Anime News: Afro Samurai on Hulu

To help promote their Days of Summer, Hulu is doing some catering to the anime fans and showing some Afro Samurai! On Friday, June 25th, Afro was showcased on the header of Hulu's main page, and the anime movie itself, Resurrection, is featured in Hulu's 30-title lineup to help this promotion get underway.

Also, check out Hulu's blog to get some inside Q&A from RZA about the Afro Samurai: Resurrection soundtrack, what it was like to work with Quentin Tarantino, his love of anime, among much more!

Be sure you don't miss out on this exciting event at Hulu.com!

And be sure to keep ComicsOnline at the top of your favorites for all the latest in anime news and geek pop culture!

Anime News: Bleach and Naruto Animated Feature Films

Anime News: FUNimation Brings us FMA Brotherhood

 

FUNimation Entertainment Announces U.S. Broadcast Debut of

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

 

New Series to air on Adult Swim beginning February 13

 

Flower Mound, TX – February 5, 2010 – The Elric brothers are back! FUNimation^® Entertainment announced today that the mega-hit “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood”, a fantasy action-adventure series, will debut on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on Saturday, February 13. The series will air at 12:00 a.m. ET/PT each Saturday.

The blockbuster anime series “Fullmetal Alchemist” by the acclaimed Japanese studio Bones introduced Alphonse and Edward Elric and the followup film “Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa” ended the series but many fans wished to see the story continue.

“Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” faithfully recreates the story first told in the classic manga by Hiromu Arakawa and featured in Square Enix’s Monthly Shonen Gangan magazine. Set in a fictional world where alchemy – the transmutation of raw materials into objects – is science and the way of life, the series follows the Elric brothers, Edward and Alphonse, on their perilous journey in search of the legendary Philosopher's Stone. They set forth in the hope that the magical artifact can restore their bodies after a failed attempt to revive their dead mother cost Edward's left leg and right arm, as well as Alphonse's entire body, leaving his soul affixed to a suit of armor. In “Brotherhood” the brothers will risk what remains to restore what was lost.

Acquired from Japanese producer and distributor Aniplex, the English-dubbed series is produced by Mike McFarland and directed by McFarland and Caitlin Glass. McFarland also directed “Fullmetal Alchemist.”

Reprising their roles from the first series are Vic Mignogna as Edward Elric, Caitlin Glass as Winry Rockbell, Travis Willingham as Roy Mustang, Laura Bailey as Lust, Sony Strait as Maes Hughes, and Mike McFarland as Jean Havoc.

Actor Maxey Whitehead is taking on the role of Alphonse Elric.

Originally Al in “Fullmetal Alchemist,” Aaron Dismuke will be featured in another role later in the series.

Episodic Descriptions for February airdates:

Episode 01 – Fullmetal Alchemist, premieres February 13

The Elric brothers adjust to military life and take part in a manhunt for the dangerous Isaac the Freezer, a former State Alchemist bent on bringing Fuhrer Bradley down.

Episode 02 – The First Day, premieres February 20

A glimpse into the past reveals the pain and desperation that drove the Elric boys to break alchemy’s greatest taboo – human transmutation – and their reasons for becoming dogs of the military.

Episode 03 – City of Heresy, premieres February 27

Science and faith collide when the Elrics confront Father Cornello. He claims to work miracles, but the brothers suspect he is abusing a Philosopher’s Stone to manipulate his flock.

Funimation Entertainment will release “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” Part One on DVD and Blu-ray on May 25.

For more information about Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, please visit www.fullmetalalchemist.com

 

About FUNimation Entertainment

FUNimation^® Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation, is the leading company for home video sales of Japanese animation in the United States.  FUNimation has a proven formula for launching and advancing brands, and manages a full spectrum of rights for most of its brands including broadcasting, licensing, production, internet, and home video sales and distribution. For more information about FUNimation Entertainment and its brands, visit www.funimation.com.

Anime News: FUNimation to release select titles from Shaw Brothers Film Library

 

FUNimation Entertainment To
Distribute Select Titles From Famed

Shaw Brothers Film Library
 
~FUNimation Acquires 15 Films From 
The King Fu Masters~
 
Flower Mound, TX – January 4, 2010 – FUNimation® Entertainment announced today that it now has U.S. home video distribution rights to 15 live action films from Celestial Filmed Entertainment, Inc.®’s expansive film collection featuring films by those known as “the Kung Fu masters”: the Shaw Brothers
Hong Kong-based Celestial Pictures has the world’s largest Chinese-language film collection including 760 films produced from the 1950s to the 1990s by the Shaw Brothers Studio founded by Sir Run Run Shaw and Runme Shaw in 1958.
Until Celestial Pictures began digitally restoring the films from their original negatives in 2002, few titles from the Shaw Brothers film archive had previously appeared since their original cinema release.
The Shaw films represent all genres, including kung fu, action, social satire, situation comedies, historical epics, horror and suspense, among others.
FUNimation will release “Sword of Swords”, “The Duel”, “The Lady Hermit” , “The 14 Amazons”, “Shaolin Hand Lock”, “Invincible Shaolin”, “Soul of the Sword”, “Life Gamble”, “Shaolin Rescuers”, “Shaolin Prince”, “Bastard Swordsman”, “Opium and The Kung Fu Master”, “The Supreme Swordsman”, “Return of Bastard Swordsman” and “Hong Kong Godfather”.
Watch the trailer on FUNimation’s official blog spot, http://blog.funimation.com , or the official web site www.funimation.com/hongkongconnection : Your link to the legacy of the Shaw Brothers, the original masters of martial arts cinema who influenced many of today’s filmmakers. 
FUNimation Entertainment is bringing these films to DVD in 2010 and 2011. 
About Celestial Pictures
In the year 2000, Celestial Pictures was established to acquire the Shaw Brothers film library. At present, Celestial Pictures is involved in the production of new movies and television programming (primarily in the Chinese, Korean, Indian and Bahasa languages). With its unique film library, distribution capability, and new productions, Celestial Pictures is already one of Asia's leading motion pictures studios. Celestial Pictures also manages the first global Chinese movie channel aimed at Chinese audiences and Chinese movie lovers across the globe. Other TV channels are also being developed.
About FUNimation Entertainment
FUNimation® Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation, is the leading company for Japanese animation in the United States. FUNimation is known for acquiring top-rated anime series from Japan and for being the market share leader for home video sales of anime in the United States. The company has a proven formula for launching and advancing brands, and manages a full spectrum of rights for most of its brands including broadcasting, licensing, production, internet, and home video sales and distribution.

Anime News: Live Action Release of Part of 20th Century Boys

 

Anime News: Viz Media's Honey and Clover now availalble on iTunes store.

Anime News: Viz Releases Scheduled Titles for March 2010

   

 

San Francisco, CA, JANUARY 28, 2010 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced their list of DVD titles scheduled for release in March 2010. This includes the final box set release of HONEY AND CLOVER, the next installments of the POKÉMON ELEMENTS series, as well as the latest episodic releases of the popular BLEACH and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN series.  Also releasing is the live action feature film – HISASHI TENMYOUYA: SAMURAI NOUVEAU from VIZ Pictures. VIZ Media DVD titles are distributed (in English) in the U.S and Mexico by Warner Home Video and in Canada by Allegro. 

HONEY AND CLOVER Box Set 3 · Rated 'T+' for Older Teens · MSRP: $59.90 US/ $85.99 CAN · Available March 16

Yuta returns from his journey of self-discovery only to find everyone around him deep in their own struggles to shape their futures. Ayumi finds herself increasingly included in projects involving Takumi and Rika, and the strain is breaking her. Far away in America, Shinobu and his brother's endless quest for money finally helps them achieve their ultimate goal, while back home Hagumi must face the devastating consequences of an accident that could change her life forever. Can the pursuit of happiness and the pursuit of art ever be one and the same?

Contains Season 2, Episodes 1-12. 

For more information on HONEY AND CLOVER, please visit www.honeyandclover.viz.com. 

SHONEN JUMP releases include: 

BLEACH Volume 26 · Rated ‘T’ for Teens · MSRP: $24.92 US / $35.99 CAN · Available March 23

The Bount leader Jin Kariya has obtained the Jokai Crest and is absorbing its immense power. While Ichigo and the others rest and prepare for their next battle, the Soul Reapers are warned by Rantao that there are many Crests within the Seireitei, and all may explode if Kariya's Crest is released. Head Captain Yamamoto mobilizes all Soul Reapers to find and seal the remaining Crests. Then, atop Sokyoku Hill, Ichigo faces Kariya in their final clash! Contains episodes 105 – 109.  

For more information on BLEACH, please visit www.BLEACH.viz.com. 

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Volume 7 · Rated 'T+' for Older Teens · MSRP: $24.92 US / $35.99 CAN · Available March 9

In their battle with Sasori, Granny Chiyo and Sakura must make life-or-death choices to bring the puppet master down. Outside the Akatsuki hideout, Team Guy have fought the copies of themselves to the point of exhaustion, but Rock Lee's plan sets fire to their fighting spirits. Meanwhile, Naruto and Kakashi have caught up to Deidara, and Kakashi prepares to unleash his newest jutsu--the Mangekyo Sharingan! Contains episodes 27 – 30.  

For more information on NARUTO and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN, please visit www.NARUTO.com 

New POKÉMON Releases Include: 

POKÉMON ELEMENTS, Volume 9: Ghost · Rated 'A' for All Ages · MSRP: $9.98 US/ $14.99 CAN · Available March 23 

POKÉMON ELEMENTS, Volume 10: Rock · Rated 'A' for All Ages · MSRP: $9.98 US / $14.99 CAN · Available March 23 

Following the POKÉMON All Star series set, the POKÉMON: ELEMENTS collection consists of the most important episodes commemorating the different types of Pokémon characters. Each disc showcases a Pokémon type with three all-time favorite episodes. 

From VIZ Pictures (Live Action Feature Films): 

HISASHI TENMYOUYA: SAMURAI NOUVEAU, NEW PEOPLE Artist Series Volume 4 · MSRP: $24.92 US / $35.99 CAN · Available March 9

A graphic designer turned contemporary artist, Hisashi Tenmyouya brings his own style of NEO-Traditional Japanese Painting to the art world. Tenmyouya reveals his soul through melding of modern urban subjects with traditional methods of painting. 

For more information on VIZ Pictures, please visit www.viz-pictures.com. 

Anime Oasis 2010 Day One

Anime Oasis 2010 is my second small yet well put-together anime convention (the first being Kawaiikon 2009), and though there wasn’t a lot to see, with the dealer's hall being covered in just about 45 minutes, there was plenty to do. The day started off relatively slow, with a ton of cosplay photos taken and meandering around the various event rooms, but picked up as the day went on, starting with voice actor and comic book artist Sonny Strait’s panel, moving on to the cosplay swimsuit competition, and ending with fan-driven discussions.
 

 
Sonny Strait is most well known for his voice work as Krillin in Dragonball Z, Maes Hughes from Fullmetal Alchemist, Lupin from Lupin III, and as an artist for the Elfquest comic series. This panel was mostly filled with questions about how he got started (he began as a theater major), his favorite roles (Krillin was the most emphasized, though he also enjoyed playing Lupin and Maes Hughes), advice for getting started in the field (stage acting), and many potato jokes. However, he also hinted at the eventual release of a Lupin III and Conan the Detective crossover movie that has been rumored for some time now, as well as a new Lupin movie that is either currently, or will be, directed and voiced by him.
 
Next was the swimsuit competition, where con-goers create or buy bathing suits to match a character they wish to portray. I don’t remember all the characters that were involved, but here's a few group pictures I took at the end (mostly because my camera died and I missed about four suits while changing batteries). Note the amazing Poison Ivy.

 
 
 
 
The evening wore on to the discussions I attended: Kingdom Hearts and fanfiction. The Kingdom Hearts discussion was enjoyable, though it often led into Final Fantasy discussions (as well as an earlier Square game, The Bouncer). The fanfiction discussion was joined by not only writers in their teens and twenties, but also by two mothers, and two girls who couldn’t be over ten or eleven, all of which led to some interesting insight into how some people involve their parents, and how young some people begin writing.
 
Overall, the convention was small, but so much fun. Everyone was incredibly nice, the events were exciting, and even when me and my con-going friend sat in the Qwest Arena for some downtime, there was entertainment keeping things worthwhile. It was a great first day, and I can’t wait for day two!

Anime Oasis 2010 Days Two and Three

Day two of Anime Oasis wasn’t nearly as eventful as day one, but still completely worth going. Starting the day off was a signing with voice actor and comic book artist Sonny Strait, followed closely by another panel with Sonny Strait. This panel was only slightly more informative than the last, and filled with repeat questions and anecdotes (that were still funny the second time around). One of the most interesting tidbits to come from this is that Sonny has been dubbing and directing new animes, though he is under strict contract not to talk about them.
 
After the panel, Sonny was just outside the dealer’s hall at a small booth set up for him where he was selling and signing the 20^th anniversary edition of the very first comic he ever had published, Mr. Average.
 

 
In the back of this comic, he left a blank page where he would draw the character of your choice that he did the voice for. Although I am a fan of Dragonball Z, I am actually a bigger fan of Fullmetal Alchemist, so I asked him to draw Maes Hughes. I’m including a picture of his drawing, but if you haven’t seen the series and don’t want it spoiled for you, I would suggest not looking at the full-size version of the drawing.
 

 
Mid-afternoon rolled by, and the panel for Johnny Yong Bosch began. Johnny is best known for his roles as Vash the Stampede (Trigun), Nero (Devil May Cry 4, which he also directed and did motion capture for), Lelouch (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion), and to me, Firion (Dissidia Final Fantasy). A lot of good information came from his panel, though it’s mostly just hints at what’s to come (and not to come) since he, too, is contracted not to talk about his upcoming projects.
 
What we did get to find out is that dubbing for new Bleach episodes has begun! Rejoice, Bleach fans, for it will continue! Also, there is no news on dubbing for the new Bleach movie, nor the new Trigun movie. There are also new animes set to come out that he has dubbed, but unfortunately can’t talk about.
 
Something interesting I found out is that he is the guitarist and lead vocalist in a band called Eyeshine. Their name was inspired by Steve Irwin in 2004 while trying to decide on a new name since “Partly Cloudy” wasn’t cutting it for them anymore. He and his drummer, Maurice, did an acoustic version of one of their songs (written by Johnny himself) called Alone. This here is the album version of it.
 

 
Later that night was the much anticipated (to me, anyway) High Society Formal, a dance with a strict dress code that played waltz and classical music for the two hours it was happening. Although the dress code was strict and it was supposed to be classy, it was extremely fun. I got to dance with several people who were just as clumsy and new at waltzing as I was, and even a guy who taught me some swing dancing (not the crazy kind that wouldn’t have fit at this kind of dance; it was very appropriate spins and dips and such). By the end of the night, I had sore feet, but I wished it had gone on longer, or that there was one the next night. I didn't get many pictures, but here's a group I managed to catch before going inside the ballroom.


 
Day Three
 
Day three turned out to be quite a bit slower than the previous days. Johnny Yong Bosch returned with Maurice to do an hour long performance in the arena where he not only performed songs from their cd, but also did quite a few improv songs where he sang about members of the audience and people wandering around. And potatoes. It was only an hour, but he was excited to be there, he laughed at himself in his spur-of-the-moment songs about x-ray vision (and gaining twenty pounds because of curry), and he made the whole performance enjoyable.
 
Immediately after him were the cosplay skits. So many of them were funny, a few were quite epic, there were a few musical numbers (my favorite being the tango by Zelda and Link, who even won an award), and several amazing walk-ons. I didn’t get good pictures of the Zelda dance, but I did manage to catch a picture of his amazingly well done tunic.


 
This musical performance, though, was perhaps the funniest one of the night. I’m so sad I didn’t get my camera out and ready faster! I didn’t miss much, though, so you can enjoy almost all of what I did.
 

 
After the competition, we found out that the winner of the swimsuit contest was the one dressed as Poison Ivy, and that pretty much concluded the most interesting parts of day three.

Keep it here at ComicsOnline for more anime news and everything geek pop culture!

Big News from Right Stuf

CC2010: Marvel Anime: Iron Man

After the Marvel Animation panel at Comic-Con 2009, I was overwhelmed with excitement about the Marvel Anime series. Iron Man, Wolverine, X-Men and Blade all done up with stunning art and stories by my all-time favorite writer, Warren Ellis. Eff yeah! After seeing the first episode of the Iron Man anime this year, my excitement largely trickled away.

The first episode (I was under the assumption that the Marvel Anime series was going to be four movies) introduced an anime version of Tony Stark who had decided to hang up his iconic helmet and focus on the expansion of Stark Enterprises in Japan. The main focus of this seems to be installing his physics-raping unlimited power hubs and producing a new fleet of IronMen. He flirts with the local ladies, makes witty comments and all around gets his Tony Stark on. The art and animation is, at times, absolutely stunning but, in my opinion, does not make up for the awkward, slow pacing of the episode. The pilot episode seemed like a twenty minute establishing shot closing with a 2 minute, action-packed crescendo.

The panel included Masao Maryuama, Chief Creative Officer of Madhouse Studios (creators of Ninja Scroll, Trigun, and Gungrave), Jeph Loeb, Executive Producer and Head of Marvel TV, John Riever, Senior VP of programming and Production at G4 and Kristin Adams, one of those female G4 hosts that has to settle with pretending to know/care about geek pop culture to stay involved with some aspect of show business. The shows will be Japanese interpretations of American characters targeted towards Japenese audiences and later subbed or dubbed (still undecided) for American viewers on G4 (got it?). Masao Maryuama discussed (via translator) that Japanese anime is largely influenced by American graphic novels and how interpreting these characters is “like the sun returning to his father”. Despite having completed Japenese episodes, there is no firm release date for the Marvel Anime series in the United States, but the G4 staff hinted at a Spring 2011 launch for the launch of Iron Man, which will be the first of the four to premier.



Seriously, dude, don't leave ComicsOnline, we got all sorts of Comic-Con 2010 coverage.

Movie Review: Zoroark: Master Of Illusions (Phantom Ruler: Zoroark)

Starz and Syfy = Ani-Monday

Anime Blu-ray Review: Afro Samurai

Afro Samurai: Season 1 Director's Cut is a traditional tale of a lone ronin wandering the countryside of a weird techno-feudal Japan, searching for the man who killed his father.  Oh, and he's black. 

Hip hop culture has long embraced the kung-fu and gangster genres for their violence and hypermasculinity (e.g. veneration of Scarface, the Wu Tang Clan), who have in turn incorporated African-American motifs into their work (The Matrix films, lamentable blackface music acts in Japan) for a perceived infusion of soul/cool.

Afro Samurai is a more successful example of this latter trend and has been called blaxploitation in Japan, but is probably better described as Golden Harvest takes a walk through the ghetto.  As the producer himself notes in one of the extras, this is not a 50/50 arrangement, but more like 95/5.  Almost everything about this production is seen-it-before masterless swordsman fare, with the unexplained caveat that this one happens to be of a persuasion to have the promised afro for the animators to have some fun with, which bears the same resemblance to a real 'fro that Goku or Cloud Strife's polygonal explosions do to an actual unruly surfer mop.  Plus, a bad guy or two seems to have gone to pimp school and discovered the joys of perpetually grooving with his headphones or having some hos lolling around to lick his face while he plots.

At the outset, young Afro (later voiced by SAMUEL L. MOTHERFUCKIN' JACKSON, Snakes on a Plane, etc., etc.) sees his father engage in a duel with a sinister western gunfighter slitheringly voiced by Ron Perlman (Hellboy).  It seems Afro Sr. wears the #1 headband signifying the greatest warrior in the world, and the gunfighter wears #2, meaning he is the only fighter in the world with the right to challenge him.  The duel does not go well for the Afro family, which is why young Afro finds himself wandering the earth years later accompanied by a mysterious and intensely annoying ninja-clad hanger-on (whose Big Reveal you might see coming), wearing the #2 band and dealing with endless yahoos who want to take it off him for the right to challenge #1.  Each of the five half-hour episodes advances the current action and tells more of his backstory detailing how he came to earn the right to wear #2 himself, and why some of his opponents (most notably the one who looks like he learned his dual-sword style in the Hundred-Acre Wood) bear special significance for him.

The mash-up of styles and settings shows up in other ways besides the main character and villain.  Afro Samurai brings taciturn death to everyone from standard sword gangs to a robot who copied his fighting style when a spy downloaded Afro's dreams into her cell phone, to a guy with a rapid-fire crossbow to a monk who carries a rocket-propelled grenade launcher in his wood-frame backpack. 

The voice talent is solid, and the animation is generally of high quality, and appropriate for what is being shown.  The overall style seems somewhat reminiscent of Ghost in the Shell, or even more The Boondocks, and in fact the whole thing could be explained as a dream Huey might have had after falling asleep watching a Kurosawa marathon.  The plot is intricate, but in many cases the writers failed to make clear certain aspects of it for those not already familiar with the story.  For example, the gunfighter's name is apparently Justice, and at some point in the past he was mutated by radiation, which has a lot to do with how he was apparently able to decapitate a man with a pair of sixguns.  And who is the crippled mad scientist who designs all these high-tech villains?  These important elements and a few others are only fully understood if you watch the extras or read the manga.  The artwork is freeform enough that some details they try to reveal visually can just be taken as stylistic excess.

Extras
Character profiles and interviews with the voice actors, the very hands-on producer, and the author of the original work, which is well worth watching to help understand what you just saw.  The RZA also shows up to talk a little about his wholly appropriate authorship of the original score.

Highlights
A.S. pausing in his single-minded quest for revenge long enough to put his mack down so hard on an assassin with a tragic past that she decides not to kill him.  Must have been steamy in the studio when Kelly Hu (Lady Deathstrike in X2) recorded that bit.

Presentation
The main feature is in 1080p HD with Dolby 5.1 "TrueHD" Digital audio.  The extras are in 480i standard.

ComicsOnline gives Afro Samurai Season 1 Director's Cut 3 out of 5 lengthy flashback sequences that explain just who the latest person is who has only seconds to live anyway.

TV MA.  125 min.

Keep it here at ComicsOnline for more anime on Blu-ray and everything geek pop culture.

Anime Blu-ray Review: Basilisk, The Complete Series

 

Basilisk, The Complete Series on Blu-ray, or maybe the Kouga VS Iga or is it Iga VS Kouga? Hatfield and McCoys Japanese style.  But what would a good old family feud be without a Lil' Abner and Daisy May?  This age old story of two lovers from rival clans is set in the middle Edo period. The retired Shogun makes a bold move to try and handle some political intrigue in his own house. He removes a no hostility pact between the Kouga and Iga only days before the two young heads of clan are to be wed. He placed the top ten ninja from each clan on two scrolls and proclaims that the first clan to kill the other clans ten will produce the next Shogun. This splits the two lovers and sends chaos through the ranks of the two clans.

Highlights

I was not looking forward to reliving this age old tale that always ends badly. Lil' Abner, or I mean Gennosuke, the young stoic leader of the Kouga and Daisy May, no really it is Oboro the young peace loving lady in waiting of the Iga, have issues to deal with. It is almost their fateful wedding day and they find out that they are now at war. Gennosuke leaves and takes his remaining Ninja on a road trip to see the retired Shogun to find out why this has been done. He lets the Iga know of his plan and they gather the remaining Ninja and set out to, well you know, kill them. 

The plot is not the highlight here, it is the incredibly strange Jutsu and Dojutsu that these powerful Ninja have. There is Jingoro of the Iga, who, when exposed to salt becomes a semi-liquid and is able to slither around. He kills one of his opponents by jumping down his throat and drowning him. There is also Okoi from the Kouga, she has the ability to suck blood just by the touch of flesh. She is also sexy and it is hard for men to keep their hands off of her. Any time breast can kill, it is scary.

The first 20 episodes are driven by the strange powers that these Ninja possess and how they die. The last four episodes bring the plot back to the forefront. There is still the typical final clash and a much expected finale that is less than climatic.

 

Overall

With the age old plot line as the driver of the story and being placed in 1614, I was less than overwhelmed by the story. I was impressed the great production quality that has become a trademark of Gonzo. The visuals reminded me much of Afro Samurai, and I found the basic use of graphic bloodshed to be a little less overwhelming, but still ever present. 

I will say that the thing that kept my attention was the strange yet wonderful talents these Ninja had. From the hairy beast that could fight with his locks to the spider man who could spit sticky goo through his tongue. Awesome little powers that made these freaks of nature all powerful. The real draw is how they manage to dispatch each other.

For the fans of this tale there should be no stopping you from getting a Blu-ray player and then getting this to while away a few hours. It was beautiful and exciting to see in such definition. I would not recommend this for anyone under 17, but for those 17 to 24 year old males, this would give them pleasure beyond compare with the sexy Ninja and Freaks fighting each other.

 

ComicsOnline gives Basilisk, The Complete Series on Blu-ray, 3.5 out of 5 rubbery old Ninjas.

Anime Blu-ray Review: Burst Angel, The Complete Series

Three hot teenage women and a young girl are mercenaries who recruit a weak boy to cook for them. They are built to kill and also have one of the most bad-ass Mechs around. Ban Lie is the organization they work for and they have all kinds of wild times killing crazy human monsters or other Mechs controlled by shiny, glowing monster brains. What is really going on? I don't know, but it looks great on Blu-ray.

Highlights:

Burst Angel is fast furious and yes, there is plenty of fan service here. The future of Tokyo is very much post-apocalyptic in this very lively show. The RAPT has taken control of Tokyo and there seems to be a hidden force that is bubbling up with the glowing brains and crazy human monsters. Jo, the bad ass gun slinger of the bunch, also has a hidden secret that is finally revealed. It explains a lot, but the fact is that she is tough and all about the smack down. It is fun to watch these women go about their business, but what is their business? The premise is that they work for Ban Lie, which is run by Sei's grandfather... or is it? He foots the bill and Sei is the ring leader anyway. She gets all the jobs and pays all the bills. She is also the mother figure for these young ladies.

