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— by Carl Davis
The popularity of Japanese animation, widely referred to as anime, in the U.S. has grown proportionately with the overall quality of the genre's releases. From the time of the earliest anime imports — TV shows like "Astro Boy" and "Speed Racer" — there has been a devoted American audience for this form of entertainment, and now the otaku (read: anime fan) population numbers in the millions. Anime series are popping up everywhere, from Saturday morning kid's television to their own 24-hour-a-day cable network.
Currently, one of the hottest shows going is "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex," based on the phenomenally popular manga (comic book) and film series of the same name. With the recent release of the seventh and final volume of the show's first season, and a second season on the way, now is the perfect time to look back at some of the biggest and best anime series of all time, now on DVD.
 "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex" (2002)
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Based on the characters and ideas presented in Mamoru Oshii's film version of the groundbreaking manga, "Ghost" has long been a huge hit in its native Japan and is now winning over anime fans here in the U.S. Set in the year 2029, the show presents a world where the boundaries between man and machine have grown ever more tenuous; the Internet exists as a world unto itself; much of the population possesses cybernetic upgrades; and, as in all such tales, nothing is what it seems. Led by the beautiful cyborg Major Motoko Kusanagi, the officers of Section 9 thwart cyber terrorists, investigate a variety of man-machine crimes and track down the über-hacker known only as the Laughing Man in hopes of saving this brave new world from destroying itself.
"Witch Hunter Robin" (2002)
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In the tradition of "The X-Files," this supernatural series offers up plenty of action, horror and intrigue against the backdrop of an ever-growing worldwide conspiracy. Individuals dubbed "witches" have begun to appear everywhere, displaying unusual and terrifying powers. Young Robin has just been recruited by the STN as their newest witch hunter. The catch? Robin herself is a witch, still mastering her impressive pyro-kinetic abilities. With her brooding partner, Amon, Robin begins to both question her mission and to uncover the secrets behind "The Factory," the mysterious facility where captured witches are sent.
"Full Metal Panic!" (2002)
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Finally an anime series that capitalizes on the untapped humor potential of giant robots. Sousuke may be a mere 16 years old, but he's spent his entire life training under the elite military agency Mithril. When he's called on to guard Kaname, a high school girl with budding psychic abilities, he does so with the strength, speed and skill of a Navy SEAL. Too bad he can't tell Kaname why he's acting so weird around her. With its disparate mix of espionage, romance and — yes, of course — giant robots, "Full Metal Panic!" has a little something for everyone.
"Samurai Deeper Kyo" (2002)
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One of a growing number of "chanbara" (samurai) anime, this fast-paced series begins in 1600 A.D. Japan, at the historic Battle of Sekigahara. During the epic battle, many samurai fought and died, but a powerful warrior known as Onime-no-Kyo, or "Demon Eyes" Kyo, simply disappeared. Several years later, Yuya, a female bounty hunter, is searching for the missing warrior to avenge the death of her brother and has tracked down a humble peddler, Kyoshiro. Does the young man hold the key to finding the missing Kyo, or will the secret that he is hiding get them both killed?
"Cowboy Bebop" (1998)
In much the same way that the theatrical feature "Akira" won over fans to anime a decade earlier, this series spiked the genre's worldwide popularity. The show takes the old clichés — spaceships, a cool loner, the woman of mystery, kids and animals for comic-relief — and makes them compelling again by infusing a sense of style, fun and maturity into the proceedings. In the future, the Earth is uninhabitable and humanity has colonized the outlying solar system. These frontiers are a lot like the Old West, where money talks and things are often settled with a gun. Enter the Bebop and its crew of bounty hunters. The terrific action and humor serve as a solid backdrop to the personal stories attached to each of the main characters: Spike, who uses his quick wit to hide the pain of a lost love; Jet, whose robotic arm carries a dark secret; and the beautiful Faye, who just wants to be able to remember her past. Especially notable is the show's amazing soundtrack, as each episode incorporates original, perfectly themed music composed by Yuko Kanno. Although the show is self-contained in an all-too-brief 26 episodes, a theatrical feature set within the show's timeline, "Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door," was released in 2001.
"Serial Experiments Lain" (1998)
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This smart, quiet anime addresses a timely question: What is the role of the human soul in the age of technology? Lain is a shy teenager coping with the suicide of her school friend Chisa, when she gets an e-mail from the dead girl telling her about the existence of something called the "Wired." It seems that Chisa lives on in this electronic world — a realm much like our own Internet. But as Lain taps into the world of the Wired herself, her very existence is threatened as she begins to question where the real world ends and the illusion begins.
