From: pearl@trident.usacs.rutgers.edu (Starbuck)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime,news.answers
Subject: rec.arts.anime: Frequently Asked Questions
Keywords: monthly informative posting
Date: 12 Jan 93 16:14:47 GMT
Followup-To: rec.arts.anime
Organization: the Worlds Welfare Work Association, Rutgers Anime division


Archive-name: anime/faq


		   THE ANIME FREQUENTLY-ASKED-QUESTIONS LIST
		   =========================================

				    Edited by
				   Steve Pearl
             			  January 1992

This is a monthly list of questions that have been frequently asked in this
newsgroup.  If you have any questions, additions or corrections, send your     
stuff to:

Internet: pearl@remus.rutgers.edu   	or 	Steve Pearl
CI$: >internet: pearl@remus.rutgers.edu		359 Lloyd Rd
GEnie:  S.PEARL6				Aberdeen, NJ 07747-1826

Changes to this posting since December, 1992:

Added:
o WHAT IS THIS SAILOR MOON THING, ANYHOW?
o WHAT ARE JIS KANJI CODES AND HOW DO I USE THEM?
o WHAT DOES AD POLICE REALLY STAND FOR?
o WHAT IS THIS ANIME MUCK AND HOW DO I ACCESS IT?

Coming soon:

o IS THE CRITERION EDITION OF AKIRA SUBTITLED?  HOW IS THE EXTRA FOOTAGE?
o WHAT'S THIS I HEAR ABOUT ROTTING KOR LASER DISKS

DISCLAIMER 1:  To the best of our knowledge, the editor is not associated with 
ANY of the companies or organizations mentioned below. 

DISCLAIMER 2:  The opinions expressed on this post do not necessarily represent
the opinions held either by the editor or any organization he's affiliated 
with.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

o ANIME EXPO AND ANIMECON
o ANIME IN-JOKES IN STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
o DAICON VIDEOS
o KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD:  THE FIRST OVA AND EPISODE #46
o LASERDISK ANIME GAMES
o LEARNING JAPANESE
o MEGAZONE 23, ROBOTECH, AND EVERYTHING
o MIYAZAKI FILMS IN ENGLISH
o NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND vs. WARRIORS OF THE WIND
o RANMA 1/2 "WHAT-IF"s
o ROBOTECH VS. MACROSS
o SPACE ADVENTURER COBRA AND MATTHEW SWEET'S "GIRLFRIEND"
o OTAKU
o WHAT DOES BUBBLEGUM CRISIS MEAN?
o WHAT DOES THE TERM "BOOMER/BUMA" FROM BUBBLEGUM CRISIS/CRASH! STAND FOR?
o HEY! I HEARD THAT SONODA KENICHI DIDN'T CREATE BUBBLEGUM CRISIS! IS THIS TRUE?
o WHO OR WHAT IS BEAN BANDIT AND HOW CAN HE DO THE THINGS HE DOES?
o WHY WON'T THERE BE ANYMORE RIDING BEAN OR BUBBLEGUM CRISIS OAVS?
o OCCASIONALLY, IN ANIME, SHORT, ROUND VERSIONS OF ANIME CHARACTERS APPEAR.
  WHAT ARE THEY AND WHY ARE THE JAPANESE FOND OF USING THEM?
o IS THERE AN ROLE-PLAYING GAME SYSTEM FOR RECORD OF LODOSS WAR?
o WHAT ARE JAPANESE PHONE CARDS AND PHONE BOOKS ARE AND WHAT THEY HAVE TO 
   DO WITH ANIME/MANGA?  
o TRANSLATED MANGA AVAILABLE IN THE USA
o WHY DO JAPANESE ANIME MAGAZINES COST SO MUCH IN THE U.S.?
o WHO OR WHAT IS THIS PUMA PERSON?
o WHAT DO ALL THESE ANIME ACRONYMS STAND FOR?
o PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT JAPANESE HONORIFICS AND TERMS OF ADDRESS
o WHAT IS THE HISTORY BEHIND ROBOTECH AND IT'S COMPONENT SHOWS?
o HAS ANYONE SEEN THAT MUSIC VIDEO FROM THE GUNHED MOVIE?
				 ---

o ANIME EXPO AND ANIMECON

     The short version:

     Anime Expo is an anime convention to be held at the Parc Oakland hotel
on the 4th of July weekend 1993. It is sponsored by the Society for the
Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The Chairman and CEO of SPJA is
Mike Tatsugawa. The Chairman of the convention is Ken Tsai.

     Anime America is an anime/manga convention to be held at the Santa
Clara Westin hotel on the weekend of 25-28 June 1993. It is sponsored by
the Foundation for Animation and Comics Education (FACE). The President of
FACE is Greg Scanlan. The Chairman of the convention is James Matsuzaki.


o ANIME IN-JOKES IN STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION

Some of the people who work in the set design department of Paramount Pictures
are anime fans, and have been able to sneak anime references in Paramount's
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION television series.  According to set manager
Rick Sternbach, there is at least one reference per episode.  Usually these
references are in computer displays or in the sets themselves.  Examples
include:

    - Japanese characters in the "ambo-jitsu" ring that Cmdr. Riker used
      in "The Icarus Factor".  All of them are written references to
      URUSEI YATSURA.

    - In the 2nd season episode "Peak Performance", a computer display with two
      ships called Kei and Yuri, a reference to the protagonists of the DIRTY
      PAIR OVA and TV series.

    - A reference to the element "sonodaium", for Kenichi Sonoda (creator
      of GALL FORCE, BUBBLEGUM CRISIS, and RIDING BEAN).

Ironically enough, one of the most "obvious" anime in-jokes is not really one.
The sister ship to the Enterprise, the Yamato, has the same name as the ship
from SPACE CRUISER YAMATO (known in the US as STAR BLAZERS).  However, Mr.
Sternbach has indicated that it is only a coincidence, as both spacegoing
vessels are named after the WWII Japanese battleship Yamato, one of the largest
seagoing vessels ever built.  (In fact, the Yamato from the anime series IS the
WWII battleship, but that's another story).

To the best of our knowledge, no one has done a canonical list of all the
in-jokes discovered so far.  [I have a partial list of stuff culled from
appendix G of the Star Trek Guide.  E-mail if interested.]


o DAICON VIDEOS

DAICON is a yearly SF convention held in Osaka, Japan.  It is called DAI-CON
because the kanji for Osaka can be read as "dai".  (A "daicon" is also the
name for a Humungous white radish, but that's another story.)

"DAICON III" and "DAICON IV" were two animated shorts shown at the opening
ceremonies of the 15th (1981) and 17th (1983) DAICONs.  They feature the
convention mascot (the Daicon Bunny, strongest Playboy Bunny in the universe)
encountering everybody from the Space Cruiser Yamato to Ming the Merciless.

As an interesting note, the people who made DAICON IV later went on to create
the GAINAX (WINGS OF HONNEAMISE, NADIA OF THE MYSTERIOUS SEAS) animation
studio.



o KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD:  THE FIRST OVA AND EPISODE #46

The first animated KOR ever made was an OVA based on a story from volume 5
of the manga with a beach resort being used instead of a skiing resort.
For the KOR TV series that followed, the animation company and character
designer were retained, but the voice actors were changed.

In episode #46 of the TV series ("Okinawa Vacation"), the same story
was used as for the first OVA, but the setting was changed back to a
skiing resort.

Most people consider KOR OVA #1 to be "White Lovers".

o LASERDISK ANIME GAMES

Some of the laserdisk videogames that came out in the early 80's used footage
from anime films.  Note that while the game discs themselves are not
commercially available, the movies on which they are based on are available
(with the exception of COBRA COMMAND, of course).

1) The laserdisk videogame CLIFF HANGER by Stern uses footage from two anime
   movies starring Lupin III, a charming thief created by manga artist Monkey
   Punch.  The movies used were:

    - Lupin III:  Lupin vs the Clones (a.k.a. Lupin III:  Mystery of Mamo)
	- The Paris car/helicopter chase scene and the hanging scene were
	  taken from this film.

    - Lupin III:  Cagliostro's Castle
	- All the other footage for the game was taken from this film.
	  Note:  this film is currently being distributed in the US by
	  Streamline Pictures.

2) The videogame BEGA'S BATTLE by Data East used footage from Katsuhiro
   Otomo's GENMA TAISEN (a.k.a. HARMAGGEDON).

3) The videogame COBRA COMMAND by Data East uses anime footage created
   (by Toei) specifically for the game.

4) The videogame GALAXY 999 used footage from Leiji Matsumoto's GALAXY
   EXPRESS 999.



o LEARNING JAPANESE

As is to be expected, all anime is in Japanese.  Synopses, scripts, subtitles
and dubbing all help to understand what's going on, but they can only cover a
fraction of all the anime being released at a certain time.  A common question
in rec.arts.anime and sci.lang.japan is "What books would you folks recommend
for someone who wants to learn colloquial Japanese?"

The following books have been recommended by persons in this newsgroup as good
sources for learning Japanese.  Of course, they can't replace a live teacher
in a Japanese course at your local university, or practicing with a
Japanese-speaking friend (a GOOD friend, in case you unwittingly commit a
faux-pas :-).

Basic Japanese textbooks:

	BASIC STRUCTURES IN JAPANESE
	by Aoki, Hirose, Keller, Sakuma
	Taishukan Publishing Company
	A beginner's Japanese textbook.

	JAPANESE:  THE SPOKEN LANGUAGE
	by Eleanor Jordan
	The standard text for college level Japanese.
	Yale university Press, 1988.
	ISBN 0-300-04188-8

	ESSENTIAL JAPANESE
	by Samuel. E.  Martin.

        JAPANESE FOR BUSY PEOPLE (volumes I and II)
        by Association for Japanese-Language Teaching (AJALT)
        Kodansha International Publishers (Tokyo and NY)
	Another beginner's Japanese textbook.  Recommended.

Books on colloquial Japanese:

	JAPANESE IN ACTION
	by Jack Seward

	MAKING OUT IN JAPANESE
	by Todd & Erika Geers
	Yenbooks (Charles E. Tuttle Publishing Company)
	A book on colloquial Japanese.

	MORE MAKING OUT IN JAPANESE
	The sequel to "Making Out in Japanese"

	MANGAJIN
	P.O. Box 49543
	Atlanta, GA 30359
	This is a magazine with detailed panel-by-panel manga translations,
	along with articles on the Japanese culture.  Regular features
	include: "Galaxy Express 999", "What's Michael", "Tanaka-kun", etc.
	Great for learning colloquial Japanese.

Books on Japanese Grammar:

	AN INTRODUCTION TO JAPANESE GRAMMAR AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
	by Senko K. Maynard
	The Japan Times
	A book on Japanese Grammar
	
Reference works:

	KENKYUSHA'S JAPANESE-ENGLISH DICTIONARY

	NELSON'S CHINESE CHARACTER DICTIONARY

Other suggestions:

	Get a feel of basic Japanese before figuring out the slangs and
	contractions.

	Keep in mind that even the simplest Manga assume about 7 years of
	constant Japanese usage.

	Get Japanese copies of children's classics such as Winne-the-Pooh,
	A Christmas Carol, etc., which are aimed for elementary/grammar school
	children.  Read them and compare with the original English.

	Jordan's book has plain style Japanese starting with chapter 9.

	Most minor Japanese sentences are in the so-called "direct" style.

	Live in Japan for a while.  [A bit drastic, isn't it? -- Editor]

	Read manga and watch T.V., preferably watch some show with subtitles.

	LOTS OF PATIENCE!!  Learning a new language is never easy.



o MEGAZONE 23, ROBOTECH, AND EVERYTHING

MEGAZONE 23 (MEGAZONE TWO THREE) is a SF film about the Tokyo Megazone,
a space-faring reproduction of modern Tokyo.  It's inhabitants are kept
unaware of the fact that this is not the real Tokyo by various means.
[I don't know exactly how or why.  I haven't seen the film. -- ed.]
There have been three MEGAZONE 23 films.

Carl Macek (the producer of ROBOTECH) wanted to use the footage from the
first MEGAZONE film for a ROBOTECH movie.  The film was dubbed in late
1985, Intersound finished the production while Carl Macek was in Japan
working on ROBOTECH:  THE SENTINELS [a sequel to ROBOTECH which never got
off the ground].  The deal was with Cannon films and when they showed it
to them, they couldn't "understand" it.  Since they wanted a ROBOTECH
movie, they wanted "more guns, more shooting, more robots" and basically
gave them two days to make a new movie. So Carl put in the SOUTHERN CROSS
[a.k.a. "ROBOTECH MASTERS"] stuff in, even though he said "it's going to
look terrible, Megazone is in 35mm , SC is in 16mm it's going to look
terrible when it's blown up."  Nevertheless he put it together and showed
it to them and the execs said quote[in thick russian type accent as Carl
was retelling] "Now dees is Cannon Film."  PLUS, Carl had Tatsunoko
animate a NEW ending (I guess we Americans can't handle anything but a
happy ending).  It was about ten minutes worth.

