Daisuki launches this month, a coalition of 6 Anime houses in Japan trying another way of making their product available around the world. Some of the shows they own are not available through existing streaming services, but many of them are, scattered across multiple providers. Part of the logic of launching this new service is they hope to gain subscribers because they will be a one-stop shop for their titles, so you don’t have to go different places to watch the different shows. At the same time, they have made it clear that they have no intention of pulling shows like Puella Magi Madoka Magica, One Piece, or Lupin the 3rd off of the various streaming services now carrying them. This already makes me appreciate their approach, and I look forward to checking them out once they launch. While I have not been able to find an exact launch date listed, sometime in late April is the announced target, so it shouldn’t be long now.
There are several interesting films coming out this week, but I would be lying if I said I was more interested in anything else than I was in Odd Thomas, the Dean R. Koontz story about a short order cook with a hot line to heaven (or hell). I figure it would be too much to hope this production actually becomes available this week, considering back in January they were in court suing for distribution money that was promised but never delivered. In fact the movie itself was supposed to be released in January. But hey, I live in hope, and there is also a real good chance another Dean Koontz book series, Frankenstein, will be made into a TV series after all.
Things we have already seen worth going back to the theaters for this week are topped off with the 3D Jurassic Park presentation; it should be a monster (yes, pun intended)! And of course that leaves us with Evil Dead 2 as another option to consider. All in all, the selection this time looks interesting.
I almost skipped the movie mention, because the only release I am aware of, Earth’s Final Hours, is a made-for-Syfy schlockfest that even the Syfy channel won’t admit to any more. If you have to have a movie this week, at least Freeloaders is silly fun, even if it isn’t genre.
TV does better, with Douglas Adam’s holistic detective Dirk Gently coming out. If you haven’t seen the show yet, it is quite true to the book. Also out, Dark Matters: Twisted but True is hosted by John Noble (the mad scientist from Fringe) and run on the Science Channel. considering the subject matter they made an excellent selection for the host.
In Anime, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan is a story about a boy who is a middle school student by day, and a Yokai, or Spirit/Monster/Demon, by night. His grandfather is leader of the clan, and he must decide whether to take over in his grandfathers place, or become fully human and abandon his heritage. Hyakko: Complete Series is about a crazy school girl who makes robot clones of herself and creates havoc wherever she goes. You guessed it, Hyakko is a comedy.
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 is a much more serious tale, following the struggles of two children and an adult who band together in their fight to return home to their families in the aftermath of a quake centered on Tokyo itself. They make their way through seemingly insurmountable obstacles past heartbreaking scenes without knowing if their families are even still alive.
I would have loved a copy of this game if it had only existed, but this very funny video was put together by the folks at Collage Humor. The site has a large number of highly skilled contributors with a range of different talents, so you can find all kinds of amusing content there.
Yes, this Saturday is the start of the new season of Doctor Who, and the premier of the new series Orphan Black on BBC America. If that wasn’t enough, Chris Hardwick will be following that block up with the new season of The Nerdist. I have already programed my DVR to grab all 3 shows each week, and I am really curious to see how Orphan Black works out. It is a new BBC America production, and I was quite impressed with what they did with Copper, I am hoping this new show will be every bit as twisted and convoluted.
A Vimeo Staff Pick, this animation about what horror movie serial killers do on their day of is a hoot. Built by Kristjan Lyngmo with a bit of attitude and style, it will hopefully inspire budding animators to give their own pet projects a shot. Thanks to io9 and a dozen others (but they got there first) for the heads up on this one.
Saturday the 14th from Kristjan Lyngmo on Vimeo.