From: doi@jrd.dec.com (Hitoshi Doi =?ISO-2022-JP?B?GyRCRVowZj9OO1YbKEI=?= )
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime
Subject: [Curtis Hoffman] Anime Reviews for the Tokyo Area
Date: 13 Sep 92 22:19:40 GMT
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Curtis did update this.  But he didn't change the version number.
I think it's supposed to be 1.3..

                   Anime Reviews for the Tokyo Area  (ver. 1.2)

   You'd think that of all the places to go to watch, and review, anime,
Tokyo would be the best.  But that's kind of a fallacy.  It's too
expensive to buy very many tapes or LDs, and it costs 1600 yen (about
$12 US right now) go watch a movie in the theaters.  Rental is better,
if you're lucky to have a nearby shop with a wide selection of tapes
(but I haven't found a place that rents LDs,) but even this can add up
and you're faced with the normal drawbacks inherent in renting tapes.
Lastly, while you'd think that Tokyo TV would have a flood of great
anime on the air, it doesn't (Osaka is actually the better place for TV
anime.)  On top of all this, if you're in a situation similar to mine,
you'll find yourself in a cockroach-ridden gaijin house, competing with
several other people for the use of the TV and VCR.  (NOTE:  The VCR
died late in July, and we won't being getting a replacement for several
months at the earliest.)
   And, one thing I'm annoyed by: in the weeks since I started reading
the TV listings on June 20, there have only been three anime movies and
one documentary on Tokyo television.  I consider that to be pretty
pathetic, even allowing for the fact that the Olympics were running
for 2 weeks during that time.

   I have started referring to the Triple-Repeat Pan in my comments
about some of these shows.  There is a full description of the TRP in
the Lupin III movie review at the end of the file, for those of you that
can't already recognize the phrase.

   With all of the whining out of the way, the following are my
impressions of what I've seen.


   Ranma 1/2:
   I don't care what anyone else says, being able to watch ANY Ranma
episodes live on a good TV is a great experience.  I tape the shows
when I can, and eagerly await Hitoshi's synopses.  This is still a fun
series to watch, and it's better when it's not a 10th generation copy.
Unfortunately, this series is scheduled to end in September.

   Dragon Ball Z:
   If you've never watched this series, you can at least get an idea of
what it's like from Hitoshi's synopses, or by reading the manga serialized
in Shonen Jump.  This is a space-opera martial arts psychic combat
adventure, based on the earlier Dragon Ball series.  The story is rather
unpredictable, and the characters don't get along with each other too well.
Innocent people die rather often, and the face of the planet occasionally
gets rearranged when some of the combat gets rather more intense.
   I've never heard a more mis-matched voice for an anime character,
than the one used for Goku, the hero.  I'm not going to spoil the shock
for you, you just have to hear it for yourself.  Also, the fighting
action has to be seen to be believed.  Often, it's VERY fast; unlike
western cartoons, Dragon Ball Z's combat is not slowed down so that
ordinary people can follow it.
   Definitely worth watching.  However, Hitoshi Doi and I think that the
series will end when the current big battle is wrapped up.  (Maybe not
until late September or October.)  NOTE: As of Sept. 3, I have already
noticed some major discrepancies between the TV series, and the manga.
The manga story seems to be moving along at its own pace, but the TV
series seems to be heading more quickly toward a major climax.

   Dragon Ball:
   This is the original series, currently in re-runs in Tokyo.  This is
very silly (almost as bad as Dr. Slump,) with the story echoing the video
arcade RPG adventures that were a popular fad a few years ago.  The
characters are trying to locate the seven Dragon Balls, which are rumored
to grant one wish to their possessor.  Along the way, there is a huge
amount of toilet and sex humor.  Not for the prim and prissy, but
something I definitely consider hilarious at times (even when I can't
follow the dialog.)  Plus, the artwork is really well-done, as are the
pacing and "camera-shots."

