Alan Takahashi's

ANIME POCKET GUIDE


Dangaioh

Title: Dangaioh                                         (OAVs)  
Cast:                                                              
  Pai Thunder ................................ Naoko Matsui   
  Roll Kulan ................................. Akira Kamiya    
Description:                                                       
  A group of 4 young people with various ESPer abilities are told  
  that they are the new weapon created by Professor Tarson.  In    
  reality, they were all kidnapped and their memories erased.      
  Together, they can control a new superweapon/robot: Dangaioh.    
  This is the story of how each discovers his/her past while being 
  pursued by the "Bunker"...a space-based criminal conglomerate.   
  A typical giant-robot story with unusual characters.             
US Release by: US Renditions (subtitled)                           
Rating: RECOMMENDED                                                

Index...

Dirty Pair

Title: Dirty Pair                           (FILM,OAV,OAVs,TV)  
Cast:                                                              
  Kei ......................................... Kyoko Tongu   
  Yuri ...................................... Saeko Shimazu   
  Muhgi ................................... Naoki Makishima    
  Samara  (Affair of Nolandia) ............. Yoshiko Fujita
  Yurugis (Affair of Nolandia) ............... Banjou Ginga
  Musuni  (Affair of Nolandia) .................. Keiko Han 
  Orun    (Affair of Nolandia) ............... Masaru Ikeda  
Description:                                                       
  If you're in **BIG** trouble, call on the World Welfare Work     
  Association or WWWA.  They can send out a team of highly trained 
  and capable agents called Trouble Consultants who can solve your 
  problem.  Unless the team they send you is the "Dirty Pair"...   
  (I *really* meant "Lovely Angels").  These two will fix your     
  problem, but leave a lot of collateral damage...but its NEVER    
  THEIR FAULT!!  Entertaining comedy in the James Bond style.      
US Release by: Streamline Pictures (dubbed)                        
Rating: RECOMMENDED                                                

Index...

Dominion

Title: Dominion                                         (OAVs)  
Cast:                                                              
  Leona Ozeki ................................ Hiromi Tsuru    
  Megane .................................... Shigeru Chiba    
  The Chief ................................. Ichiroo Nagai    
  Annapuma ..................................... Yuhko Mita   
  Unipuma ................................. Michie Tomizawa   
Description:                                                       
  Crime has gone rampant.  (So has the pollution, but nobody       
  really notices. :-))  In order to combat this crime wave, the    
  police arm themselves with...TANKS!  Now, it's the good guys     
  (the Tank Police) vs. the bad guys (Buaku and his gang).  Who    
  will win?  Who SHOULD win?  A comedy from the creater of         
  Appleseed.                                                       
US Release by: US Manga Corps (subtitled)                          
UK Release by: Island World Communications (subtitled)             
Rating: RECOMMENDED                                                

Index...

Doraemon

Title: Doraemon                                           (TV)  
Cast:                                                              
Description:                                                       
  This is a kids' show about a cat/robot/oversized possum (take    
  your pick...even though he's *supposed* to be a cat) called      
  Doraemon.  He lives with a schoolboy whose life is pretty normal.
  In this group of friends, there is a local girl and a bully.     
  Their lives are pretty normal for their age (elementary school), 
  until Doraemon gets involved.  Doraemon looks like a blue and    
  white otter with a hormone problem.  He has a pouch on his tummy 
  which can produce just about *anything*.  Shrinking guns, magic  
  pools and a futuristic alarm system are among the things that    
  he's pulled out of that pouch.  Bizarre things start happening,  
  particularly if the local bully gets his hands on the gadgets.   
  The series is broken up into 2 15-minute segments per episode    
  and is pretty much light entertainment.                          
Rating: RECOMMENDED                                                

Index...

