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Something to Watch: Discs

Movies has American Ultra, a wonderfully twisted little spy thriller comedy that everyone should watch at least once. I don’t know anything about Jim Henson’s Turkey Hollow beyond the fact that it is a family friendly fantasy film made for TV and aired on the Lifetime network. But as someone who likes all things Muppet, I am looking forward to checking it out. And since I missed seeing the Shaun the Sheep Movie in the theater I am also anticipating that one.

Anime has Durarara!! x 2, and the second season is every bit as strange and wonderful as the first. Dragonar Academy: The Complete Series is obviously about a school where you learn to command Dragons, but our hot tempered protagonist ends up being paired with a dragon who will do whatever it takes to be the one in command. DRAMAtical Murder is about a sleepy town who’s main passion is an online environment where people battle to the virtual death. Z/X Ignition: Complete Series takes place on an Earth where portals to other worlds have opened up, and the aliens who come storming out of those ports are fighting each other for survival. Being caught in the middle isn’t doing the Earth much good, so it must join the combat.

A rare classic story is being re-released this week: Night on the Galactic Railroad was a fantasy novel written by Kenji Miyazawa around 1927 and was turned into an anime in 1985. It mostly takes place on a steam locomotive that travels between the stars, so may be one of the earliest examples of Steampunk, at least that I am aware of. We also get two more entries in the S.A.V.E. format with EUREKA SEVEN Ao: The Complete Series and Good Luck Girl! – The Complete Series, both worth picking up at their newly reduced price.

Something to Watch: Discs

Movies brings us The Man From U.N.C.L.E. for our original release, so if you missed this excellent film in the theaters you now have another shot at it. While there isn’t anything previously unreleased in it, I do have to mention The Collected Works of Hayao Miyazaki brings together everything Disney has distributed by him in a single box set. No TV to speak of this week.

In Anime, Buddy Complex: The Complete Series is a story about time travel, interstellar combat, giant mecha’s, and all the other things that make high school such a learning experience. Tiny though the story arc is for Sword Art Online II: Calibur, it is still world class and well worth watching as the SAO franchise keeps gathering momentum. Finally, Invaders of the Rokujyoma!? brings a collection of characters that include a girl ghost, a Magical Girl, a luscious Subterranean bombshell,
and a fiery space princess!

Something to Watch: Discs

In Movies, Terminator Genisys brings Arnie back to the franchise as both his young and old self. I missed this one in the theater, so I am going to try to check it out this time around. Self/Less looks like quite an interesting story of attempted immortality, and the law of unintended consequences. Finally Mr. Holmes is a story about Sherlock in his later days taking on one last case.

While not quite genre, TV brings WKRP in Cincinnati: The Complete Final Season. As a person who worked on FM Rock Radio in those days, this show was the closest thing I have ever seen to the way it really was.

In Anime Danganronpa: Complete Series is a high school where the best are out to kill each other off in their attempt to escape getting slaughtered themselves. It has quite an interesting animation style, and is based on a game franchise of the same name. There are also two new entries from long running favorites, Naruto: Shippuden, Box Set 24 with episodes 297 through 309, and One Piece: Collection 14 with episodes 325 through 348.

Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie Trailer

The trailer for Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie is out, and the film will be in US theaters on November 10th, 11th, and 16th. This is the franchise that first brought Cyberpunk to the big screen in 1995, and along with Akira introduced American audiences to Japanese Anime. Meanwhile, the live action version of Ghost in the Shell, The Movie starring Scarlett Johansson has been pushed back to a March 2017 release, and is currently having its script rewritten.