Angel's Anime Rating Guide

AnimEigo's very first release was the VHS version of  Madox-01: Metal Skin Panic ... In the first test of a revolutionary personal battle-suit, the MADOX-01, Ace female test pilot Elle Kusomoto smashes an attacking tank force and humiliates Lt. Kilgore, Japan's most macho tank-jockey, in the process. Kilgore swears he'll get even, and he gets his chance when the prototype MADOX literally falls off the back of a truck in the middle of Tokyo. Meanwhile, the MADOX, which fell off the back of one truck, off a bridge, and into the back of another truck, has found its way into the hands of college student Koji Sujimoto. Intrigued by the MADOX, Koji makes the big mistake of fooling with it without reading the manual first, and soon finds himself locked in the suit and zooming around downtown Tokyo.

Among the early hentai releases to come out of AD Visions's adult label, SoftCel, was  Magical Twilight ... Not since peanut butter met chocolate has there been a combo as eagerly anticipated by male hetero anime fans as this one: the "maho no shojo" or "magical girls" genre gets the "etchi" or softcore anime treatment in a plot about as likely as the power guy "just dropping by to check the meter." (Cue '70s porn music.) Magical witches have to go to Earth to pass their certification exam, and somehow, this ends up involving a competition between two girls to have sex with a young man.

After the success of Ranma 1/2 , VIZ, followed up with the VHS version of Maison Ikkoku ... Come to the run-down boarding house called Maison Ikkoku, and make yourself at home for Rumiko Takahashi's most romantic comedy yet. Maison Ikkoku is the story of growing closeness between a young man learning to love for the first time; a young Japanese student struggling to pass his college entrance exams, a ronin named Yusaku Godai, and a young woman learning to love again; the building's beautiful new manager, a woman who hides a secret sadness, Kyoko Otonashi. Now if only the other members of the household wouldn't meddle in their affairs...!

Years before robots with extension cords became all the rage, I picked up the VHS version of Maps ... Volume 1 When Gen Tokishima and his girlfriend Hoshimi step out of a theater showing the latest science fiction thriller, they walk into an adventure that will span the length of time and space! Confronted by scantily clad Space-Hunter Lipumira and her sixty-story-tall spaceship, our heroes learn that as a result of thousands of years of genetic programming, Gen is the only being in the entire universe who can locate the long lost crystal Maps that show the way to a priceless artifact hidden hundreds of thousands of years ago by a mysterious race of aliens! If Gen and Hoshimi have any doubts, they're quickly swept away in the chaos that follows as a second Hunter's ship arrives and begins to systematically destroy the city in search of Gen! As Earth's military is blown away, Lipumira convinces the two young lovers to join her on an epic quest for the ultimate treasure! T...

In 1995, I had seen a handful of episodes of Maxx on MTV ... The Maxx is/was a surrealistic cartoon animated by the MTV network in 1995. The Maxx is based on a comic book series. It tells a story of a man who hides behind a purple mask and of a Generation-X chick social worker who helps him through tough times. At times they are followed by a murderer; their lives in the city correspond with different lives in a parallel universe called "The OutBack" and well, ah, if you haven't seen it you really need to. Much like the works of the Surrealists, it cannot be easily explained in words.

Sometime ago, I picked up the VHS version of  MD Geist ... M.D. Geist I There has long been a quest for the perfect soldier: one who is almost invulnerable, one to lead, one to accomplish and survive what would otherwise be a suicide mission. Using advanced biotechnology, one race has reached this goal with the advent of the MDS: the Most Dangerous Soldiers. Human in appearance, these are superior in every way, and are far too dangerous to be allowed to roam freely once their initial missions are fulfilled. MD Geist, the second and perhaps most fierce of the Most Dangerous Soldiers, finds his way back to his homeworld after awakening from a forced sleep on an orbiting satellite. The world he comes home to is a shattered husk racked with civil war fought by splinter groups who use the latest in high technology coupled with old fashioned violence. Now, the army's supposedly fail-safe doomsday weapon has been activated, and besides the ever-present terrorist warriors, the entire pl...

MegaZone 23 was one of the last remnants of Streamline before its anime distribution business imploded... Part 1 Tokyo the present: Shogo Yahagi works in a burger bar and is just a normal bike-mad, girl-mad teenager until he finds an unusual motorbike called the Garland and stumbles on a massive government conspiracy. Suddenly his friends are getting killed and he and the Garland are the targets of a huge manhunt. How is the idol singer Eve Tokimatsuri involved? And what will happen to his girlfriend Yui and her two flatmates? In terrible danger, Shogo struggles to uncover the truth of the MegaZone 23, gradually realizing that nothing in his entire life has ever been exactly as it seemed.

Mermaid's Scar is the second part of the story featured in Rumik World: Mermaid Forest ... Partake of the mermaid's flesh, the legend says, and you will live forever. But what happens when you don't want to be immortal anymore...? Yuta, a seemingly fresh-faced young man, has been waiting over 500 years to discover the secret. Accompanying him on his eternal journey is his immortal traveling companion Mana, rescued by Yuta from her grisly fate as main course for a pack of wizened mermaid crones who had planned to regain their own youthful forms by eating her flesh. Together, Yuta and Mana travel across Japan in an attempt to see just how long it takes to become weary of immortality.

Sometime in the mid 90's, I picked up the VHS version of  Metal Fighters - Miku ... Volume 1 Women's Neo Pro-Wrestling is the most popular sport in the year 2061. It's wrestling with the added twist of equipping its contestants with high-tech powered Metal Suits. Clad in these armored suits, the fighter's speed and power is amplified to allow for spectacular high energy fighting action.

Years ago, anime retailer, AnimeNation , decided to enter the anime distribution business with a handful of releases including Miami Guns ... Volume 1 Spoiled rich girl Yao Sakurakouji decides to join the Miami police force to enjoy car chases, gunfights and wanton destruction. The psychotic and not-too-bright Yao is partnered with Lu Amano, the soft-spoken and sharp-tongued daughter of the police chief. Together the dirty duo clean up the streets of Miami and take on a mysterious crime syndicate known only as 'The Organization'.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is an apocalyptic mecha action series which centers around the efforts by the paramilitary organization NERV, to fight monstrous beings called Angels, primarily using giant mecha called Evangelions which are piloted by select teenagers, one of whom is the primary protagonist... J. Thompson wrote in the Right Stuf Catalog circa 1996-1997 (pages 11-12)... Once again, Gainax steps up to the plate and hits one out of the park with Neon Genesis Evangelion. Huge amounts of speculation began when it was announced that Gainax was working on something new, and it intensified when no details of the project were given. The only thing that everyone could agree on was that this thing had the potential to be huge... It was, therefore, with great anticipation that television channels were scanned in the weeks leading up to the premiere (itself, quite low key). The art flashed on the screen. The music started. The opening credits ran. Everyone was hooked. Gainax was hitt...

I watched Glass Maiden aka Crystal Blaze yesterday... Shu's a detective; the brooding, enigmatic type with an eye for the ladies. Together with his kid brother Akira and "the girls" Manami and Ayaka he runs an investigative agency that takes on the odd case here and there. Okay, odder than usual, given that their main broker is a cross-dresser and their closest associate's a doctor with a "thing" about cosplay. Then the oddest case of all comes through: a "package" intended for "delivery" that turns out to be a lot more trouble than expected.

A while back, I picked up the VHS version of Mighty Space Miners ... When disaster strikes an asteroid mining colony, who can the trapped miners call for help? Nobody! That's why only the bravest and most resourceful of individuals can ever become Mighty Space Miners, the hardworking pilots, scientists and technicians who keep earth supplied with priceless metals and isotopes from deep-space asteroid mines in the year 2060. Mighty Space Miners is also the title of a stunning animated film that accurately depicts what happens when a military satellite triggers a disaster of catastrophic proportions on a remote asteroid colony designed to literally catch Haley's Comet by the tail!

Way back in the misty dawn of time, I picked up the VHS version of Miyuki-chan In Wonderland ... She's late! She's late! And when Miyuki-chan meets a skateboarding Playboy bunny, she's going to be even later! Wonderland's never been stranger as everything from the door to the door mouse takes on feminine form. Created by the group of talented artists known as CLAMP (RG Veda, Tokyo Babylon) this beautifully animated, condensed version of the classic tale is a visual delight. Take a trip down the rabbit hole and through the looking glass with Miyuki-chan In Wonderland.

I picked up the VHS version of  Moldiver  at a time when Pioneer was still a relatively new player in the anime distribution industry and long before Pioneer went out of business... The superhero world of muscle-bound maxi-men and cranium-enhanced techno-dweebs is about to get a makeover... with Moldiver, Pioneer Animation's wonderfully wacky sarcastic take on superheroes. Desperate to prove himself the world's greatest scientific genius, the exceptionally pathetic Hiroshi Ozora creates the "Mol unit" a dimensional barrier device that cancels the laws of physics. Now most of us might waste this precious invention on curing world hunger or ending war, but super-geek Hiroshi knows better, and right away creates a superhuman, crime-fighting physique for himself. Unfortunately for Hiroshi's testosteronic dreams, his 17-year-old mallrat sister, Mirai, discovers the Mol unit and decides to give the suit a little more "style," after which Hiroshi finds himsel...

Sometime ago, I picked up Mouse ... Volume 1 20-year-old Sorata is an art instructor at Yamanoue School. Usually he's a mousy, nerdy teacher, but Sorata has a secret... he's also the internationally infamous thief Mouse, and he's a shameless flirt to boot! Assisted by his three gorgeous, busty attendants - Mei Momozono the math teacher, Hazuki Kakio the PE teacher, and Yayoi Kuribayashi the school nurse - there's nothing Mouse cannot snatch!

There were two different translations of My Neighbor Totoro , one produced by Streamline and the other by Disney. There are some subtle differences between the various translations such as when Mei sees some critters swimming in a pond near her house. One translation says "Guppies" and the other says "Pollywogs"... A wonderful movie for children or adults. Truly one of the greatest animated movies ever. Deep inside a tree trunk, two children discover a fascinating new world inhabited by Totoros, amazing, charming creatures who become their friends. Some are big, some are small, but all of them are furry, lovable and ready to do wondrous, magical things...

Years ago, I picked up  Najica: Blitz Tactics ... Volume 1 As one of the world's top perfume designers, Najica Hiiragi works with her trusty assistant Kirala to develop the Day Series perfumes for CRI Cosmetics. When not jet-setting around the world, Najica tools around neo-Tokyo in a bright red convertible. Men love her. Women want to be her.

As it happened, one the first anime that I collected was Warriors of the Wind , a heavily edited version of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind which is notable for its rather cryptic cover box showing characters that do not appear in the feature... From one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the history of animation and the creator of the Acadmy Award-winning "Spirited Away" comes Hayao Miyazzki's epic masterpiece Nausisaa of the Valley of the Wind.

I like a good monster epic, so, sometime ago, I picked up Neo Ranga ... Volume 1 A God is Risen Across the ocean, on the tiny island kingdom of Barou, something wakes an ancient god-Neo Ranga-from his slumber. He is drawn to Tokyo, and nothing's going to stop him as he searches for Minami, Ushio and Yuuhi, three beautiful sisters who are unwittingly linked to him. But instead of rolling out the red carpet, the military rolls out the weaponry, and things start to get nasty.

Just before the demise of Streamline, I picked up the dubbed VHS version of  Neo-Tokyo aka Manie-Manie, Meikyu Monogatari ... A dazzling animation tour do force. A trio of fantastic adventures by three of Japan's top film artists. Containing the complete, uncut version of "Running Man" as seen on MTV's Liquid Television.