MISC. MANGA, *Riot

This limited series was put together by occasional hentai artist Satoshi Shiki back in the early 90s. Viz printed this in comic format at first, and then in to two trade paperbacks. This sci-fi action falls under the category of "post-apolcayptic western" similar to Eat-Man.

A reckless outlaw called Billy the Kid(not the original one!)plans to steal a magical grimoire called the Riot, which is one of several books of spells left over from before the apocalypse with great powers in it. Billy gets nearly killed while trying to obtain it from the book's guardian, Axel. The spirit of the Riot makes a contract with Billy that it will save his life if he becomes Axel's bodyguard. Riot agrees, and now has to deal with heretics from the same order that covet the spell books. Some are from other churches that wish to use the power to rule the world, but Billy has that in mind for himself. After confronting the reckless assassin Ziggy, Billy is reunited with some of his old comrades who join him in his quest.

This manga is fair, although the plot is very much all over the place with the conflicting forces vying for the Riot. The main selling point is Shiki's artwork which makes it at least worth looking up.

Anime That SHOULD Be Re-animated In America!

With anime titles like Akira and Death Note coming to the States as live-action movies, I thought I'd go over a few anime titles that would also make for an okay animated American production. While some of the U.S. remakes of Speed Racer and Voltron weren't all that spectacular, there's the possibilty of us doing decent interpetations of Japanese titles. If they can make anime of Karas, G.I. Joe, Powerpuff Girls, Tomb Of Dracula, Captain Future, Highlander, Lilo And Stitch, and Witchblade, then we could shamelessly take something of there's and make it work for us.

BERSERK
After the total absense of a reasonable conclusion, this was a series that was demanding to be remade(at least by American otaku)! The anime was about a lone swordsman named Guts who joins up with a band of mercenaries in a wartorn fantasy world. This already appeals to fans of Warcraft, or those who thought Lord Of The Rings needed more bloody violence in it. Plus, the fanbase for this series is strong out here. This would make a good animated TV series, probably for HBO. Titmouse would be my choice to animate it. They also did Metalocalpyse, Amazing Screw-On Head, Afro Samurai, and GI Joe: Resolute.


CAPTAIN HARLOCK
Pirates In Spaaaaaace! While alot of people consider him to be a space pirate, Harlock(or sometimes Herlock) is really a pirate in space. I actully have a whole Jeff Foxworthy bit of "You might be a pirate in space if...", but I'll say that Harlock is one of the strongest space heroes ever! He's a moody revolutionary fighting for human freedom in an alien oppressed universe. He even goes up against the Norse Gods! Harlock has had several TV series(including one where he's in the old west), plus movies like the memorable Arcadia Of My Youth, as well as several other "Lejiverse" titles like Star Blazers and Galaxy Express 999. This would make for a great animated epic sci-fi TV series in America on the scale of Battlestar Galactica. I'd vote for Mainframe Entertainment who did Beast Wars and Reboot.

CUTEY HONEY
The original anime android girl, and the original anime superheroine! Playing out as a sexy sci-fi action series, Honey Kisaragi is a teenager who discovers she's really a superpowered android modeled after her creator's real daughter. Honey has the ability to transform her clothes and appearance thanks to her patented "Honey Flash"(which is ripped off by several latter magical girl shows!)which also allows her to create weapons and vehicles out of any molecules. She regularly fights the evil Panther Claw gang, while trying to maintain her secret identity. There's some wonderfully over the top fight sequences. This would make for a saucy superhero series out here, possibly for Sci-Fi Channel(or SyFy), which I'd nominate Adelaide Productions who animated Spectacular Spider-Man, The Boondocks, and Roughnecks.

DIRTY PAIR
Anime's answer to Barbarella + 2. This was an anime TV series, OVA series and specials, and a movie based on sci-fi novels about two sexy bikini-clad special agents in the future who work for an intergalactic originization called WWWA. The fiesty Kei and the lusty Yuri are codenamed "Lovely Angels", but because of their habit for continuously causing chaotic destruction on all their missions, they've been branded as the "Dirty Pair". This show was reinvented in the 90s under the title Dirty Pair Flash, and has also been turned into a popular run of comic book mini-series(s) in America by Adam Warren. For a redone animated version out here I'd suggest Film Roman, whose productions include Hellboy: Animated, Dead Space: Downfall, and X-Men: Evolution.

