Video Backlog: "Planetes"

Publisher: Bandai Entertainment (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English Subtitles
Length: 26 episodes x 25 mins
Production Date: 2003 - 2004
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

Story Outline: 106 years after man first set foot on the moon, humankind has finally made a permanent home in space. However with nearly 120 years of human spaceflight, the earth is surrounded debris of pieces of spacecraft. Even something as small as a nut can do damage, especially when it’s flying as 8 metres per second. To combat this problem, teams of debris are employed to clean up areas and salvage anything which is useful. The Technora Corporation, like other private institutions, have their own team to remove space junk. However like in most corporations, they’re at the bottom of the food chain. Other sections refer to them as the “half section”, as they have only half the number of staff they should (the other half not being granted due to budgetary concerns). Ai Tanabe, a female trainee in her early 20’s, is the newest member of the debris section, but finds her expectations don’t meet the reality of the job. The managers are somewhat incompetent and other staff are rather odd ball to say the least. Their ship, the Toy Box, is a rickety old piece of junk. Tanabe clashes head on with Hachirota Hoshino (nicknamed Hachimaki due to his ever present headband). Tanabe is an idealist and lacks experience with Extra Vehicular Activities (EVA for short, meaning working outside a spaceship). However due to many circumstances, both of them become attracted to each other. But their budding relationship will be tested on many levels due to numerous incidents, some which could lead to a temporary end to manned space exploration.

Mini Review: I pretty much ignored this show when it first came out on DVD. I’m not sure why as I love hard sci-fi. This show has that in spades. Everything to do with space flight is very realistically represented. External shots of space vehicles and the lunar surface are only accompanied by silence. The show also depicts the difficulty of humans living in space with radiation and muscle loss due to zero gravity. While the initial episodes give the impression that the show would only focus on the debris collection, it soon shifts into other bigger storylines such as the activities of the Space Defense Front terrorist group and a planned mission to Jupiter. This also leads to some very interesting issues and concepts being raised such as how the first world treats developing nations, the huge sums of money spent on space exploration while major social problems such as starvation are still unsolved on Earth. Tied up in this is Hachimaki and Tanabe rather platonic relationship. Tanabe is such a likeable character, but highly idealistic. I found Hachimaki to quite unlikeable initially, but as we delve deeper into his psyche, I came to sympathise and like him. The majority of the cast are really quite well fleshed out and often there are entire episodes dedicated to their backstories. In particular Fee, Claire, Yuri, Hakim and Cheng-Shin are really developed well. There are a few secondary characters which are nothing but caricatures, but generally they aren’t too distracting.

On the minus side, there are a couple of early episodes that are just plain silly such as the Ninja one, but I soon forgave that as the show headed into more serious drama territory. However these couple of episodes do let down the show, especially as at the core of the show, such high emphasis is placed on realism. But when viewed as whole, the show is pretty amazing. There are so many ideas and concepts here such as politics within a large corporate organisation, relationships in a high pressure workplace, terrorism, politics between the first and third worlds, personal ambition over everything else, corporate responsibility, self-doubt, grief and psychological drama. Instead of being a complete mess, all of these elements work in harmony with each other. It makes for some rather tense viewing at times. Bandai Entertainment’s complete collection is missing the bonus DVDs for the first three singe DVD releases (they shifted to single disc releases from volume 4). This means all of special features from the first three volumes aren’t here, including the first five audio dramas and most of the interviews at NASA's Orbital Debris Program which detail what happens in real world scenarios with space junk. However the core elements are here such clean openings, so I don’t mind missing out too much. Overall this was such a great show. I didn’t have much in the way of expectations for it. Easily this is one of the best shows I’ve watched in a long time 8.5 out 10.

Remaining Backlog: 19 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "SOS! Tokyo Metro Explorers: The Next"

Publisher: Honneamise (Bandai Visual USA)
Format: Region 1 and 2 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Subtitles
Length: 40 mins
Production Date: 2006
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes (Subtitled Japanese Blu-ray and DVDs)

Story Outline: After his parents split up, 11 year old Ryuhei Ozaki discovers a note book titled “Tokyo Exploring Records” written by his father when he was Ryuhei’s age. With his friends Yoshio and Shun, they decide to explore Tokyo’s sewer system using the map inside his father’s note book. However Ryuhei’s younger brother Satoshi manages to tag along. Unbeknownst to the group of explorers is Yoshio’s nosy younger cousin, Momoyo who plans to look out for them so they don’t get into trouble. After some initial difficulties, the small group of explorers discover an amazing underground world and it’s strange inhabitants, unknown to those above ground.

Mini Review: Another weird arse Bandai Visual USA title. It seems that right from the start that this title was to have a dual Japanese/US release. The disc is identical to the Japanese release, except for the different screen printing on the disc and the booklet and packaging. As always, it’s really good, except it’s a bloody expensive release. The content itself doesn’t fare as well. The short movie is based upon an almost unknown Katsuhiro Otomo one shot manga originally released in 1980. The reason such an old manga was resurrected some 26 years later? Well believe it or not Sunrise was actually thinking about making “Steamboy 2”, but it got canned and in its place we have this weird short. It’s sort of like a demonstration film to show off cel shaded CG, sort of like those terribly mediocre “Appleseed” movies, except more “anime” like and hell of a lot more distracting. It’s the key problem with this film. The animation is really off putting. I don’t know what it is, but it just looks like something isn’t right and I can’t put my finger on it. I want to get involved with the story, but I’m too distracted by the character animation. Second problem with this film is there is way, way too much going on. There’s some great stuff here for a film (it’s sort of like a more down to Earth and realistic Japanese take on “The Goonies”), but there is just too much happening. A full length film would have been much better. I note that Sunrise really hasn’t made another film with cel shaded characters like this, though the awful “King of Thorn” uses CG cel shaded characters for a lot of long shots. And it still looks out of place and shoddy in 2010. Unfortunately I can only give this film 5 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 19 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "Sea Prince and the Fire Child (The Legend of Sirius)"

Publisher: Eastern Star (Discotek, USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English Subtitles
Length: 108 mins
Production Date: 1981
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

Story Outline: The goddess of fire and the god of water were a brother and sister living happily together creating warm mist. However Algorac, god of the winds grew jealous of their relationship and began spreading rumours in order to split them apart. His tactic works, and both are separated. A civil war soon breaks out, but cool heads prevail, but brother and sister live separately from each other, with their subjects barred from entering the enemy’s kingdom. Some years later, Prince Sirius becomes heir to the Sea Kingdom on his sixteenth birthday. After venturing into the forbidden Fire Kingdom, he meets Princess Malta, heir to the Fire Kingdom. Malta is intrigued with Sirius, and soon love blossoms between the two. Inevitability they are found out and are both punished by their parents. However there is a glimmer of hope for the couple as a once in 90 year event is about to take place.

Mini Review: A lot of children’s animated Japanese films are a cut above what is produced in the west. Here’s another example. While very little of note was being produced in Hollywood in terms of animated films in the early 1980’s, this film really stands out. Produced by Sanrio, who are most famous for Hello Kitty and the animated versions of Tezuka’s “Unico”, this film is clearly heavily influenced by Disney. The animation and attention to detail almost surpasses a lot of Disney’s animation of the time period. The key difference however is how the realities of life, in particular death, is portrayed. Whereas a typical western children’s film often treats it’s intended audience as drooling idiots, Japanese film makers generally don’t talk down to their audience. As I was watching the film I really wondered why this and similar films weren’t given more attention in the west. When I saw the fate of some of the characters, I then realised why. The major downside to this film is its length. I think maybe 10 minutes could have been trimmed. Also some of the secondary and background characters seem really out of place and way too childish compared to others in the film (a lot seemed there for one off gags). However the story (yeah, it’s “Romeo and Juliet”, but it exceptionally well done), the characters and beautifully choreographed animation won me over. That was something I didn’t really expect. This film deserves a respectable 7.5 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 19 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "Gunbuster vs Diebuster - Aim for the Top! The GATTAI!! Movie"

Publisher: Honneamise (Bandai Visual USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD Box Set, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Subtitles
Length: 195 mins (total time)
Production Date: 2006 (1988 - 1989, 2004 - 2006)
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes (Subtitled Japanese Blu-rays)

Story Outline: 2023 AD. Teenage girl Noriko Takaya has entered a robot training school on Okinawa, but her skills as a pilot are rather bad. Even so she idolises the talented Kazumi Amano, by far the best pilot in the school. However with the arrival of the new coach, Kouichirou Ohta, decides that both Amano and Noriko are to be chosen for mission into outer space. This of course ruffles quite a few feathers with both Amano and Noriko questioning Coach Ohta’s decision to pick Noriko. Especially when you consider Noriko is the daughter of a captain who was lost in a space battle, and Coach Ohta was on board the captain’s last mission. However though a lot of trial and error, Noriko becomes equal to Amano and both eventually pilot the super robot Gunbuster to defend the Earth against as huge army of aliens called space monsters.

