Angel's Anime Rating Guide

Sometime ago, I picked up the VHS version of Burn Up ... Maki, Reimi, Yuka. To the unsuspecting eye they may not look like an ace crime fighting team, which might explain why these lovely young ladies have been assigned to the traffic squad instead of something more "exciting". Of course, the fact that they're NOT an ace crime fighting team might have something to do with it as well. That doesn't mean they don't have the ambition, however, so when Maki's boyfriend Kenji and his partner Banba get the assignment of proving that influential businessman Samuel McCoy is actually the head of a white slavery ring, our three heroines decide to launch a private investigation, using their own luscious bodies as bait while they troll for clues among the city's sinister labyrinth of discotheques. Unfortunately, the plan backfires and poor Yuka ends up on the "Market" herself! With the rest of the police department paralyzed by conflicting orders from ...

When VCRs still stalked the Earth, I picked up the VHS version of Burn Up W ... File 1 Skin Dive High-tech crime is running rampant in Tokyo but a special S.W.A.T unit "Warrior" is ready to hit the streets. In File 1: Skin Dive, a group of terrorists take over a luxury hotel and it's up to Special Weapons And Tactics Team Warrior to get the hostages out alive. Of course, the first step in handling terrorists is to lull them into believing that they're the ones in control of the situation, and if that means granting a FEW unreasonable demands, well that's a small price to pay, right? At least that's what Warrior Team member Rio keeps telling herself as she prepares to make the world's highest nude bungee jump. You won't believe the lengths to which the forces of justice will go in Burn Up W! - File 1: Skin Dive! The battle for the streets of Tokyo is about to begin!

A while ago, I picked up Burst Angel aka Bakuretsu Tenshi ... Volume 1 Death's Angel A new law's been passed in Tokyo. Ordinary folks are now allowed to freely carry firearms; shoot, they're even legally allowed to use'em. You might think that crime would increase, and you'd be right. But the arrest rate's gone down. After all, the only prison a dead man needs is a hole in the ground. All thanks to RAPT. The Recent Armed Police of Tokyo is stealing away jurisdiction from the local authorities quicker than a bullet leaves a barrel. What that means is that folks are getting desperate. And desperate people with itchy fingers mean more bodies in the streets.

When VCRs still stalked the Earth, I picked up the VHS version of Buttobi CPU aka I Dream of Mimi ... Akira's a normal guy ... well, normal if you ignore the fact he sometimes forgets there's a world outside of cyberspace and doesn't always notice that boys and girls really are different. His life takes a rather dramatic turn one day however when he ventures out into the sun to buy his own computer, and winds up with something a bit more than he bargained for. Her name is Pixie.

Years ago, I picked up the VHS version of Capricorn ... In the blink of an eye, high school student Taku Shimamura finds himself transported to the bizarre world of Slaffleaze, where intelligent creatures govern and the ruling class, led by the villainous Zolba, is plotting the invasion of the world they know as Capricorn... the Earth! Joining together with the oppressed Slaffleaze peasants, Taku must find a way to stop Zolba's dark forces before the way to the unsuspecting Earth is opened. In order to do so, he must first gain the love and trust of the last of the Yappie, the ancestral guardians of Slaffeaze. This is a task that will take more than a little courage and daring, for the last Yappie is not just a cute young female, she's also a dragon!

Way back when video rental stores were all the rage, I came across a handful of English dubbed episodes of  Captain Future ... It has long been believed that our solar system was made up of the sun and ten planets. Instead of the nine you see in the heavens. Astronomers have speculated that the asteroid belt of rocks and debris that circles the sun in orbit near Mars is the remains of an ancient tenth planet. Legend says this world was part of our own solar system and was a neighboring planet to Mars and the Earth. The planet was called Prometheus- named for the Greek god who stole fire from King Zeus and gave it to mankind. It is said that a great civilization once flourished on Prometheus. As Captain Future and his crew were coming to the conclusion of a routine training mission, they would not have thought that fate was to lead them to learn the truth of the tenth planet -- Prometheus.

