(continued from part 7)
REC: The "spirit" of Audrey Hepburn comes back to the screen in
the anime adaptation of REC, a delightful romantic comedy about the
trials and tribulations of a young couple in modern day Tokyo.
Fumihiko Matsumaru, a frustrated designer in an ad agency, meets Aka
Onda, an aspiring voice actress, by accident one evening after being
stood up by a colleague. The two have an enjoyable time together
without really getting to know much about each other before parting.
But later that evening, after a fire in a nearby apartment building,
Matsumaru again runs into Aka who has lost everything in that fire.
Matsumaru brings Aka back to his apartment, where, thanks to their
mutual attraction and the stress of the evening, they make love.
The situation at first appears to be truly fortunate for Aka and
Matsumaru, because they are both looking for a serious relation****p
and they like each other. But things start to become complicated
right away as it turns out that the voice actress agency that Aka
works for does business with the ad agency that Matsumaru works for,
and Aka is chosen to be the spokes-model for a new ad campaign that
Matsumaru has created. Both Aka and Matsumaru are concerned to avoid
the appearance that Aka has been chosen for the position because of
her relation****p with Matsumaru, so they agree to hide their
relation****p for the time being.
So the story becomes a classic "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy
gets girl back again" romance, with the lead characters being charming
and likeable. One of the underlying themes of the story is the way
that Aka likes to relate her life to the roles of Audrey Hepburn in
romantic comedies such as BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S. Aka realizes that
she isn't Audrey Hepburn, nor the characters in Hepburn's movies, but
Aka never-the-less feels a kin****p with the spirit of the characters
in those movies.
The series is done in a very brisk and light-hearted manner. The
episodes are short and well-directed, with no wasted time or fillers.
The voice acting is first rate and suits the snappy dialog quite well.
The animation and music are bright and appropriate for the subject
matter. All-in-all, REC is a memorably enjoyable romantic comedy.
[Entry by Dave Baranyi]
RECORD OF LODOSS WAR: There are now two series called RECORD OF
LODOSS WAR: the original 13 episode OVA and a 27 episode TV series
called RECORD OF LODOSS WAR: CHRONICLES OF THE HEROIC KNIGHT. The OVA
based is on novels which in turn were based on a D&D game with the
standard class and race types as the heroes (Fighter, Cleric, Wizard,
Thief, Elf, and Dwarf) and the classic villains of orcs, wizards, and
drow elves. Due to time constraints the animators ****fted things
around a bit which creates some problems with the HEROIC KNIGHT series
which is set after episode 7 of the OVA but follows the novels far
more closely.
Licenced by USMC in North America.
[Entry by Bruce Grubb]
REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA: See UTENA
RIDING BEAN: Ace driver Bean Bandit will deliver anything to
anywhere in Chicago for the right price, no questions asked. But when
he tries to deliver an escaped kidnap victim to her father, he gets
framed as the kidnapper! An action story written by Kenichi Sonoda.
Available from AnimEigo.
(Please note that this OAV *almost* qualifies for inclusion in the
Anime Hentai Primer, because of one scene that is inappropriate for
younger viewers.)
[Entry by Rob Kelk]
RIKUJO BOUEITAI MAO-CHAN: See MAO-CHAN
RISKY SAFETY: See OMI**** MAGICAL THEATER: RISKY SAFETY
RIZELMINE: Fifteen year old Tomonori is upset on his way home from
school because his young homeroom teacher, who he has a big crush on,
has just announced her engagement. But things are only just starting
to get bad for Tomonori; because as he steps into the house he finds
that he has essentially stepped into a remake of URUSEI YATSURA. In
the doorway of his house waits 12 year old Rizel, a pink-haired
product of a Secret Government Project, who says that she is
Tomonori's wife, and has the papers from the Government to prove it.
Tomonori is in no mood for this, but Rizel cries tears of nitro-
glycerine, so Tomonori soon learns that it is dangerous for Rizel to
be sad.
