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kivandopulus

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  1. kivandopulus
    Could not call anything a masterpiece in 1982, sadly. The anime I enjoyed the most is Sasuga no Sarutobi . Hopefully, highlighting it advances its translation .   1. Sentou Mecha Xabungle 戦闘メカザブングル [1982-I] Sunrise (Dropped 6/50) Tags: Shounen  Mecha, Military Sci-Fi On the planet Zora exist two societies: the Innocent, an advanced culture that lives in domed cities, and the Civilians, who are forced to live in the harsh desert wilderness. As dictated by the Innocent, any Civilian that commits a crime is forgiven if they are not brought to justice within three days. Civilian Jiron Amos seeks revenge on the villainous outlaw Timp Sharon who murdered his parents, despite the fact the three-day period has long since passed. Hoping to get his revenge by stealing the mecha Xabungle from the merchant Carrying Cargo, Jiron teams up with a group of bandits known as the Sandrats and kidnaps Cargo's daughter Elchi, who ends up being sympathetic to his cause. Jiron's quest for revenge soon grows into a conflict much bigger—one that will eventually see the Civilians rise up against the Innocents' rule. Well, it looks so close to previous Sunrise work Taiyou no Kiba Dagram that it's startling. Again peaceful community is challenged by guerilla, and again mecha plays a crucial part in it. Again there are dozens of characters without a clear protagonist as there are multiple mecha pilots. Can't say it's bad that Sunrise wants to feast on former success, but things need to be changed more radically than adding some jokes and more light motives atop violence and drama. I could not enjoy this show at all, and there's still not a slightest desire to watch it to the end, so score is average .   Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Minami no Niji no Lucy Lucy-May of the Southern Rainbow 南の虹のルーシー [1982-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/50) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Slice of Life Lucy's family moves from England to Australia planning to run a big farm. Starting a new life proves to be full of frustrations. Their agonizing days of despair continue until they finally obtain their farmland. However, Lucy and her sisters enjoy a range of new experiences such as discovering exotic animals and meeting with aborigines and other new people. But there was already anime about British coming to Australia in relatively the same time period... and I guess it seems not interesting in general as there are just 3 translated episodes. This inarticulate historical SOL feels like a huge time sink to fill time slots till industry actually invigorates.   Overall Rating: 4/10   3. Time Bokan Series: Gyakuten Ippatsuman 逆転!イッパツマン [1982-I] (Dropped 1/58) Tags: Mecha Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi Gyakuten! Ippatsuman is the sixth in the Time Bokan series. In the 1990s-era Osteandel City is the headquarters of Time Lease, a business that leases almost everything you could ask for including powerful robots. They are proud of themselves for being number one in the international ranking of billionaires, for the past ten consecutive years. Meanwhile there is another lease company in the same city called Skull Lease where the notorious villain trio work as top executives. Their ostensible object is to disgrace the credit of Time Lease and replace them as the leading enterprise. In fact, however, they have a scheme to secure a footing for world conquest. One day a transport robot of Time Lease is assaulted by the villain trio and it is time for Ippatsuman to get on the move to fight for justice. Last installation had zero translated episodes, and this one has a full single one, so you can feel the enthusiasm. Villains remain the same for at least three last installations, as for goodies... they look new to me each time, so bland that no one cares. The reason for time travel changes from series to series, but the concept remains relatively the same - unsatisfactory.   Overall Rating: 4/10   4. Asari-chan あさりちゃん [1982-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/54) Tags: Shoujo Comedy, Slice of Life Produced by Toei Animation and directed by Kazumi Fukushima after the manga series by Muroyama Mayumi, this anime follows Asari, a normal fourth-grade girl. One day, while bargain shopping, she wins the lucky ticket at a lottery for a one-person trip to Hawaii. Chaos reigns as her family, the Beach's, fight over who should go. The ticket is lost in a bonfire, ironically. Other circumstances follow when the family finds out that the travel agency offered to "give the equal amount of half the travel expenses in cash for the ticket" from an employee of the supermarket Asahi had shopped at. What will happen to the unlucky Beach family as more elements of despair pelt them? First things first - it's untranslated. Each episode contains two stories, all all the fuss around Hawaii takes only half of episode. Family members are pretty usual and unremarkable, but humor-wise it's decent and is probably the closest spiritual predecessor of one of the best anime created - Chibi Maruko Chan. If I wanted funny untranslated SOL, I'd rather watch that instead.    Overall Rating: 5/10   5. Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space 機動戦士ガンダムⅢ　めぐりあい宇宙編 [1982-I] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi The One Year War comes to a close, as the Zeon forces now retreat back into space. Amuro learns much more of his Newtype abilities and tries to use them the best way he can. He's pushed to his limit as he encounters the infamous Char Aznable once again. He also falls in love with a mysterious woman named Lalah Sune, who knows the full potential of the Newtype abilities. The greatest battle is about to begin, as many loved ones fall to the power of war. Can the Earth Federation defeat the Principality of Zeon? Or will they fail? Can Char prove that he's the better Newtype than Amuro? They all will be answered now... Gundam finally moves to space and starts to look familiar. But with the same psycho murderer protagonist it just can't be mended for me .   Overall Rating: 5/10   6. 1000-nen Joou: Queen Millennia 1000年女王 Queen Millennia [1982-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi  AD 1999, the Earth was in a critical situation; a planet Lar Metal was approaching to the Earth. Meanwhile, Yukino Yayoi was heard about Lar Metal from Dr. Amamori of Tokyo Observatory. She was a junior high school teacher, but she also worked for Dr. Amamori who appreciated her astronomical knowledge. Actually Yukino Yayoi was Queen Millennia who had come from Lar Metal 1000 years before, and she had been watching human beings since then. Soon, numerous meteors fell on the Earth, and people were in panic. In this catastrophe, Hajime, who was a student of Yayoi, came to help Yayoi. Yayoi invited him into a big cave under the ground. Well... I can't understand this series. Even in movie half of the time is occupied by explanation of synopsis, and another third of the time is taken just to show nature outrage and attack of aliens with counterattack against them. The real plot and meaningful actions take very little time. And they stretched that to a huge season previously. Can't live on worldbuilding alone.   Overall Rating: 5/10   7. Sekai Meisaku Douwa: Aladdin to Mahou no Lamp Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp [1982-I] Toei Animation アラジンと魔法のランプ (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy  This film stays very faithful to the original down to the smallest details, save for the kangaroo-rat that suddenly appears twenty minutes into the movie and subsequently follows Aladdin around, serving no purpose in the story but fulfilling the role of token animal mascot. The screenwriter needs no introduction; Akira Miyazaki single-handedly wrote five of the classic WMT series, including Perrine and Rascal, and participated in two others. The only other name among the staff that rings a bell, though, is Yukihide Takekawa, who was responsible for the music in the magnificent and unknown Unico pilot film. The story takes some illogical and confusing jumps at the point where Aladdin begins to court the princess, and the extravagant animation that had characterised Toei films of the 60s, when Toei had the best animators around, had become a thing of the past long before this point; but this is still an above-average film, in large part because of the screenplay that stays so faithful to the original. The character designs are slightly more western-looking than one is accustomed to seeing in anime. For those who know the story already there's hardly anything of interest here.   Overall Rating: 4/10   8. Asari-chan: Ai no Marchen Shoujo Super Gal Asari: The Dreaming Girl in Fairy World あさりちゃん 愛のメルヘン少女 [1982-I] (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Shoujo Adventure, Slice of Life Movie produced by Toei Animation after the anime series, Super Gal Asari and by the original manga by Mayumi Muroyama. Asari and her family go through more unlucky happenings. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   9. Ohayou! Spank (Movie) おはよう! スパンク [1982-I] TMS Entertainment (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life  Based on the shoujo manga by Yukimuro Shun'ichi and Takanashi Shizue serialised in Nakayoshi. Not translated. Romance themed movie. Basically, Spank falls in love with a cute female dog, and through dogs and many encounters protagonist girl and female dog's boy host also get closer little by little. Main problem of the concept is that dogs play main roles, but can't communicate even with other dogs, so it becomes a mimic fest.   Overall Rating: 4/10   10. Zou no Inai Doubutsuen 象のいない動物園 [1982-I] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama After the war, concerned brother Hide promises his critically ill sister Miyoko that he will arrange for her to see a real elephant. But when he goes to the zoo to find one, an old man tells him of the tragic day when the zoo animals were slaughtered. The story is based on true historical events of the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, where dangerous animals during WW2 were slaughtered in order to prevent them from wreaking havoc in case Allied bombings would let the animals escape. Various methods were used such as starvation, poisoning, death by firing squad, and decapitation. Tokyo was bombed over a year later after the animals' slaughter and Ueno Zoo was never hit. No translation... ofc. I hardly understand the need for this anime at all. Elephant got ill, children took care of the place together with zoo guard and eventually elephant recovered, the end. Music and art are nice, but that's all.   Overall Rating: 4/10   11. Wagahai wa Neko de Aru 吾輩は猫である [1982-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Comedy, Slice of Life "I" is a cat without a name who lives with an English teacher, Mr. Kushami (Mr. Sneeze). "I" can't believe how stupid human beings are and chronicles some of their most incredible foibles. In particular, he is fascinated by Kushami's student Mizushima who falls in love with Haruko, the only daughter of businessman Kaneda. Based on Natsume Souseki's comical novel. Not translated. Universe is the same as in Jarinko Chie, so cats walk on two paws and communicate between themselves just alright. It's a very intelligent story with twists, so hardly predictable and keeping intrigue till the end, also with a lot of funny moments. I enjoyed it a lot, ofc there's a limit an untranslated work can hit.   Overall Rating: 6/10   12. Taiyou no Ko Esteban The Mysterious Cities of Gold 太陽の子エステバン [1982-II] Pierrot (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Historical Adventure, Sci-Fi 1532. Esteban, age 12 is a foundling from Barcelona, with a mysterious power of ordering the Sun to appear, for which he is called "Child of the Sun." Upon the death of his adoptive father, Esteban learns he was rescued as a baby from a sinking ship in the ocean. The mysterious medallion that Esteban wears since ever has a trace somewhere in the New World, probably coming from the Mysterious Cities of Gold. Esteban leaves Spain to find his parents and find out who he is. On the way he meets Zia, an Inca girl who was kidnapped from her people years back and has exactly the same medallion as him. Later on, they are joined by Tao, a young Galapagos robinson, the last descendant of the Empire of Heva, an Empire said to have built the Cities of Gold. Following Coyolite, the shining star represented on their medallions, the three children travel through the unexplored New World, searching for the Cities of Gold, believing that this way is leading them to their lost parents. Hello, official dub. No matter how I look at it, it's pure adventure for kids. I'm sure I'd enjoy it a lot as a kid without expectations, but I definitely can't recommend it for adults.   Overall Rating: 5/10   13. Mahou no Princess Minky Momo Magical Princess Minky Momo 魔法のプリンセス　ミンキーモモ [1982-II] Production Reed (Dropped 3/63) Tags: Mahou Shoujo Momo is the princess of Fenarinarsa, a land of dreams that is getting further and further from Earth. She is sent to help the Earth regain faith in its dreams. To assist her are her friends Sindbook, Mocha, and Pipiru and her magic wand that transforms her into an adult. She's ready and willing to help anyone she can in order to make their dream come true, no matter what happens. A genki cliché magical girl who needs to gather 12 spheres to fulfil her mission, so another time filler show with no sense behind it.   Overall Rating: 4/10   14. Patalliro! パタリロ！ [1982-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/49) Tags: Shoujo Adventure, Boys Love, Comedy Patarillo! is set in a society much like ours in most ways, with one decided twist. The manga on which it is based is one of the much-read works produced for adolescent Japanese girls that features a healthy proportion of gay men and beautiful teenagers aka bishounen (beautiful boys). Most of the action takes place in Marinera, the land of eternal spring, located somewhere in the South Seas. The country is a major producer of diamonds; they provide much of the basis of conflict in the anime series. They come from one of the most prolific mines in the world, owned by the king of Marinera, the vertically challenged but horizontally endowed boy-king Patarillo himself. The International Diamond Syndicate - a huge semi- criminal organization/ secret society dedicated to taking over the world's entire diamond supply- wants that mine and will stop at nothing to get it. In the early episodes they send off a number of bishounen assassins to do in Patarillo, which necessitates his having a bodyguard, the English MI6 agent, Major Jack ('Bishounen-Killer') Bancoran. Bancoran's nickname doesn't mean he shoots bishounen in cold blood. The soubriquet comes from the fact that no male under the age of 17 can resist his sexual fascination. This, to Bancoran's eternal disgust, includes Patarillo himself. The action switches often from Marinera to MI6 headquarters in London (London seems to be an easy two hour's flight from the South Seas) or Bancoran's palatial condo in the suburbs of same. (MI6, be it noted, looks a lot like Fritz Lang's Metropolis, while Jack's 'apartment' bears a passing resemblance to Randolph Hearst's spread.) The action also goes into the past and future and out into space. Patarillo evidently gets around. Wow, that was awkward. Each tine Patarillo with bodyguard from MI6 Bancoran meet same looking girlish boy who plots to kill Patarillo and during the course of the episode plot gets revealed. There's some humor and a lot of graphical novelty in all that, but it's another episodic time filler on a big scale, plus all the sudden romance scenes between Bancoran and girlish boy feel out of place for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Ochamegami Monogatari: Korokoro Pollon Little Pollon おちゃめ神物語コロコロポロン [1982-II] Kokusai Eigasha (Dropped 3/46) Tags: Parody Comedy Anime about the funny lives of the Greek gods up on Mount Olympus. Polon is the naughty daughter of Apollo. With her little cherub friend Eros, she interferes in various comical ways as she tries to show that she is fit to be a goddess. Her activities often misfire, getting her in trouble with some deity or other and causing chaos for gods and humans. Feeling neglected by her godly parent, she often assists him in his woman-chasing in the hopes of getting a new mommy. Did not find it amusing, frankly. Childish pranks, childish themes.   Overall Rating: 4/10   16. Tezuka Osamu no Don Dracula 手塚治虫のドン・ドラキュラ [1982-II] Tezuka Productions (Finished 8/8) Tags: Vampire Comedy, Horror, Supernatural After living in Transylvania for several years, "Earl Dracula" (as Osamu Tezuka's official website calls him in English) has moved to Japan. In the Nerima Ward of Tokyo, he and his daughter, Chocola, and faithful servant Igor have taken up residence in an old-Western style house. While Chocola attends Junior High School, Earl Dracula is desperate to drink the blood of beautiful virgin women; an appropriate meal for a vampire of his stature. However, each night that Earl Dracula goes out on the prowl he finds himself getting involved in some kind of disturbance which leads to him causing various trouble for the local residents. With nobody in Japan believing in vampires, his very presence causes trouble amongst the people in town. Tezuka Osamu did not let down again. Humor is varied and partially crazy, and there aren't too many episodes to get tired of the show. I still enjoyed it only slightly, so can't call it a masterpiece and universally recommend.   Overall Rating: 6/10   17. Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV Armored Fleet Dairugger XV 機甲艦隊ダイラガーXV [1982-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi In the original storyline as aired in Japan, Dairugger XV was simply an exploration robot, as well as an intended peace-keeping force. The Earth is in a time of prosperity. The president of the Terran League (the "Galaxy Alliance" in Voltron) launches a mission to explore beyond the galaxy. After commencing its mission of exploration, the starship Rugger-Guard is attacked by a ship of the Galbeston Empire. Dairugger, the super robot, is deployed in order to defend the Earth. It is somewhat by fate that they must help the people of Galbeston find a new planet before it explodes, and liberate it from its despotic Emperor. In the Japanese version, it does not have anything to do with King of the Beasts GoLion, as opposed to the U.S. version, Voltron: Defender of the Universe. There are three assault team units: Land, Air, and Sea. There are a total of 15 parts referred to as "Rugger," which can combine together to form the super-robot Dairugger. The design of the 15 separate Rugger units came from the sport of rugby, since 15 players are required to form a rugby union. The U.S. version would rename the "Galbeston Empire" to "Drule Empire," along with editing a fair amount of violence and sexual content to keep the show safe for general audience broadcast. Hi again, official dub. As usual, super boring heroic mecha show with zero interesting characters or anything at all to catch the eye.   Overall Rating: 3/10   18. Tondera House no Daibouken The Flying House トンデラハウスの大冒険 [1982-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Historical Adventure, Sci-Fi The series began in the middle of a game of hide and seek, as a young boy named Justin Casey (Gen) finishes counting and begins searching for his friends Angela (usually called "Angie") and Corkey Roberts (Kanna and Tsukubo Natsuyama). As he searched for the brother and sister in the wooded area, a storm occurred all of a sudden. Justin managed to sneak up on the two before the rain started pouring, forcing them to run for cover. They would eventually find a house in the wooded area, previously unseen according to Justin. At first glance it appeared nobody was home after entering the house, until they discovered a robot named Solar Ion Robot (Kadenchin), or the acronym SIR. They would soon meet the owner of the house, Professor Humphrey Bumble (Dr. Tokio Taimu), who introduced the children to his greatest creation, a time machine. Professor Bumble's attempt at recreating Benjamin Franklin's famous lightning experiment with the use of a kite flying outside the house to get the machine working only led up to SIR's temporary change in personality before sending the entire house on course for the past. The children never realized how long the journey back home would be due to Professor Bumble's misguidance and errors in time travel, but in the meantime they witnessed and participated (with little or no consequences) in numerous events in the Bible's New Testament, from John the Baptist's birth to the rise of the Apostle Paul." Yay, another official dub. And to my surprise I definitely have watched it in the childhood as I remember these characters including robot, the house and the opening. Super childish anime about time travel and some bible stories, so I've serious questions why it's not blocked by MAL as anime for kids.   Overall Rating: 3/10   19. Makyou Densetsu Acrobunch 魔境伝説アクロバンチ [1982-II] Kokusai Eigasha (Dropped 3/13) Tags: Shounen Mecha Sci-Fi Led by scientist Tatsuya Randou, the Randou family undertakes a journey around the globe in order to search out ancient ruins to uncover the legend of Quetzalcoatl, which unlocks the key to a fabulous treasure. However, tailing the Randou family is Gopurin, an evil organisation that covets the legendary treasure for itself. The Randou family has the secret weapon of super robot Acrobunch. It becomes a race around the world of who finds the treasure first. Treasure hunt travel with rivals... it sounds super boring already. Good drawing, non-repulsive characters and some humor mend things a bit, but in the end it remains an average mecha focused on aimless adventure and some action.   Overall Rating: 4/10   20. Kagaku Kyuujo-tai TechnoVoyager Thunderbirds 2086 科学救助隊テクノボイジャー [1982-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/24) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Thunderbirds 2086 takes place roughly twenty years after the original series (generally accepted as taking place around 2065, though other dates are seen on screen) and chronicles the adventures of the Thunderbirds, a rescue team working for the International Rescue Organisation. Unlike the original International Rescue, which was small-scale and family-oriented, the IRO is a vast organisation comprising numerous branches and overseen by the Federation, the 2086 equivalent of the United Nations. No direct historical connections are identified between the two series, but it can be assumed that the original International Rescue evolved into its 2086 incarnation over those thirty years. The Tracy family are not mentioned in the animated series. In the animated series, the actual team is known as the Thunderbirds, whilst in the original series the name merely referred to their vehicles. The animated series is otherwise very similar to the original, with most episodes revolving around a natural or man-made disaster which the Thunderbirds team must investigate and help resolve. Unlike the original series, Thunderbirds 2086 also has an on-going story arc revolving around a breakaway independence group known as the Shadow Axis, led by the mysterious Star Crusher. There is a heavy intimation in the series that Star Crusher is not human and may be some kind of alien entity. Official dub... I've never seen original British series, so for me it's just an episodic show about mending things after some disasters... and a really boring one. Neither bland characters, nor five different models of thunderbirds excite me even to the slightest extent.   Overall Rating: 4/10   21. Anime Yasei no Sakebi Call of the wild アニメ野性のさけび [1982-II] Wako Productions (Dropped 0/22) Tags: Adventure, Drama Based on the novel by Hatojuu Muku Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   22. Haguregumo 浮浪雲 [1982-II] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Historical, Samurai Comedy The year is 1866, the twilight of the Tokugawa era. As Japan boldly moves into a new age, one man couldn't possibly care less. That man is Kumosuke Haguregumo, a retired samurai who has since become the town fool. Though he still carries his twin-bladed katana, Kumosuke spends his days smoking, drinking, and womanizing, rarely coming home before dawn. At home, however, wait his wife and two children, Shinnosuke and Ohana, who are constantly troubled by Kumosuke's antics. As Shinnosuke grows older, he begins to understand the world around him. Troubled by his father's reputation, Shinnosuke attempts to live a life of honor, though finding what honor means in a turbulent era is difficult. As Shinnosuke navigates his relationship with his father, countless other warriors struggle to find their place in the ever-changing world. That's what I call an intelligent story. Many lines go in synch. I happened to watch dorama about Sakamoto Ryouma in the past, so could emphasize quite alright. I enjoyed quite like a masterpiece, but for a masterpiece there should be some resolution at least. Basically, there is none in the anime, and no even leftover thought. In this state can't universally recommend it for sure .   Overall Rating: 6/10   23. Sengoku Majin Goushougun (Movie) 戦国魔神ゴーショーグン [1982-II] Production Reed (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Parody Sci-Fi Compilation movie composed of scenes from episodes 17 and 20 of the Sengoku Majin Goushougun TV series mixed with some movie-original scenes and faux commercial breaks featuring the characters selling fictional products. Wow, it's not even recap of the season, just a joined journalist story and a new enemy appearance mashed in together with some fillers to barely reach one hour length... pathetic. At the very least I saw some more notices of parody genre like answer of protagonists in in interview what they fight for - and they answer just by inertia, no particular reason. With adult cast and additional humor it's still way better than majority of mecha, yet it does not belong to those few mecha that I can rate as 6.   Overall Rating: 5/10   24. Shiroi Kiba White Fang Monogatari 白い牙ホワイトファング物語 [1982-II] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama White Fang is born on the planes of Alaska to a wolf father and a half-wolf, half-dog mother. One day he and his mother run into an Alaskan inuit boy Mit-sah, who has long dreamed of a dog of his own, and by a marvellous twist of fate, the wolves are taken in by him and his father. But life in Alaska is harsh for humans and wolves alike, and as winter comes, hardships lie in waiting for White Fang and Mit-sah. Facing the extreme coldness of their habitat and that of humans' greedy hearts, the two journey towards what they hope to be a happier environment. Another wolf story, but thanks to Sunrise directorship, quite good. As usual, it revolves around beating animals and having animals fight each other to death, so a rather doubtful pleasure to put it mildly.   Overall Rating: 5/10   25. Son Gokuu Silk Road wo Tobu!! 孫悟空シルクロードをとぶ！！ [1982-II] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy  A TV special that aired as a part of "Nissei Family Special" series on Fuji TV in 1982. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   26. The Kabocha Wine The Pumpkin Wine Ｔｈｅかぼちゃワイン [1982-III] Toei Animation (Dropped 5/95) Tags: School Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life Transfer student, Aoba Shunsuke, arrived at Sunshine School only to find the premises empty. He was secretly gleeful to be the first to reach the school, oblivious to the fact that it was Foundation Day and a rest day for the institution. At that moment, a big-sized "L"(Eru) beauty by the name of Natsumi appeared before him and the two of them hit off together even though Shunsuke was so much smaller than her. Shunsuke's mother runs a women's apparel busines but the shop is in need of manpower. Shunsuke offers to help out at the shop but fumbles a lot because he does not know how to interact with the ladies. Eru decides to step in and help out around the shop and this pleases Shunsuke's mother. This is a romance story that shares the joys and woes of the "SL" combi between Shunsuke and Eru. I remember several anime with S-L romance, so this is their originator. And I think it's the first anime case of a girl hitting on a boy if we don't consider Urusei Yatsura that was ambiguous and not SOL. Show itself is good, but not super interesting, especially considered 95 episode format, so there are only seven translated episodes.   Overall Rating: 5/10   27. Ginga Reppuu Baxingar Galactic Gale Baxingar 銀河烈風バクシンガー [1982-III] Kokusai Eigasha (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure 600 years after Ginga Senpuu Braiger, Jupiter has been destroyed, and many planets have come from it, bringing about more colonization. To combat the increasing lawless activity, Don Diego Condor gathers Billy the Shot, Samanosuke Dodi, Layla Minesato, and Shuteken Radcliffe, a.k.a. J9-II. They pilot Cosmo Bikes, which combine into the robot Baxingar. Yay, new crew of law enforcers gather in slightly changed conditions. But it's same horrible, why even try to continue this dead end universe .   Overall Rating: 4/10   28. Waga Seishun no Arcadia わが青春のアルカディア [1982-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi Earth has been conquered by the evil Illumidus Empire, with parallels drawn to the U.S. post World War II occupation of Japan. Captain Harlock with a group that will become his life long friends begin their fight against this tyranny visited upon the planet Earth, with no regard to the costs the struggle will have on them, caring only for the ideal of restoring freedom to the people of Earth. First things first - images of woman and boy from space express are reused again. Story is basically prequel of Harlock as it shows how he lost his eye and basically leads him from nation defender to pirate. Execution quality is good, but my score mostly depends on my enjoyment. And I hardly found it enjoyable at all. Can't do anything about it. Just average.   Overall Rating: 5/10   29. Space Adventure Cobra Space Adventure Cobra: The Movie SPACE ADVENTURE コブラ [1982-III] TMS Entertainment (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Space  Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Cobra, a notorious space pirate, is enlisted by bounty hunter Jane to rescue her sister from the strange being known as Crystal Boy, but then finds himself drawn into a complex struggle over the fate of a mysterious wandering planet. Cobra is basically James Bond of anime, but in much more favorable conditions of sci-fi future with unlimited technological progress. It entails similar benefits and shortcomings. Despite focus on female cast and action I constantly feel that story and complexity suffer, and that happening events aren't serious, due to how easy everything turns out even despite the facts that girls die one after another to pave the way for the next one. In the end it all depends on the story for me, and in this movie it just did not impress .   Overall Rating: 5/10   30. Densetsu Kyojin Ideon: Hatsudou-hen The Ideon: Be Invoked 伝説巨神イデオン 発動篇 [1982-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Space Drama, Sci-Fi Pushed out to the far reaches of the galaxy, the crew of the Solo Ship faces impossible odds of survival. With the Earth destroyed and the remnants of the Buff Clan pushing them to their limit, the Ideon shows as the last line of defense for the battered remains of humanity. As the tensions of their last stand rack up on their minds, Captain Bes Jordan and pilot Cosmo Yuuki race against the clock to protect their final opportunity of survival, even as desperation eats away at the minds of their loved ones. Using any weapons left at their disposal, the crew desperately fight on to protect themselves in the cold clutches of space, punished with a final duel against Harulu Ajiba, who is now desperate to reclaim the honor lost in her father's eyes. It's the second movie. Joint comments are after first movie..   Overall Rating: 5/10   31. Densetsu Kyojin Ideon: Sesshoku-hen The Ideon: A Contact 伝説巨神イデオン 接触篇 [1982-III] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Space Drama, Sci-Fi Scouring the universe in pursuit of knowledge, mankind has discovered three large trucks and a giant spaceship belonging to an extinct alien civilization on the planet Solo. During their excavation, a humanoid alien race known as the Buff Clan arrives at Solo, and Karala Ajiba—daughter of the Buff Clan's military leader—flies down to the planet against orders. In hunting for Karala, the Buff Clan attacks and destroys the Earth settlement to bring her back. Desperate to stave off their assaulters, earthlings Cosmo Yuuki, Kasha Imhof, and Bes Jordan board the trucks, which form into the powerful giant robot Ideon when combined. As they fight back against their enemies, the remaining survivors board the spacecraft Solo Ship and flee, while the Buff Clan relentlessly seeks Ideon and the mysterious power source contained within it. I'm starting to have second thoughts about putting score 6 to TV series. I was probably sorry for so much wasted time, so the score tried to justify that time was not totally wasted. Movies cut so many filler scenes and in some cases substituted them with transformed shortcut scenes. Yes, there is a varied cast (mostly irritating). Yes , there are some intrigues (mostly very simple). But to get a 6 series should give at least something to me - enjoyment/appreciation/experience/emotions/story - like anything I can value or remember it by. I feel nothing. Absolutely lazy resolution and tearjerkers.   Overall Rating: 5/10   32. Techno Police 21C テクノポリス21C [1982-III] Studio Nue (Finished 1/1) Tags: Detective, Mecha Action, Sci-Fi The plot consists of a chase of a hijacked MBT-99A tank, designed by the United States Air Force (which is odd, but will become the saviour of Eleanor, as she can be ejected before the tank explodes, like a fighter jet). The audience is expected to be enamored with this vehicle. At one scene when it looks like the tank is sure to get away, the background music turns into cocktail-lounge jazz and sparkly lights swirl around the tank. The tank carries six ATGM launchers (which Ken is somehow able to dislodge with minimal trouble, along with a piece of the turret, towards the end of the movie), three to each side of the turret, and a laser-based machine-gun-esque installment, in addition to its rifled main gun. The tank's treads are dual-mounted (the tread is split in half, making four sets of treads for the tank). The employment of the laser, however, seems counter-productive to a machine-gun's mission, as it can only fire once every few seconds. If it can fire at higher rates, it does not do so, and tries to acquire a lock on its pursuer (Blader, in this case). This suggests a low ammunition capacity, unlike thousand-round-and-up machine-guns routinely mounted on modern tanks. It does not appear to have any effect on the road, either, which does not say much about its power. Another tank involved is the MBT-90D, which are dispatched by the Army (or Air Force—the movie never makes it clear if it is a joint effort, although the general who arrives midway into the movie is shown riding in something resembling an ADATS) to take out the tank. Despite having at least a platoon of these, the MBT-99 still evades capture. The M-90Ds are armed with a three-barreled autocannon, the calibre of which may be around fifteen to twenty millimeters. The MBT-90D is equipped with three ATGM missile launchers, on the left side of the turret, and its main cannon is mounted on the front, instead of on a turret. After the MBT-99's hijackers (who appear inside the tank after getting away from a recently-committed bank robbery), hired by a shadowy group, backed by a foreign nation seeking an edge in their military (the M-99 is presumably on its way to be tested at a separate base), are forced out by Ken and his team, Eleanor enters to study the tank, and it starts up on its own, having been programmed by the hijackers to head for a pier and drive off its end so as to rendezvous with an enemy submarine. The rest of the movie is made up of the chase through the city, resulting in the destruction of another bank (owned by the same corporation that built the first bank in the movie), and various collateral damage. Waste of time no matter how I look at it.   Overall Rating: 4/10   33. Andromeda Stories アンドロメダ・ストーリーズ [1982-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Action, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi In the Andromeda galaxy there's a planet of a highly developed human civilisation. The gentle Prince Itaka and another kingdom's beautiful Princess Lilia are about to enter a love-marriage and take over the throne, when they discover a strange object on the nightsky. Later it lands on the planet, and an alien, mechanic civilization invades King Itaka's peaceful country making nearly everybody their slave. On a fateful night Queen Lilia gives birth to twins, and to avoid misfortune, the nanny Tarama takes one of the babies away, and entrusts it to the gladiator Balga. They still don't know, that the children were born with strong powers, and hold the key to the fight against the enemy that's searching to destroy every human civilisation on the planet... A very nice conceptual and interesting story.  But it's not of masterpiece level, not something that would stay in memory forever.   Overall Rating: 5/10   34. Juugo Shounen Hyouryuuki Adrift in the Pacific 十五少年漂流記 [1982-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama  Fifteen young students embark on the boat that should lead them to their families on the coasts of New Zealand. Unfortunately the boat loses its anchor and heads to the open sea in the middle of the night without sailors on it. In the morning, a violent storm prevents the children from sailing back to the harbor. A few days later boat grounds on a deserted island in the Pacific ocean. During 20 months the fifteen children will be left alone and will have to get organized in order to survive. They manage to store up food for the cold winter that will be soon there. Briant, Doniphan, and Gordon lead the group of children who find out that a sailor has lived and died on the island 20 years before. Pretty much everything was obvious from the start. No surprises here.   Overall Rating: 4/10   35. Macross 超時空要塞マクロス [1982-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 12/36) Tags: Mecha, Military, Music, Space Action, Romance, Sci-Fi After a mysterious spaceship crashes into Earth, humanity realizes that they are not alone. Fearing a potential threat from space, the world pushes aside their nationalism, conflicting interests, and cultural differences, unifying under the banner of the United Nations. The newly formed UN forces decide to repurpose the alien spacecraft, naming it SDF-1 Macross. Unfortunately, on the day of its maiden voyage, a fleet of spaceships belonging to a race of aliens known as the Zentradi descend upon Earth, and the SDF-1 Macross, acting of its own accord, shoots down the incoming squadron, sparking an intergalactic war. In an attempt to escape, the Macross tries to launch itself into the Moon's orbit, but the ship—as well as the city it was in—is teleported to the far reaches of space. Caught up in this mess are Hikaru Ichijou, a free-spirited acrobatic pilot, and Minmay Lynn, an aspiring singer. These two, alongside Macross' crew, experience an epic journey rife with grief and drama, coming face-to-face with the cruelties of war along the way. I knew from the start that this anime eventually comes to the power of love and singing, so I wanted to watch up to the moment when normal sci-fi transforms into something else. What I want to notice is that show really takes its time pretending to be a normal sci-fi and turns to viewer from its best sides from the start - great action scenes, logical and easy to follow development, focus on developing characters. Crazy stuff starts around episode 11 as we learn that the biggest danger for aliens is expressions of love... it's a good enough place to stop. It would be an excellent anime without this weird shift, so I can give it a high score, but it can't be a masterpiece for me. .   Overall Rating: 6/10   36. Space Cobra Space Adventure Cobra スペースコブラ [1982-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/31) Tags: Adult Cast, Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Lonely salaryman Johnson laments his meager life, longing for a world of travel and excitement. But after engaging in a hallucinatory experience, he recalls vivid memories of a legendary space pirate named Cobra. WIth the Psychogun attached to his left arm, Cobra had travelled across space with his partner Lady Armaroid. The two formed an infamous team feared by authorities and loathed by the Pirate Guild—a conglomerate of the most powerful pirates in the galaxy, Back on Earth, an encounter at a casino changes Johnson’s life, as his winnings bring him face-to-face with the manager—Pirate Guild boss Vaiken, whom he’d seen defeated by Cobra in his dream. Recognizing Johnson as the disguised Cobra, Vaiken attempts to exact revenge—but instead activates the Psychogun hidden under Johnson’s left arm, triggering his repressed memories and alerting Lady Armaroid. Now after besting Vaiken once again and with his memories restored, Cobra leaves hiding and sets out to stop the Pirate Guild’s interstellar mafia. He and Lady Armaroid traverse space, continuing their life of high-stakes adventure while aiding those wronged by the Guild’s members. Good action, but to get a six it has to offer something substantial to remember it by.   Overall Rating: 5/10   37. Tokimeki Tonight ときめきトゥナイト [1982-IV] Group TAC (Dropped 3/34) Tags: Shoujo Vampire Comedy, Fantasy, Romance The main character, Ranze, is a junior high girl with troubles: her father is a vampire and her mother is a werewolf. Ranze has yet to manifest her supernatural powers, and her parents are beginning to get worried she might be normal. So begins the fantasy romantic comedy story. Well, I never liked Adams family. This one is on par or even worse.   Overall Rating: 4/10   38. Waga Seishun no Arcadia: Mugen Kidou SSX Endless Orbit SSX わが青春のアルカディア・無限軌道ＳＳＸ [1982-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/22) Tags: Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi At the end of Arcadia of My Youth Capitain Harlock and the crew of the space ship Arcadia had been banished from Earth. The Earth, as well as many other planets in the universe had been taken over by the Illumidus, a race of destructive humanoids who ruin, enslave or destroy almost any inhabitable planet they come across. In "Endless Orbit SSX" Harlock battles the Illumidus while searching for a mythical "Planet of Peace" where all the peoples of the universe can live freely and without war. I rated original movie rather low, and this series is worse pretty much on every level.   Overall Rating: 4/10   39. Shin Mitsubachi Maya no Bouken 新みつばちマーヤの冒険 [1982-IV] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Adventure, Comedy  The sequel to Mitsubachi Maya no Bouken. Children anime. First season is tagged on MAL appropriately, and no one cared about second season at all, apparently.   Overall Rating: 4/10   40. Sasuga no Sarutobi Amazing Sarutobi さすがの猿飛 [1982-IV] Tsuchida Productions (Dropped 3/69) Tags: Martial Arts Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance, Sports Nikumaru, meaning "meatball" in Japanese, is a seventeen-year-old student at Ninja High School, a special school for the training of ninja. He is short and chubby, but he possesses a super technique known as the "kamikaze", where he stirs up a whirlwind with his feet. The series introduces his many adventures and pranks as Nikumaru meets with his rivals both in and out of school. Not translated. And that's sad , cause it's the first gang anime from the 1980s and a rather fun one. Theoretically, it might have a similar impact with Great Teacher Onizuka, but one is super obscure and the other one super popular. The maximum score I can give to untranslated anime is 6.   Overall Rating: 6/10   41. Ai no Senshi Rainbowman 愛の戦士レインボーマン [1982-IV] Tsuchida Productions (Dropped 0/22) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi In the mountains of India, a man named Takeshi Yamato gains the abilities of the legendary Rainbow Warrior, allowing him to transform into Rainbowman. With this power, he has to stop aliens from invading the earth. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   42. Cybot Robocchi Robby the Rascal サイボットロボッチ [1982-IV] Knack Productions (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Comedy, Sci-Fi  Apparently inspired largely by Akira Toriyama's popular Dr. Slump, Cybot Robocchi is the story of Robocchi, a fun-loving, mischievous robot with a TV set in his stomach. Robocchi lives in a peaceful village with various other robots, all created by the eccentric and somewhat lecherous Dr. Art Deko. Although he is an android, Robocchi has a warm, kind heart and is always willing to help out a friend in need. With his human girlfriend Kurumi, he gets into a variety of wacky adventures. Lots of chaotic and random humor, plus some perversion..   Overall Rating: 4/10   43. Hitotsuboshi-ke no Ultra Baasan 一ツ星家のウルトラ婆さん [1982-IV] Knack Productions (Dropped 0/13) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life  None Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   44. Ninjaman Ippei 忍者マン 一平 [1982-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/13) Tags: School Action, Comedy, Slice of Life Way out in the sticks, the fourth-graders of the local school in Tokio village all have their own superpowers of doubtful merit, including flying eyeballs and missile-hair. Ippei and his friends study hard to be ninjas, but they are constantly under treat from the arrogant cheats from the neighbouring village of Techno. A strange mix of ninjas and school comedy, based on a children's manga by Kawai Kazuyoshi. Not translated. If Sasuga no Sarutobi is the right way of how to make a ninja comedy, Ninjaman Ippei is the opposite. Primitivism in everything - characters, humor, story.   Overall Rating: 3/10   45. Future War 198X-nen Future War Year 198X Future War 198X年  [1982-IV] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Military Drama An American scientist constructs a laser–satellite with hope to prevent any nuclear conflicts. However, after a fatal error from both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. government, war breaks, and humanity faces a new bloodshed. Very stupid social lesson or whatever this crap is.   Overall Rating: 1/10   46. Rokushin Gattai GodMars (1982) Six God Combination GodMars: The Movie 六神合体ゴッドマーズ (1982) [1982-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Sci-Fi The movie is just a recap of the first 25 episodes of the TV series. A.D. 1982, the planet alignment brought the human beings ordeal we should overcome, and it caused a convulsion on the Earth. During the conflict, a light fell on to the Myojinsho reef, and five lights scattered around the Earth as if they followed it. 17 years had passed since then. A.D. 1999, human beings had developed all of the solar system, and began to embark for outer space. The Earth Defense Army organized an elite squad, Crasher, to provide for various happening in space. Myojin Takeru was the member of the team. He was found in the light fell on to the Myojinsho reef. Actually he was Mars who was born on the planet Gishin. When he grew up, he heard unearthly voice, “Mars, stop the Earthians’ advancement to the space. Explode the Earth” He was a living triggering device that had been sent by Emperor Zure, who plotted to conquer the universe. However, Mars, who had been raised as an Earthian, rejected the order, and made up his mind to face the severe fate. ESP is not the genre I can enjoy, and mecha ESP is even worse.   Overall Rating: 3/10   47. Tsushima Maru: Sayounara Okinawa 対馬丸 -さようなら沖縄- [1982-IV] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Based on the same-named book by Ooshiro Tatsuhiro. A documentary anime retelling the shipwreck of the freight boat Tsushima Maru, which was carrying a class of schoolchildren home in July 1944 when it was attacked and sunk by an American submarine. Produced by the surviving family members of the Tsushima Maru. A highly realistic and carefully crafted film in which the realism is thrown into contrast by the deformed character designs by Kiyomizu Kazutoshi. Not translated. Basically, the story of the crash with premise taking most of the time. The crash happens a the end when there is only a quarter of screen time left, and leftover part is just surviving in the ocean.   Overall Rating: 5/10
  2. kivandopulus

    Anime of the Year 1981 - Jarinko Chie

    By kivandopulus,


    Anime of the Year
    I ended up with choosing just one title as masterpiece - Jarinko Chie - even though there were quite many titles close to that and also some titles without translation that could also fit my criteria otherwise   1. Kazoku Robinson Hyouryuuki: Fushigi na Shima no Flone The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island 家族ロビンソン漂流記ふしぎな島のフローネ [1981-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/50) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Slice of Life 10-year-old Flone is a very active, tomboyish sort of a girl. One day, her father receives a letter from his English friend who is now in Australia. In the letter, the friend asks her father to come down to Australia because of a serious shortage of doctors. The family decides to leave their old house in Bern. Now their drifting voyage has begun! Flone's fantastic adventures will teach children about the importance of family and the joys of living amidst nature's beauty. Another world masterpiece theater series. A long slow-paced SOL about getting to Australia, and it was not particularly interesting for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Time Bokan Series: Yattodetaman Firebird タイムボカンシリーズ　ヤットデタマン [1981-I] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 0/52) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy Throughout history, the quest for power infected mankind. In the future..nothing much changes. The setting for this exciting, funny and intriguing series is the Kingdom of Fir antic, where two royal houses are locked in combat to determine who will become the future ruler of the Kingdom. To secure the throne, one of two must travel through the aeons of time to find the Firebird. Whoever brings it back to Fir antic will rule from the throne of this mysterious country. The story starts in the present.... Here, in the desolate office of the Ace Detective Agency, Detectives Paul Tuck and Tracy Headly are whiling away the time reading magazines, for want of something better to do. Suddenly, a girl appears before them. From her strange dress the pair can just deduce that the girl couldn't possibly be from their time. She begins to speak..."You are quite right. I am from another era. In time, you two will be married, and I will be born from your bloodline many generations hence". The girl's name is Princess Sara of the Kingdom of Fir antic. Paul and Tracy are amazed by the girl's telepathic powers, and even more amazed to be told that they are to be married. But there is more to come. Princess Sara is looking for the Firebird with the use of a Time Tunnel. Paul and Tracy decide that it is their duty to protect their descendent's future. They offer to help Sara on her quest for the Firebird, but Sara has no idea where it is to be found. The only clue she has is that Princess Miranda and her party have come to this time as well. Sara telepathically discovers the whereabouts of their time machine, and our heroes chase after Miranda, who possesses any and all information concerning the Firebird.... There's no English translation, so won't even bother. All those Time Bokan series look so much alike that they start to confuse.   Overall Rating: 0/10   3. Saikyou Robot Daiouja 最強ロボ ダイオージャ [1981-I] Sunrise (Dropped 3/50) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi This is the story of Mito Mitsukuni in mecha style. Prince of the Edon Star, Edward Mito begins a trip to the galaxy with his servant Baron Kalkus, Duke Skead and the ninja girl Shinobu. Under the false identity of Bocchan, Suke and Kaku they help the oppressed people and fight with the super robot Daioja. Mecha with a prince, his funny guards and ninja girl. As you see, made by Sunrise, and it's a stamp of quality for older anime. Comedy is really nice and guards help a lot. Just as in previous such Sunrise anime, Still lacks serious goal, not a masterpiece material still.   Overall Rating: 6/10   4. Mobile Suit Gundam I 劇場版　機動戦士ガンダム I　特別編 [1981-I] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi In the future, with Earth's population rapidly increasing, humanity has developed giant orbiting space colonies gathered in clusters known as "Sides." As the elites on Earth force most of the populace into space, rebellion begins to brew. In the year Universal Century 0079, one of the colony clusters known as Side 3 declares itself the Principality of Zeon and launches a war of independence against the Earth Federation. Despite having only a fraction of the resources of the Federation, Zeon quickly gains the upper hand in the conflict through the use of giant humanoid robots called mobile suits. Chief among Zeon's mobile suit ace pilots is Char Aznable, a mysterious masked man known as the "Red Comet." When Char's squadron comes across the Federation developing its own prototype mobile suit called Gundam in the colony Side 7, his men launch a brutal attack. Amuro Ray, the son of the prototype's developer, gets in the Gundam and is able to fend off the Zeon attack. As Amuro soon finds himself directly in conflict with Char, he is forced to flee the colony on a Federation ship. Wow, what a horrible movie, liked it even less than series. It's depressing , without an ending and with an absolutely irritating cheeky brat murderer protagonist. Just wow.   Overall Rating: 4/10   5. Sayonara Ginga Tetsudou 999: Andromeda Shuuchakueki Adieu Galaxy Express 999 さよなら銀河鉄道999 -アンドロメダ終着駅- [1981-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi Despite the destruction of the mechanization home world Andromeda, the machine empire is still swept across the galaxy and Earth has become a battleground. Having returned from his journey aboard the train Galaxy Express 999, Tetsurou Hoshino joins the resistance and fights alongside others who have retained their humanity. When the 999 returns to Earth, Tetsurou receives an enigmatic recorded message from his former traveling companion Maetel, telling him to board the train once more. Fighting his way to Megalopolis station, he makes it onto the train just as it departs. This time, however, Tetsurou is met with several mysteries: Maetel is nowhere to be seen, an ominous "Ghost Train" has appeared, and the ultimate destination of the 999 is unknown. Amid all this, Tetsurou finds himself confronted by the mysterious black knight Faust and soon discovers the machine empire's darkest secret. It's an epilogue to the series. Can't say I'm impressed. Train itself is barely seen, and with it the leftover humor is gone. Protagonist becomes a tough guerilla rather than a young boy. Nothing really touched me here, so the rating is corresponding.   Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Natsu e no Tobira 夏への扉 [1981-I] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Boys Love, Drama, Romance Marion is a young schoolboy who prides himself on his adherence to a philosophy he calls "rationalism". Because of his disdain for emotional display, he ignores anything remotely akin to affection. But when he's entangled in a romantic affair with an older courtesan, his rationalism is revealed to be little more than a cover for his own emotional immaturity. Learning to love, Marion blossoms under his older lover's care but unfortunately, Marion has yet to learn the true price of the affair. Sleazy weird shoujo-like romance though from the outlook of refined boy. It's not that I don't see value here... I see negative value here.   Overall Rating: 0/10   7. Sekai Meisaku Douwa: Hakuchou no Mizuumi 世界名作童話 白鳥の湖 [1981-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama, Fantasy, Romance When Prince Siegfried spots a beautiful swan with a crown on its head, for some reason he feels compelled to follow it. He discovers that the swan is, in fact, a princess named Odette, who is under a wizard's curse that causes her to become a swan by day. The wizard, Rothbart, wants to keep Odette to himself, and the only thing that can break the spell on Odette is a man who truly loves her, with all his heart and soul... As an anniversary work, rather well animated, but at the same time pretty safe. Just a fairy tale with a bit of improvisation in the mids.   Overall Rating: 4/10   8. Ojamanga Yamada-kun (Movie) おじゃまんが山田くん [1981-I] Kadokawa Shoten (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life None. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   9. Arano no Sakebi Koe: Hoero, Buck The Call of the Wild 荒野の呼び声 吠えろバック [1981-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Drama Based on the novel by Jack London. Buck, a half German Shepherd half Saint Bernard who's life is pretty peaceful and happy living with the Millers’ in California. However, one day he is tricked and sold off. He ends up in the snowy North where he has become a sled dog during the Gold Rush. His story takes many twists and turns and he has to fight for his own survival. Don't watch this anime unless you like dogs beaten to death constantly.   Overall Rating: 1/10   10. Hashire Melos (1981) Run Melos 走れメロス [1981-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Historical Drama Melos, a Greek country man gets arrested accused of conspiracy against the king. The king gives him three days to travel to his sister's wedding while Selinentius the sculptor and friend of Melos stays as a hostage. Will he get back in time before the king executes Selinentius instead of him? Well, it's horrible. The premise is pretty evident, but I hoped for at least some smart move by the end and got nothing. Happy ends just jumps out in contrast to everything happening before. I'm so pissed off.   Overall Rating: 3/10   11. Kaitei Daisensou: Ai no 20,000 Miles 海底大戦争 愛の20,000マイル [1981-I] Tatsunoko Production (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure All the nations of Earth are crumbling before the might of Darius, ruler of the Gabia Empire. Meanwhile, childhood friends Ben and Ricky are sailing on the oceans is search of the lost city of Atlantis. When their ship is sunk they are saved by Captain Nemo in his submarine Nautilus Anime tries to develop Verne's concept of captain Nemo with traditional opposition to despot and some musical. Resolution is too fast, nothing really special spotted.   Overall Rating: 4/10   12. Dr. Slump: Arale-chan Dr.スランプ・アラレちゃん [1981-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/243) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life Dr. Slump creates a little android girl, Arale, who is very stong, happy, and totally common senseless. They live in Penguin Village where the strangest things happen (e.g., the dawn is announced by a little pig wearing a basquee). Nice situational comedy with gags and fine characters. Humor quality is above average, actually, so it's at least easy to watch. Nothing revolutionary concept-wise, and themes are rather mild, so can not be of masterpiece level for me.   Overall Rating: 6/10   13. Hyakujuu-Ou GoLion Voltron: Defender of the Universe 百獣王ゴライオン [1981-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Shounen Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi Golion, a powerful sentient robot, abuses his great powers by attacking and killing creatures known as Deathblack Beastmen, boasting that no one could defeat him. A divine space being punishes Golion for his arrogance and abuse by seperating him into 5 different lion robots. In the year 1999, a group of 5 young men return to Earth after a space voyage, only to find it ravaged by nuclear war. After encountering the alien race known as the Galra, the 5 youths end up on the planet Altea, and learn that the 5 lion robots that Golion was split into are in hibernation in various parts of Altea. Somehow, they must reunite the lions and form Golion, the only hope for the human race. Official dub of old anime is a good enough indicator for simplistic kid titles, and it's exactly such case. Not a single element stands out. The distinguishing feature for me is an additional layer of esper-ish battles.   Overall Rating: 2/10   14. Tiger Mask Nisei タイガーマスク二世 [1981-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/33) Tags: Combat Sports Action, Drama, Sports Second season to the original Tiger Mask, with a different cast of characters. First season left a very bad impression. A glance at second season only proved that it's only a tiny bit better due to some additional characters introduction .   Overall Rating: 3/10   15. Hello! Sandybell ハロー！サンディベル [1981-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 1/47) Tags: Shoujo Adventure, Romance Sandybell is a playful girl from Scotland. She is happy even if her mum died when she was little. Past secrets begin to reveal after Sandybell gets a white lily from a rich lady. After a tragic act Sandybell moves to London where she is trying to find clues to her past. Just one episode is translated, and no desire to go on, really. Story tries to look like world theater masterpiece series, but in fact it's just a rather simple shoujo with normal visuals. All the usual themes or rivalry and jealousy are present. Main heroine is a lot less charismatic than pretty much any child character of the forementioned series.   Overall Rating: 4/10   16. Shin Taketori Monogatari: 1000-nen Joou Queen Millennia 新竹取物語１０００年女王 [19-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/42) Tags: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi The year is 1999. Amamori Hajime is just a normal, everyday elementary school student, trying to study and hanging out with his crazy pals. But then one day as his father is testing a piece of equipment he has been working on, something causes it to blow up, taking the house with it! Now orphaned, Hajime is taken in by his uncle, who is an astronomer. There at his uncle's observatory, he meets a girl he's seen before and developed somewhat of a crush on. He finds out her name is Yukino Yayoi, and her parents run a ramen shop in town. But even better than that, she's his uncle's assistant! What luck! But Yayoi isn't exactly what she seems. There is a reason she helps out Amamori-san at the observatory. She is the Millennial Queen (Sen-Nen Joou), specially chosen by her home planet, LaMetal, to go to Earth and help prepare for the possible annihilation of the planet. What will cause this disaster? LaMetal has an extremely elliptical orbit, which sends it very, very near Earth every 1000 years. When it gets close enough, the earth reacts, causing all sorts of natural disasters. Although she was chosen with the idea of protecting LaMetal in mind, her personal plan is to evacuate as many humans as she can to LaMetal, so if their planet is destroyed, they will survive. However, there is one person who strives to stop her plan, the head of the Millennial Theives. Why does he want to stop Yayoi? And how does he know about the Millennial Queen, anyway? Reusing the same boy and woman image from space express series over and over again seriously irritates. It's fresh to see these characters in ordinary life conditions, plus it's a plot focused story rather than episodic one like space express. At the same time the level of epicism drops significantly , and story moves very slowly with three episodes aren't enough even to retell synopsis. Even without humor series are easy to watch, but I hardly gain anything from separate episodes, so I'd prefer to watch the movie version later on .   Overall Rating: 6/10   17. Meiken Jolie Belle and Sebastian 名犬ジョリィ [1981-II] Visual 80 (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Historical, Pets Adventure After befriending a white Pyrenees dog he names Belle, Sebastian sets out on a journey to find the mother he knows is still alive. I remember at least three previously running anime about kid travelling with a dog, and usually looking for a parent as well. There's an English official dub, so from that alone you can tell that it's rather simple. Adventures and meeting different people are rather expected and nothing special to mention.   Overall Rating: 4/10   18. Ai no Gakkou Cuore Monogatari 愛の学校 クオレ物語 [1981-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Historical, School Drama, Slice of Life Enrico Pocchini is a kind-hearted schoolboy with a strong sense of justice who lives in the Italian town of Torino. As a new term starts, he loses his beloved teacher, Miss Delacci, who is replaced by the stern Sr. Pelboni. Eventually, the boys in Enrico's class come to respect Sr. Pelboni, and learn about love, life and human kindness. Those weird noses... anyway, it's a very slow and boring slice with weird drawing Without humor I seriously can't know what's the targed audience of this show.   Overall Rating: 4/10   19. Ohayou! Spank おはよう！スパンク [1981-II] TMS Entertainment (Dropped 1/63) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life Morimura Aiko is a junior high school student who is short for her age. Her father went on a yacht ten years ago and his whereabouts remained in obscurity. Her mother, a designer for hats, left for Paris, leaving Aiko in the care of her uncle, Mr Fujinami. Aiko had a pet dog, Papi, but it died in a car accident. Around the same time, another dog, Spank, appears before her. Having gone through so many unfortunate events in her life, Spank's presence begins to brighten up Aiko's life and put a smile on her face. Only pilot is translated. Spank is hardly a dog as he walks on two legs most of the time, often dresses clothes etc. It's more like Doraemon who can't talk and thus needs to express emotions vigorously. Comedy part is ok, but nothing special.   Overall Rating: 5/10   20. Wakakusa no Yon Shimai 若草の四姉妹 [1981-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 1/26) Tags: Historical Drama, Slice of Life In the United States, the Civil War has just broken out and Mr March, a physician and father of four daughters, went to the front. Madam March remains alone with her four daughters: the eldest Margaret (Meg), Josephine (Jo) budding writer, a real boy failed, Elisabeth (Beth), the timid passionate piano, and the latest addition, Amy, who loves to draw. The four girls will quickly get to know their neighbor Mr. Lawrence, which they had a little scared at first, but also to his grandson Laurie who at the age of Jo. Together, they go through many hardships, more or less happy, the furies of Aunt March, jealousies, the joys and the war in fabric background, hoping that their father will come back safe and sound.. There seems to be just one episode translated. And the reason is probably that the same story got a much better remake in 1987. This series has worse drawing even compared to full movie that came previously, and plot is mere retelling of the movie with more fillers. I'll wait for the real thing in 1987.   Overall Rating: 4/10   21. Ougon Senshi Gold Lightan Golden Warrior: The Gold Lightan 黄金戦士ゴールド・ライタン [1981-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Mecha When a young boy called Hiro finds what appears to be a broken lighter in an empty field, it changes his life forever. This lighter is actually the Gold Lightan, a robot that fell to Earth from the Robot Dimension. When called upon to defend the Earth from Ivalda the Great's evil robots, Gold Lightan transforms into a giant super robot, known as the Golden Warrior. Gold Lightan joins forces with Hiro's and his gang, the One Pack Rangers to protect the Earth from the evil schemes of Ivalda the Great and his armored forces. Wow, mecha in the form of golden lighter... anyway. There are quite many funny yet shallow characters, but humor is totally inferior to similar older title Muteki Robo Trider G7 from Sunrise .   Overall Rating: 4/10   22. Mechakko Dotakon Mechanical Boy Dotakon めちゃっこドタコン [1981-II] Kokusai Eigasha (Dropped 3/28) Tags: Comedy, Sci-Fi Geeky genius Michiru has already got her Ph.D. in atomic physics (from California university) by the age of 11. But she still longs for a little brother, so she builds her own. Robot boy Dotakon is soon joined by their little robot sister, Chopiko, and the trio embarks on a series of fantastic adventures fueled by Michiru's inventions. Too much chaos happening, so really difficult to experience the raw version as no English translation exists. Most of so called humor here relies on weird antics and same weird inventions .   Overall Rating: 4/10   23. Jarinko Chie じゃりン子チエ [1981-II] Toho (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Drama Jarinko Chie is a movie directed by Takahata in 1981. Based on the very popular manga by Etsumi HARUKI, it is about ten year old Chie, "the most unfortunate girl in Japan", who manages her family diner while her unemployed yakuza father and her mother are separated. This sounds really depressing, but it's actually a very funny comedy. The story is set in Osaka, which has a totally different culture from Tokyo. After the success of the movie, a TV series was made, and Takahata worked as the chief director. Story has great characters and nice humor, thus it's really memorable. I enjoyed it partially, thus a masterpiece score. But all the themes and personalities are still rather simple (only Chie and her mother are more complex), so I can't enjoy it fully and can't give a higher score. But compared to its contemporaries, it's really great and a huge step forward for slice genre with some comedy relief.   Overall Rating: 7/10   24. Helen Keller Monogatari: Ai to Hikari no Tenshi The Story of Hellen Keller: Angel of Love and Light ヘレン・ケラー物語　愛と光の天使 [1981-II] TV Asahi (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama Based on Hellen Keller's (1880-1968) autobiography. Just a biography of a person heavily deprived of senses. With 70 minutes it takes its time to tell the story, but in the end it's really just autobiography with a clear aim of being a tearjerker, not something I could enjoy .   Overall Rating: 4/10   25. Furiten-kun フリテンくん [1981-II] Knack Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Slice of Life Based on the yonkoma manga by Ueda Masashi. It's just many sketches mashed together in a very loose manner. Without coherent story and translation it's just entertaining at best even with the tilt on adult humor.   Overall Rating: 5/10   26. Lupin tai Holmes ルパン対ホームズ [1981-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Mystery Based on a story by Maurice Leblanc. Not found (9 minute excert does not count).   Overall Rating: 0/10   27. Sugata Sanshirou Judo Story 姿三四郎 [1981-II] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Finished 1/1) Tags: Martial Arts Action, Sports In the year 1882, Sanshirou comes to Tokyo seeking for a worthy martial arts teacher. There, he meets Yano - a judo master who single-handedly defeats 39 jujitsu practitioners. Extremely impressed by his skill, Sanshirou decides to become his disciple. Later, Sanshirou falls for Sayo Murai - a girl whose father is a martial arts instructor at the local police department; and he also has to face Higaki Gennosuke, a skilled jujitsu fighter and his greatest rival. Based on a novel by Tsuneo Tomita, which was adapted into a 1943 movie by young Akira Kurosawa. Another boring judo uber alles serious anime. The only good point for me here is that period is apparently very early  20th century with rickshaws still around.   Overall Rating: 4/10   28. Sengoku Majin Goushougun Macron 1 戦国魔神ゴーショーグン [1981-III] Production Reed (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi Mecha, Parody A meteor strikes the Earth and is found to emanate a powerful new energy called Beamler, which is used to power a battle robot, GoShogun, and a teleporting fortress, Good Thunder. The Docougar Crime Syndicate, lead by crime lord Neo Neros, try to steal the secret of the energy from the inventor of GoShogun, but he kills himself rather than let them acquire it. His son is targeted by Neo Neros next, but he is taken in by the crew aboard Good Thunder, who travel the world fighting NeoNeros's forces with GoShogun. There's a more or less adult cast, but it hardly matters with same as usual mecha themes. Did not spot parody tbh apart of the fact that one of enemy generals is a blonde bishounen with a red rose. Pretty average overall.   Overall Rating: 5/10   29. Manga Mitokoumon まんが水戸黄門 [1981-III] Knack Animation (Dropped 3/46) Tags: Historical Mitokomon is the emperor's trusted man with a high sense of justice. He is sent to travel around the country in order to observe the quality of life in each province and run a check on the official's performances and report back to the empror. Along with him are sent two bodyguards, Kaiko (known for his extraordinary power) and Tsuke (known for his amazing swordsmanship). The three men, traveling unknown, face lots of adventure on their journey to bring justice to the citizens and eliminate corruption from the governing system. No translation, but it's not essential as anime is about travel and action. Just aimless adventures, really.   Overall Rating: 4/10   30. Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow 機動戦士ガンダムⅡ　哀・戦士編 [1981-III] Sunrise  (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Action, Drama, Sci-Fi As the War continues, Amuro and the White Base crew must make their way toward the Earth Federation Headquarters, Jaburo. On their way they meet several new enemies and face off against impossible odds. They fight in Operation Odessa to relieve the Earth from the clutches of the Zeon forces. Lives are lost, new friendships are made, and discoveries at every corner. Amuro soon learns that he possesses the powers of the mysterious Newtypes. Direct continuation of first movie that I evaluated very low. Nothing has really changed now.   Overall Rating: 4/10   31. Sirius no Densetsu The Sea Prince and the Fire Child シリウスの伝説 [1981-III] Sanrio (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama, Fantasy, Romance Gods once lived on earth, and two siblings, Oceanus - God of Water, and Hyperia - Goddess of Fire, lived in peace and dearly loved each other. However, the God of Wind, Algaroc, become jealous of the pair's happiness, and spread lies and deceit between them until their hatred for each other brought about war. Finally, Algaroc was imprisoned by the King of Gods, but after that time, the brother and sister still despised each other, so the Children of Fire and Water forever remained apart. But, then Prince Syrius of the Water and Princess Malta of the Fire meet and fall in love. The love of Syrius and Malta may not be enough to surpass their parents' hatred. Whether they can stay together forever may be impossible Disney imitation with rival parties love and some action, feels really weak.   Overall Rating: 4/10   32. Ashita no Joe 2 (Movie) あしたのジョー２ [1981-III] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Finished 1/1) Tags: Combat Sports Drama It has been six months since the tragic accident in Joe and Rikiishi's fight. Joe believes he has overcomed Rikiishi's death and decides to make a comeback. Joe does make a successful comeback by scoring 5 KO's by body blows. Joe is then given a shot at the national title as a means by the boxing commission to put him down. The champion, Tiger Ozaki makes use of Joe's habits and ends up making Joe's corner throw in the towel. Joe is afraid to throw punches at the face because of what happened to Rikiishi. Youko, Joe's love interest and the owner of the gym where Rikiishi trained at recruits a world ranked boxer from Venezuela, Carlos Rivera, to get Joe back on his feet and pursue his boxing career to the regional and world rank Well, hooligan romance is gone, and second movie is mostly about sport. I'd say it's loses quite some charm in comparison. Also, more drama lingers.   Overall Rating: 5/10   33. Dr. Slump Movie 01: Arale-chan Hello! Fushigi Shima Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: Hello! Wonder Island Dr.スランプ アラレちゃん ハロー！不思議島 [1981-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Sci-Fi Professor Senbei finds a videotape of his deceased father providing instructions on how to create a love potion. The main ingredient is a tear of the evil Gyaasuka Daimao who lives at the Wonder Island. To retrieve it, Senbei takes Arale and Gatchan on a wacky adventure. Basically, just a longer than usual episode in the same direction as the series.   Overall Rating: 5/10   34. Yuki Yuki: Snow Fairy ゆき [1981-III] Mushi Production (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mythology Adventure, Fantasy Up in Heaven, Yuki’s grandparents decide that, having turned thirteen years old, she must go down to Earth to a village that is torn by bandits and intervene to save its people. However, if she does not succeed within one year, she will become as insubstantial as the wind. Down in the village, Yuki is befriended by a group of orphans whose parents have been killed by the bandits and who now subsist by begging. Yuki amazes them by taming the wild horse Blizzard. She is instrumental in getting the orphans and farmers to stand up to first the warring bandits and then Goemon, the greedy lord that owns the region. Yuki must then face her greatest challenge when the displeased Demon God that lives in the volcano emerges to destroy those who live beneath. It reminded me the best anime of 60s in my opinion Taiyou no Ouji as it's again newcomer helping villagers and facing divine providence, but it does not live up to the predecessor's level, so can't rate it as high.   Overall Rating: 6/10   35. 21 Emon Uchuu e Irasshai! ２１エモン　宇宙へいらっしゃい！ [1981-III] Shin-Ei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Comedy, Sci-Fi The story tells the adventures of the boy, 21 emon, engaged in the management of a hotel belonging to his family for years. In his problems, 21 emons is helped by the robot Gonsuke and the little alien Monga. Not translation. As I understood , Emon is 21st Emon in the dynasty of hotel keepers. Anime has mild humor, so it's primarily for kids. No surprise that Emon did cross-overs with Doraemon. The setting provides all kinds of possible alien guests, so humor is mostly based on encounters and cultural differences with them. Can't say I could enjoy it.   Overall Rating: 4/10   36. Captain Movie キャプテン 劇場版 [1981-III] Eiken (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Team Sports The movie focuses on a game between Sumiya 2 and Aoba Gakuin. No translation. Watched it for some reason... probably just because could find it. But first Captain movie was so plain that there was not a single chance for success from the start.   Overall Rating: 4/10   37. Kyoufu Densetsu Kaiki! Frankenstein The Monster Of Frankenstein 恐怖伝説　怪奇！フランケンシュタイン [1981-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi Airing on TV Asahi in 1981, with a running time of 111 minutes, Frankenstein is a reasonably standard retelling of the classic book by Mary Shelley. In a foreboding castle scientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein performs a hideous experiment which he hopes will bring the dead back to life. With the help of his assistant he is successful in reanimating a man recreated from parts gathered from corpses but the creature is unpredictable and horrifying. The doctor flees back to his home in Switzerland leaving his assistant in charge of destroying the monster. But Dr. Frankenstein soon finds that he cannot hide from his shameful secret forever as mysterious murders are committed around him forcing him to question if his creation really is dead and gone... As usual, anime does not stop at retelling the book, but tries to develop on it like the fact that Frankenstein befriends some people eventually which is hard to imagine in the book. All that is pretty stupid, as for me.   Overall Rating: 3/10   38. Anime-ban Toukaidou Yotsuya Kaidan アニメ版 東海道・四谷怪談  [1981-III] Kansai Telecasting (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Historical Horror, Supernatural An adaptation of Yotsuya Kaidan, a classic Japanese horror story about a ghost getting revenge. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   39. Urusei Yatsura うる星やつら [1981-IV] Pierrot, Studio Deen (Dropped 5/195) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi Not much is notable about the lecherous Ataru Moroboshi, but his extraordinary bad luck sticks out like the horns in an alien's head. When Earth is threatened by a fleet of alien invaders known as the Oni, Ataru is selected to represent humanity in a duel against one of them. It's a stroke of rare luck for Ataru that the duel is in fact a game of tag, and that his opponent is Lum, daughter of the Oni's leader, who places her personal dignity above victory—as Ataru finds out by seizing Lum's bikini top and with it, victory. However, misfortune kicks in again when Lum mistakes Ataru's promise to marry his girlfriend, Shinobu Miyake, as the desire to wed Lum herself, and decides she rather likes the idea. Wielding her influence as an alien princess, she moves in with him. Forced to deal with the consequences of his womanizing ways, Ataru must balance his crumbling relationship with Shinobu while keeping Lum happy, all the while flirting with every woman he meets. RomCom with elements of ecchi , love triangle squared as many new characters show up - that's definitely first of its kind! It's super easy to watch - good animation, warm colors, super easy to follow because of great directorship. On the grand scale I realize it's of episodic nature with almost 200 episodes in, there's nothing really to pursue or follow. I could rate it a bit higher, but the longer it goes, the less exciting it becomes.   Overall Rating: 5/10   40. Uchuu Densetsu Ulysses 31 Ulysses 31 宇宙伝説ユリシーズ31 [1981-IV] Shin-Ei Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts Comedy, Slice of Life It is the thirty-first century. Ulysses killed the giant Cyclops when he rescued the children and his son, Telemachus. But the ancient gods of Olympus are angry and threaten a terrible revenge: Ulysses is sentenced to travel through the universe of Olympus with a frozen crew on a quest to find the Kingdom of Hades. Only when he has found the Kingdom of Hades will his crew be free of their curse and he will be able to return to Earth and to his beloved Penelope. You know that I always have doubts about officially dubbed old anime. And I definitely have questions when I see Greek mythology heroes flying in space on a space ship... as it puts a dent in the credibility and tries to teach something instead. Well, maybe this anime is not primitive as many dubbed contemporaries , but it's still really simplistic and childish. There are only three protagonists and a generic episode presents adventure on a new planet. I don't find it interesting at all, can't put even average score.   Overall Rating: 4/10   41. Dash! Kappei ダッシュ勝平 [1981-IV] Tatsunoko Production, Tama Production (Dropped 20/65) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Sports, Ecchi Kappei is a dramatically short guy but he is a master in every sport. He lives as a guest in sweet Akane's house, and he's in love with her, but there's a strange rival, her dog Salomone (Italian name) who plans evil traps to encumber Kappei. But the dog has also another function: he explains all sport rules when a new sport is depicted. Kappei is fond of white female underwear, always trying to lift girl's skirts up. Wow, the moment I said that Urusei Yatsura is the first ecchi rom-com there's another genre representative at the very same time! It always fascinated me how the same thought often comes to different people at relatively the same time. Damn, it's so hilarious. Competing for a girl ... with a dog who wants to marry her! Unlike Yatsura, there are no restraints here, so it's pantsu-fest with all kind of crazy funny twists. Don't expect a development or something serious, but for entertainment it's just right. I try to measure my attitude at different episodes, and after first 12 episodes it was a firm 7. Then there was a micro tournament, then some sci-fi episodes, then it finally returned to SOL with some sci-fi elements. After 20 episodes decided to drop it as it stopped to please me - after all , it's really hard to keep going with dozens of episodes of episodic nature without loss of saturation. Sadly, can't keep the score of 7 as I could not even finish it myself.   Overall Rating: 6/10   42. Taiyou no Kiba Dagram 太陽の牙ダグラム  [1981-IV] Sunrise (Dropped 6/75) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Military Drama, Sci-Fi The story is centered around a small group of guerilla freedom fighters on a colonial planet named Deployer, who are known as the "Deployer 7", or "Sun Fang" team. In an unexpected coup, the elected Governor of Deployer becomes dictator and rules Deployer under martial law with the support of Earth's Federation. Fighting for independence from Earth's Federation influence, the freedom fighters begin a rebellion against the Federation's Combat Armors using a Combat Armor of their own: the Dougram. This is what Gundam should have been from the start. Also civil war with the use of battle suits, but now it has structure , team play and no irritating characters. And it's from my favorite studio of the 80s Sunrise. At the same time I'm not ready to watch it to the end and call it a masterpiece. There are many small reasons for it. Story is very slow to unfold. There are a lot of characters , but none of them really stand out as special. There are a lot of events happening in different  places , and shifts between these events are rather harsh. Series needs higher quality resolution and normal softsubs to shine. In the end , I just don't feel involved enough to go further, but I'd gladly watch both movie versions that come in 1983.   Overall Rating: 6/10   43. Maicching Machiko-sensei Miss Machiko まいっちんぐマチコ先生 [1981-IV] Pierrot (Dropped 20/95) Tags: School Comedy, Ecchi Machiko Mai is the newest teacher at Asama Elementary; she's young, beautiful, and has the perfect proportions—traits that attract the attention of not only her students, but the rest of the perverted faculty as well. Whether it's luring her in and spraying up her skirt with a hose or leaps and bounds to grab her breasts, there's nothing that Machiko's first year students won't try to do. Regardless of her embarrassing plight, Machiko is always a good sport and tries her best to help out her students—at any cost to her dignity! Lol, just after perverted Kappei there's something even more flashy. Anyway, Kappei had more interesting characters and more ingenuity in it. At the same time Kappei had to focus on sports a lot and lost perversity as it went on. Machiko-sensei did not bother with complex concepts from the start, so it remains lighter and more pervy in comparison. It allows to watch it for a longer time, but makes it less memorable. After 10th episode it also starts to go astray with sci-fi and heartful episodes. I enjoyed both anime on comparable level, so the same score .   Overall Rating: 6/10   44. Wanwan Sanjuushi Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds ワンワン三銃士 [1981-IV] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Historical Adventure The story begins with the arrival of a brave young boy in Paris. His ambition is to join the glorious Imperial Guards, but fierce competition and the minimum age requirement hinder him from joining. The boy then challenges the well-known Three Musketeers in order to demonstrate his excellent skills with the sword. However, at the very moment the fight begins, a power-hungry group cuts in. Realizing their wicked intention, the boy D'artagnan and the Three Musketeers quickly cooperate and defeat them. This is the beginning of their friendship and commitment to fight conspiracy. Another officially dubbed old anime. I found it endlessly boring, probably because I know the story from so many sources already, and all the antics introduced for comedy relief irritate instead.   Overall Rating: 5/10   45. Rokushin Gattai GodMars God Mars 六神合体ゴッドマーズ [1981-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/64) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Sci-Fi In the year 1999, humanity begins to advance beyond the solar system. The planet Gishin, led by the Emperor Zule, which aims to conquer the galaxy, runs into conflict with Earth. He targets Earth for elimination and to do this, he sends a baby called Mars to live among humanity. Accompanying the baby is a giant robot named Gaia, which utilizes a new power source strong enough to destroy an entire planet. As planned, Mars is expected to grow up, where he will activate the bomb within Gaia to fulfill the mission of destroying the Earth. However, when Mars arrives on Earth his is adopted into a Japanese family and given the name Takeru. Seventeen years later, Takeru would grow up with a love for humanity and refuses to detonate the bomb as ordered by Zule. However, if Takeru was to die, the bomb within Gaia would explode destroying the earth. Takeru possesses psychic powers ( ESP ) and decides to join the Earth defense forces and becomes a member of the Crasher Squad (an elite space defense force) where he and his friends take a last stand against the Gishin's attack. The relationship of Takeru with his brother Maag, which fate would have it, pitted the two against each other in the war. Unknown to the Gishin five other robots were created in secrecy along side Gaia by Takeru's father and sent with Gaia to protect Takeru. Whenever Earth is in danger, Takeru is able to summon the five other robots to combine with Gaia form the giant robot Godmars. The five other robots are Sphinx, Uranus, Titan, Shin and Ra. ESP plus mecha is one of my most hated genre combination. Super simplistic, as usual .   Overall Rating: 3/10   46. Ginga Senpuu Braiger Galactic Whirlwind Braiger 銀河旋風ブライガー  [1981-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 4/39) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi In the year 2111, the solar system has been colonized. The colonized moons and planets are lawless and the police are helpless. In order to battle the evil within the solar system, Isaac Godonov creates J9, made up of himself, Blaster Kid, Stephen Bowie, and Angel Omachi. They are a team that will handle any missions the police will not with their robot Braiger... for a price. Meanwhile, the Nubia section of Earth has a plan to destroy Jupiter to create 30 more planets for human colonization. But this plan will result in the destruction of Earth. Space crew travels around , takes up missions and fulfils it with the help of mecha. Since protagonists aren't developed well and story is of episodic nature, it fells more like half-baked reincarnation of Captain Harlock than something new.   Overall Rating: 4/10   47. Honey Honey no Suteki na Bouken Honey Honey's Wonderful Adventures ハニーハニーのすてきな冒険 [1981-IV] Kokusai Eigasha (Dropped 2/29) Tags: Shoujo Historical Adventure Glamorous Paris, entrancing Venice, romantic Rome and irresistible Vienna... These alluring cities of enchantment invite you to witness the story of a young girl who unexpectedly becomes entangled in daring adventures and rollicking romance. Vienna, 1907. Princess Flora, the one and only idol of the entire nation, is celebrating her birthday. Flora is young, beautiful, single and the object of all the men`s desire. A classical shoujo that even got an official dub... which for me equals deadly boring. Princess, castles, bishounens, villains, cute animal and a lot of sparks - all the cliché elements are present.   Overall Rating: 3/10   48. Jarinko Chie (TV) じゃりン子チエ [1981-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 7/64) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Drama Jarinko Chie is a movie directed by Takahata in 1981. Based on the very popular manga by Etsumi HARUKI, it is about ten year old Chie, "the most unfortunate girl in Japan," who manages her family diner while her unemployed yakuza father and her mother are separated. This sounds really depressing, but it's actually a very funny comedy. The story is set in Osaka, which has a totally different culture from Tokyo. After the success of the movie, a TV series was made, and Takahata worked as the chief director. There's no translation, so it can't beat movie already. A lot of first episodes, like six at least, mostly retell the movie with some additional unneeded scenes like most of those scenes were cool while unfinished , and now everything is developed to contain a logical resolution or source, so it's more of a slice and less of a cool gig. I guess it's closer to manga now this way and I'd sure watch it to the end if there was translation.   Overall Rating: 6/10   49. Shin Dokonjou Gaeru 新・ど根性ガエル [1981-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/30) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Slice of Life Continuation of Dokonjougaeru series. Original had only some 20 translated episodes, and sequel has zero which determines the top score it can get from me. Feels a bit old-school now with two stories in each episode, but it still got its grip.   Overall Rating: 6/10   50. Uchuu Senshi Baldios (Movie) 宇宙戦士バルディオス [1981-IV] Kokusai Eigasha (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Sci-Fi This film supplied the ending to the cancelled Space Warrior Baldios television series. So TV series got cancelled and it was not just me who did not like the anime. Great anime if you want to see the Earth contaminated by a hundred of nuclear bombs. I tried to find something positive in the anime, and it's just horrible.   Overall Rating: 4/10   51. Rennyo to Sono Haha Rennyo and His Mother 蓮如とその母 [1981-IV] (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Historical Rennyo was the key figure responsible for the restoration of Shin Buddhism in Japan, in particular the Honganji lineage, during a slump in its fortunes during the Middle Ages. According to legend, his motivation was a pivotal childhood incident at the age of just six when his mother summoned him and informed him of his destiny to revive the fortunes of the Honganji school to which he was the next in line. She then mysteriously disappeared from the temple. Taking her words to heart, from a background of great poverty and hardship, at the age of 16 he set out to spread the word across the land. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   52. Manga Hana no Kakarichou まんが花の係長 [1981-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Slice of Life Based on the comedy manga by Sonoyama Shunji. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   53. Manzai Taikouki マンザイ太閤記 [1981-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Seinen  Historical Comedy None Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   54. Bokura Mangaka: Tokiwasou Monogatari  ぼくらマンガ家 トキワ荘物語 [1981-IV] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life Tokiwa was the apartment complex where a group of stellar artists lived in 1953. Hiro Terada, Motoo Abiko and Hiroshi Fujimoto, Shotaro Ishinomori, and Fujio Akatsuka shared the trials and tribulations of being struggling young artists and writers with no money and no luck with editors or girls, with a spirit of insane youthful enthusiasm that enabled them to survive the lean years and emerge as stars of the manga firmament. There's no translation and the only quality available is 160x120 pixels which makes it physically painful to watch. It's pretty nice humor-wise, but not outstanding.   Overall Rating: 5/10   55. Chiisana Love Letter: Mariko to Nemunoki no Kodomo-tachi 小さなラブレター まり子とねむの木の子供たち [1981-IV] TV Asahi (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Music, School Drama A follow-up to the same studio's Helen Keller anime, A Little Love Letter kept the handicapped theme but focused on a wholly Japanese story. During the 1970s, actress Mariko Miyagi became heavily involved in the Silk Tree Academy (Nemunoki Gakuen), a rehabilitation center for disabled children. She appeared in several live-action films to promote the project, including The Silk Tree Ballad, Mariko-Mother, and Children Drawing Rainbows. This anime charts the 14-year period of Miyagi's stewardship of the academy and her relationships with several of the children. Divided into four seasonal chapters, the film uses highly realistic character designs based on the actual people involved and features storyboarding from the versatile Star Blazers-director Noboru Ishiguro. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10
  3. kivandopulus
    AI: Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative and Yumahorome ~Toki o Tometa Yakata de Asu o Sagasu Maigo-tachi~ can be safely called masterpieces this month.   1. Eiga Go-toubun no Hanayome ~Kimi to Sugoshita Itsutsu no Omoide~ 映画 五等分の花嫁　～君と過ごした五つの思い出～ [220602] MAGES. GAME The Quintessential Quintuplets the Movie: Five Memories of My Time with You features a multi-ending story that changes depending on which sister you confess your feelings to. It is every The Quintessential Quintuplets fan’s dream situation: "Uesugi Fuutarou confesses his feelings to each of the five sisters." The player can craft Uesugi Fuutarou’s future with their own hands. There are 15 possible endings. Plus, there is a hidden route that can be unlocked after watching the ending for each of the five sisters, allowing you to enjoy the game many times over. The game also features an original story set during a graduation trip to Okinawa. The player, Uesugi Fuutarou, goes sightseeing in Okinawa with the five sisters. It even features live-action sightseeing movies, so you can feel as if you are really on a trip to Okinawa with the five sisters. During the trip, Fuutarou strives to kiss the one he confesses to and secure a future for his long-distance relationship. Will he get his kiss? That depends on the player. Console exclusive   2. AI: Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative AI: ソムニウムファイル ニルヴァーナイニシアチブ [220623] Spike Chunsoft 1 Six years ago, the right half of a corpse was discovered. The left half was never found…until six years later, completely fresh with no signs of decay. Now, Special Agents Mizuki and Ryuki, along with their AI partners Aiba and Tama, are tasked to solve the bizarre Half Body serial killings while unveiling the mysterious plot known only as the Nirvana Initiative… Game is released in English and has English reviews.     3. Amaemi-longing for you- アマエミ-longing for you- [220624] Azarashi Soft The protagonist, Nabeshima Tatsuya, was a world-renowned painter. However, after a certain incident, he disappeared from the public eye. Now as a social studies teacher, he spends his days away from the art world. He lives in seclusion with his cat in his social studies preparation room, which is his own residence, away from the public eye. However, with the arrival of the new school semester, a new wind begins to blow. Kusunoki Iroha, an attractive girl who adores Tatsuya. Kurusu Sakuya, the most talented girl in the school, who is mysteriously attracted to Tatsuya; and Akebi Saki, the daughter of Tatsuya's former teacher. A life of dullness, like being dead inside while living. Now it is being colored in gorgeous and vibrant colors by the three girls. Rich visuals and thin content. Heroines like protagonist and compete for him from the start. Game is advertised as "Human drama", but it mostly concerns protagonist who can't draw anymore because of it  .     4. Sora no Ao to Shiro to / Mabataki no Natsu  空の青と白と／瞬きの夏 [220624] Barista Lab Main character is about to abandon his school club when he meets an unfamiliar girl in his club room. The girl turns out to be fan of his novel and is anxious to read the continuation. This summer a new page of creation, youth and love is turned. Another single heroine vanilla nukige.     5. Yumahorome ~Toki o Tometa Yakata de Asu o Sagasu Maigo-tachi~ ゆまほろめ ~時を停めた館で明日を探す迷子たち~ [220624] Lump of Sugar ――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! Lump of Sugar provides a stamp of quality, but scenario is schematic. Frozen time, girls with problems, and there's nothing behind it, and Grand route also provides no development or revelation, so only nice if you don't expect a big mystery.   6. EVE ghost enemies  [220630] El Dia Kojiroh Amagi’s Story A mysterious incident occurs at a countryside mansion involving the death of a influential man from the village. There were rumors that his death was brought by a curse passed on as a village legend… Bored and bored and bored… All Kojiroh had to do was to brew coffee everyday, until his rival Yayoi Katsuragi brought in a job. It was a request specifically placed for Genzaburo Katsuragi. Kojiroh heads to Sawashirodo Village as a substitute for Yayoi. Awaiting him there was Kougen Sawashiro, a powerful man in the economic world and Genzaburo’s old friend, nearly 100 years-old and unable to leave his bed. “I want you to investigate the cause of my son’s death.” There were rumors that his death was brought by a curse passed on as a village legend. “He was killed by ‘Gururi.'” The incident occurred at a mansion overlooking the water known as “Mizumorikan.” The strange death of the village’s influential man. Will Kojiroh be able to reach the truth? Marina Houjou’s Story A super-technology weapon that was smuggled to Japan. A joint investigation with the CIA unveils surprising truths… Marina Houjou is a first-class investigator who has returned to Japan after a long time overseas. Although the Japanese Cabinet Information Research Office (CIRO) is currently seeking intelligence sharing cooperation with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), she is being kept far out of focus due to her being a troublemaker. During that time, she encounters an runaway car explosion in the city. The explosion was caused by “Ever3,” an unknown inhumane weapon that was brought into Japan to stop the cooperation between the CIRO and CIA. This incident caused Marina to investigate “Ever3” with the CIA, and reunited her with Sherry Mea, an old friend who has become a CIA investigator. Surprising truths come to surface as the investigation of the super-technology carries on. Will Marina be able to find the true enemy and realize the future she desires? Console exclusive.  
  4. kivandopulus
    Marked just one title as masterpiece in 1980 - Hi no Tori 2772: Ai no CosmoZone   1. Tom Sawyer no Bouken The Adventures of Tom Sawyer トム・ソーヤーの冒険 [1980-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/49) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Slice of Life Tom Sawyer is a young boy growing up along the Mississippi River in the mid 1800s. Along with his best friend Huckleberry Finn, he spends his days ditching school, fishing, climbing trees and having adventures. We've seen Huck adventures anime and not it's Tom's. Quite good, but for those who read Mark Twain's books already nothing really new.   Overall Rating: 6/10   2. Mahou Shoujo Lalabel 魔法少女ララベル [1980-I] (Dropped 3/49) Tags: Mahou Shoujo Comedy, Slice of Life Lalabel is a magical girl who arrives in the Human world to stop an evil wizard from stealing various magical objects or items. As a magical girl, she has a kitty for a companion and a magic wand. Coincidentally, she lands on the doorstep of the Tachibana couple and lives in with them during her stay in the human world. She attends the local school and begins to learn about the different things in the human world. Having a very strong deja vu here. I guess the closest one was Majokko Megu-chan. Everything is secondary here and no unique features spotted.   Overall Rating: 3/10   3. Mori no Youki na Kobito-tachi: Belfy to Lillibit The Littl' Bits 森の陽気な小人たち ベルフィーとリビット [1980-I] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy This family-friendly series features a community of tiny forest pixies living in a quaint, old fashioned village. Kind-hearted Belfy, adventurous Lillibit, mischievous Napoleon and tiny Chuchuna have adventures with their friends and help out those around them. With the guidance of wise village elder Ronji, competent (but not always sober) Doctor Dokkorin, authoritative Mayor Maymond and Lillibit's hardworking parents Rock and Marla, the children learn lessons about kindness, friendship, courage, hard work, perseverance, following your dreams, standing up for what's right and rising up to face life's unexpected challenges. Gnomes are cute and funny. I'd gladly watch more episodes, but, alas, there's no translation to go further.   Overall Rating: 6/10   4. Muteki Robo Trider G7 Invincible Robo Trider G7 無敵ロボトライダーG7 [1980-I] Sunrise (Dropped 3/50) Tags: Mecha, Space Comedy, Sci-Fi Takeo Watta inherits a company upon his father's death. The company focuses on space travel, and the transformable robot Trider-G7 is their greatest creation. When an evil space organization lead by Lord Zakuron starts attacking Earth, Watta has to use Trider in a more combat-oriented way. Number in mecha anime titles usually means the number of team members, so the only intrigue for me was what G7 meant, and it's more or less true for this anime. However, Sunrise managed to surprise me as it made a totally cliche mecha into a really nice situation comedy with alive feeling characters. Sadly, second half is same transformation scene and rather boring fight each time. Also concept is clear and bears no plot intrigue. Still this anime for me marks the era when animation studios begin to matter as they can make even horrible concepts fun. The best mecha anime I've seen so far.  Overall Rating: 6/10   5. Time Bokan Series: Time Patroltai Otasukeman タイムボカンシリーズ タイムパトロール隊 オタスケマン [1980-I] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 2/53) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi  Burning with ambitions to become the most beautiful woman, the most renowned scientist, and the greatest hero the world has ever known, three villains, Atasha, Sekobitchi and Duwarusuki, unite. The trio are Time Patrollers, the keepers and protectors of the annals of history. But, this is only a cover for the trio, as the villains are league with a nefarious leader, who is trying to alter the course of history to suit his desires, and, under his instructions, the trio travel in time with the aim of tampering with recorded history. Only Hikaru and Nana, disguised as the Otasukemen, stand between the villains and their goals. Villains and saviors teams are now rivals starting from the same point. Saviors are now red-haired, and main antagonist girl bearing most of fan-service has gone from cool blonde in black leather to rather plain-looking green haired girl. And since this show always was based on humor around antagonists, due to new antagonist girl a third of it just looks worse now. For this reason it's arguably the worst part in the series for this reason as concept remains the same more or less even though humor improves each time.   Overall Rating: 4/10   6. Maeterlinck no Aoi Tori: Tyltyl Mytyl no Bouken Ryokou メーテルリングの青い鳥 チルチルミチルの冒険旅行 [1980-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 1/26) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy  On a snowy Christmas Eve, Tyltyl and Mytyl sit in their home. Normally, they would be caught up in the Christmas spirit, but their mother has taken ill. So that evening, they lie awake, unable to sleep, when through the window crashes a strange, mercurial magical spirit named Berylune, who reveals that the world we live in isn't the only one there is. And so Tyltyl and Mytyl, accompanied by various spirits, as well as their now-humanoid pets, are led on a journey to find the blue bird of happiness and save their mother, and along the way they visit some strange and wondrous places, and finally, must face the spirit of darkness to attain their elusive goal. From the only translated episode it's evident that protagonists are simpleton and target audience is kids.   Overall Rating: 3/10   7. Doraemon Movie 01: Nobita no Kyouryuu Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Dinosaur 映画 ドラえもん のび太の恐竜 [1980-I] Shin-Ei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Time Travel Adventure, Comedy Nobita finds a fossilized dinosaur egg by accident, and with the help of Doraemon's tools, they hatched the egg and began raising the dinosaur. Knowing that they can't keep the dinosaur forever, Nobita was forced to send it back to prehistoric times where a group of hunters from the future threatens to endanger the dinosaurs. Determined to save the dinosaurs from the claws of the hunters, Doraemon and the gang returns to the past and sets out in a prehistoric adventure. MAL again did not mark a kid anime properly even though it blocked series all right as kid content. Anyway, Doraemon first aired in 1973 and inherited classical Japanese family from anime of the 1960s like Perman etc . Humor is indeed ok here, but too mild, as expected.   Overall Rating: 4/10   8. Ashita no Joe (Movie) あしたのジョー (1980) [1980-I] Mushi Production (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Drama, Sports An abridged remake of the first Ashita no Joe TV series, released in 1980 to provide back-story for the second TV series to new fans who were not familiar with the first TV series or the manga. It's nice to finally see the whole story, but even I have to admit that all the humanly and humorous pieces got cut, like most of interaction with homeless children. I'm no spokon fan to watch this series in full, but for anime researcher it's important to know where Hajime no Ippo comes from.   Overall Rating: 5/10   9. Hi no Tori 2772: Ai no CosmoZone 火の鳥 ２７７２ 愛のコスモゾーン [1980-I] Tezuka Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi In the distant future, on a dying Earth, human beings are synthetically produced and raised by artificial intelligence to hold specific roles in society. Among them lives Godo Shingo, a candid young cadet who demonstrates uncommon kindness toward living creatures and robots alike. Although Godo's superiors ridicule him for showing attachment to his nursemaid robot, Olga, he makes quite an impression as a sharpshooter and is entrusted with a special task—to capture the legendary immortal bird Phoenix, which has destroyed countless spaceships. However, his life changes dramatically after falling in love with Rena, the president's daughter who is also the fiancée of Rock Holmes—the Chief of the Science Department. After the pair fails to elope, they are separated, and Godo is sentenced to prison camp labor. Luckily for him, their companions Olga and Pincho—Rena's alien pet—escape unnoticed and come to his rescue. Hi no Tori 2772: Ai no CosmoZone follows an engaging adventure in outer space, exploring the idea of selfless love as an unparalleled power. Tezuka works are pieces of art, and I'm getting surprised each time. With sound decisions, directorship and even animation moves. And for those who watched previous Tezuka movies, there are quite a few easter eggs laid around. It's real classic, and I'm ashamed I had not known about it at all. It was difficult for me to recommend previous works as they had nudity in it which is not universally welcome. In Hi no Tori 2772 there are same playful adult themes played out, but without depiction. The big question for me was whether it's a 7 or an 8, and I could not decide till the end, and ending is not the thing that would stay in memory forever, so let it be a 7.   Overall Rating: 7/10   10. Ie Naki Ko (Movie) 家なき子 [1980-I] TMS Entertainment (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Slice of Life Remi, an orphan kid gets hired out to a traveling street entertainer Vitalis when her foster parents fall on hard times. MAL kinda set me up again as series got disabled as for kids, and recap movie was not. I would not want to watch 51 episode of slow old-school slice-of-life anyway. Well, as for me, this anime tries to squeeze a tear excessively. Overall , liked it less than other world masterpiece theater series. Aimless slow adventure that ends with nothing as well - a disappointment.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Nodoka Mori no Doubutsu Daisakusen Peter of Placid Forest のどか森の動物大作戦 [1980-I] Nippon Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Fantasy With Peter the fairy as chairman, the animals of Placid Forest gather in a meeting to discuss the villagers' plan to cut down all the trees in the forest. They decide to stage a protest in the hope of preserving the woods, but the greedy men will not listen to their warning. The animals are forced to carry out one final operation. Haha, I remember a newer Miyazaki story Pom Poko about tanuki revenge with plot almost exactly like that - good to know where the roots of that come from. As for this anime, can't say it has anything I had not expected of it beforehand - as soon as gnome Peter nature got revealed .   Overall Rating: 5/10   12. Densetsu Kyojin Ideon Space Runaway Ideon 伝説巨神イデオン [1980-II] Sunrise (Finished 39/39) Tags: Mecha, Space Drama, Sci-Fi Mankind has traveled to the stars and come across various alien civilizations, now long dead. Upon discovering the archaeological remains of such a civilization on the planet Solo, humanity finally has its first encounter with a living alien species: the Buff Clan. When Karala Ajiba, the daughter of the Buff Clan's military leader, sets foot on the surface of Solo, the Buff Clan launches a brutal assault on the colony to retrieve her. In order to escape, Cosmo Yuki, Kasha Imhof, and Bes Jordan climb aboard three trucks, which soon transform into the giant humanoid robot Ideon. When the settlement on Solo is destroyed, the survivors board a recently discovered spaceship—the Solo Ship—and flee, endeavoring to get away from the aliens and finally find peace. The relentless Buff Clan, however, is still in hot pursuit and will not give up so easily. Anime tries to be serious and realistic and at the same time be about giant transforming mecha. It's better than traditional heroic mecha, but with rather bland characters and insignificant humor fails to impress right away. Story is slow-paced, but rather dark somewhat close to forthcoming Evangelion, so I had to watch it all. What I can say is that story might be nice if it was not artificially extended so much - a lot of episodes feel like fillers that don't advance the story anywhere. There are a lot of council scenes, but the matters discussed there often feel trivial. All the samurai way and honor constant references while barely surviving also look surreal. There's no global aim, just seeking refuge at new planet each time and fighting back. So despite complexity of relations, seriousness and some twists, it's still far from masterpiece, maybe movies manage to make story more integral .   Overall Rating: 6/10   13. Tsurikichi Sanpei 釣りキチ三平 [1980-II] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/13) Tags: Adventure, Sports Mihira Sanpei talks with a Tohou accent and is a down-to-earth boy with a cheerful and optimistic personality. However, when it comes to fishing, he becomes very serious and is a youth who enjoys fishing more than anything else. The village where he lives in is a natural environment which provides different kinds of fishing challenges. Despite his lack of experience, Sanpei has a first-rate sense with regards to fishing and decides to maxmise his potential by entering into different fishing contests. As he faces various challenges, he learns to solve difficult problems and learn from his mistakes to the extent that he is able to fish anything out of the waters. Along the way, he encounters all kinds of rivals and companions who increase his experience points and help him in his growth. Wow, enthusiastic old shounen anime about fishing... found no surprises here - hit zero spots.   Overall Rating: 3/10   14. Muu no Hakugei The White Whale of Mu ムーの白鯨 [1980-II] Yomiuri Telecasting (Dropped 5/26) Tags: Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi In ancient times, the continents of Atlantis and Mu fought a war, and Atlantis lost. After losing the war, Atlantis transformed itself into a small planet and timeslipped to the present-day to try to take over the world again. But five warriors from Mu assemble on Easter Island, and together with giant cyborg white whale that houses the brain of the ancient queen of Mu, fight Atlantis off at various famous ruins around the world. Took me five episodes to figure out how five chosen are going to fight, and it seems to be plane fights , plus using esper powers .   Overall Rating: 4/10   15. Uchuu Taitei God Sigma Space Emperor God Sigma 宇宙大帝ゴッドシグマ [1980-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 2/50) Tags: Mecha, Space Action The story is set in the year 2050 AD, and mankind has been steadily advancing its space technology. However, the planet is suddenly set upon by a mysterious enemy: the forces of Eldar, who came from 250 years in the future. In their time, 2300 AD, their planet Eldar was invaded by Earth, and soundly defeated by Earth's Trinity Energy, a mysterious energy used in their weaponry that possesses power many times that of a hydrogen bomb. The Eldar people's objective is to steal this Trinity Energy before it can be used against them. The Eldar forces begin by taking over Jupiter's moon Io, one of the places humanity has immigrated to by then. After that, they begin to attack Trinity City with their legions of Cosmosauruses in order to steal the Trinity Energy. Toshiya and his friends use God Sigma to protect the planet and the Trinity Energy, and the battle evolves into a long war to retake Io. A standard set of mecha cliche, nothing really to discuss.   Overall Rating: 3/10   16. Moero Arthur: Hakuba no Ouji 燃えろアーサー・白馬の王子 [1980-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/22) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Romance Moero Arthur Hakuba no Oji is an anime based on the Arthurian legend and it is a sequel to the earlier series Entaku no Kishi Monogatari: Moero Arthur. This time Arthur conceals his true identity in order to defeat Ziking as he and his four new companions begin a journey of adventures. I liked sequel better as it has a lot more comedy relied thanks to new goofy companions, plus there's much more freedom in travelling knight concept. In the end it's just adventures, nothing deep, but at least not repulsive ones.   Overall Rating: 5/10   17. Zukkoke Knight: Don De La Mancha Don Quixote ずっこけナイト　ドンデラマンチャ [1980-II] Kokusai Eigasha (Dropped 0/23) Tags: Historical Adventure, Comedy, Romance Don Quixote, that infinitely popular character, travels the countryside battling windmills and attempting to win the love of his Dulcinea. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   18. Terra e... Toward the Terra 地球へ... [1980-II] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Space Action, Drama, Sci-Fi In the five hundred years since Earth's environment was destroyed and the planet came to be known as Terra, humans have created a society in space that is entirely logical. Supercomputers control the government, babies are grown in artificial wombs and assigned parents randomly, and at age 14, children take an "Adulthood Exam." Humanity's greatest enemy is the "Mu"—humans who have developed into espers. When Jomy Marquis Shin's birthday arrives and the time comes for him to take his Adulthood Exam, he is shocked to learn that all of his childhood memories are going to be erased. Suddenly, he hears the voice of Soldier Blue, the leader of the Mu, calling out to him to hold onto his memories. Jomy makes his escape on a Mu ship and is shocked to learn that he himself is an esper and that the government has sentenced him to death. Nearing the end of his life, Soldier Blue transfers his memories to Jomy and names him the next leader of the Mu. Now, Jomy has a choice: keep the Mu in hiding, or declare war on humanity to realize their dream of returning to Terra. A nice emotional story that rightfully spawned many remakes, but can't call it a masterpiece no matter what.   Overall Rating: 6/10   19. Ganbare!! Tabuchi-kun!! Gekitou Pennant Race がんばれ!!タブチくん!! 激闘ペナントレース  [1980-II] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Comedy, Sports Based on Ishii Hisaichi's 1979 manga Ganbare!! Tabuchi-kun!!, serialized in weekly Manga Action magazine. The Seibu Lions baseball team makes it to the next round of a baseball tournament thanks to the heroic efforts of its star player, Tabuchi, but the next stage will involve hard work and cooperation. In a sports anime that pitches caricatures of real-life players against cartoon characters, the Lions (whose real-life mascot is the grown-up Kimba the White Lion), keep losing games due to Tabuchi's poor condition-his shadow is getting paler. A group of fellow players turns up at the stadium, accompanied by Dokaben, and they encourage Tabuchi to pull through. They organize a Tabuchi Day to show him how appreciated he is, but it is a miserable failure. Eventually, he is brought out of his depression by the arrival of a girl called Miyoko, who obliges by dressing up as a cheerleader. Note: Real-life members of the Seibu Lions baseball team are caricatured There's no translation, so not much sense in watching a comedy without it, continuation of the prequel.   Overall Rating: 0/10   20. Ginga Tetsudou 999: Eien no Tabibito Emeraldas Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Traveller Emeraldas 銀河鉄道９９９　永遠の旅人エメラルダス [1980-II] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space  Sci-Fi  A remake of episode 22 of the TV version. There were space pirate episodes already, but this time it's a new female space pirate Emeraldas, so it's memorable at least. Liked it less than previous OVA, so can't rate high.   Overall Rating: 5/10   21. Bocchan 坊っちゃん [1980-II] TMS Entertainment (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Comedy This is a different version of the story than the one included in the Seishun Anime Zenshu TV series. Bocchan, a recent graduate, sets out for his first teaching assignment… never anticipating what awaits him. He must contend with students who spy on him and pull nasty stunts and with a landlord who constantly tries to sell him worthless antiques. While on a fishing trip to boost his spirits, Bocchan suspects Hotta, his one friend in the village, as the cause of all of his misery. But this is just beginning of his problems…During a meeting to discuss the students' disrespectful behavior towards Bocchan, the proposed punishment is surprisingly mild despite the severity of the acts. Yet, Bocchan's suspected adversary defends him! Were the other faculty members lying about Hotta? Bocchan may soon discover the truth, for when evidence of the dean’s activities surface, Bocchan and Hotta must team up to corner the dean in his own scandalous game! Good slice comedy about older times, but it's way too short to be taken seriously. Feels like a pilot episode with that speedy development.   Overall Rating: 5/10   22. Wakakusa Monogatari Little Women 若草物語 [1980-II] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Slice of Life This is a TV special based on the novel, Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott. It covers a year in the lives of four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy as their father is away fighting in the American Civil War. Another world masterpiece theater series title, and again about Civil War with blonde girl just as in Kinpatsu no Jeanie. But what world masterpiece theater series always lacked for me is pace and saturation. If it is romance centered around one hero, it's bound to many shortcomings. Here we have four heroines to fill the gaps. Anyway, this hour long version is not nearly enough to even show characters or throw in any humor , so should wait till serialization in 1987.   Overall Rating: 5/10   23. Captain キャプテン [1980-II] Eiken (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Team Sports Before Captain became a TV series it was a one-shot TV special that garnered the highest ratings of any anime that month. For its re-run on August 20th, 30 minutes of new content was added in which brought in more ratings that trumped the previous statistic. A rather simplistic baseball comedy , as for me. Face features and characters are rather bland compared to competitors. And it's all about baseball and zero about SOL, so hardly entertaining for me. Moreover, it's not integral movie as there are five chapters each focusing on a different episode.   Overall Rating: 4/10   24. Ganbare Genki がんばれ元気 [1980-III] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/35) Tags: Shounen Action, Comedy, Sports Horiguchi Genki was 5 years old boy. His mother died when he was born, and he was raised only by his father. His father, Shark Horiguchi, was a professional boxer, but he was ruined and become an itinerant boxer. However, Genki believed his father was strong and he would become a champion, and he had a dream to become a strong boxer as his father. After his father’s death, he was adopted by his grandparents. Although they opposed Genki boxing, Genki made up his mind to become a boxer, and he continued training secretly. Meeting with various people, for example, Teacher Ashikiwa who resembles his mother, Mishima who is a high school boxing champion, he made his way to be a boxer. Wow, five-year-old boxer... so cringy. Another youth growing up story without good composition just to fill in time slot .   Overall Rating: 3/10   25. Uchuu Senshi Baldios Space Warrior Baldios 宇宙戦士 バルディオス [1980-III] Production Reed (Dropped 4/34) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Space Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi After polluting their own planet beyond repair, a race of evil aliens target earth as their next home. Now it is up to a lone outcast and his robotic spacecraft, Baldios, to defend earth. But, first he must convince the distrusting human population of the impending danger. A normal mecha action with the exception that gaining trust of earthlings and patching up a team takes as much as three first episodes. No good characters spotted, so it remains average for me.   Overall Rating: 4/10   26. Sue Cat スーキャット [1980-III] Knack Productions (Dropped 3/40) Tags: Shoujo Music Adventure After an accident, the amnesiac Sue was taken in to live with Torao's family. She always had the urge to become a singer, but didn't know why. As it turns out, Sue is actually part of a band formed with her two twin sisters. But Sue's climb to the top of the charts is a long and hard way. It's 13 minutes with opening and ending, so actual episode is less than 10 minutes. Singer cat sue is becoming an idol. Some everyday events change with past flashbacks and some musical gigs like auditions or concerts. I don't see any value in the series.   Overall Rating: 3/10   27. Yamato yo Towa ni Be Forever Yamato ヤマトよ永遠に [1980-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Military, Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi The Black Nebula Empire attacks Earth and threatens to blow up the planet with a bomb they placed on Earth if counter attacked. Earths hopes rest on the Yamato crew as they go to the Black Nebula Planet and try to find a way to difuse the bomb before it's too late. Yamato concept has become rather stale and repetitive with time. So this movie tries to bring in several new things. First one is that there's pressure again as Earth is invaded and there's nowhere to return to. Second one is our only female character gets turned down and new one joins. Action scenes have definitely improved, but all the sudden romance alienates me here, and there's no really great story, just some story to connect all the battles and meetings.   Overall Rating: 6/10   28. Juuippiki no Neko Eleven Cats １１ぴきのねこ [1980-III] Group TAC (Finished 1/1) Tags: Fantasy A gang of eleven stray cats wreak havoc in a small town, costing them much trouble. They defend themselves by stating they were just 'hungry'. The cats hear of an urban legend about a scary, giant fish. They decide to take on the challenge to find and catch that fish, proving the citizens of the town that they're not all useless after all. The task is pretty tricky and the path they have to cross is stony and danger lurks everywhere. Will our little furry heroes be brave, confident and strong enough to master the challenge of challenges? Movie is a musical, so it's mostly random actions of running and doing something under music with the very vague theme of catching a giant fish. Music is nice, but there's hardly any sense in all that.   Overall Rating: 4/10   29. Makoto-chan まことちゃん [1980-III] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy Follows the odd life of kindergartener Makoto Sawada and his family. Makoto gets into all sorts of toilet and adult humor. He sometimes dresses in his mother's and sister's clothing, and often has a long strand of mucus dangling from his nose. I'd call it a disgusting comedy with constant focus on snot, drool, unko, licking the same candy by many people, irritating voices, bitter personalities, fighting and biting, a fair amound of nudity - things like that. Humor based on controversy feels bold and fresh, like constant repeat that it's dangerous to cross the street at green light as crazy cars always run on it, but at red light it's ok and cool to cross. Basically, it feels a lot like modern mocumentary akin to Borat as I'm both very uncomfortable and ashamed of what's going on with characters. But if Borat has a bigger clear mocking idea behind that, Makoto-chan aim is more vague, at least without social context. Well, absurdist comedy may be of liking for some already.    Overall Rating: 4/10   30. Yami no Teio: Kyuuketsuki Dracula Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned 闇の帝王　吸血鬼ドラキュラ [1980-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Vampire  On a seemingly normal night in Boston, a satanic ritual is taking place: a bride is to be offered up as a sacrifice. However, Dracula, the King of Vampires, swoops in and steals her, with the intent of depriving the woman of both her blood and her life. And yet, despite his earlier motives for abducting the bride, Dracula is astonished by her beauty and decides to keep the woman as his wife. He and Domini, his spouse, lead a fruitful life together, bearing a healthy son by the name of Janus, with Dracula's crime against Satan fading from memory. On the other hand, Satan hasn't forgiven him for stealing his rightful bride and is plotting to ruin his happiness when the time is right. Another group, the Vampire Hunters, similarly wish to destroy Dracula as vengeance for the souls he has taken to feed himself. Now carrying the burden of a family, Dracula must protect himself from Satan's plots as well as from the vengeful Vampire Hunters in a desperate fight for survival and forbidden love. Pretty serious vampire hunter movie with many kinds of otherworldly beings. A lot of action with very little sense behind it.   Overall Rating: 4/10   31. Fumoon フウムーン [1980-III] Tezuka Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Sci-Fi Nuclear testing has resulted in the abrupt evolution of the Fumoon, a tiny but highly intelligent humanoid race on a small island, who are detected by Dr. Yamadano. Except for a few witnesses including the detective Shinsaku Ban, and the young men Rock and Kenichi and Kenichi’s sister Pichi (Pinoko), no one believes him. The Fumoon are kidnapping animals from around the world to bring with them as they use their space ships to evacuate the earth, because they know Earth is shortly to be destroyed by an enveloping cloud of black gas created by a stellar explosion. The Fumoon intend to abandon mankind, but one Fumoon, Rokoko, who becomes good friends with Kenichi, tries to help Dr. Yamadano and the others to develop a space ship to allow a few humans to escape, with the help of Dr. Ochanomizu and Dr. Frankenstein. Yay, new Tezuka movie. The omnipresent idea of transformation/mutation is taken to absolute here. At the same time it strongly promotes environmentalism, and that puts limits on story development. In the end it becomes a social story rather than an interesting story - have no problem with that choice, but don't ask for high scores then.   Overall Rating: 5/10   32. Marine Snow no Densetsu The Legend of Marine Snow マリンスノーの伝説 [1980-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Sci-Fi This little-known and poorly documented Leiji Matsumoto TV movie, tells the story of the revolution of the people of the ocean which are being invaded by the humans from the surface. Both protagonists look just as ones from Ginga Tetsudou 999, but there's no space express itself, so it's really confusing. Story is somewhat like Fumoon with aliens/humans reversed. Again, don't see the value here, this time also no translation which alone substracts a whole score point.   Overall Rating: 5/10   33. Ashita no Joe 2 Tomorrow's Joe 2 あしたのジョー２ [1980-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/47) Tags: Shounen Action, Drama, Slice of Life, Sports Yabuki Joe is left downhearted and hopeless after a certain tragic event. In attempt to put the past behind him, Joe leaves the gym behind and begins wandering. On his travels he comes across the likes of Wolf Kanagushi and Goromaki Gondo, men who unintentionally fan the dying embers inside him, leading him to putting his wanderings to an end. His return home puts Joe back on the path to boxing, but unknown to himself and his trainer, he now suffers deep-set issues holding him back from fighting. In attempt to quell those issues, Carlos Rivera, a world renowned boxer is invited from Venezuela to help Joe recover. The main thought of first season was that hooligan becomes an organized sportsman who follows his trainer's regulations. So main intrigue for me was whether it becomes a normal spokon or retains individuality further on, and it definitely does not fall into normal spokon category. As for the story, I'll watch the movie later on rather than watch almost 50 episodes now.   Overall Rating: 5/10   34. Tetsuwan Atom (1980) Astro Boy (1980) 鉄腕アトム [1980-IV] Tezuka Productions (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Set in a future where machines have advanced to the point of autonomy and become a point of major contention in the political and social realms, Astro Boy (1980) chronicles the struggles of a crime-fighting young robot named Atom. Created in the image of his enigmatic inventor's deceased son, Atom survives rough beginnings, getting saved and adopted by the benevolent Dr. Ochanomizu. In his pursuit of justice, Atom finds himself in the midst of numerous clashes with various factions, and is often faced with the harsh realities of the world. It's definitely not repeating, even though it begins anew from robot creation. Beginning is rather slow, but great storytelling from 60s kicks in eventually, so it becomes more about adventure and less about overcoming robot shortcomings. As for me, not enough merit to watch for adults, as themes are rather simple.   Overall Rating: 5/10   35. Uchuu Senkan Yamato III Star Blazers: The Bolar Wars 宇宙戦艦ヤマトⅢ [1980-IV] Academy Productions (Dropped 3/25) Tags: Adult Cast, Military, Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi A stray missile from a confrontation between the Galman empire and the Bolar Federation crashes into the sun, turning it into a time bomb of radiation. The Star Force once again sets off into space, this time on a quest to look for a new world for the human race. Finally a new story and not the one outlaid in OVA already. There's enough material to compare to already, and it's probably the weakest season of the series. After fresh feeling Be Forever Yamato this season goes back to conservative roots and tells a new slow-paced loosely connected story.   Overall Rating: 5/10   36. Tetsujin 28-gou (1980) The New Adventures of Gigantor 鉄人２８号 (1980) [1980-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/51) Tags: Mecha Action Shotaro had become an Interpol agent, working with Branch Robo, the antirobot crime unit of that organization. He still employs Tetsujin. Another revival of the ancient series. Of course, it has improved, but there is still same average action with little humor, so can't rate it much higher.   Overall Rating: 4/10   37. Hoero! Bun Bun ほえろブンブン [1980-IV] Wako Productions (Dropped 0/39) Tags: Adventure, Slice of Life Bunbun, an abandoned puppy meets the old Big, also a stray dog. Bunbun will learn to survive in an hostile and strange world. Not found. Or rather found only random episodes and would better wait for the movie.   Overall Rating: 0/10   38. Tondemo Senshi Muteking とんでも戦士ムテキング [1980-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 1/56) Tags: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi  Twelve-year-old Linn Youki loyally supported his father when the world laughed at the scientist for saying that Earth was about to be invaded from outer space. But Linn did not expect to become personally involved--until he met Takoro, the strange young "deputy sheriff" from another world who was on the trail of notorious space criminals. There were only four Kurodako Brothers, but they plotted to use their alien science and natural shape-changing powers to become the secret masters of Earth. With Takoro's help, Linn became the mighty super-hero, Muteking, to foil their schemes. There is plenty of action and laughs in this light-hearted comedy-drama about a roller-skating costumed hero, his friendly but bumbling alien partner, a gang of klutzy would-be world conquerors, a beautiful police chief, an obsessed scientist, a sarcastic dog, an officious flying saucer, and others. This unusual but appealing cast of characters will charm viewers' hearts while it amuses them. Nice that superhero parodies start to show up already. But it's rather simplistic and very similar to Time Bokan series, probably even part of it. Plus there's just one episode translated, so can't take it seriously.   Overall Rating: 5/10   39. Ojamanga Yamada-kun おじゃまんが山田くん [1980-IV] Tsuchida Productions (Dropped 0/103) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life TV anime adaptation of Hisaichi Ishii's comedy manga "Ojamanga Yamada-kun". Have not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   40. Cyborg 009: Chou Ginga Densetsu サイボーグ００９・超銀河伝説 [1980-IV] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Action, Sci-Fi The cyborgs are no longer on duty, they live normal lives until a mysterious space ship lands on earth. The only survivor on the ship warns about an evil conqueror called Zoa that wants to conquer the universe, which means the cyborgs are back in action... To tell the truth, this series should go out of its way to get a masterpiece score. And it just does not. Adventures in space are fresh for the series, but just fresh is not enough.   Overall Rating: 6/10   41. Manga Kotowaja Jiten まんがことわざ事典 [1980-IV] Tsuchida Productions (Dropped 0/88) Tags: Historical Comedy An educational anime, each episode contains three short stories. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   42. Ganbare!! Tabuchi-kun!! Aa Tsuppari Jinsei がんばれ!! タブチくん!! あゝツッパリ人生 [1980-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Comedy, Sports No synopsis information has been added to this title. I wont endure another Tabuchi-kun movie without translation.   Overall Rating: 0/10   43. Ginga Tetsudou 999: Kimi wa Haha no You ni Aiseru ka!! Galaxy Express 999: Can You Love Like a Mother?!! 銀河鉄道９９９　君は母のように愛せるか！！ [1980-IV] Discotek Media (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Sci-Fi A remake of episodes 51-52 of the TV version. Another unusual yet not special story from Ginga 999.   Overall Rating: 5/10   44. Nijuushi no Hitomi 二十四の瞳 [1980-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 1/1) Tags: Historical Drama Based on the book by Tsuboi Sakae, which drew on her involvement in Japan's anarchist counterculture and opposition to Korean War rearmament. Combined live action (handled by Akio Jissoji) and animation (handled by Shigetsugu Yoshida). Released as a TV special. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10
  5. kivandopulus
    Alps no Shoujo Heidi (1979) is the only work I could rate as a borderline masterpiece in 1979 .   1. Akage no Anne Anne of Green Gables 赤毛のアン [1997-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/50) Tags: Historical, Iyashikei Drama, Slice of Life Life isn't easy for Anne Shirley, an 11-year-old orphan with a vast imagination and a short temper. In a twist of fate, she gets taken into the Cuthbert house in Avonlea. The elderly occupants Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert were looking for a young boy to help in the fields, but they're in for quite a shock when they realize Anne is a girl. Adapted from the acclaimed classic by L. M. Montgomery, Akage no Anne portrays Anne's upbringing from 11 to 17 years of age and her encounters and separations with various people. Only time will tell what major decision Anne has to make that will change her life forever. World masterpiece theater series are back with another classic adaptation. It's probably the best one in the series, but it's really just coming of age story in the 19th century, so should be prepared for slow pace, observational nature and absence of twists. Well, I don't like main heroine with her overreaction to everything, so I'd rather watch Candy Candy instead.   Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Hana no Ko Lunlun Flower Angel 花の子ルンルン [1979-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/50) Tags: Shoujo Adventure, Drama The King of the Flower Planet is dying, but his heir can't take up the throne until the legendary Seven Color Flower, symbol of the King's power, is found. The Angels, Cateau and Noveau are sent to Earth to find the Flower Girl, a young female who descends from both humans and Flower Angels (who once inhabited Earth a long time ago) - and they find Lunlun in France. They convince her to go in a long journey to find the Flower - she'll know the good and bad sides of humans and Flower Angels (incarnated in the ambitious Togenishia and her sidekick Boris), and will fall in love with Serge Flora, a man who holds a great secret. Can't tolerate this kind of shoujo as it focuses on romance, magic and flowers right from the start without providing anything to enjoy for non-shoujo audience, not even some humor.   Overall Rating: 4/10   3. Time Bokan Series: Zenderman タイムボカンシリーズ　ゼンダマン [1979-I] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 1/52) Tags: Mecha, Super Power Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Dr Monja is a scientist who is curious about the nature of the legendary Elixir of Life which grants the drink eternal lifetimes and forever youth. He built a device called the "Time Tunnel" in order to let a team of youngsters to start a quest down the timeline and various spaces to find an exact answer. A trio of villains, however, is also seemingly after the exact same thing. If Yatterman pretty much abandoned all the time travel concept , Zenderman is the same Yatterman with advanced older heroes , but with the return to the roots - time travel . It's the best of the three due to major focus on humor and adult heroes, also some of adult humor as a result.   Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Nobara no Julie Julie the Wild Rose 野ばらのジュリー [1979-I] DAX Production (Dropped 3/13) Tags: Historical, Music Adventure, Drama Eleven-year-old Julie Braun lives in the lush green mountain pastures of Austria's Southern Tyrol. Her parents are killed by Italian soldiers, and she is sent to Vienna to live with her relatives, the Clementes. She befriends cousins Johan and Tanya but has trouble adjusting to life with Uncle Karl and Aunt Klara. As Austria is plunged into World War I, Karl is fired from his job at a glass factory, and Julie's new family is forced into a life of hardship. Another world masterpiece theater work. This time narration takes place in Europe of beginning of XXth century, so more dramatic events are involved. But the gist is same observational as ever - moreover , majority of notable monuments and sceneries are showed in the form of real life footage, so it also becomes a tourist tour of a sort. And main heroine here is rather bland, so loses even to Akage no Anne. Overall, a disappointment.   Overall Rating: 4/10   5. Alps no Shoujo Heidi (1979) The Story of Heidi アルプスの少女ハイジ (1979) [1979-I] Nippon Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Drama, Slice of Life Condensed version of the entire TV series where all the voice actors, except for Heidi and the grandfather, were replaced. Finally it's just 1h 47m and not 52 episodes. Touching as it is, still can't bear so many episodes of nothing much happening, so OVA is perfect for me, and I can finally rate it as masterpiece, because it's an important pre-Ghibli work .   Overall Rating: 7/10   6. Tatsu no Ko Tarou Taro the Dragon Boy 龍の子太郎 [1979-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical, Mythology Adventure, Fantasy, Supernatural Patterned after Japanese art and silk screens, Taro, The Dragon Boy is an animated feature about Japanese mythology and cultures, focusing on Taro, a young boy who has to make a voyage to a distant lake to save his mother, who has been turned into a dragon. Can't see any value in this anime. Superstrong boy lives and competes with oni demons, protects the neighboring girl and starts to help people eventually meeting with dragon mother. The point of it all is unclear to me.   Overall Rating: 4/10   7. Kurumiwari Ningyou Nutcracker Fantasy くるみ割り人形 [1979-I] Sanrio (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama, Fantasy, Romance The young girl Clara visits her Aunt Gerda and Uncle Drosselmeyer. Her aunt tells her scary stories about the Ragman, a creepy and mysterious man who turns children into mice if they don't go to bed on time. The Ragman is always spying on sleeping children searching for more victims. Just before Clara goes to bed her eccentric uncle gives her a wooden nutcracker doll. He's a bit embarrassed because the only part on the doll that's perfect is the heart, but Clara loves her new doll. She falls asleep but wakes up hearing mice squeaking... It's not animation, just doll play about nutcracker toy with some real life ballet scenes added. And since it's not animation, I could not care about it less.   Overall Rating: 4/10   8. Ashita no Eleven-tachi あしたの勇者(イレブン)たち [1979-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Sports  A boy from the farm with amazing running speed is asked to join a newly formed national soccer team and discovers a natural talent for the game. The movie is inspired by Japan's hosting of the world soccer championships that year. Just your average spokon ova centered around one newbie soccer player.   Overall Rating: 3/10   9. Ganbare! Bokura no Hit and Run Hit and Run がんばれ！ぼくらのヒットエンドラン [1979-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 0/1) Tags: School, Team Sports Inaba Junior High School's baseball team has been defeated miserably since the senior members left. Because of their poor results, the players are suspended from games and are almost forced to break up. Ironically, however, this hardship makes them band tighter together and intensifies their desire to play. They practice hard in the hope of regaining the respect of the other students and teachers. Soon, their will-power leads them to unbelievable victories. This story portrays the boys' dreams and friendship through baseball. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   10. Mobile Suit Gundam 機動戦士ガンダム [1979-II] Sunrise (Dropped 3/43) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Sci-Fi It is year 0079 of the Universal Century. Mankind has moved to space, living in colony clusters known as "Sides." One of these Sides declares itself the "Principality of Zeon" and declares war on the Earth Federation, the governmental body currently ruling Earth. Using powerful humanoid robots known as "mobile suits," Zeon quickly gains the upper hand. Nine months into the conflict, the Earth Federation has developed its own powerful mobile suit called the Gundam. When Zeon launches an attack on the colony holding the Gundam, a 15-year-old civilian named Amuro Ray suddenly finds himself thrown into a conflict that will take him all across Earth and space, pitting him against the enemy's ace pilot, Char Aznable. 70s is the bloom of mecha, and Gundam marks its climax for me. It's nice to finally see realistic mecha fights in the civil war rather than usual giant mecha fights vs androids or giant beasts. Still to get a 6 I need to appreciate at least some of main characters and get a faint desire to watch series to the end - I got none.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Cyborg 009 (1979) Cyborg 009 サイボーグ009 [1979-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/50) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Joe Shimamura and his companions may seem like regular men, but they are anything but. Joe is actually Cyborg 009, member of a team of cyborgs who fight for the greater good. Each cyborg is outfitted with a special power, from the ability to melt any material, to underwater breathing and flight. He and the other eight cyborgs were modified against their will by the Neo-Black Ghosts organization in order to further their own interests. But instead, they decided to band together and use their powers to fight against their former captors, and all forces of evil. We've seen different versions of Cyborg 009 many times already. While it's always a decent entertainment, never got anxious to watch any of of its series to the end.   Overall Rating: 5/10   12. The☆Ultraman ザ☆ウルトラマン [1979-II] Sunrise (Dropped 3/50) Tags: Space, Super Power Action, Sci-Fi The first animated Ultraman series. Ultraman tries to bring human relations in the superhero mecha. Don't remember this much emphasis in similar shows before it. But characters are too bland and similar looking for that. There is some potential, but I'd rather see it in some remake.   Overall Rating: 3/10   13. Mirai Robo Daltanias Future Robo Daltanius 未来ロボ ダルタニアス [1979-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/47) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Sci-Fi It is the year 1995. Earth has been conquered by an alien army from the Saar cluster known as the Akron. The cities of Earth have been destroyed, and the remaining survivors live in harsh shanty towns and villages. Kento, a war orphan, hides within a cave along with his companions in order to escape some bandits. In the cave, they find the secret base of Dr. Earl, who was an inhabitant of the planet Helios, a planet conquered by the Akron. Dr. Earl then fled to Earth, bringing with him the greatest achievement in Helian technology: the super robot Daltanius, whose power is increased when combined with the intelligent lion robot, Beralios. Dr. Earl entrusts the fight for Earth to Kenta, who happens to be a descendant from the long disappeared Helian royal line. In contrast to Ultraman, all characters have distinctive appearance, because there are like 10 of them and it would be a mess otherwise. But in the center is the usual cheeky protagonist brat who pilots a plane that transfroms into giant mecha when in pinch . But apart from already conquered humanity and orphan council instead of usual genius professor it's usual giant machines action in the end .   Overall Rating: 4/10   14. Paris no Isabelle 巴里のイザベル [1979-II] DAX Production (Dropped 3/13) Tags: Historical Drama The principal character is 15-year-old Isabelle Laustin, other characters being her parents Leon and Marie, Isabelle's friends Jean and his sister Marie, and Isabelle's suitor, Captain Victor. When Paris is besieged and Napoleon III's army is defeated, Isabelle escapes to London, disguised as a boy, and engages in secret agent stuff. The main problem of this anime is that it's not the first tomboy shoujo already. Haikara-san ga Tooru aired in 1978 beats Isabelle in every single way unless someone likes Napoleon era or Chopin too much. It's all mostly surface-scratching .   Overall Rating: 4/10   15. Animation Kikou: Marco Polo no Bouken Marco Polo's Adventures アニメーション紀行 マルコ・ポーロの冒険 [1979-II] Madhouse (Dropped 2/43) Tags: Historical Adventure Seventeen-year-old Marco Polo leaves his home in Venice on a trip to the little-known country of "Yuan", in the company of his father Nicolo and his uncle Matteo. Their mission is to deliver the sacred oil from the Tomb of Christ and a letter from the Pope to the Kublai. What I got from the two found episodes is that it's mostly a travel-show with real life footage, and in that sense it's hardly anime at all.   Overall Rating: 3/10   16. Kujira no Josephina くじらのホセフィーナ [1979-II] Ashi Production (Dropped 1/23) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy  Santi is a shy Spanish boy who keeps a tiny whale in a bowl, invisible to everyone but him. The whale, named Josephina, is able to alter her size and fly; she takes Santi on many dreamlike adventures and helps him confront the challenges during his childhood; however, things change as Santi starts taking interest in the outside world and gets to know his distant father. From the only found episode it looks very much like classical tale of Karlsson-on-the-Roof, just with a flying whale. Humor is nice, so I can rate it relatively high.   Overall Rating: 5/10   17. Shin Kyojin no Hoshi II 新巨人の星II  [1979-II] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 0/23) Tags: Team Sports A continuation of the popular baseball saga about the star pitcher of a professional baseball team. Not even going to start as it's continuation of remake of serious and boring spokon.   Overall Rating: 0/10   18. Umi no Triton (1979) Triton of the Sea (1979) 海のトリトン (1979) [1979-II] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Fantasy A recap of the TV series. While two parts were made, only the first one was shown in theaters during the Uchuu Senkan Yamato Festival. The second part was released half a decade later direct to home-video by Nippon Columbia. Later releases on DVD in 1999 and 2002 put both halves of the recap together for sale. I never understood the meaning of this series. Boy is threatened by ocean king, and thus boy starts to travel while defending from various attackers. Plot is not going anywhere, plus series were super slow. OVA recap at least makes plot coherent with length cut tenfold. Now it's finally watchable. Despite rash boy and tsundere girl triton Bibi tandem there is at least some humor and action. Still average at best.   Overall Rating: 4/10   19. Kaitou Lupin: 813 no Nazo 怪盗ルパン 813の謎 [1979-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Mystery  Based on the novel "813" by Maurice Leblanc. Not found. No regrets.   Overall Rating: 0/10   20. Tondemo Nezumi Daikatsuyaku The Legend of Manxmouse トンデモネズミ大活躍 [1979-II] Nippon Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure This animated story features Manxmouse, the mouse that looks like a rabbit, and all because of his ears. Join in the adventures in this delightful story. Story is pretty bad as we just observe this manx mouse life , working in circus , then suddenly by the end we're told the story of origins of manx mice and cats and dogs which in turn is instantly resolved. It is very messy.   Overall Rating: 4/10   21. Maegami Tarou まえがみ太郎  [1979-II] Nippon Animation (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Adventure This is a folk-tale-like adventure story of an active boy on a quest for the Water of Life. The boy sets out on this quest after learning that the Water of Life is needed to make his village happy. On the way, he meets gods, demons... Soon, he discovers that the evil snake has stolen the Water, and he heads for the snake`s palace. Defeating the snake is not easy since it has the Water of Life to revive itself. This boy - Maegami Tarou - continues his courageous quest in cooperation with various creatures and the gods. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   22. Pink Lady Monogatari: Eikou no Tenshi-tachi Recaps ピンク・レディー物語 栄光の天使たち総集編 [1979-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 0/2) Tags: Music Drama, Slice of Life Omnibus/compilation episodes of the main series that aired on TV right after the main series finished broadcasting sometimes known as episode 34 & 35. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   23. Kinpatsu no Jeanie 金髪のジェニー [1979-III] DAX Production (Dropped 3/13) Tags: Historical Drama During the civil war a girl living in Virginia, named Jeanie, waits for her old boyfriend Robert to marry him, according to a childish promise, but the war makes the things complicated and, Robert comes back as northerner soldier. Only with the conflict's end, and many misadventures, their dream will become true. Depiction of black people in inferior positions and simplicity of characters are my biggest concerns. Average.   Overall Rating: 4/10   24. Kagaku Bouken-tai Tansar 5 科学冒険隊タンサー5 [1979-III] Sunrise (Dropped 1/34) Tags: Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Supernatural  In 1999, a special mystery/paranormal investigative unit consisting of five youths is formed. The series uses a mix of real tokusatsu footage (vehicle scenes) and animation (character drama). All these half toy staged movies feel fake to me, also always too childish to matter.   Overall Rating: 2/10   25. Ginga Tetsudou 999 (Movie) Galaxy Express 999 [1979-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Tetsurou Hoshino is a boy bent on obtaining an immortal mechanical body in order to take revenge against his mother's murderer, the machine man Count Mecha. However, due to the incredible cost of obtaining what he seeks, his only hope is to steal a boarding pass for the Galaxy Express 999, a space train that travels across the galaxy and whose final stop is a planet where the metal replacements are provided for free. After swiping a pass, Tetsurou is pursued by the police and ends up collapsing into the arms of a mysterious woman named Maetel, who closely resembles his mother. Once he awakens, she tells the boy that she will provide him entry onto the 999 as long as he agrees to travel with her. Accepting her proposition, Tetsurou boards the cosmic railway with Maetel and begins a journey across the galaxy. Better quality, more integral story, so it's definitely more pleasurable than the series, yet not really interesting still.   Overall Rating: 6/10   26. Ace wo Nerae! (1979) Aim for the Ace! (1979) エースをねらえ！ [1979-III] Madhouse (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo School Drama, Romance, Sports High school freshman Hiromi joins the tennis club because of her admiration for Ryuzaki. Ryuzaki is a senior, who's the best tennis player on the team and also nicknamed "Ochoufujin", ("Madame Butterfly"), because of her elegance on the tennis court. However, the new coach, Jin Munakata, wants the inexperienced Hiromi to play in a forthcoming tournament. Due to this, Hiromi considers quitting tennis for good but, in the depth of her soul, she soon realizes that she loves tennis after all. She returns to the club and, under Munakata's coaching, her talent starts to bloom. In the end, Hiromi develops a strong emotional bond with her coach, not knowing that Munakata is risking his life because of a chronic illness. Can't say that anything after start was as good. Rather expected development and ending, so can't say I got anything new after watching the story to the end for once.   Overall Rating: 5/10   27. Mirai Shounen Conan (Movie) Future Boy Conan Movie 未来少年コナン (1979) [1979-III] Nippon Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi In the aftermath of a war fought by magnetic weapons which caused massive earthquakes, a young and spunky boy named Conan gets involved in a grand adventure. Conan lives in a world that is mostly oceans; the major land masses having been destroyed by the weapons of the great war. He meets a young girl named Lana, and they eventually foil the plans of the city-state of Industria which wants to regain the lethal weapons. I don't like the pace here. 26 episodes is not that big of an issue to cut it in four. Only if you're out of time at all.   Overall Rating: 6/10   28. Daikyouryuu Jidai 大恐竜時代 [1979-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Sci-Fi  Jun, his female companion, Remi, and her little brother, Chobi, are taken to the Cretaceous Period by a flying saucer. Very simple, just as in the synopsis. No sense it it, nothing to catch the eye. Just encountering dinosaurs and then a tribe while saving a child.   Overall Rating: 3/10   29. Hokkyoku no Muushika Miishika Adventures of the Polar Cubs 北極のムーシカ・ミーシカ [1979-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure Adventures of the polar cubs is a delightful story of Mushka and Mishka, two polar bear cubs who set out on a series of adventures in the North Pole. Mushka is thoughtful; Mishka is daring. While out on their own Mishka befriends Aura, A prank-playing seal and Mushka stumbles over swan eggs, breaks them and creates havoc in the bird village. The cub's father is Scholar Mu (voice of Joseph Campanella), who is the wise leader of the Great Northern animal kingdom and is in charge of their annual Summer Festival. When Mu is injured by man, the cubs must take on the responsibilities of their father and save the other animals from the hunters. Another wild life observation with very basic stuff in it. Child stuff.   Overall Rating: 5/10   30. Yakyuukyou no Uta: Kita no Ookami Minami no Tora 野球狂の詩 北の狼南の虎 [1979-III] Nippon Animation (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Action, Drama, Sports A re-edited version of episodes 13 and 14 of the TV series. Double billed with Mirai Shounen Conan movie in the cinemas. Not found, but I would not want to watch just recap of two episodes.   Overall Rating: 0/10   31. Uchuu Senkan Yamato: Aratanaru Tabidachi 宇宙戦艦ヤマト 新たなる旅立ち [1979-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Military, Space Action, Drama, Sci-Fi It is the year 2201. The Yamato has returned from the devastating battle with Emperor Zordar and the Comet Empire. Sanada, Aihara, and Shima are released from the hospital, and go to pay their respects to the fallen crew members at Okita's memorial. They meet Tokugawa's son Tasuke, who says that he will be joining the crew once he graduates from cadet school. The next day at his graduation, he ends up capsizing a boat full of new cadets because they are all too busy staring at the Yamato to watch where they are going. After some problems during launch due to the new engine crew hitting the wrong switches and stalling the ship, the Yamato departs on what should be a simple training mission. Another useless OVA that's more of a senseless teaser of 3rd season. And of course half of it is another epic launching the ship. Very similar to previous OVA in composition.   Overall Rating: 4/10   32. Kaitei Choutokkyuu: Marine Express Undersea Super Train: Marine Express 海底超特急　マリン・エクスプレス [1979-III] Tezuka Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi The year is 2002, and the Marine Express, the first underwater train between America and Japan, is ready for its maiden voyage. The chief engineer suspects that the train's test run will be used for illicit purposes and hires private detective Ban Shunsaku. He arrives to his client's mansion only to find that he has just been murdered. Armed with just a glimpse of the murderer's face, Shunsaku boards the Marine Express to get to the bottom of this mystery. This job, however, is much more than what he bargained for, as the train holds secrets beyond anyone's imagination. It's actually a crossover between Astro boy and 100-man-nen Chikyuu no Tabi with adventure and robot vs human theme that fits Astro Boy just fine. Nothing deep at all.   Overall Rating: 4/10   33. Anne no Nikki: Anne Frank Monogatari アンネの日記　アンネ・フランク物語 [1979-III] Nippon Animation (Dropped 0/1) Tags: Historical Drama This is the true story of Anne Frank, a Jewish girl living in Amsterdam during WW2. Anne's father realizes on time the danger the Jews face and hides his family (his wife Edith and his two daughters Margo (16) and Anne (13), along with four more people, in "the house behind". For two years the 8 people live in darkness and whispers, in fear to be discovered and sent to the German crematories. During that time young Anne writes a diary, describing day by day life in the cellar, her complicated realtionship with her mother and the story of her first love - Peter, the young boy in the hiding place. Anne writes down her wishes to run out free and breath the air and flowers, her dreams to be free at last. Then they are discovered and are all sent to death. Not found. I guess I'll wait till 1995 as that version is available all right.   Overall Rating: 0/10   34. Jean Valjean Monogatari ジャン・バルジャン物語 [1979-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama  Animated adaptation of Victor Hugo's "Les Misérables". A faithful to text story about Jean Valjean from Miserables. Nothing fancy though.   Overall Rating: 4/10   35. Versailles no Bara The Rose of Versailles ベルサイユのばら [1979-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/40) Tags: Shoujo Historical, Military Drama, Romance In a time of class stratification and rising tensions amongst the impoverished population, the Austrian Empire sends Princess Marie Antoinette to France to be wed to Crown Prince Louis XVI. The political marriage is arranged to strengthen the alliance between both countries, but the future queen is deeply unsatisfied with her fate being decided for her. Upon arrival in the country, Marie Antoinette is acquainted with Oscar Fançois de Jarjayes—Commander of the Royal Guard. Due to her father's desire for a son, Oscar is raised as a boy with an expectation to inherit his title as The Commander. Though she is revered by both men and women alike, Oscar cannot help but desire to live life as a woman instead of masquerading as a man. As Oscar reluctantly serves the young, spoiled queen, the growing resentment and suffering of the poor become harder for her to ignore—especially when Marie Antoinette frivolously spends her wealth. There was already anime about princess brought up as a prince, but it was with a bit younger heroine and more about adventures. This one is more about court life and romance. And it's probably the most serious and advanced shoujo so far.   Overall Rating: 5/10   36. Kagaku Ninja-tai Gatchaman F Eagle Riders (2) 科学忍者隊ガッチャマンF [1979-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 0/48) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi After Leader X is seemingly destroyed for good at the end of Gatchaman II, a fragment of him that survived grows and mutates into Z. With the head of the Egobossler family, Count Egobossler (and his two subordinates Mechandol and Kempler), Z is bent on destroying the Earth, and the Science Ninja Team, once more. In the wake of Anderson's death, Dr.Nambu has become the new head of the ISO, while the team is now confined to the Gallatown (aka "G-Town") underwater base. Engineer Kamo is introduced, and after the New GodPhoenix is destroyed early on, the team receives the new Gatchaspartan as their mecha. The Gatchaspartan has a special mode as well, called Hypershoot, that can only be utilized by Ken (with his new "Gatchafencer" sword). As the series progresses, it is learned that the radiation exposure from constant use of the Hypershoot is slowly killing Ken, and that continued use would mean death. Meanwhile, Z plans to destroy the earth with an antimatter asteroid, codenamed "Poison Apple". I don't think I can bear any more of Gatchaman seasons, they move too slow and little changes on grand scale. From now on can only bear its OVA.   Overall Rating: 0/10   37. Uchuu Kuubo Blue Noah Space Carrier Blue Noah 宇宙空母ブルーノア [1979-IV] (Dropped 4/24) Tags: Military, Space Action, Drama, Sci-Fi Set in the year 2052, Earth has managed to find peace until the arrival of the Death Force - ruthless aliens from a dying solar system - who are desperately searching for a new home. Attacking the Earth with a massive satellite ship called Terror Star, the aliens proceed to terraform the planet to make it their own. For mankind there is one hope: it's up to Colin Collins and a small band of his fellow surviving students to crew a top-secret submersible vessel that can fight the invaders at sea or in space. It's basically bound to Earth spaceship Yamato. Things take place in Solar system and move slowly. There's more emphasis on realism and overcoming difficulties (what shocked me in Yamato is how often it was hit and how miraculously fast it repaired). Bigger team and more focus on communication between the team members. But there's no spice, just slow expected development.   Overall Rating: 5/10   38. Entaku no Kishi Monogatari: Moero Arthur 円卓の騎士物語　燃えろアーサ [1979-IV] (Dropped 3/30) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Romance After his parents are killed by the Evil Lavic, Arthur is a contender to become King of all Britain. Arthur and his brave knights embark on a quest for the Holy Shield – the only hope to beat Lavic and unify the kingdom. There's no translation. It starts pretty slow and first episodes are meeting companions/future knights. Spirit-wise it feels very old, somewhat akin to Record of Lodoss War anime that I used to like, but now consider extremely boring.  Overall Rating: 5/10   39. Sasurai no Shoujo Nell Nell the Wandering Girl さすらいの少女ネル [1979-IV] (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Historical Adventure Nell is a young girl living with her grandfather, Mr Trent, the owner of a shop in London. As he couldn't payback a loan he made, he has to flee with Nell. They decide to search for Nell's mother, who is living somewhere in Great Britain... Why even bother with a story, when you can just call it a wandering kid and let it flow. But Charles Dickens original material and not too young protagonist actually make it shine more than the predecessors. But the core is still travelling and meeting different people, so it just does not appeal to me.   Overall Rating: 6/10   40. Manga Sarutobi Sasuke Ninja the Wonder Boy まんが猿飛佐助 [1979-IV] (Dropped 0/24) Tags: Historical Adventure, Comedy, Supernatural Sasuke is the story of a ninja child that starts right after the battle of Sekigahara where Tokugawa Ieyasu becomes shogun of Japan. Sarutobi Sasuke (Jump Like Monkey Sasuke) was a famous ninja in the employ of Sanada Daisuke who fought for the losing side against Ieyasu. He was believed to have committed suicide when he was trapped in a castle, but the story takes off that he really escaped and that Sarutobi is not a name of a ninja but a whole ninja clan. There's no translation, so I'd rather watch full movie that comes in the 1980s.   Overall Rating: 0/10   41. Toushi Gordian Gordian Warrior 闘士ゴーディアン [1979-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/73) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi The Earth had become a wasteland of deserts as the survivors work to rebuild communities. Daigo Otaki is a young orphan raised by his uncle. Becoming an adult, Daigo discovers that Victor City was in fact planned by his father who was a genius scientist. Daigo's sister Saori had been managing it. She plead Daigo to take on the inheritance that Daigo's father left him, a super robot system known as Gordian. Daigo would join the Mechacon mechanic combat 18th regiment unit, an organization of law enforcers that defend Victor City against attacks from the Madokuta organization. Did not find anything worth mentioning in this mecha, very stale and irritating taste.   Overall Rating: 3/10   42. Lupin III: Cagliostro no Shiro Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro ルパン三世 カリオストロの城 [1979-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery Arsene Lupin III discovers that the spoils from his latest casino robbery are actually "Gothic Bills," legendary counterfeits that are nigh impossible to distinguish from genuine bills. Together with colleague Daisuke Jigen, he heads to the small nation of Cagliostro to investigate the origin of these counterfeits. Upon arrival, they save a girl from a high-speed chase who turns out to be Clarisse d' Cagliostro, the daughter of the late Duke d' Cagliostro. She is running from a sinister plot by Count Cagliostro to steal her family's treasure through a forced marriage. Natural flirt Lupin dislikes seeing a girl in distress and seeks to remedy the situation. Goemon Ishikawa XIII, Fujiko Mine, and Kouichi Zenigata also join the fray, each with their own motivations. As everyone converges at Cagliostro Castle, Lupin reminisces about his visit there 10 years ago, and the castle's secrets emerge from the depths. Canonical story for Lupin. It's definitely much better than previous OVA about immortality, but I guess it's as high as this series can get for me - still not deep , not entertaining, just shallow twists and intrigues in memorable entourage.   Overall Rating: 6/10   43. Ganbare!! Tabuchi-kun!! がんばれ!! タブチくん!! [1979-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy, Sports The Seibu Lions baseball team makes it to the next round of a baseball tournament thanks to the heroic efforts of its star player, Tabuchi, but the next stage will involve hard work and cooperation. Slice comedy about sports, yet untranslated one, so there's a roof it can hit.   Overall Rating: 6/10   44. Ashinaga Ojisan Daddy Long-Legs あしながおじさん [1979-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Comedy, Drama An orphan girl receives a scholarship for a prestigious school from an anonymous benefactor who she refers to as Daddy Long Legs. Anime is one hour long and is all about waiting to meet uncle, reminded me of visual novel from the 90s My Dear Arenaga Oji-san a lot.   Overall Rating: 4/10
  6. kivandopulus
    Mirai Shounen Conan is the first anime that I'm rating as 8 - definite masterpiece.    1. Perrine Monogatari ペリーヌ物語 [1978-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/53) Tags: Shoujo Historical Drama, Slice of Life Perrine travels across Europe with her mother, a photographer, in a cabin drawn by a donkey. They are heading to a small village in northern France, the home of Perrine's dead father. Perrine doesn't know that they are unwanted in the village; Perrine's father left the village after having quarrelled with his father (Perrine's grandfather) and married in India against his father's will. After her mother falls ill, Perrine has to sell everything, including her beloved donkey Palikare, to pay for medicine. Mother dies in Paris and before dying tells the girl that she has to make her grandfather love her before he knows who she really is. After a journey full of hardships, Perrine finally arrives in the village where she learns that her grandfather is the rich owner of the factory that feeds all the villagers. Presenting herself under a false name, Perrine gets a job on the factory, searching for a way to the heart of her grandfather. It's the beginning of the year, so , yeah, kids travel again. Now the what if Alps no Heidi was older edition. Another family drama yet zero humor spotted. That and rather unattractive drawing kills any intrigue left.   Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Joou Heika no Petite Angie Angie Girl 女王陛下のプティアンジェ [1978-I] (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Shoujo Historical Mystery 19th century London. Angie is a 12-year-old girl, descended from nobility. She once helped to solve the Queen’s jewel robbery case and since then, the Queen has appointed her to work on particularly difficult cases. Her brilliance and courage overwhelm many grownups. She is assisted by other children and Detective Michael of Scotland Yard. This series is full of fun, suspense and pathos, showing how Angie uses her wits to solve case after case. Just a child Sherlock. Girl just makes it a bit brighter with laughter, but that's it .   Overall Rating: 4/10   3. Yakyuukyou no Uta 野球狂の詩 [1978-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 2/25) Tags: Action, Drama, Sports Against her insistence, Yuuki is drafted by the Tokyo Mets as the first woman player in the baseball league. Basically it's similar to Dokaben in case of humor. Girl does not change much, to be honest, it just add individuality and recognition to the title .   Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Chirin no Suzu Ringing Bell チリンの鈴 [1978-I] Sunrise (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy  Chirin, a newborn lamb, and his mother live a peaceful life in a meadow. As long as they stay inside the fence that protects them and the rest of the flock, they are free to frolic and graze on the delicious clover leaves. However, their idyllic life is shattered when a wolf named Wor attacks them in the dead of night, killing Chirin's mother. Struggling to process his mother's death, Chirin swears to become a wolf himself in order to avenge his mother, unaware of what this transformation would cost him. There has already been Wan Wan Chushingura, why would we need another animal revenge story. Actually, this one is different because antagonist wolf is not just evil, he's also trainer in a way and a mentor. It's still is nice that it provokes thoughts like that devoting life to something loses meaning with that something gone, so maybe it's not worth devoting life to one thing.   Overall Rating: 5/10   5. Mirai Shounen Conan Future Boy Conan 未来少年コナン [1978-II] Nippon Animation (Finished 26/26) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi Conan was the only child born on Remnant Island, a place settled by a group of refugees while they fled a terrifying wave of magnetic bombs that wiped out most of humanity. After 20 years, most of the castaways have died, save for Conan and the wise old man that raised him. Believing Remnant Island to be the last inhabited place on Earth, Conan is shocked when he discovers a young girl named Lana washed up on the beach one day. Though he is thrilled to learn that humanity has survived, Lana tells him the nation of Industria wants her as a hostage to force her grandfather, Dr. Lao, to power their machinery. Their conversation is cut short when Industria's top pilot, Monsley, suddenly appears and seizes Lana. Determined to save her, Conan immediately sets off from Remnant Island and begins a journey that will ultimately determine the fate of the world. I remember this island and house made from the aircraft from some newer anime, so this one is important even to set legacy. Secondly, it's kind of post-apocalypse. Thirdly, there's a strong aim given from the start with potential bigger mystery foreshadowed. Lastly, it's just very high quality animation and beautiful drawing. I spent a lot of time hesitating between 8 and 9 and in that time determined that 8 is definite masterpiece with serious flaw, yet not genius work and 9 is a definite masterpiece without flaws, yet not a genius work. In the end settled with 8 due to artificial extension, notably, first 30 seconds of new episode are 30 seconds of last episode, moreover last epilogue episode added nothing new and was not needed at all. Oh, and did not expect it to be Miyazaki directorship .   Overall Rating: 8/10   6. Uchuu Kaizoku Captain Herlock Space Pirate Captain Harlock 宇宙海賊・キャプテンハーロック [1978-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 6/42) Tags: Seinen Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi It is 2977 AD and mankind has become stagnant. Robots do all the work, the masses are kept tranquil by subliminal messages, and government officials are lazy, caring only about recreational activities like golf and horse racing. Captain Herlock has defied this insipid mentality, leading a group of like-minded rebels to a more adventurous life aboard the spaceship Arcadia. A mysterious force known as the Mazone has invaded the Earth, taking the form of mysterious cloaked women that kill anyone who suspect their nefarious doings, such as Tadashi Daiba who is now on their hit-list. After his scientist father is ignored by the government and killed by the Mazone, he joins Captain Herlock and his ragtag group of pirates to assist them as they try to save humanity from the impending alien threat. Well, I tried! First four episodes are a pure horror as it's torn narration with several characters tracked and several flashbacks - during those first four episodes there is no character introduction at all. Unlike Yamato, Harlock has a vague aim and occasional appearance of invaders. I like integral stuff, not mashup of 42 episodes with random stuff. Somehow characters in Yamato hooked from the start as well as very pressed situations at all moments. Here's no tension at all, and all characters behave kinda neutrally from the start. This series needs a better pacing and directorship, so I'd gladly watch a Movie, but for now, alas  .   Overall Rating: 6/10   7. Toushou Daimos Daimos 闘将ダイモス [1978-II] Sunrise, Toei Animation (Dropped 3/44) Tags: Shounen Mecha Adventure, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi The third of Tadao Nagahama's Romance Super Robot Trilogy. (#1: Chou Denji Robo Combattler V, #2: Chou Denji Machine Voltes V) After the destruction of their home world, the survivors of the planet Barm head toward Earth with the goal of negotiating the purchase of land to emigrate to. Unfortunately, during the negotiations, the Barmian's leader, Leon, is assassinated by his second in command, Olban, and the delegation from Earth is framed for the murder. In the ensuing chaos, Doctor Isamu Ryuuzaki of the Earth delegation is shot and killed. Shortly after the disastrous end of the talks, the Barmians (called "Valerians" in Starbirds) begin a campaign of terror against Earth, lead by Leon's son, Admiral Richter, who deploys a variety of "Mecha Soldiers" against the planet's defenses. The only thing standing between the Earthlings and annihilation is the transforming, karate-using super robot, Daimos, and its pilot, Kazuya Ryuuzaki. But that changes when he meets and falls in love with a mysterious girl named Erika, who turns out to be Richter's sister. Over the course of their struggles to reunite, Kazuya and Erika each learn that the other's people are not all evil... and that their own people are not all good. Part of same looking, same average feeling trilogy.   Overall Rating: 4/10   8. SF Saiyuuki Starzinger Spaceketeers ＳＦ西遊記 スタージンガー [1978-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/13) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Space Adventure, Sci-Fi The Great Planet is dying, since its Queen is old and powerless... and the universe will perish along with it. Princess Aurora of the Moon volunteers to become the new Queen, so she must set out in a dangerous travel... along with her friends and escorts: the powerful Cyborgs Jan Kogo, Sa Jogo and Don Hakka. Plot is a mix of Yamato and Harlock (in regard of guarding VIP in space), so it bites more than it can chew from the start. Poor drawing, simpleton characters and playing into unrealistic mecha does not leave it a single chance even with some primitive humor involved .   Overall Rating: 3/10   9. Majokko Tickle 魔女っ子チックル [1978-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/45) Tags: Shoujo Comedy On Chiiko's 11th birthday, her father gives her a special book. Inside the book is a trapped witch, Majokko Tickle. When Chiiko frees Tickle from the book, she uses her magic to pass off as Chiiko's twin sister. Poor drawing and simple characters actually make this anime worse than pretty much any magical girl anime that had comedy in it. Feels like done in hurry just to fill TV slot.   Overall Rating: 3/10   10. Ikkyuu-san (1978) 一球さん [1978-II] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: School, Team Sports Action High-school student Ikkyuu knows nothing about baseball, but his talents are recognized by the manager of the baseball club, and he takes up this enchanting sport. While his ignorance of the game leads him to make many mistakes, Ikkyuu - who is in fact a descendant of ninja - displays his superhuman abilities and leads the team to the High School Baseball Championships. Can only say that humor is not as good as in Dokaben, can hardly evaluate the rest.   Overall Rating: 4/10   11. Manga Hajimete Monogatari まんがはじめて物語 [1978-II] Studio Jack (Dropped 0/305) Tags: Educational, Historical Adventure, Comedy An educational program for children featuring various historical events, showing both animation and live action footage. A reoccurring "older sister" and the pink mole Mogutan, will take you on a journey through time. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   12. Haikara-san ga Tooru Smart-san はいからさんが通る [1978-III] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/42) Tags: Shoujo Historical Drama, Romance, Slice of Life Set in the 1920s, Haikara-san ga Tooru is the story of the high-spirited tomboy Benio and her relationship with a handsome half-German soldier named Shinobu. Benio is a very outgoing and athletic girl with firm ideas about being able to live her life as she wants to. When she first meets Shinobu, she dislikes him intensely, even though he manages to help her out of a series of embarrassing mishaps. She is therefore surprised when she finds out that she has been forced into an arranged marriage and that her husband-to-be is none other than Shinobu! The story then has many twists and turns, as Shinobu has to fight in the war, Benio has to wrangle with the idea of getting married, and getting along with her future in-laws and employer. Meanwhile, the great Kanto earthquake looms in the future... It's a very nice shoujo and I'm sure it caused a lasting impression on a lot of future works like game Sakura Wars and even Sailor Moon . It might be the first appearance of tomboy heroine as well. Males are still depicted almost normally, so it's not painful to watch. There's a lot of situational humor as well. There's hardly any appeal for me, though, as main there is mostly girl romance hesitations and Shinobu is not a complex character either .   Overall Rating: 5/10   13. Muteki Koujin Daitarn 3 無敵鋼人ダイターン３ [1978-III] Sunrise (Dropped 3/40) Tags: Mecha Sci-Fi Souzou Haran was a brilliant scientist that was conducting research on Mars. He created a form of cyborg life with the ability to think for itself. These cyborgs, dubbed the Meganoids, soon ran out of control and killed Dr. Haran along with his whole family, save his youngest son, the 16-year-old Banjou Haran. Banjou escapes from Mars on a rocket with a solar-powered super robot called Daitarn 3, which was built with the special metals of Mars. Now eighteen years old and living on Earth in a luxurious mansion, Banjou fights against the Meganoids with the aid of his faithful butler Garrison and his two gorgeous companions Reika and Beauty. Together they must stop the evil Meganoids which aspire to turn all humans into cyborgs and thus "improve" the human race. James Boтd style action mixed with mecha. Even two fanservice female companions can't help it.   Overall Rating: 3/10   14. Hoshi no Oujisama Petit Prince The Prince of the Stars: Le Petit Prince 星の王子さま　プチ・プランス [1978-III] Knack Productions (Dropped 4/35) Tags: Adventure The Little Prince lives on Asteroid B612, a tiny rock floating in space. He spends his days cleaning out the three small volcanoes on the asteroid (which he also uses to cook his breakfast) weeding out the baobob trees that threaten to take over, and caring for his friend the Rose Girl. When he gets lonely for company he catches a comet in his butterfly net and flies off to Earth for all sorts of adventures. Kid travels. First episode is introductory , further ones are travelling on the Earth and talking to animals or humans and thus making friends. Again, it's nice , but too naïve and exploration-focused to have real value for adults  .   Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Uchuu Majin Daikengou 宇宙魔神ダイケンゴー [1978-III] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Giant robot Daikengo flies through space to re-establish galactic peace; on-board prince Ryger, who ran away from his planet Emperius to defeat the menace out of his reign borders, in order to save his people; Cleo, corrupted prime minister's daughter, help him along with two nice little robots, Anike and Otoke. They fight evil Lady Baracross, leading invasion forces, with her assistant Roboleon, wearing a Napoleon style hat. Daikengo is the first robot with scuttles on his mouth. When he opens them, his vampire style teeth are shown and he can spit fire. The concept of transformer mecha fighting robots is old and beaten. So this time the spice is that protagonist team is a rogue exile in contrast to usual headquarters with omnipotent scientist. This also adds some intrigue as unit has to defend from motherland vehicles as well. Some service robots even try to humor. But overall nothing special - long transformation scenes, constant fighting different enemies with dull protagonist and bland girl companion .   Overall Rating: 4/10   16. Saraba Uchuu Senkan Yamato: Ai no Senshi-tachi Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato: In the Name of Love さらば宇宙戦艦ヤマト・愛の戦士たち [1978-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Military, Space Action, Drama, Sci-Fi In the year 2201, one year after the Yamato saved Earth from radioactive contamination, a new threat emerges. The Yamato makes its final journey to save the Earth from this new threat. Earth has almost recovered from the battle against Gamilus, and reconstruction has expanded to the other planets. When former Yamato crew-mates discover a strange, garbled message that seems to be coming from a white comet headed towards Earth, they hijack their old space fortress and begin a new battle. Series was good, but OVA compilation scrapped most of character development and was rather hasty. So this first original OVA tries to avoid those shortcomings. The whole comet flight scene takes several painful minutes where nothing happens on the screen, the Yamato departure takes at least several minutes too. Show definitely takes its time lasting 2:32 . Romance is approached just from the start, plus there's more focus on ship team and even companion , scouts captain. In the series there were several memorable episodes about boarding the planets, so here there are a lot of such scenes. New plot , sadly , also tries to imitate originator closely . Same sudden enemy , sudden help request and travel while fighting this new enemy on the way . The novelty and thrill under constant threat is gone. Some cheap-looking drama and advanced directorship try to substitute it. My main complaint is that things are going in expected fashion. If it managed to surprise, I'd give it a masterpiece. But can't do that as original wins in most aspects. I don't see the need for it as a filler between 1st and 2nd season, best skip this OVA.     Overall Rating: 5/10   17. Kagaku Ninja-tai Gatchaman (Movie) 科学忍者隊 ガッチャマン [1978-III] Tatsunoko Production (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi This is the condensed theatrical adaptation of the original TV series' first season. Science ninja team started as another superhero team fighting. But team personalities stand out all right, there's protagonist's older brother who gets into troubles, enemies behave funny, there are some unexpected action scenes like racing or interrogation. So there is enough human-like development in what seemed to be absolutely boring story. It's still not even remotely interesting for me, but I appreciate the novelty to the genre when I see one.   Overall Rating: 4/10   18. 100-man-nen Chikyuu no Tabi: Bander Book One-Million Year Trip: Bander Book 100万年地球の旅 バンダーブック [1978-III] Tezuka Productions (Finished 1/1) Tags: Sci-Fi  To escape the explosion of their ship caused by a terrorist attack, the parents of a young baby put him inside an escape pod and send him out before dying. The pod ends up on a planet inhabited by beings able to transform themselves into animals by using a special ring. The young baby is rescued by the royal family, and grows up to become the prince. When the planet is attacked by pirates, he will be brought by force to Earth and discover everything about his own origins, and forgotten brother. The signature of Osamu Tezuka is seen instantly here just like in Arabian Nights and Cleopatra. And I liked this work the most of the three. Can I recommend it as a masterpiece ? Not sure. I like Tezuka style, chaos and innovation. Moreover, I see roots of Akira here. At the same time there's a lot of expression and curiosity, but still not enough depth to be recommended universally .   Overall Rating: 6/10   19. Daisetsusan no Yuusha Kibaou King Fang 大雪山の勇者 牙王 [1978-III] Nippon Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Drama The conflicting fates of human beings and wild animals are depicted in a naturalistic setting. The main character of the story is Fang, who was born to a hunting dog and a circus-runaway European wolf. Although Fang was raised by a human family, he is a wild animal after all, and is destined to live amongst nature. The story reaches its climax when Fang returns from the circus and faces his foe, a giant brown bear which killed his family. To tell the truth, I don't understand why this story is needed or exists. It's surface-scratching and has no thought or purpose behind it, just observation. Another mindless revenge story.   Overall Rating: 5/10   20. Ginga Tetsudou 999 銀河鉄道９９９ [1978-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 9/113) Tags: Space Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi In the distant future, humanity has found a way to live forever by purchasing mechanical bodies, but this way to immortality is extraordinarily expensive. An impoverished boy, Tetsurou Hoshino, desires to purchase a pass on the Galaxy Express 999—a train that travels throughout the universe—because it is said that at the end of the line, those aboard can obtain a mechanical body for free. When Tetsurou's mother is gunned down by the villainous machine-man hybrid Count Mecha, however, all seems lost. Tetsurou is then saved from certain death by the mysterious Maetel, a tall woman with blonde hair and a striking resemblance to his mother. She gives him a pass to the Galaxy Express under one condition: that they travel together. Thus, Tetsurou begins his journey across the universe to many unique planets and thrilling adventures, in hopes of being able to attain that which he most desires. Kid travels, now in space! Episodic in nature. It's nice how center question of the anime is about mechanical body parts. Still most episodes I saw weren't great. There are many OVA on certain episodes of Express 999, probably those are really great ones , I'll see .   Overall Rating: 6/10   21. Takarajima Treasure Island 宝島 [1978-IV] Madhouse (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Mystery Jim Hawkins is a young boy lead by progressive events to embark on a search journey for the legendary treasure of the once dreaded pirate, Captain Flint. On their way to Treasure Island, John Silver, Jim's best friend, take over command of the ship revealing his true self as the ruthless pirate who once was the right hand of Flint himself. Feeling betrayed, Jim now has to deal with his mixed feelings and face Silver who still consider himself and Jim as friends. A more fleshed out and exciting version compared to the book. Narration is very slow and occasionally filler-filled. It may easily interest if story is not read or seen some other way. I can't find a reason to watch the story anew.   Overall Rating: 6/10   22. Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2 Star Blazers: The Comet Empire 宇宙戦艦ヤマト2 [1978-IV] Group TAC (Finished 26/26) Tags: Adult Cast, Military, Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi A year has passed since the Star Force returned to save the Earth but another danger now approaches from deep space. A gigantic White Comet hurtles toward our galaxy, obliterating everything in its path. But it is no ordinary comet—it is the deadly Comet Empire, conqueror of worlds... and Earth is the next target! Against orders, the Star Force blasts off to investigate, but even if they can get past the flagship Andromeda, they don't yet know the true nature of their new enemy! As expected, second season makes intermediate OVA not just obsolete, but also harmful and misleading. Second season marks comeback of logical integral storytelling while telling the same events of OVA in a proper manner and going further instead of stopping midway like OVA did. I don't remember a sequel that would surpass the original (well, maybe Haruhi) , so question is usually whether the score of original is retained or sequel is rated lower. There is more variety this time, four enemy generals have different weapons to attack with, lots of ground battles, new scout captain companion fits the spot well. And despite sequel faithfully developing themes of original, impact is gone and I can no longer recommend it universally, because characters are remaining rather simple , and there is less tension , nothing really new is added. Also sudden love theme coming out of nowhere only irritates. Can only recommend to those who did not have enough of first season .     Overall Rating: 6/10   23. Captain Future キャプテンフューチャー  [1978-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Curtis Newton, aka Captain Future, is an orphan. His parents died in their artificial satellite while he was an infant. His father was a scientist, who has abandoned earth for the satellite to dedicate his life for science along with his aging friend the genius Dr Simon Wright. Wright senses his death, and decides to implant his brain in a mechanical container. They both manufactured a superior robot and an android. Captain future dedicated his life to fight evil along with his three men, the brain, android, and robot. Why each episode almost 29 minutes... apart from that anime reminds Cyborg 009 a lot - same colorful agents party, same fighting with dark cyborgs organization, lots of action. The main difference is that most of Captain Future heroes are cyborgs and mostly use more conventional means of attack. There is some humor linked to mascots . Still see now way to rate it higher than 5 .   Overall Rating: 5/10   24. Shin Ace wo Nerae! New Aim for the Ace! 新・エースをねらえ! [1978-IV] Tohokushinsha Film Corporation (Dropped 3/25) Tags: Shoujo School Drama, Romance, Sports Heroine, Hiromi Oka, has just entered a high school famous for its tennis club. She has started playing tennis yearning after Madam Butterfly. She was expecting to enjoy playing tennis with her best friend, Maki, but the situation changes when the new coach, Mr. Munakata, suddenly picks out Hiromi to be one of the players for the upcoming tournament and starts giving Hiromi tough lessons. She strives under any circumstance. The more the new coach gives her training, the better she seems to get. Finally she becomes the representative in the junior match tournament. For me original was better as this remake becomes too girlified shoujo if I can say that. Inner monologues, constant caprice and gimmicks, instant focus on romance and sweet shots , spontaneous crying - stuff like that. It outlines the future shoujo and otome genre better, but I prefer hybrids to pure shoujo/otome .  Overall Rating: 5/10   25. Kagaku Ninja-tai Gatchaman II Eagle Riders 科学忍者隊ガッチャマンII [1978-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Two years after the defeat of Galactor and the apparent death of Condor Joe, a cruise ship is attacked by Leader X, killing nearly everyone on board. One of the survivors, a young girl, is captured by X and rapidly aged into the bizarre, masculine-voiced villainess Gel Sadra. Though she has the appearance of an adult, Gel Sadra is not immune to throwing childish tantrums and behaving immaturely. In the midst of the revival of Galactor, the Science Ninja Team is called back into action, with a shady man known as Hawk Getz acting as the replacement for Joe. Getz is quickly revealed to be a Galactor agent in disguise (and had killed the actual Getz who was to join), and winds up killed by a mysterious feather shuriken. After hints spread in the first three episodes, Joe reappears in the fourth episode, having somehow survived his fatal injuries at the end of the first series, and rejoins the team. It is later revealed that he was rescued by an ex-Galactor scientist at the brink of his death, and was the subject of various cybernetic augmentations. Later in the series, a female scientist known as Dr.Pandora is introduced, who had lost her husband and daughter in the cruise ship disaster. Unbeknown to her, her daughter Sammie survived and is in fact Gel Sadra. First season of Gatchaman was memorable because of unique bird-like costumes, somewhat memorable heroes and dramatic twists-filled story that actually moves somewhere. Season two continues this tradition with one companion dropping and one new arriving. Still zero value for me.   Overall Rating: 4/10   26. Pink Lady Monogatari: Eikou no Tenshi-tachi ピンク・レディー物語 栄光の天使たち  [1978-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 0/33) Tags: Music Drama, Slice of Life Based on the real life-story of Pink Lady, a female pop duo that rose to superstardom in the mid-1970's. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   27. Lupin III: Lupin vs. Fukusei-ningen Lupin III: The Secret of Mamo ルパンvs複製人間 [1978-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery Lupin, the master thief/spy/Jack of all Trades, has been executed, but he is still alive, and not even Lupin himself knows how that is possible. While trying to figure out, however, he and his gang are thrust into a conspiracy involving clones, Lupin's un-trustworthy rival Fujiko, and a miniature madman's plot to take over the world. This Lupin movie is about pharaoh mystery of immortality... did not like it . I believe this franchise can do better than that.   Overall Rating: 4/10   28. Captain Future: Kareinaru Taiyokei Race キャプテンフューチャー・華麗なる太陽系レース [1978-IV] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Sequel of Captain Future. Nothing different noticed from the usual Captain future.   Overall Rating: 5/10   29. Machi Ichiban no Kechinbou The Stingiest Man in Town 町一番のけちんぼう [1978-IV] Topcraft (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical, Music Drama, Supernatural Based on the novel A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The whole story is not big, so OVA is primarily a musical. Not worth the time.   Overall Rating: 5/10
  7. kivandopulus

    Anime of the Year 1977 - Araiguma Rascal

    By kivandopulus,


    Anime of the Year
    There are no masterpieces in 1977 for me. Among the 6s, Araiguma Rascal is my choice.   1. Time Bokan Series: Yatterman タイムボカンシリーズ ヤッターマン [1977-I] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/22) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Comedy A mysterious gem called the "Skull Stone" is said to be able to reveal the location of the largest vein of gold in the world. This legend has entranced many people who wanted to get their hands on fame, power and wealth, including the trio of villains in this show: the "Dorombo Gang." However, their hunt for the Skull Stone is not as easy as they imagined, mainly due to the faulty information they receive from their leader, and most of all, by a justical duo of pursuers called the "Yatterman"! Time travel series without time travel - that's awkward ! Anyway, all the gang and concept is taken from the time travel series, but to show different locations time travel is not really needed. This time the gang takes most of screen time, so they are probably the protagonists. The goodies duo, plus robot dog yatterman are older than they were in original Time Bokan , but rather boring just as then. Also need to note that level of comedy and craziness is higher as robot dog Yatterman has weird method of attack - usually summoning mechanical insects or animals. Overall, I don't see conceptual difference with original Time Bokan, thus the same score.   Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Araiguma Rascal Raccoon Rascal あらいぐまラスカル [1977-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Historical, Pets Drama, Slice of Life Life in Brailsford Junction, Wisconsin, is simple and quiet for Sterling North, who spends most of his free time caring for animals. With his mother in the hospital and his brother fighting on the Western Front, the boy lives only with his father and his dog Hauser. One weekend, cutting away from his usual chores, Sterling, his friend Oscar, and Hauser head off on a fishing trip. On their way to the river, his dog catches a scent at the base of a tree. Unearthing a raccoon's nest, the two boys find an orphaned kit. A passing hunter has killed the kit's mother to make a fur hat, leaving Sterling to adopt and care for the orphaned raccoon. Torn by his fracturing family, a brother in the trenches, along with the ailing health of his mother, Sterling's bonds with life and the world around him are kept together and strengthened by life with his new friend, the "ring-tailed wonder" and scoundrel, whom he names Rascal. Close to Durrell books about animals. Good for children, but I can't find a reason to continue watching it as an adult.   Overall Rating: 6/10   3. Jetter Mars ジェッターマルス [1977-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/27) Tags: Mecha Action, Drama, Sci-Fi In 2015 A.D., Dr. Yamanoue, the Secretary of the Science Ministry, who devotes himself assembles the Android robot on an artificial island. He intends to live together with him as his own son. But the robot has a deficiency in his electric brain. He comes to the conclusion that Dr. Kawashimo's help is essential to correct his defective rain. Although they are friends, they are rivals not only in private life but also in scientific study. Dr. Yamanoue is very jingoistic and only thinks of the robot as one of his strategic arms. On the contrary, Dr. Kawashimo is a pacifist and devotes his affection to robots. Dr. Kawashimo hurries to the island on request of Dr. Yamanoue, taking his pretty young daughter Miri with him. Arriving on the island, Dr. Kawashimo sets the electric brain into Jet Mars, a robot boy. Thus Mars comes into the world. Everything is new to Mars and he doesn't know what is good or bad. On the next day he lifts Dr. Kawashimo and Miri up onto the building. When he sees a glint of moisture in Miri's eyes, he has a mysterious feeling in his mind. Then he asks Dr. Yamanoue what it is. He is taught that it is a tear a weak girl sheds, but, a strong man never does. One day, the electric brain of Fainton, another robot, is put out of order. So Fainton goes-on a wild rampage and the island is plunged into a crisis. When the seawater runs into the facilities from the big hole made by Fainton, only Mars stands in amazement and is quite at a loss what to do just then Miri exhibits her ultra ability and covers the big hole. Led by her, Mars also carries a sheet of iron and makes repairs. At last they rescue Dr. Yamanoue and Dr. Kawashimo from being washed by seawater. Miri is the robot made by Dr. Kawashimo. Mars learns how to cry and learns how to perform a kind deed. I've no idea why not just call it Astroboy 2 , the similarities are striking. Maybe legal rights or something. Anyway, just one girl partner, very simplistic in most areas.   Overall Rating: 4/10   4. Sekai Meisaku Douwa: Hakuchou no Ouji The Wild Swans 世界名作童話 白鳥の王子 [1977-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Fantasy When a widower king loses his way in a dangerous forest, he is forced to take a witch's daughter as a second wife in order to escape. However, the newly crowned queen Greta quickly becomes jealous of the time the king spends with his children and vows her revenge. In the middle of the night, Greta sneaks to where the children are sleeping and turns six of the king's sons into swans, leaving the only daughter, Elisa, to fend for herself. Elisa travels far and wide in the search for her brothers and finds them living in a remote cave. While she rejoices at their reunion, she sees how terribly the curse has affected her brothers and promises to set them free at any cost. Just an adaptation of Andersen fairy-tale, a pretty faithful one, so don't know what to discuss here.   Overall Rating: 4/10   5. Ashita e Attack! Attack on Tomorrow あしたへアタック！ [1977-II] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/23) Tags: School, Team Sports  This drama tells the story of girls in high school. Girls who love to play volleyball form a team in their school. Although the team starts out as a weak and unorganized sport club, over time the girls’ extraordinary passion and endeavor enables their team to become one of the best organized and highly recognized teams at the school. Now they aim to win the championship in the National High School Volleyball League. Although it is painful and hard to achieve such a goal, it is nice to have friends to share the feeling, especially the joy. Through volleyball, the girls learn and experience many lessons in life as they grow up. Let’s share their laughter. It seems to be some unofficial spinoff of Attack No.1 that I never cared about. This one is very similar, just with more humor.   Overall Rating: 4/10   6. Wakusei Robo Danguard Ace Dangard Ace 惑星ロボ ダンガードA[エース] [1977-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/56) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Military, Space Sci-Fi In order to explore the newly discovered planet, Promethe, there are many projects are running all over the world. Here in Japan, under the direction of Dr. Oedo, "Space Carrier Jasdum" and "Planet Robot Dangard A" are being built. Ichimonji Takuma is a candidate for the pilot of Dangard A. His father, Ichimonji Dantetsu, was a famous space pilot. However, Dantetsu went missing after a mysterious accident, and the people blamed him for the accident. In order to clear his name, Takuma is trying to become a space pilot and succeed in the project. Will Takuma become the pilot? Of course he will, but would want to watch it. What we get is pilot action alongside solving mystery and gradually getting into space as playground. Very little humor and no real partners, so expected rating.   Overall Rating: 3/10   7. Chogattai Majutsu Robot Ginguiser  超合体魔術ロボ　ギンガイザー [1977-II] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Shounen Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi Twenty thousand years before the creation of mankind, two tribes-Plazmans and Sazorions-came to the earth. The bellicose Sazorions tried to conquer the peaceful Plazmans using the dreadful power of the Scorpio in outer space. Twenty thousand years later-at some time in the future-Dr. Godo, the only survivor of the Plazmans, secretly prepares Ginguiser, the combined magic robot troop, to defend peace in the event that the Sazorions are revived. Dr. Godo commands four brave young men to acquire occult super powers. Each episode of this series features a sequence of fabulous and fantastic battles. These scenes cannot fail to arouse the interest and excitement of the audience, and will be certain to catch every eye. Mecha , characters and humor all looks very similar to Blocker Gundan IV Machine Blaster to the extent that I seriously consider it to be a spinoff or something. Anyway, same kind of trash.   Overall Rating: 3/10   8. Gasshin Sentai Mechander Robo Combining Squadron Mechander Robo 合身戦隊メカンダーロボ [1977-II] Wako Productions (Dropped 2/35) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Mystery, Sci-Fi The Doron Empire from the Ganymede System discovered Earth as an ideal world for them to conquer. The interest of expanding the empire came as a result of the power-hungry General Ozmel who overthrew the current reigning Queen Medusa of the Ganymede System as a start of their universal conquest. Almost completely succumbed to the empire, Earth is at its last days, and one scientist, Dr. Shikishima, had only one hope in restoring Earth from its alien conquerors--- a massive mecha known as the Mechander Robo, specially programmed and designed to battle these invading aliens from complete takeover of Earth. Along with this awesome fighter machine, Dr. Shikishima also recruited three pilots to be placed behind the Mechander Robo's controls--- the mysterious Jimmy Orion, the scientist's son Ryosuke Shikishima, and Kojiro Hachijima. Although the primary storyline is Earth battling the Doron Empire, there is something within lead pliot Jimmy Orion's past that was somewhat connected towards the entire storyline. Another pilot ace action turning into mecha and with mystery of protagonist's past. Good job running roughly the same concept as Wakusei Robo Danguard Ace the same season. This one is a more straightforward and more team-oriented though. Could they all at least stop making mecha red and white or roughly the same form? Anyway, trash .   Overall Rating: 3/10   9. Hyouga Senshi Gaislugger 氷河戦士ガイスラッガー [1977-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 2/20) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi A cyborg warrior from an ancient Antarctic kingdom awakes 30000 years later from an accidental hibernation to find the Earth changed and an old alien enemy on the verge of invasion. It's up to Guyslugger to use his ancient technology to defeat the aliens. Now a direct Cyborg 009 imitation with younger and much less cooler team. I see an attempt to add more primitive humor. It's still better than average mecha, so a four.   Overall Rating: 4/10   10. Chou Denji Machine Voltes V 超電磁マシーン ボルテスV [1977-III] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/40) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi From out of nowhere, a mysterious alien race known as the Boazan Forces has invaded the Earth. A group of individuals specially trained to handle this kind of situation has been unleashed. Kenichi, Ippei, Daijirou, Hiyoshi & Megumi are the pilots of the Choudenji Machine Voltes V (5), Earth's defense against the Boazan and their terrible Beast Warriors. The plot thickens as the Go Brothers discover their true heritage and the truth behind their father's disappearance. Conflicts and mixed emotions hinder the Go Brothers at times but due to their unwavering desire to find their dad, they must go to the place where it all started. With the help of the rebels based on Earth and on the aliens' homeworld, the Voltes Team has another mission, remove the tyrant Zu Zanbajil and liberate the people of Boazan. It comes in trilogy with Chou Denji Robo Combattler V, and they look almost identical to me characters-wise and concept-wise. Characters have different specializations this time, but it's a bad excuse to make another same looking anime. Quality is still better than rivals due to varied team and some humor.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Seton Doubutsuki: Kuma no Ko Jacky Monarch: The Big Bear of Tallac シートン動物記　くまの子ジャッキー [1977-III] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama One day a native American boy named Lan meets two little bears at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, where he lives with his father. Lan names the brother bear ‘Jacky’ and the sister bear ‘Jill’. As Lan plays with the two bears, they become good friends. However their happiness doesn’t last for long. Lan’s father accidentally shoots the two little bears’ mother to death. Feeling sorry for them, Lan decides to take Jackie and Jill back home to live with him. We've seen girl of the prairie Laura, but we have not seen a boy protagonist in these circumstances yet. As usual, can't say it's bad - it's just for children. And I have serious questions about structure as first episode is devoted exclusively to the dog, second to the bears and third to children, and all those episodes have zero shared characters.   Overall Rating: 5/10   12. Choujin Sentai Baratack 超人戦隊バラタック [1977-III] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/31) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi Late at night, at a lake surrounded by a peaceful forest, a mysterious spaceship landed on the water. The group that emerged from that ship kidnapped the head of space engineering, Professor Katou, and his family. The Professor's second son, American football player Yuuji, who had run away from home was in the middle of a game and knew nothing of what had happened. The four young people watching him were Mark, Dickey, Franco, and Yuri. They were a team of four psychics who had been training in a secret base. They had seen the previous night's events and believed them to be an alien attack. Believing their only option to be the transforming robot Baratack, they used their psychic powers to kidnap Yuuji. Baratack could only move by combining the powers of Yuuji and the other four acting as one. When all five, including the astonished Yuuji, cried "Pentagoras Unite!” Baratack emerged. Yuuji was overcome with a violent rage, his fighting spirit burning to defeat the Golteus reptile army. Bland immature characters, primitive humor, another reshuffling of all elements used before numerous times.   Overall Rating: 3/10   13. Uchuu Senkan Yamato (Movie) Space Battleship Yamato 宇宙戦艦ヤマト [1977-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Military, Space Drama, Sci-Fi In the year 2199, the Gamilon race declares war on humans, intent on taking Earth for themselves. The fighters on Earth do everything in their might to keep the planet stable, but alien technology proves to be far too advanced, and the resulting destruction renders the surface of planet Earth completely uninhabitable. The underground shelters are also becoming weak, and if nothing changes, humans will become extinct in less than a year. But just when all seems lost, Queen Starsha from the planet Iscandar offers a helping hand. The key to victory lies in the Cosmo-Cleaner D, which can eliminate the radiation that Earth is suffering from. However, the only way to get a hold of this life-saving device is if someone from Earth goes to Iscandar―148,000 light years away―to retrieve it. The problem is, they have less than a year before time runs out. The fate of the entire human race lies in the hands of the crew of a salvaged WWII craft, the Space Battleship Yamato. As expected, a lot of things were cut from the recap, especially relations (even pervy robot) and non-essential episodes not dealing with three Gamilon bases on Mars, Neptun and Pluto. Surprisingly, some scenes are added to make departure feel more organized and planned and at the same time more pressed with a new threat bomb. As for me, main series is not that long with 26 episodes, so this recap should be used only to get general idea before watching new seasons of Space Battleship Yamato.   Overall Rating: 6/10   14. Lupin III: Part II 新・ルパン三世 [1977-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/155) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery Lupin III chronicles the adventures of Arsene Lupin III, the world's greatest thief, and his partners in crime: master marksman Daisuke Jigen, beautiful and scheming Fujiko Mine and stoic samurai Goemon Ishikawa XIII. Lupin and his gang travel around the globe in search of the world's greatest treasures and riches and always keeping one step ahead of the tireless Inspector Zenigata, who has vowed to bring Lupin to justice. Main difference is that Lupin now acts with three allies as a team from the start. That's definitely more enjoyable, yet it's same random action adventures with inventive solutions.   Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Muteki Choujin Zanbot 3 Invincible Superman Zanbot 3 無敵超人サンボット３ [1977-IV] Sunrise (Dropped 3/23) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Drama, Sci-Fi There once existed a planet named Beal, until it was wiped out by the mysterious entity known as Gaizok. The few remaining survivors escaped to Earth and split into three families, named Jin, Kamie, and Kamikita respectively. While attempting to start a new life, the collectively known "Jin Family" prepared for the inevitable Gaizok invasion on Earth and its giant mechanical beasts known as "Mecha Boosts". In order to defend their new home, they have built three vehicles which when combined form the mighty Zambot 3. The Jin Family must not only defend against Gaizok attacks, but also harsh criticisms from the very people they protect, who blame the Jin Family for the invasion in the first place. As usual, number in the title means the number of protagonist pilots. Drawing and animation quality are high, but main characters are too young, pretty much recently from kindergarten. It adds a lot of trial and error, but overall complexity suffers. Sunrise animation technology is much better than oldschool studios. It feels like some fresh air in the stale genre.   Overall Rating: 5/10   16. Arrow Emblem Grand Prix no Taka Super Grand Prix アローエンブレム　グランプリの鷹 [1977-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/44) Tags: Racing Drama An anime with much of wheel actions ... Takaya Todoroki, a young man who wants to become a famous driver and built a car to be able to participate in a race with a big prize. In the race, because of the poor quality of building, Takaya has a serious accident in which he wrecked his car but he doesn`t hurt himself. That`s when a mysterious driver contact Takaya to enter onto some famous racing team...This mysterious man is a former driver .. a very famous one who appears every now and then to help Takaya fight his own destiny, to set him on the right track and most of all prove himself, unlike him. Usual racing action, even without battle cars. One protagonist and one teacher, one sidekick heroine. It's hard to imagine anything more boring.   Overall Rating: 2/10   17. Ore wa Teppei My Name Is Teppei おれは鉄兵 [1977-IV] Nippon Animation (Dropped 4/28) Tags: Shounen Action, Sports Teppei, brought up by his father in the mountains, is an energetic boy who is as tough as weeds and acts as free as a bird. His life changes completely when he enrolls in high school, the first school he has ever attended. Despite his eccentric behavior and being a constant source of troubles, he is soon recognized for his talent in sports—especially in Kendo (the Japanese swordplay art)—and becomes the school's hero. Protagonist is strong, but too young and immature. There is enough humor, but it's mostly about a wilderness boy ignorance. Again, no faint desire to watch it to the end.   Overall Rating: 5/10   18. Kyouryuu Daisensou Izenborg 恐竜大戦争アイゼンボーグ [1977-IV] (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Mecha Action Japan is being besieged by evil Dinosaurs that humanity have long thought extinct, they are back and are creating disaster. To counter the threat, a special team of expert warriors called Izenborg were created. Lamees and Kamal use their special powers to combine into Super Izenborg to battle the evil Satola and his Dinosaur army. This anime... is not anime, part three. It's basically the same Kyouryuu Tankentai Born Free , just with fighting dinosaurs instead saving dinosaurs. Also there seems to be a bit more animation here. Anyway, same repelling fake with same boring characters.   Overall Rating: 3/10   19. Chou Supercar Gattiger 超スーパーカー ガッタイガー  [1977-IV] Nihon Keizai Koukokusha (Dropped 1/25) Tags: Racing Action, Sci-Fi A scientist invents 5 special solar powered cars that can be joined into one supercar. The cars are given to the scientists son and his friends to compete in the racing circuit, but they are pursued by an evil organization that wants the secret of solar power. Another species in cheap fake anime series. It's actually mostly animation, but zoomed plans of toy cars are used. Simplistic development and straightforward characters confirmed.   Overall Rating: 0/10   20. Shin Kyojin no Hoshi 新巨人の星 [1977-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Team Sports A continuation of the popular baseball saga about the star pitcher of a professional baseball team. Only for fans of the original, thus not for me. Dead serious and solo-focused and thus inferior to Dokaben, in my opinion.   Overall Rating: 4/10   21. Gekisou! Rubenkaiser 激走! ルーベンカイザー [1977-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 0/17) Tags: Shounen Racing  A race car driver competes around the world in a race car left to him by his father. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   22. Manga Nihon Emaki まんが日本絵巻 [1977-IV] (Dropped 3/46) Tags: Historical Animated adaptations of traditional and historical Japanese stories. Each episode features 2 different stories. It's a bit more amusing than fairy-tales, but this is not strictly a history show, more like a collection of mythology stories involving samurai with all kinds of demons and monsters present, so of little real value to me.   Overall Rating: 5/10   23. Manga Ijin Monogatari まんが偉人物語 [1977-IV] Group TAC (Dropped 0/46) Tags: Historical From Genghis Khan to Thomas Edison, each episode in this series focuses on the life and achievement of two of history's greatest and most important persons. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10   24. Tobidase! Machine Hiryuu とびだせ! マシーン飛竜 [1977-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/13) Tags: Shounen Parody, Racing Comedy The bosses of rival car companies decide to fight each other in the sporting arena by backing different race car teams. Chairman Gapporin hires Okkanabichi the supreme racer, while Chairman Misaki hires Riki Kazama, a relatively untried driver for the flying car known as Machine Hiryu. Mixing elements of Speed Racer with Time Bokan, this Tatsunoko production ticks the same boxes, with Riki's cute girlfriend Nana, mini-mechanic Chuta, the cute ape and pooch, and the comic and glamorous villains lurking in the background. Early work from many big names, including Yoshitaka Amano and Kunio Okawara, is strictly in the studio mould. Manga versions of the story ran in several magazines, such as Terebi Magazine and Terebi Land. Racing fever seemed to have struck the Japanese animation business at this time: compare to the same year's Arrow Emblem. Basically, it feels like Time Bokan prequel as two antagonists are the same, just before greedy professor assistant joined them. Just races on battle cars of the good team resembling that of Yatterman and the gangster team. Same parody gimmicks are present.   Overall Rating: 4/10
  8. kivandopulus
    No masterpieces for me, but I'd like to highlight another slice-of-life old comedy Hana no Kakarichou .     1. Haha wo Tazunete Sanzenri 母をたずねて三千里 [1976-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Slice of Life Based on a short section of the novel Cuore by the Italian Edmondo de Amicis, Marco is a young boy living in Genoa, Italy, together with his father Pietro. But the family is not complete, for Marco`s mother left for Argentina around a year earlier in order to find work. Letters from her arrive regularly until one day they suddenly stop. Worry for his mother and what might have happened to her overcomes the young boy. Marco thus decides to embark upon a journey to Argentina in the hope of being reunited with his mother. At first, Pietro is opposed to Marco`s plan, but moved by his son's enthusiasm, he eventually allows the boy to go. So begins Marco`s long journey of the heart. Marco encounters many people throughout his travels, and finds maturity and self-acceptance as a result of his experiences. It comes from the same director as Alps no Shoujo Heidi and it shows. On one hand, story is more coherent in comparison and protagonist is more mature . On the other hand, protagonist is not as cute and there is less situational humor . Overall, it's nice enough, but definitely not for me.   Overall Rating: 6/10   2. Huckleberry no Bouken ハックルベリィの冒険 [1976-I] Group TAC (Dropped 5/26) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama Based on Mark Twain's well known masterpiece about Huckleberry Finn, the bright and merry orphan, this film is full of life, laughter, and will be loved by children around the world. When Huckleberry runs away from his orphanage, he teams up with an escaped slave. Together, they travel the Mississippi on a raft, encountering all kinds of people and adventures. I've lost count cow many "kids travel" anime suddenly appeared since 1974. There is some humor, plus both Huck, Tom and little Jim are quite nice, so I can rate it higher than usual, but not too high since there is no integral idea or something special about it.     Overall Rating: 6/10   3. Manga Nippon Mukashibanashi (1976) まんが日本昔ばなし（第2期） [1976-I] Group TAC (Dropped 3/1471) Tags: Historical Fantasy An omnibus-format TV series consisting of anime adaptations of Japanese folk tales, this is one of Japan's longest-running TV series, and Group Tac's second TV series (the first was The Road to Munich, a documentary anime about the 1972 Olympics). The governing rule of the series was that the creative staff change from episode to episode. While later other anime series like Nippon Animation's Famous Works of Japanese Literature would attempt the same, none would be as long-lived or successful. The rotation idea was that of director Sugii Gisaburo, a visual visionary unequaled in Japanese film history who has revolutionized anime several times in his career, be it in the 1967 TV series Goku's Big Adventure, in which he sought to shake anime free from the dominance of story development by yanking it back to a more cartoonish form, or The Belladonna of Sadness, where he broke the Disney full-animation mold, creating a full-length animated film in a completely new style that was a hybrid of still drawings and animation. The reason for rotating the staff each episode was so that each episode would have a completely different look and feel from its predecessor, and in this it was eminently successful. This is a series that is genuinely rewarding to watch, and is visually one of the richest in anime history. While this system also meant that quality varied, there were also occasionally superb episodes, as on the staff were many veterans like Group Tac founder SUGII Gisaburo himself, SHIBAYAMA Tsutomu, FURUZAWA Hideo, RIN Taro, and HIKONE Norio. Old episodes started being repeated more and more frequently as the years went on, and production of new episodes finally ceased completely in late 1995, but the series is still widely broadcast. Omnibus format can never attain a masterpiece level from me, but this poorly animated series at least has a lot of stories I never heard of, nothing unexpected or must have though.    Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Fengshen Bang The Story of Chinese Gods 封神榜 [1976-I] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Martial Arts Action, Fantasy Based on a traditional Chinese novel of the same name. Bewitched by his concubine Daji, who is actually a vixen spirit in disguise as a beautiful woman, King Zhou of Shang oppresses his people and persecutes those who oppose him, including his own subjects who dare to speak up to him. Ji Fa (King Wu of Zhou), assisted by his strategist Jiang Ziya, rallies an army to overthrow the tyrant and restore peace and order. Throughout the story, battles are waged between the kingdoms of Shang and Zhou, with both sides calling upon various supernatural beings – deities, immortals, demons, spirits, and humans with magical abilities – to aid them in the war. Yuanshi Tianzun bestows upon Jiang Ziya the Fengshen Bang, a list that empowers him to invest the gods of Heaven. The heroes of Zhou and some of their fallen enemies from Shang are eventually endowed with heavenly ranking and essentially elevated to their roles as gods, hence the title of the novel. Story itself is bs with torn hearts, heads and the number of demons surpassing that of humans. Making Bruce Lee come and defeat all unbeatable enemies is the cringe squared.   Overall Rating: 3/10   5. Chou Denji Robo Combattler V 超電磁ロボ コンバトラーＶ  [1976-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/54) Tags: Shounen Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi The first of Tadao Nagahama's Romance Super Robot Trilogy. (#2: Chou Denji Machine Voltes V, #3: Toushou Daimos) Thousands of years ago, the people of the planet Campbell decided to leave their planet and seek out new worlds to inhabit. One group, lead by the scientist Oreana, landed on Earth, but was delayed from their mission. In the early 21st century, Oreana's group reawakens and begins their plan to conquer the Earth. The only effective defense against the Campbellians' giant biomechanical slave beasts is the super-electromagnetic robot, Combattler V and its pilots. Five kids have distinguished personalities, some humor is present, enemies ae varied. These elements make it on par with the best genre representatives so far, but the core is same dumb as ever, can't rate it higher.   Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Daikuu Maryuu Gaiking Dino Mech Gaiking 大空魔竜ガイキング [1976-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/44) Tags: Shounen Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi Earth is still in danger: aliens from planet Zeraz are willing to invade our planet because theirs is being swallowed by a Black Hole. Led by Great Darius and his four generals, they begin seeding death and destruction. When an ESP warrior is killed by aliens, professor Hi-Tech understands the danger and builds the huge Space Dragon (Daiku Maryuu) piloted by Pete, and the gint robot Gaiking whose pilot is Sanshiro Shiwobuki, an ex-baseball player. Daiku Maryuu is a big dragon shaped spaceship and his head is the Gaiking torso. When the Gaiking enters the action, Daiku Maryuu launches other Gaiking's components and then it re-unite neck with tail, becoming unbreakable. The story chronicled the battle between the crew of the semi-transformable carrier Daikuu Maryuu and the Super Mecha Gaiking against an invading race of aliens from the planet Zela, whose home planet is facing destruction by a black hole. The robot Gaiking was piloted by a baseball star named Sanshiro Tsuwabuki (Sanshiro's name was changed to Aries Astonopolis for the English version of the show with the carrier being called the "Great Space Dragon", a literal translation of "Daikuu Maryuu". Gaiking was notable for being one of the few super robot series to take place in real places outside of Japan, and for being the first Super Robot series to have a mobile carrier for the chief robots. Personalities are less varied, so it feels more like great Tsuwabuki and the sidekicks. Did not spot humor. Apart of that, the usual mecha, nothing special.  Overall Rating: 3/10   7. UFO Senshi Dai Apolon ＵＦＯ戦士ダイアポロン [1976-II] Eiken (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi  The story is about 16 years old boy Takeshi who recently formed an American football team at the BlueSky orphanage. One day the game is interuppted by a light in the sky. Takeshi discovers he is the son of the king of the planet Apolon, spirited away to Earth by his father's retainer Rabi to avoid death at the hands of General Dazaan. He turns out to have special energy abilities which can control UFO saucers from under the ocean floor, which in turn can become robots that are synchronized to their movements. I've seen all its elements elsewhere already. Unremarkable character cast and no humor spotted, so the usual just above the ground rating.  Overall Rating: 3/10   8. Machine Hayabusa マシンハヤブサ [1976-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/21) Tags: Shounen Racing Action Because of the appearance of a villain team, Black Shadow, the international racing was ruined. To compete with Black Shadow, Saionji Racing Team was founded. They developed a racing car, Hayabusa. It was a super racing machine that carries hyper power engine, Cavalier Engine. The main driver of the team was Hayabusa Ken whose big brother was killed by Black Shadow. Side-characters hardly show up at all, so it's just protagonist racing on armed cars, It has action all right, but that's it.   Overall Rating: 3/10   9. Youkaiden Nekome Kozou Cat Eyed Boy 妖怪伝 猫目小僧 [1976-II] Wako Productions (Dropped 3/25) Tags: Seinen Psychological Adventure, Horror, Supernatural he story is told by the cat-eyed boy, hated by humans and demons, who engages in tales of terror, including monsters and children. The problem with this anime is that... it's not anime. It's drawings cut and screened on the real backgrounds and other tricks like that with real animation taking mere seconds of screen time. Apart of that it's just two old horror stories per episode, nothing fancy.   Overall Rating: 3/10   10. Gowapper 5 Gordam Goliath the Super Fighter ゴワッパー5ゴーダム [1976-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/36) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Five youths from Edo City explore a strange rocky island and discover the mecha that Doctor Hoarai had been creating in order to resist the impending attack by a race of subterranean rock people. Doctor Hoarai was ridiculed by the scientific community for his predictions that such an attack would take place. The youths decide to join the doctor (who was dead but had transferred his mind into a computer) in piloting the vehicles and protecting Earth. The Gowapper 5 Gordam team is born! With the aid of the giant fighting robot Gordam, the Gowapper team under the leadership of Youko Misaki must face the hordes of the inhuman subterranean people. Cartoonish clumsy characters and girl protagonist are what strikes the eye. In addition to usual mecha characters also often pilot drill machines and fights sometimes take place below sufrace. Varied episodes, partially memorable protagonists and significant focus on humor make it a 5, but not higher.  Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Blocker Gundan IV Machine Blaster ブロッカー軍団Ⅳマシーンブラスター [1976-III] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/38) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi The peace of the world is suddenly threatened by Mogool, which is located on the bottom of the sea. Helqeen, tyrannical master of the Mogoolian Empire, attempts to conquer the earth with her faithful companions Goroskie and Zan-gack. In order to frustrate their ambition, Dr. Yuri, who predicted this horrible occasion, organizes four powerful robots to form the Blocker Corps! He also gathers four members who have the super ability known as "elepath" - a talent for maneuvering gigantic robots. A fierce battle begins between our Blocker Corps and Mogool at the risk of their lives! A series of fantastic and fabulous battles unfolds. The usual four mecha becoming giant one. A bit of light humor, rather bland character. The single distinguishing feature is that protagonist has a weaker younger brother as partner. Robot mascot Pico can also be of notice. Overall Rating: 3/10   12. Groizer X Gloizer X グロイザーＸ [1976-III] Knack Productions (Dropped 3/36) Tags: Mecha Sci-Fi The Gaira aliens, hidden in the Arctic, plan to conquer Earth. Captured and forced to work for the aliens, Dr. Yan creates the ultimate weapon, a transformable aerial robot called Groizer X. Entrusted to his daughter Rita, Groizer X escapes the clutches of the Gaira and lands in Japan, where pilot Jo Kaisaka meets a wounded Rita. Taking up the controls of Groizer X, Jo and Rita fight against the Gaira invasion. It's unusual that boy and girl make a duo of protagonists, but I failed to find anything special about this anime, usual trash mecha action.   Overall Rating: 3/10   13. Candy Candy キャンディ・キャンディ  [1976-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/115) Tags: Shoujo Drama, Slice of Life This story is about a girl, Candy, who is an orphan. She is a nice and optimistic girl and she has a warm heart. When she was a child, she lived in an orphanage called Pony's Home. She had a good friend called Annie. And she met the "Prince of the Hill" who is a important person in her life, on the hill behind the orphanage. She was adopted by the Leagan's family. What's awaiting her are the bad-hearted Neil and his sister, Eliza. One day, in the rose garden, she met a boy, who is identical to the "Prince of the Hill" who she had met in her childhood. The boy is called Anthony. Thereafter, a fantastic story that she has never expected begins. It's a long series, so things are taken very very slowly, by the end of 3rd episode it was still in orphanage. So it's closest to women novels, yet with contemporary time. Can't say I got a faint desire to watch it to the end, so 5 it is.   Overall Rating: 5/10   14. Manga Sekai Mukashibanashi Manga Fairy Tales of the World まんが世界昔ばなし [1976-IV] Madhouse (Dropped 3/127) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Fantasy Each episode of this series tells the story of a famous fairy tale from all around the world. Some of them are adapted from famous books such as "The Iliad". This must have been marked as anime for kids. Won't have much sense if you're not a kid.    Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Magnerobo Ga-Keen マグネロボ・ガ・キーン [1976-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi Dr. Kazuki, who perceived of an invasion of Earth by the Izaru people builds a robot based on the science of magnetism and sphere joint theory. Undergoing a dangerous augmentation process, Dr. Kazuki's daughter Mai becomes the pilot of "Mighty" or "Magnetman Minus". Takeshi Houjou becomes the pilot of "Puraiza" or "Magnetman Plus". The pilots would hold each other and then physically trasform their joint bodies in a metallic plate locking itself on the Gakeen (Short for "Gathering Keen") robot's frame thus enabling the super robot to move and fight. This sequence was notable, to an adult's eye, for its almost-sexual connotation. Protagonist is an adult hooligan much like in Ashita no Joe. Overall drawing quality level is surprisingly high. Unlike Groizer X, both protagonists have enough individuality for empathy. Side-characters and humor are nice. Even though it's among the best representatives of the genre up to this moment, still no incentive to watch to the end as it's just new monster each time and a different way of dealing with him.    Overall Rating: 5/10   16. Dokaben ドカベン [1976-IV] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/163) Tags: Shounen School, Team Sports Action, Sports Tarou "Dokaben" Yamada, who was a judoist while at junior high, enters Meikun High School and is talked into joining the baseball club. He displays his superb athletic abilities in baseball and becomes well-known as a hard hitter. He and his unique teammates establish Meikun a solid position as No.1 in the High School Baseball Championship games. Dokaben is mostly known as thorough spokon manga that was in development for nine years. I like both characters and humor here, but would not want to watch it fully as pretty much almost any spokon.   Overall Rating: 5/10   17. Kyouryuu Tankentai Born Free 恐竜探検隊ボーンフリー [1976-IV] Sunrise (Dropped 3/25) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi When a meteor crashes to Earth, it briefly changes the climate and dinosaurs once again roam the planet. It's up to a newly formed expedition team to relocate the dinosaurs to a safe environment. This anime... is not really an anime... again. Because roughly half of scenes are screened in real life environment or on real life backgrounds. Because... seriously... who would sponsor anime about saving dinosaurs by dinosaur rescue squad. Team is bland, no humor spotted, so watchin all those toy decorations and plasticine dinosaurs is beyond me.  Overall Rating: 3/10   18. UFO Senshi Dai Apolon 2 UFO戦士ダイアポロンII [1976-IV] Eiken (Dropped 3/21) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi Sequel to Dai Apolon consisting of a mix of new and reaired episodes. One of the worst representative of the genre. Same trash as original.   Overall Rating: 3/10   19. Hana no Kakarichou 花の係長 [1976-IV]  Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/25) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Slice of Life A wacky comedy about a man from a noble ancestry of long ago, but who in modern times is just a lowly salary man that is constantly being humiliated by his family and co-workers. Concept is similar to Dame Oyaji, if it was realistic. Males now are only a bit weird and no one really hates dad, all specter of feelings is used. Anime tackles with as many problems of an adult salaryman as possible - like high libido and hot wife under circumstances of occasionally impossible intimacy, not respectful subordinates, molesters and tight spaces in train, worry about kid not being smart enough - very mundane things like that. Spirit is very frivolous with what could be called ecchi today. There is next to zero situational humor, but conceptual humor is good. I'd give it a masterpiece score if it was translated .   Overall Rating: 6/10
  9. kivandopulus

    VN of the Month May 2022 - AMBITIOUS MISSION

    By kivandopulus,


    VN of the Month 2022
    According to late tradition there is only one release to compete for the game of the month and that's AMBITIOUS MISSION    1. Category I ~Shisenjou no Survivor~ カテゴリーI ～死線上のサバイバー～ Vol.1 [220526] Animal Herb  Ten girls and boys died in explosion and regained consciousness in VR . It's not possible to prepare surgery for all of them , so they have to compete in "Infection game". There are three rounds of competition between two camps with winning side getting 100 points, plus points  can be added or substracted for conversation. Console exclusive.   2. Enzai Shikkou Yuugi Yurukiru 冤罪執行遊戯ユルキル [220526] IzanagiGames Accused of arson and the murders of 21 people, protagonist Sengoku Shunju is forced to fight for his freedom and prove his innocence. As one of six Prisoners, he must pair up with one of five victims, referred to as Executioners, within the confines of the strange and secluded amusement park known as Yurukill Land. Together each of the five teams—Mass Murderers, Death Dealing Duo, Crafty Killers, Sly Stalkers, and Peeping Toms—must face and overcome the entertainment venue's so-called "attractions" in order to attain what they desire. Should the Prisoners succeed, their crimes shall be pardoned. But if the Executioners win, they will be granted revenge for their loved ones. Console exclusive.   3. AMBITIOUS MISSION  [220428] SAGA PLANETS Sahoro City―― In this city, there is a legend. It is said that all those who have obtained all twelve stars called "Ambitious" can have their ambitions granted. And there is one of the people pursuing the "Ambitious" will appear in Sahoro City tonight―― "A Letter of Warning Tonight, I will take the beautiful starry sky of this city. Miss Arte, the phantom thief." The main character, Nezu Mikage, happens to be at the crime scene. By chance, he discovers the phantom thief true identity. He can tell that the phantom thief is the ojousama of his class, Kaguya Arise. She has to eliminate every possibility of being found out by those around her. So―― I will steal... your heart and your sigh. Kaguya, who didn't want her identity to be exposed, tried to draw Mikage into the Phantom Thief Club, which she had created to fulfil her ambitions, but... it does not seem to be working well. That's when the orphanage, where Mikage was born and raised, fell into a predicament. Miss Arte, who appears there, expose the hidden "truth" and easily protected the orphanage. "Is it different from a thief?" "Yes, steal the hearts of those who see it, and steal everyone's sigh. That's the Phantom Thief." "Fine. I'll help you and your 'ambitions'." 'Miss Arte the Phantom Thief' and 'Midnight the Phantom Thief' Just as the two phantom thieves joined forces, the curtain rose on the hidden "truth" in the night of Sahoro City―― All the elements are seen elsewhere already, but tempo is good, mysteries pile up and get revealed in the grand route, heroines are charming enough. OK, but not genius for sure.    4. Neko to Wakai Seyo! ネコと女子寮せよ！ [220527] CUBE Main character Yuuki reveals concealed in his bloodline magical power and saves a girl about to be run over by a car. Girl happens to be working as a student maid in the cafe of prestigious school where protagonist's twin sister is a caretaker. By a twist of fate Yuuki starts working at this cafe too. Despite all the magic twist, game is mostly H-oriented and not actually outstanding.    5. fault - SILENCE THE PEDANT [220528] ALICE IN DISSONANCE  fault - SILENCE THE PEDANT takes place 5 years before the events of fault - milestone one. After her grandfather, the Royal Guardian to the king, loses his life in the line of duty, Ritona starts to become disillusioned with the notion of honor and duty to serve one’s country. Why would one devote their life to a King or a Princess that ultimately has no emotional bearing to their lives? What is honor, and what is devotion? What does it mean to be patriotic? A 14-year-old successor to the title of Royal Guardian struggles with these questions. Yet another partial release in fault series.
  10. kivandopulus
    Sadly, no masterpieces for me this year. But Shounen Tokugawa Ieyasu might be one if it was translated.   1. Flanders no Inu A Dog of Flanders フランダースの犬 [1975-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Historical, Pets, Visual Arts Drama, Slice of Life Nello Tarth is a poor but happy orphan who lives with his grandfather Jehan in a little village nearby Antwerp. Nello has a talent for drawing pictures and has been fascinated by it since he saw one of Rubens (a famous artist) pictures as a little boy. Helping Jehan with the daily milk delivery to Antwerp, Nello one day discovers Patrash, a working dog who has been mistreated and abandoned by his former owner. He treats the exhausted animal and after a little while a close and dependable friendship develops. Alois Cojez, the daughter of the richest and hence most influential man in Blacken Village, is Nellos best friend. When Nello decides to become an artist he has to experience firsthand the ignorance and cruelty of the villagers. Especially Alois father thinks of him as a slacker who cannot earn his living by drawing pictures. Nontheless Nello perseveres and never gives up to achieve his dream and to win their appreciation and respect while strenuously struggling with his poverty. Peaceful rural life and adventures of a boy and a girl... a shameless imitation of Alps no Shoujo Heidi. But protagonist is now boy and both kids are couple years older, plus there's a bigger emphasis on the dog companion. With older age, less situational humor and more plain drawing the charm is gone though, and it becomes an aimless rural slice-of-life without a spark.   Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Manga Nippon Mukashibanashi まんが日本昔ばなし  [1975-I] Group TAC (Dropped 3/12) Tags: Historical This series is an anthology of old Japanese tales. I'd actually rate it as anime for kids as Japanese tales are show in super simple drawing and in humorous and simple way. Definitely can't enjoy it as an adult.    Overall Rating: 4/10   3. Andersen Douwa: Ningyohime Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid アンデルセン童話 にんぎょ姫 [1975-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Fantasy, Romance Marina, the most beautiful mermaid in the royal Merman family, is curious about the human world. One day, she sees a handsome prince on a boat. Suddenly, a storm comes up, throwing him into the sea. Marina saves her handsome prince and guides him to the shore. Marina falls deeply in love and desperately wants to become a human. Despite the hazards, she is willing to risk it all for love. Traditional retelling of a classic fairy-tale. Nothing to talk about.   Overall Rating: 4/10   4. Getter Robo G ゲッターロボG [1975-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Sci-Fi Takes place after the final defeat of the Dinosaur Empire and the death of Musashi Tomoe in the original Getter Robo series. Dr. Saotome, creator of Getter Robo, fears that the peace the Getter Robo team has won will be short lived and that an even greater enemies would appear. Dr. Saotome's fears are justified when the militaristic Hyakki (or "Hundred demons") Empire appears, but Dr. Saotome is prepared with the creation of an even more powerful Getter Robo, Getter Robo G and a new Getter Robo base. Also with Musashi Tomoe dead, Dr. Saotome needs a third pilot which he finds in baseball player Benkei Kuruma. First episode is more or less outstanding, following ones are the usual robo action with a bit more humor.   Overall Rating: 3/10   5. Yuusha Raideen 勇者ライディーン [1975-II] Sunrise (Dropped 3/40) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi After a slumber of 12 millennia, the Demon Empire returns to seize control of the Earth. Reideen, the giant robot-like protector of the lost continent of Mu, senses the evil presence and awakens within its golden pyramid, revealing to young Japanese boy Akira Hibiki that he is the one descendant of the ancient Mu people who must help Reideen save Earth. He was assisted by his friends, token girl Mari Sakurano (daughter of a scientist fighting the Demon Empire) and several members of his high school soccer team. Does not Yuusha mean fantasy setting? Of course not, get your usual mecha. The soccer team as companions and rather nice humor helps to an extent, but the concept itself is flawed from the start.  Overall Rating: 5/10   6. La Seine no Hoshi Star of the Seine ラ・セーヌの星 [1975-II] Sunrise (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Shoujo Historical Adventure, Drama The story is set in Paris, on the night before the France Revolution. The civilians have been suffering under the tyrannical rule of Louis, the sixteenth. In order to release the people from their suffering, Simone, a young girl whose parents were killed by the aristocrats, decides to challenge the corrupted aristocrats. Covering her face with a red mask and leaving a red carnation as a mark of her presence, Simone is La Seine no Hoshi. It's basically retelling of Zorro, just in France and with female protagonist as masked hero Black Tulip once helps Simone. Nothing special.   Overall Rating: 5/10   7. Shounen Tokugawa Ieyasu 少年徳川家康 [1975-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/20) Tags: Shounen Historical Drama A historical tale of the early life of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who would eventually become shogun and establish the Edo Period in Japan. It imitates Japanese taiga historical tv series, just with a child protagonist to gain enough empathy with children who are considered to be main anime audience. I love taiga and I'd even rate it as masterpiece if there was a proper translation as it has more than enough complex ties.     Overall Rating: 6/10   8. Uchuu no Kishi Tekkaman Space Knight Tekkaman 宇宙の騎士テッカマン [1975-III] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Tekkaman is just an average bright boy in his everyday life. However, modern science can turn him into a mighty space warrior. This becomes a reality when aggressive aliens come from space to invade our planet. Armed with a space lance, Tekkaman gallantly goes into action against the grotesque space creatures. During his battles he encounters a mysterious young man from another planet who helps him out whenever he is in danger. This anime is so morally old as if just from the 1960s. One straightforward protagonist, zero humor, some female sidekick and this alien helper guy. This alien helper guy with afro is here not just to help fight, but to loose tension, but without real humor his role is not beneficial. Thus the trash rating.  Overall Rating: 2/10   9. UFO Robo Grendizer UFOロボ グレンダイザー [1975-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/74) Tags: Shounen Mecha Sci-Fi Duke Fleed is a survivor of the Fleed Planet who is escaped to the Earth, onboard a mysterious "spaceship", where is raised by Dr. Umon as his adoptive son, and known as Daisuke Umon. Years after his arrival, he's faced with the threat of King Vega and his army, who want to conquer the Earth. With his friends Koji and Hikaru (and later his younger sister Maria Grace), Duke decides to fight back using his best weapon - the almighty Grendizer. The main attraction point of the anime is that protagonist is a bitter cool adult who already lost to the invading enemy once. And it's funny to see the usual bashful youth hero as a loser here. There are also many funny side-characters to add humor. To get a 6 the series must rise a faint desire to watch it to the end, but no such thing happened for me.  Overall Rating: 5/10   10. Arabian Nights: Sindbad no Bouken (TV) アラビアンナイト シンドバットの冒険 [1975-IV] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance Based on the famous tale from The Thousand and One Arabian Nights, this story takes place more than 1200 years ago. The story's hero is the impish Sindbad, a mischievous boy full of curiosity, who one night sneaks into the royal palace to watch the acrobatic performances and learns that a wide world awaits beyond Baghdad. Hearing of the travels of his uncle Captain Ali, Sindbad decides to become a sailor and travel around the world. Leaving behind a note to his father, young Sindbad boards Captain Ali`s ship and-accompanied by a myna called Sheila-sets out for the greatest adventure of his life. The motto is I want to see the wide world, and it's basically it, travelling and getting into adventures, nothing really special.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Koutetsu Jeeg 鋼鉄ジーグ  [1975-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/46) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Mythology Action, Sci-Fi Hiroshi Shiba is an outstanding car racer whose father is assassinated upon the discovery of the Bronze Bell from an ancient civilization. This Bronze Bell is coveted by Queen Himika who comes from that ancient era; the Yamatai Kingdom, and whose ambitions are to seize the Bell and dominate earth. Hiroshi is left with a few items from his father which would enable him to morph into a full sized mecha warrior, the Steel Jeeg. With these abilities and the help of his father's brain implanted in a computer and his assistance Miwa "Micchi" Uzuki, they set out to neutralize Himika's plans of world dominion. Boring hero and sidekicks, no humor. In my rating concept it's slightly better than trash.   Overall Rating: 2/10   12. Time Bokan Time Fighters タイムボカン [1975-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/61) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Comedy Dr. Kieta, the inventor of a time-travel machine, is lost on a test run of his machine to the prehistoric past. When the time-space craft returns to the present, his young assistants are surprised to find only a parrot in the cockpit. In their hurry to find the missing scientist before it is too late, the youngsters set out on a time-space hunt without any clear destination. Professor went to future alone and instead of him talking parrot with a diamond returned. Now assistants go to past in search for professor and greedy assistant together with villains follow them to learn from the parrot where diamond came from. It's a fun comedy with the only weak points being simplicity and episodical nature. So the question comes down to whether I got a faint incentive to watch the full series, and actually, no, so it' a 5.   Overall Rating: 5/10   13. Andes Shounen Pepero no Bouken Adventures of Pepero the Andes Boy アンデス少年ペペロの冒険 [1975-IV] Wako Productions (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Adventure This is the quest of Pepero and his friends in search of the Golden Condor or el Dorado. Can't help to notice that drawing , color palette and low resolution are eye-gouging. Plot-wise it's same kid adventures as we've already seen in Flanders no Inu and Arabian Nights this year , just in Central or Latin America that looks like Mexico. And compared to those two anime Andes feels weaker in all aspects. I spotted next to zero humor situations and no interesting characters.    Overall Rating: 4/10   14. Ganso Tensai Bakabon 元祖天才バカボン [1975-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/103) Tags: Gag Humor Comedy, Slice of Life A comedy about a former genius who has now become very eccentric and senile. His family deals with all the crazy problems he and his old friends cause around the neighborhood. It's pretty cool as gag comedy. Nice family. Random weird humor, but fun. Senile father is not much different from "strange philosophy" father, but approach is definitely much more straightforward now. I liked old one more.    Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Sougen no Shoujo Laura Laura, Girl of the Prairies 草原の少女ローラ [1975-IV] Nippon Animation (Dropped 1/26) Tags: Shoujo Adventure This anime is based on the same work as the famous American live-action TV series Little House on the Prairie. What I understood from the only found first episode is that it's again imitation of Alps no Shoujo Heidi, but with a bigger focus on horses since it's located in the Prairie. A bit worse humor, characters and drawing in comparison, so only fine if don't compare.   Overall Rating: 5/10
  11. kivandopulus
    Uchuu Senkan Yamato is innovative in many aspects. Pacing can sometimes be slow with it, but I enjoyed first season and looking forward to second and third ones. The only definite masterpiece for me in 1974 .   1. Alps no Shoujo Heidi アルプスの少女ハイジ [1974-I] Nippon Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Historical, Iyashikei Drama, Slice of Life After becoming an orphan, Heidi is forced to live with her grandfather Öhi, who lives in the Alps. She learns he's a very bitter man who only accepted by force to take her in. But Heidi's kindness may be able to open his heart. Together with the shepherd Peter and invalid Clara, she has lots of adventures. Nice slice-of-life with drawing preceding Miyazaki style. Simple easy-to-understand motives try to substitute humor which remains only on situational level. Everyone can like it just as Miyazaki works for it's about universal things instead of anime-specific ones. I could probably give it a borderline masterpiece, but there seem to be many remakes, so I'd wait for something shorter than 52 episodes. Too much idling and slice for me which is not as interesting for an adult. Overall Rating: 6/10   2. Getter Robo ゲッターロボ [1974-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/51) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Sci-Fi From deep within the Earth's surface, the Dinosaur Kingdom make their move to wipe out mankind and conquer the planet with their mechanical dinosaurs. After a prototype Getter Robo is shot down by a mechanical dinosaur, the Saotome Research Institute decides to use the real Getter Robo, which is combat-capable. Due to a lack of pilots in the institute, Ryo Nagare goes to his college to persuade martial artist Musashi Tomoe and outcast Hayato Jin to join him and pilot the Getter Machines to combat the new threat and protect mankind. It's basically the same Mazinger Z as three vehicles make a giant mecha, but with more fleshed out characters and even some nice side-characters. With very small grains of humor, but equally boring.   Overall Rating: 3/10   3. Majokko Megu-chan 魔女っ子メグちゃん [1974-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/72) Tags: Shoujo Megu is sent to Earth in her early teens, she is adopted by Mammi Kanzaki, a former witch who gave up her royal ambitions to wed a mortal. Mammi bewitches her husband and their two children, Rabi and Apo, into believing that Megu has always been the eldest child of the family. Under Mammi's tutelage, Megu learns to control both her abilities and impulses in order to prove her worthiness for the crown. This Rite-of-Passage subtext is continued throughout the series. Magical girl genre as it began in 1960s. Girl from another world comes to this one and meets new friends. But somehow I liked Mahoutsukai Sally more because of super fun characters it had. Here we have a much wider range of bright characters, but due to this variety and the need to develop all the heritage and rival drama it all becomes a mixed flavor. It has many advantages, but overall taste is worse.    Overall Rating: 4/10   4. Shin Minashigo Hutch The New Adventures of Hutch the Honeybee 新みなしごハッチ [1974-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Drama The sequel to Konchuu Monogatari Minashigo Hutch where Hutch struggles with married life. Did married life change it a lot? Not really. Same random dangers, just more responsibility.   Overall Rating: 4/10   5. Hoshi no Ko Chobin 星の子チョビン [1974-II] Studio Zero (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Adventure, Sci-Fi Chobin is a cute little alien prince from another planet, who crash landed on earth. Looking for his mother, he has a magical bracelet that will help him on his quest. Small alien lives in a family, talks to animals and occasionally gets hunted by robo-dogs and robo-bats and other aliens. It tries to go into humor , but it ends up to be gimmicks mostly. Another unremarkable title.    Overall Rating: 4/10   6. Judo Sanka 柔道讃歌 [1974-II] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/27) Tags: Shounen Combat Sports The last TMS sports-themed anime series ("Star of the Giants" was the first). Because of low ratings, the series was pulled off the air before later episodes of the original manga could be adapted. Another spokon story with all elements seen somewhere already, many in the same Star of the Giants. Same cheeky brat and next to zero humor. With this high competition ordinary spokon is not enough.   Overall Rating: 3/10   7. Dame Oyaji ダメおやじ [1974-II] Knack Productions (Dropped 4/26) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life Dame Oyaji is the story of Damesuke Amano, a hapless office worker who faces a tremendous amount of bullying on the job and especially at home, where he has (contrary to traditional Japanese notions of family) absolutely no power or say in the runnings of the household whatsoever. Amano lives with his wife, Onibaba, his beautiful teenaged daughter Yukiko, and his grade-schooler son Takobo. Onibaba is an imposing, violent heifer of a woman who regularly berates and even physically assaults her husband and who enjoys nothing more than making his life miserable; Yukiko and Takobo frequently join in physically and psychologically abusing their father. The original manga is said to have been quite shocking to early 1970s Japan, in which the father was often still traditionally regarded as the head of the household. Too violent for me. The way men are graphically drawn is horrible. Seeing more of the corporate world and humor is nice, but the outcome that it always ends in humiliation is overwhelming.    Overall Rating: 5/10   8. Zero Tester: Chikyuu wo Mamore! ゼロテスター 地球を守れ! [1974-III] Sunrise (Dropped 3/28) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi A series of space accidents turn out to be the work of the Armanoid aliens, who plan to conquer Earth. Professor Tachibana gathers a team around him at the Future Science Invention Center and prepares five state-of-the-art vehicles for Shin, Go, Lisa, and Captain Kenmotsu. Three of the Tester vehicles combine... For the zero zero tester fans out there.   Overall Rating: 2/10   9. Mazinger Z tai Ankoku Daishougun マジンガーＺ対暗黒大将軍 [1974-III] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action Kouji and his friends have defeated Dr. Hell and are now enjoying a break, but suddenly a strange prophet appears and warns everyone of an oncoming danger, mechanical beasts never seen before start appearing all around the world wrecking havoc. Its up to Kouji and his Mazinger Z to stand up to this threat but it seems he is vastly outnumber and outmatched. This film served as an alternative link between the Mazinger Z TV series and the Great Mazinger TV series. It basically introduces Great Mazinger to the audience, as well as his enemies from the Mikene Empire. Unlike previous stupid crossover, now it's only protagonists vs Babel Nisei similar monsters. The good thing is that it finally tries to add humor and some fanservice. It also seems to be high budget, so there's no lack of scenes with giant monsters destroying Tokyo and military. But for those who don't like original Marzinger Z it's still not a thing.     Overall Rating: 4/10   10. Uchuu Senkan Yamato Star Blazers: The Quest for Iscandar 宇宙戦艦ヤマト [1974-IV] Group TAC (Finished 26/26) Tags: Adult Cast, Military, Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi In the year 2199, Earth is a mere shell of its former glory after a vicious bombardment by the Gamilas Empire. The inhabitants have been forced underground to escape the irradiated surface, but the deadly radiation inches closer and closer to the retreating population. With only one year before complete and utter extermination, time is fast running out and hope is in short supply. So far, any attempt to escape or retaliate has been instantly annihilated by the alien empire—until an emergency transmission from the planet Iscandar in a neighboring galaxy offers a glimmer of hope to save the doomed planet. Covertly, Earth's Self Defense Force constructs a faster than light engine for a journey to Iscandar. Armed with new weapons and a determined crew of fearless navy men, the World War II era battleship Yamato is reborn as Space Battleship Yamato. She and her crew set out on a perilous journey across the stars to save their home and the entire human race. One of the most famous anime of 1970s. It differentiates from prior space anime because characters are fleshed out and are ordinary humans under constant pressure of the environment. There is a good concept and aim, some lengthy technical explanations , high level of complexity and easy to understand logic behind it. But of course in the long run it all depends on the characters, and I can't complain here either - very human-like and fun. Truly first complex structural project with one integral line out there. Overall Rating: 7/10   11. Great Mazinger グレートマジンガー [1974-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/56) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Sci-Fi A manga comic book and anime television series by manga artist Go Nagai, made as a direct continuation of the successful Mazinger Z series. It was aired on Japan in 1974, immediately following the end of the first Mazinger series. Did not find much difference except for more stress on personalities and humor.   Overall Rating: 4/10   12. Calimero カリメロ [1974-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 1/45) Tags: Comedy Calimero is a small black bird who has a shell on his head; his dream is to fly like the other birds. When he tries to fly and screws up he is teased by the other birds, but his girlfriend Pricilla is there to cheer him up. Despite his appearance, he is quite smart and thinks up an idea to fly. The whole thing looks too childish and and naïve to me. Black and white series has more humor than following colored ones, but it's still just out of my league.   Overall Rating: 3/10   13. Hurricane Polymar 破裏拳ポリマー [1974-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Detective, Super Power Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Yoroi Takeshi is a carefree and somewhat naïve youth, who works as an assistant to the bumbling detective wannabe Kuruma Jo (who frequently proclaims himself the heir apparent to the title of Greatest Detective “Sherlock Holmes”). From their rundown and shabby office, they run a humble if not failing private investigation service. The spunky and cute Nanba Teru (who’s father owns the building when Jo and Takeshi reside in) frequently interferes in their affairs by threatening eviction (Jo is continually months behind in back rent). Since they rarely get any clients, they must resort to eavesdropping and spying on the Secret International Police Department headquarters, located in the building across from theirs in order to get their assignments. Unbeknownst to Jo and Teru, Takeshi has a deep secret. Not only is Takeshi the son of the International Police Department Chief but in times of peril and danger, mild-mannered Takeshi uses his trusty Poly-Met (Polymer Helmet) to transform into the Superhero “Hurricane” Polymer, a red suited masked man with incredible fighting abilities and superhuman strength. The only one who knows Takeshi’s secret is his lazy Saint Bernard, Daisaku, who always likes to provide cutting commentary to the audience (using his inner voice). Together Jo and Takeshi (as Polymer) confront and battle a myriad of evil organizations, criminal gangs, mutants and monsters as they fight crime in the future city of Washinkyo (Washington/Tokyo). We've already seen detective turning into superhero. This time it's detective assistant which allows to introduce detectives as simpletons and thus provide lots of primitive humor. Anime also uses fanservice proactively, and even ecchi. Entertaining only on a low level.  Overall Rating: 4/10   14. Tentou Mushi no Uta Song of the Ladybug てんとう虫の歌 [1974-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/104) Tags: Drama, Slice of Life The adventures of seven orphan who live in poverty, although they have a very rich grandfather. Monk and wife suddenly die and seven adopted children are separated, though they come back to the shrine and decide to live on their own, because they remember from deceased parents that as ladybug has seven spots, the seven of kids should be together. A rather unusual anime as it's mostly centered on one location. There is a ton of situational humor in each episode as there is least one fight to show in a funny way. But the symbol of this anime is actually patsu of the smaller girl who often takes off pantsu. Characters are fine and varied, plus there are a lot of animals with personality. The problem with this anime is simplicity and episodical nature (so that 104 episodes are possible). In such anime humor is most important aspect, and it's average at best to my taste.    Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Hajime Ningen Gyatoruz はじめ人間ギャートルズ [1974-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/77) Tags: Historical Comedy A comedy about the wacky adventures of Giatrus and his tribe of the first human beings on the planet. Prehistoric theme is the first one that comes out to visualize as anime, so there was already 5-minute episode series about it. Now it's similar, just with a wider cast of five main characters and more lengthy stories. It's still primitive in all meanings, humor does not impress.   Overall Rating: 4/10
  12. kivandopulus
    There are no masterpieces for me in 1973, but I rate Dororon Enma-kun higher than others.   1. Mazinger Z マジンガーＺ [1973-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/92) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Drama, Sci-Fi The villainous Dr. Hell has amassed an army of mechanical beasts in his secret hideaway, the island of Bardos located in the Aegean Sea. He is capable of controlling mechanized beasts with his cane, and instructs them to unleash devastating attacks. However, Dr. Hell doesn't do all the dirty work by himself; he has his loyal henchman Baron Ashura to carry out his devilish plans. There are also those that will see to it that evil does not prevail. Kouji Kabuto is the young and feisty teenager with a score to settle: his goal is avenging the murder of his grandfather by Dr. Hell. And he might just be able to pull it off, as he is the pilot of Mazinger Z, a mighty giant robot made out of an indestructible metal known as Super-Alloy Z. Mazinger Z boasts several powerful special attacks. By channeling Photonic Energy through its eyes, and unleashing the Koushiryoku Beam, it can cause great destruction. But things get really cool when Mazinger Z launches its Rocket Punch attack. Dr. Hell and his minions might have just found their match! We're finally at the point of classical mecha where kids pilot giant robots instead of transforming into them in an form or controlling them remotely. It's well done and has some charm as genre discoverer, but character-wise it's still stereotypical both protagonists-wise and enemies-wise. Can't rate it high because of that.  Overall Rating: 3/10   2. Babel Nisei バビル２世 [1973-I] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Sci-Fi, Supernatural Life seems simple for Koichi, a young student, until he learns that he is the reincarnation of an alien protector who crashed onto the mantle of responsibility as "defender of the Earth," Koichi/Babel teams up with a trio of super-powered alien companions to battle the the dark forces of an evil cult leader. The war to save humanity takes Babel from the deserts of southern Asia to the upper east side of Manhattan and ultimately to a final showdown with "the master" in a hidden base nestled in the Swiss Alps. The action is fast-paced and deadly. The fate of the world rests in the ability of this courageous youth to tame his latent psychic power and use it to defeat the enemies of mankind. For some reason I can't stand phychic-esper battle anime. This is exactly such one. Plus with three cheater additional instruments of fighting. Protagonist is super boring , and the only interesting side-character in the form of mischievous sister plays an insignificant role.    Overall Rating: 3/10   3. Kouya no Shounen Isamu 荒野の少年イサム [1973-II] Shin-Ei Animation (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure The adventures of Isamu, a young boy living in the Far West, searching for his real father. First Japanese Western. The good thing is that there are cool adults around. And protagonist has to kill and thus is not our usual warrior of light. It's more of a survival in wilderness and in towns pressed between different gangs. For me too many episodes means loose pacing and aimless storytelling.  Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Wansa-kun ワンサくん [1973-II] Mushi Production (Dropped 0/26) Tags: Comedy The hero of Wansa-kun is Wansa, a puppy who is sold for a pittance, then escapes, and spends much of the rest of the series looking for his mother. Not found   Overall Rating: 0/10   5. Microid S ミクロイドＳ [1973-II] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi This work focuses on environmental issues from the viewpoint of insects. In a refreshing twist, the central character miniaturizes, unlike the conventional hero who grows ever larger. From this perspective, the world looks different and unfamiliar. This work enables the reader to see that the world around is quickly moving towards destruction. A weird anime of three butterfly heroes fighting against mechanized insects in industrial and different high technology zones. As I understand it, insects try to commit ecology terrorism and crashes with mass victims. Microids try to minimize dealt damage and prevent crashes. Plus there's a professor with student who oversee microids and spend some time resting in the city with their subordinates. As usual, I see no aim or meaning here.  Overall Rating: 4/10   6. Jungle Kurobee ジャングル黒べえ [1973-II] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/31) Tags: Comedy Urobe was a son of the great chief of Pyrimi, Africa. One day he hung on an airplane and came to Japan. Because of the cold and hunger, he fell on to the yard of Shishio’s house, and Shishio nursed him. Kurobe was very thankful for him and began to repay for his kindness. Kurobe dug a big hole in the yard.Every time he returns the favor, he threw a stone into the hole until stones would fill the hole. We're back to Perman concept with his protagonist, family and only this superficial element different. Kurobee from jungle is the most charismatic from all the previous variants, but it's same average comedy with two stories in each episode.      Overall Rating: 5/10   7. Kanashimi no Belladonna Belladonna of Sadness 哀しみのベラドンナ [1973-II] Mushi Production (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Avant Garde, Drama The beautiful Jeanne marries a man named Jean, and the happy newlyweds make their way to the Lord's castle with a cow's worth of money for his blessings. However, the demonic Lord is unmoved by their offering, ignoring their desperate, impoverished pleas. The Lord's wife offers an alternative: Jeanne must become the Lord's conquest for the night in a ritual deflowering. Scarred by the experience, the shaken Jeanne receives no sympathy from her husband. Instead, she is neglected. But as Jeanne drifts off to sleep, she is met by a strange spirit that encourages her to deliver retribution to those who wronged her. And with a mysterious surge of pleasure and an unquenching libido, Jeanne agrees. Kanashimi no Belladonna is a captivating, psychosexual adventure that tells a story of cunning witchcraft and deceitful superstition in a poor, rural village of medieval France. Very poorly animated abstract ecchi. It's mostly moving camera over still pictures. No scenario value spotted.   Overall Rating: 3/10   8. Mazinger Z tai Devilman Mazinger Z vs. Devilman マジンガーＺ対デビルマン [1973-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Mythology Adventure, Sci-Fi The heroes of the series Mazinger Z and Devilman fighting against the evil Demon Cla First anime cross-over! But it's just 40 minutes, twice longer than a usual episode. And that additional time is used to share intelligence and save each other in a pinch. Pretty stupid, as for me.   Overall Rating: 4/10   9. Cutey Honey キューティーハニー [1973-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/25) Tags: School Action, Sci-Fi One day, Honey Kisaragi's a trendy, class-cutting Catholic schoolgirl. The next, her father's been murdered by demonic divas from a dastardly organization called Panther Claw. When his dying message reveals that she's an android, Honey uses the transformative power of the Atmospheric Element Solidifier - the very thing Panther Claw wanted to steal - to seek revenge against the shadowy clan. Can Honey fight her way up Panther Claw's ranks to defeat its leader, the sinister Sister Jill while managing to escape the watchful eyes of Miss Histler, her school's headmistress? Aided by journalist Hayami Seiji, his ninja father, and his lady-loving grade school brother, Honey sometimes appears as a racecar driver, sometimes as a glamorous model, and sometimes as a beggar, but her true identity is none other than the warrior of love, Cutie Honey! First transformation heroine. Also first deliberately fanservice anime. That's basically all points of interest. Usual random action with one protagonist. Overall Rating: 4/10   10. Ace wo Nerae! エースをねらえ! [1973-IV] Madhouse, Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Shoujo School Drama, Romance, Sports On her first day at Nishi High School, 15-year-old Hiromi Oka is inspired by top player Reika "Ochoufujin" Ryuuzaki to take up tennis. Shortly after joining the school's tennis club, she encounters Jin Munakata, the club's new coach. Munakata puts everyone under rigorous training that even puts Ochoufujin to shame. Despite the hardships, Hiromi's determination prompts the coach to select her as part of the club's main players. Because of this, Hiromi must endure the peer pressure from her seniors to become an ace tennis player. There have been shoujo before, but this anime is the first true Shoujo. Without a specific graphical style shoujo tries to mimic mainstream anime with a girl point of view. Inside true shoujo I also define normal and hardcore versions. In the latter boys also have a specific sensual images. Basically, I'm fine with anything but the hardcore variant as boys instantly start looking as in contemporary boys love titles. Ace wo Nerae is exactly such variant that is painful even to watch for me.    Overall Rating: 4/10   11. Shinzou Ningen Casshern 新造人間キャシャーン [1973-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/35) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi The brilliant Dr. Azuma created many robots to aid humankind. However, during a thunderstorm his lab was struck by lightning, corrupting the programming of one of his robots, BK-1, who renames himself Braiking Boss and declares that instead of serving mankind, mankind will now serve him! He brings other robots together into an overwhelming army bent on enslaving the human race. Tetsuya, Dr. Azuma's son, asks his father to turn him into an indestructible android so that he will have the power to destroy the threat his father inadvertently created. Shortly thereafter, Braiking Boss captures Dr. Azuma and his wife. Tetsuya, now renamed Casshern, sets out to turn the tide of the war and rescue his parents, with the help of his girlfriend, Luna, and robot dog, Friender. Cyborg superhero with his cyborg dog fights against cyborgs. Luna is pretty bland as well. That's all there is to know about this anime.   Overall Rating: 4/10   12. Dororon Enma-kun ドロロンえん魔くん [1973-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/25) Tags: Shounen Mythology Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural Monsters are coming to the human world from the Hell in order to get human spirits. As people's minds are getting dirty, being attracted by the dirty spirits, the monsters break the rule to go to the human world. Tsutomu, a boy who goes to Yokai Elementary School, is suddenly assaulted by monsters. Those who save him from the monsters are Enma-kun, the son of Enma, Yukiko, a snow woman, and Kapaeru. They are members of Monster Patrol that are sent to the human world to arrest monsters. I don't like youkai. But Enma-kun is entertaining as action, inventive and has multiple fun characters. It's nowhere near masterpiece for me, but it's easy to watch and enjoy - that much I can appreciate.   Overall Rating: 6/10   13. Karate Baka Ichidai Karate Master 空手バカ一代 [1973-IV] TMS Entertainment (Dropped 3/47) Tags: Historical, Martial Arts Adventure, Sports Failed kamikaze pilot Ken Asuka becomes a rough, tough hooligan who settles all of his problems with karate, until he learns about the legendary swordsman Musashi Miyamoto in the novels of Eiji Yoshikawa. Resolving to live his life like Musashi, he begins to take karate more seriously. Based on a manga by Ikki Kajiwara and Jiro Tsunoda, itself inspired by the real life of Yasunobu Oyama, the founder of the "hard-knock" Kyokushin Karate school. Watching adventures in post-war chaotic Japan is more interesting than our usual sports career from the start. But if we compare Karate Master with the closest rival - Ashita no Joe - the latter one actually wins by many points due to better protagonists and more fun characters. If someone wanted deadly serious Ashita no Joe, this anime is the way to go.   Overall Rating: 4/10   14. Samurai Giants 侍ジャイアンツ [1973-IV] Madhouse, Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/46) Tags: Team Sports Ban Banjou is an insolent wild boy who was raised on the rough sea in Tosa, southern Japan. He joined the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants in Japanese pro baseball league such a baseball pitcher noted for the blazing fastball and the worst control. He fights hard battles against his rival batters, developing his incredible pitching magics. This anime is pretty well done and has nice characters, but it's not translated. Why? Because very few people care about baseball outside Japan. The moments that are supposed to be dramatic look laughable for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10   15. Miracle Shoujo Limit-chan ミラクル少女リミットちゃん [1973-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/25) Tags: Shoujo School, Super Power Comedy, Sci-Fi As a result of a traffic accident, Limit-chan is reborn as a cyborg and is given three types of supernatural powers. However, there is a catch: if she uses too much of them, her life will come to an end. There were at least three anime about magical girls up to this point, and this one is on the worse side. Humor is really weak. A wide range of powers is used at will on insignificant occasions. Have not seen even a single character outside some stereotype.     Overall Rating: 4/10   16. Zero Tester ゼロテスター [1973-IV] Sunrise (Dropped 3/38) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi A series of space accidents turn out to be the work of the Armanoid aliens, who plan to conquer Earth. Professor Tachibana gathers a team around him at the Future Science Invention Center and prepares five state-of-the-art vehicles for Shin, Go, Lisa, and Captain Kenmotsu. Three of the Tester vehicles combine to make the giant Zero Tester robot, which successfully sees off the Armanoid invasion in 38 episodes. The rest of the series, retitled ZT: Save the Earth! (Chikyu wo Mamotte!), was aimed at a younger age group and featured an attack by the new Gallos aliens. It's the ancestor of transformers due to ability to make up a giant mecha out of three vehicles. In all other aspects it's deadly serious and boring.  Overall Rating: 2/10   17. Bouken Korobokkuru 冒険コロボックル [1973-IV] Tatsunoko Production, Eiken (Dropped 0/26) Tags: Adventure The adventures of a human and three little gnomes. Not found   Overall Rating: 0/10
  13. kivandopulus

    Anime of the Year 1972 - Dokonjou Gaeru

    By kivandopulus,


    Anime of the Year
    Dokonjou Gaeru is a great comedy series and the only masterpiece in 1972 for me.   1. Muumin (1972) ムーミン [1972-I] Mushi Production (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Slice of Life A remake of the 1969-70 Moomin series. This version is more closely based on the books by the Finnish illustrator and writer Tove Jansson. Can only say the same as of the original.   Overall Rating: 5/10   2. Kashi no Ki Mokku 樫の木モック [1972-I] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy This version of Pinocchio tells a story of an extremely gullible, naive and morally confused wooden doll brought to life by a mystical blue fairy. Pinocchio (Mokku) is characterized as having many character faults which he must learn to overcome in order to be worthy of being granted humanity. Some of these character faults include selfishness, rudeness, insensitivity, indolence, obstinacy, over- trusting, self-pity, stupidity, disobedience, compulsive lying, arrogance, greed, cowardice, recklessness, cruelty, foolishness and an inability to learn from mistakes. Throughout the entire series Pinocchio (Mokku), partly due to his own delinquency and repetitive disobedience, must undergo other costly ordeals of hardship and pain in which he is continuously tormented, persecuted, bullied, humiliated, tricked, ridiculed, ostracised, beaten, downtrodden and subjected to degrading and inhumane treatment. Its plain depiction of the austere reality of what it would be like to be literally subhuman growing up in a world of danger and hardship, makes this another good example of traditional Japanese stories, which teach moral observance through tough endurance. Once again no coherent plot aim, so it's just observation and watching different situations happen. Can't rate that higher than average.   Overall Rating: 5/10   3. Seigi wo Aisuru Mono Gekkou Kamen 正義を愛する者、月光仮面 [1972-I] Knack Productions (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Action, Mystery Moonlight Mask's identity has always been a mystery (which is why the Moonlight Mask persona is credited as being played by "?" in the original series). Decked out in white tights, white & red cape, white scarf, yellow gloves & boots, dark glasses, face cloth and Indian-style turban (pinned with a "moon" ornament), Moonlight Mask is armed with a whip, two six-shooters, shuriken and moon-shaped boomerangs. He also rides a motorcycle. However, only audiences know that Moonlight Mask could very well be detective Juurou Iwai who seems to disappear from his friends before the caped crusader rides to the rescue in his motorcycle! Even his comical assistant Gorohachi Fukuro, his friend Inspector Matsuda, and children Shigeru, Kaboko and Fujiko are oblivious to Iwai's secret identity. Another simplistic superhero title. This time there are quite some colleagues too to add some comedy, so it's not too bad, just bad.   Overall Rating: 4/10   4. Umi no Triton 海のトリトン [1972-II] Animation Staff Room (Dropped 4/27) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Fantasy 5000 years ago, the Triton Family was living peacefully in Atlantis until the Poseidon Family destroyed them all. Triton, of the Triton Family line, embarks on an adventurous life in the sea fighting the Poseidon Family. I don't understand shounen adventure titles as boy just travels and sometimes helps someone with the ultimate aim to find and destroy Poseidon. It's random and going nowhere for the most part.   Overall Rating: 4/10   5. Akadou Suzunosuke 赤胴鈴之助 [1972-II] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 4/52) Tags: Historical Adventure A young swordsman finds himself involved in a plot to overthrow the shogunate. Edo period. Suzunosuke-kun tries to be as great as his father and learns kendo. Pacing is slow and basically each episode Suzunosuke is shown his new weakness and he trains hard to counter that weakness. Also there is usually a bit of action with his kendo rivals or masked evil ninja and accomplices. The whole coup theme starts also further that the first four episodes.   Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Anime Document: München e no Michi  アニメドキュメント ミュンヘンへの道 [1972-II] TBS, Nippon Television Network (Dropped 0/16) Tags: Sports A short series based on volleyball at the Munich Olympics. The series features a mix of live action blended with animation. Not found (God bless)   Overall Rating: 0/10   7. Devilman デビルマン [1972-III] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/39) Tags: Mythology Action, Horror, Supernatural Devilman features Akira Fudo, a shy and timid teenager who has gone mountain climbing in the Himalayas with his father. While in the middle of the expedition, both father and son are killed in a tragic accident. Akira's body is found and possessed by the demon soldier Devilman, who uses his new human form as a disguise in order to fulfill his mission of causing chaos on Earth in order to pave the way for a demonic invasion of the planet. Before his mission can begin in earnest, Devilman meets Akira's childhood friend Miki Makimura and quickly falls in love with her. Devilman resolves to protect Miki and humanity as a whole by battling against his fellow demons. Demon Tribe leader Zennon becomes greatly angered at Devilman's betrayal and is quick to send Devilman's former comrades to destroy him. The other demons soon learn that Miki is precious to Devilman and he must now work to protect her, as well as protect himself. Will the power of love be able to overcome that of true evil? Not the worst superhero series for sure. Miki-chan helps to an extent. Still after first unusual episode all others feel roughly the same with just a new enemy each time.  Overall Rating: 4/10   8. Mon Cheri CoCo モンシェリCOCO [1972-III] TBS (Dropped 0/13) Tags: Shoujo Romance A young woman aims to become a famous fashion designer. Not found, lost media.   Overall Rating: 0/10   9. Maken Liner 0011 Henshin Seyo! 魔犬ライナー００１１変身せよ [1972-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi A medium long anime movie (50 minutes) released as one of the programs of 'Toei Manga Festival', and screened with a live-action film "Kamen Rider vs. Ambassador Hell" and others. A near-future Sci-Fi mecha action film featuring four cyborg dogs. An original story based on the concept from Hiroshi Sasagawa's manga "Maken Goro" (serialized in the magazine "Weekly Shonen King" in 1963). A boy named Tsutomu and four cyborg dogs (Queen, Ace, Jack and Joker who coalesce and transform into the spaceship "Liner") fight against aggression by insect-type aliens from the Planet Devil. 50 minutes is kind of small for something big. So it is a shrunk aimless animation without strong characters or aim. It targets audience who like spaceships and fighting aliens with miraculous transformers. Very boring and perfect boy protagonist aggravates the deal.    Overall Rating: 4/10   10. Kagaku Ninja-tai Gatchaman 科学忍者隊ガッチャマン [1972-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/105) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Due to dangers of decreasing resources and growing pollution, the International Scientific Organization (ISO) is established to improve environmental conditions throughout the world. But an international criminal group, Gallactor, tries to achieve world domination by taking control of the ISO. Gallactor was created by a mysterious being from outer space known as Generalissimo X, who gives orders through its chief commander on Earth, the masked Berg Katse. To fight Gallactor and its robot monsters, the ISO's Dr. Nambu enlists five brave youths into a combat squad called Gatchaman,the Science Commandos. Special scientific powers and dramatic birdlike costumes make the Gatchaman Squad a match for Gallactor, wherever on Earth it may strike. Ken (the Eagle) is the wise leader, assisted by sometimes-foolhardy Joe (the Condor), pretty Jun (the Swan), eager little Jinpei (the Swallow), and strong Ryu (the Horned Owl). Each has individual scientific weapons, but their main power lies in their aircraft, the Phoenix, which can transform itself into a fiery arrow capable of piercing the most massive threats. GATCHAMAN is a series of dynamic action and tension as Ken, Joe, Jun, Jinpei, and Ryu hold themselves in constant readiness to meet each new threat by Gallactor to conquer the world. There's next to zero humor, so all these serious space ninjas are super boring. All the stereotypical laughing enemies aren't funny at all. I can imagine few things worse than that.   Overall Rating: 2/10   11. Dokonjou Gaeru ど根性ガエル [1972-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 22/103) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Slice of Life When Hiroshi was fighting against his rival Gorillaimo, he stumbled over a stone and fell on to a frog. To be surprised, the frog was still alive and it named itself Pyonkichi. What a hilarious comedy. Great characters, every single one of them. Humor is just right, absolutely clear one. If it had a full English translation, I'd even give it an 8, although translating 103 episodes is definitely not an easy thing to do. Still there are some 21 episode translated, and that's almost two contemporary seasons to enjoy. I especially appreciate as events pile up and affect next series unlike, say , Simpsons.   Overall Rating: 7/10   12. Astroganger アストロガンガー [1972-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi An alien woman named Maya crash-lands on Earth. Her homeworld was destroyed by the Blasters, a cruel alien race who steals the natural resources from other planets. She falls in love with a scientist and gives birth to a human boy named Kentaro. When the Blasters invade the Earth, Kentaro must defeat them by fighting with Astroganger, a robot made from living metal. As primitive mecha superpower action as one can imagine, with very few unexpected findings. Still, I've seen even worse, so can't give it the worst score.    Overall Rating: 2/10   13. Ryuuichi Manga Gekijou Onbu Obake おんぶおばけ [1972-IV] Eiken (Dropped 0/52) Tags: Supernatural The mischievous antics of a ghost in an ancient village. Not found   Overall Rating: 0/10
  14. kivandopulus
    Ali Baba to 40-hiki no Touzoku is a memorable video with full translation, yet still not a masterpiece for me   1. Chingou Muchabee  珍豪ムチャ兵衛 [1971-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/51) Tags: Adventure, Comedy A goofy comedy series with various stories featuring the same set of characters. Series is about a samurai warrior son who is dreaming of returning to castle in Edo, goes to more or less modern school and wets himself in the mornings, and his servant who tries to raise the child in bushi spirit despite poverty. There is a set of characters inside Edo castle from rivaling Iemitsu clan. Comedy is mostly based on this mix of two centuries, like servant fights with a modern umbrella. There are two stories in each episode, so it's historical episodic humor sketches. Humor is actually decent, on par with the best comedies of 1960s. Overall Rating: 6/10   2. Doubutsu Takarajima Animal Treasure Island どうぶつ宝島 [1971-II] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure Jim is working as an innkeeper, together with his friend, the mouse Gran. One day, a mysterious man visits the inn, leaving a map behind. The map shows an island with a treasure. So the duo sets off in their own little boat, trying to fulfil their dreams and leaving the inn far behind. But it seems more people knows of the map, as they cross paths with Captain Silver and his band of wild pirates. Jim, Gran and their new friend Kathy tries to beat them in the treasure hunt that ensues. Anniversary title usually means big budget, in this case rich animation. And animation is really well done, even the most trivial scenes that are usually not included at all. And this emphasis on insignificant scenes means one thing - there is no strong plot that would require tightly packed plot scenes. And it is really so as the bulk of the time the ship just sails and there is a lot of situational low quality humor piled up, something like Tom&Jerry . There are also three songs. Amusing, but there can be no high scores without depth.    Overall Rating: 5/10   3. Sasurai no Taiyou Nozomi In The Sun さすらいの太陽 [1971-II] Mushi Production (Finished 26/26) Tags: Music Drama Two baby girls were born in the same hospital: one of them is the daughter of an aristocratic family while the other belongs to a deprived household which lives in the slums of the city. However, the nurse-in-charge, Michiko, secretly switches the two babies due to a personal grudge, resulting in a change of fates of the girls from then on. Many years later, the lives of the two girls continue to be intertwined with each other, with the rich Miki ill-treating the poor Nozomi, yet both of them hold similar dreams to become a singer. Watched it in full just to see what first musical looked like and what it could influence later on. First of all , there are few songs here, like maybe 3. Next, all this changed babies Santa Barbara takes up to a quarter of overall time leaving not that much to music career. Next, there is a romance line taking more time. In this regard, it does not feel like a separate genre, more of a shoujo spokon focusing on music. It's different from Attack No.1 mostly by the fact that protagonist does not go to school and is not going to enter university. There's no humor, and I'm not the target audience, so don't expect high scores from me. Overall Rating: 5/10   4. Animentary: Ketsudan Animentary: The Decision アニメンタリー 決断 [1972-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/25) Tags: Historical, Military A strict retelling of the Pacific side of WW2. Wow, did not expect reflection on such a heavy topic. But it's true that it's best to tell the story yourself to emphasize the right spots. The Japanese are presented here as great professionals and men of honor if not heroes. It's already not a truthful retelling in this regard, plus it goes further than just finishing with WW2, it has enough space for fiction. For a general observer there's not much value here, it's a niche product.   Overall Rating: 5/10   5. Ali Baba to 40-hiki no Touzoku アリババと４０匹の盗賊 [1971-II] Toei Animation (1/1) Tags: Action, Fantasy A film produced for Toei's 20th anniversary. A boy who is the descendant of the leader of the theives who met a grisly fate in the 1001 Nights bands together with 38 cats and a mouse to get back his rightful treasure from Ali Baba XXXIII, the descendent of Ali Baba who now rules the kingdom with an iron fist. This is a reversal of the good guy/bad guy roles in the original story! (perhaps not surprising for being a film in which Hayao Miyazaki was involved) This film is one of the most rollicking and action-packed films made by Toei, and is in an outrageously cartoonish style breaking with the Toei mold. It has a spectacular lineup of animators including Yasuji Mori, Akira Daikubara, Hayao Miyazaki, Yoichi Kotabe and Reiko Okuyama. The original story about Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves itself is recounted at one point in the film in an unexpected and interesting way using shadow-puppets. Another Toei anniversary project. Again, animation is rich and action-packed. However, this time there's a twist from the start that Ali-baba and gang leader descendants swap places, there are several unknown variables, so story feels both entertaining and rewarding. There are a lot of nice humorous moves and at least two songs. Lack of depth stops it from being a masterpiece, but it shines in many other aspects. Overall Rating: 6/10   6. Yasuji no Pornorama: Yacchimae!! ヤスジのポルノラマ やっちまえ!! [1971-II] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Hentai Japanese society, in the opinion of Pusu-o, "satisfies all the urges of hunger, but not the urges of the loins." Then again, Pusu-o is scrawny, awkward and hardly the handsomest guy in town. More to the point, in matters of a romantic nature, Pusu-o conducts himself with an absolute lack of grace, restraint and general respect for women. Not surprisingly, his sex life is an endless succession of obnoxiously over-the-top come-ons and maniacal attempts to get some action, all of which culminate in total strike-outs. Pusu-o's own father is soon on hand to add insult to injury (the injury being the constant, gushing nosebleeds Pusu-o endures — the nasal blood geyser being Japanese cartoon shorthand for sexual frustration), and the cock blockage continues at Pusu-o's new job as a car salesman — until a trio of older women misinterpret his advances, intended only to make the pretty Yukiko jealous. The antics continue at a later date, when the married Pusu-o is cuckolded by an horny little birdie. When the humiliated surrogate dad witnesses the sexual prowess of the tryst's offspring, matters culminate in a finale worthy of the most bombastic Japanese tragedy. Technically, it's not hentai as there is even no censure due to absence of graphical depiction. Despite that situations are very frivolous crossing most of possible lines. Title can be translated as "Do it!" and concept reflects it well. There is a guy in constant search of amorous adventures and there's a girl who is too forceful and thus scares men. They live in the same house and encounter each other in several situations, but date goes awfully, and it's a breakup. In second part girl becomes worker at protagonist's work, and so harassment and jealousy ensues. In the last part protagonist gets married with a different girl and they go on a honeymoon. As you can guess, due to various reasons there's no success either, and during married life there are a lot of new barriers. Another feature of the OVA is that there are three songs during the course of it, so it's partially a musical.  There are so many rude jokes and situations that I constantly wondered how that was possible in 1971. Anyway, can't say this OVA has anything meaningful to offer, but if definitely does the job of provoking and shocking well. Overall Rating: 5/10   7. Lupin III ルパン三世 [1971-III] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/23) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery Arsène Lupin III is the grandson of world-famous thief Arsène Lupin, and he's living up to his grandfather's memory as a high-profile thief himself. Due to his infamy, Lupin III attracts the attention of the persistent Inspector Zenigata of the ICPO, as well as rival criminals. Lupin III's criminal lifestyle even seeps into his love life. The main woman in Lupin III's world is femme fatale Fujiko Mine, who Lupin III can never tell is working with or against him. Follow Lupin and his gunman partner Daisuke Jigen on their quest to own the world－or at least the valuable bits! I never tried to watch Lupin seriously as for me it's continuation of detective anime, plus adventure. But it seems to be the first Seinen, for grown-ups, so I must be the target audience. I'm sure there will be cool OVAs, but as TV series it's difficult to maintain novelty, intrigue and thrill, very much like Cyborg 009.   Overall Rating: 5/10   8. Gegege no Kitarou (1971) ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 [1971-III] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/45) Tags: Mythology, Super Power Adventure, Supernatural Kitarou, a ghost, spends his afterlife helping humans in need of his skills. He thwarts the plans of evil spirits who live to torment humanity. It's actually not colored remake , but a second season. Still the same niche anime.   Overall Rating: 5/10   9. Genshi Shounen Ryuu Ryu the Primitive Boy 原始少年リュウ [1971-III] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/22) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Romance, Sci-Fi When Ryuu is born his tribe tries to sacrifice him to a Tyrannosaurus named Shirano because of the color of his skin. He is however saved by a monkey who raises him as her own son. Meanwhile Ryuu's mother has left the tribe and is out on a quest to find Ryuu. 16 years later Ryuu meets a girl named Ran who was sold to the tribe Ryuu originaly came from. The tribe is not happy to see Ryuu alive and tries to sacrifice him again, this time by burning him alive. Before they can get the deed done the tribe is massacred along with Ryuu's adoptive mother by Shirano. Ryuu then sets out on a quest together with Ran to find his mother and Ran's brother Don. We've seen lion life in nature, bee life in nature, now time for human life in jungle. Of course there is the same age girl and rivals from the tribe nearby. Nothing special, really. It's not much different from what you can portray.  Overall Rating: 4/10   10. Fushigi na Melmo Marvelous Melmo ふしぎなメルモ [1971-III] Mushi Production, Tezuka Productions (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Shoujo After nine-year-old Melmo loses her mother in a car accident, she is left to care for her two younger brothers, a task far beyond her age or means. However, in the midst of her grieving, Melmo is visited by the ghost of her deceased mother who gives her a bottle of miraculous candy, capable of transforming her into either an adult (blue candy) or an infant (red candy). A combination of the two can reduce her to a fetus and then change her into any animal she imagines. Drawing on a seemingly inexhaustable supply, Melmo uses her candies to solve the various problems thrown her way, aided by her younger brother Toto (who accidentally morphs into a frog in episode 7) and her cantankerous mentor, Dr Nosehairs. Such concept is not close to me. Girl resolves problems that are usually created by her mischievous use of transformation pills. There's nowhere for story to go and it becomes episodic in nature. I think it's the first time of ultra-short skirts and pantsu flashing even though pantsu are big and old.   Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Tensai Bakabon 天才バカボン [1971-IV] Tokyo Movie Shinsha, Yomiuri Telecasting, Imagica (Dropped 0/40) Tags: Gag Humor Comedy, Slice of Life Tensai Bakabon is the tale of a child prodigy and his "philosophical" father. Bakabon‘s father has his own philosophy and he leaves no stone unturned in his quest for answers. Despite his ability to trouble Trouble, for some reason, Papa Bakabon is regarded as "The Great Philosopher," and is sought after for advice, which of course ends up in disastrous results. Tensai Bakabon joins his father in his philosophical quests which drives the people in their town crazy. Nice gag series, but is in dare need of translation due to all the puns.   Overall Rating: 6/10   12. Apache Yakyuugun Apache Baseball Team アパッチ野球軍 [1971-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/26) Tags: School, Team Sports Action, Sports A former baseball star who suffered a career crippling injury takes over as coach of a team of misfits in a poor village high school. But we've seen baseball spokon already in Kyojin no Hoshi . Another similar looking dead serious TV series was hardly needed. Kyojin no Hoshi was at least inspirational classic, this one is more team oriented, but also more plain looking.   Overall Rating: 3/10   13. Shin Obake no Q-tarou 新オバケのＱ太郎 [1971-IV] (Dropped 0/13) Tags: School Comedy, Slice of Life, Supernatural New misadventures of the dimwitted ghost Q-Tarou. Not found. At least there is 1985 remake series available.   Overall Rating: 0/10   14. Kunimatsu-sama no Otoridai 国松さまのお通りだい [1971-IV] Mushi Production (Dropped 3/46) Tags: School, Team Sports Comedy, Sports  A comedy about a group of kids forming a school baseball team, with the leader being very stubborn and argumentative. Pilot episode about kendo was a nice school action comedy, but starting from second all the baseball rivalry began, and I just can't stand baseball, one of the most boring sports ever invented.    Overall Rating: 4/10   15. Shin Skyers 5 新スカイヤーズ5 [1971-IV] Tele-Cartoon Japan (Dropped 3/25) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi  A science fiction action series about the future battles between a planetary police force and an international crime syndicate. The series is sometimes denoted with 26 episodes, in such a case episode 1 is a colored version of the original monochrome episode 1 of Skyers 5. No changes to dialogue and story were made. As such this episode will be accounted for in its original entry. Same stupid James Bond stylization and stupid action. After all the more and more complex TV series seen by the end of 1971 this one is super simple looking. They did not even bother to make a different opening. Overall Rating: 3/10
  15. kivandopulus

    Anime of the Year 1970 - Cleopatra

    By kivandopulus,


    Anime of the Year
    There aren't masterpieces inside 1970 anime for me, but among scores of 6 I'd choose one that has a full English translation, and thus Cleopatra .   1. Attack No.1 アタックNo.1 [1970-I] Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Dropped 3/104) Tags: Shoujo Drama, Sports Kozue is a middleschool girl and enthusiastic volleyball player. Her dream is to play in the Japanese national volleyball team. During the series she makes it from the school district league up to the Japanese volleyball finals, step by step till the international volleyball championship. But the faster and higher Kozue climbs the career ladder up, the more she gets confronted with the dark side of success: too high expectations, self-conceit and envy are progressing towards serious problems. This spokon shoujo actually features team members heavy interaction from the start, but it's still quite simple/naïve and girls don't have memorable personalities.    Overall Rating: 4/10   2. Chibikko Remi to Meiken Kapi ちびっ子レミと名犬カピ [1970-I] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Slice of Life This is a faithful if compressed adaptation, telling the story of Remi who is sold off to Vitalis the travelling musician and his band of performing animals. It has musical numbers typical this era of Toei films, some awkward slapstic, plenty of scenes tailored to pull on the heartstrings, and very smooth animation. Overall a pleasant film that's interesting to watch for the technical aspects; but the story leaves much to be desired, being on the melodramatic-maudlin side. The later Dezaki/Sugino version is very different, with 52 episodes for the story to breathe in and far more compelling storytelling. Again a very simplistic tale of searching for real parents. Maybe TV series that came later will give more depths to it, but in this state I see zero point in watching it.    Overall Rating: 4/10   3. Ashita no Joe Tomorrow's Joe あしたのジョー [1970-II] Mushi Production (Dropped 6/79) Tags: Shounen Action, Drama, Slice of Life, Sports Joe Yabuki is a troubled youth, whose only solution to problems is throwing punches at them. What he lacks in manners and discipline, he makes up for with his self-taught fighting skills. One day, while wandering the slums of Doya, Joe gets into a fight with the local gang. Although greatly outnumbered, he effortlessly defeats them, drawing the attention of Danpei Tange—a former boxing coach turned alcoholic. Seeing his potential, he offers to train Joe into Japan's greatest boxer. At first, Joe dismisses Danpei as a hopeless drunk; but after the trainer saves his life, he agrees to live with him and learn the art of boxing. Unfortunately, Joe's personality makes him an unruly student, and he often falls back to his old ways. To survive the harsh world of his new career, Joe needs to trust his mentor and master the techniques taught to him. However, the road to becoming a professional boxer is rife with struggles that will test his mettle to the end. This anime tried to give a proper 2-episode intro, a wide cast of companions and unusual gangster hooligan protagonist a bit similar to great teacher Onizuka. For a spokon anime it's very unconventional and that's why piques interest. But it's still the story of getting stronger without serious twist involved  and in each episode there is usually just one plot that occupies most of the time. So can't call it a masterpiece level. Overall Rating: 6/10   4. Konchuu Monogatari Minashigo Hutch The Adventures of Hutch the Honeybee 昆虫物語みなしごハッチ [1970-II] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/91) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Drama Hutch is a small honeybee who got separated from his mom when his home was destroyed by invading wasps, and he now desperately wants to find her back. It's the beginning of an adventure that will make him meet all kinds of friendly insects who try to help him out, but unfortunately for most of them, they will not survive the end of the episode... Thanks to humor it's way better than just analogue of Kimba the white lion, just in the world of insects. Still it's just aimless and plotless adventures, so the score can't go any higher.    Overall Rating: 5/10   5. Akakichi no Eleven 赤き血のイレブン [1970-II] TV Tokyo, DOGA Productions (Dropped 3/52) Tags: Team Sports At Shinsei high school, soccer is almost a combat sport and new team coach Teppei Matsuki is a fully paid up sadist who will push his team as hard as necessary to win. Headstrong school bad boy Shingo Tamai and his friend Ohira are determined not to be bullied into joining Matsuki's team; instead they set up a squad of their own, and at first play just for fun and struggle to keep up with Matsuki's team. As their skills progress, they play other teams and get stronger and craftier, until they face the crack Asakase high school squad and its star player Misugi Yan in the schools' final. In a tangle of subplots involving old rivalries and injuries, and a mixed-race player seeking his identity and his lost mother (who turns out to be in jail), Shingo develops his skills as a center forward and looks forward to playing a visiting Brazilian squad. He is seriously injured in a game, but his talent, which even the legendary Brazilian Pele recognizes, is equaled by his determination. With the help of a friend of his old rival Matsuki, he recovers to help the team to victory. Definitely melodrama rather than a sports series proper, this is the first in the line of Japanese soccer soaps that stretches to Captain Tsubasa and beyond. Based on a manga by Ikki Kajiwara and Kosei Sonoda. Spokon with more traditional school hooligans. It's actually rather nice as it focuses on drama around characters and soccer instead of soccer itself. I see the appeal, but it lacks humor to become something bigger. Overall Rating: 5/10   6. Bakuhatsu Gorou Goro the Terrible ばくはつ五郎 [1970-II] Tele-Cartoon Japan (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Comedy, Sports The non-athletic head of the school newspaper department participates in various club activities, including a number of sports clubs, with disastrously hilarious results. Super school boy concept is too simple, as for me. Vast use of humor helps a lot, but it's not omnipotent. It's still just episodic stories with some morale at best. Protagonist is clumsy and hesitating and charismatic, but still has ways to go compared to Onizuka. Overall Rating: 6/10   7. Otanoshimi Anime Gekijou おたのしみアニメ劇場 [1970-II] Fuji TV, Studio Zero (Dropped 0/26) Tags: Comedy Based on the original story by Studio Zero. Not found  Overall Rating: 0/10   8. Nippon Tanjou 日本誕生 [1970-III] Mushi Production (Dropped 0/5) Tags: Historical A history of Japan with the main characters as animals. Not found   Overall Rating: 0/10   9. Cleopatra クレオパトラ [1970-III] Mushi Production (Dropped 3/13)  Tags: Historical Sci-Fi In the far future, earthlings come across the foreign planet of Pasatorine. Few things are understood about the planet, but it is clear that earthlings are not welcome there. However, the inhabitants of Pasatorine have initiated something called the "Cleopatra Plan." Puzzled why an alien planet would name a plan after a woman from Earth, the military decides to send three soldiers' minds back to the past to study Cleopatra's life. The Kingdom of Egypt, led by the drunkard Ptolemy, is threatened by Julius Caesar and the Roman empire. In an attempt to save Egypt, Cleopatra, the younger sister of Ptolemy, chooses to undergo a procedure that makes her body irresistible to Caesar. Caesar is immediately smitten and desires to rule Egypt with Cleopatra at his side—but little does he know that she intends to assassinate him as soon as she can. Second ecchi , and it follows steps of Senya Ichiya Monogatari in a lot of ways even with Osamu Tezuka as director, same experimental, same weird transformation scenes, same loose retelling of known events with all kinds of weird plot moves. Very similar graphics-wise as well. Again, it's a memorable parody, but without any serious concept behind it. Thanks to all the parody and additional humor I'd even rate it as 6, but not higher as there is not actual sense or big idea behind it all, just entertainment. Overall Rating: 6/10   10. Kaitei Sanman Mile 海底3万マイル [1970-III] Toei Animation (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy Returning home from an ocean trip, young Isamu meets the beautiful sea-dweller Angel on a volcanic island. Attacked by a fiery dragon, Isamu and Angel escape on the observation boat See Through, and Angel invites Isamu to see her undersea kingdom of Atlas. From the start I thought it reminded ghost ship Soratobu Yuureisen, and at times it almost felt like direct plagiatry. This time plot hardly goes anywhere, so musical is partially incorporated. But now there's some humor it , so I can rate it a bit higher. But it remains just an adventure story. Overall Rating: 5/10   11. Mahou no Mako-chan Mako the Mermaid 魔法のマコちゃん [1970-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 3/48) Tags: Shoujo Fantasy, Romance Mako is a young siren and daughter to the King of the Sea. In a stormy day she rescues the young sport Akira from a wrecked ship, but ends up falling in love with him. So, with help from the Witch of the Sea, she's transformed into a human, and becomes a highschool student who helps everyone with her strong sense of love and justice and her magical pendant, the "Tear of the Mermaid." It's difficult for me to evaluate a shoujo without substantial humor. As a school shouojo with just protagonist in the focus it reminds Himitsu no Akko-chan the most of all previous ones. And I see nothing special in it. Overall Rating: 5/10   12. Kick no Oni Demon of the Kick キックの鬼 [1970-IV] Toei Animation (Dropped 2/26) Tags: Shounen Combat Sports An arrogant karate master named Tadashi Sawamura enters the kickboxing ring to prove his superiority, only to be beaten into a coma by a practictioner of the new art. After recovering, his trainer Endo convinced Sawamura to study kickboxing in order to regain his honor. The series is loosely based on the real-life exploits of champion kickboxer Tadashi Sawamura. Dead serious and boring kick-boxing spokon starting with a defeat. Overall Rating: 4/10   13. Inakappe Taishou General Inakappe いなかっぺ大将 [1970-IV] Tatsunoko Production (Dropped 3/104) Tags: Comedy, Sports A comedy about a country boy that travels to the city to study judo. He ends up meeting the daughter of a prominent dojo and her judo skilled cat. Each episode features 2 stories. Humor is rather decent, but nothing special. Protagonist is sort of simple-minded. Other characters are also just surface-scratching. Feels too childish. Overall Rating: 5/10   14. Norakuro のらくろ [1970-IV] Eiken (Dropped 3/26) Tags: Comedy Norakuro is a black dog enlisted in the "Mokenrentai" (Fierce Dog Brigade), an Imperial army of dogs fighting in a war against the enemy Monkey Army. Norakuro is a stray black-and-white dog in an army of white dogs who blundered his way while being a Private Second-Class. This series was relatively faithful to the comics. One big change, however, was the addition of the army nurse Miko, whom Norakuro had a crush on. For this series, Norakuro was voiced by Nobuyo Ooyama, who would later become noted for voicing Doraemon. I felt like I saw black and white pre-war anime of it, and it indeed turned out to be an old military franchise parodying USSR and USA in the form of animals. Watching it nowadays feels very weird and out-of-time, humor is either too simple or too specific to enjoy. Overall Rating: 4/10   15. Otoko Doahou! Koushien 男どアホウ! 甲子園 (Dropped 0/156) Tags: Action, Sports The story of a dim country boy who dreams of making it to the high school baseball championships in Koshien. Each 10 minutes episode ran from Monday to Saturday. Not found Overall Rating: 0/10   16. Ijiwaru Baasan いじわるばあさん [1970-IV] Knack Productions (Dropped 0/13) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life Based on a 1966 manga by Sazae-san creator Hasegawa Machiko. This is another slice-of-everyday-life tale, centered around a spiteful old woman who causes trouble for neighbours with her constant bumbling and grumbling Not found   Overall Rating: 0/10
  16. kivandopulus
    Futamata Ren'ai is our only candidate/winner this month.
     
    1. Uchi no Pet Jijou Vol. 1 ウチのペット事情 Vol.1 [220408] Animal Herb 1 Based on the doujinshi series of the same name, this visual novel puts you in the shoes of the protagonist, an unassuming college student who lives by himself. Life goes from ordinary to the extraordinary very quickly when you stumble upon a girl collapsed in front of your apartment building. What makes this even more unusual are the cat ears, tail and wings on her body. Not wanting to abandon her, you offer to take her home and offer her food. While she tries to put on a brave front, her grumbling stomach says otherwise. It turns out she is no ordinary girl but is a Cherubim, a half animal, half angel girl from Heaven. While she normally travels down to Earth to do her job, she ends up being exiled from Heaven and while searching for a certain important object, she becomes exhausted and collapses by the side of the road. One thing leads to another and you find yourself with a new roommate. Her energy and smile brightens up your day and pretty soon a close friendship blossoms into something else as you begin to develop feelings for her. It’s never a dull moment with the cheerful, naively honest, and rambunctious Mint by your side, which is only amplified when Lily, a half-demon and close friend of Mint’s, suddenly shows up on your doorstep in all her over-the-top flirtatious glory. How will your life change in your lovey-dovey life alongside the Cherubim, Mint? Partial localized release has English reviews.  
    2. Dreamin' Her -Boku wa, Kanojo no Yume o Miru.- Dreamin' Her -僕は、彼女の夢を見る。- [220428] LIFE0 From the white sky, the snow fall and running down her cheeks. We were holding hands, lying on the snow. When our eyes met, she smiles at me―― ――That was the dream I saw when I was a child. On the day when the town turned white by the snow, me and my childhood friend Mirai lying on the snow. I wanna stay as it is. That was what I thought when I was young. I grew up with a faint love. I was certain that our feelings were the same. Until that day. "Sorry. I'm sorry, Ao. But... I'm sorry." It wasn't supposed to be like that. It wasn't supposed to be that way. She was the only one who support my heart, of me who doesn't dream of a great one. I thought she would be with me no matter what. But she went away. Feeling despair of everything, getting up from bed becoming troublesome. I started to having doubt on "reason for living in this meaningless world"―― Then I, had this particular dream. Beautiful coast. White sand beach, calming pale pink sea, a lighthouse that can bee seen in the distance―― ――"She" was there. Mirai's look alike, an ideal girlfriend who will never betray. Not much different from previous LIFE0 all-age projects except that now it's an even more straightforward single heroine story which sacrifices complexity in favor of a seemingly bigger romance impact.  
    3. Futamata Ren'ai フタマタ恋愛 [220428] ASa Project An absolutely lovely awakening: The chirping of the birds... and somebody's warmth. "I'll have you take responsibility so... um... you'll be my boyfriend from now on, got it?" He was supposed to be taking care of a girl he met at a mixer, Toiro Kirame. However, he was mistaken for having a one-night stand with her; the both of them unable to comprehend the situation, the protagonist, Koga Nao, is made to take responsibility. "I'll agree to go out with you! Be glad, Koga-kun." However, his unrequited love, Nobuta Yua, suddenly declares that they will be dating. Having been expressing his love for a while, he is unable to decline at that point---- And, just like that, having made two girlfriends, our protagonist happily makes his debut as a two-timing sack of shit. Maintaining his two relationships, he worries about what he would do from then on, then his relationships begin to change. And, what's more, his girlfriends begin to suspect him, driving him further and further up the wall. Will he dive into the quicksand of love that threatens to sink him further than two-timing? Or, will he seek out a happy ending where nobody is hurt? How will this story that begins with two spontaneous romances unfold? Thoroughly unpredictable, the curtain draws on this quagmire of a love-comedy! ASa Project has proved to be one of the most perspective existing brands. Even with this lightweight plot and significant H tilt, comedy is as hilarious as ever     
    4. Otome to Fureau, Hitotsu Yane no Shita 乙女とふれあう、ひとつ屋根の下 [220428] ensemble SWEET A mysterious yuri novelist is currently in a slump for almost a year. He even tried to wear a woman dress. His sister suggested working as administrator in girl dormitory . Of course he needs to cross-dress all the time there. Will he be able to conceal identity living alongside three beautiful girls? I'm not going to look into another ensemble trap game  
    BLOCKED   1. Hime to In'yoku no Testament 姫と婬欲のテスタメント [220428] Escu:de  Woodfall, Kingdom of Winstoll――. There hasn't been a single ray of sunlight; the sky was closed off by dark clouds for a hundred years. The land feared by the people as the "Cursed Land", abandoned by God, is ruled by the "Beast Lord", Gran Woodfall. Gran, who lives in an old castle deep in a foggy forest is a genuine beast who lives for a hundred years without aging due to a curse. Sylphia, the princess of the Kingdom of Winstoll, was invited to the "Beast Lord" Gran's castle. Princess Sylphia had been presented as Gran's fiancée by the contract that had been signed between Gran and King Winstoll. She is a princess that was confined in the royal castle since she was a child. A "Cursed Princess", a princess with a curse that called for disaster. However, it was the princess' curse that is sought by Gran. "The preparations are complete. Ring the bell, the time is ticking, fill the vessel with curses. Come on―― let's get the "ritual" started." Gran had lived for a hundred years, wishing only to take back his lover, whom he had lost due to his unreasonable fate. Having obtained Sylphia's curse; a necessary power for the sake of his objective. Gran began the "ritual" with the cursed monsters that had been summoned in the castle. In the middle of the forest, shrouded in mist and darkness, the curtains opened on the training ceremony of lust for a virgin in the cursed castle――. Nukige listed for opening's sake  
  17. kivandopulus

    VN of the Month March 2022 - Unless Terminalia

    By kivandopulus,


    VN of the Month 2022
    It's becoming a tradition, but there's again just one candidate that fits to run for game of the month and wins by default - Unless Terminalia
     
    1. Ai Kiss 3 アイキス３ [220325] Giga  Arimori Gakuen is an art school . Two years have passed since enrollment and relations with different girls around. This year two new girls Maniwa Karin and Ikenaga Avrola enroll , so new story page brings even more fun. Moege sequel  
    2. Himemiya-san wa Kamaitai 姫宮さんはかまいたい [220325] Prekano  Main character was looking for a new school club to join when Tsubaki Himemiya forced him into joining tea ceremony club. Soon it turns out that it's full of ghost members , so it more and more starts to remind a date. Not a month without vanilla nukige. With so few titles can't just strike it out.  
    3. Hokenshitsu no Sensei to Gothloli no Koui 保健室のセンセーとゴスロリの校医 [220325] Citrus "I, may have been looking for spring." "Maybe I was looking for love." Kazami Sora is still working as a nurse at Saika Girls' Academy as planned after the first semester has passed. His traveling companion, Shirobana, works as an assistant, but they no longer live together at their hot spring resort, Shikisai-no-Sato. After seeing his sister off peacefully, Sora has decided to lead a life not for her anymore but for himself. Shirobana, who knows this better than anyone else, decides to step aside and watch over Sora from afar, just as Sora's older sister did in the past. Autumn is the season of school events, including a field trip to a lavender field and a school festival held jointly by the schools. As time passed by, one day, a new mystery was added to the Seven Mysteries of the school. It is said that oni (demons) appear at night, and they ravage the school grounds. Sora, who thinks it is the work of the Tamabito, is starting to investigate the case as an Okuribito. He is accompanied by Otohime, the school doctor, who is also a reliable coworker and drinking companion. The language of cherry blossoms is the language of beauty. And that of purity. ---- It's more of a fandisc as it's a rather short kinetic story focusing on a side character introduced in the previous work  
    4. Unless Terminalia アンレス・テルミナリア [220325] Whirlpool High school Morinomiya Gakuen is located in the deep, deep forest. Neighboring towns consider this place a sanatorium. Boys and girls with extraordinary abilities are gathered from all over the world at this school. The "Yuzuriha Institution" protects them and researches the "gift" bound in them. The "gift" is considered to be of heavenly nature. Main character is cursed to forget everything except for one chosen memory, so he is placed in this school to find that most important memory to carry over. One day he meets a transfer student Mikuriya Ren who wants to experience the joy of youth in this place, but who is about to die soon by a wicked twist of fate.  This is a story about the meaning of fate. God certainly exists and keeps asking boys and girls about it... Good to see Whirlpool following the flow of Pieces rather than some other its infamous projects. Individual elements are fine, so if you can stand all this heavenly providence and resurrection themes, could be more entertaining than Pieces.  
  18. kivandopulus

    VN of the Month February 2022 - RE:D Cherish

    By kivandopulus,


    VN of the Month 2022
    The good news that there is still a release that qualifies to run for the game of the month - RE:D Cherish . The bad news that it's again the only one that fits the criteria for me.  
    1. HEAVEN BURNS RED ヘブンバーンズレッド [220210] Key 1 The setting of this game is girls being in several military units. 31A, 31B, 31C, 31D, 31E, 31F, and 31X, each with their very own motto and motivation, which all serve as humanity's last hope against "Cancer", an interstellar force which is laying siege on humanity. Bleak future aside, Heaven Burns Red tasks players with the role of fighting against Cancer, by recruiting and sending off girls to fight them. Characters in the game wield Seraph—weapons that can harm Cancer. Mobile Exclusive RPG  
    2. 1/1 Kareshi Kanojo １／１彼氏彼女 [220225] SMEE Main character is in love, but romance is difficult for him because of three reasons: 1. Encounter is difficult even with effort applied and happens mostly due to pure luck 2. Even upon meeting timing to show affection may easily turn wrong 3. What if she rejects? One must be extremely lucky for all three points to coincide. With such thoughts protagonist spends winter days of the second year of high school.  Moege  
    3. Boku to Kanojo no Kojin Lesson 僕と先生の個人授業 [220225] Azarashi Soft+1 "...What should I do in the future?" Kido Yusuke was worried. He studied hard so that he could go on to any job in the future. And he also worked a part-time job to supplement his living expenses. But he don't know what his want to do in the future. And he couldn't talk to anyone about that problem... One day, the teacher came to the student dormitory where he lives. "I'm living here from today. We're a teacher and a student, but I'm glad if you'll get along with me." Tsukimori Misaki, an elder teacher who suddenly decided to live with him. Yusuke casually asks Misaki. --How can I find my future goals? "You just have to spread your insights. Like a student, play a lot and experience a lot." He don't know what to do even if he's told to play and experience--. Yusuke didn't feel like that until now. "Then... may I cooperate for you?" The days when the teacher and the student spend time under the same roof. Times that were unthinkable in my life will change every day little by little--. Usual share of vanilla nukige  
    4. Ever Maiden ~Daraku no Sono no Otome-tachi~ エヴァーメイデン　～堕落の園の乙女たち～ [220225] Liar-soft This story is about "Puerarium", a school isolated from the outside world by fog and thorns. Here strict discipline is always in effect, where the air always tense and time never disturbed. However, one morning a girl was found unconscious in front of the school gate. This gate is always closed and should only open on special occasions. The guards, on alert, asked her to name herself to which she replied "Alouette." At that moment, the bell of the clock tower, which was rusty and always silent, rang out. "When the bell of the clock tower rings, the end of this school will come soon." Like the gossip had hinted, it was the beginning of a nightmarish turmoil in Puerarium. Alouette who had became a student after many complications, violated curfew and left her room. What she saw there was a school that had turned into a different world, and a strange shape that wandered around with a murderous intent. With determination she called out to the girl in front. Yuri  
    5. Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Vol. 8 グリザイア ファントムトリガー Vol. 8 [220225] Frontwing At last, an all-out war is at hand. The battle against the religious organization, The Fatal Answer (TFA), has entered its final phase, with CIRS and SORD preparing to send all of their troops into TFA's stronghold. The battlefield soon descends into total chaos. Black rain pours down, civilians become desperate for water, and shots are fired at friend and foe alike. Not even the trenches are safe from the anti-aircraft guns TFA employs, the explosions bombarding the combat zone that the girls are tasked with invading. Such a feat is not unlike invading the depths of hell itself. The underground base is quickly being suffocated by gunpowder, and the dark forest that surrounds the battlefield reeks with the stench of death. But both contain within them the faint yet tenacious flames of life; will those flames be able to withstand the harsh realities of war? This must never, ever be repeated again... "Listen up, everyone! Final equipment checks!" "Yeah, there's nowhere to retreat to." "Is it okay to kill them?" "We can die happy." "Thank God! I'll never let you go again!" "Life itself is war..." "Prepare for close-quarters combat!" "Holy crap! Look! They're charging right at us!" "They've completely lost their minds..." "Well then, I guess it's time to end this... What are you going to do, Enishi-san?" The girl places her finger on the trigger of fate... "Why... Why do you fight?" Great news for those who still follow  
    6. RE:D Cherish! [220225] CRYSTALiA 1 Time is 206X, place is resort island "Eruteria" that advocates "freedom for all." Main character arrives here having lost his hometown and everything he had. There he meets a white-haired girl Unika who also was robbed of her family restaurant business run by her father. Her dream is to restore the diner. Together they try to make this dream come true in the atmosphere of total freedom bordering with the state of lawlessness. There is an English review  
  19. kivandopulus
    Despite all the looks I still find as many as ten games to be great. And still 50 openings to enjoy Visual Novel Openings 2021 . Since I prioritize chunige , my choice for the year is Waga Himegimi ni Eikan o . As for plans, hardly anything has changed except that I'm first going for Sakura, Moyu. -As the Night's, Reincarnation- , but so far only recorded common route over last three months, so useless to plan further. Will definitely get more active when I finish all the postponed RPGs , six titles accumulated so far.  
    My list of masterpieces in 2021: Buddy Mission Bond Fuyukara, Kururu. Genpei Ryouran Emaki -Gikei- Kunado Kokuki Madohi Shiroki no Kamikakushi Meikei no Lupercalia Monkeys!¡ Sousaku Kanojo no Ren'ai Koushiki Umi to Yuki no Cyan Blue Waga Himegimi ni Eikan o  
  20. kivandopulus

    VN of the Month January 2022 - Hentai Prison

    By kivandopulus,


    VN of the Month 2022
    Just one game qualifies to run for game of the month and it becomes winner by default - Hentai Prison
     
    1. Shiori no Kotoha - Dark Reflections - シオリノコトハ - Dark Reflections - [220118] CyberStep, Inc. At the end of a deep forest, there was a large library with European-style architecture. Kenji Azuma drops by the library whenever he finds time. The reason why Kenji, who doesn't usually read books, comes by so much is because of the girl who works at the library, Shiori Tokita. Kenji falls in love with her at first sight, and spends his days in the library reading and watching Shiori. One day, Kenji falls asleep and is awakened by the sound of an emergency bell... The area was pitch black and the doors would not open...the library had turned into an inescapable prison. Within the locked down library, Kenji and his friends are tossed about by the mysteries hidden there and the murders that occur... All-age B-class horror remake with vtuber gimmicks instead of seiyu  
    2. Kurokami-sama no Bansan クロカミサマの晩餐 [220121] Minato Carnival World 1 Domaru is a young manga artist just trying to survive after his work was discontinued. He joins a group dedicated to learning about spirits, yokai and the occult in order to find new material for his next story. But, there is one urban legend that especially catches his eye – the tale of Kurokami-sama. Domaru's curiosity takes hold, but he quickly learns there's wisdom to the phrase "be careful what you wish for" when his investigation leads him to the real Kurokami-sama. She spares his life on one condition – he must hunt down the other yokai, slay them, and bring them back to her. But Kurokami-sama is as capricious as they come, and she won't hesitate to send Domaru to an early grave if he makes even a single mistake. Subject to the whims of a powerful yet beautiful creature, what will Domaru do? Serve her eternally, or fight for his freedom? There is an English review  
    3. Needy Girl Overdose [220121] WSS playground Needy Girl Overdose is a “multi-ending ADV” depicting daily life with “OMGkawaiiAngel-chan”, a young girl with a rather extreme need for approval attempting to become the #1 “Internet Angel” (streamer). SIM  
    4. U-ena -Toohanabi no Shoujo- U-ena -遠花火の少女- [220121] Hemiola Studio 1 ―Far fireworks― That flash orange and white in the sky, and bloom blue flower at the end. This celestial event has recently begun to appear and people call that "Far fireworks." The story is set in nondescript rural junior high scool. Tomoki belong to a club that mix literatureclub and tea ceremony club. That called "Kotonoha Circle." It was the night he saw Far fireworks. He meets soaked girl in the center of lake. He spend usual days with Yuena and club president of Kotonoha Circle, Utano Shinonome,but suddenly accelerated unreality approaches the peaceful reality. An unreal secret that approaches when you meet someone you thought you couldn't meet. ― ■■ in the world. Even if taking her hand will eventually change the world, I am ー. A summer seem to prolong the moment cross between two people for all eternity. I'm still praying in the sky that time should continue forever. There is an English review for Early Access game  
    5. Magatsu Barai マガツバライ [220127] light “Spiritshine” is a mysterious power that has long-existed in humanity and nature. Hayato Isurugi—the apprentice of a “Spiritualist,” whose livelihood is to master the use of that power and exorcise demons—was enjoying his peaceful young life at Shinwa Academy. Working part-time making charms to earn money; enjoying silly, lighthearted conversation with good friends; and secretly planning out a gift for his older sister as thanks for all that she does for him… But his ordinary, albeit pleasant routine is shattered by the arrival of an unforeseen assailant. While the Academy falls into pandemonium, Hayato is deathly injured trying to protect his friends. But just as he is about to die, he encounters a young woman named “Magatsu,” the incarnation of an evil spirit sealed by his ancestors. It was 1,000 years ago, during the Heian era, that the city was shaken by the 13 Demon Generals. Taking the appearance of a beautiful young woman, the Calamity Shion smiled. “Well, now… do you want to live, fool?” “Here is the deal. Free me thyself.” “And I will give thee strength.” And thus the story began. The glistening days of youth. “Even a little rock can make something happen if it starts moving!” Like a clear sky, Magatsu Barai. Console exclusive   
    6. Hentai Prison ヘンタイ・プリズン [220128] Qruppo -"Tulip Prison". This is a prison where only sex offenders who are judged to be "impossible to rehabilitate" are imprisoned nationwide. The ninth correctional facility is a prison built on an isolated island in middle of an ocean, where no one can escape. Minato Shuuichirou is a boy who lives in Tokyo. He got the nickname of "naked man" from the police. He couldn't tolerate the existence of clothes and couldn't stand being clothed. He repeatedly kept exposing himself everyday on impulse, even risking his life. On one day with beautiful illuminations, he was arrested for public obscenity and obstruction of official duties. He defended himself in court pleading that his exposure was an act of art, but his claim was never accepted. He was found gulity of assault on the police and repeated obscenity. And he was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. He was also judged to be "impossible to rehabilitate" and imprisoned in the Tulip Prison. Can an exhibitionist survive in this prison haunted by demonic prisoners? This prison of sex offenders called "HENTAI" is by no means a paradise. Third attempt of Qruppo to mix nukige theme with a plotge, but if earlier healthy people were put into lewd atmosphere, this time it's the opposite.  
    7. Kami no Kuni no Mahoutsukai 神の国の魔法使い [220128] NekoNeko Soft  Main character comes with sister to Tokyo for a sightseeing trip. At a mysterious shrine they get back in time to Japan 1000 years ago. They start to get along with the villagers and even meet a cute wizard girl, so adventures begin! Partially released so far  
    8. Tomodachi Kara Koibito e 友だちから恋びとへ [220128] Azarashi Soft Main character is forced to participate in speed dating by his boss. There protagonist meets two girls he already knows and decides to spend more time with one of them. More vanilla nukige  
    9. Venus Blood: Savior [220128] Dual Tail The continent of Levancia, where humanity enjoys prosperity under the blessing of Harial, the goddess of the sun. The goddess of darkness, Ishtar, was sealed, and the dark demons were squeezed into the frontiers and the bottom of the earth. Because of the era full of light, the demons seek a savior. An old demon king who once followed Ishtar. His resurrection was the long-cherished wish of the demons. Time has passed and the Demon King finally makes his resurrection. Regius, the hero of the demons. And confronting him are the heroes of the sacred treasures of this world. "Now is the time to create a demon paradise ──!" The battle to bring about change in the age of light and darkness is about to begin. SIM  
    BLOCKED   1. Houkago Cinderella Mini Fandisk ~Anata to Kaeru Saigo no Gekoudou~ 放課後シンデレラ ミニファンディスク ～あなたと帰る最後の下校道～  [220128] Hooksoft After-stories with each heroine after graduation. Fandsic    2. Gekko no Sword Breaker - Minato-hen 月光のソードブレイカー ミナト編 [220125] Iron Sword Modern time. The largest machine product company "Imperial Heavy Industries" gets the control share of "Automata" and starts producing cyborgs for households. High school student Yuto gets caught up in an automata runaway incident, but soon the third-generation automata Nova saves his life. Yuto was taken to Nova hideout and given a serious assignment - to fall in love with five school idols to defeat "Mugen Tukuyomi". First target is student council president Minato. Doujin  
  21. kivandopulus
    A lot of titles got delayed till April, so we're sitting at 10 titles again just like in February. Onigokko! is the only masterpiece I acknowledge. Micchi basically only favors Onigokko and games that got delayed, so let's anticipate a hot April.  
    1. Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto - Ginga Bishounen Densetsu STAR DRIVER 輝きのタクト 銀河美少年伝説 [110303] Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. In Southern Japan, there lies the verdant Minamijuuji Island. One night, a youth by the name of Tsunashi Takuto arrives on one of the island's beaches. This youth, who had swam to the island from the mainland, subsequently enters Minamijuuji Academy's High School Division. Possessing a positive and forward-looking attitude, he easily develops relationships with Agemaki Wako, Shindou Sugata, and various other people he meets at the Academy. However, Minamijuuji Academy hides a big secret. Beneath it, 20 humanoid constructs lie dormant. In this land that lies under a blue sky and surrounded by blue seas, a story of love, dreams and friendship begins. Anime spin-off  
    2. Suzumiya Haruhi no Tsuisou 涼宮ハルヒの追想 [110324] guyzware This is a sequel to "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya" movie, an adaptation of the fourth installment of the popular Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series. This sequel, The Reminiscences of Haruhi Suzumiya, is a direct continuation of the film's ending, taking place in the parallel world where the SOS Brigade doesn't exist. However, this sequel is a video game, featuring an original story; it just happens to be tied in to the plot closer than most Haruhi games. Anime spin-off  
    3. 12+ [110331] anisetta Anisetta’s debut game is based off Arthurian legend. In a period of chaos and war, the throne is vacated with the death of the previous king. Arthur becomes the new king and is attacked by the 11 surrounding countries, but he fights them off and instead is viewed as the king of all countries. With peace finally in hand, the magician Merlin tells him to marry a princess from a neighbouring country. Even though he had taken her advice many times, he refuses to do so this time. She believes that it is necessary to strengthen the newly-found peace and that he is just afraid because he’s not used to being with girls. Don’t worry, she has a plan and the Knights of the Round Table will gladly help out. Game is rough on all edges and with really weak scenario.  
    4. Bura Bura ぶら ぶら [110331] Wheel Takuji is a guy who’s pretty popular among the girls, but he already has someone he likes: Hitomi, his osananajimi who’s doting and is quite a cute… guy!? Their childhood friend Nakaba, as well as other girls, want him to snap him out of the trap and lead him back to ‘normality’. Silly bakage with all kind of trap/gay humor.  
    5. Hatsukoi Time Capsule ~Osananajimi to Kyakkya Ufufu~ 初恋タイムカプセル ～幼馴染とキャッキャうふふ～ [110331] Citoron Soft 1 When he was small, Kiriya buried a time capsule under a Camphor tree with his 5 osananajimis. Soon after, one of his osananajimis Kazuha moved away and they lost touch with each other. Ten years later, his other four osananajimis Yuuna, Mio, Maika and Anna all attend the same school and stay at the same dormitory as him, but hold back their feelings for him. One day, Kazuha returns and asked him if he still remembers the time capsule and their promise. With Kazuha’s return, the other osananajimis don’t hold back anymore and start making their moves, resulting in chaos. Which osananajimi will he end up with? There is an English review.  
    6. Onigokko! 鬼ごっこ！ [110331] ALcot 1 2 3  A long long time ago, the oni (demons) collected many treasures on an island known as Onigashima and Momotarou came with his three friends to defeat the oni and recover the treasures. Now, there is a thief Ura that is said to be the descendant of the oni and who is stealing all the treasures. His actual name is Keisuke, the protagonist of this story. However, someone else posing as him sent out a notice and he wonders who it is. But soon his cover is blown as the descendants of Momotarou, Kintarou, Issun-boushi and Otohime also attend Onigashima Gakuen. And thus a modern fairy tale is born. There are English reviews  
    7. Rensai Kisou Camellia Note ~Yume ni Shinobazu, Kirisake Otome!~ 恋祭☆綺想カメリアノート ～夢に忍ばず、斬り咲け乙女！～ [110331] tritail Shouichi is a normal student at Raikou Gakuen, which holds an event called Meikousai where students fight for ‘camellia pages’ which hold mysterious power, with the winner getting their wish granted. Even though Shouichi lost his camellia page pretty early, he found himself still stuck on the battlefield. Game can be fun, but scenario and gameplay parts are no good.  
    8. Secret Game Code:Revise シークレットゲーム　CODE:Revise [110331] Flat 1  Another time, another "game". 14 people have been confined to small rural village and fitted with exploding collars. Each one also has PDA with a unique ability and a condition to remove the collar. If anyone tries to leave the designated area or fails to achieve the condition in their PDA, their collar explodes, killing them. This is the "game" of death, where mistrust and manipulation run rampant and death is common. But this time there's also a catch, as when the "Rain starts to fall"... There is an English review  
    9. Trouble @ Spiral! とらぶる＠すぱいらる！ [110331] Aries Keisuke didn’t have much luck finding a job after his graduation, but he finally found a place to work at his father’s cafe Tenryuu. There aren’t many visitors at all, but it’ll do for now. He also helps out with renting out the nearby apartment Nazuki-sou and many cute girls live there. However, his father went missing and debts start piling up… soon he’ll be evicted! All the tenants help him out to renew the cafe and save their home. A banal setting for a banal moege.  
    10. Tsuyokiss 3gakki つよきす３学期 [110331] Candy Soft 1 2 A further retelling of Tsuyokiss and Tsuyokiss 2gakki, takes place a few months after Celeb has transferred to Leo's class (but before the game enters any routes). There are English reviews  
    BLOCKED   1. Hotch Potch ハチポチ -Liar＆raiL FanDisk- [110318] Liar-soft
    Hotch Potch is a fandisk which covers Liar-soft’s titles from Seiken no Inganock to Dosukoi!, as well as all three of raiL-soft’s works. Various characters from the ten works will appear and in the original story, they all seek ways to return to their own worlds. There’s a few original characters that help drive the story.
    Fandisc
  22. kivandopulus

    VN of the Month December 2021 - Kunado Kokuki

    By kivandopulus,


    VN of the Month 2021
    Kunado Kokuki is the only big title in December.
     
    1. Star Melody: Yumemi Dreamer スターメロディー ユメミドリーマー [211202] Kogado Studio Yumemi Nanahoshi is an ordinary middle school student who lives in the small suburban seaside town Hoshimaki. However, one day a creature named Kirara—the princess of Little Star, a planet destroyed by a monster called Muma—appeared before the ordinary Yumemi. Muma—who manipulates nightmares to devour people’s souls—followed Kirara to Earth in pursuit of her. To save everyone, Yumemi must become a “Dreamer” and defeat Muma with “Purification Songs”! With the support of her childhood friend Kanato, Yumemi becomes a Dreamer and continues to fight against Muma. To protect the peace on earth. And to protect everyone’s dreams! After all these years Kogado Studio still parasites over rhythm games. Stability.  
    2. Vtuber Maid Ramie Vtuberメイドラミエ [211216] iMel Inc. It all started when the protagonist randomly came across a video of the newly debuted maid Vtuber "Ramie Amatsuka." Our lonely hero was tired of his job and lost his lust for life, his only comfort being Ramie Amatsuka's live streams. At first, she was just an illustration. However, through the wonders of technology, she started to be able to truly come to life. Eventhough it was through the screen, just by watching her channel grow and how enthusiasticaly she chatted with her audience, he felt his spirits lift. One day, Ramie Amatsuka, a former citizen of the virtual world, appeared in front of the protagonist by jumping through the screen... "Spend time with the cheerful maid Vtuber who wants to take care of you. Your fun and raunchy room-sharing life begins now!" Not the first fanservice work milking vtubers, not the last.  
    3. Kiss Kara Hajimaru Gyaru no Koi ~Kurumi no Uwasa to Honto no Kimochi~ キスから始まるギャルの恋 〜くるみのウワサとホントのキモチ〜   [211224] Prekano Second-year student Tsutazawa Hiroki has a disposition to want to help people in trouble and his interest is directed at the girl sitting next to him in class: Hiiragi Kurumi. If she was just a simple kogal with a flashy hairstyle, then perhaps he would've treated her as just another classmate. But, people told bad rumors about her. She looked resigned to her fate, always gazing out of the window, putting a wall between her and the rest of the class – if anyone was not meant to be there, it was her. Hiroki's relationship with her was triggered by a chance encounter. Being aware of the face she's always making, Hiroki starts questioning her on her situation. Kurumi is touched by his meddlesomeness and gradually becomes more interested in him... Concealed behind her appearance, there hides the pure and vulnerable love of a Kogal. It began with a teasing kiss and then rushed past like a spring breeze. Can't block it with PS4 release coming. Can't bother discussing it either.  
    4. Kunado Kokuki クナド国記 [211224] Purple Software 1 One day, metals have gained a will and randomly began to attack humanity all over the world――― Without knowing the cause, all the civilization and history on the earth were destroyed, and mankind has been hit by unprecedented catastrophes for about 1,000 years. Humans drastically reduced their numbers and managed to survive while resisting the attack against the metal with will Tetsuoni. Many of the remaining humans have awakened to their supernatural powers, and devoted themselves to the days of battle. Meanwhile, a girl named Natsuhime, one of the warriors belonging to the frontier country of Kanto, defeats Kurokami, the greatest threat of Tetsuoni. The people of Kanto who survived are shaken and rejoices the disappearance of a thousand-year-old threat to human existence. This story revolves around the boy Kurotetsu Shin, who has no memory of being found in the remains of Kurokami after the battle. It is a story of mankind's revival and how it reconstructs history from the former civilization that humans lost to Kurokami. There is an English review  
    5. Lunaria -Virtualized Moonchild- [211224] Key 1 The Moon and Earth: a love story spanning 384,400 kilometers. Skyout is a cutting-edge VR action-battle race. T-bit is not your ordinary high school student. He's also an undefeated genius gamer. Day in and day out, he logs into Skyout, winning lots of prize money. But one day he ends up wandering into a mysterious area. Lunar World, a Moon server whose existence no one knows about. There T-bit meets an AI avatar who introduces herself as LUNAR-Q. It turns out that she's a rejected mascot character for a lunar terraforming project, and she dreams of seeing the Earth some day... There are English reviews  
    6. Princess ☆ Sisters! ~Yon Shimai wa Zen'in Anata no Iinazuke~  プリンセス☆シスターズ！～四姉妹は全員あなたの許嫁～ [211224] Princess Sugar The main character, Kaburagi Ryou, once lived a wealthy life. But after his father, who had a business for many years in the Republic of Kynesburg in Western Europe, died of illness, Ryou became bankrupt and struggled to survive while working part-time. One day, a mysterious maid "Sakura" appeared in front of him and said - "I want to support you.", and asked him to sign a contract as soon as possible. But why me...? Despite thinking that way initially, the request was somehow related to the Republic of Kynesburg, and thus, was sort of related to his father, and so he decided to accept it. Soon, there came a phone call from Sakura to Ryou to meet her at a specific location. When he went there, alongwith Sakura, there were four sisters "Flora", "Anise", "Cheryl", and "Eimi" with her, and Ryou had to take care of all four of them. The truth behind all this was that the King, who felt gratitude towards Ryou's father, wanted to invite Ryou into the royal family. Therefore, he decided to carry out a big matchmaking project in which all the four sisters, who were also his daughters, were made Ryou's fiancee, and the princess chosen by Ryou as his wife, was to become the number one successor to the throne. Thus, "the matchmaking project and a new life for Ryou, with the four princess sisters", has begun. If pure moege still exists, this is the closest thing to it.  
    BLOCKED   1. Nanagane Gakuen -Ryokou Bu- 七ヶ音学園 -旅行部- [211230] Luna System Main character Kei Tokisaka, is a second year student attending a travel club. He is an ordinary student, but he has a secret that he can't tell anyone about. He adores club members who are all beautiful girls: the beautiful head of the club, the idol girl, the honor student's childhood friend, and cute younger students. The life of the club is filled with excitement , anxiety , humor and romance. Fandisc  
  23. kivandopulus
    There are as many as two games about GameDev, and since there's not much else to look at, one of them Sousaku Kanojo no Ren'ai Koushiki becomes game of the Month.  
    1. Yuru Camp△ - Have a Nice Day! ゆるキャン△ Have a nice day! [211111] MAGES. GAME Take on the roles of Kagamihara Nadeshiko and Shima Rin, and enjoy a branching story where the camp contents change in a big way based on your choices. With “what if” scenarios not depicted in the TV anime, this is a game Laid-Back Camp fans will not want to miss. The game features various "what if" scenarios. What if everyone went to the Takabocchi Highlands, where Rin originally went solo? What if Rin camped solo at Shibire Lake, where she originally went with Nadeshiko? What if Rin brought a portable grill to Lake Motosu? Despite featuring the same scenes as the anime, you can still enjoy a fresh camping experience! In Laid-Back Camp: Have a Nice Day!, you can relive the Laid-Back Camp experience by visiting Lake Motosu, Fumoto Campsite, Eastwood Campsite, Takabocchi Highlands, Shibire Lake, Jinbagatayama Campsite, and Fujinomiya. Furthermore, Lake Tanuki Campsite, which only appears by name in the original comic, has also been added as a campground. But whether you are able to camp there depends on your actions. Anime Spin-Off  
    2. NinNinDays 2 [21118] qureate A young man is dazing off while working the night shift at a convenience store, when a girl stops in to ask for a meat bun. The one next to her appears to be her boyfriend, and after doing their shopping, the two of them link arms affectionately and take off. Just when the young man is thinking how nice it would be to have a girlfriend, a pair of girls in ninja cosplay show up. The girls just stare at the shop goods without buying anything in particular. Even worse, they're even chatting about ninja techniques or something along those lines. When he calls out to them to prevent theft, it becomes apparent that they have no money. Despite suspecting that they might try to steal something, he gives in and buys a bento for the two desperately pleading girls. The life of that young man is turned upside down from the moment of his encounter with the two young women. A roommate life with two female ninja, one a Chuunibyou, and the other a fanservice machine, is about to begin?! And so begins a new love story with two ninja girls! Sequel is released in English  
    3. Asatsugutori アサツグトリ [211125] Nippon Ichi Software Hibari wakes up in a strange room alongside seven other girls. An announcement from above confused the girls. "Only one person who survives till the end can leave the building." "We recommend that you give it all your best to survive for as long as possible even just for one second, and you may be able to use magic." A few days after the girls' mysterious communal life begins, an incident finally occurred. Hibari regrets not being able to stop the scene of death that happened in front of her. "If only I could go back before she died…" The next day, when Hibari wakes up and goes to the cafeteria, she saw the girl who died the day prior. The ability to travel back in time "With this power, you can start over as many times as you like. No one will ever die again." Console exclusive detective  
    4. Hoshi no Otome to Rikka no Shimai 星の乙女と六華の姉妹 [211126] ensemble Main character Yuki is a popular  streamer. Despite his cute looks he is actually a man. He impersonates as his sister to attend top high school for idols that is forbidden for men. Traps is not my thing  
    5. Sousaku Kanojo no Ren'ai Koushiki 創作彼女の恋愛公式 [211126] Aino+Links 1 Our protagonist, Toshiki Kagami, is headed to Tokyo, where he will begin living with his cousin and her family. Unbeknownst to others, he harbors a desire within himself. He wants to rekindle that creative spark he all but lost now. He had a childhood friend, Aisa Ayase. They were two peas in a pod, always competing against each other, seeing who could create better stories. However, as they grew older, their thoughts and mindset slowly started differing more and more from each other. In the end, Aisa moved with her family to Tokyo. The now separated Aisa and Toshiki would still send letters to each other, talking about their current lives and, of course, sending each other stories for the other to read. However, once the prospect of entering high school drew ever so closer, the letters from Aisa all but disappeared. Nonetheless, Toshiki continued writing stories, making doujin games and eventually, he would debut with his first commercial light novel. And while the cultivation of his creative prowess was growing steadily, he hit a slump half a year ago. And so, he postulated that perhaps spending time with similarly aged creators would help him break free of his slump. Steeling himself, Toshiki enrolled in Saika Private Academy, a school designed for creators to gather in one space. With that, spring rolls around and Toshiki is in Tokyo, ready to start his new school life. And it is there that he reunites with Aisa once more. There are English reviews  
    6. Uchi wa Mou, Enki Dekinai. ウチはもう、延期できない。[211126] Sonora 1 Spring break. Miyamura Miku, a hobby writer of light novels, is approached by her older sister Miyamura Karin, who reveals to her that she's working as a voice actress for erotic games. "The company I am working for right now needs someone to assist with writing the sex scenes!" Karin asks for Miku's assistance. "Wait, I'm still a virgin, you know? I have no clue how to write such a thing!" At the same time the protagonist, Shiiba Masashi, is getting a sudden call from his big sister. "Jeez, we can't! We're delaying. Can't. Impossible. We delay." The one who keeps repeating these phrases like a broken record, is the protagonist's older sister, Shiiba Sayaka - CEO as well as scenario writer of the popular upstart eroge brand "Hades Soft". "If we delay now, then we're done for. The sponsors will be chasing us for the rest of our life in order to reclaim the cash. We have to find a solution or I'll be to the neck in debt! I'll come haunt you if this kills me, okay?!" And so, Masashi ends up being roped into helping them with their eroge development?! This game is centering around eccentric heroines like the key animator Suzumoto Chisa (pen name: Suzuse Akiko) and the reclusive graphic designer Sakakibara Ai. Here comes an ADV about creating eroge that's a little on the weirder side. IF YOU LOVE EROGE, DON'T JOIN AN EROGE COMPANY! There is an English review  
  24. kivandopulus

    VN of the Month October 2021 - Monkeys!¡

    By kivandopulus,


    VN of the Month 2021
    Monkeys!¡ is the only bright spot in October.
     
    1. Archetype Arcadia アーキタイプ・アーカディア [211021] Kemco Corporation 1 The world has fallen to Peccato Mania (original sin), which causes the victims to have urges of harming themselves and others. To save his younger sister Christine, who has been afflicted with the disease, Rust logs in to the full-dive online game “Archetype Arcadia,” which is the sole means of stopping the disease’s advancement. Hope, grief, joy, betrayal, and inescapable “death” are found in this game, where players convert their memories into avatars and fight. This is a fully-voiced text novel adventure game that tells a ghastly story of overwhelming volume, guided by memories that should have been lost. There is an English review  
    2. Maoujou Re:build! 魔王城Re：ビルド！[211029] Astronauts: Sirius  A year has passed since the Demon King Gibeon, the embodiment of tyranny, was defeated by the Six Heroes. King Gortain, one of the Six Heroes, saw the surviving demons and numerous demi-humans as a threat and suppressed them through cruel persecution and discrimination. The Demon King's daughter Lapis, the last survivor of the royal lineage, visits a man living in the royal capital outskirts together with her maidservant Kalmia with the intention of restoring the now-ruined demon capital Margurd. The shopkeeper of a run-down fruit store Shigure has another side to him; A "fixer" who will take on any and all commissions provided the price is right. "Lend me your strength and help me gather the seven Mara Crystals!". The desires of the demon King's orphaned scion and the ninja from distant lands entwine with each other. And thus, the rebuild of the demon king's castle at the hands of Lapis and Shigure begins. SIM  
    3. Kochira, Haha Naru Hoshi Yori こちら、母なる星より [211028] Daisyworld A virus that is said to have come from space brought unprecedented damage to earth. A long time has passed since that catastrophe, and now there are only the six of us in Ikebukuro. The city has shrunk in size, and its buildings have been toppled and decorated with green grass and blue water. The scent of an air conditioner comes from somewhere… “This is Mother Earth!” And we’re doing good today! Yuri romance does not hit the mark for me  
    4. Keiken Zero na Classmate Pi 経験ゼロなクラスメイトπ  [210806] Prekano Your classmate Hoshina Risa is a bright student who treats everyone equally. Misaki Kazuma, who sits in the seat next to her, has fallen in love with her. Unable to control his feelings, Kazuma made up his mind to confess his feelings to her. But when he looks up, Risa is gone. As it turns out, she is extremely shy! Even when he tries to chase after her, he cannot catch up to the former ace of the track and field team. With the help of Risa’s best friend and foul-mouthed classmate Miyazono Mikumo, Kazuma chases after her by all means possible… A hot day in the middle of summer. The runaway drama to hear her reply to your confession is about to begin. Vanilla nukige  
    5. Kemonomichi ☆ Girlish Square けもの道☆ガーリッシュスクエア [211029] Whirlpool  The protagonist, Nakamori Taiga, is an idol otaku working at a curry shop in Akiba. His current obsession is an indie idol group active in Akiba, “Animal Trail ☆ Girlish Square”! They’re still fresh on the scene, but one day their dedicated fans will take them all the way to Japan’s most famous arena, the Budokan… In pursuit of this noble goal he spends his days with a select group of elite comrades (status ambiguously assigned) to fulfill their otaku endeavors. One night in Akiba, on his way home after the last train of the day had departed, Taiga sees the members of Animal Trail practicing. As any fan would, he tries to sneak a peak. To his surprise, the girls are covered in sparkles as their transformation comes undone. Magical beings that he’d never seen before appear out of nowhere. That’s right! Their stage outfits are actually magical girl costumes. Not only are they idols, but they’re also magical girls! Of course, he gets caught and those magical beings give chase, ready to put him out of his misery. It is then that it’s revealed to him that they come from another world and in order to save it they need to gather up energy from humans. And for that purpose, they’re working together with the girls to realize their dream of becoming idols. However, Animal Trail ☆ Girlish Square is still a largely unknown idol group. And thus with little hesitation, Taiga begins his journey as their producer and manager. The stage is set (hopefully) for a magical girl idol success story! Gao~! Our tale starts off with a roar! Niche fetish moege  
    6. Monkeys!¡ [211029] Harukaze 1 2 The protagonist Saruyoshi, a delinquent attending an all-boys school, will attend a ladies' all-girls school as Julia to save his alma mater from being closed down. In the neighboring town from his current school lies the tall and proud Garasunomiya Girls' School. Ever since the Taishō Era, even now are distinguished daughters of noble families currently enrolled there. In other words, it is an ultra-prestigious ladies' all-girls school. And transforming this ultra-prestigious school into a coeducational institution is the sole means to save the all-boys school. So to protect his school filled with memories with his mates, Saruyoshi, with the aid of a refined young lady of a noble family Tsukishima Karasu, enrolled alone in the ladies' all-girls school to improve the optics surrounding males. With the extensive use of the boons of delinquency to solve the young ladies' problems, the protagonist slowly becomes the heartthrob of his new school! On the other hand, since Saruyoshi is also refining his feminine grace and dignity, the guys also developed the hots for him?! With the goal of a symbiotic integration between men and women, this is a slapstick love comedy set in the ladies' all-girls school! There are English reviews  
  25. kivandopulus

    VN of the Month September 2021 - Fuyukara, Kururu.

    By kivandopulus,


    VN of the Month 2021
    For me only Fuyukara, Kururu. makes a stand in September.
     
    1. Makimura Hazuki no Koigatari 槇村葉月の恋語り [210924] Azarashi Soft+1 The protagonist Kayabuki Akira is troubled by the fact that he has no dreams. After an unfortunate accident in which his apartment was trapped under a fallen tree, he was forced to leave where he was living and was introduced to a rundown apartment called "Shoufuku-sou" with a rent of 20,000 yen as a temporary residence. However, his misfortune is far from over. On the night he moves into the apartment, the wall connecting his room to his neighbor collapses due to a noise problem he caused. Until repairs are completed, he is forced to live with his neighbor, Makimura Hazuki. At first, they are confused by the unfamiliarity of living together (and with the opposite sex), but as they get to know each other, they lose their reservations and gradually grow closer. One day, he is asked to help Hazuki with her hobby of making movies. The wheels of his lost youth slowly and quietly begin to turn. Our usual single heroine vanilla nukige  
    2. SINce Memories: Hoshi no Sora no Shita de シンスメモリーズ 星天の下で [210916] MAGES. GAME 1 The story follows Mizumoto Jun'ya, a college student who works at his family’s general store Mizumoto-dou. The only thing in Jun'ya’s mind is the death of his older brother Takaya who passed away the year prior. He asks himself every day why he was the one that got to live while his brother passed away. One day, Jun'ya meets a girl who tells him, “You should’ve been the one to die,” before vanishing. Jun'ya ends up taking on the task of renovating a traditional Japanese manor belonging to the family of Houjou Chihaya, your typical flawless ojou-sama and who happens to be his childhood friend. Since he has no idea how to even start, he’ll need to get help from various people, and he’ll need to get out of his funk to do so. Jun'ya will also have to learn how to deal with all of the emotions and problems along the way. Will he succeed in renovating the old Houjou residence? And who was that girl who told him that he should’ve been the one to die? The fate surrounding the death of his brother will soon begin. There are English reviews  
    3. Omoide Kakaete Ai ni Koi!! 思い出抱えてアイにコイ!! [210924] Hooksoft 1 Spring, the season of encounters and partings. It's spring break, and Sakawa Haruki is about to go into 3rd grade. His childhood friend group includes: Kuriyama Tomari, Tokorozawa Iku, and Sugou Chisato. 2 new girls just joined the group: Harunohara Yuuna, who lives in the next town over, and Nishitani Shizuru, who just moved into the neighborhood. Ironically, at the same time these 2 girls joined, Haruki had to move away from home and his childhood friends. During spring many years later, Haruki's father gets transferred to work overseas. Haruki decides to stay in Japan to concentrate on university entrance exams, and ends up living in an apartment owned by a relative. This apartment happens to be in the same town where he parted from his childhood friends. Thus, the rails of fate cause Haruki and his childhood friends to meet once again. Haruki was worried that the girls wouldn't accept him in the group like they did in the past, but despite the long gap, they were happy to see him and welcomed him back warmly. However, the fact that these girls have grown into beautiful women has caused Haruki to feel more embarrassed than happy. As they reminisce about the past, filling in the blanks between the time they parted, he'll get to know them and perhaps enter into a relationship with one of them... There is an English review  
    4. Einstein Yori Ai o Komete: Apollo Crisis アインシュタインより愛を込めて APOLLOCRISIS [210924] GLOVETY 1 2 It's been about a year since he returned from Ogasawara. It's the start of summer. Aiuchi Shuuta, who's now a third year at the academy, was lazily watching the seasons pass-- his carefree classmates, his peaceful day-to-day life... and his love who hasn't returned, Arimura Romi. He simply vacantly watched and continued to wait. And to him comes a letter from the head of the Comet Organisation's leader, Miko. Once again, along with his comrades and the rest of the world, he gets caught up in their ambitions regarding the comet. The final summer was about to begin. There is an English review  
    5. Planetarian ~Snow Globe~ planetarian～雪圏球～ [210903] Key 1 This story occurs before the events of the war that brought the world to ruin; at this point, Yumemi has been working at the Flowercrest Department Store's rooftop planetarium for about ten years. One day, Yumemi begins to act strangely, culminating in her simply walking out and wandering around the town. The staff of the planetarium are bewildered, and one of the workers—a woman named Satomi Kurahashi—is ordered to go follow Yumemi and bring her back. Before long, Yumemi begins to run out of battery power. There are English reviews  
    6. Fuyukara, Kururu. ふゆから、くるる。 [210924] Silky's Plus 1 2 "Eh? What do you mean that Shihon-chan might die? Eeh? Shihon-chan's head has gone missing?" It seems Shihon-chan's headless body was found in the meditation room. "B-but, the neck can still be reattached within 48 hours right? Eh? The head can't be found!? S-somebody hid it? And you don't know who? B-but that's..." A murder isn't unusual. After all, there's at least one bloodthirsty killer at school. Murdering people is fine and all but it's considered a taboo that must be never violated to decapitate and hide their head. Because one can never be revived if so. I can't believe someone resented Shihon-chan enough to kill her in a way that would prevent her from being revived. If her head isn't found within two days, she'll really kick the bucket! That's a reality I absolutely refuse! Now's not the time to cry or be confused! There should be something that I am capable of! "That's something I haven't done yet but... I-I!" I'll find Shihon-chan's head without fail! "Say hello to the great detective, me!" A boarding system school isolated from the outside world. --And there do the immortal girls live. The time it takes for them to become an adult is the same time it takes for them to deage and become a baby, they grow up until they become an adult once more and then do they deage again⁠—a cycle that's being repeated. There's only one condition in order to graduate from school. One needed to be deemed a prodigy by someone observing from the outside. The moment that verdict be handed down, the girl's graduation would be recognized and she would disappear from school. The immortal girls' peaceful school life would be greatly disturbed by a certain murder case. Why are the girls immortal? Why do they grow up and then age backwards? How long were they locked up inside the school? Why can they be resuscitated even if their heads are decapitated? What happens to girls who were never deemed a prodigy? What is happening in the outside world? Why are there only girls? Where are the males? What does it mean to die? What does it mean to live? What is life? For what purpose does life exist? --the key to this case is a needle. Wool needle. Knitting needle. Sewing machine needle. Silk needle. Pongee needle. Gas needle. Futon needle. Western-style clothes needle. Bait needle. Marking needle. T-Pin. Triangular leather needle. It is the needle that would weave the immortal girls' death. There is an English review  
    7. Ore no Cupid ga Ponkotsu Sugite Kowa~i. 俺の恋天使がポンコツすぎてコワ～い。 [210924] Hulotte 1 In the midst of an ordinary everyday life. About the time for the yearning for love to sprout. I somehow was unable to take the first step. Such a day has come to pass. "What's this thing?" Before my eyes is a fallen notebook. "Hey, hey, you there!" "Why won't you try picking it up?" A human in presence but not in appearance popped up in front of me. What a strange girl. "I am an angel of love! Got any girl residing in your heart?" How suspicious no matter how you look at it. I tried ignoring her to her dismay as she thrust the notebook at me. "Love Note! This is called the Love Note!" "It possesses the power to fulfill your romantic endeavors guaranteed!" It seems that when you write down the name of your crush, it can gauge the destiny level between her and the current you and it can even provide you ways to improve that level. "By the way, I'll even act as your assistant!" However, 「 If the owner of the Love Note isn't able to find his destined bride-to-be within 90 days, his sex organ is forfeit. Nonreturnable. 」 "Which is why you should do your best, okay?" Thus, while having the support of the love angel, I brandish the power of this so-called Love Note all in the name of fulfilling love. There is an English review  
    8. Heroine wa Tomodachi Desu ka? Koibito Desu ka? Soretomo Tomefure Desu ka? Second 彼女は友達ですか？恋人ですか？それともトメフレですか？ Second [210924] DESSERT Soft 1 2 Tomefure is a new kind of friend relationship between students in which boy gives runaway girls in trouble free housing. Main character lives alone at a big house, so he goes to the site and opens reservations. To his surprise, all the volunteers are his beautiful classmates.  There are English reviews  
    BLOCKED   1. Waga Himegimi ni Eikan o: Shogun no Yuuwaku 我が姫君に栄冠を 将軍の誘惑 [210930] Minato Soft A standalone route for Escudo Pagan. Fandisc
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