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Answerman and the Masters of the Universe

Alright, this week we're cooking with gas. Last week we tried cooking with electric and it was sort of a debacle.. so this week, back to gas.



This might be a stupid question but here goes...

I recently borrowed and watched my cousin's Hong Kong DVDs of the show Flame of Recca, since he proclaimed it was "like DBZ only better... and shorter." It's an absolutely wonderful show, and certainly not new. Yet this show hasn't been released in the US in any form. There are other shows like it, shows that are not new and better than a lot of the stuff that gets released here... shows like Violinist of Hamelin and Kodomo no Omocha. How come these shows aren't getting licensed? They're certainly popular enough in Japan; Violinist saw an SNES game, Recca recently had a Game Boy ADVANCE release, and Kodomo ran for over a hundred episodes, I believe. What gives?
-Rurouni Trelane

Well, there's no specific rhyme or reason behind a lot of these decisions. Flame of Recca in particular boggles the mind. It's a lot like Yuu Yuu Hakusho, and would probably be very popular if given a chance on Cartoon Network. The show is about the right length and doesn't have too much objectionable material in it. I'm not sure why it hasn't been licensed yet. Kodomo no Omocha, well, that's an easier answer. It's incredibly long and until recently, the market viability of long-running shoujo series has been questionable. Now that ADV has had success with Princess Nine, we're going to see a lot more shoujo titles see release. Marmalade Boy got licensed, and so did Super GALS!. Tokyopop has the Kodocha manga, so I'd imagine that they'll be snapping up the rights to the TV series any time now. Violinist of Hamelin… well… aside from the fact that it's hard to call it “anime” since the show is barely “animated”. It's mostly a series of still images with people talking over them. It's gotta be a cheap license, but I'm pretty sure the show wouldn't sell very well. Heck, you never know. It could get licensed.



There's a rumor that with the eva movies Manga replaced Rebirth with Air, is this true?

Nope. The DVD that's out now has Death, which is a recap of the TV series that runs on for far too long, and Rebirth, which is the first half of The End of Evangelion movie. The End of Evangelion disc that comes out in September will have “Air (Love is Destructive)” and “My Pure Heart for You”. You know, where Asuka rampages on the mass production unit EVA-09s. (Note to music video creators across the globe: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP USING THIS FOOTAGE IN MUSIC VIDEOS! For that matter, STOP MAKING EVANGELION VIDEOS!). Ahem. Anyway.



Hey Answerman!

This question has been bugging me for a while, so could you answer it? (Of course you will!) I know in Japan, Ranma 1/2 is called "Ranma Nibunnoichi" but what is it called in America? "Ranma one half", just "Ranma" or still "Ranma Nibunnoichi"? About the only person I talk anime with is my mom, and she has no clue either, so I had to come to you.

Sincerely,
Cynthia S.

I've heard it referred to many different ways. Most people just say “Ranma”. A lot of people say “Ranma One Half”. Some say “Ranma Half.” I believe the official English title is “Ranma One Half.” You can call it whatever the heck you want, though.



I always meant to ask but kept forgetting. Now that I recently watched it again, it's fresh on my mind so here goes. Near the end of Season1 of Ranma 1/2 there is a clip where Ranma says he won't give up Akane. This is when Shampoo first appears. So where does it come from?

Also, I'm trying to watch it in order and waited for it to be on DVD before watching it. Before that, I've watched a few OVAs, but only because my friends forced me to sit down on it. I know the order of the TV series, but not the OVA and movies. could I get some help on when they were released in accordance to the TV. Basically when should I watch what OVA/Movie.

Man, there are a lot of Ranma questions this week. Alright, here goes. Ranma's ratings were in the gutter around the end of the first season, so they dropped Shampoo in early to help bring them up a little bit. They yanked the show and fiddled with it a little bit, then started again fresh with a new name at the top of the next season. They started the new season with the storyline that includes Ranma saying Akane is his fiancée.

Here's the order you should watch things in, if you want to follow the original Japanese release.

Ranma ½, Season One, 1-16
Ranma ½, Anything Goes Martial Arts, 1-2
Ranma ½, Season One, 17-18
Ranma ½, Anything Goes Martial Arts (And the following seasons), 3-100
Ranma ½, Movie 1: Big Trouble in Nekonlon, China
Ranma ½, Episodes 101-135
Ranma ½, Movie 2: Nihao, My Concubine
Ranma ½, Episodes 136-143
Ranma ½, OAVs 1-8
Ranma ½, Movie 3 (Which is on the tape called “One Flew Over the Kuno's Nest”)
Ranma ½, OAV Series 2 1-3


Thanks so much to the Ranma ½ FAQ for this information.



Dear answerman,
Who sings the ultra-cool, wonderfully romantic song "Mirai Koro" at the end of Nightwalker? (and could you please direct me to an awesome English-language site about them?)

-Melanie

That song is sung by a J-Rock band called La'Cryma Christi. It appears on the album Lhasa, and hit #3 on the ORICON charts (which is like Billboard, in Japan.). It was selected for the anime, rather than being written for it. They haven't done any other songs for anime, but they do have a few J-drama tracks. You can find out everything you need to know about this band at a site run by a close personal friend of mine, Tsurara. Check out In Forest.

Alright, that's it. See you next week.

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