"Blue Submarine No. 6" (1998)
This OAV (Original Animation Video) set a trend by being one of the first series to incorporate computer animation along with its traditional hand-drawn style. The setting: A future where a madman named Zorndyke and his genetically engineered Chrions have melted the polar ice caps in order to destroy humanity. With most of the world decimated by the ravages of the rising tides, the remainder of society puts its faith in an elite fleet of submariners given the task of combating Zorndyke's race of mutants for control of the drowned world. The show's production costs limited the series to just four episodes — but hey, we're all about quality here, not quantity.
"Rurouni Kenshin" (1996)
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Set in the dawn of Japan's Meiji Era (1868), this is the story of the great samurai Kenshin who was instrumental in overthrowing the Tokugawa shogunate and ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity. Even though he's a master killer, he has vowed to never take another life and carries a special "bladeless" katana. He eventually meets Kaoru, who owns a fencing school and needs his assistance if she wants to keep it. Tired of wandering and feeling affection for the young woman, he stays and helps her to run the school — but (of course) it doesn't take long for his past to catch up to him.
"Neon Genesis Evangelion" (1995)
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One of the greatest anime series of all time, "Neon Genesis Evangelion" was also one of the first to show the limitless possibilities of the genre. Combining such familiar anime elements as teenage heroes, giant robots and an "alien" menace with mature themes of philosophy, psychology and even theology, "Evangelion" set itself apart from the shows that preceded it and garnered the attention of Western audiences. In the series, half the world's population has been decimated by a disaster known as the "second impact." Now, 15 years later, the secret government organization NERV has recruited three teens to pilot giant mecha (robots) known as "Evangelion" to combat the creatures that caused the mysterious disaster. With a highly conceptualized storyline, an entire cast of fully realized characters — each carrying heavy emotional baggage — and nonstop action, this one set the bar very, very high.
"Robotech: Macross / Robotech: Masters
/ Robotech: New Generation" (1985)
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Many people remember "Robotech" from the early '80s, but most never knew that the show's 85-episode run was actually cobbled together by producer Carl Macek from three unrelated anime series: "Super Dimensional Fortress Macross," "Super Dimensional Cavalry: Southern Cross"
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and "Genesis Climber Mospeada." Macek wanted to import a long-running series in order to secure syndication rights in the U.S., and was disappointed with the way "Science Ninja Team Gatchaman" had been crudely edited into "Battle of the Planets." His solution: create an original, epic storyline that connected
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the three disparate series in order to chronicle a multi-generational war between the Earth's Robotech Defense Force, the otherworldly Robotech Masters, their genetically created army and others. Some anime purists might turn up their noses, but Macek and company created a cast of characters and stories that have withstood the test of time. Apparently a new original series, "Robotech: Shadow Chronicles," is in the works. Let's just hope it lasts longer than the ill-fated "Robotech: Sentinels" which ran for just three episodes.
"Star Blazers" (1979)
a.k.a. "Space Battleship Yamato" (1974)
The "space opera" saw a massive resurgence in popularity in the late '70s with the "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" films and their countless imitators on the big and small screens. A show in Japan, "Space Battleship Yamato," caught the attention of John Claster, who brought the series to America, changing the names along the way but not the nature of the show. The planet Gamilon has been waging war with Earth, bombarding it with radiation from outside the solar system and driving the human population underground. A message of hope arrives from the planet Iscandar: They possess the means to save Earth and have even provided plans for an engine powerful enough to travel to their world and back. Using the remains of the largest battleship ever built, the Argo, members of the "Star Force" prepare to make the dangerous journey to Isacandar. With two subsequent series and countless film releases, the fanbase for this seminal anime continues to grow.
"Gatchaman" (1972)
a.k.a. "Battle of the Planets" (1978)
Looking to cash in on the "Star Wars" craze, American producer Sandy Frank hastily bought the rights to the Japanese show "Science Ninja Team Gatchaman," removed anything deemed too "intense" for the kiddies and called it "Battle of the Planets." The series mutated again in the '80s, becoming "G-Force," which retained the violence of the original show but suffered from weak dubbing, weaker music and increasingly bizarre plotlines. Still, the "sentai" (warrior) nature of the show, in which a team of gifted teens combat evil forces, would inspire Saturday morning stalwarts like the Power Rangers for years to come. The original series is finally available, uncut and unedited, in the U.S. on DVD, with a new dub which closely follows the original Japanese scripts. Featuring 10 times the action, heart and humor of its "Americanized" versions, this is the one that really started it all.
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Photos: Manga Video / Bandai Entertainment
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