RIZELMINE is T&A comedy, with the first half of the series being
suggestive rather than explicit because it was on broadcast TV, while
the second half is aggressively less conservative because it was on
satellite TV. Each episode is half the usual length, so the series
goes by breezily, with plenty of brain and eye candy to entertain
viewers in the mood for belly laugh humor.
[Entry by Dave Baranyi]
ROBOT CARNIVAL: A movie, featuring 8 unrelated animated shorts
about, some more, some less, robots. Each segment has its unique
style and music with only two segments featuring some dialog. The
stories cover scary sequences, fast-paced action, dark, comedy and
drama. The beautiful, timeless animation is done in a fine and
artistic way and successfully keeps the viewer's attention.
Since the segments are so short, providing a synopsis or additional
comments would spoil the movie.
VHS and Laserdisc versions were available in 1993. Currently,
there is no news if a DVD release will be produced.
[Entry by Gerardo Campos]
ROSE OF VERSAILLES: A historical fantasy based on the manga by
Riyoko Ideda, set in France in the years leading up to the French
Revolution, and including many real historical figures and events in
its story of romance and intrigue. The central character is Oscar
Francois de Jarjeyes, a fictional swordswoman who becomes the head of
Marie Antoinette's bodyguards. Raised as a man by her father, she
initially keeps her own feelings buried beneath a mask of duty and
honour. The series ****trays Oscar's journey both personal, as she
strives to reconcile her upbringing with her own passionate nature,
and political, as she ultimately must choose between the good of the
country and her lifelong loyalties. Produced as a 40 episode TV
series in 1978, the animation may not be up to modern standards, but
this is easily compensated for by the beautiful artwork.
[Entry by David Simmons]
ROUJIN-Z: The very near future. A new fully automated healthcare
robot, integrated in a sickbed, starts taking way too much care of its
senile patient when it takes on the personality of the patient's
deceased wife. A silly cyberpunk parody with lots of punches about
the generation gap and the lack of interest in the problems of the
elderly. Senior citizens hacking into government computers from their
daycare facility! Strange humour that may not appeal to everybody,
though.
Licenced by CPM in North America, and by Madman in Australia.
[Entry by Hanno Mueller]
ROYAL SPACE FORCE (a.k.a. WINGS OF HONNEAMISE): 1987 anime
blockbuster of all ages, which never busts anything, including the box
office. The first Studio GAINAX feature film, it is a story about the
first spaceman of some abstract planet (alternative Earth, because
Honneamise is much like Japan, and the Republic resembles the United
States very much). That astronaut, Colonel ****rotsugh Lhadatt, is a
complete loser all his life, and the staff of Honneamise space program
is a bunch of misfits and weirdos led by some space maniac, but
somehow they succeeded in their goal, launching the rocket directly
from a battlefield, during a war! Despite all said above, it's a kind
and heartwarming story, with brilliant graphics and talented
direction. And box office? Who cares about it, especially after 1990,
when it returned its budget.
Previously available from Manga Video; the licence has expired.
[Entry by Andrew V. Tupkalo]
ROZEN MAIDEN: Made by a splinter group from Madhouse, this show
reflects that dedication to quality animation that Madhouse is noted
for. A modern fable about a young drop-out who comes in possession of
a beautifully crafted living doll that binds him to her, the show
presents some of the most accurate slice of contem****ary life in Japan
that I've seen (including the rise of lacrosse amongst girls, the
presence of European-influenced bakeries, and a very honest depiction
of the hikkimori phenomenon). ROZEN MAIDEN, while not as *****cally
charged with *** and death as the gothic/neo-gothic stories that
influenced it, does contain a surprising element of burgeoning
***uality.
[Entry by Michael Lo]
RUIN EXPLORERS (a.k.a. FAM AND IHRIE): Based on the original manga
by Kunihiko Ta****a, this is a light-hearted sword & sorcery series.
