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Конференция: ----- (tula.ranma)
От: Andy Ilyuhin [2:5022/40.15]
Кому: Создатель [2:5022/40]
Тема: Разыскивается
Дата: 10.01.2001 0:16:51
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день рождения с феечками винкс ====================================
Привет, All!
EX28
I"s Vol. 1-2
by Keith Rhee
When 16-year-old Yoshizuki Iori poses for a swimsuit photoshoot, she
becomes the focus of the guys' attention at her high school (yes,
that kind of attention). Her fellow classmate Ichitaka feels that
Iori is close, and yet her modeling stint makes her seem so distant.
Soon, Ichitaka finds himself fighting an internal struggle-though
attracted to Iori for her looks, Ichitaka wishes he wouldn't keep
thinking of Iori as a sex object. His shy nature prevents him from
coming forth with his feelings towards Iori despite several
opportunities. And so Ichitaka stumbles from one situation into
another, with his street-smart friend Yazumaza offering him plenty
of advice and often coming to Ichitaka's rescue...
Rather than employing the far-fetched premise of a girl popping out
of our protagonist's TV screen, Katsura's latest features what could
be considered "normal" ingredients for a love story. Despite its
share of exaggerated situations and Katsura's trademark panty shots,
I'S (pronounced "eyes") is more firmly grounded in reality than
VIDEO GIRL AI.
The story falls a little flat at first glance. The
characterizations seem rather typical-Ichitaka as the shy boy with
trouble expressing his feelings; Iori as the cute, softspoken love
interest; and Yasumaza as the savvy, loyal sidekick. Our
protagonist Ichitaka does have one redeeming quality, in that he
tries very hard not to think of Iori "in that kind of way" despite
the occasional wild fantasy, but volume 1 of the story spends a lot
of time covering the relationship between Iori and Ichitaka without
covering a lot of ground.
Thankfully, the story finally picks up in volume 2; we are
introduced to Ichitaka's childhood sweetheart Itsuki, who returns
from the USA and moves into Ichitaka's home. The best word to
describe Itsuki is "lively"-brash, playful, and outspoken, she is
quite the opposite of Iori (in fact, she reminds the reader of an
all-too-well-known female character in one of
Katsura's previous works). Despite the uncanny resemblance to the
video girl Ai, Itsuki's appearance gives the relationship-and thus
the story-the much needed spark, building the love triangle and even
getting the otherwise detached Yasumaza emotionally involved.
With sharp lines, vivid contrast and clean ziptone, Katsura's
visuals are as well-drawn as ever, with nicely done (and dare I say,
perky) character designs. There are plenty of girls in risque
poses-it honestly wouldn't be a Katsura manga without them-and I'm
sure there are plenty of people who will snap this up for the panty
shots no matter what this review says.
But is the story is worth it? I'll give I'S a cautious "yes." It's
not quite up to the standard of VIDEO GIRL AI, and the slow-paced
volume 1 almost led me to believe that Katsura was trying to sell
this story for the cheesecake alone. But there is a definite change
of pace in volume 2, enough to justify continuing to follow the
series.
I'S
Vol 1 ISBN4-08-872411-9
Vol 2 ISBN4-08-872412-7
c 1997 Masakazu Katsura
Published by Jump Comics
?390 each
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Андрей Илюхин
--- e-mail: lyu@tula.net
* Origin: Kampai!=http://tulanime.tulacity.ru (2:5022/40.15)
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Конференция: ----- (tula.ranma)
От: Andy Ilyuhin [2:5022/40.15]
Кому: Создатель [2:5022/40]
Тема: Разыскивается
Дата: 10.01.2001 0:16:51
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Привет, All!
EX21
More High Tempo Shoujo Adventure in the Universe of the Four Gods
- by Roderick "Agitator" Lee
FUSHIGI YUUGI, the popular 52 episode shoujo adventure TV series and
eighteen volume manga series by Watase Yuu, is the latest title to
make the TV to OVA crossover. Fans of the original will be pleased
to know that this three volume OVA series starts off with no loss of
punch from the original TV series.
Almost exactly half a year from the airing of the final TV episode,
the first volume of this series, "Loss of Ties," saw release on 25
October. Volume two just recently hit the market on 18 December, and
the final chapter is slated for a 25 February release. Whereas the
TV series is a very faithful rendition of the first thirteen manga
volumes, the OVA production team has chosen not to continue into the
story from the final five volumes. Instead, viewers can relish an
entirely new story that twists and turns as much as the original and
may also serve as a vehicle to introduce the remaining Genbu seishi.
With only three volumes to try to impact viewers like the 52 episode
series, the story wastes no time spinning into gear. Late at night,
in the library where Miaka and Yui found The Four Gods of Earth and
Sky, we see an unidentified hand reach up to the shelf and steal the
ancient tome.
After the credits roll, cut to a bullet train station. It is the
summer of the first high school year (We will later see both Miaka
and Yui in their summer high school uniforms), a few months after
the end of the series. Miaka, Tamahome, Keisuke, and Tatsuya are
going to visit the grave of Oosugi Suzuno, Byakko no Miko. They are
met by a young monk who is her nephew, and together, they decide to
also visit the grave of Okuda Takiko, Genbu no Miko. When they reach
this second grave, Tamahome suddenly starts glowing red and hears a
voice in his head. It is, in fact, the voice of Takiko, calling out
for help; she tells Tamahome that she is being erased! And before
Miaka can react, Tamahome fades away, drawn back into the Universe
of the Four Gods.
Tamahome finds himself back in Konan country. With his status as a
Suzaku seishi, he quickly gains an audience with the young emperor
who is a dead ringer for a young Hotohori. Indeed, Gyo-shi, the
young ruler, is the grandson of the prince swordsman seishi; fifty
years have passed since Miaka and Tamahome returned to the modern
world and Nakago waged his failed war against Konan. Oddly enough,
though, when an excited Gyo-shi takes Tamahome to the Suzaku shrine,
Tamahome cannot enter and is repelled by the red light of Suzaku.
Accusing Tamahome of being an impostor, Gyo-shi has him flogged and
exiled.
====================================
====================================
Meanwhile, in the modern world, Keisuke and Tatsuya are discussing
what happened with Yui. Keisuke has also learned that the book was
stolen the previous night, thereby placing Miaka and Yui in serious
danger. If the book is opened, the cycle will begin anew and all
four Mikos, including Miaka and Yui, will be erased!
And this is just the first half of the first volume. Then, volume
two comes along and, to paraphrase Douglas Adams, smashes the viewer
in the head with a lemon-wrapped gold brick. There is also that
inevitable question for anyone who has seen the volume two artwork:
Why does Tamahome's forehead glow blue with the sign of Nakago?
Like many television series, FUSHIGI YUUGI was victim to sporadic
artwork. Now in OVA format, this is no longer the case. The art team
remains the same. Without the constraints of a TV budget, character
designer, Motohashi Hideyuki, wonderfully renders attractive new
designs for our two principals, Miaka and Yui, while still
preserving the air of the original series. Miaka sports a
beautifully mature new look without losing any of her inherent
cheerful energy. Yui's changes are more dramatic, no doubt a
reflection of the trauma that she has endured, and she will likely
surprise many viewers on first look.
Obviously, those who are vehemently spoiler-averse will want to
avoid this. Furthermore, familiarity with the Seiryuu seishi from
the second half of the series is almost a necessity in order to
understand the revelations and contortions in volume two. For comic
relief and a breather from the adrenaline pace of the regular story,
each disc comes with a small SD short akin to "Nakago Shitsukari
Shinasai" from the FUSHIGI YUUGI SPECIAL. This time, the studio is
treating all the characters with a visit to an onsen, and they
comprise a deranged side story of their own as the volume two short
is a continuation of the first. Both are unspeakably hilarious,
though the first eats too much time that could have been used toward
the main storyline.
With delightful new music, both instrumental and vocal, these new
OVAs stay true to the original series. (A new soundtrack hits the
stores on 21 January and will be reviewed next issue.) Can this
story really resolve itself in the one remaining half-hour volume?
The reviewer would like to thank Udi Hoh and David Van Cleef for
their assistance on some of the Japanese translation and
explanation.
FUSHIGI YUUGI
VOLUME 1 "Otto Hishi Kizuna" (Loss of Ties)
BEAL-937 - 25 October 1996 - ¥4800
VOLUME 2 "Kanashiki Senkou" (Glitter of Sadness)
BEAL-938 - 18 Dec 1996 - ¥4800
VOLUME 3 "Wakare... Soshite" (Parting Ways... Then)
25 Feb 1997 - ¥4800
EACH VOLUME 30 MINUTES CAV LD OR VC
Copyright c Watase Yuu / Shogakukan, Bandai Visual, Studio Pierrot,
Movic
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Андрей Илюхин
--- e-mail: lyu@tula.net
* Origin: Kampai!=http://tulanime.tulacity.ru (2:5022/40.15)
-------------------------------------------------------------
Конференция: ----- (tula.ranma)
От: Andy Ilyuhin [2:5022/40.15]
Кому: Создатель [2:5022/40]
Тема: Разыскивается
Дата: 10.01.2001 0:16:51
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Привет, All!
EX28
Fushigi Yuugi OVA 2nd
- by Roderick "Agitator" Lee
Just three months since the end of the first OVA series, the
FUSHIGI YUUGI creative braintrust shifted back into gear with the
opening release of a new second OVA series, this one slated for
double the length of its predecessor, six volumes. Fans perplexed,
confused, or just plain dissatisfied with the first OVA series will
welcome the news that this second set returns to the manga timeline
of original series creator Watase Yuu.
Reader beware: Since this latest series is a continuation of both TV
and first OVA, spoilers from both will naturally pop up in this
review.
The end of the TV series, which coincides with the close of the
thirteenth manga volume, features the sudden appearance of an
unnamed character, dressed in contemporary clothing and looking very
much like Tamahome. He greets Miaka by telling her "At last, I have
found you..." and holding up his hand to reveal the ring that she
gave to Tamahome. Then, just as Tamahome promised in his letter, he
responds to her startled gaze with "Wo Ai Ni" (Chinese for "I love
you"), thereby closing both TV series and manga volume.
====================================
====================================
Although he is never named in the previous chapter, volume fourteen
of the manga picks up the story three months later, introducing the
character Sukunami Taka, with the obvious implication that he is the
same individual as in the close of the preceding volume. But, with
three months to play with, the writers of the first OVA decided to
tweak the manga continuity a bit and stake out some new territory
with a convoluted plot, in a seeming attempt to better explain
Taka's quest in the later volumes (and precisely the ones for this
second OVA series). In this modification, the unnamed character is
still Tamahome, and Taka appears in the final scene of the third
volume (again with Tamahome's ring), after the credits. The first
OVA also serves to introduce the demonic Tenkou, the chief
antagonist of this latter storyline.
Despite all these machinations, though, the second OVA still assumes
that viewers are familiar enough with the manga to know who Taka is.
Following an opening sequence which recaps the first OVA scene of
Yui calling upon Genbu's power to seal Tenkou, we shift back to the
real world where a late Miaka rushes out the door (stuffing her face
along the way, of course) to meet Taka before school. But who is he?
Taka is a real person (as opposed to a character from The Four Gods
of Earth and Sky) who has vague memories of an alternate world in
which he was one of seven protectors for a young woman he fell in
love with. Although he does not remember much about that world, he
does know that he loves Miaka and has lived his life waiting for the
day when he finally meets her. He is the human reincarnation of
Tamahome, though neither he nor Miaka knows that yet.
Before Miaka awakens for the day, though, Suzaku appears briefly to
her, calling for "Suzaku no Miko" to summon him and give him power.
The seal that Yui placed on Tenkou has a physical manifestation and
Suzaku's physical section of the seal is crumbling (reason unknown,
but this actually happened historically). Tenkou has taken
advantage of Suzaku's weakness by sending his minions into the real
world; they can then attempt to free him by taking Suzaku's power.
Suzaku, in turn, calls upon the power in his Miko for assistance.
At Yotsubadai High School, all of the student body is abuzz about
the new student, Shigyou Ren, a handsome young man with a
disconcertingly sinister air about him. Miaka and Taka are tricked
into meeting on the roof. Just as they realize that something is not
quite right, Suzaku calls Miaka again, asking her to hold The Four
Gods of Earth and Sky (a.k.a. Shichi Tenshishou) again and summon
him. Taka senses something is wrong, but before either one of them
can react, a group of students, Ren's followers, confront them. They
try to escape, but one of the students catches Miaka and throws her
off the building. Taka, in a vain attempt to save her, leaps after
her, but it is Miaka who saves the both of them when Suzaku calls
upon her again: "Miko. Summon me. Summon the Shichi Tenshishou." In
a flash, she wills herself back to the Universe of the Four Gods.
Meanwhile, a beautiful young woman, Miiru, also with that same
sinister air, ingratiates herself into the presence of Keisuke and
Tetsuya, possibly with an eye on seducing Miaka's brother. An irate
Yui, thinking Miaka has ditched her for a date with Taka, soon
notices the red glow and the scroll of the Shichi Tenshishou. Back
in the Universe, Miaka and a bewildered Taka quickly meet up with
Tasuki and Chichiri. Chichiri prompts Tasuki to hand Taka a small
stone he has been carrying for the past two years.
This takes the story back to the close of the first OVA, with the
scene of the memory balls. Tamahome's memories were divided and
sealed in seven memory globes, and Taka must find them to regain
both Tamahome's memory and his powers as a Suzaku shichisei. The
stone that Tasuki has been carrying is his memory globe, and viewers
are treated to some wonderful flashbacks of Tamahome with Tasuki as
these memories are returned to Taka. Chichiri's globe is at Mt.
Taikyoku, and shortly after they arrive there, the spirits of
Hotohori, Nuriko, Mitsukake and Chiriko materialize. Then,
Taiitsu-kun appears and, after Taka receives Chichiri's memories,
explains that an evil force is preventing the other four shichisei
from being reborn.
In the real world, Ren is consolidating power by running for student
body president. The threat this poses is immediate and severe; not
even Taiitsu-kun's refuge at Mt. Taikyoku is safe as the earth
quakes and the mountain crumbles. Chichiri quickly teleports
everyone to the imperial palace at Konankoku as the second volume
begins.
After a somewhat disappointing first foray into OVA-land, can this
second attempt do better? The first volume fails to provide adequate
exposition for Taka and never manages to reach a smooth pace in
unfolding the plot. Perhaps this is why the second volume's release
was delayed two months. In which case, the creators should be
congratulated on their decision, because the second volume is a
marked improvement over the first.
Having found the first two globes, the four companions must now seek
the globes of the deceased shichisei. As the second volume is set in
the imperial palace, it should come as no surprise that the story is
dedicated to Hotohori, his young widow Houki, and the son he never
knew, Boushin. The pacing and dramatic tension are more in tune with
the past FUSHIGI YUUGI storylines, and if the second volume is any
indication, this should prove to be a great close to the series.
Naturally, the fact that the writers are this time constrained by
Watase Yuu's own vision helps immensely.
The third volume, which ships on 18 December, is slated to focus on
Nuriko and Kourin, and if these two volumes are any indicator of the
direction this second OVA will take, it appears that one volume will
be dedicated to each of the remaining shichisei, their backgrounds,
and the futures of the lives they touched. That would leave the
final volume for the climactic battle against Tenkou.
Somewhat unusual is the fact that, unlike most TV-OVA crossovers,
FUSHIGI YUUGI managed to keep its entire creative production team
intact; this despite the outside continuity of the first OVA.
Character designer Motohashi Hideyuki is still on board, and Miaka's
and Yui's designs have not skipped a beat since the first OVA. Taka
is both similar and different enough from Tamahome to draw the
necessary parallels while retaining his own identity. Ren is
devilishly handsome while Miiru is enticingly beautiful. The very
versatile Amano Yuri does alluring quite well, while Ishida Akira's
Ren is like an evil version of Tsuchiya Kei (from MARMALADE BOY).
The musical scores continue to envelop the viewer, and Sato Akemi
returns to sing "Star," the latest OP. As in the first series, each
volume includes a brief omake short. This time, the omake shorts,
titled "Fushigi Akugi," are various outtake scenes. For example, in
the omake version, when Miaka is hurled off the roof, Taka's sudden
burst of acrophobia prevents him from leaping to save her, and she
splats on the ground below.
Consider the fact that only the first OVA diverges from the original
manga story. Add in the overall rushed perception of the short
three-volume series. Now, some suspicious minds might conclude that
this second series was always in the planning stages, and that the
first series was hastily planned together to gauge market interest
and to placate fans while the "real" follow-up endured production
delays. The fact that the second volume of the second series was
delayed makes this hypothesis not entirely far-fetched.
The first volume suffered from many of the pacing problems that made
the first series such a whirlwind ride. Now that the series has come
into its own in the second volume, it looks very promising. Never
one to advocate spoilers, newcomers should steer clear of this (but
then again, newcomers should not have read this far); there are just
far too many elements to diminish the first-time experience of
viewing the TV series. However, long time fans should be pleased,
and they are, after all, who this series is targeted for.
FUSHIGI YUUGI 2ND OVA
c Watase Yuu/Shogakukan, TV Tokyo, Studio Pierrot
c 1997 Watase Yuu/Shogakukan, Bandai Visual, Sudio
Pierrot, Movic
Volume 1 "Kowaku no Taidou" (Seductive Trouble-Making),
BEAL-1011
May 1997, ?4800
Volume 2 "Chinmoku no Warabe" (Silent Child), BEAL-1012
September 1997, ?4800
Volume 3 "Tensei no Hatsuro" (Reincarnation's
Manifestation), BEAL-1013
December 1997, ?4800
Each volume 30 minute CAV LD or VC
Андрей Илюхин
--- e-mail: lyu@tula.net
* Origin: Kampai!=http://tulanime.tulacity.ru (2:5022/40.15)