Winter '02 2002

Kaname Chidori’s one of the most popular girls at her high school – unfortunately, it’s her growing popularity off campus she should be worrying about. Unbeknownst to Kaname, terrorists are plotting her abduction, believing she possesses the rare and coveted abilities of “the Whispered.” That’s where Sousuke Sagara enters the picture. He’s a hotshot soldier from the clandestine counter-terrorist organization known as Mithril – and he’s going undercover at Kaname’s school to try and keep her safe. He may be an ace in the cockpit of an Arm Slave mech, but there’s no training in the world that could prepare him for the warzone of high school.

Kusanagi Kei, a high-school student living with his aunt and uncle, has an encounter with a female alien. This alien is revealed to be a new teacher at his school. Later, he is forced to marry this alien to preserve her secrets. From there, various romantically-inclined problems crop up repeatedly.

Ayato Kamina, a 17-year-old high school student, lives in Tokyo Jupiter oblivious to the world around him, having been raised to believe that the rest of civilization has been destroyed; but everything changes when a mysterious alien civilization invades his home.

Thirteen-year-old Takao Kinomiya (Tyson Granger), along with his fellow teammates, Kai Hiwatari, Max Mizuhura (Max Tate), and Rei Kon (Ray Kon), strive to become the greatest Beybladers in the world. With the technical help of the team's resident genius, Kyoujyu (Kenny), and with the powerful strength of their BitBeasts, the Bladebreakers armed with their Beys attempt to reach their goal.

7 years since Yuuichi Aizawa visited his aunt Akiko in her little northern town, he returns to uncover memories and secrets that have vanished from his head. He soon realises that something supernatural is happening, and that all of his new female acquaintances have links to his forgotten past.

Takaya, an ordinary high school boy, gets drawn into an ancient war of darkness and tragedy when he discovers that he is the reincarnation of a feudal lord from Japan's Warring States Period

Ojamajo Doremi, known as Magical DoReMi internationally, is a magical girl anime television series created by Toei Animation in 1999. It focuses on elementary school students who become witch apprentices. Led by Doremi Harukaze, the girls must maintain their double lives in secret. Ojamajo Doremi has been followed up by three direct sequels, lasting until its end in 2003. During the television series' runtime, two companion films were released in theaters. The English dub, produced by 4Kids Entertainment, released a preview episode in the US airing on August 13, 2005, and the first episode on September 10, 2005.

Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy, known in Japan as Kinnikuman II sei, is a manga and anime series made by Yoshinori Nakai and Takashi Shimada under the pen name Yudetamago. It is the sequel to the hit manga Kinnikuman that they started in 1979. The toy line of Kinnikuman was released in North America as M.U.S.C.L.E.. The name of Ultimate Muscle was chosen to connect the Americanized storyline of the M.U.S.C.L.E. toyline of the 1980s into the anime. Bandai also produced intermittently distributed toy tie-ins during the initial run of Ultimate Muscle.

Kyota and his pals Shingo and Junichi dream of becoming pop idols. At a New Year's show they get their lucky break when a Cosmopop agent discovers the trio and offers to manage their debut. Then things take a turn for the weird when Kyota begins having visions of magical girls battling one another in the air - only he's not dreaming! For centuries, five supernatural factions have waged war for supremacy over mankind with legend prophesizing that one day the Aquarian Age will begin and one group will reign supreme. Now Kyota's dreams must take a backseat to his destiny as he may hold the power to turn the tides of war in favor of whichever faction can control him.

The Angel Brigade, an elite branch of the Transbaal Empire military, are assigned to search for The Lost Technology, mysterious items from the past that hold unknown powers. Led by the soon-to-retire Colonel Volcott O' Huey, the Angel Brigade travel to different planets using their specially designed Emblem Frame ships to search for Lost Technology. Unfortunately, they often mess up somehow and end up getting into all kinds of awkward and troublesome situations.

Jane's mother dies when she is born, and her father, a rich English aristocrat, soon remarries to a woman with a son, William, who despises his new father and brother. George and Jane grow up with a dream to make a flying machine. George believes the distant Asian sands hold a secret: a mysterious cerulean sand which can make machines fly. He goes on an expedition to find it, and soon is reported executed for treason. William disappears too. After she recieves an unsigned letter holding a handful of pale-blue sand which floats in the air, Jane is sure her brother is alive and leaves to the East to find him and prove him innocent. There are many mysteries to unravel in store for Jane and her new friends on her journey. But perhaps a mystery should forever remain a mystery...

Nana Suzuki winds up being split into seven copies of herself. Besides the original Nana, there's also a smart Nana, a happy Nana, an angry Nana, a sensitive Nana, a sad Nana, and a slow Nana.

