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kivandopulus

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  1. kivandopulus
    Foreword: I fell in love with this game after reading a long French review a long time ago (1). Imagination went wild back then, but only now I can finally play it.

    Synopsis: 
    The story of 12Riven takes place on May 20, 2012 with Renmaru Miyabidou biking his way speedily towards the abandoned Integral building after receiving a message on his cellphone that Myuu, an old friend of his, would die at the building's top level today at noon. When he gets there, he checks his wristwatch and sees that it is 11:24 AM.
    Elsewhere, Narumi Mishima is on her motorcycle heading towards the same location. She has received a request from a friend and coworker asking her to help save a girl named "Myuu" at Integral. Narumi must save Myuu to prevent the execution of the "Second Eclipse Plan". Narumi has never heard of this phrase before, moreover, the message was sent with the "XXX Lv6" marking. This was a rating scale for the severity of a situation and a level 6 marking has never been used. Even a large scale terrorist threat was set at level 5. The message also indicated to Narumi that someone named Renmaru may be there, that he will be on her side...
    Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs4Gp5VU4Fv8qu5583tbxBSfzQvCgFn2k
    Game type: Time paradox mystery
    Character Design rating: 9/10
    Protagonist rating: 9/10
    Story rating: 9/10
    Game quality: 10/10
    Overall rating: 9/10

    It's difficult to talk about this game without spoilers, but the whole point of the game is in gradual solving the mystery, so I refuse to talk about game concept or story in detail. So let's just settle with my impressions and focusing on game's strong and weak points.
    Concept of the game and main scenario are prepared by Uchikoshi Koutarou who is one of the best known and most acclaimed visual novel scenario writers. But what interests me a lot is not Infinity series, but his previous game which is Eve Zero. I rated game really high, but it had several dire flaws including horrible graphics, failure to keep preset personalities alive and introduction of supernatural elements. Back then I said that it would be a superb story if it was set in original setting and aided by a competent artist. And, basically, it's precisely what happened to 12Riven.

    I feel strong continuity with Eve Zero. It's again supernatural mystery story that's told not by professional detectives, but by hot-headed action police woman (again) and a genius amateur detective with strong guts feeling (again). Renmaru only looks like an incompetent boy - his abilities and intuition are on par to dreadful Kojirou. But since it's original setting, it's free from predecessor boundaries. Protagonists swap naturally, there's no point and click horror, there's no limit on participating characters. And it yields fantastic results. Apart of great main mystery of the game, it astonishes with very likeable characters. All the female characters (apart of Maina, since she is used for infodumping function all the time) are really attractive and charming the way heroines can be only in All Ages game. We don't expect any bed scenes, so it's a rare opportunity to get to know girls while in the process of solving a mystery in contrast to usual cheap tricks. Everyone is voiced, so male character for once aren't just side characters, but equal actors.

    But why is not it perfect score then? Well, first of all, it's a traditional flaw of "mystery" games that as soon as main twist is revealed, excitement is gone, and thus final impression gets dulled. Next, there are three routes - Renmaru, Narumi and Integral. And each of those routes has 2-3 endings. Naturally, many elements get shared, and by the Integral route it may even feel sleepy at times. This Integral route is also twice as big as personal routes, with many explanations, so it requires more endurance. And finally there is roughness in in time paradox and integral concepts. Mystery is great, but Uchikoshi never tried to explain every nook and cranny like Steins;Gate did, so an attentive reader can find some loopholes and inconsistencies. These aren't decisive downsides, but perfect score game must bring excitement, and there's not enough of it in the game.

    12Riven is an absolutely superb mystery game. It's very pleasant to read and explore step by step in the company of really nice characters without the need to capture any heroines. It's the pinnacle of Infinity series and just a game that proudly presents the medium to the outer world without usual cliche or perversity elements. It's what I always wanted visual novels to do - combine serious literature and modern technologies presentation.

  2. kivandopulus
    Foreword: It's requested as extra review, so I'm pleased to tell what kind of masterpiece this game is. It does not mean I'm not reviewing Abandoner, though. Both games stood so close in the poll that I could not make my mind in any way.
    VNDB: https://vndb.org/v1085
    Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDJG1UQavYg&list=PLs4Gp5VU4Fv-73f48qzUpNIceFnIA8Mot

    Synopsis: The game revolves around the main character's 3 days repeating over and over again, where he is constantly being killed in the third day of the story (in various ways) but magically being brought back to life in the first day to repeat his 3 days. Your goal here is to solve the mystery behind the death of your sempai and also to find the identity of the murderer.
    Game type: Horror looped murder story with fantasy elements
    Character Design rating: 8/10
    Protagonist rating: 7/10
    Story rating: 8/10
    Game quality: 6/10
    Overall rating: 7/10

    I only found one impression (1), and it's not very elaborate, so let's dissect things properly. 3days is a classic loop game, but for me it's the same kind of classic as To Heart for galge - boring and exhausting. The same loop of three days goes on for some 15 laps (maybe less if some alternative branches are skipped) and finishes with more and more elaborate ways of killing and sometimes raping. But the worst thing for me is that specific scene needs to be triggered in all of three heroine initial roues. I had to do much more loops, because I triggered only one Tamaki H scene while I needed to find another one for her item to show at the main screen indicating her route fully done.

    That being said, first half of 3days is of little interest to me. Watching the same events over and over and girls die over and over in different situations is not really what constitutes for fun pastime. However, the second part actually manages to present a favorable impression by cleverly mixing past, present and future Ryou stories. We get acquainted with the new charming heroine Miyu who has to bear all the positive intentions of the game alone just because she's the only heroine that we don't see dying miserably with torn apart body and face distorted with fear. Magic finally comes to the stage, and game turns into a fantasy battle from a pesky contemporary murder story. 
    But I don't suffer from short memory, so horrible first part gets a huge evaluation penalty from me. There are also other negative factors. Basically, game is a royal story. That goes for both first and second part. The individual heroine endings take really like a few minutes astray from the main story. Another negative factor is poor CG representation and occasional lack of voicing. I can remember very few CG after playthrough, so it's constant character sprites hell. Also, I can't really stand Harry Potter, so second part is rather repulsive with all the magic domination and stuff. At the same time Tsukiko as the best starting heroine never receives her route in the main game and plays mostly a comical role. There are too many deficiencies to neglect in the overall evaluation.

    In the raw outcome, 3days is a masterpiece, but only thanks to the main concept and true route in the second part. It occupies a firm position among classics as one of grandfathers of loop visual novels. Tsukiko and later Miyu don't let the game to turn into total despair. But as to my recommendations... I'm not so sure. Game fails as a detective story and suffers a lot whenever it tries to advance romance. Would I really play this game if I knew that it'd total to magic battle? I'm pretty sure that I would not, although such turn of events was really unexpected. Game really feels old and lacking production quality. It's still a good game at the core, but who would want to get to the core when there are so many better quality stories nowadays.

  3. kivandopulus
    Foreword: Game had already couple reviews, but those weren't too specific on the story, so I had to check it out myself in the end.

    Title: 3x3 Eyes ~Sanjiyan Henjou~
    Developer: Nihon Create
    Date: 1993-02-05
    VNDB link:https://vndb.org/v4547
    Length: 6 hours.
    Game type: Command selection ADV
    Youtube walkthrough:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLENAECnNmAq-kxnAJKmFd5cOYSn55q0UZ
    Difficulty: That happens to be the main part of review. FM Towns/PCE version is perfect with difficulty level low, full voicing and nice interface. The PC-98 version is gamer's hell, but only this version is hookable, so I proceeded with it. It's the fullest version having extra parts the other versions don't have, but pc-98 version has clunky interface of multiple windows that keep jumping all over and horrible mechanics that demand multiple clicking on the same commands to proceed with the game. That much useless clicking forces to miss on important parts as well. And there was a pitch moment in the second branch that made me waste two more hours on clicking through every room and searching for capture information which did not really help me, so only bruteforce clicking through every possible variant in each room only helped.

    Synopsis: 3x3 Eyes ~Sanjiyan Henjou~ is based on the manga and anime series 3x3 Eyes. Pai, a young girl from the immortal tribe of sanzhiyan, three-eyed demons of Chinese origin, wants to become a human again. She meets a Japanese teenager named Yakumo Fujii, whom she accidentally turns into a "wu", an immortal obedient servant of a three-eyed demon. Together, Pai and Yakumo try to regain their lost humanity.
    This game can be considered a side-story to the series. The player does not control Yakumo, but an ordinary high-school student named Kenichi Yamamoto. Accidentally, Kenichi comes into contact with the world of demons, and now he needs the help of Pai and Yakumo to be freed.
    Structure: None.
    Character Design rating: 7/10
    Protagonist rating: 6/10
    Story rating: 6/10
    Game quality: 7/10 PCE (2/10 PC-98)
    Overall rating: 6/10
    Rating comments: I actually expected more from the story and hoped for more gore. The characters only get interesting in voiced version and in PC-98 not so much. PC-98 version is so horrible that it's a miracle I made it to the end.

    Protagonist: Kenichi Yamamoto does not really give a good impression. Pretty normal one for a fantasy story - positive, brave, curious etc.
    Characters: Pai is a cheerful girl who happens to have her own secret. She and Yakumo don't really play an important role in the story - they just tag along and support. Sujin is the main heroine and love interest of Kenichi. She's a mysterious blonde with some superpowers and her true aims aren't clear. All the other characters get mixed in the swarm of children who get caught up in the blizzard and they go out of the stage more or less together at one point.

    Story: Kenichi Yamamoto just happens to have some bug crawl inside his forehead - there's no story behind it - it just happens. And at the same time strange persons start to find him interesting and some supernatural events start to occur around him. He and a swarm of other children get caught up in the blizzard and find shelter in a wooden house. However, a murder happens and panic rises with part of children leaving to find the way out of the blizzard. And both parties get attacked by the killer. And the battle finally shows who is the enemy and who is the real friend. From then on the main heroes seek the way to get the bug out of Kenichi body and for that seek advice from a specialist researcher and from then on seek for the remedy in different parts of the world.
    CG: CG are shown in a small window. That looks awful.
    Sound: PC-98 has horrible sound support. No sounds - just BGM. And those BGM aren't always suitable for the event on the screen - it can easily be a merry tune during a sad event.

    Overall comments: So the game starts with the longest clicking sessions and slowest progression ever. It would be easy to fall asleep for several times if you did not need to click furiously for 100 clicks per minute. Then there goes the short action part where the things settle - and it's the best part of the game. The second half of the game of searching around the world just does not have much in the story department - it's just defeating several lackeys of a bad guy and finally meeting the bad guy. And to make life more difficult there are two mazes implemented - one for each branching. I've only found the basic branching that actually coincides in the same story in the final part of the game. There should actually be a way to get the second naked body scene and even another ending. So it all comes to a poor conclusion - PCE version can't be read since it's not hookable and PC-98 version lacks the interest to be read attentively due to horrible mechanics. I would call the story eclectic since there is not much explanation for actions - like professor is lost and noone cares since there is little time left till mutation or like the light is blown out and four people can't find each other in a narrow corridor and just go separately without really trying to get together. There are some minor events that I fail to get the meaning of. So the main definition for PC-98 version is torture - both story-wise, mechanic-wise and even sound-wise. Quite a short story that would fit in a 40-minutes OVA is stretched mercilessly to 6+ hours of unsatisfying gameplay.

  4. kivandopulus
    Foreword: There have been a lot of H parodies of Haruhi Suzumia, but this one seems to be a mild absurdist parody developing on the themes of the anime. Or do I expect too much from a game by Rune?

    Synopsis: 
    Akio is an ordinary uni student. But, there is one thing different from others. That is his great olfactory system. He somehow hides it, and lives a peaceful life. One day, Haruruko, his classmate, finds it, and his life suddenly turns around 180 degrees...
    Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt66L7bOul0&list=PLs4Gp5VU4Fv9rA1YsSzp7JO39NKObY07U
    Game type: Moege with fantasy elements
    Character Design rating: 5/10
    Protagonist rating: 4/10
    Story rating: 2/10
    Game quality: 5/10
    Overall rating: 4/10
    As you see, game is a kusoge. Let me explain, why.

    Opening scene of the game is quite shocking, so let's start with it. Akio sees a girl lying on the floor. He is so fascinated by her smell, that he finds himself sticking his head under her skirt and sniffing. Girl cries "Gotcha" and holds him with her legs... It already starts as fetishist crap. Akio is forced to join her club - Haruruko Research Club. Haruruko is being really forceful, so she kind of coerces four other girls to join the club. The aim of the club is declared by Haruruko this way - "Watch me!". This actually develops into more fetishist crap like watch my private parts, watch me pee, let's strip every girl so that everyone's private parts could be examined and sniffed. That's some serious crap going on.

    But that alone can tolerated for a cast of colorful characters and great parody. But reality is much worse. Haruruko pales in comparison to real Haruhi, she is more like perverted double. But Haruruko is not even main heroine of the game, surprisingly. The most average of all girls - big-breasted Maria full of complexes about her body is imbued with alternative personality mixed with fantasy. But Maria absolutely pales in comparison with Mikuru Asahina, if there even was attempt to parody her as well (of which I doubt). There is no character even remotely reminding Yuki Nagato, so all the parody parts lock down on perverted and not interesting Hararuko. She is reckless, but not really as powerful. Like, when she molests another girl, protagonist can shout to leave the girl be, and Hararuko retreats defeated. It's one-sided, lacking depth personality.

    Other heroines include future predicting lady-like Nami, real nekomimi with tail Neneko and robot girl with monitor instead of head Trini Tron. Of course Tron lured most readers to try this game out, because it's super absurd. But expectations are betrayed once again. Tron is not much different from other heroines except for the fact that she has to do handjob instead of fellatio for obvious reason. And that was actually the only scene in the game that looked funny. 8665^2 absolutely lacks gags, humor, parody. Text is flat, and there is no excitement.

    But maybe romance was good? I would not say so. As you may see from game footage, common route is short, but individual routes are even shorter. There is too fast development and no depiction of love feeling birth at all. Like Akio helps the girl in some way which triggers a spree of H scenes in various places. And Haruruko route is shortest and most H intensive, basically, the worst. Maria True route adds only another absurd layer on top of that.

    The only question after playing this game is what the hell that was. Game fails in all its elements and can only lure occasional reader like me by expectations of the parody and weirdness of Trini Tron heroine. Btw, title 8665 is just Haruruko while read in katakana. In the end it's an ordinary moege that quickly loses all the mystery.

  5. kivandopulus
    Foreword: Abandoner is the second winner of poll for the extra review in 2004. There are actually two reviews already (1 2), but it does not hurt to give it a fresh look. Clephas recommends not to read this visual novel unless we are really hard masochists, but every visual novel reader is at least a bit of masochist for reading such long stories while normal people can't endure even director's cut movie versions. As for me, such question does not even stand - it's enough to look at the number of visual novels I played without really enjoying them. So let's start.
    VNDB: https://vndb.org/v1182
    Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eGicIWOOlw&list=PLs4Gp5VU4Fv_qT6p_Y5f1XbwJYUu2TCCe

    Synopsis: A cross between fantasy, science fantasy, and mystery. The protagonist is a former detective who is living in virtual exile in a walled-off city occupied by foreign military forces. It is a lawless city, where just about anything can happen...
    Game type: Superhuman experiments story
    Character Design rating: 6/10
    Protagonist rating: 7/10
    Story rating: 6/10
    Game quality: 7/10
    Overall rating: 6/10

    First of all, let's observe the plot since it's so vaguely drawn in both reviews. The stage is an imaginary city that resembles Italian city of the first third of the 20th century. It's under occupation of Tristian forces for the last 30 years. Main character Neil Fox is a former detective who now works independently and takes bounty hunter jobs. This time he is promised an outstandingly generous payment for rescuing some girl from a kidnapper and protecting her. But kidnapper turns out to be girl's guardian. The place gets ambushed by the military police. What makes this girl so important? That's what'd described in the first 30 minutes of the game. We successfully rescue that Helena girl and conceal her in the hideout. The girl is as if from another world since she has a poor grip on the reality.

    But then the problems start. Or, rather, nothing starts. Instead of returning girl to the request giver, Niel tries to find Helena's father and find out more about her past in the mysterious laboratory. In the meantime he just hangs around mafia bar and participates in some of their activities that COINCIDENTALLY bring him closer to Helena and Abandoner mystery. Even when Helena disappears at some time of the story, nothing really changes. He just continues to do jobs for the mafia. If even feels like he totally forgets about Helena in the second (longest) chapter. Game has neither an aim nor the conflict. Just for that reason I can't consider Abandoner a masterpiece. 

    There is also a problem of main character Neil Fox. He takes a job to rescue the hostage and protect her, but he has absolutely no weapons. He carries some rusty gun just as a means of threat, but that's it. He is unable to win any fight. All he does is run away and hide. And thus he can't really influence the outcome of events which - only by some incredible luck - develop in his favor. That's realistic, but kind of boring for the main character.

    I rated heroines even lower than protagonist, because they aren't loveable. Helena is our out of this world girl who whispers trivial things all the time. There's little of interest in her. Next is mafia daughter Hilda Lutz. To tell the truth, I can't take girls seriously if their single boob is bigger than their head. She's very knowledgeable, but that's it. She hardly plays any important role in the story. The last heroine is military police sergeant Cecilia. Well, she's the most irritating character in this whole game. She's stubborn and pushy as she considers herself to be the only representative of power in this city. She's that character who does not listen to anyone and just tries to force her opinion everywhere. So I see it why Clephas blames this game of characters not listening to each other, but I don't see any other characters with this trait. Cecilia position and personality is to blame, but not everyone else. The mafia guys are all simpletons and can't be judged harshly. The first time we meet them, one 50-year looking guys cries because he's afraid of BOOKSHELVES. Yeah, stupid, but just treat them as comical characters. The poor Tony eventually just goes into reckless rage crying out "I'm Antonio Beltamo!" over and over. Well, I just did not pay much attention to mafia guys who are evidently just cannon fodder.

    I kind of lowered BGM level too much in the video so that music can hardly be heard, but BGM is actually rarely plays in this game. It's the sound of constant rain that plays most of the time instead. Music is nice, but its sudden cut offs irritate.

    What I especially want to point out is that there are NO fantasy elements in the game. All the alterations presented can be addressed to the results of human experiments. Just science is very advanced for the corresponding time period taken. There's no fantasy scenes, no magic, no resurrections - nothing. It's an atmospheric hard boiled realistic story that should not be really compromised with fantasy elements.

    In conclusion, this is a good story for the story's sake. But in order to like it you need to put up with senile mafia characters, not exactly lovable heroines and passive sneaky MC. This game is not about characters, thus each heroine has just one H event that happens kind of spontaneously at any point of the story when it's convenient - not necessarily in the end. Girls don't really have after-stories and actual roues, because it's not a charage. It's a single road story. If you're interested in the Abandoner mystery and can tolerate the cast, then you can enjoy the story even without being a really hard masochist.

  6. kivandopulus
    Foreword: Abyss is one of the more known doujin games and even has a fuwanovel recommendation page. But I could find only one English review, so it needs to be fixed asap. Synopsis: Sasayama Akira was born into a family of assassins and trained as a child to become one of them. However, due to psychological issues, his father decided to send Akira to a relative's house, to live a normal life. Several years later, Akira gets asked by the student council president to investigate a rumor of a group called Abyss, a shadowy group of students responsible for abducting and killing students in a grotesque game. Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs4Gp5VU4Fv_JpraEZN60LRLufWm3loZt   Character Design rating: 7/10 Protagonist rating: 7/10 Story rating: 8/10 Game quality: 7/10 Overall rating: 7/10 I'm still not ready to evaluate a doujin game without voicing too high. And abyss is huge. It was actually delivered in three different issues before the complete version with first one seeing the light in September 2007. As a result, completing all the routes took 38 hours, and such volume without voicing can be difficult to digest. The concept is simple - murders start to happen at school, and protagonist is dragged by a masked person to join the game. Basically, it's common battle royale concept that is popular in doujin chunige. But the actual game is neither pure survival like Killer Queen nor the battle of wits and hints like Umineko. We strive to survive, but also gather hints about opponents identities as well as learn to counter them. Quite a few mysteries pile up, and final Nami routes gives a lot of answers about protagonist past and ABYSS. And it's also not a simple mortal combat style game, because assassin means are deadly and fast, but also because multiple viewpoints are given throughout the story. We even start as a girl protagonist in common route. There's a lot to uncover, so mystery persists till the end. As for deficiencies, I still don't like this concept just because it's battle royale. Participants are placed in a limited space so that they make the story themselves like a sandbox. A lot of stuff and twists are put on top of that to make forget about the core concept, but I still don't see an interesting story behind it all. Well, I did not like any game with similar concept, even FSN, so safely ignore this point. It's been a long time since I played a game with a zero voicing. It's a matter of habit, but everything gets a huge minus from me because of that. BGM is mostly good, but there are some with just a few sounds on repeat to create tension or smth, and I'd rather hear normal melodies. Game system is horrible for auto reading. I had to put lowest possible speed, but huge chunks of text disappeared too fast after small ones, and vice versa. CG are uneven. Basically, all heroines are strong, but in other people's routes they become weak. Another nitpick is that setting of ABYSS organization feared even by police is loosely shaped, lacks detail. Battles are depicted poorly and settled with one blow usually, but buildup and wits battle prior to that is nice. Some heroines routes bring little new and can be considered bonus ones. Enough with negative points. On a bright side, in every route characters are mercilessly butchered, and you never know who or when gets to die. So there's a lot of room for emotional approach. Every heroine has her own story and motivation, and with so many masks identities remain unknown. Hints recovered throughout the game create doubts, but final route managed to take me by surprise, anyway. The good thing is that only couple heroines have traditional love scenes, some have violation, and Nonko has none at all. As you see, despite simple concept there's a lot of room for mystery, wits, tactics, twists, emotions and in-depth character stories. Don't let my evaluation scare you as it includes personal reasons. If you find such game enticing, you most assuredly won't be disappointed.
  7. kivandopulus
    Foreword: Finally a Caramel Box game with a plot that I can actually enjoy. But online RPG development took me by surprise, so I'm totally sold here.
    Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7fKvuknkmk&list=PLs4Gp5VU4Fv9n5v_LWmKrdNPv96DDFnW6
    Synopsis: The protagonist, having lost his family because of the faulty A.I. of a machine, makes his living as a professional player of a game called CQ shot.
    Suddenly your friend requests you to be a bodyguard for a strange girl who is getting stalked. The protagonist doubt whether or not there actually is a stalker but since the girl seems very afraid, he takes on the job and she starts living with him.

    Game type: Future mystery with virtual reality elements
    Character Design rating: 8/10
    Protagonist rating: 8/10
    Story rating: 8/10
    Game quality: 6/10
    Overall rating: 8/10
    I believe that Aekanaru Sekai no Owari ni deserves to be called a masterpiece. I rate quality as mediocre here, but it's a rare feat to encounter a serious story with developed characters. It does not try to imitate past examples of success stories. Instead, it follows its own path and catches attention with its sincerity. This game is unique in so many ways.

    As for the story, it's not that straightforward as it looks. The actual stalker twist occurs quite late. Before that it's a futuristic school story running alongside runaway artificial intellect Ripple line as she finds shelter at Natsume flat. During the stalker incident Ripple uses her analytic and hacking capabilities to avoid casualties, so her existence becomes known to other characters. But stalker incident develops into something else entirely.
    Game has an unusual structure as stalked girl Chifuyu route manages to run before the real conflict is even drawn. Other girls follow the same plot-line different only by the end. Yes, they don't have individual routes, but this common route is so long and saturated that there is no real need to go elsewhere. After all, it's mostly the mystery and the enjoyable dialogues that determine this game. 

    All the heroines (apart of Chifuyu, in part due to her ending that feels like a bad ending) are really nice, serious and pleasant to watch and read. Some conversations may seem to take unreasonably long time, and there may be a feeling that nothing happens, but - again - Aekanaru Sekai no Owari ni does not try to force things and appeal to everyone. It moves at its pace, and with enough patience structure starts to form eventually.
    My biggest complaint is about lack of CG and unvoiced male characters. There are two male friends and quite a few guys out there talking to Natsume with no girls present, and during these long conversations it's easy to forget that game is voiced at all. Character design may feel weird and similar looking at first, but heroines get fleshed out really well, so this first impression soon dissolves.

    The world is created with a lot of detail. There is so much talk about different technologies that it can even be considered info-dumping. Virtual reality, CQ Shot and Magic paradise add three more layers on top of that.  
    Aekanaru Sekai no Owari ni is a rare case of a real masterpiece that does not brag around about its strong sides, but presents a really solid reading experience with great text, mystery and characters. There are few games that I really enjoy reading, so I cherish every occasion when I encounter one.

  8. kivandopulus
    Foreword: I only started this game to find references to Phantom of Inferno, but it's high quality entertainment, and it does not let you go easily. Instead of just links to Phantom of Inferno, I enjoyed a colossal multi-culture reference mix, but about that further on.

    Title: Age Maniax ~Isumi Yon Shimai Saigo no Hi~
    Developer: Age
    Date: 2000-06-03
    VNDB link:https://vndb.org/v444
    Youtube walkthrough:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c74f8Wn4sRw
    Synopsis: One day protagonist meets with four sisters, who due to certain events starts living in his house. But he has to go to Europe to follow a story, and they decide to go together with him. They make reservations in an old castle which had reports of a princess' ghost, a legendary wolf, a lake monster and a crashed UFO surrounding it. And this is not even the beginning of the events to unfold around the sisters ..
    Structure: Game is roughly divided into four parts : prologue town, hotel, train, epilogue town.
    Length: Took me five and a half hours to finish one playthrough.
    Game type: Crossover bakage not only between Age titles, but with titles of other five companies
    Difficulty: Easy since it's royal road, but as you can give preference only to one heroine at a time, couple more playthroughs will be needed to watch all CG

    Character Design rating: 10/10
    Protagonist rating: 8/10
    Story rating: 5/10
    Game quality: 9/10
    Overall rating: 8/10
    Rating comments: I just can't ever rate bakage highly, and there are very few of them that I can call masterpieces. This is exactly that case. Crossover type has a lot of benefits - all the great characters from previous games are used, there are lots of cool ways to tie incompatible features from different games together, and there's no real need to bother for the story much. The whole first part of the game I was even rating the game as 9/10.
    Protagonist: Masaki is not your usual high school boy. Instead, he's a grown-up who lives alone and works as a photographer while being a fan of super rangers franchise in his free time. But his personality is quite usual - reserved, kind, but reliable. We don't get to see his face, but he projects a solid impression. 

    Characters: Basically we jump through different games like mad, but Kimi ga Ita Kisetsu heroines accompany us all the way, so we can pay additional attention to one of three girls and get extra CG related to her on the way. But don't get me wrong, there are no main heroines here, and it's totally ok not to chase anyone and just follow the story normally. Shouko from Rasen Kairou also accompanies us the whole way, but she's here for the plot purposes, she sees her role to explain all the mysteries happening around in a scientific or logical manner. Charlotte from "D" plays quite an important role and remains the most mysterious character. Kaseki no Uta maids and their master Welka are important only for hotel part and somehow important for train part.
    Story: After the whole band bursts into Masaki house there's not much time to lose, it's already known that Masaki is going to some Europe town for a photo mystery tour, and the girls decide to go together with him. The whole prologue is basically preparation for the trip. Now the glimpse of madness that's going on in the game - photographer Masaki forgets his camera while going on a photo sightseeing trip... Anyway, they are greeted by maids and led to the mansion. There's a number of mysterious legends that they listen to there, and actually get to see each one with their own eyes. Then all the characters are... let's say forced... to leave the mansion and as another twist of absurdity have no better plans than to board the Magic Arrow mysterious train. There's more exploration  and action in this part, and after facing some danger everyone gets home. Basically that's a very rough carcass. There is also mystery and intrigue as some forces set a conspiracy and are interrupted multiple times on their journey. There's a nice resolution of the conspiracy in epilogue in bakage manner.
    CG: Have zero complaints. Loving CARNELIAN with all my heart.

    Sound: Almost all the female characters are voiced. Only some guest star heroines from the other games aren't voiced (like Aries), there's probably very good reasons for that. BGM is marvelous. My only tiny complaint that sound volumes aren't customizable, and BGM sometimes sounded loud and speech not so loud.
    Title and Themes:  Here I'd like to talk about appearance of Ein and Drei from Phantom of Inferno. I'm quite sure it was difficult to use them due to copyright issues, but on top of that it was a difficult task not to belittle famous heroines from a serious games with the bakage jokes. And that task was accomplished 100%. They both appear three times and with the same cool phrases that look very funny at different situations. Ein usually appears when hero is searching someone crying out that person's name. Then appears Ein : "Don't call me by that name. I'm Ein, since old days till now. You are Zwei, my second half". And it's very funny when Masaki just says "Sorry, wrong person" and goes past. Drei always appears at high pitch moments with her phrase "That's the guy who made me a woman. What do you thing he's doing in America. He's a killer." And then scene goes on. That's pretty hilarious each time. They just come to the scene with their cool phrase and the music changes to a special sad one, and then they disappear, and it's normal music again. Those moments really make up for the atmosphere. Couple times Ein and Drei also said some phrase relevant to the current situation in the game, was not something special though.
    Another cool theme in the game is power rangers. It starts as just a childish hobby of Masaki, but ends up a huge thing. 

