Macross: Do You Remember Love

If you have not seen this move (or the series Macross), WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! This movie is the epitome of great anime. It features a brilliantly written story, complete w/ action, drama and romance, great charas, and great animation. Some of the fight scenes have a continuity and fluidity which has yet to be matched by recent anime. This movie also helped launch the singing career of actress Mari Ijima who played the ever-so-popular Lynn Minmei. *Grins* I got to meet her at CN Anime and got her autograph! If you haven't seen Macross in it's original form (not Robotech, folks), make a huge effort to, it's definitely one of those anime's you don't want to miss.

The Slayers

I've only recently watched this anime, so can you believe I have yet to see the FIRST series? Basically there are currently 3 tv series, several oavs, and a few radio dramas. I've seen half of Slayers Next (I'm currently collecting it as it comes out) and all of Slayers Try. One reason you should see this anime: expect the unexpected! You've got to see these characters to believe them. Make sure you see it subbed though, b/c Megumi Hayashibara does a spectacular performance as sorceress Lina Inverse and Hikaru Midorikawa is FANTASTIC as Zelgadis. The second reason you've got to see this series: XELLOSS!! Yes Xelloss (the mysterious mazoku priest) is my fave chara and is played by one of my favourite seiyuu (Ishida Akira). He first appears in ep. 2 of Slayers Next, and you wouldn't believe what hi-jinx he puts the main charas through. One note about Slayers: none of the main characters are in the oavs, and they have nothing what-so-ever to do with the continuity of the tv series. If you watch the tv series, there is a plot-line, however, it is not very continous so you don't necessarily have to buy each vol. in order. I prefer to b/c I'm a die-hard fan, but rest assured, you don't have to.

Now this graphic is not from Ranma, but rather from "Inu-Yasha", creator Rumiko Takahashi's latest work. I placed it on this page because I wanted to demonstrate her style of chara designs. OKAY, if you've come to this page never hearing of Ranma, I pity you. Ranma has taken any country exposed to anime quite by storm, due to it's politcally incorrect theme of a boy possessing a curse which causes him to turn into a girl when splashed with cold water, and vice versa when splashed with hot water. This is one of the animes I've spent quite a lot of money on, as I do think it's creative, but some people think that the theme is getting tired. I know the manga finished, (last vol. was #38); however I am unfamiliar with the anime's current progress. Most likely it too has finished, although Viz Video is currently releasing the fourth season "Outta Control". One of my fave eps. was from the third season "Hard Battle", when Ranma got amnesia and really thought he was a woman. For those who are unfamiliar with the show, Ranma is a pretty sexist male; however he has a caring side, particularly towards his fiance Akane, though he doesn't always show it. Check out my music section for the lyrics to Coco's "Equal" as well as my own two cents regarding the "Complete Vocal Collections Vol. 1&2".

Yu*Yu*Hakusho

Mmmmmm.....my current obsession. As I've only recently got into it, I've only seen roughly 20 eps and the 2nd movie. What can I say, I am quite impressed. Not only are most of the characters cool, it's got SEXY SEXY YOUKO and EVEN SEXIER HIEI!! The storyline basically revolves around 14 year old (at the start of the series) Yusuke Urameshi *drool* who is killed in a car accident, then brought back to life to be a spiritual investigator for the Reikai. At first he starts off with only the assistance of a spirit-guide named Botan, but eventually he is joined by Kuwabara, Kurama (a.k.a. Minami Shuichi--ningen and Youko-demonic), and finally that sexy Koorime...Hiei. I love what I've seen of this show so far, the furthest I've seen being that tournament thing against those Togoro Brothers...oooh evil....where Hiei absorbs that cool black dragon attack of his (Koko-Ryu-Ha..is it?) and beats that guy Bui senseless. OUT of the whole Togoro team, the only one I thought was cute was Karasu...until he bleached his hair and got a really bad perm, a la the Vampire Lestat anime style. I hope to see much more of this show and perhaps order some manga. Oh yeah, I've heard four soundtracks, two of which I own, and I personally think the music is da bomb!!! Anything Hiei sings drives me absolutely mad!!! MY personal fave is #11 on the "Super Dance Mix" album, but "Wild Wind" kicks ass too. I'll talk more about this on my music page. *Update 12/09/98* I recently got manga volumes 17-19, so I finally got to see how Yu Yu ended!!! I can't believe that I actually could read them...no spoilers here until I understand them a little better, then I'll write up a little something about them.

