Anime of the Year 1992-III Summer - Kurenai no Buta

I failed to find something really good in Summer 1992 season, Kurenai no Buta is the best title among the decent ones, but I still don't consider it a masterpiece.

1. Yadamon Yadamon: Magical Dreamer ヤダモン [Group TAC] (Finished 3/170) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy  After causing havoc in the Witch Forest, the queen, Yadamon's mother, banishes her to human world. She does this not only to teach Yadamon a lesson, but also because she has a secret passion for human magazines and books. While at the human world, the queen keeps a close watch at Yadamon which becomes a problem cause she falls asleep almost anywhere. The human world has gone extremely hi-tech. Also, a lot of animals has become extinct. Yadamon finds herself in the island named ''Creature Island'', where genetically re-created species are being made. In the island she meets Jean and his parents Edward and Maria. Yadamon meets many misadventures in the human world due to her curiosity which causes a lot of trouble to the humans and her guardian fairy, Timon, who has the ability to stop time. As Yadamon learns to adapt to human world and use her powers, a new threat is brewing. Kira, the evil witch who was sealed inside a volcano by the queen and the great witch Beril, has escaped. She is out for revenge and has set her eyes to the humans and Yadamon. Only some 15 episodes are translated. I usually block series with 10 minute episodes, but it's the only new non-kid series of the season for the second Summer in a row, lol, so let it be an exception. It's actually 10 minutes with opening and ending... and only some 7 minutes without. The development is slow with much talking, so there's only enough time for some small event, and it always ends with a cliff hanger which can hardly be called so as in fact it's just beginning of a new scene that's abrupted by credits. And the only running joke is girl constantly answering yada-yadamon, or "don't need" at everything... I don't know who it is for as it's a magical girl with normal comedy development, but not simple enough to be branded as for kids. With length like that and episodic nature I'd actually not recommend it to anyone.   Overall Rating: 4/10

2. Tenchi Muyou! Ryououki Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki 天地無用！魎皇鬼 [AIC] (Finished 7/7) Tags: Shounen Space Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi Seventeen-year-old Tenchi Masaki grew up hearing stories about how his ancestor used a sword to seal a demon inside a cave seven hundred years ago. When curiosity gets the better of him, Tenchi goes to the cave and stumbles across the sword from the legend. Thinking that the story is nothing more than a fairy tale, he removes the blade and inadvertently releases the demon, who turns out to be a space pirate named Ryouko Hakubi. Furious about being trapped for so long, she attacks Tenchi, but he is able to repel her with the sword, awakening his inner power. After seeing this, Ryouko takes an interest in her unlikely savior and decides to crash at his place. As if it were a chain reaction, more alien women—Aeka Jurai Masaki, an uptight princess from the planet Jurai; Sasami, Aeka's sweet younger sister; Mihoshi Kuramitsu, a ditzy Galactic Police Officer; and Washuu Hakubi, a wisecracking genius—gradually come in contact with Tenchi and begin living with him. Through his encounters with these five women, Tenchi begins to learn more about his ancestry, newfound power, and the looming threat lurking beyond the skies. I never was fan of older romcom. I remember one smaller harem title back in the past before 1992, but Tenchi seems to be the first full-scale harem series which is a huge improvement over constant hit-and run concept of Urusei Yatsura. For me Tenchi lacks substance and normal humor. There is fanservice humor and some random guys from other planets as enemies. This is a very old approach - make a setting and keep using it for 150 episodes by inserting any small stories as desired. Without real story or some outstanding humor this franchise is doomed from the start and can only be remembered with nostalgy as the first notable harem.   Overall Rating: 6/10

