Kimi no Iru Machi - the end of a manga

As of this week the final issue of the long spanning romance series, Kimi no Iru Machi comes to its conclusion.  The manga has been running for about five and a half years.  I picked it up in 2009, read it for a bit, put it down and didn't get back into it until 2013.  The manga was created of Kouji Seo, who also authored Suzuka.

    The story follows about 10 years in the ups and downs in the love life between Haruto Kirishima and Yuzuki Eba.  You can get a full-ish review of the series here Kimi no Iru Machi revisit where I go through a more in depth plot synopsis and my thoughts on the series.  This will be a bit of a wrap on that review.

    The series ended the way most of the fans anticipated and hoped for.  I ended up falling into a group of readers who would have favored the main character to end up with a different girl, but this was the forgone conclusion to the story.  This is a pretty banal and trite high school romance that turns into a semi entertaining one then back into a boring and played out college romance and merges into more of the same as the characters enter the job market.  Honestly, the last 100 chapters in the series could have been left out...and the ending really did seem phoned in.  But who knows, Seo has been busy developing his next new title, which kicked off immediately following the end of KNIM, called Fuuka.  Fuuka sticks in the same world as Suzuka and KNIM and features the daughter of the main characters from Suzuka.  Only one chapter is out and I find myself annoyed with the frequent fan service panty shots.  But that apparently it to be expected with Seo's work...much to my chagrin.  One would think this known manga-ka could get beyond cheap sales gimmicks?

    I digress.  KNIM wasn't that bad, it should have ended much sooner than it did.  I'm glad it's finally over and Fuuka may be decent...or not.  KNIM does officially end with an OAV to be released at the end of February 2014 wrapping up the series.   Regardless, Suzuka was a much better story.  Although, this below was the best part of the manga and the anime.

Kyousogiga

Kyousogiga is a 10 episode comedic fantasy action series that originated with a few online episodes.  The series, an original creation by the staff of Toei Animation, was picked up and aired on Japanese TV in the fall of 2013.

    Long ago a lone priest named Myoue had the ability to make drawings come to life.  This ability caused him to be shunned in Kyoto so he moved to the mountains to live his life in peace.  One of his creations, a black rabbit names Koto, fell in love with him and struck a deal with a buddha in order to have a physical body to make Myoue fall in love with her.  Eventually she wins over his heart and they adopt an orphan as their son.  Myoue also creates a brother and a sister for the boy.  Soon though they decide to move from the world and live in a city created by the priest, The Mirror Capitol, where nothing can be destroyed or die.  Their happiness doesn't last as Koto remembers that she has to return her body to the buddha she borrowed it from.  She and Myoue leave the city and their children.   Centuries later, the city and the children have grown and all three are awaiting the return of their parents.  Life comes to an abrupt change when a mischievous young girl named Koto arrives with a magical hammer.  She begins destroying their paradise/prison which confuses them as nothing can be lost in the city.  Her arrival appears to signal a change and possibly an end for everyone.

    This is a pretty entertaining series.  It’s really great to find something original and fun like this.  It brings a glimmer of hope back to the landscape of anime.  The story is fun, the characters are pretty memorable and the ending does not disappoint.  I really can’t find much wrong with it.  There were things in the series that reminded me of other anime.  Most particularly some of the character designs reminded me of something out of Tenchi Muyo.  It also reminded me a lot of FLCL.  The real story takes place over 10 episodes; there is 1 episode that is outside of the main story, 1 review episode and 1 live action episode where the voice cast tours Kyoto.  The series deals in some pretty heavy Buddhist imagery, only some of which I understood.  The real theme of the story is about finding ones place in the world.  Fans of FLCL, Samurai Champloo and Tenchi Muyo can easily enjoy this quick series.

    It is available on Crunchyroll and there is no word yet on anyone picking it up in North America for DVD release.

Top 5 OAV's

Given the lack of OAV's outside of the 90's that I have consumed this one was really hard to do.



