Anime of the Year 1997-I Winter - Eat-Man

Among the decent works, Eat-Man probably deserves more praise than the others for novely approach

1. Yuusha-Ou GaoGaiGar King of Braves GaoGaiGar 勇者王ガオガイガー [Sunrise] (Finished 3/49) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi In the year 2005, a race of alien monsters called Zonders emerge from underground and launch a series of attacks on the city of Tokyo. The only defense against these creatures is the secret agency known as the Gutsy Geoid Guard (or 3G) and their ultimate weapon, the awesome giant robot GaoGaiGar. GaoGaiGar's pilot, Guy Shishio, is a former astronaut who was nearly killed two years before when the Zonders first crashed to earth. Guy's life was spared when a mysterious robot lion called Galeon pulled him from the burning shuttle and brought him to Earth. Guy's father, Leo, then used Galeon's technology to rebuild his shattered son as a cyborg, in the hopes that he could stop the aliens when they appear. Now, with Galeon as its core, GaoGaiGar fights to protect Earth. He is aided by a team of transforming robots and by a young boy named Mamoru, who has the power to purify the Zonders' cores, and seems to be connected to the mysterious Galeon. New Sunrise mecha is imitation of Tarzan. Cringe is on unrealistically high level, so kids only.   Overall Rating: 5/10

2. Eat-Man イートマン [Studio Deen] (Finished 12/12) Tags: Shounen Super Power Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Meet Bolt Crank, mercenary extraordinaire, and the man who eats metal! Through his travels, he stops along the way to make a few bucks and occasionally rescue damsels in distress. His taste for metal gives him quite an edge as he becomes capable of generating an assortment of weapons from his hand! It's a strange ability, but it seems to come in handy, so to speak. Bolt has an edge over his adversaries, but will that be enough? Now I know where Hellsing character designs come from. Had to watch it all in hope that it would contain at least some decent stories or maybe the ending. As expected, the more interesting stuff got pressed to the ending. The general concept is of unusual traveler who sometimes helps to find something and sometimes just listens with some resolution. Due to episodic character of narration, it's not really interesting. A more coherent story would be welcome.   Overall Rating: 6/10

3. Cutey Honey F キューティーハニーＦ [Toei Animation] (Finished 3/39) Tags: Shoujo Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi On her sixteenth birthday, Honey Kisaragi goes to meet her father. However, he shows up injured and on the run. Out of nowhere, a group of thugs and a monster show up. A detective, Seiji Hayama, rescues Honey and her father. Unfortunately, the monster captures Honey`s father. A grieving Honey goes home to find it in ruins, but a handsome man gives her hope and a device to use against the monsters who took her father. With them, Honey can transform into multiple forms and destroy Panther Zora, the evil behind this. From what I see it's a rather faithful remake, at least concerning plot or characters. It's closer to magical girl shows as it has small amounts of fanservice.   Overall Rating: 6/10

4. Mach GoGoGo (1997) Speed Racer X マッハGoGoGo [Tatsunoko Production] (Finished 3/34) Tags: Racing Adventure The Mach is a racing car loaded with a new engine "X" specially developed and built by a man named Kenich Hibiki who was a racing driver as well as a motor engineer. However, in a test driving made prior to its completion, he was involved in an accident and judged as dead. Meanwhile his father Daisuke who was watching the test driving all the way recovered the wrecked car as his son`s memento. A few years later the damaged car rebuilt by him revives as the new Mach which comes to participate in Grand Prix. This time, however, for the purpose to protect the driver from a possible accident, the new car is equipped with a safety system called "Safety Seven" with seven guarding devices. Also, it is loaded with the engine "X" that miraculously survived the tragic accident. Now its driver is Go, younger brother of Kenichi, who is determined to succeed to his brother`s will. In fact, he successfully participates in Grand Prix and keeps growing up to be a top racer of the world. Why not remake a racing series from 1967? Worst idea ever.   Overall Rating: 4/10

5. Shin Kidou Senki Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz 新機動戦記ガンダムW エンドレス・ワルツ [Sunrise] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Action, Drama, Sci-Fi In the year After Colony 196, one year after the conclusion of the intergalactic civil war, a state of stasis prevails over the Earth and its colonies. Seeing no further use for their Gundam mobile suits, war heroes Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy, Trowa Barton, and Quatre Raberba Winner decide to destroy these weapons by launching them into the sun's surface. Before the Gundam reach their destination, the universal peace is shattered by the emergence of Mariemaia Khushrenada—the only child of the former tyrannical aristocrat Treize. Mariemaia abducts diplomat Relena Peacecraft and announces plans to launch "Operation Meteor," with the intention of posthumously fulfilling Treize's world domination plot. With the help of former enemy Zechs Marquise and his mobile suit Tallgeese, the heroic pilots must reacquire their mobile suits to wage one final battle against the Khushrenada dynasty, including fighting against their former ally Wufei Chang, now aligning himself with Mariemaia's ambitions. Animation is definitely better than in the series and characters are given some story with reasoning deriving from it. Not that it helps...   Overall Rating: 5/10

6. Vampire Hunter Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge ヴァンパイアハンター [Madhouse] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Vampire Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Supernatural The world is a dark, brooding place populated by humans, but ruled in reality by powerful beings known as the Darkstalkers, and there is constant conflict between them as they try to determine who is the most powerful of them all. Zombies, vampires, werewolves - all of them compete in contests of strength and sheer will to attain their own personal goals. All of this becomes moot when a race of Aztec robots called the Huitzil decide that humanity isn't worth saving, and start waging war on the world, while in the sky, a solar god from outer space plots the conquest of Earth. And the Darkstalkers must become unwilling allies in order to save the world. As for me, the main problem here that there are over a dozen of characters in focus and vampire hunter is just one of them having some 5% of screen time. And in the end all those side-characters end up useless as main story does not use them. Last episode finally has action, but first three could be cut to 1, because for three hours pace is too loose. Still better than all other fighting games adaptations.   Overall Rating: 6/10

7. El Hazard 2: The Magnificent World 神秘の世界 エルハザード 第2期 [AIC] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Isekai Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy Continuing the from OVAs; When Fujisawa, suffering from cold feet, leaves Miz at the altar, an enraged Priestess drafts Makoto and friends to go find him. In the couse of locating the hapless (and gutless) teacher, they find another Ifurita. Meanwhile Jinnai and Diva searching for a new Bugrom homeland stumble upon another yet another Demon God, the impish Kalia. However, unlike Ifurita she has a mind, and a mission, of her own... It's more of a spin-off about characters and comedy interaction with them , so not for everyone.   Overall Rating: 5/10

8. Jungle de Ikou! ジャングルDEいこう! [Studio Fantasia, Chaos Project] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Mahou Shoujo Action, Adventure, Comedy, Ecchi After meeting a dancing old man in what she thinks is just a crazy dream, a preteen schoolgirl embarks on a series of fanservice-filled magical girl adventures with a little creature named Ongo who might be evil and a shy girl with mysterious powers named Nami. It's supposed to be ecchi comedy about jungle girl in Tokyo, but in fact it's just fanservice something as comedy is so very weak.   Overall Rating: 5/10

9. Hen Strange Love 変 [Group TAC] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Comedy, Girls Love, Ecchi  Yoshida Chizuru is the sexiest co-ed in her class. Secretly, she's been appearing in TV commercials—despite the fact that students are forbidden from working. But one of her professors has uncovered her secret and hopes to use this information to his advantage. Yoshida's got plans of her own, and has no intention of giving up her acting career... It's ecchi all right, but story itself is rather disgusting and there's hardly any comedy at all, so can't recommend.   Overall Rating: 5/10

10. Ayane-chan High Kick! Ayane's High Kick 綾音ちゃんハイキック! [Rikuentai] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Sports Meet Ayane Mitsui: a full-time high school student and part-time hand-to-hand combat specialist! Exams are forgotten and homework is neglected as she pursues her life-long dream of becoming a pro-wrestling champion. Ayane has what it takes - skill, determination, and a lethal "high-kick" - even a cool wrestling mask! But who will guide her to the top? Enter Kunimitsu Tangay: a veteran trainer who is prepared to mold young Ayane into a championship caliber fighter. But his rigorous regimen isn't preparing her for wrestling... but for kickboxing instead! Feeling betrayed, Ayane is furious when Kunimitsu enters in a kickboxing tournament. But Ayane's school ABSOLUTELY FORBIDS such violent extracurricular activities. What will she do when Sakurako Miyagawa, the top contender of the All Japan Kickboxing League, challenges her to a duel? Will she be able to high-kick her way to victory - or will she get kicked out of school? Full length is less than an hour, and that's not enough for spokon, over the present time was pretty generic.   Overall Rating: 5/10

11. Choujuu Densetsu Gestalt Gestalt 超獣伝説ゲシュタルト [TV Tokyo] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy  The story circulates around a mysterious and dangerous island referred to simply as "G". A long time ago, a powerful god named Gestalt was banished to the earth and he had found refuge in the island known as G. To utter the name for which it stands is forbidden, for people were so afraid of the wrath of the god that they considered his name a curse. Father Oliver is a priest who has left his order and traveled to the island of G in order to discover the truth behind it. He ends up making the acquaintance of a young girl named Ohri, who turns out to be quite adept in magic. Meanwhile, the head of the order has hired a dark elf named, Suzu, to track down Oliver and bring him back. Suzu finds him easily enough. However, she hadn't anticipated the powerful sorceress in his company, Ohri. The girl disposes of Suzu for the moment, and she and the Father continue on. As if things weren't rough enough, the island of G has it's share of monsters and magic-users to get in the way of their travels. It's a mess as it starts midway of bigger story and ends same abruptly. Generic fantasy anime without interesting plot to follow.   Overall Rating: 5/10

12. Kishin Douji Zenki Gaiden: Anki Kitan 鬼神童子ＺＥＮＫＩ外伝　黯鬼奇譚  [Studio Deen] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Mythology Action, Supernatural In Kanoesaru village every 60 years mysterious murders happen. Every time seven 17 year old girls are killed. The villagers believe it is the work of a demon who once saved the village so they keep quiet about it. However the current head of the Ibuki family calls an exorcist to save her 2 daughters. What is the truth behind the murders in Kanoesaru village? So many still shots are used that it's rather painful to watch. Action is still better than in random Zenki episode, and it's over in less than half an hour, anyway, so can rate it above average.   Overall Rating: 6/10

13. Kyokujitsu no Kantai The Fleet of the Rising Sun 旭日の艦隊 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 3/15) Tags: Historical, Military Action, Drama In Kyokujitsu no Kantai, Japan builds up on its success in the earlier series by expanding its blue-water capabilities to reach the Atlantic Ocean, challenging the Kriegsmarine in the process. Nazi Germany also launches a surgical strike on the White House and the Japanese fleet repels a German invasion of Britain. Not translated. Konpeki no Kantai was a bore, so it's only natural that this one is a bore as well.   Overall Rating: 4/10

14. Shinkai no Kantai: Submarine 707 深海の艦隊 サブマリン707 [Knack Productions] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Military Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi A mysterious object attacks and destroys any ship or submarine. Submarine 707 has the mission to search for that mysterious object, when summoned by a whale to follow it. The whale leads them to the world of Mu. But on their way they meet the mysterious object. They find out , it is Commander Red Silver, who had attacked the world of Mu to get Mu's magma sources. Submarine takes up the battle to defeat Red Silver and save Mu, and the world for that matter. Finally a coherent, short and articulate story with fantasy elements on a military submarine - it's a big step for the stale genre, it's the closest work so far to Zipang which I consider paragon for navy military anime.   Overall Rating: 6/10

15. Rouge: Lady's Comic Video ルージュ レディースコミックビデオ [-] (Finished 0/2) Tags: Drama, Romance  Bereaved strangers lose themselves in a sordid double life of prostitution but find love with each other. A loveless marriage blossoms through bondage. A trainee gets more than she bargained for when the head nurse takes the biology lesson to the limit. And a male beautician uses unorthodox methods to put color in a makeup artist's cheeks. Four erotically charged tales animated for a female audience, based on stories originally printed in the manga magazine Rouge. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10