My friend thinks that this pic of Hotohori is really "gay-stick" but hey, I've seen worse. I've had a love and hate relationship with this show. As I am more of an action anime watcher, this show's redundant fighting scenes and soap-operatic themes sometimes get to me, but most of the guys are mega-kawaii, so you've got PURE eye-candy. Since I've heard so many bad things about the OAV's, I only bothered to watch/collect the first season, my personal favourite character being Nuriko--why'd they friggin kill him off goddamn it?! One of my friends had this major thing for Tasuki...she thought his fangs were sexy....but then again this is my same friend who has a major thing for Yu Yu's Kuwabara...or as dubbed by the both of us: "The Ugly Guy From YYH". My other friend is in love with Nakago, but as she would put it, she has a thing for long-haired evil bastards. Okay FY is about these two girls who get transported into another dimension, via this book which acts as a gateway b/w the two worlds. AT first one of the girls gets transported back to earth, leaving the main character Miaka...she's sooo damn annoying....to fend for herself until she is rescused, then later asked to become the priestess Suzuku No Miko. Yui, the other girl, returns to the world of the book, but undergoes a traumatic experience that results in her becoming Miaka's antagonist. Yui agrees to become Seiryuu No Miko, therefore sealing her fate as Miaka's enemy until the end of the first season. It is pretty cool, which is why I do have that love and hate thing going for it, but if you're into shojo anime/manga, this one is really worth a try. For this one, I bought three soundtracks, the chara single one being my fave. By the way, if any of you ever hear Nakago's "Blue Eyes Blue", make sure you have a bag of cotton batton so you can block your hearing. Either that, or you run away, as fast as you can!!!! Y--e-e-ech!!!!

Check out the pic my friend Winsome drew for my friend Jenn...she drew me Ken-san, but he's in my yearbook, so it's kinda hard to scan ;-)

EEEEEEE!!! Sugoi na!!! Gundam Wing ga DAISUKE desu!!! To be honest, with the exception of this show, I've had very little exposure to the Gundam universe. One of my friends is a Gundam fanatic, and I was able to watch "Char's Counterattack" b/c of him. I prefer Gundam Wing to the usual "Newtype" --the people not the mag.-- Gundam stuff though because it incorporates a lot of political themes, which make it out to be almost realistic, despite the whole mecha thing. I actually think the mechas are cool, my fave being Duo's DeathScythe...who also happens to be my fave chara (the main charas are all 15 yr. old boys ...err more like assasins, named Heero, Trowa, Duo, Quatre, and Wufei). Another thing I like about this show is that it shows the versatility of Japanese seiyuus, particularly Hikaru Midorikawa, who played Tamahome in FY. In Gundam Wing, he plays Heero Yuy (he's sooo cool!), this 15 year old sadistic boy who pilots Lagrange 1. Having been only trained as an assassin/soldier, this kid has no social skills and is actually quite moody and depressive...quite a contrast from Tamahome's typical do-gooder persona. I've seen all of the tv show, (there are 49 eps.) and the OAV Endless Waltz. I've also read a script of this radio drama that aired as a filler b/w the tv series and Endless Waltz. I have two soundtracks...Operation 2, and Operation 4. I also have the TWO-MIX (Minami Takayama-sama!) remix cd which has Just Communication and Rhythm Emotion. As bad as some of them can get, I usually like chara singles, my fave being Duo's "Wild Wing Boys" from Operation 4. TRUST ME, this one is not to be missed!! I'll try to get a shrine up when I have the time, but for now, here is a cool pic of the boys on Valentines day.

Oh yeah, this show kicks complete ass, me having seen half of series 1 (it was all that was shown on tv) and all of series 2. I've also seen some of the original eps. of series one, so I know all about that fine butt flashing, etc. etc. In series 2 it kinda sucks because it's mainly frontal flashing closeups of the girls, which a girl like me doesn't really care for. Truthfully, the storyline is good for both series. Basically it followed the typical format of a guy who has to save the world using this crystal which endows his body with a special suit of armour. Now what made this show so cool was the guy, Takaya Aiba *kawaii*, suffered traumatic memory loss, and like Heero Yuy, was very anti-social. Rather than the team (Space Knights) accepting him right of the bat, he had to earn their acceptance and respect. NOT only that, his enemies the Radamu, consisted of these parasites who had possessed the bodies of his friends and family, one of them being his sexy fraternal twin Shinya *le sigh*. Anyway, Takaya (a.k.a D-boy and Blade) ended up being the victor by killing them off one by one, but in the process he lost his little sister Miyuki. A plus he received was the love of navigator Aki which developed into a steamy relationship (series 2), and the capacity to love and care for those around him. In series 2, he looked remarkably like Andy Bogard (from Fatal Fury) although Andy is much cuter, IMO. A friend of mine thought chara David Kruegel looked kinda like Terry. Anyway, in series 2, Takaya became leader of the Space Knights but kept himself confined underground, so Aki appeared to be the true leader. She herself had become a tekkaman called the Scarlet Tekkaman, and rode around in her own Pegas. Apparently Blade's crystal had generated back to its whole form, and he no longer needed a Pegas, who was destroyed in the first series anyway. A new team of Space Knights was assembled, including the main chara, an annoying Miaka-like girl named Yumi *blegh*. Personally although both series are good, I like the first one better because isn't as much eye-candy for me in the second. I kinda liked that wacky cross-dresser "Dead End", but that was only b/c he had the coolest armour when he transformed, and not to mention a whole slew of wicked moves. Lookswise though, he isn't much--El Disturbo if you ask me. There were a whole bunch of cool songs in series 2, particularly the theme song by Masami Okui, but unfortunately, I've never been able to find that cd *sigh*. Oh well, thems the breaks.

Update 09/06/99: I finally got Masami Okui's "Gyuu" @ CN Anime this year. Yay!!! *Nihongo accent* LUCKY!! *does peace sign*

Like Tekkaman Blade/Teknoman Fan-art? Check out this pic I drew back in '95. Now I'm no artist so don't expect perfection here...in fact I drew this pic from a video I had of the series!!! Talk about GHETTO!!!! ;P~~~

Look up twisted in the dictionary, and match up its definition with this anime/manga. This show is so powerful, which is one of the reasons I like it so much, but others I know think its kind of weird. The director Hideki Anno, is a space-case. This man wanted to commit suicide during the production of it, which is why at times the show reached an all-time low of disturbance and weirdness. Basically these 14 year old kids were the only ones who could pilot these robots called Evas, with which they had to save the world. Now in order to be pilot the Eva, you didn't just jump in and c ontrol it via a coc kpit; in this anime, the pilot's psyche had to be in-synch with the Evas. In one episode, the main chara Shinji reached a synchro-ratio of 400% with his Eva, and as a result was absorbed into its system. If you want a show that constantly analyzes the meaning of life, and our place in it, this show is for you. There are a few sparse bits of comedy, but it is for the most part, serious. An interesting point this show has is it holds a lot of religious undertones, such as the enemies being called "Angels" and the first Angel being called "Adam". My personal favourite charas are Shinji Ikari, and Kaworu *drool* Nagisa who Shinji was forced to kill when it was discovered he was truly the 17th angel "Tabris". Like everyone else who is into Eva, I do like Rei Ayanami. As my friend and I both always say: she is just too cool. With her blue hair at the MTV Music Awards shown this week, No Doubt's Gwen Stefani kinda looked like a punky Rei...cool!! DEFINITELY try this one out if you have the time...it's sooo worth it. I even got two soundtracks, b/c I thought the theme song, sung by Yoko Takahashi, was really good. The "Refrain" album is composed of songs mainly sung by her, including remixes of the theme song, Fly Me to the Moon, and two of the songs from Death and Rebirth.

The Final Fantasy Universe

I wrote up this synopsis for my friend Yu_kii's anime page. Check it out if you've got the time.

As a former die-hard RPG fan, I've played every Final Fantasy I could get my hands on since the yee old days of the NES, GAMEBOY, AND SNES. It's a fact that I did indeed only buy the PSX, because SQUARE had teemed up with Sony. If you are new to the RPG genre, company SQUARESOFT, who is responsible for Final Fantasy 7, is in my opinion, the best producer of this genre. How can anyone forget about "Chrono" or "Mana"?! Let me just say that their story-lines rock, and they really know how to develop likeable (sp?) charas. But on to the reason you are reading this synopsis: FF7 and FF8

For those who are new to the Final Fantasy scene, the number after each title does not indicate that it is a sequel to the previous title. In fact, the storylines really have nothing to do with each other *sigh* ...as much as I did love FF6 (or FF3 in the US).

FF7 follows the story of ex-Shinra soldier Cloud Strife. Although I don't want to give much of the story away, it has a lot to do with the search for the meaningness of life, and rediscovery of oneself. An interesting point on this theme, was that the producer/director's mother had died during its making, which is why much of its undertones, were very dark and depressing. Cloud has to learn to simply trust others and himself, as well as find out who he really is inside. Along the way of his journey, he teams up with childhood friend Tifa Lockhart, Avalanche leader Barrett Wallace, Ancient Aeris or (Aerith in Jap.) Gainsborough, thief Yuffie Kisaragi, spy Cait-Sith (I think it's pronounce KAT-SHEE), former Turk Vincent Valentine (who I know a lot of the ladies love), lab specimen feline Red XIII, and disgruntled pilot Cid Highwind. Funny thing about the Final Fantasy universe, is there is a Cid in every single Final Fantasy game. FF7 was the first that showcased him as a regular playable character. Incidentally, if I have forgotten to list any characters, sumimasen ga, and e-mail me, so I can make amends.