Several thousands of years later, a young pink haired country girl named Nono, decides to become a space pilot after idolising Noriko. Though she doesn’t really get all that far and becomes a waitress as diner near the space port. After being saved by a woman named Lal'C Melk Mark from a couple of rough customers, Nono begins follow her, much to Lal'C’s annoyance. However an attack from a space monster shows that Nono isn’t an ordinary girl and she drafted into the elite band of pilots called the Topless, of which Lal'C is a member. The Topless continue the fight against the space monsters using their Buster Machines to defend the Solar System.

Mini Review: As I’ve said before, I’m not a fan of compilation movies. The first movie here, “Gunbuster”, is severely truncated from its original 6 part OVA format. The material concerting Noriko’s struggles has been removed almost in its entirety. The moments with Smith Torren, Jung Freud and Reiko Kashiwara important to the plot are gone, which makes interaction between the characters seem strange (when viewing the movie in isolation the OVA series). But episodes to 4 to 6 are mostly left intact, and you really get a feel of how great this OVA series is. However the film is still highly inferior to the OVA series. There’s no added material except a remixed soundtrack, so I think the film is pretty much worthless.

The “Diebuster” movie on the other hand is excellent. First of all it can be viewed in isolation to the OVA series and is really well paced and flows naturally. There are also a couple of redone or new sequences which make the film really worthwhile. “Diebuster” contains a five minute “countdown” intermission before the feature starts. While this would have worked well in the cinema where both films were played back to back, it seems to be a really stupid to leave it in here and would have been better as a bonus feature. This box set reminded me how good “Gunbuster” was considering it was initially a robot parody of a 1970’s shoujo tennis drama, and that I should re-watch the OVA (especially to pick up more of the sci-fi references, like the posters of “War in Space” and “Message from Space” in Noriko’s room), but also that generally compilation movies blow. One can only wonder why Gainax felt it necessary to add the original OVA series in a truncated form to the “Diebuster” movie. “Diebuster” stands up on its own without any help at all. Though that final scene in the OVA and movie might not make any sense unless you hadn’t seen “Gunbuster” (I give full points for Gainax for that clever and amazing ending). Overall, it’s a decent package together, but the “Diebuster” film is a far better film, even though I really prefer the “Gunbuster” OVA over the “Diebuster” OVA (though the latter is an excellent OVA in its own right, just not a classic like “Gunbuster”). The “Gunbuster” movie really dragged the final overall score down for this one. 6.5 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 19 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "Overman King Gainer"

Publisher: Bandai Entertainment (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English Subtitles
Length: 26 episodes x 25 mins
Production Date: 2002 - 2003
Currently in Print (as of writing): No

Story Outline: Due to ecological disasters, mankind has imposed himself in a self exiled state in regions previously considered uninhabitable while the rest of the planet recovers. People live in large domed cities called Domepolis with private companies such as the Siberian Railroad Company providing links between factories that produce goods and food and the Domepolis. Over the years people have become weary of the life lead in the domes and believe that the Earth has recovered enough to return to their homelands. These are called Exoduses and are illegal under current laws. Highschooler and video game champ Gainer Sanga is falsely arrested by is Siberian Railroad officer Adette Kistler on suspicion of being a member of Exodus. In an overcrowded cell, he meets fellow inmate Gain Bijou. Gain tricks the guard and manages to knock him out enabling his escape. He asks the prisoners to follow him, but only Gainer decides to follow.

Gain is in fact a hired hand by the people of Yapan who live in dome. They want to initiate an Exodus and Gain is to defend them as they flee. Gain infiltrates local monarch Duke Medaiyu’s secret collection of biomechanical robots called Overman in order to steal one of them to use for defence purposes. However Gainer boards the Overman and due to his video game skills manages to easily pilot the robot. Gainer names the Overman as King Gainer, and proceeds to escape, with Gain managing to abduct and take hostage Princess Anna, the Duke's daughter during the chaos (though she’s a very willing hostage). Under the cover of an annual festival featuring idol singer Meeya Laujin (also a major player in the secret Exodus), large multi house “blocks” are hauled from the dome, beginning their 3,000 km journey across the Siberian tundra to Yapan. However the Siberian Railroad will stop at nothing to halt the Exodus.

Mini Review: OK, it’s confession time. Apart from stuff like “Clannad”, “Haruhi Suzumiya”, “High School of the Dead” and other popular stuff in fandom, I don’t “get” Yoshiyuki Tomino. I readily admit that a lot of his stories, including this one, are really intriguing and high concept. However a lot of them are really quite poor in terms of dialogue and reaction of the characters. Add in the stupid, stupid names (see Dunbine’s Keen Keats, Marvel Frozen and Shot Weapon) and casts of hundreds, I really find his works a bit of a chore to get through. However when that mad bald headed fucker Tomino gets it right, it’s really good. Admittedly for me, things did just not click for the first third of “Overman King Gainer” (despite the action packed first episode). This was probably due the fact there were way too many concepts being introduced. However things settle down and it becomes quite enjoyable. Still silly stuff like Adette’s dreadful uniform in the first episode, the overly big cast, typically stupid Tomino names like Kids Munt (even more confusing as early on the name isn’t really attached to physical person when mentioned) and the bizarre claymation eyecatch don’t really help the show. In a TV “making of“ special that appears as a bonus on the third or so disc, the crazy bald headed fucker says the world of “Gainer” is set in the near future Earth. This is an outright lie as it is clearly stated in the show that several generation have passed and there are friggin’ mammoths roaming the land. Mammoths. Stupid loony bald headed git...

Despite my grumbles the strangeness of the mecha and basic story outline as well as the way the show progresses and the character interactions and development make up for a lot of the show’s shortcomings. Add in the delightfully loopy opening animation with dancing characters and mecha and even some ice skating thrown in to the tune of a retro-esque song. I think a lot of Tomino’s anime to a degree still feels like it’s stuck in the 1970’s or 1980’s, “Gainer” more so than others. But this is probably Tomino’s style more than anything else. Unfortunately the show (like a lot of Bandai Entertainment’s titles) is out of print, and is absurdly selling for nearly double the original suggested retail price in the second hand market on Amazon. I’m unsure if I’d buy this show for nearly $100, especially when I only paid about $30 (love the space saving six disc pack which is the same size as a normal DVD case, BTW). Overall it’s quite a fun show, but I think a lot of the first third of the show, plus some horrible Tomino-esque clichés pop up towards the end, so I can only give it 6.5 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 19 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "Ghost in the Shell"

Publisher: Honneamise (Bandai Visual, Japan)
Format: Region 2 DVD and Code Free Blu-ray Box Set, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and Japanese and English Subtitles
Length: 82 mins
Production Date: 1995
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes (Numerous formats just about everywhere)

Story Outline: 2029 AD, Newport City. The world is now connected by a global electronic network and most people cybernised to some degree such as their entire bodies being mechanised. Naturally this leads to crimes being committed. Section 9, a near secret government organisation which deals with cyber terrorism warfare and major crime, are working on a new case involving an elite hacker called the Puppet Master. The Puppet Master hacks into people’s cyber brains and re-writes them to make the victims do his/her bidding. Section 9 manages to thwart one of the Puppet Master’s plots which has him/her hacking the brain of politician’s secretary, but the Puppet Master still remains at large. Major Motoko Kusanagi, the leader of Section 9‘s team, begins to question her own existence as the case drags on. The case becomes stranger when a cyborg body is illegally created at the Megatech company, creator of all Section 9’s prosthetic bodies, and ends up in Section 9‘s hands after it escaped and was hit by a truck. Section 6, an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance unit, comes to claim the body. They claim that they have been chasing the Puppet Master and he has copied his “ghost” into the cyborg’s body.

