[continued from previous message]   
      
      TSUKIKAGE RAN (a.k.a. KAZEMAKASE TSUKIKAGE RAN, CARRIED BY THE WIND):   
   Ran, a female samurai, is a self-described "beautiful female drifter"   
   wandering through feudal Japan, carried only by the ever-changing wind   
   and her eternal thirst for sake.  Generally accompanying her is Miao   
   (Meow), a wandering martial artist from China characterised mostly by   
   happy-go-luckiness, a good heart, and an utter, frightening lack of   
   anything resembling forethought or intelligence.  Together the two,   
   rather more frequently than Ran would like, get embroiled in resolving   
   problems of local corruption or crime.  An episodic light-hearted parody   
   of Japanese "wandering samurai and his sidekick" shows, high points   
   being likable characters and spectacular fight scenes.  13 episodes,   
   available now from Bandai.   
      [Entry by Blade]   
      
      TSUKUYOMI MOON PHASE:  Kohei is a young man from a family of powerful   
   spiritualists who happens to not have any of the powers of his   
   relatives, other than an ability to take photographs of supernatural   
   occurrences and a tendency to not be affected by many aspects of magic.   
   Kohei's life begins to change when while on an assignment to photograph   
   an old haunted castle in Germany he meets a pretty young girl named   
   Hazuki who happens to be a vampire who has been trapped in the castle.   
   Kohei helps Hazuki to break free, and becomes involved in Hazuki's   
   search for her mother who disappeared years before.  But powerful forces   
   in the shadowy world of vampires want Hazuki back, and Kohei finds   
   himself in the role of protecting Hazuki while trying to come to an   
   understanding of their odd mutual attraction.  With a brilliant and   
   witty script that is matched by aggressively edgy animation, masterful   
   swings between French bedroom farce-style humor and gothic horror, a   
   compelling sound track and very likable characters, Tsukuyomi is a   
   totally enjoyable fantasy.   
      [Entry by Dave Baranyi]   
      
      THE TWELVE KINGDOMS:  see JUUNI KOKKI   
      
   U   
      
      URUSEI YATSURA:  The title translates as something like THOSE   
   OBNOXIOUS ALIENS, though the title itself is actually a pun in Japanese.   
   This was the series that broke Rumiko Takahashi onto the manga and anime   
   scene, first in Japan, then around the world.  Ataru Moroboshi is this   
   planet's unluckiest person, so it was a foregone conclusion that he   
   would be the target of a contest, the outcome deciding the future of the   
   world.  When Moroboshi wins unexpectedly, his cry of "Now I can be   
   married!" is misinterpreted by his "Oni" opponent, a rather nubile young   
   thing called Lum.  Now Lum believes herself to be married to her   
   "darling", much to the disgust of most of the male population of   
   Tomobiki-cho.  A full compliment of characters conspire to make life   
   interesting for the happy couple, as well as copious numbers of special   
   and repetitive guests in this long-running series which includes six   
   movies, several OAV's and more than 200 TV episodes.   
      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   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)