anime is the Japanese word for cartoons, and is used in the
United States to refer to the incredible variety of cartoons coming
out of Japan. A number of sites deal in anime-related stuff, including
an Anime
and Manga Resources List, the University
of Texas Anime Club, and the St. John's
Anime Film Society.
My own notes on various anime:
Giant Robo
Art deco, giant robots, desperate heroes battling against apocalyptic
evil. Incredibly cool. Don't just sit there reading the Web, go find
a good fan-sub and watch it! (You can find it on laser disks
with English on the digital track and the original Japanese on the
analog track, and closed caption information giving the English, but
the English translation is incredibly miserable and the choice of
voice actors equally so. It's really worth tracking down local fans
and watching a blurry nth-generation copy than having to put up with
the mutilations in the official version.)
Hayao Miyazaki
Miyazaki has done a number of outstanding anime, including Nausicaa
of the Valley of the Wind, My Neighbor Totoro, Porco
Rosso, and Kiki's Delivery Service. IMHO his work is in
the rank of Disney: good for children, still fun for adults. My
Neighbor Totoro is especially delightful for students of faerie
tales.
Yuu Yuu Hakusho
Yuu Yuu Hakusho is the
series I'm currently addicted to. The hero is Urameshi Yuusuke, a
street punk who gets killed on a regular basis, including 20 seconds
into the first episode. His buddies include:
Kuwabara Kazuma, a great big red-headed goof who can focus his power
into a flaming sword.
Hiei, a dark, dangerous individual whose hairdo bears a suspicious
resemblance to a pineapple. He has an evil eye in the middle of his
forehead, which gives him power over flames from Makai (analogous in
some ways to Hell, though there are other places in Japanese mythology
that are analogous to Hell).
Minamino Shuichi, a nice guy who happens to have the soul of a
centuries-old kitsune called Youko Kurama, who keeps some amazing
botanical curiosities as pets.
Tenchi Muyo
The title is a pun at a number of levels, given that it can mean "no
need for Tenchi" (Tenchi being the name of our hero, and that of the
heirloom magic sword he carries around), "this end up", "don't mistake
earth for heaven", and I'm not sure what else. My favourite character
on there is Ryo-oh-ki, an evil starship 
responsible for reprehensible
crimes throughout the galaxy that hides out in the form of a hideously
cute puppy/bunny/kittenlike creature 
;
Ryo-oh-ki-chan is known for various stunts including walking through
walls, matchmaking, and eating futuristic weaponry. I've named my car
after it. Take a look at the Tenchi Muyo
home page, or the shrines to Ryouko and Sasami. The series
is entertaining, though I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of
interesting plot development was cut (and a really useless character
named Mihoshi added) when someone said "make it funnier".
Silent Möbius
A team of very dangerous women beating up demons ("Lucifer folk") in a
future metropolis.
Macross Plus
The only Macross thing I've seen that I've actually liked, including
the only really believable control interface I've seen for a mech.
(See Macross 7 for really bad mecha, and G Gundam
for really silly mecha.)
Hakkenden
Based on a Japanese legend, with (eight?) individuals who find themselves
carrying around mystic pearls representative of the Buddhist virtues; said
pearls give them mystic powers, mostly just enough to keep them from
getting utterly flattened by the demonic forces they have to fight. Lots
of interesting imagery and enough to make me wish I knew more about
Japanese mythology and language.
Sailor Moon
There's a whole genre called "magical girls" anime, of which Sailor
Moon (and Sailor Moon R and Sailor Moon S) are apparently the prime
examples. Despite the fact that it's a fight-of-the-week show (with
usually the same fight, every week), Sailor Moon S is so demented that
it's actually a very amusing way to rot your brain. Girls in sailor
suits with miniskirts and bizarre powers loosely associated with the
planets of our solar system battle the forces of evil (which have a
different, vaguely feminine, incredibly tacky demon to defeat for them
in every episode). Don't miss the "Venus Love Me Chain", possibly the
most demented name for any called attack in all of anime. Take a look
at the on-line
Sailor Moon encyclopedia.
Granzort
Thoroughly deranged. Trashed my sense of disbelief inside of a minute
into the first episode and continued to do so all the way through. A
tale of a genius boy with a rocket-powered skateboard and a giant robot.
Another good one for watching when you have a high fever.
Ninku
Makes a good double bill with Granzort. Apparently about a little
boy with permanently dilated pupils and a permanently extended tongue
who wanders around with his penguin buddy defeating evil. I root for
the penguin.
Copyright © 2002 Max Rible — All Rights Reserved.
responsible for reprehensible
crimes throughout the galaxy that hides out in the form of a hideously
cute puppy/bunny/kittenlike creature 
;
Ryo-oh-ki-chan is known for various stunts including walking through
walls, matchmaking, and eating futuristic weaponry. I've named my car
after it.