ANIME POCKET GUIDE

I-L


Fight! Iczer-1!


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: RECOMMENDED                                                



Index...

Iczer-3


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...

Crusher Joe


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: RECOMMENDED                                                



Index...

Karura Mau


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: RECOMMENDED                                                



Index...

Kiki's Delivery Service


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 RECOMMENDED                                         



Index...

KO Century Beast: 3 Beast Warriors


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 RECOMMENDED                                         



Index...

Kimagure Orange Road


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...

NG Knight Lamune & 40


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: RECOMMENDED                                                



Index...

Laputa: The Castle in the Sky


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 RECOMMENDED                                         



Index...

Fantastic Adventures of Yohko: Leda


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: RECOMMENDED                                                



Index...

Legend of Lemnear (Varukisas)


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: RECOMMENDED                                                



Index...

Locke the Superman


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...

Record of Lodoss War


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 RPGs               



Index...

Demon Warrior Luna Varuga


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: RECOMMENDED                                                



Index...