//////////////////////////////ANIME STUFF 111 00000000 111 000 000 111 000 000 111 000 000 111 00000000 "Reviews and Information for the Anime Gourmet!" 4/9/1989 This is the 10th in a series of newsletters featuring of comments and reviews of anime (Japanese animation) items that we have bought. Please direct any comments to us by E-mail or post us a message in the Forum. We also welcome any reviews or comments you would like to have included in the next ANIME STUFF issue. Also please send us any comments about any incorrect information contained here. A correction will be placed in the next ANIME STUFF. The ANIME STUFF Staff... - Tom Mitchell : Editor, Writer, Graphics, CompuServe Distributor CompuServe Address : 75156,1067 - Masaki Takai : Writer & BBS System Distributor CompuServe Address : 75106,3257 - Mike & Janet Naylor : Writers CompuServe Address : 76074,1631 - Rick Sternbach : Anime Modeler, Writer CompuServe Address : 74616,526 - Jude George : USENET Distributor, Writer CompuServe Address: 72307,1752 USENET Address : jg2f@andrew.cmu.edu Contributing Authors for this Issue: - Albert Wong CompuServe Address : 72657,2103 ////////////////////////////////QUICK NOTE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Whew! Well, the 1st ANIME STUFF ANIME POLL is all done and compiled. It was quite a job, but the results were worth it. I learned a lot of interesting things from it, as you will when you read the data. One of the things we may have to write is an article on the differences between Original Anime Videos and Feature Films. A lot of folks didn't know what some of their favorite shows were. For example, the original Project A-ko was a feature film, not an OAV. The Dirty Pair Movie was a movie, not an OAV. (grin) I hope you enjoy the poll results! If you don't like 'em, you should have voted!!! (Hahahahaaaaaaaaa!) (<-- Two of my favorites won!) - Tom /////////////////////////////GIF GRAPHICS NOTE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ The following is a list of the CompuServe GIF graphics that accompany this issue of ANIME STUFF. They are in 320 X 200 X 16 color format. AS10G1: The cover for this issue! Lum votes Ataru!!! Cover illustration by Tom Mitchell. (Let's see someone else draw something for a change!!!) (grin) AS10G2: STUFFY AWARD FOR MOST CATEGORIES WON IN POLL AS10G3: STUFFY AWARD FOR MOST CATEGORIES WON IN POLL (Yep, a tie!) AS10G4: STUFFY AWARD FOR MOST TOTAL VOTES IN POLL AS10G5: DOMINION original poster featuring Alu and Leona. Alu and Leona get a new Tank Police logo on their tank! Buaku seems to like it too! (grin) |||||||||||||ANIME STUFF SPECIAL - FIRST ANIME POLL RESULTS!|||||||||| Here it is! The results from our first anime poll. The poll took place on all computer systems where ANIME STUFF is officialy distributed, and is comprised of the votes of all of our readers on those systems who took the time to vote. Thanks for your participation. There are a lot of surprises contained in the poll data, so I'll let the results speak for themselves. Congratulations to the winners! Data on the special Stuffy Award winners for Most Total Votes and Most Categories Won is compiled at the end of this list. I bet you may be surprised who turned out to be the most popular anime among our readers! Also keep in mind that not all people who sent in their poll sheets voted in all categories. That is, folks who were not familiar with a category, or did not have an opinion on a category just left that part of their forms blank. And, there may be some errors in the names of films or characters. Since there are things I have not seen, I had to count on the folks sending the votes in to get the names right. (grin) The Winners and Total Votes in the different categories... * Favorite 3 Anime Feature Films #1> Nausicaa: 17 #2> Macross Movie: 16 #3> Laputa: 15 A-ko 1: 13 Akira: 13 Wing of Honneamise: 10 Caliostro Castle (Lupin the 3rd): 9 Tonari no Totoro: 8 Gundam - Char's Counterattack: 6 Dirty Pair Movie: 6 Urusei Yatsura 2 - Beautiful Dreamer: 6 Windaria: 3 Crusher Joe: 2 Lensman: 2 My Youth in Arcadia: 2 Urusei Yatsura 1 - Only You: 2 Urusei Yatsura 3 - Remember My Love: 2 Urusei Yatsura 4 - Forever Lum: 2 Arion: 1 Final Yamato: 1 Grave of the Firefly: 1 Gundam II: 1 * Worst Anime Feature Film > Project A-Ko: 4 Robotech Movie (Butchured Megazone 23 Part 1): 2 Sait Seiya vs Eris: 2 2001 Space Fantasia: 1 Ai City: 1 Arion: 1 Caliostro Castle: 1 Crusher Joe: 1 Dagger of Kamui: 1 Dr. Slump: 1 Hokuto No Ken Movie: 1 Kin Niku Man: 1 Future War 199x: 1 Macross: Do You Remember Love (English version): 1 Captain Harlock - My Youth in Arcadia: 1 Odin: 1 Queen Milleneum: 1 Technopolice 21c: 1 Wing of Honneamise: 1 * Favorite 3 Anime TV Shows #1> Dirty Pair: 23 #2> Kimagure Orange Road: 17 #3> Urusei Yatsura: 16 Macross: 11 Z Gundam: 8 Maison Ikkoku: 7 Mobile Suit Gundam: 5 Gundam ZZ: 5 Lupin III: 3 SPT Layzner: 3 Captain Harlock: 2 Cat's Eye: 2 City Hunter: 2 Dragonball: 2 Future Boy Conan: 2 Hokuto no Ken I: 2 Saint Seiya: 2 Space Cruiser Yamato: 2 Captain Future: 1 Doraemon: 1 Dunbine: 1 Famous Detective Holmes: 1 Gatchaman I: 1 Genesis Climber Mospeada: 1 GettaRobo (1st series): 1 Heidi - The Girl of the Alps: 1 Junguru Taitei : 1 Orguss: 1 Touch: 1 Zillion: 1 * Worst Anime TV Show > Saint Seiya: 6 Go Lion (also "Voltron" votes): 4 Hokuto no Ken (1st series): 3 Samurai Troopers: 3 Gatchaman: 2 Gundam ZZ: 2 Adventures of Tom Sawyer: 1 Cat's Eye: 1 City Hunter: 1 Cutie Honey: 1 Dragonar: 1 F: 1 G.I. Joe : 1 Kamui: 1 Machine Robo: 1 Moeru Onisan: 1 Mospeada: 1 Sakigake! Otoko Juku: 1 Sazae-san: 1 Starzan S: 1 Tsuideni Tonchikan: 1 * Favorite 3 Original Anime Videos #1> Vampire Hunter 'D': 9 TIE! #2> Bubblegum Crisis 1 - Night Sabers Story: 8 Black Magic M-66: 8 Megazone 23 Part II: 8 #3> Iczer-1: 7 Bubblegum Crisis 4 - Revenge Road: 6 Megazone 23 Part I: 5 Monster City: 5 Appleseed: 4 Area 88 Act 3 : 4 Bubblegum Crisis 2 - Born to Kill: 4 Bubblegum Crisis 3 - Blow Up: 4 Robot Carnival: 4 Angel's Egg: 3 Bubblegum Crisis 5 - Moonlight Rambler: 3 Gal Force 1: 3 Wondering Kid: 3 Area 88 Acts 1 & 2 (Laserdisc Edition): 2 Cream Lemon Part 4 - Pop*Chaser: 2 Dangaioh 1: 2 Dangaioh 2 - Spiral Knuckle Tear: 2 Dirty Pair - Nolandia Affair: 2 Top O Narae - Gunbuster 1: 2 Madox-01: 2 Super Deformed Gundam: 2 Super Gal: 2 Perfectual Earth Defence Force High School: 2 Vampire Princess Miyu: 2 Project A-ko 2: 1 Project A-ko 3: 1 Cosmo Police Justy: 1 Cream Lemon Ami Again: 1 Dirty Pair #1: 1 Dominion Act 1: 1 Dr. Slump/Hello Wonder Island: 1 Dragon's Heaven: 1 Dream Hunter Rem: 1 Gal Force 2: 1 Top O Narae - Gunbuster 2: 1 Inaba and the Doors of Fate: 1 Kenritsu Chikyu Boeigun: 1 Laughing Target: 1 Lupin the 3rd - Fuma Clan: 1 Macross Flashback 2012: 1 Panzer World Galient: Crest of Iron: 1 Robotech Sentinels: 1 Rumic World #3 (Laughing Target): 1 Tokyo Vice: 1 Urusei Yatsura - I'm the Shuu-chan: 1 Urusei Yatsura - Ikare,Shabetto!: 1 Urusei Yatsura - Ryoko's September Tea Party: 1 Vampire Princess Miyu # 2: 1 VOTOMS: Red Shoulder Document (Routes of Ambition): 1 Votoms - Unknown Red Shoulder: 1 Wandering Kid 2: 1 Yotoden: 1 * Worst Original Anime Video > Project A-ko 2: 4 Angel's Egg: 2 Appleseed: 2 Dream Hunter Fandora: 2 Lovely Betty: 2 Macross Flashback 2012: 2 Starship Troopers: 2 Area 88: 1 Birth: 1 Bubblegum Crisis 2 - Born To Kill: 1 Cream Lemon Special - Dark: 1 Creamy