    Humor: There's so much of very different humor which is a great relief after Kimi ga Ita Kisetsu boobs size constant repeats (in Age Maniax there is just one single joke on the matter). Most of jokes are built on absurd situations. Can't remember good stand-alone ones right now.
    Overall comments: Age Maniax has great pace, great absurd humor and links to lots of different games from 0verflow, TopCat, Nitroplus, Circus, Abogado Powers and one superhero game I do not know. It not only managed to show that Fandisks can be fun if made properly as crossovers (the first visual novel crossover, actually), but it also managed to unite so many different games together. I consider it to be a very important game from historical point of view. It's also a good entertainment that relies heavily on the games from that era. Unfortunately, nowadays players do not know anything about the referenced games (except for Phantom of Inferno, probably), and that deprives the game of a huge chunk of its charm.

  9. kivandopulus
    Foreword: I really can't stand multiple stories visual novels. But this is C's ware work and the first story was really sweet, fast (just one hour long) and only included several non-significant choices, so I went for other two stories as well. And I promised myself that I would write a review on any game visual novel that I play to the end and that takes me over three hours to finish. So here it is - my first and hopefully last multiple stories visual novel review.
    Title: Ai ga Mie Hajimetara
    Developer: C's Ware
    Date: 1997-06-27
    VNDB link:https://vndb.org/v2014
    Youtube walkthrough:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sV_PLFkOIo&list=PLENAECnNmAq91tN-XYUjNz3EOx6KQw6s0

    Synopsis: 
    1. Vice. Katsuyuki is a vampire detective who is a big fan of beautiful women. One day he saves girl Azusa from nanpa guys and she clings to him temporarily as she has nowhere to go. At the same time Katsuyuki is offered a new case by a hot babe. Even thought the case looks like an easy one, there is something fishy about it...
    2. B.B. Bridal breaker is the profession of Shin. He specializes in ruining other people weddings for money. There is little demand for his specialization and he accumulated quite a debt. Finally a new job shows up and he dives into a whirlwind of complex human relations during the wedding ceremony.
    3. Kyoto love affair. Kyoto, 2052. Kagura is a demon hunter serving in the Department of the Temple government, Demon specialization Section 1. She's in love with a noble Hayato, but his social position is too high for her to have any prospects for him. One day Miyano, one of shrine maidens to goddess Amaterasu, telephones Kagura and offers an opportunity to participate in a divine test with a chance of becoming a goddess as an outcome. Kagura grasps the chance immediately as it's her chance to gain superior social status and confess her feelings to beloved Hayato!
    Length: Took me 7 hours
    Game type: First story is normal visual novel with fake choices, the other two stories are command selection visual novels. 
    Difficulty: First story is a breeze. Second story is a horror as there are at least 7 endings and with command selection formula and lots of locations to visit it's very difficult to notice any branches and there is NO walkthrough around... Third story turned out to be one-way road with command selection and fake choices, so easy.
    Character Design rating: 7/10
    Protagonist rating: 7/10
    Story rating: 6/10
    Game quality: 6/10
    Overall rating: 6/10
    Rating comments: Stories aren't really bad, but length is unsatisfying. You just get comfortable with characters when the new story starts. There are three protagonists and while Katsuyuki and Kagura make great protagonists, Shin from the second story is a sore loser  and he's plain miserable at times. The same stands for characters - some are superb, some average and some have too little screen time to shine. I rate quality as average for the too loud BGM that has only two states - on and off - as well as for relatively small size of pictures and just for format of multiple stories.
    Impressions:  So here I don't really get how to make a proper formal review for three stories, so I'll just write of my impressions as I moved on.
     

    First story is called Vice and that title does not look appropriate. Well, from the very beginning we see how Katsuyuki pays for women and his inner voice constantly tells him to attack Azusa, but the story is not really about it. The story is about tender relations of a mature detective and a mysterious girl who has nowhere to go. It really looks cute how Katsuyuki constantly tries to send Azusa to her home town and how she finds dozens of reasons to prolong her stay or to return back to his apartment under various pretexts. The whole situation looked VERY much like that of Koriroh and Pudding in the beginning of Eve Burst Error. Also the drawing looked so warm and so familiar as it's something in-between Eve Burst Error sharper style and Eve Lost One smooth animation style. I had to turn off BGM after the first 10 minutes since I wanted to hear Azusa cute voicing properly. But Vice is also a great action story from the second half of it. The whole story only takes one hour, so I see no reason spoiling it. First story really hooked me and I thought that if the other two stories were same fast, bright and easy, then why not seeing it to the end!
     

    Second story started plain horribly. For first 20 minutes the guy just stays at his littered flat, sleeps, dreams and has pretty paranoiac thoughts. Then he finally gets a call and gets to the wedding and here I discover that it's suddenly command selection now and I need to click through all the look, speak, think over and over again as well as to pick the locations that I want to visit manually. I'm no stranger to command selection, so I pressed on. Then after some talk with couple characters I just went back to the dining hall, filled my belly with delicious food and upon returning to the corridor I was told that the time was up and I failed which followed with a bad ending. And that ending was saying ending №7! I was hugely shocked by both the fact that there can be time limit on my actions and by the huge number of endings in just one of the three "short" stories! Tried to find a walkthrough and there was none! And I know how horribly difficult it is to try and find different endings in command selection game. Eve ZERO taught me that all right! So I decided just to do things right and not waste time and get at least one good ending. And that was no easy feat. I stumbled into bad endings couple more times before grasped the happy ending with the bride girl. But there are two more girls who you make H with during the main route and who are destined to have their own endings. I've no idea how to get to their endings though, so it ended for me with the bride ending. This second story also required quite a lot of bruteforcing as only visiting all locations and exhausting all the options allows to move further and that must be repeated multiple times. So even though the girls were much to my liking in the second story, the gameplay and the horrible protagonist definitely weren't.

    I was quite sure that the final third story would be just a one hour breeze since the second story was supposed to be the main one. And C's Ware managed to turn everything upside down once again. The third story turned out to be the main one out of the three and it also lasted the record 3.5 hours. C's Ware no baka-a-a! So third story is more like a mix between first and second story. It has few, cut very cute characters and easy to understand plotline just like Vice story, but at the same time it's of command selection type and you need to go through the same five locations over and over exhausting all the options to move forward. Then finally the day finishes and the next day the routine continues. There's no aim in Kagura actions. We just go around outside of the Amaterasu yashiki. And only on the 7th day or so suddenly the trial time arrives followed by game over. But the third story is the main one not just because it's the longest. It has two absolutely fabulous heroines - protagonist Kagura and shrine maiden Miyano. Both are fully voiced with just a gorgeous voicing. They fool around all the time creating a really top notch comedy mood in the air. The talking demon sword and gossiping maidens make up for a huge number of comedy situations and comments. Third story is a great pleasure to read if only not for the constant checking the same areas over and over. The only good japanese review just skips the first two stories entirely and gives a thorough analysis on all the references on other works found in this third story.
    Overall comments: So overall I enjoyed the stories united by the love birth theme, but just can't approve the short stories format where many elements have to be sacrificed and H events must be stuffed up tightly. C's Ware again managed to produce a superior game that was too difficult for the general public to like and had faults not in the game elements, but in systems. That BGM that can be either ON or OFF really hurts the game evaluation as you either have to sit in the silence waiting for the characters to speak again or to listen to fantastic BGM that roars and suppresses all the brilliant seiyu work. But it's the C's Ware I love - with bugs, system shortcomings and really challenging gameplay, but nurturing real gems inside that stay hidden from the general public and show up only for you.

  10. kivandopulus
    Foreword: I never wanted to play this game, but got a request to make a playthrough recently, so agreed to do that since I was quite curious to see how much the original differs from the remake and why actually PC98 version is described as kamige by some reviewers (1) while remake being trampled to dirt.
    Title: Ai Shimai ~Futari no Kajitsu~
    Developer: Silky's
    Date: 1994-09-30
    VNDB link:https://vndb.org/v1836
    Youtube walkthrough:https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=u8udgdLjN0U

    Synopsis: A sincere older step-sister and a curious younger step-sister are doomed to become love slaves. One day, a house wife named Yukie has a traffic accident. She is ordered to pay a large settlement to the other party, Taketo, the son of the owner/president of Nogawa Industries. Unable to make the settlement payment, Yukie allows Taketo to have her sexually. At the same time, Takato's father, Nogawa, approaches Yukie's step-daughter, Rumi, and blackmails her. His evil scheme even reaches for Tomoko, Yukie's younger step-sister.
    Structure: 10 branches with endings, some of which are bad endings and some almost identical. Game takes part during 5 days of Taketo father trip overseas - during that time Taketo must settle the incident.
    Length: 2.5 hours
    Game type: Nukige.
    Difficulty: Quite difficult due to big number of branches, guide recommended
    Character Design rating: 5/10
    Protagonist rating: 2/10
    Story rating: 2/10
    Game quality: 7/10
    Overall rating: 5/10
    Rating comments: Even posting a nukige review is a high enough score for such a game, so 5/10 is not that bad. There's no real story and MC is just pure evil golden boy. But character design and graphics overall (including animated pieces) are really nice and all.
    Protagonist: Taketo can only compete with cruelness with his father, corporate bigwig. Basically he has zero morality, so easily forges documents, drugs the opposite party and blackmails everyone. Don't think there was ever a trace of his humanity depicted anywhere in the text.

    Characters: Main heroines are sisters Rumi and Tomoko, but their mother Yukie and secretary Yumi also play a very big and picturesque part in all this mess and all possible variations including 3P and 4P. Characters are cute, but not developed at all. What I disliked the most was that the interaction between the sisters is minimal, they remain schematic pieces.
    Story: It's really all in the synopsis. Taketo's father gets into a crash and imposes dealing with its consequences on his son Taketo (in exchange for giving him pocket money) instructing him using harsh methods and using women weaknesses. And Taketo does just that - invites Yukie to the company office where drugs and binds her making lewd photos of her and forcing to sign a 5 million yen debt receipt. With that document and photos he goes straight to each of the girls at school, violating them as he wants in exchange of partial debt lifting. After 5 days father comes back from the overseas trip and finds out his safe cracked. Basically all the endings differ by the person who cracks the safe and the person who actually gets the safe contents in the end triggering all kinds of good/bad endings.

    CG: Game hugely lacks non-HCG. It should probably be noted that pc-98 version does not contain censorship. Instead it just... lacks detail in some parts which was quite mainstream way of censorship in 1994.
    Sound: BGM... I definitely remember there was BGM and I even waited for two minutes for the intro piece to finish. But overall I guess I did not pay enough attention to that.
    Title and Themes:  Title reflects the brainless story - only the fruits of those two love sisters matter here.

    Overall comments: I really did not know what to write about here, so let's keep this at minimum volume. Silky's had a great success with Nonomura Byouin no Hitobito and with that established a standart of multiple branches, multiple endings for further generations. Ai Shimai is their next game, so it's natural that it was meant to reap the success of that new experimental structure. But while Nonomura Byouin no Hitobito is an intriguing mystery game, Ai Shimai is made as a brainless nukige where multiple branches structure looks redundant. They could prolong the game time from 5 days to like 10 days to include all combinations of participants and add some bad endings, but instead they developed these 10 almost identical routes that don't even have logical endings. Like in one ending hero gets hit on the head and receives the best possible ending as a result and in other cases he gets to jail after the very same loosing consciousness instead. There's no effort made in any branch, so it all looks like a very spontaneous development. I'm just happy Silky's stopped spamming the same structure in their future games in favor of more variety. But Ai Shimai original is not all that bad compared to its remake that's a parade of ugliness. So is this game bad? Yes. But is this game good and significant enough to get a review? Absolutely yes.

  11. kivandopulus
    Foreword: I have no trouble with underdeveloped futuristic settings, so I thought I could look at this game from a different perspective. Here's the result. Synopsis: In the future, nations and civilizations have disappeared due to rising sea levels caused by tectonic movements and global warming. The survivors lacked technique and talent, but they were able to restore an ancient battleship and attach a spare hydrogen engine to it. Then, a long long time passed, and all land was inundated by the sea, and humans barely survived aboard the self-navigating self-repairing ship. Ao is a boy who lived in the town aboard the ship. He helps out his parents with plowing the fields and fixing the fishing gear. There is no entertainment aside from visiting the floating market once a month and gazing at the passing ancient flotsam and pondering what they were once used for. It was a relatively depressing life akin to living in a closed society. One day, he entered the ship’s engine area, which the adults had told him absolutely not to enter. There was a picture from long ago, showing girls in colourful clothes dancing at a school in front of a large crowd of happy children. This was a ‘culture’ which has long since been lost. Moreover, he found a girl sleeping within a capsule. She was wearing the same clothes as those shown in the picture. The capsule opened when he touched it, as if he had authenticated something. The girl appeared to have lost her memories, aside from one thing: that she is an idol. An idol’s job is to sing and dance, and to spread happiness to everyone. Ao and the self-proclaimed idol Ai set out to revive the idol culture in this small world floating on the sea. Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwGwDxf37gEnpaH9OQ9KwwjYq1sfNK_rV   Character Design rating: 7/10 Protagonist rating: 6/10 Story rating: 3/10 Game quality: 8/10 Overall rating: 6/10 The score shows that I enjoyed the game less that I hoped to. As expected, I did not find setting faulty. Giant self-reliance ship-town totally makes sense to me even without showing causes for this. As long as setting remains believable. The problem with this game is that everyone in future forgets the meaning of singing and dancing. And that's plain stupid as those things existed since the stone age. And then there's this frozen idol girl Ai. She is more of a cliché than a living person considered that she remembers none of her relatives or friends, but miraculously remembers anime, hobbies, singing and dancing. And the whole common route she asks everyone what other things are and everyone asks her what singing and dancing is. SO stupid that game actually cries in full voice "dump me".   Rage minute over, so let's try to look at other game's aspects. AXL is mostly famous for its funny SOL. And sometimes I even felt that fantasy plots have to focus on different social roles of heroines and move plot somewhere, so there's not enough funny SOL. Ai Yori Aoi Umi no Hate looks like an opposite idea - let's strip all seriousness and all the plot and just focus on lively idol-themed SOL entirely. And being brought to the extremes it loses so many important things. Listening to pretentious fluffy crap from Ai and everyone adoring that is so weird I want to facepalm each time. I made an effort and got to each heroine end, so I can say individual routes are rather good and varied from each other. But Nanami route is probably the strongest one due to adventure spirit and getting away from the so poor setting as far as possible. But what's the point if no one sees them and if sudden bursts of stupidity constantly remind of the very flawed basis it all stands on? AXL usually shines with character interaction. There's usually some club or some society structure in which heroines have to communicate between themselves. But in Ai Yori Aoi Umi no Hate there's almost no horizontal communication. It's either individual sketches or interaction with protagonist or interaction with sub-character like Naotora. There are a lot of scenes when all heroines are on the same screen, but during these gathering times heroines usually are just asking open questions or talking to protagonist Ao. It's probably possible to find pieces that contradict this statement, but I failed to find vivid examples.    In the end I'd like to say that readers aren't stupid. I'm willing to be fooled and tricked, but content needs to be trustworthy. Without it any amount of effort applied becomes zero as an outcome. Idol theme also contributes to the simplicity and thus lack of depth. In this regard it's probably the worst AXL work so far.
  12. kivandopulus
    Foreword: LiLiM is an old and curious brand that produces high quality works of different genres. This work is chunige, so I can't pass by it. 

    Synopsis:
    "The bizarre murder which continues happening in a town.
    The town close to you. It is another world.
    And I meet you."
    Waking up in a tranquil town, there is a bizarre murder case.
    The atrocity of the reoccurring homicides is revealed as it comes to this town.
    But in this town lives a student who goes out to meet the monster.
    He swings an invisible claw, and strikes the monster.
    In an instant, he swings again and pierces the monsters arm and finishes him.
    As a gust of wind blows, the girls appear.
    Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs4Gp5VU4Fv99gFiC7n4livqX3x2j4GR6
    Game type: Action chunige
    Character Design rating: 7/10
    Protagonist rating: 7/10
    Story rating: 8/10
    Game quality: 7/10
    Overall rating: 7/10

    Let's start with the world view since story direction is not clear from the synopsis. Main character witnesses a mass killer incident consequences in his class and transferres to another school. But eventually he gets attacked by another mass murderer boy who belongs to Aion creatures. It appears that Aion killed people for generations - and currently Aion are countered by two organizations Rachelwood (Yukari) from the West and Samurai from the East (Ayami). Rachelwood eventually defeated Aion, but its pieces possessed six humans. Anything more than that would already be in the spoiler range.

    Traditionally, let's focus on downsides. First of all, game is short and could fully fit into one 12-hour video. I still split it to show the turning point between the routes (to treat or not to treat crepes to the girl, lol) and separate two big routes. It would be too much of a mess with all the four endings smashed together. And a lot of shortcomings come from this short length. Like there is no time for romance, so after telling the story it's it's H closely following confession. There is also lack of explanation like protagonist being ordinary student and desiring to protect peace of all people with his wooden kendo sword. I personally found text good, but it may appear monotonous at times. Graphics can be rough at times with CG looking different from standing character sprites (poor Madoka).

    Finally, good points! I found battle scenes well done, with enough sound and visual support, tempo. The story is not complex, but is clear for understanding and nice. There are two big routes where we get assisted by one of the organizations representative - Yukari or Ayami. But each of those routes has a side-heroine with her own ending - Madoka or Yume. There was also antagonist Yoriko end, but it was a bad ending with sudden death after H event, so did not insert it. There are also quite a few mysteries to uncover. Like origin of main character and his parents that he never knew. Also things like  Rachelwood sudden personality change from extremely cold to cheerful wordy one. 

    And we arrive to the question why this game is rather poorly evaluated. And I did not find an answer to this question. Japanese reviews name the same shortcomings which I see as nitpicking. Some mention that they had supreme expectations after strong promotion campaign done by LiLiM. But I had no expectations at all, so was rather surprised with the good quality of the game. As usual, I blame prejudices over chunige and excessive quality demands towards this genre. I enjoyed the game and definitely recommend it as a rather traditional Fate Stay Night variation chunige.

  13. kivandopulus
    Foreword: I know I was going to review Schwarzesmarken, and I quite liked the anime version, but I see zero reason to play the game after anime. Ama no Sora Retrospect, on the other hand, seems to have zero English reviews despite the non-trivial setting, thus it fits my choice pattern nicely. Synopsis: Amanosora is a small town of around 60,000 people, formed ten years ago from the merger of the villages of Tensei and Sorami. Shikimi attends the local school with the cleaning club leader Himari and his lively kouhai Shinon. There’s a rumour at the school that the door to another world would be opened by pressing a certain sequence of buttons in the elevator at the lighthouse in the Stargazing Commemorative Hall. One day, the school committee asked the cleaning club to tidy up the interior of the lighthouse. Together with his mysterious book-reading classmate Misumi, they solved the elevator riddle while doing the cleaning. It led to the top floor of the lighthouse, which was a huge fairytale-like library. This was the other world: Remembrance. A small girl named Amahoshi awoke from her slumber and asked for their help in gathering the town’s scattered memories. Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU-wNyVG10o&list=PLwGwDxf37gElxanVUMQVC9AYM7z-xo4Rs   Character Design rating: 6/10 Protagonist rating: 6/10 Story rating: 5/10 Game quality: 8/10 Overall rating: 6/10 I have mixed feelings about this game. As you see from the scores, game quality is really high, but individual elements weren't to my liking. Game tries to look different from most charage as it diversifies SOL events by including small mystery elements. It often feels like a light novel. See for yourself - first there's the concept that God is a monkey, then wailing of undead is heard, next we're introduced to the library of memories, a short while there's a sudden outburst of public homosexuality (trap - check). Finally, main characters prepare a play for the town festival, where we choose one of four girls, and this is the only choice in the game. During individual routes we basically help the girl by relieving her from shackles of memories, so the pair can proceed to the happy future life. That's basically it. So the whole elaborate setting is not so elaborate in the long run and is needed only as pretext to handle memories directly in individual routes. Again, I can't say that girls aren't likeable, but none of them feels right. Shinon is the most human-like from them, but she's a rather normal genki blonde twin-tail booby girl. Amahoshi the goddess is surprisingly plain , and her route is absolutely the worst and overwhelmingly boring. Head of club Himari is super plain and uninteresting. Misumi is a traditional long black hair calm book reader. The contents of routes is quite fresh, but nothing overwhelming dealing with such normal things as twin sister, old friend, hobbies like cooking or game arcade, a bit of time leaps, a bit of mystery. There are two scenario writers, and it feels due to quality shifts and the reason that longest Shinon route is twice as long as shortest Himari route.  I have one more grudge about this game. It's not serious even though it wants to be a mystery game. Atmosphere is absolutely loose and relaxed at all times. Even when undead start to wail, a freaking parody music begins leaving zero intrigue. There is no such thing as danger here, and mystery actually also dissolves with this feeling. Because there is no grand mystery, there is no climax in any of the routes. As for routes themselves, development is opportunistic at times. I also did not feel sincerity in SOL scenes, did not like the sub-characters like weird teachers and even the way group members communicate. There are no joint character CGs, and group does not feel integral with most communication done in the dialogue with the protagonist , and heroines just make small comments and jokes among each other. Overall, pretty much every aspect of the game irritates me for some reason. Given the high quality and effort involved it's hard to articulate exact reasons, but even good ingredients don't feel properly cooked together. It's still a good game and can totally see how it can be liked, just not by me. And judging by the fact that it's the last Glace game and still without English reviews, it might be not my individual problem.
  14. kivandopulus
    Foreword: Cotton Soft chunige are always welcome by me.
    Synopsis:
    There used to be a group of friends. They really trusted each other and their relationship never seemed to end. However, they gradually split up as time passed. Seven years later, Subaru now enjoys his school life with his friends and classmates. But when his old friends appear in front of him, his old memories come back... Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs4Gp5VU4Fv8Tvl8lGdGmpP2hldkNAWbe Character Design rating: 8/10
    Protagonist rating: 8/10
    Story rating: 9/10
    Game quality: 10/10
    Overall rating: 9/10
    It took me a lot of time to settle with the score. I evaluated Reconquista as 8/10, so had to compare these two games narrowly. Reconquista has its charm, but Amber Quartz is more mature almost in every field. Thus the result. The two games both focus on memory restoration in a non-trivial story while handing battles in the process, but approach is totally different as mystery tilt is exchanged for traditional chunige elements. Reconquista is also mentioned directly during history lesson about crusades. But need to explain Amber Quatz conception before further speculation. Premise is not too difficult. Game starts with Nayuta confessing to protagonist Subaru, and he he invites the girl to become friends to know each other better. And all the first chapter is full of gags as Nayuta roleplays Subaru's future wife. But very soon shrine maiden Miyako appears and kills a dear person to Subaru. And that dear person becomes a puddle of goo who was actually a monster. Soon protagonist discovers his own power after being cornered by one of such monsters. From this time we search for strange behavior of familiar people, fight these monsters and discover memories about the rest of six childhood friends. Heroines also participate in battles which is cool. I'd say that concept is not as complex as in Reconquista, but the friendship times and lesser mysteries make up for one big mystery. On top of that we dip into history 1000 years ago just like in Air, so there is enough to look forward to. As for downsides, there is not much I can recall. Most Japanese reviewers feel betrayed by not being warned about chunige nature of the game and thus lower scores deliberately, but it's not the point for me. Sarina route is objectively weak. Scenario is unjoined and with some nonsensical conversations especially when realizing that she is presented as ojousama. Sudden shift to SF with lasers and such also is only seen in her route. But her and Miyako routes are written by outsource writers, so it was expected. Miyako route feels so-so as well compared to the rest. Game has rather difficult structure. Game is divided into eleven chapters while there are only four heroine routes. It could be done more neatly. Protagonist is rather weak, his only reliable technique is middle range and can't be used often. So battles generally lack excitement except for some final battles. There is not much romance development. Just spending time together and then expression of mutual sympathy that leads to H scene. But for me it's rather a plus. So let's see game's strong sides. Scenario gives a good feeling since individual routes are longer than common route, and no one of friends gets forgotten, all problems get solved. There are no useless side characters - all of them are immersed greatly in the world. I have absolutely zero complaints about production. Everything is great, and I'd only wish for bigger number of CG which are 94 or so. I always try to ask myself what the title means. And in this case Amber Quartz is used as title just because most battles happen in the evening during sunset. It provides warm orange impression. But despite all the praise I can't call Amber Quartz a full 10/10 masterpiece, because such game must have characters and situations that burn in memory forever. And I'm not really sure I'd remember these characters in a month's time. The one thing that definitely burns in memory is recurring Tama pee theme and corresponding scene. But it is not something I'd want to remember a game forever for!
  15. kivandopulus
    Foreword: Game has a very strong start and intriguing concept which made me play to the end. It differed from my initial expectations, but it's a very original and good-looking game, so I don't regret playing it.
    Title: Angel Halo
    Developer: Active
    Date: 1996-10-25
    VNDB link:https://vndb.org/v6958
    Youtube walkthrough:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c39QbpcwcZs&list=PLENAECnNmAq-m-9QhCmoIlz4DWBEqTwHq

     Synopsis: The protagonist, Kusakabe Makoto, is living a normal school life without knowing he is the reincarnation of Lucifer. One day an angel named Sofia and a demon named Lilith come to him. They are the messengers of Heaven and Hell. The day of Lucifer's judgement is approaching.
    Structure: Two routes depending on choosing Angel or Devil side with total number of endings being 5.
    Length: 5 hours
    Game type: AVG 
    Difficulty: Branching is actually very easy as only 2-3 first choices determine the ending, but there are many fake choices, so it can look confusing.
    Character Design rating: 6/10
    Protagonist rating: 5/10
    Story rating: 7/10
    Game quality: 7/10
    Overall rating: 7/10

    Rating comments: Game barely makes it to 7 which is still considered a masterpiece by me. The first route story was really impressive worth 8 or 9, but all the others were the very same route with some minor variations, mostly just before the ending. Characters are good-looking, but aren't developed. Protagonist is a pushover, as usual. But naked angel girls with gorgeous wings help the evaluation a lot. And there's some charm in seeing all the endings.
    Protagonist: Makoto is an ordinary high school student who gets to know from one of the transfer students Lilith that he's an incarnation of the Satan and is going to destroy all life on the Earth in two weeks on Christmas Eve of 1999. And another transfer student Sofia says that Makoto is a savior of humanity. He does not believe either of them. But Sofia shows him her wings and Lilith introduces him to the world of pleasures, so he ends up taking one of the sides. I did not like protagonist since he was just killing time in school. He was hating his dull life and wanted for this unexciting life on Earth just perish one day even before meeting transfer students. He has an osanajimi Marimo in the same class and with all the otherworldly business he just forgets about her completely only stumbling upon her by pure chance in one of the routes. In Angel route he's passive, in Devil route a total dick.

    Characters: There aren't really character routes, so individual characters aren't developed. We get an angel Sofia, a devil Lilith, a childhood friend Marimo, a teacher Ruida who comes from the descendants of angels and male friend Shinichi. The rest of the characters are one-time thing and no female character stays without a H event. Ruida is actually a character who undergoes a lot of development. She's a natural ally of Sofia, but gets seduced by Lilith in the beginning who amplified her lust. So Ruida gets into a difficult position where she does not want the world to end, but can't resist Lilith's will as well and that leads to unexpected results in some endings. Shinichi is also worth mentioning as he's a stoic and benevolent character - he acts as a sempai in relations with Makoto.
    Story: There's actually not much in the story department after the opening sequence. Both Sofia and Lilith invite Makoto to their houses in the evening and this choice determines the side while following sub-choice determines the ending. Then for about two hours goes a fixed part of the story with Makoto finding indecent activities at school and in the part and also discovering a bonded missing girl in the church who craves for intimacy. Only being able to repress this temptation opens up the best angel ending. And the second half of the story depends on the chosen side. As a devil apprentice Makoto is encouraged just to do as he likes and wait for the world demise and following an angel path he needs to get intimate to several school girls who have are angel descendants. Doing that is supposed to restrain the Satan in him from breaking loose. This part is good as girls have their own wills and require some evidence or persuasion. But Makoto is such a failure protagonist that he can only whine. Sofia encourages him to use his super messiah power to make girls believe he is the Chosen one, but she does not know how that works and Makoto is not able to find that out, so the fate of the world depends on a chain of random events mostly. I hope I did not spoiler too much by now, but I also need to emphasize the endings. I started with the devil ending and it was impressive. The second devil ending was of the same pattern, but Makoto got his own malicious will to aggravate things even more. But finishing angel route I also got a bad ending... WTH? Second angel ending was also a failure. I'm glad I left the final best angel ending for the final... and it was impressive and impactful - that's all I can say without spoilers. Since I got a video of playthrough up, it's not difficult to see for yourself now.

    CG: I absolutely liked this dim retro palette and gothic uniform. There's a lot of attention to the dressing and those corsets, black t-shirts, long stockings and church-like gowns impress indeed. There is a substantial number of CG.
    Sound: Game is fully voiced (apart of the narrator). I found some exceptions to this rule when Makoto tells a long history of one city district and he's not voiced at that time. But it was really exciting to find a 1996 game with full voicing. BGM are actually nice, but the level can't be adjusted. I had to turn it off at times where the dramatic loud melody prevented from listening to the characters. BGM volume is not adjustable and it's a bit too high to my liking. 
    Themes: Game's based on thy hype over millennium shift. I personally like apocalyptic theme in visual novels - I liked Subarashiki Hibi, Shuumatsu no Sugoshikata and will definitely review Tsui no Sora one day.
    There is also a nice fallen angel theme with its logical realization in one of the endings. 

