areaseven

Seriously, Hasbro should've taken my advice and use the Commemorative paint scheme for Tracks.

WWE No Way Out Results WWE Tag Team Championship Scotty 2 Hotty & Rikishi def. the Basham Brothers & Shaniqua after Rikishi squashed Shaniqua with the Banzai Drop. Mixed Blindfold Match Jamie Noble made Nidia tap out to a reverse headlock. The World's Greatest Tag Team def. APA after Shelton Benjamin gave Bradshaw a superkick. Goldberg then made his way to his front row seat. Paul Heyman came in and told Goldberg that if he ever lays a hand on Brock Lesnar, he's going to jail. Lesnar came in and dared Goldberg to enter the ring. Goldberg came in and gave Lesnar the Jackhammer before being handcuffed and taken away. Lesnar had to run away from Hardcore Holly, who ran in for his match. Hardcore Holly destroyed Rhyno with the Alabama Slam. WWE Cruiserweight Championship Chavo Guerrero def. Rey Mysterio with a rollup after Chavo Sr. interfered with the match. No. 1 Contender for WrestleMania - Triple-Threat Kurt Angle def. John Cena and Big Show after making Cena tap out. WWE Championship Halfway to the match, Brock Lesnar set Eddie Guerrero up for the F-5. But when he landed it, Eddie's legs hit the referee. Lesnar covered Eddie for the pin, but there was no one to make the count. Lesnar then went outside the ring and grabbed his belt. As he was setting Eddie up for a belt shot, Goldberg ran in and speared him before running backstage. Eddie got up and grabbed the belt. But when he swung the belt, Lesnar ducked and set him up for another F-5. In a split-second, Eddie reversed it to a swinging DDT. He then went off the top rope and finished Lesnar off with the frog splash for the pin. Winner and new WWE Champion: EDDIE GUERRERO If only the WrestleMania main event were to be this good...

Yeah, but which car will they use? The new mustang, the GT, or the new Shelby Cobra?

Time's up. A statue of the late Freddie Mercury was featured in the Di Gi Charat movie. Next question: "Mister Miracle" is a character from what 1990s anime TV series?

Well, that was a tough one. The answer is B. V6 is the boy group that did the first opening theme for Inu-Yasha. Kageyama was involved with Try Force (Heat Guy J) and JAM Project (Mazinkaiser, The Soultaker). Time for an easier question - Jeopardy!-style: A statue of this famous singer is featured in Di Gi Charat: A Trip to the Planet.

Incorrect. Try again. Lazy was Kageyama's first band. They recorded a few albums during the late '70s and early '80s before Kageyama went solo. In the late '90s, they reunited for a few songs; one of which is the opening theme for Zone of the Enders: Dolores,i.

Around $24.95 per disc at Suncoast. If Best Buy has it, you can get it for $19.99.

Time for an anime music question: Anime vocalist Hironobu Kageyama is not a member of which band? A ) Try Force B ) V6 C ) Jam Project D ) Lazy

I'll need to redo it as the timing's wrong.

Chicchana Yukitsukai Sugar Summer Special ( ちっちゃな雪使いシュガー ) J.C. Staff/Broccoli/TBS/Pioneer LDC, 2003 Geneon Entertainment, 2004 Directed by Shinichiro Kimura (Maburaho, Burn-Up Excess). Rated 3-Up. Enjoy the show. When Saga - now 15 years old - arrives at her home after a day of errands, her grandmother Regina discovers an old dress in the attic. At this point, Saga recalls the time her elementary class participated in a play titled "Princess and Fairy." She volunteered to play the role of the Princess while her rival Greta played the evil witch. The production of the school play reminded Sugar and the other fairies of the time "The Bear Pianist" played in the town not too long ago. Story: B Even though the series has already ended, it's nice to see another Sugar anime. It's also a surprise to see Saga and Greta all grown-up. Everyone we've known and loved in the series is here. My only gripe is that the second episode of this special is forcefully rushed. We don't see the actual play; just still shots of what happens during the play before we go back to the present time. Otherwise, it's more fun for all ages. Animation: A+ Not much has changed between the TV series and the special. The artwork and animation are still outstanding. Soundtrack: A+ Yes, it's another dose of "Sugar Baby Love" and some of that sweet piano music. Adding to the already excellent soundtrack is "Kokoro no Piano", a new ending theme by Masumi Asano. Sub vs. Dub As always, it's the same cast as in the TV series. DVD Extras Coming this summer. Also available is a special edition pack with two travel-sized shampoo bottles. The Bottom Line Not as good as the series itself, but if you're collecting the DVDs, you might as well add this special to your list. Reference Anime News Network

Seihou Bukyou Outlaw Star ( 星方武侠アウトロースター )

