Hetalia Axis Powers: Season Three (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

This series is totally insane! And if you thought season two was crazy, this third season is even crazier!  “Hetalia Axis Powers: Season Three” features 24 five-minute episodes plus the Japanese fan event interviews, English dub commentaries and outtakes and more! If you have an open mind, are not politically correct, have a pretty good sense of humor, then “Hetalia Axis Powers: Season Three” may be for you. Definitely worth checking out!

Image courtesy of © 2008-2010 Hidekaz Himaruya, Gentosha Comics/Italia Project. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Hetalia Axis Powers – Season Three

TV EPISODE RELEASE: 2009-2010

DURATION: Episodes 53-76 (120 minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: 16:9, English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Japanese 2.0, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: 13 and Up

RELEASED: January 17, 2012

Directed by Bob Shirohata

Series Composition by Takuya Hiramitsu

Original Creator: Hidekaz Himaruya

Character Design by Masaaki Kannan

Animation Producer: Keiichi Matsuda

Anime Production: Studio DEEN

Featuring the following voice talent:

Daisuke Namikawa/Todd Haberkorn as Italy

Hiroki Takahashi/Christopher Bevins as Japan

Hiroki Yasumoto/Patrick Seitz as Germany

Katsuyuki Konishi/Eric Vale as America

Masaya Onosaka/J. Michael Tatum as France

Noriaki Sugiyama/Scott Freeman as United Kingdom

Yasuhiro Takato/Jerry Jewell as Russia

Yuki Kaida/Clarine Harp as China

Scott Freeman as England

Atsushi Kousaka/Mike McFarland as Estonia

Urara Takano/Monica Rial as Belarus

R. Bruce Elliott as Bishop

Kazutada Tanaka/Ryan Bijan as Poland

Katzutada Tanaka/Ryan Reynolds as Latvia

Scott Sager as Egypt

Atsushi Kousaka/Jonathan Brooks as Prussia

Atsushi Kousaka/Vic Mignona as Greece

The awesome international incidents never stop in Hetalia World Series! All your fave Allied and Axis boys are back, and they’ve brought a bunch of new guys to the party. You like to party, right? Duh.

 

Feel the tension build as Prussia plots an invasion of Austria’s happy little place. Try on a codpiece! Share in Spain’s pain as he does his best to look after little Romano. Run with stampeding kittens! Swoon at the awkward new bromance blossoming between Japan and Greece. Eat a yummy churro! Listen and learn as France teaches Italy about the birds and the bees. Avoid Sealand! Cheer as America befriends space aliens and whales. Truly, no matter whose flag you fly, it’s about to get all SQUEE up in here. Like, big time.

This limited edition comes with a purple bandana featuring Prussia.

Contains episodes 1-24.

Have you been looking for a unique and hilarious anime series? If so, “Hetalia Axis Powers” may be the series you are looking for.

Based on a comic and later adapted to a manga and anime series by Hidekaz Himaruya, “Hetalia Axis Powers” is an web-based anime series in which each episode is five minutes long. It also happens to be an allegorical interpretation of political and historical events during World War II. But instead of focusing on military leaders and watching countries at war, the series focuses on single men who represent their countries.

The term Hetalia is a portmanteau combining the words “hetare” (Japanese for “incompetent”) and “Italia” (Italy) and is meant to make light of Italy’s cowardice during World War II.

As of 2012, “Hetalia Axis Powers” is 103-episodes long (each episodes last 5-minutes long) and is directed by Bob Shirohata (“Gravitation”, “Let’s Dance with Papa”, “Diamond Daydreams”), series composition by Takuya Hiramitsu (“Hunter x Hunter”, “The Prince of Tennis”, “Read or Die”) and character designs by Masaaki Kannan (“Initial D: Third Stage, “Oishinbo”, “Urusei Yatsura”). Anime Production is by Studio DEEN (“07-Ghost”, “DNA^2″, “Ranma 1/2″, “Rurouni Kenshin”).

The first two seasons and the animated film were released by FUNimation Entertainment in 2010-2011 and now, the third season was released on DVD in Jan. 2012.

This time around, Romano is upset with Germany for being with his younger brother.  Greece wants to get closer with Japan, Poland and Lithuania working on a pact, China is getting tired of being pushed around, England captures Italy, Tony the alien lands in Roswell and Spain tries to rescue Romano from Turkey.

The series revolves around a group of characters that represent a nation which belongs to the Axis Powers or the Allied Forces and for the most part, a series that makes light on a country and focuses on The Axis Powers (N. Italy, Germany and Japan) who are the protagonists of the series.  Since season two, the series is now introducing more characters (countries):

N. Italy – A nation who is naive and always cheerful to the point that he annoys the others. He loves Italian culture and because he is always cute, the women love him. He represents the North while his brother represents the South (and he’s more of a jerk). Many of the episodes revolves around Italy. Also, very addicted to pasta and Italian food.

Germany – The serious nation who feels he is strong and not good with relationships but he is a by-the-book man who wants to make sure he trains Italy and Japan well because he has discovered friendship.

Japan – The hardworking, technology driven and business-like nation. Not used to being around with Westerners. He is not sure why these countries want to be buddy buddy and give him hugs. He doesn’t like hugs all that much. Also, eating food that is not Japanese.

In this anime series, the antagonists are the Allied Forces which include:

America - The hero who is full of energy and strength. He was raised by England but wants independence from him and also has a brother named Canada who is always silent. Also, lives with a gray alien.

England (Britain) – Irritable, can’t cook and foul mouth. Also, has the ability to see supernatural things. He can’t stand France and has a rivalry with America.

France – The romantic and likes to flirt with everyone. His older brother is Spain.

China – Distrusts Russia and loves Hello Kitty. He is also an immortal and always with pandas.

Russia – The tallest of the nations and can be innocent and cruel. Many nations are terrified of him.

VIDEO:

“Hetalia Axis Powers: Season Three” is presented in 4:3. Character designs are good but it’s a series that is driven by its characters and not surroundings. Because it’s a web-based series, it’s not an anime series where you are going to see a lot of significant time for the painted artistic backgrounds. If anything, the focus of the series is primarily on its characters (the nations) and the expressions they give towards each others. More or less, focusing on the relationship of the nations.

There are some scenes that do show 3D such as water effects, some nicely detailed scenes when showing weapons and closeups on the weapons and there are some nicely painted watercolor like scenes during the Chibitalia scenes as well.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

As for audio, “Hetalia Axis Powers: Season Three” is presented in English Dolby Digital 5.1 and Japanese Stereo 2.0. It’s important to note that the series is not action driven but is primarily dialogue driven and is quite clear through the front and center channels. There are a few scenes that uses sound on the surround channels but these scenes are very few.

As for the English and Japanese vocal tracks, if there is one major difference is how the dialogue is handled. The English dub utilizes profanity and takes liberty with some of the dialogue and story to make it more humorous for the American viewer. The English dub is quite hilarious!

A few key things I do want to note that the accents worked for this series. By no means are the accents perfect or right spot on but within the context of comedy, it works.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Hetalia Axis Powers: Season Three” includes the following special features:

DISC 1:

• Episode 1 (53) – “Prussia and Romano are Roomies” Audio Commentary – Audio commentary featuring ADR director/writer Jami Marchi (narrator), Jonathan Brooks (Prussia) and Ian Sinclair (Romano)
• Episode 4 (56) – “Eastern Block Party” Audio Commentary - Audio commentary featuring ADR director/writer Jami Marchi (narrator), Joel McDonald (Poland) and Josh Grelle (Lithuania).
• Episode 6 (58) – “Revolutionary Brothers” Audio Commentary – Audio commentary featuring ADR director/writer Jami Marchi (narrator), Scott Freeman (Britain), Eric Vale (America/Canada) and J. Michael Tatum (France).

DISC 2:

• The Hidden History Hidden within Hetalia – A text based information segment that explains the historical connection of each episode.
  
• Hetalia Fan Event at the Tokyo International, Anime Fair 2010 - (37:24) In celebration of the third season of “Hetalia”, a special fan event was held at Anime Fair 2010.  Featuring Hiroki Takahashi (Japan), Daisuke Namikawa (Italy) and Hiroki Yasumoto (Germany).
• Hetalia Event in Tokushima, Part 1 - (18:25) Masaya Onosaka (France) and Katsuya Koshi (America) arriving at JR. Tokushima Station.
• Hetalia Event in Tokushima, Part 2 - (16:01) A few of the voice actors: Masaya Onosaka (France) and Katsuya Konishi (America) on a tour of Tokushima and arriving for a live special talk show held at Shimachi-Bashi East Park.
• Fan Event – (19:45) Featuring interviews with Hiroki Takashi (Japan) and Noriaki Sugiyama (England) in front of an all-female Japanese audience (4700 who were selected to attend the event) at the Sunshine 60 Observatory.
• Outtakes – (6:50) English dub outtakes
• U.S. Trailer – (1:02) Hetalia Axis Powers trailer.
• Textless Closing Song “Marukite Chikyuu”
• Textless Closing Song “Hata Futte Parade”

“Hetalia Axis Powers” is one of those series is fun, hilarious and quite crazy and it’s important to note that it does mock a lot of the things that happened during World War II and also the customs of certain countries in the characters (nations) as portrayed. Definitely not politically correct, not historically accurate and if anything, it’s more or less making light of how countries were towards each other but using a character to embody that nation.

The series is also immensely popular in Japan and around the world.  Not bad considering that this series is streamed digitally and each episode is only five minutes long.

The third season still focuses on various storylines which involve Hungary, Prussia, Greece, France, America, Japan and Germany.  If anything, the third season focuses on a variety of characters but this time around, the storylines are definitely appealing to a demographic who love to see the guys get closer together.  For example, the very unusual Greece tries to find ways to get closer to Japan (who is seen as angry) and talks about his love of cats and tries to get Japan to admit he likes cats and then Greece putting on cat ears and hoping Japan would rub his belly.

But the storyline for season three is less about Italy and Germany this time around but showcases Greece and Japan, Poland and Lithuania, Finland and Sweden visiting Poland and of course, we get to see how things strengthen between Germany and Italy (who fears that Germany hates his guts).

If anything, for me, I just found the series quite interesting to see how it would reinterpret certain situations from World War II within the characters and to see how wacky things would get. But most of all, It was also easy to watch since it’s only five minutes long. By saying that, it’s also a series that I wasn’t able to watch in a full sitting, it’s one of those series that you may want to watch a few episodes at a time but not at one sitting because in my case, I felt the antics were getting quite old and repetitive. So, I didn’t want to get burned out.

As for the DVD release, I will say that in terms of special features, this third season really delivers with the Japanese fan event and interviews.  So, those who love the Japanese voice acting or want to see how packed these events are, can definitely see it with their own eyes.  And for those who are fans of the English dub, there is three audio commentary tracks (the third commentary track was possibly the wildest English dub commentary that I have ever heard) and outtakes.

So, overall… “Hetalia Axis Powers: Season Three” was a pretty awesome DVD release!

“Hetalia Axis Powers” is a unique, bizarre, quirky anime series. I liked how FUNimation Entertainment worked it’s “Crayon Shin-Chan” like humor into the development of the dialogue but because Hetalia does deal with how nations are with each other and its quirky interpretation of war and history (while Crayon Shin Chan dealt with perverseness and modern pop culture).  For the English dub, I like the fact that Jami Marchi was brought in to write for season three, she brought a hilarious element to the season and unlike past episodes which got old really quick with humor, she and the other writers did a pretty cool job with this season!  I know there are some who will enjoy this crazy humor and that every episode is five minutes long, but I can see others who may feel that this series is not their cup of tea.

If you have an open mind, are not politically correct, have a pretty good sense of humor, then “Hetalia Axis Powers: Season Three” may be for you. Definitely worth checking out!

The World God Only Knows: Season One (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

If you are looking for a TV series that is not dark, deep, perverted or violent you’ll enjoy the anime series, “The World God Only Knows”.  Fun, entertaining and recommended!

Image courtesy of © 2012 Sentai Filmworks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: The World God Only Knows: Season One

ANIME RELEASE: 2010

DURATION: Episodes 1-12 (300 Minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0, 1:78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, Full English Subtitles/Songs & Signs

COMPANY: Sentai Filmworks

RATED: TV 14D

RELEASED: January 24, 2012

Originally created by Tamiki Wakaki

Directed by Shigehito Takayanagi

Series Composition by Hideyuki Kurata

Music by Hayato Matsuo

Character Design: Akio Watanabe

Art Director: Ayumi Sato, Kayoko Tokou

Anime Production by Manglobe

Featuring the following voice talent:

Hiro Shimono/Chris Patton as Keima Katsuragi

Kanae Itō/Elysia de Lute Ima as Elysia de Lute Ima

Aoi Yūki/Hilary Haag as Mio Aoyama

Ayana Taketatsu/Kaytha Coker as Ayumi Takahara

Kana Hanazawa/Hilary Haag as Shiori Shiomiya

Nao Tōyama/Brittney Karbowski as Kanon Nakagawa

Ai Nonaka as Library committee chairman

Atsuko Tanaka/Elizabeth Bunch as Nikaidō-sensei

Hidetoshi Nakamura/Chris Hutchison as Mio’s father

Keima is a dating sim champion. Cute girls are rendered powerless by his irresistible game playing techniques. Too bad things aren’t that way in the real world… that is, until his tempting game playing causes a real live – and very bubbly – cute demon hunter named Elsie to materialize! Now Elsie wants Keima to help her free hot girls from sneaky demons who secretly possess them.

In 2008, manga artist Tamiki Wakaki created the series “Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai” (The World God Only Knows) which was serialized in “Weekly Shonen Sunday” and is still ongoing today.

In 2010, an anime adaptation of the series featuring 12-episodes were created and featured anime produced by Manglobe (“Deadman Wonderland”, “Samurai Champloo”, “Ergo Proxy”, “House of Five Leaves”).  The series is directed by Shigehito Takayanagi (“Galaxy Angel”, “Kanamemo”, “Trigun”), screenplay by Hideyuki Kurata (“Bamboo Blade”, “Excel Saga”, “R.O.D. – the TV-”), music by Hayato Matsuo (“Saint Tail”, “Transformers Armada”, “Saint Tail”), character design by Akio Watanabe (“Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko”, “Nurse Witch Komugi”, “Akiba-Chan”) and art direction by Ayumi Sato (“Sacred Blacksmith”, “CANAAN”, “Hell Girl: Two Mirrors”) and Kayako Tokou (“House of Five Leaves”, “Heroman”, “Angel Beats!”).

The series revolves around Keima Katsuragi, a high school student who is obsessed with dating simulator videogames.  And because he is so good with these games, he is known on the Internet as “The God of Conquests” in which many all over the Internet would come to him for advice on how to handle situations in how to approach girls on these games.

But while he is a master at getting girls on the video games, because he is introverted, he has not been able to have any real girlfriends.  In fact, because he is constantly playing video games even in class, many in school regard him as an otaku.

Meanwhile, in Hell, there are problems as spirits from Hell have escaped and have possessed several girls.  And now, a demon from Hell and new Spirit Hunter named Elsie has been chosen to find someone in catching these spirits.  And because Keima is known as “The God of Conquests”, Elsie feels that he is the only person that can help her.

So, she sends him a contract for his help but for Keima, he thinks its an invitation to a video game and agrees.

