Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

“Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork” is actually a very good film if you enjoyed the previous series.   It’s full of fan service and sexual humor, so for those not into that, this is not for you.  But for those who are and also enjoy sci-fi action, I do recommend watching the series before watching the film, so you know who the characters are and their part in the series.  “Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork” is an animated film that fans of “Sora no Otoshimono: Heaven’s Lost Property” will enjoy!

Image courtesy of © 2013 FUNimation. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork

YEAR: 2011

DURATION: 95 Minutes

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (16×9), English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV-MA

Release Date: February 26, 2013

Originally created by Suu Minazuki

Chief Director: Hisashi Saito

Director: Tetsuya Yanagisawa

Series Composition by Yuuko Kakihara

Character Design by Yoshihiro Watanabe

Art Director: Hiromasa Ogura, Hiroshi Gouroku

Music: Motoyoshi Iwasaki

Chief Animation Director: Hiromasa Ogura

Anime Production: AIC A.S.T.A.

Featuring the following voice talent:

Saori Hayami/Brittney Karbowski as Ikaros

Souichiro Hoshi/Greg Ayres as Tomoki Sakurai

Ayahi Takagaki/Jamie Marchi as Mikako Satsukitane

Iori Nomizu/Kara Edwards as Nymph

Mina/Trina Nishimura as Sohara Mitsuki

Tatsuhisa Suzuki/Eric Vale as Eishirō Sugata

Kaori Fukuhara/Carli Mosier as Astrea

Yoko Hikasa/Colleen Clinkenbeard as Hiyori Kazane

Asuka Ogame as Daidalos

Hiyori’s a sweet, shy girl who’s used to living in the background. Now, the wallflower is ready to bloom and reveal a big secret: she’s totally infatuated with Tomoki! To get closer to the dirty-minded object of her affection, she joins the New World Discovery Club. With Tomoki’s lazy love of peace and quiet, he’s not interested in accommodating any new Club members and tries to scare Hiyori away with his usual perverted antics. Nonetheless, she remains committed to her crush and starts bonding with Ikaros, Nymph, and the gang – until a sudden, tragic accident changes everything. It seems Hiyori has a deeper – and more dangerous – link to the Angeloids than anyone suspected! How is she connected to the Synapse? Why is she trying to kill Tomoki, even after confessing her feelings? Find out in the hilarious, super-sexy Heaven’s Lost Property movie, The Angeloid of Clockwork!

Throughout the life of young pervert Tomoki Sakurai, unbeknownst to the young man is that admiring him from afar is classmate Hiyori Kazane.  A girl who desperately wants to get closer to Tomoki and be part of their group.  But will Tomoki ever recognize her and will his friends let her become part of the group?

This is the premise for the 2011 animated film “Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork”.

What is “Heaven’s Lost Property”?

In 2007, mangaka Suu Minazuki created the manga series “Sora no Otoshimono” (Heaven’s Lost Property) which was published in the manga magazine “Shonen Ace” and is still ongoing in Japan.

With the popularity of the manga series, an anime adaptation by AIC was produced and aired on television on Oct. through Dec. 2009, with a second season that continued in Winter 2010 and a film that was released in June 2011.

With the first two seasons of “Sora no Otoshimono” having been released in the U.S. courtesy of FUNimation, a Blu-ray and DVD combo set for “Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork” will be released in Feb. 2013.

While Hisashi Saito (“Bamboo Blade”, “Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai”) becomes the chief director of the film, the main director is Tetsuya Yanagisawa (“Fate/Stay Night”, “Knight Hunters”, “Eat -Man”), screenplay by Yuuko Kakihara (“Fairy Musketeers”, “Kage Kara Mamoru!, “Persona 4: The Animation”), music by Motoyoshi Iwasaki (“Hamtaro”, “Geobreeders 2″, “Panyo Panyo Di Gi Charat”), character design by Yoshiro Watanabe (“Bamboo Blade”, “Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai”, “Onegai Teacher!”) and art direction by Hiromasa Ogura (“Jin-Roh – The Wolf Brigade”, “Ashita no Joe 2″, “Spirited Away”).

The series was known for its mature-themed anime series along with “Sekirei: Pure Engagement”, “Rosario+Vampire”, “B Gata H Kei: Yamada’s First Time” featuring perverse humor, fan service and sexual themes.

“Sora no Otoshimono: Heaven’s Lost Property” focuses on a young high school teenager named Tomoki Sakurai, a perverted young man (who was influenced by his equally perverted grandfather) who has panties and sexual things that are constantly on his mind.  And if there is one girl he occasionally likes to check out, it’s his neighbor and childhood friend Sohara Mitsuki.  Who is aware of Tomoki’s perverseness and is unafraid to give him her special karate shop and knock some sense into him.

Despite how she tends to dislike his perverseness and constantly beats him up, she knows deep inside that she is in love with him. Sohara is also aware that for some reason, Tomoki has had some unusual dreams involving an angel which tends to awaken him like a nightmare since he was young.

Meanwhile, with the start of a new school year… Tomoki meets Eishiro Sugata, a scientist who is trying to discover a “New World” and his friend Mikako Satsukitane, a buxom sadist who has a mafia background and is also the Student Body President.

One day, while Tomoki was outside, he sees something in the sky, a UMA (Unidentified Mysterious Animal) and she happens to crash land on Earth.  The UMA reveals herself as Ikaros, a “Pet-Class Angeloid, Type Alpha” and together, the two are bonded by an invisible chain and Tomoki becomes her master.

In the beginning, Ikaros is an emotionless individual and because she is bonded to him and goes wherever he goes, it becomes somewhat of an annoyance for Tomoki, but at the same time, he realizes that with her abilities, it can help him make his perverted dreams come true.

Eventually, Sohara, Eishiro and Mikako learn about Ikaros and the two young women try to help Ikaros learn about how humans behave, while Eishiro tries to learn more about her programming and why she was sent to Earth, especially why she chose Tomoki.  And in order to keep the activities of Ikaros private, they join Eishiro’s “New World Discovery Club” to see if Ikaros may have some tie to this new world of Angeloids and Synapse that Eishiro is currently researching.

Meanwhile, another Angeloid has appeared on Earth, and her name is Nymph, an “Electronic Warfare Angeloid, Type Beta” who can’t stand humans and is sent to Earth to confront Ikaros. But similar to Ikaros, the more time she spends with Tomoki and friends, she gets to learn about human-kindness and what a nice master that Ikaros has.  Unlike Nymph, her master  (Master of Synapse) is abusive, maniacal and evil…but because she is tied to him, she will do as he wishes.

It is then revealed after a confrontation between Ikaros and Nymph that she was sent by the sadistic leader “Master of Synapse” to possibly destroy human-kind, something Ikaros does not want to do…especially now that she has started to discover newfound emotions…love for Tomoki.  But not just Ikaros, but also Nymph as she wishes more and more each day that she had someone like Tomoki as her master.

In “Sora no Otoshimono: Heaven’s Lost Property Forte”

With “Sora no Otoshimono: Heaven’s Lost Property Forte”, the sequel continues a few months later, but this time, a new Angeloid has been sent to Earth to kill Tomoki.  Her name is Astraea, blond, well-endowed and is a close-combat Angeloid, Type Delta sent by Synapse to kill Tomoki, but despite her awesome power, she is very dumb.  So, no matter what she does to try to kill Tomoki, due to her ability to keep falling all the time, Tomoki uses those moments to feel her up.  And at first she is clueless and doesn’t like it but she starts to realize that she may be falling for Tomoki.

Meanwhile, Nymph shows Sugata that they can enter their own dreamworld.  But when Sugata ventures into Tomoki’s dreamworld, for some reason certain things that can only exist in the dreamworld is also existing in the real world.

And while Tomoki and friends try to deal with Astraea, a new Angeloid named Chaos is sent to destroy Tomoki’s friendly Angeloids.

Which leads us to…

“Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork”

In the animated film, through flashbacks seen from “Sora no Otoshimono: Heaven’s Lost Property Forte”, scenes from the second series are replayed, but this time, behind-the-scenes is Hiyori Kazane, a teenager who has a crush on Tomoki.  In fact, she has had a crush on him for quite a long time but is shy and not sure how she can get close enough to talk to him.

She sees how fortunate Tomoki is to have friends and a cool group and she wants to join, so she can be close to Tomoki.

And as Tomoki goes into perverted mode and setting Hiyori up for “special testing” in order to become a member of the group, Eishiro feels  he knows Hiyori from somewhere…but from where?

VIDEO:

“Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork” is presented in 1080p High Definition.  Because this is an animated film and not a TV series, everything from the scenes featured on the TV series and the footage shows much more shading and detail than the TV Series.  Picture quality is much more vibrant, colorful and detailed.  Art backgrounds are well-painted and  there is a good amount of lighting effects, especially when featuring the Angeloid’s in battle or Ikaros wings come out. If anything, I found “Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork” looks very good on Blu-ray and AIC A.S.T.A. did a pretty good job with anime production.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork” is presented in English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0. It’s important to note that despite me typically watching anime series in Japanese, I chose to watch this series with an English dub because of the better dynamic range but mostly because FUNimation Entertainment really enhanced the perverseness  and the craziness of the series through its dialogue.

Dialogue is crisp and clear with the action-scenes on both lossless tracks utilizing the surround channels.

The biggest difference is the Japanese version, while perverted is appropriate for Japanese audiences while the English dub really runs wild with mature themes and sexual perversion.  But it all comes down to preference.  Both versions are well-acted and I did watch it both in Japanese and English and enjoyed both voice acting, it’s just that the English version was much more perverted and the dialogue changes made the series quite fascinating and hilarious.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork” comes with the following special features:

• Audio Commentary - Featuring audio commentary by ADR Director Christopher Bevins, Greg Ayres (Tomoki) and Carlie Mosier (Astrea).
• Original Commercials – (2:00) The Japanese commercials for “Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork”.
• Promotional Video - (2:01) Japanese promotional video for “Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork”.
• Japanese Trailer and Previews – (5:16) The Japanese theatrical trailer for “Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork”.
• Original Teaser – (:51) Teaser trailer for “Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork”.
  
• U.S. Trailer - (1:02) FUNimation  trailer for “Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork”.
• Trailers – FUNimation Entertainment trailers
  

EXTRAS:

“Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork” comes with the Blu-ray and DVD version of the film.

I have to say that when it comes to the “Heaven’s Lost Property” anime series and this animated film “Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork”, there is this perverted humor and style that is so unusual but just so darn funny, that you can’t resist watching it.

Yes, the series was created with fan service and major boobage galore, but unlike “Urusei Yatsura” or even “Chobits”, the perverted humor is heightened in FUNimation’s English dub but it’s the audacious nature of the series and its unusual character, Tomoki that draws you in.  He may be the most perverted guy there is, but he’s a guy with a good heart.

The animated film is quite fascinating, because if you watched the series prior to watching this movie, you will see various scenes replayed.  But this time, featuring a character who has fallen in love with Tomoki, no matter how others look down on him, she just loves him.

And as she begins to talk with him, she finds herself wanting to be part of the group like the other girls, but is not sure how to do it.

Of course, the girls are ready to take her in, but for Tomoki, he wants her to engage in his perverted tests.  And as much as things are crazy, perverted and as always, Tomoki getting himself punished for his behavior, there is a side of him that is affected deeply because Hiyori is the first to show her true emotions towards him and confesses.

Of course, “Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork” is not all about love.  There is the sci-fi element that the series is known for and in this case, what happens when Eishiro recognizes Hiyori from the Synapse?  And why does Daidalos have an interest in her?

Without revealing too much, let’s just say that things get action-packed towards the end of the film, but also surprisingly emotional.

So, make no doubt about it, this sci-fi harem anime series is perverted and full of sexual themes but its important to note that there is no full frontal nudity or intercourse or anything like that. Private parts are covered by hair (or some cloud) and if anything, the series is more comedy-driven through Tomoki’s behavior and of course, the harem element as we know that Nohara, Ikaros and Nymph have fallen for Tomoki, add in another girl to the mix.  But considering the mature humor, this film is not for the kids!

As for the Blu-ray release, picture quality is very good because it is a movie and not a TV series but also wonderful acting for both Japanese and English dubs, with a heightened perversion and humorous dialogue for the English dub.  And a pretty wild, audio commentary.

Overall, “Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork” is actually a very good film if you enjoyed the previous series.   It’s full of fan service and sexual humor, so for those not into that, this is not for you.  But for those who are and also enjoy sci-fi action, I do recommend watching the series before watching the film, so you know who the characters are and their part in the series.

“Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork” is an animated film that fans of “Sora no Otoshimono: Heaven’s Lost Property” will enjoy!

Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts – Season 2 (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Review)

“Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts – Season 2″ is a fun and enjoyable series that can be easily described as wild, crazy and even perverted at times. More crazy adventures for Class F and a crazy love triangle and character histories are revealed in season two!  Recommended!

Image courtesy of © 2013 FUNimation Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts Season 2 – The Complete Set

DURATION: 13 Episodes (325 Minutes)

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0, English Subtitles

COMPANY: FUNimation

RATED: 14 and Up

Release Date: January 29, 2013

Originally created by Kenji Inoue

Directed by Shin Oonuma

Seriest Composition by Katsuhiko Takayama

Music by Nijine

Original Character Design by Yui Haga

Character Design by Miwa Oshima

Art Director: Kohji Azuma

Anime Production by Silver Link

Featuring the following voice talent:

Hiro Shimono/Josh Grelle as Akihisa Yoshii

Hitomi Harada/Alexis Tipton as Mizuki Himeji

Akio Ohtsuka/Kent Williams as Sōichi Nishimura

Ayana Taketatsu as Miharu Shimizu

Emiri Katou/Brina Palencia as Hideyoshi Kinoshita/Yūko Kinoshita

Kaori Mizuhashi/Leah Clark as Minami Shimada

Kenjiro Tsuda/Anthony Bowling as Shin Fukuhara

Kouki Miyata/Greg Ayres as Kōta “Muttsuriini” Tsuchiya

Mana Hirata/Lindsay Seidel as Hazuki Shimada

Takuma Terashima/Joel McDonald as Toshimitsu Kubo

Tatsuhisa Suzuki /Scott Freeman as Yūji Sakamoto

Tomomi Isomura/Jamie Marchi as Shōko Kirishima

Yoshino Nanjou/Trina Nishimura as Aiko Kudō

Akio Ohtsuka as Narration

Daisuke Kageura as Hasegawa

Hiromi Igarashi/Terri Doty as Yūka Koyama

Hiromu Miyazaki/Todd Haberkorn as Kyōji Nemoto

Yoshii’s a good-hearted goofball enrolled at a school where students settle their differences by summoning Avatars, pint-sized stand-ins with battle powers based on academic ability. That “academic ability” part is bad news for idiotic Yoshii – he’s stuck in lowly Class F with the slackers. If these misfits want to escape their dump of a classroom and earn some respect, they’ll have to fight their way up the ranks and take on Class A, the brightest students on campus. It’s going to be tough, that’s for sure, but once the underachievers of Class F get motivated, they don’t give up – and Yoshii can’t even spell surrender!

In 2007, “Baka to Test to Shokanju” (Baka and Test) was created by Kenji Inoue. Featured as a light novel series and featuring the illustrations by Yui Haga, a total of 12 volumes have been printed thus far and a manga adaptation by Mosuke Mattaku began in 2009 in the magazine “Shonen Ace” and also on “Famitsu Comic Clear”.

An anime adaptation began in 2010 and a second season which aired in Japan in July 2011. And with the first season released in America on Blu-ray/DVD back in 2011, the second season will now be released by FUNimation in January 2013.

The anime series features animation production from Silver Link and the previous staff from the first season which includes director Shin Oonuma (“Mahou Sensei Negima!”, “Pani Poni Dash!”), screenplay by Katsuhiko Takayama (“Cat Planet Cuties”, “ef: a tale of melodies”, “Fullmetal Alchemist”, “Ga-Rei-Zero”), music by Nijine (“Akikan”, “Hatsukoi Limited”, “Idolm@ster: Xenoglossia”), character designs by Miwa Oshima (“Hit o Nerae!”, Rakugo Tennyo Oyui!”) and art direction from Kohji Azuma (“Natsu no Arashi!”, “Tokyo Requiem”, “Arakawa Under the Bridge”).

With the second season, Akihisa may not be the brightest guy in class but this time, both Mizuki Himeji and Minami Shimada want to make their move towards Akihisa.  But which girl will he pick?

What is “Baka and Test”?

“Baka and Test” revolve around a not-so-smart teenager named Akihisa Yoshii. Because he is not so smart, he is constantly called “Baka” (in Japanese which means stupid). Akihisa is also living on a very tight budget and because he doesn’t have much money, he often has to cut his ramen noodles in pieces and eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Akihisa goes to Fumizuki Academy where staff separate their students based on their test scores. The better the grade, the better their life will be in school. For example: “A” students have great furniture and desks and luxurious studying areas, while those with F’s have regular classrooms but have crates or cardboard boxes as desks.

But there is a way that lower grades students can get things from higher grade students and that is to challenge them in a battle for facilities.

How this works out is that a student can call forth their “Shokanju” or Avatar and during the battle, a teacher supervises the battle. While students compete in various subjects, avatars can lose HP when struck by an opponent and when their point count reaches zero, they are disqualified. But a student can leave the battle before reaching a zero, take a supplemental exam and return back into battle.

For Akihisa, his first day at Fumizuki Academy is to take a placement test. Its pretty much a given that Akihisa will be in the lowest class but when the intelligent student Mizuki Himeji is sick as is unable to complete her test, unfortunately she is given a zero and must join Akihisa and other delinquents in class F. The other delinquents include their class rep Yuji Sakamoto, the oftenly mistaken for a girl Hideyoshi Kinoshita, the perverted Tsuchiya Kouta and the tomboy Minami Shimada. Interesting enough, both Mizuki and Minami have a crush on Akihisa.

But because Class F has the intelligent Mizuki (who should be an A student), it gives them an edge in battle. Also, despite students being in F class, they may not be good in certain subjects but some may be great in one.

For the second season of “Baka and Test”, the season focuses on Class F’s interpersoal relationships as friends, but meanwhile, Akihisa is totally oblivious that he has two girls that like him a lot, Mizuki Himeji and Minami Shimada.

We also learn the history between Class F leader Yuji Sakamoto and Shoko Kirashima and why she is so attached to him.

Meanwhile, enemies of the past return for revenge against Class F, but does Class F have any chance of winning this time around?

Find out in “Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts – Season 2″!

The main characters of “Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts” are:

Akihisa Yoshii– The protagonist of the story and is known as “baka”. Despite his stupidity, he is good at heart and has a problem of spending his money on video games (thus making him poor and so he tends to eat cut up ramen in pieces). Unknown to Akihisa is the fact that a few of the female students in his class like him but he is too stupid too notice. He is also a great cook. His avatar has also a special ability to break inanimate objects (which others can’t do).

Mizuki Himeji – One of the smartest students at Fumikuzi Academy, because she was sick on placement day, she is forced to be in F class. She is Class F’s secret weapon because of her intelligence. She is shy but always adapts to get close to Akihisa. Known for her bouncy chest and terrible cooking.

Minami Shimada– The tomboy who likes Akihisa and often hurts him when he behaves badly to her. She lived in Germany, so she is weak in kanji and hurts her in class. She is good in math, unless there are mathematical word problems. Often teased for not having big boobs like Mizuki.

Yuji Sakamoto – The head of Class F. He is cool, intelligent and very good at strategy and it is unknown why he is in Class F, especially since he was a child prodigy when he was younger. He is also held in a ball and chain with his childhood friend Shoko Kirishima of Class A. Because Class F had lost a battle with Class A, he is forced to date Shoko and if he even looks at other girls, she will poke him in the eyes.

Hideyoshi Kinoshita – A male student who is always confused to be a girl. He is the fraternal twin of Yuko Kinoshita of Class A. He is bad in school but great in acting.

Kota Tsuchiya – Very perverted and will do all he can to snap photos whenever his fellow female students are in uncompromising positions. He is terrible in all subjects except Health Education and is great in battle.

Shoko Kirishima – The top student and Class A rep who is very intelligent but is infatuated with Yuji Sakamoto. She is shy and soft-spoken but will definitely poke Yuji’s eyes out if he looks at other girls.

Toshimitsu Kubo – The calm second ranked student of Class A. He thinks that Akihisa is trying to hit on him and so now he has developed a crush on him and is jealous when he sees Akihisa with other girls.

Yuko Kinoshita – The eldest twin sister of Hideyoshi Kinoshita. Unlike Hideyoshi, she is very arrogant and often arguing with her brother. She hates her brother because he once masqueraded as her and did something to really upset her.

Miharu Shimizu – A girl from Class D who has an attraction to Minami of Class F. She can’t stand Minami being close to Akihisa.

Hazuki Shimada – Minami’s younger sister who wants to be Akihisa’s bride in the future.

Akira Yoshii – Akihisa’s older sister who graduated from Harvard. She is often trying to tease Akihisa by acting as if she is going to kiss him and also upsets her when she is scantily clad. She observes Akihisa and decides how much allowance he can get.

VIDEO:

“Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts” is presented in 1080p High Definition. I actually like the look of the series and the concentration of really elaborate artistic backgrounds. A very colorful series with good pastels, also use of poka dots on backgrounds and foregrounds. And also there is quite a bit of detail for a TV anime series and I think the efficacy of the animation and backgrounds is because SILVER LINK is a company that is used to doing in-between animation and “Baka and Test” is their first major anime production.

So, unlike other major anime production studios who are often busy with other anime series, to have a company who is able to focus on a series definitely makes for a better production. Picture quality for this TV series is very good!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts” is presented in English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0. First, the good news is the voice acting for soundtracks are very well done. I watched the series in both soundtracks and typically I am biased to the Japanese soundtrack but for this series, both are well done!

Second, because the English soundtrack is presented in lossless 5.1, there is better use of the surround channels and musical score. The series is not truly immersive because battles don’t happen every episode but there is a good amount of sound effects that are presented through the surround channels.

Subtitles are only in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts – Season 2” comes with the following special features:

• Episode 3 Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary from Jamie Marchi (lead writer/voice actress for Shoko) and Brina Palencia (voice actress for Hideyoshi/Yuko)
• Episode 13 Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary from ADR engineers Kevin Leasure and Stephen Hoff about the series and how they got into FUNimation as engineers.
• Mission: Impossible: Baka Preview – (1:19) A “Mission Impossible” preview.
• Baka-Only Cross-Dressing Contest – (3:56) It’s a cross-dressing contest and who will win?
• Mission: Impossible: Baka Mission 01 -(3:39) Hideyoshi Kinoshita stars in his first “Baka Mission”.
• Mizuki Himeji Girls’ Meal – (3:19) Mizuki (who is the worst cook) teaches people how to cook.
• The King Game in Fumizuki Academy – (4:54) The F class plays the “King” game.
• Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts Spinout! - Featuring nine animated shorts and cm: “Beauty and the Beast”, “Magical Hideyoshi, Hideyoshi, CM 1″, “Karaoke Mix”, “Magical Hideyoshi, Hideyoshi, CM 2″, “Magical Hideyoshi, Hideyoshi”, “Mission Impossibler: Baka”, “Runaway Haduki”, “Akihisa’s Inquisition”, “Cherry Blossoms Viewing Party”.
• Promo Videos – (4:11) Japanese Promotional video for “Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts – Season 2″.
• Original Commercials – (1:03) Original Japanese TV commercials for “Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts – Season 2″.
• U.S. Trailer – FUNimation trailer for “Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts – Season 2″.
• Textless Opening Song: “Kimi + Nazo + Watashi de Jump!”
• Textless Closing Songs: “Eureka Baby”, “Baka to Koshitsu to Kodoku Meshi”, “Hi-Ho!!”
• Trailers – FUNimation trailers

EXTRAS:

“Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts Season 2 – The Complete Set” comes with a slip over cover case, Blu-ray and the DVD versions of the series.

Last season, I discussed how the actual concept of “Baka and Test” was pretty intriguing. As a big fan of RPG games, I felt that the concept of classes getting into battle, especially the underdogs – The F Class challenging the other grades was pretty cool and also the introduction of the Avatar system.

But as the first season focused on the battles between Class F and other higher classes, with season two, the season focuses on interpersonal relationships within Class F and also the history of some of the characters.

Also, much noticeable in the second season is much more fan service, as Akihisa, Yuji and the guys can’t help but look at other girls, while the other girls in Class F are not too thrilled and will show their anger towards them.

With the first half of episodes being fun and upbeat with the group hanging out at the beach. attending a festival (in which they group ends up in a crossdressing contest), we are also introduced to some past stories as how Akihisa met Mizuki (the Punishment Inspector) and why Minami and Mizuki fell for him.  And also the guys trying to find a way into the girls bathroom.

