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   fairy tale world to "idol singers".  Lots of visual gags, lots of   
   nuttiness, lots of fun.  Note: this is a *very* disorienting title to   
   many viewers because the style of animation frequently shifts to   
   punctuate the gags; some people even find it difficult to connect the   
   character in one frame drawn in 'realistic' style to the same   
   character in the next frame, drawn in a deliberately crude, cartoony   
   style.  If you want a hilarious hour of goofy humor, however, you   
   really should check this out.  Note:  Only two OAVs were ever produced   
   in Japan, and they are released domestically on a single tape or DVD.   
   Available from ADV Films.   
      [Entry by Antaeus Feldspar]   
      
      DUAL! PARALLEL TROUBLE ADVENTURE:  AIC's parody on Evangelion.   
   That says it all.  "Shinji" who's willing to fight, "Gendo", who is   
   caring father of... "Asuka", and a very good person himself, dozens of   
   other related gags, mixed with a parallel world motif and AIC's   
   special - harem of the main male character. ^_^  On the other side -   
   an apparently low-budget series with sometimes *very* limited   
   animation, character designs taken directly from EL HAZARD, and other   
   bad things.  So I can recommend it only to the fans, if you want to   
   see a good parody and don't mind it's a bit cheap.   
      [Entry by Andrew V. Tupkalo]   
      
   E   
      
      EARLY REINS:  If you love classic bullets-flying-everywhere Western   
   movies and good-looking anime girls, this one's for you.  No steampunk   
   or any other modern trappings (unless you count one character's short   
   skirt, and even then, no panty shots).  Very reverent (but not without a   
   sense of humour), very entertaining, very recommended.  One OAV.   
      [Entry by David Watson]   
      
      EARTH GIRL ARJUNA:  Juna Ariyoshi is involved in a mysterious   
   motorbike accident with her boyfriend Tokio.  She awakens to find   
   herself "dead", and privy to a horrifying vision of the destruction of   
   Earth's environment by man, and controlled by fearsome worm-like   
   creatures known as Rajah.  She is given a second chance at life by the   
   apparition of Chris Horken, a crippled telepath, if she agrees to   
   become the Avatar of Time and protect Earth from the Rajah.  But Juna   
   is not at ease with this role - although she utilises her power to   
   save Tokio, she is petrified of the monstrous Rajah, and has   
   difficulty reconciling her environmental awareness and protection with   
   her modern life - how would you feel if you heard the voices of all   
   the creatures killed to make your food each time you ate?  An   
   extremely high budget shows through in the detailed character   
   animation and computer effects - although some rendering doesn't mesh   
   very well - and another high quality soundtrack from Yoko Kanno   
   present an extremely polished show.  However, the environmental   
   message can become extremely heavy handed, which aggravates many   
   viewers - this thought-provoking "magical girl" show tends to polarise   
   viewers.   
      ARJUNA is being released in North America from Bandai, and in   
   Australia from Madman.   
      [Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]   
      
      EL HAZARD:  Makoto is your average high-school kid.  A bit of a   
   nebbish, he likes Nanami and is constanly hounded by her big brother   
   Jinnai, though not about Nanami per se.  Makoto and several of his   
   classmates get sucked through a portal to another world where he and   
   his friends each seem to manifest a superpower.  There is a war going   
   on between the human people of the world and the insect-like Bugrom.   
   Makoto and his friends try to help the humans, aided by the three   
   priestesses of Muldoon, while Jinnai ends up on the wrong side,   
   helping the Bugrom.  Hilarity, action and adventure ensue, including   
   the discovery of an ancient evil power, a woman named Ifurita who only   
   Makoto can defeat.  Good art and animation.  Silly and fun.  This   
   summary applies only to the OVA version; there is also a TV series   
   with the same characters.  Comedic violence only.  Seven OVAs.  From   
   Pioneer.   
      [Entry by Ben Cantrick]   
      [Parental Advisory:  Some characters in this OAV series have what   
   has come to euphemistically be called "alternative lifestyles", and   
   not all of them are villians.  If this bothers you or your children,   
   watch the TV series "El Hazard: The Wanderers" instead of the OAV   
   series.  - Rob Kelk]   
      
      ENDLESS WALTZ:  see GUNDAM   
      
      ESACAFLOWNE:  see VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE   
      
      EVANGELION:  see NEON GENESIS EVANGELION   
      
      EXCEL SAGA:  This anime is an example of insanity in motion.  Each   
   episode is a parody of different styles of anime, and in the first   
   episode the heroine, Excel Excel dies several times, then goes off to   
   kill her manga artist (talk about breaking down the 'fourth wall').  In   
   later episodes you meet others that get involved in the story, and she's   
   joined by Hyatt, a girl that dies about as much as possible, but she   
   keeps on getting back up.  Not to mention the fact that she keeps a   
   stray dog named Menchi (that somehow looks like a cat every now and   
   then) as an emergency food supply.  Released by ADV in North America.   
      [Entry by Bill Martin]   
      [CONTENT ADVISORY:  ADV Films quite properly rated this show at   
   "17+".  Many episodes have a high violence quotient, some of the   
   language is inappropriate for minors, and the final episode should be   
   listed in the Anime Hentai Primer.  Definitely NOT for children.  - Rob   
   Kelk]   
      
   F   
      
      FAM AND IHRIE:  see RUIN EXPLORERS   
      
      FIRE TRIPPER:  One of the more serious of the "Rumik World" stories   
   by Rumiko Takahashi.  A young woman gets sent back in time to feudal   
   Japan, but how?  And what happened to the young boy that was with her?   
   Was available from USMC.   
      [Entry by Rob Kelk]   
      
      FANCY LALA:  FANCY LALA is the story of a girl and her magic sketch   
   book.  I think that cleared all of the DBZ heads out.  For the rest of   
   you, no, there are no magical princesses fighting evil by moonlight,   
   nor are there any convoluted love polygons.  What we have here is a   
   simple show about how a young girl, Shinohara Miho (all names in   
   Japanese name order) obtains the power to grow just a bit older from   
   some 'funny dinosaurs' (Pigu and Mogu, her wise helpers...yea right,   
   they spend more time arguing and eating all the food than helping) and   
   her not so meteoric rise to stardom.  Her alter ego's name is Lala,   
   for short (Fancy Lala in full).  She's got powers that every little   
   girl would want:  growing older, drawing all the cool clothes you   
   could ever want with a magic pen (just say Dabu Dabu and the clothes   
   become real!) and meeting all your favorite stars (in Miho's case it's   
   the fabulous male idol, Aikawa Hiroya).   
      However, this show's best aspect is its unusual realness.  Lala's   
   rise to stardom is no instant success.  It's a lot of hard work full   
   of bright lights, pushy stars, and time spent away from friends.  Her   
   time as Miho isn't all sugar sweetness wrapped in a candy cane either.   
   Miho's a rather real little girl, genki or not, and she gets   
   frustrated and tired.  An interesting point is the depth of character   
   is actually accentuated by Miho having two forms.  Seeing how   
   characters react to each form shows their characters in more detail   
   than otherwise would be possible.  That's it, except for maybe that   
   mysterious guy...  (Fushigi-san, called 'Mystery Man' in the   
   commercial version).  Maybe he has something to do with Miho's   
   spectacular transformation? This 26 episode series was on Japanese TV   
   in 1998, and now is released in the US by Bandai Entertainment.  An   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)