ANIME POCKET GUIDE ================== by Alan Takahashi Last updated: Sep-94 INTERIM RELEASE These files is intended as a short reference guide to anime. It can be grepped by specific keywords to retrieve some sorted information. It is periodically posted as an information resource for readers of rec.arts.anime. All names which appear in this Guide are arranged in the English style (i.e. ) because this is the order which the Japanese seem to prefer when writing out the names in romaji. Additions and corrections are welcome. I'll update this whenever time permits. Thanks to Jeff Okamoto for the use of his Anime Seiyuu Collection. The actual Pocket Guide appears in the next postings. Note that the Guide is broken up into several parts due to the fact that some gateways have a 30K posting limit. To recreate the Guide, combine the parts in order, and remove any header info with your favorite editor. Permission to copy and forward the Anime Pocket Guide in an electronic/softcopy form is granted, provided that you send me e-mail telling me you've done so. I like to keep up on where this thing is headed. Please contact me if you wish to print the Guide on paper. My e-mail address appears at the end in my .sig. CHANGES BETWEEN THIS VERSION AND THE LAST (Nov-93): ================================================== - New fields added to pocket entry: "Release Info" (in progress) "aut:" (in progress) - "Contributors" section moved to Pocket Guide epilogue. The Intro file was getting too large to hold everything. - Definition of "Manga" and "Anime" added to Pocket Guide epilogue. This was done to reduce confusion on the part of newcomers who might think that 'manga' means Japanese Animation. - New entries (INCOMPLETE) Cutey Honey Dragon Half Space Pirate Captain Harlock Raven Tengu Kabuto Koko wa Greenwood Lupin the Third Mobile Suit Gundam Dream Hunter REM - New entries Akazukin Chacha Macross Plus Creamy Mami Marmalade Boy Plastic Little Tonde Buurin - Author (aut:) field added to existing entry: Oh My Goddess! Appleseed City Hunter Dangaioh Dirty Pair Dominion Five Star Stories Galaxy Express 999 Gunnm GS Mikami Hime-chan no Ribbon Iczer 1 Iczer 3 Crusher Joe Kiki's Delivery Service Kimagure Orange Road Laputa Miracle Girls Nausicaa Outlanders Kurenai no Buta Ranma 1/2 Rumic World Sailor Moon 3x3 Eyes Silent Mobius Tenchi Muyou Tonari no Totoro Urusei Yatsura Video Girl Ai Vampire Princess Miyu Space Cruiser Yamato Yawara! - Release Information added to existing entry: Dangaioh Dominion Gunbuster Iczer 1 Kimagure Orange Road Lodoss Wars Luna Varuga Macross Mamono Hunter Yohko Moldiver Ranma 1/2 Sailor Moon Silent Mobius Sol Bianca Tenchi Muyou Urusei Yatsura Video Girl Ai Vampire Princess Miyu - Cast updates: Dominion (New Dominion credit added) Macross (Lin Minmay spelling corrected) Mamono Hunter Yohko (Asuza credit added) - Entry description updates: City Hunter (Kaori is Ryo's partner's sister, not daughter) Graveyard of Fireflies (Japanese title added) Moldiver (US Release info added) Nuku-Nuku (UK Release info added) Otaku no Video (r.a.a. use of "otaku" deleted) Silent Mobius ("Lucifer Hawk" changed to "Lucifer Folk") Wings of Honneamise (US Release info removed - invalid) - Entries lifted from my "TV Anime Misc." postings KEY TO THE ENTRIES: ================== **> Sample Entry: Title: [TITLE] ([TYPE]) gKEY tKEY aka: [JAPANESE TITLE] tKEY aut: [MANGA AUTHOR] ([JAPAN PUBLISHER]; US:[US PUBLISHER]) tKEY Cast: tKEY Character .................................... Voice Actor vKEY tKEY Description: [(by )] tKEY [DESCRIPTION] tKEY Release Info: tKEY [RELEASE INFO] tKEY US Release by: [US DISTRIBUTOR] tKEY UK Release by: [UK DISTRIBUTOR] tKEY Rating: {RATING] tKEY **> [TITLE] field The title of the piece. Usually, the title will be used to refer to the entire series (e.g. "Project A-Ko" and "Bubblegum Crisis"). Unless something major happens, typically this title will be used to blanket everything produced with these characters. An example of this would be "Urusei Yatsura". There are a multitude of OAVs, movies and TV episodes. Rather than list everything, a short entry is all that is needed, since the characters and situations don't really change across the TV series and movies. An example where separate titles is used is "Bubblegum Crisis" and "Bubblegum Crash!". Between the 2 OAV series, the production and distribution companies changed, and the entire basis for "Bubblegum Crisis" changed. These two are essentially 2 different OAV series and are listed as such. **> [JAPANESE TITLE] field If the commonly used title is translated, then the Japanese version of the title is shown in this field where known. This is provided for cases where you might want to find a tape/CD/book/model/other and the only label is the official Japanese one. An example of this would be "Nausicaa" where the commonly used title is "Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind", but the Japanese would read it as "Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa". As before, no claim is made for consistent usage of romaji... **> [MANGA AUTHOR] field Most anime is actually based on a Japanese comic series or "manga". In most cases, the manga is much more detailed, and has additional plotlines that were eliminated when the work was made into anime. Often, questions raised about plot holes in an anime have already been answered in the manga plotline. Typically, only the most successful manga series (in sales) get made into anime... 90% of anime, such as "Urusei Yatsura" or "Appleseed" follow this pattern. Exceptions exist, of course. The "Sailor Moon" manga almost totally goes in a different direction from the anime plotline and could be considered a separate story. The "Tenchi Muyou" and "Vampire Princess Miyu" manga were both published after the success of their respective anime OAV series. This field names the author of the manga. Unlike their US counterparts, a manga author has to be character designer, background artist and story writer all in one. Where possible, the other fields on this line are included: **> [JAPAN PUBLISHER] Name of the Japanese Publisher. Most Japanese bookstores will store the collected manga by publisher first. **> [US PUBLISHER] If a translated version of the manga exists, the US publisher will be listed here, if known. **> [TYPE] field FILM - Released as a theatrical feature. OAV - Released as a one-shot Original Animation Video (OAV). OAVs - Released as an OAV series (multiple parts). TV - Released as a TV series. Many anime have been released in multiple ways, and are noted when that occurs. Definition: Original Animation Video (OAV) Original Video Animation (OVA) An OAV or OVA (the Japanese use the terms interchangeably) is a feature which is released only to the video tape rental/buy market. The feature is *not* released to the movie theaters or as a TV series. As a personal preference, I always use OAV. **> gKEY key This will identify which genre this anime will fall into most closely. This does not mean that an anime *only* fits in this genre, but this is how I would describe it if I could only use one category. The following genre keys are used: gAD - Adventure This genre is characterized by great events happening to the characters and the stories are about how they survive or adapt to the greater events. Often, the central characters can determine the path to be taken later (i.e. will the great power discovered be used for good or evil). Also tends to have a lot of action. gCO - Comedy Funny funny funny! Common uses in anime seem to be parody (making fun of something else), satire (exaggerating some attributes), or slapstick (action-based comedy). Comedies are also good places to find cameo appearances by other anime characters that don't belong there. gDR - Drama This consists of serious stories which are character- driven. Typically, a character's life is followed and we see how he/she changes as he/she matures through the story. We also see how relationships change over time...and how some relationships never change. Some of the most interesting stories fall into this category. gFA - Fantasy This group has magic and dragons and other mythical creatures. Typically, the stories are either comedies or adventures but with a strong fantasy element. gGR - Giant Robots This is a subset of the "Science Fiction" category with the technological emphasis on giant man-shaped robots. The robots can be sentient or controlled by a human operator and are the central focus of the anime. gHO - Horror Brrrrrr. If you want to be scared, then watch this anime. The topics range from traditionally Japanese stories to Western concepts to fantasy worlds. gKI - Kids For lack of a better description, this is anime directed at little kids. As such, the stories tend to be rather simplistic and can be funny or touching. gMG - Magical Girls The typical set up is that a young girl has or gets a magical power that she uses to help others or for personal gain (usually with humorous results). The stories tend to be equal parts comedy and drama. gMI - Miscellaneous This anime doesn't fit anywhere! :-) gRC - Romantic Comedy This is a subset of the "Comedy" category where the humor revolves around romantic situations. Typically, the guy is trying to get the girl or visa versa, and his/her bumbling attempts result in a lot of slapstick humor. gSF - Science Fiction Anime which use science fiction-like gadgetry fall into this category. Note that in a strict sense, many stories are *really* fantasies in that they use psuedo-science to substitute for real science (e.g. FTL drives). gSP - Sports drama A subset of the "Drama" category where the emphasis is on some sport. The whole series/movie would circle around that sport and the characters involved in that sport. **> [DESCRIPTION] and [(by )] fields A short description of the title(s) listed. This should be enough to give the reader a general idea of what the anime is about without going into much detail. Also, relevant production comments and other such details appear here. If appears in this field, this means that I didn't know enough about this anime to give a brief description. Contributions are appreciated. On those occasions where I use someone else's description, their name will appear after the "Description:" header. Usually, I will reformat and do some minor editing. This will happen when I actually *have* a description of some kind, but don't know anything about the anime myself... **> tKEY key The title key. Used by grep for retrieving information about a particular title. See example below. **> vKEY key The Voice Actor key. Used by grep for retrieving all roles by a particular voice actor. See example below. **> [RELEASE INFO] field Optional field. May not appear in an entry. When an anime series becomes popular, more and more features are produced around it. (More and more toys/paraphenalia are produced as well, but that's outside the scope of the Guide. :-)) If a lot of anime is produced for a title, it can get a little confusing as to how much of it there is, particularly for a newcomer. This field is also useful if the anime series ends in a confusing manner or in an unresolved cliffhanger. This field lists the available anime with more detailed information. This is an extension of the shorthand used in the "Title:" line. **> [US DISTRIBUTOR] field **> [UK DISTRIBUTOR] field Optional field. May not appear in an entry. When rights to part or all of an anime are acquired by a US or UK company, that is noted in this field. Also whether the anime has been, or is going to be subtitled or dubbed. **> [RATING] field This is an entirely subjective rating...basically, what did I think of this anime. There are no standards which determine how the rating goes, so don't go looking for one... :-) Keep in mind, though, that this is aimed at a novice -- someone new to anime, or just someone who hasn't seen this piece yet. With this in mind, here is the rating system: "HIGHLY RECOMMENDED" - a definite must-see. If you haven't seen it, and you have any interest in anime, GO SEE THIS ONE! "RECOMMENDED" - The vast majority of anime is rated in this category. As such, quality also covers a wide range. With this one, I didn't feel that this anime rated the "HIGHLY" rating (though it might be very good), and I didn't think it was a dog either. "NOT RECOMMENDED" - STAY AWAY FROM THIS ONE! I don't give this rating very often, so it says something when I do. Sometimes, it's for a sequel which didn't come close to matching the quality of the original... Occasionally, I leave comments in this field as well, though I try not to do this too often... SAMPLE GREP SESSION: =================== First, we'll want to see what's currently in the Pocket Guide, so we'll use grep to get a Table of Contents: lacerta% grep Title: pocket.guide Title: Area 88 (TV) tA88 Title: Akira (FILM) tAKI . . . Title: Queen Millenia (TV) tQUE Title: Ranma 1/2 (FILM,OAV,TV) tR12 Title: Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon (TV) tSAI Title: 3x3 Eyes (aka Sazan Eyes) (OAVs) t3X3 Title: Silent Mobius (FILM) tSIL Title: Urusei Yatsura (FILM,OAV,TV) tUY Title: Video Girl Ai (OAVs) tVAI Title: Space Cruiser Yamato (FILM,TV) tYAM Title: Yawara! A fashionable judo girl. (TV) tYAW OK, now we want to see what this series called "Ranma 1/2" is all about, because people keep talking about it on the net, sooooo: lacerta% grep tR12 pocket.guide Title: Ranma 1/2 (FILM,OAV,TV) tR12 Cast: tR12 Ranma Saotome (boy) .................... Kappei Yamaguchi vKYa tR12 Ranma Saotome (girl) ................. Megumi Hayashibara vMHa tR12 Akane Tendou .............................. Noriko Hidaka vNHi tR12 Kasumi Tendou ............................. Kikuko Inouye vKIn tR12 Nabiki Tendou ........................... Minami Takayama vMTa tR12 Ukyou Kuonji ............................... Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tR12 Happosai .................................. Ichiroo Nagai vINa tR12 Kodachi 'Black Rose' Kunou ................ Saeko Shimazu vSSh1 tR12 Sasuke .................................... Shigeru Chiba vSCh tR12 Azusa Shiratori ............................ Naoko Matsui vNMa tR12 Description: tR12 Take a high school boy. Give him a curse where he turns into tR12 a girl when splashed with cold water and returns to normal with tR12 hot water. Arrange a 'violent' girl (Ranma's words) to be his tR12 iinazuke (fiancee). Stir liberally. A martial arts comedy by tR12 Rumiko Takahashi. tR12 Rating: RECOMMENDED -- especially the 1st TV season. tR12 Well, I like Ranma-chan's voice, so let's see what else Hayashibara-san has done...: lacerta% grep vMHa pocket.guide Ume .................................. Megumi Hayashibara vMHa tAKO Minky Momo ........................... Megumi Hayashibara vMHa tMOMO Ranma Saotome (girl) ................. Megumi Hayashibara vMHa tR12 Pai/Sanjiyan ......................... Megumi Hayashibara vMHa t3X3 Video Girl Ai ........................ Megumi Hayashibara vMHa tVAI Let's look at one of her projects: Video Girl Ai. In this case, we're not interested in the cast list so let's remove it as we display the Pocket Guide entry: lacerta% grep tVAI pocket.guide | grep -v " v" Title: Video Girl Ai (OAVs) tVAI Cast: tVAI Description: tVAI One day, Yohta is walking home. He's just been told that the tVAI girl he likes (Moemi) likes someone else. Trying to cheer up, tVAI he rents an 'explicit' video tape from a wierd rental shop, and tVAI when he plays it, Video Girl Ai pops out of his screen to tVAI comfort him. Unfortunately, Yohta's VCR is on the blink, and tVAI Ai appears minus a large part of her bosum, and with a new and tVAI dangerous mischievous personality... tVAI Rating: RECOMMENDED tVAI >From here, you can use grep to look at any of the other titles... And now......{drum roll}......TIME FOR THE POCKET GUIDE! Title: Cream Lemon (OAVs) gMI tCRE Cast: tCRE Description: tCRE This is an anthology series where the overriding common theme is tCRE SEX! The series has ranged from soap opera (the Ami series) to tCRE fantasy (Rall series) to horror (Cream Lemon Dark) to outright tCRE parody (Pop Chaser). The various episodes have nothing in tCRE common with each other (aside from episodes in a mini-series) tCRE except the requirement to have at least one sex act. In terms tCRE of plot, that ranges from the very bad to mediocre. In most tCRE cases, the sex is totally unnecessary to the plot (such as it is)tCRE but you couldn't call it a "Cream Lemon" if you took it out... tCRE NOTE: "Project A-ko" started as a "Cream Lemon", but the comedy tCRE overwhelmed the sex. The only artifact of "A-ko"'s origins is tCRE the B-ko pool scene... tCRE NOTE: Since this is such an inconsistent series plotwise, any tCRE particular episode will depend heavily on personal taste. With tCRE that in mind, I'll omit the usual rating with the caveat that tCRE sex is *guaranteed* to be a part of any "Cream Lemon" OAV... tCRE NOTE: "Cream Lemon" is also distributed under the "Fairy Dust" tCRE label. tCRE Rating: tCRE Title: Cutey Honey (TV,OAVs) gMG tCUT aut: Go Nagai tCUT Cast: tCUT Description: tCUT [Editor at work! Entry construction in progress] tCUT Title: Dangaioh (OAVs) gGR tDAN aut: Toshihiro Hirano (Comic Nora) tDAN Cast: tDAN Pai Thunder ................................ Naoko Matsui vNMa1 tDAN Roll Kulan ................................. Akira Kamiya vAKa tDAN Description: tDAN A group of 4 young people with various ESPer abilities are told tDAN that they are the new weapon created by Professor Tarson. In tDAN reality, they were all kidnapped and their memories erased. tDAN Together, they can control a new superweapon/robot: Dangaioh. tDAN This is the story of how each discovers his/her past while being tDAN pursued by the "Bunker"...a space-based criminal conglomerate. tDAN A typical giant-robot story with unusual characters. tDAN Release Info: tDAN 3 part OAV. The third part is somewhat open-ended, but there tDAN are no more to this series. tDAN US Release by: US Renditions (subtitled) tDAN Rating: RECOMMENDED tDAN Title: Dirty Pair (FILM,OAV,OAVs,TV) gCO tDPR aut: ???? Takachiho (novels only) tDPR Cast: tDPR Kei ......................................... Kyoko Tongu vKTo2 tDPR Yuri ...................................... Saeko Shimazu vSSh1 tDPR Muhgi ................................... Naoki Makishima vNMa2 tDPR Samara (Affair of Nolandia) ............. Yoshiko Fujita vYFu2 tDPR Yurugis (Affair of Nolandia) ............... Banjou Ginga vBGi tDPR Musuni (Affair of Nolandia) .................. Keiko Han vKHa tDPR Orun (Affair of Nolandia) ............... Masaru Ikeda vMIk2 tDPR Kei (Runaway Angel OAV) .............. Rika Matsumoto vRMa tDPR Yuri (Runaway Angel OAV) ................ Mariko Kouda vMKo3 tDPR Description: tDPR If you're in **BIG** trouble, call on the World Welfare Work tDPR Association or WWWA. They can send out a team of highly trained tDPR and capable agents called Trouble Consultants who can solve your tDPR problem. Unless the team they send you is the "Dirty Pair"... tDPR (I *really* meant "Lovely Angels"). These two will fix your tDPR problem, but leave a lot of collateral damage...but its NEVER tDPR THEIR FAULT!! Entertaining comedy in the James Bond style. tDPR US Release by: Streamline Pictures (dubbed) tDPR Rating: RECOMMENDED tDPR Title: Dominion (OAVs) gCO tDOM aut: Masamune Shirow ( US:Eclipse Intl.) tDOM Cast: tDOM Leona Ozeki ................................ Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tDOM Megane .................................... Shigeru Chiba vSCh tDOM The Chief ................................. Ichiroo Nagai vINa tDOM Annapuma ..................................... Yuhko Mita vYMi1 tDOM Unipuma ................................. Michie Tomizawa vMTo1 tDOM Leona Ozeki (1994 series)..................... Rei Sakuma vRSa1 tDOM Description: tDOM Crime has gone rampant. (So has the pollution, but nobody tDOM really notices. :-)) In order to combat this crime wave, the tDOM police arm themselves with...TANKS! Now, it's the good guys tDOM (the Tank Police) vs. the bad guys (Buaku and his gang). Who tDOM will win? Who SHOULD win? A comedy from the creater of tDOM Appleseed. tDOM Release Info: tDOM 4 part OAV. The intent seems to be to continue the Greenpeace tDOM story, but the series abruptly ends there. tDOM 6 part OAV. 1994 release. This series appears to be closer in tDOM style to the flavor of the original manga. tDOM US Release by: US Manga Corps (subtitled) tDOM UK Release by: Island World Communications (dubbed) tDOM Rating: RECOMMENDED tDOM Title: Doraemon (TV) gKI tDOR Cast: tDOR Description: tDOR This is a kids' show about a cat/robot/oversized possum (take tDOR your pick...even though he's *supposed* to be a cat) called tDOR Doraemon. He lives with a schoolboy whose life is pretty normal.tDOR In this group of friends, there is a local girl and a bully. tDOR Their lives are pretty normal for their age (elementary school), tDOR until Doraemon gets involved. Doraemon looks like a blue and tDOR white otter with a hormone problem. He has a pouch on his tummy tDOR which can produce just about *anything*. Shrinking guns, magic tDOR pools and a futuristic alarm system are among the things that tDOR he's pulled out of that pouch. Bizarre things start happening, tDOR particularly if the local bully gets his hands on the gadgets. tDOR The series is broken up into 2 15-minute segments per episode tDOR and is pretty much light entertainment. tDOR Rating: RECOMMENDED tDOR Title: Dragonball (Z) (TV,FILM) gFA tDRA Cast: tDRA Gokuu Son ................................. Masako Nozawa vMNo tDRA Gohan Son ................................. Masako Nozawa vMNo tDRA Tenshinhan ............................. Hirotaka Suzuoki vHSu tDRA Buruma ..................................... Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tDRA Vegita (Dragonball Z) ..................... Ryo Horikawa vRHo tDRA Piccolo (Dragonball Z) .................. Toshio Furukawa vTFu2 tDRA Trunks (Dragonball Z) .................... Takeshi Kusao vKTa2 tDRA Kuririn (Dragonball Z) .................... Mayumi Tanaka vMTa2 tDRA ....................... Shigeru Chiba vSCh tDRA ....................... Ichiroo Nagai vINa tDRA Goten (Dragonball Z #200-) .............. Masako Nozawa vMNo tDRA Biideru (Dragonball Z #200-) ............. Yuko Minaguchi vYMi2 tDRA Ireza (Dragonball Z #200-) ............... Megumi Urawa vMUr tDRA Description: (by Curtis Hoffmann) tDRA This series is about Gokuu Son, a were-monkey whose original tDRA quest was to find the 7 Dragonballs. It is said that once all 7 tDRA Dragonballs are put together, a great dragon will appear and tDRA will grant 1 wish, after which the Dragonballs will scatter. tDRA There are actually two series so far: tDRA Dragonball - This followed Gokuu on his original quest. There tDRA are lots of silly gags and toilet humor, as well as some tDRA great character acting and pathos. Gokuu Son is based on tDRA the Monkey King legend, but is more naive and innocent than tDRA he is strong and valorous (which is saying a LOT). As his tDRA quest continues, he picks up lots of friends and enemies, tDRA which keeps the storyline fresh. Also, upon the completion tDRA of a quest, it must begin again since the Dragonballs are tDRA scattered, leading to new & even more bizarre adventures. tDRA Most villains belong to the "Red Ribbon" organization of tDRA which the most deadly assassin is...Kao Pai Pai. tDRA Dragonball Z - This differs from the 1st series in that Gokuu tDRA disappeared into a strange realm and emerged as a super- tDRA Saiyajin. Combat is now emphasized rather than the toilet tDRA humor and story of the last series. In recent storylines, tDRA the plot centers on 4 androids from the future who came to tDRA kill Gokuu and fights everyone who tries to protect him. tDRA Cell, one of the 4 androids, absorbs 2 of the others to tDRA become capable of destroying the universe. Gohan, Gokuu's tDRA son, is the only one who can stop him since he has been tDRA shown to be more powerful -- and faster -- than his father. tDRA This is arguably one of the most popular (and money making) tDRA anime TV series in Japan today. tDRA Rating: RECOMMENDED tDRA Title: Dragon Half (OAVs) gCO tDRH Cast: tDRH Description: tDRH [Editor at work! Entry construction in progress] tDRH Title: Everyday is Sunday (OAVs) gAD tEDS aka: Mainichi ga Nichiyoubi tEDS aut: Yuuzo Takada ( ) tEDS Cast: tEDS Description: tEDS During a heavy downpour, a girl is running away from a boy. She tEDS crosses a street, not seeing the oncoming truck. He does, and tEDS pushes her away...bloodily injuring his hand. Frightened, she tEDS runs away from the scene. Much later, the girl, whose name is tEDS Yumi Takeshita, has grown up to become a rookie police officer. tEDS On her first day on duty, the overeager Yumi hears a scream and tEDS finds a purse-snatching victim. She sees a heavyset man running tEDS away and gives chase. She catches him and with her strength and tEDS combat skills, flattens him. Not only has she caught the wrong tEDS guy, but the scar on his hand shows that he's Tohru Ichidaiji, tEDS the young man who saved her so many years ago. To make it up to tEDS him, Yumi goes on a date with him. During the date, Tohru-san tEDS uses his magician skills to catch the real purse-snatcher, but tEDS he has an older brother...who bumps into Yumi. This is a very tEDS funny action series with a slight romantic touch. By Yuuzo tEDS Takada, the creator of "3x3 Eyes". Note that the anime Yumi is tEDS a redhead while the manga Yumi is blond... tEDS Rating: RECOMMENDED tEDS Title: Etranger (FILM) gSF tETR Cast: tETR Remy Shimoda ................................ Mami Koyama vMKo1 tETR Bundoru ................................. Kaneto Shiozawa vKSh1 tETR Description: tETR Remy Shimoda is in a hurry. She's on her way to a reunion with tETR the other members of the Go Shogun team, and she's late. A tETR police action with some robbers gets in her way, so she runs the tETR robbers off the road. Her vision blurs and she gets into an tETR accident. The movie splits into two with one plot following tETR Remy's slow decline at the hospital with the Go Shogun members tETR and former enemies at her side, and her experience in a strange tETR city where she, and the rest of the team have their deaths tETR foretold. Remy, herself, is plagued by visions of her death, tETR and visitations from a threatening girl and her panther-like cat.tETR The temple at the center of the city is the key, so the team tETR sets out to battle their way into it. Based on the giant robot tETR series "Go Shogun", this is a story focusing on Remy, the female tETR member of the team. Remy's mother was a French prostitute, so tETR Remy has a tainted and confused past. This aspect is played tETR upon in the movie where we see an older Remy, 30 years after the tETR "Go Shogun" series on the one hand, and the younger Remy in the tETR city. Whether the city is a dream or not is left ambiguous... tETR NOTE: "Etranger" is French for "stranger" and refers to Remy's tETR status as an outsider... tETR NOTE: The "Go Shogun" series was dubbed and released in the US tETR as 1/2 of the "Macron 1" TV series tETR Rating: RECOMMENDED tETR Title: Future Boy Conan (TV) gSF tFBC aka: Mirai Shounen Conan tFBC Cast: tFBC Description: (by Enrique Conty) tFBC In the aftermath of a war fought by magnetic weapons which tFBC caused massive earthquakes, a young and spunky boy naned Conan tFBC gets involved in a grand adventure. Conan lives in a world that tFBC is mostly oceans; the major land masses having been destroyed tFBC by the weapons of the great war. He meets a young girl named tFBC Lana, and they eventually foil the plans of the city-state of tFBC Industria which wants to regain the lethal weapons. This 1979 tFBC 26-episode liberal adaptation of Alexander Key's "THE INCREDIBLE tFBC TIDE" has been described as director Hayao Miyazaki's prototype tFBC for this later film "Laputa: Castle in the Sky". tFBC Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tFBC Title: Five Star Stories (OAV) gDR tFSS aut: Mamoru Nagano tFSS Cast: tFSS Amaterasu .................................. Ryo Horikawa vRHo tFSS Ladios Sopp ................................ Ryo Horikawa vRHo tFSS Fatima Lachesis .......................... Maria Kawamura vMKa1 tFSS Fatima Clotho ................................ Rei Sakuma vRSa1 tFSS Vord Bewlard ............................. Norio Wakamoto vNWa2 tFSS Colus III ............................... Kazuhiko Inouye vKIn2 tFSS Torohra .................................. Issei Futamata vIFu tFSS Peosche Nomien .............................. Shoo Hayami vSHa tFSS Grand Duke Yuuba .......................... Ichiroo Nagai vINa tFSS Description: tFSS Among the 5 star systems known as the Joker Systems, there are tFSS many kingdoms. There are knights within the kingdoms and the tFSS knights control giant robots called Headliners. Bound to the tFSS knights are fatimas. Human in appearance and mind, the fatimas tFSS (mostly female) possess expanded physical capabilities and make tFSS it possible to control a Headliner. Fatimas cannot reproduce. tFSS All this is overseen by Emperor Amaterasu and his Mirage Knights.tFSS Rather than grasp at the epic proportions of Mamoru Nagano's tFSS manga, this OAV tells a simpler story of the fulfillment of two tFSS fatimas and, perhaps, questions their traditional roles... tFSS Rating: RECOMMENDED tFSS Title: Golgo 13 (aka "The Professional") (FILM) gMI tG13 Cast: tG13 Golgo 13 ................................ Tetsurou Sagawa vTSa2 tG13 Leonard Dawson ............................... Goroo Naya vGNa tG13 Laura Dawson ................................ Reiko Mutoo vRMu tG13 Cindy/Doctor Zed ......................... Yoshiko Fujita vYFu2 tG13 Rita .................................... Kumiko Takizawa vKTa1 tG13 General T. Jefferson .................. Kiyoshi Kobayashi vKKo tG13 Description: tG13 Golgo 13 is an assassin for hire. He is the best in that once tG13 hired, he will kill the target no matter who it is. It doesn't tG13 matter how much protection is around the target. Golgo 13 is tG13 also a completely amoral man with few redeeming qualities. In tG13 this film, one of Golgo 13's targets is the son of a very power- tG13 ful man...who sends everything he can after the assassin. The tG13 suspense level is very high throughout the film, though the tG13 mood is very dark. Computer graphics are also used a lot. tG13 US Release by: Streamline Pictures (dubbed) tG13 Rating: RECOMMENDED tG13 Title: Legend of the Galactic Heroes (OAVs,FILM) gDR tGAL Cast: tGAL Paul Von Oberstein ...................... Kaneto Shiozawa vKSh1 tGAL Description: tGAL The story of two mighty space empires is told from the viewpoint tGAL of two 'heroes': Rheinhardt Von Museal, Admiral of the Galactic tGAL Empire, and Yang Wenli, Admiral from the Alliance of Free tGAL Planets. Both men are military and tactical geniuses and are tGAL born survivors. The ambitious Rheinhart has the goal of getting tGAL enough power to be able to free his sister from her obligation tGAL as one of the Emperor's Court ladies. He is fairly ruthless in tGAL this which is tempered only by his aide: Siegfried Kircheis. tGAL Yang is a pacifistic man who, when necessary, will do his duty tGAL even if it means fighting against an enemy fleet (since he is a tGAL *soldier*, after all). The drama between these 2 men is played tGAL out against a backdrop of great space battles, inept commanders, tGAL frightened soldiers, personal relationships, corrupt politicians tGAL and the workings of two space empires at war with each other. tGAL This is a space opera on a very grand scale. Note that there is tGAL a very heavy Prussian influence on the series, especially tGAL present in the Imperial uniforms... tGAL Rating: RECOMMENDED tGAL Title: Science Ninja Team Gatchaman (TV) gSF tGAT aka: Kagaku Ninja tai Gatchaman tGAT Cast: tGAT ....................... Youko Asagami vYAs tGAT Description: tGAT tGAT Was dubbed and marketed as "Battle of the Planets" by Sandy tGAT Frank Productions. tGAT US Release by: Sandy Frank Productions?? (dubbed) tGAT Rating: tGAT Title: Gall Force (OAVs) gSF tGFC Cast: tGFC Eluza (Eternal Story) ................... Maria Kawamura vMKa1 tGFC Pony (Eternal Story) .................. Michie Tomizawa vMTo1 tGFC Exanon (Eternal Story) .................. Toshio Furukawa vTFu2 tGFC Lufy ....................................... Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tGFC Catty .................................... Naoko Watanabe vNWa1 tGFC Shildy (Gall Force 2&3) ..................... Mayumi Shoo vMSh tGFC Spea (Gall Force 2&3) ................... Yuko Mizutani vYMi3 tGFC Amy (Gall Force 2&3) .................... Chieko Honda vCHo tGFC Description: tGFC A great war between two interstellar powers: the Paranoid and tGFC the Solenoid. Among all the destruction, the crew of the tGFC Starleaf are told to go to Chaos. The Starleaf manages to tGFC escape the destruction, but, ultimately, all but one of the tGFC survivors are killed in true "10 little indians" tradition. tGFC Parts 2 and 3 of the series deals with a revived Lufy and tGFC another group of Solenoids 10 years later. tGFC US Release by: US Manga Corps (subtitled) tGFC Rating: RECOMMENDED tGFC Title: Gall Force: Earth Chapter series (OAVs) gSF tGFE Title: Gall Force: New Century series (OAVs) gSF tGFE Cast: tGFE Soundy ..................................... Naoko Matsui vNMa1 tGFE Melody ....................................... Eriko Hara vEHa tGFE Score ...................................... Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tGFE Anne ...................................... Yuko Mizutani vYMi3 tGFE Catty .................................... Naoko Watanabe vNWa1 tGFE Mitty ...................................... Chieko Honda vCHo tGFE Fortin ................................... Maria Kawamura vMKa1 tGFE Sally ................................... Michie Tomizawa vMTo1 tGFE Description: tGFE In the near future, man has found the capsule containing the tGFE knowledge of Solenoid technology. Humanity created the MMEs tGFE which turned on humanity and created an Earthly wasteland via tGFE the nuclear weapons of the superpowers. Now, human rebel groups tGFE fight against the MMEs to reclaim their planet. The mood here tGFE is very "Terminator" like. "Rhea Gall Force" was actually the tGFE first OAV using this setting. "New Century" continues the tGFE story a century later. tGFE tGFE Note: After "Rhea Gall Force", the "Earth Chapter" series turned tGFE pedestrian. Starting with the stop-motion animation in part tGFE 1 to the silly resolution in part 3, I just got turned off. tGFE Perhaps I was expecting too much..there are many good elements tGFE in "Earth Chapter"(esp. #2), but overall it was a waste. "New tGFE Century" is a total waste leaving me with a "huh?" reaction. tGFE Rating: NOT RECOMMENDED (except for "Rhea Gall Force") tGFE Title: Galaxy Express 999 (FILM,TV) gSF t999 aut: Leiji Matsumoto (Shogakukan) t999 Cast: t999 Clea ...................................... Youko Asagami vYAs t999 Metalmena (Adieu, GX999) .................. Youko Asagami vYAs t999 Description: t999 In the far far future, technology has advanced enough so that it t999 no longer matters what a spaceship looks like. You can have a t999 space express service with a ship that looks like a 19th t999 century train. Imagine where you can go and what adventures t999 you can have. We follow Tetsuo as he goes on these adventures. t999 In "Adieu, Galaxy Express 999", the final chapter has Tetsuo as t999 one of the human rebels fighting against the mechanicals. t999 Rating: RECOMMENDED t999 ANIME POCKET GUIDE by: Alan Takahashi Last Updated: Sep-94 INTERIM VERSION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Title: Area 88 (TV,FILM) gDR tA88 Cast: tA88 Shin Kazama ............................. Kaneto Shiozawa vKSh1 tA88 Ryoko ................................... Sakiko Tamagawa vSTa tA88 Satoru Kanzaki (young) .................... Mayumi Tanaka vMTa2 tA88 Buxie ................................... Toshio Furukawa vTFu2 tA88 Escape Killer #1 .......................... Shigeru Chiba vSCh tA88 Description: tA88 Shin Kazama has a bright future. He is an up and coming pilot tA88 for Yamato Air Lines and has a relationship with the boss's tA88 daughter and, perhaps, is destined to head the airline someday. tA88 All this changes when his friend Kanzaki gets him drunk, and he tA88 signs a paper which enlists him in the Aslam Foreign Legion. tA88 There are 3 ways to get out: to get enough kills to buy your way tA88 out; to survive until your term is up; or escape. This is a tA88 gritty, action-oriented series with accurate depictions of tA88 military aircraft and associated hardware. Note that the movies tA88 are edited compilations from the TV series. tA88 US Release by: US Manga Corps (subtitled) tA88 Rating: RECOMMENDED tA88 Title: Aura Battler Dunbine (TV,OAVs) gGR tABD Cast: tABD Marvel Frozen .................................. Mika Doi vMDo tABD Barn Bonnings ............................... Shoo Hayami vSHa tABD Chum Huau ................................ Maria Kawamura vMKa1 tABD Silky Mau ................................ Keiko Yokozawa vKYo1 tABD ..................... Michie Tomizawa vMTo1 tABD Description: tABD Byston Well is a world where people go when they die. It is tABD normally unreachable from Earth for it exists between sea and tABD land. Only those who can open the Aura Road can pass through. tABD Dwellers of Sea called the A-Fellario are able to open the Aura tABD Road, and one of them named Silky Mau is forced to do it to tABD snatch a young motocross racer named Sho Zama. Sho finds himself tABD in Byston Well and his role is to pilot an Aura Battler. The tABD Aura Battler is a giant robot warrior of immense power that can tABD only be piloted by one with a strong Aura. All people brought tABD from Earth have that Aura, but Sho's is exceptionally strong. tABD His new master is Drake Luft, but Sho soon finds that Drake's tABD motives are more complex than he realizes... tABD Rating: RECOMMENDED tABD Title: AD Police (OAVs) gSF tADP Cast: tADP Description: (by Tom Jewell) tADP This is an OAV series concentrating on the AD Police first seen tADP in "Bubble Gum Crisis", a few years before the first appearance tADP of the Knight Sabers. The stories have the AD Police dealing tADP with more mundane crimes and more thought provoking conflicts. tADP A common character with "Bubble Gum Crisis" is a young Leon tADP McNichol. tADP File 1: Leon is fighting against a prostitute Booma. Severely tADP injured, he defeats it. The Booma returns to his life when tADP its parts are reused and she (it?) begins killing her tADP clients. tADP File 2: This is a "what makes us human" story when a series of tADP "Jack the Ripper" style slayings take place. tADP File 3: A story dealing with our own humanity as a police tADP officer is turned into a 'Robocop' type of Booma...replacing tADP everything except his brain and tongue. tADP tADP NOTE: Rating is by contributor. tADP US Release by: AnimEigo (subtitled) tADP Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tADP Title: Genji Tsushin Agedama (TV) gCO tAGE Cast: tAGE Agedama ................................... Nozomu Sasaki vNSa tAGE Ibuki .................................. Kotono Mitsuishi vKMi1 tAGE Description: tAGE Agedama is a small boy going to elementary school and having the tAGE usual problems for a boy of his age. He is also secretly a tAGE superhero-in-training (called "Agedaman"). Along with Wapuro, tAGE his floating computer companion, he fights against a criminal tAGE organization who can turn humans into monsters of various types. tAGE This is *not* a series to be taken seriously...they extensively tAGE parody the superhero genre as well as other anime including tAGE "Lupin III: Cagliostro Castle" (many scenes from the movie were tAGE followed almost exactly!) and "Sailor Moon" (Ibuki-chan turned tAGE into a 'bishoujo senshi'). Besides, where else can you find tAGE adversaries like a word processor (Wapuro) vs. a PC (PC-ro)? :-) tAGE Rating: RECOMMENDED tAGE Title: Akira (FILM) gSF tAKI Cast: tAKI Tetsuo .................................... Nozomu Sasaki vNSa tAKI Kai ....................................... Takeshi Kusao vKTa2 tAKI Description: tAKI Neo-Tokyo is gearing up for the Olympics which will be held tAKI there. These events mean little to Kaneda and his motorcycle tAKI gang. Their goal in life is to have a good time, without tAKI getting into any *real* trouble. However, trouble finds them tAKI as one of the bikers, Tetsuo, 'runs into' a psychic kid and is tAKI taken away. Kaneda finds that this is all linked to a dark tAKI mysterious secret called 'Akira'. The plot is somewhat tAKI confusing, but this is one of the most technically impressive tAKI anime movies to date. tAKI NOTE: The "Akira Production Report" is a 'Making of...' video tAKI that shows some behind-the-scenes stuff of the "Akira" tAKI movie. tAKI US Release by: Streamline Pictures (dubbed) tAKI UK Release by: Island World Communications (dubbed & subtitled) tAKI Rating: RECOMMENDED -- but not for weak stomachs :-) tAKI Title: Project A-Ko (FILM, OAVs) gCO tAKO Title: A-Ko the Versus (OAVs) gCO tAKO Cast: tAKO A-Ko Magami ................................... Miki Itoh vMIt tAKO B-Ko Daitokuji ............................ Emi Shinohara vESh tAKO C-Ko Kotobuki ........................... Michie Tomizawa vMTo1 tAKO Ume .................................. Megumi Hayashibara vMHa1 tAKO Ine .................................... Yoshino Takamori vYTa1 tAKO Captain Napolipolita ...................... Shuichi Ikeda vSIk1 tAKO Spy-D ...................................... Tessho Genda vTGe tAKO Raiza Chichi (A-Ko the Vs:Blue Side) ...... Saeko Shimazu vSSh1 tAKO Description: tAKO Take a school classroom. Add one poetry spouting teacher. Add tAKO a brilliant student (B-Ko). Add two new students, one who can tAKO destroy whole armies with her strength and another who can tAKO destroy whole armies with her crying and cooking. Now, create tAKO a rivalry between A-Ko and B-ko over getting to be C-Ko's friend.tAKO Add an invading alien force and you've got a parody taking aim tAKO at many anime cliches. Overall, it was very funny, though some tAKO parts were better than others. "A-Ko the Versus" placed A-Ko and tAKO B-Ko as bounty hunters trying to rescue C-Ko. tAKO US Release by: US Manga Corp (subtitled) tAKO Rating: RECOMMENDED tAKO Title: Oh! My Goddess (OAVs) gCO tAMG aka: Aa! Megami-sama tAMG aut: Kosuke Fujishima ( ) tAMG Cast: tAMG Keiichi .................................. Masami Kikuchi vMKi2 tAMG Belldandy (a goddess) ..................... Kikuko Inouye vKIn1 tAMG Skuld (a goddess) ...................... Aya Hisakawa vAHi2 tAMG Urd (a goddess) ........................ Yumi Tohma vYTo tAMG Description: (by Hitoshi Doi) tAMG One day, Keiichi, a student at Nekomi Institute of Technology tAMG (or NIT) was in his dorm because his sempai told him to wait for tAMG a phone call. While waiting, he got hungry, so Keiichi called tAMG out for some food. He dialed the wrong number and got the tAMG "Goddess Helpers" office instead. A young cute goddess named tAMG Belldandy appear out of the mirror and said "Our job is to help tAMG people who are in trouble, like you. I can grant you one wish, tAMG no matter what it is...". Keiichi said "I want you to stay for- tAMG ever". The wish was approved. Unfortunately, Keiichi lives in tAMG a men-only dorm, so he got thrown out when his sempai returned. tAMG Keiichi's friends didn't let him in either, so he and Belldandy tAMG finally settled in an old temple... tAMG NOTE: This series is commonly known as "Ah! My Goddess", but the tAMG English title is as shown above. Confirmed with the manga's tAMG author by Robert Woodhead of AnimEigo. tAMG US Release by: AnimEigo (subtitled) tAMG Rating: RECOMMENDED tAMG Title: We Love Animation! (TV) gMI tANI aka: Anime Daisuki! tANI Cast: tANI tANI Description: tANI This is a TV special which comes on twice a year. For one week, tANI various OAVs and movies are shown on TV via this program. Among tANI the features that have been shown are well-known ones such as tANI "Patlabor OAV #7", "Orange Road: White Lovers", "Lupin III: The tANI Legendary Gold of Babylon", "3x3 Eyes", "Dominion" and all of tANI "Project A-Ko". Less well known features include "Anpan-Man", tANI "Fuma no Kojiro", "Cleopatra DC", "Kenya" and "Midoriyama High tANI School". This is a great way to sample different anime that you tANI have never seen before. Also, the "We Love Animation" credits tANI are not to be missed...a different one for each series. This tANI was the first place that I ever saw an "Animate" gift card... :-)tANI Rating: RECOMMENDED tANI Title: Appleseed (OAV) gSF tAPP aut: Masamune Shirow ( US:Eclipse Intl.) tAPP Cast: tAPP Hitomi ...................................... Mayumi Shoo vMSh tAPP Description: tAPP In the futuristic metropolis of Olympus, a terrorist action is tAPP taking place. Handling the situation is ESWAT, a special branch tAPP of the Olympus Police Dept. Through the tense situation, ESWAT tAPP prepares to neutralize the terrorists. Finally, ESWAT strikes tAPP and kill or capture all but one of the terrorists. Along the tAPP way, we're introduced to two ESWAT members: Deunan Nut and tAPP Briareos Hecatonchires. They are 2 outsiders who joined ESWAT tAPP for lack of anywhere else to go. The OAV tells a story of a tAPP terrorist plot to take over Gaia...the central computer running tAPP Olympus. The plot involves a disillusioned ESWAT officer and tAPP the terrorist who got away and Hitomi, Deunan's bioroid friend tAPP who is used as a pawn to gain access to Gaia. tAPP tAPP NOTE: The OAV is based on the manga "Appleseed" by Matsumune tAPP Shirow. The manga is full of rich character development and tAPP background. Unfortunately, none of this was shown in the OAV. tAPP We got a simple police vs. terrorist story filled with lots of tAPP action, but was pretty pointless. It was interesting to see tAPP how many English words were misspelled, though... :-) tAPP US Release by: US Renditions (subtitled) tAPP Rating: NOT RECOMMENDED tAPP Title: Arion (FILM) gFA tARI Cast: tARI Seneca .................................... Mayumi Tanaka vMTa2 tARI Description: tARI In Thrace, Arion is taken from his mother Demeter by the god tARI Hades. In the Underworld, Arion is trained to be a warrior. His tARI training is driven by revenge: Arion was told that his mother's tARI blindness was caused by Zeus and Zeus' death will remove the tARI curse. Finally, Arion and Geedo (a huge ape-like creature who tARI had become Arion's friend and companion) left the Underworld to tARI find Zeus. Seneca, a small thief, makes off with Arion's sword tARI and this leads Arion to his first encounter with the forces of tARI Zeus, commanded by his daughter Athena. Arion is captured but tARI is later set free by Lesfeena, Athena's mute serving girl. As tARI Arion rejoins Geedo and Seneca (and worries about Lesfeena), the tARI forces of Zeus and Poseidon face each other in battle. In the tARI background sits the scheming Hades, and the calm Apollon who tARI seems to have plans of his own. The setting of this movie was tARI based on Greek Mythology and the story is of epic stature. The tARI complex plot takes a while to unravel, but the storytelling is tARI excellent. tARI Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tARI Title: Assemble Insert (OAVs) gCO tASI Cast: tASI Maron Namikaze .......................... Hiroko Kasahara vHKa tASI Kagairi Sonoba ........................... Maria Kawamura vMKa1 tASI Description: tASI The "Demon Seed" organization is robbing lots of banks and tASI jewelry stores. The police can't catch them and worse, they tASI cause a lot of civilian damage while trying. The solution? Hold tASI an audition for the new "Anti-Demon Seed" heroine who can also tASI become a music idol. This way, the public won't become so tASI upset at the civilian damage that's going to happen anyway. tASI Cute, sweet 8th grader Maron Namikaze wins this slot due to her tASI enormous strength. This OAV series parodies both the superhero tASI genre and idol girls. Pretty funny. tASI Rating: RECOMMENDED tASI Title: Baoh the Visitor (FILM) gAD tBAO Cast: tBAO Sumire .................................... Noriko Hidaka vNHi tBAO Commander Dold ............................ Shuichi Ikeda vSIk1 tBAO Description: (by Tom Jewell) tBAO Ikuro is a 17 year old boy who has been implanted with an tBAO organism which will defend itself against any threat to its host.tBAO Ikuro escapes from the captivity of the corporation responsible tBAO for implanting the organism (called BAOH) in him. Joining him tBAO in his escape is a young ESPer named Sumire. The insuing chase tBAO by the corporation, kidnapping of Sumire, and final showdown in tBAO the secret corporate laboratory make for a fast paced movie. tBAO Contains a fair amount of graphic violence, though not as bad as tBAO some. tBAO Rating: RECOMMENDED tBAO Title: Bubblegum Crisis (OAVs) gSF tBGC. Cast: tBGC. Silia Stingray ....................... Yoshiko Sakakibara vYSa tBGC. Prisilla Asagiri (Priss) .................. Kinuko Ohmori vKOh tBGC. Linna Yamazaki .......................... Michie Tomizawa vMTo1 tBGC. Nene Romanova ........................... Akiko Hiramatsu vAHi1 tBGC. Mackie Stingray ........................... Nozomu Sasaki vNSa tBGC. Leon McNichol ........................... Toshio Furukawa vTFu2 tBGC. Daley ................................... Kenyuu Horiuchi vKHo tBGC. Brian Mason ............................... Shuichi Ikeda vSIk1 tBGC. Gibson (BGC4:Revenge Road) .............. Kaneto Shiozawa vKSh1 tBGC. Nam (BGC5:Midnight Rambler) ....... Megumi Hayashibara vMHa1 tBGC. Anri (BGC6:Red Eyes) .................... Yuko Mizutani vYMi3 tBGC. Largo (BGC6:Red Eyes) ................. Kazuyoshi Sogabe vKSo tBGC. Vision (BGC7:Double Vision) ............. Maiko Hashimoto vMHa2 tBGC. Lisa (BGC8:Scoop Chase) .................. Aya Hisakawa vAHi2 tBGC. Miriam (BGC8:Scoop Chase) ................ Issei Futamata vIFu tBGC. Receptionist (BGC8:Scoop Chase) .......... Chisa Yokoyama vCYo tBGC. Description: tBGC. After a great earthquake, Tokyo was flattened. A new city tBGC. called MegaTokyo rose from its ashes. The company responsible tBGC. for much of the rebuilding was Genom Corp. Genom also produced tBGC. a biomechanical creature called a Booma. When Boomas ran out tBGC. of control, the ADPolice try to stop them. Also on the scene tBGC. was a shadowy mercenary group called the Knight Sabers. tBGC. US Release by: AnimEigo (subtitled) tBGC. UK Release by: Anime Projects Limited (subtitled) tBGC. Rating: RECOMMENDED tBGC. Title: Bubblegum Crash! (OAVs) gSF tBGC! Cast: tBGC! Silia Stingray ....................... Yoshiko Sakakibara vYSa tBGC! Priss ................................... Ryoko Tachikawa vRTa tBGC! Linna Yamazaki .......................... Michie Tomizawa vMTo1 tBGC! Nene Romanova ........................... Akiko Hiramatsu vAHi1 tBGC! Description: tBGC! After the 8-part BGC OAV series, the story continues in this tBGC! new series. 2 years have passed, and the Knight Sabers have all tBGC! but disbanded. Then Silia reappears with a new hardsuit design. tBGC! Note that characters, plot and the general setting have all tBGC! changed from their appearance in BGC. tBGC! tBGC! Note: After "Bubblegum Crisis", this series completely changed tBGC! the characters, making them stereotypes instead of individuals.tBGC! Add a formula plot (with at least 1 fight scene complete with tBGC! reused animation!) and the result is something to be avoided. tBGC! The opening credits were impressive, however. tBGC! US Release by: AnimEigo (subtitled) tBGC! Rating: NOT RECOMMENDED tBGC! Title: Burn Up! (OAV) gAD tBUR Cast: tBUR Maki ......................................Yumiko Shibata vYSh2 tBUR Reimi ......................................... Miki Itoh vMIt tBUR Yuka ................................... Kumiko Nishihara vKNi tBUR Description: tBUR This is the story of police officers in the near future. We tBUR concentrate on 3 female officers: the overly cute Yuka, the prim tBUR and proper Reimi, and the aggressive Maki. At the start, there tBUR is a kidnapping attempt, and the criminals have high-powered tBUR weapons. They hold off the pursuing police, but that's before tBUR Maki (finally!) shows up on her motorcycle and messily catches tBUR the kidnappers. This is, of course, tied to a larger slavery tBUR operation run by Samuel McCoy. The 3 police officers decide to tBUR go undercover...without authorization. This only results in tBUR Yuka getting captured so Maki and Reimi mount a rescue operation.tBUR This is a one shot OAV which is largely a light hearted action tBUR flick. Characters designed by Keniichi Sonoda. tBUR US Release by: AD Vision (subtitled) tBUR Rating: RECOMMENDED tBUR Title: Bush Baby (TV) gDR tBUS Cast: tBUS Description: (by Curtis Hoffmann) tBUS Bush Baby seems to be the name of a kind of over-grown kangaroo tBUS rat that is the pet of the heroine. This is a girl's show, with tBUS similarities to Tintin (ie. a young girl travelling to exotic tBUS lands and having wonderous adventures. However, unlike Tintin, tBUS the heroine here does not do any fighting -- she's too kind and tBUS gentle for that, so the fighting is left up to her adult male tBUS friends.) So far, the action has taken place only in Africa and tBUS India. Has good character designs and interesting stories. tBUS Rating: RECOMMENDED tBUS Title: City Hunter (TV,FILM) gAD tCH aut: Tsukasa Houjou (Shounen Jump) tCH Cast: tCH Ryo Saeba .................................. Akira Kamiya vAKa tCH Kaori Makumura ............................... Kazu Ikura vKIk tCH Kaoru Saejima ............................ Chika Sakamoto vCSa1 tCH Umibozu .................................... Tessho Genda vTGe tCH Catherine Hayward (ep #66-67) .............. Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tCH Misuzu Moriwaki (City Hunter 3) ...... Megumi Hayashibara vMHa1 tCH ......................... Mami Koyama vMKo1 tCH (CH '91) .............. Youko Asagami vYAs tCH Description: tCH If you're desperate and need a job done, write "XYZ" on the tCH bulletin board at Shinjuku Station. That is a signal that you tCH want to hire City Hunter. Ryo Saeba and Kaori Makumura make up tCH City Hunter. Ryo is calm, cool, and an amazingly accurate shot. tCH He is also the biggest lech since Ataru Moroboshi. Kaori is the tCH sister of Ryo's deceased partner and runs the business side of tCH City Hunter. She is also the only woman who Ryo *hasn't* made a tCH pass at. The jobs have ranged from being a bodyguard (usually a tCH pretty girl :-)) to virtual espionage. Kaori has kept Ryo's tCH frequent sukebe tendencies in check with an 50,000 kg mallet. :-)tCH This is an action-adventure with some comedy elements. tCH Rating: RECOMMENDED tCH Title: Red Hooded Chacha (TV) gMG tCHA aka: Akazukin Chacha tCHA aut: Min Ayahana (Ribbon) tCHA Cast: tCHA Akazukin Chacha .......................... Masami Suzuki vMSu3 tCHA Magical Princess Holly-Up ................. Masami Suzuki vMSu3 tCHA Kurozukin Yakko ............................ Mayumi Akado vMAk tCHA Seravi (magic teacher) .................. Tohru Senrui vTSe2 tCHA Dorothy (magic teacher).................. Junko Ohtsubo vJOh tCHA Elizabeth (Seravi's doll).................. Junko Ohtsubo vJOh tCHA Riiya (a werewolf) .................... Shingo Katori vSKa2 tCHA Shiine (Dorothy's apprentice) .......... Noriko Hidaka vNHi tCHA Marin (a mermaid) ...................... Tomo Sakurai vTSa3 tCHA Urara Principal .......................... Sumi Shimamoto vSSh2 tCHA Description: tCHA In a magical land, a little girl named Chacha (think 'Little Red tCHA Riding Hood') practices her magic. She turns the flowers above tCHA into...scary spiders? Seravi, her teacher, hastily changes tCHA them back to flowers. Despite this, Chacha persuades (well begs,tCHA actually) Seravi to enroll her in Magic School. Before she goes,tCHA Seravi gives her a present...the Princess Medallion. Along with tCHA a bracelet and ring, the 3 parts form a powerful magical key. As tCHA it happens, her friend Riiya gets the bracelet and Shiine (who tCHA wants Chacha to choose him instead of Riiya) gets the ring. With tCHA this, the 3 friends can transform Chacha into Magical Princess tCHA Holly-Up. Using her bow and magical arrow, Holly-Up can defeat tCHA evil. An evil force wants Chacha's power and his agents create tCHA problems for her at her school. As if she doesn't have enough tCHA problems with classmates like the jealous Yakko (who loves tCHA Seravi) and Marin (who loves Riiya). This is a very funny (and tCHA cute!) series that had me laughing on the floor at times. Most tCHA of the jokes seem to center around Chacha's misfiring magic... tCHA Rating: RECOMMENDED tCHA Title: Battle Angel (OAVs) gSF tGNN aka: Gunnm tGNN aut: Yukito Kishiro (Business Jump; US: Viz Communications) tGNN Cast: tGNN Gally ......................................... Miki Itoh vMIt tGNN Yugo ................................... Kappei Yamaguchi vKYa1 tGNN Chiren ...................................... Mami Koyama vMKo1 tGNN Bounty Hunter .......................... Kazuyoshi Sogabe vKSo tGNN Description: tGNN On a future Earth, there is a great floating city. Perhaps life tGNN is a futuristic paradise there...but we don't go there. Instead,tGNN we enter a city built underneath the floating city. In these tGNN slums, a cyborg engineer finds a discarded cyborg from the trash tGNN dropped from above. He rebuilds her and gives her a name: Gally.tGNN Gally awakens in a world where living conditions are poor, gangs tGNN roam the area, and "survival of the fittest" applies. Gally is tGNN apparently a child with no past...even to herself. Mysterious tGNN combat abilities are within her though and after a period of tGNN some confusion, Gally registers herself as a "Hunter Warrior". tGNN The setting is very "Blade Runner" like in the depressing future tGNN and the dark city... tGNN NOTE: The Viz manga adaptation uses the "Battle Angel Alita" tGNN title. AD Vision uses "Battle Angel" to match the Viz tGNN title, but omits "Alita" since "Gally" is still used. tGNN US Release by: AD Vision (subtitled) tGNN UK Release by: Manga Video (dubbed) tGNN Rating: RECOMMENDED tGNN Title: Graveyard of the Fireflies (FILM) gDR tGRA aka: Hotaru no Haka tGRA Cast: tGRA Description: tGRA The time period is World War II. The place is Tokyo during the tGRA Allied firebombings of the city. In a train station, a boy dies tGRA on the platform. This goes unnoticed by the attendants among tGRA the many bodies in the station. The beginning of the movie is tGRA actually the end of the story. The boy's ghost appears and tGRA apologizes to his dead sister. Through flashbacks, we are told tGRA the story of two children made orphans by the war. We follow tGRA their struggle to survive in a society that has broken down tGRA under the horrors of war...a struggle doomed to fail in the end. tGRA This movie focuses on what war does to the children, and is very tGRA realistically animated. Directed by Isao Takahata, this movie tGRA should be seen at least once. tGRA NOTE: Oddly enough, this almost suicidally depressing movie was tGRA double-billed with a Hayao Miyazaki movie during its run: tGRA "Tonari no Totoro". tGRA US Release by: US Manga Corps (subtitled) tGRA Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - at least once tGRA Title: Giant Robo (OAVs) gGR tGRO Cast: tGRO Daisaku Kusama ......................... Kappei Yamaguchi vKYa1 tGRO Description: tGRO In the near future, humanity has been granted cheap energy in tGRO the form of the Shizuma Drive. This has ushered in a new era of tGRO prosperity known as Third Energy Revolution. Behind the scenes, tGRO a struggle between Good and Evil still goes on as personified by tGRO the International Police Organization and Big Fire. To aid in tGRO the struggle against evil, the IPO have a great robot known as tGRO Giant Robo. A young boy named Kusama Daisuku controls Giant tGRO Robo and there is some mystery behind him. The OAV series tGRO explores Daisuku and his friends characters against the backdrop tGRO of a major plot involving the Shizuma Drive. It successfully tGRO combines the atmosphere and design of 1960's anime and those tGRO grand plotlines with modern animation techniques. It has to be tGRO seen to be believed. Based on the old live-action "Giant Robo" tGRO series which was dubbed as "Johnny Sokko and his Giant Robot". tGRO US Release by: US Renditions (dubbed) tGRO Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tGRO Title: GS Mikami (TV) gCO tGSM aut: Shiina Takashi tGSM Cast: tGSM Reiko Mikami ............................... Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tGSM Tadao Yokoshima ............................ Ryo Horikawa vRHo tGSM Okinu-chan ................................. Mariko Kouda vMKo3 tGSM Doctor Chaos .............................. Shigeru Chiba vSCh tGSM Emi Ogasawara ........................... Michie Tomizawa vMTo1 tGSM Description: (by Hitoshi Doi) tGSM With all of the new buildings being put up in the city, there tGSM was no place for the ghosts to go. Naturally, the ghosts cause tGSM havoc, so a new job called GS (or Ghost Sweeper) was created. tGSM The body-conscious girl Reiko Mikami was the head of the GS tGSM office with Tadao Yokoshima as her assistant. Yokoshima worked tGSM at the GS office for only Y250/hour (about 2 dollars!). The tGSM reason he worked so cheaply was because he wanted to work with tGSM Reiko. His dream was to see Reiko naked. Also on the team was tGSM Okinu-chan who worked for only Y30/day (yes, that's 22 cents a tGSM day!). Of course, Okinu-chan had few needs since she was a tGSM 300 year old ghost. tGSM Rating: RECOMMENDED tGSM Title: Gunbuster: Aim for the Top! (OAVs) gGR tGUN aka: Top o Nerae! Gunbuster! tGUN Cast: tGUN Noriko Takaya ............................. Noriko Hidaka vNHi tGUN Kazumi Amano ................................. Rei Sakuma vRSa1 tGUN Jung Freud ............................... Maria Kawamura vMKa1 tGUN Description: tGUN Yes, it's time for Yet-Another-Alien-Invasion! The Earth is tGUN preparing to defend itself. Oblivious to this, Noriko Takaya, tGUN daughter of an admiral lost in space, tries to succeed in her tGUN dream: to become a Gunbuster robot pilot and go off into space tGUN like her father. This OAV series fluctuated between parody and tGUN drama and was notable for paying attention to Einstein and his tGUN Theory of Relativity as it pertains to near-lightspeed travel. tGUN Release Info: tGUN 6 part OAV. Note that the last part was filmed in B&W and was tGUN cropped like a real theater release might be. This was done tGUN for dramatic purposes. tGUN US Release by: US Renditions (subtitled) tGUN Rating: RECOMMENDED tGUN Title: Space Pirate Captain Harlock tHAR Cast: tHAR Description: tHAR [Editor at work! Entry construction in progress] tHAR Title: Hello Kitty (TV) gKI tHEL Cast: tHEL Kitty ................................ Megumi Hayashibara vMHa1 tHEL Description: tHEL A series for little kids. This follows the adventures of two tHEL kitty kids named "Kitty" and "Mimi". The series tends to be tHEL very straightforward and innocent. As an example: two jewel tHEL thieves get away with their loot and crashland near where the tHEL kids live. They meet the kitty kids (who think that the robbers tHEL are aliens from a UFO) and entertain the kids with stories while tHEL the kids tend to their injuries. In the morning, the thieves tHEL decide that it wasn't worth it, and turn themselves in...only tHEL after making sure that the kitty kids see their thanks and know tHEL that the 'aliens' went back to space. The series is very tHEL charming and almost fairy tale like... tHEL Rating: RECOMMENDED - Kids would love it... tHEL Title: Hime-chan no Ribbon (TV) gMG tHIM aut: Megumi Mizusawa (Ribbon) tHIM Cast: tHIM Himeko Nonohara ............................. Ikue Ootani vIOo tHIM Erika ....................................... Ikue Ootani vIOo tHIM Pokota ....................................... Kazu Ikura vKIk tHIM Chappi ..................................... Kasuga Satou vKSa tHIM Daichi Kobayashi .............................. Daiki Yuu vDYu tHIM Aiko Nonohara .......................... Yuri Shiratori vYSh1 tHIM Yumeko Nonohara .......................... Chisa Yokoyama vCYo tHIM Manami Mori ............................... Katsuyo Endou vKEn tHIM Ichiko Kamikura (Icchan) ................ Minami Takayama vMTa1 tHIM Sei Arisaka ............................. Takehito Koyasu vTKo2 tHIM Hikaru Hibino .............................. Rin Mizuhara vRMi tHIM Yuka Hijiri .................................. Yumi Tohma vYTo tHIM Hatsune Yamashita (temp teacher) .......... Kikuko Inouye vKIn1 tHIM Description: tHIM Erika, queen of a magic world, is on Earth looking for the girl tHIM who looks exactly like Erika. She finds her in a tomboy named tHIM Himeko. Himeko (Hime-chan to her friends) is infatuated with an tHIM an upperclassman boy, has fun with her friends and is an tHIM ordinary girl in all ways. This changes when Erika gives her a tHIM magic ribbon which allows Hime-chan to change into anyone she tHIM wants to. As a side effect, her stuffed lion, Pokota comes to tHIM life and acts as Hime-chan's advisor. Showing her maturity, tHIM Hime-chan immediately uses the ribbon to get closer to her tHIM 'sempai'. A 'magical girl' series with a very ordinary girl in tHIM the lead role. Billed as a magical comedy. tHIM Rating: RECOMMENDED tHIM Title: Fist of the North Star (TV,FILM) gMI tHNK aka: Hokuto no Ken tHNK Cast: tHNK Kenshiro ................................... Akira Kamiya vAKa tHNK Shin .................................... Toshio Furukawa vTFu2 tHNK Rei ..................................... Kaneto Shiozawa vKSh1 tHNK Description: tHNK After the Earth is devastated by nuclear war, society breaks tHNK down into a system where only the strong survive. Often, there tHNK are raids on normal people when 'the strong' decide that they tHNK need something. Into this desolate world comes Kenshiro, master tHNK of the Hokuto Shinken style of martial art. This style destroys tHNK the body from within by striking at one of the numerous tHNK acupuncture points. Kenshiro is a wanderer on a quest to find tHNK his lost love Yuria...taken from him in a battle with Shin long tHNK ago. The battle left Kenshiro with scars in the pattern of the tHNK Big Dipper. During his wanderings, Kenshiro defends the victims tHNK of 'the strong' for he is pledged by his art to defend the weak. tHNK Kenshiro is an extremely honorable, though somber man...almost tHNK the archtype of the tragic hero. The series is high in the tHNK amount of gore created, but the strong central characters seem tHNK to rise above that in audience appeal... tHNK Rating: RECOMMENDED tHNK Title: Fight! Iczer-1! (OAVs) gFA tIC1 aut: Toshihiro Hirano (Comic Genki) tIC1 Cast: tIC1 Iczer-1 ................................. Yuriko Yamamoto vYYa tIC1 Iczer-2 ...................................... Keiko Toda vKTo1 tIC1 Nagisa Kano ................................. Mayumi Shoo vMSh tIC1 Big Gold ................................ Kaneto Shiozawa vKSh1 tIC1 Sir Violet .............................. Kaneto Shiozawa vKSh1 tIC1 Description: tIC1 Another alien invasion is underway, with the Bedem taking over tIC1 human bodies. The only thing standing in their way is Iczer-1 tIC1 and her partner, Nagisa. Iczer-1 doesn't know why she's tIC1 fighting and Nagisa doesn't understand how she can be important. tIC1 In this series, both find the answers to their questions, but tIC1 at great cost. tIC1 Release Info: tIC1 4 part OAV. A 'movie' was also released. This movie consists tIC1 of an edited compilation of the 4 parts, plus has some added tIC1 scenes to serve as scene joiners. tIC1 US Release by: US Renditions (dubbed) tIC1 Rating: RECOMMENDED tIC1 Title: Iczer-3 (OAVs) gFA tIC3 aut: Toshihiro Hirano (Comic Genki) tIC3 Cast: tIC3 Iczer-1 ................................. Yuriko Yamamoto vYYa tIC3 Iczer-2 ...................................... Keiko Toda vKTo1 tIC3 Iczer-3 .................................... Cutey Suzuki vCSu tIC3 Sister Grey .............................. Sumi Shimamoto vSSh2 tIC3 Nagisa Kasumi ............................ Yuri Shiratori vYSh1 tIC3 Atlas ................................... Minami Takayama vMTa1 tIC3 Kawaii Shizuka ............................... Yuri Amano vYAm tIC3 Fiber .......................................... Mika Doi vMDo tIC3 Golem .................................... Rihoko Yoshida vRYo tIC3 Description: tIC3 In deep space, a battle between Iczer-1 and Neos Gold is fought tIC3 to a standstill. Both are injured and out of action, but Neos tIC3 Gold sends her minions to Earth as the next battleground. tIC3 Iczer-1 can't go, so she sends the inexperienced Iczer-3 to tIC3 defend the Earth. A sequel to Iczer-1. tIC3 tIC3 Note: Not much from the "Iczer-1" series was preserved in this tIC3 one. Instead we got many fighting scenes, an overacted tIC3 character conflict (Atlas), and the overly cute Iczer-3. None tIC3 of the tension, character exploration, or even humor of the tIC3 original was present. tIC3 Rating: NOT RECOMMENDED tIC3 Title: Iron Leaguer (TV) gSP tIRO Cast: tIRO Ruly Ginjou (Silver Castle owner) ........ Chisa Yokoyama vCYo tIRO Magmum Ace ........................... Yasunori Matsumoto vYMa tIRO Description: tIRO Imagine the ultimate in sports teams...teams of robots that take tIRO on almost any sport from baseball or football to ice hockey. The tIRO games that these teams play become close to all out battles as tIRO the primary goal is to win. The focus of the series is on an tIRO underequipped and underfunded team called the "Silver Castle". tIRO The owner is a young and inexperienced girl. Their nemesis is a tIRO team called "Dark Kingdom" owned by a sinister and very rich man.tIRO The series follows the Silver Castle team, led by the baseball- tIRO specialty robot Magmum Ace, as they go from game to game and tIRO the obstacles that they have to overcome. A mix between an tIRO shounen action series and a sports series, "Iron Leaguer" works tIRO on both levels. An unusual touch is that the robots all have tIRO "super-deformed" designs as in "SD Gundam". A fun action series.tIRO Rating: RECOMMENDED tIRO Title: Crusher Joe (FILM,OAVs) gAD tJOE aut: Fujihiko Hosono (Asahi Sonorama) tJOE Cast: tJOE Crusher Joe ............................. Hiraku Takemura vHTa1 tJOE Alfin ........................................ Run Sasaki vRSa2 tJOE Rikki ...................................... Noriko Ohara vNOh tJOE Talos ................................. Kiyoshi Kobayashi vKKo tJOE Dongo .................................... Issei Futamata vIFu tJOE Captain Kowalski ............................. Goroo Naya vGNa tJOE Description: tJOE In space, there are many dangerous jobs to be done. If you want tJOE the job done right, you can call on the Crusher Conference. For tJOE a fee, a Crusher team will be dispatched to your site for tJOE assignments ranging from transportation to terraforming and tJOE everything in between. Among the various worlds, the Crusher tJOE Conference has a great reputation, and among the Crushers, the tJOE best team is the one led by Crusher Joe. Despite links to the tJOE "Dirty Pair", this series is a serious & exciting adventure... tJOE Rating: RECOMMENDED tJOE Title: Raven Tengu Kabuto (OAV) gMI tKAB aut: Buiichi Terasawa ( ) tKAB Cast: tKAB Description: tKAB [Editor at work! Entry construction in progress] tKAB Title: Karura Mau (FILM,OAVs) gHO tKAR Cast: tKAR Shoko Ougi (Shii-chan) ..................... Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tKAR Kenmochi ................................ Kaneto Shiozawa vKSh1 tKAR Description: tKAR Shoko and Maiko Ougi are apparently two ordinary schoolgirls in tKAR pursuit of graduating and having fun. Shii-chan is the more tKAR serious while Mai-chan is more fun-loving. In reality, the two tKAR sisters are powerful exorcists from the Karura temple. Each tKAR wields half the power...Shii-chan can 'see' the spirits, and tKAR Mai-chan can banish them. This is a spooky series with heavy tKAR emphasis on traditionally Japanese occult themes. tKAR Rating: RECOMMENDED tKAR Title: Kiki's Delivery Service (FILM) gDR tKIKI aka: Majou no Takkyuubin tKIKI aut: Hayao Miyazaki (Tokuma Shoten) tKIKI Cast: tKIKI Kiki .................................... Minami Takayama vMTa1 tKIKI Ursula .................................. Minami Takayama vMTa1 tKIKI Jiji ......................................... Rei Sakuma vRSa1 tKIKI "Osono" ...................................... Keiko Toda vKTo1 tKIKI Tombo .................................. Kappei Yamaguchi vKYa1 tKIKI Description: tKIKI On her 13th birthday, a young witch named Kiki leaves her home tKIKI to find her place in the world. She eventually ends up in a tKIKI small town where she finds a room with a local baker and his tKIKI wife. She meets a boy with a fascination with flight and an tKIKI artist among others. A coming of age story from the hand of tKIKI Hayao Miyazaki. The ending is a bit abrupt, though. tKIKI Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tKIKI Title: Machine God Corps (OAVs) gGR tKIS aka: Kishin Heidan tKIS Cast: tKIS Description: tKIS During World War II, a German woman named Maria arrives in Japan tKIS to deliver a "module". The module has a mysterious purpose, and tKIS both the German and the Japanese military police are after it. tKIS She is rescued by a young boy and his gang. The boy's name is tKIS Taichi and his parents are dead...killed by the Military Police tKIS who were in turn killed by alien 'ghosts' from the sky. The tKIS ghosts had been destroyed by a mysterious giant robot that tKIS appeared with a great train. Maria is contacted by someone who tKIS might be a friend while her twin sister, working for the Colonel,tKIS manages to get the module. At this point, the alien ghosts make tKIS another appearance, and the great robot appears again. This OAV tKIS series has a high level of suspense and is largely a spy story. tKIS The robots are also different in that it uses WWII-era techno- tKIS logy (i.e. steam engines for power plants, machine guns and tKIS cannons for weapons). tKIS Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tKIS Title: KO Century Beast: 3 Beast Warriors (OAVs) gCO tKOB aka: KO Seiki Beast Sanjuushi tKOB Cast: tKOB Wan Dabada ............................. Kappei Yamaguchi vKYa1 tKOB Bud Mint ..................................Takendo Koyasu vTKo1 tKOB Mei Mah ...................................... Mika Kanai vMKa2 tKOB Mekka Mannen .............................. Kousan Shioya vKSh2 tKOB V-Darn ............................... Yasunori Matsumoto vYMa tKOB V-Sion .................................... Yuko Mizutani vYMi3 tKOB Akumako .................................... Naoko Matsui vNMa1 tKOB Uni Charm Password ........................ Rumi Shishido vRSh tKOB Description: (by Avi Melman) tKOB Due to human folly, the Earth was split apart into its Northern tKOB and Southern hemispheres. The Southern hemisphere drifted off tKOB into deep space. On the remaining Northern hemisphere, the tKOB surviving humans evolved into creatures that could 'morph' into tKOB half human/animal forms. These 'Beasts' worshipped animal-like tKOB god-statues called 'Jinn'. When the 'real' humans returned, tKOB they starting capturing the Jinn (the Jinn are really human- tKOB created mecha animals of great power inside the statues). This tKOB series follows a group of 3 young Beasts from very different tKOB tribes. All were captured, but escaped with the help of a human tKOB and his granddaughter. This is a very funny comedy series with tKOB an odd cast of characters. Bud, in particular, speaks a great tKOB deal of English and thinks he's a hit with the girls... tKOB tKOB NOTE: Rating is by contributor. tKOB Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tKOB Title: Kimagure Orange Road (FILM,OAV,TV) gRC tKOR aut: Izumi Matsumoto (Shounen Jump) tKOR Cast: tKOR Kyosuke Kasuga ............................. Tohru Furuya vTFu1 tKOR Madoka Ayukawa ............................. Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tKOR Hikaru Hiyama ................................ Eriko Hara vEHa tKOR Manami Kasuga ........................... Michie Tomizawa vMTo1 tKOR Kurumi Kasuga .............................. Chieko Honda vCHo tKOR Akane ...................................... Naoko Matsui vNMa1 tKOR Shiori ("Heart On Fire" OAV) .............. Yuko Mizutani vYMi3 tKOR Mitsuru Hayakawa ..................... Yasunori Matsumoto vYMa tKOR Description: tKOR Kyosuke is a new student looking about town. While counting the tKOR no. of stairs on a hill, he sees a UFO...uhh..hat and the girl tKOR it belongs to. He later finds out that the girl is Madoka, a tKOR local tough girl who can throw a mean guitar pick. Despite that,tKOR he tries to win her affections...but Hikaru-chan has latched on tKOR HIM. To make things worse, Hikaru-chan is Madoka's best friend. tKOR Kyosuke tries to pursue Madoka without hurting Hikaru-chan, and tKOR is *very* indecisive about everything. Adding to the confusion tKOR is his, and his family's secret psychic powers...though Kurumi tKOR isn't too serious about keeping the secret. A romantic comedy tKOR with a dose of nostalgia for your junior high school days. tKOR Release Info: tKOR 48 TV episodes - This largely followed the manga. The series tKOR ends with Kyosuke's/Madoka's trip to the past. tKOR 2 "Postcard" OAVs - "Hawaiian Suspense" and "White Lovers". The tKOR motif was to put the KOR cast in exotic locations. tKOR 1 movie - "I want to Return to that Day"...the controversial tKOR film which chronicles the break up of the romantic triangle. tKOR 6 other OAVs - from various manga stories not covered in the TV tKOR series. Includes "I was a cat..." and "Heart on Fire". tKOR US Release by: AnimEigo (subtitled) -- FILM/OAV only tKOR Rating: RECOMMENDED tKOR Title: Here is Greenwood (OAVs) gCO tKWG aka: Koko wa Greenwood tKWG aut: Yuki Nasue tKWG Description: tKWG [Editor at work! Entry construction in progress] tKWG Title: NG Knight Lamune & 40 (TV,OAVs) gCO tL40 Cast: tL40 Lamuness (Baba Lamune) .................... Takeshi Kusao vKTa2 tL40 Princess Milk ............................ Chisa Yokoyama vCYo tL40 Princess Cocoa .......................... Sakiko Tamagawa vSTa tL40 Lesuka/Cafe au lait ........................ Naoko Matsui vNMa1 tL40 Da Cider ..................................... Kazuki Yao vKYa3 tL40 Tama-Q ..................................... Chie Koojiro vCKo tL40 Heavy Metal-ko (Hebi Metako) ..................... TARAKO vTAR tL40 Don Harumage ............................. Shoozoo Iizuka vSIi tL40 Mountain Dew Gold .................... Megumi Hayashibara vMHa1 tL40 Mountain Dew Silver .................... Kotono Mitsuishi vKMi1 tL40 Description: (by Avi Melman) tL40 Lamune is an ordinary 4th grade boy who loves playing video tL40 games. He buys one from a peddler girl (and helps her sell the tL40 rest :-)). At home, he plays the game called 'King Sccasher' & tL40 beats it. The peddler girl then comes out of the TV screen and tL40 asks for his help, calling him "The Blood Relative of the Chosen tL40 Hero Lamuness" or Lamuness for short. She is Princess Milk and tL40 takes him to Hara-Hara World where his role is to revive the tL40 Guardian Knights...starting with King Sccasher. To do this, he tL40 had to find an unlock the shrine which held Tama-Q...a robot who tL40 became Lamuness' Advisor Robot. Normally worn on Lamuness' tL40 shoulder, Tama-Q, when fed a coin of a Guardian Knight, coughs tL40 up a capsule which releases that Knight. All of the Knights are tL40 free-thinking mechas except for King Sccasher which is piloted tL40 by Lamuness. Opposing Lamuness is Don Harumage and his minions tL40 Da Cider and Lesuka. Later, Lesuka and Da Cider sort of defect tL40 to the good guys. Da Cider also tells really bad puns (DAJARE). tL40 A fun giant-robot series. Note that "Lamune & 40 EX" and tL40 "Lamune & 40 DX" are OAV series following the TV series... tL40 Rating: RECOMMENDED tL40 Title: Laputa: The Castle in the Sky (FILM) gAD tLAP aka: Tenku no Shiro Laputa tLAP aut: Hayao Miyazaki (Tokuma Shoten) tLAP Cast: tLAP Sheeta ................................... Keiko Yokozawa vKYo1 tLAP Pazu ...................................... Mayumi Tanaka vMTa2 tLAP The General ............................... Ichiroo Nagai vINa tLAP Madge ............................................ TARAKO vTAR tLAP .................. Megumi Hayashibara vMHa1 tLAP Description: tLAP Sheeta is a young girl with a very special stone. The stone tLAP makes her the objective of government agents and pirates who tLAP the power that the stone will give them. Sheeta escapes and is tLAP befriended by Pazu, a boy from a mining town who is aware of tLAP Sheeta's Levistone only as a jewel with mysterious powers, and tLAP not as a key to the treasures held in the legendary Laputa. A tLAP great advanture movie directed by Hayao Miyazaki. (It's been tLAP rumored that "Nadia: Secret of Blue Water" was based partially tLAP on "Laputa"). tLAP Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tLAP Title: Fantastic Adventures of Yohko: Leda (OAV) gFA tLED Cast: tLED Yohko ...................................... Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tLED Zell ...................................... Shuichi Ikeda vSIk1 tLED Description: tLED A young girl, Yohko, is composing and playing a piece on her tLED piano. She is too shy to say that she likes a boy, so she tLED writes this music to express her feelings toward him. The music tLED to supposed to give her courage, but when the time comes, she tLED still fails to talk to him. As she ponders what to do, the tLED landscape melts around her and Yohko is transported to an tLED oppressed land where Zell reigns supreme. After encountering a tLED talking dog, Yohko finds that her music is the key between the tLED worlds...and that she is also the one chosen by the goddess Leda tLED to be her warrior against Zell. Yohko must stop Zell before he tLED can use her music to come into our Earth. The story is very tLED straightforward, and has an aura of wonder around it. Yohko is tLED a girl wih unexpected gifts, but her feelings will prove to be tLED the most important thing of all. A touching, if ordinary story. tLED Rating: RECOMMENDED tLED Title: Legend of Lemnear (OAV) gFA tLEM aka: Varukisas tLEM Cast: tLEM Rian ..................................... Keiko Yokozawa vKYo1 tLEM Description: tLEM A young girl runs back to her village to find it destroyed, and tLEM her brother taken by a sorceror. To fight back, Lemnear trains tLEM herself to become a warrior. One day, she wanders into another tLEM village and her beauty catches the eye of the local ruler. She tLEM defeats the thugs sent to take her, but falls before the magic tLEM of the sorceror whom she wants to kill. Fighting on, she will tLEM eventually face the sorceror's master in a final battle. This tLEM was a pretty standard "girl seeks revenge on ultimate evil" tLEM story, but was presented well. An enjoyable action story. tLEM Rating: RECOMMENDED tLEM Title: Locke the Superman (FILM,OAVs) gSF tLOC Cast: tLOC Description: (by Tom Jewell) tLOC A "retired" super-psychic from wars long ago is sought by the tLOC government to stop an evil cabal of psychics with galactic tLOC domination on their minds. Locke's main opponent in the film is tLOC Jessica, a super-psychic herself who has been brainwashed into tLOC believing that Locke was responsible for her parents' death. tLOC The battle takes Locke and a government agent, Commander Yamaki tLOC into a Red Giant star, where the cabal has its secret base. tLOC Editor's Note: A recent OAV series on "Locke" pits an unwilling tLOC Locke against Lord Leon, a powerful psychic who is seeking tLOC revenge against those responsible for his family's death. The tLOC names are changed, but the plot's the same... :-) tLOC Rating: RECOMMENDED tLOC Title: Record of Lodoss War (OAVs) gFA tLOD aka: Lodoss-tou Senki tLOD Cast: tLOD Pern (the warrior) ..................... Takeshi Kusao vKTa2 tLOD Deedlit (the elf) ............................ Yumi Tohma vYTo tLOD Eto (the cleric) ................... Kappei Yamaguchi vKYa1 tLOD Lord Kashew ............................... Shuichi Ikeda vSIk1 tLOD Ashram ..................................... Akira Kamiya vAKa tLOD Karla ................................ Yoshiko Sakakibara vYSa tLOD Seeris .................................. Minami Takayama vMTa1 tLOD Pirotase ................................ Sakiko Tamagawa vSTa tLOD Description: tLOD Long ago, a titanic war ended between 2 gods which split the tLOD land into two islands. One of them is the island of Lodoss. The tLOD peace on Lodoss is being disrupted, and Pern decides to find out tLOD why. Almost by accident, he forms a band to help on his quest. tLOD The band consists of: an elf, a dwarf, a cleric, a wizard, a tLOD thief, and a warrior (Pern). The OAV series follows their tLOD adventures. This series has a very heavy Role-Playing-Game(RPG) tLOD influence to it. Note that there seems to be a break in the tLOD story between parts 8 and 9. tLOD Release Info: tLOD 13 part OAV. tLOD [Part 1 ]: General adventure with the already formed tLOD group in battle inside the ruins of a Dwarf fortress. tLOD [Parts 2- 8]: The story of Pern and his adventures. He goes tLOD on a quest to find the source of evil in Lodoss. As he tLOD goes, many others join his quest. tLOD [Parts 9-13]: Chronicle of the battles between the forces of tLOD Lord Kashew and the Black Magician Bugnard. We still tLOD mostly focus on Pern and the members of his former group.tLOD Rating: RECOMMENDED - especially if you're into RPGs tLOD Title: Lupin the Third (TV,OAV,FILM) gCO tLU3 aka: Lupin Sansei tLU3 aut: Monkey Punch tLU3 Cast: tLU3 Description: tLU3 [Editor at work! Entry construction in progress] tLU3 Notes: tLU3 - Based on series of novels by French author Maurice LeBlanc. tLU3 - LeBlanc estate never allowed international use of Lupin's tLU3 name, hence "Rupin" (AnimEigo) and "Wolf" (Streamline). tLU3 - Arsene Lupin III is grandson of original Lupin. tLU3 - Gang consists of Jigen, Goemon, Fujiko (sometimes). tLU3 - "Cagliostro Castle" directed by Hayao Miyazaki. tLU3 US Release by: Streamline Pictures (dubbed) tLU3 Title: Demon Warrior Luna Varuga (OAVs) gFA tLUN aka: Majuu Senshi Luna Varuga tLUN Cast: tLUN Princess Luna ........................... Michie Tomizawa vMTo1 tLUN Rapier ..................................... Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tLUN Ril .......................................... Eriko Hara vEHa tLUN Princess Zena ............................. Kikuko Inouye vKIn1 tLUN Description: tLUN The Kingdom of Rimzubel is being invaded by the Dambos Kingdom. tLUN 2nd Princess Luna de Rimzubel finds her injured grandfather in a tLUN secret passage. He thought that the chamber below held a secret tLUN that could save the kingdom. Luna goes into the chamber and is tLUN asked if she wants the 'power'. To save her kingdom, Luna says tLUN 'Yes'. Outside, the Dambos soldiers are knocking at the front tLUN gate...with a battering ram. The sudden appearance of a giant tLUN monster (think of Gojira :-)) in the middle of their camp stops tLUN the invasion. On the monster's head is a naked Luna. We find tLUN that this is the demon Varuga who, according to legend, defeated tLUN a demon lord. Luna is now his brain. Vina, Luna's little sister,tLUN is abducted to revive that demon lord and it's all-of-a-sudden tLUN up to Luna and Varuga (and Luna's faithful servant Roco) to save tLUN Vina and stop the demon lord. This is a fun fantasy adventure tLUN series with lots of slapstick comedy. Even if Luna has a tLUN distressing habit of losing her clothes... :-) tLUN Release Info: tLUN 4 part OAV. Despite the somewhat confusing ending, the series tLUN DOES end there. tLUN Rating: RECOMMENDED tLUN Title: Black Magic M-66 (OAV) gSF tM66 aut: Masamune Shirow ( ; US:Eclipse Intl.) tM66 Cast: tM66 Sybil ................................ Yoshiko Sakakibara vYSa tM66 Colonel's SIC ............................... Kyoko Tongu vKTo2 tM66 Felice ................................... Chisa Yokoyama vCYo tM66 Description: tM66 An unmarked military cargo plane goes down during a storm. Sybil tM66 gets wind of this and, in true reporter hound fashion, goes tM66 after the story. The military finds the plane, and Sybil finds tM66 the military...who captures her. Everything breaks loose as the tM66 'cargo' -- 2 combat robots -- attack the encampment. One is tM66 destroyed, and the other goes on a seek-and-destroy mission. The tM66 target: Felicia...granddaughter of the inventor. It's up to the tM66 escaped Sybil to get to Felicia first. This is a well done tM66 suspenseful thriller. tM66 US Release by: US Renditions (subtitled) tM66 Rating: RECOMMENDED tM66 Title: Superdimensional Fortress Macross (FILM,TV) gSF tMAC aka: Choh Jikuu Yousai Macross tMAC Cast: tMAC Hikaru Ichijoo ............................. Arihiro Hase vAHa tMAC Misa Hayase .................................... Mika Doi vMDo tMAC Lin Minmay .................................. Mari Iijima vMIi tMAC Roy Folker ................................. Akira Kamiya vAKa tMAC Claudia LaSalle ............................ Noriko Ohara vNOh tMAC Narrator ................................... Noriko Ohara vNOh tMAC Maximillian Genius .......................... Shoo Hayami vSHa tMAC Kim Kaviroff ............................... Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tMAC Vanessa Reyard ............................... Run Sasaki vRSa2 tMAC Description: tMAC An alien spaceship crashes on Macross Island, and Earth has to tMAC deal with the alien fleet which is following it. However, tMAC human civilization is an example of 'protoculture' which the tMAC Zentraedi (the aliens) are suppose to avoid. Dubbed and tMAC marketed as a segment of the 'Robotech' series. tMAC Release Info: tMAC 35 TV episodes - Story of Hikaru Ichijou, Lin Minmay and Misa tMAC Hayase on the Macross fortress. tMAC "Macross Flashback 2012" OAV - Lin Minmay's final concert. Has tMAC some added footage along with scenes from original TV series.tMAC Movie: "Macross: Do You Remember Love" - Retelling of the TV tMAC series plot line in a 2 hour movie. Great animation. tMAC Rating: RECOMMENDED tMAC Title: Macross Plus (OAVs) gSF tMAP Cast: tMAP Isam Daison ............................. Takumi Yamazaki vTYa1 tMAP Myun Fan Lon ................................ Rika Fukami vRFu tMAP Lucy ................................. Megumi Hayashibara vMHa1 tMAP Description: tMAP Once, there was a trio who built and flew a human-powered tMAP glider. As they grew up, they drifted apart. One became a tMAP Valkyrie fighter pilot. One became a test pilot. One became tMAP the manager for a robotic rock star. They are brought back tMAP together again as a new class of Valkyrie is tested...one that tMAP is controlled directly by the mind of the pilot. Despite the tMAP name, there is little to link it with the previous Macross tMAP series besides the Valkyrie mecha and UN Spacy. There is a tMAP high degree of interpersonal tension as the personalities of tMAP the two pilots clash with the female manager in the middle. tMAP This series is dedicated to "all pioneers everywhere..." tMAP Rating: RECOMMENDED tMAP Title: Metal Skin Panic Madox-01 (OAV) gCO tMAD Cast: tMAD Haruo Onose ................................ Arihiro Hase vAHa tMAD Ellie Kusumoto ............................ Youko Asagami vYAs tMAD Description: tMAD A parody of the giant robot genre. What happens if you're tMAD trapped inside of a robot weapon, the army is after you, you're tMAD causing massive devastation in the city, and, worst of all, tMAD you're going to be late for your date!?!? tMAD US Release by: AnimEigo (subtitled) tMAD Rating: RECOMMENDED tMAD Title: Maison Ikkoku (FILM,OAV,TV) gRC tMAI Cast: tMAI Yusaku Godai ............................. Issei Futamata vIFu tMAI Kyoko Otonashi ........................... Sumi Shimamoto vSSh2 tMAI Hanae Ichinose .............................. Kazuyo Aoki vKAo tMAI Yotsuya ................................... Shigeru Chiba vSCh tMAI Akemi Roppongi ............................... Yuhko Mita vYMi1 tMAI Yagami Ibuki ........................... Yuriko Fuchizaki vYFu1 tMAI Sayoko Kuroki ............................. Saeko Shimazu vSSh1 tMAI Asuna Kujo ................................. Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tMAI Shun Mitaka ................................ Akira Kamiya vAKa tMAI Kozue Nanao ............................... Mina Tominaga vMTo2 tMAI Yousuke Nanao ........................ Megumi Hayashibara vMHa1 tMAI Sakamoto ................................ Toshio Furukawa vTFu2 tMAI Sayuko Kuroki (MI movie) ............. Yoshiko Sakakibara vYSa tMAI Description: tMAI Godai is a ronin (i.e. someone who's failed university entrance tMAI exams) living in room #5 of a run down apartment house called tMAI Maison Ikkoku. Among the other residents are the nosy Ichinose tMAI (room #1), the sexy Akemi Roppongi (#6), and the mysterious tMAI Yotsuya (#4). The others are given to having wild parties which tMAI makes it difficult for Godai to study. Into this mayhem comes tMAI the recently widowed Kyoko as the new live-in manager. Godai tMAI falls for her, but doesn't have the nerve to tell her. The show tMAI follows their developing relationship amid the crazy goings on tMAI at Maison Ikkoku. A romantic comedy by Rumiko Takahashi. tMAI Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tMAI Title: Mama is a 4th Grade Student (TV) gDR tMAMA aka: Mama wa Shoukagu 4 Nensei tMAMA Cast: tMAMA Natsumi Mizuki ........................... Satomi Koorogi vSKo tMAMA Mirai .................................... Rihoko Yoshida vRYo tMAMA Izumi Shimazu ................................ Kazu Ikura vKIk tMAMA Bobby (the dog) ......................... Takumi Yamazaki vTYa1 tMAMA Daisuke Yamaguchi .......................... Urara Takano vUTa tMAMA Sawako Yamaguchi (Daisuke's mom) ........ Sumi Shimamoto vSSh2 tMAMA Tamae Mori (school friend) .......... Tomoko Maruo vTMa tMAMA Eriko Tachibana (school friend) ........ Yuri Shiratori vYSh1 tMAMA Ryuuichi Fukazawa (classmate) ........... Akemi Shinohara vASh tMAMA Hideo Hanada (classmate) .......... Kappei Yamaguchi vKYa1 tMAMA Midori Hanada (Hideo's mom) ......... Hisako Kyouda vHKy tMAMA Kouzourou Mizuki (Natsumi's dad) .......... Aruno Tahara vATa tMAMA Ruriko Mizuki (Natsumi's mom) ..... Chiyoko Kawashima vCKa tMAMA Mario ................................. Jun-ichi Kanemaru vJKa tMAMA Tsuru Ono .................................. Reiko Yamada vRYa tMAMA Ookawa ....................................... Fuurin Cha vFCh tMAMA Eji (an inventor) ......................... Ichiroo Nagai vINa tMAMA Tsubame-kun (Eji's robot assistant) ..... Naoki Makishima vNMa2 tMAMA Yokoshima (a reporter) ................. Yoshitada Ootuka vYOo tMAMA Description: tMAMA Natsumi Mizuki is a 4th grader whose parents have gone to London.tMAMA Her Aunt Izumi comes to live with her. Izumi is an aspiring tMAMA manga writer who is trying to get her first big break, so she tMAMA doesn't have time for a baby that appears out of thin air on tMAMA Natsumi's first night alone. The baby's name is Mirai and her tMAMA mother is *Natsumi*, but 15 years older. Somehow, Mirai had tMAMA traveled back in time. Now the young Natsumi has to raise Mirai tMAMA while trying to keep her 4th grade life from falling apart *and* tMAMA keep Mirai-chan secret from everyone. She has the dubious help tMAMA of Izumi and some baby-care gadgets from the future. This is a tMAMA pretty good sitcom with lots of funny and tender moments. tMAMA Rating: RECOMMENDED tMAMA Title: Creamy Mami (OAV,TV) gMG tMAMI Cast: tMAMI Description: (by Hitoshi Doi) tMAMI Morisawa Yuu is a 9 year old girl (I'm not sure about her age) tMAMI who lived in Creamy ga Oka. Her parents ran a crepe shop. One tMAMI day she went to a race track and a magical ship came out of the tMAMI sky. There was a little guy Pinopino who gave her a magic stick.tMAMI He said that Yuu can use it for one year. He left two cat-like tMAMI creatures Nega and Poji to look after Yuu. The magic stick tMAMI allowed Yuu to transform into a 15 (or 16) year old girl called tMAMI Creamy Mami. Creamy Mami appeared at a TV studio and became a tMAMI new idol after singing one song. tMAMI Rating: RECOMMENDED tMAMI Title: Marmalade Boy (TV) gDR tMAR aut: Wataru Yoshizumi (Ribbon) tMAR Cast: tMAR Miki Koishikawa ............................ Mariko Kouda vMKo3 tMAR Yuu Matsuura ........................... Ryoutarou Okiayu vROk tMAR Meiko Akizuki ........................... Wakana Yamazaki vWYa tMAR Ginta Suou ............................ Jun'ichi Kanemaru vJKa tMAR Arimi Suzuki ............................... Aya Hisakawa vAHi2 tMAR Chiyako Matsuura (Yuu's mom) ............... Hiroko Emori vHEm tMAR Youji Matsuura (Yuu's dad) ................ Bin Shimada vBSh tMAR Rumi Koishikawa (Miki's mom) ............ Youko Kawanami vYKa tMAR Jin Koishikawa (Miki's dad) ........... Hideyuki Tanaka vHTa2 tMAR Shin'ichi Namura (Nacchan, a teacher) ...... Tohru Furuya vTFu1 tMAR Satoshi Miwa ........................... Shinichirou Ohta vSOh tMAR Tsutomu Rokutandou ...................... Kazunari Tanaka vKTa3 tMAR Ryoko Momoi ................................ Megumi Urawa vMUr tMAR Kishima ................................... Ken Yamaguchi vKYa4 tMAR Description: (by Robert DeLoura) tMAR Miki is a perfectly normal high school girl. One day, her tMAR parents tell her they've decided to swap spouses with another tMAR couple they've recently met. The idea horrifies Miki, but she tMAR discovers that the other family has a boy her age (named Yuu), tMAR and she falls for him. She relents, and the families move in tMAR together. Suddenly, Yuu's old girlfriend Arimi shows up. Then tMAR Miki discovers that the boy she had a crush on in junior high tMAR (Ginta) is in love with her! And he starts hanging out with tMAR Arimi! It gets even more complicated from there. This is a tMAR touching and funny show about Miki's day-to-day life and her tMAR attempt to figure out which boy she's actually in love with. tMAR tMAR NOTE: Rating is by contributor. tMAR Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tMAR Title: Floral Elf Mary Bell (TV) gMG tMBL aka: Hana no Mahou Tsukai Mary Bell tMBL Cast: tMBL Mary Bell .................................. Chieko Honda vCHo tMBL Tambourine ............................... Chika Sakamoto vCSa1 tMBL Ken .......................................... Ai Orikasa vAOr tMBL Yuuri .................................... Satomi Koorogi vSKo tMBL Description: tMBL In the town of Sunnyvale (no joke!), Ken and Yuuri are two tMBL children who have a life filled with magic. They have a close tMBL friend named Mary Bell; a 500,000 year old witch who looks and tMBL acts like a 5 year old girl. With Mary Bell, the children meet tMBL lots of magical creatures...nature sprites, spirits, fairies and tMBL even Tsuki no Usagi once! When trouble looms, Mary Bell (with tMBL her friend Tambourine) can transform and use her magic to help, tMBL though she sometimes makes mistakes and tends to oversleep. tMBL A "magical girl" series for little girls. tMBL Rating: RECOMMENDED - high sugar content, though tMBL Title: Demon Hunter Yohko (OAVs) gCO tMHY aka: Mamono Hunter Yohko tMHY Cast: tMHY Yohko Mano ................................ Aya Hisakawa vAHi2 tMHY Sayoko Mano (mother) ....................... Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tMHY Madoka Mano (grandmother) .................. Yuji Mitsuya vYMi4 tMHY Chikako .................................... Chieko Honda vCHo tMHY Osamu .................................. Kappei Yamaguchi vKYa1 tMHY Reiko ...................................... Naoko Matsui vNMa1 tMHY High school principal .......................... Mika Doi vMDo tMHY Azusa .................................... Konami Yoshida vKYo2 tMHY Description: tMHY Yohko is an ordinary schoolgirl who is infatuated with one of tMHY her attractive male schoolmates. What she *doesn't* know tMHY is that she comes from a family of demon hunters...and she is tMHY next in line to receive the power. A powerful demon is aware tMHY of this, and seeks to kill her, or prevent her from receiving tMHY the power. A light-hearted romp into the demon-hunting/cute tMHY girl anime stereotype. The 2nd part gives Yohko an apprentice tMHY named Azusa and is even sillier than the 1st part. Part 3 is tMHY about a man Yohko falls in love in...in her dreams. tMHY Release Info: tMHY 5 part OAV. Note that Part 4 is actually a collection of music tMHY videos, and not another episode in the series. tMHY US Release by: A.D. Vision (subtitled) tMHY Rating: RECOMMENDED tMHY Title: Miracle Girls (TV) gMG tMG aut: Nami Akimoto (Nakayoshi) tMG Cast: tMG Tomomi Matsunaga ........................... Nariko Fujie vNFu tMG Mikage Matsunaga ........................... Noriko Nagai vNNa tMG Yuuya Noda ............................. Kappei Yamaguchi vKYa1 tMG Shinichiro Kageura ........................ Ken Yamaguchi vKYa4 tMG Hideaki Kurashige ....................... Kaneto Shiozawa vKSh1 tMG Rumiko Daijouji .............................. Rei Sakuma vRSa1 tMG Marie ................................... Michiyo Okimoto vMOk2 tMG Emma ..................................... Tomiyo Okimoto vTOk tMG Reiko ....................................... Ikue Ootani vIOo tMG Description: tMG This is a "magical girls" series about two twin girls who go to tMG high school. Tomomi is a tomboyish girl who is good at sports tMG (she's the star of the volleyball team). Mikage is more feminine tMG and is better academically, despite her tendency to blow up the tMG Chemistry Club. Both girls have boyfriends, though Mikage's tMG left for London in the 2nd episode. Mikage tends to have more tMG romantic relationships while Tomomi is on the 'buddy' system. tMG What makes these girls different is their ESP powers. Both have tMG limited telekinesis, have telepathy only with each other, and tMG can teleport only when both work together. The series is about tMG the sometimes funny/sad/romantic lives of the two twins and the tMG occasional complications brought about when they use their tMG powers. There is also an almost gothic mystery surrounding the tMG powers and the role 4 flowers play in it... tMG tMG NOTE: Interesting gimmick. The eyecatch has pictures of 2 twins tMG (all appear about 1-3 years old) when going to commercial. tMG When coming out, a picture of "Dio", the 2 ED singers posing tMG as Tomomi and Mikage is used. The ED has Dio performing the tMG song against an animated background... tMG Rating: RECOMMENDED tMG Title: Fairy Princess Minky Momo (TV,OAV) gMG tMOMO aka: Mahou no Princess Minky Momo tMOMO Cast: tMOMO Minky Momo (1st series) .................... Mami Koyama vMKo1 tMOMO Shindobukku ................................ Yuu Tanonaka vYTa2 tMOMO Pipiru ....................................... Yuhko Mita vYMi1 tMOMO Mocha ...................................... Reiko Kifuji vRKi tMOMO Mama ........................................... Mika Doi vMDo tMOMO Papa ....................................... Rokurou Naya vRNa tMOMO King of Fenarinarsa .................... Hiroshi Masuoka vHMa tMOMO Queen of Fenarinarsa ...................... Emiko Tsukada vETs tMOMO Minky Momo (2nd series) ............. Megumi Hayashibara vMHa1 tMOMO Kukku Bukku ........................... Toshiharu Sakurai vTSa1 tMOMO Rupipi ................................... Chisa Yokoyama vCYo tMOMO Chaamo ..................................... Mari Mashiba vMMa tMOMO Mama ...................................... Misa Watanabe vMWa tMOMO Papa ...................................... Masashi Ebara vMEb tMOMO Brenda Jo .................................. Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tMOMO Shadow ................................... Yuko Minaguchi vYMi2 tMOMO Description: tMOMO Momo is a little girl living with her parents. She's a very tMOMO bright and friendly girl given to helping those that she meets. tMOMO Minky Momo is actually a princess from the "Land of Dreams" and tMOMO she is on Earth to help humans not to lose their dreams. There tMOMO are actually 2 Minky Momo TV series: tMOMO Minky Momo (1982-83) - Momo-chan and her parents run a pet tMOMO shop. Momo comes from Fenarinarsa which moved to near- tMOMO Earth space when humans lost their dreams. Momo uses her tMOMO magic to change into various 18 year old girls with expert tMOMO skills in some area. At the end of the series, Momo was tMOMO run over by a truck and her spirit was reborn as a human. tMOMO Minky Momo (1991-92) - Another Momo-chan lives with her human tMOMO parents who run a hotel. Premise is the same as the first tMOMO series, except that this Momo has more general use of her tMOMO magic - being able to cast spells as well as transform. tMOMO Minky Momo comes from Marinenarsa which sits at the bottom tMOMO of the sea. Note that the first Minky Momo (now human) tMOMO has also appeared in this series. tMOMO In both series, Momo-chan lives with human parents, but her real tMOMO parents live in their respective cities and Minky Momo is a real tMOMO princess. Both "Land of Dreams" retreated to their current tMOMO locations because humans have lost sight of their dreams. This tMOMO is a "magical girl" series which is surprisingly good, tMOMO considering that it's directed at little girls... tMOMO US Release by: Harmony Gold (dubbed as "Magical Princess Gigi") tMOMO Rating: RECOMMENDED tMOMO Title: Moldiver (OAVs) gCO tMOL Cast: tMOL Description: tMOL An inventor called Hiromi creates a new power-suit: the Mol-Unit.tMOL He dreams of doing good deeds with this suit. Hiromi gets his tMOL chance quickly; machine gals (scantily clad robot women) disrupt tMOL a beauty pageant, and the Mol-Unit is put to its first test. It tMOL passes with flying colors and the attack is repelled. Of course,tMOL there are some disadvantages to the Mol-Unit...it has a time tMOL limit, and when it expires, the Mol-Unit disappears leaving the tMOL naked wearer of the suit...ahh...naked. Mirai, a girl living tMOL with Hiromi discovers the Mol-Unit plans and makes some changes. tMOL When Hiromi finds that the new suit appearance was a cute girl, tMOL he makes Mirai wear it. She changes the name to "Moldiver" and tMOL finds out that the cute girl disguise doesn't always appear... tMOL ...sometimes the beefy superhero is used. This is a funny parody tMOL on the powersuit genre. tMOL Release Info: tMOL 6 part OAV. The last two parts become rather serious. tMOL US Release by: Pioneer Video (subtitled and dubbed) tMOL Rating: RECOMMENDED tMOL Title: Muka Muka Paradise (TV) gDR tMUK Cast: tMUK Muka Muka ................................ Chika Sakamoto vCSa1 tMUK Uiba Shikatani .......................... Kumiko Watanabe vKWa tMUK Hazuki Shiberia .......................... Rika Matsumoto vRMa tMUK Description: (by Hitoshi Doi) tMUK A baby dinosaur was born from the giant egg that was brought to tMUK the pet shop Shikatani. The dinosaur thought that the daughter tMUK of the store, Uiba, was the mother. Uiba called the dinosaur tMUK Muka Muka because that was all the dinosaur can say. Muka Muka tMUK ate a lot and played a lot. He caused a lot of commotion in the tMUK shopping district. This anime shows the "at home" world of tMUK Uiba's childhood friend Senta, her older girl friend Hazuki, and tMUK the other people of the neighborhood shopping district. tMUK Rating: RECOMMENDED tMUK Title: Mobile Suit Gundam (TV,FILM,OAVs) gGR tMSG Cast: tMSG Description: tMSG [Editor at work! Entry construction in progress] tMSG Release Info: tMSG [Editor at work! Entry construction in progress] tMSG Mobile Suit Gundam (TV) tMSG Zeta Gundam (TV) tMSG Double Zeta Gundam (TV) tMSG Char's Counterattack (FILM) tMSG Gundam 0080 (OAVs) tMSG Gundam 0083 (OAVs) tMSG Gundam F91 (TV) tMSG Victory Gundam (TV) tMSG G Gundam (TV) tMSG SD Gundam (OAVs) tMSG Title: Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (TV) gAD tNAD aka: Fushigi no Umi no Nadia tNAD Cast: tNAD Nadia .................................. Yoshino Takamori vYTa1 tNAD Jean ...................................... Noriko Hidaka vNHi tNAD Marie ..................................... Yuko Mizutani vYMi3 tNAD Grandis ................................. Kumiko Takizawa vKTa1 tNAD Sanson .................................. Kenyuu Horiuchi vKHo tNAD Hanson ................................ Toshiharu Sakurai vTSa1 tNAD Electra ................................... Kikuko Inouye vKIn1 tNAD King .................................. Toshiharu Sakurai vTSa1 tNAD Description: tNAD It is the turn of the 19th century. It's a time of wild hopes tNAD and aspirations as the Industrial Revolution is coming up to tNAD full steam. It is also a time of worry as there have been a tNAD number of ship sinkings recently. What do these sinkings have tNAD to do with a circus girl named Nadia, whose only possession is tNAD a jewel called Blue Water? When she meets Jean, that's when tNAD this adventure series begins! Very loosely based on "Twenty tNAD Thousand Leagues under the Sea" by Jules Verne. tNAD US Release by: Streamline Pictures (dubbed) tNAD Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tNAD Title: Nadia of the Mysterious Seas movie (FILM) gAD tNAM aka: Fushigi no Umi no Nadia movie tNAM Cast: tNAM Nadia .................................. Yoshino Takamori vYTa1 tNAM Jean ...................................... Noriko Hidaka vNHi tNAM Grandis ................................. Kumiko Takizawa vKTa1 tNAM Sanson .................................. Kenyuu Horiuchi vKHo tNAM Hanson ................................ Toshiharu Sakurai vTSa1 tNAM Description: tNAM Two years after the events of the series, Nadia is working as tNAM an aspiring reporter for a London newspaper. Jean is working tNAM on his inventions back in his native France. The news of tNAM various important people vaporising and a girl washed up on tNAM shore will reunite Nadia and Jean for another adventure. tNAM tNAM Note: the 1st 1/2 hour of this 'movie' is clips from the series, tNAM and the rest of the movie played as a poor TV episode with tNAM cliched villains and a hokey plot line. tNAM Rating: NOT RECOMMENDED tNAM Title: All-purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku-Nuku (OAVs) gCO tNUK aka: Bannou Buka Nekomusume tNUK Cast: tNUK Nuku-Nuku (Atsuko Natsume) ........... Megumi Hayashibara vMHa1 tNUK Kyoko ................................... Akiko Hiramatsu vAHi1 tNUK Arisa ...................................... Aya Hisakawa vAHi2 tNUK Kyuusaku Natsume (Papa-san) ................ Akira Kamiya vAKa tNUK Akiko Natsume ............................. Saeko Shimazu vSSh1 tNUK Description: tNUK A scientist, his son, and an incomplete robot are sneaking away. tNUK Along the way, the son gets out to satisfy an urge of nature, tNUK and comes back with a cat that found him. At this point, tNUK gunfire erupts around them, and they try to get away. They tNUK succeed, but the cat had been killed by a stray shot. Sometime tNUK later, the son is going to school with his "big sister" named tNUK Nuku-Nuku. Yes, this is the robot (who now looks like a cute tNUK girl) with the brain of that cat. Of course, things don't stay tNUK peaceful for long; the boy's mother wants him back! A tNUK fast-paced action comedy. tNUK UK Release by: Crusader Films (dubbed) tNUK Rating: RECOMMENDED tNUK Title: Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind (FILM) gDR tNVW aka: Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa tNVW aut: Hayao Miyazaki (Animage) tNVW Cast: tNVW Princess Nausicaa ........................ Sumi Shimamoto vSSh2 tNVW Master Yupa .................................. Goroo Naya vGNa tNVW Princess Kushana ..................... Yoshiko Sakakibara vYSa tNVW Mito ...................................... Ichiroo Nagai vINa tNVW Princess Lastelle ........................ Mina Tominaga vMTo2 tNVW Description: tNVW In the far future, man has destroyed the Earth in the "Seven tNVW Days of Fire". Now, there are small pockets of humanity that tNVW survive. One pocket is the Valley of Wind where a princess tNVW named Nausicaa tries to understand, rather than destroy the tNVW Toxic Jungle. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. tNVW Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tNVW Title: Only Yesterday (FILM) gDR tOMO aka: Omohide Poro-Poro tOMO Cast: tOMO Description: tOMO Taeko Okajima, a 27 year old OL (Office Lady) is going to take a tOMO sabbatical. With no real hometown to go to, she journeys to a tOMO farm owned by the family of her oldest sister's husband. As she tOMO goes on the journey, she has many flashbacks to 1966 when she tOMO was 10 years old. Through the younger Taeko's eyes, we see a tOMO normal life of a school kid with many events which were tOMO significant to her. The film continues in this vein, switching tOMO between the purposeless life of the older Taeko as she arrives tOMO at the farm, and attempts to get to her roots, and the younger tOMO Taeko with all the attendant joys and sorrows of growing up. tOMO This is a very melancholy film as we enter the ordinary life of tOMO Taeko and her brief time on the farm. Directed by Isao Takahata tOMO and produced by Hayao Miyazaki. tOMO Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tOMO Title: Otaku no Video (OAVs) gCO tONV Cast: tONV Kubo .................................... Kouji Tsujitani vKTs tONV Tanaka ................................ Toshiharu Sakurai vTSa1 tONV Yuri Satou ................................... Yuri Amano vYAm tONV Yoshiko Ueno .............................. Kikuko Inouye vKIn1 tONV Miyoshi .................................. Masami Kikuchi vMKi2 tONV Description: tONV Kubo is an ordinary guy in college with an ordinary outlook on tONV life and an ordinary future. This changes when he meets up with tONV an old friend named Tanaka and is introduced to the mysterious tONV world of the "otaku". Kubo finds himself becoming an **ANIME tONV OTAKU**. With this new interest, Kubo and Tanaka open "General tONV Products": a company specializing in anime garage kits. Of tONV course, GP is wildly successful and Kubo has a dream...to create tONV an amusement park catering exclusively to anime otakus. "Otaku tONV no Video 1985" chronicles the downfall of Kubo & Tanaka and his tONV efforts to create a new company based around a new Magical Girl tONV character...Misty May. This 2 OAV series was a self-parody of tONV Gainax; a company filled with anime otakus. There were also tONV numerous "interviews" of different otakus. "Otaku no Video" can tONV be amusing or insulting, depending on your outlook. tONV tONV NOTE: "otaku" literally means "you", but in common usage refers tONV to a person that is extremely knowledgeable and/or fanatical tONV about a topic. An "anime otaku" refers to someone who lives tONV and breathes anime. In Japan, "otaku" has the same stigma tONV as "nerd" and should not be used casually... tONV US Release by: AnimEigo (subtitled) tONV Rating: RECOMMENDED tONV Title: Outlanders (OAV) gCO tOUT aut: Johji Manabe () tOUT Cast: tOUT Princess Kahm ............................... Fumi Hirano vFHi tOUT Description: tOUT While invading the Sacred Planet (Earth), Princess Kahm destroys tOUT an army unit, but is unexpectedly defeated by a photographer tOUT named Tetsuya who's covering the invasion. Kahm promptly does tOUT three things: kisses him, kidnaps him and plans to marry him. tOUT On the way back, she finds that many are opposed to the marriage tOUT (which, as a side benefit, is supposed to save Earth) including tOUT her father. Tetsuya rescues her, and they try to elope. This tOUT OAV attempted to cram the entire manga into 1 hour and comes tOUT out confused...but it's still fun, nevertheless. tOUT Rating: RECOMMENDED tOUT Title: Mobile Police Patlabor (FILM,OAVs,TV) gDR tPAT Cast: tPAT Noa Izumi ................................. Mina Tominaga vMTo2 tPAT Asuma Shinohara ......................... Toshio Furukawa vTFu2 tPAT Isao Ohta ............................. Michihiro Ikemizu vMIk3 tPAT Kanuka Clancy ................................ You Inouye vYIn tPAT Takeo Kumagami ........................... Keiko Yokozawa vKYo1 tPAT Hiromi Yamazaki ........................... Daisuke Gouri vDGo tPAT Mikiyasu Shinshi ......................... Issei Futamata vIFu tPAT Shinobu Nagumo ....................... Yoshiko Sakakibara vYSa tPAT Kiichi Goto .......................... Ryunosuke Obayashi vROb tPAT Shegeo Shiba .............................. Shigeru Chiba vSCh tPAT Momoko Sakurayama (TV Reporter) ...... Megumi Hayashibara vMHa1 tPAT Weather forecaster (Patlabor movie) .. Megumi Hayashibara vMHa1 tPAT Miyuki Kasima (OAV #14) .................... Aya Hisakawa vAHi2 tPAT Description: tPAT Due to global warming, the Babylon Project is initiated to seal tPAT off Tokyo Bay, and create more real estate. New industrial tPAT machines called 'labors' were developed for the Project. Labors tPAT vary, but most fit the "giant robot" mold. Being so versatile, tPAT labors were also used for crime, so the Patrol Labor (PatLabor) tPAT was developed. This is the story of a police unit which uses tPAT the patlabor model 'Ingram' -- SVD Section 2. tPAT Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tPAT Title: The Crimson Pig (FILM) gAD tPIG aka: Kurenai no Buta tPIG aut: Hayao Miyazaki (Tokuma Shoten) tPIG Cast: tPIG Porco Russo .......................... Shuichiro Moriyama vSMo tPIG Description: tPIG It is the period some time after World War I. Many aviators tPIG with nothing to do have turned to air piracy. A 'hero' emerges: tPIG The Crimson Pig called Porco Rosso (his name is actually Marco). tPIG He fights against the air pirates and saves a lot of ships, tPIG though it's for the reward money. After losing in a dogfight, tPIG he rebuilds his plane for another round and meets a feisty girl tPIG who is an aspiring plane designer. This movie mixes Hayao tPIG Miyazaki's love of aviation and talent for adventure stories. tPIG Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tPIG Title: Plastic Little (OAV) gSF tPLA Cast: tPLA Description: tPLA Imagine a world without metals. Plastic has taken over where- tPLA ever metal would be used. This is the world where Teeta makes a tPLA living as a Pet Shop Hunter. She is the 17 year old captain of tPLA the Cha Cha Maru, a Hunter ship and crew that she inherited from tPLA her father. Her normal life is changed when a girl named Elysse tPLA runs into (and over) her. From there, Teeta and her crew become tPLA involved in a military plot to activate a gravity weapon unknow- tPLA ingly developed by Elysse' father. This is an adventure placed tPLA in an interesting world. It falters a bit with the deus ex tPLA machina ending and the high cheesecake factor, though... tPLA US Release by: AD Vision (subtitled) tPLA Rating: RECOMMENDED tPLA Title: Queen Millenia (TV) gSF tQUE Cast: tQUE Selene .................................... Youko Asagami vYAs tQUE Lar Els Miryuu ............................. Tohru Furuya vTFu1 tQUE Daisuke Yamori ............................. Tohru Furuya vTFu1 tQUE Hannibal .................................. Shuichi Ikeda vSIk1 tQUE Shinjoo - the new Queen ..................... Mami Koyama vMKo1 tQUE ....................... Shigeru Chiba vSCh tQUE Professor Amamori ......................... Ichiroo Nagai vINa tQUE Professor Amamori's Computer ............ Toshio Furukawa vTFu2 tQUE Description: tQUE In the year 1999, a rogue planet is detected heading on a course tQUE for Earth. At an observatory, Professor Amamori wonders what to tQUE do. Meanwhile, a girl called Yukino Yayoi also ponders what to tQUE do about the rogue planet. A teacher by trade, she is working tQUE at the observatory for the summer. Unknown to her collegues, tQUE she is also Queen Promethium II who rules the Earth in secret tQUE for her people on the rogue planet Lar Metal. Once every 1000 tQUE years, Lar Metal makes a pass by Earth and the Queen will be tQUE replaced when that happens. However, Yoyoi has become fond of tQUE her adopted home, and decides to fight against her people to tQUE protect them. A series created by Leiji Matsumoto. tQUE Rating: RECOMMENDED tQUE Title: Ranma 1/2 (FILM,OAV,OAVs,TV) gRC tR12 aut: Rumiko Takahashi (Shogakukan; US:Viz Comics) tR12 Cast: tR12 Ranma Saotome (boy) .................... Kappei Yamaguchi vKYa1 tR12 Ranma Saotome (girl) ................. Megumi Hayashibara vMHa1 tR12 Akane Tendou .............................. Noriko Hidaka vNHi tR12 Kasumi Tendou ............................. Kikuko Inouye vKIn1 tR12 Nabiki Tendou ........................... Minami Takayama vMTa1 tR12 Shampoo ...................................... Rei Sakuma vRSa1 tR12 Ukyou Kuonji ............................... Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tR12 Ryouga Hibiki ......................... Kouichi Yamadera vKYa2 tR12 Happosai .................................. Ichiroo Nagai vINa tR12 Tatewaki Kunou ......................... Hirotaka Suzuoki vHSu tR12 Kodachi 'Black Rose' Kunou ................ Saeko Shimazu vSSh1 tR12 Sasuke .................................... Shigeru Chiba vSCh tR12 Mikado Sanzenin ......................... Kazuhiko Inouye vKIn2 tR12 Azusa Shiratori ............................ Naoko Matsui vNMa1 tR12 Hikaru Gosunkugi ......................... Issei Futamata vIFu tR12 Daisuke ...................................Takendo Koyasu vTKo1 tR12 Description: tR12 One day, Soun Tendo calls his 3 daughters in and tells them that tR12 one of them is going to be iinazuke (fiancee) to Ranma, the son tR12 of his best friend. Soun faints when Ranma arrives and turns tR12 out to be a *girl*. It soon turns out that Ranma is really a tR12 boy, but has a curse where he will turn into a girl when cold tR12 water is splashed on him. Hot water returns him to normal. tR12 Nabiki & Kasumi immediately elect Akane as the iinazuke because tR12 "she hates boys and Ranma is only half a boy". Ranma, for his tR12 part, doesn't like Akane because she's violent and "not cute". tR12 Akane is miffed at Ranma because he beat her in martial arts tR12 (Ranma was a girl then) and shows her feelings by crushing Ranma tR12 with a table. A wonderful start to a beautiful relationship :-).tR12 A martial arts comedy by Rumiko Takahashi. Note that the 2nd TV tR12 season onward is known as "Ranma 1/2 Nettouhen". tR12 Release Info: tR12 18 TV episodes - "Ranma 1/2 Nibunnochi" covers the manga stories tR12 pretty closely, though not in order. Cancelled for rework. tR12 143 TV episodes - "Ranma 1/2 Nettouhen" emphasized combat and tR12 action more than the relationships. tR12 3 movies - Pretty much extended TV episodes. Movie #2 on the tR12 deserted island overemphasized the girls' figures... tR12 6 part OAV series - more episodes in TV style format. Seems to tR12 follow the manga pretty closely, though... tR12 US Release by: Viz Video (dubbed and subtitled) tR12 Rating: RECOMMENDED -- especially the 1st TV season. tR12 Title: Dream Hunter REM (OAVs) gFA tREM Cast: tREM Description: tREM [Editor at work! Entry construction in progress] tREM Notes: tREM - Rem is a girl who is really a dream warrior. tREM - She has two friends...Alpha (a dog) and Beta (a cat) tREM - More friends: detective, buddhist monk, computer hacker. tREM Title: Riding Bean (OAV) gAD tRID Cast: tRID Bean Bandit ............................. Hideyuki Tanaka vHTa2 tRID Larry ...................................... Naoko Matsui vNMa1 tRID Semmerling .................................. Mami Koyama vMKo1 tRID Carrie ............................... Megumi Hayashibara vMHa1 tRID Chelsea .................................... Chieko Honda vCHo tRID Description: tRID If you're in Chicago, and you need a hot driver...get the Bean tRID Bandit. He's the best. It doesn't matter if what you're doing tRID isn't particularly legal...he'll do it if the price is right. tRID In this OAV, Bean Bandit and Larry are framed for kidnapping a tRID little girl. It doesn't help that the little girl ends up in tRID the back of Bean's car...or that the entire Chicago Police tRID Force is after them. An exciting OAV with characters and tRID setting designed by Keniichi Sonoda. tRID NOTE: "Larry" is more commonly known as "Rally", but the former tRID spelling was confirmed by her creator: Keiichi Sonoda. The tRID confusion arises because Japanese has no "R" or "L" character, tRID so interchanging them is very possible. tRID US Release by: AnimEigo (subtitled) tRID UK Release by: Anime Projects Limited (subtitled) tRID Rating: RECOMMENDED tRID Title: Robotech (TV) gSF tROB Cast: tROB Cast listed in "Robotech: Art 1" -- not listed here tROB Description: tROB Not exactly anime, but this seems to be most people's intro to tROB anime. A combination of 3 anime series ("Macross", "Southern tROB Cross", "Genesis Climber Mospeada") with a linking concept tROB ("Protoculture"), this is a story about 3 wars between humanity tROB and 3 different alien races over possession of Protoculture. For tROB the most part, general plots were retained, though details were tROB changed. As an introduction to anime, this series was fairly tROB well done and self-consistent. Now available on video. tROB NOTE: "Robotech" changed the original anime series and most fans tROB seem to agree that the originals were better...except for tROB "Southern Cross". tROB US Release by: Harmony Gold/Streamline Pictures (dubbed) tROB Rating: RECOMMENDED -- for those new to anime tROB Title: Rumic World: Fire Tripper (OAV) gHO tRUM Title: Rumic World: The Supergal (OAV) gCO tRUM Title: Rumic World: Laughing Target (OAV) gHO tRUM Title: One Pound Gospel (OAV) gRC tRUM Title: Ningyo no Mori (aka Mermaid's Forest) (OAV) gHO tRUM aut: Rumiko Takahashi (Shogakukan; US:Viz Comics) tRUM Cast: tRUM Suzuko/Suzu (Fire Tripper) ............. Sumi Shimamoto vSSh2 tRUM Zombie Sue (The Supergal) ............. Sumi Shimamoto vSSh2 tRUM Azusa Shiga (Laughing Target) ............ Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tRUM Sister Angela (One Pound Gospel) ........... Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tRUM Ishida (One Pound Gospel) ......... Issei Futamata vIFu tRUM Hatanaka Kousaku (One Pound Gospel) ........ Tohru Furuya vTFu1 tRUM Angela's friend (One Pound Gospel) ..... Michie Tomizawa vMTo1 tRUM Mana (Ningyo no Mori) .......... Minami Takayama vMTa1 tRUM Description: tRUM This is a series of independent stories by Rumiko Takahashi of tRUM Urusei Yatsura and Ranma 1/2 fame. Originally, they fell under tRUM the "Rumic World" label, but that label seems to have vanished tRUM for the more recent releases. All were very well done, and are tRUM recommended for anyone looking for more of Takahashi-sensei's tRUM works. Note that only "The Supergal" is a comedy. tRUM Rumic World: Fire Tripper - An explosion sends Suzu back in time tRUM to 16th century Japan where she falls in love with a warrior tRUM while looking for her lost charge (a little boy). tRUM Rumic World: The Supergal - Always in poverty, Maris has to work tRUM a lot of odd jobs - one of which is a Space Police officer. tRUM She gets her chance when a rich tychoon's son is kidnapped. tRUM Subtitled as "Maris the Chojo" by US Manga Corps. tRUM Rumic World: Laughing Target - An iinazuke from a boy's past tRUM threatens his present as she tries to possess him (by tRUM eliminating his present girlfriend). tRUM One Pound Gospel - This is your average boxing story, or is it? tRUM Kousaku is aiming for the title, but his uncontrollable tRUM appetite makes it hard to keep him under the weight limit for tRUM his class. He receives spiritual (and physical ;-) guidance tRUM by the catholic nun Angela. This OAV has it's funny moments, tRUM but is _not_ a comedy. (Description by Christian Balzer). tRUM Ningyo no Mori - A legend says that eating mermaid flesh will tRUM grant immortality. In reality, most people die horribly, and tRUM the rest will mutate into monsters. Only a few are granted tRUM true immortality, but Yuuta just wants his humanity back. tRUM In "Mermaid Forest", he and Mana are trapped by one who still tRUM wants the gift/curse of immortality... tRUM US Release by: US Manga Corps (subtitled) tRUM Rating: RECOMMENDED tRUM Title: Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon (TV,FILM) gMG tSAI aka: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon tSAI aut: Naoko Takeuchi (Kodansha) tSAI Cast: tSAI Sailor Moon /Usagi Tsukino ........... Kotono Mitsuishi vKMi1 tSAI Sailor Moon (ep. 44-50) ....................... Kae Araki vKAr tSAI Sailor Mercury/Ami Mizuno .................. Aya Hisakawa vAHi2 tSAI Sailor Mars /Rei Hino ................. Michie Tomizawa vMTo1 tSAI Sailor Jupiter/Makoto Kino ................ Emi Shinohara vESh tSAI Sailor Venus /Minako Aino .................. Rika Fukami vRFu tSAI Tuxedo Kamen /Mamoru Chiba ................ Tohru Furuya vTFu1 tSAI Naru Osaka ............................... Shino Kakinuma vSKa tSAI Gurio Umino ............................... Keiichi Namba vKNa3 tSAI Luna .......................................... Keiko Han vKHa tSAI Queen Beryl ................................... Keiko Han vKHa tSAI Zoisite ................................... Keiichi Namba vKNa3 tSAI Artemis ................................ Takado Yasuihiro vTYa2 tSAI Ail/Seijuurou Ginga (Sailor Moon R) ... Hikaru Midorikawa vHMi tSAI Ann/Natsumi Ginga (Sailor Moon R) .......... Yumi Tohma vYTo tSAI Chibi Usa (Sailor Moon R) ........... Kae Araki vKAr tSAI Description: tSAI "Tsukino Usagi" (Rabbit of the Moon) is a rather underachieving tSAI junior high school girl who gets low test grades, does poorly in tSAI sports, and is often late to class. She's also a very caring tSAI individual. When Usagi-chan sees some boys tormenting a black tSAI cat, she rescues the cat. The cat reappears later to thank tSAI Usagi and introduces herself as Luna. Usagi is frightened at tSAI seeing a talking cat, so Luna gives her a pretty broach. With tSAI the words "Moon Prism Power-Make Up!", the broach turns her into tSAI the superheroine Sailor Moon. Her job is to fight against the tSAI youma (demons) who appear to steal human energy. Unfortunately, tSAI Sailor Moon is still spectacularly incompetant at fighting youma.tSAI Fortunately, the mysterious Tuxedo Kamen appears to save her. tSAI Later, the appearance of the other Sailor Senshi (warriors) will tSAI help, since they are better at fighting than Sailor Moon is. tSAI Luna is also looking for her missing Moon Princess. This is a tSAI very funny series which enjoys massive popularity in Japan. tSAI Tidbits: tSAI - All of the Sailor Senshi are 14 year old schoolgirls dressed tSAI in short, cute versions of their regular school uniforms. tSAI - Like "Tsukino Usagi", the names of the other Senshi are puns tSAI relating to their planet or power (e.g. "Mizuno Ami" is tSAI "Ami of the Water"; Sailor Mercury's power is water based). tSAI - The Dark Kingdom villains seem to be named after gems of tSAI various kinds (e.g. Jadeite, Kunzite, Beryl). tSAI - The "Sailor Moon" series ends at episode #46 and is replaced tSAI at #47 with "Sailor Moon R". It starts with two aliens, Ail tSAI and Ann, who need human energy, similar to the first series. tSAI At #60, Chibi Usa (little Usagi) appears with a demand for tSAI the ginzuishou, Usagi's power jewel... tSAI Release Info: tSAI 46 TV episodes for "Sailor Moon". tSAI (Story [ 1-46]: Queen Beryl and search for the ginzuishou). tSAI 43 TV episodes for "Sailor Moon R". ('Romance' and 'Return') tSAI (Story [47-89]: Ail/Ann, Chibi Usa and Black Moon forces) tSAI Movie: "Sailor Moon R" tSAI (Story : Fiore comes for Mamoru) tSAI Live-action Musical: "Sailor Moon R" tSAI (Story : Sailor Senshi vs. Queen Beryl & 4 generals) tSAI 1 TV episode between series. tSAI (Recap of "Sailor Moon R" and preview for "Sailor Moon S") tSAI ?? TV episodes for "Sailor Moon S". ('Super') tSAI (Story [91-???]:Sailor Uranus/Neptune and Talisman search) tSAI Rating: RECOMMENDED tSAI Title: 3x3 Eyes (aka Sazan Eyes) (OAVs) gFA t3X3 aut: Yuuzo Takada (Yanmaga KC Special; US:Innovation) t3X3 Cast: t3X3 Pai/Sanjiyan ......................... Megumi Hayashibara vMHa1 t3X3 Yakumo Fujii ............................ Kouji Tsujitani vKTs t3X3 Mama (Part 1) ....................... Masayuki Kishino vMKi1 t3X3 Natsuko (Part 2) ........................ Wakana Yamazaki vWYa t3X3 Description: t3X3 Yakumo Fujii is an ordinary high school student (with an unusual t3X3 job :-)) until he runs into Pai...literally. Pai appears to t3X3 be a young (and cute) girl who is a bit lost. Pai is actually t3X3 a survivor of a mythical race called the Sanjiyan who are all t3X3 but extinct. In effect, Pai is an immortal 'monster' with 3 t3X3 eyes who is 300 years old. Yakumo's first encounter with Pai t3X3 leads to his death, upon which he is resurrected as her 'Wu', t3X3 an immortal and indestructible servant of a Sanjiyan. He joins t3X3 her in her quest to become human. t3X3 Release Info: t3X3 4 part OAV. Yes, even though Sanjiyan went off to face Benares, t3X3 the series really DOES end there. t3X3 US Release by: Streamline Pictures (dubbed) t3X3 UK Release by: Island World Communications (dubbed) t3X3 Rating: RECOMMENDED t3X3 Title: Supernatural Beast City (FILM) gHO tSBC aka: Yoju Toshi tSBC Cast: tSBC Description: (by Tom Jewell) tSBC The premise as given by Taki, the main character: tSBC "Throughout human history, relations between out human world tSBC and the other world, the world of demons, has gone a long way. tSBC Both worlds sought interaction, cooperation, and coexistance. tSBC But many cruel wars were repeated over and over again. Finally,tSBC representatives from both worlds signed a treaty. It was a tSBC kind of non-aggression treaty. Every several hundred years, tSBC there was a set armistice period. Now we are approaching the tSBC 21st century. Both worlds are on to sign another [500 year] tSBC peace treaty." tSBC tSBC To handle crimes committed by either side, the Yami (Dark) Guard tSBC is formed as an elite police force. The Guard is made up of tSBC men and women of both races - human and demon. The story tSBC centers on Renzabury Taki, a human male and member of the Yami tSBC Guard. He is teamed with Maki, a beautiful female demon. Their tSBC assignment is to guard Giuseppi Maiyart, a wizened old (lusty) tSBC man who must be present at the treaty signing. Unknown to Taki tSBC and Maki, a secret plot revolves around the two of them. tSBC Editor's Note: Despite the numerous sexual situations & graphic tSBC violence, this is really a love story of unexpected power. The tSBC sex doesn't take over the story as in "Wandering Kid"... tSBC US Release by: Streamline (dubbed as "Wicked City") tSBC Rating: RECOMMENDED tSBC Title: Silent Mobius (FILM) gSF tSIL aut: Kia Asamiya (Kadokawa Shoten) tSIL Cast: tSIL Katsumi Liqueur ............................ Naoko Matsui vNMa1 tSIL Kiddy Phenyl ............................... Hiromi Tsuru vHTs tSIL Nami Yamigumo .............................. Chieko Honda vCHo tSIL Rally Cheyenne ........................... Yoshiko Fujita vYFu2 tSIL Fukyukawa Liqueur .......................... Shohko Ikeda vSIk2 tSIL Description: tSIL "Lucifer Folk" demons are starting to reappear on Earth after tSIL having been banished long ago. In Japan, a new police team has tSIL been formed to combat this threat...composed entirely of tSIL women. Each woman on the team has her own set of powers and tSIL specialties. The 1st movie shows us (via flashback) how Katsumi tSIL Liqueor joins the Attacked Mystification Police (AMP) force. The tSIL 2nd movie continues Katsumi's story as she resists joining AMP tSIL while still being chased by demons. She meets Yuki, a young tSIL girl prone to procognitive flashes with a secret history. tSIL Release Info: tSIL 2 part movie. Actually, the 2nd part was released as an OAV. tSIL Due to problems at Kadokawa, no 3rd part was ever made. tSIL US Release by: Streamline Pictures (dubbed) tSIL Rating: RECOMMENDED tSIL Title: Sol Bianca (OAVs) gSF tSOL Cast: tSOL Jany .................................... Minami Takayama vMTa1 tSOL April ........................................ Rei Sakuma vRSa1 tSOL Yuhri ..................................... Shuichi Ikeda vSIk1 tSOL .................... Yuriko Fuchizaki vYFu1 tSOL Description: tSOL In an undetermined future, a graceful pirate ship plys the tSOL spaceways. Pity the poor freighter that the Sol Bianca raids. tSOL There is little chance that the cargo will be saved. The Sol tSOL Bianca is "manned" by 5 girls of varying ages...all named after tSOL months of the year. The first OAV carried the Sol Bianca to a tSOL planet named Tres...where, in the pursuit of treasure, they tSOL acquire a stowaway, and free Tres from its tyrannical leader. tSOL In the 2nd OAV, the girls fall into a trap set for them by a tSOL mysterious man who knows a lot about them. tSOL Release Info: tSOL 2 part OAV. The ending of the 2nd part clearly indicates that a tSOL 3rd part was intended to be made, but none ever was. There tSOL was a script for "Part 4" which surfaces from time to time. tSOL The script was an April Fools joke and is completely fake. tSOL The 4th part doesn't exist... tSOL US Release by: A.D. Vision (subtitled) tSOL Rating: RECOMMENDED - the 2nd OAV wasn't that good, though tSOL Title: Spirit of Wonder: Miss China's Melancholy (OAV) gFA tSOW aka: Spirit of Wonder: China-san no yuu-utsu tSOW Cast: tSOW Description: (by Enrique Conty) tSOW The easiest way to describe it would be: "What if H.G. Welles tSOW wrote a romance story?". In a small port town in Victorian tSOW England, Miss China is the owner of the popular Tenkai tSOW restaurant. Her lodger, one Dr. Breckenridge, has been working tSOW on "alternative" methods to get to the moon. Breckenridge's tSOW assistant, Jim, is in love with Miss China, and eventually tSOW presents her with a very special gift... tSOW Rating: RECOMMENDED tSOW Title: No Need for Tenchi (OAVs) gCO tTEN aka: Tenchi Muyou, Ryo-Oh-Ki tTEN aut: Hitoshi Okuda (Comic Dragon) tTEN Cast: tTEN Tenchi Masaki ............................ Masami Kikuchi vMKi2 tTEN Ryouko ....................................... Ai Orikasa vAOr tTEN Princess Aeka ............................... Yumi Takada vYTa3 tTEN Princess Sasami .......................... Chisa Yokoyama vCYo tTEN Description: tTEN After tricking his grandfather, Tenchi gets the keys to an old tTEN shrine. Family legend says that a hero defeated a horrific tTEN demon long ago, and the demon was imprisoned here. The hero's tTEN sword was placed next to the demon to guard it. Tenchi finds tTEN the old sword...and a mummy. Since Tenchi broke the seals, the tTEN mummy rises. Frantically, Tenchi tries to reseal the shrine and tTEN escapes. Later, Tenchi is back at school. He is startled by a tTEN girl who appears out of nowhere. This is Ryouko, space pirate, tTEN former mummy, and a VERY annoyed demon. She decides to kill tTEN Tenchi, 'cause she has to take it out on *someone*. Tenchi tTEN escapes from the destroyed school...to find that Ryouko has tTEN decided to move in with him. Things get REALLY interesting when tTEN Aeka, Princess of the Jurai, comes to Earth looking for her tTEN brother...the long-dead hero who sealed Ryouko up the first time.tTEN This is a very funny, fast-moving action comedy with lots of tTEN unique elements...including spaceships grown from trees and a tTEN pirate ship that becomes a cute bunny... tTEN NOTE: The title might also be translated as "This Side Up,Tenchi"tTEN and, in fact, is carried that way at Nikaku. This is because tTEN the kanji used can be interpreted more than one way... tTEN Release Info: tTEN 6 part OAV - Tenchi meets Ryouko and Aeka (and Sasami) and tries tTEN to deal with these additions to his life. tTEN 1 part OAV - "Tenchi Muyou Special". To gain Tenchi's love and tTEN affection, Aeka and Ryouko take lessons from shoujo manga... tTEN 1 part OAV - "Tenchi Music File". Music videos with many scenes tTEN from the original OAV series. Pretty Sami debuts here... tTEN 1 part OAV - "Mihoshi Special". Mihoshi tells a story about a tTEN Galaxy Police assignment that she was involved in... tTEN New OAV series - Possible prelude to possible TV series. tTEN Part 8 - The cast try to take care of a baby for one day. tTEN Part 9 - Sasami becomes morose and her secret is revealed. tTEN US Release by: Pioneer Video (subtitled and dubbed) tTEN Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tTEN Title: Tonde Buurin (TV) gMG tTON Cast: tTON Karin Kokubu ............................. Yuri Shiratori vYSh1 tTON Tonrariaano III ........................ Yuriko Fuchizaki vYFu1 tTON Keiko Kuroha ............................. Rika Matsumoto vRMa tTON Nanako Tateishi .......................... Maria Kawamura vMKa1 tTON Shouhei Kokubu ........................... Satomi Koorogi vSKo tTON Kaoru Hidaka ................................ Junko Asami vJAs tTON Kouichi Mizuno ............................. Akira Ishida vAIs tTON Masami Yamakawa .............................. Chie Satou vCSa2 tTON Shinichirou Kokubu .......................... Kenichi Ono vKOn tTON Description: (by Hitoshi Doi) tTON Karin Kokubu is a slightly klutzy junior high school student. tTON One day on the way to school, she finds an injured pig. She tTON wants to help it out, but she was already late for school. The tTON pig eats Karin's lunch and recovers. Karin runs off to school tTON and the pig follows her. Later on, the talking pig gives Karin tTON a compact that will turn her into a flying pig super hero called tTON Buurin. Karin doesn't like the "shape" of Buurin, but she can't tTON transform into any other shape until she gets 100 "balls". tTON (Every time Buurin saves somebody, she will get one ball that tTON she puts into a "bank".) Also if anybody finds out about tTON Buurin's identity, Karin will be stuck in Buurin's form forever. tTON Rating: RECOMMENDED tTON Title: My Neighbor Totoro (FILM) gDR tTOT aka: Tonari no Totoro tTOT aut: Hayao Miyazaki (Tokuma Shoten) tTOT Cast: tTOT Satsuki ................................... Noriko Hidaka vNHi tTOT Satsuki & Mei's mother ................... Sumi Shimamoto vSSh2 tTOT Description: tTOT Moving out to the countryside, Satsuki and Mei (along with their tTOT father) settle in a new house in a farming community. Their tTOT mother is in a hospital, and is suppose to join them soon. Mei tTOT is the first to encounter a magical creature who she names tTOT "Totoro". After Satsuki meets Totoro, their lives fill up with tTOT the magic that nature and Totoro provides. A heartwarming film tTOT from Hayao Miyazaki. tTOT US Release by: 50th Street Films/Troma (dubbed) tTOT Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tTOT Title: The Transformers (TV,FILM) gGR tTRA Cast: tTRA tTRA Description: tTRA On the planet Cybertron, the 'life forms' are robots that are tTRA able to transform into other machinery. There was a war between tTRA 2 factions, and the Deceptacons won. The Autobots retreated to tTRA the planet Earth, led by Optimas Prime. As the name implies, tTRA Autobots can transform into motor vehicles with Prime becoming a tTRA 18-wheel truck. The Deceptacons pursued the Autobots to Earth tTRA led by Megatron, who transforms into a gun. Most of the other tTRA Deceptacons transform into jets. The war continues on Earth. tTRA The "Transformers Movie" ends this war with the Autobots winning,tTRA but having to face a planet-eating robot called Omicron Theta... tTRA (This, of course, generates many toys for Hasbro to sell... :-)) tTRA tTRA Note: Despite the giant robots, this is an American creation and tTRA production. The concept proved popular in Japan, however, and tTRA a new anime Transformers series ran there with original tTRA stories, using Japanese writers and voice actors... tTRA Rating: RECOMMENDED - little anime connection, though tTRA Title: Irresponsible Captain Tyler (TV) gCO tTYL aka: Musekinin Kanchou Tyler tTYL Cast: tTYL Justy Ueki Tyler ........................ Kouji Tsujitani vKTs tTYL Yuriko Star .................................. Yuri Amano vYAm tTYL Yamamoto .................................... Shoo Hayami vSHa tTYL Azarin .................................. Hiroko Kasahara vHKa tTYL Dom ...................................... Toshihiko Seki vTSe1 tTYL Mifune ......................................... Mugihito vMUG tTYL Fuji ................................ Tomomichi Nishimura vTNi tTYL Kyung-Hwa Kim .......................... Kotono Mitsuishi vKMi1 tTYL Katori ....................................... Ken Narita vKNa2 tTYL Kitaguchi .................................. Jouji Yanami vJYa tTYL Harumi ..................................... Maya Okamoto vMOk1 tTYL Yumi & Emi Hanami ............................ Mika Kanai vMKa2 tTYL Description: tTYL This series is set in the far future. Justy Tyler is wandering tTYL the streets when his eye catches a recruiting ad (on a very tTYL LARGE TV screen). Actually, his eye is caught by the girl in tTYL the commercial. He signs up immediately. During his screening/ tTYL training/testing, he manages to seduce the main computer at the tTYL HQ...completely disrupting operations during an invasion, and tTYL stops an alien-induced hostage situation...neither the criminals tTYL nor the hostages knew what to make of him. Now, he's been given tTYL *command* of his own space battleship...an antique. His crew is tTYL a collection of misfits, including 3 of the aforementioned tTYL hostages: Yuriko and his twin aides Yumi & Emi. Also Yamamoto, tTYL the officer in charge of the hostage drama...before Tyler walked tTYL in. This series would be utterly chaotic if it wasn't so funny. tTYL tTYL Note: In both the spoken and katakana forms, his name is "Tyler" tTYL or "TAIRA". In the eyecatch, his name is "Tailor" written in tTYL English. Make whatever you want out of this... :-) tTYL Rating: RECOMMENDED tTYL Title: I can hear the Sea (TV) gDR tUGK aka: Umi Ga Kikoeru tUGK Cast: tUGK Description: tUGK Taku Morisaki is a college student on his way back to a high tUGK school reunion. On the plane flight back, he remembers events tUGK from his high school days. He remembers getting a glimpse of a tUGK new girl with his friend Matsuno. Later, Matsuno introduces his tUGK new girlfriend to Morisaki. Her name is Rikako Muto. She is tUGK very good in sports and academically, but is a social outsider tUGK since she is a transfer student. In their last year in school, tUGK the class takes a trip to Hawaii. When Rikako's money is stolen,tUGK it is to Morisaki that she asks to help her. This doesn't go tUGK unnoticed by Matsuno, and cracks begin to appear in their tUGK friendship. This is a very real look at relationships, and how tUGK a single act may change them forever. Did a romantic triangle tUGK form? It's hard to tell. This TV movie compares well with tUGK better live-action dramas and outshines most anime. tUGK NOTE: This is Studio Ghibli's first solo attempt by the "younger tUGK generation" of the company. Miyazaki-sensei was not involved. tUGK Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tUGK Title: Wandering Kid (or "Legend of the Overfiend")(OAVs,FILM) gMI tURO aka: Urotsukidoji tURO Cast: tURO Description: tURO The universe consists of 3 realms: the Human World, the Beast tURO World, and the Demon World. Every 3000 years, the "Chojin" tURO (which is essentially a super-God of sorts) is born to unite the tURO 3 worlds together. This series follows the journey of a boy tURO from the Beast World named Amanojaku as he searches for the tURO "Chojin". He settles on a human boy and girl (Nakumo and Akemi) tURO who seem to be the key. Events unfold rapidly as demons also tURO appear, looking for the "Chojin". The film is an edited tURO compilation of the 1st OAV series. There is a 2nd OAV series tURO which is a prequel of sorts. There are many scenes involving tURO violent rapes, dismemberment, demon-induced gore, supernatural tURO horror stuff, etc... tURO tURO NOTE: This series' prime focus seems to be on the graphic sex tURO and violent scenes which permeates the series. In all fairness,tURO there *is* a rather complex plotline running through this, but tURO in the end, the plot is only an excuse to show more sex and tURO violence. tURO US Release by: US Manga Corps (dubbed) tURO UK Release by: Manga Video (dubbed) tURO Rating: NOT RECOMMENDED tURO Title: Urusei Yatsura (FILM,OAV,TV) gRC tUY aut: Rumiko Takahashi (Shogakukan; US:Viz Comics) tUY Cast: tUY Lum ......................................... Fumi Hirano vFHi tUY Ataru Moroboshi ......................... Toshio Furukawa vTFu2 tUY Shinobu Miyake ............................ Saeko Shimazu vSSh1 tUY Shutaro Mendo .............................. Akira Kamiya vAKa tUY Ryoko Mendo ................................. Mami Koyama vMKo1 tUY Ryunosuke Fujinami ........................ Mayumi Tanaka vMTa2 tUY Benten ....................................... Yuhko Mita vYMi1 tUY Oyuki ...................................... Noriko Ohara vNOh tUY Ran .......................................... You Inouye vYIn tUY Megane .................................... Shigeru Chiba vSCh tUY Chibi .................................... Issei Futamata vIFu tUY Cherry .................................... Ichiroo Nagai vINa tUY Onsen-mark ............................ Michihiro Ikemizu vMIk3 tUY Tsubame Ozuno ........................... Kazuhiko Inouye vKIn2 tUY Asuka Mizunokouji ........................ Sumi Shimamoto vSSh2 tUY Ten's Mother ............................. Sumi Shimamoto vSSh2 tUY Elle Barakumi (UY1:Only You) ......... Yoshiko Sakakibara vYSa tUY Rara (UY3:Remember my Love) ..... Sumi Shimamoto vSSh2 tUY Karla (UY5:Boy meets Girl) ........... You Inouye vYIn tUY Description: tUY One day, an alien fleet appeared and was going to invade the tUY Earth. Earth had only once chance: if a randomly selected Earth-tUY man defeated an alien in a game of tag, then Earth would be tUY spared. The computers picked a high school lech named Ataru tUY Moroboshi. When Ataru found out, he hid behind his girlfriend tUY Shinobu...until he saw his opponent: a cute girl in a tiger- tUY striped bikini named Lum. All he has to do is grab Lum's horns tUY before 10 days are up. The horny Ataru was *very* willing to do tUY just that :-). On the first day, Ataru dashed toward Lum...who tUY flew off. Ataru screamed that nobody told him that Lum could tUY *fly*! Day after day, Ataru kept trying and failing. On the tUY last night, Shinobu said that she'd marry Ataru if he won. The tUY next day, Ataru cheated...and won the match. *Then* he said he tUY would now be married. Baaaad timing...Lum took it to mean that tUY he wanted to marry *her*. Now, the girl-chasing Ataru has a tUY devoted and loving 'wife' who will fry him if he even looks at tUY another girl. Oh, didn't I mention Lum's electric shock power? tUY A romantic comedy created by the talented Rumiko Takahashi. tUY Release Info: tUY 251 TV episodes. tUY 6 movies - #1: "Only You" tUY #2: "Beautiful Dreamer" tUY #3: "Remember My Love" tUY #4: "Lum the Forever" tUY #5: "Final Chapter" (follows final manga plotline) tUY #6: "Forever My Darling" (for 10th anniversary) tUY Lots and lots of OAVs. Some common titles include: tUY "Inaba the Dreammaker" tUY "Attack Sherbert" tUY "Nagisa's Fiancee" tUY "Goat and Cheese" tUY "Ryoko's September Tea Party" tUY US Release by: AnimEigo (subtitled) tUY Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tUY Title: Video Girl Ai (OAVs) gRC tVAI aka: Denei Shoujo Ai tVAI aut: Masakazu Katsura (Shuueisha) tVAI Cast: tVAI Video Girl Ai (Amano) ................ Megumi Hayashibara vMHa1 tVAI Yohta Moteuchi ............................ Takeshi Kusao vKTa2 tVAI Moemi Hayakawa ............................... Yuri Amano vYAm tVAI Description: tVAI One day, Yohta is walking home. He's just been told that the tVAI girl he likes (Moemi) likes someone else. Trying to cheer up, tVAI he rents an 'explicit' video tape from a wierd rental shop, and tVAI when he plays it, Video Girl Ai pops out of his screen to tVAI comfort him. Unfortunately, Yohta's VCR is on the blink, and tVAI Ai appears minus a large part of her bosum, and with a new and tVAI dangerous mischievous personality... tVAI Release Info: tVAI 6 part OAV. tVAI Rating: RECOMMENDED tVAI Title: Vampire Hunter D (FILM) gHO tVHD Cast: tVHD 'D' ..................................... Kaneto Shiozawa vKSh1 tVHD Doris ................................... Michie Tomizawa vMTo1 tVHD Description: tVHD In the far future, enclaves of humans are trying to hold out tVHD against supernatural forces. In one such village, a girl named tVHD Doris is bitten by an ancient vampire. In seeking help, she tVHD encounters a mysterious Vampire Hunter named 'D'. Before being tVHD taken by Count Lee (the vampire), Doris is ostracized by the tVHD village. It is up to 'D' to save her. A very moody and dark tVHD film. tVHD US Release by: Streamline Pictures (dubbed) tVHD UK Release by: Island World Communications (dubbed) tVHD Rating: RECOMMENDED tVHD Title: Vampire Princess Miyu (OAVs) gHO tVPM aka: Kyuuketsu Hime Miyu tVPM aut: Narumi Kakinouchi (Horror Comics) tVPM Cast: tVPM Miyu ..................................... Naoko Watanabe vNWa1 tVPM Himiko Se ................................... Mami Koyama vMKo1 tVPM Narrator ..................................... Goroo Naya vGNa tVPM Larva ................................... Kaneto Shiozawa vKSh1 tVPM Akiko ....................................... Yumi Takada vYTa3 tVPM Kei Yuzuki ................................. Ryo Horikawa vRHo tVPM Doctor ..................................... Tessho Genda vTGe tVPM Armored Shinma ............................. Tessho Genda vTGe tVPM Miyu's mother .............................. Masako Ikeda vMIk1 tVPM Description: tVPM In the shadows lurk the shinma (spirit-demons). For humans, it tVPM is dangerous to interact with the shinma. As Himiko, a human tVPM spiritualist finds out, there is another force moving quietly tVPM banishing the shinma...a vampire girl called Miyu. Along with tVPM her servant/friend Larva, Miyu acts against the shinma which is tVPM troubling humanity...but she doesn't act FOR humans. Her motives tVPM are as mysterious as she is herself. This is a quietly spooky tVPM series that gets more disturbing, the more you think about it. tVPM Release Info: tVPM 4 part OAV. The series ends with Himiko's revelation. Note that tVPM the anime precedes the manga in this case. tVPM US Release by: AnimEigo (subtitled) tVPM Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tVPM Title: Wings of Honneamise (or "Royal Space Force") (FILM) gDR tWNG Cast: tWNG Shirotsugh Lhadatto ........................ Leo Morimoto vLMo tWNG Leiquinni Nondelaiko ...................... Mitsuki Yayoi vMYa tWNG Description: tWNG In an alternate world, Shirotsugh Lhadatto dreams of becoming a tWNG pilot...but his grades weren't good enough, so he became a tWNG member of the Royal Space Force instead. The Space Force is led tWNG by a General whose dream is to put the first man into space. tWNG The Space Force, however, is a laughing stock and a career dead tWNG end, so its members aren't exactly the cream of the crop. After tWNG an encounter with Leiquinni Nondelaiko, a very religious girl, tWNG Shiro is inspired to volunteer to be the first astronaut. The tWNG movie details the growth of Shiro's character, as well as the tWNG trials - both political and technical - which culminate in the tWNG launch of the first manned rocket. I can't really do justice to tWNG this movie in a short description, but it's very good. A dubbed tWNG version exists called "Star Quest"...avoid it. tWNG Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tWNG Title: Yadamon (TV) gKI tYAD Cast: tYAD Yadamon ...................................... Mika Kanai vMKa2 tYAD Taimon ..................................... Rin Mizuhara vRMi tYAD Jan ........................................ Rie Iwatsubo vRIw tYAD Eddie .................................... Issei Futamata vIFu tYAD Maria ....................................... Mami Suzuki vMSu1 tYAD Han-na .................................... Kyouko Minami vKMi2 tYAD Rick .................................... Takumi Yamazaki vTYa1 tYAD Peat ........................................ Mioko Kohie vMKo2 tYAD Butch .................................... Masahiro Anzai vMAn tYAD Enriko .................................. Kaneto Shiozawa vKSh1 tYAD Manaty .................................. Kineko Nakamura vKNa1 tYAD Description: tYAD Yadamon is a little witch who lives with Jan and his parents. tYAD They live in a future time where many things are automated (in a tYAD simplistic sort of way...automatic vacuum cleaners, for example).tYAD Maria, Jan's mother, is a biologist and spends her time perform- tYAD ing experiments. Yadamon is an inquisitive girl who frequently tYAD gets Jan in trouble with what she does. Along with Yadamon is tYAD Taimon, a little critter (who talks!) and can stop time briefly. tYAD The series consists of 10 minute episodes, and plots follow the tYAD simple "kids in mischief" line. Purely for little kids. tYAD Note: "Yadamon" is also a cute way for little girls to say "no"..tYAD Rating: RECOMMENDED (adults may find it dull, though) tYAD Title: Space Cruiser Yamato (FILM,TV) gSF tYAM aka: Uchuu Senkan Yamato tYAM aut: Leiji Matsumoto (Akita Shoten) tYAM Cast: tYAM Yuki Mori ................................. Youko Asagami vYAs tYAM Juuzo Okida .................................. Goroo Naya vGNa tYAM Kato ....................................... Akira Kamiya vAKa tYAM Description: tYAM When the Earth is in trouble from invading alien forces, it tYAM resurrects and rebuilds a new space warship from the hulk of the tYAM old Japanese sea battleship: the Yamato. The various missions tYAM boil down to the same thing: defend the Earth and destroy the tYAM enemy forces. tYAM US Release by: Voyager Entertainment tYAM Rating: RECOMMENDED tYAM Title: Yawara! A fashionable judo girl. (FILM,TV) gSP tYAW aut: Naoki Urasawa (Big Comic Spirits) tYAW Cast: tYAW Yawara Inokuma ........................... Yuko Minaguchi vYMi2 tYAW Jigoro Inokuma ............................ Ichiroo Nagai vINa tYAW Sayaka ................................. Yoshino Takamori vYTa1 tYAW Kousaku Matsuda .......................... Toshihiko Seki vTSe1 tYAW Shinnosuke Kazamatsuri ..................... Akira Kamiya vAKa tYAW Fujiko Itou ........................... Chiyoko Kawashima vCKa tYAW Kaoru Hanazono ......................... Masashi Sugahara vMSu2 tYAW Takeyuki Suzuki (Yawara! movie) ...... Megumi Hayashibara vMHa1 tYAW Description: tYAW One of the most talented and promising young contenders in the tYAW world of judo is a girl called Yawara Inokuma. With her native tYAW talent and quickness, she could fight just about anyone. With tYAW intensive training given by her grandfather (a judo champion in tYAW his own right), Yawara is unbeatable. It's the desire of many tYAW in the judo world to meet and beat Yawara. Yawara, on the other tYAW hand, would prefer to give up judo and become an ordinary girl. tYAW Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED tYAW Title: Idol Angel Yohkoso Yohko (TV) gMI tYOH aka: Idol Tenshi Yohkoso Yohko tYOH Cast: tYOH Yohko Tanaka ................................. Mika Kanai vMKa2 tYOH Saki Yamamori ........................ Megumi Hayashibara vMHa1 tYOH Muu ...................................... Katsumi Suzuki vKSu tYOH Hideki Yamashita ....................... Hirotaka Suzuoki vHSu tYOH Kyou Hayami .............................. Toshihiko Seki vTSe1 tYOH Chougorou Shibuya ................... Tomomichi Nishimura vTNi tYOH Kyouko Hoshihana .......................... Yuko Mizutani vYMi3 tYOH Toshio Harada ............................ Shin-ya Ootaki vSOo tYOH Tokudaiji ............................... Kenyuu Horiuchi vKHo tYOH Description: (by Chris Swett) tYOH This is a 40-episode shojo (girl's) anime series about two young tYOH girls who try to become idol singers in Shibuya. Yohko is tYOH intensely upbeat and talented but has a mysterious past that she tYOH won't talk about. She meets the second girl, Saki, on the tYOH Shinkansen (bullet train) when she's on her way to Tokyo. They tYOH team up in their assault on the showbiz industry. Yohko also tYOH has a pet flying squirrel named Muu. His primary role is: tYOH 1) cause Yohko to meet all kinds of strange Shibuya residents tYOH 2) fetch a mirror-ball prop whenever Yohko looks like she's tYOH going to break into song. tYOH This series has at least one song per episode and could be tYOH classed as a musical. There is also an extremely *cheerful* air tYOH to it. Note that Yohko's origin is never explained and in fact, tYOH the last episode shows her unchanged on TV 50 years from now... tYOH Rating: RECOMMENDED tYOH Title: Yotoden (OAVs) gAD tYOT Cast: tYOT Sakon Hayate ............................ Kazuhiko Inouye vKIn2 tYOT Ranmaru Mori ............................ Kaneto Shiozawa vKSh1 tYOT Description: tYOT A giant demon destroys a ninja village. The only 2 people left tYOT are a girl, Ayame, and her brother. He gives her a dagger, the tYOT sacred weapon of their clan, and turns back to fight against the tYOT demon. Only Ayame is left. In ninja tradition, she vows to tYOT take revenge on those responsible. Later, a group of thieves tYOT attack a lone figure. They find that killing this stranger is tYOT not easy, and Sakon, their leader takes the stranger on. During tYOT the fight, Sakon and Ayanosuke (she had masculinized her name) tYOT find that their blades have an affinity with each other. Demons tYOT kill the thieves and are destroyed, in turn, by a priest. He tYOT sends them in the direction of Ryoma who has a pike made of the tYOT same meteor metal as the other 2 weapons. In this way, the old tYOT prophecy is coming true...the 3 mystic weapons working together tYOT under the flaming star (a comet) will vanquish evil. The evil, tYOT in this case is the demon-possessed Lord Nobunaga. This series tYOT is set up like an historical drama with intrigue and tYOT confrontations in historical Japan...with some magic and demons tYOT added. Note that Nobunaga is a real figure in Japanese history tYOT and tried to unite Japan under himself. He was the first to use tYOT Western weapons as opposed to the more 'honorable' weapons. This tYOT series is also noted for its realistic human animation. tYOT Rating: RECOMMENDED tYOT Title: Hades Project Zeorymer (OAVs) gGR tZEO aka: Mei Ou Project Zeorymer tZEO Cast: tZEO Miku Himuro ................................ Chieko Honda vCHo tZEO Saiga ................................... Kaneto Shiozawa vKSh1 tZEO Description: tZEO A young man named Akitsu Masato is 'captured' by a secret govt. tZEO project known as "Last Guardian". He is told that his life as tZEO a normal student was all a lie, and that his real destiny is to tZEO be the pilot of a great robot called "Zeorymer of the Heavens". tZEO The truth of this is hammered in when Masato sees his 'parents' tZEO accept payment for raising him. The Last Guardian is preparing tZEO for the resurrection of "Hau Dragon", an organization bent on tZEO world conquest. 15 years ago, Hau Dragon built 8 great robots. tZEO Each of the mecha represents a force of nature. However, before tZEO any of the robots could be used, their creater Kihara Masaki tZEO destroyed the robots except for the leader: Zeorymer. He took tZEO Zeorymer and an embryo to the government. The embryo became the tZEO boy Masato. Now, Hau Dragon has rebuilt the other 7 mecha and tZEO wants the 8th. It will be up to Masato and Himuro to pilot tZEO Zeorymer and fight against the Hau Dragon...but neither Masato tZEO or Himuro are all that they seem... tZEO Rating: RECOMMENDED tZEO ANIME POCKET GUIDE by: Alan Takahashi Last Updated: Sep-94 INTERIM VERSION EPILOGUE CONTENTS: -- Anime Pocket Guide work in progress -- Contributors to the Pocket Guide -- Adding to the Anime Pocket Guide -- Key explanations and usage -- A brief history of the Pocket Guide -- Why isn't it called the 'Manga Pocket Guide'? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Anime Pocket Guide work in progress: HIGH PRIORITY - Incomplete new entries: Cutey Honey Dragon Half Space Pirate Captain Harlock Raven Tengu Kabuto Koko wa Greenwood Lupin the Third Mobile Suit Gundam Dream Hunter REM 2ND PRIORITY - Backed up requests: The Guyver Venus Wars Harmageddon Windaria M.D. Geist Yuu Yuu Hakushou 3RD PRIORITY - New entries: ZeGuy A Wind Called Amnesia (US Manga Corps) Heisei Tanuki Kassen Ponpoko -- Contributors to the Pocket Guide: Much as I would like to take all the credit for this, I can't possibly know *everything* about anime. Thanks are due to the following people for filling in the gaps. Curtis Hoffmann: Avi Melman: Tonghyun Kim: Bush Baby Lamune & 40 Miracle Girls cast Dragonball (Z) KO Century Beast General cast updates Takayuki Ito: Tatsuro Sekiguchi: Chris Swett: Cast fix (tMAI & tUY) General cast updates Yohkoso Yohko Seiichi Kimura: Hitoshi Doi: Tom Jewell: Minky Momo updates Sailor Moon updates Baoh Mary Bell General cast updates Locke the Superman General cast updates Oh! My Goddess AD Police GS Mikami Beast City Tonde Buurin Enrique Conty: Kevin Winkler: Jay Harvey: Spirit of Wonder Burn Up! cast update Yawara! cast fix Future Boy Conan Battle Angel fix Christian Balzer: Robert DeLoura: General fixes Marmalade Boy One Pound Gospel Keniichi Sonoda: Robert J. Woodhead: Jeff Okamoto: Riding Bean cast fix Oh My Goddess! fix Anime Seiyuu List v1.31 -- Adding to the Anime Pocket Guide If there is something not in the Anime Pocket Guide that you think should be there, I take requests. Same with anything that needs to be corrected. *E-Mail* me with the following info: + Name of the anime. + A short description (in case I have never heard of it) + Cast list if any I'll get to it when I can. If I end up using your description, then you get a credit in the Intro file. Let me know if you *don't* want your name used. NOTE: Most new entries get the default "RECOMMENDED" rating unless I decide otherwise. If I don't know anything about the anime then it also becomes "RECOMMENDED" since I don't know any better :-). If you specify a rating, I'll use that instead with a note saying where the rating came from. NOTE: I am in the process of changing the rating system. For anyone who has recently submitted anything, I'll be contacting you once the new rating system is worked out so you can re-rate your entry. Thanks for your help! -- Key explanations and usage I've been asked how I come up with the title and cast keys that I use in the Anime Pocket Guide, since they apparently don't make any sense. Not to worry...there's a *little* method to my madness... :-) For titles, I typically have 3 characters to use as the key (though I've used 4 on occasion). These generally fall into the following categories: - Common usage on the net: e.g. "Bubblegum Crisis" == tBGC - Acronyms: e.g. "Mamono Hunter Yohko" == tMHY - Start of main title: e.g. "Record of Lodoss Wars" == "Lodoss Wars" == tLOD - Something unique that makes sense: e.g. "Ranma 1/2" == tR12 Note that genre keys are derived in the same way as title keys, except that only 2 letters are used. For cast keys, the rules are even simpler. I use a 3 character key that consists of the actor's initials in English order followed by the 2nd character of the last name. Where duplication occurs, a number follows the key to make it unique. e.g. [C]hieko [Ho]nda == vCHo e.g. [A]kiko [Hi]ramatsu == vAHi1 [A]ya [Hi]sakawa == vAHi2 -- A brief history of the Pocket Guide Once, I thought of putting together something that would answer the numerous "I heard about this anime called , and I was wondering if anyone could tell me about it" postings that would show up on rec.arts.anime. I came up with a general format, but decided to change it around a few times until I came up with something that could retrieve various bits of info by using the Unix grep program. That original "Key" system looks remarkably like the current system... I created a "Pocket Guide" of about 15 entries. It was so named because each entry was a "pocket description" of the actual anime. Any good synopsis would completely overwhelm any Guide entry with information. It was meant strictly as an introduction for the anime described. At this point, the dreaded Real Life Syndrome (TM) took over my time, and I saved what I had in some corner on my hard drive. This was in June 1991. The Pocket Guide sat there, gathering dust... In 1992 (April?), Enrique Conty posted a request for anyone who had written short descriptions for various anime. I remembered what I had done, and posted the Title: index for the file. As I recall, he replied saying something like "This is EXACTLY what I'm looking for!". I posted the whole file, and the Anime Pocket Guide was born... -- Why isn't it called the 'Manga Pocket Guide'? Though the term 'manga' has been used to describe Japanese Animation, it is, at best, inaccurate. In common usage, 'manga' refers to printed graphic material laid out in panels. Or, to put it another way, 'manga' is the Japanese version of a comic book. The term is often translated as 'irresponsible pictures'. 'Anime' is thought to have been derived from the French word for animation, and refers to animated works produced in Japan. This includes Japanese released TV series, Original Animation Videos and theatrical releases. This does not include works that were produced elsewhere, but the animation work was done in Japan. Both 'anime' and 'manga' are part of the Japanese language, and are used to describe the two separate genres. Despite the close links between the two, they really are different things. In short: 'manga' = comic books 'anime' = animation ----- Alan Takahashi UUCP : ......!{portal,ames}!ntmtv!takahash Northern Telecom Inc. ...!uunet/ Mountain View, CA INTERNET: takahash@ntmtv.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "When you need to knock on wood is when you realize the world's composed of aluminum and vinyl." -- Flugg's Law