Koketsu Anime

Currently taking requests for anime to do guides for (I have mostly older (mid/late 80's~early/mid 90's) stuff. Please email me with suggestions or put them in the Guestbook on the main page. Thanks!

NEW! Record of Lodoss War Episode Guide (Started 20 July 1998; currently on hiatus)
NEW! Record of Lodoss War Overview (16 June 1998)
*NEW!*Bubblegum Crisis Overview and Episode Guide (16 June 1998)

[Top] | [Anime Links] | [Bubblegum Crisis] | [Episode guides]

[Record of Lodoss War] Record of Lodoss War/series outline [subtitled version]; thirteen episodes, :25 minutes each; OAV series

Record of Lodoss War is an excellent adventure/fantasy tale inspired by RPGs such as Dungeons and Dragons; and indeed, my best description of it would be "Take a really great D&D campaign and animate it". It numbers among a select few series that can truly be called "classics" of animation. To the best of my understanding, the history of the series goes something like this:

A group of Japanese fans heard about the grand-daddy of all pen-and-paper RPG's, Dungeons and Dragons, back in the 1970's and enjoyed it very much. However, there were no Japanese-language RPGs then, and they were getting tired of stopping to translate the instructions into Japanese every five minutes.
They then decided to make a Japanese pen-and-paperRPG of their own, and they called it Record of Lodoss War.
Eventually, the RPG became popular and spawned a series of novels, of which there were well over a dozen at last count.
Someone thought, "Hey, this stuff would make for a killer anime..."
So, they took the fifth book of the series, went to [??] with their idea, and turned half of that book into what is now the epic OAV series Record of Lodoss War.

The time period and setting are akin to that of standard D&D campaigns: an accursed island, Lodoss, in medaeval times. Magic is very much a part of this world, with elves, dwarves, and wizards to be found...if one knows where to look. The island's nations are in the midst of a war which threatens the very existence of island itself, with the "good guys" allied with the powerful kingdon of Vallis, led by King Kashue [Fahn??; and the "bad guys" of the dark isle of Marmo, ruled by the power-hungry Emperor Beld [??], who have already decimated much of Lodoss. While the external context is within the setting of this great conflict, the story itself focuses much more upon a band of good guys trying to stop an even greater evil from destroying both of their lands...[basically, just because it can...yes, I know this sounds stereotypical, but trust me, If you like RPGs at all, you'll love this story]...

[names based upon commercial sub and an old fan-sub, I put [my] preferred name first]
» Pan/Parn: The young, brash, inexperienced son of a disgraced paladin of Vallis, he seeks to regain his family's honor...presumably by getting himself killed, as he's just a *weee* bit to anxious to fight, rather then think, at times...he wants to prove himself worthy, to the kingdom, to his friends, and to himself. As time goes on, he matures into a strong, courageous young swordsman who has the potential to be a worthy knight...

» Diedrit/Died/Deedlit: A female Elf who can handle a rapier quite well and wields the powers of elemental summoning. She is [apparently] several centuries old, though she appears to be about Pan's age. She is one of the only restraining factors upon him...and it doesn't hurt that she could wipe the floor with him if they ever fought...Deid serves also as the voice of experience, a counter to Pan's youthful aggressiveness...and you know what they say about opposites attracting...Her magic gets Pan and his crew out of jams on more than one occasion; she is very in tune with nature, and despises Dark Elves...she tolerates dwarves, whom she considers to be slow and coarse...Just picture the Elf from the D&D arcade games and you have a pretty good idea of what to expect...

» Ghim/Gim : A old Dwarf with one helluva mean axe...he's at least as old as Deidlit, if not older, and also serves as a restraining force upon young Pan...He is the one who teaches the young man how to fight, more often than not by simply sitting down and provoking Pan into not giving up...While he does have his quirks...such as his distaste for elves of any kind...you just gotta love anyone who charges and dragon head on...and wins...

» Slayne : A wizard who once acted as an advisor in Pan's hometown, he has see much of the world, and is somewhat the worse for wear...he is physically somewhat weak, but possesses a useful arsenal of spells...

» Eto : A cleric-in-training and priest of Fallis, Eto has the power to turn undead [natch] and is an excellent healer...While I'm still not sure if Eto is supposed to be a guy or a girl, due to those heavy robes he wears, Eto is a very handy one to have around.

» Woodchuck/Wood : An agile thief with a one track mind and deadly throwing accuracy...Pan and co. meet up with him in Alania in the first major leg of their journey.

» Other characters: [to come]
» Ep guide to come

[Record of Lodoss War episode guide]

[Top] | [Anime Links] | [Record of Lodoss War]

[Sylia Stingray] Bubblegum Crisis: Knight Sabers 2032 / Series Outline [subtitled version]; eight episodes, varying lengths [:25~:50 min]; OAV series [made for direct release to video w/high-quality animation]

Bubblegum Crisis is the story of four women's battle against the corrupt Genom Corporation and its cybernetic creations, the Boomers. BGC is a cyberpunk classic set in a future Tokyo City, now renamed Megatokyo, which has been rebuilt since the coming of a devastating earthquake, largely thanks to the aid of Genom. However, its Boomers serve as combat aids to Genom just as often as they do domestic ones; even though the manufacture of combat models has been illegal for many years, Genom continues to produce them, both for the profit they offer as wepons for sale, as well as for their usefulness in more blatantly criminal endeavours...

The Megatokyo Police, having been unable to quell this threat, formed a special division many years back called the A.D. Police, or ADP. since that time, the ADP has evolved into a separate entity focusing exclusively upon the controlling of Boomer crimes...with the equipment and armament neccessary to do the job. However, sometimes the Boomers are too much for the ADP, and thats where our heroines, the Knight Sabers, come in...

The Knight Sabers are a small group of women who, working for money as often as not, take on Boomers — and therefore Genom — when the ADP are either out of their jurisdiction...or out of their league. They are able to do this, in part, due to the large sums of money they charge, not to mention their specialized training and the "HardSuits", or combat "power suits"...The Knight Sabers are:

» Sylia Stingray, the leader and brains behind the KS organization. She is the oldest, apparently in her low 30's... as well as the wisest, she acts as the contact between the KS and potential customers. She also runs the Silky Doll lingerie shop as a cover, and has done quite well on the money from that alone. She pilots a white HardSuit, and is the most adept at aerial maneuvering. Her preferred weapon is the vibro-blade concealed in the right arm of her suit....

§ Quote: "Frail humans need not fear anything more..." §

» Priss Asagiri is a headstrong and gutsy fighter with the skills and strength to back her arrogance up. She is a local rock&roll singer, and performs at local joints with her band, the Replicants. She is in her low-to-mid-20's, with attitude to spare. She is the rebel of the group, and enjoys three things in life more than anything else: trashing Boomers, riding [and trashing] motorcycles, and power...meaning, both firepower and horsepower...She pilots a blue HardSuit, and is physically the strongest of the group, as well as the most aggressive. Her preferred weapons are the laser needles and her Motoslaves: cycles that can transform into separate fighting vehicles or else form up around a HardSuit in order to amplify firepower and durability...[[see also the AnimEigo logo]]

§ Quote: "Eat this!" §
§ another: {to Leon:} " I hate cops...especially AD Police." §

» Linna Yamazaki is the most introspective Knight Saber, and specializes in up-close-and-personal combat. She teaches local aerobics classes, and is the most agile fighter in the group. She forms close bonds with those whom she considers friends, and never forgives anyone who would harm them...Linna pilots a white-and-pale-green HardSuit, and prefers grappling with her enemies. Her preferred weapons are: the Knuckle Bomber, a set of discs on her right hand that give an explosive power to her punches, and two long hairlike strips which dangle from her helmet, acting as very, very sharp monofilament whips, capable of cutting through any Boomer who gets a bit too close...

§ Quote: "Reika, I think there'a another way besides revenge...if you want to take Irene's hopes, and see them through" §

» Nene Romanova is the youngest and physically weakest of the KS, but she is even more of a computer expert that Sylia, able to crack any code and hack any system she comes up against. She is the most fragile emotionally and most idealistic, but is a valuable asset to the team, as she is every bit as dedicated to their cause as any of the others. Nene is an officer in the AD Police, and serves as a valuable link for the KS, keeping an eye out for Boomer crimes that might be too much for the ADP to handle...In this, she also can serve as a coordinator and scanner, as the sensing gear in her suit allows her to keep track of targets and scan areas for potential danger...or just hidden security cameras...^_^...Nene pilots a purple HardSuit, later upgraded to a stronger, red one. She doesn't have a specialist weapon so much as her scanners, so she just uses the standard PalmBlaster — a machine gun concealed in the palm of her suit...

§ Quote: "Th...there are extenuating circumstances, aren't there?..." §

Other characters in the series include:

» Mackie Stingray : Sylia's younger brother, he helps the KS as a mechanic and aids Nene with computer hacking

» Leon McNichol : An AD Police officer with a crush on Priss; He is a well-respected offcer who isn't afraid of Boomers...or much else...; "If I meet the vampire, I'll break its fangs and bring 'em back as souvenirs."

» Largo : The Knight Sabers' egotistical nemesis; Quote : "For the crime of injuring me, a god, I demand as atonement, death"; he shows up in BG Crash [the sequel series] as well, and has some sort of a connection to Sylia

» Quincy : The CEO and head muckymuck at Genom

Well, that's it...I may be working on an episode guide, but I'll keep it separate...this is meant to be an overview, and not give away too many secrets...^_^...If you want info on more anime, write in and I'll see what I can do

[Bubblegum Crisis Episode Guide] | [Text version of overview]

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