#5: Here is Greenwood

    Kazuya has enrolled in an eclusive private high school and will be living in the dorm to escape his newly wed brother.  His hope of a normal high school career are flushed down the toilet when the dorm he moves into is populated by the schools oddest characters, including a cross dressing roommate.

    This 6 episode OAV has always had a special place in my heart. The art is horrible but the story is funny and touching in the end.  I don't really have an explanation as to why i have always liked this show, I just have.  I even when so far as to get off that Yamanote in Uguisadani to proof to myself that it really does exist...taking photos to remind myself of that.  This is just a really fun and goofy comedy from a manga of the 80's.  I own it on VHS and DVD and watch it once every few years for a good time.

#4: Photon

    Keyne crashes her spaceship on a far flung planet, escaping a deranged prince who is after he grandfathers secrets to unlimited energy.  She is awoken from stasis by a boy named Photon and has to become his husband due to them both having the same 'mark' on their forehead.  Photon is after a girl from his village who ran off with money from the village chief to live with a traveling minstrel.  Photons incredible latent strength makes him Keynes best protection from the crazed prince as the trail for the missing girl leads them into his hands.

    This 6 episode OAV is from the original creators of Tenchi Muyo and it shows in every way.  The character design, the story lines, the humor and the sexuality.  This takes the best parts of Tenchi and presents them in a trimmed down story and character list making it superior to the harem titles in almost every way.  Photons idiotic demeanor makes him a great unlikely hero.  Keyne is both sexy and funny and the small cast of misfit supporting characters are excellent as well.  You will laugh a lot with this one.  The story wraps up very nicely in the end and you go away with a good feeling.
    

#3: Project A-Ko


     An alien ship crashes on Earth, leaving no survivors and a ton of technology for mankind to pillage.  16 years later another alien ship arrives looking for their lost princess a girl named C-Ko.  Her best friend A-Ko must fight the transgender aliens bent on kidnapping her and a 'love' rival B-Ko.

    This was my introduction to the rich world of satirical anime.   From pop culture, action films and damn near everything in anime and manga at the time, nothing is sacred to this entertaining romp.  While originally presented as a hentai film, they trimmed the sexuality down to a minimum and concentrated more on action and comedy...of which we should all be grateful of.  This is a legendary anime which everyone should watch.  I need to get around to buying this on DVD so I can retire the VHS copy.  There are 3 other OAV's that followed but the original is still the best out of the lot.  Ignore the 2 follow up re-tooling known as Blue vs Gray.

#2: Read or Die 

    Yomiko is a mousy bookworm who is known by her special agent code name The Paper.  She works for an elite British intelligence agency.  While she is unassuming and quit meek she has the ability to control anything made of paper and change its properties at will.  She is brought in to investigate and recover a unique book that could spell the end of the world.

    This is a really fun and fantastic comedic action romp.  The 3 OAV set makes you want more, but unfortunately the answer was a less then stellar TV series...ignore the TV series.  But the OAV is fantastic.  it is fun, witty and engaging.  It has been a long time since I watched this series...I may need to address that very soon.

#1: Macross Zero

    Shortly after the alien space craft crashed into Earth but before the SDF-1 is completed we have the two opposing factions on Earth fighting over control of the alien technology.  UN pilot Shin crashes on a remote Pacific island in a dog fight and has to try and protect the native inhabitants while discovering the secrets the island may hold.

    This is the BEST story line to come out of ANYTHING related to Macross/Robotech.  Sadly, it will NEVER be licensed in North America because Harmony Gold sucks.  Unlike the other series there is no pop idol worship getting in the way of the excellent dog fight sequences and the tales of xenophobia and acceptance of change.  The artwork is beautiful, the CG is outdated these days but the music is fantastic in this series.  At just 5 episodes the story isn't bloated and finishes well.  Macross Plus could be worthy of an honorable mention in this list, but Zero is very outstanding all around.