Immediately, he is greeted by the cute and bubbly demon named Elsie and finds out from her that he has signed a contract, breaking the contract can lead to him being beheaded and killed.  And in order to complete the contract, he must help catch runaway spirits that have hidden inside the hearts of girls.  The only way she can get these spirits if Keima uses his method in “conquering” girl’s hearts and make them fall in love with him, thus filling their heart with love and pushing the spirits out of their body.

As Elsie adapts to the human world by becoming Keima’s illegitimate sister and attending his school and vouching for him (she has no idea that people think of him as an otaku), together they work in conquering a girl’s heart in order for her to catch the spirits and bring them back to Hell.

“The World God Only Knows: Season One” comes with twelve episodes. Here is spoiler-less summary of each episode:

• FLAG 0.0: God of Conquest - An OAV/short prologue introducing Elsie as she becomes a spirit hunter.
  
• FLAG 1.0: Love Makes the World Go Round – The introduction of Keima and how he must get through Ayumi’s heart.
• FLAG 2.0: Demon of a Sister – Elsie becomes Keima’s illegitimate sister and both run into Mio Aoyama, a rich girl.
• FLAG 3.0: Drive My Car – Keima and Elsie learn that he must free Mio’s heart.
• FLAG 4.0: On a Crusade – Keima is hooked on the game “Crayon” but the game is full of bugs and keeps looping and requires Elsie’s help.
• FLAG 5.0: IDOL BOMB!! – Elsie is a big fan of pop idol Kanon Nakagawa, but when she goes to visit Keima’s school and finds out that he is not interested in her, she is shocked and depressed and tries to win him over to her music.
• FLAG 6.0: I’m Ordinary – Kanon is turning invisible because of the spirit is inside her.  Can Keima help her?
• FLAG 7.0: Shining Star – Kanon prepares for her concert but her negative thoughts cause her to become invisible.
• FLAG 8.0: Coupling with with with – Elsie accidentally unleashes a Mandragon towards Elsie.
• FLAG 9.0: Inside & Outside the Big Wall – Keima wants Elsie to learn more about modern human history at the library, and while at the library she meets Shiori Shiomiya and detects a spirit inside her.
• FLAG 10.0: Inside of Me… – What strategy will Keima use in order to free Shiori’s spirit?
• FLAG 11.0: The Last Day – Shiori locks herself and barricades the library to prevent them from disposing the books, Keima tries to help her by sneaking into the library and confront her.
• FLAG 12.0: More Than a God, Less Than a Human – Because Keima has been busy catching spirits, he has a backlog of new games that he hasn’t played, so now he must go into “God of Conquest Mode” in order to play all six.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“The World God Only Knows” is presented in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen and is presented in English and Japanese 2.0.

It is important to note that if you want the best video and audio quality for “The World God Only Knows”, a Blu-ray version of the series will be released on the same day.  As for the DVD, “The World God Only Knows” is a colorful anime series featuring a good amount of the detail on character animation and art backgrounds.  While I’m sure the Blu-ray version is much more vibrant with much better black levels and clarity, for the most part, the DVD quality is good, although it does have the usual softness that you come to see from anime TV series.

As for audio, both soundtracks are in 2.0 stereo and is front-channel driven.  English voice acting is well-done on both the Japanese and English soundtracks.  Especially the music which comes out quite cleary during Kanon Nakagawa’s story arc.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“The World God Only Knows: Season One” includes the following special features:

• Music Videos – Featuring Kanon Nakagawa’s music videos.
  
• Clean Opening Animation
• Clean Closing Animation

Charming, heartwarming and fun, “The World God Only Knows” is an entertaining comedy series.

While the character of Keima and his passion for dating sims may not break any new ground for anime series (the anime series “Chaos: Head” takes a more darker approach to an obsessed otaku gamer), what I did enjoy about the concept of “The World God Only Knows” is its approach to Keima and Elsie trying to capture these spirits.

The series could have gone the banal route of becoming a harem anime series as Keima does use his charm in order to help each of these girls that have spirits within him, but one thing I would like to see explored is Keima’s growth as a person.  The first season focuses on Keima, an obsessed otaku learning how to communicate with “2D” (real women) rather than video game girls, so you hope to see him make the transition in becoming a person from the experiences that he learns from each girl that he helps.

So, it would be interesting to see how things change with the character by season two, if there are any changes at all or if he’s literally going to stay as this introverted video game otaku, which would be sad.

As for the DVD, as mentioned earlier, if you want the best video and audio, you will definitely want to go with the Blu-ray release for “The World God Only Knows” otherwise, the DVD is still good, a bit soft on the picture quality but that is quite common with a lot of anime TV series.  You do get the Kanon Nakagawa music videos which was a nice addition to the opening and closing themes.

Overall, if you are looking for a TV series that is not dark, deep, perverted or violent you’ll enjoy the anime series, “The World God Only Knows”.  Fun, entertaining and recommended!

Tales of the Abyss Vol. 2: Limited Edition (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

The story gets even deeper, more tragic but still this series remains addictive!  Definitely one of the better video game to anime adaptations out there!  If you love anime adventure anime series, “Tales of the Abyss” is recommended!

Image courtesy of © 2008 NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc./Sunrise, Bandai Visual, MBS. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Tales of the Abyss Vol. 2

ANIME RELEASE: 2008

DURATION: (Episodes 8-14) 175 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0, 1:78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, Full English Subtitles/Songs & Signs

COMPANY: Sunrise/Bandai Entertainment

RATED: Suggested 13 and Up

RELEASED: January 3, 2012

Directed by Kenji Kodama

Series Composition by Akemi Omode

Music by Motoi Sakuraba

Original Character Design by Yoshihito Hishinuma

Art Director: Shigemi Ikeda

Mechanical and Monster Design by Junya Ishigaki

Sound Director: Eriko Kimura

Director of Photography: Shigemi Ogawa

Anime Production by Bandai Visual/Namco/Sunrise

Featuring the following voice talent:

Chihiro Suzuki as Luke Fone Fabre

Yukana as Tear Grants

Halko Momoi as Anise Tatlin

Jouji Nakata as Van Grants

Michiko Neya as Natalia L. K. Lanvaldear

Miki Maruyama as Mieu

Sho Hayami as Lorelei

Takehito Koyasu as Jade Curtis

Yasunori Matsumoto as Guy Cecil

Yukana as Yulia Jue

War is aborted between the two dominant nations of the planet Auldrant, and the King of Kimlasca appoints Luke to be a goodwill ambassador in order to rescue a mining town in enemy territory. The noble heir apparent is excited with the chance to be a hero… but little does he know that General Van plans to use the spoiled kid’s hyper-resonance superpower to cause an enormous disaster.

Accompanied by magical warriors Jade the Necromancer, Colonel of the Malkuth Imperial Forces, and Tear Grants, Locrian Sergeant of the Order of Lorelei, Luke’s adventure continues through this alternate-reality world of swords and sorcery.

“Tales of the Abyss” Vol. 2 feature a more deeper, complex storyline as the truth about Luke and Asch is revealed!

In Japan, one of the longest franchises for fantasy RPG is the “Tales” series from Namco Bandai games

The series began back in 1994 with “Tales of Phantasia” and as of 2011, the series currently on its 13th series with “Tales of Xillia”. But in 2005, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the series, Namco Bandai celebrated with “Tales of the Abyss”, a video game that was created for the Sony PlayStation 2.

While there has been anime adaptations primarily in OVA format, in 2008, a full 26-episode TV series was created and aired in Japan from Oct. 2008 through March 2009.

And now the second volume of the anime series will be released in the United States courtesy of Bandai Entertainment in Jan. 2012 featuring episodes 8-14.  A limited edition version of “Tales of the Abyss” vol. 2 will be released and will include the second and final part of “Tales of the Abyss: Asch the Bloody” (a side tale featuring Asch).

SUMMARY OF VOLUME 1:

“Tales of the Abyss” the anime series begins with a prophecy made by a religious figure named Yulia Jue, a Seventh Fonist who is able to read the future. Yulia has written the future in scores that are documented in Fonstones. But something happened and the Fonstones were shattered and scattered around the world.

And this has led to infighting and long standing war between the nations of Kimlasca-Landvaldear and Malkuth who have been collecting the Fonstones in order to know about their future and finding out before the other nation does. Fortunately, there has been peace declared in the planet of Auldrant and the nations have ceased any war or battling for quite some time.

The series then focuses around the character Luke fon Fabre, the youngest son of Duke Fabre of the Kimlasca Kingdom. His Uncle has the family has literally kept Luke captive within the grounds of their home and has not been able to leave. All he looks forward to is learning to fight by his Master Van. But because of the royal duty of his parents, Luke rarely sees his father. So, his closest relationships are with the servants, Master Van, his good friend and swordsman Guy Cecil (who happens to be afraid of physical contact with women for some reason) and he is engaged to Princess Natalia of Kimlasca-Landvaldear. A promise that was made between both Luke and Natalia when they were younger.

The problem is that Luke has no such memory of what took place when he was younger. He was kidnapped by the Malkuth Empire and was found but have lost any memories prior to when he was a teenager.

Another problem that Luke faces is a recurring “hyperresonance” within him that makes him loses control of some unknown power or to give him visions of something he is not sure of yet. In fact, sometimes he is able to hear voices but has no idea where it’s coming from. These situations began not long after the kidnapping.

One day, as his Master Van is given orders to look for Fon Master Ion, the leader of the Order of Lorelei who is missing, Master Van promises Luke a good day of training before he leaves.

As the two are sparring, a mysterious woman named Tear Grants comes towards the home of the fon Fabres and she renders everyone to sleep through the use of Fonic Hymns. Her goal is to kill Master Van and as she begins to fight him, Luke quickly comes between them and blocs her strike.

But somehow Luke’s mysterious power and Tear’s mysterious power somehow combines and both are transported a long way from home to some unknown destination.

Now both Luke and Tear Grants, who is revealed to be a Locrian Sergeant of the Order of Lorelei’s Intelligence Division are in the middle of nowhere and must find a way to get back home.

As the two try to get a ride to the Capital city, they find out that they are headed to the capital of the Malkuth Empire not the capital of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. And because Luke is a fon Fabre, his presence in Malkuth can be seen as hostile (and reignite the war). Fortunately, Tear is nearby to watch over him but she is surprised of how sheltered he had been because being out in the wide open, he has never seen animals, the ocean or villages ever in his life.

But through his adventures with Tear Grants, he begins to meet other people who end up joining him on his mission to return home but also to make sure there is peace in the world. Joining him are Jade Curtiss, a colonel of the Malkiuth Empire and is known as the feared “Jade the Necromancer”, Fon Master Ion who is trying to keep the piece between the nations, his bodyguard Anise Tatlin, a guardian of the Order of Lorelei (who is 13-years-old and has fallen for Luke), Luke’s good friend Guy Curtiss and a Cheagle named Mieu.

But there is a lot of deceit and corruption going on in the world, for some reason, the God Generals are trying to create trouble and kidnap Fon Master Ion.

Meanwhile, according to a score written by Yulia, a red-head child would be born to save the world. Because of his hyperresonance, a few who are familiar with Luke’s power feel that Luke may be the red-head child as prophesized to save the world. But one day, when the group are trying to rescue Fon Master Ion who was captured by the God Generals, Luke encounters Asch the Bloody. A man who has the same hair and same face as Luke?

How can this be possible?

ONTO “TALES OF THE ABYSS” VOL. 2:

The adventures continue with Luke and friends arriving to the land of Akzeriuth.  Because Van has pretty much built Luke’s ego up to thinking that he will be the hero that will rescue everyone on Akzeriuth, while everyone is out helping the survivors who are suffering from the miasma (a poisonous pink cloud), Luke wanders away in a bit of anger that his friends are not listening to him and rather tend to the injured.

While roaming alone, Luke sees Van and Van lies to Luke that in order to protect Akzeriuth, he just needs to destroy the Sephiroth with his hyper-resonance.

Meanwhile, Asch arrives and tries to prevent Luke from destroying the Sephiroth but Luke doesn’t want to listen and thinks that what his Master Van is telling him is the truth and that he will save the land of Akzeriuth.  But when Luke destroys the resonance, Van reveals that Luke is nothing but a replica and Luke and Ion both collapse.

Asch, Tear and friends manage to arrive just in time to protect Luke and Ion but unfortunately, Akzeriuth is destroyed in the process and thousands are killed.

When Luke awakens, he is not sure what happens but he can tell by everyone’s face that they are upset with him.  Luke learns that because he destroyed the Sephiroth, he was the person responsible for destroying Akzeriuth.

Also revealed is that humans live in an area called the outlands and their lands are being held up in the air by Sephiroths because the original land was consumed by the poisonous Miasma.  And that the intent by Van is to take revenge on the destruction of homeland by destroying humanity on the outlands by destroying each Sephiroth.

Also revealed is why Luke and Asch have this special connection and that Asch is the original Luke Fon Fabre and Luke is nothing but a replica.

And now with his friends upset, a distraught Luke realizes that he has been a person who never lived his own life but was constantly listening to others of how he should live his life.  And now, knowing the truth that he is only a replica, he wants to make things right once again and create his own destiny by starting anew.

“Tales of the Abyss” Vol. 2 comes with seven episodes. Here is spoiler-less summary of each episode:

• EPISODE 8: Collapse - Luke and friends arrive to Azkeriuth.  Meanwhile, Van has a job for both Luke and Ion…what can it be?
  
• EPISODE 9: The Usurped ONE – Luke awakens, to find out that his egotistical decision has led to unbelievable tragedy.  And all is revealed of who Luke truly is.
• EPISODE 10: Return of Atonement – Luke and Tear return to the Outer Lands and he realizes that he must atone for what he has done.
• EPISODE 11: City of Falling Snow – Jade takes everyone to the port of Keterburg Bay for repairs.  Where he meets with his sister Nephry, the governor.
• EPISODE 12: Water Metropolis – The group arrives in Grand Chokmah and both must stop both the Malkuth and Kimlasca from going into war with each other.
• EPISODE 13: Outbreak of War – As the group splits in half in order to stop the war, all is revealed of Natalia’s true identity.
• EPISODE 14: Sealed Past – The group travels to Belken to stop the fallen lands from sinking into the Qliphoth. Meanwhile, something happens to Tear…

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Tales of the Abyss” is presented in 1:78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 with English subtitles. For those who are familiar with the video game, the character designs are pretty much spot-on and the mechanical and monster designs are as well. A good balance of animation and CG, “Tales of the Abyss” is an adventure-based series which brings the characters to various locations and featuring a variety of characters. So, one of the major plus about the series is the constant moving around and scenery is not re-used over and over again.

Colors are vibrant, art backgrounds are well-painted and rendered. Character designs are very complimentary to the video game and for the most part, fans of “Tales of the Abyss” will find the overall animation to be quite solid for a TV series.

As for audio, “Tales of Abyss” is only in Japanese, no English dub and comes with English subtitles.

