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   has just announced her engagement.  But things are only just starting to   
   get bad for Tomonori; because as he steps into the house he finds that   
   he has essentially stepped into a remake of URUSEI YATSURA.  In the   
   doorway of his house waits 12 year old Rizel, a pink-haired product of a   
   Secret Government Project, who says that she is Tomonori's wife, and has   
   the papers from the Government to prove it.  Tomonori is in no mood for   
   this, but Rizel cries tears of nitro-glycerine, so Tomonori soon learns   
   that it is dangerous for Rizel to be sad.  Rizelmine is T&A comedy, with   
   the first half of the series being suggestive rather than explicit   
   because it was on broadcast TV, while the second half is aggressively   
   less conservative because it was on satellite TV.  Each episode is half   
   the usual length, so the series goes by breezily, with plenty of brain   
   and eye candy to entertain viewers in the mood for belly laugh humor.   
      [Entry by Dave Baranyi]   
      
      ROBOT CARNIVAL:  8 separate short pieces by different artists, some   
   serious, some comedy, almost all very well done.  All involve a robot   
   somewhere - some more than others.  Some comedy, some pathos.  Artsy.   
   Streamline dub versions exist (only 2 segments had dialog, anyway.)   
      [Was available dubbed from Streamline Pictures when Streamline was   
   still in business.   - Rob Kelk]   
      
      ROSE OF VERSAILLES:  A historical fantasy based on the manga by   
   Riyoko Ideda, set in France in the years leading up to the French   
   Revolution, and including many real historical figures and events in   
   its story of romance and intrigue.  The central character is Oscar   
   Francois de Jarjeyes, a fictional swordswoman who becomes the head of   
   Marie Antoinette's bodyguards.  Raised as a man by her father, she   
   initially keeps her own feelings buried beneath a mask of duty and   
   honour.  The series portrays Oscar's journey both personal, as she   
   strives to reconcile her upbringing with her own passionate nature,   
   and political, as she ultimately must choose between the good of the   
   country and her lifelong loyalties.  Produced as a 40 episode TV   
   series in 1978, the animation may not be up to modern standards, but   
   this is easily compensated for by the beautiful artwork.   
      [Entry by David Simmons]   
      
      ROUJIN-Z:  The very near future.  A new fully automated healthcare   
   robot, integrated in a sickbed, starts taking way too much care of its   
   senile patient when it takes on the personality of the patient's   
   deceased wife.  A silly cyberpunk parody with lots of punches about   
   the generation gap and the lack of interest in the problems of the   
   elderly.  Senior citizens hacking into government computers from their   
   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   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)