August NTUSA cover disk

Another three episodes on this month's disk.

Fist up is Innocent Venus, set in a world where a series of natural
disasters has
led to economic collapse and where there are two cl*****, the upper class
who live
in the cities and an under class who live in poverty outside in the ruins
of the
old cities.
The story starts with a man and a young girl running through a ruined
city, they
are being chased by soldiers and it soon becomes clear that it's the girl
they're
after.
This is a fairly dark series, in more ways than one as a lot of the action
takes
place at night.  There's lots of violent battles between combat mecha
equipped
soldiers and there's also evidence that there's a political conflict going
on as
well.
This looks like it could develop into quite a good series if you like
violent mecha
battles and political intrigue.

Next up is Mu****-****, which is as tranquil as Innocent Venus is violent. 
The story
of a man who travels around looking for, and helping, those people who are
in
contact in some way or other with the elemental spirit like beings known
as mu****.
The episode exuded a very laid-back, peaceful charm.  It seems to be more
of a
series of one-off stories based around the travels of one man rather than
a
continuous on-going story, but it's none the worse for that and may
actually be its
strong point.   This could well be the perfect series for those who prefer
thoughtful, contemplative stories.

Last up is Air.  I saw a couple of episodes of this a few years ago at
Minamicon
and really liked it, so I'm pleased that it's finally getting a DVD
release.  The
story opens with a traveller arriving a small coastal town and trying, not
very
successfully, to earn enough to buy his next meal by putting on a strange
puppet
show. Throughout his travels he is searching for the Girl in the Sky, a
legend that
his mother passed down to him.
Shortly after arriving in the town he is befriended by an energetic, but
rather
dizzy, young girl who introduces him to her enigmatic friends and he
realises that
there is a possibility that one of them could be a clue to what he is
searching
for.


== Peter ==
-----------------------------------------------------
"Making a clean getaway is the mark of a professional."
(Mireille Bouquet: Noir)