    Overall comments: Game of big unrealized potential. My biggest complaint that there is no action in the game even though there all prerequisites for it. For example, there's this Lilith butter servant with a sadistic face. He's destined to be a villain, but he only participates in on rape scene and then shows up several time in Lilith room and... that's all. But Angel Halo also failed as love drama. There this supercute Marimo childhood friend who loves the hero, but she only plays a very episodic role literally occasionally bumping into the hero in one of the evil routes and thus getting her ending by pure coincidence and inside an evil devil route. So it all gets down to listening the explanation of Makoto role and just waiting or trying to fix his fate by mating with angel descendant girls. And Sofia with Ruida act more like pimps to drag girls to Makoto and threaten the girls with the end of the world in case of resistance. That's hardly much different from Lilith approach especially in the light that Sofia uses her body to attach Makoto to the light path and not the Heavenly means or reasoning. But as this unnatural situation gets underlined by all 5 endings the game gets some charm over it, not a logical conclusion type of charm, but that of the chaos solution for the chaos situation. And we also love Japanese visual novels for this impactful and affectionate chaos.

  16. kivandopulus
    Since I don't like to make separate posts for small things , here are principles that anime list is based on - no anime for kids, no hentai, no anime with episodes under 10 minutes, no OVA that are recaps of series episodes or with length under 30 minutes, no boys love, no non-Japanese language anime.   As for anime of the 1960s, Taiyou no Ouji: Horus no Daibouken is the only masterpiece for me in this period.   1. Tetsuwan Atom Astro Boy 鉄腕アトム [1961-I] Mushi Production (Dropped 4/193) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi In the year 2003, Professor Tenma is distraught when his son Tobio is killed in a car accident. He loses himself in his latest project, creating Atom, a robot boy programmed to be forever good. Upset that his Tobio-substitute can never grow up, Tenma sells Atom to Ham Egg, the cruel ringmaster of a robot circus. Atom meets the kindly Professor Ochanomizu, who adopts him, inspires him to become a crusader against evil, and eventually builds him a robot "sister," Uran. The first Japanese anime TV-series I was able to find not for kids, so for me this is the year anime begins. A classic superhero story with the exception that protagonist is a robot kid . Robot nature is introduced here to explain superpower , but primarily to be the basis for humor. Protagonist is the only recurring figure (even "sister" Uran gets forgotten instantly) and he behaves in an absolutely predictable way. Episode 1 is introduction and retelling of synopsis. Episode 2 is a more or less typical battle with a just introduced robot villain. But episode 3 surprises as the concept does not just repeat - instead we're presented a rocket journey to Mars with fighting invader aliens becoming only a side dish, and discovering story behind the first expedition and finding survivors the main one. Episode 4 surprises again as astro boy regains consciousness alone in a desert and is rescued by bandit Ali-Baba to help him in treasure hunt and by coincidence unseals a conspiracy. Humor and story novelty in each episode fascinate and entertain enough to go on if you literally have nothing better to do. But without bright characters and fascinating story it can hardly offer much to contemporary watcher.   Overall Rating: 3/10   2. Tetsujin 28-gou Gigantor 鉄人28号 [1963-IV] Eiken (Dropped 5/96) Tags : Shounen Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi Dr.Haneda was developing experimental giant robot warriors to fight the allies during the Second World War, but before his creations could see action, Allied bombs destroyed the facility and killed him. A decade later criminals discovered two of the surviving prototypes, #26 and 27 in the series, and used the remote controlled robots to commit a number of crimes. Young Shotaro Haneda, the twelve year old son of Dr.Haneda, did some investigating and discovered that the mob were hunting for the twenty-eighth robot in the series, rumoured to be the most powerful of them all. Racing the villains, Shotaro discovers the robot first, along with Dr.Shikashima, a colleague of his father's who was also believed killed by the Allied bombing. Together the two prevent Tetusjin-28 (the robot's official designation) from falling into the hands of the bad guys, and decide to dedicate him to peace rather than war. Shotaro fought crime for a long time, supported by Dr.Shikashima, who would repair Tetsujin-28 when he was damaged, and by police officer Otsuka. Shotaro even battled the alien Magmans, invaders from the planet Magma, who came to Earth late in his career, bringing their own giant robots, Magma X and Gold Wolf, with them. Another classic title for the shounen mecha genre, although robot is only some 5+ meters high and is controlled with a controller rather than from inside. Complex synopsis covers as many as first two episodes and also finishes with the gang arc. Episode 3 starts an alien invasion arc with spy confrontation with episode 4 being the invasion itself and episode 5 a comeback of the alien spy robot. Compared to Astro Boy there's no humor in here apart of some graphical choices . Action , story and arcs are in the center here, and episodes finish with either a hook and to be continued or with a preview of next episode to keep the interest running. This integrity and glue add some points, but I still see zero reasons why it can be watched nowadays. Overall Rating: 3/10   3. Eightman 8 Man エイトマン [1961-IV] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/56) Tags: Mecha Action, Drama, Sci-Fi A private investigator working a routine case involving stolen technology is mortally wounded. His only hope for survival comes from sacrificing his humanity to become 8Man—a powerful cyborg crime-fighter enhanced with a living human brain. Resurrected as the ultimate high-tech vigilante, it is up to 8Man to bring the lawless to justice and put an end to the escalating cycle of violence. A classic animated thriller that will leave you breathless. A normal superman story. Watchable , but I've never had interest in superhero stories. I see this work not as anime, but as a conventional American cartoon as it has West-imitating animation, mature protagonist and simplistic narrative. Each episode presents a separate detective/villain story. Can't think of anything even more primitive as that, so the scores are the bottom line as well. Overall Rating: 1/10   4. Wan Wan Chuushingura Doggie March わんわん忠臣蔵 [1963-IV] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Anthropomorphic Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy The homeless dog Rock swears to take to revenge on a tiger named Killer in the zoo, who had killed his mother. The dogs in town, troubled by the atrocities of Killer, join forces to support Rock. Changing the target of revenge to the murderer of the main character's mother made it easier for kids to empathize with the character. A child OVA imitating Disney cartoons, notably Lion King. I see it as a technology demo rather than a serious story. Compared to the TV series from the the same year animation is godly, but it should rather be compared with Wester OVA. In this regard it's totally ok for children and on par with Disney, I'd actually rate Disney the same, just don't like watching it as an adult. Overall Rating: 3/10   5. 0-sen Hayato 0戦はやと [1964-I] P Productions (Dropped 1/38) Tags: Historical, Military The adventures of a zero fighter pilot during World War II. Given that there's no translation, there aren't English reviews either. Anime is about 35 excellent pilots gathered in one unrivaled corps by a great commander. It has enough depth because pilots come from different Japanese clans, even rivaling ones . There are also a lot of historical and geographical allusions. Finally, good use of action and tactics. Still, can't see the point in this anime nowadays without full focus on characters. Overall Rating: 2/10   6. Big X ビッグX [1964-II] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/59) Tags: Shounen Historical Action, Sci-Fi Invited to Nazi Germany during World War II, Dr. Asagumo is asked by Hitler to collaborate with him on the research of the new weapon "Big X". Concerned about the possible effects of the completion of Big X, Dr. Asagumo intentionally delays the progress of the research, conspiring with his co-researcher, the devious Dr. Engel. Immediately before Germany is defeated by the Allies, Dr. Asagumo implants a card inscribed with the secret of Big X in his son, Shigeru, and is then shot to death by the German army. Twenty years later, the card is discovered in the body of Shigeru, who is then living in Tokyo. Soon, an organization claiming alliance with the Nazis appears, steals the card, and completes the Big X project. Dr. Engel's grandson has joined the Nazi Alliance. The completed Big X is then revealed to be a drug that can expand the human body without limitation. Recovering Big X from the enemy, Shigeru's son Akira fearlessly challenges the Nazi Alliance and Hans Engel, who are plotting to conquer the world. Another variation of superman, this time wonder waffle variant. Quite similar to predecessors, especially, Tetsujin 28-gou as genius child travels with professor and some allies with superpower activating only in the dire moments. Episode 1 contains the synopsis events, further episodes are of episodic nature. There's some mild humor. I see little sense in all this to watch it now. Overall Rating: 2/10   7. Shounen Ninja Kaze no Fujimaru  Samurai Kid 少年忍者風のフジ丸 [1964-III] Toei Animation (Dropped 1/65) Tags: Shounen Samurai Action, Adventure Kidnapped and rescued by a Ninja, Fujimaru has mastered martial arts over the years. Now he sets off on a journey to find his mother and also locate an old tome containing secret martial arts techniques. First samurai series, but already quite advanced as there are nice talks between several main characters, though nothing really special. Anyway, never understood shounens. Overall Rating: 3/10   8. Uchuu Patrol Hopper Space Patrol Hopper 宇宙パトロールホッパ [1965-I] Toei Animation (Dumped 1/44) Tags: Space Sci-Fi After an alien attack, a boy named Jun is rescued by aliens who give him super powers and recruit him into the Space Patrol. The series was renamed Patrol Hopper Uchukko Jun for the final 18 episodes. A shounen replaced to an alien planet full of aliens. Aliens have saved Jun and taught him superpowers. Change of place is to a great benefit here, as aliens are depicted as very funny and all those banal professors/policemen/criminals are repeated almost everywhere and don't fascinate. Altogether same episodic adventures, just in a different environment. Overall Rating: 3/10   9. Mirai Kara Kita Shounen Super Jetter  未来から来た少年 スーパージェッター [1965-I] TBS, TCJ (Dumped 3/52) Tags: Super Power Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi A time patroller from the 30th century goes back to the 20th century to stop a meteor from destroying the world.  Again superpower, but both protagonist and villains now come from future. Protagonist is not much different from everyone else despite coming from 30th century - his gadgets stop-watch and flying car mostly serve as superpowers. What really stands out in this anime is a carefree journalist girl becoming protagonist's partner. Her reactions and talks make the bulk of the humor scenes and liven up the atmosphere a lot. Overall Rating: 4/10   10. Gulliver no Uchuu Ryokou ガリバーの宇宙旅行 [1965-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Ted meets the aged professor Gulliver in a deep, dark forest. Accompanied by Mack the dog, a toy soldier called The General, and the Crow, the two set off on a journey to the Planet of Blue Hope in their spaceship the Gulliver. Finally we got some crazy stuff going on. Talking toy soldier warns an unlucky homeless boy about a rushing car, so thy and a thrown away dog just start going randomly and do random stuff like run away from the attraction park guards and fly together on a harpoon launched from a cannon getting in the dark forest where synopsis finally catches up. Several times environment just became a solid color with our heroes trapped inside changing geometrical figures, really weird. And it's also a musical as there are four big songs and several more small ones (often with that crazy transformation animation) . Talking dog is here for most humor moments while toy soldier for lots of grudging. All these elements make the OVA entertaining during the whole course and random space adventures are always nice, but still can't recommend it without some real substance or sense or exceptional characters in all those adventures. Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Uchuu Ace Space Ace 宇宙エース [1965-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dumped 3/52) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Dr. Tatsunoko of Tatsunoko Research Center goes undersea accompanied by his daughter Asari to inquire into some mysterious radiation and discovers there a giant shell and it is known that the radiation comes from a globe laid inside the shell. Then Asari finds an object in the shape of compact with a message in it. It says that a space alien from the Planet of Parlum which is on the verge of extinction is lying in the globe. Suddenly a boy with a strange look appears out of the globe and goes wild. He is the very person mentioned in the message with the name of Ace. His source of energy for superhuman power is what is called space food and he can fly with the help of Silver Ring made with energy collected instantly in the aerial environment. Also he is able to use it as a weapon to fight the enemy with. Supported by his friends including Asari, Ibo the robot dog, and Hermit Crab Reporter, he gallantly goes into action to settle various difficulties caused by mystic robots and brutal space invaders. New space-themed superhero protects the Earth against invaders of all sorts. Feels very much like Mirai Kara Kita Shounen Super Jetter, just with younger protagonist and cute chibi girl partner Asari. Overall Rating: 4/10   12. Uchuu Shounen Soran 宇宙少年ソラン [1965-II] Eiken (Dumped 3/96) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi A classic sci-fi TV anime. The adventures of super-boy. In the 21st century, a human boy is raised on the Planet Soran, home of one of the most advanced civilization in the Galactic Federaion. The planet has the gravity 15 times stronger than Earth. People of Soran changed the boy into a cyborg so that he can live on the planet. Years later the boy returns to Earth. He calls himself Soran. On Earth, his phsical ability is 15 times superior to normal humans. He uses the power for justice. A classic in this regard means return to the sources, notably Tetsuwan Atom, but in an upgraded variant - with a talking squirrel partner. Feels like a step back for me without a proper female partner and even a sight of doubt in any actions. Overall Rating: 3/10   13. Wonder 3 The Amazing 3 ワンダー3 [1965-III] Mushi Production (Dropped 4/52) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Wonder 3 is an Osamu Tezuka manga and a black and white anime series. It involved the adventures of three agents from outer space who were sent to Earth to determine whether the planet, a potential threat to the universe, should be destroyed. The instrument of destruction is a device resembling a large black ball with two antennae that is variously called an anti-proton bomb, a solar bomb, and a neutron bomb. Although the three agents (Captain Bokko, Nokko, and Pukko) are originally humanoid in appearance, upon arrival on Earth they take on the appearances of a rabbit (Bokko), a horse (Nokko), and a duck (Pukko) that they had captured as examples of Earth life forms. While on Earth they travel in a tire-shaped vehicle capable of enormous speeds called the Big Wheel, which can travel on both land and water (and, with modifications, through the air). Despite Wonder 3 is mixing the same elements of superpowers, aliens and boy protagonist, it becomes the best TV-series up to this moment. The reason is that it bakes all elements really well. For the first time protagonist is a very ordinary boy without any outstanding abilities. But there are three alien companions turned into animals playing the role of a simpleton, a grump and a flirting female. There's also protagonist's older brother who is a proper cool spy and always falls into trouble. Finally, political situation is unstable with conflict stirring among two nations. It results in military and spies around. This way there's a lot more opportunities for all kinds of events and humor. I have to take one a single score point just because it has English subtitles for only five episodes, but I seriously believe that it's the peak of adventure comedy with superpowers theme presented in most old anime. Setting is saturated horizontally with characters and conditions very well. To get higher scores from me anime should dig deeper. Overall Rating: 5/10   14. Yuusei Shounen Papii Prince Planet [1965-III] 遊星少年パピイ Eiken (Dumped 3/52) Tags: Space, Super Power Action, Sci-Fi Tells the story of a member of the Universal Peace Corps from the Planet Radion coming to Earth on a mission to determine if this world meets standards for membership in the Galactic Union of Worlds and assist its inhabitants during his stay. While on his mission Prince Planet adopts the identity of an Earth boy named Bobby and gains comrades who work together alongside him combating evil forces both alien and terrestrial. Eiken is making the third similar looking anime in a row (and simultaneously running) without trying to improve structure-wise. This time there is a girl partner instead of a talking squirrel... but she does not have a significant function with a self-confident superboy. Eiken just does not learn. Overall Rating: 3/10   15. Obake no Q-tarou オバケのQ太郎 [1965-III] Shin-Ei Animation (Dumped 1/96) Tags: School Comedy, Slice of Life, Supernatural Q-taro, a monster, is living with the Ohara family. He can fly and make his body transparent, but he cannot turn his body into other things like other monsters do. He is a scattered mind, and he always makes mistakes and causes trouble. Old Japanese slice-of-life anime comedies are the best. Now I understand where Maruko-chan came from. Sadly, there's just one episode with English subs and some 10 more raw ones around. Maybe there's more luck with remake Overall Rating: 6/10   16. Osomatsu-kun おそ松くん [1966-I] Studio Zero (Dumped 3/96) Tags: Comedy A wacky comedy about identical sextuplets causing wild pranks. Each episode features 2 stories. Again only three episodes with English subs and again much hope on the remake. Has truly great findings and individual style in many senses. Zero synopsis means full freedom, and this series uses it fully. Overall Rating: 6/10   17. Tatakae! Osper 戦え! オスパー [1966-I] Nihon Hoso Eigasha (Dumped 0/52) Tags: Shounen Action, Sci-Fi On a distant world, people with paranormal powers battle each other. Seems to be lost media, but I doubt I'd evaluate Esper battles highly. Overall Rating: 0/10   18. Rainbow Sentai Robin レインボー戦隊ロビン [1966-II] Toei Animation (Dumped 3/48) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi A squadron of robots defends the planet against alien invaders. Now this is something unexpected. We've got four normal size sentai rangers - protagonist, shooter, bruiser, medic - plus two chibi characters - radar fox and professor. There are as many as two female characters - medic and radar fox. But anime is called after protagonist Robin - basically, he's the usual self-confident superstrong protagonist. Allies provide some support sometimes or get captured. It's much more advanced than western power rangers, but it's same fighting with different alien invaders each episode, so rather boring overall. Overall Rating: 4/10   19. Kaizoku Ouji 海賊王子 [1966-II] Toei Animation (Dumped 3/31) Tags: Shounen Adventure Kid was brought up on a small island which floats on the Carribean Sea. He lives a pleasant life with many animals as his companions. However, this changes when he learns that his dying father is not his real father. Before he passes away, his foster father reveals to Kid that his real father is actually Captain Morgan, the pirate who rules the seven seas. Kid decides to set off in search of his real father, only to learn about his death. Other pirates began to hunger for the title of ruler, one of them being the notorious pirate Tiger Hook. In order to protect the seas, Kid became the pirate king of his father's ship. Protagonist is basically Peter Pan in the jungle. He has talking animal friends and in the first episode saves a girl captive and her granddad from the pirates. Our team plus pirate ship staff starts to sail on a ship, and pirate captain opposes them on another ship. They clash at different islands and ports with the pirate captain , other new pirates and native tribes. It's a colorful bunch, though the bulk of humor still goes on pirate captain and his pet. That's an almost ready concept for One Piece, no matter how you look at it. I don't favor adventure shounens. Overall Rating: 5/10   20. Harisu no Kaze ハリスの旋風 [1966-II] P Productions (Dumped 0/70)  Tags: School Comedy A boy known as a troublemaker transfers into a new school. Looks like a piece of lost media again as nowhere to be found Overall Rating: 0/10   21. Yuusei Kamen 遊星仮面  [1966-III] Eiken (Dropped 4/39) Tags: Sci-Fi Donning a special mask, a young man defends the planet. It's Eiken, so low-quality drawing and structure again with an unstoppable superhero. This time all those blinking horizontal lines used in drawing really make eyes hurt. And there's no kind of partner. Just awful. Overall Rating: 1/10   22. Cyborg 009 サイボーグ009  [1966-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi Original Cyborg 009 1966 movie based on the manga. Features 009's origin and an epic battle against Black Ghost and their evil robot forces. A good full-scale action movie with some humor. There's a whole bunch of colorful allies. To get some serious scores just action and some humor is not enough. Overall Rating: 5/10   23. Jungle Taitei Movie ジャングル大帝 劇場版 [1966-III] Mushi Production (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Adventure The first 2 minutes of this film are taken from the Jungle Emperor Leo (1965) TV series, while the rest is all original. Tezuka was very pleased that this film conveyed his story accurately, something he wasn't able to do with the TV series. It's mostly a recap of tv series for kids run the year before. A bit of everything - flashbacks, small conflict, overcoming difficulties coming from nature. learning from that and creating a restaurant on a safe land patch, dealing with a new threat. In movie form it still remains a title for kids. Overall Rating: 4/10   24. Jungle Taitei: Susume Leo! ジャングル大帝・進めレオ [1966-IV] Mushi Production (Dropped 3/26) Jungle Emperor was such a hit in Japan, that Dr. Tezuka went ahead and produced a sequel in 1966, known in Japan as "The New Jungle Emperor" or "Onward, Leo!" The trouble (for us in the rest of the world) was that he made the series without having a deal with NBC, and he made it more like his original manga story, which means that there were a lot of characters that died and some of the episodes could be depressing. NBC thought that there was no way they could sell that kind of show, and they were quite happy with the 52 episodes they had, so the New Jungle Emperor series wasn`t seen in this country until 1984, when it was given the title Leo The Lion. This series was supposed to take place a few years after the original Kimba series. Kimba was an adult, with Kitty as his mate, and they had two cubs. Most of all this series was the story of Rune, the male cub, as he grew and learned to be as strong as his father. Basically, Jungle Taitei for shounen instead of kids. Quite a lot of violence and depressive scenes. And that's long before Harry Potter! There is some humor, but anime still lacks a strong memorable cast of companions and remains decent at best. Overall Rating: 5/10   25. Mahoutsukai Sally Sally the Witch 魔法使いサリー [1967-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 4/109) Tags: Shoujo School Fantasy  Sally, the kind but mischievous princess of the Land of Magic, has developed an interest in the human world. Wanting to experience it for herself, she runs away and meets two girls her age—Yoshiko "Yocchan" Hanamura and Sumire Kasugano—at a department store. They quickly become friends and spend time at Sally's mansion, which she conjured with magic. The two girls realize they forgot something at the store, and despite it having closed for the night, they leave to fetch the item. Sally and her younger brother Cub, who had been sent by their parents to retrieve her, follow them and discover that they have been captured by a pair of thieves who were attempting to rob the store. Utilizing their magic, Sally and Cub drive the thieves away and rescue the girls, who remain unaware of Sally's powers. Attached to her new friends and the fun of the human world, Sally decides to stay, taking up the surname Yumeno and attending school with Yocchan and Sumire. Cub chooses to live with her and together they make a variety of new friends and go on various adventures, all the while spicing up their lives with magic. So Sally is originator of all magical girls and shoujo as a genre. I'm not target audience, but this first shoujo is so well done. One polite and one mischievous girl as friends make great companions. There's no moving around, so the same neighborhood becomes the stage. And the Japanese excel at slice-of-life comedy. There are all kinds of pranksters around, but younger brother and magic-wielder Cub is the kind of them - because of magic. Despite girl protagonist, it's just a great slice comedy, a lot like Obake no Q-tarou in nature. And triplets feel a lot like octets from Osamatsu-kun. I'd gladly universally recommend it if it had all episodes translated and not just 14. Overall Rating: 6/10   26. Gokuu no Daibouken Adventures of the Monkey King 悟空の大冒険 [1967-I] Mushi Production (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Comedy, Fantasy In this film, because of complaints from children that Goku is depicted as too much of an eager student, he is instead portrayed as a very naughty modern boy. It then received so many complaints from the PTA about its bad language that it was forced out of the show after all. Manga source is a rather crazy retelling of Chinese mythology, and there's no English translation for anime, so let me try to give some plot info. Monkeys wanted to appoint a king among themselves and went to emperor's court , but their gifts were expropriated and they were overwhelmed with the help of magician council and thrown to prison. In prison protagonist monkey Goku hears a fey singing and asks her help. After a long chase fey agrees to help, and together they win a magic battle over the councilor, rescue monkey comrades and occupy the palace. At episode 2 Goku is invited to some kind of Heavens Olympus where he is ridiculed , so he makes a huge ruckus and destruction there. Then heavenly warriors attack monkeys at their palace. But after fey is dragged by her granddad away, defenses break and monkeys are defeated except for Goku who escapes. In the end of the episode Goku crashes against some greater God, acts in a rude way and gets trapped on top of the mountain. In episode 3 first fey then monkeys on bulldozers try to rescue their king in vain , but in the process awaken some other God on some mountain. Only some captured king's prayer makes the stone jaws open . Then the awakened God from the mountain starts to attack the palace and capture the fey and all the monkeys, except for Goku. The monkey king again frees his comrades and defeats the invader. As you see, story is non-trivial and rather fun. Could it be a masterpiece if it was translated? I'm not sure. Overall Rating: 5/10   27. Cyborg 009: Kaijuu Sensou Cyborg 009 and the Monster Wars サイボーグ009 怪獣戦争 [1967-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1)  Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi The evil organization 'Black Ghost' attacked around the world, using dinosaur (plesiosaur) type giant robots, and the team of 9 cyborgs launched their quest for the Black Ghost's hideout. 009 meets a girl named Helen This OVA is actually way better. More exposition, more humor and less action. Again, I'm not sure this series can grow up to a masterpiece score, but we'll see. Overall Rating: 6/10   28. Ninja Bugei-chou Manual of Ninja Martial Arts 忍者武芸帳 [1967-I] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action Also known as Manual of Ninja Martial Arts, the only animation from Japanese New Wave maestro Nagisa Oshima is as provocative as one would expect from such a remarkable filmmaker. The film follows Sanpei Shirato's classic comic story about the son of an assassinated feudal lord in the Muromachi period, who attempts to avenge his father's death and meets Kagemaru, a renegade ninja helping peasants and farmers rebel against Oda Nobunaga's regime. It's actually a fast paced manga with a sound over it. It's actually more difficult to read than manga, because you have no control over anything and because zoomed small pictures constantly unrealistically occupy the whole screen as if director gone mad. Of course a lot of strips like character figures are repeating. I would not recommend it even to those who appreciate bloody samurai revenge stories. Reading Ninja Martial Arts Handbook by Sanpei Shirato as manga would be more enjoyable. Overall Rating: 3/10   29. Shounen Jack to Mahoutsukai Young Jack and the Witch 少年ジャックと魔法使い [1967-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy Jack is a boy who lives with his animal friends Barnaby Bear, Dinah Dog, Squeeker Mouse and Phineas Fox. He's challenged to a race with Allegra, who turns out to be a witch. She takes Jack to the queen witch, Auriana. She plans on turning all her slaves into evil harpies. This work is done in the spirit of Gulliver space journey graphically, plus, it's also partially a musical. It's also about a journey of a boy with talking animals. There are also unrealistic locations and transformations, although to a lesser extent. Slowpoke bear is now the centerpiece for humor, but as a rule it's hardly funny. Two dogs have next to zero function. Protagonist also loses to his counterpart. The absence of an adult allows more action, running and fighting scenes, but can't call it a plus. It may be done on a somewhat higher level than Gulliver, but it won't stay in memory for long, so the same score. Overall Rating: 5/10   30. Hong Kil-dong 홍길동 [1967-I] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Adventure, Fantasy A special boy is born on a day when hurricanes and wicked spirits struck medieval Korea. The citizens and family learn that the infant has super human strength and cunning intelligence. As the boy grows up, he makes a vow to his family, the emperor of Korea, and to the high deities to rid Korea of the chaos and disorder caused by the wicked beings. Animation is in Korean and retells a national legend opposing clearly corrupted people in some town. Movie is drawn hand-craftily, so animation surprises in a lot of ways. It's still mostly of national importance. Overall Rating: 4/10   31. Subarashii Sekai Ryokou: Alaska no Tabi "Daigo Hyougaki" すばらしい世界旅行 アラスカの旅“第五氷河期” Wonderful World Travel: Alaskan Journey: Fifth Ice Age [1967-I]  Nippon Television Network (Dropped 0/2) Tags: Adventure, Sci-Fi  Another piece of lost media. Again, doubt anything good can come from two episodes of journey to Alaska. Moving along. Overall Rating: 0/10   32. Mach GoGoGo Speed Racer マッハGoGoGo [1967-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Shounen Racing Adventure The Mach 5 is one of the fastest and most technologically advanced race cars built by man. Equipped with various gadgets and a powerful engine, it provides a challenge for anyone who would dare race against it. The driver of this amazing vehicle is Gou Mifune, a teenager who dreams of breaking into the world of professional racing. In spite of this, Gou's father and the creator of the Mach 5, Daisuke Mifune, does not want his son anywhere near a racetrack. Undeterred, his girlfriend Michi, younger brother Kurio, and Kurio's monkey sidekick Sanpei become Gou's biggest fans as he sets out to become the greatest racer of all time. However, Gou soon learns that becoming a professional racer is not easy. From the underhanded plots of corrupt businessmen to stiff competition in the form of his rival, Racer X, Gou faces many obstacles on the road ahead, and has a lot to prove before he can cross the finish line. It's a rather simple anime for children, so I don't even know what to discuss here. At least side characters can be fun sometimes. Overall Rating: 3/10   33. Ribbon no Kishi Princess Knight リボンの騎士  [1967-II] Mushi Production (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Shoujo Crossdressing Action, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance Princess Sapphire is a girl raised as a Prince. Through the mischief of an angel, the princess is born with both a girl's body and boy's mind. Since there is no boy successor in her kingdom, Sapphire is raised as a boy, but evil ministers try to reveal her secret. Unable to put up with the kind of vicious conduct prevailing in the kingdom, Sapphire disguises herself as "Princess Knight" and wields her sword of justice. This is an animated version of the girls' manga featuring Sapphire's romance and adventure, which marked the first made-for-TV animated program geared towards girls in Japan. Unlike Mahoutsukai Sally this is a real shoujo and thus is the first of its kinda as it really depicts views and wishes from a girl point of view. Rapiers, angel, fairytales - check. There are at least three shoujo anime that I consider masterpieces, but this one is too simple to get in that league. Overall Rating: 4/10   34. Perman パーマン [1967-II] Studio Zero (Dropped 3/54) Tags: Adventure, Comedy After Mitsuo receives a mask from a retiring superhero, he becomes Paaman. For some reason MAL does not mark Perman as anime for kids, so I have to look into it. And well, I have to agree that it's far from Doraemon or the like. Even though protagonist is a young school boy, anime is mostly based on talks and humor and thus can't be considered a kid anime. At the same time, it's not as saturated in humor as the other three humor anime of the 1960s listed before. The ability to make a double of anyone and a spare Perman costume worn by chimpanzee are creating funny situations ok, but for some reason it fails to deliver on the same level as those three, thus the lower score. Overall Rating: 5/10   35. Ougon Bat Golden Bat 黄金バット [1967-II] Dai-Ichi Douga, Dongyang Animation (Dropped 3/52)  Tags: Super Power Action, Sci-Fi A golden warrior wearing a cape and a scepter, Ougon Bat was a protector spirit from Atlantis reanimated by a scientist and his friends (specially the sweet Marie) from his tomb covered in hieroglyphics. His entry was heralded by a golden bat and a sinister laugh and he would put good use of his super powers to combat the evil forces of Dr. Zero. I understand well that it's the first anime with full superhero concealing his identity concept, but it's plain simplistic and bad. The small grains of humor are shallow. Moreover, side characters are terrible. Overall Rating: 2/10   36. Bouken Gabotenjima Adventure on the Gaboten Island 冒険ガボテン島 [1967-II] TBS (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Adventure Bouken Gabotenjima is about children who are shipwrecked on a desert island. Protagonist, younger sister , bookworm, glutton and a rival have shipwrecked... I can't see how concept can work out with this few people of such young age. And , frankly, it did not work out. The bulk of what I saw was overcoming natural difficulties as well as befriending gorilla. Basic stuff without any advanced concept in mind. The only unusual thing was tentacles encountered several times, but easily defeated by couple strikes with a stick. Nowadays such plain concept is impossible. Overall Rating: 3/10   37. King Kong: 001/7 Tom Thumb キングコング・001/7親指トム [1967-II] (Dropped 0/26) Tags: Adventure, Sci-Fi Professor Bond is doing research on an island in the Java Sea when his son discovers the giant ape and befriends him, and together they fight to protect Kong from Dr. Who, who has sinister designs on the ape. Each episode consisted of a King Kong story, a Tom of T.H.U.M.B., then another King Kong story. Tom of T.H.U.M.B. is a gag cartoon about a secret agent and his oriental sidekick. Animage Pocket Data Notes credits MORI Yasuji and KANISHI Takao as either character designers or animation directors of the latter, differing from the credits for the King Kong portion of the show. This was the first cartoon TV series animated entirely in Japan expressly for American television. American sources state Rankin-Bass commissioned the work from Videocraft International; Japanese sources state it was produced by Videocraft/Toei Doga. I did not find it, so it's probably lost media or smth Overall Rating: 0/10   38. Pyun Pyun Maru ピュンピュン丸 [1967-III] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Martial Arts Comedy The Ninja Pyun Pyun-Maru and his brother Chibi-Maru are working at an office that accepts anything. They solve unexpected happenings caused by other Ninjas. I wonder if it inspired Gintama. Drawing and excessive expressions/gimmicks look childish, but at the same time humor is not always simple and time is of Edo period, so I don't think it's for kids. Just as with Perman, toying with different auditoria erodes the watcher base. Somehow, without normal translation I enjoyed it even less than Perman . Overall Rating: 4/10   39. Bouken Shounen Shadar 冒険少年シャダー [1967-IV] Nihon Hoso Eigasha (Dropped 3/156)   Tags: Adventure, Horror When Earth is threatened by the invading Ghostar, a young boy with nerves of steel and the strength of 50 men appears from a cave on Mount Fuji. He is Shadar, a boy of unknown origin who, with his faithful dog, Pinboke, fights to save the world. It's only slightly better than Ougon Bat, mostly due to talking dog companion , so the score is corresponding. This series reminds me of Scooby-Doo in many ways. Overall Rating: 3/10   40. Skyers 5 スカイヤーズ5 [1967-IV] Tele-Cartoon Japan (Dropped 2/12)   Tags: Action, Sci-Fi A science fiction action series about the future battles between a planetary police force and an international crime syndicate. The series plays out as a mix between science fiction and an old western. Some kind of weak James Bond parody. A weird mix makes it a B-class action movie series. There's not a single sincere phrase pronounced, everything is so pompous and fake. No memorable companions as well. Overall Rating: 2/10   41. Donkikko ドンキッコ [1967-IV] P Productions (Dropped 0/21) Tags: Shounen Comedy A comedy about the mischievous adventures of a young boy. Each episode contains 2 stories.  Not found. Overall Rating: 0/10   42. Gegege no Kitarou ゲゲの鬼太郎 [1968-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/65) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural Kitarou, a ghost, spends his afterlife helping humans in need of his skills. He thwarts the plans of evil spirits who live to torment humanity. It's classic. Each episode presents a small horror story where Kitarou gets involved in and solves in an unpredictable way. Stories are nice, other ghosts are cool. But I just don't like horror stories, and without humor or coherent plot there's nothing to pique my interest. It's a well done niche anime, so when it hits a soft spot, it hits hard. Overall Rating: 5/10   43. Wanpaku Tanteidan わんぱく探偵団 [1968-I] Fuji TV (Dropped 3/35) Tags: Action, Mystery A group of young boys (plus a token girl and her little brother, the obligatory brat) form a detective club, pooling their talents for brain, brawn, invention, and driving skills to solve crimes in Tokyo. Much to the consternation of police chief Nakamura, they often succeed where the professionals fail. Can't stand detectives in any form, especially school detective clubs, unless character interaction fascinates. Side-characters here are stereotypical . Each episode usually starts with crime or incident happening, then first half is often unsealing the mystery like identity of criminal , then the second part is more action-packed. Don't see a reason to watch it today. Overall Rating: 3/10   44. Cyborg 009 (TV) サイボーグ009 [1968-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi They fight against evil, they help those in need, they're the Cyborg fighters! Together with the scientist Dr. Gilmore, this team of nine cyborgs use their special body modifications to fight against a seemingly endless barrage of enemies, including robotic crabs, aliens, and fellow cyborgs. Each cyborg has his own special power, which they use in their fight against evil. Titular character 009 (aka Hurricane Joe, the famous race car driver) leads the team with his superhuman strength, resistance to bullets, and ability to accelerate through time. His teammates fight by his side to save humanity from falling into evil hands. The team in Cyborg 009 faces many enemies and stops countless threats to their hometown, and even to Earth. No matter what, justice will be served. We're back for short action episodes and little room left for humor, so enjoyment for me is back to square one. Overall Rating: 5/10   45. Kaibutsu-kun 怪物くん [1968-II] Studio Zero, Tokyo Movie (Dropped 3/49) Tags: Comedy, Horror The prince of Kaibutsu Land, Kaibutsu-kun, decides to go to the human world as part of his training to become the King. This anime looks like Perman a lot, just instead of super costume and doppelganger robot there is a relative with superpowers. Protagonist boy is literally the same personality. Most conflict situations are also generated around school. Humor is more distinctive and easy to follow thanks to 2 stories per episode structure. Humor quality is still rather low, so can't rate it higher than Perman. Overall Rating: 5/10   46. Akane-chan あかねちゃん [1968-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 0/26) Tags: Shoujo School Comedy, Slice of Life A country girl, Akane was new to a prestigious school. She is full of vitality and everyone likes her. Hidemaro, the rich and arrogant boy likes her too. With everyone's help, she solves problems that come their way. Not found Overall Rating: 0/10   47. Animal 1 アニマル1 [1968-II] (Dropped 3/27) Tags: Combat Sports Ichirou Azuma, a young amateur wrestler, wants to participate in the Olympics Games in Mexico. First sport anime series alongside Kyojin no Hoshi, but this one is much less serious and thus less memorable. It's also a mix with school anime. Overall Rating: 4/10   48. Fight Da!! Pyuta ファイトだ!! ピュー太 [1968-II] Hoso Seisaku Doga (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Shounen Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi A young boy uses his scientific skills to fight enemies. This actually can be called an anime for kids , because each episode one duo of inventors just competes with another malicious duo of inventors. I found concept and implementation rather boring as characters aren't something special, and not enough humor is used. Overall Rating: 4/10   49. Kyojin no Hoshi 巨人の星 [1968-II] TMS Entertainment (Dropped 2/182 ) Tags: Drama, Sports The story is about Hyuma Hoshi, a promising young baseball pitcher who dreams of becoming a top star like his father Ittetsu Hoshi in the professional Japanese league. His father was once a 3rd baseman until he was injured in World War II and was forced to retire. The boy would join the ever popular Giants team, and soon he realized the difficulty of managing the high expectations. From the grueling training to battling the rival Mitsuru Hanagata on the Hanshin Tigers, he would have to take out his best pitching magic to step up to the challenge. Can't stand spokon without good character interaction. This first genre representative has a clear protagonist focus despite baseball being a team sport. Overall Rating: 5/10   50. Taiyou no Ouji: Horus no Daibouken The Little Norse Prince 太陽の王子 ホルスの大冒険 [1968-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Drama                                                                                        Horus is a boy that one day, hunted by silver wolves, found the sword of the sun. The day his father died he left his home to find the people from the town his father told him. Together with a small bear named Koro he starts the journey and runs into a great adventure fighting against Grunwald and his subordinates who want to rule the world. On one hand, it's continuation of Disney-imitating tradion with songs. On the other, concept comes from Miyazaki, and structure is really refined as well as characters. I enjoyed it way more than I expected, so it's the first anime that I consider a masterpiece. Overall Rating: 7/10   51. Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae 佐武と市捕物控 [1968-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Shounen Detective, Historical, Martial Arts, Samurai Action, Adventure, Drama, Slice of Life The series follows the adventures of Sabu, a young Edo bakufu investigator traveling with the blind master swordsman Ichi. In their travels, they assist the common people in solving mysteries and righting wrongs (usually committed by bandits or corrupt officials). Sabu is engaged to Midori, the daughter of his boss, who works as a police officer for the Tokugawa shogunate. I found concept rather boring as from what I saw the same scheme was used. First we're shown some bandits commit a crime, then our duo is told about it. Finally some search/investigation culminates with encounter. This repetition and rather budget implementation killed the interest. Overall Rating: 5/10   52. Youkai Ningen Bem 妖怪人間ベム [1968-IV] Dai-Ichi Douga (3/26) Tags: Mythology Horror Three monsters, Bem, who looks like a gangster, Bero, who looks like a boy, and Bera, a witch, act as agents of justice, hoping that they will be allowed to become human. Several episodes involve them protecting a young boy. The style of animation is fairly distinctive, and the storylines not without interest. Again, concept dictates repeatability as new monsters show up and are dealt with. None of three main characters are charismatic enough. Maybe things improve with remake that also exists. Overall Rating: 4/10   53. Sasuke サスケ [1968-IV] Tele-Cartoon Japan (3/29) Tags: Shounen Historical, Martial Arts Action Sasuke is the son of a very skilled ninja, whose name is Ozaru. After the defeat of their lord, Yukimura Sanada, Tokugawa's and Hattori's ninjas begin to persecute all their enemies still alive: that means Ozaru and Sasuke must leave their house and start a violent struggle for their own life. Danger, vengeance, anger, loyalty, pain are the basic elements of this story, where the worst aspects of the human soul are described together with the growth of the main character, the young Sasuke. Another revenge travel story. A decent one at that. Episodes are action packed , and there are a lot of small ninja tricks showed and explained. I liked it more than Dororo which has a very similar concept , but this one does not have a translation and thus one point is substracted.   Overall Rating: 5/10   54. Yuuyake Banchou 夕やけ番長 [1968-IV] (Dropped 0/26) Tags: Action A transfer student only just arrives and is confronted by the school gang. One by one he defeats the gang members and challenges their leader to a fight. Each 10 minute episode aired Monday through Saturday. Not found  Overall Rating: 0/10   55. Kyubi no Kitsune to Tobimaru (Sesshoseki) 九尾の狐と飛丸(殺生石) [1968-IV] (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Fantasy Mythology The film was adapted from a novel by Okamoto Kidou based on a legend surrounding a sterile patch of land at the foot of Mt. Chausu, an active volcano located in Tochigi Prefecture. Since the Heian period the spot has been known to exude poisonous gas (hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, arsenic) that has killed animals and people who happened to wander near the area. A legend arose at one time that long ago in China a kitsune transformed itself into a beautiful maiden, seduced the emperor and caused numerous misfortunes to befall the kingdom, then found her way to Japan, transformed herself into a beautiful maiden called Tamamo, and seduced the emperor etc., before finally being unmasked and killed. Upon her death she cursed her killers and transformed herself on this spot into a poisonous stone called Sesshoseki. Not found  Overall Rating: 0/10   56. Himitsu no Akko-chan Secrets of Akko-chan ひみつのアッコちゃん [1969-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/94) Tags: Shoujo School Atsuko "Akko-chan" Kagami (known variously as "Stilly," "Caroline," or "Julie" in Western versions of the anime) is an energetic elementary school girl who has an affinity for mirrors. One day, her favorite mirror which was given to Akko by her mother (or in some versions, by her father, as a present from India) is broken, and she prefers to bury it in her yard rather than throw it to the trash can. In her dreams, she is contacted by a spirit (or in some cases the Queen of the Mirror Kingdom) who is moved that the little girl would treat the mirror so respectfully and not simply throw it away. Akko-chan is then given the gift of a magical mirror and taught an enchantment that will allow her to transform into anything she wishes. Most situations revolve about transformation and hand mirror that is needed for it. There is enough humor, but I need even more since episodes don't really move plot somewhere. It also lacks expression. I saw there is a live action of Himitsu no Akko-chan, that might be really entertaining. Overall Rating: 5/10   57. Dororo to Hyakkimaru どろろと百鬼丸 [1969-II] Mushi Production (Finished 26/26) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Supernatural To aid his conquest of Japan, the ruthless lord Daigo Kagemitsu offers to sacrifice his soon-to-be-born son to 48 demons. The demons accept, and the next day, the child is born with several missing limbs and is ruthlessly cast down a river. Fifteen years later, a stubborn young boy named Dororo struggles to survive against hunger and oppressive samurai on the streets of an impoverished and war-torn village. After angering a group of thugs, Dororo is attacked by them, but a mysterious man interrupts them, claiming to hear spirits nearby. Sure enough, a monster emerges from the river, and the man then removes his prosthetic arms, revealing blades hidden underneath, with which he slays the monster before leaving. That night, as the man walks through the forest, Dororo approaches him and declares that he will accompany him. From this, the man, Hyakkimaru, reveals that many of his body parts were stolen by demons and that though he sought a peaceful life, he couldn't escape their relentless onslaught. Despite the tale, Dororo still insists on tagging along. And thus, Hyakkimaru travels through Japan with his new companion and a puppy named Nota, facing the brutality of both hell and mankind. I realize it's the first bright action shounen. I'm not a fan of this genre although I easily favor Berserk as 10/10, so when I evaluate some action shounen, I compare it with Berserk. It's good that Hyakkimaru is a formed adult, it's good that there are two companions - Dororo and the dog. Both personal stories are told in a good way. But question is what's the motivation and where it all is going. The goal to travel and eventually find all 48 monsters does not look enticing or epic enough. For me this episodic nature looks way weaker than Berserk where plot has a firm direction at all moments. Maybe remake changes my opinion, but I can't call original a masterpiece. Overall Rating: 6/10   58. Ninpuu Kamui Gaiden 忍風カムイ外伝 [1969-II] Tele-Cartoon Japan (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Historical, Martial Arts, Samurai Action, Adventure Kamui is a ninja from the Edo period who has decided to leave his clan. After doing so he is pursued relentlessly by the members of his former clan; who consider him to be a traitor and therefore wish to kill him. Kamui then wanders around Japan to escape from them by using his intelligence and great abilities to survive. In the course of the series Kamui begins to suffer from paranoia because of his status as a persecuted man. Kamui then started to believe that everybody wished to murder him and became distrusting of everyone he came across. A cool well made action. But it reminds Dororo a lot as there is also a kid travelling along. At the same time it's a simpler structure than Dororo, so can't rate both equally. Overall Rating: 5/10   59. Kurenai Sanshirou Judo Boy 紅三四郎 [1969-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 2/26) Tags: Martial Arts Action Young Sanshiro Kurenai is the proud heir of a judo dojo. One day, he finds his beloved father dead and a glass eye not too far from the corpse. Ready to avenge his father and take his honor back, Sanshiro and his friend Ken start searching for the mysterious one-eyed murderer... Judo plus revenge plus adventure detective is enough to describe the direction of this anime. Reminds Bouken Shounen Shadar a lot as thee is also a dog and a companion and an insignificant companion. Overall Rating: 3/10   60. Umeboshi Denka ウメ星デンカ [1969-II] Tokyo Movie Shinsha, Studio Zero (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life The goofy tales of a king and his family who make their way to Earth after their planet explodes. Protagonist and probably even family look exactly like Perman. Anime is safe humor focused with alien royal family instead of Perman costume and robot. So in the end score depends on humor quality. There are a lot more opportunities for humor now, but at the same time focus has to be placed on three aliens, and they are irritating in their own way. Because of this focus there is much less school and outdoors activities. Overall, I would rate humor roughly same as Perman , definitely not as enjoyable as Osomatsu-kun.  Overall Rating: 5/10   61. Senya Ichiya Monogatari 千夜一夜物語 [1969-II] Mushi Production (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy Aladdin, a lowly water seller, is new to the city of Baghdad when he sees the beautiful Miriam being sold at a slave auction. Enthralled by her beauty, Aladdin manages to steal Miriam from the auction and spends a passionate night with her in an unoccupied home. When the two wake, however, they are met by the owner of the home and are tragically separated. Osamu Tezuka's lustful tale follows Aladdin and Miriam as they struggle to reunite with each other while facing the trials of a strange and magical world. First ecchi. I don't understand the need for this film, but something had to be the first ecchi, and at least this one is done well, so there's all the right to be proud. There are some memorable graphical solutions and depiction of transformation. The first half has some coherent plot and integrity, but in the second half it goes all out with demons, aliens etc, very surrealistic. Anime is pretty crazy, but there's nothing to lose for not watching it, nothing to gain for watching it. No good thoughts delivered by it. Overall Rating: 5/10   62. Soratobu Yuureisen Flying Phantom Ship 空飛ぶゆうれい船 [1969-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1)  Tags: Mecha Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi Hayato's city is devastated by a giant robot, his parents are killed in the massacre. The only friend left to him is his dog Jack, the only things left are mom's shoe and a picture of a man and a woman who, as his father tells him on his deathbed, are his real parents. Now Hayato wants revenge on the one who is said to have sent the robot: the terrible Ghost Ship which threatens ships and is rumored to wish to exterminate everything. But then Hayato stumbles on a secret underground factory of Mr. Kurosio, owner of mostly everything in the city - and realizes things are not as Mr. Kurosio has been telling him... Someone terrible lives in a castle under the sea... Hayato is trying to tell people the truth - but his life is now in danger by from the one who does not wish to be known. Then Hayato is saved by no other than the captain of the Ghost Ship... Hayato is about to uncover more than the one secret he has been searching for. It's pure adventure with boy protagonist, and a rather naive one... that explains it hat it was aired even in Soviet Union. All that big Tokyo fight vs mecha might have influenced Akira. It's curious  for its time, but I see no reason to watch it nowadays.  Overall Rating: 4/10   63. Tiger Mask タイガーマスク [1969-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/105) Tags: Shounen Combat Sports Action, Drama, Sports  Tiger Mask (whose real name was Naoto Date) was a feared heel wrestler in America who was extremely vicious in the ring. However, he became a face after returning to Japan when a young boy said that he wanted to be a villain like Tiger Mask when he grew up. The boy resided in an orphanage, the same one that Tiger Mask grew up in during his childhood. Feeling that he did not want the boy to idolize a villain, Tiger was inspired to be a heroic wrestler. The main antagonist in the manga and anime was Tigers' Den, a mysterious organization that trained young people to be villainous heel wrestlers on the condition that they gave half of their earnings to the organization. Tiger Mask was once a member of Tigers' Den under the name "Yellow Devil", but no longer wanted anything to do with them, instead donating his money to the orphanage. This infuriated the leader of the organization and he sent numerous assassins, including other professional wrestlers, to punish him. A boring wrestling action that can only interest for all those unconventional wrestler moves like breaking a table over the head and somewhat curious protagonist character that is cruel, but just.  Overall Rating: 2/10   64. Sazae-san Mrs. Sazae サザエさん [1969-IV] Eiken (Dropped 3/?) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life The main character is a mother named Sazae-san. She lives in a house with her husband, her kids and her parents. The show is the ultimate family program and tends to follow traditional themes. Think of this show as the Japanese equivalent to "The Partridge Family" and you'll get a good feel for this show's atmosphere. Don't expect to see things like violence, swearing, kung-fu action or magical girls. The plots are more like "Today, Sazae-san goes to the new mall and gets lost". Such "boring" plotlines and the simplistic art are often a turn-off to non-Japanese audiences, but most Japanese find the show incredibly good. As a result, it continues to be one of the top ratings grabbers on TV and is one of the few anime that is considered "acceptable" by adults. I respect this anime a lot. It's a visit card of Japan . It has nice warm humor. It reflects real life truthfully of different periods. But it's still a national story. Would I want to see all the episodes? Not really as it's too conservative, but it's a great thing that it exists so that even most conservative Japanese can watch it without problem and evolve through it. Overall Rating: 6/10   65. Muumin ムーミン [1969-IV] Mushi Production (3/65) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Slice of Life Very loosely based upon the Moomin books by Finnish author Tove Jansson. Jansson, however, never really approved of the series due to dramatic changes in plot, atmosphere, character personality, appearance and names etc. The series was directed to adults rather than children. The first classical magical hat episode is really nice and give a proper introduction. Further original episodes are simpler in nature, but still rather enjoyable even with existing mild focus on humor. It's still a story for children, so I doubt Muumin series could ever reach a masterpiece status for me. Overall Rating: 6/10   66. Hakushon Daimaou The Genie Family ハクション大魔王 [1969-IV] Tatsunoko Production (3/52) Tags: Comedy, Fantasy One day Kan-chan finds a magic bottle in the attic. Whenever someone sneezes, a genie named Hakushon Daimaou is brought out and must grant any wish of whoever sneezed until he or she sneezes again. Sometimes, however, he accidentally fails and only causes trouble instead of granting any wishes. Concept-wise close to Umeboshi Denka just with almighty djinnies instead of aliens. Too many gimmicks and too little quality humor for my taste. I prefer conceptual one over situational. Overall Rating: 5/10
  17. kivandopulus

    Anime of the Year
    There aren't masterpieces inside 1970 anime for me, but among scores of 6 I'd choose one that has a full English translation, and thus Cleopatra .   1. Attack No.1 アタックNo.1 [1970-I] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/104) Tags: Shoujo Drama, Sports Kozue is a middleschool girl and enthusiastic volleyball player. Her dream is to play in the Japanese national volleyball team. During the series she makes it from the school district league up to the Japanese volleyball finals, step by step till the international volleyball championship. But the faster and higher Kozue climbs the career ladder up, the more she gets confronted with the dark side of success: too high expectations, self-conceit and envy are progressing towards serious problems. This spokon shoujo actually features team members heavy interaction from the start, but it's still quite simple/naïve and girls don't have memorable personalities.    Overall Rating: 4/10   2. Chibikko Remi to Meiken Kapi ちびっ子レミと名犬カピ [1970-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Slice of Life This is a faithful if compressed adaptation, telling the story of Remi who is sold off to Vitalis the travelling musician and his band of performing animals. It has musical numbers typical this era of Toei films, some awkward slapstic, plenty of scenes tailored to pull on the heartstrings, and very smooth animation. Overall a pleasant film that's interesting to watch for the technical aspects; but the story leaves much to be desired, being on the melodramatic-maudlin side. The later Dezaki/Sugino version is very different, with 52 episodes for the story to breathe in and far more compelling storytelling. Again a very simplistic tale of searching for real parents. Maybe TV series that came later will give more depths to it, but in this state I see zero point in watching it.    Overall Rating: 4/10   3. Ashita no Joe Tomorrow's Joe あしたのジョー [1970-II] Mushi Production (Dropped 6/79) Tags: Shounen Action, Drama, Slice of Life, Sports Joe Yabuki is a troubled youth, whose only solution to problems is throwing punches at them. What he lacks in manners and discipline, he makes up for with his self-taught fighting skills. One day, while wandering the slums of Doya, Joe gets into a fight with the local gang. Although greatly outnumbered, he effortlessly defeats them, drawing the attention of Danpei Tange—a former boxing coach turned alcoholic. Seeing his potential, he offers to train Joe into Japan's greatest boxer. At first, Joe dismisses Danpei as a hopeless drunk; but after the trainer saves his life, he agrees to live with him and learn the art of boxing. Unfortunately, Joe's personality makes him an unruly student, and he often falls back to his old ways. To survive the harsh world of his new career, Joe needs to trust his mentor and master the techniques taught to him. However, the road to becoming a professional boxer is rife with struggles that will test his mettle to the end. This anime tried to give a proper 2-episode intro, a wide cast of companions and unusual gangster hooligan protagonist a bit similar to great teacher Onizuka. For a spokon anime it's very unconventional and that's why piques interest. But it's still the story of getting stronger without serious twist involved  and in each episode there is usually just one plot that occupies most of the time. So can't call it a masterpiece level. Overall Rating: 6/10   4. Konchuu Monogatari Minashigo Hutch The Adventures of Hutch the Honeybee 昆虫物語みなしごハッチ [1970-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/91) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Drama Hutch is a small honeybee who got separated from his mom when his home was destroyed by invading wasps, and he now desperately wants to find her back. It's the beginning of an adventure that will make him meet all kinds of friendly insects who try to help him out, but unfortunately for most of them, they will not survive the end of the episode... Thanks to humor it's way better than just analogue of Kimba the white lion, just in the world of insects. Still it's just aimless and plotless adventures, so the score can't go any higher.    Overall Rating: 5/10   5. Akakichi no Eleven 赤き血のイレブン [1970-II] TV Tokyo, DOGA Productions (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Team Sports At Shinsei high school, soccer is almost a combat sport and new team coach Teppei Matsuki is a fully paid up sadist who will push his team as hard as necessary to win. Headstrong school bad boy Shingo Tamai and his friend Ohira are determined not to be bullied into joining Matsuki's team; instead they set up a squad of their own, and at first play just for fun and struggle to keep up with Matsuki's team. As their skills progress, they play other teams and get stronger and craftier, until they face the crack Asakase high school squad and its star player Misugi Yan in the schools' final. In a tangle of subplots involving old rivalries and injuries, and a mixed-race player seeking his identity and his lost mother (who turns out to be in jail), Shingo develops his skills as a center forward and looks forward to playing a visiting Brazilian squad. He is seriously injured in a game, but his talent, which even the legendary Brazilian Pele recognizes, is equaled by his determination. With the help of a friend of his old rival Matsuki, he recovers to help the team to victory. Definitely melodrama rather than a sports series proper, this is the first in the line of Japanese soccer soaps that stretches to Captain Tsubasa and beyond. Based on a manga by Ikki Kajiwara and Kosei Sonoda. Spokon with more traditional school hooligans. It's actually rather nice as it focuses on drama around characters and soccer instead of soccer itself. I see the appeal, but it lacks humor to become something bigger. Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Bakuhatsu Gorou Goro the Terrible ばくはつ五郎 [1970-II] Tele-Cartoon Japan (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Comedy, Sports The non-athletic head of the school newspaper department participates in various club activities, including a number of sports clubs, with disastrously hilarious results. Super school boy concept is too simple, as for me. Vast use of humor helps a lot, but it's not omnipotent. It's still just episodic stories with some morale at best. Protagonist is clumsy and hesitating and charismatic, but still has ways to go compared to Onizuka. Overall Rating: 6/10   7. Otanoshimi Anime Gekijou おたのしみアニメ劇場 [1970-II] Fuji TV, Studio Zero (Dropped 0/26) Tags: Comedy Based on the original story by Studio Zero. Not found  Overall Rating: 0/10   8. Nippon Tanjou 日本誕生 [1970-III] Mushi Production (Dropped 0/5) Tags: Historical A history of Japan with the main characters as animals. Not found   Overall Rating: 0/10   9. Cleopatra クレオパトラ [1970-III] Mushi Production (Dropped 3/13)  Tags: Historical Sci-Fi In the far future, earthlings come across the foreign planet of Pasatorine. Few things are understood about the planet, but it is clear that earthlings are not welcome there. However, the inhabitants of Pasatorine have initiated something called the "Cleopatra Plan." Puzzled why an alien planet would name a plan after a woman from Earth, the military decides to send three soldiers' minds back to the past to study Cleopatra's life. The Kingdom of Egypt, led by the drunkard Ptolemy, is threatened by Julius Caesar and the Roman empire. In an attempt to save Egypt, Cleopatra, the younger sister of Ptolemy, chooses to undergo a procedure that makes her body irresistible to Caesar. Caesar is immediately smitten and desires to rule Egypt with Cleopatra at his side—but little does he know that she intends to assassinate him as soon as she can. Second ecchi , and it follows steps of Senya Ichiya Monogatari in a lot of ways even with Osamu Tezuka as director, same experimental, same weird transformation scenes, same loose retelling of known events with all kinds of weird plot moves. Very similar graphics-wise as well. Again, it's a memorable parody, but without any serious concept behind it. Thanks to all the parody and additional humor I'd even rate it as 6, but not higher as there is not actual sense or big idea behind it all, just entertainment. Overall Rating: 6/10   10. Kaitei Sanman Mile 海底3万マイル [1970-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy Returning home from an ocean trip, young Isamu meets the beautiful sea-dweller Angel on a volcanic island. Attacked by a fiery dragon, Isamu and Angel escape on the observation boat See Through, and Angel invites Isamu to see her undersea kingdom of Atlas. From the start I thought it reminded ghost ship Soratobu Yuureisen, and at times it almost felt like direct plagiatry. This time plot hardly goes anywhere, so musical is partially incorporated. But now there's some humor it , so I can rate it a bit higher. But it remains just an adventure story. Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Mahou no Mako-chan Mako the Mermaid 魔法のマコちゃん [1970-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/48) Tags: Shoujo Fantasy, Romance Mako is a young siren and daughter to the King of the Sea. In a stormy day she rescues the young sport Akira from a wrecked ship, but ends up falling in love with him. So, with help from the Witch of the Sea, she's transformed into a human, and becomes a highschool student who helps everyone with her strong sense of love and justice and her magical pendant, the "Tear of the Mermaid." It's difficult for me to evaluate a shoujo without substantial humor. As a school shouojo with just protagonist in the focus it reminds Himitsu no Akko-chan the most of all previous ones. And I see nothing special in it. Overall Rating: 5/10   12. Kick no Oni Demon of the Kick キックの鬼 [1970-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 2/26) Tags: Shounen Combat Sports An arrogant karate master named Tadashi Sawamura enters the kickboxing ring to prove his superiority, only to be beaten into a coma by a practictioner of the new art. After recovering, his trainer Endo convinced Sawamura to study kickboxing in order to regain his honor. The series is loosely based on the real-life exploits of champion kickboxer Tadashi Sawamura. Dead serious and boring kick-boxing spokon starting with a defeat. Overall Rating: 4/10   13. Inakappe Taishou General Inakappe いなかっぺ大将 [1970-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/104) Tags: Comedy, Sports A comedy about a country boy that travels to the city to study judo. He ends up meeting the daughter of a prominent dojo and her judo skilled cat. Each episode features 2 stories. Humor is rather decent, but nothing special. Protagonist is sort of simple-minded. Other characters are also just surface-scratching. Feels too childish. Overall Rating: 5/10   14. Norakuro のらくろ [1970-IV] Eiken (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Comedy Norakuro is a black dog enlisted in the "Mokenrentai" (Fierce Dog Brigade), an Imperial army of dogs fighting in a war against the enemy Monkey Army. Norakuro is a stray black-and-white dog in an army of white dogs who blundered his way while being a Private Second-Class. This series was relatively faithful to the comics. One big change, however, was the addition of the army nurse Miko, whom Norakuro had a crush on. For this series, Norakuro was voiced by Nobuyo Ooyama, who would later become noted for voicing Doraemon. I felt like I saw black and white pre-war anime of it, and it indeed turned out to be an old military franchise parodying USSR and USA in the form of animals. Watching it nowadays feels very weird and out-of-time, humor is either too simple or too specific to enjoy. Overall Rating: 4/10   15. Otoko Doahou! Koushien 男どアホウ! 甲子園 (Dropped 0/156) Tags: Action, Sports The story of a dim country boy who dreams of making it to the high school baseball championships in Koshien. Each 10 minutes episode ran from Monday to Saturday. Not found Overall Rating: 0/10   16. Ijiwaru Baasan いじわるばあさん [1970-IV] Knack Productions (Dropped 0/13) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life Based on a 1966 manga by Sazae-san creator Hasegawa Machiko. This is another slice-of-everyday-life tale, centered around a spiteful old woman who causes trouble for neighbours with her constant bumbling and grumbling Not found   Overall Rating: 0/10
  18. kivandopulus
    Ali Baba to 40-hiki no Touzoku is a memorable video with full translation, yet still not a masterpiece for me   1. Chingou Muchabee  珍豪ムチャ兵衛 [1971-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/51) Tags: Adventure, Comedy A goofy comedy series with various stories featuring the same set of characters. Series is about a samurai warrior son who is dreaming of returning to castle in Edo, goes to more or less modern school and wets himself in the mornings, and his servant who tries to raise the child in bushi spirit despite poverty. There is a set of characters inside Edo castle from rivaling Iemitsu clan. Comedy is mostly based on this mix of two centuries, like servant fights with a modern umbrella. There are two stories in each episode, so it's historical episodic humor sketches. Humor is actually decent, on par with the best comedies of 1960s. Overall Rating: 6/10   2. Doubutsu Takarajima Animal Treasure Island どうぶつ宝島 [1971-II] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure Jim is working as an innkeeper, together with his friend, the mouse Gran. One day, a mysterious man visits the inn, leaving a map behind. The map shows an island with a treasure. So the duo sets off in their own little boat, trying to fulfil their dreams and leaving the inn far behind. But it seems more people knows of the map, as they cross paths with Captain Silver and his band of wild pirates. Jim, Gran and their new friend Kathy tries to beat them in the treasure hunt that ensues. Anniversary title usually means big budget, in this case rich animation. And animation is really well done, even the most trivial scenes that are usually not included at all. And this emphasis on insignificant scenes means one thing - there is no strong plot that would require tightly packed plot scenes. And it is really so as the bulk of the time the ship just sails and there is a lot of situational low quality humor piled up, something like Tom&Jerry . There are also three songs. Amusing, but there can be no high scores without depth.    Overall Rating: 5/10   3. Sasurai no Taiyou Nozomi In The Sun さすらいの太陽 [1971-II] Mushi Production (Finished 26/26) Tags: Music Drama Two baby girls were born in the same hospital: one of them is the daughter of an aristocratic family while the other belongs to a deprived household which lives in the slums of the city. However, the nurse-in-charge, Michiko, secretly switches the two babies due to a personal grudge, resulting in a change of fates of the girls from then on. Many years later, the lives of the two girls continue to be intertwined with each other, with the rich Miki ill-treating the poor Nozomi, yet both of them hold similar dreams to become a singer. Watched it in full just to see what first musical looked like and what it could influence later on. First of all , there are few songs here, like maybe 3. Next, all this changed babies Santa Barbara takes up to a quarter of overall time leaving not that much to music career. Next, there is a romance line taking more time. In this regard, it does not feel like a separate genre, more of a shoujo spokon focusing on music. It's different from Attack No.1 mostly by the fact that protagonist does not go to school and is not going to enter university. There's no humor, and I'm not the target audience, so don't expect high scores from me. Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Animentary: Ketsudan Animentary: The Decision アニメンタリー 決断 [1972-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/25) Tags: Historical, Military A strict retelling of the Pacific side of WW2. Wow, did not expect reflection on such a heavy topic. But it's true that it's best to tell the story yourself to emphasize the right spots. The Japanese are presented here as great professionals and men of honor if not heroes. It's already not a truthful retelling in this regard, plus it goes further than just finishing with WW2, it has enough space for fiction. For a general observer there's not much value here, it's a niche product.   Overall Rating: 5/10   5. Ali Baba to 40-hiki no Touzoku アリババと40匹の盗賊 [1971-II] Toei Animation (1/1) Tags: Action, Fantasy A film produced for Toei's 20th anniversary. A boy who is the descendant of the leader of the theives who met a grisly fate in the 1001 Nights bands together with 38 cats and a mouse to get back his rightful treasure from Ali Baba XXXIII, the descendent of Ali Baba who now rules the kingdom with an iron fist. This is a reversal of the good guy/bad guy roles in the original story! (perhaps not surprising for being a film in which Hayao Miyazaki was involved) This film is one of the most rollicking and action-packed films made by Toei, and is in an outrageously cartoonish style breaking with the Toei mold. It has a spectacular lineup of animators including Yasuji Mori, Akira Daikubara, Hayao Miyazaki, Yoichi Kotabe and Reiko Okuyama. The original story about Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves itself is recounted at one point in the film in an unexpected and interesting way using shadow-puppets. Another Toei anniversary project. Again, animation is rich and action-packed. However, this time there's a twist from the start that Ali-baba and gang leader descendants swap places, there are several unknown variables, so story feels both entertaining and rewarding. There are a lot of nice humorous moves and at least two songs. Lack of depth stops it from being a masterpiece, but it shines in many other aspects. Overall Rating: 6/10   6. Yasuji no Pornorama: Yacchimae!! ヤスジのポルノラマ やっちまえ!! [1971-II] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Hentai Japanese society, in the opinion of Pusu-o, "satisfies all the urges of hunger, but not the urges of the loins." Then again, Pusu-o is scrawny, awkward and hardly the handsomest guy in town. More to the point, in matters of a romantic nature, Pusu-o conducts himself with an absolute lack of grace, restraint and general respect for women. Not surprisingly, his sex life is an endless succession of obnoxiously over-the-top come-ons and maniacal attempts to get some action, all of which culminate in total strike-outs. Pusu-o's own father is soon on hand to add insult to injury (the injury being the constant, gushing nosebleeds Pusu-o endures — the nasal blood geyser being Japanese cartoon shorthand for sexual frustration), and the cock blockage continues at Pusu-o's new job as a car salesman — until a trio of older women misinterpret his advances, intended only to make the pretty Yukiko jealous. The antics continue at a later date, when the married Pusu-o is cuckolded by an horny little birdie. When the humiliated surrogate dad witnesses the sexual prowess of the tryst's offspring, matters culminate in a finale worthy of the most bombastic Japanese tragedy. Technically, it's not hentai as there is even no censure due to absence of graphical depiction. Despite that situations are very frivolous crossing most of possible lines. Title can be translated as "Do it!" and concept reflects it well. There is a guy in constant search of amorous adventures and there's a girl who is too forceful and thus scares men. They live in the same house and encounter each other in several situations, but date goes awfully, and it's a breakup. In second part girl becomes worker at protagonist's work, and so harassment and jealousy ensues. In the last part protagonist gets married with a different girl and they go on a honeymoon. As you can guess, due to various reasons there's no success either, and during married life there are a lot of new barriers. Another feature of the OVA is that there are three songs during the course of it, so it's partially a musical.  There are so many rude jokes and situations that I constantly wondered how that was possible in 1971. Anyway, can't say this OVA has anything meaningful to offer, but if definitely does the job of provoking and shocking well. Overall Rating: 5/10   7. Lupin III ルパン三世 [1971-III] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/23) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery Arsène Lupin III is the grandson of world-famous thief Arsène Lupin, and he's living up to his grandfather's memory as a high-profile thief himself. Due to his infamy, Lupin III attracts the attention of the persistent Inspector Zenigata of the ICPO, as well as rival criminals. Lupin III's criminal lifestyle even seeps into his love life. The main woman in Lupin III's world is femme fatale Fujiko Mine, who Lupin III can never tell is working with or against him. Follow Lupin and his gunman partner Daisuke Jigen on their quest to own the world-or at least the valuable bits! I never tried to watch Lupin seriously as for me it's continuation of detective anime, plus adventure. But it seems to be the first Seinen, for grown-ups, so I must be the target audience. I'm sure there will be cool OVAs, but as TV series it's difficult to maintain novelty, intrigue and thrill, very much like Cyborg 009.   Overall Rating: 5/10   8. Gegege no Kitarou (1971) ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 [1971-III] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/45) Tags: Mythology, Super Power Adventure, Supernatural Kitarou, a ghost, spends his afterlife helping humans in need of his skills. He thwarts the plans of evil spirits who live to torment humanity. It's actually not colored remake , but a second season. Still the same niche anime.   Overall Rating: 5/10   9. Genshi Shounen Ryuu Ryu the Primitive Boy 原始少年リュウ [1971-III] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/22) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Romance, Sci-Fi When Ryuu is born his tribe tries to sacrifice him to a Tyrannosaurus named Shirano because of the color of his skin. He is however saved by a monkey who raises him as her own son. Meanwhile Ryuu's mother has left the tribe and is out on a quest to find Ryuu. 16 years later Ryuu meets a girl named Ran who was sold to the tribe Ryuu originaly came from. The tribe is not happy to see Ryuu alive and tries to sacrifice him again, this time by burning him alive. Before they can get the deed done the tribe is massacred along with Ryuu's adoptive mother by Shirano. Ryuu then sets out on a quest together with Ran to find his mother and Ran's brother Don. We've seen lion life in nature, bee life in nature, now time for human life in jungle. Of course there is the same age girl and rivals from the tribe nearby. Nothing special, really. It's not much different from what you can portray.  Overall Rating: 4/10   10. Fushigi na Melmo Marvelous Melmo ふしぎなメルモ [1971-III] Mushi Production, Tezuka Productions (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Shoujo After nine-year-old Melmo loses her mother in a car accident, she is left to care for her two younger brothers, a task far beyond her age or means. However, in the midst of her grieving, Melmo is visited by the ghost of her deceased mother who gives her a bottle of miraculous candy, capable of transforming her into either an adult (blue candy) or an infant (red candy). A combination of the two can reduce her to a fetus and then change her into any animal she imagines. Drawing on a seemingly inexhaustable supply, Melmo uses her candies to solve the various problems thrown her way, aided by her younger brother Toto (who accidentally morphs into a frog in episode 7) and her cantankerous mentor, Dr Nosehairs. Such concept is not close to me. Girl resolves problems that are usually created by her mischievous use of transformation pills. There's nowhere for story to go and it becomes episodic in nature. I think it's the first time of ultra-short skirts and pantsu flashing even though pantsu are big and old.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Tensai Bakabon 天才バカボン [1971-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha, Yomiuri Telecasting, Imagica (Dropped 0/40) Tags: Gag Humor Comedy, Slice of Life Tensai Bakabon is the tale of a child prodigy and his "philosophical" father. Bakabon‘s father has his own philosophy and he leaves no stone unturned in his quest for answers. Despite his ability to trouble Trouble, for some reason, Papa Bakabon is regarded as "The Great Philosopher," and is sought after for advice, which of course ends up in disastrous results. Tensai Bakabon joins his father in his philosophical quests which drives the people in their town crazy. Nice gag series, but is in dare need of translation due to all the puns.   Overall Rating: 6/10   12. Apache Yakyuugun Apache Baseball Team アパッチ野球軍 [1971-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: School, Team Sports Action, Sports A former baseball star who suffered a career crippling injury takes over as coach of a team of misfits in a poor village high school. But we've seen baseball spokon already in Kyojin no Hoshi . Another similar looking dead serious TV series was hardly needed. Kyojin no Hoshi was at least inspirational classic, this one is more team oriented, but also more plain looking.   Overall Rating: 3/10   13. Shin Obake no Q-tarou 新オバケのQ太郎 [1971-IV] (Dropped 0/13) Tags: School Comedy, Slice of Life, Supernatural New misadventures of the dimwitted ghost Q-Tarou. Not found. At least there is 1985 remake series available.   Overall Rating: 0/10   14. Kunimatsu-sama no Otoridai 国松さまのお通りだい [1971-IV] Mushi Production (Dropped 3/46) Tags: School, Team Sports Comedy, Sports  A comedy about a group of kids forming a school baseball team, with the leader being very stubborn and argumentative. Pilot episode about kendo was a nice school action comedy, but starting from second all the baseball rivalry began, and I just can't stand baseball, one of the most boring sports ever invented.    Overall Rating: 4/10   15. Shin Skyers 5 新スカイヤーズ5 [1971-IV] Tele-Cartoon Japan (Dropped 3/25) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi  A science fiction action series about the future battles between a planetary police force and an international crime syndicate. The series is sometimes denoted with 26 episodes, in such a case episode 1 is a colored version of the original monochrome episode 1 of Skyers 5. No changes to dialogue and story were made. As such this episode will be accounted for in its original entry. Same stupid James Bond stylization and stupid action. After all the more and more complex TV series seen by the end of 1971 this one is super simple looking. They did not even bother to make a different opening. Overall Rating: 3/10
  19. kivandopulus

    Anime of the Year
    Dokonjou Gaeru is a great comedy series and the only masterpiece in 1972 for me.   1. Muumin (1972) ムーミン [1972-I] Mushi Production (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Slice of Life A remake of the 1969-70 Moomin series. This version is more closely based on the books by the Finnish illustrator and writer Tove Jansson. Can only say the same as of the original.   Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Kashi no Ki Mokku 樫の木モック [1972-I] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy This version of Pinocchio tells a story of an extremely gullible, naive and morally confused wooden doll brought to life by a mystical blue fairy. Pinocchio (Mokku) is characterized as having many character faults which he must learn to overcome in order to be worthy of being granted humanity. Some of these character faults include selfishness, rudeness, insensitivity, indolence, obstinacy, over- trusting, self-pity, stupidity, disobedience, compulsive lying, arrogance, greed, cowardice, recklessness, cruelty, foolishness and an inability to learn from mistakes. Throughout the entire series Pinocchio (Mokku), partly due to his own delinquency and repetitive disobedience, must undergo other costly ordeals of hardship and pain in which he is continuously tormented, persecuted, bullied, humiliated, tricked, ridiculed, ostracised, beaten, downtrodden and subjected to degrading and inhumane treatment. Its plain depiction of the austere reality of what it would be like to be literally subhuman growing up in a world of danger and hardship, makes this another good example of traditional Japanese stories, which teach moral observance through tough endurance. Once again no coherent plot aim, so it's just observation and watching different situations happen. Can't rate that higher than average.   Overall Rating: 5/10   3. Seigi wo Aisuru Mono Gekkou Kamen 正義を愛する者、月光仮面 [1972-I] Knack Productions (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Action, Mystery Moonlight Mask's identity has always been a mystery (which is why the Moonlight Mask persona is credited as being played by "?" in the original series). Decked out in white tights, white & red cape, white scarf, yellow gloves & boots, dark glasses, face cloth and Indian-style turban (pinned with a "moon" ornament), Moonlight Mask is armed with a whip, two six-shooters, shuriken and moon-shaped boomerangs. He also rides a motorcycle. However, only audiences know that Moonlight Mask could very well be detective Juurou Iwai who seems to disappear from his friends before the caped crusader rides to the rescue in his motorcycle! Even his comical assistant Gorohachi Fukuro, his friend Inspector Matsuda, and children Shigeru, Kaboko and Fujiko are oblivious to Iwai's secret identity. Another simplistic superhero title. This time there are quite some colleagues too to add some comedy, so it's not too bad, just bad.   Overall Rating: 4/10   4. Umi no Triton 海のトリトン [1972-II] Animation Staff Room (Dropped 4/27) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Fantasy 5000 years ago, the Triton Family was living peacefully in Atlantis until the Poseidon Family destroyed them all. Triton, of the Triton Family line, embarks on an adventurous life in the sea fighting the Poseidon Family. I don't understand shounen adventure titles as boy just travels and sometimes helps someone with the ultimate aim to find and destroy Poseidon. It's random and going nowhere for the most part.   Overall Rating: 4/10   5. Akadou Suzunosuke 赤胴鈴之助 [1972-II] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 4/52) Tags: Historical Adventure A young swordsman finds himself involved in a plot to overthrow the shogunate. Edo period. Suzunosuke-kun tries to be as great as his father and learns kendo. Pacing is slow and basically each episode Suzunosuke is shown his new weakness and he trains hard to counter that weakness. Also there is usually a bit of action with his kendo rivals or masked evil ninja and accomplices. The whole coup theme starts also further that the first four episodes.   Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Anime Document: München e no Michi  アニメドキュメント ミュンヘンへの道 [1972-II] TBS, Nippon Television Network (Dropped 0/16) Tags: Sports A short series based on volleyball at the Munich Olympics. The series features a mix of live action blended with animation. Not found (God bless)   Overall Rating: 0/10   7. Devilman デビルマン [1972-III] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Mythology Action, Horror, Supernatural Devilman features Akira Fudo, a shy and timid teenager who has gone mountain climbing in the Himalayas with his father. While in the middle of the expedition, both father and son are killed in a tragic accident. Akira's body is found and possessed by the demon soldier Devilman, who uses his new human form as a disguise in order to fulfill his mission of causing chaos on Earth in order to pave the way for a demonic invasion of the planet. Before his mission can begin in earnest, Devilman meets Akira's childhood friend Miki Makimura and quickly falls in love with her. Devilman resolves to protect Miki and humanity as a whole by battling against his fellow demons. Demon Tribe leader Zennon becomes greatly angered at Devilman's betrayal and is quick to send Devilman's former comrades to destroy him. The other demons soon learn that Miki is precious to Devilman and he must now work to protect her, as well as protect himself. Will the power of love be able to overcome that of true evil? Not the worst superhero series for sure. Miki-chan helps to an extent. Still after first unusual episode all others feel roughly the same with just a new enemy each time.  Overall Rating: 4/10   8. Mon Cheri CoCo モンシェリCOCO [1972-III] TBS (Dropped 0/13) Tags: Shoujo Romance A young woman aims to become a famous fashion designer. Not found, lost media.   Overall Rating: 0/10   9. Maken Liner 0011 Henshin Seyo! 魔犬ライナー0011変身せよ [1972-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi A medium long anime movie (50 minutes) released as one of the programs of 'Toei Manga Festival', and screened with a live-action film "Kamen Rider vs. Ambassador Hell" and others. A near-future Sci-Fi mecha action film featuring four cyborg dogs. An original story based on the concept from Hiroshi Sasagawa's manga "Maken Goro" (serialized in the magazine "Weekly Shonen King" in 1963). A boy named Tsutomu and four cyborg dogs (Queen, Ace, Jack and Joker who coalesce and transform into the spaceship "Liner") fight against aggression by insect-type aliens from the Planet Devil. 50 minutes is kind of small for something big. So it is a shrunk aimless animation without strong characters or aim. It targets audience who like spaceships and fighting aliens with miraculous transformers. Very boring and perfect boy protagonist aggravates the deal.    Overall Rating: 4/10   10. Kagaku Ninja-tai Gatchaman 科学忍者隊ガッチャマン [1972-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/105) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Due to dangers of decreasing resources and growing pollution, the International Scientific Organization (ISO) is established to improve environmental conditions throughout the world. But an international criminal group, Gallactor, tries to achieve world domination by taking control of the ISO. Gallactor was created by a mysterious being from outer space known as Generalissimo X, who gives orders through its chief commander on Earth, the masked Berg Katse. To fight Gallactor and its robot monsters, the ISO's Dr. Nambu enlists five brave youths into a combat squad called Gatchaman,the Science Commandos. Special scientific powers and dramatic birdlike costumes make the Gatchaman Squad a match for Gallactor, wherever on Earth it may strike. Ken (the Eagle) is the wise leader, assisted by sometimes-foolhardy Joe (the Condor), pretty Jun (the Swan), eager little Jinpei (the Swallow), and strong Ryu (the Horned Owl). Each has individual scientific weapons, but their main power lies in their aircraft, the Phoenix, which can transform itself into a fiery arrow capable of piercing the most massive threats. GATCHAMAN is a series of dynamic action and tension as Ken, Joe, Jun, Jinpei, and Ryu hold themselves in constant readiness to meet each new threat by Gallactor to conquer the world. There's next to zero humor, so all these serious space ninjas are super boring. All the stereotypical laughing enemies aren't funny at all. I can imagine few things worse than that.   Overall Rating: 2/10   11. Dokonjou Gaeru ど根性ガエル [1972-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 22/103) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Slice of Life When Hiroshi was fighting against his rival Gorillaimo, he stumbled over a stone and fell on to a frog. To be surprised, the frog was still alive and it named itself Pyonkichi. What a hilarious comedy. Great characters, every single one of them. Humor is just right, absolutely clear one. If it had a full English translation, I'd even give it an 8, although translating 103 episodes is definitely not an easy thing to do. Still there are some 21 episode translated, and that's almost two contemporary seasons to enjoy. I especially appreciate as events pile up and affect next series unlike, say , Simpsons.   Overall Rating: 7/10   12. Astroganger アストロガンガー [1972-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi An alien woman named Maya crash-lands on Earth. Her homeworld was destroyed by the Blasters, a cruel alien race who steals the natural resources from other planets. She falls in love with a scientist and gives birth to a human boy named Kentaro. When the Blasters invade the Earth, Kentaro must defeat them by fighting with Astroganger, a robot made from living metal. As primitive mecha superpower action as one can imagine, with very few unexpected findings. Still, I've seen even worse, so can't give it the worst score.    Overall Rating: 2/10   13. Ryuuichi Manga Gekijou Onbu Obake おんぶおばけ [1972-IV] Eiken (Dropped 0/52) Tags: Supernatural The mischievous antics of a ghost in an ancient village. Not found   Overall Rating: 0/10
  20. kivandopulus
    There are no masterpieces for me in 1973, but I rate Dororon Enma-kun higher than others.   1. Mazinger Z マジンガーZ [1973-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/92) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Drama, Sci-Fi The villainous Dr. Hell has amassed an army of mechanical beasts in his secret hideaway, the island of Bardos located in the Aegean Sea. He is capable of controlling mechanized beasts with his cane, and instructs them to unleash devastating attacks. However, Dr. Hell doesn't do all the dirty work by himself; he has his loyal henchman Baron Ashura to carry out his devilish plans. There are also those that will see to it that evil does not prevail. Kouji Kabuto is the young and feisty teenager with a score to settle: his goal is avenging the murder of his grandfather by Dr. Hell. And he might just be able to pull it off, as he is the pilot of Mazinger Z, a mighty giant robot made out of an indestructible metal known as Super-Alloy Z. Mazinger Z boasts several powerful special attacks. By channeling Photonic Energy through its eyes, and unleashing the Koushiryoku Beam, it can cause great destruction. But things get really cool when Mazinger Z launches its Rocket Punch attack. Dr. Hell and his minions might have just found their match! We're finally at the point of classical mecha where kids pilot giant robots instead of transforming into them in an form or controlling them remotely. It's well done and has some charm as genre discoverer, but character-wise it's still stereotypical both protagonists-wise and enemies-wise. Can't rate it high because of that.  Overall Rating: 3/10   2. Babel Nisei バビル2世 [1973-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Sci-Fi, Supernatural Life seems simple for Koichi, a young student, until he learns that he is the reincarnation of an alien protector who crashed onto the mantle of responsibility as "defender of the Earth," Koichi/Babel teams up with a trio of super-powered alien companions to battle the the dark forces of an evil cult leader. The war to save humanity takes Babel from the deserts of southern Asia to the upper east side of Manhattan and ultimately to a final showdown with "the master" in a hidden base nestled in the Swiss Alps. The action is fast-paced and deadly. The fate of the world rests in the ability of this courageous youth to tame his latent psychic power and use it to defeat the enemies of mankind. For some reason I can't stand phychic-esper battle anime. This is exactly such one. Plus with three cheater additional instruments of fighting. Protagonist is super boring , and the only interesting side-character in the form of mischievous sister plays an insignificant role.    Overall Rating: 3/10   3. Kouya no Shounen Isamu 荒野の少年イサム [1973-II] Shin-Ei Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure The adventures of Isamu, a young boy living in the Far West, searching for his real father. First Japanese Western. The good thing is that there are cool adults around. And protagonist has to kill and thus is not our usual warrior of light. It's more of a survival in wilderness and in towns pressed between different gangs. For me too many episodes means loose pacing and aimless storytelling.  Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Wansa-kun ワンサくん [1973-II] Mushi Production (Dropped 0/26) Tags: Comedy The hero of Wansa-kun is Wansa, a puppy who is sold for a pittance, then escapes, and spends much of the rest of the series looking for his mother. Not found   Overall Rating: 0/10   5. Microid S ミクロイドS [1973-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi This work focuses on environmental issues from the viewpoint of insects. In a refreshing twist, the central character miniaturizes, unlike the conventional hero who grows ever larger. From this perspective, the world looks different and unfamiliar. This work enables the reader to see that the world around is quickly moving towards destruction. A weird anime of three butterfly heroes fighting against mechanized insects in industrial and different high technology zones. As I understand it, insects try to commit ecology terrorism and crashes with mass victims. Microids try to minimize dealt damage and prevent crashes. Plus there's a professor with student who oversee microids and spend some time resting in the city with their subordinates. As usual, I see no aim or meaning here.  Overall Rating: 4/10   6. Jungle Kurobee ジャングル黒べえ [1973-II] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/31) Tags: Comedy Urobe was a son of the great chief of Pyrimi, Africa. One day he hung on an airplane and came to Japan. Because of the cold and hunger, he fell on to the yard of Shishio’s house, and Shishio nursed him. Kurobe was very thankful for him and began to repay for his kindness. Kurobe dug a big hole in the yard.Every time he returns the favor, he threw a stone into the hole until stones would fill the hole. We're back to Perman concept with his protagonist, family and only this superficial element different. Kurobee from jungle is the most charismatic from all the previous variants, but it's same average comedy with two stories in each episode.      Overall Rating: 5/10   7. Kanashimi no Belladonna Belladonna of Sadness 哀しみのベラドンナ [1973-II] Mushi Production (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Avant Garde, Drama The beautiful Jeanne marries a man named Jean, and the happy newlyweds make their way to the Lord's castle with a cow's worth of money for his blessings. However, the demonic Lord is unmoved by their offering, ignoring their desperate, impoverished pleas. The Lord's wife offers an alternative: Jeanne must become the Lord's conquest for the night in a ritual deflowering. Scarred by the experience, the shaken Jeanne receives no sympathy from her husband. Instead, she is neglected. But as Jeanne drifts off to sleep, she is met by a strange spirit that encourages her to deliver retribution to those who wronged her. And with a mysterious surge of pleasure and an unquenching libido, Jeanne agrees. Kanashimi no Belladonna is a captivating, psychosexual adventure that tells a story of cunning witchcraft and deceitful superstition in a poor, rural village of medieval France. Very poorly animated abstract ecchi. It's mostly moving camera over still pictures. No scenario value spotted.   Overall Rating: 3/10   8. Mazinger Z tai Devilman Mazinger Z vs. Devilman マジンガーZ対デビルマン [1973-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Mythology Adventure, Sci-Fi The heroes of the series Mazinger Z and Devilman fighting against the evil Demon Cla First anime cross-over! But it's just 40 minutes, twice longer than a usual episode. And that additional time is used to share intelligence and save each other in a pinch. Pretty stupid, as for me.   Overall Rating: 4/10   9. Cutey Honey キューティーハニー [1973-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/25) Tags: School Action, Sci-Fi One day, Honey Kisaragi's a trendy, class-cutting Catholic schoolgirl. The next, her father's been murdered by demonic divas from a dastardly organization called Panther Claw. When his dying message reveals that she's an android, Honey uses the transformative power of the Atmospheric Element Solidifier - the very thing Panther Claw wanted to steal - to seek revenge against the shadowy clan. Can Honey fight her way up Panther Claw's ranks to defeat its leader, the sinister Sister Jill while managing to escape the watchful eyes of Miss Histler, her school's headmistress? Aided by journalist Hayami Seiji, his ninja father, and his lady-loving grade school brother, Honey sometimes appears as a racecar driver, sometimes as a glamorous model, and sometimes as a beggar, but her true identity is none other than the warrior of love, Cutie Honey! First transformation heroine. Also first deliberately fanservice anime. That's basically all points of interest. Usual random action with one protagonist. Overall Rating: 4/10   10. Ace wo Nerae! エースをねらえ! [1973-IV] Madhouse, Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Shoujo School Drama, Romance, Sports On her first day at Nishi High School, 15-year-old Hiromi Oka is inspired by top player Reika "Ochoufujin" Ryuuzaki to take up tennis. Shortly after joining the school's tennis club, she encounters Jin Munakata, the club's new coach. Munakata puts everyone under rigorous training that even puts Ochoufujin to shame. Despite the hardships, Hiromi's determination prompts the coach to select her as part of the club's main players. Because of this, Hiromi must endure the peer pressure from her seniors to become an ace tennis player. There have been shoujo before, but this anime is the first true Shoujo. Without a specific graphical style shoujo tries to mimic mainstream anime with a girl point of view. Inside true shoujo I also define normal and hardcore versions. In the latter boys also have a specific sensual images. Basically, I'm fine with anything but the hardcore variant as boys instantly start looking as in contemporary boys love titles. Ace wo Nerae is exactly such variant that is painful even to watch for me.    Overall Rating: 4/10   11. Shinzou Ningen Casshern 新造人間キャシャーン [1973-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/35) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi The brilliant Dr. Azuma created many robots to aid humankind. However, during a thunderstorm his lab was struck by lightning, corrupting the programming of one of his robots, BK-1, who renames himself Braiking Boss and declares that instead of serving mankind, mankind will now serve him! He brings other robots together into an overwhelming army bent on enslaving the human race. Tetsuya, Dr. Azuma's son, asks his father to turn him into an indestructible android so that he will have the power to destroy the threat his father inadvertently created. Shortly thereafter, Braiking Boss captures Dr. Azuma and his wife. Tetsuya, now renamed Casshern, sets out to turn the tide of the war and rescue his parents, with the help of his girlfriend, Luna, and robot dog, Friender. Cyborg superhero with his cyborg dog fights against cyborgs. Luna is pretty bland as well. That's all there is to know about this anime.   Overall Rating: 4/10   12. Dororon Enma-kun ドロロンえん魔くん [1973-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/25) Tags: Shounen Mythology Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural Monsters are coming to the human world from the Hell in order to get human spirits. As people's minds are getting dirty, being attracted by the dirty spirits, the monsters break the rule to go to the human world. Tsutomu, a boy who goes to Yokai Elementary School, is suddenly assaulted by monsters. Those who save him from the monsters are Enma-kun, the son of Enma, Yukiko, a snow woman, and Kapaeru. They are members of Monster Patrol that are sent to the human world to arrest monsters. I don't like youkai. But Enma-kun is entertaining as action, inventive and has multiple fun characters. It's nowhere near masterpiece for me, but it's easy to watch and enjoy - that much I can appreciate.   Overall Rating: 6/10   13. Karate Baka Ichidai Karate Master 空手バカ一代 [1973-IV] TMS Entertainment (Dropped 3/47) Tags: Historical, Martial Arts Adventure, Sports Failed kamikaze pilot Ken Asuka becomes a rough, tough hooligan who settles all of his problems with karate, until he learns about the legendary swordsman Musashi Miyamoto in the novels of Eiji Yoshikawa. Resolving to live his life like Musashi, he begins to take karate more seriously. Based on a manga by Ikki Kajiwara and Jiro Tsunoda, itself inspired by the real life of Yasunobu Oyama, the founder of the "hard-knock" Kyokushin Karate school. Watching adventures in post-war chaotic Japan is more interesting than our usual sports career from the start. But if we compare Karate Master with the closest rival - Ashita no Joe - the latter one actually wins by many points due to better protagonists and more fun characters. If someone wanted deadly serious Ashita no Joe, this anime is the way to go.   Overall Rating: 4/10   14. Samurai Giants 侍ジャイアンツ [1973-IV] Madhouse, Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/46) Tags: Team Sports Ban Banjou is an insolent wild boy who was raised on the rough sea in Tosa, southern Japan. He joined the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants in Japanese pro baseball league such a baseball pitcher noted for the blazing fastball and the worst control. He fights hard battles against his rival batters, developing his incredible pitching magics. This anime is pretty well done and has nice characters, but it's not translated. Why? Because very few people care about baseball outside Japan. The moments that are supposed to be dramatic look laughable for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Miracle Shoujo Limit-chan ミラクル少女リミットちゃん [1973-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/25) Tags: Shoujo School, Super Power Comedy, Sci-Fi As a result of a traffic accident, Limit-chan is reborn as a cyborg and is given three types of supernatural powers. However, there is a catch: if she uses too much of them, her life will come to an end. There were at least three anime about magical girls up to this point, and this one is on the worse side. Humor is really weak. A wide range of powers is used at will on insignificant occasions. Have not seen even a single character outside some stereotype.     Overall Rating: 4/10   16. Zero Tester ゼロテスター [1973-IV] Sunrise (Dropped 3/38) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi A series of space accidents turn out to be the work of the Armanoid aliens, who plan to conquer Earth. Professor Tachibana gathers a team around him at the Future Science Invention Center and prepares five state-of-the-art vehicles for Shin, Go, Lisa, and Captain Kenmotsu. Three of the Tester vehicles combine to make the giant Zero Tester robot, which successfully sees off the Armanoid invasion in 38 episodes. The rest of the series, retitled ZT: Save the Earth! (Chikyu wo Mamotte!), was aimed at a younger age group and featured an attack by the new Gallos aliens. It's the ancestor of transformers due to ability to make up a giant mecha out of three vehicles. In all other aspects it's deadly serious and boring.  Overall Rating: 2/10   17. Bouken Korobokkuru 冒険コロボックル [1973-IV] Tatsunoko Production, Eiken (Dropped 0/26) Tags: Adventure The adventures of a human and three little gnomes. Not found   Overall Rating: 0/10
  21. kivandopulus
    Uchuu Senkan Yamato is innovative in many aspects. Pacing can sometimes be slow with it, but I enjoyed first season and looking forward to second and third ones. The only definite masterpiece for me in 1974 .   1. Alps no Shoujo Heidi アルプスの少女ハイジ [1974-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Historical, Iyashikei Drama, Slice of Life After becoming an orphan, Heidi is forced to live with her grandfather Öhi, who lives in the Alps. She learns he's a very bitter man who only accepted by force to take her in. But Heidi's kindness may be able to open his heart. Together with the shepherd Peter and invalid Clara, she has lots of adventures. Nice slice-of-life with drawing preceding Miyazaki style. Simple easy-to-understand motives try to substitute humor which remains only on situational level. Everyone can like it just as Miyazaki works for it's about universal things instead of anime-specific ones. I could probably give it a borderline masterpiece, but there seem to be many remakes, so I'd wait for something shorter than 52 episodes. Too much idling and slice for me which is not as interesting for an adult. Overall Rating: 6/10   2. Getter Robo ゲッターロボ [1974-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/51) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Sci-Fi From deep within the Earth's surface, the Dinosaur Kingdom make their move to wipe out mankind and conquer the planet with their mechanical dinosaurs. After a prototype Getter Robo is shot down by a mechanical dinosaur, the Saotome Research Institute decides to use the real Getter Robo, which is combat-capable. Due to a lack of pilots in the institute, Ryo Nagare goes to his college to persuade martial artist Musashi Tomoe and outcast Hayato Jin to join him and pilot the Getter Machines to combat the new threat and protect mankind. It's basically the same Mazinger Z as three vehicles make a giant mecha, but with more fleshed out characters and even some nice side-characters. With very small grains of humor, but equally boring.   Overall Rating: 3/10   3. Majokko Megu-chan 魔女っ子メグちゃん [1974-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/72) Tags: Shoujo Megu is sent to Earth in her early teens, she is adopted by Mammi Kanzaki, a former witch who gave up her royal ambitions to wed a mortal. Mammi bewitches her husband and their two children, Rabi and Apo, into believing that Megu has always been the eldest child of the family. Under Mammi's tutelage, Megu learns to control both her abilities and impulses in order to prove her worthiness for the crown. This Rite-of-Passage subtext is continued throughout the series. Magical girl genre as it began in 1960s. Girl from another world comes to this one and meets new friends. But somehow I liked Mahoutsukai Sally more because of super fun characters it had. Here we have a much wider range of bright characters, but due to this variety and the need to develop all the heritage and rival drama it all becomes a mixed flavor. It has many advantages, but overall taste is worse.    Overall Rating: 4/10   4. Shin Minashigo Hutch The New Adventures of Hutch the Honeybee 新みなしごハッチ [1974-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Drama The sequel to Konchuu Monogatari Minashigo Hutch where Hutch struggles with married life. Did married life change it a lot? Not really. Same random dangers, just more responsibility.   Overall Rating: 4/10   5. Hoshi no Ko Chobin 星の子チョビン [1974-II] Studio Zero (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Adventure, Sci-Fi Chobin is a cute little alien prince from another planet, who crash landed on earth. Looking for his mother, he has a magical bracelet that will help him on his quest. Small alien lives in a family, talks to animals and occasionally gets hunted by robo-dogs and robo-bats and other aliens. It tries to go into humor , but it ends up to be gimmicks mostly. Another unremarkable title.    Overall Rating: 4/10   6. Judo Sanka 柔道讃歌 [1974-II] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/27) Tags: Shounen Combat Sports The last TMS sports-themed anime series ("Star of the Giants" was the first). Because of low ratings, the series was pulled off the air before later episodes of the original manga could be adapted. Another spokon story with all elements seen somewhere already, many in the same Star of the Giants. Same cheeky brat and next to zero humor. With this high competition ordinary spokon is not enough.   Overall Rating: 3/10   7. Dame Oyaji ダメおやじ [1974-II] Knack Productions (Dropped 4/26) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life Dame Oyaji is the story of Damesuke Amano, a hapless office worker who faces a tremendous amount of bullying on the job and especially at home, where he has (contrary to traditional Japanese notions of family) absolutely no power or say in the runnings of the household whatsoever. Amano lives with his wife, Onibaba, his beautiful teenaged daughter Yukiko, and his grade-schooler son Takobo. Onibaba is an imposing, violent heifer of a woman who regularly berates and even physically assaults her husband and who enjoys nothing more than making his life miserable; Yukiko and Takobo frequently join in physically and psychologically abusing their father. The original manga is said to have been quite shocking to early 1970s Japan, in which the father was often still traditionally regarded as the head of the household. Too violent for me. The way men are graphically drawn is horrible. Seeing more of the corporate world and humor is nice, but the outcome that it always ends in humiliation is overwhelming.    Overall Rating: 5/10   8. Zero Tester: Chikyuu wo Mamore! ゼロテスター 地球を守れ! [1974-III] Sunrise (Dropped 3/28) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi A series of space accidents turn out to be the work of the Armanoid aliens, who plan to conquer Earth. Professor Tachibana gathers a team around him at the Future Science Invention Center and prepares five state-of-the-art vehicles for Shin, Go, Lisa, and Captain Kenmotsu. Three of the Tester vehicles combine... For the zero zero tester fans out there.   Overall Rating: 2/10   9. Mazinger Z tai Ankoku Daishougun マジンガーZ対暗黒大将軍 [1974-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action Kouji and his friends have defeated Dr. Hell and are now enjoying a break, but suddenly a strange prophet appears and warns everyone of an oncoming danger, mechanical beasts never seen before start appearing all around the world wrecking havoc. Its up to Kouji and his Mazinger Z to stand up to this threat but it seems he is vastly outnumber and outmatched. This film served as an alternative link between the Mazinger Z TV series and the Great Mazinger TV series. It basically introduces Great Mazinger to the audience, as well as his enemies from the Mikene Empire. Unlike previous stupid crossover, now it's only protagonists vs Babel Nisei similar monsters. The good thing is that it finally tries to add humor and some fanservice. It also seems to be high budget, so there's no lack of scenes with giant monsters destroying Tokyo and military. But for those who don't like original Marzinger Z it's still not a thing.     Overall Rating: 4/10   10. Uchuu Senkan Yamato Star Blazers: The Quest for Iscandar 宇宙戦艦ヤマト [1974-IV] Group TAC (Finished 26/26) Tags: Adult Cast, Military, Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi In the year 2199, Earth is a mere shell of its former glory after a vicious bombardment by the Gamilas Empire. The inhabitants have been forced underground to escape the irradiated surface, but the deadly radiation inches closer and closer to the retreating population. With only one year before complete and utter extermination, time is fast running out and hope is in short supply. So far, any attempt to escape or retaliate has been instantly annihilated by the alien empire—until an emergency transmission from the planet Iscandar in a neighboring galaxy offers a glimmer of hope to save the doomed planet. Covertly, Earth's Self Defense Force constructs a faster than light engine for a journey to Iscandar. Armed with new weapons and a determined crew of fearless navy men, the World War II era battleship Yamato is reborn as Space Battleship Yamato. She and her crew set out on a perilous journey across the stars to save their home and the entire human race. One of the most famous anime of 1970s. It differentiates from prior space anime because characters are fleshed out and are ordinary humans under constant pressure of the environment. There is a good concept and aim, some lengthy technical explanations , high level of complexity and easy to understand logic behind it. But of course in the long run it all depends on the characters, and I can't complain here either - very human-like and fun. Truly first complex structural project with one integral line out there. Overall Rating: 7/10   11. Great Mazinger グレートマジンガー [1974-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/56) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Sci-Fi A manga comic book and anime television series by manga artist Go Nagai, made as a direct continuation of the successful Mazinger Z series. It was aired on Japan in 1974, immediately following the end of the first Mazinger series. Did not find much difference except for more stress on personalities and humor.   Overall Rating: 4/10   12. Calimero カリメロ [1974-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 1/45) Tags: Comedy Calimero is a small black bird who has a shell on his head; his dream is to fly like the other birds. When he tries to fly and screws up he is teased by the other birds, but his girlfriend Pricilla is there to cheer him up. Despite his appearance, he is quite smart and thinks up an idea to fly. The whole thing looks too childish and and naïve to me. Black and white series has more humor than following colored ones, but it's still just out of my league.   Overall Rating: 3/10   13. Hurricane Polymar 破裏拳ポリマー [1974-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Detective, Super Power Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Yoroi Takeshi is a carefree and somewhat naïve youth, who works as an assistant to the bumbling detective wannabe Kuruma Jo (who frequently proclaims himself the heir apparent to the title of Greatest Detective “Sherlock Holmes”). From their rundown and shabby office, they run a humble if not failing private investigation service. The spunky and cute Nanba Teru (who’s father owns the building when Jo and Takeshi reside in) frequently interferes in their affairs by threatening eviction (Jo is continually months behind in back rent). Since they rarely get any clients, they must resort to eavesdropping and spying on the Secret International Police Department headquarters, located in the building across from theirs in order to get their assignments. Unbeknownst to Jo and Teru, Takeshi has a deep secret. Not only is Takeshi the son of the International Police Department Chief but in times of peril and danger, mild-mannered Takeshi uses his trusty Poly-Met (Polymer Helmet) to transform into the Superhero “Hurricane” Polymer, a red suited masked man with incredible fighting abilities and superhuman strength. The only one who knows Takeshi’s secret is his lazy Saint Bernard, Daisaku, who always likes to provide cutting commentary to the audience (using his inner voice). Together Jo and Takeshi (as Polymer) confront and battle a myriad of evil organizations, criminal gangs, mutants and monsters as they fight crime in the future city of Washinkyo (Washington/Tokyo). We've already seen detective turning into superhero. This time it's detective assistant which allows to introduce detectives as simpletons and thus provide lots of primitive humor. Anime also uses fanservice proactively, and even ecchi. Entertaining only on a low level.  Overall Rating: 4/10   14. Tentou Mushi no Uta Song of the Ladybug てんとう虫の歌 [1974-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/104) Tags: Drama, Slice of Life The adventures of seven orphan who live in poverty, although they have a very rich grandfather. Monk and wife suddenly die and seven adopted children are separated, though they come back to the shrine and decide to live on their own, because they remember from deceased parents that as ladybug has seven spots, the seven of kids should be together. A rather unusual anime as it's mostly centered on one location. There is a ton of situational humor in each episode as there is least one fight to show in a funny way. But the symbol of this anime is actually patsu of the smaller girl who often takes off pantsu. Characters are fine and varied, plus there are a lot of animals with personality. The problem with this anime is simplicity and episodical nature (so that 104 episodes are possible). In such anime humor is most important aspect, and it's average at best to my taste.    Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Hajime Ningen Gyatoruz はじめ人間ギャートルズ [1974-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/77) Tags: Historical Comedy A comedy about the wacky adventures of Giatrus and his tribe of the first human beings on the planet. Prehistoric theme is the first one that comes out to visualize as anime, so there was already 5-minute episode series about it. Now it's similar, just with a wider cast of five main characters and more lengthy stories. It's still primitive in all meanings, humor does not impress.   Overall Rating: 4/10
  22. kivandopulus
    Sadly, no masterpieces for me this year. But Shounen Tokugawa Ieyasu might be one if it was translated.   1. Flanders no Inu A Dog of Flanders フランダースの犬 [1975-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Historical, Pets, Visual Arts Drama, Slice of Life Nello Tarth is a poor but happy orphan who lives with his grandfather Jehan in a little village nearby Antwerp. Nello has a talent for drawing pictures and has been fascinated by it since he saw one of Rubens (a famous artist) pictures as a little boy. Helping Jehan with the daily milk delivery to Antwerp, Nello one day discovers Patrash, a working dog who has been mistreated and abandoned by his former owner. He treats the exhausted animal and after a little while a close and dependable friendship develops. Alois Cojez, the daughter of the richest and hence most influential man in Blacken Village, is Nellos best friend. When Nello decides to become an artist he has to experience firsthand the ignorance and cruelty of the villagers. Especially Alois father thinks of him as a slacker who cannot earn his living by drawing pictures. Nontheless Nello perseveres and never gives up to achieve his dream and to win their appreciation and respect while strenuously struggling with his poverty. Peaceful rural life and adventures of a boy and a girl... a shameless imitation of Alps no Shoujo Heidi. But protagonist is now boy and both kids are couple years older, plus there's a bigger emphasis on the dog companion. With older age, less situational humor and more plain drawing the charm is gone though, and it becomes an aimless rural slice-of-life without a spark.   Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Manga Nippon Mukashibanashi まんが日本昔ばなし  [1975-I] Group TAC (Dropped 3/12) Tags: Historical This series is an anthology of old Japanese tales. I'd actually rate it as anime for kids as Japanese tales are show in super simple drawing and in humorous and simple way. Definitely can't enjoy it as an adult.    Overall Rating: 4/10   3. Andersen Douwa: Ningyohime Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid アンデルセン童話 にんぎょ姫 [1975-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Fantasy, Romance Marina, the most beautiful mermaid in the royal Merman family, is curious about the human world. One day, she sees a handsome prince on a boat. Suddenly, a storm comes up, throwing him into the sea. Marina saves her handsome prince and guides him to the shore. Marina falls deeply in love and desperately wants to become a human. Despite the hazards, she is willing to risk it all for love. Traditional retelling of a classic fairy-tale. Nothing to talk about.   Overall Rating: 4/10   4. Getter Robo G ゲッターロボG [1975-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Sci-Fi Takes place after the final defeat of the Dinosaur Empire and the death of Musashi Tomoe in the original Getter Robo series. Dr. Saotome, creator of Getter Robo, fears that the peace the Getter Robo team has won will be short lived and that an even greater enemies would appear. Dr. Saotome's fears are justified when the militaristic Hyakki (or "Hundred demons") Empire appears, but Dr. Saotome is prepared with the creation of an even more powerful Getter Robo, Getter Robo G and a new Getter Robo base. Also with Musashi Tomoe dead, Dr. Saotome needs a third pilot which he finds in baseball player Benkei Kuruma. First episode is more or less outstanding, following ones are the usual robo action with a bit more humor.   Overall Rating: 3/10   5. Yuusha Raideen 勇者ライディーン [1975-II] Sunrise (Dropped 3/40) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi After a slumber of 12 millennia, the Demon Empire returns to seize control of the Earth. Reideen, the giant robot-like protector of the lost continent of Mu, senses the evil presence and awakens within its golden pyramid, revealing to young Japanese boy Akira Hibiki that he is the one descendant of the ancient Mu people who must help Reideen save Earth. He was assisted by his friends, token girl Mari Sakurano (daughter of a scientist fighting the Demon Empire) and several members of his high school soccer team. Does not Yuusha mean fantasy setting? Of course not, get your usual mecha. The soccer team as companions and rather nice humor helps to an extent, but the concept itself is flawed from the start.  Overall Rating: 5/10   6. La Seine no Hoshi Star of the Seine ラ・セーヌの星 [1975-II] Sunrise (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Shoujo Historical Adventure, Drama The story is set in Paris, on the night before the France Revolution. The civilians have been suffering under the tyrannical rule of Louis, the sixteenth. In order to release the people from their suffering, Simone, a young girl whose parents were killed by the aristocrats, decides to challenge the corrupted aristocrats. Covering her face with a red mask and leaving a red carnation as a mark of her presence, Simone is La Seine no Hoshi. It's basically retelling of Zorro, just in France and with female protagonist as masked hero Black Tulip once helps Simone. Nothing special.   Overall Rating: 5/10   7. Shounen Tokugawa Ieyasu 少年徳川家康 [1975-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/20) Tags: Shounen Historical Drama A historical tale of the early life of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who would eventually become shogun and establish the Edo Period in Japan. It imitates Japanese taiga historical tv series, just with a child protagonist to gain enough empathy with children who are considered to be main anime audience. I love taiga and I'd even rate it as masterpiece if there was a proper translation as it has more than enough complex ties.     Overall Rating: 6/10   8. Uchuu no Kishi Tekkaman Space Knight Tekkaman 宇宙の騎士テッカマン [1975-III] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Tekkaman is just an average bright boy in his everyday life. However, modern science can turn him into a mighty space warrior. This becomes a reality when aggressive aliens come from space to invade our planet. Armed with a space lance, Tekkaman gallantly goes into action against the grotesque space creatures. During his battles he encounters a mysterious young man from another planet who helps him out whenever he is in danger. This anime is so morally old as if just from the 1960s. One straightforward protagonist, zero humor, some female sidekick and this alien helper guy. This alien helper guy with afro is here not just to help fight, but to loose tension, but without real humor his role is not beneficial. Thus the trash rating.  Overall Rating: 2/10   9. UFO Robo Grendizer UFOロボ グレンダイザー [1975-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/74) Tags: Shounen Mecha Sci-Fi Duke Fleed is a survivor of the Fleed Planet who is escaped to the Earth, onboard a mysterious "spaceship", where is raised by Dr. Umon as his adoptive son, and known as Daisuke Umon. Years after his arrival, he's faced with the threat of King Vega and his army, who want to conquer the Earth. With his friends Koji and Hikaru (and later his younger sister Maria Grace), Duke decides to fight back using his best weapon - the almighty Grendizer. The main attraction point of the anime is that protagonist is a bitter cool adult who already lost to the invading enemy once. And it's funny to see the usual bashful youth hero as a loser here. There are also many funny side-characters to add humor. To get a 6 the series must rise a faint desire to watch it to the end, but no such thing happened for me.  Overall Rating: 5/10   10. Arabian Nights: Sindbad no Bouken (TV) アラビアンナイト シンドバットの冒険 [1975-IV] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance Based on the famous tale from The Thousand and One Arabian Nights, this story takes place more than 1200 years ago. The story's hero is the impish Sindbad, a mischievous boy full of curiosity, who one night sneaks into the royal palace to watch the acrobatic performances and learns that a wide world awaits beyond Baghdad. Hearing of the travels of his uncle Captain Ali, Sindbad decides to become a sailor and travel around the world. Leaving behind a note to his father, young Sindbad boards Captain Ali`s ship and-accompanied by a myna called Sheila-sets out for the greatest adventure of his life. The motto is I want to see the wide world, and it's basically it, travelling and getting into adventures, nothing really special.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Koutetsu Jeeg 鋼鉄ジーグ  [1975-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/46) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Mythology Action, Sci-Fi Hiroshi Shiba is an outstanding car racer whose father is assassinated upon the discovery of the Bronze Bell from an ancient civilization. This Bronze Bell is coveted by Queen Himika who comes from that ancient era; the Yamatai Kingdom, and whose ambitions are to seize the Bell and dominate earth. Hiroshi is left with a few items from his father which would enable him to morph into a full sized mecha warrior, the Steel Jeeg. With these abilities and the help of his father's brain implanted in a computer and his assistance Miwa "Micchi" Uzuki, they set out to neutralize Himika's plans of world dominion. Boring hero and sidekicks, no humor. In my rating concept it's slightly better than trash.   Overall Rating: 2/10   12. Time Bokan Time Fighters タイムボカン [1975-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/61) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Comedy Dr. Kieta, the inventor of a time-travel machine, is lost on a test run of his machine to the prehistoric past. When the time-space craft returns to the present, his young assistants are surprised to find only a parrot in the cockpit. In their hurry to find the missing scientist before it is too late, the youngsters set out on a time-space hunt without any clear destination. Professor went to future alone and instead of him talking parrot with a diamond returned. Now assistants go to past in search for professor and greedy assistant together with villains follow them to learn from the parrot where diamond came from. It's a fun comedy with the only weak points being simplicity and episodical nature. So the question comes down to whether I got a faint incentive to watch the full series, and actually, no, so it' a 5.   Overall Rating: 5/10   13. Andes Shounen Pepero no Bouken Adventures of Pepero the Andes Boy アンデス少年ペペロの冒険 [1975-IV] Wako Productions (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Adventure This is the quest of Pepero and his friends in search of the Golden Condor or el Dorado. Can't help to notice that drawing , color palette and low resolution are eye-gouging. Plot-wise it's same kid adventures as we've already seen in Flanders no Inu and Arabian Nights this year , just in Central or Latin America that looks like Mexico. And compared to those two anime Andes feels weaker in all aspects. I spotted next to zero humor situations and no interesting characters.    Overall Rating: 4/10   14. Ganso Tensai Bakabon 元祖天才バカボン [1975-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/103) Tags: Gag Humor Comedy, Slice of Life A comedy about a former genius who has now become very eccentric and senile. His family deals with all the crazy problems he and his old friends cause around the neighborhood. It's pretty cool as gag comedy. Nice family. Random weird humor, but fun. Senile father is not much different from "strange philosophy" father, but approach is definitely much more straightforward now. I liked old one more.    Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Sougen no Shoujo Laura Laura, Girl of the Prairies 草原の少女ローラ [1975-IV] Nippon Animation (Dropped 1/26) Tags: Shoujo Adventure This anime is based on the same work as the famous American live-action TV series Little House on the Prairie. What I understood from the only found first episode is that it's again imitation of Alps no Shoujo Heidi, but with a bigger focus on horses since it's located in the Prairie. A bit worse humor, characters and drawing in comparison, so only fine if don't compare.   Overall Rating: 5/10
  23. kivandopulus
    No masterpieces for me, but I'd like to highlight another slice-of-life old comedy Hana no Kakarichou .     1. Haha wo Tazunete Sanzenri 母をたずねて三千里 [1976-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Slice of Life Based on a short section of the novel Cuore by the Italian Edmondo de Amicis, Marco is a young boy living in Genoa, Italy, together with his father Pietro. But the family is not complete, for Marco`s mother left for Argentina around a year earlier in order to find work. Letters from her arrive regularly until one day they suddenly stop. Worry for his mother and what might have happened to her overcomes the young boy. Marco thus decides to embark upon a journey to Argentina in the hope of being reunited with his mother. At first, Pietro is opposed to Marco`s plan, but moved by his son's enthusiasm, he eventually allows the boy to go. So begins Marco`s long journey of the heart. Marco encounters many people throughout his travels, and finds maturity and self-acceptance as a result of his experiences. It comes from the same director as Alps no Shoujo Heidi and it shows. On one hand, story is more coherent in comparison and protagonist is more mature . On the other hand, protagonist is not as cute and there is less situational humor . Overall, it's nice enough, but definitely not for me.   Overall Rating: 6/10   2. Huckleberry no Bouken ハックルベリィの冒険 [1976-I] Group TAC (Dropped 5/26) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama Based on Mark Twain's well known masterpiece about Huckleberry Finn, the bright and merry orphan, this film is full of life, laughter, and will be loved by children around the world. When Huckleberry runs away from his orphanage, he teams up with an escaped slave. Together, they travel the Mississippi on a raft, encountering all kinds of people and adventures. I've lost count cow many "kids travel" anime suddenly appeared since 1974. There is some humor, plus both Huck, Tom and little Jim are quite nice, so I can rate it higher than usual, but not too high since there is no integral idea or something special about it.     Overall Rating: 6/10   3. Manga Nippon Mukashibanashi (1976) まんが日本昔ばなし(第2期) [1976-I] Group TAC (Dropped 3/1471) Tags: Historical Fantasy An omnibus-format TV series consisting of anime adaptations of Japanese folk tales, this is one of Japan's longest-running TV series, and Group Tac's second TV series (the first was The Road to Munich, a documentary anime about the 1972 Olympics). The governing rule of the series was that the creative staff change from episode to episode. While later other anime series like Nippon Animation's Famous Works of Japanese Literature would attempt the same, none would be as long-lived or successful. The rotation idea was that of director Sugii Gisaburo, a visual visionary unequaled in Japanese film history who has revolutionized anime several times in his career, be it in the 1967 TV series Goku's Big Adventure, in which he sought to shake anime free from the dominance of story development by yanking it back to a more cartoonish form, or The Belladonna of Sadness, where he broke the Disney full-animation mold, creating a full-length animated film in a completely new style that was a hybrid of still drawings and animation. The reason for rotating the staff each episode was so that each episode would have a completely different look and feel from its predecessor, and in this it was eminently successful. This is a series that is genuinely rewarding to watch, and is visually one of the richest in anime history. While this system also meant that quality varied, there were also occasionally superb episodes, as on the staff were many veterans like Group Tac founder SUGII Gisaburo himself, SHIBAYAMA Tsutomu, FURUZAWA Hideo, RIN Taro, and HIKONE Norio. Old episodes started being repeated more and more frequently as the years went on, and production of new episodes finally ceased completely in late 1995, but the series is still widely broadcast. Omnibus format can never attain a masterpiece level from me, but this poorly animated series at least has a lot of stories I never heard of, nothing unexpected or must have though.    Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Fengshen Bang The Story of Chinese Gods 封神榜 [1976-I] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Martial Arts Action, Fantasy Based on a traditional Chinese novel of the same name. Bewitched by his concubine Daji, who is actually a vixen spirit in disguise as a beautiful woman, King Zhou of Shang oppresses his people and persecutes those who oppose him, including his own subjects who dare to speak up to him. Ji Fa (King Wu of Zhou), assisted by his strategist Jiang Ziya, rallies an army to overthrow the tyrant and restore peace and order. Throughout the story, battles are waged between the kingdoms of Shang and Zhou, with both sides calling upon various supernatural beings – deities, immortals, demons, spirits, and humans with magical abilities – to aid them in the war. Yuanshi Tianzun bestows upon Jiang Ziya the Fengshen Bang, a list that empowers him to invest the gods of Heaven. The heroes of Zhou and some of their fallen enemies from Shang are eventually endowed with heavenly ranking and essentially elevated to their roles as gods, hence the title of the novel. Story itself is bs with torn hearts, heads and the number of demons surpassing that of humans. Making Bruce Lee come and defeat all unbeatable enemies is the cringe squared.   Overall Rating: 3/10   5. Chou Denji Robo Combattler V 超電磁ロボ コンバトラーV  [1976-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/54) Tags: Shounen Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi The first of Tadao Nagahama's Romance Super Robot Trilogy. (#2: Chou Denji Machine Voltes V, #3: Toushou Daimos) Thousands of years ago, the people of the planet Campbell decided to leave their planet and seek out new worlds to inhabit. One group, lead by the scientist Oreana, landed on Earth, but was delayed from their mission. In the early 21st century, Oreana's group reawakens and begins their plan to conquer the Earth. The only effective defense against the Campbellians' giant biomechanical slave beasts is the super-electromagnetic robot, Combattler V and its pilots. Five kids have distinguished personalities, some humor is present, enemies ae varied. These elements make it on par with the best genre representatives so far, but the core is same dumb as ever, can't rate it higher.   Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Daikuu Maryuu Gaiking Dino Mech Gaiking 大空魔竜ガイキング [1976-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/44) Tags: Shounen Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi Earth is still in danger: aliens from planet Zeraz are willing to invade our planet because theirs is being swallowed by a Black Hole. Led by Great Darius and his four generals, they begin seeding death and destruction. When an ESP warrior is killed by aliens, professor Hi-Tech understands the danger and builds the huge Space Dragon (Daiku Maryuu) piloted by Pete, and the gint robot Gaiking whose pilot is Sanshiro Shiwobuki, an ex-baseball player. Daiku Maryuu is a big dragon shaped spaceship and his head is the Gaiking torso. When the Gaiking enters the action, Daiku Maryuu launches other Gaiking's components and then it re-unite neck with tail, becoming unbreakable. The story chronicled the battle between the crew of the semi-transformable carrier Daikuu Maryuu and the Super Mecha Gaiking against an invading race of aliens from the planet Zela, whose home planet is facing destruction by a black hole. The robot Gaiking was piloted by a baseball star named Sanshiro Tsuwabuki (Sanshiro's name was changed to Aries Astonopolis for the English version of the show with the carrier being called the "Great Space Dragon", a literal translation of "Daikuu Maryuu". Gaiking was notable for being one of the few super robot series to take place in real places outside of Japan, and for being the first Super Robot series to have a mobile carrier for the chief robots. Personalities are less varied, so it feels more like great Tsuwabuki and the sidekicks. Did not spot humor. Apart of that, the usual mecha, nothing special.  Overall Rating: 3/10   7. UFO Senshi Dai Apolon UFO戦士ダイアポロン [1976-II] Eiken (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi  The story is about 16 years old boy Takeshi who recently formed an American football team at the BlueSky orphanage. One day the game is interuppted by a light in the sky. Takeshi discovers he is the son of the king of the planet Apolon, spirited away to Earth by his father's retainer Rabi to avoid death at the hands of General Dazaan. He turns out to have special energy abilities which can control UFO saucers from under the ocean floor, which in turn can become robots that are synchronized to their movements. I've seen all its elements elsewhere already. Unremarkable character cast and no humor spotted, so the usual just above the ground rating.  Overall Rating: 3/10   8. Machine Hayabusa マシンハヤブサ [1976-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/21) Tags: Shounen Racing Action Because of the appearance of a villain team, Black Shadow, the international racing was ruined. To compete with Black Shadow, Saionji Racing Team was founded. They developed a racing car, Hayabusa. It was a super racing machine that carries hyper power engine, Cavalier Engine. The main driver of the team was Hayabusa Ken whose big brother was killed by Black Shadow. Side-characters hardly show up at all, so it's just protagonist racing on armed cars, It has action all right, but that's it.   Overall Rating: 3/10   9. Youkaiden Nekome Kozou Cat Eyed Boy 妖怪伝 猫目小僧 [1976-II] Wako Productions (Dropped 3/25) Tags: Seinen Psychological Adventure, Horror, Supernatural he story is told by the cat-eyed boy, hated by humans and demons, who engages in tales of terror, including monsters and children. The problem with this anime is that... it's not anime. It's drawings cut and screened on the real backgrounds and other tricks like that with real animation taking mere seconds of screen time. Apart of that it's just two old horror stories per episode, nothing fancy.   Overall Rating: 3/10   10. Gowapper 5 Gordam Goliath the Super Fighter ゴワッパー5ゴーダム [1976-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/36) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Five youths from Edo City explore a strange rocky island and discover the mecha that Doctor Hoarai had been creating in order to resist the impending attack by a race of subterranean rock people. Doctor Hoarai was ridiculed by the scientific community for his predictions that such an attack would take place. The youths decide to join the doctor (who was dead but had transferred his mind into a computer) in piloting the vehicles and protecting Earth. The Gowapper 5 Gordam team is born! With the aid of the giant fighting robot Gordam, the Gowapper team under the leadership of Youko Misaki must face the hordes of the inhuman subterranean people. Cartoonish clumsy characters and girl protagonist are what strikes the eye. In addition to usual mecha characters also often pilot drill machines and fights sometimes take place below sufrace. Varied episodes, partially memorable protagonists and significant focus on humor make it a 5, but not higher.  Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Blocker Gundan IV Machine Blaster ブロッカー軍団Ⅳマシーンブラスター [1976-III] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/38) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi The peace of the world is suddenly threatened by Mogool, which is located on the bottom of the sea. Helqeen, tyrannical master of the Mogoolian Empire, attempts to conquer the earth with her faithful companions Goroskie and Zan-gack. In order to frustrate their ambition, Dr. Yuri, who predicted this horrible occasion, organizes four powerful robots to form the Blocker Corps! He also gathers four members who have the super ability known as "elepath" - a talent for maneuvering gigantic robots. A fierce battle begins between our Blocker Corps and Mogool at the risk of their lives! A series of fantastic and fabulous battles unfolds. The usual four mecha becoming giant one. A bit of light humor, rather bland character. The single distinguishing feature is that protagonist has a weaker younger brother as partner. Robot mascot Pico can also be of notice. Overall Rating: 3/10   12. Groizer X Gloizer X グロイザーX [1976-III] Knack Productions (Dropped 3/36) Tags: Mecha Sci-Fi The Gaira aliens, hidden in the Arctic, plan to conquer Earth. Captured and forced to work for the aliens, Dr. Yan creates the ultimate weapon, a transformable aerial robot called Groizer X. Entrusted to his daughter Rita, Groizer X escapes the clutches of the Gaira and lands in Japan, where pilot Jo Kaisaka meets a wounded Rita. Taking up the controls of Groizer X, Jo and Rita fight against the Gaira invasion. It's unusual that boy and girl make a duo of protagonists, but I failed to find anything special about this anime, usual trash mecha action.   Overall Rating: 3/10   13. Candy Candy キャンディ・キャンディ  [1976-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/115) Tags: Shoujo Drama, Slice of Life This story is about a girl, Candy, who is an orphan. She is a nice and optimistic girl and she has a warm heart. When she was a child, she lived in an orphanage called Pony's Home. She had a good friend called Annie. And she met the "Prince of the Hill" who is a important person in her life, on the hill behind the orphanage. She was adopted by the Leagan's family. What's awaiting her are the bad-hearted Neil and his sister, Eliza. One day, in the rose garden, she met a boy, who is identical to the "Prince of the Hill" who she had met in her childhood. The boy is called Anthony. Thereafter, a fantastic story that she has never expected begins. It's a long series, so things are taken very very slowly, by the end of 3rd episode it was still in orphanage. So it's closest to women novels, yet with contemporary time. Can't say I got a faint desire to watch it to the end, so 5 it is.   Overall Rating: 5/10   14. Manga Sekai Mukashibanashi Manga Fairy Tales of the World まんが世界昔ばなし [1976-IV] Madhouse (Dropped 3/127) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Fantasy Each episode of this series tells the story of a famous fairy tale from all around the world. Some of them are adapted from famous books such as "The Iliad". This must have been marked as anime for kids. Won't have much sense if you're not a kid.    Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Magnerobo Ga-Keen マグネロボ・ガ・キーン [1976-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi Dr. Kazuki, who perceived of an invasion of Earth by the Izaru people builds a robot based on the science of magnetism and sphere joint theory. Undergoing a dangerous augmentation process, Dr. Kazuki's daughter Mai becomes the pilot of "Mighty" or "Magnetman Minus". Takeshi Houjou becomes the pilot of "Puraiza" or "Magnetman Plus". The pilots would hold each other and then physically trasform their joint bodies in a metallic plate locking itself on the Gakeen (Short for "Gathering Keen") robot's frame thus enabling the super robot to move and fight. This sequence was notable, to an adult's eye, for its almost-sexual connotation. Protagonist is an adult hooligan much like in Ashita no Joe. Overall drawing quality level is surprisingly high. Unlike Groizer X, both protagonists have enough individuality for empathy. Side-characters and humor are nice. Even though it's among the best representatives of the genre up to this moment, still no incentive to watch to the end as it's just new monster each time and a different way of dealing with him.    Overall Rating: 5/10   16. Dokaben ドカベン [1976-IV] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/163) Tags: Shounen School, Team Sports Action, Sports Tarou "Dokaben" Yamada, who was a judoist while at junior high, enters Meikun High School and is talked into joining the baseball club. He displays his superb athletic abilities in baseball and becomes well-known as a hard hitter. He and his unique teammates establish Meikun a solid position as No.1 in the High School Baseball Championship games. Dokaben is mostly known as thorough spokon manga that was in development for nine years. I like both characters and humor here, but would not want to watch it fully as pretty much almost any spokon.   Overall Rating: 5/10   17. Kyouryuu Tankentai Born Free 恐竜探検隊ボーンフリー [1976-IV] Sunrise (Dropped 3/25) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi When a meteor crashes to Earth, it briefly changes the climate and dinosaurs once again roam the planet. It's up to a newly formed expedition team to relocate the dinosaurs to a safe environment. This anime... is not really an anime... again. Because roughly half of scenes are screened in real life environment or on real life backgrounds. Because... seriously... who would sponsor anime about saving dinosaurs by dinosaur rescue squad. Team is bland, no humor spotted, so watchin all those toy decorations and plasticine dinosaurs is beyond me.  Overall Rating: 3/10   18. UFO Senshi Dai Apolon 2 UFO戦士ダイアポロンII [1976-IV] Eiken (Dropped 3/21) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi Sequel to Dai Apolon consisting of a mix of new and reaired episodes. One of the worst representative of the genre. Same trash as original.   Overall Rating: 3/10   19. Hana no Kakarichou 花の係長 [1976-IV]  Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/25) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Slice of Life A wacky comedy about a man from a noble ancestry of long ago, but who in modern times is just a lowly salary man that is constantly being humiliated by his family and co-workers. Concept is similar to Dame Oyaji, if it was realistic. Males now are only a bit weird and no one really hates dad, all specter of feelings is used. Anime tackles with as many problems of an adult salaryman as possible - like high libido and hot wife under circumstances of occasionally impossible intimacy, not respectful subordinates, molesters and tight spaces in train, worry about kid not being smart enough - very mundane things like that. Spirit is very frivolous with what could be called ecchi today. There is next to zero situational humor, but conceptual humor is good. I'd give it a masterpiece score if it was translated .   Overall Rating: 6/10
  24. kivandopulus

