areaseven

Next question - Jeopardy!-style: Three college men stumble upon a trio of top-secret mecha units equipped with advanced AI and become their exclusive pilots.

I don't know the original Japanese names, but here are the names used in Voltron Jeff - Air Team Leader Cliff - Land Team Leader Cric - Sea Team Leader

The Chronicles of Riddick Yeah, I know a lot of people here don't like Vin Diesel, but you gotta admit that Pitch Black was a surprisingly good flick. Hopefully, his new movie will be just as good.

Well, I've finished watching all 12 episodes, and rather than start a new thread, I decided to post my review on the series right here. Area 88 ( エリア８８ ) Group TAC/View Works/Animax/TV Asahi/Avex, Inc., 2004 ADV Films, 2005 Directed by Isamu Imagake Based on the manga by Kaoru Shintani Running time: 26 minutes per episode Rated TV-14 for violence, mature situations and strong language. Deep in the sandy plains of the Middle Eastern kingdom of Asran, Japanese photojournalist Makoto Shinjou travels to the remote airbase Area 88 to document the activities of the mercenaries who destroy the country's enemies for a living. Among the mercenaries is Shin Kazama, a Japanese ace pilot who was tricked by his former best friend into signing a contract with the Asran's fighter squad. Because of this, he lost his career as an airline pilot and the chance to marry his fiancee Ryoko Tsukumo. Now, Shin has three choices in order to leave Area 88: serve the mercenary group for three years, earn US$1.5 million, or desert the base, risking imminent death. Story: B+ Like the original manga and the 1985 OAV, the new Area 88 TV series has the premise of a pilot who must kill other fighter pilots in combat in hopes of returning to Japan and reuniting with his fiancee. However, the new series isn't just about Shin; newer characters not in the manga are introduced into the storyline. First off, you have Shinjou. Basically, he was added to the series because camera giant Nikon co-funded the project, but later on towards the end of the series, we realize how important he is as a character. In the original story, Kanzaki leaves Shin with Area 88, knowing he would end up dead in combat. For this remake, Shinjou is hired by Kanzaki as insurance for proof of Shin's death if it were to happen. Then you have other supporting characters like Kim, a kid barely in his teens who pilots a Harrier, and Kitori, a female pilot. Both actually don't do much in the story, even though they're brand new characters. Animation: B- If you're expecting high-grade animation within the same caliber as Yukikaze or Macross Zero, prepare to be disappointed. The cel-shaded animation for the planes looks good in a few angles, but overall, the series suffers from unrealistic flight physics. The OAV is over 20 years old, yet the dogfights are still much better than those in this new series. Soundtrack: C+ Possibly the weakest point of the series. What was Avex thinking? Eurobeat worked on Initial D because street racers in Japan listen to that kind of music. Trance has no place in aerial combat, except maybe the opening theme "Mission (Fuga)" by Angels. The ending theme "Dance in the Battlefield" by Keiko Terada is a pleasant jazz ballad. Sub vs. Dub Area 88 features Takehito Koyasu (Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Mu La Flaga in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED) as Shin, Shinichiro Miki (Isurugi in 801 T.T.S. Airbats, Shun in Heat Guy J) as Shinjou, Tomokazu Seki (Tokio in Earth Girl Arjuna, Beyond the Grave in Gungrave) as Micky, Hiroki Takahashi (Genjo Sanzo in Read Or Die) as Saki, Ryo Hirohashi (Sora in Kaleido Star, Rakka in Haibane Renmei) as Kim, Sanae Kobayashi (Sara in Macross Zero, Antonia in Heat Guy J) as Kitori, Chikao Ohtsuka (Synapse in Mobile Suit Gundam 0083, Rikudoh in RahXephon) as McCoy, Shigenori Soya as Gustav, Masaya Takatsuka as Greg, Hikaru Midorikawa (Ryuhou in s-CRY-ed, Heero in Gundam Wing) as Kanzaki, and Satsuki Yukino (Milly in Trigun, Ai in Planetes) as Ryoko. English review coming soon. DVD Extras Under construction. The Bottom Line The new Area 88 series is not bad, but it lacks the anti-hero feel of the OAV series and the trance music can get really annoying. Nevertheless, it's still worth watching. Links Avex's Official Area 88 Homepage (Japanese) Animax's Official Area 88 Homepage (Japanese) TV Asahi's Official Area 88 Homepage (Japanese) Reference Anime News Network

Chances are that if sting were to sign with the WWE, he would be placed on SmackDown! to feud with (and job to) the Undertaker.

