMPUUCHO): The original title
> translates as "Story of wind-ninja Jubei". This epic tells a
> semi-historical story about Kibagami Jubei, well known in Japan as a
> master swordsman and special agent. Once he was missing for a dozen
> years, and it was believed that he was on special duty. There were
> many versions, and here is one of them: Jubei was fighting with Eight
> Demons of Kimon, evil fighters/sorcerers under command of Hideyoshi
> Toyotomi, who was believed to be a demon in Japan.
> The movie is licenced by Manga Entertainment in North America and
> the UK, and by Madman in Australia. The TV series is licenced by
> Urban Vision in North America, and by MVM in the UK.
> [Entry by Andrew V. Tupkalo and Terrence Walker]
>
> NO NEED FOR TENCHI: see TENCHI MUYO
>
> NOEIN: At the start of the summer holidays in present-day
> Hakodate, Japan, Haruka Kaminogi seems to be an ordinary 12 year old
> girl, with ordinary problems like her best friend Yuu Gotou being
> forced into studying to go to Tokyo by his mother. However, all this
> changes when a mysterious group of super-powered beings called
> Dragoons appear in Hakodate, claiming to be from a parallel universe
> 15 years into the future called Lacrima; and while one of them,
> Karasu, claims to be Yuu in Lacrima, Haruka herself manifests the
> "Dragon's Torque", a mysterious neck bracelet that can control space
> and time.
> Confused? That's not the half of it. NOEIN's plot twists and
> turns all over the place, incorporating simple stories of first love
> with complex quantum psychobabble and parallel universe theories.
> While the slightly bug-eyed character designs (from the same man who
> did LAIN and ARJUNA) and the rough, experimental animation choices are
> an acquired taste, the incredibly kinetic action sequences (thanks to
> Kazuki Akane, director of ESCAFLOWNE) and the amount of imagination
> that goes into the show more than make up for any possible flaws.
> While the series has finished airing, only the first 20 episodes
> are currently available on fansub; the DVD release in Japan is
> ongoing.
> [Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
>
> NOIR: Noir is a 26 episode TV series about two female assassins,
> and their search to uncover the conspiracy that threatens their lives.
> Mireille is a beautiful French professional assassin who is haunted by
> a childhood tragedy. Kirika is a Japanese schoolgirl with deadly
> skills and no memory of her past. The series takes place in
> France/Europe, and features a stunning soundtrack, stylish gunplay, a
> twisting plot, and lots of bodies at the end of each episode. Despite
> this, the series isn't graphically violent - the fight scenes usually
> don't even have blood in them!
> The series has received raves for being daring and different, as
> the two main characters willingly kill lots of people (this isn't
> SAILOR MOON, folks) with minimal angst. The main complaints are that
> the pacing is too slow and the show suffers from "main characters gun
> down bad guys too easily" syndrome. The pacing and tension do pick up
> as the series progresses, with a solid ending that asks whether
> killing can ever be justified in the name of good. Some people dislike
> the main characters, due to their seeming coldness, but NOIR has good
> character development so that you care about these people to a
> surprising extent in the end.
> Warning: If you're looking for fan service, the show is
> surprisingly free of it, considering what a babe Mireille is. C'est
> dommage.
> Licenced by ADV.
> R1 official website: <http://www.projectnoir.com/>
> [Entry by Scott Fujimoto]
>
> NOW AND THEN, HERE AND THERE: Shu is an ordinary, cheerful
> Japanese boy until one day when he meets a mysterious, ethereal girl
> named Lala Ru and is accidentally brought to a hellish future. There
> he must struggle to survive and keep his ideals through slavery, war,
> and the tyranny of an insane would-be conqueror. A deep and powerful
> but extremely depressing show, which goes into some detail about the
> inhuman brutality created by war.
> DEFINITELY NOT FOR CHILDREN, as there are onscreen depictions of
> torture, some fairly graphic deaths, off-screen rape, and other
> nastiness.
> 13 episodes, available now from Central Park Media.
> [Entry by Blade]
>
> NUKU-NUKU: see ALL PURPOSE CULTURAL CAT-GIRL NUKU-NUKU
>
> (continued in part 5)
>
> - --
> Rob Kelk <http://robkelk.ottawa-anime.org/> e-mail: s/deadspam/gmail/
> "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
>
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>
Here a info from the newsgroup rec.arts.anime.misc thanks for reading,
arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob Kelk" <robkelk@...>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime.fandom,rec.arts.anime.misc
Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2006 6:54 PM
Subject: [INFO] The Anime Primer, or "What Anime Should I Watch Now?" (6/6)
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> (continued from part 5)
>
> SILENT MOBIUS: THE MOTION PICTURE and SILENT MOBIUS: THE MOTION
> PICTURE 2: Based on the popular manga series by Kia Asamiya, SILENT
> MOBIUS is set in the near future, when creatures from the dark
> universe of Nemesis threaten the Earth. Founded to fight this battle,
> the Attacked Mystification Police, a special (and all female) police
> department is always looking for a few good women who meet their
> unique requirements: each member brings her own special power
> (physical, cyber, religious, psychic, mystical) to the fight. These
> movies are really parts 1 and 2 of the same story - how AMP heroine
> Katsumi Liqueur came to join the force (and she's really not this
> whiny in the manga or TV series!).
> [Entry by Jeanne Hedge]
> [Was available dubbed from Streamline Pictures when Streamline was
> still in business. - Rob Kelk]
>
> SILENT MOBIUS TV: In the near future, creatures from the dark
> universe of Nemesis threaten the Earth. The battle has been going on
> for generations, and now things are coming to a head. Spanning the
> course of several years, SILENT MOBIUS is a 26-episode TV series that
> follows the adventures of the Attacked Mystification Police, a special
> (and all female) police department founded to carry on where their
> elders left off. Each member of the force brings her own special
> power (physical, cyber, religious, psychic, mystical) to the fight
> against darkness - both from without and within. Part action-drama,
> part comedy, this is <em>not</em> a re-telling of the movies, and it's
> alternate-universe to both the movies and the manga series by Kia
> Asamiya that both TV and movies were based on (in overall tone, it's
> close to the manga than the movies). Available from Bandai/Anime
> Village.
> [Entry by Jeanne Hedge]
>
> SLAYERS: Lina Inverse, a self-proclaimed "sorcery genius" (others
> call her less-flattering things, like "enemy of all that live"),
> explores her corner of the world, rights wrongs, and gets rich (in
> ascending order of importance to Lina) while travelling and working
> with (and sometimes fighting against) an ever-changing group of
> companions. Lina's adventures have her going up against everything
> from a handful of bandits to the demon lords Shabranigdo and Gaav.
> It's sometimes been said by tabletop roleplaying gamers that while
> RECORD OF LODOSS WAR shows a stereotypical Dungeons and Dragons
> adventure, SLAYERS shows a stereotypical Dungeons and Dragons
> adventuring party. There's quite a bit of humour in the series, and
> any number of anachronisms (like Lina's bikini) and parody characters
> (like Amelia Wil Tesla Sailoon, the SAILOR MOON wannabe) show up in
> the course of three television series, two OAV series, and five
> movies.
> The three television series (SLAYERS, SLAYERS NEXT, and SLAYERS
> TRY) are available in North America from Software Sculptors, while the
> OAVs and movies are available in North America from ADV Films.
> SLAYERS reference site: <http://www.inverse.org/>
> [Entry by Rob Kelk]
>
> SOL BIANCA: Sol Bianca centers around the five woman crew of a
> pirate ship of the same name. There are two OVAs, and there should
> have been a third. The second OVA sets up the stage for a third quite
> nicely, but apparently the series didn't have enough popularity to
> merit the third OVA. Which is a shame, because it is a very nice
> series. It takes place in the far flung future, where Earth is a
> legend, and space travel is commonplace.
> In the first episode a fairly standard bit of piracy on the part of
> the crew of the Sol Bianca results in them accidentally capturing a
> boy who was stowing away on the ship they'd plundered. Events cause
> them to take on an entire planetary empire, and show that in addition
> to looking very nice the Sol Bianca has a range of rather astonishing
> powers (including the mandatory BFG).
> The second episode explains more about the ship, and why it has
> such extraordinary powers. Unfortunately the explanations are mostly
> in the form of rather obscure hints, and this sets up quite nicely for
> the third episode, which doesn't exist.
> Excellent mecha design, an intriguing cast, and well done animation
> and pacing.
> The first OVA is available from ADV on VHS in both sub and dubbed
> format. The second OVA is available from ADV on VHS in subtitled
> format only. The OVAs are not available on DVD.
> [Entry by Brad Jackson]
>
> SOL BIANCA: THE LEGACY: This series shares the ship design, most
> of the character designs, and many of the character personalities with
> the first two OVAs, but it is neither a sequel nor a prequel. In the
> same tradition as the various incarnations of the TENCHI MUYO
> universe, we see a different, and in many ways better, version of SOL
> BIANCA.