Now for the part she likes sooo much.....the VILLANS!!! (dum, dee dum, dee dum....). Since FF7's plot is so complicated, it is hard to say who exactly are the villans, and who aren't, but one obvious one, is that SEXY SILVER-HAIRED HUNK-A-BURNIN'-LOVE: Yoko Kurama....whoops! Wrong cartoon....what I meant to say was SEPHIROTH!!! Since Yukii loves him so much, I'll elaborate on his character a bit, and hopefully not add too many spoilers. He was a former general for Shinra, until one day, he totally lost it, and became the evil bastard he is today. *MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!!* It turns out that he and Cloud were actually clones...Cloud being a failure, he being the dera nged--yet successful prototype, and he delusionally thought this creature Jenova was his mother. Because of Cloud's mental instability, Sephiroth is able to bend his will at times forcing him to obey him, all the while causing poor Cloud to suffer a mental collapse. Though I do admit he is quite a looker, looks aren't everything, so my personal favourite is Cloud. Other villans Cloud & co. encounter are the Turks employed by Shinra (some of them are pretty Kawaii, particularly Reno), GORGEOUS SHINRA president Rufus...I think it is...well in any case, the son, not the father (although he's pretty evil too), Shinra lackies Don Corneo and Heidiegger (sp?), Jenova, Sephy's deranged father/creator Hojo, and JIN KAZAMA....FIGHT!!!! (j/k my mind's straying from my task...although if you haven't played Tekken 3, do so a.s.a.p.).

As far as gameplay goes, I don't have the patience I once had, but if you do want the "perfect" FF7 game, you will have to put in countless hours of gameplay so if you really don't have the time to do much, this is not the game for you. The story-line is pretty engaging, and played from the third-person point of view, so it isn't as involving as some gamers like...but then again, RPG's in my opinion usually are played from the third-person point of view. The mini-games such as Gold Saucer, and Chocobo raising are quite fun, as are the mini story-lines, such as Cloud's *gay-stick-drag* experience...(don't ask), but if you expect to be one of those gamers who beat Ruby, and Emerald Weapon, as well as obtain those mega-materia things, prepare to hibernate in front of your t.v. set for a few months.

FF8: Not much info. has been released about FF8, although working designs of it were showcased at E3. Basically it is supposed to be lighter than FF7, following the lives of Squall Leonhart (mega-kawaii) who utilizes the weapon "Gunblade" and Laguna Lenoire or Lanoire (sp?) a former journalist. Both men are supposed to be entwined in a love triangle with some woman (that would be me...j/k), but I am not sure what the real plot is at the moment. Interesting points to notice about this title, is that unlike seeing the standard one person on screen, while all the other characters suddenly pop out of nowhere, all your characters will be visible on screen. Also, SQUARE is finally getting rid of the choppy SD look typical of most RPG characters while wandering around the world, and replacing it with realistic looking game sprites instead. I believe that the ATB from FF7 is still in this game, as well as a more complicated materia system. As usual, most spells are updated to look better than the previous game's. So far the graphics look stellar, and backgrounds look fabulous. I believe a demo is available for play right now with Parasite Eve (SQUARE's latest title), but release is not slated until sometime next year (but don't quote me on this b/c you know how release dates are subject to change).

Other Things To Try

Rurouni Kenshin is undoubtedly one of my very favourites. To get an indepth analysis of this anime/manga, visit my shrine by clicking on Battousai *grrrrowl!!*. In a brief nutshell, other things you can try out if you are in search of eye-candy are any of the three Fatal Fury videos released by Viz Video, the X Movie, and Streetfighter II the animated movie. If you want a little more substance, watch Miyazaki's Mononoke Hime, Perfect Blue (trust me this movie is even weirder than the show Lain), Akira, Ghost In The Shell, the Dagger of Kamui (subbed, not dubbed), 3x3 Eyes (the perfect collection), Macross Plus, Battle Angel Alita, Tenchi Muyo (the movie's a lot more serious than the show), Lum*Urusei Yatsura and Vampire Princess Miyu. Last but not least, if you have a Playstation, try to pick up "Final Fantasy 7" (mmmm....Sephy....), "Tekken 3" (Hworang...need I say more) and "Bust-A-Move" the dancing game (not the puzzle bubble thing, folks). Though it has no eye-candy, it has a stellar soundtrack, which yes, I do have, and it is tons of fun. Note: Bust-a-move 2 has been out for some time now, and both the game and soundtrack are also really good.

Check out this cool pic of Bust-A-Move's Shorty!

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