[continued from previous message]   
      
   US television.  The show is available in Australia from Madman.   
      [Entry by Rob Kelk]   
      
   P   
      
      PANDA KOPANDA (a.k.a. PANDA! GO PANDA!):  Hayao Miyazaki's first   
   produced work.  It is two half-hour short pieces.  The first piece was   
   made in 1972, the second a year later.  The main characters are a   
   little girl named Mimiko, a large panda (Pa Panda), and his panda son   
   (Panny).  Mimiko (about 5 years old) lives with her grandmother.  One   
   day, her grandmother has to travel out of town for an extended period,   
   leaving Mimiko alone to take care of things.  By chance, a panda   
   father and his son wander into the town where Mimiko lives, and   
   attracted by the large bamboo garden, come to her house.  Mimiko talks   
   with them and decides to create a family of sorts, wherein she is the   
   little panda's mother, and the large panda is her father.  This piece   
   is generally seen as a precursor to TONARI NO TOTORO (MY NEIGHBOR   
   TOTORO).  It is available on DVD and VHS from Geneon.   
      [Entry by Matt Huber]   
      
      PATLABOR:  Although PATLABOR TV nominally deals with police using   
   mecha ("labors") to combat labor crime, the series is no more a mecha   
   show than a modern-day Western police show is a "car show" or a   
   "truncheon show"; the majority of episodes are comedy based on oddities   
   of modern Japanese culture (apart from the mecha, there are practically   
   no futuristic elements in PATLABOR) or the thoroughly dysfunctional   
   cast.   
      The second OVA series is essentially a continuation of the TV series;   
   but the first OVA series is less well-conceived, and should probably be   
   watched only if you come to like the TV series.  The movies are very   
   different, being serious works not atypical of Mamoru Oshii's direction.   
      Manga Entertainment released the movies both theatrically and on   
   video.  The TV series and OAV series are being released by USMC.   
      [Entry by David Damerell]   
      
      PHANTOM QUEST CORPORATION (a.k.a. YUUGEN KAISHA):  Hard-drinking,   
   hard-shopping Ayaka Kisaragi is the head of the "Phantom Quest   
   Corporation", an eclectic team of ghostbusters whose members include   
   Ayaka with her magical sword, a huge Buddhist priest, a   
   flame-summoning schoolgirl, and a brilliant little boy whose financial   
   acumen is all that keeps Ayaka's shopping from ruining the company.   
   The animation is beautiful and fluid, and the soundtrack songs catchy   
   indeed.  Four OAVs, available from Geneon on two tapes or one DVD.   
      [Entry by Antaeus Feldspar]   
      
      PLEASE SAVE MY EARTH:  PLEASE SAVE MY EARTH is a shoujo anime that   
   centers on the concept of reincarnation.  Based on the original manga   
   by Saki Hiwatari published in "Dreams and Flowers" magazine, this   
   story follows seven year old Rin Kobayashi who has dreams of another   
   life.  These dreams are shared by his neighbor Alice Sakaguchi and two   
   of her high school classmates Jinpachi Ogura and Issei Nishikiyori.   
   The three of them decide to search for others who may share the same   
   dreams while Rin sets off on his own agenda.  In these dreams, they   
   all seem to live on a base on the moon.  From that base they study the   
   Earth, its politics, resources, music, wildlife etc.  In total there   
   are seven scientists, each one seemingly gifted in some way.  They   
   feel a fondness for the Earth and wish they could be a part of it.   
   Full of emotion, complex relationships and a myriad of characters that   
   the seven who share the "Moon Dreams" encounter, PLEASE SAVE MY EARTH   
   is one of few anime that will truly make you think and feel.  Complete   
   OVA series available on one DVD from Viz Video.   
      [Entry by Terrence Walker]   
      
      POKEMON (a.k.a. POCKET MONSTERS):  Before you all start gagging,   
   yes this is a full blown, card carrying anime.  The story is loosely   
   Earth like in its setting, however the world in this case is inhabited   
   by many different "Pocket Monsters" or "Pokemon", which people trap   
   and train to compete in fighting competitions.  Of course there are   
   all sorts of rules attached to this, plus the obligatory baddies, in   
   this case a boy and girl team (Team Rocket) and their pet Pokemon.   
   Dubbed and on show on TV virtually everywhere, with two films also   
   released to date.  Both the anime and manga are available from Viz.   
      [Entry by Chika]   
      
      PORCO ROSSO (a.k.a. KURENAI NO BUTA or CRIMSON PIG):  Directed by the   
   master Hayao Miyazaki, is a light-hearted but mature and sentimental   
   film set in the 1920 Italian Adriatic, as a valiant pilot (who happens   
   to be a pig) fights air pirates for his honor and for his lady.  Top   
   notch animation.  Licenced by Disney.   
      
      PRINCESS MONONOKE (a.k.a. MONONOKE-HIME):  While on a quest to find a   
   cure for a curse, a young man named Ashitaka finds himself caught in a   
   war between a mining village and the local forest spirits.  Each side is   
   represented by a strong-willed woman - on the miners' side is Eboshi,   
   the leader of the village, and on the spirits' side is San, the Mononoke   
   princess.  Ashitaka, Eboshi, and San find themselves caught up in a   
   search for the Forest God, who is believed to be able to bestow great   
   gifts upon mortals...   
      This was the first film directed by Hayao Miyazaki after Studio   
   Ghibli signed their now-famous distribution deal with Disney, and it   
   showed fans that the deal made no difference to the kind of stories that   
   Studio Ghibli would tell.  It was also the first Studio Ghibli movie   
   released in North America on DVD, setting the standard for Disney's high   
   quality anime releases.   
      Parental Advisory:  PRINCESS MONONOKE is not a film suitable for   
   pre-teens.  There are some graphic depictions of violence, and some   
   characters die messily.  Preview this movie before letting your children   
   watch it.   
      Available from Disney.   
      [Entry by Rob Kelk]   
      
      PRINCESS NINE:  Ryo Hayakawa is a "natural" at baseball - despite   
   being in high school, her pitches are faster than some from the pros.   
   Kisaragi Girls' School forms a team around her in order to be the   
   first girls' school to win the Japanese high-school series at Koshien,   
   a tournament that has been restricted to teams of boys only.  But   
   that's secondary to the people on or involved with the team - Ryo and   
   her rival Izumi Himuro, Kisaragi Boys' School's team's star batter   
   Hiroki Takasugi (who both Ryo and Izumi have feelings for, but not the   
   same feelings), Ryo's childhood friend Seishiro, the boisterous Hikaru   
   and the quiet Yuki who were first to join the team after Ryo, and too   
   many other characters (most with hidden depths to them) to name here.   
      Like many other shows (such as MAGIC USERS' CLUB), PRINCESS NINE is   
   about growing up and learning who you are, and not what it looks like   
   it's about at first glance.  But the baseball games are interesting,   
   too, and manage to keep the viewer's attention even after repeated   
   viewings.  And who wins when Ryo pitches against Hiroki?  That would   
   be telling ...   
      PRINCESS NINE is available from ADV Films.  ADV's series website is   
   at    
      [Entry by Rob Kelk]   
      
      PRINCESS TUTU:  Once upon a time, Ikuko Ito and Junichi Sato decided   
   to tell a story about a girl named Ahiru who attends a ballet school.   
   Ahiru wants nothing more than to bring a smile to the face of her   
   classmate Mytho.  After learning of her true heritage in the first   
   episode, including just how descriptive her name is, she starts her   
   adventure as the magical girl Princess Tutu to put Mytho's heart back   
   together so that he can smile.  But Fakir and Rue, Mytho's only   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)