> The ship design is mostly the same, and those few changes that
> exist are all improvements. The character designs are improved, and
> the characters have deeper and more complex personalities than they do
> in their first incarnations. Jun is still the data hack, but Feb is
> no longer the captain; that job has passed to April. May's character
> is the most changed, instead of being a short mecha freak, she is now
> a child.
> The computer-generated scenes are okay, but not really worth raving
> about. Generally though the animation is much better than it was in
> the first OVAs, and the first OVAs had very good animation. The
> storyline is engaging, and the characters make you care about them.
> The quality of the dub, like many of Geneon's other late-1990's
> releases, is surprisingly good. Not Disney quality, but it's actually
> enjoyable even to subtitle fans.
> There are six episodes to the new SOL BIANCA OVAs.
> SOL BIANCA: THE LEGACY is available from Geneon.
> [Entry by Brad Jackson]
>
> SOMEDAY'S DREAMERS: A very understated, sweet and heartwarming
> alternate world fantasy about a 17 year old girl named Yume who leaves
> her quiet Country life to go to the Big City (Tokyo) to learn to
> become a professional mage. This is a world that is much like our
> own, only in which magic is real and can be performed by a few special
> people. Yume is one of those special people and SOMEDAY'S DREAMERS
> tells of Yume's discovery of the true meaning of her powers. The
> detailed backgrounds of Tokyo in the summer add to the overall sense
> of "reality" to the story and the characters and their stories charm
> the audience from beginning to end.
> [Entry by Dave Baranyi]
>
> SORCERER HUNTERS: Carrot Glaice, Tira Misu and Chocolate Misu are
> the Sorcerer Hunters, a group commissioned by the goddess "Big Mama"
> to hunt down renegade sorcerers. These three particular people are
> chosen for their mix of talents. Carrot, in particular, is highly
> qualified for reasons I can't tell you without spoiling a major plot
> point. However, he's also an amazing letch, so his two companions
> have to keep him in line, by tying him up in their sexy outfits, if
> need be! This is a TV series, and so the artwork and animation could
> be better, though they're not terrible - just not great. Mostly this
> is just fun, stupid fluff. Has sexual overtones and occasional
> violence. Dub and sub. 25 episodes. From ADV Films.
> [Entry by Ben Cantrick]
>
> SPEED GRAPHER: A near-future sci-fi anime from Gonzo, SPEED
> GRAPHER is at times lurid, perverted, nihilistic, gory and vulgar, but
> that's all part of its deliberate "charm". What we have here is a
> "chase, capture, escape" action thriller that has been given the sort
> of glossy superficial trashiness that we haven't seen much of since
> sci-fi magazines of the 70's, while at the same time the story is, at
> its heart, an odd mix of romance, lust and longing.
> Tatsumi Saiga, a famous but now burned-out war photographer who has
> recently recovered from near fatal wounds from his last assignment,
> stumbles upon a true "den of iniquities" in Tokyo where the rich and
> powerful in Japan get to taste the most forbidden of pleasures, and if
> they are chosen, get to have their innermost dreams made real by a
> kiss from a "goddess". Saiga unintentionally gets kissed by the young
> "goddess", who tearfully asks Saiga to save her. That kiss changes
> Saiga into a "Euphoria", a monstrous being whose innermost wish has
> now turned into a terrible reality. In Saiga's case, his "wish come
> true" means that now when he "shoots a photo", his camera truly
> "shoots" the target with varying amounts of destructive power.
> Saiga is not the only person to have been transformed into the
> "Euphoria" state. There are many others out there who now have
> unimaginable powers of cruelty and destruction and they are sent after
> Saiga after he becomes obsessed with answering the plea for help from
> Kagura, the young "goddess", who is the powerless pawn of her
> fabulously wealthy and powerful mother Shinsen and her mother's
> right-hand-man and lover Suitenguu. Add to this set-up a slew of
> baroquely conceived characters, animation that occasionally approaches
> a dreamlike quality, and a jazzy sound track and you have a dark and
> sometimes subtly humorous bit of fast-action brain candy that doesn't
> take itself too seriously and is consistently entertaining.
> Never-the-less, SPEED GRAPHER is not for all tastes and this is a case
> where "viewer discretion" is definitely advised.
> [Entry by Dave Baranyi]
>
> SPEED RACER (a.k.a. MACH GO GO GO): Based on the 1966 manga
> MACH GO GO GO, this 52 episode 1967 series by Tatsunako studios shows
> the career of Speed Racer (Go Mifune) from beginner racer to world
> champion. The dub version is noted for its mixture of interesting
> storylines and unintentionally campy dialog and numerous bad puns in
> regards to character names.
> It was considered popular enough that in the 1990s two revival
> attempts were tried: one in America under the title NEW SPEED RACER
> (1993) [13 episodes] and the other in Japan by Tatsunako studios under
> the title MACH GO GO GO (1996) (aka Y2K SPEED RACER) [52 episodes were
> planned, only 34 made]. Neither revival worked partly IMHO due to the
> stories not measuring up to the original.
> In North America, Geneon put out a DVD called SPEED RACER MOVIE
> which contained "Car Hater", the two part "Mammoth Car" and a
> commentary; Speed Racer Enterprises released limited edition (1000
> copies) VHS and DVD sets. FHE is putting out a limited edition DVD
> set at the rate of one volume a year with 11 or 12 episodes per
> volume; at this rate, the set should be complete in 2006. In
> Australia, Siren releases SPEED RACER.
> SPEED RACER FAQ: <http://udel.edu/~mm/anime/speed/>
> [Entry by Bruce Grubb]
>
> SPELL WARS: see SORCERER HUNTERS
>
> SPIRITED AWAY (a.k.a. SEN TO CHIHIRO NO KAMIKAKUSHI): Once upon a
> time, a girl named Chihiro and her parents were driving to the
> father's new job in a new city when they stopped to explore a strange
> tunnel. This tunnel lead to the spirit world, where Chihiro's parents
> were turned into pigs and Chihiro had to work at a bathhouse while she
> looked for a way to turn her parents back into people. Chihiro met a
> lot of strange people while she worked at the bathhouse, and learned a
> lot about herself at the same time ...
> This may be the closest that Hayao Miyazaki has come to telling a
> European-style "fairy tale", although there are more than enough
> Japanese elements in the story to make it strange to western eyes.
> Other than the parents' transformation sequence, there is nothing in
> this story that a young child would find frightening, although there
> are a few things that may start them asking questions that some
> parents aren't ready to answer. As always, please preview this movie
> before letting your children watch it.
> Available from Disney.
> [Entry by Rob Kelk]
>
> STARDUST MEMORIES: see GUNDAM
>
> STEEL ANGEL KURUMI: On a dare, a boy priest named Nakahito enters
> a "haunted" house, surrounded by the military, in 1920's Japan. He
> knocks over what looks like a female mannequin, which falls on him and
> "kisses" him by accident. This kiss awakens the second generation
> prototype battle droid Steel Angel Kurumi (a bold, pink-haired,
> upfront "girl"), who bonds with her new master, Nakahito. The madly-
> in-love Kurumi refuses to obey orders from her creator or the
> military, and easily defeats their attempt to capture her.
> Faced with this, they decide to forcibly activate the second
> prototype, Saki, and send her to retrieve Kurumi. After a fierce
> battle between the two prototypes, Saki's energy runs out and she goes
> dormant. After a little thought, Nakahito and Kurumi realize that
> Kurumi was activated by the kiss and its decided to active Saki the
> same way, but a suddenly jealous Kurumi pushes Nakahito aside and
> kisses Saki herself. Saki (an average sized brown-haired "girl")
> bonds to her new master Kurumi, but her lesbian love is frustrated by
> Kurumi's love of Nakahito. She decides to make Kurumi happy by
> obeying Nakahito, and the two never realize who Saki's real master is.
> After a few first generation Steel Angels fail to capture Kurumi
> and Saki, Karinka, a new experimental model with a double "heart", is
> sent to capture them. Karinka (a petite blonde flat-chested
> loli-droid) battles both prototypes, eventually joins them, and even
> steals a kiss from Nakahito. Frustrated by their failures, the secret
> organization who is behind the battle droids activates their ultimate
> Steel Angel for a final battle.
> Currently available in North America as a seven-DVD set from ADV,
> "Steel Angel Kurumi Complete Collection", that includes the original
> series, a four-episode OVA series, and an inferior second series.
> Parental Advisory: Brief partial nudity (fully exposed breasts).
> R1 official website:
> <http://www25.advfilms.com/favorites/kurumi/index.html>
> [Entry by Rob Maxwell]
>
> STRANGE DAWN: Strange Dawn is an intriguingly naturalistic take of
> what happens when you drop two ordinary 16 year old girls into a
> parallel world populated by constantly warring tribes of knee-high
> people who hail them as superheroes: Where are the toilets? Oh no, we
> don't have any clean clothes! Do we really want to be saviours, or
> should we just keep our heads down and look for a way home? The
> attention to everyday concerns may sound comical but actually it makes
> the whole thing believable, and heightens the impact of the violence
> which punctuates the tale as rival factions fight over the girls. The
> story is complex and mysterious: every character has their own agenda,
> and neither we nor the girls really know what's going on, and in their
> case they are not sure they even want to know.
