This six-part OVA serves as a bridge between Saber Marionette J (1995) and Saber Marionette J to X (1998). It repeats the weirdly sexist setup from the earlier series: decidedly female-looking robots called Marionettes take the place of women on Terra II. The first three episodes play as a sort of domestic comedy, with Faust sending his three Marionettes, Tiger, Panther, and Luchs, to learn about domesticity from Otaru's crew of Lime, Cherry, and Bloodberry. In the woods, Lime meets the mysterious and powerful Marionette Marine, who joins their household. The story darkens in the second trio of episodes, as a once-every-80,000-years "Plasma Storm" threatens to destroy Terra II. The dangers are increased via a weird subplot in which the nasty president of New Texas tries to capture Marine using "liquid metal" cyborgs lifted from Terminator 2. Much of J Again plays like a very un-PC cross between Tenchi and Slayers. The Marionettes all love Otaru and desire only to please him, although it's not clear why. Unlike Tenchi or Akito in Nadesico, Otaru never displays the good heart or hidden powers that would make him worth all the bother. The series offers lots of "fan service" jiggle shots, and there's a running gag involving Hanagata, a gay guy who makes passes at Otaru, only to get punched out by him-all of which will probably delight many adolescent boys, the obvious audience for the discs. [+]

Earth is a desolate wasteland in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Humanity has been decimated by an invasion of Phantoms, insubstantial aliens that extract and devour the spirits of living things. The few remaining humans have retreated to a handful of cities that are protected by massive bio-energy shields. The beautiful Dr. Aki Ross (voiced by Ming-Na) and her mentor Dr. Sid (Donald Sutherland) have discovered that the energy signatures of eight key Earth spirits can cancel out and destroy the Phantoms. With the help of Captain Edwards (Alec Baldwin) and his band of marines, they must scour the globe for the last two remaining spirits before General Hein (James Woods) manipulates the refugee government into attacking the aliens with an orbital laser that may also destroy the Earth. Hironobu Sakaguchi's film is taken from the popular Final Fantasy video game franchise, which is particularly well suited to film adaptation with its series of original stories, but the movie features entirely new characters and settings. And like Toy Story and Shrek, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is completely computer generated. Unlike those cartoon comedies, though, The Spirits Within is a serious science fiction drama with astonishingly human digital actors. [+]

The Garlic Jr Boxed Set includes episodes 93 - 102 Gohan's going fishing, Krillin's found a girlfriend, and it looks as though peace has once again returned to the Earth. But a terrible evil lurks beneath this tranquil surface in the shape of Garlic Junior, who has escaped from the Dead Zone with only one thing on his mind - revenge. And with Goku, the Earth's most powerful fighter, still missing, will the world be ready to withstand this dark new threat? Can anyone escape the reach of the Black Water Mist, or will the entire world be drafted into Garlic Junior's army of darkness? As Piccolo attempts to hold off the Spice Boys and the infected Z Fighters, Gohan and Krillin race toward Kami's Lookout in hopes of retrieving the one thing capable of reversing the effects of the Black Water Mist - the Sacred Water. But this won't be easy, because the Sacred Water is closely guarded by Garlic Junior himself! Can they possibly succeed? Gohan and Krillin reach Kami's Lookout, but come face to face with Garlic Jr. 's new watchdog - Piccolo! Gohan is the only one left to save the earth, but can he do it with his best friend against him? Garlic Junior and his Spice Boys have harnessed the evil power of the Makyo Star to become stronger than ever. Deep within the Lookout, Kami and Mr. Popo are still besieged by the Former Guardians! Will they be able to spread the Sacred Water in time to foil Garlic Junior's plans? Blinded by rage and desperate to destroy his enemies, Garlic Junior uses his power to open up the terrible Dead Zone! Will Gohan be able to do what it takes to put an end to Garlic Junior and save the Earth, even if it means sacrificing his friends?.

In another world, another time, all the old legends of vampires. of ghosts. of werewolves. and all manner of things that go bump in the night, are real. [+]

Three junior high school girls hear a voice pleading for them to save Cephiro, a magical world where belief is power. It is Princess Emeraude, the Pillar, whose will maintains the peace. When the peace is threatened, she uses her last bit of strength to summon forth the three girls destined to become Magic Knights and save her world.

This straight-to-video sequel to The Swan Princess concerns the kidnapping of Prince Derek's mother, a crime that lures the prince into danger himself. Princess Odette can save him-but only if she becomes a swan herself. Even given the lesser ambitions and budgets afforded direct-to-video sequels, it's hard to accept that this boxy, unexciting movie has the same director (Richard Rich) as the fine, first feature in the series. More like a Saturday-morning cartoon than a real film, this is a disappointment, though kids who couldn't care less about scale might get caught up in the story. -Tom Keogh.