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      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   
   admixture of World War II, an Alien invasion, and the giant robots   
   captured alien technology makes possible.  Fast-paced adventure,   
   available from Geneon under the name GEO-ARMOR.   
      
      KODOMO NO OMOCHA (aka KODOCHA; CHILD'S TOY):  Sana Kurata is a   
   child actress renowned for her hyperactivity and her role on the TV   
   show of the title (yes, a show within a show; cute, innit?), and is   
   the adopted daughter of the eccentric author Mariko Kurata.  Despite   
   her stardom, she still goes to a non-exclusive school, in which her   
   class is terrorized by a bully named Akito Hayama, a cold and quiet   
   boy who manages to rally the other boys around him and make the class   
   hell for the teacher.  When Sana decides enough is enough and stands   
   up to him to try to get him to stop, she discovers just how troubled   
   he and his life actually are, and eventually goes from enemy to   
   friend ... or is it even more?   
      Zany comedy and very touching drama exist side by side in KODOCHA's   
   shoujo frame, and it still manages to work very well.  While the TV   
   series still hasn't been announced as licensed yet (and it's hard to   
   say if it ever will, since it's over 100 episodes long and its pace   
   and puns make it difficult to translate), TOKYOPOP is now releasing   
   Miho Obana's manga under the name KODOCHA.   
      [Entry by David Watson]   
      
      KOKO WA GREENWOOD:  see HERE IS GREENWOOD   
      
      KURENAI NO BUTA:  see PORCO ROSSO   
      
   L   
      
      LAIN:  see SERIAL EXPERIMENTS LAIN   
      
      LANDLOCK:  Firstly, this is *not* a Shirow story.  It merely uses   
   some character designs.  A typical brother and sister eventually find   
   that they have more to them than meets the eye.  Or two eyes; each one   
   a different colour!  This story is a typical quest to save the world   
   against insurmountable odds and evil mentors.  Available from Manga   
   Video.   
      [Entry by Chika]   
      
      LAPUTA, CASTLE IN THE SKY:  Young Pazu's life is turned upside down   
   when a girl, Sheeta, floats down from the sky into his sleepy mining   
   village wearing a mysterious blue pendant.  Together they search for the   
   flying castle in the sky, Laputa, while pursued by nefarious government   
   forces after the secrets that Sheeta and her pendant hold.  A   
   rip-roaring adventure classic from Studio Ghibli and master director   
   Hiyao Miyazaki, with an almost relentless pace, animation that still   
   impresses twenty years after it was made and amazing attention to   
   detail.  Available in both US Region 1 and UK Region 2 on DVD - the UK   
   release is unfortunately dubtitled, although the dub (from Disney) is of   
   excellent quality.   
      [Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]   
      
      LAST EXILE:  Claus Valca and Lavie Head, two young Vanship pilots in   
   the flight-dominated world of Prestale, become embroiled in a massive   
   war for power after rescuing a young girl, Alvis Hamilton, from the   
   wreckage of a Vanship stalked by a mysterious mechanical creature.   
   Gonzo's flagship series to mark their 10th anniversary is undeniably   
   visually impressive, and perhaps most successfully recaptures the   
   blending of shounen action and shoujo romance pioneered by ESCAFLOWNE of   
   any recent series, although there are some moments when the plot could   
   do with tightening up a little - overall, however, LAST EXILE is an epic   
   adventure that should appeal to most audiences.   
      Available on Region 1 DVD from Geneon, in Australia from Madman, and   
   forthcoming from ADV in UK Region 2.   
      [Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]   
      
      LAUGHING TARGET:  Taken from the "Rumik World" series of short   
   stories, this horror story concerns Yuzuru, who has a childhood   
   sweetheart.  When this girl, Azusa (bethrothed to him as a young boy),   
   returns to his life, strange things start to happen, especially to   
   Yuzuru's current squeeze.  When people start dying and Yuzuru's   
   girlfriend is threatened, Yuzuru has to start to find out about Azusa's   
   past and make some unpleasant decisions.  Was available from USMC.   
      [Entry by Chika]   
      
      LEGEND OF BLACK HEAVEN (a.k.a. KACHOU OOJI):  On the outside, Ooji   
   appears to be a typical Japanese middle-aged middle manager; married to   
   a wife who wants a home of their own, father of a son who wants Dad's   
   attention, working for a boss who just wants things to run smoothly, and   
   so on.  But things were not always this way, and years before Ooji was   
   the lead guitarist in a fairly successful rock band, and the urge to   
   look back and remember is never far away.  Things come to a head when   
   Ooji's wife throws out his old guitar and Ooji becomes despondent over   
   the loss of this final symbol of his youth.  But then a mysterious and   
   beautiful new colleague tempts Ooji with a new guitar and a chance to   
   play.  Ooji is lead off as if in a trance and finds a chance to release   
   his soul through his music.  But there is a very odd catch to this   
   bargain - Ooji's music is the source of power for the weapons of one   
   side of an interstellar war that is going on unbeknownst to Humanity,   
   and soon the very existence of the Earth depends upon Ooji and his   
   ability to play.  This story of a mid-life crisis that turns into a   
   sci-fi adventure is simultaneously funny and poignant and is definitely   
   for the "older" fan who may well also find himself "looking for his old   
   guitar" from time-to-time.   
      Available in North America from Geneon.   
      [Entry by Dave Baranyi]   
      
      LEGEND OF GALACTIC HEROES:  A far-future SF epic in which two vast   
   space-faring governments, the Empire and the Federation, vie for   
   supremacy amid the sea of stars.  Against this backdrop two young   
   heroes on the opposing sides wage war with each other and politics   
   with their peers.   
      
      LENSMAN:  Loosely based around the E.E. "Doc" Smith stories, an   
   ex-patrolman suddenly finds his planet being ripped apart, but all is   
   not lost!  His son inherits a "lens", which because of the nature of   
   the info on it, the enemy would really like back, hence its destruction   
   of the planet and relentless pursuit of the boy from that point onwards   
   through all sorts of weird scenarios.  However, he gathers allies on the   
   way, so the enemy doesn't get it all its own way...   
      [Entry by Chika]   
      [Chika is understating matters - this anime uses little more than   
   some of the names from the original series of novels.  It isn't a bad   
   story, but don't expect it to be anything like "Doc" Smith's   
   masterpiece.  Lensman was available dubbed from Streamline when   
   Streamline was still in business.   - Rob Kelk]   
      
      LOCKE THE SUPERMAN:  An intergalactically famous superbeing lured   
   out of voluntary seclusion helps save Earth from a group of elite   
   ESPers bent on galactic conquest.  The design sense is rather   
   primitive but the story line is lean, exciting and propulsive,   
   revolving around the title character, a powerful female ESPer, and an   
   evil conclave.  Admittedly, these are simple premises, but the action   
   & storytelling are first-rate.   
      
      LODOSS WAR:  see RECORD OF LODOSS WAR   
      
      LOST UNIVERSE:  Lost Universe is done by all the same people who   
   did SLAYERS, and it's pretty much SLAYERS in outer space.  It's a   
   Sci-Fi comedy which follows the adventures of Kain Blueriver, a   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)