   Minky Momo:
   A children's series, aimed mainly at young girls.  I've only been
able to watch a few episodes, and they're animated as well as one would
expect for a TV show.  But there's some nice visual jokes, and
some interesting story twists.  If you can ignore the cute characters,
big eyes, and non-violent action, then you can appreciate a show that is
leaps and bounds better than its Western equivalents.  I rate it higher
than most of the anime on Japanese TV right now.
   One of the best sequences had two neighboring islands worshipping
statutes of Minky (placed there when Minky's grandmother was a playful,
young child-goddess.)  The problem is, the statues show Minky as a child
on one island, and a grown woman on the other.  This causes the
islanders to fight bitter wars, to determine which one is worshipping
the true faith.  Minky stumbles across this, and ultimately gets so
frustrated at not being able to stop the war, that she uses her wand to
turn into a young woman in camo fatigues, and carrying a bazooka.  She
shoots the volcanoes on both islands, causing them to erupt (which does
stop the war...)

   Yawara!:
   Sigh.  I AM in heaven (coff coff, damn smog.)  If you aren't familiar
with the story, RUN out NOW, and buy all of the manga.  This is definitely
worth the money.
   Yawara is a young girl (now a young woman) who is a natural at judo,
but who really just wants to lead the same kind of normal life other
girls lead.  But, at long last, she actually WANTS to stay in Judo, and
to attend the Barcelona Olympics where she's Japan's entry in the
unlimited weight class.  The actual serialized manga will not have
Yawara competing until well after the real events are history, and the
TV series is only now covering the manga stories from last February.
So, the future stories may actually echo the events from the real
Olympics.
   The TV series has better than average animation, and the stories are
very compelling.  The voices are well-matched with the characters, and
the background music fits well, too.  I have seen some of the judo
competion footage, and the judo animation is pretty damn good -- a few
too many speed lines, and triple-repeat-pans at times, but not excessively
so.
   No question, this is one of the best series on Japanese television
to date.  And, it too is scheduled to end in September.  Damn, damn,
damn.

   Sazae-san:
   This is by far the most popular series in Japan, up to well over
3100 episodes (most are only 10-15 minutes long.)  The character
designs are very simplistic, and the animation is virtually non-existant.
But the true appeal of this series is in the dialog and character
interactions.  Unfortunately, because I can't follow the dialog, almost
all of the humor is lost on me.
   This is kind of an every-family slice of life series that appeals to
the Japanese middle-class.  Unless it becomes fan-subtitled, there will
never be much of an U.S. following for it.  Which is a shame, because,
due to its very popularity, it is a great indicator to the Japanese
frame of mind.  Note: the creator of this series had died in May of
1992, but the anime studio has enough scripts to carry the TV series for
some time, yet.

   Chibi Maruko-chan:
   Not quite as popular as Sazae-san, Chibi still has about the same
kind of appeal.  The character designs are a little more modern, and
westernized, and the animation is just as limited.  The voices are
funny just by themselves, and there is just enough action to provide a
clue as to what the stories are about.
   Unfortunately, most of the humor is still buried in the dialog.  But,
if you have a chance, you really should get your hands on a few episodes
of Chibi, because the visual humor is still strong enough to be funny to
western fans.

   Dai no Dai-boken (AKA Dragon Quest):
   I don't know enough about this particular incarnation of the series
(Hitoshi tells me that everything changed but the name.)  I have only
been able to watch a few minutes of two episodes, but I'm not impressed.
The animation is poorer than average, and the storylines and action are
poor rip-offs of the early Dragon Ball episodes.  Cooking Papa is on at
the same time, and is more exciting to watch.

   Cooking Papa:
   I've only been able to read a couple of manga installments of this
series (the TV series time-slot competes with two other shows.)  But the
manga is interesting.  Papa is a big man, that gets to help solve other
peoples' personal problems.  Along the way, he prepares food and the
recipes get run in the manga (and at the end of the TV episode,) as well.
The characters have a rather simple design, and are easily identified as
"a manga style."
   I'm planning on trying the recipe for cocktails, some time soon.