Dragonball (Z)

Title: Dragonball (Z)                                (TV,FILM)  
Cast:                                                              
  Gokuu Son ................................. Masako Nozawa    
  Gohan Son ................................. Masako Nozawa    
  Tenshinhan ............................. Hirotaka Suzuoki    
  Buruma ..................................... Hiromi Tsuru    
  Vegita  (Dragonball Z) ..................... Ryo Horikawa  
  Piccolo (Dragonball Z) .................. Toshio Furukawa   
  Trunks  (Dragonball Z) .................... Takeshi Kusao   
  Kuririn (Dragonball Z) .................... Mayumi Tanaka   
   ....................... Shigeru Chiba    
   ....................... Ichiroo Nagai    
Description: (by Curtis Hoffmann)                                  
  This series is about Gokuu Son, a were-monkey whose original     
  quest was to find the 7 Dragonballs.  It is said that once all 7 
  Dragonballs are put together, a great dragon will appear and     
  will grant 1 wish, after which the Dragonballs will scatter.     
  There are actually two series so far:                            
     Dragonball - This followed Gokuu on his original quest. There 
       are lots of silly gags and toilet humor, as well as some    
       great character acting and pathos.  Gokuu Son is based on   
       the Monkey King legend, but is more naive and innocent than 
       he is strong and valorous (which is saying a LOT).  As his  
       quest continues, he picks up lots of friends and enemies,   
       which keeps the storyline fresh.  Also, upon the completion 
       of a quest, it must begin again since the Dragonballs are   
       scattered, leading to new & even more bizarre adventures.   
       Most villains belong to the "Red Ribbon" organization of    
       which the most deadly assassin is...Kao Pai Pai.            
     Dragonball Z - This differs from the 1st series in that Gokuu 
       disappeared into a strange realm and emerged as a super-    
       Saiyajin.  Combat is now emphasized rather than the toilet  
       humor and story of the last series.  In recent storylines,  
       the plot centers on 4 androids from the future who came to  
       kill Gokuu and fights everyone who tries to protect him.    
       Cell, one of the 4 androids, absorbs 2 of the others to     
       become capable of destroying the universe.  Gohan, Gokuu's  
       son, is the only one who can stop him since he has been     
       shown to be more powerful -- and faster -- than his father. 
  This is arguably one of the most popular (and money making)      
  anime TV series in Japan today.                                  
Rating: RECOMMENDED                                                

Index...

Everyday is Sunday

Title: Everyday is Sunday                               (OAVs)  
  aka: Mainichi ga Nichiyoubi                                      
Cast:                                                              
Description:                                                       
  During a heavy downpour, a girl is running away from a boy.  She 
  crosses a street, not seeing the oncoming truck.  He does, and   
  pushes her away...bloodily injuring his hand.  Frightened, she   
  runs away from the scene.  Much later, the girl, whose name is   
  Yumi Takeshita, has grown up to become a rookie police officer.  
  On her first day on duty, the overeager Yumi hears a scream and  
  finds a purse-snatching victim.  She sees a heavyset man running 
  away and gives chase.  She catches him and with her strength and 
  combat skills, flattens him.  Not only has she caught the wrong  
  guy, but the scar on his hand shows that he's Tohru Ichidaiji,   
  the young man who saved her so many years ago.  To make it up to 
  him, Yumi goes on a date with him.  During the date, Tohru-san   
  uses his magician skills to catch the real purse-snatcher, but   
  he has an older brother...who bumps into Yumi.  This is a very   
  funny action series with a slight romantic touch.  By Yuuzo      
  Takada, the creator of "3x3 Eyes".  Note that the anime Yumi is  
  a redhead while the manga Yumi is blond...                       
Rating: RECOMMENDED                                                

Index...

Etranger

Title: Etranger                                         (FILM)  
Cast:                                                              
  Remy Shimoda ................................ Mami Koyama   
  Bundoru ................................. Kaneto Shiozawa   
Description:                                                       
  Remy Shimoda is in a hurry.  She's on her way to a reunion with  
  the other members of the Go Shogun team, and she's late.  A      
  police action with some robbers gets in her way, so she runs the 
  robbers off the road.  Her vision blurs and she gets into an     
  accident.  The movie splits into two with one plot following     
  Remy's slow decline at the hospital with the Go Shogun members   
  and former enemies at her side, and her experience in a strange  
  city where she, and the rest of the team have their deaths       
  foretold.  Remy, herself, is plagued by visions of her death,    
  and visitations from a threatening girl and her panther-like cat.
  The temple at the center of the city is the key, so the team     
  sets out to battle their way into it.  Based on the giant robot  
  series "Go Shogun", this is a story focusing on Remy, the female 
  member of the team.  Remy's mother was a French prostitute, so   
  Remy has a tainted and confused past.  This aspect is played     
  upon in the movie where we see an older Remy, 30 years after the 
  "Go Shogun" series on the one hand, and the younger Remy in the  
  city.  Whether the city is a dream or not is left ambiguous...   
  NOTE: "Etranger" is French for "stranger" and refers to Remy's   
    status as an outsider...                                       
  NOTE: The "Go Shogun" series was dubbed and released in the US   
    as 1/2 of the "Macron 1" TV series                             
Rating: RECOMMENDED                                                