Mami - Califorinia Crisis: 1 Dead Heat: 1 Drangon Century: 1 Gal Force 1: Eternal Story: 1 God Bless Dancougar: 1 Greed: 1 Maps: 1 M.D. Geist: 1 Outlanders: 1 Patlabor: 1 SF3D: 1 Salamander: 1 Urusei Yatsura '87 - Inaba-kun: 1 Vampire Princess Miyu: 1 Votoms: 1 * Favorite Original Anime Video Series > Bubblegum Crisis: 15 Dirty Pair: 4 Iczer-1: 4 Mobile Police Patlabor: 4 Area 88: 3 Gal Force: 2 Top O Narae - Gunbuster: 2 Rumic World: 2 Cream Lemon - Ami Series: 1 Cross Fight, Dangaio!: 1 Legend of the Galactic Heroes: 1 Megazone 23: 1 Urusei Yatsura: 1 Votoms: 1 * Favorite Female Anime Character in a TV Series > Ayukawa Madoka (Kimagure Orange Road): 11 Lum (Urusei Yatsura): 9 Kei (Dirty Pair): 8 Yuri (Dirty Pair): 6 Kyoto Otashini (Maison Ikkoku): 3 Miriya (Macross): 2 Misa (Macross): 2 Anice Farm (Borgman): 1 Cutey Honey (Cutey Honey): 1 Kahn (Z Gundam, Gundam ZZ): 1 Minami (Touch): 1 Reccoa London (Z Gundam): 1 Shinobu (Urusei Yatsura): 1 * Favorite Supporting Female Anime Character in a TV Series TIE! > Hiyama Hikaru (Orange Road): 4 Shinobu (Urusei Yatsura): 4 Benten (Urusei Yatsura): 3 Misa (Macross): 3 Ran (Urusei Yatsura): 3 Ibuki Yagami (Maison Ikkoku): 2 Yuri (Dirty Pair): 2 Buru (Gundam ZZ): 1 Ciela Rapana (Dunbine): 1 Four Murasame (Z Gundam): 1 Fujiko (Lupin III): 1 Haman Kahn (Z Gundam): 1 Kaori Makimura (City Hunter): 1 Kara (Gundam ZZ): 1 Kei (Dirty Pair): 1 Kurumi (Kimagure Orange Road): 1 Madoka (Kimagure Orange Road): 1 Maeter (Galaxy Express 999): 1 Miria (Macross): 1 Oyuki (Urusei Yatsura): 1 Yuki (Yamato): 1 Red-head character (Maison Ikkoku): 1 Ryunosuke (Urusei Yatsura): 1 Sakura (Urusei Yatsura): 1 Sammie (Macross): 1 Simone LeFran (SPT Layzner): 1 * Favorite Male Anime Character in a TV Series > Kasuka Kyosuke (Kimagure Orange Road): 7 Lupin III (Lupin III): 4 Ataru (Urusei Yatsura): 3 Char Aznable (Z Gundam): 3 Hikaru (Macross): 3 Yuusaku Godai (Maison Ikkoku): 3 Amuro Ray (Gundam): 2 Conan (Future Boy Conan): 2 Goku (DragonBall): 2 Maximilian (Macross): 2 Ryo Saeba (City Hunter): 2 Camille (Z Gundam): 1 Captain Harlock (Endless Road SSX): 1 Char Aznable (Gundam): 1 Eiji Asuka (SPT Layzner): 1 G2 (Gatchaman): 1 Kenshoro (Hokuto no Ken): 1 Leo (Junguru Taitei): 1 Uesugi Tatsuya (Touch): 1 Wildstar/Kodai (StarBlazers/Yamato): 1 * Favorite Male Supporting Anime Character in a TV Series TIE! > Char Aznable (Z Gundam): 4 Maximilian (Macross): 4 Mendo (Urusei Yatsura): 2 Roy Fokker (Macross): 2 Zenigata (Lupin III): 2 Amos Gale (SPT Layzner): 1 Captain Avatar (Starblazers/Yamato): 1 Cherry (Urusei Yatsura): 1 Cygnus Hyoga (Saint Seiya): 1 Goemon (Lupin III): 1 Guree (Dirty Pair): 1 Job (Gundam):1 Kazuya (Kimagure Orange Road): 1 Kitune (Urusei Yatsura): 1 Megane (Urusei Yatsura): 1 Mugi (Dirty Pair):1 Nitta Akio (Touch): 1 Racer "X" (Mach Go Go Go): 1 Rei (Hokuto no Ken): 1 Sandor (StarBlazers/Yamato): 1 Shyun Mitaka (Maison Ikkoku): 1 Shyriu/Dragon (Saint Seiya): 1 Ten-chan (Urusei Yatsura): 1 Tochiro (Eternal Orbit SSX): 1 Yotsuya (Maison Ikkoku): 1 * Favorite Female in a Feature Film > Nausicaa (Nausicaa): 14 Lum (Urusei Yatsura 1 - Only You): 4 Minmei (Macross): 4 Misa Hayase (Macross): 3 Sheeta (Laputa): 3 B-Ko (Project A-ko): 2 Kei (Dirty Pair): 2 Yuri (Dirty Pair Movie): 2 A-ko (Project A-ko): 1 Arnasu (Windaria): 1 Asakura Minami (Touch): 1 Kyooko Otonasii (Maison Ikkoku): 1 Mei (Totoro): 1 Nanai Muguel (Gundam - Char's Counterattack): 1 Ques Parrada (Gundam - Char's Counterattack): 1 Satsuki (Totoro): 1 Shinobu (Urusei Yatsura 1 - Only You): 1 Yoko (Leda): 1 * Favorite Supporting Female Anime Character in a Feature Film TIE! > Chen Agi (Gundam - Char's Counterattack): 5 Dola (Laputa): 5 B-ko (Project A-ko): 3 Sakura (Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer): 3 C-ko (Project A-ko): 2 Clarice (Caliostro Castle): 2 Kei (Akira): 2 Misa Hayase: 2 Shinobu (Urusei Yatsura 4 - Forever Lum): 2 Eve (Megazone 23 Part I): 1 Fujiko Mine (Caliostro Castle): 1 Ibuki Yaagami (Maison Ikkoku): 1 Manna (Winge of Honneamise): 1 Mari (Project A-ko): 1 Mei (Totoro): 1 Milia (Macross) :1 Ques (Char's Counterattack): 1 Salad (Maison Ikkoku): 1 Shammie (Macross): 1 Sheeta (Laputa): 1 * Favorite Male Character in a feature film > Lupin (Castle Caliostro): 8 Pazu (Laputa): 6 Kaneda (Akira): 6 Char Aznable (Gunam - Char's Counter Attack): 5 Ataru (Urusei Yatsura 1 - Only You): 3 Shirotsugh (Win of Honneamise): 3 Captain Harlock (My Youth in Arcadia): 2 Hikaru (Macross): 2 Amuro Ray (Gundam - Char's Counter Attack):1 Arion: 1 Ataru (Urusei Yatsura 4 - Forever Lum): 1 Big Totoro (Totoro): 1 Crusher Joe (Crusher Joe): 1 Duke Togo (Golgo 13): 1 Izu (Windaria): 1 Kenshiro (Hokuto no Ken): 1 Maximilian (Macross): 1 Mugi (Dirty Pair): 1 Uesugi Tatsuya (Touch): 1 * Favorite Male Supporting Anime Character in a Feature Film > Casron D. Carson (Dirty Pair Movie): 5 Roy Fokker (Macross): 4 Maximilian (Macross): 3 Tetsuo (Akira): 3 Yupa (Nausicaa): 2 Amuro (Gundam - Char's Counter Attack): 1 Bright Noah (Gundam - Char's Counter Attack): 1 Jigen (Caliostro Castle): 1 Ichinose (Maison Ikkoku): 1 Megane (Urusei Yatsura 4 - Forever Lum): 1 Mendo (Urusei Yatsura 1 - Only You): 1 Mendo (Urusei Yatsura 4 - Forever Lum): 1 Mendo (Urusei Yatsura 2 - Beautiful Dreamer): 1 Mugi (Dirty Pair): 1 Nitta Akio (Touch 3): 1 Pazu's father (Laputa): 1 Saki (Area 88): 1 Small Totoro (Totoro): 1 Snake (Golgo 13): 1 Yamagata (Akira): 1 Detective Zenigata (Lupin): 1 * Favorite Female Anime Character in an Original Video Anime > Iczer-1 (Iczer-1): 9 Priss (Bubblegum Crisis): 6 Eve (Megazone 23): 4 Ayanosuke (Yotoden): 3 Deunan (Appleseed): 2 Kahn (Outlanders): 2 A-ko (Project A-ko): 1 Annie (Dr. Slump/Wonder Island): 1 Ayukawa Madoka (Orange Road, Shiroi Koibitotachi): 1 Celia (Bubblegum Crisis): 1 Girl (Angel's Egg): 1 Kei (Dirty Pair): 1 M-66 (Black Magic M-66): 1 Mai (Cream Lemon Part 4 - Pop*Chaser): 1 Makiko (Monster City): 1 Niyoko (Top O narae - Gunbuster): 1 Rabby (Gal Force): 1 Remy (Etranger): 1 Rio (Cream Lemon Part 4 - Pop*Chaser): 1 Silia (Bubblegum Crisis): 1 Shinobu (Urusei Yatsura '87): 1 Supergal (The Supergal): 1 Yui (Megazone 23): 1 Yuri (Dirty Pair): 1 * Favorite Supporting Female Anime Character in an Original Video Anime TIE! > EVE (Megazone 32 Part II): 3 Lufy (Gal Force): 3 Ryoko (Area 88): 3 Himiko (Vampire Princess Miyu): 2 Kanuka Clancy (Patlabor): 2 Nagisa (Iczer-1): 2 Asteris (Cosmo Police Justy): 1 Batia (Outlanders): 1 C-ko (Project A-ko): 1 Hiyama Hikaru (Kimagure Orange Road, Shiroi Koibitotachi): 1 Mai (Megazone 23 Part I): 1 Makie (Beast City): 1 Nene (Bubblegum Crisis 4 - Revenge Road): 1 Pia (Cross Fight, Dangaioh!): 1 Pink Hair (Prefectural Earth Defence Force High School): 1 Russian Redhead (Top O Narae - Gunbuster): 1 Silia (Bubblegum Crisis): 1 * Favorite Male Anime Character in an Original Video Anime > Shin Kazama (Area 88): 8 Leon (Bubblegum Crisis): 4 Ataru (Urusei Yatsura '87): 2 'D' (Vampire Hunter 'D'): 2 Grey (Grey - Digital Target): 2 B.D. (Megazone 23 Part 2): 1 Boy (Angel's Egg): 1 Briareos (Appleseed): 1 Chirico Cuvie (VOTOMS): 1 D (Vampire Hunter D): 1 Dr. Slump (Dr. Slump Wonder Island): 1 Hikaruon (Hikaruon): 1 Jiro (Dagger of Kamui): 1 Justy (Cosmo Police Justy): 1 Kasuga Kyosuke (Kimagure Orange Road, Shiroi Koibitotachi): 1 Kenshiro (Fist of the North Star): 1 Renzaburo Taki (Monster City): 1 Rol (Dangaioh): 1 Ryohei (Junk Boy): 1 