Shiki: Part Two (A J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Disc Review)

May 19, 2012 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

The second half of “Shiki”, the roles are reversed as the humans fight back against the vampires. But which side will you be more sympathetic towards? Overall, “Shiki” has turned out to be an enjoyable, dark and violent series that fans of that genre will enjoy. Recommended!

TITLE: Shiki: Part Two

DURATION: Episodes 13-22 (300 Minutes)

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition 16×9 HD Native, Dolby TrueHD English 5.1 and Dolby TrueHD Japanese 2.0, Subtitles: English

RATED: TV MA

COMPANY: Aniplex/FUNimation Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: May 29, 2012

Originally Created by Fuyumi Ono

Directed by Tetsuro Amino

Series Composition by Kenji Sugihara

Music by Yasuharu Takanashi

Created by Fuyumi Ono

Manga by Ryu Fujisaki

Character Design by Shinji Ochi

Art Director: Ichirou Tatsuta

Anime Production by Daume

Featuring the voices of:

Kazuyuki Okitsu/John Burgmeier as Seishin Muroi

Kouki Uchiyama/Jerry Jewell as Natsuno Yūki

Toru Ohkawa/David Wald as Toshio Ozaki

Ai Orikasa/Lydia Mackay as Chizuru Kirishiki

Aoi Yūki/Cherami Leigh as Sunako Kirishiki

Ayano Ishikawa as Azusa Koide (Natsuno’s mother)

Gackt/J. Michael Tatum as Seishirō Kirishiki

Haruka Nagashima as Kaori Tanaka

Haruka Tomatsu/Tia Ballard as Megumi Shimizu

Keiko Kawakami/Luci Christian as Akira Tanaka

Nobuhiko Okamoto/Chris Burnett as Tōru Mutō

Nozomi Sasaki as Ritsuko Kunihiro

Shinya Takahashi/Todd Haberkorn as Masao Murasako

Wataru Takagi/Ian Sinclair as Tatsumi

Yuko Mizutani as Kyouko Ozaki

When citizens of a secluded village begin dying off in alarming numbers, the sole hospital’s head doctor tries desperately to save his patients – but his efforts are in vain. Entire families are wiped out while others desert their homes. All hell breaks loose as the villagers discover their loved ones’ corpses are rising from the grave with an insatiable thirst for human blood. Who is safe when the urge to kill in order to survive blurs the line between man and monster?

Dark, eerie, scary…these are are words that some have used to describe Fuyumi Ono’s horror novel “Shiki”.

A story that would lead to a manga adaptation featuring artwork drawn by Ryu Fujisaki and serialized in the magazine “Jump SQ” from December 2007-2011, the popularity of the series would lead to an anime TV series in 2010 produced by anime studio, Daume (best known for “Onegai Teacher!”). The series also caught a lot of attention when Japanese rock star Gackt announced he would voice one of the characters in the series.

And now the series will be released on Blu-ray and DVD (in two parts) in May 2012 courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment.

What is “Shiki” About?

“Shiki” (which translates to “Corpse Demon”) revolves around a small town known as Sotoba.

But dark things have been happening in Sotoba of late. Many people who have caught sickness and are now dying. There was a folk tale long ago that the village had many deaths due to okiagari (vampires) but it is looked only as an old tale that people today don’t take seriously.

Meanwhile, the main doctor in town, Toshi Ozaki is growing frustrated because each person he tries to help looks like they are suffering from anemia but later grow tired to the point that they die. Why are they dying? Is there an epidemic in town?

While scientifically, an epidemic may seem plausible but when teenager Natsuno Yuuki/Koide sees a former classmate that passed away, has risen from the dead, he tells Toshi Ozaki and both believe that perhaps the town is infested with okiagari…vampires or some type of demon who feeds on the living in the small town.

But are these rumors of the okiagari shiki true? But most importantly, can anyone stop it?

In the second half of “Shiki”, after having seen the vampires (okiagari) going after humans and literally increasing the body count. We have seen a few people starting to know that there is no epidemic in the small village and also seeing the dead awaken and walking around town.

But how can these individuals such as Dr. Toshi Ozaki, Natsuno Yuki, the Tanaka siblings and others alert others that the okiagari exists. As for now, without any solid proof, it’s hard to prove. Meanwhile, Natsuno Yuki was targeted by the vampires and is now dying. With Natsuno being one of the main people in the village to uncover the secret, what will happen now?

“Shiki” features the following characters:

Natsuno Yuuki/Koide – The first protagonist of the series. Natsuno has a cold demeanor. Quiet and sometimes emotionless, Natsuno hates living in Sotoba and prefers living in the city. But because of his parents wanting a change of environment and become more creative, they moved away from the city to Sotoba for inspiration.
Toshi Ozaki – The Dean and doctor of the local hospital, Toshi is a married man but is often working late. He resigned from a university hospital to take his father’s position and despite people bringing up his father, Toshio was not supportive of his mother or his father due to them putting the Ozaki family’s reputation before anything else. He slowly starts to grow frustrated as he tries to find out what is killing the people in the village.
Sunako Kirishiki – A teenager girl who lives in the Kanemasa mansion with her family. She has a genetic disorder known as SLE and can only come out during the night time. She also exhibits these black filled eyes that resemble some of the vampires/demons.
Seishi Muroi- A priest and author, he is currently working on a novel about “Shiki” and can detect actual shiki. He is good friends with Toshi Ozaki.
Touro Mutou – The son of Takeshi Mutou, director of the Ozaki Clinic. He is the eldest in the family and he is good friends with Natsuno.
Kaori Tanaka – A naive girl who thinks Megumi Shimizu is her best friend (despite Megumi disliking her). She and her younger brother Akira are among the few that believe the area is infested with okiagari shiki and hopes people will believe them.
Tatsumi – He is the servant to the Kirishiki family but also a special vampire “Jinrou” that can withstand sunlight and is quite powerful. He leads the Shiki.

VIDEO:

“Shiki” is presented in 1080p High Definition and the anime studio Daume has done a wonderful job in character design and art backgrounds. Typically anime studios are on a time restraint and are working on multiple anime series at a time but Daume is one of the few studios that tend to put all their focus onto a single series at a time.

The art backgrounds are lush and beautiful, homes and overall village structures are well-detailed and the character designs are actually quite stylish and with colors that support the darker anime feel but also a colors that look absolutely vibrant at times.

With that being said, the anime series still has a softness (that most anime TV series has) and one should not expect OVA or film quality type of anime, but still this is a series that looks fantastic with its detail of structures and interior of homes. “Shiki” definitely looks very good!

AUDIO:

“Shiki” is presented in English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Japanese DolbyTrue HD 2.0. This is an anime series that primarily focuses on dialogue and if there are action sequences, the action is quick. But the series does make up in ambiance. You’ll hear like insects flying, heartbeats, wind, cars passing by and everything that one can expect in a rural village. If anything, the series utilizes a spooky ambiance and sound effects to freak viewers out. The English soundtrack has more dynamic range but when it comes to voice acting, both are well-done.

The biggest standout for this series is the music. The musical soundtrack by Yasuharu Takanashi is fantastic, especially the opening and ending theme of the series.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Shiki: Part Two” comes with the following special features:

Episode 18 Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Mike McFarland (Line Producer, ADR Director, voice of Yuki), Ian Sinclair (voice of Tatsumi), J. Michael Tatum (voice of Seishiro) and Lydia Mackay (voice of Chizuru).
Episode 22 Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Mike McFarland (Line Producer, ADR Director, voice of Yuki), Cherami Leigh (voice of Sunako), John Burgmeier (voice of Seishin) and David Wald (voice of Toshio).
Preview Featurette Vol. 05 – (1:46) The original Japanese DVD Volume preview for Vol. 5.
Preview Featurette Vol. 06 – (1:46) The original Japanese DVD Volume previews for Vol. 6.
Preview Featurette Vol. 07 – (1:16) The original Japanese DVD Volume previews for Vol. 7.
Preview Featurette Vol. 08 – (1:14) The original Japanese DVD Volume previews for Vol. 8.
Preview Featurette Vol. 09 – (:39) The original Japanese DVD Volume previews for Vol. 9.
Textless Opening Song – Calendula Requiem
Textless Closing Songs – Gekka-Reijin
TRAILERS – FUNimation Entertainment trailers

EXTRAS:

“Shiki: Part Two” comes with both the Blu-ray and DVD of episodes 13-22.

There have been a few dark, creepy anime that has made it to America within the last five years. And similar to the United States, even Japan has had its share of anime series incorporating vampires to a storyline.

But what makes “Shiki” so unique is that it doesn’t retain the banality of the usual vampire storyline. This is not a series about a group of teenagers unleashing a counterattack against the vampires, nor is this a storyline about a vampire or human falling in love. This is a story about a rural Japanese town in which the vampires plan to eradicate all humanity and literally turn everyone into a vampire.

Each time we were introduced to a character, you would expect that this character would be a main character in the storyline, but beginning with the first episode, viewers quickly learn that each character is essentially going to be a victim. In some way, it reminded me of “Boogiepop Phantom”, a darker anime series from 2000 that seemed every character introduced, their livelihoods were futile.

But what makes the anime series work is that we get to meet these villagers, learn of their quirks and if anything, feel comfortable with each and everyone of them…that is until the okiagari begin to target them.

The same can be said with “Shiki” as the townspeople think that people are dying of an epidemic, while very few people suspect that a new family that has moved to the area is responsible. And sure enough, when people start to see old friends who have died, walking around, what do you do? How you can fight against these reborn monsters?

The first half of the series focused on the deaths of many in the village and the discovery by Natsuno Yuuki, Toshio Ozaki and brother and sister, Kaori and Akira Tanaka discovering that there is no epidemic but deaths caused by the okiagari (vampire). And to make things worst, there appears to be no defense against them. They keep rising and they are growing by the numbers. Also, it doesn’t help that there are specialized vampires such as Tatsumi who can withstand the sunlight and literally use his charm to get people to let him into their homes and thus leading to a person’s quick death.

The second half of the series, the roles are reversed dramatically. We knew that the people of the village were starting to find out about the vampires, we knew that Natsuno and Toshio Ozaki had to do something. And that something begins with this second half of the series.

We have seen the perspective of the humans, the second half gives us a glimpse of the vampires. While some seem vicious, those of the village who were brought back as vampires struggle with their past human feelings of caring for an individual, wanting to be with a person or their family but unfortunately, because of what they are, they crave blood and when they don’t feed, that is when the vampire takes over their body and literally makes them to vicious monsters.

Unfortunately, without spoiling the series, there is not much that I can say but that everything you watched in the first half of the series and made you sympathetic towards the humans, your perspective may change as you get to see other side of things. Especially learning of the history of certain individuals. But for those who have been wanting to see humanity fight back, will then you’re going to love what happens in the second half of the series.

And if there is anything that I can say is that the violence and bloodshed will increase dramatically with each episode and for those who have a low tolerance towards blood, you have been warned… as this series gets bloodier and bloodier with each episode.

Also, don’t forget to watch what happens after the ending credits of the final episode.

As for the Blu-ray release, Daume, an anime studio who usually doesn’t rush into anime production has once again done a fantastic job with this series. With most TV series, many anime studios are typically hampered by multiple projects they have to get to a television studio but with Daume, one of the few that tends to focus on a series and thus dedicates its staff into making wonderful looking anime series. Granted, the setting is the country and a lot of the backgrounds one will see are trees, fields, forests, etc. But they manage to put quite a bit of detail on their background art and also on the actual character designs which are quite stylish. Especially with the combination of dark to vibrant colors that really pop on Blu-ray. The voice acting is well-done on both lossless soundtracks and there are a few audio commentary tracks included.

Overall, It’s been a long while since I have watched an anime series so dark, eerie and where situations are so unexpected. And from this second half of “Shiki”, all I can say is that… I enjoyed this series a lot. It’s quite violent and bloody but for those who are up to a very intense but enjoyable series featuring humans vs. vampires, will find “Shiki” to be a series worth watching.

Recommended for anime fans who enjoy violent, dark and eerie anime!

Filed Under: Anime on Blu-ray

Shiki: Part One (A J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Disc Review)

May 12, 2012 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

It’s been a long while since I have watched an anime series so dark, eerie and where situations are so unexpected. And from this first half of “Shiki”, all I can say is that… I’m loving every minute of it!

TITLE: Shiki: Part One

DURATION: 12-Episodes (300 Minutes)

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition 16×9 HD Native, Dolby TrueHD English 5.1 and Dolby TrueHD Japanese 2.0, Subtitles: English

RATED: TV MA

COMPANY: Aniplex/FUNimation Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: May 29, 2012

Originally Created by Fuyumi Ono

Directed by Tetsuro Amino

Series Composition by Kenji Sugihara

Music by Yasuharu Takanashi

Created by Fuyumi Ono

Manga by Ryu Fujisaki

Character Design by Shinji Ochi

Art Director: Ichirou Tatsuta

Anime Production by Daume

Featuring the voices of:

Kazuyuki Okitsu/John Burgmeier as Seishin Muroi

Kouki Uchiyama/Jerry Jewell as Natsuno Yūki

Toru Ohkawa/David Wald as Toshio Ozaki

Ai Orikasa/Lydia Mackay as Chizuru Kirishiki

Aoi Yūki/Cherami Leigh as Sunako Kirishiki

Ayano Ishikawa as Azusa Koide (Natsuno’s mother)

Gackt/J. Michael Tatum as Seishirō Kirishiki

Haruka Nagashima as Kaori Tanaka

Haruka Tomatsu/Tia Ballard as Megumi Shimizu

Keiko Kawakami/Luci Christian as Akira Tanaka

Nobuhiko Okamoto/Chris Burnett as Tōru Mutō

Nozomi Sasaki as Ritsuko Kunihiro

Shinya Takahashi/Todd Haberkorn as Masao Murasako

Wataru Takagi/Ian Sinclair as Tatsumi

Yuko Mizutani as Kyouko Ozaki

Dark, eerie, scary…these are are words that some have used to describe Fuyumi Ono’s horror novel “Shiki”.

And now the series will be released on Blu-ray and DVD in May 2012 courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment.

“Shiki” (which translates to “Corpse Demon”) revolves around a small town known as Sotoba.

But are these rumors of the okiagari shiki true? But most importantly, can anyone stop it?

“Shiki” features the following characters:

Natsuno Yuuki/Koide – The first protagonist of the series. Natsuno has a cold demeanor. Quiet and sometimes emotionless, Natsuno hates living in Sotoba and prefers living in the city. But because of his parents wanting a change of environment and become more creative, they moved away from the city to Sotoba for inspiration.
Toshi Ozaki – The Dean and doctor of the local hospital, Toshi is a married man but is often working late. He resigned from a university hospital to take his father’s position and despite people bringing up his father, Toshio was not supportive of his mother or his father due to them putting the Ozaki family’s reputation before anything else. He slowly starts to grow frustrated as he tries to find out what is killing the people in the village.
Sunako Kirishiki – A teenager girl who lives in the Kanemasa mansion with her family. She has a genetic disorder known as SLE and can only come out during the night time. She also exhibits these black filled eyes that resemble some of the vampires/demons.
Seishi Muroi- A priest and author, he is currently working on a novel about “Shiki” and can detect actual shiki. He is good friends with Toshi Ozaki.
Touro Mutou – The son of Takeshi Mutou, director of the Ozaki Clinic. He is the eldest in the family and he is good friends with Natsuno.
Kaori Tanaka – A naive girl who thinks Megumi Shimizu is her best friend (despite Megumi disliking her). She and her younger brother Akira are among the few that believe the area is infested with okiagari shiki and hopes people will believe them.
Tatsumi – He is the servant to the Kirishiki family but also a special vampire “Jinrou” that can withstand sunlight and is quite powerful. He leads the Shiki.

VIDEO:

AUDIO:

The biggest standout for this series is the music. The musical soundtrack by Yasuharu Takanashi is fantastic, especially the opening and ending theme of the series.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Shiki: Part One” comes with the following special features:

Episode 1 Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Mike McFarland (Line Producer, ADR Director, voice of Yuki), Jerry Jewell (voice of Natsuno Yuki), David Wald (voice of Toshio Ozaki) and John Burgmeier (voice of Seishin).
Episode 12 Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Mike McFarland (Line Producer, ADR Director, voice of Yuki), Chris Burnett (voice of Toru), Tia Ballard (voice of Megumi) and Alexis Tipton (voice of Kaori).
Preview Featurette Vol. 01 – (2:17) The original Japanese DVD Volume preview for Vol. 1.
Preview Featurette Vol. 02 – (1:46) The original Japanese DVD Volume previews for Vol. 2.
Preview Featurette Vol. 03 – (1:45) The original Japanese DVD Volume previews for Vol. 3.
Preview Featurette Vol. 04 – (1:46) The original Japanese DVD Volume previews for Vol. 4.
Textless Opening Song – Kuchizuke – (1:32) Featuring Buck-Tick’s theme song “Kuchizuke”.
Textless Closing Songs – Walk no Yakusoku – (1:27) Featuring Nangi’s ending theme “Walk no Yakusoku”.
TRAILERS – FUNimation Entertainment trailers

EXTRAS:

“Shiki: Part One” comes with both the Blu-ray and DVD versions of episodes 1-12.

The first half of the series focuses on the deaths of many in the village and the discovery by Natsuno Yuuki, Toshio Ozaki and brother and sister, Kaori and Akira Tanaka discovering that there is no epidemic but deaths caused by the okiagari (vampire). And to make things worst, there appears to be no defense against them. They keep rising and they are growing by the numbers. Also, it doesn’t help that there are specialized vampires such as Tatsumi who can withstand the sunlight and literally use his charm to get people to let him into their homes and thus leading to a person’s quick death.

But of course, with everything looking quite dark and the viewer is left wondering if certain characters are going to survive, one can only hope there is a glimmer of light that these humans can find a way to fight back. And for that, let’s hope that things get even better in the second half of the series.

Overall, It’s been a long while since I have watched an anime series so dark, eerie and where situations are so unexpected. And from this first half of “Shiki”, all I can say is that… I’m loving every minute of it!

Recommended for anime fans who like dark and eerie anime!