GUNSMITH CATS
One of the few American-based anime(i.e.: it actually takes place in America), it was originally a manga remake of a profoundly cool title from the 80s, Riding Bean, which was very much like The Transporter without all the "clothes-fu". In it, Rally Vincent owns Chicago a gun store, but part-times as a bounty hunter along with her short partner May Hopkins. There was an OVA mini-series done of this that is considered a cult classic by American fans because of its killer action and Hollywood-styled thrills. For a possible U.S. adaption, I'd have Genndy Tartakovsky because of his great sense of blending action with comedy.

RANMA 1/2
Despite some of the bizarre gender-bending going on in it, Ranma 1/2 is one of the most iconic anime titles from the 90s, and swayed alot of Americans into becoming otaku. Created by Rumiko Takahashi(who also did Inu Yasha), this was a manga and then an anime TV series, OVA series(s), and three movies about a martial artist named Ranma that gets cursed by an ancient Chinese spring that turns into a girl everytime he gets wet. This leads into some strange situations, especially with his rivals and possible love interests. It would make for an intersting "teen-friendly" romantic martial arts comedy series if done by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko who are famous for doing Avatar: The Last Airbender.

BOBOBO-BO BO-BOBO
Had to throw in a WTF? choice! This was an anime that Toonami weirdly enough aired the entire series of. Originally done as a parody of Fist Of The North Star, this was a manga and anime series that spoofed nearly every shonen title ever done, including Dragonball, Pokemon, Naruto, and Gundam. In it, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo is a Johnny Bravo lookalike who fights his appoinents with his mighty nosehairs(that right, nosehairs!), and picks up a group of equally weirder fighters in his quest to take down the farcical Maruhage Empire. For the gaijin adaption of this, I'd go strait to the William Street crew who did Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Space Ghost: Coast To Coast, and Squidbillies. It would be really funny if they used old footage from vintage anime shows and redid them like in Sealab 2021.

ANI-MOVIES, *Ponyo

From Hiyao Miyazaki(who if you didn't know created the Oscar-winning Spirited Away)is this his latest movie which is an original story, although slightly inspired by The Little Mermaid and some elements of The Frog Prince. This is his eighth film that he's done through Studio Ghibli, which he co-founded, and was fortunate to be released in U.S. theatres through Disney.

A 5-year old boy named Sosuke lives right on the ocean with his parents. His father is a fisherman who usually isn't at home, and his mother Lisa works at a senior citizens center. One day, Sosuke catches a strange looking goldfish he calls Ponyo which licks a cut on his finger and heals him. The fish gets away, but is really the daughter of a strange Willy Wonka-dressed man who is some kind of keeper of peace in the seas. Ponyo uses her magic to transform into a human girl, although sometimes she looses her composure which causes her to change into a slightly frog-like creature. She runs into Sosuke who immeadiately recognizes her as the fish he caught, and is taken in temporarily by Lisa during a huge typhoon which floods the entrie area. Lisa leaves to go look in on the old ladies at the center, leaving Sosuke and Ponyo to set out the next morning in a toy boat that Ponyo makes bigger with her magical powers. They then encounter Ponyo's father who takes them to his underwater refuge, where Lisa and all the old ladies from the center have been kept to save them from the flood. There, they encounter Ponyo's mother who is essentiually a cross between a goddess and Glinda the good witch, and lets them know that Ponyo can stay with Sosuke and his mother. The movie ends with the balance of nature being turned back to normal, because somehow Ponyo accidently caused it to happen with her magic.

I'd have to say I very much enjoyed this movie. It's Miyazaki's first movie intended for children since My Neighbor Totoro, and it comes off as such. There isn't any dark overtone like some of his last films like Howl's Moving Castle or Princess Mononoke, and is done purely for sheer fun. Granted, the plot didn't seem to have too much of a main direction to it, but Miyazaki makes up for it with his stellar visuals. The dub is pretty fair with the usually roster of celebrities that Disney gets for its movies, including Tina Fey as Lisa, Matt Damon as Sosuke's father, and Cate Blanchett as Ponyo's mother. I'd say Liam Neeson was miscast as Ponyo's dad, and it could have done without the Jonas Bros. & Cyrus' siblings being cast as the main characters, but was still acceptable. I'd recommend this film as a mainstay for someone's family, although traditional anime fans might find it a little hokey. So, definately look it up if you want another Totoro-like pump of the "warm fuzzies".

JESI THE GENIE, *Part 5: Page 5

ANI-MOVIES, *Arcadia Of My Youth

You wanna talk about space operas? This here's one of the pinnacle anime space operas. It's also considered the cornerstone of the "Lejiverse". The Lejiverse is the collected continuity that all the works of Leji Matsumoto, this includes Galaxy Express 999, Queen Emeraldas, and Space Battleship Yamato(or Star Blazers). Arcadia Of My Youth is a retelling of Captain Harlock's origin, the infamous space pirate(or "pirate in space").

