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   daycare facility!  Strange humour that may not appeal to everybody,   
   though.   
      [Entry by Hanno Mueller]   
      
      ROYAL SPACE FORCE (a.k.a. WINGS OF HONNEAMISE):  1987 anime   
   blockbuster of all ages, which never busts anything, including the box   
   office.  The first Studio GAINAX feature film, it is a story about the   
   first spaceman of some abstract planet (alternative Earth, because   
   Honneamise is much like Japan, and the Republic resembles the United   
   States very much).  That astronaut, Colonel Shirotsugh Lhadatt, is a   
   complete loser all his life, and the staff of Honneamise space program   
   is a bunch of misfits and weirdos led by some space maniac, but   
   somehow they succeeded in their goal, launching the rocket directly   
   from a battlefield, during a war!  Despite all said above, it's a kind   
   and heartwarming story, with brilliant graphics and talented   
   direction.  And box office?  Who cares about it, especially after   
   1990, when it returned its budget.   
      Available from Manga Video.   
      [Entry by Andrew V. Tupkalo]   
      
      RUIN EXPLORERS (a.k.a. FAM AND IHRIE):  Based on the original manga   
   by Kunihiko Tanaka, this is a light-hearted sword & sorcery series.   
   Somewhat reminiscent of Slayers in tone and basic plot, it stands   
   firmly on its own as a great story with characters that you can't help   
   but love, even if some of them are a bit cliche.  The animation is   
   very good, although some of the fan-service is a little overdone at   
   times.  The series opens with a scene of Fam & Ihrie in the middle of   
   exploring a dungeon, so don't think that you've mistakenly gotten a   
   later volume when you start watching.  One of the funniest and cutest   
   aspects of the show is Ihrie's curse - she has a *little* problem with   
   casting spells.  The one real complaint that most people have about   
   the series is that it is too short - four episodes for a total of   
   about two hours viewing time.   
      Released in North America by ADV.   
      [Entry by Paul Lepant]   
      
      RUNE SOLDIER (a.k.a. LOUIE THE RUNE SOLDIER or RUNE SOLDIER LOUIE):   
   Three female adventurers (Merrill the thief, Genie the swordswoman, and   
   Melissa the priestess of Mylee, Goddess of Battle) need the help of a   
   magician to explore an old ruin, however the only magician they find   
   that's willing to go is Louie, the adopted son of the head of the   
   Magician's guild.  On the trip to the ruins, Louie proves to be more   
   capable of using his fists than his magic and breaks his magic wand when   
   he uses it like a club.  This is the start of the many various   
   misadventures of Louie, the Rune Soldier!   
      [Entry by Bill Martin]   
      
      RUMIK WORLD:  see FIRE TRIPPER, LAUGHING TARGET, MARIS THE CHOJO,   
   and MERMAID FOREST   
      
      RUPAN III:  see LUPIN III   
      
      RUROUNI KENSHIN:  The adventures of Himura Kenshin and his friends   
   in 1870's Japan, 10 years after the civil war.  A former assassin,   
   Kenshin now uses a sakabattou (reverse-bladed sword) so as to protect   
   those the loves while keeping his promise to never kill again.  This   
   long series hits its stride during the season long "Kyoto Arc" (eps   
   28-62), becoming darker and more serious than the previous season.   
      The OVA, made after the series but set before it, is much darker   
   and more violent than the series itself.   
      Commercially available through ADV (movie and OVA, as SAMURAI X)   
   and Anime Works (series)   
      [Entry by Catherine Johnson]   
      
   S   
      
      SABER MARIONETTE J:  The planet of Terra II is populated only by   
   men, all clones of the six survivors of a crashed colony vessel.  To   
   compensate for the loss of women in their society, robots in female   
   form, called marionettes, were created.  Centuries later, a young man   
   named Otaru comes into the possession of a trio of marionettes (Lime,   
   Cherry and Bloodberry) that exhibit some very un-robotlike behavior:   
   they laugh, cry and argue.  Otaru now faces the challenge of teaching   
   the three marionettes what it means to be human, while struggling with   
   his own growing feelings for them.  (25 episode TV series, from   
   Bandai, US VHS and DVD release by Bandai.)   
      [Entry by Karl Merris]   
      
      SABER MARIONETTE J AGAIN:  In this sequel to SABER MARIONETTE J,   
   Otaru and the marionettes, Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry, take care of   
   some unfinished business from the first series and unexpectedly   
   acquires some new marionette "students" that wish to fully realize   
   their potential to be human.  Dealing with a houseful of lively women,   
   Otaru learns a few new things himself about being human.  As   
   catastrophe looms over the planet of Terra II, the marionettes find   
   that a human heart carries a heavy price: it can be broken.  (6   
   episode OAV series, from Bandai, US VHS and DVD release by Bandai.)   
      [Entry by Karl Merris]   
      
      SABER MARIONETTE R:  This OAV feature was released prior to SABER   
   MARIONETTE J, but is set three centuries after that series.  A young   
   boy, Junior, heir apparent to the throne of the city-state of Romana,   
   is hunted by his mad brother and his army of warrior marionettes.  The   
   boy's only hope for survival lies with three marionettes, Lime, Cherry   
   and Bloodberry, who are dedicated to Junior's defense.  There's plenty   
   of action and surprising revelations as Junior struggles against his   
   brother to determine the fate of Terra II.  (3 episode OAV series,   
   from Bandai, US VHS release by Bandai, US DVD release by Anime Works.)   
      [Entry by Karl Merris]   
      
      SAILOR MOON:  The first of the "mahoshoujo sentai" genre, taking   
   inspiration equally from the "magical girl" and "fighter team" genres,   
   SAILOR MOON is about a team of (mostly junior-high-school) girls who are   
   reincarnated from the Silver Millenium (a time of magic), reborn to   
   protect Earth from a series of evil invaders.   
      This show is more suitable for adults than others in the genre; while   
   it offers the standard transformation sequences and monsters of the   
   week, it also has a strong sense of humour that frequently approaches   
   parody, and presents a more interesting cast of characters than many   
   such shows.  The US dub of the first two seasons cuts much of the   
   subtext that makes the show worth watching, and makes major changes to   
   some characters' personalities; in particular, the heroine is presented   
   in a much less positive light.  Despite that, the airing of SAILOR MOON   
   on North American television started the latest cycle of popular-culture   
   awareness of anime.   
      ADV released edited-for-television dubs and uncut subs of the first   
   two seasons, while Geneon released uncut bilingual versions of the third   
   and fourth seasons and all three SAILOR MOON movies - these are no   
   longer available commercially.  The fifth season was never licenced in   
   North America.   
      [Entry by David Damerell, Scott Delahunt, and Rob Kelk]   
      
      SAINT TAIL (a.k.a. THE MYSTERIOUS THIEF SAINT TAIL): During the day,   
   she is Haneoka Meimi, at St. Paulia school, but when there is a need,   
   during the night she turns into the Magical Girl Saint Tail, with the   
   help of her friend and classmate Seira, who is a nun in training and is   
   the only person that knows the identity of Saint Tail.  Help to steal   
   precious objects, but with the objective to return them to their   
   rightful owners after being stolen by unscrupulous persons.  Saint Tail   
   is chased by Daiki Asuka (Asuka Jr.) who has the mission to catch and   
   discover the real identity of Saint Tail, and also is Meimi's classmate.   
   As part of a private deal between Saint Tail and Asuka Jr., she must   
   tell the young detective when her next attack will occur.   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)