> The series is 13 episodes long, and a nicely blended mix of cel and
> CGI. The DVD version is both sub & dub. The dub has a mixed
> Anglo-Australian-European sound to it which non-American viewers find
> refreshing, but many American viewers can't bear. The voice acting is
> good and in keeping with the tone of the original; however the
> translation itself is a salutary reminder of the ambiguities of the
> Japanese language: where it's possible to translate a sentence in two
> different ways, the dub infallibly picks the wrong one. This just
> adds to the overall air of mystery though, so the dub is undoubtedly
> destined to be a cult classic, especially when you throw in the
> complete absence of lip sync.
> Partially released in North America by Urban Vision.
> [Entry by Shez]
>
> SUGAR, A TINY SNOW FAIRY: see TINY SNOW FAIRY SUGAR
>
> SUGAR SUGAR RUNE: Classic-style magic girl shoujo anime returns in
> a big way with the 51-episode Studio Pierrot/TV Tokyo adaptation of
> Moyoco Anno's SUGAR SUGAR RUNE. This bright, lively and entertaining
> series combines everything that you want in mahou shoujo anime; magic,
> mystery, cute outfits, comic sidekicks, pretty girls and plenty of
> bishiis, along with comedy, romance and drama. The animation ranges
> from good to occasionally surprisingly excellent, the voice acting is
> spot-on, the direction is crisp and the story builds towards and
> delivers a self-consistent and satisfying conclusion.
> Witch People from the Magical Realm in a parallel world regularly
> come to Earth to "capture hearts" from unaware humans. These
> crystalline "hearts" are the embodiments of the emotions of a human.
> Crystal hearts that contain the various ranges of love are most
> valued, but even hearts containing negative emotions have power. Two
> young witches, Chocola and Vanilla, are sent to Earth on a special
> mission; they must compete against each other for crystal hearts, and
> the eventual winner will become the future Queen of the Magical Realm.
> Chocola and Vanilla are enrolled in a private middle school on Earth
> and are under the care of an adult and powerful Mage, Robin, who
> covers his actions on Earth under the guise of being a rock star.
> Chocola and Vanilla have been friends since early childhood,
> although their backgrounds are different. Chocola is an orphan who
> was raised by her eccentric grandfather. Vanilla is the daughter of
> the current Queen of the Magical Realm. Chocola is brash, outgoing
> and a bit tomboyish, characteristics that make her very popular in the
> Magical Realm. Vanilla is shy, unsure of herself and quiet. Once on
> Earth, Vanilla's character makes her an immediate hit with all the
> boys around her, allowing her to easily acquire crystal hearts. But
> Chocola's personality has the opposite effect, reducing her ability to
> compete with the cute and very feminine Vanilla.
> But many things are going on in the background, unbeknownst to the
> two young Queen Candidates. The Magical Realm is threatened by a
> force from the past that is bent upon revenge, and even the two girls
> on Earth can't escape from the threat from the Dark Realm. In
> particular, Chocola is drawn towards the mysterious and enigmatic
> older boy Pierre, who is not only immune to Chocola's magic charms,
> but appears to have some dark secrets of his own.
> All-in-all, SUGAR SUGAR RUNE delivers a very enjoyable story with
> memorable characters that is suitable for mahou shoujo fans of all
> ages.
> [Entry by Dave Baranyi]
>
> SUKEBAN DEKA: A very nice production of two OVAs where a deliquent
> girl is persuaded by the threat of Death Penalty for her murderous
> mother to pose as a student at her old high school and figure out who
> is responsible for the deaths of two bus loads of students.
> Strong character in the heroine, Saki the YoYo, with her
> police-supplied Super Yoyo. I wonder why it never went on to a series
> but most likely the police weren't happy as one is depicted as
> corrupt.
> It is lurid with loads of violence. I saw the KOR production
> inspired by this which is why I decided to watch it.
> 100 minutes Hybrid DVD; ADV Films.
> [Entry by bobbie sellers]
>
> SUPER GALS!: To slightly misquote the old Cyndi Lauper song, "Gals
> just wanna have fun!" Ran Kotobuki is a typical slacker student -
> barely passing at school and not caring about it - who lives for the
> after-school experience of shopping and dating. But Ran has a mean
> left hook and a strong moral streak (her parents and brother are all
> police officers), which leads her to stand up to injustice when it
> isn't inconvenient or when it really offends her sensibilities. Ran
> spends most of the series hanging out in Shibuya with her best friend
> Miyu (who is in love with Ran's brother), their formerly-studious
> classmate Aya, and some others who it would spoil the plotline to name
> here ...
> This is a good corrective to all the anime that are filled with
> model students (such as AZUMANGA DAIOH and CARD CAPTOR SAKURA); it
> shows that there are Japanese students who just get by in class and
> get into trouble with their teachers, too. While the tone of SUPER
> GALS! is sometimes serious, it's primarily about having fun, living
> life to the fullest even when you've already spent all of your
> allowance, and being true to your friends and your favourite place to
> hang out.
> The first 26 episodes of SUPER GALS! have been released in North
> America by ADV.
> [Entry by Rob Kelk]
>
> SUPERGIRL MARIS: see MARIS THE CHOJO
>
> T
>
> TAIHO SHICHAUZO!: see YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!
>
> TANK POLICE: see DOMINION
>
> TARUTO: see MAHOU SHOUJO NEKO TARUTO
>
> TENCHI MUYO: A story about a teenage boy, the pretty alien girl
> who loves him, the other pretty alien girl who loves him, the *other*
> other pretty alien girl who loves him, and a few other pretty alien
> girls (some of whom love him, too). And they all just happen to be
> some of the most powerful people in the universe. The plotline varies
> between sit-com and space opera, occasionally in the same episode.
> The plot of the first OAV series was heavily re-written to become the
> basis of TENCHI MUYO TV. The first two OAV series are available in
> North America from Geneon under the name "Tenchi Collection" - in
> fact, this was Geneon's flagship title - and an edited version of
> these has been aired on U.S. cable TV. The North American rights to
> the third OAV series are held by Funimation. The manga (with the
> translated title "No Need for Tenchi") is available from Viz.
> [Entry by Rob Kelk]
>
> TENCHI MUYO: MIHOSHI SPECIAL: A side story to the TENCHI MUYO OAV
> series, this is Galaxy Police officer Mihoshi's recounting of her
> biggest case ever. The names in the story have been changed to
> protect the innocent, of course, but Mihoshi changes them to the names
> of her friends! Somehow, the relationships just don't change ... This
> comedy marks the first alternate TENCHI MUYO continuity, the first
> appearance of Kiyone, and one of the earliest appearances of Magical
> Girl Pretty Sammy. Available on VHS as part of the TENCHI COLLECTION,
> or on DVD as part of the MAGICAL GIRL PRETTY SAMMY collection, from
> Geneon.
> [Entry by Rob Kelk]
>
> TENCHI MUYO TV: Tenchi Masaki is an ordinary schoolboy until
> gorgeous alien women (with their little sisters and meowing spaceships
> in tow) start to crash-land in his backyard. A little bit of URUSEI
> YATSURA and a little bit of RANMA 1/2, with some Star Wars homages
> thrown in for good measure. The TV series is generally considered a
> parallel universe to the version of the story told in the OAV series.
> Highly recommended for fans of romantic comedies and sci-fi adventure.
> Available from Geneon under the title TENCHI UNIVERSE.
> [Entry by Dave Menard]
>
> TENCHI IN TOKYO (a.k.a. SHIN TENCHI MUYO): This latest installment
> of Tenchi fun is yet another parallel universe from the OAV and first
> TV series. In this story, Tenchi goes off to school in Tokyo leaving
> the girls behind in Okayama. This doesn't sit well with the passel of
> alien women, especially since Tenchi's getting awfully close to that
> new girl, Sakuya ...
> Available from Geneon.
> [Entry by Dave Menard]
>
> TENCHI MUYO movies
> TENCHI MUYO IN LOVE!: Tenchi and the girls must race back in time
> to keep an intergalactic criminal from altering the past. The first
> TENCHI movie, based off the TV series continuity. Spectacular
> animation combined with a good story make this film in many ways the
> best TENCHI feature.
> TENCHI MUYO: DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS (a.k.a. MANATSU NO EVE): Known
> as MIDSUMMER'S EVE in the UK and Europe. Tenchi's daughter appears,
> but who's the mother? And what does all this have to do with Yosho's
> childhood on planet Jurai? Not as well received by fans as the first
> TENCHI movie, DoD is nevertheless high-quality animation, though the
> story may seem to be a little rushed. This may be due to the
> long-circulated rumour that the plotline was originally written for a
> third OAV series.
> TENCHI MUYO IN LOVE 2 - TENCHI FOREVER: According to Pioneer/AIC,
> the *final* TENCHI MUYO TV feature. FOREVER does a fair job of
> resolving some of the longstanding conflicts between the two primary
> rivals for Tenchi's heart, and the bittersweet ending suggests that
> Tenchi has finally made a choice. A languid pace makes this feature
> tricky viewing, especially compared to the more frenetic pace of the
> earlier films. Worth watching only if you are willing to invest the
> attention needed to appreciate this final chapter.