   Futari no Lotte:
   This is actually not bad.  The animation is so-so, but the character
designs are quite good (read: realistic.)  I really can't figure out the
story, but it concerns a pair of identical sisters and their parents (who
are facing separation.)  It deals with real-world events and problems,
with a little bit of mystery and suspense thrown in.  It is a soap opera,
but a better one than the sports soaps.
   Basis for the new movie "Watashi to Watashi" (I and I.)

   Bush Baby:
   This is not exactly the greatest name for a Japanese show, but the
show itself has its merits.  Bush Baby seems to be the name of a kind of
over-grown kangaroo rat that is the pet of the heroine.  This is a girl's
show, with similarities to Tintin (ie. a young girl travelling to exotic
lands and having wonderous adventures.  However, unlike Tintin, the
heroine here does not do any fighting -- she's too kind and gentle
for that, so the fighting is left up to her adult male friends.)  So far,
most of the action has taken place in either Africa or India.  The
animation is average for TV, but the character designs are pretty good,
as is the use of color.  The stories seem interesting, and the background
artwork is great.  This series is worth some additional attention.

   Sailor Moon:
   This is a girl's anime, with three young teenage girls as the
main characters.  Sailor Moon has a wand that gives her magic
powers to solve her problems, and a cat that talks.  There are some
rather unique storylines, many of them revolve around growing up, and
young love.  However, there are also evil forces that have magic powers
themselves, and are constantly at work to corrupt the heroines.  The
first episode I saw had one of the characters taking up animation, but
becoming possessed by an evil drawing pencil.  If nothing else, even if
you'd prefer to watch people die in bloody ways, or love stupid giant
robot shows, you can watch this series for the great artwork and special
effects.
   Note: The three main characters have "sailor" as the first part of
their names, because of the dresses they wear.
   Hitoshi thinks that when Ramna 1/2, Yawara!, and Dragon Ball Z all
end, Sailor Moon will be the only continuing series worth summarizing.
*I* think that he should switch to summarizing Minky Momo, first.

   Honoo no Tokyu-ji Dodge Danpei:
   In their quest for a new idea for a sports soap, this show's creators
came up with the concept of tournament elimination, or murder ball.
(You have two teams, and one ball like a soccerball.  When someone gets
hit without catching the ball, they are out of the game.  The winning
team either eliminates all of the opposing team, or has the most people
still on the court when the clock runs out.)
   Danpei is the hero; a little kid with flaming red hair, and a temper
to match.  He is following the steps of his big brother -- a master dodge
ball player, now missing.  The animation isn't all that bad, and the
story is more or less plausible (ignoring the fact that some of the
master players can throw the ball with such force that it can crackle in
the air, and blast through walls.)  However, there is a strong element
of mysticism, and legend in the series, which is exemplified by the
episode where Danpei and friends find an old temple in the jungle (of,
I think, Japan,) where an ancient, magic, dodge ball has been enshrined.
And yes, this old dodge ball does endow the thrower with great strength
and speed, but only if said thrower can tap into his own inner self at
the time of the throw.
   Overall, this is not a bad series, but also not a great one.  The
pacing tends to bog down, and some of the game concepts are flawed.
There are way too many recycled sequences, speed lines, and
Triple-Repeat Pans, though.  But, it is currently a continuing series,
and is also the basis for a number of Nintendo-style games.
   (As a side note: I have actually seen mention in the TV listings of
competion dodge ball, so this does seem to be a real game in Japan,
after all.  But, I haven't watched any of it yet.)

   Obotchama-kun:
   This is a weird little show.  It's aimed mainly at kids, but I think
there's also a number of jokes that only adults would understand.  The
hero is a VERY obnoxious little boy, who is kept in line by his more
pleasant friends.  There's lots of odd visual stuff going on, and lots
of toilet humor.  But, it's still funny in a twisted, demented way, and
the stories are rather non-standard (mainly about the kinds of
situations that bizarre school children can get into.  AND, it has some
of the more interesting background mood music of the kiddies shows I've
heard so far.  Definitely worth watching 3 or 4 times.
NOTE: The ending theme song was performed by MC Hammer, and he appears in
the closing animation sequence.

   Yatta-man:
   In Tokyo, at 7:00 AM, the cartoons rotate for each day of the week,
on channel 12.  So, Yatta-man isn't on every day, which is a shame,
given the other stuff in the rotation.
   Yatta-man is a giant funny robot, crewed by two young teenage
crimefighters.  This is obviously a kid's show, with an animation level,
and character design that indicates it was made in the early 70's.  In a
way, this is like either a predecessor, or cheap knock-off, of the
early Lupin III series.  The main character is an evil young woman who,
with her two incompetent henchmen, commits crimes using very silly
over-grown robots, under the command of an unseen master villian (very
similar to Boris Badenov, and Fearless Leader.)  Most of the show
centers on the villians as they do things like run a fake body-building
gym to con kids out of their money.  Then, near the end of each episode,
Yatta-man and the two heros appear and defeat the villians in a
typically stupid '70s American fashion (Yatta-man can produce any kind
of robot weapons it needs for each show.)
   Basically, this show sounds very derivative, and limited.  But.
Within these confines, the animators get away with some very funny gags,
and some of the story ideas are quite original.  This is one of my
favorite of the older re-runs, and I recommend it as such.

   Maboroshi Mabochan:
   Mabochan is a giant fuzzy blue cyclops monster that is the pet of 4
small kids -- he can do almost anything.  The character designs are
wide-eyed and almost a caracature of the art-deco style (the eyes all
have the pie-slice feature of the early Disney cartoons, and some of the
characters have huge gash-like mouths.)  In a way, everyone has been
drawn in chan-form.  The things that help this series stand apart are:
the inventive stories, and the main villians: The leader is an attractive
blond woman straight out of gangland Chicago, and her two henchmen
look sort of like Laurel and Hardy.  Whenever the woman villian gets
angry, she pulls out a tommygun, and fills the air with lead.  She even
occasionally hits her targets.
   The artwork is good, the animation is average, and the music is
rather peppy.  There is even a cute little closing sequence featuring
a Japanese band playing "Cycling Boogie" while one of the little boys
rides a tricycle in silouette. (sp?): right at the end, he rides off the
edge of the screen and crashes -- all you see is one wheel rolling back
on screen and falling over.

   Mama wa Shogaku:
   I really can't say much about this series, because it is on opposite
several other shows that I've been watching instead.  However, if you
read any of the monthly anime magazines, you've seen pictures of a young
girl, and the cute little baby that she cares for.  The girl has a
magic compact (like that from Mary Bell, Sailor Moon, and Minky Momo,) a
magic flute, and a baby that seems to get into much more trouble than one
would normally expect.  Her mother is in London, don't know about her
father -- he's not shown much if ever.  But, the character designs are
much more realistic and "human-looking" than that of the other girls'
wish-fulfillment shows, and the main girl doesn't actually have the
ability to transform into anything.
   If it didn't appear so toxically cute, I'd watch a full episode just
to get a better feel for it.  Instead, if we ever get another VCR here,
I'll tape an episode while watching Metal Jack, which is on at the same
time.

   Agetama:
   This is a show that, under normal conditions, I'd ignore.  The hero
is a young boy who has a cute flying robot soccerball that helps him out
of certain jams.  However, when trouble arises, the soccerball turns
into a mecha suit that the kid wears.  Further, when the situation gets
really bad, the kid creates a special floppy disk that is flipped into
the suit to give him specific powers.  The animation is pretty good, the
character designs are good, and the music and background artwork are
good.
   But, it's just a little boys' wish-fulfillment series.  The real
reason for watching it, though, is the villian.  She is a rich teenage
girl with an aged mad-scientist father who wants to take over the world.
The girl is reminiscient of an evil Yuri (Dirty Pair,) and has a twisted
sense of fun.  In a recent episode, her father turns one of his
bodyguards into a giant python.  The python hypnotizes people into
eating one of the apples it has in a basket.  Once eaten, the apple
causes the victim to take off all of his/her clothes.  The girl gets
force-fed one apple, and strips down to her panties.  She has a great
body, and for about 8 frames is topless; then all of her friends step in
the way to prevent people from seeing her.  (This is not standard
western fare.)  To combat the python, Agetama changes into his suit, and
takes on the special powers of -- a Heavy Metal Glam rocker, complete
with face paint, deaths-head necklaces, nail polish, lingerie underwear,
and chains.  I loved it.
   The best part is the closing animation sequence, featuring poses by
the girl villian as she grew up (one picture has her wide-eyed and cute
in a crib, laying on a pillow with 10,000 Yen bills painted on it,) set
to a Spanish fan-dance song.  I consider it hilarious.

