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Mugen is a fierce animal-like warrior with a unique break-dance inspired fighting style. Jin has a more traditional style but don’t think of this as a weakness because his skills are amazing. The two contrasting samurai warriors are far from friends, yet their separate paths seem to cross anyways. Mugen is wandering aimlessly through the city when he stumbles upon a teahouse where he meets Jin and Fuu (A ditzy waitress, but don’t think she doesn’t have anything hidden up her sleeves). Fuu convinces them both to come with her in search of a mysterious samurai that smells like sunflowers and their journey begins. This modernized hip-hop tale breaks the barriers of the common, historical, samurai anime.

http://www.samuraichamploo.com/ - Japanese Official Site

http://www.fujitv.co.jp/b_hp/samurai/index.html - Japanese TV Station Official Site

Licensed by Geneon Animation at AX 2003.

Director: Hayato Date
Original Manga: Masashi Kishimoto
Character Design:
Hirofumi Suzuki
Tetsuya Nishio
Art director: Kinori Takada
Animation director: Atsuho Matsumoto
Director of Photography: Atsuho Matsumoto
Color Coordination: Takuya Kawami
Editing: Seiji Morita
Fine Arts Supervision: Shigeru Takeda
Music: Toshiro Masuda
Producer:
Akiko Gujima
Hiroshi Hagino
Series Story Editor: Katsuyuki Sumizawa
Sound Producer: Yasunori Ebina
Supervision: Isamu Noboru
For more information check out ANN’s detailed staff and cast list.

Thoughts:

Piro^kun: Samurai Champloo combines the flashy and bold attitude of the 21st century with old world style of Edo era Japan. It is a really sassy and offbeat anime, as it combines traditional samurai action with hip-hop and that unique Watanabe style. It has a similar feel to Cowboy Bebop in its laid-back and cool atmosphere punctuated by moments of lightning-fast and exquisitely-animated action. The music, like the art style, is groovy and funky, and the scene transitions are also really nifty.

The characters are entertaining, especially in their interplay. Some may not like the character Fuu, but I rather enjoyed her, from what I have seen. She is comic relief and does end up as a hostage, but she’s at least somewhat competent and not too annoying.

This show reminded me strongly of what an animated Blade of the Immortal could look like. It’s got the reluctant ronin accompanying a young girl on her quest, with scattered anachronisms, cool fight scenes and gorgeous art.

Groovy, cool and stylish, Samurai Champloo is a breath of fresh air from all the rehashed stuff out recently. If you loved Cowboy Bebop and Read or Die, pick up Champloo, you’re bound to like it.

:Dark Wind
You know that guy that directed Cowboy Bebop? Yeah, Shinichiro Watanabe. He’s also responsible for directing Samurai Champloo. That alone should be enough to get anyone excited about Samurai Champloo’s iminent DVD release in the States on January 5th. Bebop was directed with panache and style, something that Champloo seems to also have in spades. A tale of two samurai and the girl travelling with them, Champloo is a mix of old-school samurai-fighting with new-age hip-hop music and badassedry.

Your two samurai are Jin and Mugen, two samurai’s of very differing ideals. Jin is a serious-minded ronin who fights with honor but apathy. Mugen is a hot-headed rogue who’s fighting style is a wicked mix of breakdancing and swordplay. Seeing these two fight in wonderfully animated fight scenes looks like a real treat judging from the clips I’ve seen. And don’t worry about the music being hip-hop. It works extremely well with the style and presentation of the show and is unlike anything I’ve heard in an anime since…well…Bebop. Noticing a trend? I don’t really understand the premise beyond a girl named Fuu asking both Mugen and Jin to accompany her across Japan to help her find a samurai that smells like sunflowers (if you know anything about samurai/Japanese history, you’ll get this). Fuu is a ditzy waitress as far as I can tell, but apparently there’s more to her than meets the eye, or so I’ve read.

Despite all of this, we come back to the same point as before: Bebop was amazing, and Champloo is directed by that same guy. Who wouldn’t get excited? It’s like not seeing a Steven Spielberg film even though Saving Private Ryan was incredible. A must-try.

Stikz:
I’m gonna come at this from a totally surprised viewpoint. Five minutes ago I had no clue what Samurai Champloo was. Just from the name, I thought it was another cutesy show. After actually giving it a look, I couldn’t have been further from the truth. The show has an ultra cool style to it, similar to Cowboy Bebop. It to know ones surprise that the same director is behind both shows. I could not give you one flaw in the character design or presentation of the show at all. Everything about it just screams COOL!
This went from off the radar straight to my must have list. My anticipation couldn’t be higher. If the characterization is on par with Bebop, then this could be the best new anime this year. There’s a good chance that this may be broadcast on the Cartoon Network too. They recently ran a poll on there site and Samurai Champloo was a choice. A second season is already underway in Japan for a Jan. 2005 release. Sounds like it’s all prepped and ready to be a massive hit! ^_^

:Alpha
First off I would like to thank Anime News Network for providing the in-depth information on Samurai Champloo. It has been a life saver. Anyways, onto what I think of this new Shinichiro Watanabe directed title. Samurai Champloo is a great action packed piece, along with comedy. Watanabe-san does a nice job in relating his works with some form of music. The last one I can remember was Cowboy BeBop, which was jazz influenced. Now we have this hip-hop / samurai title; they blend so well together like Coolaid and water! Alright, that was corny, but I tried :).

Samurai Champloo was licensed by Geneon Animation during AX 2003 (I was supposed to attend this expo, but circumstances erased that trip). Sigh… this title upon viewing it at one of my anime club meetings on campus was surprising to many of the members. They seem to be in love with it. I certainly liked what I saw on the screen. I am a sucker for cute female characters and Fuu-chan is certainly the one that makes the show so fun. Without her, this show will be nothing but a normal samurai anime. You know, kill kill and kill? On a second though… eh… maybe not. Shinichiro Watanabe titles are too well thought out before being put together, hence I have tremendous confidence in the potential success all his titles can reach. Here, Samurai Champloo, is another example of a series with some serious potential by Shinichiro Watanabe!

Samurai Champloo Screen Caps:

(All info is currently from the Korean release)

The Delos Center of the self-sustaining city, Ecoban is infiltrated. Jay learns of her first love Shua’s survival. The same Shua that told her that the sky is blue and who promised to show her. But then he disappeared one day and was presumed dead. Jay, who waited for her first love to return, must now cope with him being an enemy even as Simon, who has also learned of his survival, works to eliminate him…

http://wonderfuldays.co.kr/english/ - U.S. Official Site
http://wonderfuldays.co.kr/index.php - Korean Official Site

 

 

 

 
Korean Staff/Cast:
Director:Moon Saeng KIM
Cast: Ji-Tae Yu, Joon-Ho Chung, and Hee-Jin Wu
Il Won (Music Director)
Mi Chung (Digital Coloring Director)
Kyung Hak Lee (Producer)
Kang Yong Ko (Miniatures)

Release Information:
Running Time: 87 min.
Theatrical animated feature film
Color
Filmed by: TIN HOUSE Production
Associated with Samsung Venture Investment
Korea Culture & Contents Agency
Released in Korea : July 17, 2003

Thoughts:

Dark Wind:
Wonderful Days is a new film out of South Korea done by the newly formed Tin House animation studio and directed by newcomer M.S. Kim. The film was the most expensive Soth Korean animated film ever to make, so the animation in it looks jaw-dropping, with a mix of 2D characters and designs on 3D backgrounds, for the most part. It looks amazing, and the music is nothing to scoff at either, having this ethereal feel to it, which fits the look and style of the film.

The story itself is about the constant struggle between two very gigantic cities, one that is powerful and has very advanced technology (which is in the air, no less), which policies the other city, which is on the ground, a very downtrodden area where people live meager lives. One man from that area wants to show his love the beauty of the sky (you can’t see the sky anymore, it’s all red) so he tries, but a noble enemy from the “upper city” has come to stop him. It’s all very interesting, and I’ve been anticipating it’s US release for months. Currently, I’ve been told Tin House is still shopping for a US distributor. Let’s hope it gets picked up, and sometime soon.

Stikz:
My first impressions of Wonderful Days are very similar to the way I felt about the trailer for Spriggan. I thought it was absolutely astounding. After watching the dazzling, CG laden, scenery and design of WD trailer, all I could say was…WOW! It was completely breath taking. Similar to how you feel when a plastic bag is held over your nose and mouth. (LOL, Well you get the picture).

Seeing as I haven’t heard a thing about it, I asked myself why not! Something as beautiful as this should be seen by everyone. Simple words cannot convey the sheer scope of this magnificent work of art. You must see it in motion. And this is from Korea you ask? Yes it is. I leave you with the homepage so you can see the trailer yourselves, http://wonderfuldays.co.kr/english/, bringing you ‘Wonderful Days’ indeed.

Piro^kun: The Korean sci-fi animation film “Wonderful Days” was made with a gigantic budget of nearly 13 billion Korean won, making it the most expensive Korean futuristic drama ever made. And it certainly looks worth the money. ^_~

Using a mix of 2-D animation, 3-D animation, miniatures and live action photography, “Wonderful Days” looks simply amazing. As for the story…it looks to be an interesting mix of drama, romance, and action. There are a few vague allusions to Christian and Buddhist religious beliefs, but it is not overly preachy. I think this is going to be somewhat of a sleeper hit…and I know I, for one, will be sure to check it out.

Alpha:
Wonderful Days is about a sinister group named ECOBAN. ECOBAN’s energy source (the DELOS System) comes from pollution, when there is not enough of pollution, they go and create more. The pollution done by ECOBAN is so bad that the blue sky is no longer visible. Everything is in darkness, crops do not grow, because of the lack of sun light, and people who were refugees are cast out of ECOBAN and are called Marrians. These rioting Marrians despise ECOBAN for everything they have done to their environment. They make them do gruesome work, which can be comparable to slavery.

Here comes Shua, an ex-ECOBAN member, he left ECOBAN, because of his pursuit of what he calls “Wonderful Day”; a blue sky and another reason too. With ECOBAN doing what they are, there is no chance for this Wonderful Day to happen. He begins his attack on ECOBAN and that is basically the introduction of Wonderful Days.

I am sure you have heard of the money that was put into this movie, and I am sure you have also heard of the astonishing visual effects. I will stop wasting everyone’s time by not stating those two again (Oops, I kinda just did ). As we all know, an anime is not judged by how much money went into making it nor is it judged by the quality of the animation. This movie is truly very thoughtful, and I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy.

Alpha: What do you think of this edition of The Watcher? Comments? Suggestions? E-mail us!

Wonderful Days Screen Caps:

The world is covered in snow, human civilization is on the decline, nobility has taken away the knowledge of higher science and alchemy from the common people, and wolves have been extinct for 200 years. Still, legends about wolves survive in the Book of the Moon, which tells of a place called Paradise where wolves rule. The Flower Daughter will lead the wolves to paradise. But of course, nothing is ever that simple.

U.S. Official Site - N/A

http://www.wolfs-rain.com/ - Japanese Official Site

 

 
Created by:Bones, Keiko Nobumoto
Director: Tensai Okamura
Screenplay: Keiko Nobumoto
Character Designs: Toshihiro Kawamoto
Set Designs: tomoaki Okada, Shingo Takeba
Mechanical Designs: Shinji Aramaki
Art Director: Atsushi Morikawa
Color Designs: Nobuko Mizuta
Director of Photography: Kosuke Arakawa
Sound Director: Kazuhiro Wakabayashi
Music: Yoko Kanno
Animation Produced by: Bones
Producers: Masahiko Minami, Minoru Takanashi, Takatoshi Hamano
Produced by: Fuji Television, Bones, Bandai Visual
Number of episodes: 26
Licensed byBandai Entertainment

Thoughts:

Dark Wind:
Wolf’s Rain is a soon to be released anime in the US. So, what’s the big deal? For one, virtually everyone who made Cowboy Bebop (save for director Shinichiro Watanabe, who had nothing to do with Wolf’s Rain) contributed to the creation of Wolf’s Rain. This includes the character designer of Cowboy Bebop and Yoko Kanno, who also created the music to Bebop, among other things. So, now that I’ve got your attention, Wolf’s Rain is about finding paradise, or heaven, known as “rakuen” in Japanese. The saying goes that wolves will lead everyone on the planet into paradise, but unfortunately, wolves have been extinct for 200 years. But, that is not true. Wolves are alive and well, and have learned a way to trick everything that sees them into thinking they are humans, when in fact they are wolves.

That’s a very very short and quick synopsis of the story. It’s been getting rave reviews all over the place, and I’ve been anticipating it myself since it was first announced back in early 2002. Everyone should keep a look out for this one. It’s a serious, dark, and moody anime series about the path to one’s own paradise, and it should really be good. Bandai has already announced the license for it and it’s also been announced that it will air on Adult Swim in summer 2004. A release date for the DVD’s hasn’t been announced yet, but a date should be announced soon.

Stikz:
I’ll tell my opinion from an artistic standpoint. This series looks to be a mix of the Rurouni Kenshin OAV (Samurai X) and Cowboy Bebop art styles. Quite a nice combination, don’t you think? The character design is top notch but for the most part stays basic and doesn’t stray into exotic much. There are some exceptions like Darcia, a menacing masked character with a feathered black headdress and Cheza, a crimson-eyed beauty. One thing I don’t like about the design is Tsume’s leather clothes. It just doesn’t sit well with me. Other than that, everything else is good.

Yoko Kanno and Steve Conte are collaborating for the music again, same as they did for the Cowboy Bebop. The story of wolves taking human form and masquerading with humans for 200 years searching for paradise sounds intriguing. I don’t know about you but I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this 26-episode saga! Also, rumor has it that Wolf’s Rain will show on Cartoon Network in April 2004. We shall see. (Ed. - Breaking news: Wolf’s Rain will premiere on Saturday, April 24th at 11pm on cartoon network’s adult swim)

Piro^kun:
There is a genre that isn’t often covered in film well, much less in animation. The pulp sci-fi genre is rarely touched on probably because it is difficult to write original science fiction. Wolf’s Rain is promoted as a “High Quality SF Road Movie”, so whether it was intended as pulp sci-fi intentionally or not is debatable, but original intent aside, it is what it is.

Wolf’s Rain is a brand new anime series from Keiko Nobumoto, the writer behind Cowboy Bebop. Animated by Studio Bones and containing much of the same staff behind Bebop, expectations would certainly be high and they do not disappoint. The character and mechanical designs are attractive with an interesting choice of using a mix of retro, futuristic and contemporary clothing and mechanics. Yoko Kanno’s soundtrack creates a feeling of a dark fairy tale with shades of a happier time and longings for the unattainable. The animation itself lives up to the “high quality” tag the title carries and is both fluid and dynamic.

The entire series is about a journey, but it is more of a journey of discovery than a journey of intent. As the characters journey, they will learn more about those around them while learning more about themselves. What is most important for me is that by the end of the series, what doubts and differences explored in the beginning of the series are resolved. I would recommend this series to anyone who wants an experience of a different world, and a series which does not remain in the same place but moves on to new places and new ideas as it progresses. The series might feel slow at times, but the beautiful scenery and music definitely keep even the slowest scenes in the series going at a steady tempo.

All in all, I’m looking forward to the R1 DVDs very much and I’m happy that Bones has still not let me down with their high quality of storytelling and combinations of quality animation, music and design concepts.

Alpha: What do you think of this edition of The Watcher? Comments? Suggestions? E-mail us!

Wolf’s Rain Screen Caps:

When a mysterious alien force begins their annihilation of the human race, a young pilot feels called to join the resistance. But the danger of an interstellar battle is not Mikako’s greatest concern. For she has left behind the one young man she loves. And as Mikako flies further into deep space, her only way to connect with Noboru is by cell-phone text messages. While Mikako risks her life to save mankind, Noboru waits. At first days, then months, then years for each new message that will let him know whether Mikako is still alive. And while she barely grows older in the timelessness of space, Noboru ages. How can the love of two young people, torn apart by war, survive? To what distance would you go… for your one, true love?

http://www.advfilms.com/favorites/voices/ - U.S. Official Site

http://www.hoshinokoe.com - Japanese Official Site

 

 
Japanese Staff/Cast:
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Music: Tenmon
Noboru - Makoto Shinkai (Original Version)
Mikako - Mika Shinohara (Original Version)
Noboru - Chihiro Suzuki
Mikako - Sumi Mutoh

Release Information:
Date Available - June 10, 2003
Running time - 30 Minutes
Rating - 13+
Format - Hybrid
Media - DVD
Product Availability - Preorder - Not Yet Shipping
Publisher - ADV FILMS

Thoughts:

Alpha: Welcome to another edition of The Watcher, this time we take an in-depth view of this hot up and coming title, Hoshi no Koe or otherwise known as Voices of a Distant Star to the American audience. What can be said of this title? I’m sure you know that it was done by one man already right? The guy named Makoto Shinkai? Yeah, I think you should familiarize yourself with this dude, his works really have this touch that reaches out to you, just like AT&T. Now I’ve seen this title, right off the bat I, of course was impressed with the quality of the animation. Who wouldn’t? It was done on a G4! The story is very emotional, in an interview with Newtype, Mr. Makoto said that life today is all about communication. And the only communication that really counts is from the heart. How meaningful is this already? Love separated by time, the further Mikako travels from Earth the longer her cell phone messages reach Noboru. I mean real long, imagine yourself waiting for a message from your lover for 8 years, can you? In any case, Voices of a Distant Star is definitely worth a check out. This is not your everyday love story, I find myself in a sad mood every time I watch this movie.

:Stikz
I first heard about Voices of a Distant Star from ADV’s acquisition of it and an advertisement in Newtype. After that, I asked around and found out that it was done by someone solely on a Macintosh. Even the voices were done by him and his wife. Then I heard there was a second version with professional voice actors. I saw a trailer for it and all I can say is… astounding. It took my breath away. Shows you what a dream and dedication can do huh. It’s definitely worth getting excited over.

Piro^kun:
I recently heard about an American release for this on digitallyobsessed.com. I think that it’s just wonderful. I just got the original short film a bit ago and it took my breath away… it just looked amazing. The story is wonderfully romantic. Also… the fact that the computer used to make it is almost like the one I have is rather impressive, to say the least. I’m looking forward to this one.

 

 

Fourfour44: It sounds like a really interesting story concept and the fact that it was all animated by one person is pretty amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

stf: It was cool in the respect that it was all done by one guy but the show itself wasn’t all that entertaining.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Alpha: What do you think of this edition of The Watcher? Comments? Suggestions? Contact us in the forums!

Voices of a Distant Star Screen Caps:

  

Welcome to model building lesson 2.

Today’s lesson is on how to use putty. Putty has many uses, but it’s main uses are for filling seams, gaps and holes.

In lesson 1 we learned how to build a basic model without painting it or doing anything to it. I’m sure after reading lesson 1, you guys have gone out and bought models of your own and start building your own models, right…?

Anyway, for those who have started building their first model, I’m sure you guys notice gaps in parts where two parts would join. The image below is an example.

  

- This is an example of the “gap,” also known as seam lines. You can “fix” (or cover up) this problem by using putty and covering up the seams.

  

- First, we need to get some cement glue and put it over the seam. Make sure the glue seeps into the seam.

  

- We then squeeze the parts together; letting the excess glue ooze out.

- I usually use clamps and clips to hold the two parts together; this increases the strength of the glue’s bonding with the plastic.

- While one part is drying, move on to the next.

  

- When the part is done drying, it’s time to take out the putty. I prefer to use white putty because it’s an easy color to cover up, no matter what colors you are using.

- Also, this stuff has a smell to it, so make sure you work in a well ventilated room. (The smell isn’t as bad as spray paint, but it smells like cement glue)

  

- Putty comes in a paste like form, and if you don’t like to get your hands dirty, you can switch your model knife blade to a dull one and use it for puttying.

- I personally like to use my hands for puttying, that way I can control the putty better.

  

- Just take the putty and apply it onto the seam. It doesn’t matter if it’s bumpy or uneven, everything will be sanded out at the end.

- Always apply a good layer of putty, a thin layer isn’t good enough.

- Remember to keep your surrounding areas in mind, sometimes you don’t want to get the putty into certain details of your model.

- Getting the putty out of the detailed areas may ruin the details and sometimes it’s annoying to do.

  

- After the putty is dries, you can cut off any sloppy chunks with a model knife and start sanding.

- I recommend you use a 200 grain sand paper followed by a 400 grain for finishing.

- If the putty covered up the panel lines or detail lines of the model, use the model knife to carve it back out .

  

- Look how smooth it is now! you don’t even notice the seam anymore!

- Time to paint the model. I won’t go into much detail on this lesson about painting a model, but before you paint your parts, make sure you clean them first, you don’t want any dust showing up on the paint.

  

- This is how I clean my models, I put it under warm running water and brush it.

- In this picture you can also see the dust from sanding the putty floating in the water.

  

- Remember, if you’re going to paint something, you’ll need to mask out parts you don’t want painted.

  

- I won’t go into full detail about masking, because that’s saved for another lesson. But for these joint areas, I usually bend the joint down and mask them, then I put it back into a straight position, to make sure the visible areas are covered properly.

  

- Taped down and ready for spray painting. I will also be spray paint a non-puttied part for comparison.

- Also, remember, before you spray paint any parts, you will need to put primer on it, especially puttied parts.

- While the parts are drying, I’ll explain why we need to use primer below.

  

- Here are two plastic sheets, each one I have sanded in equal amounts.

  

- Sheet #1 will only be spray painted, while Sheet #2, will be primed and spray painted.

- Primer works like a base coat and it also helps cover micro scratches.

- If you’re going to spray paint something that is white or bright colors, use white primer. For dark colors, you can use grey primer.

- Grey primer can also help dull brighter colors.

  

- Ready for spraying! I’ll be spraying these parts white, and the result……

  

- Sheet #1: Without primer the scratches from sanding are still visible.

  

- Sheet#2: You can hardly see any scratches with primer as a base coating!

- Ok, the parts are dried and now we go back to the model.

  

- Results without putty.

  

- Results with putty!

  

Conclusion, putty makes the model look more real and nice, but if you feel you don’t need to use putty on a certain part, then there’s no need to putty it. Remember this is your model and you can do whatever you want to it, as long as you like it. Modeling takes time and patience, it also takes many mistakes, it took me a while before I mastered it, and I also messed up a lot of models. So be prepared to make mistakes and learn from them. I’m here to help you make the least mistakes possible. As we keep progressing on with the lessons, things will start to get harder and harder. So be prepared and try these techniques on a cheap model before moving on to anything big. Your skills will definitely increase.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(All info is currently from the Japanese R2 release)

http://www.advfilms.com/titles/dnangel/ - U.S. Official Site
http://www.dnangel.tv/top.html - Japanese Official Site

Based on the manga book by Yukiru Sugisaki. Animation produced by XEBEC (”Martian Successor Nadesico”, “Love Hina”, et al.) The vocal cast includes Miyu Irino (Who played Hake un Spirited Away) as the voice of Daisuke. This “Peach” version includes “Shiawase no Bansoko”, “Onegai Chakopen,” and an 8-page booklet. The disc is picture-labeled (artwork by Shinichi Yamaoka). Comes housed in a triple gatefold digipak.
Special Features: Miyu Irino & Shunichi Miyamoto Special Video Clip #1

Japanese Staff/Cast:
Director: Nobuyoshi Habara
Cast: Miyu Irino, Ryotaro Okiayu, Sara Nakayama, et al.

Release Information:
Date Available - (Japan) July 24, 2003 (USA) Now
Running time - 50 Minutes
Rating - Not Rated
Format - Japanese
Media - DVD
US Publisher - ADV Films

Thoughts:

Hinatasou:Welcome to the next installment of The Watcher. This time we take an in-depth view of DN Angel, the hot new title just picked up by ADV.

Imagine that it’s your 14th birthday and on that day you’ve finally confessed to your true love only to find out that she thinks of you as a best friend. Depressed you stare at a painting of your girlfriend in the safety of your own home when suddenly it happens. A great pain afflicts your chest, you gain a few inches of height, and your hair changes from red to purple. That is the life of Daisuke whose bloodline carries the legendary phantom thief ‘Dark.’ It’s been forty years since his last appearance but his purpose is the same, to steal in order to protect those who are in need.

The one thing I like about the series is the cute and adorable Wiz, Daisuke’s white and furry pet who transforms into Dark’s wings. The story with the whole split personalities between Dark and Daisuke seems reminiscent of Yugioh. Daisuke is not the only one though; his classmate Hiwatari contains the soul of the white angel Krad, Dark’s arch nemesis.
The opening theme “True Light” sounds Celtic due to the organ with vocals done by Miyamoto Shunichi. The ending song “A Graceful Evening” is calm and dreamy. The animation is sound blending evenly the dark shades of night with the brighter shades of daylight, with perfect computer rendering of building structures and trolleys.

Stikz:
What I’ve seen from the trailer for DN Angel, I’ve liked. The art style is appealing to me. I’ve always had a thing for cute, big eyes. The art style reminds me of something by the all girl art studio CLAMP. (X/1999, Card Captor Sakura, Chobits). But it’s not done by them. It’s done by Sugisaki Yukiru of Candidate for Goddess (Megami Kouhousei), Brainpowerd (the manga), Sotsugyo M (Graduation M) and Lagoon Engine fame. It does look like a children’s anime but seems to have a dark side. This can be seen from the opening theme. I did read the synopsis in Newtype magazine, but that didn’t really interest me. The way they described the story really didn’t do it justice. After seeing it in motion, I think I’ll give it a try. As should you. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Piro^kun:
This is Saint Tail done by the production team of X TV. If that sounds a bit weird and schizophrenic, well, it is. The main character Daisuke has been secretly trained by his parents (in the manner of the hero in Mahoujin Guru Guru… i.e. the house is a death trap), and on his 14th birthday it is revealed that he has inherited the bloodline of the legendary winged thief, Dark. By a fortunate coincidence, the girl he has a crush on is looking for someone tall, dark, and mysterious. There are heavy hints of a lot more going on in the back-story, and it looks like Daisuke has inherited a bit of a split personality a la Samurai Deeper Kyo as well. Good stuff, if you can follow the haphazard mix of genres.

Dark Wind:
DN Angel, from what I can tell, seems to be a somewhat intriguing show. From what I got from the Newtype preview, it seemed to be in the vain of a children’s show. I’ve been told there’s a “dark side” to it, but I’m not so sure. I haven’t seen a trailer or anything like that, only pictures, so I may need to see more to give a good first impression. As for now, I’m still very skeptical of it’s quality.

Alpha:
What do you think of this edition of The Watcher? Comments? Suggestions? Send them here.

 
D.N.Angel Screen Caps:

http://www.advfilms.com/titles/chronocrusade/ - U.S. Official Site
http://www.chrno.com - Japanese Official Site

Chrno Crusade is based off of the manga by Moriyama Daisuke and produced by Gonzo Digimation (Kiddy Grade, Last Exile, and Vandread). The voice actors include: Ishida Akira (Hiwatari-kun from DNAngel and Evangelion’s fifth child Nagisa Kaoru) as Chrono, Kawakami Tomoko (Utena in Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mirelle in Rune Soldier) as Rossette Christopher, and Inoue Kazuhiko (Kakashi-sensei in Naruto and Blue Seed’s Kusanagi) as the sinner Aion.

Japanese Staff
Director: Kobe Hiroyuki
Script writer: Tomioka Atsuhiro
Design: Kawahara Tomohiro and Kuroda Kazuya
Licensed for U.S. distribution by ADV Films.

Thoughts:

Hina:The first half of Chrno Crusade, not to be mistaken for a Squaresoft game, is set during the early 20th century in Brooklyn, New York and then moves to the opposite side of the county to San Francisco, California. Now these are not your stereotypical strict, old-fashioned nuns dressed in black and white and throw the Body of Christ wafer of bread like ninja stars. Sister Rossette and the other members of the Magdalan Order are agile and know fully well how to defend themselves, equipped with hand and machine guns, although sometimes holy water is all you need. The opening song and animation of Tsubasa wa Pleasure Line by Minami Kuribayashi is the season’s best. The ending theme, Sayonara Solitaire, by Saeko Chiba is delicate and beautiful.

:Piro^kun
Chrno Crusade is a neat idea, even if it’s not too terribly original (in general concept): a nun and a demon team up to fight demons in New York City of the roaring 20s. Sister Rosette, the cute blonde, is very talented at exorcising demons (well, they say exorcising, but…well, I’ll come back to that), but tends to go overkill with everything. Chrno, the cool, purple-haired demon, is also quite talented, but is the mostly-restrained half of the duo. Both are very good characters and there’s some good interplay there. The “quasi-anachronisms” (like the “cellular telephone booth” that Chrno carries around with him) are reminiscient of Read or Die and are clever, if silly.

The voice talent is also great with Sho Hayami (Max Jenius in Macross 7 and DYRL?, Wolfwood from Trigun) as Father Remington and Yoshiko Sakakibara (Sylia Stingray in the original BGC, Haman-sama from several Gundams, Integra from Hellsing) as Sister Kate. The animation is top-quality, coming from Gonzo. The music is similarly good with an ending theme song created by none other than Yuki Kajiura and performed by Saeko Chiba.

There’s certainly some potential in this show…give it a view!

Alpha:
Chrno Crusade… what can I say about it? The missing “O” in “Chrono,” (Note: I know the creators left the “O” out on purpose) it is produced by my favorite GONZO? or the fact that I think Rossette is an Excel look-a-like. Agree or not, but in some pictures, she does. The animation seems fluid, and any series that sets in Brooklyn, New York certainly deserves my money. ADV Films made a bold move to acquire this series. It certainly seems to be a blockbuster. Anything with good looking female characters and ecchi humor to me is a blockbuster, but hey, I am never wrong when it comes to it, they really become blockbusters. Currently there is not an official U.S. webpage for Chrno Crusade, due to the fact that it was acquired quite recently; only the English cast list was released to the press. I cannot see a release this year, maybe early or middle of next year. Without a doubt, I got my money on this baby. The picture at the beginning of this Watcher is a wallpaper, 1024 x 768. You might want to download it for your desktop. Also I would like to thank http://home.ripway.com/2004-3/80307/ for providing us with the screen caps.

Chrno Crusade Screen Caps: