The Kawaii Menace

Comment by psgels

November 4, 2007 @ 1:08 pm

Ah, nostalgic. This probably was the first anime I ever watched without realizing it. Nooit geweten dat jij ook hollands was, by the way.

Also, I think that Herman van Veen did intend the hidden message, and that the note by the fansubbers you listed was right on the spot.

Comment by dood

November 4, 2007 @ 2:24 pm

one of my all-time favorites, although i watched it in hebrew dub it was a great series.
was the original soundtrack japanese ?

Comment by Don

November 4, 2007 @ 4:54 pm

I’m not Dutch (though I am Martian on my mother’s side); I just transcribed the title of this entry from a supertitle on the fansub. (It is from the Dutch opening song. This particular fansub gives you choice of audio tracks, Japanese or Dutch.)

According to ANN, it was first broadcast in Japan in April of 1989. The first Dutch broadcast was later, in December. However, it is probably as much Dutch as Japanese, given that the original story was by Herman van Veen and that many of the people listed in the credits have Dutch names.

Comment by Ravage

November 5, 2007 @ 7:13 am

Yeah, great series. I’ve seen those episodes a lot of times when they were airing(or re-runs) on Dutch TV years ago. Character designs may seem simplistic, but the stories are pretty deep and touch on a lot of subjects.
I like that the arc’s are so alternating and take us to so many different locations.

btw: It should be ‘vliegt’ and not ‘viegt’ in the titel. (Fixed. —Don)

Comment by WAM

November 6, 2007 @ 6:50 pm

Great anime! I loved this as a kid. And thinking back, I can’t believe how mature the stories were even back then. The plot hits you hard and fast! I can still remember that horrible road scene even now, as if I watched it just yesterday…

Also, given that whole level of maturity, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit that Mr. Van Veen did intentionally communicate these dramatic overtones in his own “subtle” way. Unfortunately, as I kid, I never really realized it back then. I guess I’ll just have to rewatch them now as an adult, to get the full feel of everything. This anime deserves that much, absolutely.

Comment by Wonderduck

November 7, 2007 @ 12:09 am

It’s one of those rare Dutch/Japanese co-productions, with the animation being Japanese, and pretty much everything else being Dutch. Of course, the 17 different languages it was translated into adds extra flavor to the mix, too.

I didn’t much like ep2, but I know I’m not watching it the right way. It’s a kid’s show, and I watched it the same way I’d watch, oh, Hayate. That road scene is a tearjerker, no question.