Rumiko Takahashi's Anime

Of all the anime series, Rumiko's "big 4" anime are tops on my favorites list.

"Urusei Yatsura" -an alien princess falls for a girl-chasing Earthling teen boy. Large cast of characters where the Earthlings are just as weird as the aliens.
196 half-hour shows . 5 movies 10 OAVs (original anime videos...newly made for video).

"Ranma 1/2"-A teenage martial artist can change from boy to girl when splashed with water. 161 half hour shows. 2 movies 12 OAVS

"Maison Ikkoku"-Soap opera romance between a young attractive widow/apartment manager and a hapless college student who lives there. No super heroes. No fantastic creatures. Just the day-to-day lives of ordinary people in a residential section of a Japanese city.
96 half hour shows. 1 movie, 1 OAV

"Inu Yasha"-A high school girl gets transported back in ancient Japan and becomes an unlikely friend to a hostile half-dog/half-human demon in a quest to search for crystals to defeat a giant supernatural threat.
171 half hour shows. 5 movies thus far.

Clever, engaging, and memorable characters and stories...great character development and emotional depth. Darn funny too.

Hanna-Barbera Productions

As a child growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, there was always a Hanna-Barbera cartoon tv show in every Saturday AM program line-up. Of course, Scooby Doo, Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Jonny Quest, The Smurfs, and The Super Friends were H-B's top shows in one form or another. Their "one season wonders" such as "The Chan Clan", "Wildfire", "Speed Buggy", "Hong Kong Phooey", and others had great entertainment value.

The familiar sound effects, familiar voice actors (Don Messick, John Stephenson, Janet Waldo, Daws Butler, Michael Bell, Frank Welker, BJ Ward), and familiar animation style (not costly Disney full animation, but limited animation with no shadows and re-used animated body movements for mass production) made things comfortable to watch. Visual "comfort food".

Thank you Bill and Joe.

The Get Along Gang!!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GetAlongGangClubhouse/

Get Along Gang fan Yahoo group which I own.

One of my most favorite cartoons and character concepts from the 1980s.
Cute animal kids banding together and having fun in their little town of Green Meadow. Clever character designs and personalities and a nice low-key small town environment that can be any place in the real human world added to its appeal to me. They have no special powers nor do they live in a bizarre fantasyland. They're just ordinary identifiable kids staying friends and working together no matter how tough things get.

The cartoon show showcased only 6 of the kids (Montgomery Moose , Dotty Dog, Zipper Cat, Bingo Beaver, Woolma Lamb, Portia Porcupine) in the gang although the full roster had 6 more kids (Braker Turtle, Flora Fox, Bernice Bear, Rocco Rabbit, Rudyard Lion, Lolly Squirrel) .

A concept that deserves a good revival , especially spotlighting all 12 kids.

Pop culture fan

favorite links:

www.retroland.com

www.bcdb.com

My favorite topics: Saturday AM cartoons, anime, old tv shows.