The Anime Primer : Short Reviews

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AH! MY GODDESS:

Belldandy's been sent from heaven to grant him one wish. He wishes for her. And so the nerdy hero has a lovely girlfriend, who happens to be a Goddess with a sack full of handy powers as the plot demands. Of course, she'll appreciate his finer qualities. But she's not the only Goddess who'll be visiting, though. Well animated fantasy comedy from the popular manga.

APPLESEED:

A police officer and her cyborg friend confront a conspiracy in paradise. An OAV based on the manga (comic book.) The video has nowhere near the depth of the comic, of course..

AKIRA:

Now available in English thru Streamline pictures or from local comic shops. Bikers and the Army battle over the mysterious mutant entity known as Akira in future Tokyo. Sharp animation but a muddled plot..

ANGEL'S EGG:

Ethereal film with religious overtones, but neat animation. An American scifi film uses a lot of footage from this.

ARION:

Is a gripping tale of Olympian intrigue which sports terrific animation, nice characterization, and a score of mythological figures, though not exactly as the Greeks saw them. Many love it, some find it muddled. Nice score by Jo Hisaishi. Rousing ending with all manner of plot twists.

AURA BATTLER DUNBINE: (TV series, OAV series)

Biological mecha (look like bugs) and parallel dimensions reign. Good plot, character development. Good mecha combat, but the designs are "unique", to say the least.

BLACK MAGIC M66:

M66 the Robot Assassin gets loose from the military and heads after it's test program target: the inventor's daughter. Energetic news reporter bulls her way into story. Sort of like The TERMINATOR. Quick action / suspense a la The Terminator. Available with subtitles from US Renditions.

BUBBLEGUM CRISIS:

A series (not yet complete - 8 videos out so far) of OAVs set in Megatokyo 2032-?. A mix of rock & roll, cyberpunk, and girls with guns & body armor, it is currently a very popular series in the US. The plot does not seem to be the point. Best place to start would be episode 1, of course. After Episode 8 the title (and much staff) changes to BUBBLEGUM CRASH. BG Crisis & Crash are available with subtitles from AnimEigo.

CAPTAIN HARLOCK:

High romance in space as pirate Harlock wages a secret battle to free the earth from alien control. English "Vengeance of the Space Pirate" is almost MY YOUTH IN ARCADIA. Fan-subtitled versions exist.

CATS EYE:

An old TV series in which 3 young women run a cafe by day and steal back their father's art collection by night.

CITY HUNTER:

An action-adventure private eye with a powerful lust, and a flock of women to keep him frustrated. A long TV series and a movie (or two.).

CONAN, BOY OF THE FUTURE:

In a post-apocalypse world, a young boy (of exceptional strength and luck) adventures in what's left of the world. A light action adventure TV series, an early work of Hayao Miyazaki.

CREAM LEMON:

Series of adult porn-comedy. Most popular is probably "Pop Chaser".

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DAGGER OF KAMUI:

A sprawling ninja tale set in the 19th century, even manages to get to Alaska and California before the story ends. Surprisingly hypnotic, operatic, and textured. An English version, "Revenge of the Ninja Warrior", is almost the same film.

DIRTY PAIR:

A book trilogy, a TV series, an OAV series, and a movie revolve around this SF comedy of two cute female agents of the far-flung future. Code-named "Lovely Angels," the duo are better known as the "Dirty Pair" because whatever the problem, their cure is sure to be worse. Best bet would be the movie, a/k/a PROJECT E.D.E.N.

DOMINION:

Action-comedy SF OAV, rather silly at times, about the Tank Police in a very punk future. Based upon characters and situations created by Masamune Shirow. Now available subtitled from US Renditions.

DRAGON'S HEAVEN:

French-Japanese co-production highly reminiscent of French comics, such as those of Jean "Moebius" Giraud, but also of manga. Unique drawing style embellishes tale of two battle robots and their centuries-old vendetta. The good robot has a sexy female pilot.

FIRETRIPPER, LAUGHING TARGET, and MERMAID's FOREST:

More serious works by Rumiko Takahashi (Lum, Ranma, Maison Ikkoku). In FIRE TRIPPER a young girl gets moved back in time to feudal Japan. LAUGHING TARGET is spooky horror with supernatural turns. Mermaid's Forest is about the strange experiments of some folks in a creepy old house on a hill seeking immortality. These are U.S. Manga Corps release schedule for a subtitled release.