Panyo Panyo Di Gi Charat is the prequel to the popular anime series Di Gi Charat. It features Princess Dejiko and Puchiko as young children home at planet Di Gi Charat. The two and their friends Meek and Rinna set off to bring happiness to the citizens of planet Di Gi Charat, while Piyoko and Deji Devil try to stop them.

In the land of Fighting Foodons, regular recipes turn in to meal monsters when the art of culinary combat's concocted. King Gorgeous Gorge and his Fatties have cooked up a devious plan to rule the world and they sprinkled an extra dash of destruction. They plan to rule the world by kidnapping the best chefs & forcing them to make powerful Foodons. A boy named Chase, a young apprentice chef with an appetite for action, thinks he has what it takes to become an Elite Master Chef like his dad, Chef Jack. Chase believes that he, his friends, family, and Foodons can change the world, even if it involves going into battle against the Glutton Gormandizers, King Gorgeous Gorge's Big 4, and King Gorgeous Gorge's female cat-like servant, Clawdia.

In the far distant future, hideous monsters roam the Earth, threatening the lives of all people. Genma, the evil ruler of the Mah tribe, has become obsessed with fathering an Heir. Convinced that a child born of a Hito woman will have amazing powers, he sets his sights on a young Hito woman. In exchange for her village's safety, Non agree to bear Genma's child. She gives birth to twins and names them Loof and Jin. Jin is left for Non to raise among the Hito, as Loof is taken to Genma, and raised to be the prince of the Mah tribe. Although Loof and Jin live in two separate worlds, their fates soon become intertwined as Loof is banished from Mah tribe once he appears to possess more human than wizard physical characteristics. (Source: ANN)

Koron Nemuta is a girl who yawns when embrassed. One day, she found a vase when she was lost. When she yawns, the genie Akubi will come out of it, but, when she yawns again, Akubi will come back into the vase. (Source: ANN)

In a not too distant future, the government sends a particular earthly force of mercenaries to the ocean aboard a high-tech submarine to be named dragon. Led by the young and able captain Jang, the crew of this ship will face powerful mafias that seek to take control of the seas for purposes not entirely clear. A common appearance adventure takes an unexpected and exciting course when you start to reveal that deep things are not as it seems Mysteries and higher forces become part of history when Jang and his team discovered the legendary golden ship. In this Miterio boat hides much of the secrets that pripulantes the Dragon is must be clearer. All this while waging exciting battles where strategy and courage make a difference. Undoubtedly, the most striking of this intriguing anime series is that it was not made in Japan but in Korea. This country has been instrumental in the technical development of Japanese animation for this last ten years, providing support and manpower to the genre's most important productions. Produced by the prestigious firm seoulmovie. Legend Of Blue accomplished. (Source: Translated from mcanime.net/foro/viewtopic.php?p=1981317)

A soccer animation produced for the 2002 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by Korea and Japan. The main characters are two young men, a Japanese playmaker and a Korean striker. Friendship with teammates, their growth as soccer players, etc. are drawn. (Source: Wikipedia)

As the Straw Hat Pirates sail through the Grand Line, a sudden eruption of geysers beneath the Going Merry sends the crew flying over a nearby island. In the chaos, Chopper falls overboard and becomes separated from his friends. While Luffy and the others land on the far side of the island, Chopper finds himself hailed as the new king by the local animals. However, danger looms as a group of human “horn hunters” arrives. Their leader, Count Butler, is a violin-playing man who consumes horns to gain strength, and he seeks to devour the island’s greatest treasure to inherit immense power. Can Luffy and the crew stop Count Butler’s scheme and save the island? And will they be able to show Momambi that not all pirates are the villains he believes them to be?

At a huge pillar stadium, the Grand Line Cup Final is being held. The "Straw Hat Pirate Team"(Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper) are having a tie breaker shoot out against the "Villian All Star Team"(Buggy, Bon Clay, Jango, Hatchan, and a soccer like head player named Odacchi). Everyone of them gets a turn in kicking the ball to the goal. While Coby is taking the goalie position, and isn't doing too good in blocking the goal. One after another, the game eventually comes to a sudden death match. Which team will win the Grand Line Cup?

