Hi I'm Dranzerstorm
You may remember me as a regular contestant on the caption battle contest.
Welcome to Retro Retrospective, my world dedicated to the old guard of the Otaku world; expect some reviews of the old & obscure, and in-depth geeky knowledge with the occasional top ten and I now have a logo.
Little info about me
Well I'm British and I'm in to all things animated and nostalgia.
I've grown up with every cartoon going and have watched hundreds of anime.
Oh and to answer a question I was asked once, no I don't wear glasses in real life, I would wear Loke's sunglasses though.
In this feature as a homage to the Oscars, I'll be discussing the one off American Anime Awards held back in 2007.
Held at New York Comic-Con back in 2007 the awards were presented by a number of ADVFilm actresses, the criteria covered every...
And now for the Top 10 Best ADVFilms trailers, same rules as the last one and once again some honorable mentions.
DaiGuard - Because it looked awesome even though it isn't.
Steam Detectives - Because great music sells even if your wearing giant buttons on your jacket.
Pretear - Because it looks very attractive for a show about wearable bishounen.
10. 801TTS Airbats
The most awesome piece of music you'll never find. A showcase of over enthusiastic guitar work over scenes of Aerial Displays and pretty pink smoke.
9. Dirty Pair Flash
I'm very biased with this one as this was the trailer that launched me into anime, a showcase of high octane action with under-dressed women and daft comedy was very influential on my mind as a young pre-teen.
8. Super GALS
This is one of the funniest trailers I've ever seen, high energy is always the key to a good show and Super GALS shows all of it. Not bad for a series that is basically "Clueless" in anime form.
7. Puni Puni Poemy
This trailer starts with an explanation that they tried to fit as much content that would pass the censors as possible but then gives up and says "Fine just show the scenes that won't get us sued". See ADV does have a sense of humor, so as to why they tried so many trailer commentaries, I do not know.
6. Gunsmith Cats
You don't see any footage from the show, all you see is a showcase of art featuring two girls with guns, grenades and a Shelby Cobra set to some jazz music. You may not know anything but you already want to find out more.
5. Kino's Journey
Sometimes commentary does work when applied correctly and the slice of life drama Kino's Journey did just that. It summarizes Kino's Journey into statements that describe exactly what happens backed up by the correct music.
4. Princess Nine
Another series that correctly uses commentary, this time in a style that has been used by popular movie trailers for generations. Commentary flowing with the correct scenes made this series about a women's Baseball team seem like something excellent.
3. Dragon Half
Everyone knows the sound of the Tamago Song. A showcase of hilarious slapstick played to a song about eggs quickly became the cult hit that everyone wanted back in the 90s. This series only became a cult hit because of this trailer.
2. Evangelion Series
Yes it appeared on the worst list as well but this trailer made the good list for using the Beethoven song "Ode to Joy". Always play this trailer loud and proud. If you don't Shinji will cry and that's more painful to watch.
1. Full Metal Panic
But if you want a perfect trailer that gets you in the mood for the series then it's Full Metal Panic. It starts off eerie with a naked Kaname Chidori floating through some kind of subspace to a high pitched chime which then breaks into dramatic mecha combat featuring a scene of helicopter wrestling, (That's Awesome) we then fall into a selection of light-hearted moments ending in a huge Sonic Boom which displays the title. This is the most awesome two minute trailer you'll ever see.
And that's your lot, it's sad that ADVFilms have gone but some of it's re-licensed products still carry the same spirit.
If you've been around the Anime World for as long as I have you may know about ADVFilms, a company that made sure that every anime was available to us or die trying, which eventually did kill them but that's beside the point. The core part of a typical ADVFilms license was a huge array of trailers attached onto the VHS or DVD which served as a small distraction to get popcorn or an equally edible snack much like trailers before a film. This list and and a 2nd list coming later on showcases the best and worst of ADVFilms trailers. Going against normal rules I don't have to have seen the anime only the trailers count on both lists, so lets begin.
Dishonorable Mentions: Getbackers - Because being told it'll be my favorite anime series is patronizing.
Comic Party Revolution - Because a talking fish with a cigar doesn't persuade me that this crap is worth watching.
Wedding Peach - Because it's just hilariously bad at how it rips off Sailor Moon.
10. Evangelion Platinum
ADVFilms spent far too much money marketing this series and having Asuka's awful dub voice advertise it doesn't persuade me to spend anymore on this franchise.
9. Zone of the Enders
There's far too much going on in this trailer to make any sense of what this series is about.
8. Sister Princess
Showcasing terrible dubbing along with repeating the words "Big Brother" doesn't really persuade me to buy this crap.
7. DNAngel
Before we even get going the main character has already failed in his love confession which is then followed later on by a cheesy chat up line. Not really hardcore entertainment.
6. Azumanga Daioh
Having Miss Yukari narrate the entire trailer in English almost made me not want to watch this series. Thank god there was a second trailer.
5. Noir
It starts off okay but then we get a snippet of the theme song showcased as an annoying broken record. Noir deserves better than that.
4. Jinki Extend
"I moved house to build my beloved model robots and then be told I have to pilot a Jinki" A title like Jinki Extend sounds dirty and the dialogue just sounds horrible. How could this pass for a license?
3. Yumeria
Another entry in the school of poor dub and repeating words, this time it's the word "Pervert" and they say it EVERY SINGLE TIME!!!!! And that's just the trailer.
2. Rahxephon
How do you showcase a series that the company is convinced can take on Evangelion? Start with a scream from a man and showcase a bunch of mecha that look like blow-up sex dolls. I should've used my fail face instead of Miss Yukari.
1. Gravion
An example of how to miss the point completely. Gravion was showcased as a deadly serious mecha series but anyone who has seen pictures or even the series itself knows that the color scheme, cheesy music and ecchi content no where near resembles the trailer we got.
So that's how not to preview an anime but stay tuned for the right way to preview an anime.
To start off on the retro review trail, I begin with an OVA from 1996 called Debutante Detective Corps; it's a very early ADVFilms title that by now is probably on a shelf somewhere in the States selling for peanuts.
Now as you can tell from the image it has 90s anime written all over it; rich vibrant colors, sharp animation and generally a bigger budget than most tv anime of the same era.
We start this short story with a normal school induction day, everything is normal until a motorcycle blasts through the stain glass window revealing our first rich girl Miyuki Ayanokouji as kindly described by the Engrish profile.
Next up riding a bicycle that can outrun a Porsche 911, Reika Shuu who according to what I can make out of the translation is a Chinese Mafia boss' daughter. In close proximity we are then joined by Youko Ryuuzaki using the most dignified of high class travel, a limousine. Apparently this girl is Hitler's granddaughter. Following on from Youko we get Nina Kirov descending from her own attack helicopter which she blows up (What a waste). Nina is listed as being the granddaughter of a surviving Romanov. To finish off the flashy opening scene we get Miyuki's sister Kimiko turn up with a police escort. Based on that sequence we're probably going to hate the main character, a core part of 90s anime.
The police have turned up because someone wants to kill the girls, for what reason is usually obvious but apparently the killers actually want to rid the world of these girls for representing everything bad about the world. So for a change it's not money.
Afterwards we get a showcase of the girls talents for the rest of the episode so try to keep track if you can.
Miyuki hacks into the frequency of the police phone so that Youko can memorize the voice of the police chief so they can clear them away, Youko then uses disguise power that makes Sailor Moon's version look like a cheap magic trick to imitate the officer to clear the area of police. Sadly doing so gets them caught in Sniper fire which chases the girls to a room with a bomb in. (Continuity Error: Youko's disguise has magically disappeared)
Nina then builds a huge sniper rifle which she somehow hid in her lingerie and takes out the sniper with a bubblegum bullet (She also uses it for boy hunting). Now it's Reika's turn to fight as she takes on the muscle man who for some reason grows to the same size as the building, Reika doesn't do well at first but once she unleashes her "Maidenly Wrath", (Real Dub line) she defeats the muscle man; meanwhile Miyuki fails miserably to defuse the bomb and are now faced with a fighter jet. Kimiko then unleashes her Hadouken only to miss, but then she uses some kind of psychic link to take control of the jet and crash it into the school causing the bomb to explode. Once the terrorists are caught, Kimiko announces the formation of the Debutante Detective Corps only to be met with an angry response from her friends as they figure out that she set up the whole terrorist attack to begin with and so ends the episode with a catchy 90s theme.
This show plays with some interesting ideas seeing as French animation "Totally Spies" is arguably the same concept of super rich teenagers as spies; but sadly the execution was way off, it's just too cheesy; the characters save it from total failure and far worst series have gotten more episodes than this, but if you spend five minutes more with a character who openly says that she loves herself then your gonna have to turn off.
Dubbing quality isn't much better, if you recognize anyone then it's probably Larissa Walcott playing Reika Shuu, while everyone else did small roles for other series or in the case of two actresses, this is their only role; pity as Shana McClendon did a good job as Miyuki.
Overall this series never made an impact on the anime world and only existed to try and create a little diversity among the heavy weights at the time.
Final Verdict: Watch it as a build up to a better anime much like the cartoons you get before films start.