I'm NOT a  Captain Harlock  fan, but, in all fairness, I did have to try out a few TV episodes just to make sure... Volume 1 Above the Lake Visiting his best friend's daughter, Mayu, on her birthday, the Space Pirate Captain Harlock falls into the clutches of his arch enemy Commander Kirita. Meanwhile, who is ravaging the Earth from space and what is that dark sphere on a collision course with Earth ?

Sometime ago, Cat Soup was released with a  Liquid Art Pack ... When little kitten Nyaako's soul is stolen by Death, she and her brother Nyatta embark on a bizarre journey to get it back. In the surreal dreamscape of the Other Side, they encounter many fantastic characters and remarkable, often disturbing adventures. Rich with psychotic imagery, this anime is unlike anything you've ever seen before. "It's Hello Kitty on acid!" Won double prizes in the 6th Fantasia Film Festival: "Best Short Film" and "Film Critic's Association Prize". Also, winner of the 2001 Agency for Cultural Affairs' "Excellence Prize" at Japan's Media Arts Festival.

Way back when VCRs still stalked the Earth, I picked up the VHS version of Chimera: Angel of Death ... A turn of the century tale of evil and beauty! Her name is Rei. Her code name: Chimera. The dark wasteland of the underworld is her home. People call her many things, but she is always known as an angel of death. Where Rei treads, she leaves nothing but death and grief. An expert marksman, a silent assassin, and more woman then meets the eye, but her dark secret will soon be exposed. Is this her fate for all eternity? Trapped in her own private hell of death and destruction. Where did she come from? How much longer can she continue to kill, searching for the key that will free her from her mysterious past, and her unknown future. With stunning animation and plot twists that will keep your head turning, Chimera is certain to be an instant hit! 

A while back, I picked up Chobits ... Volume 1 Persocom A Boy's first computer. A country boy from Hokkaido, Hideki arrives in the big city (Tokyo) to go to college. Instantly, he is shocked and amazed by the variety and prevalence of Persocoms: personal computers designed to look and act like animals or even people! Too poor to afford one of his own, Hideki is overjoyed to discover a discarded Persocom in a trash heap. However, this gift of fate turns into a mystery as his Persocom, Chi, appears to be able to operate without her OS. How real is real?

Years ago, I picked up Chrono (Chrno) Crusade ... Volume 1 A Plague Of Demons The year is 1928. Jazz is hot, bootleg liquor is king and the idle rich of a nation have discovered a horrifying new past time: summoning demons! To combat this growing threat, a new order of Holy Warriors has arisen. This is the story of Sister Rosette, an elite Exorcist in the Order of Magdalene, whose soul has been bound by alchemy to that of the devil Chrono. Armed with Sacred ammo, Rosette and Chrono form an unstoppable team, ready to wage war at a moments notice... because when the gates of hell are opened, someone has to put the devils back!

Sometime ago, I picked up the subtitled VHS version of City Hunter ... Movies The Motion Picture A mysterious soldier known only as Professor plots his revenge on the government that betrayed him and Tokyo is brought to its knees! Unless the government pays Professor an impossible ransom, downtown Tokyo will be completely destroyed, and the Professor's beautiful sister will be the first to go! Only City Hunter, expert detective and shameless ladies' man, can keep Tokyo from being blown sky high! The bullets fly furiously, and the women have never been more tempting as City Hunter takes it to the edge in this action-packed animated feature. Explosive action will rock your senses as you witness City Hunter's greatest challenge ever!

A while ago, I picked up the VHS version of Clamp School Detectives ... Clamp Institute, where the best and brightest go to learn. Can Nokoru, Takamura, Rei, and their CLAMP Detective Group lend a helping hand to those in distress? Volume 1 Not even the bright and talented minds of CLAMP School can keep the campus free of crimes and mysteries. Or can they? Join Nokoru, Suoh, and Akira, our case-cracking kid detectives, as they save the day and even the odd damsel in distress! In this installment, the gumshoe trio face an evil realtor, a locked room thief, a hidden treasure, and... APPLE PIE!?

