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?" (10/10) > (continued from part 9) > > 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] > > xxxHOLIC: The anime interpretation of CLAMP's story XXXHOLIC is a > marvelously witty and stylishly animated look into the old saying, "Be > careful of what you wish for, because you might get it." High school > student Watanuki is not much different from most other guys his age. > He just wants to outdo his rival Doumeki, and to win the affection of > a pretty girl named Himawari who is in his class. But the > "difference" in Watanuki is a bit more "different" than normal, > because Watanuki attracts and can see spirits, but he can't keep them > from bothering him. > This "attraction" eventually brings Watanuki to the very mysterious > house/shop of an agelessly beautiful witch named Yuuko, who grants > wishes for a price. Yuuko takes a fancy to Watanuki and offers to > eventually rid him of his problem, but for the price of having > Watanuki become an unpaid servant in Yuuko's very strange household. > Watanuki very quickly learns that there are many things in the world > that are much stranger than the spirits that pester him, as he gains > both an education in life, and an odd sort of "family" to replace the > one that he doesn't have. > The XXXHOLIC anime excels at mixing humor, horror, romance and > pathos in surprising doses and patterns. The cast of characters are > likeable and intriguing, and the stories skillfully reiterate > classical morality tales. Add to this a very enjoyable sound track > and theme songs, and the result is a fantasy series that is memorable > and demands re-watching. > [Entry by Dave Baranyi] > > 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 > > ZEGAPAIN: Fundamentally, there are mecha anime, and then there are > Sunrise mecha anime, and the TV Tokyo/Sunrise mecha anime ZEGAPAIN is > no exception. Sunrise has a tradition of bringing top rate animation, > evocative themes, beautiful girls and complicated plots to its mecha > anime, and we have all those and more in this new series. > In the near future, first-year high-school student Kyou Sogoru is > trying to start a competitive swim team at his school, but his former > teammates from middle school are mad at him and no longer want to swim > with him. Never-the-less Kyou continues to go to the school's > swimming pool to practice, where one day he sees a stunningly > beautiful girl make a perfect dive off of the high board. But the > girl disappears after hitting the water, and when Kyou dives in to > find her, she suddenly reappears underwater, kisses him, and Kyou then > finds himself in what appears to be a very realistic mecha fighting > game, with the girl, Shizuno Misaki, sitting behind him, telling him > how to control the weapons of the mecha. But the more that Kyou plays > the "Zegapain game", the more he realizes that the world that he lives > in seems to be less real than the game. > Thus starts a mysterious, touching and bittersweet post-apocalyptic > story of love that survives death and life that survives time. > Nothing and no one is what they first seem in this story that is equal > parts a story of human hopes and dreams, a story of the end of time > and beyond, and a story of the power of love. And at the same time > this is also a rousing tale of heroic action. ZEGAPAIN is an > outstanding anime that is definitely "not your father's mecha series". > To a much greater degree than its titular mechas, ZEGAPAIN deals > heavily with subjects like quantum computing and artificial > intelligence. Its treatment of the A.I. is top-notch; the concepts > thrown around in ZEGAPAIN, such as "entangle", "wet" and "dry" damage, > Deutera, and transmission losses, are used accurately according to the > real-world concepts they describe, and are incredibly spot-on for a > mecha show. One look at the technical consultants for the series, > though, and you'll know just how far the creators went to ensure > accuracy. (There's an astonishing depth of emotion displayed by the > characters, but having an A.I. expert sitting next to you to explain > the terminology enriches the experience immensely.) > [Entry by Dave Baranyi and Jorge A Pratt] > > 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 > ------------------------------------ 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! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