Sakon (Yotoden): 1 Shogo (Megazone 23): 1 Tetsuya (Outlanders): 1 * Favorite Male Supporting Anime Character in an Original Video Anime > Leon (Bubblegum Crisis): 5 Briareos (Appleseed): 2 Saki Vashtal (Area 88): 2 Coach (Top O Narae - Gunbuster 1): 2 Foron (SPT Layzner Act 3): 1 Kanzaki (Area 88): 1 Kyobardi (Outlanders): 1 Lightning (Megazone 23 Part II): 1 M66 F5 (Black Magic M-66): 1 Miato (Monster City): 1 Mendo (Urusei Yatusura): 1 Mephisto (Hell City Shinjuku): 1 McCoy (Area 88): 1 Murphey (The Super Gal): 1 Noah's Partner (Patlabor): 1 Sakon (Yotoden): 1 Villain (SuperGal): 1 Dr. Watsman (Dirty Pair): 1 * Worst Male Anime Character (any format) TIE! >Jagi (Hokuto no Ken): 2 Judau Ashta (Gundam ZZ): 2 All Characters From Saint Sieya: 1 Arthur (SPT Layzner): 1 Ataru (Urusei Yatsura): 1 B.D. (Megazone 23 Part 2): 1 Captain Harlock (Captain Harlock): 1 Captain "Warlock" (English version of Galaxy Express 999): 1 Crusher Joe (Crusher Joe): 1 Daba Mairoad (L-Gaim): 1 Dirty Old Man (Dirty Pair OAV #5): 1 Dragonball guy (Dragonball): 1 Dragon Shiryu (Saint Seiya): 1 Exidor (Macross): 1 Hatta (Kimagure Orange Road): 1 Johnny Rico (Starship Troopers): 1 Kakizaki (Macross TV series): 1 Kaneda (Akira Movie): 1 Kinnikuman (Kinnikuman): 1 Kue (Fandora): 1 Mason (Bubblegum Crisis): 1 Mouse (Voltron): 1 Oniisan (Moeru Oniisan): 1 Pidge (Voltron/Go Lion): 1 Ryo Saeba (City Hunter): 1 Shogo (Megazone 23 Part II): 1 the Hero (Dagger of Kamui): 1 the over-macho schmuck (Kizuibito OVA series): 1 * Worst Female Anime Character (any format) TIE! C-ko (Project A-ko): 4 Lynn Minmei (Macross): 4 Priss (Bubblegum Crisis): 2 A-ko (Project A-ko): 1 Arale (Dr. Slump): 1 B-ko (Project A-ko #1): 1 Carmencita (Starship Troopers): 1 Chris (Lensman): 1 Elpeo-ple (Gundam ZZ): 1 Ferris (Black Magic M-66): 1 Hikaru (Kimagure Orange Road): 1 The Humanoid (The Humanoid): 1 (Large) Lovely Betty (Lovely Betty): 1 Mari (Project A-ko): 1 Mint (Genisis Climber Mospeada): 1 Mouse (Voltron): 1 Namba Noll (Dangaio): 1 Nova (Saint Seiya): 1 Princess Whatsername (Voltron/Go Lion): 1 Rem (Dream Hunter Fandora): 1 Rumy (Gal Force 1 - Eternal Story): 1 Riquinni (Wing of Honneamise): 1 The Supergal (The Supergal): 1 * Best Original Soundtrack Music for TV > Kimagure Orange Road: 11 Macross: 6 Dirty Pair: 4 Urusei Yatsura: 4 Maison Ikkoku : 3 Lupin III: 2 Mospeada: 2 Space Cruiser Yamato: 2 Cat's Eye: 1 City Hunter: 1 Gundam ZZ: 1 Hokuto no Ken 2: 1 Z Gundam: 1 * Best Original Soundtrack Music for Film > Laputa: 8 Macross: 7 Wings of Honneamise: 7 Akira: 6 Nausicaa: 4 A-ko: 3 Dirty Pair Movie: 2 Cagliostro Castle: 1 Gundam - Char's Counter Attack: 1 Lensman: 1 Queen Millenia: 1 UY2: 1 * Best Original Soundtrack Music for Original Video Anime > Bubblegum Crisis: 17 Iczer 1: 4 Megazone 23 Part I: 3 Megazone 23 Part II: 3 Vampire Hunter D: 3 Top O Narae - Gunbuster 1: 2 Area 88: 1 Black Magic M-66: 1 Dirty Pair: 1 Dominion: 1 Macross Flashback 2012: 1 Urban Square: 1 * Best Animation Quality in a TV Series TIE! > Dirty Pair: 6 Maison Ikkoku: 6 Kimagure Orange Road: 4 Gundam ZZ: 3 Macross: 3 Saint Seiya: 2 Urusei Yatsura: 2 Z Gundam: 2 Cat's Eye: 1 City Hunter: 1 Gatchaman II: 1 Gundam: 1 * Best Animation Quality in an Original Video Anime > Bubblegum Crisis: 7 Monster City (Yujutoshi): 6 Appleseed: 1 Area 88 Act III: 1 Black Magic M-66: 1 Cosmo Police Justy: 1 Daicon IV: 1 Dr. Slump: 1 Gal Force: 1 Macross Flashback 2012: 1 Megazone 23 Part II: 1 Robot Carnival: 1 VOTOMS: Red Shoulder Document (Routes of Ambition):1 * Best Animation Quality in a Feature Film > Akira: 12 Macross: 5 Wings of Honneamise: 4 Char's Counterattack: 2 Laputa: 2 Tonari no Totoro: 2 Lensman: 1 Urusei Yatsura 4 - Forever Lum: 1 * Best Anime Magazine in Japanese > Newtype: 10 Animage: 8 Animedia: 3 B-Club: 1 Shonen Sunday Graphic Special: 1 * Best Anime Magazine in English > Animag: 23 AnimeZine: 1 * Best Anime TV Song > Night of Summerside (Kimagure Orange Road): 5 Russian Roulette (Dirty Pair): 3 Tough Boy (Hokuto no Ken 2): 2 Closing Theme (Dirty Pair): 1 Summer's Mirage - Closing Theme (Orange Road): 1 Forlorn (UY): 1 Kagaminonakano Actress Show Title (Orange Road): 1 Lupin theme/jazz version (Lupin III): 1 Open Invitation (UY): 1 Opening theme (Yamato): 1 Push! (Zillion): 1 Rock the Planet (UY): 1 Silent Voice (Gundam ZZ): 1 Space Cruiser Yamatp: 1 Sunny Shiny Morning (Maison Ikkoku): 1 Xiao Bai Long (Macross): 1 * Best Anime Movie Song > Ai Oboetemasuka/Do You Remember Love (Macross): 7 Beyond the Time (Char's Counterattack): 5 Love Boomerang (Urusei Yatsura 2 - Beautiful Dreamer): 3 Akira's Theme (Akira):2 Kimi O Nosete - Closing Theme (Laputa): 2 Over the Top (Dirty Pair): 2 Closing Theme (Macross): 1 Himitsu Kudasai (Megazone 23, Part II): 1 Laputa theme (Laputa): 1 Nasicaa Opening Theme (Nausicaa): 1 Opening theme (Caliostro Castle): 1 Sunset Beach (Macross): 1 Through the Danger (Dirty Pair): 1 Treasure of Fire (Castle Caliostro): 1 Worsel's Theme (Lensman): 1 Best Anime OAV Song > Konya wa Hurricane (Bubblegum Crisis): 14 Lovely Sunset (Megazone 23 Part I): 2 Across the Bridge of Light (Legend of the Galactic Heroes):1 Active Heart (Gunbuster): 1 Cosmic Child (Gall Force 2): 1 Crisis (Bubblegum Crisis): 1 Fight theme (Iczer 1): 1 How Far to Paradise (Area 88): 1 Kids (Zillion): 1 Mad Machine (Bubblegum Crisis): 1 Mr Dandy (Bubblegum Crisis): 1 Opening Theme (Dirty Pair OAV series): 1 Opening Theme (Patlabor): 1 Opening Theme (Starship Troopers): 1 Ending Theme (Megazone 23 Part II): 1 Victory (Bubblegum Crisis 3): 1 Yotoden ending theme (Yotoden): 1 * Best Anime Director (any format) > Miyazaki Hayao: 24 Toshihiro Hirano: 2 Ossii Mamoru: 2 Matsumoto Reiji: 1 Osamu Dezaki: 1 Shiro Masamune: 1 Yamazaki Kazuo: 1 * Best Anime Villain in Any Format > Char Aznable (Gundam): 7 Muska (Laputa): 6 B.D. (Megazone): 3 Iczer-2 (Iczer-1): 3 Count Cagliostro (Cagliostro Castle): 2 Haman Khan (Gundam ZZ): 2 Kanzaki (Area 88): 2 B-ko (Project A-ko): 1 Colonel (Akira): 1 D-ko (A-ko): 1 Demon girl (Laughing Target): 1 Deslar (Yamato): 1 Dust Jead (Borgman): 1 Mason (Bubblegum Crisis): 1 Moriarti (Famouse Detective Holms): 1 Raoh (Hokuto no Ken): 1 Saibusa Jinai (Yotoden): 1 Sazua (Hokuto no Ken): 1 Shogo (Megazone 23 Part 2): 1 Tetsuo Shima (Akira):1 Dr. Watsman (Dirty Pair Movie): 1 Zeeda (My Youth in Arcadia): 1 * Best Monster in Any Format > Totoro (Tonari no Totoro): 5 All Monsters from Monster City: 3 Bedems (Iczer-1): 2 Boomers (Bubblegum Crisis): 2 M-66 (Black Magic M-66): 2 Monster (Lilly C.A.T.): 2 Spider Lady (Monster City): 2 Tetsuo (Akira): 2 All Monsters from Call Me Tonight: 1 All Monsters from Wandering Kid: 1 Cat Bus (Totoro): 1 D (Vampire Hunter D): 1 Evil Dream Devil (UY2): 1 Gorrig (Megazone 23, Part II): 1 The Griffon Car (Bubblegum Crisis): 1 Gross out monster (Call Me Tonight): 1 Guido (Arion): 1 Kei/Carson demon (Project Eden): 1 King Ohmu (Nausicaa): 1 Mario (Black Magic M-66): 1 Mugi (Dirty Pair: 1 Omu (Nausicaa): 1 Demon (Wandering Kid): 1 Youma (Borgman): 1 The biggest winners... Winner of Stuffy Award for Most Categories Won: WE HAVE A TIE! The TV series KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD and the Original Anime Video series BUBBLEGUM CRISIS both won the most top spots in the poll with 6 catagories each. Here is the data... Kimagure Orange Road: > WINNER IN TOP 3 FAVORITE TV SHOWS > WINNER FOR FAVORITE TV FEMALE: MADOKA > WINNER (IN A TIE) FOR FAVORITE SUPPORTING TV FEMALE: HIKARU > WINNER FOR FAVORITE TV MALE: KYOSUKE > WINNER FOR BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK MUSIC FOR TV > WINNER FOR BEST TV SONG: NIGHT OF SUMMERSIDE Bubblegum Crisis: > WINNER (IN A TIE) IN TOP 3 FAVORITE OAVS: BUBBLEGUM CRISIS 1 > WINNER FOR FAVORITE ORIGINAL ANIME VIDEO SERIES > WINNER FOR FAVORITE SUPPORTING MALE IN AN OAV: LEON > WINNER FOR BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK MUSIC FOR OAV > WINNER FOR BEST ANIMATION QUALITY IN AN OAV > WINNER FOR BEST OAV SONG: KONYA WA HURRICANE Winner of Stuffy Award for Most Total Votes in Poll: This award is arguably the best indicator for over-all popularity among anime fans. This winner has the total largest amount of votes recieved in all the poll categories. And the winner is... ...Bubblegum Crisis with 108 votes! The closest second was Kimagure Orange Road with 69 votes. Congratulations to Bubblegum Crisis and Kimagure Orange Road for being voted our readers most popular shows in the 1988-1989 year. Each winner will recieve a GIF graphic plaque, THE STUFFY AWARD, for their achievments. Be sure and check out the GIF graphics for this issue of ANIME STUFF! Whew! Let's not do this every issue, ok? (grin) Special thanks to staff members Jude George and Masaki Takai, without whom this wide ranging computer poll would not have been possible. - Tom Mitchell PS: Oh I forgot to mention that the first Stuffy Awards ceremony was held in lovely downtown Mega-Tokyo at the wonderful Genom Pyramid Tower ballroom #193. You haven't seen anything until you've seen a Boomer in a tux. (grin) //////////////////////////////////VIDEO\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ DOMINION ACT 1 ON LASERDISC (TOSHIBA SF048-1521) One of the best new Original Anime Video series out! This is a faithful anime adaptation of Masamune Shiro's sf/police comedy manga DOMINION. Shiro was also the creator of the popular BLACK MAGIC and APPLESEED mangas. And of course, both of those hit mangas have also been animated. But DOMINION has a bit of a twist. This first act OAV is a prequel to the manga that tells the story of how the main characters were brought together. DOMINION is a wacky high-tech police action comedy set in a pollution ruined world of the future. The city in which the police work is menaced by a ultra-high tech crook named Buaku and his two catlike hench-women Annapuna and Yunipuma. (By the way, how do you tell the two girls apart? Well, according to the manga Yunipuma has the longer ears of the two. Problem is they never hold still long enough to check!) In answer to Buaku's high-tech lowdown-sneaky plans, the police department has assembled a heavy armored division called the TANK POLICE. Yep, cops with tanks! And that's where the fun begins! This show is a big, loud adventure. But not totally lost in the silly violence are such important things as character development and emotion. And like the manga, the OAV manages to deal with such important contemporary issues as drug use and pollution. Since this is a prequel to the manga, this first act of DOMINION deals with the arrival of it's main character LEONA and what drove her to create her micro-monster tank BONAPARTE. And the video sets up the first encounter between Leona, her partner ALU, and the criminal Buaku. Their first chase is a riot! If you loved the DOMINION manga, you'll enjoy this OAV. It is a on-the-mark anime adaptation. As of now, there are two acts available on video tape and laser disc, with two more acts planned this year. On the quality of the laserdisc itself, well, anime on laser does not get any better than this. It is a top-notch video transfer, with an excellent digital soundtrack. The extra resolution of the format really shines when you see this OAV's clean artwork and bright colors. The only improvement would be if the disc was in CAV mode for nice still frames. All in all, Dominion is a very funny, and highly recommended new comedy OAV series. - Tom Mitchell THE BEST OF BUBBLEGUM CRISIS MUSIC CDV 1 (TOSHIBA/EMI VIDEO CTV24-111) Toshiba/EMI has released two CDV's (Compact Disc Video) for the Bubblegum Crisis Series. The first CDV is titled "The Best of Bubblegum Crisis Music 1". As the title suggests, it is a collection of vocals from the series. The video track portrays the Knight Sabers as a rock band playing the tune of ASU E TOUCHDOWN. As the music plays, the video shows what could be the origins of the Knight Sabers. This video track also appears on another Bubblegum Crisis music video, Hurricane Live 2032. The first of the four audio tracks is title KONYAWA HURRICANE which was first played during the opening scenes from Bubblegum Crisis 1. The second track comes from Bubblegum Crisis 2, when the Knight Sabers rush out to battle GENOM. The third audio track, KIZUDARAKE NO WILD, is played during the end title of BGC 2:Born To Kill. The last audio track is titled, VICTORY, is played before big fight scene in BGC 3:Blow Up. All in all, I thought the Best of Bubblegum Crisis Music 1 CDV was a good sampler of the kind of story that Bubblegum Crisis is all about, good music, good animation and good action. - ALBERT WONG DRAGON CENTURY : A.D. 1990 ON LASERDISC (L.P. VIDEO GV088-1001) One of the biggest disapointments among 1988's OAV releases. I had a lot of expectations for this OAV since it was based on the excellent 3 part DRAGON BREEDER manga that ran in LEMON PEOPLE MAGAZINE. I had hoped that the detailed art, story, and action of that manga would be translated well into an anime film. How could it miss? The manga was virtually made to be animated! Well, guess what. This video is a great example of how such a miss can be made. What we are presented with instead is a too-short, overly simplistic origin story. Set in 1990, the story is supposed to set up the events to come in the world of the DRAGON BREEDER manga. In this story, a group of dragons from another dimension come to help Earth fight an impending invasion by an alien demon-lord. That sets up a lot of ground to cover in about 30 minutes of story time, and this video does not pull it off. The story is slapped together and resolved quickly: Dragons appear, military hates dragons and attacks them. Girl befriends dragons. Teaches military leader a lesson, and then they all beat up on villain as he arrives in the last few minutes of the OAV. On top of the shoddy story/time treatment, much of the production values and renderings are cheap. A major disapointment from such a sophisticated anime studio as AIC. Perhaps this OAV's only saving grace is the beautiful character designs for the dragons, lifted directly out of the DRAGON BREEDER manga. On the whole, I would say that you should avoid this one at all costs. There is a sequel to this out now that seems to be geared more towards the setting and events in DRAGON BREEDER. I have not seen it yet, and although I hope it's good, I don't plan on seeing it if this first volume is any indication of this OAV series' quality. The laser disc edition of this video does have one interesting feature that is not presented on the video tape version of the DRAGON CENTURY OAV. Side two of the disc features the complete DRAGON BREEDER manga! And since the disc is presented in CAV mode, you can study the manga art in flawless still frames. On top of that, side two also has some really nice image music written for the DRAGON BREEDER manga. It's quite good and it perfectly fits the atmosphere of the manga. - Tom Mitchell VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU (OAV SERIES ON LASERDISC) The Strangeness of the Capitol Pony Canyon LD G55F0259 CAV digital stereo The Party of Manipulation Pony Canyon LD G55F0277 CAV digital stereo The Weak Armor Pony Canyon LD G55F0298 CAV digital stereo Director: Toshihiro Hirano Screenplay: Noboru Aikawa Character Design: Narumi Kakinouchi Monster Design: yasumoto Morimoto There are many different kinds of horror storys. Some are eerie, tense and suspenseful tales which keep you at the very edge of your chair, and some are fast paced roller coaster rides of horrific action and violence. But there are certain stories that are quiet, and subtle, which are just disturbing enough to raise the hackles on the back of your neck. Or make you think twice about the actions of a strange young girl. Vampire Princess Miyu is such a quietly spooky tale. Miyu is a series of linked stories, each adding a new layer, each unfolding a new page in the tale of this vampire princess. Individually, each OAV is a separate entity, a distinct story which can stand full well on its own. Together, the three films set the foundation for a greater tale. They tell of the relationship between the spirit world and the mundane, and focus on the intrusion of dark deity spirits into common lives. The Strangeness of the Capital is one's introduction to the twisting legend of the vampire princess Miyu. At face value, it is a straightforward tale of a vampire and of possession. However, lurking beneath this facade is a dark parable about perceptions and dreams. Here the major players of Miyu's story are first met. Himiko, a spiritualist, who strives against not only the spirit world monsters, but also after Miyu. There is Laba, tall, dark, and silent. He, a deity spirit too, is different from the other interlopers. He is Miyu's partner, her friend. Her slave. And last is Miyu herself. A true vampire. At times she is a fierce hunter, pursuing her prey with a vicious determination, and yet, in the blink of the eye, the flash of a fan, a naive girl, bewildered and confused at the actions of mortals. The OAV opens simply enough. A white cloaked vampire-monster has been committing a string of murders. Murders which the police refuse to believe are supernatural. Into this comes Himiko, the spiritualist, to perform an exorcism on a little girl. Himiko is a modern professional, who almost seems to be tending the parents rather the child, performing the ceremony more for their benefit, than actually believing she is dealing with monsters and demons. But here there is an actual vampire to be dealt with, a deity-spirit, an interloper from the macabre spirit world. Also hunting this monster is Miyahito, the boyfriend of its first victim. But he's also searching for a type peace, from his own anguish, from his own loss. Hunting too is a vampire princess, named Miyu, and Laba, her mysterious blue cloaked partner. Superficially, they all are pursuing the same creature. However, for Himiko and Miyahito, the rewards and the losses at the end of their personal chase are not quite what they expected. The Strangeness of the Capital is a tale of dark dreams, and of clouded perceptions. Miyu is a vampire. But so is the creature which has been terrorizing the quiet city. Yet one by one, the preconceived perceptions fall away, bringing a grave distinction between the deity- spirit, and the vampire that Miyu is. The monster of Capitol is a creature born of dreams, and whose bite brings death. Miyu's soft bite is the gift of dreams. The world she grants to Miyahito is a peaceful escape. But there is a strange taint to that world. Miyahito's last words describe his disturbing illusionary retreat..."I feel really good right now...but there's nothing left anymore." It is the darker side of nirvana. Himiko, not satisfied with illusions or dreams, now knows there are true demons, and a real vampire. Vampire Princess Miyu 2: The Party of Manipulation is a tale of crossed desires, and dark challenges. This OAV is much more straightforward than it's predecessor, but it trades the unfolding of layers with a driving intensity. In a way, this story too deals with dreams, but the dreams of desire, and exactly how far one can lose oneself for love. The Party of Manipulation is a lovers triangle. Two girls, one boy. But the corners of this triangle are a vampire, a deity-spirit, and Kei, a boy who would condemn his life for his love. Miyu is searching for her own victim, and she is choosy about the one whose blood she drinks. She likes pretty boys. She wants Kei. Laka is a deity-spirit, who draws her energy from her victims, leaving them as strange mannequin hulks, broken dolls for eternity. Laka is surprised that she, a deity spirit, has come to love a human. She is determined to keep her love from sharing the same fate as her other victims. Kei turns to Lakas, asking that she transform him, so that he may remain good looking forever. But this is only his excuse to see her. In actuality Kei has fallen for Laka, he has come to love the perfect porcelain doll. And despite all her strengths, Miyu cannot turn a love from his own choice, as Kei slowly drives himself into the deity-spirits arms. Miyu's only consolation is banishing both into the Dark. Miyu 2 is an interesting story. There are no clear victors in this tale. Kei succeeds in gaining an eternal life with his love, but sacrifices his humanity to do so. Laka, to save Kei from Miyu, must turn him into one of her victims. And last, Miyu loses her chance with the boy, and can only succeed in her task of banishing the deity-spirit back to the spirit world. Sacrificing her own needs for that of a greater good. Each victory comes with the acrid taste of defeat. No black and white, just bitter greys. In these first two tales, Miyahito and Kei seem to follow an old cliche. Be careful for what you wish, for you just might get it. The Weak Armor is a very different segment in the story of Miyu. The first films dealt mostly with Miyu's actions, in her hunt of transgressing deity-spirits. What we learn about Miyu is only from these actions, or glimpsed in what she speaks. The Weak Armor is a window to Miyu's past, particularly her relationship with her silent blue partner Laba. Here, it is not a series of deaths, nor a lost school child that initiates the action. It is a request for help. Vampire princess Miyu turns to Himiko for aid. To rescue Laba. Who has been sealed away, locked behind a glyph, defended by a deity-spirit, defended by a suit of haunted armor. Himiko agrees to help Miyu, but for a cost. Miyu's story, of her relationship with Laba, and with the deity spirits. Caught amidst this is a tale of a suit of armor, who has convinced itself it is a deity spirit. Against which Himiko is more potent than than Miyu. the armor is a pawn of a deity-spirit named Lamas, who was a friend of Laba very long ago. Who wishes to free Laba from the vampire princess. This third chapter is like a page of history, and finally a look into Miyu's feelings. Miyu cares for Laba, to a depth that is perhaps more than one would expect. But despite the concern for each other that Miyu and Laba share, there is a dark shadow which crosses their