Not too long ago, while checking out Returner, I saw a trailer for a Hong Kong film titled So Close (Chik yeung tin sai). The movie is directed by Corey Yuen (whose next project is the live-action adaptation of Dead Or Alive) and stars Hsu Chi (The Transporter, Gorgeous), Vicki Zhao Wei (Shaolin Soccer, The Duel) and Karen Mok (The Vampire Effect). Has anyone seen So Close? And is it any good, considering that many people compare it to Charlie's Angels?

Could Sting be in the WWE anytime soon? Article from TOPWRESTLING.com:

Last night on SmackDown!: - Mordecai appeared again, destroying both Billy Kidman and Akio. - Not only did Booker T. squash Funaki, he made SmackDown!'s "Numbah Wan Announcer" bleed. - Originally, the main event was Eddie Guerrero/RVD/Rey Mysterio vs. John Bradshaw Layfield/Dudleyz, but an attack backstage on Eddie by JBL made GM Kurt Angle change it to a 3-on-2 handicap match. Eddie later on appeared and cleaned house on all three opponents before collapsing. If you read the PPV results, you'll remember that Eddie legitimately collapsed due to the excessive loss of blood during the match (more like Eddie bladed himself too long and too deep). WWE's decided to make an angle out of it. Don't know if this means Eddie will drop the title soon.

Take it away, UN Spacy.

1. Sideswipe (Transformers Alternators - Takara) 2. YF-19 (Macross Plus - Yamato) 3. Gelshark (Transformers Car Robots - Takara) Everything else - I've managed to transform without even touching the instruction booklet.

Okay, so that was a hard one. Michelle's favorite book series is Harry Potter, while Maggie's favorite author is Ernest Hemmingway. Next question: In Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture, how many pieces of armor must Laocorn Gaudemus collect to acquire the powers of Mars?

ISBN 0-9723124-4-7

Not part of Anime Central news, but here's an update on acquisitions from Media Blasters (Source: Anime News Network):

In R.O.D -The TV-, what is Michelle's favorite book series? Who is Maggie's favorite author?

Last set for tonight: Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman (Science Ninja Team Gatchaman) Guilstein

Kia Asamiya

1. The Chun-Li shower scene was edited out on both PG-13 and Unrated versions of the U.S. release. 2. Tetsuya Komuro's excellent soundtrack was replaced by horrible alternative/grunge music that had absolutely no place in the movie. 3. U.S. version on laserdisc and DVD looks grainy compared to a VHS copy of the Japanese version. 4. The voice acting wasn't bad, but still disappointing. 5. DVD has no extras. As a matter of fact, it has no menu; DVD player stops at the end of the movie.

More pics: Alexander Senki (Reign: The Conqueror) Taiyo no Kiba Dougram (Fang of the Sun Dougram) Steamboy

Well, after several months, I finally got a chance to scan the book. Here are a couple of sample pics: Kamui no Ken (The Dagger of Kamui) Street Fighter II: The Movie

It's a fact that Nephrite hates Venus because she deceived everyone into thinking she was the Princess, but his primary target has always been the Princess. So right now, he could care less about Venus since he knows that Usagi-chan is Princess Serenity and the Mystical Silver Crystal is within her. Once he's done with Usagi-chan, he'll finish off the other Sailor Senshi afterwards and live happily ever after with Queen Beryl. At least that's what he wants...

WWE WrestleMania XX Edit List 1. Dudley Boyz entrance theme replaced with old theme, possibly due to copyright restrictions between WWE and Powerman 5000. 2. Stacy Keibler's entrance theme replaced with a cheap instrumental of "Legs," possibly due to copyright restrictions between WWE and Kid Rock 2. Ultimo Dragon slipping on the ramp before the Cruiserweight Invitational match replaced by far view of TitanTron. 3. Victoria's entrance theme replaced with a cheap instrumental of "All the Things She Said," supposedly due to copyright restrictions between WWE and t.A.T.u. 4. On the Goldberg/Brock Lesnar match, all the chants of "This Match Sucks!" and "Boring!" were toned down a bit. Boos and chants of "You Sold Out!" and "Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey, Goodbye!" remain untouched. "Goldberg!" chants were added as well. Haven't viewed discs 2 and 3 yet. Will check them out tonight.

There were rumors of empty ringside seats, but by the time the Sunday Night Heat match ended, the arena got packed. Eddie and Cena were the most over in the event.

Might as well give out the answers: Mariel as Chii (Chobits) - Coincidentally, Rie Tanaka is the voice behind both characters. Lemon as Nurse Witch Komugi-chan (The Soultaker, Nurse Witch Komugi-chan) Melon as Alucard (Hellsing) Maron as Nonomi Higashihara (Gunparade March) Grace as Sugar (A Little Snow Fairy Sugar) And the easiest one next to Melon... Taro as Mahoro (Mahoromatic)

Candidate #2: Team McLaren Mercedes (David Coulthard/Kimi Räikkönen/Alex Wurz/Pedro dela Rosa)