DVD

The Movie top pick this week is the 2014 reboot of Godzilla. It comes out on disc this week, but it actually came out as a digital download about a month ago. Digital download-to-own before the disc release rather than at the same time is something we are seeing more and more often these days, driven by more and more people watching on their personal devices rather than on a traditional TV.

Where we really make out this week is TV shows, because they want you to rewatch them before the next season starts and get all excited about it again. So this week we get Arrow: The Complete Second Season from the CW, Grimm: Season Three from NBC, and Sleepy Hollow: The Complete First Season from Fox. While it is not genre, it is fun, so I will also mention Castle: The Complete Sixth Season from ABC. In the interest of completeness, I ahould also mention From Dusk Till Dawn: Season One.

In Anime, Fairy Tail – Part 12 brings us episodes 132 through 142, and trust me when I say the wizard guild’s collateral damage track record is just as bad as ever. Meanwhile, in Majestic Prince: Collection 2, the Mecha combat is getting more dangerous with every round of fighting.

In movies we have R.L. Stine’s Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend?, which appears to be a direct-to-DVD release. R. L. Stein has written a lot of fun books, so they stated with a quality property to convert into a movie. Although none of the movies are new I also have to mention the Universal Classic Monsters: Complete 30-Film Collection with films like Dracula, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Wolf Man, The Mummy, Invisible Man, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and Phantom of the Opera. They are also breaking them out into sub-collections, so if you just want all of the classic Dracula movies, as an example, you can have them. If your in the mood for some martial arts, 14 Blades stars Donnie Yen as a member of the Ming Dynasty secret police. It has won a number of awards at Asian film festivals, mostly Best Actress for Zhao Wei. If her name sounds familiar, her last pile of awards was for her work in Mulan in 2009.

In TV we get The Originals: Season 1, the spin off from the Vampire Diaries. The CW has definitely been giving Sci-Fi and Fantasy shows a chance, I am particularly a fan of Arrow.

In Anime, Gatchaman Crowds: Complete Collection is about a quite little city that doesn’t notice that it is at war with alien criminals trying to conquer and destroy. They are being protected from the attacks by random citizens wearing super suits that give them amazing powers, and a surprising number of them are high school students. On the other hand, in Blood Lad its no secret that Vampires, Werewolves, zombies, and the Abominable Snowman are all battling for the tittle of Boss. Except for one vampire who watches anime, plays video games, and wants to go to the Human World.

In Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya is a magical girl story about a runaway wand who chooses a new human to wield it. Her previous human is none too happy about it, and is out to get the wand back. Hal – The Movie is about a girl who withdraws from the world when her boyfriend dies. To pull her back into it a scientist makes a robotic copy of him, complete with emotions. This one is different, and a bit emotional itself. I should also mention that Baka and Test seasons 1 and 2 are each being released in a S.A.V.E. edition, so you should be able to pick them up for around $20 a season.

In Movies this week we get Muppets Most Wanted, yet another excursion into the silliness that follows all things Muppet. Evil Kermit escapes from a gulag and tries to hide out by replacing the series primary protagonist, and as usual there are an assortment of well known stars along for the ride. In animation, Batman: Assault on Arkham is quite dark, taking place in the Arkham Asylum universe. This was shown at SDCC, but otherwise is a direct to video release. It did get 95% at Rotten Tomatoes and an excellent review in Forbes, so I am expecting it to be quite enjoyable. If you are in the mood for a genre documentary, Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles gives their history and an inside look at their creator.

In TV the show Bitten: The Complete First Season is a different kind of Werewolf story with a female protagonist. It is based on writer Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld books, and her heroines are all strong women. I do enjoy seeing an author I like have their works turned into TV programs or movies, and this one has been picked up for a second season, returning in 2015.

In Anime Fantasista Doll: Complete Collection is about a girl who has a deck of cards which can generate 5 magical girls who’s powers are needed to defend the Earth. Good thing she is a former champion of a trading card game competition, at least she has a clue about using cards in combat. From the New World: Collection 2 has Saki reeling from the death of her friends, but the conspiracies she has uncovered are only the tip of the iceberg. If she is to survive, she has to defeat the attacks on her mind and memories and uncover the secrets of two worlds.