Somewhat reminiscent of SLAYERS in tone and basic plot, it stands
firmly on its own as a great story with characters that you can't help
but love, even if some of them are a bit cliche. The animation is
very good, although some of the fan-service is a little overdone at
times. The series opens with a scene of Fam & Ihrie in the middle of
exploring a dungeon, so don't think that you've mistakenly gotten a
later volume when you start watching. One of the funniest and cutest
aspects of the show is Ihrie's curse - she has a *little* problem with
casting spells. The one real complaint that most people have about
the series is that it is too short - four episodes for a total of
about two hours viewing time.
Released in North America by ADV.
[Entry by Paul Lepant]
RUNE SOLDIER (a.k.a. LOUIE THE RUNE SOLDIER or RUNE SOLDIER LOUIE):
Three female adventurers (Merrill the thief, Genie the swordswoman,
and Melissa the priestess of Mylee, God of Battle) need the help of a
magician to explore an old ruin, however the only magician they find
that's willing to go is Louie, the adopted son of the head of the
Magician's guild. On the trip to the ruins, Louie proves to be more
capable of using his fists than his magic and breaks his magic wand
when he uses it like a club. This is the start of the many various
misadventures of Louie, the Rune Soldier!
Available in R1 from ADV.
[Entry by Bill Martin]
RUMIK WORLD: See FIRE TRIPPER, LAUGHING TARGET, MARIS THE CHOJO,
and MERMAID FOREST
RUPAN III: See LUPIN III
RUROUNI KEN****N: The adventures of Himura Ken****n and his friends
in 1870's Japan, 10 years after the civil war. A former assassin,
Ken****n now uses a sakabattou (reverse-bladed sword) so as to protect
those he loves while keeping his promise to never kill again. This
long series hits its stride during the season long "Kyoto Arc" (eps
28-62), becoming darker and more serious than the previous season.
The OVA, made after the series but set before it, is much darker
and more violent than the series itself.
Commercially available through ADV (movie and OVA, as SAMURAI X)
and Anime Works (series)
[Entry by Catherine Johnson]
S
SABER MARIONETTE J: The planet of Terra II is populated only by
men, all clones of the six survivors of a crashed colony vessel. To
compensate for the loss of women in their society, robots in female
form, called marionettes, were created. Centuries later, a young man
named Otaru comes into the possession of a trio of marionettes (Lime,
Cherry and Bloodberry) that exhibit some very un-robotlike behavior:
they laugh, cry and argue. Otaru now faces the challenge of teaching
the three marionettes what it means to be human, while struggling with
his own growing feelings for them. (25 episode TV series, from
Bandai, US VHS and DVD release by Bandai.)
[Entry by Karl Merris]
SABER MARIONETTE J AGAIN: In this sequel to SABER MARIONETTE J,
Otaru and the marionettes, Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry, take care of
some unfinished business from the first series and unexpectedly
acquires some new marionette "students" that wish to fully realize
their potential to be human. Dealing with a houseful of lively women,
Otaru learns a few new things himself about being human. As
catastrophe looms over the planet of Terra II, the marionettes find
that a human heart carries a heavy price: it can be broken. (6
episode OAV series, from Bandai, US VHS and DVD release by Bandai.)
[Entry by Karl Merris]
SABER MARIONETTE R: This OAV feature was released prior to SABER
MARIONETTE J, but is set three centuries after that series. A young
boy, Junior, heir apparent to the throne of the city-state of Romana,
is hunted by his mad brother and his army of warrior marionettes. The
boy's only hope for survival lies with three marionettes, Lime, Cherry
and Bloodberry, who are dedicated to Junior's defense. There's plenty
of action and surprising revelations as Junior struggles against his
brother to determine the fate of Terra II. (3 episode OAV series,
from Bandai, US VHS release by Bandai, US DVD release by Anime Works.)
