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Something to Watch: Discs

In movies, Equals is about a society genetically engineered to be emotionless, in order to wipe out war and crime; too bad for the couple falling in love despite their DNA. Tale of Tales is a twisted dark fantasy based in Medieval Europe and filmed by a British/French/Italian team which looks rather interesting. Now You See Me 2 isn’t really genre, but it is quite a good movie. If there was anything new in TV, it slipped right past me.

In Anime Psycho-Pass: Season One is the first time you could get the entire season in a single box set in the US (previous availability was only in a Japanese all-region import disc for noticeably more money). A dystopian police procedural where the weapons decide the punishment for having the wrong attitude and a percentage of the population are imprisoned for crimes they haven’t committed yet, the show explores some uncomfortable possibilities. Rin-Ne 2 brings another Anime season of Rumiko Takahashi‘s beloved Manga home. The broke half-blood sort-of Shinigami continues to help the dead on their path to reincarnation, having a series of hair raising adventures in the process. Fairy Tail: Part 21 brings still more collateral damage and combat comedy from the wizard’s guild that doesn’t know when to stop in episodes 240 through 252. High School DxD BorN is season 3 of this supernatural fan service favorite; the war between Heaven and Hell continues, and they are fighting to protect the underworld from destruction. Gundam Build Fighters Try is more sporting event than life or death combat, growing that universe in a more peaceful direction.

Something to Watch: Discs

Movies bring us The Huntsman: Winter’s War, part two of the story begun in Snow White and the Huntsman. This series is nicely done Fantasy which has already been nominated for a number of awards. Game based Ratchet and Clank has our heroes fighting to save every planet in the Galaxy, with more than a little humor along the way. While not genre, The Man Who Knew Infinity is the true story of mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan’s time at Trinity College. TV has Ash vs. Evil Dead: The Complete First Season and The Walking Dead: The Complete Sixth Season, which seems slightly redundant somehow.

In Anime, Hakuoki: Warrior Spirit of the Blue Sky is finally getting a North American release for those in need of more Samurai vs. Demon/Vampire action. Cross Ange Collection 2 contains the next dozen episodes about the princess who’s throne was stolen, and the fight to get it back puts the fate of two worlds in alternate timelines at risk. The final battle between man, dragons, and machines will decide it all. The Heroic Legend of Arslan also has an heir to the throne fighting to get it back, but don’t think this is a copy cat. This one is crafted by the team who did Full Metal Alchemist, and is full of the same kind of complex politics, situations, and characters as you know from their earlier works. Finally, two of the Ikki Tousen story lines are being released in S.A.V.E editions; Great Guardians and Xtreme Xectuor. If you have been waiting to pick them up when the price came down, now is the time!

Something to Stream: Qualidea Code

High school combat using special powers against alien invaders is a favorite theme in Japan, and Qualidea Code is solidly in that category. They have a small group of core characters, about 10 at this point (I am only on the second episode of the 6 so far aired; I should be all caught up by next weekend), and they have the usual pairing off. What is different about them is the fact that only one couple actually gets along with each other, and about no couples gets along with any of the others. The aliens in this case seem to be transdimensional rather than extraplanetary, and the powers the kids developed are all caused by spending several dream filled decades in cold sleep. I am enjoying it, and I look forward to seeing if it is even better by the time I get to the last episode.

Something to Stream: Tales of Zestiria the X

Tales of Zestiria the X jumps straight into fantasy statecraft and combat, right from the beginning of episode 0 (yes, this series starts at the actual first integer of any numeric sequence). The artwork and animation are both quite good, although so far not spectacular except for a few fleeting scenes. The characters and dialog introduce what seems to be this series strong suit; its densely layered plot elements and action sequences, weaving together to form the basis of an excellent story, and story telling environment. Like all the other shows from this season, it is only 4 or 5 episodes along at this point, so there is no way to know if this is going to end up being one of the classics or an also ran. But I really like what it has shown us so far, and will keep watching it to the end of the season if only to find out if they can keep up the quality throughout, and deliver on the implied promise. I have high hopes, since this year marks the 20th anniversary of the Tales Of family of animations, with this being the latest.

I am watching this series on Daisuki, which has a number of shows you can’t see anywhere else, which makes sense; they are a consortium of Japanese Anime creation companies, and not a North American distributor of Anime, after all. They have just entered the Premium Subscription phase of a streaming services life cycle, and I am happy to report they are following the Crunchyroll Anime Business Model. In other words, your free registration with them allows you to watch everything the paid premium service gives you, with 3 differences:

1) Premium watches 1 hour after it airs in Tokyo, Free sees it 1 week after.
2) Premium has limited commercials (Free’s more numerous commercials are currently only promos drawing you into other anime shows they are running, but that won’t last once they can market it).
3) Premium can watch in true HD, as can Free. Guest (you didn’t sign up for a log in) tops out at SD.

That last point is different than Crunchyroll, which does not differentiate between unregistered and registered free, as far as I can tell. And the second point reminds me a bit more of Hulu rather than Crunchyroll, come to think of it, because there are NO commercials on Crunchyroll Premium. And all of these differences between providers explains why I watch it on Daisuki rather than Funimation, even though I have a Funimation Premium account which I really enjoy. For the most part, they only let you watch a few episodes of any given series until you sign up for the Funimation Premium account. I understand the business model, but would rather support the others, which are more appealing to me as a consumer.

Something to Stream: Alderamin on the Sky

Alderamin on the Sky is told as a history of a legendary tactician and general, who became great because he was lazy and had no interest in fighting. It is set in a very steampunk universe, with compressed air rifles and airships, and a technology base from around 1820 or so. It opens with our protagonist traveling with a childhood friend he is escorting on her journey to a military academy. They meet new friends on the ship they are sailing on, which runs into trouble leaving them stranded behind enemy lines. I was hooked by the end of the first episode, and every episode since has been better than the one before. We are up to the 4th episode, with a new episode popping up every Friday.

Something to Watch: Discs

There is no actual genre I could find for western Movies and TV, but I will mention Hardcore Henry because it has such a unique visual style. Too bad they didn’t do it as VR. We did much better with Anime, where Arpeggio of Blue Steel brings the warships of the Fog into direct contact with the humans they isolate and attack. Log Horizon: Season 2, Collection 2 has the next dozen episodes about the trapped gamers, who are following up on some rumors about a potential way out while continuing their quest. When They Cry: Rei is the OVA collection with a few comedic episodes and a few more in keeping with the vibe of the main series, dark and chilling. One Piece: Season 8 Voyage 2 brings episodes 469 through 480 home (they are currently running episode 762, to put that in perspective). There are also a couple of shows being released in a S.A.V.E. edition, Date A Live: Season 1, and Code:Breaker; Complete Series.