Each prize pack consists of:

• 1 Blu-ray (Japanese edition vol.1 – includes English subtitles, English dub and works in US players)
• 1 clear file (promotional item for vol.4)
• 1 poster (promotional item for vol.4)

Gundam Unicorn Volume 4 will be released on Blu-Ray disc on December 2nd and is available now for pre-order from Bandai Entertainment’s Store and amazon.co.jp.

The struggle over Laplace’s Box spreads to Earth, where a force of Zeon remnants launches an attack on the Earth Federation capital at Dakar, spearheaded by the huge mobile armor Shamblo. Ronan Marcenas, chairman of the Federation’s Council on Colony Relations, takes this event very seriously. He contacts Bright Noa, commander of the Londo Bell unit, and dispatches him to recapture the Unicorn Gundam which serves as the key to the Box. Ronan’s son Riddhe is also assigned to the Ra Cailum, the flagship of Bright’s unit.

Banagher, who has descended to Earth with the Unicorn Gundam, has fallen in with the Garencieres team and is now effectively a member of the Sleeves. He and Zinnerman travel on foot across the burning desert to make contact with the ground forces of the Zeon remnants.

source form: animenewsnetwork

There is little to no pretense, in fact, their cartoonish devotion to highly impractical/contrived situations is what makes the show bearable. The sheer concept of a fledgling succubus, a being who feeds on the energy of men, being terrified of men is enjoyable. Apparently, her lack of control forces all men (save the main character) to be irresistibly attracted to her, thus leading to her fear of men.

A show of extremes, the cast and characters all seem to possess endurance and strength well beyond that of realistic proportions, the first episode starts with the main character casually wrestling a wild grizzly bear for training, only to apologize to the bear that he may have accidentally hurt it. Despite his prowess, his only fear is his older sister, who punishes his behavior by setting up the preceding training scenarios, with combatants like chainsaw maniacs, aliens, zombies…

While we’ve done little to discuss the meat and potatoes of this 12 episode series, there really isn’t much here. The introduction of characters follows the standard tropes of the harem comedy, but somehow comes out better for them. All 12 episodes are available for free streaming (ad supported) on Crunchyroll, and we’d suggest giving the first episode a shot.

Reviewed by John Martone, May 2011

Below: Scenes from Goshūshō-sama Ninomiya-kun.

source from: anime

So, he needs to spend part of the series training, as well as meeting those who will help him in his quest, so the next meeting between the rivals won’t go as badly for the hero.

The series is based on the mythical gods that are tied to the stars that make up the big dipper (although Funimation uses their English names in the dub rather than their Japanese names), and the two Nitenshinson, the Hagun and Tanrou, are never supposed to exist at the same time, as their battle could destroy the world, but fate has decided otherwise.

And poor, dumb as a rock Taito (isn’t he a video game maker?) just isn’t ready to fight “mustache” (Lord Keiro, who is operating above and beyond the orders of the emperor.

While the series starts out feeling stereotyped and even rather pathetic, the plot does pick up and gets rather intriguing eventually leading to some terrific twists that make this series a complete and utter win. You have to stick through some idiotic filler episodes however, but trust us; it turns into an exciting ride. The animation quality suffers in places, as they save the budget for the fight sequences between Taito and Kiero, and there’s some terrific discourse between Taito and the emperor.

So, Hero Tales overall is a good anime series you won’t regret having invested some time in to get up to the spectacular climax. There’s humor, there’s action, and surprisingly, there’s character development. What more could you ask for?

Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, May 2011

Below: Scenes from Hero Tales.

source from: anime

Yeah, even at the tender age of five, the stuff on TV was leaving me cold; I had the choice of following the tales of Dirty Dawg, a canine homeless person, as he eluded the authorities, or I could watch Wolfman Jack narrate the adventures of a time-traveling Fonzie as he whisked the Happy Days gang through time and space, kind of like some kind of crazy 1957 Milwaukee version of Doctor Who. Because apparently, everyone was on cocaine in 1981. Everyone. This scenario is exactly the sort of thing that led me down the path towards Japanese animation. But what were kids in Japan watching in 1981, I wonder? Let’s look at some of the best stuff.