[Entry by Karl Merris]
SAILOR MOON: The first of the "mahoshoujo sentai" genre, taking
inspiration equally from the "magical girl" and "fighter team" genres,
SAILOR MOON is about a team of (mostly junior-high-school) girls who
are reincarnated from the Silver Millenium (a time of magic), reborn
to protect Earth from a series of evil invaders.
This show is more suitable for adults than others in the genre;
while it offers the standard transformation sequences and monsters of
the week, it also has a strong sense of humour that frequently
approaches parody, and presents a more interesting cast of characters
than many such shows. The US dub of the first two seasons cuts much
of the subtext that makes the show worth watching, and makes major
changes to some characters' personalities; in particular, the heroine
is presented in a much less positive light. Despite that, the airing
of SAILOR MOON on North American television started the latest cycle
of popular-culture awareness of anime.
ADV released edited-for-television dubs and uncut subs of the first
two seasons, while Geneon released uncut bilingual versions of the
third and fourth seasons and all three SAILOR MOON movies - these are
no longer available commercially. The fifth season was never licenced
in North America.
[Entry by David Damerell, Scott Delahunt, and Rob Kelk]
SAINT TAIL (a.k.a. THE MYSTERIOUS THIEF SAINT TAIL): During the
day, she is Haneoka Meimi, at St. Paulia school, but when there is a
need, during the night she turns into the Magical Girl Saint Tail,
with the help of her friend and classmate Seira, who is a nun in
training and is the only person that knows the identity of Saint Tail.
Help to steal precious objects, but with the objective to return them
to their rightful owners after being stolen by unscrupulous persons.
Saint Tail is chased by Daiki Asuka (Asuka Jr.) who has the mission to
catch and discover the real identity of Saint Tail, and also is
Meimi's classmate. As part of a private deal between Saint Tail and
Asuka Jr., she must tell the young detective when her next attack will
occur.
Saint Tail is not the normal magical girl, since must of her tricks
evolve between illusionism and magician tricks, many of them taken
from her father's skills as a professional magician, but is a nice and
fun show, with character development and cute romantic moments.
SAINT TAIL comprises 43 episodes and are available on DVD from
TokyoPop.
[Entry by Gerardo Campos]
SAIYUKI: See GENSOMADEN SAIYUKI
SAMURAI CHAMPLOO: The end of the Edo Jidai as you've never seen or
heard it before. Two young master swordsmen - one a drop out from a
prestigious dojo and the other a former pirate - become unwilling and
unlikely guardians to a teen-aged waitress who wants to find a
mysterious samurai who "smells like sunflowers". As the three
strangers travel across Japan and slowly become friends the audience
is treated to a brilliant collage of action, visual poetry, side-
splitting humor and an occasional slice of powerful human drama. If
you liked COWBOY BEBOP you'll love SAMURAI CHAMPLOO.
Licenced by Geneon in North America, and by Madman in Australia.
[Entry by Dave Baranyi]
Official Japanese website: <http://www.samuraichamploo.com>
(poorly
designed; *requires* Flash)
SAMURAI X: See RUROUNI KEN****N
SAZAN EYES: See 3X3 EYES
SCRAPPED PRINCESS: Pacifica Casull is the "Scrapped Princess"
prophesied to destroy the world on her 16th birthday. Thus she
travels the world with the protection of her adopted siblings, the
droll swordsman Shannon and the ditzy mage Raquel, fending off those
who seek to kill her. However, it seems as though the prophecy may be
only partly true, but there are forces that really don't want the
truth revealed.
One of the better recent fantasy anime, SCRAPPED PRINCESS features
the usual high standards of production one comes to expect from Studio
Bones (RAHXEPHON, ANGELIC LAYER). The vast cast of characters are
generally seen as the strong point of the show, with most getting at
least a modicum of decent development - however, Pacifica herself has
a tendency towards irritating brattishness, and the writing itself is
occasionally rather clunky, with a central plot twist you can see
coming a mile away that's been slightly overused as of late. Yet
while SCRAPPED PRINCESS is hardly revolutionary or massively deep,
it's great fun to watch and simply enjoy - what more could you want?
