Father Geek here with our latest issue of Scott's fact-filled column on the whole wide worlds of Manga & Anime... everything you need to know in one spot, one report...

AnimAICN

by Scott Green

Manga Spotlight: Gunslinger Girl Vol. 1 By Yu Aida

Released by ADV Manga

Gunslinger Girl could be the creepiest implementation of the already creepy concept of damaged young girls trained to be assassins. Surely someone could have a field day, or a least a good thesis paper about this trend. While Gunslinger Girl is mercifully unsexuallized, especially compared to bounty hunter Minie May in Gunsmith Cats or Yasuomi Umetsu's Kite and Mezzo Forte, its combination of incredibly innocent character design with painfully heartless manipulation ultimately makes it even more disturbing.

The assassins in question are a project of the Social Welfare Agency, an Italian government wetworks department which takes damaged young girls, augments their bodies with cyborg parts, drugs and brainwashes them, and trains them to be assassins. The stories are episodic with a sense of progression, and usually follow Henrietta who was picked up by the agency after an attack in which she was raped and her family killed.

Gunslinger Girls sells itself as a growing up, coming of age drama. There are a number of genuinely heartbreaking scenes of forced fast maturation in bad situations along this track, but the serious fly in the ointment is the relationship between the girls and their handlers. The robotic devotion of the cyborg to her handler/master haunts the series, and wedges a barrier between the reader and the characters. On one end there are violent specters, like a dead young girl with a gaping wound from being shot through the eye, and on the other end there is the social aspect of the relationships. There are elements of a child/guardian relationship, but there are also strong elements of master/pet, owner/doll.

The action and fights in the series are blunt and kinetic, underscoring its ruthlessness and impact. The gun-knowledgeable have commented on the series' attention to detail and accuracy, but tuntrained eyes there still looks like something different a more real about how fire arms are handled in Gunslinger Girl.

The problem with Gunslinger Girl is that it accomplishes its desired effect too well. Beyond the drama, the illustration of its girls look too innocent, their faces emote too well, and it is tool painful to watch them kill, bleed, suffer, or grow callous to their work. They are cute, not in a Pokemon marketable sense, but in a way to maximize empathy.

Sometimes the works that invoke the most discomfort the most worthy of attention because necessary, but underused mental muscles are being exercised. Controversial ecological anime Arjuna for example, regardless of its stance on its issues it calls attention to a number of points worth considering. And sometimes the discomfort is because something is getting bent the wrong way. The Gunslinger Girl concept is fertile ground for some interesting drama, and action, but it may be a little too painful for its own good. It seems like an exercise is masochism. From mythology through Batman and Robin, there have probably always been stories of young heroes following there mentors into danger, but with few exceptions (Now and Then, Here and There), it had to think of recent Children's Crusades as psychologically and physically disturbing as Gunslingers Girl.

Manga Spotlight: Nadesico Book One By Kia Asamiya

Released by CPM Manga

Nadesico is probably better known for its anime adaptation. While the anime was a mélange of genre, a sci-fi with elements of space opera, relationship comedy, injoke humor, hard drama, and conceptual wildness, the manga is a more simple space opera with many elements of Leiji Matsumoto (Yamato/Star Blazers, Space Captain Harlock, ect) parody.

A number of the interesting and amusing concepts from the Nadesico anime series can be found in the manga, especially in the first volume which is less effected by divergent evolution than later stretches of the series. Nadesico has the perfect space opera farce concept of employing a corporate battleship, complete with finance officer into a war to protect earth, along with a captain who is a hopeless romantic airhead, and a chief robot pilot, who is also the ship's cook finds and find inspiration from classic 70's style giant robot anime.

The concepts are executed far better in the anime series than the manga, which doesn't really give anything room to breeth. It just moves forward with Cliff Note brevity, never giving characters, situation or even scenes a steady foothold. In the end is melds into a jumble of half-humorous space adventure, which a few scenes that stick out as good examples of Kia Asamiya's design skills, quirky take off's on the genre, or as interesting reinterpretations (or pre-interpretations) of the anime series.

