Well Go USA recently released The Avenging Fist on DVD, a combat fantasy in a future where all weapons are outlawed. The super-powers of the human brain have been unlocked by the Power Glove, which is in the hands of the police. Some of the few remaining survivors of the Glove’s human experiments band together in order to stop the evil it generates. Yes, this is full of over-the-top martial arts silliness, and the comedy this invokes wasn’t actually intended, but that just adds to the fun.
Movies bring us Jurassic World, this year’s continuation of the classic series. In my opinion the latest addition stands up to the original in terms of action and story, and surpasses it for special effects. If you don’t already have the previous installments you can also pick up all 4 at once in the Jurassic Park Collection. Also out is a post apocalypse tale called Z for Zachariah about what may be the last 3 people on Earth after a nuclear war. I suspect the release timing for this one may be because Chris Pine stars in both sci-fi movies and they are hoping that might boost its sales. I did not see any genre TV this time around.
In Anime, Hayate the Combat Butler 2nd Season embeds 25 episodes of combat fun into the domestic matrix. Meanwhile, Space Brothers: Collection 5 has both brothers being hit with failing health while they are being overworked. Collection 5 adds episodes 52-64, so we are past the half way point on the current story.
Movies brings the Disney treat Tomorrowland, about the future I always wanted to be a part of, and why we didn’t get it after all. It includes some excellent Tesla references and associations from a secret history of the world, and some great special effects delivered in a non-stop roller coaster ride of a movie. Also this week San Andreas destroys a major California city for your viewing enjoyment. I was pretty much done with disaster movies around the time of The Towering Inferno, but it still counts as genre since it is a fictional story based on scientific facts. Even though it isn’t new, it is worth mentioning that the Disney animated classic Aladdin will be available in the Blu-Ray format for what may be the first time.
TV has The 100: Season 2, continuing the story of the outcasts sent back to Earth to see if the planet had healed enough to support life. Wayward Pines: The Complete First Season is the surreal story that seems to have been lifted directly out of Twin Peaks, or certainly inspired by it, or so it seems to me.
Anime is led off by Ghost in the Shell, Arise: Borders 3 and 4, finishing up the prequel stories telling us how the team got together and what they were up to before. Cyborg and hacker Motoko Kusanagi gathered them and forged them into the most unique police unit Tokyo had ever seen. In Beyond the Boundary: Complete Collection a woman with powers who is the last surviving member of her clan teams up with a half human/half youmu boy to save those who have no other hope. Finally Samurai Jam: Bakumatsu Rock tells the story of government suppression of Rock and Roll in 1800s Japan, and the six string Samurai who’s only goal was to be a rock star.
I am happy to report that Movies this week include Tremors 5: Bloodlines, returning Burt Gummers to the universe of Perfection, where the usual high-tension comedy ensues. In the same vein, Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!, a movie that couldn’t have been even slightly serious at any point in its production path, is also coming out. There are also the usual collection of old horror films being re-released in the hopes that they will get some new sales as we roll up on Halloween. What may be the final film released from Studio Ghibli, When Marnie Was There, is also being released this week. Finally I need to mention a documentary, AWAKE: The Life of Yogananda.
TV gives us Reign: Season 2, taking place just following the plague, when survivors guilt was sweeping Europe. Also this week, the miniseries Tut starring Ben Kingsley. Because it is October we get Penny Dreadful: Season 2, the Showtime series with a Horror edge to it, and Leftovers: Season 1, about the people left behind.
Anime has Brynhildr in the Darkness: Complete Collection, a dark tale about a girl who believed in Aliens and then supposedly died but later returned as one of an army of human weapons. The World is Still Beautiful: Complete Collection is a fantasy about royalty with supernatural powers marrying for reasons of state. The fourth princess of Rain lost a game with her sisters to determine who would marry the King of Sun, and when she meets him neither is what the other is expecting.
Returning series this week include Fairy Tail: Part 17 bringing episodes 188 through 199, and The Last: Naruto the Movie. In addition, Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero is being released in a S.A.V.E. edition.
The winner in films this week is Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, one of the best artificial intelligence movies I have ever seen. TV has Grimm: Season 4 with more Wessen intrigue and mystery, as the story line gets more convoluted with each episode. If you are more into temporally displaced bodice rippers, then Outlander: Season One, Part 2 concludes the first season. I suppose I should also mention iZombie: Season 1 is out this week, but I’m not sure I want to. I suppose I should watch an episode and see if it is any good.
In Anime Bleach: Season 26 brings us episodes 355 through 366 of the continuing epic of the Soul Reapers. For those who have been counting, that means we are finally getting Bleach releases up to date with the episodes that are streaming, but it took years to get there. Nobunaga the Fool: Collection 2 sees the Eastern Star on the cusp of full-scale interstellar war.
Go Nagai is one of the most prolific creators of anime, coming up with entire genres that never existed before. In 1991 he did it again in the OVA Go Nagai World; if you ever wonder where Chibi characters came from, wonder no longer. In these three episodes he transferred a number of his most popular protagonists to a deformed world where their bodies were seriously misshapen, and they spent the rest of the story line trying to return to normal. The other classic being released this week is Super Dimension Century Orguss, made back in 1983/1984 as part of the Super Macross series of space adventures. What makes this release notable is in its only previous US release back in 2007 only the first 7 episodes of the total 35 episodes had an English voice track, with the rest being subtitled. This time the first 17 episodes are dubbed, and there is a good chance the original voice actors did the next 10, since they appeared on stage together at this years MacrossWorld Convention to make an exciting announcement.
Durarara!! x 2 (#1) is out this week, but it is way overpriced for a single series, and it isn’t even that; it is only the first 6 episodes of the second series, which is already streaming episode 24. I will be watching this one online for the foreseeable future.
I didn’t spot any new genre movies this week, but TV brings us both Arrow: The Complete 3rd Season and The Flash: The Complete 1st Season, just in time to binge watch them before they both kick into their next seasons on October 6th and 7th. And if you want a feature length film, the documentary The Great Museum tells the story of Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum, which is one of the most important art repositories on the planet. If your tastes are a bit different, perhaps Rammstein In Amerika will suit you better, also coming out this week.
In Anime, Sword Art Online II has another small, overpriced segment hitting the shelves, but as much as I love the series I won’t be picking it up. I will be waiting for a complete season, or better yet series, at a realistic price. Space Dandy Season 2 continues the strange adventures of the most sharply dressed alien hunter going. It is great to see the creative team that brought us Cowboy Bebop reassembled for another unique project like this. Speaking of strange, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Season 1 has Jonathan Joestar fighting for his life and his sanity against the vampire his adopted brother has become.
Selector Infected WIXOSS: The Complete Series is a combat card game that has some special cards that can take you to a dark plane of existence. If you win, your hearts desire is granted; but if you lose, things could get very dark indeed. Even though this says it is the complete series, in Japan a series is a season, and there is a second season to follow. Also dark this week is Tokyo Ghoul: Complete Season, about a book worm who finds himself turned into a monster by a Ghoul attack. Now he must learn everything he can about his new powers before they overwhelm him.
Hamatora the Animation is about a detective agency in a Yokohama Cafe tat is staffed by people who each have unique powers and abilities. Now someone is systematically killing people with powers, and it is up to Hamatora to solve the murders and stop the perpetrators before those with powers become extinct. Finally, Sabagebu!: Survival Game Club! may not quite be genre (although having an attack platypus argues that it may be), but it is definitely silly fun. I particularly like the way the narrator breaks the fourth wall with his commentary pretty much non-stop.