> [Entries by Dave Menard]
> [Dave's comment about the first movie being the best is his
> opinion - some people, including the list maintainer, like the second
> movie better. All three movies are available from Geneon. - Rob
> Kelk]
>
> TENCHI UNIVERSE: see TENCHI MUYO TV
>
> TENKU NO SHIRO LAPUTA: see LAPUTA, CASTLE IN THE SKY
>
> TENSHI NI NARUMON (a.k.a. I'M GONNA BE AN ANGEL): An odd romantic
> fantasy with an edge, concerning a teenaged boy named Yusuke whose
> life is turned upside down by the appearance of a very strange girl
> called Noelle and her even stranger family who come out of nowhere to
> change Yusuke's home into a fantasy toy house and Yusuke's life into
> chaos. Noelle seems to be out-of-this-world in many ways, not the
> least being her desire to "become an angel". But at the same time
> different otherworldly things are going on in the background which
> threaten Noelle, Yusuke and the others around them. The series takes
> a big "left turn" at the halfway point and becomes stranger and much
> darker. All-in-all TENSHI NI NARUMON is a very different, compelling
> and ultimately satisfying fantasy.
> Licenced in North America by Synch-Point.
> [Entry by Dave Baranyi]
>
> TETSUWAN ATOMU: see ASTRO BOY
>
> THOSE OBNOXIOUS ALIENS: see URUSEI YATSURA
>
> TIME STRANGER: An involving variation on The Terminator, with
> slight nods of the head towards Time Bandits. The animation is very
> good and the story, complex. Feudal Japan is depicted nicely and in
> detail, as is the far future. Great plot complications throughout.
>
> TINY SNOW FAIRY SUGAR: The weather is something that happens, not
> something that's created, right? But Did you know that fairies can
> create the very weather itself?
> In the picturesque town of Muhlenburg lives an 11 year old girl
> named Saga. An organized, efficient, "make a decision and go!" kind
> of girl, Saga is very embodiment of industrious, whose only character
> flaw is an impatient temper. She's not the type to be superstitious.
> But Saga can see fairies. As a child, Saga looked to a sky while
> lying in a snow bank, and saw a beautiful fairy flying away on a trail
> of falling snow.
> Still, childhood memories are easily dismissed as figments of the
> imagination, so it's no surprise when Saga dismisses the fairy she
> finds while running her errands, as a mere illusion. After all,
> fairies are lovely, beautiful creatures, not hyperactive, selfish,
> lazy, waffle-eating, 3-inch-tall toddlers.
> But this one is! Her name is Sugar, and she's come to the human
> world to find her "twinkle" and become a great Snow Fairy, just like
> her mother.
> With an appropriately whismical soundtrack and characters designed
> by the Queen of Cute, Koge Donbo, TINY SNOW FAIRY SUGAR is best
> described as an heartwarming animated fairytale.
> Licenced by Geneon in North America.
> [Entry by Abraham Evangelista]
>
> TO HEART: A 13 episode slice of life drama about a group of
> 17-year-old high-school students. The nail-biting climax of episode
> one concerns whether or not Akari, a total sweetie with cherry-red
> hair, will get to sit next to the boy she likes, and the rest of the
> series pretty much follows on at the same tempo. Akari's squeeze is
> the sleepy-headed but kind-hearted Hiroyuki, whose ever-helpful nature
> causes him to acquire new female friends in each episode. The genius
> of this charming series is how its focus on the events of everyday
> life manages to elevate them to a level of importance that supplants
> any need for magical superheroes or quests to save the world. Having
> said that, many of the girls that Hiroyuki befriends have intriguing
> quirks: e.g. Serika practices black magic, Kotone is a psychic who
> only makes unlucky predictions, and Multi is an incompetent android
> sent to the school for field trials.
> Rather remarkably for a TV series that is bordering on shoujo, TO
> HEART actually started life as a Hentai dating sim. As well as the 13
> episodes, there are 6 little "omake" (extras) which were originally
> broadcast with some of the episodes. They use super-deformed versions
> of the characters and are mostly even more low key than the main
> episodes.
> Licenced by Right Stuf.
> [Entry by Shez]
>
> TONARI NO TOTORO: see MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO
>
> TRIGUN: A sci-fi western comedy (mostly) focusing around the
> world's most unlikely criminal, Vash the Stampede. The man is
> apparently so dangerous that he's worth 60,000,000,000$$ ("double
> dollars"), but whenever anyone catches up to him in hopes of snagging
> the reward, they're always thwarted: sometimes by his skill with a
> gun, but mostly by his inherent goofiness. However, Vash does have a
> dark past, so mysterious that even he himself doesn't know what it is!
> All in all, a fairly lighthearted show with some serious themes, but a
> hilarious watch. (Geneon)
> [Entry by KireiSarah]
>
> TSUKIKAGE RAN (a.k.a. KAZEMAKASE TSUKIKAGE RAN, or CARRIED BY THE
> WIND): Ran, a female samurai, is a self-described "beautiful female
> drifter" wandering through feudal Japan, carried only by the
> ever-changing wind and her eternal thirst for sake. Generally
> accompanying her is Miao (Meow), a wandering martial artist from China
> characterised mostly by happy-go-luckiness, a good heart, and an
> utter, frightening lack of anything resembling forethought or
> intelligence. Together the two, rather more frequently than Ran would
> like, get embroiled in resolving problems of local corruption or
> crime. An episodic light-hearted parody of Japanese "wandering
> samurai and his sidekick" shows, high points being likable characters
> and spectacular fight scenes. 13 episodes, available now from Bandai.
> [Entry by Blade]
>
> TSUKUYOMI MOON PHASE: Kohei is a young man from a family of
> powerful spiritualists who happens to not have any of the powers of
> his relatives, other than an ability to take photographs of
> supernatural occurrences and a tendency to not be affected by many
> aspects of magic. Kohei's life begins to change when while on an
> assignment to photograph an old haunted castle in Germany he meets a
> pretty young girl named Hazuki who happens to be a vampire who has
> been trapped in the castle. Kohei helps Hazuki to break free, and
> becomes involved in Hazuki's search for her mother who disappeared
> years before. But powerful forces in the shadowy world of vampires
> want Hazuki back, and Kohei finds himself in the role of protecting
> Hazuki while trying to come to an understanding of their odd mutual
> attraction. With a brilliant and witty script that is matched by
> aggressively edgy animation, masterful swings between French bedroom
> farce-style humor and gothic horror, a compelling sound track and very
> likable characters, TSUKUYOMI is a totally enjoyable fantasy.
> [Entry by Dave Baranyi]
>
> THE TWELVE KINGDOMS: see JUUNI KOKKI
>
> U
>
> URUSEI YATSURA: The title translates as something like THOSE
> OBNOXIOUS ALIENS, though the title itself is actually a pun in
> Japanese. This was the series that broke Rumiko Takahashi onto the
> manga and anime scene, first in Japan, then around the world. Ataru
> Moroboshi is this planet's unluckiest person, so it was a foregone
> conclusion that he would be the target of a contest, the outcome
> deciding the future of the world. When Moroboshi wins unexpectedly,
> his cry of "Now I can be married!" is misinterpreted by his "Oni"
> opponent, a rather nubile young thing called Lum. Now Lum believes
> herself to be married to her "darling", much to the disgust of most of
> the male population of Tomobiki-cho. A full compliment of characters
> conspire to make life interesting for the happy couple, as well as
> copious numbers of special and repetitive guests in this long-running
> series which includes six movies, several OAV's and more than 200 TV
> episodes.
> Originally released as a subtitled-only series by AnimEigo, though
> a dub version was attempted - that was aborted after only two episodes
> due to unfavourable feedback from fans.
> [Entry by Chika]
>
> UTENA (a.k.a. SHOUJO KAKUMEI UTENA, REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA): You
> could go off roses! A different twist on the magical girl series in
> that the subject here makes no attempt to transform into anything
> except by the fact that as a very young girl, grieving her parents'
> death, she encounters a "prince" who comforts her and tells her that
> they are destined to meet again, giving her a ring. She vows to grow
> up as noble as this prince, but takes it too literally, shunning the
> usual fuku of her peers for more masculine garb. On her acceptance to
> a school with a mysterious club, she finds that not only were there
> other people with the same ring as her, but that they regularly fought
> for the hand of the "Rose Bride", in the hope that eventually the
> lucky winner will gain entry to the strange castle visible from the
> duelling ring, though each has a different reason driving them.
> Available from Software Sculptors.
> [Entry by Chika]
>
> V
>
> VAMPIRE HUNTER D (1985): A.D. 12,090 is a lot like the Old West,
> except for the mutants and vampires. When Count Magnus Lee, an
> ancient and powerful bloodsucker, sets his sights on a young woman of
> the frontier, Doris Lang, she hires a cape-clad, sword-swinging
> stranger known simply as D to get rid of a suitor who doesn't
> understand "No." D must fight his way past a horde of supernatural
> guardians as well as taking on Count Lee himself, and also must
> contend with his own unnatural aspects. In addition to being a
> dhampir (half human and half vampire), D has in his left palm a
> symbiotic creature that exercises weird powers on his behalf but also
> taunts him for his shortcomings at every opportunity.
