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Something to Watch: DVDs, 10Sep13

Star Trek Into Darkness starts us off this week, continuing the excellent J.J. Abrams reboot of the franchise. I would buy a 4K TV to watch this on, if I didn’t need to eat or pay rent for the next few years, it was just that good. I am going to count Delete as a movie, since it was a miniseries on a cable system channel about movies called Reelz. Seth Green and Matt Frewer have to save the world when the internet wakes up and decides humans are dangerous and unnecessary. The Last Keepers is a family friendly show about a young woman who discovers all the women in her family have mysterious powers; the trailer looks great and the cast is very impressive, but I couldn’t find a home page for it. I won’t bother to mention Frankenstein’s Army.

In TV, Supernatural: The Complete 8th Season looks like the best bet this week, although Castle: The Complete 5th Season is a lot of fun even if it isn’t genre.

In Anime, Blue Exorcist: The Complete 2nd Season continues the battle between demons and humans with episodes 13 through 25. Our protagonist Rin is on trial at the Vatican to determine if he will be imprisoned or inducted into their anti-demon army. Bleach: Season 18 brings us up to episodes 256 through 267 as the Soul Reapers continue their never ending battles with things that would destroy humans.

Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing comes out as two box sets, parts 1 and 2, totaling 21 episodes. This is the sequel to The Last Exile, in which the Earth was restored and a long war ended through Steampunk Mad Science. In this series, those who survived remaining behind on the surface of the Earth make war on the returning exiles, attempting to destroy country after country. The final new entry this week is This Boy Caught a Merman, about an unusual relationship that has more to overcome than most.

There is a re-release worth noting this time around: Patlabor: The Mobile Police TV Series collection 2 is episodes 13 through 24 of this classic series. The director (and one of the writers) on this series was Mamoru Oshii, who went on to do all the different Ghost In The Shell Cyberpunk movies and TV series, and first became famous for his work as director of the very surreal Urusei Yatsura.

Something to Watch: DVDs, 3Sep13

In movies, Studio Ghibli’s From Up on Poppy Hill brings us another Hayao Miyazaki presentation, directed by Goro Miyazaki. It is based on the 1980s Manga of the same name, and like the majority of Studio Ghibli films, it is family friendly. So family friendly in fact they are usually distributed in the US by Disney, although this time they went with GKids. Now You See Me is almost genre, bordering on the fantasy side of life, but you need to bring your brain to this one and pay attention if you want to really understand what is going on. And the winner this week in the Silly Concepts with Bad Production Values category is Sharknado.

The top selection in TV this week is Haven: The Complete 3rd Season as far as I am concerned. The story line just keeps getting more interesting each season, and Audry’s life (whoever she actually is) just keeps getting more twisted. As usual, the timing is impeccable, bringing it out just in time for you to re-watch it before season 4 starts on September 13th. The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Fourth Season finally makes it into senior year, with Elena and company looking for the Vampire Cure. And here I always thought that was a stake through the heart; the new season starts October 3rd. Revolution: The Complete First Season is also out this week, and it also got a second season.

In Anime, I already mentioned From Up On Poppy Hill, but the next quality choice is We Without Wings: Season One has two gangs, a girl with a uniform fetish, a lot of random humor and fan service, and an alternate universe with a medieval civilization for our protagonists to deal with. AKB0048: Season 1 has the classic J-Pop Idol Band defending music in all the planets of the galaxy from anti-music forces. One Piece releases season 5 part 2, bringing us episodes 276 through 287.

Life Size Gundam

If you fly into Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, pretty soon you will be greeted by a life size Gundam as you land; the footage here is from the Odaiba Gundam, also life size, which has been up and running all summer. The amazing videos are put together by DarwinFish, who has some great gear and a wonderful grasp of time lapse photography techniques. To see more of his work be sure to hit his You Tube portal, and thanks for the heads up on this one go to Crunchyroll.

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.