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   much a rookie.  Just as well that Nagisa is waiting aboard the only   
   remaining Earth ship, sitting waiting on the moon along with its crew.   
   The story is very similar to Iczer 1 except that there isn't quite so   
   much body-snatching; each episode seeing the crew and Iczer 3 battle   
   each of the baddies (mostly rejects from the Negaverse!!!).  Iczer 1   
   and Iczer 2 both emerge at the end, by the way.  Iczer-3 is available   
   subbed from USMC.   
      [Entry by Chika]   
      
      INU-YASHA:  Hundreds of years ago in Feudal Japan, during the   
   Sengoku Jidai (or Warring States Era), there was a half-demon,   
   half-human hybrid named Inu-Yasha.  He sought to capture the Shikon no   
   Tama (or Jewel of Four Souls) for himself, but Kikyo, the priestess   
   who had guarded the jewel, sealed him away with a sacred arrow.  On   
   her deathbed, she was cremated along with the Jewel ... but the story   
   does not end there.  In the modern age of the present day, Kagome   
   Higurashi, a seemingly ordinary girl, is thrust back into the Sengoku   
   Jidai by a magical well, and must now protect the mysteriously   
   reappeared Shikon no Tama from the fearsome demons and ogres that   
   wander across the land.  But can she rely on Inu-Yasha, the   
   resurrected half-demon, to help her defend this enigmatic jewel?  A   
   gothic horror/adventure series, with romantic comedy elements, from   
   Rumiko Takahashi (creator of RANMA 1/2 and MAISON IKKOKU).  Licenced   
   by Viz.   
      [Entry by Nicholas A. Jalowick]   
      
      IRIA (a.k.a. ZEIRAM, THE ANIMATION):  Set in a future time Iria is   
   a bounty hunter in training.  She, her brother Gren and their boss Bob   
   are hired to for a rescue mission when the most dangerous lifeform in   
   the galaxy Zeiram shows up as part of the cargo.  Escaping to the   
   planet Taowajan with no idea on the fate of Gren or Bob, Iria must   
   deal with the authorities idea of urban renewal which is to allow   
   Zeiram to run loose in a city slum.  Later on all records of the   
   rescue mission have vanished and Iria must contend with a conspiracy   
   that wants to silence her before she can find out what their plans for   
   Zeiram are.  (6 episode series on VHS and DVD by US Manga)   
      [Entry by Bruce Grubb]   
      
      IRRESPONSIBLE CAPTAIN TYLOR:  Through a series of coincidences (or   
   are they?), Justy Tylor (aged 20) becomes captain of the Battle   
   Cruiser Soyokaze, which is full of misfits and rejects.  His   
   easy-going, do-your-own-thing manner annoys and confuses friend and   
   foe alike, and his amazing successes keep people wondering:  Is he   
   incredibly lucky or incredibly clever?  Available from The Right Stuf.   
      [Entry by Catherine Johnson]   
      
   J   
      
      JOURNEY TO THE WEST:  see GENSOMADEN SAIYUKI   
      
      JUBEI NIMPUUCHO:  see NINJA SCROLL   
      
      JUNGLE TAITEI:  see KIMBA THE WHITE LION   
      
      JUUNI KOKKI (aka THE TWELVE KINGDOMS, CHRONICLE OF TWELVE   
   COUNTRIES, JUUNI KOKUKI):  Youko Nakajima is summoned into another world   
   alongside two of her classmates after she is attacked by mysterious   
   beasts at school, and becomes embroiled in a political struggle over the   
   rule of one of the Twelve Kingdoms that make up this world.  This is   
   only one of the storylines that occupies this 45 episode series, however   
   -   
   later story arcs follow others who have been swept into the Twelve   
   Kingdoms through Youko's perspective.  What perhaps seems like a   
   slightly stale coming-of-age girl-in-another-world story is given a   
   darker twist than many other such shows, featuring racism, assassination   
   and betrayal.  There's a lot more focus on political and cultural   
   aspects compared to, say, ESCAFLOWNE, although the slow pace and   
   excessive angst may put some off.  The first two story arcs are   
   available on DVD in Region 1 from Media Blasters, with the first disc of   
   the third arc due shortly.   
      [Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]   
      
   K   
      
      KALEIDO STAR:  (Review written after five episodes)  A shoujo show   
   that doesn't exclusively pander to girls, this is the story of Sora, a   
   girl who moves from Japan to the U.S. to audition for a circus troupe   
   that's loosely based on the Cirque du Soleil.  Besides beautiful and   
   dynamic acrobatic routines, there's some nice interaction that happens   
   between the characters, plus Sora has a good deal of chutzpah and   
   doesn't act like a fish out of water.  The series also throws in quite a   
   bit of believability in the hurdles and humiliations that she faces in   
   her quest.  There are some cliches to begin with, but there seems to be   
   a move away from that later and the series so far has some good humorous   
   touches.  In all, this is a beautifully drawn series that carries itself   
   with a lot of vitality and gusto without being overly bombastic or   
   saccharine.   
      This was directed by Junichi Sato, the director of SAILOR MOON,   
   PRETEAR, and MAGIC USERS CLUB.  It's rare to see a series that is so   
   visually exuberant and that conveys a strong sense of wonder.  The   
   director also curbed the usual excesses that sometimes show up in a   
   Studio Gonzo feature.   
      Available in North America from ADV Films.   
      [Entry by Michael Lo]   
      
      KAMIKAZE KAITOU JANNU (a.k.a. KAMIKAZE PHANTOM THIEF JEANNE):  TV   
   series, 40+ episodes.  Maron is a 16 year old girl with two secrets:   
   an inner loneliness due to her divorced parents' failure to contact   
   her in years; and the fact that she's the reincarnation of Jeanne   
   d'Arc (Joan of Arc).  Sadly, Maron's adventures seem to have nothing   
   in common with those of her namesake, except that both are on missions   
   from God.  Egged on by the diminutive angel Fin that only she can see   
   or hear, Maron must steal and destroy art treasures that have become   
   possessed by demons.  Her missions are hampered by a detective's   
   daughter who is determined to capture Kaitou Jeanne, and by masked   
   rival Sindbad.  The bishoujo character styling is very SAILOR MOONish,   
   whilst the storyline is CARDCAPTOR SAKURA with added cops'n'robbers.   
   Although the episode plots are feeble and cartoonish, the central   
   character Maron is engaging and just deep enough to make you want to   
   see "just one more" episode.   
      Originally fansubbed by Sachi, a new high-quality digisub using the   
   same scripts is now also doing the rounds.   
      [Entry by Shez]   
      
      KARESHI KANOJO NO JIJYO (a.k.a. KAREKANO; HIS AND HER   
   CIRCUMSTANCES): Yukino Miyazawa is an intelligent and popular student   
   who craves the attention this gives her, and she works hard to keep   
   the impressions she makes in all her classmates' minds.  However, on   
   the day of her high school entrance ceremonies, she finds that the   
   position of incoming class representative that she wanted so much has   
   been taken by a boy named Arimi Souichiro.  While this enrages her,   
   she eventually finds herself drawn closer to him, and he to her.  When   
   their popular masks finally slip in front of each other, they find   
   that they have fallen in love.   
      This romantic drama was Gainax's first TV series after the   
   legendary NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, and carries over some of its   
   experimental tendencies, only this time to more comic effect; they   
   carried that over and built on it in future series such as FLCL and   
   ABENOBASHI MAHOU SHOUTENGAI.  Based on the popular shoujo manga by   
   Masami Tsuda, and, whilst a quality series, the anime has a   
   frustrating non-ending, since the manga is still running in the   
   monthly LaLa at the time of writing.   
      Licenced by Right Stuf.   
      [Entry by David Watson]   
      
      KAZEMAKASE TSUKIKAGE RAN:  See TSUKIKAGE RAN   
      
      KEY THE METAL IDOL:  Tokiko "Key" Mima is a strange, pale, waifish   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)