Anime of the Year 1999-II Spring - Taiho Shichau zo The Movie

Taiho Shichau zo The Movie managed to jump to the last wagon of the masterpiece train.

1. Turn A Gundam ∀ Gundam ∀ガンダム  [Sunrise, Nakamura Production] (Finished 3/50) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi It is the Correct Century, two millennia after a devastating conflict which left the world broken. Earth is now mostly uninhabitable, and thus a remnant of humanity has resided on the Moon while the Earth and its few survivors recover. For years, the "Moonrace," the people of the Moon, have continued to check if Earth is fit for resettlement. A boy named Rolan Cehack and two others are sent down to Earth for a reconnaissance mission. Rolan ends up spending a year on the planet working for the Heim Family, aristocrats living in a Victorian-like society. This family, like others of similar wealthy status, celebrates one's coming of age with a ceremony involving a giant stone statue known as the "White Doll." To Rolan's surprise, the Moonrace suddenly touches down on Earth with the intent of taking it by force. During the attack, the White Doll is broken apart, revealing a mobile suit called the "Turn A Gundam" inside. With Rolan in its cockpit, the Turn A causes a standoff between the forces of Earth and Moon. The young pilot, along with the people of both sides, must keep the peace and avoid another all-out, catastrophic war. Gundam has come with a new epic! Or so they probably think because they take such ridiculously slow pacing to stretch it all to 50 episodes that it's hard to stay awake for long. Nothing of interest happens in first three episodes, and then - bam - air attack without any signs of it. Feels like War of the Worlds as one tech side destroys 2nd steam tech side, but steam tech side finds a Gundam literally in a rock, who could have thought . Characters are just laughable. It's all even more silly and boring than usual.   Overall Rating: 5/10

2. Monster Farm: Enbanseki no Himitsu モンスターファーム [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 3/48) Tags: Isekai Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy Genki is a boy who loves playing video games. One day he's zapped into the world of Monster Rancher and meets the girl Holly and the monsters Mochi, Suezo, Golem, Tiger and Hare. Together, they are searching for a way to revive the Phoenix, which is the only monster capable of stopping the evil Moo. If Pokemon had adventures in fantasy land, they'd look something like that. Too primitive for adults.   Overall Rating: 5/10

3. To Heart トゥハート [OLM] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Harem, School Drama, Romance For as long as Akari can remember, she and Hiroyuki have always been friends. But with time, everything changes, and her feelings have turned into something more. As a new semester of high school begins, will the two childhood friends come closer together or drift further apart? Join Hiroyuki, Akari and all their friends—the bubbly Shiho, the quiet Serika, the lovely Kotone, and more—in this heartwarming tale of love, relationships and friendship! I've always loathed this franchise with all my heart. There might be some more decent iteration on the way, but this introduction is epithome of boredom .   Overall Rating: 5/10

4. Juubee-chan: Lovely Gantai no Himitsu Jubei-chan the Ninja Girl: Secret of the Lovely Eyepatch 十兵衛ちゃん ーラブリー眼帯の秘密 [Madhouse] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama  Jiyu Nanohana is an ordinary schoolgirl until she runs across a scatterbrained 300 year old samurai who tells her that she is the reincarnation of Yagyu Jubei. With the help of the "Lovely Eyepatch" she transforms into the legendary swordsman whenever she needs to use his awesome fighting ability, which she needs to do quite often as a rival clan is dead set on conquering Yagyu to satisfy an old family grudge. Famous samurai reincarnation is quite a frequent plot to see nowadays. I guess it might still be fresh, but it's totally mundane and uninventive, as for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10

5. Dual! Parallel Lun-Lun Monogatari Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure デュアル！ぱられルンルン物語 [AIC] (Finished 4/13) Tags: Harem, Isekai, Mecha Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi Kazuki Yotsuga is your regular average nerd in high-school, except he isn't smart. He has this website which relates to his visions that only he can see. His visions are about robots who keep fighting each other battle after battle. One day he is sent to a "parallel world" where these visions exist and he joins a company to fight back against the devious RaRa, who want to take over the world. Fusion of Tenchi and Evangelion. But the mere thought that if Tenchi with all his harem are distributed by mecha it's going to get great - that means considering viewers stupid as corks.   Overall Rating: 5/10

