Anime of the Year 1998-II Spring - Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop is the only masterpiece found this season

1. Cowboy Bebop カウボーイビバップ [Sunrise] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Adult Cast, Space Action, Sci-Fi Crime is timeless. By the year 2071, humanity has expanded across the galaxy, filling the surface of other planets with settlements like those on Earth. These new societies are plagued by murder, drug use, and theft, and intergalactic outlaws are hunted by a growing number of tough bounty hunters. Spike Spiegel and Jet Black pursue criminals throughout space to make a humble living. Beneath his goofy and aloof demeanor, Spike is haunted by the weight of his violent past. Meanwhile, Jet manages his own troubled memories while taking care of Spike and the Bebop, their ship. The duo is joined by the beautiful con artist Faye Valentine, odd child Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV, and Ein, a bioengineered Welsh Corgi. While developing bonds and working to catch a colorful cast of criminals, the Bebop crew's lives are disrupted by a menace from Spike's past. As a rival's maniacal plot continues to unravel, Spike must choose between life with his newfound family or revenge for his old wounds. Watched it twice in the past, but somehow never considered it to be the best of the best. It certainly has its share of more loose episodes and excessive emphasis on style, and I don't understand blues like at all so can't enjoy soundtrack. 9 is a more honest score for it.   Overall Rating: 9/10

2. Trigun トライガン [Madhouse] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Shounen Adult Cast Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi Vash the Stampede is the man with a $$60,000,000,000 bounty on his head. The reason: he's a merciless villain who lays waste to all those that oppose him and flattens entire cities for fun, garnering him the title "The Humanoid Typhoon." He leaves a trail of death and destruction wherever he goes, and anyone can count themselves dead if they so much as make eye contact—or so the rumors say. In actuality, Vash is a huge softie who claims to have never taken a life and avoids violence at all costs. With his crazy doughnut obsession and buffoonish attitude in tow, Vash traverses the wasteland of the planet Gunsmoke, all the while followed by two insurance agents, Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, who attempt to minimize his impact on the public. But soon, their misadventures evolve into life-or-death situations as a group of legendary assassins are summoned to bring about suffering to the trio. Vash's agonizing past will be unraveled and his morality and principles pushed to the breaking point. Tried to watch Trigun at least twice, but never made it past 3rd episode due to rather shallow concept in my opinion, so need to settle that debt now. And of course it did not help. I've learned more about characters, concept and the darker strings close to the end, but it remains an aimless western action with very slow pace. Characters are ok, but you can't build anime on that alone without normal story or humor.   Overall Rating: 6/10

3. Cardcaptor Sakura カードキャプターさくら [Madhouse] (Finished 3/70) Tags: Shoujo Mahou Shoujo, School Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance Ten-year-old Sakura Kinomoto is an ordinary fourth-grade student living in Tomoeda until, one day, she stumbles upon a mysterious book of cards titled "The Clow." Pondering over her discovery, she unintentionally causes a magical gust of wind to scatter the cards all over town. The accident awakens the Beast of the Seal—Keroberos, nicknamed "Kero"—who tells Sakura that she has released the mystical "Clow Cards" created by the sorcerer Clow Reed. Due to each Card's ability to act independently and their incredible power, Clow had sealed them away. Now that they have been set free, the Cards pose great danger to the world, and it is up to Sakura to put an end to them. Appointing Sakura as the "Cardcaptor" and granting her the Sealed Key, Kero tasks her with finding and recapturing all the Clow Cards. Alongside her best friend Tomoyo Daidouji, and with Kero's guidance, Sakura must learn to balance her new secret duty with the everyday troubles as she takes flight on her magical adventures as Cardcaptor Sakura. Never watched it before, but heard it referenced quite a lot in a rather unpleasant manner. I don't understand the appeal here. Cuteness and character growth? That's not nearly enough. Cuteness must be on the level of K-On or Minami-ke to start to matter. And if I don't care about characters in the least, of course I don't care about their development. It may probably be called trend starter for cuteness , but historically significant does not equal good.   Overall Rating: 6/10

