Eiiji Sashida Movies
The first Japanese anime series created specifically for America's Cartoon Network, The Big O nevertheless made its official debut over Japanese television on October 13, 1999. The series was set in Paradigm City, some forty years after the metropolis was devastated by "the Event," an unspecified catastrophe which also wiped out everyone's memories. The citizenry of this post-apocalyptic society lived under martial law with Roger Smith (aka "The Negotiator") forsworn to look after the best interests of the populace. Helping Roger are his butler, Norman; his android companion, Dorothy; and his robot "bodyguard," the titular Big O. Although Roger was at first loyal to the leaders of Paradigm City, he began to seriously question their right to rule as he delved deeper and deeper into the secrets of the distant past. The Big O made its American premiere as part of the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block on April 2, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Lucas, Lia Sargent, (more)
- 1998
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When a mysterious soldier known only as the Professor takes his revenge on the Japanese government, havoc is wreaked throughout Tokyo. Until the government pays the Professor a ridiculously high ransome, the city will be destroyed. Tokyo's only hope is the City Hunter (sharpshooter, expert detective, ladies man, natch) whose combination of pistol-slinging and charm is the only thing standing between the city and its ultimate desecration. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- 1998
"Runaway Angel" introduces Kei and Yuri, codenamed The Lovely Angels, two young and hotheaded "trouble consultants" for the galactic Worlds Welfare Work Association (3WA). Both are spending the evening trying to enjoy some time off from their duties -- Kei is on probation and Yuri is playing hooky -- when a dying stranger gives Yuri a computer card and insists that she get it to the 3WA as soon as possible. Just as he dies at her feet, a handful of uniformed men appear and try to wrest the card from Yuri, who wants nothing to do with it and tries to foist in on Kei. A police officer pegs the Angels and the uniformed men as gang members and the chase is on, with a bickering Kei and Yuri trying to get the card to 3WA headquarters, even if they have to cross through District 427 -- an area so dangerous, police don't enter for fear of their lives.
Waldess, the CEO of GCN, opens "Darkside Angel" by discussing the plans for GCN and the Lucifer organization to take over the administrative and maintenance contracts for the Siren communications space station, and from there take over all galactic communications and eventually the Galactic Federation. The only wrinkle is that he must recover the computer card from the 3WA. Elsewhere, Kei and Yuri fail to protect a GCN employee from being assassinated. In a rage, Kei chases the sniper and discovers that it's a beautiful woman with a cybernetic arm, codenamed Lady Flare. Sure that something is going on and irked that her skills are being called into question, she continues the hunt even though they've been taken off the case. Meanwhile, Yuri learns more about the original Lovely Angels. ~ Emru Townsend, All Movie Guide
- 1998
In "Frozen Angel," the hotheaded Kei is escorted out of the GCN building by police when she confronts Waldess. The "police" turn out to be undercover 3WA agents, incensed that she's stepping on their turf. 3WA Chief Garner praises Kei's detective work but tells her to stick with Yuri on her actual assignment -- guarding professor Kaps, who is working on decoding the GCN computer card. In a huff, Kei resigns from the 3WA and pursues Waldess and Lady Flare to an ice planet on her own.
"Sleeping Angel" opens with Garner trying to convince Kei to cancel her resignation from the 3WA. Yuri in particular needs her, as she has found professor Kaps (last seen fleeing for his life from Lady Flare), who has retreated into a neural virtual reality. Yuri plans to "dive" into Kaps's consciousness to try to waken him, but Kei doesn't want to have anything to do with it -- until she spots the uniformed men who had chased them earlier heading toward a defenseless Yuri's location. ~ Emru Townsend, All Movie Guide
In "Sleeping Angel," Chief Garner discovers that Lady Flare is still alive, and tries to use that information to convince Kei to return to the 3WA. Meanwhile, Waldess and his aide are on the run from both the 3WA and their vengeful masters. The 3WA plot an ambush for them at the spaceport, but things go horribly wrong because of Yuri's new bubbleheaded partner.
In "Lovely Angel," Waldess escapes to the Siren space station, with Lady Flare in silent pursuit. The 3WA mount an assault on Siren, but not before Waldess manages to gain control over the space station's control center. Waldess disables the strike force, revealing his plan to rule the galaxy. Garner reunites Kei and Yuri, and the three of them manage to penetrate Siren's defenses -- setting the stage for the links between Garner, Kei and Yuri, Lady Flare, and the original Lovely Angels to be revealed. ~ Emru Townsend, All Movie Guide
Katsuhiro Otomo, director of the groundbreaking anime feature Akira (1988), returns with this visually striking fusion of the past and the future. It's the Industrial Age in England, reimagined, and various and sundry inventors and scientists are arriving in Britain to hawk their products while capitalism rears its ugly head. A gadget-happy British lad named Ray (voice of Anna Paquin) receives a mysterious package from his grandfather Lloyd Steam (Patrick Stewart) -- a tiny ball that turns out to be an engine toting immense power. As it happens, several of these little balls run the O'Hara pavilion, a massive, mobile fortress. Ray later discovers that his dad and grandfather are located inside of the pavilion; his dad, Eddie, has become mesmerized by O'Hara and subject to their whims, while Lloyd suspects that O'Hara may want to use the balls for nefarious purposes, and tries to put a definitive end to those plans. Indeed, the O'Hara people soon take over the Great Exhibition and turn it into a veritable circus for weapons dealers. Meanwhile, Ray starts to develop feelings for a young girl named Scarlett O'Hara. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Suzuki, Manami Konishi, (more)
- 2001
James Links is a hard-living, hard-drinking, hard-working cargo hauler who was once an officer in the United Nations global army. Five years before, when his wife Rachel was killed while working in a laboratory on Mars and his children were sent to live elsewhere, James was discharged from the military. His new life as a mover is very different, but he still dreams of reuniting with his family. The daydreams come to a halt, however, when he discovers a deadly new weapon aboard his cargo ship, Ender. Now it's time for James to revisit the training of his old life and embark on an adventure that could end up giving him the chance he's wanted for so long. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
