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Something to Watch: Discs

In Movies this week we get The Man with the Iron Fists 2, which is a kung-fu epic fantasy that takes place in a 19th century Chinese village. The villagers and mine workers are the oppressed, while the mine owners and their enforcers are the evil overlords. The stranger in town teaches the villagers how to protect themselves and fight back. We also get the animated Batman vs. Robin, the latest entry in the DC Universe Animated Movies catalog. I didn’t find any North American genre TV shows this time around.

In Anime a single title of note: The Pet Girl of Sakurasou puts all 24 episodes in a single box set. Banished from regular housing for adopting stray cats, Kanda finds himself in Sakura Hall, along with every other weirdo and genus from the campus. There he is assigned to keeping a completely dysfunctional but acclaimed artist from forgetting to eat, clothe, or groom herself, on the assumption that he is used to taking care of the easily confused and distracted animals he has taken in. The fun in this series is in the various characters, who include a manga artist, an animator, a script writer, and a voice actress, otaku all.

Something to Do: Movies

This time we get Ex Machina, a tale of the worlds first true artificial intelligence. It looks like they are taking the story in an interesting direction, but I don’t seem to be left with an urge to run out to the theater after seeing this trailer. Perhaps it would be a good weekend to catch up on some of the TV shows I follow.

Something to Watch: Discs

There doesn’t seem to be any science fiction or fantasy this week in either TV or Movies, but there is a show based on a science project; Manhattan: Season One. It uses the Manhattan Project as its backdrop, but doesn’t really use any of the historical figures, most of the characters in the show are fictional.

In Anime, .hack//Legend Of The Twilight: Complete Series brings another dozen episodes and a new story line from inside The World, the massive gaming system. Getting this weeks Longest Title award is Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion, continuing the battle of the magical girls to escape their fate. Durarara!! Complete Series puts all 26 stories about the headless motor cycle vigilante into a single box set for the first time in North America, but it is a bit pricey. I tend to recommend waiting until you can catch it on sale. One Piece: Season 6 Part 4 contains the final 11 episodes of the sixth year of the show, as Luffy continues his fight to become King of the Pirates.

Something to Watch: Discs

There are a lot of good choices this week, starting with The Imitation Game, the story of how Alan Turing was at the heart of defeating the Nazis during WWII by figuring out how to build a machine that could imitate the German Enigma Engine. Turing also invented the Turing Test which would help you recognize when a computing system became self aware, and the Universal Turing Machine which could simulate the computer a given program was to run on based on the program input. That last little 1936 invention was because of a function that became digital computer storage when they built it in the 1940s.

Also out in Films this week is Interstellar, part 1 of the movie version of the story of humanities escape to a new world, and I really hope they go ahead and build part 2. Outcast is the story of an Imperial fight for the throne in China and the part a couple of European Crusaders take in it, and why would I be surprised if Nick Cage goes a little over the top in a movie? Not to be confused with the Game of the Same Name.

In TV, we might get Silicon Valley: The Complete First Season, which I would find exciting. This series is funny and brutal and real, at least from my perspective.

In Anime, Gingitsune Complete Collection tells of Makoto, who sees and speaks with spirits and gods that others can not perceive. It is when they speak back that things often become interesting. Harlock: Space Pirate is the 2013 CGI animated feature film based on the multiple TV series the name of Space Pirate Captain Harlock. Sankarea: Undying Love comes out as an uncut complete series. This Zombie Romantic Comedy is a bit unusual, and quite entertaining. One Piece: Collection Treasure Chest Box Three brings episodes 206 (or possibly 209) through 299 or so in a single box set. Finally Magi: The Kingdom of Magic follows the continuing adventures of Aladdin, Alibaba, Morgiana, Scheherazade, and other Magi as they collect their power and prepare to protect their kingdoms. This contains the first 13 episodes of the new series.

Live-Action Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll has added some tasty new live action videos to its streaming service. One of them is 009-1: The End Of The Beginning, which brings the sexy cyborg spy of dystopian Manga and Anime fame to life. Another is Onna Nobunaga, the epic fantasy about the famous Samurai lord who was (in this story) a woman trying to hide her secret while uniting Japan. They have also added Flesh for the Beast: Tsukiko’s Curse, about a trio of paranormal investigators and all the really strange things they run into. Mind, they already had a ton of great live action stuff streaming, like Time Taxi, which is not only a great time travel what-if series, but has one of the funniest subplots I have ever seen in the form of the Criminal Detective. Another great one is Time Traveller, based on the anime series The Girl Who Leaped Through Time. Just thought I should mention they are doing a bit more than just anime, although their anime is amazing.

New Ghost In The Shell 2015 trailer

This is the NSFW trailer for the 2015 Anime version of the latest Ghost In The Shell story, and it takes a bit of a look back at its predecessors. Along with Akira, this franchise changed the face of Anime in the west, and it was one of the best Cyberpunk stories I have ever read or watched. It will be in theaters in Japan in June, I am hoping it makes it to some in the US shortly after that.