MISC. MANGA, *Usagi Yojimbo

For forty years, Usagi Yojimno has been one of the most successful anthropomorphic comic book titles that didn't have mutant turtles in it, which in fact has had several crossovers with the teenage ninjas from another universe. Stan Sakai started out with a mideval comic fantasy titled The Adventures Of Nilson Groundthumper And Hermy, then decided to take the guest appearance of a Japanese swordsman and give him his own ongoing series. First being featured in anthology titles like Albedo and Critters, Usagi was eventually given his own title through Fantagraphics, then Dark Horse Comics, and now IDW Publishing. While manga was just scratching at the door in America in the mid-1980's, Usagi Yojimbo was not inspired by Japanese comics but Kurosawa films and ancient samurai folklore.

Set in an alternate version of Japan during the 17th Century, Miyamoto Usagi(based on history's Miyamoto Musashi)was a loyal rabbit guard for a lord who was slain in a feud with a rival clan. Usagi now sets on his new life as a ronin wandering the lands occasionally hiring himself out as a bodyguard. His adventures lead him to befriend a young panda lord Noriyuki with his lovely retainer Tomoe Ame, begin a rivalry with the bounty hunting rhino Gen, plus reoccurring encounters with the vengeful blind pig swordsman Zato-Ino and the demonic killer wolf Jei. Most of Usagi's chronicles are separate one-shot stories making it easy for any average reader to check in at nearly any time, while as more epic story arcs like the Grasscutter and Dragon Bellow Conspiracy sagas do require having knowledge of prior chapters. The ongoing narrative does not regularly give into prolonged story plots similar to most shonen manga.

Usagi Yojimbo has one of the strongest followings in the history of independent American comic books. With a new alternative takes to the original like Space Usagi and the recent Samurai Rabbit animated series on Netflix, but the core comic has been a mainstay with fans of all genres. You don't need to be a favor funny animals, manga, or high fantasy to be able to enjoy this sprawling samurai epic.

MISC. MANGA, *Cutie Honey

Go Nagai's very first incarnation of the quick-change artist android began in this manga series now being released in English through Seven Seas Entertainment under their "The Classics Collection" label. Originally printed in 1973, Go Nagai created this sci-fi action fanservice series at the same time with the anime TV series of the same title. One of the first genuine superheroines to simultaneously getting her own manga and anime has set a standard for the genre that wouldn't get its just notoriety until the late 80s-early 90s with titles like Saint Seiya and Sailor Moon. Despite what many people think, this is not a magical girl manga as the character's powers are technological.

Honey Kisaragi is a synthetic lifeform brought to life by Dr. Kisaragi claiming to be her father, even though unlike in Astro Boy's origin, there is no evidence to suggest she was modeled after any formerly living person. Honey's father is targeted by the criminal group of female cyborgs, Panther Claw, run by its evil commander, the sadistic Sister Jill, who herself is guided by the gang's evil goddess, Panther Zora. Panther Claw wants the Airborne Element Solidifier lying in Honey's body which can change the molecular structure of anything. This allows Honey to transform into a superhero named Cutie Honey who uses various guides, weapons, and vehicles to fight the forces of evil. Panther Claw soon learns of Honey's real identity and target the girls school she lives in killing off all peers and teachers now matter how pervy they might have been. Honey then seeks shelter with her reporter friend Hayami Seiji along with his demented father and brother who are copied from Go Nagai's other manga series The Abarashi Family. The super android fakes her own death and in then infiltrates Panther Claw's headquarters after transforming into a golden statue. Cutey lays waste to the remaining Panther Claw members including a duel to the death with Sister Jill, although she supposedly battles Panther Zora off panel in what would have been a bombastic boss fight.

The manga differs from the original TV anime as there are loads more cheeky humor, including a police detective who doesn't wear pants because of his hemorrhoids or Honey's schoolmates who are constantly trying to get into shoujo-ai scenes with her. The manga also features an abundance of gore and violence despite the fact that its sister series was one of the first anime intended for mature audiences. Go Nagai's early artwork is on full display which varies entire sequences of gag manga cliches into a serious bloodbath as mainstay supporting characters are just blown to pieces in a stereotypical cartoon manner. The Classics Collection edition features both volumes of the 70's manga and doesn't get cut short like Cutie Honey A Go Go. While seeming like a standard anime superheroine on the cover, families should keep in mind that this is strictly intended for older readers.

MISC. MANGA, *RG Veda

Every anime empire had to start somewhere, and the manga studio powerhouse known as CLAMP began as doujinshi makers comprised of about a dozen artists which eventually went down to four. CLAMP's first professional release was the fantasy epic titled RG Veda inspired by Hindu mythology. This is what got them going on a winning streak of Cardcaptor Sakura, Tsubasa, and Chobits, even though their original title had an influence on future works like X/1999 and Magic Knight Rayearth.

Set in a mix of the human world and that of the heavens, the rebellious thunder god Taishakuten takes over the realm. Centuries later, the tyrant learns of a prophecy of an entity reborn as a child who would be the last of the demonic Ashura clan. Taishakuten sends his hefty swordsman Yasha to find and kill the child, but the noble warrior instead becomes Ashura's protector which makes him branded a traitor and causes the slaughter of his own village. Ashura begins to mature into a young kid pretty fast due to his supernatural creation and keeps slipping into his demon half as he keeps threatening to be the end of the world. Yasha shrugs this off to collect the rest of their party called the Six Stars which are destined to liberate the land from strife.

For CLAMP's initial mainstream manga, you can see the dynamic fantasy setting filled with numerous pretty boys which probably made it enticing to female readers. There is some stunning imagery, although some of the bishounen characters seem to blend together that is hard to tell them apart. There was a 2-episode OVA series that adapted the manga, but it drops you right in the middle of the saga giving you little context to know what is going on in the plot. The manga itself was first printed in English through Tokyopop which was printed in a lower resolution making it difficult to follow the narrative, so if you have a choice then get the rerelease in omnibus format for a better reading experience.

ANI-MOVIES, *Turning Red

Pixar's latest edition might have secretly a tribute to 90s anime, but Turning Red was directed by Domee Shi who also did the Oscar-winning short Bao has gone on record stating that this her first full-length project was in fact modeled after anime like Ranma 1/2. There is also a huge influence to the works of Studio Ghibli in the overall layout specifically with the character designs. The emphasis was more on growing into puberty with a supernatural fantasy twist.

Set in the distant past of 2002, Mei helps run her family's temple in Canada while maintaining the top student standards that her fussy mother Ming. Despite her seemingly maintaining her strong status, Mei is going through changes in more ways than one as she wakes up as a giant red panda, which by the way is not a bear. Ming explains that the women in their family were descended from a empress who was given the power to change into a monstrous panda to protect her people, a power that she Mei inherits based on her emotions. When Mei gets anxious or worked up, a plume of smoke literally morphs her into beast mode, while being calm and happy helps her change back with the benefit of not losing her clothes when she transforms back, even though she now has red hair. Mei gets moral support from her trio of friends, all of which pine after a boy band that they use Mei's new ability to raise money to see in concert by having Mei's panda form available for photoshoots with her schoolmates, even though they never explain where they got the initial money to pay for the panda-themed merchandise they sell. Ming, her mother Wu, along with all of her sisters all got through the panda curse by sealing it away in their own talisman, and Mei has until the next red moon to contain her condition. Unfortunately, this is the exact same night as the concert, and Mei is convinced that her panda curse is something that makes her life better giving her a newfound strength and maturity, so she ditches her family's ceremony to join her friends at the concert. This makes Ming mad to the point that her talisman breaks causing her to transform into a tremendous kaiju red panda that starts rampaging through down searching for her daughter. Mei and the rest of her family are able to subdue Ming by reverting back to their own panda forms. All the women gain back their humanity by getting new talismans, but Mei decides to keep her red panda powers to act as the mascot for her family's temple. You would think that the Canadian government would be knocking Mei's door down to join Alpha Flight, but the outside world seems to except a girl that can morph into panda as part of everyday life.

Turning Red is a refreshing view of the trials teenagers face with puberty in a better way than Ghibli's Only Yesterday did during its flashback scenes. Pixar's style goes through a major revision by making this an anime-themed feature, even though it focuses on a Chinese family and not Japanese. It might be one of the more "PG-rated" Pixar productions, but it handles the subjects of representation and family traditions in a brand new light.

