Oh, they wish! Devil Hunter Yohko has so much fan service (gratuitous nudity) and the plot makes so little sense that to compare it to Buffy is totally ridiculous. Note in that article, they cite Plastic Little as an example -- which is one of the most fan service-filled and vapid anime I've ever seen. Just... no. It's really nothing like Buffy at all.

Thanks for the link, RavenU, but I just had to mention that. I can't stand Devil Hunter Yohko.

sistakaren | January 29, 11:57 CET

buffy battled her hormones? I guess thats what Smashed was about.

eddy | January 29, 13:21 CET

It sounds like a direct rip-off of Buffy...? sure had my hopes up

Revello | January 29, 13:33 CET

Devil Hunter Yohko appeared in 1992. As an anime. I'm pretty sure a manga preceeded that, or at least a video game which the story originated in. So. Yeah. It's not a rip off of Buffy.

Blood: The Last Vampire always interested me because of it's protaganist Saya. She always seemed to me like a combination of Kendra's seriousness and Faith's kicking arse. Plus, school-girl outfit and katana.

Gouki | January 29, 14:57 CET

I'm not filled with the anime knowledge. Would someone have a long-running anime series to suggest that resembles either Buffy or Angel?

Ocular | January 29, 18:08 CET

Vampire Hunter D.
Well, only slightly, in the half vamp/half human kinda thing.

nixygirl | January 29, 18:42 CET

I haven't watched any anime in a looong time, but nothing leaps to mind that's immediately comparable to Buffy or Angel. (And I'd certainly disagree that Yohko fits the bill. Bleah.) There's plenty of good stuff out there otherwise though, many with strong female leads.

[ edited by Jet Wolf on 2005-01-29 18:54 ]

Jet Wolf | January 29, 20:54 CET

Vampires in Anime are certainly nothing new, and I would strongly recommend a few series for Buffy/Angel fans.

Vampire Hunter D: It's a bit dated, but you have to wonder if Joss had seen it before he fully visualized the TV Series. Blonde Heroine, Vampire Love Interest, and a vampire couple who visually, look strangely familiar.

Vampire Princess Miyu: Perhaps the closest series in theme, as Miya plays a high-school student during the day, and demon killer at night. Helped by her companion, a god-like spirit, it's got a strong Buffy feel. There was an OAV series in the late 80's, followed by a run on TV in the 90's. Highly recommend this one.

Finally, if you watch any anime series that deals with the supernatural, it has to be...

Witch Hunter Robin: While the story deals with witches instead of vampires, the show could have easily been a seasonal arc for Buffy. If I had to sum it up in a sentence, I would call it "The Initiative Done Right". Robin is a young girl, who was adopted and raised by the church when she was a baby. She is a very powerful witch-hunter (she has the ability to combat witches with her own special powers), who must learn not only to come to grips with her abilities, but also discover the secrets of her past. It's just over 20 episodes in length, and the storyline flows throughout the entire run of the series. While the animation quality drops for a bit at one point, it picks up through the end run of the show. If you are missing Buffy and Angel, this is the show to watch. You won't regret it one bit.

-Tensai (yes, it's really me)

Tensai | January 29, 21:10 CET

Tensai!

We (my fellow spoiler whores and I) miss you so much! Glad to see you're still alive and kickin' here on the web. Any site-related plans we should know (and be thrilled) about?

Hope you've seen all the nice things people have said about you here.

Willowy | January 29, 21:30 CET

Wow Tensai! Its great to hear from you after all this time. I used to read Spoiler Slayer (in fact, it was through your site that I found Whedonesque, so much delayed thanks for that!) and still check up on it now and again, just to see if anything has changed and the site is up and running again. Obviously its not, but it's still great to have you here!

Apocalypse | January 30, 00:25 CET

"Vampire Princess Miyu: Perhaps the closest series in theme, as Miya plays a high-school student during the day, and demon killer at night. Helped by her companion, a god-like spirit, it's got a strong Buffy feel. There was an OAV series in the late 80's, followed by a run on TV in the 90's. Highly recommend this one."

Tensai - I can see you have excellent taste! I defintely consider Miyu to be a very buffy-esque anime. The lead character is a lone, chosen warrior who at first glance is just a petite, young girl. She wrestles with her destiny, has to make tough choices, and the most poignant parts are when she lets herself *want* to be a normal school girl but then the reality of her fate comes crashing in. The OAVs feature staggeringly gorgeous animation. The tv show was on a tighter budget, but still has beautiful moments, and defintely works the demon-as-metaphor angle.

weird buffy parallels:

her closest friend at shcool is kind-hearted redhead who by the end of the show turns out to.... well, won't spoil it for you. :)

another friend is a tall, stoic, bookish type who wears glasses.

she & her friends research recent mysterious crimes in the library.

even her comrade in arms, Larva,... well he used to be a bad-boy demon, but now he fights by her side, even though his past seems to keep rearing its ugly head.

if you lay them side by side, it's just plain freaky. Hence my screen name....

miyu_tVP | January 30, 02:20 CET

Yeah I've thought that for years. I love Yohko, probably cuz it reminded me of Buffy. Yohko's not a whore, the mythology was that if she lost her virginity she couldn't inherit the powers, so that demon woman wanted someone to take it, and as for the transformations scenes...yeah the creators are pervs, but the storyline for the show is pretty good and the action/comedy is great for an anime. I wish it had gone longer than 6 hour long episodes released a year apart.

[ edited by SoddingNancyTribe on 2005-01-30 01:07 ]

Gio | January 30, 03:03 CET

It didn't rip off Buffy. Yohko came out in 1989, Buffy the movie wasn't released until 1992, and the show pilot was made in 96. Does anyone think Joss was inspired by Sailor Moon for the Buffy TV show? I mean if you look at Sailor Moon characters and compare Sailor Moon seasons to BtVS, they come off as similar. For those of you who've watched Sailor Moon I'll give some minor comparisons:
Sailor Moon killed Queen Beryl in a white Gown- Buffy killed the master in a white gown.

Rini came out of nowhere as Serena's cousin- Dawn came out of nowhere as Buffy's sister.

The whole SailorMoon/Tuxedo mask relationship- Buffy/Angel relationship.

Allan and Ann- Spike and Drusilla

There are more but I'd like to keep this short.

Gio | January 30, 03:07 CET

Gio, you're killing me, I am BEGGING you to watch the Japanese version.
But about Yoko-the version I saw was kinda lame, not up to Buffy's quality.
...
also, I wouldn't call it "porn" per se, but it's reeeaaaal close

redtenko | January 30, 04:48 CET

What? Porn? Redtenko, so which movie is this that I, er...should avoid?

electricspacegirl | January 30, 05:25 CET

Except Chibi Usa wasn't a mystical ball of energy. She was their daughter from the future.

Gouki | January 30, 06:29 CET

well it's not porn, but it does go further than just a little nuidity. It's definately not worksafe--at least, not the first episode. I think the rest of the episodes (only a five ep series) are clean enough.

redtenko | January 30, 09:42 CET

Well I have my new list of Anime to go buy!
Am off to get Witch Hunter Robin right now.
Thanx for the heads up everyone!

nixygirl | January 30, 16:37 CET