Mini Review: So, it’s been over a decade since I last saw this film (my guess is 12 years). It’s only now that I’ve decided to buy the DVD. This was due to horrible history and problem this film has had on the format. Bad subtitles (dubtitles), the Japanese language version had the Brian Eno/U2 song tacked onto the end of one DVD version rather than the original choral choir etc. A dog’s breakfast of releases really. However I heard the Japanese Honneamise Blu-ray/DVD combo pack version had proper subs and was rather good, so I decided to buy that, only problem was I only got around to buying it about a year after it was out of print. Regardless, I got a searched around and found an unopened new copy and for almost a third of the original price.

Anyway, let’s talk about the film. 15 years on and what surprises me most is how well the film stands up to today’s anime. Some of the animation looks rather dated, and the cel animation isn’t as bright as today’s computer coloured digital work, but gee, to looks damn good. I don’t know if it was the subs on the disc (different to my old Manga subbed VHS tape), but I really enjoyed the story a lot more this time around. Yes it is an action movie, but it’s also a philosophical one in regards to what is human. Like an extension of “Blade Runner” except maybe more direct and less abstract than that film. The thing which got me in this film however was how bloody good of director Mamoru Oshii is. The ambience and framing of the shots is just about perfect. Though a big part of this is Kenji Kawai’s soundtrack which is perfect.

The original manga by Masamune Shirow was full of tons of little notes explaining in great detail what the hell was going on, especially in the latter stages. I always found it a bit of a chore to read. Oshii seems to have simplified the manga a lot. And although the Oshii trademark of pages of superfluous philosophical moments is there, I don’t think it’s to the point of being overwhelming or self indulgent like a lot of his other films. It fact it seems rather reasonable especially compared to something like “Patlabor 2” (one of my favourite anime films) or the impenetrable borefest that was “Innocence (Ghost in the Shell 2)”. Even his trademark Basset Hound motif seems to blend in nicely. The major problem though is with Motoko, or more accurately the way she is portrayed. I know it was intentional, but there seems to be no humanity in her, unlike the way she is portrayed in “Stand Alone Complex”. Also her nudity (she has to nude up EVERY time she uses the thermo optics camouflage? What the hell...?) and the absurd conclusion to the tank fight scene really spoils the film for me. Regardless the film is mostly an excellent piece of celluloid. 9 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 19 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "Key the Metal Idol"

Publisher: Viz Video (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English Subtitles
Length: 13 episodes x 25 mins (OVA 1 - 13), 98 mins (OVA 14), 100 mins (OVA 15)
Production Date: 1994 - 1997
Currently in Print (as of writing): No

Story Outline: Teenage high schooler Mima Tokiko, known as Key, believes she is a robot. Her somewhat idyllic life in the rural Mamio Valley comes to an abrupt end when her grandfather Dr Murao Mima, Key’s sole carer, dies. Dr Mima’s assistant, Tomoyo Wakagi, plays Key a message recorded by Dr Mima on his deathbed. In it he explains to her that she must obtain 30,000 friends in order to become human. Key takes this message literally and decides to head to Tokyo due to the greater population than her small hometown. Once there, she is hustled into the offices of V&A Productions, a seedy video company that produces softcore porn. However the pizza girl, Sakura Kuriyagawa, who comes to deliver dinner to the company, is in fact Key’s childhood friend. Upon realising that her childhood friend is about to make the biggest mistake in her life, she high tails it out of there with Key. Sakura decides to let Key stay with her, however at Sakura’s second job, a clerk at a video store, she is harassed by couple of men from V&A. However she is saved by Shuichi Tataki, a regular customer of the video store. Shuichi is also the president of the fan club of the mysterious idol Miho Utase.

Key becomes intrigued with Miho and decides to become an idol. After some trials and tribulations which test their relationship, Sakura decides to help her. However mysterious events swirl around Key, mostly having to do with the idol Miho and the company who back her, run by an elderly man named Jinsaku Ajo. Humanoid robots attack the employees of V&A and latter a leader of a religious cult, Prince Snake-Eye, takes an interest in Key and proclaims her as some sort of saviour. Meanwhile Wakagi strangely always comes to Key’s aid whenever she’s in trouble, as if he is continually tailing her.

Mini Review: I remember collecting this series as it originally came out in the late 1990’s on VHS. In fact we began playing it at the club I was running. Well we played the first 13 episodes. While quite low budget, in terms of film stock at least, this OVA was one of the surprises of the 1990’s. Predating “Evangelion” by almost a year, I would say this series is almost as obtuse and mystery filled as Eva. However the mysteries are revealed in this series. Though that makes the show come to crashing halt for a while. The 14th episode is probably a bit too long, as is the final 15th. Though both are a lot better than I remembered them. After watching the show more than a decade after I first saw it, one thing stands out the most on this show; the madness and insanity. Mostly Jinsaku Ajo’s. It’s really quite creepy. But that’s the fun of the show. You have Key’s innocence intercut with the cruelty, hardness, perverseness and lunacy of real life. Add in the robots (the PPORs or Sipes), the cold Sergei (codenamed “D”), an evil corporation, mistreatment of idols (with some well-produced pop music), supernatural elements and a great cast of characters. With the mystery and drama, it’s a fantastic mix.

Occasionally I found some situations to be a bit silly and overdone, especially in the last episode. And it’s a bit of a stretch to believe the handsome, muscly Shuichi to be an idol otaku with no girlfriend. However if you can suspend disbelief over a couple of minor plot points, the show is extremely entertaining. Most of the time I was thinking; “Key is a human”, then in the next moment; “No wait, she is a robot!”. It’s kind of amazing such an OVA exists, as it’s not something which you would think was overly commercial. Apparently the concept came from a dumped video game and was picked up as the 10th anniversary project of Pony Canyon. The OVA release itself in Japan was also pretty unusual with the first VHS retailing for ¥1,000 and subsequent volumes for ¥2,000. Most tapes sold for ¥9,800 or more at the time. I also liked how the “30,000 friends” angle was played up in the marketing of the series in Japan. Very cute. For some reason, this OVA has been forgotten by a lot of today’s anime fans. Bit of a shame because it’s a really good show. It has aged a bit, but it’s still really entertaining. Really glad I decided to rebuy this on DVD. 8 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 19 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "Kazemakase Tsukikage Ran (Carried by the Wind: Tsukikage Ran)"

Publisher: Bandai Entertainment (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English Subtitles
Length: 13 Episodes x 25 mins
Production Date: 2000
Currently in Print (as of writing): No

Story Outline: Sometime towards the late Edo era, a female ronin (masterless samurai) called Ran, wanders the countryside righting wrongs and forever in the search of her next bottle of sake. Howeber one day she is brought together accidently with a young female Chinese martial artist called Myao (Meow in the subtitled version). Though Meow is a practitioner of the Iron Cat Fist style of martial arts, she isn’t all that bright. While they free one small town from a criminal group extorting money from businesses, they soon find themselves working together, often much to each other’s annoyance (though Ran is always happy to see Meow to pay for her sake fix). However the reluctant duo always leaves a wake of justice peace in their wake.

Mini Review: Though “Jubei-chan: The Secret of the Lovely Eyepatch” is the Akitaro Daichi samurai show that people always remember, personally I think this one is superior. The main problem that “Tsukikage Ran” had against it was it began screening at the tail end of Jubei-chan’s initial broadcast and was seemingly ignored to a degree. Unlike the complete silliness of Jubei-chan, “Ran” is played a lot straighter and more realistically. In fact the show is based on a 1965 jidaigeki (Edo period drama) TV series called “Su-ronin Tsukikage Hyogo”, with the two male leads swapped out for females. While “Ran” is considered by some as a parody, I think it’s more of a homage. It’s played relatively close to genre type right down to the situations and episode titles. Even the opening theme is an enka song. I think having female leads was a genius move on Daichi’s part. It gives a whole new twist on the very well-worn genre. Plus the women have flaws with Ran being a lush and Meow being a gullible but kind hearted fool. In way I think the show is a very feminist one in a lot of ways. Sure they may be flawed, but Daichi treats them with respect and there is no exploitation. Plus hardly anyone questions that Ran is a female samurai. It really is just a jidaigeki show with the roles reversed.