16. Kougyou Aika Volley Boys 工業哀歌バレーボーイズ  [J.C.Staff] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Seinen School Comedy In a mix of Field of Dreams and Ping Pong Club, sex-starved teenage boys at Kudo High School sign up for the girls' volleyball team hoping that if they build it, the girls will come, to a year that has no girls in it at all. Not translated. Guys build club building, manage to lure some girls to train in sports and after failures try to look decent and go on a date - and fail again. Nothing out of expectations.   Overall Rating: 5/10

17. Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン劇場版 シト新生 [Gainax, Production I.G] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Psychological Drama, Sci-Fi In the year 2015, more than a decade has passed since the catastrophic event known as Second Impact befell mankind. During this time of recovery, a select few learned of beings known as the Angels—colossal malevolent entities with the intention of triggering the Third Impact and wiping out the rest of humanity. Called into the city of Tokyo-3 by his father Gendou Ikari, teenager Shinji is thrust headlong into humanity's struggle. Separated from Gendou since the death of his mother, Shinji presumes that his father wishes to repair their shattered familial bonds; instead, he discovers that he was brought to pilot a giant machine capable of fighting the Angels, Evangelion Unit-01. Forced to battle against wave after wave of mankind's greatest threat, the young boy finds himself caught in the middle of a plan that could affect the future of humanity forever. Death recap was useless to me and even painful. Out of 100 minutes death takes as many as 72 and rebirth only 25, plus ends with something like a cliffhanger. So with the End of Evangelion movie out, this one is a complete waste of time unless you require recap of the series.   Overall Rating: 4/10

18. Flanders no Inu (Movie) The Dog of Flanders フランダースの犬 (1997) [Nippon Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical, Pets, Visual Arts Drama Nello Daas is a gifted artist residing in a village on the outskirts of Antwerp, Belgium. He earns a living by selling milk in a market in the middle of the city alongside his ailing grandfather. His best friend, Alois Cogez, is the daughter of his callous landlord, who believes that Nello is corrupting his daughter and unbefitting her class. Angered by Alois' closeness to a peasant, her father sends her away to a school in Antwerp to prevent them from meeting again. While continuing his daily market runs, Nello stumbles upon an art contest surrounding the famous Peter Paul Rubens—a Flemish artist he holds in high regard. Not only does the contest offer a monetary prize, but it also comes with the opportunity to study art at a school in the same city Alois is studying. Now with a goal in mind, Nello begins to brainstorm the perfect piece, but a series of adversities threatens to end his dreams prematurely. Yet, through thick and thin, is his loyal dog, Patrasche, whom he saved from the brink of death at the hands of a cruel owner. As Nello endures through various hardships, Patrasche supports him throughout them. Flanders no Inu is a reimagined film that captures the classic story between an innocent boy and his faithful canine best friend as they traverse together until the bitter end. Childish, simple, using cheap tearjerkers, but guess those are effective if everyone likes it.   Overall Rating: 6/10

19. Hana yori Dango (Movie) Hana Yori Dango The Movie 花より男子 [Discotek Media] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shoujo Performing Arts Drama, Romance Set in an alternative timeline to the TV series and manga, the movie features a classic Cinderella story told through the medium of 80's dance. Tsukushi Makino is a trainee dancer in a New York Performance group, struggling to become the star of the show with the help of Rui Hanazawa and Tsukasa Doumyouji. I'd watch a recap with more enjoyment. Now it's just a 30 minute otome musical with needless copypaste of traits from Cinderella.   Overall Rating: 5/10

20. Kikansha Sensei 機関車先生 [Nippon Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: School Comedy, Slice of Life The story depicts the interaction of the children of the island and their teacher, Yoshioka Makotoware who is unable to speak because of a childhood accident. A movie based on the best-selling novel by Shizuka Ijuin. Not translated. A teacher who needs to write everything on a blackboard is not a wise idea if it's not the only option, trying to teach children sign language is not really a great idea as well... Animation and character designs are fine, so it's definitely watchable, although 100 minutes seems to be overkill for this kind of story.   Overall Rating: 6/10

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