From: pckyip@athena.mit.edu (Patrick C Yip)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime
Subject: Guide to PROCO ROSSO
Date: 13 Apr 92 23:17:31 GMT
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

This is the background information (characters, time and place) of PORCO ROSSO
the recent anime effort by Miyazaki. I got it from a Chinese magazine 
(so expect some mistranslation of names :)

TIME:

  The Twenties. Aircrafts were invented during the WWI, which was about
10 years ago.

PLACE:

  At a coastal city in Italy. Many "airborne" pirates were doing their
"business" near the city. They used their aircrafts to attack shipping
nearby.

CHARACTER:

  PORCO ROSSO: Our hero in this anime. He is a bounty hunter preying on
those "airborne" pirates. He is such a skilled pilot and successful hunter
that all pirates will avoid catching sight of his red plane at any cost.

	       The real name of Porco is Marco Bakerton, and he used to 
be the ace pilot of the Royal Italia Air Force. The experience of the 
war made him dislike any war, and since the Europe looks set to slip into
another war, he decided to resign, despite a good offer of honor from
the military. He later reappeared with a new face -- a pig-like face and
adopted the name: Porco Rosso (Red Pig).

`	       Since then, he lived a life of pirate hunter. He always
claims that he only interests in money and women, but is it really true?

	       Hero always finds his name associated with some "femme 
fatale". Eevn though Porco apparently doesn't care much about any individual
woman, he does put his attention on this woman....


  GINA: Yes, her name is Gina, a singer at Adinia Hotel. Gina is famous for
her soothing voice. Everyone who comes to listen to her song finds melacholy and
harmony in her. Even the pirates and Porco, who are dead rivals on the sky,
have good company at the bar with her singing.

	Her youth was full of broken love. She used to fall in love with 3
pilots, one after another, but they all died flying their planes just before
their planned marriage. Porco knows the 3 pilots and they were friends too.
Now only Gina and him are left on this world...


  FIO:  Very different from Gina is this teenage girl, a grand-daughter of
Pergo, who is the owner of an aircraft repair workshop. Porco seems to like
Fio, and always let Fio repair his beloved aircraft. From time to time, 
Porco would teach Fio something about piloting too.

	As a youngster, Fio has the characteristic rashness and eagerness.
She would even go for a risky flying challenge, just because she doesn't want
to be looked down upon. Porco sometimes has to scold Fio for her silly
rashness, but that's youthfulness, right? Porco can't help thinking the time
when he was young...

*****

	Does it make you even more hungry to see PORCO ROSSO, now that you
know the main background of the anime?? ;-)

<<Self-appointed High Priest of the Cult of Urd, Belldandy and Skuld>> :-)

Patrick YIP (a.k.a. YO^SHIGO^)   **the one who's more into MANGA than ANIME**
pcky@melange.lcs.mit.edu                   -<-r-    -   |             | |
pckyip@athena.mit.edu               + +      X     /T. E+B    X  =    I I
                                    @ @  ,  / \     |   |     \  &    * *
=====>> "AH, MY GODDESS!!" ======>> a a      me      gami    sa  ma
From: okamoto@hpcc01.corp.hp.com (Jeff Okamoto)
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1992 21:44:30 GMT
Subject: Re: gross anachronism in 0083
Organization: An-Pan Man Headquarters