The second half of the series continues to focus on the love triangle between Akihisa, Minami and Mizuki and what happens when Akihisa accidentally sends Minami in what appears to be a love confession.  And what happens when she kisses him in front of Mizuki.  We also learn the history of Yuji and Shoko and why she fell for him.

And what is “Baka and Test” without a class battle, and this time around the enemies of the past return for payback against Class F.

Needless to say, “Baka and Test” season two turned out to be a crazy, hilarious entertaining season. While the first season was good in focusing on the class battles, this time around, it’s all about love triangles and the guys just wanting to have fun with other girls yet, oblivious to how upset the other girls of Class F are when they behave that way.

But with this second season, there is more character-drive plots and also character building storylines that we didn’t get to see much of, in the first season.

And as for the animation and character designs, as mentioned earlier, I felt that SILVER LINK, a newer company did a great job. Especially since they are not a major studio and their talent are focusing on several series at one time, SILVER LINK had more time to dedicate to the overall look of the series. From the detailed and artistic backgrounds to the character designs, for a TV series, “Baka and Test” looks pretty good on Blu-ray and you get a good number of special features as well.

Overall, “Baka and Test” is a fun and enjoyable series that can be easily described as wild, crazy and even perverted at times. But it’s great to see FUNimation bringing out a series that focuses on comedy and for those who want a break from the usual dark or action-oriented anime series on Blu, will definitely enjoy “Baka and Test: Summon the Beast Season 2″.

Recommended!

Sengoku Basara: The Last Party (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

“Sengoku Basara: The Last Party” is an action-packed, samurai fighting storyline that continues where the first two seasons have left off.  For fans of the video game and anime series, “Sengoku Basara: The Last Party” is recommended!

Image courtesy of © CAPCOM/TEAM BASARA. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Sengoku Basara: The Last Party

DURATION: 95 Minutes

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, English 5.1, Japanese 5.1, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: NOT RATED 14+

Release Date: November 6, 2012

 

Directed by Kazuya Nomura

Screenplay by Yasuyuki Muto

Music by Hiroyuki Sawano

Original Character Design by Makoto Tsuchibayashi (CAPCOM)

Character Design by Tooru Ookubo

Art Director: Iho Narita

Chief Animation Director: Tooru Ookubo

Anime Production by Studio I.G.

Featuring the following voice talent:

Kazuya Nakai/Robert McCollum as Date Masamune

Norio Wakamoto/John Swasey as Oda Nobunaga

Souichiro Hoshi/Johnny Yong Bosch as Sanada Yukimura

Mamiko Noto/Laura Bailey as Oichi

Romi Park/Greg Ayres as Uesugi Kenshin

Takehito Koyasu/Michael Sinterniklaas as Sarutobi Sasauke

Tessho Genda/Chris Ayres as Takeda Shingen

Toshiyuki Morikawa/Travis Willingham as Katakura Kojuro

Toyotomi Hideyoshi is defeated, but feudal Japan isn’t safe yet. The fallen villain’s most loyal and lethal minion – Ishida Mitsunari – is obsessed with carrying on Toyotomi’s legacy of violence in the name of vengeance. Ishida brutally cuts a bloody path across the countryside even as the nation’s other warlords rally toward an era of harmony. Unfortunately, for peace to finally be achieved the fires of war must be unleashed once more.

When it comes to video games that feature samurai’s and a general taking on hoards of enemies, in the US, “Samurai Warriors” (similar to Dynasty Warriors) from KOEI is well-known. But in Japan, CAPCOM began their own series known as “Sengoku Basara” (Devil Kings) which takes place during the Sengoku period and a similar concept as their rivals and has also earned its strong fan following.

In 2005, the first game was released for the Sony Playstation 2 and was released in the U.S. (as “Devil Kings”) but unfortunately, CAPCOM tried to change the whole story of the Sengoku period by trying to connect it to their “Devil May Cry” series in order to attract players but because of the changes and the localization crew feeling they needed to make it more difficult in America, needless to say, it was a failure. People wanted the same game that was in Japan and within the last six years, there have been four video game releases and now CAPCOM has released “Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes” for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and the Nintendo Wii in the US in October 2010.

In Japan, two seasons of “Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings” aired. And in 2010, to coincide with this videogame release, FUNimation Entertainment released the first season of the anime series “Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings” on Blu-ray and DVD (including the first 12 TV episodes + Blu-ray/DVD only 13th episode).

On Feb. 2012, with the release of the second season on Blu-ray and DVD, FUNimation Entertainment will be re-releasing the first season of “Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings” via a Blu-ray+DVD Combo Pack.

What is “Sengoku Basara: The Last Party” about?

The anime series is produced by Production I.G. and is directed by Itsuro Kawasaki (“Arc the Lad”, “Rental Magica”, “Yumedamaya Kidan”), screenplay by Yasuyuki Muto (“Afro Samurai: Resurrection”, “Basilisk”, “Mobil Suit Gundam UC”), character designs by Tooru Ookubo, art direction by Shunichiro Yoshihara (“Gurren Lagann”, “Cromartie High School”, “Slayers”) and music by Hiroyuki Sawano (“Soul Link”, “Mobil Suit Gundam UC”).

The anime series takes place during the Sengoku Period. Various generals and their warriors are fighting each other. For the Takeda clan led by Lord Takeda Shingen, his young hot-headed warrior Sanada Yukimura has a rivalry with the cocky warlord Date Masamune. Both are hot-headed that they fight against each other but they also value their battles with one another because they are equally matched.

As the two occasionally battle one another, all warring clans are worried about Oda Nobunaga, the devil king. The ruthless king who wants to destroy everything in his path and his followers Akechi Mitsuhide, a sadistic psychopath and the weapons master Nohime (Nobunaga’s wife) intend to carryout his wishes by killing the leaders of the various clans.

The only way to stop Nobunaga is for each of the warring generals to work and team up together in order to stop him. But can these warriors all work together or will their ego and pride get in the way?

In the second season of “Sengoku Basara”, And as the two sides begin to fight again, they are interrupted by the soldiers of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.   Toyotomi wants to unite Japan and make the country stronger but as each warrior supports their own clan and leader, he warns everyone that if they oppose him, they will be face his wrath.

Quickly, clans who try to take on Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his soldiers are quickly met with defeat.  He is too powerful and for Masamune, Shingen and Kenshin, they stand no chance against him.

But as each clan tries to find a way to defeat Hideyoshi, Maeda Kanji who knows Toyotomi very well, tries to get his friends Maeda Toshiie and Matsu to stop Toyotomi’s tirade against the other clans, but he finds out that even his friends have aligned with Toyotomi.

Meanwhile, the other clans begin to visit others with the hope of rival clans joining forces to fight against Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his army.

And now, here we are with the conclusion to “Sengoku Basara” with “The Last Party”.

Ishida Mitsunari, who worked as a minion of Toyotomi Hideyoshi is now carrying a major grudge against Date Masamune for killing his master.  With Tokugawa now choosing a different path for unity, Date Masamune knows that he must prepare for the final battle against Ishida, but unknown to everyone in the land, a new evil force is looming in the land and a former enemy has been resurrected!

VIDEO:

“Sengoku Basara: The Last Party” is presented in 1080p High Definition and like most Production I.G. releases, they always provide excellent artistic backgrounds for their series and the same goes for the film.   Mountains, rocks, trees, skies are very well painted and the animation is also nice and fluid. It’s important to note that this is a film and not a TV series, so characters are better shaded, art backgrounds are better detailed and really good of CG elements in the film.

Colors are absolutely vibrant and bold. Also, very good lighting effects throughout the film. Personally, I expected nothing less from Production I.G., the series definitely looks absolutely awesome on Blu-ray! Also, I detected no banding, artifacting or anything negative about the picture quality for “Sengoku Basara: The Last Party”.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Sengoku Basara: The Last Party” is presented in lossless English and Japanese 5.1 Dolby TrueHD.  Personally, I enjoyed the Japanese soundtrack because the generals sound much more menacing while I felt the English dub, as good as it is, sometimes I feel certain voice talent are overly used and they sound the same for no matter what characters they play.

Personally, I enjoyed the Japanese soundtrack because the generals sound much more menacing while I felt the English dub, as good as it is, sometimes I feel certain voice talent are overly used and they sound the same for no matter what characters they play. In the first season, I mentioned that although I enjoy Johnny Yong Bosch’s acting work when it comes to “Bleach”, but his Yukimura (Sengoku Basara) sounds like an annoying version of Ichigo (Bleach). But with that being said, the English dub has grown on me and felt the FUNimation English dub actors did a fine job.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“SSengoku Basara: The Last Party” contains the following special features:

• Four Panel Theater: Another Last Party - (7:48) Still panel theater featuring chibi versions of the characters.
• Making of The Last Party – (49:27) A very cool featurette about the popularity of “Sengoku Basara” and what was involved in the making of “Sengoku Basara: The Last Party”.
• Textless Opening and Closing Song – Featuring T.M. Revolution’s “FLAGS” and “The Party Must Go On”.
• Trailer and Commercial Collection - (8:58) The Japanese film and television commercials for “Sengoku Basara: The Last Party”.

There is no doubt that in Japan, “Sengoku Basara” has a pretty strong fan following from its video games and anime series, especially among the cosplayers who are often seen doing group cosplay of the characters from the series.

For “Sengoku Basara”, it’s a popular video game series that has tried to make these warring clans (that happen to live in the same time period) and generals with amazing abilities take on each other.  And with the first two seasons of the anime series and also with this final film, what people enjoy is the humor and the action involved.

With “Sengoku Basara: The Last Party”, the series and the video games have always focused on Masamune Date, Yukimura Sanada, Mitsunari Ishida and Tokogawa Ieyasu and the final film ends with these primary characters as they must join forces in taking on the latest evil to cause chaos in the land.

Like the television series before it, there is a new threat and the four must put away their egos in order to join forces and work for the greater good.   But the question is can they.  With Mitsunari wanting revenge on Masamune for killing Hideyoshi Toyotomi.  And of course, there is Yukimura always wanting to see who is more powerful, he or Masamune and both wanting to get into a duel with each other.  And this time, Tokogawa Ieyasu is the peace keeper trying to achieve unity.

And as much as “Sengoku Basara: The Last Party” may seem like the final, I really have a hard time believing that.  This series will continue in video games, as it was recently continuing via live action drama in Japan (“Sengoku Basara: Moonlight Party”) and I’m sure we will see more of these guys in some new anime series, OVA or film in the near future.

As for the Blu-ray release, one of the positive aspects of “Sengoku Basara: The Last Party” is that it’s a film, so that means better animation and better detailed backgrounds coming from Production I.G.  Also, no more 2.0 lossless soundtrack in Japanese, this time around both English and Japanese soundtracks are presented in Dolby TrueHD5.1.  And as for special features, I’m quite happy that a making of feature showing the making of the film but also the popularity of the series has been in Japanese pop culture.

For those who have already committed themselves to watching the first two seasons of “Sengoku Basara” will definitely want to watch the film.  I don’t recommend watching the film first, as you want to know the context of the characters, their rivalries and respective clans.  But for those who have no time to watch the TV series, fortunately there is an opening introduction explaining what had taken place from those two seasons before the movie.

Overall, “Sengoku Basara: The Last Party” is an action-packed, samurai fighting storyline that continues where the first two seasons have left off.  For fans of the video game and anime series, “Sengoku Basara: The Last Party” is recommended!

FUNimation Entertainment announces Wolf Children Ame and Yuki

FUNimation Entertainment announces acquisition of Wolf Children Ame and Yuki

Flower Mound, TX –October 14, 2012- FUNimation Entertainment announced today at New York Comic-Con that it has acquired the broadcast, home entertainment and theatrical rights to Wolf Children Ame and Yuki ( Originally titled Ōkami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki).

Series synopsis:

From the visionary, award-winning creator of Summer Wars and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Mamoru Hosoda, comes a beautiful tale of love and triumph. 19 year old Hana finds herself falling in love with a wolf-man and over the years becomes the mother of two half wolf/ half human children. Ame, born on a rainy day and Yuki, born in the snowy winter must move with their mother to a rural town to hide the secret of their mysterious lineage.
Theatrical and Home Media release scheduled for 2013.

Additional information may be found at: www.funimation.com

About FUNimation® Entertainment :

FUNimation® Entertainment is the leading anime company in North America. FUNimation has a proven formula for launching and advancing brands. They manage a full spectrum of rights for most of their brands including broadcasting, licensing, production, internet, and home video sales and distribution. For more information about FUNimation Entertainment and its brands, visit www.funimation.com.