I would have to say that my favorite episode was mid-way through the series where Amy, the 11 year old computer genius, goes out on the town and takes the wimpy boy cook, Kyohei, with her. Amy takes Kyohei to the world of the geek and gets sucked into the cyber world's dark place, where some cyber punks try to get her to join them in a new way of life. She is not too hip on changing her existence and becoming an android or cyberbot or some hybrid creature, so Kyohei steps up and saves her, and in doing so helps prove that he can be more than just a wimpy cook. 

Overall:

From the opening tract to the last episode, I found Burst Angel to be very entertaining and lively. The one area that I feel they could have lightened up on was the Fan Service. All too often the panty shot ruled. It became distracting at times. Although the action was over the top, the CG was so well done that the mech battles were outstanding, and many of the gun fights were some of the best I've seen. I cannot go so far as to put the CG at the same level as Final Fantasy, but it was some of the better work I've seen come out of Gonzo Studio. The plot was strong enough to carry the 24 episodes and the OVA. The character development was slow to come but, it did come and by the end of the series I felt as though I understood the main cast. The animation was bright and colorful, which was deserving of being reworked into Blu-ray. The images popped and made the experience even better.

Much of what was offered up in this show came across as an American western, or maybe even one of those now infamous Spaghetti Westerns Clint Eastwood is famous for making. FUNimation even went so far as to make characters from Osaka sound like they were from the deep south in America. I found that comical and somewhat odd. I am sure that people from Osaka do not have the same dialect as those from Tokyo but it was still very odd.

Extras

This Blu-ray set came with a lot of extras. From the OVA to several interviews to a great set of battles from all 24 episodes. I am impressed with the overall quality provided. The OVA was a nice bonus, it was a historical look at the two main characters, Jo and Meg. It brought a little bit of their relationship and history together into perspective but was also exciting and packed with action. The best was the Battle Record of all 24 episodes, it was worth the time to go through the list and enjoy the recap. There was also a piece called the Light & Dark of Jo, which was a montage of different scenes depicting the different modes of Jo. The funny thing is that Jo is a very monotone character and it had more to do with those around her. There is also a very entertaining commentary with the four english actresses and voice director talking over the final episode. It was funny to hear them talk about the characters and add a little humor to the somewhat melancholy ending. The soundtrack was also good enough for it to be worthy of a mention. For all you action and adventure fans, you need to check this one out. 

ComicsOnline gives Burst Angel: The Complete Series on Blu-ray a 4.5 out of 5 Pâtissiers.

Anime Blu-ray Review: Claymore, The Complete Series

 

Anime Blu-ray Review: D. Gray-man Season 1 Part 1

 Evil incarnate has returned to destroy the earth, its name is the Millennium Earl. A secret organization is know as the Black Order and it exists to stop the Millennium Earl in his quest. The Black Order is made up of a large support staff and a small group of Exorcists. The Exorcists all have one special ability. That ability is to connect with a power of mythological and magical proportion known as Innocence. There is one special Exorcist, Allen Walker, and he is believed to be the one that has the power to stop time. 

D. Gray-man season 1 part 1 gives us the full monty. The introduction of the Black Order and a peek into Allen Walker's past opens the door to this unusual world. The setting is the turn of the 19th to 20th century and our heroes are just beginning to understand their role in the play that is about to unfold. The introduction of Allen Walker to the Black Order members does not go smoothly, but he shows his worth in his first assignment. 

Allen was trained by the mysterious General Cross and had not had any contact with the Black Order. The General sent Allen to London to begin his duties as an Exorcist, but gave him little guidance, which led to Allen's first series of mishaps. Allen is a young rather naive teenager who has led a sheltered life and clearly has a few things to learn regarding socially acceptable behavior as well as what the general public knows about his cadre of fellow guardians. With all of his weaknesses, Allen proves himself to be a true leader and one that just might have a gift that few can attain.

Overall

The D. Gray-man series has a very strong following and for me it is all due to the first season.  This series, more so than others, started out so strong that it is hard to understand what happens as the series winds on. The character development is some of the best I have encountered in an opening season. Our protagonist, Allen Walker, is a young man of many layers and with the first 12 episodes you get a real feel for his demeanour. Allen starts off a rather shy and possibly incompetent person, but quickly becomes a thoughtful and rather empathetic character that not only understands the evil that exists in his enemy, but also has a true conviction in the redemption of their souls. This is played against the stark contrast of other Black Order members who appear to have cold calculating motives to their actions. 

The counterbalance between the confederates is also contrasted with the real enemy and the rather blatant disregard for humanity that the Millennium Earl and his minions display. The introduction of the Family of Noah also raises the stakes. The initial battles against the Akuma, the weaker demons, give a false sense of security to the Black Order’s strength, but when the Family of Noah shows itself, a new vulnerability is shown for the Black Order. Of course the strength of character saves the day. The darn Japanese and their sense of morality, it always tends to make the impossible possible.

D. Gray-man season 1 part 1 is the cornerstone of this series and its being released on Blu-ray is an added bonus. At first I was not sure why this series should be released on Blu-ray, with the palate being rather monotone, reds and shades of black, gray, and white. It seemed rather a waste of technology, but once I began to watch I understood why. I found the animation to be much more lively and inviting along with the high definition which takes the action sequence to the next level. The extras are not the draw; with only commentary and the standard textless songs there is nothing to draw you to this. It is the elevation of the animation that makes this a worthy Blu-ray purchase.

If you are just coming to this series and have Blu-ray, I would highly recommend this as a buy. If you love the series and are making the move to Blu-ray, well, it's a no brainer. D. Gray-man Season 1 Part 1 on Blu-ray reaffirmed and heightened my appreciation for this series and also knocked my socks off. This is one I will watch again and enjoy as if it is my first time.

ComicsOnline gives D. Gray-man Season 1 Part 1, Blu-ray 3.5 out of 5 out of control robots.

Anime Blu-ray Review: Devil May Cry: The Animated Series. The Complete Series

 

Having heard a good deal about the series and games, I was very interested to find out what all the buzz was about. Dante, a tall, thin, youngish man with white hair and a really big sword is out to kill the Devils for a price. His agency, Devil May Cry, is all about stopping the eradication of Demons that are in the human world.

Highlights
The series opens with Dante playing baby sitter to an illegitimate child of a very wealthy man, now deceased. She is the possible heir to his fortune and is also of some interest to the Demon world. After fighting off several demons Dante arrives late but is still in time to fight the brother, a demon who is out to have it all. Patty Lowell, the girl, does inherit the fortune, and remains in town to help at the orphanage and spend most of her time with Dante. For the next eight episodes Dante seems to be involved in non-related battles and the series seems to stall and turn into a Johnny One Note. There are several characters introduced, but the only connection is that they killed demons and were friends of Dante. In the last 3 episodes a plot does emerge. In the first episode a small, weak demon appears and pops up in several other episodes until the end, where he becomes the focus of attention when it is discovered that he wants to possess a locked away power that would allow him to rule the Demon world and destroy the human world. This never goes well for these type of characters and it is no different here.
Overall
Being unfamiliar with the series or games I was excited about being able to review this series and in Blu-ray to top it off. This is about as far as my excitement goes. I found the series to be rather one dimensional. The writing was lame at times, with the characters coming across as cardboard cutouts and not the fully developed characters I have come to expect in anime. This is not to say that the series does not have its fine points. I did enjoy the campy discourse Dante has with most of the Demons he fights, and many of the concepts were well developed. I think that too much time was spent on creating a dark monotone world that these individuals lived in. It was great to see Dante as a real slacker who seemed to only like strawberry sundays and pizza, but his relationship with Patty Lowell just did not click, and it should have been the most developed one of all.

 

I was also rather disappointed in seeing this series in Blu-ray. The Blu-ray looked great and the overall definition was wonderful, but because the series has such a mono-chromatic pallet it does not seem to make any sense as to why it was produced in Blu-ray. I would believe that it was just as strong in standard format as in Blu-ray. The gray, black and red look of the series did support the theme and basic emotional overtone of the series, but it becomes tedious after a while. Devil May Cry is not without its merits and it does provide plenty of action and humorous dialog. The creators did a great job at making Dante a sympathetic protagonist and leaving much of the main plot to be discovered later in the series. The extras were enjoyable, but the interview with Toshiyuki Morikawa, the voice of Dante (Japanese), was somewhat flat. The cut scenes and trailers of the game were fun to watch, but the CG appeared to be standard fair. The colors were much more brilliant and I wished they would have used that pallet in the series.

All in all, I found Devil May Cry to be something worth watching if you are familiar with the plot and story line of the games. I would recommend this as a rental for those that want to know more about the series and a buy for those who are big fans.

ComicsOnline gives Devil May Cry: The Animated Series on Blu-ray 3 out of 5 Drooling Demons.

Anime Blu-ray Review: Dragon Ball Z, Double Feature: Fusion Reborn and Wrath of the Dragon

 

“Arise Shenron”

Two movies converge in a Blu-ray disk and neither is less loved. I join you once again with the info that any DBZ fan needs to know. As I mentioned, this set has not one, but two DBZ movies, we have Fusion Reborn and Wrath of the Dragon. 

In Fusion Reborn we join Goku as he is fighting Pikkon in the Other World Tournament.  As the tournament rages a young worker at the check-in station for the souls is listening to his music too loudly and not paying attention to the tank filled with evil gunk from the evil purification machine. Suddenly, one of the tanks overloads and explodes causing a chain reaction, making all the other tanks to explode, releasing thousands of years of evil waste. In the middle of Goku’s and Pikkon’s fight they notice that something is wrong and then King Kai sends them to the check-in station to check things out. When Goku and Pikkon get there they find the check in station completely incased in a barrier and a giant monster created from the evil, named Janemba, on top the station.

Wrath of the Dragon starts out with the Great Saiyaman I and the Great Saiyaman II (Gohan’s and Videl’s alter egos) stopping a robbery. This robbery causes Gohan and Videl to be late for school, but they get a call about an old man about to jump off a building. The old man jumps, but Gohan catches him. The old man introduces himself as Hoi and tells Gohan and Videl a story of a hero, a hero named Tapion. Tapion was sealed in a music box a long time ago and Hoi, with what appeared to be good intentions, asks Gohan if he could open the box. Gohan and Videl take Hoi and the box to Goku and Bulma where they realize that not even Goku can open it, so Goku and the gang go to find the Dragon Balls. After the Dragon Balls were gathered Hoi makes the wish to release Tapion from the box. Tapion seems to be a bit odd for a hero and now Hoi has disappeared. Was releasing Tapion a mistake?

Highlights 
Fusion Reborn is very reminiscent of Dragon Ball Z Season 9. Janemba, in his first form, is like a good version of Majin Buu: he’s big, fat, and has half a brain. After Janemba pushes Goku into Super Saiyan Lv. 3, (which is something that only Majin Buu and Janemba have done) Goku smashes in Janemba’s head and Janemba turns into his second form. Janemba’s second form is a lot smaller than his first form: he’s now thin, buff, and looks like a devil and is the equivalent of Kid Majin Buu. As Goku fights this new Janemba, he is beaten quickly and falls into the bloody pond. Before Goku is killed, Vegeta comes out of nowhere, tries to stop Janemba, and fails. So the only thing for Goku and Vegeta to do is to fuse, just like they did to stop Majin Buu.

 

Wrath of the Dragon: Tapion is a alien from a far away planet, and at one time this planet was full of life. One day Hoi and his people came to the planet. Hoi is from a race of aliens that think they are the most superior race of people in the universe. On Tapion’s planet there was an evil that had stayed dormant for so long that everybody though that it was dead, but it was brought back. The entire population would have been wiped out is it wasn’t for Tapion, his brother, and a wizard. Tapion and his brother played a magical ocarina that immobilized the evil beast, then the wizard struck down the the beast and cut it in two. The top half was sealed inside of Tapion and the bottom half inside of his brother. Then Tapion and his brother were sealed into magical music boxes. Now with Hoi in possession of the bottom half of the beast, the same danger now threatens Earth.

Overall
Fusion Reborn and Wrath of the Dragon are both excellent movies. Fusion Reborn is more humous than Wrath of the Dragon. One instance of the humor in Fusion Reborn  is that the dead can walk among the living, so Mister Satan is beating up all the zombies, which isn’t very hard, so Mister Satan goes off and shows his “awesome might”. Another thing in Fusion Reborn is that one of the zombie armies is Frieza and his army, but with one punch to the face from Gohan, Frieza turns to dust, and his army scatters. Wrath of the Dragon is more serious, with Tapion being Mr. Serious, and there being a giant monster on the rampage, there is less time to be funny. I do feel like Goku steals the spot light a bit too much, there was a time when Gohan was going to do what he could do by telling Goku the monster's weakness, but Goku just shoots him down. The visuals on Blu-ray were excellent. This is Dragon Ball like never before: The punches are harder, the energy bursts are more energized, and it’s all on one disk. Dragon Ball Z  is an amazing series, and can now be loved be another generation.

 

ComicsOnline Gives Dragon Ball Z Double Feature: Fusion Reborn and Wrath of the Dragon 5 out of 5 Super Saiyans 

Anime Blu-ray Review: Full Metal Panic, The Second Raid

 

 

The beloved story of a boy, two girls and the Mecha that the boy uses to destroy the bad guys. Yep, that is right. I know that all you Anime Fans are familiar with Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid, but for all of those who are not it is a story you should get to know. There are many reasons why Full Metal Panic or FMP has such a large fan base that the act of bringing it out on Blu-ray was only natural and exciting to see.

Highlights
Sousuke is the tormented young man who more often than not is consumed by his dedication to the mission. He has been given a great opportunity but sees it as a burden and does not want it. The opportunity is that he is the pilot of a Mecha called an Armed Slave with leading Black Op technology. For some reason it only works when it wants, not when he wants it too.

The other issue Sousuke has to deal with, is that he has two beautiful young women in love with him. But Sousuke just doesn't get it. Sousuke is assigned to be the body guard one of these girls, Chidori. The other, Tessa, is his commanding officer. Man this dude is in a tough spot, but he just does not get it. His Armed Slave is not responsive and he does not understand why. The bad guys, Amalgam, has access to the same Black Technology and for some reason can make it work at will. Not to fear, the good guy just might get lucky, again.

 

Overall
These 13 episodes take us through a rather serious part of the FMP Saga, and for every laugh there are several exciting battles and some life altering moments that have a bit of dramatic humanism played out. The FMP franchise had been known in the prior two series for its light hearted and funny approach to the story line, but in this segment the laughs are somewhat set aside to add some character development and bring the story to another level.

 

The fact that the relationship between Sousuke, Tessa and Chidori give some serious undertones and with Sousuke figuring out that the weakness of his armor is not the machine but himself is rather poignant. These characters are given a real persona not just the almost cookie cutter personality in the prior episodes. They show real emotion that brings that humanity closer to the forefront. There are also hidden treasure revealed about our main characters that are well worth the price of admission.

Seeing this on Blu-ray was much better than I thought it would be. I always thought of the animation as mediocre at best, but with the added clarity and sharpness provided by Blu-ray, I have come to have a much greater respect for the artistry that was brought to the series. I was grabbed at the opening and held under the spell until the very end.

The extras were well worth it. Dawn of the Light Novel was a learning experience and I enjoyed the discussion provided. The OVA and episode 000 where not as wonderful, and in fact I was disappointed in them. Location Scouting in Hong Kong was fun but at times very tedious. I would have to say that the extras were a welcome addition and they added to the Full Metal Panic experience. Most importantly this is gorgeous, and if you are serious about you FMP then I would say this is a buy.

 

 

ComicsOnline gives Full Metal Panic: The second Raid on Blu-ray, 5 out of 5 Electroactive Polymers.

Anime Blu-ray Review: Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie Conqueror of Shamballa

1923, Munich Germany, Edward Elric is driving Alphons Heiderich to a fair, telling him of day gone by. After Ed gracefully drove the car in to a tree, a caravan of gypsy pick them up and took them to the fair. Alphons builds rockets and fires them at fairs. While Alfons was doing one of his performances, Ed was taking a nap in the truck when one of the gypsy, named Noa, came running from some men. Ed naturally helped her by shooting one of the extra rockets at the men. The men wanted Noa for her special talent to see in to peoples “heats”. The men where part of the Thule Society, who where trying to get to get to Shamballa. After capturing the “great snake”, which is Envy’s from on Earth, the Thule Society sends a group of soldiers to what they think is Shamballa, using Envy as a catalyst. On the other side of the portal the soldiers found Alphonse Elric (Ed’s Brother), and Alex Louis Armstrong in Amestris, instead of Shamballa. When Ed finds the Alchemy Circle that is used as the portal, he naturally redraws it and accidentally activated it. When the portal opened again the soldiers came back, but they where all dead. One of the suits of armor was still moving, and talking, it was Al. When Al and Armstrong where fighting the soldiers (who where already dead) Al attached part of his soul to one of the pieces of armor. After seeing Al again Ed is determined to go home, but at what cost?

Highlights

A few years prior Ed got Al’s  body back but was sent to Earth. After living on Earth for a while Al met Alfons. Alfons is obviously ment to be an older more hansom form of Al. Ed believed that Alphons’ rockets could take him home. Back at home Al is mastering Alchemy, but he remembers nothing of his and Ed’s adventures. Al says that the last thing he remembers is him and Ed trying to bring their mother back to life. Al isn’t the only one with a Earthly twin, King Bradley has one to. Although King Bradley and this man may look alike but they are very different. The one on Earth in a movie producer, who tries to capture a dragon for his movies. Winry Rockbell (Ed’s love interest) may not have a doppelganger  on Earth that we know of, but she is replaced. Neo and her charm easily replace Winry, lucky for Ed there is a hole dimension between him and Winry.

Overall

 This is the end of the FMA series yet it is basically a self contained story. Conqueror of Shamballa does a tricky balancing act of incorporating the old story. The first time I saw this movie I didn’t know a lot about FMA but I basically followed the movie without being to confused but knowing something about FMA defiantly enhances the experience. Speaking of enhancing, seeing FMA on Blu-ray is incredible. The overall quality of the movie is better than ever, especially sense this is an action movie it has more of the “WOW” quality. A movie is a great way to end a series with a bang and with rockets, dragons, Nazis, mass invasions and explosions, it couldn’t have been done any better. Any movie with Roy Mustang and his fire alchemy in it will end with a bang anyways. If you watch this movie in Blue-ray, all of your FMA dreams will come true.  

ComicsOnline Gives Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie Conqueror of Shamballa,  5 out of 5 Alex Louis Armstrong’s sparkling mussels.

Anime Blu-ray Review: Halo Legends

Halo fans looking for something to hold them off until this fall's release of Halo: Reach may have found what they’re looking for with DC and Warner Bros. release of Halo Legends: A collection of anime stories in the Halo universe.  The majority of the stories are excellent with the animation equally so. That, along with the inclusion of some awesome special features makes this a great addition to any Halo fan’s collection.  

First off, I’m going to admit up front that I’m a huge Halo fan.  Ask me to prove it and I’ll show you the tattoo.  Halo captured everything I loved about gaming and mixed it with everything I loved about science fiction. Halo redefined FPS storytelling and multiplayer for the console world and it singlehandedly propelled Microsoft’s Xbox to household name status. Never has a gaming series garnered so much attention as this one.  Its solidity in the gaming industry is further increased with this release.

Overview

DC and Warner Bros. new creation, Halo Legends, like the Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight before it, foregoes a feature length Anime in favor of a bunch of smaller separate stories within the universe created by the subject material. Here, we have seven separate stories with “Origins” having two parts. They are: The Duel, Prototype, Homecoming, The Babysitter, Odd One Out, The Package and of course, Origins I and II. Each is done in a different animation style and direction with themes from the Halo universe.

Highlights

“The Package” is obviously the showcase of this disc and once you see it, it’s hard to argue otherwise.  It’s done in a computer generated animation style similar to Pixar’s many creations and is far better looking and detailed than the rest of the lot.  It partially retells the events that occur at the end of the Halo: Fall of Reach book where the few remaining Spartans attempt to recover Dr. Catherine Halsey from a Covenant ship. It’s the only episode where we really get to see Mater Chief whoop some ass and it’s a rush to watch.

Players of the main series of games will be happy to know that “Origins” I and II continues the story after the events in Halo 3, albeit slightly. It’s told from Cortana’s view as she watches over Master Chief while he’s in cryo sleep and retells the story of the Forerunners and how the Halo series arrived at its current state.  It’s incredibly deep and as a longstanding fan of the series, it was a breath of fresh air to see this episode feature the longest and most detailed storytelling of the lot.

“The Duel” is also worthy of note.  It takes place a long time ago before the current war between the Covenant and humanity and features an arbiter who refuses to accept the Covenant religion and is forced to fight because of it.  It’s presented in a watercolor painted style that looks amazing in motion.  What that said, watching the arbiter tear up the Covenant troops puts it right up there with watching Mater Chief do the same.

Most of the other stories feature solid animation and story, but a few are a bit lacking.  “Odd One Out” was by far the worst of the lot.  The black sheep of the Spartans, #1337, falls out of a Pelican and lands on the strange planet Cronkee.  It features the worst animation of the lot along with a story that makes absolutely no sense in the Halo universe. The additional characters are annoying and loud and serve no real purpose.  The pet Tyrannosaurus Rex is just one example. I would have been fine if this was left out of the collection altogether.

Special Features

Halo Legends on Blu-ray come as a single disc collection containing the feature, commentary track, and a few very robust featurettes:

• Feature Commentary by directors Frank O’Connar and Joseph Cho
• Halo: Gaming Evolved featurette
• The Making of Halo Legends featurette
• Halo: The Story So Far featurette

“Halo: The Story So Far” is a quick and dry storytelling of the entire Halo universe timeline and was by far the wet dream of this collection for me.  It’s narrated by Frank O’ Conner but also features the author of the Halo books, Eric Nylund.   It provides the entire back story on the halo rings and the Forerunners, the forming of the Covenant, the Spartans program and humanity’s eventual alliance with the Elites. It’s a must-see for Halo fans and provides tons of details on the continuing Halo universe.  It’s hard to believe the amount of thought and detail that went into creating what was just a video game at the time.

The “Halo: Gaming Evolved” featurette runs about 22 minutes and talks about the Halo franchise and what it’s become.  It starts from the very beginning when Halo was first announced years ago and where they plan to take it.  It features quite a few guest stars including the previously mentioned Eric Nylund and Xbox Live’s Major Nelson.  “The Making of Halo Legends” featurettes can be watched as a whole or individually for each of the stories.  Most of them talk about the art style they chose to use for each of the episodes. It’s worth watching through as a whole, but you won’t find yourself repeatedly viewing them.

The commentary track is also worthy of note.  Frank O’ Conner is the Halo guru, and hearing tidbits from his vast amount of Halo knowledge was awesome. He really does a great job contributing here. Had I not listened to his commentary or watched the other special features, I wouldn’t have appreciated some of the less notable stories as much.   Knowing why characters were highlighted in a particular episode or how they fit into the canon of Halo was foreign to me until I found out more in the special features.

Overall

The problem with collections like these is that they are generally a mixed bag.  Halo Legends on Blu-ray suffers a little from the same fate.  Episodes like The Package, Origins and The Duel are amazing, while the rest could be forgotten.  The special features are incredible and are a large part of why this collection rocks on Blu-ray.  Ultimately, this is a great addition to any Halo fan’s collection and features some great additional content to compliment the games as well as the books and comics available. 

ComicsOnline gives Halo Legends on Blu-ray 4.0 out of 5 sticky nades.

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Anime Blu-ray Review: Heroic Age, The Complete Series

   

Anime Blu-ray Review: One Piece: The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventures in Alabasta

We join our heroes as they sail to the dessert kingdom Alabasta to help Princess Vivi save her kingdom. The Rebel Army is going to try and overthrow the kingdom. The relabels think that King Nefertari Cobra is stealing water from the rest of the country, but it is the notorious Sir Crocodile, A.K.A. Mr. 0, who was doing all of it. Crocodile is the leader of Baroque Works, and their goal is to overthrow the government by causing a revelatory war and then striking when the war is over and both the rebels and the soldiers of Alabasta are too weak to fight. Baroque Works is ran by Crocodile and 13 other men with the code names of a number that is 1 though 13,  while women have code names taken from days of the week or holidays. Luffy and the straw hat pirates are going to do every thing they can to stop the war from happening and take down the leaders of Baroque Works while they're at it.

 

Highlights

One thing that makes One Piece so awesome are the epic battles, and this time even Nami gets a pice of the action. Even though Nami is one tough cookie she tends to do as little as possible unless there is money involved, but this time she fights Miss Doublefinger. Miss Doublefinger can turn her body into spikes but Nami uses the Clima-Tact, which is a staff that can control the weather. Usopp and Chopper fight Mr. 4, his gun dog and Miss Merry Christmas. Mr. 4’s gun dog can shoot exploding baseballs, that Mr. 4 then hits with a baseball bat. The gun dog is a gun that ate the Dog Dog fruit that allows it to turn in to a dog, but how a gun ate a fruit, much less anything else, is a question that never gets answered. Even though Zoro fights Mr. 1 and Sanji fights the extremely creepy Mr. 2 the best fight is between Luffy and Crocodile, A.K.A. Mr. 0.  Crocodile can turn into sand any time he wants so he can’t be hurt by any attacks, but there is one exception. If you are wet when you hit him he will be hurt. Luffy figures that out, but with no water around the only thing Luffy can use is his blood, and Crocodile still has a few trick up his sleeves.

Overall

One Piece: The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventures in Alabasta is like the last 7 or 8 episodes of the The Desert Princess and the Pirates saga squeezed into a one and half hour movie. Unfortunately, turning it into a movie ends up cutting out much of the action in the fights, like in the Usopp and Chopper battle against Mr. 4, to make room for the plot line. Although the plot line is what carries the movie, some of the basic story of the anime is left out. Even though some of the core plot was missing, it didn’t mess with the story itself and it was still very good. The fact that it is on Blu-ray does make up for some of the weakness, the picture is so much better than TV and standard DVD that it made the movie worth it. I also like the fact that the 4 Kids TV censorship isn’t there. The most obvious things that aren't censored is the fact that Sanji smokes instead of sucking on a red lollypop and that Luffy hits Crocodile with blood instead of sweat.

