Summer of 1995 DBZ/Slam Dunk Anime Fest Reviews



Introduction

1995 Summer Movie Threesome Review
Ninku, Slam Dunk, Dragon Ball -- July 15

*** Spoilers Lay Await Inside ***

1995's summer triple feature appealed, as always, to children. After all, that's the audience that these flicks are aimed towards, and they certainly made up the bulk of the viewers at the theater on July 15 (in Tokuyama, the one theater carrying these films only shows this triple feature as a morning matinee; Apollo 13 took over from noon on for the rest of the day.)

All three movies have pretty good animation and character designs. Toei Studios is good at action scenes, and the special effects in these three films are indeed good. But, the stories are only so-so, and in the scenes that are largely dialog, the characters all become motionless talking heads.

My favorite scenes are:

If anyone can add to this file, feel free to contact me via e-mail.

Return to the top of this file



Ninku Ninku 30 Minutes

I hate the Ninku manga, and I gave up on the TV series after 5 minutes (fortunately, the show is off the air now.) But, the movie actually wasn't half bad, once I got over the feeling that none of these characters could fight their way out of a wet paper bag. The basic concept is that the heroes (Little frogfaced Fuusuke, loincloth-clad Touji, bad-attitude Aichou, plain-jane Rihoko, and penguin Hiroyuki) are all part of a ninja secrets-using team (Ninku) -- although Rihoko and Hiroyuki are nothing more than window dressing for fanboys and small children.

The heroes are flying in Aichou's plane when it runs out of fuel and crashes near a small town. They go to the town, only to find that the famed Ninku Team are already there, lording it over the townspeople in return for protection from evil outsiders. The fake Ninku Team are actually part of a failed circus, and have resorted to imitating Fuusuke's group to raise money to try to resurrect the circus.

Three evil fighters try to extort money from the town, and have to fight the true Ninku Team instead. (The villians are: Yamato, Musashi, and Asuka. Each of them uses a different element -- wind, earth, fire -- as part of their secret fighting styles). After the villians are destroyed, the fake Ninku team has to face the real article and explain themselves.

Lots of slapstick gags, and some action.

Return to the top of this file



Slam Dunk Hoeru Basukettoman Damashii!!
Hanamichi to Rukawa no Atsuki Natsu
Howling Basket-Man Spirit!!
Hanamichi's and Rukawa's Hot Summer 		30 Minutes

It's summer vacation, and the Shohoku basketball team are out practicing. Haruko runs into an old girlfriend, Akane Mizusawa, and learns about the plight of Akane's younger brother -- Ichirou. Ichirou used to be a good basketball player, and captain of his school's team (he was also kind of a friend of Rukawa's.) But, Ichirou's been diagnosed with an unrepairable knee problem. And, since basketball is his life, Ichirou goes into a depression that bothers his family.

Gori (Takenori, Haruko's older brother) and Rukawa don't want to get involved, but Hanamichi will do anything for Haruko. Later, Gori is in the doctor's office having his ankle checked, and he realizes that he'd lose interest in life if his own ankle hadn't healed, so...

The Shohoku team decides to set up a 4-on-4 game, with Hanamichi and Ichirou on one side, Rukawa and Gori on the other. This will be the last game that Ichirou will ever play, but Rukawa is determined to defeat Ichirou, no matter what the boy's disability is.

The basketball sequences aren't that great, but Sakuragi Hanamichi's pratfalls and postering are pretty funny.

Return to the top of this file



Dragon Ball Z:
Movie 13 		Ryuuken bakuhatsu!! Gokuu ga Yaraneba Dare ga Yaru
Dragon-Fist Explosion!! If Gokuu Can't Do it, Who Can? 		50 Minutes

A long time ago, a group of evil magicians brought a huge, skull-faced demon -- Hirudegarn -- to life to terrorize their planet. The demon could only be controlled by two gourd whistles and a legendary sword. Tapeon and his little brother, Minosha, had used the gourd whistles to play a song that calmed Hirudegarn long enough for the demon to be cut in two, and trapped within the bodies of the two brothers. Tapeon was sealed in a music box and shot out into space....

It's a busy day in Satan City for the crimefighting team Great Saiya-man (Gohan is Saiya-man 1, and Beederu is Saiya-man 2) when they get a call that a crazy old man is trying to commit suicide by jumping from a tower. The old man, Hoi, is rescued, and he shows Gohan a box that can't be opened. The boy tries to turn the crank, but can't. The box is given to Beederu, but her science toys can't see inside it. So, the Z Fighters round up the Dragon Balls and ask Shenlon to make the box open. This happens, and Tapeon steps out.

Minosha, who used to look just like young Trunks, was killed long ago, and his half of the demon starts stalking Satan city and trashes it. Tapeon escapes to a deserted factory plant, and is followed by Trunks (Trunks keeps bringing food to Tapeon, but Tapeon keeps chasing him away.) When Tapeon falls asleep, his half of the demon tries to escape from his body, but is then recaptured when Tapeon wakes up again. Eventually, Tapeon is befriended, and he explains everything to Buruma. Buruma tries to make a demon-capturing bedroom, but Hoi is using his own magic to awaken Hirudedarn. Tapeon's half of the demon escapes Buruma's trap and becomes whole again.

The Z Fighters help trash the city in their attempt to defeat the demon, and Goten and Trunks use Fusion to become Gotenks (but, Gotenks' energy attacks cause the demon to go into a cocoon phase before emerging as a giant WINGED demon.) The Z Fighters get mulched, Tapeon tries to use his whistle, but it shatters. Trunks tries to use Tapeon's sword on the demon, but Gokuu switches to Super Saiya-jin 3, and announces that Hirudegarn is HIS to defeat. Gokuu pulls out a Super Punch (Ryuuken) and destroys the demon.

Afterwards, Buruma makes a time machine to return Tapeon to the time when the boy had been shot into space, and Tapeon gives the sword to Trunks (thereby explaining how future Trunks came by the sword that had been used to carve up Freeza and Freeza's Father in the manga.)


One-Shot Characters
Tapeon A teenaged elf with a bright red mohawk and a gold band connected to the back of his head. Carries a sword and a gourd whistle. Has one half of a demon trapped within his own body.
Minosha A smaller elf with an orange mohawk. He looked like Trunks. Carried a sword and a gourd whistle. Killed in a flashback at the beginning of the movie.
Hoi An evil little magic user that wants the energy gained from the demon when it destroys stuff. Pointed ears, red skin, long bushy white hair, and catfish stickers on his cheeks. Stepped on by Hirudegarn.
Hirudegarn 1000 year old, VERY tall, fire-breathing skull-faced demon. Blown into dust by Gokuu's Dragon Punch.

There's some VERY GOOD special effects here, and lots of death and destruction as the demon wastes Earth. Good mind candy. Recommended for small children. ;)

Return to the top of this file



Revision History


People who helped me on these files:

Return to the top of this file



You can contact me at: riemann96@yahoo.com

Return to the Main Index
Return to the top of this file