6. Arc the Lad アークザラッド [Bee Train] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi  The story follows Elk, a bounty hunter in some strange futuristic world. On this world archaic but advanced technology exists side by side with primitive attitudes, beasts and magic. In other words it's got a bit of everything. It also has an evil conspiracy who are able to produce powerful monsters called chimera, who can also appear as human. Naturally it is not long before Elk has rescued a young female beast-master and gained himself some serious enemies. I never had access to console RPGs, so tried to learn plots through anime. And it's indeed very RPG-like story as we have some mysteries and lots of aimless wandering to chase those mysteries. I usually say that I'd cut length in two, but in this case more radical cut might be required. It has its small moments and stories, but they can't justify 9 hours of stale development.   Overall Rating: 6/10

7. Corrector Yui コレクター・ユイ [Nippon Animation] (Finished 3/52) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi  Yui is an average schoolgirl who lives in a future where all computers are supported by a single global network known as COMNET. Yui is a computer-illiterate girl who after a computer-lab accident is approached by IR, a raccoon looking corrector computer program, which tells her she must save COMNET. She must stop the rogue A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) computer program known as Grosser and his hench-programs from taking over the world. Grosser was originally designed to be that manager of all of COMNET. At first she's very reluctant to play the heroine because of her complete lack of knowledge and ability with computers. To save COMNET she must find and gain the trust of the other seven wayward corrector programs. They must also find the creator or COMNET Professor Inukai, to help stop Grosser for good. It's basically usual mahou shoujo, just in virtual reality and fighting viruses. Episodic and senseless.   Overall Rating: 5/10

8. Gokudou-kun Manyuuki Gokudo ゴクドーくん漫遊記 [Trans Arts] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy  It all starts when Gokudou steals a pouch from a fortuneteller, thinking that it contains a gem. Instead, it turns out to be a rock, from which emerges Djinn. The genie grants Gokudou the standard three wishes, but our anti-hero doesn't think heavily about his wishes. Gokudou does get his wishes, though not exactly in the fashion that he expected. The best thing he gets out of his wishes is Honou no Maken, a magical sword that enables its owner to do fire attacks and it can be summoned from anywhere in the world. Even with an enchanted sword, Gokudou doesn't get much respect. He gets turned into a woman by Djinn, who is also a shapeshifter. He is followed by Rubette La Late, a potential love interest who is more interested in adventure, karaoke and outperforming Gokudou. He gets whapped on the head a lot, especially by the fortuneteller who reappears throughout the series just to plague Gokudou it seems. Later in the series, he gets another sidekick, a former evil magician named Prince, who is more handsome and a better womanizer than Gokudou. If I try to find something similar to compare, it would be Slayers, but with more annoying characters and even wilder nonsense humor. It's unusual for story to move in arcs instead of episodical stories, but with so much irritating stuff I find trouble enjoying anything in it .   Overall Rating: 5/10

9. Betterman ベターマン [Sunrise] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Mecha, Psychological Action, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi A deadly virus known as "Algernon" has attacked humanity with vicious meaning. At the forefront of the battle is the mystifying Akamatsu Industries—disguised as a heavy machine factory in Tokyo, this undercover organization uses neural enhanced weapons known as NeuroNoids to battle Algernon. Also helping with their secret efforts is the mysterious mutant who is only known as "Betterman." It's a creepy action about genetics modification with concept of monster of the week with a bit of everything on the side. It's not just not funny, but rather harmful.   Overall Rating: 5/10

10. Kaikan Phrase 快感 フレーズ [Studio Hibari] (Finished 3/44) Tags: Shoujo Music, Showbiz Drama, Romance After the break up of their old band, guitarist Yuki & drummer Santa decide to form a new one. They recruit bass player Towa, young guitarist Atsuro, and after much persuasion, vocalist Sakuya. Together they form Lucifer and they struggle to make it in the music business, and also to stay together. As well, they have to deal with personal issues, such as parental objections, and watching their old bands succeed ahead of them. Sakuya is the most troubled band member, as he has to deal with his tragic past, and his relationship with teenaged lyricist Aine. Many hot-tempered bishounens show off, pass through problems of their youth and throw something like "I think I'm in love" casually. I'm glad I'm not target audience , because I could not care less .   Overall Rating: 5/10