relationship. Friend and master. Partner and slave. There seems to be a sadness in everything that Miyu touches. A sadness yet unexplained... For that answer, one will have to wait for Vampire Princess Miyu 4. In this, the Vampire Miyu series echoes Toshihiro Hirano's previous work, Iczer-1. In the three OAVs, we get the foundations for a larger tale, the hints of unresolved questions, loose ends to be tied in the final volume. Which, if he follows the pattern of Iczer-1, will be an additional twist and turning of the greater plot. The Miyu series definitely shows Hirano's expertise at direction. Each scene builds efficiently to the climax, the final confrontation with the interloper deity-spirit. And yet, while each film builds to the same end, each conflict is very different, and each resolves in a vastly different fashion. The action is well paced, and the juxtapositions from scene to scene are sharp and precise. Not only is the action paced, but each tale is very carefully plotted. This is perhaps most evident in the first volume. Each secret is carefully unfolded. We learn as Himiko learns, her realizations coincide with our own. The direction of this series, however, has a distinctly different taste than any of Hirano's previous work. These three OAVs are done in an extremely formal, almost traditional, fashion. Scenes are often framed in a very precise manner, and the movement and action carefully determined. Thus, Miyu often watches like an ancient ghost story than a modern horror. This formal direction is most strong in Miyu 2, paying homage to traditional japanese theatre. The downside to this is that at times the story seems a little stilted. The animation a little stiff. And while it reinforces the formal atmosphere of the three films, it can be a little disturbing. The other annoying item is the introduction animation for each OAV. It is the same animation and narration for all three. And while it serves as a concise introduction to all three tales, it is a little repetitious the third time around. The animation of Miyu is a welcome change from Hirano's other recent work. The artificial slickness, which seemed to plague his recent releases, is gone. Replaced by soft, lush pastels. The contrasting peaceful nature of the backgrounds almost seem to emphasize the darker nature of the stories. In general, though, the animation is strong, well drawn, and clear. The characters are well illustrated, and they move smoothly, precisely. The only fault with the animation is that, especially in Miyu 1, there is a heavy use of stills, mostly for background action and non essential characters. While they are well drawn stills, they often are very noticibly still. However, this problem is much less apparent in Miyu 2, and almost nonexistent in Miyu 3. The animation in Miyu 3 deserves special note. Where the animation in Miyu 1 and Miyu 2 are up to Hirano's usual level of quality, the animation of Miyu 3 has some of the best work he has yet directed. The backgrounds especially deserve recognition. Many are reminiscent of traditional styled etchings, or charcoal drawings. The soft colors, mostly washed out greys and browns, are often highlighted with a single swath of swath of color. It is a very successful technique. The character designs for this series were done by Narumi Kakinouchi, and she carefully captures the essence of each character. She rivals Hirano's own skills, even to his trademark, the character's eyes. Hers too have a depth of expression. One can look into Miyu's eyes, and see beyond the layer of an acetate cell. Laba in his blue cloak is an ominous and impressive figure, yet at the same time is protective of his master Miyu. The harlequin mask is an excellent touch, providing an air of mystery and danger to this unfathomable deity-spirit. There are three characters which carry throughout the series. Miyu, Laba, and Himiko. Of Miyu and Laba, one only gets glimpses of their personalities. These two characters do not really develop as the series unfolds. Rather, they are revealed, with each episode jealously hoarding each precious secret. Each secret, revealed one by one, gives another clue to the increasingly complex characterizations of Miyu and Laba. Between her sad eyes and her dark skills, Miyu is an enigma. Naoko Watanabe provides Miyu's quiet voice, often sad, contemplative, almost innocent. It provides a strange dichotomy between the good and the horrid. Miyu herself is an interesting set of contradictions. At times, she is a fierce and powerful vampire huntress, fully in control of the situation, often mocking in her strengths. But at times she is a naive girl, saddened by foreign world, often confused and bewildered, by the actions of mortals such as Himiko. Of the three main players, Himiko is the one which develops through her experiences. In the beginning it is a very simple realization that there actually are monsters in the world. Through the three films her relationship with Miyu is constantly changing, from bitter enemy to reluctant ally. But then, Himiko is the only major character that is human. Laba's personality, however, is still hidden behind his blue and white mask. The music for Miyu plays a supporting role in the three OAVs. It neither stands out from the animation, but nor does it vanish into obscurity. Instead, it does exactly what background soundtrack is supposed to: support the story and action. When the direction is formal, the music is very traditional. This is extremely true in Miyu 1 and Miyu 2. Perhaps the spookiest part of the soundtrack, however, is the tolling of a bell. It is a hollow sound, which can be heard tolling in all three tales. The laser discs are released by Pony Canyon, and the quality of the discs are excellent. The video format is CAV, and the soundtrack is digital stereo. And, if you enjoy computer animation, even if you do not like vampire stories, the Pony Canyon leader on Miyu 3 is definitely worth looking into. It is a very short segment of the most fun, bizarre, and very silly computer animation that I have witnessed in a very long time. For Toshihiro Hirano, Vampire Princess Miyu is a quiet departure from his action films, such as Iczer-1 or Dangiaoh. And perhaps, for some, Miyu might be too soft and too pretty for a tale of deity-spirits, vampires and spiritualists. But if your taste run more to the disturbing than the horrific, then the tales of Vampire Princess Miyu are highly recommended. - Mike Naylor //////////////////////////////////AUDIO\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ AKIRA - ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK (ON COMPACT DISC - VICTOR VDR-1538) If you are looking for a CD of the excellent soundtrack music from the movie AKIRA, then STAY AWAY FROM THIS CD! Although it's labeled ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK, it is not a collection of soundtrack music from the film! Instead, it is 4 lengthy tracks of sound taken right off the AKIRA movie soundtrack! That's right. It is 4 tracks of sound from the movie. Dialog, sound effects, background music, etc. Not just the music alone. What a misleading rip-off. It should have been labeled as an "IMAGE ALBUM"!!! It's equivalant to having the laser video disc of the movie without the picture! I have been told that to get the music from the film, you must look to the album AKIRA SYMPHONIC SUITE. SYMPHONIC