4. Initial D First Stage 頭文字〈イニシャル〉D [Gallop, Studio Comet] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Seinen Racing Action, Drama Unlike his friends, Takumi Fujiwara is not particularly interested in cars, with little to no knowledge about the world of car enthusiasts and street racers. The son of a tofu shop owner, he is tasked to deliver tofu every morning without fail, driving along the mountain of Akina. Thus, conversations regarding cars or driving in general would only remind Takumi of the tiring daily routine forced upon him. One night, the Akagi Red Suns, an infamous team of street racers, visit the town of Akina to challenge the local mountain pass. Led by their two aces, Ryousuke and Keisuke Takahashi, the Red Suns plan to conquer every racing course in Kanto, establishing themselves as the fastest crew in the region. However, much to their disbelief, one of their aces is overtaken by an old Toyota AE86 during a drive back home from Akina. After the incident, the Takahashi brothers are cautious of a mysterious driver geared with remarkable technique and experience in the local roads—the AE86 of Mount Akina. I never understood racing anime. Luckily there aren't many of these, and Initial D is the main one that comes to mind. First episode is quite unexpected as protagonists questions the need and desire for exploring the different corners of the world on vehicles that can cross difficult terrain etc... and in 5 minutes he's already drifting , competing and feeling the speed or whatever this showing off is called. Now I at least see that appeal comes from indifferent guy doing crazy things on old cars and just enjoying the youth besides that. Not enough for me.   Overall Rating: 6/10

5. Yu☆Gi☆Oh! 遊☆戯☆王 [Toei Animation] (Finished 4/27) Tags: Shounen Strategy Game Action, Comedy, Fantasy Bullies often target someone frail and weak—someone exactly like Yuugi Mutou. His beautiful childhood friend, Anzu Mazaki, is always there to stand up for him, but he can't depend on her forever. Katsuya Jonouchi, who is almost always accompanied by his verbal sparring partner Hiroto Honda, doesn't seem like a bad person either, despite always bringing Yuugi trouble. But most of all, Yuugi wishes for a true friend who understands him and would never betray him. Yuugi treasures his Millennium Puzzle, an ancient Egyptian artifact that was brought into his grandfather's game shop. Believing that solving the puzzle will grant him his wish, he completes the puzzle, unleashing a new personality within him—the soul of the "King of Games." Dark, twisted, strong, and reliable, the new personality named Yami Yuugi is the exact opposite of Yuugi. Upon any injustice toward him, Yami Yuugi takes over Yuugi's body and forces the opponent into a "Shadow Game." The stakes are high as whoever loses shall have a taste of the darkness that resides within their own heart. Lots of old debts to settle this season. Yu Gi Oh was often referred as unique strategy concept that presumably does not have analogues. Having sampled it, it's just an upgraded Pokemon concept for slightly older children. Rules are only explained in third episode, but it's the same episodic battles road from that. Not enjoyable in this state even though character interactions are on above average level .   Overall Rating: 6/10

6. Lodoss-tou Senki: Eiyuu Kishi Den ロードス島戦記　英雄騎士伝  [AIC] (Finished 27/27) Tags: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance  Five years after the death of the Emperor of Marmo in the War of Heroes, Parn is now the Free Knight of Lodoss, he and his old allies now famous through the land. However, the Emperor's right-hand man, Ashram, seeks the scepter of domination to re-unify Lodoss under his former leader's banner. Meanwhile, beyond his attempts at conquest lies a more sinister force beginning to set the stage for the resurrection of the goddess of death and destruction... Strangely enough, I really dislike this piece. The story from the past in several few episodes is really nice, but the bulk is about a single dumb swordsman and some acquaintances, and it's too boring.   Overall Rating: 5/10

7. Weiß Kreuz Knight Hunters Weiß kreuz　ヴァイス　クロイツ [Plum, Magic Bus] (Finished 3/25) Tags: Shounen Action, Drama  Aya, Youji, Ken, and Omi are the four young men who comprise Weiss Kreuz (WK), an assassin group that eliminates certain menaces to society. Each member has his own trademark fighting style. Aya is adept at fighting with a katana, Youji has mastered the art of strangulation via strings, Ken is lethal with his metal claws, while Omi specializes in a wide array of projectiles. Under the command of a mysterious man known only as "Persia", the WK is dispatched to take care of drug rings, terrorist factions, and the like. But as things go along, they discover that most, if not all, the bad elements they have dealt with are somehow connected to the Takatori family. The Takatori family is rich, powerful, and influential. It seems if the problem is to be nipped in the bud, the WK would have to put an end to one of Japan's most prominent clans. Horrible anime that only cares about revealing personality of pretty boys .   Overall Rating: 4/10

