Jump to content

kivandopulus

Contributor
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    943

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    7

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by kivandopulus

  1. kivandopulus
    In the end could only point out Musekinin Kanchou Tylor as a minor masterpiece.   1. Musekinin Kanchou Tylor The Irresponsible Captain Tylor 無責任艦長タイラー [Tatsunoko Production] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Comedy, Sci-Fi Adult Cast, Military, Parody, Space Justy Ueki Tylor is an average 20-year-old man: lazy, greedy, and a passionate womanizer. He plans to land an easy job with the United Planets Space Force that pays decently and is also far away from the rigorous combat raging throughout the galaxy. However, Tylor's dreams of living a simple life are brought to a sudden halt when he stumbles into a dangerous hostage situation. Through one strange mishap after another, Tylor miraculously manages to save the hostages and is awarded command of the decrepit space-cruiser Soyokaze! Now Tylor finds himself in charge of sending mad mercenaries, proud pilots, skeptical colleagues, and harsh commanders through the infinite expanse of the universe, all the while avoiding the looming threat of the Holy Raalgon Empire. What misadventures await the irresponsible Captain Tylor? I watched Irresponsible Captain Tylor before, but not sure if 1993 or 1995 version. What struck me back in early space genius tactics Space Battleship Yamato and Legend of Galactic Heroes was that they did not really boast of good tactics compared to modern examples and often relied on luck or just sucked up damage. Tylor brings that concept to the ultimate as it's a comedy that relies on pure luck with rare exceptions. Show has great funny characters and good pace with solid humor. I've praised enough to get into masterpiece range, time to focus on negatives to derive final score. It's not intellectual, so can't surpass 8. The setup with story and characters gets finalized by the 7th episode, and then there is a series of space SOL episodes. In the second half of the series tempo receives a blow and concentration starts to fade at times. Since the story was never serious, approaching the ending brings more and more nonsense, and that's just unsatisfying. Minor masterpiece score fits just right here.   Overall Rating: 7/10   2. Wakakusa Monogatari: Nan to Jo-sensei 若草物語ナンとジョー先生 [Nippon Animation] (Finished 4/40) Tags: Historical, School Drama, Slice of Life Nan Harding is the new student at Mr. and Mrs. Bhaer's school. Everyone thinks that she is a pain in the head, but not Mrs. Jo. Together with the other kids, they all embark on their personal adventures and misfortunes while learning in school. Finally Wakakusa Monogatari loses real connection with novel and lives its own life with a new protagonist as if from Ghibli works and one of old protagonists being just one of the teachers. Usual world masterpiece theater fans can rage all they want, but it's the best world masterpiece theater series at least for the sheer amount of comedy in it. Sadly, comedy takes only a part of the time, and mostly it's just SOL with small adventures and learning important lessons, blah-blah-blah. Something adults can hardly involve into.   Overall Rating: 6/10   3. Miracle☆Girls ミラクル☆ガールズ  [Japan Taps] (Finished 3/51) Tags: Shoujo Drama Mikage and Tomomi Matsunaga are Miracle Girls: they have a telepathic link with each other and can teleport when they link their little fingers. Tomomi is a sports star and has a boyfriend called Noda. Mikage is the smartest student in the school and is in love with her sempai. He moved to London to study but they still kept in touch, that is until a selfish princess called Marie decides that he should come with her back to Diammas. Back in Japan the twins are having various problems of their own. But they soon realise that there is a link between Marie, an ancient legend, and a girl they know called Emma. Telepathy... teleportation... jumping for 20 meters... I'm so prejudiced against espers that it starts as a  downer already. Shoujo immature romance focus does not add points as well. It's terribly chaotic and I can't call it even decent.    Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Yuusha Tokkyuu Might Gaine 勇者特急マイトガイン [Sunrise] (Finished 3/47) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Nouvelle Tokio City locates on the place where it used to be Tokyo Bay. At the first glance, the prosperous city seems to enjoy its freedom and peace, but the city is suffering from the crimes. Senpuuji Maito is a perfect 15-year-old boy, bright, handsome, smart, and all-around sportsman. Furthermore, he is the leader of Senpuuji Trading group, and a multimillionaire. He spends his private fortune to found "Brave Express Squad"? which consists of several robots. They are the robots that have various special abilities. Above all, the leader, Gaine, has a super artificial intelligence and has own personality. They can transform into trains. In case of incidents, they will appear anywhere in the world using the highly developed railway system. Another horrible Sunrise mecha. I welcome the fact that it's humor-focused so that there is a single reason that someone might watch it longer. A collection of beaten stamps besides that.   Overall Rating: 5/10   5. Aa! Megami-sama! ああっ女神さまっ  [AIC] (Finished 5/5) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Romance, Supernatural When college student Keiichi Morisato dials the wrong number while ordering for some food at his dormitory, he accidentally gets connected to the Goddess Hotline and a beautiful goddess named Belldandy appears out of a mirror in front of him. After getting kicked out of the dorm, Keiichi and Belldandy move to an old shrine and soon afterwards, Belldandy's sisters Urd and Skuld move in. Tenchi was the first harem, although it did not feel mature with normal protagonist and heroines that looked a bit childish. Megami-sama is an attempt to bring in harem with mature , yet fantasy-imbued females and slightly mischievous protagonist, as well as focus on actual romance rather than repelling space invaders. It's just six episodes, so as long as the whole cast gathers there's already anxiety about future parting and finale arc to start. So there's hardly anything to evaluate as the core itself between beginning and ending is missing.   Overall Rating: 6/10   6. Dragon Half ドラゴンハーフ [Production I.G] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Parody Comedy, Fantasy Mink is no ordinary teenage girl, being half-human and half-dragon. Her father had fallen in love with a red dragon he intended to kill, and instead of slaying the dragon, he married her. Their union gave birth to Mink, who inherited horns, a tail, retractable wings, and incredible strength—characteristics which signify her dragon half nature. Mink spends her days accompanied by her friend Pia, a dwarf girl with overprotective parents, and her best friend Lufa, an elf with great healing powers but impressively bad magic. The three find themselves mooning over the dreamy and charming dragonslayer, Dick Saucer. But in a sudden, absurd turn of events, Mink gets closer than ever to the object of her fantasies, only to realize that her love may never be reciprocated because of her dragon heritage. Thus, the trio sets out on a quest to find a potion that will make Mink fully human. They may unwittingly make enemies, but they are sure to have one heck of a good time. A comedy about cute half-dragon female and a group that sends dragon hunters after her... but she tries to get main dragon-hunter autograph all the time. It's fun enough, but too short to matter.   Overall Rating: 6/10   7. Moldiver モルダイバー [AIC] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Mecha Action, Romance, Sci-Fi Hiroshi Ozora invents the Mol Unit, a device that makes its user invincible. His plans of becoming a super hero are short lived however when his sister, Mirai, accidently modifies the suit configuration. Now she is forced to save Tokyo by herself from the evil Machinegal and his gang of all-female androids. What's there to like? Girl fighting mecha? Story? Action? Humor? Absolutely everything is average here, plus a fat doze of fanservice is mixed in for better digestion. It looks like Moldiver tried to play at the field of Gunbuster and humiliated itself miserably.   Overall Rating: 5/10   8. Kishin Heidan Kishin Corps 機神兵団 [AIC] (Finished 7/7) Tags: Historical, Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi October 1941, as the second World War threatens to destroy the civilized world, an unforeseen complication suddenly occurs. An alien invasion! Despite the sudden appearance of these extraterrestrial aggressors, the Axis and Allies continue their destructive conflict. Only the Kishin Corps and their giant Geo-Armor Robots (a.k.a.: Kishin), developed from a captured alien robot soldier, stand between the Earth and total annihilation! A teenager, named Taishi, suddenly finds himself at the center of a struggle over a mysterious black attaché case entrusted to him by his father, Professor Tokamura. The case contains the controlling mechanism for one of the giant Geo-Armor Robots, and the Japanese Kanto Army, the alien invaders, and the Kishin Corps all want to recover the device! Between the spies, the armies, the aliens, and the Giant Robots, Taishi is in for an epic adventure—if he can survive it! The plot just leaves me speechless, because it's hard to imagine a person who reads this synopsis and says yeah, I'd like to watch it. I don't like mecha or action, so there's nothing to like here at all. Don't watch this stupidity. It may be contagious. .   Overall Rating: 4/10   9. Kouryuu Densetsu Villgust 甲竜伝説ヴィルガスト [animate Film] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance Villgust is a peaceful world that exists parallel to ours. However, now an evil deity has been revived and has sent evil creatures to destroy many countries, which left darkness and terror to rule the world. The peoples' prayers and cries has reached out to the goddess Windina and in order to free the world from darkness she chose eight brave warriors to defeat the evil deity. Although blessed, these warriors are unaware at the path chosen for them, thus the two groups of Kui, Chris, Fanna, and Youta must meet up with Murobo, Remi, Ryuquir, and Bostov before they can follow the path chosen for them and defeat the evil deity. Adventurer party is always great. Adventurer parties fighting each others make my blood boil. But compared to Lodoss this one is much shorter, comedy focused and even with chibi characters. Decent is all it can get.   Overall Rating: 6/10   10. Unkai no Meikyuu Zeguy 雲界の迷宮ZEGUY [KSS] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy Mysterious warriors appear to blast Miki into another dimension! She flees her captors only to find herself trapped in a world of monsters and madmen who plot the downfall of Earth. The only power that can possible save her (and the world) is that of the mysterious Mask of Zeguy. Miki must embark on a life-or-death quest for this talisman, with the villains who kidnapped in hot pursuit! Warp in time is usually a bad idea. Gathering famous people from different era is usually a bad idea. Cramping it all into two episodes with very little explanation is definitely a bad idea.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Al Caral no Isan Legacy of Aru Kararu アル・カラルの遺産 [animate Film] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Space Sci-Fi In the 26th century, humans discover a humanoid race living on the distant world GO/7498/2, a dark-skinned, golden-eyed people who seem to eke out a primitive, carefree existence. However, a scout team from Earth discovers that there is more to them than meets the eye--they live in symbiosis with vicious reptilian parasites, and the Terran scientists have upset the delicate natural balance. Another work that aims to appeal to space exploration fans. Very uninspiring development and anticlimactic ending.   Overall Rating: 5/10   12. Magma Taishi Ambassador Magma マグマ大使 [Tezuka Productions] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Shounen Space, Super Power Action, Sci-Fi The alien invader Goa plots to conquer the Earth. He first warns the Murakami family (father Atsushi, mother Tomoko, and son Mamoru) of their invasion, and demonstrates his powers by transporting them to a prehistoric jungle and destroying a Giant Dinosaur before their very eyes. But they will not agree to surrender to Goa, so hope comes in the form of Magma, an armored, golden giant with long hair and antennae. He and his human-sized wife Mol, both created by the wizard Earth are sent to defend our world against Goa. They befriend Atsushi and Mamoru, the latter has Magma emotionally touched, as he wanted to have a child with his wife Mol, so Earth creates a duplicate of Mamoru, named Gam Earth gives Mamoru a whistle, with which he can call Gam Mol and Magma in times of crisis. So when Goa unleashes his various daikaiju, chances are, Magma, Mol, and Gam will fly to the rescue. Tezuka Productions is reviving a very ancient franchise, and it's worrying since those old franchises are usually too simple for 1990s already. It's not something I'd usually watch, but I'm interested in studio evolution. It did pretty well with Oniisama e... , but this time story is much more comples with multiple protagonists - Mamoru, his clone Namu and superpower wielding Magma. They rarely are in one place, so there are constant shifts between different stages, and that irritates a lot, especially if we're getting distracted for nothing like Magma fighting just one more giant octopus or something. There's not enough verbal explanation, and there are often unexplained actions happening and new actors encountered. Another pain is Mamoru himself, as he always shouts hysterically. Setting gets finalized only by the end of 6th episodes, and, needless to say, few would wait up to this point. The giant and dinosaur happen only in 11th episodes with 13 episodes total. It's all very confusing. As I see it, Tezuka Productions took this manga up for staging because it was moderately interesting, old and because it had some environmentalism with Mother Earth as one of the characters. What I like in this work is visuals, animation techniques occasionally used, one continuous story where each episode is totally different, character and monster designs. What I don't like is pretty much everything else - story, huge number of characters, confusion, hysterical protagonist, magma himself as invulnerable pseudo-mecha, many remnants of the ancient 60s works.   Overall Rating: 5/10   13. Anata ga Furikaeru Toki あなたが振り返るとき  [Grouper Productions] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo School Romance Three shorts based on stories by Hanai Aiko, who also directed this OVA. Not translated. Omnibus with 30 minutes length means it's 10 minutes per school romance story. But it's not the worst thing here. Basically, it's colored still images and camera just moves left-right, corner-corner, zoom in-out. There are rare exceptions, but it can't be called anime, just a shame.   Overall Rating: 4/10   14. Offside オフサイド  [-] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Drama, Sports Main character Goro Kumagai leads a small soccer high school club to success. Not translated. Length is just 50 mins, so there is only some match, sudden drama of love interest girl, then credits for the first half, and second half begins with all drama forgotten, another match ensues. What nonsense.   Overall Rating: 4/10   15. Ganbare Goemon: Jigen Jou no Akumu がんばれゴエモン 次元城の悪夢 [AIC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy It was originally released in 1991 as part of a campaign to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Ganbare Goemon series, being distributed as a lottery prize for purchasers of the Super Famicom game Ganbare Goemon: Yukihime Kyūshutsu Emaki (known outside of Japan as The Legend of the Mystical Ninja). It was later distributed as a user gift tie-in for purchasers of Ganbare Goemon 3: Shishijūrokubē no Karakuri Manji Gatame. The OVA features segments parodying three other popular Konami franchises: Gradius, Akumajō Dracula and TwinBee. Since it's just a fan story for NES game with multiple crossovers, it's 25 minutes of pure chaos. To get something from the story should wait for the series released in 1997.   Overall Rating: 4/10   16. Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama ラーマーヤナ ラーマ王子伝説 [Nippon Ramayana Film Co.] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure  Rama, the eldest prince of the Kingdom of Ayodhya, is beloved by all and the natural successor to his father's throne. However, when one of his father's wives conspires to get her son on the throne instead, Rama ends up being banished into the woods for 14 years. Accompanied by his wife, Sita, and his brother, Lakshman—Rama tries to make the most of life in exile despite his challenges. The trio's life in the forest is interrupted, however, when Demon King Ravan sets his sights on Sita. Using a crafty plan, he manages to distract Rama and steal Sita away to his castle. Heartbroken and distraught, Rama searches every corner of the world for his wife, unaware of the lengths he will have to go to rescue her. No offence intended, but story is a nonsense bore from a dated source. It was made with only Indian watchers in mind. The only way anyone would want to watch it is being Indian/needing to write report on Ramayana/being forced to watch it on TV.   Overall Rating: 5/10   17. Sangokushi: Dai Ni Bu - Choukou Moyu! Great Conquest: Romance of Three Kingdoms 三国志 第二部 長江燃ゆ! [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Action An anime based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel. Continuation of Sangokushi: Dai Ichi Bu - Eiyuu-tachi no Yoake that I absolutely hated as humiliation to original movies and series. This sequel again beats around the bush and kinda ends with naval battle. Why? Why ruin absolutely perfect franchise with absolutely horrible remake?.   Overall Rating: 3/10
  2. kivandopulus
    Can nominate only Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor 2 the Movie and Crayon Shin-chan Movie 01: Action Kamen vs. Haigure Maou as minor masterpieces.   1. Tenchi Muyou! Ryououki: Omatsuri Zenjitsu no Yoru! 天地無用！魎皇鬼 SPECIAL お祭り前日の夜！  [AIC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Harem Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi  After his recent battle in space, Tenchi Masaki believes that his fighting days are over. Unfortunately, his life is far from peaceful since Aeka Jurai Masaki and Ryouko Hakubi—the two women giving him the most grief—cannot seem to get along, continuing to fight over who gets to be Tenchi's lover. Since their usual romantic strategies fail, Aeka and Ryouko decide to research how to woo a man. After spending hours going through shoujo manga, the two decide to act like the girls they've read about and put Tenchi through various scenarios, with the hope that he will fall in love with one of them. Compared to original setting is finalized already, so there is room for more humor and harem stuff as there is hardly any story in special. Better, yet not great.   Overall Rating: 6/10   2. Casshern: Robot Hunter Casshan: Robot Hunter キャシャーン [Tatsunoko Production] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi In the near future, robot technology has advanced to the point of self-awareness. Under the leadership of the "Black King," machines have decimated the human population and conquered the world. Those who survived the early holocaust have been enslaved for life. But throughout the hardships, a lone hero appears as the savior of mankind. He is Casshan - a fusion of man and machine driven to combat Black King and his forces to the end. This anime does not even have any credible source, just a horrible superpower flick from the 1970s. Everything remains pretty schematic, and with the rotten core no building around it can bring anything good.   Overall Rating: 5/10   3. Mermaid's Scar 人魚の傷 [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery Legend has it that when you eat the flesh of a mermaid, you would live forever. Yuta and Mana are living proof of this... Together, they journey to various places trying to find meaning for their existence, or perhaps even a "cure" for their situation. One day, Yuta and Mana meet Masato, a little boy who seems terrified of his mother Misa. It seems to Yuta and Mana that mother and son have a very unusual relationship. What happens when Yuta and Mana decide to discover the dark secret Masato and Misa are hiding? And what about those monster-like creatures that have been appearing? Mermaid forest prequel was plain horrible, this one is also pretty disgusting, only for those who like trashy depressing horrors.   Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Eightman After 8 Man After エイトマン AFTER [J.C.Staff] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi Private detective Hazama Itsuru is hired by Professor Tani to investigate a cyborg parts theft which eventually leads him to meet Sachiko Yokogawa, the original 8 Man's love interest. Living her new life working for the Biotecho Corp., Sachiko finds herself involved with a new 8 Man, who appears after Hazama is fatally wounded by an unknow cyborg. Amidst a violent urban background with cyber-junkies creating chaos around the city, this other 8 Man will fight criminals in a more agressive way. Eightman was chronologically the first anime that I rated as ONE. This superhero continuation with schematic plot is disgrace to the whole cyberpunk genre. Also has some disturbingly bloody scenes.   Overall Rating: 4/10   5. A-Girl A-Girl [エー・ガール] [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Music, School Romance High-school student Mariko and her elder sister Mayu are forced out of their apartment by a fire and move in with their landlord. Mariko meets the landlord's handsome son, Natsume, who is also a model. They fall in love but break up when Mariko discovers that Natsume is seeing other girls. Eventually, they are reunited, and the end credits roll. A-Girl has no dialog and is performed against a background of Japanese pop songs composed by Okada Tooru and sung in English! by SEIKA. Intertiles provide continuity, like in old silent films. It's a musical with all the dialogues shown at still black screen like in old movies. There's also pretty weird torn directorship with a lot of disjointed scenes not getting into integral picture...   Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Youseiki Suikoden Suikoden Demon Century 妖世紀水滸伝 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Martial Arts Action, Fantasy In the early 21st century, an earthquake destroyed Tokyo. Japan lost its center of government and industry, and turned into a lawless territory. Looking for his sister, Takateru Suga learns that she was kidnapped by the powerful Koryukai gang. He decides to ally himself with a drag queen, two ex-mercenaries and a nun to destroy the crime organization and save his sister! Well, yeah, a bunch of different guys attack organization and rescue sister, sometimes it looks good, but the main question is why exactly should someone spend 45 minutes on cheap action.   Overall Rating: 5/10   7. Big Wars: Kami Utsu Akaki Kouya ni Big Wars ビッグ・ウォーズ 神撃つ朱き荒野に [Magic Bus] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Military, Space Action, Sci-Fi It is the dawn of the 21st century. Mankind has terraformed and colonized Mars. But we are not alone in the universe. An ancient race of alien beings, known only as "The Gods," has been watching mankind's progress ...and waiting. Now, these mysterious aliens have returned to halt mankind's expansion into space ...by force. Now, the planet named after the God of War will become our final battlefield, as mankind fights a desperate battle with the latest in high-tech, military hardware: hyper-advanced aircraft, orbital fighters, and gigantic, desert battleships brimming with the most advanced weaponry. But will it be enough? The aliens have awesome, incredibly destructive weapons at their disposal—including "Hell"—an unstoppable stealth carrier. But the alien's primary weapon is insidiously quiet and invisible—a mind control plaque. Incurable. Inevitable. Contagious. Humans are powerless to resist its effects, which transforms even the most loyal soldiers into dangerous subversives. Our last hope lies with Captain Akuh and the crew of the Battleship Aoba. If his top-secret mission is successful, mankind will deal a decisive blow to the alien armada. But Akuh's girlfriend is showing signs of nymphomania—the first symptom of alien subversion! It's mostly about hallucinations, gore and explosions. Often surreal development and unsatisfying ending contribute to the weak impact.   Overall Rating: 5/10   8. Bad Boys  [Toei Video] (Finished 3/5) Tags: Seinen Delinquents Action, Comedy Tsukasa, Yoji, and Eiji are friends and members of the motorcycle gang called the Paradise Butterflies. Riding the streets of Hiroshima, their goal in life is to top all other gangs in their city. Only three of five episodes are translated. This is one of three delinquents anime that were issued at a pace of 1-2 episodes over many years, and these are usually of higher quality than usual - better pace and comedy with more variation. It's generally on the same level as Shounan Bakusouzoku. I'd consider giving it a masterpiece if it was fully translated.   Overall Rating: 6/10   9. Idol Bouei-tai Hummingbird Hummingbirds アイドル防衛隊ハミングバード [Ashi Productions] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Idols (Female), Military, Music, Parody Comedy When the Japanese government puts civilian organizations in charge of the country's air force, some of these companies decide to put their aspiring idol singers behind the controls of their fighter planes. Among these groups of idol singers is Hummingbird, a five-woman team consisting of the Toreishi sisters: Satsuki, Uzuki, Yayoi, Kanna and Mina. During a taping session, video director Kudou sees some potential in these girls and jumps in to help them reach the top of the charts by directing their debut video. It's musical with idols in the first place and military as a side dish. Not bad , especially after a huge number of failed modern idol anime, but not a masterpiece .   Overall Rating: 6/10   10. Hon Ran Crimson Wolf 紅狼[ホンラン] [Streamline Pictures] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Martial Arts Action The fate of the world rests in the ability of three untested warriors to defeat an unearthly army of darkness. Sorcery, martial arts and an unrequited love, spanning the centuries, explode in an epic battle at the gates of the forbidden city. Crimson Wolf is an unusual departure for the Anime genre - rooted in real world reference, it makes the fantasy all the more believable. A cringy story with past mystical references and strangely placed nudity.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Ryuuseiki Gakusaver Shooting Star Gakusaver 流星機ガクセイバー [Production I.G] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Mecha, Parody, School, Space Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi A gigantic meteorite landed on earth a few years back. A mysterious capsule believed to have belonged to the aliens was discovered. Called the "black box," an international organization called "Project BB" was created to research it. Eight boys, including Manabu Yoshimura, attend International Academy, a school located near Project BB headquarters. They are enticed by their teacher Toukichi Hashiba's promise of "I'll give you class credit," and end up getting involved in his experiment. The experiment was to enter the eight empty chambers of meteorite. According to Hashiba's theory, the meteorite should strongly respond to strong human thoughts. He tells them to have a clear image of a great looking gigantic robot; if they do, something should happen... Then, a big spaceship appears in the sky and an alien calling himself Wercury appears in a 3-D image. He tells them he is from the Star of Prokimasi and that he has come to collect the meteorite of the Choshin people. If they do not hand it over, he will challenge the earth beings to a battle. Manabu and his friends are confused by the unexpected turn of events but the meteorite responds to the thoughts of the group and suddenly starts to transform itself into a gigantic robot. Then, attacked by the invading Prokimasi robot, they are forced to pull their strength together and fight back. But it is extremely difficult to put the wills of the eight together as one and the robot cannot fight in the way it should. The gigantic robot that Hashiba named "Gakusaver" and Manabu's eight; can they manage to protect Earth and the meteorite from the Prokimasi invasion? It's so silly that sometimes it's funny. But most of the time it's not. Still, among mecha it's decent.   Overall Rating: 6/10   12. Akuemon 悪右衛門 [Tezuka Productions] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Fantasy, Romance  A fortuneteller tells Hidari Taisho that he must hunt down 1000 foxes in order to conquer the country. So Akuemon, who is disliked by everybody, is hired to do the foxhunting. In response, the foxes send a female fox to Akuemon's house disguised as his wife. A story unfolds between Akuemon, who has never loved anyone, and the female fox, who slowly discovers true love in him even while tormented by sorrow over her comrades' death. This is the 6th work in "The Lion Books" series. It is also the first attempt by visualist Tezuka Makoto, Tezuka's older son, to render an original of his father's into an animated version. Well, Tezuka pulls out some old father's work, but it's not something special, don't know why to spend 25 minutes on it at all. There's just nothing gained after it, resolution is just bad.   Overall Rating: 5/10   13. Kiss wa Hitomi ni Shite キッスは瞳にして [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Drama, Romance High school student Morisato Ibuki has a startling dream about kissing a prince on a white horse. The next day, the prince from her dream, Ebisu Naoto, shows up as a transfer student at her school and a guest at her house. He had indeed kissed her, in an attempt to wake her up in the morning, although he claims that she kissed him. Ibuki is smitten with Naoto, but he seems to have other commitments, to American football and to a mysterious girl called Kawahara Izumi. Meanwhile, Nitta, a shy boy in Ibuki's class, has a crush on her. Will true love eventually find a way? Being cut as at is with dream about a prince on a white horse it's full of usual shoujo stamps and due to 30 minutes length there's no time to transform that impression already. But it has time to insert some song in the middle. In this state it's nothing worthy to talk about.   Overall Rating: 5/10   14. Oedo wa Nemurenai! お江戸はねむれない! [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Historical Drama, Fantasy We are now in the early 18th century, the Kyouhou era, when the merchant culture was flourishing. In Yoshiwara, the red light district of Edo, there is a popular courtesan with good looks and character, called Usugumo. She in fact is a daughter of a Christianized prostitute and Tokugawa Yoshimune (who was a real historical character and the 8th Shogun of Japan), but the power struggle in these times doesn't allow her to be with her father. Her fate is about to change when she meets the blond haired thief, Kikunosuke. With Kikunosuke, a doctor named Aoto Touichirou, who uses the yet unfamiliar Western medicine, and her pet cat, Kotetsu, Usugumo forms a thief group, the Kikugumi. In the meanwhile, a member of a mysterious group appears, aiming for Usugumo... Again, just 30 minutes, and very little explanation. As a result, it's a series of seemingly random clashes with new and new characters jumping out all the time, also a good doze of cringe with battle dolls.   Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Mellow 女郎 [めろう] [KSS] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Crossdressing, Delinquents, School Comedy A story about a crossdressing teacher handling a delinquent class. Based on the same-name seinen manga by Rin Kasahara. Not translated. Protagonist cross-dresses to hide from yakuza and uses skills gained in the underworld to deal with delinquent class. It barely has anything of notice except eternal trap flashes and stupidest imaginable "humor".   Overall Rating: 4/10   16. Naniwa Kinyuu Den: Minami no Teiou 難波金融伝 ミナミの帝王 [KSS] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Drama The story centers around Ginjirou Manda, a loan shark who charges toichi — 10% more interest every 10 days, or 365% every year. Thanks to his unrelenting money-collecting tactics, he is feared as Minami no Oni or the Demon of Osaka's Minami business district. Not translated. Original was live action, and this is kinda its continuation. I don't see the point why would someone want to see one yakuza-like person claiming debts from other yakuza-like persons.   Overall Rating: 4/10   17. Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor 2 the Movie 機動警察パトレイバー2 the Movie [Bandai Visual] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Detective, Mecha, Military Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi Three years after the Babylon Project conspiracy is resolved, the members of Kiichi Gotou's Patlabor unit have gone their separate ways. Gotou remains with the Patlabor team, accompanied by Shinobu Nagumo, his romantic crush and comrade. Playing into the public's skepticism toward the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, a terrorist organization begins to work from within the military to cause destruction and mass civil unrest throughout Japan. Nagumo learns that the mastermind behind the growing terrorist plot is none other than Yukihito Tsuge, her former mentor and lover. Gotou reassembles his former Patlabor team, spearheaded by pilot Noa Izumi. Leading the team into a mission to arrest Tsuge, Nagumo must come to terms with her complicated past relationships in order to save Japan. It has very little to do with Patlabor franchise since mecha show up for a very little time and all the goofy attitude vanished without trace. It's a serious conspiracy story that in the end allowed its spiritual successor GITS with its tachikomas to truly shine. A lot of interesting visual instruments are used to make constant talks and observation of landscapes less boring. It was still relatively boring for me, even most vague GITS movies never could afford such slow pace.   Overall Rating: 7/10   18. Yuu☆Yuu☆Hakusho (Movie) Yu Yu Hakusho: The Movie 幽☆遊☆白書 [Pierrot] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts, Mythology Action, Adventure, Comedy, Supernatural Yusuke Urameshi is not exactly what you'd call an angel. In fact, some might call him down right devilish. But when he dies in an accident trying to save a child, he finds himself in the Spirit World. Unfortunately for Yusuke, his name is not listed in the Book of Enma, which means it was one big mistake! So he should return from the Spirit World, but must pass a few tests first, and become a detective of the spiritual world. So now Yusuke works in the Spirit World as a half-dead, half-alive agent for Koenma, son of the ruler of the Spirit World. This position does have its disadvantages, especially when you're trying to enjoy your summer vacation and Koenma gets kidnapped! So now Yusuke must interrupt his summer fun to find Koenma and trade the Golden Seal of King Enma for his life. But if someone other then King Enma has the Golden Seal there will be chaos in the Spirit World! What's a half-dead spirit detective to do? With the aide of his closest allies, Yusuke sets off for Magma Valley, to save the life of the one who saved his, and find out who's at the bottom of this evil conspiracy. It's called movie with 24 minute length... suuure. All it has is action that is probably important in the course of the series , but was hardly of significance for me. There's even no humor, nothing to add scores for .   Overall Rating: 5/10   19. Crayon Shin-chan Movie 01: Action Kamen vs. Haigure Maou 映画 クレヨンしんちゃん　アクション仮面ＶＳハイグレ魔王 [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Action, Adventure, Comedy By finding a rare Action Kamen card, Shinnosuke Nohara and his family end up being chosen to go to a parallel world and help foil an alien invasion that is occurring over there. It's inevitable that density of jokes suffers if one story takes 90 minutes instead of 7 minutes. I was actually happy to learn more about Action Kamen and kindergarten director. There was quite a number of solid jokes in the course. Being enjoyable is all that matters in the end.   Overall Rating: 7/10   20. Ohoshi-sama no Rail Rail of the Star: A True Story of Children お星さまのレール [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Drama This is the autobiographic tale of Kobayashi Chitose, a young Japanese girl growing up in a Japanese-occupied North Korea. As World War II progresses, Chitose begins to realize that her family will not be able to escape the effects of the conflict. From the simple disappointment of not being able to get the type of backpack she wants for school, to her father's recruitment as a soldier, the war begins to impact her life in a very real manner. But the end of the war does not mean the end of hardship for her. The Koreans, fed up with years of Japanese rule and persecution, have joined forces with a Chinese-backed communist government and are systematically making life a living horror for the Japanese left in North Korea. Fearing reprisal since he was a Japanese veteran, Chitose's father risks everything to get his family out of the north and to the US-occupied area south of the 38th parallel. A surprisingly decent autobiography during WWII. But real lives are rarely interesting, to be honest. I can't sympathize with such things as not getting the rucksack she liked or getting a needle wound or having her toy crushed by Koreans forcing to evacuate... Bigger events are shown through the prism of small events like that. And of course there's no real climax, no real resolution, so nothing outstanding.   Overall Rating: 6/10   21. Chuumon no Ooi Ryouriten (1993) 注文の多い料理店  [-] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural Two gentlemen from the city go out hunting. After getting lost on a mountain road they found a cheap restaurant. But everything is not as it seems. A 20 minute fairy-tale about tanuki and hunters, nothing to see here.   Overall Rating: 5/10   22. Rokudenashi Blues 1993 ろくでなしBLUES 1993 [Toei Animation] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Shounen Combat Sports, Delinquents, School Action, Comedy, Drama, Sports Sequel to the Rokudenashi Blues movie. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   23. Tsuru ni Notte: Tomoko no Bouken On A Paper Crane: Tomoko's Adventure つるにのって とも子の冒険 [Mushi Production] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama A young girl named Tomoko visits the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. There she has a mysterious meeting with Sadako, the little girl who was 2 years old when the U.S. dropped the bomb on her city during WWII and 11 when she died from the effects of radiation poisoning. Sadako takes Tomoko on an eye-opening journey. It's 27 minutes long and does not have sub version as of now, only dub one, which is a lot worse, as usual. It's literally an anime about playing with the girl statue that sort of comes to life and seeing those days through statue girl's eyes. And radiated girl is happy, because her country does not have to wage wars ever again... sure... it's too cheesy, really.   Overall Rating: 5/10   24. Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle バトルファイターズ餓狼伝説 [Studio Comet] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts Action, Adventure, Drama After defeating Geese Howard, legendary fighter Terry Bogard faces German warrior Wolfgang Krauser, only to suffer a humiliating defeat. Depressed by his loss, Terry wanders around the country, wasting his life through drinking. Only a young boy named Tony can convince Terry to go back to his winning ways, conquer his fears, and once again face Krauser. Original was horrible. This one has at least logical development and some character introduction. In the end it's still poorly staged fighting anime with possible appeal only for series fans.   Overall Rating: 5/10   25. Hiroshima ni Ichiban Densha ga Hashitta ヒロシマに一番電車が走った [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Drama The story follows a girl who works on a streetcar both before and after the bomb drops on Hiroshima. Not translated. The adult protagonist already makes it decent, lol. It's mostly 30 minutes of talks, though, so not outstanding yet again.   Overall Rating: 6/10   26. Mikan Enikki Specials みかん絵日記 [Nippon Animation] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shoujo Pets Comedy, Slice of Life An extra episode and a special of the Mikan Enikki series included as a bonus on VHS/DVD's. First special is about English and a bit about romance, so has very little humor. Second special is less than 15 minutes and about just a... parrot, another miss, so overall specials are decent at best.   Overall Rating: 6/10
  3. kivandopulus

    VN of the Month September 2022 - BLACK SHEEP TOWN

    By kivandopulus,


    VN of the Month 2022
    For the time being, I prefer stories without romance at all, and BLACK SHEEP TOWN is a safe bet for me, as for others, time will show   1. BLACK SHEEP TOWN [220915] BA-KU  The setting of this work is "District Y". It is a cosmopolitan downtown area where immigrants from all over the world live, and it is full of energy of visitors who enjoy its unique atmosphere, but the other side of the city is a dangerous area where gangs rule and the police have no power.　 A decent Renya Setoguchi sound novel story in the setting resembling old Hong Kong. Gangs attack each other, serial maniac with transformation ability terrorizes community, and protagonist alongside officials gets involved in the center of conflict. Story zaps from one party to another.   2. 2045, Tsuki Yori. ２０４５、月より。 [220930] MELLOW ——Will humans still have “hearts” in 2045? 2045. Androids help people and undergo experiments to get more and more human-like. A boy who hates androids, Ieiri Sou, in a local city meets a woman who is a cutting-edge android born on the moon. Longing for the human world, she escaped from the research institute and disguised herself as a human to run a coffee shop. A boy who has met a strange person gradually learns about the strangeness of the city. A student net idol, a nun Sister with superhuman physical abilities and a hidden face, two detectives from organization Public Safety Section Zero, gang leader with overwhelming charisma - they all get involved with human boy and android girl. First two works of MELLOW were rather weird and of low price segment, this one is first full price. Nice cheerful setting, and the whole runaway android problem gets solved easily and early, so it's less about the story and more about the chosen girl. It all depends on implementation.    3. Hana wa Mijikashi, Odoreyo Otome  華は短し、踊れよ乙女 [220930] ensemble  It was about 100 years ago, in the 10th year of the Taishou era. In the midst of a glorious and turbulent time. The protagonist, Yamashina Rin, a kabuki actor who mostly playing onnagata roles, suffered a major setback in one of his performances. However, he found hope in the words of a blond girl he met by chance. In order to improve himself and return to the stage one day, he decided to transfer to an all-girls school oversees by a principal who is an admirer of his, and changed his name to "Fujinami Rin". What awaited him at the school was his first exposure to the glamorous world. The students are the daughters of the prestigious families and foreign students from the West. Arranged by the school's principal, Rin was accepted as a member of the "Eikakai", a group of five maidens who represent the students. In addition, he was assigned to live under the same roof with the Eikakai's girls. There, he also found Chris, the blonde girl who saved him. An election to decide the top maiden, "Nadeshiko no Kimi", will soon be held. Eventually, the purpose of the Eikakai was revealed to Rin, who knew nothing of the situation. The school is currently in the midst of a conflict between the Japanese and the foreigners. In order to solve it, an election will soon be held to decide the top maiden, "Nadeshiko no Kimi". The candidates in the election are the five members of the Eikakai, including Rin. While Chris is the lead candidate for the Western side, Rin has been nominated by the principal as the lead candidate for the Japanese side. Although he was caught up in the principal's scheme, Rin gladly accepted it, as he saw this as an opportunity to improve himself. Thus, with the future of the school and all the girls who attend at stake; The dazzling days of the maidens begin. Trap protagonist story is the last thing I would check out, so let's wait for first impressions   4. Homemaid Sweet Pea  ホームメイドスイートピー [220930] Silky's Connect ["Homemade" family made by a maid] "It may have been temporary at first, but it can be a real family." Verbena Manor is an unusual share house run by a maid. There, the residents of Verbena Manor, including the main character, do not know the feeling of a happy family that everyone normally has. This work is a story about them "living as a true family even though they were born differently and have different relations." New Silky's subsidiary, so it may be anything in the range from moege to Nanairo Reincarnation, although trial has worrying signs as starts too conveniently     5. Houkago Cinderella 2 放課後シンデレラ２ [220930] HOOKSOFT Spring. The protagonist, Kuzumi Arata, has moved to a new town because of his mother's job transfer. Up to this point, he always has regrets about his student life. "What have I been doing with my youth?" He had a part-time job that warmed his pockets. Still, he felt left out, surrounded by people who do their best in club activities and enjoy their love lives. Because of this, he decided to say farewell to his old student life and have a fresh start. Fortunately, he was blessed with new encounters in his new student life. A good male friend. Friendly classmates. An attractive, quiet, and cool classmate. A cheeky kouhai who gets tangled up with him. An enigmatic beauty he met on the train. However, he still has trouble with how he should spend his student life. Inspired by the words of Oze Hazuki, the daughter of the landlord who lives next door, he decided to enjoy his time at his new school leisurely. Then he realizes his inner desire and makes a decision. "I want to have an ideal student life where I can go home after school with my girlfriend!" As Hooksoft game and moreover a sequel, no one should have any illusions left by now   6. Role player: Tororo Shimai no Nenmaku Portrait - Gurigucha LIVE! Role player：とろろ姉妹の粘膜ポトレ　ぐりぐちゃLIVE！ [220930] AKABEiSOFT2 One day, I lost something precious. I went to several cosplay events, and took some pictures to satisfy my lust. However, the camera that contained all the pictures was destroyed in an unfortunate accident. Perhaps they didn't want to see my cry anymore, the Yamakake sisters, Sana and Yua, who were involved in the accident, said to me; "Would you like us to cosplay for you instead?" I accepted their offer. Their bodies look lewder than anything that I have ever seen in any erotic manga, and they were willing to be my very own cosplayers!! I put the skills I learned as a fashion student and my hobby of making costumes for dolls to good use, creating costumes for the sisters, and as luck would have it, I was given tickets to the cosplay resort "Costaria", located on a remote island. This was an opportunity for me to get the best portraits in Costaria. However, what awaited me on that island was so much more than I could imagine! "Let's have a different kind of cosplay today." "Erotic role-playing. You'd like that, wouldn't you?" The sisters whispered those words to me. With my very own cosplayers, I'm going to make extreme and intimate portraits that cannot be shown to anyone. I wonder if it's okay to make them── AKABEiSOFT2 continues to issue otaku nukige which often have better humor and buildup than normal charage     7. Tonari ni Kanojo no Iru Shiawase ~I Fight with Summer となりに彼女のいる幸せ～i fight with summer～ [220930] Prekano "Then a camp! Let's have a training camp in the summer, instead of a reward!" The final exam is over and the summer vacation is about to begin. The club is on the verge of disbanding, but a new member and kouhai, Serizawa Chisa, requested me to hold a training camp at the sea. With the club's small budget, we managed to plan a one-day camp in the club room and at the sea. However, there is no way that a camp with a self-indulgent and mischievous girl like her is going to end without a hitch...... The sea, swimsuit, battles!? In the end, what is my relationship with this girl next to me!? A different summer from "that time" (if) is coming! Not fan of single heroine romance low price stories, but since they're issued at consoles, can't ignore them either   8. Tsui no Stella 終のステラ [220930] Key If I make it to the other side of the sky, I can become human... Earth has been taken over by a group of machines that created a "singularity." Humanity is forced to live hidden in the shadows. One day a transporter receives an odd request. Their cargo this time will be a girl android developed as a family member substitute. She is unaffected by the Singularity Machines. Despite being put off by the girl's naive behavior, the transporter sets out on the journey. Sometimes it's human bandits they must evade, other times it's the machines they run from. Undeterred by such dangerous situations, they press on to make the delivery. The girl often talks about wanting to become human. Their destination is a space elevator, so tall it appears to pierce the sky. The rumor is that androids who make it to the top can be made human, but is it true? I feel like Key is lost in self-repeats of not so good but sold well and low effort planetarian ~Chiisana Hoshi no Yume~ in a constant chase for a fast buck. I'd be happy if I'm proved otherwise 
  4. kivandopulus

