AI NO KUSABI #2 (55m)
An intriguing bishonen ai story set in the future, in a rigid class society. Riki, a human from a poor district, is adopted as a 'pet' by Iason, a wealthy and powerful android. Riki is allowed to return for a while to his gang, and his human boyfriend, but he and Iason cannot stay apart. Clashing emotions of love, hate and betrayal ensue. There are also some exciting pieces in the way of fights, hoverbike races, aerial views of the city and such which are well animated.
An interesting work, regarded by some as a classic. You need to see a subtitled version (or be fluent in Japanese) otherwise you miss much of the story.
THE BLUE GREEN YEARS
The title refers to the typical colour of girls' junior high school uniforms. This is a story of school life, centered on the heroine Yuko and her friend Taka, the latter being a mildly rebellious girl.
I didn't at first find that the characters came vividly to life; it all seemed a bit too generic, and there are other "school" series I'd rate above this. But the episodes shown do have some gritty insights into the ubiquitous after-school clubs. The duo enrol for music club, only to find that they have to bash a wooden block with iron rods for hours, week after week. When one starts skipping, the senior girls are furious, and pick on the duo for having non-regulation hairstyle and scarf knotting, and they are "sorted out" by having their hair forcibly restyled (plaited)!
(Also reminds me of the Kimagure Orange Road school tennis club - Kyouske & co. have to sit and watch the seniors hitting balls to and fro.)
CHIBI MARUKO-CHAN
This is a TV series for young children, with a quirky and non-realistic animation design. It looks somewhat like childish drawing; all the characters have very thin stick-like necks and some, particularly the small boys, are savagely drawn with heads like blobs, potatoes or radishes. Maruko's Grandfather lives with her and her family, and joins in some of her pranks.
One suspects that this would be very funny if one understood the dialogue. In one episode, Maruko is caught out by an April Fool trick and then proceeds to hoax one of her more slow-witted little friends. Grandfather brings sweeties to make all well. Worth a look.
CHILD'S TOY (35m)
This the OVA of a TV series, about a girl, Sana, who is a juvenile actress, and about a disturbed boy in her class whom she tries to help and befriend. It's funny, well-characterized, and the most heartwarming piece of anime I have seen for many a day. [Also, there's a classroom riot scene which is more reminiscent of the notorious Ridings School in Britain (from which dozens of pupils were expelled for riotous behaviour) than any image one had of Japanese education!] In a typically Japanese way the story celebrates intelligence and caring. Excellent.
CHILD's TOY TV series. (not at Shinnenkai)
This has basically the same story as the OVA, but is rather different in tone, being a frenzied farcial comedy. It also has what looks like blatant product placement of various gadgets that Sana handles in the series. I saw a fan-subbed version in which the subbers in their on-screen notes stress that in this version Sana is a complete idiot. I disagree, on the grounds that at 11 years old one is entitled to be a bit of an idiot. They don't point out either that one has to realise the boys are a bunch of monkeys. (sexists).
Anyway, I didn't like it quite as much as the OVA, but Sana, full of energy and empathy, is still a great, (if slightly different,) character.
HANDSOME GIRL (45m)
Another anime about a child actress. A schoolgirl actress is noticed by a young movie fanatic, who has just finished two years at film director school in the USA, and is securing backing from "Somy" for his first film project. He is rather rude about her acting, but secretly has cast her in his movie, for her classic 'handsome' features.
He first has to make a music video for "Somy" to publicise his name. When work on the film subsequently starts, he treats her in a cold, professional way, but underneath the surface passions are blooming.
An interesting and well-made anime, and not beyond the bounds of plausibility. Just how 'unprofessional' are those secret passions? Judge for yourself.