SCRAPPED PRINCESS is licensed by Bandai, and begins its DVD release
in April 2005 in Region 1.
[Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
SECRET OF BLUE WATER: See NADIA
SEIKAI NO MONSHOU: See CREST OF THE STARS
SEN TO CHIHIRO NO KAMIKAKU****: See SPIRITED AWAY
SERIAL EXPERIMENTS LAIN: Lain is a shy junior-high girl living in
a seemingly normal, not too very far in the future world. And yet,
strange things keep happening. A classmate commits suicide by jumping
off a building ... and the next day, several people receive e-mail
from her. Lain's parents don't behave as you would expect. Lain
starts to become interested in computers and quite naturally and
easily demonstrates startling aptitude for them using them and "the
wired" - the Internet of her day. But the real truth of who Lain is
will be even more startling yet. A trippy, surreal, confusing and in
my opinion very interesting series. Decent art and animation.
Occasional gore, though very little actual violence. 13 Episodes.
From Geneon Entertainment.
[Entry by Ben Cantrick]
SGT. KERORO: See KERORO GUNSOU
****N SEIKI EVANGELION: See NEON GENESIS EVANGELION
****N TENCHI MUYO: See TENCHI IN TOKYO
****NESMAN: SPECIAL DUTY COMBAT UNIT: They're a team of
superheroes, just like the Power Rangers, except for one little
difference: Most of them don't quite understand what a "sentai" team
is supposed to act like. But that's what happens when the team is
cor****ately funded, and made up of various mid-level office workers
(and an OL as the requisite token female) ...
AnimeWorks has released both OAVs on one tape. Both the sub and the
dub have their strong points - the dub has some funny one-liners in
the dialogue, while the sub makes it quite easy to identify the voice
actors - they're given characters with the same family names.
[Entry by Rob Kelk]
SHOUJO KAKUMEI UTENA: See UTENA
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 *not* 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 im****tance 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 ****p 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 ****p 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 astoni****ng
powers (including the mandatory BFG).
The second episode explains more about the ****p, 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 ****p 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 ****p 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 ***y 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 ***ual 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 tra****ness 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 ****nsen 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 Tatsu****o 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 Tatsu****o 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 KAMIKAKU****): 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
STAR****P OPERATORS: The space war****p Amaterasu returns home from
its shakedown cruise only to discover that its home planet has been
invaded by, and surrendered to, a vastly superior force. The officers
abandon ****p, but the cadets who were on board use a legal loophole to
take possession of the Amaterasu and continue the war against their
foe. The only problem is that they have no way to re-supply ... until
they sign a deal giving a television network exclusive rights to
broadcast their battles.
In the hands of a lesser writer, this could have become a bad
parody of reality shows in space. But STAR****P OPERATORS was written
by Ryo Mizuno (RECORD OF LODOSS WAR), and he turned this premise into
an exploration of doing what you think is right even when everyone
else has abandoned you, the role of embedded journalists in wartime,
the packaging of news as entertainment, the self-serving concerns of
some people in high political office, and, above all, the im****tance
of choosing your allies carefully. And he does all this around and
within the action-packed space battles people have come to expect in
a space opera.
Thirteen episodes, released in North America on three DVDs by
Geneon.
[Entry by Rob Kelk]
STEEL ANGEL KURUMI: On a dare, a boy priest named ****ahito 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, ****ahito. 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, ****ahito 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 ****ahito 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 ****ahito. She decides to make Kurumi happy by
obeying ****ahito, 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 ****ahito. 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 ****ity (fully exposed breasts).
R1 official website:
<http://www25.advfilms.com/favorites/kurumi/index.html>
[Entry by Rob Maxwell]
(continued in part 9)
--
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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