Six months after the D-Reaper was destroyed, the Tamers are planning to throw Rika a surprise party, but Rika finds out. Suddenly a train-Digimon named Locomon begins to race around the tracks, causing havoc. The Tamers respond to this, as Takato digivolves Guilmon into Growlmon to stop the train Digimon but fails as Takato, Rika and Renamon get on it in an attempt to slow it down. The others, excluding Suzie, use a freight train to catch up with Locomon

Set in the year 2000, when the level of Labor accidents begin to escalate around Tokyo Bay, police detectives Kusumi and Hata are assigned to investigate. What they discover leads to a series of government cover-ups, conspiracy concerning a new biological weapon entitled WXIII-Wasted Thirteen and a tragic, personal connection to Hata. The only hope to stop this threat is to cooperate with the military and lead WXIII into a showdown with the Labors of Special Vehicle Division 2.

Nobita, Doraemon, and the rest travel to the far future, on an inhabited planet where humans and robots coexist. The Empress of the Robot Kingdom is plotting to strip the robot inhabitants of their emotions, so it's up to Nobita and his friends to stop the plan, while also helping a robot boy named Poko from getting caught in the middle.

A Tree of Palme is an interpretation of the Pinocchio tale. It concerns a small puppet, Palme, who was tasked by his creator to look over his ailing wife, Xian. After her passing, Palme is visited by a mysterious woman who he mistakenly believes to be Xian. Shaken out of his sadness, Palme accepts her request to deliver something special to a far-off place known as Tama. This sets Palme off on a journey to discover his own emotions, and what it truly means to be human.

A miserly man eats the pits of some cherries he can't stand throwing out. A tree starts growing from the top of his head. He cuts it off; it grows back. After a while, he gives up and lets it grow, but the crowds that gather on top of his head to enjoy the tree (and leave huge mounds of trash) eventually drive him to uproot the tree. This leaves a crater on top of his head, which fills with water, which becomes a popular lake.

Loran Cehack is a spy sent from the moon to scout out Earth, whom they plan to invade. He grows to love Earth as his true home and, after discovering a giant mech from the dark ages, he begins to defend Earth in the war. The year is C.C. 2345. Growing tensions between the Earthrace and Moonrace have spiraled into an all out war. Mankind's only hope for peace lies with a young Moonrace boy named Loran Cehack, and his mysterious Turn-A Gundam, a relic of a dark history which nearly destroyed the Earth centuries ago. As a citizen of the moon, Loran is loyal to the beautiful Queen Dianna Soreil, all the while fighting to keep the technologically superior Moonrace at bay as the pre-industrial Earthrace tries desperately to catch up.

Following the events of the first movie, the Militia finishes restoration work on its excavated spaceship and travels to the moon to deal with Gym Ghingnham and Agrippa Maintainer, who along with Dianna Soreil form a governing triumvirate over the Moonrace. On the moon, the political situation rapidly evolves as new deals are made, setting the stage for a decisive final battle to determine the relationship between the people of Earth and the technologically advanced Moonrace.

A 2002 Japanese short anime film based on the popular manga and anime series, Doraemon. It premiered on March 9, 2002 in Japan on a bill with Doraemon: Nobita in the Robot Kingdom. The movie's original plot was written by Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko.

Two boys find a beautiful world of magic and wonder when they find a magic marble in an old lighthouse. There they meet Mari and can escape from the growing hardships of their home lives.

Unlike most shows the three episodes are not only totally unrelated to each other but really don't follow a plot as such and are more a light hearted jibe at both the Patlabor series (TV and films) and other "mecha" Anime. Episode 1 is a brief introduction to the weaponry carried by the Ingram and how it was designed and why it is the way it is. Episode 2 looks at the design and maintenance of the Ingram 98 AV in SVU2 and takes a swipe at the marketing forces behind them (as in merchandising for the series). Episode 3 is the only one to attempt to expand on a very minor point raised in the original TV show and just how SVU2 is actually funded. (Source: ANN)

Kuso no Sora Tobu Kikaitachi (Imaginary Flying Machines) is a 2002 Japanese animated short film produced by Studio Ghibli for their near exclusive use in the Ghibli Museum. It features director Hayao Miyazaki as the narrator, in the form of a humanoid pig, reminiscent of Porco from Porco Rosso, telling the story of flight and the many machines imagined to achieve it.

The Doraemons, a group of culturally different versions of the Doraemon, gather to play a game of soccer. (Source: ANN)

An abstract work by Keichii Tanaami.

The My Road series—Scarlet Road (2002), White Road (2003), Indigo Road (2006), and the most recent installment Lemon Road (2008)—can be read as meditations on loss and mourning. These poetic films tell their story through motif, character expression, music and montage and require repeated viewing for one to absorb the subtly evoked layers of meaning. (Source: Midnight Eye)

Everything is liquid in this world, like the mayonnaise. (Source: Official website)

Film by Tanaami Keiichi.

Based on a poem by Sakutaro Hagiwara. A child and an adult have different troubles. (Source: Official website)

Independent animation by Hotchi Kazuhiro.