Well, there were a few goodies on Japanese TV, starting right in January of ’81. Most notably, there was Baldios, a thoroughly run of the mill show that’s only really notable for giving the world the long-dead internet meme known as Heika. But Baldios did meet its demise in a unique way – thanks to sagging ratings, the show was canceled so abruptly that the ending couldn’t be rushed into production, so at the climactic moment, our heroes watch helplessly as the planet’s surface is wiped out by a series of unimaginably huge tsunamis. This was supposed to spur the good guys on to rally the remnants of mankind and vanquish the invaders, but instead, as skyscrapers sank beneath the waves, we got an abrupt “END” title card. Pretty brutal stuff, actually! But January would see a couple of other productions – a TV movie adaptation of Jack London‘s Call of the Wild that has grown in infamy recently thanks to its bizarre animation and even weirder English dubbing, and a TV series adaptation of Johan David Wyss’s Swiss Family Robinson.

Nippon Animation had a little problem when they went into production on Swiss Family Robinson: all of boys of the family were… well, boys. See, back in those days, the idea was to include girl characters to get girls interested in the show, not just as bait to entice easily-amused male anime nerds. So they solved this problem in the usual way, and just made up their own character, a little girl named Flone. I love this solution, because it’s weirdly and hilariously disrespectful of the source material– we’re all moaning because a messy New York-based adaptation of Akira seems to be looming on the Hollywood horizon, but this approach certainly isn’t limited to Hollywood. Anyway, the character is lots of fun– Flone (or “Becca” if you watched the dubbed version on the Family Channel like I did) is free-spirited and outspoken, and the show is another nicely-directed chapter of the World Masterpiece Theatre pantheon, courtesy of the great Yoshio Kuroda.

February wouldn’t bear much fruit - Tatsunoko would revisit their increasingly tired Time Bokan franchise with Yattodetaman, and Fuji TV kicked out a TV movie adaptation ofOsamu Dazai‘s Run, Melos! story. Despite being directed by the accomplished Tomoharu Katsumata, it’s no great shakes – the 1991 feature film version is a superior adaptation. March would heat up nicely, though– children’s cigarette lighter commercial Gold Lightan was on TV, as was future Voltronsuperstar GoLion, and three great films hit theatres – a lavish adaptation of Swan Lake, featuring Tchaikovsky’s famous music as the soundtrack, a crazy little movie from Sanrio called Unico, and the first of three Gundam feature films. This move put Gundamback on the map for good – flourishing model kit sales and strong support of the TV series from fans brought the canceled production back to life, and the premiere of this film saw the unlikely sight of creator Yoshiyuki Tomino addressing thousands of fans in Tokyo. I wonder if he knew then just how big the franchise would get?

April was pretty important, too. Isao Takahata directed the enjoyably quirky Chie the Brat, and the TV airwaves got the likes ofLeiji Matsumoto‘s Queen Millennia, Tiger Mask II: Tiger Masker, in which masked wrestling good-guy Naoto Date is replaced by a new hero, who wrestles for good alongside real-life wrestling stars like Antonio Inoki and Andre the Giant! Years before famous comedian Brad Garrett got his start as the voice of Hulk Hogan in Rock n’ Wrestling, Tiger Mask II was setting the standard for outrageous wrestling cartoons. April also gave us Great Dog Jolly, a fanciful period adventure about a young boy setting off across the Pyrenees to reunite with his mother, accompanied by a gigantic snow white Pyrenees mountain dog. Just a year or two later, American children would delight to the adventures of Belle and Sebastian, as the show was retitled for broadcast onNickelodeon, and just another fifteen years later, a goofy indie rock band would totally steal the name of that show for their act, thus confounding my Google searches for the series forever! Oh yeah, and April gave us Dr. Slump.

Dr. Slump was one of the first great Shonen Jump shows. Oh sure, plenty of Shonen Jump goodies had been adapted for animation before, but Slump was a massive phenomenon that tied down and dominated the coveted 6pm Saturday “golden time” timeslot for no less than five years. Akira Toriyama‘s first great hit would spend several seasons at the top before being immediately replaced by his next monster hit, Dragon Ball. Irritatingly, Slump never got a proper English release – Harmony Gold kicked out a pilot dub, but we never saw more, so English-speaking fans are gonna have to settle for the manga.

In May, we got all of two things: a telefilm about the life of Helen Keller, and LUPIN VERSUS HOLMES?! What the hell? What in the world is this thing? Look, I found a picture!