> Some fans look down on VHD for its crude animation and cliched
> storyline, but it has become a cult classic, perhaps for its stunning
> imagery and larger-than-life conflicts. There's romance as well when
> Doris starts falling for her half-human savior. VHD is also notable
> for its violence, as D's blade slices through nearly anything that
> will make a blood splash. Tetsuya Komuro's soundtrack gives a rich
> atmosphere to both action and quieter moments.
> Available from Urban Vision.
> [Entry by Cathy Krusberg]
>
> VAMPIRE HUNTER D (2000): A second VAMPIRE HUNTER D movie was
> released to Japanese theaters in April 2001 and is slated for American
> theatrical release in September 2001. Also titled VAMPIRE HUNTER D,
> it is based on the third novel in Hideyuki Kikuchi's VHD series, "D -
> Yousatsukou" (D - Demon Deathchase). D is hired to retrieve a woman
> kidnapped by the vampire Meier Link, but his task is complicated by
> two factors: a competing set of hunters, and the true love that led
> the woman to accompany Meier of her own will. The character designs
> in the new movie are much closer to Yoshitaka Amano's vision, and the
> animation is top notch.
> Licenced by Urban Vision in North America, by Optimum in the UK,
> and by Madman in Australia.
> [Entry by Cathy Krusberg]
>
> VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU: An enterprising young woman crosses paths
> with a strange girl named Miyu, a demon-hunter who is the last of her
> kind, and follows her as she banishes Shinma with her flame. This
> dark, frustratingly short tale about the monsters without and within
> is a pretty refreshing take on the vampire genre, giving us just
> enough tragedy without seeming too ham-handed.
> PARENTAL ADVISORIES: Heavy violence (blood and gore) and implied
> adult themes.
> Licenced by AnimEigo in North America, and by Madman in Australia.
> [Entry by Dot Warner]
>
> VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU TV: This 26-episode series follows Miyu's
> life as a schoolgirl. In addition to fighting monsters, the focus is
> placed more on Miyu's need for blood. She also gets a cute
> anthromorphic talking monster and spends way too much screen time
> angsting about being a vampire. I consider it to be vastly inferior
> to the OAV series, although some fans think that the TV depiction of
> Miyu is more sympathetic.
> PARENTAL ADVISORIES: Heavy violence (blood and gore) and implied
> adult themes.
> Licenced by TOKYOPOP in North America, by MVM in the UK, and by
> Madman in Australia.
> [Entry by Dot Warner]
>
> VANDREAD: A series with two seasons by Takeshi Mori. A group of
> men have lived for generations on a planet without women. The women
> in this show are the enemy who are feared as monsters by these men who
> are created in genetic laboratories. When Hibiki, our young hero,
> finds himself stowed away on a ship that is captured by the women and
> subsequently cast into deep space by a missile, he and a few others
> must learn to work together to return without killing each other in
> the process.
> The series is fraught with wonderful CGI scenes where the man's
> mecha-inspired Vanguard fighter merges with the women's
> jet-fighter-inspired Dread units to create extremely powerful
> fighters. On top of this the sexual tension of two cultures that have
> never before encountered each other and so have no concept of
> "relations" between the sexes is hilarious to watch.
> Available from Geneon.
> [Entry by Charlie Smith]
>
> VENUS WARS: A group of racers on Venus and a reporter from Earth
> are caught up in the war for the dominance of Venus. A dark film from
> the "sand in my spacesuit" view of the future which sees the racers
> being turned from a group of stunt racers who defeat a tank by sheer
> fluke to hard fighting riders who become instrumental in the war's
> conclusion. Available from USMC.
> [Entry by Chika]
>
> VIDEO GIRL AI: Youta Moteuchi has a crush on his schoolmate, Moemi
> Hayakawa, but she has feelings for his best friend, Takeshi Niimai.
> Since Youta is too nice for his own good, he tries to get the two of
> them together, despite how sad it makes him. A mysterious new video
> store called Gokuraku appears on Youta's path home, and he winds up
> renting an adult video entitled "Ai Amano - I'll Cheer You Up." When
> he plays it on his defective VCR, Ai pops out of the TV screen into
> his life, and promises to help him square things away with Moemi.
> There was one thing she hadn't counted on, however: Amongst other
> flaws, the broken VCR caused her to eventually fall in love with
> Youta, which is forbidden for Video Girls, and causes heartbreaking
> complications for both of them. A six-OVA series based on the popular
> manga by Masakazu Katsura (who had previously distinguished himself
> with WINGMAN). Available domestically from Viz Video, but beware the
> over-massaged, over-localized translations, especially in the dub.
> [Entry by David Watson]
>
> THE VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE: A sixteen year old girl, Hitomi, who is
> magically transported to the land of Gaia, is embroiled in a battle
> with the evil Zaibach empire, bent on manipulating destiny. She aids
> the boy king Van Fanel, who pilots the mecha Escaflowne, the alluring
> knight Allen Schezar, the cat-girl Merle and the willful Princess
> Millerna as she discovers latent psychic powers which may be key to
> the fate of Gaia. This 26 episode series mixes romance, magic, mecha
> and plot in a pacy, beguiling mix, with above average TV animation and
> a musical score widely regarded as one of the best in anime. The dub
> is either loved or loathed.
> Licensed by Bandai in North America - a commercial subtitle,
> unedited and cut (Fox Kids) dub are available on VHS, with the DVDs
> containing uncut subtitle and dub. In Australia, Escaflowne has been
> released by Madman.
> [Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
>
> VOTOMS: Old TV series of post-WWIII world. The army controls the
> world with their mecha, but not everyone goes along. MELLOWLINK is a
> related series in the same universe (set before VOTOMS, made after.)
> VOTOMS has been licensed by USMC.
>
> W
>
> WAR IN THE POCKET: see GUNDAM
>
> WEATHERING CONTINENT: A short drama in the fantasy vein. A
> swordsman, a healer (who knows a little about magic), and a young
> runaway have fallen in together in their travels. This is an incident
> that befell them in the desert amid the ruins of an ancient
> civilization. Very moody.
> 60 minutes. Released in the US by Anime Works.
> [Entry by Jack Bohn]
>
> A WIND NAMED AMNESIA: It happened suddenly. One minute all was as
> it should be, the next ... everyone on Earth had their memory wiped.
> Language, social habit, everything. The story surrounds one boy, who
> has been retrained to normality by another boy who escaped erasure by
> the fact that he was linked to a computer in a radical new way.
> Touring the devastation, he is accompanied by a woman who seems also
> to have escaped erasure but will not say how. On their journey they
> see what Man has made of himself since his memory was wiped, and view
> the consequences, all of which leads to the ultimate questions; who
> did it, and why? Available from USMC.
> [Entry by Chika]
>
> WINDARIA: A lovely fantasy story of two kingdoms at war, and how
> that disturbs two pairs of lovers - one peasant, one royal. A
> tragedy. Well worth the watch, IMHO. Nice music, too.
> [Was available dubbed from Streamline Pictures while Streamline was
> still in business.]
>
> WINGS OF HONNEAMISE: see ROYAL SPACE FORCE
>
> WITCH HUNTER ROBIN: Under the jurisdiction of an organisation
> known as Solomon, a group of "Hunters" known as STN-J targets
> "Witches" in modern day Japan - people with special powers passed on
> by genetics that use them for evil. Into their midsts is introduced a
> new recruit, Robin Sena, a 15 year old ex-nun from Italy with
> pyrokinetic abilities, whose arrival is the catalyst for the
> uncovering of a conspiracy in STN-J itself and the true nature of
> Witches. A dark, subdued series that many may find dull due to its
> episodic first half, the show's strengths lie in its meticulous
> characterisation (particularly of Robin) and realistic production
> stylings alongside sparse, but impressive action sequences.
> Available on 6 DVDs from Bandai in Region 1, and broadcast on
> Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.
> Series website: <http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/robin/>
> [Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
>
> WITCH'S DELIVERY SERVICE: see KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE
>
> WOLF'S RAIN: Legends tell that wolves are the key to finding
> paradise on Earth. However, wolves were supposedly extinct years ago,
> and now the world has been ravaged by the passage of time. In this
> futuristic, bleak Siberia, wolves have learnt to fool the eyes of
> humans and appear like them so they can scrounge a living in the
> cities. However, one wolf, Kiba, is obsessed with finding paradise
> and Cheza, the "Flower Maiden" who will guide them there. After
> gathering together a group of wolves including Tsume, the hard-bitten
> city wolf, Toboe, the naive cub, and Hige, the seemingly carefree
> slacker, they head out to find Cheza, but draw others into their quest
> for Paradise along the way.
