* * * You aughta' look out for this one, it's worth it.
* * You could probably do without this one.
* A slow ride to He!! (need I say more?)
Well. I have to give credit where it's due. The art work is top notch. It even has a very detailed storyline. Which is where the problem starts. The story is so detailed you have no idea what the heck is going on. Tiara (the heroine) is out to get the "Throne of Jord" back for her world. The problem is that all of her friends, including her lover Kaygetsu, want to keep it. It appears that Sara, Kaygetsu's sister, has been swallowed by the throne, which is really a picture. Tiara battles some of her oldest friends, Lena, Lena's partner, Kaygetsu, and finally the throne itself. The personal interaction going on in the background is enough to give someone a headache. It also proves that in anime brother/sister relationships aren't so bad after all. Toss in so many flashbacks you can't tell what's real and what's not, and you have this anime. I think Floyd's The Wall might have been easier to follow. But, I restate that the art work is really great.
A Rumic World short, created by Rumiko Takahashi. This is some of her more dark, twisted stuff, not at all like her Ranma 1/2 stuff. The art work is the same though. Good story line, if a little twisted and hard to completely grasp untill the very end. It's the story of a young girl who travels through time when she is caught in a fire and gets frightened. She travels back to ancient Japan, where she is saved from a group of bandits by a young man who tells her she is going to be his bride. She spends most of the show looking for a young boy who was with her when she was sent through time. She meets a very young girl who has a bell just like hers. Then a fire breaks out and she is sent back to her time, with her new fiance. She learns the truth about herself and him, and finally decides she loves him. She manages to get them back to ancient Japan where they are married. If you like twisted endings this one is for you. I thought the character design was good but a little more could have been done to round out the characters, they seemed a little one-sided to me. The artwork is done in Rumiko's basic style, large bangs, small bodies, big eyes. It's longer than it seems so be careful if you watch this before you have to go someplace, because if you leave in the middle of it, you will spend all night wondering what happens next.
If you like the art style of Sailor Moon but don't think that a girl like Bunny (Serena in the US) should have magical powers I recommend you watch St. Tail. St. Tail is a first class magician, this is real magic folks it invovles rabbits and hats and wands, and an ever better thief. Don't worry she still does the neat transformation scene. St. Tail is also a student at a local Catholic school. Her best friend is becoming a nun. People tell her their problems, she tells St. Tail, and St. Tail tries to fix them. In the process she usually stumbles across a real crook, gets him/her arrested and saves the innocent. Of course there is a love triangle, it's Shojo after all. The son of the Chief of Police is in love with St. Tail, of course he also wants to bring her to justice. What he doesn't know is that St. Tail sits right next to him everyday in class. Good art, very Shojo manga-esque. Cute story, and the heroine has more than a few brains, something most of them don't. The magic is pretty, and possible, not many anime can boast that can they? It also has the required cute critter, but to its credit the creature doesn't talk, it just looks cute, and likes having its tummy rubbed. It is worth getting ahold of.
I was shocked. I had watched the previews on a dozen different animes. I thought the idea of a girl with a yo-yo who kicks a$$ was a bit too weird. Then I got the video. I watched it immediately, and was dragged into a corrupt world of drugs, envy, and murder. I was shocked that our heroine was actually in prison at the start of the show for a crime she didn't commit, but admitted to it to save her friend. She gets out thanks to the police who need her to help them crack a horrible case of murder that they couldn't get close to because the person who had this horrible crime committed holds the police chief in his pocket. She goes back to her old school, which is now controlled by the Bosses three daughters. She kicks butts, takes names, and is horrified when one of the two people she befriends is murdered. Of course, I was horrified to find out that this is a two parter. But, A.D.V. has the subbed listed at $20. If you like strong heroines, a great story line, and interesting character interaction, I highly recommend this one.
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