And thus a test showing of ROBOTECH: THE MOVIE came out in a couple of
Texas theaters back in the Xmas season, 1985, or maybe early 86, I
can't quite remember.  The audience reaction was so negative the film
never got wide distribution.

Now, MEGAZONE 23 PART II came around 2 years later.  Harmony Gold was hired
again to dub it for the Japanese market, for educational purposes (sorta
like the Macross movie dub, except at least Intersound's actors had some
semblence of talent.)  I believe this was probably the last thing Macek
did with HG though he might have been gone by then.  Anyway, on the LD of
the English MZ 23 II, at the beginning of the disc, they included a
"Present For You", which basically was the new ending they did for use
in Robotech the Movie without the voice track.  The art styles between
the new "ending" and MZ 23 II are radically different.

As of yet, fortunately or unfortunately as the case may be, nothing
is doing with MZ23 III.

					-- Written by
						Ryan Gavigan



o MIYAZAKI FILMS IN ENGLISH

TONARI NO TOTORO was _dubbed_ into English (by Streamline Pictures),
but it is not _available_.  Carl Macek was contracted to do the dubbing
of both TOTORO and KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, but he did not get any
distribution rights to those dubbed movies.

Macek did have distribution rights to LAPUTA: CASTLE IN THE SKY (though he
did _not_ dub that movie himself), but that was a set contractual time, and
Carl either did not or could not option more time on the distribution rights.
The movie is now back in the same Japanese producers hands.
					-- From a posting by
						Robert Gutierrez

[Editor's Note:  An English-subtitled version of LUPIN III: CAGLIOSTRO'S
CASTLE is currently showing at art and university cinemas across the US.
There is no UNCUT English version of NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND
(see next entry for details).]

o NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND vs. WARRIORS OF THE WIND

In 1984, Hayao Miyazaki directed NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND, a SF film
based on the manga by the same name (distributed in the US by Viz Comics).
This movie has been very popular in Japan and with r.a.a.  readers.  In 1988
New World Films released an English-dubbed version of the film, and changed the
name to WARRIORS OF THE WIND.  To make WoW a more action-oriented and
marketable film, about 20 minutes of footage were cut from the original
version, and major changes were made in the dialogue.  The drastic
difference in quality between the two films is used by anime fans as an
example of the typical kind of gross editing done to anime features
translated to English.  Note that this is not a practice incurred upon
by the companies mentioned under SUBTITLED and TRANSLATED anime in the
Anime Resources List (with the exception of FHE).


o RANMA 1/2 "WHAT-IF"s

RANMA 1/2 is a TV comedy about Saotome Ranma, a teenager afflicted by a
weird curse from a Chinese training ground called Jusenkyou (the land of
cursed springs).  There are more than 1000 pools there, each with its own
curse.  Ranma fell in Nyanniichuan (the Girl-Drowning Spring), where a girl
drowned 1500 years ago.  Because of the spring's curse, when Ranma is
doused with cold water, he turns into a girl.  Hot water changes her back
nto a him.

Several FAQs have come across, mostly idle "what-if" speculations.  Here are
some of the most common:

Q: What if Ranma fell into another pool?  Would both curses be activated
   at the same time?
A: No.  Only one curse can be active at a time.  BTW, a character was
   introduced who, when splashed, transformed into a combination of
   various animals, because he fell into a cursed pool where various animals
   drowned together.

Q: Can Ranma's curse be cured?
A: Yes.  In one episode, Ranma obtained a mix that turned ordinary water into
   "man-drown-spring" water.  The water effectively cancelled the original
   curse, so Ranma didn't change when wet (unfortunately, the mix was
   a cheap imitation that only worked once).  It is assumed that if Ranma
   were able to get to Jusenkyo, and find the real "man-drown-spring",
   he could remove his curse.

Q: What would happen if Ranma-chan (the female Ranma, in Japanese) got
   pregnant?  Would she lose her baby if she changed back to Ranma-kun
   (the male Ranma)?
A: No idea.  At any rate, it's very unlikely that such a thing will happen,
   for a number of reasons, some of which are:
   - Mentally, Ranma is still a man, whatever his physical form may be.
   - Rumiko Takahashi, the author of RANMA 1/2, doesn't write that kind
     of story.  :-)

					-- With a lot of help from
						Theresa Martin and Ken Arromdee



o ROBOTECH VS. MACROSS

SUPER DIMENSION FORTRESS MACROSS was made a little before 1982 and was released
in 1982 as a TV series in Japan.  The overall popularity that MACROSS received
from the Japanese audience was so astounding that the creators of the series
decided to make a movie rather than another series.  In 1984, MACROSS: DO YOU
REMEMBER LOVE opened in theaters all across Japan.  It has the the same basic
plot as the series, but with more visual pizzazz.

ROBOTECH is composed of three different series which have absolutely no
connections to each other. Carl Macek bought the rights to these three series
and with his team of helpers, got these three series to be combined into one
story which was called ROBOTECH.  The first is MACROSS as all you guys should
know by now. Carl Macek massively edited the series to fit his need but still
kept to the main story line that the Japanese creators made.  The other two
series that was part of ROBOTECH was great if their true stories were told
rather than being part of the Macross saga which everyone who talks about this
seems to like.
					-- From a posting by
						Kong Chung-Lin Chang
						(a.k.a. Anime Kami)
[Editor's note:  The other two series used for Robotech were SUPER DIMENSIONAL
CAVALRY SOUTHERN CROSS (a.k.a. THE ROBOTECH MASTERS) and GENESIS CLIMBER
MOSPEADA (a.k.a. ROBOTECH: THE NEW GENERATION).  But Kong is right when he
writes that Macross is the one most people associate with Robotech.]



o MATTHEW SWEET'S "GIRLFRIEND" VIDEO AND SPACE ADVENTURER COBRA

The video "Girlfriend" by Matthew Sweet uses anime footage from
the movie SPACE ADVENTURER COBRA, based on the comic of the same 
name by Buichi Terasawa.  VIZ comics published 10 (11?) issues of
the COBRA comic in English.  Neither the movie (nor the COBRA TV
series) are available in English.

o OTAKU? WHAT'S AN OTAKU?

OTAKU
(1) Original meaning: Your house (company, organiztion, etc), used as 
a polite form of the second person => you

(2) Meaning in early-late 1980's: An extreme fan of anime/manga/sf who
lacks communications with other people and usually untidy => nerd,
fanboy [Otakus used "otaku" for "you" instead of more common "anata"
"anta" and that' what gave them the title of Otaku-Zoku (otaku-race)]

(3) Current Usage: Anyone obssesed or overly interested with any subject
<ex.> Car otaku, Gun Otaku, etc... => mania, freak

(2) has VERY negative meanging and (3) still carries negative meaning, unless 
used between otakus, of course. :-) So use "otaku" to only other anime fans.

On the net, Otaku is usually refered to a big fan of anime and/or
manga. For example, I'm an Otaku. :-)

				--From a posting by Tonghyun "Vajra" Kim


O WHAT DOES "BUBBLEGUM CRISIS" REFER TO?

Conventional fan definition:
It describes the state of technology in MegaTokyo (and the world)...
	Like a very big bubblegum bubble, surface tension in the city
has been rising and rising, and it is about to reach a point where
nothing will stop a collapse or blow-up... (ie. Boomers going rampant,
etc.)  Thus, it's a Bubblegum Crisis... Simple, isn't it?
				--From a posting by Michael Studte

	A Bubblegum Crisis is what happens when you blow a huge
bubblegum bubble and it pops and gets all over your face and hair and
won't easily get cleaned up.  In other words, a wierd and yucky
problem that just won't go away.  
Source : Toshimichi Suzuki, creator of Bubblegum Crisis.  
				--From a posting by Robert Woodhead



o WHAT DOES THE TERM "BOOMER/BUMA" FROM BUBBLEGUM CRISIS/CRASH! STAND FOR?
	This is a question that has plagued anime fandom for some
	time.  Some people have speculated that it could be a phonetic reading
	of an acronym (Much the way Mospeada actually stands for Military 
	Operation Soldier Protection Emergency Aviation)
	like Boomer = 	B_io-            or BUMA =Big
			M_echanical		  Ugly
			R_eplicant		  Metal 
						  Android

	But as always, Robert Woodhead has the definitive answer:
	"It does not stand for anything.  The creators liked the feel of the
	English word (ie: one who makes a lot of noise, a lot of fuss) and
	one thing lead to another..."


o HEY! I HEARD THAT SONODA KENICHI DIDN'T CREATE BUBBLEGUM CRISIS! IS THIS TRUE?

Sonoda Kenichi did not create Bubblegum Crisis.   He worked on character and
mechanical designs for the first four episodes, and assisted on production
designs on the last episode.  The reason he is credited with character
designs on episodes 5-8 is that character designs he did for episodes 1-4
were reused.  Gooda Hiroaki and Urushibara Satoshi designed all the new
characters in episodes 5-8.  Sonoda is also credited with the character
designs in Bubblegum Crash for the same reason, i.e., old character designs
of his were recycled.  Also, Sonoda was second choice for this job; he was
tapped only after Artmic's first choice, Amano Yoshitaka (known for his
character designs on such features as Gatchaman, Mospeada, Vampire Hunter D
and Tenshi no Tamago), turned it down because he didn't want to do mechanical
designs.  The series was created by Suzuki Toshimichi, founder and president
of Artmic, and author of the screenplays for episodes 5-7.

Addendum: Sonoda started out working on Moonlight Rambler, but quit partway
through, for reasons not entirely clear.  Gooda Hiroaki took over at that
point; Largo is his original design, for example.  Sonoda also did the cover
art for the videocassette aand LD editions of all eight episodes of Crisis,
all the Crisis CDs, and both Hurricane Live videos, which may explain his
involvement in the character design process of later episodes.

As for Vision, he did all the cover art for Double Vision (see above).  Also,
Urushibara intended the Vision design to be based on an older version of
Irene, so Sonoda's work was at least tangentially involved here too.

					-Michael House (AnimEigo)

o WHO OR WHAT IS BEAN BANDIT AND HOW CAN HE DO THE THINGS HE DOES?

The character Bean Bandit in the OAV "Riding Bean" seems almost
superhuman.  He seems to withstand bullets, car impacts, etc.  How can
he do this?

1) Bean is supposed to be a mix of the best races of the world: Japanese,
Indian and a little bit American.  So he's supposed to be genetically
perfect perhaps...or superior.

2) He wears a Titanium mesh jacket lined with Kevlar.  10-20 times
stronger than Kevlar alone.  Thus the bullets could not hurt him.
You'll note he was holding up the collar flap against his cheek to
protect his head.  His gloves and headband are made of the same
material.

3) As one poster said Bean is Sonoda's equivalent of every Tough Guy(tm) 
that Hollywood has ever created.  Everyone from Sam Spade to the
Eastwood's Mysterious Stranger (High Plains Drifter, et al) to John
MacClaine of Die Hard.  They perform deeds beyond the abilities of
normal men.  Bean is a modern-day pulp hero, sort of a Doc Savage for
the 1990s.  He's not superhuman, he's not a Buma and he's not normal.
He's a Tough Guy (tm)!

4) The one TRUE source, Kenichi Sonoda, was asked "WHAT _IS_ BEAN?" and he
answered: "Bean's one well built brother."

o OCCASIONALLY, IN ANIME, SHORT, ROUND VERSIONS OF ANIME CHARACTERS APPEAR.
  WHAT ARE THEY AND WHY ARE THE JAPANESE FOND OF USING THEM?

	That practice is known as "Super-Deforming" characters.  It's a way of
	making even the most horrible monster into something small and cute.
	As far as I know, the first occurrance of this was in SD-Gundam.

	Nowadays, Super-Deformed characters are appearing *everywhere*.  Here
	are a couple I can come up with, just off the top of my head.  It seems
	to be appealing for some strange reason :-):

	   - Ranma 1/2 Nettouhen
	       The 'eyecatch' sequences
	   - Video Girl Ai
	       The postscript segments
	   - Dirty Pair
	       The closing credits of the 10 episode OAV series
	   - Superdimensional Fortress Macross
	       The opening credits (when the series was rerun recently)
	   - Gunbuster
	       The science lessons
	   - Gall Force
	       10 Little Gall Force
	   - Patlabor on Television
	       The first 'eyecatch' sequences
	   - SD Gundam
	       OF COURSE!!

