Shotaro had become an Interpol agent, working with Branch Robo, the antirobot crime unit of that organization. He still employs Tetsujin.

Shotaro had become an Interpol agent, working with Branch Robo, the antirobot crime unit of that organization. He still employs Tetsujin.

In post-WWII Japan, Prof. Shikishima has built up Shikishima Industries to be a technological powerhouse, working on developing robots. However, at the heart of their success lurks a dark secret from the war, something that cost the life of Prof. Kaneda, the mentor of Prof. Shikishima. Now Kaneda's son, Shoutarou, is about to learn the truth, and it will change him forever.

In post-WWII Japan, Prof. Shikishima has built up Shikishima Industries to be a technological powerhouse, working on developing robots. However, at the heart of their success lurks a dark secret from the war, something that cost the life of Prof. Kaneda, the mentor of Prof. Shikishima. Now Kaneda's son, Shoutarou, is about to learn the truth, and it will change him forever.

Dr.Haneda was developing experimental giant robot warriors to fight the allies during the Second World War, but before his creations could see action, Allied bombs destroyed the facility and killed him. A decade later criminals discovered two of the surviving prototypes, #26 and 27 in the series, and used the remote controlled robots to commit a number of crimes. Young Shotaro Haneda, the twelve year old son of Dr.Haneda, did some investigating and discovered that the mob were hunting for the twenty-eighth robot in the series, rumoured to be the most powerful of them all. Racing the villains, Shotaro discovers the robot first, along with Dr.Shikashima, a colleague of his father's who was also believed killed by the Allied bombing. Together the two prevent Tetusjin-28 (the robot's official designation) from falling into the hands of the bad guys, and decide to dedicate him to peace rather than war. Shotaro fought crime for a long time, supported by Dr.Shikashima, who would repair Tetsujin-28 when he was damaged, and by police officer Otsuka. Shotaro even battled the alien Magmans, invaders from the planet Magma, who came to Earth late in his career, bringing their own giant robots, Magma X and Gold Wolf, with them.

This theatrical version based on the manga by Yokoyama Mitsuteru, deals with the genius boy detective Kaneda Shotaro and his giant robot, Tetsujin 28, set in Tokyo ten years after the end of the Second World War. Shotaro's missing brother appears as a a new character who was trained as a pilot of the soldier robot Tetsujin which Japan had created for the Second World War. However, with the end of the war, there was nothing left for him but a peaceful Japan. In the meantime, "Destruction Bombs" are found in many places in Tokyo. The bombs were developed by Professor Kaneda, the creator of Tetsujin 28 and Shotaro's father, as the ultimate weapons to protect the mainland. If the bombs explode, Tokyo will be reduced to ashes.

ased on a seinen manga by Kikuchi Naoe and Yokomi Hirohiko, serialised in IKKI. The "story" is that a manga artist is asked by her boss to accompany him and a travel-writer on various train trips around Japan and draw a manga about it. The kicker though, is that it's completely non-fiction —the creator really did go on all these trips, and the manga simply records what happened, with no embellishment. There's a little disclaimer at the front that says "This is non-fiction, so I apologize for the lack of drama," and indeed, it mostly is just about them riding trains from place to place, waiting on platforms, etc. The "travel writer" turns out to be a super train-otaku who has vast knowledge of the train network, but also micro-manages all their trips, planning every detail down to the second. He cares mostly about following the schedule and successfully achieving his planned goals (e.g. visiting all stations on a line in a completely bizarre order to accomodate infrequent trains). The mangaka doesn't really care about trains; she's cynical, sarcastic, and rather lazy (she mainly just looks forward to the next eki-ben); he's completely gung-ho as long as he's following the schedule, and the inevitable conflicts are pretty entertaining. Throughout, though, it feels real —if you've travelled by train in Japan it will all seem very familiar, not just the scenery, but also the atmosphere and feel— and the artist does a great job of pacing and applying little tweaks to keep it consistently entertaining. In an additional bit of recursiveness, some of the characters who show up in the manga (who of course are real people, who really did show up) do so because they (really) read previous episodes of the manga! In addition of course, you can learn about various out of the way and interesting Japanese train lines and stations; some of them really do look cool. There's always this vague sense of surreality about it however, the trips are all planned by the train-guy (goal: visit all 9,843 stations in Japan) who seems to consider everything as part of a checklist rather than an experience to be enjoyed. You learn a bit about train-otaku culture too; there's really only the one guy in the story, but train-otaku culture is a sort of constant peripheral presence.

Set in a future where machines have advanced to the point of autonomy and become a point of major contention in the political and social realms, Astro Boy (1980) chronicles the struggles of a crime-fighting young robot named Atom. Created in the image of his enigmatic inventor's deceased son, Atom survives rough beginnings, getting saved and adopted by the benevolent Dr. Ochanomizu. In his pursuit of justice, Atom finds himself in the midst of numerous clashes with various factions, and is often faced with the harsh realities of the world.

Tsutomu, an average middle school kid busy studying for the final exams to enter high school runs into a man running from someone and gets caught up in the chase. In all the confusion he gets accidentally killed. Luckily Birdy (an interplanetary agent) knows a way to save him, unfortunately that means joining bodies to become one. So now he is stuck with this officer and along for the ride capturing criminals and saving lives.