8. Lost Universe ロスト・ユニバース [E&G Films] (Finished 4/26) Tags: Shounen Space Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi Millie Nocturne has one great goal in life: to be the best in the universe - at absolutely everything! But when she tries her hand at being the "best detective," she ends up an unwilling partner with two people who will change her life forever: Kane Blueriver, the psi-blade-wielding master of the starship Swordbreaker, and Canal, the smart-mouthed holographic image of the ship's computer. Join this unlikely trio on their adventures as they hurtle through space facing off against intergalactic crime lords, rogue starships, and hijackers dressed as chickens... and that's just the tip of the asteroid! However you look at it, it's Slayers imitation - the similarities are just striking. I never considered Slayers masterpiece, so it's easy for me - no imitation can surpass that as well. I can't stand the goofy flow itself, so even stronger tilt towards story does not help.   Overall Rating: 6/10

9. Silent Möbius サイレントメビウス [Radix] (Finished 6/26) Tags: Action, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi  The year is 2023 and Alien Beings known as "Lucifer Hawks" have begun invading earth from another dimension. All that stands between them and the enslavement of the human race is the Attacked Mystification Police Department - a special division of the Tokyo Police staffed by women with amazing paranormal abilities. If I try to find something similar that aired before, the closest parallel is Bubblegum Crisis. Main difference now is more mature characters and bigger focus on personalities, overall more serious development which is a big plus. It feels like a skillfully done constructor with many good pieces gathered together. And I don't enjoy it. The reason is pretty simple - it's synopsis-centered episodic show. Let's build a world and watch characters live in it in directed way so that it does not look boring. There is a bit of development constantly so that it does not become monster of the week. The only way to like this show that I see is to end up liking some characters so much that watching it all stops being a chore. Nothing like that happened for me over six episodes. No magic in it, only habitual tropes.   Overall Rating: 6/10

10. Neo Ranga 南海奇皇ネオランガ [Pierrot] (Finished 6/48) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Horror An ancient God called Ranga awakens on an isolated island in the South Pacific where it has been slumbering forgotten by mankind. Three sisters living in Tokyo—Minami, Ushio, and Yuuhi Shimabara—discover they have inherited this Island Kingdom, along with the huge God. When Ranga shows up in Tokyo, it soon becomes a source of wonder and conflict for the three sisters that control Ranga, the people who want to destroy it, and ones who want to use it. That's why I don't like small length episode series. 48 half-length episodes technically make a normal 24-episode series, but with such format there is usually a focus on one thing, so it's a natural playground for experiments. And Neo Ranga is totally experimental , it tries to be comedy with surreal elements, namely animated giant mecha. And I say "tries", because I don't find it funny in the least. So without a coherent story or concentrated humor it's just another weird niche work to seek some sense into.   Overall Rating: 6/10

11. Legend of Basara  [KSS] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Shoujo Adventure, Drama, Romance In a small village, twins are born: a boy, Tatara, and a girl, Sarasa. The prophet Nagi declares that Tatara is the chosen one who will free Japan from the tyrannical rule of the King and his four sons. But when the ruthless Red King slays Tatara, Sarasa must take on her brother's name and responsibilities and embark on a quest to free Japan and deliver vengeance to the Red King. Fantasy shoujo with a lot of bishounens and so many genre stamps and tactical impotence that it irritated me too much .   Overall Rating: 5/10

12. Princess Nine: Kisaragi Joshikou Yakyuubu Princess Nine [Phoenix Entertainment] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Drama, Romance, Sports  Keiko Himuro, Chairman of the Kisuragi School, puts together an all-girl baseball team led by Ryo Hayakawa, daughter of a legendary pitcher, in hopes of proving that girls can compete just as well as boys. Their goal: Koshien Stadium, where only the best teams get the opportunity to play. Another nice spokon constructor with nice visuals and nine girls as a treat. The flow is good and the only stupidity noticed is miss Butterfly from Ace wo Nerae as main tennis rival with only repainted hair color. There's a mix of different sports and enough time for nine girls bonding, but I could not enjoy a spokon, nothing I can do about it.   Overall Rating: 6/10