    Anime of the Year 1992-IV Fall - Mikan Enikki

    By kivandopulus,


    Anime of the Year
    Mikan Enikki and Chibi Maruko-chan: Watashi no Suki na Uta are the only masterpieces that I noted with priority to original work over sequel .   1. Yuu☆Yuu☆Hakusho Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files 幽☆遊☆白書 [Pierrot] (Finished 6/112) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts, Mythology Action, Comedy, Supernatural One fateful day, Yuusuke Urameshi, a 14-year-old delinquent with a dim future, gets a miraculous chance to turn it all around when he throws himself in front of a moving car to save a young boy. His ultimate sacrifice is so out of character that the authorities of the spirit realm are not yet prepared to let him pass on. Koenma, heir to the throne of the spirit realm, offers Yuusuke an opportunity to regain his life through completion of a series of tasks. With the guidance of the death god Botan, he is to thwart evil presences on Earth as a Spirit Detective. To help him on his venture, Yuusuke enlists ex-rival Kazuma Kuwabara, and two demons, Hiei and Kurama, who have criminal pasts. Together, they train and battle against enemies who would threaten humanity's very existence. A surprisingly good fighting shounen. It starts as a ghost impersonation story with delinquents - logical, good pace and attractive characters. The problem with this anime is that it manages to keep interested, but actually offers very little. There's no interesting story, there's no good humor. I explain its relatively high scores because it seems to be the first classical ongoing shounen like Bleach or Naruto or Hunter x Hunter, and - long things short - I seriously hate those. The result we get is just finding enemies with relatively nice characters and then fighting them. What's to like here is beyond my understanding .   Overall Rating: 6/10   2. Hime-chan no Ribbon 姫ちゃんのリボン [Gallop] (Finished 4/61) Tags: Shoujo School Comedy, Fantasy, Romance Erika, the princess of the Magic Kingdom has come to Earth in order to find a human girl who looks just like her. That girl turns out to be Himeko Nonohara, a tomboy's tomboy. Erika must give Himeko a magical item she has created in order to prove her worth as a successor to the crown. Himeko must test this item, a hair ribbon that allows her to transform into any other person she sees, to see if it is worthy. The series follows Himeko's adventures and her budding romance with Daichi, the boy who discovers her secret. All the shoujo/jousei that I think highly of have older heroines, at least high school for the proper complexity (yet just high school without complexity does not guarantee the outcome). So it should be just taken for granted that I'm not compatible with shoujo heroines from middle school or younger. This is the latter case with above average characters and humor, but still it's just the higher scale of my indifference. Mint and Sailor moon have set a trend for magical girls to have some pets, so there is one here as well. I also liked focus on school, gives a lot more substance than other magical girls settings.   Overall Rating: 6/10   3. Kaze no Naka no Shoujo: Kinpatsu no Jeanie 風の中の少女 金髪のジェニー [Nippon Animation] (Finished 3/52) Tags: Historical Drama The story begins in a small town, Pennsylvania in 1838. Jeanie MacDowell is a cheerful and beautiful girl with light brown hair. Jeanie enjoys playing the piano and loves taking piano lessons from her mother. Steven, a good harmonica player, and Bill, a black boy who is very good at playing the banjo, are great friends of Jeanie's. They enjoy playing music together like a small band. However, Jeanie's happy life changes dramatically after her mother suddenly passes away. Experiencing many difficulties and learning the importance of life, she decides to devote her life to helping many people suffering from illness. This series is a highly emotional love story about the relationship between young Stephen Foster, who later becomes a famous composer and author of children's songs, and young Jeanie MacDowell, who becomes Stephen Foster's wife. It's not world masterpiece series. But it totally feels like one as setting is 19th century USA. A loot of 19th Century USA works look similar as it's always mostly about racial disparity and SOL of some well-off family. Feels like a total bore to me if you aren't prepared for this kind of show beforehand and don't look for such initially.   Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Mikan Enikki みかん絵日記 [Nippon Animation] (Finished 30/30) Tags: Shoujo Pets Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life A kitten, abandoned and left for dead along with his siblings, is taken in by Tomu Kusanagi, who nurtures him and discovers that the tangerine cat he so adores is actually a genius who can talk, walk, read, and has even acquired a taste for liquor! It's cheating to use Maruko-chan voice in other anime! Also same two stories per episode structure is used. Loving the voice even though it fits here less as cat talks a lot of serious and difficult stuff without showing emotions much. Cat talks and everyone in the family knows that , so cat actually substitutes role of imouto and thus is similar to that of Maruko-chan. Most stories are rather lyrical than humorous, so overall anime feels like lyrical Maruko-chan movie and deserves the same minor masterpiece score.   Overall Rating: 7/10   5. Tsuyoshi Shikkari Shinasai ツヨシしっかりしなさい [Studio Comet] (Finished 5/112) Tags: Shounen School Comedy, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life Tsuyoshi Ikawa lives at home with his popular and beautiful sisters. Despite their qualities, his sisters and his mother are horrible at household chores, including cooking, so all these duties are taken over by Tsuyoshi while his father is away due to being temporarily transferred to another city for work. There are only nine episodes subbed. Basically, it's a culinary show as it always starts with buying some product and the story whirls around this product. It does not impress, to say the least.   Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Shin Calimero Calimero (1992) 新 カリメロ [Toei Animation] (Finished 0/52) Tags: Comedy  The series tells about many adventures of the small fledgling Calimero and his friends, who uncover many secrets, sometimes getting into trouble along the way. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   7. Flanders no Inu, Boku no Patrasche A Dog of Flanders: My Patrasche フランダースの犬　～ぼくのパトラッシュ～ [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Historical, Pets Drama A boy named Nello becomes an orphan at the age of two when his mother dies. His grandfather, who lives in a small village takes him in. One day, Nello finds a dog who was almost beaten to death and named him Patrasche. Due to the good care of his grandfather, the dog recovers, and from then on, Nello and Patrasche are inseparable. Since they are very poor, Nello has to help his grandfather by selling milk. Patrasche helps him pull the milk cart that Nello uses to sell milk in the town. I wish they shot a movie instead... the beginning is slow, so it's pretty much the same piece of story that I watched in original from 1975. Visuals and designs are almost the same, so I don't see much sense in another series, just twice shorter. It felt childish back then, and now also sees dated in 1992.   Overall Rating: 5/10   8. Oyayubi Hime Monogatari Thumbelina: A Magical Story おやゆび姫物語 [Enoki Films] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Shoujo Adventure, Fantasy A bratty girl named Mia is given a book, Thumbelina, which upon reading she is shrunk and transported into the world of the book. She embarks on a journey to return home, and to normal size making friends and learning lessons on the way, but that's only the beginning of her adventures. Just one episode is translated, plus there is some dubbed movie that's compiled totally for kids. Episode is just a bit less childish, but after some great examples of proper kids works like Blue Blink I just can't treat others seriously.   Overall Rating: 5/10   9. Boukensha: The Man Was from Spain Christopher Columbus 冒険者－THE MAN WAS FROM SPAIN－ [Nippon Animation] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Historical Adventure Christopher Columbus is a man of strong will. His life is full of drama. Born in Genoa, he realizes his dream of becoming a sailor, dares to search for a new route, and finally reaches his goal, discovering a new land in the process. Sometimes in desperation, sometimes in excitement, his experiences are truly extraordinary. It has very little to do with the real story, and even as fantasy for children it's mediocre, so not recommended.   Overall Rating: 4/10   10. Nangoku Shounen Papuwa-kun 南国少年パプワくん [Nippon Animation] (Finished 1/42) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Comedy Papuwa-kun is a young boy living a quiet life with his dog, Chappy, on a small island located somewhere in South Pacific, when Shintaro, who is being pursued by gangsters, invades their happy existence. Chappi takes Shintaro's precious Jewel, thereby making the two main characters lifelong rivals. Together they experience a series of bizarre adventures and situations. Not translated. Overall feels like Dragon Ball, but with more absurd humor.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Super Zugan スーパーヅガン [Studio Deen] (Finished 3/21) Tags: Shounen Strategy Game Comedy A story about mahjong. Why I'm even watching this if I understand nothing in mahjong... Unlike Mahjong Hishouden: Naki no Ryuu there's nothing but mahjong here, so exactly zero value for unaware people like me.   Overall Rating: 4/10   12. Space Oz no Bouken The Wonderful Galaxy of Oz スペース・オズの冒険 [E&G Films] (Finished 0/26) Tags: Adventure, Sci-Fi In the year 2060, eight year old Dorothy and her dog are mysteriously swept off their planet into the wonderful, magical Galaxy of Oz. An evil witch, Gloomhilda, once ruled the Galaxy through fear and terror but was driven out by the good Dr. Oz. Now, Gloomhilda has amassed an army on the outskirts of the Galaxy and is preparing to win back her empire.Her sneak attack fails due to Dorothy's unexpected arrival. However, Dr. Oz knows Gloomhilda will return. He has a plan which will free the Galaxy of the wickedness of Gloomhilda forever. Legend tells of three magical crystals, the Crystal of Love, the Crystal of Wisdom, and the Crystal of Courage. These crystals were spread throughout the Galaxy and lost hundreds of years ago. According to the legend, whoever possesses all three crystals will rule the Galaxy of Oz for all Eternity. Under the guidance of Dr. Oz, Dorothy and an assortment of "heroes" set out to scour the Galaxy in search of the three magical crystals. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   13. Shounen Ashibe 2  少年アシベ２ [Life Work] (Finished 3/25) Tags: Comedy Sequel to Shounen Ashibe Not translated. Since prequel is not found, let's sample at least this sequel before modern remakes. Each episode contains three stories just as Crayon Shin-Chan. So can we expect same density of humor? Absolutely not. The seal does not talk and behaves as a pet with basic childish emotions. There's hardly any humor at all, just some SOL stories around this seal.   Overall Rating: 5/10   14. Tokyo Babylon 東京ＢＡＢＹＬＯＮ [Madhouse] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Action, Mystery, Supernatural  Subaru Sumeragi is the 13th head of the Sumeragi Clan and a most powerful onmyouji. Subaru is hired to exorcise a construction site, but his employer mysteriously died. The only suspect is a man who repeatedly walks away from situations in which he should have died. Then Subaru meets a young woman intent upon cursing the man, saying that he killed her brother. Subaru must figure out how his employer died and fight the evil spirits that are protecting the man with the help of his friend and twin sister, Seishirou Sakurazuka and Hokuto Sumeragi. I'd actually call it a horror as there are corpses and violence everywhere. Seeing torn out limbs and attacks with blood flows from the spots of former limbs makes me sick, personally. I'm allergic to visually disgusting effects like that. It's not even a detective story as there are just crimes till spontaneously killer does not show up in the open. Why would someone want to watch it is beyond my understanding.   Overall Rating: 4/10   15. Bannou Bunka Neko-Musume All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku 万能文化猫娘 [Studio Fantasia, animate Film] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Seinen Mecha Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Ryuunosuke Natsume is the son of genius inventor Kyusaku Natsume and overbearing Akiko Natsume, CEO of Mishima Heavy Industries. Using funds from his wife's company and the brain from his son's beloved cat, Kyusaku creates a revolutionary android called Atsuko "Nuku Nuku" Natsume. To Kyusaku's disgust, Akiko wants to use her husband's technology to create weaponized robots for her company's customers, resulting in Ryuunosuke getting caught within the explosive fights between his parents The android Nuku Nuku tries to live as a normal high school student, adopting the role of Ryuunosuke's elder sister, but usually ends up acting as her family's protector. Nuku Nuku will do anything to protect the ones she loves. When facing a new anime I often try to find the similar anime that I've seen before and then compare which one I liked more. Could not find a really close one, but goofy energy reminds A-Ko to me. It's same painful to watch for me, because there's no coherent plot. Just something crazy happens and android girl deals with it in a half-assed way with the rest of the time being taken by something else. Without real plot or super good humor I can't rate it better than A-Ko, thus average.   Overall Rating: 5/10   16. Green Legend Ran グリーンレジェンド乱 [AIC] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi  A story of future Earth - A warning for mankind: In the future, our planet will be transformed into a strange new world where human life struggles on an Earth without rain or oceans - only vast, parched deserts. Two youths fight for survival on our hostile planet and find hope. The sea, the sky and the land had been completely polluted by mankind when mysterious objects fall from the heavens. These titanic vessels smash into the planet and suck up the air, water, and most living creatures into their womb, stealing away the very essence of Earth`s nature. The few remaining inhabitants struggle for survival against a hostile environment and an oppressive ruling race known as the Rodo. One young, hot-blooded human named Ran, fights against the Rodo and a world in which rain is only a legend. He strives to join an Anti-Rodo group known as the Hazzard, not only to defeat the Rodo, but also to hunt down the man who killed his mother. A poorly executed story, and it manages to get even worse by the end. Dialogue "-This person killed my mother! -But your mother would be sad if you killed him in return" should be added to the golden collection of most stupid phrases in anime.   Overall Rating: 4/10   17. Ys: Tenkuu no Shinden - Adol Christine no Bouken Ys II: Castle in the Heavens Ys (イース) 天空の神殿 アドル=クリスティンの冒険 [Tokyo Kids] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Mythology Adventure, Drama, Fantasy Now that Adol Christen has saved the land of Esteria from the evil priest Dark Fact, Adol and the two priestesses travel to the floating land of Ys, where evil has an even greater influence on the people and no one has hope. The future of Ys falls to Adol, heir to the powers of the priests and the only one who can show the people of Ys the truth about their world. But, as Adol's power grows, he may be the one who will save Ys—or destroy it. After so many games I can't take Ys story seriously, it's just a shell for different kind of action and meeting many bosses. Of course hero will save someone from something, who cares.   Overall Rating: 5/10   18. Jigen Sengokushi: Kuro no Shishi - Jinnai-hen Black Lion 時元戦国史 黒の獅士 陣内篇 [Tokyo Kids, Minami Machi Bugyousho] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Historical Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi The year is 1580. Using an army of soldiers equipped with sophisticated weaponry, Nobunaga Oda is on the verge of ruling Japan with an iron fist. One of his enforcers is Ginnai Doma - a fallen samurai reborn into an indestructible killing machine. As Ginnai continues his killing spree on ninjas and those who oppose Nobunaga's rule, Shishimaru of the Iga Ninja - going against the Koga Ninja's plans - pursues a one-man vendetta to avenge the deaths of his comrades and kill the immortal warrior. Another imitation of terminator , this time vs ninja. Just action, nothing more.   Overall Rating: 4/10   19. Down Load: Namu Amida Butsu wa Ai no Uta Download: Devil's Circuit DOWN LOAD 南無阿弥陀仏は愛の詩 [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Psychological Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi An exciting cyberpunk romp directed by Rintaro with veteran animator Kanada Yoshinori about a genius hacker and a gang of hot-rodders. Some technology, girl and lots of bike pursuits. It's of average quality and absolutely not memorable.   Overall Rating: 5/10   20. Future GPX Cyber Formula 11 新世紀ＧＰＸサイバーフォーミュラ１１ [Sunrise] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Shounen Racing Drama, Sci-Fi  It is now time for the 11th Cyber Formula World Grand Prix. With all the expectations and pressures placed upon him, Hayato Kazami struggles to regain the championship form that he had a year ago. Moreover, Osamu Sugo, aka Knight Schumacher, has reentered the competition, and declared Hayato to be an enemy. Hayato, with the new Super Asurada AKF-11, must now defeat someone he once deeply trusted in order to secure his second championship. For those who liked original, surely! Not for me then. Kinda expected to see mature winners already after the end of the series, but of course we go looser to winner route again.   Overall Rating: 5/10   21. Gensou Jotan Ellcia Ellcia 幻想叙譚エルシア [J.C.Staff] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy  The Sacred Book of the land of Eija has been rediscovered and with it the legends of a mysterious and all powerful ship. Now Princess Crystal of Megaronia has set forth on a quest to recover the ship and its ultimate weaponry. All that stands between her and total domination of the world is a small group of piratical misfits. Swords, sorcery and technology blend to form a mesmerizing tale of Good vs. Evil in Ellcia. I'm so in love with this anime style, building, items and visuals. And I absolutely HATE all character designs, why every single character is soo ugly, dammit. I can hardly concentrate on the story constantly trying to find someone with at least neutral outlook that would not disgust right away. Found only side-heroine Sara who is far from beauty, but at least does not strike the eye like mad, also bearded guys have so big beards that they don't need to look fabulous. Phew, with that settled, what's with the story. It's mostly about travelling on ships with princes and princesses. Ships are both naval and occasionally flying ones. All the real action is packed in just the last episode. That said, can't call it even a decent one.   Overall Rating: 5/10   22. New Dream Hunter Rem: Setsuriku no Mudenmekyu NEW DREAM HUNTER 麗夢 殺戮の夢幻迷宮 [Studio Zain] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Ecchi Rem is an ordinary woman in our world but, in the world of dreams, she becomes a dream warrior, defending humanity from the evils there. When dream demons reach the waking world, she fights them with the help of her pets which transform into a tiger and wolf. Oh, come on, torn clothes is distinguishing feature of the series, but it again was not present. Was nice to know Frankenstein anime incorporated here partially, but overall the usual expected pattern.   Overall Rating: 5/10   23. Dragon Slayer Eiyuu Densetsu: Ouji no Tabidachi ドラゴンスレイヤー英雄伝説 王子の旅立ち [Nihon Falcom] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Action, Fantasy  Faaren is a peaceful and happy realm, ruled by a wise King... until the Demon Lord Ackdam overruns the kingdom with his black legions and terrifying dragon, killing the King and capturing the Queen. But the King's young son, Sirius, is swept away to safety and grows to be a powerful young warrior, tutored in the ways of swordsmanship and chivalry by his father's loyal minion, Rias. A surprisingly decent oldschool fantasy (if subbed version is watched). Almost every scene with Sonya had good type of humor in it. But it's just 40 minutes, so can't really aim higher.   Overall Rating: 6/10   24. Neko Hiki no Oruorane ねこひきのオルオラネ [J.C.Staff] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Music Fantasy  During the holiday season, a young man encounters a drunken cat belonging to an old man in an alley. The old man has trained his three cats to sing. Whaa? 30 minutes on cats learning to sing? Whaa?.   Overall Rating: 5/10   25. Scramble Wars: Tsuppashire! Genom Trophy Rally スクランブル・ウォーズ　突っ走る！ゲノムトロフィーラリー [Artmic] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Parody, Racing Comedy Take the characters from a number of sci-fi based animes, a stage not unlike "Wacky Races," super deformed madness, and general insanity and what you get is Scramble Wars. While Scramble Wars does include characters from the original Bubblegum Crisis, Gall Force and Genesis Survivor Gaiarth, it also has a few other characters from other animes such as AD Police and Riding Bean. It doesn't matter if you loved or hated any of these series, as long as you've seen at least one of them you'll have a great time watching this, though the insanity is so generic that it really doesn't matter if you haven't seen any of the animes featured in Scramble Wars. Wacky Races! No not really, but close enough. Genom is holding a race; the winner will receive the Genom Trophy! Woohoo! Yay! Enter, Priss on her Motoroid, Linna and Nene, Sylia and Mackie, a Boomer... A Boomer?... okay... and characters from other animes already mentioned a million times. All will be racing against each other to win this prestigious trophy for some reason. And all of them will do anything to win it... Very weird chibi crossover about racing. It's just 25 minutes and only bright spot is humor that's hit and miss.   Overall Rating: 5/10   26. Wolf Guy ウルフガイ [J.C.Staff] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Military Action, Sci-Fi Akira lnugami is infected with a terrible poison. The only known antidote has an unfortunate side effect-it turns him into a werewolf. He opts for survival but then has to cope with his new desires and with the attention of the military, which is interested in using his affliction for its own purposes. Manga original comes from the far 1970, and that old source usually causes many problems. In this particular case it's bland characters, filler scenes and sexist approach. Basically, protagonist tries to defend other werewolves and wolves and is usually has some group hunting for all those. And he tends to lose his companion girls all the time, so it resembles trashy H-filled (this one is Ecchi too) series of the past, namely Wounded Man and Crying Freeman.   Overall Rating: 4/10   27. Eien no Filena 永遠のフィレーナ [Pierrot] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy The story is centered around Filena, a princess who was raised as a boy after her kingdom was conquered My main grudge is that development is very slow. Filena is forced to participate in gladiator fights (even though there is high tech weapons) or something very similar, and she gets relatively good at fighting with tutor's help. Eventually her conflict with occupant forces arises and she manages to flee. That with a bit of side-tracking takes all first five episodes with only last episode left to put some kind of finale which with this pace can't be anything big. Overall, not bad, but boring and nothing memorable.   Overall Rating: 5/10   28. D-1 Devastator D-1 デバステイター [Takara] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Mecha Sci-Fi To follow in his missing friend Masato's footsteps, Ryo joined the vehicle company Yaesu. Ryo became involved with the Makuhari test course that Masato was also a part of. The leader, Gray Gear, told Ryo, "If you want to know about Masato, come to the test course late at night and ride the new machine." When Ryo got in the new machine, the Vector Versus, and rode it around the course, he was able to exceed 300 kilometers per hour and suddenly warped into a mysterious space! Only first episode is translated. It's mostly about flying mecha fighting, but there are just no good elements that I'd want to praise. I'll try - I like character designs and buildings are nice. What irritates the most is eternal zoom on each character with next to zero perspective, so it feels like battle of giant heads with occasional insertion of action shots. Horrible execution does not leave this anime a chance.   Overall Rating: 4/10   29. Hayou no Tsurugi: Shikkoku no Mashou 破妖の剣 漆黒の魔性 [Magic Bus] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shoujo Fantasy, Supernatural A resident of the Floating Castle that battle demon beings, the girl Rasutel (Rasu), chosen by the willful lady, the Demon-Breaker sword, is sent on a quest to save a princess kidnapped by a Youki. Her quest is helped by a mysterious Youki called Anshu (but he has basic color that usual Youkis do not have.... hehe!). She is also hampered in her quest by her demon-being oriented younger brother who seeks her golden eyes, the heritage of their father, the Golden Youshu. Another weird anime. Demon girl decides to become human and faces other demons with an anti-demon sword with own consciousness. She has a demon guardian and among enemies are her close relatives. Everyone but heroine is a bishounen. There's just couple absolutely minor beasts and the main confrontation even that is prolonged by flashbacks. It's nice to see a serious fighting shoujo heroine, but it's too short and unmemorable.   Overall Rating: 5/10   30. Shin Choubakumatsu Shounen Seiki Takamaru 新・超幕末少年世紀タカマル [J.C.Staff] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Action, Comedy, Fantasy - Not translated. Absurd funny continuation of the original series. It's a decent original Dragon Ball rival, so translation would be most welcome as without it half of gags remain unclear.   Overall Rating: 6/10   31. Nanbo no Monjai! Yankee Gurentai なんぼのもんじゃい! ヤンキー愚連隊 [KSS] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Comedy A youthful motorcycle gang in Osaka has their fair share of turf wars, lewd women, and full throttles as they go about their "too school for school" attitude with misconceptions and gags galore! Not translated. Just a usual yakuza/biker ecchi that we saw like five times already, but these anime usually remain untranslated. There is more humor (but mostly cartoonish and vulgar) than violence here, but it's absolutely bland with even no memorable characters at all. Needless to say, I'll be skipping its sequels.   Overall Rating: 4/10   32. Columbus no Daibouken コロンブスの大冒険 [SPO Entertainment] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama As he nears the New World, Christopher Columbus tells cabin boy Paco about his youthful hardships, the difficulties of convincing others of his vision, and the final victory when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella agreed to sponsor his trip. The sailors are doubtful, though Columbus is vindicated when they arrive on land, but it's not as the planned destination of Japan. The series Christopher Columbus THE MAN WAS FROM SPAIN started just this very season, and here is an OVA already... I did not understand the meaning of fantasy about real people and real events in the series, it has not changed since then. Needless fantasy for kids.   Overall Rating: 4/10   33. Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu Gaiden: Ougon no Tsubasa Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Golden Wings 銀河英雄伝説外伝　黄金の翼 [Magic Bus] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Military, Space Action, Drama, Sci-Fi The Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance have been locked in a seemingly endless war for more than a century and a half. In the Empire, a young Siegfried Kircheis meets Reinhard von Müsel and his older sister Annerose. Kircheis enjoys a happy friendship with the two beautiful blonde-haired siblings until the day that their alcoholic father, a lesser nobleman with low standing, accepts a request for Annerose to be sold as a concubine to the Kaiser. Although enraged, Reinhard is powerless to stop the whims of the Imperial Court. He and his father soon move away, leaving Kircheis behind. A few years later, Reinhard returns in a military uniform and declares his intent to rise through the ranks and free his sister from sexual servitude. Kircheis joins Reinhard on this daring journey to save Annerose, yearning to forever stay by the side of his friends. I usually hate prequels, because they feel like fanservice material. This one is pretty much the same, felt rather disgusting and needless to me.   Overall Rating: 4/10   34. Apfelland Monogatari Appleland Story アップフェルラント物語 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama Apfelland is a small but beautiful country surrounded by Russia, Austria, and Germany. Vel is a boy who lives in the capital, Charlottenburg. He happens to help a girl Frid. She was kidnapped because radium mine was found in her grandfather's abandoned mine. Aiming at the radium mine, various people gather there, for example, an American who wants to make money, a Polish woman disguised like a man who wants to earn money for the revolution, and the ministry of Apfelland who plots to affiliate with Germany. Vel and Frida are involved in their plots, and they know the secret of the mine. I remember watching it before and liking it substantially. It's a nice small adventure in alternative history. Quite good in the moment, but after some time you'll hardly remember it, I barely managed after 5+ years.   Overall Rating: 6/10   35. Chibi Maruko-chan: Watashi no Suki na Uta ちびまる子ちゃん わたしの好きな歌 [Nippon Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Music, Visual Arts Drama, Romance, Slice of Life Sakura Momoko's teacher assigns the third grade to draw an image based on their favorite song to enter a contest. Momoko loves a song she recently learned during her music class and is anxious to make a good drawing based on it. On her way to meet her relatives in Shizuoka, she meets Shouko Kimura, a university student who occasionally draws portraits at the local train station and plans to also participate in an art contest. Fascinated by her illustrations, Sakura meets Kimura once again. Shouko is enchanted by Momoko's sympathy and honesty. They quickly become friends and end up inspiring each other in their own way. This movie is even more lyrical than the last one. There are still a few nice jokes. On the bad side, narrator irony comments are gone in this movie. On the bright side, a lot of really nice songs with crazy video row. In the end it's around the same level as last Maruko-chan movie.   Overall Rating: 7/10   36. Oishinbo: Kyuukyoku tai Shikou, Chouju Ryouri Taiketsu!! 美味しんぼ　究極対至高　長寿料理対決!! [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Gourmet, Slice of Life Ultimate Menu and Supreme Menu square off in a cooking battle about dishes that promote longevity. For Supreme's Kaibara Yuzan and Ultimate's Yamaoka Shirou (who are father and son), this confrontation is more than strictly business: it's personal. It's nice to see Oishinbo in good quality. As it could be expected from longevity theme, it would be all about super exotic Chinese dishes that no one ever heard about. And there's hardly anything besides that, was a bore.   Overall Rating: 5/10   37. Shou-chan Sora wo Tobu Sho is Flying in the Sky 翔ちゃん空をとぶ [-] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Horror, Sci-Fi  An anime version of Ikkei Makina's horror novel of the same name. It aired at the same time as the live-action adaptation. Not translated. I bet it has much more meaning if watched in conjunction with live-action adaptation. Because anime is just battle of two genius kindergarten superpower kids. Just pointless.   Overall Rating: 5/10   38. Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf バトルファイターズ餓狼伝説 [Studio Comet] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance Jeff Bogard was a master of the Hakkyokuseiken martial arts school and the guardian of its secret techniques. Coveting this knowledge, Geese Howard, the most powerful man in South Town, challenged and murdered him in front of his adoptive sons Terry and Andy Bogard. Under the guidance of their mentor Tung Fe Rue, the brothers dedicate their lives to training in the ultimate art to avenge their father. 10 years later, Geese promotes a martial arts tournament known as the King of Fighters. Terry and Andy join their friend Muay Thai champion Joe Higashi and enter the competition in order to finally face Geese in combat. Anime is based on old fighting game, so for those unfamiliar with the game it would be a boring poorly staged cheating-filled fighting tournament with some prologue.   Overall Rating: 5/10   39. Youkai Ningen Bem: Part II 妖怪人間ベム パートII [Topcraft] (Finished 0/2) Tags: Mythology Horror For 1982 a 26-episode TV series sequel to Youkai Ningen Bem was planned. Because the original producers disbanded, the animation was done by Topcraft. 2 episodes were created and the project shut down without airing on television. The episodes were released to the public on a LD-Box Set a decade later. 2,000 units were printed and all were sold out. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   40. Crayon Shin-chan Specials クレヨンしんちゃん Specials [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 3/87) Tags: Seinen School Comedy, Ecchi 87 Crayon Shin-chan TV Specials exist as of August 6, 2022. Not translated. Specials are usually themed around certain dates and may have specific jokes and unusual, even unrealistic stage. It makes them of lesser priority than movies and tv series, and considered the huge numbers of those I doubt specials will ever get translated. They're also harder to find with  .   Overall Rating: 6/10
  5. kivandopulus
    I failed to find something really good in Summer 1992 season, Kurenai no Buta is the best title among the decent ones, but I still don't consider it a masterpiece.   1. Yadamon Yadamon: Magical Dreamer ヤダモン [Group TAC] (Finished 3/170) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy  After causing havoc in the Witch Forest, the queen, Yadamon's mother, banishes her to human world. She does this not only to teach Yadamon a lesson, but also because she has a secret passion for human magazines and books. While at the human world, the queen keeps a close watch at Yadamon which becomes a problem cause she falls asleep almost anywhere. The human world has gone extremely hi-tech. Also, a lot of animals has become extinct. Yadamon finds herself in the island named ''Creature Island'', where genetically re-created species are being made. In the island she meets Jean and his parents Edward and Maria. Yadamon meets many misadventures in the human world due to her curiosity which causes a lot of trouble to the humans and her guardian fairy, Timon, who has the ability to stop time. As Yadamon learns to adapt to human world and use her powers, a new threat is brewing. Kira, the evil witch who was sealed inside a volcano by the queen and the great witch Beril, has escaped. She is out for revenge and has set her eyes to the humans and Yadamon. Only some 15 episodes are translated. I usually block series with 10 minute episodes, but it's the only new non-kid series of the season for the second Summer in a row, lol, so let it be an exception. It's actually 10 minutes with opening and ending... and only some 7 minutes without. The development is slow with much talking, so there's only enough time for some small event, and it always ends with a cliff hanger which can hardly be called so as in fact it's just beginning of a new scene that's abrupted by credits. And the only running joke is girl constantly answering yada-yadamon, or "don't need" at everything... I don't know who it is for as it's a magical girl with normal comedy development, but not simple enough to be branded as for kids. With length like that and episodic nature I'd actually not recommend it to anyone.   Overall Rating: 4/10   2. Tenchi Muyou! Ryououki Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki 天地無用！魎皇鬼 [AIC] (Finished 7/7) Tags: Shounen Space Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi Seventeen-year-old Tenchi Masaki grew up hearing stories about how his ancestor used a sword to seal a demon inside a cave seven hundred years ago. When curiosity gets the better of him, Tenchi goes to the cave and stumbles across the sword from the legend. Thinking that the story is nothing more than a fairy tale, he removes the blade and inadvertently releases the demon, who turns out to be a space pirate named Ryouko Hakubi. Furious about being trapped for so long, she attacks Tenchi, but he is able to repel her with the sword, awakening his inner power. After seeing this, Ryouko takes an interest in her unlikely savior and decides to crash at his place. As if it were a chain reaction, more alien women—Aeka Jurai Masaki, an uptight princess from the planet Jurai; Sasami, Aeka's sweet younger sister; Mihoshi Kuramitsu, a ditzy Galactic Police Officer; and Washuu Hakubi, a wisecracking genius—gradually come in contact with Tenchi and begin living with him. Through his encounters with these five women, Tenchi begins to learn more about his ancestry, newfound power, and the looming threat lurking beyond the skies. I never was fan of older romcom. I remember one smaller harem title back in the past before 1992, but Tenchi seems to be the first full-scale harem series which is a huge improvement over constant hit-and run concept of Urusei Yatsura. For me Tenchi lacks substance and normal humor. There is fanservice humor and some random guys from other planets as enemies. This is a very old approach - make a setting and keep using it for 150 episodes by inserting any small stories as desired. Without real story or some outstanding humor this franchise is doomed from the start and can only be remembered with nostalgy as the first notable harem.   Overall Rating: 6/10   3. Bastard!! Ankoku no Hakaishin Bastard!! バスタード!! 暗黒の破壊神 [AIC] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Seinen Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Ecchi The kingdom of Metallicana is under attack from the Four Lords of Havoc. This party of villains—ninja master Gara, deadly thunder empress Nei Arshes, cold and calculating Kall-Su, and enigmatic dark priest Abigail—will stop at nothing to get what they want, even if it leaves utter destruction in their wake. High Priest Geo is desperate to help save the kingdom and its people. He unleashes the mighty wizard Dark Schneider, a man who used to be an ally of the villains. Unfortunately, Dark Schneider has his own plans in mind. Will he stop the Four Lords of Havoc or join them in their conquest of the world? Fantasy setting and mature enough characters with MD Geist-like power-hungry protagonist are a big plus, but all this innocent to brutal to innocent transformation with a kiss is basically the same as eye-patch for the third eye in Mitsume ga Tooru. Moreover, at first episode protagonists are attacked by some general apprentice and we're told that there are four enemy generals to face. So from the very start we already roughly know the concept - there will be one general per episode with the main baddie in the last episode, and that makes all 6 episodes which is a very short-time strategy. In reality things are shuffled a bit, but the gist remains. Episodes 4-5 lose humor and becomes rather sour. Setting had enough sauce for a masterpiece, maybe remake version that's already out can execute things better.   Overall Rating: 6/10   4. Giant Robo the Animation: Chikyuu ga Seishi Suru Hi Giant Robo the Animation: The Day the Earth Stood Still ジャイアントロボ THE ANIMATION 地球が静止する日 [Phoenix Entertainment] (Finished 7/7) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Super Power Action, Drama, Sci-Fi In a future to come humanity enjoys a new age of prosperity thanks to Dr. Shizuma's invention of a revolutionary renewable energy source: the Shizuma Drive. But this peace is threatened by Big Fire, a cabal seeking world domination. Against Big Fire the International Police Organisation dispatches a collection of superpowered warriors and martial artists, together with Daisaku Kusama, inheritor and master of Earth's most powerful robot, Giant Robo. By capturing an abnormal Shizuma Drive which is essential to Big Fire's plans the IPO ignites a desperate conflict between the two groups. The coming battle will test Daisaku's resolve to the utmost, reveal the ghastly truth behind the creation of the Shizuma Drive, and bring human civilization to its knees! Giant Robo is a character-driven adventure in a retro-futuristic setting, drawing on influences from opera, kung-fu cinema, wuxia stories and classic mecha anime. It incorporates characters from the works of the manga author Mitsuteru Yokoyama but it is designed to be a stand-alone story. Another adaptation of mecha manga from 1960s. Felt pretty old and uninteresting to me. Also there are a lot of childish moves, No memorable characters or humor spotted. Basically, just battle of characters with superpowers. That's dead average in my set of coordinates.   Overall Rating: 5/10   5. Ushio to Tora Ushio and Tora うしおととら [Pastel] (Finished 10/10) Tags: Action, Comedy, Horror Ushio thinks his father's tale of an ancient ancestor impaling a demon on a temple altar stone with the legendary Beast Spear is nuts, but when he finds the monster in his own basement, Ushio has to take another look at the family legend! Fortunately, Ushio knows it's best to let sleeping dogs lie and leave captured demons where they are. Unfortunately, the release of the monster's evil energies begins to beckon other demons to Ushio's hometown! To save his friends and family from the invading spirits, Ushio is forced to release Tora from his captivity. But will the cure prove to be worse than the curse? Will Ushio end his life a Tora-snack? Or will the Beast Spear keep Tora in line long enough to save the city? I remember trying Ushio to Tora long ago, got impression of a bland anime that time. So this time need to finish it to finalize impression. And indeed development from the start is slow and setting becomes finalized only by the end of 6th episode. Anyway, again a generic shounen about fighting conveniently appearing evil spirits with the only interesting encounter being in the finale.   Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Hanappe Bazooka 花平バズーカ [Studio Signal] (Finished 1/1) Tags: School Action, Comedy, Ecchi Lecherous high school boy Hanappe is visited by two demons who step from his TV and immediately fall in lust with his mother and sister. The demons turn Hanappe's home into a meeting ground for their demonic friends and grant Hanappe the power of the Hanappe Bazooka. Now his index finger is capable of both a deadly blast and the ability to drive women in a lustful frenzy, but Hanappe isn't very good at controlling it and winds up in serious trouble. Very shitty demon-themed ecchi with a real suicide and nothing left that I'd even want to remember. Stupid as hell.   Overall Rating: 4/10   7. Hello Harinezumi: Satsui no Ryoubun Domain of Murder ハロー張りネズミ 殺意の領分 [Studio Deen] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Psychological Drama, Mystery One stormy night, a young woman is shot to death on a cliff; her body is found floating in the waters below the next morning. She was last seen with a man who is now being sought not only for her death. Meanwhile, an estranged wife hires Goro, a private investigator, to find her husband. Alongside another member of law enforcement with his own motives for finding the man, Goro sets forth on a trail of tragedy and intrigue to find the reason and connection behind the murders and missing husband. All detectives look more or less the same for me, and this one is not exception. Of course, there's intrigue about murderer, but it's the same in all works of the genre as well.   Overall Rating: 5/10   8. Iron Virgin Jun 鉄の処女JUN [Dynamic Planning] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Martial Arts, Super Power Action, Comedy, Fantasy In the Asuka family, nothing is more important than family tradition. For their lovely young daughter Jun, it means she must get married on her 18th birthday. Although poor little virgin Jun is not above kickin' butt, she just can't stand the thought of marrying someone she doesn't love. Her mother sends out a gang of bloodthirsty goons to drag her to the altar, but Jun would rather beat a hundred suitors into one big bloody mess than get married on her mother's terms, and she's about to prove it. Useless. Won't gain and won't lose anything by watching a couple of lads fighting and running away from rapists.   Overall Rating: 3/10   9. Oira Sukeban おいら女蛮[スケバン] [Studio Signal] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Crossdressing, School Comedy, Ecchi Does being the only guy in an all girl school sound like paradise? It might be, if the girls knew you were a guy, but to stay in school teenage pervert Banji can't let can't let anyone find out his chromosomes don't match. Banji's status conscious parents want him to go to a good school, but not enough to spend the money on a good co-ed school. Now, in addition to studying math and science, Banji has to learn how to put on a bra and makeup. His life has become a living hell. Not only is he at the bottom of the social pecking order, he must also got to conceal his inner-masculinity from the pretty classmate girl who's stolen his heart while avoiding the female bullies who threaten to expose his less-than-feminine charms in the locker room. I'm not a fan of trap anime, and this one is the bare bones of the genre without anything on top of it.   Overall Rating: 4/10   10. OZ オズ [Madhouse, Studio Fantasia] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shoujo Military Action, Drama, Sci-Fi  A nuclear war has killed most of humanity and split the USA into six warring states. By 2021, a legend has grown up about the fabled city of OZ where everything still works. Scientist Felicia sets out in search of it with the mercenary Muto and android 1019. At the end of the quest they only discover a military base and a madman. A mercenary was hired by a girl to bring her to the mythical Oz (a paradise) where her missing brother supposedly lived. Accompanying them was a cyborg sent by her brother. But Oz was not the paradise it seemed and her brother was not as sane as he was smart. It's difficult to make post-apocalypse feel boring, but Oz succeeds at that. Basically, there is only running and fighting with some occasional discussion is similar interiors resembling some base. There's not enough explanation or focus on characters with over a dozen of them. Camera is constantly shifting to different locations with different characters with zoomed scenes and no perspective. Anti-climatic ending where everything settles itself without protagonists also feels lackluster. Overall, it's just poor execution and bad experience.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Nozomi Witches のぞみ ウィッチィズ [Group TAC] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Romance, Sports  Ryoutaro Shiba and his family have just moved into a new housing neighborhood. He soon discovers he is lucky enough to be living next to a beautiful and bewitching girl named Nozomi Egawa. Nozomi is athletic, an actress, and surprisingly more than anything else, she wants Ryoutaro to become a boxer so that he can fulfil her dream. Ryoutaro isn't exactly sure what Nozomi's dream is, but he definitely does not want to become a boxer. Unfortunately for Ryoutaro, he finds himself being dragged to the high school boxing club because Nozomi has written a resume for him claiming that he is a boxing genius! It actually seems that Ryoutaro has a special gift for boxing that he has never known about before. Ryoutaro soon finds himself in the winners' circle. But for how long can he last, and can he really live up to Nozomi's expectations? Viva progress. Characters in this sport romance anime look a bit different from all those five previous ones Nine-Touch-Slow Step etc etc. So for me it turns into a painful game whether each camera focus looks like before or differently. Basically, I've seen it all before already elsewhere, and there even was more spectacular boxing.   Overall Rating: 5/10   12. Chameleon (OVA) Bite me! カメレオン [Egg] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Seinen Delinquents, School Comedy, Ecchi The series follows the antics of tenth-grade student Eisaku Yazawa who wants to become a bousouzoku, a motorcycle gang member. It's all about trashy delinquent humor, so highly subjective. Other anime of the genre had strong protagonists and thus authenticity. This one is pure comedy as protagonist is super short and weak winning by twist of luck or with help of others. And for the same reason it does not reach even level of Karate-bu for me.   Overall Rating: 6/10   13. Princess Army: Wedding★Combat Princess Army: Wedding Combat ぷりんせすARMY - ウェディング★COMBAT - [J.C.Staff] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shoujo Martial Arts Action, Romance The story is about Aida Nonoka who is rescued from a drunken attacker by a judoist. She then resolves to become as good as her savior, hoping that one day to recognize him by the scar on his back. She then transferred into a new high school where she meets two older boys who could possibly the person to whom she owes her life and to give her heart. Bishounens compete over one girl. It's harmful as it still has weird sexist ideas from the 1980s.   Overall Rating: 4/10   14. Karasu Tengu Kabuto: Ougon no Me no Kemono 鴉天狗カブト 黄金の目のケモノ [KSS] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Action, Adventure, Drama Kabuto is a tengu who has to save a princess from fortress which is full of monster-mecha hybrids in an alternate reality of feudal Japan. Series was really weird and hectic. This OVA manages to overthrow that impression to the worst. There's little logic in events, and spontaneous weird moves just keep viewers in awe as a sick fantasy.   Overall Rating: 4/10   15. Shin Dousei Jidai: Hawaiian Breeze 新・同棲時代 HAWAIIAN BREEZE [Animaruya] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama, Romance  In this adaptation of a manga by Fumi Shibama, itself a retelling of a 1972 manga by Kazuo Kamimura (the original Age of Cohabitation whose existence is implied by the "new" in this title), Honda has been living with Eri for two years and debates whether or not he should ask her to marry him. Visuals are pretty bad. Contents is man's constant attempts to trick or persuade woman to make a child and her constant evasion or running away without words. Does it even look like an interesting setting? And in the very end we learn woman's reason - enjoy if you can.   Overall Rating: 4/10   16. Houkago no Tinker Bell 放課後のティンカー・ベル [Ashi Productions] (Finished 1/1) Tags: School Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Slice of Life Kenichi Akizuki and Misako Watanabe work together to solve the mysterious disappearance of their classmate Ryouko Miyazaki. The only clue left by the kidnapper is signed Koushin Okazaki, her late classmate who'd committed suicide to preserve his youth and become like Peter Pan. Pretty dumb story engulfed in mystery that two juvenile wanna be detectives or something uncover. Those who don't like detectives should not even bother.   Overall Rating: 5/10   17. Seikima II Humane Society: Jinrui Ai ni Michita Shakai 聖飢魔II HUMANE SOCIETY ~人類愛に満ちた社会~ [Production I.G, animate Film] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mythology Action, Fantasy, Supernatural Seikima II was a real-life Japanese death-metal band. Full of kabuki makeup, songs about rape, murder, and satanic destruction, and a public persona of devilish evil. The OVA purports to tell the backstory of the band, which, according to its publicity, was composed of actual demons (akuma) from the parallel dimension Makai. In the OVA, five vicious demons (the five band members), led by Demon Kogure (the lead singer), are plotting the destruction of humanity. The only effective opposition comes from the saintly Rosa, who is actually the reformed war goddess Freyja in disguise. The demons attempt to activate their ultimate weapon, the Tower of Babel, before Rosa can complete her counter weapon, the Tower of Cain. The demons triumph and are on the verge on destroying the world when their leader suddenly decides that they should, instead, form a rock-and-roll band in order to convert people everywhere into demon worshipers. Anime about real life stuff usually is a bad choice since this stuff can only be portrayed as cool without any self-irony. There is demon invasion, but it does not go beyond tasteless coolness.   Overall Rating: 5/10   18. Mikeneko Holmes no Yuurei Joushu 三毛猫ホームズの幽霊城主 [AIC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Pets Comedy, Drama, Mystery Based on Akagawa Jirou's popular book series about hapless detective Katayama Yoshitaro who lives with his sister Harumi and their cat Holmes, which has a sixth sense when it comes to solve mysteries. In this stand alone OVA the aftershow party of Harumi's acting troupe becomes the showplace of murder and tragedy. Luckily Yoshitaro brought Holmes along. I am sorry , cat detective Holmes is the kind of cringe I can't accept.   Overall Rating: 4/10   19. Star Dust スター・ダスト [Victor Entertainment] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Space Sci-Fi A misguided sci-fi tale of ecological police keeping space free from pollution in 2061. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   20. Don: Gokudou Suikoden ドン 極道水滸伝 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Organized Crime Drama Takekichi and Masakazu are two tough guys who are forced to go underground when they lose their boss in a turf war in this modern update of the classic Chinese novel "Water Margin". A normal yakuza rising in power story with constant violence and deaths. Pure action, nothing special.   Overall Rating: 5/10   21. Kurenai no Buta Porco Rosso 紅の豚 [Studio Ghibli] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical, Military Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance After a curse turned him into a pig, World War I ace Marco Pagot becomes Porco Rosso, a mysterious bounty hunter who takes down sky pirates in the Adriatic Sea. He whiles away his days on a secluded island, rarely leaving other than to collect bounties or to visit the beautiful Gina, a songstress and owner of the Hotel Adriano. One day, while traveling to fix his faulty engine, Porco Rosso is gunned down by a young American hotshot named Donald Curtis. Thrilled at the possibility of fame, Donald boldly declares that the flying pig is dead. Not wanting to disappoint Gina, Porco Rosso flees to the famous Piccolo S.P.A. airplane company and takes out a massive loan in order to repair and improve his fighter plane. There, he is surprised to find that the chief engineer of Piccolo S.P.A. is the 17-year-old Fio Piccolo, who hungers for a chance to prove herself. With Fio's improvements, Porco Rosso prepares to challenge Donald officially and regain his honor. I watched it a long time ago, but nothing but selfish protagonist and planers left in memory. I watched it now, and again nothing really catches the eye. I don't like steampunk, so atmosphere does not excite in the least. Story is very mediocre as it's just couple plane challenges with a very weird reverse sleeping beauty sidetrack. Everyone seems to be head over heels just about the fact that protagonist is not a small girl. So what? Protagonist is special, but only for Ghibli as there are a lot of grumpy protagonists later on in anime and couple even more rude ones before that. Fascist Italy stage is original, but it has no real plot meaning due to only couple half-assed pursuits and opportunity to say "better pig that fascist", and probably the whole this movie is made like that just to say that phrase. There is cool directorship and humor feels amusing though not funny, but overall it's a disappointment.   Overall Rating: 6/10   22. Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: The Fading Light of Zeon Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: The Afterglow Of Zeon 機動戦士ガンダム0083 －ジオンの残光－ [Sunrise] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi U.C. 0083 - Three years after the end of the catastrophic One Year War, peace on Earth and the colonies is shattered by the presence of the Delaz Fleet, a rogue Zeon military group loyal to the ideals of the late dictator Gihren Zabi. Delaz Fleet`s ace pilot Anavel Gato, once hailed as "The Nightmare of Solomon", infiltrates the Federation`s Torrington base in Australia and steals the nuclear-armed Gundam GP02A "Physalis" prototype. Rookie pilot Kou Uraki - with the aid of Anaheim Electronics engineer Nina Purpleton and the crew of the carrier Albion - pilots the Gundam GP01 "Zephyranthes" prototype in an attempt to recover the stolen Gundam unit and prevent another war from breaking out. I hate this franchise with all heart and keep watching it just because it seems to be known. Since it's hastily merged compilation of the 0083 series, it's just horrible.   Overall Rating: 2/10   23. Kaze no Tairiku The Weathering Continent 風の大陸 [Production I.G] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Supernatural  Three adventurers—a warrior, a priest, and a young woman—traverse a land devastated by centuries of environmental calamities searching only for a way to survive. In their journeys they stumble across first the remains of a band of desperate treasure-hunters, and then the treasure they were seeking: Azec Sistra, the legendary City of the Dead. Unfortunately, the bandits responsible for slaughtering the treasure-hunters have also found their way to the city, but more worrisome still are the guardians which protect Azec Sistra from those who would violate the spirits at rest there... We've discovered a new genre - simulator of walking. Seriously, heroes walk past stuff and sometimes unsheathe weapons just to put them back the next moment. Some stuff is more creepy, but they heroically walk past it anyway. Did you expect a battle or something as climax? There's nothing like that, they just arrive ... somewhere, lol. I'm not kidding, it's that senseless...   Overall Rating: 4/10   24. Silent Möbius 2 サイレントメビウス2 [AIC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Mythology Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi This sequel to the Silent Mobius The Movie 1 continues the timeline of the flashback section of the first movie (Katsumis initial contact with AMP), using some more ideas and persons from the Manga, and being slightly less incompatible to the Silent Mobius series from 1998. 2/3 of the movie is just talks which is a disappointment after action-heavy first movie. By comparing alone, it can't be the same score.   Overall Rating: 5/10   25. Yawara!: Sore Yuke Koshinuke Kids!! YAWARA！ それゆけ腰ぬけキッズ！！ [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Combat Sports, Martial Arts Comedy, Slice of Life Yawara helps a group of timid grade school kids overcome their fears and compete in a judo competition. One of the kids is Hanazono's cousin, which is how she meets them. Another is a girl who seems a whole lot like Yawara. It's my principle that I watch at least one movie after the series no matter how bad the series was. Series was very weak in my opinion, but movie is actually a lot better due to focus on many nice characters rather than one boring girl. I hate to admit that I also participated in one juvenile judo tournament at school, and it was same cringy as in this movie, lol, although in real life there are hardly any clean ippons at all. Overall, better than expected, but far from great still due to bigger focus on spokon training than on comedy itself.   Overall Rating: 6/10   26. Rokudenashi Blues ろくでなしBLUES [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Combat Sports, Delinquents, School Comedy, Drama Maeda is a new student in the Teiken High School. He stutters when he's nervous and he's rather clumsy. He gets noted immediately because he hits a teacher during the entrance ceremony. Some clubs search to enlist him as they see in him a force they can use to get even with other clubs. But Maeda is a loner and has only one dream: becoming a boxing champion. It's an average delinquents anime with lots of violence and only a shade of humor. 30 minute length means there's not enough time for anything else.   Overall Rating: 5/10   27. Senbon Matsubara せんぼんまつばら [-] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Historical Drama After suffering severe floods in 1753, the people of Senbon Matsubara in Shizuoka cooperate on flood prevention around the Kiso, Nagara, and Yuhi rivers. The people of Satsuma (Kumamoto Prefecture) endure great hardships after being forced to undertake the work by the central government, a subtle indication of the bad feeling that would foment into open rebellion the following century. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   28. Zouressha ga Yatte Kita 象列車がやってきた [Mushi Production] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Adventure  An educational film about the Elephant Trains in Japan. During WW2 many zoos were slaughtering their dangerous animals (such as elephants) as a safeguard against Allied bombings which might release the animals. After WW2, the only elephants that remained in Japan were two at Higashiyama Zoo in Nagoya. Special trains called Elephant Trains were arranged to bring children from all over the country to Higashiyama Zoo. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10
  6. kivandopulus
    Crayon Shin-chan is a firm masterpiece and unrivalled winner   1. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Sailor Moon 美少女戦士セーラームーン [Toei Animation] (Finished 5/46) Tags: Mahou Shoujo, Mythology Romance Usagi Tsukino is an average student and crybaby klutz who constantly scores low on her tests. Unexpectedly, her humdrum life is turned upside down when she saves a cat with a crescent moon on its head from danger. The cat, named Luna, later reveals that their meeting was not an accident: Usagi is destined to become Sailor Moon, a planetary guardian with the power to protect the Earth. Given a special brooch that allows her to transform, she must use her new powers to save the city from evil energy-stealing monsters sent by the malevolent Queen Beryl of the Dark Kingdom. But getting accustomed to her powers and fighting villains are not the only things she has to worry about. She must find the lost princess of the Moon Kingdom, the other Sailor Guardians, and the Legendary Silver Crystal in order to save the planet from destruction. I thought I would watch it all, but due to episodic nature of the show and only couple funny moments per episode stopping after fifth. Sailor Moon deserves a masterpiece score for combination of its strong sides and overall push for Shoujo that started to be taken seriously, but can't trick my guts, could not enjoy it.   Overall Rating: 6/10   2. Crayon Shin-chan Shin Chan クレヨンしんちゃん [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 79/?) Tags: Seinen School Comedy, Ecchi There is no such thing as an uneventful day in the life of kindergartener Shinnosuke "Shin-chan" Nohara. The five-year-old is a cut above the most troublesome, perverted, and shameless kid one can imagine. Shin-chan is almost always engaged in questionable activities such as forgetting about a friend during hide and seek, sumo wrestling for love, performing various gags including the notorious "elephant" in public, and flirting with college girls. The exemplary troublemaker has done it all and has no plans to stop anytime soon. Crayon Shin-chan follows the daily shenanigans of Shin-chan with his group of friends, parading around as the self-proclaimed "Kasukabe Defense Force." The adults witnessing these shenanigans unfold can't help but adore Shin-chan, as he keeps them entertained while unintentionally solving their daily troubles through his mindless antics—leaving himself as the only problem they do not know what to do with. The first gag comedy anime with three stories per episode, used to be maximum 2. Because of three stories a great density of jokes is achieved. Very light and easy to watch, guess it explains the fact that it's still running with over a thousand of episodes, and SOL funny situations are truly endless for the Japanese. I consider it a firm masterpiece that's not rated higher only because unlike Chibi Maruko-chan there's no intellectual enjoyment here, only mundane one with some jokes being vulgar and toilet humor , but sometimes it fits the mood perfectly.   Overall Rating: 8/10   3. Ashita e Free Kick あしたへフリーキック [Production Reed] (Finished 1/52) Tags: Team Sports Shun Godai is a young boy who likes soccer. But his grandfather, a successful businessman, want his grandson to follow his path... Again just one episode is translated. The obvious advantages are group of friends and older age of characters compared to rival anime. Can't say any characters look really interesting , but it's definitely the right direction to go, and with translation it might be a thing .   Overall Rating: 6/10   4. Cooking Papa クッキングパパ [Eiken] (Finished 1/151) Tags: Comedy, Gourmet The story of Mr. Araiwa and his family. He is a model employee in a large enterprise, but becomes a completely different character at home. He is very keen on cooking and lets pass no occasion to cook delicious dishes for his wife, who is frequently occupied by her work as a journalist, or his young son. Only one episode is translated. Fifth culinary anime already, but if feels the most interesting one of them all due to normal family, comedy and also strong corporate spirit. Again, I don't favor culinary shows as genre, but I'd watch several of these with translation.   Overall Rating: 6/10   5. Aa Harimanada ああ播磨灘 [E&G Films] (Finished 3/23) Tags: Seinen Combat Sports, Martial Arts When Harimanada makes his grand entrance into the world of Sumo, he causes complete uproar throughout the entire arena. The novelty headmask is clearly not a good idea but not content with just ruffling the feathers of all the spectators, he sends the the entire Sumo Association into a frenzy when he arrogantly declares that he will surpass the legendary Futabayama's consecutive run of 69 victories. Should he fail to achieve such a feat, he will immediately retire all together. Harimanada's impudent remarks cause a huge backlash as every high-ranking Yokuzuna wants the chance to knock him down and humiliate him for showing such arrogance. Thus begins Harimanada's journey to the top as he battles to topple the entire Sumo hierarchy! Come on, what sportsman does not want to become the best, it's super plain plot with one of the least spectacular sports of sumo. There's even no humor. I fail to see a single reason to watch this.   Overall Rating: 4/10   6. Genki Bakuhatsu Ganbaruger Energetic Bomb Ganbaruger 元気爆発ガンバルガー [Sunrise] (Finished 3/47) Tags: Shounen Mecha Koutarou's father is trying to train his son in the art of the ninja, but a mis-hit bomb accidently damages a shrine and releases a great demon that Eldoran had been keeping contained. Eldoran manages to contain him, but one of his servants manages to escape as well, and now attempts to free his master. To stop him, Eldoran grants the three mecha Gotiger, King Elephan, and Mach Eagle to Koutarou and his two friends, as well as suits that grant each of them a special power. Miracle Ninja Ganbare Team is born! Another alternative setting of something Sunrise'ish. Which means kids, bad humor and monster of the week pattern.   Overall Rating: 5/10   7. Chou Dendou Robo Tetsujin 28-gou FX 超電動ロボ 鉄人28号FX [Tokyo Movie Shinsha] (Finished 1/47) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi By 2030, Shotaro's son was in charge of Tetsujin-28. An Interpol agent like his father, he used the aged robot to combat the Pink Mafia and the Franken organization. One episode is translated. Gigantor was literally second TV series with 20-minute episode format and thus had very simple setting. No amount of improved visuals can fix that. Pretty horrible, as for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10   8. Salad Juu Yuushi Tomatoman Tomatoman サラダ十勇士トマトマン [Gakken] (Finished 3/50) Tags: Adventure, Comedy Tomato is one of the 10 knights of the salad kindom. Young and clumsy, yet always ends up saving the day and is admired by everyone even the pretty princess peach, who he desperately falls in love with. Every episode they embark on a new journey to solve a new mission. This would be easier if only the insect band didn't get in their way every time. Not translated. It's clear for me that it's a kid's work with all the fruit characters. The flow reminds time bokan series due to three similar looking villains.   Overall Rating: 4/10   9. Nagagutsu wo Haita Neko no Bouken 長靴をはいた猫の冒険 [Enoki Films] (Finished 0/26) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy Anime adaptation of Charles Perrault fairy tale, directed by Susumu Ishizaki. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   10. Oi! Ryouma Rainbow Samurai お〜い!竜馬 [Animation 21] (Finished 3/39) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama In the middle of the 19th century, Japan was still closed off from the outside world. There were just the beginning signs of reformation in the long regime of Shogun Tokugawa. In the remote countryside, on the island of Shikoko, a young boy named Ryoma is growing up in a lower-class Samurai family. A decade later, he is to become on of the leading figures to topple the Shogun's reign and open Japan to the western world. Our story begins with Ryoma, a dreaming kid of seven years. Ryoma is an honest and tenderd-hearted boy who hates any sort of violence and brutality. He is so sensitive, and a bit naive, that he often cries from pity when he sees even the simples act of violence such as another kid trampling a tiny insect. The kids and even his family call him a "cry baby". However, he is not a coward -- not a "chicken" at all. His distress comes from a desire to prevent unreasonable acts and the wrong doings in life. His older sister is the only person who understands his depth. She recognizes that her brother is gifted with a special talent and she does her best to protect him and cheer him up. Not translated. After a great dorama about Ryouma I'm preconceived about this figure already. Of course, his adult life is much more interesting, but one thing is granted - person provides alternative positive outlook on absolutely ordinary things, events and relations. He is able to see good in everything and nurture it against all odds if there is a single chance for improvement. This is the best kind of children anime, the one that truly deserves translation.   Overall Rating: 6/10   11. Super Bikkuriman スーパービックリマン [Toei Animation] (Finished 3/44) Tags: Mythology Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi After of the big war between angels and demons, the Earth is almost destroyed and his cities devastated. Wanted to restore the peace and the harmony, four young child decides to fight against the army of evil that rules the world for to eradicate to the Earth and give them back to hell. Not translated. It's the third Bikkuriman season. Same absurdist gag swordsman comedy even in this apocalyptic setting with robots .   Overall Rating: 5/10   12. Manga Nihonshi (NHK Han) まんが日本史[NHK版] [NHK] (Finished 0/40) Tags: Historical Episodes from Japanese history animated. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   13. Sasurai-kun さすらいくん [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life Based on the gag manga by Fujio A Fujiko. Sasurai-kun is fed up with life of an office worker and wanders around Japan. Not translated. First episode was introductory, next ones about onsen. Can't say it's super funny, just mild comedy with some embarrassment.   Overall Rating: 5/10   14. Macross II: Lovers Again 超時空要塞マクロスII -Lovers Again- [AIC] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Military, Space Adventure, Sci-Fi A.D. 2089 - 80 years have passed since Space War I changed the lives of both human and Zentraedi races. Both races are at peace on Earth when a new alien race called the "Marduk" appear within the Solar System. While covering the first battle between the U.N. Spacy and the Marduk fleet, SNN rookie reporter Hibiki Kanzaki discovers Ishtar, an "Emulator" that enhances the Marduk's combat abilities through singing. Hibiki brings Ishtar to Earth to teach her the values of life and culture. Together with ace Valkyrie pilot Silvie Gena, Hibiki and Ishtar must find a way to save Earth from total destruction at the hands of the Marduk leader Ingues. I don't like self-repetitions, I don't like music defeating lethal arms. I don't like Macross II: Lovers Again.   Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Spirit of Wonder: China-san no Yuuutsu ザスピリットオブワンダー - チャイナさんの憂鬱 [Ajia-Do] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Romance, Sci-Fi Sometime during the late 19th century, a young Asian girl has made a place for herself in a seaside town as the owner and operator of the Tenkai restaurant and boarding house.. Yet "Miss China," as the locals call her, is in the dumps. She's got a Mad Scientist named Breckenridge living upstairs who is chronically late with the rent, and she's pining for Jim, a handsome watchmaker's apprentice whom she mistakenly believes is pursuing the local flower girl. But this isn't our world. It is a world that has the Spirit of Wonder, where every so often, just occasionally mind you, amazing things happen. The Mad Scientist actually has come up with an incredible invention, and Jim has an unbelievable plan to use it to give Miss China the most beautiful ring in all the World. Another aimless and senseless anime about several weird disjointed things and ending in nothing. I really had to rewatch it as I thought I missed something that made sense to all that, but no...   Overall Rating: 5/10   16. Sousei Kishi Gaiarth 創世機士ガイアース [AIC, Studio Kyuuma] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Gaiarth - a world devastated by a cataclysmic war, where pockets of humanity struggle to survive amidst the wreckage of technologies made magical by ignorance. Gaiarth - a world where artificially intelligent machines doggedly pursue their programmed imperatives: to protect, or destroy, humanity. Gaiarth - a world in which an old and terrible evil has reawakened, threatening to once again bring forth Armageddon! Anime has nice setting and characters. What kills it for me is mecha casting spells... And just imagine a swordsman with a sword fighting such mecha... so random, so stupid. Well, no good story is told within three 40-minute episodes, just defending for first, going for second and assaulting base for third.   Overall Rating: 6/10   17. KO Seiki Beast Sanjuushi KO Century Beast Warriors ＫＯ世紀　ビースト三獣士 [Gainax] (Finished 7/7) Tags: Shounen Mecha Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Supernatural The series is set in the distant future in which the Earth is split in two. The southern hemisphere is placed in another dimension while the inhabitants of the northern hemisphere are able to morph into beast-like humanoids. Eventually the humans of the southern hemisphere, led by Uranus, attack the Beasts. The Three Beasts, Wan Derbard (Wan Dabadadatta) of the Tiger Tribe, Bud Mint (Baado Mint) of the Bird Tribe, and Mei Mer (Mei Mah) of the Mermaid Tribe, are taken prisoner along with Mei Mer's companion Tuttle Millen (Mekka Mannen, also of the Mermaid tribe), but manage to escape thanks to a little girl named Yuuni Charm Password. Together they seek Gaia, which they believe to be a fabulous treasure, but they are pursued by Uranus's minions : V-Darn the vicious mage-knight, V-Sion the warrior woman and Akumako, V-Darn's sadistic imp-like partner. And another weird fantasy mecha. The focus is on simple humor, so plot has little meaning here - just going somewhere and getting pestered by same weird funny enemies. Gainax humor is probably the best at this moment of time, so it fixes things to an extent.   Overall Rating: 6/10   18. Joker: Marginal City JOKER マージナル・シティ [Studio Sign] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Romance, Sci-Fi  Joker is a genetically engineered shape-and-gender-shifter, who created as part of a Special Police Task Force and fights crime of all kinds, but he/she also fits in a little romance around the edges. It's just 40 minutes, so there's a crime, some short investigation while in office, sudden climax and resolution. I doubt I'd remember it the next day tbh.   Overall Rating: 4/10   19. Genji 源氏 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Historical Romance Time-traveling lovers Katsumi and Sakura find themselves in the midst of Japan's medieval civil war between the Heike and Genji clans. Not translated. Time travel makes many things messy. Now imagine - two samurai clans fight each other, then three tanks storm in and just annihilate members of one clan... and this scene happens twice. So other clan samurai in the end bring rocket launchers! Seriously, don't watch it.   Overall Rating: 4/10   20. Gorillaman ゴリラーマン [J.C.Staff] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Seinen Delinquents, School A school comedy about a mute transfer student, Tadashi Iketo, who is constant­ly shuffled from school to school for his "violent nature," though he really is a mild-mannered boy constantly taunt­ed into fights over his simian appearance. Based on a 1989 manga in Young Magazine by Harold Sakuishi. The distinguishing feature is mute gorilla-resembling cool strong guy. It makes anime a bit cooler and funnier as people around try to guess answer from his emotions, but it still remains just a school anime about delinquents and does not go far from average.   Overall Rating: 5/10   21. Gekikara Gag Gekijou: Tabasco Shower 激辛ギャグ劇場 タバスコシャワー [-] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Comedy, Ecchi Based on the yonkoma manga by Iwatani Tenho. Not translated. Just a lot of small sketches around H. Most are as small as 2-3 minutes, so there's at least a dozen of them in each episode. In current state of schematic visuals and no translation not recommended.   Overall Rating: 4/10   22. Chika Gentou Gekiga: Shoujo Tsubaki Midori 地下幻燈劇画 少女椿 [Mippei Eigeki Kiryuukan] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Drama, Horror In the 1920s, a poverty-stricken 12-year-old girl named Midori resorts to selling camellias in the slums of Tokyo. Midori finds little success until, one day, she is approached by a gentleman who offers his sympathy and aid. When her bedridden mother succumbs to an illness, and with no one else to turn to, Midori visits the man's address. To her horror, she discovers that she has been conned into joining his circus troupe, Aka Neko Za—a traveling freak show consisting of vulgar and deformed performers. Midori compares her new fairground lifestyle to hell. Not only is she responsible for caring for her colleagues and cleaning up after them, but she also is frequently belittled and cruelly abused. Suffering and uncertain of what will become of her, she finally begins to feel at ease when Wonder Masamitsu, a master illusionist, joins the lineup. Smitten by Midori's beauty and innocence, Masamitsu takes her under his wing; but even as their love grows, dark times loom ahead for Midori and her fellow freaks. An abominable combination of H and disgust in form of gore , intestines, insects etc. With all the trash going on there's hardly any need for plot at all. I seriously don't have the guts for all those horrible transformation events, so was a torture for me.   Overall Rating: 3/10   23. Hashire Melos (Movie) 走れメロス [Visual 80] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Historical Action, Adventure Melos is a good boy from Messina and has come to Syracuse, the magnificent city of temples, to buy a ritual sword for his sister's marriage ceremony. He meets a very talented sculptor and they become friends. Later, the King's guards arrest Melos while he was having a walk in the castle's gardens and Syracuse's King, obsessed by the idea of assassins out to kill him, sentences him to death. Melos is desperate, but most of all he wants to be present at his sister's marriage, so he asks the King for three days to go to Messina for the celebration and then return to Syracuse where he will accept the death penalty. The King does not trust Melos, but, trying to demonstrate that nobody could trust him, asks him to find a volunteer substitute in case he breaks his promise. The sculptor accepts to be Melos' substitute in this case... I'm super mad here. The very same story was put to screen in 1981, and it had a horrible ending without logical explanation. Why shoot it again, is there like zero ideas for anything else already? I thought maybe studio tried to make things right and mend the ending, and it's indeed an improvement. But my case rests the same - absolutely useless story without anything to linger on, so why watch it.   Overall Rating: 4/10   24. Maison Ikkoku: Prelude - Meguru Haru no Sakura no You ni... Maison Ikkoku: Prelude, When the Cherry Blossoms in the Springtime Return プレリュードめぞん一刻 プレリュード めぐる春の桜のように... [Studio Deen] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast Comedy, Drama, Romance A prequel of the Maison Ikkoku TV series focusing on Kyoko's relationship with her husband. I mostly like humor and other characters in Maison Ikkoku. It's a decent love story given that it's tod in mere 25 minutes, but with very strange instrument used when events are shown in a small rectangle taking some 1/6 of the screen with already low quality resolution. Other events happen at rectangles of roughly 1/3 of the screen. It kills presentation totally .   Overall Rating: 5/10
  7. kivandopulus
    Ended up choosing only Lodoss-tou Senki as borderline masterpiece.   1. Fushigi no Umi no Nadia Nadia: Secret of Blue Water ふしぎの海のナディア  [Gainax] (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Historical Adventure, Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi In 1889, the world is on the pinnacle of great discoveries in technology. In mankind's grasp for the future, a sinister foe known only as Gargoyle, obsessed with restoring the former Atlantean empire to the glory it once held, begins his plans to take over the world. Nadia, with the help of a young inventor, Jean Roque Lartigue, and Captain Nemo of the submarine Nautilus, must fight to save the world from Gargoyle and Neo-Atlantis. Based on the Novel '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' by Jules Verne. This anime loses a big time against Boy Conan and even against Flying Castle Laputa. Rather uninspiring and childish overall - can't see its value for adults. It's still above average.   Overall Rating: 6/10   2. NG Knight Ramune & 40 NG 騎士ラムネ＆４０  [Production Reed] (Dropped 3/38) Tags: Shounen Mecha Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy Lamune is an ordinary 4th grade boy who loves playing video games. He buys one from a peddler girl and helps her sell the rest. At home, he plays the game called "King Sccasher" & beats it. The peddler girl then comes out of the TV screen and asks for his help, calling him "The Blood Relative of the Chosen Hero Lamuness". She is Princess Milk and takes him to Hara-Hara World where his role is to revive the Guardian Knights. To do this, he had to find an unlock the shrine which held Tama-Q, a robot who became Lamuness' Advisor Robot, and key to freeing the Guardian Knights. All of the Knights are free-thinking mechas except for King Sccasher which is piloted by Lamuness. Opposing Lamuness is Don Harumage and his minions Da Cider and Lesuka. SD Mecha with elementary school boy is already pretty much doomed for me. No good humor spotted either.   Overall Rating: 5/10   3. Mahou no Angel Sweet Mint 魔法のエンジェル スイートミント  [Production Reed] (Dropped 3/47) Tags: Shoujo Mint is a girl who happens to be the princess of the world of dreams and magic. The natural environment of her world is a reflection of the dreams of the people on Earth. It is now in danger as people lose faith in their dreams and let darkness enter their hearts. The environment of Mint's world is starting to wither and die. On her 12th birthday, after a gala celebration with her father the King and her mother, she agrees to go to the world of humans to try to preserve people's hopes and dreams, and to prove that she has the qualities necessary to be a wise ruler. Her father arranges for her to stay with his sister, Mint's aunt Herb, who runs a gift shop on Earth called "Happiness Shop". Sweet Mint continues to use magical girl attributes introduced in Creamy Mami and provides an optimistic outlook as she helps people around. At the same time I can't find anything in it that stands out above the average level...   Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Idol Tenshi Youkoso Youko Idol Angel Welcome Yoko アイドル天使ようこそようこ [Ashi Productions] (Dropped 1/43) Tags: Shoujo Comedy, Drama A young girl and her flying squirrel goes to Tokyo in hopes of becoming an idol singer. On the way, she meets another girl who wants to become an actress, and together they work to achieve their dreams.  Just one episode seems to be translated. It provides super naïve outlook, probably indeed only for young girls.   Overall Rating: 5/10   5. Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru 2 Spirit Hero Wataru 2 魔神英雄伝ワタル2 [Sunrise] (Dropped 3/46) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Comedy Wataru has been lived happily on earth after he defeated Doakudar. When he plays around with his friend, Ryujinmaru appears and ask him to fight again. It appears that the 7 Stars Mountain, the source of Mt. Soukai's rainbow, have been taken over by Doakadar (Doakudar's brother). If all the stars mountain loses their brightness, Mt. Soukai's rainbow will fade and everyone will live in the darkness for eternity. Once again, Wataru has to go through all the 7 stars system and destroy this new stronger enemy. Only for fans of first season...   Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Lodoss-tou Senki Record of Lodoss War ロードス島戦記 [Madhouse] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Supernatural Created from the aftermath of the last great battle of the gods, Lodoss and its kingdoms have been plagued by war for thousands of years. As a quiet peace and unity finally become foreseeable over the land, an unknown evil begins to stir. An ancient witch has awakened, bent on preserving the island of Lodoss by creating political unbalance throughout the many kingdoms and keeping any one from maintaining central control. Only a mixed-race party of six young champions, led by the young warrior Parn, stand between this new threat and Lodoss' descent back into the darkness of war and destruction. I remember that it impressed me greatly the first time I watched it. I still enjoy it, especially when full adventurer party is in action .   Overall Rating: 7/10   7. Cyber City Oedo 808 Cyber City CYBER CITY OEDO 808 (サイバーシティ オーエド ハチマルハチ) [Madhouse] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Detective Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi It is the year 2808. Three convicts are recruited as members of the Cyber Police to keep major criminal activity in Oedo (formerly Tokyo) in check. In return, their life sentences will be reduced by a few years for every mission accomplished. However, to ensure that these convicts are doing their job, the police have secured special collars around their necks. If they attempt to remove their collars or fail to meet the time limit of their mission, the collars will self-destruct. Can be considered ancestor of Psychopass - even pistols have similar fingerprint locks. Each of three episodes focuses on one of three protagonists with some others also often participating. Well, I could not enjoy Cyber City. It's mostly gory action with a bit of intrigue beforehand. Not enough complexity or development for me .   Overall Rating: 6/10   8. AD Police AD Police Files ADポリス [AIC, Artmic] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Adult Cast, Detective, Gore, Mecha, Psychological Adventure, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Suspense The year is 2027 in MegaTokyo, six years before the Knight Sabers will make their debut. Boomers (artificial humans) are still a relatively new advancement, and the implementation and integration of boomers into society is still a bit buggy -- sometimes fatally so. Whenever a boomer incident occurs, though, there is the Advanced Police, a special force trained to deal with boomer crimes. Leon McNichol is a rookie in the AD Police, and is just starting to become exposed to the horrors and tragedies one finds every day in MegaTokyo. He and his veteran partner, Gina Marceau, slowly learn about the ever-fading line that separates man from machine. Very messy android action stories. Characters aren't introduced properly. Poor direction, hasty development, absolutely horrible endings. Maybe full-scale series make things right, but in this state can't recommend it to anyone.   Overall Rating: 4/10   9. Goddamn ガッデム [Studio Signal] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Seinen Racing Action Car racing anime, based on the manga by Kaoru Shintani that serialised in Big Comic Superior from 1988 to 1990. I've yet to see an interesting serious racing anime. But Venus wars was about racing partially too, and it was great. I blame scenarios - this is another super bland one with unremarkable characters.   Overall Rating: 4/10   10. Yagami-kun no Katei no Jijou 八神くんの家庭の事情 [Production I.G, Kitty Film Mitaka Studio] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Comedy Well, in short, the mother looks like she's 14, and the kid is "openly" in love with her—loli x motha-con. His teacher, too, is in love with her mother, and so the love rivals duke it out in classroom, as well as plotting the downfall of their common enemy, his father. The father has a secretary who is in love with him. But once she discovered that he has such a "young" wife she turned her attention to his son, who is now torn between his own mother and a naive, motorbike riding girlfriend. Wha? I mean... wha? In first episode son imagines wife of his father naked as he does not believe in their blood ties, but at the end of 1st episode she provides joint baby photos that are very persuasive. As I understand the concept, it would work only with borderline jokes while keeping things civil, and it indeed develops this way. In the end only curiosity urges to watch such silly, shocking comedy, but  it is very soon satisfied with only repetition or stakes rising possible, and we already know it goes the repetitions way, so no real point in watching it.   Overall Rating: 4/10   11. Burning Blood [Magic Bus] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Shounen Combat Sports Ryo Takagi is a trumpet player on the verge of hitting it big with his band, but he's also a natural fighter whose blood starts burning when he fights seriously; this gave him the nickname B.B ("Burning Blood"). After suffering absolute defeat at the hands of a young man named Jin Moriyama, though, Ryo decides to trade in his trumpet for a pair of boxing gloves in order to have a rematch the way Moriyama wants it: In the boxing ring. It's above average boxing spokon as characters have their own motivations and problems and because there's pretty much zero boxing in the first episode. But it's physically impossible for me to enjoy a serious spokon, so genre fans should deal with it themselves, really.   Overall Rating: 6/10   12. Milky Passion: Dougenzaka - Ai no Shiro ミルキィパッション 道玄坂 愛の城 [Animation 501] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Josei Romance Based on the Milky Passion manga by Morizono Milk. “Milky Passion” follows Hiromi, a 20-year-old woman working as a stereotypical office lady at a large Japanese company, who is whisked away into a car after work by two suspicious men and taken to a love hotel, where she’s told by the manager there that they want her to become the hotel’s new president. Before she can decline the offer, made to her because her late estranged father was the hotel’s founder, she’s given a fancy apartment near the hotel with designer clothes and accessories, which impress all of the people at her workplace, so she agrees to it. Qualifications? Experience? Who cares about those things when looking for your next president. OVA is just 28 minutes, so it only has time to show prologue, several silly situations at love hotel and worry about rival. No sense in watching it.   Overall Rating: 4/10   13. Ikenai Boy イケナイBOY [J.C.Staff] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Harem Comedy, Erotica An anime adaptation of the erotic manga "Ikenai Boy" by Yoshihiro Suma, serialized in Business Jump. Our hero is the typical young energetic college boy, but he got a special gift. He has "magic hands" that puts all women in ecstasy. Obviously he is taking advantage of this gift by meeting one bishoujo after the other! Second part of Ikenai Boy is marked as hentai, this one is mostly about nude massage. It's still closer to hentai as massage is in the focus and there's nothing else notable in this anime.   Overall Rating: 0/10   14. Shiratori Reiko de Gozaimasu! I am THE Shiratori Reiko! 白鳥麗子でございます！  [Ajia-Do] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy, Romance  19-year old Reiko is a rich, arrogant, material girl, who refuses to admit her feelings for classmate Tetsuya Akimoto before it's almost too late. Reiko pursues him to Tokyo and enrolls at his university in an attempt to win him back. Guess this concept got so many TV adaptations because of combination of reasons : 1) girl is fashionable and from rich family 2) girl is proactive and willful 3) lots of youth craziness with rules of morals not applying. I'm sure it can be a funny dorama, but to show it all within 45 minutes with rather poorly designed character sprites... was mission impossible from the start.   Overall Rating: 4/10   15. Taiman Blues: Ladies-hen - Mayumi たいまんぶるうず レディース編 真由美  [Tokuma Japan] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shounen Delinquents Mayumi runs away from home from to escape her predatory stepfather only to be abducted by members of a delinquent motorcycle gang. She's taken under the wing by Noriko, who invites her to move into her apartment, finds her a job in a service station and introduces her to the world of motorcycling. The two set up their own all-female gang - Eight Angels - but soon discover that local male-dominated gangs are hostile to this intrusion on their turf. Just when I said there was just one anime series about female gangs, here it is second one. It's better than male previous version Shimizu Naoto-hen in every single way, mostly because it does not limit itself to just tale about gangs. Nice coming of age story, definitely above average, though nothing special.   Overall Rating: 6/10   16. Onimaru: Senjou ni Kakeru Itsutsu no Seishun 鬼丸 戦場に駆ける五つの青春 [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure  During the Onin wars in Japan's medieval Muromachi era, five powerful warriors hire out their services to the highest bidder. Onimaru is the leader; Bo handles demolitions; Saru is as agile as a monkey; Osamu is a cool tactician; and Kiri is the sexy swordswoman. The group gains an extra member when Onimaru rescues Princess Aya who naturally falls in love with him and refuses to go away. Not translated. It's mostly protagonist ninja with non-fighting girl princess defending against atacking ninja and some other warriors on several occasions. The company is colorful, there's some comedy and some explicit content, so overall rather average, but without translation not worth watching.   Overall Rating: 5/10   17. Otokogi 男樹 [-] (Dropped 2/3) Tags: Seinen Organized Crime After his father leaves when he is very young, Kyosuke Murata grows up under the thumb of his overprotective mother, Shizuko. When he reaches adulthood, he is thrown into the harsh, violent world of Japanese gangland when his mother becomes involved in a gang-related crime. He goes up against the Murata-gumi organization, only to find that his estranged father is its head. Rising up through the ranks, Kyosuke eventually unites half the gangs in Japan beneath his own leadership, only to find that the other half have also combined to resist his new power, starting the greatest gang war in Japanese history. Not translated. There have been several serious yakuza OVAs so far, and none of them were nice. I blame lack of scale. This one has an alright scale of the whole country, so might be Japanese Godfather or something, but third episode is not found, so the resolution is unknown. Overall, a serious anime with a lot of characters and gore, above average yakuza anime for sure.   Overall Rating: 6/10   18. Tonari no Tokoro となりのトコロ [Pastel] (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Comedy  Based on the original story by famous Japanese comedian George Tokoro. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   19. Furiten-kun (1990) フリテンくん [Knack Productions] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Slice of Life Continuation of the everyday life adventures of the avid mahjong player Furiten-kun. Not translated. I quite dig kinky corporate parody humor. Would be a lot better translated.   Overall Rating: 6/10   20. Versailles no Bara: Seimei Aru Kagiri Aishite ベルサイユのばら 生命あるかぎり愛して [Tokyo Movie Shinsha] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Historical Drama, Romance A theatrical re-edit/summary of the TV series. Some of the voice actors were changed (eg. Oscar is played by Keiko Toda instead of re-using the original audio by Reiko Tajima). Not translated (except in Spanish) and very poor video quality. Fine for those who does not want to watch this whole series.   Overall Rating: 5/10   21. Onna Senshi Efe & Jira: Gude no Monshou Gude Crest: The Emblem of Gude 女戦士エフェ&ジーラ グーデの紋章 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy Two partners Effera and Jiliora escape from a slave boat with the aid of their friend Orlin and a young boy named Kilian. When Kilian is killed in the escape Effera and Jiliora take it upon themselves to return Kilian's pendant to his two siblings who are being held captive by Baron Celdion, who is plotting to take over all of the neighboring countries. Again, not bad small fantasy OVA does not go further than that and remains just not bad to the end.   Overall Rating: 6/10   22. Hashire! Shiroi Ookami White Fang 走れ! 白いオオカミ [Group TAC, Toho] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama A boy named Lasset who lives on a farm in the rural northern US makes a perilous trek through the wilderness to a sanctuary 300 miles to the north to save the life of a gray wolf that he had raised from a puppy after an incident in which the wolf kills the family dog. I've come to conclusion that all anime about normal non-speaking animals is made for kids and it tries to show morals and teach as first priority, and story is second priority and not that important or interesting usually. I think there were at least three similar anime about Silver Fang already, it stops to be funny on the second run let alone the fourth.   Overall Rating: 5/10   23. Kuro ga Ita Natsu クロがいた夏 [GEN Productions] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical, Pets Drama Hiroshima, summer of 1945. A young girl named Nobuko saves a starving kitten from crows. She wants to keep the kitten, but her parents dismiss the idea. Nobuko eventually convinces them to let her keep it. She and her brother Makoto name the cat Kuro. Kuro quickly brings joy and laughter to the family. As World War II takes its toll on Japan, it becomes harder for Nobuko and her family to care for Kuro. One August morning, Kuro begins acting strangely... This anime is stupid not because kitten saves protagonists two times and then dies heroically, but the way American fighter pilot flies low and with a smirk aims with machine gun scope at a small girl running with a kitten in the center of the street and launches a barrage. If you make movie like this, best not make any, really.   Overall Rating: 4/10   24. Heavy ヘヴィ [Artland, Nippon Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Drama, Sports Gai, a karate expert in the New York slum, is trained to be a boxing champion by a cancer-strucken doctor and a transvestite suffering from AIDS. Based on the manga by Motoka Murakami. Not translated. Another above the average boxing movie, but by how above is for spokons fans to decide.   Overall Rating: 6/10   25. Perrine Monogatari Movie 劇場版 ペリーヌ物語 [Nippon Animation] (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Shoujo Historical Drama, Slice of Life Movie version of the TV series Perrine Monogatari. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   26. Makkuro na Obentou まっ黒なおべんとう [Kyodo Eiga] (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Historical Drama n the 6th of August, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. A young boy, Shigeru, left home for his job as a building excavator that morning, carrying a bento made by his mother, only to never return home again. Before long, his mother managed to find Shigeru's remains, and she noticed the completely black and carbonized bento box next to them. This is an anime adaptation of the original book, "Makkuro na Obentou (The Charred Lunchbox)" written by Kodama Tatsuharu and illustrated by Kitajima Shinpei. The bento box that becomes the focus of the story is actually on display in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   27. Obatalian オバタリアン [Sunrise] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy The pejorative word obatalian is a pun between the Japanese word obaasan (old lady) and the English word battalion. Obatalian are known to always enter a train running as fast as they can, bumping others people in order to catch a free seat before the others. They haggle things that aren't normally haggled like grocery store produce. They are fearless and pitiless, just like a battalion of barbarians. This anime is follows 6 stories of one such Obatalian and her wake of destruction. Not translated. But hilarious battle grannies, as expected.   Overall Rating: 6/10
  8. kivandopulus
    What a slow start of the year. Can call just one anime decent, and that's Mama wa Shougaku 4 Nensei   1. Uchuu no Kishi Tekkaman Blade Tekkaman Blade 宇宙の騎士テッカマンブレード [Tatsunoko Production] (Finished 3/49) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Military, Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi  Tekkaman Blade takes place in the year 2300 AD. On a certain moment, the Radam attack earth. A few months after the beginning of the invasion, a tekkaman appears, he calls himself Blade and with the help of the Space Knights, Blade starts to fight the radam. But there are a few things that Blade isn't telling about his past. I see it as very generic Aliens vs sentai mecha stuff with bigger focus on characters than usual even though characters themselves aren't likeable. Drama would only work for me if I had sympathy towards characters. Above average in the genre, but outsiders like me would be bored.   Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Mama wa Shougaku 4 Nensei Mama is Just a Fourth Grade Pupil ママは小学４年生 [Sunrise] (Finished 4/51) Tags: Childcare Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi Natsumi Mizuki is a 4th grader whose parents have gone to London. Her Aunt Izumi comes to live with her. Izumi is an aspiring manga writer who is trying to get her first big break, so she doesn't have time for a baby that appears out of thin air on Natsumi's first night alone. The baby's name is Mirai and her mother is *Natsumi*, but 15 years older. Somehow, Mirai had traveled back in time. Now the young Natsumi has to raise Mirai while trying to keep her 4th grade life from falling apart and keep Mirai-chan secret from everyone. She has the dubious help of Izumi and some baby-care gadgets from the future. Opening is an eternal hit, and it's watchable, I definitely watched more in the past. It has enough cuteness for the whole season. At the same time due to the concept there's a lot of crying and quarrelling, which is not pleasant to say the least. Also lacks humor or I did not make it far enough for it to shine.   Overall Rating: 6/10   3. Densetsu no Yuusha Da Garn 伝説の勇者ダ・ガーン [Sunrise] (Finished 3/46) Tags: Shounen Mecha Sci-Fi One day, the Earth was assaulted by a space pirate, Orbus. He aimed at Planet Energy, the life energy of the Earth. If several Release Points, where the Planet Energy concentrated, were attacked at once, the Earth would explode. When the first attack was made, Takasugi Seiji escaped into an old temple with his girl friend Kosaka Hikaru. Then, he received, Orin, a token of the leader of the Earth guardians, from the conscience of the Earth. By the power of Orin, the patrol car was turned into a Robot, Da Garn. As Sunrise part of the mecha series, it's trying to bring more of the same with different characters, so won't experiment. I even failed to find distinguishing features - just typical Sunrise mecha with typical genki protagonist. The fact that transformer is a police car is hardly an innovation. There's a minimal stamp of quality with characters and humor, but it's not enough anymore after so many similar works.   Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Hana no Mahoutsukai Mary Bell 花の魔法使いマリーベル [Production Reed] (Finished 3/50) Tags: Shoujo Adventure, Fantasy Mary Bell, a magical girl who looks like a girl around five years old, comes to the human world from a magical world called "Flower Magic World", and helps and encourages people. All characters are kids too young to attend school. It's super naïve. All the flowers and stars can just stop and some song can start occasionally... if it's a shoujo then a shoujo for kids.   Overall Rating: 4/10   5. Daisougen no Chiisana Tenshi: Bush Baby Bush Baby, Little Angel of the Great Plains 大草原の小さな天使　ブッシュベイビー [Nippon Animation] (Finished 2/40) Tags: Adventure, Drama When Jackie Rhodes, a british girl living in Kenya with her family, finds an ill animal called a Bushbaby, she adopts him, calls him Murphy and nurses him back to health. Murphy, Jackie, her family and their friends go on many adventures involving wild animals, poachers and more. But when Jackie's father is recalled to England, Jackie must leave her life in Africa behind. However, before she can go, Jackie, Murphy and Tembo, a friend of Jackie's father, go on one last adventure: they must cross the dangerous savannah to escape the poachers and corrupt police officers chasing them. Along the way, Jackie teaches the now domesticated Murphy to survive in the wild, so that, before she leaves, she can release him in his natural habitat. Partially subbed, but fully dubbed because only generic safe old works were bought and dubbed in the past. World theater series. As usual, I'm not impressed with just SOL about girl and wild animals from Africa.   Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Video Girl Ai 電影少女 VIDEO・GIRL・AI [Production I.G] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Ecchi  After a crushing rejection, the heartbroken Youta Moteuchi trudges home. On his way, a dimly lit video store catches his eye, and he ends up purchasing a "video girl" tape meant to ease the hearts of lonely men. However, when he tries to play it in his broken VCR, a beautiful girl leaps out of his TV and lands on his bed. Calling herself Ai Amano, she looks like a golden opportunity for Youta to finally experience true love—that is, until her personality, now troubling thanks to the broken VCR, shows through. Despite her flaws, however, Ai wholeheartedly promises she will ensure Youta finds happiness and true love in his life. Video Girl Ai follows the daily life of a teenage boy and his pursuit of a fulfilling romance. With the help of his virtual guardian angel, Youta sets forth to find the girl of his dreams. The third anime with girl suddenly showing up at boy's room. Ecchi is only flashed like three times in all the episodes, so it's not real Ecchi. And as you can see from the number of episodes it can't be just fanservice situations. Instead, the favorite plot move is used for extension - love triangle, even love square. And only last episode has to do with video girl nature and existence. I found nothing special in it , again appeal to cuteness, emotions - immature stuff like that and immature dialogues.   Overall Rating: 5/10   7. Handsome Girl ハンサムな彼女 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Showbiz Romance Hagiwara Mio is a 14-year-old TV actress who has gotten popular. One day on a set, she meets Kumagai Ichiya, who tells her that her acting "stinks." Mio is hurt by his comments, but she finds that she can't get Ichiya out of her mind. It turns out that Ichiya is a promising director, who directed a music video for Mio's friend Sawaki Aya, an idol singer. After the success of this music video, Ichiya is asked to direct a movie, and he wants Mio to be the heroine, because he feels that she is a "handsome" girl like the actresses of old. How will Mio cope with her feelings toward Ichiya? A large chunk of the small OVA are songs, so there's only time to get offended, then shoot some movie scenes, then overhear Ichiya and get offended again... then make peace again, the end. Not worth the time spent.   Overall Rating: 4/10   8. Kennel Tokorozawa ケンネル所沢 [Animation 21] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Pets, School Comedy, Ecchi Pet shop owner's daughter Chika Tokorozawa spends every waking hour with her dog, Rin Tin Tin, who repays her love by watching over her while she sleeps. Based on the manga in Young Sunday magazine by Maki Otsubo, who is better known in the manga world for Mr. Cinema. Wow, pervert dog with thoughts as protagonist... really brave. The whole anime is a one big bestiality running joke, so would be inappropriate for majority of viewers. But if you're fine with that or want to troll a friend, it can be of slightly higher score.   Overall Rating: 4/10   9. Babel Nisei (OVA) Babel II [J.C.Staff] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi 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. The old Babel series was purely horrible, I still get goose-skin when remember it. This one is more down-to-earth and has more extensive introduction or setting and characters. With a lot shorter length it's finally possible to sit through it now. Esper powers, exotic locations and giant beasts have always been in the core of Babel Nisei, but cringe has achieved a whole new level due to addition of mecha... I loathe this series so much.   Overall Rating: 4/10   10. Sequence シークエンス [Ashi Productions] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Romance, Sci-Fi Suffering from a crippling memory loss ever since an accident at the age of six, Toshiaki finds new hope, and a new mystery, when he is visited by a girl from his own future. Amnesia , deja vu , future premonition, time travel. The whole mystery gets explained around these terms over a longer time. Personally, I never got involved enough to care, but someone might.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. High School Jingi はいすくーる仁義 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Delinquents, Organized Crime Action, Comedy The impulsive Yakuza Jouji was ordered by his boss to teach at a misfit-filled school. He now has to settle the score with a fated rival while falling head over heels for a colleague in the process. Fighting (usually delinquents) is the main theme here and running after skirts is a secondary one. Nothing really outstanding.   Overall Rating: 5/10   12. Shiritsutantei: Toki Shouzou Trouble Note - Hard & Loose 私立探偵・土岐正造トラブル・ノート　ハード＆ルーズ [Artland] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Mystery  Based on the manga by Tsuchiya Garon (aka Marley Carib), art by Kawaguchi Kaiji, serialised in Action in the 80s. Toki Shouzou is a private detective. Despite all his best effort, he is not exactly overwhelmed by a big workload. Past his callous demeanor, Toki, deep down, cares about making the world a better place and readily accepts any small request. Toki cherishes a particular person, but is it mutual?... It's sort of daily routine of one cool manly detective with a bit of everything. The question is why we should watch it.   Overall Rating: 4/10   13. Ruri-iro Princess るり色プリンセス [Pierrot] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shoujo Romance High school girl Ruri is dragged into a battle over the fate of the Pulsean Moon when the princess Leila sends assassins to dispense with her. Ruri's lover, Toru, is wounded protecting her, and Ruri must leave the real world behind and journey to the Pulsean Moon to save him. Based on the manga in Omajinai Comic by Mito Orihara, who also wrote the theme song. Not translated. It starts as a normal school shoujo, continues as a sort of magical girl and end with nothing as antagonist is still there, only immediate assassin threat is gone. It's shoujo to the bones in spirit, just with a needlessly more complex plot than usual .   Overall Rating: 5/10   14. Naniwa Yuukyouden なにわ遊侠伝 [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Organized Crime Action, Comedy Taido Kaimon is the leader of the Kinshu Group ganster syndicate in Kansai region. His gang is a cluster of wisecracking madmen, eternally running into trouble with the law, each other, and the local girls who give as good as they get. Not translated. As it comes with many old yakuza anime, it's Ecchi. Drawing is simple fitting 1970s, animation itself with eyes protruding a good 20 cm to express emotions is irritating. There are several different stories within OVA, like four. Humor is pretty silly to enjoy it. There will be several more same untranslated sequels of Naniwa Yuukyouden over a few years, but I'm not going to skip them all as concept of episodic comedy is not going to change.   Overall Rating: 4/10   15. Ishinomori Shoutarou no Rekishi Adventure 石ノ森章太郎の歴史アドベンチャー [Bandai Visual] (Finished 0/5) Tags: Historical, Samurai A two-part video series in which Dr. Teng (a researcher at the Time Institute) and his faithful kappa assistant Pasuke travel through time, first to the Battle of Sekigahara (1600) and then to the fourth Battle of Kawanakajima (1561). In the second installment, they then look in on the last stand of the Japanese underdog hero Yoshitsune in Hiraizu mi (1189) and then, after spending so much time on the Genpei War, suddenly leap several centuries into the future, to cover the first time Nobunaga Oda used firearms in battle, at Nagashino (1575) . A mixture of live-action and anime, described by Japanese sources as a "documentary with a touch of story," and presumably related in some way to Shotaro Ishinomori's multivolume manga history of Japan. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   16. Terajima-chou Kidan: Ginnagashi 寺島町奇譚 ぎんながし [-] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Historical Ten-year-old Kyoshi watches as a tramp transforms himself into a rich imposter at a stand-up bar in the Tamanoi district. Amusing tales from prewar Tokyo based on the 1968 autobiographical manga Strange Tales of Terajima and written by Yu Takita for the alternative magazine Garo. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   17. Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken Tachiagare!! Aban no Shito Dragon Quest Great Adventure of Dai! Disciple of Aban. ドラゴンクエスト　ダイの大冒険　起ち・がれ！！アバンの使徒 [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Fantasy The second Dragon Quest Dai no Daibouken movie. The story takes place between episode 18 and 19 of the TV series. First episodes were more impressive. As a filler happening between two episodes, it can't be a serious plot move. In the end it's just a mashup of going somewhere, fighting someone and recollection of the past. Maybe it hints something for those who watched the series, but outside it pretty much useless.   Overall Rating: 4/10   18. Sangokushi: Dai Ichi Bu - Eiyuu-tachi no Yoake 三国志 第一部 英雄たちの夜明け [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical The Yellow Turban rebellion that initiated the downfall of the ruling Han dynasty. At the start of the story, both Liu Bei, its eventual protagonist, and Cao Cao, its eventual antagonist, are minor players. Liu Bei is striving to find a way to bring order to a chaotic world. As he puzzles he way toward the correct course of action, he befriends two powerful warriors, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu. Together, they take the Oath of the Peach Garden, to live and die together as warriors for justice. Meanwhile, Cao Cao is pondering how to fulfill his destiny as "a hero in a chaotic world or a villain in a peaceful one." Initially, power seems to belong to usurping warlord Dong Zhuo and his right-hand man, the hero Lu Bu. But the two soon fall out over a woman, and the resulting power vacuum gives Cao Cao his chance. Even though Lu Bu is the stronger warrior, Cao Cao has the devil's own luck on the battlefield. Liu Bei tries to stick to the right course, but he is just a minor piece on the giant chessboard of China's warring states. War rages up and down the country, with inconclusive result, thus setting the stage for the next two movies in the series. The start is Yellow Turban rebellion just as the start of Sangokushi TV series, so the natural question is whether one of these shows is made obsolete by the other. The fact is Dawn of heroes uses different images of characters that we got used to over the course of three shows. I don't like drawing style and showing many characters rather weak breaking the coolness. All it adds to the story is complexity - the girl Liu Bei promised to return to and save, the way Liu Bei got acquainted with each of his future generals, some additional meaningless characters to talk to... absolutely unimportant things like that. It also ends very early, maybe at a quarter of TV series content. My score can seem harsh for a definitely above average anime, but my estimation is based on its place in the series. And it only erodes the legacy formed by now while adding nothing worth mentioning.   Overall Rating: 4/10   19. Patchin shite! Obaachan パッチンして！おばあちゃん [-] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Drama The story takes place in Kanazawa and tells the story of Yasue, an old woman who suddenly became very ill, her whole body paralyzed. She is told by her doctor she only has two weeks to live... Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   20. Boyfriend  ボ～イ フレンド [Magic Bus] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Romance, Sports Takatou Masaki is the second youngest of four sons, and seemingly a delinquent by nature. His hot temper has put a wedge between himself and his strict father, gotten him kicked out of one school, and tossed him at a school notoriously horrible for the one thing he's truly good at, basketball. A chance encounter with the willful Yuuki Kanako may serve as a catalyst for change, as the indefinable connection she feels with him draws them together... I so hate these Korean suspense medical dorama when someone is on the brink of death each day. Here is a similar case as romance spawns from pity because of heart disease. Feels fake instantly due to this cheesing. If you can stand such a move, it sure deserves a higher score due to developed characters.   Overall Rating: 4/10
  9. kivandopulus
    Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi is not as spectacular as Sangokushi movies, but I was interested in learning the roots of the story so much that I enjoyed it substantially nevertheless.    1. Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken (TV) ドラゴンクエスト・ダイの大冒険  [Toei Animation] (Finished 3/46) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts, Mythology Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy After the defeat of the demon lord Hadlar all of the monsters were unleashed from his evil will and moved to the island of Delmurin to live in peace. Dai is the only human living on the island. Having been raised by the kindly monster Brass, Dai's dream is to grow up to be a hero. He gets to become one when Hadlar is resurrected and the previous hero, Avan, comes to train Dai to help in the battle. But Hadlar, announcing that he now works for an even more powerful demon lord, comes to kill Avan. To save his students Avan uses a Self-Sacrifice spell to attack, but is unable to defeat Hadlar. When it seems that Dai and Avan's other student Pop are doomed a mark appears on Dai's forehead and he suddenly gains super powers and is able to fend off Hadlar. The two students then go off on a journey to avenge Avan and bring peace back to the world. Actually, a decent shounen. Logical and easy to watch. In the end it still equals to a kid fighting monsters, so not exactly for me, but it has quite some charm. But there's a remake now, so I'd rather watch remake tbh.   Overall Rating: 6/10   2. Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi 横山光輝 三国志 [Enoki Films, Dai Nippon Printing] (Finished 47/47) Tags: Historical Action, Adventure Around 1800 years ago in China, the ruling power of the Han dynasty became weakened and the flames of war spread throughout the land. Liu Bei was a young, poor straw-mat seller from the countryside of Hebai Hsing. After pledging eternal brotherhood with the two heroes, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, Liu began building his idea of a righteous kingdom that would aid citizens who suffered from persecution. After first two movies I had to watch this prequel in full. It starts when there is one empire and with some small Yellow Turban rebellion of riffraff. We get to know initial positions and development of everyone, even the red mare, lol. In 35 episode timeline synchs with the first movie as in this episode Liu Bei comes to Liang Kongming and asks to be his advisor. Last 47 episode finishes with naval battle that is the end of first Sangokushi movie. So I do not recommend watching it beyond 34 episode as movies are more beautiful and spectacular in every way. I still enjoyed it somewhat and it was nice to know everyone's story.   Overall Rating: 7/10   3. Moero! Top Striker Top Striker 燃えろ! トップストライカー [Nippon Animation] (Finished 1/49) Tags: Shounen Action, Sports Hikaru Kicker is a 13-year-old boy who loves football. He has grown up playing with a football at all times ever since his father's friend gave him one when he was still only a baby. Hikaru goes to Italy to learn the sport. He first joins a strong team at Genova, but soon quits this team to join an extremely weak team named "Columbus" with his female friend Anna. Experiencing many hardships and difficulties, their team gradually becomes stronger and stronger, and finally they defeat Margerita, one of the strongest soccer teams in Genova. Soon Hikaru hears that Genova will stage its first soccer tournament. Throughout the tournament, Hikaru and his teammates confront many rivals and develop increasing maturity. Can Hikaru score a goal and which team will win the championship? Only one episode seems to be translated. Captain Tsubasa was 11 years old, and Hukaru is 13 years old, but looks younger than the first one. I'm not the one to judge spokons, but this one looks quite generic with the distinguishing feature being initial start in Italy. Everyone is kinda normal and kind, and only grandmother opposes chosen career... for like 2 minutes, lol. Totally average.   Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Kinnikuman: Kinnikusei Oui Soudatsu-hen キン肉マン　キン肉星王位争奪編  [Toei Animation] (Finished 3/46) Tags: Shounen Action, Comedy, Sports Kinnikuman has proven himself worthy to be crowned the next king of Planet Kinniku. But at the ceremony, five other Kinnikuman's arrive, all claiming to be the true prince of Planet Kinniku. Now, a Royal Survivor Tournament is being held to decide the true successor to the throne, and with the help and support of his friends and with his recently acquired knowledge of the Ultimate Technique (The Muscle Spark), Kinnikuman fights for what is rightfully his. It's a sequel rather than some alteration, so you know everything already. Those who finished original series won't need  feedback, those who did not should not expect anything different, maybe only slightly better humor.   Overall Rating: 6/10   5. Mahou no Princess Minky Momo: Yume wo Dakishimete Magical Princess Minky Momo: Hold on to Your Dreams 魔法のプリンセス　ミンキーモモ（夢を抱きしめて） [Production Reed] (Finished 3/62) Tags: Mahou Shoujo After the events of the 1st series, Fenarinarsa continues to drift from Earth, so the King asks for help from the kingdom, Marinarsa, to send their daughter, Momo (Who is identical to the 1st one) to Earth to regain humanity's faith in their dreams. Not translated. Momo is one of the youngest magical girls, so it's for younger girls as well. All kinds of cute plushies and animals accompany her. I just can't take her seriously.   Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Genji Tsuushin Agedama ゲンジ通信あげだま [Gallop] (Finished 3/51) Tags: Parody Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi Agedama is a small boy going to elementary school and having the usual problems for a boy of his age. He is also secretly a superhero-in-training (called "Agedaman"). Along with Wapuro, his floating computer companion, he fights against a criminal organization who can turn humans into monsters of various types. Not translated. Such plot is a commonplace since 1960s. Young protagonist and elementary comedy make it instantly forgettable.   Overall Rating: 5/10   7. Reporter Blues レポーターブルース [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 3/52) Tags: Comedy, Mystery  The intelligent Antoinette, known to her friends as Tony, moves to Paris where she takes a job as a reporter for the newspaper ""La Voix de Paris." Together with the photographer Alain and the artist Bricolage she solves unsolved crimes and often crosses the path of the crook Madame Lapin. Not translated (if not counting French). Reporter witnesses different crimes, sometimes helps somewhat. Plots are linked to Paris places of interest a lot, so this title can be considered promo material for France.   Overall Rating: 4/10   8. Chie-chan Funsenki: Jarinko Chie チエちゃん奮戦記 じゃりン子チエ [Tokyo Movie Shinsha] (Finished 3/39) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Drama An adaptation of the first series, with different characters and an alternate setting. Not translated. It's actually a normal second season, only some voice actors have changed which is natural with 10 years pause. Very nice as usual, but I'm not sure I'll live up to the moment it gets a translation.   Overall Rating: 6/10   9. Marude Dameo 丸出だめ夫 [Pierrot] (Finished 2/47) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Sci-Fi The series stars an elementary school boy named Dameo Marude, who has little success with anything he tries, and a robot named Borot, which is good with housekeeping. Not translated. Yet another Doraemon clone, this time with some cute small robot as mascott. Another kids anime not marked properly.   Overall Rating: 4/10   10. Koko wa Green Wood Here is Greenwood ここはグリーン・ウッド [Pierrot, Ajia-Do] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Shoujo Comedy, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life, Supernatural Hasukawa Kazuya is in a terrible bind. His brother's new wife is also the woman that Kazuya secretly loves. Determined to avoid them both, Kazuya leaves home to live in the student dorm called Greenwood. There, he hopes to find peace of mind. Unfortunately for Kazuya, stability and peace are the last things one might find at Greenwood - home of the weirdest characters on campus. Boys school dormitory SOL comedy with a solid manga source. Above average overall with ok humor including references to RPG, but demographic is Shoujo, so probably just not for me as I don't get why would I want to watch a boys school dormitory SOL with cross-dressing.   Overall Rating: 6/10   11. Kyoushoku Soukou Guyver II The Guyver: Bio-Booster Armor 強殖装甲ガイバー II [Visual 80] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Action, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi Sho and his friend Tetsurou stumble upon an odd alien artifact while walking through the woods. Then, the alien artifact breaks free of its metallic bonds and enters Sho's body, turning him into the Guyver. With this new power, Sho must do battle with the evil Chronos corporation and their genetically enhanced Zoanoids, who seek to get the Guyver back into their labs. No one close to Sho is safe from Chronos. He must fight. Original had freshness effect, Moreover, only final two episodes bear plot value, the first ones are just enemies thrown at protagonists to fight. But I can't argue that action and thrill are on above average level.   Overall Rating: 6/10   12. Dark Cat ダークキャット [Agent 21] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mythology, Super Power Action, Horror, Supernatural Hyoi and Ryoi, two brothers with the power to take the form of cats, must unravel the mystery of a creeping, tentacled, demon plague before it consumes them and their classmates. Ultimately, they must confront their old Dark Cat master Jukokubo, though whether they can put an end to the evil he has released remains a mystery. Well, another infamously bad anime. Three weird stories developing aimlessly and ending randomly.   Overall Rating: 3/10   13. Ninja Ryuukenden 忍者龍剣伝 [Studio Junio] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mythology Action, Sci-Fi, Supernatural, Suspense On a dark, late night in New York City, Ryu is chased and attacked by assassins. After disposing of them, he finds an I.D. card for the Friedman Company. The next day, it is announced that Dr. Ned Friedman has discovered a cure for cancer. But after providing no information at his press conference, a reporter named Sarah decides to investigate with the help of her friends Robert and Jeff. When passing by Dr. Friedman's house one day, Ryu hears the voice of a young girl calling for help. When Sarah and her entourage investigate the house as well, they run into their colleague, Ryu. Upon that, they discover Dr. Friedman has been conducting experiments on live humans using biotechnology, and that it may have something to do with the power of the Evil Gods, whom Ryu had defeated in the past. But when Ryu's friend, Irene, is kidnapped, he must dawn his role as a Dragon Ninja once again to defeat this new enemy and save her. Game themed anime could be a lot worse, but it manages to stay a trashy average action that even has some charm.   Overall Rating: 5/10   14. Gall Force: New Era ガルフォース新世紀編 [AIC] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Action, Sci-Fi The year is 2291, and the citizens live a peaceful existence after the catastrophic war between the humans and the Yuman. This quiet life is about to be shattered, the leader of the Yuman is not convinced the war is over, and now plans to renew hostilities! Gall Force series was always about survival on the brink of destruction. This one starts in a peaceful environment and continues as chasing a hacker. I'm not impressed, lackluster ending is another downer.   Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Monkey Punch no Sekai: Alice モンキー・パンチの世界　アリス [Takahashi Studio] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Comedy, Ecchi Released in 1991, this OVA revolves around a mad scientist and the woman that betrayed him. Her unfaithfulness causes the scientist to turn her into a bionic sex machine that desires to please her man completely. However, she still remains unfaithful, and it is up to the scientist`s son to track her down and exact revenge. Trashy, but more funny than Lupin for sure.   Overall Rating: 6/10   16. Kyuukyoku Choujin R The Ultimate Esper "R" 究極超人あ～る [Studio Coa] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy, Sci-Fi  The plot featured R and the Camera Club going on a stamp tour throughout Japan, with the threat of their club being closed down unless they can collect all the stamps by 6:00 PM. The whole travel part leaves me indifferent, but humor saves it.   Overall Rating: 6/10   17. Eiyuu Gaiden Mozaicka 英雄凱伝モザイカ [Studio Deen] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Fantasy  From Ryosuke Takahashi and Norio Shioyama, the creative minds behind great animes such as Armored Trooper VOTOMs and Panzer World Galient, comes an epic tale of swords and sorcery! On the eternal planet of Mozaika, the formerly benevolent King Sazara has been possessed by an evil priest and has begun a bloody path of conquest all across the world! Mozaika's only hope is the young warrior U-Taruma, son of U-Dante, one of Sazara's victims. If you like fantasy, or classic Norio Shioyama character designs, you can't miss this 4-episode OVA! Never thought fantasy could be so boring... like Votoms, really. Even protagonist is a total douchebag. Everything is horrible here, but mostly poor drawing, dark colors, monotonous pace, uninspiring characters.   Overall Rating: 5/10   18. 1-gatsu ni wa Christmas Christmas in January 1月にはChristmas [Magic Bus] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama, Romance Nobumasa is a boy who works part-time in a shoe store, where he meets Mizuki, a girl whose abusive family life has left her unable to trust other people. Meanwhile, Nobumasa is unaware that another girl, Seiko, has a crush on him but is unable to express her feelings. I never encountered a really funny or interesting Christmas story. Boredom as usual.   Overall Rating: 5/10   19. Fuuma no Kojirou: Fuuma Hanran-hen 風魔の小次郎～風魔反乱篇～ [animate Film] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts Action, Fantasy After the Chaos war, Kojiro and Ryouma return to earth only to find their clan members killing off each other. I never rated prequels high, don't see it regaining senses in this OVA either - same pretentious ninja anime.   Overall Rating: 5/10   20. Tomoe ga Yuku! 巴がゆく! [animate Film] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shoujo Action, Drama, Romance, Suspense The title character of Tomoe ga Yuku! (Tomoe Will Go!) is gutsy enough to roller skate down freeways for thrills. After losing a friend in a roller skating accident, Tomoe joins a stunt group called Green Ship. Although still mourning her friend's death, Tomoe has no reservations about embracing a relationship with the group's leader, Kazusa. Soon she discovers Green Ship is a front for an assassin training camp. She must flee her new life and love and rekindle her fiery spirit in order to fight against the organization which wants her dead. Skater vs assassins epic battle! Synopsis is too ridiculous already, scene of skater getting away from cars while being showered by hundreds of bullets can only irritate me. All the shoujo suspense thing does not help, either. If you are ok with that, it can be a good action with some mystery. If not, it remains one more trashy average action.   Overall Rating: 5/10   21. Tsuki ga Noboru made ni 月がのぼるまでに [OB Planning, Grouper Productions] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Drama A father and daughter in Japan climb to the top of a ridge to watch the moonrise. As they wail, an old man tells them his story. An adaptation of Tetsuya Takeda's story about the relationship between a Japanese child and an American soldier. Wonder why it's a story about telling a story? Because length is slightly over 40 minutes, and it would be even less without. I struggle to remember a single war-themed anime with Americans are portrayed normally, so such anime is helpful in this regard. It's especially funny how all Americans have demon faces as if wearing oni masks from the start, but it changes overtime. There's not enough material or complexity to be treated seriously, but it's enough to be called a decent one.   Overall Rating: 6/10   22. Otohime Connection Princess Connection 乙姫CONNECTION [Production I.G, animate Film] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Drama, Mystery, Romance, Slice of Life Special based on the manga by Ooya Kazumi, published in Betsukomi Flower Comics. An all-male pop group doubles as a detective agency. The cute girl member of the agency is kidnapped when one of the men's past returns to trouble them all in the present. Cute boys from pop group fight over one girl with bad guys... cute boys win, the end. This is the very essence of averageness in my view.   Overall Rating: 5/10   23. Gekkou no Pierce: Yumemi to Gin no Bara no Kishidan Moonlight Pierce 月光のピアス―ユメミと銀のバラ騎士団 [Pierrot] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Fantasy, Mystery, Romance Because of a mysterious earring, Yumemi a young japanese student, becomes involved in a mysterious story. She must go to Germany, where she learns that the spirit of an evil prince is haunting her earring... Another kind girl with loose hair interacts with a lot of cute guys and deals with their problems and opposes evil prince spirit in a castle. So many banalities in one place that I might explode. A new challenger for the title of the most average shoujo ever.   Overall Rating: 5/10   24. Inferious Wakusei Senshi Gaiden Condition Green インフェリウス惑星戦史外伝 CONDITION GREEN [Hero Communication] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi  Keith, George, Edward, Yang and Shaw are Platoon #801, the five-man team formed to protect their homeworld in the Inferious galaxy from alien invasion. Gazaria's evil emperor Vince conquers the neighbor worlds of Kal and Granad, and suddenly only Platoon #801, also known as Condition Green, stands between him and the conquest of Emerald Earth. Military defending from spacecrafts is a rare sight in anime, but there has been rather similar in concept Gall Force: Earth Chapter. Its main problem is that is starts down to Earth and progresses as more and more space chaotic random weird stuff .   Overall Rating: 5/10   25. Ore no Sora Keiji-hen 俺の空 刑事篇 [APPP] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Detective Action, Drama Yasuda Ippei (Shonozaki Ken) is the son of Yasuda Seijiro (Osugi Ren), the head of Yasuda Group, Japan's biggest business conglomerate. Although he is the son of a distinguished family, he has absolutely no disagreeable areas and is liked by everyone. His academic achievements are exceptional. He completed his entire high school programme in 2 years and qualified for Tokyo University's Faculty of Law without studying for the exams. In order to establish his own concept of justice, Yasuda leaves his position as the heir to the Yasuda Group to attend the police academy. He becomes a detective at Kyobashi Police Precinct and bravely faces great evil. Not translated. Looked like a pretty ordinary detective to me.   Overall Rating: 5/10   26. Nyuuin Bokki Monogatari: Odaijini! 入院ボッキ物語 おだいじに! [Tokyo Kids] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Ecchi Yamashita and Negishi end up in the hospital with broken legs and arms. It's summer vacation and they are very bored, so they start picking on the cute nurse Miyuki. Ecchi (even hentai) is the focus , so story does not have individual value.   Overall Rating: 4/10   27. Ucchare Goshogawara うっちゃれ五所瓦 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts, School Sports Musashi Mountain High School third grade Goshogawara is the only member of his school's sumo club. In order to take part in competitions, he tries to attract more members, and thanks to his enthusiasm and sincerity four more people join the club: judo team captain Kaoru Kiyokawa; pro wrestler Takayuki Kannai; skinny thug wannabe Nanno Ippei; and Raiden Goro, a giant guy but a very shy person who also happens to be an expert Go player. The five train together and later take part in a competition against a professional sumo club. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   28. Jingi 仁義 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Detective, Organized Crime Adventure, Drama In a case of mistaken identity, a low-level gangster shoots an innocent man, thinking he's a rival crime boss. Realizing his mistake, he nurses the man to health. When he learns his victim is a former banker who lost his job and is disillusioned with "the system", they decide to partner up and get rich running a stock investment scam. The rival boss is still around, however, and the pair's sudden success attracts his attention. Not translated. Second anime related to stock exchange, it must have enjoyed a real boom back then. There's a big focus on H, women and children, so it's not just violence or detective. Resembles former yakuza shows, but with proper suits instead of flashy loose yakuza outfits. Don't know what to say - only average.   Overall Rating: 5/10   29. Choubakumatsu Shounen Seiki Takamaru 超幕末少年世紀タカマル [J.C.Staff] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Action, Comedy, Fantasy This is a tale of friendship and courage set in the world of the Champion Kingdom, an imaginary island whose inhabitants follow a traditional samurai lifestyle. Not translated. Another Dragon Ball imitator, but surprisingly funny and absurdist comedy with fighting.    Overall Rating: 6/10   30. Miracle Psychicer Seizan ミラクル・サイキッカーセイザン [Pierrot] (Finished 0/5) Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy - Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   31. Ranma ½: Chuugoku Nekonron Daikessen! Okite Yaburi no Gekitou-hen!! Ranma ½: Big Trouble in Nekonron, China らんま 1/2 中国寝崑崙大決戦! 掟やぶりの激闘編!! [Studio Deen] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Magical Sex Shift Adventure, Comedy All is well at the Tendo residence when from out of nowhere, a Chinese girl named Lychee appears, seeking revenge on Happosai for a broken promise made since her birth. Things get worse when Kirin and the Seven Lucky Gods appear and abduct Akane to take as his wife. Ranma and the gang must travel to Nekonron, China, and save Akane from getting married to Kirin. I felt like I was watching Urusei Yatsura Movie 7, really, due to the constant spree of running and fighting. Moreover, Ranma usually plays as male and there is a sort of tomboy heroine resembling Lum . It looks like smaller episode can focus on humor and transformation , but when it comes to longer stories it does not go that far from Urusei Yatsura, feels tiresome .   Overall Rating: 5/10   32. Adachi-ga Hara 安達が原 [Tezuka Productions] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Sci-Fi  This is a story of an astronaut who is sent to a penal colony planet, and there meets an old woman who shows him the truth of life and love. Originally a short Manga in "The Lion Books," it was made into an animated series. The chief character, Jess, fights to bring down the dictator of the federation of the Earth and other planets, but is arrested by the federal authorities and sent to a penal colony planet. The story focuses on him, using Japanese Noh drama "Kurozuka" as a motif. A nice little story with space tyranny and cannibalism, but it's only 30 minutes, so there's a top score it can't surpass.   Overall Rating: 6/10   33. Bakabon Osomatsu no Karee wo Tazunete Sansenri バカボン・おそ松のカレーをたずねて三千里 [Pierrot] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy - It's a crossover of normal genius Bakabon with Heisei Bakabon in Heisei era... Well, it's one loosely connected story, but first two 10-minute parts can be treated as separate ones. Everything is well known and expected here, lot of absurd gags with some mythology characters like Son Goku.   Overall Rating: 6/10
  10. kivandopulus

