Hikari

11

PG-13

Hataraki Man

Hiroko Matsukata is a woman who works for a magazine company. She puts all she has into her work, and is known as a strong, straight-forward working girl, who can at will turn herself into Hataraki man (working man) mode. Despite Hiroko's success at work, her life lacks romance. Even though a hard worker, she'd leave early anytime to go on a date. Too bad her boyfriend is an even bigger workaholic than Hiroko. (Source: ANN)

TV Fall 2006 6.99

49

PG-13

Patalliro!

Patarillo! is set in a society much like ours in most ways, with one decided twist. The manga on which it is based is one of the much-read works produced for adolescent Japanese girls that features a healthy proportion of gay men and beautiful teenagers aka bishounen (beautiful boys). Most of the action takes place in Marinera, the land of eternal spring, located somewhere in the South Seas. The country is a major producer of diamonds; they provide much of the basis of conflict in the anime series. They come from one of the most prolific mines in the world, owned by the king of Marinera, the vertically challenged but horizontally endowed boy-king Patarillo himself. The International Diamond Syndicate - a huge semi- criminal organization/ secret society dedicated to taking over the world's entire diamond supply- wants that mine and will stop at nothing to get it. In the early episodes they send off a number of bishounen assassins to do in Patarillo, which necessitates his having a bodyguard, the English MI6 agent, Major Jack ('Bishounen-Killer') Bancoran. Bancoran's nickname doesn't mean he shoots bishounen in cold blood. The soubriquet comes from the fact that no male under the age of 17 can resist his sexual fascination. This, to Bancoran's eternal disgust, includes Patarillo himself. The action switches often from Marinera to MI6 headquarters in London (London seems to be an easy two hour's flight from the South Seas) or Bancoran's palatial condo in the suburbs of same. (MI6, be it noted, looks a lot like Fritz Lang's Metropolis, while Jack's 'apartment' bears a passing resemblance to Randolph Hearst's spread.) The action also goes into the past and future and out into space. Patarillo evidently gets around. (Source: aestheticism.com)

TV Spring 1982 7.29

20

PG-13

Honoo no Alpenrose: Judy & Randy

While Randy was walking through the Swiss countryside he finds a small girl, who seemed to be the only survived person from an airplane crash. The little girl didn't remember anything, and Randy decided to take care of her and he called her Judy. The both go their childhood together. A few years later, Judy, now 16 years old, wants to find her past. With the help of Randy, she leaves to research her origins. Her single clue is a song that she keeps hearing in her head, the song is called Alpine Rose. At a time of world war, these two young people will have to overcome many obstacles to arrive at their goal in this time of war, with having only each other to comfort and support. The depth of their love. (Source: ANN)

TV Spring 1985 6.77

40

G

Daisougen no Chiisana Tenshi: Bush Baby

When Jackie Rhodes, a british girl living in Kenya with her family, finds an ill animal called a Bushbaby, she adopts him, calls him Murphy and nurses him back to health. Murphy, Jackie, her family and their friends go on many adventures involving wild animals, poachers and more. But when Jackie's father is recalled to England, Jackie must leave her life in Africa behind. However, before she can go, Jackie, Murphy and Tembo, a friend of Jackie's father, go on one last adventure: they must cross the dangerous savannah to escape the poachers and corrupt police officers chasing them. Along the way, Jackie teaches the now domesticated Murphy to survive in the wild, so that, before she leaves, she can release him in his natural habitat. (Source: ANN)

TV Winter 1992 7.01

G

6