(continued from part 4)
KEMONOZUME: There are no two ways about it; KEMONOZUME is HOT!!!
This Wowow/Madhouse modern horror anime will slam you back into your
chair and leave you totally astounded. It is a brilliant,
in-your-face take on an old folktale that has sma****ng action,
don't-give-a-damn animation, outstandingly witty humor, touchingly
human protagonists, a totally over-the-top villain, a very cool jazzy
sound track, male and female ****ity, and HOT adult ***!
To****hiko Momota is the oldest son in a family of monster-hunters.
Like his father Jyuuzou, To****hiko believes in the "way of the sword"
as the correct means to get rid of the man-eating Shokujinki who prey
on humans. To****hiko's younger brother Kazuma wants to modernize the
"family business" with high powered mecha-suits and other bits of
high-tech, but Jyuuzou and To****hiko oppose this, resulting in a split
in the family and Kazuma challenging To****hiko to a sword duel.
But the duel between the brothers is interrupted by a monkey who is
chased by To****hiko out to the beach, where a strangely attractive
woman sails out of the sky in a parachute and lands in front of
To****hiko. To****hiko is immediately smitten by the woman, who is
called Yuka, and they start a blindingly passionate affair, causing
To****hiko to forget "the way of the sword", initiating the destruction
of the Kifuuken - the organization of monster-hunters - and begetting
something much more horribly evil than even the Shokujinki.
KEMONOZUME is definitely not for "all tastes". There is a
tremendous amount of black humor tied directly to explicitly violent
death, very raw and sometimes monstrous ***, more ****ity than is in
most hentai anime, and lots of surreal animation. But if you are
looking for something different in terms of an anime that is truly
meant for adults, KEMONOZUME is a tremendously entertaining place to
look.
[Entry by Dave Baranyi]
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 ****ity) 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 Taka**** (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 ****tion 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 Mu****
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
****tion 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]
KI****N HEIDAN (a.k.a. KI****N 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 Ki****n Corps.
Our young hero Tai**** 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
Ko****ro, 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 Ko****ro, who
goes through considerable emotional torment a severe emotional
involvement. This contains lots of poignancy as the relation****p 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 Ko****ro.
A co-worker of Ko****ro'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 Ko****ro and Nanoka is
hugging.
If the creators had wanted a real polemic against *****, 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 Ko****ro'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 ****CO ROSSO
L
LAIN: see SERIAL EXPERIMENTS LAIN
LANDLOCK: Firstly, this is *not* a ****row 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 ****RO 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 Van****p 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 Van****p stalked by a mysterious mechanical
creature. Gonzo's flag****p 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 ****p the
Swordbreaker, which is one of the lost ****ps belonging to a highly
advanced lost civilization. Joining him is Canal, the holographic
image which the ****p 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 fa****on, 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 Ura****ma, 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 AI****ERUZE 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 tem****arily 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 war****p crash lands on Earth.
The people on Earth spend the next 10 years refurbi****ng the
space****p, 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 ****p. 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 relation****p 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 incor****ated 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]
MACROSS PLUS: Isamu has been sent home to Planet Eden following a
somewhat colourful career to test a new jet fighter. He then finds
that the test pilot in the rival project is his old friend, Guld. The
argument that drove them apart flares again, especially when they meet
up with Myung, a former singer now turned producer for the virturoid
idol, Sharon Apple. However things aren't as they seem - Myung is
more than just Sharon's producer, Guld has a somewhat selective memory
and Isamu is just as aggravating as he was when the three broke up.
It also seems that there is a closer link between Sharon and the
fighter project, a link that will also draw all three in.
Loosely based on the long-running series SUPER DIMENSIONAL
FORTRESS MACROSS, it was released as a four-part series and a
theatrically released movie. Released by Manga.
[Entry by Chika]
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 ****dou, 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 sup****ting 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 "ma****ns" 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:
MIHO**** 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 ABENOBA****: see ABENOBA**** 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 Ki****o, 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 relation****p 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 fa****on. 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]
(continued in part 6)
--
Rob Kelk <http://robkelk.ottawa-anime.org/>
e-mail: s/deadspam/gmail/
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