> WOLF'S RAIN shares several staff members with the late-90's classic
> COWBOY BEBOP, and features many of the similar strengths; an exciting
> score from Yoko Kanno, excellent animation, and a melancholic, wistful
> atmosphere. Although not quite as emotionally resonant due to the
> distant, animalistic characterisation of the wolves (the human
> characters that join the quest add a great deal of depth), the
> strongly-written, multi-threaded plot is only really spoilt by four
> consecutive recap episodes that fall in the middle of the series;
> these can easily be skipped, however.
> The complete series is available in Region 1 from Bandai; a cheap
> boxset is forthcoming at the time of writing. It is also currently on
> release in European Region 2 from BEEZ and in Region 4 from Madman.
> [Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
>
> X
>
> X: Kamui Shirou returns to Tokyo after a long absence to seek out
> a mystical sword, a bitter, cold young man almost unrecognisable to
> his childhood friends Kotori and Fuuma Monou. All three will become
> caught up in a war for the future of the Earth between two factions of
> supernaturally powered men and women - the Dragons of Heaven and the
> Dragons of Earth - a war in which Kamui is the most important factor.
> It is destiny that he should choose one side - but whichever he
> chooses will produce the most dire consequences.
> Based on the classic (yet currently unfinished) shoujo manga epic
> from CLAMP (CARDCAPTOR SAKURA, CHOBITS), X is a grandiose, morbid tale
> of dark shoujo angst with super powers, where every character has an
> in-depth, depressing backstory to go with their incredible magical
> fights. There is little levity throughout, but it hardly matters
> given the calibre of the production - the animation is simply
> fantastic for a TV show, and most episodes put you through the
> emotional wringer. There are some recurring characters from CLAMP's
> previous work TOKYO BABYLON which it may help to have some familiarity
> with, although it's not entirely necessary.
> The TV series is available on 8 discs from Geneon in Region 1
> (there are now 2 4-disc sets available at a slightly lower
> price-point), and an inferior Region 4 release on 6 discs from Shock.
> (This entry deals with the X TV series - there is also an older
> movie version available from Manga Entertainment which, despite
> excellent animation, attempts unsuccessfully to compress 18 volumes or
> so of manga into an hour and a half of film, and thus fails quite
> spectacularly.)
> [Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
>
> Y
>
> YAWARA: Matsuda is a sportswriter who has become disillusioned
> with the gossip and scandals he has been exposed to in his daily work.
> Things change the day he sees a young girl overpower a purse-snatcher.
> It turns out she is Yawara Inokuma, the granddaughter of Jigorou
> Inokuma who had once held the all-Japan judo title for five
> consecutive years. Though Yawara had the talent, she had no love for
> the sport. She wanted to be a girl like any other girl. However,
> Matsuda was compelled to write about her. When he did, Yawara was
> thrust into the spotlight and found herself right in the middle of the
> world of Judo. Can she balance the ambitions of her authoritarian
> grandfather who would have her win an Olympic gold medal with her own
> aspirations to be a normal girl?
> YAWARA is a show for all ages male and female - for those who love
> sports and for those who have an aversion to sports. Best of all,
> it's a show of memorable characters who lead interesting lives in
> overcoming the challenges that stand in the way of their dreams.
> AnimEigo has licensed this 124-episode series.
> [Entry by Phil Yff]
>
> YOKOHAMA SHOPPING TRIP LOG (a.k.a. QUIET COUNTRY CAFE): This is a
> four-volume OAV series based on the manga YOKOHAMA KAIDASHI KIKOU by
> Hitoshi Ashinano. It is centred around the character of Alpha, a
> robot who runs a coffee shop in the Japanese countryside many years
> after some kind of apocalypse has caused the seas to rise and flood
> the coasts. The world is in a slow peaceful decline with a
> much-reduced population and houses and roads lie abandoned to Nature.
> The anime's bucolic atmosphere is juxtaposed with assorted wonders
> to jolt the viewer's expectations: odd new species of plants and
> animals grow alongside the unrepaired roads, a giant swan-like
> aircraft is occasionally seen high in the sky, a female sea-spirit
> seeks the company of children. It is a slow, almost plotless
> travelogue with visuals and skyscapes comparable to Miyazaki (IMO)
> rendered in a watercolour-style form very similar to the manga.
> [Entry by Robert Sneddon]
>
> YOU'RE UNDER ARREST! (a.k.a. TAIHO SHICHAUZO!): The adventures of
> Natsumi Tsujimoto and Miyuki Kobayakawa, two female police officers on
> the Bokutoh City police force and their day-to-day adventures. Set in
> a more or less present day city. Good animation and artwork. Good
> clean fun. Little if any violence or gore, and only some innocent
> flirting on the sexual side. Both OVA and TV series has been made.
> Based on a manga by Kosuke Fujishima, the same guy who did OH MY
> GODDESS! There's also a TV series that hasn't been released yet in
> the US. Four OVAs. From AnimEigo.
> [Entry by Ben Cantrick]
> [The TV series has been released by AnimEigo. There is also an
> excellent YOU'RE UNDER ARREST movie, which has a tone somewhere
> between the YOU'RE UNDER ARREST OAVs and the PATLABOR movies, and a
> series of "Mini-Specials" that are almost completely humourous - these
> have been released by ADV Films. - Rob Kelk]
>
> YUKIKAZE: Humankind has been at war with the JAM for over thirty
> years. We've forced the JAM back through their original hyperspace
> portal and taken the fight to their homeworld of Fairy. However,
> despite the near-continuous conflict, no-one knows what the JAM look
> like or what they want. To the rest of humanity, the battle has gone
> on so long that it's become just another background feature. Yet the
> pilots assigned to the Fairy Air Force are about to be reminded that
> the enemy is still around ... and closer than many may suspect.
> YUKIKAZE's story centres on a mysterious, pale-faced ace called
> Rei, who has a very strong connection with the Artificial Intelligence
> system that co-flies his aircraft - or at least, is *supposed* to
> co-fly his aircraft. Rei loves his aircraft. *Really* loves his
> aircraft, to the extent that he dreams about its naked female avatar
> locked up in a cage. Kinky. This connection worries Jack, the
> closest thing Rei has to a friend. (And this is why YUKIKAZE is also
> known as "Brokeback Air Force" on the Macross World forums - Jack is
> perhaps just a little too interested in Rei.)
> Fortunately, as a distraction from similar disturbing lines of
> thought, is the air combat. Forget the men. YUKIKAZE is *gorgeous*.
> There's all sorts of little details that military aviation fans will
> adore, such as the authentic warning tones in the cockpits and the
> best HUD depiction I've yet seen in anime.
> Added to this are the planes, which are beautiful. The creative
> staff have apparently stated that they knew the rules of aerodynamics,
> and ignored them anyway. Be thankful, because these are probably the
> greatest anime aero-designs since Kawamori first picked up a
> mechanical pencil, and the aerial combat scenes are the best I've seen
> since MACROSS PLUS.
> Speaking of MACROSS PLUS, one might get a sense of deja vu with
> certain story elements, particularly when the Yukikaze find themselves
> in competition with a new unmanned fighter. However, YUKIKAZE is
> based on a novel first written in the 1970s and thus predates even the
> original MACROSS series.
> YUKIKAZE does have a few flaws; like many modern anime it mistakes
> lack of explanation for creating an air of mystery, and the characters
> so far have have about as much substance to them as vapour contrails,
> but that's okay. One rarely watches anime of this kind for the
> character development.
> YUKIKAZE. If you like fast jets with improbable flight surfaces,
> it's probably for you. Bottles of tanning oil optional.
> [Entry by Justin Palmer, edited by Rob Kelk]
>
> YUUGEN KAISHA: see PHANTOM QUEST CORPORATION
>
> Z
>
> ZEIRAM, THE ANIMATION: see IRIA
>
> ZETA GUNDAM: see GUNDAM
>
> ZIPANG: The Mirai, the newest and most powerful Aegis-class
> frigate in the JDF's 21st-Century fleet, quietly slips anchor from
> Yokahama Naval Yard and sets off to join the US Navy in joint armed
> naval practices off of Hawaii. The Mirai's officers and crew are
> experienced seamen, committed to defense of Japan and to the
> maintenance of peace in the modern world. Then, halfway to their
> rendezvous point the crew of the Mirai are jolted by a sudden power
> surge as the Mirai goes though a strange mid-ocean storm containing
> auroras. As the crew gets over the inexplicable incident they are
> faced with an even more unbelievable event - out of nowhere appears a
> huge ship that is racing directly towards them. The crew of the Mirai
> reacts with the efficiency of their years of training and they avoid a
> collision, but as the mystery ships passes nearby in the night the
> Mirai's crew all stand and look in fear and awe, because the ship
> cruising by is none other than the largest battleship ever build, the
> IJN Yamato.
> Thus starts the gripping sci-fi drama ZIPANG, in which a modern
> 21st Century combat ship of the Japanese Defense Force and its crew
> are suddenly and unexpectedly thrust into the middle of the largest
> and most destructive world-wide conflict ever - World War II. The
> crew of the Mirai quickly realize that they have not seen an illusion,
> in fact, the next morning they become silent witnesses to the
> destruction of the Japanese carrier fleet at Midway. But they are not
> destined to remain static observers, as first they stop and save an
> IJN Intelligence officer from a sinking floatplane and then they have
> to avoid the torpedoes of a prowling US submarine.
