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      Originally released as a subtitled-only series by AnimEigo, though a   
   dub version was attempted - that was aborted after only two episodes due   
   to unfavourable feedback from fans.   
      [Entry by Chika]   
      
      UTENA (a.k.a. SHOUJO KAKUMEI UTENA, REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA):  You   
   could go off roses!  A different twist on the magical girl series in   
   that the subject here makes no attempt to transform into anything   
   except by the fact that as a very young girl, grieving her parents'   
   death, she encounters a "prince" who comforts her and tells her that   
   they are destined to meet again, giving her a ring.  She vows to grow   
   up as noble as this prince, but takes it too literally, shunning the   
   usual fuku of her peers for more masculine garb.  On her acceptance to   
   a school with a mysterious club, she finds that not only were there   
   other people with the same ring as her, but that they regularly fought   
   for the hand of the "Rose Bride", in the hope that eventually the   
   lucky winner will gain entry to the strange castle visible from the   
   duelling ring, though each has a different reason driving them.   
   Available from Software Sculptors.   
      [Entry by Chika]   
      
   V   
      
      VAMPIRE HUNTER D (1985):  A.D. 12,090 is a lot like the Old West,   
   except for the mutants and vampires.  When Count Magnus Lee, an   
   ancient and powerful bloodsucker, sets his sights on a young woman of   
   the frontier, Doris Lang, she hires a cape-clad, sword-swinging   
   stranger known simply as D to get rid of a suitor who doesn't   
   understand "No."  D must fight his way past a horde of supernatural   
   guardians as well as taking on Count Lee himself, and also must   
   contend with his own unnatural aspects.  In addition to being a   
   dhampir (half human and half vampire), D has in his left palm a   
   symbiotic creature that exercises weird powers on his behalf but also   
   taunts him for his shortcomings at every opportunity.   
      Some fans look down on VHD for its crude animation and cliched   
   storyline, but it has become a cult classic, perhaps for its stunning   
   imagery and larger-than-life conflicts.  There's romance as well when   
   Doris starts falling for her half-human savior.  VHD is also notable   
   for its violence, as D's blade slices through nearly anything that   
   will make a blood splash.  Tetsuya Komuro's soundtrack gives a rich   
   atmosphere to both action and quieter moments.   
      Available from Urban Vision.   
      [Entry by Cathy Krusberg]   
      
      VAMPIRE HUNTER D (2000):  A second Vampire Hunter D movie was   
   released to Japanese theaters in April 2001 and is slated for American   
   theatrical release in September 2001.  Also titled "Vampire Hunter D,"   
   it is based on the third novel in Hideyuki Kikuchi's VHD series, "D -   
   Yousatsukou" (D - Demon Deathchase).  D is hired to retrieve a woman   
   kidnapped by the vampire Meier Link, but his task is complicated by   
   two factors:  a competing set of hunters, and the true love that led   
   the woman to accompany Meier of her own will.  The character designs   
   in the new movie are much closer to Yoshitaka Amano's vision, and the   
   animation is top notch.   
      [Entry by Cathy Krusberg]   
      
      VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU: An enterprising young woman crosses paths with   
   a strange girl named Miyu, a demon-hunter who is the last of her kind,   
   and follows her as she banishes Shinma with her flame.  This dark,   
   frustratingly short tale about the monsters without and within is a   
   pretty refreshing take on the vampire genre, giving us just enough   
   tragedy without seeming too ham-handed.   
      Parental Advisories:  Heavy violence (blood and gore) and implied   
   adult themes.   
      [Entry by Dot Warner]   
      
      VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU TV: This 26-episode series follows Miyu's life   
   as a schoolgirl.  In addition to fighting monsters, the focus is placed   
   more on Miyu's need for blood.  She also gets a cute anthromorphic   
   talking monster and spends way too much screen time angsting about being   
   a vampire.  I consider it to be vastly inferior to the OAV series,   
   although some fans think that the TV depiction of Miyu is more   
   sympathetic.   
      Parental Advisories:  Heavy violence (blood and gore) and implied   
   adult themes.   
      [Entry by Dot Warner]   
      
      VANDREAD:  A series with two seasons by Takeshi Mori.  A group of men   
   have lived for generations on a planet without women.  The women in this   
   show are the enemy who are feared as monsters by these men who are   
   created in genetic laboratories.  When Hibiki, our young hero, finds   
   himself stowed away on a ship that is captured by the women and   
   subsequently cast into deep space by a missile, he and a few others must   
   learn to work together to return without killing each other in the   
   process.   
      The series is fraught with wonderful CGI scenes where the man's   
   mecha-inspired Vanguard fighter merges with the women's   
   jet-fighter-inspired Dread units to create extremely powerful fighters.   
   On top of this the sexual tension of two cultures that have never before   
   encountered each other and so have no concept of "relations" between the   
   sexes is hilarious to watch.   
      Available from Geneon.   
      [Entry by Charlie Smith]   
      
      VENUS WARS:  A group of racers on Venus and a reporter from Earth   
   are caught up in the war for the dominance of Venus.  A dark film from   
   the "sand in my spacesuit" view of the future which sees the racers   
   being turned from a group of stunt racers who defeat a tank by sheer   
   fluke to hard fighting riders who become instrumental in the war's   
   conclusion.  Available from USMC.   
      [Entry by Chika]   
      
      VIDEO GIRL AI:  Youta Moteuchi has a crush on his schoolmate, Moemi   
   Hayakawa, but she has feelings for his best friend, Takeshi Niimai.   
   Since Youta is too nice for his own good, he tries to get the two of   
   them together, despite how sad it makes him.  A mysterious new video   
   store called Gokuraku appears on Youta's path home, and he winds up   
   renting an adult video entitled "Ai Amano - I'll Cheer You Up."  When   
   he plays it on his defective VCR, Ai pops out of the TV screen into   
   his life, and promises to help him square things away with Moemi.   
   There was one thing she hadn't counted on, however:  Amongst other   
   flaws, the broken VCR caused her to eventually fall in love with   
   Youta, which is forbidden for Video Girls, and causes heartbreaking   
   complications for both of them.  A six-OVA series based on the popular   
   manga by Masakazu Katsura (who had previously distinguished himself   
   with WINGMAN).  Available domestically from Viz Video, but beware the   
   over-massaged, over-localized translations, especially in the dub.   
      [Entry by David Watson]   
      
      THE VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE:  A sixteen year old girl, Hitomi, who is   
   magically transported to the land of Gaia, is embroiled in a battle   
   with the evil Zaibach empire, bent on manipulating destiny.  She aids   
   the boy king Van Fanel, who pilots the mecha Escaflowne, the alluring   
   knight Allen Schezar, the cat-girl Merle and the willful Princess   
   Millerna as she discovers latent psychic powers which may be key to   
   the fate of Gaia.  This 26 episode series mixes romance, magic, mecha   
   and plot in a pacy, beguiling mix, with above average TV animation and   
   a musical score widely regarded as one of the best in anime.  The dub   
   is either loved or loathed.   
      Licensed by Bandai in North America - a commercial subtitle,   
   unedited and cut (Fox Kids) dub are available on VHS, with the DVDs   
   containing uncut subtitle and dub.  In Australia, ESCAFLOWNE has been   
   released by Madman.   
      [Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)