Help me identify a few anime titles

[greg]

OK, so back in the '90s when we'd have the Anime Archive BBS get-togethers, we would watch a ton of stuff. Several of these shows I cannot remember the name of.

One I've been trying to think of looked very similar to Ranma 1/2 in art style. It was not a Rumiko Takahashi title, but it really reminded me of it. It was a high school action comedy, very much like Ranma. The main character even had a sister who would wear a see-through nightgown, just like that one girl in Maison Ikkoku. Other than that, I cannot remember much. Does that ring any bells?

Another one was yet another high school action comedy. There was one scene during a school lunch and a cockroach was flying across the room, and one guy punched the roach in mid-air and it exploded. I think the protagonist had been challenged to a fight with the guy and was scared stiff, but IIRC, the punch was only effective on roaches.

A third title also eludes me. This was a movie from either the late '70s or early '80s or so, and it involved space travel with a family inside a yellow school bus. For the longest time, I assumed that the title was Space Family Carl Vinson, but that's not it. It was a very surreal movie. They'd do something, get back on the bus, it went through some warp, and they'd be somewhere else. Perhaps it was time travel? All I remember is a yellow school bus in space or something.

Sorry if these aren't very descriptive. Each of these anime GTs was an overload on my senses, lasting until late at night. No alcohol or anything was involved, because I wasn't even 21 at the time, and I was always the driver.

[Heero]

One I've been trying to think of looked very similar to Ranma 1/2 in art style. It was not a Rumiko Takahashi title, but it really reminded me of it. It was a high school action comedy, very much like Ranma. The main character even had a sister who would wear a see-through nightgown, just like that one girl in Maison Ikkoku. Other than that, I cannot remember much. Does that ring any bells?

Sorry, would love to help but need SOMETHING else to go on, for me that's just way to non-descript. Can you remember any incidents or what the characters were doing?

Another one was yet another high school action comedy. There was one scene during a school lunch and a cockroach was flying across the room, and one guy punched the roach in mid-air and it exploded. I think the protagonist had been challenged to a fight with the guy and was scared stiff, but IIRC, the punch was only effective on roaches.

I'm 90% sure that this is "Blazing Transfer Student" (which from what I'm told is from Gainax). It was only 2 episodes worth of OVA AFAIK. I think I have it somewhere on VHS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtxORWdsxG0
(The "bug killing punch" is in fact very effective against people, especially because it has a very short name. However, it disgusts girls, but the version that impresses the ladies is very ineffective)

A third title also eludes me. This was a movie from either the late '70s or early '80s or so, and it involved space travel with a family inside a yellow school bus.

No idea whatsoever.

[greg]

Blazing Transfer Student! That's it! Thanks. As for the other two, I really cannot provide any other information. Sorry if the first one was too vague, but that is really all I know. Art style was very similar to Takahashi's, it involved a high school action comedy, and of course the guy's sister was sexy. That's all I remember. I don't have the sharpest of memories, I guess.

[ZenAmako]

This reply is rather late - I just joined these forums - but the first one might be The Samurai (released on DVD by ADV in region 1.). Do you remember a pair of twin ninja girls? One of them can't stand boys, and the other one volunteers to be an artist's model, disrobing in the classroom to the excitement of all the male students. The hero's weakness is the female form, so his teacher and his sister (friend?) "train" him to not become defenseless at the sight of female flesh. The whole thing was very Rumiko-ish and the character designs were reminiscent of Zillion (same designer).

[greg]

Wow, I believe you are right! I can barely remember anything of this anime, except that the art was very '80s/Ranma 1/2 in style, and that one of the girls would wear seductive clothing and such. I just read this annoyingly biased review written by a turd who apparently does not care for '80s anime, and actually complains that it is a hand-drawn anime. I believe that this is it! Thank you so much!

Now if I can only find out which anime was the surreal one with the school bus in space...

[llj]

Wow, I believe you are right! I can barely remember anything of this anime, except that the art was very '80s/Ranma 1/2 in style, and that one of the girls would wear seductive clothing and such. I just read this annoyingly biased review written by a turd who apparently does not care for '80s anime, and actually complains that it is a hand-drawn anime.

Zac Bertschy! Hahaha. He's a pretty respected guy in the anime fan community, but he got jaded a long time ago and it sometimes shows in his writings and his posts on the ANN forum. In fact, you could say the same for a lot of ANN's writers--some of them just don't know it. I always say to people that anime is the easiest hobby to burn out on. I think it's ridiculous that there are anime fans who follow 15 shows A SEASON. If you're watching more than 10 anime TV shows A YEAR, you are gonna burn out fast. Hell, I even think more than 5 shows a year is bad enough.