FUNimation Entertainment announces acquisition of Toriko

Flower Mound, TX –October 14, 2012- FUNimation Entertainment announced today at New York Comic-Con that it has acquired the broadcast, home entertainment, video on demand and theatrical rights to Toriko, the next great anime adventure from TOEI Animation Inc , the legendary force behind Dragon Ball Z and One Piece!

Series synopsis:

Welcome to the Gourmet Age, a time when the world is full of deliciously deadly ingredients that the wealthiest appetites in existence can’t wait to devour. But only a mighty masticating mercenary like Toriko can track down the rarest animals on the planet and put them on a plate! This gluttonous gourmet hunter is one of the four Legendary Kings, superhuman warriors born to battle the likes of Troll Kongs, Gararagators, and Devil Pythons! Accompanied by his loyal Battle Wolf and the promising young chef Komatsu, Toriko will circle the globe in search of the mouth-wateringly lethal ingredients that will one day make up his Full Course Menu of Life! The more ferocious the beast – the bigger the feast, but never forget the code of a true gourmet hunter: You gotta eat what you defeat!

The first dual-language DVD set is scheduled to release January 8, 2013. Subsequent volumes will release on DVD throughout 2013 from Funimation.

Rating is TV-14

New simulcast episodes are available starting on Wednesdays on www.funimation.com as well as other online streaming partners.

Additional information may be found at: www.funimation.com/toriko

About Toei Animation Co., Ltd.

With headquarters in Tokyo and sales offices in Paris, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Shanghai, Toei Animation (Jasdaq: 4816) ranks amongst the world’s most prolific animation production studios. Toei Animation’s operations include animation development and production, and worldwide marketing and program licensing. Since its founding in 1956, Toei Animation has produced more than 10,000 episodes of TV series (more than 200 titles) and more than 200 long feature films as of January, 2010.

About Toei Animation Inc.

Toei Animation Inc. (TAI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toei Animation Co., Ltd. established in Los Angeles in 2004, looks forward to spreading the world-renowned Japanese animation studio’s extensive library and pursuing co-production projects in North and Latin America and other English-speaking territories worldwide. The main business operations of TAI include film licensing in all media and digital platforms, merchandise licensing and co-productions with local establishments.

About FUNimation® Entertainment :

FUNimation® Entertainment is the leading anime company in North America. FUNimation has a proven formula for launching and advancing brands. They manage a full spectrum of rights for most of their brands including broadcasting, licensing, production, internet, and home video sales and distribution. For more information about FUNimation Entertainment and its brands, visit www.funimation.com.

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

From the creators of “Eureka Seven” comes an anime series that is a little mix of “Hunger Games”, “Battle Royale” and “Guyver”!  And for those who enjoy more mature, violent and bloody anime series will surely enjoy the chaotic, action-packed episodes of “Deadman Wonderland”!

Image courtesy of © 2012 FUNimation. All Rights Reserved.

DVD TITLE: Deadman Wonderland: The Complete Series

DURATION: 12 Episodes (Duration: 325 Minutes, 3 DVD’s)

DVD INFORMATION: 16:9, Japanese and English 2.0 Stereo, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV M

Release Date: October 9, 2012

Directed by Koichi Hatsumi

Series Composition: Yasuyuki Muto

Music by NARASAKI

Originally Created by Jinsei Kataoka, KAzuma Kondou

Character Design by Masaki Yamada

Art Director: Michie Watanabe

Mechanical Design by Takayuki Yanase

Anime Production: Manglobe

Featuring the following voice talent:

Kana Hanazawa/Monica Rial as Shiro

Romi Park/Greg Ayres as Ganta Igarashi

Iori Nomizu/Leah Clark as Minatsuki Takami

Junichi Suwabe/Eric Vale as Tamaki Tsunenaga

Masayuki Katou/Patrick Seitz as Kiyomasa Senji/Crow

Mina/Lydia Mackay as Rei Takashima

Takako Honda/Colleen Clinkenbeard as Chief Makina

Yuuki Kaji/Aaron Dismuke as Yo Takami

Ganta is the only survivor after a mysterious man in red slaughters a classroom full of teenagers. He’s framed for the carnage, sentenced to die, and locked away in the most twisted prison ever built: Deadman Wonderland. Then it gets worse.

At Deadman Wonderland, convicts are forced into brutal deathmatches for the amusement of the masses, the cheers of the crowd drowning out the screams of the dismembered. Even when Ganta befriends Shiro, an unusual female inmate, his dark fate crushes all hope – until he discovers a strange ability to wield his spilled blood as a weapon. Ganta learns his new skill might be related to the murderous man in red and uncovers disturbing secrets that could expose those who stole his freedom. He’s determined to see justice served – but first he’ll have to fight for his life in a prison that holds a million ways to die.

From the creators of “Eureka Seven” comes a violent sci-fi prison anime series known as “Deadman Wonderland”.  Created by Jinsei Kataoka and illustrated by Kazuma Kondou, “Deadman Wonderland” was a manga series published in Shonen Ace back in 2007.

An anime adaptation based on the first 21 chapters was created and released on Japanese television from April through July 2011 and aired on Adult Swim’s Toonami block.

The anime production is by manglobe and is directed by Koichi Hatsumi (Aishiteruze Baby”, “Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor”, “Moribito – Guardian of the Spirit”), series composition by Yasuyuki Muto (“Basilisk”, “Afro Samurai”, “Sengoku Basara – Samurai Kings”), character designs by Masaki Yamada (“Appleseed”, “Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040″, “Great Dangaioh”), art direction by Michie Watanabe (“Eureka Seven”, “Haibane Renmei”, “Wolf’s Rain”, “Mobile Suit Gundam Seed”) and music by NARASAKI (“Penguin Drum”, “Dragon Crisis!”, “Aquarian Age the Movie”).

And now the series will be released on DVD courtesy of FUNimation in October 2012.

“Deadman Wonderland” takes place during a time when Tokyo has been ravaged by a massive earthquake and 3/4 of Tokyo is now submerged in the ocean.

Ten years later, we are introduced to a kind middle-school student named Ganta Igarashi.  Ganta loves hanging out with his friends and all was going great one day, until some man clad in red is seen floating outside of the school window and destroys the classroom.

When Ganta wakes up, his classmates are all dead, including his best friend, who’s head is being held by the man in red.  The man in red then implants something into Ganta’s chest and he collapses.

When Ganta wakes up in the hospital, he is accused of murdering all the students at school.  Ganta tries to plead his innocence but the authorities do not listen to him.  Despite having a lawyer represent him, footage is shown to the judges and parents of the deceased students of Ganta bragging about killing all his school classmates.  Knowing that is not him, Ganta is shocked that there is video of him saying such a bad thing.

Unfortunately, due to the number of people killed, Ganta is sentenced to death and will be incarcerated in a theme-park like prison known as “Deadman Wonderland”. A prison that houses prisoners from all over Japan and raises money from its brand of violent entertainment among prisoners to raise money to rebuild Japan.

At “Deadman Wonderland”, all prisoners must wear a special collar which monitors their activity and location.  The special collar injects poison into his bloodstream but can only be neutralized if he eats a specialized candy every three days.  And the only way to get access to the candy is by performing activities in prison.

But the most significant activity is winning Cast Points which allows a prisoner to purchase ordinary lunches, furniture, take years off their sentence and also purchase the specialized candy.

But Ganta quickly learns that at “Deadman Wonderland”, Chief Guard Makina is the law.  Harsh, cold and has no qualms of slashing prisoners for disobedience, she is known for being severely harsh and also being well-endowed.   Also, within the prison, prisoners are used for entertainment courtesy of Assistant Warden Tsunenaga Tamaki, a sadist who butchers prisoners for amusement and profit.

While in the prison, Ganta makes friends with a mysterious albino girl named Shiro, a girl that reminds him of his best friend Mimi.  She has become good friends with Ganta and seems to possess special abilities which include superhuman strength and also knowledge of the prison.

Ganta also befriends Yo Takami, a thief and informant sent to watch over Ganta for Assistant Warden Tamaki.  But the real reason he is in in prison and doing these services is to help find his sister Minatsuki and buy her freedom by accumulating cast points.

While in prison, Ganta sees the man in red trying to kill people within the prison.  Upset for being incarcerated for the murders  that he did not do, and that the red man is responsible for, after nearly being killed, Ganta’s special ability (known as “The Branch of Sin”) from the crystal embedded in his chest from the Man in Red that he encountered, allows his blood to be manipulated to weapons and automatically begins attacking the Red Man.

Wanting to fight for his innocence, Ganta hears that the Man in Red that he is after may be inside one of the secret rooms inside Deadman Wonderland.  But the more Ganta and friends research the hidden areas of the prison, Ganta learns that others inside the prison have the same special ability and are Deadmen being prompted to battle and fight each other to the death inside the Deadman Wonderland arena.

Since Ganta is not a person used to fighting, will he be able to survive this ordeal of facing experienced fighters who want to kill him?

“Deadman Wonderland” the anime series comes with the 12-episodes of the first season plus the OVA that revolves around one of the Deadmen characters, Senji, who becomes a police officer and must catch criminals.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Deadman Wonderland” is presented in 16:9 widescreen with audio presented in Japanese and English 2.0.  The character designs and animation are very cool and chaotic at times!  As one should expect from a violent anime series, there is a lot of blood featured in “Deadman Wonderland”.  Not because many people are killed, but also because the Deadmen’s “Branch of Sin” powers is about utilizing one’s blood to create weapons.  So, a character like Senji can create a large sword using his blood.  Or Minatsuki who uses her hair to turn into blades and impale enemies or grab hold of them.

But when it comes to animation, Manglobe did a wonderful job balancing out animation with CG.  I am a bit surprised that this series was not anime series released on Blu-ray, since it was released on Blu-ray and DVD in  Japan.

As for audio, audio for the series is primarily Japanese and English 2.0 stereo.  But as the Japanese soundtrack is well-done especially during the more emotional scenes, the English dub actually makes things much more intriguing because as one would expect in a prison, these people talk with a lot of profanity.  In fact, this is probably the most profane when it comes to dialogue that you will hear on a FUNimation animated series, also with the audio commentary as the English dub voice talent go crazy with the F-bombs and C-word.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Deadman Wonderland” comes with the following special features:

• Episode 6 Audio Commentary – Featuring Audio commentary with Leah Clark and Aaron Dismuke.  (Note: Because this anime series is rated mature, the audio commentary features profanity)
• Episode 12 Audio Commentary – Featuring Audio commentary with Monica Rial and Greg Ayres. (Note: Because this anime series is rated mature, the audio commentary features profanity)
• U.S. Video Commentary - (24:27)  A wonderful video commentary with ADR Director Joel McDonald and voice talent Greg Ayres, Monica Rial and Leah Clark.
• Promo Videos – (6:57) Japanese promotional videos for “Deadman Wonderland”.
• Original Commercials – (1:25) Japanese commercials for the Blu-ray and DVD release
• Textless Opening Song “One Reason”
• Textless Opening Song “One Reason” (Director’s Version)
• Textless Closing Song “Shiny Shiny”
• U.S. Trailer

From the creators of “Eureka Seven” comes a new, violent and bloody anime series titled “Deadman Wonderland”!

But while the anime series may prove to be too violent for some viewers, the concept is quite interesting.  Because Japan is in dire need to rebuild after a devastating earthquake, one of the popular areas of entertainment is the “Deadman Wonderland” theme park facility.

While the place attracts many people and makes quite a bit of money, not many people realize that inside the theme park is where gladiator battles between Deadmen take place.  And of course, the scientists of the facility are experimenting on the prisoners for the sake of monetary and political gain (of course, in the effort to help rebuild Japan).

What is interesting about the series is that the prison is home to vicious criminals, but somehow, Ganta Igarashi, a middle school student is targeted and framed for murdering his classmates and then being injected with the Deadman power, which is utilizing one’s blood to become a weapon of destruction.

And so, this meek boy must be put in a prison full of dangerous criminals.   Ganta is your banal weak character who gets stronger as he learns to become brave and wants to protect the people that he cares about.

Then you have Shiro, a mysterious albino girl who loves being around Ganta.  We know that she is gifted with amazing power but at the same time, she is naive and is always cheerful, wanting to play or eat pudding.

But the series features really interesting characters.  Some who are jerks and badasses, and some who are are just really wicked looking.  And for the most part, by the second half of season one, these characters start to become an integral part of this series.

The 12-episode TV series plays out like a prison-escape film, but each time Ganta encounters people who also want to escape from prison, there is always an antagonist who are Deadmen with amazing power and happen to be quite sadistic.  Also, included is an OVA, but instead of featuring Ganta and Shiro, it focuses on Deadman Senji, who becomes a police officer two years after the Red Hole incident.

While the series is violent and bloody, the English dub takes the series dialogue and enhances it was mature language, to make it more raw and real and what you would expect from a major prison holding the worst criminals.

The dialogue that you hear, coming out of the mouths of the characters is really surprising because it’s really profane.  Shocking even the voice talent who were beaming about playing these roles, because they had the opportunity to really say some crazy, dirty and profane dialogue.

The only caveat with the series is that it ends in hopes that a second season would perhaps continue the storyline and end it with a similar ending to the manga series.  There are a lot of questions that were not answered in the first season and unfortunately, the second audio commentary does spoil things by providing the answer of who exactly was responsible for murdering all the students and Ganta being framed for it.  So, if you don’t want to know, it’s best not to listen to the second audio commentary.

As for the animation, expected to see a lot of red blood splashing everywhere.  Not because of people getting murdered or maimed, but it’s because the Deadman’s power is the ability to use their blood to form weapons.  It’s not that scary, there are people getting slaughtered but it’s not too gory.  But the animation from Manglobe was wonderful and it’s a shame that the series was not released on Blu-ray, as it was released on BD and DVD in Japan.

As for special features, there are two naughty audio commentaries and as a FUNimation first, a video commentary which I hope becomes common in all upcoming Blu-ray and DVD releases from FUNimation!  But you also get promo videos, commercials and textless opening and closing songs.

While “Deadman Wonderland” has similarities to films such as “Battle Royale” and maybe even a little “Hunger Games” mixed in with anime series such as “Guyver”, the violence is not too bad and the story is actually quite fascinating and action-packed.  Also, I have to give FUNimation a thumbs up.  Although I’m not too big on profane anime series, the dialogue for “Deadman Wonderland” fit.  It’s a prison setting filled with vicious criminals, so why not make the dialogue fit the setting.  And the writers at FUNimation did just that!

For anime fans wanting a more mature and violent, bloody anime series, you’ll definitely want to give “Deadman Wonderland” a chance!

Dragon Ball Z Kai – Part Eight (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Disc Review)

“Dragon Ball Z Kai”  is an anime series that action-packed from beginning to end.  And now this final eight volume has been released on Blu-ray! Featuring the final battle against Perfect Cel, if you are a “Dragon Ball Z” fan or one that has been wanting to watch the series but can’t dedicate the time to watch the complete series, will definitely want to give “Dragon Ball Z Kai” a chance!  Otherwise, DBZ fans who have already purchased previous volumes of DBZ Kai will definitely want to own this final volume for their collection!

Image courtesy of © Bird Studio/Shuiesha/Toei Animation. 2009 Toei Animation. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Dragon Ball Z Kai – Part Eight

DURATION: (Episodes 89-98) 250 Minutes

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (4:3), English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: Toei Animation/FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV PG

Release Date: June 5, 2012

Originally created by Akira Toriyama

Directed by Yasuhiro Nowatari

Produced by Kazuya Watanabe, Kohei Obara, Kyotaro Kimura, Makoto Seino

Music by Kenji Yamamoto

Theme Song Arrangement: Seiichi Kyouda

Anime Production: Toei Animation

Featuring the following voice talent:

Masako Nozawa/Colleen Clinkenbeard as Son Gohan

Masako Nozawa/Sean Schemmel as Son Goku

Hikaru Midorikawa/John Burgmeier as Tenshinhan (Tien)

Hiromi Tsuru/Monica Rial as Bulma

Masaharu Satou/Mike McFarland as Kame-sennin

Mayumi Tanaka/Sonny Strait as Krillin (Kuririn)

Naoki Tatsuta/Bryan Massey as Oolong

Naoko Watanabe/Cynthia Cranz as Chi-Chi

Ryo Horikawa/Christopher R. Sabat as Vegeta

Brina Palencia as Chiaotzu/Puar

Tohru Furuya/Christopher R. Sabat as Yamcha

Toshio Furukawa/Christopher R. Sabat as Piccolo

Shigeru Chiba/Justin Cook as Raditz

Tetsu Inada/Phil Parsons as Nappa

Yasuhiko Kawazu/Christopher R. Sabat as Mr. Popo

The legendary Z reborn!

For the first time in history, experience the legendary Z as the master intended with this manga-centric, fresh take on Akira Toriyama’s original vision!

The last descendants of an evil race of warriors known as the Saiyans are on a collision course with Earth, and Goku – the strongest fighter on the planet – is all that stands between humanity and extinction. To save his friends and the world he loves, Goku must travel to a realm from which few return, but should he survive, he’ll discover the power to face the villainous Saiyan warlord – Prince Vegeta.

The exciting action-packed anime series “Dragon Ball Z” is back with the final HD version of “Dragon Ball Z Kai” (volume seven) as the safety of the world rests on the shoulders of young Gohan, as he takes on the evil Perfect Cell.

Having grown up with “Dragon Ball Z” and during my teenage years visiting the local Japanese video rental store and always in heavy anticipation of what was being shown on television in Japan that week and waiting the two weeks it would arrive in the US and watching it in Japanese, despite not knowing what was being said, I enjoyed the series tremendously.

The main protagonist Son Goku was Japan’s equivalent to America’s Superman. I’m sure the juxtaposition of both Superman and Dragonball can be seen as a baby from other planet comes to Earth, the baby growing up to becoming a boy with tremendous strength and abilities and raised by a loving person who instilled good in his heart.

Granted, Goku’s original mission when landing on Earth was to destroy humanity but learning kindness towards people, nature and animals, he became a hero that protected all that he loved from any evil. But most importantly, Goku was a character that was far from perfect. He was a character that was always learning about people, enjoying life but most of all, setting a goal to becoming stronger and developing his skills in order to protect the people and the planet that he loves.

I was captivated by the original “Dragon Ball” series (which featured Goku as a child) and later with “Dragon Ball Z” featuring Goku as an adult. The series would bring back the characters that were seen on the original “Dragon Ball” series but this time around, the series took on more of a serious tone as the enemies became more deadly and Goku and his friends were put into grave situations that they have never had to face before. “Dragon Ball Z” would feature wonderful character development, intense action sequences and most of all, knowing how to extend the series to tease fans and keep people in high anticipation of what would be happening next.

Since then, I have had the opportunity to see this DBZ fandom grow in the US from the very early ’90s and seeing “Dragon Ball Z” viewing parties at the early anime conventions and then seeing how the series exploded into American pop culture once the series began airing on television in the US and with its DVD releases. It’s hard to believe that this series I have followed for years and began in 1989 has celebrated its 20th Anniversary celebration in 2009.

But the celebration was fantastic news for fans as this time, “Dragon Ball Z” would be remastered for HD TV and would be called “Dragon Ball Z Kai” which would include a brand new opening and ending sequence, commercial cut scenes, new frames produced digitally, re-recording of the voice talent, new music and most importantly, focusing on the main story arcs and reducing the series 291 episodes to a total of 97 episodes (plus a bonus 98th episode or extra which was included in the Japanese release).

Needless to say, “Dragon Ball Z Kai” received rave reviews from fans in Japan, while some hardcore DBZ fans had a hard time watching a new interpretation of the series (especially with newer music) but when it was announced that the series would be released in the USA on Blu-ray and DVD, fans were happy and with the first volume, needless to say, I was quite happy with the first Blu-ray release of “Dragon Ball Z Kai” and if you enjoyed the past six volumes, there is no doubt that you are going to enjoy “Dragon Ball Z Kai – Part Seven”.

For my review of this Blu-ray release, I’m going to assume that many of the people reading this are familiar with the series. If you aren’t, if you want to experience the full “Dragon Ball Z” 291 episodes, FUNimation Entertainment currently has the full series of “Dragon Ball” and “Dragon Ball Z” available on DVD but at the same time, it is not imperative to watch the original “Dragon Ball” series to understand “Dragon Ball Z Kai”. But watching it completely is important if you want to know the relationships of each character.

As mentioned, currently available from FUNimation Entertainment is “Dragon Ball” which covers the younger years of Goku. “Dragon Ball Z” covers the adults years of Goku and have been released in nine volumes (seasons) via an “orange box release”. All nine volumes covers all 291 episodes and were remastered by FUNimation Entertainment but presented in 16×9 and utilizes both English and Japanese dub but caters to the English audience crowd who watched the series on television.

FUNimation Entertainment have also released the “Dragon Box Z” DVD box set releases (all eight volumes of “Dragon Box Z” have been released). These releases are to satisfy the hardcore Dragon Ball Z fans who wanted the original Japanese uncut episodes, original Japanese music score but most importantly, the series being presented in its original aspect ratio of 4×3.

Also, released from FUNimation Entertainment were the movies and specials (on Blu-ray and DVD) and also the next story arc known as “Dragon Ball GT” (which “Dragon Ball” manga creator Akira Toriyama had nothing to do with until the final episode) which follows the Z-Warriors ten years later and focuses on Goku, an adult Trunks and Goku’s granddaughter Pai. This series was released on DVD in 2009 by FUNimation.

So, here were are in 2012 with the final eighth volume release of “Dragon Ball Z Kai” presented in HD. These episodes are without the non-essential scenes or filler episodes and instead of 291 episodes, “Dragon Ball Z Kai” has a duration of 98 episodes and with this latest volume, you have 10 episodes (Episodes 89-98).

It’s important to note that this is not a remake of the series, nor is it a new HD recreation of the animated version of the series. The series uses the original 1989 animation but is cleaned up of all damaged cels and blemishes. Only the opening, ending and commercial cut scenes feature new animation.

Here is a basic summary of “Dragon Ball Z Kai – Part Eight” (episodes 89-98) on the two Blu-ray discs:

Disc 1:

• EPISODE 89 – Battle at the Highest Level! Goku Goes All Out! – The battle between Goku vs. Cell continues.
• EPISODE 90 – The Opening Round is Concluded! Goku’s Moment of Decision! – Goku’s energy is getting lower as the fight with Cell continues…who else can step up for Goku if he is unable to fight?
• EPISODE 91 – Get Angry, Gohan!  Release Your Hidden Power! – Gohan not wanting to fight, tries to convince Cell to end the Cell Games!
• EPISODE 92 – Tears for an Android! Gohans’ Inner Rage Bursts Forth! – Cell vs. Android 16 and the aftermath.
• EPISODE 93 – Unleash the Warrior Within! Gohan Takes the Offensive! – Gohan attains the level of Super Saiyan 2.
• EPISODE 94 – Perfection’s End! A Fury Beyond Super Saiyan! – Powerful Gohan takes on Perfect Cell.
• EPISODE 95 – A Hero’s Sacrifice! Last Chance to Save the World! – Perfect Cell tries to destroy Earth.

DISC 2:

• EPISODE 96 – Combine Your Strenth! The Final Kamehameha! – It all comes down to Gohan as he goes up against Perfect Cell.
• EPISODE 97 – A Bittersweet Victory! Until We Meet Again! – The Z Warriors must decide what to do with the Dragon Balls and what wish they will make.
• EPISODE 98 – Peace for the Future! The Spirit of Goku is Forever! – With the fight now over, Trunks returns to the future.

VIDEO:

I always find it interesting when it comes to “Dragon Ball Z” because each review, I’ve always mentioned how things look much better when I saw the series especially comparing to my old Japanese TV recordings. But with the release of the series via the orange box season sets and then the Dragon Box Z releases, although they look good…nothing compares to how gorgeous “Dragon Ball Z Kai” looks. The picture quality is clean, no spotting, no blemishes, no dust, no speckles… Colors are absolutely vibrant, blacks are nice and deep and the series looks absolutely fantastic on Blu-ray.

Presented in 1080p High Definition and 4×3. As mentioned earlier, “Dragon Ball Z Kai” is not a remaking of the series in HD. The most noticeable addition is the opening and ending sequence and also the commercial cut scenes which use new animation and featured in HD. But ow awesome would it be if a “Dragon Ball” related series was re-created to look like those digital HD scenes? That would have been amazing.

But once the series begins, for those who have been watching “Dragon Ball Z” long enough or multiple times will just in awe of how beautiful and how clean the anime series looks in HD on Blu-ray. You’ll also notice scenes that you have never seen before.

First, lets discuss the picture quality. Not one blemish can be seen in these episodes. With the sketches and animation cels having since been discarded and anime series back in the ’80s and early ’90s not really being taken care of, Toei animation had new frames produced for this series and it was a laborious job of digitally tracing over still frames from existing footage and filling them with softer colors. Some scenes were cropped and new scenes were added.

But watching this series on Blu-ray, I can say that “Dragon Ball Z Kai” does not look like a series that came from 1989. Tohei Animation did a wonderful job with this animated TV series, editing these episodes and choosing what scenes to include and what new scenes to add to ensure that the pacing works out fine. In terms of picture quality, those ugly dust, speckles and blemishes are gone, I did not see any major edge enhancement or compression artifacts. I have no doubt that fans will enjoy this HD presentation of “Dragon Ball Z Kai”.

Of course, for those wanting the true anime on HD treatment, this is probably not the series one should look for as you do get the original late ’80s animation and this series was created long before animators considered HD let alone were making the series digitally. But it all comes down to how it looks compared to the original series released on DVD and I have to say that this is the best looking version of the series available despite it being a modified and shortened version of the “Dragon Ball Z” series.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

This is where “Dragon Ball Z Kai” shines on Blu-ray and its the lossless audio. The series is presented in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (English) and Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (Japanese).

Because the English is mixed and utilizes more channels, there is a dramatic difference in sound, although for those with a modern receiver and have a solid 5.1 or 7.2 setup, can easily switch their receiver to stereo on all channels for the Japanese soundtrack for a more immersive soundscape.

There are online stores showing that the Japanese is Dolby Digital 2.0 but this is incorrect, it is indeed a lossless Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 soundtrack. And both soundtracks sound great!

But here is the lowdown on the lossless audio. Sound effects are now heavily utilized on the surround channels. Obviously, the more noticeable uses of the surround channels are the music and whenever the Z Warriors are in flight. But the biggest and most noticeable difference when it comes to “Dragon Ball Z Kai” and its previous “Dragon Ball Z” releases on video is the music. As a hero like Superman or Batman will have its own musical orchestra driven theme song in a film, Goku now has a theme, the enemies have their theme and when a Z-Warrior passes away, there is a theme. Music is used to full effect in the series and the majority of it is orchestra driven and also utilized in the surround channels. You will hear the strings or brass playing through the surrounds and its done rather nicely. Some people may have an issue with the battle music as the music tends to incorporate the style that you hear from the most recent video games and transitions from jazz/funk to synthrock.

But these effects and music sound so delightful via lossless, its hard not to be impressed by it. Again, the English soundtrack is much more immersive because it utilizes a 5.1 lossless soundtrack versus the Japanese 2.0 lossless track. But I know fans who have wanted anime on Blu-ray with Japanese lossless should be happy. It’s important to note that this is a TV series and not an OVA or film, so the fact that there is so much going on with this TV series audio-wise is pretty awesome.

Granted, I know there are hardcore fans who will tell me that they loved the original Japanese music and I’m sure there will be fans including myself who love the new music, but of course, this is all subjective. And with that being said, for those who liked the Falcouner music, then buy the orange season box sets. If you want the original Japanese BGM, then the “Dragon Box Z” sets is for you. If you want a lossless soundtrack with outstanding music that is fully utilized with your home theater setup, “Dragon Ball Z Kai” is fantastic.

As for the dubwork, the voice acting has also been revamped with Colleen Clinkenbeard now providing the voice for Son Gohan, Monica Rial for Bulma and Brina Palencia for Chiaotzu and Puar. In Japan, the most noticeable difference is for Kame Sen’nin (Master Roshi) as Kohei Miayuchi passed away during the final season of “Dragon Ball Z” back in 1995 and for DBZ Kai is voiced by Masaharu Satou.

For the most part, both voice acting for the English and Japanese were very good. Of course, listening to both soundtracks voices are much different from each other especially the voice of the main character Goku. But depending on your preference, both Masako Nozawa and Sean Schemmel do a fantastic job as Goku. For those who watched the English dub and have played all the DBZ video games will probably see the most noticeable different with the character of young Gohan.

Overall, because of the clarity of the audio and how much it plays in the part of enhancing the enjoyment of the anime series, the lossless soundtrack for “Dragon Ball Z” is awesome! I enjoy the new BGM and if you have a 5.1 or 7.2 setup, you’re going to enjoy the soundtrack of this series.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Dragon Ball Z Kai – Part Eight” comes with the following special features:

• Interview with Mr. Sabat and Mr. Schemmel – (4:34) ADR Director Christopher Sabat and voice actor Sean Schemmel talk about the difference of working on “Dragon Ball Z” a decade ago and working on “Dragon Ball Z Kai” now.
  
• Textless Opening Song
  
• Textless Closing Song
• Trailers – Trailers for upcoming or currently available titles from FUNimation Entertainment.

EXTRAS:

“Dragon Ball Z Kai” Part Eight comes with a slipcover case.

“Dragon Ball Z Kai” comes down to these final episodes as the Z Warriors take on Perfect Cell and the hopes of the world will rest on not on Son Goku’s shoulders but the shoulders of his teenage son, Gohan.

Having seen an untapped, enormous power that lies within Gohan, Goku hopes that Gohan can tap into this power and defeat the powerful, Perfect Cell.

For many Dragon Ball Z enthusiasts, many have ranked the Cell saga as the best in the “Dragon Ball Z” series. There was no doubt that Cell was the most destructive adversary the Z-Warriors have taken on and I can easily remember how many episodes it took until we finally saw the matchup between Goku and Cell.

For anyone who has watched the original “Dragon Ball Z” series, it’s not a surprise of how much this battle was dragged out for a long period of time in Japan and even for “Dragon Ball Z Kai”, it’s taken quite a bit of episodes, even when shortened without the filler to get to this ultimate matchup and the buildup to this match has been exciting and quite riveting thus far!

All that went through my mind when I was watching “Dragon Ball Z Kai” was how awesome an experience it was to see this series finally in HD and how fantastic it looked and how incredible the lossless audio track was.

“Dragon Ball Z – Part Eight” is pretty much all action as Goku and the Z Warriors take on Perfect Cell and hopes that Gohan will find the confidence to tap into his inner power.

Sure, the original “Dragon Ball Z” series goes into more storyline details.  With “Dragon Ball Z Kai”, viewers are losing a lot of the android saga especially the training episodes in the hyberbolic chamber in preparation for the fight against Cell in “Dragon Ball Z Kai”. So, I do emphasize that if you do want to watch the Android and Cell Saga, try to find the DVD release of the anime series (the awesome orange box series or even the Japanese uncut “Dragon Box Z” series), in order to learn about the complete storyline that leads to the battle against Cell.

As a person who has followed the series for nearly 20 years, watching “Dragon Ball Z Kai” was a bit surreal because everything looked so clean. Especially comparing with how it looks to the first movie on Blu-ray which had dust and scratches galore and HD enhancing those defects, it was great to see a blemish-free DBZ series.

Now does “Dragon Ball Z Kai” replace my feelings towards the original series? Of course not. But I can tell you right now that when watching “Dragon Ball Z” many years ago and even watching it again and again, part of the experience at the time was being kept at the edge of your seat because each saga lasted so long. We would literally have to wait weeks as it would come out to our Japanese video rental store and each VHS tape in bad quality would contain maybe two to four episodes. And this really tested your patience especially with each saga or battle lasting like 30 episodes or more.

If you were an original DVD purchaser of “Dragon Ball Z” when it was released per volume, not only was it an excruciating wait, it was expensive to collect all volumes. Sure, the DVD box set releases definitely have fixed the problem and is much cheaper than how things were back then. But what “Dragon Ball Z Kai” does is cut down all non-essential scenes, all filler episodes and focusing on the more important scenes of the story including the action sequences. Footage was re-edited to closely follow the manga and the action is now a more faster pace and I found the pacing for this series to be quite enjoyable and for those watching anything Dragon Ball related for the first time, especially on television, “Dragon Ball Z” makes it much easier for those viewers, especially those with a short attention span.

For long-time fans, this new revision of the series maintains the heart and soul of “Dragon Ball Z” but gives us the best looking and best sound version of the series. It’s not meant to replace the previous “Dragon Ball Z” series that we have enjoyed (and for many, have spent money for via the box sets) but to compliment it and also to bring the series to HD and now on Blu-ray.

“Dragon Ball Z” has been such a part of the lives of many people for two decades and with this release, hopefully will entertain a new generation of DBZ fans or hook fans who have been curious about the series for a long time.

Because the series only lasts 98 episodes, part eight continues and ends with the Cell saga, but there are rumors that “Dragon Ball Z Kai” will continue and perhaps lead to the “Majin Buu saga”.  But for now, the animated series ends with the “Perfect Cell saga”.

Overall, “Dragon Ball Z Kai” is easily a must-own anime on Blu-ray series if you love “Dragon Ball Z” or wanting to watch “Dragon Ball Z” but just don’t have the time necessary to watch every episode.   Also, it helps that the series is now on Blu-ray, so people can enjoy “Dragon Ball Z Kai” in HD.

Exciting, action-packed from beginning to end, for those wanting to experience “Dragon Ball Z” in HD, will definitely want to watch “Dragon Ball Z Kai” on Blu-ray and for those who have already purchased the volumes, this eighth final volume is the end and definitely worth owning.

Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Disc Review)

Heartwarming, delightful and possibly one of the best looking CG animated films to come from Japan and looks absolutely incredible on Blu-ray!  “Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror” is another magnificent Production I.G. animated film that I highly recommend!

Images courtesy of © 2012 FUNimation. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror (Hottarake no Shima: Haruka to Mahō no Kagami)

YEAR OF FILM RELEASE: 2009

DURATION: 99 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, English and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Subtitles: English

RATED: All Ages

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: August 14, 2012

Directed by Shinsuke Sato

Screenplay by Hirotaka Adachi, Shinsuke Sato

Unit Director: Naoyoshi Shiotani

Music by Tadashi Ueda

Character Design by Ren Ishimori, Ryo Hirata

Art Director: Masanobu Nomura

Theme Song by Spitz

Production by Dentsu Inc., Fuji TV, Pony Canyon and Production I.G.

Featuring the voices of:

Haruka Ayase/Chirstine Marie Cabanos as Haruka

Miyuki Sawashiro/Cassandra Lee as Teo

Mitsuki Tanimura/Maki Terashima-Furuta as Miho

Naho Toda/Julie Anne Taylor as Haruka’s Mother

Nao Omori/David Roach as Haruka’s Father

Tamaki Matsumoto/Julie Maddalena as Cotton

Iemasa Kayumi/Patrick Seitz as Baron

16-year-old Haruka is on a mission to find her mirror – a precious childhood gift from her mother that mysteriously disappeared. While following a strange fox-like creature in the woods, she tumbles into a mystical world where once-cherished toys and treasures go when their owners neglect them. Join Haruka and her new friend Teo on a roller coaster ride of adventure as they contend with the island’s greedy ruler, who wants the mirror for his own evil plan!

Nominated for the “Award for Excellent Animation of the Year” at the 33rd Japan Academy Prize and “Best Animated Feature Film” for the 4th Asia Pacific Screen Award, Production I.G.’s “Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror” (a.k.a. Hottarake no Shima: Haruka to Mahō no Kagami) will be released on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of FUNimation in August 2012.

Directed by Shinsuke Sato (“Gantz” live action films and “The Princess Blade”) and co-written by Sato and Otsuichi (“Calling You”, “Goth”), “Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror” revolves around a 16-year-old girl named Haruka who has had a tough relationship with her messy father since her mother’s death.

When she was young, Haruka’s mother (who is hospitalized) would read her a story about a a poor farmer who lost an old comb that was an important memento from his grandmother and how he lost it.

One day, the poor farmer brought eggs as an offering to a Fushimi Inari in hopes for good luck to find the comb and one day, a fox brought the comb back to him.  And from that moment, humans would bring eggs to the shrine in hopes that their missing items would be returned back to them.

But in reality, foxes would take objects that humans have neglected.

A young Haruka promised her mother that she would take care of the pretty hand mirror that her mother would give her.

A few years later, we see Haruka (a few years older), bringing an egg to the shrine in hopes to bring her dead mother back.

Fast forward to a 16-year-old Haruka, who misses her mother deeply and not so happy with her life with her father.  Her father is constantly working and leaves the place in a mess.

While talking to her best friend Miho, Haruka remembers how she had a hand mirror to remember her mother and despite treasuring it, she lost it.

As Haruka plans to visit her grandmother, she stops by the shrine and makes a wish for the mirror that her mother had given her to be returned back.  While at the shrine, Haruka accidentally falls asleep on the shrine’s steps.  When she wakes up, she sees a small creature wearing a mask taking a toy plane and her keys.

When she goes to follow the creature, she finds an egg floating in water and when she goes to grab it, she is whisked to another land.  A land where forgotten items, items that have been neglected are taken.

So, Haruka feels that the story that her mother had once told her may be true and hopes that the young creature named Teo may help her find the hand mirror that her mother gave her.

Teo explains to Haruka that the forgotten items are brought to their land, because they are unable to manufacture things.  But they never steal from humans and old taken things that humans neglect.  And both head to Oblivion Island where Teo lives.  She learns from Teo that the island is ruled by the Baron, a pompous creature.

But as Haruka and Teo go to look for the mirror, Haruka learns that Teo is often bullied by people his age and Haruka defends him.  And the bullies become suspicious towards Teo’s new friend.

Meanwhile the two head to Mabarowa’s store as he may be the only person that may know where the hand mirror maybe.  Mabarowa believes the mirror is a rare magic mirror  with tremendous magical powers someone had stolen it.  And its whereabouts remain a mystery.

Mabarowa becomes suspicious that Teo may have brought a human to Oblivion Island and tells the Baron that a human is in the island may know the whereabouts of the magic mirror.

While with Teo and looking for her hand mirror, she finds her old stuffed animal Cotton (who is now alive in this new land) and the three then go off to find the magic mirror.

Meanwhile, Teo’s bullies find out that Haruka is a human and now are after them to reveal that Teo brought a human to the island and get him in big trouble.

As Teo’s bullies are looking to capture Haruka, the Baron and his thugs encounter Teo and tells him that for bringing a human to Oblivion Island, it will lead to a major punishment but if Teo continues to assist Haruka in finding the magic mirror that he has been long after, he not only will spare him from punishment but give him an amazing award.

Will Teo help his new friend Haruka or will he betray her by helping the Baron?

VIDEO:

“Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror” is presented in 1080p High Definition and if there is one thing that I have raved over the years, it’s about Production I.G.’s focus on quality and creating the most wonderful looking environments in an anime film or TV series.

With “Oblivion Island”, the art backgrounds are absolutely fantastic to look at it.  Artistic, very detailed, just gorgeous.  May it be the city environment in Japan to the island environment where Teo lives, everything looks spectacular and I was just in awe of how breathtaking the film looked.

While the CG animation was created in 2009 and the creatures are not as highly detailed compared to an American Pixar film, in terms of skin textures and seeing pores or grime on a character, the CG is still very good, but it’s the details of the backgrounds the characters are in that truly stick out the most of this animated film.

There have been a good number of CG animated films from Japan, but this is probably one of the most detailed that I have seen.   The film is very colorful, vibrant and  looks absolutely incredible on Blu-ray!

But is it perfect?  Well, there is a scene where Haruka meets Cotton for the first time, and there is a good amount of light being changed and you do see slight banding.  While I didn’t recognize any artifacts or edge enhancement, you do notice the details on objects and even on the scenery and mechanical designs.  It’s a very beautiful film and I’m in awe of how Production I.G. once again delivered for this animated film.  It looks great!

AUDIO:

“Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror” is presented in Japanese and English Dolby TrueHD 5.1.  Dialogue on both Japanese and English lossless tracks are crystal clear and having watched the film in both English and Japanese, both are really well-done.  The soundtracks are primarily dialogue and musical driven through the front and center channel.  There was a little LFE and surround channel use for the music but I was hoping the sound effects were a little more immersive and utilized the surround channels a bit more.  But for the most part, the lossless soundtrack was very good.

As for the subtitles, when the Japanese soundtrack is selected, English subtitles show up.  So, the English subtitles are not optional during the Japanese soundtrack.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror” comes with the following special features:

• Behind the Scenes of Oblivion Island – (5:02) A featurette on what inspired the film and what it is about.  Information on the director and Japanese cast.
• A Visit to Fushimi Inari Shrine – (5:13) Voice actress Haruka Ayase visiting the Fushimi Inari Shrine which inspired the animated film “Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror”.
• Battleship Island: An Actual Oblivion Island – Voice actress Haruka Ayase and director Shinsuke Sato visiting a Gunkanjima, which are uninhabited islands in Japan, specifically Hashima Island in Nagasaki Prefecture.  A island that was once used for forced labor for coal mining during the late 1800′s to early-to-mid 1900′s but is now a “ghost island” with building structures that were left behind in 1950 when Japan went towards petroleum and away from coal.
• Greetings at the Premiere – (4:47) The press speeches from director Shinsuke Sato and the Japanese voice acting cast for the premiere.
• A Word from the Cast - (4:39) Q&A with director Shinsuke Sato and the Japanese voice acting cast after the premiere.
  
• The U.S. Premiere – (8:00) Naoyoshi Shiotani (direction) talking about the U.S. premiere of “Oblivion Island” in New York and footage from the New York premiere.
• Haruka and Teo’s Panel Puzzle – (4:07) A featurette at Izumo Iwai Shrine in Iruma City, Saitama and the Haruka and Teo puzzles that kids including Fuji TV announcer Mio Matsumura have to put together.
• A Journey Through Fox Foxlore – (25:43) A TV special exploring the fox legends in Japan.
• Sierra Leone Relief Spots – (:34) Two commercials featuring the collaboration with “Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror” and helping the children of Sierra Leone.
• Original Teasers – (1:40) The original Japanese teaser trailers for “Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror”.
• Original Trailers – (3:09) The original Japanese trailers for “Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror”.
• TV Commercials – (3:20) The original Japanese commercials for “Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror”.
  
• U.S. Trailer – FUNimation trailer for “Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror”.
• Trailers – FUNimation trailers.

A delightful animated family film from Japan, gorgeous in visuals and a heartwarming tale that will surely entertain people of all ages.

“Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror” is a film that was inspired by the Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto and the Inari shrine is one of the most unique shrines in Japan with its black and red torii path.  Inari in Japan is known as the god of rice and many adults visit the shrine for wealth.  At the main gate of the shrine is a fox holding a key in its mouth.  Meanwhile, the view of the shrine is like a mirror.

And so, writers Hirotaka Adachi and director Shinsuke Sato came up with a story inspired by the shrine but a story that would appeal to people of all ages and to focus on the question of what happens to those things in our childhood that are lost.  What happens to them?

And both Adachi and Sato were able to come up with a delightful story of Japanese mythology and childhood memories for “Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror”.

For many adults, when we think of our childhoods, many of us tend to remember our favorite toys or favorite things while growing up.  Toys that your parents bought you or things that were special in your life.  And what makes “Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror” so touching is that it revolves around a teenager who lost her mother at a young age.

And because her father was dependent on her mother, having grown up with a father (a single parent) who had to work a lot, she never really understood the sacrifices her father went through to take of her and in her mind, her estranged relationship with him is because he is always working and is messy.

But often in our lives, by finding objects that we have forgotten about, it makes us remember things that we also had forgotten.  May it be a photo of a deceased family member, an object taking you back of a certain time in your life.  For Haruka, it’s revisiting memories that she had lost.

Meanwhile, there is also a story about the importance of friendship.  For Haruka to be in another world and becoming friends with Teo, for Teo and others, humans were looked as bad people, but when he finds out for himself that Haruka was genuinely good and wanted to be his friend, he has to make a hard decision by helping his new friend out or follow on the threat by the ruler of Oblivion Island that if he doesn’t bring the mirror to him, he will be severely punished for bringing a human to their world.

And while you get a delightful story, possibly the most impressive part of this film are its visuals.  Production I.G. is an animation studio I have raved about in previous reviews but for this film, this is one of the most beautiful CG animated films that I have watched from Japan.  Yes, Studio Ghibli are known for their beautiful visuals but Production I.G. is also wonderful at creating scenery and environments for their TV series, OVA and animated films.

And for “Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror”, not only are environments painted beautifully and realistically but its integration with its CG characters are also well-done.  Granted, the characters are not as detailed as a Pixar animated character but still, for a 2009 animated film from Japan and having seen a good number of them, the movements are not jerky, the balance between the CG characters and the beautiful environments are well-done!

I’ll go as far as to say that for a non-Ghibli animated film, Production I.G. really delivered with the visual effects.  This film looks absolutely gorgeous on Blu-ray!

And the voice acting, both on the Japanese and English dub are also well-done.  Watched both and was quite pleased with both lossless soundtracks.  Granted, I wish it was a bit more immersive and the surround channels were used much more, but for the most part, the lossless soundtrack is very good, dialogue and music was crystal clear.

As for special features, there are many included on this release.  From the premiere introductions and Q&A in Japan, to the visiting locations that helped inspire the film plus a TV special on fox legends of Japan. So, I was quite pleased with this Blu-ray overall.  From the visual and audio standpoint and special features that are pretty awesome!  It’s an awesome Blu-ray and DVD release combo-pack that fans should be pleased with.

Heartwarming, delightful and possibly one of the best looking CG animated films to come from Japan and looks absolutely incredible on Blu-ray!  “Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror” is another magnificent Production I.G. animated film that I highly recommend!

Fractale: The Complete Series (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

A unique series featuring one young man’s journey to protect the people he loves.  Complex, enjoyable but also very entertaining, “Fractale: The Complete Series” is recommended!

Images courtesy of © 2012 FUNimation Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Fractale: The Complete Series

SERIES AIR DATE: 2011

DURATION: Episodes 1-11 (275 Minutes)

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0, Subtitles: English

RATED: TV 14

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: July 17, 2012

Directed by Yutaka Yamamoto

Series Composition by Mari Okada

Music by Sohei Kano

Original Story by Hiroko Azuma

Original Character Design by Hidari

Character Design by Masako Tashiro

Art Director: Emi Kesamaru

Chief Animation Director: Masako Tashiro

Mechanical Design by Isao Hayashi

Anime Production: A-1 Pictures

Featuring the voices of:

Yu Kobayashi/Brina Palencia as Clain

Kana Hanazawa/Luci Christian as Nessa

Minami Tsuda/Caitlin Glass as Phryne

Mitsuru Miyamoto/Bucky Pearl as Barrot

Shintarō Asanuma/Scott Freeman as Sunda

Sumi Shimamoto/Stephanie Young as Moeran

Yuka Iguchi/Monica Rial as Enri

In a near-perfect society, humans enjoy virtually anything their heart desires by simply staying connected to Fractale – a centuries-old technology on the verge of collapse. One day, Clain, a teenage boy who collects antique electronics, saves a girl on the run from dangerous pursuers. She disappears in the night, leaving only a pendant full of data behind. Suddenly Clain’s quiet life turns to chaos when he’s caught between the religious order determined to save Fractale, and the Lost Millennium, who want to destroy it.

The future.  What happens when technology takes care of ever human need.  The things that people once enjoyed in life, the technologies created by humans in the past is no longer needed?

This is the basis of the story “Fractale” written by Hiroki Azumi.  Back in 2011, “Fractale” aired in Japan and inspired a manga series for Square Enix’s “Gangan Online” later that year.  And now the complete animated series will be released on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment in July 2012.

“Fractale” is directed by Yutaka Yamamoto (“Kannagi: Crazy Shine Maidens”, “blossom”, “Black Rock Shooter”) and featuring a screenplay by Mari Okada (“Black Butler”, “Vampire Knight”, “CANAAN”).  Character design is by Masako Tashiro and music by Shonei Kano.  The anime production is by A-1 Pictures and backgrounds by Studio Easter.

The series is set in the future where technology has now led to the Fractale System, a system which stabilizes mankind, to the point that technology is readily available thanks to terminals that all humans can use to tap into the Fractale System. But also represents a religion that oversees humanity.

“Fractale” begins by introducing us to the young character, Clain Necran.  Clain lives alone with “doppels”, holographic robots which represent his parents.  Unlike most people of that time period, Clain admires antique technology such as cell phones and cameras of the 21st century.

One day, he sees a young girl being chased down by a group of individuals.  Clain goes to help the girl named Phryne and hides her in his home.  While Phryne is a bit protective of her past, she is grateful for Clain’s help from hiding her from the Granitz Faction.  And she gives him a pendant.

The following morning, Phryne is gone but in her place, coming from the pendant is Nessa, a younger version of Phryne, who happens to also be a doppel.

