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

In this latest box set of “Bleach”, Ichigo deals with his inner hollow with the help of the visoreds and a storyline featuring the soul reapers staying in reality on Earth protecting people from the arrancars.  Although many episodes are fillers, these filler episodes were tolerable and fun to watch.  If you enjoy “Bleach”, DVD Set Seven is still worth checking out!

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

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

DURATION: Episodes 122-133 (300 Minutes)

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

COMPANY: VIZ Media

RATED: 13+

Release Date: February 16, 2010

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

While Captain Hitsugaya’s advance Soul Reaper troops adjust to life in the World of the Living, Ichigo and his friends undergo extensive training to prepare for the battle with the Arrancars. Ichigo is determined to learn to control his inner Hollow, but the Visoreds he goes to for help are just as determined for him to release it. Then, when Soul Reaper Rangiku saves a young soul from a Mock Arrancar, the extent of Sosuke Aizen’s grand scheme is slowly revealed.

“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 first part of the series focuses 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.

The second part of the series deals with Rukia’s superiors finding out that Rukia has committed an illegal act by transferring her power to a human and the punishment is by death and featured Ichigo and friends going to the world of the Soul Society to rescue Rukia.

The third part of the series (season 4) deals with a new enemy known as the Bount, a race of humans that consume human souls to extend their lives but are also quite powerful and they also utilize dolls (like a soul reapers zanpakuto) as deadly weapons and would continue on to season 5.

In Season six, we are introduced to the Visoreds, a group of ex-Soul Reapers who have crossed over into the realm of the Hollows.  We learn that Captain Sosuke Aizen, the traitor has created an army of Hollows with Soul Reaper powers called Arrancars and now a few captains and lieutenants of the Soul Society must stay on Earth and disguise themselves as normal humans in order to protect the Earth from the Arrancars.  Meanwhile, Ichigo Kurosaki must deal with his vicious hollow side that wants to come out and take over.

And here we are with “Bleach: DVD Set Seven – Original and Uncut” featuring episodes 122-133.  With Ichigo’s hollow trying to take over, the only people can help him are the Visoreds, but are they willing to help him?  Meanwhile, members of the Soul Society try to get used to life in Japan and also prepare for any attacks from the Arrancars.

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.

For “Bleach” DVD Set Seven”, the following storylines concentrate on these Soul Reapers:

• Renji Abarai – Liutenant of the 6th Division in the Gotei 13 under Captain Byakuya Kuchiki.   Cares deeply for Rukia Kuchiki and is recruited by Kisuke Urahara to help train Yasutora Sado.
• Toshiro Hitsugaya – Captain of the 10th Division and the youngest captain in the history of the Soul Society.  Because of his young age and height, on Earth he is mistaken to be a grade schooler.
• Rangiku Matsumoto – Lieutenant of the 10th Division, the well-endowed, carefree lieutenant who loves shopping and drinking.
• Ikkaku Madarame – The 3rd Seat of the 11th Division who loves to battle and known for his bald head.
• Yumichika Ayasegawa – The 5th Seat of the 11th Division.  He can’t stand things that are “ugly”.

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

Note: In Japan, this set features season 6 and 7.  Episode 132 begins season 7 in Japan.

DISC 1

• EPISODE 122 – Ichigo searches for the Visoreds as his inner hollow has become too powerful to control.
• EPISODE 123 – The Visoreds will only help Ichigo if he can beat Hiyori.
• EPISODE 124 - Ichigo takes on his inner hollow
• EPISODE 125 – The continuing of Ichigo vs. his inner hollow.

DISC 2

• EPISODE 126 – Ichigo trains with Hyori, Chad trains with Renji, meanwhile Orihime looks for Ichigo.
• EPISODE 127 - Orihime deals with her sadness after Urahara tells her that she should not fight in battle.
• EPISODE 128 – Rangiku protects the spirit of a child that is about to become attacked by an arrancar.
• EPISODE 129 - Rangiku and Shota discover the source of the music that brings the arrancar.

DISC 3:

• EPISODE 130 - The arrancer is revealed to be able to disguise itself as the human souls it devoured.
• EPISODE 131 – The fate of of Yui is revealed.
• EPISODE 132 – Ichigo’s sister Karin meets Toshiro Hitsugaya and she wants him to take part in soccer tournament.
• EPISODE 133 – Keigo Asano’s sister asks Ikkaku Madarame to help train kendo students at his school.

 

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” especially for season 4, 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 Seven – Original and Uncut” comes with the following special features:

DISC 1

• Production Art – Using your remote, you can cycle through “Bleach” production art.
• Manga Preview – A short preview of “Bleach” on manga.
• Clean Ending – The clean ending theme.
• Sneak Peek – Sneek peak of VIZ related anime series on DVD.

DISC 2

• Production Art – Using your remote, you can cycle through “Bleach” production art.
• Manga Preview – A short preview of “Bleach” on manga.
• Clean Ending – The clean ending theme.
• Sneak Peek – Sneek peak of VIZ related anime series on DVD.

DISC 3

• Kon Test - A Kon multiple choice test.
  
• Production Art – Using your remote, you can cycle through “Bleach” production art.
• Omake – (9:43) A collection of all the omake animation (from episodes 122-133) that is featured at the end of each episode.
  
• Manga Preview – A short preview of “Bleach” on manga.
  
• Clean Ending – The clean ending theme.
  
• Sneak Peek – Sneek peak of VIZ related anime series on DVD.

EXTRA:

“Bleach: DVD Set Seven – Original and Uncut” comes with a slip over cover case.

Like many people who were hooked on the Cartoon Network Saturday night block with “Naruto” and other Shonen Jump-related anime series, “Bleach” was almost like a Saturday night ritual. And it was not just anime fans as I remember watching an NFL radio interview with a football player from the Dallas Cowboys who even said it was his Saturday night before a big game.

The series delivered when it came to action and cool characters and season 1-3 were quite explosive and exciting to watch. But when the fourth season came and The Bount storyline came into play, although the action was still there, it was almost a step back compared to the “us against the world” (or us against the Soul Reapers) storyline that made “Bleach” so exciting to watch.

With “Bleach: DVD Set Seven – Original and Uncut”, the series similar to the “Naruto” series has caught up to the manga series to quickly and like “Naruto”, you get quite a bit of filler episodes included in the series.  Which is usually a bad thing but in the case of “Bleach”, it may be a good thing.

The cool thing about this latest release is the fact that we finally see how Ichigo deals with his inner hollow. We know that hollow is quite wicked but at the same time, very powerful, so it was a given that he would need to control that hollow and sure enough, a lot is focused on the training and him learning from the visoreds.

But it’s those remaining episodes that fans will like or dislike and those are the filler episodes that feature the soul society and not the primary characters that people are usually used to seeing.  But in the case of “Bleach”, that might be a good thing.  In “Bleach”, there are so many soul reapers in the soul society and because the series is primarily focused on Ichigo and his friends, there are rarely any episodes that showcase these characters in battle.  And in “Bleach”, with so many characters, there are only so many things you can do and so many characters you can focus on.

For “Naruto”, the filler episodes typically have characters joining with Naruto on a mission, where in “Bleach”, the writers went to work on storylines featuring  a few of the soul reapers from the 10th and 11th division and create storylines around those characters and because they must get used to living on the real world, the writers found a way to showcase them adapting to the world.  From Toshiro Hitsugaya feeling uncomfortable in the real world especially due to his size and how he looks quite young, Rangiku and her shopping habits and Ikkaku living at the Asano household and somehow being pulled into doing things for Asano’s sister.  Also, this allows for the writers to focus on storyline that involve Ichigo’s family members and high school friends and most of all, the soul reapers having to take on the arrancars.

So, I found the “Bleach” fillers much more tolerable than the “Naruto” fillers in the fact that these soul reapers were given their own storyline without having to rely on Ichigo or his friends to be part of those battles.  While I enjoyed that, I’m sure those who may dislike the fact that Ichigo and friends barely show up during those filler episodes.

If anything, I do enjoy the series and I enjoy the many characters featured in “Bleach” and I look forward to seeing how the arrancar storyline develops.

Overall, if you are a big fan of “Bleach”, another recommended DVD set for your collection!

11 EYES – COMPLETE COLLECTION (A J!-Ent Anime DVD Review)

“”11EYES” is a thriller anime series filled with action… and mild fan service.”

Image courtesy of © Lass/Rainbow High Modernology Club. All Rights Reserved.

DVD TITLE: 11EYES – COMPLETE COLLECTION

DURATION: 325 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: 16:9 WIDESCREEN, JAPANESE 2.0 STEREO

COMPANY: Sentai Filmworks

RATED: TV-14

Release Date: January 11, 2011

Original Created by Lass

Directed by Shimoda Masami

Music by Shoichiro Sakamoto

Art Direction by Masato Miyake

Main Character Designs & Executive Director of Animation by Shoji Hara

Character Designs by Tomoya Hiratsuka

Produced by Makoto Ito/Yuichiro Takahata/Eiji Mannou/Mana Tsurugi/Uesama

Featuring the following voice talent:

Daisuke Ono as Kakeru Satsuki

Mai Goto as Yuka Minase

Yuu Asakawa as Misuzu Kusakabe

Oma Ichimura as Yukiko Hirohara

Shoutaro Morikubo as Takahisa Tajima

Noriko Rikimaru as Kukuri Tachibana

Emiko Hagiwara as Shiori Momono

Ayano Niina as Lisette

Raised in an orphanage after witnessing his sister’s suicide, Satsuki Kakeru’s life has already been dark and cruel enough. When he and his friend Yuka are thrown into a alternate dimension called the Red Night, it takes a gruesome turn from bad to horrific. Now, trapped flickering between our world and the Red, Kakeru quickly discovers that he and Yuka are not alone, and that, together with the other so-called “fragments,” they must defeat the malevolent entities known as the Black Knights.

