Both sites have made the announcement front page news: Funimation is teaming up with (or perhaps merging with is more accurate) Crunchyroll. They will be sharing titles, with each side playing to their strengths; Crunchyroll continuing to bring you streamed subtitled shows within an hour of their airing in Japan, Funimation using their in house voice acting team to get them dubbed and available streaming in English in just a few weeks, and available for digital downloading or disc purchasing. I haven’t seen any mention of what happens to those of us who own premium memberships with both companies yet, I am hoping the new operation rewards us for years of loyalty with some kind of discount combo membership.
The animated feature film The Wild Life is the story of Robinson Crusoe as told by the Parrot and other animals who were living on the deserted island at the time. It looks quite amusing, and I expect to be in the theater for it. The other film this week is Demon, about a bridegroom who gets possessed by something supernatural at his own wedding. Not being a horror fan, I will be opting for the animated comedic fantasy.
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.
Quite a few choices this weekend, I may just end up spending most of it sitting in dark rooms staring at big screens. Morgan was created using artificial genetic material, has been kept in a lab his whole life, and now a consultant is going to decide if he lives or dies. The 9th Life of Louis Drax is about a boy who died for two hours, and was revived, but has a secret that poses a serious mystery. Skiptrace has Jackie Chan and Johnny Knoxville as a Hong Kong detective and an American gambler charging across Asia to take down a Chinese crime lord. Bingbing Fan and Eve Torres are both in the action/comedy as well, it looks very entertaining. Finally Yoga Hosers was written and directed by Kevin Smith, so you know it is going to be full of silly fun. It is a spinoff of 2014’s Tusk, going into more detail on the two convenience store clerks we first saw in that film, but with a lot more humor.
This awesome little Sherlock parody was done by The Hillywood Show, see how many original episodes you can name from the scenes. You should at least be able to recognize each of them if you are a fan of the series, even if the name escapes you. They also did a great job with the music and lyrics, turning this into an excellent music video. It was only posted three days ago, and already has over 800,000 views. They parody a lot of other shows and movies, and manage to attend a number of cons, so I will be looking for them as I book any events I will be making.
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!