   Sangokushi:
   The title translates to "3-country something."  This is an ancient
samurai drama, concerning two or three (hard to tell) warring countries.
The main characters are all members of the upper court.  The character
designs are rather stylized, and stiff, but still interesting to look
at.  But, because the stories revolve around massive ground-force
battles and some court intrigue I can't follow, I don't watch this show
very much.

   Ultraman, and the toy boat thing:
   Ultraman is classified as a cartoon, although it's really one of the
rubbersuit genre entries.  At 7:30 AM, channel 12 will run a 5-minute
villian feature, where any given monster will be highlighted.  We'll be
shown it's height (usually 40 meters or taller,) weight (in tons,) and
abilities (usually "breathes flame, or throws humongous boulders.)
Then, there will be a fight where Ultraman loses, followed by one where
he wins (also accompanied by slow-motion replays.)  The actual TV show
itself is aired at 2:00 PM, and is hilariously bad.
   I don't care enough about the toy boat thing that is on right after
the Ultraman re-cap to determine the show's title.  But, it too is
called a cartoon.  Really, it's nothing more than some little wooden
boats with faces carved and painted on the smokestacks, and eyes that
move a little.  The dialog is all done as narrative voice-overs, since
none of the "characters" have lips.  This is the kind of dumb show that
has the same appeal to very young children as _Gumby_ has.  I consider
it a waste of time, and it should be replaced by something else that I'd
rather watch.

   Kinniku-man:
   This is one of the odd-ball series (aren't they all?) featuring
professional wrestling with guys that all have silly gimmicks -- aimed
at children.  The animation isn't all that great, and the storyline
lacks a lot at times.  But, it is occasionally funny.  (Each wrestler
normally has a kanji on their forehead -- the leader has "King," his wife
has "Mama," and Kinniku-man has "niku == meat.")

   Tetsujin-28:
   The original Tetsujin-28 was a black-and-white series made in the
60's.  It was pretty bad, about a giant robot that followed the orders
of a young boy through a hand-controller, for fighting crime.
   The new series has updated both the robot design, and the stories.
But, Tetsujin-28 is still hand-controlled, while its opponents are all
giant robots with human operators inside them.  The animation is pretty
good, and the character designs are much improved over the originals.
The character interactions are very realistic, although the dumb stories
themselves are still aimed at kids.
   This is an interesting series in its own way, and deserves some
attention from the western fans.

   Super Bikkuri-man:
   Part of the idea of this series is to create a dungeon and dragons
fantasy story for kids.  But, there's also a certain amount of
technology being used, too.  There are three boys, and one girl, running
around completing quests, and they can invoke power suits (ala Bubble
Gum Crisis) when they need to.
   This is not one of the better fantasy series, and could be easily
ignored, if it weren't for the great background artwork, and the silly
use of chan-style drawings with crayon backgrounds when various
characters freak out.  Basically, the animators like to play with
various artforms to get unusual effects.

   Metal Jack:
   In a way, this is just another crime-fighters-in-power-suits series
(ala Bubble Gum Crisis,) but the thing that sets it apart is the
characterization for the bad guys.  The villians have believable
motivations, desires, and drives.  When they die, I wish they hadn't.
This is an excellent example of animators "acting" with their pencils.
The good guys aren't as believable, but I really like the bad guys.
   The artwork is good, the animation is ok, and the background music is
pretty good.  The voice acting is really good, and the special effects
animation is good for explosions, but horrible for things like smoke.