Facing monsters from beyond imagination and at the center of a deadly hunt, Kakeru’s only chance of saving their lives now hinges on finding the power buried within himself and unraveling the mystery of his own origins and family… if he can survive long enough to do it! The horrors of the Red Night are just the beginning of the nightmare as shocking truths are exhumed!

“11EYES” is a horror action anime series based on the eroge of the same title. The story centers around Kakeru Satsuki, a high school student who grew up an orphan and always wears an eye patch on his right eye because for some unknown reason, is a different color than his normal eye. His older sister took her own life when he was quite young and ever since then, his only real friend has been a girl named Yuka. One day, Kakeru and Yuka are sucked into a terrifying alternate reality called the Red Night where they are attacked by weird monsters and a group of beings called the Black Knights. They are able to escape the Red Night after some time, but find themselves trapped in that world once again very soon after they were able to leave. But this time they discover that they are not the only ones from the normal world who get trapped in the Red Night. They encounter Misuzu, an onmyouji priestess and upperclassman. They then encounter a mysterious girl being held captive within a crystal by the Black Knights. They soon realize that Kakeru’s right eye might hold the key to figuring out what is happening and possibly save them as well.

“11EYES” focuses on the following main characters:

Kakeru Satsuki – Kakeru Satsuki is the male protagonist of the series. Currently a high school student, he is an orphan and his sister took her own life when he was still very young. His right eye is a different color than his left, therefore he wears a eye patch to cover it up to avoid any questions that should arise. He and Yuka get stuck in the weird dimension called the Red Night and their lives are changed forever. He soon finds out that his right eye is more than a different color and may play a large part in what is happening to him and the others that get stuck in the Red Night.

Yuka Minase – Yuka is Kakeru’s only childhood friend. They grew up together at the orphanage and they are extremely close. While she is usually rather sweet and calm, her personality starts to change when others start to get too close to Kakeru, who she apparently has very strong feelings for…

Misuzu Kusakabe – Misuzu is an onmyouji priestess that they find trapped in the Red Night with them. She is a senior classmte and very strong. She acts as the leader to the group an helps train Kakeru to become stronger. However, the more time that they spend together, the more her feelings seem to grow for him.

Yukiko Hirohara – Yukiko is a classmate of Kakeru and Yuka and for the most part, a very cheerful and silly girl with a slight fascination with boobs. She is from a country called Dransvania and has a very dark past. When she takes her glasses off, she becomes a completely different person: a cold-blooded killer who is very skilled at fighting. It is pretty apparent that she has feelings for Takahisa.

Takahisa Tajima – Takahisa is a delinquent at Kakeru and Yuka’s high school. He was adopted by the school nurse, Saiko. He is another person who gets sucked into the Red Night. He has the ability of pyrokinetics and at first, he has no interest in the others that get sucked into the Red Night along with him. However he has feelings for Yukiko and eventually is willing to help the others.

Kukuri Tachibana – Kukuri is someone that has the exact same name and appearance as Kakeru’s sister that died years ago. She’s shrouded in mystery and a mute for an unknown reason. She is introduced to Kakeru and Yuka by Misuzu.

Shiori Momono – Shiori is a mysterious transfer student that suddenly appears in their school when all of the events involving the Red Night start happening. She doesn’t have much direct contact with Kakeru and the others at first, but she seems to be observing hem by hanging around their friends Kaori and Tadashi.

Lisette – Lisette is the mysterious girl they find trapped within a crystal and held captive by the Black Knights in the Red Night. They soon find out that she’s not all that she seems to be.

The Black Knights – The Black Knights are the enemies that Kakeru and the others find themselves fighting against in the Red Night. Calling them “Fragments”, for some reason the Black Knights are hunting down Kakeru and his friends, trying to kill them. They have unearthly appearances and have special powers. They are holding Lisette prisoner within a crystal.

“11EYES” features a total of 13 episodes on two DVDs. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each episode:

DISC 1:

• Episode 1- Red Night – Kakeru and Yuka are sucked into the Red Night.
• Episode 2- The Girl in the Crystal – ts and convict him of the hit?.
• Episode 3- Lonely Pride – Kakeru wants to protect Yuka and asks Misuzu to train him.
• Episode 4- A Smiling Mask – Yukiko reveals a much darker side of herself.
• Episode 5- For Friends and For Tomorrow – Kakeru and Yuka are introduced to Kukuri, who looks exactly like Kakeru’s dead sister.
• Episode 6- Disturbed Minds -The secret about Kakeru’s eye is revealed; Yuka misunderstands something between Kakeru and Misuzu and runs off.

DISC 2:

• Episode 7- Twisted Awakening – Yuka awakens to her power, but with an unlikely cost.
• Episode 8- The Witching Hour – Yuka becomes more and more emotionally unstable.
• Episode 9- Broken Bonds – Takahisa goes berserk and Yukiko has to make a difficult decision.
• Episode 10- The Witch Awakens – Kakeru and the others learn the truth about the Black Knights and everything else.
• Episode 11- The Option of Destruction – The tables have turned and the last battle starts.
• Episode 12- The Dawn of Darkness – The battle with Liselotte concludes.
• Episode OVA- Pink Phantasm – A very naughty parody of he series…

VIDEO & AUDIO

“11EYES” is presented in 16:9. The art and character designs look great. There is a big difference between the normal world and the world of the Red Night and I think they did a great job showing the contrast between the two worlds through the art.

Like most Sentai Filmworks titles, there is only the option of Japanese audio with this series. The voice acting is well done and the cast is full of very well known seiyuus such as Daisuke Ono, Yuu Asakawa, and Shoutaro Morikubo just to name a few.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The only special features available on the discs are Sentai Filmworks Trailers, Clean Opening and Ending Animations, and DVD Credits.

First impression of the series: A horror action series, where the number of girls completely outnumber the guys; by the end of the series and ova: wow, that was somewhat predictable.

Viewers who were already thinking about checking out this series probably already know it’s based on an eroge (erotic video game) but for those who don’t know about the series at all may want to keep that in mind. This series is pretty mild (until the ova) but it is created for a 14+ male audience, but once you watch the ova the rating jumps to 18+. Not that there aren’t any female viewers who won’t enjoy this… but I would say the majority of the audience would be male. However, despite being based on an eroge, there weren’t that many eroge elements throughout the series until the ova. But like an eroge, it seems to lack a compelling story.

What you will find in this series: action, violence, a couple of humorous characters, fan service and some nudity. What you may not find: a very creative story. Of course this isn’t the first series guilty of such. The story is rather generic and predictable, but characters like Yukiko keep the audience entertained (A super cute, happy girl becomes a psycho killer when she takes off her glasses. That could be creative… nah. But nonetheless, she is amusing.). The first half of the series is pretty light and can be humorous and isn’t as dark, but the second half of the series definitely gets much darker and weirder (how about a razor blade in your tea?).

Of course there are positive things in this series. There’s plenty of action, and I enjoyed some of the banter between some of the characters, as well as the interaction between Yukiko and Takahisa. Takahisa’s relationship with his adoptive mother was also cute. The music is great, especially the opening song “Arrival of Tears” by Ayane. The animation, character design, and the voice acting are all great.

There is an ova after the 12 episode series and that episode is ridiculous. Of course, that’s the point of the episode and they make that clear in the beginning of the episode. While there isn’t full on nudity, there’s plenty of brief nudity (cleverly hiding any naughty bits) and there’s some questionable objects such as a vibrator sword (which is mosaic-ed out but it’s still obvious what it is.). You may not see much, but everything that is implied in the episode is definitely naughty. Pretty much even if the series as a whole may be okay for 14+ to watch, I’d definitely say the ova is 18+. I know I keep stressing that but it really is a bit of a jump. The ova is either going to be absolutely hilarious or too perverse and possibly offending depending on the viewer. I’ll admit that I found it funny but very disturbing at the same time.

The bottom line: this series is great if you’re looking for a series with cute girls, some fan service, action, violence and some humor. If you’re looking for a series with a series with a deep plot, you may not find it in this series. It’s definitely not the worst I’ve seen but “blah” sort of describes most of the series for me. However if you’re a fan of the eroge, you’ll probably enjoy it.

NEW ANIME SERIES NEURO: SUPERNATURAL DETECTIVE LAUNCHES TODAY ON VIZANIME WEBSITE

New Series Launches On VIZAnime.com and Hulu Today!

VIZ Media brings an exciting new animated series to North American audiences with the launch of NEURO: SUPERNATURAL DETECTIVE on Friday, February 18th on VIZAnime.com (www.VIZAnime.com), the company’s own premier website for free anime, as well as the streaming content provider HULU (www.Hulu.com).

The new series (rated ‘M’ for Mature) will debut with the first five subtitled episodes available, with new installments available weekly.

In NEURO: SUPERNATURAL DETECTIVE, Neuro Nogami is a demon that feeds on criminal mysteries and riddles in the human world. In order to protect his identity, he forms a partnership with Yako, an incisive 16-year-old high school girl. This unlikely crime-solving duo devours one mystery after another in search of the ultimate appetizing mystery!

NEURO: SUPERNATURAL DETECTIVE is based on a popular manga (graphic novel) series created by Yosei Matsui that sold over 3 million copies in Japan and is produced by the famed animation studio, MADHOUSE.

For more information on NEURO: SUPERNATURAL DETECTIVE and other animated titles from VIZ Media please visit www.VIZAnime.com.

Disgaea: The Complete Series (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

A DVD re-release of the anime series “Disgaea” which is loosely based on the popular tactic RPG video game.   This latest DVD release features all episodes in one collection, so  if you love “Disgaea”, this anime series is definitely for you… dood!

Image courtesy of © 2003 NIPPON ICHI SOFTWARE SOFTWARE INC./DARK ASSEMBLY. All Rights Reserved.