FIST OF THE NORTH STAR: (TV series and movie)

Very bloody post-apocalyptic martial arts sword & sorcery fantasy. CONAN meets THE ROAD WARRIOR starring Sylvester Stallone possessed by the spirit of Bruce Lee. ;) A heavy metal or professional wrestling fan's dream-come-true. The TV series is addictive. The movie has to be seen to be (dis-)believed.

FIVE STAR STORIES:

OAV based on first book of the manga by the same name. Although not authorized by Nagano, this video is animated beautifully, and features all the nifty characters, plot, and mecha from the manga. In a distant galaxy, some folks are bred & raised to run robots for the Empire.

GALL FORCE:

A series of (7?) SF OAVs about cute girls with guns and space ships. All the men of the race died in the everlasting war with the Evil Paranoids, and there's nothing left but sexy young women who reproduce by cloning. But, they have a plan... Part 1 licensed by US Manga Corp for subtitled distribution in US.

GIANT ROBO:

Series of OVAs that embrace all the cliches of the giant robot genre, and wallows joyously in them. A fast-paced action romp with spiffy animation, sort of the Indiana Jones of giant robot shows. English release by USR.

GRAVE OF THE FIREFLY:

A very sad tale of two kids trying to survive amid the wreckage of end-of-WW-II Japan. Fantastic animation, not often shown at groups because of the tear-jerk factor. It is only slightly less grim than watching The Sorrow and the Pity.

GUNDAM:

In several series: GUNDAM, SUPER-DEFORMED GUNDAM, ZETA- GUNDAM, ZZ-GUNDAM, GUNDAM 0080, 0083, etc. etc. *The* giant robot (mecha) series I guess. Try ZETA-GUNDAM (series) or CHAR'S COUNTERATTACK (movie) for mainstream action, or War in the Pocket (0080) as an nice self-contained side-story of 6 half-hour parts.

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HERE IS GREENWOOD:

A light contemporary comedy about the antics of some high-school boys in a dorm named "Greenwood."

ICZER-1:

A three-part SF OAV involving hideous monsters from space, cute but lethal girls, and two giant robots. Meant to be taken only semi-seriously, but has some great slime-monsters that'll make your skin crawl. (Not to be confused with ICZER-3, the recent 6-part sequel.)

KIKI'S / WITCH'S DELIVERY SERVICE:

Another Miyazaki story for kids of all ages, about a 13-year-old witch who sets out to make her way in the world. Lavishly animated.

LAPUTA, Castle in the Sky:

Great fast-moving action adventure by children's film-maker Miyazaki, and features designs Jules Verne would approve (not to mention Swift.) Two kids flee pirates, the army, and other parties in a race to find the legendary Laputa. Great soundtrack, too. A Must See. (Dubbed to English by Streamline, but not available.)

LEGEND OF GALACTIC HEROES:

Far-future SF epic in which two vast space-faring governments, the Empire and the Federation, vie for supremacy amid the sea of stars. Against this backdrop two young heroes on the opposing sides wage war with each other and politics with their peers.

LOCKE THE SUPERMAN:

An intergalactically famous superbeing lured out of voluntary seclusion helps save Earth from a group of elite ESPers bent on galactic conquest. The design sense is rather primitive but the story line is lean, exciting and propulsive, revolving around the title character, a powerful female ESPer, and an evil conclave. Admittedly, these are simple premises, but the action & storytelling are first-rate.

LODOSS WAR:

Current OAV series (to be 13 parts?) based exactly on D&D. A party of adventurers (the usual fighter, cleric, mage, dwarf, elf, and thief) wander about opposing evil orcs, wizards & dragons.

LUPIN III:

Semi-modern series of (TV & OAV) stories about a stylish thief with a heart of gold and his gang. My personal favorite installment is CASTLE CAGLIOSTRO (see Miyazaki, above), although PLOT OF THE FUMA CLAN is one of the most action-packed and entertaining anime around. Fan-subtitled versions exist. Most LUPIN III is not by Miyazaki, but by a fellow who calls himself "Monkey Punch" (I'm not making this up, you know).

MACROSS: DO YOU REMEMBER LOVE:

Feature-film version of the Sci-Fi MACROSS TV Series (part of the ROBOTECH saga in the US), but much better drawn than the TV show. A reasonable SF entry. Fan-subtitled versions exist. Minmei sings a lot. (Note: Although MACROSS is ROBOTECH, this is NOT the "RoboTech Movie.")

MAISON IKKOKU:

A delightful contemporary romantic comedy about odd assortment of people sharing an apartment complex. From Rumiko Takahashi. Fan-subtitled versions exist, thanks to Arctic Animation.

MANIE MANIE: LABYRINTH TALES

An "artsy" film like ROBOT CARNIVAL. It has three segments, one of which - "Order to Cease Construction" - is by Katsuhiro (AKIRA) Otomo.

MEGAZONE 23:

A bunch of bikers, a sentient world-controlling computer disguised as a rock singing idol, giant robots, and a rock soundtrack propel this popular story of folks entirely unaware they inhabit a giant space ship. In 3 parts (except part 3 is in two sub- chapters). Part 2 is in available in English as well as Japanese. (It's Megazone Two-Three by the way, not "Twenty Three".)

MIDNIGHT EYE GOKU:

Futuristic detective fantasy. Private investigator Goku has a computerized eye that can interface with any electric device at will, as well as an expandable baton that enables him to skewer adversaries and vault across skyscrapers. Stylish animation with soft-core sex and bondage motifs.

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NADIA (SECRET OF BLUE WATER):

Recent TV series in 39 parts. Starts as a Miyazaki-clone light action-adventure about a girl with a mysterious past and a fantastic amulet, "Blue Water", and the young boy who takes off with her. Gets silly for long stretches, ends with a bang. A 6-hour compilation of the TV series is titled "Nadia: The Nautilus Adventure". A new Nadia Movie is just released & not well reviewed. This series is being made available in dubbed format from Streamline Pictures.

NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND:

Probably Miyazaki's most popular film - a sort of post-apocalypse mystic eco-fantasy, more notable for plot, character, music and designs than the smoothness of animation. Excellent Jo Hisaishi soundtrack, too. Based on the comic (manga) of the same title. A classic.

OMOIDE POROPORO: (English title "Only Yesterday")

Contemporary sentimental drama about a yuppie Japanese woman looking back at her youth and life-choices, brilliantly animated by Miyazaki pro Isao Takahata. Talky, actionless, and stunningly beautiful.

ORANGE ROAD:

A TV series, many OAVs, and a movie. Contemporary high school students work out their love triangles and try to grow up, even though one has ESP "powers". A kindly, comic look at the youth experience, relatively easy to understand. Recommended. Fan-subtitled versions of it all exist, courtesy of Arctic Animation. The OAVs and Movie are available from AnimEigo in subtitled format.

OUTLANDERS:

Cute but vicious space invader Kahm picks up a human pet, then tries to help him save Earth from even nastier daddy. SF/Fantasy from Manabe.

PATLABOR:

Near-future police use mecha to combat criminals who use "labors" (mecha). Light action/comedy. The movie is more serious, and IMHO is a surprisingly neat action mystery if you can understand the dialog to follow the plot twists..

PORCO ROSSO:

Hayao Miyazaki's latest film is a light-hearted but mature and sentimental film set in the 1920 Italian Adriatic, as a valiant pilot (who happens to be a pig) fights air pirates for his honor and for his lady. Top notch animation.

PROJECT A-KO: (the 1st film)

Spoof of just about every anime series, about three school-girls with super-powers and mecha and bad cooking. Very, very funny, or very very silly, depending on if you get the jokes. Several sequels. #1 available from US Manga Corp.

RANMA 1/2:

Current comedy about a boy with a curse that turns him into a girl whenever s/he gets wet. (Could be worse - his dad gets turned into a Panda, and I won't even mention the little piglet or the cat.). More slapstick from Rumiko Takahashi. Fan-subtitled versions of some episodes exist.

ROBOT CARNIVAL:

8 separate short pieces by different artists, some serious, some comedy, almost all very well done. All involve a robot somewhere - some more than others. Some comedy, some pathos. Artsy. Streamline dub versions exist (only 2 segments had dialog, anyway.)

S-U

SAILOR MOON:

A current example of the "Magical Girls" anime genre, with a ditzy young teen granted magical powers to fight nasty demons, if she'll quit crying. Her growing horde of planetary sailor sidekicks provide a large cast of cute young girls in short skirts. TV comedy (mostly) for young girls with an embarrassingly large male following.

SILENT MOBIUS:

In the near future, demons threaten the earth. The Attacked Mystification Police, an all-female force with psychic powers, protects mankind from the menace. The 2 movies tell the origins of AMP heroine Katsumi.

SOL BIANCA:

Scifi OAV series about five sophisticated (?) pirate women and their alien spaceship. Sort of like a cross between BUBBLEGUM CRISIS (from the same studio, Artmic) and BLAKE'S 7. Nice mecha design.

SPACE CRUISER YAMATO:

The SF TV series that turned into STAR BLAZERS in North America. Also has several movies (YAMATO, BE FOREVER YAMATO, ARRIVIDERCI YAMATO, THE NEW VOYAGES, FINAL YAMATO.).

SUPERNATURAL BEAST CITY:

Definitely for adults. Demon terrorists resist treaty to separate demons & mankind. Stylishly drawn.

TENCHI MUYO:

He releases an ancient demon who turns out to be a lovely ancient astronaut. Her guardians are as dumb as she is (the cast's IQs can't total a dozen.) Many yuks in this SF action comedy. Available on laserdisc from Pioneer.

TIME STRANGER:

An involving variation on THE TERMINATOR, with slight nods of the head towards TIME BANDITS. The animation is very good and the story, complex. Feudal Japan is depicted nicely and in detail, as is the far future. Great plot complications throughout.

TOTORO, MY NEIGHBOR:

Miyazaki's most gentle film is about two kids who meet an odd-looking forest-spirit (Totoro) in their new rural neighborhood. In part a celebration of Japan's countryside, with a touch of pure magic. Now widely available as a very good dub.

TOUCH:

High-school baseball drama, plus a little romance. Quiet, a little sad.

TWILIGHT OF THE COCKROACHES:

A mixture of live action and animation in which a man becomes friends with the tiny inhabitants who share his apartment, until The Woman arrives. Funny. Available from Streamline Pictures in dubbed (videotape) or subtitled (laserdisc) versions.

URUSEI YATSURA:

Translates as something like "Those Obnoxious Aliens", I'm told. A slap-stick screwball comedy about Lum, the flying electro-demon girl from space, Ataru, the earth boy she wants, and a host of other crazy characters. Popular madness in TV, OAV, and movie formats by Rumiko Takahashi. This entire series is planned for release in subtitled format by AnimEigo.

V-Z

VAMPIRE HUNTER 'D':

Mutants roam the countryside, and a vampire has set up shop in the castle. A bite victim sends for 'D' to save her. D's a strange one indeed. Horrors. Available dubbed from Streamline Pictures.

VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU:

A supernatural horror series about a contemporary "vampire" who stalks wayward demons (Shinma) loose on Earth and sends them back to Darkness, while pursued by a persistent exorcist not as enthused about unlife as Miyu. Quiet, moody brooding chiller, hopeless to follow without understanding the dialog. Available subtitled from AnimEigo. Recommended.

VIDEO GIRL AI:

Romantic fantasy comedy/drama. He's been dumped by the girl he loves for his best friend. Ai pops out of the TV and comes to life when he plays a tape to cheer him up. But his VCR isn't working very well, and the Video Girl is behaving a little oddly. Nicely animated with some bright tunes.

VOTOMS:

Old TV series of post-WW3 world. The army controls the world with their mecha, but not everyone goes along. Mellowlink is a related series in the same universe (set before Votoms, made after.)

WEATHERING CONTINENT:

A sword and sorcery tale in a land fallen to ruin. Takes its time and tells a small story of three travelers with a dark, spooky mood, well supported by a fine musical score.

WINDARIA:

A lovely fantasy story of two kingdoms at war, and how that disturbs two pairs of lovers - one peasant, one royal. A tragedy. Well worth the watch, IMHO. Nice music, too.

WINGS OF HONNEAMISE:

Man's first trip into space, from the fictional nation of Honneamise, explores issues of morality, bravery, and dedication to a cause in first-rate animation. Some find it slow, though.

YOTODEN: Legend of the Mysterious Sword

An historical sword & sorcery saga in 16th century Japan, with a trio of Ninja opposing the despot and his demon minions; (or is the despot the minion of the demons?) 3 parts. Crisp action.

YOMA:

Another historical demon vs ninja tale, but is not on as grand scale as Yotoden. Suppose your brother was possessed and out to kill you? Told in 2 parts.

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