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October 31 2003, 9:00 AM

Friday Update

First off - our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who are being affected (directly or indirectly) by the fires in Southern California.

We have four reviews for the weekend:

Jeremy Beard is simply disappointed by the poor quality of the for-manga-readers-only CLAMP adaptation RG VEDA.

Enoch Lau is equally unimpressed by the spinoff OAV series INITIAL D EXTRA STAGE, mostly because the "cute girls" in the series ... aren't drawn that way.

Carlos Ross gets back into reviewing mode with praise for INUYASHA MOVIE 2: THE CASTLE BEYOND THE LOOKING GLASS.

Finally, Stig Høgset is so horrified in his second opinion of LA BLUE GIRL that he gets through one episode and exclaims, "If you absolutely HAVE to see tentacles, go see a documentary on squid or something!"

Good advice.

See you next week!

 
October 29 2003, 9:00 AM

Wednesday Update

A quartet of reviews awaits within, three first looks and one second opinion.

Jeremy Beard starts us off with the almost-too-tasteless-to-be-comedic JUNGLE DE IKOU, ending up with an average grade and a bit of admonition to the creators for letting it go too far.

Enoch Lau also settles for an average grade on the stylish, but too-irreverent SAIYUKI, whose prods at Buddhism are probably more controversial in his native Asia than in the United States. He also gives us a first look at FULL METAL PANIC? FUMOFFU, the sequel to the highly popular series FULL METAL PANIC, and gives it a thumbs-up halfway through.

Finally, Tim Jones gives a more positive second opinion of SAILOR MOON SUPER S.

That's all for now, see you Friday!

 
October 27 2003, 9:00 AM

Monday Update

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Jeremy Beard retraces his steps and takes on SILENT MOBIUS THE MOTION PICTURE, a skilled manga-to-anime movie which is unfortunately out of print. He also discusses the fair-to-middling GENERATOR GAWL, and offers another take on TO HEART (albeit only faintly more positive than the original). On the plus side, he also gives us a preview of the upcoming Media Blasters license of SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY, another anime based on a dating sim that is *not* a harem show.

Jeremy doesn't quite corner the market on reviews this time, though, as Stig Høgset gives us a surprisingly and definitively positive review of the horror / hentai title MYSTERY OF THE NECRONOMICON.

Two more days, plenty more reviews!

 
October 24 2003, 9:00 AM

Friday Update

Quick triple-shot.

Jeremy Beard gives top marks to PATAPATA HIKOUSEN NO BOUKEN, Tim Jones outlines the three episodes of the SAILOR MOON SUPER S TV SPECIAL, and Stig Høgset braves the softcore title REI REI: MISSIONARY OF LOVE.

Have a good weekend!

 
October 22 2003, 9:00 AM

Wednesday Update

Three quick reviews.

Enoch Lau doesn't seem terribly impressed by GATE KEEPERS 21, reserving some pretty interesting barbs for a series that only makes an average grade thanks to its visuals.

He also details SLAYERS NEXT, giving it a very solid thumbs-up rating.

And FLAME OF RECCA gets the full Jeremy Beard treatment ... and he's disappointed by a severe drop-off in writing and animation quality after the opening episodes, which is probably a good reason why it's not been picked up in favor of other similar series.

That's all for now, see you Friday.

 
October 20 2003, 9:00 AM

Monday Update

It's Monday, and you know what that means! Time for more reviews!

Jeremy Beard takes quite a bit this weekend, starting on the Korean theatrical film WONDERFUL DAYS, continuing with profiles of the two ZONE OF THE ENDERS series (DOLORES I and IDOLO), slapping the not-quite-fan-favorite PILOT CANDIDATE, and even taking on the aliens-and-abused-children genre again with ALIEN NINE.

Ever the proud Norwegian, Stig Høgset is indignant at the continuing slaughter of his land's mythology in ODIN: PHOTON SPACE SAILOR STARLIGHT. He also gives us a significant rewrite of his already highly vitriolic take on the hentai title BATTLE CAN-CAN, and is relieved to be back watching something decent in the form of the original video release of MERMAID FOREST.

Meanwhile, the dating sim anime D.C. ~DA CAPO~ gets profiled twice, by Jennifer B (doinkies) and Enoch Lau. Neither of them like it very much, though.

Finally, Tim Jones details the theatrical short SAILOR MOON SUPER S SPECIAL: AMI'S FIRST LOVE, which is, unsurprisingly, a treat for fans of Sailor Mercury.

See you on hump-day.

 
October 17 2003, 9:00 AM

Friday Update

Just in time for the weekend!

Editor-in-Chief Carlos Ross cleans up the last two unreviewed installments of PROJECT A-KO: CINDERELLA RHAPSODY and FINAL, mostly because no one else wanted to.

Jeremy Beard details the WWII film WHO'S LEFT BEHIND, and compares this comparatively obscure, but well-respected film to GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES.

Meanwhile, Jennifer B (doink-chan) gives us an early look at the unlicensed MIZUIRO JIDAI, and comes away with a smile (and more importantly, not a single inkling of "doinkiness" in the show).

Also, Stig Høgset takes on the "sexy" comedy JEWEL BEM HUNTER LIME, which is less sexy, and more funny, much to Stig's surprise (and approval).

Finally, Tim Jones gives long-overdue respect to the original DRAGON BALL series in his positive review covering over half of the 153-episode run.

Have a good weekend, folks!

 
October 16 2003, 11:04 AM

The new forums are now up. Now we just need to get the Forum button to point there. ^_^

Edit: The Forum button now points to the right place. Thanks, Pete!

 
October 15 2003, 9:00 AM

Wednesday Update

Number of reviews today: a lucky seven.

Editor-in-Chief Carlos Ross lets fly reviews of a trio of sequels: CARD CAPTOR SAKURA MOVIE 2: THE SEALED CARD, DETECTIVE CONAN MOVIE 2: THE 14TH TARGET, and the 4th DIGIMON series, DIGIMON FRONTIER. He also discusses the silly sci-fi comedy SPACE PIRATE MITO.

Jason Bustard takes on two entirely different kinds of show - the sports comedy AYANE'S HIGH KICK, and the Heian-era drama KAI DOH MARU.

Finally, Jeremy Beard fills us in on the STARSHIP GIRL YAMAMOTO YOHKO OAV series.

As usual, THEM meetings are held every Thursday, 5:30pm at Arizona State University's Memorial Union, please check the club website or the Memorial Union room assignment monitors for further information.

See you Friday!

 
October 13 2003, 9:00 AM

Monday Update

Four new reviews today.

Jeremy Beard has been busy over the weekend, tackling ANIMATION RUNNER KUROMI, DETECTIVE LOKI: RAGNAROK, and SILENT MOBIUS TV.

And thanks to Samuel Arbogast, we finally have a review on JIN-ROH: THE WOLF BRIGADE.

Forum upgrades are forthcoming, so stay tuned!

See you on Wednesday!

 
October 10 2003, 9:00 AM

Friday Update

Rolling toward yet another weekend ... but only five reviews this time around.

Editor-in-Chief Carlos Ross (again, speaking in the third person like some sort of weirdo) pops in his CD of "Toto IV" and dredges yet another oddity from the backlog: the second RONIN WARRIORS / SAMURAI TROOPERS OAV series: INFERNO, in which our favorite pretty-boys-in-armor bless the rains down in Africa, or something like that.

Isaac Cynova tackles another sequel that took its sweet time getting released here, BLUE SEED: BEYOND.

Meanwhile, Enoch Lau raves over the latest Gonzo show, the airship saga LAST EXILE, and Jeremy Beard gives us his take on HYPER POLICE and METAL FIGHTER MIKU.

... and that about wraps things up.

As for me, after this week's hubbub, I'm off to the George and Dragon. Cheers!

 
October 8 2003, 9:00 AM

Wednesday Update

A lot of reviews this time around ... so here goes.

Well, it looks like our Editor-in-Chief, Carlos Ross, has done some serious time travel with his latest review: the virtually forgotten KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD: JUMP SPECIAL, which he calls a "weird" experience.

Jeremy Beard gives us a look at the newer series AQUARIAN AGE and NARUTARU, as well as the not-so new ASSEMBLE INSERT, CLEOPATRA DC, and PLEASE SAVE MY EARTH.

Jason Bustard focuses on WITCH HUNTER ROBIN and X TV, and gives them a hearty thumbs-up.

Stig Høgset finishes off the main body of work in the ROBOTECH universe with full reviews of THE MASTERS SAGA and THE NEW GENERATION. He also gives us a rewrite of his original review of VIOLENCE JACK to fully convey just how much he hates that series. Can't say I blame him. (Unfortunately, it somehow got replaced by STEEL ANGEL KURUMI in the sidebar, which makes the sidebar a cuter place, but isn't quite correct as an "update.) Finally, a review of the music video ON YOUR MARK.


And finally, a surprising second opinion for Tim Jones for MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO has the reviewer in dissent, giving the movie an average rating and a for-kids-only tag.

More reviews to come on Friday, as usual!

 
October 8 2003, 12:55 AM

Thanks to some asshole hacker named "Epic_Distortion", the THEM Forums are dead ... for now.

I hate these stupid children who think that destroying our hard work is *fun*. Well, SCREW YOU.

So, we're working on getting a new forum. Until then, I have an e-mail address. Go bug me there, THEMers! This ain't stopping me, not for a second. I have bigger fish to fry.

 
October 6 2003, 9:00 AM

Monday Update

What a weekend it's been.

First off, Jeremy Beard takes on the martial arts series AIR MASTER, and finds merit in this action-packed show.

As a fan of Shirow's works, Stig Høgset details his disappointment with the anime adaptation of APPLESEED, especially with the liberties taken in the British release (which, unfortunately, is pretty much the same thing we get in the States, too). He gives a much nicer rating to the environmental adventure GREEN LEGEND RAN.

Enoch Lau gives us a second look at BOYS BE..., as well as a first look at PLEASE TWINS! He seems to be on quite the romance kick here.

While on much the same wavelength, Hannah Stanton nevertheless pans the formulaic "lovu-lovu drama" IF I SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS: THE OVA SERIES.

More to come on Wednesday.

 
October 3 2003, 9:00 AM

Friday Update

So, what's new?

Stig gives us an update on Enoch Lau's existing review of the heretofore awful DIVERGENCE EVE, and basically labels the first four episodes as a fluke. Is it a good show? No, but the successive seven episodes apparently do not suck, because the creators actually started taking this thing seriously.

Carlos Ross takes a look at the first ONE PIECE movie, and gives it a hearty thumbs-up while trying desperately not to go into a fake piratey accent. On a stormier front, he gives a thumbs-down, WAY down, to the down-and-dirty skank-fest WEATHER REPORT GIRL.

Meanwhile, shoujo specialist Jennifer (doink-chan) takes a critical look at the fangirl favorite DNANGEL with mixed results. Stephen Grant gives us a second opinion on PET SHOP OF HORRORS from the perspective of a manga fan.

Finally, Jeremy Beard gives us a partial review of the series BETTERMAN, detailing both its flaws and merits (in that order). He also gives us a significantly less positive look at GOLGO 13: QUEEN BEE, and his take on another fan favorite, the mystery series SPIRAL: SUIRI NO KIZUNA.

See you Monday!

 
October 2 2003, 1:30 PM

Just a reminder for those of you in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area:

THEM holds meetings every Thursday at 5:30pm during the fall and spring semesters at Arizona State University's Memorial Union. Please check the club website or refer to the monitors for room assignments for that day.

THEM is Arizona State University's premiere science-fiction and fantasy society, and we have been in continuous operation holding social activities and events for SF/F and anime fans since 1993.

 
October 1 2003, 9:00 AM

Wednesday Update

Mid-week - time for more reviews.

Stig Høgset gives us a review of both series of YOKOHAMA SHOPPING TRIP, and has positive words for this gentle series of a coffee-shop owner's life in a beautifully-rendered post-apocalyptic world. (What a strange string of concepts to put in the same sentence.)

We also have a reviewer debut to announce, as Jeremy Beard reviews SHE, THE ULTIMATE WEAPON. Looks like another must-buy on this one, folks.

Tim Jones gives us a not quite full review of the original BATTLE ATHLETES OAV series, which apparently isn't nearly at the same level of quality as the succeeding TV series. We also get an update of the SONIC X review, which officially abandons the series to the winds.

One last note: as of today, Pioneer is officially Genom, err, I mean, Geneon.

And that's a wrap. See you Friday!

 
 
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