Index...

Future Boy Conan

Title: Future Boy Conan                                   (TV)  
  aka: Mirai Shounen Conan                                         
Cast:                                                              
Description: (by Enrique Conty)                                    
  In the aftermath of a war fought by magnetic weapons which       
  caused massive earthquakes, a young and spunky boy naned Conan   
  gets involved in a grand adventure.  Conan lives in a world that 
  is mostly oceans; the major land masses having been destroyed    
  by the weapons of the great war.  He meets a young girl named    
  Lana, and they eventually foil the plans of the city-state of    
  Industria which wants to regain the lethal weapons.  This 1979   
  26-episode liberal adaptation of Alexander Key's "THE INCREDIBLE 
  TIDE" has been described as director Hayao Miyazaki's prototype  
  for this later film "Laputa: Castle in the Sky".                 
Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED                                         

Index...

The Five Star Stories

Title: The Five Star Stories                             (OAV)  
Cast:                                                              
  Amaterasu .................................. Ryo Horikawa    
  Ladios Sopp ................................ Ryo Horikawa    
  Fatima Lachesis .......................... Maria Kawamura     
  Fatima Clotho ................................ Rei Sakuma   
  Vord Bewlard ............................. Norio Wakamoto   
  Colus III ............................... Kazuhiko Inouye 
  Torohra .................................. Issei Futamata 
  Peosche Nomien .............................. Shoo Hayami  
  Grand Duke Yuuba .......................... Ichiroo Nagai    
Description:                                                       
  Among the 5 star systems known as the Joker Systems, there are   
  many kingdoms.  There are knights within the kingdoms and the    
  knights control giant robots called Headliners.  Bound to the    
  knights are fatimas.  Human in appearance and mind, the fatimas  
  (mostly female) possess expanded physical capabilities and make  
  it possible to control a Headliner.  Fatimas cannot reproduce.   
  All this is overseen by Emperor Amaterasu and his Mirage Knights.
  Rather than grasp at the epic proportions of Mamoru Nagano's     
  manga, this OAV tells a simpler story of the fulfillment of two  
  fatimas and, perhaps, questions their traditional roles...       
Rating: RECOMMENDED                                                

Index...

Golgo 13 (The Professional)

Title: Golgo 13 (The Professional)          (FILM)  
Cast:                                                              
  Golgo 13 ................................ Tetsurou Sagawa   
  Leonard Dawson ............................... Goroo Naya    
  Laura Dawson ................................ Reiko Mutoo    
  Cindy/Doctor Zed ......................... Yoshiko Fujita   
  Rita .................................... Kumiko Takizawa  
  General T. Jefferson .................. Kiyoshi Kobayashi  
Description:                                                       
  Golgo 13 is an assassin for hire.  He is the best in that once   
  hired, he will kill the target no matter who it is.  It doesn't  
  matter how much protection is around the target.  Golgo 13 is    
  also a completely amoral man with few redeeming qualities.  In   
  this film, one of Golgo 13's targets is the son of a very power- 
  ful man...who sends everything he can after the assassin.  The   
  suspense level is very high throughout the film, though the      
  mood is very dark.  Computer graphics are also used a lot.       
US Release by: Streamline Pictures (dubbed)                        
Rating: RECOMMENDED                                                

Index...