13. Mahou no Stage Fancy Lala Magical Stage Fancy Lala 魔法のステージ・ファンシーララ [Pierrot] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Idols (Female), Mahou Shoujo, Music Comedy, Drama, Romance Miho Shinohara is a care-free third-grader and an aspiring manga artist. One day, she encounters Mogu and Pigu - two lost fairies disguised as stuffed animals. In exchange for staying at her home until they find a way to return to their own world, the fairies give Miho a special sketch pad and pencil that enable her to magically create real objects from what she draws. With the pen, Miho can also transform into Lala, a beautiful teenage girl created from her manga art. As Lala, she is discovered by a talent agency, and so begins her adventures from an ordinary school girl to a model to an idol singer. Wow, so many references in the synopsis, main ones are Aka-chan no Himitsu and Pretty Sammy. That's a too childish shoujo no matter how I look at it.   Overall Rating: 6/10

14. Brain Powerd ブレンパワード  [Sunrise] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi In the not so distant future much of the earth has been submerged under the sea or destroyed by earthquakes. At the center of the turmoil is the mysterious Orphan. Orphan may or may not be the original cause of the cataclysms. Orphan's goal is to raise a ship hidden deep beneath the sea to the surface, but doing so would result in the destruction of all humans except for the small number which are loyal to Orphan. Orphan's agents pilot mysterious mecha known as Grand Cheres, and search the world for mysterious, giant disks which occasionally appear, flying at high speeds and wrecking much of the countryside, or cities, when they hit the ground. After a dying disc almost kills Hime, a Brain Powerd is born from the disc. Brain Powerds are another type of Mecha, similar to but not the same as Grand Cheres. Hime becomes the Brain Powerd's pilot, forming a symbiotic relationship with the living mecha and joins an International Organization dedicated to stopping Orphan, or at the very least saving humanity should Orphan succeed. A very chaotic and unenthusiastic mecha that seems to look up to Evangelion. Too much cringe to bear.   Overall Rating: 5/10

15. Akihabara Dennou-gumi Cyber Team in Akihabara アキハバラ電脳組 [Production Reed] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Shoujo Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi A "patapi" is a cute mechanical creature which is like a cyber pet. It can eat, sleep, play, and even help out its owners with some stuff. When Hibari Hanakoganei receives a patapi from a prince in her dreams, she is thrilled and names it "Densuke". When mysterious forces try to steal Densuke, Hibari discovers that Densuke is not just an ordinary patapi. Densuke has magical powers that allows it to transform into a powerful cyber-fighter who looks like Hibari. Hibari's friends also receive similar patapis, and together they form the Cyber Team in Akihabara. It's a weird Sailor Moon imitation with focus on ecchi. There's even Takusedo Mask that looks exactly the same. Art style is edgy, so it's not even cute.   Overall Rating: 5/10

16. Jikuu Tenshou Nazca Dimension Movement of Nazca 時空転抄ナスカ [Radix] (Finished 12/12) Tags: Reincarnation Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy Miura Kyoji, a dedicated kendo student, discovers that his shisho (master) Tate Masanari is a reincarnated Incan warrior named Yawaru who wishes to destroy the world to purify it. Kyoji himself is the warrior Bilka, who foiled Yawaru's plans in their previous lives. Yawaru gathers other awakened spirits to release the powers of nature. Now Kyoji must wrestle with his own fate and decide if he is merely a vessel for the reincarnated soul or if he is truly Miura Kyoji and which will be better able to save the world and the future as he knows it. Basically, it's a set of meeting and fights, but since story is miniscule as much as possible time is spent on side characters and past life circumstances.   Overall Rating: 5/10

17. Android Ana Maico 2010 Android Announcer Maico 2010 アンドロイド・アナ　MAICO ２０１０ [Group TAC, Animaruya] (Finished 6/24) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast, Showbiz, Workplace Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi In the year 2010, the Japanese radio industry is in decline. To reverse their flagging ratings, a station staffed with perennial losers makes a daring gamble: to hire the industry's first android on-air host. Maico is cute, but it will take more than novelty to win over the fickle audience -- especially with a crew as inept as this one. Another half-episode length work that I forgot to take out. Just episodic stories during radio broadcast led by android , often concerning some malfunction. Humor did not fit me, but it's easy to watch.   Overall Rating: 6/10

18. Sentimental Journey センチメンタルジャーニー [Sunrise] (Finished 3/12) Tags: Drama, Romance  Sentimental Journey is a collection of twelve short stories about twelve different girls. Though unrelated, there is one common theme that binds the episodes together: each girl's bittersweet experience of first love. Everything that has sentimental in title is treated with prejudice by me. As expected, it's separate stories with focus on imprinting visual and audial images. Packed with all the emotional nostalgy crap you can imagine.   Overall Rating: 5/10

19. Beast Wars Second Chou Seimeitai Transformers ビーストウォーズⅡ（セカンド） 超生命体トランスフォーマー  [Production Reed] (Finished 3/43) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi Beast Wars Second features a new cast of characters set many years in the future, who travel to a post apocalyptic Earth now known as the planet Gaia. The Cybertrons, led by Lio Convoy, are sent to the planet to investigate an unusual change in the planet’s behavior and thus thwart the Destrons, led by Galvatron, who seek to consume the planet’s rich source of energy called Angolmois. Childish mecha with very primitive humor, still humor in mecha is rare.   Overall Rating: 4/10

20. Grander Musashi RV グランダー武蔵ＲＶ [Nippon Animation] (Finished 3/39) Tags: Adventure, Sports  Sequel to Grander Musashi. A young but experienced fisherman named Musashi Kazama and his two friends travel around the world in search of seven mysterious objects of fantastic power called "Legenders", each one in the form of a fish. Legenders are said to grant anyone who catches them the power to change the world. Unfortunately, Musashi ends up competing with several other fishermen who share his ambition of capturing a Legender. Missed the prequel as it was marked for kids, anyway, I consider sequel to be for kids as well. Need to have at least some affinity towards fishing to like it.   Overall Rating: 5/10

21. DT Eightron ＤＴエイトロン [Sunrise] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Shounen Action, Sci-Fi Shu is from Datania, a country that makes young children work. He and his friends were trying to escape when they met the Returners. The Returners are some kind of rebels to Datania. Shu goes with the Returners to fight Zero, Nines, and his men who are after DT, a special substance inside humans. Watched it before as a run through all dystopia anime. Sadly, it inherits the problem of all old anime - with 26+ episodes scale there are a lot of moves that don't advance the story or that can be considered fillers - a shorter format would be appreciated here . But besides that it has dystopia with unique feeling and a lot of different cool characters that are interesting to watch interacting. I was really interested in where this all was going, so kept watching. The turning point between partial boredom and sincere interest for me probably was episode 8 when story got bigger scale as a lot more allies showed up. After that it's just a travel show with pursuit around a post-apocalyptical world. There are very atmospheric settlements on the way, There's also this mystery of Eightron that does not follow owner's commands and behaves in seemingly in irrational ways each time. It would be totally understandable to skip travelling part and get from episode 8-9 straight to episode 24 if you only want the main story. Still with this constant beating around the bush can't call it a masterpiece in current 26 episode state. It feels that there's no decent source material behind it all even though I watched it fully twice now. It's a good level for improvisation, but with such loose concept it's just pointless.   Overall Rating: 6/10

22. Alice SOS アリスＳＯＳ [J.C.Staff] (Finished 3/28) Tags: Adventure  Takashi loves reading books and especially loves "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". One day, he buys some used books, and he finds one book thrown in. When Takashi opens the book, "the God of Math" M-1 appeared. Takashi is told that Alice is kidnapped, and he's asked to rescue her by M-1. And Takashi goes on an adventure in Wonderland to rescue Alice. Not translated. Concept is laughable, but it does not say much about contents. First of all, graphics are simple and resemble sketches at times. Situations are random and often absurd. Humor is below average, as for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10

23. Nessa no Haou Gandalla Gandalla: The King of Burning Desert 熱沙の覇王ガンダーラ [Production Reed] (Finished 6/26) Tags: Music Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Supernatural A dispute between young band members and an unfortunate choice of melody inadverdently draws them all into the demonic horror known as the desert-god Gandalla. Only two episodes have English subs, others are available in French that I'm proficient in. It takes a while to understand the concept as the beginning is all about musical band internal squabbles. 6th episode is the first one that focuses on nomad in the deserts who first encountered the Ctulchu, but it all develops so slowly that you'll get bored much faster .   Overall Rating: 5/10

24. YAT Anshin! Uchuu Ryokou 2 ＹＡＴ　安心！宇宙旅行 2 [Group TAC] (Finished 3/25) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi The space traveling company, YAT, is thrown into the unknown realms of the outer space. At the same time, the group encounters the psychic, Maron, and scientist, Note. Subsequently, the two of them are attacked by the evil monarch, Ganon. Note was captured and taken away after suffering an attack from one of Ganon's followers, Baras. In order to rescue Note, the group had to use the instantaneous portable machine which Note invented so as to travel to Ganon's planet. However, no one knows where the planet is... Not translated. Only for prequel fans.   Overall Rating: 5/10

25. Himitsu no Akko-chan 3 ひみつのアッコちゃん 第３期 [Toei Animation] (Finished 0/44) Tags: Mahou Shoujo, School  In the Kagami household, the old Western palm-sized mirror has been passed from from generations to generations. Akko-chan has been taught about the importance of the mirror and when she finally receives it from her mother, she cherishes it with all her might. One day, in the midst of a disturbance made by Taishou and his gang, Akko-chan accidentally broke the mirror. She made a grave and buried the broken pieces in the backyard. That night, Akko-chan was awakened by a flash of light and a kind voice which belongs to the Queen of the Mirror Kingdom. The Queen expresses her gratitude to Akko-chan for valuing the mirror so much and offers her a gift—a magical compact mirror. Whenever Akko-chan sings the magical words, she will transform into anything she wants. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10

26. Ginga Hyouryuu Vifam 13 銀河漂流バイファム13 [Sunrise] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi On July 27 1996, Mr. Takeyuki Kanda died suddenly at the age of 52. Born August 11 1943, he was known as the director of several animations including VIFAM. Thus in 1998 a new TV series of VIFAM was broadcasted in memory of him. Televised 1998/3/21-1998/10/3 (in Kansai area), it contains 26 episodes, and like Twelve people disappeared it is a sidestory, but some new features are added: new persons, new RV, etc. The story could be inserted between #22 and #26 (#24 and #25 are digests) of VIFAM, and is divided into three parts: Act I (#1-14), Interlude (#15-18), Act II (#19-26), if we name them (in reality Act I and II have little relationship). It could also be the New Testament, but it is now regarded as an apocrypha (or worse, a pseudo-VIFAM). There are several reasons to say so, but to watch the story is the best way to understand them. Not translated. Original story was not good enough even in the 1980. Additional story with the same characters is only for those who did not have enough of Vifam.   Overall Rating: 6/10

27. Takoyaki Mant-Man Takoyaki Capeman たこやきマントマン [Pierrot] (Finished 0/77) Tags: Comedy, Sci-Fi  In order to protect the earth from the aliens, the god of Takoyaki created the five warriors of justice, Takoyaki Mantle Man. They risk their lives for justice. Takoyaki Mantle Man has round face, and wear a white cape and octopus belt as their symbol. Red is a leader whose special attack is Pickled Ginger Clash. Green is an energetic and hasty boy whose special attack is Green Onion Nunchaku. Pink is a precocious girl whose special attack is Okaka Flash. Blue is a sweet crybaby whose special attack is Seaweed Buster. Yellow is a cheerful boy whose special attack is Tenkasu Beam. Takoyaki Mantle Man is cute and strong heroic characters, friendly to children. Their enemies are too silly to hate. It is a very lively and amusing story. Not found. It's super childish anyway.   Overall Rating: 0/10

28. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou ヨコハマ買い出し紀行 [Ajia-Do] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Seinen Iyashikei Sci-Fi, Slice of Life SAfter a disaster leaves the world in a state of decline, the remaining human population lives out their lives peacefully and quietly in the twilight of the human age. Alpha Hatsuseno is an android who works at a cafe bordering Yokohama that rarely gets visitors, and is waiting for her owner to return. One day, another android, the courier Kokone Takatsu, brings Alpha a package from her master. Inside is a camera, given to Alpha so she can take pictures to reminisce about. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is a slow and contemplative anime that follows an android girl as she takes beautiful pictures and experiences touching moments, all amidst a calming sense of peace. Managed to watch it in the past, but now I'm too cynical to fall for the set traps. Can't see any value in it now, just lasting SOL with painfully long still scenes.   Overall Rating: 6/10

