Title: Black Magic M-66 (OAV) Cast: Sybil ................................ Yoshiko Sakakibara Colonel's SIC ............................... Kyoko Tongu Felice ................................... Chisa Yokoyama Description: An unmarked military cargo plane goes down during a storm. Sybil gets wind of this and, in true reporter hound fashion, goes after the story. The military finds the plane, and Sybil finds the military...who captures her. Everything breaks loose as the 'cargo' -- 2 combat robots -- attack the encampment. One is destroyed, and the other goes on a seek-and-destroy mission. The target: Felicia...granddaughter of the inventor. It's up to the escaped Sybil to get to Felicia first. This is a well done suspenseful thriller. US Release by: US Renditions (subtitled) Rating: RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Superdimensional Fortress Macross (FILM,TV) aka: Choh Jikuu Yousai Macross Cast: Hikaru Ichijoo ............................. Arihiro Hase Misa Hayase .................................... Mika Doi Lin Minmei .................................. Mari Iijima Roy Folker ................................. Akira Kamiya Claudia LaSalle ............................ Noriko Ohara Narrator ................................... Noriko Ohara Maximillian Genius .......................... Shoo Hayami Kim Kaviroff ............................... Hiromi Tsuru Vanessa Reyard ............................... Run Sasaki Description: An alien spaceship crashes on Macross Island, and Earth has to deal with the alien fleet which is following it. However, human civilization is an example of 'protoculture' which the Zentraedi (the aliens) are suppose to avoid. Dubbed and marketed as a segment of the 'Robotech' series. Rating: RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Metal Skin Panic Madox-01 (OAV) Cast: Haruo Onose ................................ Arihiro Hase Ellie Kusumoto ............................ Youko Asagami Description: A parody of the giant robot genre. What happens if you're trapped inside of a robot weapon, the army is after you, you're causing massive devastation in the city, and, worst of all, you're going to be late for your date!?!? US Release by: AnimEigo (subtitled) Rating: RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Maison Ikkoku (FILM,OAV,TV) Cast: Yusaku Godai ............................. Issei Futamata Kyoko Otonashi ........................... Sumi Shimamoto Hanae Ichinose .............................. Kazuyo Aoki Yotsuya ................................... Shigeru Chiba Akemi Roppongi ............................... Yuhko Mita Yagami Ibuki ........................... Yuriko Fuchizaki Sayoko Kuroki ............................. Saeko Shimazu Asuna Kujo ................................. Hiromi Tsuru Shun Mitaka ................................ Akira Kamiya Kozue Nanao ............................... Mina Tominaga Yousuke Nanao ........................ Megumi Hayashibara Sakamoto ................................ Toshio Furukawa Sayuko Kuroki (MI movie) ............. Yoshiko Sakakibara Description: Godai is a ronin (i.e. someone who's failed university entrance exams) living in room #5 of a run down apartment house called Maison Ikkoku. Among the other residents are the nosy Ichinose (room #1), the sexy Akemi Roppongi (#6), and the mysterious Yotsuya (#4). The others are given to having wild parties which makes it difficult for Godai to study. Into this mayhem comes the recently widowed Kyoko as the new live-in manager. Godai falls for her, but doesn't have the nerve to tell her. The show follows their developing relationship amid the crazy goings on at Maison Ikkoku. A romantic comedy by Rumiko Takahashi. Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Mama is a 4th Grade Student (TV) aka: Mama wa Shoukagu 4 Nensei Cast: Natsumi Mizuki ........................... Satomi Koorogi Mirai .................................... Rihoko Yoshida Izumi Shimazu ................................ Kazu Ikura Bobby (the dog) ......................... Takumi Yamazaki Daisuke Yamaguchi .......................... Urara Takano Sawako Yamaguchi (Daisuke's mom) ........ Sumi Shimamoto Tamae Mori (school friend) .......... Tomoko Maruo Eriko Tachibana (school friend) ........ Yuri Shiratori Ryuuichi Fukazawa (classmate) ........... Akemi Shinohara Hideo Hanada (classmate) .......... Kappei Yamaguchi Midori Hanada (Hideo's mom) ......... Hisako Kyouda Kouzourou Mizuki (Natsumi's dad) .......... Aruno Tahara Ruriko Mizuki (Natsumi's mom) ..... Chiyoko Kawashima Mario ................................. Jun-ichi Kanamaru Tsuru Ono .................................. Reiko Yamada Ookawa ....................................... Fuurin Cha Eji (an inventor) ......................... Ichiroo Nagai Tsubame-kun (Eji's robot assistant) ..... Naoki Makishima Yokoshima (a reporter) ................. Yoshitada Ootuka Description: Natsumi Mizuki is a 4th grader whose parents have gone to London. Her Aunt Izumi comes to live with her. Izumi is an aspiring manga writer who is trying to get her first big break, so she doesn't have time for a baby that appears out of thin air on Natsumi's first night alone. The baby's name is Mirai and her mother is *Natsumi*, but 15 years older. Somehow, Mirai had traveled back in time. Now the young Natsumi has to raise Mirai while trying to keep her 4th grade life from falling apart *and* keep Mirai-chan secret from everyone. She has the dubious help of Izumi and some baby-care gadgets from the future. This is a pretty good sitcom with lots of funny and tender moments. Rating: RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Floral Elf Mary Bell (TV) aka: Hana no Mahou Tsukai Mary Bell Cast: Mary Bell .................................. Chieko Honda Tambourine ............................... Chika Sakamoto Ken .......................................... Ai Orikasa vAOr Yuuri .................................... Satomi Koorogi Description: In the town of Sunnyvale (no joke!), Ken and Yuuri are two children who have a life filled with magic. They have a close friend named Mary Bell; a 500,000 year old witch who looks and acts like a 5 year old girl. With Mary Bell, the children meet lots of magical creatures...nature sprites, spirits, fairies and even Tsuki no Usagi once! When trouble looms, Mary Bell (with her friend Tambourine) can transform and use her magic to help, though she sometimes makes mistakes and tends to oversleep. A "magical girl" series for little girls. Rating: RECOMMENDED - high sugar content, thoughIndex...
Title: Demon Hunter Yohko (OAVs) aka: Mamono Hunter Yohko Cast: Yohko Mano ................................ Aya Hisakawa Sayoko Mano (mother) ....................... Hiromi Tsuru Madoka Mano (grandmother) .................. Yuji Mitsuya Chikako .................................... Chieko Honda Osamu .................................. Kappei Yamaguchi Reiko ...................................... Naoko Matsui High school principal .......................... Mika Doi Description: Yohko is an ordinary schoolgirl who is infatuated with one of her attractive male schoolmates. What she *doesn't* know is that she comes from a family of demon hunters...and she is next in line to receive the power. A powerful demon is aware of this, and seeks to kill her, or prevent her from receiving the power. A light-hearted romp into the demon-hunting/cute girl anime stereotype. The 2nd part gives Yohko an apprentice named Azusa and is even sillier than the 1st part. Part 3 is about a man Yohko falls in love in...in her dreams. US Release by: A.D. Vision (subtitled) Rating: RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Miracle Girls (TV)
Cast:
Tomomi Matsunaga ........................... Nariko Fujie
Mikage Matsunaga ........................... Noriko Nagai
Yuuya Noda ............................. Kappei Yamaguchi
Shinichiro Kageura ........................ Ken Yamaguchi
Hideaki Kurashige ....................... Kaneto Shiozawa
Rumiko Daijouji .............................. Rei Sakuma
Marie ................................... Michiyo Okimoto
Emma ..................................... Tomiyo Okimoto
Reiko ....................................... Ikue Ootani
Description:
This is a "magical girls" series about two twin girls who go to
high school. Tomomi is a tomboyish girl who is good at sports
(she's the star of the volleyball team). Mikage is more feminine
and is better academically, despite her tendency to blow up the
Chemistry Club. Both girls have boyfriends, though Mikage's
left for London in the 2nd episode. Mikage tends to have more
romantic relationships while Tomomi is on the 'buddy' system.
