The lead movie this time is definitely I Am Number Four, a fun little teenage alien romp from Michal Bay. Don’t be looking for compelling dialog or an intricate plot with this one, but it is a visual adrenalin ride that is quite enjoyable. Compare that to Death Hunter: Werewolves vs. Vampires, a movie apparently so bad that it doesn’t seem to have a web page even on IMDB, and it looks even better. Death Hunter might make a double feature with Gothic Lolita Psycho, a gore fest in a style unique to Japan, also being released this week.
The western animation offering this time around is Gnomeo and Juliet, the twisted classic Shakespeare tale as told by garden gnomes by way of the folks who did Shrek.
New anime this time around includes Shin Koihime Muso: Otome Tairan, a story about a girl who will turn into a cat without the proper antidote. While a team works on putting that antidote together, other things come to light indicating she may just be the first victim in an attack on the kingdom. I almost didn’t mention Queens Blade 2: Evil Eye Series Part 1, since I generally wait for box sets rather than individual volumes (it’s more cost effective, but the real reason is I want to watch an entire program in a back to back marathon). This release falls between the volume (at 4 episodes usually) and the season (usually 13 or 26 episodes, depending on the complexity of the story and the depth of the pockets financing the project). This Series Part 1 release has 6 episodes, breaking the smaller season in half or the larger one in quarters. There have been quite a few programs released in this way the last few years for the express purpose of charging you for 75% the total price of a season twice, but the manufacturers SRP of this one is the same as a volume while delivering 133% of the entertainment. Even if Season 2 ends up being 26 episodes long, I find this a good inducement to pick these up as they become available since they are not very expensive for the amount of anime you get, especially if you shop around.
This time around, Air Gear: Complete Box Set S.A.V.E. is getting re-released, giving you a cost effective option for this modern classic. High school combat on jet-powered wheels forms the conflict for this story, while the core is more about the Noyamano sisters and how they relate to each other and to our protagonist. Another classic re-release is Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series, where two antagonistic Samurai and one crazy waitress team up for a road trip they should have never started and might not survive. Finally, Soul Eater: The Meister Collection gives you the first 26 episodes in a single box set. In a lot of ways this is the Bleach wannabe series, but as usual you can watch a few episodes online before you plunk your money down. And did I mention that the story was excellent, and included a lot of fan service?