What the hell is it? Has anyone seen it? I WANT TO SEE THIS DAMN THING. Make it happen, Japan! Seriously, this is probably just an adaptation of Maurice Leblanc‘s amusingly indulgent Arsene Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes, or Helmlock Shears, or Shylock Harms, or something that wouldn’t get them sued by the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle estate. The story, popular in its day, gave both Leblanc’s celebrated thief and Doyle’s famous detective their due. I love all things Lupin, so I’m intensely curious about this one.

Back in the early 80s, things slowed down in the summer just like they do here, except on the big screen. June would bring a really wonderfully animated Tokyo Movie Shinsha TV special about the life of famous judo master Sugata Sanshiro, while July was movie month, with the second installment of the Gundam films (and the best, if you want my opinion– the “Soldiers of Sorrow”insert song owns!) and Masami Hata‘s long-remembered Sea Prince and the Fire Child. On TV, we got Tomorrow’s Joe II, the underrated super robot actioner GoShogun, and Captain, an innovative take on baseball that featured a new team captain every school year of the story. August would give us Bremen 4, an installment of Osamu Tezuka‘s absolutely fantastic TV movie series released in tandem with a 24-hour charity broadcast. We also got The Door Into Summer, a film adaptation of Keiko Takemiya‘s unconventional shoujo manga that Justin Sevakis covers well here, and Adieu Galaxy Express 999. Adieu GE999 is kind of a foregone conclusion, an equally big-budget sequel to the previous year’s most popular anime movie. I found it kind of a head-scratching retread of the original’s story, only with outrageously pumped-up visuals and a cool new Darth Vader-y antagonist, and I’m looking forward to seeing it again soon, courtesy of our pals at Discotek Media. Finally, August of ’81 would bring us Snow Fairy, aka Yuki.

Try to find some good, hard information about Snow Fairy. It ain’t that easy! The movie, directed by sometime dissident filmmakerTadashi Imai, hasn’t gotten a DVD release, and it’s barely even mentioned in the absolutely crucial book Art of Japanese Animation II: 70 Years of Theatrical Films, from Tokuma Shoten. Oddly, you can watch the whole thing on YouTube, so I guess the internet rides to the rescue again. The movie is really conventional, which I suppose is to be expected since Imai, a live-action filmmaker for the bulk of his career, relied heavily on Toei Animation to get the job done. It’s an interesting little fairy tale, told with the bombastic weight of a historical record rather than the fanciful air of a fable.

What did we get in September of 1981? We got two things. Firstly, we got Ulysses 31, the completely awesome 30th-century retelling of the Odyssey from the mind of Jean Chalopin and the pens and paintbrushes of Studio Nue. This show, a worldwide success that is still one of Europe’s most well-remembered anime hits, debuted in France in 1981, but interestingly it wouldn’t reach Japan until ’84, despite being animated there! The show also aired on American TV, with a surprisingly memorable dubproduced in Montreal. The other thing we got in September was goddamned Mito Komon! Ever heard of Mito Komon? You should have – it’s one of Japan’s most famous TV shows, a jidai geki (historical drama) joint that started in 1969… and is still going. There are over one thousand episodes of Mito Komon, the seemingly infinite tale of Mitsukuni Mito, a 17th-century lord who wanders the land with a crew of scholars and warriors, battling corrupt officials, bent landlords, and vicious bandits at every turn. Every single episode works up to the same conclusion – the bad guys seem to have Mito and company cornered, but then someone flashes the guy’s crest, which reveals him to be the uncle of the Shogun, and the evildoers realize that they’re messing with the wrong guy. The cartoon follows this formula, only with cartoonier action and less serious conflict – we scoff at that weird old Mr. T cartoon from Ruby-Spears, but the anime version of Mito Komon is not so different at all! I don’t know if Mito Komon’s adventures were bookended by segments featuring the real-life actors doing public service announcements, but it seems plausible enough.

