anime, module 2

Lupin III

- A thief with a heart of gold and care for his gang, including: ~ Daisuki Jigen ~ Goemon` ~ Fujiko Mine - story is based on French author Maurice LeBlanc's series of novels about a suave thief, Arsene Lupin. - The original manga series was written and illustrated by Kazuhiko Kato; Monkey Punch. - Which first appeared in Weekly Manga action, on August 10, 1967 and then spawned a media franchise of all sorts. Even live-action film and theatrical release has also been considered. - Each project within the franchise has its own individual plot. - The original TV series and film, The Castle of Caligostro, was worked on by Hayao Miyazaki

Cowboy Bebop

- Another TV anime series that reached older audiences. The director, Shinichiro Watanabe, wanted viewers to have an experience of watching it, like its the year 2079. Though doing this hides the flaw that the plots ripped off from generic shows like: ~ Route 66 ~ space mafia and hippies ~ Space Truckers - A tale of futuristic bounty hunters in space, whom bear no resemblance, although Boba Fett or Sam Wesell from the Star Wars epic. A believable blend of film noir, martial arts films, cool jazz, and sic-fi that varies wildly in tone, from comedy to tragedy, episode to episode. - Made in a deliberately 1970's retro style, and posits a solar system that one part Chinese diaspora and two parts wild west. City spaces taken form Kung-fu films with Neo architecture in the style of Blade runner and one horse frontier towns in the middle of the Martian desert. - First shown in 1998 and considered to be a Japanese animation masterpiece. - It premiered with a total of 26 episodes. The anime was among the most influential anime shown in America because it tackled the philosophical concepts of existentialism, loneliness and nihilism. It was also adapted into two manga series.

CGI

- Computer Generated Imagery. - Computer drawn animation also became more common in the past 5 years. As production companies began drawing their cells with digital imaging software. - Fully computer generated films, such as Final Fantasy, have changed dramatically

Spirited Away

- Hayao Miyazaki, who is best known for his work of fantasy of his 2001 film "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" or "Spirited Away". Which won the first academy award for animated film. - Main themes of the film are responsibility, heroism, and authenticity drive. - The heroine, Chihiro, a jaded and cynical 10 year old, transformed when her parents drive through a tunnel and the other side is an alternate reality. Chihiro's parents eat food that was set out as offerings to the gods and turned into pigs. - Chihiro was to be renamed San to reverse the spell, which Miyazaki indulges in a pun that Americans typically don't understand. "Sen" is another way of pronouncing the first character in Chihiro's name, while some have linked the film with Homer's Odyssey: * Both have people turned into swine * the hero(ine) is send on a quest ~ Miyazaki felt that Japanese children are losing their roots, valuing materials more than their ancestory. So he makes sure that they know about their native traditions and remind adults to pay attention to the gods. He is clear about the film's origin, which he sees as a descendant of Japanese folktales: * Sparrow's Inn, in which a callous act leads to demonic torment. ~ a therapeutic hot springs for spirits, monsters, and witches. The building, resemble Meiji-style architecture with numerous Buddhist and Shinto references. Small sculptural representations of Drama, the Japanese name of Bodhidharma (the founder of Zen Buddhism) are prevalent throughout the film.

Takarazuka Revue

- Ichizo Kobayashi, the father of the Takarazuka Revue, who contributed to the growth of the Hankyu Railway. He also opened the Hankyu Department Store as Japan's first department store built inside a train terminal. - Motto: "Modesty, Fairness, and Grace", which comes from Kobayashi's teachings of performing arts. - opened in 1914 - the First performance was on April 1, 1914 in a theater built in the converted indoor pool; lid over the pool served as audience seating, changing rooms were the stage. - From 1923-1933, the theater company put on the first Revue in Japan and the Takarazuka Revue became a phenomenon. In 1927, was a performance of "Mon Paris", the first revue in Japan. - From 1934-1950, war approached and the Revue bravely staged performances during the dark era. - From 1951-1961, it's popularity exploded and the company became busy entertaining in both Japan and abroad. In 1955, a wireless microphone was used for the first time in Japan during a performance of "Kismet" by the Flower troupe. - From 1962-1981, the revue staged broadway musicals and in 1974 was the first performance of "The Rose of Versailles". - From 1982-1994, the theater company enjoyed growth and opened the new Takarazuka Grand Theater. - From 1995-2014, the Revue began to grow in popularity and took on new challenges.