The show is also episodic, which may not sit well with some. However I think this works very well in this type of show. Plus with only 13 episodes, there’s more than enough variation in the show. While there is quite a lot of comedy in the show, there are also quite a lot of dramatic moments; however unlike the live action drama genre it borrows from, there really aren’t any overwrought sentimental mushy moments. One thing which got me was how consistently well produced the show was. The animation (by Madhouse), writing, fight choreography and comedy never dip at any stage. I recall getting fansubs of this how, but for some reason never watched the last tape. It was only in 2008 I decided to get the DVDs, which by that time were out of print for a couple of years and a little hard to acquire on the second hand market. Thank god I did. I really, really enjoyed this show. Probably the most fun I’ve had watching an anime in quite a few months. 8 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 19 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "Yawara!"

Publisher: Animeigo (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Subtitles
Length: 40 Episodes x 25 mins
Production Date: 1989 - 1990
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

Story Outline: Yawara Inokuma may seem like an ordinary girl, but since she was a toddler she has been trained to be a judo champion by her grandfather. Her grandfather, Jigoro, was a famous judo champion in his heyday, and works Yawara hard in order for her to win an Olympic gold medal and the prestigious National Merit Award, much to her annoyance. While Yawara tried to keep her judo practice a secret, she apprehends a purse snatcher and the event is captured by a small time sports newspaper journalist, Matsuda, and his photographer. Though Yawara’s face isn’t in shot in the picture in the newspaper, Jigoro is horrified as her wants his granddaughter to have a grand debut with a well-respected newspaper and other media. Regardless he continues on with his plan and sniffs out Sayaka Honami, a pampered princess who excels at all sports, to be Yawara’s rival. Things are complicated further with Sayaka’s judo coach, Kazamatsuri. Though brilliant at judo, he has stage fright. And he’s a ladies man and takes an immediate interest in Yawara, both at a professional and personal level, much to the disgust of the possessive Sayaka. Though Yawara plans to deliberately fail her first real judo match, she wins and is an overnight sensation with a lot of potential to live up to. But Yawara just wants to be a normal girl. Not only does she find herself seemingly forced into becoming a judo champion, she has two suitors fighting over her, Matsuda and Kazamatsuri.

Mini Review: Those with long memories may recall the petition to get “Yawara!” on DVD in the early 00’s. Well in 2006 Animeigo announced they had the licence, but this set came out in 2008. And only in the last few months has Animeigo fessed up that there will be no more box sets coming supposedly due to a rights issue (but I’m sure the sets didn’t sell like hotcakes). Anyway there’s no chance we’ll see the remaining 84 episodes ever in English. Still, I’m amazed we got these 40. The Animeigo set is pretty amazing, especially when you consider it was made post US anime bubble. Apart from their almost overdone subtitles which included notes at appropriate times, we have an amazing 72 page booklet which tells you just about everything you need to know about the series and about judo. The slicks on the DVD cases actually make up a picture when you put them together; which is Jigaro throwing Yawara.

The anime itself (maybe I should mention it, huh?) is very shoujo in appearance, even though I believe the original manga was published in a shonen magazine (the manga was by Naoki Urasawa who is more famous in the west for “Monster”, “20th Century Boys”, “Pluto” and even “Master Keaton” than this show). Yawara herself is probably one of the most likeable characters I have come across in a long time. But the real star of the show is Jigoro (as evidenced by the show’s eyecatches), but toward the end of the episodes in this set, he becomes a real tyrant, but he does redeem himself. For the most part the humour of this show does come from Jigoro. Towards the end of this set of episodes, Yawara moves from high school to college and the light hearted tone does change to a slightly more serious one. The judo battles become a bit more intense and so does Yawara’s love life. The addition of a ditzy photographer to put a spanner in the works of her relationship with Matsuda was bit ham-fisted I thought and there are some really silly unrealistic moments which don’t fit in with the story, however in the end I could mostly suspend disbelief. Also don’t let the judo aspect put you off. This isn’t really a sports anime. Surprisingly there’s very, very little in the way of actual judo in the anime. Yawara defeats most of her opponents in a few seconds and I can only recall one episode where a match went on for more than 10 minutes. Instead the focus here is on the development and relationships of the characters. The show has aged a bit, but it’s a lot better than the fansub I recall seeing some 12 or so years ago. I’ll give it a respectable 7.5 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 19 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "Princess Minerva"

Publisher: ADV Films (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English Subtitles
Length: 43 mins
Production Date: 1995
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

Story Outline: In the kingdom of Whisler, teenage Princess Minerva wants to be seen as a agent of justice much to the annoyance of the royal family. Despite strict instructions to behave in a lady like way, she constantly sneaks out to seek adventure and fun. But Minerva has a grander plan. A tournament is being held to find her a new body guard, however she plans to enter and win. She forces her lady in waiting, Blue Morris, to substitute for her, while she fights. However a pair of kidnappers abduct Morris thinking she was Minerva. It’s up to Minerva and a rag tag band of fighters to save Blue Morris and stop a plot to take over the kingdom by an evil wizard.

Mini Review: OK, so it’s not very original and in fact it’s based on a 1994 video game. Despite that, it’s not bad. I recall buying the VHS over a decade ago. Didn’t really like the show then, but my opinion of the show has changed a bit. There’s a couple of problems with the show however. First the character designs make the show look much older than it is. The animation is also pretty dire. It’s not up to OVA standard, it’s equivalent to TV animation of the time. While the fanservice is rather mild compared to recent shows, the focus on the girl’s crotch and lack of material covering them is rather exploitative. But then again, did we expect anything else? Kenji Kawai did the music on this OVA, which is always a plus. This OVA appeared on DVD in late 2008, more than three years after ADV first cancelled the original DVD release. Oddly this was just after the very public split with Sojitz, which made cynically think this disc was a little less than legit. Overall this little OVA wasn’t overly great, but not awful either. A bit mediocre and forgettable perhaps. 6 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 18 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "Best Student Council"

Publisher: ADV Films (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English Subtitles
Length: 26 Episodes x 24 mins
Production Date: 2005
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

Story Outline: High schooler Rino Rando’s mother suddenly dies so she transfers to Miyagami Private Academy with the sponsorship of her pen pal, Mr Poppit, whom she has never actually met. Unfortunately upon her arrival she discovers that the apartment building she was to be living in has burnt down. However on the first day at the new school, she is mysteriously voted onto the student council (the Miyagami Academy Maximum Authority Wielding Best Student Council, also known as the Best Student Council) where she becomes Secretary (despite really being unsuitable for the job) and has her accommodation, meals and tuition supplied and paid for as do the other members of the council. She strikes up an immediate friendship with Kanade Jinguuji, the president of the Student Council. Rino also has a puppet constantly on her hand, Pucchan, which people assume Rino is actually controlling, but seems to be actually possessed by the spirit of a man.