Legend of the Galactic Heroes

Title: Legend of the Galactic Heroes               (OAVs,FILM)  
Cast:                                                              
  Paul Von Oberstein ...................... Kaneto Shiozawa   
Description:                                                       
  The story of two mighty space empires is told from the viewpoint 
  of two 'heroes': Rheinhardt Von Museal, Admiral of the Galactic  
  Empire, and Yang Wenli, Admiral from the Alliance of Free        
  Planets.  Both men are military and tactical geniuses and are    
  born survivors.  The ambitious Rheinhart has the goal of getting 
  enough power to be able to free his sister from her obligation   
  as one of the Emperor's Court ladies.  He is fairly ruthless in  
  this which is tempered only by his aide: Siegfried Kircheis.     
  Yang is a pacifistic man who, when necessary, will do his duty   
  even if it means fighting against an enemy fleet (since he is a  
  *soldier*, after all).  The drama between these 2 men is played  
  out against a backdrop of great space battles, inept commanders, 
  frightened soldiers, personal relationships, corrupt politicians 
  and the workings of two space empires at war with each other.    
  This is a space opera on a very grand scale.  Note that there is 
  a very heavy Prussian influence on the series, especially        
  present in the Imperial uniforms...                              
Rating: RECOMMENDED                                                

Index...

Gall Force

Title: Gall Force                                       (OAVs)  
Cast:                                                              
  Eluza  (Eternal Story) ................... Maria Kawamura     
  Pony   (Eternal Story) .................. Michie Tomizawa   
  Exanon (Eternal Story) .................. Toshio Furukawa   
  Lufy ....................................... Hiromi Tsuru    
  Catty .................................... Naoko Watanabe   
  Shildy (Gall Force 2&3) ..................... Mayumi Shoo   
  Spea   (Gall Force 2&3) ................... Yuko Mizutani   
  Amy    (Gall Force 2&3) .................... Chieko Honda   
Description:                                                       
  A great war between two interstellar powers: the Paranoid and    
  the Solenoid.  Among all the destruction, the crew of the        
  Starleaf are told to go to Chaos.  The Starleaf manages to       
  escape the destruction, but, ultimately, all but one of the      
  survivors are killed in true "10 little indians" tradition.      
  Parts 2 and 3 of the series deals with a revived Lufy and         
  another group of Solenoids 10 years later.                       
US Release by: US Manga Corps (subtitled)                          
Rating: RECOMMENDED                                                

Index...

Gall Force: Earth Chapter & New Century series

Title: Gall Force: Earth Chapter series                 (OAVs)  
Title: Gall Force: New Century series                   (OAVs)  
Cast:                                                              
  Soundy ..................................... Naoko Matsui   
  Melody ....................................... Eriko Hara    
  Score ...................................... Hiromi Tsuru    
  Anne ...................................... Yuko Mizutani   
  Catty .................................... Naoko Watanabe   
  Mitty ...................................... Chieko Honda    
  Fortin ................................... Maria Kawamura     
  Sally ................................... Michie Tomizawa   
Description:                                                       
  In the near future, man has found the capsule containing the     
  knowledge of Solenoid technology.  Humanity created the MMEs     
  which turned on humanity and created an Earthly wasteland via    
  the nuclear weapons of the superpowers.  Now, human rebel groups 
  fight against the MMEs to reclaim their planet.  The mood here   
  is very "Terminator" like.  "Rhea Gall Force" was actually the   
  first OAV using this setting.  "New Century" continues the       
  story a century later.                                           
								   
  Note: After "Rhea Gall Force", the "Earth Chapter" series turned 
    pedestrian.  Starting with the stop-motion animation in part   
    1 to the silly resolution in part 3, I just got turned off.    
    Perhaps I was expecting too much..there are many good elements 
    in "Earth Chapter"(esp. #2), but overall it was a waste.  "New 
    Century" is a total waste leaving me with a "huh?" reaction.   
Rating: NOT RECOMMENDED (except for "Rhea Gall Force")             

Index...

Galaxy Express 999

Title: Galaxy Express 999                            (FILM,TV)  
Cast:                                                              
  Clea ...................................... Youko Asagami    
  Metalmena (Adieu, GX999) .................. Youko Asagami    
Description:                                                       
  In the far far future, technology has advanced enough so that it 
  no longer matters what a spaceship looks like.  You can have a   
  space express service with a ship that looks like a 19th         
  century train.  Imagine where you can go and what adventures     
  you can have.  We follow Tetsuo as he goes on these adventures.  
  In "Adieu, Galaxy Express 999", the final chapter has Tetsuo as  
  one of the human rebels fighting against the mechanicals.        
Rating: RECOMMENDED                                                

Index...