> Just by being there the Mirai and its crew start to immediately
> change history. Very quickly both sides are looking for the "mystery
> ship". The Americans are scared of yet another Japanese "super weapon"
> coming upon them unexpectedly. And the Japanese want to know just
> what is this ship that has a Japanese crew but seems so foreign. The
> many details of the early part of WW II in the Pacific are brought
> into play, particularly the distrust between the Services on both
> sides and the fatalism of the leadership of the IJN after the debacle
> at Midway. But the story becomes very human too, due to the
> comparisons and contrasts made between Yosuke Kadomatsu, the second-in-
> command of the Mirai and Takumi Kusaka, the young IJN intelligence
> officer who has been given a second chance at life and a detailed look
> at a future that may be, but doesn't have to be.
> ZIPANG is a brilliantly conceived and executed tour-de-force that
> develops a true clash-of-cultures then deals with it intelligently and
> honestly. Punches are not pulled, nor are there any copouts. This is
> a story about war and it deals with both the bravery and the horror on
> many levels. Breathtaking action and serious drama are given equal
> billing and the viewer is forced to consider what choices he or she
> would make in similar situations. And while a viewer who has some
> level of knowledge of the War in the Pacific will find much to enjoy
> in this series, the humanity of the characters and the questions that
> are asked make ZIPANG a compelling story even for those who only have
> a cursory knowledge of those events some sixty years ago that shaped
> the world we know today.
> [Entry by Dave Baranyi]
>
> ZZ GUNDAM: see GUNDAM
>
> - --
> Rob Kelk <http://robkelk.ottawa-anime.org/> e-mail: s/deadspam/gmail/
> "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
>
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
> Version: PGP 7.0.4
>
> iQA/AwUBRUkzKwKYYCCCxJ/PEQJI4ACfb7HeDOdkYDwqaSID2lCsEpVsjD8Ani+R
> vFKbToXDq5a9uxmH8fIvULHd
> =Yxmw
> -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
>
here a info from alt.fan.sailor-moon thanks for reading, arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Kern" <chriskern99@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2006 9:03 AM
Subject: 200 Days of Sailor Moon - Episode 164
> Episode 164 - The Golden Crystal appears! Nehelenia's magic
>
> I was never very clear before on who Zirconia is; there's some
> indication in this episode that she's sort of a copy or double of
> Nehelenia. When Nehelenia puts her hand through the mirror,
> Zirconia's hand starts to disappear, then when she completely steps
> through, Zirconia is gone. I think there's more about this in the
> upcoming episodes.
>
> The AQ reform in this episode..maybe they can open a store like the
> Sisters from R.
>
> One notable thing about this season that represents a break from the
> previous three is that the ultimate bad guy of the season is not some
> chaotic force like Queen Metallia, Death Phantom, or Pharoah 90. It's
> just Nehelenia.
>
> -Chris
Here some stuff from alt.fan.sailor-moon thanks for reading, arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "ten/mark" <tenchsama@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Wednesday, November 08, 2006 7:20 PM
Subject: Re: 200 Days of Sailor Moon - Episode 165
>
> "Chris Kern" <chriskern99@...> wrote in message
> news:hql3l2pbljcan3ca950i8odmtupa6c0evb@....
>> Episode 165 - When the crystal shines! Power of beautiful dreams
>>
>> The writers did manage to give Mamoru something to do in this episode,
>> which was good.
>>
>> I had to laugh at the AQ switching the Golden Crystal for a pineapple.
>>
>> Pegasus and Elios have distinct voices; that's a good job by the voice
>> actor to keep them apart.
>>
>> It seems that Nehelenia has managed to take over the whole world.
>> Each season has upped the stakes (more or less) -- Metallia/Beryl
>> really never managed to do anything before they were killed. DP and
>> P90 were able to do some damage to a small area of Tokyo (P90 more so
>> than DP). Now Nehelenia has managed to affect the entire earth, but
>> even that will be eclipsed by Galaxia in the next season.
>>
>> The end scene is kind of strange -- why are kids out playing in the
>> park? It seems kind of dangerous. Also Chibi-Usa takes a new role as
>> a cult leader, brainwashing everyone into shouting the phrase of
>> religious worship "MOON CRISIS POWER".
>>
>> -Chris
>
> Good point about the collateral damage. It is pretty glaring in the last
> episode of Stars when Tokyo is entirely trashed and then suddenly in the
> last scene everything is normal. Was there a "re-set" of reality or just
> very good offstage construction crew? In fact, this is high up on my list
> of
> "Questions that should not be asked about Sailor Moon (or Anime in
> general)"
> 1. Who is the seamstress and designer of those nifty costumes and
> always has the next version ready when an upgrade is needed"
> (and what happens to the torn costumes after a battle, are they
> sold
> on ebay?)
> 2. Who keeps cleaning up Tokyo after the senshi and MOD trash it?
> Are the buildings prefabricated?
> 3. Why doesnt a crowd gather when these fights break out? Aren't
> there rubberneckers in Japan?
> 4. Why dont the cops ever show up?
> 5. How does Mars walk in snow and ice in those heels?
> etc.
>
> ten/mark (these things don't bother me so much when I take my meds)
>
>
here a info from the newsgroup alt.fan.sailor-moon thanks for reading,
arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Kern" <chriskern99@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2006 7:00 PM
Subject: 200 Days of Sailor Moon - Episode 166
> Episode 166 - Dreams forever! Light, fill the heavens
>
> This is a good conclusion to the season. Nehelenia finally gets what
> she wants (I guess), and we get a long scene of Sailor Moon and Chibi
> Moon falling.
>
> I like the touch at the end where the AQ distract the rest of the
> people so that Elios and Chibi-Usa can have their last moment
> together.
>
> -Chris
Original Message -----
From: "Phoenix" <phoenix@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2006 7:51 PM
Subject: Re: 200 Days of Sailor Moon - Episode 166
> Chris Kern wrote:
>
>>Episode 166 - Dreams forever! Light, fill the heavens
>>
>>This is a good conclusion to the season. Nehelenia finally gets what
>>she wants (I guess), and we get a long scene of Sailor Moon and Chibi
>>Moon falling.
>
> One of these days, I would really like to count the floors of that
> building. It must be the tallest building in the world. :)
>
>>I like the touch at the end where the AQ distract the rest of the
>>people so that Elios and Chibi-Usa can have their last moment
>>together.
>
> It was a great ending, I really enjoyed it. The dub of this episode
> was quite good as well so it was satisfying in that respect as well.
>
> --
> Phoenix
> http://www.phoenixanime.com
Here a info from the newsgroup alt.fan.sailor-moon thanks for reading,
arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Kern" <chriskern99@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Friday, November 10, 2006 9:55 AM
Subject: 200 Days of Sailor Moon - Episode 167
> Episode 167 - When a nightmare scatters the flowers! The evil queen's
> revival
>
> The first episode of the final season (apparently this was known to be
> the final season before airing; people were already mentioning it on
> a.f.s-m). There are a number of surprising things about the episode.
>
> First off, after four seasons and 166 episodes, Moonlight Densetsu has
> been replaced as the opening theme by Sailor Star Song. I like SSS so
> it's fine for me, but I think this was somewhat controversial. The
> new opening sequence is nice, though -- I especially like the parts
> with the civilian and transformed versions of the senshi next to each
> other, with Ami eating the ice cream, Minako flipping the pancake,
> etc.
>
> Second, this episode is not a filler episode. Every other season has
> started by introducing the new villians and then doing a normal filler
> episode, but it's clear that something different is going on here.
> There was a lot of speculation as to how this season was going to work
> -- some people were actually hopeful that there would be no filler in
> the entire season...haha, fat chance. :)
>
> Third, for the first time in the series a villian is reused in another
> season. They brought Nehelenia back -- some people consider this the
> "true" conclusion to SuperS, but I'm not so sure about that. This
> episode, of course, aired only one week after 166, so there's not much
> separation between the two, but I think that the theme and
> presentation is different enough and that SuperS had a fine conclusion
> on its own. But it's great to see Nehelenia back.
>
> Finally, the outers are back, which was a welcome sight to a number of
> fans that had disliked SuperS compared to S.
>
> The scene between Nehelenia and Galaxia is one of my favorite scenes
> in the season -- you can just see the way that Galaxia is sitting
> behind the scenes manipulating Nehelenia, and it's a good way of
> indicating that the ultimate villian of this season is going to be
> greater than anything they've seen before.
>
> The opening to the episode has similarities to the fairy tale Snow
> Queen by Andersen -- in that story some trolls break (accidentally, in
> the tale) a mirror that twists people's hearts, and when the fragments
> fall in people's hearts or eyes they become twisted as well.
>
> As for the glass monsters, although they are often spelled as Mirror
> Paradory or Mirror Parody (the latter is definitely wrong), Ian
> Andreas Miller made a fairly good case that it should be Mirror Palais
> Dolly. There's no way to be sure, though.
