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   a mysterious illness, and troubled by an undisclosed romantic sorrow;   
   and the beautiful, fiercely loyal, but unstable and obsessed Mariko, the   
   despised daughter of a wealthy writer of pornography.  With innocent   
   Nanako in the middle, the fragile truce between the other girls begins   
   to break down, and Nanako is carried with them into a destructive   
   maelstrom of passion, madness, and unrequited love.   
      This is the dark side of shoujo, much darker than author Ikeda   
   Riyoko's best known work, ROSE OF VERSAILLES.  It is gothic and   
   atmospheric, dramatic bordering on melodramatic, and includes sexual   
   stalking, graphic physical violence, multiple suicide attempts, drug   
   abuse, and lesbian homoeroticism.  It is deadly serious, and becomes   
   unbearably intense as the story passes the midpoint of its 40 TV   
   episodes.  It is not for everyone.  Like it or hate it, you will never   
   forget it.  It has an outstanding score which reinforces the show's   
   emotional tone.  Available only as fansubs of the first 28 episodes;   
   even the original Japanese edition is no longer in print.   
      [Entry by Slithy Tove]   
      
      ORANGE ROAD:  see KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD   
      
      OUTLAW STAR:  The first show in Sunrise's "Toward Stars" universe,   
   OUTLAW STAR is an old-fashioned space opera writ large.  Gene   
   Starwind, a big fish in the small pond of his home planet, is thrust   
   into a conflict between the Space Forces, the galactic pirates, and   
   the "outlaws" who owe allegiance to neither side as they all try to   
   reach the Galactic Leyline.  Helping Gene are his young partner Jim   
   Hawking, the lovely Melfina, and others who come and go from the plot.   
   If you like "pulp"-era science fiction, you'll like this show.   
      OUTLAW STAR is available uncut on VHS and DVD from Bandai in North   
   America, and an edited version of most of the series has been shown on   
   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   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)