Captain Harlock(also known as Herlock)is a military officer for Earth in the 30th Century, where our planet has been conquered by an alien race called the Illumidus. After bringing a group of refugees to Earth, Harlock surrenders his battleship to the occupying forces. He later befriends a short Japanese man, Tochiro, who is a part of a secret freedom faction hoping to liberate Earth. This front is lead by the beautiful Maya, who Harlock falls in love with. They also incorporate the bold female trader, Emeraldas(of whose origins you'll see in Maetel Legend), as well as some other Earth soldiers who are tired of the alien oppression. But before they can try and save their own planet, they hear about another human outpost on another world that is facing extinction. Tochiro reveals his life's work, a giant starcrusier modeled after a WWII battleship, the Arcadia, which he and the others use to go and save the other planet. Leaving Maya and Emeraldas behind, Harlock takes charge of the mission, but they reach the planet too late as they find the last female of that race has died. Harlock sadly brings her body back to Earth, but only to have a scuffle with one of the Illumidus leaders, which causes Maya to be killed. This leads into an epic space battle between the Arcadia and the head alien ship. Harlock then sets off with his new crew to become freedom fighters for humanity in the "sea of stars".

This is admittedly a lengthy film, and probably best for fans of old school anime. It features some fine animation, directed by 70s trailblazer Tomoharu Katsumata. Like most stories from the Lejiverse, there is quite alot of dialogue and long shots in space with not much going on, although it makes for a great visual trip. This movie is very reminiscent of Star Trek II, which actually came out about the same time, especially with the space battles and operatic nature involved. This film has been released in English about three different times. One is in the uncut Japanese subtitled version(which is currently no longer in print), another is the British dubbed version titled My Youth In Arcadia, and in an edited version of the UK dub titled Vengeance Of The Space Pirate. Aside from this, Harlock is featured in several other Lejiverse titles, usually just to make some kind of obligatory cameo, but Arcadia Of My Youth is the definative Harlock story, and one of those required classic anime movies.

JESI THE GENIE, *Part 5: Page 4

Story by Jer Alford. Art by Aimi Tokutake.

ANI-MOVIES, *Treasure Planet

Since Treasure Island was already done as their first ever full-length live-action movie, Disney decided to ride off the slight success of Titan A.E. by turning the old pirate story into a sci-fi adventure. This followed their other adventure film, the previous steampunk feature Atlantis: The Lost Empire, but prior to the first of their swashbuckling series, Pirates Of The Carribean.

Set in outer space, young troublemaker Jim Hawkins helps run an inn with his mother. One night, he helps a crashed pilot who hands him a mysterious orb. A gang of shadowy pirates then burn down the inn looking for the orb. Jim escapes with his mother, and has the family friend Delbert(an egotisitcal dogman doctor)look at it. He discovers that its a starmap that leads to the fabled Treasure Planet which is the stronghold of a legendary space pirate, Captain Flint, who left all his loot there. Delbert hires a ship lead by the foxy feline Captain Amelia to find Treasure Planet, although its unknown to them that most of the crew is made up of the pirates that were first looking for the orb. Jim is sent to work in the galley with the ship’s cook, Long John Silver, who is really the head of the pirate gang. They both eventually become friends during the journey. Although when Jim learns of Silver’s true intentions, he warns the Captain. Jim, Delbert, and Amelia escape to Treasure Planet. Once there, Jim befriends the brainless robot B.E.N. that worked for the pirate Flint. Silver eventually corners Jim and convinces him to show him how the orb works. Its revealed that the entire planet is really a space station that has warp gates leading to all points in the galaxy which Flint used to plunder starships. The planet then starts to break up, so Jim and the remaining pirates then team up to use their ship to escape in a warpgate back home. Jim then lets Silver go, and joins the space navy. His mother reopens the inn with some treasure that Silver gave Jim, and suprisingly, Delbert and Amelia get married and have kids.

This was a decent “space pirate” movie, although it for me falls more in the “pirates in space” category since it has the actual starships looking like 18th Century galleons. Anyway, I was impressed by Disney’s attempt at taking a children’s classic and reinterpreting it in a different way, although certainly better than what they did with Oliver & Company. They also managed to add some actual depth to their main male protagonist, who in most Disney productions is just your average dashing prince archetype, but also didn’t need to be singing about his problems every couple of minutes like Aladdin. The design of most of the characters was pretty good too, especially with the Chuck Jones-type facial features. Despite its initial lukewarm opening, Treasure Planet is a very watchable movie, and at least makes for a worthy rental.