Rumiko Takahashi

- In the 1980's, the development of anime storylines as a significant expansion in the genre, improvements in productions techniques, and the rise of news talents in writing and illustration. - In 1981, Takahashi created Urusei Yatsura. ~ a story of a young high school latch who ends up married to an alien princess - the series, directed by Mamoru Oshii, added new elements of absurd humor and fantastic situations to anime and produced the first anime pinup girl --- Princess Lum, an alien with the power to electrocute the hero if he goes near another girl. - one of the female Mangakas that would be known in both sides of the world. One of the most dominant mangaka in the business creating 3 of the most beloved series in Japan. ~ Ranma 1/2, ~ Inuyasha & Maison Ikkoku. * Inuyasha became one of the most popular anime in the 20th century especially in the West where it competed with DBZ.

anime

- Japanese style of animation that arose in the late 1900s and appears in comic books and cartoons. Like manga, anime comes in a variety of storylines and originally no intended for export to the west. - Unlike american cartoons, theres a type of anime intended pretty much for any sex, age, or social class ~ shonen (boy stories) ~ shojo (girl stories ~ seinen (men's stories; 17-40) ~ redesu (ladie's erotic stories) ~ hentai (erotic stories) ~ saijin (men's erotic stories) ~ yaoi (women's erotic stories)

manga

- Katsuhika Hokusai - edo period - ink on paper - Hokusai was credited with coining the term "manga", which he first referred to his funny sketches in 15 volumes from 1814 to 1878. During the time when Hokusai crafted his 5 printed "The 100 Ghosts". Then the term popularized. * "manga" was used in Aikawa Minwa's manga byakugo, (doodles of a 100 women) from 1814. Then in Suzuki Kankyo's Micellany of impromptu drawings from 1771.

Astroboy

- Osamu Tezuka most famous work directly from manga to TV - the story of a little boy robot built by a brilliant scientist as a replacement for his dead son. - remains popular to this day, that even in 2009 was the U.S. CGI action superhero film loosely based on the manga. The franchise is actually credited with beginning the marketing and film tie-ins that are ubiquitous today. - an exciting, effecting storyline, the first in a long line of animated features of humanoid robots. That was depicted in a spare but effective graphic design. With his spiky hair, big eyes, rocked fists, and rocket feet. - astro boy was a new robot for a new japan who can see good and bad intentions within people. He was presented as a black and white adventure story concerned with love and friendship. Credited with having 100,000 horse power and programmed to be forever good. - Much similar to the blue fairy in Pinocchio, Astro spent time in a circus with a cruel ringmaster. Then, adopted by a kindly professor who inspired his crusade against evil. - debuted as a manga in the 1950s in Japan, as a 193 episode half hour animated TV series in 1963, titled Tetsuwan Atom in Japan. The show was produced in Tezuka's own production show, received very high critical and popular claim and led to the first craze for anime in Japan. - the company that aired hat show chose anime since the characters lacked ethnicity specificity, even though the characters were Japanese in origin. This made it easter to translate their Japanese names into western names. Plots could also be rewritten fairy easily to suit U.S. references; 104 episodes of Astro boy were licensed to run in the U.S.

gigantic tetsujin 28-go

- Still well-known today as Gigantor, aka Tetsujin 28-go or Iron Man 28 in Japan - created by Mitsuteru Yokoyama in 1956 for the Shonen comic magazine - At the same time, the 1960's, other anime featuring robots became popular in Japan and Giantor was a pioneer in anime and robots in general. - The series was seen in the U.S. in 1965. Gigantor was a 30 foot tall robot under the command of a stalwart 12 year old boy and his intrepid allies. - the story of Gigantor began in the final days of WW II, with Japanese scientists attempting to build an army of giant robot warriors to help turn the tide of the war in their favor. - An allied air raid destroyed the top secret research facility and all but one of the robots, number 28. One of the original scientists perfect him and decides to use him for the good for the entire world. - Boy detective Shotaro Kaneda, a friend of the scientist's son, becomes Iron Man 28's custodian, aiding police and pitting him against violent criminals and mad scientists. - The animated, imaginative series is set in the year 2000, with 52 episodes of the show were shown on American TV in 1964. A character that was just very big and strong with no other capabilities and controlled by a joystick on a small box, kind of similar to a toy car.

