MISC. MANGA, *I Heart Skull-Crusher

Josie Campbell already revolutionized the old He-Man spinoff of She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power for Netflix and then went on to specialize in stories featuring the character's Golden Age counterpart Mary Marvel for DC Comics. She also brought a new anime aspect to the Man Of Steel mythos in My Adventures With Superman. Campbell now has an anime-themed mini-series for Boom! Studios taking a spin on Battle Angel Alita, although minus the man/machine overtones. I Heart Skull-Crusher is a post-apocalyptic lesbian roller derby sports manga not seen in anything since the wild west days of 90s anime.

After your standard cataclysm where water is the most valuable resource, civilization has calmed down a little with most of the survivors becoming huge fans of a new sport called Screaming Pain Ball. The most boisterous of any of these sports fans is the energetic teenager Trini who has spent her whole sad life training to be a player in the game. Her existence is so decrepit that she has no friends and pours out all her dreams to the skulls of her deceased parents that she keeps around for company. Trini gets wind of a tournament coming up where she can get a spot on the winning team with her longtime idol, the notorious player known as Skull-Crusher. Our plucky wannabe gets help from a washed-up ex-player plus a pair of thieving twins to set out across the desert and earn a place next to her hero who she has a major crush on.

The series is set for only five issues but looks like they might be able to cover quite a lot of territory in their limited run. Alessio Zonno does a great job as the artist in what appears to be her premiere in professional comics. The first issue establishes the world quite well and gets you in tune to their vibe right away. This anime-styled American comic has some familiar cliches for average otaku, although it appears to have some surprises in store before the conclusion. While being a little campy for a wasteland fantasy, the sci-fi shojo-ai action more than makes up for it.

R.I.P. Akira Toriyama

OBSCURE O.V.A.S, *Zone Of Enders: Idolo

While the video game series managed to find its nook in the early 2000s, the two anime tie-ins didn't fare as well. The original game installment had an OVA one-shot titled Idolo prequel that was followed by the Zone Of Enders: Delores, I anime TV series which takes place just prior and after the first game. Idolo was the lead-in to a multi-media franchise with hopes of becoming the next great mecha series for the new millennium, however with limp animation, delusional characters, and a giant robot design that gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "cockpit", it didn't gain much traction.

Set in 2167, a human colony had been established some time Mars for some time. The Martian colony wants gain independence from Earth, but all humans born on Mars are physically weaker than humans for Earth, similar to the Warlords Of Mars books. The mecha pilot Radium is with the Earth/Mars allied forces but is secretly helping the Martian military test a new robot with a cockpit literally sticking out from the model's groin area making it look like the mecha is very excited to meet you. Radium becomes the pilot for the Orbital Frame mecha called Idolo which slowly begins to rise his aggression mostly because of a new element used in the machine's design. Radium and his fellow pilot Viola are both set to test the mecha, but it only seems to respond to Radium's control. The Earth forces get wind of the Martians plot, and they attack the testing base during which Radium's fiance Dolores is kidnapped along with the head scientist. Radium chases after them in the Orbital Frame with the Martian military planning on killing him for going rogue and so the mecha won't end up under Earth's control. Our rescuer fails to save Dolores and ends up getting blasted by Viola and the other Martian mecha, although it appears that some trait of Dolores might have ended up in the Orbit Frame's programming. The epilogue shoots ahead to five years later where Viola is helping the resistance forces fight Earth's forces on the moons of Jupiter.

Zone Of Enders: Idolo has an unmotivated plot with a stale cast and fails to get anyone prepped for a hack-and-slash video game with its total downer ending. This was released in English through ADV Films at first on his own and then as part of a collected edition with the TV series, but its short runtime of only 55 minutes doesn't justify getting the singular OVA volume.

ANI-MOVIES, *The Illusionist

Comics writer Sylvain Chomet already completed the innovative animated film The Triplets Of Belleville before he began an adaptation on the unproduced script of the late mime, actor, and writer, Jacques Tati. The deceased entertainer wrote this as a way of trying to make amends with his eldest daughter whom he ignored during the height of his busier years with the main character being inspired from his movie character, Monsieur Hulot, who was inspirational for Rowan Atkinson when he created Mr. Bean. The French-produced film was released in 2010 and was nominated for Best Animated Feature. Like many eastern-European animated productions, this was made largely free of dialogue, even though there is some English said throughout the film, but most of the narrative is self-expressive not needing any spoken lines.