3. Bastard!! Ankoku no Hakaishin Bastard!! バスタード!! 暗黒の破壊神 [AIC] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Seinen Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Ecchi The kingdom of Metallicana is under attack from the Four Lords of Havoc. This party of villains—ninja master Gara, deadly thunder empress Nei Arshes, cold and calculating Kall-Su, and enigmatic dark priest Abigail—will stop at nothing to get what they want, even if it leaves utter destruction in their wake. High Priest Geo is desperate to help save the kingdom and its people. He unleashes the mighty wizard Dark Schneider, a man who used to be an ally of the villains. Unfortunately, Dark Schneider has his own plans in mind. Will he stop the Four Lords of Havoc or join them in their conquest of the world? Fantasy setting and mature enough characters with MD Geist-like power-hungry protagonist are a big plus, but all this innocent to brutal to innocent transformation with a kiss is basically the same as eye-patch for the third eye in Mitsume ga Tooru. Moreover, at first episode protagonists are attacked by some general apprentice and we're told that there are four enemy generals to face. So from the very start we already roughly know the concept - there will be one general per episode with the main baddie in the last episode, and that makes all 6 episodes which is a very short-time strategy. In reality things are shuffled a bit, but the gist remains. Episodes 4-5 lose humor and becomes rather sour. Setting had enough sauce for a masterpiece, maybe remake version that's already out can execute things better.   Overall Rating: 6/10

4. Giant Robo the Animation: Chikyuu ga Seishi Suru Hi Giant Robo the Animation: The Day the Earth Stood Still ジャイアントロボ THE ANIMATION 地球が静止する日 [Phoenix Entertainment] (Finished 7/7) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Super Power Action, Drama, Sci-Fi In a future to come humanity enjoys a new age of prosperity thanks to Dr. Shizuma's invention of a revolutionary renewable energy source: the Shizuma Drive. But this peace is threatened by Big Fire, a cabal seeking world domination. Against Big Fire the International Police Organisation dispatches a collection of superpowered warriors and martial artists, together with Daisaku Kusama, inheritor and master of Earth's most powerful robot, Giant Robo. By capturing an abnormal Shizuma Drive which is essential to Big Fire's plans the IPO ignites a desperate conflict between the two groups. The coming battle will test Daisaku's resolve to the utmost, reveal the ghastly truth behind the creation of the Shizuma Drive, and bring human civilization to its knees! Giant Robo is a character-driven adventure in a retro-futuristic setting, drawing on influences from opera, kung-fu cinema, wuxia stories and classic mecha anime. It incorporates characters from the works of the manga author Mitsuteru Yokoyama but it is designed to be a stand-alone story. Another adaptation of mecha manga from 1960s. Felt pretty old and uninteresting to me. Also there are a lot of childish moves, No memorable characters or humor spotted. Basically, just battle of characters with superpowers. That's dead average in my set of coordinates.   Overall Rating: 5/10

5. Ushio to Tora Ushio and Tora うしおととら [Pastel] (Finished 10/10) Tags: Action, Comedy, Horror Ushio thinks his father's tale of an ancient ancestor impaling a demon on a temple altar stone with the legendary Beast Spear is nuts, but when he finds the monster in his own basement, Ushio has to take another look at the family legend! Fortunately, Ushio knows it's best to let sleeping dogs lie and leave captured demons where they are. Unfortunately, the release of the monster's evil energies begins to beckon other demons to Ushio's hometown! To save his friends and family from the invading spirits, Ushio is forced to release Tora from his captivity. But will the cure prove to be worse than the curse? Will Ushio end his life a Tora-snack? Or will the Beast Spear keep Tora in line long enough to save the city? I remember trying Ushio to Tora long ago, got impression of a bland anime that time. So this time need to finish it to finalize impression. And indeed development from the start is slow and setting becomes finalized only by the end of 6th episode. Anyway, again a generic shounen about fighting conveniently appearing evil spirits with the only interesting encounter being in the finale.   Overall Rating: 5/10

6. Hanappe Bazooka 花平バズーカ [Studio Signal] (Finished 1/1) Tags: School Action, Comedy, Ecchi Lecherous high school boy Hanappe is visited by two demons who step from his TV and immediately fall in lust with his mother and sister. The demons turn Hanappe's home into a meeting ground for their demonic friends and grant Hanappe the power of the Hanappe Bazooka. Now his index finger is capable of both a deadly blast and the ability to drive women in a lustful frenzy, but Hanappe isn't very good at controlling it and winds up in serious trouble. Very shitty demon-themed ecchi with a real suicide and nothing left that I'd even want to remember. Stupid as hell.   Overall Rating: 4/10

7. Hello Harinezumi: Satsui no Ryoubun Domain of Murder ハロー張りネズミ 殺意の領分 [Studio Deen] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Psychological Drama, Mystery One stormy night, a young woman is shot to death on a cliff; her body is found floating in the waters below the next morning. She was last seen with a man who is now being sought not only for her death. Meanwhile, an estranged wife hires Goro, a private investigator, to find her husband. Alongside another member of law enforcement with his own motives for finding the man, Goro sets forth on a trail of tragedy and intrigue to find the reason and connection behind the murders and missing husband. All detectives look more or less the same for me, and this one is not exception. Of course, there's intrigue about murderer, but it's the same in all works of the genre as well.   Overall Rating: 5/10

8. Iron Virgin Jun 鉄の処女JUN [Dynamic Planning] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Martial Arts, Super Power Action, Comedy, Fantasy In the Asuka family, nothing is more important than family tradition. For their lovely young daughter Jun, it means she must get married on her 18th birthday. Although poor little virgin Jun is not above kickin' butt, she just can't stand the thought of marrying someone she doesn't love. Her mother sends out a gang of bloodthirsty goons to drag her to the altar, but Jun would rather beat a hundred suitors into one big bloody mess than get married on her mother's terms, and she's about to prove it. Useless. Won't gain and won't lose anything by watching a couple of lads fighting and running away from rapists.   Overall Rating: 3/10

9. Oira Sukeban おいら女蛮[スケバン] [Studio Signal] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Crossdressing, School Comedy, Ecchi Does being the only guy in an all girl school sound like paradise? It might be, if the girls knew you were a guy, but to stay in school teenage pervert Banji can't let can't let anyone find out his chromosomes don't match. Banji's status conscious parents want him to go to a good school, but not enough to spend the money on a good co-ed school. Now, in addition to studying math and science, Banji has to learn how to put on a bra and makeup. His life has become a living hell. Not only is he at the bottom of the social pecking order, he must also got to conceal his inner-masculinity from the pretty classmate girl who's stolen his heart while avoiding the female bullies who threaten to expose his less-than-feminine charms in the locker room. I'm not a fan of trap anime, and this one is the bare bones of the genre without anything on top of it.   Overall Rating: 4/10

10. OZ オズ [Madhouse, Studio Fantasia] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shoujo Military Action, Drama, Sci-Fi  A nuclear war has killed most of humanity and split the USA into six warring states. By 2021, a legend has grown up about the fabled city of OZ where everything still works. Scientist Felicia sets out in search of it with the mercenary Muto and android 1019. At the end of the quest they only discover a military base and a madman. A mercenary was hired by a girl to bring her to the mythical Oz (a paradise) where her missing brother supposedly lived. Accompanying them was a cyborg sent by her brother. But Oz was not the paradise it seemed and her brother was not as sane as he was smart. It's difficult to make post-apocalypse feel boring, but Oz succeeds at that. Basically, there is only running and fighting with some occasional discussion is similar interiors resembling some base. There's not enough explanation or focus on characters with over a dozen of them. Camera is constantly shifting to different locations with different characters with zoomed scenes and no perspective. Anti-climatic ending where everything settles itself without protagonists also feels lackluster. Overall, it's just poor execution and bad experience.   Overall Rating: 5/10

11. Nozomi Witches のぞみ ウィッチィズ [Group TAC] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Romance, Sports  Ryoutaro Shiba and his family have just moved into a new housing neighborhood. He soon discovers he is lucky enough to be living next to a beautiful and bewitching girl named Nozomi Egawa. Nozomi is athletic, an actress, and surprisingly more than anything else, she wants Ryoutaro to become a boxer so that he can fulfil her dream. Ryoutaro isn't exactly sure what Nozomi's dream is, but he definitely does not want to become a boxer. Unfortunately for Ryoutaro, he finds himself being dragged to the high school boxing club because Nozomi has written a resume for him claiming that he is a boxing genius! It actually seems that Ryoutaro has a special gift for boxing that he has never known about before. Ryoutaro soon finds himself in the winners' circle. But for how long can he last, and can he really live up to Nozomi's expectations? Viva progress. Characters in this sport romance anime look a bit different from all those five previous ones Nine-Touch-Slow Step etc etc. So for me it turns into a painful game whether each camera focus looks like before or differently. Basically, I've seen it all before already elsewhere, and there even was more spectacular boxing.   Overall Rating: 5/10

12. Chameleon (OVA) Bite me! カメレオン [Egg] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Seinen Delinquents, School Comedy, Ecchi The series follows the antics of tenth-grade student Eisaku Yazawa who wants to become a bousouzoku, a motorcycle gang member. It's all about trashy delinquent humor, so highly subjective. Other anime of the genre had strong protagonists and thus authenticity. This one is pure comedy as protagonist is super short and weak winning by twist of luck or with help of others. And for the same reason it does not reach even level of Karate-bu for me.   Overall Rating: 6/10

13. Princess Army: Wedding★Combat Princess Army: Wedding Combat ぷりんせすARMY - ウェディング★COMBAT - [J.C.Staff] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shoujo Martial Arts Action, Romance The story is about Aida Nonoka who is rescued from a drunken attacker by a judoist. She then resolves to become as good as her savior, hoping that one day to recognize him by the scar on his back. She then transferred into a new high school where she meets two older boys who could possibly the person to whom she owes her life and to give her heart. Bishounens compete over one girl. It's harmful as it still has weird sexist ideas from the 1980s.   Overall Rating: 4/10

14. Karasu Tengu Kabuto: Ougon no Me no Kemono 鴉天狗カブト 黄金の目のケモノ [KSS] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Action, Adventure, Drama Kabuto is a tengu who has to save a princess from fortress which is full of monster-mecha hybrids in an alternate reality of feudal Japan. Series was really weird and hectic. This OVA manages to overthrow that impression to the worst. There's little logic in events, and spontaneous weird moves just keep viewers in awe as a sick fantasy.   Overall Rating: 4/10

15. Shin Dousei Jidai: Hawaiian Breeze 新・同棲時代 HAWAIIAN BREEZE [Animaruya] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama, Romance  In this adaptation of a manga by Fumi Shibama, itself a retelling of a 1972 manga by Kazuo Kamimura (the original Age of Cohabitation whose existence is implied by the "new" in this title), Honda has been living with Eri for two years and debates whether or not he should ask her to marry him. Visuals are pretty bad. Contents is man's constant attempts to trick or persuade woman to make a child and her constant evasion or running away without words. Does it even look like an interesting setting? And in the very end we learn woman's reason - enjoy if you can.   Overall Rating: 4/10

16. Houkago no Tinker Bell 放課後のティンカー・ベル [Ashi Productions] (Finished 1/1) Tags: School Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Slice of Life Kenichi Akizuki and Misako Watanabe work together to solve the mysterious disappearance of their classmate Ryouko Miyazaki. The only clue left by the kidnapper is signed Koushin Okazaki, her late classmate who'd committed suicide to preserve his youth and become like Peter Pan. Pretty dumb story engulfed in mystery that two juvenile wanna be detectives or something uncover. Those who don't like detectives should not even bother.   Overall Rating: 5/10

17. Seikima II Humane Society: Jinrui Ai ni Michita Shakai 聖飢魔II HUMANE SOCIETY ~人類愛に満ちた社会~ [Production I.G, animate Film] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mythology Action, Fantasy, Supernatural Seikima II was a real-life Japanese death-metal band. Full of kabuki makeup, songs about rape, murder, and satanic destruction, and a public persona of devilish evil. The OVA purports to tell the backstory of the band, which, according to its publicity, was composed of actual demons (akuma) from the parallel dimension Makai. In the OVA, five vicious demons (the five band members), led by Demon Kogure (the lead singer), are plotting the destruction of humanity. The only effective opposition comes from the saintly Rosa, who is actually the reformed war goddess Freyja in disguise. The demons attempt to activate their ultimate weapon, the Tower of Babel, before Rosa can complete her counter weapon, the Tower of Cain. The demons triumph and are on the verge on destroying the world when their leader suddenly decides that they should, instead, form a rock-and-roll band in order to convert people everywhere into demon worshipers. Anime about real life stuff usually is a bad choice since this stuff can only be portrayed as cool without any self-irony. There is demon invasion, but it does not go beyond tasteless coolness.   Overall Rating: 5/10

18. Mikeneko Holmes no Yuurei Joushu 三毛猫ホームズの幽霊城主 [AIC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Pets Comedy, Drama, Mystery Based on Akagawa Jirou's popular book series about hapless detective Katayama Yoshitaro who lives with his sister Harumi and their cat Holmes, which has a sixth sense when it comes to solve mysteries. In this stand alone OVA the aftershow party of Harumi's acting troupe becomes the showplace of murder and tragedy. Luckily Yoshitaro brought Holmes along. I am sorry , cat detective Holmes is the kind of cringe I can't accept.   Overall Rating: 4/10

19. Star Dust スター・ダスト [Victor Entertainment] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Space Sci-Fi A misguided sci-fi tale of ecological police keeping space free from pollution in 2061. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10

20. Don: Gokudou Suikoden ドン 極道水滸伝 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Organized Crime Drama Takekichi and Masakazu are two tough guys who are forced to go underground when they lose their boss in a turf war in this modern update of the classic Chinese novel "Water Margin". A normal yakuza rising in power story with constant violence and deaths. Pure action, nothing special.   Overall Rating: 5/10

21. Kurenai no Buta Porco Rosso 紅の豚 [Studio Ghibli] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical, Military Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance After a curse turned him into a pig, World War I ace Marco Pagot becomes Porco Rosso, a mysterious bounty hunter who takes down sky pirates in the Adriatic Sea. He whiles away his days on a secluded island, rarely leaving other than to collect bounties or to visit the beautiful Gina, a songstress and owner of the Hotel Adriano. One day, while traveling to fix his faulty engine, Porco Rosso is gunned down by a young American hotshot named Donald Curtis. Thrilled at the possibility of fame, Donald boldly declares that the flying pig is dead. Not wanting to disappoint Gina, Porco Rosso flees to the famous Piccolo S.P.A. airplane company and takes out a massive loan in order to repair and improve his fighter plane. There, he is surprised to find that the chief engineer of Piccolo S.P.A. is the 17-year-old Fio Piccolo, who hungers for a chance to prove herself. With Fio's improvements, Porco Rosso prepares to challenge Donald officially and regain his honor. I watched it a long time ago, but nothing but selfish protagonist and planers left in memory. I watched it now, and again nothing really catches the eye. I don't like steampunk, so atmosphere does not excite in the least. Story is very mediocre as it's just couple plane challenges with a very weird reverse sleeping beauty sidetrack. Everyone seems to be head over heels just about the fact that protagonist is not a small girl. So what? Protagonist is special, but only for Ghibli as there are a lot of grumpy protagonists later on in anime and couple even more rude ones before that. Fascist Italy stage is original, but it has no real plot meaning due to only couple half-assed pursuits and opportunity to say "better pig that fascist", and probably the whole this movie is made like that just to say that phrase. There is cool directorship and humor feels amusing though not funny, but overall it's a disappointment.   Overall Rating: 6/10

22. Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: The Fading Light of Zeon Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: The Afterglow Of Zeon 機動戦士ガンダム0083 －ジオンの残光－ [Sunrise] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi U.C. 0083 - Three years after the end of the catastrophic One Year War, peace on Earth and the colonies is shattered by the presence of the Delaz Fleet, a rogue Zeon military group loyal to the ideals of the late dictator Gihren Zabi. Delaz Fleet`s ace pilot Anavel Gato, once hailed as "The Nightmare of Solomon", infiltrates the Federation`s Torrington base in Australia and steals the nuclear-armed Gundam GP02A "Physalis" prototype. Rookie pilot Kou Uraki - with the aid of Anaheim Electronics engineer Nina Purpleton and the crew of the carrier Albion - pilots the Gundam GP01 "Zephyranthes" prototype in an attempt to recover the stolen Gundam unit and prevent another war from breaking out. I hate this franchise with all heart and keep watching it just because it seems to be known. Since it's hastily merged compilation of the 0083 series, it's just horrible.   Overall Rating: 2/10

23. Kaze no Tairiku The Weathering Continent 風の大陸 [Production I.G] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Supernatural  Three adventurers—a warrior, a priest, and a young woman—traverse a land devastated by centuries of environmental calamities searching only for a way to survive. In their journeys they stumble across first the remains of a band of desperate treasure-hunters, and then the treasure they were seeking: Azec Sistra, the legendary City of the Dead. Unfortunately, the bandits responsible for slaughtering the treasure-hunters have also found their way to the city, but more worrisome still are the guardians which protect Azec Sistra from those who would violate the spirits at rest there... We've discovered a new genre - simulator of walking. Seriously, heroes walk past stuff and sometimes unsheathe weapons just to put them back the next moment. Some stuff is more creepy, but they heroically walk past it anyway. Did you expect a battle or something as climax? There's nothing like that, they just arrive ... somewhere, lol. I'm not kidding, it's that senseless...   Overall Rating: 4/10

24. Silent Möbius 2 サイレントメビウス2 [AIC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Mythology Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi This sequel to the Silent Mobius The Movie 1 continues the timeline of the flashback section of the first movie (Katsumis initial contact with AMP), using some more ideas and persons from the Manga, and being slightly less incompatible to the Silent Mobius series from 1998. 2/3 of the movie is just talks which is a disappointment after action-heavy first movie. By comparing alone, it can't be the same score.   Overall Rating: 5/10

25. Yawara!: Sore Yuke Koshinuke Kids!! YAWARA！ それゆけ腰ぬけキッズ！！ [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Combat Sports, Martial Arts Comedy, Slice of Life Yawara helps a group of timid grade school kids overcome their fears and compete in a judo competition. One of the kids is Hanazono's cousin, which is how she meets them. Another is a girl who seems a whole lot like Yawara. It's my principle that I watch at least one movie after the series no matter how bad the series was. Series was very weak in my opinion, but movie is actually a lot better due to focus on many nice characters rather than one boring girl. I hate to admit that I also participated in one juvenile judo tournament at school, and it was same cringy as in this movie, lol, although in real life there are hardly any clean ippons at all. Overall, better than expected, but far from great still due to bigger focus on spokon training than on comedy itself.   Overall Rating: 6/10

26. Rokudenashi Blues ろくでなしBLUES [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Combat Sports, Delinquents, School Comedy, Drama Maeda is a new student in the Teiken High School. He stutters when he's nervous and he's rather clumsy. He gets noted immediately because he hits a teacher during the entrance ceremony. Some clubs search to enlist him as they see in him a force they can use to get even with other clubs. But Maeda is a loner and has only one dream: becoming a boxing champion. It's an average delinquents anime with lots of violence and only a shade of humor. 30 minute length means there's not enough time for anything else.   Overall Rating: 5/10

27. Senbon Matsubara せんぼんまつばら [-] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Historical Drama After suffering severe floods in 1753, the people of Senbon Matsubara in Shizuoka cooperate on flood prevention around the Kiso, Nagara, and Yuhi rivers. The people of Satsuma (Kumamoto Prefecture) endure great hardships after being forced to undertake the work by the central government, a subtle indication of the bad feeling that would foment into open rebellion the following century. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10

28. Zouressha ga Yatte Kita 象列車がやってきた [Mushi Production] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Adventure  An educational film about the Elephant Trains in Japan. During WW2 many zoos were slaughtering their dangerous animals (such as elephants) as a safeguard against Allied bombings which might release the animals. After WW2, the only elephants that remained in Japan were two at Higashiyama Zoo in Nagoya. Special trains called Elephant Trains were arranged to bring children from all over the country to Higashiyama Zoo. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10

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