All of the awesome new anime shows tend to come out in October, and this wasn’t any different thirty years back. We got a TV adaptation of Chie the Brat. We got Parent and Child Theatre, which would swiftly be adapted and retitled Superbook for the English-language market. We got a trio of great robot shows that have just started to reach western fans’ attention thanks to fansubs: God Mars, Dougram, and Bryger. We got the giddy, dizzy shoujo adventure-comedy Honey Honey, and we got Shame on You, Ms. Machiko, a bawdy comedy about a good-natured, pretty young teacher and her lecherous, unruly classroom that’s brazen enough to have a topless shower scene in theopening credits. Machiko was popular with viewers, but not very popular with Japan’s PTA groups! October would round off as a monstrous month, with internationally renowned co-production Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds (considered by many, including this writer, to be the most detailed and complete adaptation of Dumas’s famous story for the screen) and 800-pound gorilla Urusei Yatsura. Just as Toriyama broke out with Dr. Slump,Rumiko Takahashi broke out with Urusei Yatsura, which also ran for five years and put a young director named Mamoru Oshii on the map.

Things got really quiet in November, but December would see two very interesting projects. First, we got Shunmao, the first animated co-production between Japan and China, a very unusual-looking tale of a panda. Second, we got a Baldios feature film. Yeah, remember how Baldios ended really badly and abruptly in January? Apparently, enraged fans of Baldios flooded the streets and demanded a proper ending, and they would receive one just in time for the new year.  After that point, Baldios would sink without a trace, only getting new attention with the Heika meme emerged. It’s interesting to contrast that with Gundam, which faced a similarly ignominious end on TV but would be resurrected in a much more dramatic way for the big screen.

Why look back to thirty years ago, though? Well, for one thing, it’s fun! They’ve been making really good anime for as long as there’s been anime, and ’81 wasn’t an exception to this at all. More importantly, I think that looking back can give us some valuable perspective. Think about 2011: We’re only about halfway through the year, and we’ve already seen more than 30 TV shows and another dozen or so TV specials and movies. Contrast that with ’81 and its tally of around 22 TV shows and another dozen or so movies. I’m not saying that things were better in ’81, because I don’t think one can really objectively say that. Also, I don’t believe it. But I do think it’s really interesting that the amount of anime was pretty small in ’81, less than half of what we’re getting nowadays, but a good nine or ten of the shows released during that year would be incredibly important for the medium.

Think about it: Urusei Yatsura, Dr. Slump, Golion, the Gundam movies, Sea Prince, GoShogun, Adieu GE999, Ulysses 31… these all went on to become classics. Can you imagine eight or ten shows coming out now being that big of a deal thirty years down the road? I think Madoka Magica just might pull that feat off. I’m wondering about Tiger and Bunny, which seems a bit flash-in-the-pan. The still-running Gintama has just edged past Urusei Yatsura in the number of total episodes. But will Toriko equal the impressive pedigree of Dr. Slump? Will Fractale be remembered as fondly as, say, God Mars? Or will something in the fall emerge as a more obvious modern classic? I’ll just have to wait thirty years and ask my 5-year-old nephew for his opinion.

source from: animenewsnetwork

The Z.O.T. tournament which has been a framing device for most of The Last Order is finally starting to wind down, but an event as sprawling and complicated as this, and with such wide-reaching ramifications for the setting of the story, cannot be allowed to climax without a considerable set-up. This volume covers that set-up, and despite a lower-than-normal action quotient, it does not disappoint. The final tournament battle is just getting started as the volume ends, but not before putting everything neatly into place.

Of course, even this crucial set-up does not happen without additional new twists and complications. The story hints for the first time that Zastin may have his own secret, indicates that Mbadi may still have a final trick or two up his sleeve, and brings an interesting new character into the picture in the form of another mysterious Panzer Kurst master. This so-called Frau X may not actually be all that mysterious, because anyone who has followed The Last Order since its beginning will know that there is only one character she can logically be given her reactions to Alita’s real name, but if it is that person then the promise for future developments are juicy indeed. These chapters also bring a plethora of other characters back for cameo appearances or minor or supporting roles, a collection which spans the entire breadth of the BAA franchise; kudos to the fan who can identify them all without looking them up.

