Anime of the Year 1992-IV Fall - Mikan Enikki

Mikan Enikki and Chibi Maruko-chan: Watashi no Suki na Uta are the only masterpieces that I noted with priority to original work over sequel .

1. Yuu☆Yuu☆Hakusho Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files 幽☆遊☆白書 [Pierrot] (Finished 6/112) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts, Mythology Action, Comedy, Supernatural One fateful day, Yuusuke Urameshi, a 14-year-old delinquent with a dim future, gets a miraculous chance to turn it all around when he throws himself in front of a moving car to save a young boy. His ultimate sacrifice is so out of character that the authorities of the spirit realm are not yet prepared to let him pass on. Koenma, heir to the throne of the spirit realm, offers Yuusuke an opportunity to regain his life through completion of a series of tasks. With the guidance of the death god Botan, he is to thwart evil presences on Earth as a Spirit Detective. To help him on his venture, Yuusuke enlists ex-rival Kazuma Kuwabara, and two demons, Hiei and Kurama, who have criminal pasts. Together, they train and battle against enemies who would threaten humanity's very existence. A surprisingly good fighting shounen. It starts as a ghost impersonation story with delinquents - logical, good pace and attractive characters. The problem with this anime is that it manages to keep interested, but actually offers very little. There's no interesting story, there's no good humor. I explain its relatively high scores because it seems to be the first classical ongoing shounen like Bleach or Naruto or Hunter x Hunter, and - long things short - I seriously hate those. The result we get is just finding enemies with relatively nice characters and then fighting them. What's to like here is beyond my understanding .   Overall Rating: 6/10

2. Hime-chan no Ribbon 姫ちゃんのリボン [Gallop] (Finished 4/61) Tags: Shoujo School Comedy, Fantasy, Romance Erika, the princess of the Magic Kingdom has come to Earth in order to find a human girl who looks just like her. That girl turns out to be Himeko Nonohara, a tomboy's tomboy. Erika must give Himeko a magical item she has created in order to prove her worth as a successor to the crown. Himeko must test this item, a hair ribbon that allows her to transform into any other person she sees, to see if it is worthy. The series follows Himeko's adventures and her budding romance with Daichi, the boy who discovers her secret. All the shoujo/jousei that I think highly of have older heroines, at least high school for the proper complexity (yet just high school without complexity does not guarantee the outcome). So it should be just taken for granted that I'm not compatible with shoujo heroines from middle school or younger. This is the latter case with above average characters and humor, but still it's just the higher scale of my indifference. Mint and Sailor moon have set a trend for magical girls to have some pets, so there is one here as well. I also liked focus on school, gives a lot more substance than other magical girls settings.   Overall Rating: 6/10

3. Kaze no Naka no Shoujo: Kinpatsu no Jeanie 風の中の少女 金髪のジェニー [Nippon Animation] (Finished 3/52) Tags: Historical Drama The story begins in a small town, Pennsylvania in 1838. Jeanie MacDowell is a cheerful and beautiful girl with light brown hair. Jeanie enjoys playing the piano and loves taking piano lessons from her mother. Steven, a good harmonica player, and Bill, a black boy who is very good at playing the banjo, are great friends of Jeanie's. They enjoy playing music together like a small band. However, Jeanie's happy life changes dramatically after her mother suddenly passes away. Experiencing many difficulties and learning the importance of life, she decides to devote her life to helping many people suffering from illness. This series is a highly emotional love story about the relationship between young Stephen Foster, who later becomes a famous composer and author of children's songs, and young Jeanie MacDowell, who becomes Stephen Foster's wife. It's not world masterpiece series. But it totally feels like one as setting is 19th century USA. A loot of 19th Century USA works look similar as it's always mostly about racial disparity and SOL of some well-off family. Feels like a total bore to me if you aren't prepared for this kind of show beforehand and don't look for such initially.   Overall Rating: 5/10

4. Mikan Enikki みかん絵日記 [Nippon Animation] (Finished 30/30) Tags: Shoujo Pets Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life A kitten, abandoned and left for dead along with his siblings, is taken in by Tomu Kusanagi, who nurtures him and discovers that the tangerine cat he so adores is actually a genius who can talk, walk, read, and has even acquired a taste for liquor! It's cheating to use Maruko-chan voice in other anime! Also same two stories per episode structure is used. Loving the voice even though it fits here less as cat talks a lot of serious and difficult stuff without showing emotions much. Cat talks and everyone in the family knows that , so cat actually substitutes role of imouto and thus is similar to that of Maruko-chan. Most stories are rather lyrical than humorous, so overall anime feels like lyrical Maruko-chan movie and deserves the same minor masterpiece score.   Overall Rating: 7/10

5. Tsuyoshi Shikkari Shinasai ツヨシしっかりしなさい [Studio Comet] (Finished 5/112) Tags: Shounen School Comedy, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life Tsuyoshi Ikawa lives at home with his popular and beautiful sisters. Despite their qualities, his sisters and his mother are horrible at household chores, including cooking, so all these duties are taken over by Tsuyoshi while his father is away due to being temporarily transferred to another city for work. There are only nine episodes subbed. Basically, it's a culinary show as it always starts with buying some product and the story whirls around this product. It does not impress, to say the least.   Overall Rating: 5/10

6. Shin Calimero Calimero (1992) 新 カリメロ [Toei Animation] (Finished 0/52) Tags: Comedy  The series tells about many adventures of the small fledgling Calimero and his friends, who uncover many secrets, sometimes getting into trouble along the way. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10

7. Flanders no Inu, Boku no Patrasche A Dog of Flanders: My Patrasche フランダースの犬　～ぼくのパトラッシュ～ [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Historical, Pets Drama A boy named Nello becomes an orphan at the age of two when his mother dies. His grandfather, who lives in a small village takes him in. One day, Nello finds a dog who was almost beaten to death and named him Patrasche. Due to the good care of his grandfather, the dog recovers, and from then on, Nello and Patrasche are inseparable. Since they are very poor, Nello has to help his grandfather by selling milk. Patrasche helps him pull the milk cart that Nello uses to sell milk in the town. I wish they shot a movie instead... the beginning is slow, so it's pretty much the same piece of story that I watched in original from 1975. Visuals and designs are almost the same, so I don't see much sense in another series, just twice shorter. It felt childish back then, and now also sees dated in 1992.   Overall Rating: 5/10

8. Oyayubi Hime Monogatari Thumbelina: A Magical Story おやゆび姫物語 [Enoki Films] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Shoujo Adventure, Fantasy A bratty girl named Mia is given a book, Thumbelina, which upon reading she is shrunk and transported into the world of the book. She embarks on a journey to return home, and to normal size making friends and learning lessons on the way, but that's only the beginning of her adventures. Just one episode is translated, plus there is some dubbed movie that's compiled totally for kids. Episode is just a bit less childish, but after some great examples of proper kids works like Blue Blink I just can't treat others seriously.   Overall Rating: 5/10

9. Boukensha: The Man Was from Spain Christopher Columbus 冒険者－THE MAN WAS FROM SPAIN－ [Nippon Animation] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Historical Adventure Christopher Columbus is a man of strong will. His life is full of drama. Born in Genoa, he realizes his dream of becoming a sailor, dares to search for a new route, and finally reaches his goal, discovering a new land in the process. Sometimes in desperation, sometimes in excitement, his experiences are truly extraordinary. It has very little to do with the real story, and even as fantasy for children it's mediocre, so not recommended.   Overall Rating: 4/10

10. Nangoku Shounen Papuwa-kun 南国少年パプワくん [Nippon Animation] (Finished 1/42) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Comedy Papuwa-kun is a young boy living a quiet life with his dog, Chappy, on a small island located somewhere in South Pacific, when Shintaro, who is being pursued by gangsters, invades their happy existence. Chappi takes Shintaro's precious Jewel, thereby making the two main characters lifelong rivals. Together they experience a series of bizarre adventures and situations. Not translated. Overall feels like Dragon Ball, but with more absurd humor.   Overall Rating: 5/10

11. Super Zugan スーパーヅガン [Studio Deen] (Finished 3/21) Tags: Shounen Strategy Game Comedy A story about mahjong. Why I'm even watching this if I understand nothing in mahjong... Unlike Mahjong Hishouden: Naki no Ryuu there's nothing but mahjong here, so exactly zero value for unaware people like me.   Overall Rating: 4/10

12. Space Oz no Bouken The Wonderful Galaxy of Oz スペース・オズの冒険 [E&G Films] (Finished 0/26) Tags: Adventure, Sci-Fi In the year 2060, eight year old Dorothy and her dog are mysteriously swept off their planet into the wonderful, magical Galaxy of Oz. An evil witch, Gloomhilda, once ruled the Galaxy through fear and terror but was driven out by the good Dr. Oz. Now, Gloomhilda has amassed an army on the outskirts of the Galaxy and is preparing to win back her empire.Her sneak attack fails due to Dorothy's unexpected arrival. However, Dr. Oz knows Gloomhilda will return. He has a plan which will free the Galaxy of the wickedness of Gloomhilda forever. Legend tells of three magical crystals, the Crystal of Love, the Crystal of Wisdom, and the Crystal of Courage. These crystals were spread throughout the Galaxy and lost hundreds of years ago. According to the legend, whoever possesses all three crystals will rule the Galaxy of Oz for all Eternity. Under the guidance of Dr. Oz, Dorothy and an assortment of "heroes" set out to scour the Galaxy in search of the three magical crystals. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10

13. Shounen Ashibe 2  少年アシベ２ [Life Work] (Finished 3/25) Tags: Comedy Sequel to Shounen Ashibe Not translated. Since prequel is not found, let's sample at least this sequel before modern remakes. Each episode contains three stories just as Crayon Shin-Chan. So can we expect same density of humor? Absolutely not. The seal does not talk and behaves as a pet with basic childish emotions. There's hardly any humor at all, just some SOL stories around this seal.   Overall Rating: 5/10

14. Tokyo Babylon 東京ＢＡＢＹＬＯＮ [Madhouse] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Action, Mystery, Supernatural  Subaru Sumeragi is the 13th head of the Sumeragi Clan and a most powerful onmyouji. Subaru is hired to exorcise a construction site, but his employer mysteriously died. The only suspect is a man who repeatedly walks away from situations in which he should have died. Then Subaru meets a young woman intent upon cursing the man, saying that he killed her brother. Subaru must figure out how his employer died and fight the evil spirits that are protecting the man with the help of his friend and twin sister, Seishirou Sakurazuka and Hokuto Sumeragi. I'd actually call it a horror as there are corpses and violence everywhere. Seeing torn out limbs and attacks with blood flows from the spots of former limbs makes me sick, personally. I'm allergic to visually disgusting effects like that. It's not even a detective story as there are just crimes till spontaneously killer does not show up in the open. Why would someone want to watch it is beyond my understanding.   Overall Rating: 4/10

15. Bannou Bunka Neko-Musume All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku 万能文化猫娘 [Studio Fantasia, animate Film] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Seinen Mecha Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Ryuunosuke Natsume is the son of genius inventor Kyusaku Natsume and overbearing Akiko Natsume, CEO of Mishima Heavy Industries. Using funds from his wife's company and the brain from his son's beloved cat, Kyusaku creates a revolutionary android called Atsuko "Nuku Nuku" Natsume. To Kyusaku's disgust, Akiko wants to use her husband's technology to create weaponized robots for her company's customers, resulting in Ryuunosuke getting caught within the explosive fights between his parents The android Nuku Nuku tries to live as a normal high school student, adopting the role of Ryuunosuke's elder sister, but usually ends up acting as her family's protector. Nuku Nuku will do anything to protect the ones she loves. When facing a new anime I often try to find the similar anime that I've seen before and then compare which one I liked more. Could not find a really close one, but goofy energy reminds A-Ko to me. It's same painful to watch for me, because there's no coherent plot. Just something crazy happens and android girl deals with it in a half-assed way with the rest of the time being taken by something else. Without real plot or super good humor I can't rate it better than A-Ko, thus average.   Overall Rating: 5/10

16. Green Legend Ran グリーンレジェンド乱 [AIC] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi  A story of future Earth - A warning for mankind: In the future, our planet will be transformed into a strange new world where human life struggles on an Earth without rain or oceans - only vast, parched deserts. Two youths fight for survival on our hostile planet and find hope. The sea, the sky and the land had been completely polluted by mankind when mysterious objects fall from the heavens. These titanic vessels smash into the planet and suck up the air, water, and most living creatures into their womb, stealing away the very essence of Earth`s nature. The few remaining inhabitants struggle for survival against a hostile environment and an oppressive ruling race known as the Rodo. One young, hot-blooded human named Ran, fights against the Rodo and a world in which rain is only a legend. He strives to join an Anti-Rodo group known as the Hazzard, not only to defeat the Rodo, but also to hunt down the man who killed his mother. A poorly executed story, and it manages to get even worse by the end. Dialogue "-This person killed my mother! -But your mother would be sad if you killed him in return" should be added to the golden collection of most stupid phrases in anime.   Overall Rating: 4/10

17. Ys: Tenkuu no Shinden - Adol Christine no Bouken Ys II: Castle in the Heavens Ys (イース) 天空の神殿 アドル=クリスティンの冒険 [Tokyo Kids] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Mythology Adventure, Drama, Fantasy Now that Adol Christen has saved the land of Esteria from the evil priest Dark Fact, Adol and the two priestesses travel to the floating land of Ys, where evil has an even greater influence on the people and no one has hope. The future of Ys falls to Adol, heir to the powers of the priests and the only one who can show the people of Ys the truth about their world. But, as Adol's power grows, he may be the one who will save Ys—or destroy it. After so many games I can't take Ys story seriously, it's just a shell for different kind of action and meeting many bosses. Of course hero will save someone from something, who cares.   Overall Rating: 5/10

18. Jigen Sengokushi: Kuro no Shishi - Jinnai-hen Black Lion 時元戦国史 黒の獅士 陣内篇 [Tokyo Kids, Minami Machi Bugyousho] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Historical Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi The year is 1580. Using an army of soldiers equipped with sophisticated weaponry, Nobunaga Oda is on the verge of ruling Japan with an iron fist. One of his enforcers is Ginnai Doma - a fallen samurai reborn into an indestructible killing machine. As Ginnai continues his killing spree on ninjas and those who oppose Nobunaga's rule, Shishimaru of the Iga Ninja - going against the Koga Ninja's plans - pursues a one-man vendetta to avenge the deaths of his comrades and kill the immortal warrior. Another imitation of terminator , this time vs ninja. Just action, nothing more.   Overall Rating: 4/10

19. Down Load: Namu Amida Butsu wa Ai no Uta Download: Devil's Circuit DOWN LOAD 南無阿弥陀仏は愛の詩 [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Psychological Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi An exciting cyberpunk romp directed by Rintaro with veteran animator Kanada Yoshinori about a genius hacker and a gang of hot-rodders. Some technology, girl and lots of bike pursuits. It's of average quality and absolutely not memorable.   Overall Rating: 5/10

20. Future GPX Cyber Formula 11 新世紀ＧＰＸサイバーフォーミュラ１１ [Sunrise] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Shounen Racing Drama, Sci-Fi  It is now time for the 11th Cyber Formula World Grand Prix. With all the expectations and pressures placed upon him, Hayato Kazami struggles to regain the championship form that he had a year ago. Moreover, Osamu Sugo, aka Knight Schumacher, has reentered the competition, and declared Hayato to be an enemy. Hayato, with the new Super Asurada AKF-11, must now defeat someone he once deeply trusted in order to secure his second championship. For those who liked original, surely! Not for me then. Kinda expected to see mature winners already after the end of the series, but of course we go looser to winner route again.   Overall Rating: 5/10

21. Gensou Jotan Ellcia Ellcia 幻想叙譚エルシア [J.C.Staff] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy  The Sacred Book of the land of Eija has been rediscovered and with it the legends of a mysterious and all powerful ship. Now Princess Crystal of Megaronia has set forth on a quest to recover the ship and its ultimate weaponry. All that stands between her and total domination of the world is a small group of piratical misfits. Swords, sorcery and technology blend to form a mesmerizing tale of Good vs. Evil in Ellcia. I'm so in love with this anime style, building, items and visuals. And I absolutely HATE all character designs, why every single character is soo ugly, dammit. I can hardly concentrate on the story constantly trying to find someone with at least neutral outlook that would not disgust right away. Found only side-heroine Sara who is far from beauty, but at least does not strike the eye like mad, also bearded guys have so big beards that they don't need to look fabulous. Phew, with that settled, what's with the story. It's mostly about travelling on ships with princes and princesses. Ships are both naval and occasionally flying ones. All the real action is packed in just the last episode. That said, can't call it even a decent one.   Overall Rating: 5/10

22. New Dream Hunter Rem: Setsuriku no Mudenmekyu NEW DREAM HUNTER 麗夢 殺戮の夢幻迷宮 [Studio Zain] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Ecchi Rem is an ordinary woman in our world but, in the world of dreams, she becomes a dream warrior, defending humanity from the evils there. When dream demons reach the waking world, she fights them with the help of her pets which transform into a tiger and wolf. Oh, come on, torn clothes is distinguishing feature of the series, but it again was not present. Was nice to know Frankenstein anime incorporated here partially, but overall the usual expected pattern.   Overall Rating: 5/10

23. Dragon Slayer Eiyuu Densetsu: Ouji no Tabidachi ドラゴンスレイヤー英雄伝説 王子の旅立ち [Nihon Falcom] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Action, Fantasy  Faaren is a peaceful and happy realm, ruled by a wise King... until the Demon Lord Ackdam overruns the kingdom with his black legions and terrifying dragon, killing the King and capturing the Queen. But the King's young son, Sirius, is swept away to safety and grows to be a powerful young warrior, tutored in the ways of swordsmanship and chivalry by his father's loyal minion, Rias. A surprisingly decent oldschool fantasy (if subbed version is watched). Almost every scene with Sonya had good type of humor in it. But it's just 40 minutes, so can't really aim higher.   Overall Rating: 6/10

24. Neko Hiki no Oruorane ねこひきのオルオラネ [J.C.Staff] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Music Fantasy  During the holiday season, a young man encounters a drunken cat belonging to an old man in an alley. The old man has trained his three cats to sing. Whaa? 30 minutes on cats learning to sing? Whaa?.   Overall Rating: 5/10

25. Scramble Wars: Tsuppashire! Genom Trophy Rally スクランブル・ウォーズ　突っ走る！ゲノムトロフィーラリー [Artmic] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Parody, Racing Comedy Take the characters from a number of sci-fi based animes, a stage not unlike "Wacky Races," super deformed madness, and general insanity and what you get is Scramble Wars. While Scramble Wars does include characters from the original Bubblegum Crisis, Gall Force and Genesis Survivor Gaiarth, it also has a few other characters from other animes such as AD Police and Riding Bean. It doesn't matter if you loved or hated any of these series, as long as you've seen at least one of them you'll have a great time watching this, though the insanity is so generic that it really doesn't matter if you haven't seen any of the animes featured in Scramble Wars. Wacky Races! No not really, but close enough. Genom is holding a race; the winner will receive the Genom Trophy! Woohoo! Yay! Enter, Priss on her Motoroid, Linna and Nene, Sylia and Mackie, a Boomer... A Boomer?... okay... and characters from other animes already mentioned a million times. All will be racing against each other to win this prestigious trophy for some reason. And all of them will do anything to win it... Very weird chibi crossover about racing. It's just 25 minutes and only bright spot is humor that's hit and miss.   Overall Rating: 5/10

26. Wolf Guy ウルフガイ [J.C.Staff] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Military Action, Sci-Fi Akira lnugami is infected with a terrible poison. The only known antidote has an unfortunate side effect-it turns him into a werewolf. He opts for survival but then has to cope with his new desires and with the attention of the military, which is interested in using his affliction for its own purposes. Manga original comes from the far 1970, and that old source usually causes many problems. In this particular case it's bland characters, filler scenes and sexist approach. Basically, protagonist tries to defend other werewolves and wolves and is usually has some group hunting for all those. And he tends to lose his companion girls all the time, so it resembles trashy H-filled (this one is Ecchi too) series of the past, namely Wounded Man and Crying Freeman.   Overall Rating: 4/10

27. Eien no Filena 永遠のフィレーナ [Pierrot] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy The story is centered around Filena, a princess who was raised as a boy after her kingdom was conquered My main grudge is that development is very slow. Filena is forced to participate in gladiator fights (even though there is high tech weapons) or something very similar, and she gets relatively good at fighting with tutor's help. Eventually her conflict with occupant forces arises and she manages to flee. That with a bit of side-tracking takes all first five episodes with only last episode left to put some kind of finale which with this pace can't be anything big. Overall, not bad, but boring and nothing memorable.   Overall Rating: 5/10

28. D-1 Devastator D-1 デバステイター [Takara] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Mecha Sci-Fi To follow in his missing friend Masato's footsteps, Ryo joined the vehicle company Yaesu. Ryo became involved with the Makuhari test course that Masato was also a part of. The leader, Gray Gear, told Ryo, "If you want to know about Masato, come to the test course late at night and ride the new machine." When Ryo got in the new machine, the Vector Versus, and rode it around the course, he was able to exceed 300 kilometers per hour and suddenly warped into a mysterious space! Only first episode is translated. It's mostly about flying mecha fighting, but there are just no good elements that I'd want to praise. I'll try - I like character designs and buildings are nice. What irritates the most is eternal zoom on each character with next to zero perspective, so it feels like battle of giant heads with occasional insertion of action shots. Horrible execution does not leave this anime a chance.   Overall Rating: 4/10

29. Hayou no Tsurugi: Shikkoku no Mashou 破妖の剣 漆黒の魔性 [Magic Bus] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shoujo Fantasy, Supernatural A resident of the Floating Castle that battle demon beings, the girl Rasutel (Rasu), chosen by the willful lady, the Demon-Breaker sword, is sent on a quest to save a princess kidnapped by a Youki. Her quest is helped by a mysterious Youki called Anshu (but he has basic color that usual Youkis do not have.... hehe!). She is also hampered in her quest by her demon-being oriented younger brother who seeks her golden eyes, the heritage of their father, the Golden Youshu. Another weird anime. Demon girl decides to become human and faces other demons with an anti-demon sword with own consciousness. She has a demon guardian and among enemies are her close relatives. Everyone but heroine is a bishounen. There's just couple absolutely minor beasts and the main confrontation even that is prolonged by flashbacks. It's nice to see a serious fighting shoujo heroine, but it's too short and unmemorable.   Overall Rating: 5/10

30. Shin Choubakumatsu Shounen Seiki Takamaru 新・超幕末少年世紀タカマル [J.C.Staff] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Action, Comedy, Fantasy - Not translated. Absurd funny continuation of the original series. It's a decent original Dragon Ball rival, so translation would be most welcome as without it half of gags remain unclear.   Overall Rating: 6/10

31. Nanbo no Monjai! Yankee Gurentai なんぼのもんじゃい! ヤンキー愚連隊 [KSS] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Comedy A youthful motorcycle gang in Osaka has their fair share of turf wars, lewd women, and full throttles as they go about their "too school for school" attitude with misconceptions and gags galore! Not translated. Just a usual yakuza/biker ecchi that we saw like five times already, but these anime usually remain untranslated. There is more humor (but mostly cartoonish and vulgar) than violence here, but it's absolutely bland with even no memorable characters at all. Needless to say, I'll be skipping its sequels.   Overall Rating: 4/10

32. Columbus no Daibouken コロンブスの大冒険 [SPO Entertainment] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama As he nears the New World, Christopher Columbus tells cabin boy Paco about his youthful hardships, the difficulties of convincing others of his vision, and the final victory when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella agreed to sponsor his trip. The sailors are doubtful, though Columbus is vindicated when they arrive on land, but it's not as the planned destination of Japan. The series Christopher Columbus THE MAN WAS FROM SPAIN started just this very season, and here is an OVA already... I did not understand the meaning of fantasy about real people and real events in the series, it has not changed since then. Needless fantasy for kids.   Overall Rating: 4/10

33. Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu Gaiden: Ougon no Tsubasa Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Golden Wings 銀河英雄伝説外伝　黄金の翼 [Magic Bus] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Military, Space Action, Drama, Sci-Fi The Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance have been locked in a seemingly endless war for more than a century and a half. In the Empire, a young Siegfried Kircheis meets Reinhard von Müsel and his older sister Annerose. Kircheis enjoys a happy friendship with the two beautiful blonde-haired siblings until the day that their alcoholic father, a lesser nobleman with low standing, accepts a request for Annerose to be sold as a concubine to the Kaiser. Although enraged, Reinhard is powerless to stop the whims of the Imperial Court. He and his father soon move away, leaving Kircheis behind. A few years later, Reinhard returns in a military uniform and declares his intent to rise through the ranks and free his sister from sexual servitude. Kircheis joins Reinhard on this daring journey to save Annerose, yearning to forever stay by the side of his friends. I usually hate prequels, because they feel like fanservice material. This one is pretty much the same, felt rather disgusting and needless to me.   Overall Rating: 4/10

34. Apfelland Monogatari Appleland Story アップフェルラント物語 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama Apfelland is a small but beautiful country surrounded by Russia, Austria, and Germany. Vel is a boy who lives in the capital, Charlottenburg. He happens to help a girl Frid. She was kidnapped because radium mine was found in her grandfather's abandoned mine. Aiming at the radium mine, various people gather there, for example, an American who wants to make money, a Polish woman disguised like a man who wants to earn money for the revolution, and the ministry of Apfelland who plots to affiliate with Germany. Vel and Frida are involved in their plots, and they know the secret of the mine. I remember watching it before and liking it substantially. It's a nice small adventure in alternative history. Quite good in the moment, but after some time you'll hardly remember it, I barely managed after 5+ years.   Overall Rating: 6/10

35. Chibi Maruko-chan: Watashi no Suki na Uta ちびまる子ちゃん わたしの好きな歌 [Nippon Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Music, Visual Arts Drama, Romance, Slice of Life Sakura Momoko's teacher assigns the third grade to draw an image based on their favorite song to enter a contest. Momoko loves a song she recently learned during her music class and is anxious to make a good drawing based on it. On her way to meet her relatives in Shizuoka, she meets Shouko Kimura, a university student who occasionally draws portraits at the local train station and plans to also participate in an art contest. Fascinated by her illustrations, Sakura meets Kimura once again. Shouko is enchanted by Momoko's sympathy and honesty. They quickly become friends and end up inspiring each other in their own way. This movie is even more lyrical than the last one. There are still a few nice jokes. On the bad side, narrator irony comments are gone in this movie. On the bright side, a lot of really nice songs with crazy video row. In the end it's around the same level as last Maruko-chan movie.   Overall Rating: 7/10

36. Oishinbo: Kyuukyoku tai Shikou, Chouju Ryouri Taiketsu!! 美味しんぼ　究極対至高　長寿料理対決!! [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Gourmet, Slice of Life Ultimate Menu and Supreme Menu square off in a cooking battle about dishes that promote longevity. For Supreme's Kaibara Yuzan and Ultimate's Yamaoka Shirou (who are father and son), this confrontation is more than strictly business: it's personal. It's nice to see Oishinbo in good quality. As it could be expected from longevity theme, it would be all about super exotic Chinese dishes that no one ever heard about. And there's hardly anything besides that, was a bore.   Overall Rating: 5/10

37. Shou-chan Sora wo Tobu Sho is Flying in the Sky 翔ちゃん空をとぶ [-] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Horror, Sci-Fi  An anime version of Ikkei Makina's horror novel of the same name. It aired at the same time as the live-action adaptation. Not translated. I bet it has much more meaning if watched in conjunction with live-action adaptation. Because anime is just battle of two genius kindergarten superpower kids. Just pointless.   Overall Rating: 5/10

38. Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf バトルファイターズ餓狼伝説 [Studio Comet] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance Jeff Bogard was a master of the Hakkyokuseiken martial arts school and the guardian of its secret techniques. Coveting this knowledge, Geese Howard, the most powerful man in South Town, challenged and murdered him in front of his adoptive sons Terry and Andy Bogard. Under the guidance of their mentor Tung Fe Rue, the brothers dedicate their lives to training in the ultimate art to avenge their father. 10 years later, Geese promotes a martial arts tournament known as the King of Fighters. Terry and Andy join their friend Muay Thai champion Joe Higashi and enter the competition in order to finally face Geese in combat. Anime is based on old fighting game, so for those unfamiliar with the game it would be a boring poorly staged cheating-filled fighting tournament with some prologue.   Overall Rating: 5/10

39. Youkai Ningen Bem: Part II 妖怪人間ベム パートII [Topcraft] (Finished 0/2) Tags: Mythology Horror For 1982 a 26-episode TV series sequel to Youkai Ningen Bem was planned. Because the original producers disbanded, the animation was done by Topcraft. 2 episodes were created and the project shut down without airing on television. The episodes were released to the public on a LD-Box Set a decade later. 2,000 units were printed and all were sold out. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10

40. Crayon Shin-chan Specials クレヨンしんちゃん Specials [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 3/87) Tags: Seinen School Comedy, Ecchi 87 Crayon Shin-chan TV Specials exist as of August 6, 2022. Not translated. Specials are usually themed around certain dates and may have specific jokes and unusual, even unrealistic stage. It makes them of lesser priority than movies and tv series, and considered the huge numbers of those I doubt specials will ever get translated. They're also harder to find with  .   Overall Rating: 6/10

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