DVD TITLE: Disagea: The Complete Series

ANIME SERIES RELEASE DATE: 2006

DURATION: Episodes 1-12 (300 Minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: 16:9, English and Japanese stereo, English Subtitles

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV PG

Release Date: January 25, 2011

Directed by Kiyotaka Isako

Series Composition by Atsuhiro Tomioka

Music by Tenpei Sato

Original Character Design by Takehito Harada

Character Design by Akira Kano

Art Director: Junko Shimizu

Sound Director: Jun Watanabe

Anime Production by Oriental Light and Magic

Production: D-Rights

Featuring the following voice talent:

Kaori Mizuhashi/Barbara Goodson as Laharl

Tomoe Hanba/Michelle Ruff as Etna

Yuko Sasamoto/Sandy Fox as Flonne

Chihiro Suzuki/Grant George as Vyers

Chiwa Saito as Jennifer

Nobuo Tobita/Michael McConnohie as Captain Gordon

Yurika Ochiai as Thursday

Hironori Miyata/A.D. Adams as Vulcanus

From the darkest realms of another dimension emerges the story of Laharl, the son of a demon overlord, and his two sidekicks: his impish servant and an angelic assassin. Awoken from a two-year, poison-induced nap, Laharl learns of his father’s demise and blazes a trail of destruction on his quest to declare rule over the Netherworld. Never skimping on the wisecracks, the diabolical prince and his accomplices battle dragons, sorceresses, robots, power-hungry humans, and corrupt angels.

In 2003, the PlayStation 2 video game “Makai Senki Disgaea”, a tactical RPG game from Nippon Ichi became a huge hit.  Released in the US as “Disgaea: Hour of Darkness”, the series would receive several spinoff video games for the Sony PSP, Nintendo DS, Mobile Phone game and the Sony PlayStation 3.

The games became popular in North America and Korea and the series would eventually receive its manga and anime adaptation.  The anime series is loosely based on the first Disgaea game, while focusing on the primary character, the plot is slightly different and shortened to meet its 12-episode duration.  The DVD for “Disgaea” were originally released as a three volume DVD-series by Geneon back in 2007.  They are now being re-released as one complete series courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment in Jan. 2011.

The anime series is directed by Kiyotaka Isao (“Mizuiro”, “Massugu ni Ikou”, “Ai Yori Aoshi”), series composition by Atsuhiro Tomioka (“Pokemon Advance”, “Chrono Crusade”, “Eat-Man ’98″, “Glass Fleet”), character designs by Akira Kano (“Breakage”, “Cleavage”, “Princess Memory”, “Initial D: Fourth Stage”) and art backgrounds by Junko Shimizu (“Midori Days”, “Blue Dragon”, “Doraemon”).  Animation is by Oriental Lights and Magic (“Monkey Turn”, “Comic Party”, “Berserk”) and production by D-Rights (“AD Police”, “Sakura Wars”, “Beyblade”, “X”).

“Disgaea” takes place in a time where an angel in training named Flonne is sent to the Netherworld to assassinate the demon lord King Krichevskoy.  But when she arrives, the Overlord’s castle is covered in flames.  So, for two years, she has been in search for her target and ends up at a dump where she finds a coffin with Krichevskoy’s emblem.  So, when she tries to carry out her mission, she awakens whoever is inside it.  The person ends up being Laharl, the son of King Krichevskoy.

All Laharl remembers is going to sleep and now he’s awake, unaware that it’s been two years that has past.  Laharl learns that his father King Krichevskoy has died while choking on his favorite fruit and now Laharl wants to regain his kingdom which has been in disarray while his father was dead and he was in deep sleep and become the Overlord.

Meanwhile, while Laharl goes to become the Overlord, Flonne tags along in hopes that she can introduce love into his heart, a demon named Etna (who has her own ulterior motives for tagging along) joins the two on Laharl’s quest.  And while Laharal makes it known that he is back, there are other demons who are vying for the overlord throne as well.

Also, to complicate matters, from the human world, Captain Gordon the 37th Defender of Earth, along with his assistant Jennifer and the robot Thursday are sent by the Angels to stop any evil that they encounter and that means Laharl and his group.

“Disgaea” consists of the following main characters:

Laharl – Awakened from a two year sleep by Flonne, Laharl, demon son of King Krichevsoky, vies to become the next Overlord of the Netherworld.  He is very insecure, very shy when he sees Jennifer’s breast and can’t stand Flonne’s talk about love.  Meanwhile, despite being young, he is very powerful and very strong.  He uses his power to enforce his authority on his vassals, which include the penguin lost souls known as the Prinnies.

Etna – Laharl’s subordinate who has a secret agenda.  She once served the late King Krichevskoy.

Flonne – An angel trainee who was sent to assassinate King Krichevskoy but discovers Laharl instead.  She is persistent in doing whatever she can to introduce love into Laharl’s heart.

Vyers/Mid boss – Laharl’s rival and hates how Laharl calls him “mid-boss”.

Prinnies – They look like penguins with demon wings and pouches but they are actually human souls who work as slaves in order to pay for the punishment of evil deeds they have committed while alive on Earth.

Seraph Lamington – The leader of Celestia and responsible for sending Flonne to the Netherworld to assassinate King Krichevskoy.

Captain Gordon – The 37th Defender of Earth.  Self-righteous, often cocky and is accompanied by his assistant Jennifer and the robot Thursday.

Jennifer – Gordon’s assistant who wears next to nothing.  She is very intelligent and is a scientist who created Thursday.  She also knows that Laharl is shy around her.

Thursday – The robotic member of Captain Gordon’s team who can analyze and fix things.  As well as transform to a weapon.

VIDEO :

“Disgaea” is presented in 16:9.  The character designs remain faithful to the video game.  Considering the anime series was released back in 2006, while not heavily detailed, the colors are vibrant, while art backgrounds are not fine as it focuses more on trees, blue skies, ground and ocean water.  Not the most detailed anime series but because the character designs are loyal to the series, everything works out just fine.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

As for the audio, “Disgaea” is presented in English and Japanese stereo.  For those who enjoyed the video game series, will probably want to enjoy the original Japanese dialogue, but for the most part, the English dubbed soundtrack is very good.  For the most part, Geneon did a very good job in casting the voice talent for Laharl, Flonne and Etna.  Especially for the Prinnies.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Disgaea: The Complete Series” comes with the following special features:

DISC 2:

• Special Talk – (4:14) Sohei Niikawa (original creator of “Disgaea”) & Kaori Mizuhashi (voice of Laharl) talk about how “Disgaea” the anime series was created.
• Special Talk #2 – (5:20) Sohei Niikawa (original creator of “Disgaea”) & Kaori Mizuhashi (voice of Laharl) talk about how “Disgaea” is so popular worldwide and how the demon world came to play.
• Special Talk #3 & #4 - (9:04) Sohei Niikawa (original creator of “Disgaea”) & Kaori Mizuhashi (voice of Laharl) talk about video game to anime adaptation.
• Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice Video Game Trailer – (3:20) The trailer for the Sony PS3 video game.
• Japanese Promo – (:37) A Japanese promo for the anime TV series.
• Textless Opening Song – The textless opening theme song “Aishitageru” by Loverin Tamburin.
• Textless Closing Song – The textless closing theme “Kusari” by Hiiro Misaki.
• Trailers - Trailers for upcoming FUNimation Entertainment releases.

EXTRAS:

“Disgaea: The Complete Series” comes with a slip over case.

I’m actually a big fan of the “Disgaea” series and own every title that has been released on the consoles for the US.  In fact, for the first videogame alone, I am still playing this game as its one of the few games that has major re-playability but also for those who love grinding tactic RPG games, this is one of the better ones out there.

When it comes to video game to anime adaptations, they either work or they don’t.  In the case of “Disgaea”, the alternate storyline works but because it’s only 12-episodes long, it’s very loosely based on the first videogame.  As for the differences of the anime series and the video game, most video game to anime adaptations tend to be different anyway, so this should not be any surprise for the anime viewer.

And back in 2006, when I first discovered the anime series, I didn’t dislike the anime series, it’s just that if you played the video game first, while Laharl, Etna and Flonne are the main characters, in the video game, you had so much time invested in creating characters and having various characters become favorites.  So much that Laharl becomes mainly used for power, as with Etna and Flonne was your healing character.

And by playing this game, you start to love the challenges, especially against the various demons that you go against but still, you’re so used to working with a large group of characters that when you start watching the anime series and it’s pretty much Laharal, Flonne and Etna, part of you feels as if there was something missing.

When I watched this anime series a few years ago, I wondered if I would have enjoyed it more if I didn’t play the video game first.  I may have and possibly have fallen in love with the game even more afterward.  But for the most part, since I watched it after playing the game and spending over a hundred hours on the first game alone, I guess my only feeling for the anime series was that it was alright.

But I will say that with this re-release, it is much cheaper to buy the series as one complete set versus three volumes, so it’s a great deal to buy it now.

As for the DVD, The Japanese and English dub are well-acted and you get the Japanese special features included with “Disgaea: The Complete Series”.

Overall, if you are a big “Disgaea” fan, I think that most fans will appreciate the anime series, for me, it was good but not great and once again, part of me feeling this way is because I dedicated so much time to the video game series and utilized other characters more than just Laharl, Etna and Flonne.  But the good news is that the anime series does include storylines with Captain Gordon and his team and also mutiny with the not-so-smart Prinnies.

In the end, if you are a big “Disgaea” fan, “Disgaea: The Complete Series” is definitely for you, dood!

K-ON! official English website and trailer launched; Vol. 1 Blu-Ray and DVD available for pre-order

January 31, 2011 (Cypress, CA) – Bandai Entertainment announced today that their official English website and trailer for K-ON! is now live at www.kon.bandai-ent.com.