>
> -Chris
Here a info from the newsgroup alt.fan.sailor-moon thanks for reading,
arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Kern" <chriskern99@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Saturday, November 11, 2006 9:59 AM
Subject: 200 Days of Sailor Moon - Episode 168
> Episode 168 - The awakening of Saturn! The 10 senshi gather
>
> Sailor Saturn's appearances in this season are strange. It seems like
> she is conceived as a different character in this season than she was
> in S, probably in response to her popularity. It just seems strange
> for her to have normal attacks like the rest.
>
> Eternal Sailor Moon appears in this episode; everyone was surprised
> that she has actual wings.
>
> If Mamoru had just told Usagi what was going on they might have been
> able to do something about it before Nehellenia took him -- maybe not,
> though.
>
> Kaze Mo Sore Mo Kitto is one of my favorite (possibly my favorite) ED
> songs. I especially like the second version of it, though.
>
> -Chris
Here a info from the newsgroup alt.fan.sailor-moon thanks for reading,
arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Kern" <chriskern99@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Monday, November 13, 2006 8:55 PM
Subject: 200 Days of Sailor Moon - Episode 170
> Episode 170 - The fated night! Agony of the sailor senshi
>
> I'm pretty sure this is the only Ando episode of Stars, and the last
> Ando episode of the series. There's a pretty sudden change in
> animation in the opening scene of the episode. Of course, the episode
> involves Ami -- I think Ando has a fixation.
>
> The "time paradox" that causes Chibi-Usa to start disappearing (Back
> to the Future?) is kind of suspect; why didn't this happen last
> season?
>
> This has always been my least favorite episode of this initial arc.
> I'm not sure completely why that is; I guess I don't feel like we're
> learning anything new about the characters and it's a lull in the
> action.
>
> -Chris
I thought we were learning how well two very different charas can work
together, and learn to understand and appreciate one another.
*shrugs* Though it's not like we really need any justification for
having an ep about the two best Senshi in this system ^_^ .
> >
> > This has always been my least favorite episode of this initial arc.
> > I'm not sure completely why that is; I guess I don't feel like we're
> > learning anything new about the characters and it's a lull in the
> > action.
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Kern" <chriskern99@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Saturday, November 18, 2006 9:32 AM
Subject: 200 Days of Sailor Moon - Episode 174
> Episode 174 - A storm at school! The transfer students are idols
>
> Sailor Guts. Enough said.
>
> Also this episode introduces Sailor Star Healer's attack, which is
> "Star Gentle Uterus". Going along with Sailor Moon's new "Starlight
> Honeymoon Therapy Kiss" I guess it fits, but the creators were getting
> a lot more inventive with their names.
>
> The scenes with Ami and her gold membership card are funny, and I love
> the little comic strip about Luna that Usagi draws at the end (did the
> subtitles translate the dialogue? It's Luna seeing a fish and then
> trying to eat it, but it's a toy). Ami points out there are no kanji,
> but there's nothing in the dialogue of the strip that would normally
> be written in kanji.
>
> -Chris
Here a info from the newsgroup alt.fan.sailor-moon thanks for reading,
arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Kern" <chriskern99@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Sunday, November 19, 2006 8:41 AM
Subject: 200 Days of Sailor Moon - Episode 176
> Episode 176 - The true figure of a fighter! A shocking super
> transformation
>
> This episode establishes pretty clearly (not that there was much
> doubt) that the Starlights are male in their civilian form and
> transform into girls. This is different from the manga, when they were
> just disguising themselves as males. This change supposedly upset
> Takuechi Naoko, but I don't think they had any choice -- it would have
> been hard to sustain the "disgusing themselves as girls" for the
> entire series.
>
> There's a famous VKLL-ism in this episode ("burning myself
> perfectly"); the meaning is fairly clear, though, it just means to use
> all your effort and strength in doing things.
>
> -Chris
here a info from the newsgroup alt.fan.sailor-moon thanks for reading,
arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Phoenix" <phoenix@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Tuesday, November 21, 2006 6:10 PM
Subject: Re: 200 Days of Sailor Moon - Episode 178
> Chris Kern wrote:
>
>>Episode 178 - Luna saw it! The true character of Yaten
>>
>>Luna-centered episodes are rare, and this is a fun one. I don't really
>>have anything special to say about it other than that.
>
> Minako could take lessons from Luna on two-timing. She's had more
> steamy affairs then any other character in the series. ;)
>
> It sure seems to me that if Yaten sees that both Sailor Moon and Usagi
> know the name of, and are associated with, the same cat that something
> should tweak with him despite the standard disguise magic. :)
>
> So... the match-ups appear to be something like this:
>
> Rei - Seiya
> Ami - Taiki
> Makoto - Yaten
> Minako - All of them
> Usagi - None of them
>
> --
> Phoenix
> www.phoenixanime.com
Here a info from the newsgroup alt.fan.sailor-moon thanks for reading,
arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Kern" <chriskern99@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Thursday, November 23, 2006 9:41 AM
Subject: 200 Days of Sailor Moon - Episode 180
> Episode 180 - The brightness of the calling stars! Haruka and
> Michiru's entry into the war
>
> The beginning of the episode shows the age of the series; no
> high-school age girls nowadays use public phones.
>
> This season seems to have more sexual innuendo than the previous ones.
> Maybe the writers thought that their audience had grown up since the
> first season. The next episode has even more than this one, though.
>
> Once again Uranus and Neptune are rude. Didn't they learn from S that
> Sailor Moon knows what she's doing? They even helped out Nehellenia,
> and she was a *known* enemy. Why do they have to be so confrontational
> with unknown people that Sailor Moon says they can trust?
>
> This is the 90% point; only 20 episodes left.
>
> -Chris
----- Original Message -----
From: "Phoenix" <phoenix@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Thursday, November 23, 2006 11:05 AM
Subject: Re: 200 Days of Sailor Moon - Episode 180
> Chris Kern wrote:
>
>>Episode 180 - The brightness of the calling stars! Haruka and
>>Michiru's entry into the war
>>
>>The beginning of the episode shows the age of the series; no
>>high-school age girls nowadays use public phones.
>
> So true. In fact, it is very difficult to even find a public phone now
> (at least in my area of the US). Cellular phones were around at this
> time, but they were still somewhat bulky and only a few businessmen
> types had them. However, when I visited Japan in 2002, everyone had
> them and even camera phones were everywhere to be seen.
>
>>This season seems to have more sexual innuendo than the previous ones.
>>Maybe the writers thought that their audience had grown up since the
>>first season. The next episode has even more than this one, though.
>
> That confrontation between Seiya and Haruka always amused me.
>
>>Once again Uranus and Neptune are rude. Didn't they learn from S that
>>Sailor Moon knows what she's doing? They even helped out Nehellenia,
>>and she was a *known* enemy. Why do they have to be so confrontational
>>with unknown people that Sailor Moon says they can trust?
>
> Uranus, I can understand. She is just naturally confrontational.
> However, I'm disappointed that Neptune didn't follow Sailor Moon's
> lead.
>
> Aluminum Siren and Lead Crow have now made their appearance, although
> they are still unnamed (we saw them only in silhouette earlier). Iron
> Mouse does not have much longer to either produce or pay the price.
>
>>This is the 90% point; only 20 episodes left.
>
> BTW, I really, really hate the eyecatch for this season. It has
> repeatedly trashed whatever solemn or deadly mood that was being
> portrayed, especially in the concluding episodes.
>
> --
> Phoenix
> http://www.phoenixanime.com
Here a stuff from the newsgroup alt.fan.sailor-moon thanks for reading,
arigato
Stéphane Dumas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Kern" <chriskern99@...>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon
Sent: Friday, November 24, 2006 9:35 AM
Subject: 200 Days of Sailor Moon - Episode 181
> Episode 181 - Seiya and Usagi's nervous date
>
> This is definitely one of the best episodes of the entire series. It's
> hilarious for the most part, but gets pretty serious near the end.
>
> Poor Iron Mouse and the phones following her everywhere was a stroke
> of genius on the writers' part. There's also a lot of sexual innuendo
> in the episode -- Minako's movie that she wants to go to is probably
> not pornographic but it's definitely risque. I love that whole opening
> scene when she ends by trying to sell Makoto the tickets. Then Haruka
> and Michiru also ramp up the innuendo again -- I like the "only
> couples and pigeons come to parks" line; H&M aren't pigeons. Then
> there's the scene in the dance place, although I don't know why Seiya
> got that room if they were just going to dance out in the main hall.
>
> But then this is really the first clear indication we get that Galaxia
> is not the usual SM villain; she's already ruined the Starlights'
> planet, and probably more planets than that, so this is not a villain
> that's just going to cause a little bit of damage in Tokyo.
>
> Then when Usagi is speaking of Mamoru she gets very serious. She
> definitely has matured a lot over the seasons.
>
> BTW, I'm leaving for winter vacation on December 12th, and episode 200
> is scheduled for December 13th. I haven't decided yet what I'm going
> to do about this; I can watch the episodes on vacation but posting is
> not convenient. I may actually reduce it to 198 days and watch
> 197-198 on the 10th and 199-200 on the 11th.
>
> -Chris
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