29. Golgo 13: Queen Bee ゴルゴ１３　ＱＵＥＥＮ　ＢＥＥ [Tezuka Productions, Filmlink International] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast, Military Action, Adventure, Drama Master assassin Golgo 13 is hired by the advisor of presidential candidate Robert Hardy to assassinate "Queen Bee," the beautiful and deadly leader of a South American guerilla army. Golgo, however, finds this job too easy and digs further information to find out the true connection between Hardy and Queen Bee. First movie was only visually prominent as it consisted of constant action. As for me, this one is better as it states Golgo principles better, there are many notable characters and some kind of story. Still nothing prominent.   Overall Rating: 6/10

30. Queen Emeraldas クィーン・エメラルダス [OLM] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi The story revolves around a race that seeks to dominate the galaxy. A lone mysterious female warrior, known to others as Emeraldas sails the endless planets of the universe- in her Seas of Star ship- fighting the tyranny of that merciless race. She is tormented by the memory of her lost love. Even in OVA that is titled Queen Esmeraldas protagonist is the usual for Matsumoto lost in repetitions brat , and Emeraldas just happens to be around to save him each time. It irritated me even more than usual.   Overall Rating: 5/10

31. Yume de Aetara If I See You in My Dreams 夢で逢えたら [J.C.Staff] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Drama, Romance, Ecchi Yume de Aetara is a story about one guy Fuguno Masuo (a complete loser when it comes to relationship with women) and two girls: Shiozaki Nagisa and Hamaoka Miho. Since the story is pretty simple (and hilariously funny), further explanation will spoil everything (take the hint: watch it yourself!) Two virgins awkward love story. Of course it becomes the usual gag comedy about love triangles very soon, and both loners instantly become super popular... just because. You've seen one such show - you've seen them all.   Overall Rating: 6/10

32. Kyoukasho ni Nai! Very Private Lesson 教科書にないッ! [AIC] (Finished 2/2) Tags: School Comedy, Romance, Ecchi Oraku is a lucky man. He has a comfortable job teaching at a local High School. He has Satsuki, a fellow teacher whom he hopes to marry someday. He has Aya, a beautiful student who has fallen in love with him. He has Aya's father, a wealthy man who wants so much for his little girl to be happy that he has sent her to live with Oraku. Oraku is a very lucky man. Of course Aya loves nothing more than to come on to Oraku by lounging around his apartment half naked. Unfortunately for Oraku, Aya's father happens to be wealthy because he is a major crime boss, and he will have Oraku slowly murdered if Aya doesn't remain absolutely pure. Now Oraku must not only restrain himself, but also protect Aya from the hordes of men and woman at school who'd love to get their hands on her body. And of course, if Satsuki or any of the other teachers find out that Oraku is living with one of his students, he will be permanently dismissed from the teaching profession! Oh yes Oraku is lucky... It's yet another story of a pushy girl getting to live together with a guy, only pretexts differ each time. Again, there would be little novelty if similar OVA is seen already. The novelty is that there is time for school bullying which is taken here way too lightly that it should have been, the same goes for kidnapping. But at least it can be used for obligatory protection action in the finale. I've seen better versions of this story.   Overall Rating: 5/10

33. Geobreeders: File-X Chibi Neko Dakkan Geobreeders: (File-X) Get Back The Kitty ジオブリーダーズ　File-X　ちびねこ奪還 [Chaos Project] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Comedy, Supernatural Taba and the Girls of Kagura Total Security Inc. specialize in jobs where their enemy are "Phantom Cats". They have a few run ins with the various Government agencies, as well as a gang of Phantom Cats; blowing up a lot of stuff along the way. When one of their own is kidnapped, they have to get her back. One episode to show how agency acts, one to get acquainted with the rest of the team and finish another case, one for actual teammate rescue. Thanks to clear structure, action tempo is good, but I fail to find anything worthy of notice here - just another action with fanservice and supposed comedy.   Overall Rating: 5/10

34. Psychic Force サイキック フォース [Triangle Staff] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shounen Super Power Action, Sci-Fi There are two kinds of people in the world, normal and psychics. Psychics are rare, powerful and feared. Burn Griffith met and befriended one of them, Keith Evans, two years ago. Now he has been looking for his friend, but when he finally succeeds, something's not right. The world has changed, and so has Keith. Game adaptations are usually so-so, psychics make everything worse, so result was foreseeable. Add a lot of confusion and jumping narration, and a headache is ensured.   Overall Rating: 5/10