Taking place in France during 1959, a French illusionist moves to England to find more work after his act in Paris become stale. He gets a gig working at a pub for parties and is befriended by the cleaning girl Alice. She decides to follow him when he gives her a new pair of shoes he earned with his wages. It's hinted in the advertisement for the movie that from this point in the movie that Alice trails around with the Illusionist because she believes he can work real magic, although nothing really hinting at that ever shows up during the rest of the film. The Illusionist and Alice stay at a hotel made up of former circus performers, including a suicidal clown, a depressed ventriloquist, and a trio of trapeze artists, while the hotel itself is run by a pair of short persons. The Illusionist tries to lift up Alice's spirits by using his meager income to give her new clothes to which she is grateful for, but it's not a romantic relationship, instead it's a parent-child dynamic. The Illusionist gets odd jobs working in a garage, acting as a window performer for a department store, and as a billboard painter, all while Alice starts a relationship with a man her age. Our protagonist eventually sells the remainder of his conjuring gear to set Alice off on her own with her new love interest while the Illusionist embarks on his own unknown path.

The Illusionist is largely traditional animated reminiscent of the later productions of Walt Disney and the films that Disney did following his death. This is certainly one of the most charming animated movies of the new millennium, and there is nothing offensive or racy involved so it's perfect for the whole family to enjoy.

You Came To The Wrong Neighborhood

ANI-MOVIES, *Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

In one of the few original Dreamworks animated films, it's easy to see this as a slight rip-off of Pixar's Luca and Turning Red which combines a girl's coming-of-age story with sea monsters. Dreamworks' head honcho Jeffrey Katzenburg had okayed the project just before he stepped down in 2016, so it was in development limbo for a while. Croods creator Kirk DeMicco directed it along with former South Park writer Pam Brady. The movie's theatrical release didn't break even from its overall production value, but it has gained a secondary success after debuting on streaming.

Ruby is an average, blue-skinned girl with her blue-skinned family living in the town of Oceanside which is of course near the ocean. She knew she and her family were not necessarily human since her mother Agatha is vehemently against them ever going in the ocean, but Ruby finds she's going through changes. Instead of becoming a giant red panda, Ruby is a kraken capable of achieving kaiju-sized proportions and breathing water. Agatha manages to calm Ruby down after she goes full-Godzilla after failing to ask her crush to the prom and spills the majority of her family's history, which involves the arrival of her uncle Brill who takes Ruby to her Grandmamah. Ruby is the heir to the ocean kingdom where krakens are the defenders against other sea monsters, including mermaids which are deceptive shapeshifters that masquerade as attractive humans, one of whom is the new popular girl at school, the cheerful redhead Chelsea. The mermaid cons Ruby into being her friend and tries to free a magic trident(it's always a magic trident!)from the underwater volcano that Agatha sealed it up in. Chelsea is revealed to be the kraken's ancient enemy Nerissa, queen of the mermaids who hasn't aged at all during the last time she fought Agatha. Taking a new spin on the finale to Disney's The Little Mermaid, Nerissa grows to titan size, and the combined forces of all three generations of female krakens are the only thing that saves the day. There's a subplot with Ruby's father and brother trying to decoy a local sailor in his attempts to prove the krakens exists, but this mostly acts as padding to make the film feature-length.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is a decent enough movie with Dr. Seuss-inspired character designs, even though it is pretty plain to see that Dreamworks was borrowing quite a bit from Pixar's most recent movies. The movie tries to accomplish too much into its 90-minute running time, like attempting to make us care about Ruby's friends from school even though they are more just background noise. The side-story of the crazy sea captain trying to capture is like a bad cereal commercial drawn out through the movie. It's an up-to-scratch animated film for all ages and doesn't drag down the whole story with yet another reminder of how important family is supposed to be. It might not seem enticing as prior Pixar installments, even though it is an entertaining watch.

ANI-MOVIES, *Gundress

The fact that the character designs for this anime film were done by Masamune Shirow of Ghost In The Shell infamy is the single selling point of this cyberpunk title. Orca had already botched things up with their previous blunder of Landlock, but the anime studio went even further with their debacle of Gundress. The franchise did have a little more success with the titles having its own manga and video game, despite the fact that Gundress didn't have a strong footing when it came to reusing Shirow's abandoned designs for some of his former projects. The main draw is "girls in mechas" which worked fine for anime like Bubblegum Crisis, even though that series had its own developed plot where Gundress was all whistles and bells with no substance.

Taking place at the beginning of the 22nd Century, the new metropolis Bayside City is under the protection of the Angel Arms Company under the command of the ex-cop Takako which is an all-female strike team. The members of Angel Arms each have their own set of skills that comprise the group that gets disrupted because of new recruit Alisa. The rebellious new addition has a dark past involving the leader of a terrorist group bent on drowning the city in chaos.

Gundress was finished in 1999 but didn't see an American release through Media Blasters until 2006 because there was so much speculation regarding its potential for new millennium otaku who were finally getting wise to not spend all their cash on an unheard of anime. Despite it getting an American theatrical release, Gundress was a bomb from start to finish. The animation clumsily adapts Masamune Shirow designs, the plot is shoddy, and the dub is bad that it is almost laughable. Even hardcore cyberpunk fanatics would want to skip this stale slice of bread.