areaseven

Chicchana Yukitsukai Sugar ( ã¡ã£ã¡ã‚ƒãªé›ªä½¿ã„シュガー ) J.C. Staff/Broccoli/TBS/Pioneer LDC, 2001-2002 Pioneer/Geneon Entertainment, 2003-2004 Directed by Shinichiro Kimura (Hand Maid May, Popotan). Rated 3-Up. Enjoy the show. Original story by Haruka Aoi and Koge Donbo (Di Gi Charat, Pita Ten). Saga is an 11-year-old girl who keeps a very tight daily schedule in and is respected by everyone in her home town of Muhlenburg. One day, on her way home, she discovers a fairy exhausted from hunger, so she feeds the fairy a waffle treat. From that point on, "Sugar" moves into Saga's house and tries her best to become a full-fledged Snow Fairy. Story: A- I really didn't expect a lot from this anime, and I completely underestimated it. The comedy is very lighthearted for all ages and the characters really grow on you. And because the production team went to Germany to research on the setting, you get the feel of everyday life in an authentic German town when you watch Sugar. Animation: A+ For a children's anime, Sugar boasts some excellent 2D artwork and some 3D effects that are soothing to the eyes. Character designs by Keiko Kawashima (Someday's Dreamers). Soundtrack: A+ "Ah! Shuwari! Ah-shuwari-wari!" I'm a sucker for soft piano music, and Shinkichi Mitsumune delivers an excellent piano/orchestral score for this series. The opening theme, "Sugar Baby Love" by Yoko Ishida (a remake of The Rubettes' 1973 hit single), is too kawaii, while Maria Yamamoto's (Hand Maid May, Amazing Nurse Nanako) ending theme "Snow Flower" is a soothing lullaby. Sub vs. Dub A Little Snow Fairy Sugar features Masumi Asano (Risa in DNAngel, Shuta in Haibane Renmei) as Saga, Tomoko Kawakami (Revolutionary Girl Utena, Chiriko in Fushigi Yuugi) as Sugar, Tomo Saeki as Salt, Kaori Mizuhashi (Taeko in Ai Yori Aoshi) as Pepper, Kotono Mitsuishi (Excel Saga, Misato in Neon Genesis Evangelion) as Ginger, Kenji Nojima (Yuji in Blue Gender, Yasushi in Di Gi Charat Nyo) as Turmeric, Fumihiko Tachiki (Gendo in Neon Genesis Evangelion, Boss in Mazinkaiser) as the elder fairy and Joe the Crow, Chinami Nishimura (Feilin in Gate Keepers) as Greta, Akiko Hiramatsu (Yukari-sensei in Azumanga Daioh, Miyuki in You're Under Arrest) as Cinnamon and Hanna-sensei, Yumiko Kobayashi (Puni Puni Poemi, Sarah in Love Hina) as Basil, Sawa Ishige (Paiway in Vandread, Takako in Magic User's Club) as Norma, Akiko Nakagawa (Sota in Inu-Yasha) as Anne, Asami Sanada (DiGi Charat) as Phil, Chikako Akimoto (Jessica in Turn-A Gundam) as Regina, Taeko Kawada (Ling-Pha/Marshall in Battle Athletes Victory) as Kanon, Kiyonobu Suzuki (Hayato in Mobile Suit Gundam) as Luchino, Mitsuo Iwata (Kaneda in AKIRA, Pyoro in Vandread) as Vincent the Bear Pianist, Kurumi Mamiya (Hamtaro) as Lancelot the Turtle, and Yuko Minaguchi (Videl in Dragon Ball Z/GT, Hotaru/Sailor Saturn in Sailor Moon S/Sailor Stars) as Saga's mother. The English dub, produced by Media Concepts, sounds okay - except for Sugar's voice. Featured voices include Michelle Ruff (Aoi in Ai Yori Aoshi, Fujiko in New Lupin III) as Saga, Reba West (Minmei in Robotech , Pai in 3x3 Eyes) as Sugar, Jennifer Sekiguchi (Mamimi in FLCL, Fujio in I, My, Me! Strawberry Eggs) as Greta, Ian Hawk (Tsukasa in .hack://SIGN, Kenichi in Metropolis) as Salt, and Kari Wahlgren (Witch Hunter Robin, Tsubasa in Figure 17) as Pepper. DVD Extras: B+ While the first disc is light on extras (textless intro/outro sequences), the video and sound playback is very impressive. The Bottom Line A Little Snow Fairy Sugar is, undoubtedly, the best children's anime in a long time. May be too much for diabetics, though. Links Pioneer's Official A Little Snow Fairy Sugar Homepage Broccoli USA's Official Sugar Homepage TBS' Official Sugar Homepage (Japanese) J.C. Staff's Official Sugar Homepage (Japanese) Kadokawa Shoten's Official Sugar Homepage (Japanese) Reference Anime News Network