Tsutomu, an average middle school kid busy studying for the final exams to enter high school runs into a man running from someone and gets caught up in the chase. In all the confusion he gets accidentally killed. Luckily Birdy (an interplanetary agent) knows a way to save him, unfortunately that means joining bodies to become one. So now he is stuck with this officer and along for the ride capturing criminals and saving lives.

Federation investigator Birdy chases the space criminal Geega through space to Earth, where he hides in the entertainment industry under a human disguise. Birdy goes undercover herself, posing as famous model “Arita Shion” that often uses a ‘space girl’ look. A male student, Senkawa, stumbles upon a fight between the two one night in an abandoned building only to be severed in half as he is used as a shield by Geega against Birdy. Birdy heals him from imminent death in some fashion- but Senkawas body, and life, are now changed and permanently linked to Birdy.

Birdy uses her pin-up alter ego to help Tsutomu make a love connection with Sayaka, but everything goes horribly wrong when a Federation marionette is added to the equation!

Birdy uses her pin-up alter ego to help Tsutomu make a love connection with Sayaka, but everything goes horribly wrong when a Federation marionette is added to the equation!

Birdy and Tsutomu are still co-existing in the same body, as Birdy continues her duties as Federation Investigator and celebrity persona, and Tsutomu seeks to balance them with his normal everyday life. When a criminal group connected to the Ryunka incident escape from custody, hiding themselves and their alien identities on Earth, Birdy and Tsutomu are thrown back into action. It seems, however, that there are other forces involved, as well as old faces, which give Birdy time to reflect on the past, and the people that influenced her.

In a man-made underground society, descendants of a banished generation vie for control of the crumbling city of Lux. Ichise, an orphan turned prize fighter, loses a leg and an arm to satisfy an enraged fight promoter. On the brink of death he is taken in by a young woman doctor and used as a guinea pig for the next evolution of Texhnolyze. With his new limbs, Ichise is taken under the wing of Oonishi, a powerful leader of Organ, an organization with some hold on Lux. As Ichise is drawn deeper into a war for territorial control of the city, he learns of his possible future from the young girl prophet Ran, who guides him from the shadows in his darkest times. With the explosion of the warfare, Ichise must uncover the truth about Lux and fight for his survival as he realizes his destiny.

In a man-made underground society, descendants of a banished generation vie for control of the crumbling city of Lux. Ichise, an orphan turned prize fighter, loses a leg and an arm to satisfy an enraged fight promoter. On the brink of death he is taken in by a young woman doctor and used as a guinea pig for the next evolution of Texhnolyze. With his new limbs, Ichise is taken under the wing of Oonishi, a powerful leader of Organ, an organization with some hold on Lux. As Ichise is drawn deeper into a war for territorial control of the city, he learns of his possible future from the young girl prophet Ran, who guides him from the shadows in his darkest times. With the explosion of the warfare, Ichise must uncover the truth about Lux and fight for his survival as he realizes his destiny.

A semi autobiography of Tezuka Osamu. Son-Gokuu is a monkey who was born from a stone and is endowed with magical powers. He gets carried away and goes on a rampage until at last Buddha confines him within Mt. Gogyo. Saved by Sanzohoshi, Son-Gokuu accompanies him on a journey to India. But on their way, monsters lie in wait for them.

After living in Transylvania for several years, "Earl Dracula" (as Osamu Tezuka's official website calls him in English) has moved to Japan. In the Nerima Ward of Tokyo, he and his daughter, Chocola, and faithful servant Igor have taken up residence in an old-Western style house. While Chocola attends Junior High School, Earl Dracula is desperate to drink the blood of beautiful virgin women; an appropriate meal for a vampire of his stature. However, each night that Earl Dracula goes out on the prowl he finds himself getting involved in some kind of disturbance which leads to him causing various trouble for the local residents. With nobody in Japan believing in vampires, his very presence causes trouble amongst the people in town.

Through the Italian National Broadcasting Network, Tezuka Osamu received an ardent request from the Vatican to make the Bible into animated form. This request was probably made to see how the Bible would be depicted by the non-Christian Tezuka Osamu. Tezuka Osamu accepted the request and spent an entire two years to complete a pilot film. It was about the mythology of Noah's ark, with the enthusiastic Tezuka Osamu not only writing the scenario but also drawing pictures by himself. During production, however, he unfortunately passed away, so Director Dezaki took over the film and completed it.

Through the Italian National Broadcasting Network, Tezuka Osamu received an ardent request from the Vatican to make the Bible into animated form. This request was probably made to see how the Bible would be depicted by the non-Christian Tezuka Osamu. Tezuka Osamu accepted the request and spent an entire two years to complete a pilot film. It was about the mythology of Noah's ark, with the enthusiastic Tezuka Osamu not only writing the scenario but also drawing pictures by himself. During production, however, he unfortunately passed away, so Director Dezaki took over the film and completed it. (Source: official homepage) Note: While the series was in production during a period of several years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was not aired in Japan until 1997, on the satellite channel WOWOW. It was most likely broadcasted in Italy in 1992.

The arduous struggle of the 13 girls from Talent Production 765 who dream of one day becoming idols in the competitive Japanese entertainment industry.

Based on the [email protected] mobile game Cinderella Girls.

Second season of The [email protected] Cinderella Girls.

Unaired episode bundled with the ninth Blu-ray and DVD volume of The [email protected] Cinderella Girls.