Dave Wittenberg Movies
Gotham City has Batman and New York has Spiderman, but what dark hero protects the gritty, future Tokyo? The answer is the Karas, the main characters of this feature-film-length anime of the same name. Blending 2D cell-shaded animation and 3D computer graphics, Karas: The Prophecy finds the delicate balance between the humans of Tokyo and the ghostly beings that inhabit the city in a parallel universe suddenly disrupted. For thousands of years, the peace has been kept by noble beings called the Karas, who strive to make both the dark and light sides live in harmony. Power breeds corruption however, and now Eko, the current Karas -- who once swore to protect the city and maintain the balance there -- has since grown bitter and vengeful. He has granted some malicious poltergeists physical bodies so that he can personally rule the humanity he once served. The incarnate of the city, Yurine, must come to the people's aid and so she creates a new Karas to battle the old one. Two Karas have never existed in the same city before, and as a battle for the fate of humanity ensues, it is certain that only one will remain. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jay Hernandez, Matthew Lillard, (more)
The title of this Japanese anime series was an acronym for the Immortal Grand Prix, the most celebrated robot tournament of the year A.D. 2049. The human contestants in this tournament were obliged to maneuver their giant robots along a 60-mile track, racing and battling at top speed. Having won the IG-2 championship, the rookies of Team Satomi had earned the right to compete in the coveted IG-1. Managed by Mitsuko Satomi, granddaughter of the chairman of the once-mighty but now floundering Satomi Heavy Industries, the team was led by "forward" pilot Takeshi, a stubborn and rebellious youth. Other team members included Liz Riccardo, the obnoxious, hoydenish "defender" pilot to whom winning was the only thing that mattered; and child prodigy Amy, the team's "midfielder" and "tactician," who was able to merge her personality with that of her cybernetically enhanced cat Luca. The current IGPX champions were the members of Team Velshtein, coached by Sir Hamgra, who was Takeshi's mentor despite the fact that they were technically rivals. Providing the menaces were the foul-playing Yamma, Timma, and Dimma of Team Sledge Mama. Rounding out the cast were IGPX mechanic Mark Ramsey, who kept secret the fact that he was heir to a fortune, and announcer Benjamin Bright, the fabled "Voice of IGPX." In America, IGPX was sneak-previewed by Cartoon Network in "microseries" form in the fall of 2003 (presented in 5-minute serialized fragments), returning as a half-hour series by popular demand on November 15, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Haley Joel Osment, Michelle Rodriguez, (more)
Originally titled Gash Bell, this half-hour Japanese anime series was based on the manga by Makato Raiku. The premise: Every millennium, 100 Mamodo from outer space were sent to earth to battle for supremacy. Although not children, the Mamodo looked and acted like kids, and thus needed youthful human partners (actually counterparts) to activate their powers, as dictated in their ancient spell books. The winner, of course, would become King of Mamodo--but should one of the spell books be destroyed, the owner of that book would instantly disintegrate. The hero of the piece was Zatch Bell, an amnesiac Mamodo who was discovered and rescued by the archeologist father of junior high student Kiyo. Although Zatch and Kiyo were unaware of the awesome powers at their fingertips, they soon learned--especially when threatened by the series' various villainous Mamodo-King wannabes. For its American debut, Zatch Bell was served up as part of Cartoon Network's "Toonami" manifest on March 1, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Debi Derryberry, Jason Spisak, (more)
- 2002
- Add Naruto: The Movie - Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow to QueueAdd Naruto: The Movie - Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow to top of Queue
Based on the popular anime series of the same name, Naruto: The Movie follows the quest of a fledgling ninja who discovers that the actress he has been assigned to protect is in fact a princess from a magical land. Naruto has been hired to protect popular actress Yukie Fujikaze, but Yukie harbors a deep secret that could forever alter her protector's fate. Yukie is not only an actress, she's also a princess from the magical realm of Snow Country - which has recently been overtaken by a powerful evil. Now, as that evil strikes out with a vengeance, Naruto will find that overzealous fans are the least of his worries. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Junko Takeuchi, Maile Flanagan, (more)
- 2002
Created for Japanese television by Masashi Kishimoto, the half-hour anime series Naruto was set in the "ninja village" of Konoha. Protagonist Naruto Uzumaki was a misfit ninja-in-training who resorted to mischief so that people would notice him. Although circumstances had led the villagers to assume that Naruto was a demon, he was actually destined to become the "Hokage," or leader, of Konoha, but he was in desperate need of the input and support of his friends and fellow ninjas in order to accomplish this goal. Iruka and Kakashi were Naruto's main instructors at the Ninja Academy; his rival was Sasuke, heir to the fabled Uchicha ninja family, whose mission in life was to avenge the deaths of his loved ones; and Sakura was a gorgeous female ninja trainee, who was in love with the tactiturn Sasuke -- and who in turn was loved by the moonstruck Naruto. First telecast in Japan on October 3, 2002, Naruto was seen in the U.S. courtesy of Cartoon Network beginning September 10, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maile Flanagan, Yuri Lowenthal, (more)
- 2002
- Add Witch Hunter Robin [Anime Series] to QueueAdd Witch Hunter Robin [Anime Series] to top of Queue
Making its Japanese TV debut on July 3, 2002, the half-hour anime series Witch Hunter Robin was assembled by the prolific cartoon-merchandising combo of Sunrise/Bandai. The premise was predicated on the knowledge that witches still existed in the modern world, with rogue witches being the most deadly and dangerous of the species. The international organization SOLOMON was dedicated to hunting down and destroying these witches, using as its principal weapon a substance called Orbo which contained the witches' evil powers long enough to allow the "good guys" to triumph. The Japanese branch of SOLOMON, known as STNJ, was under the leadership of short-tempered Chief Kosaka. The newest member of this branch was Robin Sena, a girl named for the King of the Witches. Because of her awesome ability to control the element of fire, Robin had been raised in a monastery to keep her protected from the world -- and vice versa. Although a welcome addition to STNJ, Robin has to constantly monitor her powers lest they destroy both herself and her new co-workers. Others on the STNJ team were Robin's partner Amon, whose punkish demeanor kept hidden a number of dark secrets; Doujima, a lazy young lady who landed the job because of family connection; Karasuma, who could sense positive and negative vibes (which came in handy when detecting SEEDS, or potential witch families); Michael, who managed to avoid execution after hacking into STNJ's computer by agreeing to join the organization -- and to remain under "house arrest" all the while; Robin's roommate, Touko; and rookie member Sakaki. Also on hand was Robin's mentor, a mysterious lawyer named Nagira. In America, the 26-episode Witch Hunter Robin was added to Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" schedule on February 16, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kari Wahlgren, Crispin Freeman, (more)