Battle Angel Alita (Gunnm)

Title: Battle Angel Alita                               (OAVs)  
  aka: Gunnm                                                       
Cast:                                                              
Description:                                                       
  On a future Earth, there is a great floating city.  Perhaps life 
  is a futuristic paradise there...but we don't go there.  Instead,
  we enter a city built underneath the floating city.  In these    
  slums, a cyborg engineer finds a discarded cyborg from the trash 
  dropped from above.  He rebuilds her and gives her a name: Gunnm.
  Gunnm awakens in a world where living conditions are poor, gangs 
  roam the area, and "survival of the fittest" applies.  Gunnm is  
  apparently a child with no past...even to herself.  Mysterious   
  combat abilities are within her though and after a period of     
  some confusion, Gunnm registers herself as a "hunter/warrior".   
  The setting is very "Blade Runner" like in the depressing future 
  and the dark city...                                             
  NOTE: The Viz manga adaptation and the US video release both use 
	the "Battle Angel Alita" title...                          
US Release by: AD Vision (subtitled)                               
Rating: RECOMMENDED                                                

Index...

Giant Robo

Title: Giant Robo                                       (OAVs)  
Cast:                                                              
Description:                                                       
  In the near future, humanity has been granted cheap energy in    
  the form of the Shizuma Drive.  This has ushered in a new era of 
  prosperity known as Third Energy Revolution.  Behind the scenes, 
  a struggle between Good and Evil still goes on as personified by 
  the International Police Organization and Big Fire.  To aid in   
  the struggle against evil, the IPO have a great robot known as   
  Giant Robo.  A young boy named Kusama Daisuku controls Giant     
  Robo and there is some mystery behind him.  The OAV series       
  explores Daisuku and his friends characters against the backdrop 
  of a major plot involving the Shizuma Drive.  It successfully    
  combines the atmosphere and design of 1960's anime and those     
  grand plotlines with modern animation techniques.  It has to be  
  seen to be believed.  Based on the old live-action "Giant Robo"  
  series which was dubbed as "Johnny Sokko and his Giant Robot".   
US Release by: US Renditions (dubbed)                              
Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED                                         

Index...

Ghost Sweeper Mikami

Title: GS Mikami                                          (TV)  
Cast:                                                              
  Reiko Mikami ............................... Hiromi Tsuru    
  Tadao Yokoshima ............................ Ryo Horikawa    
  Okinu-chan ................................. Mariko Kouda   
Description: (by Hitoshi Doi)                                      
  With all of the new buildings being put up in the city, there    
  was no place for the ghosts to go.  Naturally, the ghosts cause  
  havoc, so a new job called GS (or Ghost Sweeper) was created.    
  The body-conscious girl Reiko Mikami was the head of the GS      
  office with Tadao Yokoshima as her assistant.  Yokoshima worked  
  at the GS office for only Y250/hour (about 2 dollars!).  The     
  reason he worked so cheaply was because he wanted to work with   
  Reiko.  His dream was to see Reiko naked.  Also on the team was  
  Okinu-chan who worked for only Y30/day (yes, that's 22 cents a   
  day!).  Of course, Okinu-chan had few needs since she was a      
  300 year old ghost.                                              
Rating: RECOMMENDED                                                

Index...

Gunbuster: Aim for the Top!

Title: Gunbuster: Aim for the Top!                      (OAVs)  
  aka: Top o Nerae!  Gunbuster!                                    
Cast:                                                              
  Noriko Takaya ............................. Noriko Hidaka    
  Kazumi Amano ................................. Rei Sakuma   
  Jung Freud ............................... Maria Kawamura     
Description:                                                       
  Yes, it's time for Yet-Another-Alien-Invasion!  The Earth is     
  preparing to defend itself.  Oblivious to this, Noriko Takaya,   
  daughter of an admiral lost in space, tries to succeed in her    
  dream: to become a Gunbuster robot pilot and go off into space   
  like her father.  This OAV series fluctuated between parody and  
  drama and was notable for paying attention to Einstein and his   
  Theory of Relativity as it pertains to near-lightspeed travel.   
US Release by: US Renditions  (subtitled)                          
Rating: RECOMMENDED                                                

Index...

Hello Kitty

Title: Hello Kitty                                        (TV)  
Cast:                                                              
  Kitty ................................ Megumi Hayashibara   
Description:                                                       
  A series for little kids.  This follows the adventures of two    
  kitty kids named "Kitty" and "Mimi".  The series tends to be     
  very straightforward and innocent.  As an example: two jewel     
  thieves get away with their loot and crashland near where the    
  kids live.  They meet the kitty kids (who think that the robbers 
  are aliens from a UFO) and entertain the kids with stories while 
  the kids tend to their injuries.  In the morning, the thieves    
  decide that it wasn't worth it, and turn themselves in...only    
  after making sure that the kitty kids see their thanks and know  
  that the 'aliens' went back to space.  The series is very        
  charming and almost fairy tale like...                           
Rating: RECOMMENDED - Kids would love it...                        

Index...

Hime-chan no Ribbon

Title: Hime-chan no Ribbon                                (TV)  
Cast:                                                              
  Himeko Nonohara ............................. Ikue Ootani    
  Erika ....................................... Ikue Ootani    
  Pokota ....................................... Kazu Ikura    
  Chappi ..................................... Kasuga Satou    
  Daichi Kobayashi ............................... Ooki Yuu  
  Aiko   Nonohara .......................... Yuri Shiratori   
  Yumeko Nonohara .......................... Chisa Yokoyama   
  Manami Mori ............................... Katsuyo Endou    
  Ichiko Kamikura (Icchan) ................ Minami Takayama   
  Sei Arisaka ............................. Takehito Koyasu   
  Hikaru Hibino .............................. Rin Mizuhara   
  Yuka Hijiri .................................. Yumi Tohma    
  Hatsune Yamashite (temp teacher) .......... Kikuko Inouye   
Description:                                                       
  Erika, queen of a magic world, is on Earth looking for the girl  
  who looks exactly like Erika.  She finds her in a tomboy named   
  Himeko.  Himeko (Hime-chan to her friends) is infatuated with an 
  an upperclassman boy, has fun with her friends and is an         
  ordinary girl in all ways.  This changes when Erika gives her a  
  magic ribbon which allows Hime-chan to change into anyone she    
  wants to.  As a side effect, her stuffed lion, Pokota comes to   
  life and acts as Hime-chan's advisor.  Showing her maturity,     
  Hime-chan immediately uses the ribbon to get closer to her       
  'sempai'.  A 'magical girl' series with a very ordinary girl in  
  the lead role.  Billed as a magical comedy.                      
Rating: RECOMMENDED                                                

Index...

Fist of the North Star

Title: Fist of the North Star                        (TV,FILM)  
  aka: Hokuto no Ken                                               
Cast:                                                              
  Kenshiro ................................... Akira Kamiya    
  Shin .................................... Toshio Furukawa   
  Rei ..................................... Kaneto Shiozawa   
Description:                                                       
  After the Earth is devastated by nuclear war, society breaks     
  down into a system where only the strong survive.  Often, there  
  are raids on normal people when 'the strong' decide that they    
  need something.  Into this desolate world comes Kenshiro, master 
  of the Hokuto Shinken style of martial art.  This style destroys 
  the body from within by striking at one of the numerous          
  acupuncture points.  Kenshiro is a wanderer on a quest to find   
  his lost love Yuria...taken from him in a battle with Shin long  
  ago.  The battle left Kenshiro with scars in the pattern of the  
  Big Dipper.  During his wanderings, Kenshiro defends the victims 
  of 'the strong' for he is pledged by his art to defend the weak. 
  Kenshiro is an extremely honorable, though somber man...almost   
  the archtype of the tragic hero.  The series is high in the      
  amount of gore created, but the strong central characters seem   
  to rise above that in audience appeal...                         
Rating: RECOMMENDED                                                

Index...
Richard Murdey : rmurdey.cs.mun.ca