A new
anime created in
1998 by
Sunrise Animation of
Japan, and
released in the US starting in
2000 by
ADV Films. The release is ironic, since it's a Sunrise/
Bandai Visual release, as
Bandai Visual has been
directing most of those towards their US video arm,
Bandai Entertainment (a seperate entity from the rest of Bandai altogether).
A
mecha anime, it involves the use of TAs, or
Tactical Armors, which unlike
Gundams, are
designed to be more
plausible, being
designed for urban combat as
opposed to
outright assault. They've only
minimal armamets, guns/tactical
missiles, but are
designed for high
maneuverability to
compensate for their
structural weakness. The enemy in this story has similar devices, but refers to theirs as "Fakes". Both machines draw their agility and speed from a mysterious artifical tissue known as
Mile One.
The
quality of the
animation is
typical of that of a TV
Anime, higher
quality in animation and
story than most
US animation, but it's
obvious Sunrise was
concentrating on their
other '98
releases, most notably
Cowboy Bebop and
Outlaw Star. At 25 episodes, it's also shorter than both series by one episode.
Each US DVD (released by
ADV) has a representative kanji printed on the back cover, and
embossed on the disc, which I have included here. Unicode, requires a Japanese-capable font.
Current
Episode List:
Disc 1 -
The Summoning - 能 (nou, yo(ku)) - Ability, Skill
Episode 1:
On the Ancient Stage of Stone
Episode 2:
Opening Movements
Episode 3:
Tantric Circle
Episode 4:
Mirage
Disc 2 -
The circle opens... - 舞 (bu, ma(u)) - Dance, circle, wheel
Episode 5:
The Touching
Episode 6:
The Puppet
Episode 7:
Return
Disc 3 -
Betrayal - 傀 (kai, ooki) - Large
*
Episode 8:
Inferno
Episode 9:
Storehouse
Episode 10:
Kugai
Disc 4 -
From the ashes... - 遁 (ton, nige(ru)) - Flee, evade, run
away
Episode 11:
Ties
Episode 12:
Unravel
Episode 13:
Disembark
Disc 5 -
Revelations - 時 (ji, toki) - Time, hour
Episode 14:
Companions
Episode 15:
The Threshold
Episode 16:
Karma
Disc 6 -
The Fires of War - 街 (kai/gai, machi) - Streets, town/city
Episode 17:
Chaos
Episode 18:
Rear Window
Episode 19:
Wails
Disc 7 -
In the Spider's Web - 乱 (ran/ron, mida(reru),wata(ru)) - Riots, war, disorder
Episode 20:
Upheaval
Episode 21:
Run
Episode 22:
Personification
Disc 8 -
To be a Kai - <I can't recognize the character here for the life of me>
Episode 23:
Eternal
Episode 24:
Punctuation
Episode 25:
Gasara
*Although the literal meaning of this
character is "big," it is the lead kanji for many phrases relating to being a puppet, such as: 傀儡師 (kairaishi) - one who pulls the strings, and 傀儡政府 (kairaiseifu) - a
puppet goverment.