Mokuyobi Post: Spriggan

Spriggan is a full length theatrical action movie that came out in Japan in 1998.  The movie is taken from the manga of the same name by Hiroshi Takashige and Ryoji Minagawa.

    Spriggans are special operatives for a secret organization that searches the world for ancient artifacts.  Yuu Ominae, one of the top operatives, is sent to Turkey to help in the excavation of what may be Noah's Ark.  A black ops division of the American government is also keen on securing the artifact and when they decide to assault the operation the Spriggans must use all of their abilities to fight off these deadly, enhanced attackers.

    At the time this was a good looking anime, fast paced, great action sequences...but these days its dated like an 80's Charles Bronson film.  This is a pure action vehicle with really no deep story or meaning behind it.  You watch this for an hour and a half of crazy action sequences and inhuman survivability.  With that said, its a fun movie.  It would be nice to see this franchise revisited with modern animation techniques.  There's enough material there to make a decent 1 season TV series too.  Lets get a nice adult action series in the works that isn't full of moe crap!

    The DVD has been available in North America for a little over a decade.  While there is no substance to this movie, its still fun.  Pick it up and enjoy some explosions NOT brought to you by Michael Bay.  Nothing says love like a belt-fed machine gun.

Top 5 Anime TV Series'

Given that the top 5 movies was easy to do, i felt i should do top 5 TV series.  This was a bit harder to narrow down and even harder to put in any sort of order.  But for better or worse this may be the best top 5 I can muster for the TV shows.

#5: Neon Genesis Evangelion

     14 Years after the world suffers a dramatic disaster Shinji finds himself returning to the care of his father in Tokyo 3.  Much to his displeasure his father is forcing him to pilot a new mech designed to protect the Earth from a recurrence of the disaster.

    This is one of the most pivotal anime.  It changed the landscape of TV anime in Japan.  It can be argued that such titles as Serial Experiments Lain, Gantz or Elfen Lied may not have been possible on TV without Eva.  Initially I was not a fan of the series, falling asleep during the first 2 episodes and lost interest.  It wasn't until the first 10 episodes were available that I picked it up again and got into it.  When the story drastically shifts half way through I was hooked and foaming at the mouth waiting for ADV to release the next two episodes every month.  Unlike a lot of people I liked the way the TV series ended but enjoy the theatrical ending as well.  This one, I feel, everyone should watch that is into anime.  Thankfully with the redone theatrical movies coming out, it doesn't seem to be leaving the pop landscape anytime soon.  It's been a number of years since I have watched this series, I may need to fire up the VHS.  We really need a new series to come out and shake up the landscape in Japan to break it out of the rut it has been in for a number of years now.

#4: Denno Coil

    Yuko moves to a new city with her family, which is the first in the nation to implement a region wide AR network.  Yuko along with her new friends exploit the network for fun and games only to discover some hidden secrets in portions that shouldn't exist.

    I always describe this series as what it would look like if Miyazaki made a cyber punk story.  Not only does it deal realistically with a world we are soon to be living in, it has compelling characters and an interesting plot.  This is one of the few series I have ever watched where I did not experience fatigue half way through its run.  It was solid for all 26 episodes and offers a number of things; sci-fi, comedy, action, mystery, slice of life.  Its got something for everyone.  Unfortunately, it was never licensed in North America but can be legally purchased with English subtitles via iTunes.

 

#3: Death Note

    Top student Yagami Light recieves a suspicious notebook that claims to allow its user to arbitrarily kill anyone they chose.  When it proves to be real Yagami decides it is his duty to rid the world of evil.  Once the murders he enacts are linked together the worlds best detective, L, is brought in to find out who he is.  It is now a race between two of the smartest people on the planet, one trying to clean up the world and the other trying to bring justice to it.

    I read the manga before the TV series was made and greatly enjoyed both.  While there are some changes in the second half, this anime closely follows the manga which is one of the most riveting stories I have read.  You can't put it down, you have to find out what is going to happen next as the plot escalates.  Fandom attached to this series aside, it is well written and highly enjoyable.  Unfortunately, once you know whats going to happen it does become less watchable a 2nd or 3rd time.  Code Geass tried to match Death Notes intrigue and long game planning but wasn't able to come close.

#2: His and Her Circumstance

    Yukino was the most loved, most admired, top student of her grade until high school when she is outdone by Souichiro.  When her one-sided rivalry turns into affection the top students of their grade start dating.  Beyond their prowess in school they also share a sense of alienation and self rejection.  Together they strive to be better people internally and externally while sharing themselves with someone else for the first time.

    This is the perfect romance anime in my mind.  On top of being a well done romance the deep social and psychological threads the story weaves make it a very powerful look at what its like to be a confused teenager, trying to come to terms with what the end of childhood and beginning of adulthood really mean.  Being a fan of Hideaki Anno and his interesting directing style made it even better for me.  While the manga has greater depth and carries the story beyond the anime, this 26 episode series presents a great package.

#1: Azumanga Daioh
   
    10 year old child prodigy Chiyo enrolls in high school to finish her primary education.  She is adopted into a small group of female friends who share their off the wall adventures in adolecense with her.

    This is such an enjoyable and fun series.  I could watch it over and over again.  The anime does great justice to the manga, even though Kiyohiko Azuma didn't feel that way and refuses to allow his current manga, Yotsuba&! to me animated.  While I have been more hysterical in part of other anime comedies, this one is solid through out its 26 episode run.  The hardest part was saying good bye to all of these lovable characters.

Squid Girl

Squid Girl is a slice of life fantasy comedy series.  The original 12 episode series aired in the fall of 2010 with the follow up second series of 12 episodes airing in the fall of 2011.  The series is based on the manga Shinryaku! Ika Musume (Invader! Squid Girl).

    The title character is a human shapped squid who has decided to invade the surface to stop mankind from destroying the world oceans.  She begins her attack by attempting to turn a beach restaurant into her base of opperations.  Unfortunatly for here the kids who run it aren't going to roll over for her.  Instead they use Squid Girls stupidity against her and make her work for them to repair damage done during her attack.  Instead of being man kinds throne she finds herself an adopted oddity of the Aizawa family.  Can she regain her pride and enact her plans for domination?

    This is essentially a rip off of Keroro Gunso.  Instead of being an army of alien invaders its a lone sea borne oddity.  Squid Girl doesn't have any nifty inventions to help her cause havoc, just her misplaced ideals and super powered tentacles.  She even employes quirky placed 'ika' (squid) in her speech to make her endearing.  Instead of being obsessed with Gundam models her weakness is shrimp.  Unlike Keroro, Squid Girls existence is not hidden from the general populace.  Unless she goes wild with her tentacles the average person assumes she's a quirky girl.  Like Keroro though there is no over arching plot line to the story.  The episodes are split between 2 vignettes of which characters come and go.  Between the MIT UFO researchers, a lolita obsessed school girl, buff life guards, a rival restaurant owner and the Aizawa family who adopted her, Squid Girl has little time to focus on her invasion plans.

    Its OK.  Nothing new, but it can be pretty funny at times.  Especially the older sister, Chizuru Aizawa, who holds mysterious hidden powers, of which everyone treads lightly.  To their benefit, unlike Keroro, it knew when not to push the limits of exhaustion and ended after 24 episodes.  So, you can find entertainment in this run of the mill innocuous comedy but don't expect anything great or new.

    The series is available in North America via streaming and on DVD.

Otaku Networks Top 5 Anime Movies

In an effort to get a post in, I decided to list my top 5 favorite anime movies of all time.  Not coincidentally these mostly ended up being #1 movie on the list until the one higher than it came along.

#5: Akira

    In a future Tokyo, ravaged by crime and a costly war, street gangs rule the abandoned streets.  In a fight between a rival gang young Tetsuo is injured and taken to a military hospital where he is experimented on for the potential of having psychic powers.  His friend Kaneda has to fight to save him from the government and himself.