Mini Review: What reviewers seem to often omit in their information about this show is that the anime is in fact a promotional tool for a game. Seriously. The story was developed by Konami, and because of this I had very little hope that the show would be any good. Boy I was wrong. The concept of the puppet Pucchan has a lot of comic potential. A lot. And they don’t waste any time using that potential. It’s strength lies in the comedy. However (somewhat of) a serious plot develops and there are a number of back stories to the multitude of Student Council members which are full of drama and almost take over from the comedy. The character designs are really quite nice too. They remind me more of shoujo anime rather than a show aimed at young men. There’s also a refreshing lack of fanservice. The arrival of a new character, Minamo Katsura, mid way through the series almost derails it, as well as the clichés of a number of characters, however in the end the show just about won me over. A really fun a surprising show. Certainly not the pinnacle of anime, but a lot of fun. 7 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 18 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "Tide-Line Blue"

Publisher: Bandai Entertainment (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English Subtitles
Length: 13 Episodes x 25 mins
Production Date: 2005
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

Story Outline: A massive catastrophe called the Hammer of Eden struck the Earth some 14 years ago. As a result some 6 billion people died and 90% of the Earth is under water. An effort is being made to form a New United Nations, however things aren’t going to plan and disagreements break out between the member nations during a conference on the island state of Yabitsu. Adding to the volatile situation is a declaration of war to the New United Nations (who having a conference on the island) delivered by young boy called Teen under orders from a man named Captain Gould. The island is attacked by Gould while Teen makes his escape. Unbeknownst to Teen, his lost twin brother is on the island. Named Keel, he spends most of him time on the island swindling people out of money from gambling. However now he is in a bit of a jam as his carer, Secretary-General Aoi, has left him to fend for himself. Adding to his woes is that he forced to look after an older girl whom he has a crush on, Isla. She is heavily pregnant and due to the attack is beginning a premature labour. Luckily Teen arrives to help and deliver the baby. As teen escapes from UN security personal, he gives Keel his military badge and tells him that Captain Gould’s ship will give him and Isla sanctuary. However the crew of the submarine are initially hesitant to take them on board. Keel finds himself in the middle of a war and has to quickly shake off his naiveté.

Mini Review: I really expected a lot of nothing from this show, but I was rather pleasantly surprised. This is another submarine anime based upon an idea by Satoru Ozawa of “Blue Submarine No.6” and “Submarine 707” fame. The animation and designs are pretty good and the story is quite decent. The major problem I had was the shift between the seriousness of the war being fought and Keel’s bratiness and selfish behaviour. However you can mostly over look this flaw. The show doesn’t initially tell the audience too much about the Earth’s situation or the time frame (which we learn about in subsequent episodes) which can be a bit jarring, but I think this works quite well. There were a few plot holes and some unsolved mysteries such as what exactly was the Hammer of Eden, but I think it concluded rather nicely. Bandai didn’t make note of the fact on the cover that this show was in 16:9, so I got a bit of a pleasant surprise after popping the disc in player. Though not the best show I’ve seen, it’s pretty solid and fun. 7 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 18 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "Gurren Lagann the Movie: Childhood's End" and "Gurren Lagann the Movie: The Lights in the Sky are Stars"

Publisher: Aniplex USA (through Bandai Entertainment, USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Subtitles
Length: 112 mins (Movie 1), 126 mins (Movie 2)
Production Date: 2008 - 2009
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

Story Outline: 14 year old Simon is a digger in a village called Giha which is located underground. While is happy to expand the village by drilling holes, he isn’t what you’d call a respected member of society. Laws state that no one is allowed to have contact with the outside world and indeed many people believe the surface does not exist. But Kamina has other ideas, and ropes Simon into his "Gurren Brigade" in attempt to reach the surface. It fails, however a huge robot falls into the village from above causing panic among the villagers. Following and attacking the robot is a scantily clad young woman named Yoko who fires her large gun repeatedly at it. The task of bringing it down seems impossible, but Kamina and Simon take Yoko the partly buried “big face” Simon discovered previously and using another artefact he found, a small drill key, they activate the “big face” (which is actually a small robot), destroy the robot and escape to the surface. Once there, Simon and Kamina discover that the giant robots are called Gunmen and are piloted by creatures called Beastmen, who seem to enjoy terrorising humans who live on the surface. One thing leads to another, and the trio find themselves centre of a resistance group, gathering members along the way, stealing Gunmen from Beastmen and using them to liberate the surface world for humankind.

Mini Review: I really enjoyed the original TV series, except maybe for the inclusion of Nia. I mean the show basically was an antidote to the dullness of modern day anime, the moe stuff included, so why include the moeish Nia? Now I’ve never been a big fan of movie compilations of TV series at all, and these two films haven’t changed my mind. Sure, back in the late 1970’s these films made sense, as there was no home video market and some shows didn’t get repeated on TV. Now it makes a whole lot less sense as I can pretty much watch any show I like at anytime. The first film basically covers the first two arcs of the TV series, the second starts a little before the very end of the second arc. With so many characters that need to be introduced, there is no time for any development at all in the first film for any of the secondary characters. This is really the first film’s downfall. The second film takes away the major problem I had with the beginning of the third arc in the TV series; the fact the span of time and changes in the behaviour of the main characters was jarring. However the flow of the story is severely messed up. When you had a tense and way overtop climax at nearly the end of every episode, it works well in a TV serial format, but it doesn’t work well when edited together in a movie. The special edition versions come with extra discs; “Gurren Lagann Parallel Works”, which is composed of eight music videos. I original thought the first special edition set came with the original “Gurren Lagann Parallel Works” released in 2008, and the second move special edition came with “Gurren Lagann Parallel Works 2” which was released in early 2010. Unfortunately this was not the case. It’s “Gurren Lagann Parallel Works” spread over two discs. Even then the music videos aren’t all that great. I think I would have been better off importing the Japanese R2 DVD of “Gurren Lagann Parallel Works” , of which the last video contains most of the new animation from the prologue of the first film. I went to a lot of trouble to get these films (been trying several sources since July due to Aniplex USA’s dreadful distribution), and I don’t think it was worth it at all. 6.5 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 18 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "Battle in Outer Space (Great War in Space)"

Publisher: Columbia Pictures (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English Subtitles
Length: 90 mins
Production Date: 1959
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

Story Outline: In the year 1965, aliens from the planet Natarl destroy Earth’s orbiting space station, then go on to wreak havoc by lifting a bridge to cause a derailment as well as flooding a city and wrecking a boat. The united nations decide to defend Earth and take the offensive by attacking the alien’s moon base. But the aliens retaliate by brainwashing the Iranian delegate in an attempt to destroy the Earth’s trump card; a ray weapon. With that threat extinguished, a team of scientists board two rockets to the moon to destroy the alien base. But they attacked on the way by saucers and one of the astronauts is brainwashed to disable their weapons. Luckily he is subdued and the saucers are destroyed. On the moon, the team begins to search for the base, however the brainwashed astronaut escapes his restraints and proceeds to follow the alien’s orders to blow up the rockets.

Mini Review: Having read in a guide book on tokusatsu films that this was one of Toho’s more superior films, I decided to watch this disc as soon as it came in the mail. That book lied. It’s a fairly horrid film on a number of levels. First the story is pretty much non-existent. It’s just aliens attack; then we blow the crap out of them. We don’t get to know any of the cast and there’s some sort of pathetic excuse for a love story which is completely forgotten about five minutes later. The cast is completely expendable. You could have cardboard cut outs and it wouldn’t make a difference to the picture. The film was directed by Ishiro Honda (bizarrely credited as Inoshiro Honda on the disc), who of course directed just about every Toho sci-fi film from the original “Godzilla” in 1954 to “Terror of Godzilla” in 1975. This is definitely not his best work. As with all Toho films up to 1970, Eiji Tsuburaya did the special effects. Again, not his best work (there’s some crappy blue screen work at times), however there great moments such as Manhattan and the Golden Gate Bridge being destroyed. Another highlight is parts of Tokyo being sucked up by a saucer, but this only works well in a couple of shots. In some shots the buildings look rather unconvincing. To round out the usual trio of creators on Toho tokusatsu films of the period, Akira Ifukube provides a great score with lots of militaristic pieces of music. Topping off my annoyance with this film is Columbia Pictures’ shoddy work on this disc (which is part of a three disc “Toho Collection” set). The disc comes with the shorter English dub and original Japanese version, however the English subtitles on the disc are actually “dubtitles”. So we have sections on the Japanese version with no dialogue with subtitles popping up for dialogue which doesn’t exist. To add insult to injury, the translation is rather “loose” (even with my rather limited Japanese it was pretty darn obvious) and signs and titles are never translated. On a certain level the movie is fun, but it mostly just drags and seems really pointless overall. This probably one of the worst Toho films I’ve seen. I even like “Sayonara Jupiter” way more than this film. 4 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 18 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "Suzuka"

Publisher: Funimation (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English Subtitles
Length: 26 Episodes x 24 mins
Production Date: 2005
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

Story Outline: Yamato Akitsuki moves to Tokyo from Hiroshima to attend high school. He is living in an all-female dormitory with an attached bath house owned by his aunt. He stays there under the condition that he helps out cleaning the bath house. Yamato checks out the surrounding area the day before starting school. Wandering past the high school, he sees a young woman high jumping and is immediately taken by her beauty. Much to his shock he discovers the girl, Suzuka Asahina, is living in the room next to her. He attempts to woo her, but she rejects him. He begins a relationship with another girl, Honoka Sakurai, but due to Yamato’s blundering and his unresolved feelings for Suzuka the relationship ends on a sour note. A PE class revels that Yamato is a talented sprinter, and he courted by the track and field team. Though reluctant at first, he soon decides to join to make an impression on Suzuka.