Kia Asamiya's character design is an acquired taste, with its share of fans and detractors, but one that you can really grow to enjoy. Many of his facial features are prominent This allows for more structural variation and expressiveness, but some viewer's immediate reaction is to dislike the "big noses".

His mechanical design is less debatable. In Nadesico he depicts a number of sleek, complex and visually compelling battle ships, robots and cities, the scale of which is immediately evident and impressive.

Nadesico has a few strikes against the appeal of its illustrations. Chief among them is what looks like a bad transfer. Regardless of the cause, it has a scanned look to it: generally muddy and not crisp with dark or bright spots wash out sections of the image. Secondly, there is an overabundance of sound effects in the illustrations. It isn't uncommon for manga to employ illustrated effects, but in the case of Nadesico there size and frequency breaks the narrative flow. Especially in the battle scenes, they almost look like they take precedence over the physical events. In the second edition size in particular, the eye is drawn away from the action to the sound effect.

While the Nadesico doesn't compare favorably to the anime series, or distinguish itself on its own, at the $9.99 second edition cover price, it is something nice to look at form either fans of the anime series, or Asamiya.

Anime Spotlight: Big O II Volume 1 Paradigm Lost

Released by Bandai Entertainment

Sometimes fans gets what they were looking for, which is pretty much what happened with Big O II as it addresses the mysteries of the first thirteen episode series, and takes the characters directions fans where hoping for. However, all the while it is cleverly playing with the series' concept, and having its own fun with the viewer's expectation.

Big O II opens with a scene worthy of salivation, the perfect pulp tableau of the hero with his woman by his side awaiting the arrival of a hoard of invaders. Roger Smith, a well dressed man who's part Philip Marlow, with a little James Bond and a heavy dose of Batman sits in the cockpit of his art deco giant robot along his android companion R Dorothy Wayneright. With the domed Paradigm city behind him he awaits the advance of three Dali crossed 50's windup robot toy foreign invaders. As Roger and the Big O engage his opponents the camera cuts to fragments of conversation promising the answers to the questions left by the first series, the feme fatale Angel releasing a red signal balloon, and the mysterious tomato farmer who seems to be the lynchpin.

The first episode then leaves the battle and goes to a homeless and shell shocked Roger Smith. After walking into a bank building that he remembered as is home, and meeting its manager who he remembered as the half-hapless, half dangerous criminal mastermind, he begins to encounter fragments of his past. 40 years ago Paradigm city suffered an event which removed the memories from its inhabitants. Since then it has built a dome and isolated itself from the world. In the new Paradigm Roger Smith, a former member of the city's military police, was the Negotiator, a person who could solve problems as readily for the street level disadvantaged as monotheistic Paradigm Corporation. He was also the dominus pilot of the robot megadus Big O, with which he can deal with the strange threats left from the time before the city's memories were lost.

Roger is presented his recent memories in the form of a stage performance and newspaper comic strip. It begins to appear that the whole game of memories is more complex than an event that simply wiped everything clean. While his new life is presented to him as fiction people he knew from recent events (the first series) begin showing up as altered templates in this world. It almost becomes as if Roger is walking through the design notes of his own series. He sees the police chief in a movie, Dorothy as a woman on the street.

When Roger pulls through the strange alternate work in the first episode the series returns to the more familiar format of the first series. Roger taking cases as the Negotiator, which pointed lead towards the answers to the mysteries plaguing Roger and his world.

In the first series these question appeared almost a red herring. It was glue to hold the series together while it showcased a style. This time around the series is attacking them straight on. The school of thought that was interested in the world and its every day mechanics be disappointed that Roger is less involved with the small crimes, or at least that the small crimes are now taps at the foundation of his city's core. He has lost much of the Philip Marlowe noir sense of only being to chip at the edge of the corruption rather than attacking it's root, but the change has allowed the series to get wilder in its ideas.

While the series is getting playfully cleaver in expanding and deconstruction its world, the qualities that made the first fans are maintained and strengthened. The incredible design work of the first series has improved.

