BEING UPFRONT: A Pictorial Guide to Bodacious Women in Anime--Page 7 (L-Ma)

Print/licence statuses at the end of the entries refer to North America (that's where I live, so...).

LA BLUE GIRL (Jpn: INJUU GAKUEN LA BLUE GIRL) & sequels

Miko Mido; Yaku (left to right)

After the enormous flap that the infamous horror hentai OVA series Urotsukidöji caused upon its release, it was just a matter of time before creator Toshio Maeda decided to work on a variation of the successful theme: Up the humour factor a little more and make the lead character a cute and buxom young woman who is able to wield some power (right after stretches where she doesn't--to allow for certain scenes, of course). This show was released here under the name La Blue Girl, and the young woman in question was Miko Mido, future head of the clan of Miroku, a long line of female ninja who fight using sex as well as weaponry. In the second of the six OVAs, Miko and her perverted pint-sized sidekick Nin-Nin visit a small village where the Miroku train, and meet Yaku, a fellow ninja whose figure you can't ignore (especially when Nin-Nin imagines her naked dB) ). Between the two of them, we see what are probably the two hottest consensual scenes in the whole series. In the second OVA, all involved help Yaku try to regain control over a side of herself she does not like to reveal. In the third OVA, one of the two young men Miko and Yaku encountered (and whose wallets Miko ate empty) at a restaurant earlier turns up at their hotel room, and Yaku takes more than a shine to him (the picture above is from that scene, before she digs in). If you don't like horror hentai, this is not too likely to change your mind (and I won't blame you, because it's not really my cuppa, either), but this one does have more redeeming qualities than almost all of the other ones out there. I haven't watched its sequels yet, but have heard that they keep the good parts good, so, one of these days...

In print on Critical Mass Video (18 and over only, please) (bilingual DVD; previously on Anime18). Be warned that, while the R1 DVDs might be promoted as "uncensored," all the scenes in which Nin-nin gets a little too naughty are cut out of them. This includes Critical Mass's current edition. I do have to at least give credit to the man at Right Stuf I spoke with on the phone for being honest with me about this, and explaining that their terms with Central Park Media's liquidators meant releasing the DVDs as is, and that original production company Daiei Co. Ltd. is long gone, so they can't sort that out. Snarl profanity here and hold on tight to your original VHS tapes.
ANN Encyclopedia Entry

LABYRINTH OF FLAMES (Jpn: HONOO NO LABYRINTH)
Carrie White
Galan is a massive samurai otaku and a horrible klutz, which is a bad (for Galan) and very funny (for me) combination. After bending up his sword, his lady friend Natsu gives him a nice fancy katana and invites him back to her home to see more of the swords in her collection. Of course, he goes for it. What he wasn't told is that said lady friend is originally from a village in Russia, and they have to parachute to get to her home...and why is everybody calling her "princess"? Shortly after they land, we meet Natsu's arranged fiance Datenoshin, who is helping out an American documentary filmmaker named Carrie White (Buxom American Blonde in a Cowboy Hat #1), who's in town to do a feature on a Japanese lord who fled to Russia with his subjects near the end of the feudal era to escape the war. And then things start to get interesting for our bumbling hero--and us. Studio Fantasia (Aika, Najica Blitz Tactics) made this as a flat-out silly comedy OVA series, and did well, in my opinion, although the character Kasumi is a little bit too over the top as Natsu's devout (and anemic) servant. Yes, panty shots also factor heavily in here, but the comedy doesn't hinge mostly on them this time around. Worth checking out at least once if you rock it lowbrow now and again.

Out of print (previously on U.S. Manga Corps on DVD).
ANN Encyclopedia Entry

LOVE HINA
Naru Narusegawa; Mitsune "Kitsune" Konno; Mutsumi Otohime (left to right)

When he was a little boy, Keitaro Urashima (the guy in the R2 DVD cover scans above) promised a cute little girl in the sandbox that, when they grew up, they would attend Tokyo University together. According to legend, a couple in love who attends Toudai will stay together forever. 15 years later, Keitaro is trying for the third time to pass the entrance exam, and, while the promise is still pretty vivid in his mind, he can't remember who the girl was, since her family moved out of the city shortly after they promised. When he makes it to his grandmother's hot spring resort hotel, Hinata-sou, which is supervised by his aunt Haruka, he discovers the hard way that it's been turned into an all-girls dormitory since he was last there. After accidentally kicking up a ruckus among its tenants, his grandmother faxes Haruka to let them all know that she has just bequeathed Hinata-sou to Keitaro, thus making him the manager of the place. Several colourful (and nice-looking; this is a shounen series, after all) female characters call Hinata-sou home. They include fellow Tokyo U. ronin Naru Narusegawa, who Keitaro finds himself gravitating towards, despite her chronically short fuse, and the sexy (if state-variable, depending on how close another character is to her chest) Mitsune Konno, whose antics have earned her the nickname "Kitsune," after the mythological mischievous Japanese fox spirit. Her eyes are rarely ever seen fully open; the R2 DVD cover above is one of those few times. During their travels, Keitaro and Naru meet the mysterious Mutsumi Otohime, a beautiful (and well-built) and kind but spacy Okinawa native who is prone to accidents and fainting (due to anemia). Despite her good intentions, she winds up agitating the relationship between Keitaro and Naru almost as much as Kitsune does, without even trying. This series has stirred up quite a bit of controversy, especially about often Naru clobbers Keitaro over mistakes he makes or bad things she thinks he does (of course, in slapstick tradition, he always comes back without a scratch). Others feel that the manga is much better than the anime; I like the anime myself, but do have to agree with them. I recommend both of them, especially since the manga covers more story than the anime.

The TV series is in print on FUNimation Productions, Ltd. (bilingual DVD with painful dub; previously on Bandai Entertainment, Inc.). Bandai had also released bilingual DVDs of the sequel OVAs, but those are now out of print. FUNimation had announced that they had licensed these at Anime Expo 2007 (as well as the TV series), but there's been no release planned for those yet as of the time of writing.
ANN Encyclopedia Entry

LUPIN III
Fujiko Mine (BWH: 99/55/88cm; Source: Sketch on the late Fujiko Mine Homepage) Fujiko is a fellow thief and Lupin's rival (and sometimes lover), and such a prominent example of feminine pulchritude in anime that any Lupin III video featuring her was automatically given a "Courtesy Breasts" icon in the late Animerica magazine's review column (they used to say so in the icon/criteria guide). I haven't seen very much of the TV show, but do remember how she left it to cleavage quite a bit in the Die, Nostradamus! movie, and even disrobes and climbs into bed with our hero to help keep him from freezing to death (does nothing more than hold him and gets out and dresses again immediately after he revives, though--the creators knew enough to take a cheap shot only so far). She also is the subject of one of the illest fanservice setups I've ever seen in the Legend of Twilight Gemini TV special. Thankfully, Fujiko's character is as well-developed as her youknowwhats, and she strings along and frequently outsmarts Lupin. This is a show that is definitely more than the sum of someone's parts.

Considering that this has been animated since 1971, including three TV series and movies and TV specials still being released regularly in Japan, keeping on top of the North American DVD releases is a pain, but here's a short attempt: Part of the second TV series, The Secret of Mamo movie--Out of print (previously on Geneon Entertainment (USA) Inc..); The Castle of Cagliostro movie (directed by the one, the only Hayao Miyazaki)--In print on Manga Entertainment (get the special edition); various specials and movies--Out of print (previously on FUNimation Productions, Ltd.)...aw, fugeddaboudit, go to the Lupin III Encyclopedia to try and sort it all out.
ANN Encyclopedia Entry

MABURAHO
Kuriko Kazetsubaki (center, of course) Kazuki Chikimori (right in picture) is a quite-below-average student at the Aoi Academy Senior High School, where people with prodigious magical skills go to study. Most of the students can boast both powerful magic and the ability to use it thousands and thousands of times, but Kazuki is only able to use it eight times in his life. Basically, he's a poor schlub who gets picked on a lot by the guys and ignored by the girls (pretty much all of whom are at least cute). Things change radically for him when it's revealed that his ancestors include many well-known and powerful magicians, and that his own magical power is actually lying dormant in his genes. In other words, it's highly possible that his offspring will be the ones who will fully inherit all that power. This results in all the girls in the class wanting to jump him, which, in return, makes all the boys want to thump him. Three particular girls concentrate their efforts on him. Yuna Miyama (left in picture), a sweet girl who is actually an old childhood friend of Kazuki's, genuinely loves him and even transfers to Aoi Academy and situates herself in his room in the Saiun boys' dorm--as his wife. Kuriko Kazetsubaki, the star of our entry, is the daughter of a powerful and wealthy industry family and already right in its footsteps; she wants Kazuki's genes to make her family even more powerful, and doesn't give a toss about the lad himself...or does she? Well, one thing is positive: There's no mistaking that nice close-up bounce she contributes to the OP sequence, not to mention the show itself. Rin Kamashiro is a new transfer student who is ordered to marry Kazuki for the good of her family, is not happy about it and just wants to kill him with her ever-ready sword so she doesn't have to assume the, erm, duty--at first. Motoko Aoyama from Love Hina, please pick up your little sister. As you've probably gathered by now, there's no need to engage your brain much to watch this series. Approach with discretion--especially if you're getting jaded about anime.

Out of print (previously on ADV Films on bilingual DVD). The Thinpak collections have the on-disc extras stripped off.
ANN Encyclopedia Entry

MAGICAL MEOW MEOW TARUTO (Jpn: MAHOU SHOUJO NEKO TARUTO)
Chiffon; Candy (left to right)

Hi, nekomimi fans; have we got something for you. In the beginning of this series, we find out about the Kinka, a race of cats from a legendary land in another dimension called Ganache. Upon suffering a devastating rebellion by another cat race called the Byoh, the King bequeathed the restoration of the Kinka empire to his infant princess daughter (who was believed to have magical powers) and had a retainer send her off into another dimension to get her away from the bloodshed. Taruto is a young and beautiful female kitten, who appears to the rest of us as a cute cat-eared little girl in a frilly dress. She insists that she's the princess of the Kinka, and she actually is able to use a bit of magic, albeit mostly not very well. She has been adopted by the kind and gentle (and kind of dough-headed) dessert-making bishounen Iori Monaka, who she loves very much, and they have just moved into a new house in Okashina with Iori's younger sister. Given the dessert angle, I suspect that Taruto's name was supposed to be anglicized to Tart; makes sense, but it wouldn't play well in England, would it? Taruto's friends Chitose and Charlotte--two other cute nekomimi--don't believe Taruto's claim. In the second episode, when they see her trying to make spring-like weather appear, they decide to take her to see someone with a bit of knowledge. This turns out to be Chiffon, who is not only a more mature catwoman, but also wears both half-glasses and a cheongsam very well, both at the same time (multiple fetishes handled at once; nice job). Taruto frequently returns to her with questions (and, of course, for us to see what colour of dress she's sporting this time). In episode nine, we are introduced to Nougat, an elderly, ailing male Iriomote mountain cat who has turned up in Okashina. He tells us about when he was young on the remote semi-tropical island he grew up in, and was picked up by an American cat named Candy, who takes him back to her master, a kind American man who she calls "Jelly Beans-san." He's a scholar who is there for a research project, and Nougat stays with them until the day they leave, hence the sad look on Candy's face in the picture above. Nougat's passing through because he hopes to go to "Ameringo" and be with the two of them again. Can't say I really blame him; can you? Despite the obvious welcomes to the page (and the obsession that Chitose has with Taruto's long tail), this remains a sweet and light--but not too light--dramatic fantasy series. The similarities between Taruto and the 1984 shoujo anime movie Wata no Kuni Hoshi (AKA Star of Cottonland) are unlikely to be coincidental, but creators Kaishaku (Steel Angel Kurumi; UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie) should be given at least a little credit for choosing a not-so-obvious title to cop from.

Out of print (previously on Bandai Entertainment, Inc. on bilingual DVD). There are two different full collections which are easy to find, but note that they both use the same discs as the original single volumes, so it doesn't matter which one you get.
ANN Encyclopedia Entry

MAGICAL SHOPPING ARCADE ABENOBASHI (Jpn: ABENOBASHI MAHOU SHOUTENGAI)
Mune-Mune

The wild and wonderful Gainax (Japanese w/ some English) teamed up with Satoru Akahori for this recent series, and it's like they both got manically drunk and Gainax tossed Akahori the keys and said, "you drive." For those of you who don't know, he is an insanely prolific scriptwriter/director/novelist, many of whose works are represented on Being Upfront (some that aren't include KO Beast, Combustible Campus Guardress, Armored Dragon Legend Villgust, Maze and Raimu-iro Senkitan). A prominent part of his style is large amounts of hyperactive physical comedy, including this title, and the character designs of a lot of these titles reflects this approach. 11-year-old Satoshi "Sasshi" Imamiya and his female friend Arumi Asahina are hanging out in their decaying neighbourhood in Osaka, bemoaning the fact that a lot of the places from their past that they like are closing/being torn down, and wondering about the animal statues on top of some of the local shops. Arumi's grandfather accidentally knocks down the pelican statue on top of her family's restaurant, and, before long, the kids ain't in Kansas anymore--they've entered an alternate-universe equivalent of their neighbourhood, the Mahou Shoutengai (a street like an outdoor shopping mall, sometimes with canopied sidewalks; Mandarake in Osaka was in Higashidori Shoutengai when I visited there). Almost every episode from the second onwards flings them into a new type of setting, and parodies of the cliches of that setting (and some great globs of vulgarity) come flying at you at blur speed. One of the few constants of these settings is Mune-Mune ("mune" is the rough Japanese equivalent of "boobs"), who is never seen in the same outfit for any longer than one episode, but is always emphasized one way or another because of it. She is kind of like the villain of the show, albeit a highly comical one, and frequently teases Sasshi with her highly mobile attributes (of course, he goes for it, and usually gets thwacked by Arumi as a result). If you watched FLCL and felt like that was some good cocaine, Magical Shopping Street Abenobashi is crack--and only marginally less addictive. The most surprising things about this series are that it was originally broadcast on the CS Broadcast Kids Station in Japan (they got away with a lot; I don't think I'll ever see gyoza the same way again) and that a very poignant overall plot works its way through all the zaniness--and works. Utterly (udderly?) wild and Utterly Recommended.

Out of print (previously on ADV Films on bilingual DVD). Note that all the collections except the 10th Anniversary tin box set have the on-disc extras stripped off--including the ADV Vid-Notes which explained pretty much all the cultural references.
ANN Encyclopedia Entry

MAGICAL TWILIGHT (AKA The HeX Files)
Irene; Ayako (left to right)