Based on a children's novel by Etsuko Kishikawa.

Is the path I am walking on now part of a dream or reality? This is the first animation film that is largely motionless. (Source: Official website)

A short film by Tayuta Mikage.

A female mecha pilot tries to keep in touch with her boyfriend on earth while she is in space using cell phone text messages. The farther away they get from each other, the harder it is for the text messages to get to each other. (Source: ANN)

Gon Freecss discovers that the father he had always been told was dead was actually alive the whole time. Ging is a famous Hunter: an individual who has proven themself an elite member of humanity. Gon becomes determined to follow in his father's footsteps, pass the rigorous Hunter Examination.

Keitaro and his childhood sweetheart make a promise to be accepted at and to meet each other at the prestigous Toudai University before she moved out of his life. About a decade later, Keitaro has become an artist and a daydreamer, having ranked 27th from the last in the national practice exam. When his grandmother leaves the all-girls dormitory, he becomes the residential manager and soon meets up with two Todai applicants who may have been that sweetheart, since he`s forgotten her name. Then there the other tenants like young Shinobu who was in despair until Keitaro helped her, Motoko the swordsmaster who sees men as evil distractions, Su Kaolo the genius child inventor and the sneaky Kitsune.

During Ireland's War of Independence, a five year old girl set out to save her village from the English army, by trying to find the rumored skilled swordsman living in a nearby castle, who only takes books of a certain genre as payment, only known as the Black Swordsman. (Source: ANN)

Ace pilot Trava and his personal mechanic buddy Shinkai, on their way to mark an out-of-the-way planet, pick up Mikuru, a girl with no memory. The three are about to discover that the planet is more than it seems.

The detective boys, the Mouri family, Professor Agasa, Heiji, Sonoko, Kazuha, and some of the polices were invited to Inspector Shiratori's party at Karuizawa. A certain case happens, and now there are 16 suspects from those invited to the party. (Source: ANN)

Fubuki is a girl whose only goal in life is to be the best...at arcade games! She's not much good at sports, but when it comes to arcades, Fubuki's a whiz with special super-powers. When an evil organization steals her powers to gain world domination, Fubuki's dream of winning the World Championship is in danger! She and her friends must battle the wackiest bunch of video game villains ever in a quest to make playing games fun again.

Makoto Kubota and Minoru Tokito are the muscle of their high school's all-powerful student council. They defend the student body from disorder -- generated by both humans and demons -- while avoiding their classes.

A series of short animations that show different worlds and different characters. These episodes are designed to take the viewer into a psychological world of fantasy and mystery. (Source: ANN)

A teen named Kiichi who is the son of a martial arts fighter, has to defend the name of a deadly martial arts style.

The year is 1943. During the decline of the second world war, the German's discover a marooned spaceship capable of time travel, thus enabling them to alter the outcome of their fate. Enter Erna Kurtz, a newly hired spy that stumbles upon the Nazi's plot. With the help of her fearless friend Janet, Erna must face her past in order to secure her future. (Source: ANN)

Akane Motomiya and her friends Tenma and Shimon are pulled by a demon into another world, where Akane becomes the Priestess of the Dragon God. The people of this world tell her that she is the only one who can stop the demons from taking over; meanwhile, the demons want to use her power for their own ends. Luckily, Akane has the Hachiyou, eight men with powers of their own who are sworn to protect the Dragon Priestess.

In a city filled with anthropomorphic cat-people, Catman lives free of rules and boundaries, doing everything he wants, which often collides with the other inhabitants of the city. Catman dares to be bold: it’s made in Flash, which is rarely seen nowadays; there are no spoken dialogue but instead is subbed in Japanese and English and has a original soundtrack made in purpose for the series.

Mika Katagiri wants her band to perform at the upcoming local festival. However, complications arise. Their keyboardist, Jun, refuses to play, and their stage has been cancelled. Refusing to give up, Mika and her band strive to find a way to play at the festival, using any means necessary. (Source: ANN)

Episodes 5.5 and 13.

