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Something to Watch: DVDs, 27Aug13

The Painting is the most interesting movie this week, a French animation (the language; the country the animation was made in was Belgium) about three different castes of painted characters. The animation approach is unusual, although it does remind me of A Cat In Paris, another French animation (this time both the country it was made in and the language) with a distinctly Impressionistic look to the artwork.

In TV, season 1 of Elementary, a modern interpretation of the Holmes stories with Lucy Liu as Joan Watson. I have only seen a few of them so far, but they look quite good. Not as good as Sherlock, the UK modernized interpretation now on season 3, but still good. Also season 3 of The Walking Dead hits the shelves, for those who can’t get enough zombie action.

In anime, Guilty Crown: The Complete Series is released in 2 boxes, parts 1 and 2, but at least they both come out the same day so you don’t have to wait 6 months to find out what happens next. A meteorite carrying a lethal virus crashes into Japan, killing a major chunk of the population. Some of those who survived the infection, including our protagonist Shu, gained some strange powers as their body mutated to survive (shades of Wildcards!). Now he has to decide if those powers should serve the secret government agency or the rebels led by the rock star goddess. Here is a hint: Shu is a high school boy.

Medaka Box: Complete Collection only has 12 episodes, so it fits into a single box set. Medaka was just elected Student Council President, and instituted a suggestion box proposal thinking the students would be looking for help with studying or dating advice. It turns out there is a lot more going on at the school then she ever suspected, things quickly get wild and deadly, and only the special powers this brings out in the student council are holding back total destruction. Now she has to solve the mystery before everything goes to hell… literally.

Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams starts as a historical epic, telling of the downfall of the warlord Nobunaga Oda at the hands of Jubei, and the rise of Hideyoshi Toyotomi to power in the late 1500s. Then on June 29th, 1596, a mysterious red star appears in the sky, and Emperor Hideyoshi becomes evil while Japan is rocked by natural disasters. Some of what follows is close to historical fact: the capture of the Spanish vessel San Felipe (it was shipwrecked, but the rest of the story is true) and the execution of its crew, along with the banishment of all foreigners from Japan and the persecution of christian religion. The raising of armies of Demons and attempting to conquer the world with them, not so much. At this point in its history, Japan was a very insular place, and wanted little to do with the rest of the world. It stayed that way until the 1800s. But this epic fantasy does bring some very interesting twists to the true story of those times. And yes, this anime is based on a game, as you no doubt already figured out. The game creators started with history, while the anime creators started with the game.

Something to Watch: DVDs, 20Aug13

Epic is a fun animated adventure from the team that does the Ice Ages franchise. I missed it in the theaters and am looking forward to finally seeing it. Scary Movie 5 is the latest from that series. By now you must know if you like those or not; I always consider them silly fun.

I didn’t find anything that caught my attention in TV this week, but there are a goodly collection of Anime coming out. Being a long time cyberpunk fan, I am excited that Ghost in the Shell: Arise will be out, but not on the shelves. It is only available as a Limited Edition Import from Japan, rather than licensing it to an American distributor to manufacture and release. Add to that the fact that this Blue-Ray is limited to only 2,400 copies in the US plus is the Japanese Collectors Edition, and you wind up with a very expensive 58 minute program. It is still tempting, but I am going to have to wait for a more cost effective release, probably in 6 months to a year.

Also out this week High School DxD doesn’t have anything to do with Dungeons and Dragons, but rather Demons and Devils, one of which is apparently fallen angels while the other is not. It is also from the studio that made Ikki Tousen, so expect some sex and violence. As an example, it starts with our male protagonist going on his first date, only to have said date turn into a monster and kill him. Mobile Suit Gundam UC comes in Part 1 and Part 2, each running about 2 hours, and I am having a hard time when I try to visualize the Unicorn Gundam. For me the words Unicorn and Gundam do not have a lot to do with each other. I am sure I will understand when I get to watch the video.

Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan continues that epic spiritual battle, now against the 88 Demons of Shikoku. In The Legend of the Legendary Heroes, available as a single boxed set for the first time, Ferris and Ryner face an entire countryside filled with their enemies, all armed with mystical weapons. Finally, in Tsuritama, the new kid in school is an alien. Who would have suspected that in an Anime?

And remember: When tanks are outlawed, only outlaws will have tanks! Yes, they are re-releasing Masamune Shirow’s New Dominion Tank Police, an absolute classic in the collateral damage mayhem category.

Something to Watch: DVDs, 13Aug13

My favorite movie release this week has to be The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, the Luc Besson French Steampunk masterpiece. The film is the first in a series based on the graphic novels by Jacques Tardi, which are also being released in hardcover volumes in the US for the first time since the 1970s. It was previously available in the US only as an import from Canada at a noticeably higher price point. You can watch it in the original French with English subtitles, or dubbed into English.

From Hong Kong, The Guillotines is a historical martial arts epic about the effect of the import of firearms on a traditional secret police organization who’s primary assignment is assassination. The short answer is, nothing good, as they find themselves under attack by both sides. The Korean fantasy A Werewolf Boy is the story of a feral child taken in and taught to eat at a table and otherwise pretend to be normal. When his bestial strength and speed are displayed to protect his benefactress, he is abandoned with a promise of return. This one is a bit of a tearjerker.

The US film of note this time is a documentary, A Band Called Death, about one of the earliest Punk bands. Their 1976 album was only released in 2009, after the discovery of their 1974 demo track generated some serious interest.

In TV, Once Upon a Time: The Complete Second Season hits the shelves. I am happy to report it looks like this show is coming back for a third season, as it just seems to keep getting better.

In Anime, Eureka Seven Astral Ocean: Part 1 is a sequel to the original series, taking place on an Earth caught between warring alien armies. The young Ao flies into combat in a giant Mecha that is somehow connected with his missing mother, being chased by monsters. This is the first twelve episodes in the new series. Blast of Tempest: the complete 1st season has a banished sorceress and a murdered girl triggering a war across time and space. Again, the first 12 episodes of the series.

Sword Art Online: Aincrad Part 1 is an excellent series, cyberpunk virtual reality game play at its finest, but with just 7 episodes in this package and a price tag starting at $40 and heading up from there, it is a bit overpriced. While I am waiting for a more realistically priced edition, I will continue to watch it streaming on Crunchyroll, which is why I chose the link I did for it. Finally, Shining Hearts: the complete collection is the story of a peaceful island where elves and humans live in harmony, untroubled until a beautiful castaway washes up on shore. She has amnesia, and so can not explain why pirates and brigands are suddenly invading the land, searching for her.

Something to Watch: DVDs, 6Aug13

The movie this week is Oblivion, a story with a lot more thought behind it than I was expecting. Not being a horror fan I will just mention Magic Magic so Oblivion doesn’t look so lonely on the page. No genre TV this time either, but Mythbusters: Collection 10 is coming out, and that show is always a hoot.

In anime Black Lagoon: Roberta’s Blood Trail is a 5 episode OVA that takes us back to the world of the smugglers of the Lagoon Company. Maid-Assassin Roberta is out for revenge, the body count is growing by the minute, and the gang teams up with Roberta’s boss to try to save her. Or, failing that, at least stop the carnage. With episode titles like Collateral Massacre and Angels in the Crosshairs you can expect some serious action from this release. Haganai: I don’t have many friends means what the title says; as the story opens, our protagonist’s only friend is imaginary. But things are about to change, as she and another loner form a club for the other outcasts at their school.

Something to Watch: DVDs, 30Jul13

I somehow missed G.I. Joe: Retaliation when it was in the theaters, but I suspect I will watch it eventually. After all, it has both Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson, so it has to be a roller coaster of an action film. Something to watch for the mindless violence and special effects, in other words.

There seems to be some conflicting information about Time Trax: The Complete Second Season, which is listed as a new release on the Warner Archive site, and listed as coming out this week on Video ETA, but at the same time is listed as being In Stock at most of the sites where you can buy it. I have the feeling some of the confusion is generated by the fact that this is an On Demand release, meaning they do not actually burn it to DVD or Blue Ray until you order it. I like this approach a lot, since it means a lot of shows that would otherwise never get released because of low audience demand become available. The flip side of that coin is they are generally a bit pricier than they could be because they will never go on sale to clear out the stock. The other release worth noting this week is Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4 on Blue Ray. They have been doing quite a fine job of upgrading this series to 1080p, although I have to wonder how long it will be before they start working up the 3D version, then the 4K version…

In western animation this time we have Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, which brings into existence a very different alternate timeline to the DC universe.

Anime starts off with Another: Complete Collection, a story about a popular girl still hanging out at her school 23 years after her death, and the boy who can see her. He has to solve the mystery of her death before his own demise comes to claim him. Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie is the first two films they have put out, Beginnings and Eternal; the third film in the series, Rebellion, will be on the big screen soon. The problem from my perspective is these animations are being released as imported special editions, which makes them about 6 times more expensive than I consider the programming itself to be worth. So I will be waiting for something more realistic in the way of a release format before they are added to my collection.

I normally don’t mention re-releases, but there is a classic being made available for the first time in a while that is very worth watching. Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine takes you back to the beginning of the franchise, so you can see how it all began, and come to know the woman at the core of the stories. Hard to believe this animation is now 40 years old; while the character design is old school, the animation style is still quite fresh and holds its own to this day.

Something to Watch: DVDs, 23Jul13

The vampires in Kiss of the Damned don’t sparkle, but one of them does have a very dramatic love story which may effect their entire community. It is actually an interesting and intelligent tale that is a bit of a homage to the 60s and 70s vampire films. Starbuck is not being promoted as science fiction or fantasy, but I am pretty sure any movie about a man who has 533 children fits that bill. This comedy also appears to have a lot of heart, and when they do the English remake it looks like they got Vince Vaughn for the part. The English version will be out in the fall, but you can watch the original this week.

This weeks TV option is just silly: Duck Dodgers: Deep Space Duck Season 2. Any show that includes Marvin the Martian as a regular character is all right in my book.

In Anime we have Phi-Brain: Season 2 Collection 1, AKA Puzzle of God: The Orpheus Order. Yes, our protagonist defeated the Puzzle Of God by the end of the first season, but now a new crew has shown up with a grudge to work out, and a whole new series of deadly puzzles faces Kaito and his friends. Fairy Tail: Collection Two continues the story of the 4 person wizard guild that tends to do more damage to innocent bystanders and the surrounding area than they do to their opponents, so running away very, very fast is your best option when they show up to save you.

One Piece is rolling out the first half of season 5 this week, bringing the series up to episodes 264 through 275. That might sound impressive, but that season is from 1999, and Japan is up to episode 604 as of last week.

There are two releases in a Mecha franchise this week, 2005’s OVA Super Robot Wars Original Generation, and 2006’s DVD TV series Super Robot Wars OG: Divine Wars. They were loose sequels of the 1999 anime Masō Kishin Cybuster, which was itself a loose interpretation of a huge series of games that can trace its lineage all the way back to 1991’s Super Robot Wars for the Nintendo Gameboy. They very rapidly expanded the game to run on pretty much every current platform available, and then kept releasing updates and new versions across an ever expanding set of platforms incorporating more and newer Mechas, battlegrounds, and scenarios. One of the really smart twists to the game was the fact that they had a huge range of character Mechas because they weren’t too fussy about where a bot came from and signed licensing agreements with a bunch of different franchises. This crossover universe arraignment meant that you could fight a battle with a Mazinger Z, a Getter Robo and a Mobile Suit Gundam on one side, and a Evangelion or Rah Xephon Mecha on the other, pretty exciting stuff. It also meant that the legal agreements ran into so many issues once you tried to cross national borders and keep them in compliance with all of a given companies other licensing agreements that only 3 of the games were ever released outside of Japan, and then only on a limited number of platforms. So this anime series is a rare glimpse into that whole shared universe of battling Giant Robots that those of us here in the west never really got to experience.

On a related note, the Robotech: 2-Movie Collection includes the titles The Shadow Chronicles and Love Live Alive, one of which they claim has never been released. I have also seen reviews saying they took some footage out of an exiting Robotech property and added 15 minutes of new footage to it; since I have not seen it yet, I have no clue which claim is real and so can’t speak to whether this one is worth adding. Finally, I should mention that the first 5 seasons of Case Closed are being released as [S.A.V.E], or Super Amazing Value Editions, which allow you to pick up entire seasons for around $20. In fact you should just check out the whole list, there are a bunch of series you can pick up that way.