The dead pan yet aggressive Dorothy remains one of anime's most quirky and lovable women. The dynamic of her relationship with Roger, as she try to tie him down and reign in his bachelor lifestyle, as well as his proclivities to play Steed and Emma Peel with Angel are classic.

The original series was a fun experiment put together for various commercial and artistic reasons, then resurrected due to unexpected interest, strongly influenced by North American interest. It's an amazing accomplishment to put together such a fan pleaser with this amount of vibrancy.

This Week's Releases

Anime

• Angelic Layer - On the Wing and a Player (Vol. 2)
• Arcadia of My Youth
• Fist of the North Star 05
• Full Metal Panic - Mission 05
• Kimagure Orange Road TV Series Vol. 3
• King of Bandit Jing Volume 4
• L/R (Licensed By Royalty) - Deceptions (Vol. 1)
• Macross Mini Set 3
• Masamune Shriow's New Dominion Tank Police
• Pretear (Vol. 1)
• Saiyuki - Demon Rising (Vol. 6)
• Slayers Return
• Someday's Dreamers - Magical Dreamer (Vol. 1)
• Sorcerer Hunters - Chocolate, Springs, and Other Hot Things (Vol. 5)
• X - Eight (TV Series, Vol. 8)
• Zoids 5: Shadow Battle
• Zoids 6: Ultimate X

Manga

• Astro Boy Vol 21 Tp
• Bastard Vol 5 Tp
• Di Gi Charat Vol 1 Gn Viz Ed
• Flame Of Recca Vol 3
• Happy Mania Vol 5 Gn (Of 11)
• Priest Vol 9 Gn (Of 15)
• Rebirth Vol 5 Gn (Of 11)
• Wolverine Legends Vol 5 Snikt
• Zodiac Pi Vol 4 Gn (Of 4)

Acardia of My Youth is an epic melodrama featuring one version of the origin of Leiji Matsumoto's space pirate Captain Harlock.

L/R is a dryly humorous spy comedy. A review can be seen here

A review of shoujo drama Someday's Dreamer can be seen in last week's column

Slayers Return is the long awaited second sword and sorcery comedy Slayers movie.

Wolverine Legends Vol 5 Snikt collects a rare teaming of a Japanese manga creator and a Marvel Comics character. A review of Blame creatpr Tsutomu Nihei's first issue can be seen here

Upcoming On Cartoon Network

Anime News Network reports that cartoon Networks has run an estimate of when various new Adult Swim shows will appear in 2004:

The anime shows are:

• February: Witch Hunter Robin - Definitely
• April: Wolf's Rain - Probably
• July: Ghost in the Shell - Probably

Non-Anime:

• January: Home Movies - Definitely
• March: Birdman - Definitely
• May: Sealab - Definitely
• June: Venture Bros - Definitely
• August: Sweet J - Maybe
• September: Aqua Teen - Definitely
• October: Squidbillies - Definitely
• November: Tom Goes to The Mayor - Maybe
• December: Space Ghost - Definitely

Wolf's Rain, Witch Hunter Robin, and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone complex are all being released on video by Bandai Entertainment.

Wolf's Rain is a recent series from the break away Studio Bones, which features work by many of the creators of Cowboy Bebop.

Witch Hunter Robin is a stylish horror action. A review of the first volume can be seen here

Anime Oscar Updates

Anime News Network and the Hollywood Reporter have learned that the list of animated features eligible for nominations for animated feature Oscar will include anime films Pokemon Heroes, Millennium Actress, and Tokyo Godfathers.

The 11 candidates, of which ONLY three (3) will receive an Oscar Nomination will include:

• Brother Bear (Disney)
• Finding Nemo (Disney and Pixar)
• Jester Till - Till Eulenspiegel (Munich Animation)
• Looney Tunes: Back in Action (Warner Bros.)
• Millennium Actress (DreamWorks / Go Fish)
• Piglet's Big Movie (Disney)
• Pokémon Heroes (Miramax)
• Rugrats Go Wild! (Paramount)
• The Jungle Book 2 (Disney)
• The Triplets of Belleville (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Tokyo Godfathers (Samuel Goldwyn Films)

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie was not allowed because its September 1st, 2001 foreign release date predated the January 1 2002 cut off for foreign releases. The movie was inelligable for the 2003 release because it was not released in the United States until April 4th, 2003.

Patlabor XIII was ruled ineligible due to paperwork problems.

Both Millennium Actress and Tokyo Godfather's were directed by Satoshi Kon a director with a growing reputation of telling unique stories that one would not expect to see animated. His film work also includes psychological thriller Perfect Blue. Millennium Actress is a complex reflection of personal history, and a tribute to Japanese cinema. Tokyo Godfathers is an urban Christmas tale about a trio of homeless people, a former bike racer, a drag queen and a teenage runaway who find an abandoned baby girl on Christmas eye.

Upcoming On Cartoon Network

Anime News Network reports that cartoon Networks has run an estimate of when various new Adult Swim shows will appear in 2004:

The anime shows are:

• February: Witch Hunter Robin - Definitely
• April: Wolf's Rain - Probably
• July: Ghost in the Shell - Probably

Non-Anime:

• January: Home Movies - Definitely
• March: Birdman - Definitely
• May: Sealab - Definitely
• June: Venture Bros - Definitely
• August: Sweet J - Maybe
• September: Aqua Teen - Definitely
• October: Squidbillies - Definitely
• November: Tom Goes to The Mayor - Maybe
• December: Space Ghost - Definitely

Online Trailers

English

FUNimation has posted an extended trailer of sci-fi action Kiddy Grade on their site at KiddyGrade.tv

Japanese (From Natsume MAya

The Japanese site for the Macro ss Zero direct to video series has posted a preview clip for the upcoming third episode.

A trailer for Satoshi Kon's upcoming 13-episode TV series "Paranoia Agent" aka "Mousou Dairinin" is now available on the official web site at www.mousou.tv/

The official website for Kon Satoshi's upcoming TV anime Mousou Dairinin (Paranoia Agent) has updated. Source: ultimatum. There's a trailer to view. You'll see three links on the homepage. Click on the one to the right. Then click on "High" or "Low" depending on your internet connection. The series will commence broadcast on WOWOW on 2 February 2004. Animation looks good for a TV series. Note also that the credits mention "Geneon USA". So it looks like the show has been licensed.

A trailer for Production IG and Manga Entertainment's Dead Leaves is on the official site at www.deadleaves.jp/ It can be seen in asf or quicktime

The official Japanese homepage for the live action Casshan movie now hosts a teaser trailer in Shockwave Flash format here.

TOKYOPOP Announces Mahoromatic Manga

TOKYOPOP announced that they will be releasing the first volume of the Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden manga series May 4th.

Mahoromantic was adapted into an anime series by Gainax, whose work includes Evangelion, FLCL, and His and Her Circumstances.

TOKYOPOP's description: Mahoro is a battle android created by Vesper to defend the Earth against alien invasions.

Having fought long and hard on behalf of Vesper, she only has 37 days left before she stops functioning. However, if they remove all her battle functions and equipment, Vesper can lengthen her life to 398 days. As thanks for her hard work, Vesper lets Mahoro choose how she would like to spend her remaining time.

She chooses to work as a maid for a boy named Suguru Misato.

New Megumi Hayashibara CD

According to Anime Nation "Center Color", the new CD by popular anime voice actress Megumi Hayashibara, whose work including Rei of Evangelion and Lina Inverse of Slayers will feature...

the following tracks

• 01. Northern Lights (Shaman King Opening)
• 02. Omokage (Shaman King ending)
• 03. Northern Lights (Ballad Version)
• 04. Treat or Goblins (Abenobashi Opening)
• 05. Anata no Kokoro Ni (Abenobashi Ending)
• 06. KOIBUMI (Asagiri no Miko ending Remix)
• 07. Faint Love (Asagiri no Miko opening)
• 08. Asamadaki Yoruwatari
• 09. Kimi Sae Ireba (Love Hina ending)
• 10. brave heart (ReMix) [Shaman King insert song]
• 11. Shiawase wa Chiisana Tsumikasane (Nuku-Nuku Dash ending)
• 12. Cream Puff Shuffle (Powerpuff Girls opening)
• 13. Zankoku na Tenshi no Teeze (A.D. 2001)
• 14. ta 1 kyoku...zen 14 kyoku syuroku

Saikano Release Information

Anime Review has posted a detailed look at Viz's release plans for the Saikano (aka Saishu-Heiki Kanojo or She, the Ultimate Weapon)anime series.

The first volume, which will be released April 27th will feature 4 episodes, and the remaining three volumes will feature 3 episodes. The releases will feature interviews and conversations with the series voice actors, director and creator.

Saikano is a darkly dramatic story about the relationship between a boy and a girl who has been modified to fight a war.

Jojo Bizarre Adventure Volume 2

According to Right Stuf and Anime on DVD Super Techno Arts is expected to ship the second volume of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure the week of 11/26.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is a violent, high energy action series with super hero and horror elements. A review of the first volume can be seen here

Geneon Announces Signature Series.

Geneon(formerly Pioneer) has announced a new "Signature Series" line, which starting with Akira will re-release catalogue tites with new packaging at a new price.

Available as single titles and in pre-determined multi-packs, the titles will be priced as low as $14.98 and $19.98 individually. Creating a highly impactful visual, the series' first wave also includes feature films such as Armitage III-Polymatrix, Catnapped!, Panda! Go Panda!, Sailor Moon, and a variety of volumes from episodic series such as Sailor Moon S, Tenchi Muyo, Lain, Trigun and Beyblade, among others.

Each month, new titles will be added to the Geneon Signature Series. Multi-packs will comprise of a variety of titles and have a range of price points.

The following titles will be in the first wave at a suggested retail price of $19.98:

• € Akira
• € Gatekeepers, Vol. 1
• € Lain, Vol. 1
• € Tenchi Muyo OVA, Vol. 1
• € Tenchi In Tokyo, Vol. 1
• € Tenchi Universe, Vol. 1
• € Trigun, Vol. 1
• € Sailor Moon S TV, Vol. 1
• € Sailor Moon R Movie
• € Sailor Moon S Movie
• € Sailor Moon SuperS Movie

Titles priced at $14.98 are:

• € Armitage III Polymatrix
• € Tenchi The Movie
• € Beyblade, Vol. 1 and 2
• € Cardcaptors, Vol. 1
• € Catnapped!
• € Panda! Go Panda!

Rhino Polls For DVD Collection

AnimationInsider points out that Rhino records is running a p oll to gauge interest in a DVD collection for a number of 80's animated titles including

• Dungeons & Dragons
• He-Man
• M.A.S.K.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• The Real Ghostbusters
• Thundercats
• Transformers: Headmasters
• Transformers: Robots In Disguise.
• Voltron

ADV To Release Knights of the Zodiac

ADV has announced that they will be releasing Knights of the Zodiac, the DIC version of Saint Seiya (ADV is also, separately releasing Saint Seiya in its original form). The first of the 13 volume Knights of the Zodiac will be released January 27th.

Knights of the Zodiac has already reached cult status across Asia, Latin America and Europe as one of the most popular anime properties and is also a current hit on the Cartoon Network's action block in the U.S. ADV Films' Volume One of Knights of the Zodiac, the first in a series of 13 volumes, features four half-hour episodes of the popular series plus collectible trading cards, which will also be included in subsequent volumes. ADV Films is scheduled to release a total of 40 half-hour episodes of Knights of the Zodiac in 13 volumes throughout 2004.

A fast-paced, futuristic, action-adventure series, Knights of the Zodiac pits the forces of good against evil as the Knights of Athena battle the Knights of Aries for control of the sacred Golden Cloth of Sagittarius and the world. Led by Bronze Knight SEIYA, the Knights of Athena draw upon their amazing martial arts skills as well as their mystical powers, each keyed to a different sign of the Zodiac, as they attempt to defeat PHOENIX and his Black Knights, who would do anything to gain the cloth of Sagittarius.

Upcoming Geneon Soundtracks

Geneon will be releasing the Last Exile Original Soundtracks, Chobits: Character Song Collection and Fruits Basket: Memory For You on February 17th for $14.95 each.

ADV To Release Remastered Robotech

ADV Films announced the release of Robotech Remastered: Extended Edition, a complete remastering of all three acts of Harmony Gold's classic Robotech.

The first DVD volume, which will include the first twelve episodes on two discs with a handsome art box fitting both discs, will go on sale everywhere January 27, 2004.

From the press release: Often compared to Star Trek and Star Wars, Robotech is a uniquely addictive and complex intergalactic drama drawn across generations, spinning together hard-hitting mecha action and richly developed characters over the course of three acts: The Macross Saga; Robotech Masters; and New Generation. Robotech has become a major merchandising force, with movies, graphic novels, books, and toys incorporating and elaborating on the story.

This newest release from ADV Films features a fresh, clean digital transfer of Robotech from the original film stock, returning the series to a lovely and near-pristine state without compromising the character of the original animation. New footage featuring scenes cut from the original broadcast version of Robotech has been added and also featuring new opening and closing credits and eye catches, creating a never-before-seen version of this seminal adventure series.

Additionally, the audio has been restored and remixed to create the highest-quality sound experience available. Robotech Remastered: Extended Edition ($29.98 SRP) will feature two new audio tracks: the original, classic English-language dub in glorious digital 5.1 sound and a Spanish-language digital 5.1 track. In addition to the upgraded audio, the release is also subtitled in English.

The Story: 1999: A massive alien battlecruiser crash-lands on Earth in the midst of a bloody global war. With the possibility of a more perilous threat looming, the human race puts aside their differences and collectively undertakes the arduous task of rebuilding the spacecraft, redubbed the SDF-1, to defend the Earth should its extraterrestrial masters come to reclaim it. Eventually, the alien Zentraedi invade Earth to collect the SDF-1 and the technology it contains, forcing the inexperienced crew, including hotshot pilot Rick Hunter and his war hero mentor Roy Fokker, to launch the battlecruiser into war--a war that will cross generations, stretch across the farthest reaches of the universe and turn ordinary soldiers into extraordinary heroes.

Dark Horse Manga Interview

Comic web site The Pulse has interviewed Dark Horse manga editor Tom Ervin-Gore here

Urban Vision Announced Ninja Scroll TV Volume 2

Urban Vision has announced that the second volume of the Ninja Scroll TV series, entitled "Dangerous Path" will be released February 17th. The volume will feature episodes 5 through 8, and interviews with creator Yoshiaki Kawajiri and director Tatsuo Sato.

The adventure continues as Jubei, Shigure, Dakuan and Tsubute set off to find answers about the Dragon Stone. The battles heat up as the Kimon become more desperate to obtain the Dragon Stone and the Light Maiden, while the Hiruko are just as desperate to keep the Kimon from their goal. Everyone is out for blood, with Jubei stuck right in the middle!

Release Dates

From Right Stuf and Anime on DVD

Bandai

February 3 I

• nfinite Ryvius Vol. #3
• Superior Defender Gundam Force Vol. #01
• Superior Defender Gundam Force Vol. #02
• Kikaider Vol. #4

February 17th

• Witch Hunter Robin Vol. #3
• Yukikaze Vol. #1
• Yukikaze Vol. #1 Limited Ediiton

March 2

• Kikaider 01
• .hack//SIGN Vol. #6: Terminus
• Galaxy Angel Vol. #1
• Galaxy Angel Vol. #1 Limited Edition

ADV Films

January 6

• Angelic Layer Vol. #3
• Full Metal Panic Vol. #6
• Pretear Vol. #2
• Slayers Great
• Saiyuki Vol. #07

January 13

• Saint Seiya Vol. #03
• Steam Detectives Vol. #3

January 20

• Final Fantasy Unlimited Vol. #3
• Nuku Nuku Dash Vol. #3
• Orphen II Vol. #2
• Super Gals Vol. #04

January 27

• Knights of the Zodiac Vol. #01
• Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi Vol. #2
• Samurai X OVA Collection