Gunparade March: Aratanaru Kougunka ( ガンパレード・マーチ～新たなる行軍歌～ ) J.C. Staff/MBS/Pioneer LDC, 2003 AnimeWorks, 2003 Directed by Katsushi Sakurabi (Shingetsutan Tsukihime) Rated 13-Up for graphic violence and mature situations. Based on a popular PlayStation 2 video game. In 1945, World War II abruptly ended when an alien race appeared on Earth and began to slaughter the human population. The year is 1999 - 54 years later, mankind is still fighting to survive against the alien forces. Earth forces now use advanced mecha called Humanoid Walking Tanks (HWTs) to combat the invaders, but throughout the ordeal, far too many pilots have been killed in action. As a result, high school students are now recruited to become HWT pilots. Gunparade March follows the lives of the 5121st Platoon, who have just added a mysterious girl named Mai Shibamura to their ranks. Story: B+ At first, Gunparade March seems derivative of many anime titles with the alien invasion plot and is rather slow-paced. Character development doesn't sink in until episode 2. But after that, the series and its characters grow on you. As predicted, the show's male protagonist Atsushi Hayami has the "Shinji Ikari Syndrome", always pessimistic and apologetic. Scary part is that Gunparade March somewhat feels like Azumanga Daioh as well; perhaps because Mai and 10-year-old Nonomi Higashihara are kind of like Sakaki and Chiyo. In a sense, Gunparade March also feels like a mix of Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team and Robert A. Heinlein's original Starship Troopers novel (not that ridiculous movie directed by Paul Verhoeven), as it involves a younger generation of soldiers fending off against giant aliens. Animation: A For a company not too keen on mecha anime, J.C. Staff (Azumanga Daioh, The Slayers) did an excellent job animating this series. The HWTs (designed by Kazunori Iwakura) have shades of Labors (Mobile Police Patlabor), TAs (Gasaraki) and Arm Slaves (Full Metal Panic!). You'll also enjoy the character designs by Yasuhiro Irie. Soundtrack: A Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell, Mobile Police Patlabor) supplies a remarkable orchestral score to go with the series. The opening theme, "Shinjitsu no Tobira" by Yoko Ishida (Pretear, Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar), is very upbeat and light-hearted. Sub vs. Dub Gunparade March features Akira Ishida (Xeloss in The Slayers, Athrun in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED) as Hayami, Akemi Okamura (Shu in Now and Then, Here and There, Belldandy in Adventures of Mini-Goddess) as Mai, Junko Sakuma as Mio, Junko Noda (Mitsune in Love Hina, Maho in His & Her Circumstances) as Matsuri, Mayumi Yoshida as Nonomi, Akio Suyama (Hige in Wolf's Rain, Ohgami in Sakura Wars) as Takigawa, Hideyuki Umezu (Nubata in Outlaw Star, Kamado in The Hakkenden) as Setoguchi, and Emi Shinohara (B-Ko in Project A-Ko, Angel in The Big-O) as Motoko. Dub review coming soon. DVD Extras Under construction. The Bottom Line Despite a very slow beginning, Gunparade March looks like a very promising anime title. Links Official Gunparade March Homepage (Japanese) J.C. Staff's Official Gunparade March Homepage (Japanese) MBS' Official Gunparade March Homepage (Japanese) Media Blasters' Official Gunparade March Homepage Reference Anime News Network

Ah, screw it. The thread's been locked. I hope you're happy now, Ali Sama. As a matter of fact, lock this thread as well. There's no sense in bickering over a harmless thread. Besides, Ali Sama wanted my thread closed and he got his wish. End of story.

Mods, please clean up the thread and delete all posts not related to the topic (I guess that means there will be only one reply to the post.). I didn't want a flame war to happen, but for some stupid reason, it just happened. Thanks.

Then what do you want me to do, Ali Sama?

Will you guys quit complaining already? I already mentioned that my votes aren't final. Those are just my votes. Now make your own.

All right, time to straighten things out. My picks are not final. I simply started this thread so we can all voice our opinions of the best of this year.