Filed Under: Anime on Blu-ray

Blue Exorcist Vol. 3 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

April 7, 2012 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

All-out action, humor and my favorite episodes in the series thus far! The third volume of “Blue Exorcist” reveals Rin’s true identity to the True Cross Order and most of all, to his friends/classmates. Will Rin be used as a weapon to fight Satan or will he be executed because he is the son of Satan? “Blue Exorcist” Vol. 3 is highly recommended!

PLEASE PURCHASE THIS ANIME SERIES FROM RIGHTSTUF

DVD TITLE: Blue Exorcist Vol. 3

DURATION: Episodes 14-19 (150 minutes)

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

COMPANY: Aniplex Inc.

RATED: Suggested 13 and Up

RELEASE DATE: April 17, 2011

Based on the manga by Kazue Kato

Directed by Tensai Okamura

Series Composition by Ryota Yamaguchi

Music by Hiroyuki Sawano

Character Design by Keigo Sasaki

Art Director: Masatoshi Kai

Chief Animation Director: Keigo Sasaki

Anime Production: A-1 Pictures

Featuring the following voice talent:

Jun Fukuyama as Yukio Okumura

Kana Hanazawa as Shiemi Moriyama

Kazuya Nakai as Ryūji Suguro

Nobuhiko Okamoto as Rin Okumura

Ayahi Takagaki as Kuro

Eri Kitamura as Izumo Kamiki

Hiroshi Kamiya as Mephisto Pheles

Keiji Fujiwara as Shirō Fujimoto

Koji Yusa as Renzō Shima

Rina Satou as Shura Kirigakure

Tetsuya Kakihara as Amaimon

Yuuki Kaji as Konekomaru Miw

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

During a 3-day drill to prepare Rin and fellow Ex-Wires for actual combat, Amaimon suddenly appears and takes Shiemi as a hostage to lure Rin. Angry, Rin fights Amaimon and he ends up going berserk! He regains control of himself only to be captured by the current Paladin, Angel, and sent to the Vatican for trial. As the hearing drags on, the Order finds itself unable to decide on Rin’s fate, as Mephisto has proclaimed him to be “a weapon for counter-attacking Satan.” Rin is now forced to obey the Vatican’s order or face execution!

It has been kept a secret to the True Cross Academy that Rin Okamura is the son of Satan. But what happens when Rin’s friends and the Academy find out Rin’s true identity. Will the Academy have him killed or will they believe Mephisto in hopes that Rin can be used as a weapon to defeat his evil father?

Find out in volume three of “Blue Exorcist”.

So, What is “Blue Exorcist”?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And now in volume 3 of “Blue Exorcist”, with the Demon King of Earth, Amaimon making his attack against Rin and friends during training, there is no way Rin can hide his secret. He will need to draw the Kurikara sword and turn into demon form in order to fight and defend his friends. But by using this sword, Rin can lose control in a very bad way!

“Blue Exorcist” features the following characters:

Rin Okamura – The main protagonist. The son of Satan but born from a human mother. He and his brother Yukio are twins but he inherited his father’s powers. Rin’s power was sealed inside a sword by Mephisto Pheles, so he can live a human life. Rin was raised by the priest Shiro Fujimoto as normal humans with compassion and love. Despite getting into a lot of trouble and his abilities tend to be more of fighting or cooking, since discovering his power and identity, he vows to use his power to avenge his adoptive father Shiro Fujimoto’s death and defeat Satan. He vows to attend True Cross Academy and do all it takes to become a Paladin and a “Meister” (Knight). Rin also has taken in a dog demon (Cat Sith) which he names Kuro.
Yukio Okamura – The son of Satan but born from a human mother. Unlike Rin he did not inherit Satan’s powers. Known as the intellectual person of the family, unbeknown to Rin was that he has been secretly trained to become an exorcist since the age of seven in order to protect his brother. So, now he is an instructor at True Cross Academy and responsible for looking after his brother. But he harbors a secret…dark spots are starting to appear on his body which Yukio has told no one about, despite being tested daily if Satan’s power is in him.
Mephisto Pheles – The Chairman of True Cross Academy. He and Shiro Fujimoto worked together in order to seal Rin’s power and make him human. Mephisto is a powerful exorcist but because he is a demon, many do not believe him while others believe he has proven he is on the side to fight against Satan.
Ryuji Suguro – Also known as “Bon” to his classmates. He has a high temper and is often fighting and arguing with Rin. But despite his attitude, he is the best student in the class and dedicated to his studies. Part of his drive is because Satan destroyed his family temple.
Shiemi Moriyama – The daughter of a woman who runs an exorcist-only shop. She lacks confidence and she is quite sheltered (having lived with her grandmother and her only friends were plants) but when given the chance to meet and make friends at True Cross Academy, being in school gives her a new lease on life. It appears that both Rin and Yukio may have feelings towards her. Shiemi is a tamer and can summon a greenman spirit to produce herbs and barriers.
Izumo Kamiki – She always has a cold attitude and known for her eyebrows. The only friend she is close to is her best friend Paku but slowly (very slowly), she is starting to befriend her classmates. She can summon two Baykko (foxes) to fight.
Konkomaru Miwa – Very smart but very shy. He is the strategist and is loyal to his best friend Ryuji and Renzo, since they grew up at the same temple that was destroyed. His parents were killed by Satan.
Renzo Shima – Carefee, loves to flirt with girls (especially Paku and Izumi) but has a major phobia of insects. He also grew up with Ryuji and Konekomaru. Renzo carries a K’rik staff to fight.
Shura Kirigakure – The carefree, hardly wears anything, loves alcohol, upper first class exorcist who was asked by priest Shiro Fujimoto to train Rin and help him become a “Meister”. She can draw a demon sword from her chest and stomach and is an excellent fighter.
Shiro Fujimoto – The priest of Southern Cross Monastery who raised both Yukio and Rin as a loving father. He is a Paladin in the True Cross Order and was the strongest exorcist. Was thought to be the only man who could not be possessed by Satan but after an argument with Rin (and Rin saying some hurtful things) which shocked Shiro, it was enough time for Satan to possess Shiro. In order to protect himself from hurting Rin and Yukio, Shiro sacrificed himself.

“Blue Exorcist Vol. 3″ features episodes 14-19 on one DVD. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each episode:

EPISODE 14 – A Fun Camping Trip - The Esquires are taken to the forest where they are to undergo through training by Yukio and Shura.
EPISODE 15 – Act of Kindness – The students are attacked by Amaimon. In order to protect the other students, Shura gives Rin the sword which transforms him into a demon to fight Amaimon.
EPISODE 16 – The Wager – Rin is captured by Arthur Auguste Angel, a Paladin who wants Rin dead and Mephisto to be charged for keeping this secret from the Academy of Rin and Yukio’s true identity. The Academy must decide whether to have Rin executed or to be used as a weapon to fight Satan.
EPISODE 17 – Temptation – While the True Cross Academy is making their decision, Amaimon enters the True Cross Order HQ to continue his fight. Meanwhile, Mephisto wants to show that Rin will fight for the True Cross.
EPISODE 18 – Gufu – With Konekomaru shocked about Rin’s identity and that Rin’s father Satan was responsible for his parent’s death, he doesn’t know if he could be friends with him. Meanwhile, a bird demon is trying to enter the school. Meanwhile, Rin must go through special training to become an exorcist immediately.
EPISODE 19 – An Ordinary Day – Shiemi and friends decide to have a surprise birthday party for Izumo. Meanwhile, Izumo becomes suspicious of her classmates.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

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

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

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

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

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Blue Exorcist, Vol. 3″ features the following special features:

URA-EX (Bonus Short Movies) – Featuring three short omake anime stories (about 1:20 per omake) that are shown after an episode is completed.
Preview Web Version – Featuring the “next episode” previews voiced by various demon characters (about 17 seconds each).
Textless OP#2 – Blue Exorcist opening theme without text.
Textless ED#2 - Blue Exorcist ending theme without text.

EXTRAS:

“Blue Exorcist” Vol. 3 comes with a slipcover case, 2-sided reversible cover, exclusive 2-sided poster and an O-sleeve with key visual art.

Action-packed but also what you want to see from this second half of “Blue Exorcist”, all characters working as a team.

Now things become much more intriguing in “Blue Exorcist” as everyone now knows Rin’s true identity, meanwhile his brother Yukio is hiding the fact that the demon blood within him may be turning him into a demon.

Similar to the popularity of shows such as “Naruto” and “Bleach”, teamwork and the integration of other characters are part of the success of those series and in “Blue Exorcist” vol. 3, these episodes emphasize how Rin can not do it alone. He will need to trust his friends.

And while these episodes are focused on Rin and his identity being revealed, the episodes also focus a lot on his friends trying to do what they can to help Rin, despite not trusting him (since he is the son of Satan). But through Rin’s actions, he’ll need to prove that he is the same person, the same caring, goof-off that they knew before but his intention has not changed, he will defeat Satan.

There are plenty of action featured in these episodes as Amaimon is on the aggressive and is constantly attacking. But then you have your fun, lighthearted episode as the group tries to hae a surprise birthday party for Kamiki. So, you get a good dose of action and humor like in previous episodes, but this time, the stakes are higher as Rin must go through aggressive training to become an exorcist in a short amount of time.

“Blue Exorcist” has a good balance of humor, action and an interesting concept in balance with awesome animation and beautiful art backgrounds. While the action may be it a bit too visual for younger anime viewers (as this is suggested for 13 and up), for fans of action-based series such as “Naruto” and “Bleach” will find “Blue Exorcist” to their liking.

As there is one more volume left of “Blue Exorcist”, I am looking forward to seeing how this season is concluded. Kazue Kato really did a fantastic job in building the characters up slowly to this point and now, Rin must be trained to become the weapon the True Cross Order needs to defeat Satan but most importantly, for Rin to avenge his adoptive father, Shiro Fujimoto’s death.

Overall, an excellent volume 3 of “Blue Exorcist” and can’t wait for volume 4!

Definitely recommended!

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

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Vol. 2 – Limited Edition Box Set (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Review)

April 2, 2012 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

A fresh, enjoyable yet dark storyline that is absolutely captivating and addictive! “Puella Magi Madoka Magica Vol. 2 – Limited Edition Box Set” is another must-own anime on Blu-ray release for anime collectors and the series itself is definitely one of the best anime TV series on Blu-ray released in America for 2012. Highly recommended!

Purchase this title from Rightstuf

TITLE: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Vol. 2 – Limited Edition Box Set

ANIME RELEASE DATE: 2011

DURATION: 5-8 Episodes: (100 Minutes)

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (16:9LB Wide Screen), Japanese Linear PCM Stereo, English Linear PCM Stereo, English subtitles

COMPANY: Aniplex, Inc.

Release Date: April 10, 2012

Series Directed by Yukihiro Miyamoto

Director: Akiyuki Shinbo

Series Composition: Gen Urobuchi

Music by Yuki Kajiura

Original Character Design by Ume Aoki

Character Design by Takahiro Kishida

Art Director: Kunihiko Inaba

Chief Animation Director: Junichiro Taniguchi, Mika Takahashi

Sound Director: Yota Tsuruoka

Director of Photography: Shinichiro Eto

Anime Production: Aniplex, Shaft

Featuring the following voice talents:

Aoi Yūki/Christine Marie Cabanos as Madoka Kaname

Chiwa Saito/Cristina Vee as Homura Akemi

Emiri Katou/Cassandra Lee as Kyubey

Ai Nonaka/Laura Landa as Kyōko Sakura

Eri Kitamura/Sarah Williams as Sayaka Miki

Junko Iwao as Kazuko Saotome

Kaori Mizuhashi as Mami Tomoe/Tatsuya Kaname

Ryoko Shintani as Hitomi Shizuki

Seiko Yoshida as Kyōsuke Kamijō

Tetsuya Iwanaga as Tomohisa Kaname

Yuko Goto as Junko Kaname

“Has a loving family and best friends, laughs and cries from time to time…” Madoka Kaname, an eighth grader at Mitakihara middle school, lives such a life. One day, she has a very magical encounter. She doesn’t know if it’s by chance or by fate yet, but this meeting will change her destiny. This is the beginning of a new story of magical girls…

At what price will one pay to become a Magical Girl? In Vol. 2 of “Puella Magi Madoka Magica”, Sayaka decides to become one, but at what price?

For anime fans who grew up with magical girl (majo shojo) anime series, “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” combines the sweet characters that many fans expect from a magical girl series, but this time around, also a darker and more tragic storyline.

Created in 2011, the anime TV series known as “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” is produced by Shaft and Aniplex.

The 12-episode anime TV series would feature a talented working staff which included director Akiyuki Shinbo (“Hidamari Sketch”, “Dance in the Vampire Bund”, “Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko”) and series composition by Gen Urobuchi (“Fate/Zero”, “Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom”~, “Blassreiter”). Music composition is by Yuki Kajiura (“.hack” series, “Noir”, “My-HiME”, “Mobile Suit Gundam Seed”, “Fate/Zero”), character design by Takahiro Kishida (“Noein – to your other self”, “Macross Zero”, “Durarara!!”) and background art by Kunhiko Inaba (“The Girl Who Leapt Through Time”, “C-Control – The Money and Soul of Possibility”).

The series was well-received and it won the Television Award at the 16th Animation Kobe Awards, it won 12 NewType Anime Awards and also won the Grand Prize for animation in the 2011 Japan Media Awards.

When the series streamed on the Japanese video streaming site Nico Nico Douga in June 2011, it surpassed the previous record held by Lucky Star (at 570,000 viewers) with around 1 million viewers. Also, the first Blu-ray for “Puella Magica Madoka Magica” broke the record of “Bakemonogatari” by selling 53,000 copies in its first week, 22,000 copies on its first day.

The popularity of the series eventually led to a manga series, a Sony PSP video game released in March 2012 and also, a three-film project that is in the works.

In the United States, “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” Vol. 1 was released on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of Aniplex. And in April 2012, the second volume featuring episodes 5-8 will be released.

“Puella Magi Madoka Magica” Summary

“Puella Magi Madoka Magica” is a series about a young teenager named Madoka Kaname. She’s 14-years-old and comes from a loving family and hangs out with her best friend Sayaka Miki and Hitomi Shizuki.

But lately, Madoka has been having nightmares. A dark world filled with destruction and she watches these girls in battle. As she watches and wishes they would be stopped, she is told by a cat looking extra terrestrial known as Kyubey that Madoka can stop it if she makes a contract with him and become a “Magical Girl”.

Meanwhile, a new girl named Akemi Homura has transferred to Madoka’s school and during her introduction in class, she gives Madoka a hateful glance. Homura quickly becomes popular in school and excels in academics and athletics.

When she meets Madoka, Madoka tells her about her love for her family and friends and Homura responds by telling her her not to change.

One day, while Madoka and Sayaka were at a music store, Madoka hears a plea for help and she is led to a dark warehouse and finds a Kyubey that is hurt. She then sees Homura and is frightened that she is about to hurt it. Immediately, Sayaka comes to Madoka’s aid.

As the two are running away, both are whisked into a magical world where they meet a kind magical girl named Mami Tomoe who begins fighting against a witch in the magical world and defeats it with ease.

The Kyubey asks for both Madoka and Sayaka to sign a contract with him and become magical girls.

Magical Girls receive a soul gem which gives them their power. The contract of becoming a magical girl states that a girl will get one wish in exchange for her using magic to fight against witches (which are evil entities born from magical girls who have fallen into despair and failed to purify their soul gem). Each battle features a large amount of risk and during these fights, typically one dies.

Homura for some reason is trying her best to prevent Madoka from accepting the contract in becoming a magical girl. But will Madoka and Sayaka want to become one?

Volume 2 of “Puella Magi Madoka Magica”

In volume 2, Sayaka wants to make one wish come true and so she decides to become a magical girl. But becoming a magical girl comes at a price and Madoka will learn how someone as sweet as Sayaka can change after becoming one.

VIDEO:

A lot of time obviously went into creating the atmosphere of this TV Series and I have to give Takahiro Kishida (the character designer) and Kunihiko Inaba a lot of credit for the visual presentatio of “Puella Magi Madoka Magica. As for character designs, the character designs manage to keep with the “majo shojo” theme of characters looking young, even the older characters looking young. But they are nicely drawn, good amount shading and also at times showing a sketched look.

Typically, most TV series tend to focus on trees, skies, clouds and buildings but with “”Puella Magica Madoka Magica”, a lot of thought went into the series from objects, wallpaper (even Mami’s wall-paper was designed and not just a straight painted background). You see the changes during the day and night, you can see sunset with the orange sky illuminating the area,the magical world with its creative and artistic design.

And overall, these colors really pop via HD. Reds and pinks, greens…they come are absolutely vibrant. Comparisons between the Blu-ray and DVD are mostly in the vibrancy of the colors in HD, while things look a bit softer for the DVD version.

Black levels are nice and deep, the series features vibrant colors galore. If anything, the picture quality for “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” is very good considering this is anime TV series. Anime fans should be happy with the overall visual presentation on Blu-ray.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Puella Magica Madoka Magica” is presented in Japanese and English Linear PCM Stereo and subtitles are in English. While I would have hoped for a 5.1 soundtrack (as I would have loved to have more immersion with the surround channels and LFE), most anime TV series aren’t and are presented in stereo. Still, fans should be happy that two linear PCM tracks are included. They are front-channel driven and for the most part, dialogue and sound effects are quite clear and understandable.

The voice acting on both the Japanese and English soundtracks are well-done. I was expecting the Japanese soundtrack to feature high-pitch voices considering this is a magical girl series, but they kept the voices to the ages of Madoka and friends as 14-year-olds and older. Voice actress Aoi Yuki (“The World God Only Knows”, “Persona 4: The Animation”, “Dance in the Vampire Bund”) takes on the more emotional role as Madoka and her voice acting is wonderful as we see her going through various degrees of emotions from happiness to sadness. But for vol. 2, these are Sayaka-driven episodes and voice actress Ai Nonaka (“Air”, “Negima!?”, “R.O.D. – The TV”) has to play a wide-range of emotions like Aoi Yuki but also a more twisted version of the character as well.

English voice acting was well-done. Similar to the Japanese voices, Christine Marie Cabanos and Lauren Landa had to be much more emotional in these episodes and both voice actresses do a wonderful job for their characters.

And as mentioned in my last review, what stands out the most for me in the TV series is the wonderful musical soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Puella Magi Madoka Magica Vol. 2″ comes with the following special features:

Textless Opening – Textless opening by “ClariS”.

EXTRAS:

Aniplex is a Japanese company that is well-known for their anime releases but also for giving fans wonderful additions with the limited edition releases.

“Puella Magi Madoka Magica Vol. 2 – Limited Edition Box Set” comes with the following:

3 Discs – Blu-ray, DVD and the original soundtrack

This second soundtrack (which came with vol. 4 of “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” in Japan) comes with the following tracks:

Decretum 1:49
Agmen clientum 1:44
Venari strigas 2:47
Signum malum 1:47
Amicae carae meae 2:02
Incertus 1:40
Inevitabilis 1:55
Serena ira 2:01
Anima mala 1:44
Pugna infinita 1:55
Vocalise Op. 34 no. 14 3:37
Ave Maria 4:49

Deluxe Collector’s Slipcase
Reversible 2-sided cover for BD/DVD case
2-sided cover for Soundtrack CD case
24-page booklet: Staff and voice actor interviews, character designs, special 4-panel manga by aokiume and art gallery by INUCURRY! (and more!)
Exclusive 2-sided poster (side 2: Magical Girls Group shot)
Exclusive postcards of “preview Illustrations” from episodes 5-8

In my last review, I talked about how I enjoyed this series because of how different the overall storyline was compared to other mahou shojo (magical girl) anime series.

With the second volume of “Puella Magi Madoka Magica”, I was surprised how things got even darker, especially how things change with the character of Sayaka after she decides to become a magical girl. Also, with many anime series with a cute alien or animal-type of character, these characters are most often pure and used for comedy purposes. For the character of Kyubey, it may look cute but let’s just say that we get to learn more about this being and viewers may be a bit surprised by some of the revelations made in this second volume.

Revealing anything else would be spoiling it, so all I will say is that fans of the first four episodes will be intrigued by the introduction of a new character but also revelations of the magical girl process, which is unlike any other magical girl anime series that I have seen within the last 30-years.

“Puella Magi Madoka Magica” is turning out to be a wonderful series with attention to character development but also a storyline that is fresh, unique and captivating.

As for the Blu-ray release, once again, production quality is fantastic, colorful and picture quality is very good for an anime TV series. The lossless soundtrack is Linear PCM Stereo and most series in Japan are released in stereo and while I would love to hear a lossless immersive soundtrack for “Puella Magi Madoka Magica”, dialogue is still crystal clear, as are the effects but most notably, for its wonderful music soundtrack.

And of course, with the limited edition, Aniplex returns with as many wonderful extras that the first limited edition came with. From a beautiful second soundtrack to cool postcards, poster and an informative booklet (and much more), fans of “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” will find this second volume limited edition to be another must-own release.

Overall, “Puella Magi Madoka Magica Vol. 2 – Limited Edition Box Set”, is another home run for Aniplex. The storyline is just as captivating and addictive as the last volume but also a bit more emotional and dark. And so far, I’m enjoying every episode. It’s definitely one of the best anime series to be released on Blu-ray in 2012.

“Puella Magi Madoka Magica Vol. 2 – Limited Edition Box Set” is highly recommended!

Purchase this title from Rightstuf

Filed Under: Anime on Blu-ray

Xam’d: Lost Memories – Complete Collection (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Disc Review)

February 8, 2012 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

If you are looking for one of the best anime series to come out on Blu-ray in the USA, know that “Xam’d: Lost Memories – Complete Collection” is one of those titles. Wonderful production quality, a captivating, deep storyline and an anime series on Blu-ray that I highly recommend!

TITLE: XAM’D: Lost Memories – Complete Collection

ANIME RELEASE DATE: 2008-2009

DURATION: 26 Episodes: (650 Minutes)

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (16×9), Japanese and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English subtitles

COMPANY: Aniplex/Sentai Filmworks

Release Date: February 7, 2012

Directed by Masayuki Miyaji

Script by Megumi Shimizu, Yuuichi Nomura

Music by Michiru Oshima

Original Character Design by Kenichi Yoshida

Character Design by Ayumi Kurashima

Art Director: Takashi Aoi

Anime Production: BONES

Featuring the following voice talent:

Atsushi Abe/Blake Shepard as Akiyuki Takehara

Fumiko Orikasa/Monica Rial as Haru Nishimura

Yuko Sanpei/Luci Christian as Nakiami

Ayumi Fujimura/Hilary Haag as Midori Nishimura

Keiji Fujiwara/Andrew Love as Raigyo Tsunomata

Michiko Neya/Maggie Flecknoe as Prois Sukakki

Motomu Kiyokawa/Andy McAvin as Reizo Kanba

Risa Hayamizu/Kaytha Coker as Fusa Takehara

Romi Park/Jessica Boone as Kujireika

Shinnosuke Tachibana/David Matranga as Furuichi Teraoka

Unshou Ishizuka/T. Postlewaite as Ryuuzou Takehara

Yasunori Matsumoto/Chris Hutchison as Toujirou Kagisu

Yumi Tamai/Shelley Calene-Black as Ishuu Benikawa

Set on a peaceful island during a violent terrorist attack, a young boy is suddenly transformed into a metal-cased mercenary. But with this great power comes even greater danger. Aiyuki must discover how to master this remarkable new power – or risk having this mysterious fusion of rock, metal and magic destroy him!

In 2008, anime studio BONES, Sony Computer Entertainment and Aniplex collaborated on a project known as “Xam’d: Lost Memories”.

The series would be featured on the PlayStation Network (PSN) at E3 (and also feature Sony Music Japan music artist KYLIE) and would air later in the fall on Japanese television. The series was directed by Masayuki Miyaji (“Eureka Seven”, “Scrapped Princess”, “Ghost Slayers Ayashi”), a screenplay by Megumi Shimizu (“Heroman”, “Soul Eater”, “Eureka Seven”) and Yuuichi Nomura (“Darker than Black”, “Overman King Gainer”, “Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion”). The music for the series is by Michiru OShima (“Arc the Lad”, “Gokusen”, “Fancy Lala”, “Le Chevalier D’Eon”), character designs by Ayumi Kurashima (“Eureka Seven”, “RahXephon”, “Wolf’s Rain”) and art backgrounds by Takashi Aoi (“Ergo Proxy”, “RahXephon”, “Samurai Champloo”, “Darker than Black”).

A total of 26-episodes were created and was released on Blu-ray and DVD (in two volumes) in the United States courtesy of Sentai Filmworks.

In Feb. 2012, Sentai Filmworks will be re-releasing “XAM’D: Lost Memories” as a complete collection.

“Xam’d: Lost Memories” is set in Sentan Island, a small island surrounded by the Yuden Sea and is cut off from the war between the Northern Government and the Southern Continent Free Zone.

We are introduced to teenager Akiyuki Takehara who lives with his mother Fusa in Sentan Island but is also dealing with the separation between his mother Fusa and his father, the town doctor, Ryuzo. While going to school and joining with his best friends Haru and Furuichi, he sees a girl (not knowing that she is from the religious cult of Ruikonism) who doesn’t have her armband (to show that they are students). So, Akiyuki comes up with a clever plan to get the girl into the bus.

As they arrive to school, while everyone is departing the bus to get to school, the mysterious girl that Akiyuki had helped get into the bus, detonates a bomb and killing and injuring people nearby. One of the lights which had extended from the bomb, hits Akiyuki in his right arm.

As he goes to check on the mysterious girl, she makes Akiyuki transformer. Immediately, Akiyuki’s right arm stars to change and then his whole body has turned into a creature known as Xam’d (an endosymbiotic organism known as Hiruko which merges with a human).

While soldiers are thinking that Akiyuki may be responsible for the blast, Haru can hear Akiyuki inside the beast, saying that he wants to live.

Akiyuki is then pursued by a monster and the two fight each other. And out of nowhere, a girl named Nakiami seems to know about his transformation and gives him a choice. If he comes with her, he will live. If he decides to say, he will turn to stone and die.

Wanting to live, Akiyuki joins Nakiami and a group of travelers who are members of the International Postal Ship Zanbani and while traveling to new lands on the airship Beat Kayak, Akiyuki is trained by Nakiami on how to control the beast within him and retain his humanity and also trained for postal work for the Zanbani crew.

Meanwhile, back on Sentan Island, Akiyuki’s parents worry that their son may be dead, but with inspiring words from Haru (who made a promise to Fusa that she would watch over Akiyuki), the three believe that Akiyuki is alive and will do what they can to find him. As for Furuichi, he continually becomes fueled by jealousy when he sees that Haru is constantly thinking about Akiyuki.

As for Akiyuki’s best friends, because the tranquility of Sentan Island is no more, his friend Furuichi and also Haru join the military in orders to stop any more of these Xam’d monsters from killing and hurting people. Meanwhile, a strange mad doctor is trying to develop more and monsters.