The Blu-ray and DVD for Vol. 1 are now available for pre-order at the Bandai STORE. http://store.bandai-ent.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=KON&Search.x=20&Search.y=26

The DVD and Blu-ray feature both Japanese audio with English subtitles as well as an English language version featuring the voices of fan favorites Stephanie Sheh, Cristina Vee, Cassandra Lee, and Shelby Lindley. For updates follow us at Facebook or on Twitter or visit us at:

www.k-on.bandai-ent.com
www.bandai-ent.com

K-ON!

VIZ MEDIA DELIVERS NEW NARUTO SHIPPUDEN, VAMPIRE KNIGHT AND POKÉMON ANIME RELEASES

San Francisco, CA, January 25, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced a trio of upcoming anime DVD releases set for release today that expand some of the company’s most potent properties including NARUTO SHIPPUDEN, VAMPIRE KNIGHT and POKÉMON.

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN BOX SET, Volume 5 · Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens · MSRP: $49.95 U.S. / $71.99 CAN · Available Now!
Naruto is troubled by nightmares after his second failed attempt to bring Sasuke home. Kakashi, recovering in the hospital, suggests a new training regimen for Naruto that puts him in touch with his wind chakra nature. Naruto seeks advice from another wind type, the Leaf Jonin Asuma. Then, when Tsunade sends Team Kakashi on a mission to the Fire Temple, the truth about a shocking event involving Asuma and the Guardian Shinobi Twelve begins to unfold.
This latest NARUTO Box Set features Episodes 54-65.

For more information on NARUTO and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN, please visit www.Naruto.com

VAMPIRE KNIGHT THE COMPLETE SERIES · Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens · MSRP: $49.95 U.S. / $71.99 CAN · Available Now!
Ten years earlier, a Pureblood vampire, Kaname Kuran, saved Yuki Cross from another vampire’s attack. Now, Yuki is a Guardian at Cross Academy, where the Night Class and Day Class students live side by side in relative harmony—despite the fact that the Night Class students are all vampires! Yuki and her partner Zero keep watch over the Day Class and protect the Night Class’s secret. With Kaname’s help, a peaceful coexistence has been maintained so far, but a looming shadow is about to be cast over their world…

For more information on VAMPIRE KNIGHT, please visit: www.ShojoBeat.com

POKEMON ELEMENTS BOX SET, Volume 2 · Rated ‘A’ for All Ages ·
MSRP: $29.92 U.S. / $42.99 CAN · Available Now!
The POKÉMON: ELEMENTS collection consists of the most important episodes commemorating the wide variety of Pokémon characters. Each disc showcases a specific Pokémon type in three all-time favorite episodes.  This latest Box Set bundles POKÉMON ELEMENTS Vols. 6-10.

For more information POKÉMON and other VIZ Kids titles please visit www.VIZKids.com.

Kurokami the Animation: Volume Five (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Disc Review)

“Kurokami the Animation” volume 5 sets things up for a magnificent conclusion for volume 6.  For this latest “Kurokami” release, expect every major character to come back and fight in battle.  Expect an intense action-driven from here on in  with many surprising twist and turns.  “Kurokami” has become one hell of an awesome anime series and if you haven’t watched it yet, you should start!  Highly recommended!

Image courtesy of © 2009-2010 Lim Dail Young, Park Sung Woo/Square Enix/Sunrise, Bandai Visual. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Kurokami – The Animation – Volume Five

DURATION: EPISODES 17-20 (100 Minutes)

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen), English PCM 2.0,

COMPANY: Sunrise/Bandai Entertainment

RATED: NOT RATED (Note: This anime does feature violence)

Release Date: January 4, 2011

 

Originally created by Dall-Young Lim, Sung-woo Park

Directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi

Series Composition by Reiko Yoshida

Original Character Design by Sung-woo Park

Character Design: Hiroyuki Nishimura

Art Director: Shunichiro Yoshihara

Chief Animation Director: Hiroyuki Nishimura

Art Design: Tomoyasu Fujise

Sound Director: Hiromi Kikuta

Director of Photography: Naoyuki Wada

Anime Production by Sunrise

Featuring the following voice talent:

Jason Griffith as Keita Ibuki

Laura Bailey as Kuro

Christopher Kromer as Daichi Kuraki

Crispin Freeman as Reishin

Emily Bauer as Riona Kogure

Eva Kaminsky as Nam

Julie Ann Taylor as Akane Sano

Kathleen McInerney as Yuki Kaionji

Marc Thompson as Hiyou

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as Mikami Hojo

Michael Sinterniklaas as Punipuni

Patrick Seitz as Steiner

Stephanie Sheh as Excel

With Kuraki’s plan to form a Utopia in ruins, the Pure Place, the home of the Shishigami clan of Tera Guardians, appears in Tokyo bay. Along with the appearance of the Pure Place, every human being except those in a Pact with a Tera Guardian falls unconscious. Kuro senses a tremendous amount of Tera gathering at her birthplace and heads there to investigate.

On their way there, Kuro and Keita encounter a mysterious Tera Guardian named Nam, but that is to be only the first of many before Kuro can learn the truth that’s been hidden from her since birth…

The fifth volume of “Kurokami” is here!  And Kuro and Keita have made a commitment to put an end to the Doppeliner System that has caused everyone so much misery!

In volume four, the helicopter that Akane was inside had malfunctioned and crash landed into the sea.  Everyone inside was killed but Akane was not found.  Keita worries that Akane may be dead.

But meanwhile, various Tera Guardians are making their way to the Pure Land where the Tera Crystal is located.  Those who want the incredible power of the “Masagami” and have the power to rule and destroy planets.  But Kuro and Keita want to make sure they get their first.

But everyone receives an uneasy feeling, of increased tera nearby.  Can it be… Reishin Shishigami is still alive?

“Kurokami the Animation” Backstory

For those who have never heard of “Kurokami”, in the world of “Kurokami” (“Black God”), one sometimes think they see another person that looks exactly like them (doppelganger) but in reality, there are three (doppeliner) which share the same life force (known as Tera). If by any chance, one was to see each other, one would die and the others would have that life force equally distributed. Making sure this “Coexistence Exquilibrium” is kept in check are the Tera Guardians.

This is the story of “Kurokami”, a 23-episode anime TV series which is an adaptation of a Japanese manga series by Dall-Young Lim and illustrated by Sung-Woo Park and is an ongoing series published in the magazine “Young Gangan”.

The anime series is directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi (“Glass no Kamen”, “Midori Days”, “Twelve Kingdoms”) and features series composition by Reiko Yoshida (“Aria”, “D.Gray-Man”, “Kaleido Star”, “Peach Girl”). Character designs are by Hiroyuki Nishimura (“Spirit of Wonder”, “Deltora Quest”) and music composed by Tomohisa Ishikawa (“Appleseed: Ex Machina”, “Kite Liberator”, “Innocent Venus”). And now the first volume of the anime series is released on Blu-ray and includes the first four episodes.

“Kurokami” revolves around a teenager named Keita Ibuki. When he was younger, his mother met someone that looked exactly like her and the next day she was hit by a car. So, the existence of a doppelganger has always been in his mind.

One night when he went out for ramen, he meets a girl named Kuro along with her dog Punipuni, they seem quite hungry. He offers her his ramen and all seems well until a madman comes out of nowhere and assaults her.

Keita tries to help her but is easily beaten by this madman. But what he sees is this girl’s incredible fighting power. After all is done and Kuro overcomes her assailant, she tells him that she is out to kill her brother.

The paths of both Keita and Kuro cross again and Kuro explains to her about the doppeliner and that she is a Tera Guardian. As Keita tries to deal with this and possibly learn why his mother died, his childhood friend Akane (who likes Keita) tries to help both Keita and Kuro as well.

One evening, a group of thugs with extreme power go after her again but this time, Keita tries to help but is mortally wounded. Kuro manages to escape with him but because he is dying, she decides to exchange hearts with him in order to keep him alive and thus a contract is created. But she warns him that they must be near each other at all times or her heart will become necrotic if its too far away from her. Keita has now become the contractee and his life is forever bonded with Kuro.

In volume 2 of “Kurokami the Animation”, Keita and Kuro confront a group of Tera Guardians in battle, meanwhile we learn about Kuro’s past and also information about Keita’s deceased mother. But most importantly, Keita is told the truth about his status of being a contractee and that contractee’s can easily be killed and are not invincible.

For Keita, his thought was that he wouldn’t die during a battle but now knowing that he is vulnerable may change his status of how he fights with Kuro. Meanwhile, Keita, Kuro and Akane left to Okinawa and confronted two survivors from the Hiba Clan.

In volume 3, it appears that others are looking for the survivors of the Hiba Clan and while Reishin makes his appearance. Keita discovers that contractees can be “negative roots” but would he ever dare going that direction. Also, a friend who had been dead has made his appearance once again and the news he has for Keita will surprise him.

As Kuro and Keita barely survive against their battle with Reishin, thanks to the help of Excel and Steiner, Kuro and Keita are able to escape. But unfortunately, in order for them to escape, Steiner sacrificed his life. Meanwhile, Kuraki and Raiga then take on Reishin to for the control of the Kaionji Group.

In volume four, this begins the second season of “Kurokami”.  Kuro and Keita take on the powerful Shinra and both find a way to combine their life energy.  Meanwhile, Akane is revealed to be a master root.  Everyone in the world except Tera Guardians and contractee’s have collapsed for some unknown reason and the Pure Land has been created.

“Kurokami: The Animation” features the following characters:

• Keita Ibuki – When Keita was young, he met a woman that looked like his mother.  The following day, his mother died.  One day, while trying to defend a woman who was getting beaten by a Tera Guardian, he is severely injured in the heart area and before he was to die, Kuro saves his life by forming a contract with him.  As long as the two are close together, he has the ability to heal Kuro and also develops his skill as a contractee.
• Kuro Shishigami - One of the last remaining members of the Shishigami clan and a Tera Guardian.  She is after her brother Reishin Shishigami who murdered everyone in the clan (including their mother) except her.  She now has formed a bond with Keita and together they take on other enemy Tera Guardians.
• Akane Sano – A childhood friend of Keita, Akane is in love with him but has a hard time expressing it to him.  She occasionally joins Keita and Kuro on their adventures.
• Punipuni - Kuro’s small doberman pup and is always hungry.  He also seems to understand people when they talk to him.
• Excel - A veteran contractee who worked with the Tera Guardian named Steiner and later Mikami.  She has the ability to create Hexagon shields.
• Yakumo – A Tera Guardian that survived the massacre and does all he can to protect Kuro.  His contractee is Riona Kogure and both are often traveling with Kuro and Keita.
• Riona Kogure - A contractee of Yakumo.  She escaped from the Kaionji group when she found out that she was going to be experimented on.
• Mikami Houjou – A powerful Tera Guardian from the Ginko clan.  She once worked for the Kaionji group for medicine to give to her dying contractee.  She later forms a contract with Excel.

“Kurokami” vol. 5 features the episodes 17-20 of the TV series on one Blu-ray disc. Here is a brief, spoiler-free synopsis of each episode:

• EPISODE 17 – Masagami – Kuro and Keita along with Yakumo and Riona arrive at the Pure Land and Kuro realizes a feeling that her brother Reishin is alive.  They also learn that all these Tera Guardians have arrived to capture the power of the Masagami.  Meanwhile the Noble One operatives take on Reishin.
• EPISODE 18 – Cataclysm – Another Tera Guardian and his contractee takes on Kuro and Keita, meanwhile Excel forms a contract with Mikami and both take on Reishin.
• EPISODE 19 – Abyss - Both Kuro and Keita find Reishin but are shocked to find out that Akane is alive but she has also formed a contract with Reishin.
• EPISODE 20 – Awakening – Reishin reveals the truth about what happened to his people and why his and Kuro’s mother was killed.

VIDEO:

“Kurokami The Animation” is featured in 1080p High Definition. The series is quite vibrant and looks absolutely beautiful in HD. Blacks are nice and deep, colors pop and I didn’t notice any edge enhancement or compression artifacts during my viewing of the series.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Kurokami The Animation” is presented in English PCM 2.0. And as mentioned in my previous review of volume 1 of the series, “Kurokami” does not include the lossless Japanese audio while the DVD does include both soundtracks. It is discussed on various message boards that because the series is being released at the same time in Japan, to prevent reverse importation, the lossless Japanese soundtrack was not granted for the U.S. release (note: In Japan, the Blu-ray release costs about three times as more than the U.S. release and to prevent reverse importation over there, they didn’t include English subtitles).

Unfortunately with Japan and the U.S. on the same region for Blu-ray releases and people demanding simultaneous or near simultaneous releases, this is easily going to be an issue for American anime fans if more series continue to feature the lack of a Japanese audio track.

As for the English dub, for the most part the English dubbing was well-done. Jason Griffith (as Keita) known for his work for the character Shadow for “Sonic X” does a very good job but anime voice acting veterans Laura Bailey (as Kuro) and Julie Ann Taylor (as Akane) do a solid job as the voice of their characters.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Kurokami the Animation vol. 5″ contains the following special features:

• Textless theme and ending themes - Included are one textless opening theme and one textless ending theme for “Kurokami the Animation”.
• Bandai Entertainment Previews
  

Here we are with volume five of “Kurokami: The Animation” and not only is it an action-packed volume but also a major reveal is made that will alter everything that you have watched of the series thus far.  It’s a major bombshell that no doubt sets things in place for the awesome final sixth volume!

The fifth volume features the group’s arrival to the Pure Land and as many Tera Guardians are planning to gain access to the Masagami’s power, we see various Tera Guardians and contractees take on Kuro and Keita.  Meanwhile, we see the Noble Ones and also a return of Mikami and Excel (who have made a contract with each other) taking on Reishin Shishigami.

Everyone is involved in battle in this latest volume, including Kuro’s little dog Punipuni.

But what I loved about this latest volume is the various twists.  It’s one thing to have Reishin Shishigami back, but one after the other we see Mikami and Excel return, we see Akane return but also to find out that she has formed a contract with Reishin but then of course, the big reveal of episode 20.  Without spoiling anything, all I can say is WOW!

Overall, “Kurokami – The Animation” has become a magnificent anime series that with a pretty awesome storyline and really cool animation/background art and also fight sequences.  Especially this fifth volume alone.

I know that some people have been put off by the four episodes per volume of “Kurokami” instead of how other companies are offering 12 episodes per Blu-ray volume but the main thing to remember what Bandai Entertainment is doing is release simultaneous releases or very close releases in Japan and the US.  Other companies release titles that are literally a year, two years or many years old when they come out to the US.  And because of that, similar to what we, anime fans, had to do back during the LaserDisc (and even VHS) years, you end up paying a little more.  People still do that today with DVD and Blu-ray releases who want titles released in Japan now.

So, for those who want the latest Bandai Entertainment releases, there has to be a compromise and “Kurokami” can be found online for a good price, sure you don’t get the English dub but that’s because of reverse importation and the time of releases between Japan and the US are quite close.

So, if you want to watch an awesome series, I really recommend “Kurokami the Animation” on Blu-ray.  If you have watched the first four volumes thus far, it’s a no-brainer to get the fifth volume.  It really is an awesome volume thus far!

“Kurokami the Animation” is recommended!

Koihime Musou – Complete First Season (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

An enjoyable action/adventure anime series based on the popular adult PC visual novel video game.  “Koihime Musou” is a well-animated series that  focuses more on the adventure and character development than perverted situations or fan service.  Overall, I enjoyed “Koihime Musou” and can’t wait for season 2!

Image courtesy of © BaseSon – Koihime Musou Partnership 2008. All Rights Reserved.

DVD TITLE: Koihime Musou – Complete First Season

DURATION: 12 Episodes  + 1 OAV (325 Minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen, Japanese 2.0, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: Sentai Filmworks

RATED: TV MA D

Release Date: January 4, 2011

Director: Nobuaki Nakanishi

Series Composition: Go Zappa

Screenplay: Go Zappa

Character Design: Miwa OShima

Theme Song: fripSide

Anime Production by Dogakobo

Featuring the following voice talent:

Hiroka Nishizawa as Chōhi Yokutoku/Rinrin

Nami Kurokawa as Kan’u Unchō/Aisha

Emi Motoi as Chōun Shiryū/Sei

Erika Narumi as Shokatsuryō Kōmei/Shuri

Maki Kobayashi as Bachō Mōki/Sui

Before Hua Mulan, before Wu Zetian, China bore another great hero, one whose true name was lost to history… until now. Swearing vengeance after bandits destroy her family and village, a girl named Aisha takes the name Kan’u and sets forth on a journey that will take her across the ruins of a great nation, living not as a woman “should,” but by the strength of her own sword and the steel of her own will.

As she travels, Aisha’s courage and example become a beacon to other kindred souls: women who dare to shatter the shackles of their own traditions and take up arms, to become a force for change. Now, as a new world begins to emerge from the embers of the old, the face of evil must confront its ultimate nemesis: a girl who has become the soul of a new people. An epic battle for the fate of a nation will be unleashed!

In 2007, a Japanese adult visual novel and strategy game titled “Koihime Musou: Doki Otome Darake no Sangoushi Engi” was developed by BaseSon and released for the PC back in Jan. 2007 and a PlayStation 2 video game followed the following year, as with a new PC game.  Needless to say, the video game has caught the attention of many Japanese visual novel fans.

This led to a manga adaptation and an anime adaptation by Dogakobo (“Pokemon the Movie 2000″, “Pikachu’s Pikaboo”, “Saikano”) and two seasons of the series have aired on television.  The first season of “Koihime Musou” has now been released on DVD courtesy of Sentai Filmworks.

The anime series, which is loosely based on the Chinese novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” differs from the video games as it focuses on the character Kan’u Uncho (Aisha), young woman who travels all over China to help people defeat bandits which have been killing innocent people throughout the country.  When Aisha was younger, her brother hid her under the bed and she watched as her parents and her brother were killed by bandits.  Since that day, she has vowed to never let this happen again to anyone and will slay bandits who gets in her way.

The series focuses on Aisha’s travels as she befriends others who join her on her quest.

“Koihime Musou – Complete First Season” is presented on two DVD’s.  Here is a basic spoiler-less summary of each episode:

DISC 1

• EPISODE 1 – Kan’u Makes of Vow of Sisterhood with Chohi – Aisha arrives in a village and hears there are kids trying to be bandits who follow a girl named Chohi (RinRin).
• EPISODE 2  – Kan’u Faces Death with Cho’un – Aisha is hired by Kosonsan and a warrior named Choun (Sei) to destroy a bandit base.
• EPISODE 3 – Chohi Battles Bacho – Aisha, RinRin and Sei must earn money to travel but with RinRin being so lazy, Aisha tells her to go home.  RinRin then meets a warrior named Bacho and both enter a competition.
• EPISODE 4 – Bacho Attacks Soso – Bacho attacks the warrior Soso for revenge of what Soso did to her father.
• EPISODE 5 – Kan’u Exterminates a Monster – Aisha and friends take on a monster who has been threatening a village.
• EPISODE 6 – Chohei Competes with Komei – Aisha meets a young scholar named Komei and RinRin is jealous because Aisha always praises her.

DISC 2

• EPISODE 7 – Chohi has a fight with Kan’u – RinRin and Aisha get into an argument about Komei and leaves the group.  She reunites with Bacho and both compete against each other in an eating contest.
• EPISODE 8 – Kan’u Interrupts Kochu’s Plot – Aisha, RinRin and Komei rescue a girl named Shoren, not knowing she is a swindler.
• EPISODE 9 – Ensho Finds a Treasure – Reiha’s group finds a treasure map and tries to find the treasure.  Meanwhile Aisha and Karin’s happen to be going to the same place.
• EPISODE 10 – Sonsaku’s Life is Threatened – Many fear Queen Sonsaku and how quickly she is expanding her territory.  Many others worry that Sonsaku may destroy their kingdom.
• EPISODE 11 – Kan’u Encounters Ryubi – Aisha and friends help save Ryubi, commander of a military force.
• EPISODE 12 – Kan’u Accomplishes Her Goal – The bandits launch a surprise attack on the village of Touka and Aisha and friends will do whatever they can to protect it.
• OAV – Rival Warlords Battle for the Position of Student Body President: There Will Also Be Flying Tops! – An alternate universe story as Aisha and friends are students at S. Francesca Academy and Rinrin and Aisha have an argument and take part in a Sports Festival.

VIDEO :

“Koihime Musou – Complete First Season” was a bit surprise because typically when it comes to video games receive adaptation to anime, they tend to receive so-so animation treatment for the adaptation.  But for “Koihime Musou”, Dogakobo has done a magnificent job on the anime production.  For one, because this is an adventure anime series with action but plenty of comedy, you expect to see humorous depictions of the characters and often see them in super deformed versions.  But what I was impressed with was the actual artistic backgrounds and the amount of detail and shading that went into the characters especially during the fighting sequences.

Typically, this is the advantage of smaller anime production studios is that they get to focus on one anime series and not having to stress on dealing with many anime series all at once. So, you can see a lot of detail that went into the series and its art backgrounds.  Granted, this is a series that takes place in the past and what you are mostly seeing are trees, bushes, grass and dirt, but still the overall look and feel of this anime series was more than I expected.  Great job by Dogakobo!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Koihime Musou – The Complete Season” is presented in Japanese 2.0.  For a more immersive soundtrack, I opted to set my receiver for stereo on all channels.  Overall, voice acting was well-done for this series.  It’s important to note that there is no English dub track with this DVD release.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Koihime Musou – Complete First Season” comes with the opening and ending themes and Sentai Filmworks trailers.

“Kohime Musou” was a big surprise.  I figured that it would be a perverted anime series because it was based on an adult visual novel PC game and although you do get the usual fan service at times, the series does not have an abundance of it.   More focus is placed on the story, character development anime production and so, this series goes beyond typical anime adaptations from video games.

Yes, the series does have its share of well-endowed characters but unlike other series that tends to emphasize that, the focus of the series are the adventures of these young women as they try to protect others from bandits.

But with that being said, this anime series is rated TV MA VD and that is because there is nudity.  For example, when Aisha and friends are in the hot springs, she is nude.  The series doesn’t have nudity in every episode but its there.  I will say that while the TV series is clean, the single-OAV episode gets a bit more perverted and emphasizes more of the fan service and also nudity.

So, overall, “Koihime Musou” is an anime adventure series that tends to showcase nearly all female characters while male characters are either bandits or members of the military.  There is plenty of humor and action and so far for this first season, the series is quite lighthearted.   But the biggest plus for “Koihime Musou” is its colorful cast of characters and in some ways, this style of series reminds me of older anime series with ensemble characters that fight, compete but at the same time, features a good balance of comedy and action.

There is no major violence in “Koihime Musou” which you see bloody battles or dismembering of body parts.  It’s pretty much an adventure series in which Aisha and friends go from village to village and take on various duties.  Also, focusing on the “sisterhood” that Aisha forms with the young Rinrin and their bond.  Because of RinRin’s young age, she is feisty and gets jealous of the attention that Aisha gives to others.  But it’s something the two characters work on during their adventures.

There is another season of “Koihime Musou” left and I look forward to watching it, but for now, if you are looking for a humorous action/adventure anime series, definitely give “Koihime Musou – Complete First Season” a try!

Eyeshield 21 – Volume 3 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

Japan’s wild, crazy and popular football (American football) anime series”Eyeshield 21″ is entertaining and fun! “Eyeshield 21″ has been one of my favorite anime series to watch on DVD in 2010! Definitely recommended!

Image courtesy of © Kome Studio-Villiage Studio/Shueisha-TV Tokyo. All Rights Reserved.

DVD TITLE: Eyeshield 21 – Volume 3

DURATION: Episodes 27-39 (325 Minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: 4:3, Japanese 2.0 Stereo, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: Sentai Filmworks/Section23 Films

RATED: TV PG V

Release Date: December 21, 2010

Originally created by Riichirou Inagaki and Yuusuke Murata

Directed by Masayoshi Nishida

Series Composition by Nobuaki Kishima

Character Design by Hirotoshi Takaya

Art Director: Satoshi Shibata

Music by Ko Otani

Sound Director: Yuuki Matsuoka

Anime Production by Studio Galllaop

Featuring the following voice talent:

Miyu Irino as Sena

Atsushi Tamura as Hiruma

Aya Hirano as Mamori

Kappei Yamaguchi as Raimon Tarou

Kouichi Nagano as Kurita Ryoukan

Rikiya Koyama as Musashi

Shoko Nakagawa as Suzuna

Daisuke Hirakawa as Akaba Hayato

Daisuke Ono as Kengo Mizumachi

As if the Demon Bat’s training couldn’t get any more bizarre, Hiruma drags the entire team to Houston, Texas for a bootcamp from Hell. But that’s the least of the team’s problems, as things go unpredictably (or actually, at this point, rather predictably) awry. Not only does Cerberus get “borrowed” by a little girl, but the team must face a grueling death-march, the NASA Aliens are back with a sly and cunning plan to outmaneuver the Demon Bats, and somewhere in the middle is an epic battle over a thousand dollars and a whole lot of barbeque. And then everyone realizes that Las Vegas is “reasonably close” to Houston and the trouble really begins!

In Japan, American football may not be too popular compared to the international futbol (soccer), but there are a few high schools that have football teams and the NFL does have a game played in Japan, helping to spread the game’s popularity.

But in 2002, writer Riichiro Inagaki and illustrator Yusuke Murata introduced American football to a broader audience through their manga “Eyeshield 21″ which has been featured on the very popular Weekly Shonen Jump, has led to several videogames and also a 145-episode anime series which lasted from 2o05-2008. With American exposure to “Eyeshield 21″ for the translated Shonen Jump manga, now the popular anime series has made it way to American shores courtesy of Section23 Films/Sentai Filmworks with the first volume of “Eyeshield 21″ featuring the first 13 episodes.

“Eyeshield 21″ revolves around a young teenager named Sena Kobayakawa who has passed his entrance exams at his local high school, Deimon Private Senior High School. The school where his childhood friend Mamori Anezaki attends. Both Sena and Mamori are close because all throughout his life, Sena has been bullied and Mamori has been there to protect him.

Living his life as a gopher for other friends, Sena hasn’t had any true friends until he meets the devil-looking Yoichi Hiruma and the very huge Ryokan Kurita who try to get Sena to join their football team.

Of course, Sena doesn’t know how to play football but being the new kid at school, once again, he gets bullied but this time, the huge Kurita ends up taking care of them. Out for revenge, the bullies start to pick on Sena once again but Sena is sick and tired of getting beaten up and when they go after him, he demonstrates a skill which he has had for a long time, speed. Because Sena has lived his life running away, he is very quick and immediately, Hiruma wants to utilize him on the Deimon High School Devil Bats football team.

Sena just wants to become a team manager but Hiruma wants Sena to be the team’s running back. And because Hiruma wants to make sure that no one can steal him for their high school, he plans on a disguise that no one but he, Sena and Kurita will know and that is putting an eyeshield on a football helmet and giving Sena a #21 jersey and the nickname “Eyeshield 21″.

In the first season, we watch as the Devil Bats accomplish the impossible by beating major teams but also getting a spot to go against an America high school football team known as the NASA Shuttles.  In volume 2, Hiruma has a bet with the coach that if they come within seven points, the NASA Shuttles would have to stay in Japan.  If the Devil Bats lose, they would have to leave Japan and go to America.  NASA wins but because the Devil Bats were able to come within the seven points, the NASA Shuttles have to stay in Japan and the Devil Bats must go to the United States.

But this was part of Hiruma’s plan all along as his goal was for the team to meet with a former Japanese football player and train.  In volume 3, we see the Devil Bats come to America and take part in training but to also to take part in the Death March, a treacherous training regiment in which the players must train by traveling from Texas to Las Vegas on foot.

The linemen are forced to push a truck from Texas to Las Vegas, Sena must kick a rock (and not lose it) and the others must jog and sprint.   They may not know it but this march will enhance their football playing abilities.

The Death March will test the player’s patience but also test their group as being teammates and facing adversity together.  Meanwhile, volume 3 also shows how other teams are preparing for the upcoming football season, each with their goal to make it to the Christmas Bowl.

The main characters of “Eyeshield 21″ are:

• Sena Kobayakawa – The main character. Short, shy and clumsy. Sena has been bullied throughout his life and now wants to stand up for himself. Especially since he has made friends on the Deimon High School football team. So, outside of football, he is seen as the manager, but when he’s on the football field and disguised as Eyeshield 21, he is a running back that dazzles the audience and his teammates with his impressive speed.
• Mamori Anezaki – Sena’s childhood friend and a girl who has always protected him when he was getting bullied. Scared that Sena is hanging out with Hiruma and team, she decides to become a manager of the team alongside with him and oblivious that Sena is disguised as Eyeshield 21.
• Yoichi Hiruma – The captain and quarterback with devlish looks and is always up to something that is typically up to no good. Either gaining intel on people at school, taking care of his devil dog Cerberus or trying to make his football team better by pushing them (and taunting them with his machine gun).
• Ryokan Kurita – Despite his huge size and being a great lineman, he is also shy, softspoken and kind. Also, loves to eat a lot!
• Tarao Raimon (Monta) – Had dreams of becoming a baseball player but when the Deimon High School baseball teams kicks him off, the football team utilizes his fantastic catching skills and makes him a wide receiver. Has a monkey-like appearance.
• The Ha-Ha Brothers – Bullies who are constantly tormenting Sena, the members consider of Kazuki Jumonji, Koji Kuroki and Shozo Togano.  Hiruma blackmails them into joining the football team.  At first they want nothing to do with the team but now they realize that they are becoming better people and tougher individuals.
• Manabu Yukimitsu – Known for his balding head and a student that has always been focused on cram schools because of his strict mother, Yukimitsu wants to prove himself that he can do more than just study and wants to become a member of the Deimon Devil Bats and will do all he can despite not being an athlete.  He may lack athletic skill like the others but he is very smart.
• Daikichi Komusbi – A linemen and a short, stocky member who looks up to Kurita as a mentor.  Although short, he is strong and has dedicated will power.
• Natsuhiko Taki – A man who loves to dance and thinks he can do anything by himself.  He is the brother of Suzuna and tried to become an American football player, now he is a tight end for the Devil Bats.
• Tetsuo Ishimaru – Although not a main member focused on in the series, he does pop up once in awhile as the second running back and a member from the track team.
• Yohei Satake and Kenta Yamaoka – Members of the basketball team who are blackmailed by Hiruma to become wide receivers and linebackers for the team.
• Suzuna Taki – The sister of Natsuhiko and often rollerblading.  She works as part-time reporter and is also the cheerleading captain for the Devil Bats.
• Cerberus – Hiruma’s ferocious dog that likes to bite people.  Used for training on the football players who try to run their fastest away from the dog in order to avoid being bitten. Cerberus has a large appetite.

Here is a brief spoilerless summary of episodes 27-39 for “Eyeshield 21″ included on two DVD’s:

DISC 1:

• EPISODE 27 – The Devil Bats arrive to Houston for bootcamp.  Meanwhile, two thieves try to dognap Cerberus.
• EPISODE 28 – Sena and Monta end up at the football field where Panther played and meet with his grandmother.
• EPISODE 29 – The Devil Bats go to the beach and Sena, Mamori and Monta join members of the Seibu Wild Gunmen and take part in a beach football game.
• EPISODE 30 – The Devil Bats rest at the Wild Gunmen ranch and the coach agrees to train them if they all want to take part in a Death March.
• EPISODE 31 - The Death March begins.
• EPISODE 32 - Teammates start to complain about the Death March.  Will they last?

DISC 2:

• EPISODE 33 - Sena ends up running into a motorcycle gang (with Suzuna) and ends up trying out for an American Football team with Suzuna’s brother Taki.
• EPISODE 34 - Sena introduces the Devil Bats to Taki, who wants to become a member of the Devil Bats.
• EPISODE 35 – Yukimitsu begins to collapse during the Death March.  One player can prevent the others from their goal.  Can Sena leave Yukimitsu behind?  Can Yukimitsu complete the Death March?
• EPISODE 36 – The Devil Bats truck gets caught in a pothole and then slides into a ditch.  Can the team work together and get the truck out of the ditch.
• EPISODE 37 – A story about the Oujo Knights and Sakuraba wondering if he can be a part of their team.
• EPISODE 38 – The Devil Bats return home and players find out who makes it to the team as starters.  Unfortunately, one must get benched.
• EPISODE 39 – While everyone but Mamori knows the true identity of Eyeshield 21, Suzuna wants to know why Sena hasn’t told her.

VIDEO:

“Eyeshield 21 – Volume 3″ is presented in 4:3. Because the series is a comedy, character designs range from being detailed to being simple, depending on the scene. But there is a good amount of detail on the backgrounds at times but the main focus are on the characters and at times you will see really beautiful drawn images, to simplistic images but it captures the wild and crazy style of “Eyeshield 21″.

For the most part, the anime series compliments the manga series.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Eyeshield 21 – Volume 3″ is in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0. Voice acting is well-done and for the most part, the audio is clear. For a more immersive soundscape, I chose to have my receiver set with stereo on all channels. But overall, the 2.0 track is good. Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Eyeshield 21 – Volume 3″ features trailers for upcoming Sentai Filmworks releases.

I have been a big fan of sports-based anime and in Japan a lot of their sports manga and anime are big hits.  From the soccer-driven series “Captain Tsubasa”, the basketball series “Slam Dunk”, the baseball series “Touch”, the tennis series “Tennis no Oujisama” (Prince of Tennis)  and many of them have this underdog vs. the better team type of mentality.

Yes, there is a banality when it comes to anime series but there is often this side of supernatural element that an athlete has.  A super kick, a special tennis serving or hitting ability and with “Eyeshield 21″, what makes the series so exciting is that every team has its special individuals with unique talents.  But when it comes to the Deimon Devil Bats (the protagonist team), these guys are like a group of misfits put together in hopes to accomplishing their goal of making it to the Christmas Bowl.  But they are surely talented.  Sena (Eyeshield 21) has this special ability of his running and in this latest volume, he hones that talent and makes himself even better.  We also see new characters pop up and joins the team and definitely see how everyone works together, faces adversity together as a team.   And that’s what I enjoyed about volume 3.

Similar to other sports anime in which there is an underdog getting involved with sports and displays a tremendous skill, “Eyeshield 21″ definitely showcases that into the storyline but with the characters, in this case the team is more like the “Bad News Bears” and with the “The Devil Bats”, the team consists of characters that are just wild and crazy. Actually, all teams have characters that are wild and crazy and I suppose that is what makes “Eyeshield 21″ so interesting and enjoyable.

The latest volume of “Eyeshield 21″ is quite special as it features the team working together and bonding.  In the previous season, these individuals were not playing like a team.  Many felt they were all put together because they were blackmailed by Hiruma but in this series, everyone wants to become a better person and feel like they belong.  So, with the events that took place in volume 2, volume 3 focuses on the Deimon Devil Bats are now in the United States and have take on the goal of accomplishing the 40-day Death March from Texas to Las Vegas.

You also get to see other football team players have their own episode as well, so for those who enjoy the storyline with the Ojou Knights or Panther and his American team will find an episode dedicated to them as well.

Volume 3 features episodes 27-39 and for the most part, every episode in this volume is very entertaining.   As for the characters and their skills, where some sports anime series try to emphasize realism and others focusing on a characters super skills, “Eyeshield 21″ leans towards the latter and each member does possess a certain skill which eventually builds as the series progresses.

It’s important to let the viewer know that since this is was a popular series in Japan, it was a long running series with over a 140 episodes and with 13 episodes per volume, it’s going to take awhile to complete.  So, this is one series that will attract those who are in it for the long haul, but it’s definitely worth it!

Everything about this series, from its characters, the gags, to the storyline is well-done and for those who enjoy American football or have knowledge about the sport will definitely be entertained by this series.  Even if you don’t know about football, the game also helps the beginners understand the sport.

If you are looking for a sports anime series, “Eyeshield 21″ is definitely an anime series worth checking out!

Definitely recommended!

Kurokami the Animation – Volume Four (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Disc Review)

“Kurokami the Animation” continues the awesome action/drama storyline where the first season left off.  The second season kicks off with a more Kuro/Keita-driven episodes as we see the two being put to the test as each fight brings Keita closer to death.  If you haven’t checked out this series yet, definitely give “Kurokami the Animation” a try!  It’s a series definitely worth catching!

Image courtesy of © 2009-2010 Lim Dail Young, Park Sung Woo/Square Enix/Sunrise, Bandai Visual. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Kurokami – The Animation – Volume Four

DURATION: EPISODES 12.5-16 (135 Minutes)

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen), English PCM 2.0,

COMPANY: Sunrise/Bandai Entertainment

RATED: NOT RATED (Note: This anime does feature violence)

Release Date: November 23, 2010

 

Originally created by Dall-Young Lim, Sung-woo Park

Directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi

Series Composition by Reiko Yoshida

Original Character Design by Sung-woo Park

Character Design: Hiroyuki Nishimura

Art Director: Shunichiro Yoshihara

Chief Animation Director: Hiroyuki Nishimura

Art Design: Tomoyasu Fujise

Sound Director: Hiromi Kikuta

Director of Photography: Naoyuki Wada

Anime Production by Sunrise

Featuring the following voice talent:

Jason Griffith as Keita Ibuki

Laura Bailey as Kuro

Christopher Kromer as Daichi Kuraki

Crispin Freeman as Reishin

Emily Bauer as Riona Kogure

Eva Kaminsky as Nam

Julie Ann Taylor as Akane Sano

Kathleen McInerney as Yuki Kaionji

Marc Thompson as Hiyou

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as Mikami Hojo

Michael Sinterniklaas as Punipuni

Patrick Seitz as Steiner

Stephanie Sheh as Excel

Six months have passed since the battle against Reishin in Okinawa. Keita has been in a comatose state since then while the world changed around him. Kuraki has become the new vice-chairman of the Kaionji conglomerate and is set to fulfill his dream of forming a Utopia by manipulating the Doppeliner System. A band of Tera Guardians and supports have risen around Kuro to fight against this new enemy in a strange new world…

Just when you thought the last volume of “Kurokami the Animation” was spectacular and action-packed, here we are with volume four of the anime series which kicks off the second season with more action, drama and the highly anticipated battle between Kuro/Keita vs. Raiga!

After the events of the season the season one finale which ended up with Daichi Kuraki’s Terra Guardian Raiga killing Reishin, Kuraki’s plan has begun to go in full gear in order to complete his plans for a “Pure Land”.

The events take place six months after the fight against Reishin and with Kuraki now taking over the Kaionji group as well as taking Reishin’s partner Yuki as his bride-to-be, Kuraki has become too powerful that no one can stop him, especially with Raiga by his side.