		- From a post by Alan Takahashi

o IS THERE AN ROLE-PLAYING GAME SYSTEM FOR RECORD OF LODOSS WAR?  


	The original RoLW was a pseudo D&D campaign, based on a much
	simplified verison of its rules.  As its publicity grew, the gaming
	group, Group SNE, began to explain some of the rules at the back of
	their novels and RPG replays.  The first attempt at publishing a
	complete system was the printing of the RoLW Companion in October
	1989.  The success it enjoyed prompted the release of volume two,
	which came out in June 1991, soon after the series has been animated.
	These books may be available at Kinokuniya or other major Japanese
	bookstores.
				-From a post by Chadwick Sheeta "the Elf"

o WHY WON'T THERE BE ANYMORE RIDING BEAN OR BUBBLEGUM CRISIS OAVS?

	There are currently legal problems due to the recent breakup of Youmex
	and Artmic because they both own the rights to Riding Bean and
	BGCrisis jointly. And there's (currently) no way to resolve their
	dispute and/or the rights so there won't be any more.  However, Bean
	has been making guest appearances in Sonoda's current manga, "Gunsmith
	Cats"
				- From a post by Michael Studte

o  WHAT ARE JAPANESE PHONE CARDS AND PHONE BOOKS ARE AND WHAT THEY HAVE TO 
   DO WITH ANIME/MANGA?  

   These are actually two different things.

   -Phone Cards: 

	Ma Bell in Japan is still a national monopoly / government bureacracy.
	Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT) charges 10 yen per time unit for
	local calls.  10 yen coins are an annoyance to carry around.  Sort of
	like a pocket full of nickles.  But if you stuff a larger denomination
	coin into a phone, you don't get change for time/money not used.
	Enter the telephone card.  It is a cheap piece of plastic the size of
	a credit card with a magnetic widget inside.  You buy them from a
	vending machine or a kiosk (in denominations ranging from 500 to 5000
	yen).  The green phones are (mostly) wired to accept phone cards (yes,
	there are different color phones depending on the type of call).
	Stuff a telephone card into the slot and you don't have to worry about
	carrying around a pocket full of nickles and the magnetic widget
	counts off each time unit as you use it.  There cards are particularly
	useful for international calls.  Each time unit costs 100 yen and they
	count off very quickly.

	With all these little plastic cards running around, somebody in
	Japan got the idea of putting pretty pictures on them.  Like
	mountains, or rivers, or forests, or movie stars, or whatever.
	Certain types of fans like to collect these cards (sort of like
	a cross between expensive postage stamps and baseball cards).
	For these fans, companies print up limited runs of cards with
	desireable pictures on them and then sell them for double the
	face value (spend 1000 yen to get a 500 yen card).  The fans
	value these cards as long as they are not used at all.  So
	they are another anime/manga collectable.
					- from a post by Eric Kouba
  - Phone Books
	This is a term used to describe the various manga magazines.  These
	periodicals are typically printed on newsprint, and contain several
	ongoing manga stories (which, if popular, are usually collected into
	collections).  These magazines are VERY thick and often resemble
	phonebooks.


o TRANSLATED AND/OR ENGLISH-LANGUAGE MANGA AVAILABLE IN THE USA

     Some manga (Japanese comics) have been translated into English for
the American market.  Those manga which have spun off into anime-related
projects are indicated in parentheses.  [Note:  "American manga" based on
Japanese characters are not included.  That's why CAPTAIN HARLOCK, DIRTY
PAIR and LENSMAN are not listed here.  Also not listed here is NINJA HIGH
SCHOOL, an "American manga" that is only *indirectly* based on Japanese
characters (it is a satirical blend of elements taken from ORANGE ROAD,
PROJECT A-KO, and URUSEI YATSURA).  Manga produced by Japanese creators
in English, however, like MAZINGER, ONI & SAMURAI: SoD are included.]

Antarctic Press:
  MANGAZINE #17-19 (All three issues contain "The Age of Hydroplanes,"
  the serial by Hayao Miyazaki.  This was the prototype for the movie,
  PORCO ROSSO.), STAR TREKKER

Blast Books [New York]:
  MR. ARASHI'S AMAZING FREAK SHOW, PANORAMA OF HORROR

Catalan Press:
  GOODBYE AND OTHER STORIES

CHEVAL NOIR [Dark Horse Comics]:
  ANGEL FUSION by Keisuke Goto & Hiroyuki Kato in #1; IN DREAMS by
  Masashi Tanaka in #24-26

Dark Horse Comics:
  GODZILLA (TV series and lots of man-in-a-rubber-suit movies)

Dark Horse Comics/Studio Proteus:
  CARAVAN KIDD, ORION, OUTLANDERS (OAV) and VENUS WARS (movie)

Eclipse Comics:
  SAMURAI: SON OF DEATH [not a translation but an all-new work in English
  by Hiroshi Hirata, whose work was well-liked by Yukio Mishima]

Eclipse Comics International/Studio Proteus:
  APPLESEED (OAV), BLACK MAGIC (OAV), CYBER 7, DOMINION (4 OAVs),
  THE LOST CONTINENT

Eclipse International/Viz Comics:
  AREA 88 [was continued by Viz Comics afterwards] (3 OAVs, TV series),
  (THE LEGEND OF) KAMUI [this is not the same Kamui as the Kamui in "The
  Dagger of Kamui"] (TV series), and MAI THE PSYCHIC GIRL

Educomics:  [see also entries under "New Society Publishers"]
  BAREFOOT GEN (OAV, 3 live-action films & an opera) and I SAW IT

Epic Comics:
  AKIRA (movie), FAREWELL TO WEAPONS, MEMORIES

EPIC Magazine, ?/?/83:
  ONI ["Ogre;" not a translation, but an original story written & drawn
  by Go Nagai, of Devilman, Fandora, Shuten Doji & Violence Jack fame.]