High School Kimengumi:
   This is a new series, in that I saw it listed in the paper for the
first time on August 28.  It seems to be an attempt to tell the high
school punk stories like _Bebop High School_, and _Rokudenashi Blues_,
to a TV audience of young school kids.  That is, the characters are
funny punks, often drawn in chan style, and do many very silly things
simply for the slapstick value.  I'm not sure I want to watch too many
other episodes, although there are some funny gags.  The animation is TV
quality, the character designs are definitely "oddball," and the
background artwork is pretty good.  The voices are grating, and I don't
remember the background soundtrack at all.
   If you remember the old cartoons featuring the Beatles in various
slapstick situations, you'll have an idea what HSK is like.
   SECOND TAKE: 
   I have now watched two episodes, and I guess I'm hooked.  The show
is, ostensibly, about the two girls in the class, and the guys are just
there for comic relief.  Or, maybe they're not.  Anyway, the second
episode concerned the heros competing in a baseball game against the
best team in the school.  The heros win, but not it's not easy to tell
how.  Anyway, at the end, the villian's star pitcher throws his secret
weapon -- a grounder that plows a trench to the plate, hits the plate
and bounces up into the batter's strike zone -- while pitching against
the main screwball for the final, crucial out of the last inning.
First throw, a strike.  Second, the main screwball hits for a foulball.
Before the third, the main screwball asks to swing with two bats, and
hits a home run.  The class teacher, who has been acting as the game's
announcer, asks the color commentator for elaboration on how this play
had been made.  Thereby stepping into one of the most brilliant jokes
about the Schick twin-blade razor I have ever seen.  And, finally, the
principle is shown complaining that the screwballs won -- pulling his
hair and yelling in English, "Shit, shit, sh...., shit, shit, shit!"
   The animation is pretty bad, and the action isn't all that
believable, but it's now on daily, at 4:00 PM.  Just about when the
kiddies get home.
   Good stuff.
   Kimengumi == "A Class Startling By Its Appearance."

   Salaryman:
   _Gimme A Break_ is a variety show on Tuesdays at 9:00 PM, where 6
people sit around and discuss the stuff they shown.  The first week I
caught this, there was a horror theme with 2 cartoons and one
live-action short.  The first was a girl's horror, about a beautiful
ball gown that has a red rose pattern on it.  The dress is delivered
by a strange figure that disappears in a flutter of black rose petals
before the door is opened.  Each girl (victim) has trouble getting boys,
and feels that the dress will help them out.  They are then possessed
by the dress, and either go insane, or disappear entirely.  The dress is
then delivered to the next girl in line.
   The second anime story was from the continuing series, "Salaryman."
(Mangajin has carried a couple examples of _Salaryman_ in the past.)
Salaryman is a scary guy that has huge red lips frozen in a permanent
smile, huge eyes that stare fixedly into space, a black bowler, and
black suit.  He goes around the city targeting people, and kind of
bringing about their destruction in one way or another (sort of like an
evil Alfred Hitchcock.)
   Gimme a Break does not seem to have a consistent pattern for its
weekly schedule, since the show has had a variety of live-action
"documentary" subjects in the subsequent weeks (like the piece on
Japanese women that married Korean men prior to World War II.)
   However, _Salaryman_ is on every week.  The girls' horror story was
pretty interesting, and fairly well made, (although I didn't care for the
character designs, which ressembled that of _Love and Rockets_.)
_Salaryman_ suffers from very limited character animation at times,
although the character designs are all pretty good.  Salaryman himself
bothers me, because of his focussed, malicious targetting of people that
don't seem to initially deserve their fates.   (This may be a subconscious
view normal Japanese workers have of their real salary-men counterparts,
which is also disturbing in its own way.)  In any case, both this show,
and _Salaryman_, require further attention.

