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   imagery and larger-than-life conflicts.  There's romance as well when   
   Doris starts falling for her half-human savior.  VHD is also notable   
   for its violence, as D's blade slices through nearly anything that   
   will make a blood splash.  Tetsuya Komuro's soundtrack gives a rich   
   atmosphere to both action and quieter moments.   
      Available from Urban Vision.   
      [Entry by Cathy Krusberg]   
      
      VAMPIRE HUNTER D (2000):  A second Vampire Hunter D movie was   
   released to Japanese theaters in April 2001 and is slated for American   
   theatrical release in September 2001.  Also titled "Vampire Hunter D,"   
   it is based on the third novel in Hideyuki Kikuchi's VHD series, "D -   
   Yousatsukou" (D - Demon Deathchase).  D is hired to retrieve a woman   
   kidnapped by the vampire Meier Link, but his task is complicated by   
   two factors:  a competing set of hunters, and the true love that led   
   the woman to accompany Meier of her own will.  The character designs   
   in the new movie are much closer to Yoshitaka Amano's vision, and the   
   animation is top notch.   
      [Entry by Cathy Krusberg]   
      
      VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU:  A supernatural horror series about a   
   contemporary "vampire" who stalks wayward demons (Shinma) loose on   
   Earth and sends them back to Darkness, while pursued by a persistent   
   exorcist not as enthused about unlife as Miyu.  Quiet, moody brooding   
   chiller, hopeless to follow without understanding the dialog.   
   Available from AnimEigo in North America, or Madman in Australia.   
      [There is also a recent VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU TV series, which has a   
   slightly different focus from the OAVs described above.  The TV series   
   is available from TokyoPop in North America, or Madman in   
   Australia.  - Rob Kelk]   
      
      VANDREAD:  A series with two seasons by Takeshi Mori.  A group of men   
   have lived for generations on a planet without women.  The women in this   
   show are the enemy who are feared as monsters by these men who are   
   created in genetic labratories.  When Hibiki, our young hero, finds   
   himself stowed away on a ship that is captured by the women and   
   subsequently cast into deep space by a missile, he and a few others must   
   learn to work together to return without killing each other in the   
   process.   
      The series is frought with wonderful CGI scenes where the man's   
   mecha-inspired Vanguard fighter merges with the women's   
   jet-fighter-inspired Dread units to create extremly powerful fighters.   
   On top of this the sexual tension of two cultures that have never before   
   encountered each other and so have no concept of "relations" between the   
   sexes is hilarious to watch.   
      Available from Geneon.   
      [Entry by Charlie Smith]   
      
      VENUS WARS:  A group of racers on Venus and a reporter from Earth   
   are caught up in the war for the dominance of Venus.  A dark film from   
   the "sand in my spacesuit" view of the future which sees the racers   
   being turned from a group of stunt racers who defeat a tank by sheer   
   fluke to hard fighting riders who become instrumental in the war's   
   conclusion.  Available from USMC.   
      [Entry by Chika]   
      
      VIDEO GIRL AI:  Youta Moteuchi has a crush on his schoolmate, Moemi   
   Hayakawa, but she has feelings for his best friend, Takeshi Niimai.   
   Since Youta is too nice for his own good, he tries to get the two of   
   them together, despite how sad it makes him.  A mysterious new video   
   store called Gokuraku appears on Youta's path home, and he winds up   
   renting an adult video entitled "Ai Amano - I'll Cheer You Up."  When   
   he plays it on his defective VCR, Ai pops out of the TV screen into   
   his life, and promises to help him square things away with Moemi.   
   There was one thing she hadn't counted on, however:  Amongst other   
   flaws, the broken VCR caused her to eventually fall in love with   
   Youta, which is forbidden for Video Girls, and causes heartbreaking   
   complications for both of them.  A six-OVA series based on the popular   
   manga by Masakazu Katsura (who had previously distinguished himself   
   with WINGMAN).  Available domestically from Viz Video, but beware the   
   over-massaged, over-localized translations, especially in the dub.   
      [Entry by David Watson]   
      
      THE VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE:  A sixteen year old girl, Hitomi, who is   
   magically transported to the land of Gaia, is embroiled in a battle   
   with the evil Zaibach empire, bent on manipulating destiny.  She aids   
   the boy king Van Fanel, who pilots the mecha Escaflowne, the alluring   
   knight Allen Schezar, the cat-girl Merle and the willful Princess   
   Millerna as she discovers latent pyschic powers which may be key to   
   the fate of Gaia.  This 26 episode series mixes romance, magic, mecha   
   and plot in a pacy, beguiling mix, with above average TV animation and   
   a musical score widely regarded as one of the best in anime.  The dub   
   is either loved or loathed.   
      Licensed by Bandai in North America - a commercial subtitle,   
   unedited and cut (Fox Kids) dub are available on VHS, with the DVDs   
   containing uncut subtitle and dub.  In Australia, ESCAFLOWNE has been   
   released by Madman.   
      [Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]   
      
      VOTOMS:  Old TV series of post-WW3 world.  The army controls the   
   world with their mecha, but not everyone goes along.  MELLOWLINK is a   
   related series in the same universe (set before VOTOMS, made after.)   
   VOTOMS has been licensed by USMC.   
      
   W   
      
      WAR IN THE POCKET:  see GUNDAM   
      
      WEATHERING CONTINENT:  A sword and sorcery tale in a land fallen to   
   ruin.  Takes its time and tells a small story of three travelers with a   
   dark, spooky mood, well supported by a fine musical score.   
      
      A WIND NAMED AMNESIA:  It happened suddenly.  One minute all was as   
   it should be, the next... everyone on Earth had their memory wiped.   
   Language, social habit, everything.  The story surrounds one boy, who   
   has been retrained to normality by another boy who escaped erasure by   
   the fact that he was linked to a computer in a radical new way.   
   Touring the devastation, he is accompanied by a woman who seems also   
   to have escaped erasure but will not say how.  On their journey they   
   see what Man has made of himself since his memory was wiped, and view   
   the consequences, all of which leads to the ultimate questions; who   
   did it, and why?  Available from USMC.   
      [Entry by Chika]   
      
      WINDARIA:  A lovely fantasy story of two kingdoms at war, and how   
   that disturbs two pairs of lovers - one peasant, one royal.  A   
   tragedy.  Well worth the watch, IMHO.  Nice music, too.   
      [Was available dubbed from Streamline Pictures while Streamline was   
   still in business.   - Rob Kelk]   
      
      WINGS OF HONNEAMISE:  See ROYAL SPACE FORCE.   
      
      WITCH HUNTER ROBIN: (review written after 15 episodes)  In   
   recession-hit modern Japan, a mysterious group called "STN-J" hunts   
   and captures criminal magic-users.  Into the group is transferred a   
   young woman named Sena Robin.  Coming from Europe, she is dourly   
   dressed, has a mysterious background, and has powers similar to those   
   of the people the group hunts.  The group could use some help, as   
   morale is low due to unspoken recent events and ineffective   
   management.  Robin, a surprisingly sweet-tempered 15 year old despite   
   her harsh upbringing, has some learning to do before she can be of   
   much use.  She may also be fronting for a faction opposed to STN-J.   
   And just what are STN-J doing with their witches after they are   
   captured?   
      The series has a very dark, foreboding, humorless feeling.  It is   
   colored almost entirely in black, brown and gray, without even the   
   flashes of gleeful saturated color that come through in, for example,   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)