35. Seishoujo Kantai Virgin Fleet Virgin Fleet 聖少女艦隊バージンフリート [AIC] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Military, School Fantasy, Sci-Fi In the pre-WWII era, Nakano Naval Academy's special school for girls is codenamed "Virgin Fleet". These girls are gifted with a special form of power known as "Virgin Energy". With the fear of another Russo-Japanese war imminent, rookie pilot Shiokaze Umino must hone her powers to save Japan from complete destruction. So that's why Russo-Japanese was won... Execution is also hectic. Let's just forget it existed...   Overall Rating: 4/10

36. Shin Otokogi 新・男樹 [-] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Seinen Organized Crime - Not translated. Yakuza stories rarely get continuations, but this one was different from the start because of the scale - aim was to rule criminal world nation-wide. Cruel and absolutely unbending, even in prison. Prison episode reminds Ashita no Joe movie , so quite all right .   Overall Rating: 6/10

37. Crayon Shin-chan Movie 06: Dengeki! Buta no Hizume Daisakusen 映画 クレヨンしんちゃん　電撃！ブタのヒヅメ大作戦 [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen School Comedy, Slice of Life, Ecchi A full-scale action film with tastes of the "'007" series and Jackie Chan's movies. The members of the secret organization for world peace 'SML', code-named 'Oiroke' (sexual attractiveness) and 'Kinniku' (muscle), who join hands with the Nohara family and Kasukabe Defense Forces (Shinnosuke Nohara and his mates: Kazama-kun, Nene-chan, Masao-kun and Bo-chan), and fight against the evil organization 'Buta no Hizume' (Pig's Hoof), who tries to conquer the world by using a computer virus. I was starting to lose hope in Shin-Chan movies, but this one is again on a decent level. Trashy, with toilet humor , puns and poor karaoke - everything is as we like it. Still can't call it a masterpiece level.   Overall Rating: 6/10

38. Totsuzen! Neko no Kuni Banipal Witt Catnapped とつぜん！猫の国　バニパルウィット [Triangle Staff] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure  Fifth-grader, Toriyasu, and his little sister, Meeko, have a dog named Papadoll who has been missing for the past week. One night, two cats take the two children to the distant cat land of Banipal Witt, where Papadoll was abducted. Because of his long exposure to Banipal Witt's sun, Papadoll mutated into a giant dog monster, terrorizing the city under the control of the evil Princess Buburina, who has the curse of turning anyone she touches into balloons. Toriyasu, Meeko, and the cats have until the next sunrise to turn Papadoll and the ballooned citizens of Banipal Witt back to normal and return to their home planet—or end up with the same fate as their dog. It's a movie for children. Maybe it's not as cheezy as usual and contains some violence , but it does not change the fact.   Overall Rating: 6/10

39. Rennyo Monogatari 蓮如物語 [Toei Animation] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Historical Drama  A dramatization based on the novel "The Story of Rennyo" by Hiroyuki Itsuki. Not found.   Overall Rating: 0/10

40. Mofa Ya Ma Grandma and Her Ghosts 魔法亞媽 [-] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy  The seventh lunar month in the Chinese calendar is the ghost month. DouDou goes to stay with Grandma on the lunar 1st of July, the day the host gate is opened. Grandma performs Taoist ceremonies for the deceased and communicates with ghosts. One day, DouDou accidentally lets the devil out of an urn. The devil possesses a sleepy house cat and tells DouDou that he can see invisible friends by applying Grandma's tears into his eye-lid. Little does DouDou know that this is part of the devil's plot to eat all of the ghosts. It's in Chinese with subs . It's about different ghosts who both grandma and kid can see. It looks up to Studio Ghibli. Not bad overall, but of topic I seriously hate.   Overall Rating: 5/10

41. Cowboy Bebop: Yose Atsume Blues Cowboy Bebop: Session XX - Mish-Mash Blues カウボーイビバップ よせあつめブルース [Sunrise] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Space Sci-Fi Due to the violence portrayed in the Cowboy Bebop world and violence in Japanese schools, the series was briefly cancelled and an extra session was created as a final episode to the first thirteen episodes aired. Called "Session XX: Mish-Mash Blues," a compilation of clips from previous episodes, it aired on June 26, 1998 on TV Tokyo. The episode was never released on DVD. In it, the characters provide a philosophical commentary and end with the words: This Is Not The End. You Will See The Real "Cowboy Bebop" Someday! A very short mashup of citations being commented on. Ok'ish , but definitely not something outstanding.   Overall Rating: 6/10

Share this: