Saishuuheiki Kanojo by John Thacker Shuuji and Chise have just begun to date, but Shuuji isn’t sure about the idea. It’s his first relationship and he feels awkward and uncomfortable. Sure, she’s nice enough, and cute, but he doesn’t really know if he wants to date Chise. He really doesn’t think he loves her, and most of all he’s uncomfortable doing “couple” things. (She wants him to write in an exchange diary?! How embarrassing.) It just doesn’t seem to be working, so he asks her to meet her after school, where he plans to break the news to her. Of course, that conversation doesn’t go nearly as planned, as Chise has a few confessions of her own. It’s the next day Since there are exactly zero SaiKano images when things start to get really strange available on the internet, please enjoy this though... photo of the cast of Sabor Marionette J. Tonight CJAS shows the first episode of the recent Japanese TV series Saishuuheiki Kanojo, alternately known in English as She, the Ultimate Weapon, or My Girlfriend the Ultimate Weapon. As the title indicates, it’s about a guy, Shuuji, whose girlfriend, Chise, has for some (not very clear) reason been made into Japan’s Ultimate Weapon. Most of the time, she’s still a normal, insecure high school student, but when in the midst of danger she partially transforms, and becomes unstoppable. Of course given such a setup one might expect SaiKano to be a loud, violent, action-packed, aggressive series, with lots of focus on fighting and technology; a typical shounen adrenaline rush. Not exactly. Instead, we get a tragic romance, filled with lush landscapes and character development. People are reluctant to go to war. They get hurt, emotionally and physically, even if bystanders. The focus is always on the lives and feelings of each of the characters, and what they go through. It’s nothing new for an anime to have a particularly unusual or detailed premise, but it is used mainly as backdrop to a strongly character-driven story. From the classic mahou shoujo anime to the shounen bildungsroman that is FLCL, plenty of anime operate in this manner. In fact, the character-driven, rather than situational, nature of anime is often considered one of its distinguishing characteristics. Characters change as they experience a continuous story, rather than resetting after each strange situation they encounter. This sad and often depressing show is based off a manga by Shin Takahashi that ran for seven volumes, far longer than expected. A thirteen episode show originally airing Tuesday (Continued on back page) In Defense of The Hakkenden by Steve Sinnott This week we’ll be showing the sixth episode of The Hakkenden, a series that hasn’t garnered much audience love this semester. This is sad since I really like this show and was pretty happy when it made it into the schedule. So I have to ask myself: why do most people not care for The Hakkenden? I can think of some broad reasons why people might dislike the show and will do my best to convince these people to reconsider. The animation in The Hakkenden is not spectacular. To those who feel that this detracts from the show I say “pish-posh” (and you can quote me on that). The story is set in fuedal Japan; bright clothes and bright scenery would be out of place so we see good reason for the drab color scheme. The character designs are very authentic — this is one of the few anime I’ve seen where the characters actually look Japanese (at least the main ones — at least one of the nobility looks like a whale dipped in flour...you know the one I’m talking about). Furthermore, considering the time (1993) and the low budget the creators had to make this series they did a fine job on the animation (except in episode 10 where you will quite possibly see the ugliest animation you have ever or will ever see). To some the plot is just too weird. Okay at the moment the plot is a little convoluted, but there are eight main characters to introduce and only thirteen episodes to the series. Each character clearly deserves close to one episode of introduction so this doesn’t leave much time for plot explication. But in general the plot is very simple: 1. The Satomi clan is cursed by demonic powers. 2. The Dog Warriors, the reincarnated unborn children of Fuse, must lift this curse. See, nothing simpler than that, right? Of course all the side stories that go along with the introductions tend to get in the way of this simple plot. Another thing which really picks the series up is the opening theme. This minimalistic work really does a nice job of giving the requisite “freaky” overtones to the intro - and is a pretty nice song when you get down to it. All I can do is hope that my arguments have swayed some of the show’s detractors and for those who had not yet made up their minds that it pushed them to consider the show in a more positive light. So sit back and enjoy this series which is sometimes referred to as a cult classic of anime! Hmm... I count seven. Looks like poor Shinbei got left behind again. The Top Ten Things You Should Not Admit To as a Male Anime Fan by Joint Effort 10. You have, of your own free will, watched Sailor Moon. 9. Your idea of classic dialogue is: “Miaka.” “Tamahome.” “Miaka!” “Tamahome!!” 8. You cry during Escaflowne. 7. You find the latent hostility underlying the relentless violence of Berserk to be deeply disturbing, and wish that Gatts would develop better communication skills and learn to solve his problems through sincere dialogue. 6. Two words: CLAMP posters. 5. You think Ranma has a cool superpower. 4. Mai Shiranui is your idea of a well-developed female character. 3. You are prepared to debate the relative plot merits of La Blue Girl and Twin Dolls. Gatts - speaks softly and carries... 2. You lay awake at night worrying that Aya might be unfaithful to well, you get the idea. Toya with Yuhi. And the number one thing a male anime fan should never admit to… 1. You can do Naga’s laugh. “ “ Remember that game Final Fight for the Super Nintendo? Remem- ber how you’d walk around, beat- ing people up, and sometimes you’d punch a trash can and a roasted chicken would fall out? That’s pretty much what dinner at Jansen’s is like.”” -Damien Ragsdale You heard it from the horse’s mouth, folks. Only CJAS concessions can wipe such a taste Wait a minute! I find Mae’s, uh, off of the tongue. “character” to be very “deep,” don’t you? More SaiKano at 2am on TV Tokyo (just before Chobits) starting on July 2, 2002, it proved quite popular. Despite being so recent, SaiKano is available because its Japanese Region 2 DVD release contains English subtitles. It’s a very solid translation overall. There is one awkward spot, although it would prove a problem for any translator. Shuuji normally uses the (arrogant, masculine-sounding) personal pronoun “ore” to refer to himself when speaking to Chise. At one telling moment he uses “boku,” a somewhat softer, more boyish term, when speaking to her. Chise finds it quite cute, which embarrassed Shuuji all the more. The translators end up subtitling it as “this boy,” which is awkward. My Girlfriend the Ultimate Weapon’s Chise is played by Fumiko Orikasa, who has had many roles in CJAS shows this year. She’s Seras Victoria in Hellsing and the teacher Azusa Fuyutsuki in GTO this semester, played Saki Yoshizawa in Boogiepop Phantom last semester, and has appeared in marathons as Meia Gisborn in ...and this one, of some people from some Vandread, Kotori Monou in X TV, and Chiaki Komatsu in Niea_7. anime with ninjas in it, I guess. By contrast, the role of Shuuji appears to be Shirou Ishimada’s debut. Saishuuheiki Kanojo is animated by Gonzo, the animation company specializing in computer graphics (CG) animation and responsible for this semester’s Hellsing. Other Gonzo shows include Vandread, Gatekeepers, Blue Sub no. 6, Melty Lancer, Real Bout High School, and Full Metal Panic. You’re always welcome at Manga Club (Wed. 8:00 PM, Big Red Barn). It’s rumored that Priscilla can even read this stuff. ^_^ Newsletter Staff Emperor: Tommy Mastrangelo Evil Mastermind: Andrew Gould Lackeys: Steve Sinott, John Thacker, Joint Effort Flash that CJAS membership card at Sam Goody’s in Collegetown for 10% off all anime related goods..