The main characters of “Xam’d: Lost Memories” are:

Akiyuki Takehara – The main protagonist of the series. A high school student who cares about his family and friends. But now that his body can easily change to a Xam’d and wipe away his human existence, through training by Nakiami and Raigyo, he hopes that he can be strong enough in order to stay human and co-exist with the “hiruko”. He also works for the International Postal Ship Zanbani after leaving Sentan Island behind in order to train with Nakiami.
Nakiami – A mysterious and serious person who has familiarity with Xam’d and quite knowledge about it. She trains Akiyuki on how to control the hiruko and also a member of the International Postal Ship Zanbani.
Haru Nishimura – Akiyuki’s childhood friend who cares deeply for him. She is great at martial arts and joins the Mainsoul military in hopes it will give her a chance to meet with Akiyuki once again.
Furuichi Teraoka – Akiyuki’s friend and also a martial artist. Since the destruction in Sentan Island, he has developed a hatred towards the Xam’d but also unleashing emotions such as jealousy towards Haru as she is constantly thinking about Akiyuki. He joins Mainsoul military in order to eliminate Xam’d.
Fusa Takehara – Akiyuki’s mother who is searching for her son and hopes he is still alive. She is separated from Ryuuzou Takehara.
Ryuuzou Takehara – Akiyuki’s father who is separated from Fusa. He is the town’s doctor but also a former military researcher who worked on Northern Continent to develop humanform weaponisation projects.
Ishuu Benikawa – The captain of the International Postal ship Zanbani. Always wearing a crop top and is strong-willed.
Raigyo Tsunomata – A Xam’d who left the Zanbani to work as a photographer but has now returned back to the group two-years later. He has control over his human and Xam’d form and tries to help Akiyuki.
Akushiba – Akiyuki’s roommate on the Zanbani and has a crush on Nakiami.
Yunbo – The cook of the Zanbai and mother of Hinokimaru but also a guardian to Kobako.
Ahm – The pilot of Zanbani.
Kisei – The mechanic for Zanbani.
Tenshin-Sama – An old sage who is a guide for Nakiami, Raigyo and Akiyuki.

VIDEO:

“Xam’d: Lost Memories” is presented in 1080p High Definition. BONES has done a fantastic job on this series and what is amazing is that for a TV series, it doesn’t look like a low-budget production, nor does it look like it was quickly made as the art backgrounds, mecha design are well-detailed. Character designs almost have a Ghibli style to them, especially for the character of Nakiami who has almost a “Nausicaa” style to her.

But overall, the picture quality is vibrant, clear and sharp. And while I usually put Production I.G. animated series to on top for their dedication of making their TV series look great and separate themselves from other anime series when it comes to detail, for “Xam’d: Lost Memories”, BONES did a fantastic job in creating this look and feel for the series.

“Xam’d: Lost Memories” is a beautiful anime series! And looks absolutely awesome on Blu-ray! No sign of softness, edge enhancement, artifacts, etc.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Xam’d: Lost Memories is presented in Japanese and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. I tested both soundtracks and audio from front channel to surround channels are exact on both soundtracks. There is a decent amount of surround channel usage during the action sequences and also some LFE.

Considering that viewers are getting two DTS-HD Master Audio lossless tracks instead of the typical 2.0 soundtrack that many TV series offer, for me, that’s pretty awesome! As for which I prefer, English or Japanese, I watched both but I have to say that although I’m quite biased towards the original Japanese soundtrack, the casting was well-done for this series and the English dub is very well-done!

Overall, whichever soundtrack you prefer, “Xam’d: Lost Memories” definitely outshines many anime series for its 5.1 lossless track and the fact there was good use of surround channels and LFE in trying to make the series much more immersive.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Xam’d: Lost Memories – Complete Collection” comes with the clean opening and closing animation and also the on-air opening and closing animations.

It’s true that many anime series tend to have a banality when it comes to storytelling and while there many kitschy titles released every year, there are TV series that stand out for its storytelling and production quality.

In 2009, that anime series was “Xam’d: Lost Memories”.

While the high school/terrorism storyline is nothing new, as anime fans have seen it before with “Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion”, this series is not about alien occupation but it’s about the state of war, terrible experimentation that go wrong and stopping that experimentation.

While there are many characters featured throughout the anime series, the writers do make things easy by focusing on Akiyuki, Nakiami and Haru. The other characters are more of providing the lightheartedness of the series but also to show a parent’s agony of having lost their child and hopes that he is still alive.

So, there are many adventures, battles and military/political intrigue that will keep anime fans glued to the TV series as it is one of the better, deeper anime storylines to come out to the U.S.

I can easily remember the buzz that surrounded “Xam’d: Lost Memories”. In fact, I was among the very few outside of Japan to interview the music duo BOOM BOOM SATELLITES who performed the opening theme and Kylee who sung the ending theme for “Xam’d: Lost Memories”.

But what I remember the most was how stunning the animation and art backgrounds especially the storyline was for this TV series. Bare in mind, BONES is one of the most well-known anime studios in Japan and one of the busiest, but for many anime studios, for a TV series, not many studios go all out in production because of budget and time constraints.

But for “Xam’d: Lost Memories”, this anime series featured a wonderful collaboration between BONES, Aniplex and Sony Computer Entertainment and it was one of the first earlier experiments of attempting at bringing an anime to an international audience.

It was indeed a breakthrough anime series that really took a TV series to greater heights by its production and was well-received both in Japan and with its Blu-ray and DVD release in the United States.

And as many people are now moving from DVD to Blu-ray, this re-release of “Xam’d: Lost Memories – Complete Collection” is a chance for many new anime fans to watch one of the better well-rounded anime series to come out in the last decade. And this is the complete collection, not the previous Blu-ray release which was split up into two volumes.

And this is great news for anime fans who have wanted to see Sentai Filmworks move towards full-season anime releases on Blu-ray! And this is a remarkable deal consider that in Japan, they broke these apart into eight Blu-ray volumes and one volume still costs significantly more than this US complete collection.

As for the Blu-ray release, while the picture quality is fantastic, the lossless soundtrack was very good (considering this anime TV series does provide a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack), special features are mostly the clean opening and ending animation. For an anime series of this caliber, you would hope for more special features but even in Japan, the Blu-ray releases were barebone releases.

Overall, “Xam’d: Lost Memories” is one of those rare, quality-based anime TV series that you don’t see often. The storyline is captivating, deep and a series that features higher production value when it comes to both animation, art background design and also sports a DTS-HD 5.1 lossless Japanese and English soundtrack.

If you are new to anime or just upgraded from DVD to Blu-ray and are looking for an anime series, “Xam’d: Lost Memories – Complete Collection” is one of the better anime on Blu-ray releases available in the U.S.

Highly recommended!

Filed Under: Anime on Blu-ray

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos Premiere – Photos from the Red Carpet by J!-ENT’s Nergene Arquelada (January 25, 2012) (J!-ENT Interviews and Articles)

February 3, 2012 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment

“Fullmetal Alchemist” excitement took place on January 25th as FUNimation Entertainment in conjunction with Aniplex, Inc. and Eleven Arts Inc. held a red carpet premiere for “Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos”.

The film is produced by BONES and the premiere was held at the Downtown Independent Theater in Los Angeles.

J!-ENT’s Nergene Arquelada attended the red carpet premiere which featured director Kazuya Murata, BONES Studio President Masahiko Minami, FUNimation Entertainment US director Mike McFarland, voice actor Vic Mignogna, singer Alana Lee, rapper Soulja Boy and more.

Here are a few photos from the event:

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos Red Carpet Premiere - BONES Studio President Masahiko Minami & director Kazuya Murata. Photo by J!-ENT's Nergene Arquelada.

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos Red Carpet Premiere - Soulja Boy. Photo by J!-ENT's Nergene Arquelada.

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos Red Carpet Premiere - US Director Mike McFarland. Photo by J!-ENT's Nergene Arquelada.

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos Red Carpet Premiere - Vic Mignogna and Michele Specht. Photo by J!-ENT's Nergene Arquelada.

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos Red Carpet Premiere - Alana Lee. Photo by J!-ENT's Nergene Arquelada.

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos Red Carpet Premiere - Kim Whalen and Curt Mega. Photo by J!-ENT's Nergene Arquelada.

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos Red Carpet Premiere - Magnolia Memoir. Photo by J!-ENT's Nergene Arquelada.

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos Red Carpet Premiere - Johnny Yong Bosch & Eyeshine. Photo by J!-ENT's Nergene Arquelada.

Filed Under: Interviews and Articles

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Vol. 1 – Limited Edition Box Set (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Review)

February 3, 2012 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“Maho Shojo” (Magical Girl) anime series in Japan tend to be cute and sugary sweet but with the release of “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” on Blu-ray/DVD, audiences will quickly discover that this magical girl anime series incorporates that cute/sweet storyline with dark, tragic undertones as well. And because of that, this award-winning anime series is not only unique, it’s also creative and exciting! And for American anime fans, Aniplex Inc. absolutely delivers in swag with the Limited Edition Blu-ray release. Definitely one of the best limited edition anime box sets to come out in the U.S. Highly recommended!

Purchase this title from Rightstuf

TITLE: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Vol. 1 – Limited Edition Box Set

ANIME RELEASE DATE: 2011

DURATION: 4 Episodes: (100 Minutes)

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (16:9LB Wide Screen), Japanese Linear PCM Stereo, English Linear PCM Stereo, English subtitles

COMPANY: Aniplex, Inc.

Release Date: February 14, 2012

Series Directed by Yukihiro Miyamoto

Director: Akiyuki Shinbo

Series Composition: Gen Urobuchi

Music by Yuki Kajiura

Original Character Design by Ume Aoki

Character Design by Takahiro Kishida

Art Director: Kunihiko Inaba

Chief Animation Director: Junichiro Taniguchi, Mika Takahashi

Sound Director: Yota Tsuruoka

Director of Photography: Shinichiro Eto

Anime Production: Aniplex, Shaft

Featuring the following voice talents:

Aoi Yūki/Christine Marie Cabanos as Madoka Kaname

Chiwa Saito/Cristina Vee as Homura Akemi

Emiri Katou/Cassandra Lee as Kyubey

Ai Nonaka/Laura Landa as Kyōko Sakura

Eri Kitamura/Sarah Williams as Sayaka Miki

Junko Iwao as Kazuko Saotome

Kaori Mizuhashi as Mami Tomoe/Tatsuya Kaname

Ryoko Shintani as Hitomi Shizuki

Seiko Yoshida as Kyōsuke Kamijō

Tetsuya Iwanaga as Tomohisa Kaname

Yuko Goto as Junko Kaname

This limited edition combo box set includes the first soundtrack CD, an exclusive collector’s box, a double-sided poster, a Kyubey sticker, collectible postcards, and a deluxe 24-page booklet with character designs, a special short manga by Aoki Ume and more!

“Maho Shojo” (Magical Girl) anime series in Japan tend to be cute and sugary sweet but with the release of “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” on Blu-ray/DVD, audiences will quickly discover that this magical girl anime series incorporates that cute/sweet storyline with dark, tragic undertones as well. And because of that, this award-winning anime series is not only unique, it’s also creative, fresh and exciting! And for American anime fans, Aniplex Inc. absolutely delivers in swag with the Limited Edition Blu-ray release. Highly recommended!

For anime fans who grew up with magical girl anime series, from the “Magical Sammy” series spun-off from “Tenchi Muyou”, “Cardcaptor Sakura”, “Akazukin Cha Cha”, “Fancy Lala”, “Creamy Mami” to name a few, most of these anime series tend to be so sweet and sugary and cater to a niche group of anime fans.

While the series featuring older girls such as “Sailor Moon”, “Cutie Honey”, “Project A-Ko”, “Magic Knight Rayearth” had a bit of edge to the series and were known more for their action and characters which were designed as being a bit older than the “Maho Shojo” characters (which are typically young girls). And one thing about Maho Shojo anime series is that it tends to stay within the confines of storylines and characters that are typically safe, cute, bubbly and sweet.

Once in awhile, you do get the melding of cute and sweet with an atmosphere of edgy and darkness.

A 2011 anime series known as “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” took things in a much different direction that the past magical girl anime series because of its edginess and tragic elements.

Produced by Shaft and Aniplex, the 12-episode anime TV series would feature a talented working staff which included director Akiyuki Shinbo (“Hidamari Sketch”, “Dance in the Vampire Bund”, “Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko”) and series composition by Gen Urobuchi (“Fate/Zero”, “Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom”~, “Blassreiter”).

Music composition is by Yuki Kajiura (“.hack” series, “Noir”, “My-HiME”, “Mobile Suit Gundam Seed”, “Fate/Zero”), character design by Takahiro Kishida (“Noein – to your other self”, “Macross Zero”, “Durarara!!”) and background art by Kunhiko Inaba (“The Girl Who Leapt Through Time”, “C-Control – The Money and Soul of Possibility”).

The series was so popular that it won the Television Award at the 16th Animation Kobe Awards, won 12 NewType Anime Awards and won the Grand Prize for animation in the 2011 Japan Media Awards.

When the series streamed on the Japanese video streaming site Nico Nico Douga in June 2011, it surpassed the previous record held by Lucky Star (at 570,000 viewers) with around 1 million viewers. Also, the first Blu-ray for “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” broke the record of “Bakemonogatari” by selling 53,000 copies in its first week, 22,000 copies on its first day.

The popularity of the series eventually led to a manga series, a Sony PSP video game planned for release on March 2012 and also, a three-film project which was announced late last year.

And on Valentine’s Day of 2012, “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” will be released on Blu-ray in the United States courtesy of Aniplex. The first volume of “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” features the first four episodes on Blu-ray and DVD.

When she meets Madoka, Madoka tells her about her love for her family and friends and Homura responds by telling her her not to change.

The Kyubey asks for both Madoka and Sayaka to sign a contract with him and become magical girls.

Homura for some reason is trying her best to prevent Madoka from accepting the contract in becoming a magical girl. But will Madoka and Sayaka want to become one?

VIDEO:

“Puella Magi Madoka Magica” is presented in 1080p High Definition and is presented in 16:9 LB. I have to admit that Shaft and Aniplex have done a fantastic job in this series. For one, the amount of detail for the art backgrounds is incredible. A lot of time obviously went into creating the atmosphere of this TV Series. Typically, most TV series tend to focus on trees, skies, clouds and buildings but with “”Puella Magica Madoka Magica”, a lot of thought went into the series from objects, wallpaper (even Mami’s wall-paper was designed and not just a straight painted background). You see the changes during the day and night, you can see sunset with the orange sky illuminating the area,the magical world with its creative and artistic design.

And overall, these colors really pop via HD. Reds and pinks, greens…they come are absolutely vibrant.

As for character designs, the character designs manage to keep with the “majo shojo” theme of characters looking young, even the older characters looking young. But they are nicely drawn, good amount shading and also at times showing a sketched look.

Blacks are nice and deep, the series features colors galore. If anything, the picture quality for “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” is very good considering this is anime TV series. Artistic backgrounds, creative magical worlds, cool character designs… “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” looks great!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Puella Magi Madoka Magica” is presented in Japanese and English Linear PCM Stereo.

While I would have hoped for a 5.1 soundtrack (as I would have loved to have more immersion with the surround channels and LFE), most anime TV series aren’t and are presented in stereo. Still, fans should be happy that two linear PCM tracks are included. They are front-channel driven and for the most part, dialogue and sound effects are quite clear and understandable.

But what stands out the most in this soundtrack is Yuki Kajiura’s music. Each time I see her name associated with an anime series, if you are familiar with her work, you immediately know that the soundtrack is going to be wonderful and beautiful. With “Puella Magi Madoka Magica”, once again Kajiura’s music is captivating and it really enhanced my enjoyment of the series.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Puella Magi Madoka Magica” comes with the following special features:

Ending Theme: “Magia” Music Video – (5:18)”Magia” music video featuring Kalafina.
Textless Opening – Textless opening by “ClariS”.
Trailers – The original Japanese TV commercials and trailers for “Puella Magica Madoka Magica”

EXTRAS:

Aniplex is a Japanese company that is well-known for their anime but also known for their releases which come with a lot of swag. And it’s one thing that I love about Aniplex because not many companies do that anymore and it’s something that fans in America tend to wish for, getting these limited edition art booklets, soundtracks, etc.

Well, with “Puella Magi Madoka Magica”, I can gladly say that this is possible one of the most impressive anime sets to come out in the United States.

This exciting limited edition set includes the Blu-ray and DVD of the first volume of “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” but also featuring the original soundtrack which comes with a 2-sided cover, a deluxe collector’s slipcase, reversible 2-sided DVD cover, a 24-page booklet featuring staff and voice actor interviews plus character designs and a 4-panel manga by aokume, a 2-sided poster, postcarts of “preview illustrations” from episodes 1-4 and exclusive KYUBEY stickers.

This is a very impressive release and it’s important for fans to know that the booklet is English translated and the CD soundtrack features a total of 13 songs (soundtrack duration is 28:06 minutes) and features the beautiful music by Yuki Kajiura.

The soundtrack comes with the following tracks:

Sis puella magica!
Salve, terrae magicae
Gradus prohibitus
Credens justitiam
Clementia
Desiderium
Conturbatio
Postmeridie
Puella in somnio
Umbra nigra
Terror adhaerens
Scaena felix
Pugna com maga

I have watched a lot of magical girl anime series and there are some that are just too sugary and sweet and some that are just flat out, bad.

“Puella Magi Madoka Magica” is one of the better anime series out there and for one, not only do you have a few very well-known anime industry talents from Japan working on this series, the production and look of the series goes far beyond what one would expect from an anime TV series. From the moment you watch this anime series, the first episode shows us the amount of detail that goes into the art backgrounds, the artistic creativity that goes into the making of the magical world during battles, the character designs and experimental ways of presenting it onscreen and of course, the fantastic music by Yuki Kajiura in combination with a storyline that is not only cute, but also dark and tragic.

You don’t usually see this in an anime TV series, let alone a magical girl anime series. “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” features wonderful production values and I can see why this series has won so many awards in Japan. It’s quite unique and creative in presentation and as for the storyline, what I enjoy is how things go from cute to dark really quickly.

And for American fans, once again, Aniplex has done a wonderful job by providing possibly one of the best anime box set releases that I have seen released in America. When you think about it, the days of the box sets have come and gone in the U.S., and although we see these limited edition sets for video games, I’m quite thrilled that Aniplex has chosen to release this Blu-release with a limited edition box set with so many cool swag. Soundtrack, booklet, postcards, stickers, etc. Possibly the icing on the cake for the near future for anime fans would be the inclusion of nenodroids and action figures, which hardcore anime fans are known to spend money on.

But there is no denying that this is a wonderful Blu-ray release and a limited edition box set worth owning. And it’s important for people to know that Aniplex releases are highly desired, not many are made and when they say limited, these are truly limited editions, so you may want to try your best in getting this release if you can before they run out!

Overall, you don’t usually come across an anime series especially a magical girl anime series that has wonderful anime production, doesn’t look rushed or simple. “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” is a creative, unique and captivating series that is not too banal or too sweet and shows that the character’s choices can lead to tragic circumstance.

As for the “Puella Magi Madoka Magica Vol. 1 – Limited Edition Box Set”, it’s one of the better anime swag-filled limited edition box sets to come out in the United States and for the anime fans who are collector’s, you definitely want to get this limited edition release.

Definitely recommended!

Purchase this title from Rightstuf

Filed Under: Anime on Blu-ray

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

January 3, 2012 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

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

PLEASE PURCHASE THIS ANIME SERIES FROM RIGHTSTUF

DVD TITLE: Blue Exorcist Vol. 2

DURATION: Episodes 8-13 (175 minutes)

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

COMPANY: Aniplex Inc.

RATED: Suggested 13 and Up

RELEASE DATE: January 24, 2011

Based on the manga by Kazue Kato

Directed by Tensai Okamura

Series Composition by Ryota Yamaguchi

Music by Hiroyuki Sawano

Character Design by Keigo Sasaki

Art Director: Masatoshi Kai

Chief Animation Director: Keigo Sasaki

Anime Production: A-1 Pictures

Featuring the following voice talent:

Jun Fukuyama as Yukio Okumura

Kana Hanazawa as Shiemi Moriyama

Kazuya Nakai as Ryūji Suguro

Nobuhiko Okamoto as Rin Okumura

Ayahi Takagaki as Kuro

Eri Kitamura as Izumo Kamiki

Hiroshi Kamiya as Mephisto Pheles

Keiji Fujiwara as Shirō Fujimoto

Koji Yusa as Renzō Shima

Rina Satou as Shura Kirigakure

Tetsuya Kakihara as Amaimon

Yuuki Kaji as Konekomaru Miw

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

VIDEO & AUDIO:

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

SPECIAL FEATURES:

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

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

EXTRAS:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Definitely recommended!

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

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

Aniplex of America to Release the Fate/Zero Blu-Ray Box Set I in North America

December 1, 2011 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment

SANTA MONICA, CA (December 1, 2011) – Aniplex of America Inc. announced today that the Fate/Zero – Blu-ray Disc Box I will be imported from Japan and released in North America on March 7th, 2012 through anime distributor RightStuf.com. This highly anticipated release—featuring thirteen episodes with unaired, new footage, all subtitled in English over five Blu-ray discs—is the latest example of the company‘s objective to expedite its line-up of wildly popular properties to North America. Fans in North America can take comfort in knowing this BD box set will be released simultaneously with Japan‘s release date, and will mark the first time that Fate/Zero – Blu-ray Disc Box I is officially made available in North America. In addition, Aniplex of America will include an English translation booklet to accompany the featured Production Material booklet in the North American release.

―We‘re very excited that we can bring this fan-favorite title to North America at the same time it is being released in Japan,‖ says Hideki Goto, the president of Animation Business of Aniplex of America. ―Like our previous releases of ‗The Garden of Sinners‘ and ‗Rurouni Kenshin,‘ this project comes from our continuous challenge to deliver the latest shows as soon as possible. Aniplex originally simulcasted Fate/Zero worldwide in association with niconico, now I‘m glad to announce the BD release date to the North American audience will be the same street date as in Japan. I have no doubt this Fate/Zero – Blu-ray Disc Box I will satisfy not only the ‗Fate/stay night‘ fans who enthusiastically waited for this show, but also all those who want to watch the most recent and sophisticated anime show to date. It‘s our hope that you‘ll find this a worthy showpiece to add to your collection to enjoy and treasure repeatedly.‖

Fate/Zero – Blu-ray Disc Box I features:
<BD Features and Bonus Contents>
 Video: 16:9 HD Widescreen / Video: 16:9 HD Widescreen / Video: 16:9 HD Widescreen / Video: 16:9 HD Widescreen / Video: 16:9 HD Widescreen / Video: 16:9 HD Widescreen / Video: 16:9 HD Widescreen / Video: 16:9 HD Widescreen / 1920×1080p / MPEG1920×1080p / MPEG1920×1080p / MPEG1920×1080p / MPEG-4 AVC4 AVC4 AVC
 Audio: Japanese dialog / Linear PCM / Stereo 48KHz/24bit
 Subtitles: English and Japanese
 Includes 7 discs (5 Blu-ray discs + 2 Bonus CDs): Total length of more than 330 minutes!!
 Extras include New bonus animation (written by Kinoko Nasu), Trailers, TV spots and Textless Opening and Ending
 Bonus CD 1: Fate/Zero Original Soundtrack Vol. 1 with Music by Yuki Kajiura
 Bonus CD 2: Fate/Zero Original Drama CD written by Gen Urobuchi

<Special Packaging>
 Deluxe Production Material Booklet: Staff interviews, conceptual art, and other ―never-seen-before production materials
* Exclusive for the North American release: a separate booklet of just English translations of the Japanese text from the Production Material Booklet!
 New cover art exclusively drawn by Co-creator/Artist TAKASHI TAKEUCHI, who envisioned the series‘ original character concepts and designs

Filed Under: Anime Related News

Aniplex to Release the Hit Anime Series Puella Magi Madoka Magica in a Limited Edition Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Box Set

October 20, 2011 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment

SANTA MONICA, CA (October 19, 2011) – Recently at their panel at New York Comic Con, Aniplex of America Inc. announced its release plans for the anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica in North America. Pre-orders started Monday, October 18th for all SKUs.

The series will be released in three separate volumes in total. Each volume will be released in three formats: a Limited Edition Box Set, and Regular Edition Blu-Ray and DVD. Each Limited Edition Box Set will include the Blu-ray, DVD and Soundtrack CD composed by Yuki Kajiura. Release dates and features are listed below.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Limited Edition Box Set Volume 1 features:
Blu-ray / DVD
 Includes Episodes 1-4 (TRT: 100 min)
 Video: Video: 1080 HD foD for BD, widescreenr BD, widescreenr BD, widescreenr BD, widescreenr BD, widescreenr BD, widescreenr BD, widescreenr BD, widescreen
 Audio: Japanese & English (Linear PCM Stereo) for BD / Japanese & English (Dolby Digital 2.0) for DVD
 Subtitles: English
 “Magia” Music Video featuring Kalafina
 Trailer Collection
 Textless Opening and Ending
 Soundtrack CD #1: Composed by Yuki Kajiura

Exclusive Bonus Inserts
 Exclusive Collector’s Box
 2 cases with double-sided covers
 Deluxe 24-page booklet: character designs, special short manga by aokiume and more!
 Double-sided poster
 Kyubey Sticker
 Collectible postcards

About Aniplex of America Inc.
Aniplex of America Inc. (Santa Monica, California) is a subsidiary of Aniplex Inc. (headquartered in Tokyo, Japan), a group of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. and leading provider of anime content and music production and distribution in Japan. Aniplex of America has launched fan-favorite DVD and Blu-Ray releases such as Gurren Lagann the Movies, Durarara!!, R.O.D series, the Garden of Sinners and Baccano! The company’s ever-growing
line-up of shows includes our most recent titles, Blue Exorcist, Rurouki Kenshin OVA and Movie, and Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Official Websites:
www.AniplexUSA.com

About Right Stuf
Currently celebrating its 23rd year in business, Right Stuf, Inc. was one of the first players
in the U.S. Japanese Animation (“anime”) industry, as both an anime producer/distributor
and a retailer. Right Stuf works to promote knowledge of its own products, as well as the
anime and manga industry, through its online storefront at RightStuf.com and a variety of
media including podcasts and special publications.
www.RightStuf.com.

Filed Under: Anime Related News

Shiki: Part Two (A J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Disc Review)

Shiki: Part One (A J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Disc Review)

Blue Exorcist Vol. 3 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Vol. 2 – Limited Edition Box Set (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Review)

Xam’d: Lost Memories – Complete Collection (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Disc Review)

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos Premiere – Photos from the Red Carpet by J!-ENT’s Nergene Arquelada (January 25, 2012) (J!-ENT Interviews and Articles)

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Vol. 1 – Limited Edition Box Set (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Review)

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

Aniplex of America to Release the Fate/Zero Blu-Ray Box Set I in North America

Aniplex to Release the Hit Anime Series Puella Magi Madoka Magica in a Limited Edition Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Box Set

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Categories