Title: Fight! Iczer-1! (OAVs) Cast: Iczer-1 ................................. Yuriko Yamamoto Iczer-2 ...................................... Keiko Toda Nagisa Kano ................................. Mayumi Shoo Big Gold ................................ Kaneto Shiozawa Sir Violet .............................. Kaneto Shiozawa Description: Another alien invasion is underway, with the Bedem taking over human bodies. The only thing standing in their way is Iczer-1 and her partner, Nagisa. Iczer-1 doesn't know why she's fighting and Nagisa doesn't understand how she can be important. In this series, both find the answers to their questions, but at great cost. US Release by: US Renditions (dubbed) Rating: RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Iczer-3 (OAVs)
Cast:
Iczer-1 ................................. Yuriko Yamamoto
Iczer-2 ...................................... Keiko Toda
Iczer-3 .................................... Cutey Suzuki
Sister Grey .............................. Sumi Shimamoto
Nagisa Kasumi ............................ Yuri Shiratori
Atlas ................................... Minami Takayama
Kawaii Shizuka ............................... Yuri Amano
Fiber .......................................... Mika Doi
Golem .................................... Rihoko Yoshida
Description:
In deep space, a battle between Iczer-1 and Neos Gold is fought
to a standstill. Both are injured and out of action, but Neos
Gold sends her minions to Earth as the next battleground.
Iczer-1 can't go, so she sends the inexperienced Iczer-3 to
defend the Earth. A sequel to Iczer-1.
Note: Not much from the "Iczer-1" series was preserved in this
one. Instead we got many fighting scenes, an overacted
character conflict (Atlas), and the overly cute Iczer-3. None
of the tension, character exploration, or even humor of the
original was present.
Rating: NOT RECOMMENDED
Index...
Title: Crusher Joe (FILM,OAVs) Cast: Crusher Joe ............................. Hiraku Takemura Alfin ........................................ Run Sasaki Rikki ...................................... Noriko Ohara Talos ................................. Kiyoshi Kobayashi Dongo .................................... Issei Futamata Captain Kowalski ............................. Goroo Naya Description: In space, there are many dangerous jobs to be done. If you want the job done right, you can call on the Crusher Conference. For a fee, a Crusher team will be dispatched to your site for assignments ranging from transportation to terraforming and everything in between. Among the various worlds, the Crusher Conference has a great reputation, and among the Crushers, the best team is the one led by Crusher Joe. Despite links to the "Dirty Pair", this series is a serious & exciting adventure... Rating: RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Karura Mau (FILM,OAVs) Cast: Shoko Ougi (Shii-chan) ..................... Hiromi Tsuru Kenmochi ................................ Kaneto Shiozawa Description: Shoko and Maiko Ougi are apparently two ordinary schoolgirls in pursuit of graduating and having fun. Shii-chan is the more serious while Mai-chan is more fun-loving. In reality, the two sisters are powerful exorcists from the Karura temple. Each wields half the power...Shii-chan can 'see' the spirits, and Mai-chan can banish them. This is a spooky series with heavy emphasis on traditionally Japanese occult themes. Rating: RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Kiki's Delivery Service (FILM) aka: Majou no Takkyuubin Cast: Kiki .................................... Minami Takayama Ursula .................................. Minami Takayama Jiji ......................................... Rei Sakuma "Osono" ...................................... Keiko Toda Tombo .................................. Kappei Yamaguchi Description: On her 13th birthday, a young witch named Kiki leaves her home to find her place in the world. She eventually ends up in a small town where she finds a room with a local baker and his wife. She meets a boy with a fascination with flight and an artist among others. A coming of age story from the hand of Hayao Miyazaki. The ending is a bit abrupt, though. Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: KO Century Beast: 3 Beast Warriors (OAVs) aka: KO Seiki Beast Sanjuushi Cast: Wan Dabada ............................. Kappei Yamaguchi Bud Mint ..................................Takendo Koyasu Mei Mah ...................................... Mika Kanai Mekka Mannen .............................. Kousan Shioya V-Darn ............................... Yasunori Matsumoto V-Sion .................................... Yuko Mizutani Akumako .................................... Naoko Matsui Uni Charm Password ........................ Rumi Shishido Description: (by Avi Melman) Due to human folly, the Earth was split apart into its Northern and Southern hemispheres. The Southern hemisphere drifted off into deep space. On the remaining Northern hemisphere, the surviving humans evolved into creatures that could 'morph' into half human/animal forms. These 'Beasts' worshipped animal-like god-statues called 'Jinn'. When the 'real' humans returned, they starting capturing the Jinn (the Jinn are really human- created mecha animals of great power inside the statues). This series follows a group of 3 young Beasts from very different tribes. All were captured, but escaped with the help of a human and his granddaughter. This is a very funny comedy series with an odd cast of characters. Bud, in particular, speaks a great deal of English and thinks he's a hit with the girls... NOTE: Rating is by contributor. Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Kimagure Orange Road (FILM,OAV,TV)
Cast:
Kyosuke Kasuga ............................. Tohru Furuya
Madoka Ayukawa ............................. Hiromi Tsuru
Hikaru Hiyama ................................ Eriko Hara
Manami Kasuga ........................... Michie Tomizawa
Kurumi Kasuga .............................. Chieko Honda
Akane ...................................... Naoko Matsui
Shiori ("Heart On Fire" OAV) .............. Yuko Mizutani
Mitsuru Hayakawa ..................... Yasunori Matsumoto
Description:
Kyosuke is a new student looking about town. While counting the
no. of stairs on a hill, he sees a UFO...uhh..hat and the girl
it belongs to. He later finds out that the girl is Madoka, a
local tough girl who can throw a mean guitar pick. Despite that,
he tries to win her affections...but Hikaru-chan has latched on
HIM. To make things worse, Hikaru-chan is Madoka's best friend.
Kyosuke tries to pursue Madoka without hurting Hikaru-chan, and
is *very* indecisive about everything. Adding to the confusion
is his, and his family's secret psychic powers...though Kurumi
isn't too serious about keeping the secret. A romantic comedy
with a dose of nostalgia for your junior high school days.
US Release by: AnimEigo (subtitled) -- FILM/OAV only
Rating: RECOMMENDED
Index...
Title: NG Knight Lamune & 40 (TV,OAVs) Cast: Lamuness (Baba Lamune) .................... Takeshi Kusao Princess Milk ............................ Chisa Yokoyama Princess Cocoa .......................... Sakiko Tamagawa Lesuka/Cafe au lait ........................ Naoko Matsui Da Cider ..................................... Kazuki Yao Tama-Q ..................................... Chie Koojiro Heavy Metal-ko (Hebi Metako) ..................... TARAKO Don Harumage ............................. Shoozoo Iizuka Mountain Dew Gold .................... Megumi Hayashibara Mountain Dew Silver .................... Kotono Mitsuishi Description: (by Avi Melman) Lamune is an ordinary 4th grade boy who loves playing video games. He buys one from a peddler girl (and helps her sell the rest :-)). At home, he plays the game called 'King Sccasher' & beats it. The peddler girl then comes out of the TV screen and asks for his help, calling him "The Blood Relative of the Chosen Hero Lamuness" or Lamuness for short. She is Princess Milk and takes him to Hara-Hara World where his role is to revive the Guardian Knights...starting with King Sccasher. To do this, he had to find an unlock the shrine which held Tama-Q...a robot who became Lamuness' Advisor Robot. Normally worn on Lamuness' shoulder, Tama-Q, when fed a coin of a Guardian Knight, coughs up a capsule which releases that Knight. All of the Knights are free-thinking mechas except for King Sccasher which is piloted by Lamuness. Opposing Lamuness is Don Harumage and his minions Da Cider and Lesuka. Later, Lesuka and Da Cider sort of defect to the good guys. Da Cider also tells really bad puns (DAJARE). A fun giant-robot series. Note that "Lamune & 40 EX" and "Lamune & 40 DX" are OAV series following the TV series... Rating: RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Laputa: The Castle in the Sky (FILM) aka: Tenku no Shiro Laputa Cast: Sheeta ................................... Keiko Yokozawa Pazu ...................................... Mayumi Tanaka The General ............................... Ichiroo Nagai Madge ............................................ TARAKO (unknown character) .................. Megumi Hayashibara Description: Sheeta is a young girl with a very special stone. The stone makes her the objective of government agents and pirates who the power that the stone will give them. Sheeta escapes and is befriended by Pazu, a boy from a mining town who is aware of Sheeta's Levistone only as a jewel with mysterious powers, and not as a key to the treasures held in the legendary Laputa. A great advanture movie directed by Hayao Miyazaki. (It's been rumored that "Nadia: Secret of Blue Water" was based partially on "Laputa"). Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Fantastic Adventures of Yohko: Leda (OAV) Cast: Yohko ...................................... Hiromi Tsuru Zell ...................................... Shuichi Ikeda Description: A young girl, Yohko, is composing and playing a piece on her piano. She is too shy to say that she likes a boy, so she writes this music to express her feelings toward him. The music to supposed to give her courage, but when the time comes, she still fails to talk to him. As she ponders what to do, the landscape melts around her and Yohko is transported to an oppressed land where Zell reigns supreme. After encountering a talking dog, Yohko finds that her music is the key between the worlds...and that she is also the one chosen by the goddess Leda to be her warrior against Zell. Yohko must stop Zell before he can use her music to come into our Earth. The story is very straightforward, and has an aura of wonder around it. Yohko is a girl wih unexpected gifts, but her feelings will prove to be the most important thing of all. A touching, if ordinary story. Rating: RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Legend of Lemnear (OAV) aka: Varukisas Cast: Rian ..................................... Keiko Yokozawa Description: A young girl runs back to her village to find it destroyed, and her brother taken by a sorceror. To fight back, Lemnear trains herself to become a warrior. One day, she wanders into another village and her beauty catches the eye of the local ruler. She defeats the thugs sent to take her, but falls before the magic of the sorceror whom she wants to kill. Fighting on, she will eventually face the sorceror's master in a final battle. This was a pretty standard "girl seeks revenge on ultimate evil" story, but was presented well. An enjoyable action story. Rating: RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Locke the Superman (FILM,OAVs)
Cast:
Description: (by Tom Jewell)
A "retired" super-psychic from wars long ago is sought by the
government to stop an evil cabal of psychics with galactic
domination on their minds. Locke's main opponent in the film is
Jessica, a super-psychic herself who has been brainwashed into
believing that Locke was responsible for her parents' death.
The battle takes Locke and a government agent, Commander Yamaki
into a Red Giant star, where the cabal has its secret base.
Editor's Note: A recent OAV series on "Locke" pits an unwilling
Locke against Lord Leon, a powerful psychic who is seeking
revenge against those responsible for his family's death. The
names are changed, but the plot's the same... :-)
Rating: RECOMMENDED
Index...
Title: Record of Lodoss War (OAVs) aka: Lodoss-tou Senki Cast: Pern (the warrior) ..................... Takeshi Kusao Deedlit (the elf) ............................ Yumi Tohma Eto (the cleric) ................... Kappei Yamaguchi Lord Kashew ............................... Shuichi Ikeda Ashram ..................................... Akira Kamiya Karla ................................ Yoshiko Sakakibara Seeris .................................. Minami Takayama Pirotase ................................ Sakiko Tamagawa Description: Long ago, a titanic war ended between 2 gods which split the land into two islands. One of them is the island of Lodoss. The peace on Lodoss is being disrupted, and Pern decides to find out why. Almost by accident, he forms a band to help on his quest. The band consists of: an elf, a dwarf, a cleric, a wizard, a thief, and a warrior (Pern). The OAV series follows their adventures. This series has a very heavy Role-Playing-Game(RPG) influence to it. Note that there seems to be a break in the story between parts 8 and 9. Rating: RECOMMENDED - especially if you're into RPGsIndex...
Title: Demon Warrior Luna Varuga (OAVs) aka: Majuu Senshi Luna Varuga Cast: Princess Luna ........................... Michie Tomizawa Rapier ..................................... Hiromi Tsuru Ril .......................................... Eriko Hara Princess Zena ............................. Kikuko Inouye Description: The Kingdom of Rimzubel is being invaded by the Dambos Kingdom. 2nd Princess Luna de Rimzubel finds her injured grandfather in a secret passage. He thought that the chamber below held a secret that could save the kingdom. Luna goes into the chamber and is asked if she wants the 'power'. To save her kingdom, Luna says 'Yes'. Outside, the Dambos soldiers are knocking at the front gate...with a battering ram. The sudden appearance of a giant monster (think of Gojira :-)) in the middle of their camp stops the invasion. On the monster's head is a naked Luna. We find that this is the demon Varuga who, according to legend, defeated a demon lord. Luna is now his brain. Vina, Luna's little sister, is abducted to revive that demon lord and it's all-of-a-sudden up to Luna and Varuga (and Luna's faithful servant Roco) to save Vina and stop the demon lord. This is a fun fantasy adventure series with lots of slapstick comedy. Even if Luna has a distressing habit of losing her clothes... :-) Rating: RECOMMENDEDIndex...