Way back in the misty dawn of time, I picked up the VHS version of Cool Devices . According to the box that Cool Devices came in... Before mentioning anything here, a word of warning: This is a REALLY nasty title... This series is quite possibly the most adult thing yet animated! All of these contain graphic sexual content, and should never be viewed by anyone not of age. Period. Each tape gets worse as you watch the series! With episodes from Mon Mon, the artist that brought you the Mon Mon Candy Illustrations artbook.

Years ago, I picked up the VHS version of Cosplay Encyclopedia ... Find out everything that you've always wanted to know about costume play! Akemi Matsuzawa, former anchorwoman of the popular nightly television program Tonight II, presents the ultimate video guide to costume play. Lavishly dressed players gather one after another to let you in on their costume design secrets! STOP! 'What the heck is CosPlay?' you might be thinking. Take a crowded convention center; fill it with raving fans; dress those fans in the elaborate costumes of their favorite anime characters; and... BAM! You've got yourself CosPlay. This encyclopedia gives Western anime fans a detailed view of the Japanese CosPlay phenomenon. Featuring characters from some of today's most popular anime series such as Magic Knight Rayearth, Sailor Moon, Sorcerer Hunters and Evangelion... and characters from video game favorites like Soul Blade, Battle Arena Toshinden and Fighting Vipers. In Cosplay En...

A while back, I picked up the VHS version of Countdown ... Countdown Erotic shorts from the adult manga by Hiroyuki-Utatane are brought to life in these sizzling anthologies. Alimony Hunter Countdown brings animated life to two of the series' most popular episodes: in "Alimony Hunter" an encounter on the subway leads to an extremely unusual three-for-all in which not everybody turns out to be what they appear, and in which all concerned get what's coming to them in the end!

Sometime ago, when VCRs still stalked the Earth, I picked up the VHS version of Crying Freeman ... Yo Hinomura has been brainwashed by the Chinese Mafia. His body has been turned into a brutal super-assassin, but his mind is left free to cry for his victims. After the sultry Emu Hino sees him kill a Yakuza boss, Yo is ordered to kill her as well. But victim and assassin are taken by an irresistible attraction for each other and form a passionate bond. Together they vow to face whatever fate has in store for them. But with both the police and the Mafia out to destroy them, that's not going to be easy.

Long ago, I picked up the VHS version of Crystal Triangle ... Koichiro Kamishiro is on a rather esoteric mission: he seeks the Message of God. The interesting thing is, he's awfully close to finding it. While this philanthropic archaeologist has only the most noble designs on putting the Message to use, the myriad message-seeking maniacs on his trail aren't quite so benign. They will stop at nothing to acquire the Crystal Triangle he has discovered, which seems to be the crucial instrument in making the long-elusive Message at last available. After all whoever possesses the Message of God, it is said, holds in his hands the fate of the world.

Way back in the misty dawn of time, I picked up the VHS version of Curse of the Undead Yoma ... To avenge the woman and friends he loved, one lone warrior must seek out and slay his former comrade... but how do you kill someone who's already dead? A solitary Ninja must find the answer to that very question, and the ancient secrets of the world's oldest clan of professional assassins are pitted against the forces of evil in "Curse Of The Undead Yoma!" From nightmarish battle sequences in which blood-soaked clay literally becomes the feeding ground for the dark creatures that lay in wait beneath the surface of the earth, to flesh-eating stallions and shape-changing spiders, the action is intense and not for the squeamish in the high action sword and sorcery thriller of the year!

Years ago, I picked up the VHS version of Cutey Honey ... Some women would kill for a perfect body. Honey has a dozen of them and everyone's trying to kill her! She's Cutey Honey; a one-woman S.W.A.T. team whose android chassis is capable of changing at will into a dazzling array of hard-hitting hard bodies, each with its own unique set of skills, weapons and other impressive physical attributes.

Sometime ago, I picked up the VHS version of Cyber City Oedo 808 ... Data 1 Virtual Death Three paroled criminals must break into the most secure building in the city, rescue 50,000 hostages trapped inside, and eliminate the terrorists - all within 24 hours or their booby-trapped collars will explode!

Long ago, I picked up the VHS version of Cybernetics Guardian ... From the creator of M.D. GEIST and the director of GENOCYBER comes a new tale of futuristic combat and cybernetic monstrosities! Cyberwood - The City of Tomorrow. A majestic forest of steel and concrete which stands as a monument to human progress - a collective techno-organism being eaten away from within by the parasitic slum its inhabitants call ... Cancer.

Way back, when VCRs still stalked the Earth, I picked up the VHS version of Dangaio ... Brought together by the mysterious Doctor Tarsan, these four psychic warriors are able to unite to form DANGAIO, the most powerful weapon in the universe. Using their full psionic power, they alone can stop the bloody tyranny of Captain Garimoth. Is their psychogenic wave strong enough to destroy his evil henchman, the notorious cyborg Gil Burg? Or will the warriors fall to Garimoth's trickery which finds weakness in their forgotten pasts? An interstellar sci-fi adventure of mecha androids and transformers.

Mom and I went to see Pixar's latest movie, Brave , over the weekend... An impetuous princess discovers that her reckless choice has put both her family and her father's kingdom in peril in this animated adventure from Pixar films. As a toddler, Merida (voice of Kelly MacDonald) saw her father, King Fergus (Billy Connolly), do battle with one of the fiercest animals in the kingdom -- a horribly scarred hulk of a bear named Mordu. Though Fergus lost his leg defending his family, Merida and her mother, Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), managed to escape the beast before it vanished back into the forest. Years later, Merida has grown up to become not just a skilled archer, but also a beautiful princess who inspires a competition among the eligible bachelors in the land. But Merida has little interest in getting married, and the harder her mother pushes the issue, the more fiercely she resists it. When the tournament for her hand gets under way and a deep divide opens between mother ...

Sometime ago, on the strength of the cover art, I picked up the VHS version of Darkside Blues ... In the gothic landscape of the future, the Persona Century Corporation owns 99% of the world. They thought they wielded absolute power. They were wrong. A dangerous and lawless free zone, Kabuki Town - also known as the Darkside of Tokyo - has become an anarchistic haven for misfits, criminals, and idealistic rebels. Now, a dark mystic with the power to topple the Corporation is aware of the threat he poses. Can one mystic and a small band of rebels stand against a global dictatorship?

Dead Leaves  is produced by Production IG (Kill Bill,  Ghost in the Shell , FLCL) and directed by popular Tokyo artist Imaitoonz... Dead Leaves literally resembles an abstract, full-throttle action comic leaping to life right off the page, with an extraordinary cast of characters in a comically abusive and chaotic adventure! Pandy and Retro, two unlikely renegades, awaken naked on Earth with no recollection of their past. After embarking on a devastating crime spree for food, clothing and transportation in downtown Tokyo, they are captured by authorities and sent to the infamous lunar prison called Dead Leaves.

According to the Anime Encyclopedia , Debutante Detective Corps was conceived as a vehicle to showcase a group of minor voice actresses collectively known as Virgo ... They've been marked for murder but no one puts a hit on these Misses! Someone's trying to kill the richest girls in Japan, but when the girls in question are the five members of the Debutante Detective Corps, it's the assassins who're going to be in trouble. Meet Kimiko and Miyuki Ayanokouji, Youko Ryuzaki, Reika Shu and Nina Kirov, five of the most incredible young women in the known universe! Not only do they have a combined wealth that equals the gross national product of Japan, they each have a special ability that comes in very handy when dealing with pesky things like terrorists and kidnappers. Unfortunately, these abilities don't make life simple for Daichi and Nomura, the poor police detectives who've been assigned to protect these feminine firebrands from the forces of evil. Especially...

I first saw  Death Note  on  Cartoon Network  and the series intrigued me, so, when the opportunity arose to pick up the series, I did... Volume 1 Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects - and he's bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal... or his life?