This volume also reiterates a couple of the ongoing problems with the series. While Alita is still undeniably the central character, her actual presence has waned. Volume 6, which covered Phases 32-37, was the last volume in which Alita was at the forefront of events in every chapter. She has only been at the forefront of events in 18 of the 50 chapters since then and present in a lesser capacity in a handful of others. In other words, despite being the star, she has been completely absent in over half of the chapters spanning the last eight volumes. Granted, many of the events that have happened in her absence have been entertaining, but is this now less Alita’s story specifically than the story of the setting in general. Kishiro increasingly seems to not know what he wants to do with his main character, and that’s a bad long-term sign. He also seems to be finding his supporting cast more interesting right now than his lead, and in truth the supporting characters have been carrying the series lately – something which did not happen earlier in this series or its predecessor.

Otherwise Kishiro’s writing and artistry are up to their usual standards. His inventiveness in cyborg design and extrapolation of combat techniques continues to be unequalled amongst manga-ka, as is his penchant for throwing in obscure little factual tidbits. His tendency for the occasional chibi aside also remains; his current theme is to portray Alita in a catlike form in such situations. His artistry, especially in action scenes, is as clean and clearly-defined as ever, though this volume lacks the biological monstrosities frequently seen lately (which is not necessarily a negative).

Viz Media does its usual fine job on the translation and production end, including nicely-detailed color cover art and a complete translation of all sound effects. As per the norm, the volume opens with a story summary and very brief character blurbs and closes with three pages of “NG Theater” four-panel gag strips. The price has remained at $9.99 for a full 200 pages of actual content, making it a relatively economical title by current standards. On a sad note, there is no indication present on when we might see the next volume.

While this volume may not show the franchise at its very best, it is an improvement over recent volumes and fulfills its purpose very well. The franchise‘s storytelling well-being may yet endure.

source from: animenewsnetwork

In the bonus OVA episode “Peach-Colored Fantasy,” Kakeru and crew find themselves transported to a warped alternate world which is pink-themed rather than red-themed, dramatically alters how their powers work, and seems generally far more naughty-minded.

The latest in a long line of adult visual novel adaptations, 11eyes at least makes an effort to do something different for its genre: it tries to spin a dark, violent tale about super-powered teens which peripherally speaks to how power does not necessarily bring happiness. Sadly, the caliber of writing necessary to successfully pull that off is simply not present. Instead we get a series which, despite a few strong scenes and a massive, inventive plot twist in the late stages, too often feels like it is just going through the motions, and it does not have good enough action or fan service, or compelling enough characters, to get away with that.

The first sign of trouble is that the bloblike Larvae which mob the heroes in Red Night fail to generate any sense of menace once one realizes that they do not actually do much of anything beyond making intimidating moans at their targets. The second big sign of trouble comes when the minimal attempts to develop KAKERU get stuck in an “I will protect Yuka no matter what” rut, resulting in his character not standing for much of anything beyond the single-minded protection focus. And the third comes when the Black Knights, who are supposed to be the elite foes, get whittled down to their toughest ones in completely formulaic fashion. Other problems include lead-handed managing of the matter concerning Kukuri, the series making a big point of showing one character gradually growing insanely possessive only to completely revert the character back to normal at the end, and a supporting casting composed primarily of common ero game/visual novel stand-bys, although the writing does try to mix things up a bit by having Cheery Girl also be Split Personality Girl and giving her an almost ridiculously dark past to reconcile against. (In her earlier days she repeatedly served as a suicide bomber because she couldn’t die from it, among other bits of nastiness.) And can we come up with a better villain motivation than the tired, nihilistic “the world is crap, so I must wipe it clean” shtick?

The series does have a few things going for it, though. The plot twist involving why the Black Knights insist on referring toKAKERU and the gang as “fragments,” and what that means, is a doozy, the kind that can redefine a series, and the way the parallel worlds gimmick figures in during the series’ last quarter may be convoluted but still works. The series also comes up with a semi-clever way to work in a Bad Ending without actually having the series end on it. A few scenes in the second half of the series do put enough characterization together with enough dramatic push to generate some quality moments, including (thankfully) the climactic battle scene in episode 12, but unfortunately the moments when the series achieves that level of quality are infrequent.

When the series does succeed, the musical score is almost invariably an essential component; in fact, the music is the series’ greatest strength. For much of the series the musical themes and sound effects define the content, and are responsible for giving events whatever degree of power they have, rather than just supporting the content. The disturbingly discordant twist on standard school chimes effectively sets an uneasy tone early on and key battle sequences are backed by powerful themes which flirt with going overboard but never actually do. Opener “Arrival of Tears” gives a vague Revolutionary Girl Utena vibe before segueing into a heavy rock number, while the even heavier “Sequentia” closes out each episode.

Other than the “breaking glass” effect which signals the transition between worlds, the visuals do not do anything special. Girls have typical cutesy moe trappings, guys look generic, and the Larvae just look rough and ugly. Even the wider variety of appearances amongst the Black Knights still constitutes an ordinary selection of anime weirdoes. The red tones of the Red Night setting do create an interesting visual effect, the scenes where Misuzu draws her swords have some nice CG work, and there are some nice magical effects, but the action scenes only sporadically impress and definitely suffer from mediocre choreography.

Sentai Filmworks has given this one a TV-14 rating, but that might be a little on the light side. The graphic violence can, at times, get quite intense, including one scene which strongly implies that one character is ripping another’s gut open to pry something out of it. For most of the series the fan service is comparatively mild, with frequent panty shots, one character appearing in lingerie on a couple of occasions, and the odd set of bouncing boobs or girl-on-girl breast groping constituting the prurient content. Episode 11 does have a strongly-implied sex scene, however, and the OVA episode, which takes an extremely perverse and dirty-minded (but also quite funny) twist on the series’ basic concept, is a different matter altogether.

Sentai also judged this one to be too much of a niche title to merit an English dub, but that is less objectionable. At least their subtitles are (mostly) clean of errors and they do include the OVA episode. The only other Extras are clean opener and closer found on the first disk.

So is it worthwhile to wade through the mediocrity in the title just to get the handful of choice scenes? Probably not, although fully appreciating the OVA episode does require being quite familiar with the series. Its few strong points simply aren’t enough to outweigh its bland execution.

source from: animenewsnetwork

Shiki is a strange bird. Her refrigerator is filled with nothing but bottled water; her freezer contains just an unwanted cup of strawberry ice cream. Her only friends seem to be co-workers just as odd as she is. Is she really even human? It’s a good question, but not one we’re going to get answered here. Instead, what we do know is that a rash of mysterious suicides have the media in a frenzy. Seemingly unconnected teen girls are throwing themselves off the abandoned and soon to be demolished Fujou Building. Is the growing body count simply due to copycats? Or is there something more sinister at play? Shiki’s investigation suggests the latter. Inbetween chats about the nature of flying vs. falling and the relative merits of Häagen-Dazs, she begins unraveling the supernatural answer to the question of the deadly building.

Overlooking View is not concerned with making sense. It is concerned with creating a vibe, and that it does well. There is foreboding in the air. The tension mounts as we try to put the jagged puzzle pieces together ever so slowly. I give props to its creators for getting the feel just right. It looks great, but not because the characters look terribly unique, though I am happy to see somebody in a modern anime who is over the age of 20. The visuals succeed because they capture the dingy atmosphere. You can almost feel the decay in the architecture of the buildings, which have extravagant detail in spite of (or perhaps because of) their disintegration. While not as accomplished as Mr. Oshii’s films mentioned above, it’s technically sharp.

But what to do with this plot! For those of you who don’t know -– and until very recently, I was in the same boat -– this show had a loyal fan base from the very start. It’s based on a series of light novels by the founders of the game company Type-Moon, which created the extremely popular Tsukihime and Fate/stay night. It’s fans that made a film like this possible, as they have enough patience to get to the “good stuff,” having read the books in advance. But for you and I, dear reader, this is a work to stumble through, not to understand. I don’t think there’s any way to “get” it, at least not with the little bit that’s given to us in the movie’s 50-minute running time. And I certainly wouldn’t recommend watching it when you’re even the least bit sleepy, as the pacing is deliberate enough to send you into slumberland.

What troubled me was that the one story thread I could wrap my feeble little brain around had a logical hole. If one girl throws herself off a skyscraper, it’s a tragedy. If two do it, it’s horrific and shocking. When the numbers start going higher, you stop mourning and you put some freakin’ security around the building! It never appears that the police have the slightest interest in the case at all, that something might be going on besides young, carefree students deciding to off themselves from forty floors up. That makes no sense. I can hope that later installments might give some insight into that lack of concern. It is a strange situation, and nobody seems to be walking the streets around the complex either, so maybe there is something more deeply supernatural going on. I dunno. But when your central plot seems like something that could be fixed with a rent-a-cop or two, even, it’s not as effective as it could be.

Still, I’m drawn to this world, primarily by the fact that I know more is coming and fans state this is by far the least of the films. I was intrigued by Shiki and her companions and the mysteries left to discover about them. The creepiness of the whole thing was very effective, exuding dread without being a straight-up horror picture in any manner. I also got the sense that Overlooking View will broadly bloom on a second viewing after watching the whole of the series. There are too many subtleties just out of sight for them not to have greater meaning once the saga is complete.

Recently, the series of seven films was released on Blu-Ray in a box set for $600 on both sides of the Pacific. If I had plopped down that kind of money cold, even after a discount, I would have felt after Overlooking View that I’d been had. It’s not bad; it’s just not worth anything near $85 on its own. Another caution: if the price tag doesn’t scare you, be aware of the graphic violence. It’s not in the same league as other anime gorefests at all, which while gross can become comical. However, the show realistically depicts what happens to a human body that hits concrete at high velocity. While you don’t see the event in the show, you do see the bloody aftermath. In our era where there are crime procedurals on TV every hour of every day, maybe this isn’t such a big deal, but it was more than you’d see on ABC in primetime, let me tell you.

The jury’s still out. I’m not sold on how good The Garden of Sinners will turn out to be on the whole. I feel like I just watched a 50-minute trailer for the rest of the series. Am I disappointed? Yes, considering how many accolades this show has received from anime fandom. But it’s certainly not bad, and the quality of the overall production gives me hope for the upcoming films.

source from: theanimereview

Such is virtually the same with Straight Jacket, a 2007 OVA series based on a light novel series. It’s wondrously awful. Any self-respecting anime lover will snicker at the lame dialogue, the predictable stock characters, and the intensely stupid concept that fuels this heap. At the same time, for those who want a bloody, violent free-for-all with plenty of action that reminds you of the guilty pleasures found on the racks of Blockbuster many a moon ago…you’re going to dig it.

In this alternate history, sorcery made a comeback in the late 1800s. Turns out that it’s a whole lot easier to heal diseases, build skyscrapers, and manufacture IPods with magic spells than, you know, actual work. In virtually all areas of life, sorcery has taken hold. But this is a Pandora’s Box, you see. For when someone misuses sorcery or uses it too much or is really just having a honkin’ terrible day, they turn from ordinary human beings into gigantic lumpy Pillsbury Doughboys on acid with freakish arms and legs and whatnot bursting out of them like Testuo at the end of Akira. Oh, and they suddenly go from being mild-mannered to wanting to split every human they see into as many pulpy pieces as possible. And there’s no cure for this; you’ve just got to blow the crap out of them until they die. Normal firearms have little effect other than to make them want to tear their wielders limb from limb. You see the problem here?

The only folks who can kill these “demons” are “tactical sorcerists,” guys who use forbidden magic to vanquish their foes. Because of the inherent danger of using these powers, let alone ones verboten for their magnitude, they wear suits known as “straight jackets.” Every tactical sorcerist knows that he runs the risk of becoming Play-doh from hell, but with so many demons slaughtering people right and left, what choice do they have?

The story itself concerns itself with Leiot Steinberg, a rogue sorcerist/straight jacket who’s called in to fight because more and more of these demons start popping up. He’s got a kid with him who helps him with his job, and of course there’s a dark secret to their shared past. Nerin Simmons, a bumbling redhead with glasses stereotype who’s here solely to add some sex appeal, is tasked with keeping up with them. Meanwhile, Leiot earns the ire of Isaac Hammond, a straitlaced sorcerist who thinks that Leiot’s tactics (re: blow everything up) give real straightjackets a bad name. As the show progresses, their storylines intersect as we watch people get torn apart real good and buildings explode into ashes.

There ain’t nothin’ subtle about this show, folks. What you see is what you get. And what you get is a whole lot of brutal violence punctuated by a turgid soundtrack full of sound and fury telling you that this stuff is way cool and awesome. The dub track is suitably overacted by some well-known actors in the business doing their best to make this ridiculous show seem vaguely meaningful and important. The lines are awful, but at least you get to hear famous VAs deliver them. The animation is competent and nothing goes off-model, but you won’t be impressed except perhaps when things go boom.