Meioh Project Zeorymer (冥王計画ゼオライマー) AIC/ARTMIC/YOUMEX/Toshiba EMI, 1988-1990 U.S. Manga Corps., 1994, 2003 (out of print) Directed by Toshihiro Hirano (Fight! Iczer-One, Dangaioh)Running Time: 30 minutes per episode Rated 16-Up for graphic violence, nudity, sexual situations and strong language. Cast (Japanese) Toshihiko Seki (Legato in Trigun, Rau in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED) as Masato Akitsu Chieko Honda (Elpeo Ple in Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, Kurumi in Kimagure Orange Road) as Miku Himuro Hideyuki Tanaka (Riding Bean, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust) as Oki Mayumi Shou (Mia Alice in Dangaioh, Hitomi in Appleseed) as Yuratei Hirotaka Suzuoki (Bright Noa in Mobile Suit Gundam, Kaifun in Macross) as Taiha Kaneto Shiozawa (Vampire Hunter D OAV, Shin in the original Area 88) as Saiga Yuko Sasaki (Miranda in The Venus Wars, Kourin in Twelve Kingdoms) as Tau Rei Sakuma (Kazumi in Gunbuster, Nina in Mobile Suit Gundam 0083) as Aen Sho Hayami (Max in Macross, Wolfwood in Trigun as Ritsu Masako Katsuki (Lucette in Mobile Suit Gundam 0083, Emeraldas in Harlock Saga) as Rockfell Tessho Genda (Sanders in Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, James in ZOE: Dolores, i) as Gisou Mahito Tsujimura (Jihl in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Tsukamoto in 801 T.T.S. Airbats) as Lurahn Issei Masamune (Chief in You're Under Arrest) as the narrator Synopsis Tekkoryu (Hau Dragon) - a secret Chinese-based organization bent on world domination. After the rise of their new leader, Yuratei, the Tekkoryu come out of hiding and unleash the Hakkeshu - a band of giant robots with lethal weaponry and equally skilled pilots. Before their quest for domination, the Hakkeshu must recover one of their own mecha: Zeorymer of the Heavens, stolen from them 15 years ago by a turncoat member along with the frozen embryo of a genetically engineered pilot. Caught in the crossfire is Masato Akitsu, a teenager captured by a Japanese organization and forced to pilot Zeorymer. Teamed with a mysterious girl named Miku Himuro, Masato must use Zeorymer to battle each of the Hakkeshu's mecha; at the same time, he must figure out why he was chosen to pilot the mecha and why he is able to adapt to it so easily. Story: B- After Dangaioh left us with a cliffhanger ending (I refuse to consider Great Dangaioh canon), I was unsure if I could trust another Toshihiro Hirano title. Then, I picked up Hades Project Zeorymer. It has a rather dark storyline using realistic giant robots and a protagonist with a personality disorder. Masato starts out as a kid that's so pessimistic, you'd think he's Shinji Ikari in another form. Then, when he's piloting Zeorymer, he becomes a maniacal psychopath bent on total destruction of his enemies. The plot and character development really build up on episodes 1-3. Unfortunately, it all falls apart on episode 4 with revelations leaving you asking what the hell just happened. And then the series ends on a rather sour note. Despite all this, Zeorymer is well worth watching. Hirano just needs to learn to end his anime titles properly. Animation: A Ah, nothing like some grade-A cel animation. For a title that's nearly two decades old, Zeorymer boasts some excellent animation and awesome mecha designs by Hideki Kakinuma (Bubblegum Crisis, Gall Force) and Kimitoshi Yamane (Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne), as well as some outstanding character designs by Michitaka "Kia Asamiya" Kikuchi (Silent Möbius, Martian Successor Nadesico). Zeorymer, Rose C'est la Vie and Lanstar are some of the sweetest robot designs this side of The Five Star Stories. Soundtrack: B Eiji Kawamura's (Black Jack) musical score has its moments, especially the battle themes. But for the most part, it doesn't warrant a soundtrack purchase. The ending theme reeks of Engrish. Sub vs. Dub Central Park Media's current DVD release features an all-new English dub, which sucks like every other CPM dub. Just give me a folding chair and a moment alone with the narrator. DVD Extras: B+ Two years ago, when I originally posted this review, I used the NuTech Digital DVD for reference. That disc set was merely a hard-subbed transfer with average video and sound quality. Today, we have CPM's new-and-improved DVD, featuring improved picture and sound, optional subtitles and extras like a photo gallery, line art and character/mecha descriptions (images & text with audio only). The Bottom Line If you're a fan of old-school '80s mecha, you owe it to yourself to pick up Hades Project Zeorymer. It still stands on its own against most of the newer mecha titles. Links AIC's Official Hades Project Zeorymer Homepage (Japanese) Reference Anime News Network

I guess you haven't seen Ninja Resurrection or Sword For Truth yet.