48x61 is a short movie made by the famous director Rintaro (Astro Boy, Metropolis, ...) for the Japanese manga artist and director Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira, Mushishi, ...). It was produced by Studio Madhouse. This movie was made when Rintaro was 61 years old and Katsuhiro 48 years old. Hence the title. Main characters in this movie are Rintarou and Katsuhiro. The story is about a bicycle race between the two them. (Source: AniDB)

Rayca is a girl of the 31st Century where individuals exist only as computer data. She comes to the 21st century to learn about our sub-culture. Characters are designed by Haruhiko Mikimoto of "Superdimensional Fortress Macross" fame. Theme song by Tsubasa Makoto. (Source: ANN)

As the title implies, this series features a pair of characters per episode. Each DVD has one music video for each character, plus one part of an eight part story. Annoyingly, the music videos are for the short versions of the songs, not the full versions... to get those, you had to buy the Twin Collection CDs. (Source: Neo-Romance)

In a city filled with anthropomorphic cat-people, Catman lives free of rules and boundaries, doing everything he wants, which often collides with the other inhabitants of the city. Created entirely in flash, with no spoken dialog, Catman instead speaks in English and Japanese subtitles. The series is spread across three so-called 'seasons', with only the third having been aired.

Yuta's teacher gives him a photo of the desert near the Dunhuang Caves in China. As Yuta daydreams about finding the treasures of the caves, he is miraculously transported there. However, the treasures he discovers are way beyond what he had imagined.

A recap Special of Gakuen Senki Muryou whose focus are the highlights of the female cast. In order: Nayuta Moriyama, Harumi Mineo, Futaba Murata, Setsuna Subaru, and Nayuta Moriyama (again).

OVA which recounts Hana-chan's story leading up to the beginning of the Dokkaan season.

CG pilot film produced in 2002. It was given a limited VHS release.

An educational film about children's inability to value life in Japan. In the movie's example, members of a class neglect their rabbit duties and it dies.

An educational film about child abuse in Japan.

An educational film about blindness and being independent while blind in Japan.

Throughout the broadcast of Shaman King, many shorts (usually referred to as Shaman King omake and TV specials) were made on special days of the year related to spirits and the like. The omake were short stories that were made for humorous effect. Apparently, all of the omake fit into the story before the Shaman Fight 2nd round. Documents of the Shaman Fight was shown with a New Year's omake as well. The TV Specials were aired after specific points of the story as well as on holidays. The specials were never dubbed in English, and, most likely, never will be. (Source: Wikipedia)

A special episode of 'Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters' aired in between episodes 88 and 89. Mainly narrated by Anzu, the special recaps the major events of the Battle City tournament, beginning from the Pharaoh's meeting with Ishizu, and retelling several important duels including Yugi and Seto's tag duel, and Yugi's duels against Jonouchi and Bakura, up to Jonouchi's battle with Rishid on the Battle Ship. The special ends with Anzu wishing the series a happy new year.

Hikaru is given a phone call asking him to appear in the Japan/China/Korea Junior's Tournament but he finds out he will have to take part in a preliminary tournament to choose Japan's three contestants. Upon discussing this with Akira, he discovers that Akira has already been chosen for the tournament and will not be taking place in the preliminaries. Hikaru then decides not to visit Akira's Go Salon until he takes his place on the team with Akira. That may be tougher than originally planned, as not only does Hikaru have to battle with old friends for one of two coveted spots, but he may have a new challenger, in a promising player from the Kansai Go Institute. (Source: ANN)

Tokyo Highway Patrolwomen Natsumi and Miyuki get off to a bad start when Miyuki busts Natsumi for reckless moped driving on her way to work. Things get worse when they find out they're going to be partners!

The pilot Sue Harris goes to a mission on a frozen country, there she suffers an accident on the mountains and her life is in severe danger. Trying to survive on the harsh enviroment, she encounters an alien and engages in combat with it. The two beings will use all means possible to escape of that dead trap alive.

Special episode. Kanna strikes back with her plan to capture Chitose, this time getting rid off all the obstacles (mothers, sisters, Fumitsuki) - sending them off on trip to hot springs. Now, what will happen to Chitose when he is alone in home with Kanna?

Originally exclusive to the DVD release of the original Galaxy Angel, it contains two additional stories: "Fallen Angel Dark Space Chazuke" and "Five Sukiyaki Lunch Boxes". They count as Episodes 25 & 26 of the original anime's run.

Tenshi no Shippo omake.

Recap of the first four episodes of Honoo no Mirage.

Known for its hyperactive, random, and nonsensical style that revolves around various plots and characters throughout the series. It makes absolutely no sense.

Bonus episode that only appeared on the Grasshoppa! Vol. 2 DVD, a collection of short films. (Source: Wikipedia)

A small colection of various clips from throughout the series, separted by 3 second segments with titles like "Kokoro's Cute" coupled with a quick clip of some mech anime. (Source: ANN)

DVD Specials of Catman.

Pilot movie of Umi no Triton, it was created in October 1971 for the intention of selling the series to international markets and features a more Western-style drawn Triton. The pilot was released to the public on the Umi no Triton: Original Gekijou-ban DVD release nearly 3 decades later.