   Tiny Toon Adventures:
   I might as well review this too, as it is one of the regular series
in the weekly line-up.
   When I was in the U.S., I caught a couple episodes of TTA, and was
completely unimpressed.  The action was too frantic and uncontrolled to
be funny, the "takes" didn't stay on the screen long enough to make the
proper impact, and the voices stunk.  Further, I was turned off by the
hype, and the noise made by its all too excitable fans.
   But, since coming to Japan, and having more free time (plus the fact
that I am activily watching anime specifically to review it) I've been
more willing to leave the TV on when TTA starts up.
   Basically, TTA is very uneven, both in terms of its animation, and
story lines.  The voices of the original characters like Bugs Bunny,
Wilie E., and Foghorn, are not even close to what Mel Blanc gave us (ie.
-- read "worse than pathetic.")   When the show is "on," it is very
funny, and some times even inspired.  Otherwise, the jokes are stale,
the storylines are trite and predictable, and it even becomes incredibly
preachy (worse than the worst of the _Disney Ducktales_, and _Rescue
Rangers_ garbage.)
   I do have a couple favorite episodes, and there are also some real
bombs.  But, the rest of the series can just as easily be ignored.
   One amusing note is that TTA is broadcast bilingually, and if you
have the right kind of TV or VCR, you can choose to listen either to the
English dialog, or to the Japanese dub.  The Japanese voices are even
worse than the English ones, and the lip-sync suffers, too.

   Ah, Harima-nada:
   Harima is a renegade sumo wrestler (from what I can tell) who is
tolerated by the other top wrestlers mainly because he's so good.  When
he goes into the ring for a big match, he wears some kind of mask or
headdress that's guaranteed to get the audience frothing mad.
   The character designs are blocky, and almost everyone has thick black
eyebrows.  The animation is limited, but there's some great background
artwork, the character designs are interesting, and the voice acting is
passable.  I haven't really noticed the background music, but the sound
effects are good.  The stories usually revolve around the sumo ring, the
conflicts between Harima and the rest of the sumo world, and the background
history for each new opponent.
   This is not a very realistic series, in that normal heavy-weight sumo
doesn't look anything like this.  However, you can learn about idealized
sumo, and it is kind of fun to watch.  I recommend this series as an
entertaining diversion.

   Ooi Ryoma:
   Old style ronin-type samurai story.  Ryoma is a wandering kendo
master with a very high level of honor, and a sense of the appropriate
as it applies to assholes with a higher rank than he has.  (Ie., when
they want to beat him up, he'll let them.)  He is close friends with the
villagers, when he stays at a town.  The artwork good, as is the
character designs.  It's not a great series, and the animation is TV
level, but it is fairly interesting.  I've only watched one episode, so
can't really pan or recommend it.  However, I do rank it higher than
_Sangokushi._

   Japanese History:
   This is presented as kind of a talk show, with just one host, and all
of the stories are narrated.  It's a creation of the NHK educational
channel.  The characters don't actually talk, as the actors just read
their dialog as voice-overs.  There's no real animation -- it's just
moving illustrations, shot on 12s.  (12 frames per cel, the norm is 2
frames per cel.)
   This show is one way to learn more about Japan, if you can understand
the language, but although the paper lists it as a "cartoon," it isn't.
Unless you CAN understand Japan, ignore this show as a waste of tape.


   All the other stuff.
   There are several other shows that appear in re-runs at various times
during the week, but are listed in the English newspaper, Japan Times,
simply as "cartoon."  In these cases, it is difficult to tell what the
names actually are sometimes.
   There is a predominance of giant robot, and mecha suit, anime aimed
directly at school kids.  And, after a while it's hard to tell the
difference between them.
   There are also several sports-oriented series (like "Ace wo Nerae,"
and "Ashite e Free Kick" -- tennis and soccer) that are really nothing
more than over-blown soap operas with a sports twist.  The differences
between these shows and Yawara are in the quality of animation (the
other shows use many more holds, recycled sequences, and close-ups of
tear-filled eyes,) the trite "acting", and the mundane storylines.  (In
other words, Yawara is great anime, the "sports soaps" are not.)
   The main reason for not reviewing these shows is that I haven't
watched a single complete episode for any of them.  If I can form a
solid opinion of any of these shows, I'll review them.