Yeah, the dub is painful. Hopefully, they won't do any more episodes. BTW, did anyone catch episode 17? What do you guys think of Sailor Venus' transformation sequence, other than the fact that it's different from the other Sailor Senshi?

Speaking of Kekkou Kamen, is the anime any good?

Surprisingly, he doesn't. I forgot to mention that the OAV has so many plot loopholes, it's ridiculous. SPOILER ALERT! Ah, screw it! No one's gonna watch this, anyway. During the final battle between Shishimaru and Ginnai, Shishimaru has his right forearm chopped off. He then slices Ginnai in half, rupturing his hydrogen fuel cell and setting off an explosion that decimates at least 30 city blocks. The next scene has Shishimaru, Momoji and Hayabusa lying on the ground. Shishimaru wakes up and sees faint, ghost-like images. The images tell him they saved him and his comrades from the explosion, and that there are more battles to come. The larger apparition mentions his name as "Black Lion" before disappearing. Shishimaru then sees a giant spaceship hovering over the sky. He then tries to reach out for it with his right hand. That's when the narrator says, "At this point, Shishimaru did not notice that his right arm, which was severed by Ginnai in the battle, was reattached."

And now for another episode of... Kuro no Shishi Dynamic Planning/Minamimachi Bugyosho/Nippon Columbia, 1992 ADV Films, 1998, 2003 Directed by Takashi Watanabe (Ikki Tousen, Boogiepop Phantom) Rated 17+ for extreme violence and gore, and strong language. Based on the manga by Go Nagai (Mazinger Z, Cutey Honey). The year is 1580. Using an army of soldiers equipped with sophisticated weaponry, Nobunaga Oda is on the verge of ruling Japan with an iron fist. One of his enforcers is Ginnai Doma - a fallen samurai reborn into an indestructible killing machine. As Ginnai continues his killing spree on ninjas and those who oppose Nobunaga's rule, Shishimaru of the Iga Ninja - going against the Koga Ninja's plans - pursues a one-man vendetta to avenge the deaths of his comrades and kill the immortal warrior. Story: D- I have a fundamental problem with Feudal Japanese titles that incorporate modern technology in their storylines. Ninja Resurrection and the Ninja Scroll TV series are prime examples of this violation. However, Black Lion takes the cake as it has samurai using tanks and gatling guns at their disposal. Computers and GPS systems are also at play. We're even led to believe that Nobunaga is either from another planet or the distant future. The biggest problem is Ginnai himself. There have been tales of warriors attaining immortality. In Black Lion, after losing his family and his life, Ginnai becomes a cybernetic organism built with a titanium alloy endoskeleton encased in living tissue. Give me a break! In that case, call the damn anime "Samurai Terminator". And while we're at it, James Cameron should sue Dynamic Planning for ripping off his masterpiece. Animation: B- The OAV has some decent animation, but the fight scenes are no better than Sword for Truth. Soundtrack: B- Nothing to clamor about. Sub vs. Dub Black Lion features Yasunori Matsumoto (Gourry in Slayers, Gai in Getter Robo Armageddon) as Shishimaru, Yusaku Yara (Brenten in Dominion Tank Police, Mephisto in Demon City Shinjuku) as Ginnai, Ai Orikasa (Quatre in Gundam Wing, Toma in Gravitation) as Hayabusa, Kan Fujimoto as Momoji, and Yuri Amano (Kiyone in Tenchi Muyo!, Rain in Mobile Fighter G-Gundam) as Oyu. As usual, ADV delivers a lackluster dub. DVD Extras: F Trailers are not extras. The Bottom Line If you just picked up Black Lion, terminate it! "Hasta la vista, baka!" Reference Anime News Network

AFAIK, that book is available only in the Philippines. I did see it on eBay a few times, though.

Or some wise-ass late-night talk show host.

Good Lord! With the live-action Cutie Honey in the news, nobody saw this one coming. Kekkou Kamen

How about a mid-80s Toyota Corolla GT-S (otherwise known to us as AE-Hachi-Roku)?

It's been reported on many sites that FUNimation has acquired the rights to the highly popular anime series Detective Conan. However, due to some supposed "copyright issues", the series will be retitled Case Closed. I'm glad that Conan will finally see a U.S. release, but seriously, it doesn't deserve such a lame title like Case Closed. What do you guys think?

Has anyone here actually contacted Big West about this?

Actually, the Vibe doesn't look so bad. And at least it uses Toyota components. The Aztek has no redeeming value whatsoever. As for the PT Cruiser, it's not bad at all. It just tries to look retro like the other 'hip' new cars on the road. The Aztek design is a result of crack overdose.