As for our protagonists… No one knows what has happened to Keita and Kuro after the events of the first season but what we do know is that Kuraki is trying move forward with his plans of Utopia, the Kaionji Group has gotten stronger and the “Noble Ones” have been forced out of Japan.  That is until we see an opening sequence of Kuro defeating members of the Kaionji group which can only mean that not all Noble Ones have disappeared and are gone, Kuro and friends must be nearby.

In fact, a few of the Noble Ones, have decided to stay back in Japan.  Kuro and Yakumo stayed behind at the Noble One compound to watch over Keita’s safety.  And we learn that Keita has used so much of his life’s energy during the last battle and now he is in a coma.

Of course, Kuro blames herself for putting Keita in this position.   And even if he wakes up, she knows that Keita will always continue to fight… but the fact is, can she continue to fight even if she knows it may kill him.  It’s something that she would not want to do and the pain is already too difficult to take in.

But for Kuro and friends, now is not the time to worry because now Pro-Kaionji Tera Guardians are now going after the Noble Ones, hunting down whoever they can in order to find Keita because for Kuraki’s “utopia” plan, he needs Keita in order to make it work.  But can Kuro protect Keita and prevent Kuraki from getting him?   Will Keita ever wake up from his coma?

And just when you think that things are bad for Kuro and Keita, Keita’s childhood friend Akane finds out that she is a master root and her sub Yuki Kaionji (Reishin’s partner) is trying to kill her .  For Yuki, she would rather become a negative root than be married to Kuraki.  So, Akane’s life is in danger but with Kuro and friends watching over Keita…. Who will be protecting Akane?

“Kurokami the Animation” Backstory

For those who have never heard of “Kurokami”, in the world of “Kurokami” (“Black God”), one sometimes think they see another person that looks exactly like them (doppelganger) but in reality, there are three (doppeliner) which share the same life force (known as Tera). If by any chance, one was to see each other, one would die and the others would have that life force equally distributed. Making sure this “Coexistence Exquilibrium” is kept in check are the Tera Guardians.

This is the story of “Kurokami”, a 23-episode anime TV series which is an adaptation of a Japanese manga series by Dall-Young Lim and illustrated by Sung-Woo Park and is an ongoing series published in the magazine “Young Gangan”.

The anime series is directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi (“Glass no Kamen”, “Midori Days”, “Twelve Kingdoms”) and features series composition by Reiko Yoshida (“Aria”, “D.Gray-Man”, “Kaleido Star”, “Peach Girl”). Character designs are by Hiroyuki Nishimura (“Spirit of Wonder”, “Deltora Quest”) and music composed by Tomohisa Ishikawa (“Appleseed: Ex Machina”, “Kite Liberator”, “Innocent Venus”). And now the first volume of the anime series is released on Blu-ray and includes the first four episodes.

“Kurokami” revolves around a teenager named Keita Ibuki. When he was younger, his mother met someone that looked exactly like her and the next day she was hit by a car. So, the existence of a doppelganger has always been in his mind.

One night when he went out for ramen, he meets a girl named Kuro along with her dog Punipuni, they seem quite hungry. He offers her his ramen and all seems well until a madman comes out of nowhere and assaults her.

Keita tries to help her but is easily beaten by this madman. But what he sees is this girl’s incredible fighting power. After all is done and Kuro overcomes her assailant, she tells him that she is out to kill her brother.

The paths of both Keita and Kuro cross again and Kuro explains to her about the doppeliner and that she is a Tera Guardian. As Keita tries to deal with this and possibly learn why his mother died, his childhood friend Akane (who likes Keita) tries to help both Keita and Kuro as well.

One evening, a group of thugs with extreme power go after her again but this time, Keita tries to help but is mortally wounded. Kuro manages to escape with him but because he is dying, she decides to exchange hearts with him in order to keep him alive and thus a contract is created. But she warns him that they must be near each other at all times or her heart will become necrotic if its too far away from her. Keita has now become the contractee and his life is forever bonded with Kuro.

In volume 2 of “Kurokami the Animation”, Keita and Kuro confront a group of Tera Guardians in battle, meanwhile we learn about Kuro’s past and also information about Keita’s deceased mother. But most importantly, Keita is told the truth about his status of being a contractee and that contractee’s can easily be killed and are not invincible.

For Keita, his thought was that he wouldn’t die during a battle but now knowing that he is vulnerable may change his status of how he fights with Kuro. Meanwhile, Keita, Kuro and Akane left to Okinawa and confronted two survivors from the Hiba Clan.

In volume 3, it appears that others are looking for the survivors of the Hiba Clan and while Reishin makes his appearance. Keita discovers that contractees can be “negative roots” but would he ever dare going that direction. Also, a friend who had been dead has made his appearance once again and the news he has for Keita will surprise him.

As Kuro and Keita barely survive against their battle with Reishin, thanks to the help of Excel and Steiner, Kuro and Keita are able to escape.  But unfortunately, in order for them to escape, Steiner sacrificed his life.  Meanwhile, Kuraki and Raiga then take on Reishin to for the control of the Kaionji Group.

“Kurokami” vol. 4 features the episodes 12.5-16 of the TV series on one Blu-ray disc. Here is a brief, spoiler-free synopsis of each episode:

• EPISODE 12.5 – Intermission – A special episode which aired before episode 13 in Japan.  Keita narrates a recap of what took place from episodes 1-12.
• EPISODE 13 – New World – Kuraki orders the Pro-Kaionji Tera Guardians to find Keita and destroy anyone who gets in their way.
• EPISODE 14 – Breakthrough – Bernhard leads Noble One operatives including Yakumo and Riona to infiltrate the Kaionji group.  Meanwhile, Yuki plans to kill Akane in order to become a negative root.
• EPISODE 15 – Carnage - Kuro and Keita go against the powerful Shinra but Kuro worries that Keita will die if he diverts all his life energy into her.
• EPISODE 16 – Ruin – After the events which took place in episode 15, we are introduced to a new and much more powerful duo of Kuro and Keita.

VIDEO:

“Kurokami The Animation” is featured in 1080p High Definition. The series is quite vibrant and looks absolutely beautiful in HD. Blacks are nice and deep, colors pop and I didn’t notice any edge enhancement or compression artifacts during my viewing of the series.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Kurokami The Animation” is presented in English PCM 2.0. And as mentioned in my previous review of volume 1 of the series, “Kurokami” does not include the lossless Japanese audio while the DVD does include both soundtracks. It is discussed on various message boards that because the series is being released at the same time in Japan, to prevent reverse importation, the lossless Japanese soundtrack was not granted for the U.S. release (note: In Japan, the Blu-ray release costs about three times as more than the U.S. release and to prevent reverse importation over there, they didn’t include English subtitles).

Unfortunately with Japan and the U.S. on the same region for Blu-ray releases and people demanding simultaneous or near simultaneous releases, this is easily going to be an issue for American anime fans if more series continue to feature the lack of a Japanese audio track.

As for the English dub, for the most part the English dubbing was well-done. Jason Griffith (as Keita) known for his work for the character Shadow for “Sonic X” does a very good job but anime voice acting veterans Laura Bailey (as Kuro) and Julie Ann Taylor (as Akane) do a solid job as the voice of their characters.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Kurokami the Animation vol. 4″ contains the following special features:

• Textless theme and ending themes - Included are one textless opening themes and four textless ending themes for “Kurokami the Animation”.
• Bandai Entertainment Previews
  

Just when you have thought that “Kurokami the Animation” had ended the first season with a bang!  The first few episodes of the second season continues the action-packed storyline as the Kaionji group continues their fight against the Noble Ones.  With the Terra Guardians helping out the Kaionji group, Kuro, Keita and friends are literally in defense mode, especially Kuro as she is unable to fight without Keita (who is in a coma).

But what makes this latest volume so exciting for me was that it devoted itself to furthering the bond between Kuro and Keita.  Especially with Kuro worrying about Keita’s life and him fighting and fighting and literally killing himself in the process.  So, it was very interesting to see how things have developed in these first four episodes of the new season and I’m even more excited to see how things develop in vol. 5 as the new and very powerful Kuro and Keita aim to do the impossible.  So, it’ll be interesting to see if they accomplish that.

As for positives, the major positive aside from the story is this series looks fantastic on Blu-ray. Character designs are well done and are vibrant onscreen, the detailed artistic backgrounds definitely look beautiful and the fighting sequences look absolutely fluid. I didn’t catch any edge enhancement or any significant artifacting but I haven’t compared the DVD to the Blu-ray series either. But I’m confident on how beautiful this series is on Blu-ray.

On the negative side, I think that many anime fans who prefer a Japanese soundtrack and also prefer to purchase anime on Blu with a lossless Japanese audio soundtrack. So, I can feel their pain! As mentioned, with Japan and U.S. sharing the same region on Blu-ray and with people wanting simultaneous (or near-simultaneous) releases, this is going to be a major issue in the near future and I hope this is something that can be resolved for future releases.

The other negative that I can think of for anime fans is episodes per volume. With other anime companies releasing complete series or breaking down their releases by a dozen episodes, “Kurokami” which is a 23-episode series features only four episodes per volume (although vol. 4 does come with five episodes with the inclusion of the special recap episode 12.5) and also releases thus far have not really included many special features but the textless opening and closing themes and Bandai Entertainment trailers.   But I suppose without a Japanese vocal track, it makes it difficult to include anything related to the Japanese releases of “Kurokami”.

Overall, “Kurokami – The Animation” is an entertaining anime series that so far features a solid storyline and really cool animation/background art. Volume 4 continues that action-driven storyline where the last volume had left off.  As well as continuing the dramatic component that made the last volume so enjoyable.

If you have watched the first three volumes thus far, you’re definitely going to enjoy the fourth!  “Kurokami the Animation” is definitely an anime series on Blu-ray worth checking out!

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