As the 2003 calendar year comes to an end, let's look back at the anime titles released in the U.S. and Japan during this year. Here are the categories: Anime Theatrical Release of the Year (U.S.): Anime Theatrical Release of the Year (Japan): Anime OAV of the Year (U.S.): Anime OAV of the Year (Japan): Anime TV Series of the Year (U.S.): Anime TV Series of the Year (Japan): Best Anime Theatrical Director (U.S.): Best Anime Theatrical Director (Japan): Best Anime OAV Director (U.S.): Best Anime OAV Director (Japan): Best Anime TV Director (U.S.): Best Anime TV Director (Japan): Anime Studio of the Year (U.S.): Anime Studio of the Year (Japan): Best Anime Distributor (U.S.): Best Anime Distributor (Japan): Anime Magazine of the Year (U.S.): Anime Magazine of the Year (Japan): Best Anime Lead Male Character (U.S.): Best Anime Lead Male Character (Japan): Best Anime Lead Female Character (U.S.): Best Anime Lead Female Character (Japan): Best Anime Supporting Male Character (U.S.): Best Anime Supporting Male Character (Japan): Best Anime Supporting Female Character (U.S.): Best Anime Supporting Female Character (Japan): Best Villain (U.S.): Best Villain (Japan): Best English Dub: Best Male Seiyuu (U.S.): Best Male Seiyuu (Japan): Best Voice Actor in an English Dub: Best Female Seiyuu (U.S.): Best Female Seiyuu (Japan): Best Voice Actress in an English Dub: Best Theatrical Soundtrack (U.S.): Best Theatrical Soundtrack (Japan): Best OAV Soundtrack (U.S.): Best OAV Soundtrack (Japan): Best TV Soundtrack (U.S.): Best TV Soundtrack (Japan): Theme Song of the Year (U.S.): Theme Song of the Year (Japan): Manga of the Year (U.S.): Manga of the Year (Japan): Best Manga Artist (U.S.): Best Manga Artist (Japan): Feel free to add your own categories. (EDIT: Entires deleted from categories. I officially waive my right to cast my votes on this thread.)

Coming soon to a theater near you: Harry Potter and the Escape from Neverland Ranch Passenger 69 For Your @$$ Only

Well, not really a full-blown accusation, but the movie came out shortly before the attacks. Some people saw a connection because the movie had one scene where an airship crash-landed in Tokyo and released green-colored gas within the vicinity. The troops quickly put on their gas masks and scrambled to get everyone out until one soldier noticed that a dog in front of him was barking instead of slumping down dead.

Nah. As bad as it is, the Go-Bots movie can't compare to Robotech II: The Sentinels. Voltron: The Movie also blows chunks.

Anyone remember the time people blamed Mamoru Oshii and the production team behind Patlabor II for influencing some religious cult to poison hundreds of subway commuters with sarin gas?

Aside from the Earth Girl Arjuna cameo, did anyone catch the other shameless plug on the episode? If you look at Aries' digital camcorder, it has the names "Satelight" and "Tin House" (the animation studio behind Wonderful Days).

Macross Zero Episode 3: "Blue Death Match" ( マクロス　ゼロ 第三章 「蒼き死闘」 ) Big West/Satelight/Bandai Visual, 2003 U.S. Distributor Seriously Pending. Directed by Shoji Kawamori (Macross/Macross Plus, Earth Girl Arjuna). Not Rated (Suggested 16-Up). Contains graphic violence, nudity and mature situations. Shin discovers that Sara and Mao have strange abilities connected to the island. Tension between Sara and Aries intensifies when Sara's mentor was the same professor that drew blood from her at a younger age. Meanwhile, Mao brings Shin into the ocean to show him the island's "secret treasure" - a large fragment of the ancient relic known as "AFOS." There, Shin learns more about adapting to different environments by observing a school of flying fish and a flock of birds that also swim. But Mayan and the ocean surrounding it once again become a war zone when anti-U.N. forces attack the Asuka II fleet and the island in hopes of taking away the heavily-guarded AFOS. Shin and Edgar - aboard their VF-0D - must protect the AFOS fragment discovered by Mao from the invading forces. Story: A The series gets more interesting with more emphasis on Sara and Mao, along with a philosophical look at nature being an influence to the VF-0's transforming mechanism. We also learn more about why Sara hates foreigners, and we also see how much Shin has improved in piloting the VF-0. All that and a fierce battle towards the end of the episode will keep you anticipating for the next episode. Animation: A++ Satelight (Heat Guy J, Gene Shaft) and Korean-based studio Tin House (Wonderful Days) go all out on this episode. The underwater scenes are filled with vibrant colors, while the battle scenes are darker and grittier. To top it all off, we finally see Destroids and an armored VF-0S in action. You definitely can't miss this. Soundtrack: A With a new episode comes new BGM tracks by Kuniaki Haishima, along with the tropical-style ending theme "Yanyan" - performed by Yuuka Nanri, who plays Mao in the series. Cast Mami Higashiyama makes a cameo appearance as Earth Girl Arjuna. The Bottom Line The best just got better. Macross Zero delivers with more mecha action and suspense, along with loads of digital eye candy. Links Big West's Official Macross Zero Homepage (Japanese) Bandai Visual's Official Macross Zero Homepage (Japanese) Reference Anime News Network

Over a decade ago, I collected the X-titles merely for the love of the storylines and the excellent artwork by Jim Lee (Wild C.A.T.S, Batman: Hush) and Whilce Portacio (Wetworks). Here's what I had. X-Men & Uncanny X-Men I started my collection during "The X-Tinction Agenda" and followed the series from Professor X's return to the team's battle with the Acolytes. I didn't mind Chris Claremont's departure from the series, but when Lee and Portacio left to create their titles for Image Comics, I dropped both X-titles. Aside from the regular issues, I also have the trade paperbacks "The Dark Phoenix Saga," "Days of Future Past" and "From the Ashes," as well as the graphic novel "God Loves, Man Kills." X-Factor Much like X-Men, I was in the middle of "The X-Tinction Agenda" when I picked up this series. Jon Bogdanove's lame artwork still leaves a bad taste. Shortly after that storyline ended, I got hooked on Whilce Portacio's run on the series from Iceman's run with a cyborg Yakuza clan to Nathan (Cyclops' son from the late Madelyne Pryor) being sent to the future, in hopes of a cure to the virus spread on him by Apocalypse. Once X-Factor became a government team based in Washington, DC (with Havok, Polaris, Wolfsbane, Multiple Man and Strong Guy on the roster), my interest in the title went down the drain. I also have the graphic novel "Prisoner of Love," which was pretty decent. X-Force I didn't stay too long with this series, as I wasn't a big fan of Rob Liefield. Deadpool is cool and all, but the storylines were pretty lackluster. BTW, are Cable and Shatterstar still around? Excalibur Being a fan of both Nightcrawler and Shadowcat, I followed the misadventures of England's mutant hero team, especially with Alan Davis' excellent artwork. The first graphic novel and "Mojo Mayhem" are excellent works. All other Excalibur graphic novels are crap (especially "Air Apparent"). Wolverine I occasionally followed this series while Marc Silvestri (Cyber Force) was still doing the art. I really enjoyed the graphic novel "Bloodlust" by Alan Davis. "The Jungle Adventure" was pretty decent, but "Rahne of Terra" was just average.

Ball's on your court, Pat Payne.

Psylocke got killed! Where's my shotgun?!?

Man, that sucked. No Colossus means no more "Fastball Special" with Wolverine anymore.

Even with the second release, they still didn't get it right. They misspelled Battroid as "Battledroid" or something to that extent. They should've also done a revision of their episode 1 fansub as well. The translation and encoding are so off, it's not even funny: - Video suffers from blurry spots and "pink flakes." - They refer to the "Yaribue"/"Yariuwei" as a fishing spear. - Nobody got "AFOS" right the first time, but AJ went completely off by calling the relic "A-Force." To make matters more complicated, their translation mentions a "Dr. Frankton" when Aries was talking about the plankton embedded on AFOS.

Here's my short rundown of the Macross Zero fansubs: Alpha Anime (Episode 1) Pros: Great picture and sound quality. Clean subtitles. Cons: Some minor translation errors. ANBU/AonE (Episodes 1-2) Pros: Outstanding picture and sound quality. Remarkable translation. Cons: Uses "Battloid" instead of "Battroid" on episode 2. AnimeFactory/Anime-Fansubs (Episode 2) Pros: More vibrant colors. Great sound quality. Cons: Translation errors. AnimeJunkies (Episodes 1-2) Pros: It's Macross Zero. Cons: Don't get me started on how piss-poor their version is. Hikari no Tamashii (Episode 1) Pros: Exceptional sound. Decent translation. Cons: Brightness level too high. Subtitle fonts clash with the title. Infusion Fansubs (Episodes 2-3) Pros: Excellent picture quality. Dolby 5.1 surround. Great translation. Cons: Weak sound on non-5.1 systems. Some grammar errors. NewLife Anime (Episodes 1-2) Pros: Excellent picture quality. Dolby 5.1 surround. Flawless translation. Clean subtitles. Cons: Weak sound on non-5.1 systems. Rice-Box (Episodes 1-2) Pros: Great translation. Impressive quality at smaller file sizes. Cons: Inconsistency with subtitle fonts on episode 2.

AAARRRGGGHHH!!! How dare you bring up that movie!

StarCraft also had attack ships called "Valkyries."

Yeah, those were the last of the good old days. Now, I don't know what the hell's going on with the X-Teams. Gone are Excalibur, X-Factor and X-Force (which I didn't care too much about, especially since everyone hates Rob Liefield). Now I hear that Colossus may die of some incurable virus and Jean Grey's about to get killed and be resurrected as Phoenix once again. I'd wish Claremont would come back to write X-Men, but nowadays, he seems pretty senile, given all of the bad reviews of his recent works.

Yeah, she actually looks better as herself. The show just made her look too tomboyish to be Mako-chan.

Well, I did review Wonderful Days, and that's not anime. Sometime next week, I'll cover Titan A.E. and another non-Japanese animated feature.