Super Robot Wars Original Generation: Divine Wars Vol. 3 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

July 17, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“Just when you thought the first two volumes were full of mecha action, vol. 3 just ups the ante of mecha battle goodness. Another awesome volume in the series that just continually gets better and better. Robot fans, check this series out! It’s 100% percent mecha ‘pron’!”

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: Super Robot Wars Original Generation: Divine Wars Vol. 3

DURATION: 72 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: COLOR/ MPEG-2 / DVD-5 / NTSC / Japanese Audio (Dolby Digital Stereo) / English Subtitles / 16:9 LB

CATALOG #: BUDH0131

COMPANY: Bandai Visual / Honneamise

RATING: 13 and up

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

STAFF INFORMATION:

ORIGINAL STORY: SR Production Team

DIRECTOR: Kakudo Hiroyuki

SUPERVISOR & SERIES PLANNER: Terada Takanobu

CHARACTER CONCEPTION: Kohno Sachiko

CHARACTER DESIGN: Ikeda Yuji

MAIN MECHANICAL DESIGNERS: Katoki Hajime, Miyatake Kazutaka, Okawara Kunio, Saito Kazue

ART DIRECTOR: Kato Kenji

PRODUCED By: SWROG PROJECT

CAST INFORMATION:

Ryusei Miki Shin-Ichiro, Ingram: Furusawa Toru, Yukiko: Sakuma Rei, Kusuha: Takahashi Mikamo, Tenzan: Kawazu Yasuhiko, Laker: Kiyokawa Motomu, Kenzo: MUGIHITO, Kai: Saizan Tadahisa, Hance: Masutani Yutaka, Shu: Koyasu Takehito, Bian: Iizuka Shoz

The third explosive installment of the series carving out new ground in the robot anime genre!

When the sacred flag is flown, the first strike of the blue devil will sound the call to war!!

It’s interesting that with each volume of “Super Robot Wars OG: Divine Wars”, I tend to talk about how the mecha battles escalate its impressive and awesome battles. Volume 2 really demonstrated battles that for me, it was a “homerun”.

Now watching volume 3 featuring episodes 6 through 8 of the series. If Vol. 2 was a “home run”, vol. 3 is a “Grand Slam” as the war between the Earth Federation and the Divine Crusaders has begun.

In episode 6 titled “Stage 06: Blue Devil”, the unveiling ceremony for a new form of weaponry is actually a smokescreen for the first attempt at negotiations between the Earth Federation Government and a potential alien menace.

With all eyes towards this ceremony which could help end the war between the humans and the aliens, EOTI Organization’s Shu Shirakawa has something else in mind as he takes the huge mecha robot Granzon and launches an attack on both the Earth Federation and the aliens.

Chaos ensues as the Earth Federation tries to defend themselves against the Granzon and Earth’s mecha protectors go to battle against the various aliens who want retribution for the attack during the peace talks.

We are quickly introduced to the skilled mecha team known as ATX led by Sanger Zonvolt. Both Zonvolt and ATX Team are known to be the best mecha team the Earth Federation has.

Part of the ATX team are test pilot Kyosuke Nanbu a gifted pilot and excels at close-range combat. Excellent Browning, girlfriend of Kyosuke and known for her high-mobility and long-range attacks. And the third test pilot for ATX Team, Brooklyn Luckfield who has the paranormal abilities of psychodriver and pilots the Gespenst MK-II Type-TT.

We get a glimpse of other forces with the Earth Federation who show off their fighting capabilities and an episode with all out mecha battles between the alien insect swarm, the Granzon and the forces from the Earth Federation.

In episode 7 titled “Stage 07: The Divine Crusaders”, The EOTI Organization led by Prof. Bian Zoldark has started the new generation called “Divine Crusaders”. A group that wants to defend humans against the aliens but feels the Earth Federation is in their way. Zoldark gives an International televised speech that humans can join him or go against him.

And to make things worse for the Earth Federation, the United Colony Corps has aligned themselves with the Divine Crusaders and begin attacking Earth Federation army bases.

This leads to a battle between the ATX Team and Divine Crusaders/United Colony Corps

In episode 8 titled “Stage 08: The Steel Ark”, The United Colony Corps now holds control of most of the Galaxy and the Divine Crusaders have captured many of the Earth Federation military bases in Southeast Asia.

A battle ensues at the Sasebo base which the SRX Team goes to battle against the Divine Crusader mobile squadron and Ryusei has to learn the about the casualties of war.

Also, the Divine Crusaders have captured ATX leader Sanger Zonvolt. What will happen when Zonvolt comes face-to-face with DC leader Professor Zoldark.

VIDEO:

As for the video, since it’s a newer anime series that aired back in the end of 2006 and early 2007, as expected, the anime is clear and colorful. Also, because it is a Bandai Visual release known for their audio and video quality, the anime is presented in 16:9 LB anamorphic with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1.

AUDIO:

Bandai Visual is known for their quality A/V and audio is encoded at 488kbps. There is no Digital 5.1 audio selection, just Dolby Digital Stereo. And primary audio is in Japanese. There is no English dub tracks, for those interested in that.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Surprisingly, there are no special features. I would expected maybe a textless opening or ending, especially for the JAM PROJECT fans out there who enjoy the opening theme. But unfortunately, there are no special features at all.

As for the DVD-insert booklet, there is an 8-page character guide and glossary.

When I first watched the OAV “Super Robot Wars Original Generation” and saw the various mecha teams within the Earth Federation, I wondered how long it would take to see these teams in the television series.

In episode 6, we are quickly introduced to all of them fighting amidst the chaos. If anything, the main focus of this third volume is the skilled ATX team.

Like the OAV, in the TV series the ATX team are just awesome in their fighting skills and their ability to wipe out their enemy in a variety of ways. But even more impressive are the mecha robots the ATX Team pilots, especially Sanger Zonvolt’s Grungust Type-D, a massive super robot with unparalleled output and attack capabilities.

I was very pleased with this overall volume. The first two have been pretty good but third really kicks things up into high gear and the action was just incredible.

It’s going to be interesting to see how the war develops overtime and how the Earth Federation can contend with the powerful Divine Crusaders.

If there is one thing that can be faulted in the eyes of a viewer is that too many characters are being introduced and if you are not paying attention, I can see some people getting lost and not knowing which team or side that pilot is on.

But I think the intention was to show that the Earth Defense Force has its share of assault teams and show them in battle and then take its time for character development for the SRX Team and the ATX team members. And with only eight episodes, its still a bit early in the series. So, there is much storytelling and character development left in the series.

But overall, if you have been curious about picking this series up and you are a true mecha fan, you do not want to miss “Super Robot Wars OG: Divine Wars”. It’s an awesome series and I look forward to volume 4!

+ “SUPER ROBOT WARS” in an animated television series based on a long running video game… A long time coming!

+ Mecha battle fest! Cool animated battles and cool ideas of weapon utilization.

+ Well done voice acting with many of the original voice talent from the video games involved.

- For those who need and prefer an English dub, this DVD is ONLY Japanese with English subtitles.

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

Super Robot Wars Original Generation: Divine Wars Vol. 2 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

July 10, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“The second exciting volume of ‘Super Robot Wars OG’ features more robots and more explosive battles that mecha fans will truly love!”

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: Super Robot Wars Original Generation: Divine Wars Vol. 2

DURATION: 72 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: COLOR/ MPEG-2 / DVD-5 / NTSC / Japanese Audio (Dolby Digital Stereo) / English Subtitles / 16:9 LB

CATALOG #: BUDH0130

COMPANY: Bandai Visual / Honneamise

RATING: 13 and up

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

STAFF INFORMATION:

ORIGINAL STORY: SR Production Team

DIRECTOR: Kakudo Hiroyuki

SUPERVISOR & SERIES PLANNER: Terada Takanobu

CHARACTER CONCEPTION: Kohno Sachiko

CHARACTER DESIGN: Ikeda Yuji

MAIN MECHANICAL DESIGNERS: Katoki Hajime, Miyatake Kazutaka, Okawara Kunio, Saito Kazue

ART DIRECTOR: Kato Kenji

PRODUCED By: SWROG PROJECT

CAST INFORMATION:

The popular Super Robot Wars OG takes to an all-new battlefield!

An encroaching alien menace… And the steel ghost that answers the call of a slumbering power…

It is the era of the so-called New Calendar. A foreign body called Meteorite 3 crash-lands on Aidoneus Island bringing with it the materials and science of what mankind dubs Extra Over Technology. The arrival of this technology is proof of the existence of extraterrestrial life and data recovered from Meteor-3 indicates it is using a form of articulated mobile weaponry. The fate of the earth sphere will be irrevocably altered.

The last volume was literally the introduction to Ryusei, the experienced robot video game player and hardcore mecha otaku who joined the military after utilizing one of their robots illegally.

But it’s no sweat because Ryusei has always dreamed of becoming a pilot right?

In the second volume of “Super Robot Wars OG: Divine Wars”, Ryusei has to learn quick that piloting his own real mecha is no longer a game.

He is no longer by himself, he must work as part of the team and that one careless move can cost the lives of not just him but also his teammates.

In episode 3 titled “Stage 03: The Third Man”, we are introduced to the third member of the team, Rai Branstein. A gifted pilot from a famous military family who doesn’t seem to thrilled that his teammate Ryusei was not brought up in the military and that Ryusei’s inexperience and poor decision making may harm the team.

In episode 4 titled “Stage 04: The Wings of Disaster”, after the horrible test battle against the Haruma Troops, Ryusei is learning things the hard way. His poor judgment not only made the team lose but most of all, in front of everyone, he is deemed unworthy for battle. How will Ryusei prove to the team and the military that they can depend on him?