Mini Review: This is a kind of paint by numbers shonen romance. The initial episodes were quite frustrating. Yamato is portrayed as some sort of loser, yet he’s good looking, is quite athletic, is dependable and understanding and a really nice guy and he has girls fighting over him the entire series. We also have the perverted friend, some over sexed collage girls who harass Yamato. Add in some typical shonen misunderstandings such as walking in on naked girls in the bath house and falling on top of girls etc. It’s all a bit tiring and dull really. What really gets me though is the expectation of the other characters that Yamato should know exactly what to do in a relationship when he clearly has never been in one. It’s like asking someone who’s never driven before to compete in a formula one race. Also irritating me greatly was Yamato’s sleaze of a friend, Yashunobu, was giving him the cheesiest advice. Why would any girl be interested in such a sleazy kid? One episode which really annoyed me was the one where pop idol Shirakawa Nana (a friend of Honoka) tells off Yamato for not being a good enough boyfriend to Honoka, even though he’s been pretty exceptional to her. That really, really pissed me off. Suzuka herself is pretty unlikable character. She’s constantly criticising Yamato or is angry with him. Sure she occasionally shows her sweet side, but I found nothing really desirable or sympathetic about her. Then again it was really had to feel any sympathy for Yamato, as he’s such a clueless idiot at times. In fact either the sweet and quite Honoka or the tall, shapely, leggy, curvy, athletic, positive and fun Miki Hashiba (whom Yamato has absolutely no feelings for, yet is probably the most desirable girl in the series) are way better girlfriend material than Suzuka. So much better. The series did improve a bit when you got past those initial episodes, but it was pretty bland overall and frustrating. I can only give it 5 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 18 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Second Season"

Publisher: Bandai Entertainment (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English Subtitles
Length: 14 Episodes x 24 mins
Production Date: 2009
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

Story Outline: This “second season” is actually part of a 2009 renewal of the show and contains episodes that were slotted into the existing 2006 TV series. The first episode has Mikuru transporting Kyon back two years to the incident of what could be the source of Haruri’s obsession with aliens, time travellers and ESPers. Along the way the older Mikuru and Nagato helping along the way. Then after Haruri forces everyone to join her on a gigantic “to do” list in the final two weeks of the summer holidays, it becomes apparent that have been repeating the same two weeks over and over again. It’s up to Kyon to break them out of this cycle and appease Haruri so she believes that she has done everything she wants to during summer. The final arc involves the creation of “The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00”. However Haruri’s ideas for the movie, such as talking cats and super powers, begin appearing in real life. They must find way to stop Haruri’s fantasies taking over reality.

Mini Review: Admittedly I wasn’t the biggest fan of the original series. Once you reveal the gimmick and play the show in chronological order, it’s not all that interesting, especially stuff like “Remote Island Syndrome” arc. However the show did really shine at a number of points and was pretty clever and pretty much succeeded in what it wanted to do. The big problem I had was the fact there was a number of elements in the show which referenced the novels (none released commercially in English at the time of the show’s US release) which were never explained in the TV series. Sorry, I’m not going to read a book so I can understand a TV show. If it’s not in the show, then that’s bad writing in my book and it alienates new people coming into the franchise who haven’t or have no desire to read the novels. Some of the little unexplained references are solved in this second season which is nice.

It’s odd, I kind of had more fun with this season than the first. I also didn’t mind the infamous “Endless Eight” episodes. Contrary to what I had heard, they aren’t the same episode over and over. The animation, clothes the characters wear, camera angles and a lot of other little changes are different every time. However as the time period in each episode covers a fortnight, a bit more variation could have been included in each episode. Towards the end of the arc I became a little annoyed as no progress was being made by Kyon. At least they could have shown him trying something different every time to end the time loop. The final arc about the making of the movie was fun, but Haruri just becomes more and more unpleasant in every episode, to the point of me wishing her dead. She really needs her arse kicked. That kind of spoiled the last arc for me. Comparing Bandai’s massive special edition of the first season with its additional discs in TV broadcast order, bonus CDs, cosplay items and an intricate chipboard box, with what we got for the second season is amusing. It’s just one cheap looking five disc collection pack with a bonus two track CD. Oh, how the US industry has fallen in such a short time. I was quite surprised with this show. It’s a lot better than people have been saying. 7.5 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 17 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "Moonlight Mile"

Publisher: ADV Films (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English Subtitles
Length: 12 Episodes x 24 mins
Production Date: 2007
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes (Funimation re-release)

Story Outline: Mountain climbing buddies Gorou Saruwatari and Jack "Lostman" Woodbridge finally achieve their goal of climbing Mount Everest. There on that clear day, they witness the International Space Agency’s orbiting space station passing overhead. Then and there they decide to become astronauts. Lostman goes back to his job of being a US Navy pilot, but almost doesn’t make it due to second Gulf war. Goro takes a different approach and becomes a construction worker, gaining licences for a multitude of related machinery. Both are soon on their way into space, however on very different paths.

Mini Review: Seriously, why don’t they just call this show “Astronauts who like to Root”? I believe this show is from a seinen comic anthology, and it shows. All those bored salarymen who want to escape their dull corporate and family life, huh? Dreaming of being an astronaut and buggering everything with a vagina, huh? This stuff is quite common in comics for that demographic, but I got damned sick of it. In the end I was like “Oh Christ, he’s fucking her too!”. I can’t recall any woman in the show not being boned by either one of the leads. Sure the sex scenes are really very short (10 seconds or less at times) and weren’t usually gratuitous, it was distracting and didn’t add to the plot (other than showing the two leads are sex maniacs). While the sexual conquest stuff wasn’t my thing, I was loving the space drama. Surprisingly it’s treated fairly realistic. However there are some elements which didn’t ring true, especially with equipment failures and spacecraft used. Judging from comments made by one astronauts, this show is supposed to be set in the 2020’s or so, but then the second Gulf war is mentioned. It was a bit confusing as to what the actual time period was. I couldn’t help but dislike both leads. Goro is an overconfident Japanese bogan who roots anything he can lay his paws on. Lostman is also an overconfident jerk, but even more so than Goro. There isn’t much here at all which makes him the tiniest bit likable. One of the things ADV didn’t translate fully was the title card which in part says “1st Season”. So not only does this show end abruptly, the very first scene of the first episode makes no bloody sense when viewing all three DVDs. I really can’t see Funimation releasing the second half of this. Bit of a shame really. However the hard sci-fi seems to have been dumped for more fantastical elements. 6.5 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 17 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "Glass Fleet"

Publisher: Funimation (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English Subtitles
Length: 26 Episodes x 24 mins
Production Date: 2006
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

Story Outline: The start of a war begins in a far flung galaxy where Holy Emperor Vetti Lunard Sforza de Roselait has to fight off the People's Army, led by a noble named Michel Volban de Cabelle. However the People’s Army are no match for the Holy Imperial Army. A saviour comes in the disguise of a space pirate called Cleo. He and his ship which bears the crest of the old Royal Family attacks and forcibly takes control of Michel’s ship. An uneasy partnership begins and Cleo reluctantly joins the People’s Army to fight against the oppressors in his nearly undefeatable glass-like battleship. But both Cleo and Vetti unwittingly share a common bond.