    Anime of the Year
    There are no masterpieces in 1977 for me. Among the 6s, Araiguma Rascal is my choice.   1. Time Bokan Series: Yatterman タイムボカンシリーズ ヤッターマン [1977-I] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/22) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Comedy A mysterious gem called the "Skull Stone" is said to be able to reveal the location of the largest vein of gold in the world. This legend has entranced many people who wanted to get their hands on fame, power and wealth, including the trio of villains in this show: the "Dorombo Gang." However, their hunt for the Skull Stone is not as easy as they imagined, mainly due to the faulty information they receive from their leader, and most of all, by a justical duo of pursuers called the "Yatterman"! Time travel series without time travel - that's awkward ! Anyway, all the gang and concept is taken from the time travel series, but to show different locations time travel is not really needed. This time the gang takes most of screen time, so they are probably the protagonists. The goodies duo, plus robot dog yatterman are older than they were in original Time Bokan , but rather boring just as then. Also need to note that level of comedy and craziness is higher as robot dog Yatterman has weird method of attack - usually summoning mechanical insects or animals. Overall, I don't see conceptual difference with original Time Bokan, thus the same score.   Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Araiguma Rascal Raccoon Rascal あらいぐまラスカル [1977-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Historical, Pets Drama, Slice of Life Life in Brailsford Junction, Wisconsin, is simple and quiet for Sterling North, who spends most of his free time caring for animals. With his mother in the hospital and his brother fighting on the Western Front, the boy lives only with his father and his dog Hauser. One weekend, cutting away from his usual chores, Sterling, his friend Oscar, and Hauser head off on a fishing trip. On their way to the river, his dog catches a scent at the base of a tree. Unearthing a raccoon's nest, the two boys find an orphaned kit. A passing hunter has killed the kit's mother to make a fur hat, leaving Sterling to adopt and care for the orphaned raccoon. Torn by his fracturing family, a brother in the trenches, along with the ailing health of his mother, Sterling's bonds with life and the world around him are kept together and strengthened by life with his new friend, the "ring-tailed wonder" and scoundrel, whom he names Rascal. Close to Durrell books about animals. Good for children, but I can't find a reason to continue watching it as an adult.   Overall Rating: 6/10   3. Jetter Mars ジェッターマルス [1977-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/27) Tags: Mecha Action, Drama, Sci-Fi In 2015 A.D., Dr. Yamanoue, the Secretary of the Science Ministry, who devotes himself assembles the Android robot on an artificial island. He intends to live together with him as his own son. But the robot has a deficiency in his electric brain. He comes to the conclusion that Dr. Kawashimo's help is essential to correct his defective rain. Although they are friends, they are rivals not only in private life but also in scientific study. Dr. Yamanoue is very jingoistic and only thinks of the robot as one of his strategic arms. On the contrary, Dr. Kawashimo is a pacifist and devotes his affection to robots. Dr. Kawashimo hurries to the island on request of Dr. Yamanoue, taking his pretty young daughter Miri with him. Arriving on the island, Dr. Kawashimo sets the electric brain into Jet Mars, a robot boy. Thus Mars comes into the world. Everything is new to Mars and he doesn't know what is good or bad. On the next day he lifts Dr. Kawashimo and Miri up onto the building. When he sees a glint of moisture in Miri's eyes, he has a mysterious feeling in his mind. Then he asks Dr. Yamanoue what it is. He is taught that it is a tear a weak girl sheds, but, a strong man never does. One day, the electric brain of Fainton, another robot, is put out of order. So Fainton goes-on a wild rampage and the island is plunged into a crisis. When the seawater runs into the facilities from the big hole made by Fainton, only Mars stands in amazement and is quite at a loss what to do just then Miri exhibits her ultra ability and covers the big hole. Led by her, Mars also carries a sheet of iron and makes repairs. At last they rescue Dr. Yamanoue and Dr. Kawashimo from being washed by seawater. Miri is the robot made by Dr. Kawashimo. Mars learns how to cry and learns how to perform a kind deed. I've no idea why not just call it Astroboy 2 , the similarities are striking. Maybe legal rights or something. Anyway, just one girl partner, very simplistic in most areas.   Overall Rating: 4/10   4. Sekai Meisaku Douwa: Hakuchou no Ouji The Wild Swans 世界名作童話 白鳥の王子 [1977-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Fantasy When a widower king loses his way in a dangerous forest, he is forced to take a witch's daughter as a second wife in order to escape. However, the newly crowned queen Greta quickly becomes jealous of the time the king spends with his children and vows her revenge. In the middle of the night, Greta sneaks to where the children are sleeping and turns six of the king's sons into swans, leaving the only daughter, Elisa, to fend for herself. Elisa travels far and wide in the search for her brothers and finds them living in a remote cave. While she rejoices at their reunion, she sees how terribly the curse has affected her brothers and promises to set them free at any cost. Just an adaptation of Andersen fairy-tale, a pretty faithful one, so don't know what to discuss here.   Overall Rating: 4/10   5. Ashita e Attack! Attack on Tomorrow あしたへアタック! [1977-II] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/23) Tags: School, Team Sports  This drama tells the story of girls in high school. Girls who love to play volleyball form a team in their school. Although the team starts out as a weak and unorganized sport club, over time the girls’ extraordinary passion and endeavor enables their team to become one of the best organized and highly recognized teams at the school. Now they aim to win the championship in the National High School Volleyball League. Although it is painful and hard to achieve such a goal, it is nice to have friends to share the feeling, especially the joy. Through volleyball, the girls learn and experience many lessons in life as they grow up. Let’s share their laughter. It seems to be some unofficial spinoff of Attack No.1 that I never cared about. This one is very similar, just with more humor.   Overall Rating: 4/10   6. Wakusei Robo Danguard Ace Dangard Ace 惑星ロボ ダンガードA[エース] [1977-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/56) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Military, Space Sci-Fi In order to explore the newly discovered planet, Promethe, there are many projects are running all over the world. Here in Japan, under the direction of Dr. Oedo, "Space Carrier Jasdum" and "Planet Robot Dangard A" are being built. Ichimonji Takuma is a candidate for the pilot of Dangard A. His father, Ichimonji Dantetsu, was a famous space pilot. However, Dantetsu went missing after a mysterious accident, and the people blamed him for the accident. In order to clear his name, Takuma is trying to become a space pilot and succeed in the project. Will Takuma become the pilot? Of course he will, but would want to watch it. What we get is pilot action alongside solving mystery and gradually getting into space as playground. Very little humor and no real partners, so expected rating.   Overall Rating: 3/10   7. Chogattai Majutsu Robot Ginguiser  超合体魔術ロボ ギンガイザー [1977-II] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Shounen Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi Twenty thousand years before the creation of mankind, two tribes-Plazmans and Sazorions-came to the earth. The bellicose Sazorions tried to conquer the peaceful Plazmans using the dreadful power of the Scorpio in outer space. Twenty thousand years later-at some time in the future-Dr. Godo, the only survivor of the Plazmans, secretly prepares Ginguiser, the combined magic robot troop, to defend peace in the event that the Sazorions are revived. Dr. Godo commands four brave young men to acquire occult super powers. Each episode of this series features a sequence of fabulous and fantastic battles. These scenes cannot fail to arouse the interest and excitement of the audience, and will be certain to catch every eye. Mecha , characters and humor all looks very similar to Blocker Gundan IV Machine Blaster to the extent that I seriously consider it to be a spinoff or something. Anyway, same kind of trash.   Overall Rating: 3/10   8. Gasshin Sentai Mechander Robo Combining Squadron Mechander Robo 合身戦隊メカンダーロボ [1977-II] Wako Productions (Dropped 2/35) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Mystery, Sci-Fi The Doron Empire from the Ganymede System discovered Earth as an ideal world for them to conquer. The interest of expanding the empire came as a result of the power-hungry General Ozmel who overthrew the current reigning Queen Medusa of the Ganymede System as a start of their universal conquest. Almost completely succumbed to the empire, Earth is at its last days, and one scientist, Dr. Shikishima, had only one hope in restoring Earth from its alien conquerors--- a massive mecha known as the Mechander Robo, specially programmed and designed to battle these invading aliens from complete takeover of Earth. Along with this awesome fighter machine, Dr. Shikishima also recruited three pilots to be placed behind the Mechander Robo's controls--- the mysterious Jimmy Orion, the scientist's son Ryosuke Shikishima, and Kojiro Hachijima. Although the primary storyline is Earth battling the Doron Empire, there is something within lead pliot Jimmy Orion's past that was somewhat connected towards the entire storyline. Another pilot ace action turning into mecha and with mystery of protagonist's past. Good job running roughly the same concept as Wakusei Robo Danguard Ace the same season. This one is a more straightforward and more team-oriented though. Could they all at least stop making mecha red and white or roughly the same form? Anyway, trash .   Overall Rating: 3/10   9. Hyouga Senshi Gaislugger 氷河戦士ガイスラッガー [1977-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 2/20) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi A cyborg warrior from an ancient Antarctic kingdom awakes 30000 years later from an accidental hibernation to find the Earth changed and an old alien enemy on the verge of invasion. It's up to Guyslugger to use his ancient technology to defeat the aliens. Now a direct Cyborg 009 imitation with younger and much less cooler team. I see an attempt to add more primitive humor. It's still better than average mecha, so a four.   Overall Rating: 4/10   10. Chou Denji Machine Voltes V 超電磁マシーン ボルテスV [1977-III] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/40) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi From out of nowhere, a mysterious alien race known as the Boazan Forces has invaded the Earth. A group of individuals specially trained to handle this kind of situation has been unleashed. Kenichi, Ippei, Daijirou, Hiyoshi & Megumi are the pilots of the Choudenji Machine Voltes V (5), Earth's defense against the Boazan and their terrible Beast Warriors. The plot thickens as the Go Brothers discover their true heritage and the truth behind their father's disappearance. Conflicts and mixed emotions hinder the Go Brothers at times but due to their unwavering desire to find their dad, they must go to the place where it all started. With the help of the rebels based on Earth and on the aliens' homeworld, the Voltes Team has another mission, remove the tyrant Zu Zanbajil and liberate the people of Boazan. It comes in trilogy with Chou Denji Robo Combattler V, and they look almost identical to me characters-wise and concept-wise. Characters have different specializations this time, but it's a bad excuse to make another same looking anime. Quality is still better than rivals due to varied team and some humor.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Seton Doubutsuki: Kuma no Ko Jacky Monarch: The Big Bear of Tallac シートン動物記 くまの子ジャッキー [1977-III] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama One day a native American boy named Lan meets two little bears at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, where he lives with his father. Lan names the brother bear ‘Jacky’ and the sister bear ‘Jill’. As Lan plays with the two bears, they become good friends. However their happiness doesn’t last for long. Lan’s father accidentally shoots the two little bears’ mother to death. Feeling sorry for them, Lan decides to take Jackie and Jill back home to live with him. We've seen girl of the prairie Laura, but we have not seen a boy protagonist in these circumstances yet. As usual, can't say it's bad - it's just for children. And I have serious questions about structure as first episode is devoted exclusively to the dog, second to the bears and third to children, and all those episodes have zero shared characters.   Overall Rating: 5/10   12. Choujin Sentai Baratack 超人戦隊バラタック [1977-III] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/31) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi Late at night, at a lake surrounded by a peaceful forest, a mysterious spaceship landed on the water. The group that emerged from that ship kidnapped the head of space engineering, Professor Katou, and his family. The Professor's second son, American football player Yuuji, who had run away from home was in the middle of a game and knew nothing of what had happened. The four young people watching him were Mark, Dickey, Franco, and Yuri. They were a team of four psychics who had been training in a secret base. They had seen the previous night's events and believed them to be an alien attack. Believing their only option to be the transforming robot Baratack, they used their psychic powers to kidnap Yuuji. Baratack could only move by combining the powers of Yuuji and the other four acting as one. When all five, including the astonished Yuuji, cried "Pentagoras Unite!” Baratack emerged. Yuuji was overcome with a violent rage, his fighting spirit burning to defeat the Golteus reptile army. Bland immature characters, primitive humor, another reshuffling of all elements used before numerous times.   Overall Rating: 3/10   13. Uchuu Senkan Yamato (Movie) Space Battleship Yamato 宇宙戦艦ヤマト [1977-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Military, Space Drama, Sci-Fi In the year 2199, the Gamilon race declares war on humans, intent on taking Earth for themselves. The fighters on Earth do everything in their might to keep the planet stable, but alien technology proves to be far too advanced, and the resulting destruction renders the surface of planet Earth completely uninhabitable. The underground shelters are also becoming weak, and if nothing changes, humans will become extinct in less than a year. But just when all seems lost, Queen Starsha from the planet Iscandar offers a helping hand. The key to victory lies in the Cosmo-Cleaner D, which can eliminate the radiation that Earth is suffering from. However, the only way to get a hold of this life-saving device is if someone from Earth goes to Iscandar―148,000 light years away―to retrieve it. The problem is, they have less than a year before time runs out. The fate of the entire human race lies in the hands of the crew of a salvaged WWII craft, the Space Battleship Yamato. As expected, a lot of things were cut from the recap, especially relations (even pervy robot) and non-essential episodes not dealing with three Gamilon bases on Mars, Neptun and Pluto. Surprisingly, some scenes are added to make departure feel more organized and planned and at the same time more pressed with a new threat bomb. As for me, main series is not that long with 26 episodes, so this recap should be used only to get general idea before watching new seasons of Space Battleship Yamato.   Overall Rating: 6/10   14. Lupin III: Part II 新・ルパン三世 [1977-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/155) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery Lupin III chronicles the adventures of Arsene Lupin III, the world's greatest thief, and his partners in crime: master marksman Daisuke Jigen, beautiful and scheming Fujiko Mine and stoic samurai Goemon Ishikawa XIII. Lupin and his gang travel around the globe in search of the world's greatest treasures and riches and always keeping one step ahead of the tireless Inspector Zenigata, who has vowed to bring Lupin to justice. Main difference is that Lupin now acts with three allies as a team from the start. That's definitely more enjoyable, yet it's same random action adventures with inventive solutions.   Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Muteki Choujin Zanbot 3 Invincible Superman Zanbot 3 無敵超人サンボット3 [1977-IV] Sunrise (Dropped 3/23) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Drama, Sci-Fi There once existed a planet named Beal, until it was wiped out by the mysterious entity known as Gaizok. The few remaining survivors escaped to Earth and split into three families, named Jin, Kamie, and Kamikita respectively. While attempting to start a new life, the collectively known "Jin Family" prepared for the inevitable Gaizok invasion on Earth and its giant mechanical beasts known as "Mecha Boosts". In order to defend their new home, they have built three vehicles which when combined form the mighty Zambot 3. The Jin Family must not only defend against Gaizok attacks, but also harsh criticisms from the very people they protect, who blame the Jin Family for the invasion in the first place. As usual, number in the title means the number of protagonist pilots. Drawing and animation quality are high, but main characters are too young, pretty much recently from kindergarten. It adds a lot of trial and error, but overall complexity suffers. Sunrise animation technology is much better than oldschool studios. It feels like some fresh air in the stale genre.   Overall Rating: 5/10   16. Arrow Emblem Grand Prix no Taka Super Grand Prix アローエンブレム グランプリの鷹 [1977-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/44) Tags: Racing Drama An anime with much of wheel actions ... Takaya Todoroki, a young man who wants to become a famous driver and built a car to be able to participate in a race with a big prize. In the race, because of the poor quality of building, Takaya has a serious accident in which he wrecked his car but he doesn`t hurt himself. That`s when a mysterious driver contact Takaya to enter onto some famous racing team...This mysterious man is a former driver .. a very famous one who appears every now and then to help Takaya fight his own destiny, to set him on the right track and most of all prove himself, unlike him. Usual racing action, even without battle cars. One protagonist and one teacher, one sidekick heroine. It's hard to imagine anything more boring.   Overall Rating: 2/10   17. Ore wa Teppei My Name Is Teppei おれは鉄兵 [1977-IV] Nippon Animation (Dropped 4/28) Tags: Shounen Action, Sports Teppei, brought up by his father in the mountains, is an energetic boy who is as tough as weeds and acts as free as a bird. His life changes completely when he enrolls in high school, the first school he has ever attended. Despite his eccentric behavior and being a constant source of troubles, he is soon recognized for his talent in sports—especially in Kendo (the Japanese swordplay art)—and becomes the school's hero. Protagonist is strong, but too young and immature. There is enough humor, but it's mostly about a wilderness boy ignorance. Again, no faint desire to watch it to the end.   Overall Rating: 5/10   18. Kyouryuu Daisensou Izenborg 恐竜大戦争アイゼンボーグ [1977-IV] (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Mecha Action Japan is being besieged by evil Dinosaurs that humanity have long thought extinct, they are back and are creating disaster. To counter the threat, a special team of expert warriors called Izenborg were created. Lamees and Kamal use their special powers to combine into Super Izenborg to battle the evil Satola and his Dinosaur army. This anime... is not anime, part three. It's basically the same Kyouryuu Tankentai Born Free , just with fighting dinosaurs instead saving dinosaurs. Also there seems to be a bit more animation here. Anyway, same repelling fake with same boring characters.   Overall Rating: 3/10   19. Chou Supercar Gattiger 超スーパーカー ガッタイガー  [1977-IV] Nihon Keizai Koukokusha (Dropped 1/25) Tags: Racing Action, Sci-Fi A scientist invents 5 special solar powered cars that can be joined into one supercar. The cars are given to the scientists son and his friends to compete in the racing circuit, but they are pursued by an evil organization that wants the secret of solar power. Another species in cheap fake anime series. It's actually mostly animation, but zoomed plans of toy cars are used. Simplistic development and straightforward characters confirmed.   Overall Rating: 0/10   20. Shin Kyojin no Hoshi 新巨人の星 [1977-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Team Sports A continuation of the popular baseball saga about the star pitcher of a professional baseball team. Only for fans of the original, thus not for me. Dead serious and solo-focused and thus inferior to Dokaben, in my opinion.   Overall Rating: 4/10   21. Gekisou! Rubenkaiser 激走! ルーベンカイザー [1977-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 0/17) Tags: Shounen Racing  A race car driver competes around the world in a race car left to him by his father. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   22. Manga Nihon Emaki まんが日本絵巻 [1977-IV] (Dropped 3/46) Tags: Historical Animated adaptations of traditional and historical Japanese stories. Each episode features 2 different stories. It's a bit more amusing than fairy-tales, but this is not strictly a history show, more like a collection of mythology stories involving samurai with all kinds of demons and monsters present, so of little real value to me.   Overall Rating: 5/10   23. Manga Ijin Monogatari まんが偉人物語 [1977-IV] Group TAC (Dropped 0/46) Tags: Historical From Genghis Khan to Thomas Edison, each episode in this series focuses on the life and achievement of two of history's greatest and most important persons. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   24. Tobidase! Machine Hiryuu とびだせ! マシーン飛竜 [1977-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/13) Tags: Shounen Parody, Racing Comedy The bosses of rival car companies decide to fight each other in the sporting arena by backing different race car teams. Chairman Gapporin hires Okkanabichi the supreme racer, while Chairman Misaki hires Riki Kazama, a relatively untried driver for the flying car known as Machine Hiryu. Mixing elements of Speed Racer with Time Bokan, this Tatsunoko production ticks the same boxes, with Riki's cute girlfriend Nana, mini-mechanic Chuta, the cute ape and pooch, and the comic and glamorous villains lurking in the background. Early work from many big names, including Yoshitaka Amano and Kunio Okawara, is strictly in the studio mould. Manga versions of the story ran in several magazines, such as Terebi Magazine and Terebi Land. Racing fever seemed to have struck the Japanese animation business at this time: compare to the same year's Arrow Emblem. Basically, it feels like Time Bokan prequel as two antagonists are the same, just before greedy professor assistant joined them. Just races on battle cars of the good team resembling that of Yatterman and the gangster team. Same parody gimmicks are present.   Overall Rating: 4/10
  25. kivandopulus
    Mirai Shounen Conan is the first anime that I'm rating as 8 - definite masterpiece.    1. Perrine Monogatari ペリーヌ物語 [1978-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/53) Tags: Shoujo Historical Drama, Slice of Life Perrine travels across Europe with her mother, a photographer, in a cabin drawn by a donkey. They are heading to a small village in northern France, the home of Perrine's dead father. Perrine doesn't know that they are unwanted in the village; Perrine's father left the village after having quarrelled with his father (Perrine's grandfather) and married in India against his father's will. After her mother falls ill, Perrine has to sell everything, including her beloved donkey Palikare, to pay for medicine. Mother dies in Paris and before dying tells the girl that she has to make her grandfather love her before he knows who she really is. After a journey full of hardships, Perrine finally arrives in the village where she learns that her grandfather is the rich owner of the factory that feeds all the villagers. Presenting herself under a false name, Perrine gets a job on the factory, searching for a way to the heart of her grandfather. It's the beginning of the year, so , yeah, kids travel again. Now the what if Alps no Heidi was older edition. Another family drama yet zero humor spotted. That and rather unattractive drawing kills any intrigue left.   Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Joou Heika no Petite Angie Angie Girl 女王陛下のプティアンジェ [1978-I] (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Shoujo Historical Mystery 19th century London. Angie is a 12-year-old girl, descended from nobility. She once helped to solve the Queen’s jewel robbery case and since then, the Queen has appointed her to work on particularly difficult cases. Her brilliance and courage overwhelm many grownups. She is assisted by other children and Detective Michael of Scotland Yard. This series is full of fun, suspense and pathos, showing how Angie uses her wits to solve case after case. Just a child Sherlock. Girl just makes it a bit brighter with laughter, but that's it .   Overall Rating: 4/10   3. Yakyuukyou no Uta 野球狂の詩 [1978-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 2/25) Tags: Action, Drama, Sports Against her insistence, Yuuki is drafted by the Tokyo Mets as the first woman player in the baseball league. Basically it's similar to Dokaben in case of humor. Girl does not change much, to be honest, it just add individuality and recognition to the title .   Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Chirin no Suzu Ringing Bell チリンの鈴 [1978-I] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy  Chirin, a newborn lamb, and his mother live a peaceful life in a meadow. As long as they stay inside the fence that protects them and the rest of the flock, they are free to frolic and graze on the delicious clover leaves. However, their idyllic life is shattered when a wolf named Wor attacks them in the dead of night, killing Chirin's mother. Struggling to process his mother's death, Chirin swears to become a wolf himself in order to avenge his mother, unaware of what this transformation would cost him. There has already been Wan Wan Chushingura, why would we need another animal revenge story. Actually, this one is different because antagonist wolf is not just evil, he's also trainer in a way and a mentor. It's still is nice that it provokes thoughts like that devoting life to something loses meaning with that something gone, so maybe it's not worth devoting life to one thing.   Overall Rating: 5/10   5. Mirai Shounen Conan Future Boy Conan 未来少年コナン [1978-II] Nippon Animation (Finished 26/26) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi Conan was the only child born on Remnant Island, a place settled by a group of refugees while they fled a terrifying wave of magnetic bombs that wiped out most of humanity. After 20 years, most of the castaways have died, save for Conan and the wise old man that raised him. Believing Remnant Island to be the last inhabited place on Earth, Conan is shocked when he discovers a young girl named Lana washed up on the beach one day. Though he is thrilled to learn that humanity has survived, Lana tells him the nation of Industria wants her as a hostage to force her grandfather, Dr. Lao, to power their machinery. Their conversation is cut short when Industria's top pilot, Monsley, suddenly appears and seizes Lana. Determined to save her, Conan immediately sets off from Remnant Island and begins a journey that will ultimately determine the fate of the world. I remember this island and house made from the aircraft from some newer anime, so this one is important even to set legacy. Secondly, it's kind of post-apocalypse. Thirdly, there's a strong aim given from the start with potential bigger mystery foreshadowed. Lastly, it's just very high quality animation and beautiful drawing. I spent a lot of time hesitating between 8 and 9 and in that time determined that 8 is definite masterpiece with serious flaw, yet not genius work and 9 is a definite masterpiece without flaws, yet not a genius work. In the end settled with 8 due to artificial extension, notably, first 30 seconds of new episode are 30 seconds of last episode, moreover last epilogue episode added nothing new and was not needed at all. Oh, and did not expect it to be Miyazaki directorship .   Overall Rating: 8/10   6. Uchuu Kaizoku Captain Herlock Space Pirate Captain Harlock 宇宙海賊・キャプテンハーロック [1978-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 6/42) Tags: Seinen Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi It is 2977 AD and mankind has become stagnant. Robots do all the work, the masses are kept tranquil by subliminal messages, and government officials are lazy, caring only about recreational activities like golf and horse racing. Captain Herlock has defied this insipid mentality, leading a group of like-minded rebels to a more adventurous life aboard the spaceship Arcadia. A mysterious force known as the Mazone has invaded the Earth, taking the form of mysterious cloaked women that kill anyone who suspect their nefarious doings, such as Tadashi Daiba who is now on their hit-list. After his scientist father is ignored by the government and killed by the Mazone, he joins Captain Herlock and his ragtag group of pirates to assist them as they try to save humanity from the impending alien threat. Well, I tried! First four episodes are a pure horror as it's torn narration with several characters tracked and several flashbacks - during those first four episodes there is no character introduction at all. Unlike Yamato, Harlock has a vague aim and occasional appearance of invaders. I like integral stuff, not mashup of 42 episodes with random stuff. Somehow characters in Yamato hooked from the start as well as very pressed situations at all moments. Here's no tension at all, and all characters behave kinda neutrally from the start. This series needs a better pacing and directorship, so I'd gladly watch a Movie, but for now, alas  .   Overall Rating: 6/10   7. Toushou Daimos Daimos 闘将ダイモス [1978-II] Sunrise, Toei Animation (Dropped 3/44) Tags: Shounen Mecha Adventure, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi The third of Tadao Nagahama's Romance Super Robot Trilogy. (#1: Chou Denji Robo Combattler V, #2: Chou Denji Machine Voltes V) After the destruction of their home world, the survivors of the planet Barm head toward Earth with the goal of negotiating the purchase of land to emigrate to. Unfortunately, during the negotiations, the Barmian's leader, Leon, is assassinated by his second in command, Olban, and the delegation from Earth is framed for the murder. In the ensuing chaos, Doctor Isamu Ryuuzaki of the Earth delegation is shot and killed. Shortly after the disastrous end of the talks, the Barmians (called "Valerians" in Starbirds) begin a campaign of terror against Earth, lead by Leon's son, Admiral Richter, who deploys a variety of "Mecha Soldiers" against the planet's defenses. The only thing standing between the Earthlings and annihilation is the transforming, karate-using super robot, Daimos, and its pilot, Kazuya Ryuuzaki. But that changes when he meets and falls in love with a mysterious girl named Erika, who turns out to be Richter's sister. Over the course of their struggles to reunite, Kazuya and Erika each learn that the other's people are not all evil... and that their own people are not all good. Part of same looking, same average feeling trilogy.   Overall Rating: 4/10   8. SF Saiyuuki Starzinger Spaceketeers SF西遊記 スタージンガー [1978-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/13) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Space Adventure, Sci-Fi The Great Planet is dying, since its Queen is old and powerless... and the universe will perish along with it. Princess Aurora of the Moon volunteers to become the new Queen, so she must set out in a dangerous travel... along with her friends and escorts: the powerful Cyborgs Jan Kogo, Sa Jogo and Don Hakka. Plot is a mix of Yamato and Harlock (in regard of guarding VIP in space), so it bites more than it can chew from the start. Poor drawing, simpleton characters and playing into unrealistic mecha does not leave it a single chance even with some primitive humor involved .   Overall Rating: 3/10   9. Majokko Tickle 魔女っ子チックル [1978-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/45) Tags: Shoujo Comedy On Chiiko's 11th birthday, her father gives her a special book. Inside the book is a trapped witch, Majokko Tickle. When Chiiko frees Tickle from the book, she uses her magic to pass off as Chiiko's twin sister. Poor drawing and simple characters actually make this anime worse than pretty much any magical girl anime that had comedy in it. Feels like done in hurry just to fill TV slot.   Overall Rating: 3/10   10. Ikkyuu-san (1978) 一球さん [1978-II] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: School, Team Sports Action High-school student Ikkyuu knows nothing about baseball, but his talents are recognized by the manager of the baseball club, and he takes up this enchanting sport. While his ignorance of the game leads him to make many mistakes, Ikkyuu - who is in fact a descendant of ninja - displays his superhuman abilities and leads the team to the High School Baseball Championships. Can only say that humor is not as good as in Dokaben, can hardly evaluate the rest.   Overall Rating: 4/10   11. Manga Hajimete Monogatari まんがはじめて物語 [1978-II] Studio Jack (Dropped 0/305) Tags: Educational, Historical Adventure, Comedy An educational program for children featuring various historical events, showing both animation and live action footage. A reoccurring "older sister" and the pink mole Mogutan, will take you on a journey through time. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   12. Haikara-san ga Tooru Smart-san はいからさんが通る [1978-III] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/42) Tags: Shoujo Historical Drama, Romance, Slice of Life Set in the 1920s, Haikara-san ga Tooru is the story of the high-spirited tomboy Benio and her relationship with a handsome half-German soldier named Shinobu. Benio is a very outgoing and athletic girl with firm ideas about being able to live her life as she wants to. When she first meets Shinobu, she dislikes him intensely, even though he manages to help her out of a series of embarrassing mishaps. She is therefore surprised when she finds out that she has been forced into an arranged marriage and that her husband-to-be is none other than Shinobu! The story then has many twists and turns, as Shinobu has to fight in the war, Benio has to wrangle with the idea of getting married, and getting along with her future in-laws and employer. Meanwhile, the great Kanto earthquake looms in the future... It's a very nice shoujo and I'm sure it caused a lasting impression on a lot of future works like game Sakura Wars and even Sailor Moon . It might be the first appearance of tomboy heroine as well. Males are still depicted almost normally, so it's not painful to watch. There's a lot of situational humor as well. There's hardly any appeal for me, though, as main there is mostly girl romance hesitations and Shinobu is not a complex character either .   Overall Rating: 5/10   13. Muteki Koujin Daitarn 3 無敵鋼人ダイターン3 [1978-III] Sunrise (Dropped 3/40) Tags: Mecha Sci-Fi Souzou Haran was a brilliant scientist that was conducting research on Mars. He created a form of cyborg life with the ability to think for itself. These cyborgs, dubbed the Meganoids, soon ran out of control and killed Dr. Haran along with his whole family, save his youngest son, the 16-year-old Banjou Haran. Banjou escapes from Mars on a rocket with a solar-powered super robot called Daitarn 3, which was built with the special metals of Mars. Now eighteen years old and living on Earth in a luxurious mansion, Banjou fights against the Meganoids with the aid of his faithful butler Garrison and his two gorgeous companions Reika and Beauty. Together they must stop the evil Meganoids which aspire to turn all humans into cyborgs and thus "improve" the human race. James Boтd style action mixed with mecha. Even two fanservice female companions can't help it.   Overall Rating: 3/10   14. Hoshi no Oujisama Petit Prince The Prince of the Stars: Le Petit Prince 星の王子さま プチ・プランス [1978-III] Knack Productions (Dropped 4/35) Tags: Adventure The Little Prince lives on Asteroid B612, a tiny rock floating in space. He spends his days cleaning out the three small volcanoes on the asteroid (which he also uses to cook his breakfast) weeding out the baobob trees that threaten to take over, and caring for his friend the Rose Girl. When he gets lonely for company he catches a comet in his butterfly net and flies off to Earth for all sorts of adventures. Kid travels. First episode is introductory , further ones are travelling on the Earth and talking to animals or humans and thus making friends. Again, it's nice , but too naïve and exploration-focused to have real value for adults  .   Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Uchuu Majin Daikengou 宇宙魔神ダイケンゴー [1978-III] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Giant robot Daikengo flies through space to re-establish galactic peace; on-board prince Ryger, who ran away from his planet Emperius to defeat the menace out of his reign borders, in order to save his people; Cleo, corrupted prime minister's daughter, help him along with two nice little robots, Anike and Otoke. They fight evil Lady Baracross, leading invasion forces, with her assistant Roboleon, wearing a Napoleon style hat. Daikengo is the first robot with scuttles on his mouth. When he opens them, his vampire style teeth are shown and he can spit fire. The concept of transformer mecha fighting robots is old and beaten. So this time the spice is that protagonist team is a rogue exile in contrast to usual headquarters with omnipotent scientist. This also adds some intrigue as unit has to defend from motherland vehicles as well. Some service robots even try to humor. But overall nothing special - long transformation scenes, constant fighting different enemies with dull protagonist and bland girl companion .   Overall Rating: 4/10   16. Saraba Uchuu Senkan Yamato: Ai no Senshi-tachi Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato: In the Name of Love さらば宇宙戦艦ヤマト・愛の戦士たち [1978-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Military, Space Action, Drama, Sci-Fi In the year 2201, one year after the Yamato saved Earth from radioactive contamination, a new threat emerges. The Yamato makes its final journey to save the Earth from this new threat. Earth has almost recovered from the battle against Gamilus, and reconstruction has expanded to the other planets. When former Yamato crew-mates discover a strange, garbled message that seems to be coming from a white comet headed towards Earth, they hijack their old space fortress and begin a new battle. Series was good, but OVA compilation scrapped most of character development and was rather hasty. So this first original OVA tries to avoid those shortcomings. The whole comet flight scene takes several painful minutes where nothing happens on the screen, the Yamato departure takes at least several minutes too. Show definitely takes its time lasting 2:32 . Romance is approached just from the start, plus there's more focus on ship team and even companion , scouts captain. In the series there were several memorable episodes about boarding the planets, so here there are a lot of such scenes. New plot , sadly , also tries to imitate originator closely . Same sudden enemy , sudden help request and travel while fighting this new enemy on the way . The novelty and thrill under constant threat is gone. Some cheap-looking drama and advanced directorship try to substitute it. My main complaint is that things are going in expected fashion. If it managed to surprise, I'd give it a masterpiece. But can't do that as original wins in most aspects. I don't see the need for it as a filler between 1st and 2nd season, best skip this OVA.     Overall Rating: 5/10   17. Kagaku Ninja-tai Gatchaman (Movie) 科学忍者隊 ガッチャマン [1978-III] Tatsunoko Production (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi This is the condensed theatrical adaptation of the original TV series' first season. Science ninja team started as another superhero team fighting. But team personalities stand out all right, there's protagonist's older brother who gets into troubles, enemies behave funny, there are some unexpected action scenes like racing or interrogation. So there is enough human-like development in what seemed to be absolutely boring story. It's still not even remotely interesting for me, but I appreciate the novelty to the genre when I see one.   Overall Rating: 4/10   18. 100-man-nen Chikyuu no Tabi: Bander Book One-Million Year Trip: Bander Book 100万年地球の旅 バンダーブック [1978-III] Tezuka Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Sci-Fi  To escape the explosion of their ship caused by a terrorist attack, the parents of a young baby put him inside an escape pod and send him out before dying. The pod ends up on a planet inhabited by beings able to transform themselves into animals by using a special ring. The young baby is rescued by the royal family, and grows up to become the prince. When the planet is attacked by pirates, he will be brought by force to Earth and discover everything about his own origins, and forgotten brother. The signature of Osamu Tezuka is seen instantly here just like in Arabian Nights and Cleopatra. And I liked this work the most of the three. Can I recommend it as a masterpiece ? Not sure. I like Tezuka style, chaos and innovation. Moreover, I see roots of Akira here. At the same time there's a lot of expression and curiosity, but still not enough depth to be recommended universally .   Overall Rating: 6/10   19. Daisetsusan no Yuusha Kibaou King Fang 大雪山の勇者 牙王 [1978-III] Nippon Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Drama The conflicting fates of human beings and wild animals are depicted in a naturalistic setting. The main character of the story is Fang, who was born to a hunting dog and a circus-runaway European wolf. Although Fang was raised by a human family, he is a wild animal after all, and is destined to live amongst nature. The story reaches its climax when Fang returns from the circus and faces his foe, a giant brown bear which killed his family. To tell the truth, I don't understand why this story is needed or exists. It's surface-scratching and has no thought or purpose behind it, just observation. Another mindless revenge story.   Overall Rating: 5/10   20. Ginga Tetsudou 999 銀河鉄道999 [1978-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 9/113) Tags: Space Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi In the distant future, humanity has found a way to live forever by purchasing mechanical bodies, but this way to immortality is extraordinarily expensive. An impoverished boy, Tetsurou Hoshino, desires to purchase a pass on the Galaxy Express 999—a train that travels throughout the universe—because it is said that at the end of the line, those aboard can obtain a mechanical body for free. When Tetsurou's mother is gunned down by the villainous machine-man hybrid Count Mecha, however, all seems lost. Tetsurou is then saved from certain death by the mysterious Maetel, a tall woman with blonde hair and a striking resemblance to his mother. She gives him a pass to the Galaxy Express under one condition: that they travel together. Thus, Tetsurou begins his journey across the universe to many unique planets and thrilling adventures, in hopes of being able to attain that which he most desires. Kid travels, now in space! Episodic in nature. It's nice how center question of the anime is about mechanical body parts. Still most episodes I saw weren't great. There are many OVA on certain episodes of Express 999, probably those are really great ones , I'll see .   Overall Rating: 6/10   21. Takarajima Treasure Island 宝島 [1978-IV] Madhouse (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Mystery Jim Hawkins is a young boy lead by progressive events to embark on a search journey for the legendary treasure of the once dreaded pirate, Captain Flint. On their way to Treasure Island, John Silver, Jim's best friend, take over command of the ship revealing his true self as the ruthless pirate who once was the right hand of Flint himself. Feeling betrayed, Jim now has to deal with his mixed feelings and face Silver who still consider himself and Jim as friends. A more fleshed out and exciting version compared to the book. Narration is very slow and occasionally filler-filled. It may easily interest if story is not read or seen some other way. I can't find a reason to watch the story anew.   Overall Rating: 6/10   22. Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2 Star Blazers: The Comet Empire 宇宙戦艦ヤマト2 [1978-IV] Group TAC (Finished 26/26) Tags: Adult Cast, Military, Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi A year has passed since the Star Force returned to save the Earth but another danger now approaches from deep space. A gigantic White Comet hurtles toward our galaxy, obliterating everything in its path. But it is no ordinary comet—it is the deadly Comet Empire, conqueror of worlds... and Earth is the next target! Against orders, the Star Force blasts off to investigate, but even if they can get past the flagship Andromeda, they don't yet know the true nature of their new enemy! As expected, second season makes intermediate OVA not just obsolete, but also harmful and misleading. Second season marks comeback of logical integral storytelling while telling the same events of OVA in a proper manner and going further instead of stopping midway like OVA did. I don't remember a sequel that would surpass the original (well, maybe Haruhi) , so question is usually whether the score of original is retained or sequel is rated lower. There is more variety this time, four enemy generals have different weapons to attack with, lots of ground battles, new scout captain companion fits the spot well. And despite sequel faithfully developing themes of original, impact is gone and I can no longer recommend it universally, because characters are remaining rather simple , and there is less tension , nothing really new is added. Also sudden love theme coming out of nowhere only irritates. Can only recommend to those who did not have enough of first season .     Overall Rating: 6/10   23. Captain Future キャプテンフューチャー  [1978-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Curtis Newton, aka Captain Future, is an orphan. His parents died in their artificial satellite while he was an infant. His father was a scientist, who has abandoned earth for the satellite to dedicate his life for science along with his aging friend the genius Dr Simon Wright. Wright senses his death, and decides to implant his brain in a mechanical container. They both manufactured a superior robot and an android. Captain future dedicated his life to fight evil along with his three men, the brain, android, and robot. Why each episode almost 29 minutes... apart from that anime reminds Cyborg 009 a lot - same colorful agents party, same fighting with dark cyborgs organization, lots of action. The main difference is that most of Captain Future heroes are cyborgs and mostly use more conventional means of attack. There is some humor linked to mascots . Still see now way to rate it higher than 5 .   Overall Rating: 5/10   24. Shin Ace wo Nerae! New Aim for the Ace! 新・エースをねらえ! [1978-IV] Tohokushinsha Film Corporation (Dropped 3/25) Tags: Shoujo School Drama, Romance, Sports Heroine, Hiromi Oka, has just entered a high school famous for its tennis club. She has started playing tennis yearning after Madam Butterfly. She was expecting to enjoy playing tennis with her best friend, Maki, but the situation changes when the new coach, Mr. Munakata, suddenly picks out Hiromi to be one of the players for the upcoming tournament and starts giving Hiromi tough lessons. She strives under any circumstance. The more the new coach gives her training, the better she seems to get. Finally she becomes the representative in the junior match tournament. For me original was better as this remake becomes too girlified shoujo if I can say that. Inner monologues, constant caprice and gimmicks, instant focus on romance and sweet shots , spontaneous crying - stuff like that. It outlines the future shoujo and otome genre better, but I prefer hybrids to pure shoujo/otome .  Overall Rating: 5/10   25. Kagaku Ninja-tai Gatchaman II Eagle Riders 科学忍者隊ガッチャマンII [1978-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Two years after the defeat of Galactor and the apparent death of Condor Joe, a cruise ship is attacked by Leader X, killing nearly everyone on board. One of the survivors, a young girl, is captured by X and rapidly aged into the bizarre, masculine-voiced villainess Gel Sadra. Though she has the appearance of an adult, Gel Sadra is not immune to throwing childish tantrums and behaving immaturely. In the midst of the revival of Galactor, the Science Ninja Team is called back into action, with a shady man known as Hawk Getz acting as the replacement for Joe. Getz is quickly revealed to be a Galactor agent in disguise (and had killed the actual Getz who was to join), and winds up killed by a mysterious feather shuriken. After hints spread in the first three episodes, Joe reappears in the fourth episode, having somehow survived his fatal injuries at the end of the first series, and rejoins the team. It is later revealed that he was rescued by an ex-Galactor scientist at the brink of his death, and was the subject of various cybernetic augmentations. Later in the series, a female scientist known as Dr.Pandora is introduced, who had lost her husband and daughter in the cruise ship disaster. Unbeknown to her, her daughter Sammie survived and is in fact Gel Sadra. First season of Gatchaman was memorable because of unique bird-like costumes, somewhat memorable heroes and dramatic twists-filled story that actually moves somewhere. Season two continues this tradition with one companion dropping and one new arriving. Still zero value for me.   Overall Rating: 4/10   26. Pink Lady Monogatari: Eikou no Tenshi-tachi ピンク・レディー物語 栄光の天使たち  [1978-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 0/33) Tags: Music Drama, Slice of Life Based on the real life-story of Pink Lady, a female pop duo that rose to superstardom in the mid-1970's. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   27. Lupin III: Lupin vs. Fukusei-ningen Lupin III: The Secret of Mamo ルパンvs複製人間 [1978-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery Lupin, the master thief/spy/Jack of all Trades, has been executed, but he is still alive, and not even Lupin himself knows how that is possible. While trying to figure out, however, he and his gang are thrust into a conspiracy involving clones, Lupin's un-trustworthy rival Fujiko, and a miniature madman's plot to take over the world. This Lupin movie is about pharaoh mystery of immortality... did not like it . I believe this franchise can do better than that.   Overall Rating: 4/10   28. Captain Future: Kareinaru Taiyokei Race キャプテンフューチャー・華麗なる太陽系レース [1978-IV] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Sequel of Captain Future. Nothing different noticed from the usual Captain future.   Overall Rating: 5/10   29. Machi Ichiban no Kechinbou The Stingiest Man in Town 町一番のけちんぼう [1978-IV] Topcraft (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical, Music Drama, Supernatural Based on the novel A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The whole story is not big, so OVA is primarily a musical. Not worth the time.   Overall Rating: 5/10
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