Also, we get a look at Ryusei’s video game fighting rival Tenzan Nakajima who pilots a “Lion” and shows off his piloting skills for EOTI. His piloting skills are exceptional but a bit of a short fuse and not listening to direct orders. Similar to Ryusei but better piloting skills and more deadly.

In episode 5 titled “Stage 05: The Guests from Beyond”, the trio of Captain Aya Kobayashi, Ryusei and Rai Branstein will now be called the SRX Team and the team will go on it’s first major off-base mission

VIDEO:

AUDIO:

SPECIAL FEATURES:

As for the DVD-insert booklet, there is an 8-page character guide and glossary.

One of the first things you will notice with this second volume is that it comes with a total of three episodes (the first volume features two).

But the pace of this volume is definitely a lot more intense as there are more battles and also character development, especially among the three members of the SRX Team and how they need to come together, work together to become victorious.

And then outside of the SRX team, you get to see the EOTI Organization taking on calculating risks and how the Earth Federation Army is responding to threats, which in this volume, they have no idea who is provoking the attacks.

Volume 2 definitely features a bit more action compared to volume 1 but so far, quite enjoyable.

You do get to meet more characters but at this time, they were just brief introductions, possibly leading to more focus on these individuals in later episodes.

Also, good insight to see how the military is dealing with new technology, moving away from tank squadrons to mecha robots and how long-standing military officers feel about the new technology and its pilots.

But all in all, enjoyed volume two. Cool mecha battles and cool storyline thus far. Good character development among the core three members and obviously setting things up, for something probably explosive in the next or upcoming volumes.

If you are a mecha fan, definitely a series to check out!

+ “SUPER ROBOT WARS” in an animated television series based on a long running video game… A long time coming!

+ Mecha battle fest! Cool animated battles and cool ideas of weapon utilization.

+ Well done voice acting with many of the original voice talent from the video games involved.

- For those who need and prefer an English dub, this DVD is ONLY Japanese with English subtitles.

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

Super Robot Wars Original Generation: Divine Wars Vol. 1 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

June 29, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“A highly anticipated animated TV series based on the popular ‘Super Robot Taisen Original Generation’ video games finally has its release in the US. And the first volume features mecha battles galore! A cool opening start for the series!”

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: Super Robot Wars Original Generation: Divine Wars Vol. 1

DURATION: 48 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: COLOR/ MPEG-2 / DVD-5 / NTSC / Japanese Audio (Dolby Digital Stereo) / English Subtitles / 16:9 LB

CATALOG #: BUDH0129

COMPANY: Bandai Visual / Honneamise

RATING: 13 and up

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

STAFF INFORMATION:

ORIGINAL STORY: SR Production Team

DIRECTOR: Kakudo Hiroyuki

SUPERVISOR & SERIES PLANNER: Terada Takanobu

CHARACTER CONCEPTION: Kohno Sachiko

CHARACTER DESIGN: Ikeda Yuji

MAIN MECHANICAL DESIGNERS: Katoki Hajime, Miyatake Kazutaka, Okawara Kunio, Saito Kazue

ART DIRECTOR: Kato Kenji

PRODUCED By: SWROG PROJECT

CAST INFORMATION:

The popular Super Robot Wars OG takes to an all-new battlefield!

An encroaching alien menace… And the steel ghost that answers the call of a slumbering power…

As mentioned on previous review for “Super Robot Wars: Original Generation” the OAV series, I have always been a fan of the video game series, especially the Original Generation Game Boy Advance games that came out in the US.

Of course, the video game series has been out for way over a decade but has never been localized because the games featured on mecha from a variety of different manga and anime licenses.

But fortunately with “Super Robot Wars Original Generation”, it would be the first “Super Robots” related game to not feature licensed characters or mecha and thus, it made things easier for a US release via video games and now with the anime series courtesy of Bandai Visual/Honneamise.

With “Super Robot OG: Divine Wars”, the main story takes place seven years since Meteorite-3 slammed the Earth and the storyline focuses on a teenager named Date Ryusei.

In episode 1 titled “Stage 01: The Steel Ghost”, Ryusei is a big fan of robots and with his mother sick in the hospital, he’s going through growing pains and leaning towards not going to college, so he can work and help pay off his mother’s medical bills.

Accompanying Ryusei is his high-school classmate Mizuha Kusuha. A calm, quiet girl who has her sights set on become a nurse.

Ryusei is focused on pretty much winning the robot fighting video game competitions called “Burning PT” which he has made it to the finals.

Unknown to Ryusei, he is being closely monitored by Ingram Plissken (the commander of SRX Team and the major figure in the SRX Project) and Kobayashi Aya (leader of the team). Both are wondering if Ryusei will display certain fighting talents during his video game match.

Unfortunately, he loses the match and Mizuha tries to console him afterwards. That was until a mysterious object crashes into the stadium and a swarm of bug-shaped robots start attacking.

Mizuha is injured by falling debris and with a big slab of debris. Ryusei needs to get help and out of nowhere, a mass-produced mecha machine known as Gespenst MK-II Type TT happens to show up.

Concerned for his friend, Ryusei jumps into the Gespenst and realizes that the controls are similar to his video game controls. Ryusei then gets into battle to protect his friend from the bug robots known as the Megiloat (alien robots belonging to an extraterrestrial intelligence known as the Aerogaters).

For the second episode “Stage 02: Awakening Power”, the battle between Ryusei and the swarm of bug robots continue and during the battle, Ryusei unleashes an attack that destroys them. For someone who is an amateur, what kind of talents does Ryusei possess?

Ingram Plissken and the SRX Team arrest Ryusei (for stealing their mecha) and offers him a choice. Join the military as a pilot or go to prison (or worse).

The first two episodes of volume 1 primarily focuses on Ryusei Date, if anything, “Super Robot Wars OG: Divine Wars” featured straightforward mecha battles and actually an entertaining storyline that kept me interested.

For those familiar with the OAV series, there are many other pilots that are part of the series, so I’m curious to see how the storyline unfolds in introducing these characters and of the varying teams, how many people will be focused on in terms of the storyline, let alone the storylines that focus on the various industries who are competing to build mecha’s to protect humankind.

VIDEO:

AUDIO:

SPECIAL FEATURES:

As for the DVD-insert booklet, there is an 8-page prologue and character guide for the first volume.

If anything, I’m actually very stoked to have a “Super Robots Wars” animated series released in the US. It took forever for the video game series to come out in the US, so I’m enjoying the fact that Bandai Visual/Honneamise has released it in the US.

The negating factors for a lot of people may be that it doesn’t have English dubbing and the fact that the first volume has two episodes (out of nine volumes). Personally, I’ve been watching anime for so long that I could easily remember when I purchased anime LD’s and would get only one episode and paid a premium price for it. But I can understand some people who were hoping for an English dub or more episodes per volume.

All in all, I’m excited about how this series will play out from beginning to the end. For “Super Robot Wars” fans, an animation based on the video game series is a long time coming.

So far, volume one has been entertaining and wished there were special features (like the OAV series) and more episodes but nevertheless, enjoyed it.

I look forward to watching the second volume!

+ “SUPER ROBOT WARS” in an animated television series… A long time coming!

+ Mecha battle fest! Cool animated battles and cool ideas of weapon utilization.

+ Well done voice acting with many of the original voice talent from the video games involved.

- For those who need and prefer an English dub, this DVD is ONLY Japanese with English subtitles.

- Only two episodes on the first volume

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

The WINGS of REAN Vol. 1 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

June 22, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“Tomino Yoshiyuki returns with a a six-episode ONA (Original Net Animation) spinning off from his ‘Aural Battler Dunbine’ series. The first volume really doesn’t need for one to be familiar with the original series but it is a series that requires your attention because its one of those series that thrusts you into a setting where there are so many things happening all at once.”

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: The WINGS of REAN Vol. 1

DURATION: Approx. 48 minutes + 20 minutes (special features)

DVD INFORMATION: COLOR/NTSC / 16:9 LB / Japanese Audio (Dolby Digital 5.1 ch and Dolby Digital Stereo / English subtitles

CATALOG #: BUDH0108

COMPANY: Bandai Visual/Honneamise

RATING: Suggested 13 and Up

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

STAFF INFORMATION:

DIRECTOR: Tomino Yoshiyuki

VISUAL CONCEPT CREATOR: okama

CHARACTER DESIGN: Kudoh Masashi

MECHANICAL DESIGN: Shinohara Tamotsu, Sakura Takumi

COLOR DESIGN: Yokoyama Sayoko

ART DIRECTOR: Ikeda Shigemi

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Oogami Youichi

MUSIC: Higuchi Yasuo

SOUND DIRECTOR: Wakabayashi Kazuhiro

PRODUCED BY SUNRISE, BANDIA VISUAL, BANDAI CHANNEL

Two decades after “Aura Battler Dunbine”, legendary director Yoshiyuki Tomino returns to the land of Byston Well!

The Aura Road has been opened… As two unfamiliar worlds collide in a fog of war, the Wings of Rean call for the holy warrior. Thus begins an epic tale of fantasy and romance!

Terrorists have attacked the US military base in Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. When it’s discovered that the culprits are two of Aesap Suzuki’s friends, Aesap is also mistakenly hunted by US forces and the Japanese police. As the innocent Aesap escapes arrest, he spots of a flying warship suddenly emerging from the luminous ocean. A the bow is a young woman with wings of light on her feet. Her name is Lyukus, daughter of King Sakomizu of Byston Well – a world located where land and sea meet. “My father is a Japanese named Sakomizu Shinjiro,” she says. “You will help me, won’t you, Aesap Suzuki?” Unwittingly drawn into the war of an unknown land, Aesap can only wonder what fate the future holds for him-and the world he thought he knew.