For the most part, I did enjoy the voice acting for the series but when it came to translations, I noticed a few changes to appeal to a Western audience, for example, when Luke tells Guy “Urusai!” (which means “shut-up!”), the English translation given was “Kiss my butt!”. Also, there were some English subtitles that I wondered if it was translated to sound a bit old English (with Master Van’s character), but I noticed it only happening in episode 1 but not on any other episode after.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Tales of the Abyss Vol. 2″ includes the following special features:

• Textless Ending “Bouken Suisei”
  
• Trailers – Bandai Entertainment Trailers

EXTRAS:

“Tales of the Abyss Vol. 2: Limited Edition” comes with a slipcase and a copy of “Tales of the Abyss: Asch the Bloody Vol. 2″ manga.  The manga is the second and final graphic novel featuring the quest of Asch the Bloodyy not featured in the anime series.

In the beginning episodes of “Tales of the Abyss”, the series was lighthearted, humorous and all-out fun.  But as the series progressed, the story became much more deeper and serious and with these episodes of vol. 2, “Tales of the Abyss” has become even more serious as major tragedies take place, the identities of Asch and Luke, as well as Natalia has been revealed.  And not just that, we also get to know more about why Van, the man that Luke had trusted…has become the man he must stop.

Suffice to say, these episodes are much deeper than before and the adventures of Luke and friends have really become quite intriguing as there is a lot of conspiracy taking place and things are not as they seem.

“Tales of the Abyss” has everything that you look for in an adventure series based on the video game. A lot of action, monsters and the progression of a character through the adventure.

Also, featured are enjoyable characters such as the naive Luke, the mysterious Jade, the friend/enemy Tear, the chirpy Anise, to name a few… This is the kind of video game to anime adaptations that I tend to enjoy the most because it is based on a video game series and draws heavily on it, unlike another popular video game series which has had anime series that typically have no ties to a video game but only in title.  It also helps that the series is coming out to the USA in coordination with the video game Nintendo 3DS release of “Tales of the Abyss” in Feb. 2012.

So far, this first volume literally kept me glued to the whole series and just watching episode after episode…I enjoyed it a lot and I can’t wait for volume 3.  The adventures and also the challenges that Luke and the others must go through has continued to escalate more and more with each episode.  It a complex series but easy to follow, enjoy and it’s so darn addictive!  It’s that good!

As for the DVD, it’s only Japanese dialogue with English subtitles and there is only one special feature. But for a Bandai Entertainment release, I’m glad that there are seven episodes, rather than just four. So, I suppose to make up for the fact that there is no English dub or that many special features, we are treated with more episodes.  The limited edition does have the “Tales of the Abyss: Asch the Bloody” vol. 2 manga which was a very cool addition, especially for those who are wondering what is happening to Asch behind the scenes when Luke and the others are on their adventures.

Overall, “Tales of the Abyss” is an exciting and enjoyable series!  Definitely recommended for those looking for an action/adventure anime series that is well-written, features cool characters and most of all, is one of the better video game to anime adaptations out there!

Fairy Tail Vol. 2 (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Review)

Fun, action-packed adventures featuring the most destructive wizard guild in the planet! If you are looking for an enjoyable anime series that is not too dark or violent and has its fair share of humorous moments, definitely give “Fairy Tail” Vol. 2 a chance!

Image courtesy of © 2011 FUNimation Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Fairy Tail Vol. 2

ANIME RELEASE DATE: 2009

DURATION: (Episodes 13-24) 300 Minutes

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:78:1), DolbyTrue HD 5.1, Japanese DolbyTrue HD 2.0, English subtitles

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

Release Date: November 22, 2011

Originally created by Hiro Mashima

Directed by Shinji Ishihara

Script by Atsuhiro Tomikoa, Fumihiko Shimo, Masashi Sogo, Shoji Yonemura

Music by Yasuharu Takanashi

Character Design by Aoi Yamamoto

Art Director: Junko Shimizu

Chief Animation Director: Takao Sano

Anime Production: A-1 Pictures, Satelight

Featuring the following voice talent:

Aya Hirano/Cherami Leigh as Lucy Heartfilia

Tetsuya Kakihara/Todd Haberkorn as Natsu Dragneel

Rie Kugimiya/Tia Ballard as Happy

Sayaka Ohara/Colleen Clinkenbeard as Erza Scarlet

Yūichi Nakamura/Newton Pittman as Gray Fullbuster

Shinichi Kotani/R. Bruce Elliot as Makarov

Akira Ishida as Zeref

Daisuke Kishio/Eric Vale as Loki/Loke

Daisuke Namikawa as Jeral/Mystogan

Eri Kitamura/Jamie Marchi as Kana Alberona

Hiroki Touchi as Pantherlily

Hiroki Yasumoto as Elfman

Kazuhiko Inoue as Gildarts Clive

Mai Nakahara as Juvia Loxar

Mariya Ise as Levi Macgarden

Miyuki Sawashiro/Lydia Mackay as Ultear Milkovich

Ryoko Ono/Monica Rial as Mirajane

Satomi Satou as Wendy

Sayaka Narita as Aries

Wataru Hatano as Gajeel Redfox

Yui Horie as Charle

Across the Fiore kingdom, wizards join guilds and make their pay by filling magical needs – but one guild has a reputation as the roughest, rowdiest, most dangerous of all: Fairy Tail!

In the midst of a mission to break the curse over Galuna Island, Natsu and the gang face a band of deranged mages trying to resurrect the monstrous demon Deliora. Gray’s determined to put the freeze on the sinister plan in a frigid battle with a rival from his past – even if it takes his own life!

Back in Magnolia, the city becomes a warzone after sorcerers known as Element 4 destroy Fairy Tail headquarters and kidnap their beloved rookie, Lucy. A bone-crunching, skin-charring fight between fire and iron erupts when Natsu squares off against another Dragon Slayer wizard!

A hilarious, action adventure magical anime series based on the popular Weekly Shonen Magazine manga series!

“Fairy Tail” is a manga series which began in 2006 and was created by mangaka Hiro Mashima (known for his manga series “Rave Master”). Featured in Weekly Shonen Magazine, the manga series is still ongoing, meanwhile an anime adaptation of the manga series was created in 2009 produced by A-Pictures and Satelight. And similar to the manga series, is also ongoing!

And here we are with the second Blu-ray release of “Fairy Tail”.

The anime series is directed by Shinji Ishihara (“Aoi Kokuhaku”, “Tenbatsu Angel Rabbie”, “Tokyo Majin” and is written by Masashi Sogo (“Bleach”, “Yukikaze”, “Hunter x Hunter”). The anime series features character design by Aoi Yamamoto, art direction by Junko Shimizu (“Midori Days, “Blue Dragon”, “Trinity Blood”) and music by Yasuharu Takanashi (“Naruto Shippuden”, “Hell Girl”, “Gantz”, Ikki Tosen”).

“Fairy Tail” revolves around a 17-year-old celestial wizard named Lucy Heartfilia who dreams of joining a sorcerer guild known as Fairy Tail, a group known and feared for the destruction they cause. One day, she runs into Natsu Dragneel, a guy who is traveling to the land of Fiore along with his partner Happy (a talking blue cat with wings) who is searching for his foster parent, a dragon named Igneel who has disappeared.

While traveling to Fiore, both Lucy and Natsu encounter a sorcerer claiming to be the famous Salamander of Fairy Tail. Natsu is the first to object that the man is a phony but the fans of Salamander are dismayed by Natsu’s comments and beat him up, meanwhile Lucy finds out that this fake Salamander is using his sorcerer abilities to make young women fall for him.

As Lucy tries to show her gratitude to Natsu for breaking the spell that would have otherwise have hypnotized Lucy, the two become friends.

But when the fake Salamander tells Lucy that he would get her into Fairy Tail, she knows he is a fake but any chance of getting to join the guild would make her dream come true, so she decides to visit him.

But it’s all a ruse and the fake Salamander is just trying to find female slaves and because he is so powerful, Lucy does not have the magic necessary to beat him. But coming to Lucy’s rescue is Natsu, who is revealed to be a true member of Fairy Tail and also revealed to be the true “Salamander”. And he easily beats the fake Salamander up.

When Natsu discovers that Lucy’s dream is to become a Fairy Tail member, he asks her to join him and he can help her get into the guild and from that moment on, Lucy becomes Natsu’s partner in various Fairy Tail guild missions and for each mission they beat, the more income they make.

And more money means more keys to gain more powers, which would help Lucy become a powerful celestial wizard!

In “Fairy Tail Vol. 2″, Natsu, Lucy and Gray take on an S-Class Ranked Mission without approval from the Fairy Tail guild and while the three are busy trying to take on a rival familiar to Gray, Erza goes to find them and taking them home for punishment.

Meanwhile, the Fairy Tail Guild is attacked by their rival, the Phantom Lord who plants to destroy Fairy Tail and also wipe out Magnolia.  Will the Fairy Tail guild survive the onslaught?

“Fairy Tail” Vol. 2 features the following characters:

• Natsu Dragneel – Also known as “Salamander”, Natsu is a kindhearted, always hungry wizard who travels with his partner Happy in search of Igneel, a dragon who raised Natsu but is now missing. Natsu is a dragon slayer and a wizard who can perform “Lost Magic and can have physical properties of a dragon. He specializes in Fire Dragon Slayer Magic which allows him to breath fire and ingest fire as a form of nourishment. He is also gifted with other powers not yet revealed in the first volume of “Fairy Tail”.
• Lucy Heartfilia – A celestial wizard who can summon contracted spirits (with special abilities) through a set of keys known as Gatekeys. She treats these spirits as friends. Her dream is to join Fairy Tail and through meeting Natsu, now her dream can come true.
• Happy – A blue cat with wings and a best friend to Natsu. He can fly and can carry a person while flying. He is also known to irritate Lucy.
• Gray Fullbuster – A powerful wizard of Fairy Tail and the opposite of Natsu, in that he has control of ice. Gray has the power of Ice Make which can make him create weapons or anything out of ice. He was raised by the wizard Ur. He also has a bad habit of taking of all his clothes without realizing it.
• Erza Scarlet – An S-Class wizard (high-ranked) and is the most powerful member of the Fairy Tail guild. She has magic known as “The Knight” which allows her to summon and equip weapons and armor and also has the ability to resist magic attacks. She is feared by others because of her lack of compassion.
• Mirajane – A 19-year-old S-Class wizard who is the cover girl of Sorcerer’s Weekly magazine and helps Lucy understand what is happening with the members of the Fairy Tail guild. She has the ability to change her appearance to something she previously encountered.
• Cana Alberona – A short-tempered heaving drinking woman. She uses card magic to cast her spells.
• Elfman – Mirajane’s younger brother who is known for his physical strength. He can absorb the power of any monster he defeats.
• Loke – A flirtatious wizard who is often seen in the company of many women.
• Makarov Dreyer – The elder master of Fairy Tail. He is constantly busy because of his guild members becoming too violent.

The second volume of “Fairy Tail” comes with 12 episodes on two Blu-rays (and also includes two DVD’s):

DISC 1:

• EPISODE 13 – Gray vs. Lyon, meanwhile Lyon’s men destroy the village, while Natsu tries to protect everyone.
• EPISODE 14 – Lucy vs. Sherry and Erza arrives to Galuna Island and wants to bring Natsu, Lucy and Gray back to the guild for punishment for taking on an S-Class job without permission.
• EPISODE 15 – Gray reveals his past of how he was found by Ur and Lyon (and why he keeps taking off his clothes)
• EPISODE 16 – Gray vs. Lion Round 2.
• EPISODE 17 – Natsu and Gray try to stop Deliora
• EPISODE 18 – Natsu and Erza try to figure out how to life the curse on the village.
• EPISODE 19 – Natsu find a new job on the baord and chants the words written on it which switches him and other members of Fairy Tail’s own bodies with each other. 
  
• EPISODE 20 – Mirajane tells Lucy a story of how Natsu found Happy.

DISC 2:

• EPISODE 21 – The Fairy Tail guildhall is under attack by the rival guild, Phantom Lord.
• EPISODE 22 – Makarov vs. Phantom Lord leader Jose.
• EPISODE 23 – Phantom Tail appears in Magnolia and intends to destroy Fairy Tail with a magic cannon and a member sacrifices themself to protect everyone from the attack.
• EPISODE 24 - The Phantom Lord’s attack continues as they try to wipe out Magnolia.

VIDEO:

“Fairy Tail” is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:78:1). It’s important to note that this is a anime TV series, not a film or an OVA and is a weekly anime series. What that means is A-1 Pictures and Satelight, have their hands full, especially if they have other TV series to work on that week. Typically a lot of anime series are quickly done in order to make it by their weekly deadline and sometimes, they are done the day of deadline. So, production values for TV series are typically not that high if they are working on multiple series.

Fortunately A-1 Pictures has become one of the newer studios that have been doing production for quite a number of popular hit series such as “Blue Exorcist” and “Big Windup!” and Satelight does a lot of the in-between animation. So, while they are a smaller, growing company, they are not overburdened as other studios and that means, more time dedicated to the anime series.

“Fairy Tail” features cool production value. A lot of detailed artwork, because of the many adventures, you get so many locations and not the typical regurgitated scenery.

There is a lot of detail featured in the art backgrounds, a lot of characters featured and these characters have great detail and shadowing. Colors are absolutely vibrant, black levels are deep. I found no compression artifacts or any problematic issues with this Blu-ray release. If anything, the Blu-ray really brings out the details and colors of the series and looks fantastic!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Fairy Tail” is presented in English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0. Dialogue and music is clear through the front channels for the lossless stereo soundtrack but because the English is 5.1, there is better use of the surround channels.

In fact, I found myself listening to the English dub track for “Fairy Tail” much more than the Japanese soundtrack because of the 5.1 but also, FUNimation did a magnificent job with the casting of this series. I was very pleased especially with the casting of Lucy, Natsu, Happy, Grey and Erza and for the most part, I think whichever you prefer, you will be pleased with Japanese and English audio tracks.

But for the most part, for a TV series, lossless audio is crystal clear and while not the most immersive soundtrack (which I typically don’t expect TV series to boast incredible immersive lossless soundtracks, unlike a film or OVA series), “Fairy Tail” does sound very good on Blu-ray!

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Fairy Tail Vol. 2″ features the following special features:

DISC 1:

• Episode 15 Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Tyler Walker (Director/Line Producer) with Newton Pittman (voice of Gray).

DISC 2:

• Episode 19 Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Tyler Walker (ADR Director/Line Producer/Writer) with Tia Ballard (voice of Happy), Monica Rial (Lead Writer/voice of actress for Mirajane), Colleen Clinkenbeard (voice of Erza).
• Textless Opening Songs: “S.O.W. Sense of Wonder” by Idoling!!
• Textless Closing Songs: “Tsuioku Merry-Go Round”
• Trailers – FUNimation Entertainment trailers

Fun, action-packed adventures featuring the most destructive wizard guild in the planet!

The second volume of “Fairy Tail” features stories that explore the past of Fairy Tail guild member Gray but also features one of the most intense storylines in the series thus far as the guild are under attack by their rival guild, Phantom Lord.

If anything, fans of the first volume can expect the same amount of action but also several hilarious episodes including one in which the Fairy Tail guild members switch bodies with each other.

“Fairy Tail” is an anime series that manages to have a lot of fun through the adventures of Natsu and Lucy and it has similarities to the action/adventure anime series “One Piece” and “The Slayers”.

For one, the adventure and action is big part of this series as the characters take on various rival wizard guilds, the problem is that they tend to get into so much trouble that they end up creating a lot of damage. And the object of these adventures are working guild jobs as the characters have bills to pay and each time they destroy something, it comes out of their paycheck.

