Digimon (Fox Kids) - This is one
of a whole slew of series influenced by Pokemon. It has cute artwork
and is rather new, but otherwise there's nothing special here.
Dinozaurs ( Fox Kids) - Another show aimed at children who enjoy
collecting monsters this features some occasionally nice computer animation
combined with some more typical low budget cel animation.
Dragonball Z (CNX) - I'm quite a fan of the original Dragonball,
as it can be very cute, action packed and quite hilarious at times.
However this spin-off series tends more towards fighting action to
the detriment of both the plot and the humour: Most episodes simply build
up to a huge scrap and fighting appears to be the raison d'etre of many
of the characters. Still it's phenomenally popular in Japan and with certain
sections of UK fandom too, so it must have something going for it.
Escaflowne (Fox Kids) - An excellent series that's fairly new having
been first shown in Japan in 1996. However, like most anime on TV, this has
been subject to some editing and on its first few runs stopped somewhere
short of the series ending! They finally seem to have sorted that out, but
it's still missing about four episodes worth of footage from the original
in edits, and has lost much of the original music. On the plus side, even
after this hack job, the production standards are well above the usual for
TV anime with artwork and animation that wouldn't be out of place in video
releases or even some movies. The ongoing plot is fairly standard fantasy
stuff, but has many twists and much intrigue. Try to watch from the beginning
and don't skip too many episodes or you'll miss a lot.
Flint, The Time Detective (Fox Kids) - This is another relatively
new show from Sanrio, the makers of Kitty's Paradise, featuring
a stone age boy who hunts down time travelling criminals. Obviously
aimed at an audience of younger children. Quite cute, nicely animated
and enjoyable for what it is.
Flying House (God Channel) - Animated bible tales in which the
house not only flies but travels in time throughout the period of the
New Testament. It's all rather dated-looking and about as enthralling
to watch as Morning Worship. Then again, some people might see that
as a plus point...
Gundam Wing (CNX) - The original Gundam is one of my favourites,
but this series is rather removed from it by some serious continuity
rehashes that have taken place in the intervening two decades. There's
a preponderence of pretty boy heroes and the gritty realism of the original
has largely given way to an uneasy balance of flashy mech combat and
naive pacificst ideology. Still, it does have the same mixture of grandiose
space opera and mecha action with some rather more modern artwork and
animation. What's more, it's comparatively unscathed by the process
of adaptation to american TV unlike some other series. It does have a
complex ongoing plot, so is best watched from the beginning in sequence.
This is essential viewing for mecha fans.
Hamtaro (Fox Kids) - A hamster and his friends gather together to
discuss and solve problems for their owners. More industrial strength cuteness
from a series that's a hugely popular merchandising phenomenon in Japan.
Medabots (Fox Kids) - Basically Pokemon with robots.
The Moomins (Cartoon Network and Boomerang) - A Japanese/European
co-production based on the books by Tove Jansson. This is aimed at
younger children, but quite well made and enjoyable for those who are
familiar with the books.
Outlaw Star ( CNX) - Although it has much the same "Space
Western" setting as Cowboy Bebop this couldn't be more different. There's
plenty of anime cuteness and madcap humour mixed in with some fairly dark
toned space adventure. Pretty good.
Pecola (Fox Kids) - A computer animated series aimed at young children,
this features the adventures of the titular penguin and his friends and
is a co-production between Nelvana in Canada and Milky Cartoon in Japan.
It looks fairly run of the mill so far, although I hear it's been quite a
hit in Japan.
Pokemon (ITV and Sky One) - This
is not particularly recommended as it's largely just a marketing spin-off
from the computer game of the same name. Still, its many fans may disagree
with me and at least it can claim to have been the first of the monster
collecting anime as well as being far and away the most popular anime
series in the UK at the moment.
Sailor Moon (Fox Kids) - The story of a schoolgirl turned superheroine
who must save the world from arch nemesis Queen Beryl. This series was
heavily edited for US release with much rewriting and some episodes omitted
entirely and many fans would say a lot was lost in the translation. However,
the original was hugely popular in Japan: Initially it's quite light hearted
as she's completely unsuited for the job and needs to rely on her friends
and the mysterious Tuxedo Mask for help. However there is a continuing story
line with a few interesting twists, so it's not all quite as silly as might
first appear.
Shin Chan ( Fox Kids) - The crudely animated but occasionally hilarious
adventures of Shin, an exceedingly troublesome baby, and his long-suffering
parents.
Shinzo (Fox Kids) - Set in the far future, the Earth has been taken
over by the Enterrans and the last surviving human, Yukumo, and a bunch of
misfits must search for the mysterious city of Shinzo to find mankind's salvation.
Whilst obviously inflluenced by the Pokemon-style monster-collecting shows,
this has a bit more of an ongoing plot and is much the better for it.
Superbook (God Channel) - More animated bible tales from the
makers of Flying House. The same comments apply here too.
Tenchi Muyo! (CNX) - This is a huge fan favourite and well worth
watching. Again, there's been a bit of suspect editing work though, with
the earlier episodes being half-hour video releases that were extensively
cut to fit into the 25 minute slot with adverts. The later episodes fare
much better as they were made for TV in Japan and closer to the appropriate
length. The first six episodes are far and away the best as they make up
the original series. After that, the plot doesn't really go anywhere and
it becomes more of a sitcom. The made-for-TV series, Tenchi Universe has
a different continuity to the original series which further serves to confuse
matters. Tenchi in Tokyo is yet another rehash and is generally agreed to
be the weakest part of the series. Still, even the later episodes have their
moments and if nothing else it's always very cute.
Transformers: Armada (Sky One) - The most recent follow-up to the
ever popular Transformers series. Like Robots in Disguise it's something
of a disappointment, not really up to the standards of other more recent
anime and the storylines have also similarly failed to grow up with it.
Transformers: Robots In Disguise (Fox Kids) - The Autobots -
Transforming car robots - fight the evil Decepticons - Transforming aircraft
- to save the universe. Although Transformers is widely considered an American
cartoon designed to promote merchandising sales, it proved extremely popular
in Japan to the extent that it's spawned numerous sequels there over the
years. This is one of the more recent ones to air in Japan although the quality
of the artwork and storylines is little improved over the original 1984 incarnation.
Still, time has done little to dull the popularity of the formula and for
old fans it might be something of a nostalgia trip.
Yu-Gi-Oh! (Sky One and Nickelodeon) - This can pretty much be summed
up as Dragonball Z meets Pokemon and has proved as popular with younger
children as either. It doesn't do much for me though.
In addition to these, many shows can be picked up on foreign language stations if you have the right equipment. I'd suggest taking a look at Geoff Cowie's Shoujo and General web site if you want to enquire further.
| Date | Film(s) | Matt's Rating | Channel |
| Many |
Digimon: The Movie |
|
Sky Premiere |
| Many |
Pokemon: The First Movie |
|
Sky Premiere |
| Many | Pokemon 2000 |
|
Sky Premiere |
| Many |
Pokemon 3 |
|
Sky Premiere |
| 23/01 |
Rayearth |
|
Sci Fi |
| 30/01 |
Wings of Honneamise |
|
Sci Fi |
| 06/02 |
Ghost in the Shell |
|
Sci Fi |
| 13/02 |
Roujin-Z |
|
Sci Fi |
| 20/02 |
Patlabor |
|
Sci Fi |
| 27/02 |
Spriggan |
|
Sci Fi |
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