SUITE is never used in Japan as an indication of original film music. Symphonic Suite usualy means extended or new compositions based on the film music. Thank you very much JVC/VICTOR. I will say that the album is extremely well recorded. But the the film did boast a fantastic Dolby Surround soundtrack anyway. This disc probably took all of an hour to make...Just dump the film's soundtrack on a CD. Sigh... - Tom Mitchell ICZER-1 SPECIAL CD-1 COMPACT DISC (FUTURELAND LD32-5005) An excellent collection of snazzy trumpet plus digital drum action tunes. Quite a unique sound. All of the major themes from the OAV series are represented here in this first volume collection of music from ICZER-1 My only complaint about the CD has to do with 3 of the 15 tracks that feature the voice actors from Iczer-1. Their appearance is a bit nerve wracking at the volumes you would normaly play the music at. That is, unless you like hearing Sir Violet, Iczer-2, and Nagiza ranting at high volume. Not that the voice actors are bad. It's just that this is a music collection. You can always watch the OAV if you want to hear the actors strut their vocal stuff. Of course, you could program your CD player to skip the voice actor tracks But there is a problem. The second half of each track has some great music in it. If you skip these, you miss several minutes of good music! A bad idea for indexing the disc here. But that is no reason not to own this excellent collection of action music. The music from Iczer-1 is probably one of the most unique sounding BGMs I have ever heard. There is nothing else quite like it. - Tom Mitchell DOMINION ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (ON COMPACT DISC - FUTURLAND LD32-5071) Probably my single favorite anime BGM from 1988. This is a really lively collection of synthesized pop/rock BGM and songs. A nice mix of action music, emotionaly brooding themes, and funny comedy music. And a very generous collection of music as well! The 22 tracks here cover all the music from the DOMINION ACTS 1 & 2 anime videos. The instrumental music is quite varied and shows a lot of compositional skill and depth. And the pop songs are great! They have some pretty funny lyrics with back-beats that will keep your toes tapping for a week after you hear this album. The stand-out songs here are HEY BOY, the music played during Annapuna's & Yunipuma's hypnotic dance/attack scene in ACT 1, and TANKY BOYS, TANKY GIRLS. This song is quite funny; it compares the maneuvers of a tank battle to those of a disco dance floor! And on top of this, the music fits the wacky DOMINION world quite well. Just as the video was a great anime representation of the manga. Also great music to read the DOMINION manga to! (grin) - Tom Mitchell BUBBLEGUM CRISIS 5 ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (ON COMPACT DISC - FUTURLAND LD32-5090) Hot on the heals of the excellent BGC 4 soundtrack comes the soundtrack to BUBBLEGUM CRISIS 5 - MOONLIGHT RAMBLER. The mood here is more somber and smooth than most of the other BGC soundtracks. This is probably the most carefully composed instrumental soundtrack for the series since BGC 3. Unlike the rest of the BGC soundtracks, there is very little electric guitar. In it's place are more purring, open sounding synthesizers, and smoother more emotionally charged vocals. And of course, the CD cover features another fantastic graphic of Priss. This time a slick water color painting of her in a close fitting swimsuit-like concert outfit with hip-high boots and and holding a very-phallic looking microphone in a rather odd position. Woo! Woo! This series is producing a TON of great pop/rock music and songs. It's nice to hear this soundtrack explore a slightly different direction emotionally and improve on the overall BGC sound at the same time. Gosh, if the series does go 13 episodes, we'll end up with 13 BGM CDs! It boggles my mind to think of all the excellent music we are going to hear from this series. Well, on to BGC 6...8 more CDs to go! (grin) And by the way, I can't get that theme for the D-D mecha out of my head! That pulsing hydrolic beat/sound to the music is wild! - Tom Mitchell ////////////////////////////BOOKS AND MAGAZINES\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ROMAN ALBUM EXTRA #61 : NAUSICAA (176 pages, 890yen) Here's an interesting item I found at a local bookstore. Although you'd think that people would have lost interest in most Nausicaa paraphenalia by now (the movie is 5 years old, the manga even older), the emergence of the new Viz translations of the manga have brought some of these items back on the shelves. The outer jacket of the book is a watercolor painting of Nausicaa on Moewe. The inner cover portrays a section of the tapestry which can be seen in the opening to the movie. Just inside is a pullout poster with Nausicaa (drawn in the anime-style) on one side and the voice actress (more on her later) on the other. Next is a one-page movie poster reminiscent of the one for Star Trek III, or perhaps Star Wars, complete with a giant Ohmu as replacement for Darth Vader's mask ;-) What follows for the next 70 pages is the Nausicaa story shown in 563 color frames from the movie, as well as some frames showing various complex animation sequences. This is the only real duplication of material between the Roman Album and The Art of Nausicaa, which Tom reviewed in an earlier issue. We then come to a black and white section detailing the roles of the various animators, with numerous ink (paint?) sketches. These are storyboard rather than chara-design type sketches; if you're trying to learn how to draw Nausicaa, these don't help too much. But they do give an insight into the layout work. There is also a Q&A interview with each artist. I'd list their names, but I don't know the Kanji! The only one I can be sure of is, of course, Miyazaki Hayao. At the end is a short section on 'Topcraft', which seems to be another animation book or mook. I can't figure out why it belongs here, because it has scenes from the animated films The Last Unicorn, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (which somehow got translated to 20,000 Miles...) and The Hobbit, none of which are Japanese releases. The next section (titled 'Nausicaa Gal' ) is a complete profile of Nausicaa's voice actress, Yasuda Narumi, including 6 full-page color photos. Geez, she's a voice actress! We're supposed to be interested in her voice, right?! OK, photos I can understand, but not those three magic numbers... B80 W59 H86 ;-) This section ends with what seems to be a day-by-day account of the recording of the soundtrack. (Just 4 days!?) Next comes my favorite part of this book... a very good selection of fan art, probably from submissions to Animage, coupled with pages from what appears to be a fanzine. It's called Best of 'Kaze no Tani Shimbun', or 'Valley of the Wind Newspaper', and has its first issue dated A.D. 3563.11.27 :-). Each page is crammed with a lot of material, and looks much like a low-budget 'Animage' dedicated to Nausicaa. It's concerned more with the Nausicaa manga than with the movie, since many characters that are absent from the movie show up in the pages. Included is a rather small 'When and Where' map which looks different from the one that appears in the Viz manga translation, a paper cut-out Ohmu, and lots of humorous fan art. Where else can you see a picture of Teto and an Ohmu leaning against a tree, reading a newspaper? Roman Album Nausicaa closes with a 10-page 'Encyclopedia of Nausicaa', which has a reasonable number of chara-sketches of the characters and mecha, with explanations wherever they are necessary. Now I'll finally learn how to draw Teto properly! There's also Hisashi Jo's sheet music for the main theme and one other song, along with *lyrics*. I would love to get a translation of this! The final pages show some of the other Nausicaa fan items... posters, T-shirts, manga, a 'Guide Book', 5 soundtrack records, and of course the video. For original art, the Roman Album cannot compare with The Art of Nausicaa, which includes some of the best watercolors by Miyazaki. However, I believe this book complements Art of Nausicaa... there's a lot more behind-the-scenes information, and is easily worth the relatively low price. Now if only I could read it all! - Jude George THE ART OF JAPANESE ANIMATION VOLUME 1: 25 YEARS OF TELEVISION CARTOONS Following their tradition of producing the ultimate in anime art reference books, the staff of ANIMAGE has published a two volume bible for Japanese anime fans. The two large softcover books aim to be the largest and best listing of all Japanese animated television (Volume 1) and animated feature films (Volume 2) ever created. Volume 1 is a fascinating and impressive reference work. This volume is a complete listing of all Japanese animated television series and specials from the begining of 1963 to the end of 1988! That is a grand total of 668 programs! The book presents information on four shows per page, with each show getting a quarter page information box. In each box is the show's title and the title the show had if it was shown overseas. Below that is a photo from the show and a text plot/info section followed by major staff credits. This is not a lot of info on each show, but at least all the most important information is listed. And perhaps that is my only complaint about the book. It could have been much bigger. But I guess I have no right to complain. Nobody but the hardworking staff of ANIMAGE was brave enough to pull off a project like this. And for now it is the best reference work on Japanese anime television history to date. A must have book! It's interesting to note that while looking through the book, I discovered the fact that out of 668 shows only about 14 have ever been converted to other languages for foreign markets. Amazing. And after reading this book, there a lot of shows I'd like to see! - Tom Mitchell THE ART OF JAPANESE ANIMATION VOLUME 2: 70 YEARS OF THEATRICAL FILMS Covering about 500 films, this book follows the format of the first volume. Covering feature length films this time, the book lists all Japanese animated feature films from 1917 to 1988. The book is just as well done as the first volume, but also includes some extra material on such things as animation film festivals. But this book stumbles on one big area: ORIGINAL ANIMATION VIDEO. When I first saw the ad in ANIMAGE magazine that this two volume ART OF JAPANESE ANIMATION book set was going to be introduced, I was curious as to how they were going to classify shows made just for home video. The TV book could not cover OAVs because it was dedicated to shows that were seen on broadcast television. And of course few OAVs have ever been shown on movie screens. So how were they going to relate the history of dozens of OAV productions? They don't. Well, the feature film book lists only feature-length OAVs, and giving little or no mention of their home video origins. Very, very disappointing. Such OAVs as AREA 88, MEGAZONE 23, and VAMPIRE HUNTER D are listed as feature films. True, some of these were shown to preview audiences in theaters, but they are clearly called OAVs and were meant for the home video market. So, ignored in this otherwise excellent 2 book history of anime are Original Anime Videos, the 3rd and latest outlet for animated work in Japan. ANIMAGE could have included these in a combined TV and OAV volume. In the end, overlooking the OAV history in Japanese animation is a great oversight on the part of ANIMAGE. - Tom Mitchell //////////////////////////////MAIL ORDER INFO\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ The following is a list of businesses where the ANIME STUFF staff members shop for our anime stuff. They are highly recommended sources for anime and provide excellent service. All of them provide mail order so you can write to them for catalogs. WOK TALK INC. DBA NIKAKU ANIMART LASER PERCEPTIONS SIGHT & SOUND 615 North 6th. St. 3300 JUDAH STREET 1275 MAIN STREET SAN JOSE, California 95112 SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA WALTHAM, MA 02154 94122 WOK TALK/SIGHT & SOUND and LASER PERCEPTIONS specialize in domestic and imported laser video discs. And Nikaku sells magazines, books, compact discs, and other anime goods. Tell 'em ANIME STUFF sent ya! IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOI BBS SYSTEM INFO IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO Here is a list of some of the more notable BBS's around the country that are dedicated mainly to anime chatter. > VALLEY OF THE WIND BBS, the official ANIMAG BBS Phone 1-415-341-5986 (CALIFORNIA, 300/1200 BAUD) > THE CHACHAMARU SNACK BAR Phone 1-313-884-0418 (MICHIGAN, 300/1200 BAUD) /////////////////////////////////END NOTE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Changes for ANIME STUFF are in the wind! Due to the ever expanding size of our publication, some folks have complained that it is just getting too big for many of their computers to download and hold in memory. So, we've decided that ANIME STUFF will be published in smaller chunks released more often. This will not only solve the K problem, but also allow our issues to come out quicker with more timely information. So, be on the lookout for ANIME STUFF 11 soon after this issue! And a special thanks should go to Stuff Staff and CIS Anime Group member Rick Sternbach for the outstanding hard work he put into to getting our CIS Anime Group jackets designed and made. Wow! They are really cool!!! Thank you, Rick! (And a great excuse for not doing an article for this issue...) (Heh heh heh...) - Tom \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Date of original publication: 4/9/1989 ANIME STUFF Copyright (C) 1989 Tom Mitchell & MIDORI COMMUNICATIONS All rights reserved. This publication originally appears on CompuServe Information Service's Comic Book & Animation Forum. USENET distribution rights belong exclusively to Jude George. USENET Address : jg2f@andrew.cmu.edu Original Copyrights to the material reviewed, articles written and graphics presented are reserved by their respective owners. The contents of Anime Stuff may be reproduced in any form of media so long as the names of the authors are preserved, articles remain intact, and ANIME STUFF is mentioned as the source. Articles & computer artwork in Anime Stuff may be re-published in newsletters so long as a copy of the publication in which the articles appear are sent to: MIDORI COMMUNICATIONS c/o Tom Mitchell 474 Chowning Circle Dayton, OHIO 45429 "GIF" and "GRAPHICS INTERCHANGE FORMAT" are COPYRIGHTED (C) 1987, 1988 CompuServe Information Service an H&R BLOCK company. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////