Gundam

- Sunrise Studios - 1979-2014 - 2 years after the release of Star Wars, Yoshiyuki Tomino, debuted an animated mecha series that would forever redefine the "super robot" genre with Kudo Senshi Gundam, or mobile suit Gundam. - Initially the show received only lukewarm reception, though theatrical release of 3 Gundam films sparked tremendous interest in the series, especially merchandising. - The show's greatest effect was the fact that it produced a subtle shift in attitude, toward a robot realism that fascinates audiences. Despite it featuring all conventions of the genre, from transformation/fusion robot piloted by its creator's offspring to the weekly fight format. - The spotlight moved from the pilot hero to a wider view, including the world in which he lived.

Princess Knight

- Tezuka was credited with creating the iconography of female character, Princess Sapphire, with: ~ large round eyes ~ long legs ~ skinny waist ~ spiky hair - The first shojo story of a young woman, Princess Sapphire of Silverland, born with two; a man's and a woman's , who dresses as a boy in order to inherit her father's kingdom. The King tells the world that Sapphire is a boy, guaranteeing that his kingdom will not passed to the corrupted Duke Jeralmin. Sapphire was raised as a prince, how to ride, to sword-fight. - Though when Sapphire falls in love with charming Prince Franz Charming, facing dilemma. Which could reveal her true sex and then ruin her father's plans and her country's future as well as own future. Though, staying as a man would mean that she had to give up on love forever. - The manga established many themes and styles of later shojo, including its affinity for androgynous looking male heroes. The physical characteristics of the women characters were directly influenced by western cartoons like Betty Book. - it was made into a 52 episode TV series in 1967 and dubbed into english, shown in the U.S. sporadically due to legal and distribution problems. First to be produced and colored. - Thanks to heaven above, where the mysterious and mischievous cherub Tink is responsible for giving babies hearts. - The idea came from the Takarazuka Review, a lavish all-female stage review that played in Osaka, and Tezuka had the chance to watch many productions during his youth.

Osamu Tezuka

- The first great manga artist and anime; considered to be the god of manga as he used it in storytelling - 1928-1989 in Osaka as eldest brother of 3 - was inspired by his mother and drew comics during his second year of elementary school - "Osamushi" was his pen name after he found a bug during his youth. - After WW II, he created his first manga, Diary of Ma-chan, and then Shin Takarajima, or New Treasure Island; that started the golden era of anime. ~ Astro Boy ~ legend of the forest

Chihiro

- The heroine of spirited away - a jaded and cynical 10 year old, transformed when her parents drive through a tunnel and the other side is an alternate reality. Chihiro's parents eat food that was set out as offerings to the gods and turned into pigs. - Chihiro was to be renamed San to reverse the spell, which Miyazaki indulges in a pun that Americans typically don't understand. "Sen" is another way of pronouncing the first character in Chihiro's name, while some have linked the film with Homer's Odyssey: * Both have people turned into swine * the hero(ine) is send on a quest

Neon Genesis Evangelion

- The most critically successful TV anime of the 1990's, designed to be the last word on the giant robot genre. - This show, with its deft handling of human drama, captivated adults. Western religious symbolism is a role in the storyline; such as angels. The symbolism serves as a way of designated the alien designating alien invaders as "others", those who are not Japanese. - In this series, the story takes place after a meteor strike wipes out half of Earth's population. Aliens, called the Angels, are sending bioengineered weapons to destroy the remaining Earth population. Each one are named after biblical angels. - The series ending was different due to censorship and financial problems. It was followed by many lackluster films, many of which touted the finale in 1997. It was a shocking apocalypse, taking the themes to their logical conclusion. Though it wasn't, especially with the 2014 sequel "Evangelion 3.0". - The experimental Evangelion project fights these invaders with giant cybernetic organisms that can only be piloted by children born after the meteor hit. - theres the team: ~ head scientist (Gedo Ikari) ~ Shinji (pilot) ~ Misato (sisterly) ~ Asuka Langely (hot headed) ~ Rei Ayanami (clone) - WW II is replayed from the Japanese P.O.V., like in Star Blazers, as the surviving Japanese must save Earth from destruction. The organization saving the Earth is called NERV, the computers that control the complex seen is named after the biblical "three wise men". - Misato wears a cross and angel weapons explode in cruciform shape, while symbolism from Kabbalah and Masonic emblems appear in both manga and anime.