ANI-MOVIES, *Legion Of Super-Heroes

As the sixth chapter of DC's "Tomorrowverse" line of animated movies, Legion Of Super-Heroes gives another introduction of Supergirl to an established continuity, but instead of getting her own title like in the Arrowverse she leads in the long-running series of the same name. There isn't a need to see any of the previous Tomorrowverse movies prior to watching this, although its ending does lead into the upcoming Justice League: Warworld film.

The story opens up with Kara just escaping Krypton during its destruction only to end up stuck in cryogenics for several years as her baby cousin Kal grew up on Earth. Now reunited with Superman, Kara adopts the name of Supergirl to help the Man of Steel in his never-ending battle, but her lack of experience using her newfound powers cause the other Justice League members to worry about her. Superman offers her the chance to travel into the distant future and join its team of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Supergirl is recruited hoping for a single spot in the Legion along with several other wannabe teenagers including the grandson of Superman's enemy, Brainiac-5. The Girl of Steel and the 12th level intellect android become very competitive all while unraveling a plot by the mysterious terrorist organization known as the Dark Circle which is revealed to be run by the 21st Century version of Brainiac. A betrayal by one of the Legion's own helps the Dark Circle get a hold of the Miracle Machine which is a high-tech wishing machine capable of changing the entire universe. Supergirl and Brainiac-5 form a unique bond as they try to stop the villains while freeing their fellow Legionnaires.

The Legion's first film is a step-up from the TV series they had in the mid-2000s, also featuring a voice over by the original series Superman voice actor Yuri Lowenthal as Mon-El, a futuristic fan of Krypton with questionable motives. This movie was slightly above the par of more recent DC animated productions, even though it lacks the grip that the previous Green Lantern film had. There are plenty of plot holes in it as well, like why if Brainiac had access to time travel that he didn't use it to get the Miracle Machine in the past when it has less security surrounding it. Even though most superhero movies involving time travel tend to skip alot of details like this, the comradery between Supergirl and the other Legionnaires is a bonus turning the spotlight on this team that has had a strong fandom for several decades.

ANI-MOVIES, *Night On The Galactic Railroad

Group TAC broke into animation with their Japanese motion picture of Jack And The Beanstalk in 1974 but they wouldn't return to another full-length theatrical release until 1985 with Night On The Galactic Railroad. Based on the mid-20th Century novel by Kenji Miyazawa which was published posthumously by the creator, the fantasy story might seem like they were channeling into the future to Leiji Matsumoto's Galaxy Express 999 franchise about a space train, but if anything Matsumoto was influenced by Miyazawa's work. The anime movie takes an anthropomorphic perspective as the majority of it has the characters as bipedal felines wearing some human attire similar to vintage cartoon characters. This approach might appeal to some replacing the cast with cartoon cats even though it does add to the fantasy theme of the film.

In a version of Earth where the people are cats, young Giovanni is constantly teased by the kids in school for having his father away for long fishing trips. The holiday of the Centaurus Festival is a take on the Japanese celebration of Tanabata highlighting the early summer view of the night sky where Giovanni plans to meet up with his friends after running an errand for his ill mother. On his way back home he stops in the middle of a field to see the stars as a train suddenly appears where Giovanni finds his best friend Campanella is already onboard who claims he is travelling to meet up with his mother. The train takes off for space where the two kittens meet all manner of bizarre but friendly cats either as fellow passengers or on visits to intergalactic stopovers. Halfway through the movie, the train is boarded by a young human tutor and his two charges, a brother and sister, all of which died in a shipwreck. The train goes to different versions of the afterlife plus other realities where Giovanni sees an alternate of himself. Campanella disembarks off the train to be with his mother who is revealed to be in Heaven leaving Giovanni to himself on the train. The kitten wakes up back in the field he started from and learns that in the waking world Campanella fell into a river and supposedly drowned to death, although Giovanni believes that his friend went to be reunited with his mother.

Astro Boy veteran director Gisaburo Sugii displays his seasoned style in a colorful animated production. It is filled with several perspectives on life, the afterlife, religion, and the viewer's point of view compared to the rest of the universe. One of the few drawbacks to this though is that some parts can go on for impractically longer than normal like in an early scene where the movie takes five whole minutes of Giovanni working at his part-time job at a print shop. The film has breathtaking imagery and is a heartfelt all-ages tribute to the author Kenji Miyazawa who interestingly got his own biography covered by Group TAC a decade later in an animated TV special titled Spring And Chaos where the real life people are also portrayed by cartoon cats.