And with this second volume, Natsu and Lucy are tired of taking on low-paying jobs and thus they (along with Gray) take on an S-Class mission without guild approval and now Erza is sent to go after them and retrieve them for punishment.  But will this group have what it takes to complete an S-Class Ranked Mission and with the Fairy Tail guild being attacked by their rivals, can they survive the attacks?

With that being said, this series has over 100 episodes and is still ongoing in Japan. Next to “Dragon Ball Z” and “Yu Yu Hakusho” (which are older anime series), “Fairy Tail” is the most recent, longer anime series from Japan to be released on Blu-ray by FUNimation Entertainment. So, if you want a series to watch for the long haul, “Fairy Tail” is a series worth considering.

As for the Blu-ray release, picture quality is very good for a TV series and features a good solid lossless soundtrack. It’s important to emphasize that this is a TV series and not a film or OVA, thus the production quality of animated TV shows tend to be lower (and created in a short time) than a film/OVA, so there is a bit of softness and shadowing and detail are not utilized a lot for this series.

As for special features, you do get the English voice actors providing commentary for two episodes. And speaking about the English voice actors, I felt that FUNimation Entertainment has done a magnificent job with the cast for this series! I’m usually listening to the Japanese soundtrack but this is one of the few series where I found myself watching with the English dubs because the voice acting was well-done.

Overall, the second volume of “Fairy Tail” definitely takes a step forward in character development but also battles which definitely have more impact on its characters and the overall guild. Love the artwork, the character designs and the balance between humor and action/adventure.

While the series definitely has some similarities to “One Piece” and “Slayers” in some sense, “Fairy Tail” is its own style of series with interesting adventures, plenty of action and also humor.  If you are looking for an anime series (especially one that is also watched by many children in Japan) that is not too dark or violent, definitely give “Fairy Tail” a chance!

Blue Exorcist Vol. 2 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

As the “Blue Exorcist” vol. 2 continues to introduce more characters, feature even more action-packed episodes in combination with its beautiful visual style, “Blue Exorcist” is shaping up to be one of my favorite anime series to catch on DVD for 2012!  The series has gotten better and better with each episode and is recommended!

PLEASE PURCHASE THIS ANIME SERIES FROM RIGHTSTUF

Image courtesy of © 2009 by Kazue Kato/SHUEISHA, Blue Exorcist Committee, MBS. All Rights Reserved.

DVD TITLE: Blue Exorcist Vol. 2

DURATION: Episodes 8-13 (175 minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0, 16:9 LB, Dolby Digital

COMPANY: Aniplex Inc.

RATED: Suggested 13 and Up

RELEASE DATE: January 24, 2011

Based on the manga by Kazue Kato

Directed by Tensai Okamura

Series Composition by Ryota Yamaguchi

Music by Hiroyuki Sawano

Character Design by Keigo Sasaki

Art Director: Masatoshi Kai

Chief Animation Director: Keigo Sasaki

Anime Production: A-1 Pictures

Featuring the following voice talent:

Jun Fukuyama as Yukio Okumura

Kana Hanazawa as Shiemi Moriyama

Kazuya Nakai as Ryūji Suguro

Nobuhiko Okamoto as Rin Okumura

Ayahi Takagaki as Kuro

Eri Kitamura as Izumo Kamiki

Hiroshi Kamiya as Mephisto Pheles

Keiji Fujiwara as Shirō Fujimoto

Koji Yusa as Renzō Shima

Rina Satou as Shura Kirigakure

Tetsuya Kakihara as Amaimon

Yuuki Kaji as Konekomaru Miw

“Assiah, the realm of humans, and Gehenna, the realm of demons. Normally, these two dimensions would never intersect, but having possessed all material substances, the demons are now intruding on the material world. But among the human race, there are those who can exorcise such demons.”
- the Exorcists.

Rin Okumura and his twin brother Yukio have been raised by Shiro Fujimoto, an eminent priest, so it comes as a shock when Rin discovers their biological father is actually Satan! As the border between “Assiah” (the human world) and “Gehenna” (the demon world) is crossed by evil, Rin vows to become the ultimate exorcist and defeat his own father. To hone his raw skills, Rin enters True Cross Academy to train with other exorcist candidates.

As the “Blue Exorcist” series (vol. 2) continues to introduce more characters in adventurous settings and its exciting action-paced format and beautiful visual style, “Blue Exorcist” is shaping up to be one of my favorite anime series to catch on DVD.

“Ao no Exorcist” (Blue Exorcist) is an anime adaptation of a manga series written and illustrated by Kazue Kato, a mangaka who won a Tenkaichi Manga Award back in 1999 at the age of 19 and won a Tezuka Award in 2000 for his manga “The Witch and the Rabbit”.  Kato is also known for his 2006 manga series “Robot Usakichi” (Space Traveler Robo & Usakichi).

“Blue Exorcist” was serialized on Jump Square Magazine by Shueisha since April 2009 and is still an ongoing manga series (as of January 2012, there have been a total of 30 chapters released).

With the popularity of the manga series, an anime adaptation was produced by A-1 Pictures with Hitoshi Okamura as the producer.  The series began back in April 2011 and 25-episodes have aired in Japan.  And now the second volume of “Blue Exorcist” will be released on DVD courtesy of Aniplex.

The anime series revolves around a hotheaded teenager named Rin Okumura. Both he and his brother Yukio have been raised by Father Fujimoto at the Cross Academy Town – Southern Cross Boys Monastery. While Yuki shows great intelligence and is attending school at True Cross Academy to become a doctor, Rin is quite the opposite. He tends to get himself in trouble, fights a lot and is continually told by Father Fujimoto to find a job.

Unfortunately for Rin, finding and holding onto a job is difficult. But one day, while working at a supermarket, he sees a monster in a girl’s scarf. He tells Father Fujimoto of what he has seen and Father Fujimoto starts to fear that something is happening. One day, Rin encounters a group of thugs and its leader that he had beaten up earlier and suddenly sees him turn into a demon. The demon tells Rin that satan is waiting for him and immediately, Father Fujimoto is there to save him and exorcise the demon. Fortunately, Father Fujimoto is there to help but it is all revealed to Rin about why he can see monsters.

It’s the fact that he is not truly human. He is the son of a human woman and satan. And the monsters he have seen, it is explained to Rin that in the world, there is Assiah, the realm of humans, and Gehenna, the realm of demons. Both are not supposed to come in contact with each other but they have and as an exorcist, it is his duty to send the demons back to where they belong. And satan wants to reunite with his son.

To protect Rin, Father Fujimoto gives him the Kamkakushi key, so he can hide anything. And he is also given the Koma Sword, a magic sword passed down from generation to generation and a sword where Rin’s powers have been sealed since birth. Rin’s flame resides inside the sword and is sealed by the scabbard. If he draws it, he will assume his demonic nature and will never be able to live as a human again.

One day, he and Father Fujimoto try to prepare for an imminent attack and tells Rin that he must seek shelter where satan can’t get to him but Rin takes it as his father trying to get rid of him forever. In return, Rin said some hurtful things to Father Fujimoto and the pain that Father Fujimoto felt was enough for satan, the demon to possess him.

Satan shows up to claim his son and attacks Father Fujimoto. Satan reveals that he created Rin from a human woman in order to create a container that would be powerful enough to hold him.

But it’s something that Father Fujimoto will not let happen to the boy, he looked at as a son. In order to save Rin, Father Fujimoto risks his own life to keep satan away and is killed in the process.

Now Rin mourns for the one person he knew as his father and when Mephisto Pheles, a friend of Father Fujimoto comes to visit, he tells him that they represent the Knights of the True Cross and they exorcise demons. And Rin has two choices, they will kill him, or he kills the demons. Instead, Rin tells him that he could care less about being human or a demon, he wants to become an exorcist like Father Fujimoto and avenge him and that means defeating his own father.

So, from that point on, Rin must be trained to become an exorcist and will have to follow special rules (which includes not revealing his true nature). But the first thing that he will need to do is enroll at the same school that his brother Yukio attends. When Rin sees his brother, Yukio is in the top of the class and that he is a special leader that people follow at the school and he is no longer the scrawny younger brother he once knew.

As Rin is now a student at the Knights of the True Cross, many of the elders are not too thrilled because Rin is the son of Satan and because Rin tends to be more of a hothead, they are not too sure if he can fit into the Academy.  But Rin is determined to make good on his promise to his deceased father and to protect people, but most of all, to kill satan.

With volume 2 of “Blue Exorcist”, the story continues as Rin continues to study along with his classmates and each are trying to be Esquires, in order to take on various missions.  But others at the Academy and the higher ups want to test Rin and find out if he is a person that can be taught and eventually fight with the other exorcists in defeating demons and satan himself.

While people question a demon being an exorcist, for Rin, he makes a goal that one day, he will become a Paladin (highest level of exorcism) like his adoptive father, Father Shiro and prove that because he is satan’s son, that having a caring father like Shiro can make a big change in the life of a person, even if they are a demon.

“Blue Exorcist Vol. 2″ features episodes 8-13 on one DVD. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each episode:

• EPISODE 8 – Now a Certain Man Was Sick - When the class is punished because of Kamiki and Bon’s argument, the students are attacked by a ghoul.
• EPISODE 9 – Memories – The students learn that the ghoul attack was part of their Esquire exam.  Meanwhile, Neuhaus is planning to test Rin.
• EPISODE 10 – Black Cat – Father Shiro’s familiar, a demon cat named Kuro has gone crazy when he finds out that Shiro has died.  Not believing any of it, the Academy considers killing it.  But Rin can read the cat’s true feelings.
• EPISODE 11 – Demon of the Deep Seas  – Rin, Izumo and Shima are sent on their first mission as Esquires to find out about attacks made by the Kraken.  The three meet a boy who awaits his father who went to face the Kraken six months earlier.
• EPISODE 12 – A Game of Tag – The Esquires must look for the ghost of a child haunting Mephisto Pheles’ amusement park.  But Rin is attacked by the higher demon named Amaimon.
• EPISODE 13 – Proof – Rin encounters Shura Kiragakure, a high level exorcist and former apprentice of Father Shiro.

NOTE:  Also, included with this volume 2 is the OVA “Kuro’s Trip Away” which came with the final Japanese Blu-ray/DVD release.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Blue Exorcist” is presented in 16:9 lb and Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 with English subtitles. The anime production is well-done. The surrounding environments are well-detailed, painted nicely, while the character designs are vibrant, clear and I wouldn’t be surprised if this series is given the Blu-ray treatment in the near future because it looks very good on DVD.

If anything, character designer Keigo Sasaki (“Night Raid 1931″, “Sengoku Basara”) does a great job of bringing the characters from Kazue Kato’s manga series to life, while art director Masatoshi Kai (“Akira”, “Dead Girls”, “Earthian”, “Red Garden”) did a wonderful job in bringing the series to life with the scenery and painted backgrounds.

I’m pretty impressed of how this anime looks visually.

As for audio, audio is clear coming from the front channels. I personally had my receiver set to stereo on all channels for a more immersive soundtrack. But dialogue is understandable and English subtitles are easy to read.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Blue Exorcist, Vol. 2″ features the following special features:

• Unaired Special Episode – Kuro Runs Away From Home – Kuro is upset that Rin teases him about food and Yukio tries to discipline him about his cat poop.  So, Kuro decides to runaway from home and realizes that perhaps living with Rin and Yukio is better than living without them.
  
• URA-EX (Bonus Short Movies) – Featuring three short omake anime stories (about 1:20 per omake) that are shown after an episode is completed.
• Web Previews – Featuring the “next episode” previews voiced by various demon characters (about 17 seconds each).
• Textless OP – Blue Exorcist opening theme without text.
• Textless ED - Blue Exorcist ending theme without text.
  
• Credits – Text based credits
• Aniplex Trailers

EXTRAS:

“Blue Exorcist” Vol. 2 comes with a slipcover case,  2-sided reversible cover, exclusive 2-sided poster and an O-sleeve with key visual art.

Highly entertaining, enjoyable and action-packed, “Blue Exorcist” has proved itself to be an exciting series, but the episodes featured in the second volume is much better in storyline compared to the first seven episodes.  I love where this series is headed and the additional characters featured, really make “Blue Exorcist” an anime series worth watching.

In my last review, I did have a few comparisons to the series “Naruto” as he was the person no one wanted to be around, mainly because he had a demon inside him but yet, he vowed to fight for those he cares about and one day to become the village leader.  For “Blue Exorcist”, Rin is similar in the fact that he is misunderstood, is a demon, but he wants to fight for those he cares about and to become a Paladin like the man who raised him.

And both share the similarity in that village leaders are concerned with Naruto (having the demon inside him) and for Rin of “Blue Exorcist”, you have exorcists who were wiped out by satan, also concerned that what if Rin turns out to be evil and is uncontrollable.

But despite the similarities and the fact that these students must work together on missions, there are some twists as people responsible for watching over Rin, may have their own personal agenda.  Also, unlike “Naruto” which was geared towards children, there is a lot of violence in this series, to the point where Rin is often stabbed by a sword.  Granted, he is healed but there is a bit of blood and violence at times.

As for the overall series, the character designs are actually pretty cool, especially the costume designs for the characters. Also, the art backgrounds for this series is nicely detailed and range from pastels to really vibrant colors.  Something you typically don’t see in a TV Series.  And as for special features, the fact that this second volume DVD includes the OVA of “Kuro Runs Away From Home”, is actually a wonderful treat for fans who don’t have to wait until the final volume to watch this OVA (and including this episode on vol. 2 of the DVD release is relevant, since we are introduced to Kuro in episode 10).  And keeping with aniplex’s dedication to swag, fans will be delighted with the inclusion of a poster, 2-sided reversible cover and O-sleeve with key visual art.

“Blue Exorcist” has a good balance of humor, action and an interesting concept in balance with awesome animation and beautiful art backgrounds.  While the action may be it a bit too visual for younger anime viewers (as this is suggested for 13 and up), I have to admit that I’m now hooked to the series as I felt these episodes are much better than the episodes of the last volume because these episodes include more characters.

Definitely recommended!

PLEASE PURCHASE THIS ANIME SERIES FROM RIGHTSTUF or BANDAI ENT. ONLINE STORE

Rosario + Vampire Capu2 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

Panties, vampires and monsters…Oh my!  If you are into anime harem series that are slightly perverted, full of action and all-out fun…”Rosario + Vampire Capu2″ is for you!

Image courtesy of © Akihisa Ikeda/Shueisha Rosario*Vampire Project. All Rights Reserved.