[greg]

I always say to people that anime is the easiest hobby to burn out on. I think it's ridiculous that there are anime fans who follow 15 shows A SEASON. If you're watching more than 10 anime TV shows A YEAR, you are gonna burn out fast. Hell, I even think more than 5 shows a year is bad enough.

I think that's fair to say, depending on the amount of episodes per show and such. I guess stuff like Crunchyroll and Netflix makes such anime consumption possible, but I've never accessed stuff like that. I have some fansubs (I just realized that some shows like Akazukin Chacha and Mellowlink never got completed on my hard drive...), but I tend to focus on stuff I've bought more than fansubs. Unless I have physical media, I often forget I have something.

[usamimi]

Wow, I believe you are right! I can barely remember anything of this anime, except that the art was very '80s/Ranma 1/2 in style, and that one of the girls would wear seductive clothing and such. I just read this annoyingly biased review written by a turd who apparently does not care for '80s anime, and actually complains that it is a hand-drawn anime.

Zac Bertschy! Hahaha. He's a pretty respected guy in the anime fan community, but he got jaded a long time ago and it sometimes shows in his writings and his posts on the ANN forum. In fact, you could say the same for a lot of ANN's writers--some of them just don't know it. I always say to people that anime is the easiest hobby to burn out on. I think it's ridiculous that there are anime fans who follow 15 shows A SEASON. If you're watching more than 10 anime TV shows A YEAR, you are gonna burn out fast. Hell, I even think more than 5 shows a year is bad enough.

I have a real love/hate thing with Zac. I enjoy his podcast, and he writes a lot of smart things, but it's like you said--working in that job has really made him (understandably, I suppose) jaded, and sometimes it REALLY shows. There are even times on Twitter he lashes out at people for almost no reason, and it's really disappointing. It seems like a lot of people avoid ANN now because of stuff like that, which is a shame.

As for the last one, it sounds familiar but doesn't ring a bell...maybe davemerrill would know?

[llj]

I have a real love/hate thing with Zac. I enjoy his podcast, and he writes a lot of smart things, but it's like you said--working in that job has really made him (understandably, I suppose) jaded, and sometimes it REALLY shows. There are even times on Twitter he lashes out at people for almost no reason, and it's really disappointing. It seems like a lot of people avoid ANN now because of stuff like that, which is a shame.

Well, I avoid ANN for much more than just Zac. 90% of the posters on the forum there are intolerable. A few are REALLY good, but I can't imagine for what reason they stick around anymore.

My problem with most of their reviewers is a lack of diversity. A lot of them have like minded opinions, politics and, I suspect, backgrounds. The ones that I did like were actually pretty unpopular there. I liked Erin Finnegan's Shelf Life columns back in the day but almost after every column someone on the forum would get mad at her or find a reason to take personal offense whenever she slammed their favorite shows in a scathing manner. I liked that she had a distinct point of view that was all her own, even when I disagreed with her.

[usamimi]

I have a real love/hate thing with Zac. I enjoy his podcast, and he writes a lot of smart things, but it's like you said--working in that job has really made him (understandably, I suppose) jaded, and sometimes it REALLY shows. There are even times on Twitter he lashes out at people for almost no reason, and it's really disappointing. It seems like a lot of people avoid ANN now because of stuff like that, which is a shame.

Well, I avoid ANN for much more than just Zac. 90% of the posters on the forum there are intolerable. A few are REALLY good, but I can't imagine for what reason they stick around anymore.

My problem with most of their reviewers is a lack of diversity. A lot of them have like minded opinions, politics and, I suspect, backgrounds. The ones that I did like were actually pretty unpopular there. I liked Erin Finnegan's Shelf Life columns back in the day but almost after every column someone on the forum would get mad at her or find a reason to take personal offense whenever she slammed their favorite shows in a scathing manner. I liked that she had a distinct point of view that was all her own, even when I disagreed with her.

Oh I feel you on that. I rarely ever look at the forums because they seem to be just so TOXIC. I rarely see anyone posting anything of importance or merit. (Thank god for this forum, lmao)

Ah, see, I don't read a lot of reviews there anymore simply because I rely more on friends' word-of-mouth these days. I do read Answerman, Mike Toole's articles, House of 1000 manga, and those kinds of things, so that's probably why I didn't notice. Kinda sad to hear, though.