ComicsOnline gives One Piece: The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventures in Alabasta 4.5 out of 5 Straw Hat crew

Anime Blu-ray Review: Origin: Spirits of the Past

 

 

Another Anime favorite has been offered up to the "Blu-ray" technicians. In this case, they have once again added a new dimension to the already respected anime offering.

Highlights
The never ending struggle between Man and Nature is explored in this beloved tale. In 2006 the creators at Gonzo served up this post apocalyptic story of the future where Scientists created a strain of plant genetics that have a full conscience and is able to affect the human genetic structure too. The world is split into two factions, one is Nature and the other is the Waring Mechanical Humans, in the middle is Neutral City. One day a young lady awakes who had been asleep for 300 years and just so happens to hold the key that would free Humans from the new Super Power, The Forest.

The young lady, Toola, is found and befriended by Agito, a young man from Neutral City. Agito's Father was a founder of Neutral City and because he accepted the power of the forest, he is changing and becoming a tree. The people of Neutral City believe that there is a way for Humans and The Forest to coexist, but the Humans from Ragna still believe in the old ways of Mankind and the machines that they build. Toola finds another sleeper, who has joined Ragna and is out to destroy The Forest. She goes with him to help "save Humanity". Agito has different ideas and goes deep into the Forest to accept a new path and become enhanced by the Power of the Forest. His new power makes him a super human and the battle begins. The real question is who is right.

 

 

Overall
Origin: Spirits of the Past, is a highly produced show and clearly strives to stand with some of the works by Hayao Miyazaki such as Nausicaa, Castle in the Sky or Princess Mononoke. Origin does a valiant job of taking on this subject matter and does reach the plateau of the Miyazaki films. Origin has a few flat spots and seems to take some short cuts to keep the audience's attention. The character development was decent enough and you do get a sense of who Agito and Toola are, along with some of the other major characters, but there is some historical information that would have helped the story get through a few of the awkward moments. The struggle of Man finally destroying nature and using the Moon as a lab to recreate nature is believable, but the fact that nature revolted and destroyed the Moon and was able to survive the travel from the Moon to the Earth without protection is just a little far fetched.

I enjoyed this film the first time I saw it 2 years ago and now seeing it on Blu-ray is even more exiting. The heightened graphics and sound add another dimension to the film and increases the gorgeous animation and artwork that went into Anime. I am very happy to have had the opportunity to see this film in the original DVD format and now in Blu-ray. It is well worth the money to increase the visual experience that this Movie has to offer. More importantly,Origin: Spirit of the Past is and will be considered a classic and offers a unique insight into the what may be if we do not get control of our destructive nature.

The 1 hour of extras provide with this disc are also very interesting. The 50 minute special interview with the producer Koji Kajita and Director Keiichi Sugiyama gives some great insights into their motivation and ideas. It did drag a little but you often don't get the in depth discussions. There was also a fun special that gave a good idea how the hand drawn and 3DCG came together along with some of the animation that was cut. All in all this package turns out to be very entertaining and a big plus to many collections.

 

ComicsOnline gives Origin: Spirits of the Past (Blu-ray) 5 out of 5 chanting green Druids.

Anime Blu-ray Review: Ponyo

"Ponyo loves Sosuke! I will be a human, too!"

Hayao Miyazaki is known for making movies that transcend the anime genre and are staples among an international audience.  The same way someone may say, "I'm not a huge fan of sushi, but I'll gobble down a plate of California Rolls" or "I typically don't fancy myself a wine drinker, but give me a bottle of Night Train and a bag of Flamin' Hot Funyons and we got ourselves an evening!" is the same way many people, including myself, speak of his work.  "I'm just not into anime, but that Totoro guy, what's his name? Miyazaki? Yeah, him. He's legit, I love that stuff."  Most of the mainstream American audience was exposed to Miyazaki in 2002 through his Academy Award winning masterpiece, Spirited Away.  His newest film, Ponyo, will surely make a splash when waves of fans swim into stores and purchase the two-disc Disney/Studio Ghibli Blu-Ray/DVD.

Ponyo is a retelling of the Hans Christian Anderson story, The Little Mermaid.  Don't expect Ponyo to have many similarities to the 1989 Disney movie; drawing similarities between the two will be as difficult as convincing your sober friend that Darkside of the Moon “totally syncs up” with The Wizard of Oz.  At its essence, Ponyo is the story of a confusingly-cute embryonic fish monster taking the form of a young girl to be with the love of her life, a young boy with a passion for Morse code who saved her from the unforgiving grasp of a mayonnaise jar.  I know we've all seen this story a thousand times - boy meets fish monster, fish monster falls in love, fish monster upsets the balance of nature and magic blah blah blah - but really, Miyazaki's take on it is fresh and original.  The movie is absolutely beautiful, has an amazing story and is, dare I say...touching.
 

Special Features

- Enter the Lands

"Enter the Lands" is kind of a cop-out; the menu screen looks great with animations tying together the world of Ghibli but the feature really lacks substance.  You click on one of the areas that represents a film and are taken to a preview of the movie and the ability to watch two short clips from the film itself.  Great menu and a potentially exciting feature, but there's not a lot to it.

- Behind the Studio

This is the real bulk of the special features and is actually incredibly interesting.  There are numerous small documentaries about Hayao Miyazaki and the production of Ponyo, down to real locations featured in the film and original concept art.  The only downside is watching the feature on the American voice actors.  Knowing that the two main characters were played by the Jonas Brothers' brother and Miley Cyrus' sister somehow ruined the cute appeal of the children actors.

- Meet Ponyo

"Meet Ponyo" is a shorter, less in-depth featurette of the “Behind the Studio” segment.

- Storyboard Presentation of the Movie

This is a storyboard presentation of the movie.



Overall

For the Miyazaki initiated, Ponyo can be easily characterized as “somewhere between My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away”.  For the uninitiated, the simplest way to put it is that its one of the few movies that legitimately appeals to all age groups.  Not like “fun for the whole family” because it's a children's movie that makes three references that only adults will get and not like Dave Coulier's “Clean Guys of Comedy Tour” that appeals to absolutely nobody, it really is an incredible movie for just about anyone.  Just buy the movie; seriously, buy it, it's magical.

ComicsOnline gives Ponyo on Blu-ray & DVD 5 out of 5 HAAAAAAAAAAMS.

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Anime Blu-ray Review: Samurai Champloo,The Complete Series

 

Two wandering Ronin Samurai and a girl are in search of the Samurai that smells of sunflowers have a genuine natural ability to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But wait that is not all, we also have Hip Hop. That's Wickity Wack Y'all.  

 

Highlights

Over the 26 episodes of this uber-classic anime there are a minimum of 37.5 highlights. I don't have enough time or will to list them all but, here are a few of the real top moments. Early on in the first 10 minutes we have the two Ronin take out some top notch Samurai and some punk young men who think they rule the roost because of their position. These young punks are very similar to the city street princes of the urban neighborhoods. They are beat down and even taught that real insanity can be out of control and overwhelming. Jin and Mugen, our two heros, and Kasumi, our heroin, have the world by the tail and only need FOOD to keep them going. The majority of the episodes take a page from real life and take these wanders and make them hungry and consistently in need of food.  This pushes some of the action along and gets our trio involved in some great situations.

 

While trying to cross the frontier, they have a fun encounter with a few warrior monks growing a special grass (blunt)!. Thanks to Mugen and his ability to arouse the best in people, a small fire is ignited. The smoke engulfs the village and check point, they throw open the gates and a night of crazed debauchery commences and it goes down in history as the night of free passage. I had no idea the Japanese of the 1870s knew how to party like that. 

Overall

I know that I have taken on this awesome anime in the past and because I get the opportunity to review it in Blu-ray only made me happy.  In the case of Samurai Champloo, I can say that the increase quality does have an impact on the experience of viewing. In War of Words there is a great mix of spray paint tagging and ninja art. I never know that tagging started in ancient Japan. How cool it that?

There is a never ending stream of goodness with this show and the action keeps you on your toes. Fuu is the innocent, Jin is the stoic moralist and Mugen os the reckless vagabond. Together they make a trio that you want to survive and continue to find themselves together. 

ComicsOnline gives Samurai Champloo: The Complete Season on Blu-ray, 5 out of 5 cosmic collisions.

Anime Blu-ray Review: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle: Season One

Princess Sakura is drawn into an ancient ruin where her latent powers are awoken. During this process Syaoran saves her from the overwhelming destruction she was headed for. At that moment, all of her memories are transfered into the wings she had grown and the feathers are scattered throughout the dimensional worlds. The wizard of their world sends them off to find Yuko, the dimensional witch to have her give them the ability to track down Sakura's memories. Two other travelers also appear at Yuko's at that time and join forces. They each pay a high price to be able to go on this quest, but agree nonetheless. The hunt is on to find all of Sakura's feathers and to help her regain her memories.

 

Highlights

Season one of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle does a fine job of setting the stage for some rather wonderful plot twists to be revealed later. The high points of the first season have to be the arc where the travelers find themselves in a video game setting as Demon Hunters and Restauranteurs. The just have no idea that they are in a game until the very end of the arc. There are some rather interesting twists in this series of events, such as the appearance of Syaoran's original fighting teacher and the sudden reality switch that comes when they find out the truth of there recent existence.  This is the longest of the arcs in season one and does spend some time developing the relationships of the four main characters.

The other obvious highlight of season one is the last episode in which there is a Feather located and received within one single episode. The action is fast and delivers a nice little package for the rather sensitive series.

Overall

The first 5 episodes are a fantastic opening for the series and are the perfect draw for 13 to 16 year old girls. Unfortunately I am not a 13 to 16 year old girl and found myself wanting much more than the rather sensitive introduction of the main characters. I also found them to be thrown together without much knowledge of the real reasons for all of their transgressions. Once I got past the opening episodes, I found the flow of the series to take on a different feel. The action became much faster but still retained a somewhat kindhearted approach. There did not appear to be any real tension between the struggling seekers and the foes they had to meet in order to possess their prize. 

I was enamored by the zen approach to much of the story line, but because I am familiar with the events yet to unfold, I found myself watching for the foreshadowing that is laid out in these episodes. I did find the Blu-ray experience to be rewarding and would recommend that any fan of this series try and find a way to see this on Blu-ray. It is truly beautiful. The extras were not much to get excited about, but the  character bios and world bios were nice to have for reference.

ComicsOnline gives Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle: Season One, 4 out of 5 Memory Loss Feathers

Anime Blu-ray Review: Vexille

In 2067 the lines between Robot and Android become blurred and the World turns against any Android technology. That is, everyone but Japan. Because Japan is run by a large Company named Daiwa, it decides to remove itself from the rest of the world and continue with the research. A visual and electronic barrier is raised and Japan becomes isolated from the rest of the world. 10 years have gone by, something bad is happening, and Japan is at the center of it. Now it is up to the American military group named SWORD to infiltrate and open a window to Japan. 

Highlights

The opening sequence sets the stage for the movie. A high adrenaline mission to a Mountain Estate brings everything. War Robots, kick ass Mech Suits and crazy escape plans leaves you thinking WOW, is this what is coming for the rest of the movie? The story does slow down a little and the action gives way to serious plot development. The main character of Vexille goes from being a hard, cold military special ops soldier, to a loving caring human being who cares a great deal for her partner, who is also part of the same team and is now the leader of the special reconnaissance team going to Japan.

Once there, everything goes wrong and Vexille is separated from her team. This sets up the real story, that of technology gone wrong and the loss of all humanity. There are some special creatures called Jags, a side effect of this technology gone bad. A Jag is like a giant worm tornado. I know it sounds funny, but, when you see them you will know what I am talking about. Of course my first thought was that of the giant worms in Frank Herbert's Dune series, but they were also cool rotating metal tornados. Anyway they were very cool and play a big role in the outcome.

Overall

This 2007 move is a highly produced 3D CG movie. The graphics are almost as high level as Final Fantasy: Advent Children, but the digital rendering of the human character was a little disappointing. This was not a major detractor from the film and by seeing this in Blu-ray increased the pure enjoyment of the imagery. I found the environments beautifully rendered and almost over-the-top in clarity. Also, the effort put into the development of the Jags was a high point in the visual attraction of this Anime. The soundtrack was also well chosen and added to the overall experience.

The story was well developed and carried me through the entire movie seamlessly. I was not sure what to expect with this film and keep thinking to myself that it rivals any Live Action Sci Fi that I have ever seen. The complex moral discussion between technilogical advancement and a simple duty to humanity to protect that which is sacred could be easily muddied and over-sentimentalized. Fumihoko Sori and Haruka Handa did a superb job of creating a balance and not allowing it to become a sappy story of lost humanity. The action was well placed and not overwelming, it allowed for thorough character development and did not lose sight of what the real meaning of the story is.

I am very happy to have the chance to review this film and would tell all Anime Fans that love Sci Fi and can appreciate well produced film, that this one is for you. This is also one you will want to own in Blue-ray.

ComicsOnline gives Vexille 5 out of 5 metalic sandworms.

Anime Blu-ray Review: WitchBlade, The Complete Series

West meets East, and tide has begun to turn, or has it? WitchBlade is a well-franchised American comic that made it's way across the Pacific to find a new life by the hands of the artists at Gonzo Studio. In this version, the heroine is a kinder, gentler woman who is all about being a hapless mother, but still the all encompassing Mother figure.  The story of a woman cursed with the ultimate power, a young daughter with a mysterious past, and some powerful entities after the WitchBlade itself. 

 

Highlight

Of course the slight clothing of our lead and the other Neogenes will keep the men in the audience coming back, but that is not the real entertainment of this series. The real highlight of this series is the humanity that is brought out through the lead character. There is Yuusuke, a freelance photographer, who is looking for the ultimate scoop, but finds himself caught up in something that reminds him of what makes life worthwhile. Reiji Takayama, the corporate executive is cold and calculated but finds that everything he had spent his life striving for was nothing without the warmth of another human to share life with and the importance of family. Then there are all the other characters close to our hero, Masane and her delightful daughter, Rihoko, who bring in the full monty when it comes to playing out the essence of Mother and Daughter. This is the focal point of the entire series and is by far the real strength of it.

The most engaging part of the series was when the secret to the Ex-Cons is discovered. These Ex-cons had been on a rampage, killing at will and being used to draw in the WitchBlade, or were drawn to the WitchBlade Power. But the secret to these weapons is that they use a human shell as the camouflage to allow them to wander around in the human world, but the only thing is that they seem to retain is something of the original human in their psyche. The main player in this discovery is a former police officer who was a kind and gentle person and in his death has become a brutal killing machine. In the end it plays out that the original human is finally let rest, but the damage is done and this puts a real moral dilemma to the test. Do we use the dead to fight our battles? The answer is not given, but the question is asked.

Overall

Once you get past the over-the-top women in this series the essence of it comes out fast and has a long lasting power that drives it along. It is easy to watch because of the hot women, but the story is solid and does not need two sexy, killer women running around in barely anything at all. The Mother/Daughter story is very touching due to the fact that they are not really related, but the human bonding is often deeper than blood and in this case, it is all about the bond of love that holds them together and this Mother's love has a profound effect on everyone she comes in contact with. I found myself becoming very sentimental when it came to this relationship and also understanding why the men that surround her are like moths to a flame. 

Seeing this on Blu-ray was the cherry on the top of a great sunday. The animation is worthy of the high definition that comes with the 1080 dpi picture. Gonzo did the the franchise proud with this twist to the original story. The clearly Japanese sensibility comes across in its glory in this beautifully rendered show. The characters are given the detail that they deserve and the background is slick and natural. There is also a great series of interviews with the creators from Top Cow that gives an in depth discussion of the series and the work that went into getting this into the Anime market. I hope that more of the independent creators see this and also see the opportunity that could come from expanding their market and vision.

For a hard core WitchBlade fan, this may push your approval because of the changes that are given to the main character, but it should also be a piece of your collection. For those who are not familiar with the franchise, you should check this out. It is a worthy series that has oh so much more to offer than just really hot chicks.

ComicsOnline gives WitchBlade: The Complete Series on Blu-ray 5 out of 5 psycho machines wanting to warm you up.

Anime DVD Review: Gantz, The Complete Series

It's a girl!

What is Gantz?  Gantz is a large black orb, sitting in an empty Tokyo apartment.  Gantz has poor grammar.  Gantz will give you weapons, and points if you are good.  Pray you never meet Gantz.  If you see Gantz, you've already died once.  But, the next time you die, it'll hurt more.  And you won't come back again.

High school slacker, Kei and his childhood friend, Kato are sent to Gantz after dying in a gruesome subway train accident.  They find themselves strangely alive and intact, locked in a small apartment with a group of similarly confused strangers.  Gantz plays some music and the game begins.  A drawer with cases slides out of the mysterious sphere.  Each case contains a skin-tight suit, fitted to each person, increasing their strength, defense and agility.  Strange weapons also slip out of Gantz and players grab what they can.  The mission?  Kill aliens for points.  Anyone who survives the alien hunt can return to life at home until summoned by Gantz for the next mission.  Get enough points and go home for good.  Oh, and don't try to run from the mission, your head will explode.

For those who love fast-paced action anime with hearty helpings of violence, gore and sex, Gantz is one of the best series in recent years.  Filled with cliffhangers and unending WTF moments, it's hard to stop watching Gantz once you start.  The animation is sleek and shiny, with a fitting amount of CG.  The human character and background designs veer toward the realistic (no gigantic eyes and gravity-defying, pink hair here), making gory scenes extra intense.  Most main characters are visually appealing, especially Kei's crush, the busty and suicidal Kishimoto.  As for the aliens, they are often freaky, sometimes humorous Japanese cultural references, but always random and damn deadly.  Gantz also has plenty of meat behind its visuals.  Kei's self-centered nature and disregard for others adds a disturbing yet refreshing dark humor to the story.  It's wonderful to watch him reluctantly help his fellow players alongside his heroic, selfless foil, Kato.  Further, Gantz presents an intriguing interplay of each character's moral weaknesses, their effects on each other and how they reflect society's selfish  need for violence as entertainment.

Special Features

Funimation's latest DVD release of Gantz: The Complete Series collects the entire 26 episodes in a 4-disc, single shell case with slipcover.  This compact version is a space saver and the SRP is decent.  (Check out our Amazon link below for an even better price!) The DVD extras are minimal -director interviews, music video, trailers and textless songs- but the series is brilliant, it doesn't need fluff. 

Audio

Dolby Digital in Japanese 2.0 and English 5.1 options, with clear English subtitles.  For Gantz and the majority of anime series I prefer subbed, however this dub is tolerable and at least the voices are age appropriate for the primary characters.  The series' opening song “Super Shooter” by Rip Slyme is upbeat and catchy, complete with odd lyrics.  As far as soundtrack, eerie hums, vocals and techno beats accompany the action when needed. 

Video

Studio Gonzo delivers gorgeous visuals in Gantz.  The backgrounds are often chockfull of fluid CG, but never to the point of obstructing the story or action.  Expect fan service from scene one and plenty more throughout the series.  More delicious than all the bounce is that it has a purpose –whether demonstrating Kei’s personality or holding up a mirror to the audience’s own perversions.  Also expect a wonderful attention to anatomy detail in human gore scenes.  That and lots of fun alien splatter.

Overall

The only drawback for Gantz is that there is no solid end to the story.  The anime series is based on Hiroya Oku's manga (English version published by Dark Horse and also highly recommended) which is still ongoing.  Like other great anime series with incomplete endings, i.e. Berserk, the reward is in the journey and Gantzis one hell of a trip.  As you watch the series, any time you think Gantz can't get any weirder, Oku outdoes himself in his exploration of the surreal.  I encourage everyone to buy and watch the Gantz anime, get addicted, then find your next fix with Oku’s fabulous manga.

ComicsOnline gives Gantz:  The Complete Series 5 out of 5 Yuzo-kuns!

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Anime DVD Review: 20th Century Boys, Part 2: The Last Hope

This is now available at Amazon.

Anime DVD Review: 2oth Century Boys (Live action)

 

With the DVD release of this exceptional story on December 15th, I thought it would only make sense that the review be reposted.

The masterful manga story by famed Naoki Urasawa, the creator of Monster and the epic Pluto, is being brought to the Big Screen and in Live Action. 20th Century Boys, is a highly acclaimed manga that took over 8 years for Urasawa to produce, is now being made into a trilogy and the first of the three installments will be released on December 10th. 

There is cult that has begun to make a move to control the world and a mysterious plague has begun to show up in large cities. There is a strange symbol surrounding this cult that haunts a small shop keeper, Kenji, and his friends from child hood. It appears as though they created a story in their youth that is being used to destroy the world and only they hold the ability to stop it.

Highlights

There is a group of old school friends that have begun to settle into their boring existence, suddenly there is a rash of strange deaths caused by a virus along with the emergence of a cult lead by a man named Friend. Kenji, a shop keeper and one time Rocker, has been saddled with his sister's child after she leaves without a full explanation. Kenji is questioned about a delivery to a house of a family that has disappeared. Kenji knew nothing, but had to go back to the house they lived at. He comes across a symbol that seemed very familiar to him. Shortly after, an old school friend, Donkey, died by falling of a bridge. This death brings back the old gang and they begin to talk and remember their childhood. Kenji draws the symbol for them and they all remember it. It was the symbol they made to use as a flag for their fort when they were very young back in 1969. The memories flood back and they realize that there may be a connection between a "Book of Prophecy" that Kenji and the gang wrote 30 years prior. They then go on the quest to find the book and discover who and what will happen next.

One night a large group of men show up at Kenji's shop and try to abduct his niece. He is able to stop them, but a fire is started and the building burns down. After the fire, Kenji finds the book and the old friends begin to realize that someone is following the story. They are band together and realize that they will be the ones to stop the evil plot. In the meantime Friend and his cult have come to power and seem to be making Kenji and his little group out to be terrorists, forcing them underground. There is also the discovery that Kenji's niece, Kanna, is the chosen one. The book leads them to a final battle with a robot that is hungry for the destruction of Tokyo. The stage is set for an exciting confrontation.

Overall

20th Century Boys is another great adaptation of a well developed Manga by Viz Pictures. There was a serious group of film makers behind this project of three movies to tell this epic tale that covers the 60 years span of the story. I was very curious on how they would approach this imaginative story. Stretching it out over three movies will allow the film makers the chance to develop it the way it should be. 

I found this to be a delightful beginning and the real strength lies in the characters. I found it very easy to relate to this group of people who have begun to see the insipid existence that has begun to descend upon them. Then the onslaught of childhood memories bring back something lost for this weary cadre. I found myself floating back to days gone by, but was also drawn in by the mystery that was unfolding in front of me. 

For those of you that saw the Death Note live action films and found them to be worthy of praise, then you will be ecstatic about this film. I was a little concerned that a run time of 146 minutes would end up being too long for this part of the tale, but I was surprised to find it seemingly short. There where a few moments that came across as the end of this segment and with great delight the story rolled on toward the battle between Kenji and Friend. 

If you do not like sub title films, then this is not for you. However, if you enjoy or do not mind sub titles, you will find this to be a fine experience. If you are a fan of mystery and adventure, then you will surely find this to be a well spent 146 minutes. I would highly recommend catching this in its limited release in the movie theaters. Watch for the release on December 10th. 

ComicsOnline gives 20th Century Boys, 5 out of 5 Freaky kids in who hide behind trees.

Anime DVD Review: Aquarion, The Complete Series

Aquarion follows the lives of those forced to fulfill a past-life that gradually unfolds with every relationship they form with each other, through the struggle to save their own race from utter destruction.

It's The Genesis of Aquarion, and it's been 12,000 years since the Earth has seen peace with the Shadow Angels, an ultimate force that harvest energy from humans to replenish themselves and the Tree of Life.  The only problem is, the humans don't like the Shadow Angels taking whole cities for the energy, so, they fight back with the three-part mech, Aquarion.  The collective military of nations keeps Aquarion at the special facility called Deava, which is responsible for the upkeep of Aquarion and its pilots.  Only humans with elemental powers are chosen to pilot this mystical weapon.  There are not many of these elemental humans, so their search for more sends them to one of the poorer camps.  There is evidence that the elemental there could be the reincarnation of the fallen Shadow Angel, Apollonius.  Ironically, the Elemental turns out to be an orphaned boy named Apollo.  Silvia, the reincarnation of Celiane (Apollonius' true love from the past), and a comrade, are the ones sent to retrieve Apollo.  Unfortunately, a Harvest Beast appears over the camp, collecting all the humans around, all except the Elementals.  Apollo's best friend, along with younger orphans with him, are taken by the Harvest Beast. Apollo vows to save his friend and the young ones, all of whom he was unable to stop from being taken, thus he joins Deava and learns to pilot Aquarion, but not without the help of his new companions.  

Aquarion crosses almost all the genres there are: vampires, soccer, Victorian style royalty, mechs, samurai, angels, and so many more things, it's crazy (and really cool)!  Everything fits together perfectly, and it's great to see how they interact with each other.  Those who like Last Exile will like Aquarion, there is a very similar feel between the two, while still being two very different stories.  This is set more in the future, and the motive is to save the human race from the opposing force.  There are also a lot of themes as well: friendship, love, unity of races, not abusing the earth's resources, choosing between right and wrong, finding your true self, trust, etc.  Everything the creator is trying to tell you is strongly shown through beautiful animation, well developed and understandable characters, and true bonds between the characters.