DVD TITLE: Rosario + Vampire Capu2

ANIME SERIES AIR DATE: 2008

DURATION: Episodes 1-13

DVD INFORMATION: 16:9, Bilingual Japanese & English, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: 17+

Release Date: December 20, 2011

Originally created by Akihisa Ikeda

Directed by Hiroshi Yamaguchi

Screenplay by Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Ritsuko Hayasaka

Music by Kouhei Tanaka, Shiroh Hamaguchi

Character Design by Mariko Fujita

Art Director: Shigemi Ikeda

Chief Animation Director: Satoru Kiyomaru

Mechanical Design by Hiroyuki Kanbe

Sound Director: Takeshi Takadera

Director of Photography: Ayumi Ushijima

Anime Production: Gonzo

Featuring the following voice talent

Daisuke Kishio/Todd Haberkorn as Tsukune Aono

Nana Mizuki/Alexis Tipton as Moka Akashiya

Colleen Clinkenbeard as Inner Moka Akashiya

Kikuko Inoue/Jamie Marchi as Shizuka Nekonome

Kimiko Koyama/Monica Rial as Yukari Sendō

Misato Fukuen/Brina Palencia as Kurumu Kurono

Rie Kugimiya/Tia Ballard as Mizore Shirayuki

Saeko Chiba/Leah Clark as Rubi Tōjō

Shuuichi Ikeda/Jason Douglas as Kuyou

Takehito Koyasu as Nazo Koumori

Tomokazu Seki as Ginei Morioka

Tsukune, Moka and the rest of the gang return for another year at Yokai Academy – where the supernatural student body rules the school!

Tsukune’s a real slacker in the human world, but in the monster realm he scores an A+ as a high school heartthrob. Keeping up with a hellacious bunch of hot demon girls has its perks, but Moka’s bratty little sister could burst the love bubble. His pain is her pleasure – and if the tart has her way, Tsukune can kiss Moka’s sweet side goodbye. Family values take new meaning when a MILF fight breaks out on campus, too. So forget what you know about home-economics class, because these ghouls gone wild always cook up trouble!

In 2004, mangaka Akihisa Ikeda (creator of the 2002 fantasy series “Kiruto”) created a new series titled “Rosario to Vampire” published in “Weekly Shonen Jump” and lasted from through 2007, followed by a new series titled “Rosario to Vampire Capu2″ which is currently ongoing in Japan.

With the popularity of the manga series, in 2008 a 13-episode anime series was created and ran from January through March. “Rosario to Vampire Capu 2″ followed and aired in Japan from October through December that same year.

The series features anime production from GONZO and is directed by Takayuki Inagaki (“Desert Punk”, “”Indian Summer”, “Jewelpet Sunshine”), series composition by Hiroshi Yamaguchi (“Bastard!!”, “To Heart”, “Gatekeepers”), character design by Mariko Fujita (“Galaxy Angel”) and art direction by Shigemi Ikeda (“Ikki Tousen”, “Gantz”, “Inuyasha”).

And now both seasons of “Rosario+Vampire” (the American title) will be released by FUNimation Entertainment in Dec. 2011.

“Rosario+Vampire” is a harem anime series which focuses on protagonist Tsukune Aono, a normal high school freshman who is unable to get into any private school because of his bad grades. But his parents enroll him into a private school called “Yokai Academy”.

But when Tsukune arrives at his new school, he realizes that it’s a school for monsters disguised as humans and because it’s a top secret school in which humans are not to know about it, if he reveals that he is human and knows about the school, he will be killed.

One day, while thinking about leaving the school, he accidentally runs into a beautiful pink haired girl named Moka Akashiya. Moka turns out to be a sweet vampire and is attracted to the taste of his blood (she takes small nibbles instead of large bites). Moka had lived in the human world at one time and does not like them for some reason. She also wears cross that is fixed upon a collar and can not be removed.

But because she has made friends with Tsukune, she instantly bonds with him, not knowing he is human. And because this normal teenager is able to catch the attention of a beautiful girl at school, others become jealous and one decides to confront Moka of why she would be with a weakling like Tsukune.

And through circumstances, he reveals to Moka that he is actually a human and she is shocked to find out that someone so kind, is a human being. But one day, while trying to defend Moka from a male monster trying to make her be with him, somehow he is able to remove her cross from her collar which activates during a time of need and Moka transforms to a Class S vampire (the most powerful vampire) and the true inner Moka is revealed.

Needless to say, she defeats the male monster and from that point on, both begin to become great friends and fall for each other.

But along the way, other female students (supernatural) also begin to fall for Tsukune and all start to hang out as a group, but at the same time, each girl knows they are rivals in gaining Tsukune’s affection.

In season two, after finding out Tsukune is human but still cares for them despite these monsters not being human at all, each of them cares for Tsukune and wants him as their husband.  But in “Rosario + Vampire Capu 2″, it is quite obvious that Tsukune is falling for Moka, but also the interior Moka.  And actually, he cares for all the ladies close to him.

But it’s a new school year and Tsukune can’t wait to see Moka and the others.  And while hurrying to school, he accidentally runs into a violent, outspoken girl named Kokoa Shuzen and “accidentally” gropes her breast.  Needless to say, the first meeting between Tsukune and Kokoa, doesn’t go quite well.

Meanwhile, Tsukune reunites with Moka, Kurumu, Yukari and Mizore.  Including their lecherous newspaper president Ginei Morioka and even Ruby Tojo has found various jobs at Yokai Academy.

But just when everything seems to be going well,suddenly, Moka begins receiving threatening letters that some one is out to kill her.

Scared and devastated by the recurring letters, each wonders who may be after her…and we learn the person responsible is Kokoa Shuzen, the girl that Tsukune accidentally ran into but also the half-sister of Moka (interior Moka).  Kokoa has been emotionally scarred since her sister left her and she doesn’t understand why her real sister has been locked inside this other Moka.  And now, Kokoa has developed this hatred towards Moka, for not letting her sister be free.

“Rosario + Vampire Capu 2″ is a series that focuses on family.  As Moka has to deal with her half-sister Kokoa, what happens when she gives internal Moka the chance to be free?

Tsukune has to deal with his mother who has found out that he has become popular with a few girls at Yokai Academy, his cousin Kyoko who saw Tsukune’s friends fight with their supernatural powers and now wants to find out what kind of school that Tsukune is attending.

Also, we meet Mizore’s mother Tsurara Shirayuki and Kurumu’s mother Ageha Kurono and find out that like their daughters, these two were rivals in high school over a guy (who happens to be Yukari’s father).   But this time, both mothers insist in having their daughter win the affections of Tsukune.

The main characters of “Rosario + Vampire” are:

• Tsukune Aono – The main protagonist. A normal human teenager who is mistakenly enrolled into Yokai Academy. Because it is illegal for humans to attend a high school for the supernatural/monsters, Tsukune tries to keep his human existence a secret (only Moka knows he is a human). He really cares for Moka, but also cares for his other friends and tries to protect them. And because he is courageous and willing to befriend them, these female characters fall for him.
• Moka Akashiya – The first student that Tsukune befriends. She is a sweet and kind vampire with a rosario (cross) attached to her collar. It is sealed and no one can remove it but when things get tough, Tsukune is the only person can break off the rosario and reveal the cold “inner” Moka who is an S-Class monster. She cares for Tsukune deeply and loves the taste of his blood.
• Kurumu Kurono – She is a succubus who sees Moka as a rival because of the attention she gets from guys. Kurumu also has G-cup breasts that she tries to seduce Tsukune with and can use her hypnotizing spell on males. She chooses Tsukune to be the guy she will try to win over and marry.
• Yukari Sendo – The smartest student of Yokai Academy at young at age 11. She is a witch and because witches are seen as half human, she is discriminated against by her fellow schoolmates and has moved school to school because she didn’t not get along with anyone. But because both Tsukune and Moka accepted her and want to be friends with her, she has interests in both Moka and Tsukune.
• Mizora Shirayuki - A depressed girl with freezing supernatural powers. Because Tsukune became friends with her, she became infatuated with him. She is known to be quiet and always sucking a lollipop.
• Ginei Morioka – A werewolf and the president of the Newspaper Club. He is also a mega pervert and tried to get Tsukune in trouble at one time. But despite his pervertedness, he has helped the group at times when they are in a bind.
• Kokoa Shuzen – Moka Akashiya’s half sister and often angry.  She loves her sister to death and despises the current Moka where her sister is sealed inside.  She is often seen talking to her pet bats.
• Ruby Tojo – Introduced as a rival in the first season, she is now working at Yokai Academy under Mikogami but the truth is that she does so, because of her hidden infatuation with Tsukune.

Here is a basic spoilerless summary of each episode included on the two DVD’s of “Rosario+Vampire Capu2″:

DISC 1

• EPISODE 1 – Tsukune returns for his second year at Yokai Academy but finds out someone has been threatening Moka
• EPISODE 2 – Moka reveals that the person sending her threatening letters is her sister Kokoa Shuzen.
• EPISODE 3 - It’s Parents’ Day at Yokai Academy and both Mizora and Kurumu have lied to their parents that Tsukune is their boyfriend.  But the daughters don’t know that their mothers were also friends/rivals back in high school.
• EPISODE 4 – Yukari is sad that she doesn’t have big breasts like her friends and goes to the school nurse, to make her an adult.
• EPISODE 5 – The young ladies try to win Tsukune’s affection by cooking curry for him.
• EPISODE 6 - A school trip to the human world but the “Alliance” takes Tsukune as their hostage and they will only release him if Kurumu, Mizore and Yukari defeat them.
• EPISODE 7 – Tsukune pays his mother a visit, but all the other girls secretly pay him a visit at his mom’s place as well.

DISC 2:

• EPISODE 8 - Ruby makes a new rule at Yokai Academy requiring the Moka and friends to wear long skirts.
• EPISODE 9 – Tsukune and friends visit a ski resort in the human world, and learn that is run by Mizore’s mother Tsurara.  And once again, mother tries to get Mizore closer to Tsukune.
• EPISODE 10 – A new transfer student named Kotaro Ijuin joins Yokai Academy and uses his hypnotizing charms on all female students including Moka and friends.
• EPISODE 11 – Kyoko has decided to investigate Yokai Academy but in the process, she runs into Kokoa and both have identical parcels and Kyoko ends up with the Lilith Mirror that will turn monsters disguised as humans, into their true form.
• EPISODE 12 – Moka sacrficies her life by using her seal to stop the human/yokai worlds from crumbling.  But now she has gicen her life and is replaced by inner Moka.  How will Tsukune deal with the Moka he knew…gone.
• EPISODE 13 – With news that Tsukune can help free Outer Moka, he goes to the castle to confront the Dark Lord.

VIDEO:

“Rosario + Vampire Capu2″ is presented in 16:9 widescreen. As one would expect from a TV series, the picture quality on DVD is soft and there is more detail that can be seen on the art backgrounds which are well-painted. Character designs are good at times, while not as detailed for far shots, close-ups look good and there is good shading on the clothes and hair of the characters . But overall, the picture quality looks good on DVD and the fact that locations are constantly changing for the series, there is a good amount of background scenery used.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Rosario + Vampire Capu2″ is presented in English 5.1 surround and Japanese stereo. While the Japanese voice acting is very good, I found myself watching the English dub quite a bit because of the better spatial use of audio. The voice acting for the English dub is well-done and for the most part, fans of the series should enjoy both soundtracks. While those with home theater systems may prefer the English 5.1 for the better use of channels, you can also set your receiver to output stereo on all channels for the Japanese track for a more immersive soundtrack.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Rosario + Vampire Capu2″ comes with the following special features:

DISC 2

• Textless Opening Song – DISCOTEQUE
• Textless Closing Song – Trinity Cross
  
• Trailers – FUNimation Entertainment trailres

Like the original “Rosario + Vampire”, the second season returns with more crazy fun with this anime series with plenty of panty shots, jiggly boobs and monster action!

This time around, the storyline is more of a family affair as we watch stories that involve Moka’s half-sister Kokoa, Mizore and Kurumu’s parents and also Tsukune’s relatives as well.  And this is quite interesting because I mentioned of how the first season, “Rosario + Vampire” didn’t break anything new to the harem anime series aside from its characters going to a monster high school but with Tsukune being the lone human.

But what the second season does is try to show how much more complex things have gotten, now that family members have gotten involved in the lives of Tsukune and his lady friends.  With outer Moka, we know that she feels sad for Kokoa because inner Moka is sealed within her.  We know that Kurumu and Mizore’s parents want their daughter to win, in an extension of their own rivalry back in high school, both mothers wanting their daughters to become victors in winning Tsukune’s affection.

In some way, I was expecting the typical banal storyline of more female characters falling for Tsukune but instead, Akihisa Ikeda kept the storyline within these main female characters and instead of building problems of additional female admirers, instead…he brings in the family to cause problems.  So, that’s a pretty interesting take on this harem anime series.

And as far as fan service, just like the first season…plenty of panty shots for the lonely otaku who loves fan service, including a few scenes of nudity as well.  So, older siblings or people with kids, this is not a series to watch around the little ones.

While the majority of all episodes are upbeat, similar to the first season, with the secnd season finale, we do get a somewhat deeper storyline as Tsukune will go out of his way to save outer Moka.

As for DVD release of “Rosario + Vampire Capu2″, I was hoping to listen to audio commentary from FUNimation Entertainment aside from the typical textless opening and closing theme being the sole special feature. And the picture quality for the series, it’s good for DVD but because it is soft at times, not sure if this series would be upgraded and released in the near future on Blu-ray.

Overall, “Rosario + Vampire Capu2″ was an anime series that I enjoyed!  I love watching these frienemy/rival type of anime series that are built upon miscommunication or pretty much everyone wanting their moment with Tsukune.  Granted, the series is a bit perverted with all the panty shots and as mentioned, there is nudity in this sequel.  But if you are an anime fan craving for something a bit perverse, crazy but also a series that is full of action, you can’t go wrong with “Rosario + Vampire Capu2″!

Rosario + Vampire: Season One (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

If you are an anime fan craving for something a bit perverse, crazy but also a series that is full of action, you can’t go wrong with “Rosario + Vampire”!

Image courtesy of © Akihisa Ikeda/Shueisha Rosario*Vampire Project. All Rights Reserved.

DVD TITLE: Rosario + Vampire: Season One

DURATION: Episodes 1-13

DVD INFORMATION: 16:9, Bilingual Japanese & English, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: 17+

Release Date: December 20, 2011

Originally created by Akihisa Ikeda

Directed by Hiroshi Yamaguchi

Screenplay by Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Ritsuko Hayasaka

Music by Kouhei Tanaka, Shiroh Hamaguchi

Character Design by Mariko Fujita

Art Director: Shigemi Ikeda

Chief Animation Director: Satoru Kiyomaru

Mechanical Design by Hiroyuki Kanbe

Sound Director: Takeshi Takadera

Director of Photography: Ayumi Ushijima

Anime Production: Gonzo

Featuring the following voice talent

Daisuke Kishio/Todd Haberkorn as Tsukune Aono

Nana Mizuki/Alexis Tipton as Moka Akashiya

Colleen Clinkenbeard as Inner Moka Akashiya

Kikuko Inoue/Jamie Marchi as Shizuka Nekonome

Kimiko Koyama/Monica Rial as Yukari Sendō

Misato Fukuen/Brina Palencia as Kurumu Kurono

Rie Kugimiya/Tia Ballard as Mizore Shirayuki

Saeko Chiba/Leah Clark as Rubi Tōjō

Shuuichi Ikeda/Jason Douglas as Kuyou

Takehito Koyasu as Nazo Koumori

Tomokazu Seki as Ginei Morioka

Tsukune looks to be a typical high school student, but his grades are bad to the bone. Rejected by school after school, he finally gets accepted by an academy that’s more than a little out of his neighborhood. Unfortunately, it’s a school for monsters and Tsukune is the lone human! While forced to hide his secret, along comes a cute – but hungry – vampire girl named Moka. Beneath her cute and clumsy exterior, she too is not exactly as she seems…

In 2004, mangaka Akihisa Ikeda (creator of the 2002 fantasy series “Kiruto”) created a new series titled “Rosario to Vampire” published in “Weekly Shonen Jump” and lasted from through 2007, followed by a new series titled “Rosario to Vampire Capu2″ which is currently ongoing in Japan.

With the popularity of the manga series, in 2008 a 13-episode anime series was created and ran from January through March.  A second season followed and aired in Japan from October through December that same year.

The series features anime production from GONZO and is directed by Takayuki Inagaki (“Desert Punk”, “”Indian Summer”, “Jewelpet Sunshine”), series composition by Hiroshi Yamaguchi (“Bastard!!”, “To Heart”, “Gatekeepers”), character design by Mariko Fujita (“Galaxy Angel”) and art direction by Shigemi Ikeda (“Ikki Tousen”, “Gantz”, “Inuyasha”).

And now both seasons of “Rosario+Vampire” (the American title) will be released by FUNimation Entertainment in Dec. 2011.

“Rosario+Vampire” is a harem anime series which focuses on protagonist Tsukune Aono, a normal high school freshman who is unable to get into any private school because of his bad grades.  But his parents enroll him into a private school called “Yokai Academy”.

But when Tsukune arrives at his new school, he realizes that it’s a school for monsters disguised as humans and because it’s a top secret school in which humans are not to know about it, if he reveals that he is human and knows about the school, he will be killed.

One day, while thinking about leaving the school, he accidentally runs into a beautiful pink haired girl named Moka Akashiya.  Moka turns out to be a sweet vampire and is attracted to the taste of his blood (she takes small nibbles instead of large bites).  Moka had lived in the human world at one time and does not like them for some reason.  She also wears cross that is fixed upon a collar and can not be removed.

But because she has made friends with Tsukune, she instantly bonds with him, not knowing he is human.  And because this normal teenager is able to catch the attention of a beautiful girl at school, others become jealous and one decides to confront Moka of why she would be with a weakling like Tsukune.

And through circumstances, he reveals to Moka that he is actually a human and she is shocked to find out that someone so kind, is a human being.  But one day, while trying to defend Moka from a male monster trying to make her be with him, somehow he is able to remove her cross from her collar which activates during a time of need and Moka transforms to a Class S vampire (the most powerful vampire) and the true inner Moka is revealed.

Needless to say, she defeats the male monster and from that point on, both begin to become great friends and fall for each other.

But along the way, other female students (supernatural) also begin to fall for Tsukune and all start to hang out as a group, but at the same time, each girl knows they are rivals in gaining Tsukune’s affection.

The main characters of “Rosario + Vampire” are:

• Tsukune Aono – The main protagonist. A normal human teenager who is mistakenly enrolled into Yokai Academy.  Because it is illegal for humans to attend a high school for the supernatural/monsters, Tsukune tries to keep his human existence a secret (only Moka knows he is a human).  He really cares for Moka, but also cares for his other friends and tries to protect them.  And because he is courageous and willing to befriend them, these female characters fall for him.
• Moka Akashiya – The first student that Tsukune befriends.  She is a sweet and kind vampire with a rosario (cross) attached to her collar.  It is sealed and no one can remove it but when things get tough, Tsukune is the only person can break off the rosario and reveal the cold “inner” Moka who is an S-Class monster.  She cares for Tsukune deeply and loves the taste of his blood.
• Kurumu Kurono – She is a succubus who sees Moka as a rival because of the attention she gets from guys.  Kurumu also has G-cup breasts that she tries to seduce Tsukune with and can use her hypnotizing spell on males. She chooses Tsukune to be the guy she will try to win over and marry.
• Yukari Sendo – The smartest student of Yokai Academy at young at age 11.  She is a witch and because witches are seen as half human, she is discriminated against by her fellow schoolmates and has moved school to school because she didn’t not get along with anyone.  But because both Tsukune and Moka accepted her and want to be friends with her, she has interests in both Moka and Tsukune.
• Mizora Shirayuki - A depressed girl with freezing supernatural powers.  Because  Tsukune became friends with her, she became infatuated with him.  She is known to be quiet and always sucking a lollipop.
• Ginei Morioka – A werewolf and the president of the Newspaper Club.  He is also a mega pervert and tried to get Tsukune in trouble at one time.  But despite his pervertedness, he has helped the group at times when they are in a bind.

Here is a basic spoilerless summary of each episode included on the two DVD’s of “Rosario+Vampire: Season One”:

DISC 1

• EPISODE 1 – Tsukune Aono meets Moka Akashiya for the first time.
• EPISODE 2 – A succubus named Kurumu Kurono tries to beat her rival Moka by getting close to Tsukune.
• EPISODE 3 - Tsukune, Moka and Kurumu meet a troublesome young witch named Yukari Sendo.
• EPISODE 4 – Three fanboys are upset that Tsukune is getting all the attention from the hot girls at school and now they want him dead.
• EPISODE 5 – The students must choose an activity and Tsukune considers joining the swim club (but water drains the powers of vampires, so Moka is reluctant in joining).
• EPISODE 6 - Tsukune along with Moka, Kurumu and Yukari join the Newspaper club and meet the president Ginei Morioka, a high class pervert who tries to pin his pervertedness on Tsukune.
• EPISODE 7 – Tsukune and friends meet a depressed girl named Mizore Shirayuki.

DISC 2:

• EPISODE 8 - Tsukune is failing in math and his teacher Ririko Kagome tries to take things into her own hands in teaching Tsukune math.
• EPISODE 9 – The Newspaper Club takes a field trip to the human world.  Meanwhile, Yukari encounters a witch named Ruby Tojo.
• EPISODE 10 – Ruby has second thoughts about Tsukune and friends.
• EPISODE 11 – The Newspaper Club is working on a story to show the Public Safety Committee’s corruptness at Yokai Academy.
• EPISODE 12 – When the attempts by the Newspaper Club to collect evidence on the PSC’s corruption, Tsukune is under arrest for suspicion of being human.
• EPISODE 13 – Tsukune is sentenced to execution for being human.

VIDEO:

“Rosario + Vampire” is presented in 16:9 widescreen.  As one would expect from a TV series, the picture quality on DVD is soft and there is more detail that can be seen on the art backgrounds which are well-painted.  Character designs are good at times, while not as detailed for far shots, close-ups look good and there is good shading on the clothes and hair of the characters .  But overall, the picture quality looks good on DVD and the fact that locations are constantly changing for the series, there is a good amount of background scenery used.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Rosario + Vampire” is presented in English 5.1 surround and Japanese stereo.  While the Japanese voice acting is very good, I found myself watching the English dub quite a bit because of the better spatial use of audio.  The voice acting for the English dub is well-done and for the most part, fans of the series should enjoy both soundtracks.  While those with home theater systems may prefer the English 5.1 for the better use of channels, you can also set your receiver to output stereo on all channels for the Japanese track for a more immersive soundtrack.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Rosario + Vampire: Season One” comes with the following special features:

DISC 2

• Textless Closing Song – Dancing in the Velvet Moon
• Trailers – FUNimation Entertainment trailres

“Rosario + Vampire” is a harem anime series which is fun, a bit perverse and features a good amount of action and fan service!

While “Rosario + Vampire” does fit into the banality of harem anime series, with the world’s fascination towards vampire films and television series, “Rosario + Vampire” being adapted into an anime series was good timing and while the series does feature a female vampire and a human male (which is the opposite of many TV series and movies featuring vampire and human relationships), the positives that I have found of the series is that the characters are fun to watch, each have their own distinct styles (considering one is a vampire, one is a succubus, one is a witch and the other is some snow entity) and also you get the mix of fan service that will surely attract fan who can’t get enough of perverted situations.

And of course, it helps to have fan service and action in perfect balance and “Rosario + Vampire” does provide both.

Despite having a series being featured on the main protagonist attending a school full of monsters and supernatural beings, “Rosario + Vampire”, while not adding anything new to anime harem series, I did enjoy the series because of its underdog mentality.  Tsukune is not exactly the bravest of people, but somehow he respects his friendships and in turn, because he does step into to protect those he cares about, we get to see female characters who become attracted to him and thus everyone wanting to be with him.

While the majority of all episodes are upbeat, you do get an emotional season finale which was definitely entertaining!

While I’m not sure if mangaka Akihisa Ikeda provided a final definitive storyline as the manga series is still ongoing in Japan, the first volume does play it safe by focusing on the adventures of Tsukune and friends as they take on various supernatural beings/monsters and eventually get more deep into their newspaper club which leads to a season finale which is to be expected.

As for the first season of “Rosario + Vampire”, I was hoping to listen to audio commentary from FUNimation Entertainment aside from the single textless ending theme being the sole special feature.  And the picture quality for the series, it’s good for DVD but because it is soft at times, not sure if this series would be upgraded and released in the near future on Blu-ray.

Overall, “Rosario + Vampire: Season One” was an anime series that I enjoyed!  I’m used to watching harem anime series and for the most part, the rivalry and the camaraderie that comes with these anime series is similar what you would find on “Rosario + Vampire”, but I will say that having something take place at a school of monsters is rather intriguing.  And once again, those who love fan service and action-themed anime series will definitely enjoy “Rosario + Vampire”.

If you are an anime fan craving for something a bit perverse, crazy but also a series that is full of action, you can’t go wrong with “Rosario + Vampire”!

Bleach DVD Set Eleven – Original and Uncut (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

With the eleventh DVD set of “Bleach”, the storyline steps away from the Arrancar storyline with two stories which feature a new captain for the third division and Ichigo and friends trying to protect a young princess from being assassinated.  A good balance of humor and action, for those who have stuck with the series for the long haul, will definitely enjoy “Bleach DVD Set Eleven – Original and Uncut”.

Image courtesy of © Tite Kubo/Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu, Pierrot. All Rights Reserved.

DVD TITLE: Bleach: DVD Set Eleven – Original and Uncut

DURATION: Episodes 168-179 (276 Minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: 4:3, Bilingual Japanese & English, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: VIZ Media

RATED: 13+

Release Date: December 13, 2011

Originally created by Kubotite

Directed by Noriyuki Abe

Music by Shiro Sagisu

Character Design by Masashi Kudo

Art Director: Natsuko Suzuki, Sawako Takagi

Anime Production by TV Tokyo, Dentsu, Studio Pierrot

Featuring the following voice talent:

Fumiko Orikasa/Michelle Ruff as Rukia Kuchiki

Masakazu Morita/Johnny Yong Bosch as Ichigo Kurosaki

Hiroki Yasumoto/Jamieson Price as Sado “Chad” Yasutora

Kentarou Itou/Wally Wingert as Abarai Renji

Masakazu Morita/Johnny Yong Bosch as Hollow Ichigo

Noriaki Sugiyama/Derek Stephen Prince as Ishida Uryuu

Satsuki Yukino/Wendee Lee as Shihouin Yoruichi (human form)

Shinichiro Miki/Michael Lindsay as Urahara Kisuke

Yuki Matsuoka/Stephanie Sheh as Inoue Orihime

Kaya Matsutani/Megan Hollingshead as Rangiku Matsumoto

Nobuyuki Hiyama/Vic Mignogna as Ikkaku Madarame

Jun Fukuyama/Brian Beacock as Yumichika Ayasegawa

Romi Paku/Steve Staley as Toshiro Hitsugaya

Ichigo and Rukia take responsibility for looking after Rurichiyo, a girl of noble birth who one day appears in the World of the Living. She and her two bodyguards transfer into Ichigo’s class at school, and Rukia decides to show her how to have fun. But the fun stops when Rurichiyo disappears and then a group of assassins arrives and challenges Ichigo and his friends to a fight!

“Bleach” is one of those titles, alongside “Naruto” and “Dragon Ball Z” that has managed to capture the attention of anime fans and continues to reinvent itself with new sagas and characters. Created in 2001 by mangaka Tite Kubo, the manga has been published on Weekly Shonen Jump and the animated series has been airing on Japanese television since 2004.

The series has manged to grow its fandom worldwide, especially in the US as the series has aired on television on the Cartoon Network and the various video games for the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP have also been popular among the fans as well.

The manga series revolves around teenager Ichigo Kurosaki, who has the ability to see Soul Reapers (a military group that escorts the souls of the dead) and in this case, Ichigo has seen a female Soul Reaper named Rukia Kuchiki. One day, a hollow (a monster that was once a human soul) has come to attack and when Rukia was injured, she transferred her spirit pressure to Ichigo in order for him to fight the hollow.

The series focused on Ichigo and Rukia’s friendship as somehow nearly all her spirit pressure had been transferred to Ichigo and stripping away her soul reaper power and thus Ichigo now has the power to take on the hollows while Rukia helps guide him through the battles with her knowledge. As Rukia temporarily lives with Ichigo, the two together battle hollows.

Throughout the series, Ichigo continues to get stronger, as does his friends Chad, Orihime, Uraharu and each develop significant skills to fight against the hollows and the powerful Arrancar.

While the last volumes have focused on the battle with the Arrancars, this time around, “Bleach DVD Set Eleven” (also known as Season 9 in Japan), the season is broken up into two stories.  The first story features the Third Division meeting their new captain, Shusuke Amagai and Amagai trying to win the trust of his new squad.

Meanwhile, on Earth, Ichigo and friends meet a young princess of the Soul Society nobility named Lurichiyo Kasumioji and her Soul Reaper assistants Ryusei “Kenryu” Kenzaki and Ruzaburo “Enryu” Enkogawa who move next door to Ichigo’s home.  They hope that Ichigo, Rukia and friends will be able to protect Lurichiyo from assassins, while she tries to maintain a normal life not knowing the threats that are being made against her.

For Ichigo, having to watch over a spoiled princess and having to deal with her bossy protectors is more than he needs in his life right now.  Especially when they bring out so many hollows and leave them to Ichigo and friends to fight them all.

The main characters of “Bleach” are:

• Ichigo Kurosaki – The main protagonist. A teenager who becomes a substitute soul reaper after absorbing Rukia’s powers. Accepting his new powers and wanting to protect everyone around him. Ichiro manages to grow in power with every battle he gets involved in.
• Rukia Kuchiki – A Soul Reaper who transferred her spiritual power to Ichigo.
• Orihime Inoue – A longtime classmate of Ichigo who is very caring and manages to develop her spiritual awareness and after her brother is killed by a hollow, she has managed to grow in power which is tied to a hairpin that her brother had given her.
• Yasutora “Chad” Sado – A friend of Ichigo and very quiet. Developed a sense of seeing hollows and eventually gaining a power of strength and a right arm that is literally a weapon to fight against hollows.
• Uryu Ishida - A classmate of Ichigo and a descendant of a priest group that hunted hollows known as Quincy. Earlier on, Uryu was a rival of Ichigo due to his hatred towards the Soul Reapers and eventually becomes friends with him.
• Kon – A modsoul who’s life soul is put into a stuffed lion. When Ichigo is a Soul Reaper, Kon takes over Ichigo’s body, so no one including Ichigo’s family knows that Ichiro is actually not there. Mostly a comedy-driven character known for his perverseness and always complaining about something.
• Kisuke Urahara – Owner of the Urahara shop and a former captain of the 12th Division in the Soul Society. He caught Aizen converting Soul Reapers to Visoreds but before he can save them, Aizen framed him for the crimes and Urahara fled to the real world.
• Yoruichi Shihoin – An old friend of Kisuke Urahara who can turn into a black cat. She is the former captain of the 2nd Division and former Commander in Chief of the Secret Mobile Corps.

Here is a basic spoilerless summary of each episode included on the three DVD’s of “Bleach: DVD Set Eleven – Original and Uncut”:

Note: In Japan, this set features season 9 in Japan.

DISC 1

• EPISODE 168 – The third division’s new captain, Shusuke Amagai is announced and Makoto Kibune as his third seat, but they are not well-received by the squad.
• EPISODE 169 – Ichigo meets Lurichiyo Kasumioji and her Soul Reaper assistants.
• EPISODE 170 - Ichigo triest o find out why Kenryu and Enryu and the princess are in the real world and an assassination attempt is made on the young princess.
• EPISODE 171 – Ichigo and Rukia take Lurichiyo to have a meal at Ichigo’s home.

DISC 2

• EPISODE 172 – Amagai tries to buld trust with the third division.
• EPISODE 173 - Kumoi orders Hanza to kill the young princess.
• EPISODE 174 – Kumoi eliminates the remaining clan members to grow his power.  And Lurichiyo’s fiance, Shu Kannogi, becomes head of the clan.
• EPISODE 175 - Kumoi works to have Lurichiyo, Ichigo and friends killed.

DISC 3:

• EPISODE 176 - Rukia vs. Jinnai Doko.  Chad vs. Genba.
• EPISODE 177 – Rukia vs. Jinnai Doko part 2.  Uryu vs. Kuzuryu.
• EPISODE 178 – Ichigo is sealed in a different dimension and is forced to relive his mother’s death.
• EPISODE 179 -  Amagai continues to try to win the respect of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

VIDEO:

If there is one thing that I’ve always enjoyed about “Bleach” is that for a TV series that is cranked out in Japan, the TV series features a good amount of detail in the background art. The series tends to really showcase quite a bit of locations and thus, not always reusing scenes.

Also, the character designs, despite not always being detailed, is shown great care by character designer Masashi Kudo who definitely respects the original illustrations of Tite Kubo. Some closeups are really well done and there is a good amount of focus on the actual animation during the battle sequences.

For a TV series, especially knowing how in Japan, many of these studios tend to crank them out because they have other deadlines taking on other series, “Bleach” continues to look very good.

As for picture quality, of course on DVD, you are going to see some banding and edge enhancement but for the most part, picture quality is very good.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Bleach” is presented in stereo English and Japanese. Both dialogue tracks are clear and understandable. For those with a modern receiver may want to set their setting to stereo on all channels for a more immersive soundtrack.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Bleach: DVD Set Eleven – Original and Uncut” comes with the following special features:

DISC 1

• Production Art – Using your remote, you can view “Bleach” production art.
• Clean Ending – The clean ending theme.
• Omake – The ending omake for episodes 168-171.
• Sneak Peek – Sneek peak of VIZ related anime series on DVD.
• Manga Preview – A short preview of “Bleach” on manga.

DISC 2

• Production Art – Using your remote, you can view “Bleach” production art.
• Clean Ending – The clean ending theme.
• Omake – The ending omake for episodes 172-175.
• Sneak Peek – Sneek peak of VIZ related anime series on DVD.
• Manga Preview – A short preview of “Bleach” on manga.

DISC 3

• Production Art – Using your remote, you can view “Bleach” production art.
• Clean Ending – The clean ending theme.
• Omake – The ending omake from episodes 176-179.
• Sneak Peek – Sneek peak of VIZ related anime series on DVD.
• Manga Preview – A short preview of “Bleach” on manga.

While “Bleach DVD Set Eleven – Original and Uncut” may be a filler volume, fortunately we have connected episodes and two action-packed storylines that keep “Bleach” fans interested.

Usually after a major arc and in order for an anime series to not surpass the manga artist’s original storyline, filler episodes are needed to give enough time between an anime and manga series.  For Shonen Jump series such as “Bleach” and “Naruto”, these filler episodes happen quite often.  And for both series, one reason why their filler episodes work is because of their vast characters they can tap into and build a storyline around them.

And in the cast of “Bleach”, there are so many soul reapers they can literally tap into and in this case, lieutenant Izuru Kira and the third squad and the introduction of Captain Shusuke Amagai make up part of the storyline, while the rest focuses on Ichigo and friends trying to protect a young princess named Lurichiyo.

While the storyline may seem simplistic, by the latter episodes on this eleventh volume, you realize that things are getting bit deeper in the storyline as Lurichiyo, Ichigo and friends are now being targeted for death.

And for me, it’s great to have Ichigo and friends back in the world of the living and seeing old friends back again.

While “Bleach DVD Set Eleven – Original and Uncut” are filler episodes, you do get a lot of fun moments and also plenty of action.  But this volume is definitely setting the course for a more intense battle between Ichigo and friends and the assassins.

Overall, if you are a “Bleach” fan and are dedicated to the series for the long haul, then this eleventh DVD set will surely entertain you!

Naruto Shippuden DVD Set 8 – Original & Uncut (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

“Naruto Shippuden DVD Set 8 – Original & Uncut” features Team Kurenai on a mission and Naruto going under training to learn a new jutsu.  While not as deep as the last volume, volume 8 of “Naruto Shippuden” is still fun and entertaining, especially for fans who are planning to stay with the series for the long haul.

Image courtesy of © 2002 Masashi Kishimoto/2008 Shippuden. All Rights Reserved.

DVD TITLE: Naruto Shippuden DVD Set 8 – Original & Uncut

DURATION: Episodes 89-100 (300 Minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: 2.0 Stereo Surround Sound, Bilingual (Japanese & English), English Subtitles

COMPANY: Shonen Jump/Viz Media

RATED: Rated T for Older Teen

Release Date: October 11, 2011

Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto

Series Directed by Hayato Date

Produced by Tomoko Gushima, Ken Hagino

Series Coordinator by Junki Takegami, Satoru Nishizono

Character Design by Tetsuya Nishio, Hirofumi Suzuki

Music by Yasuharu Takanishi, Yaiba

Music Production by Aniplex

Anime Production by TV Tokyo, Pierrot

Featuring the following voice talent:

Junko Takeuchi/Maile Flanagan as Naruto Uzumaki

Chie Nakamura/Kate Higgins as Sakura Haruno

Noriaki Sugiyama/Yuri Lowenthal as Sasuke Uchiha

Akira Ishida/Liam O’Brien as Sabaku no Gaara (Gaara of the Desert)

Hideo Ishikawa/Crispin Freeman as Itachi Uchiha

Houchu Ohtsuka/David Lodge as Jiraiya

Kazuhiko Inoue/Dave Wittenberg as Hatake Kakashi

Kentarou Itou/Robbie Rist as Chouji Akimichi

Kenyuu Horiuchi/Troy Baker as Pain

Kouichi Toochika/Steve Staley as Neji Hyuuga

Kousuke Toriumi/Kyle Hebert as Kiba Inuzuka

Kujira/Steven Blum as Orochimaru

Masako Katsuki/Debi Mae West as Tsunade/Fifth Hokage

Nana Mizuki/Stephanie Sheh as Hinata Hyuuga

Nobutoshi Canna/Henry Dittman as Kabuto Yakushi

Rikiya Koyama/Troy Baker as Yamato

Romi Paku/Tara Platt as Temari

Ryoka Yuzuki/Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Ino Yamanaka

Satoshi Hino/Ben Diskin as Sai

Shinji Kawada/Derek Stephen Prince as Shino Aburame

Yasuyuki Kase/Michael Lindsay as Kankurou

Yoichi Masukawa/Brian Donovan as Rock Lee

Naruto’s new jutsu Rasen Shuriken is unbelievably powerful – but because of the risks to the user, Tsunade forbids Naruto to use it! When Jiraiya returns to the village, Naruto seeks his guidance, and the two head off to a hot springs resort to work on a solution. Meanwhile, Kakashi leads a team in search of Orochimaru’s hideout, and when Naruto hears about it, he begs to join them.

Since 1999, “Naruto” created by Masashi Kishimoto (“Karakuri”) has been one of the most popular anime and manga series in Japan and has easily become a favorite best selling anime/manga series among fans all over the world.

For the anime series, since 2002, “Naruto” lasted until 2007 with a total of 220 episodes. The series would follow the adventures of a boy named Naruto Uzamaki, who may not be the brightest ninja from the Konoha Village but he makes it up with heart and also tremendous power as the killer beast known as the nine-tailed fox has been sealed within him.

Earlier in the series, the anime series focused on Naruto and his team members Sasuke Uchida and Sakura Haruno as they would go on adventures and learn to become a team and also honing their ninja abilities. The series would then begin to introduce other young ninjas from the village who Naruto would be paired up with and the young ninjas would take on rival clans to helping people in need. But somehow as the series continued, Sasuke Uchida would then go off on his own personal mission to stop his brother Itaki Uchida, who murdered the whole Uchida clan and his family, only leaving Sasuke alive.

Within those six years, we have seen Naruto and his friends grow as friends and also in their abilities. For Naruto, all he has wanted is to become the next Hokage (the leader of the village) when he grows older and to help his friends accomplish missions. He knows that to be a good leader, he will need to get stronger so he can protect the village once he grows older. Of course, there is so much involved in the “Naruto” anime series and what makes its special is its humor, its action but also how well the series integrates so many characters but yet features a good number of character driven episodes that makes the viewer appreciate many of the characters in the series.

“Naruto”, the first series ended with the young ninja leaving to train with Jiraiya for two-and-a-half years.

In volume 3, because of the injuries Kakashi suffered against the Akatsuki, Naruto, Sakura have a new member named Sai joining them and a new sensei named Yamato overseeing them. Lady Tsunade has also Yamato observing Sai because he was assigned to the team courtesy of the mysterious Danzou who Lady Tsunade doesn’t trust. Also, Sai tends to be a interesting character as he never had a social upbringing and is unaware of how to use his emotions or have friends.

Volume 4 continues the three trying to get along with each other and going on major missions, but also learning how the demon fox inside Naruto is trying to come out and when Naruto is unable to control himself, Yamato is the only person that can help keep Naruto in check, otherwise, he can prove to become extremely dangerous and unstable.

In Volume 5, with the group returning from their mission back to the Konoha village, Kakashi knows that Naruto needs to continue his training and control his chakra, but also to show him what kind of ninja he is and what his specialty his jutsu is. Meanwhile, the groups go on a mission to search for grave robbers and Naruto meets another rival who gets on his nerves, a boy named Sora, who reminds Naruto of himself when he was younger. This mission will eventually lead to a major attack by four powerful individuals who are intent of annihilating everyone in the Konoha village.

In Volume 6, Asuma, the son of the late Hokage and a character that plays a pivotal role in this latest release of “Naruto Shippuden” especially storyline-wise as the Akatsuki are back and we are introduced to Hidan and Kakuzu and to see how powerful these two are in capturing and targeting Jinchuriki.

In Volume 7, Asuma was killed by the Akatsuki and although the ninja of the Leaf Village were able to get their revenge on their fallen comrade, with Asuma’s death, the Leaf Village is now fully aware that casualties can come easy to the team and they must be better prepared.

Which leads us to volume 8 of “Naruto Shippuden”.    As the Leaf Ninja reflect on Asuma’s death, Orochimaru begins to make his move and as for Naruto, the risk from using the Rasen Shuriken has proven to become extremely risky to his health that the Hokage has told him to never use it again.

Because of Naruto wanting to get stronger, Jiraiya continues to train Naruto but this time using Gamakichi and Gamatatsu in rder to learn the concept of connecting to another person’s heart.  While Naruto trains, Kakashi leads a group which include Shino, Kiba and Hinata on a reconnaissance mission to find out what Orochimaru is up to.

Here is a brief spoilerless summary of the episodes 89-100 which are featured on three DVD’s:

Note: In Japan, episode 89-100 is considered as season 5.

DISC 1:

• EPISODE 89 – The Price of Power – Tsunade learns of how much the Rasen Shuriken is harming Naruto and forbids him to use it.  Meanwhile, the group recovers after their battle and Asuma’s death.
• EPISODE 90 – A Shinobi’s Deterimination – With news of Orochimaru up to no good, Kakashi leads a mission with Team Kurenai – Shino, Kiba and Hinata for reconnaissance.
• EPISODE 91 – Orochimaru’s Hideout Discovered – Guren takes 21 survivors (experimental speciments) to meet with Orochimaru and we also learn of her true power.
• EPISODE 92 – Encounter – Kabuto and Yukimaru try to draw out a mysterious creature and Naruto trains by summoning Gamakichi and Gamatatsu.

DISC 2:

• EPISODE 93 – Connecting Hearts – Naruto continues to train, meanwhile Tsunade learns of Guren’s crystallization technique through one of Shino’s insects.
• EPISODE 94 – A Night of Rain - Kabuto leaves Yukimaru with Guren and Naruto learns a new jutsu with Gamakichi and Gamatatsu.
• EPISODE 95 – The Two Charms – As Team Kakashi continues their reconnaissance, Naruto learns from Sai that a new group has went on a mission to find Orochimaru.
• EPISODE 96 – The Unseeing Enemy – Kakashi and Team Kurenai are attacked.

DISC 3:

• EPISODE 97 – The Labryinth of Distorted Reflection - Team Kakashi goes out as support for Team Kurenai.
• EPISODE 98 – The Target Appears – Team Kakashi comes to the aid of Team Kurenai and Yukimaru’s three-tailed beast is being extracted.
• EPISODE 99 – The Rampaging Tailed Beast – Naruto finds out that Yukimaru is working with Guren and that she has the three-tailed beast within her.
• EPISODE 100 – Inside the Mist – Guren relives her past an both teams try to figure out the mist around them.

VIDEO:

One thing I noticed when it came to “Naruto” is that the series has had its share of well-animated and well-painted artistic backgrounds but then for some of the filler episodes, has had a decrease in quality. Fortunately, “Naruto Shippuden” continues to look awesome. I really like how the characters look much older and the emotions on the character’s faces. The action has now returned back to the Konoha village but still good animation for a TV series.

In “Naruto Shippuden DVD Set 8″, you can expect quite a bit of action in this latest volume, as these episodes are primarily action-driven and are primarily battles between the Konoha ninjas and Guren’s men. And for a TV Series, while not the most detailed of anime series, the fact that these episodes do feature many ninja engaged in battle. And this should satisfy most “Naruto” fans.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

As for the audio, the audio for “Naruto Shippuden DVD Set 8″ is pretty much Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0 Bilingual (Japanese and English). Similar to a series like “Dragon Ball Z”, with “Naruto”, I have always enjoyed the voice acting of the English dub series. It’s well done and the voices fit the characters very well.

Especially Maile Flanagan’s Naruto Uzumaki. Personally, I didn’t think there would be a voice actor that could capture Junko Takeuchi’s Naruto vocals and sure enough, Flanagan does a great job. But I have watched the series in Japanese and English and for the most part, voice acting for both soundtracks are well-done.

Since the series is front channel driven, for those with a modern home theater receiver probably will enjoy a more immersive soundscape by selecting stereo on all channels.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Naruto Shippuden DVD Set 8 – Original & Uncut” comes with the following special features on disc 3:

• New from Viz Media - Trailers for upcoming or current Viz Media releases.
• Online Features – Text-based screen of where “Naruto Shippuden” can be watched online.
• Story Boards – Ten pages of storyboards (featured in negative format).
• Production Art – Using your remote, you can view through ten pages of artwork.
• Omake – (9:09) All the omake ending portions (after the credits) from the episodes featured in DVD Set 8 of “Naruto Shippuden”.
• English Credits

With the last volume of “Naruto Shippuden” taking viewers for a major spin with the emotional and action-packed storyline of Asuma’s death, you pretty much knew that with one major storyline done, it would lead to another character building arc with the Leaf Village taking on various missions.

One group we have not seen in action all that much is Team Kurenai, and so with this eighth volume, you can literally call it the Team Kurenai episodes as we finally get to see Shino, Kiba and Hinata on a mission.  With Kurenai pregnant, this time it’s Kakashi leading the group.

And with Sasuke getting stronger and stronger, it’s only fair to see Naruto getting stronger and learning more jutsu’s.  So, the story arc is broken up in two with Team Kurenai doing reconnaissance and finding out what Orochimaru is up to, while in a more comedy sense, seeing Naruto working with the hilarious toads, Gamakichi and Gamatatsu.  Each time these three are together, I can’t help but laugh and in this case, Naruto and the toads was an interesting and fun diversion compared to the last volume which was very sad and action-packed.

As for the DVD set, you get a total of eleven episodes and special features were OK, as you do get the usual omake and other info. related features. While many feel this latest volume to be filler-episodes, fortunately they are connected unlike the filler episodes which dominated the latter end of the “Naruto” series.  Also, fans have been wanting to see Team Kurenai in action for so long that it’s great to finally see them on a mission.  So, while not the deepest volume of “Naruto Shippuden”, I still enjoyed the crazy, fun episodes featured in this volume.

Overall, If you are fan of “Naruto Shippuden” and are staying with this series for the long haul, “Naruto Shippuden DVD Set 8 – Original & Uncut” is another entertaining and fun volume.

Fairy Tail Vol. 1 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

Fun, action-packed adventures featuring the most destructive wizard guild in the planet!  If you are wanting a newer, longer running anime TV series on Blu-ray, “Fairy Tail” is definitely recommended!

Image courtesy of © 2011 FUNimation Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Fairy Tail Vol. 1

ANIME RELEASE DATE: 2009

DURATION: 300 Minutes

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:78:1), DolbyTrue HD 5.1, Japanese DolbyTrue HD 2.0, English subtitles

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

Release Date: November 22, 2011

Originally created by Hiro Mashima

Directed by Shinji Ishihara

Script by Atsuhiro Tomikoa, Fumihiko Shimo, Masashi Sogo, Shoji Yonemura

Music by Yasuharu Takanashi

Character Design by Aoi Yamamoto

Art Director: Junko Shimizu

Chief Animation Director: Takao Sano

Anime Production: A-1 Pictures, Satelight

Featuring the following voice talent:

Aya Hirano/Cherami Leigh as Lucy Heartfilia

Tetsuya Kakihara/Todd Haberkorn as Natsu Dragneel

Rie Kugimiya/Tia Ballard as Happy

Sayaka Ohara/Colleen Clinkenbeard as Erza Scarlet

Yūichi Nakamura/Newton Pittman as Gray Fullbuster

Shinichi Kotani/R. Bruce Elliot as Makarov

Akira Ishida as Zeref

Daisuke Kishio/Eric Vale as Loki/Loke

Daisuke Namikawa as Jeral/Mystogan

Eri Kitamura/Jamie Marchi as Kana Alberona

Hiroki Touchi as Pantherlily

Hiroki Yasumoto as Elfman

Kazuhiko Inoue as Gildarts Clive

Mai Nakahara as Juvia Loxar

Mariya Ise as Levi Macgarden

Miyuki Sawashiro/Lydia Mackay as Ultear Milkovich

Ryoko Ono/Monica Rial as Mirajane

Satomi Satou as Wendy

Sayaka Narita as Aries

Wataru Hatano as Gajeel Redfox

Yui Horie as Charle

After a virus claims millions, most live in the safety of a closed-off world, relegating themselves to an on-line existence. But when a young girl decides to brave life outside the virtual world, she finds a group of friends – and a killer. Someone is hunting and violently murdering children. Who? Why? And is she the next target?

A hilarious, action adventure magical anime series based on the popular Weekly Shonen Magazine manga series!

“Fairy Tail” is a manga series which began in 2006 and was created by mangaka Hiro Mashima (known for his manga series “Rave Master”).  Featured in Weekly Shonen Magazine, the manga series is still ongoing, meanwhile an anime adaptation of the manga series was created in 2009 produced by A-Pictures and Satelight.  And similar to the manga series, is also ongoing!

The anime series is directed by Shinji Ishihara (“Aoi Kokuhaku”, “Tenbatsu Angel Rabbie”, “Tokyo Majin” and is written by Masashi Sogo (“Bleach”, “Yukikaze”, “Hunter x Hunter”).  The anime series features character design by Aoi Yamamoto, art direction by Junko Shimizu (“Midori Days, “Blue Dragon”, “Trinity Blood”) and music by Yasuharu Takanashi (“Naruto Shippuden”, “Hell Girl”, “Gantz”, Ikki Tosen”).

“Fairy Tail” revolves around a 17-year-old celestial wizard named Lucy Heartfilia who dreams of joining a sorcerer guild known as Fairy Tail, a group known and feared for the destruction they cause.  One day, she runs into Natsu Dragneel, a guy who is traveling to the land of Fiore along with his partner Happy (a talking blue cat with wings) who is searching for his foster parent, a dragon named Igneel who has disappeared.

While traveling to Fiore, both Lucy and Natsu encounter a sorcerer claiming to be the famous Salamander of Fairy Tail.  Natsu is the first to object that the man is a phony but the fans of Salamander are dismayed by Natsu’s comments and beat him up, meanwhile Lucy finds out that this fake Salamander is using his sorcerer abilities to make young women fall for him.

As Lucy tries to show her gratitude to Natsu for breaking the spell that would have otherwise have hypnotized Lucy, the two become friends.

But when the fake Salamander tells Lucy that he would get her into Fairy Tail, she knows he is a fake but any chance of getting to join the guild would make her dream come true, so she decides to visit him.

But it’s all a ruse and the fake Salamander is just trying to find female slaves and because he is so powerful, Lucy does not have the magic necessary to beat him.  But coming to Lucy’s rescue is Natsu, who is revealed to be a true member of Fairy Tail and also revealed to be the true “Salamander”.  And he easily beats the fake Salamander up.

When Natsu discovers that Lucy’s dream is to become a Fairy Tail member, he asks her to join him and he can help her get into the guild and from that moment on, Lucy becomes Natsu’s partner in various Fairy Tail guild missions and for each mission they beat, the more income they make.

And more money means more keys to gain more powers, which would help Lucy become a powerful celestial wizard!

“Fairy Tale” Vol. 1 features the following characters:

• Natsu Dragneel – Also known as “Salamander”, Natsu is a kindhearted, always hungry wizard who travels with his partner Happy in search of Igneel, a dragon who raised Natsu but is now missing.  Natsu is a dragon slayer and a wizard who can perform “Lost Magic and can have physical properties of a dragon.  He specializes in Fire Dragon Slayer Magic which allows him to breath fire and ingest fire as a form of nourishment.  He is also gifted with other powers not yet revealed in the first volume of “Fairy Tail”.
• Lucy Heartfilia – A celestial wizard who can summon contracted spirits (with special abilities) through a set of keys known as Gatekeys.  She treats these spirits as friends.  Her dream is to join Fairy Tail and through meeting Natsu, now her dream can come true.
• Happy – A blue cat with wings and a best friend to Natsu.  He can fly and can carry a person while flying.  He is also known to irritate Lucy.
• Gray Fullbuster – A powerful wizard of Fairy Tail and the opposite of Natsu, in that he has control of ice.  Gray has the power of Ice Make which can make him create weapons or anything out of ice.  He was raised by the wizard Ur.  He also has a bad habit of taking of all his clothes without realizing it.
• Erza Scarlet – An S-Class wizard (high-ranked) and is the most powerful member of the Fairy Tail guild.  She has magic known as “The Knight” which allows her to summon and equip weapons and armor and also has the ability to resist magic attacks.  She is feared by others because of her lack of compassion.
• Mirajane – A 19-year-old S-Class wizard who is the cover girl of Sorcerer’s Weekly magazine and helps Lucy understand what is happening with the members of the Fairy Tail guild.  She has the ability to change her appearance to something she previously encountered.
• Cana Alberona – A short-tempered heaving drinking woman.  She uses card magic to cast her spells.
• Elfman – Mirajane’s younger brother who is known for his physical strength.  He can absorb the power of any monster he defeats.
• Loke – A flirtatious wizard who is often seen in the company of many women.
• Makarov Dreyer – The elder master of Fairy Tail.  He is constantly busy because of his guild members becoming too violent.

The first volume of “Fairy Tale” comes with 12 episodes on two Blu-rays (and also includes two DVD’s):

DISC 1:

• EPISODE 1 – An episode of how Luci met Natsu and Happy.
• EPISODE 2 – Natsu brings Lucy to the Fairy Tail guildhall where she joins the guild and must go on her first job.
• EPISODE 3 – Lucy must help Natsu and Happy steal a book from Everlue mansion.
• EPISODE 4 – Lucy along with Natsu and Happy must fight against Duke Everlue in order to get the book.
• EPISODE 5 – Erza enlists Natsu and Gray to assist her in an important mission.
• EPISODE 6 – Erigor tries to kill the guild masters, can Natsu and Lucy stop him in time?
• EPISODE 7 – Natsu vs. Eisenwald.
  
• EPISODE 8 – Natsu vs. Erigor, but now Kageyama goes to try and kill the guild masters.  Can Natsu and Lucy stop him in time?

DISC 2:

• EPISODE 9 – Why has a village transformed the people into giant monsters?
• EPISODE 10 – Because Natsu helped Erza with her request, he requests a battle with Erza to prove his strength.
• EPISODE 11 – Natsu, Lucy and Happy go to the Galuna Island, place that may be cursed.
• EPISODE 12 – Natsu, Lucy and Happy discover that wizards on Galuna Island are up to no good.

VIDEO:

“Fairy Tail” is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:78:1).  It’s important to note that this is a anime TV series, not a film or an OVA and is a weekly anime series.  What that means is A-1 Pictures and Satelight, have their hands full, especially if they have other TV series to work on that week.  Typically a lot of anime series are quickly done in order to make it by their weekly deadline and sometimes, they are done the day of deadline.  So, production values for TV series are typically not that high if they are working on multiple series.

Fortunately A-1 Pictures has become one of the newer studios that have been doing production for quite a number of popular hit series such as “Blue Exorcist” and “Big Windup!” and Satelight does a lot of the in-between animation.  So, while they are a smaller, growing company, they are not overburdened as other studios and that means, more time dedicated to the anime series.

“Fairy Tail” features cool production value.  A lot of detailed artwork, because of the many adventures, you get so many locations and not the typical regurgitated scenery.

There is a lot of detail featured in the art backgrounds, a lot of characters featured and these characters have great detail and shadowing.  Colors are absolutely vibrant, black levels are deep.  I found no compression artifacts or any problematic issues with this Blu-ray release.  If anything, the Blu-ray really brings out the details and colors of the series and looks fantastic!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Fairy Tail” is presented in English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0.  Dialogue and music is clear through the front channels for the lossless stereo soundtrack but because the English is 5.1, there is better use of the surround channels.

In fact, I found myself listening to the English dub track for “Fairy Tail” much more than the Japanese soundtrack because of the 5.1 but also, FUNimation did a magnificent job with the casting of this series.  I was very pleased especially with the casting of Lucy, Natsu, Happy, Grey and Erza and for the most part, I think whichever you prefer, you will be pleased with Japanese and English audio tracks.

But for the most part, for a TV series, lossless audio is crystal clear and while not the most immersive soundtrack (which I typically don’t expect TV series to boast incredible immersive lossless soundtracks, unlike a film or OVA series), “Fairy Tail” does sound very good on Blu-ray!

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Fairy Tail Vol. 1″ features the following special features:

DISC 1:

• Episode 1 Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Tyler Walker (Director/Line Producer) with Todd Haberkorn (voice of Natsu), Tia Ballard (voice of Happy) and Cherami Leigh (as Lucy).

DISC 2:

• Episode 9 Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Tyler Walker (Director/Line Producer) with Todd Haberkorn (voice of Natsu), Tia Ballard (voice of Happy), Colleen Clinkenbeard (voice of Erza) and Cherami Leigh (as Lucy).
• Textless Opening Songs: “Snow Fairy”, “S.O.W. Sense of Wonder”
• Textless Closing Songs: “Kanpeki Gu~none”, “Tsuioku Merry-Go Round”
• Trailers – FUNimation Entertainment trailers

Fun, action-packed adventures featuring the most destructive wizard guild in the planet!

“Fairy Tail” is an anime series that manages to have a lot of fun through the adventures of Natsu and Lucy and it has similarities to the action/adventure anime series “One Piece” and “The Slayers”.

For one, the adventure and action is big part of this series as the characters take on various rival wizard guilds, the problem is that they tend to get into so much trouble that they end up creating a lot of damage.  And the object of these adventures are working guild jobs as the characters have bills to pay and each time they destroy something, it comes out of their paycheck.

And so far with this first volume, you have rather interesting characters.  For one, Lucy is the upbeat teenager who is just happy to be part of the Fairy Tail guild and wants to acquire more gatekeys to add to her list of spirits she can contact for battle or for the most troublesome situations, Natsu brings in the power but also knowing that he is a young guy who is searching for a mysterious dragon that helped raise him.  Throw in Gray, a friend and also Fairy Tail rival of Natsu who can’t keep his clothes on and then you have the great Erza with her bad attitude and awesome power.  And of course, what anime would not be complete without a cute floating character, in this case, a talking blue with wings named Happy!

So far, volume 1 features introductory episodes in which we get to know more about the characters, their special abilities but by episodes 7-8, Natsu wants to amp things up by taking on bigger jobs that pay more money but is Natsu and Lucy ready to take on these high-risk jobs?

You can expect things to be much more challenging for these characters in the next volume.  With that being said, this series has over 100 episodes and is still ongoing.  Next to “Dragon Ball Z” and “Yu Yu Hakusho” (which are older anime series), “Fairy Tale” is the most recent, longer anime series from Japan to be released on Blu-ray by FUNimation Entertainment.  So, if you want a series to watch for the long haul, “Fairy Tail” is a series worth considering.

As for the Blu-ray release, picture quality is very good for a TV series and features a good solid lossless soundtrack.  As for special features, you do get the English voice actors providing commentary for two episodes.  And speaking about the English voice actors, I felt that FUNimation Entertainment has done a magnificent job with the cast for this series!  I’m usually listening to the Japanese soundtrack but this is one of the few series where I found myself watching with the English dubs because the voice acting was well-done.

Overall, the first Blu-ray release for “Fairy Tail” definitely shows a lot of promise.  Love the artwork, the character designs and the balance between humor and action/adventure.  While I don’t like to praise anime series too early on, I look forward to watching the next volume of “Fairy Tail”!  Again, if you are willing to commit yourself to a long running series, “Fairy Tale” is definitely for you!

Next Page »