Here a info from the newsgroup rec.arts.anime.misc thanks for reading,arigato
Stéphane Dumas ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rob Kelk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime.fandom,rec.arts.anime.misc Sent: Friday, August 01, 2008 8:00 PM Subject: [INFO] The Anime Primer, or "What Anime Should I Watch Now?" (9/10) > (continued from part 8) > > > STELLVIA (a.k.a. UCHUU NO STELLVIA or STELLVIA OF THE UNIVERSE): > Two centuries after the first wave of a supernova explosion passed > through the Sol system and killed a large fraction of humanity, many > of the descendents of the survivors are in space, ready and waiting > for the explosion's second wave to arrive. This is the backdrop for a > new high-school class' arrival at the space station "Stellvia". > Shina Katase, already an exceptional computer programmer at age 16, > is one of Stellvia's new students. But she's not at school to learn > how to program - she wants to be a pilot and see the universe with her > own eyes. When the "Second Wave" finally reaches Earth, a few months > into the first semester, and the operation to save the lives of > everyone still on Earth goes wrong, Shina and her classmates are the > only ones available to make things right... and then the real problems > emerge. > STELLVIA is possibly unique in being a shojo space opera. The > science, while being correct in almost every particular, takes a back > seat to the relationships and romances between the students (and > between a few of the teachers). The main characters, and most of the > secondary characters, have complex personalities; there are no > stereotypes in the cast. And while there are plenty of situations > where the characters have to act or risk everything, the consequences > of those actions are not sugar-coated. > Parental Advisory: There are a few violent scenes - while death is > not shown on-screen, it is an important element of one part of the > story. Also, the characters have a more accepting attitude towards > some sexual preferences than many modern-day cultures do (while > nothing is spelled out, Hints Are Dropped). > Available in R1 from Geneon. > [Entry by Rob Kelk] > > 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; the remainder of the series has been released in North > America by Right Stuf. > [Entry by Rob Kelk] > > SUPERGIRL MARIS: see MARIS THE CHOJO > > SUZUMIYA HARUHI NO YUUTSU: see MELANCHOLY OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA > > 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] > > TOKYO GODFATHERS: A runaway teenage girl, a transvestite and a > homeless man find an abandoned child on Christmas Eve. When they > decide to find the child's parents and return it, thus begins one of > the stranger nativity stories you'll ever see. > TOKYO GODFATHERS is a touching and heart-warming story of fallen > people being given a second chance - all because of this newborn. The > girl, Miyuki, committed a horrific act during a family argument and > can't bear the idea of facing her father again. Hana, the > transvestite, had his happy life turned upside down by death and an > act of anger. And Gin's own story of self-caused destruction weaves > strands of truth into a fantasy he wants to believe in rather than > face the truth. Their quest to reunite the child with her parents > leads to a hilarious, almost improbable chain of events that leads to > their redemption and finding home. > Age: 12+ Some scary moments and adult themes. > [Entry by Travers Naran] > > 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] > > TROUBLE CHOCOLATE: A tasty twenty-episode satire on various anime, > a loose plot with a school setting tying together the skits. May have > been done later by a show or two (such as ABENOBASHI), but still fun. > TROUBLE CHOCOLATE has characters the later efforts in this theme can > only envy, such as sister act Red Bean and Green Tea (Azuki and > Matcha) and a (mostly) doting couple that make Marsha and John look > like the Bickersons. The dubbed script is quite different from the > original Japanese (and subtitles), making this series worth several > watches: in the original with subtitles, dubbed, and dubbed with the > subtitles as a lesson in translation gone too far. > 1999 AIC show broadcast in Japan by TV Asahi. No known US > broadcast, but licensed in US (five Region 1 DVDs) by Viz. > [Entry by H Newcomb] > > > 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 > > UCHUU NO STELLVIA: see STELLVIA > > 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. > Licenced by 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. > Licenced by Geneon, now out-of-print. > [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. > Licenced by 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). > Licenced by Viz Video, now out-of-print. > [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] > > WHISPER OF THE HEART: For some reason, every book Tsukishima > Shizuku borrows from the library seems to have been borrowed before by > someone named Amasawa Seiji. One day, when she encounters a strange > cat on the train and follows it on a whim, she ends up in front of a > peculiar shop that turns out to be owned by Amasawa's grandfather. > Getting closer to the Amasawa family, Shizuku begins to realize that > she doesn't seem to have any real ambitions in life. > Available in North America from Disney, in Germany from ufa. > [Entry by Ansgar "59cobalt" Wiechers] > > 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.] > > WINDY TALES (a.k.a. FUUJIN MONOGATARI): Nao is a keen photographer > who loves photographing the ever-changing sky. Whilst on the school > roof one day indulging her pastime, she sees something impossible: a > flying cat. Nao is so surprised that she falls off the roof, but > instead of plummetting to her death, a sudden surge of wind slows her > fall so that she lands unharmed. WTF is going on? Haunted by the > memory of her near-death experience, Nao is determined to find out, > but first she has to quash rumours that her four-storey fall was a > suicide attempt. > Despite being ostensibly about people (and cats!) who can > manipulate the wind, WINDY TALES is really a series of tales about > growing up: young people being initiated into the adult world and > adults regretting the loss of their carefree youth. The visual style > is unusual for anime: the characters look Japanese, with their small > black almond eyes, and the drawing style is bold and simple, like a > crude watercolour painting. However this appearance is deceptive: the > animation itself is subtle and fluid, and the rural landscapes are > beautiful. > 13 episodes, originally broadcast in 2004-5. Made by Production > I.G. > [Entry by Wasabi] > > 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] > > (continued in part 10) > > -- > 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. > ------------------------------------ Group email addresses: Post message: Sailor_Uranus@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Shortcut URL to Yahoo! Groups' SUML page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sailor_Uranus Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sailor_Uranus/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sailor_Uranus/join (Yahoo! 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