Mini Review: There are a lot of great ideas in this show and the plot is quite good. The big problem is the execution. First I think the show does take a while to reach full speed. Once it does it’s a decent ride, but then falters. Some of the characters are bit clichéd (did we really need the maid?) and some have annoying catchphrases and traits which get really old fast. The animation quality also takes a massive dip mid-way through. Lots of really off model animation. I note that a fair wack of the animators are Chinese. Not saying they're bad, but even the Korean animators are top notch and beat the Japanese at their game now days (OK, maybe I am saying Chinese animators are crap...). The designs are pretty good, though the inconstancies in technology really got up my nose. Shoji Kawamori and Kazutaka Miyatake were the mecha designers, and they have produced some quite good work here. Summing up, yeah it’s like “Rose of Versailles” and “Legend of Galactic Heroes” mashed together, but nowhere as good as either show. Mediocre with flashes of greatness occasionally. 6 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 17 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

How to make a Key/Kyoto Animation show

I have just finished “Clannad: After Story”. Look, I really, really tried to give this, Air and Kanon a fair hearing, but in the end I couldn’t. I love stuff like "To Heart" and other slice of life shows, but I just think these Key/Kyoto Animation shows are so poorly written and conform to the same basic plot elements every time (the artwork is lovely though). You could probably make you own anime using the basic plot elements of all three shows;

1). Setting must be a small quiet town
First and foremost, you have a dull but pretty looking setting. A small Japanese town, but big enough to have a high school and hospital. And maybe a family restaurant, where the waitresses wear maid-like uniforms.

2). Must have sarcastic male lead
Very, very important. Must be a bit of a no-hoper, maybe down on his luck, but no loser. Must be sarcastic as hell, but friendly to ALL women. Tragic and/or difficult background a bonus. Must not have a girlfriend, but must be quite good looking.

3). Must have lead infantile girl with annoying catchphrases
Extremely important. In fact the key (no pun intended) to the show. This character is central to the plot of the show. The character must be non-threatening, cute, small, girly, grossly infantile compared to her actual age and in constant need of help. From our sarcastic male lead. Most important of all is that stupid catchphrases and annoying traits can be used in lieu of any character development.

4). Lots of troubled girls who need help from a special boy (i.e. sarcastic male lead)
Another very important element. Just like the overdone harem genre, there must be a core number of females, each with their own distinct personality and idiosyncrasies who interact with sarcastic male lead on a daily basis. Just like infantile girl with annoying catchphrases, troubled girls can have stupid catchphrases and annoying traits that can be used in lieu of any character development. It is quite important to try to make most of the troubled girls as non-threatening as possible. Even the ones which appear to be threating are in fact sweetness and light underneath. Most importantly troubled girls must have deep dark psychological problems that only sarcastic male lead can help with. sarcastic male lead will go to any length to help, but usually will not become romantically linked with any of the troubled girls.

5). Mysterious illnesses
Usually this is coupled with infantile girl with annoying catchphrases. In NO circumstances must the audience know what this illness is. Parent or carer of child with mysterious illness must never be seen to make any real attempt to get medical treatment for the child, nor place them in hospital. In all cases it is important that no one inside or outside the family makes any suggestion that the sick child in question gets any medical treatment regardless of how much the child suffers or how close to death the child is.

6). The forgotten past
This is usually the sarcastic male lead’s domain. The rule here is that sarcastic male lead must have forgotten memories of usually a traumatic nature involving one or several of the troubled girls, but not necessarily infantile girl with annoying catchphrases. However many people, mostly adults, will have full knowledge of what happened to sarcastic male lead and will go to extreme lengths to hide this from him. Even when it is blatantly clear that sarcastic male lead is suffering and the pain could be stopped by telling him about his forgotten past, everyone will refuse to tell him.

7). Supernatural occurrences
Another important element. In almost all cases this involves sarcastic male lead and infantile girl with annoying catchphrases, but also one or several plot threads including at least one troubled girl. Supernatural occurrences can have no hint of malice whatsoever. The supernatural occurrences can be as illogical and stupid as possible and are often tied into sarcastic male lead’s forgotten past.

8). Characters who make stupid, illogical decisions
Regardless of then offers of help, and the wide range of family, friends and others who can provide assistance, characters must always pick the outcome that delivers the most tragic circumstances. For example if sarcastic male lead requires money to look after a sick person, they must proudly refuse this money as well as any offers of help. Usually tragedy is the outcome, even when it is blatantly obvious to sarcastic male lead that he is in dire need of help.

9). Relationships must be oddly platonic with no hints of fan service or S-E-X
Despite the fact these shows are marketed to, specifically created for and watched by young males, there will never, ever be any gratuitous panty or breast shots. The show will just about be sanitised of all fanservice. Despite the relationships developed the show, there will be (almost) absolutely no direct references to sexual intercourse of any kind. It always important to make sarcastic male lead as seemingly uninterested in sex as possible (even if his best male friend is a complete pervert). In fact make it look like he has interest in women only as friends, despite the fact he is a heterosexual teenage boy with raging hormones. Even if sarcastic male lead does have a relationship with a woman, only kissing can be shown on the very, very rare occasion. But it must be sweet innocent stuff, none of that French kissing stuff. Depict the sexual relationships in the show as if you were making for an ultra-conservative Christian TV network.

Add in tons of merchandise, and you have a sure fire hit. God, I really don't get these shows... Honestly I didn't mind the first series of Clannad. That was an alright show.

Video Backlog: "Riding Bean"

Publisher: AnimEigo (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English Subtitles
Length: 48 mins
Production Date: 1989
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

Story Outline: In Chicago’s underworld, Bean Bandit is the man you need to make a quick getaway. His customised Roadbuster car has numerous special features including armour plating, bullet proof windows and the ability to drive sideways. After a bloody robbery, Bean states he no longer wants the crook’s business as he used a child as his partner in the robbery. The next day Bean is woken by his partner Rally Vincent and the pair soon discover a client at their door. A man claiming to be a family guard for the Grimwood’s, a rich family who owns a large corporation, brings in an unconscious Chelsea Grimwood, daughter of the president of the company. He claims that she was kidnapped and asks them to return her to the Grimwood estate. However before they can leave, Bean and Rally’s hideout is shot up by gunmen which in the process kills the guard. Both of them decide to return the girl and claim their deliver fee, however when arrive they are fired upon by the estates guards, some with really heavy artillery. Bean and Rally soon discover they have been framed for kidnapping Chelsea and even the police are after them. Bean realises it was the two robbers he he worked for the previous night, Semmerling and Carrie, and sets about getting even and settling the score.

Mini Review: I originally bought this on the dual Madox-01/Riding Bean laserdisc many, many moons ago. I don’t actually recall liking it all that much. I think I thought it was just another violence filled piece of trash. The kind that Manga Entertainment (UK and Australia) were pushing back in the 1990’s. I think over time I’ve grown to appreciate it. Sure, this is Kenichi Sonoda doing “The Blues Brothers” mixed with a bunch of B-grade 1970’s and 1980’s car chase flicks, but it is entertaining as hell. The story goes that this was meant to be a OVA series, but Sonoda had a fallout with Toshiba EMI and everything fell to bits. He even made a manga about “Riding Bean”, but it got shelved and was never completed. However we did get the “Gunsmith Cats” manga and OVA series out it. Semmerling is obviously a prototype of Goldie and Rally is of Indian decent in Gunsmith Cats, however Bean remains the same. This OVA has some really B-grade and exploitative elements to it such as Semmerling’s not so subtle paedophilic overtones, but it’s still quite fun. Really over the top and quite bloody as well as some great action sequences and a good plot. I’m really surprised at how I really like the OVA this time around. 7 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 21 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "Metal Skin Panic: Madox-01"

Publisher: AnimEigo (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English Subtitles
Length: 50 mins
Production Date: 1987
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

Story Outline: An experimental robot co-developed between the US military and the Japanese Self Defence Force, is being transported on a highway. Unfortunately an accident occurs on a overpass destroying the truck transporting it and flinging the robot into the back of a tech student’s truck below. When the student returns to the garage he is working in, he shows fellow student and friend Kouji Sugimoto the strange box which he has found in his truck; actually the untransformed robot. Kouji convinces him to help him take the metal unit back to his apartment. After discovering the manual, which he doesn’t read, the box suddenly unfolds into a robot and stupidly Kouji ends up trapped inside the robot and ends up riding around the city occasionally destroying stuff. Before Kouji stupidly got trapped in the robot, called Madox-01, he received a note from his former girlfriend, Onose Haruo, whom he recently broke up with. She wants meet up with him at the observation deck in building downtown before she heads overseas to study. Pity he’s stuck in the Madox-01. Still he plans to see her, robot and all. However the military are on to Kouji and wish to recover their robot. In particular Lt. Kilgore who wants to blast the hell out of the machine as he lost to it in practice run. He doesn’t care if a civilian is in it or not. Luckily for Kouji part the Japanese/American developer of the robot project, Ellie Kusumoto, wants to save Kouji and the machine.