    My baptism to anime as anime, as is true with most people in my generation (second wave) of anime fans.  I have seriously watched this movie over 200 times.  In many ways this is also the worlds introduction to the idea of 'anime', cartoons that can transcend the idea of only being for children.  A medium that can be used to tell mature stories that large groups of people can relate to.  Katsuhiro Otomo's crowning masterpiece is 25 years old now and is still an amazing piece of cinema.  Everyone who watches anime must indeed watch this film.  The film was brought out before the manga was completed so there are some discrepancies between both articles.  Drugs also play a large role in the manga which was mostly absent from the anime.  I would have loved to have seen the way the manga ended in the movie.

#4: X
   
    Kamui returns to Tokyo driven by an uncontrollable force.  Upon his arrival he becomes intertwined in a battle between two opposing forces who will decide the fate of the world.  Kamui is the lynchpin between both groups in determine the winner.  While he initially refuses to participate his childhood friends are unwitting dragged into the conflict, forcing him to play his hand.

    CLAMP's full length feature debut was kicked out before the manga was finished and ended up being a far better telling of the story.  The ladies tale of fate, childhood friendship/love and destiny was bloated in both the manga and the TV show.  The movie was lean, perhaps leaving a few items out that would have made it more understood to casual viewers, but ended darkly.  I have a soft spot for stories that end unhappy and this is a great one.  Neon Genesis Evangelion followed a similar route with how its original theatrical conclusion played out but X was my first exposure to the Japanese obsession with hugging dead friends heads.  Unfortunately for the dated technology and CLAMP's annoying design style, this movie looks bad these days.  But the story and the sense of dread can still be greatly enjoyed.

#3: Tenchi Forever: The Movie / Tenchi Muyo In Love 2

    Tenchi becomes entranced by a mysterious woman who was his grandfathers lover.  Ryoko and Achika work to find him in an alternate world and return him to the real world before he is lost in a land of dreams.

    One of the original harem romance titles turns moody and mature with this final theatrical release.  The art style is softer compared to the other titles in this franchise and the story focuses on a tale of lost love turned to a dangerous illusion.  While this presents the third time rewriting how Tenchi's grandfather arrives on Earth it provides the backdrop and plot for this tale of mistaken identity and forced love.  I also feel this movie answers the main question of the series; who will Tenchi choose to love above all others?

#2: 5cm per Second

     Lone transfer student Takaki can only relate with a girl in his class who also moves from city to city.  When she moves away he can't give up on her and continues to remain in contact.  When he finds out he will be moving to the other end of Japan he does everything he can to see her in person.  Once he moves he loses contact with the only person he has ever had any sort of feelings for and tries to live life with this amazing sense of loss.

    The second theatrical release for Makoto Shinkai brings a sense of melancholy seldom expressed on film.  This is an incredibly beautiful and heart breaking movie about lost love and failed dreams.  This dream like film is exquisitely drawn, with amazingly detailed landscapes.  The story doesn't carry much in the way of dialog, with much of the emotion left to the scenery and score.  This is hands down the best anime movie I have ever seen.  Shinkai is one of my favorite directors, but I can't put this one at the top because I can't see myself  watching this haunting and depressing movie over and over again.

#1: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

   High school student Makoto one day gains the ability travel time, of which she does with reckless abandon.  When her fun and antics start to affect people around her she tries to fix the problems with more time travel only to make matters worse.  As everything culminates into tragedy she doesn't know if she will be able to undo the damage she has done.

    This is top on my list for a few reasons, even though I consider 5cm per Second a better film.  It hits a number of my favorite subjects in one blow; comedy, romance, slice of life and time travel.  I really love a well done time travel story and this one does it very well.  Makoto is a bit of an idiot and she never plans to do more than have a good time and undo some simple mistakes with her ability.  She doesn't want to change the world, she wants to sing karaoke longer and eat her pudding before her sister can steal it.  Usually time travel comes with world shaking goals and consequences.  This different approach to the subject is greatly welcome.  While it is mostly fun and games there are some incredibly serious and emotional portions of this movie.  I won't lie, certain parts of the film choke me up.  I like movies that can do that to me.  This was the first theatrical director debut (not tied to a franchise) for another of my favorite directors, Mamoru Hosoda.  His other movies, Wolf Children and Summer Wars are excellent films as well, but this one is my favorite by him.  Not only is it #1 on my anime film list, its in the top 5 for films in general.  I really love this movie and watch it every few months.

Gokujo Seitokai

Gokujo Seitokai (Best Student Council) is a 26 episode slice of life school comedy.  The series is based on a manga of the same name and was spun off into a dating sim game for the PS2.

    Miyagami Academy is an exclusive all girls high school.  The student council is the top authority of the school, surpassing the abilities of the schools staff.  The head of the council is the schools founder, Kanade Jinguji.  Hapless orphan Rino Rando has been enrolled into Miyagami Academy by a mysterious benefactor, Mr. Poppit.  Along with her intelligent talking puppet, Pucchan, she heads off to attend the school.  Upon arriving in the town she finds the apartment she was going to be living in burned to the ground and no were else to live.  When her plight is discovered a series of events are put in place to make her a new member of the student council.  The student council members all live in a dorm, rent and food free.  The golden opportunity can’t be passed up for the lost and broke Kanade.  But when she actually gets into the ranks of the esteemed inner circle things aren't as they seem with this powerful group of students.

    At first I was not interested in this series, it seemed pretty banal and boring.  I kept watching it because in some way it reminded me of Ranma ½.  But about half way through it started to grab on to me and ended up being a half way decent series.  The series goes its course and slowly explains the histories of the student council members and what events brought them to join the school.  As the story progresses hints are dropped at the secrets surrounding Rino, the school and its founder Kanade.  While it takes about half of the series that actually start becoming interesting the best part is the lack of fanservice.  There was plenty of opportunity for it and thankfully there really wasn’t any.  This is just a straightforward slice of life comedy about some loveable characters, with little bits of action and drama thrown in and some secrets to reveal along the way.  I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and was glad I watched the entire thing.  Even though I was half tempted to purge it I kept watching it and it ended up somewhat paying off.  If you enjoy nice, saccharine laden high school slice of life stories this is a perfect match for your collection.  It doesn’t get too serious, there is no obnoxious fan service and all the characters are likeable to some degree.

    The series was released in North America on DVD by ADV…so I’m not sure if it’s still in print, but I don’t think it would be too hard to find.  It apparently is streaming too, but I didn’t find it on Crunchyroll, so that information may be outdated.

Jungle wa Itsumo Hale nochi Guu OAVs

Jungle wa Itsumo Hale nochi Guu Delux and Jungle wa Itsumo Hale nochi Guu Final are the OAV conclusions to the TV series.  Deluxe, containing 6 episodes and a short special, was released in 2002.  Final containing 7 episodes was released in 2003.

     Deluxe picks up after the end of the TV series and we find Hale, Guu and Weda living in the jungle again.  Things don’t go as planned for Hale as a substitute teacher with anger issues moves to the village and Weda is pregnant.  The 6^th episode of Delux makes fun of every Shonen Adventure series ever made and ever will be made.  The special is a recap of half of the TV series.

    Final picks up after Deluxe and we find Hale, Guu and Weda returning to the city with Hales brother Ame.  Hale has to adjust with life outside of the jungle as well as continuing to put up with Guu's antics.  They once again return to the jungle where they really belong and have to tie up loose ends with the most obsessive members of the village.

    It was fun to watch more insanity but it seemed to just drag on with no real development.  Nothing has really changed in the action or animation between the TV episodes and the OAV.  The story keeps going, with its ups and downs of being entertaining.  The 6^th episode of Deluxe was annoying but excellent at the same time.  Final really gears up the satire, the 5th one entirely spoofs Final Fantasy.  After a while though i really got bored with many of the antics and story lines of the show.  But, if you enjoyed the TV series you can enjoy the OAV's as well.  I really wish there was some sort of overall point to this title...but just sit back and wait for the crazy.  Guu's origins and purpose never get explained and with the final episode it seems like the series could just keep going.  In a way it's good it didn't.  One oddity in Final was how Ame's appearance kept changing...one some episodes he would have a full head of hair, in others he wouldn't.  I wonder if there was something intentional behind that...

    Deluxe has been licensed in North America and is available on DVD.  But, Final is not...and doesn't seem to ever be at this point.  Perhaps the fatigue I experienced was shared by enough people to not want to finish the series up in this part of the world.

   

Mokuyobi Post - Battle Angel

Battle Angle is a 2 part OVA based on the manga Battle Angel Alita or Gunnm in Japan.

    Far in the future earth is a barren waste of degredation and misery.  Some humans; affluent and powerful, have left the surface of the planet to live in the utopian city in the sky, Salem.  Dr. Ido is a cybernetic doctor who had once lived in the skycity, one day while digging through a trash heap he comes across a delicate android body.  Using his expertise he is able to bring the female cyborg Gally back online and adopts her as his daughter.  Gally befriends a street kid named Hugo who runs errands for the cities more shady elements.  In a last ditch effort to escape his life of misery and short time span, Hugo concocts a plan to sneak into Salem.  Gally, emotionally attached to Hugo decides to help him realize his impossible dream.  But the pathway to the city is dangerous and the reality of the utopia is not what it seems.

    This is one of the classics of the anime titles from the 90's.  Yet, its a far cry from the manga and really is a bit disappointing.  The animation is dated, a number of odd changes were made in the anime and it really doesn't get into the meat of the story, Gally (Alita) being a powerful combat cyborg from a previous war.  Honestly, you can really just skip this, but as its under an hour in length you won't waste too much of your life watching it.  Instead pick up the manga and enjoy this interesting post-apocalyptic story.

    The OAVs have been available in North America for a long time.  A quick check on Amazon though shows it going for a hefty collectors price, so it may not be worth the money.

Jungle wa Itsumo Hale nochi Guu

Jungle wa Itsumo Hale nochi Guu (The Jungle was always nice/sunny/Hale and then Guu) or Hale + Guu is a 26 episode comedic anime that aired in Japan in 2001 and is based on the manga of the same name,

    Hale is a 10 year old boy with a lot of problems.  His irresponsible lush of a mom doesn’t let him play all the video games he wants.  His teacher is narcoleptic.  His classmates are a rag tag cast of weirdo’s and the chief of his jungle village is in love with his own chest hair.  If he thought his live was hard previously, when his mom adopts a mysterious girl named Guu his world gets turned upside down.  The fact that Guu can swallow things whole and has them live inside of her is only the start of what’s wrong with her.  Her appearance in the village is only the start of real trouble in Hale’s life.  Soon more weirdo’s arrive, causing him to live on the verge of a mental breakdown.  Can he figure out what Guu is and why she showed up?  Can he also figure out why all these people that are somehow connected with he and his mothers past keep showing up in the once peaceful village?

    This is a pretty funny and off the wall series.  It’s unfortunately from a really bad period in anime production so the animation is sub-par.  The comedy is spot on though, with plenty of sight gags and insane monologues.  Though, about half way through it starts to lag quite a bit and I was starting to lose interest.  I knew there was some sort of over arching plot and it just seemed to flounder around uselessly for a while not really going anywhere plot wise.  That got taken care of in the last 7 episodes and the series ends on a cliff.  So that can be a bit annoying as well.  They did however make up for that by releasing two OAV series to continue the story of these crazy jungle dwellers.  This is a good comedy though, even with its faults.  If you are a fan of break neck speed comedies like Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei this one will be right up your alley.

    The series and the first OAV set are licensed in North America and are available on DVD from Funimation.  There must have been little interest as the second and final OAV set does not appear to have been licensed…shame.