Battleship Yamato

- This is a Japanese version essentially of the original Star Trek series. It replaces pioneer explorations of space with oblique references to WW II, such as: ~ a desperate suicide mission ~ hounded by enemy vessels that are all painted in red, white, and blue. ~ the ship's name is most obvious during its heyday. - the Battleship Yamato was the most advanced ship of its time. It was sunk a battle to hold off the U.S. attack on Okinawa in 1945. - Star Blazers changed the way people thought of Sci-Fi, since it showed that anime was not just for children. it's first season, which contained 26 episodes, which followed the yamato's year-long voyage out the galaxy and back again. - As the popularity of the franchise became clear, primarily due to the outcry over the second film, a second season was produced, followed by a TV film featuring yet another new enemy. - Yet another dying race decides to alter Earth for their own purposes. In this case, the Earth is being flooded and Yamato is filled with radioactive water and detonated by Captain Okita (who had been cryogenically frozen after his death in the first season). To save the Earth again. - a 90 minute film version of Yamato outperformed Star Wars at the Japanese box office, leading to the production of a second movie that intends to end the story. It ends with pieces of the Yamato sinking beneath the waves in space. Okita went down with his ship in a heroic fashion. - another theatrical film followed with a third TV season as well. The saga finally ended in 1983 with the fifth theatrical film, Final Yamato, in which the Gamilon Empire is destroyed by a collision of galaxies. - In farewell to Battleship Yamato, the crew thwarts another alien invasion and results in the destruction of the Yamato and its crew.

hamtaro

- Totoro Hamtaro, created by manga artist, Ritsuko Kawai in 1997 and published in Shogaku Ni Nensei, a magazine for school children. An animated series quickly followed in 2000. - The show was imported into the U.S. in 2002 on Cartoon Network and became popular like Pokemon by a merchandising campaign that ranges from books to videos to stuffed animals and toys. - The story centers around the adventures of Laura, a fifth grade Japanese school girl and her pet hamster, Hamtaro. Whom leaves his cage to have adventures with his friends of the Ham Ham clubhouse, as his owner leaves for school. ~ each hamster is based on a real type of hamster and given a defining quality, such as: * Hamtaro the golden hamster

Ranma 1/2

- Written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi, popular with all ages in the U.S., despite intended audience of elementary to junior high aged boys. - 1987-1996 - One Half was one of the most popular gender bending stories created by Rumiko Takahashi. - Ranma promised his sisters, the youngest feisty sister won by drawing short straw. Ranma tries to keep his sex changing a secret, often posing as his own sister, Ramna-chan. - The martial artist hero, 16-year-old Ranma Saotomoi, from a splash with cold water, he turns into a girl, and when she (he) gets splash with hot water, she (he) turns back into a boy. The sex change presents Ranma with difficulties, resulting in posing as his sister, Ranma-chan. It occurs since Ranma and his father Genma fell into a magical pool while training in China. - the stories in the series revolves around teen school and home life, with a magical element providing injections of fantasy.

Princess 9

- a 26 episode anime broadcast in Japan in 1998, as the story concerns the trials of nine girls at the Kisaragi school for girls. Who form a baseball team for the purpose of playing on an equal footing with boys' teams at the most prestigious tournament in Japan. ~ Their goal is to qualify for, and ultimately win the tournament. ~ They're led by a pitcher Ryo Hayakawa, the daughter of Hidehiko, a former pitching star in Japan. Based on a real life professional baseball player, Masaaki Ikenaga of the Nishitetsu Lions. Who was a star player both in high school and the pros until convicted in a scandal and banned from the sport in 1970. - The soccer manga/anime Captain Tsubasa, which was initially serialized in Shonen Jump in 1981. That sparked a soccer boom in Japan. The series begins with Tsubasa's team winning several National Youth Soccer tournaments and three middle school championships. That follows him on his adventures as a professional soccer player. - Sports anime are not restricted to boys' sports.

Doujinshi

- a self-published fan work such as a manga or art book. Made by amateurs to the publishing scene, but published artist are also know to dabble as a way to release works that aren't suitable for general publication. - divided into two main categories: ~ originals ~ spin-offs - types of doujinshi such as: ~ Boys love/Shounen Ai ~ Yaoi; erotic stories of male loves ~ hentai; erotic stories ~ parody/gag; poking fun through humor ~ what if; exploring alternate story lines of original material ~ mecha/material; putting characters from original works in military uniforms and tanks - Although it covers all types and genres of doujinsji regardless of fandom such as video games, manga, anime, etc. ~ Though "Doujin", means same person, is the group that publishes the doujinshi.

Leiji matsumoto

- born in 1938 in Kurume, Japan. Responsible for a number of an important dramatic anime and manga including: ~ Space Pirate Captain warlock (1978 & 1979) ~ Galaxy Express 999 (1979) - his tales of heroism, courage, humanity, and suffering, all set against the panorama of space. Which captivated viewers and influenced future generations of artists. Matsumoto got his big break with Otoko Odeon, a series that chronicled the life of a ronin; a young man who is preparing himself for university exams, which was done in 1971. ~ The series was both a critical and popular success. Matsumoto has gone on the supervise creation of a number of music videos as well as other manga and anime. - his characters tend to be tragic figures, tall, slender, fragile-looking women with strong wills. - During the 1970's and 80's, the giant robot continued as a major trend in anime. While human-like robots continued to be popular, a new form emerged that would be expanded in later decades. - There were robots capable of transforming in other machines or segmenting into many parts. Each part had a pilot, who would recombine the units into the major giant robot of the story for the climactic battle. - His beloved cat Mi-Kum often makes appearances in his work and actually keeps renaming his cats every time he gets a new one. He's up to Mi-Kum four or five by now. He made his debut in 1953, drawing romantic shojo manga. Although he claims he dislikes the genre. - His wife, miyako Maki, who created the doll: Licca-chan, the Japanese Barbie, is also a manga artist. - Now it wasn't until the 1960's that he had the opportunity to publish in shonen, or boys magazines.

Katsuhiro Otomo

- born in 1954, Otomo headed to Tokyo up high school graduation, intent on becoming a manga artist. Otomo made his anime debut as a character designer of Harmagedon. - Otomo published his first manga in 1973, and by 1979 was working on sci-fi-fi manga, many of which were published in Shonen in serial magazines. - Otomo became the first "name" in Japanese animation board, though he actually has played a somewhat more minor role in anime in the years following Akira's release. - Otomo worked on his most acclaimed and famous work, Akira. An anime film that was different for the original manga, yet was regarded by critics as one of the greatest animated films ever made. ~ It took 8 years to complete and eventually culminate 2,182 pages and artwork. - He continued to work on many projects, including: ~ Steamboy (2004) ~ Freedom Project (2006) ~ SOS! Tokyo Metro Explorers (2007 release) - Otomo was decorated as a French Ordre des Arts des Lettres member in 2005. Who became the 4th manga artist ever inducted in the U.S. Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2012 and awarded the Purple Medal of Honor from the Japanese Govt. in 2013. - He received the Winsor McCay Award at the fort first Annie awards in 2014.

Satoshi Kon

- born on October 12, 1963 in Kushiro, Hokkaido but passed away on August 23, 2010 by pancreatic cancer - Attended Musashino College of the Arts and initially wanted to become a fine arts painter. After working with Katsuhiro Otomo on the Manga World Apartment Horror, he changed careers to the anime industry by working as a set designer for Roujin A in 1991. - director of five films for Studio Madhouse, such as read in Drazen. ~ His films are characterized by psychological complexity, realistic character and background designs, and the blurring of fantasy and reality. It also deal with subject matter not usually found in animated films, such as urban culture, homelessness and modern morality. ~ Kon teamed with Mamoru Oshii and Makoto Shinkai to create the 2007 NHK tv production Ani*Kuri 15, for which he created the short Ohayo. The same year Kon helped establish and served as a member of the Japan Animation Creators Association known as JAniCA. ~ In 2010, he worked on another project called Dreaming Machine, but he abandoned the project upon his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and so the production was halted. ~ The head of Madhouse Studio vowed to complete the project. ~ Otomo is a major influence on Kon's work. He also worked mamouru Oishii's Patlabor 2: the film and segments of severally animated tv series. ~ one of his films, Millennium Actress, debuted at the FantAsia Film Festival in 2002. ~ Made his directorial debut with the murder mystery Perfect Blue, which was followed by several other successful films. First shown at the FantAsia Film Festival in Montreal in 1997 where it won an award for Best Asian Film. ~ A filmmaker of many works such as: * Millennium actress (2001): a complex narrative story of a documentary filmmaker exploring the life of an elderly actress. Done in a play within a play style, where the lines between reality and cinema blur. In the film, director Genya Tachibana works on a documentary of an actress named Chiyoko Fujiwara, who withdrawn from public life in her elder age. * Perfect Blue: A young female protagonist whose public persona is that of a virginal sweet-voiced pop star. Whom outrages her fans when she announces her career change to being an actress, from the wholesome titillation to full on exploitation. Scenes such as stripping on camera and enacting a rape scene for a tv show, an event which soon echoed in her personal life, resulting a change in her persona. As her fans invade her life, both online and in person. * Paranoia Agent (2004): A story of a social phenomenon in Musashino, tokyo, caused by a juvenile serial assailant named Li'l Slugger, a baseball cap wearing juvenile who travels on golden inline skates and attacks people with a gold colored metal baseball bat. The plot of the series bounces among a larger cast of people affected in the same way by the phenomenon, usually being either Li'l Slugger's victims or detectives assigned to apprehend him. As each character becomes focus of the episode, details are revealed and their secret lives and the truth about Li'l Slugger. The series examines the human psyche and archetypes within Japanese pop culture and issues of personal and culture identity, but also makes extensive use of hip hop and street culture. * Paprika (2006): Kon's final film. A story, based on a science-fi novel, of a small group of scientists who developed a machine that monitors people's dreams and allows to enter dreams and change them.

pokemon

- debuted in Japan in April of 1997, coming to the West in December of the same year. - had many different names that provide aspects of each game, such as: ~ Pokemon: Orange Island on episode 82 ~ Pokemon G in episode 118 for Gold and S, for silver. ~ Joke League Championships in Season 4 ~ Pokemon Master Quest in Season 5 - the first film reached theaters in 1998 with Pokemon the movie: Mew vs. Mew 2 - the 1996 anime, created by Satoshi Tajiri, that otaku snootily disregard, preferring that anime remain outside of mainstream culture. Its success has enabled more obscure anime to be release here. ~ Based on the creator, Satoshi Tajiri's childhood fascination with collecting insects---similar to Osuma Tezuka---that evolved cross hybrids of different animals. Tajiri didn't go to college after high school, instead he decided to invent the game. - Pokemon are a unique group of creatures, invented by a Japanese company called Game Freak. it's Japanese name is Poketto Monstaa or Pocket Monsters. - For centuries, boys in rural Japan would gather up beetles and have them fight each other. - Based on the popular series of video games, Pokemon Players, known trainers, battle their pokemon against the pokemon that they encounter. Winner of a match is the trainer whose pokemon caused their opponents to either faint and be captures to be used by their new owners or flee. - Most appealing aspects are the interactions between the pokemon and players. In order to progress through the game and find all pokemon, a trainer like Ash must talk to non playable characters, other trainers and even trade pokemon with friends.

sci-fi

- fans and scholars consider sci-fi to be the major genre of anime, from Astro Boy to the early 1960s to modern day. - Sci-fi was traditionally a male-oriented as it can be done in animation without the need for a huge special effects budget. ~ Japan has been using older cell techniques and putting out many more well-crafter and entertaining stories at a fraction of the cost of these CGI productions. - Sci-fi in the west and in anime has many subdivisions: ~ space adventures ~ robots ~ fantasy - fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances and major social or environmental changes, frequently portraying space or time travel and life on other planets.

kawaii (cute)

- one of Japan's primary contributions to global culture. - Doesn't need to be all fun and fuzz, but rather ironic. In fact, treated with just right amount of awareness. - Can be downright subversive, the irony influences the extreme edges of Japanese fashion: ~ young/hip shown in magazines; cute little t shirts and clunky shoes and carrying lunch boxes. - character designs call to the heart, the most primal impulses. ~ modern artists such as the female design studio, Clamp and Junko Mizuno challenge intellect with childlike image on the nature of sensuality and maturity.

Rurouni Kenshin

- one of the most popular ad enduring samurai stories written by Nobuhiro Watsuko - 1994-1999 - first serialized as a manga in Shonen Magazine and then became a TV series and a film. - The story set 11 years after the Media Restoration began, when most of the revolutionaries have become corrupted as the govt. officials as they originally opposed. - foreign influences became a stronger influences in japan. While the samurai have lost many of their past rights. - Himura Kenshin is a former member of the revolutionary group, Isshin Shishi, a reformed assassin who now uses a reverse bladed sword; a dull sword, to avoid ever killing again. ~ Himura falls for Koaru Kamiya, the impoverished daughter of a swordsman whose school has fallen on hard times. HImura helps her search for her father's killer, a man who claimed to be the infamous killer named Hitokiri Battosai. ~ Myojin Yahiko is a young boy descended for a samurai family. Sagara Sanosuki, a former political activist who accompany the two on their quest.