    Anime of the Year 1991-III Summer - Roujin Z

    By kivandopulus,


    Anime of the Year
    The first masterpiece in 1991 is Roujin Z   1. Oniisama e... Dear Brother おにいさまへ…  [Tezuka Productions] (Finished 39/39) Tags: Shoujo Psychological, School Drama, Girls Love When 16-year-old Nanako Misonoo enters the prestigious all-girls Seiran Academy, she believes a bright future awaits her. Instead, the unlucky girl finds herself dragged into a web of deceit, misery, and jealousy. On top of that, she is chosen as the newest inductee of the Sorority, an elite group whose members are the envy of the entire school. Having none of the grace, wealth, or talent of the other members, Nanako quickly draws the ire of her jealous classmates—especially the fierce Aya Misaki. To cope with her increasingly difficult school life, Nanako recalls her days through letters to her former teacher, Takehiko Henmi, whom she affectionately calls "onii-sama" (big brother). She also finds comfort with her four closest friends: her childhood friend Tomoko Arikura, the sociable but erratic Mariko Shinobu, the troubled musician Rei Asaka, and the athletic tomboy Kaoru Orihara. An impassioned drama about the hardships of bullying, Oniisama e... chronicles a young girl's harsh life at her new school, as she endures cruel rumours, heartless classmates, and countless social trials. Tezuka Productions is the first great anime studio, and this is its first work that's not a remake after creator passing, so I'm approaching it with heavy heart. I had to watch the series in full in order to be able to criticize it. First of all, I understand that there was still lack of ideas in early 1990s, so manga from 1970s is used here, and manga seems to be paired up with Attack o Nerae since first episode reminds it so bad, especially with the similar designs used in both anime for protagonist, Ms. Butterfly and main rival girl who did not get accepted. This manga was top notch in the 1970 and it is still a rather complex and emotional one. Moreover, Tezuka Productions handled it perfectly with great graphics, character designs and still manga shots - it's aesthetic pleasure. I tried to associate myself with the girl who plays male functions Kaoru Orihara, but she got severe chest pains, so I felt like she's going to fall out eventually. Then I tried to treat the whole snake pit of a high school as battle royale due to so many psycho and physically ill characters, but even halfway through no one got out - after all, there are only like five main characters with the need to last for 39 episodes. My main grudge about the anime is that it's emotional, but not intellectual . Protagonist is a kind simpleton who is unable to act. As a result we get totally convenient resolutions out of the blue, like the one with Mariko girl. Appeal to emotions in prejudice of reason is a dangerous way to go as it can be used for malice like revisionist neonazi movements do. Anyway, I felt bored after first ten episodes and almost to the end, so I definitely could not enjoy it .   Overall Rating: 6/10   2. Otaku no Video おたくのビデオ [Gainax] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Historical, Mecha, Otaku Culture Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi Somewhat based on the real story of how Gainax was founded, Otaku no Video addresses all aspects of an otaku lifestyle. Ken Kubo is a young man living an average life until he is dragged into a group of otaku. Slowly, he becomes more like them until he decides to abandon his former life to become king of otaku—the otaking! Mixed in are live-action interviews with real otaku, addressing every aspect of hardcore otaku life. Not only are anime and manga fans included, but also sci-fi fans, military fans, and other groups of Japanese geeks. It's done as anime with several live action interviews and statistic splits which are obsolete now, of course. A nice nostalgic anime explaining Gainax spirit, but there's no value in it besides the funny interviews.   Overall Rating: 6/10   3. 3x3 Eyes  [Toei Animation] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Gore, Mythology Action, Fantasy, Horror, Romance 3X3 Eyes is the story of a young man named Yakumo Fuuji, who through a strange series of events becomes the immortal slave of the last of a race of 3 Eyed demons. The demon absorbs his soul to save his life, making him immortal in the process. Now, he begins a journey with the female demon in an attempt to find a way of becoming human. Of course, there are many complications along the way, not the least of which being that the demon is a female with a split personality, one achingly cute and the other being no-nonsense destructive power, and the romances that develop between. Video quality is too bad to enjoy it visually or as action. Plot-wise it's so-so, but it's the first example of protagonist constantly getting killed and revived.   Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Arslan Senki The Heroic Legend of Arslan アルスラーン戦記 [animate Film, Aubec] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Historical Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy In the medieval kingdom of Pars, young Prince Arslan confronts the hostility of his father and the disinterest of his mother, and yearns to learn more about the world. Despite being surrounded by poverty and slavery, Arslan persists in seeing the possibility of a nobler world. Everything changes when the neighboring nation of Lusitania invades Pars, and Arslan is forced to grow up in an instant. Arslan Senki follows Prince Arslan to war, where he struggles to save his nation and family with the help of a small but devoted circle of advisers. Along the way the young prince finds secrets around every corner and faces enemies who hate him because of what he is, but also finds friends where he least expects them. The story of nations at war, Arslan Senki is also the story of one boy's quest to stay himself in the most trying of circumstances. Never found remake exciting, especially compared to Kingdom. This OVA looks even more disjointed, best comparison is probably Legend of Galactic heroes as there is a complex world with many factions and some likeable characters, but overall it's monotonous dialogues with rare action spikes, and of course ending is open in best traditions. Above average, but still lacking.   Overall Rating: 6/10   5. Teito Monogatari Doomed Megalopolis 帝都物語  [Madhouse] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Historical Horror, Supernatural When an evil sorcerer bent on crushing the "greatest city on earth" uses dark powers to awaken the destructive spirit of Tokyo's historic "guardian," Taira no Masakado, occultists, children, and scientists become embroiled in a ruinous struggle spanning two decades. Long things short, it's disgusting. Black liquid covering whole body and filling mouth and nose is just the start, soon after a huge caterpillar is crawling from girl's mouth... things like that and more. It tests tolerance to abominable on so many levels. I'd not recommend this anime for anyone who can not stand Maggot Baits or the like, especially because story is not impressive and remains incomplete.   Overall Rating: 4/10   6. Ningyo no Mori 人魚の森 [Pastel] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery  It is said that consuming the flesh of a mermaid confers immortality. This certainly proved to be the case for the 500-year-old Yuta and his friend Mana. However, most people who try to become immortal either die or transform into monsters. Fifty-five years ago, Towa Kannagi was given mermaid blood by her sister, Sawa, in order to cure a fatal illness. Now, Towa maintains her youthful appearance, save her white hair and beastly arm. For years she has dreamed of restoring her body, resorting to blood transfusions from youthful corpses aided by the local doctor, Shiina. Mana, mistaken for dead by Shiina, is brought in to have her blood used by Towa. When she discovers that Mana is alive, what lengths will Towa go to in order to restore herself? Will Yuta be able to save Mana in time? Felt pretty average to me, even among horrors. What's the point in seeing hunt for mermaid flesh without good characters or well told story. Also disgusted me as there's a lot of blood and cutting limbs while alive in here.   Overall Rating: 5/10   7. Detonator Orgun デトネイター・オーガン  [AIC, Artmic] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi Fleeing from his own race, Orgun—an alien being with superhuman abilities and unearthly weapons—travels to Earth to find an answer to his origin. There, he bonds with a young man named Tomoru to defend Earth against the Evoluders, who seek nothing but destruction of other civilizations. I bit unusual setting, but in the end it's just one episode for introduction, one episode for hesitation and one episode for repelling aliens, nothing more.   Overall Rating: 5/10   8. Kekkou Kamen けっこう仮面  [Bee Media, Studio Signal] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Comedy, Ecchi At the academy Miami Takashi attends, higher education has sunk to the lowest levels of depravity, with armed hall monitors, teachers who wear masks to hide their identities and special detention sessions in a torture chamber beneath the gym! It's a curriculum designed to chew up sweet young things, and poor Miami's been voted "Least Likely to Survive" in her class! Is there no hope? Can no one save her? Enter Kekko Kamen, the most outrageous superheroine ever! Clad in a red mask, red boots and nothing else, she is the supreme protector of innocents like Miami. Armed with her trusty nunchaku and a body that just won't quit, she'll make chopped pork out of the swine who run this school from hell! But who is she really? The only one who knows for sure is creator Go Nagai and he's not giving anything away... except lots of free peeks at Kekko Kamen's magnificent physique! Comedy that aims to provoke viewer with as much shocking stuff as possible, including swastika, fully naked battles, s/m focus , homosexuality and just weird moves like fighting by jumping only at students heads. Humor is really great whether it's spikes of embarrassment in the middle of heroic speech or battles won without a single hit only by bodybuilding showcase. Still, each episode contains two 10-minute stories of episodic nature, so it lacks actual story and properly developed characters to aim for a masterpiece.   Overall Rating: 6/10   9. Ozanari Dungeon: Kaze no Tou おざなりダンジョン 風の塔 [Telecom Animation Film] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy  The king of the Tower of Wind seeks the power of the legendary Dragon's Head, and employs the fighter Moka, the thief Buruman, and the magic user Kiriman to steal it for him. But the Dragon's Head is sealed in the Temple of Fire, and to capture it Moka will have to face the sect that has protected it generation after generation! Story is simple and with Dragon Quest/Wataru feel, but characters and humor make it above average even though ending is lackluster.   Overall Rating: 0/10   10. Tenkuu Senki Shurato: Sousei e no Anto 天空戦記シュラト　創世への暗闘 [Tatsunoko Production] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Shounen Action, Fantasy This is the continuation of the TV series. The battle for the celestial sphere is over. Gai and Shurato have been erased from history. However, another danger is coming ahead, and the eight guardians are sent back to Earth to investigate. As Shurato tries to win back his friends in a world that has forgotten him, a new villain has a mysterious plan for them. For those who liked original, naturally.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Exper Zenon エクスパー ゼノン [Studio Fantasia] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi  Hiroshi Zenno is an average high school student whose only talent lies in arcade games. One day, after setting a new high score of over nine hundred million in his favorite game, he happens upon an advertisement for a new game called "Expers." The game promises both amazing gameplay and a chance of winning the affection of the beautiful Princess Atover, so Hiroshi signs up to play. The next day, Hiroshi is at school when a mysterious capsule crashes into his classroom, within it containing Princess Atover herself! She gives Hiroshi a powered suit that grants enhanced abilities and tells him that he is the main character of a video game, naming him "Zenon." Unfortunately, in order to win, Hiroshi must defeat all of his opponents—other players with a desire to become the "main character" of the game. Will Hiroshi be able to survive this deadly game and uncover its true nature? The originator of the girl suddenly show up at boy's room is Majo demo Steady, but Exper Zenon seems to be the first one who linked that to granting superpowers. So, girl comes to nerd and grants superpowers , some fighting , the end. Waste of time, as expected.   Overall Rating: 4/10   12. Asatte Dance Dance Till Tomorrow あさってDance [Knack Productions] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Drama, Romance, Ecchi Suekichi goes to university and has, as any Japanese university student, time for hobbies. Things change when he attends his great grandfather's funeral and wakes the next morning in his room with a very sexy girl besides him. His great grandfather has left him a *little* inheritance but there are some conditions. Meanwhile, sexy Aya keeps hanging around and refuses to go away. The beginning of a strange relationship which revolves around suspicions and desire. Not translated. Woman first plays as constantly H hungry nuisance and becomes more and more like a helper/contributor. Not good enough.   Overall Rating: 4/10   13. Choujin Locke: Shinsekai Sentai 超人ロック 新世界戦隊 [Nippon Animation] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Super Power Action, Sci-Fi Azalea has been residing on the Colony-Planet of Dinahl, and she can't recall anything about herself until she hears a voice calling her name. Then there is another voice summoning her to go to a park on top of a skyscraper. Once she arrives there, she meets up with other people who also have no recollection of who they are or what they were doing before arriving at this destination as instructed by the voice. All the people assembled there possess superhuman powers, such as Eno's psychic power, Umoth's x-ray vision, Neia's teleportation powers, Azalea's telepathy, and Locke's electrical wizardry. Who has summoned them, and what will the five super-psychics confront? Even all the former seriousness is gone now. Five espers are now under hypnosis and need to rob a casino or something to get their memories back. Just laughable where it all came to. Now can't recommend it.   Overall Rating: 4/10   14. NG Knight Ramune & 40 EX: Biku Biku Triangle Ai no Arashi Daisakusen NG騎士ラムネ&40EX ビクビクトライアングル愛の嵐大作戦  [Production Reed] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Shounen Mecha Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy Lamune has returned to Earth with no memory of his adventures on Hara-Hara world and Doki-Doki space. The remains of Gobuhriki find their way to Earth, and awaken the spirit of Don Harumage. While Cocoa builds a fighting vehicle with stuff she finds around Tokyo, Milk and Leska set off to find Lamune and Da Cider to save the day before the new Gobuhriki is revived and destroys the Earth. Silly continuation, sometimes fun.   Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Izumo [イズモ] [Studio Hibari, Grouper Productions] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Historical Adventure, Fantasy A historical fantasy set in third century (i.e., mythical) Japan. It tells the story of Izumo, the young prince of Nakatsukuni. He's not very interested in studying, unlike his cousin Dekiru; instead, he wants to see the wider world. One day, a mysterious girl named Sanae shows up as a stowaway on an airship. Although nominally from Yamataikoku, she is actually from the Naga, a shadowy people possessing magical powers. Sanae is kidnapped by Takeru, a warrior from the rival kingdom of Akusa, and placed at the mercy of the evil witch Yomihime. Izumo, helped by an orphaned glider pilot named Navi, must now take up the sacred sword of his country, master its powers, and rescue Sanae. However, before that, he must defeat the reawakened eight-headed snake of legend, Yamata-no-Orochi. It does not go far from generic fantasy stories, but adds Japanese mythology. Another distinguishing feature is that it does not try to imitate Dragon Ball and play in parody or gag comedy - it's mostly serious. As for story itself, felt boring.   Overall Rating: 5/10   16. Yuukan Club 有閑倶楽部 [Madhouse] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shoujo School Comedy, Mystery St. President school is one of the most wealthy schools around. Everybody in that school respects the Yukan club, the most popular and richest group in the school. This includes Shouchikubai Miroku, Kenbishi Yuuri, Kikumasamune Seishirou, Hakushika Noriko and Kizakura Karen. They go through dangerous adventures to save their school, and of course, just to kill their spare time. Light comedy with trashy silly humor. With under 70 minutes total length it just throws in gags without trying to keep things integral, thus average .   Overall Rating: 5/10   17. Licca-chan Fushigi na Mahou no Ring Licca: Mysterious Magical Ring リカちゃん　ふしぎな魔法のリング [Ajia-Do] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy Second part in the OVA series that was later adapted into a TV show in 1998. I have not heard of its prequel. Know why? Because prequel is correctly marked as for kids... while sequel is not. Watching it only affirms the statement.   Overall Rating: 4/10   18. Hoshikuzu Paradise 星くずパラダイス [Pastel] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy, Romance  After his mother passed away, high school student Hiroshi Houshou's long lost father suddenly reappears, along with two new family members: a new mother who is also a famous actress, and her daughter, the popular and beautiful idol singer Rina Yuuki. There have been a lot of idol stories from girl point of view, changing perspective is a nice variation. I hope it does not need to be said that a huge part of 40 minutes is wasted on fanservice and jokes around it.   Overall Rating: 5/10   19. Meisou-Ou Border 迷走王 ボーダー [Artland] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Adventure Featuring a modern-day odd couple, the naive virgin Kubota and the handsome charmer Hachisuka, who meet up by accident in a Middle Eastern desert and return to Japan to hustle their way through life. They start by getting involved in shady TV dealings, where they get jobs making fake docmentaries. A bit more than half is shady job of being yakuza victims in fake documentary, the rest is getting back to Tokyo after bailing out of this dangerous job, ending is literally after meeting new character and words that their adventures continue. Without continuation it's not recommended.   Overall Rating: 4/10   20. Kyoufu Shinbun 恐怖新聞 [Pierrot] (Finished 0/2) Tags: Shounen Horror For reasons unknown to him, Rei receives the Kyoufu Shinbun every morning, a newspaper which foresees deaths and catastrophes... Based on Tsunoda Jirou's classic horror manga "Kyoufu Shinbun", serialized in Weekly Shounen Champion. Not translated. There's not much sense in watching horror without translation if there a remake that came in 2014, evaluation should wait till then.   Overall Rating: 0/10   21. Yokohama Meibutsu: Otoko Katayama-gumi! 横浜名物：男片山組！  [-] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shounen Delinquents, School Action The city of Yokohama has become a lawless district for biker gangs. One particular gang, the "Crazy Babies", have a 17 year old leader called Hiromi Katayama that is famous throughout the entire Kanagawa alliance as being a strong fighter with a devout sense of morality. However, when a young rookie by the name of Toshi Ikeda wants in, he swears to Katayama that he will uphold the ideals of the Crazy Babies and vows to not fight with anybody for his first probationary month within the gang or else forfeit his chance to join the gang. Ikeda being the fiery young man he is, soon finds himself caught in the middle of a fight and unintentionally sparks off a feud between the gangs of Kanagawa and the dangerous Nagoya based group, The Dragon Star Crew, who have their eye on taking the whole of Kanto. Can Katayama defend Yokohama from the encroaching hoodlums? First half is protagonist initiation into a biker gang with principles and having a biker war an anarchic gang. Second half is about a well planned ambush gang war with a new faction. Can't say it's bad, but without humor it loses to Shounan Bakusouzoku.   Overall Rating: 6/10   22. Money Wars: Nerawareta Waterfront Keikaku マネーウォーズ 狙われたウォーターフロント計画 [Gainax] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen A new waterfront area is being built in Tokyo, and Chinese mafia man Lin Haifeng wants to gain control of it by owning the majority stock of the company in charge of construction. Lin's plan is to use the waterfront as a gateway for the Chinese mafia in an attempt to turn Tokyo into a "New Hong Kong". After his friend Kurihara commits suicide after unknowingly helping Lin get a hold of some stocks, his friend Tsuyoshi Aiba aims to avenge his friend by keeping Lin from taking over the waterfront. Not translated. Protagonist's friend is forced into bankruptcy and committing suicide, so protagonist devises a payback scheme with stock exchange. At least it's logical and half-decent.   Overall Rating: 6/10   23. Ushiro no Hyakutarou 心霊恐怖レポート うしろの百太郎 [-] (Finished 0/2) Tags: School Horror, Supernatural Horror OVA based on the manga by Jirou Tsunoda. The title roughly means "Hyakutarou behind". A boy named Ichitarou Ushiro deals with various horrifying phenomena with the help of his guardian spirit Hyakutarou. 2 episodes: "Kokkuri Satsujin Jiken", "Yuutai Ridatsu". Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   24. Naki no Ryuu: Hiryuu no Shou (1991) 哭きの竜 飛竜之章 [Gainax, Toshiba EMI] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Seinen Organized Crime, Strategy Game Drama An OVA released in 1991. Unlike the previous OVA series, this episode was produced separately by Toshiba. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   25. Ishii Hisaichi no Dai Seikai いしいひさいちの大政界  [-] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Parody Comedy Based the same name gag manga by Hisaichi Ishii. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   26. Omoide Poroporo Only Yesterday おもひでぽろぽろ [Studio Ghibli] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama, Romance, Slice of Life Taeko Okajima is a 27-year-old, independent woman who spent her entire life in Tokyo. Looking to unwind from the rush of the big city, she decides to visit her family in the country to help out during the harvest. On the train there, Taeko vividly recalls her memories as a schoolgirl in the initial stages of puberty, as if she is on a trip with her childhood self. A young farmer named Toshio picks her up at the station, and they quickly develop a friendship. During her stay, Taeko forms strong bonds with family and friends, learning the contrasts between urban and rural life, as well as the struggles and joys of farming. Nostalgic and bittersweet, Omoide Poroporo takes on Taeko's journey as an adult woman coming to terms with her childhood dreams compared to the person she is today. Watched it so long ago that nothing but countryside left in memory. Truth be told, there are better anime about countryside romanticism - Silver Spoon comes to mind. There are enough of grim moments like dad constantly grumble and occasionally hit his daughter. The best scenes are actually those that break from reality, like running turning into flying. As I see it , movie failed to tell a normal story, so it just pushed with nostalgy and only bothered making one last scene memorable and tearjerker. Not cool, at all. And of course I won't be able to recall much of it in half a year. It's my evaluation, and I could not enjoy it.   Overall Rating: 6/10   27. Roujin Z 老人Ｚ [APPP] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi The Z Project was intended to give the new generation a break from caring for the old. The original intenion was to create a machine to care for them without any intervention. At first glance, it looked like an excellent plan, and many of the younger generation approved of its application. But when old Mr. Takazawa become the test subject for the Z-001 machine, Haruko questioned both the tactics of the hospital and the moral implications of the machine. This is just the beginning, as Haruko has not just the hospital, but the odds against her. But then, she discovers an odd quirk about the machine: it uses a biochip, and it eventually acquires a mind of its own! Wow, it's super lively and well done, at times it reminded me of Akira so much, especially in recollection of his mechanical arm from metal scrap. The story itself is not something breakthrough and characters are rather simple, but nursery bed transformer mecha is really memorable. I recommend to watch this movie if you liked Akira.   Overall Rating: 7/10   28. Urusei Yatsura Movie 6: Itsudatte My Darling Urusei Yatsura Movie 6: Always My Darling うる星やつら いつだって・マイ・ダーリン [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi Lupica, another one of the legion of space princesses that all seem to have found out about Earth in some tour book, appears and abducts Ataru! But Lupica isn't after Ataru for his great looks or charming personality (because he doesn't have either). Lupica's goal is the greatest love potion in the galaxy, which she intends to use to induce her sweetheart to tie the knot. To get it, she needs the possessor of the greatest lust in the universe... All the usual stuff, half of the movie is getting love potion, second half is getting rid of love potion effects. And issuing a new movie after Finale is a ripoff.   Overall Rating: 5/10   29. Silent Möbius: The Motion Picture サイレントメビウス／THE MOTION PICTURE [AIC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Sci-Fi, Supernatural  In a futuristic Tokyo, several policewomen fight a monster. One of them, Katsumi Liqueur, remembers where she saw it before... Katsumi Liqueur, an American-born woman of Japanese descent, travels to Tokyo to visit her mother, Fuyuka, who is sick in the hospital. She takes a shortcut through an alley after her taxi gets stuck in traffic, only to encounter a monster and two policewomen fighting it. Later, she meets their chief, Rally Cheyenne, who, it seems, has been expecting her, though Katsumi has never met her before. The policewomen want Katsumi to help them fight the monster, but Katsumi, who does not want to believe in magic, resists. This movie feels like introduction as city with monsters and protagonist who acquires power are introduced, and that's it - atmospheric, but lacks substance.   Overall Rating: 6/10   30. Ziggy: Soreyuke! R&R Band ZIGGY それゆけ!R&R BAND [Studio Deen] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Music Adventure, Mystery Japanese rock band Ziggy comes to London and gets attacked upon arrival at the hotel after a recording session. The musicians barely escape the attack; however, soon they learn that their producer has been murdered, and they are the suspects! Chased by police and some mysterious organization, they find shelter at a local rockers' place and even give a performance there; but it is not too long before their pursuers appear again. Armless rock-n-rollers from 80s against armed to teeth law enforcement and intelligence. Sooo cringy. . Just imagine - after battle action scene suddenly rock songs begins. And know why band was pursued ? To play brainwashing rock... Argh, so bad. Overall Rating: 4/10   31. Huckleberry no Bouken (Movie) ハックルベリィの冒険 [Group TAC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama Movie version of the TV series Huckleberry no Bouken. Just reedit of old series, even same dated quality. Good to know the ending, but it was not impressive.   Overall Rating: 5/10
  11. kivandopulus
    I managed to criticize everything again too much, but among decent works I'd highlight Honoo no Tenkousei as both memorable and amusing   1. City Hunter '91 シティーハンター'91 [Sunrise] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Shounen Action, Comedy, Mystery Ryo Saeba is back as the City Hunter, a "sweeper" (private detective) working on the streets of Tokyo. He and sidekick Kaori Makimura are hired to solve the problems of desperate people. When Ryo is not using his sharp shooting skills against bad guys, he's aiming his sites on pretty ladies. Kaori uses a giant anti-ecchi hammer to make sure he behaves. It does not really get better. The only thing that stands out is many beautiful women which is a rarity in anime due to abundance of girls. Concept is same poor, and action elements aren't fascinating.   Overall Rating: 6/10   2. Future GPX Cyber Formula 新世紀ＧＰＸサイバーフォーミュラ [Sunrise] (Finished 3/37) Tags: Shounen Racing Adventure, Sci-Fi 14-year-old Kazami Hayato is the youngest driver of Cyber Formula, a Grand Prix in which each vehicle is equipped with computers to aid in racing. With the help of Asurada, the most advanced cybernavigation system, and team Sugo, Hayato races to become the winner of the 10th Cyber Formula Grand Prix. Along the way, Hayato will have to learn what it truly means to be a racer and that victory cannot be achieved simply by driving the best machine. In addition, Kazami will have to gain the respect of the veteran racers, thwart those who attempt to steal Asurada, and participate in races outside of Cyber Formula. Sunrise is producing at least five anime series simultaneously, so seriously, don't expect a breakthrough. A total bore only suiting kids. The fact that series gets somewhat high scores is because racing anime used to be head on dumb by this moment, and Sunrise just dragged it to minimal level of acceptable quality. Also it aired in the West so spawns some nostalgy feelings. With flat characters like this it's pure averageness .   Overall Rating: 5/10   3. Zettai Muteki Raijin-Oh Matchless Raijin-Oh 絶対無敵ライジンオー [Sunrise] (Finished 3/51) Tags: Mecha, School Adventure, Sci-Fi Suddenly, an evil empire, Jaaku, raids the Earth. But the light appears from the Earth, and fights against Jaaku. It is Raijin Oh operated by Eldran. Eldran has protected the earth since the ancient ages. But he was injured during the fight, and Raijin-Oh falls to the ground. On the other hand, Jaaku scatters their weapons, Aku-Darmer, all over the world. Meanwhile, in Youshou elementary school, they have extra lessons in the 3rd class of the 5th grade. Eldran leaves Raijin Medal to them and asks them to save the Earth for him, and then he disappeared. In this way, the Earth Defense Agency consisted of elementary students is founded. Sunrise is totally lost in self-repeats. As usual, there's some humor, but the level of nonsense is pitch high.   Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Chiisana Obake: Acchi, Kocchi, Socchi 小さなおばけ アッチ・ソッチ・コッチ [Pierrot] (Finished 0/50) Tags: Comedy, Supernatural  This is a heart-warming story with three little ghost called There, Here and Where. They are not scary like usual ghosts but pretty and mischievous like human children. Of course they sometimes surprise people by disappearing or flying, but they are loved as children's friends. Each episode consists of two stories. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   5. High School Mystery: Gakuen Nanafushigi ハイスクールミステリー 学園七不思議 [Studio Comet] (Finished 2/41) Tags: Horror, Mystery - Only two episodes are translated. As expected, just horror stories taking place at school. But within the genre it's above average.   Overall Rating: 6/10   6. Kikou Keisatsu Metal Jack 機甲警察 メタルジャック [Sunrise] (Finished 3/37) Tags: Detective, Mecha Action, Sci-Fi Twenty years into the future, a city now called "Tokyo" has developed into one of the few world-class high-tech centers, "Tokyo City." The main character, Ken Kanzaki, is a young investigator assigned to the criminal investigation section of the Metropolital Police. He is one of the finest sharp shooters in the Police.One day, Ken is ordered to provide security for a party held by for "Zaizen Konzern," a world-class plutocracy. All of a sudden, spector robots appear and distrupt the party. Zaizen, a commander-in-chief, is killed and both Ken and Jun. Zaizen's son,are fatally injured by the robots. Two of the party's guests, an auto-racer, Ryo Aguri,and a wresler, Go Goda, also receive serious injuries. Three severely injured young men are operated upon by scientists from the Metropolitan Police. Several days later, a robot corp led by a mysterious organization called "Ido" appears in the floating-town of the Tokyo Bay. But the Police and the Army have no effective strategies to contain them. At that moment, three young men attired in mechanical suits enter. They are the very three young men, Ken, Ryo and Go, who have been turned into the cyborg investigators through the operation. They call themselves "Armored Police Metal Jacks". "Metal Jacks," dazzlingly switching from "Jack Suits" to "Jack Armors," completely demolish the robot corp and achieve victory, thus signals the beginning of the battle between the high-tech criminals and "Metal Jacks" with a futuristic "Tokyo City" in the background. Sunrise hits a new low. Low quality animation, standard sentai+mecha, absolutely silly enemies. Traditional not funny Sunrise humor only irritates. Painful to watch.   Overall Rating: 4/10   7. 21 Emon 21エモン [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 3/39) Tags: Space Comedy, Sci-Fi In 2018 a young boy named 21 Emon dreams of becoming a space pilot and exploring space in general. He is the heir to a long line of hotel owners, which dates back to the founder of during the Tokugawa shogunate. Since the Earth has become a planet visited by tourists from all over the space, 21 Emon has to help out his family's business or they'll go bankrupt. Not translated. Same as old 21 Emon movie, humor is mostly based on differences of aliens culture. It's an easy source for additional episodes, but it does not make it interesting.   Overall Rating: 5/10   8. Jankenman ジャンケンマン [TV Tokyo] (Finished 1/51) Tags: Super Power Adventure There is a small village called Janken Town. The hero Jankenman protects the village and defeats his adversaries by playing games of rock-paper-scissors with them. Meanwhile, the villain Osodashi Mask always tries to deceive others. Not translated. One episode is enough to understand that it's a show for kids.   Overall Rating: 4/10   9. Shounen Ashibe (TV) 少年アシベ [Life Work] (Finished 0/37) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life  The anime is based on the 4-panel comic strip drawn by Morishita Hiromi and published in Young Jump. The story describes the daily life of Ashibe (an elementary school boy) and his family and friends, including a pet white sea lion. Not translated. Gag series can hardly be enjoyed without subs. There's remake of the series in the future.   Overall Rating: 0/10   10. Oh! My Konbu OH!MYコンブ [TBS] (Finished 3/22) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Gourmet, Slice of Life Fifth-grader Nabeyama Konbu is the son of a cook in a slice-of-life gourmet comedy that tries to add an element of adventure to slaving in the kitchen. Konbu helps his father solve problems in the world through the judicious use of seasonings, the right choice of menu, and the pleasing of fickle customers. Not translated. Third culinary show. This time with distinctive Dragon Ball feel for humor and character designs. Mister Ajikko at least felt serious, this one is a mere parody.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory 機動戦士ガンダム0083 STARDUST MEMORY [Sunrise] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Adventure, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi It is the year 0083 of the Universal Century. The rebellious Principality of Zeon has been defeated in the One Year War by the Earth Federation. However, a faction of Zeon remnants led by Aguille Delaz fled from the final battle, hiding themselves away. After three long years, they attempt to rise up once more, sending Delaz's ace pilot, Anavel Gato, to infiltrate a Federation research base to steal one of two secretly developed prototype Gundams along with its deadly nuclear warhead. Threatened by the rogue Gundam suit and seeking to retain peace, the Earth Federation mobilizes the newly developed Albion carrier to recover the stolen unit. Manned by the remaining test pilots, with rookie pilot Kou Uraki piloting the remaining prototype Gundam, the Albion and her crew are determined to stop Gato, retake the stolen Gundam, and prevent the Zeon remnants from starting another war. Gundam needs some serious focus on characters. Every time if feels inferior to Macross that came ten years ago.   Overall Rating: 5/10   12. Bubblegum Crash バブルガムクラッシュ [Artmic, Darts] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Shounen Adult Cast, Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi The saga of the Knight Sabers continues as the group tries to find out who or what is behind the recent string of robberies, murders, and Boomer malfunctions which are somehow related to the creation of an advanced artificial intelligence. Furthermore, it seems that the Knight Sabers may be breaking up. Wow, first use of 3D graphics spotted by me. Anyway, stories are similar to Bubblegum Crisis, but without recollections of events happened in supposed prequel. If watched as part of the franchise, it's confusing. But if watched as a separate work, can be rated higher.   Overall Rating: 5/10   13. RG Veda 聖伝  [animate Film] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy The fearsome warrior Taishaku-ten rebelled against the world-ruling gods three hundred years ago and began his own oppressive reign. His dominion remained unchecked for years—until one day, the blind prophet Kuyou prophesied that warriors known as the Six Stars and a child of the vanished race called Ashura would defeat Taishaku-ten. Ashura, marked by his pointed ears and golden eyes; Yasha-ou, a robust warrior; and four other Stars prepare to challenge Taishaku-ten. In order to do so, they must journey across tarnished landscapes and battle monstrous demons that have plagued the land. But as the wheels of fate turn, Ashura and Yasha-ou must find the sixth Star before it is too late. Never heard of manga or anything, but setting of corrupted world has a lot of potency. Just as with Madara, it's seen that a lot of effort is put into worldbuilding and characters, but all that is used poorly by rushing action events and skipping everything else on the way.   Overall Rating: 4/10   14. Honoo no Tenkousei 炎の転校生 [Gainax] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shounen Combat Sports, Martial Arts, Parody, School Action, Comedy, Sports Transfer student Takisawa Noboru quickly learns that all disputes at his new school are settled in the boxing ring. Now he finds himself in a series of showdowns with the local top dog, Ibuki Saburo, for the love and respect of the beautiful Yukari. It's so satisfying to watch all those delinquents and boxing anime ridiculed. Still, with overall length of 40 minutes and no character investment can't give it a masterpiece based on humor alone as it does not feel integral this way, but a great gust of fresh air still.   Overall Rating: 6/10   15. Sukeban Deka Delinquent Detective スケバン刑事 [SIDO LIMITED] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shoujo Delinquents, Detective, School Action, Drama Having spent time at a juvenile corrections facility, teenage delinquent Saki Asamiya is given a chance to redeem herself and delay her mother's possible death sentence by working as an undercover cop. Armed with nothing but a special yo-yo, Saki's assignment is to return to her high school and investigate on the corruption and mysterious deaths among the students. But in order to find the answers to the condition of her school, she must confront the wealthy and powerful Mizuchi sisters, who moved in and have taken control after her previous expulsion. Concept is popular, because it's easy to stage as live action. Anime shine because of unreal plots, but usually can't complete with properly staged dorama. I don't see how this anime can contribute with this concept of school and around school battles. It becomes rather average action with strangely placed humor spikes.   Overall Rating: 5/10   16. Maison Ikkoku: Bangai-hen - Ikkokujima Nanpa Shimatsuki めぞん一刻番外編 一刻島ナンパ始末記 [Magic Bus] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast Comedy, Drama, Romance Yotsuya and Ichinose are enjoying a hot afternoon when they recall the time that the tenants of Ikkoku-kan and Mitaka go off on a cruise to party hard aboard Mitaka's new boat; however, the boat falls apart, and everyone is shipwrecked on a deserted island. With everyone up to their usual antics and shenanigans, what can happen in such a desolate place? There was already fanservice OVA series. Just one more fanservice episode, as expected. Complete waste of time.   Overall Rating: 4/10   17. Abashiri Ikka あばしり一家 [Pierrot] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Shounen Action, Comedy For decades, the Abashiri family has been one of the most powerful and feared crime families in the world. Led by the frightening Daemon Abashiri, the family prepares to perform their final, greatest heist. As the family makes their assault on a large bank, Daemon reveals that his youngest child, Kikunosuke Abashiri, is actually the first daughter born to the family in 18 generations—which is why he wants to end their life of crime. Much to Kikunosuke's displeasure, her father has arranged for her to study at the elite Paradise Academy, hoping that the school will shape her into a proper lady. However, when she arrives, she finds that the place is even more brutal than the life of crime she just left! How does Kikunosuke intend to survive in a school full of teachers who are hell-bent on killing their students? Absurdist battle action trash comedy. Even when limbs are torn apart, a merry music is still playing - this kind of comedy. I'd add Ecchi tag here, because all its elements are present. Watchable average action comedy if you can turn off brain and just observe it all.   Overall Rating: 5/10   18. Yami no Shihosha Judge Judge 闇の司法官ジャッジ [J.C.Staff, animate] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Horror, Supernatural Hoichiro Ohma works in an office. Everybody knows him as a silent, humble man. Even his girlfriend, Nanase, doesn't suspect that he could be something more, but he is. When a person dies as a victim of murder; when someone kills himself with a curse on his lips; when someone's death needs to be judged, he is there, for he is a Judge Of Darkness. Following the Laws Of Darkness, with a book made of human skin and an unusual parrot, he pronounces judgement over living criminals that would otherwise go free. Weird below average horror.   Overall Rating: 4/10   19. Slow Step スローステップ [Pastel] (Finished 5/5) Tags: Shoujo School Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life, Sports Based on the Adachi manga of the same name. The story revolves around a romantic triangle formed by the girl Minatsu Nakazato, a young student and softball player; Shu Akiba, a schoolmate; and Naoto Kadomatsu, an up-and-coming boxer. In reality the three-way relationship is more like three-and-a-half, considering that Naoto is in love with Maria... actually Minatsu herself, who'd once disguised herself to escape some evildoers. Are you kidding me... first Nine, then Touch, Hiatari Ryoukou and now this one with same character designs and same love triangles and freaking baseball/similar sport each time. Characters feel even more immature and old-fashioned than ever. It's irritating on so many levels.   Overall Rating: 5/10   20. Souryuuden Legend of the Dragon Kings 創竜伝 [Kitty Film Mitaka Studio] (Finished 12/12) Tags: Super Power Drama, Mystery, Supernatural  The four Ryudo brothers hold an ancient secret - they are descended from the dragons. They have the speed, strength and power of their legendary ancestors - and they're getting stronger. But when pushed to the limit, they become the terrifying, uncontrollable dragons of mythology. These powers have attracted the attention of some powerful enemies - shadowy organizations with unlimited resources and weapons who will stop at nothing to control the brothers. Well, I seriously dislike Chinese mythology with all its laughable focus on same symbols, sacral numbers and presumably epic creatures. We observe another epic battle of Dragon entity versus Bull entity. There are four elements and four cardinal points, so of course we need four protagonists. But we need as much symbolism as possible, so there should be four antagonists. Protagonists are all brothers, so antagonists must be all sisters. Because yin and yang - WAKARU? Freaking stupid and ridiculous, thus can't be treated seriously. The main problem is that true colors only are shown at the end. During the main course of event it's just some clashes of different brothers with monsters and bad guys with occasional shifts into dragons. When things are broken down to personal level there is a semblance of substance and mystery behind it all while in reality it's one huge fake that only feels energetic due to a large number of characters, our usual horizontal extension with no actual depth.   Overall Rating: 5/10   21. Capricorn カプリコン [Aubec] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi In the blink of an eye, high school student Taku Shimamura finds himself transported to the bizarre world of Slaffleaze, where intelligent creatures govern and the ruling class, led by the villainous Zolba, is plotting the invasion of the world they know as Capricorn, the Earth. Joining together with the oppressed Slaffleaze peasants, Taku must find a way to stop Zolba`s dark forces before the way to the unsuspecting Earth is opened. In order to do so, he must first gain the love and trust of the last of the Yappie, the ancestral guardians of Slaffeaze. This is a task that will take more than a little courage and daring, for the last Yappie is not just a cute young female, she`s also a dragon. Isekai with animal races. It's rather short, so there's only enough time for characters to bump into each other, learn the wicked plans, conveniently discover superpower out of the blue and win, of course.   Overall Rating: 4/10   22. Akai Hayate 紅いハヤテ [Pierrot] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Martial Arts, Super Power Action Japan is secretly controlled by a tyrannical group of ninjas called the Shinogara. Their finest assassin is a man named Hayate Kanuma, whose father leads the Shinogara. Hayate, however, knows that the secret society's control over Japan is wrong. Sacrificing his own safety, Hayate kills his father. Now he's on the run, safe almost nowhere from his vengeful former comrades except perhaps for the one hiding place he decides upon: his sister. After possibly being fatally wounded, Hayate is able to transfer his soul into his sister's body, temporarily sharing it with her. His sister, Shiori, can awaken Hayate and call upon his ninja abilities when the Shinogara are close at hand but each time she does so, a little more of her true self is lost. This arrangement can't possibly go on forever, so how will Hayate finally defeat the Shinogara? An ok action. Nothing of it is memorable though, so average.   Overall Rating: 5/10   23. The Gakuen Choujo-tai The Chohjotai ザ・学園超女隊 [Magic Bus] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Mythology, Super Power Action Anime based on a 1986 novel. Yumi, a new student at the school, has four supernatural powers: prediction ability, telekinesis, levitation, and teleportation, but she is unable to use any of them at will. She organizes Chohjotai to uncover the true identity of school psychic research club. You can call me prejudiced against espers, but this this anime has no really outstanding traits.   Overall Rating: 5/10   24. Okama Hakusho Okama Report  おカマ白書 [-] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Seinen Crossdressing Comedy Okama is a man who has some problems. First off, his name means 'gay' in Japanese. Next, he has the hots for himself dressed as a girl. Finally, he ends up working at a transvestite bar where he has befriended a girl named Miki. This is not an easy matter to solve, because she only knows him as his female counterpart named Catherine. So how is a guy dressed as a girl supposed to come out to a girl as a heterosexual male? To make matters worse, she has a boyfriend who is trying everything in the book to get with her. Enter the exciting world of Okama Hakusho where love comes in many different flavors! Trap comedy. Everything is as usual - partying with girls with a boner, being molested by guys - very expected things like that. I never found anything fun in trap plots.   Overall Rating: 5/10   25. Sweet Spot スイートスポット [Group TAC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy  These "amusing" adventures of a golf-crazy Office Lady were based on a manga from Weekly Spa! magazine by Yutsuko Chudoji. I usually dig corporate OL stuff, but this was rather tasteless.   Overall Rating: 5/10   26. Ippon Bouchou Mantarou 一本包丁満太郎 [J.C.Staff, animate Film] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Seinen Gourmet Based on the manga by Big Joe (ビッグ錠). Wow, fourth culinary show already. Compared to predecessors it's not childish and not comedy-focused. But seriously - the first hamburger steak challenge is to cut 20 onions in 5 minutes and we waste like 10 minutes on it? Why is the whole focus in hamburger steak on onions? Baka-bakashi... So will real competition begin now? Nope, it's again speed challenge to prepare fish super fast... Is it formula 1 or something? Why two same dishes taste differently? You would not believe, but because one is more neatly shaped and looks better ... this is SO stupid. Ever tried eating petals? Too bad, because some raw fish covered with just petals wins over first class dish. Ever boiled noodles? I hope not , because there just one person in Osaka who can boil noodles just right. 10 more minutes are wasted to boil dozens of noodles each with one second step from each other... This is not a show about cooking. This is a show about weird entertainment, mythology and irrational psychology around cooking, worst "culinary" show I ever seen which is just unforgivable so many years after decent Mister Ajikko that raised the quality plank high enough.   Overall Rating: 4/10   27. Shizukanaru Don: Yakuza Side Story 静かなるドン Yakuza Side Story [Tokyo Movie Shinsha] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Organized Crime Action, Comedy, Drama This manga depicts the life of Shizuya Kondou, a man who designs underwear by day and is "don" of a gang at night. Basically, it's all in the synopsis. Comedy with weird underwear designs and goofing around during daytime - black glasses coolness and bossing around at night. Comedy part is hardly outstanding, so...   Overall Rating: 5/10   28. Koha Ginjiro Trusty Ginjiro 硬派銀次郎 [Visual 80] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Shounen School Action, Drama After the death of his elder brother, Ginjiro Yamazaki appoints himself his parents' protector. After transferring to a new school, he gets into a lot of fights. Not translated. Parents and elder brother die in an accident, chibi Gen as he is called because of 142 cm height decides to become protector of his one year old nephew. He has his hands full with sports, studies, earning money by delivering newspapers and taking care of nephew, but a big hooligan threat won't wait till he has time for it. That's basically it. The only bright spot in this anime is female transfer student who takes care of Gen after seeing him in school carrying a nephew. Gen is cheerful, but can't say there is real humor. First episode is introductory, other two have some delinquents fights in the center. Can't call it all particularly interesting.   Overall Rating: 5/10   29. Dr. Typhoon Dr.(ドク)タイフーン  [-] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Drama, Sports Based on a seinen manga written by Takahashi Michitsuna and illustrated by Kazama Eiji, serialised in Weekly Manga Action. Izumi Typhoon, the eponymous Dr. Typhoon, is a highly skilled golfer based in New-York. Being a perverted sleazebag who does not back off from receiving shady money, his life tends to be more messy than it should... Not translated. Slightly more funny golf due to harassments , but nothing big.   Overall Rating: 4/10   30. Asuka: Nihon no Rekishi ASUKA -日本の歴史- [-] (Finished 0/20) Tags: - - Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   31. Fushigi no Umi no Nadia: Original Movie Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water - The Motion Picture ふしぎの海のナディア 劇場用オリジナル版 [Gainax, Group TAC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Action, Adventure, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi Three years after the defeat of Gargoyle and Neo-Atlantis, a new threat has surfaced bent on bringing the world under his control. Geiger, using advanced robot technology, is attempting to begin a world war, and take control of the devastated world after the destruction has stopped. Once again, Nadia and Jean must fight to save the world, only this time from itself. I hoped it to be a recap movie... but not this kind of 25 minutes poorly justified recap with one hour of new half-assed adventure and only flat new characters introduced.   Overall Rating: 4/10   32. Michitekuru Toki no Mukou ni 満ちてくる　時のむこうに [Pierrot] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance Based on Suzuki Kouji's novel Paradise, which won the Japan Fantasy Novel Award in 1991. Prehistoric Mongolia. Bogd and his daughter Fayau, who love each other, live happily, but Fayau is abducted by the invaders, the northern tribes. Bogd, who has won the patronage of the best guardian spirit "Red Deer", tries to cross the ocean to regain his lover, but it does not come true. However, the spirits of the red deer promise that their love will meet again after a long time. During the Age of Discovery, as sailor Jones and island daughter Lyre, and as composer Leslie and editor Flora in modern Arizona, they feel the bond of love that has passed 10,000 years ... This anime is so full of all kind of superstitions that it makes me really sick. It turns out that Mongolians came because boy drew a girl's image bringing a curse. The way the sea created a pass for Mongolians to cross and flooded right before Bogd approached is such a huge Bible driven bs that I sincerely wanted to drop. Retelling the synopsis takes all the movie time with what's left only the way two spirits meet through time. A total disappointment.   Overall Rating: 4/10
  12. kivandopulus

    Anime of the Year 1991-I Winter - Wizardry

    By kivandopulus,


    Anime of the Year
    Wow, I rated everything pretty low this season. Good opportunity to promote my beloved franchise with Wizardry   1. Trapp Ikka Monogatari The Trapp Family Story トラップ 一家 物語  [Nippon Animation] (Finished 3/40) Tags: Childcare, Historical, Music Drama, Romance Based on the same story that produced the classic musical 'The Sound of Music', this is the story of Maria, who leaves her life in a convent to take up the responsibility of taking care of Captain Trapp's children. World masterpiece theater. If you can tolerate a series built around a musical... I could not for long.   Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Taiyou no Yuusha Fighbird Brave of the Sun Fighbird 太陽の勇者ファイバード [Sunrise] (Finished 3/48) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi An evil alien life form, Dryus, assaulted the Earth. The leader of Space Patrol, Fighbird, pursed Dryus to the Earth. Fighbird combined with an android that Dr. Amano was developing. Fighbird named Hidori Ryutaro and fight against Dryus to protect the peace of the Earth. At first look, he was a normal person, but because he was an alien, Fibird, his acts were a bit away from the normal persons'. Usually, he worked for Dr. Amano as an assistant. He looked uncouth always wearing while coat and glasses. However, once enemy appears, his personality changed dramatically. Hardly anyone but Sunrise continues to release shounen mecha, so Sunrise mecha with dips into humor has become the average inside the genre. No breakthrough, as expected.   Overall Rating: 5/10   3. Getter Robo Go ゲッターロボ號 [Toei Animation] (Finished 3/50) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Military Action, Adventure A new Getter robot is piloted by three youth as they combat the evil terrors that plague the world. Reinstallment of series from 1970s and not done by Sunrise brings a lot of limitations... to the point that only a few episodes have subtitles. It can't be even considered average in 1990s.  Overall Rating: 4/10   4. Kinkyuu Hasshin Saver Kids Emergency Departure Rescue Kids 緊急発進セイバーキッズ [Tokyo Movie Shinsha] (Finished 0/50) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Matsugorou is a vile doctor who plots out a plan to take over the world by commanding his own robotic army. The only chance the world has is a group of three brothers that make up a team called the Emergency Departure Saver Kids. Not translated. I can get the series with some effort, but there's zero chance I could like it, so I'd prefer to skip it entirely.   Overall Rating: 0/10   5. Ore wa Chokkaku おれは直角 [Pierrot] (Finished 3/36) Tags: Comedy  Chokkaku Ishigaki leeds a cheerful student life at the prestigious Hagi Meirinkan institution and at home in the late Tokugawa period. Not translated. Just Edo period SOL about about a boy with comedy. Resembles Akadou Suzunosuke anime the most. Above average, but without translation is doomed.   Overall Rating: 6/10   6. Burn Up! バーンナップ [AIC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Detective Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Ecchi To the unsuspecting eye Maki, Reimi and Yuka may not look like ace crime fighters, which might explain why they're stuck on traffic patrol instead of more "exciting" police duties. All that changes when Yuka gets herself kidnapped by a white slave organization run by a politically connected businessman who's got the rest of the police cowed. Now it's up to Maki and Reimi to don skin-tight battle armor, liberate a tank, and make sure that a certain slaver learns that when you play with fire, you're going to get your ass burned! Pretty average action. Guess this franchise is chosen for serialization just because there's freedom of actions with a new runner while Dirty Pair needs some standards and some stamp of quality to maintain. Feels like a below average Dirty Pair movie with cut humor.     Overall Rating: 5/10   7. Soujuu Senshi Psychic Wars Psychic Wars 捜獣戦士サイキック・ウォーズ [] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Mythology, Super Power, Time Travel Action Ukyo Rettsu, a surgeon, treats a mysterous old woman for a mysterious "cancer." The growth turns out to be a messenger from the ancient past of Japan heralding a demonic invasion of the Earth. Ukyo must go back in time and fight the race of ancient demons. Esper wars is never a good choice, adding time slip usually makes things confusing. As a result we have a trashy action, one of the lowest rated anime ever.   Overall Rating: 3/10   8. Wizardry ウィザードリィ [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy  Based on the first Wizardry game "The Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord", a group of characters enter a dungeon to confront the ultimate wizard to prevent him from reaching an unstoppable power. On their way they meet up with a few new friends who have their own battles to settle, but their paths lay together. Watched it twice in the past already and loved it immensely, but I was playing Wizardry Online then, so might be subjective. Rewatching it now with a more critical outlook, and it looks more like a well done showcase of lore that old Wizardry games could provide, and it's not much, only enough for one OVA. Actually, can't give it a masterpiece status now. Basically, all difficult fights are won after spell of elven magician girl with some backstab move or something afterwards. Aesthetics is great, but substance is lacking, especially since I knew all lore about Verdna and world history beforehand.   Overall Rating: 6/10   9. Mouryou Senki Madara Madara 魍魎戦記 MADARA[摩陀羅] [Studio Fantasia, animate Film] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shounen Mythology Adventure, Supernatural Born of legendary origins, the young Madara has grown up in obscurity as an apprentice blacksmith. An encounter with the demonic Mouki reveals his destiny, and catapults him into the middle of a mystic quest. Madara fights for revenge with the help of freedom fighters, magical swords and Kirin, the master of the Majin. His goal is to defeat his brother and then overthrow his father, the despotic Miroku. It looks like the first attempt to create an epic action manga and story after Dororo, must have had an influence on Berserk as this manga started publishing two years before Berserk. Overall this OVA feels rushed as there are a lot of great looking unique side-characters who should have some story behind them, but there's no time to tell it, so they are thrown as is. First part properly gives roots of story and provides a love interest, two friends and a rival. But second part brings quite a lot confusion things start to be shown without explanation. In the end I could not enjoy this anime because of half-fantasy/half-futuristic setting with artificial bodies and magic. It still could work if not the horrible ending that wasted all the accumulated epic potential. It's only natural as manga ended only in 1997, so showrunners just hastily mashed things up. This story deserved a better treatment, also at a later time.   Overall Rating: 6/10   10. Majuu Senshi Luna Varga 魔獣戦士ルナ・ヴァルガー [AIC, Studio Hakk] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Ecchi The Dunbas Empire tries to conquer the peaceful land of Rimbell. The three princesses are determined to resist the invaders, expecially the middle one, the tomboyish, sword-wielding Luna. After a magical escapade in the cellars of the castle, she finds herself embedded up to the hips in the head of a huge green reptile, the legendary Varga, and acting as its "brain." Even when in human form she has a reptilian tail. She has to fend off a very persistent giant invader and rescue her sister who has been kidnapped by a pterodactyl. So ridiculous that any story can be neglected right away, and only comedy needs to be evaluated, and it does not impress at all.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Shakotan★Boogie シャコタン★ブギ [Pierrot] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Seinen Racing, School Action, Comedy It's girls, gangs, and cars in this adaptation of the 1985 manga in Young Magazine, by Lullaby for Wednesday's Cinderella-creator Michiharu Kusunoki. Local punks steal cars, switch the plates, and sell them, but not without racing them for a while against rival gangs. The anime continues the story where the 1987 live-action movie starring Kazuya Kimura left off. With such huge amount of sexist humor, it can hardy go over  average.   Overall Rating: 5/10   12. Dragon Fist ドラゴンフィスト [Agent 21] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Martial Arts Drama, Fantasy The story follows Ling Fei-long, a Chinese transfer student living in Japan. Ling is the son of the leader of the White Dragon clan, one of four clans who live in the mountains of China and are descended from mythical beasts. After killing an ordinary human, Ling is banished to Japan so that he might learn about humanity and how to control his powers around them. Pathetic melodrama about clones which rivals some of the worst anime ever made.   Overall Rating: 3/10   13. Ariel Deluxe DELUXE ARIEL (エリアル) [J.C.Staff] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Mecha Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi Those incompetent aliens are still plotting to conquer the Earth! The only obstacle in their path is the giant, feminine robot ARIEL! But the young pilots have lives of their own... When Kazumi receives a mysterious love letter from a secret admirer, should she cancel her first date just to save the Earth? Giant girl mecha is fighting giant dinosaur mecha,... that's all I need to know about this anime. Oh, and there's fanservice. Now definitely all.   Overall Rating: 5/10   14. Makyuu Senjou Dark Warrior 魔宮戦場 [Daiei] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi  When computer genius Joe Takami hacks into a top secret computer system in search of information on a mysterious girl, he gets much more than he bargained for. Now, after uncovering evidence of a secret government experiment, he's running for his life, and everyone, including his best friend and his personal computer, has turned against him. As a ruthless team of high-tech ninja follows his trail, Joe must depend upon the unpredictable powers that lie within him in order to survive. Can he find a way to evade the government assassins before they terminate the human genetic experiment named Joe Takami. Cyborg is an ok guy , but after shock becomes a muscular berserk, pretty much everything else is trashy fighting and gore .   Overall Rating: 4/10   15. Be-Bop Kaizokuban Be-Bop 海賊版 [Toei Animation] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Seinen Delinquents, School Comedy Based on a parody manga of Be-Bop Highschool. I found it disgusting in so many ways. With only couple minutes per sketch it does not even feel integral.   Overall Rating: 4/10   16. Phantom Yuusha Densetsu ファントム勇者伝説 [Magic Bus] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Military Action, Drama Yazawa, a Japanese pilot, suffers a crash in his Phantom jetfighter. After a six month recovery, his old friend from an airplane magazine wants him to investigate the appearance of a Phantom in an armed conflict in El Salvador. Yazawa's investigations makes him wind up in an international arms conspiracy. Based on a series of military fiction novels. I tried to find any elements that could justify it even a little, and passable visuals is the only thing I found not appalling here.   Overall Rating: 2/10   17. Samuraider: Nazo no Tenkousei サムライダー 謎の転校生  [-] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Samurai Action, Drama In a combination of samurai movies and Bomber Bikers of Shonan, Tokyo street punk Masao buys a treasured FZR "katana" motorcycle and becomes a knight of the road, attacking criminals with a genuine katana sword. Biker with katana, even two if we also take the neighboring guy the protagonist imitated. Overall, very silly, aimless and chaotic, can't even call it humor, to be honest.   Overall Rating: 4/10   18. Bousou Sengokushi 暴走戦國史 [-] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Action  Modern-day bikers make and break alliances with neighboring gangs, fight over the right to use a local petrol station, and are eventually united under a powerful leader. It's a replay of the events of Japan's 16th-century civil war, but with bikes instead of horses and knives instead of swords. Based on the manga by Jiro Ueno in Weekly Playboy. Not translated. No humor. Why should I be interested in biker parody of medieval civil war... Let's assume I am. Characters are ugly. There's a huge number of them. Both OVA take less than 90 minutes. The whole point of civil war is in complexity. What's the point of biker parody is beyond my understanding. There's a huge number of much better done Sengoku parodies later on.   Overall Rating: 4/10   19. Kumo ni Noru 雲にのる [J.C.Staff] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Seinen Action In a Buddhist heaven where saints fight over turf in the clouds, Nio-maru searches for the younger sister torn from him in an aircraft accident back in the human world. Not translated. Another weird OVA about giants, gods and oni and protagonist who does not care who to make love to. Ecchi tag is a must have here, if there was no semblance of plot I'd even call it hentai for the sheer amount of H events and nudity. Plot is silly to the point that it's amusing to watch, but it's one huge nonsense, so I'd say don't bother. .   Overall Rating: 4/10   20. Judo-bu Monogatari 柔道部物語 [Studio Deen, Daume] (Finished 2/2) Tags: School Sports Based on the same name manga by Kobayashi Makoto. Not translated. Protagonist gets a harsh welcome at judo club when he applies, but he keeps practicing, eventually mastering a deadly throw that allows him to protect himself from hooligans. As you can see, it's super simple and with only faint smell of humor, so zero point in watching it.   Overall Rating: 4/10   21. Shounen Ashibe 少年アシベ [Pony Canyon] (Finished 0/6) Tags: Comedy  After moving to a new town, a young boy comes across a lone baby seal. They become fast friends and enjoy everyday life together. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   22. Mobile Suit Gundam F91 機動戦士ガンダムＦ91 [Sunrise] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Drama, Sci-Fi In the year 123 of the Universal Century, skirmishes between the Federation government and the rebel group Crossbones Vanguard echo across Earth's space colonies. One of these small battles breaks in the hometown of young Seabook Arno, forcing him and his friends to flee and ensnaring them in the political turmoil that is quickly evolving into an all-out war. Seabook meets Cecily Fairchild, granddaughter of the aristocrat Meitzer Ronah, who seeks to create a new political power called "Cosmo Babylonia." Using the Crossbone Vanguard as its muscle, the Ronah family schemes to restore aristocratic rule and establish an economic system that will benefit the nobility, thus devastating the quality of life for the common people of the Earth Sphere. Seabook is tasked with piloting the Gundam F91, a mobile suit created by his mother, and must choose between protecting the status Federation's status quo or cooperating with Cecily to find a better way of life for all. A bit of fresh air, and a lot of stale everything else. Jumps in narration and underdeveloped characters disappoint the most.   Overall Rating: 5/10   23. Ushiro no Shoumen Daare Who's Left Behind? うしろの正面だあれ [Mushi Production] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Drama Kayoko is a young girl in 1940, just starting first grade. She's a bit of a crybaby, which is no secret to those around her. She loves playing with friends and singing cute schoolyard chants, and occasionally having fun with her three older brothers. Her mother is pregnant, and so she looks forward to being a big sister, only partially understanding the responsibility that might bring. Meanwhile, the war effort is growing, and it`s only the natural thing to do to be patriotic and support the country... Kayoko goes so far as to contribute her favorite dolly, whose materials could help build explosives. Time passes, and as she grows older, Kayoko sees how the war has affected her life and those around her. Nothing can prepare her for 1945, however, and the bleak times that are soon to come. Based on original creator Kayoko Ebina's real life experience during World War 2 on Showa era. Dream scene must have influenced Spirited Away by Miyazaki. As for the rest... children sing a lot of songs and play. I don't like this anime as both kids and adults know that their country is allied with Nazi Germany in Axis , everyone lives miserably and still doll is sacrificed for this cannibalistic regime to create explosives and kill more good people. Idiocy should not equal patriotism .   Overall Rating: 6/10   24. Dorami-chan: Wow, The Kid Gang of Bandits ドラミちゃん アララ・少年山賊団！ [-] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Fantasy - Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10
  13. kivandopulus

    Anime of the Year 1990-IV Fall - Osu!! Karate-bu

    By kivandopulus,


    Anime of the Season
    I can highlight two borderline masterpieces - Osu!! Karate-bu and Chibi Maruko-chan Movie with original work always taking precedence over recurring one of equal score.   1. Magical★Taruruuto-kun まじかる☆タルるートくん [Toei Animation] (Finished 3/87) Tags: Gag Humor, School Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Ecchi Magical Taruruto-kun is a magical boy, fighting, and comedy TV show based on the manga of the same name by Tatsuya Egawa which ran in Weekly Shounen Jump. Not translated. Reminds Dash! Kappei by energy, so should be quite popular if translated, but yeah, 87 episodes. So perverted elementary school student accidentally summons a witch chibi and first tries to attract his favorite girl attention and does some pranks with the help of witch magic, then protects school from outer forces. Nothing super fancy, just a genki anime.   Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Pygmalio ピグマリオ  [Nippon Animation] (Finished 3/39) Tags: Shoujo Adventure, Fantasy  Coult, the prince of the kingdom of Loon, is living a happy life with his father King Stephan and many retainers. He is cheerful, bright, tender-hearted, and gifted by the god Aganade. Coult’s mother Galatea (the daughter of Aganade) married King Stephan. However, Medusa, the daughter of the evil spirit, was envious of her happiness and turned her into a statue together with many villagers when Coult was still a baby. In order to save the other villagers, Stephan pledged allegiance to Medusa, and was forced to promise to make Coult do the same on his 8th birthday. When the day arrives, Coult declares that he will defeat Medusa and revive the people who were turned into statues. He sets out on a long journey to search for the daughter of the evil spirit. Not translated. Boy since early childhood could lift a carriage with one hand, and it is the distinguishing feature of anime alongside Greek mythology. Looks really plain  and slow, to be honest. No outstanding characters are spotted either.   Overall Rating: 5/10   3. Mitsume ga Tooru 三つ目がとおる  [Tezuka Productions] (Finished 3/48) Tags: Adventure He is a little boy who has a terrible power. On his forehead is a third eye that, if open, releases extremely dangerous mystical energy that turns him into an evil sorcerer, bent on conquering mankind, and able to summon demons and wielding a red harpoon wand called Red Condor. To protect mankind from his terrible power, Sharaku is made to wear a bandage which seals his third eye. While his eye is sealed, Sharaku knows nothing of his true nature or his power, and does not remember his evil half's sinister attempts to conquer the world. Only ten episodes are translated, others are MTL'ed. It's true that initial movie was butchered pretty bad by Toei animation or whatever that made it into constant hitting against things silly comedy. I believe that Tezuka Productions even without Osamu made things right this time just like with Kimba White Lion, but the problem is that series repeat movie , and I have no desire to watch the similar story another time, it just lacks interest to me trying to overcome random traps and enemies while exploring tombs or whatever. Good thing that there are warnings for humanity this time and it's not silly anymore, but concept does not cut it for me.   Overall Rating: 6/10   4. RPG Densetsu Hepoi RPG伝説ヘポイ [Gallop] (Finished 3/50) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy The adventure of Hepoi, a hero of heporis, Ryuuto, the prince of Dragonia, Miiya Miiya a fairy looks like a cat, and Bunzaemon, a merchant, to defeat Dracunes, the King of dark side castles. Only six episodes are translated. Basically, another Dragon Ball imitator with chibi characters and silly funny enemies. That kills any possible seriousness in an instant, but there's also lack of conceptual comedy to attract anyone else but kids. Just another anime not tagged for kids as needed.    Overall Rating: 5/10   5. Karakuri Kengou Den Musashi Lord Musashi, the Samurai Lord からくり剣豪伝ムサシロード [Pierrot] (Finished 3/50) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure It is the time of civil war. Zipangu is a country where people live together with gimmick warriors, a kind of super human robot. There, people and gimmick warriors struggle to seize power. Musashi, a Samurai gimmick warrior, departs to on a quest to become the best Samurai warrior. Musashi thrives in the series of battles, encountering with many heroes and villains including his lifelong rival, Kojiro, an expert swordsman. Later, Mushashi and Kojiro are sent by their General to escort the Princess, a granddaughter of the general. The princess is spoiled and difficult, so their journey becomes series of misadventures. Soon, they are caught up in a battle to seize control of the Country. Fantasy is the new mecha, but the two are still getting mixed for bizarre results. Too simple, as for me, in all regards.   Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Happyakuyachou Hyouri Kewaishi 八百八町表裏 化粧師 [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 3/16) Tags: Historical Drama Set in early 1900s Tokyo, its story is about a makeup artist named Kosannba. All the women desire to have their make up done by Kosannba because he is the best. He also manages to get intertwined into the lives of many women and proceeds to work out their various problems. Not translated. Sigh. I'm trying to find any reasons to watch this anime. First of all, it shows late Edo pretty well. Secondly, it's ecchi. Lastly, protagonist is kind of goofy and falls in all sorts of situations, usually linked to some girl somehow. One average story only takes 10 minutes. Concept might work, but not without translation for sure .   Overall Rating: 5/10   7. Edokko Boy: Gatten Tasuke 江戸っ子ボーイ がってん太助 [Pierrot] (Finished 3/22) Tags: Detective, Martial Arts Comedy, Sports Tasuke, a student in a police academy, wanted to be the manager of the academy and arrest all criminals in Edo city. Tasuke is still eleven years old, but, he really wanted to get rid of criminals so the world will be a better place to stay in. Tasuke have three other friends; Omon and the other two. With them, they work together and that is the start of a funny and sometimes serious adventure. Not translated. I call such shows time fillers as concept is abstract and aimless, can't figure why should I even want to watch it in first place - those stale concepts are remnants of long past time. Anyway, lots of childish characters and chibi designs, lots of mediocre humor. Again, hello, Dragon Ball. I found no outstanding element that would catch my attention, so average.   Overall Rating: 5/10   8. Sanchoume no Yuuhi 三丁目の夕日 [Group TAC] (Finished 3/27) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life Based on the same name slice of life manga by Saigan Ryouhei. Not translated. And SOL comedies are really difficult to perceive without translation. Basically, only half episodes are available in full. Characters aren't cute at all. Anime tries to target the same group of kids for first three episodes, but it lacks comedy. Afterward, just as in original, absolutely different citizens are targeted, which makes it very weird and confusing.   Overall Rating: 5/10   9. Peach Command Shin Momotarou Densetsu PEACH COMMAND 新桃太郎伝説 [Knack Productions] (Finished 0/24) Tags: Adventure, Comedy A continuation of Momotarou Densetsu. I have no desire to continue with Momotarou adventures, so won't bother.   Overall Rating: 0/10   10. Mamono Hunter Youko Devil Hunter Yohko 魔物ハンター妖子 [Madhouse] (Finished 5/5) Tags: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural Yohko Mono is a regular girl making her way through high school--until she learns that she is the 108th successor to a line of warriors charged with defending the earth against demons. Eventually she must fight her ultimate battle against the demon who started it all. Series is mostly known for softcore fanservice, even in PCE games. Anime deserves at least Ecchi tag. Some mediocre action, lots of torn clothes and absence of coherent plot is what you can expect from this anime.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Mad★Bull 34 Mad Bull 34 マッド★ブル34  [Magic Bus] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Detective Action Daizaburo Edi-Ban, a Japanese-American, joins New York City's toughest precinct, the 34th. On his first day he is partnered up with John Estes, called Sleepy by his friends and Mad Bull by his enemies, a cop who stops crime with his own violent brand of justice. Mad Bull makes no qualms about executing common thieves with shotgun blasts if they even pose a minor threat to him or anyone around them. Mad Bull also often steals from prostitutes and does incredible amounts of property damage while fighting crime. Mad Bull's unpoliceman-like behavior often puts him in hot water with his partner Daizaburo and the 34th precinct. However, despite how reckless or illegal these acts are, a good cause is always revealed (For example, Sleepy uses the money he steals from the prostitutes to fund a venereal disease clinic and a home for battered and raped women). Perrine Valley, a police lieutenant, joins Daizaburo and Sleepy later on to help them tackle more difficult cases involving the mafia and drug-running. Mad Bull 34 is inspired by the high-action buddy cop films of the '70s and '80s. This anime is often cited as one of the best from the trashy ones... well, I watched it with interest, but there's hardly any conclusion than can be made. Lots of gore, H, violence, humor and there's actual logic behind it. I liked it , but not to the level of masterpiece, of course.   Overall Rating: 6/10   12. Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor: New OVA 機動警察パトレイバー　NEW OVA  [Sunrise] (Finished 3/16) Tags: Detective, Mecha Comedy, Sci-Fi Special Vehicles Division 2 is back on duty, along with their Ingram Patrol Labor (Patlabor) robots. Using their courage as well as the Ingrams, Captain Goto's motley crew of officers battle crime in Tokyo city. They also deal with their personal lives, as well as the supernatural. I'm not into Patlabor as I don't consider characters interesting enough here, and without it all the interaction between them lacks interest as well. Without interesting characters there should at least be  interesting stories, but those are reserved for movies... It's definitely not Black Lagoon or GitS series, but nevertheless above average.   Overall Rating: 6/10   13. The Hakkenden The Hakkenden: Legend of the Dog Warriors THE 八犬伝 [Artmic] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Shounen Historical, Martial Arts, Mythology, Samurai Action, Adventure "During the blood-soaked feudal wars of Japan, the Awa clan faced certain extinction from a rival clan backed by demonic forces. Their clan's salvation becomes a curse when the family dog brings back the head of the enemy warlord but insists upon marrying the lord's daughter! This unnatural union bears fruit, but they are killed; and their eight unborn pups reincarnate as the eight Dog Warriors - The Hakkenden. The eight reincarnated souls travel their separate paths of violence and retribution, but slowly they come together as a formidable group representing the eight virtues of the bushido to slay the demons and redeem their clan!" After great opening episode show falls into averageness with very shallow logic behind actions. Would not call it historical with so many demons around. Story leaves much to be desired.   Overall Rating: 5/10   14. Violence Jack: Hell's Wind-hen バイオレンス ジャック 〜ヘルスウインド編〜 [Studio 88] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Gore Action, Drama, Horror The survivors of Kanto's Hell Earthquake built a new city and christened it "Hope Town". However, this peaceful town becomes a nightmare when it's raided by the motorcycle gang, "Hell's Wind". They abduct the women while the remaining townsfolk are left helpless against them. Meanwhile, a boy, Subaro, meets Jun. Jun's lover was previously murdered, and the duo help one another to fight against Hell's Wind. The battles are getting more and more difficult, but with the appearance of Violence Jack, the citizens seem to gain the upper hand against Hell's Wind. Third Violence Jack movie, which means a lot of trashy gore and H. Only if you liked previous parts.   Overall Rating: 4/10   15. Ranma ½: Nettou Uta Gassen らんま１／２　熱闘歌合戦  [Kitty Film Mitaka Studio] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Music Comedy A two-part music OVA series never released outside of Japan featuring the main Ranma 1/2 characters. They appear to be having a music contest at a local TV station. As everybody knows, these characters can't get along for more than three minutes and hilarity and hijinks ensue. Just ten songs sung by different characters. Nice.   Overall Rating: 6/10   16. Shuranosuke Zanmaken: Shikamamon no Otoko Sword for Truth 修羅之介斬魔劍 死鎌紋の男 [Magic Bus] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Action, Supernatural, Suspense Shurannosuke Sakaki is a masterless samurai with a razor-sharp katana and a cold-hearted personality. Whenever you see the mark of two crossed scythes on his back, death is sure to follow. Because of his exceptional swordsmanship, Shurannosuke is hired by the Nakura Clan to rescue Princess Mayu from the Seki Ninja. In this mission, he must use his full potential to survive the Seki Ninja's notorious henchmen. Climax of the thought that action is everything, and coherent plot is not needed with good action.   Overall Rating: 4/10   17. Vampire Sensou Vampire Wars ヴァンパイヤー戦争 [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Super Power, Vampire Supernatural The rural American west is the setting for this OVA, in which a bizarre and brutal attack on a NASA base in Arizona attracts the attention of a French secret service agent, Monsieur Lassar, when a dead CIA agent is found floating on the Seine in Paris. Lassar is convinced that these two events are related, and sets out to prove it. His investigation leads him to film star Lamia Vindaw and a vampire cult that may be far more vicious and dangerous than its eccentric exterior makes it seem. Movie is very trashy, vampires bring a whole new level of nonsense here. Rather painful to watch.   Overall Rating: 3/10   18. New Dream Hunter Rem: Yume no Kishitachi NEW DREAM HUNTER 麗夢 夢の騎士達 [] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Ecchi Rem is an ordinary woman in our world but, in the world of dreams, she becomes a dream warrior, defending humanity from the evils there. When dream demons reach the waking world, she fights them with the help of her pets which transform into a tiger and wolf. It has not become better since 1985, still see zero point in watching it .   Overall Rating: 5/10   19. Osu!! Karate-bu Go!! Karate Club 押忍!!空手部 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts, School Tadashi Matsushita has recently entered the Kansai Fifth Technical High School and joined its notorious karate club. There he meets his captain, Yoshiyuki Takagi, an incredibly strong individual. Feared and respected throughout Osaka, Takagi is deep down an honorable and compassionate guy despite his violent endeavors. This is very close to Sakigake. Humor is good enough, so the main question for me is whether it falls into violence and survival completely like Sakigake or retains sanity and humor till the end. It ended with violence spike, but normal one, not exaggerated overcoming of absolutely murderous moves by superhumans. In the end I was able to enjoy it to some extent, so see no reason to deny it masterpiece status.   Overall Rating: 7/10   20. Majuu Sensen 魔獣戦線 [animate Film] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Action, Fantasy  13 scientists seek to tap genetic powers by creating a hybrid of man and beast. Years later, 13 of their children are embroiled in a battle to undo their handiwork, while Shinichi, the son of one of the scientists, teams up with Christian super-beings to save the world. I hate genetics and religion. Add to that gory trashy action, and things should become obvious.   Overall Rating: 2/10   21. Utsunomiko: Heaven Chapter 宇宙皇子 天上篇 [Toei Animation] (Finished 5/13) Tags: Mythology Adventure, Fantasy Delving into the humans' spiritual journey to the Celestial Realm of Buddha, UTSU NO MIKO follows five friends on their quest to bring peace to a corrupt and chaotic Earth. Born with a horn, Utsu no Miko found refuge on Mt. Kongo where he studies to become a God. But when the ruling imperial government seems to bring only devastation to the people, Miko and his friends venture on a 33-year quest to reach the Celestial Realm and meet the almighty Father of the North Star. Yet, the way is filled with danger, for the five humans intrude upon the world of immortals where the gods reign supreme. And, in order to reach their goal, Miko must first challenge them to battle. However, they soon realize that the gods too are not without flaws and earthly desires. And for Miko, the hope of rescuing his love (Kagami) leads to the realization that the world cannot exist without the balance of gods' tumultuous soul, and the humans' will to survive and to love. For, as one life ceases, another takes its place. And only when there is true peace can people finally see the face of God. I seriously don't see any value in this concept and its realization. People are getting oppressed... (by other people?), so let's go pester divines, and if they are linked to people oppression somehow or if they deliver harm to any of companions, let's take revenge on them... for some reason I'm not longing to see divines' asses kicked. I really did not like pace, development , absence of backgrounds at many moments, eternal dialogues of divines and companions. I've seen a much better execution of similar concept in Tezuka Osamu Gokuu no Daibouken.   Overall Rating: 5/10   22. Circuit no Ookami II: Modena no Ken  サーキットの狼II モデナの剣 [Gainax] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Racing The adventures of Ken Ferrari, a former racer and motor journalist with an appetite for women. Based on the manga by Satoshi Ikezawa. Not translated. Drawing is so horrible as if from 1970s. Some races, pantsushots and love hotels is all this anime can boast.   Overall Rating: 4/10   23. Notari Matsutarou のたり松太郎 [Mushi Production] (Finished 0/10) Tags: Combat Sports A teenage school dropout finds new meaning in life when he discovers sumo wrestling, heading off to Tokyo for the bright lights and training with an aging master of the sport. Not translated. Let's say honestly, this series is pretty much obsolete with Matsutarou anime released in 2014, so why even bother.   Overall Rating: 0/10   24. Super Real Mahjong: Mahjong Battle Scramble - Konran-teki Sento Mahjong 麻雀バトルスクランブル 混乱的戦斗麻雀 (スーパーリアル麻雀／麻雀バトルスクランブル)  [Datam Polystar] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Strategy Game Comedy, Fantasy, Ecchi Sequel of Super Real Mahjong. Mahjong-playing sisters Kasumi, Miki, and Shouko are sent to a world where mahjong tiles are currency. In order to return to their world, they must defeat a mahjong-playing rabbit who rules the land. Senseless running and fighting at ancient China, as expected. Ending has all the torn clothes and transformation scene into sentai.   Overall Rating: 4/10   25. Shin Karate Jigoku-hen 新・カラテ地獄変 [Studio Hibari, Deck] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Martial Arts Action A returning veteran and karateka from WW2 starts working for the yakuza, looking for a man strong enough to kill him. After becoming karate champion, he joins an Italian woman who is looking for revenge against the nazis who killed her family. Bitter anime that I consider to be so to show the post-war traumatic syndrome danger. No other value whatsoever.   Overall Rating: 3/10   26. Aries: Shinwa no Seizakyuu アリーズ -神話の星座宮- [Studio Zain] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural Based on the shoujo manga by Fuyuki Rurika. Not translated. Setting looks as pseudo-romantic worthless thing to me as normal school students get reincarnated into evil Greek gods and have to fight Zeus together with other reincarnated gods while waiting for girl's memory to come back ... and afterwards memory comes back and students become students again... seriously, what the hell. Such pretentious stupidity is possible only in shoujo.   Overall Rating: 3/10   27. Shiawase no Katachi Figures of Happiness しあわせのかたち [Production I.G] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Comedy A gag anime based on the manga of the same name. Not translated. Main characters are side-characters from Dragon Quest II, other characters are also usually insignificant characters belonging to some game franchise, overall from 26 games. But time is usually our days. Manga had 2 pages at first, 4 pages next, so only some short event can develop over those limits. Stages can be absolutely anything from space to beach , situations can be anything from confrontation against some baddie to just meeting some weirdos and fooling around. Translation could help, without it it's not recommended as gags are too absurd.   Overall Rating: 4/10   28. Oyone to Mattsan: Ai no Uta オヨネと松っっぁん愛の唄 [Victor Entertainment] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Music Romance A story set in the countryside of Japan. Two teens meet and slowly fall in love. Their relationship has difficulties developing as her father doesn't approve of the boy's request for her hand in marriage. Part of the OVA features a karaoke-style songs with lyrics present on-screen. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   29. Kaze no Na wa Amnesia A Wind Named Amnesia 風の名はアムネジア [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Avant Garde, Drama, Sci-Fi Two years ago, a mysterious wind swept over the Earth without warning, taking everyone's memories with it. Not knowing their names or even how to speak, cars crashed, planes dropped from the sky, and society crumbled in an instant. One young man happens to wander into a military testing facility, where he meets Johnny, a young boy who underwent experimental memory enhancement treatment and could, therefore, still remember who he was. Johnny names the young man Wataru and teaches him everything that he can before his frail body fails him. Wataru sets out on a journey to see if he can find other people like him, and in San Francisco, he meets a mysterious silver-haired woman named Sophia, who refuses to speak about her past. Sophia says that she is heading to New York, and decides to travel together with Wataru. As the pair make their way across America, they learn about what has happened to the rest of society, and what the essence of humanity really is. A visually pleasant anime that - sadly - is just a mashed up travel anime like Kino no Tabi/Blue Blink in apocalyptic world. Very weak resolution and no even some thought behind it all.   Overall Rating: 5/10   30. Chibi Maruko-chan Movie ちびまる子ちゃん (1990) [Nippon Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo School Comedy Chibi Maruko chan is the nickname of a sweetly obnoxious 9-year-old girl. She tricks her grandfather, ponders for hours over how to spend her allowance, and hates sitting next to ugly boys. She talks, feels and lives just as real kids do. As the second term commences, Maruko and her classmates return to their small groups. Maruko’s group includes two naughty boys and Maruko is forced to be one of their subordinates. She seems to face a lot of pressure at school. As the school’s athletic meet approaches, all the classmates are busy exercising. Maruko is no exception, although her laziness means that she is late sometimes. Maruko realizes that the two boys rival each other in everything they do, and that their friendship is deep and strong. I value comedy episodes of Maruko-chan more than lyrical ones. This is one lyrical one about bonding of two boys Oono-kun and Sugiyama-kun. Concentration was less than in the series, and there were only couple half-decent comedy commentaries, but ending more or less made it to the borderline masterpiece. Sadly, not higher.   Overall Rating: 7/10   31. Ajin Senshi 亜人戦士 [Magic Bus] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Fantasy, Sci-Fi In the year 2200 an interstellar war is held where the weapons most frequently used are the psychic capacities. The hero, Zero, son of an earthling and an extraterrestrial, the prince and last survivor of a clan of magicians. He will fight against the army of the Manjidara empire, whose forces are such as its head ambition to control the whole universe. Not translated. Esper in space... where have we seen that? Locke the Superman , including recent movie Lord Leon. Come on, protagonists look so much alike - both have short green hair. Personalities are also similar, but it's right for half of anime. Then how about pirate aesthetics and pirate sea ships ... in space? I saw here nothing but averageness.   Overall Rating: 5/10   32. Sensou ga Owatta Natsu ni 1945 Karafuto 戦争が終わった夏に 1945・樺太 [からふと] [-] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Historical Drama - Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10
  14. kivandopulus
    The only borderline masterpiece I can call in Summer 1990 is Mainichi ga Nichiyoubi    1. Robin Hood no Daibouken The Great Adventures of Robin Hood ロビンフッドの大冒険 [Tatsunoko Production] (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Historical Adventure, Romance A variant of Robin Hood in which all the principal characters are teenagers. Several centuries ago in Nottingham County, a cruel and greedy baron by the name of Alwine ordered the destruction of the Huntingtons' castle—from the fire of which Robin and his cousins, Will, Winifred and Barbara, miraculously escaped. The youngsters sought shelter in Sherwood Forest, where, thanks to the wise guidance of the hermit better known as "Friar Tuck," they managed to face the difficulties of a life in the wilderness as as well as they could; however, in the forest there lived a fearless group of young bandits, led by Little John. Their first encounter with Robin and his cousins was at first rather stormy, as the two groups fought for the destiny of a young, noble maiden named Marian who had fallen into the hands of the bandits during an ambush. Their bitterness, however, rapidly lead the way to friendship, and Robin and John later realized they were all victims of the same fate. The youngsters thus mutually decided to help one another. Baron Alwine was not merely enemy of the Huntingtons—in fact, a couple years earlier he had forced Little John and his gang to seek protection in the forest to avoid forced labour. He would later seek Marian Lancaster for the secret carved on a cross the girl wore as symbol of her family line. The girl was to be adopted by the shady Bishop Herfort—Alwine's accomplice—who sought to attain the Lancaster's wealth. With all their strength, Robin and his friends were then compelled to fight against the baron's troops, led by Gilbert—a dangerous and fearless knight. When Winifred and Marian were then imprisoned in the castle's dungeons, our heroes tried in every way possible to enter until their ardour was finally rewarded with success. Thanks to his noble heart and heed for danger, Robin became rapidly known as the protector of the poor and oppressed. Beloved and highly esteemed not only by the villagers, but also and especially by the sweet and beautiful Marian he was. The boy who never parted from his loyal, magical bow, endlessly engaged in dangerous and unthinkable missions. First Huckleberry , then Sawyer, then Peter Pan , and now finally Robin Hood adventures - I see them as links of one chain. Robin Hood has more recognizable characters and overall more interesting setting than Peter Pan , so it's a bit more enjoyable... not for me though. For me it's just a childish fantasy on famous story with zero interest in the plot.   Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Karasu Tengu Kabuto カラス天狗カブト [KSS] (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Historical Action, Adventure, Drama 500 years ago in the Tensho Era of Japan, a man was born who defied the will of a demon; a man who had gods of good on his side; a man destined to battle evil....his name was Kabuto. Somehow, Kuroyasya Douki, the vile Black Night Demon, escaped his prison in hell and returned to the earthly plane to wreak vengeance on the family-line of Kabuto. None can escape his deadly magic and masterful skills with the blade; however, the gods of the North, West, East, and South band together to help Kabuto stand for Justice. With the questionable help of a diabolical talking sword that his own father forged, Kabuto may live another day to see his own sons born.... The first bell rings when no Studio and only producer is known. Story suffers from constant change of place and perspective until the band gathers up and most of lack of explanation. As action pretty average, as for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10   3. A-Ko The Versus Project A-ko: Uncivil Wars -Ko The VS [ヴァーサス] [Studio Fantasia] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Super Power Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi A-ko and B-ko are bounty hunters in an untamed world. When a young heiress, C-ko, falls out of the sky and into their hair, they find themselves battling space pirates and galactic police. Turns out the high-pitched, hungry C-ko holds a secret—the spirit of an ancient evil—and is the center of a plot to destroy the universe! I was so happy when A-Ko tetralogy finished with Finale OVA, and here we go again. This alternative setting when C-Ko goes from everyone's beloved into some heir and eternal rivals A-Ko and B-Ko becoming partner bounty-hunters does not add credibility. Grey side and Blue side confuses even worse. I can't find anything good in this spin-off.   Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Nineteen 19  [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama, Romance 19-year-old Kubota is ready to find a girlfriend. The perfect chance arises when he meets Masana Fujisaka, his first love, in a club. She's just broken up with her longtime boyfriend and is surprised to run into Kubota, who sees that the perfect opportunity has just arisen. Not bad romantic anime with some strange homo moves and cool music, yet very straightforward due to short 40-minutes length.   Overall Rating: 6/10   5. Bouken! Iczer 3 Iczer Reborn 冒険！イクサー３ [AIC, Darts] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi In deep space a battle wages between the forces of good and evil and the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance. The evil Neos Gold dispatches her invading forces towards Earth with only one aim: the total destruction of all mankind. Now it's up to Iczer 3 (the younger sister of Iczer 1) to defend the Earth from the deadly armada of Neos Gold, with only the Earth's single remaining battle cruiser on her side. But don't count her out; what Iczer 3 lacks in experience she makes up for in all-out enthusiasm. The most memorable thing about Iczer-1 was yuri and ecchi, and now both these elements and toned down. Good job making another somewhat unique franchise totally unremarkable.   Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Riki-Oh 2: Horobi no Ko Riki-Oh 2: Child of Destruction 力王2 「滅びの子」 [Magic Bus] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Martial Arts, Super Power Action Child of Destruction is the sequel to the RIKI-OH OVA Wall of Hell. Child of Destruction tells us more of Riki's past, as we flash back to his childhood to learn the terrible fate of his mother and how he himself was taken away from his twin brother Nachi during a game of hide-and-seek, with Nachi's plaintive cry of "Are you ready yet?" haunting him through the years. Riki has a six-pointed star emblazoned on his hand, while Nachi has a swastika on his, the significance of which go unexplained. Riki finds himself in the town of Misaki, dotted with illegal nuclear power plants and run by a religious fanatic military organization called "God's Judgment." He is taken prisoner and made to fight in gladiatorial matches in a sprawling arena. He finds his brother, whose special powers have given him the name of "Savior," but his reunion with his resentful sibling turns sour rather quickly. Part 2 is much gorier than Part 1, with Riki smashing his fists into numerous soldier opponents with far less restraint. Just another story resembling the first movie. But all those exploding body parts and evil aniki make it look more and more like Hokuto no Ken, and that's a very bad comparison in my understanding.   Overall Rating: 4/10   7. Mainichi ga Nichiyoubi 毎日が日曜日 [Production I.G, Group TAC] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Detective Comedy, Romance Yumi Takeshita is a cheerful lady who recently joined the police force of the Tawagoto precinct. When she was still a middle school student, she was saved from being hit by a truck thanks to a stranger. Several years later, she meets her savior once again while performing her first arrest attempt. He is a magician named Tohru Ichidaiji and Yumi is charmed to finally meet him. As a police officer who is assigned to several odd tasks, she will keep asking for the help of the handy Tohru. Quite nice comedy with lots of clever parody. I could enjoy it only a little, but it's just what borderline masterpiece score is for.   Overall Rating: 7/10   8. Fuuma no Kojirou: Seiken Sensou-hen 風魔の小次郎 聖剣戦争篇  [animate Film] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts Action, Fantasy Hakuo Gakuin used to be a prestigious high school, and famous for martial arts. However, because its rival school; Seishikan, has been cowardly luring it's superior students, Hakuo was going to decline. In order to recover from the situation, the acting principal of Hakuo; Hojo Himeko, sends Yagyu Ranko to the Fuma Village in search of the famous Fuma ninja clan for assistance. The leader of the Fuma sent Kojiro to Hakuo, there he faces the notorious Yasha clan who fights for Seishikan lead by Asuka Musashi. Soon Kojiro's comrades arrive and an all-out ninja war postponed for 500 years begins between the 2 clans.  The plot is a mere excuse for two factions to clash. Lots of repetitive sword fights with obligatory special skill. This anime looks like writer tried to describe an average shounen action anime and just put it to the screen .   Overall Rating: 5/10   9. Hengen Taima Yakou Karura Mau! Sendai Kokeshi Enka 変幻退魔夜行 カルラ舞う！ 仙台小芥子怨歌 [-] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Shoujo Horror Shoko and Maiko Ougi are apparently two ordinary schoolgirls in pursuit of graduating and having fun. Shii-chan is the more serious while Mai-chan is more fun-loving. In reality, the two sisters are powerful exorcists from the Karura temple. Each wields half the power... Shii-chan can "see" the spirits, and Mai-chan can banish them. This is a spooky series with heavy emphasis on traditionally Japanese occult themes. Had a prequel in 1989, so everyone should have made an opinion about this horror exorcist anime already.   Overall Rating: 5/10   10. 100% A Hundred Percents  [Nippon Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama  A pretty 22-year-old girl leaves university and gets her dream job as a TV newscaster, only to discover that life is tough at the top. Adaptation of the "Young Action" manga by Michio Yanagisawa. Not translated. An OK newscaster SOL. Some rivalry, sex harassment and fooling around. There's no global aim except just gaining success at work, and with 50 minutes it's hard to flesh out characters, so can't say it was super interesting for me.   Overall Rating: 6/10   11. Ai to Ken no Camelot: Mangaka Marina Time Slip Jiken 愛と剣のキャメロット まんが家マリナ タイムスリップ事件  [Ashi Productions] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy Marina meets beautiful boys in a SF Fantasy based in Medieval England. It's either shoujo or josei for sure since it's a reverse harem with bishounens of different kinds of nudity (ever wanted to see a scene of a boy washing in a shower? you will anyway in this OVA). Don't expect a good story here.   Overall Rating: 5/10   12. Lemon Angel YJ-ban レモンエンジェル（ＹＪ版） [MI] (Finished 2/2) Tags: School Romance Adaptation of the Lemon Angel manga serialized in Young Jump magazine. Not translated. I was surprised not to see even Ecchi tag, but as expected it should be here as corresponding situations with nudity happen from the very start. There's hardly anything good in both stories.   Overall Rating: 4/10   13. OL Kaizou Kouza OL改造講座 [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life Inspired by Drop Dead! Stupid Office Ladies, a column in Monthly Gendai magazine. Old fart version saw light in 1989, and this office lady variant follows same structure - many sketches. Again, looks good, but in dare need of translation.   Overall Rating: 6/10   14. Tengai Makyou: Jiraiya Oboro-hen 天外魔境 自来也おぼろ変  [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy Based on the first Tengai Makyou game, that initially came out in 1989 as one of the first titles for NEC's PC Engine CD-ROM. Zipang country is enjoying peace nowadays after ancient sealing of demon destroyer Masakado by three fire clan heroes. Nowadays a foreign sect tries to revive Masakado and establish military dominance over Zipang. Protagonist Jiraiya is a descendant of almost vanished fire clan. He needs to find two fire clan heroes to prevent Masakado awakening.  Not translated. Unlike previous horrible anime made to pair with the game super real mahjong, this time anime is based on a game that came out a year before, so it's an absolutely normal anime with 96 minutes length. Anime has good character design and directorship. It's funny enough , but development is absolutely serious without usual shounen dips. Very decent movie, with translation it would sure be a success.   Overall Rating: 6/10   15. City Hunter: Bay City Wars シティーハンター ベイシティウォーズ [Sunrise] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Comedy, Mystery A new island resort has been built in Tokyo bay, and it is run by one of the world's most powerful super computers. The City Hunter gang has been invited to the grand opening party, but only Miki & Kaori have gotten there. Soon, they and the rest of the party goers are taken hostage by an exiled South American dictator called General Gillium. Now it's up to Ryo and Umibozu to free the hostages, and prevent Gillium's daughter from using the super computer to launch a nuclear attack on the USA. 42 minutes means it's just a paired episode. Still, with jokes placed right and fast-paced action it's still one of the best representatives of the series.   Overall Rating: 6/10   16. City Hunter: Hyakuman Dollar no Inbou シティーハンター 百万ドルの陰謀  [Sunrise] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Comedy, Mystery Beautiful American Emily O'Hara offers the City Hunter (Ryo Saeba & Kaori Makimura) one million dollars to protect her from a man named Douglas. Ryo & Kaori take the job, but things are not quite what they seem. The real target just might be Ryo, but it's unclear who wants Saeba dead. Can only compare it with Bay City Wars OVA, and this comparison is not in current title favor, so lower score.   Overall Rating: 5/10   17. "Eiji" 「エイジ」 [Production I.G, animate Film] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy, Drama, Sports  Legendary boxer Keijiro Akagi's second son, Eiji, is a high school dropout and the world's worst rock guitarist. Though his father and elder brother are both boxers, he hates the sport but suddenly takes an interest in it when he meets the local champion's little sister. I like a lot of elements of this anime - aesthetics, humor, usage of music (cuz music itself is just slightly better than noise), conversations, so it's definitely above average. With boxing kicking in humor mostly disappears , but there's enough momentum in the story to finish on a decent note.   Overall Rating: 6/10   18. Pink Mizu Dorobou Ame Dorobou Pink: Water Thieves Rain Thieves ピンク みずドロボウあめドロボウ [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Comedy, Fantasy The plot is about a young girl named Pink who is a bandit in the desert who steals water from the Silver Company. A lot of humor and action is packed in 32 minutes. Not suitable for me, but I acknowledge it's above average.   Overall Rating: 6/10   19. Tenjouhen: Utsunomiko 天上編・宇宙皇子 [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mythology Adventure, Fantasy Prequel of Utsunomiko. Not translated. I rated Utsunomiko as average, and this one does change initial impression.   Overall Rating: 5/10   20. Kimu no Juujika キムの十字架 [-] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Historical Drama Based on the novel by Noboru Wada. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   21. Fujiko Fujio A no Mumako 藤子不二雄Aの夢魔子 [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Horror, Supernatural Based on the horror novel by Fujio (A) Fujiko. I was misleaded by 30 minutes length and one episode, but it's rather three episodes each 10 minutes long . Concept is similar to Laughing Salesman, but done worse, with strange comedy that's hardly appropriate here. Very messy .   Overall Rating: 4/10
  15. kivandopulus
    Chibi Maruko-chan is the first anime that gets a flawless masterpiece score from me.   1. Watashi no Ashinaga Ojisan My Daddy Long Legs 私のあしながおじさん  [Nippon Animation] (Dropped 3/40) Tags: Shoujo Historical, School Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life Daddy Long Legs is based on the novel of the same name by Jean Webster. It chronicles the adventures of Judy Abbott, an orphan in New York. During a meeting for the superintendent, with other important and rich people in attendance, a scholarship is offered to Judy by a mysterious benefactor. Catching only a glimpse of his tall shadow as he leaves, Judy calls him "Daddy Long Legs" and writes him letters every month as per his request. While studying at the Lincoln Memorial school, she makes many friends and learns about a world she never knew about before. World Masterpiece Theatre part, probably the best of the series. Still I can't enjoy it no matter what.   Overall Rating: 6/10   2. Kyattou Ninden Teyandee Samurai Pizza Cats キャッ党忍伝てやんでえ  [Tatsunoko Production] (Dropped 3/54) Tags: Shounen Anthropomorphic, Mecha, Super Power Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi In the city of Edoropolis, hundreds of mechanical animals live in harmony alongside each other. However, when Lord Wanko discovers that the shogun's chief advisor, Lord Korn, is plotting to take over the government, he knows that something must be done to preserve the peace. In order to thwart Korn's plans, Wanko forms the Nyankees—an elite ninja team led by the fearless Yattarou, who wields the mystic sword Masamasa. With all this power, the Nyankees seem unstoppable! But Korn's schemes are not the only thing the team has to worry about. Secretly based out of the popular Pizza Cats restaurant, the Nyankees must keep their operations hidden while delivering piping-hot plates of pizza and justice. It is a series for kids. As such, I'm absolutely incompatible.   Overall Rating: 5/10   3. Chibi Maruko-chan ちびまる子ちゃん [Nippon Animation] (Dropped 50/142) Tags: Shoujo Comedy, Slice of Life  Momoko Sakura is an elementary school student who likes popular idol Momoe Yamaguchi and mangas. She is often called "Chibi Maruko-chan" due to her young age and small size. She lives together with her parents, her grandparents and her elder sister in a little town. In school, she has many friends with whom she studies and plays together everyday, including her close pal, Tama-chan; the student committee members, Maruo-kun and Migiwa-san; and the B-class trio: 'little master' Hanawa-kun, Hamaji-Bu Taro and Sekiguchi-kun. This is a fun-loving and enjoyable anime that portrays the simple things in life. This is the only anime that I check translation status every few years. Can't give genius masterpiece score because because concept itself is far from breakthrough. But I can give flawless masterpiece , because all elements fit perfectly here and nothing similar to this experience can repeat anymore - the best SOL anime about elementary school possible.   Overall Rating: 9/10   4. Dragon Quest: Yuusha Abel Densetsu ドラゴンクエスト～勇者アベル伝説～ [Pierrot, Studio Comet] (Finished 43/43) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Fantasy Dragon Quest is loosely based on Dragon Quest III. The names and some of the characters are familar, but the world map is smaller and a very different shape. The two main characters are Abel and Tialah. Tialah receives the legendary Red Stone from the Aliahan Village sage Master Yogi. Soon after, Tialah is kidnapped by the evil Baramos who wants to use the Red Stone to resurrect The Great Dragon and be granted eternal life. Abel swore to rescue Tialah and he is given the Blue Stone, which can only seal the Dragon once it has been released. Several years ago I really wanted to see the plot of Dragon Quest without playing the games, and series fit nice for it. It was partly amusing, but rather childish and with a lot of repetitions that would make sense for a game and not so much for a story driven anime, like find 6 pillars of different elements. Felt pretty average to me, would be better with more concentration and smaller length.   Overall Rating: 5/10   5. Yuusha Exkaiser 勇者エクスカイザー [Sunrise] (Dropped 3/48) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Sci-Fi When aliens plan to invade earth, the young Kouta along with a giant robot from outspace named Exkaiser must team up to save the world and his friends. Sunrise was a boon for mecha as it guaranteed a certain level of quality, but at the same time it's like their 30th long mecha series or so - and it's hardly possible to make a breakthrough while having such busy production schedules. What we have is yet another simple children oriented mecha with enough personality and humor, but I can't see it anywhere higher than average.   Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Heisei Tensai Bakabon 平成天才バカボン [Pierrot] (Dropped 3/46) 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. Not translated. It's not much different from two previous Bakabon anime, gags are generally too absurd.   Overall Rating: 5/10   7. Devilman: Yochou Sirene-hen Devilman: The Demon Bird デビルマン 妖鳥シレーヌ編  [Oh! Production] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mythology Horror, Sci-Fi, Supernatural Demons exist and their power is beyond what humans can fathom. In fact they are so strong that humans do not stand a chance against them in a fight. The only thing strong enough to defeat a demon is another demon and it is trough this logic that Ryo Asuka hatches the plan to have his good-hearted friend Akira Fudo possessed by a demon. If a person is of pure of heart then he might be able to control the demon that posses him and thereby acquire power equal to a demon. After raising some hell in a club the plan works and Akira is possessed by the powerful demon known as Amon. Now Akira is humanities sole champion of justice against the hidden demon menace that has plagued humanity since the dawn of time. First movie was retelling of the birth of devilman, this is the first plot development after franchise reboot. It's the last time I'm bringing up Devilman movies as my score can't change and contents remain more or less the same.   Overall Rating: 6/10   8. 1+2=Paradise １＋２＝パラダイス  [J.C.Staff] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Seinen Harem, Love Polygon Comedy, Romance, Ecchi Yuusuke Yamamoto has a crippling phobia of women, and understandably so—the twin girls living next door tried to cut off his penis as a child. Unfortunately, Yuusuke's father is a gynecologist and needs him to overcome his fear so he can inherit the family business. To accomplish this, Yuusuke's father offers sanctuary to sisters Rika and Yuka Nakamura in their home while the girls are studying at the nearby college. In a terrible twist of fate, when Yuusuke realizes that their guest room is too small for two people, he is forced to choose which of the sisters is allowed to stay. Desperate to win his favor, the brazen Yuka and the more reserved Rika are willing to do whatever it takes to impress and eventually sway Yuusuke—even if it means making things physical and personal. Looks like it's the originator and trendsetter for all the ecchi harem comedy. There's literally nothing else here except fooling around.   Overall Rating: 4/10   9. Be-Bop Highschool ビー・バップ・ハイスクール [Toei Animation] (Finished 7/7) Tags: Seinen Delinquents, School Comedy For the invincible and basically happy punk lads Hiroshi and Toru, what they care about every day is to get a lot of attention from girls and to win the fights against the lads from other schools. Whenever provoked, they just go out fighting and settle the situation no matter what it costs. A well-done delinquents anime with enough episodical comedy. At the same time there's not much interesting in the genre for me unless it goes full-scale comedy route like Cromartie High School or adds complexity like GTO. It loses even in comparison with Shounan Bakusouzoku that had a lot more variety with different kinds of episodes, while Be-Bop Highschool always has violence in the center and something else that might come up is always episodic. I'm not enjoying it at all.  Overall Rating: 6/10   10. Umezu Kazuo no Noroi The Curse of Kazuo Umezu 楳図かずおの呪い  [Takahashi Studio] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Horror "Do not toy with the supernatural." Two stories of the consequences that descend upon humans who venture beyond the safe confines of their ordinary worlds. When a gorgeous girl named Rima transfers into Masami's class, she's not only jealous, but also deathly frightened of her. While the boys in class are tripping all over themselves to get to Rima, Masami's having nightmares of a ghastly visitor and finding scars on her body come morning. She asks a friend to help her get evidence to confirm her suspicions about the new girl. But if a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth far more. The truth can set you free, but it can also be more terrifying than anything you can imagine. Shy Miko and her more outgoing friend Nanako are enjoying their summer vacation, trying to make the most of their youth. But when horror-movie marathons just aren't thrilling enough, Nanako sets her eyes on a new target: an abandoned mansion at the edge of town, said to be haunted. With two other friends in tow, a reluctant Miko and a gung-ho Nanako enter the mansion. Soon, everything that can go wrong starts going wrong. Only luck or a miracle will allow them manage to escape the mansion with their lives, their sanity, and even their sense of reality. There's no reason to watch it if you don't like horror, as there's nothing besides it.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Sol Bianca SOL BIANCA (ソル·ビアンカ) [AIC] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi  Five female pirates pilot the Sol Bianca, a starship with a higher level of technology than any other known. With it, they seek out riches, such as the Gnosis, an legendary item of power, and pasha, the most valuable mineral in the galaxy. Along the way, they must consider a stowaway's quest to save the one he loves, and seek revenge against those that have wronged them. A nice small amusing Sci-Fi OVA. Far from masterpiece though.   Overall Rating: 6/10   12. Dirty Pair: Bouryaku no 005-bin Original Dirty Pair: Flight 005 Conspiracy ダーティペア　謀略の００５便 [Sunrise] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Detective Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi It's Chief Gooley's worst nightmare come true. The Lovely Angels are back on the job, but this time the 3WA's Central Computer has assigned them two cases at the same time: investigate a space liner explosion in which three hundred people died, but no one`s come forward to claim any insurance money; and find a missing scientist and his family. Could the two cases be connected? Only the Central Computer knows and it's not talking. So it's up the Dirty Pair to get down and dirty and solve the puzzle before time runs out for a grieving grandfather, his family and the universe! Just action/detective with a lot of convenience. Since there's very little humor or funny conversations, 5 is all it can hope for. It does not feel like a plot made for Dirty Pair, more like a plot for *insert any sci-fi franchise with 2+ protagonists*.   Overall Rating: 5/10   13. Ankoku Shinwa 暗黒神話 [Ajia-Do] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mythology, Psychological Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural Long ago there were fierce gods of legends who shook the earth to its foundation with their power. There are now prehistoric rivals from the primitive times in Japan, that fought to protect their secrets in the present day. The God of Darkness Susanoah-oh is now sleeping in the shadows of the underworld waiting for his rebirth. However his coming hasn't gone unoticed. There are agents from the Kikuchi Clan (descendants of Japans first inhabitants) who have seen the warning signs of the spreading of darkness's bringing. These investigators are armed with ancient knowledge and artifacts who are willingly prepared to face the God of Darkness. Now they must fight the assembled spirits of hell to find the one young boy who is chosen by fate to grasp the chaotic might of the deadly Gods. Below average horror, thus not recommended even within the genre.   Overall Rating: 4/10   14. Ankoku Shindenshou Takegami Guardian of Darkness 暗黒神伝承 武神 (Takegami) [J.C.Staff] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Supernatural A trio of diabolical dragons stirs from eons of slumber deep within the earth. Charging to the surface, they launch a bloody rampage against humanity, feasting on the weak and gaining strength from their hapless victims' souls. It will take the power of ancient god Takegami, the Guardian of Darkness, to vanquish the evil serpent forces. But alas, the mortal body Takegami inhabits belongs to a host reluctant to fight. Another example of average gory horror with a chosen warrior, but now this averageness lasts for two full hours...   Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Eguchi Hisashi no Nantoka Narudesho! 江口寿史のNANTOKA [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Parody Comedy, Horror, Supernatural Part anime, part live action, and part puppet show. This MAL entry duration will reflect the anime segment only. Nantoka Narudesho is a series of seemingly unrelated sketches. Viewer-be-warned, some sketches have not aged well and would be found extremely offensive due to racism, sexual depravity, and homophobia. Offensive disgusting gags.   Overall Rating: 3/10   16. Carol  [animate Film, Magic Bus] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Fantasy Carol is the tale of a teenage girl whose life seems normal enough until she notices music disappearing from all around her, such as the sound of Big Ben, her father`s cello-playing, and the concert of her favorite band, Gaball Screen. After hearing some mysterious voices, Carol is transported to a fantastic world where she must fight against the evil monsters who are stealing the music from Earth. She meets and is assisted by three dashing heroes: Clark, Tico, and Flash. A crazy immature variant of Alice in the wonderland.   Overall Rating: 4/10   17. Gdleen ガデュリン [Ashi Productions] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Fantasy, Sci-Fi  Due to spacecraft failure earthlings Ryu with computer robot "MOS" landed on self-navigated planet Gdleen. There Ryu meets a cute Euradonian fairy Fana. At that time, the planet was in the midst of a dispute over a Gavana temple. Self proclaimed God Gavana captured Fana for a sacrifice. Would they be able to escape? And what the identity of Gavana?! A short OVA that tells no decent story and just leaves viewer confused.   Overall Rating: 4/10   18. Satsujin Kippu wa Heart-iro 殺人切符はハート色 [Deck] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Mystery A detective story about a murder on a train based on a series of young-adult novels for women by Yamaura Hiroyasu. Seiko, while suspended from school (she has been bullied) goes to Nagasaki, where she finds herself involved in a murder mystery. Romance detective mystery in just 50 mins? Its one of my hated genres, but from what I see they failed at everything here.   Overall Rating: 4/10   19. Hana no Asukagumi! 2: Lonely Cats Battle Royale 花のあすか組! 2 ロンリーキャッツ・バトルロイヤル [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Delinquents Adventure, Drama Second OVA of "Hana no Asukagumi!". Asuka is a delinquent school girl. Her parents one day decide to give her a gold coin to use just case anything bad happened. Asuka decides to use this coin as a weapon to fight, for no actual reason. One day a club forms that starts a battle royale between a bunch of different gangs or individuals. Asuka is put in to the battle without her knowledge. First part was really violent and featured dozens of characters. It is indeed battle royale, so naturally there's plenty of action. I see no reason in watching this series, maybe just because it's the only female delinquents anime I know.   Overall Rating: 4/10   20. Super Real Mahjong: Kasumi Miki Shouko no Hajimemashite スーパーリアル麻雀 ミキ・カスミ・ショーコのはじめまして (スーパーリアル麻雀／かすみ・ミキ・ショー子のはじめまして)  [Datam Polystar] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Strategy Game Comedy, Ecchi An anime based on characters from the strip mahjong arcade game "Super Real Mahjong 2". Just introduction of characters, some fanservice, some music, some cuteness. One big advertisement for the game.   Overall Rating: 4/10   21. Kimama ni Idol 気ままにアイドル [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Idols (Female), Music, Showbiz Three pretty girls want to make it big as pop stars, but it's tough on their way to the top. Based on a manga in Comic Burger by Kenichi Koya, it was distinguished by a marketing gimmick that had the three lead voice actresses taking to the stage for real in an early attempt at multimedia promotion. Not translated. Seiyu to idol is a lucrative female career path. Lots of stamps, music and just silliness. Conclusion is so horrible that it nullifies all previous positive efforts .   Overall Rating: 4/10   22. Hidari no O'Clock!! 左のオクロック!! [Toei Animation] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Drama  Yuu Shinozaki is fed up with living according to the clock, the clock that always turns right. His liberal thinking gets him in bad terms with his parents, teachers and childhood friend Aoi, with only his biker sister Moe to understand him. One day, after an exceptionally upsetting day at school, Yuu jumps on his motorbike and - with some help from Moe's friend Tetsuo - leaves home to have a taste of a different way of life, like making the clock turn left for a change. Not translated. Translation would be welcome, because it's a high quality OVA about coming of age and breaking stereotypes of life according to timetable.   Overall Rating: 6/10   23. Kizu darake no Tenshi-tachi Heartbroken Angels 傷だらけの天使たち [-] (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Seinen Parody Comedy, Ecchi Thirty-one stories based on the fourpanel manga strips drawn by Masahiko Kikuni for Young Sunday magazine make up this anime that mixes animation and live action (18 animated stories, 13 live-action stories). Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   24. Kentoushi 拳闘士  [Miyuki Production] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Seinen Sports Anime adaptation of the same name sports manga by Kurashina Ryou. The above average boxer story, but my hate for spokons is too big to really like it.   Overall Rating: 6/10   25. Maji 本気(マジ)! [Nippon Animation] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Shounen Organized Crime Drama Maji is a young hood in the Nagisa criminal organization whose name is synonymous with loyalty and truth. While driving away thugs, he meets and falls for local high school girl, Kumiko; however, complications ensue when he and his group run into the rival Kikuchi gang looking for trouble. Based on the first four volumes of the gang chivalry manga by Ayumi Tachihara. Not translated. Yakuza advancement story. Believable, but violent and offensive, so can't find a reason to recommend it.   Overall Rating: 4/10   26. Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru: Soukaizan Eiyuu Densetsu 魔神英雄伝ワタル 創界山英雄伝説 [Sunrise] (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Compilation of the Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru series. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   27. Dragon Ball Z Movie 02: Kono Yo de Ichiban Tsuyoi Yatsu Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest ドラゴンボールZ この世で一番強いヤツ  [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi In his laboratory, biotechnology expert Dr. Kochin gathers the dragon balls intending to free his master Dr. Uirou, a mad scientist hellbent on ruling the world, forever frozen in the never-melting ice of the Tsurumai-Tsuburi Mountains. Attempting to locate the dragon balls, Gohan Son and Oolong arrive at the scene and are ambushed by several creatures known as "Bio-Men." Training nearby, Piccolo attempts to save them but is then attacked by three mysterious warriors. When the ice beneath them breaks, it cuts their altercation short, burying Gohan and Oolong within. After regaining consciousness, they return home to Kame House only to encounter Bio-Men, demanding Muten-Roushi to follow them. Refusing, he easily defeats the creatures, piquing Dr. Kochin's interest. Under the impression of Muten-Roushi being the strongest man in the world, Dr. Kochin takes Bulma hostage, forcing Roushi's agreement to accompany him in mysterious plans involving his master. Who are Dr. Kochin and Dr. Uirou? What even is their purpose? Movie is so aimless and senseless that it puts a question why to watch Dragon Ball Z movies at all, so won't be listing any more movies from this franchise to not waste time on it.   Overall Rating: 5/10   28. Maroko MAROKO 麿子 [Pierrot] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Psychological Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi  Summary for the Gosenzosama Banbanzai! OVA. Well, finally this thing is watchable now, six if you can stand all the absurdist gags.   Overall Rating: 6/10   29. Mahoutsukai Sally (Movie) 魔法使いサリー  [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Comedy  This short movie tells the story of Sally, a teenage witch that came to Earth from the Magical Kingdom. For some mysterious reason, spring has not started yet. Sally and her friends have to find the cause and fix the problem. I'd rather see remake of the first 1966 series... this one is more childish.   Overall Rating: 5/10   30. Tistou Midori no Oyayubi Tistou the Green Thumb チスト　みどりのおやゆび  [Production I.G] (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Historical When eight-year-old Tistou is sent home from school after being unable to stop falling asleep at lessons, his father decides that he will continue his education by learning from observation of real life, and where better to start than in the garden! With the gardener Mr. Moustache, Tistou discovers he has a remarkable gift—the green thumbs: everything he touches grows into beautiful plants. His next lesson is with the stern Mr. Turnbull, manager of his father's armament factory who takes Tistou to visit the town to learn about "order." Over the course of the next few days Tistou learns many new things as he visits the town prison, the slums, and the hospital, and everywhere he tries to change the world into a better place with his new extraordinary power. Finally, he learns about war, and upon visiting his father's factory, he finds out that they supply the two countries at war with their weapons... Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   31. Ojisan Kaizou Kouza おじさん改造講座  [Pony Canyon] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy Adapted from Shimizu Chinami and Furuya Yoshi's popular manga in Weekly Bunshun. Not translated. Basically, a parody on old male workers that make up majority of workers. It would be really great to have this translated, at least for the opening remade song from Alps not shoujo Heidi, but sung by jeezers in ballet clothes. Some parts have female narrator, as females suffer from narrow-minded sexist jeezers at work the most.   Overall Rating: 6/10   32. Umi Da! Funade Da! Nikoniko, Pun 海だ! 船出だ! にこにこ, ぷん  [Oh! Production] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy, Fantasy  Animation movie by Hirata Toshio. This is Smiley Island, a planet very similar to Earth, located beyond the universe. One day, a letter from his mother arrives to Porori, a mouse boy. It is about the birth of his younger brother. Porori takes Jajamaru, a wildcat boy and Piccolo, a penguin girl, to visit his brother. However, the sailing ship carrying the party comes across a whale, and as a result is swept away to there Pirate Island. There, three fearsome pirates have been fighting over treasure for years... Not translated. It is definitely work for kids. Thus not recommended.   Overall Rating: 4/10   33. Kumo no You ni Kaze no You ni 雲のように風のように  [Pierrot] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Romance  Ginga, a small town girl sets out to become the Emperors Seihi, highest ranked wife, undaunted by the many other women who seek the same title. Her energetic and eccentric ways aid in her in meeting new people, training to be a Lady of the Emperor and dealing with the drama that ensues. Tried to play in Ghibli with a distant and dim history piece. And it might be fine without history references, but those make the story rather unattractive. Nice overall, but I absolutely don't see it as a masterpiece .   Overall Rating: 6/10   34. Warau Salesman Dai SP-banashi 笑ゥせぇるすまん 第SP話 [Shin-Ei Animation] (Dropped 2/8) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast, Psychological Comedy, Drama, Supernatural Specials of Warau Salesman broadcasted intermittently during the main show not included in the episode count of the main show. They are 3 times the length of a normal episode and fill a half hour time-slot. I blocked series for formal reasons as episodes were just 10 minutes length. There seem to be only two translated episodes of specials that are each 30 minutes. Laughing Salesman is basically Mephisto who provides means to achieve one's heart desire with some condition and huge payback on violation. During this course usually worst character traits are revealed. Such concept is not close to me as well as realization, but it may be toyed with. Guess will see in the remake version that has normal length episodes.   Overall Rating: 5/10
  16. kivandopulus

    Anime of the Year 1988 - Akira

    By kivandopulus,


    Anime of the Year
    Akira and Hotaru no Haka are firm masterpieces for me with the first one as personal favorite. Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu and Tonari no Totoro are borderline masterpieces.   1. Sakigake!! Otokojuku Charge!! Men's Private School 魁!!男塾 [1988-I] Lantis (Dropped 8/34) Tags: Shounen Delinquents, Martial Arts, School Action, Comedy Otokojuku: a private school for juvenile delinquents that were previously expelled from normal schools. At this school, Japanese chivalry is taught through feudal and military fundamentals. Similar to an action film, the classes are overwhelmed by violence. Only those who survive it become true men. First comedy episodes are perfect, but as violence kicks in, it starts to get overboard. In the 80s it was still fine, but today... not so sure. Midway it suddenly stopped to be funny. And I don't want to recommend this anime for others either, so 6 is the right score for it .   Overall Rating: 6/10   2. Osomatsu-kun (1988) おそ松くん [1988-I] Pierrot (Dropped 3/86) Tags: Gag Humor Comedy  Meet the Osomatsu boys—sextuplets who look, speak, dress and talk like the same. They only add to the hyper eccentric residents of the town who easily break any boundaries defined by common sense. Check your logical thinking and reason at the door and immerse yourself in everyday lives of unique characters who are wild both in appearance and temperament! Humor is good, but absurd and episodical, so it's difficult to watch more than one episode in a row considered that each episode consists of two stories.  .   Overall Rating: 6/10   3. Shoukoushi Cedie Little Lord Fauntleroy 小公子セディ [1988-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/43) Tags: Drama, Slice of Life After his father's sudden death, Ceddie moves to England as an heir to his grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt. The Earl is a stubborn and selfish old man. Gradually, however, Ceddie's innocent love opens the Earl's heart and changes him into a caring and generous person. This is based on "Little Lord Fauntleroy" by F.H.Burnett. World masterpiece series, so only for those who like old literature-like SOL.   Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Tatakae!! Ramenman 闘将!!拉麺男 [1988-I] Toei Animation (Finished 3/35) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts  Action, Adventure Set in a land where several martial arts styles collide, including (but not limited to) Chinese Kung Fu, Japanese Karate, and South Korean Taekwondo. Yet amongst these Shaolin-trained fighters and men powerful enough to cut the face of a mountain, Victory Ramenman is said to be the strongest of them all. At a young age, he witnessed his father Somenman being murdered by members of the Cobra Gang (who are still running rampant to this day). Found and taken in by the wise old Chen Sou-Mei, Ramenman trains for 12 years under his master and learns the great Essential Battle Dragon (闘龍極意書, To Ryuu Gokui Sho) style of Choujin Martial arts. Now, with his young sidekick Shao-Mai, Ramenman travels the land seeking vengeance for his father, fighting several villains along the way. There were much more cool heroes in Kinnikuman, but I guess in popularity poll can't compete with Chinese population. Anyway, martial arts action trying to compete with Fist of the North Star is a very low starting position. Absolutely needless, as for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10   5. Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu 銀河英雄伝説 [1988-I] Kitty Film Mitaka Studio (Finished 110/110) Tags: Adult Cast, Military, Space  Drama, Sci-Fi The 150-year-long stalemate between the two interstellar superpowers, the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance, comes to an end when a new generation of leaders arises: the idealistic military genius Reinhard von Lohengramm, and the FPA's reserved historian, Yang Wenli. While Reinhard climbs the ranks of the Empire with the aid of his childhood friend, Siegfried Kircheis, he must fight not only the war, but also the remnants of the crumbling Goldenbaum Dynasty in order to free his sister from the Kaiser and unify humanity under one genuine ruler. Meanwhile, on the other side of the galaxy, Yang—a strong supporter of democratic ideals—has to stand firm in his beliefs, despite the struggles of the FPA, and show his pupil, Julian Mintz, that autocracy is not the solution. As ideologies clash amidst the war's many casualties, the two strategic masterminds must ask themselves what the real reason behind their battle is. With all the facepalms and rolled eyes on my side this show was still aiming for a firm masterpiece from me. But the horrible open ending killed even that intention. I actually do not recommend watching this show to the end, because the reward will be only frustration. Now for the facepalms. Half of space battles are either "We're twice as numerous, why use tactics at all" or "Let's pierce through their center with all the forces! Why are we surrounded after we pierced through their center with all the forces?". But it can't be repeated more than twice, so there are a lot of stupid moves of other kinds. Like "Damn the whole new fleet appeared from the dead angle and now we're surrounded" or "Enemy steamrolls through left flank , but our genius commander does not know how to counter that and just watches. And then enemy commander gets ill and fight stops". Just what the hell is that, seriously. Lots and lots of loopholes , illogical decisions , unexplained coincidences and profanities of all kinds of guards. I'm pretty mad. But still it's the most epic, vast and complex anime space opera created. There are still a lot of personalities in development and unexpected losses on the way. My advice would be to watch recent remake of beginning of this series and be done with it. I dropped this series somewhere at tenth episode last time I tried to watch it 10+ years ago, and it was an absolutely right decision, surprisingly. Those who puts 10/10 scores are just sorry for the wasted time or have not seen anything more complex in anime. And all the people who drop this series can't put the score, because to evaluate they'd need to watch 100+ rather boring episodes.   Overall Rating: 7/10   6. Dragon's Heaven ドラゴンズヘブン [1988-I] AIC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi  In the year 3195, there was a war between an army of robots and the humans. When Shaian, a sentient combat armor, lost his companion in battle, he shut down until his internal systems spotted a new human. It's now almost a 1000 years later, and Shaian's greatest enemy is still alive and doing battle in Brazil. With a new friend`s help, Shaian may be able to stop this evil force before another war rages over the continent. Not bad, but super short, like one anime episode long, can't recommend that because of the length.   Overall Rating: 4/10   7. Soukou Kihei Votoms: Red Shoulder Document - Yabou no Roots Armored Trooper Votoms: Red Shoulder Document - Roots of Treachery 装甲騎兵ボトムズ　レッドショルダードキュメント野望のルーツ [1988-I] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military Drama, Sci-Fi After armored trooper pilot Chirico Cuvie is given orders to transfer to Planet Odon, he and all of the other new recruits are sent into a simulated battle to test their abilities. However, this 'simulated battle' turns out to be a serious fight to eliminate those without the necessary skills. Chirico survives along with just three others, despite the fact that he fought while injured. It soon becomes apparent that this is not the first time he has survived against incredible odds, a fact that Colonel Peruzen wishes to exploit. But is Chirico truly immortal? The best Kihei Votoms seen so far. Finally story is logical and about protagonist instead of messy action about everything at once.   Overall Rating: 5/10   8. Kyoufu no Bio Ningen Saishuu Kyoushi Ultimate Teacher 恐怖のバイオ人間 最終教師 [1988-I] J.C.Staff (Finished 1/1) Tags: School Action, Adventure, Comedy, Supernatural At a run down school the "Ultimate Teacher" Ganpachi is sent to get things back on track and prepare the delinquent students for the real world. But the students don't want Ganpachi ruining the gang they got going so their boss, Hinako, fights back Ganpachi aided by her secret power...her lucky kitty underwear. Things get more interesting when we findout Ganpachi is the result of genetic experiments. Bakage action about bloomers and pantsu. You won't miss anything by not watching this OVA.   Overall Rating: 5/10   9. Seisenshi Dunbine OVA 聖戦士ダンバイン [1988-I] Sunrise (Finished 3/3) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi Taking place 700 years after the Dunbine TV Series, "The Tale of Neo Byston Well" revolves around Shion Zaba, the reincarnation of series protagonist Sho Zama. Together with Silkie Mau, Reml Jilfried (the reincarnation of Remile Luft), and the Aura Battler Silbine, Shion must stop a twisted Shot Weapon from launching a custom-made nuclear ICBM missile that's poised to wipe out the realm. "The Tale of Neo Byston Well" gained praise not only for its upgraded animation but also for using B-CLUB Magazine's popular AURA FANTASM series as the basis for the new Aura Battler designs. Reincarnation of Dunbine did not impress either.   Overall Rating: 5/10   10. Harbor Light Monogatari: Fashion Lala yori Fashion Lala: The Story of the Harbour Light ハーバーライト物語 ファッションララより [1988-I] Pierrot (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo A Cinderella story of sorts, Fashion Lala stars a little girl named Miho who doesn't get along with her family. Miho loves to design clothing, but her aunt and three cousins don't believe that such a young girl is capable and mock her designs. Meanwhile, a contest for the new "Disco Queen" is coming up, and Miho wants nothing more than to be able to design a dress for someone to wear to the competition, since she's too young to enter herself. With determination and a little bit of magic, Miho's dreams just might come true! So some girls dance... nothing comes out of it.   Overall Rating: 4/10   11. Madonna マドンナ [1988-I] Toei Animation (Finished 2/2) Tags: Delinquents, School, Team Sports, Workplace Comedy, Sports Mako, a sexy young teacher, comes to Gyunabe high school to enlighten young minds. What she wasn't counting on was a class full of misfits lead by the delinquent Obayashi. If their never ending quest to see her underwear and embarrass her in front of the whole school doesn't force her to quit, then her principal's brilliant idea of making her the new rugby coach will. First episode is teacher being molested by delinquents, second is after miraculous shift of attitude coaching them in rugby. Imho, more harm than anything else.   Overall Rating: 4/10   12. Xanadu Dragonslayer Densetsu ザナドウ・ドラゴンスレイヤー伝説  [1988-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy  Based on the role-playing game "Legend of Xanadu". The evil magician Reichswar has killed the King to gain possession of a magic crystal; now he means to use its power to rule the whole of Xanadu. Then the widowed Queen Rieru is kidnapped. One brave young warrior, wielding the magic blade Dragonslayer, goes to her rescue. Was a surprise for me that beginning is in mechanized future, but in couple minutes shifts to fantasy and hero kinda loses memory. As just the second fantasy title, concept is simple and straightforward - search for legendary sword together with a princess who gets soon kidnapped, and rescuing her is all the 50 mins length is enough for.   Overall Rating: 5/10   13. Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack 機動戦士ガンダム 逆襲のシャア [1988-I] Sunrise  (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Drama, Sci-Fi The year is Universal Century 0093. Char Aznable has taken command of Neo Zeon, the rebels of outer space. He firmly believes that humankind can only achieve peace by relocating to space. Thus, he plans to crash the giant asteroid Axis into Earth and plunge the planet into an uninhabitable winter. Char also eagerly anticipates this opportunity to settle a 14-year rivalry with Amuro Ray. The two have been reluctant allies at times, but Char has never forgiven Amuro for causing the death of one of his comrades during the One Year War. Only the Earth Federation's Londo Bell Unit has the power to stop Char from fulfilling his dangerous goal. Leading the defense of Earth is veteran captain Bright Noa and Amuro Ray with the latest Nu Gundam mobile suit. In this thrilling conclusion to the original Gundam series, Londo Bell engages in a final conflict with Neo Zeon that will decide the fate of Earth and end this long-standing rivalry—once and for all. Well, I tried.   Overall Rating: 5/10   14. Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Waga Yuku wa Hoshi no Taikai Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars 銀河英雄伝説: わが征くは星の大海 [1988-I] Kitty Film Mitaka Studio (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Military, Space Action, Sci-Fi Four months before Count von Lohengramm of the Galactic Empire faced Yang Wen-li of the Free Planets Alliance at the Battle of Astarte, he was still just Reinhard von Müsel. The youngest admiral in the Empire's history, Reinhard was disdained and dismissed by his peers as the brother of the Kaiser's concubine. Upon arriving at Iserlohn Fortress with his expeditionary fleet, Reinhard immediately receives an order from the ambitious and cunning Fleet Admiral Gregor von Mückenberger: to intercept an Alliance fleet in a neighboring starzone. Despite recognizing this as a veiled attempt to get him killed in combat, Reinhard nevertheless orders his tired and weary men to engage the enemy in the atmosphere of the gas giant Legnica. But unbeknownst to him, this will mark the first of his many historic encounters with the Hero of El Facil. Nothing really new. With recent remake of the beginning, this movie is obsolete.   Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Maison Ikkoku: Kanketsu-hen めぞん一刻 完結篇 [1988-I] Ajia-Do (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast Comedy, Drama, Romance The Maison Ikkoku tennants throw a party to celebrate the marriage of Yuusaku and Kyouko. However, during the party Yuusaku hears that Kyouko is waiting for a letter. He becomes jealous and begins to doubt Kyouko, worrying that she still loves someone else. When the morning arrives, the answer to his worries is revealed... I value the show mostly for comedy, but as the last episode it has to tackle more with serious things wrapping up some loose ends. Very nice, as expected.   Overall Rating: 6/10   16. Urusei Yatsura Movie 5: Kanketsu-hen うる星やつら 完結篇 [1988-I] Magic Bus (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi  The Urusei Yatsura story comes to a climax in this animated retelling of the final Manga story (although not the final movie). Lupa, yet another one of Lum's fiancés, arrives on the scene, and Lum and Ataru have to repeat their game of tag in order to prevent the Earth from being destroyed. All Ataru has to do to win is say "I love you" the three words he has steadfastly refused to say to Lum. Will he admit his true feelings and save the Earth? Or will his pride doom it to destruction? What a mess. Let's make a twin and repeat the confusion over and over and over and over and over again. Horrible end of the series.   Overall Rating: 5/10   17. Lady Lady!! (1988) レディレディ!! (1988) [1988-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Drama When Rin's mother dies, she makes the promise that some day she will become a Lady, and travels to England to meet the rest of the family. She is not very welcomed (specially at the start by her stepsister Sara), but after some time they are all a happy family. Rin (Lynn) is also very interested in horses and racing, and she wins a nice share of contests. This series is divided into two parts, first with Rin being really a child, and the second with her being around 13. The whole recap of kid Lynn only takes some 25 mins... fulfils its role as recap and confirms that there was not much substantial content in first season.    Overall Rating: 5/10   18. City Hunter 2 シティーハンター2 [1988-II] Sunrise (Dropped 5/63) Tags: Shounen Action, Comedy, Mystery Ryo Saeba is a "sweeper" know as the City Hunter. He and his sidekick Kaori Makimura are hired to solve problems that the police can't (or won't) handle. When he's not keeping the streets of Tokyo clean, Ryo is chasing the ladies, and Kaori chases after him with a giant anti-ecchi hammer. It's become a bit better, and it seems to be coming a bit close to EVE Burst Error concept, but not sure it will ever be there . So far, still no desire to watch it further.   Overall Rating: 5/10   19. Yoroiden Samurai Troopers Ronin Warriors 鎧伝サムライトルーパー [1988-II] Sunrise (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Shounen Samurai Adventure, Sci-Fi Thousands of years ago, the evil emperor Talpa attempted to conquer the Earth. Defeated, he was banished to the Nether Realm and his armor was divided into 9 separate suits. Now, he has returned to conquer Earth, having reclaimed 4 of the suits. The other 5 are in the possesion of those who are the only hope of stopping him: The Ronin Warriors. Concept is pretty close to that of power rangers. Add to that that five heroes are very young, probably just entered middle school, and the score would become evident.   Overall Rating: 4/10   20. Hello! Lady Lynn ハロー! レディリン [1988-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 0/36) Tags: Shoujo Drama This is the second series of Lady Lady. Every year at Lynn's school, an honorable “Lady Quest” is given to the most sophisticated lady. Lynn strives to receive this honor. Not translated, and I'm not going to watch untranslated Shoujo.   Overall Rating: 0/10   21. F Ｆ-エフ [1988-II] Studio Deen (Dropped 3/31) Tags: Shounen Racing  Gunma Akagi, a teenager from the countryside, frequently causes a ruckus with his turbocharged tractor, much to the chagrin of his father, aspiring politician Souichirou Akagi, who urges the family to set a good example to ensure his success. One night, while Gunma is driving his tractor on the highway with his best friend Tamotsu Oishi, the two are suddenly overtaken by a speeding car. Gunma interprets this as a challenge and tries to outpace his opponent, only to fail in a spectacular fashion. The defeat sparks a fire within him, and Gunma becomes determined to win against this mysterious foe at all costs. Soon after, he leaves the peaceful countryside behind and moves to the bustling city, aiming to become the next Formula One star! I'm not sure what kind of racing I can liked. This one is pretty straightforward F1 racing with a mouthful redneck as protagonist, and no quantity of comedy can mend an anime with a poor protagonist and weak concept.   Overall Rating: 4/10   22. Transformers: Choujin Master Force Transformers Super-God Masterforce トランスフォーマー・超神マスターフォース [1988-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/43) Tags: Shounen Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi Even though the Decepticons have been driven off Earth, a small team of Autobot Pretenders have remained behind, just in case. Led by Metalhawk ("Hawk" in his human identity), the Pretenders live among the humans, using their Pretender shells to assume human size and appearance. The Autobots' caution is rewarded: Decepticon Pretenders soon appear, led by a mysterious force called Devil Z. The Autobots and Decepticons soon build up their forces, recruiting humans to become Junior Headmasters and Godmasters (Powermasters). Of course I sampled it, but it has not become better since my childhood.   Overall Rating: 4/10   23. Chouon Senshi Borgman 超音戦士ボーグマン [1988-II] Production Reed (Dropped 3/35) Tags: Mythology Action, Sci-Fi Sonic Soldier Borgman is a science fiction that combines super sentai with non-gattai. It features a sentai-like three members team that fight an organization known as Youma. Features three characters with three basic ranger colors: Pink, Blue and Green. Featuring three main characters: Chuck, Ryo and Anise, Ryo is the leader, Chuck and Anise are teachers at a public school. Sometimes, the students help or make troubles to the Borgman somehow, some even know the Borgman secret identities. Ryo has a talking "modern" blue motorcycle that can upgrade itself. The transformation code is "Borg. Get On". Each member has a personal cannon that matches his/her armor color that appears only to finish the monster they fight. Adult cast is the only advantage of this sentai anime. Otherwise pretty standard and simple with evil emperor ec.   Overall Rating: 5/10   24. Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru 魔神英雄伝ワタル [1988-II] Sunrise (Dropped 3/43) Tags: Shounen Mecha Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi A 9-year-old boy named Wataru Ikusabe is magically transported to a magical realm of the gods called Soukaizan which he is supposed to save. In his quest to save the realm, he manages to transform a clay sculpture into a somewhat autonomous (small) Super Robot. Mecha positions are still strong, but fantasy advances... so it's another weird example of mecha in fantasy world of swordfights. The distinguishing feature of anime is chibi SD designs of almost everything including enemies and robots. It looked a lot like Dragon Ball copycat to me, but with appearance of Himiko that looks almost exactly like Bluma, it became evident. Even round pearl is used as weapon. Basically, Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru is Dragon Ball like experience with more parody and antics as Sunrise signature. Personally, I like Dragon Ball humor more.   Overall Rating: 5/10   25. Moeru! Oniisan The Burning Wild Man 燃える！お兄さん [1988-II] Pierrot (Dropped 3/24) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy When Kenichi Kokuho was a small boy, he was lost in the mountains and never found. However, unknown to anyone, Kenichi has been brought up by his foster father in the wild. When Kenichi becomes 15 years old, his foster father tells him the truth about his background. As he finds out, Kenichi decides to go to a civilized society where his parents live. Everything Kenichi experiences in the town is a series of surprise and wonder. His family is delighted to see their son alive, but shocked at the fact that he has become wild and different from other children. And now, his new life is about to begin. His wild attitude and physical toughness cause various problems in the town. Kenichi has his own way to handle things, but it is too different for the most people to understand what he is up to. Can he get used to life in the town? There was already a more charismatic old anime about a wild boy coming to town. I see this anime as comedy slot filler as without normal story there's yet another episodic setting to exploit. Comedy is ok.   Overall Rating: 5/10   26. What's Michael? (TV) ホワッツマイケル? [1988-II] Daume (Finished 0/45) Tags: Pets Comedy Michael is a fat orange cat who lives with a pair of well-meaning but very stupid humans who fondly imagine he is their pet. But Michael's own daily life is rich in all kinds of little incidents and upheavals-avoiding local bad cat Nyazilla, a monster against whom Michael knows he'll always come out worse, scrounging food from local stores, meeting up with his animal friends, and keeping the humans amused as best he can. And Michael also has a fantasy life even his fellow feline Garfield would envy, with cat corporations, cat nightclubs, and his own imitation of a dancing American megastar also called Michael. Not translated, so why would I suffer. By OVA  we all know what it is about.   Overall Rating: 0/10   27. Doctor Chichibuyama ドクター秩父山 [1988-II] Production Reed (Finished 2/2) Tags: Seinen Parody Comedy, Ecchi Dr. Chichibuyama is the perverse head of a hospital way out in the mountains and terrorizes patients with the help of his lover and a sexy young nurse. Not translated it seems, a least to English. Ecchi gag comedy about doctor describes it pretty well. Each episode is about a dozen of short sketches as if just jumped from manga strip. OK'ish.   Overall Rating: 4/10   28. Ikinari Dagon いきなりダゴン [1988-II] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/12) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy Dagon's little rocket crashes into a beautiful, blue planet and lands on a bed of green weeds. He quickly becomes friends with all kinds of creatures: Zipzap Mantis, General Ant Garibaldi, Andy Ant, Doctor Marilyn Wasp, and many more. Needless to say they are all insects. Insects? Yes, Dagon is only one centimetre tall! The tiny residents of the land of weeds become curious about the identity of this stranger from another planet. But when Dagon saves them from the danger posed by their ferocious enemies, Gulpo Toad and Godzi Lizard, everyone thinks Dagon is a SUPER-BUG! This planet is also home to a number of creatures that are very terrifying to these little fellows. They are called the Sapiens, or the human beings. Dagon must confront these massive creatures in order to get his rocket back from them! So begins Dagon's funny and thrilling adventure on Earth... Not translated. It feels very similar to the previous series about bees as it's all about insects and toads, and there's constant need to save some insects like bees from toads... can't call it fun at all.   Overall Rating: 4/10   29. Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor Patlabor: The Mobile Police 機動警察パトレイバー [1988-II] Studio Deen (Finished 7/7) Tags: Detective, Mecha Comedy, Sci-Fi As the human race evolves, so does its technology. Engineers have successfully created robots dubbed "Labors" for mass distribution, utilized by society for a number of everyday tasks. However, there are criminals who manage to get their hands on these Labors, using them for their own nefarious means. To combat this new form of delinquency, police around the world begin using "Patrol Labors" or "Patlabors" to put a stop to Labor-related crimes. Rookie police officer Noa Izumi is drafted into a special Patlabor unit, getting her own mechanical suit to fight crime. Naming this machine Alphonse, Izumi works tirelessly alongside her peers to keep civilization safe from those who would use this advanced technology to harm others. As Izumi becomes further ingrained within her unit, she must also learn how to navigate both her social and professional spheres with grace and wit. She befriends the aloof Asuma Shinohara, fellow pilot Isao Oota, and the other members of her brigade as she helps them to combat conspiratorial plots, workplace revolts, and supernatural beings. What a mess. Why mecha police action is mostly about genetics and ghost incidents. First four episodes are absolutely horrible chaotic comedy stories with open endings, by 5th episode they remember that the ending is close, so introduce serious episodes suddenly to fix impression. Bigger half of episodes is a mess, try better in a movie.   Overall Rating: 5/10   30. Appleseed アップル・シード [1988-II] Gainax (Finished 1/1) Tags: Detective, Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Appleseed takes place in the aftermath of World War III, where the General Management Control Office has constructed the experimental city known as Olympus. Built to be a paradise on Earth, Olympus is inhabited by humans, cyborgs, and bioroids (genetically engineered humans designed for increased physical capabilities and decreased emotional capabilities). Bioroids run and control all of the administrative functions of Olympus, ensuring that the city remains the utopian society it was meant to be for all of its citizens. But for some people living in Utopia, the city has become less of a home and more of a cage. Police officer Calon Mautholos has grown to despise Olympus following his wife's suicide, blaming her death on the lack of creative freedom caused by the rules binding the citizens of the city. As his hatred for the city grows, Calon conspires with the terrorist A.J. Sebastian to destroy the Legislature of the Central Management Bureau to send the rules of Olympus that killed his wife tumbling down. But when Calon discovers it is not political malcontent, but rather hatred for bioroids that motives Sebastian, Calon turns renegade and gains the attention of city officials. Deunan Knute and her partner Briareos of the ESWAT counter-terrorism unit are dispatched to hunt down and stop Calon and Sebastian... by any means necessary! Good setting setter, but as a story... too little.   Overall Rating: 6/10   31. Dominion ドミニオン [1988-II] Agent 21 (Finished 4/4) Tags: Detective, Mecha Comedy, Sci-Fi Leona Ozaki joins Newport City's infamous Tank Police division. With aid of Al and her newly built mini-tank, Bonaparte, she wages war on Buaku and his cohorts, the Puma Sisters. Wow, third anime about mechanized police in a row. Not bad overall, but the fact that police  tries to catch same three bandits (plus a new one from the 3rd ep) blowing everything around each time makes all leftover seriousness obsolete. Oh, and torture is not fun. In any way .   Overall Rating: 4/10   32. Project A-Ko 3: Cinderella Rhapsody プロジェクトA子3 シンデレララプソディ [1988-II] Studio Fantasia (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Super Power Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi In the middle of another break from school, A-Ko dreams of finding the perfect boyfriend. Because of this, she and C-Ko get into an argument that leads to C-Ko running away and nearly getting hit by a motorcyclist named Kei. While working part-time at a fast-food restaurant to raise money for a party dress, A-Ko meets Kei and immediately falls in love with him. B-Ko happens to like him as well; however, both A-Ko and B-Ko are unaware that C-Ko is the apple of Kei's eyes. Don't know how they manage to do it, but with every new movie it gets only worse.   Overall Rating: 4/10   33. Kujakuou Spirit Warrior 孔雀王 [1988-II] AIC (Finished 3/3) Tags: Mythology Action, Horror A young mystic without a past, Kujaku was born under a dark omen possessed of incredible supernatural powers. Raised by priests, he has learned to use these powers for good. But the evil Siegfried von Mittgard seeks to steal his birthright, and rule the world as the Regent of Darkness. He has dispatched bloodthirsty minions to destroy Kujaku before he can awaken to his destiny. Now, Kujaku must unravel the riddle of his past, before the power within consumes him! Just action about magical martial artists. Definitely not for everyone.   Overall Rating: 5/10   34. Tokyo Vice The Tokyo Project トウキョウ・バイス [1988-II] J.C.Staff (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi One night at a rock concert, a mysterious man dies while leaving a floppy disc with a member of the Rutz Detective Agency. Soon they realize the disk contains information about a deadly new weapon under development. The heroes become involved in a game of political subterfuge and military espionage, hot on the trail of the killer! Super boring detective action...   Overall Rating: 5/10   35. Antique Heart アンティーク ハート [1988-II] J.C.Staff (Finished 1/1) Tags: School Mystery There's an old decrepit building at the edge of the school grounds that hasn't been used for years, and it falls apart a little bit more each day. But the little house holds a secret, as Takahiro and his friends are soon to find out...they wind up making contact with a mysterious entity known as Saki. Can Takahiro save Saki's world from destruction. Not translated. There's not much more than saving the old school building where ghost lives.   Overall Rating: 4/10   36. Akai Koudan Zillion: Utahime Yakyoku Zillion: Burning Nigh 赤い光弾ジリオン 歌姫夜曲  [1988-II] Production I.G (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Sci-Fi  In the peaceful aftermath of the Nozsa wars, the charismatic heroes known as "The White Knights" have changed career paths to becoming music making rockstars. J.J., Dave, Champ and Apple have formed a rock band called, "The White Nuts". Their music career would soon be interrupted by a new threat of colonial settlers. Apple is kidnapped by the sadistic ODAMA Clan - a family of ruthless killers. Located in a heavily-fortified mountain retreat, J.J. and company attempt a rescue mission with their laser weapon Zillion. But the former Knights only have a limited supply of Zillium for the Zillion guns. A mysterious stranger named Rick turns out to be an old lover of Apple. My recollections of the first three episodes fit poorly with the inner conflict of this OVA, guess only for franchise fans.   Overall Rating: 5/10   37. Mahjong Hishouden: Naki no Ryuu 麻雀飛翔伝 哭きの竜 [1988-II]  Gainax, Magic Bus (Finished 3/3) Tags: Seinen Organized Crime, Strategy Game Action, Drama The protagonist, Ryuu or Crying Dragon, is a mysterious man who often plays games with the gang members. He only wins by "ron," a move in which one needs to wait for the opponent's tile to complete the win. *"Ron" is also called "naki" in mahjong, which has the same pronunciation as "crying" in Japanese Not translated. Given that I don't understand a thing in Mahjong, watching Ryuu finishing with Ron and yakuza getting killed afterwards was not a fun thing at all..   Overall Rating: 4/10   38. Rokushin Gattai GodMars: Juunana-sai no Densetsu 六神合体ゴッドマーズ 十七歳の伝説 [1988-II] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Sci-Fi Marg was deprived his little brother, Mars, by Zure, and lost his parents. Therefore, he was living alone on the planet, Gishin. He became a member of guerrilla to riot against the dictator Zure, and he fell in love with Ruru, the daughter of the leader, Ura. However, the organization was destroyed. He was trapped by Zure, and he was brainwashed to become a soldier. Then, his long cherished wish that he would meet his brother again was realized… as a duel with him. Gaia, God Mars, and the Gishin robot Zeron receive redesigns although the OVA mostly focuses on an alternate telling of Marg's life on Gishin up until the events of episode 19. Since it focuses on alternative ending there's nothing to do here without finishing TV series.  Overall Rating: 4/10   39. Abe George Kattobi Seishun Ki: Shibuya Honky Tonk 安部譲二かっとび青春記 渋谷ホンキィトンク [1988-II] Tokuma Japan (Finished 4/4) Tags: Drama, Ecchi This story is based on one of the famous Japanese writers "George Abe"'s troubled boyhood. Although he was born in wealthy family, he starts keeping company with yakuza... Protagonist is participating in risky yakuza activities and having fun with a lot of women in between. Nothing original here .   Overall Rating: 4/10   40. Zukkoke Sannin-gumi: Zukkoke Jikuu Bouken ズッコケ三人組　ズッコケ時空冒険 [1988-II] Tama Production (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Comedy, Sci-Fi Three reporters from the school paper get transported back to the Edo period. Not translated. There seems to also untranslated series later on. 40% is school life before time travel, and all that's there to do in the remaining time is get to past, get some adventures and get back while getting explanation from time patrol member. Not great.   Overall Rating: 4/10   41. Tonari no Totoro My Neighbor Totoro となりのトトロ [1988-II] Studio Ghibli (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Supernatural In 1950s Japan, Tatsuo Kusakabe relocates himself and his two daughters, Satsuki and Mei, to the countryside to be closer to their mother, who is hospitalized due to long-term illness. As the girls grow acquainted with rural life, Mei encounters a small, bunny-like creature in the yard one day. Chasing it into the forest, she finds "Totoro"—a giant, mystical forest spirit whom she soon befriends. Before long, Satsuki too meets Totoro, and the two girls suddenly find their lives filled with magical adventures in nature and fantastical creatures of the wood Watched it for the second time now and got a clear impression that it's only for kids. I can acknowledge music, impact and visualization of myths, but can't say I enjoyed it now after a lot of years.   Overall Rating: 7/10   42. Hotaru no Haka Grave of the Fireflies 火垂るの墓 [1988-II] Studio Ghibli (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Drama As World War II reaches its conclusion in 1945, Japan faces widespread destruction in the form of American bombings, devastating city after city. Hotaru no Haka, also known as Grave of the Fireflies, is the story of Seita and his sister Setsuko, two Japanese children whose lives are ravaged by the brutal war. They have lost their mother, their father, their home, and the prospect of a bright future—all tragic consequences of the war. Now orphaned and homeless, Seita and Setsuko have no choice but to drift across the countryside, beset by starvation and disease. Met with the apathy of adults along the way, they find that desperate circumstances can turn even the kindest of people cruel yet their youthful hope shines brightly in the face of unrelenting hardship, preventing the siblings from swiftly succumbing to an inevitable fate. Gen did a lot of things right, but the impact was still on detonation, although detonation counted mere percentage of victims. Also we as viewers never got to like the people who die, even Gen family members. Grave of the Fireflies basically uses a more psychological approach to hit in the most painful pressure points of viewers. Painful, but important and meaningful.   Overall Rating: 8/10   43. Tekken Chinmi Iron Fist Chinmi 鉄拳チンミ [1988-III] Production Reed (Dropped 3/20) Tags: Shounen Historical, Martial Arts Chinmi is a young Chinese boy devoted to martial arts training. Word of his skill reaches the kung-fu masters at the famous Dailin temple who invite him to study with them. Through his own dedication and the guidance of his teachers, Chinmi becomes one of the top students at the temple. Eventually, the time comes for him to leave Dailin and make a pilgrimage. On his journey he faces a number of dangers that test his skills, but he also meets many people who inspire him in different ways. A chastened but determined Chinmi returns to Dailin for advanced training. But soon his skills are needed again—the Mongol hordes are nearing the temple. Not translated. Another wanna be Dragon ball as there is a super strong martial artist, companions including a girl and significant tilt into comedy. Another imitator Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru looked better than this one.    Overall Rating: 5/10   44. Kyuuketsuhime Miyu Vampire Princess Miyu 吸血姫美夕 [1988-III] AIC (Finished 4/4) Tags: Shoujo Mythology, Vampire Action, Drama, Horror A quiet gothic horror story about a vampire girl, Miyu, whose destiny it is to hunt down murderous demons known as Shinma and return them to their land of origin, the Dark. Miyu is pursued by the Spiritualist Himiko, determined to find out who Miyu is and to stop her from sucking the life blood from helpless humans. Each of the four episodes chronicle one of Miyu's encounters with a Shinma and the humans that it is affecting, from the perspective of Himiko's pursuit of Miyu. I don't like horrors and vampires in general as a thing. There's a spiritualist who never faced anything supernatural, a good mysterious vampire princess Miyu and different baddie each time, usually vampire, but not only vampires. All the dark colors , malicious intents and violence make it almost unwatchable for me.   Overall Rating: 4/10   45. Deimos no Hanayome: Ran no Kumikyoku 悪魔の花嫁 蘭の組曲 [1988-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Mythology, Psychological Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural Two siblings were happy on Mt. Olympus, until they fell in love. Deimo's sister Venus got imprisoned in the Swamp of Death. To save Venus's life, he must find a human reincarnation so that they can continue their love. Another horror mystery shoujo with dominating red and black colors. It feels very bad for me .   Overall Rating: 4/10   46. Ace wo Nerae! 2 エースをねらえ！２ [1988-III] TMS Entertainment (Dropped 3/13) Tags: Shoujo Drama, Sports Three years has passed since the events of the first series. Hiromi continued training with her coach and became Japan's junior champion. Their common profits have also contributed to the coach being chosen as the first trainer of the Japanese Selection of Tennis and is arranged to head a trip with the youngest members of the team to USA. The relation between Hiromi and its trainer is narrower at personal level but it exceeds the teacher-student bond with great difficulty. Good to see sequel of the first real shoujo, Oba is a junior champion, but still can't beat Miss Butterfly and still can't find common language with coach, so show tries to exploit old paths. Guess only for those who did not have enough of Ace wo Nerae.   Overall Rating: 5/10   47. Kosuke-sama Rikimaru-sama: Konpeitou no Ryuu 小助さま力丸さま-コンペイ島の竜- [1988-III] J.C.Staff (Finished 1/1) Tags: Super Power Action, Adventure Kosukesama Rikimarusama: Konpeito no Ryu was a 45 minute long anime TV special produced by J.C. Staff and broadcast on Japanese television in 1988. Similar to Dragon Ball, it was a martial arts adventure story featuring villains that could have stepped out of the Red Ribbon Army, typical Toriyama mecha, and a clone of Son Gohan's Haiya Dragon. This is indeed a clone up to small details. Not as good as original, but humor is good and characters are nice, so why not.   Overall Rating: 5/10   48. Watt Poe to Bokura no Ohanashi Watt Poe ワット・ボーとぼくらのお話 [1988-III] Kaname Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Sci-Fi Jam lives in a small coastal village that lives off fish that men bring home every day. One day his grandfather tells him that in recent year the fishing has been scarce. The steel hawks who live nearby on the mountain have kidnapped Watt Poe, a narwhal who is said to be the great protector of the sea, thus depriving the fishermen of his blessing. The boy decides to climb the mountain with the intention of bringing Watt Poe back to the sea... Story gets seriously more complicated than just climbing a mountain, but it's still rather average action adventure.   Overall Rating: 5/10   49. Gensei Shugoshin P-hyoro Ikka OVA 現世守護神ぴーひょろ一家 OVA [1988-III] Bandai Visual (Finished 3/3) Tags: Shoujo Adventure, Fantasy Based on Kaori Kimeki's fantasy manga serialized in "Princess" magazine. Main quiestion for me was why it is called shoujo at all. The reason is that protagonists are pictured in shoujo style, 4th sibling is actually a brow-haired girl, and problems arising are shoujo-themed if I can say so. Overall, just some youkai cases.   Overall Rating: 5/10   50. Touyama Sakura Uchuu Chou: Yatsu no Na wa Gold Samurai Gold 遠山桜宇宙帖・奴の名はゴールド  [1988-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi This science-fiction anime was inspired somewhat by the life of Kinshiro Toyama (1793-1855), who was first popularized in the 1893 kabuki play "Toyama no Kinsan." Protagonist is a samurai with a laser sword. Assassins are being sent after him, and through that he unmasks a big conspiracy. But with current super blurry hardsubs anime is almost unwatchable due to eye pain.   Overall Rating: 5/10   51. Namakemono ga Miteta ナマケモノが見てた [1988-III] Agent 21 (Finished 2/2) Tags: Seinen Comedy Based off a manga by Murakami Takashi that was serialized in Weekly Young Jump. Not translated. This is a rapid-fire series of gags and comedic skits with an all-animal cast. It's really not fun to watch gag comedy without translation, but among this genre representatives current anime is rather average.   Overall Rating: 5/10   52. Akira AKIRA（アキラ） [1988-III] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Gore, Military Japan, 1988. An explosion caused by a young boy with psychic powers tears through the city of Tokyo and ignites the fuse that leads to World War III. In order to prevent any further destruction, he is captured and taken into custody, never to be heard from again. Now, in the year 2019, a restored version of the city known as Neo-Tokyo—an area rife with gang violence and terrorism against the current government—stands in its place. Here, Shoutarou Kaneda leads "the Capsules," a group of misfits known for riding large, custom motorcycles and being in constant conflict with their rivals "the Clowns." During one of these battles, Shoutarou's best friend Tetsuo Shima is caught up in an accident with an esper who finds himself in the streets of Tokyo after escaping confinement from a government institution. Through this encounter, Tetsuo begins to develop his own mysterious abilities, as the government seeks to quarantine this latest psychic in a desperate attempt to prevent him from unleashing the destructive power that could once again bring the city to its knees. I can be subjective towards Cyberpunk, but yeah, this is a firm masterpiece for me. I watched it just couple years ago, but I managed to forget how many characters and lines there are here. Akira is wonderfully done visually, very rich animation that is probably not possible today already. It has genius visual moves. Despite Tetsuo having not the most stable personality, there are a lot of absolutely serious , rational and and intelligent characters here. The pace of this anime is twice higher than the average one. It's also a very bitter story about revolution and corruption. Most importantly, Akira is the first representative of half sane, half crazy settings of 1990s in contrast to just avangardist insanity seen before already , e.g. Neo Tokyo . The only remaining question is why not higher score - the answer is because it should deliver real intellectual pleasure for it. Great experience nonetheless - and that's what matters .   Overall Rating: 8/10   53. Dragon Ball Movie 3: Makafushigi Daibouken ドラゴンボール 摩訶不思議大冒険 [1988-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Super Power Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Emperor Chiaotzu's wife has gone missing, and he is told by Master Shen that if he collects the seven dragon balls he can call upon the eternal dragon and wish for her return. Meanwhile, Goku and Krillin attend the World Martial Arts Tournament, which is hosted by the Emperor; Bora and his son Upa attempt to hide the dragon ball they found from the emperor's forces, which are under the control of the evil Shen and General Tao; and Bulma conducts her own search for the dragon balls with the help of Yamcha, Puar, and Oolong. Another 40 minutes with mostly parodies. It's all very weird and unintegral.   Overall Rating: 5/10   54. Sakigake!! Otokojuku Movie Charge!! Men's Private School 魁!!男塾 [1988-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Delinquents, Martial Arts, School Action, Comedy Otokojuku, a private school for juvenile delinquents that were previously expelled from normal schools. At this school, Japanese chivalry is taught through the feudal and military fundamentals. Similar to an action film, the classes are overwhelmed by violence. Only those who survive it become true men. I like only humor in Sakigake and hoped for humorous movie. Instead, it's one competition arc with lots of fights, survival, action and really little humor. The result is evident.   Overall Rating: 5/10   55. Hi no Ame ga Furu 火の雨がふる [1988-III] Mushi Production  (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Drama An anti-war anime based on a book containing contemporary accounts of the fire-bombing of the city of Fukuoka on the evening of June 19, 1945. Not translated. Style is very similar to Gen. Fukuoka had only conventional bombing, so anime tries to go the way of Graveyard of Fireflies by presenting a friendship in development and finishes with the bombing that causes very few casualties in the aime. A lot less impact than both previous titles.   Overall Rating: 5/10   56. Shirahata no Shoujo Ryuuko 白旗の少女 琉子 [1988-III] Magic Bus (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Historical Drama In 1945, American troops land on the island of Okinawa. The Japanese fight a guerrilla war against the invaders, and little Ryuko is forced to leave her grandparents behind and flee with her mother and younger sister, who are eventually killed. Ryuko heads on alone across the war-torn island. Eventually she reaches safety in Japanese-occupied caves, only to witness the Japanese troops committing suicide with hand grenades. Based on a children's book by Akira Aratagawa and Hikuji Norima, itself inspired by real American footage of an Okinawan girl, Tomiko Higa, waving a white flag at the island's surrender. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   57. Natsufuku no Shoujo-tachi 夏服の少女たち [1988-III] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Drama In 1945, the second and third-year students of a Hiroshima girls' school are taken away to work in war factories. The remaining 220 girls of the first year try to make the best of their new-found status as the only teenagers in an almost deserted town, even amid the deprivations of wartime. On the 7th of August, an American bomber changes their lives forever. Broadcast on the 43rd anniversary of Hiroshima in memory of "the girls who lost their lives to the atom bomb." Not translated. First minutes of anime is live action with explanation right away that girls died while clearing debris when building demolished above them. During the course of 34 minutes animated strips of girls life is interrupted by live action even with interview several more times. Too short and unintegral to recomend.   Overall Rating: 5/10   58. Oishinbo 美味しんぼ [1988-IV] Shin-Ei Animation (Dropped 3/136) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Gourmet, Slice of Life Oishinbo is a drama about newspaper reporters. The main character is a cynical food critic named Yamaoka. Oishinbo is a popular mainstream comic for adults in Japan. It is even mentioned in an episode of "Iron Chef." Ajikko had a success last year, so why not to shoot another culinary show. Oishinbo is only food for the goofy unfocused protagonist, but Ajikko is better in all other fields .   Overall Rating: 5/10   59. 3 Choume no Tama: Uchi no Tama Shirimasen ka? Tama of Third Street: Have You Seen My Tama? 3丁目のタマ うちのタマ知りませんか? [1988-IV] Group TAC (Dropped 3/36) Tags: Pets Adventure The characters are Tama, Momo, Wocket, Tiggle, Rockney, Pimmy, Bupkus, Bengpu, and Chopin. There is no consistent plot. Tama and his friends just have little, family friendly, adventures every episode. The only consistency is when a new friend is made one episode and flash backs. The only question I have is why it is not marked as kids show... I guess, it's because there are also kids who even go to school with pets, but pets are still main characters, and it's still a kids show.   Overall Rating: 5/10   60. Himitsu no Akko-chan 2 ひみつのアッコちゃん２  [1988-IV] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo School Akko-chan is a bright and energetic 5th grader in elementary school whose father is a newscaster and mother is a picture-book writer. Akko always cherishes the palm-sized mirror that was given to her by her father and treats it with care. However, the mirror was accidentally broken by her absent-minded mother. On a night where a beautiful full-moon hangs in the sky, Akko-chan buries the mirror pieces in the garden and goes to sleep. She is awakened by a soft and kind voice which belongs to the Queen of the Mirror Kingdom. She sends her gratitiude to Akko-chan for cherishing the mirror with care and offers her a magical compact mirror. Whenever she sings the magical words, Akko-chan will be able to transform into anything she wants. 1960s had so many nice magical girl series, but Himitsu no Akko-chan was not one of them even then, so why this one gets a sequel... just heavy exploitation of magical mirror to change image constantly to create supposed to be funny situations.   Overall Rating: 4/10   61. Hai! Akko Desu ハーイあっこです [1988-IV] Eiken (Finished 0/164) Tags: Romance, Slice of Life  The story follows the daily life of a Akko-chan who is a new young wife. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   62. Meimon! Daisan Yakyuubu Meimon! The Third Baseball Club 名門！第三野球部 [1988-IV] Fuji TV (Dropped 1/40) Tags: Shounen Action, Sports  Asunaro is a new student at a school with three baseball teams; the first is renowned as being one of the best in the prefecture, but the third, Asunaro’s team, is filled with the rejects and unskilled of the baseball world. As the baseball instructor deems them to be nothing but trash, he informs the team that they will be disbanded in one month – that is, until one of the players begs him to let them play a single game. They’ll be up against the first team, and if they win, they’ll get to take over the title and even work their way towards playing at Koshien Stadium. With the help of Kaido, an ex-member of the first team, Asunaro and his friends will do whatever it takes to show they’re more than meets the eye! Just one episode seems to be translated. Another story of losers trying hard to beat the ace team.   Overall Rating: 5/10   63. Top wo Nerae! Gunbuster Gunbuster トップをねらえ！ GunBuster [1988-IV] Gainax (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Military, Space Action, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi In the near future, humanity has taken its first steps towards journeying into the far reaches of the galaxy. Upon doing so they discover a huge race of insectoid aliens known as "Space Monsters." These aliens seem dedicated to the eradication of mankind as they near closer and closer to discovering Earth. In response, humanity develops giant fighting robots piloted by hand-picked youth from around the world. Shortly after the discovery of the aliens, Noriko Takaya, the daughter of a famous deceased space captain, enters a training school despite her questionable talents as a pilot. There, she meets her polar opposite, the beautiful and talented Kazumi Amano, and is unexpectedly made to work together with her as they attempt to overcome the trauma of war as well as their own emotions. Gainax are great experimentators. Could you ever imagine a shounen with all-girl cast with a coach? And it's definitely closer to shounen than shoujo even with the inner female protagonist. For a long time I thought that I could not enjoy mecha because of all the seriousness, e.g. lack of non-antics comedy and fan-service. This is finally mecha with human face, enough nice humor, drama and fan-service. Thanks to this show we got Evangelion and Gurren Lagann and not thanks to two decades of tasteless bland mecha. I was able to enjoy Gunbuster to an extent, but not as a masterpiece .   Overall Rating: 6/10   64. Makai Toshi Shinjuku Demon City Shinjuku 魔界都市〈新宿〉 [1988-IV] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Gore Adventure, Horror, Romance, Supernatural Kyoya's father was a great warrior, killed at the hands of the diabolical psychic, Rebi Ra, who has now opened a portal to hell in the city of Shinjuku. It falls to Kyoya to finish what his father started and battle his way through demons, while protecting a young woman from harm. The only problem is that he's not exactly your classic hero type, and his powers are still latent. I expected a lot more from Madhouse OVA. Lots of one tone backgrounds, reddish colors , enemies showing up right from walls or from the ground, not impressive plot. Just can't recommend this.   Overall Rating: 4/10   65. Crying Freeman Cryingフリーマン [1988-IV] Toei Animation (Finished 6/6) Tags: Seinen Detective, Martial Arts, Organized Crime Action, Drama, Romance Yo Hinomura was an ordinary Japanese potter when a run-in with a Chinese mafia changed his life forever. Now an assassin for the 108 Dragons, Yo is the perfect killing machine. As a sign for remorse over his victims, he sheds tears after eliminating his targets. Because of this, he is infamously known by the Dragons and every crime syndicate in the world as "Crying Freeman." If there is one thing needed to know about this anime is that it's Ecchi, no idea why it's not covered in tags. Too much nonsense and contradictions. Reminded me Wounded Man/Kizuoibito in a lot of ways.   Overall Rating: 4/10   66. Violence Jack: Jigoku Gai-hen Violence Jack: Evil Town バイオレンス ジャック 〜地獄街編〜 [1988-IV] Studio 88 (Finished 1/1) Tags: Gore Action, Drama, Horror  The World as we know it has been torn apart shattered by a series of natural disasters that have turned civilization into a brutish nightmare of survival and has left whole cities buried beneath the Earth. It's now a lethal and chaotic place, a place where only the strongest and most savage remain alive. The strongest of them all is a giant warrior known as Violence Jack… Violence Jack tries to avert a civil war brewing among the wretched inhabitants of a subterranean metropolis called Evil Town. Based on a character created by manga horror specialist, Go Nagai. Second part of the trilogy. And another forgotten use of Ecchi tag that is everywhere in this series. Jack starts to talk in this one, but setting is much less believable now. Basically, it starts to look a lot like Hokuto no Ken spinoff with masculine giants fighting and pawns exploding like watermelons. Not recommended.   Overall Rating: 4/10   67. Kikou Ryohei Mellowlink 機甲猟兵メロウリンク [1988-IV] Sunrise (Dropped 3/12) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Sci-Fi As the sole survivor from a squad that was sacrificed and hung out as scapegoats for embezzlement of military resources at the end of the 100 years war, Mellowlink Arity is out for revenge. Carrying the dogtags of his deceased comrades and armed with a dated anti AT rifle, he swears to hunt down and exact revenge on the corrupt officers that betrayed his squad, and maybe even uncover the truth behind the plot as well. If you liked Armored Trooper Votoms, you'll probably like this one. If you did not like that, there's basically no chance. I did not like that.   Overall Rating: 5/10   68. Uchuu no Senshi Starship Troopers 宇宙の戦士 [1988-IV] Sunrise (Finished 6/6) Tags: Shounen Sci-Fi Mecha, Military, Space Johnny Rico is a high school student living in Buenos Aires, who doesn't know what to do with his future life. When his friend Carl and his love Carmen, whom he grew up with, join the Federal Military, he does too enlist in the hope to chase after his love into space. However, a war is brewing on the outer planets with a strange bug-like alien enemy and Johnny is thrust into conflict. I'm a fan of Starship Troopers movie, but - to tell the truth - mostly because of majestic Denise Richards and great action visuals ... two things anime would not have. I'm shocked that half of the show is wasted on prologue and training. In episode 4 there was still no clash, just one-sided attack on the base while troopers were away. Episode 5 - nothing but cliffhanger. So actual action takes half of an episode - enjoy ! Cuz I could not .   Overall Rating: 5/10   69. Meiou Project Zeorymer Hades Project Zeorymer 冥王計画ゼオライマー [1988-IV] AIC (Finished 4/4) Tags: Mecha, Psychological Action, Drama, Sci-Fi A young man named Akitsu Masato is captured by a secret govt. project known as "Last Guardian". He is told that his life as a normal student was all a lie, and that his real destiny is to be the pilot of a great robot called "Zeorymer of the Heavens". The truth of this is hammered in when Masato sees his parents accept payment for raising him. The Last Guardian is preparing for the resurrection of "Hau Dragon", an organization bent on world conquest. 15 years ago, Hau Dragon built 8 great robots. Each of the mecha represents a force of nature. However, before any of the robots could be used, their creater Kihara Masaki destroyed the robots except for the leader: Zeorymer. He took Zeorymer and an embryo to the government. The embryo became the boy Masato. Now, Hau Dragon has rebuilt the other 7 mecha and wants the 8th. It will be up to Masato and Himuro to pilot Zeorymer and fight against the Hau Dragon, but neither Masato or Himuro are all that they seem. Basically, an incredibly boring mecha without any clever intrigue going underneath.   Overall Rating: 4/10   70. One Pound Gospel １ポンドの福音  [1988-IV] Gallop (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Romance, Sports  Hatanaka Kosaku, a hopeful boxer, has a mean KO punch. Unfortunately, his dietary willpower is weak, and he eats even greasy hamburgers right before a bout. As a result, he has to compete in higher weight classes, and as soon as he takes an abdominal punch, he vomits, which causes him to lose the match in shame. As he tries to grapple with his weak will, he meets Sister Angela, a novitiate at a local convent. While Sister Angela strives to help Hatanaka in his endeavor, he seems to make her training to be a nun more difficult. Boxing and religion... I seriously hate both. Absolutely spineless moron for protagonist, no real humor, no lesson ever learned, pure waste of time.   Overall Rating: 4/10   71. Maison Ikkoku: Shiki Utsuriyuku Kisetsu no Naka de めぞん一刻～移りゆく季節の中で～  [1988-IV] Studio Deen (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast Comedy, Drama, Romance A recap of the Maison Ikkoku series that focuses on the relationship between Godai and Kyoko. The entire special is taken from footage of the TV series. Good for me who did not finish the series. I still like comedy part of the show more, but I'm glad this recap exists.   Overall Rating: 6/10   72. Gall Force 3: Stardust War ガルフォース3 スターダスト・ウォー [1988-IV] AIC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Military, Space Action, Sci-Fi The girls are saved ... by none other than Catty Nebulart herself! Now, the race is on as Catty struggles to complete her crowning achievement: a huge machine that will bring life to a lifeless world! Yay, at least some kind of conclusion somewhere. Overall same level of confusion as previous parts.   Overall Rating: 5/10   73. Uchuu Kazoku Carlvinson 宇宙家族カールビンソン [1988-IV] Doga Kobo (Finished 1/1) Tags: Childcare Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi When a motley band of traveling performers has a deep-space collision with another spacecraft, they find that the sole survivor of the other craft is a humanoid infant. They decide to raise the child as their own on the nearest planet as they wait for other members of the girl's race to come and find her. In one phrase - kids material. All kinds of aliens eat sweets, organize kindergarten, that kind of stuff.   Overall Rating: 4/10   74. Ryuu Seiki Dragon Century 竜世紀 [1988-IV] AIC (Finished 2/2) Tags: Mythology  Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi The story of a young girl and a young dragon. Naturally, they are the best of friends, and naturally the rest of the world is against them both. However, when demons decide to trash their world, they side with those who have always been against them. First episode is basically just befriending a dragon, second has some fights, but nothing to remember.   Overall Rating: 5/10   75. Yousei Ou Fairy King 妖精王 [1988-IV] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Fantasy Jack has moved to Hokkaido to get treatment for an illness, but he's lonely and unhappy. One night a man on a horse rides through his window to help him. For a reason he doesn't understand, Jack instantly knows the man's name and feels they've met somewhere before. The man, Cu Chulainn, tells Jack to open the moonlight shadow window, which leads him to Nymphidia, the world of Midsummer Night's Dream, whose inhabitants are waiting for a new Fairy King Art style is very irritating for me, as well as subtle shounen-ai hints. Basially, all main characters are males, so can hardly call it a shoujo at all. As for me, very uncool to watch at fragile crying at any trifle protagonist.   Overall Rating: 4/10   76. Kimagure Orange☆Road: Ano Hi ni Kaeritai きまぐれオレンジ★ロード　あの日にかえりたい [1988-IV] Pierrot (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life Years have passed since Kyousuke Kasuga became entangled in a love triangle with the childish Hikaru Hiyama and the elegant Madoka Ayukawa. Now in their final year of high school, Madoka and Kyousuke are thoroughly occupied preparing for their college entrance exams. Hikaru, not yet close to graduation, struggles with the realization that her two closest friends are leaving her. With the threat of separation looming over the horizon, Kyousuke is finally forced to decide who he loves—no matter how painful it may be. Pretty painful movie because of psycho Hikaru, so hate this situation of winning back at all cost.   Overall Rating: 5/10   77. Hiatari Ryoukou! Yume no Naka ni Kimi ga Ita 陽あたり良好！ KA・SU・MI 夢の中に君がいた [1988-IV] Group TAC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy, Drama, Romance  The movie starts out with Katsuhiko going to the US, with Kasumi and Yusaku seeing him off at Narita. Two years later, Katsuhiko is a professional racer, and comes back to Japan to race (and to marry Kasumi). Yusaku's hobby is photography. The worst epilogue compared to Maison Ikkoku and Orange road, but still nice to see where it all was going to.   Overall Rating: 5/10   78. Shinshuu Sudama-hen 神州魑魅変 [1988-IV] Magic Bus (Finished 4/4) Tags: Seinen Historical, Martial Arts, Samurai Action “Shinshuu Sudama-hen” is a 4-episode OVA about a vein of gold ore called the “Golden Dragon,” whose location can only be discovered by “joining” (read: having intercourse) with a particular woman who has inherited the blood of the gods. In the beginning, a man is assassinated, but in his dying breath, he tells Kageshichiro, the hero, that his daughter, Kageshichiro’s childhood friend Orie, holds the key to the Golden Dragon. Not translated. Again ecchi tag is missing for some reason. Again very similar to Wounded man and Smiling freeman for the amount of gore, deaths, H events and also format of at least 4 OVA .   Overall Rating: 3/10
  17. kivandopulus

    Anime of the Year 1989 - Venus Senki

    By kivandopulus,


    Anime of the Year
    First of all, with 100 titles after filtering this is getting totally unreadable, so from 1990 I'm moving to coverage per season rather than per year. In 1989 there were quite a few surprises for me as I could call as many as five titles borderline masterpieces Venus Senki , Hoshi Neko Fullhouse , Majo no Takkyuubin , Tezuka Osamu Monogatari: Boku wa Son Gokuu , Assemble Insert with first one turning my personal favorite from this list.    1. Peter Pan no Bouken Peter Pan & Wendy ピーターパンの冒険 [1989-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/41) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy Wendy and her two little brothers are brought to the land of adventures, Neverland, by Peter pan, a boy who will never grow up. In Neverland they encounter exciting events and meet with little fairies, mermaids, Indians, and pirates. Required to act as a mother, Wendy never has a moments peace with all that is happening around her, including breath-taking fights with pirates. Later in the series, they set off to find a buried treasure with a map that they obtain from the pirates. Just kids stuff , really.   Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Chinpui チンプイ [1989-I] Shin-Ei Animation (Dropped 3/56) Tags: Comedy TV anime show based on the manga by F. Fujio Fujiko. Chinpui is a mouse-shaped alien, and it's basically Doraemon imitator with girl protagonist and this mascot. Just as in Doraemon, themes are too childish for me already.   Overall Rating: 5/10   3. Obocchama-kun おぼっちゃまくん [1989-I] Shin-Ei Animation (Finished 3/164) Tags: Parody Comedy Based on the children's award winning manga by Kobayashi Yoshinori, serialized in Shogakukan's CoroCoro Comic. Not translated. And one more Doraemon imitator with small boy protagonist and a new classmate as if from another planet as he does not follow any social norms of behavior. As you can understand, children manga award is given for kids material, although I like to see social norms transgressed, so I'd gladly watch more episodes if they were translated.   Overall Rating: 6/10   4. Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket 機動戦士ガンダム 0080 ポケットの中の戦争 [1989-I] Sunrise (Finished 6/6) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Drama, Sci-Fi Alfred Izuruha is a 10-year-old who lives in the neutral colony cluster of Side 6 and, like most boys his age, is obsessed with the war between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon. Unbeknownst to him, Al's next-door neighbor, Christina, is the test pilot of a prototype Gundam being developed in secret by the Earth Federation in the colony. A Zeon Special Forces team is assembled and tasked with infiltrating the colony in order to either steal or destroy it. When a skirmish breaks out between the Federation and infiltrating Zeon forces, the fascinated Alfred stumbles upon a Zaku mobile suit that has been shot down, piloted by Zeon rookie Bernard "Bernie" Wiseman. After this encounter, the two start a mutual friendship, so Alfred can learn more about the war that interests him so much, and Bernie can acquire inside information about the colony to aid his team's mission. For some reason everything Gundam franchise touches gets worse than it would be without it. It's a good thing that franchise tries to introduce some human emotions even if done through spectator kid, but it's still done in the most conservative, rigid and boring way. I did not give masterpiece even to Gunbuster that is a much better example of human emotional drama in mecha.   Overall Rating: 6/10   5. Riding Bean ライディング・ビーン [1989-I] AIC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Detective, Racing Action Bean Bandit and his partner Rally Vincent are couriers for hire - transporting clients and delivering goods in his custom sports car "Roadbuster" for a hefty price. But when they are hired to escort a kidnapped girl named Chelsea to her home, they don't realize they're being framed for kidnapping as their former clients Semmerling and Carrie plan their escape with Chelsea's father and the ransom money. Better action and humor than expected, but not masterpiece material.   Overall Rating: 6/10   6. Cipher [1989-I] Magic Bus (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Drama Two brothers are in the spotlight: one a movie star making a football movie, the other a musician who occasionally goes to school (to cover for his sibling). What will destiny bring them? It starts as a music clip with some one-line dialogues rarely showing up on the black screen, continues as animated ad, then as interview, then as movie trailer with dialogues on top of music, then again as a music clip, again an inerview, street poll and so on imitating a TV table ... if you think that a good story can be told this way, go ahead and give this a try. Let my score convey my opinion.   Overall Rating: 4/10   7. Midnight Eye: Gokuu MIDNIGHT EYE　ゴクウ [1989-I] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi Furinji Goku is a detective who has an "eye of god". While he was investigating the murder case of his colleague when he had been an officer, he was pressured to stop it by the police executives. However, he continue investigating, and he lost his left eye. When he was about to be killed, a mysterious group helped him and transplant an artificial eye. The eye was a super technological device that connected to the whole computer network in the world, and enabled him to control any computers. Not bad, and I liked many enemy designs and abilities. If Cobra is an epitome of average in the genre, this feels like a better version of it, thus above average.   Overall Rating: 6/10   8. Kimagure Orange☆Road OVA きまぐれオレンジ☆ロード [1989-I] Pierrot (Finished 8/8) Tags: School Comedy, Drama, Romance Shiroi Koibito-tachi Kyousuke Kasuga and his friends are staying at his grandparent's house over winter break on a skiing trip. Everyone is excited until they hear about a curse that spells doom for couples who go down the mountain together. With a net of relationships and crushes on the line, the group's plans are suddenly upended. Hawaiian Suspense Kyousuke and Madoka Ayukawa's trip to Hawaii takes an abrupt turn for the worse when Hikaru Hiyama gets kidnapped! Kyousuke has to find a way to rescue her without revealing his paranormal powers to Madoka. Wagahai wa Neko de Attari Osakana de Attari While studying for exams, Kyousuke wishes that he could switch places with his pet cat or fish so he could have an easier life. But when his grandfather arrives with a magic rope that can be used to swap bodies, Kyousuke finds out he might have gotten himself in too deep. Hurricane! Henshin Shoujo Akane When Kyousuke's cousin, Akane, comes to visit, she stirs up antics with her ability to cast illusions. Things get even crazier when Akane falls for Madoka and becomes Kyousuke's rival in love. Koi no Stage=Heart on Fire! As Kyousuke helps to prepare for a local music festival, a popular idol crashes into him and they switch bodies! Now, Kyousuke must get his body back and prevent his secret from getting out before the show begins. Omoi Gakenai Situation Kyousuke has a foreboding dream where Akane attempts to seduce him. Disgusted after having inappropriate thoughts about his cousin, Kyousuke is shocked when she actually asks him to pose as her boyfriend in front of her friends. Rouge no Dengon Madoka's father is in Japan for a performance, and she is excited for the rare opportunity to see him. When she sees her father with a strange woman, however, her emotions are thrown into disarray. Wow, probably first official fan-service spin-off. It has such high level of magic and nonsense that  absolutely can't be taken seriously.   Overall Rating: 5/10   9. Crusher Joe OVA クラッシャージョウ [1989-I] Sunrise (Finished 2/2) Tags: Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi The galaxy is a strange and dangerous place, and there are times when even the United Space Force can`t help. That`s where the Crushers come in - skilled troubleshooters who will deal with any problem, large or small, for a fee (large only!) And there is no better Crusher than Crusher Joe! Again an above average show, but lacks humor, so loses to Dirty Pair with similar plots and better humor in this regard. Also can't say I enjoyed it.   Overall Rating: 6/10   10. Rhea Gall Force レア・ガルフォース [1989-I] AIC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Sci-Fi The Solnoid race is long dead, annihilated along with their enemies in the final battle at Sigma Narse. But their descendants survive on Earth, and have now inherited the sad destiny predicted so many years before. The year is 2085. The third world war between East and West has reduced the cities of Earth to mountains of rubble. The mechanical killing machines created by both sides now ruthlessly hunt down the remnants of humanity. Old hatreds between human factions prevent an effective resistance, and the only hope for survival rests in a desperate plan: evacuate the survivors to Mars Base. There they can rebuild and plan the liberation of the home world. Among them, one young woman carries the guilt of her father`s hand in the destruction of civilization. Unknown to her, she also carries the key to a possible salvation. As destiny draws new friends and allies to her, a new Gall Force is born to rise up against the coming destruction... A lively action due to a great ground battle happening during the whole episode, but next ones are supposed to be in space again.   Overall Rating: 6/10   11. Kasei Yakyoku Nightsong of Splendor 華星夜曲 [1989-I] Magic Bus (Finished 4/4) Tags: Historical Drama, Romance The story takes place in old Tokyo, the Tokyo of August-September 1923 (Showa 12). At this moment in time, the city is a mixture of extremes... past and present, rich and poor, good and bad. This is a city where we see both horsecarts and motorcars, swords and pistols, lords and businessmen. A wealthy woman from an upper-class family finds herself attracted to a handsome young man, Taka. He and his younger brother seem to be allied, perhaps not entirely willingly, with some of the city's criminal underground (Yakuza). The lady's lovely young maidservant, Sara, meets him too, and a conflict ensues which can only lead to tragedy, passion, and dishonor. But, as events move on, and the days pass, the viewer sees a terrible date coming closer... that unforgettable day of September 1, 1923, at 11:58, when the Great Kanto Earthquake and tidal wave struck Tokyo, causing the death of almost 100,000 people, one of the greatest disasters in human history. The first josei ? Anyway, it's a pretty boring story about rich noble ladies in trouble and a defender gangster all in white fighting typical gangsters ... Of course every episode represents vivid example of cliche on notorious woman logic which means absolutely stupid actions because she loves a gangster - like attempt to kill the same gangster or immediately getting married to another man. Await all kinds of romance stamps. There's just nothing for me to like here.   Overall Rating: 5/10   12. Kyomu Senshi Miroku 虚無戦史ＭＩＲＯＫＵ [1989-I] J.C.Staff (Finished 6/6) Tags: Historical, Mythology, Samurai Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Supernatural A psychic ninja fantasy suggesting that the assassins did not die out during the Sengoku era but burrowed under Japan, where they fought a new war against the alien occupants of a crashed spaceship that has lain undisturbed for several millennia. Just a normal youkai action with more gore than usual. Nothing stands out here.   Overall Rating: 5/10   13. Yankee Reppuu-tai ヤンキー烈風隊 [1989-I] Toei Animation (Finished 6/6) Tags: Shounen Delinquents Adventure, Drama Impossibly tough and hairsprayed biker boys and girls fight turf wars in the streets, with much revving of motors and "you killed my buddy, prepare to die" dialogue. Based on the Shonen Magazine manga by Masahide Hashimoto, whose hero was so tough that he transferred schools 20 times. Only a Japanese tough guy would continue to go at all! Not translated. Biker wars on their own aren't particularly interesting without a heavy focus on humor and characters.   Overall Rating: 5/10   14. Bakusou Circuit Roman Twin 爆走サーキット·ロマン TWIN [1989-I] Japan Home Video (Finished 1/1) Tags: Racing This OVA centers on a boy named Hyou, who is constantly trying to kill himself for the first half of the show, and Hibiki, a rich, lonely girl who initially wants to commit suicide just because she saw a guy she likes kiss another girl. She ends up running into Hyou, falls in love at first sight, and makes it her mission to basically stalk him and prevent him from killing himself. Not translated. Mentally unstable people do stupid things. The End.   Overall Rating: 3/10   15. Venus Senki Venus Wars ヴィナス戦記 [1989-I] Triangle Staff (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi In the 21st century, mankind lives on two worlds. Following the collision of an ice asteroid, massive terraforming has made Venus a planet now capable of supporting life. Colonists from Earth tamed the hostile world and have thrived for four generations. But they also brought the darker side of humanity. Venus is about to get hostile again. Hiro Seno, a hotshot motorcycle jockey, witnesses the first strike against his country Aphrodia, by the rival nation of Ishtar. Huge battletanks and warplanes quickly lay waste to the city. The Aphrodian army is quick to mobilize and retaliate... and despite his opposition to warfare, Hiro finds himself fighting for his life on the front lines. I don't like racing, real life footage and opening endings. This anime has it all, and I still enjoyed it a lot to the point that I absolutely want to highlight it. It was not clear where it was going at all, so I was anxious what's going on. Great setting and views, great battles great visuals, very nice characters. Just great.   Overall Rating: 7/10   16. Five Star Stories ファイブスター物語 [1989-I] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Action, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Amaterasu is the god of light, the future emperor of the Joker Star System. Under the guise of young mecha conceptor Ladios Sopp, he is compelled by an old friend, Dr Ballanche, to save his two latest Fatimas Lachesis and Clotho. And so began the stories of the Joker System, as well as Amaterasu's love for Lachesis. For mecha standards it's better than average one, but I kept forgetting that it's mecha at all as it's basically not needed here. Protagonist dresses as a girl, so subtle boys love hints are inevitable. Synopsis is overly complicated for the story that develops rather straightforwardly. This mix of elements was not particularly interesting to me, so could not enjoy it, but it had nice action moments with laser swords, thus...   Overall Rating: 6/10   17. Utsunomiko 宇宙皇子 [1989-I] Nippon Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mythology  Adventure, Fantasy  In the chaos of the Jinshin-no-Ran civil war of 762, a child with a small horn in his forehead was born. The child's mother condemned him as an oni and cast him away. An elderly shūgenja woman claimed the child and named him Utsunomiko, or 'Divine Child of the Heavens', telling Miko that his horn smybolizes the union of heaven and earth. Miko matured in the wilderness learning the ways of Shugendō, and soon started venturing into villages out of curiosity. He found that the common people of the villages live in poverty and suffering, and began using his spiritual powers to help them. But his anger at the self-serving rulers and their petty power-struggles grew until he came into open conflict with the Imperial Court, setting Miko down a long path as a champion of the oppressed. Not translated, because who seriously cares about some ancient yokai mythology adventures. Becomes very chaotic as more flying fire breathing magicians show up.   Overall Rating: 5/10   18. Dragon Ball Z ドラゴンボールZ [1989-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 4/291) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts, Super Power Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy Five years after winning the World Martial Arts tournament, Gokuu is now living a peaceful life with his wife and son. This changes, however, with the arrival of a mysterious enemy named Raditz who presents himself as Gokuu's long-lost brother. He reveals that Gokuu is a warrior from the once powerful but now virtually extinct Saiyan race, whose homeworld was completely annihilated. When he was sent to Earth as a baby, Gokuu's sole purpose was to conquer and destroy the planet; but after suffering amnesia from a head injury, his violent and savage nature changed, and instead was raised as a kind and well-mannered boy, now fighting to protect others. With his failed attempt at forcibly recruiting Gokuu as an ally, Raditz warns Gokuu's friends of a new threat that's rapidly approaching Earth—one that could plunge Earth into an intergalactic conflict and cause the heavens themselves to shake. A war will be fought over the seven mystical dragon balls, and only the strongest will survive in Dragon Ball Z. Sequel loses in humor a bit, but seems to be more integral with the plot and base for fighting arcs. No desire to watch it further, as cliffhangers after each episode make the most of motivation to continue.   Overall Rating: 6/10   19. Ranma ½ らんま1/2 [1989-II] Studio Deen (Dropped 3/161) Tags: Shounen Magical Sex Shift, Martial Arts Comedy, Fantasy, Slice of Life Ranma Saotome is a top-class martial artist and prodigy at the Saotome "Anything-Goes" school of martial arts. While training in China, he and his father meet a terrible fate when they accidentally fall into a cursed spring. Now, Ranma is cursed to turn into a girl when splashed with cold water, and only hot water can turn him back into a boy. Things are only complicated further when Ranma discovers that his father has arranged for him to marry one of Soun Tendo's three daughters in order to secure the future of the Tendo dojo. Though Soun learns of Ranma's predicament, he is still determined to go ahead with the engagement, and chooses his youngest daughter Akane, who happens to be a skilled martial artist herself and is notorious for hating men. Ranma ½ follows the hilarious adventures of Ranma and Akane as they encounter various opponents, meet new love interests, and find different ways to make each other angry, all while their engagement hangs over their head. Actually, I watched at least a dozen of episodes in the past, but it gets repetitive with episodic format. Nice comedy show, but never considered it a masterpiece, only a temporary amusement.   Overall Rating: 6/10   20. Tenkuu Senki Shurato 天空戦記シュラト [1989-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/38) Tags: Shounen Action, Fantasy  A 16-year-old boy named Shurato and his friend Gai happen to be drawn into a gigantic ball of light while competing in the final match of a martial arts tournament. When they regain their senses, they find themselves transferred to a mystic heavenly sphere with a divine atmosphere. It's soon discovered that Shurato used to be the governing king of this world and that he has only been brought to his original state. Shurato is shocked as Gai suddenly turns hostile. After this unfortunate incident, a spectacular yet fantastic drama develops involving the two. Looks a lot like Saint Seiya with gods fighting with melee weapons. Super boring, but at least there is a female companion for at least some comedy relief.   Overall Rating: 5/10   21. Idol Densetsu Eriko Legendary Idol Eriko アイドル伝説えり子 [1989-II] Production Reed (Dropped 3/51) Tags: Idols (Female), Music Eriko Tamura is Kousuke Tamura, the chairman of Tamura Productions (reknown music company) and Minako Tamura's (former famous idol singer) only daughter. Having talent for singing since birth, she has always loved her parent's media world. Then one day tragedy strikes when her parents get into a horrible car accident, which kills her father and leaves her mother in coma. She is left in her father's best friend, Mr. Uchida's care. Now Eriko must take the path of singing, a path her parents did not want her to pursue. Then her uncle is out to destroy her career. But in spite of all the hardship, she becomes an idol and wins hearts all over Japan. I try to finish musical anime, but not with this many episodes... there have been at least two idol anime before, but they had only competition and attempt to work/study alongside. Here the study is cast off as a hindrance, and the focus is on exploiting idol by different people. It's curious enough for that reason, but not a masterpiece material .   Overall Rating: 6/10   22. Tatakae! Chou Robot Seimeitai Transformers Victory Transformers Victory 戦え! 超ロボット生命体トランスフォーマーV[ビクトリー] [1989-II] (Dropped 3/38) Tags: Shounen Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi Set in 2025 A.D., Transformers Victory introduces Star Saber, the mightiest Autobot warrior and the greatest swordsman in the galaxy. Following the defeat of the Decepticons on Earth in the Masterforce War, the villains have begun aggressively attacking other planets in the universe. To counter this threat, the Autobots joined with many other civilizations and lifeforms (including Humanity) to form the Galactic Peace Alliance, with Star Saber as its leader. Seeking the energy necessary to free his massive Planet-Destroying Fortress from imprisonment in the Dark Nebula where Star Saber sealed it years ago, the Decepticons' new Emperor of Destruction, Deathsaurus (Dezarus), attacks Earth with his Dinoforce, prompting Star Saber and his team to set up residence on the planet. Guess what - transformers have not become better by now.   Overall Rating: 2/10   23. Madou King Granzort Mado King Granzort 魔動王グランゾート [1989-II] Sunrise (Dropped 3/41) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi In the future, the moon is a habitable place with atmosphere and gravity and also a famous tourist attraction. There are also stories about a "long ears" creature like rabbits on the moon who can use magic. Haruka Daichi heads off to the moon during a summer holiday alone because he likes to see the long ears creature by himself. However, he get himself dragged into an ancient conflict between two ancient moon races: the "long ears" race and Jado race. Jado race wanted to conquer the universe and resurrect ancient evil powers to seize control of the Earth. Now the "long ears" race and Daichi must seek three warriors who could use magic to release Mado King to fight Jado race and to release "long ears" race's kingdom, Rabiluna, from Jado race. Another crazy mecha which looks absolutely needless as magic is used for fighting. Anyway, thanks to Sunrise big experience, humor is nice, and SD characters are cute. Personally, as soon as evil empreror appeared before three generals and gave orders, anime was already dead for me.   Overall Rating: 6/10   24. Juushin Liger Bio Armor Ryger 獣神ライガー [1989-II] Sunrise (Dropped 3/43) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi It is 199X A.D. In Kushiro, Hokkaido, three bodies of Dragonite appear. Possessing overwhelming destructive force, they attack the city. They also awaken the evil Jashin Drago from the holy seal he was trapped in. 200 years ago, Drago was trapped in the seal by a holy warrior with the tattooed mark of the Liger. Assuming that the warrior is dead, Drago and Empress Zara are free to conquer the Earth using their army of biomechanical beasts. Even the Japan Self-Defense Forces are no match for the Dragonites' awesome power. One of the people fleeing is the protagonist, a milquetoast 16 year old boy named Ken Taiga. Unbeknownst to the Dragonites, Ken realizes that he is the descendant of the Liger warrior! In a burst of anger, Ken's Liger birthmark appears, and he rises his palm into the air, shouting the henshin command, "LIGER!!!", which then covers him in demonic long-haired biomechanical armor. Ken transforms into Jushin Liger to fight the evil forces of the Dragonite! Mecha with monster of the week... nuff said.   Overall Rating: 5/10   25. Aoi Blink Blue Blink 青いブリンク [1989-II] Tezuka Productions (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy  Story of a young boy named Kakeru and his adventures together with a magical blue pony named Blink. Wow, first TV series of Tezuka Productions, also it's the year when Osamu Tezuka dies, so company becomes a more or less normal anime company after it. So, first of a ll Aoi Blink is a child anime in the genre of fantasy travel, this this regard it's just like Kino no Tabi, just with a pony instead of a bike. Visited towns are truly unique and fun. This anime definitely deserves a masterpiece, but I can't lie to myself - I don't like children anime and travel genre. Absolutely great anime to show to children, though.   Overall Rating: 6/10   26. Miracle Giants Doumu-kun ミラクル・ジャイアンツ童夢くん  [1989-II] Gallop (Finished 0/49) Tags: Sports  Dome Shinjo, a 10-year-old boy who is son of a deceased legendary player of the Yomiuri Giants. From his father he inherited the love for baseball and his great abilities for such sport, although his mother and his older sister try to avoid that he practices it. In fact, his father, before dying, had time to teach him a magical shoot. Dome, after his mother gave him the glove his father used, he makes that shot in a training session of the Giants and is contracted immediately. With the support of the veteran players of the team, this young player will, from this very moment, make the Giants become unbeatable at home and none of the main batters of the Japanese professional league manages to end with his magical shot. Although that does not apply to the games played away, as Dome is just allowed to play at home, in the Tokyo Dome in which his father was consacrated (and the place by which he did chose such name for his son). When the veteran captain of the Dragons manages to bat his shot, it seems that the young boy is finally and definitely defeated, but then he invents another magical shot. New rivals, but also friends (such as Melody Norman, an American girl who disguises herself as a boy because women can't play baseball), will appear in scene, until the arrival of the mysterious Don Carlos, a Spanish ex-bullfighter who plays for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp and seems to have something pending with his father. Will Dome succeed in giving the league to the Giants? Not translated. Not going to watch non-translated anime of the genres I don't like.   Overall Rating: 0/10   27. Akuma-kun 悪魔くん [1989-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/42) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural  The age of the demons has begun. Dr Faust has foreseen this rise of evil. Unfortunately, he is near death and is unable to personally battle this upcoming threat. Faust entrusts a young boy, Shingo Yamada, to take the responsibility of ridding the Earth of this new evil presence. Faust finds a birthmark on Shingo's forehead that signifies that he is the chosen demon fighter. Faust summons from hell what may be humanity's only hope of surviving: a less than enthusiastic devil named Mephisto rises. After signing a pact in blood to save humankind, Shingo and Mephisto set out to battle the supernatural world. Not translated. I don't like youkai and I'm fed up with Gegege no Kitaro to such an extent that I don't want to watch its movies. Akuma-kun feels a lot like Kitaro, so I can't enjoy it. Movies of Akura-kun seem to have translation, so will try to like it then.   Overall Rating: 5/10   28. Shin Bikkuriman 新ビックリマン [1989-II] Toei Animation (Finished 3/72) Tags: Comedy, Fantasy Shin Bikkuriman depicts the journey of Pia Marco and his group who travel together until they finally build a truly peaceful world "Shinkawa system".  Not translated. Show fully depends on gags, so it's kind of useless to discuss it without translation. As for me, characters are way too childish to enjoy.   Overall Rating: 5/10   29. Youma Blood Reign: Curse of the Yoma 妖魔 [1989-II] J.C.Staff (Finished 2/2) Tags: Mythology Action, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural  A terrible war has ravaged the land, and now, fueled by the blood of numerous fallen warriors the Yoma, demons from hell, emerge once more. A skilled ninja seeks to end the bloodshed these demons inflict upon humanity, but to do this he must fight against his undead former best friend and fellow ninja who was killed in battle and has been resurrected to serve the Yoma. Your usual ninja vs youkai, hard to make something serious with 37 minutes length.   Overall Rating: 5/10   30. Riki-Oh: Toukatsu Jigoku 力王 等括地獄 [1989-II] Magic Bus (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Martial Arts, Super Power Action A Retelling of the prison arc of the manga RIKI-OH! The story follows Saiga Riki-Oh, a young man blessed with inhuman strength. After taking revenge against a yakuza boss who was responsible for the death of his girlfriend, he ends up in a maximum security prison owned by a private organization. The prison is divided into four blocks, each run by a member of prisoners known as the Gang of Four. The first member is a tattooed knife wielder known as Hai that runs his block in a mafia style family system. The second member is a giant man (known as Tarzan in the live action) with incredible strength. The third member is a effeminate fighter named Huang Chaun that is growing Opium in the prison. The final member is a small man that use sewing needles as his weapons. A super strong prison convict is constantly assaulted , often with dirty methods, but in the end he manages to overcome all difficulties. Nothing of interest to me.   Overall Rating: 5/10   31. Cleopatra D.C. クレオパトラＤ．Ｃ [1989-II] J.C.Staff (Finished 3/3) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi The Cleopatra Corns Group, aka Cleopatra DC, is a powerful financial conglomerate controlling most of the United States economy, almost as powerful as the US government itself. At the top of the organization is the beautiful, smart and brave Ms. Cleo, the Group's young, talented Chairman. This is good--it means she can handle the repair bill when that airplane crashes into her bedroom. With stolen artifacts, corporate kidnappings, and top-secret cyborg projects gone awry, her luck only gets worse from there. Three rather disjointed stories with not enough charm added to make it viable.   Overall Rating: 4/10   32. Fuuma no Kojirou: Yasha-hen 風魔の小次郎 夜叉篇 [1989-II] animate Film (Finished 6/6) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts Action, Fantasy Hakuo Academy was once a respected school where many students dreamed of being admitted. Now, its rival academy Seishikan is on a mission to assimilate all other schools, and Hakuo Academy is its next target. Supported by the fearsome Yasha clan, Seishikan students frequently visit Hakuo's campus to assault and forcibly convince their best students and athletes to transfer to Seishikan. Desperate to preserve their legacy, Hakuo Academy enlists the help of Kojirou Fuuma—the only member of the once-legendary Fuuma clan still living in their ancestral village. Kojirou will stop at nothing to defend Hakuo against the Yasha clan, whom the family has feuded with for generations. But will that be enough to stop Seishikan's aggression? Just battle royale between schools, nothing complex or particularly interesting.   Overall Rating: 4/10   33. Explorer Woman Ray EXPLORER WOMAN RAY (エクスプローラーウーマン・レイ) [1989-II] AIC (Finished 2/2) Tags: Action, Adventure  She's an archeologist AND a black belt and Ray Kazuki will need her brains and her brawn as she plunges into a thrill-filled adventure. Ray's examining an exciting new archeological discovery: a legendary temple located in an isolated area of the world. As always, she has with her a strange mirror that belonged to her father; a mirror that may provide access to a vanished civilization. On the excavation, Ray meets Mai and Mami Tachibana, freewheeling pubescent girls who heedlessly court danger. And danger they find, in the form of Rig Veda. Veda's after a big prize: Ray's mirror. But she will have to stop him at all costs, because if Veda gets his hands on the powerful object, he will possess secrets that could lead to disaster. Basically, treasure hunter adventures like Lara Croft or Indiana Jones... super boring for me.   Overall Rating: 4/10   34. Hoshi Neko Fullhouse Star Cat Fullhouse 星猫フルハウス [1989-II] Artland (Finished 4/4) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi  This slapstick comedy is about three pretty girls struggling to earn a living as pilots of the Iron Goblin delivery vessel. The computer answers back, the space pirates are on their tail, and romantic entanglements with their clients cause friction in the trio. The final episode throws the alien Eterna race in to the mix. Pervy robot, good humor, intrigue of humankind captured by robots from the start, no clear structure from the start - I definitely enjoyed these OVA more than expected ! One little hilarious space harem comedy with right enough length of two hours to not get intrusive.   Overall Rating: 7/10   35. Toki-iro Kaima 朱鷺色怪魔 [1989-II] Mushi Production (Finished 4/4) Tags: Shounen Horror Each episode of the "Toki-iro Kaima" OVA was bundled with a corresponding manga volume and CD single. The idea was that you first read the manga, then watch the OVA, and then conclude your "experience" by listening to the CD. This set of 3 mediums of entertainment was branded as an "Original Comic Video," and "Toki-iro Kaima" appears to be the only "Original Comic Video" that was ever made. Not translated. As OVAs correspond to just one third of experience, it's hard to recommend. Main theme is fight with youkai. Overall, lots of cringe.   Overall Rating: 4/10   36. Shougeki Shinsengumi 笑劇 新選組 [1989-II] (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Historical Comedy A slapstick OVA featuring super deformed members of the Shinsengumi members Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   37. City Hunter: Ai to Shukumei no Magnum City Hunter: .357 Magnum シティーハンター 愛と宿命のマグナム  [1989-II] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Comedy, Mystery A beautiful pianist comes to Tokyo for a charity concert, and City Hunter is there. But music isn`t his forte; he wants lessons in the language of love. Desperation becomes the word of the day as the bodies start dropping. A foreign dignitary is assassinated in cold blood. Secret agents scour the streets for a missing microchip. Diplomatic infighting swirls around the upcoming concert, and City Hunter is the only hope! Traits of characters are showed in exaggerated manner, so it was more interesting to watch than the series. Overall still just above average.   Overall Rating: 6/10   38. Sengoku Kitan Youtouden Movie Wrath of the Ninja 戦国奇譚 妖刀伝 劇場版 [1989-II] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Martial Arts, Samurai Action The year a comet races across the sky, splitting the heavens, from the depths of the Earth the dark god shall arise once again. Then, the dark evil lurking in the shadows shall come out of the depths of Hell and show itself in the present world. The emotions of the blade of the wind shall collect at the source of the blue light. And the three blades shall become one, vanquishing evil. The year is 1580, and the unholy armies of Lord Nobunaga Oda steadily spread across Japan. Narrowly escaping the slaughter of her clan, a young ninja steals into the shadows. She is Ayame, the last of the Kasumi clan, and the dagger she wields is one of three, mystical blades. She is joined by Sakon and Ryoma, renegade ninja and the possessors of the sacred sword and spear. Now, these shadow warriors must unite their weapons and skills to fulfill `The Prophesy of the Enchanted Swords` or die trying.. My main problem is that I already saw the three OVAs. Even then I considered that it would look better as a movie. There are probably some improvements now, but I can't evaluate the plot I had already seen, differently.   Overall Rating: 5/10   39. Hengen Taima Yakou Karura Mau! Nara Onryou Emaki Karura Mau Movie 変幻退魔夜行 カルラ舞う！ 奈良怨霊絵巻 [1989-II] Toshiba Entertainment (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Mythology Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural Shoko and Maiko Ougi are apparently two ordinary schoolgirls in pursuit of graduating and having fun. Shii-chan is the more serious while Mai-chan is more fun-loving. In reality, the two sisters are powerful exorcists from the Karura temple. Each wields half the power...Shii-chan can "see" the spirits, and Mai-chan can banish them. This is the movie adaptation of a spooky series with heavy emphasis on traditionally Japanese occult themes. So let's see - I don't like youkai, exorcism, occultism and horror. Would I like this movie? To my surprise it also got some sunny scenes with merry music and even humor. And then usual gorefest begins.   Overall Rating: 5/10   40. Ultraman USA ウルトラマンUSA  [1989-II] Tsuburaya Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi  The lives of three stunt pilots (Scott, Chuck, and Beth) are changed when they gain the ability to transform into three new Ultra-beings, and form the Ultra Force, to battle four giant Sorkin Monsters. As far as I can see the problem with this show is in... everything? .   Overall Rating: 3/10   41. Lupin III: Bye Bye Liberty - Kiki Ippatsu! Lupin III: Goodbye Lady Liberty ルパン三世『バイバイ・リバティー危機一発！ [1989-II] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery In this adventure, Lupin III tries to erase the files about him in the world police network. He finds out about the Ultravirus, a computer virus that controls all others and its location is only known by a little kid. Meanwhile, he steals the Statue of Liberty to look for a diamond the size of a football that is said to be hidden somewhere in it. Apparently, the diamond and the ultravirus are somehow related... A bit unusual due to initial retirement, but moderately interesting part.   Overall Rating: 5/10   42. Konchuu Monogatari Minashigo Hutch (1989) 昆虫物語みなしごハッチ [1989-III] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/55) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Drama A remake of the 1970's version. Remake it all you want - it's not getting better story-wise.   Overall Rating: 5/10   43. Angel Cop エンジェルコップ [1989-III] D.A.S.T. (Finished 6/6) Tags: Detective Action, Sci-Fi Sometime in the future, terrorism in Japan has become commonplace, and the police have become almost as brutal as criminals. A member of the Special Security Force known as Angel, is the best of the best, stopping at nothing in her fight for justice. Things get interesting for Angel and her partner, Raiden, when they begin investigating a series of murders in which the victims were known criminals, killed in very unpleasant ways. This trio of killers known as Hunters, is a group of psychics that have banded together to hunt down the lowest scum in the city and bring them to justice. After a couple of encounters between the cops and the psychics, two of the psychics begin to think that maybe they're not the good guys after all; but the third prefers killing to morality. Augmented by cybernetics from a mysterious source, this third hunter heads out on a killing spree, with the Special Security Force as the first target. Even with help from the other two psychics and her newly cyborged partner (after an unfortunate accident), Angel is going to have her work cut out trying to find the rogue psychic and the organization behind the Hunters. It's terribly horrible, or maybe horribly terrible. Boring beyond redemption.   Overall Rating: 3/10   44. Baoh Raihousha Baoh the Visitor バオー来訪者 [1989-III] Pierrot (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Gore, Martial Arts, Super Power Action, Sci-Fi An innocent young man, Ikuroo, has a parasite known as Baoh implanted in his brain by an evil organization, Doress. The parasite makes him nearly immortal and gives him the ability to transform into a really powerful beastie when he's in trouble. Doress intends to use him in some sort of ploy for financial success, world domination, or something along those lines, but when they're transporting him on a train, a young psychic girl, Sumire (who's being held by the organization due to her abilities), sets him free and the two escape together. Of course, Dr. Kasuminome is the mad scientist behind the whole Baoh thing, and he isn't about to let his test subject get away and he has considerable resources (including some superpowered lackeys, as well as a small army) at his disposal. Generic story and execution. I like graphical style, and maybe someone can like gore, but that's it.   Overall Rating: 4/10   45. Kyoushoku Soukou Guyver (1989) The Guyver: Bio-Booster Armor 強殖装甲ガイバー [1989-III] Visual 80 (Finished 6/6) Tags: Super Power Action, Horror, Sci-Fi Shou and his friend, Tetsurou, stumble upon a strange orb-like mechanism, the Guyver Unit, in the woods. It physically bonds with Shou and turns him into the alien soldier, Guyver. His mission is to protect the Guyver Unit from the Japanese corporation known as Chronos. They are after it and two other units just like it. To retrieve the object, they send out vicious monsters known as Zoanoids. So no one is safe in Shou's life; not even himself. Very few mecha can receive 6 from me. This is half biomecha, half superhero, but I treat it the same. I can't deny that directorship and graphics are good. It lacks complexity and interesting characters to masterpiece level, but it's a high quality action series.   Overall Rating: 6/10   46. Shin Captain Tsubasa 新・キャプテン翼 [1989-III] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/13) Tags: Shounen Action, Sports Shin Captain Tsubasa takes place at the International Jr. Youth tournament (U-16) in Paris, France. After defeating the Argentina Jr. Youth, Italy Jr. Youth and France Jr. Youth teams, Japan Jr. Youth reaches the final against the powerful West Germany Jr. Youth team. The giant goal keeper Müller, the ace Kaltz and Europe's best player Schneider offer the Japan Jr. Youth team an extremely hard final match. I did not notice anything new apart from that it's almost pure sports now with initial humor seeming to be gone, plus team kinda starts anew as it has not won European cups or even Japanese cup yet.   Overall Rating: 5/10   47. Gosenzo-sama Banbanzai! Long Life To The Ancestors 御先祖様万々歳! [1989-III] Pierrot (Finished 6/6) Tags: Psychological Avant Garde, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi The Yomota family is small and typical: father Kinekuni (42), mother Tamiko (38), and son Inumaru (17). One day, a beautiful girl appears at their front door, calling herself "Maroko Yomota," granddaughter of Inumaru who travels back in time with a time machine to visit her ancestors. Even with Tamiko's strong objection, Kinekuni and Inumaru welcome her to stay with them, and the structure of a happy family has begun to collapse. Absurdist gag comedy that probably inspired such titles as Zetsubou sensei. As with most absurdist gag sketches, majority is bad, but some are nice, single ones are great. There may be many opinions on it, so in the matter the score depends on whether I could enjoy it or not. And I could not. A lot of attention is required, a lot of irritation builds up, but without a proper reward for the viewer.   Overall Rating: 6/10   48. Legend of Lemnear: Kyokuguro no Tsubasa Valkisas Legend of Lemnear Legend of Lemnear 極黒の翼 バルキサス [1989-III] AIC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy  The young and beautiful Lemnear's home village is destroyed and her brother is taken away. Lemnear swears to kill the evil wizard Gardin who is responsible for the disaster. With her allies Lemnear goes on a journey to take her revenge. She doesn't know, though, that there is someone above Gardin... A beautiful small fanservice fantasy anime. Ecchi tag is must have here. Nothing much, but enjoyable enough.   Overall Rating: 6/10   49. Akai Kiba: Blue Sonnet 紅い牙 ブルー・ソネット [1989-III] Tatsunoko Production (Finished 5/5) Tags: Shoujo Super Power Action, Drama, Sci-Fi Sonnet is a cyborg/esper from a harsh background and now trained to be the ultimate warrior and most powerful weapon in the world. She is sent to Japan to watch Komatsuzaki Lan, who is thought to be controlled by the rage of the esper Akai Kiba (Crimson Fang). Lan is a quiet girl who knows she's different from everybody else and starts to show signs of Crimson Fang after coming into contact with Sonnet. In the course of fighting with Lan, Sonnet starts to rediscover her humanity. At the same time Lan has to fight to retain her humanity and control the Crimson Fang. Average in everything and not particularly interesting action.   Overall Rating: 5/10   50. Ariel Visual ARIEL (エリアル) VISUAL [1989-III] J.C.Staff (Finished 2/2) Tags: Mecha Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi To save the Earth from alien invaders and their giant monsters, Dr. Kishida does what any other red-blooded mad scientist would do: he builds a giant robot—the ultimate feminine fighting robot! Unfortunately, his grand-daughters refuse to pilot it! Apparently, they've got more important things to do than becoming teenage super-heroes. Besides, how are you supposed to study for your college entrance exams while getting beaten-up in battle? Fortunately for Dr. Kishida, things aren't too well for the invaders, either. According to their reports, the Earth was the perfect target: lush, peaceful, and relatively defenseless. Theoretically, the planet should've surrendered long ago. Now, the war is at a standstill, the dreaded Accounting Department is warning about the serious cost overruns, and the head of the home office has arrived from Galactic Headquarters to personally oversee operations. Has Headquarters decided to unleash, The Audit—or do they have something even more evil in mind? The fate of the world rests upon two people: Aya Kishida, one of the doctor's granddaughters, who may have to give up prep school to pilot the mighty (and lovely) ARIEL; and a mysterious alien named Saber Starblast, who may have the power to defeat the invaders once and for all... Another mecha opposes another alien invasion, nothing to see here, really.   Overall Rating: 5/10   51. Midori no Neko The Green Cat 緑の猫 [1989-III] Tezuka Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mystery  The story is a mystery about a green cat and a private detective who investigates where it came from. The cat was thought to be good luck, but eventually brought misfortune to all those who come in contact. The story was taken directly from the 5th subtitle of the 1950s Lion Books manga. It does not look like it has touch of Osamu Tezuka as it's a rather tasteless short movie without  intrigue.   Overall Rating: 4/10   52. Hi-Speed Jecy High Speed Jessie ハイスピード・ジェシー [1989-III] Pierrot (Dropped 3/12) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi  Jecy is a young man on a quest for revenge; he lost his parents to the hands of the organized crime syndicate called the Bismark House - a group on a hunt to acquire a product called ‘lyzorium' at any cost. With incredible abilities such as increased speed and agility, Jecy travels through space with a girl named Tiana; Fork Green, a priest of the Heartland religion who kills criminals slowly to send them to heaven; and a living ship called Paolon. However, Jecy's revenge won't come easily - a woman named Jera, her bloodthirsty little brother Cross and a number of other adversaries stand in their way! Surprisingly bland action with nonsensical development.   Overall Rating: 5/10   53. Yajikita Gakuen Douchuuki やじきた学園道中記 [1989-III] J.C.Staff (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shoujo Martial Arts, School Adventure Shinokita Reiko and Yajima Junko are second-year high school students who travel from school to school fighting bad guys, ninjas, yakuza and corruption. At this high school they encounter a secret ninja order and a corrupt administrator, as well as a tragic death in the distant past. With the help of Kotetsu, a skilled ninja, they set the school to rights, but not before leaving several broken hearts behind. Undercover kunoichi defend school from real ninja. It does not get much more complex than that, so...   Overall Rating: 5/10   54. Cinderella Express シンデレラ エクスプレス [1989-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Romance, Ecchi Everyday salary man Shimano Yuji meets and beds a pretty young girl at his bachelor party. Meeting her again at his wedding, he realizes that he has just began an affair with his sister-in-law. Not translated. Nothing really to remember, bland movie focusing on a loli.   Overall Rating: 4/10   55. The Borgman: Last Battle Sonic Soldier Borgman: Last Battle THE·BORGMAN LAST BATTLE (ザ・ボーグマン ラストバトル) [1989-III] Production Reed (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mythology Action, Sci-Fi It has been three years since the end of the series. Ryo works for NASA as an engineer on a large rocket project. Anise, fellow Borgman and lover, has been reduced to flipping burgers in a restaurant. So naturally, when she gets a letter offering her a professional job in a big, Japanese, high-tech project, she jumps at the chance. Ryo, however, is as indecisive as ever and so she leaves for Japan without him. Chuck Sweager, the third Borgman, is a police officer, as is his girlfriend Miki. When she witnesses a fight amongst several cyborgs she tells Chuck, who says flatly that it cannot be possible, since the only living cyborgs are Ryo, Anise, and himself. But she convinces him and they investigate. Anise arrives for her new job, and when they meet for dinner they explain the situation to her. Anise volunteers to sneak around the Heaven's Gate project, which they believe to be the source of these new cyborgs. Ryo, meanwhile, is en route to Japan to go after his girlfriend. Accompanying him is Hussan, one of the two surviving researchers on the Borgman Project, who has been asked to appear before the Tokyo Police to help investigate. Once the entire cast is in Japan, things begin to get complicated. Much more serious than the series, so can give it a boost above which it can never elevate though.   Overall Rating: 6/10   56. Shin Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru Majinzan  真魔神英雄伝ワタル 魔神山編 [1989-III] Sunrise (Finished 2/2) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Set a few months after the original series, Wataru is called into action once again! Dragon Ball Z presents characters as juveniles rather than kids as earlier, so niche of similar anime with kids kinda gets free. And Wataru with SD characters and almost exact copy of Bruma is the most close imitator. But its target audience is children, so despite all the flashy action and gags I just can't find it interesting for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10   57. Seishun Fuufu Monogatari: Koiko no Mainichi 青春夫婦物語　恋子の毎日  [1989-III] Nippon Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Organized Crime Comedy, Drama, Romance, Ecchi In a story that flits between serious drama and comedic farce, Shinjuku gangster Sabu and his young wife Koiko try to live a normal life, despite the interferences of gang politics and criminal deals. After she saves his life, Sabu's gang-boss, Tominaga, falls in love with Koiko, and sends Sabu into increasingly more dangerous situations, hoping to cause his arrest, and thus obligate himself to "take care" of Koiko while Sabu is in prison. Not translated. Rather unpleasant OVAs to watch as protagonist yakuza Sabu constantly nitpicking about everything to his wife, wife being cheerful and dressing a bit bright and yakuza boss Tominaga speaking only about Sabu wife all the time. I doubt that anyone would watch this anime, so in the end boss learns to treat Koiko as a person and stops thinking about her as an object, Sabu checks out from  clinic because of wounding just in time to save Koiko from another gang. The only existing quality of video is very bad.   Overall Rating: 4/10   58. Midoriyama Koukou Koushien-hen 緑山高校 甲子園編 [1989-III] Animaruya (Dropped 0/10) Tags: School, Team Sports Comedy, Sports The story of students of a baseball team from Midoriyama High School, who will participate in the 66th National Championship Tournament of Senior High School Baseball in Japan. Not translated. And do not watch untranslated anime of genres I don't like.   Overall Rating: 0/10   59. Moeru! Oniisan (OVA) 燃える！お兄さん (1989) [1989-III] Pierrot (Finished 2/2) Tags: Comedy Kenichi Kokuho continues his life in the big city. Each OVA contains 2 stories, so there are 4 stories overall. I don't consider it fun when people get constantly hit or a mansion gets destroyed to the stones room by room.   Overall Rating: 5/10   60. Mandalaya no Ryouta: Kukidani Onsen Enshou Soudou Tan まんだら屋の良太 丸鬼谷温泉艶笑騒動譚 [1989-III] Takahashi Studio (Finished 2/2) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Ecchi Ryouta is the son of the hot spring inn Mandaraya. He is in love with his female childhood friend and classmate Tsukiko who he likes to tease. But youth demands having an affair with some relaxed lady staying at hot springs inn here and now. Basically, Ryouta with constant boner does all kinds of obscenities like flipping skirts, peeking in hot springs, flirting with clients, and eventually scores first unwillingly with some granny, then after witnessing a lot more kinky situations around has more luck. That's it...   Overall Rating: 4/10   61. Meikyoku to Dai Sakkyokka Monogatari 名曲と大作曲家物語  [1989-III] Walkers Company (Dropped 0/8) Tags: Historical, Music  Brief lives of some composers, including Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, Chopin, Vivaldi, Johann Strauss, and Tchaikovsky. Bizarrely, the obscure Stephen Foster, composer of "Beautiful Dreamer" and Jeanie with the Light-Brown Hair, gets a whole episode to himself, probably thanks to being top of the hit parade when Commodore Perry's gunboat diplomacy opened Japan in 1853, while Bach and Handel are forced to share. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   62. Ishii Hisaichi no Nanda Kanda Gekijou いしいひさいちのナンダカンダ劇場 [1989-III] (Dropped 0/2) Tags: Martial Arts, Space Comedy, Sci-Fi The Underground People desire to leave their overcrowded cavern and seize control of the surface world, but they never quite succeed. A second episode, Christmas Aid, soon followed, in which the brainless Undergrounders' second futile escape attempt is set to music by the popular group Yukadan. The first volume also included two unrelated stories by Ishii: 101 Ninja and Ken-chan's Space Exploration Adventure. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   63. Majo no Takkyuubin Kiki's Delivery Service 魔女の宅急便 [1989-III] Studio Ghibli (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy  Kiki, a 13-year-old witch-in-training, must spend a year living on her own in a distant town in order to become a full-fledged witch. Leaving her family and friends, Kiki undertakes this tradition when she flies out into the open world atop her broomstick with her black cat Jiji. As she settles down in the coastal town of Koriko, Kiki struggles to adapt and ends up wandering the streets with no place to stay—until she encounters Osono, who offers Kiki boarding in exchange for making deliveries for her small bakery. Before long, Kiki decides to open her own courier service by broomstick, beginning her journey to independence. In attempting to find her place among the townsfolk, Kiki brings with her exciting new experiences and comes to understand the true meaning of responsibility. Watching it for the first time. As expected, only good for children and newbies in anime. Makes another borderline masterpiece.   Overall Rating: 7/10   64. Dragon Ball Z Movie 01: Ora no Gohan wo Kaese!! Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone ドラゴンボールZ オラの悟飯をかえせッ!! [1989-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Piccolo is training at a barren cliff when a handful of mysterious enemies attacks and defeats him. These same enemies then go to Mount Paozu to steal Gohan Son's "Dragon Ball." Upon arrival, not only do they defeat Gokuu Son's spouse and father-in-law—Chi-Chi and Gyumao, respectively—but they also kidnap Gohan in the process. Feeling something isn't right, Gokuu rushes home, only to find Chi-Chi lying on the ground as she explains the situation. He then goes to Kame House and borrows the Dragon Radar in order to locate the Dragon Balls and, with them, the enemies and Gohan. First movie is surprisingly amusing and integral, but I heard that it's the best of the Dragon Ball Z movies.   Overall Rating: 6/10   65. Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor the Movie Patlabor: The Movie 機動警察パトレイバー the Movie [1989-III] Studio Deen (Finished 1/1) Tags: Detective, Mecha, Military Drama The Babylon Project is a massive renovation of Tokyo's neighborhoods, including the creation of artificial islands in the Bay. Utilizing "Labors," or robots created for the express purpose of doing work, architects and construction crews are able to more efficiently progress development of the overhaul. When a key figure in the Project's conception is found dead after committing suicide under mysterious circumstances, Captain Kiichi Gotou's Patlabor police unit is tasked with getting to the bottom of the bizarre situation. As several Labors begin to go haywire and a hacked AI program endangers the people of Tokyo, young pilot Noa Izumi and her Patlabor Alphonse work under Gotou's orders to save the city and the entire nation from a massive biblical conspiracy. It's definitely better than spineless OVA series, but in the end it all comes to the feeling whether I could enjoy it or not. Or not.   Overall Rating: 6/10   66. Little Nemo Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland リトル・ニモ [1989-III] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy Based on the classic Nemo comic strips by Winsor McCay. A pioneer of animation, McCay created the first Little Nemo animated movie in 1911.Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata were attached to this project at first, but left due to "creative differences." Ray Bradbury is also thought to have left the project in its earlier stages.Little Nemo - Adventures in Slumberland is the first Japanese anime to receive a national (wide) U.S. theatrical release. The film opens with the young boy Nemo experiencing a nightmare in which he is pursued by a locomotive. Upon awakening the next day, he goes with his pet flying squirrel, Icarus to see a parade welcoming a traveling circus. However, Nemo is unable to see the circus since his parents are too busy to take him. Later that night, Nemo imitates sleepwalking in an attempt to sneak some pie away, which acts against a promise he had made earlier to his mother, who catches him in the act and makes him run back to his room empty-handed. Upon actually falling asleep later that night, Nemo is approached by figures from the circus parade. The circus organist introduces himself as Professor Genius and claims that they had been sent on a mission by King Morpheus, the king of a realm named Slumberland. The mission involves Nemo becoming the playmate of the princess, Camille. Although Nemo initially has reservations about interacting with a girl, he and Icarus decide to set off to fulfill his mission after being persuaded with a gift box of cookies from the princess. Long things short - everyone left so studio just made an ordinary movie for kids and even showed it in USA, which for me equals a black stamp for being an absolutely toothless work. Reminded me the earliest Toei movies like Gulliver's Space Travels, and - believe me - it's not a praise.   Overall Rating: 5/10   67. Kankara Sanshin かんからさんしん [1989-III] Tokyo Animation Film (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Historical Drama A film about the Battle of Okinawa during the last days of World War II. During the World War II island hopping campaign there was a fierce battle on Okinawa that devastated the population and ravaged the land and left a mark on the populace of the Okinawan people forever. After the war Okinawa was under the control of the United Stated Military. Without any goods and extreme scarcity of Natural resources the Okinawans were in a desperate day to day survival for the basic needs of life. The Okinawans however, despite their dire situation used song and dance to lighten their spirit and make the best of the situation. But with the loss of almost everything of value on island due to constant shelling bombing and fighting between the Japanese and American all the regular sanshin (an Okinawan musical instrument and precursor of the Japanese shamisen) had become very scarce and hard to find. The American were supplying the Okinawans with powdered milk among other items to help keep starvation low. And from those cans of food they would find a way to bring music back to the people again. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   68. Tezuka Osamu Monogatari: Boku wa Son Gokuu 手塚治虫物語 ぼくは孫悟空  [1989-III] Tezuka Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure  A semi autobiography of Tezuka Osamu. Son-Gokuu is a monkey who was born from a stone and is endowed with magical powers. He gets carried away and goes on a rampage until at last Buddha confines him within Mt. Gogyo. Saved by Sanzohoshi, Son-Gokuu accompanies him on a journey to India. But on their way, monsters lie in wait for them. A touching autobiography tale with a new look on Son Gokuu and a new reference for phoenix. I don't see how people familiar with Tezuka Osamu work can stay indifferent.   Overall Rating: 7/10   69. Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor: On Television Patlabor: The Mobile Police - The TV Series 機動警察パトレイバー ON TELEVISION [1989-IV] Sunrise (Dropped 3/47) Tags: Detective, Mecha Comedy, Sci-Fi In the future, advanced robotics has created heavy robots ("labors") for use in a variety of functions: construction, fire-fighting, military, and more. However, though the robots are only machines, their operators are also only human—and humans sometimes turn to crime. Since a heavy labor unit can be a dangerous weapon, the police of the future are set to fight fire with fire, using advanced patrol labor units, "patlabors." This is the story of the Second Special Vehicles Division, a motley crew of patlabor policemen and women doing their best to fight crime and live a normal life. Series bring Patlabor back from Movie level to initial OVAs level as it benefits from longer serious stories much more than from comedy SOL with short stories.   Overall Rating: 5/10   70. City Hunter 3 シティーハンター3 [1989-IV] Sunrise (Finished 13/13) Tags: Shounen  Action, Comedy, Mystery Ryo Saeba is a "sweeper" know as the City Hunter. He and his sidekick Kaori Makimura are hired to solve problems that the police can't (or won't) handle. When he's not keeping the streets of Tokyo clean, Ryo is chasing the ladies, and Kaori chases after him with a giant anti-ecchi hammer. I liked that in this season traits are like in previous Movie, or exaggerated. Also it is probably one of the first anime that has 13 episodes in the season not out of necessity, but out of choice. This way it's much easier to have a central theme and not fall into episodic hell. Still show is episodic in nature and is on self-repeat, nowhere close to a mastepiece.   Overall Rating: 6/10   71. Yawara!  [1989-IV] Madhouse (Dropped 3/124) Tags: Combat Sports, Martial Arts Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life, Sports High school student Yawara Inokuma lives a completely happy and ordinary life. She aspires to an average lifestyle as a delicate young lady with a handsome boyfriend in the near future. Unfortunately for Yawara, she has an undesirable prodigious talent in Judo, a modern martial art that is neither feminine nor fashionable. Moreover, Yawara is the only granddaughter of the seventh dan Judo master Jigorou Inokuma, who expects her to become a Japanese Judoka superstar of the '90s. Yawara cautiously hides her strength from everyone to maintain a normal reputation but is often pushed to situations when she must exercise her Judo skills. Observing Yawara's immense potential from the shadows, Kousaku Matsuda, a sports reporter from a substandard paper, is willing to do everything he can to bring her into the limelight. Always hated Yawara , both the game and the anime. Absolutely tasteless senseless shoujo SOL with antics instead of comedy.   Overall Rating: 4/10   72. Jungle Book Shounen Mowgli The Jungle Book ジャングルブック・少年モーグリ [1989-IV] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/53) Tags: Adventure, Drama  After his parents died, Mowgli is raised by the Wolf Pack of the Seeonee Forest led by Akela and other wild animals such as Bagheera and Baloo. The young boy goes through several heartwarming, bittersweet, and life-threatening adventures as he seeks after his true purpose in life. And one of many dangers he has to face is the man-eating tiger, Shere Khan... Only has official dub which means it's a spineless toothless maximally boring show for kids. Can't recommend it for adults for sure.   Overall Rating: 4/10   73. Jungle Taitei (1989) ジャングル大帝 [1989-IV] Tezuka Productions (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Adventure, Drama Leo (a.k.a. Kimba in the U.S.) is a young ambitious lion cub who takes his father's place as emperor of the jungle when is father is killed by poachers. Even though his father's fate was met by the hands of humans, Leo is one of the few animals in the Jungle that doesn't fear or feel hatred toward humans. He is not alone either, he is guided by friends of his father to help create the best animal kingdom there can be. How come it's not marked as for kids, seriously? What on Earth can interest an adult here...   Overall Rating: 4/10   74. Teki wa Kaizoku: Neko-tachi no Kyouen The Enemy's the Pirates!: The Cats' Banquet 敵は海賊 ～猫たちの饗宴～ [1989-IV] Production I.G, Madhouse (Finished 6/6) Tags: Comedy, Sci-Fi  Apulo (a cat-like space alien with the ability to lock a human's emotions) and Latell work for the Division of Space Piracy (or DSP for short). The two of them are extremely destructive in their solving of DSP cases. They are attempting to stop Youmei the space pirate from exploiting Computer Aided Thinking for his own nefarious plans. Why is it so bad, seriously? Only absurd and no meaning till half 5th and final episode. Not recommended.   Overall Rating: 4/10   75. Mahoutsukai Sally 2 魔法使いサリー２ [1989-IV] Toei Animation (Finished 3/88) Tags: Shoujo Comedy During Sally's coronation ceremony in the magic world, she hears her human friends back on Earth are in trouble. Despite the warnings from her parents, she escapes to Earth to help her friends. Because she was caught using magic in front of humans, she had to erase her friends' memories. Now Sally will remain on Earth so she can regain Sumire and Yoshiko's friendship while helping other humans in trouble. Original was surprisingly interesting and memorable. This one is totally wrecked and made for kids only. A shame.   Overall Rating: 4/10   76. Seton Doubutsuki Seton Animal Chronicles シートン動物記 [1989-IV] Eiken (Dropped 3/45) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy Documentary in which the achievement of Ernest "Black Wolf" Thompson is settled in different Episodes. Every single episode is a documentary in which one sort of Animal is described. I remember reading Seton Thompson books as a kid - of course all of them were about animals. Actually, some of these 45 animal stories were already shown as movies in 60s-70s. I consider it to be show only for kids. It usually has some restrained animal undergoing hardships.   Overall Rating: 4/10   77. Momotarou Densetsu 桃太郎伝説  [1989-IV] Knack Productions (Dropped1/51) Tags: Adventure, Comedy  Momotaro travels with companions Kaguya-hime and Kintaro and aims to defeat demon king.   Just one episode is translated. It's a parody on pretty much everything folklore and what not. Humor is ok.   Overall Rating: 5/10   78. Kariage-kun かりあげクン [1989-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/59) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Slice of Life From putting his head of department to embarrasment by announcing to everyone that he has haemmorrhoids through the PA system in a public park to making a whole district dissapointed by putting a notice that there will be a fireworks display, and apparently the only "display" is him holding one small fireworks, Kariage-kun tells the amusing everyday life of, well, Kariage-kun. His typical victim is his head of department, although anyone (or anything) can become a prey to his irony or sarcasm. The story began and ended with no special beginning or endings, but it is arranged chronologically (in the sense that it follows seasonal changes). Not translated. Comedy SOL is one genre the Japanese excel at, and this is one of the most prominent examples, sadly, not translated.   Overall Rating: 6/10   79. Ys Ys イース [1989-IV] Tokyo Kids (Finished 7/7) Tags: Mythology Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy Mythical beasts lay siege on the people of Esteria, who have raised an army to fight back. The beasts are relentless and seemingly have no end to their numbers, while the population of defenders dwindle in every skirmish. Even in the town of Minea, where the people are safely nestled behind castle walls, the constant attacks have left them hopeless. It is then that a prophecy is made, proclaiming the arrival of a brave young soul that could be the one who will bring their salvation. Ys follows Adol Christin, an adventurer driven by wanderlust towards the island of Esteria, who washes up on shore after a shipwreck. Following the guidance of the fortuneteller Sarah Tovah, he and his allies will travel the island in search of the legendary tomes known as the Books of Ys. It will be a long and perilous journey, but if fate is truly at work then Adol will certainly be the hero who returns peace to Esteria. I absolutely hate game series, because I always play at hardest available difficulty, and Ys at hardest becomes an unforgiving crazy piano with exact timings. Anime is not responsible for that, but it inherits some giant enemies (giant centipede in anime revoked a lot of horrible memories) and simple concept of chosen hero and the need to save princess by gathering 6 Ys books. Story and personalities are too simple to aim at high scores.   Overall Rating: 5/10   80. Midnight Eye: Gokuu II Goku II: Midnight Eye MIDNIGHT EYE　ゴクウII [1989-IV] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Super Power Action, Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi Goku, the lone wolf private detective is back, contracted by Yoshiko, a mysterious, beautiful and very afraid woman, to find and save her brother, Ryu. Will Goku be able to protect Yoshiko from her step father's soldiers long enough to find her brother? Meanwhile Ryu, the unfortunate subject of a military experiment gone bad, leaves a trail of bodies behind him and has no intention of being found or saved by anyone. Will Goku have to kill the man he is supposed to save? Will even his omniscient cybernetic eye and sceptre be enough to help him defeat this indestructible killing machine? Even better impression than first Gukuu, again above average, but still far from masterpiee material.   Overall Rating: 6/10   81. Project A-Ko 4: Final Project A-ko: Love & Robots プロジェクトA子 -FINAL- [1989-IV] Studio Fantasia (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Super Power Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi In Iraq, a group of archaeologists discover ancient relics that prophecize the coming of a superior race and the end of all civilization. Meanwhile, back in Graviton City, as A-Ko and B-Ko's rivalry over Kei intensifies, Mr. Daitokuji sets up an arranged marriage between Miss Ayumi and Kei. Furious over the engagement, both A-Ko and B-Ko do whatever it takes to prevent the wedding from going through. Little do they know that another alien fleet is on its way towards Earth. Only first original movie was memorable, and I consider Finale to be return to the roots - enough fanservice, humor, personal relations and especially global city destruction. It makes finale watchable, but not above average.   Overall Rating: 5/10   82. Seijuuki Cyguard Cybernetics Guardian 聖獣機サイガード [1989-IV] AIC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Sci-Fi, Supernatural A freak accident unleashes a demonic spirit within researcher John Stalker - transforming him into Saldo, a mythical cyber-beast fueled by hate and evil. A chaotic mix of mutants, mecha and gore. 40 minutes is not enough for anything but action here.   Overall Rating: 5/10   83. Assemble Insert アッセンブル・インサート [1989-IV] Studio Core (Finished 2/2) Tags: Detective Comedy, Sci-Fi A criminal group known as Demon Seed terrorizes Tokyo with its vast armies of mecha. The local police is afraid to confront them, but one person stands in their way: Maron Namikaze, a 13-year-old idol singer with a catchy voice and unbelievable superhuman strength. A hilarious parody on all the anime of 80s, a great decade finale. Enjoyment is what matters, and it delivers indeed.   Overall Rating: 7/10   84. Aoki Honoo 青き炎 [1989-IV] Artland (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Drama, Romance  Ryuuichi Kaizu, intelligent, ambitious, and dedicated, but at the same time cunning and immoral young student receives present from girl Emi Naito, who comes from wealthy family. Realizing that being in relationship with her can help him reach his goals, he decides to make her his, without her even being aware she is just another woman he is using. Story is simple to emphasize as much H as possible.   Overall Rating: 4/10   85. Shuten Douji Shuten Doji - The Star Hand Kid 手天童子 [1989-IV] AIC (Finished 4/4) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Sci-Fi As a baby Jiro was delivered to his foster parents by a massive oni, who said he would return for Jiro in 15 years. When the time comes Jiro must contend with enemy oni, dark cultists, and their minions while attempting to protect both his parents and girlfriend from their depredations. Ultimately he must embark on a journey through the past, future, and other dimensions to embrace his destiny as Shuten Doji reborn. There is enough originality, but in the end just could not enjoy it with all the ecchi, oni and time shifts.   Overall Rating: 6/10   86. Gall Force: Chikyuu Shou Gall Force: Earth Chapter ガルフォース地球章 [1989-IV] AIC (Finished 3/3) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Sci-Fi  The year 2085 and the only winners of the last war were the machines. Years previously the human race discovered the ruins of an ancient ship beneath the moon's surface and used the knowledge gained to create weapons of war. Eventually these weapons turned against mankind, seeing them as a threat and deciding the only way to stop these war loving humans was to destroy them. Heavily influenced by the 1988 Terminator movie, this new series focuses upon Sandy Newman as she leads a band of warriors in an attempt to reclaim the earth from the machines. If they can reach a group of unlaunched nuclear missiles, they can take out the machine`s headquarters located in Australia. Can be called the best part so far, but suffers from poor directorship and ends in an absolutely enragingly nonsensical way.   Overall Rating: 6/10   87. Makaryuudo Demon Hunter 魔狩人  [1989-IV] Studio Fantasia (Finished 1/1) Tags: Gore, Mythology Supernatural Yama Rikudo is not your average teenage girl. With her trademark duo horn-like tufted hair, she’s really a kind of demon policewoman, charged with the duty of protecting Japan from demonic monsters that’ve gone AWOL. Even when her demon superiors try and pull her off the job, because demon-human relations are getting too hot for her to handle, she will stay and fight with her giant scythe, because, while disguised as a high school student, she has fallen for fellow student Sho Kurogane. Now she must save Sho, and his friends, from the evil plotting of the school’s eternal youth seeking, soul sucking, Headmistress. Very chaotic and weak youkai OVA.   Overall Rating: 4/10   88. Dog Soldier ドッグソルジャー [1989-IV] animate Film (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Military Action When an American scientist carrying a cure for the AIDS virus is kidnapped by an arms merchant, John Kyosuke is forced back from retirement. He accepts the challenge to regain possession of the anti-serum. He finds out that some of the people he is after are closely related, which gives his conquest a whole new meaning. Too short, hasty, unremarkable.   Overall Rating: 4/10   89. Umi no Yami, Tsuki no Kage Darkness of the Sea, Shadow of the Moon 海の闇、月の影 [1989-IV] Visual 80 (Finished 3/3) Tags: Shoujo Super Power Drama, Horror, Romance Ruka and Rumi Kobayakawa are twin sisters in love with the same man, athletic upperclassman Katsuyuki Touma. Rumi seems supportive of Ruka's fledgling romance with Katsuyuki, until the twins are infected with a strange bacterium that transforms Rumi's personality and gifts the twins with terrifying psychic powers. Now Rumi will stop at nothing - or no one, that gets between her and Katsuyuki, including her own twin sister... Combine  shoujo, esper powers, horror and poor execution, and you'll get the result score.   Overall Rating: 4/10   90. Dokushin Apartment Dokudami-sou 独身アパートどくだみ荘 [1989-IV] Takahashi Studio (Finished 3/3) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Slice of Life, Ecchi Based on the manga by Takashi Fukutani. It's five perverted, disgusting, ecchi heavy, but not ecchi focused stories. Since focus is on the story and stories are varied and unusual, there's not telling how each ends. In the end I kinda liked it, especially tanuki.   Overall Rating: 6/10   91. Bouken Shite mo Ii Koro 冒険してもいい頃  [1989-IV] Knack Productions (Finished 3/3)
    Tags: Seinen Comedy Follow a cast that makes pornographic movies. The loves and loyalty it creates and the friction it causes. The focus of the OVAs is H, and that makes it hentai by definition. Comedy is mostly antics. And since it's hentai, I'm not rating those.   Overall Rating: 0/10   92. Choujin Locke: Lord Leon Locke the Superman: Lord Leon 超人ロック ロードレオン [1989-IV] Nippon Animation (Finished 3/3) Tags: Super Power Action, Sci-Fi It is the year 336 of the Space Century on the planet of Sieren, and in the state of Innex, Flora Rain-who is blind-is employed at an elementary school. Flora is adored by her students, the principal of the school, and all the town’s people, and enjoys a peaceful life in the town. By chance, she meets a strange youth named Locke. Locke has numerous superpowers, although he is very discreet about them and gives the impression of being an ordinary youth. One day, Locke is visited by a Military man, Major Caliann, who requests Locke’s assistance in their investigation of Lordleon. Lordleon and his space pirates have attacked the enterprise Astoria Concern, but the chairman, Great Georg, didn’t report the incident to the Union. The Union (aware of the attacks) thought this was very strange, and decided to investigate Lordleon with Locke's help. Locke the Superman was a horrible anime Movie about espers in 1984. This one is only slightly better, which does not make it break from the mediocrity either.    Overall Rating: 5/10   93. Bucchigiri ぶっちぎり [1989-IV] Nippon Animation (Finished 4/4) Tags: Delinquents, Team Sports To all his schoolmates, Jin comes across as a hot-headed class clown from typically barging in late and sleeping the whole way through to always responding to any situation with reckless stupidity. The fact that he used to be the charismatic leader of a legendary biker gang has turned into an urban legend; however, after starting a rivalry with the captain of the school baseball team, he and two former members, become their star players. But it's not long before his past catches up to him... Not translated. Some yakuza and romance, lots of delinquents and sports... nothing out of the ordinary, just winning some cups.   Overall Rating: 4/10   94. Ogami Matsugorou おがみ松吾郎 [1989-I] Kodansha (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts, School Action, Romance Based on the same name manga by Itou Minoru, serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shounen Magazine. Matsugorou Ogami is clumsy man who can only fight and express his kindness with force. But he falls in love with Koume who is a high school girl... Not translated. Very bland. As expected, girl tries to civilize the hooligan, but in the end his strength is required to protect her.   Overall Rating: 4/10   95. Kangetsu Ittou: Akuryou Kiri 寒月一凍 悪霊斬り [1989-IV] Magic Bus (Finished 2/2) Tags: Martial Arts, Samurai Action Popular Edo illustrator Ichiro Kanzuki rescues a woman who is being attacked by several ronin. The woman is the servant of the Satake clan who is given a mysterious tarot card having a link to the secret of the Satake clan. At the same time, in Edo, the daughters of merchants who are purveyors of the Satake clan are being spirited away one after another, and there is a murder of Jinnai Takeda, a senior vassal of the Satake clan. Kanzuki at the request of Jinnai's daughter Kaori decides to search for the killer and in the process gets involved into feud for the Satake clan leadership.  Not translated. Actually, very similar to Shinshuu Sudama-hen - same yoshiwara, same killings - a mix of gore and nakedness. The main change from that is bigger tilt into comedy and better plot. Overall, just a gory historical detective action without anything outstanding to watch it for.   Overall Rating: 4/10   96. Time-Patrol Bon: Fujiko F. Fujio Anime Special - SF Adventure 藤子·F·不二雄アニメスペシャル SFアドベンチャー T·P[タイムパトロール]ぼん [1989-IV] Gallop (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure  A Japanese schoolboy, Heibon, is enlisted in the efforts of the time patrol to keep the past out of trouble. It must be marked as anime for kids as protagonists and their acquaintances are kids, they easily fly through time breaking all possible physics laws and enemies are caricaturish and defeated in comedy manner.   Overall Rating: 4/10   97. Isewan Taifuu Monogatari 伊勢湾台風物語 [1989-IV] Mushi Production (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Historical Drama On September 26, 1959, Super Typhoon #15 (also known as "T5915", "Vera", or "Isewan Typhoon"), struck the coast of Japan with the maximum wind speed of 305 km/h, causing over 5,000 dead or missing plus over 30,000 injured, the heaviest casualty caused by a single typhoon in Japan in 20th century. This animated movie was produced on the 30th anniversary of the tragedy in order to commemorate the dead and survivors. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   98. Hyper-Psychic Geo Garaga Garaga ギャラガ HYPER-PSYCHIC-GEO GARAGA [1989-IV] Aubec (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi  The year is 2755. As a result of a system malfunction, the cargo ship XeBeC goes off-course in a warp gate and ends up within the orbit of the distant planet Garaga. After crashing on Garaga's surface, the crew must find ways to survive from hideous monsters, rabid ape soldiers, and a race of mysterious psychics. A lot of unmemorable characters, total craziness with esper generals, rushed ending don't leave this anime a chance.   Overall Rating: 4/10
  18. kivandopulus

    VN of the Month August 2022 - Natsu no Owari

    By kivandopulus,


    VN of the Month 2022
    From two summer works that qualify for the race, my choice is Natsu no Owari   1. beat refle [220801] qureate 1 Atsushi Yubihara meets the talking cat Momiji while cleaning the massage parlor formerly run by his late grandfather. Moments after he attempts to uncover her true identity in spite of his confusion, a loan collector appears to reclaim what his grandfather owes. Fed unreasonable repayment terms, he starts to shrink into himself until Momiji shares with him a most mysterious power... He has but a single month to make enough money to return what was loaned, marking the start of his troubled everyday life as a masseuse! There's no time to question his power, or why there's a talking cat, or anything else! Atsushi must focus on his somewhat to very quirky customers and relieving the stress that ails them, all in time for the impending loan repayment! Gameplay title   2. Apathy: Narugami Gakuen Nana Fushigi アパシー 鳴神学園七不思議 [220804] Mebius Shuichi Sakagami, a first-year student and member of the newspaper club, decides to listen to scary stories told by seven storytellers assembled by his upperclassmen to produce a feature on the school’s seven wonders for the school paper. However, when he opened the door to the club room, there were only six people. He went ahead and started the meeting on the school’s seven wonders without waiting on the seventh, unseen person, but a disturbing atmosphere filled the room. The thought that he shouldn’t hold this meeting crossed his mind, but it was too late to turn back. What kinds of stories will the six people share? And what awaits him at the end…? A massive-scale story and Takiya Iijima’s largest yet. Console exclusive     3. Mayonaka Gakuen Sanpo 真夜中学園さんぽ [220811] Hautecouture Inc. 1 In the summer of third year of high school the movie club is in danger of shutting down! Make a movie with girls as actors till Cultural festival so that it could survive. All age just for some cuteness    4. HAPPY SAIN† SHEOL -HAPPY SAIN† SHEOL- ハッピーセイント・シェオル [220813] Hankei 122px no Meido, Seiniku Jousai This is a story about a group of very ordinary girls. Two thousand years ago, the Pestis Disaster swept through the land, corrupting all living things and making it to difficult to live on the land. For those that still wish to live on this dead land, a temple was established. It was known as Saint Sheol of the Underworld. With the help of a distant relative, I moved to the capital that I had longed to live in, and began work as a trainee priest at Saint Sheol. Every day I endured pain and suffering in this unfamiliar land. On one particular day, when I was in truly dire straits, an angel appeared before me in my dreams. “Don’t worry,” she gently whispered. It was truly a vision that seemed impossible. I knew the face of that angel. Before the looming disaster stood 6 girls. Within the deepest corner of the temple was fear, miracles, love… and lust. Having touched the darkest darkness the world has seen, one must now face the dazzling light. Thus I pose this question. Whose wings did I see that day? Amateur group as developer, but it's picked for localization, so will probably get better coverage in a year   5. Amanatsu アマナツ [220826] Azarashi Soft Surrounded by the blue sea and green mountains, the protagonist moved there. For him, who has been struggling with the competitive society of the city, this is not a place to retreat, but a new battlefield. ――It was supposed to be. But, there was no such thing. From the first day at his new school, he is taken out by his classmates, enjoying what they do, and being inspired by them. Meanwhile, the three girls that the protagonist met also changed him again: a bright and lively kouhai who has a shocking encounter, Amahara Kogane; a shrine maiden senpai who looks out of this world but is surprisingly mischievous, Kaminashi Yashiro; a tsundere girl and daughter of the landlord who takes care of the protagonist, Ainokura Kazuha. In the vividness of summer, the love that is born between them will eventually turns into a deep love. Friendship and love are interwoven. A love story that only students can tell begins. Hayase Yuu is a quite known writer by SMEE games. No masterpiece for sure, but at least fun enough.    6. Natsu no Owari 夏ノ終熄 [220826] CUBE Summer in the countryside, rich in nature. The end of the world for two people. After graduating from college, Yuuji found a job, but had to retired after less than a year due to physical problems he got from his workplace. After much consideration, he decided to move to his grandparents' house in the countryside, which was vacant. During his recuperation, he spent his days making videos of his rural life and uploading them on video websites. The videos he uploaded gained a lot of attention, and when he was finally able to make a living from the income he earned from his videos, a global pandemic broke out. People all over the world were dying. Fortunately, Yuuji was not infected. One by one, people in his village fell ill, and after he saw the last person in his village off; "I wonder if I will die someday, too." Yuuji thought to himself, and lived in apathy. Then he meets a girl named Mio, who casually comes to his village, and he remembers the joy of living once again. Single heroine usually means more emphasis, more complex story and better atmosphere overall. Execution is good enough to live up to expectations.   7. Muyuu Senkyou Romanesque: Chronicles of Refugia 夢游仙境ロマネスク：Chronicles of Refugia [220729] medium 1 In the year 23XX, the world as we know it has come to an end. Global warming has caused the sea levels to rise, submerging coastal cities in every nation—a mass extinction event that forever changed life on what remains of the surface. This extreme climate change sparked violent conflicts in which android soldiers and drone strikes destroyed even more of the land. Now that the last dregs of humanity live within the confines of designated shelters, for the first time, they are forced to accept outsiders in order to secure their own safety. You see, not everyone who looks normal on the outside is human on the inside. And while the rest of the world sleeps, these non-humans are slowly taking over… Game is localized and has English reviews
  19. kivandopulus
    Ouritsu Uchuugun: Honneamise no Tsubasa is the only borderline masterpiece I noted in 1987.    1. Ai no Wakakusa Monogatari Tales of Little Women 愛の若草物語 [1987-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/48) Tags: Historical Drama, Slice of Life  Meg, faithful and gentle, Jo, independent and energetic, Beth, quiet and shy, Amy, amiable and precocious–the four sisters live vigorously and happily at home with their gentle mother while waiting for their father to return from the Civil War. Helping each other, they challenge their fates and grow up to become wonderful women. There were two movies before, so I get the concept. There will be another series with a lot of humor. This series is pretty serious and not to my liking, loses in comparison a lot. Only good if you really want to know characters better or follow Civil War.   Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Kikou Senki Dragonar Metal Armor Dragonar 機甲戦記ドラグナー [1987-I] Sunrise (Dropped 3/48) Tags: Mecha, Space Adventure, Sci-Fi A.D. 2087 - the United Lunar Empire Giganos wages war on the Earth Federation Military to take control of the planet and establish a "rebirth" of the human race. During an invasion of a colony by Giganos' forces, three civilian men stumble upon a trio of top-secret Metal Armor units called "Dragonars" and pilot them to combat the enemy forces. Sunrise manages to make this mecha watchable, but it's rather bland, generic and just a Gundam copycat with three protagonists instead of one .   Overall Rating: 5/10   3. Shin Maple Town Monogatari: Palm Town-hen 新メイプルタウン物語 パームタウン編 [1987-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/44) Tags: Fantasy, Slice of Life  The story take place in new town called "Palm Town" which it is the new town that Patty and her Aunt Jane moved to since Jane's husband George run a medical center there. However, Patty faces some troubles because she doesn't get used to the new town and misses her hometown and also her friends. Nevertheless, she mets up with Alice and gets along with her. Soon they become best friends and are hanging out together everyday experience new things and enjoying their time. They meet a lot of different people in order to make many friends and unforgettable memories full of fun. This is a kids show, so can't be to my liking. All those values of friendship and morals can't be enjoyed in older age.   Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Bubblegum Crisis バブルガムクライシス [1987-I] AIC (Finished 8/8) Tags: Shounen Adult Cast, Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi  The year is 2032, seven years after the Second Great Kanto Earthquake decimated Tokyo. Now, the city is reborn as MegaTokyo, built from the labors of mechanical beasts known as "Boomers." Originally created to benefit humanity, the mysterious corporation known as Genom now produces Boomers with incredible destructive power as a new type of advanced weaponry, capable of disguising themselves as humans. The AD Police is a new special unit to counter the ever-increasing Boomer-related crimes. Overwhelmed by the sheer amount of crimes and disparity in strength, the AD Police poses little opposition to the Boomers. A mysterious vigilante force known as the Knight Sabers, wearing powersuits more advanced than the military, is the citizens' only hope for protection. Led by Sylia Stingray, Priscilla "Priss" Asagiri, Nene Romanova, and Linna Yamazaki, these beautiful girls take out any Boomer that steps out of line. I remember some more recent representatives of franchise, and recollections are quiet good. But this series is basically some cases usually linked to androids and done by a team of several girls in battle suits. Given that personalities aren't developed well and cases being not really interesting, as well as very little humor, I consider this series to be inferior to Dirty Pair. Another reason is that I could not enjoy it at all apart of some enemy designs. Last episode released in 1991 tried to bring some diversity to the concept, but too little too late.   Overall Rating: 6/10   5. Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei デジタル・デビル物語〈ストーリ〉 女神転生 [1987-I] animate Film (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mythology, Psychological, School Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural Akemi Nakajima, is a high school student with a genius talent for computer programming. One day, Yumiko Shirasagi is transferred to the same class as him. She feels she knows Nakajima from somewhere, but doesn't try to deal with it. After school, Nakajima and a couple of classmates held a ceremony to summon the devil. Nakajima summons the devil Loki on the computer display while presenting a female offering. What will happen to Yumiko, who witnessed the scene? Never played Megami Tensei games. What I can say about the movie is that it's a visually shocking horror with a dip into mythology, computers and occult stuff. A wild mix, indeed, but I rather see it as appeal to unconsciousness and obscure stuff to get an image of something meaningful, which it is not.   Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Twilight Q トワイライトQ [1987-I] Studio Deen (Finished 2/2) Tags: Psychological Mystery, Sci-Fi  A Knot in Time High school students Mayumi and Kiwako are relishing their summer vacation at the beach; however, when Mayumi discovers a presumably lost camera while scuba diving, she cannot help but feel an insatiable curiosity. Upon developing the camera's film, she is shocked to find herself photographed alongside an unknown man. Enlisting the help of Kiwako's older brother, the three find out something even more troubling: the camera model has yet to be released. In turn, Mayumi becomes obsessed with discovering the origin of the peculiar camera and its mysterious photograph. File 538 Airplanes have been vanishing from the sky! Even stranger, rumor has it that the disappearing aircraft have been turning into giant carp. Meanwhile, a freelance detective investigates a run-down apartment on the outskirts of town, where he finds a middle-aged man and a young girl with a penchant for fish. Unable to identify the two, the investigator enters their room, only to find it empty save for a document that reads, "This story has been prepared for you, my successor... who should be visiting this room in due time. First episode is rather bland. Only second can be called psychological, but it alone can not apply for masterpiece status due to length and experimental visuals.   Overall Rating: 6/10   7. Dirty Pair: Lovely Angels yori Ai wo Komete ダーティペア ラブリーエンジェルより愛をこめて [1987-I] Sunrise (Finished 2/2) Tags: Detective Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Released direct to video in Japan after the original TV series was canceled, this OVA is actually the final two episodes of the TV series. Length of two episodes roughly amounts to 40 minutes, and that's the only thing that prevents it getting a masterpiece score from me. Humor, conversations and plot are nice as usual.   Overall Rating: 6/10   8. Warau Hyouteki 笑う標的 [1987-I] Pierrot (Finished 1/1) Tags: Horror, Mystery  Yuzuru was an average teenager who had almost forgotten that he was betrothed to Azusa when he was only six! Now arriving to claim what she feels is rightfully hers, only Satomi (Yuzuru's current girlfriend) stands in her way... and with the mysterious and frightening powers that Azusa brings, Satomi won't stand in her way for long! Just a horror with little sense behind it.   Overall Rating: 5/10   9. Maryuu Senki 魔龍戦紀 [1987-I] AIC (Finished 3/3) Tags: Fantasy, Horror  Once upon a time, there was a certain family having strong influence on the rule of the Imperial Court. They had their own might called "Kidou" and yet got hated because of the might itself. At last, the patriarch of the family was entrapped to his death, and all the family was doomed to ruin... The present day — the survived descendants of this family, now calling themselves "Kidousyuu" schemed to resurrect their murdered patriarch once again, and the ferocious evil spell went into action. The amount of gore in this anime is truly unsettling. Even nudity in this anime is linked with gore and thus feels different. Anyway, all other elements are lacking, so it remains just a bloody B-action movie.   Overall Rating: 5/10   10. Body Jack: Tanoshii Yutai Ridatsu ボディジャック 楽しい幽体離脱 [1987-I] Bandai (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy, Ecchi Dr. Toyama takes control of the body of a beautiful girl with his strange invention. He lets the young Asagedani "slip into" her body so he can see how it real feels to be a girl. Then Komaba's classmate, the equally beautiful Nakano, surprises "him" and mistakes his activities for a sexual advance from her friend. Why is an evident hentai disguised as ecchi... no idea. It has no value apart of hentai, so can't give it a score.   Overall Rating: 0/10   11. Gakuen Tokusou Hikaruon 学園特捜ヒカルオン [1987-I] AIC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Martial Arts, School, Super Power Action Hikaru is at first sight a student like others but actually it is a super hero defending the Earth of the demons. He has a powerful super bike and a combat suit. Inspired by the classic Space Sheriff (Uchuu Keiji) trilogy of the Metal Heroes Tokusatsu franchise, namely Space Sheriff's Gavan and Sharivan. I should have blocked it for its 30 min length. With ridiculous synopsis like this nothing good was possible. Graphics and enemies were ok... that's all.   Overall Rating: 2/10   12. Minna Agechau♡ みんなあげちゃう♡ [1987-I] J.C.Staff (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Ecchi  A beautiful day Rokurou, a student, was to masturbate when a beautiful girl knocks on his door: You need a virgin? And so begins the story. Rokurou did not know what it was that this beautiful girl was a millionaire family. I don't know what to say. Title could easily be quest for orgasm to explain all the stupidity. The whole super rich and super perverted family sets up trainings and obstacles to reach this ultimate goal. How funny does it sound?   Overall Rating: 4/10   13. Hell Target ヘルターゲット [1987-I] Nakamura Production (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Horror, Sci-Fi A spaceship is lost near the forbidden planet of Inferno II. Some years later, a second ship with a crew of nine gets there and encounters a monster that rapidly makes mince meat of most of them. The sole survivor, Makurou Kitazato, must destroy the monster before it can surprise a third ship that is already en route. Another variation of Ridley Scott's alien concept, and it does not even get to a clear ending, so not impressive .   Overall Rating: 4/10   14. Elf 17 エルフ・17 [1987-I] Agent 21 (Finished 1/1) Tags: Martial Arts, Mecha Adventure, Comedy Muscat Tyler is the 108th prince of the Galaxy Empire and is known as an eccentric person. He travels around the universe accompanying a Walking Arsenal, K.K, and Lu of the Light Wing Race, the strongest creature in the universe. Wherever they go, there is trouble. I don't understand the need for this anime. Super strong elf first wins tournament then defeats some baddies. The end. Total waste of time.   Overall Rating: 4/10   15. Yume kara, Samenai 夢から、さめない [1987-I] Shaft (Finished 1/1) Tags: School Romance Student Takao is inexorably drawn toward Sao despite class rumors that she has appeared in a porno movie. Very short boring SOL that only has sighs, looks and couple phrases in-between. If just some emotions is enough for you, it may be enjoyable. Without real plot or developed characters it has zero value for me.   Overall Rating: 4/10   16. Salamander 沙羅曼蛇 [1987-I] Pierrot (Finished 3/3) Tags: Adventure, Sci-Fi  Three tales based on the Gradius video game series by Konami. The planet Latis is under attack by the Space Dragon Salamander and it's war planet, the Bacterian horde destroying everything in sight, their defenses ineffective and losing all hope, three heroes from the planet Gradius join Lord British in defense of his beloved planet. Then in a prequel, a girl from a distant planet brings an ominous warning to the planet Gradius, the Bacterians and how three people become heroes of the galaxy. Then we jump to the future, after the signing of a peace treaty, one of our heroes gets captured by the Bacterians, can the military might of Gradius and our remaining heroes save the prisoner from a fate worse than death. I actually don't remember good examples of game story getting transferred to the screen. Without game experience I value the story and composition very poorly here .   Overall Rating: 5/10   17. Mugen Shinshi: Bouken Katsugeki-hen Dream Dimension Gentleman 夢幻紳士　冒険活劇編 [1987-I] Gallop (Finished 1/1) Tags: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery  When a strange group of men attempt to kidnap Atsuko Fukune, a dancer at a club, she seeks the help of Mamiya Mugen, a famous detective - who also happens to be a child. When it turns out that other girls have gone missing, Mamiya, with the help of his butler Alucard, springs into action to solve the mystery. I can't stand detectives with a genius detective protagonist. After I saw flying crocodiles the only remaining thought was for this stupidity to end sooner.   Overall Rating: 4/10   18. Ouritsu Uchuugun: Honneamise no Tsubasa 王立宇宙軍 オネアミスの翼 [1987-I] Gainax (Finished 1/1) Tags: Military, Space Action, Drama, Sci-Fi Shirotsugh "Shiro" Lhadatt may be a cadet in the Kingdom of Honneamise's Royal Space Force (RSF), but he has never been in space before—in fact, nobody has. The RSF is often regarded as a failure both by the country's citizens and a government more interested in precipitating a war with a neighboring country than scientific achievement. Following the funeral of a fellow cadet, an unmotivated Shiro is walking in the city one night, when he bumps into Riquinni Nonderaiko, a young, pious woman, genuinely enthusiastic about the significance of space exploration. As the two gradually bond, Riquinni's encouragement inspires Shiro to volunteer as a pilot for a prospective rocket ship, potentially becoming Honneamise's first man in space. Shiro and the RSF are soon joined by a team of elderly but eager scientists and engineers, and together, they embark on a mission to mold their nation's space program into a success. However, their efforts soon catch the attention of the government, which seems to have a different plan for the RSF in mind. Even as the odds are stacked against them, these men and women continue to stubbornly look to the sky, because somewhere among the frontiers of space may lie humanity's last chance at redemption. I have zero piety towards space, and I have rather strict standards for story. Wings of Honneamise has a rather poor story and even worse conclusion. However, passion of Gainax made every second of the movie meaningful and developing. Sometimes it was perspective, sometimes background, sometimes panorama - a lot of situational or locational humor. Ending is pretentious crap, to be honest. I absolutely have not understood the meaning of rape attempt scene and why actually made kid smile, basically, both times were release of some emotion, and that's it. In the end movie presents a nice setting, genius directorship and lack of any sense or conclusion, thus can't rate it high, sadly. I hope it's not Angel Egg influence as citations from holy book are the only keys to any sense.   Overall Rating: 7/10   19. Dirty Pair: The Movie Dirty Pair: Project Eden ダーティペア the Movie [1987-I] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Detective Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Agerna is a planet rich in Vizorium, the one mineral necessary to space travel. So when a series of mysterious attacks on mining operations has the governments of the world pointing fingers and blaming each other, the World Welfare & Works Association naturally sends in their top agents to investigate. But are the lovely angels up to the task of stopping a mad scientist bent on taking a long dormant alien race to its final evolutionary form? Throw in a thief who's hunting a bottle of World War II-vintage wine and it's a safe bet that nobody on the planet is safe. It's more chaos, more mayhem and even more destruction than ever before as the Dirty Pair take on their wildest case yet! I really dislike genetics that is the main theme here. Also, there's not enough humor here - even specials had more. I had big hopes, but in this state it's more of a disappointment..   Overall Rating: 6/10   20. Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori グリム童話 金の鳥 [1987-I] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy  "Kin No Tori" is an adaptation of the homonymous fairy tale "The Golden Bird" by Brothers Grimm. A golden apple is stolen from the King's garden. The King orders his three sons to guard the apples in turn and to find out who is the thief. When the youngest son, Hansu, presents a feather that he got from the golden bird that stole the apple the king sends his three sons to bring this bird to him and so Hansu journey begins. Completed in 1984, this film was shelved for three years before being theatrically released. 1984 and 1987 are very different due to rapid animation technology jump. Sadly, kid content.   Overall Rating: 5/10   21. Batsu & Terry バツ＆テリー  [1987-I] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen School, Team Sports Comedy, Drama, Sports Bats & Terry are the two tough guys in the school. They don't take crap from anyone, not even teachers. They will fight anyone necessary, and will defend strangers (especially pretty girls) from danger. They're good at it too. Some people are in terror of them, and some love them. When they rescue one especially pretty girl from a gang they fight over her, but it's all friendly and they both recognize that she has some scars. The police hassle them and yet admire them when they break up the gang. Oh, and they're the star pitcher and catcher for the high school baseball team! Baseball, motorcycle and hooligans - what can go wrong? Sunrise directorship makes it barely watchable, but not enjoyable nonetheless.   Overall Rating: 4/10   22. City Hunter シティーハンター [1987-II] Sunrise (Dropped 4/51) Tags: Shounen Action, Comedy, Mystery "City Hunter" is a notorious contractor group with the call sign "XYZ." No matter the job, they will take it, cleaning up the scum on the streets of Tokyo. The key member of City Hunter is Ryou Saeba; armed with his trusty Colt Python and pinpoint accuracy, he works alongside willful tomboy Kaori Makimura. Together they solve tough cases and tackle the numerous dangers that accompany their trade head-on. However, when he's not out hunting crooks and villains, Ryou finds pleasure in chasing beautiful ladies with only Kaori and her one hundred-ton hammer to keep him in check. From pickpockets and arms dealers to crime syndicates, nothing can stand in the way of Ryou Saeba when he takes aim at his next mission. Detective plus action plus jigolo. Nothing unique in this mix, closest show is probably Lupin III. I seriously don't understand its merit. Maybe it becomes evident later with more sci-fi stuff involved. Having sampled first season, no desire to watch it further, to be honest.   Overall Rating: 5/10   23. Kimagure Orange☆Road きまぐれオレンジ☆ロード [1987-II] Pierrot (Dropped 3/48) Tags: Shounen School, Super Power Comedy, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life Kyousuke Kasuga is no stranger to being the new kid at school. Despite only being a third-year middle schooler, he has spent his entire childhood avoiding those who discover his family's paranormal powers, and he has had to change schools seven times as a result. Upon catching a beautiful girl's hat, he becomes optimistic and hopes that he and his family have finally moved for the last time. When Kyousuke gets to school, however, he learns a different story. The elegant girl he just met turns out to be none other than Madoka Ayukawa—also known as "Madoka the Pick"—a delinquent known to smoke, drink, and get into fights. Her best friend is first-year Hikaru Hiyama, a childish and energetic girl who quickly falls in love with Kyousuke. Enamored with both girls, Kyousuke tries to balance a delicate triangle of emotions, all while dealing with the antics brought about by a family with paranormal powers. Last time I sampled it I got an impression of a super ordinary classical SOL. This time I get the appeal and if feels better than Touch. At the same time there's a lot less comedy than in Maison Ikkoku which I rate higher. I see no luring concept behind this show. It's easy to watch, but it does not mean it's enjoyable for me.   Overall Rating: 6/10   24. Hokuto no Ken 2 Fist of the North Star 2 北斗の拳2 [1987-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/43) Tags: Martial Arts, Super Power Action, Drama In the second series after Raoh has been defeated by Kenshiro a new rival appears. The Gentou Kouken warriors. Falco the successor of the Gentou Kouken takes orders from an evil ruler by the name of Jacko. He claims to be the man chosen by the Tentei and issues orders to his subordinates to capture anyone living in order to build up his Imperial Capital. Kenshiro once again rises out of the shadows and puts an end to his tyrannical ways. Amidst the mayhem Lynn gets captured and gets taken to the land of the Shura where only ruthless fighters exist. Now Kenshiro must pursue the captor and defeat the 3 Rasho of the land in order to escape with his life and with Lynn. All the memes were shown in first season. Have not seen new ones in first three episodes of this one. And this show is so bad - it's only for the memes, sadly.   Overall Rating: 4/10   25. Akai Koudan Zillion  赤い光弾ジリオン [1987-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/31) Tags: Military Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi The story takes place on the planet Maris in the year 2387. Around this time, the Nozas started to genocidally kill all humans in order to lay eggs and reproduce on the planet. Three mysterious guns dubbed the "Zillion Weapon System" appear and three teens (JJ, Champ, and Apple) are chosen to wield them as the White Knights in order to fight back against the Nozas. A slightly better than average mecha with a compulsory evil emperor and three battle suit super heroes.   Overall Rating: 5/10   26. Hiatari Ryoukou! Sunny Ryoko 陽あたり良好！ [1987-II] Group TAC (Dropped 3/48) Tags: Shoujo School Comedy, Romance, Sports Kishimoto Kasumi, a 15-year-old girl, was supposed to live at her auntie's house in order to go to high school since April. However, when she moved to the house she was surprised with the fact that there were already four new male students living in the same house. To make the matter worse, that day while she was taking a bath, Takasugi Yusaku, one of those boys, came into the bath and saw her naked. This is how Kasumi's troublesome high school days started. Imitation of Maison Ikkoku which still remains the top concept for episodical SOL comedy for me. Hiatari Ryoukou goes slightly behind. Then Orange Road, and, finally, Touch .   Overall Rating: 6/10   27. Esper Mami Mami the Psychic エスパー魔美 [1987-II] Shin-Ei Animation (Dropped 4/119) Tags: School, Super Power Comedy, Supernatural, Ecchi Mami Sakura used to be a normal junior high school student, but she happened to acquire supernatural powers. Using her powers and with the help of her best friend, Mr. Takahata, she solves mysterious occurrences. When she senses someone needs help, she uses the "Teleportation Gun" and transports herself there. She then saves the world in trouble with her psychic powers, such as telekinesis and telepathy. Esper is basically a limited mage, so it's just a usual magical girl. The unusual part is how ecchi can be incorporated here. And the truth is ... it's not. The whole ecchi tag is based on one nude picture displayed in first episode, and then nothing similar happens, not even pantsu flash .   Overall Rating: 5/10   28. Black Magic M-66 ブラックマジックＭ（マリオ）－６６ [1987-II] AIC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Sci-Fi When Sybel, a freelance reporter, discovers a military plane crash, she is thrilled by the prospect of getting her hands on the latest inside scoop. However, she is unaware that the plane was carrying two top-secret prototype android assassins who will stop at nothing to destroy their target. As the military frantically tries to clean up its mess, Sybel races against time to find and protect the robots' targeted victim—all while documenting the military's misconduct—before it is too late. A mix of Blade runner and Terminator movies as rogue assassin android pursues the target, and reporter girl basically becomes a bodyguard. Nothing big.   Overall Rating: 5/10   29. Project A-Ko 2: Daitokuji Zaibatsu no Inbou プロジェクトA子2 大徳寺財閥の陰謀 [1987-II] APPP (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Super Power Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi Three weeks after the incident that left Captain Napolipolita's ship balancing on top of Graviton City, A-Ko and the gang go on summer vacation. While A-Ko ponders losing some weight and B-Ko devises another plan to defeat her redheaded rival to win C-Ko, Napolipolita and Spy-D experience severe homesickness - begging for a way to return to their home planet. Meanwhile, Hikari Daitokuji - B-Ko's father and the CEO of the Daitokuji Financial Group - arms the local military with new mecha to attack Napolipolita's ship and obtain its advanced technology. It managed to get even worse than original with only poor humor left. With humor all fanservice is gone too. So what's left is only stupidity.   Overall Rating: 4/10   30. Space Fantasia 2001 Nights スペース ファンタジア　２００１夜物語 [1987-II] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Space Drama, Sci-Fi Based on Yukinobu Hoshino's 1984 manga in "Action Comics; shot in "Super Perspective Technique". It is the 21st century, and two young people were chosen. Adam was sent off into a space ship and was sent off into outer space... All that generalistic space romance - Earth nostalgy crap mashed up. Without decent story it tries to affect emotions, but does it poorly as well .   Overall Rating: 5/10   31. Sengoku Kitan Youtouden Yotoden: Chronicle of the Warlord Period 戦国奇譚妖刀伝 [1987-II] J.C.Staff (Finished 3/3) Tags: Action Martial Arts, Mythology In the year 1580, a man named Lord Nobunaga Oda sends hoards of unholy armies across Japan, slaying all who stand in their way. A young ninja escapes her villages' destruction with a short sword, one of the three mystical weapons that can end Oda's rule. During her quest, she is joined by two other ninjas who wield the other two weapons of legend, the sacred sword and spear. Know why Oda was called half-demon? Because he summoned demons! Nice battles, but overall not impressive.   Overall Rating: 5/10   32. Choujuu Kishin Dancougar: God Bless Dancougar God Bless Dancougar 超獣機神ダンクーガ ゴッド・ブレス・ダンクーガ [1987-II] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi After destroying the Zorbados Empire, the Jyusenki-tai/Cyber Beast Force has expanded and are training new recruits. But after failing to stop a monster that seems to be a remnant of the Zorbados Empire from destroying a city, the CBF is thrown in jail. Now the CBF have to escape from jail and find out what was behind the monster they fought. Original had too banal plot. This one is a bit more varied.   Overall Rating: 5/10   33. Pants no Ana: Mambo de Ganbo!  パンツの穴 まんぼでGANBO! [1987-II] AIC (Finished 1/1) Tags: School Comedy, Ecchi A collection of short stories, all of which are perverted to various degrees. Not translated. Lots of strange ecchi-related stories, nothing special or good.   Overall Rating: 4/10   34. Circuit Angel: Ketsui no Starting Grid サーキットエンジェル　決意のスターティング・グリッド [1987-II] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Racing Action Mariko is tough yet kind girl who is really into motorcycles. She ends up in a race to settle things between the rich son of bike maker and herself. Yay, serious racing. I tried to focus attention, but it's really hard to do when everything is so bland.   Overall Rating: 2/10   35. Shin Kabukichou Story Hana no Asukagumi! 新歌舞伎町ストーリー 花のあすか組! [1987-II] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Delinquents Adventure, Drama Based on the popular girl's manga Hana no Asukagumi! (The Glorious Asuka Gang!) by Takaguchi Satosumi. Animation of manga about women gang wars, so it introduced a large number of members from boys and girls gangs. There are quite some fights and enough violence. Don't see the need for such anime.   Overall Rating: 5/10   36. Youjuu Toshi Wicked City 妖獣都市 [1987-II] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Gore, Mythology, Super Power Action, Adventure, Drama, Horror There is Earth, our familiar world, and then there is the Black World, a parallel dimension that very few people are aware of. For centuries, a pact between the two worlds has been observed to maintain peace, and terms must be negotiated and renewed soon to continue relative harmony. This time around, there is a militant faction that will stop at nothing to prevent the signing of a new treaty for inter-dimensional peace. Two agents of the elite organization known as the Black guards—defenders of the balance between the two worlds—are charged with ensuring the success of the treaty. Director Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll) blends stylish eroticism, graphic horror and pulse-pounding action as these two race to consummate the peace treaty in time. Story was unexpected , atmospheric and fresh, but to call it a masterpiece would be an overkill.   Overall Rating: 6/10   37. Touch 3: Kimi ga Toorisugita Ato ni - Don't Pass Me By タッチ３ 君が通り過ぎたあとに -DON`T PASS ME BY-  [1987-II] Group TAC (Finished 1/1) Tags: School, Team Sports  Drama, Sports Compilation movie of the third year of the Touch timeline. Contain many important plot differences, added scenes and the complete removal of an important character. Baseball exclusive movie, and thus the worst of all Touch movies.   Overall Rating: 5/10   38. Takarajima (Movie) 宝島　劇場版  [1987-II] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Mystery, Supernatural A 88-minute theatrical recut of the original Takarajima TV series. Not translated. Series was nice, but developed really slowly, so I'm really grateful for movie form. Very nice in every aspect, but score decision is easy as there is a limit to the score an untranslated work can get.   Overall Rating: 6/10   39. Machine Robo: Butchigiri Battle Hackers マシンロボ ぶっちぎりバトルハッカーズ [1987-III] Ashi Productions (Dropped 3/31) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi A ship crewed by earthlings crashes on Chronos. Believing themselves stranded, the crew volunteers to fight along the Machine Robos. Not translated. I gave original a 3, but that might be too generous this time.   Overall Rating: 2/10   40. Transformers: The☆Headmasters トランスフォーマー ザ☆ヘッドマスターズ [1987-III] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/35) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Space Headmasters starts with Galvatron leading a new batch of Destrons to wage war on Cybertron, the Destron Headmasters. The Cybertrons are rescued by the arrival of the Cybertron Headmasters, led by Fortress (Cerebros, the head of Fortress Maximus). It is revealed that Fortress Maximus left Cybertron millions of years ago in search of energy, and have finally managed to come home. He explains that the Headmasters are from a planet called Master; the human-sized robots who live there built themselves Transformers-sized bodies. They can then transform themselves into the heads of the robots, and have now joined the Cybertron-Destron war. Some transformers seasons were shown on TV in my childhood... and that's the only conditions when it's possible to watch shows like that. It pains me that I still remember what different transformers turned into...   Overall Rating: 2/10   41. Lily C.A.T.  [1987-III] Pierrot (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Horror, Sci-Fi  The Deep Sleep Capsules, technology that has allowed man to reach out to the stars. These chambers slow the aging process by 95%. A 20-year trip passes, and the traveler has only aged 1 year. It definitely has its advantages, but after you've been on a few trips, it sure gets very lonely. Right now, however, that's not the big issue. The year is 2264. The Syncam Corporation has sent the Saldes and its crew of 13 (and 1 cat) out into deep space to explore the potential of a newfound planet 20 years away. Soon after they awaken from their stasis, however, things are happening one after another. First, the crew learns that two of the crew are not who they claim to be. Then, one by one, crewmembers die suddenly. Then, the ship begins to turn against them. And as if it couldn't get any worse, they find another mess on their hands and it is ugly. What was supposed to be a simple exploratory mission has become a struggle for survival in the depths of space. 20 years from home, they're all alone and no one can hear them scream. Ridley Scott's alien is such a popular concept. It's more psychological due to the mystery of enemy and the fact that more than half of the team decided to oppose together rather than die one by one. Still can't recommend it with open heart as it's just survival action in the end.   Overall Rating: 5/10   42. Haja Taisei Dangaiou Great Planet Evil-Destroyer Dangaio 破邪大星弾劾凰 [ダンガイオー]  [1987-III] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Four psychic teenagers—Mia Alice, Roll Kran, Lamba Nom and Pai Thunder—are brainwashed by the scientist Dr. Tarsan as pilots of his greatest experiment—the giant robot Dangaioh. But as their memories slowly return, these pilots use their abilities and Dangaioh to combat the tyranny of Captain Galimos and the Bunker Space Pirates. Esper mecha... for the third time already. Ridiculously bad .   Overall Rating: 3/10   43. Hi no Tori: Yamato-hen The Phoenix: Chapter of Yamato 火の鳥・ヤマト編 [1986-III] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Drama At his father's command, Oguna, the youngest prince of Yamato, sets out to kill Takeru Kawakami, the leader of Kumaso. However, upon arriving in Kumaso territory, he is injured by the stray arrow of a young local woman named Kajika who is hunting game. Eager to compensate for the terrible mistake, she escorts Oguna to her village to treat his wound. But as the two rapidly fall in love, the prince makes a disturbing discovery: Kajika is Takeru's younger sister! Conflicted between his newfound love and family duty, Oguna seeks advice from the Phoenix, a legendary immortal bird that serves as Kumaso's guardian. Compelled to make a decision, will the Yamato prince betray his own for the woman he loves, or will he murder Kajika's brother as commissioned? Inspired by the Yamato Takeru Japanese legend, Hi no Tori: Yamato-hen chronicles the tragic story of an ill-fated couple, showing how true love can conquer hate and adversity even among the greatest of uncertainties. Somehow, ancient history phoenix episodes fail to impress me so far. Rather average.   Overall Rating: 5/10   44. Robot Carnival ロボット・カーニバル [1987-III] Streamline pictures (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Fantasy, Sci-Fi 9 of Japan's leading animators were asked to create a short segment that followed the theme of "Robots," for their inclusion in this film. Essentially, this "movie" is 9 short films, all independant of one another. The common element is human interaction with robots, namely the consequences of creating life with one's own hands, played in nine very different ways. 1: Opening (Atsuko Fukushima and Katsuhiro Otomo) 2: Franken's Gears (Koji Morimoto) 3: Deprive (Hidetoshi Omori) 4: Presence (Yasuomi Umetsu) 5: Star Light Angel (Hiroyuki Kitazume) 6: Cloud (Mao Lamdo) 7: A Tale of Two Robots (Hiroyuki Kitakubo) 8: Nightmare (Takashi Nakamura) 9: Ending (Atsuko Fukushima and Katsuhiro Otomo) There are a lot of stories and just 90 minutes length. And most of these stories are without dialogues at all. I seriously don't like omnibus format.   Overall Rating: 5/10   45. Kindan no Mokushiroku: Crystal Triangle Crystal Triangle 禁断の黙示録 クリスタルトライアングル [1987-III] animate Film (Finished 1/1) Tags: Military, Mythology Adventure, Mystery In times of old, God gave mankind the ten commandments, and a message that has been lost to the centuries. In the present, Koichiro Kamishiro is a modern day Indiana Jones who scours (and often destroys) ruins for hints of the past, until one day he runs across a box filled with two crystal triangles. Having inadvertently run across the key to God's lost message, Kamishiro suddenly has a lot to deal with including assassination attempts by the KGB and the CIA, aliens hell-bent on destroying the Earth and the love of several women! James Bond is not the greatest concept to follow, surprise-surprise. Realization is lacking. I see nothing to watch this movie for.   Overall Rating: 4/10   46. Puttsun Make Love  ぷッつんメイクLOVE [1987-III] Agent 21 (Finished 6/6) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Ecchi Based on the manga by Amamiya Jun. At times it looked like a weak hentai, but there's enough comedy here, and some episodes aren't that much H tilt. There's still no plot and only desire of the youth to know each other better, so can't recommend it.   Overall Rating: 4/10   47. Mahou no Yousei Persia: Kaiten Mokuba 魔法の妖精ペルシャ 回転木馬 [1987-III] Pierrot (Dropped 1/1) Tags: Mahou Shoujo Comedy A recap of the TV series with six and a half minutes of new footage. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   48. Dragon Ball Movie 2: Majinjou no Nemurihime ドラゴンボール 魔神城のねむり姫 [1987-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Super Power Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Goku and Kuririn are given an assignment by Kame-Sen'nin: "Retrieve the sleeping princess from Lucifer and I will take you as my students." But the mission proves to be more perilous than originally thought. Humor is actually still good, but with mediocre story and more and more weird characters this is hardly enjoyable.   Overall Rating: 6/10   49. Manie-Manie: Meikyuu Monogatari Manie-Manie 迷宮物語 [1986-III]  Madhouse (Finished 3/3) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Supernatural  Manie-Manie: Meikyuu Monogatari is an anthology film composed of three short films by acclaimed directors Rintaro, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, and Katsuhiro Otomo. Labyrinth Labyrinthos While Sachi is searching for her cat, Cicerone, they both fall through a mirror and become trapped in a mysterious, mind-bending labyrinth. They follow a clown's shadow into the distance, not knowing where it will lead them. Running Man Bob Stone is a reporter working on an article about racer Zack Hugh, the ten-year reigning champion of an extremely popular and deadly automobile race. By the time the two meet, Zack's body and mind are shells of what they used to be. When the next race starts, Bob observes what happens when both man and machine are pushed to their breaking point, and what it takes to be an enduring champion. The Order to Stop Construction Salaryman Tsutomo Sugioka is dispatched into the heart of a dangerous jungle in order to halt a construction project after the foreman's mysterious disappearance. There, he discovers the deadly and uncontrollable world created by the automated construction robots. When the chief robot is resistant to his orders, Tsutomo must figure out another way to stop the project before his company's financial losses become too great. Anthology with under 50 minutes means 15 minutes per story. No such brief psychodelic experience can ever get anything good from me.   Overall Rating: 5/10   50. Saint Seiya: Jashin Eris Saint Seiya: Evil Goddess Eris 聖闘士星矢 邪神エリス  [1987-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Sci-Fi Eris is the goddess of chaos and uses the body of Elien, who is a friend of Hyoga, to revive herself. She obtains the golden apple to drain Athena's life energy to make her ressurection complete and to be able to turn the world in a place filled with chaos. But to be able to attack Eris, Seiya and his friends will first have to defeat the Ghost Knights. Under 50 minutes and and same horrible zodiac warriors mess as the series.   Overall Rating: 4/10   51. Bari Bari Densetsu (1987) バリバリ伝説 [1987-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Racing Action, Drama The film is about 4 high-schoolers who are bike racers and illegally partake in races at night on public roads. I blamed the previous release of Bari Bari Densetsu as one big Honda advertisement. They tried to make ads smaller this time, but the second time they showed Honda in big letters everything got evident again.   Overall Rating: 4/10   52. MAPS: Densetsu no Samayoeru Seijin-tachi マップス 伝説のさまよえる星人たち [1987-III] Gallop (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi  While looking for the ledgendary Mapman, the last surviving member of the Nomad Star tribe, Lipumira finds him in Tokyo. His name is Gen Tokishima and he is the only one able to get one part of the starmap hidden within the Earth. After retrieving the piece, Gen must make a decision to follow Lipumira in her foolhardy search to find the remaining pieces of the starmap or stay on Earth. He makes his decision, only to find his girlfriend has beaten him to the spaceship as she wants to come as well. Unfortunately, as Gen learns the secret of the starmap, Lipumira's sisters have plans to stop her and will stop her at any cost. Huge alien ship kidnaps a school boy at broad daylight just because his body is supposed to keep a part of the map... even huger alien ship appears to defeat first ship and get kidnapper with kidnapped kids to that second ship ! And both ship captains are espers! And the kid! There's so much stupidity in store that it's overwhelming .   Overall Rating: 3/10   53. Chironup no Kitsune チロヌップのきつね [1987-III] Group TAC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama  Foxes Ken and Chin become the proud parents of cubs, Koro and Kan, who enjoy a carefree life on the northern Japanese island of Chironup. They befriend a fisherman and his wife but are forced to run for their lives when soldiers on a military exercise decide to take home some fox pelts as souvenirs. A sweet little film that obliquely symbolizes the plight of Japan's aboriginal Ainu people and the northern islands that have been contested with Russia since they were occupied by Stalin's soldiers in 1945. Average in every way.   Overall Rating: 5/10   54. Aitsu to Lullaby: Suiyobi no Cinderella あいつとララバイ　水曜日のシンデレラ [1987-III] Pierrot (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Drama, Romance Based on a shounen manga by Kusunoki Michiharu serialised in Weekly Shounen Magazine.
    On a Wednesday morning, Kenji goes touring to Hakone pass with his girlfriend Tomomi. There, he sees other riders waiting for something and stops his bike. One of the riders, Hayase Junichi, explains to him that a legendary female driver nicknamed Wednesday Cinderella passes this place every Wednesday in her white Porsche. Kenji becomes interested in this mysterious driver; however, racing with her proves more dangerous than it first seems to be. Not translated. Brand of this anime is Kawasaki ! How did I know? By large letters on the bike, of course ! Anyway, this anime is pretty weird , because bike is competing with a car most of the time... which is freaking weird considered that car follows super close causing crashes. This ad is a bit better than previous bike ads, but it's still an ad.   Overall Rating: 4/10   55. TWD Express Rolling Takeoff  TWD EXPRESS ローリングテイクオフ [1987-III] Gallop (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Sci-Fi  Based on a manga by Hijiri Yuki, serialised in Comic Nora. Note: Shown in theaters as a double bill with the anime feature MAPS: Densetsu no Samayoeru Seijin-tachi. Anything shown alongside MAPS would look great.  TWD Express is a space logistics company in grave debts. A girl with self-regeneration first gets rescued, then kidnapped. And in every pinch situation the same trump card of captain rage is used. Pathetic overall .   Overall Rating: 4/10   56. Bug tte Honey: Megarom Shoujo Mai 4622 Bugってハニー メガロム少女舞4622 [1987-III] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Comedy  Movie of the Bug tte Honey. Not translated. First movie left a poor impression on me. This one is also very random. Buildings look like toys... huge toys in space... cute enemies... bridges made of cards... and the biggest enemy is an ally who was experimented on. It's all so stupid that pains me physically to watch .   Overall Rating: 2/10   57. Dead Heat デッドヒート [1987-III] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi, Sports Failed driver Makoto is ready to quit the business until he is approached by Hayami Go, who offers him a hyper-engine to change his fortunes. Claiming to be "Japan's first 3D anime," this curio using the VHD-3D system features 21st-century youngsters racing "FX" machines - predictable crosses between motorcycles and mechas. Yay, chopped down to first episode racing mecha that I can't find a reason to recommend.   Overall Rating: 4/10   58. Lady Lady!! レディレディ！！ [1987-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/21) Tags: Shoujo Historical Drama Lynn lost her mother at the age of five and lives in with her father in England. Lynn's father is not able to be by her side all the time because of his busy schedule and Lynn is often left on her own. Despite having to endure the harsh loneliness, Lynn strives to protect her promise with her mother to become a strong and elegant lady. Not translated. This series is about a girl five years old... not cool, but at least some continuation should be with her getting older and older. Let's just say it's definitely not Heidi from Alps, plus luxury environment does not add charm . For a five-year-old Lynn communicates with any adults and controls her body like a pro with occasional artificially looking slips. All I saw were endless new relatives for Lynn to deal with - hardly engaging or enternaining.   Overall Rating: 5/10   59. Anime Sanjuushi アニメ三銃士 [1987-IV] Gallop (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Romance In 1625, the young D'Artagnan leaves his village in Gascony to embark for Paris with his grandparents' blessings, taking only his father's sword and a letter of introduction. Seeking audience with Tréville, Captain of the Musketeers of the Guard and his late father's comrade, the poor nobleman aims to become a great hero in the service of King Louis XIII. The young adventurer is astonished by the massive size of Paris, but also overwhelmed. He wanders the city streets, befriending a young orphan named Jean. However, he also ends up offending three of the Musketeers of the Guard: Porthos, Aramis, and Athos. Confronted by the Parisian guards over their illegal dueling, D'Artagnan and the Musketeers fend off five of Cardinal Richelieu's soldiers, and the four of them quickly become friends. The four new comrades set off to stop the Cardinal from starting war between England and France, and protect the image of Queen Anne d'Autriche, the wife of Louis XIII. But what will be the cost of their efforts? Better than dog musketeers, but still only for those who don't know the plot.   Overall Rating: 5/10   60. Mister Ajikko ミスター味っ子 [1987-IV] Sunrise (Dropped 3/99) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Gourmet Ajiyoshi Yoichi is a culinary prodigy who manages the eating house together with his mother. One day, Murata Genjiro appears in the eating house and is surprised at the delicious taste and delicate culinary skills of the katsu-don prepared by Youichi. Subsequently, Youichi is being invited to the Aji-oh Building in which he is involved in a spaghetti match with the in-house Italian chef, Marui. Youichi's novel culinary ideas, coupled with his enthusiasm of serving the best for his guests, allow him to defeat Marui in the match. From then on, Youichi begins to compete with other rivals in the race for the best tastes and dishes. Oh, so Shokugeki no Soma had such source. No torn clothes on tasting (but flying in space between planes on tasting), yet very similar otherwise. Of course there are less characters and side-plots here. I don't have a faintest desire to watch it to the end.   Overall Rating: 5/10   61. Kamen no Ninja Akakage 仮面の忍者赤影 [1987-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/23) Tags: Action, Fantasy Red Shadow, created by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, is a ninja who wears a red-and-black costume and a stylized red mask. His adventures take place in Feudal Japan, and he and his ninja sidekicks Aokage and Shirokage fight evil warlords, wizards and daikaiju using modern high-tech gadgetry (a blatant oddity in a period setting). Only a few episodes are translated. Basically, Japanese version of Zorro with some magic or elements out of the setting used. Action is ok, but there's hardly anything besides that.   Overall Rating: 5/10   62. Bikkuriman ビックリマン [1987-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/75) Tags: Comedy, Fantasy In a world divided between angels and evil creatures, only the young hero Yamato Shintei has the power to defeat the demons... Not translated. It's a chibi parody on folk tales and probably even on Dragon Ball, as protagonist is a samurai kid, he has a female angel companion, pervy old man as companion, some shounen mage as companion and what not! Title is supposed to surprise/amaze, so it has bold moves, like cutting down lower half of ogre body and having upper half fly with the lower half away...   Overall Rating: 6/10   63. Tsuideni Tonchinkan Anyway, It Doesn't Matter ついでにとんちんかん [1987-IV] Studio Comet (Dropped 3/43) Tags: Gag Humor Comedy A gang decides to play at burglary without the knowledge of their schoolmates, each masquerading at different times as the master thief Tonchinkan. Not translated. Gag comedy where three pupils with some super skills dress as thieves and try to steal something, but their fourth accomplice is a kindergarten kid who always acts maximally irrationally showing naked ass everywhere, siding with enemies or just taking the hits in most hilarious forms. Might be a thing with translation.   Overall Rating: 5/10   64. Norakuro-kun のらくろクン [1987-IV] Pierrot (Dropped 3/50) Tags:  Comedy, Mystery October, 1987, Autumn. In Suganami, Tokyo, there lives the Kinoshita family whereby the father draws very little pay out of his job as an ordinary salaryman. In order to cover expenses, he decides to let out the second floor of their apartment to earn additional rental income. One day, an obstinate-looking eldery dog, accompanied by a younger boy-dog, came knocking on their doors. The eldery dog addresses himself as Norayama Kuroyoshi and introduces his grandson as Norakuro. The former wants to open a detective agency and intends to rent the unit for their office. He will be the president of the investigative bureau while Norakuro-kun will be the director. He will also recruit one of the Kinoshita's sons, Keita-kun, as his employee and their advisor will be the girl-next-door, a high school student by the name of Rika Sawaguchi. On the third day since the official opening of the office, the telephone rang, a signal of a new case. Not translated. Kids stuff, only a bit more complex that Doraemon. And since Norakuro was an old anti-war series, it still holds some ties to military vehicles and stuff.    Overall Rating: 5/10   65. Manga Nihon Keizai Nyuumon マンガ日本経済入門 [1987-IV] Knack Productions (Dropped 1/25) Tags: Seinen Educational, Historical Drama, Slice of Life Depiction of Japan's economy, based on Shoutarou Ishinomori's epynomous manga. Wow, someone translated first episode. Only cringe with some real life video cuts , as expected.   Overall Rating: 2/10   66. Devilman: Tanjou-hen Devilman: The Birth デビルマン 誕生編 [1987-IV] Oh! Production (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mythology Horror, Sci-Fi, Supernatural  Akira Fudou leads the life of a typical high school student. After a chance encounter with school bullies, he is rescued by his childhood friend Ryou Asuka. Ryou and Akira catch up over the course of an afternoon that ends with them crashing a party at a nightclub. Initially uncomfortable with the environment, Akira is shocked when violence provokes some of the club's partygoers to transform into demonic monsters. He and Ryou are only saved from the encounter thanks to the intervention of a great demon known as Amon. Amon possesses Akira, and the two together form the powerful Devilman⁠—a being that, due to the influence of Akira's strong empathy for his fellow man, is resolved to keep the human race safe from the threats of demonkind. It's true that first two prologue episodes of old devilman series were impressive, but they were not that good to have own remake, lol ! It's more advanced now, but still a secondary product that I can't rate high.   Overall Rating: 5/10   67. Junk Boy ジャンクボーイ [1987-IV] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Ecchi 23-year-old Ryohei Yamazaki has just one thing on his mind: sex. And with his sweet-talking, honey-voiced ways, Ryohei has no trouble finding interested ladies. But none of them is just what he wants... none of them is PERFECT. Then he charms the beautiful editor of a hot magazine into hiring him. Journalism will never be the same again... I've definitely seen worse, but it does not cancel the fact that there's no depth in this piece .   Overall Rating: 5/10   68. Battle Royal High School 真魔神伝　バトルロイヤルハイスクール [1987-IV] D.A.S.T. (Finished 1/1) Tags: Martial Arts, Mythology, Super Power Action, Horror, Supernatural Hyoudo Riki is just an ordinary guy who likes to wear a tiger mask while Kung-Fu fighting, which means he fits in real well at BATTLE ROYAL HIGH SCHOOL! Unfortunately for Riki, he's the doppleganger in our world of Byoudo, Master of the Dark Realm, and when a dimensional gate opens between the two worlds, the evil Fairy Master tricks Byoudo into making an attempt to conquer our beautiful, and better lit, world. Now poor Riki is semi-possessed by his opposite number, and the minions of the Fairy Master are mutating his classmates into hideous lustful monsters. To make matters worse, all the inter-dimensional commotion has attracted the attention of a sword-happy exorcist and the heroic Zankan of the Space-Time Police! Which all means that Riki is about to take one bitch of a mid-term. The course is survival, and forget "Pass/Fail". The test is graded "Live/Die". Action was quite ok for me. But there's nothing but action, so .   Overall Rating: 6/10   69. Dirty Pair OVA ダーティペア (1987) [1987-IV] Sunrise (Finished 10/10) Tags: Detective Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Set in the future Kei and Yuri are Trouble Consultants for The 3WA. Code Named "Lovely Angels", but, they are known throughout the galaxy as The Dirty Pair. They always solve their case, but, not without causing collateral damage and mayhem. First half of episodes looked really bad for me as there was always mission given by 3WA without prologue, and mission got conducted without humor or conversations. In the second half of the episodes all those issues were adressed at least couple times each. In the end I feel that OVA episodes are on the same level as originals or worse. With the novelty inevitably lost with the second season, it's only 6 for me .   Overall Rating: 6/10   70. Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01 メタルスキンパニックMADOX-01 [1987-IV]  AIC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi In the first test of a revolutionary personal battle-suit, the MADOX-01, Ace female test-pilot Elle Kusomoto smashes an attacking tank force and humiliates Lt. Kilgore, Japan's most-macho tank-jockey, in the process. Kilgore swears he'll get even, and he gets his chance when the prototype MADOX literally falls off the back of a truck in the middle of Tokyo. Meanwhile, the MADOX, which fell off the back of one truck, off a bridge, and into the back of another truck, has found its way into the hands of college student Koji Sujimoto. Intruiged by the MADOX, Koji makes the big mistake of fooling with it without reading the manual first, and soon finds himself locked in the suit and zooming around downtown Tokyo. Just Action. Waste of time.   Overall Rating: 3/10   71. X Densha de Ikou X電車で行こう [1987-IV] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Avant Garde, Mystery, Supernatural  Ishihara Toru is an everyday guy with an on-and-off girlfriend and a position working for a train buff. Things become complicated when a ghostly vehicle dubbed the X Train begins to ride the rails, destroying everything in its path. Somehow, it seems that Toru is connected with the X Train by a strange power, which draws the attention of some very dangerous and power hungry people who would wield it for their own... Dark monotonous horror with ugly faces and no real aim. I see zero merit in it. Appreciating it for being experimental and comparing it to FLCL is incompetence beyond understanding.   Overall Rating: 4/10   72. TO-Y トーイ  [1987-IV] Gallop (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Music Drama Two weeks before a concert at Yaon Hibiya auditorium (1987.8.26), while playing at the club Shinjuku Loft, lead vocalist To-Y (pron: to-o-i) of the band GASP is jumped by a rival, Aikawa Yoji. GASP is a upcoming band known for its violence, struggling to be noticed against the popularity of hotshot Aikawa, who's #1 on the charts and beloved by his fans. The Yaon Hibiya concert represents GASP's mainstream debut to break out of the small-time club scene, which is threatened by the schemes of Aikawa's manager, Ms. Kato of Koyama Productions. Kato wants To-Y to leave that "bunch of hoodlums," and sing independently for a major label. Adding to the confusion is an unexplained character who manifests feline traits, named Niya. Niya presents herself as "To-Y's aijin" ("Niya, To-Y no aijin da yo!") to the consternation of Koishikawa Hiderou, who has interest in To-Y. Koishikawa, also known as "Sonoko-chan," is typed as a "okama" by Niya. A running motif is GASP, it's fans, and associates regarded as unusual by the mainstream public, as exemplified by their musical taste, dress, and Classic Coke-drinking, which only contributes to more difficulty in their struggle to be accepted. Some songs, some singers with ever sour faces and zero emotions, one tomboy full of emotions who constantly picks on singers. If it sounds enticing, go ahead, but I'm past the time I could enjoy aimless animation just for the mood.   Overall Rating: 5/10   73. Gall Force 2: Destruction ガルフォース2 ディストラクション [1987-IV] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi Military, Space Lufy, discovered floating lifeless in space, is brought on board a Solnoid cruiser and given another chance at life. Once the hardened warrior, she is shown events that shake her faith (one's own death seems to have a way of changing one's philosophy) and lessening her power as a fighter just as that power is most needed! First part had at least some drama and action, this one is pretty even and bland.   Overall Rating: 5/10   74. Hi no Tori: Uchuu-hen The Phoenix -Space- 火の鳥　宇宙編 [1987-IV] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi In deep space, four astronauts discover that their colleague Makimura has mysteriously died shortly following a cryptic note about his imminent murder. Though horrified by the news, the inoperable state of their spaceship leaves the crew no time to grieve, and they evacuate via escape pods. Determined to identify the culprit, the survivors begin to suspect fellow crewmate Kizaki, on account of a rivalry between himself and Makimura regarding the only female team member, Nana Ichinomiya. However, to their bewilderment, they notice Makimura's pod following them, yet failing to respond to attempts at contact. As the astronauts try to interpret their perplexing circumstances, they learn there are more inconceivable stories about their lost teammate, one involving the Phoenix, a mysterious bird said to have the ability to grant immortality. It is not until they crash into a seemingly deserted planet that the crew will finally uncover the sinister truth behind Makimura and his suspicious pod. Set in a distant future, Hi no Tori: Uchuu-hen illustrates the cruelty of human beings passionately in pursuit of their own desires without any regard to the consequences. Story itself is nice as usual, but it's story for story's sake, not integral piece. No good personalities to back it properly.   Overall Rating: 6/10   75. Daimajuu Gekitou: Hagane no Oni 大魔獣激闘　鋼の鬼 [1987-IV] AIC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Horror, Sci-Fi In the year 1999, a team of UN scientists in an attempt to tap into a new energy resource on a deserted island called Sansara, unknownigly open a portal to another universe, unleashing dormant biomechanical entities. Three years later, Takuya Goroza returns to the island of Sansara urged by a mysterious request by college chum Haruka Alford. Little does he know, his old friend isn't what he appears to be... The whole film is a buildup for opening a portal followed by mecha battle. Not cool.   Overall Rating: 5/10   76. The Samurai ザ・サムライ [1987-IV] TBS (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen School Comedy, Romance Sixteen-year-old high school student Takeshi Chimatsuri has devoted his life to being a master samurai like his father was. Then one day, the Toki twins, two ninja sisters he's known since childhood, transfer to his school and issue him a challenge to take back their family dagger from him. Unfortunately for him, they have discovered his one weakness: the fear of the naked female body. Now, Takeshi must undergo special training from his classmates Atsuko and Torai, and his teacher Miss Ayatsugi to resist the combined brute strength of Akari and the temptation of her sex-crazed twin Kagiri. Class will never be in order with these three constantly fighting each other. It could be funnier and have some kind of ending. But it did not. It will be forgotten in a day.   Overall Rating: 5/10   77. Makyou Gaiden Le Deus Ladius 魔境外伝レ・ディウス [1987-IV] Production Reed (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi  In a post-apocalyptic world, the treasure hunter Riot and his pretty sidekicks are searching for Eyes of Zalem, which they hope will guide them to Rido, the treasure of a long-lost Quall civilization. A limitless energy source, the Rido has the power to even restore life; but unfortunately for Riot, the evil Demsters are after it too.  An absolutely unmemorable adventure that turns into same unremarkable mecha by the end.   Overall Rating: 4/10   78. Relic Armor Legaciam  レリック・アーマー レガシアム [1987-IV] Kadokawa Shoten (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi The planet Libertia was once known as “the planet of death”, until humanity built three giant mirrors and created what seemed like an ideal land. It is on this planet that Professor Grace and his granddaughter Alcia live peacefully… until their home is attacked by Guild soldiers looking for the professor and for Legaciam – a special Armor that can resist extreme heat, allowing it to go to areas where humans would not survive normally. Alcia, who was at the time piloting Legaciam in order to help her grandfather with the testing, manages to get away… barely. But the Guild is determined to get Legaciam by any means necessary… Setting is portrayed vividly, so it's a bit better than usual mecha. Not much due to other elements failure.   Overall Rating: 5/10   79. Good Morning Althea グッドモーニング・アルテア [1987-IV] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Sci-Fi The story revolves around Nikolai, apparently a part-cyborg; Galory, a young boy who apparently is part human/part Crest person, and Althea, who is entirely a Crest person. Seems the Earth and the Crest people were at war for 300 years so there's still a lot of bad feelings present. The ship Galory, Nikolai and others are on is ambushed and almost everyone killed by some kind of automated attack ships from a huge Crest ship that has been taken over by an automaton. Galory, Nikolai and Althea go to the ship to try and see if there are any survivors of an advanced party from Galory's ship that can be saved, and to see if they can destroy the Type 38 automaton in the ship's core. Another variation of evil hiding in an abandoned space ship. Not sure I can call anything good out of it all .   Overall Rating: 4/10   80. Flying Luna Clipper フライング・ルナクリッパー [1987-IV] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Music, Parody, Psychological Avant Garde, Comedy, Ecchi A trip on a chartered plane with a number of other thrill-seekers (most of whom are anthropomorphic fruits and vegetables) and hop from island to island, each of which offer their own unique visual delights. Anime is done in the form of pixelated DOS game... that'd actually be enough unless I wanted to sample ecchi of the vegetable people... I wish I did not. It's not even done by any professional company. It's not anime. The end .   Overall Rating: 2/10   81. Scoopers スクーパーズ [1987-IV] ACC Production (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi  It's 2016 and Shambhala city reporter Yoko and her android boyfriend/bodyguard/cameraman Vito are hunting the enigmatic criminal Mr. X. Their search leads them to the Rainbow Tower, were Yoko is taken hostage and Vito must battle to save her by destroying the program of the Tower's central computer to prevent X's escape. Reporter stack her nose everywhere and got attacked often, but was saved by her cyborg companion. They they got separated. Then they got reunited and reported got saved again. The end.   Overall Rating: 4/10   82. Kentauros no Densetsu The Legend of Kentauros ケンタウロスの伝説 [1987-IV] Wako Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Drama  The Centaurs are a racing team of 93 bikers from the port city of Yokohama who are named after the legendary Greek horsemen. Arthur and Ken fall for the same lady deciding to settle their competition with a race. You know how I like serious racing. Not. For some reason showing real brands on bikes is considered ok in the 80s. There is numerous times Yamaha is shown on bikes and uniform which makes me think it's one big Yamaha ad to settle things with threee previous Honda movies. But why in the anime, damn it?   Overall Rating: 5/10   83. Taiman Blues: Shimizu Naoto-hen たいまんぶるうす 清水直人編 [1987-IV] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Shounen Delinquents A tale of rivalry between two gangs, MND and Laku, and the personal vendetta between MND's Naoto and Laku's Yota. Serious biker gang wars anime. Not without flashing HONDA on the bikes ofc. Lots of simplifications and stupidity, as expected.   Overall Rating: 5/10   84. Boku no Oldies wa All Color 僕のオールディーズはオールカラー [1987-IV] (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Seinen  Music Romance A minimalist adaptation of Seizo Watase's manga of the same name. It contains 5 stories of slow paced vignettes of romance whose only dialogue lies within the "oldies" being played as background music. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   85. Lupin III: Fuuma Ichizoku no Inbou Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy  ルパン三世　風魔一族の陰謀 [1987-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery Goemon's wedding to Murasaki Inabe, daughter of a samurai clan's leader, is interrupted when the Fuma ninjas attack, kidnapping the bride-to-be and demanding her family's ancient treasure as ransom. Lupin, Jigen, Goemon and Fujiko work together once again to try to save Murasaki and get to the treasure before the Fuma can steal it. Probably the best Lupin III I've seen so far. A bit of everything - chases , dungeon with traps, kidnapping, local corruption, treasure. Still could not enjoy it.   Overall Rating: 5/10   86. Genji Monogatari 源氏物語 [1987-IV] Group TAC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Drama, Romance At the height of the Heian period, Hikaru Genji—the illegitimate son of the emperor—leads a life of luxury as a government official. He spends his time at court sipping tea, dancing, and coming up with elegant excuses to visit his somewhat scandalous lovers. With such a complicated life, it is only a matter of time before this amorous man's affairs spiral out of control. Boring like hell. Only ok if you can tolerate one and a half hour of emotionless talks about neutral things like succession, retainer, favorites or music.   Overall Rating: 3/10   87. Gokiburi-tachi no Tasogare Twilight of the Cockroaches ゴキブリたちの黄昏  [1987-IV] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Anthropomorphic, Military Drama Hybrid film with animated cockroaches interacting with live-action actors. In a trashy bachelor pad lived a colony of roaches who were able to roam freely for food or for games. Because of the homeowner being gentle with the roaches, they have no fear of traps, spray, or being stepped on. However when the homeowner starts bringing over a woman over, life starts to change for the roaches who are already living an easy life. What the hell? I was close to throwing up. There should be no toying with cockroachcide.   Overall Rating: 1/10   88. Shouri Toushu 勝利投手 [1987-IV] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Team Sports  Baseball coach Hoshiyama offers a chance to turn professional to Katsumi Kunimasa, a star member of the student squad that won the summer tournament. The young girl becomes a star pitcher for the Chunchi Dragons (conveniently, the team her father owns), and, after a year of triumphs, she leads them to victory in the national championships at the legendary Koshien Stadium. Based on the manga by Noriko Umeda, this anime may be compared to the other girl-playing baseball story "Song of the Baseball Enthusiasts". The Dragons team members are all based on the real-life team, though their opponents are fictional. At the time, the real-life Hoshiyama was a commentator, but fact was eventually true to fiction and he became the manager for the real-life Dragons. Not translated. I'm not sure why I keep watching baseball spokons with zero chance for me to like it. Girl in baseball was already covered in Yakyuukyou no Uta, but both are much better than average baseball spokons. It is so mostly because scenes from everyday life addition. Anyway, not great, but watchable.   Overall Rating: 5/10   89. Hitomi no Naka no Shounen: Juugo Shounen Hyouryuuki The Story of Fifteen Boys 瞳のなかの少年　十五少年漂流記 [1987-IV] Nippon Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Adventure  A two-week summer vacation has turned out to be a long struggle for survival. The Story of 15 Boys is based on "Deux Ans de Vacances," a unique masterpiece and the only novel that Jules Verne wrote especially for children. Now this story has been animated through the use of leading-edge techniques. A drifting sailboat carrying 15 boys is overtaken by a storm and cast ashore on a desert island, where the fifteen boys begin their struggle. Their tough days-full of danger, thrills and fear-drive the boys to distress at times, but also shape them into strong independent people. The boys' extraordinary experiences on the island will bring to all young viewers the excitement that they always dream of experiencing themselves. But there has already been older animation on the same book, just about a third was taken by voyage and gathering there. This time arrival takes mere minutes to give more time for "adventures" - super boring ones at that since target audience is kids.   Overall Rating: 4/10   90. Saint Elmo: Hikari no Raihousha Saint Elmo: Apostle of Light セントエルモ・光の来訪者 [1987-IV] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Sci-Fi  Inside Mercury, Japan builds a large-sized solar space power plant. The plant supports Earth with its large solar energy supply but suddenly there is an abnormality at the Saint Elmo plant. To pinpoint the problem, Earth sends several technicians to fix it. Not translated. Technicians fix the problem. Good for them, but why should I watch it really?   Overall Rating: 5/10
  20. 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
  21. kivandopulus

    Anime of the Year 1986 - Shounan Bakusouzoku

    By kivandopulus,


    Anime of the Year
    No clear favorite this year, but a lot of masterpieces with 7 - Hadashi no Gen 2 , Shounan Bakusouzoku , Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa , Sangokushi II: Amakakeru Otoko-tachi . I don't want to choose, so the winner will be the only series in the list which is Shounan Bakusouzoku .   1. Dragon Ball ドラゴンボール [1986-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/153) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts, Super Power Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy Gokuu Son is a young boy who lives in the woods all alone—that is, until a girl named Bulma runs into him in her search for a set of magical objects called the "Dragon Balls." Since the artifacts are said to grant one wish to whoever collects all seven, Bulma hopes to gather them and wish for a perfect boyfriend. Gokuu happens to be in possession of a dragon ball, but unfortunately for Bulma, he refuses to part ways with it, so she makes him a deal: he can tag along on her journey if he lets her borrow the dragon ball's power. With that, the two set off on the journey of a lifetime. They don't go on the journey alone. On the way, they meet the old Muten-Roshi and wannabe disciple Kuririn, with whom Gokuu trains to become a stronger martial artist for the upcoming World Martial Arts Tournament. However, it's not all fun and games; the ability to make any wish come true is a powerful one, and there are others who would do much worse than just wishing for a boyfriend. To stop those who would try to abuse the legendary power, they train to become stronger fighters, using their newfound strength to help the people around them along the way. Watching Dragon Ball for the first time. Actually, first episodes are masterfully crafted. I don't like the concept and won't watch the episodes, but there will be a lot of movies that I might evaluate higher, we'll see.   Overall Rating: 6/10   2. Ai Shoujo Pollyanna Story 愛少女ポリアンナ物語 [1986-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/51) Tags: Historical Drama, Slice of Life  Motherless since birth, Pollyanna was an ordinary happy-go-lucky girl, leaving peacefully with her father, the vicar. Then one day her life changes completely when her father dies and she has to live with her aunt whom she has never met before. In the beginning, she seems to be detested by her but as time passes, they develop a very strong bond. Another world masterpiece series that I'm not going to finish due to lack of tempo and no goal.   Overall Rating: 5/10   3. Maple Town Monogatari メイプルタウン物語 [1986-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Fantasy, Slice of Life  Maple Town Stories is about friendship, adventure and the troubles the children (Patty Rabbit, Bobby Bear and Fanny Fox) who are the main characters of the show, fall into. Wild Wolfe is a homeless thief who lives in the forest and usually steals from the town and does other mischief, but the kids are always there to stop him and set things right slowly making him understand the wrongs of his ways. It's kids show if not for form, then surely for morality answers it provides. Too childish. It also does not look Japanese at all as if made for export.   Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Uchuusen Sagittarius 宇宙船サジタリウス [1986-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/77) Tags: Adventure, Sci-Fi  Working for a multi-purpose space agency, Toppy and Rana make friends with Giraffe, a scientist, and go through various adventures in space. The three encounter danger at times, but their friendship always saves them just in the nick of time. Changing humans into sagittarius is a distinctive move towards kid audience. It is also partly musical. Maybe it's not for kids, but for younger children for sure.   Overall Rating: 4/10   5. Kenritsu Chikyuu Boueigun Prefectural Earth Defense Force 県立地球防衛軍 [1986-I] Gallop (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Telegraph Pole Society, a mysterious group, is planning to conquer the world. The principal of the local high school forms a Defense Force by recruiting students from school: Shogi Morita, Kuho Tasuke, and Akiko Ifukube. Meanwhile the high school crazy scientist, Dr. Inogami, has turned a local boy, Kami Sanchin, into a cyborg. They might just defeat the Telegraph Pole Society with the help of the cyborg, or maybe not... I liked setting, characters and art. As for humor , liked about one third of it, still enough for a six.   Overall Rating: 6/10   6. The Humanoid: Ai no Wakusei Lezeria ザ・ヒューマノイド 哀の惑星レザリア [1986-I] Kaname Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Space Drama, Sci-Fi Dr. Watson has created his masterpiece – a beautiful woman made of metal. A wonder of science, Antoinette is a childlike innocent who holds the key to an ancient civilization that could save the world, or destroy it. And when a mad tyrant kidnaps the man she loves, Antoinette finally discovers the courage – and the amazing fighting skills – that are her true calling. Story is average at best.   Overall Rating: 5/10   7. Cool Cool Bye クール・クール・バイ [1986-I] Studio Bogey (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy  Two brothers are riding around on their hover bikes, when suddenly a giant metal fortress gets in their way. After a brief battle, the duo manages to gravely wound the fortress. It retreats and dumps our heroic pair in a wasteland. But this wasteland is inhabited by nomads that indicate that the fortress was hidden inside a mountain. The nomads plead for the duo to finish the job. Two of the natives go with them as guides, and somewhere along the way the gain the help of a fairy that can transform into a mech-warrior woman. I should have blocked an OVA like this with just 30 minutes length, but of course I needed to see how metal fortress gets wounded. Priceless.   Overall Rating: 4/10   8. Kikou Kai Galient OVA 機甲界ガリアン [1986-I] Sunrise (Finished 3/3) Tags: Mecha Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi The first two episodes are summaries of the TV series, the third one (Crest of Iron) takes place in an alternate universe. I counted nine stupid moves in first two OVAs, that alone dropped evaluation to 5. But third OVA is a very weird alternative story that's probably retelling of some samurai clan story transferred to this world. Stunningly bad and different from what original story is. It's one of the first mecha that has a logical normal development, but that is buried under horrible logic of events and poor characters actions .   Overall Rating: 4/10   9. Soukou Kihei Votoms Recaps Armored Trooper Votoms Recaps 装甲騎兵ボトムズ [1986-I] Sunrise (Finished 4/4) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Drama, Sci-Fi A summarized version of the TV series in 4 parts. Not translated. Finally saw its end, absolutely horrible open ending.   Overall Rating: 4/10   10. Karuizawa Syndrome 軽井沢シンドローム [1986-I] Kitty Film Mitaka Studio (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life It is an action comedy about a young man's persistent sexual fantasies. It has 4 distinct art styles: a manga style, a SD style, a realistic style, and a art-graphic pencil style. Some prety random romance stuff with talks about pregnancy/marriage/love... there's not big concept behind it all and even no good humor.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Honoo no Alpenrose ドラマチックメモリー 炎のアルペンローゼ [1986-I] Tatsunoko Production (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shoujo Historical Drama, Romance Two-part OVA that summarises the entire Honoo no Alpenrose TV series featuring a new dubbing and reworked scenes. The story about an amnesiac girl who runs from nazis and finds all kinds of her relatives. So stretched, so boring .   Overall Rating: 5/10   12. Butten Monogatari 仏典物語 [1986-I] (Dropped 0/10) Tags: Historical An animated telling of famous Buddhist scriptures, the OVA series focuses on the early days of Buddhism surrounding Gautama Buddha/Siddhartha. Not found (so grateful for that).   Overall Rating: 0/10   13. Hokuto no Ken Movie Fist of the North Star: The Movie 北斗の拳 [1986-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Sci-Fi Following a cataclysmic nuclear war, the world teeters on the brink of complete destruction. Civilization is polarized into a degenerate society where opposing packs of marauding scavengers prey on helpless, homeless nomads. For those who are lucky enough to survive the constant brutality and danger, it is a bleak existence. Life an death blur into abstractions. The only hope left for mankind is to find a hero worthy of becoming the next "Fist of the North Star" - an enlightened warrior - who is capable of leading those with the will to survive out of this barrenness into a new world. But in this savage no-man's land of shifting loyalties and power-hungry demi-gods, heroes are in short supply. Epic! More epic! Squared! The whole anime looks like author stormbrained answers from geeks on what they considered cool. Bursting heads? Hits with timer that burst head in exactly 30 seconds? Exchanging hits while the whole city is crashing around this small circle? Of course it has it all. It only makes it unrealistic and laughable for me. Hokuto no Ken is Fast & Furious of anime - the more it tries to look cooler, the more laughable it becomes.   Overall Rating: 5/10   14. Urusei Yatsura Movie 4: Lum The Forever うる星やつら ラム・ザ・フォーエバー [1986-I] Studio Deen (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi  Strange things begin happening in Tomobiki Town... When a great cherry tree, "Tarozakura" is cut down while Lum & Co. are making a movie, Lum loses her horns-and her powers! Thus begins the strangest and most lyrical of the Urusei Yatsura movies... I'd say it's a bit better than other franchise movies, but there is still nothing exceptional, and concept is still shallow. At least it's able to set a lyrical mood.   Overall Rating: 6/10   15. Arion ネオ・ヒロイック・ファンタジア　アリオン [1986-I] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy In Thrace, Arion is taken from his mother Demeter by the god Hades. In the Underworld, Arion is trained to be a warrior. His training is driven by revenge: Arion was told that his mother's blindness was caused by Zeus and Zeus' death will remove the curse. Finally, Arion and Geedo (a huge ape-like creature who had become Arion's friend and companion) left the Underworld to find Zeus. Seneca, a small thief, makes off with Arion's sword and this leads Arion to his first encounter with the forces of Zeus, commanded by his daughter Athena. Arion is captured but is later set free by Lesfeena, Athena's mute serving girl. As Arion rejoins Geedo and Seneca (and worries about Lesfeena), the forces of Zeus and Poseidon face each other in battle. In the background sits the scheming Hades, and the calm Apollon who seems to have plans of his own. I remember watching this movie prior to playing Arion visual novel to understand what was going on there. The whole idea of mortal combat between gods and titans with pretty much everyone dying is very viable, but realization could be a lot better. With an unsatisfactory ending like that it can't become a masterpiece.   Overall Rating: 6/10   16. Kinnikuman: New York Kiki Ippatsu! キン肉マン ニューヨーク危機一髪！ [1986-I] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Comedy, Sports Terryman, Robin Mask, and the other Justice Choujins are participating in a tournament in New York. Suddenly, Akuma Shogun (not the same as the guy from the series) arrives and defeats all of the Justice Choujins and absorbs their power... all except Kinnikuman (who was late for the tournament because he was busy eating gyuudon). Now Kinnikuman must defeat Akuma Shogun, whom now posseses the combined strength of all the Justice Choujins. Another kinnikuman movie with length of just two episodes. Sadly, it reuses all the usual for show trops and humor yet again. I seriously have seen most its moves presented here already, that substracts a score point.   Overall Rating: 4/10   17. Seito Shokun! Kokoro ni Midori no Neckerchief wo 生徒諸君! 心に緑のネッカチーフを [1986-I] Ashi Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo School Comedy Students who do not trust teachers, teachers who give up faith in education, parents who blame schools for their children's misbehavior... Naoko was at a loss when she was assigned as a new high school teacher. Times have changed and students are no longer easy to control, but she chose not to look away. Instead, Naoko reaches out to try and discover the various issues hidden in the modern education system. Not translated. Synopsis is for later manga, but not for this work. Naoko is still a student here. She fools around with her classmates and participates in green bandana event. Comedy is shallow, drama artificial.     Overall Rating: 5/10   18. Maison Ikkoku めぞん一刻 [1986-II] Studio Deen (Dropped 4/96) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast Comedy, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life  In the town of Clock Hill, there is an old boarding house called Maison Ikkoku. While the residence itself is fairly normal, most of its occupants are not. Yuusaku Godai, its most quiet tenant, has finally reached his limit with his neighbors' constant disruptions and boisterous partying. Wanting a calmer place to call home so that he can study in peace, he prepares to move away. However, his plans to leave are suddenly interrupted when he meets the new boarding house manager, Kyoko Otonashi. Falling madly in love with her, he decides that the boarding house may not be such a bad place to live after all. Unfortunately for him, Kyoko has her own romantic troubles: she is a widow whose husband died six months into their marriage. And despite her blossoming feelings for Godai, Kyoko still cherishes her dearly departed husband, and she believes that no other man could possibly fill the void in her heart. But with Godai's persistence and some help of the other eccentric tenants, she may experience true love once again. Same as Touch, very nice, but episodic and 100 episodes long. It's my policy not to give masterpiece scores if I have not watched series to the end, but watching 100 episodes of any episodic show is a waste of time for me. Story is much more important than setting, characters and humor combined.   Overall Rating: 6/10   19. Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ 機動戦士ガンダムZZ [1986-II] Sunrise (Dropped 3/47) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi In Universal Century 0088, the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG) has emerged victorious in its war with the Earth Federation's Titans at the cost of devastating losses. Neo-Zeon, the third faction in the war formerly known as Axis Zeon, remains as powerful as ever. Led by Newtype Haman Karn, Neo-Zeon has been implementing plans to take over both Earth and the space colonies. The AEUG flagship Argama heads to the Side 1 colony Shangri-La for repairs. Living in the colony is Judau Ashta, a 14-year-old junk dealer who is struggling to make enough money to put his younger sister through school. Upon the discovery of an escape pod containing a former Titans pilot, Judau and his friends are quickly led to the Argama in hopes of stealing a mobile suit which they can sell for a fortune. However, with the arrival of a Neo-Zeon ship seeking to defeat the Argama, Judau and his friends are dragged into to a conflict that will bring them across space and Earth. I'm still open-minded towards the series, but this one has some very bad elements in first episodes. Frustratingly bad ones.   Overall Rating: 4/10   20. Ginga Nagareboshi Gin 銀牙　流れ星銀 [1986-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/21) Tags: Shounen Anthropomorphic Action, Adventure, Drama Gin is a silver Tora-ge named after his coat color. Shortly after being born, he watches his father, Riki, get killed by Akakabuto, a bear that terrorizes everything in his path. Being the third-generation of bear-dogs to try to stand up against Akakabuto, he ventures out to find dogs to join him in his fight. There have been many movies about dogs already, but this series is basically copycat of one of them - Daisetsusan no Yuusha Kibaou. If you've seen that, watching this series is a total waste of time.   Overall Rating: 4/10   21. Hikari no Densetsu 光の伝説 [1986-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/19) Tags: Shoujo Music Romance, Sports Hikari is a young school girl who dreams of becoming a great champion in the sport of rhythmic gymnastics like her idol, Diliana Gueorguiva. Despite all her setbacks while performing, she works hard and with the help and support of Takaaki Oiishi (the best male gymnast of her school) soon becomes a member of the rhythmic gymnastics team in her school. She develops feelings for Oiishi, but she is not the only one—Hazuki Shiina, the best gymnast in the entire school, also has feelings for Oiishi. Soon a friendship between Hikari and Shiina develops, but also a rivalry as well in the sport and for the love of Oiishi. Hikari is also torn between her feelings for Oiishi and her conflicting feelings for Mao Natsukawa, an old childhood friend, who is also the lead singer of the band called Mr. D. He composes the music she uses while performing, and has been developing feelings for her since childhood. Another shoujo that's too simple to matter, gymnastics spokon only makes it worse.   Overall Rating: 5/10   22. Seishun Anime Zenshuu Animated Classics of Japanese Literature 青春アニメ全集 [1986-II] Nippon Animation (Finished 32/32) Tags: Historical Drama, Romance A brilliant collection of beautifully animated episodes based on selected masterpieces of Japanese modern literature. The aim of this series is to appeal to the viewer at large and to give him or her some idea of the variety and individuality which Japanese literature has developed over the last hundred years. Watched it all, because I like Dazai and I remember a great Bunka anime watched in the past. Well, this series is not Dazai. At all. First half of the series are lyrical romance stories, and pretty simple since there's a strict time limit. The second half is a weird mashup of everything - judo, detective, even freaking animal story. And I definitely have seen judo and animal story in earlier anime series, so it's very disappointing. I did not find anything of use to me at all. Only good to set up lyrical mood, something that I don't need .   Overall Rating: 6/10   23. Wonder Beat Scramble ワンダービート S(スクランブル) [1986-II] Mushi Production (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Space Action, Sci-Fi In 2119, the spaceship Green Sleeves found 3 planets attacked by X23, a moving planet heading Earth. The Earth government ordered Green Sleeves to attack X23, but Dr. Sugita, the captain of Green Sleeves, refused because he believed they could co-exist. Then, the communication with Green Sleeves was cut abruptly... In 2121, Susumu, the son of Dr. Sugita, is visited by strangers. The take him to Dr. Miya, one of the few supporters to Dr. Sugita's decision, while most blamed him as a traitor. Dr. Miya recommends Susumu to join White Pegasus, a team of special medical recuers. Their Micronizer System can shrink human so that they can cure from the inside of the body. Shortly afterwards, X23 has come in visual range at last. Hues - the aliens of X23 - choose Susumu's friend as their first target. Susumu and the other members of White Pegasus manage to defeat Hues inside of his body. But Susumu finds the signals emitted from the chips within Hues are the music composed by himself and his mother, as a gift to Dr. Sugita... Team gets miniscule and travels inside body looking for source of sickness. I'm ashamed to admit that either this show or a very similar one was shown at my school labor lessons couple times... so weird.   Overall Rating: 4/10   24. Go-Q-Choji Ikkiman Battle Ball 剛Q超児イッキマン [1986-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 1/32) Tags: Sci-Fi, Sports  Ikkiman is super human alien, but he doesn't know it. He was raised in a farm by an old couple. When his girlfriend dumps him to become a star, Ikkiman swears to himself that he will become a super star even more famous then her so they can get back together, and so he leaves the farm for the city. There, he interrupts the match of the Battle-ball team "Blue Planets," the battle-ball champions of the earth, and decides to join them with his superhuman discovered abilities. With the Blue planets, Ikkiman will play against alien enemy's for the title of champion and for the sake of the planet Earth. A single episode is translated. A modified baseball that encourages to use dirty moves. Protagonist is a superhuman who overcomes all those dirty moves. Comedy is shallow .   Overall Rating: 5/10   25. Soukihei MD Geist M.D. Geist 装鬼兵ＭＤガイスト [1986-II] Zero-G Room (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Sci-Fi In the distant future, mankind has colonized other planets in the universe. While many planets lived in peace, the planet Jerra has been ravaged by decades of war. Geist is an M.D.S. (Most Dangerous Soldier), an enhanced human with unsurpassed combat capabilities and an insatiable lust for battle. Because of his uncontrollable nature, Geist is cryogenically frozen and locked in a satellite. Several years later, the satellite crashes and Geist wakes up from his sleep to engage in another war. This time, to help the army stop the planet's central computer from activating a doomsday device that will lead to total annihilation of all life on Jerra. It can be called evil Hokuto no Ken with real coolness and less showing off. Maybe second movie would be really meaningful, but first movie is more of a prologue, and I can't rate it as a masterpiece.   Overall Rating: 6/10   26. Violence Jack: Harlem Bomber-hen Violence Jack: Slumking バイオレンス ジャック 〜ハーレム・ボンバー編〜 [1986-II] Production Reed (Finished 1/1) Tags: Gore Action, Drama, Horror Kanto Hell Earthquake has demolished the metropolitan completely. After the earthquake, Slum King is kidnapping girls and sell them as sex slaves. Mari is wandering on the devastated field looking for her lover, Ken. But she is also kidnapped by them. While she is tortured and trained as a sex slave, Ken saves her. Ken has become the member of Slum King. The king offers condition to him; in return for releasing her, he has to kill Violence Jack. Hasty, chaotic story about some action and nothing memorable. There seem to be a lot of Violence Jack franchise series.   Overall Rating: 5/10   27. The Choujo Maris the Chojo ザ・超女[ザ・スーパーギャル] [1986-II] Pierrot (Finished 1/1) Tags: Super Power Comedy, Sci-Fi Despite being a refugee from an extinct planet, having an alcoholic as a father and an airhead for a mother, Maris' biggest problem is that she's a Thanatosian. Considering that Thanatosians are six times stronger than the average Earthling it shouldn't be such a curse, especially in a galaxy where violence is rife. But the accidental destruction she wreaks on everything she touches —even with the exotic alloy restraints she wears— means she's constantly in debt. Every mission she's assigned to by the Inter-Galactic Space Patrol becomes a cash-drain when all the damages are docked from her wage. But when she's selected to rescue the rich and sexy Kogane Maru it's like a dream come true. After setting him free from the terror of his ruthless kidnapper his eternal gratitude will surely guarantee marriage —and an end to all her financial headaches. It feels like a fight between members of Dirty Pair with a lot of comedy. Nothing big, nothing memorable.   Overall Rating: 6/10   28. Choujuu Kishin Dancougar: Ushinawareta Mono-tachi e no Requiem Dancougar: Requiem for Victims 超獣機神ダンクーガ 失われた者たちへの鎮魂歌（レクイエム） [1986-II] Production Reed (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Action, Drama The Dancouga team prepares for its final showdown with their arch-enemy Zorbados. The team has to travel to the strange dimension of the alien invaders to once and for all save the earth. Fighting on the home-grounds of the enemy will take all their strength and cunning. The Dancouga will have to fight its way to the strange alien red dimension before it can start its final assault and assure the safety of mankind forever. Every time I see a space emperor sending another general to conquer the Earth and it's showed in a serious manner, anime gets doomed for me. This one is exactly such case of old-school mecha that's revitalized a bit with visuals, but the core remains morally old.   Overall Rating: 4/10   29. Bari Bari Densetsu バリバリ伝説 [1986-II] Pierrot (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shounen Racing Action, Drama The main character, Gun, rides a customized Honda CB750F cafe racer and eventually evolves into a pro road racer. Not translated. Serious racing is always boring, but this one even includes some live action shots. Looks like one big Honda advertising to me.   Overall Rating: 2/10   30. Pelican Road Club Caroucha ペリカンロード　クラブ・カルーチャ [1986-II] Studio World (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Drama, Romance High School boy Kenichi Watanabe is crazy about his MBX50 motorcycle. He and his buddies organize a motorcycle club, which they call Culture. Damn, the second racing anime, and again one big Honda advertising. Disgusting.   Overall Rating: 2/10   31. Project A-Ko プロジェクトＡ子 [1986-II] APPP (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Super Power Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Sixteen years after its destruction by a meteor, Graviton City has been rebuilt into a futuristic metropolis. However, this is of little concern to superpowered high school student Eiko Magami, who only cares about her best friend Shiiko Kotobuki and arriving at school on time. Unfortunately, the incredibly intelligent Biko Daitokuji intends to befriend Shiiko, taking Eiko's place as the Shiiko's best friend using any means she can. Biko decides that, to accomplish this, she must defeat Eiko in combat. In order to overcome her super strength and speed, Biko creates a mecha and challenges Eiko in front of their school gate. As the two commence their battle, an extremely large spaceship hovers over Earth, searching for something left behind. Fanservice baka comedy action. In that order. Basically, first superwpower A-Ko and B-Ko fight for a usual cute crybaby C-Ko, then aliens start aiming for C-Ko and whole cities get destroyed. Wild stuff like that. Still , a bit memorable due to several crazy things happening in succession.   Overall Rating: 5/10   32. Hadashi no Gen 2 Barefoot Gen 2 はだしのゲン　２ [1986-II] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Historical Drama Three years have passed since the bombing of Hiroshima and Gen is now a fourth-grader. Hiroshima is still a ruin, and Gen must scrounge for scrap metal to help keep himself and his remaining family fed, but at least commerce has returned to the land. As his mother gradually grows ill from radiation sickness, Gen and Ryuta befriend a group of orphans led by a tough-nosed older child and including a girl who still bears ugly burn scars from the day of the bomb. An old man suffering from depression is also drawn into the group as they come together to support each other and form a makeshift family. Reality is still harsh, however, as many orphans still die lonely deaths and the grim reminders of what happened linger everywhere. I gave original an eight, so now I'm in a pinch. Events take place three years after the bombings, so of course it can't be same level of anxiety. Not much is happening as kids are still learning to survive, this time alongside homeless street children. But it's same well done, I enjoyed it anyway, so I can still give it a masterpiece status.   Overall Rating: 7/10   33. Touch: Sebangou no Nai Ace タッチ 背番号のないエース [1986-II] Group TAC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Team Sports Drama, Romance, Sports Compilation movie of the first year of Touch timeline. Contains plot differences, added scenes and an alternate ending. I remember series to have had substantial comedy. This movie is third sports, third romance, third drama. Not something I could appreciate.   Overall Rating: 6/10   34. Sango Shou Densetsu: Aoi Umi no Elfie サンゴ礁伝説　青い海のエルフィ [1986-II] Nippon Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Sci-Fi  In the future, the oceans have risen to flood all the continents due to humanity's negligence of the environment. Only a few bits of land have been spared, and one of those is the city-island where Elfie lives with her grandfather. One day, due to an underwater incident, she discovers that she can breathe underwater. Her grandfather reveals that in truth she is one of the mythical sea-people. Using the city-folk's xenophobia, local politicians spark a war with this hidden people to distract people from their current resource problems, and Elfie is caught in the middle of it. Pretty much everything is wrong in this anime. Moralistic environmentalism, poor drawing, simple characters, clear black and white sides. People comparing it to masterpiece Nausicaa are misguided by plot and travel vehicle similarities. The complexity difference of these titles are Heaven and Earth. If compare it to something, should pick up something older like Soratobu Yuureisen or Kaitei Sanman Mile, but people who only heard of Nausicaa do these comparisons out of ignorance.   Overall Rating: 4/10   35. Tabidachi: Ami Shuushou Departure: Ami, the Last Chapter 旅立ち　-亜美・終章- [1986-II] APPP (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama, Romance  Movie based on the Ami series of the Cream Lemon franchise. This movie was co-aired with Project A-Ko movie. Imagine the most basic idol story with a bit of everything and nothing focused. Now add fanservice. Bam ! You've got Ami. Waste of time.   Overall Rating: 4/10   36. Niji no Kanata e! Shoujo Diana Monogatari 虹のかなたへ! 少女ダイアナ物語 [1986-II] Aubec (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Historical  The rare anime biography of Princess Diana from her birth to her early teen years. I should have blocked it due to only 25 minute length, but I was a bit curious. The whole "story" is based on a handful of facts - parents are divorced, Diana taking care about animals during study, winning pet competition with guinea pig, getting to know strict stepmother. Not something I could recommend.   Overall Rating: 4/10   37. Machine Robo: Cronos no Dai Gyakushuu Machine Robo: Revenge of Cronos マシンロボ クロノスの大逆襲 [1986-III] Production Reed (Dropped 3/47) Tags: Martial Arts, Mecha, Space Action, Sci-Fi The journey of a robot prince begins! The planet Cronos is a world of super-robotic lifeforms, ruled by the wise Master Kirai. But their peaceful existence is shattered by the conquering armies of the Gandora robots. Now, machine combats machine in an epic battle for the planet. Master Kurai's son, Rom, must lead a company of transformable mecha warriors into the fray! Nothing can beat esper mecha, but robot mecha is rather close to it with a whole new world of cringe. Robots piloting transformer mecha while protecting civilian robots and fighting evil robots? Why is it so bad...   Overall Rating: 3/10   38. Call Me Tonight コール・ミー・トゥナイト [1986-III] AIC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Gore Comedy, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi Rumi's met a lot of guys through her job, and it's probably fair to assume that most of them could be said to have some sort of problem, but a man who literally turns into a beast when he gets turned on may be outside of this perky call girl's field of expertise. Still, a little challenge every now and again stimulates the mind and makes life so much more interesting, so she's willing to give it a shot. It's more like ecchi. Don't know how to describe it, but it's not impressive and not memorable. It's hardly a comedy at all. Just a monster transformation case where curse gets cured as spontaneously as it gets attached.   Overall Rating: 5/10   39. California Crisis: Tsuigeki no Juuka California Crisis: Gun Salvo カリフォルニア・クライシス　追撃の銃火 [1986-III] Studio Unicorn, Hiro Media (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi  One hundred miles south of Los Angeles, a reckless biker named Marcia and her newfound acquaintance Noera crash their vehicles after getting caught in the explosion of a semi truck. In the resulting confusion, Marcia manages to sneak off with a briefcase containing a mysterious dark orb. When Marcia and Noera touch it, they experience a vision of Death Valley. Taking this as a sign that the ball needs to be brought to Death Valley, the pair set out on the road, chasing their version of the American Dream, all while evading those who seek to take the elusive object back from them. Whole anime is pursuit after seeing the vision. First strange men follow  on foot, then on cars, finally on aircrafts. Absolutely sudden and horrible ending crowns the miserable impression.   Overall Rating: 4/10   40. Amon Saga アモン・サーガ [1986-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy  Set in a world of fantasy and adventure, Amon is a young warrior embarking on a quest to avenge the death of his mother. When the hunt leads him ultimately to the kingdom of Valhiss, Amon enlists in the ranks of the Emperor's army in order to gain an opportunity to exact his revenge. However, a chance encounter with the Princess Lichia, being held captive by the Emperor in an effort to ransom a map away from his main rival, King Darai-Sem, Amon must decide whether to follow his path of revenge or to help rescue the Princess in an effort to save a lost kingdom. Finally a true originator of classic fantasy genre. I tried to find roots of genre in Dragon ball, Arion, Genmu Senki Leda and even in two seasons of anime about gnomes, but they had only tiny elements incorporated. All elements are so familiar that if I was told that story is in DnD setting, I would just assume companions are of different classes  and totally believe that. It's pretty good as action, but to get a masterpiece status anime needs to be more complex than that.   Overall Rating: 6/10   41. Soukou Kihei Votoms: Big Battle Armored Trooper Votoms: Big Battle 装甲騎兵ボトムズ　ビッグバトル [1986-III] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Drama, Sci-Fi Big Battle is a one-shot OVA set after the climax of the original Votoms storyline, but before the epilogue at the end of the series itself. With the Gilgamesh and Balarant forces still trying to advance their PS programs, Chirico and his old friends are forced into one last gladiatorial battle against a special PS and a formidable land battleship. Finally the best part is made as a separate movie so I can see its appeal in full bloom. It's finally watchable, but not enjoyable, sadly .   Overall Rating: 5/10   42. Roots Search: Shokushin Buttai X Roots Search ルーツ・サーチ 食心物体Ｘ [1986-III] Hiro Media (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Horror, Sci-Fi When a research crew in deep space discovers the desolate ship "Green Planet" that warps into their area, they encounter Buzz, the commander and sole survivor of the ship. Being too incapacitated to make them aware of the situation of his ship, the research team will soon discover that they have found something far, far worse... Ridly Scott Alien movie was released in 1979 and had quite some impact, so appearance of similar works was just a matter of time. I'm not fond of concept itself without flawless execution, but this particular anime also toys with Esper powers like telepathy, so my negative reaction should be obvious.   Overall Rating: 5/10   43. Shounan Bakusouzoku 湘南爆走族 [1986-III] Toei Animation (Finished 12/12) Tags: Shounen Delinquents Action, Comedy In Japan, the country that inspired the slogan "Born to be Mild," the blood of young men still runs hot. In the old days they'd go off into the country and hack each other up with swords, but these days, what with school, that isn't very practical. So some of them do something very un-Japanese. They strap on a big bike, roar around annoying people, and pound anyone they consider dishonorable. Now meet Eguchi Yousuke, leader of a high-school Biker gang AND the school's handicrafts club. Which means he divides his time between fistfights and fancy needlework. And if you think he's weird, wait until you meet the rest of his gang... I was so glad to see the 12 episode format... until realized that each episode lasts over 50 minutes. The quality is superb, but just one episode was released each year, so it only finished in 1999. Anyway, from synopsis and comedy tag I expected predecessor of Onizuka. To my surprise what I got  was drastically different. First two episodes are about biker gangs wars, third is about boxing club, fourth is about surfing. Fifth marks conflict with a new gang. Sixth is a personal story of one of four bomber gang members. Seventh is about saving sewing club. Eight is called "Legend of the red star" - which is the emblem of bombers - is mostly flashbacks about the past. 9th is yet another big gang war, but protagonists mostly wear everyday clothes and it's said that it's 10 years later and bombers have broken up. 10th episode is told from non-Japanese speaker Samantha, and it might be supposed to be epilogue as it showed everyone's lives 10 years later. 11th episode is flashback of school Tokyo trip and covering romance loose ends. 12th episode is finalizing romance line and farewell.  Main problem for me is that humor here is scarce or subtle and romance is determined from mutual sympathy from the start. Events are mostly serious, even though often done with funny faces. I enjoyed only episodes 7 and 10 substantially, but that's enough for a masterpiece score considered the level of complexity and character development.    Overall Rating: 7/10   44. Kizuoibito Wounded Man 傷追い人 [1986-III] Magic Bus (Finished 5/5) Tags: Seinen Action, Adventure, Suspense Yuko Kusaka is a Japanese journalist sent to Brazil to do a report on the gold rush phenomenon that seems to be making many people rich from night to day. Rumors say that among the many "garimpeiros" (gold diggers) currently on the Amazon forest, there is a Japanese known as Rio Baraki. Reaching their destination, her crew member is promptly attacked and she is raped as a warning to stop their work and return immediately to their home country. Determined to do her job, she stays and finds out from the attacker that he is none other than Baraki, a white haired muscular man with a large scar on his back. Later she discovers that his real name is Keisuke Ibaraki. Once a promising quarterback, he ended up falsely incriminated by a powerful organization known as GPX. This anime has distinctive hentai scenes in every episode, just without parts to censor, it's absolutely not mild nudity. Basically, main character is a survivor as gold digger in a very aggressive environment, and he also calls himself avenger. From the second episode at least one girl he already has had H with dies, because show demands fresh flesh and blood each time for him to avenge. Very specific gory and nudity-filled action.   Overall Rating: 4/10   45. Aoki Ryuusei SPT Layzner OVA Blue Comet SPT Layzner 蒼き流星SPTレイズナー [1986-III] Sunrise (Finished 3/3) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Military, Space Action, Sci-Fi  The Layzner OVA serves as an alternative version of the TV series. The first episode, titled "Eiji 1996", recaps the first part of the series (episodes 01-24). The second episode ("Le Caine 1999") takes place after a time skip, and contains episodes 26 through 37 (episode 25 of the TV series, being a recap itself, is skipped here). The final episode, "Seal 2000", is an expanded version of the final episode of the TV series (38) and features new animation and a longer epilogue. It's nice to see the story to the end. The series was plain horrible from the start, but it evolved into something at least watchable .   Overall Rating: 5/10   46. Majo demo Steady 魔女でもステディ [1986-III] Tokyo Media Connections (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Ecchi  Hisashi Seki, ordinary working guy, wakes up one morning to find a naked, and very amorous, girl in his bed. He's happy to take advantage of the situation, to their mutual satisfaction. However, the girl's appearance leads to all sorts of increasingly strange phenomenon. The cause lies, sort of, in Jungian psychology. The girl, whom he has named Asami, is from a parallel dimension where people's ideal partners - the anima to their animus, or vice versa - reside. Asami's longing has allowed her to cross dimensions to be with Seki, but her presence in his world upsets the natural order. She goes back, and Seki must venture to her world to save her. The lovers are reunited. However, matters don't turn out quite as they hoped. I don't remember previous titles with girl suddenly appearing in boy room as setting, so it might be originator. Short, weird, not memorable.   Overall Rating: 5/10   47. Nayuta 那由他 [1986-III] OB Planning (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Action, Sci-Fi Scifi tale of a young girl who acquires ESP powers. Based on the manga by Sasaki Junko, published in three volumes by Shougakukan under the Flower Comics label. Esper shoujo is on comparable level with esper mecha... below the bottom.   Overall Rating: 2/10   48. Choujikuu Romanesque Samy: Missing 99 Superdimensional Romanesque Samy: Missing 99 超時空ロマネスク　サミー　ＭＩＳＳＩＮＧ・９９ [1986-III] Aubec (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi Getting caught up in a gang fight would be a bad day in anybody's life. But for high school student Sami Yoshino, things go from bad to worse as she finds herself thrown across time and space to unknown worlds. Now she's caught up in a gang fight of biblical proportions, between the divine masters of the universe and the demons who seek to destroy it. As it turns out, Samy hides phenomenal cosmic powers within her, and the demons will stop at nothing to suppress it. Can Samy ever escape the conflict and return to being a normal girl, or is the whole universe going to die? This anime is a mess about a girl who runs away from all kinds of baddies via most strange means. Execution is also lacking. To get a mixed rating, anime must have at least something done good. I can't find strong points of this anime unless you like random stuff happening.   Overall Rating: 4/10   49. Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa Castle in the Sky 天空の城ラピュタ [1986-III] Studio Ghibli (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi  In a world filled with planes and airships, Sheeta is a young girl who has been kidnapped by government agents who seek her mysterious crystal amulet. While trapped aboard an airship, she finds herself without hope—that is, until the ship is raided by pirates. Taking advantage of the ensuing confusion, Sheeta manages to flee from her captors. Upon her escape, she meets Pazu, a boy who dreams of reaching the fabled flying castle, Laputa. The two decide to embark on a journey together to discover this castle in the sky. However, they soon find the government agents back on their trail, as they too are trying to reach Laputa for their own greedy purposes. Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa follows the soaring adventures of Sheeta and Pazu, all while they learn how dreams and dire circumstances can bring two people closer together. I have not seen Laputa before. Watching it after Mirai Shounen Conan brings so many recollections due to a huge number similarities. Main difference is that Conan was a one man army. Here Pazu is only good at running, but is weak at actual collisions. Laputa could only be a thing if it was launched before Conan. Without it and without having as many nice characters (Laputa has few characters), Laputa can only be called a so-so masterpiece if not lower.   Overall Rating: 7/10   50. Windaria Once Upon A Time ウインダリア, 童話めいた戦史ウインダリア [1986-III] Kaname Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi Two pairs of young lovers become embroiled in a war between two rival kingdoms, the primitive but resplendent Isa and the militaristic but undisciplined Paro. Izu and his young wife, Marin, are simple farmers who live in the unassuming village of Saki, which lies directly between Isa and Paro. While Saki does not have the beauty of Isa nor the war machines of Paro, they do possess a magnificent tree known as "Windaria," to which the villagers give their prayers in return for "good memories." When the war erupts, Izu decides to join Paro's army, enthralled by the fantastic motorbike "given" to him as a bribe. Before he departs, they each take a vow: He will definitely return to her, and until he does, she will wait for him. The other two lovers are Jill, the prince of Paro, and Ahanas, Princess of Isa. They initially want nothing to do with the rapidly escalating conflict, but after Jill's father, Paro's king, dies by his son's hand in an altercation over the war, Jill has little choice but to realize his father's final wish: the taking of Isa. The only problem is that he had promised his beloved, Ahanas, that he would not become involved. Windaria is a war parable set in a fantasy land of unicorns and ghost ships. A nice story showing how stupid moral of "let's fight at different sides , then fool everyone and run away together" is. War brings so much evil under false pretext of nations pressure that no side remains untainted. Corruption, manipulation and treachery becomes a commonplace. There can be no justification for warmongers. I liked the message of the film, but the execution, the characters and the despair concept put a big enough dent on evaluation .   Overall Rating: 5/10   51. Gall Force 1: Eternal Story ガルフォース  [1986-III] AIC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Two advanced civilizations, the Paranoids (a race of alien humanoids) and the Solenoids (who are all women) are waging a war that has gone on for centuries. When the Solenoid fleet leaves a battle to defend an experimentally terraformed world from the Paranoids, one damaged Solenoid ship, the Star Leaf, is separated from the fleet. Only seven women remain alive on the ship: Eluza, the captain, Rabby, the solid more or less main character, Lufy, the brash pilot, Catty, the mysterious science officer, Pony, the pink-haired ditzy tech, Patty, a solid crew member, and Remy, the cute one. After narrowly escaping the battle, the crew of the Star Leaf decides to continue with their orders and rendezvous at planet Chaos to defend it. It turns out, however, that their ship is the subject of a Paranoid experiment. In the end, it is up to the remaining crew Star Leaf to defend the artificial paradise of Chaos from the Paranoid fleet and the plans of the Solenoid leaders. Characters are ok, but not developed much. Plot is ok, but not impressive. I'd definitely watchable, but can hardly find anything to recommend it for .   Overall Rating: 6/10   52. Ai City Love City アイ・シティ [1986-III] AIC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Super Power  Action, Sci-Fi It's sometime in the future and the story starts off with Kei and Ai running for their lives. Ai is a little girl who holds a terrible secret which could destroy the current world. The world is now populated by Headmeters, people who have psychic powers and their strength is shown on their forehead when they fight. However, Kei was an experimental subject and his strength never went above level 5 while other surpasses his ability effortlessly. While escaping, when in desperate moments, Kei could increase his ability to infinity when Ai is in trouble. The one who's after her have a deep secret, aided by a small dwarflike man living in a robotic suit. Eventually Ai is captured and Kei, a sherlock holmes detective and another Headmeter who was converted to the good side when Kei unleashed his horrible powers through Ai must go and rescue her. Together they must save Ai and the secret which she holds. What is the secret of Ai? Who is she? It's above average for esper themed works, but on a grand scale.   Overall Rating: 4/10   53. Super Mario Brothers: Peach-hime Kyuushutsu Daisakusen! Super Mario Brothers: Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach スーパーマリオブラザーズ　ピーチ姫救出大作戦! [1986-III] Grouper Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Comedy In the film, Mario and Luigi are the owners of a grocery store. One night, Mario was engrossed in his Famicom game. Suddenly, the picture goes out and Princess Peach appears on the TV screen crying for help from the enemies attacking her and jumps out of the TV. Mario falls in love with her and vows to protect her. Soon after, Koopa appears on the TV screen and starts to come out of the TV. He grabs Princess Peach and takes her into the TV. Mario then discovers a small brooch that Peach left on the floor. The next day, the brooch that Peach dropped becomes a matter of concern for Mario. Luigi immediately notices the brooch and regards it as the "Visionary Jewel from the Country of Treasure". Soon, Kibidango, a small dog-like being, wanders into the store and notices that Mario has Peach's brooch. He takes it away from Mario, enraging him, thus beginning his (and Luigi's) chase with Kibidango into the Mushroom Kingdom. I hope you did not have high expectations of this, because it's childish, nonsensical and bad looking animation.   Overall Rating: 4/10   54. High School! Kimengumi (Movie) ハイスクール!奇面組　劇場版 [1986-III] Tsuchida Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Gag Humor, Parody, School Comedy, Romance Three additional adventures for the Kimengumi and friends. In the first episode, the boys fail their exams right before summer vacation and have to take supplementary lessons. The second episode is a mandatory school trip to the beach during summer vacation for a swimming competition. In the third episode school is back in session, the karate club is in danger when a new opponent appears. Three stories of average humor quality compared to TV series, going to rate it lower than series.   Overall Rating: 5/10   55. Itoshi no Betty Mamonogatari 愛しのベティ 魔物語 [1986-III] Big Bang (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Fantasy, Romance A devil-girl with the face of an angel and a heart of gold, blond Betty falls in love with an earthbound gangster, Danpei Kimogawa, when they meet in a rainstorm. They end up living together in a Tokyo highrise apartment, though Danpei has trouble coping with his new witch and demon in-laws dropping in at inopportune moments. Betty has actually been sent to the human world on a mission to defeat the demon Lutan. While Betty continues her task, her skeletal grandmother sends nubile nymphs to tempt Danpei and see if he is suitable husband material. A really weird witch ecchi that lacks both concept and humor, so I just don't understand what to like here.   Overall Rating: 5/10   56. Running Boy: Star Soldier no Himitsu RUNNING Boy スターソルジャーの秘密 [1986-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Sci-Fi This anime was made by Hudson Soft, which created the "Star Soldier" game. Its designer, Yoichi Takahashi, appeared in a cameo and sang the theme songs. Not translated. Anime features a game, but does it a lot better than Mario anime. Nothing special, but not being a total failure for a game-related anime means something.   Overall Rating: 5/10   57. Ginga Tansa 2100-nen: Border Planet Galaxy Investigation 2100: Border Planet 銀河探査２１００年 ボーダープラネット [1986-III] Tezuka Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi This work was produced as the ninth special animated piece for the 24-hour television program by Tezuka Production, which took full charge of the original story, screenplay and director. Tezuka Osamu crafts a love story in the time when humans are expanding into space at the end of the 21st century, employing an omnibus form similar to Bradbury's "Martian Chronicle." The story line is similar to "Phoenix: Nostalgia." Leaving the earth after marriage, a woman is left behind in space when her husband suddenly dies of a cosmic disease. These background details were used in "The Phoenix" as well. This time, her friends on the Earth head for space to save the woman who was once everyone's ideal lady. In this special animated piece, Tezuka Osamu emphasizes his basic concepts that "love can save the earth" and "only love can save humans." Yay, Tezuka. Basically, another variant of Ridly Scott's Alien. First contagion with virus on an abandoned spaceship, then looking for virus cure inside an abandoned colony. This movie consists of three parts - first realistic with toned down colors , second bright with cartoonish alien characters, third is bright with normal characters and alien monsters. These three interloping stories erode the concept, and ending is sudden and not that impressive. All that does not allow to call movie a masterpiece.   Overall Rating: 6/10   58. Sangokushi II: Amakakeru Otoko-tachi 三国志II 天翔ける英雄たち [1986-III] Shin-Ei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Action The sequel to Sangokushi (1985). As expected, a continuation worthy of original. There's more irrational behavior this time, but overall I have no problem calling it a masterpiece.   Overall Rating: 7/10   59. Saint Seiya Knights of the Zodiac 聖闘士星矢(セイントセイヤ) [1986-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/114) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi In ancient times, a group of young men devoted their lives to protecting Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom and War. These men were capable of fighting without weapons—a swing of their fist alone was powerful enough to rip the very sky apart and shatter the earth beneath them. These brave heroes became known as Saints, as they could summon up the power of the Cosmos from within themselves. Now, in present day, a new generation of Saints is about to come forth. The young and spirited Seiya is fighting a tough battle for the Sacred Armor of Pegasus, and he isn't about to let anyone get in the way of him and his prize. Six years of hard work and training pay off with his victory and new title as one of Athena's Saints. But Seiya's endeavor doesn't end there. In fact, plenty of perils and dangerous enemies face him and the rest of the Saints throughout the series. What new quests await the heroes of the epic Saint Seiya saga? Mythology zodiac superpower shounen already sounds pretty bad to me. Add wrestling matches here, and you'll understand why I strongly dislike this anime.   Overall Rating: 5/10   60. Oh! Family Ｏｈ！ファミリー [1986-IV] Knack Productions (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Shoujo Comedy, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life This story takes place in Florida, USA. The main characters are the lovable members of the Andersons; each one has his or her own different characterstics which conflict and support the others'. By going through many events (meaningful ones as well as weird ones) together, the bond between them grows stronger and tighter. Show is only watchable thanks to dog with semi-human behavior. All this fixation on family looks rather weird as if no one has their own lives.   Overall Rating: 5/10   61. Anmitsu Hime Princess Anmitsu あんみつ姫 [1986-IV] Pierrot (Dropped 3/51) Tags: Shoujo Historical Comedy  Anmitsu is a tomboy princess living happily at the Amakara Castle. Our story begins when she turns ten years old and gets a home tutor Castella from the Pudding Kingdom as a present from her parents. But they were very wrong when they thought that Anmitsu will finally start studying seriously, because she will frequently escape from the castle looking for some fun, and in the process she will learn a lot about the outside world, make numerous friends and cause endless trouble for the inhabitants of the castle who are supposed to take care of her. Mischievous Kaguya-hime and her British nanny are protagonist, and castle staff usually tries to catch up with them. Not bad comedy, but a bit childish.   Overall Rating: 5/10   62. Bug tte Honey Bugってハニー [1986-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 1/51) Tags: Adventure, Comedy  A unique program which adopts the toycom games which are loved by children all over the world into animation. The story starts off by the kidnapping of Genjin Takahashi, a superstar in the world of toycom games. He is kidnapped by Kyura-the-Great, who plots evil in order to rule this game world and become the star himself. Honey Bee, living in this game world and also the girlfriend of Genjin, learns of this and sets out to save him. She goes to the actual world to seek the help of three game geniuses and brings these three toycom buddies to the game world. With their help and desperate struggles, they try to overthrow Kyura-the-Great and rescue Genjin. Can they overcome the numerous roadblocks of hidden tricks and riddles? Only one translated episode found... and that's enough. Some action mess put up together for advertising.   Overall Rating: 4/10   63. Doteraman ドテラマン [1986-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/20) Tags: Comedy, Sci-Fi  In a small town of Tokyo there lives a middle-aged man, Suzuki, who spends commonplace days conducting a small business. He is ambitious to become such a celebrity as to appear on the cover page of a popular magazine. One day he happens to discover a mysterious entrance that leads to an alien space. Through it he reaches the world of goblins and attaches control devices to goblins there to make them act at his free command. Capitalizing on those zombies, he grows outrageous and notoriously sets his hand to evil things. Meanwhile two witty pupils, Hajime and his girl friend Mariko, come across a strange alien detective who presents them with Doteraman garments. Wearing those garments, they transform themselves into Doteraman and Doterapink with supernatural strength. Then they challenge the wicked ruler and successfully liberate the poor goblins. They continue to fight in the cause of justice creating excitement and entertainment full of pleasure. Not translated. A lot of chaos with two elementary school looking kids in super suits. It resembles old gag comedy about genie family the most.   Overall Rating: 5/10   64. Outlanders アウトランダーズ [1986-IV] AIC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Ecchi In the midst of a violent invasion of Earth by unknown alien forces, photojournalist Wakatsuki Tetsuya comes across a scantily-clad alien woman, cutting a swath of death through the Terran ranks with her sword. After a chaotic struggle, Tetsuya is knocked unconscious, only to awaken aboard her starship. To his surprise, she turns out to be Kahm, the invaders' princess - and she has picked Tetsuya for a starring role in her upcoming wedding. As the groom... Rather enjoyable action ecchi, but too short and not memorable.   Overall Rating: 6/10   65. Wanna-Be's ウォナビーズ [1986-IV] AIC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Comedy, Sports  This OVA begins with a tag-team battle between the elegant girls of Dream Team and the heavy-face-painted women of Foxy Ladies. Naturally, the Dream Team gets the crap kicked out of them, but not before one of them makes one strong attempt at lifting the 250-pound Foxy lady over her head. The ones to take their place are Eri and Miki of the Wanna-Be's team. Miki and Eri are both just fun girls who want to have fun, but once they begin their new training with the mysterious Kidou Corporation, the same corporation that trained the Dream Team, they discover that there is something deeper behind their training. Female power wrestling with dirty moves and really short form.   Overall Rating: 4/10   66. Urban Square: Kohaku no Tsuigeki アーバンスクウェア　琥珀の追撃 [1986-IV] Network Kouenji Studio (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Action, Mystery Ryou Matsumoto is a screenplay writer that runs into a man and witnesses his murder. Unknown to him, he gets caught up in an illegal antique ring along with a girl he meets named Yuki. In order to survive, he ends up acting out the "action hero" role that he writes in his screenplays. A bit of detective, a bit of action, a bit of humor, but nothing in the result.   Overall Rating: 5/10   67. Delpower X Bakuhatsu Miracle Genki! デルパワーＸ爆発みらくる元気！ [1986-IV] Big Bang  (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Parody, School Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi Manami is your typical schoolgirl, despite the odd machines her grandfather is always building. One day, though, an odd evil robot comes to attack Minami's school, and commits the ultimate offense of threatening her friends... and ruining her lunch. Now, she will stop at nothing to return order to the world in her grandpa's newest creation: the mecha Del Power X. Battle suits fight each other with whole school cheering on... it's too stupid even for a parody.   Overall Rating: 4/10   68. Twinkle Heart: Gingakei made Todokanai トゥインクルハート 銀河系までとどかない [1986-IV] Anime R (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Adventure, Comedy Love, Heaven's greatest treasure went missing and to get it back, the Great God decides to send his two daughters Lemon and Cherry, as well as their governess Berry to find it. However, their search doesn't go so well, mainly because they decide they like it at planet Earth and prefer to work in a hamburger shop (Sic!). In the one-episode OVA, the girls end up searching for the Love treasure on an exotic planet, however they find magical living plushies instead, having to fight their way through them to recover "Essence of Life," which an evil organisation wants to use for nefarious purposes. Another super weird shoujo action with no clear aim whatsoever.   Overall Rating: 4/10   69. Juusenki L-Gaim I: Pentagona Window + Lady Gavlet 重戦機エルガイムI ペンタゴナ ウインドゥ+レディ ギャブレー [1986-IV] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi A recap OVA that portrays the first half of the series Heavy Metal L-Gaim. After the credits, there is a short clip animated for the OVA entitled "Lady Gavlet", which is intended to be comic relief. A bit of additional humor helps, but don't think L-Gaim can be fixed that easily.   Overall Rating: 5/10   70. Dragon Ball Movie 1: Shen Long no Densetsu Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies ドラゴンボール 神龍の伝説 [1986-IV] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Super Power Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy A retelling of Dragon Ball's origins, this is a different version of the meeting of Goku, Bulma, Oolong, and Yamucha. They are all looking for the dragon balls for different reasons when they cross paths with an evil king named Gourmeth, who is also looking for the dragon balls. After three series episodes I was going to give movie a masterpiece, but movie cut majority of humor and focused on new enemies and characters... and that just does not cut if for me.   Overall Rating: 6/10   71. 11-nin Iru! They Were Eleven 11人いる! [1986-IV] Magic Bus (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi After the Interstellar Alliance established peace among most of the planets in the universe, they created the Cosmo Academy. The academy is renowned as the most elite school in existence, with its graduates guaranteed virtually any job they desire. However, one can only become a student if they pass the entrance examinations held every three years, making the competition for admission extremely fierce. Lane Tadatos is a Terran who has managed to reach the final stage of examinations. Placed in a group of 10, he is sent to the Esperanza—a ship stranded in orbit. Their final test is to survive 53 days on the ship, without any means of communication with the outside other than an emergency forfeit button. But a serious problem emerges for the examinees when they perform a headcount. There are 11 people aboard the Esperanza, meaning that one of them is an impostor. Only official dub... which guarantees a world of boredoom. Putting 11 people with different outlooks together hardly matters without real uncovering of personalities .   Overall Rating: 4/10   72. Kyoushoku Soukou Guyver Guyver: Out of Control 強殖装甲ガイバー [1986-IV] Movic (Finished 1/1) Tags: Super Power Action, Horror, Sci-Fi The plot of this OVA is a rough adaptation of the first four chapters of the Guyver manga. It covers the same basic elements of these chapters; Genesis of the guyver, Fight with Vamore, Fight with Guyver 2 and the introduction of Guyver 3. Main differences are the exclusion of Tetsuro and his replacement by Mizuki, The replacement of Lisker with a female Agent "Valcuria", and thus a female Guyver 2. There is also a look at Sho's psychology of how he deals with his situation including a very harsh moment where his friends are assassinated in cold blood. One night, high school student Sho Fukamachi discovers a mysterious metal object. Then in a blinding flash of light, Sho finds that he has accidentally fused with the Guyver, a mecha of mysterious alien design. Now, to save his girlfriend, Mizuki Segawa, along with the entire world, Sho must become the Guyver to fight the Chronos Corporation and their biocreatures, called Zoanoids, who are hell-bent on world domination. The beginning of Guyver franchise. Sorry, I was not inspired by this mecha at all.   Overall Rating: 5/10   73. Toki no Tabibito: Time Stranger 時空[とき]の旅人 Time Stranger [1986-IV] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Time Travel Action, Adventure, Romance, Sci-Fi Based on the novel trilogy of the same name by MAYUMURA Taku (眉村 卓), Time Stranger is the story of a bunch of teenagers getting transported back in time through Japan's history, and getting mixed up with samurai shenanigans. A group of students getting into past is not that impressive on its own without character development. Adding a secret order that protects time travel does not make it a lot better. A good start, but needs more complexity.   Overall Rating: 6/10   74. Hi no Tori: Houou-hen Phoenix: Karma Chapter 火の鳥　鳳凰編 [1986-IV] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Drama, Fantasy  Akanemaru, a skilled sculptor, sets out to find the muse for his masterpiece, the legendary immortal bird Phoenix. However, on his journey, he encounters unexpected trouble when he runs into Gaou, a one-eyed, one-armed bandit. Despite Akanemaru's friendly demeanor, Gaou, who harbors animosity toward the world as a ruthless man, attacks and robs him. As they go their separate ways, the unfortunate incident fades into oblivion. Years later, Akanemaru is forced to accept a new assignment and abandon his dream, while Gaou is stricken with sudden misfortune—a twist of fate that will change both their lives forever. But little do they know that these new circumstances will eventually lead them to cross paths once more: this time as rivals. Set in Japan's Nara period, Hi no Tori: Houou-hen explores the fragile balance between action and consequence as it follows the lives of two men who must inevitably confront the responsibilities of their choices. Story promised a lot till the very end with moralistic Buddhism crap, so no high score possible.   Overall Rating: 6/10   75. Grey: Digital Target GREY デジタル・ターゲット [1986-IV] Magic Bus (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Military Action, Drama, Sci-Fi Grey is a laconic trooper in a rough, futuristic military system which rewards success in battle with high pay and promotions, but only three precent of troopers live long enough for the final goal - citizenship and the chance for a life above the misery of most of the populace. Grey has managed to keep coming back alive, even earning the nickname Grey Death. But is the society he's fought for worth it? Poor world exposition, just some fights and turnover moment. Average, I expected more.   Overall Rating: 5/10   76. Tobira wo Akete 扉を開けて [1986-IV] Magic Bus (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi  In modern day Tokyo, three university students, Negishi Miyako (Neko-chan), Saiki Haruka, and Yamagishi Keiichiro, have magical powers that make them feel like outcasts. They come together one night and are transported to another world. They open a massive door and Neko finds that she is the Princess Neryulla, who must defeat the evil Duran III to free her people. The third case of time travel isekai already. Lots of weird magic, some ok battles, absolutely stupid ending. Oh, my.   Overall Rating: 5/10   77. Touch 2: Sayonara no Okurimono タッチ2 さよならの贈り物 [1986-IV] Group TAC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama, Romance, Sports  Compilation movie of the second year of the Touch timeline. Plotwise, the movie doesn't have much to do with the series second year. Due to turning point happening at end end of last movie the show becomes more and more like "Nine" with soft romance , sport and less and less comedy. As if one sport of baseball is not enough, another one of gymnastics starts to get heavily focused. It gets only worse for me because of these reasons. It' becomes a very sad sight of eternal losers cheering up each other.   Overall Rating: 5/10   78. Kinnikuman: Seigi Choujin vs. Senshi Choujin キン肉マン 正義超人ＶＳ戦士超人 [1986-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Comedy, Sports Meat-kun has been kidnapped by Iron Mask. In order to save Meat-kun, the treasure of Inmora Island is needed. Furthermore, the treasure is hidden in the Seven Story Tower, which is guarded by the brutal Senshi Choujins. When Kinnikuman asks Terryman and the Seigi Choujins to help him, for some reason they all refuse. Alone, Kinnikuman heads to Inmora Island to fight the Senshi Chōjin and is overwhelmed by their great numbers. First non-translated Kinnikuman movie. I am not going to watch it untranslated either given my bad history with the series.   Overall Rating: 0/10
  22. kivandopulus

    Anime of the Year 1985 - Megazone 23

    By kivandopulus,


    Anime of the Year
    Megazone 23 got a firm masterpiece score from me. Other masterpieces for me include Dirty Pair and Sangokushi (1985) . Great times begin from 1985 !    1. Shoukoujo Sara 小公女セーラ [1985-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/46) Tags: Shoujo Historical Drama, Slice of Life Sent to an all-girls boarding school due to her father's overseas job, Sarah Crewe is a promising young girl who excels both academically and socially in her new life in London. However, her world is turned upside down when she is called into the headmistress' office and informed of news that no child wants to hear: her father has passed away. Now an orphan, Sarah is stripped of her status as a student and is forced to work in the boarding school as a maid in order to support herself. To make matters worse, her once friendly peers suddenly turn against her upon hearing about her fall from wealth. Coming to terms with the unfortunate situation she faces, Sarah must learn to persevere and form new friendships in order to regain her dignity as well as her identity. I need shoujo to have decent comedy or psychological drama to enjoy it. This one is just a boring observational coming of age SOL.   Overall Rating: 4/10   2. Megazone 23 メガゾーン23 [1985-I] AIC (Finished 3/3) Tags: Mecha, Music Action, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi Shougo Yahagi is a young motorcycle enthusiast living in a world of hot bikes, hard rock, and J-pop idols. The general populace go about their lives in peace, under the watchful eyes of a computer program in the guise of pop idol sensation Eve, unbeknownst to them. Shougo himself is mostly concerned with riding his motorcycle and picking up beautiful women like Yui Takanaka, who aspires to be a dancer. Shougo's life suddenly changes when his friend, Shinji Nakagawa, shows him a top-secret project: the "Garland," an advanced motorcycle that can transform into a robot. Ambushed by the military, Shougo hijacks the Garland and escapes into the city. Evading the military with the help of Yui and her friends, he gradually discovers that their idyllic society is only an illusion. First anime with a distinctive 80s look and feeling, including violence. First of three stories looked to me like Macross copycat, similar irrationally behaving characters and plot, stupid open ending. Second story was much more interesting with adult cast, absolutely innovative 80s adult visual style, lots of violence and a cool cyberpunk plot. Third story is the main one as uses some elements from previous parts, namely, Eve machine intellect and gives it all a conclusion. 3rd story holds so much potential that I see its traces in future Akira, luv wave and even C'sWare's Desire. I enjoyed it immensely, definitely much more than expected. Can't call it a perfect masterpiece due to structure of multiple loosely connected stories and first one being so-so, but it's a firm masterpiece for me.   Overall Rating: 8/10   3. Area 88 エリア88 [1985-I] Pierrot (Finished 3/3) Tags: Military Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance Shin Kazama, tricked and forced into flying for the remote country of Aslan, can only escape the hell of war by earning money for shooting down enemy planes or die trying. Through the course of the series, Shin must deal with the consequences of killing and friends dying around him as tries to keep his mind on freeing himself from this nightmare. Three hours of whining that pilot is tricked into signing a contract, side-story of his fiance efforts to help him out and a bit of planes action with one very stupid moment where like 10 best pilots each costing 3 billion yen to train compete against each other with majority of them dying. It's so boring and stupid that I can't even give it a 6, as there's nothing interesting for me in here at all.   Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Genmu Senki Leda Fantastic Adventure Of Yohko: Leda 幻夢戦記レダ [1985-I] Kaname Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi For a year and a half, Youko Asagiri has fostered an unrequited love for one of her classmates. To express her affection, she composes a piano solo that she plans to show him when she confesses. When the moment of truth comes, however, Youko is not brave enough to speak to her classmate, and the ground suddenly swallows her up! In an instant, Youko finds herself in the mysterious realm of "Ashanti." She quickly makes friends with a talking dog named Lingam, who explains that Ashanti is a sister realm of "Noa," the realm that Youko came from. The two worlds were once connected, but they were separated long ago by the warrior Leda in order to protect the people of Noa. Now, Youko's arrival has temporarily opened a path between the realms, which the evil forces of Zell intend to make permanent. The forces of Zell steal Youko's cassette player under the belief that it is the mythical "Heart of Leda," a necessary artifact for their nefarious plans. However, Youko manages to evade their capture by transforming into Leda's warrior. With these new powers, will she be able to protect the people of Noa and return to her own world? I thought it might be first isekai, but it's another representative of weird mecha isekai subgenre. Movie itselfhas nice action and overall can't say anything really bad about it apart of hasty and chaotic development. It's just unmemorable and insignificant.   Overall Rating: 6/10   5. Greed グリード [1985-I] Filmlink International (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy  To succeed to his father, Lid Kail sets out a journey to defeat the incarnation of the evil that seems to dominate the world. Longn and Mimau also began to journey to achieve his father’s will. On their way, Key and Bagda join them. They overcome some difficulties, and finally they met Vaii, the evil. They managed to beat Vaii, but it still doesn't solve their problem... It might become the first traditional pure fantasy title, but it added robots , lasers and techno city with flying platforms anyway just because of supposed sci-fi and mecha popularity. Anyway, a group of adventurers moves towards the wall to defeat source of giants while fighting some giants with means of flight on the way ... sounds familiar?! I'm almost sure Attack on Titan creator watched this OVA. In the end, experiments and jumping through conceptions , as well as Deus Ex Machina resolution made this Greed anime a waste of time.   Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Ginga Hyouryuu Vifam: Kieta 12-nin 銀河漂流バイファム 消えた12人 [1985-I] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Space Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi This episode is a sidestory and can be inserted somewhere between episodes #18 and #21. This is a "mystery" and so the present writer does not tell the whole story. The Janus is sailing towards Taut when something unexpected happens. This horny magazines stash story was hastily covered even in recap, so that goes as start and covers several ghost incidents. As with the whole series, I consider it to be good, but I can't emphasize with the characters or get real enjoyment from it, so for me it comes short of masterpiece status .   Overall Rating: 6/10   7. Choujikuu Seiki Orguss Memorial 超時空世紀オーガス MEMORIAL [1985-I] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Action, Adventure, Romance, Sci-Fi Summary of The Super Dimension Century Orguss TV series. Why another recap is not translated while original 50 series are. Oh, now I get it. It's so horrible as majority of time is taken by relations with three girls. And the last 10% is literally previews given in the end of each episode one by one... absolutely stupid.   Overall Rating: 4/10   8. Urusei Yatsura Movie 3: Remember My Love うる星やつら リメンバー・マイ・ラヴ [1985-I] Studio Deen (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi It seems that when Lum was born, a postal screwup resulted in a witchy friend of the family not getting an invitation to the celebration. The witch put a curse on Lum, that she would never be happy with her True Love. In the present, a new Amusement Park has been built in Tomobiki, and opening day finds the whole gang sampling its pleasures. At a magic show, however, Ataru gets turned into a large pink hippo-potamus, FOR REAL! When Lum attempts to track down the magician that transformed her Darling, things start to get very weird, very fast! Last OVA was rather decent, so I hoped that when show gets enough of everything else it would spawn at least some high quality stories. But instead it's again romance-related problem with yet another alien relative or whatever.   Overall Rating: 5/10   9. Kamui no Ken カムイの剣 [1985-I] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Historical Adventure, Drama, Fantasy  SA young boy named Jiro finds his mother and sister murdered in his home. Falsely accused of the crime, he flees from his village and meets a priest named Tenkai, who has him kill a rogue ninja named Tarouza. After fulfilling that task, Jiro undergoes training to become a master assassin. Many years later, Jiro finds out that he was an orphan and his real father was Tarouza, who had worked for Tenkai until he aborted his mission when he fell in love with an Ainu woman. The young ninja discovers that the Shogunate was to retrieve the lost treasure of Captain Kidd and use it to once again isolate Japan from the rest of the world. Using the clues that Tarouza had kept secret, Jiro—along with the female ninja Oyuki and a slave named Sam—travels to Russia and America to search for the treasure in hopes of using it to extract revenge from Tenkai. I'm impressed that it's just not revenge story with a twist, but also adventure. It's decent and well done - I can give it that. But there's enough of loopholes/inconsistencies and rough directorship. I could not enjoy it fully. Can't recommend what I could not enjoy. Make a better scenario, not this fake.   Overall Rating: 6/10   10. Bobby ni Kubittake ボビーに首ったけ [1985-I] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama, Romance, Slice of Life "Bobby really does little else but work on his bike. He cleans his bike. He tunes up his bike. He rides his bike. One would call him a motorcycle otaku. His most recent achievement seems to have been getting photos of himself on a road trip printed in a motorcyclist hobby magazine. This leads to an unexpected result: a girl his age, who picked up that issue on a whim, decides to write him a letter. A long, rambling letter, but dreamily romantic just the same. Bobby admits to his sister that he's never gotten a letter from a girl before. He writes back, "I got your letter. I'm happy cause it was from a girl." The "Bobby" referred to in the title is actually 17-year-old Akihiko Nomura, an underachieving high school kid with a deep love for motorcycles. His grades are failing, and his father – traditional and strict (but who must have also at some point gave in and allowed him to have a motorcycle) is trying everything he can think of to get the kid to apply for college. His mother is so silent, she might as well not even exist. Really, his support system lies entirely in his twinkle-toed little sister, who's nosy but cheers him on in her own way." Now I know that MadHouse can be utter crap! Sleazy romance without events , without normal ending and with lots of cheap and scrooge animation, plus live action etc.   Overall Rating: 1/10   11. Arei no Kagami: Way to the Virgin Space Arei's Mirror ~ Way to the Virgin Space アレイの鏡 ~ Way to the Virgin Space [1985-I] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi The story follows Daichi Meguru and Mayu, a young boy and a pilot, as they flee their war torn planet and into space. Upon their ship a stowaway android named Zero joins their quest as they travel through Halley's Mirror. It looked like original story, so I decided to keep it even with this minuscule length of 26 minutes. As you can see, both protagonists are again reused from Space Express with only hair change. What can fit into 26 minutes? Right, one episode of Space Express, and this is basically it and could easily fit inside the series.   Overall Rating: 4/10   12. Kinnikuman: Seigi Choujin vs. Kodai Choujin キン肉マン 正義超人ＶＳ古代超人 [1985-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Comedy, Sports While Kinnikuman is on vacation with Mari-san's kindergarten class at Easter Island, the young wheelchair-bound Kouichi-kun laments being with an idiot like Kinnikuman, preferring to instead be with his favorite Seigi Choujin Buffaloman. Meanwhile, the other Seigi Choujins are also vacationing at ancient landmarks. For the first time it's not the stupid wrestling with some prologue again. So I thought when side-heroes had their fight, but Kinnikuman spoilt it all with the wrestling ring, so the usual score.   Overall Rating: 5/10   13. Gu-Gu Ganmo (Movie) GU-GU ガンモ [1985-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy  Movie version that lampooned several Japanese Folklore Tales, including that of Princess Kaguya. Not translated. I'd prefer a coherent story to this constant running while featuring different stories.   Overall Rating: 5/10   14. Sangokushi (1985) 三国志 [1985-I] Shin-Ei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical An anime special based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel. Aired on NTV. I'm a big fan of Kingdom anime, so I can't but compare every Chinese War anime to it taken that Kingdom is 10/10 . Surprisingly, Sangokushi stood firm, and I enjoyed it and its complexity more than I expected .   Overall Rating: 7/10   15. Nora ノーラ  [1985-I] Filmlink International (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Adventure, Sci-Fi  Nora is on vacation in a "Holiday Inn" space station. When the artificial gravity fails, the whole space resort becomes chaotic but she helps solve the problem. Another artificial intelligence fantasy. Don't see the need for it at all.   Overall Rating: 4/10   16. Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam 機動戦士Ζガンダム [1985-II] Sunrise (Dropped 5/50) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space  It is Universal Century 0087, and the One Year War between the Earth Federation and Principality of Zeon is over. The Earth Federation has created an elite task force, known as the Titans, who are responsible for hunting the remaining Zeon forces. However, the power-hungry Titans have shown themselves to be no better than Zeon, spurring the creation of a rebellious faction called the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG). 17-year-old Kamille Bidan lives in the colony Green Noa, home to a Titan base. Kamille gets in trouble after assaulting a Titan officer, an event that coincides with an attack led by former Zeon ace Char Aznable, now known as AEUG pilot Quattro Bajeena. When Kamille steals a Titan's prototype Gundam, he soon finds himself in the middle of the dangerous conflict. Old psycho protagonist is gone, but new unstable one is on. Why it feels same boring as before... Very little happens plot-wise while same looking skirmishes take more and more time.   Overall Rating: 5/10   17. Touch タッチ [1985-II] Group TAC (Dropped 3/101) Tags: Shounen Love Polygon, School, Team Sports Drama, Romance, Slice of Life, Sports The story centers around three characters—Uesugi Kazuya, his twin older brother Tatsuya, and Asakura Minami. Kazuya is the darling of his town as he's talented, hardworking, and the ace pitcher for his middle school baseball team. Tatsuya is a hopeless slacker who's been living the life of giving up the spotlight to Kazuya, despite the fact that he may be more gifted than him. Minami is the beautiful childhood girlfriend and for all intents, sister from next door who treats both of them as equals. Society largely assumes Kazuya and Minami will become the perfect couple, including Tatsuya. Yet as time progresses, Tatsuya grows to realize that he's willing to sacrifice anything for the sake of his brother, except at the expense of giving up Minami to Kazuya. And thus the story is told of Tatsuya trying to prove himself over his established younger brother, how it affects the relationship between the three, and both brothers' attempts to make Minami's lifelong dreams come true. Since I watched all the Nine trilogy, I have a serious cognitive dissonance with same looks and change of characters. Comedy and background filling have become much better, but apart from that it's the same Nine that focuses on SOL rather than on evens and forced development. It's rather pleasant to watch from time to time, but I don't see anything that I could get by watching a hundred episodes now as I don't need soothing or relaxation.   Overall Rating: 6/10   18. Choujuu Kishin Dancougar Super Bestial Machine God Dancougar 超獣機神ダンクーガ [1985-II] Production Reed (Dropped 3/38) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi  Emperor Muge Zarbados and his Empire of Death decide that their next conquest will be the faraway planet of Earth. Muge becomes even more fearsome because of Shapiro Keats, a power-hungry Earthling-turned-traitor. It's up to Shinobu, Sara (Shapiro's old girldfriend), Masato, and Ryo of the Jyusenkitai/Cyber Beast Force to pilot the four Jyusenki/Beast Mecha (Eagle Fighter, Land Cougar, Land Liger, and Big Moth [a mammoth mecha]), which can combine into the giant mech Dancougar. Realization is better than expected with varying protagonists personalities, but seriously, with cliché  synopsis like that it was doomed even at pre-production, even if done Sunrise.   Overall Rating: 5/10   19. Honoo no Alpenrose: Judy & Randy Alpenrose 炎のアルペンローゼ・ジュディ＆ランディ [1985-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/20) Tags: Shoujo Historical Drama, Romance While Randy was walking through the Swiss countryside he finds a small girl, who seemed to be the only survived person from an airplane crash. The little girl didn’t remember anything, and Randy decided to take care of her and he called her Judy. The both go their childhood together. A few years later, Judy, now 16 years old, wants to find her past. With the help of Randy, she leaves to research her origins. Her single clue is a song that she keeps hearing in her head, the song is called Alpine Rose. At a time of world war, these two young people will have to overcome many obstacles to arrive at their goal in this time of war, with having only each other to comfort and support. the depth of their love. I need comedy or psychological complexity from Shoujo. This one got none.   Overall Rating: 4/10   20. Musashi no Ken 六三四の剣  [1985-II] Eiken (Dropped 3/72) Tags: Shounen Combat Sports  Musashi no Ken is the story of a boy named Musashi who aims to be the Kendo champion. Part of the anime is him as a child, and part is of him as an adult. I don't like shounens and sports, so what will happen if two are mixed? Kendo spokon with comedy, both of which I did not enjoy.   Overall Rating: 5/10   21. Haai Step Jun はーいステップジュン [1985-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/45) Tags: School Action, Romance, Sci-Fi  Jun is a very intelligent little girl who spends her time arranging all kinds of inventions. It goes until creating two small robots, Kichinosuke and Yukinojo, who become her best friends. Because of her intelligence, Jun gets into college at a young age and she meets and falls in love with a boy from her class who's called Zero. Zero is interested in motorbikes and not in school and is accustomed to not attending the courses. He got delayed in his schooling and thus is found much older than the other students and is there for humiliated for it. On the other hand Jun is way too young and little to be in college and is made fun of. Thanks to their common passion for mechanics, Zero will sympathize with Jun and will agree to dine with her in Harbor, the restaurant where Jun's parents live. This is long series of fun adventures and arguments that little Jun will make to allure her charming prince, who's twice older than her. Not translated. An ok episodic comedy with ok characters. Remember Dr.Slump ? It's rather close, just with a silly strong protector boy .   Overall Rating: 5/10   22. Mahou no Tenshi Creamy Mami: Long Goodbye 魔法の天使クリィミーマミ　ロング・グッドバイ [1985-II] Pierrot (Finished 1/1) Tags: Idols (Female), Mahou Shoujo Comedy, Fantasy, Romance  Shingo is planning the film "A Story of Two Worlds" starring Megumi. Yuu's transformation into Creamy Mami is happening without her wanting it. She is asked to star in the film too. But the magic doesn't last... Spontaneous turning into Mami and back does not make this OVA more interesting than usual.   Overall Rating: 5/10   23. Dallos Special ダロス Special [1985-II] Pierrot (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Sci-Fi An edited compendium of the four OVAs were spliced together to create a movie which aired in theaters. Included within the was also a prologue, which used 50 extra shots that introduced the world of Dallos before the opening credits. Just recap of the OVAs.   Overall Rating: 5/10   24. Soukou Kihei Votoms Vol.I: Stories of the "A.T.Votoms" 装甲騎兵ボトムズVOL.I STORIES OF THE "A.T.VOTOMS" [1985-II] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Drama, Sci-Fi Recap special. Not translated. There is one side story telling history of one character, nothing much.   Overall Rating: 5/10   25. Penguin's Memory: Shiawase Monogatari  ペンギンズ・メモリー幸福物語 [1985-II] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Anthropomorphic, Military  Mike is a penguin soldier who returns home after being injured during combat. Estranged from his family and friends, he leaves his hometown and starts to roam adrift through the country. Super weird, because all penguins look the same, and I can could only understand who's protagonist till he wore hand bandage... overall pretty normal post-Vietnam syndrome search of happiness after losing all direction in life. Very stupid as no good story is told .   Overall Rating: 5/10   26. Sengoku Majin Goushougun: Toki no Etranger Time Stranger 戦国魔人ゴーショーグン 時の異邦人[ÉTRANGER[エトランゼ]] [1985-II] Production Reed (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi  Remy Shimoda is in a hurry. She's on her way to a reunion with the other members of the Go Shogun team, and she's late. A police action with some robbers gets in her way, so she runs the robbers off the road. Her vision blurs and she gets into an accident. The movie splits into two with one plot following Remy's slow decline at the hospital with the Go Shogun members and former enemies at her side, and her experience in a strange city where she, and the rest of the team have their deaths foretold. Remy, herself, is plagued by visions of her death, and visitations from a threatening girl and her panther-like cat. The temple at the center of the city is the key, so the team sets out to battle their way into it. Based on the giant robot series "Go Shogun", this is a story focusing on Remy, the female member of the team. It's pretty funny how a rather bland mecha Goushogun spawns a more serious time paradox side story. The worst thing is that characters are from Goushogun which means super bland.   Overall Rating: 5/10   27. Dirty Pair ダーティペア [1985-III] Sunrise (Finished 24/24) Tags: Detective Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi If you're in a big trouble, call the World Welfare Work Association or WWWA. They will send out a team of highly trained capable agents called Trouble Consultants who can solve your problems. But if the team they send you is the Dirty Pair, there will be a lot of collateral damage aside from solving your problems. It was the oldest TV series that I watched in full back in the days. It's still episodic which I usually don't like, but entertainment here is refined so well that it does not get boring. While anime is not perfect, it's is a perfect mix of comedy and adventure which is hard to beat inside this small niche.   Overall Rating: 7/10   28. Mahou no Star Magical Emi 魔法のスター マジカルエミ [1985-III] (Dropped 3/38) Tags: Shoujo Mahou Shoujo, Performing Arts Comedy, Slice of Life Kozuki Mai is an elementary student who wants to be a magician and perform in her family's "Magicarat" magical act; however, she is too young, and her magic skills are not very good. Then one day, she encounters a ball of light that was put into a stuffed doll of flying squirrel, bringing it to life and somehow giving her the power to turn in to the 18-year-old magician "Magical Emi." As Emi, Mai was able to join the magic act. But she must keep her identity a secret from her family and from her crush. As usual, I'm expecting a decent comedy or a complex psychological story from shoujo. Emi has only comedy, and heroine from elementary school is too young to provide a decent comedy, so it gets too childish.   Overall Rating: 5/10   29. Urusei Yatsura OVA うる星やつら [1985-III] Madhouse, Studio Deen (Dropped 3/11) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi  The adventures of Lum, Ataru, Ten, and all the gang from Tomobiki continue in an assortment of new – but no less weird – stories. Watch as Lum, Ataru, and Shinobu encounter a rabbit-clad youth, enter the Room of Destiny, and get a glimpse into their futures in "Inaba the Dreammaker," or see Ran's plans to use a sherbet cone-producing bird to open a sherbet shop one hot Tokyo summer go terribly awry in “Raging Sherbet.” Ataru has yet another bad experience with Lum's cooking in "I Howl at the Moon". We've already seen three Urusei Yatsura movies, but looks like there are a lot of leftover longer stories around 55 minutes, so they are mashed together under OVAs. Seriously, by this point everyone must have formed an opinion on the franchise as it's not going to change already.   Overall Rating: 5/10   30. Soukou Kihei Votoms: The Last Red Shoulder Armored Trooper Votoms: The Last Red Shoulder 装甲騎兵ボトムズ　ザ・ラストレッドショルダー  [1985-III] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Drama, Sci-Fi Released in 1985, this OVA tells a critical part of the story between the TV show's Uoodo and Kummen arcs. Although the TV series covered the Red Shoulders in some detail, we didn't get to see much of Chirico's time there or the people involved, and we get both of those here. Main series was more coherent. Very messy.   Overall Rating: 4/10   31. The Chocolate Panic Picture Show The Chocolate Picture Panic Show ザ・チョコレートパニック・ピクチャーショー [1985-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Psychological Avant Garde The Chocolate Panic Picture Show is a wacky musical OVA based on a manga by Fujiwara Kamui, serialised in Monthly Super Action and partly inspired by Jamie Uys's The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980). Follow Manbo, Chinbo and Chonbo as they are flung into a strange, psychedelic world of madness they don't understand. See them cause chaos through their zany, unpredictable antics in this comical take on cultural imperialism. I usually don't include OVAs under 50 mins length, but this 25 min piece looked original. And it definitely is, but no one said it would be any good. Utter waste of time on antics.   Overall Rating: 1/10   32. Mujigen Hunter Fandora Dream Dimension Hunter Fandora 夢次元ハンターファンドラ [1985-III] Kaname Productions (Finished 3/3) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi  Space princess Fandora and her sidekick Que are bounty hunters in an age where warp travel has become a reality, along with space criminals. Fandora possesses the red, magic, "Jewel of Lupia" which she uses to fight with when conventional weapons are ineffective. In pursuit of space criminal Red Eye Geran, they encounter in the kingdom of Lemia a mysterious evil religious leader who has taken control from its legitimate rulers. This individual possesses a blue jewel which will unify the dimensions of the universe and start an age of peace or terror if it is conjoined with the "Jewel of Lupia." And so Fandora and he are fated to meet. Fandora mostly fights with swords and uses magic from tiara. Que can transform into any creatures, but is here mostly for comical relief. And for some reason there are again spaceships etc. Overall, not bad, but definitely not good.   Overall Rating: 5/10   33. Cosmo Police Justy COSMO POLICE ジャスティ [1985-III] Pierrot (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Space, Super Power Action, Sci-Fi, Supernatural In the future humanity is spread throughout the galaxy. In their efforts to combat criminal espers the Cosmo Police are fortunate to have Justy on their side. However the esper criminals also know this and some of them are making plans for Cosmo Policeman Justy. As their leader says "There's only one way to kill the most powerful esper in the galaxy". Another stupid space esper story.   Overall Rating: 5/10   34. Mahou no Princess Minky Momo: Yume no Naka no Rondo Magical Princess Minky Momo: La Ronde in my Dream 魔法のプリンセス ミンキーモモ夢の中の輪舞 [1985-III] Production Reed (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mahou Shoujo  Minky Momo travels to an island where she finds a land of children and gets tangled up in an absurd, no-holds-barred standoff against the world's nations. Has "Dr. Strangelove" references. Minky Momo is one of the youngest shoujo characters, so I'm plain incompatible.   Overall Rating: 5/10   35. Genesis Climber Mospeada: Love, Live, Alive 機甲創世記モスピーダ Love, Live, Alive [1985-III] Tatsunoko Production (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Music Action After the original run of the television series, an OAV music video titled Genesis Climber Mospeada: Love Live Alive was specially (mostly due to demands of hardcore Mospeada fans) released in Japan in September 1985. The music video consisted of both old and new footage. The story of Love Live Alive chronicled the events after the ending of the original Mospeada, featuring Yellow Belmont as the main character. The music video focused on Yellow's concert and also on his flashback of past events. Just release audio when you want to release music.   Overall Rating: 4/10   36. Soukou Kihei Votoms Vol.II: Highlights from the "A.T.Votoms" 装甲騎兵ボトムズVOL.II HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE "A.T.VOTOMS" [1985-III] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Drama, Sci-Fi Highlight special. Absolutely shameless mashup of previews in the end of each episode.   Overall Rating: 1/10   37. Ginga Hyouryuu Vifam: Keito no Kioku - Namida no Dakkai Sakusen 銀河漂流バイファム ケイトの記憶 涙の奪回作戦!! [1985-III] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha  Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi The story takes place in Kukto in D.C. 2060 - a year after VIFAM. Ypserlon has been restored to peace, though there still remains occasional skirmishes. The Thirteen are invited there for a ceremony by the new Kukto government (its members are formerly the rebels). As two unexpected people appear, they develop a new story. It is a quest for memory. Epilogue with some miraculous revival bs.   Overall Rating: 5/10   38. Lupin III: Babylon no Ougon Densetsu ルパン三世　バビロンの黄金伝説 [1985-III]  Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery Mysterious Babylonian Tablets unearthed in Manhattan provide tantilizing clues about the location of the Tower of Babel - not the biblical one, but the original one, built out of solid gold! The Mob is out to get the gold, but so is Lupin III. It's Thugs vs. Thieves when Lupin & Co. go up against a fearsome flyswatting Polish Mafia boss, a bevy of beauty-contest policewomen, Zenigata, the hard-luck Interpol Inspector, a mysterious bag-lady AND his own girl-friend in a trans-continental trust-nobody trek after a treasure of biblical proportions! Lupin has different plots, but concept never changes, so don't expect scores to change as well.   Overall Rating: 5/10   39. Odin: Koushi Hansen Starlight Odin: Starlight Mutiny オーディーン・光子帆船スターライト [1985-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags:  Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi In the year 2099, mankind has colonized parts of the Solar System thanks to the evolution of space travel. To venture further beyond what man has accomplished, the space vessel Starlight is launched. After rescuing a mysterious girl from a wreckage near the asteroid fields, the crew of the Starlight plot a perilous journey towards the Canopus system in search of the planet known only as "Odin" - the possible key to all forms of life. Officially dubbed version is the only one around, which means one thing - sterile boring adventure for boys. Let's just say my worst expectations came true.   Overall Rating: 1/10   40. Area 88 Movie エリア88 劇場版 [1985-III] (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Military Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance Kazama Shin, tricked and forced into fighting for the remote country of Arslan, can only escape the hell of war by earning money for shooting down enemy planes or die trying. As the war rages on, Shin has to deal with the consequences of killing and friends dying around him as he tries to keep his mind on freeing himself from this nightmare. Not going to watch it as it's just a shortened version of three OVAs.   Overall Rating: 0/10   41. Akuma Tou no Prince: Mitsume ga Tooru 悪魔島のプリンス 三つ目がとおる [1985-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mythology Adventure, Comedy, Supernatural  The popular Manga "The Three-Eyed Boy Comes Here" was produced as the eighth in an animated series for a special 24-hour broadcast. This time, the movie was produced by Toei Animation Co., Ltd. instead of by Tezuka Productions Co., Ltd. Here, Tezuka Osamu was in charge of only the original story and a synopsis for animation. Based on the original Manga, "Easter Island: Sea voyage," Sharaku and Wato investigate a mysterious old ship, only to find themselves getting involved in a sea voyage around strange islands. More emphasis was placed on entertainment factors than on theme, and this change in the concept line resulted in the withdrawal of Tezuka Productions Co., Ltd. from this series. Well, Tezuka could make it into a great story. In this state of characters constantly getting hit by something... can only feel sorry.   Overall Rating: 5/10   42. Aoki Ryuusei SPT Layzner Blue Comet SPT Layzner 蒼き流星SPTレイズナー [1985-IV] Sunrise (Dropped 4/38) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Sci-Fi The story takes place in an alternate reality based in the year 1996, where humanity is advanced enough to develop long-range space travel, as well as bases on both the Moon and Mars. However, the Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union have not ended; rather, they've escalated as both sides build military facilities in space, and the shadow of nuclear conflict looms over humanity, both on and off Earth. Meanwhile, on the Red Planet, an exchange program created by the United Nations to promote peace and understanding is about to begin; the "Cosmic Culture Club," consisting of 16 boys and girls, as well as their instructor Elizabeth, arrives at the UN Mars base. Among the passengers is Anna a 14-year-old girl who serves as the narrator for the story. Suddenly, four unidentified humanoid robots classified as Super Powered Tracers are detected, engaged in fierce combat with each other. The UN base is caught in the crossfire and quickly destroyed, killing all but six members of the "Cosmic Culture Club"—Elizabeth, Arthur, Roan, David, Simone and Anna, and leaving them stranded on an inhospitable planet that has suddenly become a battlefield. As the battle ends, the lone SPT standing lands next to the terrified group and opens up revealing a pilot, who simply announces to them, "Earth is at stake." Sunrise really tried to save it, and girl protagonist helps substantially, but it's still an ugly mess of action and random emotions developing in a painfully slow pace.   Overall Rating: 5/10   43. Ninja Senshi Tobikage Ninja Robots 忍者戦士飛影 [1985-IV] Pierrot (Dropped 3/43) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Space  Adventure, Sci-Fi Ninja Senshi Tobikage tells the story of a boy named Joe Maya. One day, Joe, who lives on Mars, witnesses a battle between aliens. Those from Planet Zaboom are attacking the princess of Planet Radorio, she has escaped from the emperor of Zaboom who is scheming to conquer the universe and has crash landed on mars. Joe stumbles aboard the princesses ship, this starts a chain reaction of events that will alter their lives. Joe and his friends wield three powerful mecha beasts against the emperor of Zaboom and his forces, but the odds are stacked heavily against them. When all hope seems to be lost a mysterious ninja robot named Tobikage appears as if from nowhere to provide assitance, able to combine with the 3 mechanical beasts provides Tobikage with unmatched power, with his aide Joe fights the forces of Zaboom... There is enough comedy and some simple relations, so it's slightly better than the average mecha.   Overall Rating: 5/10   44. High School! Kimengumi Funny Faces in High School ハイスクール！奇面組 [1985-IV] Gallop, Studio Comet (Dropped 3/86) Tags: Shounen Gag Humor, Parody, School Comedy, Romance A group of 5 male high school students that call themselves the funny-face group cause trouble at school with their crazy antics. There are currently 16 episodes translated. I don't know what to say. I'm usually ok with absurd humor, but everything has its limits. There's a lot of courage to build a series around funny faces and several other funny teams of schoolmates, there is definitely a lot of potential. First episode introduced Kimengumi. Second episode introduced other four funny school teams. Third episode is about baseball that I refuse to understand and enjoy. So had to take another episode about summer school cleaning and nursing a sick person, and that one was finally rather fun.   Overall Rating: 6/10   45. Gegege no Kitarou (1985) ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 [1985-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 0/108) Tags: Comedy, Supernatural As civilization advances, people are beginning to lose the consideration and kindliness for Nature. This has incurred the wrath of the ghosts who are becoming increasingly unhappy with the selfishness of the human kind. However, there is a conflict of interests within the ghosts in which one extreme opposes the humans completely while another extreme desires the co-existence of humans and ghosts. Kitaro and his family belongs to the latter category and yearns to seek mutual understanding between the humans and ghosts. Kitaro's fight for love and hope continues. I've watched so many Kirarou versions already that my score can hardly change.   Overall Rating: 0/10   46. Shouwa Ahozoushi Akanuke Ichiban! 昭和アホ草紙あかぬけ一番！ [1985-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/22) Tags:  Shoujo Comedy Koujirou moves to Tokyo from Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido and insists on bringing his favorite horse, Hikarikin, with him. The alien king Rel arrives from planet Wedelun and gives him a belt that will allow him to transform into a Miracle Hero and to protect the world from alien menaces. He is more interested, however, in impressing the pretty Yuka, though his rival, Michinari, wants her for himself. There are 12 episodes translated. Wow, this anime is strange in so many ways. First of all, I can't really call it Shoujo as protagonist is a boy and 90% of the time is devoted to him. There is a girl he competes for with a rival, but that does not mean it's Shoujo. It's an absurdist comedy with horse, alien boy and protagonist in superhero suit contributing to the majority of humor situations. Humor is totally fine, but need a certain mood to watch absurdist comedy .   Overall Rating: 6/10   47. Tenshi no Tamago Angel's Egg 天使のたまご [1985-IV] Studio Deen (Finished 1/1) Tags: Avant Garde, Drama, Fantasy The surrealist world of Tenshi no Tamago is desolate and devoid of the bustle of traditional everyday life. Instead, the world is filled with ominous phenomena, including floating orbs populated with statues of goddesses, gargantuan army tanks that seem to move unmanned, armies of fishermen who chase after the shadows of nonexistent fish, and caverns solely decorated with glass vessels of water. In this run-down world, a young girl takes care of a large egg and scavenges for food and drink. She encounters a mysterious man with a cross over his shoulder, who soon becomes curious about who she is and what her egg contains. They decide to explore the lost and broken landscape together, questioning each other about the nature of faith, the purpose of the world, and the origins of their lives. Girl finds a petrified bird and takes a stone egg from it deciding to hatch it. Travelling warrior cites Bible about Noah , then takes the egg while girl sleeps and breaks the egg with a weapon. Girl realizes it and jumps down to the water. Then petrified girl with petrified egg as long as dozens of other petrified figures fly on some platform up to the air. That's all there is to it, everything else is nonsense  surreal meta crap. A waste of time, as for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10   48. Tatakae!! Iczer-1 Fight!! Iczer-1 戦え!! イクサー1 [1985-IV] AIC (Finished 3/3) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi, Ecchi Nagisa is a schoolgirl with schoolgirl tendencies, waking up late, rushing off to school and meeting up with friends upon the way. One morning Nagisa comes across a woman dressed in a strange uniform who seems to stare at her, unnerving Nagisa. Later that day, whilst staring out the window, Nagisa becomes aware of a ball bouncing by itself which flings itself towards her window seat, shattering the glass yet not harming her... Turning back to the front she finds a gaping mouth bristling with teeth inches from her face and no-one else about. She screams and the world returns to normal with her standing and the centre of curiosity of her class... why did she scream? Visuals are good, but it's just another story of the chosen won assisted by good alien versus evil aliens. Also did not like two Deus Ex Machina happening out of blue. There's nothing special about it at all.   Overall Rating: 6/10   49. Dream Hunter Rem DREAM HUNTER 麗夢 [1985-IV] Anime R (Finished 4/4) Tags: Mystery, Ecchi  Rem is an ordinary woman in our world but, in the world of dreams, she becomes a dream warrior, defending humanity from the evils there. When dream demons reach the waking world, she fights them with the help of her pets which transform into a tiger and wolf. Solving problems by intervening in nightmares and occasionally getting clothes torn is all you can expect from this anime. Detectives and ESP powers have never been of interest to me, so you should understand my disappointment.   Overall Rating: 5/10   50. Fire Tripper 炎トリッパー [1985-IV] Pierrot (Finished 1/1) Tags: Time Travel Fantasy, Sci-Fi On a day like any other, Suzuko meets one of her neighbor's children, Shu, in a park on her way back from school and decides to walk home with him. Tragically, they never make it home. Suzuko and the young boy are caught in a giant gas explosion, though instead of dying instantly, Suzuko wakes up in the middle of a battlefield full of corpses in the Sengoku period. A group of marauding bandits attacks Suzuko, but Shukumaru—a boy who had come to loot the corpses to feed his starving village—saves her. Though they both return to the village, Suzuko refuses to give up searching for Shu and returns to the battlefield every day with Shukumaru trailing behind. Though Shukumaru lacks anything resembling modern manners, she gradually finds herself drawn towards him. Just what fate awaits this young girl in this bloody period in Japan's history? Guess I'm not seeing pure fantasy in 1985 yet, but time travel isekai is also fresh. The twists were unexpected, so I can safely give it a six, not higher though as there are a lot of stupid things as well.   Overall Rating: 6/10   51. Dirty Pair no Ooshoubu: Nolandia no Nazo Dirty Pair: Affair of Nolandia  ダーティペアの大勝負 ノーランディアの謎 [1985-IV] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Detective Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi The Dirty Pair are traveling to the planet of Ookbar in search of a missing girl. Kei and Yuri have traced Missinie to the forest of Nolandia, but their investigations have stalled thanks to the less-than-helpful Chief of Security. But the Dirty Pair have never let a little bureaucracy stand in their way. Detective with a bit of drama and a bit of comedy. Ok, but not outstanding.   Overall Rating: 6/10   52. Twinkle Nora Rock Me! トゥインクル NORA(ノーラ) ロック・ミー! [1985-IV] Filmlink International (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi  Based on a 1980 manga by Mikuriya Satomi, this adaptation differs considerably from the original. The story started in its prequel was completed with this second OVA. Very cheap animation, in many of scenes there are spit screens changing only once per second. Absolutely horrible impression.   Overall Rating: 1/10   53. Love Position: Halley Densetsu ラブ・ポジション　ハレー伝説 [1985-IV] Tezuka Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Fantasy, Sci-Fi The very first original animated video produced by Tezuka Productions about an agent who was sent riding on Halley's comet to the Earth. He was actually, though, given the order to destroy the Earth. Captivated by planet's beauty, however, he is no longer able to destroy the planet. Seventy-six years later, another agent from Halley's comet is sent to the earth to liquidate this traitor, who is now disguised as a girl named Lamina in Vietnam. Tezuka Osamu oversaw only the original story. Lol, Tezuka makes another crazy thing - parody on Terminator. Kinda sad that Tezuka supervised only story as there's a lot of room for improvement in this story, e.g. total seriousness harms more than aids. If such story appeared before Terminator, it would be an absolutely different story.   Overall Rating: 5/10   54. What's Michael? ホワッツ　マイケル？ [1985-IV] Kitty Film Mitaka Studio (Finished 1/1) Tags: Pets Comedy  A series of adventures featuring the one cat apparently everyone in the world owns... Michael. If I'm not mistaken, it was initially yonkoma manga, so anime is a collection of some 3-minute sketches corresponding one piece of manga. Good only as a meme.   Overall Rating: 5/10   55. Bavi Stock バビ・ストック [1985-IV] Kaname Productions (Finished 2/2) Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi  The universe has fallen under the cruel military rule of the despotic Ventika empire. However, a rebel police state planet known as G.P.P has discovered the existence of a little girl called Muma, that could well hold the key to bringing down the Ventika empire once and for all. Despite her frightening potential, Muma is suffering from memory loss and is incarcerated in a maximum security prison. Charged with the assignment of busting Muma out and protecting her, the G.P.P send one of their most hardened elite, Agent Kate. Upon completing her mission successfully, Agent Kate is assigned yet another mission immediately after. This time, she must rescue another person that will prove instrumental in overthrowing the empire. His name is Bavi Stock, a young man of incredible talent but the problem is he that he too is currently incarcerated on the Ventika's purpose built prison planet. Can Agent Kate break him out? And just what can this Bavi Stock do? Bavi Stock is a 2 part OAV series. The first movie is called "Bavi Stock 1: Endless Target" and the sequel was called "Bavi Stock 2: The Revenge of Eyesman". Not a masterpiece for sure, but still a nice story, maybe even for a six.   Overall Rating: 6/10   56. Chuuhai Lemon: Love 30s - Ame ni Nurete mo 酎ハイれもんLOVE30S 雨にぬれても [1986-IV] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Detective Comedy, Drama, Romance Bug-eyed Katsumi (known as Chuhai to his friends) is a muscle-bound detective determined to use his strength and pig-headed stupidity to rescue his teenage girlfriend from a succession of embarrassing situations. Based on a manga by Sho Fumimura and heavily seeded with background music from the 1960s U.S. hit parade. Too short and lacking integrity to stay in memory. I'd say average.   Overall Rating: 5/10   57. Vampire Hunter D 吸血鬼〈バンパイア〉ハンターD [1985-IV] Production Reed (Finished 1/1) Tags: Vampire Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Supernatural 10,000 years in the future, the world has become a very different place; monsters roam the land freely, and people, although equipped with high tech weapons and cybernetic horses, live a humble life more suited to centuries past. The story focuses on a small hamlet plagued by monster attacks and living under the shadow of rule by Count Magnus Lee, a powerful vampire lord who has ruled the land for thousands of years. When a young girl is bitten by the Count and chosen as his current plaything, she seeks out help of a quiet wandering stranger, D. It so happens that D is one of the world's best vampire hunters, and he takes it upon himself to cut through Magnus Lee's many minions, and put an end to the Count's rule. Higher than average quality vampire action, but I was not really impressed.   Overall Rating: 6/10   58. Yousei Florence A Journey Through Fairyland 妖精フローレンス [1985-IV] Sanrio (Finished 1/1) Tags: Music Adventure, Fantasy A gentle and talented boy named Michael played beautiful music on his oboe, and his greatest love was to play for and tend to the flowers in the greenhouse at the school of music where he attended. Unfortunately, his gardening made him constantly late for orchestra practice and resulted in his dismissal from the school. When Michael fell asleep that same night, he was awakened by a dainty Flower Fairy named Florence, who would take him on an enchanted journey to a land where flowers came alive, treble notes were mischievous, and adventure beckoned. There, he would soon come to realize that his love of flowers and desire to become a great musician could go hand-in-hand and help him to become focused in life and discover himself. Is this Disney or something? Boy can handle his gardening problems in the kids section.   Overall Rating: 4/10   59. Gegege no Kitarou (1985 Movie) Spooky Kitaro ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 [1985-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural  Movie based on the 1985 TV anime with an original plot. I've watched too much Kitarou already, not going to give it different scores anyway.   Overall Rating: 0/10   60. Kinnikuman: Haresugata! Seigi Choujin キン肉マン 晴れ姿！正義超人 [1985-IV] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Comedy, Sports While performing in a movie at Toei Eigamura, Kinnikuman suddenly disappears. Somehow, he has been sent to Edo Period Japan. In Edo Japan, a villain called Shuten Douji (朱天童子) is threatening to destroy the Earth if he is not given Princess Mari. Always willing to impress a pretty girl, Kinnikuman immediately vows to destroy Shuten Doji. He disguises himself as Princess Mari and goes to meet Shuten Doji, but Shuten Doji and his Big Four (四天王, Shitennou) see through Kinnikuman's disguise and beat him up. Aware of Kinnikuman's situation, Terryman, Robin Mask, and the other Seigi Choujins travel to Edo Japan (via Kinkotsu-obaba's powers). Freaking wrestling ring remains, so is my score.   Overall Rating: 5/10   61. Yukiguni no Oujisama The Snow Country Prince 雪国の王子さま [1985-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Slice of Life  Koichi and his sister Yuki befriend Hanaguro, a swan who has flown to Japan from Siberia. Hanaguro is attacked by a dog, and the cowardly Koichi flees, but that night he has a dream in which he is whisked away to the Kingdom of Snow Prince, where he finds the bravery to help the other swans. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10
  23. kivandopulus
    Only Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä gets a masterpiece score from me in 1984   1. Juusenki L-Gaim 重戦機エルガイム [1984-I] Sunrise (Dropped 5/54) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Space In the year 3990, the immortal Oldna Poseidal rules Pentagona, a war-torn solar system of five planets. Daba Myroad is a survivor of the Yaman Clan, just one of numerous native societies nearly wiped out by the tyrant. Living on the remote planet Koam with his friend Mirao Kyao, Daba possesses L-Gaim, a humanoid mecha known commonly as a "Heavy Metal" and the last known relic of the Yaman Clan. The pair befriend Fanneria Amu, an aspiring actress, and Lilith Fau, the last surviving fairy in Pentagona while on the run from a band of thieves attempting to steal L-Gaim. Daba promises to fulfill the dying wish of one of the thieves hunting him—an honorable act that leads him to the powerful merchant Amandara Kamandara. With their mission in sight, the ragtag group will face powerful adversaries and become entangled in a rebellion against Poseidal's reign. All these mecha look alike as resistance steals a mecha and starts boring action fights. There is some humor and even fairy added to stand out, but it just does not. Tried to watch it for five episodes, but it does not get better than average.   Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Makiba no Shoujo Katri Katri, Girl of the Meadows 牧場の少女カトリ [1984-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/49) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Slice of Life This series tells the story of 9 year-old Katri, a girl who lives on a farm in Finland with her grandparents. Katri's mother has been away in Germany for three years. The farm is not doing well, so to help support her family, she goes to work on a neighboring farm. Katri faces many struggles and challenges. Yay, more of world masterpiece theater. Optimistic concept is a big bonus for this anime, but in the end it all crashes again against lack of desire to watch it further.   Overall Rating: 5/10   3. Yume Senshi Wingman Wingman 夢戦士ウイングマン [1984-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/47) Tags: School, Super Power Action, Comedy, Romance Hirono Kenta is your average geeky junior high school student. His childhood obsession has always been Tokusatsu and anime. In fact, he fancies himself as a "Hero of Justice" and often is seen running around in a makeshift costume of his own design called "Wing Man." Most of his fellow classmates thinks he's just a crazy otaku, but his childhood friend Ogawa Miku thinks he's a noble spirit. One day as Hirono is walking to school, a beautiful and voluptuous girlliterally drops out of the sky and into his life. Hirono, bewildered by the event, none-the-less takes the girl to his home to recuperate (this is his duty as a "Hero of Justice"). He also keeps the "Dream Note" so that he can transpose his favorite "Wing Man" costume designs into it. Later, Hirono is confronted by the girl who reveals herself to be Yume Aoi, Princess of the Dreamscape called Botoreem. Her domain has been conquered by the power mad despot, Rimeru and his armies of monstrous "Seed Men." She barely escaped her domain with the power artifact known as the "Dream Note." The "Dream Note" enables its possessor to create anything they desire by merely drawing or writing information within its pages. Rimeru seeks to steal it to become Master of the Universe. She demands that Hirono give her back the book, but Hirono had already begun drawing into the book (mystically linking himself to it). Hirono soon discovers that his designs and notes on Wing Man become reality and he in turn becomes his own creation. Using these powers and abilities, he and Aoi begin their strange and amazing adventure. Along the way, Hirono inadvertently involves all of his friends, especially Miku in his quest to help Aoi free her people and save her father. Rimeru sends his various minions to Earth's dimension to retrieve the book. One his henchmen is the noble yet devious Kitakura who goes as far as infiltrating Hirono's junior high school masquerading as a teacher. So this is how Death Note appeared... anyway, with two competing girls felt a lot like Urusei Yatsura, maybe only slightly better.   Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Chou Kousoku Galvion Super High Speed Galvion 超攻速ガルビオン [1984-I] Kokusai Eigasha (Dropped 3/22) Tags: Detective, Mecha Action, Sci-Fi Super High Speed Galvion features mecha designs by Ohata Koichi (of Gunbuster fame). In the 23rd century billionaire Midoriyama Rei creates a secret organization called Circus to combat a hidden group called Shadow that is taking over the world. When she can't find qualified pilots for Circus' main mecha, the Galvion, she cuts a deal with two convicts, Mu and Maya, to lead the fight against Shadow. I doubt good anime about racing exist ... this is definitely not the one. And mecha feels absolutely not needed here as if introduced just because of general mecha craze.   Overall Rating: 3/10   5. Okawari-Boy Starzan-S OKAWARI-BOY スターザンS [1984-I] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/34) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi On planet Kirakira live two tribes: Senobi and Robot. Senobi, quiet and peacefully set, settle down in the forest. Robot comes from the desert and starts war to take control of afforested grounds. A young hero coming from Senobi tries to appease the whole situation. Not translated. This anime plays very skillfully with contrasts. Starzan is a combination of star and Tarzan, and everything is this way, really. Slavery vs dominance, big vs small, feared vs funny, self-confident vs shy, nature vs robot. It's a very nice comedy, but in the end it's just cartoonish confrontation of two parties. It's absolutely worth watching, but I need something more complex.   Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Souya Monogatari 宗谷物語 [1984-I] Kokusai Eigasha (Dropped 3/21) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama The Souya is a Japanese museum ship that previously served as an icebreaker and patrol boat, and was the first Japanese ship to take part in an Antarctic research expedition. The anime tells the adventures of the ship and its crew. Untranslated. Both adventures and poor animation quality make it super boring.   Overall Rating: 4/10   7. Lolita Anime ロリータアニメ [1984-I] Wonder Kids (Finished 6/6) Tags: Hentai The first ever hentai OVA, Lolita Anime was released in early 1984. Some of the episodes featured parodies of other famous anime characters (i.e. Lum). The series' main focus was bondage. A rather chaotic mashup with first two episodes split into two stories, third and sixth being mostly compilations and episodes four and five being longer stories. Title lolita theme is more courtesy to hentai manga that showed up since the end of the 70s than. What actually surprised is usage of censorship already both as blur and as color transformation. I had to include first hentai, but dropping all future hentai .   Overall Rating: 0/10   8. Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind 風の谷のナウシカ [1984-I] Topcraft (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy A millennium has passed since the catastrophic nuclear war named the "Seven Days of Fire," which destroyed nearly all life on Earth. Humanity now lives in a constant struggle against the treacherous jungle that has evolved in response to the destruction caused by mankind. Filled with poisonous spores and enormous insects, the jungle spreads rapidly across the Earth and threatens to swallow the remnants of the human race. Away from the jungle exists a peaceful farming kingdom known as the "Valley of the Wind," whose placement by the sea frees it from the spread of the jungle's deadly toxins. The Valley's charismatic young princess, Nausicaä, finds her tranquil kingdom disturbed when an airship from the kingdom of Tolmekia crashes violently in the Valley. After Nausicaä and the citizens of the Valley find a sinister pulsating object in the wreckage, the Valley is suddenly invaded by the Tolmekian military, who intend to revive a dangerous weapon from the Seven Days of Fire. Now Nausicaä must fight to stop the Tolmekians from plunging the Earth into a cataclysm which humanity could never survive, while also protecting the Valley from the encroaching forces of the toxic jungle. Yay, first Ghibli anime, joint with Topcraft this time. To my shame, have not seen it before. Post-apocalyptical toxic jungle setting is very appealing. Three different factions are complex enough to investigate. Characters are intelligent and behave logically. There are a lot of unexpected twists and impressive creatures. I enjoyed it more than I hoped to, but to get a perfect masterpiece score I should not have questions left. I feel like two rivaling kingdoms aren't given proper attention to explain motivation. Also, general impression is comparable to that of Magical Boy Conan, two works have a lot in common.    Overall Rating: 8/10   9. Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer うる星やつら2 ビューティフル・ドリーマー [1984-I] Pierrot (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi Not all is normal in Tomobiki, even by its standards. The students have been preparing feverishly for the first day of the student fair, which is scheduled to go on the next day. However, problems arise when some begin to notice that the next day simply will not come. As the students begin to try to find the reason for the problem, their beliefs about reality and the world of dreams are challenged. Story driven time anomaly feels a lot better than previous romance movie. Sadly, eventually it goes back to flashbacks about Lum, so not cool. Ending is really bad.   Overall Rating: 6/10   10. Wata no Kuni Hoshi Fantasy of a Kitten 綿の国星 [1984-I] Mushi Production (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Pets, Psychological Drama, Fantasy, Romance After two-month-old kitten Chibi-neko is abandoned by her former owners, she is found by 18-year-old Tokio. Although his mother is allergic to cats and has a great fear of them, she agrees to let him keep the kitten because she fears he is becoming too withdrawn after failing his university entrance exams. Chibi-neko soon falls in love with Tokio. In her own mind, Chibi-neko is a small human who speaks in human words, although people only ever seem to hear her meow, and she believes that all humans were once kittens like her. A stray cat tells Chibi-neko of a paradise called Cottonland, where dreams can come true. Wow, even Chobits seem to have their spiritual predecessors. So, I knew I was missing something in amine of 60s-80s, and that something is kawai of which Fantasy of a Kitten is the first representative . Really cute, but story-wise sure weak.   Overall Rating: 6/10   11. Choujin Locke Locke the Superman 超人ロック [1984-I] Nippon Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi Super Power A quiet, polite, lonely immortal esper about which little is known, he is called "Locke the Superman", but often denies being so. It is not known where or when he was born, and if asked, Locke will say he does not remember. It is entirely possible this is true. However, when asked by Cornelia Prim in "Millennium of the Witch" which star he was from, Locke replied "Toa." He has appeared at various times throughout the history of the galaxy, either as a direct influence, an indirect influence, or a simple observer. Using his esper abilities, Locke can learn and do most things more quickly than a normal human. His power also allows him to remain eternally young, or even turn himself into a child again to be adopted by kind-hearted families. It is speculated he remains youthful as an excuse not to take responsibility for whatever cause he is approached for, since no one expects youths to have such responsibilities. Lots of espers are doing something! I can not find login in such shows and not going to look for connection between glowing eyes and all kinds of mayhem happening. Another chaotic mashup.   Overall Rating: 4/10   12. Shounen Kenya Kenya Boy 少年ケニヤ [1984-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure It is the year 1941. 11-year-old Murakami Wataru lives with his family, Japanese textile traders operating in British Kenya, when war breaks out between Japan and the Allies. Fleeing into the bush, young Wataru falls headlong into a series of fantastic adventures. A normal looking boy defeats giant beasts and dozens of armed men on multiple occasions... feels very weird.   Overall Rating: 3/10   13. Mirai Shounen Conan: Kyodaiki Gigant no Fukkatsu 未来少年コナン特別篇　巨大機ギガントの復活 [1984-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi An edited version of the last few episodes of the 1978 series into a 47 min short movie. I absolutely did not like the second arc of the TV series, so no sense in trying to search for it deeper.   Overall Rating: 0/10   14. Meitantei Holmes: Aoi Ruby no Maki / Kaitei no Zaihou no Maki Sherlock Hound: The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle / Treasure Under the Sea 名探偵ホームズ 青い紅玉の巻/海底の財宝の巻 [1984-I] TMS Entertainment (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Mystery The famous blue ruby is stolen in such an elaborate way, that only one villain can be suspected - Professor Moriarty. It is up to Sherlock Holmes to return it and, in the process, to turn a young pick-pocket on the right path. In the second part, Moriarty sets his sights even higher, stealing a top-secret submarine from the Navy. What does he need it for? Holmes is once again on the trail. The dominant emotion experienced was cringe. Humor is pretty bad. Have trouble determining target audience - probably youngsters.   Overall Rating: 4/10   15. Oshin おしん [1984-I] Historical Drama (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Drama Oshin comes from a family of poor rice farmers. Her father and brother must work in the fields and her grandmother and mother, who is expecting another child, barely have enough to eat. In order to make ends meet for her family, 7-year-old Oshin gives up school and decides to become a servant in the household of a wealthy family, where she faces trials and tribulation beyond her worst fears. Not translated. Barefoot Gen opened Pandora box. Anime starts with mother suicide attempt, so you already can guess what awaits. Movie is basically about parting, both temporary and final, with different people who are kind to Oshin. Child labor is heavily exploited without right for education, enough rest or proper nutrition. I don't understand the point of tearjerker movies without some bigger goal. I found none here, although can't deny that it's made well. The only thought I can get out of it is that Japanese women are so strong that in the direst situations when men give up, women keep being proactive in any conditions to form a decent life with their own hands.   Overall Rating: 6/10   16. Ninja Hattori-kun Plus Perman: Chounouryoku Wars 忍者ハットリくん＋パーマン 超能力ウォーズ [1984-I] Shin-Ei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Martial Arts, Super Power Adventure Crossover film featuring both of Motoo Abiko's work. Both casts gets wrapped up in an ESP war helping a psychic girl named Yuri whose homeland was destroyed by an evil psychic man who is trying to capture all the psychics in the world and use them for world domination. It was screened as a double feature with Doraemon: Nobita no Makai Daibouken. Obviously a kid movie, just wanted to see ninja Hattori-kun as I missed its initial series that were blocked as kids material.   Overall Rating: 3/10   17. Chiisana Koi no Monogatari: Chichi to Sally Hatsukoi no Shiki 小さな恋のものがたり チッチとサリー初恋の四季 [1984-I] TBS (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Romance, Slice of Life Tiny schoolgirl Chiiko develops a crush on older boy Sally and believes herself to be his girlfriend, although Sally is already involved in a love triangle with a girl called Tonko. Rather light consensual romance that's only blackened by unmanageable jealousy of Chiiko. Don't see the need for this piece at all.   Overall Rating: 5/10   18. Lupin III: Part III ルパン三世 - Part III [1984-II] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/50) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast Action, Adventure, Comedy 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. Familiar company, several new enemies, better humor and more complex plots. It's the most enjoyable part so far, but not to an extent that I'd want to watch it all.   Overall Rating: 5/10   19. Glass no Kamen ガラスの仮面 [1984-II] Eiken (Dropped 3/23) Tags: Shoujo Performing Arts Drama, Romance Kitajima Maya, a 13-year old girl with a talent for acting, was discovered by the reclusive actress Tsukikage. The story follows Maya's growing up, intense training, overcoming challenges, and evolving into the foremost actress of her generation (she is about 20 so far). Maya's greatest rival is Himekawa Ayumi, the beautiful daughter of a famous movie couple. They ultimately vied for the most sought-after role - the "Crimson Goddess". An equally important subplot Maya's relationship with the handsome and ruthless entertainment mogul Hayami Masumi, who secretly became her number one fan, but misunderstandings and bad-timing obstructed their romance... I can describe it as Attack on Ace, just inside theater instead of tennis court. Another competition shojo without real complexity applied.   Overall Rating: 3/10   20. Choujikuu Kidan Southern Cross Robotech Masters 超時空騎団サザンクロス [1984-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/23) Tags: Mecha Action, Drama, Sci-Fi By the year 2120, humans have successfully colonized other planets following the near devestation of Earth from the last great world war. However, on Gloire, one such colony are surprised and unprepared at the arrival of The Zor, a group of beings whom were the original inhabitants of the planet and left following similar near fatal events. Coming to reclaim their former home world, a relentless war erupts between both races that ultimately leads to a cataclysmic showdown and into a no-win scenario for either. Did not like previous Robotech series, and this one is not better in any way. A huge number of bland characters, chaotic mecha action battles. Team gathers only by 3rd episode, and two episodes are stretched just for prologue. All these shows don't even try to capture watcher's attention. Learn directorship from Sunrise at least! Just plastic action with plastic characters and no sense behind it all.   Overall Rating: 4/10   21. Attacker You! アタッカーＹＯＵ！ [1984-II] Knack Productions (Dropped 3/58) Tags: Shoujo Action, Romance, Sports Attacker You! is the story of ambitious and energetic 13-year-old junior high schoolgirl You Hazuki (variously known as "Mila," "Jeanne" or "Juana" in Western dubbed versions of the anime), who moves to Tokyo from Osaka to live with her father Toshihiko, a cameraman recently returned from Peru, and attend school. You's mother is not in the picture, having left when You was very young. Also living with You and her father is her younger brother Sunny, who is very attached to his older sister and tends to follow her everywhere she goes, including to school and to her volleyball matches. You is also curious about Kyushi Tajima, the pretty blonde woman whom she sees covering volleyball games on television, and about why her father becomes very angry whenever You mentions her. You is passionate about volleyball and dreams of one day being a part of Japan's national women's volleyball team in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She joins her school's girls' volleyball team and quickly becomes one of the top players, although her coach (who is also her homeroom teacher) is brutal and literally slaps his players around when they don't live up to his expectations. You begins a tumultuous friendship with former school volleyball champ and former arch-rival Nami Hayase (French name: "Peggy"), which comes to a head when the two girls join opposing professional teams. She also develops a crush on So Takiki, the captain of the Hikawa boys' volleyball team (known as "Shiro," "Serge" or "Sergio" in various Western versions), and puts as much effort into trying to win his heart as she does into her game. For me it's a clear homage to volleyball shoujo of 1970 Attack No.1 . This time there's more comedy and overall quality, so I can rate it higher, but shoujo spokon must have much more complexity to get a decent score from me .   Overall Rating: 5/10   22. Giant Gorg 巨神ゴーグ〈ジャイアントゴーグ〉 [1984-II] Sunrise (Dropped 4/26) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Austral Island is located 2,000 km south from Samoa islands. The existence of the island was removed from the official records, and Tagami Yuu made a journey to search for the reason. He sailed for the island with Dr. Waive who was his father's friend, Doris who is the daughter of Dr. Waive, and Captain who is the friend of Dr. Waive. On their way to the island, GAIL, the international conglomerate, and gangster, Cougar Connection lead by Lady Lynx attacked them. They managed to arrive at the island, but suddenly a mysterious monster began to attack them. When they became ready for death, a blue giant robot appeared. It destroyed the monster and saved them. Although it was an existence far beyond human knowledge, it reminded Yuu of something warm and familiar. It was Giant Gorg which is called "Messenger of the God" by the inhabitants of the island. Escaping from the attack of GAIL's assault team, Gorg guided Yuu into the underworld. There, he found alien's relic and an alien who woke up after 30,000 years' sleep. It starts pretty strong with comedy and SOL he quality is high and I liked the humor when it spawned. At the same time it's the story of meeting a mecha and defending against attackers. Because of Dr.Waive and island mystery I was able to watch the series to the end, thanks to the fact that seasons have mostly gone from 50 episodes to just 26. As expected, it was awful and by the end heroes just meet Dr. Waive with a bit of explanation. Can't say I got enjoyment out of it in the end, for sure can't call it a masterpiece. Mecha that has own will and acts voluntarily is one huge bs.   Overall Rating: 5/10   23. Tongari Boushi no Memole とんがり帽子のメモル [1984-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/50) Tags: Shoujo Fantasy Memoru is one of 245 people who came to earth from the Riruru Star when their ship had an emergency crash-landing on earth. Memoru's people have such tiny bodies that they could stand on a human's palm. One day she hears lovely music, and she follows its source and comes upon a huge house she hasn't seen before to find a girl taller than her playing on the piano. Memoru visited her again secretly with her friends Popitu, Rupangu, and Pi, but the human girl, Marielle, seemed sick and likely to die any moment. Feeling sad for the girl, Memoru's tear drops on the girl's lips. The girl gets better and a strong friendship starts between them. There was already anime about gnomes Mori no Youki na Kobito-tachi: Belfy to Lillibit, though untranslated. That series was cute and centered around life in the forest. Here focus is shifted on adventures, and in the very first episode gnomes already encounter a cat and a girl in a human house, and this theme is getting developed further on. Drawing has become simpler and less cute. For me previous gnome series definitely win.   Overall Rating: 5/10   24. God Mazinger ゴッドマジンガー [1984-II] TMS Entertainment (Dropped 3/23) Tags: Mecha, Time Travel Action, Fantasy The story is set in modern times, but the twist to the story is that Mazinger is an ancient weapon of the gods, left on earth to battle the evil space gods who have returned to take over the universe. Marzinger never boasted sophisticated plots. This time there is an attempt to introduce humor and even a bit of isekai as school boy gets to a different world kingdom inhabited by dinosaurs. But of course it soon becomes mecha against evil invaders and controlled dinosaurs.   Overall Rating: 5/10   25. Video Senshi Lezarion Video Warrior Laserion ビデオ戦士レザリオン [1984-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/45) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi Takashi Katori is a big fan of online games, and so is his American friend Sarah. However, one of their RPGs goes too far, as their virtual world and the Lezarion robot that Takashi created for the game somehow mix with reality. Takashi is caught, but later the Earth Governement discovers that an evil scientist from the Moon (now a sort of abandoned colony with restricted access) is hacking into virtual worlds and security, so they force Takashi to pilot the Lezarion and, with Sarah's help, fight evil and protect the Earth. Officially dubbed anime, so you can already understand that it's very simple. Adding computer games, hacking and virtual reality alone does not mean anything without a decent scenario.   Overall Rating: 4/10   26. Gu-Gu Ganmo Gu-Guガンモ [1984-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/50) Tags: Shounen School Comedy, Slice of Life The series follows in the footsteps of manga such as Doraemon and Obake no Q-Taro in that the alien Ganmo (who resembles a chicken wearing sneakers) sets out to help his adopted human friend Hanpeita. The series follows the antics of the duo as they find themselves in the middle of much comedic mischief. One morning Tsukune Tsukuda, out of spite, lets her brother’s pet bird go. But later she has misgivings, and comes home with an egg she has found to give to her brother, Hapeita. Hanpeita isn't all too pleased with the big, odd-looking egg. However, in the meantime it swells up, breaks its shell, and out comes a strange bird-like creature named Ganmo. It speaks like a human being, and comes to live with the Tsukudas. Not wanting to be a mere freeloader, Ganmo takes the initiative to run errands, clean the house, etc…yet he blunders at everything he does. Ganmo the tries to clear his reputation, but his efforts only ends causing more and more confusion. One day a charming girl comes moving in the house next to the Tsukudas. Her pet is a stange mina, named Deja-vu. It is foppish but has a poisonous tongue. And it always teases Ganmo because of its odd-looking. Thus, the world around Ganmo gets into a mess more and more. Only two episodes seem to be translated. Ganmo and humor are nice, but some side-characters are not so nice. Anyway, it's a traditional SOL comedy with two stories per episode, so it's closer to 6 overall.   Overall Rating: 6/10   27. Koala Boy Kokki The Adventures of the Little Koala コアラボーイコッキィ [1984-II] Topcraft (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Comedy Adventures of the Little Koala focused on the adventures of Roo Bear, and his family, who were Koalas, and his friends, Nick, Pamie (penguins), Floppy, Mimi (rabbits), Betty (koala), the bully Walter (kangaroo) and countless others. There was also an old character named Weather, who could forcast the weather, and his gliding friend Mingle, a young animal who was apparently an orphan. Official dub... definitely kid material .   Overall Rating: 4/10   28. Chikkun Takkun チックン タックン [1984-II] Pierrot, Gallop (Dropped 3/23) Tags: Comedy, Sci-Fi  The "Waruchin Ceremony" has been stolen from All Star, a planet that exists in the outskirts of space. The computer that is built into it is programmed to make anything possible. The thief is actually the villain, Doctor Bell. Doctor Bell schemes to invade the other planets through the use of Waruchin. The prince of All Star, Prince Chikkun, together with his trusty advisor, the intellectual Takkun, decides to head towards Earth in pursuit of Doctor Bell. Only 14 or so episodes are translated. It's a comedy about rivaling good alien living at a girl's place and an evil Dr.Bell alien. Comedy is ok, but not great, as for me .   Overall Rating: 5/10   29. Ranpou らんぽう [1984-II] Tsuchida Productions (Dropped 3/21) Tags: Parody, School Comedy TV anime adaptation of Masatoshi Uchizaki's gag comedy manga "Ranpou". Mild-mannered Japanese kid Rampou is kidnapped by aliens whose UFO-based experiments turn him into a warp boy who truly believes that he can do anything. Not translated. Each episode contains two stories. Gags are very chaotic and mostly violence-based. Did not find it amusing.   Overall Rating: 5/10   30. Mahou no Yousei Persia 魔法の妖精 ペルシャ [1984-III] Pierrot (Dropped 3/48) Tags: Mahou Shoujo Comedy  11-year-old Persia has grown up alongside the animals on the Serengeti plains of Africa. Twins Riki and Gaku Muroi and their grandfather, Gouken, bring Persia to Japan with them, where she will live with a couple (who Persia calls Mama and Papa) that own a grocery store. During the flight to Japan, Persia finds herself in the "Lovely Dream" where she meets the Fairy Queen, who explains that the Lovely Dream is in danger and requests Persia's help. Giving Persia a magical headband (which can also summon a magical baton) that allows her to transform into a teenage girl, connecting her to the Lovely Dream and allowing her to use magic. She is sent with three kappa back into the regular world with the mission of collecting love energy to thaw the frozen Lovely Dream. If Persia fails her task of collecting love energy or if someone catches her using magic, Riki and Gaku will be transformed into women. Only half or so episodes seem to be translated. Another simple shoujo that I did not find interesting.   Overall Rating: 4/10   31. Birth バース [1984-III] Kaname Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Aqualoid was a prosperous planet, but an attack from a mysterious life force, the Inorganics, transforms it into a post-apocalyptic shell of its former self. When Nam finds a mysterious sword, he is suddenly the object of a planet-wide chase. With the Inorganics closing in, will Nam and his friends discover the secret of the sword and save their world? Or will they destroy Aqualoid in favor of a new Birth? Wow, the whole movie is built around... jiggly butt, plus some action. Animation is rather advanced, especially in special parts. Jokes aside, some moments reminded me of Akira a lot, so Birth might serve as source of inspiration. Can't call it a masterpiece for sure, but it impresses visually.   Overall Rating: 5/10   32. Machikado no Märchen Radio City Fantasy 街角のメルヘン [1984-III] Kitty Films (Finished 1/1) Tags: Music Romance A boy with a drawing book meets a mysterious girl in the streets of Tokyo. They become friends and enjoy each other's fantasies. Again chaotic visual fantasies are nice for experimental movie. But on a grand scale it has little value.   Overall Rating: 5/10   33. Macross: Do You Remember Love? 超時空要塞マクロス -愛・おぼえていますか- [1984-III] Tatsunoko Production (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military, Music, Space Action, Romance, Sci-Fi After warping light-years away from Earth, the spacecraft Macross carries a city of civilians and soldiers back home. They continuously fight off the threat of the Zentradi and Meltrandi, giant alien races with whom humanity wages war. During a battle, the Macross transforms into a mecha operated by fighter pilot Hikaru Ichijou. Thrust into a number of hardships, Hikaru grows close to the city's idol Minmay Lynn. As their relationship develops, however, it is viewed unfavorably by others due to Minmay's status and popularity. With war raging on and the state of Earth unknown, Hikaru and his fellow soldiers fight on against their mysterious enemies. Throughout the bloodshed, Hikaru and Minmay attempt to keep hold of their feelings for one another. Minmay pours her heart into her music, which may just turn out to be the key to finding peace. This fake parody killed all the series atmosphere, barbarously butchered heroes background' and cut out everything but sleazy romance and songs. Absolutely horrible, at least should be for those who saw the series.   Overall Rating: 5/10   34. SF Shinseiki Lensman SF新世紀 レンズマン [1984-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Kim is living a peaceful life with his father as a farmer on their planet until one day when a runaway spaceship is detected moving at a high speed towards his father's farm. To rescue his father Kim jumps on board the ship and manages to land it safely before it crashes. On board the ship he finds a severely Injured lone survivor whom with his dying words begs Kim to take something of his to the Galactic Fleet. He then transfers something that was attached to his arm onto Kim's arm. The thing was a Lens and its transferring should have been impossible and having it has turned Kim into a Lensman. Other than giving Kim unknown powers it also contains vital information for the victory of the Galactic Fleet over the evil Boskone Empire. Kim must now using the spaceship Britannia bring the Lense to the Galactic Fleet. But this is not an easy task when Lord Helmet of the Boskone Empire is willing to use everything in his power to stop him. Wonder waffle in form of lens meets Star Wars. Scenario is too weak .   Overall Rating: 4/10   35. Daishizen no Majuu: Bagi Baggy 大自然の魔獣 バギ [1984-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Romance, Sci-Fi Ryo is sent out by the people of a village to kill the monster which has been attacking the villagers. It is rumored that this monster is a cat-woman named Bagi. As Ryo waits for the monster to come to its watering hole, he thinks back to how he first met Bagi as a kitten who learned how to write, and later reenters his life on a quest to discover who and what she really is. But now she has gone wild, and as the time of her arrival approaches, he strengthens his resolve to kill her. By graphical style alone I could say it's Tezuka. I have a serious aversion against genetic matters. For this reason I could enjoy Prima Rose, and for the same reason I can't turn to like this purely genetic craze. Moreover, it seriously displeased me with predictable and irrational plot.   Overall Rating: 5/10   36. Kinnikuman (Movie) キン肉マン (キン肉マン 奪われたチャンピオンベルト) [1984-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Comedy, Sports Mari and Kinnikuman's Championship Belt are stolen by the Octopus Dragon and his minions. Now Kinnikuman and the other Justice Choujins must travel to Planet Metro and compete in a tournament in order to win them back. Length is exactly of two paired episodes. I usually like superhero anime, including parodies, but just can't understand Kinnikuman's appeal as he's too repulsive and his power too inconsistent. Strangely, even other superheroes and humor are rather poor. It's ok as the first superhero parody, but there's a lot of room for imporvement.   Overall Rating: 5/10   37. Chikyuu Monogatari Telepath 2500 Earth Story Telepath 2500 地球物語 テレパス2500 [1984-III] Tatsunoko Production (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi On the fifth world of the Tolphan system in the year 2500, a supercomputer chooses marriage partners to find the best matches. Not translated. You already understand that I don't value telepathy and esper powers highly. This one does not have much to do with telepathy, but it's anyway super boring.   Overall Rating: 4/10   38. Kuroi Ame ni Utarete 黒い雨に打たれて [1984-III] Tsuchida Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Historical Drama, Slice of Life Anime adaptation of the manga Kuroi Ame ni Utarete by Nakazawa Keiji. Anime focuses on radiation poisoning consequences, both physical and psychological. And survivors are in different stages - some are full of self-pity, others are ready to sacrifice themselves to harm as many Americans as possible. And that recreates the vicious cycle of resentment and violence. I can't say that absolutely all Americans are portrayed here as pigs. Coincidentally, the survivor prostitute with syphilis infects normal looking young enthusiastic Americans. The disgusting ending scene shows how an American and a Japanese kill each other while shouting out their grudges. It would be oversimplification to say that Keiji was just vengeful and that's why portrayed Americans badly. It's just difficult to invent a situation of conflict out of nothing after 30 years , there should be an aggressive side, and, with the Japanese shown as an aggressive side, work would not even probably get a license. You still can't deny even in this state that both sides are portrayed vengeful and rigid. One must have a really twisted logic to consider this movie to be about racism. The message is given in the most clear way possible in text before credits - one such vicious act as nuclear bombing poisons lives of everyone in hundreds of kilometers radius for many decades. Everyone who has any influence on decision makers should do everything to prevent any such bombing happening again. Anyone who threatens with such act and his regime should be for his lifetime banned from using any civilized states family benefits.   Overall Rating: 6/10   39. The Kabocha Wine: Nita no Aijou Monogatari Ｔｈｅかぼちゃワイン ニタの愛情物語 [1984-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: School Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life Epilogue Untranslated. I tend to block specials and OVA that are less than 50 minutes, and this one is just a normal episode length of 24m, but I was kinda curious about Kabocha Wine epilogue. Basically, it's about getting a puppy are taking care of him together. As if it's not enough, Shunsuke gets into a buggy to catch a milk thief dog and even gets a kiss in this state, with another kiss in the final. So a nice small episode full of romance and  highlights of future joint life.   Overall Rating: 5/10   40. Kakkun Cafe カッくんカフェ [1984-III] (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Parody Comedy, Slice of Life  Kakuei Kakkun Tanaka is a superhero who hangs out with his friends. In his misadventures, he becomes prime minister of Japan, visits New York and prevents a nuclear war. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   41. Kinnikuman: Kessen! Shichinin no Choujin tai Uchuu Nobushi キン肉マン 決戦!7人の超人vs宇宙野武士 [1984-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Comedy, Sports A TV Special first aired in 1984. It covers the Planet Rakka story arc and takes place after the 21st Choujin Olympics Arc. A young boy from Planet Rakka named Beansman asks Kinnikuman and the others to help save his planet from the Space Samurais led by Black King. The story was a parody of The Seven Samurai. Choujin Olympics was plain awful, but I had hopes for this history fantasy arc. And I could indeed finally enjoy this anime a bit. Sadly, it ended with the same Choujin Olympics, so definitely can't call it a masterpiece.   Overall Rating: 6/10   42. Nine: Kanketsu-hen ナイン 完結編 [1984-III] Group TAC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen School, Team Sports Romance Last part of the Nine TV movies. Realization is too schematic and plain to get it to masterpiece, but as a romance it still excels. Plus, there is baseball Koushien participation, so baseball enthusiasts might get more out of it.   Overall Rating: 6/10   43. Hokuto no Ken Fist of the North Star 北斗の拳 [1984-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/109) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts Action, Drama, Sci-Fi In the year 19XX, after being betrayed and left for dead, bravehearted warrior Kenshirou wanders a post-apocalyptic wasteland on a quest to track down his rival, Shin, who has kidnapped his beloved fiancée Yuria. During his journey, Kenshirou makes use of his deadly fighting form, Hokuto Shinken, to defend the helpless from bloodthirsty ravagers. It isn't long before his exploits begin to attract the attention of greater enemies, like warlords and rival martial artists, and Keshirou finds himself involved with more than he originally bargained for. Faced with ever-increasing odds, the successor of Hokuto Shinken is forced to put his skills to the test in an effort to take back what he cares for most. And as these new challenges present themselves and the battle against injustice intensifies, namely his conflict with Shin and the rest of the Nanto Seiken school of martial arts, Kenshirou is gradually transformed into the savior of an irradiated and violent world. I see it as remaking  Dororo in a different setting. As any shounen this show is too simple for me with same looking enemies, very little development between arcs, episodic form and some repeating patterns. Can't give series a 6 if I've not even a faint desire to watch the series to the end .   Overall Rating: 5/10   44. Meitantei Holmes Sherlock Hound 名探偵ホームズ [1984-IV] TMS Entertainment (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Detective Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery Loosely based on the "Sherlock Holmes" series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Hound turns all the classic characters into dogs. The canine Sherlock Holmes, his assistant Watson, and housemaid Mrs. Hudson work together to solve mysteries. The culprit is usually Professor Moriarty and his gang, who use all kinds of wacky contraptions to steal what they want. I did not like the movie which was of better quality and with a better story, so don't expect me to like the series .   Overall Rating: 5/10   45. Sei Juushi Bismarck Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs 星銃士 ビスマルク [1984-IV] (Dropped 3/51) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi In the distant future, humanity has explored beyond Earth and colonized both the inner and outer planets of the Solar System. In order to protect the colonies and maintain law and order in the solar system, the Earth Federation Government (EFG) was created. Soon, many settlers started to resent the EFG's and its sphere of influence, straining the relationship between the central government and the colonies. While a strained peace was being forged between Earth and the colonies, a race of non-human creatures known as Deathcula invaded the System. Without provocation, they attacked the colonies and killed many of the colonists. The EFG quickly realized that the Deathcula were technologically superior and their forces were hopelessly matched. In order to have a chance at survival, Dr. Charles Louvre developed a transformable starship known as the Bismarck. Knowing that an advanced team of specialists were required to operate the Bismarck, four individuals came together and were charged with keeping the outer colonies safe from further Deathcula attacks. Official dub is a bad sign. The series itself felt endlessly boring is stuck forever in the 1970s while everyone else evolved .   Overall Rating: 4/10   46. Kikou Kai Galient 機甲界ガリアン [1984-IV] Sunrise (Dropped 10/25) Tags: Mecha Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi  Set in a far flung medieval-looking world of Arst, Prince Jordy Volder takes up the fight against the ambitions of the conqueror Marder. Jordy uses the legendary giant robot "panzer" Galient, which is one of many panzers that have been preserved underground for thousands of years. Using an army of advanced robot panzers, Marder is conquering all of Arst in preparation of his plan for dominance of the Crescent Galaxy. Previous fantasy mecha attempts felt a bit better than their rivals, so it's not the worst idea to develop the concept. And because it's from Sunrise, it's guaranteed to have a proper composition with prologue and introduction to characters, as well as at least some humor alongside decent visual quality. But of course they can't do miracles and mend a bad scenario. I actually quite liked first two episodes that felt like fantasy till the big mecha appearance. Then it was repeating mecha with some attacks and some defence with nothing much happening, more like big filler, really. Not a bad story, just not a story for 25 episodes.   Overall Rating: 6/10   47. Yoroshiku Mechadock Leave it to Mecha-Doc よろしくメカドック [1984-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/30) Tags: Detective, Racing Action, Comedy Mechadock is a powerful race car obtained from a simple economy car, which is able to race on any ground. The basic idea is guys on a plain looking car see something wrong happening and pursue it, occasionally handing over criminals to police. All that racing stuff is really immature.   Overall Rating: 3/10   48. Galactic Patrol Lensman GALACTIC PATROL　レンズマン [1984-IV] Madhouse (Dropped 3/25) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi  The young Kimball Kinnison is leaving home for a wider education when a Galactic Patrol ship crashes on his family's land and the dying pilot gives him a mysterious Lens. Half-sentient, the Lens now implanted in his hand becomes the focus of changes in Kim's life including his father's death, a space battle, and an encounter with Galactic Patrol nursing officer Chris. Impelled by the Lens, he discovers a new world of experiences opening before him and he risks his life to save Chris and the Universe. Movie was released just recently. Nothing is cardinally different here, so what's the point of it at all. Just time slot filler.   Overall Rating: 4/10   49. Futari Daka ふたり鷹 [1986-IV] Kokusai Eigasha (Dropped 3/36) Tags: Shounen Racing  Two motor-bike crazy young men meet on a track one day. One almost kills the other and after a while, they discover that they have the same first name. Since they are both excellent at racing, they very quickly become rivals ... but their passion and firstname is not the only thing they have in common. Not translated (unless you consider French dub). I can't understand how it's possible to watch a serious shounen racing series.   Overall Rating: 1/10   50. Ashita Tenki ni Naare あした天気になあれ [1984-IV] Tsuchida Productions (Dropped 3/47) Tags: Shounen Sports The adventures of a young golf player. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   51. Mighty Orbots マイティ・オーボッツ [1984-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/13) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Set in the twenty-third century, Mighty Orbots relates the adventures of Rob Simmons, a scientist, and his robots (called Orbots)—Tur, Bort, Beau, Crunch, and Ono—all members of the Galactic Patrol, the Earth-based futuristic police force. The focal point of the program is their battle against Shadow, a sinister planet of evil whose leader, Umbra, seeks to control the universe. Official dub... childish simplistic crap.   Overall Rating: 1/10   52. Chouriki Robo Galatt 超力ロボ ガラット  [1984-IV] Sunrise (Dropped 3/13) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi In a peaceful, disarmed world where small robots are utilized as housekeepers, villains act with huge robots instead of weapons. Dr. Keewee converts Michael’s robot into a transformable one in order to teach them a lesson. This is the birth of Galatt, the town hero. I expected a lot from Sunrise comedy, but basically it's just self-parody with deliberately childish characters and designs, exaggerated facial features. Even enemy mechas look like funny enlarged toys. Even comedy revolves around childish mecha, so is not fun at all. Target audience is kids, no use complaining about it.   Overall Rating: 4/10   53. Mahou no Tenshi Creamy Mami: Eien no Once More 魔法の天使クリィミーマミ　永遠のワンスモア  [1984-IV] Pierrot (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Comedy, Fantasy, Romance The first 45 minutes is a recap of the original series and the remaining 40 minutes has a new story. Two months after Creamy Mami's final concert, rumors began to spread that Mami was making a come back, and if that wasn't surprising enough, Tachibana starts a "Project M" and that seems to have something to do with Mami's come back. As word of Mami's concert reaches the public, Yuu dosen't belive it. Yuu, Megumi, Toshio, Midori, Kidokoro make a plan to get to the bottom of it. I'm unpleasantly surprised that series ended just on a concert. New story is hardly of notice.   Overall Rating: 5/10   54. Ginga Hyouryuu Vifam Recaps [1984-IV] Sunrise (Finished 2/2) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Summaries of the first (A Letter From Katue) and second (13 Meet Again) halves of the Galactic Drifter Vifam series. Not translated, so there is a cap score I can give. Overall, recap of the best Sunrise anime up to this point.   Overall Rating: 6/10   55. Kinnikuman: Ooabare! Seigi Choujin キン肉マン 大暴れ！正義超人 [1984-IV] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Comedy, Sports It was the first movie to feature the character Buffaloman and was the first of only two films to feature the Announcer (the other being Crisis in New York!). It is the first anime appearance of Bibinba, who appears as Kinnikuman's fiancee in the original manga. Another movie that equals two episodes in length. Sadly, it all goes about wrestling yet again losing most of humor along the way, so pretty ordinary.   Overall Rating: 5/10
  24. kivandopulus
    Jewelry Hearts Academia -We will wing wonder world- is automatically the winner.   1. Digimon Survive デジモンサヴァイブ [220727] HYDE, Inc. Takuma Momotsuka is a middle school student who attends a historical studies extracurricular activities camp during spring break. On the second day of camp, Takuma and other camp kids visit a shrine where a festival surrounding the local “Beast Gods” will be held. While exploring the shrine, he encounters a mysterious monster named Koromon. Immediately following, they hear a scream and find more of their friends being attacked by monsters. Upon realizing he has to save everyone, Koromon evolves into Agumon to fight. With the help of Agumon, Takuma managed to repel the monsters, but he soon realized that the surrounding area was covered in fog and he had gotten lost in an unknown world… Gameplay title   2. ANONYMOUS;CODE [220728] MAGES. GAME "The fact that you've arrived here―rather, to this save point―at this moment in your life is nothing short of a miracle. It delights me to no end. Step through the stage's curtain; rip off the mask of the wizard who pulls the strings. Close the loop. Hack into God." The game takes place in 2037. The story starts on February 6, 2036, when an accident involving computers going berserk destroys many large cities around the world. The massive disaster is named the "2036 Problem", but there's a prediction that there will be a similar incident in 2038. So a group of scientists use the Gaia Supercomputer to create an "Earth Simulator" to prevent it from happening, but fail because human birth potential has dropped dramatically. The scientists then introduce the "Arecibo Message" formula to the Earth Simulator, successfully bringing mankind into another world. They are excited at first, until they realize that human beings in the Earth Simulator themselves created another Earth Simulator. The scientists begin to suspect that they are actually only the product of an Earth Simulator from creatures whose position is above them. The story centers around Takaoka Pollon, a hacker who has the ability to "Save and Load" like in a video game. Using his Hacking Trigger System, he can intervene with the worldline around him. Console exclusive     3. Sentou Kanojo -Koi mo Ofuro mo Atsuatsu de- 銭湯カノジョ-恋もお風呂もアツアツで- [220728] Rosetta This is an adventure game that depicts the slapstick mishaps of a crossdressing boy. He decided to dress up as a girl as part of running his grandma’s traditional Japanese bathhouse (Sento). Is it really possible to run the Sento without his crossdressing being exposed? ★Story "Why do I have to dress up as a woman!?" Asahi Kirisaki, who was just taking it easy during his summer vacation, finds out that his grandmother has been hospitalized. And his grandma's hospitalization put the Sento she ran in danger of having to close permanently. Wanting to do something about it, he talked to his sister, Jun Kirisaki, about it. She asked him if he was really serious about it. After Asahi replied "of course I'm serious!”, Jun handed him a paper bag. Inside there was a wig and girls' clothes. Jun explained the basic rule of Himenoyu which Asahi had totally forgotten: that it has to be a woman sitting behind the attendant’s booth. Asahi had to figure out how to wear girls’ clothes. In addition, because Asahi had accidentally walked in on the part-time worker, Chika Kirie, while she was taking a shower, he also has to dress up as a girl to hide his identity from her. In this way, Asahi reopened his grandma’s Sento business while dressing as a girl. What will happen to Sento in the future? Can Asahi pull off his crossdressing without being exposed? Console exclusive       4. Jewelry Hearts Academia -We will wing wonder world- ジュエリー・ハーツ・アカデミア -We will wing wonder world- [220729] Cabbage Soft "Shine, our Will." Phrygia Royal, Academy of Jewelry, is a place where mysterious gem stone called "The Will (意志 Ishi)" are researched. The main character, Souma Jace, attempts to infiltrate "Diamond Class" as an agent to search for the "Philosopher's Gem Stone" that lies dormant in the academy. But he is assigned to a mysterious new class that called "Pegasus Class". - Souma, a foreign agent who hides his true identity. - Berka, a girl who is only interested in swordship. - Veo, a solitary and loner delinquent who doesn't hang out with anyone. - Mare, a kemonomimi beast who has a rare talent. - Markus, a foreign prince with the worst grades and attitude. - Arianna, the only decent conscience member in the class. The Pegasus Class group is made up of six boys and girls with different purposes and nationalities. They often rebel against each other, but soon find themselves facing a crisis that threatens the world. "The Stone Eaters", a mysterious disaster that threatens to petrify the entire Nova continent. Located on the front lines, they become embroiled in a struggle against the "Medusa," the organization responsible for the disaster. "Let's go, everyone - let's give it everything what we've got!" Will Soma be able to accomplish his mission and able to overcome the threat of petrification that threatens to destroy the continent? An adventure tale of The Wills and bonds that fly across the world - here it shines. Good balanced work with a bit of everything and nice twists.     5. Shin Koihime † Eiyuutan 4 ~Otome Enran ☆ Sangokushi Engi [Go]~ 真・恋姫†英雄譚4～乙女艶乱☆三国志演義［呉］～ [220729] BaseSon 1 ――This is a "Mansion of the Stopped Time". While you are here, The outside world―― The time in the world where everyone was originally, will Never go on. So, You don't have to worry anything about outside. When everyone returns, the world will start moving again. More importantly... Now that you came to a place like this, I want you to take your time and relax. You won't be able to get out of here for a while after all. Let me tell you, This Mansion is very Mysterious! When you thought the corridor would continue forever, a door suddenly appear, When you take your eyes off the door for a little while, the door disappears before you know it... Even inside the rooms, there's something strange. There are a Lot of unusual rooms too! Sun that is dazzling, the Winds blowing, it's just like a room outside! ...I'm sure there are many rooms I haven't entered yet. Of course, there is an Exit! But the current you, Won't be able to find it. ...You can't get out of here right away. The time is stopped outside, You don't have to rush. That's why―― Let's all play together! There is an English review in process
  25. kivandopulus

    Anime of the Year 1983 - Hadashi no Gen

    By kivandopulus,


    Anime of the Year
    Did not expect to see Hadashi no Gen so early, but yeah, it's definitely a firm masterpiece and the winner, also only the second anime I rated as 8. However, I can call another anime within a year a masterpiece for the first time - and it's Time Slip Ichimannen: Prime Rose . Good times seem to be finally coming for anime !   1. Seisenshi Dunbine Aura Battler Dunbine 聖戦士ダンバイン [1983-I] Sunrise (Dropped 7/49) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Shou Zama is an ordinary 18-year-old from Tokyo who finds himself summoned to the medieval fantasy world of Byston Well. Upon arrival, he is put into service under the ambitious lord Drake Luft, who seeks to greatly expand his power. Those like Shou who come from "Upper Earth" possess strong aura power and are ordered to pilot "Aura Battlers," insectoid mecha designed by a man named Shot Weapon, who also came from Upper Earth. However, Shou's alliances quickly change when he meets Marvel Frozen, a young woman who has decided to rebel against Drake's political agenda. As he realizes the lord's true intentions, the boy chooses to join the fight against Drake and team up with Neal Given, who leads the resistance movement. The resistance isn't alone—Riml, daughter of their enemy and Neal's secret love, aids their efforts, hoping to escape from her father's clutches. As Shou finds himself fighting alongside his new comrades, they put their lives on the line to prevent the villainous Drake from taking over Byston Well before it's too late. Wow, fantasy mecha... fantasy makes everything better, even mecha, although there aren't many fantasy elements here, just fairies, aesthetics of castles and knights, plus some abilities through meditation and some fantastic beasts. I survived for seven episodes, but could not enjoy it at all. In the end it's just another Gundam civil war reincarnation .    Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Alps Monogatari: Watashi no Annette アルプス物語　わたしのアンネット [1983-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/48) Tags: Historical Drama, Slice of Life 12-year-old Annette was born into a poor family in Switzerland. Together with her family she lives in a small village in the Alps. She is a sweet girl and dearly loves her little 5-year-old brother Dani, at whose birth their mother died. She also has a best friend, Lucien. Her wonderful friendship with him comes to a crisis when one day Dani gets injured in a terrible accident. You should have already a formed opinion on world masterpiece theater series, so there's hardly much to say. In my opinion, hardly anything worth mentioning has happened during three episodes, can't find a reason to watch it further at all.   Overall Rating: 4/10   3. Mirai Keisatsu Urashiman Future Police Urashiman 未来警察ウラシマン [1983-I] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/50) Tags: Detective Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi  By chance, Ryo has slipped from the 1980s into the future, and is trying to get back. In the interim, he's working for the police force of the future, solving cases by applying his unique and often comical approach. Humor is poor to my taste, and action does not cut it.   Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Akuu Daisakusen Srungle Macron One 亜空大作戦　スラングル [1983-I] Kokusai Eigasha (Dropped 3/53) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi In the year 2545, an experiment gone wrong puts test pilot David Jance through the center of the galaxy and into another universe, which ends up in the middle of life and death struggle against the armies of GRIP, led by Dark Star. The original season was pretty bad, recap movie only slightly better, so expecting something good from second season was not wise.   Overall Rating: 4/10   5. Captain (TV) キャプテン [1983-I] Eiken (Dropped 0/26) Tags: Shounen Team Sports The original is an impressive sports manga featuring not heroes, but common boys, and the story depicts the growth of Sumiya 2 junior high school baseball team (the successive captains and players) in downtown Tokyo. Takao Taniguchi, who was a substitute player of the second team of Aoba Gakuin, a prestigious junior high school in the baseball world, but he transferred to Sumiya 2 and he became the captain of the baseball club. After steady training, the team try to do a final game in the regional preliminaries, against Aoba Gakui Not translated, so after its horrible movies won't even try.   Overall Rating: 0/10   6. Urusei Yatsura Movie 1: Only You うる星やつら オンリーユー [1983-I] Pierrot (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi Lum doesn't need much assistance going ballistic when everyone in Tomobiki gets an invitation to Ataru's wedding -- and she's not listed as the bride! It seems that some 11 years ago, Ataru played "Shadow Tag" with a young girl named Elle and won. Unfortunately, Elle was yet another Alien Princess; and on her planet, if a boy steps on a girl's shadow, they have to marry. When Elle's emissary comes to make arrangements, Lum redefines the term "the atmosphere was electric," but to no avail: a force-field now protects Ataru from her high voltage love-zaps. Lum's friend Benten suggests a pre-emptive wedding, and they proceed to abduct Ataru and all of the wedding guests, and the stage is set for the shotgun wedding of all time Need to like the original and care about resolution of constant teasing. I don't fit.   Overall Rating: 5/10   7. Crusher Joe Crusher Joe: The Movie クラッシャージョウ [1983-I] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Crushers: intergalactic Jacks-of-All-Trades who will take on any assignment for the right price. Crusher Joe heads a small team of these outer space troubleshooters that includes the cyborg Talos, the beautiful Alfin, and the obligatory kid sidekick Ricky. A routine assignment escorting a cryogenically frozen heiress to a medical facility goes awry when the girl goes missing and Joe and his team are left holding the bag. It seems space pirates are trying to play the Crushers for patsies, but Joe doesn’t take kindly to the setup and tracks the pirates to their home world. The four heroes not only have to rescue their human cargo but take down the pirates in the process, which involves a heck of a lot of space dogfights, explosions, and good old-fashioned hand-to-hand combat. Characters are rather good, both protagonists and villains. Story left a dubious impression, but at least a memorable one. Can't rate it as masterpiece as I enjoyed it only slightly, but it's a firm 6.   Overall Rating: 6/10   8. Genma Taisen Harmagedon 幻魔大戦 [1983-I] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi From the depths of space he is coming... Ancient beyond understanding, his power is immeasurable. He has destroyed half the universe and is on his way here. He is... Genma. Only two people are aware of the imminent catastrophe: Princess Luna, a modern day prophetess and Vega, a cybernetic crusader from a world long since ravaged by Genma. Determined to spare the Earth from a similar fate, Luna and Vega must try to mobilize the most potent psychics in the world. Together, this army of fledging psychic warriors must succeed where billions have tried... and failed. But will they be able to gather their champions in time? Genma's agents are already on Earth to ensure that their master meets with no opposition! With each new esper anime, I tend to hate the genre even more. If everyone can do pretty much everything, it loses all the sense for me. Totally chaotic development.    Overall Rating: 4/10   9. Uchuu Senkan Yamato: Kanketsu-hen Space Battleship Yamato - Final Chapter 宇宙戦艦ヤマト・完結編 [1983-I] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Military, Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi The year is 2203, not long after the Bolar Federation was defeated by Desslok's Galman-Gamilon Empire. A subspace dimensional dislocation has caused a distant Red Galaxy to be relocated in a collision course with the Milky Way. Stars and planets collide, making a wreck of the Galman-Gamilon homeworld. The Star Force is dispatched to investigate. They reach Galmania to find Desslok's palace in ruins. As they pay their respects, tossing white roses down to the surface of the planet, a huge red planet crashes into Galmania, forcing to StarForce to escape with an immediate and uncalculated warp. Nothing unexpected, even story is just the very ordinary aliens try to conquer the Earth. Nothing really good discovered here.   Overall Rating: 5/10   10. Wagahai wa Inu de Aru: Don Matsugorou no Seikatsu 吾輩は犬である ドン松五郎の生活 [1983-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Comedy Mr. Matsuzawa is a novelist who lives in Chiba Prefecture. Only his daughter Kazuko knows that the family dog, Don Matsugorou, can talk. Don is wounded in a fight with the neighbors' dog, King, a nouveau-riche mongrel with ideas above his station. At the vet, however, he falls in love with a little patchwork puppy called Chotaro. Talking dogs helping each other. Not bad, but totally forgettable.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Soukou Kihei Votoms Armored Trooper Votoms 装甲騎兵ボトムズ [1983-II] Sunrise (Dropped 6/52) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Action, Drama, Sci-Fi A century of bloodshed between warring star systems has plunged nearly 200 worlds into the flames of war. Now, an uneasy truce has settled across the Astragius Galaxy... Chirico Cuvie, a special forces powered-armor pilot is suddenly transferred into a unit engaged in a secret and highly illegal mission to steal military secrets—from their own military! Now he's on the run...from his own army! Unsure of his loyalties and to cover their own tracks, Chirico is left behind to die in space. Surviving by luck, the renegade is now hunted by both the conspirators and military intelligence. He is driven by the haunting image of a mysterious and beautiful woman—the objective of their mission, and his sole clue to unraveling their treacherous scheme. But the conspirators will do anything to preserve their mysterious agenda... Again, can't say the story is bad, but it's stretched too wide with those 52 episodes. Even after six episodes it feels like nothing has really happened yet with all the filler scenes and the big plot structure is not evident yet. The focus is still on longer ~50 episodes anime just to fill the time slot. It's the main reason that anime from 70s and 80s did not gain a wide spread and is difficult to enjoy nowadays.   Overall Rating: 6/10   12. Kinnikuman キン肉マン [1983-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/137) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Comedy, Sports Kinnikuman is a superhero... a bad one. The one day a person named Meat tells Kinnikuman that he is the prince of an alien planet. Kinnikuman must save the day numerous times fighting evil chiyojins and competing in tournaments to prove himself to his family and to gain respect and money. Absolutely chaotic and senseless superhero parody.   Overall Rating: 4/10   13. Lady Georgie レディジョージィ [1983-II] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/45) Tags: Shoujo Historical Drama, Romance An Australian farmer returns home from the woods with a baby named Georgie. The girl lives ignoring the terrible secret hidden in the golden bracelet on her hand. Her "Father" and Her "brothers", Abel and Arthur, love her dearly, but her "mother" considers her an intruder and doesn't manage to open her heart to the girl. Georgie grows up into a beautiful young girl, and both her "brothers" are deeply in love with her. Not knowing the truth, Georgie eventually falls in love with the handsome grandson of the British Governor. When Mother finally reveals the truth to her and condemns the girl for being an exile's daughter, Georgie leaves for Britain in search of her real parents - and for her love, who has also left Australia. Abel and Arthur follow her and the three are thrown into the cruel world of London aristocracy, lies and intrigues. Another boring rural slice where nothing ever happens... for three episodes for sure.   Overall Rating: 4/10   14. Stop!! Hibari-kun! ストップ！！ひばりくん！ [1983-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 4/35) Tags: Shounen Crossdressing, Gag Humor Comedy A teenage boy has now moved in the home of his mother's friend, because she had died a while back. It just so happens that the Yakuza family has four beautiful daughters, but one daughter, Hibari, who is more beautiful then the rest of the daughters, is actually a boy. Hibari just can't keep his hands off our hero and so their crazy yet happy lives go on. Yay, first trap anime. Can't say it's bad, just don't want to watch to the end.   Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Aishite Knight Rock'n Roll Kids 愛してナイト [1983-II] (Dropped 3/42) Tags: Shoujo Childcare Comedy, Romance Yaeko Mitamura is an 18 year old girl working in her father's Okonomiyaki restaurant. One day Yakko casually meets a little boy, Hashizo and his odd cat Juliano. Hashizo has lost both parents when still a baby and has been brought up by his elder brother. Hashizo's brother Go Kato is the lead singer of the emerging rock band "Bee Hive". When Yakko meets Go and his friend and "Bee Hive" member Satomi Okawa an unexpected series of events unfolds. Love, jealousy, rock'n roll and the sparkle of newly borned stars is what makes this anime so lovable. A normal rather simple romance shoujo. Without added complexity it's really just for little girls.   Overall Rating: 3/10   16. Miyuki みゆき [1983-II] Kitty Film Mitaka Studio (Dropped 3/37) Tags: Shounen School Romance Wakamatsu Masato lives with his step-sister, Miyuki, whom he does not have blood relationship with. Their father is always working oversea and left the two of them living by themselves in Toukyou. Miyuki is cute, nice, sensitive and very popular among guys around Masato. Masato has a girlfriend at school whose name is Kajima Miyuki, who is pretty and gentle, the ideal dream of every highschool boy. Love triangle romance with a bit of comedy. Again, can't say it's bad... just for younger demographics. Still, I don't remember this serious romance focused anime before which is non-shoujo.   Overall Rating: 5/10   17. Nanako SOS ななこSOS [1983-II] Kokusai Eigasha (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Parody, Super Power Comedy, Romance Nanako is a young girl who unexpectedly acquires supernatural powers and at the same time loses her past memory. By accident, a scientific genius called Marlow, is present when she acquires her powers. Marlow is an industrious high school boy with extraordinary ambitions. He talks to Nanako into joining his detective agency by promising to help her regain her memory. Nanako innocently believes him, but Marlow's real intent is to use her powers to benefit his agency and himself. The story unfolds as Nanako encounters a variety of dangerous missions and mysterious events, but her natural sunny disposition helps her through all the incidents as she solves each mystery one after the other. Superpower schooler that is exploited for trifles by classmates, rather boring tbh.   Overall Rating: 4/10   18. Kousoku Denjin Albegus 光速電神アルベガス [1983-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 2/45) Tags: Mecha  Three talented students of a technical high school, Daisaku, Tetsuya and Hotaru create award-winning robots as part of a school competition. At this time, the evil Derinja race that plans control of all space extends its ambitions to Earth. To combat this threat, Hotaru's father, Professor Mizuki, takes the three robots and modifies them for battle. Albegas, a super robot, is born. Only two translated episodes, because it's rather basic. Three kids pilot three mechas. There is action and humor, but it offers nothing new, and we've seen it all before, so compared to breakthrough mecha anime like Macross it loses a lot in comparison.   Overall Rating: 4/10   19. Ginga Shippuu Sasuraiger Galactic Gale Sasuraiger 銀河疾風サスライガー [1983-II] (Dropped 1/43) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure It is 2911 and the solar system is made up of of 50 planets. I.C Blues, a gambler, makes a bet with the boss of a criminal syndicate known as Bloody God that it is possible to navigate the whole solar system in one year. Helping out Blues is J9-III, made up of Rock, Beat, and Birdy. To clear any obstcles, they have the transforming train-robot Sasuraiger. But the Bloody Syndicate will do anything to ensure the Blues loses the bet. Just one translated episode, and the reason is the same. Basically, simplistic reincarnation of around the Earth in 365 days, just in space.   Overall Rating: 3/10   20. Time Bokan Series: Itadakiman タイムボカンシリーズ　イタダキマン  [1983-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 1/20) Tags: Mecha The story begins in the year of 20XX. Oshaka School in Kamakuland is a prestige school of the world where only those who are pure and clearheaded descendants of Priest Sanzo's clan may be admitted. As for the familiar villain trio, they are in firm belief that they are genuine descendants of Priest Sanzo's clan although actually they are of uncertain lineage. They study hard to enter the school in spite of their repeated failure. One day three intelligent children are called in by the principal and asked by Shakyamuni dwelling in his body to find missing puzzle copperplates scattered all over the world and complete the puzzle board to heighten honor of Oshaka School. The conversation, however, is overheard by the villain trio and they decide to forestall those selected youngsters. Then they happen to meet with a brilliant boy named koochan who appears handy and so they take him with them and attempt to take away puzzle copperplates from a goblin. At the same time they try to win the goblin over to their side and attack our heroes together. Being aware of the evil scheme, Koochan transforms himself into Itadakiman and fights bravely to drive the wicked trio away. Just one translated episode. Finally the horrible villain heroine changed haircut and became a bit better, still way to go till original heroine. As usual, protagonists are new, and they are three now with being nice fattie. Competition between two teams and traditional humor and same as usual, so you know what to expect.   Overall Rating: 4/10   21. Manga Nihonshi まんが日本史 [1983-II] Tsuchida Productions (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Historical Animated History of Japan. Not translated. Finally a good combination of technique , education and entertainment. I'd gladly watch it all with translation .   Overall Rating: 6/10   22. Eagle Sam イーグルサム [1983-II] DAX Production (Dropped 0/51) Tags: Comedy, Sports  An anime made in the runup to the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, featuring Olympic mascot Sam the Olympic Eagle. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   23. Bemubemu Hunter Kotengu Tenmaru べムべムハンター・こてんぐテン丸 [1983-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 1/19) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy  Adventures of a demon slayer Tenmaru. Found just one untranslated episode. Humor and action are ok'ish, but too "shounen" for me.   Overall Rating: 4/10   24. Golgo 13 Golgo 13: The Professional ゴルゴ１３ [1983-II] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast, Military Action, Adventure, Drama After assassinating the son of business tycoon Leonard Dawson, Golgo 13 finds himself prey to the CIA and the U.S. Army, whom Dawson has personally hired to kill the assassin. As days pass by, Dawson slowly loses his sanity as he continues to plot every attempt to kill Golgo 13 even without caring about who hired the assassin to kill his son. A great action movie, something that might inspire Kill Bill. Second part of the movie is multiple duels of super killers. Art is gorgeous. But for 6 I need some substantial material, not just looks.   Overall Rating: 5/10   25. Noel no Fushigi na Bouken Noel's Fantastic Trip ノエルの不思議な冒険 [1983-II] (Finished 1/1) Tags:  Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy The film is centered around Noel, a young girl and her dog, Pup, who both live on the Planet Noel. While relaxing, Noel comes up with the idea to deliver ice cream to the sun. The two fly off and make their way toward the sun. On their way, the two of them make a stop at the Planet Gaudy. Upon their arrival, the President steps out to welcome the two. The President invites them to a special party, in which the Emcees show off the planet's most beautiful designs. This does not impress Noel, who states that it doesn't matter what clothes one is wearing, they will still be beautiful and loved. This coaxes the President and the citizens of the planet to take their clothes off, as does Noel. Pup gently reminds Noel of their trip to the sun, and the two take off to find him. When they find him, the sun warns of foul smog emanating from some unknown planet. The two leave the sun to find the source of the smog, but it quickly surrounds them. They escape underwater on another nearby planet. They appreciate the fine scenery underwater, but as they traverse further they notice the fish are ill. I naturally facepalmed during it. Kindergarten material, not older.   Overall Rating: 2/10   26. Pro Yakyuu wo 10-bai Tanoshiku Miru Houhou プロ野球を10倍楽しく見る方法 [1983-II] Filmlink International (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Comedy, Sports Based on the two books of career reminiscences by real-life Hanshin Tigers baseball star Takenori Emoto. Mix of live action and animation to tell humorous anecdotes from professional baseball (nine short tales in nine "innings"). Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   27. Nine ナイン [1983-II] Group TAC (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Shounen Action School, Team Sports Just before entering Seishuu High School, track star Katsuya Niimi and judo champion Susumu Karasawa see a girl crying as the school loses a baseball game. The boys decide to join the team and improve it in order to make her smile. The girl turns out to be Yuri Nakao, daughter of the baseball coach, and they learn the baseball team will be shut down if it doesn't start winning. The series follows the three, as well as pitcher Eiji Kurahashi, as Niimi and Karasawa learn about baseball and what it means to be one of nine players on a team, as they work together through high school make it to Koushien. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   28. Cat's Eye キャッツ・アイ [1983-III] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/73) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery, Romance  The three Kisugi sisters—Rui, Hitomi and Ai—during the day run a small cafe called "Cat's Eye." To discover the whereabouts of their father, the artist Michael Heintz, who has disappeared, Hitomi and her sisters rob art galleries as the smart and mysterious thief "Cat's Eye" in the hope that his works can give them clues about his vanishing. The crucial point is that Hitomi has a relationship with Toshi, a police inspector who has sworn to catch "Cat's Eye"—and of course he has no idea about Hitomi's double life. I can't grow to like Lupin, but it got nice characters, setting and comedy. This one in comparisons has none, really. And great thieves don't even wear masks here... so weird. Basically, it's eternal ninja cosplay, plus some cafe scenes. The most surprising thing in this show is how it survived for 73 episodes.   Overall Rating: 4/10   29. Mahou no Tenshi Creamy Mami Magical Angel Creamy Mami 魔法の天使 クリィミーマミ [1983-III] Pierrot (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Shoujo Idols (Female), Mahou Shoujo, School Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi Creamy Mami is about a young girl, Yuu, who after seeing a spaceship is given the power to use magic for one year. She is also given 2 cats, Poji and Nega, to watch over and guide her. Using her magic powers to transform into the idol Creamy Mami, Yuu must work hard at acting, singing, helping her parents at their crepe shop, fighting aliens and bad guys, going to school, plus try to get the affections of her childhood friend Toshio. Wow, it seems to be predecessor of Sailor Moon due to a large number of common traits. Ordinary girl learns to transform into a magical girl, two magical talking cats, sitting on a crescent in the opening, fighting aliens, magical want with a heart topping. There's enough comedy and development to keep going, but it's jut not my cup of tea.   Overall Rating: 6/10   30. Choujikuu Seiki Orguss The Super Dimension Century Orguss 超時空世紀オーガス [1983-III] Artland (Dropped 8/35) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Romance, Sci-Fi In the year 2062, the world's two superpowers are fighting a long and brutal war. In a desperate attempt to win, pilot Kei Katsuragi is given the mission to detonate a super weapon called the Space/Time Oscillation Bomb. The bomb explodes but the results are completely unexpected: a multitude of dimensions, times, and realities are unleashed into the world. Can Kei reverse the effects and bring life back to normal? I was totally fine with Macross till the power of love uber alles craze began, so I had high hopes for Orguss. First impression is that drawing quality is quite low, especially after Golgo 13. Prologue ends after first five episodes or so and then nothing interesting happens in each episode - empty talks and same looking mecha fights. Plain boring.   Overall Rating: 5/10   31. Plawres Sanshirou Plastic Model Wrestling Sanshiro プラレス３四郎 [1983-III] Kaname Productions (Dropped 3/37) Tags: Shounen Mecha, School Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Plawres is a wrestling game that the players make their robots, which are about 30 cm tall, fight in the ring. The main character, Sugata Sanshirou, is a plawres player. Using his plawrestler, Juohmaru, he beats strong rivals. Why it was even supposed to be interesting... there is some humor and a female semi-protagonist, but overall it's horrible.   Overall Rating: 4/10   32. Psychoarmor Govarian サイコアーマー ゴーバリアン [1983-III] Knack Productions (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Mecha, Super Power Action, Sci-Fi The Garadain Empire has exhausted the primary resources of their native planet, so they send different space expeditions to find a new world where to live. One of their main objectives is planet Earth. However, Zeku Alba, an alien scientist, decides to rebel against the imperial rule and flees towards the Earth, where he gathers a group of youngs gifted with the power of "psychogenesis", an ability that consists in creating solid matter from mental energy. The most gifted of the squadron is Isamu, a young orphan whose family was killed in the first attack of the Garadain Empire. He is able to generate the powerful robot Govarian, an armor with which he can battle the alien monsters and is able to regenerate thanks to the psychic energy of the pilot. Helped by two other robots created by his team-mates, Isamu, aboard the robot Govarian, defends the Earth in the long war against the alien invaders. What can be worse than espers? Only mecha espers. I'm so mad.   Overall Rating: 4/10   33. Hadashi no Gen Barefoot Gen はだしのゲン [1983-III] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Drama It's the summer of 1945. 3 years have elapsed since the war between Japan and USA began. Gen is a young boy living a struggling yet satisfying life in the city of Hiroshima, that has been strangely spared by the bombing taken in almost every other Japanese City. Food is scarce, and Gen's family is suffering from severe malnutrition, which endangers his pregnant mother. There isn't much spare time as Gen and his little brother Shinji help their father and mother at work and try to make sure their family survives the tough times. Little do they know, what the Americans have in store for the city of Hiroshima and as of the 6th of August 1945, their lives are about to change dramatically. Finally something familiar that I actually watched before. I want everyone to see it, so I'm giving it an eight. It might be the strongest ani-war and anti-nuclear statement ever created. Cry, scream, but don't forget. Never again.   Overall Rating: 8/10   34. Xabungle Graffiti ザブングルグラフィティ [1983-III] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha A movie recapping the events of the Xabungle TV series. Series was 50 episodes and recap movie is less than length of four episodes with just 1h 23m which demonstrates how artificially stretched these shows were on initial airing. It turned out to be even more boring than I expected - chasing the same enemy , fighting the same mecha enemies, seeing the same antics humor. Average - not more, not less.   Overall Rating: 5/10   35. Nine: Original-ban  [1983-III] Group TAC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen School, Team Sports Romance, Sports Cinema adaption of the manga by Mitsuru Adachi. Another baseball spokon, this time with enough human emotions and zero humor. Not my genre at all.   Overall Rating: 5/10   36. Document Taiyou no Kiba Dagram ドキュメント 太陽の牙ダグラム [1983-III] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Military Drama, Sci-Fi In the planet Deloyer, a colony of the Earth federation, Colonel Von Stein stages a coup d'etat on behalf of the Federation chairman Donan Cashim. The ending of the first Sunrise guerilla anime. It's only a bit more interesting that Xabungle Graffiti, but nothing to write home about.   Overall Rating: 5/10   37. Aoi Umi to Shounen The Boy and the Blue Sea 青い海と少年 [1983-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Slice of Life The friendship between Hiroshi from Japan and Adel from the South Pacific island the two live on is severely tested when Adel finds out that his grandfather was killed in a battle with the Japanese army. Will Adel forget their quarrel when Hiroshi's life is in danger? A short simple friendship story for kids, nothing fancy.   Overall Rating: 4/10   38. Time Slip Ichimannen: Prime Rose Prime Rose タイムスリップ１００００年　プライム・ローズ [1983-III] Tezuka Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi  A devil sends two cities; Kujukuri City in Chiba Prefecture and Dallas in the U.S., to ten thousand years ahead in the future, makes them fight each other, and enjoys watching over the fight. The devil's name is Bazusu. So Tanbara Gai, a member of Time Patrol, fights this devil to stop the atrocity. A new Tezuka craze! And he seems to have understood that social lessons can't be delivered on its own without an interesting story. So this time heroes are thrown in distant future that's a desert with abandoned buildings - that's social and interesting enough. Plus, story takes unexpected turns , and protagonist even turns out to be not a real protagonist. I found movie mildly amusing and I don't see reasons to pessimize it. Can only laugh at critics.   Overall Rating: 7/10   39. Captain Tsubasa キャプテン翼 [1983-IV] Tsuchida Productions (Dropped 3/128) Tags: Shounen Team Sports Action, Sports Captain Tsubasa is the passionate story of an elementary school student whose thoughts and dreams revolve almost entirely around the love of soccer. 11-year-old Tsubasa Oozora started playing soccer at a very young age, and while it was mostly just a recreational sport for his friends, for him, it developed into something of an obsession. In order to pursue his dream to the best of his elementary school abilities, Tsubasa moves with his mother to Nankatsu city, which is well-known for its excellent elementary school soccer teams. But although he was easily the best in his old town, Nankatsu has a lot more competition, and he will need all of his skill and talent in order to stand out from this new crowd. He encounters not only rivals, but also new friends like the pretty girl Sanae Nakazawa and the talented goalkeeper, Genzo Wakabayashi, who shares the same passion as Tsubasa, and will prove to be a treasured friend in helping him push towards his dreams. Representing Japan in the FIFA World Cup is Tsubasa’s ultimate dream, but it will take a lot more than talent to reach it. Football is much better and more understandable compared to baseball, but spokons have little chance with me. It's good that there is not just sport, but also a bit of SOL, a bit of comedy. Still it's too simple.   Overall Rating: 4/10   40. Igano Kabamaru 伊賀野カバ丸 [1983-IV] Group TAC (Dropped 3/24) Tags: Shoujo School Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance After the death of Saizou, Kabamaru's horribly strict grandfather and Iga ninja teacher (sensei), an old lady, Ran Ookubo, claims that she received a letter from him asking her to take care of his grandson. So Kabamaru runs off with Lady Ookubo to the big city Tokyo to gorge on yakisoba, ramen, chow mein, and attend a regular school—which turns out to have weird quirks of its own. Comedy at the start is quite good yet repetitive. Characters aren't repulsive, yet not attractive either. As usual, when I hesitate between 5 and 6, I ask myself whether I enjoyed it even a little and whether I got a slight desire to watch it to the end. And I definitely answer no to both these questions, can't do anything about it .   Overall Rating: 5/10   41. Kikou Souseiki Mospeada Genesis Climber Mospeada 機甲創世記モスピーダ [1983-IV] Studio World (Dropped 4/25) Tags: Mecha, Military Action Without warning in the year 2050, an alien race known only as the Inbit arrive, invade and successfully conquer the Earth. Years later and despite brutal past failures, the inhabitants of Mars Colony send out yet another desperate Liberation Force to try and reclaim their lost home world. The fleet is all but destroyed. However, a lone survivor, Stig Bernard, finds himself on Earth. Gathering a mere handful of resistance fighters, Stig journeys on towards the Inbit's headquarters at Reflex Point in an attempt to gather intelligence and, possibly, discover a way to beat them. Macross had an appealing world and story with developing characters, that's why it spawned so many additional pieces of anime. Orguss had a nice setting with a lot of potential, that's why it spawned so many side stories. Mospeada is a boring piece of media telling a mostly straightforward heroic mecha story under unserious merry music, that's why it spawned only one movie. But it alone does not mean anything as even a setting without future potential can tell a great story here and now. And I can't say that I liked Mospeada less than Orguss, they are on comparable levels, probably Orguss is even a bit worse. In Mospeada my big complaint is about main female kid heroine who is here for comedy relief, but I totally hate this psycho with senseless talk and mood changing every second. Unserious atmosphere is another factor - it's basically half comedy now which makes it easier to watch, but in the long run impression weakens. Can't give it a higher score as I don't want to watch it further.   Overall Rating: 5/10   42. Ginga Hyouryuu Vifam 銀河漂流バイファム [1983-IV] Sunrise (Dropped 7/46) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi AD. 2058, on the Clayad which was the 3rd planet of the Ypserlon system, which was 43 light years away from Earth, suddently aliens raided the planet.The emigrants on the Clayad had to escape from the planet. Because of the confusion during the escape, the children were strayed from their parents and got in the training space ship, Janous. With a lot of sacrifices, they managed to arrive at 4th planet Belwick. However, the Belwick had been already in the war. Therefore, the 13 children had to go to the Earth by themselves. English opening with kids and mecha almost made me believe this is official dub. Sunrise does not make simple stories for kindergarten kids to be dubbed officially at that time, but it looks like they really wanted to sell internationally a serious story disguised under a normal kid action. Well, characters are what makes most of shows shine, and this one has pretty solid cast. If there was no recap movie in 1984, I'd watch the series to the end. But all those insignificant distractions like kid getting lost somewhere overshadow the story itself, so I find myself constantly asking what this or that episode is for and where the hell it all is going to. I still have high hopes for OVA, and series seems to have quite some returnings. A masterpiece within mecha genre - sure, but a masterpiece in broader sense - definitely not.   Overall Rating: 6/10   43. Tokusou Kihei Dorvack Special Powered Armor Troop Dorvack 特装機兵ドルバック [1983-IV] Ashi Production (Dropped 4/36) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi When aliens invade Earth, Triple Command, led by fearless Masato Mugen, is placed in charge of defense. Masato is aided by Frenchman Pierre Bonaparte and Japanese-American girl Loui Oberon. Invaders are sort of cliché with generals sent against earthlings one by one. Everything is too simplistic. I really hoped that all those fake pre-Macross mecha are done with already .   Overall Rating: 4/10   44. Kojika Monogatari Story of a Fawn 子鹿物語 THE YEARLING [1983-IV] Visual 80 (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Drama  Set in Hokkaido, Japan's outback, a young boy discovers a fawn whose mother has been hit by a car and attempts to raise it himself. Official dub... so you already get know that you get a simple kid story about animals. Realization is also poor. Really boring.   Overall Rating: 3/10   45. Dallos ダロス [1983-IV] Pierrot (Finished 4/4) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi There was a time when life on Earth ran out of resources due to overpopulation. As a result, colonists were sent to the Moon, where they had to do dangerous and challenging mining jobs. Their efforts paid well, as the people of Earth now prosper from the Moon's bounty—but the colonists' lives are still riddled with terror. When an extremist group kidnaps Melinda Hearst, the girlfriend of a government official, tensions on the Moon reach a critical point. Third-generation colonist Shun Nonomura struggles to decide whether to lay low or join the rebellion. However, in the distance looms Dallos, a mysterious structure that could change the course of Lunar history. Setting and characters are nice, but not much happens the first three episodes and what happens in fourth is hardly what's expected. Anyway, due to open ending it's too unmemorable to be called something big .   Overall Rating: 6/10   46. Nine 2: Koibito Sengen ナイン2 恋人宣言 [1983-IV] Group TAC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen School, Team Sports Romance, Sports Second part of the Nine TV movies. This part is love themed, so it was natural that love triangle became a love square, even a star. Psychology and romance-wise it's deep enough, but rushed. With all the white backgrounds it feels sketchy and not real. Can't call it a masterpiece, but it's somewhere close.   Overall Rating: 6/10
×
×
  • Create New...