First Comics:
  LONE WOLF AND CUB (a live-action TV series & 6 live-action movies) and
  MAZINGER [not a translation but an all-new English-language work by
  series creator Go Nagai] (3 TV series & 6 movies; the first TV series
  was released in the USA under the name "Tranzor Z")

Innovation Comics:
  SAZAN 3x3 EYES (4 OAVs)

MANGA! MANGA! THE WORLD OF JAPANESE COMICS by Frederik L. Schodt [book]:
  PHOENIX [Tezuka!] (movie & a live-action film), THE ROSE OF VERSAILLES
  (TV series & a French live-action movie), SENJO [BATTLEFIELD; by Leiji
  Matsumoto], and BAREFOOT GEN (OAV, 3 live-action films & an opera)

New Society Publishers [PO Box 582, Santa Cruz, CA 95061]:
  BAREFOOT GEN: A CARTOON STORY OF HIROSHIMA (284 pages) copyright 1987,
  BAREFOOT GEN: THE DAY AFTER (177 pages) copyright 1988, and
  BAREFOOT GEN: LIFE AFTER THE BOMB (164 pages) copyright 1989

Now Comics:
  SPEED RACER CLASSICS (TV series)

Sun Comics:
  COSMOS: CHRONICLES OF PARADISE, HIGH SCHOOL AGENT, RAGNAROK GUY, RAIKA

University of California Press:
  JAPAN, INC. by Shotaro Ishinomori [ISBN 0-520-06289-2]

Viz Comics:
  BAOH (OAV), BATTLE ANGEL ALITA, COBRA (TV series and movie), CRYING
  FREEMAN (OAV series), FIST OF THE NORTH STAR (2 TV series, a movie & a
  live-action Hong Kong kung fu movie), GREY (OAV), GOKU: MIDNIGHT EYE
  (2 OAVs), GOLGO 13: THE PROFESSIONAL [also put out by two other
  publishers] (movie), HOROBI, HOTEL HARBOUR VIEW, JUSTY (OAV), LUM:
  URUSEI YATSURA (TV series, OAVs and movies), MACROSS II (OAV series),
  NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND (movie), PINEAPPLE ARMY, RANMA 1/2
  (2 TV series, 2 OAVs & 2 movies), RUMIC WORLD: FIRE TRIPPER (OAV),
  RUMIC WORLD: LAUGHING TARGET (OAV), SABER TIGER, SANCTUARY, SHION:
  BLADE OF THE MINSTREL, SILENT MOBIUS (movie), STRIKER: ARMORED WARRIOR,
  and 2001 NIGHTS (OAV)

                                           -- Written by Steven Feldman


o WHY DO JAPANESE ANIME MAGAZINES COST SO MUCH IN THE U.S.?


If you purchase your anime magazines at a Japanese bookstore like
Kinokuniya or Nikaku, then you are getting your magazine for the best
price short of picking it up in Japan.  These bookstores usually
charge $1.30 per Y100, which seems to be the standard rate for all
Japanese periodicals.  If, however, you are purchasing these magazines
at a Comic shop, you are likely spending upwards of $15 each (with the
risk that an unscrupulous shop owner might be removing the neat
inserts).  The reason why Comic shops are much more expensive is that
Comic shops usually receive comic items at a hefty discount (around
40%).  But they are getting these magazines at close to the same cost
we are paying for them.  So they have to mark up the cost in order to
maintain the same margins.

Typical magazine costs:

In Japan:	At Kinokuniya/Nikaku	At a comic shop:

$4.00		$6.00			$13


For the addresses of Nikaku and other Japanese bookstores, please
refer to the Anime Resources FAQ.

				--Steve Pearl

o WHO OR WHAT IS THIS PUMA PERSON?


	PUMA once on r.a.anime.
	PUMA write funny posts.
	PUMA had biggest funniest .sig!
	PUMA had other name -- Keith Andreano!
	PUMA otaku at finest!
	PUMA should represent us all!
	PUMA's fave manga: NAUSEA of the Valley of Passing Wind! Now that
miasma! No wonder they wear masks! Must grow a lot of beans there! 

      PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!
      PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!
      PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!PUMA!

	or in English:

By day, PUMA masquerades as Keith J.  Andreano, a former participant
of rec.arts.anime.  Keith lost his account, though, a few months ago.
A black, black, day.

				--From posts by David Blume & Sea Wasp

o WHAT DO ALL THESE ANIME ACRONYMS STAND FOR?
 
 GUNDAM:  General purpose Utility, Non-Discontinuity, Augmentation Maneuvering
 
 VOTOMS:  Vertical One-man Tank for Offensive Maneuvering 
 
 MOSPEADA:  Military Operation Soldier Protection Emergency Aviation Drive Aut

 GERWALK: Ground Effective Reinforcement of Winged Armament with Locomotive Knee joint

o PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT JAPANESE HONORIFICS AND TERMS OF ADDRESS

Here are the most common honorifics and terms of address.

   -sama    Very respectful ending.  Not normally used with someone's
	    names.  Used to people of superior status, like your boss,
	    or to your guests as a host.  Envelopes should be addressed
	    with "-sama".  A shopkeeper might call a customer
	    "o-kyaku-sama" (Respected Mr. Customer).

   sensei   A respectful term meaning "teacher", also used with
	    physicians.  Frequently used to refer to experts in a
	    field or people in any respected occupation.  Lawyers,
	    master chefs, fashion designers, and even some manga
	    artists are called "sensei".  Sometimes used like an
	    honorific with a name or title, as in "kouchou-sensei"
	    (Mr. Principal, Sir).

   -san     Usual term of respect.  It can stand for Mr. and Ms., and
            is attached to either first or last names, and names of
	    occupations like "o-mawari-san" (Mr. Policeman).  You
	    use it for strangers and people you don't know well, but
	    are more or less the same social status.  When in doubt,
	    use "-san".

	    However, never use "-san" with your own name or your
	    family members' names.  Also, it shouldn't be used to refer
	    to famous people, since a small degree of intimacy is
	    implied.

	    High school girls are usually called "-san".

   sempai   Somebody in the same general social class, but socially
	    superior to you.  "Sempai" can also be used as an honorific.

            Older students may be addressed respectfully as sempai,
            especially by girls.

   -kun     Used by a socially superior male to a socially inferior
            male.  Familiarly used among male students and boys who
	    grew up together.  Recently, some teachers call girl
	    students and some bosses call office ladies with "-kun",
	    but it's still considered a masculine suffix.

            High school boys are called "-kun".  Girls go from "-chan"
	    to "-san" in high school, but boys go through a period of
	    "-kun" in between.

   -        Calling someone by a family name alone is being very
	    familiar (or rough).  Calling someone by given name
	    alone is less rough, but more familiar.  Using no
	    honorific when one is expected can be an expression of
	    contempt.

