Anime Titles H-O

This will be a list of some of Japanese animations, movies, OVAs, and TV series that I happen to like and what little I know about them. I won't bother commenting on the films of Miyazaki because there are some very nice web sites on his films. Films such as Totoro and Whisper of the Heart rank in my top 10. Spoilers ahead.

Here are some descriptions of animated films I had some interest in

• Haibane Renmei from Pioneer. Surprisingly it works, although not much happens and nothing is really explained. It moves slowly and is fairly gentle, except for the wing sprouting scene. In a mysterious walled city angles are reborn and allowed to live short lives until they are called away. Reminded me of the live action Japanese film Afterlife. Highly recommended.(11-10-2004)
• Hakujaden. Reissued on Region 1 DVD from Toei, Japanese only. I saw this on TV in LA in the early 60's with an English narration, as I recall it. A telling of the White Snake Goddess, but with a happy ending. Full length movie. Surprisingly, the same theme was used in the last 3X3 Eyes anime. This, the first animated movie from Japan, still looks good and deserves to be issued in the USA. Miyazaki was supposed to have cried when he saw this film. (12-28-2003)
• Hamelyn no Violin Hiki, I can see why this is a cosplay favorite. This is a really good TV series in spite of the very basic animation. In some cases they just put a still frame on the screen and leave it there for a while. After a while, you get used to it and it looks kind of artsy. Anyway, the really strong story makes this work in spite of the strange mix of Greek myth and classical music. Has a semi-tragic ending. Protoculture Addicts once published a complete episode summary. There is also a movie that resurrects some of the characters and puts them in a very slapstick situation. This is the only time you get to see Sizer and Hamelyn on the same side. There is also a manga. (7-20-2003)
• Hand Maid May isn't really as bad as it sounds. This 10 episode TV series plus one OAV is a heart warming story masquerading as hentai. There is some objectionable material in it, but for the most part it looks like someone had to make a quota and it isn't essential to the appeal of the story. This is another series that people either love or hate. I wrote an apologia.

• Hyper Dolls, . These are noteworthy because they also include live action sequences including idol singers. For some reason I'm addicted to the manga. I read it for the sake of the character Shoko. The monsters and plot are purposely silly, but the Hyper Dolls are a couple of bored galactic law enforcement androids who amuse themselves by teasing and torturing the working class hero schoolboy. Shoko is his socially unsuccessful, but studious buddy who drinks more beer than she should. Apparently desperate for companions, Shoko courts the friendship of the Hyper Dolls. One of their favorite jokes becomes threatening the hero that they'll murder Shoko by ripping her head off if he reveals their secret. Shoko does lose the Dolls' shopping purchases when they ask her to watch them and Shoko has to pay the price. The anime is out on DVD, but the DVD does not include the live segments. (12-28-2003)
• Hyper Police is a cute 25 episode TV series about a post-apocalyptic future in which mankind has really mucked things up even tilted the world on its axis so that there are no more seasons. The disaster has caused a merging of the world of humans and what the humans thought was the mythical world of monsters. One of these monsters is the charming, powerful, and ditzy cat girl Natsuki, who holds the key to the fate of the world, of course. Sakura is the evil 190 year old fox woman who wants to kill and devour Natsuki to absorb the magic. This being anime, Sakura is also Natsuki's best friend and always ends up saving her. Sort of a G-rated Urotsoki Doji. The number of Hyper Police websites has been growing. This series has been released on DVD in the US. (11-10-2004)
• Initial D is more interesting than an anime about Japanese street racers should be. It's really a samurai story on asphalt. Interesting study of working class kids living out their dueling fantasies in dangerous night races in the mountains. There is no attempt to blend very jarring computer graphics for the car races and the very flat and stylized cel art. Great scene in the second season in which the clueless hero driver Takumi finally trashes his car but finally realizes that his girlfriend Mogi is really a ko-girl and tells her off. The manga is being published by Tokyopop in the US in English. (8-12-2002)
• Innocent Venus 12 episode TV series Pretty much a straightforward adventure series set in a post-apocalyptic future with elements of the Meiji restoration superimposed. The pirates are kind of out of place and the series includes one of the most unpopular comic relief characters, ever. Plot elements include genetic engineering and really bad things happening to young children, and a good guy who turns out to be a really bad guy with no redemption twists. (6-29-2007)
• Irresponsible Capt. Tylor There are five OAV episodes that are very serious including a movie that sort of wraps everything up. From looking at the laser disc bin a Bunka Do I think there may be as many as 5 OAVs. Okay, the OAVs have been translated and are for sale in the US now. There are 7, I think, and the first 6 are very serious and somber, sometimes melancholy. (OK, someday I'll get the episode count straight.) The art style is also more serious and darker. Yuriko Star I couldn't even recognize at first. She doesn't look like Lina Inverse anymore, but is rendered in a very realistic style. Azalyn is almost a tragic figure. The OAVs are out on VHS and DVD in the US now, and most of them indeed are very serious. The first two that I saw were the best. These are actually the 2nd and 3rd episodes. I still don't like the ending.

• Jin-Roh, the Wolf Brigade is a bizarre Japanese version of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale. This film has beautiful art and animation and is totally nihilistic. I saw it in a theater, which is the place to see it. Amazing and completely depressing. In a dystopian future, the Japanese lost the war to the Germans/Nazis and were occupied by them. The resulting landscape is filled with VWs and sinister government organizations warring with each other more than with the revolutionary underground.
• Junkers Come Here. If you don't like this three hankie talking dog story, you are a beast. Not as tragic as Dog of Flanders, but addresses the issues of a divorce in which the welfare of the young daughter is so ignored by the parents that she retreats into her own fantasy world, but is it??(7-20-2003)
• Juuni Kokki (12 Countries) is a TV series that seems to have a Fushigi Yugi plot, but has high production values, no humor or fan service and is just unrelentingly serious. A big talking mouse is even dead serious. High school girl with a Shinji complex starts taking charge of her life and her demons. I have seen the first 28 episodes and it looks to be really good so far. Now being released in the USA. Highly recommended. (11-10-2004)
• Kaibutsu Oujou (Monster Princess) TV series? This is sort of the same idea as 3X3 eyes. Like princes from the Ottoman Empire, the Monster Princess and her siblings have to fight to the death for the throne. A young loser makes the mistake of sacrificing his life to save the Monster Princess, and in return he is resurrected to help staff her decimated private army. One episode includes a battle with Triffids using a weed eater. (6-29-2007)
• Kaidomaru This is a very artsy production which takes us to the mystic world of Heian Japan in the period before there were samurai as we know them. Washed out coloring to give a very period look. No exposition of the back story, but it looks really good. (7-20-2003)
• Kannazuki no Miko (1 season TV series) The beginning of the first episode gives you no idea of what's going to happen. It starts off like Maria Sama ga Miteru and then becomes a giant robot show mixed up with Blue Seed seasoned with a lot of yuri. The manga is a lot more explicit about what happens, but friends shouldn't treat friends like that, not matter how conflicted they are. (3-3-006)
• Kanon is based on a dating game but is better thand its antecedents would imply. It appears to be a superficial harem story, but is really more likea 1950s movie mystery, especially one of the ones that featured psychoanalysis and might have starred Gregory Peck. The key theme here is denial. which is the state most of the characters are in, especially the main character Yuuichi. Yuuichi comes across as a jerk at first, and maybe last, but there is a story behind his behavior and multiple layers of suppressed memories. There are also id monsters straight out of Forbidden Planet and an unashamed dose of straight magic. For a story that came from a naughty dating RPG, Yuuichi's intertactions with the vast harem of female characters are on a percentage basis not romantically based. Some of the females, such as Mai and her buddy, seem to be more into each other than Yuuichi, and he does a creditable job of fending off the incestuous advances of his cousin Nayuki. All of the parallel and confusing plot lines are resolved in the end, if not always in a tidy fashion. This may not be the greatest anime series ever made, but it is worth seeing. I've seen the 13 episode Toei TV series, and I hear that there is an OVA. (12-7-2003)
• Kaze no Yojimbo. This series looks pretty good, but after the first two episodes I don't really have a desire to see any more. (12-29-2004)
• Key the Metal Idol (Viz) I have to do a 180 on this one. I saw a few episodes at cons and was completely turned off. Then I bought the final DVD, the one with the two long final episodes, at a Kinokuniya $10 disc sale. I was completely blown away and I had to go get the rest of the discs (it would have been cheaper to get the recently released collected set.) As in the case of Amazing Nurse Nanako, the hype for the series was completely misleading, and really a disservice to the series, although perpetrated by the creators. The plot is really closer to that of Mai the Psychic Girl, with an evil ex-Imperial officer. There is a love story between Key and Sakura, and the death scene of Sakura is one of the most poignant in anime. Sakura, in the tradition of the times, was also the subject of some totally gratuitous fan service. Hint: keep watching to the end of the final closing credits since there is a final scene thrown in where Sakura is apparently resurrected by Key. (6-6-2004)
• Kino's Journey (1 season TV series) This is probably one of the most undersold series around, next to Key the Metal Idol. This is supposed to be one of the slice of life stories in which nothing happens, but nothing could be further from the truth. This has gun fights, cannibals, war, the destruction cities, post-apocalyptic survival, sacrifices, and dreamers. Kino may be the daughter of a scientist who has put her into a virtual reality world to hide from her that they are the last two humans on earth. In this dream world she was saved from a lobotomy by a wanderer who has a restored a talking motorcycle, but at the costof his own life. This is a must see. (3-3-2006)
• Kishin Corps,. Another alternate timeline in which not all the Japanese are bad guys. Eva Braun with a scientist sister? Einstein, too. The Kwangtung Army and Nazis are the bad guys, along with nasty aliens. You have have to get this one on DVD. Very stylized art in spite of a retro style and theme. The nightclub scene is the most interesting one artistically. The narrative line is sometimes hard to follow, but who cares? (12-7-2003)
• Kokoro Library Victor Entertainment. I've only seen the first four episodes of this 13 episode TV series that hasn't been released in the US as of yet. This is the Three Sisters, anime style. This story takes place in some kind of parallel universe where frilly, but modest, French maid outfits are the standard librarian uniform. Sisters Iina, Aruto, and Kokoro live in a large well-equipped library that their father founded. The library isn't in town so they have to work, so far unsuccessfully, to attract patrons. Iina is the cute responsible one. Aruto has short hair, a short skirt, and sleeps most of the day since she works all night at her secret gig of being a famous author. Kokoro is the smallest and probably the youngest one, who has the same name as the library (there are apparently no child labor laws in this parallel universe.) This show has a beautiful look and is the closest thing to Yokohama Shopping Trip. It's hard to believe this show was originally shown on TV in a late night slot. Then again, maybe that's where it belonged. (10-20-2002)
• Kurogane Communication from Anime Works is another post-apocalyptic story with Terminator style robots as well as Cordwainer Smith style Menschenjaeger. Until the middle section it's pretty upbeat, but then things get serious. The non-Asimov robots are the conflicted souls in this tale, working out their guilt and their resentment towards humans who ordered them to kill each other and destroy the world as we know it. Especially intense scene when the robots Alice and Lilith are gunned down. This show was produced in half length episodes, which are actually kind of convenient to watch. All three DVDs are out. 7/4/02
• Kyo kara Mao A boy is literally flushed down the toilet into a parallel dimension in which he is to be the once and future demon king. The demons, who seek to destroy mankind, are for the most part bishonen, and the demon world looks like something out of Anna Karenina. This may be interesting. (12-29-2004)
• Last Exile. Imagine Lain with the voice of Kokoro from Kokoro Library as the navigator of a wingless Vanship caught up in the middle of a ritualistic war on a planet of floating continents. The planet turns out to be a lost earth colony and the prize is control of a terra forming machine that never finished the job. Looks really good. From Gonzo. Lots of promotion a the 2003 Anime Expo. Now being released in the US. Lavie and her pilot/childhood friend Claus undertake a commission to deliver a young girl somewhere. Bad guys with advanced technology make life difficult. Seems to have a lot of thematic similarities to Scrapped Princess. In spite of big eyes, no humour and no fan service. Well, almonst none, and where it comes from will be a surprise. (12-28-2003)
• Last Unicorn was released as a Western animation from a Western book, but I've read that the actual animators went on to make a film called Nausicaa and helped form a studio called Ghibli. Even without that connection, this is still worth watching. Actually, the heroine reminded me of something out of Leiji Matsumoto. Still available on the internet on VHS. (11-28-2003)
• Leda, the Amazing Adventures of Yohko. An unknown little gem. In spite of the title and the names of some of the characters, squeaky clean. Music facilitates shifting between dimensions.
• Legend of the Forest. Experimental Tezuka with no dialogue. Very interesting. Long out of print VHS(11-28-2003)
• Legend of Himiko. This is definitely a guilty pleasure in the same category as Sakura Wars. This really stretches the legend of Himiko, the legendary first recorded ruler of Japan as reported by the Chinese. Step brother and sister travel back in time to help a sorority fight a head bad guy who looks like he escaped from Fushigi Yugi. Sort of a dumb, hackneyed story, but the character designs carry the show. Heihachiro has to be one of the best manly-man villains in a long time. The idea of a sake cup as a lethal weapon is divine. All kinds of anachronisms, such as tanks and crinoline. If you have spare change, buy the DVDs. (11-28-2003)
• Like the Clouds, Like the Wind. This movie looks like a Ghibli film since the director did later join Ghibli. The story is told in retrospect as a tale from ancient history. In fact the opening scenes show the main setting of the story, a Chinese Imperial palace, in long abandoned ruins. The story revolves around a young peasant girl who decides to compete to a wife of the new emperor. Unknown to her the bandit rebels are about to bring the Empire to an abrupt end and the candidates for wife become besieged in the palace. The supporting characters are what have become standard types in school girl drama/comedies. Particularly is the tragic woman warrior sister of the emperor, who masquerades as one of the candidates to secretly protect her brother. This has never been released in the US, but strongly deserves to be. (2-17-2006)
• Lilo & Stitch. Disney bashers, this is a good film and you should go see it. It was a favorite in Hawaii when I was there Aug 2003. Very much like anime with real violence and dysfunctional families.(11-28-2003)
• Lost Universe is actually connected with the Slayers universe. Without knowing any background, I immediately thought Lina Inverse when I first saw Millie, although it's Canal who's actually voiced by Megumi this time. Some people hate this one and others think it's great. I watched some of the episodes on Spanish language TV and it sounded really good, better than either the English or Japanese versions. This TV series makes more sense after you've watched all three of the Slayers TV episodes. Starts funny and then gets very serious with the two main good guys maybe dying. The series ending is ambiguous, but the last episode is worth waiting for. Millie turns out to be one of the bad guys, but decides to attempt suicide to try to save the day. Just like Lina, she looks good in a skirt when she finally gets to wear one. Whereas Lina is completely manic with hardly ever a doubt about her own capabilities or motivations, Millie is a definite manic-depressant who confesses that she once thought of killing herself-a foreshadowing of the final episode. (12-28-2003)
• Lupin III Dark Order of Assassination Anything Lupin is good.
• Lupin III, Zentetsu Blade
• Macross Plus. This is pretty amazing to watch. From what I have read skip the series and go directly to the movie.
• Magical
• Mahou Shojoutai (Tweeney Witches/Magical Girl Squad) (About 50 half length TV episodes) The worlds of witches and wizards are at war, and an earth girl with a hidden heritage gets plopped into the middle of it. The art has a different look from typical aninme, with almost a Maxfield Parrish influence in some character designs. (7-1-2007)
• Macross Zero. Not yet released in the USA. Seen the first two episodes. New Prequel to the whole Macross thing. Looks really good with all kinds of CGI and action. Looks really good, even if you're not a Macross fan. Pilot crashes on a pacific island and meets two sisters. (11-28-2003)
• Madlax I saw the first two episodes and they're pretty strange. So far they look totally disconnected, although I hear that they connect. Madlax is some sort of special agent who has to change into an evening gown before she starts wasting people. (12-29-2004)
• Mahoraba, Heartfelt Days (12 TV episodes) This is a pretty good slice of life series that gets a little more serious towards the end and doesn't come up with any easy out solutions. This is in structure a Readers' Digest version of Maison Ikkokou. A young art student comes to stay at an old boarding house run by a distant cousin, and populated by a bunch of oddballs who seem to be dedicated to keep him from studying. There is some justice in the world since the hero looks like the crazy girl from Azumanga Daioh. Little fan service, except the college girl looks great in a swimsuit. The story does deal with multiple personality disorder, brought on by the tragic loss of parents, so not all is fun and games, and girl suffering from this never does recover. There is also a Dickenisn pair composed of a grown woman who can't cope with life and the grade school girl who is supporting her. This becomes a three hankey storyline. (3-3-2006)
• Mahou Shojoutai. (40 half length TV episodes)These series of half length episodes is one of the more visually interesting things I've seen and has a very European look. A young girl falls into a parallel dimension of witches. I really want to see more of this one. (2-17-2006)
• Mahou Tsukai Tai (Magic Users Club) I fell off my chair watching the OAV. I recently saw a 6th episode at F2K where they do something about the giant cherry tree. I guess that episode is actually the first of the TV series. Coming out on DVD, but at only 2 episodes per DVD. The TV series is out on DVD now and is really great with wonderful development of the characters. Nanaka of all people becomes a real witch (the kind who doesn't need a broomstick) as s result of her romantic frustrations. Sae's magic takes androgynous human form as a result of her wishy-washiness. Akane and Ayanojou are shown to have their own problems and weaknesses. (8-12-2002)
• Marco is the movie version of the 51 episode World masterpiece Theater series From the Apennines to the Andes. Directed by Takahata, the character Marco actually plays more like the childhood backstory of a typical Ghibli villain. Or, you can imagine Marco dropping his ambition to become a doctor and instead becoming a World War I fighter pilot who, tormented by guilt, becomes a crimson pig. Fiorina is the prototype of the Ghibli heroine and worth the price of admission by herself. This a very good looking production. I've only seen the theatrical version that may or may not have been edited by Takahata. (12-28-2003)
• Megazone 2 3. This restoration from ADV is worth seeing for historical reasons. This started off as a sequel to Mospeada, but quickly diverged. Apparently a lot of anime cliches started here. (12-29-2004)
• Memories, Opera meets anime. You have to see the MTV style video version circulating at cons. There are two other sequences besides the Magnetic Rose one.
• Metropolis, based on Tezuka's 50 year old manga, mixes computer graphics and retro character designs with inspirations from Fritz Lang's Metropolis and Blade Runner to explore racism and the abuse of technology. This film first appeared in the US as a Tristar release in art theaters. Rated as a must see by LA Weekly. Tima will be one of the great tragic heroines. Very complex plot and themes. The DVD is out 6/22/2002
• Mighty Birdy (Tetsuwan Birdy), complete, but there is no conclusion to the series that I know of. From what I understand the original manga doesn't have an ending, either. It's a pity since there are some unresolved scenes in the anime that refer to tragic incidents in Birdy's childhood. Now out on DVD (6-6-2004)
• Millenium Actress. From the people (Satoshi Kon) who brought you Perfect Blue. I got to see this in the Regent Theater in Westwood. This may not be the greatest anime movie ever made, but it's in the hunt. Definitely worth buying the DVD which is out. The theme could be something out of Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine. A reclusive actress gives one last interview before her death, taking us on a journey through Japanese history, cinema, and life, exploring the theme of love and yearning challenging time. I wasn't a big fan of Perfect Blue, but this one won we over, and the next one, Tokyo Godfathers, also sounds like a winner.(11-28-2003)
• Murder Princess 6 episode OVA Another "Old Technology" story. In a semi-medieval setting, a mad scientist pulls off a bloody coup in which the king, all the troops, and the loyal maid impersonating the princess are slaughtered. While escaping, the real princess is rescued by a peripatetic mercernary, but ends up swapping bodies (don't worry, both are female). The princess assumes the identity of her dead maid, with whom she seems to have had more than a professional relationship, and starts developing similar feelings for the mercenary. has some promise (6-29-2007)
• My Dear Marie. Another android story, but sweet. The Japanese title, Boku no Marie, is highly offensive to Japanese women since it implies ownership. Another case where it pays to know nihongo. The series doesn't have a conclusion that I know of, which is just as well because it can only end in tragedy for the metal Marie. The manga version is very close to the anime, except that it is much closer to Shaw's Pygmalion. Hiroshi is a much bigger jerk, or as Marie calls him, a right bastard, in some cases. He has very few redeeming qualities, but he does start to grow to some extent and starts to respect Marie as an individual with feelings and not just regard her as a play toy. He's made to suffer for his emotional immaturity. Marie begins to resent her programming as Hiroshi's version of an ideal girl and begins to rebel, even running away from home. She attempts an unsuccessful romance with a homosexual and feels as much pain or more than Hiroshi does. She's on a voyage of self-discovery from which there is no turning back. More characters are introduced, such a real sister , Lisa, for Hiroshi who is even crazier than he is, and another robot sister who suffers from a bad case of schizophrenia. Thankfully, the author, who I believe is female, gives a complete disconnected episode totally dedicated to the fate of Hibiki, who in some ways is a lot closer to Hiroshi's ideal girl than poor Marie. Hibiki is a great creation and deserves her own story.
• Nadesico,. As in the case of Joseph Andrews, parodies start taking on a life of their own. Surprisingly, this series starts getting very serious and quite creative. Watch for Ai-chan. Inez Fressange in real life was a the name of a French fashion deigner. One episode is almost directly taken from a Robert Mitchum movie which was also the source for the first televised episode of the original Star Trek. The movie is outstanding. You have to watch it a number of times to catch everything. The series is now coming out on DVD, but it is missing the funny introductions by the voice actors. The DVD does look good. One of the great scenes of anime is the one in which Ruri Hoshino discovers her whole life has been a lie. The movie is finally being released in the US. (9-25-2003)
• Nadia, ADV has produced a release of this little gem from Gainax has Grandis, one of the all time great Anime Babes. (Never mind that whiny, ingrate Nadia.) The TV series itself is pretty inconsistent in tone and style since some episodes were done by completely independent teams. Somehow it all works, although if you watch the first and a middle episode, you might never know that they are connected. The idea for making an anime version of 20,000 leagues under the sea was originally pitched by Hayao Miyazaki.(12-27-2004)
• Najica (12 episode TV series) has just as many panty shots as they say. This is really annoying since there is actually a story with pretty good animation and designs. Also, the panty shots are not very sexy. It's sort of a Bladerunner world in which artifical humans produced by a big corporation have disappeared and are now reappearing in inappropriate places. Interesting plot twist at the end. (11-10-2004)
• Naru Taru. The infamous manga being translated by Dark Horse as Shadow Star is also a 13 episode TV series. Naru Taru is one of the most violent and gory TV series out there. The graphics and opening make it look like a feel good kiddy show, but it is anything but that. Shiina, like the hero in Parasyte and countless other stories, suddently finds herself in control of tremendous powers and in the middle of a conspiracy by psychotic teens. She and her loyal immature dragon Hoshi Maru watch as her friends become corrupted as well as her tormentors. Not as graphic as the manga, but still plenty of patricide, rape, disembowlings, etc. The adjective I've seen in reviews is "queasy." However, the anime does look pretty good and seems to be true to the manga. Another village of the damned in which certain children can mind link with and control the creatures who have been called dragons in our mythology. Of course, as in Spiral, most of the these kids are psychopaths bent on conquering the world and killing anyone who annoys them. However, one little girly, Shiina, can't link with her dragonet completely and so retains some of her sanity. She ends up involuntarily waging a one person war against the other kids, but pays a high prices, losing her friends and almost her father. Her dragonet is a gutsy little dude who can act independently and, unfortunately, do what Shiina cannot when he has to kill one of classmates who has gone berserk. (12-27-2004)
• Nasu: Andalusia no natsu, a short movie from 2003. I was lucky enough to see this Hemingwayesque tale on the big screen at an Anime Expo. A man's whole life is told during the Andalusia stage of the biggest bicycle race in Spain, the Vuelta. Pepe is a domestique, a team member who is expected to sacrifice himself so that the star of the team can win. He also knows that he will soon be fired from the team. Through a series of accidents he is catapulted into the breakaway and has a chance to win the stage. While in the lonely lead, pedaling his guts out and low on water, he starts flashing on his life. The stage is on the same day as the wedding of Pepe's brother, whose bride is Pepe's one time love. (12-29-2004)
• NHK ni Yookoosoo (Welcome to the NHK) Like Genshiken, this TV series hits too close to home. Like a few other anime, it takes a look at mental illness, including depression and the extreme agoraphobia known as hikkikomori. The protagonist is taken about as far down as he can go before he's given a chance at redemption. Takes a look at suicide pacts, pyramid schemes, failed love, and child abuse. Compare to Rozen Maiden, which takes a look at a younger hikkikomori, and proposes a different sort of Rx. Started as a novel and then a manga, which is being commercially translated into English. (6-29-2007)
• NieA under 7 is one of the most promising new anime series that I've seen at the 2001 Anime Expo and Comicon. The story centers around a ronin (a student who failed the college entrance exams the first time around, but is going to try again), but this time it's a young blue collar girl, Mayu. There is a sense of desperation about Mayu. She has no family, no money, and she works a series of what we would call minimum wage jobs to try to survive. We even get the sense that she probably will never pass the entrance exams since she doesn't have the time to study. Mayu is socially inept and withdrawn and shies away from whatever chances for social interaction that she has. She wants to get into college, but she doesn't know why. There would be a feeling of hopelessness and an expectation of seeing Mayu swinging from the rafters someday if it weren't for the freeloading parasite roomy NieA, alien, level under 7. Aliens have crash-landed in Japan and have become a part of life. Mayu is stuck with NieA, her emotional opposite and possible alter ego. This is a beautiful series that I'll have to track. Imagine Lain (same people created this series) if she were a real girl, older, and too poor to afford a computer.
• Night on the Galactic Railroad The meaning of death. Based on the book by Kenji Miyazawa which is available in English. Some say this might have had an influence on the Galaxy Express stories. The abstract animated biography of Kenji Miyazawa, Spring and Chaos is now out on DVD from Mixx and is beautiful. In real life Miyazawa hated cats. Also check out the book version of Night on the Galactic Railway which is available from Kodansha. A collection of Miyazawa's short stories is also available in English.
• Nodame Cantabile ( TV series, Live Action TV, manga) The trials and tribulations of gifted students at a music conservatory, especially the non-romance between an un disciplined piano prodigy and a self-obsessed conductor wannabee who suffers from a fear of flying. A stand-out in all of its incarnations. (7-1-2007)

• Now and Then, Here and There has to be one of the most intense and grueling anime TV series ever made. It competes with Dog of Flanders for being the most depressing anime ever made. The natto comedy sequence at the beginning is the only humor you see in the series. This is about bad things happening to young children, such as being press ganged into being soldiers and comfort girls. It takes place in a parallel universe or the far future, but you know that things like this are happening right now in the real world (an article in the LA times said as many as 10% of combatants in the world are children.) There is nothing exploitative or graphic, except the violence, but the impact is brutal. The scenes of Sarah's psychological devastation after being forced to service the older soldiers are especially hard to take. However, this is a well made, if retro-looking show, and it has a message. All three DVDs are out. You can only feel despair after watching this. You'd better have something like OMG queued up next as an antidote. (6-22-2002)
• Nuku Nuku TV (one season TV series) This good natured series is supposed to be the OVA story told from the muddled point of view of Nuku Nuku herself. Since Nuku Nuku is really a cat, it's no surprise that the plot is pretty different now. The story concentrates now on Nuku Nuku and her attempt to pass herself off as a high school student. Although there is a different spin on her home life, most of the attention is on the classmates, culminating in their drama production which mirrors Nuku Nuku's emotional journey. The twist at the end is who portrays the Super Karen character in the school play. (3-3-2006)
• Oh My Goddess, The five short little tapes. Check-out Angel's cosplay for her interpretation of Belldandy:
  A movie has been created which was shown at the 2001 Anime Expo. It is fantastic. The whole audience cheered when a very ticked-off Skuld zapped the bad guy big time. This Japanese interpretation of the three Fates of Norse mythology is squeaky clean and so sugary fun that will rot your teeth out. The TV series and movie are both out on DVD now. Definitely still worth getting. The TV episodes come on two discs. 2/3/2002
• Otogi Zoshi comes in two parts, one that takes place in the Heian era and a second part that reincarnates the main characters in the modern era. This fairy tales plays fast and loose with Japanese legends and heroes. It was originally as taking place in the Heian era, and what remains of that story is the most effective. A Heian princess is forced to impersonate her dying warrior brother in order to save the kingdom. She succeeds, but at a tragic cost. The modern era is notable to see how the stature of the characters is diminished, much as in the English Black Adder TV series. Highly recommended. (11-30-2006)
• Overman King Gainer (2 season TV series) After ecological collapse humans have survived in domed cities connected by a railroad system, which also seems to be the closest thing to a world government. Sort of the like the poltical situation in Galaxy Express. At this point the world has healed enough so that some of the inmates of the domes want to escape in an "Exodus" and establish civilization outside of the domes. This is sort of a giant robot show, in the form of the Overmen, some of which have forbidden techology overskills. The young protagonist has lost his parents in an Exodus intrigue, but doesn't seem to be very conflicted when it comes to action and females. This series started well, but started fadding towards the second half and had a disappointing ending. (11-30-2006)

  I finally decided to make a list of shows I've seen and either disliked or felt weren't worth a mention.
  
  
  
  
  Last Update: 03 March 2006
  Web Author: Doug Ikemi