Mini Review: OK, let’s face it, this mid 1980’s OVA which isn’t all that original. You have the stupid kid with the “appropriated” military mecha, hot girlfriend, battle in a city environment and loonie military man who wants to destroy it. Now essentially isn’t that the plot to “Megazone 23”? I really don’t think the creators of this OVA thought they were making anything substantial. It’s fun, nothing more. The only real problem I had was that I wish Kouji was a fraction brighter, and that Kilgore wasn’t such a cliché. Shinji Aramaki who unfortunately is now known more for those soulless “Appleseed” CGI films than his old work, wrote the story of this OVA as well as directed. The character designs look really familiar, however they come from Hideki Tamura who really hasn’t done anything else besides key animation in OVAs such as “Leda: The Fantastic Adventure of Yohko” and the fantastic opening animation from “Prefectural Earth Defense Force”. Hideaki Anno was also a key animator on this OVA. Not brilliant, has aged substantially, the plot has some holes and it’s silly. But it is fun. And as I have the 15th anniversary edition from AnimEigo (15 years since they released the original subbed VHS back in 1989), it comes with really funny interview with CEO Robert J. Woodhead who’s a complete laugh. When asked “is there anything you want to share with the fans”, he pretends to take down his pants! Great little extra. Also included is the original video extra from the Japanese release which has the JSDF going through mock combat exercises. 6.5 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 21 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "Jikuu Keisatsu Wecker D-02"

Publisher: DVV (Kobi Co Ltd, Japan)
Format: Region 1 and 2 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with English Subtitles
Length: 9 Episodes total; 3 x 50 mins (Episodes 1, 4 and 9), 6 x 25 mins (Episodes 2, 3, 5 to 8)
Production Date: 2002
Currently in Print (as of writing): No

Story Outline: Due to crimes being committed by time travellers, a future Earth government set up Wecker, an organisation which deals with such crimes. In several time periods dating back to the feudal period, Dimension Detectives are placed undercover to deal with disturbances which may alter history. Kana Godoh has recently arrived from the future as a Dimension Detective and takes her place undercover as a high school student. However Mei Sakaki, also a Dimension Detective undercover as a high school girl, takes a dislike to her straight away. Despite their rocky relationship, they team up together to stop a dimension crime where someone is sucking the blood out of young female victims. However not all goes to plan as Mei disobeys orders and dives in through a porthole to stop the criminal and ends up have flashbacks to the death of her mother, killed in the same way as the current victims. Kana saves the day and after the case is solved both of them become friend and are drawn to each other due the fact both of their parents met violent ends.

Mini Review: As you may have guessed by the cover of the DVD, this show is all about the girls. There’s six leads and they all wear uniforms with short skirts and high healed boots much like this;
Let’s see, pretty Asian girls, uniforms and boots. Gee, why was I attracted to this show, I wonder? Before we dive into descriptions of the lovely creatures which inhabit this world, I should probably talk about the history of the show itself. This TV show is a follow up to a 2001 direct to video independent show called “Wecker”. It pretty much has the same plot as this except there were two girls and it was much more your traditional Tokusatsu show with tons of effects, a transformation sequence and fighting sequences. A couple of sequels were also produced in the following years including “Jikuu Keisatsu Wecker Signa” which has more in common with the original show than “D-02”. This show focuses squarely on the girls rather than any traditional Tokusatsu show elements. There are six girls in total;
Kana Godoh, who is played by Yui Ichikawa, now a big star in TV dramas. Kana’s cover is a high school girl. Her parents were dimension detectives too, but died while on a case. Also she’s a damn babe.
Mei Sakaki, who is played by Manami Ono, is apparently a popular model. Mei is a rather surly and rough detective with a mysterious past. Her cover is also a school girl. Also she’s a damn babe.
Saki Hyuuga is played by Yuuko Nishimura. Saki is the team leader and surprisingly sees a lot more action than other cast members. Her cover is a TV news reporter. Yuuko seemingly does all her own stunts and can be seen frequently doing cartwheels in action sequences. Notably she is the only member of the cast who wears pants. The other five girls have short skirts or short shorts. While possibly the least attractive of the six girls (despite having an amazing bottom), she’s still a damn babe.
Ami Murata (or Amu-chan) is played by Yuuko Ogura. Yes, her cover is a maid for a wealthy politician. See, all otaku are catered for here. Amu is apparently some sort of genius. I know, it’s a long stretch. Ami is constantly eating snacks. She even eats some dried dog food in the very first scene she’s in. Though I’m not much into the childish kind of character presented here, she’s still a damn babe.
Haruka Nozomi (on the right, Amu is on the left) is played by Sayaka Morimoto. Haruka’s cover is a nurse (see, a fetish for everyone). That’s about it really. Oh, and she’s a damn babe.
Lastly we have Erre-2210-e played by Sakuragi Chikako. Erre is an android and is firmly in the Ruri Hoshino mould. Except that Ruri at least has some sort of personality. Erre’s a bit of a blank slate. Most of the time she is hooked up to a computer and rarely goes outside. Despite this, she’s a damn babe.

We also have Kent Kiba played by “Kamen Rider 555” star Kohei Murakami. His cover is a police officer, but since he’s male, no one really cares. OK I’m joking. But hey let’s face it, it’s bleedingly obvious this show is all about the girls, most of whom are indeed models. The show for the most part is pretty cheap, so special effects and even the transformations in battle suits have been cut (which was a key element of the previous show). So at points it ends up looking like some lame Japanese TV drama with a bit of sci-fi and cute but poorly acting models mixed in. As a result some of the early episodes really suffer. A two part arc which is nothing put a battle in front of two 44 gallon drums and a CGI spaceship really tested my patience. However as the series progress it becomes a little more than a half way decent show. The ending was surprisingly quite good. The acting is pretty bad at times and a lot of the action sequences involving girls (expect Kohei Murakami as she is really quite athletic) are lame as hell. Probably the only thing keeping this show from being dreadful is the quality of the latter episodes and naturally the pretty girls. A lot of the writing is particularly awful and at times I couldn’t figure out what was going on or why. Things are never explained properly early on, and it’s only well into the series that the audience is told where the girls are from.

The Japanese DVDs not only have rather good English subtitles, but are coded for region 1 and 2. Obviously they were going for the US market here, however the show never materialised there. In fact it was licensed by Cricket Productions back in 2002, who also have the US rights to “Masked Angel Rosetta” and “Vanny Knights”, similar Tokusatsu shows with girls (according to August Ragone), but with higher concepts and bigger budgets. Unfortunately they could never find any distributors for the shows, so they’re just rotting away in vault somewhere. Apparently they tried to get Media Blasters to release all three, but they weren’t interested. The Japanese DVDs look a bit cheap with rather bland rental type cases (despite the fact it says “Sell Only” on the slicks) and they also come with collectors cards (one for each volume, six in total, I’m missing the card for volume two) and messages from the girls on each volume. Unfortunately unlike the episodes, the messages aren’t subtitled.

Seeing as the show was out of print, I bought the discs second hand, at about less than a third of the ¥5,800 price tag as well. Not sure if it was money well spent. However it is pretty hard to find any commercially released Tokusatsu TV series on DVD which are subtitled or dubbed. I think I can count the number of titles on two hands. Anyway, this one gets 6 out of 10 from me. Not all that great, but it has its moments.
By the way, did I mention the cast were complete babes?

Remaining Backlog: 21 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).