Pikachu

- pokemon franchise, created by Satoshi Tajiri, in 1996 - a mouse like pokemon given to Ash Ketchum by his mentor, Professor Oak. - Certain electrifying characteristics in the form of special abilities; Thundershock and Thunderbolt - A short film was included in the 1998 pokemon film called Pikachu's summer vacation.

OVA

- stands for Original Video Animation, also can be termed as OAVs. - Many have a very limited audience due to content, such as sex, drug use, etc. - Considered too risky for general theatrical release or television. - the use does allow filmmakers to experiment with new techniques that potentially can lowers costs of production. Several have gone on to achieve tv success and even theatrical success. ~also used by Western animators, such Fleischer brothers and Walt Disney.

mecha

- stories that feature mechanical devices, many which are robots, as seen with Gigantor; early robots were radio controlled but by the mid-1970s ~ pilots soon controlled the robots from an internal cockpit. - Perhaps the ultimate series is on of the Gundam iterations---Mobile Suit Gundam. Which has appeared in several TV series, theatrical releases and direct-to-video stories. ~ one of the series' central themes is that of civilians doing the best that they can in times of war. Gundam combines elements of Star Wars with space colony politics and a sublet metaphor of Japan's baby boomers.

Star Blazers

- the animated version of Leiji Matsumoto's Uchu Yamato, or Space Cruiser yamato. The series had an impact on the U.S. and Japan. For the first time, this series had a 26 week story arc that captivated older viewers, due to character interactions and space battles. The series' themes usually involve the brave sacrifice, noble enemies and respect for heroes lost in the line of duty. - debuted in Japan in 1974. The story is set in the year 2199, the evil emperor Despair, who rules the race. The "Gamilons" orders earth to be destroyed, by bombarding it with radioactive bombs. The radiation he released dried up the Earth's oceans, exposing many old shipwrecks including that of the WW II battleship, Yamato and its attendant escorts. - Humanity lives in refuges built deep underground, but the radiation is slowly infiltrating their safety areas. Earth's space fleet is hopelessly outcast by the Gamilons and all seems lost until a mysterious space. Probe is retrieved on Mars, blueprints for a faster-than-light engine are discovered in the blueprints - Captain Okita, the ship's leader, is the heroic father figure for the group. The young pilot, Susumu Kodai has a grudge against the captain, but comes to recognize the burden of command and difficult decisions he faced with making. - A message from Queen Starsha from the planet Iscandar offers a device that can cleanse the Earth of the radiation damage. A starship is secretly built, within the hull of the former WW II battleship and a special crew of 114 members. Sent on a hazardous journey to get help for Earth. - The show's use of pacing and camera angles like live action films, and sci-fi themes, captivated audiences.

Sailor Moon

- written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi, 1992-1997. There are echoes of Power Rangers in the "Monster of the week" fight sequences that occur in the series. - The story sets in Azabun Juban, a real Tokyo neighborhood. - Themes of Buddhism occurs in reincarnations of sailor moon, tuxedo mask, and the other scouts. ~ The saving grace from being banned is the strength of its plots. The show's refusal to speak down the audience and its honest and earnest portray of romance. Not to mention its courageous to show portrayal of death. ~ The show became popular due to its visually stunning scenes and how both manga and anime appeared at the same time. The show occurred along with the rise of the internet. It's popular can be attributed to one major factor of a female empowering fantasy. ~ the First season TV ended with a harrowing assault on evil Queen Beryl, in which the entire cast is killed off---temporarily. - creator, Nakoto Takeuchi, made a manga called Codename Sailor V or Five in 1990. Sailor V, a teen girl, who moonlights as a sailor- style hero. Her editor asked to rewrite in business orientated writing, such as a five girl team and merchandise tie-ins. The result is Sailor Moon. The uniforms are modeled after British midshipman or midi blouses. - Tsukino Usagi is a 14 year old gluttonous, whiny klutz who has to save the world, while keeping up with homework and chase after her love interest. Hardly a role model. ~ Her name is "Tsuki no usage" meaning the rabbit of the moon, alluding to the folk tale, which explains the craters of the moon form a rabbit silhouette rather than man in the moon of the west. Rabbits were believed to be the vial of the elixir of immortality in taoist beliefs. The creature features predominantly in Sailor moon. - villain name's are after minerals/gems or earthy elements. ~ Queen Beryl ~ Rubeus ~ Emeraldas ~ Jadeite ~ Malachiite ~ Nephrite - names of Usagi's friends correspond to the powers they call upon and their associated planets. ~ Mizuno Ami (Sailor Mercury); "Mizu" is Japanese for water. Indentified as Suisei, the water star in Japan. ~ Hino Rei (Sailor Mars); "Hi" is Japanese for fire. Identified as Kasei, the fire star in Japan. ~ Kino Makoto (Sailor Jupiter); "Ki" is Japanese for wood. Identified as Mokusei, the wood star in Japan. ~ Aino Minako (Sailor Venus); "Ai" is Japanese for love. Associated with roman goddess of love, from West mythology. ~ Though she encounters, Luna, a talking black cat who grants Usagi powers to save her friend Naru. Usagi saved her friend but still has her klutziness. - The world of a pubescent girl is magical and frustrating. There's a thrill of first love and teachings values such as: ~ importance of valor ~ compassion