11. A.D. Police (TV) A.D. Police: To Protect and Serve アドバンスドポリス [Plum] (Finished 3/12) Tags: Adult Cast, Mecha Action, Sci-Fi Set a few years before Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040, A.D. Police chronicles the tales of Mega-Tokyo's special police division designed to control rogue Boomers in the city. A.D. Police Officer Kenji Sasaki faces a major dilemma: he loses another partner to a rabid boomer. A day after he's sent off-duty, he receives a new partner in the form of German cop Hans Kleif. Funny thing is that Kenji sucker-punched Hans at a bar the night before. Not only does Kenji face the everyday task of controlling Boomers, he has to learn to adjust with his new partner.  Catch many criminals and then will be able to catch even smarter criminals. That might work for an RPG, but episodic concept is bad for any anime. Content is generic cop show with some body horror.   Overall Rating: 5/10

12. Seihou Tenshi Angel Links Angel Links 星方天使エンジェルリンクス [Sunrise] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Space Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi Li Meifon is the head of a free, no expenses paid protection/security agency for escorting ships across outer space. Though only 16, she posesses great skill and leadership qualities while commanding her crew aboard their ship, the "Angel Links." However, some unpleasant memories begin to trouble her and she starts questioning her own past and reason for existence. Join Li Meifon and the rest of the Angel Links crew on their adventures through the Oracion star system as they battle pirates, government organizations, and a Tao master, all while finally uncovering Meifon's dark and mysterious past. Characters are all about cool looks, and no interesting story is going on. Sadly it's not that easy to repeat success of Outlaw Star or Cowboy Bebop, and there are enough of forgotten failed rivals like Moby Dick .   Overall Rating: 5/10

13. Power Stone パワーストーン  [Pierrot] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Historical Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy An ancient legend tells of a magical Powerstone that granted its owner any wish desired. Adventurers from all over the globe clash as they seek this mystical gem. Based upon the Dreamcast game, POWERSTONE tries to entertain us with the story behind the game's premise. The plot begins with our hero, Fokker, training to be a fighter like his idol, Vargas. There's official dub and no sub for this game adaptation, and that's how I instantly learn that it's a safe kid's show that no one cares about. Let's not waste time and move on.   Overall Rating: 5/10

14. Tenshi ni Narumon! I'm Gonna Be an Angel! 天使になるもんっ！ [Pierrot] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Vampire  Comedy, Fantasy, Romance Yuusuke was just a normal kid going to high school. Then one day, the cute and behaloed Noelle fell, quite literally, into his life, naked as a baby and every bit as innocent. Before he can even fathom what's just happened, Yuusuke is inducted into a rather odd family of otherworldly beings. Papa is a Frankenstein monster with a taste for calisthenics. Mama is a gorgeous lady with a penchant for "round objects" -- really! The eldest sister, Sara, is literally invisible; the brother, Gabriel, is a teenage vampire with an attitude problem; and the youngest sister, Ruka, loves inventing things. There's a disapproving Grandma, who's a witch to the nth degree, and her vulture familiar. All Yuusuke wanted was for the beautiful Natsumi to even notice his attention, but now he has an angel-in-training to follow him wherever he goes. And Noelle, too, has a guide on her path to being an angel, the mysterious Michael. This anime manages to stop just a few steps from total absurd, but I'm having trouble even with just high amounts of absurd. Generates too much headache.   Overall Rating: 5/10

15. Eden's Bowy エデンズ　ボゥイ  [Studio Deen] (Finished 6/26) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi Yorn gazes up at two massive cities floating in the sky and dreams of discovering their mysteries. Without warning, those mysteries come looking for him. Edenic assassins murder his father and Yorn is next on the hit list. A nameless old man and a mysterious young girl help Yorn on his quest to find his long-lost mother and the truth. Known as the God Hunter, Yorn leads a race against the dark designs of the technological overlords. It's a fantasy shounen, but it also has mechanical enemies and memories from modern town life, so it's more of a fusion with present like Yu Yu Hakusho. Boy is younger than usual and has a family sword that can kill gods, and thus he is called God hunter. He travels with a girl who transfers in an older fighting girl and seems to have some relation to angels. And there's one old guy who they travel together just because they seem to travel in the same direction. And the rest we need to learn from encounters with some enemies, different locations and some new acquaintances. And this vagueness of concept is supposed to be point of attraction. But if I look at it from the side - it does not have a captivating story, it does not have mature interesting characters, it does not even has goals of characters. Guess it's mostly for those who can appreciate ongoing shounens and learn characters little by little while following some faraway goal and getting into situations. I can't stand pretty much any generally acclaimed shounens like hunter x hunter or naruto or pretty much everything similar, so such inability to present a story in any acceptable manner only irritates .   Overall Rating: 6/10

16. Shin Hakkenden 神八剣伝  [Public & Basic] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Martial Arts Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Based on the long cherished, classic Japanese novel Nanso Satomi Hakkenden by Bakin Kyokutei Takizawa (1767), a modified version of it was made into animation. Taking place in the future, during this time wars were occuring in heaven, mostly for possession between the eight moons created by the savior Fuse that surrounded God's land. When the war ended, there was only one ruling family - that of the Oowaris, and the remaining son gained control of all the moons of heaven, except for one. Meiten, the moon of the pope, where people refrained from war and were therefore out of it's terms. Eight people. Each from one of the eight moons. Each possessing one of the jewels - the elements that compose Earth. They are those who are destined to become saviors of humanity. All of them have sacrificed for these jewels, and are determined to complete their duty to Queen Fuse who entrusted these to them. When the mad emperor Kai threatens to revive a ghost who wants to prevent the restoration of Earth, these eight must battle using the powers given by their jewels in order to create Earth and defeat those who want to prevent it. So they all go to Kusanagi, the ship in the center of God's land. They must gather the jewels in the key called Yatsufusa at Kusanagi's center, in order to create Earth. Basically, I can't enjoy such mess of fantasy , religion and scifi setting. Scenes shift places in fast progression, and there's often no background or only a very basic one. A lot of people are shown in random order, and by the end of episode 6 party only started to gather. Awful directorship , designs and visuals overall don't add motivation.   Overall Rating: 5/10

17. Soreyuke! Uchuu Senkan Yamamoto Youko (1999) それゆけ!宇宙戦艦　ヤマモト・ヨーコ [J.C.Staff] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi  In the year 2999: humanity is split into two factions, Terra and Ness, in a war fought by starships. One of the foremost of the pilots is the cocky teenager Yamamoto Yohko, and during one of her missions, she and her crew are sucked into a temporal anomaly (a la Star Trek) that sends her back to our time. Amnesiac, she only thinks of herself as a typical high school student - until a course of events sends her back to her ship the TA-29, with her newfound friends fighting at her side in a war that looks suspiciously like an arcade game (complete with 100 yen ignition costs!). I hoped this franchise would die quietly after two OVAs. Despite being a reset rather than continuation, miracle did not happen and series developed the same concept of maximally unserious rivalry parties with much character interaction.   Overall Rating: 5/10

18. Masou Kishin Cybuster Cybuster 魔装機神サイバスター [Production Reed] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Shounen Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi In an enviromentally wrecked future Tokyo, a young man named Ken Ando joins an organization called DC. Little does he realize that his fate and that of Earth will be linked to a mysterious mecha from another world. This is mecha that wants to look like mecha from 1970s in 1999. Its sin is grave.   Overall Rating: 5/10

19. Saiyuuki (OVA) Saiyuki 最遊記  [Tokyo Kids] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shounen Mythology Adventure, Supernatural The story of Sanzo and his three companions in their quest to the west, to stop the resurrection of Gyuumao. On the way they are fighting youkai, getting into trouble and helping the townspeople. I never could watch more than couple episodes of Saiyuuki series, now I finally understand where jeep and so different fighting techniques come from. Can't say OVA put me in awe, though.   Overall Rating: 5/10

20. Tenamonya Voyagers てなもんやボイジャーズ [Pierrot] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Ecchi Paraila was an agent for a war organization in the space, but suddenly the supreme court of planets accused her of betrayal and she was forced to be a fugitive to escape from jail. Now she forms a team with a clueless school teacher, a bazooka lover girl and Paraila's former sidekick. They will battle against Paraila's enemies, and try to go to earth to escape from space justice. A surprisingly decent feeling comedy with high production values. But it's not finished, so above average is the maximum score that's available for it.   Overall Rating: 6/10

21. Tokimeki Memorial: Forever With You ときめきメモリアル 〜forever with you〜 [Pierrot] (Finished 2/2) Tags: School Drama, Romance Tokimeki Memorial brings together the twelve young girls from Kirameki High School, but revolves around the main girl, Fujisaki Shiori. The story starts at the beginning of the third school year, which is the last year before the main character can choose a girl and date her at the graduation. Source material is only slightly better than To Heart, so outcome is obvious.   Overall Rating: 5/10

22. Samurai Spirits 2: Asura Zanmaden Samurai Spirits 2 サムライスピリッツ2 アスラ斬魔伝 [Ajia-Do] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Martial Arts, Samurai, Super Power Action, Fantasy One hundred years after their deaths at the hands of a former colleage, six legendary holy warriors are reborn to seek justice against the teammate who betrayed them into the hands of an evil god. Based upon one of the most popular video games of all time, Samurai Shodown is a sprawling feature-length saga of reincarnation and revenge, featuring some of the most spectacular battle sequences ever animated! Join Charlotte, Wan Fu, Nakoruru, Galford and Tamtam as they search the feudal province of Edo questing for their lost comrade, Haohmaru, and their sworn nemesis Shirou Amakusa. Will the followers of the divine light triumph over the forces of the dark, or is the course of history destined to repeat itself? Before their hundred-year journey has ended, six samurai will prove that the only thing stronger than their holy blades is the steel of their wills! It's actually an improvement as characters are shown in natural environments and only by the middle baddie shows up, and afterwards it's again just damage management to show personalities and not fight.   Overall Rating: 6/10

23. Melty Lancer メルティランサー [Gonzo] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Space Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Meltylancer is a Galaxy Police Organization unit comprised by six girls, all of which who have their own special skills and talents. A year has passed since the unit's disbandment, but a new threat leaves the GPO no choice but to recall all the members. With a new commander and a new aide, Meltylancer is deployed once again. As game adaptation, creators had to play safe, so it ended up with average action and weak comedy.   Overall Rating: 5/10

24. Taiho Shichau zo The Movie You're Under Arrest The Movie 逮捕しちゃうぞ　the MOVIE [Studio Deen] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Adult Cast, Detective, Workplace Action, Comedy, Drama Bokutou Precinct rarely deals with criminals more nefarious than speeding sportscar drivers. So when Officers Nikaido Yoriko and Aoi Futaba find a cache of illegal firearms in a stolen car, and a rash of traffic control malfunctions snarls traffic along Tokyo's streets, it is up to Tokyo's finest to figure out what's gone wrong. And of course, it'll take the talents of Kobayakawa Miyuki and Tsujimoto Natsumi to crack the case. But will Miyuki's trusty Mini-Pat and Natsumi's fierce determination be enough to stop a devious mastermind from exploiting the weaknesses of the system and crippling Tokyo—and the world—for good? Series lacked cases scale and implemented too much whacky comedy. This movie is many steps in the right direction. I already gave masterpieces to such movies as Patlabor 2 and Roujin Z , and this one is on comparable level.   Overall Rating: 7/10

25. Crayon Shin-chan Movie 07: Bakuhatsu! Onsen Wakuwaku Daikessen 映画 クレヨンしんちゃん　爆発！温泉わくわく大決戦 [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen School Comedy, Slice of Life, Ecchi The Nohara family and "Onsen G-Men", the secret government agency maintaining all the hot springs in Japan, fight against "Yuzame", a bath-hating terrorist organization plotting to wipe out all the hot springs in Japan. Movie 6 was just one step from the masterpiece, but this one is an unfunny drawback again.   Overall Rating: 5/10

26. Marco: Haha wo Tazunete Sanzenri 母をたずねて三千里 [Nippon Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Drama  In the 19th century, Genoa (Italy), 9-year-old Marco must face separation from his mother Anna, who leaves for work in Argentina to escape heavy taxes and a deep economic depression. Remaining at home with his father-a doctor at the hospital for the poor-Marco cannot help but miss his mother. When Anna suddenly stops writing to them, Marco becomes anxious about her and decides to travel all the way to Argentina by himself. Marco sets out a long and arduous adventure of over 10,000 miles. All he carries with him is love, courage, friendship and a longing to see his mother again. The story will take you on an exciting journey across the Atlantic, the Andes, and the spiritual border as we watch Marco come of age. Old series from 70s turned into a movie. There was little chance I could like it, but with horrible tearjerkers it's just repulsive.   Overall Rating: 5/10

27. Zeno: Kagirinaki Ai ni ゼノ かぎりなき愛に [-] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Drama Zeno: Kagirinaki Ai ni is a movie about life and work of Brother Zenon Zebrowski, a Polish missionary in Japan. Brother Zenon was renown for his charitable work among victims of war and the poor in Japan. Life of a missionary, as expected, without anything even remotely interesting.   Overall Rating: 5/10

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