   -chan    Intimate form of address.  Families that are close use it,
	    and "-chan" is often used to, and by, very young children.
	    Used with given names, abbreviations of given names, and
	    nicknames, but not family names.  Children who grow up
	    together (like Madoka and Hikaru), may keep using "-chan"
	    into adulthood.  Note: to call a social superior "-chan"
	    without reason is very insulting.


Family terms are also common terms of address.

(Note:  One may sometimes identify a person by taking the listener's
 point of view, as when a man refers to himself as "father" to his
 children.)

		Referring to			Addressing
		yours		someone's	yours (*)	someone's

grandfather	sohu		ojii-san	ojii-san	ojii-san
grandmother	sobo		obaa-san	obaa-san	obaa-san
uncle		oji		oji-san		oji-san		oji-san
aunt		oba		oba-san		oba-san		oba-san
elder brother	ani		onii-san	(o)nii-san	[Name]-san
elder sister	ane		onee-san	(o)nee-san	[Name]-san

These six forms of address occur a lot.  Children call strangers 
by the above family member terms, depending on whether what type of
relative they consider them old enuf to be.  (A good example of
this is a scene recently described in this newsgroup where a child
addresses a question to a young woman as "oba-san", and she responds,
referring to herself as "oNEE-san".)

father		chichi		otou-san	(o)tou-san/papa	otou-san
mother		haha		okaa-san	(o)kaa-san/mama	okaa-san
younger brother	otouto		otouto-san	[Name]		[Name]-san
younger sister	imouto		imouto-san	[Name]		[Name]-san
daughter	musume		ojou-san	[Name]		[Name]-san
son		musuko		musuko-san	[Name]		[Name]-san
wife		tsuma/kanai	oku-san		omae/[Name]	oku-san
husband		shujin		goshujin(-sama)	anata		goshujin(-sama)
								[Surname]-san

Some ways of saying "you":
   otaku	very polite
   sochira	very polite
   anata	polite, common (*)
   kimi		informal masculine pronoun, common (*)
   omae		very informal or rough (*)
   anta		very informal or rough contraction
   temae	very rough  (Note: can also mean "I")
   onore	very rough  (Note: can also mean "I")
   kisama	very rough

Some ways of saying "I":
   watakushi	very polite
   kochira	very polite
   watashi	polite, common (*)
   atakushi	polite feminine contraction
   kotchi	polite
   washi	informal masculine contraction, used by old men
   atashi	informal feminine contraction
   boku		informal masculine pronoun, common, used by boys/young men (*)
   uchi		informal feminine
   ore		very informal or rough

I've marked with a * the ones that come up frequently.  Learning them
will make watching unsubtitled anime more pleasant, but there's no
need to memorize them, all at once.

You may notice that the very rough words for "you" are often
translated as curses.  These are pronouns that insultingly imply
the speaker's superiority.  They come up often as fighting words.

			- From a posting by Theresa Martin

o WHAT IS THE HISTORY BEHIND ROBOTECH AND IT'S COMPONENT SHOWS?

Sherman, set the Way-Back machine to 1982, in Japan.  It was then that a
series by name of Super Dimension Fortress Macross first aired on Japanese
television, a product of Tatsunoko.
 
After Macross ended in 1983, Tokyo Movie Shinsha's Super Dimension Century
Orguss took its place on the airwaves.  Orguss shared some common creators
with, and had a few in-joke references to Macross.  Beyond that, there was
no relation.  When Orguss finished its run of episodes, another "Super
Dimension" show took its place: Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross.
This is also in 1983.  Bear in mind that these "Super Dimension" shows
had little in common save the title.  They were not related in any way,
save for the brief references in Orguss mentioned above.
 
Megazone 23, one of the first OVAs (Original Video Animation), was
released in 1984.  It had the same character designer as Macross and
Orguss, one Haruhiko Mikimoto.  On television, a short-lived series by
name of Genesis Climber Mospeada came and went.  Theatrically, the
Macross movie was released (its title, Macross: Oboete Imasuka has been
translated as Macross: Love, Do You Remember? or Macross: Do You Remember
Love).  The Macross movie was more of a retelling of the Macross series,
rather than a sequel.
 
Let's wander over to North America.  Sometime around mid- to late 1984,
the rights to the Macross series were acquired by Harmony Gold.
Originally, Macross was slated to be translated rather faithfully, and a
TV-movie compilation of the first three episodes had been broadcast.
However, the "golden number" for television syndication is 65 episodes -
13 weeks of daily weekday episodes.  So, in order to pad out the series,
Macross was reworked a little, Southern Cross and Mospeada were hastily
adapted and tacked on to the end, and the 85-episode Robotech series was
born, first aired in 1985.  (An extra transition episode was created by
editing footage from Macross and Southern Cross together.)
 
Now things get a little murky.  Sometime around 1985-1986, back in Japan,
Shogakukan commissioned an English translation of the Macross movie,
which was then titled Super Space Fortress Macross.  Also, Megazone 23
Part II was released on video.
 
In 1986, Macross Flashback: 2012, a 30-minute OAV, was released in Japan.
This was 22 minutes of scenes from the Macross series and movie, as well
as images from various Macross publications, edited to accompany music
from the series, plus eight minutes of new animation, showing some footage
previously cut from the movie, as well as a showing what happened to our
heroes after the war.  Back in the US, Harmony Gold was riding the crest
of Robotech's popularity, and had started production on Robotech II: The
Sentinels and a Robotech movie.  Sentinels was to be a brand-new series
of 65 episodes, written in North America and animated in Japan, for North
American broadcast.  For a variety of reasons, this was never completed,
and as a consequence never released on television.  The Robotech movie was
a re-edited Megazone 23, combined with footage from Southern Cross, plus a
12-minute happy ending, comprised of new animation commissioned from Japan.
The movie was barely released (a few test screenings and a showing at the
Los Angeles Animation Celebration) before vanishing from the big screen
altogether.
 
Back to Japan: Megazone 23 Part II is translated to English with Japanese
subtitles, for use as a Japanese teaching aid.  The 12 minutes of new
footage for the Robotech Movie is included on this video, which was
released as Megazone 23 Part II: Foreign Edition.
 
A quick hop back to North America - in 1987, Super Space Fortress Macross
makes it to North American shores - minus 18 minutes of footage - as
Clash of the Bionoids.
 
In 1988, seventy-six minutes of completed footage from Sentinels was
compiled and released on video.
 
In 1992, Macross II - a sequel to the Macross movie - is released
nearly simultaneously in Japan and the United States.
 
					--From a posting by Emru Townsend


o  HAS ANYONE SEEN THAT MUSIC VIDEO FROM THE GUNHED MOVIE?

The industrial group Front Line Assembly uses footage from the
live-action Gunhed movie in their video, "Mindphaser," which is
available on their Tactical Neural Implant album.

					--From a posting by Roderick Lee

o WHAT ARE JIS KANJI CODES AND HOW DO I USE THEM?

For everything you ever wanted to know about JIS kanji codes, and a
list of programs that can use it for many kinds of computers,
anonymous ftp pub/JIS/japan*.inf from ucdavis.edu, or
pub/anime/lyrix/JIS.inf from romulus.rutgers.edu.  I [Steve Pearl]
am willing to email it to you upon request if you cannot ftp.
 	(From a posting by Theresa Martin)

o WHAT DOES AD POLICE REALLY STAND FOR?  DOES IT STAND FOR:
            a)Advanced Defense Police
              ^        ^       ^
            b) ADvanced Police
               ^^       ^
            c) About-to-Die Police
               ^        ^   ^
According to Animerica, the answer is:
	      a) Advanced Defense Police (per ANIMERICA #0)
                 ^ ^ 
Of course according to the computer terminals in "Scoop Chase" (BGC8)
it's ADvanced Police.  
     ^^       ^
Given the Japanese people's famous accuracy and consistancy in using
English, it is quite possible that both A & B are right.


o IS THE CRITERION EDITION OF AKIRA SUBTITLED?  HOW IS THE EXTRA FOOTAGE?


o IS THE CRITERION EDITION OF AKIRA SUBTITLED?  HOW IS THE EXTRA FOOTAGE?

o WHAT IS THIS ANIME MUCK AND HOW DO I ACCESS IT?

Well, since there have been several requests on how to get to AnimeMUCK, here
is a simple way to get there.
 
First off, you need to be able to use "Telnet" or have a program called
"TinyFugue" (Commonly refered as 'tf'), which still uses Telnet to connect
to the muck.
 
Now, type in 'telnet' and you should get 'telnet>' prompt.  For some of you,
you might have to type in the following, 'toggle crlf' so you will get
line feeds after your returns.  If you do not get those linefeeds, you will
not be able to do much until otherwise.
 
After doing that, type in, 'open anime.tcp.com 2035' or for those of you who
do not have a name server, type in, 'open 128.95.10.106 2035'
 
>From here on out, it is the MUCK.
 
Now it would be suggested that you get the MUCK documents from either
piggy.ucsb.edu or glia.biostr.washington.edu.  They have a document called
mudenc.txt and mudref.txt.  Those two files tell you a little on how to get
around on a muck and how to MUCK.  Also, for those of you who wish to program
on a muck, you might want to get the following text files from the sites:
mufman, muftut, mufref.  There is also 'info new.muf' and 'info new.prims'
on the muck for the TinyMUCK 2.2fb4.2f for the FB server's primatives that
tend to make a few more things easier (Or harder) for the programmer.
 
For those of you who are connecting as guests, here is some simple commands
to know before you get discouraged...
 
SAY <Message> or "<Message> - Say does not have to be in capitals.  This will
allow you to say something to people.
 
WHISPER <Person>=<Message> - This will allow you to say something to a
specific person.  Only that person will here it, but the person must ALSO
be in the same room.
 
POSE <message> or :<message> - This will allow you to pose something.  To best
show what a pose is, here is an example:
	Priss types in:
		:waves hello to you.
	It appears as:
		Priss waves hello to you.
 
PAGE <person>=<message> - This will allow you to send a message to a person
who is not in the room you are in.
 
LOOK [<object|person|exit>] - By typing 'look', you look at the room you are
currently in.  (One word of warning, for those of you who are running on
TELNET, there will be NO WORD WRAPPING, and if you are typing in a busy room,
your typing will be mixed in with it.  Sorry, there is nothing I can tell you
how to avoid this except maybe sneaking TF onto your account.  CaveMUCK's
Hawkeye or CaveMUCK's Jingoro at cave.tcp.com 2283 can tell you where you can
find tf for your account.)  Looking at a person/object/direction will show
whatever they just happen to describe themselves as.
 
These are just the really basic commands to help you out on exploring.  Right
now, I can not give you a detailed map of AnimeMUCK since one, I am not a 
good Mapper. :)  So it is best for you to just poke around and take a look
for yourself.  There are a few places that are not quite done yet, since we
are fairly new.  But this should be enough for you to see what to do.
			 (From a posting by Priss)

o WHAT IS THIS SAILOR MOON THING, ANYHOW?

     Sailor Moon is a Bandai television series initially aimed at 14 year-old
girls. The main characters are Tsukino Usagi, Mizuno Ami and Hino Rei (true
through episode 21). Usagi is a ditzy blonde with looong ponytails and was the
first of the girls to become a "se-ra- fuku bishojo senshi", or sailor-suited
cute girl warrior (at this point the character designs/costumes began picking
up male fans). Ami and Rei joined the team in later episodes, I think episodes
7 and 9, respectively. Kino Makoto is supposed to join the group at episode 25.
     In episode 1 Usagi is given a brooch that can transform her into a super-
hero dedicated to fighting the forces of the "Dark Kingdom". Her costume is
an abbreviated, and I *do* mean abbreviated, version of her school uniform. Her
superhero name is Sailor Moon. Ami becomes Sailor Mercury and Rei becomes
Sailor Mars. Makoto will enter the series as Sailor Jupiter.
     The girls gain special attack powers that derive from the kanji that
spell the planet their name represents (their real names are spelled with
the same kanji, by no coincidence). Thus, Tsuki-no Usagi is Sailor Moon and
throws her crescent-shaped tiara (which glows and acts like a killer frisbee).
Sailor Mercury (Mizu-no Ami) can hurl bubbles of fog to confuse and disorient.
Sailor Mars (Hi-no Rei) throws fireballs. Sailor Jupiter (Ki-no Makoto) throws
a deadly whirwind of roses.
     The series is campy and parodies a lot of different series. One
episode has the team visiting an animation studio. I think most of its
appeal is in its humor and its cult-like following. Great anime it
isn't. Great fun it is.
				(From a posting by Chris Swett)


<>