Tomino Yoshiyuki is a director and writer that is a person who I highly regard his talent for creating such series such as “Mobile Suit Gundam” (and many more series under the Gundam monicker), “Heavy Metal L-Gaim” and “Aura Battler Dunbine”.

With the latter, Yoshiyuki introduced to viewers back in 1984, a new world known as Byston Well (a world that exists between the land and ocean) and from the 49-episode series of “Aura Battler Dunbine”, in 1988 with the three episode OAV series “Aura Battler Dunbine: The Tale of Neo Byston” and an OAV with the 1999 “Tales from Byston Well: Garzey’s Wing”.

In 2005, Tomino returned with the six episode ONA (Original Net Animation) series titled “The WINGS of REAN” which is based on a light novel of his published back in 1983 through 1986.

Having only seen the first DVD volume of “Aura Battler Dunbine” (originally released in the US by ADV Films and probably won’t watch it since vol. 12 is one of the most expensive anime DVD’s and has one of the lowest print runs for an anime volume in the US), I was happy to watch “The WINGS of REAN vol. 1″ and know that I didn’t need to own the previous anime series or side-stories.

If anything, my main reason for wanting to watch this anime series is because frankly, I think that as long as Tomino Yoshiyuki releases an anime series, I’m going to be one of the first Americans to purchase his anime directorial or written works.

So, after watching the first episode titled “Uninvited One”, I have to admit that I was really scratching my head and was a bit confused. The episode wasn’t cerebral but you are immediately thrown into a war where you see a young group of kids who want to rebel against the Japanese government working with the US and China and acquiring weapons to either make a statement or become terrorirst against their own country.

While the police go after these young kids, you learn that Suzuki Aesap is not just part of the group but his father is a high ranking military officer.

That’s when things start to go a bit haywire as these huge spacecraft start to come out of the ocean and a girl named Lyukus has the ability to fly through her boots that sprouts wings (aka the WINGS of REAN) and give her the ability to fly. Lyukus happens to be the daugther of King Sakomizu of Byston Well.

Through all the confusion, we see Aesap and Lyukus together, trying to survive but all these other characters wanting to go to war. Sound confusing?

Well throw into the mix that aircraft from the US military start attacking the spacecraft and all of a sudden, everyone is sucked into some portal and into a new world and everyone then you have these ships from another world battling each other, US and Japanese government (mainly US) taking on the various spacecraft and introduced to people of those spacecraft and really episode 1 ends up to be an episode that really didn’t offer any character development.

You’re literally watching multiple battles ensue and I have to admit, I found myself lost.

In episode 2 titled “The King of Hojo”, after a US jet flies directly towards one of the alien spacecraft, everyone around is sucked into Byston Well.

The episode then focuses on Lyukus and Aesap being joined by a fairy like creature known as the Ferario and many people not too thrilled that Lyukus brought the WINGS of REAN (which so far you learn that these are boots that grow wings and allow a person to fly) to the surface world (real-time Earth) and that there is an expectance of Aesap to be the next holy warrior and should take command of the WINGS of REAN.

You also learn that Lyukus, the daughter of King Sakomizu is rebelling against her father. Eventually, he has been a changed man since marrying his second wife whose tribe have helped him build the Aura Battlers (a special type of mecha suit). From the holly warrior who created the country of Hojo, her father has now become a tyrant.

VIDEO:

Since this DVD release is from Bandai Visual, and BV releases are known for its quality, the video is 16:8LB and presented with a framerate of 1.78:1. As for the animation, the animation was very colorful and the character designs are by Kudoh Masashi, known for his work his character design work for “Aquarian Age”, a few episodes of “Planetes” and “Witch Hunter Robin” but mainly for the popular series “Bleach”. The mechanical designs were done by Shinohara Tamotsu (known for his live action work with the “Kamen Rider” series and creature designs for “Samurai Deeper Kyo”) and Sakura Takumi (who has worked for Tomino in series such as “Turn A Gundam” and “Brain Powered”).

AUDIO:

With the amount of battles happening in the first episode, that is where you start to enjoy the audio from Banda Visual releases. Again, known for their quality for encoding at 448 kbps, “The WINGS of REAN” sounds very cool ala Dolby Digital 5.1.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

I have to admit that there was one special feature that I just had to see and that was the “Cross Talk” segment which featured director Tomino Yoshiyuki and singer ANNA TSUCHIYA (who sings the ending theme “My Fate”).

For those who are not familiar with Tsuchiya’s music and how she is during interviews, she’s an artist that really speaks her mind out, a professional who knows how to communicate effectively of flirtation, sexuality and darkness through her music.

And interesting enough, Tsuchiya is upfront of how she feels about Tomino and all in all, a very interesting interview with both individuals. If anything, I enjoyed Tsuchiya’s candidness and Tomino talking about how difficult it was to come up with the animation for ANNA TSUCHIYA’s song with only two weeks to work.

A very cool interview with both individuals.

Bonus features also included are the textless ending and promotional trailer (English subtitled).

And last but not least, with every Bandai Visual release is a cool informative insert and in this case, you get a 32-page booklet that showcases overlook details from the anime series, an interview with Tomino on drawing the storyboards, the drama, the characters, fast-paced storytelling. There is also an interview wtih Kudoh Masashi and his approach to the character designs. Also, an informative piece on the characters which helps for the appreciation of the series.

To end the booklet, there is a rough sketch gallery by Kudoh and storyboard extracts from episode 1 and 2, which I am so happy to see included in this first volume of the DVD.

I’m not going to lie to you. My first view of the first episode left me with question marks and I was confused. I felt that maybe I needed to stop and watch “Aura Battler Dunbine” to understand what the heck was going on because I was lost.

Fortunately, after the second episode, things started to make sense and I’m glad that the frenzy of battle and too many characters introduced, episode 2 started to focus a lot on the main two characters Lyukus and Aesap.

I also have to admit that on the second viewing, I started to appreciate it more after reading the insert booklet. I have to be thankful for Bandai Visual for their continuing effort to include these booklets because they really do put you in the shoes of the director and character designer and see things from their perspective.

Also, how the booklet introduces the characters and explains things that you may have not picked up in the first two episodes.

I would expect that the majority of people who are watching the ONA series are fans of Tomino’s work and know that it takes patiences when watching his animated series.

For me, that’s quite fine because so far I enjoy watching each series director and written by Tomino that I just find very intellectual, very entertaining and all out awesome!

The first volume of “The WINGS of REAN”, I may have been a bit confused with the first episode but I’m sticking with this series because really, Tomino’s works have been special and I look forward to watching how this one ends.

I look forward to volume 2!

+ Another story from “Aura Battler Dunbine” written and directed by Tomino Yoshiyuki

+ Cool video and audio and an informative booklet provided again by Bandai Visual/Honneamise. Gives you appreciation of the work of the director and character designer.

+ Very good voice acting

+ A rare interview to see both Tomino Yoshiyuki and music artist ANNA TSUCHIYA. An unusual pairing for an interview but quite enjoyable!

- No English dubs for those who need that

- First episode is very confusing

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

Haruka ~Beyond the Stream of Time~ – A Tale of the Eight Guardians Vol. 3 (a J!-ENT anime DVD Review)

June 18, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“The third volume of “HARUKA ~Beyond the Stream of Time~ continues to draw me in with its beautiful, lush settings, beautiful animation, interesting characters and whimsical storytelling.”

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: Haruka ~Beyond the Stream of Time~ – A Tale of the Eight Guardians Vol. 3

DURATION: Approx. 74 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: COLOR/NTSC / Japanese Audio (Dolby Digital 5.1 ch and Dolby Digital Stereo / English subtitles

CATALOG #: BUDH0145

COMPANY: Bandai Visual/Honneamise

RATING: Suggested 13 and Up

Release Date: June 24th

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

STAFF INFORMATION:

DIRECTOR: Tsunaki Aki

SERIES PLANNER: Okazaki Junko

CHARACTER DESIGN: Ohnuki Kenichi, Kotani Khyoko

ART DIRECTOR: Sakamoto Nobuhito

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Arakawa Kousuke

COLOR SETTING: Ario Yukiko

SOUND DIRECTOR: Honda Yasunori

MUSIC: Hirano Yoshihisa

EDITOR: Morita Seiji

Original Story by Tohko Mizuno (serialized in LaLa and Lala DX by HAKUSENSHA)

Opening Song: “Haruka Kimi no Moto e” performed by Morimura Tenma (Seki Tomokazu), Inori (Takahashi Naozumi), Nagareyama Shimon (Miyata Kouki)

Ending Song: “flowin’ -Ukigumo-” performed by Sefle (Akikawa Yuu), Ran (Kuwashima Houko)

Animation Created by YUMETA COMPANY

VOICE ACTORS/ACTRESSES:

Motomiya Akane – Kawakami Tomoko

Minamoto-no Yorihisa – Miki Shin-Ichiro

Morimura Tenma – Seki Tomokazu

Nagareyama Shimon – Miyata Kouki

Fujiwara-no Takamichi – Nakahara Shigeru

Tachibana no Tomohmasa – Inoue Kazuhiko

Eisen – Hoshi Soichiro

Abe-no Yasuaki – Ishida Akira

Princess Fuji – Otani Ikue

Akram – Okiayu Ryotaro

Ran – Kawashima Houko

Abe-no Seimei – Matsumoto Dai

Little Tengu – Shimakta Junko

Tengu – Taniyama Kisyo

“I’m sorry but please don’t look at me for a moment…”

Akane takes her first steps as the Priestess of the Dragon God, while Akram and his Demon clan plot to stop her!

The third volume of “HARUKA ~Beyond the Stream of Time~ A Tale of the Eight Guardians” continues as the search for the remaining guardians continues.

The sixth episode titled “The Vice Minister and the Imperial Palace Demon”, we are introduced to Vice Minister of Civl Affairs Fujiwara-no-Takamichi who meets a dancer named Shirin.

All the nobleman are intoxicated by her beautiful figure and graceful performance (with the exception of Fujiwara-no Takamichi) but of course, it is all part of Akram’s plan as Shirin is a demon who will try to infiltrate the Imperial Palace.

While Akane is granted an audience with the Emperor, she overhears the hypnotized nobles talking about assassinating the Emperor. Will Akane be able to get help in time or will she be caught by Shirin?

Episode 7 is titled “The Night Cry of the Nue”, a white-winged vengeful spirit has appeared at Daimonji Mountain and threatening people there. For Yorihisa, he knows the “Nue” too well. The Nue, since as a child, has been Yorihisa’s target to kill but at the same time, because of their battles, he has looked at him as a friend. But the last living member of the Nue has never been violent? Why is it threatening humans?

Nevertheless, Akane and the vengeful spirit are sent to drive out the Nue and for Yorihisa, a last encounter with his friend/rival.

Episode 8 is titled “The Flame of Demon Hatred” and the storyline focuses on Inori (a character introduced in the first episode). We learn that Inori lives a tough life as an apprentice for a blacksmith and protects his sick elder sister. While delivering a sword to a samurai, Inori meets Akane for the first time but their meeting is interrupted when the demon Shirin returns.

The third volume of “HARUKA” continues to be enjoyable so far. The search for the remaining guardians continues and for this volume, two more are found.

If anything, the focal point in this volume is more on three of the guardians. Fujiwara-no-Takamichi, Yorihisa and Inori.

One of the things I wondered is how much character development can be done, with so many characters involved in the actual storyline. For episode 6, it was good to know Fujiwara-no-Takamichi’s side. Not necessarily a boring character but a character that seems dedicated to his work and keen on logic.

As for Yorihisa, again we see a sensitive side of the character. A dedicated warrior and guardian but obviously a man who very much wants to protect Akane.

As for Inori, he has witnessed countless murders of villagers by the demons that he is literally bent on ridding them.

But in episode 8, it was interesting when Shimon (Akane’s blonde and blue-eyed friend) is accused of being a demon. Reason being is that in Japan, a person with blonde hair and blue eyes is completely different from the norm and also the only person with blonde and blue eyes so far in the series outside of Shimon is the main demon himself, Akram. So, it is going to be interesting to see how Shimon deals with the prejudice towards him, as everyone is going to think he is a demon but also, how he is going to defend himself and even Akane since he is pretty much the weakest of the Guardians due to his fear and his emotions.

VIDEO:

Video is presented in anamorphic 16:9:LB and presented in 1:71:1 aspect ratio. I watched this DVD twice now on my 52″ inch television and on my 24″ iMac. And as I have mentioned before in my reviews, “HARUKA” has beautiful conceptual art when it comes to the backgrounds and just overall, how the whole land just looks lush. Colors galore! And I also enjoy the character designs. The men of course are quite Bishonen but the overall costumes to the colorful settings of the backgrounds mesh well with each other. Beautiful anime.

AUDIO:

As most of Bandai Visual releases, there is no English dub track and as most Bandai Visual releases, the encoding of audio for their DVD’s are top notch as audio is encoded at 448 kbps and clear audio. As for voice acting, I have been so far, very pleased with the Japanese voice acting for the characters.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The “HARUKA” DVD’s do not really come with many special features. Mainly featured on each volume is bonus footage titled “The Demon’s Soliloquy” which is more or less Akram’s voice and his rendition of the teaser trailers.

And as with each volume, there is a four fold, double paged booklet which features episode synopsis, images, character profiles, staff interview with Honda Yasunori (sound director) and a section titled “Anthology of the Eight Guardians – Poems Unraveled” which features the poetry shown at the end of an episode.

“HARUKA ~Beyond the Stream of Time~” continues to be anime series that has not disappointed me at all.

So, far the first three volumes have featured the search for the remaining guardians, if anything, the only thing we didn’t see on this volume, which I don’t mind so much at all, is Akram and Akane together.

What we do see is the demon Shirin who is dedicated to her master but jealous because he has so much interest towards the Priestess.

But it’s good to see how each episode has had some spacing, in terms of the search for the remaining guardians and in this case, more character development for Yorihisa.

All in all, “HARUKA ~Beyond the Stream of Time~” continues to be a beautiful, well-acted and enjoyable series to follow so far and look forward to how it’s leading up to the possible battle between the forces of good and evil. Not sure how it’s going to play out but I look forward to how the series is progressing so far.

A series worth checking out!

+ Beautiful artwork and character designs and continuing Bandai Visual/Honneamise quality for audio

+ Really entertaining storyline so far. I really dig the character development for the series.

+ Really good voice acting from top talent from Japan and easy to ready English subtitles

- Unfortunately no English dub for those that need their anime with that option.

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

Demon Prince ENMA Vol. 2 (a J!-ENT anime DVD Review)

June 15, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

The second and final volume of the “Demon Prince ENMA” OAV series takes a chilling turn as the series showcases less on the main characters and focuses on five individuals who try to survive in an inescapable mansion and avoid being killed by a demon.

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: Demon Prince ENMA Vol. 2 (aka Kikoushi Enma)

DURATION: Approx. 85 minutes + 12 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: COLOR/NTSC / Japanese Audio (Dolby Digital 5.1 ch and Dolby Digital Stereo / English subtitles

CATALOG #: BUDH0112

COMPANY: Bandai Visual/Honneamise

DIRECTOR: Kanbe Mamoru

ORIGINAL STORY: Nagai Go

ANIMATION CREATION: BRIAN’S BASE

RATED: 16 & Up – Contains violence and brief nudity. Parental guidance is suggested.

STAFF INFORMATION:

DIRECTORY: Tanaka Ryo

SCREENPLAY: YoshiokaTakawo

STORYBOARDS & EPISODE DIRECTOR:: Kanbe Mamoru

PLANNING: DYNAMIC PLANNING

ORIGINAL STORY: Nagai Go

ANIMATION CREATION: BRAIN’S BASE

CAST INFORMATION:

Enma – Tokumoto Yukitoshi

Yukihime – Chiba Saeko

Kapaeru – Saito Setsuji

Grandpa Chapeauji – Nagashima Yuichi

Benten Yuri: Kobayashi Sanae

Abashiri Naojiro: Hosoi Osamu

Known for such masterpieces as “Mazinger Z” and “Cutey Honey”, the genius manga artist Go Nagai’s later animation is a fascinating and stylish, erotic thriller. In the second volume of this series, Go Nagai’s popular character, Enma tries to get to the bottom of a series of mysterious incidents caused by demons. With alarmingly realistic 5.1ch sound and under the assured direction of “Elfen Lied’s” Mamoru Kanbe, the fiercely beautiful images makes this a chilling, hair raising sensation!

Born of fire, Demon Prince Enma of the Underworld has come to the human world and destroyed lots of demons but there seems to be no end to them.

Now the stench of demons seems to be closing in on Enma and his group. One after another, victims are swallowed up by the darkness of their hearts. Enma is consumed with a furious rage. Whose darkness has this enemy demon concealed itself in? Having submerged in the darkness of the heart, the demon has grown and is finally prepared to show its true self! A special person has been consumed by this darkness and it can only be repelled by Enma’s flame!

I really enjoyed the first volume of “Demon Prince ENMA” because it had a good balance of comedy and a good balance of creepy, horror and the characters of Enma, Yukihime, Kappa and Grandpa Chapeauji solving mysteries was very fun to watch.

The series has its roots ala “Dororon Enma” back in 1973 when the group were much younger and Enma and Yukihime were children and more of an anime targeted towards children back in the day.

With the first volume, Go Nagai’s dark and humorous style is very evident and with volume 2, things take a crazy shift and becomes more like an American horror film ala “SAW” and “FINAL DESTINATION”

Not only are people getting killed by the monsters but a major character is killed as well.

In episode 3 titled “Karuma: Misery Swirling Demon”, a demon has made it’s move, killing some familiar faces from the first volume and also a major character. Five individuals are brought together and end up in a mansion. The inescapable mansion has no windows, keeps changing each time and its quite evident, there is a monster that feeds on their darkness and is out to kill them.

In episode 4 titled “Enma”, the surviving members of the inescapable mansion try to fight to stay alive and Enma makes his move against the demon.

GRAPHICS:

In the first volume, there were a lot of outdoor scenery but in the final two volumes, everything is taking place in a mansion. The mansion is shown quite a bit ala CG but I really enjoyed the first volume because it takes place in a variety of areas but nevertheless, the final volume is quite creepy and full of violence. A lot of darkness, blood, etc. The video features a 1.78:1 transfer and is anamorphic 16:9LB with the special features in 4:3.

AUDIO:

As usual, Bandai Visual continues their audiophile treatment with a 448 kbps encoding for the 2.0 and 5.1 mix. The voice acting by the actors are very done, definitely showcasing the emotions of fear throughout the two episodes. But that creepy ambiance via audio is still done quite well!

EXTRAS:

Special features include voice actor interviews wtih S. Sato who plays Kapaeru and M. Yamamoto who plays Sat-chan), Cho who plays Grandpa Chapeauji and S. Kobayashi who plays Yuri. This was a blast to watch and to hear the characters talk about their scenes of the final volume.

Included with the first volume DVD is a 16-page booklet which feature character profiles, settings and even short manga pages of by Nagai and short story by Hayasaka Ritsuko and others.

I really enjoyed this anime. Nagai is just a master in creating mecha, cute girl and dark anime storylines and with “Demon Prince ENMA”, it’s definitely an interesting twist to the “detective agency” style of anime of ghostbuster type of teams.

Enma and team are not there to save the world or humanity, they just want to retrieve their demons and bring them back to the underworld and if they resist, well they get destroyed.

So, for those who are expecting the victims to find solace by a typical feel-good happy ending which you tend to see from anime with a hero or heroes coming to save the day, then prepare for the Nagai twist because what you think is probably not what you’re going to expect.

Volume 1 was exciting and humorous because it featured more monster hunting and the main characters of Enma, Yukihime and Kapaeru much more.

This volume focuses more on the characters we met from the first volume and how five of them must fight from being killed by a demon in a creepy mansion.

Volume 2 by no means is a weak story. If anything, the storyline gets more creepy, darker and more violent and less humorous.

I was also surprised by the death of one of the main characters. And speaking of the main characters, I admit that I was a bit surprised to see less of the main characters but its understandable why it was done and it was part of the strategy to capture/destroy the demon.

The final ending was a bit of a surprise though. I don’t want to say it was a let-down but it’s one of those endings where its left interpreted by the viewer and looking online to see how others view the final minutes, it seems they are also perplexed by the final moments.

Nevertheless, I got what I expected from a Nagai horror anime series. The first volume was truly exciting and a great balance of horror and humor but the second volume becomes focused on more of the creepy, horror and violence and I suppose, missing that humor was a wee bit of a letdown since the first two episodes had so much of it.

I guess it felt like an another American horror film cliche of a group of people together and everyone tries not to get murdered.

Nontheless, the final volume was still enjoyable to watch. It was definitely creepy!

+ Definitely a Go Nagai story

+ A twist on the ghostbuster/detective agency types of anime with the main detective team being anti-heroes in some way.

+ A horror anime OAV series not afraid to showcase perverted humor

+ Very good voice acting!

+ Creepy sound utilizing the digital 5.1 channels really well

+ For some, the final moments of the episode

- No English dub for those who need or prefer there anime with that included

- The first volume had a great balance between horror and humor but vol. 2 focuses more on horror, fear and creepiness and rarely any humor.

- Second volume was enjoyable to watch but since it focuses more on the side-characters and less on the primary characters, the storyline plays out like an overdone modern American horror film

- For some, the final moments of the final episode…

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM MS IGLOO vol. 2 – Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO – Apocalypse 0079 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

June 2, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM MS IGLOO – Apocalypse 007″ features very awesome, action-packed CG visuals in conjunction with a captivating, enjoyable and tragic storyline that deserves a special place in the hearts of MS Gundam “Universal Century” fans.

DVD TITLE: MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM MS IGLOO – Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO – Apocalypse 0079

DURATION: Approx. 85 minutes + 8 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: COLOR/NTSC / Japanese Audio (Dolby Digital 5.1 ch and Dolby Digital Stereo / English subtitles

CATALOG #: BUDH0127

COMPANY: Bandai Visual/Honneamise

DIRECTOR: Imanishi Takashi

SCREENWRITER: (ep. 2 and 3) Ohkuma Tomohide, (ep. 2) Ohnogi Hiroshi

Original Story by Yatate Hajime, Tomino Yosiyuki (from Mobile Suit Gundam)

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

The war for independence, later called the One-Year War, is reaching its end…

Side 3, the farthest colony form Earth, proclaimed themselves as the Principality of Zeon and declared war against the Earth Federation.

Despite what the members of the 603 think, the war is reaching its end.

The 603 Technical Evaluation Unit’s long, harsh journey is reaching its end as well…

What I love about the Mobile Suit Gundam series (most importantly the “Universal Century” timeline) is how intricate the detail of the toll war has taken on both sides.

I remember after watching the original “Mobile Suit Gundam” films, I have always looked as the Principality of Zeon as just the worst enemy. As compared to the Empire of “Star Wars” or the Zentradi of “Macross”. People who have no regard to the life of mankind and just bent on destruction.

But as we start to watch other series such as “Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket”, you started to get this feeling of suffering.

With the first volume of “MS IGLOO” ala “The Hidden One Year War”, we got a glimpse of a side of the “Principality of Zeon” through the eyes of Engineer Lieutenant Oliver May.

Primarily of his goal of obtaining data on prototype war machines and weapons which more or less shows the heroes of who put their lives on the line for their Principality of Zeon but mostly for the advancement of technology in the war.

With each episode, we have seen tragedy. But with the lives of those who have perished in the war, has given them hope.

We saw a human side, not a dark or twisted side of the crew of the Jotunheim. Joining Lt. Oliver May is Captain Martin Prochnow, a rational decision-maker and commensurate captain. Special Operations Lt. Commander Monique Cadillac, who supervises the tests of the prototype weapons and not exactly well-liked by the crew because of her brash tongue and the other crew members on the Jotunheim.

“MS IGLOO” shows us the other side of war, the side of the Principality of Zeon and how, even the crew learn about how they are used in the war and also, how individuals feel about the war and the Earth Federation.

I would have never pictured myself caring for the characters that belonged on the side of the Zeon but “MS IGLOO” does a fine job of taking you on a ride with the crew and just overall getting another perspective, especially against the Earth Federation.

For the first episode of vol. 2 titled “In the Skies of Jaburo, I Saw the Sea”, the story focuses on Sub Lt. Werner Holbein who is a marine in charge of operating the Mobile Diver System. Holbein comes from the support ship Muspelheim which was shot down by the Earth Federation.

Similar to the last volume, there is a continuation of testing of the prototype weapons and of course, the theme of tragedy.

But the most intriguing episodes are the final two of “MS IGLOO Vol. 2″.

Episode 2 is titled “Cross the Path of Light” which introduces us to Commodore Herbert von Kuspen who is an experienced officer and becomes the main person in charge of the Jotunheim.

While waiting for enforcements to arrive, you learn that who was sent to the Jotunheim are not experienced soldiers. They are young Zeon soldiers who must pilot the mass-produced weapon “Oggo”. One of the young soldiers is Chief Petty Officer Erwin Cadillac (the 16-year-old brother of Lt. Commander Monique Cadillac), who is chosen as one of the three to take on the Earth Federation’s RB-79 Ball (the mass produced pods).

Episode 3, the final episode on vol. 2 is titled “Spirits Returning to the Cries of Thunder”. Because of the lack of experienced soldiers around (many have been killed in battle and the reinforcements for the Jotunheim are young teenagers), the main character, Lt. Oliver May known for collecting data on the prototype weapons, has now been ordered to pilot the Combat Supportive Type Mobile Armor “Big-Rang” and head out to the warzone. The Big-Rang is a weapon that serves also a refilling station for the pods.

This episode is literally the final battle and and the main characters become major players in war against the Earth Federation. Who lives? Who dies? Definitely an action-packed episode.

So, without spoiling this second volume, the storyline was well-done in my opinion. I really enjoyed seeing another perspective of the war and what was accomplished by the team in six OAV’s (two volumes), I am very pleased with the overall storyline.

It appears that for the second volume, not sure if it was necessarily a boost in technology or what. But the second volume looks incredible in 3D. The action scenes were well done and I could imagine how challenging the project was. This final volume features tragedy in different stages and how emotion was captured, was well done. Also, the OAV’s are featured in 16:9 LB.

As for audio, Bandai Visual is known for their high encoding and giving fans what they want in terms of audio as both mixes were encoded at 448kbps and featured in Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital Stereo. And the Japanese voice acting is top notch. Sorry, there are no English dubs on this DVD.

Special features include the next episode trailers, textless opening and endings and an MS Igloo Gallery.

Similar to previous Bandai Visual releases, like the first volume, the second comes with a 24-page booklet with episode synopsis, character profiles, technical profiles for vehicles and weapons, episode highlights and insight to certain scenes from vol. 2. Like the first volume book, vol. 2 is just as informative and fun to read.

After watching the second volume of “MS IGLOO”, I can’t help but appreciate the Mobile Suit Gundam UC (Universal Century) timeline but also appreciate what Imanishi Takashi and staff was trying to accomplish.

As for Gundam going 3D animation, well this is where it becomes a stickler for people. Especially during the time of high budget 3D animation, if one is expecting a series in the caliber of “Final Fantasy: Advent Children” or even other big budget 3D films, then you might be disappointed because again, Imanishi and team had to work with a strict budget. By saying that, I felt that what he was able to accomplish was well done. Although a lot of scenes do take place on the bridge, there are some really cool action scenes during the battles and I actually like to see how emotion was utilized with the character and the texturing of the skin and I guess, I tend to look at it more of a technical sense and what was achieved

Its somewhat how I feel about video games especially now with next gen consoles. You can have the best graphically looking game but without a good storyline and gameplay, it’s nothing. For an OAV series, “MS IGLOO” features cool 3D animation but also a very intriguing storyline that I found gripping, action-packed and just the emotions of war (anger, sadness, deception, determination, persistence and even happiness even if brief) and the team captured those emotions well.

The second volume features really awesome visuals and I have to say that this second volume not only features a gripping, exciting and tragic storyline but there is something about this volume that I found special within the Gundam UC world and again, that is seeing a whole new perspective through the eyes of the Principality of Zeon and its characters.

If you are a Mobile Suit Gundam fan (especially for the UC world) and own the original series or its four films, “Mobile Suit Gundam Zeta”, “MSG 0080: War in the Pocket” and”MSG 0083: Stardust Memory” on DVD, I highly recommend checking out the “MS IGLOO – Apocalypse 0079″ and of course, the first volume as well.

A terrific ending for “MS Igloo” and and definitely a Gundam series worth adding to your anime collection!

+ A storyline taking place during the One-Year war and a Zeon perspective

+ Intriguing storyline and pretty cool 3D animation

+ Very informative booklet

+ Well-acted and awesome audio

- Some fans may not be open to 3D animation

- Fans who hope for an English dub will not find it on this DVD

OVERALL RATING: A

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

Demon Prince ENMA Vol. 1 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

May 25, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“When you watch a dark anime from Go Nagai, you know you will get a dark storyline filled with humor, fan service but a twist on the horror genre. ‘Demon Prince ENMA’ is another awesome interpretation of a Nagai manga that is definitely worth checking out!”

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: Demon Prince ENMA Vol. 1 (aka Kikoushi Enma)

DURATION: Approx. 78 minutes (2 OAV episodes) + 20 min. for special feature

DVD INFORMATION: COLOR/NTSC / Japanese Audio (Dolby Digital 5.1 ch and Dolby Digital Stereo / English subtitles, 16:9LB (except on bonus content)

CATALOG #: BUDH0111

COMPANY: Bandai Visual/Honneamise

RATED: 16 UP – Contains violence and brief nudity. Parental Guidance required.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

STAFF INFORMATION:

STORYBOARDS & EPISODE DIRECTOR:: Kanbe Mamoru

SCREENPLAY: Yoshioka Takawo

DIRECTOR OF ANIMATION: Tanaka Ryo

PLANNING: DYNAMIC PLANNING

ORIGINAL STORY: Nagai Go

ANIMATION CREATION: BRAIN’S BASE

CAST INFORMATION:

Enma – Tokumoto Yukitoshi

Yukihime – Chiba Saeko

Kapaeru – Saito Setsuji

Grandpa Chapeauji – Nagashima Yuichi

Lola – Komatsu Yuka

Hata Nanami: Noto Mamiko

Enma is a character created by the genius manga artist Go Nagai, known for such masterpieces as Mazinger Z and Cutey Hone. Now, the popular character makes his appearance in an all alluring Japanese horror anime for adults. It’s a hair-raising erotic suspense in which Enma takes on complicated and gruesome incidents caused by demons. The anime, with its fear-intensifying 5.1 ch sound and beautiful erotic and grotesque images, is a must-see.

Demons lurk in the darkness. But humans have lit up the darkness of the night with neon lights and turned their world into one that never sleeps, so demons now lurk in the “darkness of the human heart.” Unfulfilled hearts, suppressed hearts, despair…such darkness of the heart is the place they lurk.

Enma is the Demon Prince of the Underworld, a demon “Born of Fire.” His mission is to take back or destroy demons that have escaped to the human world from the Underworld. Along with his partner, Princess Yukihime, “Born of Ice,” and the monster, Kapaeru, Enma set up “Enma’s Detective Agency.” Tonight, like any other night, they will roam the sleepless city. Horrific incidents that could not possibly be human acts occur one after another. The stench of evil lingers at the scene… Enma’s fire rips through the darkness.

If you have never watched a dark anime (or read a dark manga) by Nagai Go, you’re in for a treat.

Nagai was the first anime creator that I’ve met and I literally have his autographed artwork in my office because I’m such a fan of his work.

He has created so many manga titles and anime based on those titles which people are familiar with. Titles such as “Cutey Honey”, “Mazinger Z”, “Devilman”, “Getter Robo” and the list goes on. The man is truly a legend.

One of his earlier manga titles “Dororon Enma” was created back in 1973 and even spawned an anime series featuring a child demon prince named Enma (born of fire) and his partners Princess Yukihime (born of ice) and a monster named kapaeru as they take back or destroy demons that have escaped to the human world.

Granted, the anime was targeted more towards children back in 1973 but here we are 35 years later with the first volume of the “Kikoushi Enma” four-part OAV series aka Demon Prince ENMA from Bandai Visual/Honneamise.

This time around, the demon prince and his partners are grown up and make their return to the human world.

Enma is more or less a demon prince who really could care less about human life. All he wants to do is bring back or destroy the demons that have escaped to the human world. He’s quite brash, insensitive and also quite perverted.

His partner Princess Yukihime is a bit more caring towards human life but has short fuse when Enma gets into his lecherous ways. She is fond of Enma, has trouble discussing her feelings but is very calm and collected.

As for Kapaeru, he is a Kappa (which is a demon monster in Japanese folklore of that resemble frog, lizards, turtles in human or monkey-like form) that speaks good English and in a strange twist of situations in the human world, humans accept that he is a weird person that is wearing an outfit or someone cosplaying a kappa (when actually he is a real monster).

The fourth character assisting the team is Grandpa Chapeauji. Which is a hat demon and a hat that Enma wears. Grandpa has deep knowledge of the Underworld and can detect demons.

And in order for the team to catch these demons, they form a detective agency.

The first episode is titled “Nobusama: Rot-Pus Suck Demon” and shows the group having returned to the human world. The story focuses on Lorelai Heinrich. A woman who is born to a German father and Japanese mother.

Her father Professor Schtrolheim Heinrech thinks the world of his daughter and sees his wife in Lola but unbeknownst to him is that Lola dates and sleeps with men for money. She does this to relieve her stress from her overbearing father and one day as she takes a bath, the bath starts to fill with blood.

All of a sudden, all these men that she is with end up dead and mutilated? What is going on?

The second episode titled “Piguma: Corpseless Demon” is a story that revolves around a girl named Hata Nanami. She is a hostess at “Cutie College”, a cabaret club. Her co-workers think she’s a bit unusual because she holds this ningyo doll (given to her by her boyfriend) while working.

One day, she comes home from work to catch her boyfriend in bed with another woman. She kicks them out of her apartment and throws the doll out.

Her boyfriend and his new girlfriend see the doll but something is weird about it. He kicks it and it comes back. Is this doll possessed by a demon?

DEMON PRINCE ENMA Trailer

Watching the first volume of “Demon Prince ENMA” is almost the same feeling I had after watching “Devilman” for the first time.

Watching an intriguing yet somewhat dark and twisted anime with humor and fan service (or nudity) but a touch of gore that is genuinely a true Nagai horror story. “Demon Prince ENMA” embodies that similar Nagai style for those familiar with his works but takes the childlike manga from the past and gives it a more modern, mature and dark storyline.

Humor and a nudity is definitely included but this anime is not for the timid. There is blood, gore, violence and it’s all out an animated horror series.

What I found very interesting is how the main characters of Enma and partners view humanity and how they are anti-heroes. They are not there to save humans, they just want to bring their demons back to the Underworld and if they resist, destroy them.

Even in an interview with Enma voice actor Tokumoto Yukitoshi (on the special features), he even mentions how when he played the role, he was told to play Enma as a villain. So, that was quite interesting.

So, each storyline has a dark and tragic side to it but how its done is quite interesting, involving and you do care for the victims and hope they can be rid of their demon possession.

Each episode is a stand alone story but does have a relation to the next as police are investigating the murders and are reluctant to believe that vampires or monsters are causing this.

So, after watching these two OAV’s, I was clamoring for more “Demon Prince ENMA”. I really enjoyed it!

The animation is pretty cool and colorful and dark when they need be. There is talent behind the directing of animation as Tanaka Ryo (known for his work on “Getter Robo”, “Macross Plus”, “Yu Yu Hakusho: The Movie” and many others) is part of the staff as well as “Elfen Lied” director Kanbe Mamoru who is the director of the “Demon Prince Enma” OAV episodes. Animation is provided as 16:9LB and in DVD-9 format.

The audio is actually very well done. I watched this and found it cool to hear the audio use, especially dialogue with Yukihime on the right and Enma on the left and to hear the rear audio in place as well. So, I really enjoyed the 5.1 mix for the audio. Both audio mixes are encoded at 448 kbps.

The voice acting is also well done as Tokumoto Yukitoshi gets his first major role as Enma and Yukihime who has a long list of acting roles on her portfolio, does a great job as well. But I really have to give a thumbs up to those who played the victims in each episode. Komatsu Yuka as Lola and Noto Mamiko as Hata Nanami really had to showcase happiness, sadness, terror and they did an excellent job in showing various stages of emotions.

As for special features, you get a ten minute interview with Japanese voice actor Tokumoto Yukitoshi (Enma) and with Komatsu Yuka (Lola).

Included with the first volume DVD is a 16-page booklet which feature character profiles, settings and even short manga pages of “Demonic Prince” by Nagai and Dynamic Pro.

Enma and team are not there to save the world or humanity, they just want to retrieve their demons and bring them back to the underworld and if they resist, well they get destroyed.

And that is a good thing.

Again, this anime is full of humor, some nudity but definitely a lot of blood and gore. So, don’t openly watch this with the kiddies.

But all in all, definitely a enjoyable first volume and can’t wait to watch the final two episodes in the next volume!

Highly recommended!

+ Definitely a Go Nagai story

+ A twist on the ghostbuster/detective agency types of anime with the main detective team being anti-heroes in some way.

+ A horror anime OAV series not afraid to showcase perverted humor

+ Very good voice acting!

+ Creepy sound utilizing the digital 5.1 channels really well

- No English dub for those who need or prefer there anime with that included

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

SUPER ROBOT WARS: ORIGINAL GENERATION – THE ANIMATION (J!-ENT ANIME DVD REVIEW)

May 19, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“For mecha fans, the ‘SUPER ROBOT WARS’ video games have been a staple for mecha hobbyists and mecha video game fans for 17 years. Having only been released in Japan on video game consoles and drama CD’s, the SRW series gets animated and ‘SUPER ROBOT WARS: ORIGINAL GENERATION’ showcases awesome mecha battles and mecha designs that make the series so popular. Action-packed and all out mecha eye candy!”

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: SUPER ROBOT WARS: ORIGINAL GENERATION – THE ANIMATION

DURATION: Approx. 85 Minutes (Disc 1), Approx. 58 minutes (Disc 2)

DVD INFORMATION: COLOR/NTSC / Japanese Audio (Dolby Digital 5.1 ch and Dolby Digital Stereo / English subtitles, 16:9LB (except on some bonus content)

CATALOG #: BUDH0128

COMPANY: Bandai Visual/Honneamise

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

STAFF INFORMATION:

DIRECTOR: Kawagoe Jun

SERIES PLANNER: Nishizono Satoru

CHARACTER CONCEPTION: Kohno Sachiko (LAY UP)

MECHA CONCEPTION: Miyatake Kazutaka, Katoki Hajime, Saitoh Kazue, Kanemaru Hitoshi, Ando Hiroshi, Moriya Junichi

CHARACTER DESIGN: Tanaka Ryo

MECHA DESIGN: Saiki YAsuhiro

CG Mecha Design: Takakura Takeshi

3D CG: Honda Toshihiro

ART: Miyano Takashi

COLOR SETTING: Harada Sachiko

PHOTOGRAPHY: Satoh Masato

EDITOR: Taguma Jun

SOUND DIRECTOR: Nakano Tohru

MUSIC: Saitoh Tsuneyoshi

THEME SONG: JAM Project

SUPERVISOR: Terada Takanobu

ANIMATION PRODUCTION: BRAIN’S-BASE

PRODUCED BY: BANDAI VISUAL CO., LTD.

Original Story: BANPRESTO

The future. Humankind, once driven to the brink of annihilation, has regrouped under the banner of the Earth Federation, which protects its citizens from the very real threat of alien invasion. Seeking to increase its defenses, the Earth Federation Army has continued development of Personal Troopers, a form of mobile weaponry used to combat the alien menace. But when the Bartoll, the latest and most advanced Personal Trooper is unveiled to an eager public, something goes terribly wrong…

I have always been enthusiastic for mecha anime and for the “Super Robot Taisen” aka “Super Robot Wars” video games. The series has been the definitive staple of mecha games for mecha fans.

As a child, I always watched anime series that featured mecha controlled by one or five characters but my favorite mecha anime were series that would incorporate a large group of robots and characters (such as “Voltron (Near Universe” aka “Armored Fleet Dairugger XV”).

Even before these anime series, as a kid, I owned a lot of “Shogun Warriors”. A toyline that was released in the late 70′s that would feature characters such as Raideen, Danguard Ace, Mazinger, Combatra and some who became part of the “Super Robot Taisen” video games.

But why the series has become so popular because it was the ultimate collaboration of your favorite robots and characters from many series together in one game.

Pretty much the concept of the video game series was taking all these popular mecha robots from many different anime series and universes such as Gundam, Getter Robo, Evangelion, Dancougar, L-Gaim, Raideen, Mazinger Z, Cybuster, The Big O, Macross, Nadesico, Tekkaman Blade, etc. and create a tactical RPG.

For video game fans familiar with the popular Nintendo DS video game “Jump Superstars” which takes popular characters from the popular manga or anime series, this is pretty much a similar concept but “Super Robot Wars” has been around since 1991 with the first game “Super Robot Taisen” released for Nintendo’s Game Boy and has been on nearly every console (yes, including the XBOX 360).

Over a decade later, their have been dozens upon dozens of “Super Robot Wars” video games for a variety of consoles and released only in Japan. Mainly because of licensing issues and with many anime in the US is licensed to various companies, a US release was not possible.

That was until a video game titled “Super Robot Wars Original Generation” was released on the Game Boy Advance in Japan back in 2002 which featured unlicensed characters and an original storyline. The second GBA video game for the Original Generation was released in 2005 and sure enough, both games were distributed by Atlus in the United States in 2006.

And so Bandai Visual/Honneamise has distributed the three episode OAV series and the anime television series to the US.

“SUPER ROBOT WARS: ORIGINAL GENERATION – THE ANIMATION” is the epitome of mecha eye candy.

The three episode OAV series is about the unveiling of the new-model Personal Troopers (PT’s). New mobile weaponry for the Earth Federation Army and members of the army are gathered together with high-ranking military personnel for this joyous occasion.

That was until the PT’s started attacking everyone at the ceremony and then different parts around the world unexpectedly and destroying everything in their midst. Including the kidnapping of pilots, military personnel and students of prestigious universities.

It appears another scientist working with the EOTI Organization is involved and his goal is to mass create PT armies to unify the world by force and thus he is using these kidnapped people who will literally turned to his personal puppets against the Earth Federation.

This pits the pilots of the Earth Federation Army versus the mass army of PT’s. And to make things worse, the new technology on these PT units is the ability to learn the attacks of the opponent, download the information and the mass collective would predict each of their moves.

So, what literally takes place in these three episodes is an all out mecha war!

Episode 1 is titled “Swarm of the Bartoll” and features the first wave of attacks around the world by the PT’s and the first major battle between the ATX Team: Lt. Nanbu (Kyosuke) and 2nd Lt. Browning (Excellen) as they learn the hard way that the PT’s adapt to their fighting techniques quickly.

Episode 2 is titled “People=Parts” and you learn why the PT’s and Bartolls are kidnapping the Earth Defense pilots, military and students. Also, learning more about the scientist Wilhelm von Jurgen who developed the ODE system (the system that the PT’s are utilizing). With the capture of one of the PT’s and seeing how humans are used, the team worries that their pilots will now be part of that ODE system, which is literally a death sentence for them.

Also, the Earth Defense teams need to figure out a new strategy on how to defeat the PT’s since they have adjusted to each of the pilot’s fighting style.

Episode 3 is titled “Captive of the Maze” and this episode is awesome as the whole cast is involved in an all out battle against the PT’s. But to make things worse for the Earth Defense Force, the new group of PT’s are now piloted by the kidnapped pilots (their own friends and teammates) who are now being controlled.

Can the Earth Defense team save their teammates or will they have to kill them in battle?

I really enjoyed the various fighting styles for each pilot and each mecha. Especially when everyone comes together for episode three and you see some of the devastating attacks by the more experienced pilots. This all out battle was just exciting to watch and I can definitely see how these would tie into merchandise releases in Japan. Each character and robot has its own distinct fighting style, they look awesome and their armaments are just amazing.

The staff for this series features impressive talent. Director Kawagoe Jun is known probably in America for his work as director for “Transformers: Energon” but also his work for the “Shin Getter Robo” OAV’s. Tanaka Ryo for character design was a key animator for “Macross Plus” and character designer for “Lupin III: Missed by a Dollar”. Saiki Yasuhiro for mecha design has worked in key animation for several “Pokemon” films plus “New Fist of the North Star”.

The animation was very cool and in having to create mecha battle one after the other and trying to keep the battles fluid, especially with so many characters and robots must have been unique and challenging. There are times when the animation is seen from overhead and just watching the mecha walk, that was very cool and those type of scenes were definitely well-planned.

As for sound, Bandai continues its excellence in the sound category by keeping audio high at a 448 kbps audio mix. Japanese voice acting was well-done and I appreciate Bandai Visual for utilizing the same voice actors from previous SRW video games.

But putting my mecha enthusiasm to the side…

Earlier I talked about how I enjoyed mecha with a lot of robots and plenty of characters. Well, “Super Robot Wars: Original Generation” is an example of that.

But when you have a large group of characters, there is typically an introductory process of character introductions and character development.

With the OAV series, knowledge of the characters is continuing from the second Game Boy Advance series.

And for video game fanatics, they know that Atlus games are highly collectible because of low print runs and the fact that the game came out in the US in 2006, when most people have moved on to a Nintendo DS and a Sony PSP.

So, how many people own the Game Boy Advance games in the US, I would expect the hardcore fans would. But the casual fans, probably not.

So, with that being said, watching the OAV series has a feeling of catching an episode of a television series late in the game.

Watching a dozen or more characters and really not knowing who is who.

Fortunately, I think that Bandai Visual anticipated that, so they included an informative 24-page booklet that not only showcases the robots but each of their pilots and other major players from the SRW:OG universe. Also, with the characters talking about past battles (that relate to the video game series), it was really cool to see information on what is ATX Project, SRX Project or Wong Heavy Industries to name a few.

Also, in the booklet, you get photos of the front and back of the mecha, their flight form, armaments and key information. Also, information on several battle carriers. For the characters in the series, you get information on who they are and also several character designs of the full body, front and side head perspectives.

On a second bonus disc, the DVD features cast interviews, textless opening and endings, music videos by JAM Project, background information and glossary.

For the bonus disc, the interviews with the Japanese cast was fun to watch. Especially those who have been providing the voices for the video games for a decade and hearing them comment on the popularity of the series and how here they are doing the voices for the video games. That was fun to watch!

Also, for JAM Project fans, there are several music video clips and definitely something to keep you tide over for now, especially if you are anticipating their Otakon 2008 live performance

The only thing I wished was included on the DVD or booklet was an interview with director Kawagoe Jun or even director’s or staff commentary on the DVD to learn the mindset of what Kawagoe and series planner Nishizono Satoru wanted to accomplish with this anime.

I enjoyed how Bandai Visual’s past DVD releases has put the viewer in their shoes and to get understanding of key decisions made in the storyline, the challenges they faced and overall feelings of the finalized animation or key moments. For a series this big, it would have been cool to get a peak into their mindset.

But still, you do get a lot of cool special features on the bonus disc and the booklet is really informative.

Yes, I’m a mecha fan and yes, I am a “Super Robot Taisen” fan. So, for me, it was awesome to finally watch it animated.

So, for the hardcore video game fans, “SUPER ROBOT WARS: ORIGINAL GENERATION” was mecha eye candy and was fun to watch.

But for those curious or not familiar with the second Game Boy Advance game, they may come into this anime and feel overwhelmed by the vast number of characters and robots.

I can see this as similar to “Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children” and the people who watched this without playing the “Final Fantasy VII” video game and possibly getting lost in the shuffle.

But “Super Robot Wars” is just an all out mecha battle fest and for me, I enjoyed it. Especially the various characters and one can only want to see more episodes planned in the future.

I enjoy the large military/mecha anime series because of the various potential of storylines for each character, the division of different departments, the possible love triangles.

In SRW:OG’s case, with different pilots from different regions of the world working together, but most of all, the excitement for the sheer number of robots involved in this series is just incredible. This is a mecha hobbyist/collector’s dream.

But nevertheless, “Super Robot Wars” is about the tactical experience of battling other mecha. The enjoyment of Super Robot Wars is through the experience from playing the video games. This anime series is complimenting that experience and this series does a good job of showing the various mecha, the battles and strategies to overcome the opponent.

You can watch and enjoy this anime series without knowing who the characters and their background are. Although, those who are wanting character development, that is where you may want to purchase the previous video games on Game Boy Advance and also the “SUPER ROBOT WARS: ORIGINAL GENERATION DIVINE WARS” DVD’s (available now). Also, the inclusion of the booklet does help a bit as well.

So, for those who are interested in “SUPER ROBOT WARS: ORIGINAL GENERATION”, I’m going to give you my best advice (NOTE: this is as of May 2008) that you probably are not going to find anywhere else. Especially if you want to understand the background of Original Generation and the characters thoroughly.

Purchase the “SUPER ROBOT WARS: Original Generation” from K-Mart (yes, one of the few places to find the first game for “new”). The game is a GBA game now on clearance or sold at $19.99. You maybe able to find it at your local game store for “used”.

Then purchase and watch the “SUPER ROBOT WARS: ORIGINAL GENERATION – DIVINE WARS” which is the televised series now available on DVD from Bandai Visual/Honneamise.

But knowing that many newbies to “SUPER ROBOT WARS” will go read a game review, of course, the second SRW:OG game is the better of the two. So, if you don’t intend on purchasing the first game, purchase the “SUPER ROBOT WARS: ORIGINAL GENERATION 2″ which you can find new at your local Gamestop/EB/Software Etc. This game can also be found for $19.99 or used. Of course, if you are reading this review post-2008, you should be able to find the game new or used via Amazon or eBay.

Then after playing the second game, watch the “SUPER ROBOT WARS: ORIGINAL GENERATION – THE ANIMATION” OAV series.

Whether it’s the video game or anime experience you are truly after, the fact that you are interested in “Super Robot Wars” is your passion for mecha. And what better time than now, to get into “SUPER ROBOT WARS”.

Check it out!

+ “SUPER ROBOT WARS” finally gets animated

+ Large number of characters and robots

+ Mecha battle fest! Cool animated battles and cool ideas of weapon utilization.

+ Well done voice acting with many of the original voice talent from the video games involved.

+ Cool bonus disc and informative 24-page booklet

- If you are unfamiliar with the second GBA video game, the characters of the series may not mean anything to you.

- For those who need and prefer an English dub, this DVD is ONLY Japanese with English subtitles.

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

Haruka ~Beyond the Stream of Time~ – A Tale of the Eight Guardians Vol. 2 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

May 11, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“The second volume of “HARUKA ~Beyond the Stream of Time~ continues to draw me in with its beautiful, lush settings, beautiful animation, interesting characters and whimsical storytelling.”

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: Haruka ~Beyond the Stream of Time~ – A Tale of the Eight Guardians Vol. 2

DURATION: Approx. 74 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: COLOR/NTSC / Japanese Audio (Dolby Digital 5.1 ch and Dolby Digital Stereo / English subtitles

CATALOG #: BUDH0144

COMPANY: Bandai Visual/Honneamise

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

STAFF INFORMATION:

DIRECTOR: Tsunaki Aki

SERIES PLANNER: Okazaki Junko

CHARACTER DESIGN: Ohnuki Kenichi, Kotani Khyoko

ART DIRECTOR: Sakamoto Nobuhito

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Arakawa Kousuke

COLOR SETTING: Ario Yukiko

SOUND DIRECTOR: Honda Yasunori

MUSIC: Hirano Yoshihisa

EDITOR: Morita Seiji

Original Story by Tohko Mizuno (serialized in LaLa and Lala DX by HAKUSENSHA)

Opening Song: “Haruka Kimi no Moto e” performed by Morimura Tenma (Seki Tomokazu), Inori (Takahashi Naozumi), Nagareyama Shimon (Miyata Kouki)

Ending Song: “flowin’ -Ukigumo-” performed by Sefle (Akikawa Yuu), Ran (Kuwashima Houko)

Animation Created by YUMETA COMPANY

VOICE ACTORS/ACTRESSES:

Motomiya Akane – Kawakami Tomoko

Minamoto-no Yorihisa – Miki Shin-Ichiro

Morimura Tenma – Seki Tomokazu

Nagareyama Shimon – Miyata Kouki

Fujiwara-no Takamichi – Nakahara Shigeru

Tachibana no Tomohmasa – Inoue Kazuhiko

Eisen – Hoshi Soichiro

Abe-no Yasuaki – Ishida Akira

Princess Fuji – Otani Ikue

Akram – Okiayu Ryotaro

Ran – Kawashima Houko

Abe-no Seimei – Matsumoto Dai

Little Tengu – Shimakta Junko

Tengu – Taniyama Kisyo

“You can’t just go around hurting others… That’s unforgivable behavior for anyone!”

Chose as the Priestess of the Dragon God and transported to the capital of an alternate world, Akane now finds herself overwhelmed by the power bestowed upon her by the Dragon God. Until all of the Eight Guardians fated to protect her are assembled, she remains stranded with now way to return to her home world. As if seeing right through Akane’s anxiety ridden heart, Akram head of the Demon clan, lets out a smile…”

The second volume of “HARUKA ~Beyond the Stream of Time~ A Tale of the Eight Guardians” continues with its whimsical storyline as Akane, Tenma and Shimon are reluctant about their new found powers and their desire to return back to their own reality.

The third episode titled “The Sorcerer” features the appeal by the princess to please save their capital but the trio just want to return back to their reality. Akane is unwilling to accept that she is the Priestess of the Dragon and Tenma just think everyone is trying to make them stay in their reality.

During the argument, Akane suddenly feels ill and during her sleep, she is somehow whisked back in the area where she met the demon known as Akram.

But this time, she meets a sorcerer named Yasuaki. Who is Yasuaki and why is Akane dreaming about him? Or is it a dream? And also, a fourth guardian is revealed.

The fourth episode titled “The Flower Purifying Ceremony” is where you learn about the ominously red-stained cherry blossoms. The impurities of the capital are contained in those red cherry blossoms and if by any chance the petals would flow through the city, it would be lead to pure chaos. Thus a flower purifying ceremony must take place and in this ceremony, Yasuaki and Akane will take part, but a mysterious figure awaits them.

The fifth episode titled “The Dewdrop Lodge” is where you learn more about Tenma and his love for Akane. You learn about Tenma’s past and how he and Akane became friends and why Tenma will do whatever to protect her.

I found the second volume equally entertaining as the first volume. With three episodes, really to learn more about the characters and almost similar to anime such as “Fushigi Yugi” and “Hakkenden”, you have a curiosity to how Akane will meet the remaining guardians.

But unlike the two anime, one thing that you get a glimpse of is the devotion of towards Akane, as well as the jealousy of Tenmon. And the devotion by the guardians of wanting to protect Akane, is it because its their duty or perhaps they are also falling for her. That is something that I look forward in seeing played out as the storylines continues.

But most importantly, Akane and her feeling towards Akram. Can the Priestess of the Dragon be falling for the demon? That would be interesting.

Similar to the first volume, I’ve found the animation and the art of the scenery of that period to be breathtaking and vibrant and for a television show, I have been pleased so far with the overall production for this anime. There is a darkness with episode 3 and 4, which I found the animation very cool in covering that atmosphere. It’s not a horror anime but it was well captured in the scenes where darkness and evil emerge. Also, the anime is presented in 16:9LB Anamorphic.

As for the sound, Bandai Visual/Honneamise releases have continued to release their DVD’s in a high bitrate and are setting the standard for quality and thus, everything sounds great. The dialogue is clear and well heard and there are quite a good number of battle sequences for this second volume.

And the Japanese voice acting is well done with Kawakami Tomoko doing a spectacular job as capturing the emotions of Akane. Especially Tomokazu Seki who does the voice for Morimura Tenma and capturing that jealous rage but yet a tender, admiration for Akane. And of course, Okiayu Ryotaro for his voice work as the demon Akram. Well done!

As for special features, included is “The Demon’s Soliloquy” which features Akram doing the teasers for the next episode.

And what is becoming my favorite part of a Bandai Visual DVD is the inclusion of a booklet. The booklet or in this case, more of a double sided, quad fold piece that features a synopsis of the three episodes, character profiles, staff interview with producer Yamaguchi Satoshi and series planner Junko Okazaki and an anthology of the Eight Guardians – Poems Unraveled.

“HARUKA ~Beyond the Stream of Time~” is an enjoyable anime with a storyline that manages to be straightforward and definitely doesn’t skimp on the character development.

Volume 2 definitely shows new sides of the characters that were introduced in the first two episodes and the camaraderie of the group and how they play out like a dysfunctional family. Willing to protect each other but at the same time, watching their emotions get the best of them.

If you enjoyed anime series such as “Fushigi Yugi” or “Escaflowne”, this is one of those anime that has its similarities to those series but yet is very different.

All in all, I found volume two to be entertainingly addicting and I can’t wait for volume 3!

+ Beautiful artwork and character designs and continuing Bandai Visual/Honneamise quality for audio

+ Really entertaining storyline so far. I Dig the character development.

+ Really good voice acting from top talent from Japan and easy to ready English subtitles

- Unfortunately no English dub for those that need their anime with that option.

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

« Previous Page — Next Page »