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      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.  Animated by the SAILOR MOON anime team, KAMIKAZE   
   KAITOU JEANNE takes the storyline of SAINT TAIL and gives it some new   
   twists.  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   
   little girl who claims to be an android.  Raised by a scientist in a   
   small town, she is forced to strike out on her own when he dies.  His   
   dying words to her are a puzzling "In order to make yourself a real   
   girl, you must make 30,000 friends."  But things only get stranger   
   from there.  Who is the evil Ajo and his henchman "D"?  Why are they   
   interested in Key?  Is Key really an android?  Decent art and   
   animation.  Subbed and dubbed.  13 episodes.  From Viz.   
      [Entry by Ben Cantrick]   
      
      KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE:  Kiki, a 13-year-old witch, leaves her   
   home and family as a rite of passage, and finds a new city in which to   
   live and practice her craft.  She is given a place to live by a   
   friendly woman baker, and finding she has no special skills with which   
   to support herself, decides to use her ability to fly on her broom to   
   run a parcel delivery service.  Kiki and her black cat, Jiji, have   
   many adventures and a few disasters as they explore their new city,   
   grow up, and find their place in the world.  A boy her own age named   
   Tombo offers his friendship, and an older girl artist named Ursula   
   becomes a mentor and confidant.  As the story progresses, Kiki matures   
   from a sometimes callow and uncertain girl into a resilient and   
   capable young woman.  A crisis of confidence in her witchy powers   
   leads to the film's intense and satisfying conclusion.   
      KIKI is a gentle work, devoid of the battles and violence that mark   
   many of Miyazaki's other films.  Like much other anime, it's a story   
   of growing up, of a teenager learning how deal with life's challenges   
   and setbacks, and becoming an adult in the process.  For a non-action   
   film, there's a fair amount of action, often involving Kiki's antics   
   and accidents while flying on her broom, and director Hayao Miyazaki,   
   who loves airships of all kinds, even manages to drag in a dirigible   
   near the end.  The works of Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli are   
   generally considered to be among the finest anime, and KIKI is no   
   exception.  This a famous and much-loved film, and you should make a   
   point to seek it out.   
      Content advisory:  nothing offensive.  Running time:  102 minutes.   
      KIKI is available in the US from Disney/Buena Vista on DVD.   
      [Entry by Slithy Tove]   
      
      KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD:  A TV series, many OAVs, and a movie.   
   Contemporary high school students work out their love triangles and   
   try to grow up, even though one has ESP "powers".  A kindly, comic   
   look at the youth experience, relatively easy to understand.   
   Available from AnimEigo.   
      
      KIMBA THE WHITE LION:  Another old US import from the pen of Osamu   
   Tezuka originally titled JUNGLE TAITEI (Emperor).  Note any similarity   
   to Disney's "Lion King"?   
      
      KINO'S JOURNEY:  A quietly nihilistic series that makes for a nice   
   contrast with the large number of colourful and perky series out there,   
   KINO'S JOURNEY tells the story of a young wanderer and a robotic   
   motorcycle who journey through various countries, staying no more than   
   three days at a time.  Many of the countries and individuals encountered   
   either engage in self-destructive behaviour or have ugly aspirations.   
   Kino, while largely a moral agent, at times skirts the line of amorality   
   in just drifting through these situations.   
      This is a fascinating series with solid storytelling that's chock   
   full of black humour, irony, surrealism and cynicism.  Despite the   
   general downbeat nature of this series, there's a undercurrent of   
   happiness to it (not a little of which is embodied in the very laid-back   
   Kino).   
      Available in North America from ADV Films.   
      [Entry by Michael Lo]   
      
      KISHIN HEIDAN (a.k.a. KISHIN CORPS or GEO-ARMOR):  An interesting   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)