Vampire Hunter D

- written by Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrated by Yoshitak in 1983. It had been released in manga, anime, two art books, a video game, and a lot of memorabilia. - D, a lone wolf character, wanders through a far-future, post-nuclear Earth that combines the best of pulp fiction genres: ~ Western ~ Sci-Fi ~ Horror ~ Fantasy, with a little myth and occult - The planet, once terrorized by elegant but cruel nobles (vampires) is slowly returning to human control. - D is one of the independent hunters-for-hire eliminating supernatural threats and a vampire and human hybrid. Who renowned for his skill and grace, yet feared and despised due to his mixed lineage. - The antagonistic vampire is Count Magnus Lee, reference to Chris Lee.

Akira

- written first as a manga and then written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo and released in 1988 in Tokyo, Japan. It became an anime featuring conspiracy theories, telepathic and telekinetic freaks, and wild motorcycle rides across a neon-lit film noir landscape. - Neo-Tokyo stands on an artificial island of Tokyo Bay. - Motifs in the film weighed against the historical specter of nuclear destruction and Japan's postwar economic revival include such as: ~ youth culture ~ juvenile delinquency ~ psychic powers ~ social unrest ~ a future uncertainty - The film, which is set in the year 2019, as an aftermath destruction by nuclear explosion that resulted WW III. It pays homage to the sci-fi film Blade Runner. In post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo, it tells of how a motorcycle gang, led by 16 year old Shotaro Kaneda, who engaged a rival gang in a fight. - One member named, Tetsuo Shima, chased rivals into an abandoned old city and finds a child, named Takashi, with wizened features. Takashi has been freed from a government facility by resistance against those who try to recapture him. - Tetsuo becomes mixed up with the government for his psychic powers, which are reminiscent of the secret government project called Akira. Which relates to the explosion that previously destroyed Tokyo. Hoping to ease his violent hallucinations and pain, Tetsuo escapes captivity. - Meanwhile Kaneda learns that Akira once tried to manipulate all energy in the universe and destroy Tokyo in the process, beginning WW III - The film ends in one setting, an Olympic Stadium that was built in 1964. Where all people who were chasing Tetsuo come together. As Tetsuo found Akira in a cryogenic chamber, there was only severed limbs. Though Akira arrives as a energy sphere and entrapped Tetsuo and the espers. Akira caused an explosion upon Neo-Tokyo once again, only leaving Kaneda and company alive to start a new beginning. - It is a story about scientists fighting terrorists for control of an apocalyptic energy source. It owes its sensibilities to Otomo's perspective on 1960s counterculture: ~ rioting students ~ crazed bikers ~ gangs and corporate intrigue - It was a major turning point of rate acceptance of anime in the west when it was shown in U.S. in 1991. It ran significantly over budget and few filmmakers could afford to compete with its stunning visuals, Which was the reason about the film's success. Especially for it's meticulously detailed scenes, lip-synched dialogue, and super fluid motion that results more than 160,000 animation cels. - A visual tour de force, including experiments in digital and analog animation that stunned audiences worldwide. The film enjoyed greater success abroad than in Japan when it was originally released.