KAZETO KI NO UTA (Sanctus)
This is set in late 19th century France, at a boarding school. Serge visits the boarding school he formerly attended and reminisces on the past. He shared a room with Gilbert, the notorious innocent 'little devil', and tried to build a friendship with him, only to find it turning to love. This was the first "shonen ai" manga series, which caused a great stir twenty years ago, and considering the reactions to the anime at Shinnenkai it would be as well to offer a word of warning. It is more explicit than some summaries might lead you to believe, and some male viewers were made sufficiently uncomfortable to make their excuses and leave. Others were merely bewildered. The post-showing conversation was interesting:
"Can you tell me which of those two characters was the girl, or were they both girls?
"Which anime were you watching.....They're both boys."
That aside, this is a beautiful, sumptuously designed anime with interesting characters and plenty of dramatic incident (!) and some lovely music. Highly recommended to those viewers sympathetic to romantic dramas of boy/boy love.
MAGIC KNIGHT RAYEARTH
In this popular TV anime by CLAMP, three ordinary Japanese schoolgirls on a visit to Tokyo Tower are transported to the magical world of Cefiro where they soon discover that the princess Emeraude needs their help to defeat evil forces which threaten to destroy that world altogether. The three girls gain more elaborate armour and weapons as they battle ever-stronger opponents.They have to last long enough to become Magic Knights, armed with special weapons forged from a legendary mineral. Only then will they be powerful enough to defeat the evil mage.
This series is pretty enough, and quite fun, but contains nothing that would cause one to rate it as essential viewing. There is neither depth of characterisation nor any startlingly unusual ingredients.
A message of dissent:
I think your review of "Magic Knight RayEarth" is unduly harsh and dead wrong. I found the story, particularly its conclusion, to be very compelling and the characters to be as well developed as those in some of the best shoujo series available. Hikaru, Umi and Fuu as well as the supporting cast are interesting people with quirks and faults who, ultimately are profoundly affected by the events of the story. This series is deservedly a classic and a must-see.
After the first eight or so episodes, the story takes a more serious turn, and while it remains in part a romantic comedy, some of what happens to Yui and Miaka is not pleasant, not funny, and not about to be magicked away in a few minutes.
At this point I had better point out that as animated TV series go, Fushigi Yuugi is the boldest I have seen, with overt references to gayness and teenage sex. There is considerable ambiguity in the script about how "innocent" Yui and Miaka are, and one is sometimes led to believe that they are not innocent at all, while in the second season the script irritatingly casts doubt on this refreshingly realistic notion. At any rate, it's certain to shock those who still think that animation is purely for little children.
The serious elements have the effect of raising the emotional intensity of the series to an extraordinary level. You may well find that you cannot get the characters out of your head all day, or that you are unable to stop the tape before the end of the volume. It achieves the rare trick in a fantasy comedy of making one feel that some matters are very real. Especially when it comes to intimate relationships, they're not joking.
I have now watched all 52 episodes. The structure of the plot strongly suggests that it was drafted to be concluded with a successful calling of the Goddess around ep #26 if the series didn't continue for a second season.
It has to be said that the second season is a disappointment. It's not without it's moments; the sudden death of one of Miaka's guardians (it would be unfair to reveal who) is very moving and will bring tears to the eyes of many fans. On the other hand, there are many episodes where nothing happens except that Miaka's quest is held up by magical devices that the scriptwriters probably made up as they went. One can also sense a toning down of the more 'adult' elements that were a refreshing feature of the first season. After about sixteen episodes of slow progress, the series suddenly becomes more interesting as Yui's side gains an advantage and the action switches location.
The last nine episodes definitely have more pace and interest but even here the lengthily depicted action (three hours of it, note you) could be summarised quite briefly (but, to avoid 'spoilers', I won't). Neither Miaka nor Tamahome seem to learn any common sense in the course of 52 episodes, and the final episode's efforts to remedy this are too late to be convincing. One gets a bit tired of them running straight into danger and yelling "Miaka!!" "Tamahome!!" at moments of crisis. Particularly in the last few episodes, the deus ex machina character of the plot as the scriptwriters fiddle with the rules for their own convenience is rather irritating.
If you want to know more about this series, note that as it is popular, there should be a few WWW sites devoted to it. Try your favourite search engine.
MIYUKI-CHAN IN WONDERLAND (30m)
A short video by CLAMP, loosely based on Alice in Wonderland. Miyuki-chan finds herself in Wonderland and flits by some half-familiar scenes populated by an all-female cast. It's not an adaptation, not quite a story, not quite a music video, just something that will leave you sitting in the dark, thinking "what the heck was THAT?!"
It's a delightful piece, accompanied throughout by pulsing music, and with very easy Japanese dialogue. There are distinct lesbian and sado-masochistic overtones, which doubtless will delight some, particularly the male viewers.
NIGHT ON THE GALACTIC RAILROAD (110m)
A strange story about cats. Giovanni is a cat/boy who looks after his sick mother. He gets teased at school because his father has been away for a long time, perhaps on an illegal otter hunt. One night he gets on the Galactic Railroad and takes a trip to the stars of the Milky Way, along with his friend Campanella.
The designs have an Italian flavour and the intertitles appear to be in Italian as well as Japanese. The movie is replete with strange symbolism; the other people on the train are evidently dead, but other symbols are harder to interpret. Original story by Kenji Miyazawa, a poet and writer of the early 20th century. A long and slow-moving movie, but on balance worth the effort.
NURSE ANGEL RIRICA SOS
Another 'Magical Girl' series. In this one, Ririca is an ordinary girl who likes playing nurse, and her little friend's father is a doctor who works at the local hospital, a rather struggling establishment with an eccentric old director. At the school there is a rich heartthrob boy and a snotty bossy head girl. The formula is pretty much like others of this ilk (including Sailor Moon) but it's one of the dafter examples. When the bad guys (identifiable by ace-of-spades tattoos) cause trouble, Ririca changes into Angel mode, aided by her jewel bracelet and nurse cap (spot the toy product placement!). The Angel Blue Bomb staff thingy is the ultimate deterrent as she proceeds to "cure" them.
The child characters look younger than the romantic sub-plots indicate; at least one of Ririca's schoolgirl chums is amusingly susceptible to handsome young men.
Well, as they say of genre material, if you like this sort of thing, then this is the sort of thing you like. Some (mostly male) viewers clearly didn't, but it is quite fun, and if you check out an episode or two you shouldn't regret it. Anyway, the opening theme is a great stomping dance tune, and deserves to be turned up loud on your surround sound system!
THEY WERE 11 (90m)
Movie version of the manga in which 10 space cadets have to navigate an old spaceship for 90 days as a test of their suitability for enrolment in the elite space academy. For starters, they find that they number 11. A good story with plenty of interesting characters including one, Frol, who looks like a girl.
There's plenty of character conflict as they try to identify the 11th person while trying to overcome a series of mishaps that seem likely to abort their mission and cause them to fail the exam. Also some interesting thoughts about gender identity.(BSc's quibble: Probably the less you know about space science, the better, as the 'science' in the story is largely rubbish.) Subtitles essential. [Licensed sub from Central Park Media.]
TOWARDS THE TERRA (112 mins)
Quite an old anime, dating from 1980. They don't make 'em like this any more. The Earth has been poisoned, and the population has left. Briefly, the story is about psychics called the MU, who are ruthlessly hunted by a computerized government which regards them as evil. The MU attempt to escape to a new world, the Terra.
Having sat through this I can attest that there's not much point in doing so unless you have an English version or are fluent in Japanese, as the movie is essentially plot-driven. [Licensed sub. from The Right Stuff Int.] Looks dramatic though. (There is a 3-part synopsis in the Misc. Files section.)
TO-Y (55m)
You may quibble about whether the manga publication qualifies this as shoujo, but it contains typical shoujo elements and was in the Shoujo programme at Shinnenkai. It's about Tokyo punk rock musicians with, shall we say, a MOST interesting lifestyle. Different, funny, great music, great animation design, real locations; you should watch it.