Earth Girl Arjuna

"...the breathtaking new anime about humanity's impact on Earth!" A fairly accurate description.

See the official page at http://www.arjunaproject.com/ for "series info". Apparently Bandai Entertainment is responsible for bringing this series to the North American audience.

I was first exposed to this series through the local anime club (http://www.utarpa.com), and simply blown away. The dialogue has a deeply politically motivated nature, driving a serious message about environmental responsibility. (Something which is especially well done by the Japanese, who have had centuries of a peaceful-seeming culture replaced by the lifestyle that goes with extreme high population density.) It is yet punctuated with moments of breathtakingly superficial hilarity, and simply bizarre sequences that would never be thought of for use in other series - like fake, non-animated (and yet the animation is the "real" show - a splendid juxtaposition), commercials for a product which exists only in the world of the anime.

But more imporantly, it is almost impossible to watch without thinking.

-- KarlKnechtel