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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]
VOTOMS: Old TV series of post-WWIII world. The army controls the
world with their mecha, but not everyone goes along. MELLOWLINK is a
related series in the same universe (set before VOTOMS, made after.)
VOTOMS has been licensed by USMC.
W
WAR IN THE POCKET: see GUNDAM
WEATHERING CONTINENT: A short drama in the fantasy vein. A
swordsman, a healer (who knows a little about magic), and a young
runaway have fallen in together in their travels. This is an incident
that befell them in the desert amid the ruins of an ancient
civilization. Very moody.
60 minutes. Released in the US by Anime Works.
[Entry by Jack Bohn]
A WIND NAMED AMNESIA: It happened suddenly. One minute all was as
it should be, the next... everyone on Earth had their memory wiped.
Language, social habit, everything. The story surrounds one boy, who
has been retrained to normality by another boy who escaped erasure by
the fact that he was linked to a computer in a radical new way.
Touring the devastation, he is accompanied by a woman who seems also
to have escaped erasure but will not say how. On their journey they
see what Man has made of himself since his memory was wiped, and view
the consequences, all of which leads to the ultimate questions; who
did it, and why? Available from USMC.
[Entry by Chika]
WINDARIA: A lovely fantasy story of two kingdoms at war, and how
that disturbs two pairs of lovers - one peasant, one royal. A
tragedy. Well worth the watch, IMHO. Nice music, too.
[Was available dubbed from Streamline Pictures while Streamline was
still in business. - Rob Kelk]
WINGS OF HONNEAMISE: See ROYAL SPACE FORCE.
WITCH HUNTER ROBIN: Under the jurisdiction of an organisation known
as Solomon, a group of "Hunters" known as STN-J targets "Witches" in
modern day Japan - people with special powers passed on by genetics that
use them for evil. Into their midsts is introduced a new recruit, Robin
Sena, a 15 year old ex-nun from Italy with pyrokinetic abilities, whose
arrival is the catalyst for the uncovering of a conspiracy in STN-J
itself and the true nature of Witches. A dark, subdued series that many
may find dull due to its episodic first half, the show's strengths lie
in its meticulous characterisation (particularly of Robin) and realistic
production stylings alongside sparse, but impressive action sequences.
Available on 6 DVDs from Bandai in Region 1, and broadcast on Cartoon
Network's Adult Swim.
Series website:
[Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
WITCH'S DELIVERY SERVICE: see KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE
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--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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