Movies:
-------

   Lupin III: Russia yori Ai wo Komete
   This is apparently a new Lupin III movie made for TV, with a 1992
copyright date. I have not heard anything about it before.  The animation
is not very good, and there is a very heavy reliance on that purely
Japanese effect -- the triple repeat attack (TRP: when someone gets hit
hard, the camera pans by the attack three times, occasionally with little
variations in each pan, like zooming in a bit for each pan.)  The TRP gets
used WAY too many times in this movie, and sometimes gets used for the
most trivial attacks.
   Basically, Count Romanov left a huge treasure behind him when he
died, with clues to its whereabouts buried in his diary.  Lupin goes
after the treasure with Jigen, and some help from Fujiko and some
strange girl that seems to be working with some government agency.
Zenigata is on Lupin's trail, as always.  But, there is someone else
after Lupin, constantly sending out the same two assassins -- this
person is Rasputin, the crazed advisor and mystic from Russian
history (and who is actually supposed to be dead right now.)
   Goemon, Lupin's ally, is working for Rasputin in this movie, and is
the victim of the one of the oddest elements in this movie -- Rasputin
loves jamming his finger into people's facial orifices, and when this
happens, the camera switches to a shot from within the orifice as the
finger is inserted (this tends to get gross quickly.)
   Fujiko and the other woman also alternate between helping Lupin, and
stealing from him -- and then stealing from each other.  This strange
woman also turns out to be working for Rasputin (and she has a few
secrets herself.)
   The character designs are reminiscent of the original TV series, and
the animation isn't very solid.  The use of color is good, as is the
music.  The voice for Lupin is a little more throaty, as if the actor has
smoked too many cigarettes lately.  The story is the standard
fantasy/action, again reminiscent of the TV series.
  Overall, this was a disappointing movie, even for TV.  I have yet to
see _Napoleon's Dictionary_ (now available for rental,) which was made in
1991, so do not know just how the animation has regressed recently.
   _Russia yori Ai wo Komete_ is still worth watching, just for the
action sequences, and the interaction between Lupin and Fujiko, though.


   Halley Densetsu -- Love Position
   Despite the title, this is not a sex film.  Basically, it's more of
the standard space battle operas similar to the Gundam action, but
without the giant robots.  There are two sets of main couples: a soldier
fighting in space, who gets shot down on a planet with a strange woman
who nurses him back to health; and the soldier's son, 20 some years after
the soldier returns to Earth, and the son's girlfriend.
   Because I don't understand Japanese, and this wasn't subtitled, I
couldn't figure out the various plot complications very well, so I'm not
exactly sure why the terminator-style cyborg is out to kill the two sets
of couples.  The ending is rather well done, but the intervening space
between the opening credits, and the point when the cyborg lands on
Earth, unfolds too slowly and with too much of a cliched soap opera feel
for my tastes (like certain parts of Gundam.)
   The animation is about TV level, with lots of close-ups of
tear-filled eyes, and people yelling at each other.  The story has been
done before, in a number of American movies, and doesn't really add
anything new beyond the gimmick hinted at by the title.  The music is ok,
and the voice acting is decent.
   The gimmick: The first woman hero makes her appearance on Earth via
a stasis capsule on Halley's Comet.
   Overall, I'd say that this movie pretty much ignorable.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ratings:

   I'm going to list some of the anime titles currently shown in Tokyo,
in attempt to rate them for watchability.  This may give you an idea of
the types of things you should demand from your local club or trader.

               New Anime
Title
------------------------------
Yawara!
Ranma 1/2
Dragon Ball Z
Dragon Ball
Bush Baby
Futari no Lotte
Sailor Moon
Minky Momo
Obotchama-kun
Honoo no Tokyu-ji Dodge Danpei
Chibi Maruko-chan
Sazae-san



                Re-runs
Title
------------------------------
Yawara!
Dragon Ball
Yatta-man


--
Hitoshi Doi, International Open Systems Engineering        doi@jrd.dec.com
Japan Research and Development Center               decwrl!jrd.dec.com!doi
Digital Equipment Corporation Japan                     doi@decvax.dec.com
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime