DVD Review: One Piece Season 2 Third Voyage
I have been waiting for this volume of One Piece for some time now. Not only because we are back to what had been aired on television, but because I really wanted to see how well the voices of the characters introduced would be done. I was happy with the change.
Manga Review: Battle Angel Alita: Last Order volume 12
Battle Angel Alita: Last Order is the alternative path to the ending of the Battle Angel Alita series. Alita has regenerated herself into the world of combat. In Volume 12, with her companions, she changes the Z.O.T.T. and exposes some of the Government's dark secrets.
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DVD Review: The Stepfather
Who am I here? Did I copy this quote wrong? Possibly its meaning is part of a cryptic puzzle? Or could it be the ramblings of an unstable mind? By the end of The Stepfather you will understand the implications of this question.
Manga Review: What a Wonderful World! 1
What a Wonderful World! is a compilation of 9 tracks or short stories that chronicle a turning point in the life of young adults. All of these tracks deal with characters that live on the fringe of society. They range from middle school outcast, to college dropout musician, to struggling manga artist. Inio Asano takes us through a series of events that cover the depressing to humorous times in life all captured in the urban setting that shows the oppressive tendencies that come with inner city life.
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Manga Review: The Prince of Tennis – Volume 34
The Prince of Tennis is a shōnen sports action-comedy manga. The story centers around Ryoma Echizen, a prodigal tennis player at Seishun Academy whose ultimate goal is winning the National Middle School Tennis Championship. While the series focuses on Ryoma, it also chronicles the path of his club, especially those that play pairs, as Ryoma tends to play singles.
Manga Review: Rin-ne Vol 1
Rin-ne is the newest manga by Rumiko Takahashi, the creator of Ranma ½ and Inuyasha. In the series, Sakura Mamiya is a young high school student with an unusual ability; she can see ghosts. When one of her classmates is revealed to be a “sort of” Shinigami, she starts to have all sorts of strange supernatural adventures… and it all seems to be related to the time she got lost as a child and saw something very unusual.
DVD Review: The Story of Saiunkoku – The Complete Season One
The Story of Saiunkoku is a shōjo supernatural romance-comedy anime set in the titular mythical/historical realm. Saiunkoku is heavily influenced by Chinese mythology. While there is no exact year, the setting seems to be based very loosely on one of the more stable periods between the late Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty as the bureaucratic system established during the Han period is well entrenched while the development of gunpowder has yet to be discovered; however, the series is clearly not historical fiction.
Manga Review: Viz – 20th Century Boys
Naoki Urasawa, acclaimed manga artist for decades, is back with another thriller in 20th Century Boys. When Kenji was a boy during the 1960s he had dreams like any other kid. He watched the moon landing in 1969 and wanted to be an astronaut. He read comic books and wanted superpowers to save the day. He wanted to be tough enough to be able to beat up the bigger kids who picked on him. But most of all he listened to rock and roll, and wanted to be a rock star. Kenji's friends have the same ideas, and, one summer, they decide to create the Book of Prophecy, a picture book starring themselves as nine warriors who rise up to defend the Earth from the amorphous League of Evil, who are planning to bring the end of the world on December 31, 2000.
Manga Review: Magic Touch – Volume 4
Magic Touch is a shōjo romance-comedy centered around the high school romance of Chiaki Togu, a cute and shy girl and member of a club, the Massage Research Society, who falls in love with Yosuke, the hottest guy in school, after seeing his back and wanting to massage it. Volume 4 continues to develop the romance between Chiaki and Yosuke, add some more comedic chapters as well as develop some of the side characters.
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Blu-ray Review: Van Helsing
Since the dawn of film, there have been many many attempts to bring the story of Dracula to life on the silver screen from Nosferatu, to the more well known films such as Universal's Dracula starring Bela Lugosi and Bram Stoker's Dracula (Many of which, including this reviewer, think is the most accurate adaptation done in film thus far). Once again Hollywood has decided to try its hand at redoing the ol' Dracula mythos with Van Helsing, only this time hot off the heels of movies like Underworld, this version of the tale takes a more gothic action popcorn flick approach to the timeless story.
Blu-ray Review: An American Werewolf in London
David regains consciousness in the hospital to the care of Nurse Alex Price (Jenny Agutter – Child’s Play 2), who also takes him home for further recovery when he is discharged from the hospital and has no where to go at the time. David begins having strange cravings and visits from Jack, who tries to convince David to kill himself so he can move on. To make matters worse, David begins waking up in strange places naked, and Jack's visits are accompanied by other apparitions that aren’t happy with him.
An American Werewolf in London is an excellent movie that mixes an appropriate style of comedy to compliment the horror, but what would you expect from John Landis (Animal House). Add the cutting edge special effects that still hold up today, and you have fun flick with a pleasant mix of laughs and gasps.