What makes these girls different is their ESP powers. Both have
limited telekinesis, have telepathy only with each other, and
can teleport only when both work together. The series is about
the sometimes funny/sad/romantic lives of the two twins and the
occasional complications brought about when they use their
powers. There is also an almost gothic mystery surrounding the
powers and the role 4 flowers play in it...
NOTE: Interesting gimmick. The eyecatch has pictures of 2 twins
(all appear about 1-3 years old) when going to commercial.
When coming out, a picture of "Dio", the 2 ED singers posing
as Tomomi and Mikage is used. The ED has Dio performing the
song against an animated background...
Rating: RECOMMENDED
Index...
Title: Fairy Princess Minky Momo (TV,OAV)
aka: Mahou no Princess Minky Momo
Cast:
Minky Momo (1st series) .................... Mami Koyama
Shindobukku ................................ Yuu Tanonaka
Pipiru ....................................... Yuhko Mita
Mocha ...................................... Reiko Kifuji
Mama ........................................... Mika Doi
Papa ....................................... Rokurou Naya
King of Fenarinarsa .................... Hiroshi Masuoka
Queen of Fenarinarsa ...................... Emiko Tsukada
Minky Momo (2nd series) ............. Megumi Hayashibara
Kukku Bukku ........................... Toshiharu Sakurai
Rupipi ................................... Chisa Yokoyama
Chaamo ..................................... Mari Mashiba
Mama ...................................... Misa Watanabe
Papa ...................................... Masashi Ebara
Brenda Jo .................................. Hiromi Tsuru
Shadow ................................... Yuko Minaguchi
Description:
Momo is a little girl living with her parents. She's a very
bright and friendly girl given to helping those that she meets.
Minky Momo is actually a princess from the "Land of Dreams" and
she is on Earth to help humans not to lose their dreams. There
are actually 2 Minky Momo TV series:
Minky Momo (1982-83) - Momo-chan and her parents run a pet
shop. Momo comes from Fenarinarsa which moved to near-
Earth space when humans lost their dreams. Momo uses her
magic to change into various 18 year old girls with expert
skills in some area. At the end of the series, Momo was
run over by a truck and her spirit was reborn as a human.
Minky Momo (1991-92) - Another Momo-chan lives with her human
parents who run a hotel. Premise is the same as the first
series, except that this Momo has more general use of her
magic - being able to cast spells as well as transform.
Minky Momo comes from Marinenarsa which sits at the bottom
of the sea. Note that the first Minky Momo (now human)
has also appeared in this series.
In both series, Momo-chan lives with human parents, but her real
parents live in their respective cities and Minky Momo is a real
princess. Both "Land of Dreams" retreated to their current
locations because humans have lost sight of their dreams. This
is a "magical girl" series which is surprisingly good,
considering that it's directed at little girls...
US Release by: Harmony Gold (dubbed as "Magical Princess Gigi")
Rating: RECOMMENDED
Index...
Title: Moldiver (OAVs) Cast: Description: An inventor called Hiromi creates a new power-suit: the Mol-Unit. He dreams of doing good deeds with this suit. Hiromi gets his chance quickly; machine gals (scantily clad robot women) disrupt a beauty pageant, and the Mol-Unit is put to its first test. It passes with flying colors and the attack is repelled. Of course, there are some disadvantages to the Mol-Unit...it has a time limit, and when it expires, the Mol-Unit disappears leaving the naked wearer of the suit...ahh...naked. Mirai, a girl living with Hiromi discovers the Mol-Unit plans and makes some changes. When Hiromi finds that the new suit appearance was a cute girl, he makes Mirai wear it. She changes the name to "Moldiver" and finds out that the cute girl disguise doesn't always appear... ...sometimes the beefy superhero is used. This is a funny parody on the powersuit genre. Rating: RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (TV) aka: Fushigi no Umi no Nadia Cast: Nadia .................................. Yoshino Takamori Jean ...................................... Noriko Hidaka Marie ..................................... Yuko Mizutani Grandis ................................. Kumiko Takizawa Sanson .................................. Kenyuu Horiuchi Hanson ................................ Toshiharu Sakurai Electra ................................... Kikuko Inouye King .................................. Toshiharu Sakurai Description: It is the turn of the 19th century. It's a time of wild hopes and aspirations as the Industrial Revolution is coming up to full steam. It is also a time of worry as there have been a number of ship sinkings recently. What do these sinkings have to do with a circus girl named Nadia, whose only possession is a jewel called Blue Water? When she meets Jean, that's when this adventure series begins! Based on "Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea" by Jules Verne. US Release by: Streamline Pictures (dubbed) Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Nadia of the Mysterious Seas movie (FILM)
aka: Fushigi no Umi no Nadia movie
Cast:
Nadia .................................. Yoshino Takamori
Jean ...................................... Noriko Hidaka
Grandis ................................. Kumiko Takizawa
Sanson .................................. Kenyuu Horiuchi
Hanson ................................ Toshiharu Sakurai
Description:
Two years after the events of the series, Nadia is working as
an aspiring reporter for a London newspaper. Jean is working
on his inventions back in his native France. The news of
various important people vaporising and a girl washed up on
shore will reunite Nadia and Jean for another adventure.
Note: the 1st 1/2 hour of this 'movie' is clips from the series,
and the rest of the movie played as a poor TV episode with
cliched villains and a hokey plot line.
Rating: NOT RECOMMENDED
Index...
Title: All-purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku-Nuku (OAVs) aka: Bannou Buka Nekomusume Cast: Nuku-Nuku (Atsuko Natsume) ........... Megumi Hayashibara Kyoko ................................... Akiko Hiramatsu Alisa ...................................... Aya Hisakawa Kyuusaku Natsume (Papa-san) ................ Akira Kamiya Akiko Natsume ............................. Saeko Shimazu Description: A scientist, his son, and an incomplete robot are sneaking away. Along the way, the son gets out to satisfy an urge of nature, and comes back with a cat that found him. At this point, gunfire erupts around them, and they try to get away. They succeed, but the cat had been killed by a stray shot. Sometime later, the son is going to school with his "big sister" named Nuku-Nuku. Yes, this is the robot (who now looks like a cute girl) with the brain of that cat. Of course, things don't stay peaceful for long; the boy's mother wants him back! A fast-paced action comedy. Rating: RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind (FILM) aka: Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa Cast: Princess Nausicaa ........................ Sumi Shimamoto Master Yupa .................................. Goroo Naya Princess Kushana ..................... Yoshiko Sakakibara Mito ...................................... Ichiroo Nagai Princess Lastelle ........................ Mina Tominaga Description: In the far future, man has destroyed the Earth in the "Seven Days of Fire". Now, there are small pockets of humanity that survive. One pocket is the Valley of Wind where a princess named Nausicaa tries to understand, rather than destroy the Toxic Jungle. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Only Yesterday (FILM) aka: Omohide Poro-Poro Cast: Description: Taeko Okajima, a 27 year old OL (Office Lady) is going to take a sabbatical. With no real hometown to go to, she journeys to a farm owned by the family of her oldest sister's husband. As she goes on the journey, she has many flashbacks to 1966 when she was 10 years old. Through the younger Taeko's eyes, we see a normal life of a school kid with many events which were significant to her. The film continues in this vein, switching between the purposeless life of the older Taeko as she arrives at the farm, and attempts to get to her roots, and the younger Taeko with all the attendant joys and sorrows of growing up. This is a very melancholy film as we enter the ordinary life of Taeko and her brief time on the farm. Directed by Isao Takahata and produced by Hayao Miyazaki. Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Otaku no Video (OAVs)
Cast:
Kubo .................................... Kouji Tsujitani
Tanaka ................................ Toshiharu Sakurai
Yuri Satou ................................... Yuri Amano
Yoshiko Ueno .............................. Kikuko Inouye
Miyoshi .................................. Masami Kikuchi
Description:
Kubo is an ordinary guy in college with an ordinary outlook on
life and an ordinary future. This changes when he meets up with
an old friend named Tanaka and is introduced to the mysterious
world of the "otaku". Kubo finds himself becoming an **ANIME
OTAKU**. With this new interest, Kubo and Tanaka open "General
Products": a company specializing in anime garage kits. Of
course, GP is wildly successful and Kubo has a dream...to create
an amusement park catering exclusively to anime otakus. "Otaku
no Video 1985" chronicles the downfall of Kubo & Tanaka and his
efforts to create a new company based around a new Magical Girl
character...Misty May. This 2 OAV series was a self-parody of
Gainax; a company filled with anime otakus. There were also
numerous "interviews" of different otakus. "Otaku no Video" can
be amusing or insulting, depending on your outlook.
NOTE: "otaku" literally means "you", but in common usage refers
to a person that is extremely knowledgeable and/or fanatical
about a topic. An "anime otaku" refers to someone who lives
and breathes anime. In Japan, "otaku" has the same stigma
as "nerd". On rec.arts.anime, "otaku" tends to be rather
complimentary...meaning someone who knows a lot.
US Release by: AnimEigo (subtitled)
Rating: RECOMMENDED
Index...
Title: Outlanders (OAV) Cast: Princess Kahm ............................... Fumi Hirano Description: While invading the Sacred Planet (Earth), Princess Kahm destroys an army unit, but is unexpectedly defeated by a photographer named Tetsuya who's covering the invasion. Kahm promptly does three things: kisses him, kidnaps him and plans to marry him. On the way back, she finds that many are opposed to the marriage (which, as a side benefit, is supposed to save Earth) including her father. Tetsuya rescues her, and they try to elope. This OAV attempted to cram the entire manga into 1 hour and comes out confused...but it's still fun, nevertheless. Rating: RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: Mobile Police Patlabor (FILM,OAVs,TV) Cast: Noa Izumi ................................. Mina Tominaga Asuma Shinohara ......................... Toshio Furukawa Isao Ohta ............................. Michihiro Ikemizu Kanuka Clancy ................................ You Inouye Takeo Kumagami ........................... Keiko Yokozawa Hiromi Yamazaki ........................... Daisuke Gouri Mikiyasu Shinshi ......................... Issei Futamata Shinobu Nagumo ....................... Yoshiko Sakakibara Kiichi Goto .......................... Ryunosuke Obayashi Shegeo Shiba .............................. Shigeru Chiba Momoko Sakurayama (TV Reporter) ...... Megumi Hayashibara Weather forecaster (Patlabor movie) .. Megumi Hayashibara Miyuki Kasima (OAV #14) .................... Aya Hisakawa Description: Due to global warming, the Babylon Project is initiated to seal off Tokyo Bay, and create more real estate. New industrial machines called 'labors' were developed for the Project. Labors vary, but most fit the "giant robot" mold. Being so versatile, labors were also used for crime, so the Patrol Labor (PatLabor) was developed. This is the story of a police unit which uses the patlabor model 'Ingram' -- SVD Section 2. Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDEDIndex...
Title: The Crimson Pig (Porco Rosso) (FILM) aka: Kurenai no Buta Cast: Porco Russo .......................... Shuichiro Moriyama Description: It is the period just after World War I. Many aviators with nothing to do have turned to air piracy. A 'hero' emerges: The Crimson Pig called Porco Rosso (his name is actually Marco). He fights against the air pirates and saves a lot of ships, though it's for the reward money. After losing in a dogfight, he rebuilds his plane for another round and meets a feisty girl who is an aspiring plane designer. This movie mixes Hayao Miyazaki's love of aviation and talent for adventure stories. Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDEDIndex...