Anime of the Year 1996-II Spring - Kodomo no Omocha (TV)

No definite winner for me , but among decent titles I can point out Kodomo no Omocha (TV) 

1. Tenkuu no Escaflowne The Vision of Escaflowne 天空のエスカフローネ [Sunrise] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Isekai, Love Polygon, Mecha, Psychological Adventure, Fantasy, Romance Hitomi Kanzaki is just an ordinary 15-year-old schoolgirl with an interest in tarot cards and fortune telling, but one night, a boy named Van Fanel suddenly appears from the sky along with a vicious dragon. Thanks to a premonition from Hitomi, Van successfully kills the dragon, but a pillar of light appears and envelopes them both. As a result, Hitomi finds herself transported to the world of Gaea, a mysterious land where the Earth hangs in the sky. In this new land, Hitomi soon discovers that Van is a prince of the Kingdom of Fanelia, which soon falls under attack by the evil empire of Zaibach. In an attempt to fight them off, Van boards his family's ancient guymelef Escaflowne—a mechanized battle suit—but fails to defeat them, and Fanelia ends up destroyed. Now on the run, Hitomi and Van encounter a handsome Asturian knight named Allen Schezar, whom Hitomi is shocked to find looks exactly like her crush from Earth. With some new allies on their side, Van and Hitomi fight back against the forces of Zaibach as the empire strives to revive an ancient power. Mecha from Sunrise is doomed from the start. And the way they treat my favorite isekai genre is purely outrageous. One important tag is missing here - shoujo as Sunrise tries to bring some new elements trying to sell the same mecha each time.   Overall Rating: 4/10

2. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars Sailor Moon Sailor Stars 美少女戦士セーラームーン セーラースターズ [Toei Animation] (Finished 3/34) Tags: Mahou Shoujo Like the R Season, Sailor Stars is divided into two arcs: The first arc (also filler) solves some conflicts from the SuperS season, and also sees the return of the Outer Senshi, Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, and Hotaru (now reborn as a child). The second arc is the actual plot from the manga. Usagi bids farewell to Mamoru, who is going to America to study abroad. In his place comes the Three Lights, an idol trio consisting of three boys, Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten. The new enemy is Galaxia, a woman who desires to rule the entire galaxy by collecting the Star Seeds of humans. Three new Senshi appear, the Sailor Starlights, who also intend to stop Galaxia without Sailor Moon's help. Don't know what to say. I think I see Sailor Pluto for the first time, but concept is still the same with more focus on chibi girl.   Overall Rating: 6/10

3. Slayers Next スレイヤーズNEXT [E&G Films] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Mythology Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy In the kingdom of Xoana, Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev unexpectedly come across their old companions, Zelgadis Graywords and Princess Ameilia Wil Tesla Saillune. Upon their reunion, the friends end up easily foiling the King of Xoana and his daughter's dastardly plans of world conquest. Soon after, it is revealed that Zelgadis is in search of the world's most valuable magical tome, the Claire Bible, hoping to discover a method to recover his human body among the many secrets sheltered within it. Despite his protests, the rest of the group decides to join in the quest after hearing of his mission. However, just when they were wondering where to start looking for the legendary book, they stumble upon a mysterious priest by the name of Xellos, who claims that he may be of some help in their pursuit. I'm not impressed, same as with original.   Overall Rating: 6/10

4. Kodomo no Omocha (TV) Kodocha こどものおもちゃ [Gallop] (Finished 8/102) Tags: Shoujo Love Polygon, Showbiz Comedy, Drama, Romance Sixth grader Sana Kurata has a perfect life. Her mother is a (fairly) successful author, she has a young man employed to keep her happy and safe, and best of all, she is the star of the children's television show Kodomo no Omocha. There's just one thing bothering her, and that's Akito Hayama. Akito is a classmate of Sana's, and ever since he's started acting out in class, the rest of the boys have followed his example. Every day, the girls and the teacher wage a battle to keep the class under control and to get some actual learning done. That rotten Akito… Sana won't stand for this! The hyperactive Sana decides to dig deeper and find out what makes Akito tick, so class can go back to normal and the teacher can stop spending every day crying instead of teaching. But the more she learns about him, the more she realizes that there might be more to Akito than meets the eye. Introduction takes two episode, plus concept develops slowly, so it took me a while to get understanding what this show is in the core, and it's roughly reverse Orange Road. Since protagonist is a girl, a lot more emotional reactions towards everything is inserted. There is enough humor, but half of it is spontaneous singing/dancing/acting weird and the other half is occasional, usually something unexpected showing up in the scene. And since it's Orange Road vis-à-vis, there are two families, one weird but friendly and one with much drama in it - and a lot of focus is on those members. In the end, it's a nice emotional romance comedy, but for me it lacks seriousness. I see a lot of moves to attract viewers, but all this appeal to emotions is distant to me, and referring to suicide even jokingly is just horrible.   Overall Rating: 6/10

5. Kidou Shinseiki Gundam X After War Gundam X 機動新世紀ガンダムX [Sunrise] (Finished 3/39) Tags: Mecha, Space Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi When one space colony declared its independence from the Earth Federation, the devastating 7th Space War, an all-out war between Earth and space, resulted. The Federation responded to the Space Revolutionary Army with mobile suits, called Gundams. However, the Space Revolutionary forces played their trump card and dropped hundreds of space colonies onto the Earth, plunging the planet into a seven-year-long nuclear winter. The Federation collapsed, but the Space Revolutionary Army was unable to invade the Earth in the aftermath of the colony drop. Fifteen years have passed. The year is now After War 0015, and a New Federation has sprung up on Earth to restore order. In space, the colonial leaders have been rebuilding their own forces as well. By chance, fifteen-year-old Garrod Ran has discovered an old Federation mobile suit, the Gundam X, and now he uses it to help out the Vulture ship Freeden in its struggle to keep the powers that be from repeating the mistakes of the past. Finally a Gundam with a modern shounen look. I see it at as above average among mecha for really advanced quality. But don't get me wrong, among all anime it would be average score as there is not enough seriousness or character development behind it all. Romance is shallow, no really likeable characters, no incentive to investigate the world. With the set boundaries of Gundam no breakthrough like Gurren Lagann is possible, but it does not even live up to the original Macross that remains the paragon for old mecha .   Overall Rating: 6/10

6. Jigoku Sensei Nube 地獄先生ぬ～べ～ [Toei Animation] (Finished 3/49) Tags: Shounen School Adventure, Comedy, Horror, Romance, Supernatural Nube is a clumsy, easygoing, and very kind teacher, but he has a secret under his glove on the left hand. He has a monster hand, and he also has the ability to sense ghosts and evil spirits. So he protects his dear students from these evil spirits with his monster hand, proving to be very powerful. This show is not bad itself, but combines a lot of features that I detest like monster of the week, evil spirit, exorcism, body horror. Characters might save it, but they aren't particularly good either. Just above average is the exact place this anime belongs to.   Overall Rating: 6/10

7. B'T X B`T X　ビート・エックス  [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 3/25) Tags: Shounen Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi Teppei is going to visit his older brother Kotaro Takamiya during a scientific conference after training with a mysterious woman named Karen for the past 11 years. However his plans for a family reunion become stalled when a woman named Aramis kills everyone in the conference to kidnap Kotaro. Teppei on the way to save his brother encounters a broken mechanical horse called B't X who revives thanks to Teppei's blood and is now his aide to save his brother from the mysterious Machine Empire. Saint Seiya is one of my most hated series ever as brainless shounen with a setting instead of the story, and B'T X from the same mangaka does not impress either. Now setting changes from Greek gods zodiac knights to androids and there's a bit more focus on familial bonds and oriental motives, but the core of brainless shounen remains intact.   Overall Rating: 5/10

8. Kaiketsu Zorro The Magnificent Zorro 快傑ゾロ [Ashi Productions] (Finished 3/52) Tags: Shounen Historical Adventure Diego Vega returns from his study trip to discover his homeland is under the army's dictatorship. Diego, refusing to watch idly, disguises himself as Zorro to protect the weak and oppressed. Diego is not a coward but he is unable to win the affections of his sweetheart, Lolita, who is attracted to other more noble men. Diego serenades Lolita as Zorro and fights the evils of his homeland, hoping to capture her heart. Official dub, export to many countries... all the signs of safe for children boring episodical stuff that is useless to watch if you ever watched anything Zorro.   Overall Rating: 4/10

9. Cinderella Monogatari The Story of Cinderella シンデレラ物語 [Tatsunoko Production] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance Cinderella is the daughter of a wealthy duke who has remarried to provide her with a mother and sisters. When the Duke travels abroad, Cinderella discovers that her new family is anything but a family. With spoiled stepsisters and a harsh stepmother, Cindrella is forced to cook, clean and manage the household. Yet she remains cheerful, gentle and kind to her family, to her animal friends and to a mysterious boy, named Charles, who seems to have a connection with the prince of Emerald Castle. A whole new story on a classic fairytale. When Cinderella's cruel stepmother prevents her from attending the Royal Ball, she gets some unexpected help from the lovable mice Gus and Jaq, and from her Fairy Godmother. There was already serialization of Snow White and sever dwarves, so this move is a logical continuation. It's nice romance on the motive of the fairy tale, but I can't stand parasiting over known franchises and clinging to the past while there's a whole world of possibilities ahead.   Overall Rating: 5/10

10. Mizuiro Jidai 水色時代 [Studio Comet] (Finished 3/47) Tags: Shoujo School Drama, Romance, Slice of Life Yuuko is a shy middle school girl who has feelings for her childhood friend, the boy next door. When she finds out that her best friend also likes him, she is unsure what to do. The story explores the relationships between these three characters as they confront everyday junior high problems. Actually, I feel there was a lack of just romance SOL anime without focus on sports or comedy or delinquents or something else that would steal all the attention. This anime fits this niche just fine. Love triangle is almost a necessity for romance stories. It's kinda cute how friends and love rivals exchange diaries and information. Sincerity is also important, but first lie strikes as soon as second episode already and lots of pointless drama grows from that. I require more seriousness and psychological development to qualify for a masterpiece... not sure if there is such romance work until His and Her circumstances, though ...   Overall Rating: 6/10

11. VS Knight Lamune & 40 Fire VS騎士ラムネ&40炎  [Production Reed] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Mecha Action, Comedy, Fantasy Baba Lamunade is followed home by two strange peddler girls who give him a CD-rom game. After he beats "The Legend of Lamuness", the girls come out of his computer and bring him to DokiDoki Space. He is the third descendant of the hero Lamuness who must stop Don Genosai from resurrecting the great evil Abraham. Accompanied by PQ, his advisor robot, and Parfait and Cacao, he must pilot the Kaizer Fire mecha. However, he needs another pilot, and Da Cider is chosen as the second pilot. It's fourth season already, so enough to say fans only here. As for me, one of the worst mecha series .   Overall Rating: 4/10

12. Midori no Makibao Green Makibao みどりのマキバオー  [Pierrot] (Finished 3/61) Tags: Shounen Racing Comedy  Midori Makibao is a small white racehorse. Compared to other thoroughbred horses, he looks more like a donkey with wide nostrils; however, with his guts and speed as his weapon, Makibao wins in every big race. In the beginning of his career, Makibao had a trouble making his debut as a racehorse, because of his appearance and various disadvantages he had. But Makibao had reasons to overcome his difficulties; there was a lifelong rival horse called Superhorse Cascade, that Makibao needed to defeat. Plus, he was determined to win back his mother, a horse that had been taken away for pay back the debt on the farm. There are many hardships that Makibao has to overcome, but he thrives in the series of races to become a great racehorse. Not translated. Absurd sketches around racing and some crudely drawn characters is not the most amusing thing to watch. Humor is mostly based on antics , so just not my type.   Overall Rating: 5/10

13. Hajime Ningen Gon はじめ人間ゴン [Pierrot] (Finished 3/39) Tags: Historical Comedy A remake of Hajime Ningen Gyatoruz. Each episode contains three stories. Not translated. Can't see much difference with not so amusing the original, to be honest.   Overall Rating: 5/10

14. Shounen Santa no Daibouken! 少年サンタの大冒険！ [Studio Deen] (Finished 0/24) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Fantasy Based on L. Frank Baum' novel: The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10

15. Ijiwaru Baasan (1996) いじわるばあさん [Eiken] (Finished 0/46) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life  Grandma is a nasty and manipulative thing most of the time, causing endless trouble for her son-in-law and daughter, her grandchildren, and her neighbours. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10

16. Shamanic Princess シャーマニックプリンセス [Triangle Staff] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Action, Fantasy, Romance  From the Guardian World, home of mages, Tiara has been sent on a mission: recover the stolen Throne of Yord, the most powerful magic artifact of all. But Tiara finds herself in a dilemma—the Throne has been taken by her former lover, and there is more to the situation than meets the eye... Annoying dull characters, unusual yet unimpressive story, irritating constant close shooting angles, all character development is pushed AFTER the story in flashback episodes. So messy that it hurts.   Overall Rating: 5/10

17. Shin Kidou Senki Gundam Wing: Operation Meteor 新機動戦記ガンダムＷ オペレーション・メテオ ODD＆EVEN NUMBERS [Sunrise] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Mecha, Military, Psychological, Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi Two video releases recapping events from the Gundam Wing TV series. Each Operation Meteor video contains an 'Odd' episode and an 'Even' episode. The 'Odd' episodes feature Heero, Trowa and Wufei, while the 'Even' episodes feature Duo and Quatre. The episodes also featured brief new footages of the characters after the final episode of the TV series. I like such recaps since watching full series with this kind of quality is akin to torture. Cheap drama emotions, unstable personalities, lack of consistency and logic - all main Gundam traits are present. Without anything deep enough viewers are just stormed with quantity as many many protagonists show up each with individual story of varying stupidity. Pompous empty dialogues are a whole new level of cringe. And basically the same story is told multiple times from different perspectives... very tiresome. Sunrise sucks at making recaps, as usual.   Overall Rating: 5/10

18. Burn Up! W Burn-Up W: On the Case & In your Face  バーンナップW [AIC] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Shounen Mecha Comedy, Sci-Fi, Ecchi When crime and terrorism go out of control in Tokyo, the police unleash Team Warrior - a band of highly-skilled and completely reckless band of female cops. Featuring loose cannon Rio, triggerhappy Maya and ace hacker Lilica, Team Warrior will get the job done, regardless of the budget of the mission. It's primarily ecchi and fanservice with some joking police action for the first half. Second half puts it all done to the Earth with a bloody case, but results to absolutely nothing big with each heroine having an individual fight, and that's it.   Overall Rating: 5/10

19. Mahoutsukai Tai! Magic User's Club OVA 魔法使いTai!  [Triangle Staff] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi  One sunny day invaders came from space. They weren't little green men or funny girls wearing school uniforms, though. They were ugly robots which defeated the UN forces in seconds. After that the invaders (known as "eyeballs") roamed around and observed human society. In fact, they were peaceful unless attacked. They were polite and followed all the traffic laws, too. Still, they were aliens and the people of Earth wanted them to go home. The Kitanohashi High School Magic Club took it on themselves to defeat these foul robots and free the world. Setting is very unusual, magic provides some unexpected gags, pervy nature of male protagonist is kind of fun. A fresh gust of wind among comedies. For me it's better than majority of school anime with magic like Negima.   Overall Rating: 6/10

20. Sanctuary サンクチュアリ [Pastel] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Detective, Organized Crime Action, Drama, Suspense Two Japanese survivors of the Khmer Rouge massacres in Cambodia vow to find a sanctuary, even if they have to build it themselves. Returning to Japan, they take seemingly opposite paths: one becomes a politician, the other a gangster. As Asami and Houjou work through the linked worlds of politics and crime in modern Japan, they don't hesitate to do anything necessary to secure their own positions and stay true to their vow. Loyal to no one else, they find their friendship increasingly tested as they rise in their chosen fields. Nice gangster movie that has all the looks and expected moves, but lacks in the actual depth and realism. Cool yakuza do dangerous things in a fashionable manner and never get any kind of payback for it , so anime is empty in the core.   Overall Rating: 5/10

21. Toushinden 闘神伝  [J.C.Staff] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Martial Arts Action For one year, Master Swordsman Eiji Shinjo has been haunted by the memory of his battle with the renegade champion, Gaia - a battle that was cut short by the forces of the malevolent syndicate known as "the organization." Denied victory, Eiji left the tournament followed by his opponents mocking laughter. Worse still, Eiji walked away no closer to finding his long lost brother, Sho. But now, a mysterious warrior is hunting down the champions of the previous tournament and using their own moves against them - and it looks like that person may be Sho. Who is this powerful new foe and who is his next target? Eiji and Kayin, his closest friend and greatest rival, struggle to unravel the mystery before they, too, join the ranks of the defeated. The answer lies at the heart of the Organization and its plans for world domination. At last, the ultimate battle between the greatest fighters in the world will be decided. But if Eiji loses, his friends - Ellis - may Die... Fighting game adaptations rarely put an effort into the story. This one definitely does not.   Overall Rating: 4/10

22. Ojousama Sousamou Debutante Detective Corps お嬢様捜査網 [Daume] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Detective Action, Comedy, Mystery Debutante Detective Corps begins with introductions to the five main characters, Miyuki, Reika, Youko, Nina, and Kimiko. It seems these five girls are incredibly rich and have been sent a threatening video tape by forces unknown. A police guard is set up at the school where the girls have enrolled. Kimiko, however, doesn't like the idea of being cooped up at school, and convinces the rest of the girls to trick the police into leaving. No sooner are the police gone, however, then the girls are assaulted by three armed terrorists. What ensues is a rather silly escapade with our heroines attempting to thwart their attackers. Fast-paced introduction and some action with something that tries to resemble humor, and it's all over in 30 minutes, so a waste of time.   Overall Rating: 4/10

23. Tattoon Master タトゥーン・マスター  [AIC] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Slice of Life, Supernatural When Hibio's adventurer mother sets off to research a mysterious tribe, she hits a wall. Fortunately for her, the beautiful young Nima sees a family portrait and decides that she wants her son for her husband and she gets a chance to further her research. She agrees to the arrangement. Of course, she doesn't consult him about his future bride. When Nima shows up in Tokyo to be with her new husband, hilarity and chaos ensues as Hibio and his modern Tokyo background meets Nima's magical heritage. It's a common plot that girls who is in love with protagonist suddenly shows up and rivals some other girls. Just commonplace average forgettable anime.   Overall Rating: 5/10

24. Mutant Turtles: Choujin Densetsu-hen ミュータント タートルズ 超人伝説編 [Bee Media] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Super Power Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles acquire Mutastones from Crys-Mu, the spirit of light, they acquire the ability to enhance themselves into Super Turtles for a duration of three minutes. Meanwhile, the evil Shredder and his minions Bebop and Rocksteady stumble upon the Dark Mutastone, which transforms them into Devil Shredder, Supermutant Bebop and Supermutant Rocksteady, respectively. But the Turtles have one more trick up their shells: all four of them can combine into their ultimate form—Turtle Saint. Breaks so many TNMT canons that it can't be considered part of TNMT, tbh. Super mutations are god ugly, saint mutation is one big Gundam parody and metal mutations look like another homage either to transformers or Tokyo Babel. Anyway, pretty horrible.   Overall Rating: 5/10

25. Blue Seed 1.5 ブルーシード 1.5 [Production I.G] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi  This is a re-telling of the first series. one episode is seen through the view of Momiji, the other is seen through the view of Kusunagi. Not translated for general public. But since it's just retelling with some music kind of useless if you watched the series.   Overall Rating: 5/10

26. Landlock ランドロック [Sanctuary] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi The land of Zer’lue is in turmoil, ravaged by the technological might of Chairman Sana'ku and his evil, militaristic Zul’earth forces. In a rapidly unfolding story of treachery, deceit and betrayal, only one boy holds the power to defeat such overwhelming odds... a boy named Lue'der, who possesses a mysterious red eye and the ability to control the power of the wind itself. With the fate of the world at stake, Lue'der must learn to unlock his legendary power and battle against the evil which threatens to engulf his planet. Somehow this fantasy action manages to bore very fast. Plot is very simple, but the whole intrigue is just about parts that we're not told about. Characters are bland. Action scenes in the middle hardly help anything, and ending is just unimpressive without proper buildup.   Overall Rating: 5/10

27. Idol Fight Suchie-Pai 2 Idol Fighter Su-Chi-Pai アイドルファイト　スーチーパイ２ [Daume] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Ecchi Once every century, the legendary mahjong dials called the "Legendary Pai" show themselves to the world, and if you collect them all it will grant you any wish. They show up in the form of evil monsters and you must defeat all 10 to obtain this chance. So, a Bunny Alien, A Maid-Dominatrix, A Cyborg, A girl form the world of magic and a transforming super hero all must fight these monsters along with themselves to grant the wish that they want to come true. It's hard to expect much from ecchi anime based on ancient strip mahjong game without any plot. Someone fights, someone transforms, someone pretends to strip but constantly stops midway and all for collecting mahjong cards which we won't even learn till the end. Plain horrible.   Overall Rating: 4/10

28. Bounty Hunter: The Hard ザ・ハード BOUNTY HUNTER [J.C.Staff] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Detective Action The story of "Hard", a bounty hunter living in New-York and seeking revenge. Riki-Oh author means we're in for a MANLY story. Every male character here is hard-boiled just as the title. First half is discovering some murders, the some action. Short and rather stupid.   Overall Rating: 5/10

29. Toppuku Kyousou Kyoku 特攻服(とっぷく) 狂走曲 [-] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shounen Comedy Based on the shounen manga by Yuu Furusawa. A typical delinquents movie with H, fighting and antics in place of the comedy. Instantly forgettable.   Overall Rating: 5/10

30. Tenchi Muyou! in Love Tenchi Muyo! In Love 天地無用! in Love  [AIC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen School, Space Action, Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi In a dark corner of the universe, intergalactic criminal Kain breaks out of prison and destroys the Galaxy Police Headquarters. Basking in the afterglow of the terror and destruction he has caused, Kain sets his sights toward a much bigger prize waiting on Earth. Meanwhile, Tenchi Masaki and his crew are watching some old home videos of his mother, Achika. As the film rolls, Achika slowly starts to vanish. While watching her fade away, Tenchi also begins to disappear. However, thanks to a device created by Washuu Hakubi, Tenchi is not gone for good. The gang soon learns about Kain and deduce that he must have done something to Achika, which has resulted in time being altered. To save himself and maintain the future, Tenchi travels with the girls back in time to protect his mother from her fate. Time shifts and alterations are either done well or poorly, and this is the second case. Because of this nothing makes sense and irritation piles up with every minute. Thus only for Tenchi fans.   Overall Rating: 5/10

31. Armitage III: Poly-Matrix アミテージ・ザ・サード POLY-MATRIX  [AIC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Romance, Sci-Fi Detective, Mecha, Military In the year 2046 humans are moving away from using robots and begin to trust them less and less. In this time life becomes very perilous for the beings known as seconds. The seconds are the most recent line of robots, as far as the public knows. This is the world Detective Ross Sylibus lives in. Detective Sylibus is transferred to Mars by his request after his partner was killed by a robot. As he arrives he falls headfirst into a murder where a country singer on his flight was murdered. He steps off the plane and watches as a scene unfolds and he meets his partner, Armitage a female cop with a major attitude. A rash of murders begins when yet more women are killed. As the investigation is continued a secret is uncovered. There is another line of robots known as Thirds. More and more Thirds turn up missing, as a serial killer who is intent on wiping out all the Thirds runs rampant. Armitage in her quest to put the murderer to justice reveals a secret. She herself is a Third. It's the same story as original Armitage III, so would be weird if it got a different score from me. The main difference for me is that original is available with subs and Poly-Matrix only dubbed. Movie has slightly better directorship, at least it sees so to me after watching both.   Overall Rating: 6/10

32. Crayon Shin-chan Movie 04: Henderland no Daibouken クレヨンしんちゃん ヘンダーランドの大冒険  [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Adventure, Ecchi A modern horror style fantasy depicting a laughable adventure in Gunma Hender Land, the largest theme park in the north areas around Tokyo. Nohara family fight with Toppema Muppet (a talking doll from Magic World) against two gay 'witch' men Makao and Joma, who came from Another World and try to invade the Real World. Can't blame Shin-chan movies for fantasy plots and not enough humor density compared to series - that is natural. So main question for me whether it helps to understand characters better like first movie or provides something outstanding in some field. And the answer is ... nothing worth mentioning. Some new female characters from fairy forest have showed up, so it got somewhat more pervy than usual, and the whole Mr. Snowman part is not fun enough.   Overall Rating: 6/10

33. Hamelin no Violin Hiki: The Movie ハーメルンのバイオリン弾き [Nippon Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy  While on their quest to stop the Demon King, the violinist Hamel, the pianist Raiel, the magess Flute and the female warrior Sizer stop in a small kingdom and destroy a rampaging monster. While giving the four a heroes' welcome, the king and queen explain that their daughter has been kidnapped by a monster living in a nearby castle. They agree to go and rescue the hostage princess and defeat the monster. However, the enemy's castle is heavily guarded... It's under 30 minutes, so it looks more like a pilot episode than a real movie. I actually like drawing and characters, but with such length and only couple fights in the process it's hardly possible to make real conclusions, but closer to decent so far.   Overall Rating: 6/10

34. Mahoujin Guru Guru Movie 劇場版 魔法陣グルグル [Nippon Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy The hero Nike and magic user Kukuri learn of the "Pickle of Happiness", an item that will grant a wish to the one who eats it. With the help of old friends, they must beat the monsters to the Pickle and convince its guardian dragon to give it to them. Nice Guru Guru short movie, as usual with lots of featured humor, yet can't call it a masterpiece.   Overall Rating: 6/10

35. Dragon Quest Retsuden: Roto no Monshou Dragon Quest - Emblem of Roto ドラゴンクエスト列伝 ロトの紋章  [-] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Fantasy The adventures of Arus's childhood. A rather pleasant fatansy prologue with first battle, but too short and simple for real scores.   Overall Rating: 6/10

36. Nintama Rantarou Movie 映画　忍たま乱太郎 [Ajia-Do] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Comedy In the movie, the Dokutake ninja steal a shipment of saltpeter from Shinbei's papa. They plan to use it to create medicine that will make them fly and become super-ninjas! Danzou, who's father was transporting the goods, stows away and is taken to the Dokutake's secret headquarters. When Shinbei informs the school, Yamada-sensei and Doi-sensei rush to help. But Hagumi decide to take matters into their own hands and try to rescue Danzou themselves. Things don't go according to plan, though, and soon they all need to be rescued too. Fortunately Rikichi, Yamada-sensei's cool son, is around to help out! In fact, before long everyone gets into the act! But can Rantarou and his friends stop Happousai before it's too late? Not translated. It's a comedy with many chibi character designs. It's definitely amusing, so above average, but ninja villages rivalry is not too interesting topic to begin with.   Overall Rating: 6/10

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