Episodes

Disc One: 01 "Memories of Heavenly Wings", 02 "Beast of Darkness", 03 "Element School", 04 "Barefoot Warrior",  05 "King of the Underground Labyrinth", 06 "To the Other Side of Emotions", 07 "Knight of the Crimson Rose"

Disc Two:  08 "The First Merge", 09 "The Path to Dreams", 10 "Stars in the Sky, Flowers on the Ground", 11 "Happiness is at the Bottom of the Lake", 12 "The Time of Amber", 13 "A 12,000-Year-Old Love Letter"

Disc Three: 14 "Shining Shadows", 15 "Aquarion's First Love", 16 "Black Mirror", 17 "Merge to Eat", 18 "Cosplay of the Soul", 19 "Mischief Without Malice", 20 "Sound of an Angel's Feather"

Disc Four: 21 "Crimson Path", 22 "Wings Unseen", 23 "Fleeting Wings", 24 "Heaven's Gate", 25 "Final Battle! Atlandia", 26 "The Day the World Begins"

Overall

I loved Aquarion. It has a well rounded plot and easy to watch.  Plus I liked the combination of genres.  The artist did a great job of capturing real life moments, especially the smaller ones.  Episode 17 "Merge to Eat" brought up women and weight control, but in a BIG way!  It was funny to see three female characters trying to lose weight by not eating and exercising really hard, while the guys just sat around (and staying fit at the same time).  But that wasn't even the best episode. It's like third on my list.  "Cosplay of the Soul", which is the one right after "Merge to Eat", is about understanding each other, and understand yourself.  Their commander teaches them this through extreme role playing.  They dress up like the one they don't get along with the most/don't understand the most, and have to be them for as long as it takes to understand them. Personalities were really prominent in this episode, and humor was its light! Then there's the episode 19 "Mischief Without Malice", next in the episode lineup.  It starts off kind of different, by that I mean the animation, it's become more basic, like average Saturday morning Cartoons for younger kids, then, after the opening theme, it goes back to normal.  I was amused by the unexpected change, and was curious to see what was to come next in the episode.  It just got better from there! The usual happens, a city is under attack by a Harvest Beast, so Apollo and the two pilots flying with him are sent to destroy the harvest beast and save the city, but this Harvest Beast is different, it's a huge tower.  The three parts of Aquarion go straight for the tower, but are warped to a strange world with "original sketch" animation.  Apollo sees Silvia, and he breaks out in laughter at the way she looks, like they notice the change in animation! Not only that, but they really don't like it, (especially Silvia and her brother), thinking it makes them look ugly.  The whole episode is extremely funny (not slapstick funny, realistic funny), and is a nice break from the kind of depressing plot.

I do have to say, I disliked the last episode, most significantly.   As of the second to last episode, the watcher's emotions and devotion to the show are raised to those of a diehard fan. We hope for everything to turn out the best for the humans and the Shadow Angels. But then the last episode is just like a slap in the face, it's too relaxed with conclusion, almost to the point of being boring.  But, even so, it's not enough to take away from the experience Aquarion has to offer as a whole.  

Aquarion is perfect for just about any kind of older Anime fan (I'd say 14 and older).  From scifi troopers to romance lovers, it's a must have for one's collection.

ComicsOnline gives Aquarion: The Complete Series 5 out of 5 Memories from the past.

Anime DVD Review: Astro Boy 2003 Complete Series

I never quite realized how much of a rip-off Mega Man was until I started watching the 2003 remake of Tezuka Osamu's classic manga-turned-anime, Astro Boy. Similarities abound between the two series, including the setting, the characters and the design of the technology, which actually made it easy for me, as a Mega Man fan, to jump in and appreciate the show for what it is: a silly action series about a robotic boy who lives in a wonderful future world.

The wonder of this series sets in early. A sequence in the first episode involving Astro's first flight acts as an exhilarating moment demonstrating Astro's speed and powers, but it also acts as an introduction to the world of the series. And a wonderful world it is. Astro Boy takes place in a futuristic utopia, the kind of world a child would imagine the future to be like, and it is wonderful, if a little bit silly. The concept of the world may feel familiar to fans of the Mega Man franchise, which borrows liberally from Astro Boy in many ways. But Astro Boy has the benefit of showing the universe at peace instead of constantly being torn apart by rebellious robots. Most of Astro Boy's robots actually work like they are supposed to, and while the occasional malfunction or maliciously designed robot keep Astro busy (and Astro Boy action packed) the rest of the world uses technology that function correctly.

This might seem to be an overly optimistic choice in a genre filled with cautionary tales of technology going wrong, but Astro Boy's optimism is refreshing. The future is awesome, and this show revels in the wonders available, even when acknowledging that there are sometimes dangers in pushing the limits of technology.

Astro Boy in general isn't all sunshine and robotic puppy dogs. While the show obviously is targeting a younger demographic, it is perfectly watchable by older audiences if they can get past some of the sillier aspects of the show. The character design, for example, is downright goofy most of the time, with mustaches that defy anatomy and noses that would make Cyrano stare in disbelief. This isn't a bad thing all the time, since these... unique... character designs lead to a world populated by distinguishable people. Even most of the background characters seem distinct, even if stock characters pop up now and again. The sense of goofy design transfers into the technology of Astro Boy as well, and while some of their choices end up working, like the robotic bees that wash windows, others break the believability of the world, like the police cars made to resemble dogs.

Design decisions aside, the biggest obstacle for people looking to enjoy this series would probably be the voice acting. While the voice actors themselves don't do a bad job (Dorian Harewood provides a deep, mellifluous voice for Astro's Arch-nemesis, Dr. Tenma) the dubbing sometimes falls into the worst anime conventions. Worse, watching the show in Japanese with subtitles isn't an option, as the only languages featured are English, Spanish, and Portugese. Basically, if you aren't a fan of anime, Astro Boy probably isn't going to change your mind.

The Special Feature, "The Remaking of Astro Boy", is a revealing look at the process that was used to redesign the series. Hearing the opinions of an American animation director who is brought on to lend an American perspective was pretty frustrating for me, as most of his comments revolved around how some aspects of the show wouldn't fly with American audiences were criticizing parts of the show that I thought were the strongest. Additionally, this feature includes a short drawing lesson teaching aspiring artists how to draw Astro in a short, easy process.

Overall, Astro Boy is a fun, though somewhat goofy, action anime that provides a refreshingly optimistic view of the future, and is set in a wonderful futuristic world. The show seems made for kids, though an adult can easily appreciate it if they can get past some of the goofiness, and don't mind watching (or listening to) dubbed anime. If you like anime and are not scared away by dubbing or silliness, Astro Boy is well worth your time.

ComicsOnline.com gives Astro Boy 4 out of 5 sentient robotic heroes.

Anime DVD Review: Baccano! Volume 3

 

Anime DVD Review: Baccano! Volume 4

A quick look back at Baccano! Volume 3,  introduced the Rail-Tracer, Szilard Quates (an immortal alchemist who is searching for the recipe of  Immortality) has appeared to have eliminated most of the Camorra group in the U.S, and Ladd Russo has been thrown off the train with his fiancée.  

Baccano! Volume 4 starts off with the Rail-Tracer and the girl in the black dress (Chane Laforet) on top of the train.   The Rail-Tracer starts talking to Chane, asking about who she is.  He finds out that she is the daughter of Huey Laforet, the one who is currently the one who know the most about the secrets of immortality.  But then, there's a twist!  The Rail-Tracer declares love for Chane, by offering to marry her!  In the meantime, Jacuzzi Splot's and Nice Holystone's group of misfits steals cargo from the train and escapes by jumping into the river, but Jacuzzi suffers some serious injuries.  There's another thing, Chane has also jumped off the train into the river, after carving her answer to the Rail-Tracer's proposal into the top of the train.

Then it goes back to Szilard Quates who is about to kill a fellow Alchemist (Maiza Avaro) in order to get more of the recipe.  Unfortunatly for Szilard, those people he thought were dead in the speakeasy, had all had some of the immortal elixir.  So, they come to save Maiza, and the one leading them is Firo Prochainezo.  Firo is instructed on how to "Eat" Szilard, and thus Firo gains all the knowledge Szilard knew.  These are the two major events that gets volume 4 going.

By the end of this volume, the Rail-Tracer, Vino (Claire Stanfield was his name given at birth, Vino is the name he's given himself), has caught up with Chane, and Jacuzzi has declared Chane a member of their gang.  Then the new suspicion that Ladd Russo is actually alive, and his faithful follower is out to get revenge on the one who hurt Ladd.  As for Maiza and Firo, well, lets just say they're taking a break from mafia activities.

Episodes:

13. Both the Immortals and Those Who Aren't sing the Praises of Life Equally
14. Graham Specter's Love and Peace
15. The delinquents That Arrive at the High-Class Neighborhood Are the Same as Always
16. Carol Realizes That the Story Cannot Have an Ending

Extras:

Baccano! Volume 4 has textless songs, trailers, and actor commentary, which was average for actor commentary, interesting, but I heard nothing that I found exciting.

Overall:

Baccano! Volume 4 has very little blood, compared to the previous volume.  The plot and story starts to come together nicely, and make perfect sense.  Also, this volume seems to be a break for the side of the Mafia that we normally see, and instead, the watcher sees the side of these low-lifes that is human.  The characters develop relationships with each other, everlasting relationships bound by true love.  Lovey-dovey right? Well, not much, there one times it's really mushy, but it's a flashback, and not the prettiest time in Jacuzzi's and Nice's past.  All the other times were either during a fight, or at least there is an explosion.  There was one random moment that didn't seem to belong, where it's suddenly 2002, and you don't know that's the end of the episode.  So basically there was a really confusing transition from episode 13 to episode 14.  Other then that, Baccano! volume 4 is the best in the Baccano! series so far, and I can't wait for the next volume to come out!

 

Comicsonline gives Baccano! Volume 4, 5 out of 5 Domino Game pieces.

Anime DVD Review: Bamboo Blade - Season 1 Part 1

 

Down and out high school teacher Toraji Ishida is truly at a low point in his life: no money, no luck, no life --- even his kendo club is on the rocks, with only one active member. When a friend challenges Toraji to a battle between their respective kendo teams, he refuses --- until his friend says that if he wins, he can eat at his father's sushi place for a whole year for free. The ever-hungry Toraji is inspired to create the best kendo team ever, which almost seems impossible --- until he runs into kendo prodigy Tamaki Kazawoe, whose sword can topple even an adult opponent, and her quiet passion for the sport is only rivaled by her hidden love for justice and anime. The quest is on to find a team of girls who are talented and willing to pick up the sword and join the school's kendo club --- or else no more food for Toraji!

 

Highlights:

You can divide the highlights of Bamboo Blade into two parts: the comedy and the action. Both parts together define the series as a whole. For the comedy parts of the series, it is a humor that is very character driven. We have an amazing cast to watch: the ever-perky and ready-to-go Kirino; the tragically comedic Toraji; the silent but passionate Kawazoe; the pessimistic and off-kilter Sayako; Miya-Miya, who diverts between perky and dangerous; her plain-looking goofy boyfriend Eiga; the kind and sincere Yuuji; and the ever-clumsy kendo ace Azuma. Each character brings with them their own brand of humor to the series. There is Kirino and Sayako's rather unorthodox way of recruiting members, Toraji's continuing bad luck that gets worse as the series progresses, Miyako's constant switching between her loveable persona and "Dark Miya-Miya" who scares all of the kendo members --- except for the oblivious Eiga. There are several stand-out scenes that are prime examples of how utterly funny Bamboo Blade can be, like when Kazawoe is unnaturally chatty as she talks about her hero Gorō Taniguchi (yes, the director of Code Geass, which kinda puts her love for justice into a whole new perspective, doesn't it?) or when Miyako is doing her best to avoid Sayako as the first time they met she went into Dark Miya-Miya mode and made quite a wreck of poor Saya's bike. And then there is poor pathetic Toraji, whose endless mishaps end up putting the kendo club into deeper trouble than before.
 

And than brings us to another thing that this series excels at: action. Bamboo Blade, despite its shiny comedic exterior, is still a sports anime. This means there has to be tons of practice scenes and eventually matches between their team and other opposing teams, such as the team headed by Tojari's sensei, Kenzaburō, the crux of the whole series' start. Even when practicing, you can tell the production team did a lot of research into kendo. All the subtle nuances of a very Japanese sport is there, from the way they step across the floor to even how they manage their gear. The spars themselves, whether practice between fellow team members or two teams facing off, can be very involving and dramatic without being too long. Kendo, after all, is not a sport where you spend an excess of time against your opponent. They have set times for regular and overtime limits, and even then matches usually don't take that long. Ergo, it becomes less about time and more about concentration, putting all of ones mental and willpower into each step and strike. And each girl has their own style and technique; the series does a good job of making these distinctions. Every time Kazawoe picks up her shinai, even in her bulky equipment, you can tell that it is Kazawoe. Likewise, Kirino's technique is high and spirited, Sayako is is energetic and frustrated, Azuma is skilled and fast, and so forth. With each match, you get more of a feel for their character through the way they handle their shinai and move around as they dodge blows and strike their opponents.

Extras:

As expected of a release with thirteen episodes to two discs, there are barely any extras to speak of. There are textless versions of both the opening and ending sequences, as well as a good number of trailers for upcoming Funimation releases, including the Fullmetal Alchemist movie and the second half of this very series (But with no release date! Bah!).

Funimation has included with the series an English dub track for all thirteen episodes. The script is changed slightly to fit with the animation, but there are no changes so major that someone watching only the dub would be following a different story. The voice acting is very good, matching the original Japanese's seiyuus in style and talent. When watching with the dub track selected, two performances really stood out to me. There was Luci Christian as Kirino, who did a great job of bringing her energy and enthusiasm to life. Then there was Sean Teague as Eiga, who was spot-on as the plain and not-so-bright character, whether it was complaining about the equipment or cheering his girlfriend on. Dub fans will enjoy watching Bamboo Blade in English.

Overall:

In the fall anime season for 2007, a little series about girls who were on a kendo team premiered on Japanese TV sets across the nation. Its name was Bamboo Blade, and it is finally getting the widespread audience it deserves as Funimation releases it to the English-speaking populace with 13-episode sets, the first one coming out the end of this month. And for those fans who don't like sports anime that much but are still curious about this show, let me say this: this is not a typical sports anime, for better or for worse.The kendo serves as a marvelous and interesting backdrop to the colorful cast that dominate the series and are the ones who will make or break how good the series is by the last episode. It is slow moving at times, but interesting enough that it is still able to grab the viewer's attention, and well worth sitting through all thirteen episodes. Even if they have ridiculous CG floors, but they become barely noticeable as the show progresses. Since this is only the first half, I don't know how well this series may end, but I do know how it starts, and it's a wonderful start that is making me anxious for the rest of the episodes.

 

ComicsOnline gives Bamboo Blade season one part one 4 out of 5 strikes of the shinai

Anime DVD Review: Bamboo Blade Season 1 Part 2

 

Some fight for honor - they fight for sushi? It's the kendo team of Muroe High School, back for another round of kunai-swinging antics! With a group that includes the energetic Kirino, the spontaneous Saya, and the scatterbrained Satori, it seems that nothing can stand in their way. And this time, the stakes are much higher as their teacher Toraji's very job hangs in the balance, and their team is on the brink of breaking up. Even the quiet blade of justice, Tamaki, is close to tasting her very first defeat! Will the spirited young girls and boys of the kendo team be able to save themselves in the end or will there be no more kendo at Muroe High? It may be up to Toraji to lift the team's spirits and lead them into victory - oh wait, Toraji? I guess they really are doomed after all . . .

Highlights:

In the second part of Bamboo Blade, the shinai are flying faster than ever as the preliminary tournament looms nearer, but no need to fear: the kendo team has finally added a fifth member! After a joint training weekend with the Machido students from their practice match, it's onwards for the tournament, and trouble for our brave heroines as Kirino struggles with a mess at home, Tama is targeted for harassment by a group of girls, and Azuma wrestles with . . . an overly-full stomach? After the tournament, it's a brand new era for the kendo team, which means brand new adventures, including a gaijin (foreigner) who is looking to steal Dan away from Miyako and a chance meeting between Tama and a fellow anime fan during a Blade Braver concert, Suzuki Rin, who is not only a Shinaider fan but also a practitioner of kendo. When the Kanto High School Kendo Tournament arrives, its a series of wins and defeats that push the kendo club to their very limits. As the school puts pressure on the team, resignations are turned in and relationships are broken; can the brave girls and boys of Muroe High School's kendo team get it together in time to save their beloved sport? It may all depend on the blade of one Tamaki Kawazoe - if she's willing to do kendo ever again, that is.

Overall:

When I reviewed the first half of Bamboo Blade, I had confessed that I didn't know how the series was going to end but was looking forward to it, having been burned in the past by anime with good starts and lackluster ends. Well, this series is not one of them. It is, from start to finish, a solid watch with an ending that will satisfy any fan. But an ending is not enough to make this a must-watch; it is with the second half of Bamboo Blade that the series starts to mature in its storytelling and character development, making it a rewarding experience for those who stuck through the first thirteen episodes with some dislikes hoping to see improvement. The same cast from last time is still here, as crazy and hardworking as ever, and the focus never stays solely on one girl for too long. This is, after all, a sports anime: the value of a good team will always be one of the best merits of the genre, even one centered around the dated sport of kendo.

There are, of course, a few weak spots that keep from making this a most stellar series. The pacing of the story can be a little uneven; they spend more time on certain parts of their tournaments than others, and the conclusion to some rounds seem a little rushed. Despite being their advisor, Toraji is not very useful for most of these episodes, and even when he is, it is only in the most peripheral sense. On occasion, the humor overshadows the story; however, it strikes the perfect balance of comedy and seriousness towards the end, where it is needed the most. Despite these flaws,Bamboo Blade continues to do what it does best, which is spectacular kendo scenes and a bright, vibrant cast of characters that keep the story fresh and exciting. The last episode, with its introduction of a new generation of kendo players and the final scene which hints at a future second season, leaves the show ending on a high note which will make even the more cynical viewers declare that they now truly love kendo.

ComicsOnline gives Bamboo Blade season one part two 4 out of 5 bright bamboo beats.

Anime DVD Review: Big Windup

Star pitcher of the Mihoshi Academy middle school baseball team, Ren Mihashi, has just started high school.  He loves baseball, and he wants to continue playing as he heads into high school.  The problem is… he actually sucks.  Having been named starting ace pitcher because his grandfather owns the school, he led his team to a perfect losing record for 3 years.  When he enters Nishiura high school full of guilt and about to give up the game completely, he’s absconded to be the pitcher by Maria Momoe, passionate coach of the school’s fledgling baseball team. After immediately impressing the entire team by bursting into tears on the mound, Mihashi is taken under the wing of Takaya Abe, the team’s standout catcher.  Abe sees the potential to be a perfect pitcher in Mihashi, if only he could do something about his crippling insecurity.  Maybe, if Mihashi can really become an ace, winning the Koshien tournament isn’t such a distant dream after all.
 
 

Highlights
Based on an award-winning manga by Asa Higuchi, Big Windup (“Ookiku Furikabutte” or “Oofuri” for mercifully short) Part 1 contains 2 discs, featuring the first 13 episodes of the 25 episode series.  Disc One covers Mihashi’s beginning as Team Nishiura’s pitcher through their first practice game against Mihashi’s old middle school team. Disc Two explains more about Abe’s baseball history, introducing Haruna, the pitcher Abe caught for in middle school and now hates, and the team’s hardcore training sessions in preparation for their first match in the Saitama prefecture tournament against the previous year’s champions, Tousei high school.
 

Overall
Big Windup is an anime first and foremost about baseball.  In fact, I’m sure if you totaled up all of the time not spent practicing, talking, or thinking about baseball, you probably wouldn’t get much more than half of an episode. I can’t call myself a real baseball nut, but I really found myself pleasantly surprised with it.  The story is a straightforward sports tale about a loser team that gets serious and become underdog champions while learning about themselves and each other that’s been recycled a hundred times, but it doesn’t take on a Mighty Ducks-esque cutesy implausibility and it doesn’t watch like a baseball game.  Second, but of no less importance, are the relationships between the team members, specifically Abe and Mihashi.  I would wager that most normal high school baseball teams don’t engage in quite as much hand-holding, passionate exclamations of faith and devotion, and crying, crying and more crying (Mihashi cries nearly every episode) as they do in the series, but everyone comes across as so earnest that it’s hard not be touched.  

The cast is a large one, as besides the team, there’s the coach, their teacher, manager, various rivals, and eventually a cheer squad.  It gets a little difficult to remember names and faces, especially since the style is more realistic than other anime, despite the occasional (or frequent, in the case of Mihashi) weird chicken face the boys make when they’re shocked.  Characterization for the peripheral players is basically non-existent, but the core group of Abe, Mihashi, power hitter Tajima, and team captain Hanai is engaging enough.  Keeping with the realistic theme, there are no clear villains, as everyone has their own reasons and motivations for playing, and once an opposing team is off the field, they’re just regular guys. 

I enjoyed Big Windup Volume One, and I want to see how Team Nishiura matches up against Tousei, so I will definitely follow up with Volume Two.  The many explanations about various aspects of baseball got a little dry after a while, but it’s certainly educational.  The characters are many, but watching them is fun, and of course it made want to go out and hit a few balls.  I would recommend this series to anyone who loves baseball, and also those whose tastes run toward the more slice-of-life and not so much the fantastic.  You won’t be disappointed.

ComicsOnline gives Big Windup, 3.5 out of 5 runs, (add one if you really like baseball).

Anime DVD Review: Pokemon DP Battle Dimension Volume 3 and 4

Once again we join our heroes on there joinery in the world of pokemon. This time around, Ash and the gang are going to do things that have never been done before. Ash and the gang meet Wallace, a gym leader, contest master and Champion of the Elite Four. Wallace wasn’t just in Sinnoh for no reason, he was there to be a judge in the Wallace cup, a contest named after himself. Dawn entered the Wallace cup but she wasn’t alone, her friend Zoey, Ash and May entered as well. Epic performances where only to be expected by these amazing four, they are so good that one of them goes all the way and wins. That is only one of the amazing thing that happens in volume 3 and 4 of Pokemon DP Battle Dimension.

 

Highlights
As always Ash gets him self in some crazy situations but Ash tops any thing that I have ever sean before. Ash enters a fashion show with Pikachu, and that’s not weirdest part, his outfit consisted of horns, a tiger striped miniskirt and a red afro, Pikachu had the skirt but no horns and a blue afro. Ash did all of this after he said, in a earlier episode, he would never dress up Pikachu and Pikachu agreed.

 

   

Another one of the the adventure that Ash and the gang start is they go to summer camp. There are three teams at camp, Ash, Brock, Dawn and there friend Angie are on the red team and Jessie from team rocket, in one of his painfully obvious disguises, was on the green team. The point of the camp was is to be able to battle with any surprise, so the first challenged instead of using their own pokemon the used the pokemon that were provided.

 

Overall
Volumes 3 and 4 are better that the previous volumes, every thing was more interesting and livelier. It is awesome that after all these yeas of pokemon the story is still going, and going strong, I think the best pokemon season was the first one, but ten seasons later some of these episodes are still just as good. It is making great use of the new pokemon and folklore about those pokemon. One of the episodes is about how Croagunk are considered the guardians of the Pastoria City Great Marsh and have a festival dedicated to them. All in all, Pokemon DP Battle Dimension Volume 3 and 4 would make great additions to the pokemon series.

Comicsonline gives Pokemon DP Battle Dimension Volume 3 and 4, 5 out of 5 Pokemon battles.

Anime DVD Review: Vandread-The Ultimate Collection

  

Men Are from Mars Tarak, Women Are from Venus Mejale

Introduction

Apply a literal interpretation to the trope "Battle of the Sexes," infuse it with mechs, jiggling boobs and rampant sexual metaphors, and you have the foundation for Vandread, a callow and unrepentant cocktease that should manage to win you over eventually if you give it a chance. Funimation has packaged both the original 13-episode Vandread and 13-episode follow-up Vandread: Second Stage together with the OVAs "Integral" and "Turbulence" to present the complete Vandread experience in a single DVD package. Don't be fooled by the "Second Stage" moniker though; both "seasons" are essentially one continuous plot inexplicably (though I'm sure there's a reason) broken up into two thirteen-episode parcels. The two OVAs are more or less musical montages of the two seasons, "Integral" covering the first thirteen episodes and "Turbulence" covering the second thirteen and neither offering much in the way of extra scenes or other critical information. The total package is a no-frills, down-to-business  but thorough presentation of a flawed anime series whose charms will likely grow on you after a while.

Vandread is something of a victim of its own marketing. The promotional materials and packaging set the tone, putting the show's more prurient elements front and center, like prominently featuring Dread pilot Jura's cleavage and describing a cast struggling with "raging hormones." But when the rubber meets the road Takeshi Mori's mildly sexy sci-fi comedy is mostly talk and little walk. The fan service is of the more puerile, wink-wink-nudge-nudge variety that resorts to Jello-chested females and the occasional crotch shot for its titillation. Sexual metaphors are everywhere; male and female mecha combine, or mate, to transform into more powerful forms, while the pilots sit in each other's laps; mech designs purposefully suggest male and female sex organs; the male navigator inserts himself, naked (and eventually bald) and fetus-like, into an amorphous womb-like chamber to steer the ship, and so-on. The consequence of all this pandering is that it starts your relationship with the show off on the wrong foot and it is only by virtue of the genuinely like-able characters that it ever manages to win you back.

In the universe of Vandread, Earth has sent colonization ships into the depths of space to settle new worlds. For reasons never adequately explained, a schism develops between the men and women on these ships. Eventually, two worlds in the same solar system are colonized, the males inhabiting Tarak and the females colonizing Mejale. The story of Vandread begins two generations later where we find men and women locked in bitter war, time and propaganda having erased all memory that men and women ever existed together. Hibiki Tokai is a male 3rd-class citizen of Tarak chafing under the oppression of his caste and longing to prove he is meant for greater things. On a dare, he embarks on a mission to sneak into the new flagship of the male fleet Ikazuchi and steal a Vanguard, a giant powered exoskeleton, before the ship departs to do battle against the females. The ship launches early and Hibiki is trapped aboard, thrown into the fray when the ship is immediately set upon by a female pirate ship. When the female pirates succeed in capturing the ship, the male fleet decides to destroy the Ikazuchi rather than let it fall into the hands of the females. Sensing its imminent destruction, the Paksis Pragma, a sentient energy source at the heart of the Ikazuchi, creates a wormhole that pulls the female pirates, their ship, Hibiki, and two other male stowaways far across the galaxy. And that's just how it starts. Ultimately the story is about the three men, Hibiki, Duelo McFile and Bart Garsus, and a ship full of women (no harem fetish stuff here) rediscovering the forgotten dynamics of male-female relationships while fighting the Harvesters, a machine race "harvesting" humans for body parts wherever they find them for reasons revealed later in the story. 

Highlights

Once you realize Vandread as lurid spectacle is mainly marketing hype, it is possible to find the pulse of this show. The funny and sometimes sweet back-and-forth between Hibiki and the rabidly affectionate Dread pilot Dita Liebely; the mutual respect and caring between winsome doctor Duelo McFile and the nerdy, bespectacled chief engineer Parfet Balblair; even the contentious and often unrequited tango between navigator Bart Garsus and first officer BC; these are all examples of a soul at the heart of a story cloaked in mildly bawdy humor and tepid fan service, all packaged and sold as something else entirely. I'm struck with the impression that everyone from show creator GONZO to Japanese distributor Bandai and finally to American distributor Funimation had so little faith in the basic premise of the series that a calculated decision was made to hedge their bet and tart it up. Had Mori and GONZO spent a little more time smithing the story to imbue it with more logic and consistency and less time on clumsy innuendo, Vandread may have been memorable. Lurid elements aside, it is a sometimes tender and thoughtful exploration of human relationships that often trips over incomplete plot elements and head-scratching story developments. Okay, two men can have a baby but what if it's a girl? What if Ezra's baby had been boy? It would have shot the story right in the foot. Vulnerabilities big to small are all over the place, but I guess as long as Jura keeps shaking her tits everything will be okay.

Technically speaking, the animation is decent, particularly in Second Stage, but the ship and mecha designs follow no logic in particular beyond the guiding principle that they follow the thematic male/female paradigm. The colors don't pop, but the transfer is clean despite the heavy compression it must have taken to pack twenty-six episodes onto four discs. The menus are simple and static, with no extras beyond some trailers here and there. That they managed to squeeze five discs into the standard DVD case form factor is quite an achievement and makes you wonder involuntarily why twenty-six episodes of something else requires a seven-disc box set costing more than a hundred bucks to cover the same ground as Funimation has with Vandread. The English voice dub is better than some but worst than most. Watch it in Japanese, which I always do for comedies anyway since somehow what makes it funny in Japanese gets lost in translation. There is no English dub for the OVAs, just subtitles.

Overview

Vandread has problems, but it's worth checking out. Never mind the pervy image presented by the marketing. There is a nice love story and some decent action. The finale of Second Stage is great fun if you can stick it out that long. The show is funny, despite the harrowing plot, but only because the interplay between the characters and some of the situations can be a pleasure to watch. On balance, Vandread: The Ultimate Collection is a flawed yet fun series and Funimation, despite some cheeky marketing, has succeeded at offering a fair-to-middling product at a fair-to-middling value.

Rating

ComicsOnline rates Vandread: The Ultimate Collection 3 jiggling mammaries out 5.

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DVD Review: Big Windup! Volume 2

 

 

When we last left our intrepid Nishiura Nine, they had just begun their first game in the Saitama prefecture tournament against the previous year's defending champions, Tosei. Ace pitcher Mihashi has managed to relax (a little) and his confidence is growing (sort of), so with the help of the rest of the team, they stand a chance against Tosei, right? (Right?)

Highlights:

This volume covers episodes 14 through the end of this 26 episode series. Eleven out of 13 episodes are devoted to the single game between Tosei and Nishiura. It is almost as long as 2 Major League baseball games. It is conceivable that you could get 9 of your friends together, play a full nine innings, have a barbeque, and go home and there would still be episodes left of this game to go. It is still far shorter than a cricket match. Episode 25 is a look at the team as they recuperate the day after the game. The last episode of the series features a look at the team of Haruna, Abe's erstwhile pitcher from the first volume as he tries to inspire the rest of his crapsack team to at least put in some more effort.

Tensions are running high in both teams right from the beginning. Tosei may be a seasoned team, but they aren't taking this game against a no-name bunch of freshmen lightly. And Nishiura, fresh off of Mihashi's first ever win against his old middle school team, desperately needs this game to realize their progress under Coach Momoe's hellish training regimen. Mihashi, still suffering from a severe lack of self-esteem, is running himself ragged in his drive to not blow the game and disappoint everyone. Abe, in between calling pitches, is trying to prevent Mihashi from doing that in any way short of killing him. The sky, sensing that the pressure of the game would control Mihashi's tears, has decided to cry in his place and the whole game is beset by rain. The balls are slippery (hold that thought), the mound is drenched (that one, too), and the stakes are raising ever higher (no comment).

Homoerotic tension runs even higher. Abe regularly presses his palm against Mihashi's to measure how calm Mihashi is. Mihashi is always blushing. “Why is he so red?” Abe thinks. You say it's just adrenaline, but it's because he loves you, Abe. “He isn't usually this mushy.” Yes, he is. Abe tells Mihashi not to hit. Mihashi bats his eyelashes and Abe relents. Mihashi gets hit in the butt with a wild pitch, and Abe screams at him in front of everyone to show him where he's injured. Mihashi gets a nosebleed. He was thinking of Abe smiling at him the same way other anime characters get nosebleeds when they think of naked women. Mihashi collapses in the shower. Check his pulse. Yep. Still gay. Mihashi doesn't want to throw home because the runner is bigger than Abe, and Mihashi doesn't want Abe to get hurt. Abe throttles him for it. If Mihashi screws up or gets tired, he immediately assumes that Abe will hate him. Abe concludes that Mihashi hates him after Mihashi fails to respond to a text message. Abe gives Mihashi a massage. It's a beautiful relationship. Even Tosei gets in on the fangirl baiting, when the pitcher, upon completion of the game, is embraced by his catcher which triggers the entire team to do the same, with lots and lots of tears. I don't love you, man. I love you. If only baseball games could be won by weeping.

Overview:

All right, it's not really quite that gay. But it is very sweet. Even more than the last volume, the baseball seems more like a vessel to depict fervent developing relationships between boys, and as the main characters, Abe and Mihashi bear the brunt of the sentimentality. Mihashi returns as a kid with ability hampered by his collapsible spine, and is unfortunately the only sore spot. I'm vaguely aware of the Japanese people's tendency to view themselves as some sort of global buttmonkey, and as such the sentiment finds its way into their media, but one would think that after some time, success, and being surrounded by a team of people who don't constantly dump on you, you would get over it. Abe has been elevated to the position of my favorite character, mainly because he's the only one who seems to get frustrated with Mihashi's near-constant whimpering. It's still early on in the series time-wise, and I hope as things go on Mihashi will see more development.

In fewer words, it is another 13 episodes of the same warm-blooded (still a few too many tears for hot-blood), sincere, base-ballsy action. Again, if you love baseball, this is a winner. If you love teenage boys acting cuter than perhaps any boy ever has since hoop rolling and knickerbockers were in style, this is for you. I'm not ashamed to say I fall more into the latter group, and I really, really liked this volume. I'm sad to see it end, and hope the manga will be picked up by an American distributor so I can keep up with what happens.

 

ComicsOnline gives Big Windup! Volume 2 4 out of 5 at-bats.

DVD Review: Black Lagoon: Complete Box Set

Black Lagoon: The Complete Box Set is an action packed seinen title often with dark and depressing undertones. Taking place in the fictional modern-day city of Roanapur, Thailand, the anime centers around the life of Rokuro “Rock” Okajima as he is attacked out at sea by some pirates and is taken hostage. After being with them when one thing after another goes wrong possibly due to Stockholm syndrome. If so, Rock never regrets it, although he continues to use words over fighting. The Lagoon Company, the pirate-mercenaries Rock works with, all are much more jaded and his unwillingness to fully embrace the ideals, or lack thereof, of the darkest of the underworld and pick up a gun causes tension, especially for Rebecca “Revy”, the company's main fighter and one of the deadliest around.

Highlights:

Black Lagoon  is a great example of existentialism with a myriad of examples. None of the major characters are at all flat and most of the secondary characters like Mr. Chang all have twisted and distorted pasts. All of the ones revealed make Rock's past look kind of mild in comparison. The best two examples of this are third (episodes 8-10) and fifth (episodes 13-15) mini-arcs.

The third one has the Lagoon Company transporting Garcia Lovelace for the Columbian mafia. En route to their destination, they discover there is more to the situation they weren't told. Garcia is convinced that he will be saved by his maid, Rosarita “Roberta” Cisneros, a unbeknownst former FARC guerilla trained in assassination known formerly known as “Hellhound”. After Garcia saw Roberta in battle, he did not know what to think. However, as the arc went on her devotion to saving him and seeing her like that and comparing it to the happy memories of his past reminded him that he really cared for her, not a maid, but as family member. The arc ends on a happy note with Belilika, a former Soviet military officer who now works for the Russian mafia out of Hotel Moscow, helping out Garcia, Roberta and the Lagoon Company for Roberta's unexpected aid in helping the Russian mafia and a sense of owing the  Lagoon Company help for their past dealings.

In contrast, the fifth arc does not have such a happy ending. It is about two twins, Hänsel and Gretel, who have dissociative identity disorder in which they can both reverse the role of  Hänsel and Gretel, but in such a way that those personalities are distinct from each other in both voice and mannerism. The twins were taped by the Russian mafia for guro pedophilic films and later were forced to kill other children in order to escape this kind of treatment. There is evidence to suggest they were based on the twins from Stephen King's The Shining. It's not known what gender either are, although it is implied that they are both females. In the anime they are hired by Verrocchio because of their ability to be overlooked. However after killing one of Belilika's men, they decide to dispose of them. Before that happens, the twins realize this and slaughter Verrocchino. However, Belilika, pissed at the death of her comrade, hunts the twins down. After splitting up, Gretel contracts the Lagoon Company to save her and befriends Rock, the only person other than her “brother” she felt comfortable with since she could remember, she is shot in the back from the contact they went to who was paid by Hotel Moscow.

These two arcs, along with the final arc (episodes 19-24), show that outside Rock, Belilika is possibly the most complex character. Unlike Rock, she does not put her feelings above business and getting the job done, but also seems to have a side who would still like to see things have a happy ending when it doesn't cause her problems. In the case of the twins, the death of her comrade by some of the most torturous means imaginable was too much as she considered all of her military comrades as family. This is also why she probably goes out of her way to find a reason to help Garcia and Roberta and praises Garcia for the way he acts in the end.

Overview:

Black Lagoon works on many levels. On the surface it is just another action anime with some comedic elements to break up the often bloody and intense atmosphere and could easily be mistaken for that just seeing one episode. However, the series really deals with the human condition and what would make someone turn their back on a normal life and seek a life in the underworld of crime. For Revy, that answer is simple; she never had a good life to begin with; Revy's past was seen to be the worst for much of the series having never had a good life living in a crime filled neighborhood where she had to kill just to live. However, the fifth arc showed that there is always someone worse off.  For Rock, his life was going just fine, but when confronted with the choice he wanted the life of freedom. In spite of his weak-willed personality, he really enjoys the intense moments to the point that their boss, Dutch, fears the consequences should he really be pushed that far; instead he prefers him to work as the accountant and negotiator.

The series constantly has Revy and Rock arguing about idealism in this world. For Rock he wants to hold on to it because of his past and for Revy she never had it because of her past. She is constantly berating him for putting his morales first and causing him, and by extension her and the Lagoon Company, trouble. In the final arc he is confronted by another who also berates him for living within the twilight ― not wanting to live a normal life in Japan, but not wanting to fully embrace the life of the underworld and crime.

More than that though the series plays upon the general themes seen in such epics Paradise Lost by John Milton. In this all of the characters start out with great dreams and ideals hoping to make the world better or even just their family happy. However, each one is tempted after some incident and falls from grace to the underworld of crime or the like. Unlike the poem though, it wasn't some incarnation of evil itself that caused these people to fall; instead, it was the betrayal of other humans they knew personally or the general abandonment by the rest of humanity as trash. Even then, they still long for their ideals; however, their eyes are opened and they knew ideals will never come to pass. Sometimes, like with Roberta, they could find a new ideal to live for, but for others, like the twins, it was too late.

In the end the only thing I am disapointed about the series is that it did not explore Rock's persoanlity enough. Outside the first arc, he wasn't really pushed to the edge and his ability as a skilled negotiator capable of resolving disputes without the need for bloodshed was only hinted at. As mentioned before, Rock still is one of the more idealistic members in the series and it seems clear he has not reached the level where he comfortable with what he's become (and not criticizing those around him) while still maintaining his ideals.

Black Lagoon: The Complete Box Set is the kind of anime that can be good for those just wanting to see some good bloody action scenes while appealing on another level with its existential nature. The series is an all around great addition to almost any collection.

ComicsOnline gives Black Lagoon: The Complete Box Set 5 out of 5 psychotic twins.

DVD Review: Blassreiter, Complete Series: Part 1 Review

 

“Do you know what it means to fall?”
Germany is under attack by the dead. In Blassreiter, corpses are returning to life and merging with machines, becoming horrific monsters that leave a wave of carnage in their path. The XAT (Xenogenesis Assault Team) is a special police force created to handle this outbreak of beings, dubbed Amalgams, or most frequently Demoniacs. Things began to become more intense as it becomes a plague; and even living people begin to become Demoniacs; machine like creatures that might even threaten the future of humanity itself… The series deals not only in high-octane fight sequences between stylishly rendered 3D creatures and humans, but their consequences on the people involved; the pain of suffering and hurting others, loss and the concept of justice in a cruel, possibly indifferent world are just some of the themes present in Blassreiter.

 

Highlights
The series begins by introducing you to Hermann, a member of the XAT and his friend Gerd Frentzen, a motorcyclist who was crippled during a Demoniac incident during one of his races. He is filled with despair over no longer being able to race, and even his former co-workers seem to dislike him; fired by his manager and lost, he is approached by a strange woman who offers him another possibility in the form of an experimental pill. However, it comes with many strange side effects. Chaos erupts as the Demoniac presence increases; especially in the form of “Blue” a Demoniac that may be hunting other Demoniacs. Not to mention that Gerd himself may be turning into one.. but what could be causing it, and what could be causing the spread of the infection in victims of Demoniac attacks? The series has many twists, turns and subplots, including that of Amanda, another XAT member’s younger brother who suffers from bullying at school. At times it’s hard to tell how it will all tie together, but the way the varying plot threads are weaved in and out is done with maturity and intelligence. The battles, including a few motorcycle races, are exciting and fast-paced. They often are between two leaping and diving Demoniacs and they’re all in 3D so at times the action feels like it’s flying at you. In the second part of the DVD set, the story shifts from individual problems and attacks to an even grander scope; it all seems to be part of some shadowy conspiracy involving a mysterious woman that drives these individual forces harder and harder until the set ends on a high, explosive note, revealing yet showcasing many future mysteries. Who or what is the Blassreiter? It’s somehow related to what the strange woman Dr. Grese refers to as “The evolution of humanity”.

Overall
The series mixes horror action (cyber zombies anyone?) with shadowy conspiracies, introspective character studies and some seriously intense soundtrack work. It’s a solid package all around and a smart anime often worthy of being called art; albeit frequently violent art. I don’t want to spoil the details, but the question of what makes a hero comes up: Is it just one who delivers punishment to the deserving, and in the end, who decides what is deserved? Joseph, or “Blue”, a man with a mysterious past is forced to ask these questions as he is hounded by the XAT, other Demoniacs and some other sinister force that may lurk in unexpected places.. Blassreiter is both an ensemble piece, featuring a number of lead characters, and a story of a solo “hero” trying to conquer his inner demons; it’s this merging of inner and outer demons that makes the series so compelling, if the action wasn’t enough. At times, a case could be made that the abundance of 3D animation can be distracting in the scenes where only a few objects are rendered that way, but usually it’s well worth the effort because the action comes alive in explosive, gory fashion. The sound quality is very high on the set, and some of the pieces, particularly the ending theme are especially haunting. Its quiet, peaceful sound actually evokes a sad, inevitable tragedy. One battle near the end of the series has really cool music; it almost sounds like a chanting choir. One fight is interposed with snippets of a actual church choir singing, and another is filled with eerily peaceful music. This artful use of music enhances the mood enormously throughout the anime. The dub voice acting, while at first seeming rather average (the two ambulance drivers at the start are quite possibly the worst voice actors I have ever heard) improves through the set as a number of characters find their place, particularly the younger characters, Malek (Micah Solusod) and Johann (Shelton Windham). I also want to make note of Christopher Sabat’s cool take on Gerd, having enjoyed his work in Dragonball Z in the past. I recommend Blassreiter to anyone who wants a smart, action horror series with brains to match its adrenaline; that knows when to slow down as well as speed up, and quite frankly, is filled with so many quotable lines I had to show off a couple. “Is that justice for the wicked? All I see is a man suffering the depths of pain.”
ComicsOnline gives Blassreiter, The Complete Series: Part 1 5 out of 5 cyborg zombies.

DVD Review: Blassreiter, Complete Series: Part 2 Review

 

The outbreak of creatures in Germany is getting worse. In Blassreiter, corpses are returning to life and merging with machines, becoming horrific monsters called Amalgams, or "Demoniacs" that leave a wave of carnage in their path. The worst part, however, is the humans that are becoming infected. The XAT (Xenogenesis Assault Team) was a special police force designed to handle the Demoniacs, but they were destroyed by treachery from within and attacks from without.  Beatrice is a woman working for a mysterious man named Xargin. Blue (Joseph), the demoniac/human the XAT was once chasing, who may be the only hope for humanity and the XAT survivor(s?) as they become embroiled in conspiracies with ancient organizations and a plot to end the world as we know it...the Blassreiter is coming, and the world may be forever changed!  The series deals not only in high-octane fight sequences between stylishly rendered 3D creatures and humans, but their consequences on the people involved; the pain of suffering and hurting others, loss and the concept of justice in a cruel, possibly indifferent world are just some of the themes present in Blassreiter. In this second set, religious and theological questions also arise -  what sort of God would allow a world to be so filled with suffering?

Highlights

The set begins with the two-episode flashback to Joseph's past. This isn't the snooze fest it sounds like though; these are quite possibly the two most desperate, heart-wrenching episodes in the entire series. Young Joseph is an orphan in a time when the world is not kind to orphans and outcasts; we see him and the people and things he loves suffer, struggle and,  frequently, die.  I highly recommend seeing Blassreiter: The Complete Series Part 1 first, because in these episodes we learn about the tragic pasts of Joseph, Xargin and other new characters that set the entire series in motion, and it's here that Blassreiter really begins to amp up the themes of despair, hoplesssness and the cruelty of man against man.

It's almost a relief to get back to the present, and the Demoniac epidemic; one that's threatening to become a pandemic. Amanda, the apparent lone survivor of the XAT,  ends up at Zwolf, a paramilitary religious organization that was once known as (gasp) The Knights Templar! Their leader, who was undercover in the XAT as their director, Victor Strachus,  seems nearly as mad as Xargin when we meet him, blurring the lines between good and evil. The factions split and bend, and some unlikely alliances are drawn.

Many of the episodes in this set are far more exciting than the previous season's one-on-one battles.  After the slower  moving two parters, it's one huge battle after another as armies of demoniacs attack Zwolf, aerial dogfights occur with scores of missiles being fired, and Zwolf's own mechs take on Xargin and his most powerful henchmen, including Wolf, the XAT traitor. Joseph himself,  however, is mysteriously absent for a lot of it, as some previously assumed dead characters return to help fill roles (not to mention some of the Zwolf members such as Shido become main characters in their own right).  It's a good thing, because the battles are so high-octane our heroes will need all the help they can get. Sometimes they even get a little EXTREEEMEEE, with Beatrice in her demoniac form literally surfing a satellite out of orbit as a projectile, and with all the zipping and darting about and firing hordes of seeking missiles. Sometimes it gets a little out of hand and hard to follow, but the best battles are still a sight to behold.

The opening credit sequences to the final episode are also quite cool. They're a retrospective of exciting moments from the series -  the most dramatic battles and the most emotional moments. It really helps bring things full circle.Blassreiter has used the credits in a couple of  interesting ways in the last set as well, but this one really stands out. The music is exciting as well, and this is coming from someone who doesn't usually notice that kind of thing. The cast of Blassreiter does a quality job overall, except for Ellia's annoying chirping. Their real claim to fame, however, is in their screams of agony and pain. There were a few particularly chilling ones.

Overall

Three words: Massive. Character. Deaths. Blassreiter tries very hard to be an adult series, with adult themes. Overall, I think it does a fantastic job. If you aren't filled with anger at some of the cruelties inflicted on the characters, you aren't watching the same show I was. If you don't feel the loss, tragedy and fear, you aren't human. To underscore this, the series is very much an "anyone can die" show. At one point they go so overboard with this concept by introducing what seems to be a major character with her own backstory, only to kill her in the very next episode. Blassreiter never wastes a chance to give someone a tragic history, then kill or maim them. Never. It's an emotional rollercoaster. I don't recommend it to someone just looking for some lighthearted fun with "robot dudes on motorcycles".

Suffice to say that while many of the big confrontations are pulled off exceptionally well (I was on the edge of my seat) the final encounter showcases both the best and worst that Blassreiter  has to offer. The battle itself is tight, has lots of tension (missiles! missiles! Possible nuclear Armageddon!) and some great surprises.  The Jesus imagery that Joseph was taking on becomes even more blatant and the characters begin to speak in homilies, leeching some of the natural tension that has built between the characters. The series sometimes tilts dangerously between immensely quotable and "Oscar moment", but it's a breath of fresh air for me, to see a series that takes itself seriously and is serious about serious things. It's given me something to think about as well as some great battle scenes, and touching characterizations.

 I enjoyed Blassreiter, but as before, the CG in battle scenes, despite being improved, may be distracting for some. At the heart of the series is, as hard as it is to believe, a message of hope and overcoming adversity. In such a bleak world, the greatest coin is hope. Now look, they've got me doing it. Despite a few rough edges, Blassreiter  is action with a purpose, a notable show in what's become a sea of anime choices.

ComicsOnline gives Blassreiter The Complete Series Part 2 4 out of 5 Demoniacs.

 

DVD Review: Bleach Movie 2, Diamond Dust Rebellion

The Royal Houses maintain a single source of power called the Ouin. At a whim, the Ouin is transported to a secret location. Security is high, but somehow an unknown group attacks and are able to steal the Ouin. There is something odd about the leader of the robbers. He is wearing a mask, yet he is familiar to Tōshirō. So familiar that Tōshirō abandons his post as the Captain of the 10th squad and becomes a hunted man hunting the real perpetrator.

Highlights:

Bleach Movie 2: Diamond Dust Rebellion is a fine filler story in the Bleach saga. It shows us a side of Tōshirō Hitsugaya, the 10th squad Captain, that is not seen in the series. It reveals his past and gives light as to why he is so very serious. A close friend from his past is involved in stealing the Ouin or King's Seal. He abandons his post to chase after him and is suspected of having something to do with the theft. Of course Ichigo and the gang get involved and try to help Tōshirō do the right thing. If I gave much more away it would spoil all the fun.

Overall:

Bleach Movie 2: Diamond Dust Rebellion is great fun and provides everything you would expect from Bleach, all the action, all the humor and all the somewhat self righteous ethical standards of Ichigo. Being a big fan of Tite Kubo and the Bleach series I found this to be a fun 90 minutes. The action and story moved at a great pace. Getting to know more about the enigmatic Tōshirō was also a blast. His stoic demeanor has always put me off, along with the fact that he comes across as a young punk. Although this is a movie, I do not feel as though it can stand alone without any understanding of the series. With that in mind, I still found this to be a fully enjoyable experience.

Extras:

This 2 disc set comes with a nice segment called "The Making of Bleach The Movie 2,"  along with a Production Art Gallery and the Original Japanese Promos. There is also a handbook in the set. The handbook is the shining star of the extras. It has Bios on the main characters, a great spread on the story, but the best was the info in the back of the book. It would be a great guide for someone who is new to the series.

ComicsOnline gives Bleach Movie 2: Diamond Dust Rebellion 4.5 out of 5 Frosty Zanpakuto.

DVD Review: Bleach Volume 16

"Once one enters Soul Society and is enlightened by the Order, eyes can't be closed, ears can not be blocked"

Volume 16 Highlights

Ichigo and the others have returned from the Soul Society and are beginning a new term in school. Everything seems to be going well then Orihime disappears. Renji lets Ichigo know something is up and the run into a strange little girl and two friends that took Orihime through some sort of dimensional gate. They are contacted the next day and are joined by Chad and Uryu. Let the fun and games begin. The new advisories make the group go through some games and tests to tease them. Along the way others disappear and the states begin to get very high. During this time there seems to be something going on in the Soul Society. They are keeping watch on what is happening in the Human world, but it does not seem to be what Ichigo and Friends are dealing with.

Overall

There are several great moments in this group of episodes. The relationship between Ichigo and Renji is played up and is the source of much of the comic relief. This is the beginning of the fourth season and the story begins to unfold more information about some of the main characters. All of the basic character outlines have been established, but there is still more to be discovered about our heros. The fun part of this volume is that you begin to see how this group of friends will soon begin to understand each other and create bonds that will sustain them throughout the entire series.

Of course I am a big Bleach fan, and have no problem picking up with Bleach at any point. For those of you that are not that familiar with Bleach and fear you would be confused if you picked up this Volume, you would be wrong. This happens to be one of the best points to jump into the series. A long running story line has just finished and this begins a new saga. You might be a little lost at first, but once you understand what the premiss of the show is you would be in great shape.

ComicsOnline gives Bleach: Volume 16, 4.5 out of 5 Hippies with big Swords.

DVD Review: Bleach Volume 17

"One thing we learned is that Uryu can no longer use his Quincy powers, isn't that true?"

Volume 17 Highlights

The crazy games continue and Ichigo and all of the other are tricked to entering into a dimensional gate. Once there they try to battle the three tricksters. Ichigo figures out the big secret. It has all been a test to get these young saviors to work together as a team. The one thing they did not realize is that this new understanding was going to be tested rather quickly. The big addition in this set of episodes is that Rukia is sent back to the human world and becomes a permanent fixture in this small band of protectors. 

The new dark force to enter the picture is the ancient race called the Blunts. They feed on the souls of humans and have come to Karakura Town. They have strange powers that elude the team and almost appear to be unstoppable. Then one of the Blunts comes across Uryu and senses that he is a Quincy. His new target is Uryu, but another Blunt appears and saves Uryu, and takes him to a hospital after setting the stage by revealing a prophecy. 

Overall

This group of episodes are all about setting the plot for the coming struggle with the Blunts. I found it to be just a tad slow at times, but still brought together everything fans expect from Bleach. While watching these episodes I began to listen to the dialog and understand why this series has such a following. The writing is superb, and tends to spend just enough time on the relationships among the protagonist to give them a reason to be together and help the audience to feel as though they know them. It is clear that with having the constant struggle between good and evil is not always the only thing that carries a series, but the ability to give the audience a feeling of personal stake in these characters. Bleach delivers where many fail.

ComicsOnline gives Bleach: Volume 17, 4 out of 5 Mod Souls.

DVD Review: Bleach Volume 19 The Bount

 

Ichigo and the gang are back. The battle with the Bounts continues. We are now in the middle of the 4th season and the Bounts have begun to break with the age old covenant made with the Quincy. They agreed to not devour the souls of live humans and now the decide they need a change of pace, with a hidden agenda behind it. This caught the attention of the Soul Society along with Ichigo and the others. At this point Uyrū has been captured by the Bounts and Ichigo and the others have gone to get him back.

Highlights

The major excitement to these episodes is by far the end of episode 79 when there are hundreds of Dolls being born. Of course there are the standard battles where Ichigo appears to be outclassed and should loose and then he pulls out an upset just because he refuses to be beet. There are a few surprises along the way that give some insight to some history of Soul Society and some great humor along the way. There is always the enigmatic Kisuke Urahara and his dark humor that helps move these episodes along. He also has a little fun with Ichigo and his rather downer mood after getting beet by the Bounts Leader. This leaves Ichigo more determined to be victorious.

 

 

Overall

There is no secret that I like Bleach and spending more time with the series is alway a special time for me. In this Volume, I must say that it begins to draw out the Bounts saga. With this being in the middle of the season there appears to be an issue on how to move it from the mysterious beginning and the climatic end. This difficult period in a story often leaves the viewer wanting more than the creator has to give. In the case of Bleach it is a testimate to how good Tite Kudo really is. He has been able to move through the slow periods by keeping the action moving. The only thing that has become somewhat repetitive is the standard struggle of Ichigo to appear to be beaten and then come back with a greater determination. Although, I may not find this Volume to be one of my top picks, it still stands up to the high quality anime that Bleach has come to represent.

 

ComicsOnline gives Bleach Volume 19, 4 out of 5 Soul Suckers.

DVD Review: Bleach Volume 23

 

In the fifth season of Bleach, the Bount have breached into the Soul Society. Ichigo and everyone follow them into the outskirts and poorer neighborhoods. Rukia gets injured in a battle with a Bount and her brother Byakuya. There is something afoot and Ichigo and Byakuya end up in a battle that just might make the difference.

Highlights

The start of a new season typically brings some big action and plot twist. This volume offers plenty of each. First the real twist is that the Bount were created by Shinigami and banished to the human world because of their ability to survive off of resihi, and Soul Society has a never ending supply of it to keep them going. 

The last episode is the most exciting of the 4 that are served up in this volume. Kariya, the leader of the Bount, is up to something. He is trying to unite the lower classes in the Soul Society. Byakuya goes looking for a fight with Kariya, and he finds it. They start their battle and begin to test each other's strength. As the battle turns into something deadly for Byakuya, Ichigo shows up and gets involved. Byakuya is not please with Ichigo's involvement and there seem to be a Mexican standoff.

Overall

Of course I am an avid fan of Bleach and am always happy to see the start of a new season, but in this case I was happy to see a break in the story of the Bount arc. There are some long standing questions that are starting to come to life. Such as, were did the Bount come from and also a burning question as to why do the Quincy have a long standing dislike for the Shinigami? Well, it might have something to do with the fact that the Shinigami created the mortal enemy, the Bount. Of course the Bount have a real bone to pick with the Soul Reapers. This is where my love/hate relationship with the Soul Society is brought to the forefront. There has always been a superiority complex that Tite Kubo has created and it almost a jab at Japanese society or at least the past class system. Although, he also has given them a strange, sympathetic quality that make you want to root for them. Tite Kubo does enjoy bringing pain down on them and it becomes a circular story line that keeps coming back for more. 

For all of you true Bleach fans, this is an important part of the story and a must. For those who may not be overly familiar with Bleach this may not be the place to start. It is very entertaining and would be fun for everyone.

ComicsOnline gives Bleach, Volume 23, 4 out of 5 silly little mod souls.

DVD Review: Bleach Volume 24

This dvd is now available at Amazon!

DVD Review: Bleach: The Rescue, Season Three Box Set

 

 

To save Rukia, Ichigo must master his Bankai. It takes ten years to do this, but Ichigo has only three days. With the help of Yoruichi, can Ichigo do it and get to the level it will take to save his friend form the execution she is now marching toward? And what about the death of Captan Aizen, is it related or is there something else going on?

 

Highlights:

Bleach: The Rescue, Season Three Box Set has more than its fair share of great highlights, but the best is the education of Ichigo and his struggle to be able to call on his Bankai. This is something only Captains and Vice Captains have been able to master and it takes on average 10 years to reach that level of understanding. Thanks to Yoruichi, Ichigo is given a partner to battle for three days that will either bring out the desired result... or kill him in the process. The partner is his Zanpatou himself. This battle reveals a great deal about Ichigo's abilities and his desires. It also opens the door to something darker within Ichigo.

There are also some great battles and contacts between Yoruichi and the other Captains because this is the first time in 100 years that she has returned to the Soul Society. Everyone thinks she has gotten soft, but to their surprise she is still the wielder of great speed and talent. She does not need a Zanpakuto to be able to defeat an enemy. There is also an enlightening side story dealing with the relationship of Soi Fon and Yoruichi that explains some of the anger and general coldness of Soi Fon.

There is entirely too much going on in this box set for me to mention everything. I would recommend that you see this yourself.

Overall:

It is possible that this box set is the best of the best for the first three seasons of Bleach. There is by far more action and background information provided in this box set than any other season box set out there. This ties together much of the past and also opens the door to the future that is still driving the series. It sets the stage for the ultimate showdown and gives hints to the secrets that lie within Ichigo. The five disc set brings so much to the table that it is hard to compare it to the previous box sets. Bleach: The Rescue, Season Three Box Set is a keeper. Anyone who is familiar with the series should have this one. It is a keystone to what is coming and also a mirror to what had come before. It was a blast discovering this part of the series all over agin.

 

 

ComicsOnline gives Bleach: The Rescue, Season Three Box Set 5 out of 5 Flash Steps to victory.

DVD Review: Bubblegum Crash: Total Crash

Ok Sherman, set the way-back machine to 1991. Bubblegum Crisis was a hit and the two creative teams that worked together to bring the famed series to the public have a fight and split. Youmex makes a sequel and Artmic sues and ends the sequel after 3 episodes. Bubblegum Crash takes to 2034 and the scene has changed. The world has become a lest destructive place and begun to re-build. The Knight Sabers have gone in their own directions and are looking to much different lifestyles. But not all is right in Mega-Tokyo.

Highlights

2034 and all is well. The Boomers have been converted to peaceful working machines and our Heroines have begun to find their way in the world. Priss is on her way to becoming a Singing Idol, Linna is making loads of money as a Stock Broker, Nene wants to keep the band together but Sylia is no place to be found. The Knight Sabers may be done and the Saviors of Mega-Tokyo could become just another brick in the wall.

Along comes a group of bank robbers in their with fancy armor that appears to be unbeatable. The group of girls meet to talk about the new bandits but Priss & Linna don't care and Nene is lost without Sylia. Sylia then shows up and brings them all back together. It seems as though these bandits are not just bank robbers but are something much more sinister. The women band back together and take on the bad guys. By defeating them it only raises the bar and reminds the real enemy that they are still out there.

Through the next two episodes the group is lead to the final battle that will either end humanity and bring about a new world order with Boomers having high functioning logic Systems and a thirst to destroy humanity or will this bring an end to the demonic dreams of a half human half boomer megalomaniac?

Overall

For those fans of Bubblegum Crisis you might find this thee episode sequel a bit of a let down. With Mega-Tokyo being at peace, the group does not have that same visceral quality as the original story, but there are some questions answered and an end is brought to the saga that was well needed. With the animation being 18 years old, it took me a few minutes to remember what the quality was back then, and once I got in the grove I enjoyed this little package of fun.

The part of the series that kept me going was the look back at what was thought to be in the near future by the Sci-Fi writer of the late 1980s. It was thought that fuzzy logic was going to be developed and that thinking machines were well on the way. The fear of man being destroyed by the machine was at the center of much of the critical thought in the futuristic imaginations of the creative minds of the time. This little group of stories shoots strait at the heart of that idea. I loved rehashing this idea and understanding that no matter what it is still believed that humanity will win out.

I also had a great deal of fun with the suite design and the fact that the ladies had high-heels when underneath the suites the women are not clothed. Why in the world did these suites need high-heels? They also made a great sound when the hit the ground. It is always fun to step back and see how far we have come in a short time with animation and wonder were it will be in 15 to 20 years.

I think that if you are into the older mecha anime and don't have this in your collection, you should pick it up. There was enough fun and fantasy here to help complete you collection. If you are not familiar with the series and are interested, please be sure to check out Bubblegum Crisis; it would help bring you into the story and clarify some of the gaps and questions that might arise during this series. I found this small little group of stories to be wonderful and satisfy any lust fro nostalgia that I had lurking in the background of my mind.

ComicsOnline gives Bubblegum Crash:Total Crash 4 out of 5 glowing red eyes.

DVD Review: Bubblegum Crisis - Complete Box Set

DVD Review: Case Closed, Season Five

“Where’s Mr. Blood and Guts?”

That’s a good question. Where is he? Well, just ask Conan Edogawa to close the case! In Case Closed, Conan is an alias for Jimmy Kudo, a 17 year old boy who was transformed into a 7 year old. He ends up at the home of a not so well known detective, Richard Moore, who is not very good at his job. Conan starts going with the detective to the crime scenes. While the lame detective acts like he figured it out right off the bat (usually stating it’s a suicide), Conan snoops around and figures out what really happened. Then, Conan will tranquilize the detective and use a voice simulator to reveal the truth through the detective. Eventually he creates the Junior Detective League with a couple of kids his age.

Episodes:
Disc One:
106 “The Memories of First Love, Part 1”
107 ”The Memories of First Love, Part 2”
108 “Fame and Misfortune, Part 1”
109 “Fame and Misfortune, Part 2”
110 “The Mystery of Bludcraven Manor, Part 1”
111 “ The Mystery of Bludcraven Manor, Part 2”

Disc Two:
112 “Snapshots of Death”
113 “ The Mysterious Moletian Case Part 1”
114 “The Mysterious Moletian Case Part 2”
115 “Hit and Run”
116 “Recipe for Murder, Part 1”
117 “ Recipe for Murder, Part 2”

Disc Three:
118 “School of Ghouls”
119 “Prescription for Murder”
120 “Scuba Dying, Part 1”
121 “Scuba Dying, Part 2”
122 “The Mystery Writer Disappearance, Part 1”
123 “ The Mystery Writer Disappearance, Part 2”

Disc Four:
124 “License to Die, Part 1”
125 “License to Die, Part 2”
126 “The Masked Yaiba Murder Mystery”
127 “The Big Sting”
128 “The Forgotten Bond, Part 1”
129 “The Forgotten Bond, Part 2”
130 “The Disappearing Weather Girl”

This is not exactly your ordinary mystery cases. Those who commit the crimes take the time to try to cover their tracks. How the criminals do their crimes is pretty cleaver...almost too cleaver. Though, too bad for them, Conan has no problem solving the crimes. There is a repetitiveness of plot, starting at the crime its self. Then the poor assumption that it is a suicide (for the murders), or that they are dead by now (for the disappearances) by Detective Richard Moore, followed closely by Conan figuring the crime out. It is a little weird (sometimes in a funny way) that Conan is clearly visible while talking into his voice simulator, and no one seems to notices. There were two really interesting Cases, The Bludcraven Manor and The School of Ghouls. It’s cleaver how each mystery is set up, each one has a different opening and portrays all the ways to tell a mystery story. Sometimes it starts off with the murder, but you don’t know who did it, or sometimes you know who did it, but not why and how, then there’s the times when you don’t know anything until the end. It’s cool to see all these different mystery plot lines in one series, keeping it shiny and new.

ComicsOnline gives Case Closed Season Five, 4 out of 5 guys with freaky eyebrows.

DVD Review: Case Closed: Captured in Her Eyes

 

Police Detectives are being murdered at an alarming rate.  They are some of the highest profile officers and the list of suspects contains a few of the most powerful people in the city. On a fateful rainy day, one of these Detectives is gunned down right in front of Conan Edogawa.  It just so happens that Conan possesses the mind of one of the world's greatest young detectives, Jimmy Kudo, trapped in a 10 year-old's body.  The question is, who did it?   Now it is up to the little detective along with the help of his bumbling front man, Richard Moore, to solve the crime.

We in the US have Scooby Doo, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.  The Japanese have young detective Conan Edogawa and theCase Closed franchise. This long-running series has something that Scooby Doo and the others don't have, writing and development. Case Closed has a long-standing reputation for adding suspense to these animated crime dramas. Growing up watching American TV and the pablum that it consistently produces is mind-numbing at best. With Case Closed the animation may not be top flight CG, but the writing is head and shoulders above any other crime dramas I have experienced. 
 

Overall

In Case Closed: Captured in Her Eyes, the story takes several turns and offers up at the minimum 3 solid suspects for the murderer. It is not Uncle Fred or the long slighted butler who wants the family farm or mansion. These 3 have very different reasons,  from political coverup to revenge for incompetency or even drug dealing. The story may be aimed at a younger audience but the subject matter has an adult context to it. 

I cannot go so far as to say that Case Closed: Captured in Her Eyes is a masterpiece of crime drama, but it is a refreshing addition to the tired genre that the West has to offer. There are flaws in this production and the writing is not spectacular by any means. I found several gaps in the plot that left me somewhat miffed, but I still must state that if you are a fan of Scooby Doo then you will be singing the praises of the Case Closed franchise. The one thing I did find interesting is that the way the mystery is solved was not provided in the standard Case Closed way. Jimmy, or should I say Conan, did not knock out Richard Moore and hide behind him to reveal the mystery. This time it was solved in a rather standard mode, the criminal giving himself away by trying to kill again in public. It was very out of place for the franchise and I found it to be a nice change of pace.

If you are a fan of Case Closed then you will want to own this movie, and if you are someone who likes animated crime mysteries, then this would be a great place to discover the Case Closed world. It might just suck you in.

ComicsOnline gives Case Closed: Captured in Her Eyes 3 out of 5 bullet head kids.

Buy Case Closed: Captured in Her Eyes on DVD at Amazon.com now 

 

 

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DVD Review: Case Closed: Countdown to Heaven

 

  

Jimmy Kudo was a famous high school detective, until one day, while Jimmy and his friend, Rachel Moore, were at an amusement park. Jimmy had an unfortunate run-in with some men in black. Because they were being suspicious, Jimmy had decided to follow them. As one of the men was making a deal with another person, Jimmy didn’t notice that the other one was sneaking up behind him. Before he knew it, the men in black were making Jimmy take an untested poison. Instead of killing Jimmy, the drug reverted Jimmy’s age. Now living as a young grade school student,  Jimmy goes under the alias Conan Edogawa, because if his attackers knew Jimmy was still alive, he is sure they would come after him and finish the job. 

Now, Conan lives with his friend Rachel and her father Richard. Conan still solves crimes, but he does it through Richard. Luckily for Conan, Richard is a detective, although not a very good one, due to the fact that he makes false accusations on little or no evidence. Although when Conan solves a case, he uses his wristwatch stun gun to knock out Richard. Then Conan uses his bowtie voice synthesizer to solve the case as Richard. Because of that, Richard received the name the "sleeping sleuth". With each case that Conan solves, he hopes to accumulate more clues about the men in black and this time they are right under his nose. 

After Conan and his friends, the Junior Detective League, go camping with Dr. Agasa, the man who makes all of Conan's gadgets, they decide to stop by the tallest towers in Japan. These towers are also known as the Closest Place to Heaven. Just when they arrive so did Richard and Rachel. Apparently Richard went to college with Tokiwa Mio, the lady who owns the towers. Due to Richard’s connections, everyone is invited to the grand opening of the towers. After the festivities commence, there was a grand unveiling of a new painting of Mount Fuji. As the curtains open to reveal the painting, more than just the painting is there. Hanging from the ceiling is Tokiwa. This appears to be the third of a string of serial murders, all involving the towers, each crime scene marked with a sake cup. Is it the men in black, or someone else?

Overall     

This is an amazing movie, better than any mystery movie that I have ever seen. Even compared to other Case Closed movies, this one is a head above the rest. The mystery is very complex. Because all the obvious suspects get murdered, you have no idea who did it, and it’s not someone who’s completely random. I also really enjoyed the fact that the men in black were actually in this movie, due to the fact that out of all of the Case Closed  episodes and movies I have seen, this is the only one that included them. Another good thing about this movie is that anyone could watch it and enjoy it and not be confused. Even though this one is great for newcomers to the Case Closed story, old fans of the series will enjoy it because of the backstory for some of the characters that is revealed. This movie is a great file of the Case Closed story and would make a great part of any anime fan’s collection. 

ComicsOnline gives Case Closed: Count Down to Heaven 3.5 out of 5 Junior Detective League Members.

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DVD Review: Case Closed: The Last Wizard of the Century

 

 

“Now, what will the modern day Sherlock Homes do about it?”

The thief and the detective, a constant struggle between good and evil, and this time is no different. Jimmy Kudo was an average high school detective until an evil origination made him take a poison that reverted his age. Now Jimmy goes by the name Conan Edogawa, to conceal his true identify. Conan still solves crimes, but he does it with the help of detective Richard Moore. When Conan solves a case, he uses his stun gun/ wrist watch to knock out Richard and with his voice synthesis bow tie he uses Richard’s voice to tell others. This case is like none other -  Conan is going against his arch rival, the Phantom Thief  Kid, who is trying to steal a rare Fabergé egg, the Memories egg, which once belonged to Czar Nicolas II of Russia. During the Kid’s first attempt, he was shot in his right eye, but due to the fact that the the bullet hit the Kid’s monocle, it is unknown if he is dead or alive. The Memories egg was retrieved undamaged, but that may not be a good thing. As more people who want the Memories egg turn up dead by being shot in their right eye, it would seem that some one will stop at nothing to retrieve this egg.

Highlights 

The name Last Wizard of the Century is not referring to the Phantom Thief Kid, nor does it even refer to this or the last century, but it refers to the man who made the Memories egg. This man was a fan of making clockwork and other types of mechanical toys. At a toy show in the late 19th century his clockwork toys where so incredible he was given the title ВОЛШЕБНИК КОНЦА ВЕКА, which translated from Russian means the Last Wizard of the Century. Although his toys were incredible, his greatest masterpiece was the Memories egg. Inside of the egg is a gold statue of Nicholas II and his family reading a book, and on the bottom of the egg is a small mirror. This is no normal mirror, but it is a magic mirror, that when a light is reflected from the bottom of it a picture appears, and this picture is of Yokosuka Castle, the home of the last wizard of the century. Although some of the contraptions made by the last wizard of the century may seem improbable and or impossible to make, they are so magical that you won’t really care, that’s how this movie casts its spell on you. All of this Russian history added something special to the story for me. Often you will find some historical context to an anime story line, but in this case it was great to learn about some history other than Japanese. I had heard of the Fabergé eggs from my Grandmother, but never really understood what made them special.  Now I know.


Overall

Case Closed: The Last Wizard of the Century is an amazing movie. The phantom Thief Kid is awesome; he is clever and charming, and he reminds me of some other great thieves from anime, such as Lupin III, and Jin King of the Bandits. This movie is very layered.  It isn’t only about a thief and his treasure, it also goes into the death of the royal family of Russia, the fall of the Russian Empire, and Rasputin’s revenge. All of these things might seem overwhelming but it’s not; it is all very fluent and cohesive and well put together. One thing that was disappointing was the fact that The Phantom Thief Kid wasn’t  really in it as much as I would have liked, but I enjoyed what I did get of him. This is a movie full of magic, and adventure, and one of my favorite Case Closed stories.


ComicsOnline gives Case Closed: The Last Wizard of the Century 3.5 out of 5 deaths.

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DVD Review: Case Closed: The Phantom of Baker Street

 

 
Conan Edogawa may appear to be nothing more than a grade school kid, but  looks can be deceiving, because he’s actually much more than that!


Highlights

One day while Jimmy Kudo, a high school detective, was at a amusement park with his friend, Rachel Mower, he noticed a pair of shady men dressed in black. Naturally, Jimmy followed them, but this was not a wise decision on his part. As Jimmy observed a shady deal in the making, he didn’t notice the other man who was sneaking up behind him. The next thing  that Jimmy knew, he was being forced to take an experimental poison. Luckily for Jimmy, instead of killing him the poison merely reverted his age. Now Jimmy goes under the alias of Conan Edogawa because he knows that if those mysterious men knew that he was still alive, they would finish him off! 

Although Conan has the body of a kid, he still has the mind of a teenager, and a mature one at that. So he commonly ignores the joys of being a child, including that of video games. Conan usually won't even touch a video game, but this time might just be different, especially when his father is one of the designers of the game! Also, this isn’t just any ordinary game, this is the new Cocoon. The Cocoon actually hijacks the five senses, thus immersing the player in the game completely, so if you smell something in the game, you really smell it.  The same goes for the other four senses. The Cocoon is a wonderful idea, but when something goes horribly wrong, the only way to get out of the game is to beat it. Now Conan and his friends are trapped in 19th century London, and their only way out is for him to catch a man who has never actually been caught - none other than serial killer Jack the Ripper!

Overall

Case Closed is a very intriguing series, mostly due to its interesting mysteries. This one is probably the best story that they ever presented; not only is it a good mystery, but it shows the true spirit of this series. Previously in Case Closed Conan, or Jimmy, has been compared to Sherlock Holmes, and in this movie he actually takes on that role. I also really enjoyed the contrast between 19th century London and the futuristic video game Cocoon, each bringing out the best in the other. Whether you like Sherlock Holmes or not, I think that anyone could enjoy this movie. 

ComicsOnline gives Case Closed: The Last Wizard of the Century 4.5 out of 5 Cocoon.

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DVD Review: Claymore, Chapter 5: The Sisters in Arms

The Yoma attack! Who will save the town? The Claymore will! Yoma are monster who eat humans, and the Claymore women who are half breeds, Human and Yoma, who fight the Yoma with super human abilities. Claymore, Chapter 5, The Sisters in Arms, covers the greatest battle the Claymore have fought yet. This time, they will have to battle more advanced Yoma, Awakened Beings, once human, they have turned fully into monster. Clare is a Claymore, the one you’ll follow through the world of “Claymore”. Early on she met a boy, Raki, who’s family was murdered by a monster. He was saved by Clare, and he vowed to repay her. Raki travels with her for a while, then the two split. But, Raki promises to meet her again before one of them dies.

Episodes:
19 “The Carnage in the North II” the Claymore have finished off a wave of Yoma. They’ve lost their weakest fighters, lowering their already low number of warriors. They manage to defeat the last two Yoma with what they have left. This episode is pretty straight forward, using teamwork to defeat the enemy, and win. Also, by using teamwork, relationships where developed and people started to care for each other.

20 “The Carnage in the North III” Starts off with Raki and a girl (named Pricilla). Isley, the mysterious man who is traveling with Pricilla and seems to know her well, has returned with horses. Then they get the news that there are Claymore in a town called Pieta. Raki immediately tries to take off to Pieta, but is convinced to stay with Isley and Pricilla, because they are going that way as well. Later that night, Isley agrees to train Raki in the ways of the sword. Meanwhile, the Claymore received a fresh shipment of supplies, and the bonds between the women strengthen. Back with Raki and his traveling partners, you discover some interesting things about Isley. There is a lot of trust testing and trust building situations in this episode.

21 “Invasion of Pieta I” The next wave of Awakened Beings have come. The Claymore are prepared to fight to the death, but what they weren’t ready for the Yoma of legend, Rigaldo. Raki encounters something unexpected as well, something about Pricilla. Then, back with the Claymore, almost all of what was left of the warriors has been wiped out. This is defiantly the toughest foe they have had to face. Wills are tested in this episode, as well as bonds. This is the most befuddling of the four episodes, all the character you started to really understand are killed off, and pretty quickly, too.

22 “Invasion of Pieta II” Clare is one of the last Claymore standing. She’s resorting heavily on her Yome powers, pushing the limit of her humanity. It doesn't look good for her. Raki decides not to kill Pricilla (which was his first intended reaction to his discovery about her), instead, he leaves the party to go find Clare. Clare is battling the best within, while Raki battles wether or not to go, or stay.

There were two extras that weren’t trailers and textless songs. The first was and interview with Art Settings Nobuhito Sue. It was pretty cool. You got the insight of what the artist have to do, which I didn’t know. The second was Episode 19 commentary. This has to be the most entertaining commentary I’ve seen yet. One of the character voices talks about having to direct an episode with almost 24 character that look the same, and may even sound similar.

Overall, I really like the Claymore series. There are a lot of moral issues explored in this series, the battle of the beast inside, honor, wether or not it’s okay to kill something if it’s not human, etc. I must admit, I was a little confused with who was who at times, but watching it a second time, I was confused no more. The characters are developed with ease, and the plot is strong. Everything flows nicely, (though I suggest you start with from the beginning, if you are new to this series) and is clear. A great Anime of those 14 and up.

ComicsOnline gives Claymore, Chapter 5, The Sisters in Arms, 5 out of 5 Claymore swords.

DVD Review: Claymore, Chapter 6 The Awakening

DVD Review: Claymore: The Complete Series

Sexy women who are half-beast or demons, fight other demons with really big swords in order to protect humans. Claymore covers the life of these women who have been trained to be cold blooded killing machines that only want to die as a human rather than as a monster. The catch is that for them to be able to fight these demons, they must use their demon powers and the more they do that, the more they become the very demons they want to destroy. What a dilemma!

Highlight

The Organization has trained a small army of women who have been fused with demonic power as part of their essence. As time goes by they will reach the maximum of these powers (Yoki) and will revert to a demon. These women will beg their sisters to take their life rather than become the very thing they hunt. The thing is that these women are hated by both sides. The Humans hate them because they are part demon and the demons hate them because they are enemies. All these women really want is to protect the humans that detest them. 

There is a lot to this series that would easily be considered a highlight, but the real excitement comes when the Claymores all assemble in the village of Pieta. This is the beginning of the big showdown and sets up the one divergence from the manga series. The battles take on a new level of action and drive these stoic women to show some real human qualities that betrays their lone despair.

Then there is Raki, the uber-wimp whom Clare befriends. Clare is the main protagonist of the series, who has a secret that has a profound effect on the end of the series and the last two episodes. She takes on Raki as her sidekick for the first part of the series. He is all the scared little girl that is needed to the balance out the cold hearted killer amazon women vibe Clare brings. Raki does prove to have some value other than the crying boy-man in the corner. He is able to help Clare come back to humanity at times of near transformation and it does provide for some unintended comic relief when he is in full form.

Overall

I know that ComicsOnline has reviewed several of the individual volumes of Claymore, but with this being the complete series box set, I think a review is warranted. Of course the popularity of this series is well known, but it should be mentioned that the popularity is well deserved. The quality of writing helps drive this series and makes every episode meaningful to the plot. The character development gives something to grab on to for several of the main cast and does a wonderful job of showing the human condition and why these women lust for it. 

I must also say that FUNimation did a great job with the dub. They have followed the original script so well that you get the full blown Claymore experience. Anyone who is a fan of the series' fantasy world and enjoys a human drama, this series is for you. It is a rip roaring, hot mama, slashing, monster dicing series ready to rock your world.
 

 

ComicsOnline gives Claymore: The Complete Series 5 out of 5 diced Yoma.

DVD Review: Comic Party Revolution, The Complete series

 “A man made island, located on the edge of Tokyo, well off the beaten path, but now the time is drawing near, when this island of cold concrete will be set afire with passion. People will gather here to draw manga, search for manga and get passionate about manga! A joyous celebration of individuals who have staked their entire youth on dōjinshi. I’m speaking of COMIC PARTY!!!”

 

Kazuki Sendō and Taishi Kuhonbutsu have formed the "Brother 2" dōjinshi partner ship, and with these dōjinshi they will conquer the world... but not really. All Kazuki wants to do is is write his dōjinshi, but between Taishi’s world conquest plans and the rest of his friends' problems I'm surprised he has any time to do anything. With comic party just around the bend Kazuki better get cracking. 

 

Dōjinshi - (Dō-jin-shi) self written and published manga.

Highlights 

A comic party is an event where dōjinshi writers come together and sell their latest manga. Going to the comic party is the main theme, about half of the time is spent on other stuff that is only sort of, or not, related to a comic party. This series is really about the life of an Otaku, Kazuki Sendō. Even though Kazuki Sendō is the main character, a lot of the time the focus is on one of his friends, yet he is always the hero. Besides comic parties another popular subject is sports. My favorite sport that they play is the war simulation played with laser guns (“Not a child's play thing!”). After Taishi takes Kazuki and his friends to an unescapable camp ground, they run in to a group of war fans that are using the camp. So Kazuki makes a deal with the war fans that if they beat them that they will show Kazuki the way back down the mountain.

Overall

Comic Party Revolution is a perfect anime about Otaku. It may not have ton of action or suspense, but it is sure funny. The characters in Comic Party Revolution are so nerdy that it’s like they are in one of the manga that they love. There is the hero, the side kick, the tough guy, the sick and/or dying one, the love interest and every other typical anime character that you can think of. This series reminds me of the movie Otaku no Video, as they both mock the ways of the Otaku and celebrate them at the same time . Even though this mocks Otaku, I think that Otaku would find it funnier than most. It has some things that only an Otaku would understand and it tells the truth about how we want to rule the world. For you who are just getting into anime, Comic Party Revolution is a great way to see what you are getting into before it’s to late.

 

ComicsOnline gives Comic Party Revolution 5 out of 5 freshly written dōjinshi.

DVD Review: D. Gray-man Season 2 Part 2

 

Most of us spend our days trying to make ends meet and bring home the basic necessities for our family.  We tend to do what we do because it is a way to protect those we care for.  In D. Gray-man, this protection of our loved ones is at the core of the series. Our protagonists have dedicated themselves to protecting those whom they feel are their family and  they are also driven to release others who have been trapped by pure evil.

D. Gray-man is the story of the Black Order and its members who are fighting against the Millennium Earl.  The Millennium Earl is out to destroy the world and enslave all of the souls.  He was defeated once by the Black Order, but over the centuries has regained his power and has also gained the added strength of the Noah Family.  With his growing army of Akuma and the Noah Family, his task is to find and destroy that sacred power used by the Black Order known as Innocence.  This Innocence is a mysterious power that will connect with individual humans to give them the ability to take on the Earl and his lethal weapons. For those who accept this Innocence, they will become Exorcists and thus become the real power behind the Black Order. 

With the constant attacks from the Millennium Earl's minions, the Akuma and the mysterious power of the Noah Family, the Black Order has come up against something that may lead to their end. D. Gray-man Season 2 Part 2 begins with the discovery that many Black Order members have already been killed. Several of the Exorcists have also been defeated and killed. The goal for our team is to find General Cross and use his knowledge to defeat the Millennium Earl. The path is littered with danger and even a few surprises. 

 

Overall

As it is often the case with episodes that are in the middle of a series, there is somewhat of a letdown. There are exciting battles and the introduction of a foe that has enormous power, but there is a flatness to these 12 episodes that made it hard to stay focused. Repetition can be a fatal move for many series like this. With 52 episodes remaining it appears as though the writers have come to a point that they needed to stretch the story line. 

I did enjoy the continued character development with the four main protagonists. They continue to bond and give the viewer the ability to empathize with these characters. For me, that is always an important draw to a series. I need to care about these heros and in D. Gray-man I do find it easy to care. I also find that the antagonists do not have any redeeming characteristics. In many anime series, you will find some redeeming qualities to the foes, but in this series the enemy is pure evil,  bent on only one thing and that is to destroy the world. I am grateful for this clear delineation between our combatants.

For all of you D. Gray-man fans I am sure that you will want to have this as part of your collection, but for everyone else I am not able to recommend this one. I feel like it is possible to miss these episodes without having any real impact on understanding what is going on. 

 

ComicsOnline gives D. Gray-man Season 2 Part 2 2.5 out of 5 maids with killer fans.

DVD Review: D. Gray-man: Season 2, Part 1

“Allen, I want to see one of the lions...go bring me one.” 

 

As we join Allen Walker on his quest to rid the world of Akuma, he gets a mission to find his old master, General Cross. Lately the generals of the Black Order have been under attack, and a few have been killed. Since General Cross has been missing for a while the Black Order assumes that he is either dead or causing “trouble.” Joining Allen on his mission is his good friend, Lenalee as he travels across the sea to Liverpool. If any one will know where General Cross is it will be a old women called Mother who lives in Liverpool. Will Mother know the location of General Cross? More importantly, what’s with all of the Akuma in Liverpool?

Highlights

General Cross is a cruel and sadistic slave driver that makes Allen work like a dog to pay off his debts and to top it off, Cross always gets the girl. One of the women Cross is involved with is the Empress of India. When Cross is with his lover, Allen hangs out with the first friend he has had since he started being taught by Cross. One day, after Cross had taken all the money that Allen had earned, a group of Akuma attacks the town center. Unfortunately for Allen, he had just complained to Cross about not training, so Cross shoves Allen into battle. Allen is basically useless at this point so Cross steps in and destroys all the Akuma in one blow, taking down some buildings in the process. As Cross and Allen prepare to leave India, Allen’s friend meets him in front of the train station. He tells Allen the story of how his sister died when a building collapsed after an explosion in the town center. Allen soon realized that he has turned in to an Akuma and Allen is forced to defeat him.

Overall 

Although this is a weaker part of D. Gray-man than the past volumes, it is still entertaining. I did like that almost all of the main charters appear this time. Some new characters were also introduced, and one of them is a finder that has a problem with crying. He cries almost every 30 seconds, but when he isn’t crying he seems like the macho type. He was by far the funniest of the characters in this volume. The story line does progress instead of being filler episodes, and I appreciate that, although there were some episodes that are more or less  pointless and could have been left out. One episode was all about one exorcist and his childhood, but he dies right after that episode. The story is made a little sadder when he dies, but that episode could have been replaced with something more influential. All in all, D. Gray-man: Season 2, Part 1 is very good and fans of the series will be pleased.

ComicsOnline gives D. Gray-man: Season 2, Part 1 4 out of 5 exploding Akuma       

DVD Review: D.Gray-Man: Season One, Part One

Allen Walker is a young, cursed boy who fights Akuma (weapons created from a tragedy, forced to destroy humans by their maker, the Millennium Earl). Allen was born with an Anti-Akuma weapon on his left arm, thus he was abandoned by his parents. Eventually he would become an apprentice to the Master Cross - an exorcist general. One day, Master Cross leaves Allen, telling him to go to the exorcist headquarters, called The Black Order.

Allen makes the ridiculously high and steep climb to the The Black Order, but, is greeted not so warmly. He fails the “Human” test and therefor is attacked by the exorcist, Kanda, until they find a letter sent by Master Cross, recommending Allen. The Order accepts Allen and in no time he is sent off on his first mission to find Innocence, a piece of a material given to them by god in order to fight the darkness. Allen’s job, as an exorcist, is to find the Innocence before the Millennium Earl does.

D. Gray-Man: Season One, Part One completely covers the first three volumes and the beginning of the fourth of the manga, following coherently. It’s nice to watch an anime series that really portrays the original manga story line. There are no fillers, but it did take some random moments out that weren’t important to the story line, which was surprisingly neat.

The story is a little dark, and can be depressing. I wouldn’t suggest it to anyone under 14. I enjoyed the mild darkness, and I felt that there was a balanced amount of comedic moments (kinda like what happens in Bleach by Tite Kubo). A good example of this is in the very beginning, when a police officer is investigating an old abandoned church with her partner. A flock of bats comes down and swoops up the officer, leaving her partner. Then, the officer is quick to handcuff to a chair, the one who grabbed her. It’s Allen, and he starts panicking, defending himself by pleading that he was trying to catch the cat, which is sitting in his lap as if it had triumphed. While Allen yells at the cat, saying it’s the cat’s fault, the officer goes back to her partner. The whole scene with the cat almost makes you forget the slight creepiness of the prior scene.

Like I mentioned, the gothic style is quite obvious. It goes along side with a religious theme, too. In the series there is the Noah family (decedents of the prophet Noah), and God is referred to often. The religious theme debates the battle of “Gods”, the decision of who is the real God? Fortunately, for those not big on religion, it’s not he main theme of the series, more of a sub theme. I would have to say the main theme is discovering yourself and proving your sense of justice.

There aren’t many extras, which I am a little disappointed in. On disc one the only extra is commentary of episode two, which is pretty cool. The voice of Allen and the voice of Lenalee Lee - Allen’s friend and a fellow exorcist - talk about making the series on the voice acting level. It’s cool to hear them discuss how one decides who will be a voice of a character and also that there was not a typical audition to the job. The other two “extras” are: 1) a textless opening: Innocent Sorrow and closing: Snow Kiss, 2) Trailers. The textless songs intrigued me. They make you stop and really appreciate how awesome the opening and ending are, like watching a music video, they allow you get a deeper meaning of what the song is trying to say.

I was really excited to hear that D. Gray-Man was being released in America. I have been reading and enjoying the manga for a while. I think Funimation did a nice job of bring the series to life for Americans.

D. Gray-Man was released on March 31, 2009, directed by Nabeshima Osamu, character design by Hideyuki Morioka, produced by TMS Entertainment, and distributed by Funimation in the U.S.

ComicsOnline gives D.Gray-Man: Season One, Part One 5 out of 5 Pieces of Innocence.

DVD Review: D.Gray-Man: Season One, Part Two

Highlight

D.Gray-Man Season 1, Part  2, continues at the Black Order Headquarters, in the lunchroom.  The newest member, Lavi, is becoming great friends with Allen, and they seem to work well together.  Of corse, it doesn't take long for them (and Kanda) to be sent out on a mission.  They have to go to find the innocence that's causing sever and dramatic weather changes around a town.  Almost as soon as they get there, Allen runs into a father and daughter that's in need of help.  The father and daughter were on their way to find the Leaf of Revival, but, due to the extreme weather, they have fallen in the snow, with no hope of being found by anyone, but by Allen.  Kanda just wants to focus on the mission, while Allen and Lavi want to help the father and daughter get to safely.  So they split up, Kanda scouts out the innocence, Allen and Lavi that the travelers to the nearest inn.  The daughter tells the two exorcist about the Leaf of Revival, saying it can bring back the dead.  Allen knows that's not possible, and suggests that they give up on the hunt and go home.  But, before the exorcist can leave the inn, the father and daughter are ready to continue on their search.  Allen is soft, and lets them come along.  They eventually meet up with Kanda, during a battle against some level two Akuma, and then they continue the search for the Innocence.  Ironically (and expectedly) the Innocence has taken residence in a tree and is using the weather to protect the tree from visitors that want to take one of the shining leaves.  Kanda slices the tree in half and retrieves the innocence, and then goes home.  Allen and Lavi escort the father and daughter to a train and see them off.
 

Overall

The rest of the major  adventures are pretty much the same.  All have kind of shallow plots that side with the deeper plot of discovering yourself and who's the real god.  It all gets a bit repetitive and even boring in the middle of this set.  I was disappointed by part two of season one, I felt like it was trying to hard to be a comedy and was going to fast with each story, while spending to much time on the episodes that are a break from the plot, which weren't all that funny.  Also, the whole gothic theme of it was a little to lighthearted, and just wasn't as strong as it was in the part one.  

Enough of what I didn't like, on to the awesome.  I really love the whole idea of D.Gray-Man, and I did love some parts of the set.  First, I liked the consistency of character personalities.  Kanda always went home before Allen, and Allen was always there to help, even if he admitted that he didn't like the job.  I also liked the personal life of the Millennium Earl being exposed some.  It sheds more light on the antagonist.  It also makes the story more intricate and intriguing.  Overall, I didn't enjoy part two of season one as much as I did with part one, but it's still a great series.

 

ComicsOnline gives D.Gray-Man Season 1, Part 2, 4 out of 5 Leaves of Revival.

DVD Review: Darker Than Black Volume 6

 

 

The Darker Than Black saga comes to an end in Volume 6, but the story of the Contractors and the Syndicate is left open for more to come. The high drama is clear evidence that the Japanese take their Anime seriously. The imagery and plot stand out and reflect a very eastern mindset and general life philosophy.

Highlights
The last of the series opens with discussion about a moral decision made by November 11, a contractor. It leads Misaki (a Section Chief of Foreign Affairs Devision 4) to rethink her struggle with the contractors. It also starts the clock for the final count down. A rumor has been floating around that said the old stars will reappear tonight and only tonight. She is beginning to believe that contractors have the same right to live as the humans and know that the Syndicate has a plan to destroy all Contractors by closing Hells Gate. The Contractors know that they must destroy Hells Gate to free themselves and Hei is the key. The rest of the episodes lead to the final decision that Hei must make. He must choose between Humans or Contractors. The funny thing is that Hei is still half Human and half Contractor. His contractor abilities came from his sister Pei. I am not going to tell you what he chooses, but Misaki had to make the same decision.

 

 

Overall

Darker Than Black is a complicated story with a serious demeanor. The depth of the character development is so well done, you feel as though you have known the main characters all your life. As I mention in the opening, the Japanese treat animation much differently than the way we have in the U. S. The way the characters and story is driven by a dramatic plot line is rarely seen in American production. The main characters appear much like any other human being and clearly have the same conflicted emotions. Now, I'm not saying that this is not seen in U. S. animation but it is not seen very often. I have noticed an increase in character development over the last several years in the U.S. but not to the level that makes it seem effortless.

There are four episodes to this volume, but the forth (EP-26) is a filler episode and episode 25 is the true ending. There is also a well done extra with commentary over episode 26 that is worth watching. It mocks the anime fan base a little with continual references to Man/Elephant love that is part of a manga series that Yin is into. I was disappointed that there was no satisfaction with the main characters finding final truth or complete resolve in the show, but do understand why it had to end the way it did. Darker Than Black is a worthy addition to any anime collectors collection.

 

ComicsOnline gives Darker Than Black:Volume 6, 4.5 out of 5 Stoic Dolls.

DVD Review: Death Note Re-Light: Visions of a God Vol. 1

                     

Death Note Re-light: Vision Of a God Vol. 1, starts off with an average shinigami looking for something new to do.  He goes out on a mission to find the shinigami who dropped a Death Note into the human world, to learn more about the human world.  He finds Ryuk, which is only swayed by an apple from the shinigami world.  Ryuk starts his tale from the very beginning, with the thought of boredom and the dropping of a simple notebook...

Light Yagami Is an A-class student in college who wants to follow in his fathers footsteps as chief of Japanese Police in the area.  Light's goal is to uphold justice and his ultimate dream is to cleanse the world of evil.  Then, one day, Light sees a black notebook fall from the sky while he was in class.  After class is out, he heads over to the notebook and pick is up.  It's titled "Death Note" and inside there are direction: "a persons name written in this notebook, shall die."  Now, Light doesn't believe it, he just waves it aside as a hoax, like chain emails, so he sets it back down.  Before he knew it, the Death Note was in his bag, if there was a chance it would work, it could help him achieve his dream.  It didn't take him long to test the book, which happened to work exactly as it said in the directions.  When Ryuk finally showed himself to Light, and explained the contract between Light, the Death Note, and Ryuk.

Light would end up using the Death Note to kill anyone who was accused of being a criminal, and eventually those who get in his way, trying to make him stop his mass murdering.  He was able to outsmart his obstacles, except one, that always seemed to keep coming back.  Its name was L, and he happens to be a famous detective that's been able to quickly solve every case he's worked on.  L is pretty sure he knows who the killer is, or "Kira," and he believes it is Light.  Unfortunately, L is unable to convince his partners on this case that Light is Kira, though L never gives up on that theory.  There's a definite difference between these two geniuses, and an intense battle of intelligence emerges.

Just when you think Light wins, Ryuk closes his story with a sigh, saying: "No, Light, you didn't win".  By now, the shinigami that wanted to know Ryuk's tale, has left and was taking the walk to the gate to the human world. 

It's very interesting to see the dramatic difference between Light and L that Ryuk saw.  Even though it was scenes from the anime, it didn't seem like they were. I like this idea of Ryuk being a story teller of his adventure, it shows how he was deeply affected by Light and the way he treated others.  Before he went to the human world, he was very motivated and cocky, now, that he fulfilled the contract between him and Light, he just sulks all the time and doesn't care about his duty as a shinigami, something you don't get from the series.  I really like Death Note, there's such an interesting way to look at the concept of Good vs. Evil, through the powers of cunning and intelligence.  My only problem with this is that it ends in the middle of the regular series, kind of like the live action movies.   But, the fact that it takes out some of the most intense moments of the anime after L, it's still engaging and intense all by itself.

 

ComicsOnline gives Death Note Re-Light: Visions of a God, 4 out of 5 delicious red apples.

DVD Review: Death Note, L change the WorLd

The Death Note franchise takes on the question of what L did with his last 23 days. Of course this storyline is unique to the live action series, not the manga or anime series. Death Note: L change the World is fun, fantastic, full of action and lots and lots of L being L.

Highlights

Right off the bat we jump back to pre-Death Note and get a quick history lesson as the 23 last days of L are spelled out. Then comes the echo terrorists who have stolen a deadly virus and plan to do something about the Human plight on the Earth. L is alerted to the plot by a co-detective, F, who sends a young boy to him. This boy is a key to the puzzle that L must solve. The great part of this pairing is that L is neither a good baby sitter or someone who understands children. The Boy is also into salty food instead of the sugar diet of L. 

Another twist is that a teenage girl is left on L's doorstep. She is another major key to the puzzle. L is saddled with two kids and has no clue how to deal with them, but is able to connect just because he is so very eccentric. This leads to some very humorous moments and some of the over the top sap that could have been left out. 

Although this story was to set up the end of L and the possible emergence of Near. Yes, if you are familiar with the manga and anime series you will be surprised to see that Near is introduced in this movie. I am not going to give the surprise away, so you will have to watch to find it out yourself.

Overall

Being a huge fan of Death Note and finding the live action movies such a departure from the anime and manga, I would have to say that this movie just flat out made me smile. It created more twist and turns that make no sense if being tied to the manga and anime. All the same, I find it to be tons of fun. The acting leaves a lot to be desired, but for this it doesn't matter; the story is strange enough to overcome poor acting.

The production is slick and beautifully done. The essence of Death Note was upheld and maintained throughout the movie. The extras are fun but seemed to be more about the special two day theatrical screening that was held in the spring. I would have thought these would have been removed.

This movie is for all of the Death Note fans out there. For those who are not familiar with the franchise it might be better to start with part one of the live action movie, but if you are looking for two hours of fun and plenty of action, and you don't need to have a full understanding of the backstory, this is for you.

ComicOnline gives Death Note: L change the World, 4.5 out of 5 Angel Crepes.

DVD Review: Desert Punk: The Complete Series, Viridian Collection

He is only 17, known as the Demon of the Desert and trying to deal with being sex starved at the same time. Desert Punk is a hilarious romp through a futuristic desert of bad guys and stupid villagers. Desert Punk is a legendary mercenary who always completes his job, at least in his own mind.

Highlights

Much of the first half of the series is all about Kanta (aka Desert Punk) taking on jobs and somehow completing them with a large amount of humor and sexual innuendo. There are plenty of characters introduced and developed, but the main character, Kanta, is never given much more of a personality than as a shallow, sex craved mercenary. Kanta does take on a young girl protégé, Kosuna, who had been the apprentice of a rival mercenary. After Kanta defeats him, she works her way into his good graces and becomes his apprentice.  This becomes the a key to the series.

Once the second half of the series begins to develop, there is a reversal of the entire series. Although the humor and sexual innuendo continues, there is serious plot line development. The government gets involved and there is the revelation and discovery of an underground ancient civilization. There is also the emergence of a secret underground mercenary army.

This group and their less than honorable leader are interested in the overthrow of the government and with the sudden arrival of robots from the past there is a real threat that emerges. The underground mercenaries recruit Kanta, but he is only in for the money. This leads to disastrous results. Kosuna is left to pick up the pieces and finds that Desert Punk had given her a better education than she originally thought. There are several twists to the plot in the last 4 episodes that help give the series meaning and places the existential attitudes of the anti-hero in perspective.

 

Overall

I had not heard anything about this series before and am very happy that the Viridian Collection has been produced. The first few episodes left me rolling on the ground with some of the slapstick and sexual humor. I was afraid that I was going to get bored with it after a while and it was getting rather tedious after the 4th or 5th episode. I would have to say that I am often thankful for the character development that typically comes in the middle part of many of shorter Anime series. I found the womanizing to become tiresome, but the humor kept me moving forward. 

Anyway, once the flavor of the series changes it becomes much more exciting and vital. All the characters are brought back together and their odd connections are revealed. Although this is a typical device for Anime series, it is very effective in this case. I found the odd connections to have a deeper meaning and even a strange kind of humanistic value to them. With the series taking place in the future and in a desert where everyone needs to rely on one another but instead follows the Darwinian ideal of the survival of the strongest. Desert Punk himself follows this ideal to the n-th degree. It is nice to come across a group of idealists that are mere puppets of other greedy so and sos. 

If you have not been treated to the Desert Punk experience and are a fan of this type of humor, you will find this to be a real delight. I did enjoy every bit of the jokes and slapstick along with the meaningful moral discussion that took place in the second half of the series. This is a delightful revisitation of a series that many may have passed by.

ComicsOnline gives Desert Punk, The Complete Series: Viridian Collection 4.5 out of 5 well endowed female mercenaries. 

DVD Review: Devil May Cry: The Animated Series, The Complete Series.

In Devil May Cry: The Animated Series, Dante is half human, half demon, and runs a "odd jobs" agency called Devil May Cry.  These "odd" jobs usually involve supernatural beings, called Devils.

Highlights

Dante is good at what he does, dealing with devils, but he has two thing he's not so good at:  getting paid, and getting along with women.  Patty Rowell is a great example of both.  She is constantly reminding Dante about is shortcomings.   Patty was an orphan living at an orphanage in town.  It turns out that her father had a good amount of money, and that when he died, he left it to Patty.  Of corse, nobody knew where Patty was, all except Dantes and his liaison, Morisson.  Dante was then the proud protector of a girl who's three uncles wanted her dead, so they would inherit the fortune.  Well, I turns out that one of the "uncles" is actually a devil.  This turns out to be a plus for Dante.  He takes this devil down, and at the same time, helps Patty get her inheritance.  After all of this, Patty ends up hanging out with Dante every day.  Mostly she cleans the DMC building.  

 

 

Trish and Lady are Dante' other female companions.  Trish is a demon who used to work with Dante.  Now, Trish follows rumors about devils to find jobs. She doesn't appear much in the series, only being in three episodes.  Lady on the other hand, is in just about every episode, except for the first.  She is a human devil hunter who likes to bother Dantes about his debts to her.  Patty looks up to her as her role model, which explains the constant picking on Dantes. 

Then there is Sid. He's a devil that is trying  to become the Devil King.  There's just one problem, Sid, is well, weak and pathetic.  He's not even considered a threat by Dante. So, Sid devised a plan that includes using Dante's power.  In other words, Sid is also picking on Dante.  With each new mission, Dante is confronted by a devil that Sid has hired.  With each mission completed, Dante uncovers another piece of the puzzle that Sid has put together. 

Overall

Devil May Cry: The Animated Series is based off the Manga, which is based off the Video games.  I've personally never read the Manga, or play any of the game, but, this series has intrigued me to look into them. As for the series itself, it was very dark.  Definitely  not for the light hearted, DMC has lots of blood action and depressing themes, as well as language.  At times the story is confusing, I found myself thinking "what did that accomplish?", but, in the end it mostly made sense.  There were still something that were never explained, but I realized they weren't important to the series. I really like the ending of the series.  The final battle was a little lacking, but in general, it fit what a final episode should be.  In the last couple minutes it brings the series to a nice closure, so the watcher doesn't have any regrets left.  

The plot was solid, the character were concrete and developed nicely, and the animation is smooth.  I'd recommend this to any fan of darker series, 16 and older.  Plot wise, it's not morally challenging, but when it comes to more exact events, most of the time it's pretty blunt when it comes to killing the devils. 

This series was interesting enough to keep me watching and in the end, enjoyable.  This is a good addition to most collection, even non-anime ones.  If you like Gungrave, Darker than Black, Baccano!, and/or Claymore, then I believe that DMC is a series you should give a chance.  

ComicsOnline gives Devil May Cry: The Animated Series, The Complete Collection, 4 out of 5 Strawberry Sundays.

DVD Review: Dragon Ball Season 1 Boxset

ComicsOnline gives Dragon Ball: Season 1 5 out of 5 Kamehameha Waves

DVD Review: Dragon Ball Season Three

This box set is now available at Amazon.

DVD Review: Dragon Ball Z - Box Set 1

One of the most famous and epic shonen series in anime history, Dragon Ball Z follows the exploits of Son Goku, his young son Gohan, and their friends and family as they protect the planet Earth from extra-terrestrial dangers, from the Saiyan prince Vegeta to the monster villian Freiza. Now Funimation has presented what will undoubtedly be the last word on DVD releases for this series: this first set in a series holds episodes 1-42 of Dragon Ball Z, uncut with the Japanese track and video quality that DBZ fans have been waiting for over the years.

 

Highlights:

 

Where do I start? No, seriously, where do I start? It's hard for someone who grew up watching this series to pick out the highlights of its first "season", but I shall try. The series starts out with the introduction of Son Goku's young son Gohan, then quickly switches to Goku's fight with his brother Raditz, who in defeat summons two more Saiyan warriors: Vegeta and Napa. As Goku walks the Serpant's Path to meet King Kai, Gohan is trained under the supervision of pseudo-ally Piccolo. Goku takes a little side-trip into Hell itself while his allies climb Karin Tower to be trained by Kami. The full moon arrives and Gohan transforms into a giant ape, and only Piccolo can stop him from destroying everything in his path. Goku starts his training with King Kai, which includes learning the technique Genki Dama (Spirit Bomb), which should sound painfully familiar to those who have seen the climax of the Namek and Maijin Boo arcs. Vegeta and Nappa finally come to Earth, and the battle between the Saiyans and the humans begin! Goku arrives on the scene to take the two warriors down, but Vegeta uses his artificial moon to transform into a giant ape --- and then so does Gohan! The battle ends and the Dragon Balls unusuable --- but there is another set on planet Namek, which is where our heroes travel to, unaware of the villian Freiza lurking in the shadows of space . . .

 

 

 

Extras:

 

There are no extras to speak of on the discs themselves. You can see the updated and cleaned-up audio and visual, but there are no trailers or video extras. The box set itself is handsome as hell and contains a Dragon Book, a thin hard volume with an episode-by-episode breakdown of the contained episodes, as well as other goodies, like a timeline showing where the premiere of Dragon Ball Z falls in the annals of history, for those who need something else to remember 1989 by that isn't the Berlin Wall falling down.

Included along with the original Japanese track is also the dub track heard on Toonami's broadcasts, for those fans wishing to relive the nostalgia of dubbed anime back when all we had was Toonami and video tapes and barely anything else.

 

Overall:

 

Well, what can I say? Either you love Dragon Ball Z from the bottom of your heart or hate it with every fiber of your being. Nevertheless, only one type of person will be sure to buy this box set: someone who is tired of buying the same series over and over again and is looking for the definitive collection of their favorite anime. Well, this is it. The audio and video has been restored to broadcast-quality and then some, every episode is here from one to forty-two, and there's been no edits so you can see all the spurts of blood and fist-to-fist action like Toriyama intended. The box set is wonderful looking, the little book a gem to flip through, and with forty-two episodes of prime shonen excitement, you will certainly not be bored anytime soon. It may not be the smartest show to come out of Japan, but it is certainly entertaining, and Funimation is now determined to bring every single episode to American shores no matter what. For those who have been holding off buying this series because of how many versions of DVDs there are out there, fear not: soon all you'll need is the Dragon Boxes for the complete Dragon Ball Z experience. That is, unless you miss the Bruce Faulconer score that came with the English dub track originally. Oh, Funimation? You would make a generation of fans so happy by re-releasing the soundtracks in a tidy box set. But I digress . . .

ComicsOnline gives Dragon Ball Z Box Set One 4 out of 5 monkeys under the full moon

DVD Review: Dragon Ball Z - Box Set 2

The groundbreaking shonen anime series Dragon Ball Z is centered around the adventures of Son Goku and his half-Saiyan son Gohan, as well as their various friends and family, as they fight the aliens who continuously threaten the fragile peace on planet Earth - whether it be warriors from the planet Vegeta or maniacal overlords bent on gaining immortality.  In the second Dragon Box released by Funimation, containing episodes 43 through 84 as well as the original Japanese score and both Japanese and English language tracks, the focus of attention story-wise is on the planet Namek - also known as the birthplace of Piccolo and Kami - where everyone is trying to find the second set of Dragon Balls.  Son Goku and the others want to bring back their friends killed by the Saiyans, the villainous Lord Frieza wants immortality and Vegeta wants whatever will make him stronger than Frieza.  It's a race to the finish and Frieza is putting everything he's got into summoning the Dragon and making his own wish for eternal life - but not if Goku has anything to say about it!

Highlights:

The box set starts off with Bulma, Gohan and Krillin finally arriving at Planet Namek - only to find both Vegeta and Frieza are already there!  With their spaceship totaled, the three of them are stranded on Namek until Goku arrives in his rebuilt spaceship from his childhood planet, which will take quite a bit of time.  Gohan and Krillin witness first-hand the cruelty of Frieza and his minions as they torture the Namekian people for their Dragon Balls - but the Namekians aren't as docile as suspected, and put up one heck of a fight.  Still, the powers of the Nameks are not enough, and many of them are killed by Frieza's men so they can retrieve the Dragon Balls.  Vegeta, also on the trail for the mystic items, launches an all-out war against those working for Frieza, taking on his cronies from pink-skinned Dodoria to the seemingly beautiful but vicious Zarbon.  On King Kai's planet, the warriors that Vegeta and Nappa killed - Chaozu, Yamcha, Tien, and Piccolo - begin their training so they can become as strong as Goku, despite Kai's warnings that Frieza should not be aggravated lest they bring his unending wrath.

Meanwhile, with the help of Dende, a Namekian youth Gohan saved from Dodoria's wrath, the Z Team is able to meet the Eldest Namek and find the last Dragon Ball to be found; he not only hands the ball over to our heroes but taps into some of the potential power hidden within them.  Frieza, dissatisfied with his cronies' work, summons the Ginyu Force to Namek to help him in his cause as well as take down Vegeta, whom after his fight with Zarbon is able to manipulate himself back into Frieza's ship to be healed up before blasting his way out of the ship in order to take down Zarbon once and for all - but not before taking five of the Dragon Balls with him.  Vegeta ends up battling Gohan and Krillin for the other two Dragon Balls, but the Ginyu Force arrive and interrupt their fight - and it soon becomes a three against five battle royale.  Frieza gets his hands on the seven Dragon Balls but finds out the hard way that he doesn't have the password to summon the Dragon.  The Ginyu Force is soon taken down by a new arrival, much to the relief of Gohan and friends - Earth's greatest defender, Goku, has finally landed on Namek and is more powerful than ever.  Eventually, the great Namekian dragon Porunga is summoned, wishes are made and the battle for the planet as well as the universe begins.  It's everyone versus the awful might of Frieza, and if Frieza wins, it will only spell out the end of the world as well as our beloved heroes' lives.

Overall:

Out of all the story arcs in Dragonball Z's long and colorful history, it can be argued that the Namek Saga and Frieza Saga are at the top of the list.  It is the largest in scope - ranging from Earth into the far expanses of space - and contains the most story lines, including many held over from the previous Saiyan Saga.  The destruction of Planet Vegeta, Piccolo's origins as well as the origins of the great dragons and the Dragon Balls and the true identity of Frieza, who before these episodes had only been vaguely referenced by the more unsavory characters of the cast. This is also the part of the series with some of the more memorable fights, from Vegeta's battle with Zarbon to the fight against the Ginyu Force, not to mention the final battle against Frieza in all of his many forms.  Sadly, the most epic fight of this Saga - Goku versus Freiza - is not included in this box set.

Now that Dragonball Z has overcome its growing pains from separating itself storywise from the first series, it gets back to its shonen roots with more power-ups and more hidden techniques than ever before, to the thrill of its viewers.  But it never loses its charm, and the action is tempered by Toriyama's quirky and sometimes downright naughty sense of humor.  King Kai's first test for his potential students is a good example of this (and Tien is the angriest stand-up kung fu comedian I have ever seen, I swear), as well as many of the scenes during Goku's recovery in hospital, the Saiyan desperate to leave and go to Namek with his friends. The art is simple but effective, further enhanced by Funimation's enhancing treatment to the original cels as well as the audio.  Action scenes go on for long stretches of time but never get boring as the characters pull out all the stops with a seemingly endless bag of tricks, from Krillin's clever use of Tien's signature move to Goku using a Kamehameha to escape from an exploding star in the middle of outer space.  Yes, Dragonball Z can be terribly unrealistic at times, and they sure take a long time to finish their fights, but it rides high on fun and adrenaline and cannot be beat when it comes to wasting an afternoon or two watching some old-school shonen anime, the kind that puts current Weekly Shonen Jump kings like Naruto and Bleach to shame.  And with forty-two episodes in one box set at a fair price, Toriyama fans can't go wrong picking it up.

ComicsOnline gives Dragon Ball Z Box Set Two 4 out of 5 power levels on a scouter


This set is available for purchase at Amazon!

DVD Review: Dragon Ball Z Double Feature, Fusion Reborn and Wrath of the Dragon

“...Do you people have any more wishes?”

Fusion Reborn
In the station of the souls, where the souls go to ether Heaven or Hell, an accident happens. While a young worker in charge of watching the waste tank for the wash station to hell is slacking off and listing to his music, the waste tank overloads and exploded causing all of the other full tanks to explode. Due to the toxic gas the worker turns into Janemba, a large yellow baby looking thing with the power to destroy everything and it sealed the station of the souls in a barrier. With this incredible distraction, the station of souls could not function and keep the souls in their proper places. Goku made quick work of Janemba in it’s baby form, but then Janemba turned it to a super demon, Goku is no match for it. The only way to defeat it is fore Goku And Vegita to fuse. Back on earth an army of the undead are marching through the streets and the the only hope is for Goten and Trunks to fuse, just like their fathers.

Wrath of the Dragon
An old red man named Hoi, is yelling from the top of a large tower, he calmed that he was going to kill him self. Before he jumped Gohan and Videl come to his rescue. They later learn that Hoi has a music box that has a great hero named Tapion who will save the world from a terrible force, the only problem is the box is sealed tight, not even Goku can open it. All of the Z Fighters go on a quick hunt to find the 7 seven Dragon balls to wish the music box open. Tapion and Hoi are hiding something, Hoi is the last of the alien race that tout they where the ultimate race. When Hoi and his people came to Tapion planet, they released an evil monster power long thought to be gone. To protect their planet, Tapion and his brother played a magic ocarina to distract the monster while a wizard cut the monster in half with a magic sword, the monster did not die so the wizard sealed the top half of the monster in Tapion and the bottom half in his brother, then he sealed them in music boxes. Now Hoi has reunited the top and bottom half of the monsters and is trying to destroy the human race along with every other type of being in the universe. Can Goku, Tapion and the rest of the Z Fighters defat Hoi and his monster? “ I was enjoying my first day off in over a month until some flat footed behemoth stepped on my house”

Highlights
Fusion Reborn is a high action movie, the majority of the movie is fighting. Most of the fights are good but not the best, usually the fights are just The Z Fighters becoming Super Saiyans and they win the battle quickly. My favorite battle, which isn’t really a battle is when Pikkon yells at the barrier around the Station of souls to make the barrier brake. “He’s down there jamming, and I’m baby sitting a wall”.

I liked Wrath of the Dragon more than Fusion Reborn because it has more depth and a deeper story line and less fighting. The fight scenes are pretty good. My only problem is that in the main fight Trunks is the one who should kill the monster but Goku ends up being the hero.

Overall
I found that both of the movies where pretty good. Although I liked Wrath of the Dragon more than Fusion Reborn, my favorite scene was in Fusion Reborn. Adolph Hitler made a interesting appearance in Fusion Reborn. He and his Nazi armies where invading the city and Goten and Trunks became Super Saiyan to defeat Hitler. “Blond hair, blue eyes, super strength, I should be recruiting them”. The special features include remastered in HD and digitally restored, Wide screen transfer from original Japanese film and English voice track with original Japanese music. The DVDs also comes in a very nice metal case.

ComicsOnline gives Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn/ Wrath of the Dragon 4.5 out of 5 ground breaking punches.

DVD Review: Dragon Ball Z: Bardock, the Father of Goku

 

 “This is the hour for which we have prepared”

It’s the full moon on Planet Kanassa. A group of Saiyan, under the command of Frieza, turn into Great Apes and destroy a city. The next morning the saiyans are talking about the last night's battle had how it seamed like a dream, but one saiyan claims to remember it all, and his name is Bardock. Their orders were to take control of the planet, as it was believed that if you lived on the planet you would get psychic powers, which Frieza wanted. After Bardock and his team thought that all the people on that planet were dead, one jumps out from under a bunch of rocks. They made quick work of him, but before he dies, he gives Bardock the power to see the future, so he would see his end as the people of Kanassa saw their's.

Highlights
Bardock, the Father of Goku takes place prior to the Dragon Ball series, when Goku was just a baby and was still on Planet Vegeta. Bardock is just a low class Saiyan fighter, but he is really one of the strongest fighters in Frieza’s army. Bardock can defeat most of Frieza’s elite fighters, and his power almost rivals Vegeta, who is the strongest in Frieza's army (except Frieza himself). Frieza starts to be afraid of the power the Saiyans possess, so he decides to destroy them. Bardock figures this out when he finds his team killed by Frieza’s men. At that point Bardock had already had some visions, but until then he didn’t know what they meant. Bardock decides he is going to do every thing he can save every one on Planet Vegeta.    

 

“E Arth, huh, look Kakarot we don't name them, we just send you there, little buddy.”

Overall
Bardock, the Father of Goku may be part of the Dragon Ball Z saga of the series, but I would watch it before starting season 1 of Dragon Ball  because it really is the beginning of the series. At the end of the movie Goku gets sent to Earth and is found by Grandpa Gohan. I would also use this to help others know what Dragon Ball is, because it shows what Goku will become and sums up a giant of a series fairly well. I think this is an awesome movie and should a part of anyone’s Dragon Ball collection. 

ComicsOnline gives Dragon Ball Z: Bardock, the Father of Goku 5 out of 5 Team Bardock members

DVD Review: Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks review

DVD Review: Dragon Ball, Season 2 Remastered

 

The quest to retrieve Goku's Grandfather's 4 star Dragon Ball is full on. He has the Dragon Ball radar finder that Bulma gave him and his Nimbus to get him around, all that is left is the bad guys and helpless people. 

 

Highlights 

With over 600 minutes of remastered and original soundtrack there is an endless list of highlights. But to be sure the biggest highlight of this is the lack of editing that was present on other versions and the TV version of season two. The real highlights are those little segments when Goku does something very naive and natural, like taking a pee on a tree. It just so happens the tree is a Ninja with a tree sheet in front of him as camouflage and it is cold and snow is everywhere so the pee is hot and steamy. Or better yet Goku is asked by a fortune teller (NOT) to show her his precious balls that he has and Goku does, but he just drops trow and we get a full frontal shot of the specialness that is a 10 year old Goku. Seriously, this is a kids show. 

The other big highlight for me was the introduction of Android Number 8. He is the Frankenstein look alike who detests violence and becomes a fierce ally of Goku. His funny, simple nature is a welcome diversion to the standard fight scenes and development of the story line. 

Overall

Dragon Ball  is such an icon of Anime it is sometimes overlooked for the real reason it became that icon. The essence of Dragon Ball  is clearly its quirky humor. There are plenty of Anime that give you constant fighting, but very few can deliver the comedy at such a basic level that crosses so many age ranges. The great animated series have all provided a connection with the viewer that touches not only the youth but also the parents of the youngsters watching. Dragon Ball  may not have been Speed Racer, but it did help start a real influx of Japanese Anime into the American mainstream. 

The Dragon Ball franchise in the US was all about Dragon Ball Z and little play was given to the original Dragon Ball series. The re-release of the Digitally Remastered seasons are proving to be a real gem. There has been so much written about the Dragon Ball  franchise that I do not feel as though I can say anything new that might have any meaning. Although revisiting the original series as it was created is helping me understand what really made it a cornerstone of the Anime invasion that has begun to overtake the industry in the West. 

For all you Dragon Ball  fans this one is a clear buy, but for those of you that have always wondered what made Dragon Ball  the hit that it is, you should check this out. With the basic knowledge and story being known, it may not make any difference if you start with Season One or Season Two. The remastering is beneficial because it cleaned up all the poor editing from when the series was butchered for the US market. Anytime an original creator's vision is allowed to be seen, it is a good thing, and in the case of Dragon Ball Season 2 it is a great thing.

ComicsOnline gives Dragon Ball: Season 2 4.5 out of 5 Gandhi Androids

DVD Review: Dragonaut: Resonance, part 1

 

Jin Kamishina and his family are departing for the Moon. His father is the pilot of the shuttle. Right after take off, the shuttle explodes and Jin is the only survivor. His depression is deep and he is becoming more isolated from everyone around him. He is out wandering around town one night and he comes across a monster eating a fresh victim. A chase ensues and he finds himself being saved by a beautiful girl. This turns his world upside down because the girl is also an original Dragon that everyone wants. He is introduced to the Dragonauts and even offered a spot with them, but his entire existence is now all about finding Toa, the girl or dragon or who ever knows what she really is. There is also the issue of Thanatos, the asteroid that destroyed Pluto and appears to be the home of these Dragons. But Earth has its Dragons too, and has found a way to bind them to humans, it is called the Resonance. Confused yet? Well, there is a lot to this series and also plenty of fan service too.

Highlights

Gonzo has done it again with this seemingly odd story where you cannot be sure who the good guys are and the women are over developed in so many ways.  When I first saw the previews for this show I was under the impression that it might be a light hearted fan service trip with some fancy dragon riders. I had no idea that it would be a complicated drama with plenty of fan service. There appears to be more than one plot at work and Dragonaut: The Resonance, Part 1 has only begun to give up some of the secrets. Each episode provides important elements to the story and I am surprised how some of the characters have developed so far. 

The relationship between Jin, Toa and another, Gio, is rather odd at times, but this adds to the drama and also helps create subtext in the main story line. There is also the relationship of one of the Dragonauts, Kazuki, and Jin. They were best friends before the tragic accident and it just so happens that Gio, a dragon, had gone through Resonance with Kazuki but, does not answer to him. Gio answers to Jin and this puts a strain on Kazuki that he just can't handle, making him rather unstable and a wild card throughout the episodes. This just adds more drama and tension to the series.

Overall

I am surprised at what this series brought me. I am not a huge fan of the light hearted fan service series and was almost dreading Dragonaut: The Resonance, Part 1. After getting into it I find that the fan service is mild and the dramatic writing is strong enough to keep me going. There are moments when it falls flat and it seems as though there are elements to the plot that could be brought out a little sooner to help retain more interest, but it is somewhat steady. The women's endowments do tend to get in the way from time to time, but it also provides some comic relief that is needed due to the heavy handed darkness of several of the main characters.

The art work and production is done well enough, but once again Gonzo seems to come up short when using CG to create the Dragons. They are a little choppy and rough edged. The rest of the art is of a high quality that one would expect from this well known studio.  

I have a felling that this show is aimed at the 15 to 25 male audiance and it just might hit the mark, but with some polish it could have gone further and been a hit among other adult segments. I think it has enough punch to be a welcome addition to many anime fans libraries.
 

 

ComicsOnline gives Dragonaut: The Resonance, Part 1 3.5 out of 5 big betties with attitude.

DVD Review: Dragonauts; Resonance, Part 2

 

The mysterious asteroid, Thanatos, is still threatening Earth and the strange creatures that come from there, Dragons, are becoming more confused about what their purpose is. The struggle to save Earth continues and the small group of Dragonauts is trying to find a way to do some very heroic things. Amidst all of this strife, there is still the relationship between Toa and Jin. The strong bonds between these two has a huge effect on all of those that they come in contact with. Will this deep love have any impact on the impending doom that Earth is facing?

 

Highlights

The second and final installment of Dragonaut: The Resonance, opens with Toa still being held by Prince Asim of the Gillard Emirates. The Gillard Emirates is the economic and military power that controls over half of Earth's energy supply and is a dark power that may or may not have Earth's best interest in mind.  Prince Asim is the heir apparent and is devoid of a soul. He knows that Toa is one of the original Dragons that came to Earth and wants to own her. The thing he does not understand is that the love between Toa and Jin is strong enough to break the hold he has on her. This struggle ends in the utter destruction of Mars. 

Later in the series, the story takes an odd turn which at first seems to be filler, but does have a dramatic impact on the final outcome. Following the destruction of Mars, the three main characters, Jin, Toa and Geo (Geo is another Dragon who resonated with Jin and is only concerned with protecting Toa) take up residence in a small house in the countryside and begin to live a simple life. This lasts for about a year, when everything changes. The International Solarsystem Development Agency (ISDA) has come up with a plan to destroy all Dragons on Earth. This puts all of our heros in the position of being outlaws and one by one they are captured. With their Dragons being held, the human counterparts decide to free them and go to the isolated Dragon testing Island,Tartarus. This sets into place some of the final bonds that will have a major impact on the conclusion.

Overall

In my comments from the review of part 1, I have to say that the women's endowments still have a way of taking center stage at some rather dramatic moments. I did find the second half of this series brought more depth to the characters, which I appreciate, and I applaud the director, Manabu Ono, along with studio Gonzo. The study of the bonds of love does get a little heavy at times, but is explored in a strange way. This cross-species love affair is sweet and lovely at times and also disturbing at others. It would have made much more sense if the love between these species was more platonic. The romantic aspect confused me, but of course, their creators made sure that the Dragons only had any personality when in a human form. I do get the point, but there is still that burning question, what would their babies look like? I guess that this will be answered in the next series, Dragonauts; The Next Generation. I'm just kidding, I know of no follow-up series coming.

All in all, I found this series to have a high quality in both the art production and the writing. As in many dramatic anime series, it was a little heavy-handed in the way it presented the basic plot line (Love Conquers All). There was a full investigation of relationships, from physical love to more platonic bonds and I did find that to be another strength.  Not just having the main focus of the story bound into the single view of love between two young people, we find the topic being breached between others similar to Father and Child, Sisters, Brothers, Homosexuals and even Grandparent and Grandchild. This intrigued me and brought an added level to the series altogether.

The second part of this offering from FUNimation has raised the bar for me. I see that with the addition of both part 1 and part 2, the series becomes much more valid and a solid addition to any fan's collection. At first I thought that this series was meant for the 16 to 25 year old male audience and still believe that those viewers are the core, but with the expansion of the plot and discussion of love on many levels, the audience is expanded and much more broad based.

ComicsOnline gives Dragonaut: The Resonance Part 2, 4 out of 5 lonely Dragon Planets. 

DVD Review: El Cazador De La Bruja Part 2

 

El Cazador De La Bruja is a mysterious western tale; Nadie, a young female bounty hunter is assigned to protect Ellis, a young girl with amnesia. In Part 1, some of her secret past came to light. Ellis is an artificial lifeform, created by the mysterious project Leviathan to harness the power of the legendary witches. Dr. Rosenberg, the man who ressurected the project has some secret goal..but what? All Ellis and Nadie know is that the answers.. or more questions lie somwhere to the south.  Drama, action and even some comedy result as bounty hunters, mysterious organizations and even the agents of the government itself chase after her.

In El Cazador De La Bruja Part 2, Nadie and Ellis run into their sometime friends Ricardo and Lirio more, the manic lifeform LA becomes even more obsessed with his "Ellis" and the hunt for the young witch intensifies. The series is often episodic, with the conspiracy growing in the background.. A western set in modern times (bounty hunters, showdowns and desrted towns meet automatic weapons, cell phones and highways), the El Cazador is often more about the characters and the journey than the gunfights, but there are quite a few dramatic ones nontheless. In the second part, family, love and friendship are explored as the bonds between the girls and the people they meet are tested..and possibly torn. Their journey comes to an end in this set, but some questions have dangerous answers...and some answers may change the way you view El Cazador.
 

Highlights

El Cazador De LaBruja Part 2 is often episodic, but in this set the story threads all weave together. The destinies of all the travelers, their desires and dreams; It's not an understatement to say some pople make surprising choices. One of the best parts of anime is that, unlike certain tv series (coughXfilescough) the mysteries brought up all develop into a satisfying, dramatic conclusion. Obstalces must be overcome and fears must be faced, if a happy ending can possibly be had..

The first episode in this set is a flashback to the time Ellis spent at Project Leviathan, and we learn a great deal about the mysterious Dr. Schneider as well as how Rosenberg does business.  The pathos in the episode as the doctor and Ellis interact is palbable; we know this is going to end in tragedy.  This episode is stunningly dramatic; a huge payoff for having watched the first set and gotten to this point.  From here on out, al