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