And as the two are encountered by the Granitz faction, both are taken in to their ship.  And while Clain does not trust them, he learns that the Granitz faction is part of the Lost Millennium who are trying to stop Fractale from taking over humanity and want to fight for independent lives away from the Fractale system.  And so they are after Phryne, the priestess of the Fractale system, as a way to prevent the Fractale from having an edge over the faction.

Meanwhile, others are up to no good and wanting to cause some discordance in the world.

From Barrot the priest who has raised Phryne always constantly touching Phryne, Dias is the leader of the Alabaster faction of Lost Millennium and he is trying to trick Fractale refugees into removing their terminals and so they can be forced to join his faction and more.

And as the journey for Clain takes him all over the world, Clain learns the truth of the Fractale system the warring clans and about Phryne and Nessa.

VIDEO:

“Fractale” is presented in 1080p High Definition and the characters have a semblance to Studio Ghibli style of characters.  The anime series is vibrant, colorful and also well-balanced between animation and CG special effects.  Animation is what you come to expect from a TV series with less detail than one would see in a film or OVA but the animation by A-1 Pictures is very good.  I didn’t notice any artifacts or banding during my viewing of the series.

But overall, “Fractale” looks amazing for a TV series.  I love the visual references to Ireland, the character designs and also the well-detailed backgrounds from Studio Easter.

AUDIO:

“Fractale” is presented in DolbyTrue HD 5.1 English and Dolby TrueHD 2.0 Japanese.  I had a chance to listen to both lossless soundtracks and the voice acting for both English and Japanese are well-done.

As for the lossless soundtrack, there is quite a bit of action seen throughout the series, but with the English soundtrack, because of its 5.1 soundtrack, there is more dynamic range.  While the Japanese soundtrack is good, the English lossless soundtrack stands out the most during the more action intense sequences.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

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

• Episode 1 Commentary - Featuring audio commentary by adaptive script writer J. Michael Tatum and Scott Freeman (Voice of Sunda).
  
• Episode 7 Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by ADR director Coleen Clinkenbeard and Brina Palencia (voice of Clain).
  
• Original Preview – (:31) The original Japanese preview for “Fractale”.
• Promotional Videos – (3:50) The Japanese promotional video for “Fractale”.
• DVD & Blu-ray Commercials – (1:07) The Japanese DVD & Blu-ray commercials for “Fractale”.
• Shobi Wind Orchestra, Tokyo – (4:52) The performance of “Fractale Suite’ for Wind, Orcehstra Movement 1: Fractale”.  Composed by Souhei Kano.
• Fractale’s Art Sanctuary – Featuring the art of “Fractale” (you can see each graphic using your remote/mouse to cycle through each image).
• U.S. Trailer – (2:02) The FUNimation Entertainment trailer for “Fractale”.
• Texless Opening Song
• Textless Closing Song (Japanese Lyrics)
• Textless Closing Song (English Lyrics)
• Trailers – FUNimation Entertianment trailers.

“Fractale” is a story about one young man wanting to keep his promise of protecting the two people that are important to him and humanity rebelling against technology and doing all they can to keep their individuality.

With only eleven episodes, “Fractale” is a complex storyline that manages to incorporate beautiful animation and character designs but also escape banal anime themes by focusing on humanity and its over reliance towards technology.

As most of us depend on the Internet, our cell phones and just being connected, what happens when human interaction is no longer needed?  A future when everyone is hooked up to a terminal to live a life they want and one can easily create their own virtual family, girlfriend, friends ala doppel.

“Fractale” is fascinating because it takes on the anti-technology theme and tries to show that as many people who are accepting of technology to run their lives, there are those who want their individuality and do not need to be hooked up to a terminal to live their lives.

And the story goes even further by introducing us to the Fractale system and how it becomes almost like a religion as it is so powerful, the system guarantees peace for those who embrace it.

While the series does feature on younger characters and tends to have an upbeat, happy theme for most of the episodes.  Things do get dark towards the end as we find out about Phryne’s life, what Nessa is and also the war between the factions vs. those who represent the Fractale system.

It’s a storyline that is complex but not too cerebral or long.  With eleven episodes, the story is well-written during its entire duration and manages to end with closure for the characters and it makes the series quite accessible for anime fans who enjoy sci-fi, adventure and action.

I do feel that “Fractale” is a series that would do much better in America than in Japan.  As the series uses Ireland as an inspiration, it utilizes the religious war that has been waged in Ireland for a long time.  In Japan, many viewers were confused by fighting amongst factions and also, people were not prepared to see a character having been sexually assaulted.  I’ve read Japanese online forums and it appears that people were taken in to the series at first, through its animation and character design, its upbeat story but for some, it seemed as if the storyline became a bit too dark for their taste.  But I have seen viewers come to the defense of the series, praising it because the story features a worldly feeling that something that is Japanese.

But being from the west, I do feel that the series is much more accessible to westerners.

While the series is rated 14, it’s important to note that a lot of people are killed in this anime series (no bloody or scenes of gore are featured) and there is also a underlying theme of a character suffering sexual assault as well. So despite the younger characters and the fact that Nessa tends to be happy and upbeat throughout the series, “Fractale” is definitely not an anime series to share with the younger children.

As for the Blu-ray, “Fractale” is looks good on Blu-ray.  It’s important to remember that this is a TV series and not an animated film or OVA, so you will see that slight softness that is apparent on many anime TV series.  But there are backgrounds that are well-detailed and I really enjoy the character designs for this series.  It’s vibrant and just beautiful to look at. As for audio, the fact that they brought in Sohei Kanno and an orchestra to perform the music for the series is rather cool.  With a lot of anime series now being synth-based, it’s great to see an orchestra utilized for “Fractale”.

Also, for an anime series, where some just tend to feature a clean opening and ending theme, this release has a good number of special features, from audio commentary to the Japanese special features, which I enjoyed.

Also, another plus for us in the U.S. is that unlike in Japan which the Blu-ray were released in volumes with a few episodes and was quite expensive, we get all episodes of “Fractale” in this Blu-ray and DVD combo.

Overall, “Fractale” is a smart and enjoyable series.  A series that doesn’t try to force any belief on the viewer, it shows you the perspective of two different sides and found it to be a very clever and enjoyable anime series.

“Fracatale: The Complete Series” is recommended!

FUNimation Entertainment announces multiple acquisitions at Anime Expo

Flower Mound, TX –JUNE 30, 2012- FUNimation Entertainment announced today at Anime Expo they have acquired the broadcast, home entertainment, streaming, and mobile rights to the complete anime series, Aria the Scarlet Ammo.  The series is directed by Takashi Watanabe, best known for directing Ikki Tousen, Shakugan no Shana, and Slayers Revolution.

Series synopsis:

Kinji is a junior at a high school for mercenaries. He just wants to be normal, but his secret condition—he turns into an ace killer when he’s turned on by the female form—triggers a fiery transfer student’s unrelenting desire to make him her partner.  Additional information may be found at:  http://www.funimation.com/aria-the-scarlet-ammo

They have also acquired the broadcast, home entertainment, and mobile rights to the complete anime series, Jormungand. The series is directed by Keitaro Motonaga, best known for directing Katanagatari, Getbackers and School Days.

Series synopsis:

A ruthless arms dealer on a quixotic quest for world peace. A child soldier born into chaotic conflict. Their lives will intertwine as they journey together through the seedy underbelly of the world’s arms market.  Additional information may be found at:  http://www.funimation.com/jormungand

FUNimation has acquired the broadcast, home entertainment, streaming and mobile rights to the complete anime series, Blood-C, as well as the movie Blood-C: The Last Dark. Production I.G and CLAMP co-produced the project directed by Tsutomu Mizushima, best known for directing Big Windup! and Squid Girl.

Series synopsis:

Saya Kisaragi is a clumsy girl with a secret. She attends school, goes to the café with her friends and is always in a rush during the day. At night she becomes a hunter, protecting her town from monsters. As she battles these monsters she finds herself faced with uncertainty regarding her identity and purpose. In order to protect her friends Saya must become stronger or else face turning into a monster herself.  Additional information can be found at http://www.funimation.com/blood-c

In addition, broadcast, home entertainment, streaming and mobile rights have been acquired to the complete anime series, Michiko & Hatchin.  The series is produced by studio Manglobe and directed by Sayo Yamamoto, best known for her storyboard work on Death Note, Gunslinger Girl and Eureka 7.

 

 

Series synopsis:

After escaping from prison, the sexy criminal Michiko rescues an abused girl known as Hatchin. The two are about as opposite as they come, but their fates become intertwined through the connection of a man from both their pasts.  On the run from the police and Hatchin’s abusive foster parents, the unlikely duo set out to find this man and ultimately discover their freedom.  Additional information can be found at http://www.funimation.com/michiko-hatchin

FUNimation has also acquired the broadcast, home entertainment and streaming rights for the Production IG anime series, Appleseed XIII.

Series synopsis:

After facing massive destruction from a devastating war, the city Olympus has become the last stronghold as the center of command for the world. In order to protect the city from a group of terrorists known as the Argonauts, former LAPD SWAT member, Deunan Knotts, runs special military forces consisting of Biroids (cloned humans) and her cyborg partner Brialeos. Knotts must protect the city at all costs but is met with difficulties when Al Ceides, the Argonaut leader thought to be dead, resurfaces and causes problems.  Additional information can be found at http://funimation.com/appleseed-xiii

Fans of the popular series, Ikki Tousen, will be pleased to know that FUNimation has acquired the broadcast, home entertainment, streaming, and mobile rights for the third and fourth seasons: Ikki Tousen – Great Guardians and Ikki Tousen – Xtreme Xecutor.

Ikki Tousen – Great Guardians synopsis:

Hakufu’s dreams of participating in new fights and tournaments are put on hold as new obstacles block her path. Her friends have lost faith in her, new enemies appear, and a younger sister she never knew existed suddenly shows up on her doorstep.  If Hakufu ever hopes to compete worldwide, she’s going to have to deal with her issues at home first.

Ikki Tousen – Xtreme Xecutor synopsis:

Life gets crazy for Hakufu when she takes on a pupil that acts just like her! A tournament between the school heads start, but due to Hakufu’s negligence, her pupil ends up taking her place. The tournament isn’t what it seems, and the girls find themselves in the middle of a plot to take over the clans.   Additional information can be found at http://funimation.com/ikki-tousen

Two new simulcasts have also been added to this year’s acquisition announcements.  FUNimation has acquired the simulcast rights for Binbougami ga! and Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero.

Binbougami ga! series synopsis:

At the expense of the people and things around her, Sakura has absorbed so much “happiness energy” that she has caused an energy imbalance in the world. In order to return balance to the world, the Poverty God, Momiji, sets out to take away Sakura’s ability to absorb this energy. Will Momiji be able to put a stop to Sakura’s absorbing abilities, or will the God succumb to her happiness?  Additional information can be found at http://www.funimation.com/binbougami-ga

Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero series synopsis:

Hero defeats bad guy. Good triumphs over evil. The end. Or, at least that’s how it usually goes.  But what happens after the hero goes home?  Our hero, Ohtorizawa Akatsuki, is about to find out that sometimes the greatest adventure starts once happily ever after ends.  Additional information can be found at http://www.funimation.com/aesthetica-of-a-rogue-hero

 

And finally broadcast, home entertainment, and theatrical rights have been acquired to the complete anime series, Eureka 7: Astral Ocean.  The series is a sequel to Eureka 7 and is created by Bones, best known for producing Wolf’s Rain, Soul Eater, Darker than Black and several other acclaimed series.

Series synopsis:

The story is set on Okinawa’s isolated island of Iwado, which has seen a growing movement advocating a return to an autonomous government. Ao Fukai, a 13-year-old boy with a missing father, lives on the island with an old doctor named Toshio and is about to enter middle school. Ao’s mother was taken away a decade ago by unknown individuals. Naru Arata, Ao’s 13-year-old childhood friend and the story’s heroine, lives with her father, older sister, and grandmother. She has a “Yuta” power awakened within her due to an incident when she was young. A mysterious entity called “Secret” suddenly appears and launches an attack on the Scub Coral lifeform on the island. Ao launches a certain military FP called “Nirvash” aboard a Japanese military transport in his fervent desire to protect the island. Additional information can be found at http://www.funimation.com/eureka-seven-astral-ocean

 

About FUNimation® Entertainment

FUNimation® Entertainment is the leading anime company in North America. FUNimation has a proven formula for launching and advancing brands. They manage a full spectrum of rights for most of their brands including broadcasting, licensing, production, internet, and home video sales and distribution. For more information about FUNimation Entertainment and its brands, visit www.funimation.com.

Next Page »