The concept itself is ludicrous. Now I like the whole “alchemy in the modern world” idea. It could make for an intriguing show…come to think of it, it’s a lot likeFullMetal Alchemist, only not. And that was really good, so this could be a different take on it. But the problem is, there is a huge logical hole in the storyline. I’m sorry, no matter how much alchemy seems to help you do your daily tasks, if using it makes it very likely that you are going to become a rampaging blob, it would be outlawed. None of the advances pictured in the show really require magic at all. I mean, if doctors were curing cancer and NASA was building the starship Enterprise with it, that’d be one thing. But most everything we see is simplistic. There’s very little need for the magic we see in use. And with monsters popping up everywhere, you’d think that even a dunderheaded government would think, “Uh, maybe we should do something about this?” The whole idea crumbles under analysis.

But Straight Jacket wasn’t made to be analyzed; it was made to watch with sake and popcorn in hand. It is really good at what it sets out to do, to entertain guys with some mindless, gory violence. I was never bored at all watching it. And truthfully, it’s far better than many of the ’80s shows that come before it like Iczer 1,M. D. Geist, and Crystal Triangle. In fact, it was quite fun once I realized the terribleness I was in for. Not every movie can be Grave Of The Fireflies, after all.

I can’t give this show a recommendation. It is atrocious, make no mistake. But I am going to give it the highest mark I can in that low category. If I wanted to show someone the perfect example of a grade-Z anime that’s still entertaining for those with strong stomachs and a soft spot for Christopher Lambert and Dolph Lundgren, this is the first place I’d turn.

source from: theanimereview

However, The Garden Of Sinners was never meant to be a series of stand-alone films, not really.  They intentionally interweave, and so to judge the whole on the basis of the first 50 minutes is somewhat premature.  The second entry in the canon, A Study In Murder Part 1, is far more intriguing than the first.  While it is not beyond criticism by any means, it not only works on its own but also gives a bit more heft to the opening film.

A Study In Murder Part 1 is a prequel to the first film, and rather than a series of suicides, this time a string of murders has the police baffled.  As things begin, Mikiya meets Shiki for the first time in high school.  While he seems like your typical mild-mannered teenager, Shiki is plain weird — she wears a traditional kimono to classes and keeps to herself almost obsessively.  Nevertheless, Mikiya wants to strike up a friendship and talks to her during lunch hours.  Meanwhile, Mikiya finds himself linked to the murder investigations through his cousin, a police detective.  Mikiya grows closer to Shiki and learns more about her while he continues to get insider details on the killings…but put the two together, and Mikiya soon finds himself in lethal danger.

If there was a question before about the artistic nature of the Garden of Sinners series, there’s not after A Study In Murder Part 1.  Aesthetically, you can’t ask for much more.  There’s little action to animate, mind you, but it really is beautiful to look at.  It’s not the study in architecture the first was; it has more interest in natural settings, and it’s more pleasing overall.  The tone is still very dark — much creepier than its predecessor, as a matter of fact — and there’s some graphic violence, but I would revisit A Study In Murder Part 1 just to look at it all again.

And unlike the first film, here we have a strong, coherent plot that drives the action forward.  Yes, the matter of Shiki’s personhood (or multiples thereof) is a little tricky.  However, we don’t spend the film’s running time trying to figure out who the people are and what’s going on.  It is intensely focused on its two lead characters, which draws us right in.  I also was genuinely surprised with how the film ended; without spoiling the ending, let’s just say that for whatever reason, I didn’t see it coming.  I am eager to see where the series heads from here.

That isn’t to say that someone can’t make valid complaints about A Study In Murder Part 1.  Its biggest faux pas is leaving the mysteries of the first film almost totally unresolved.  While we do grow closer to the characters, issues as far ranging as the supernaturalism of the first film to the Vulcan-like lack of emotion on Shiki’s part are untouched.  Impatient viewers are going to be frustrated.  There’s also the matter of whether or not the protagonists are relatable or likable.  I’m drawn into the series far more by the mysteries and the visuals than I am any concern for the participants, and that concerns me.  Nevertheless, these issues don’t stop the movie from moving into A- territory.

In my recent readings, I’ve seen where some fans of the series contend that newbies should just skip right to this film.  Because Overlooking View is such a twisted and frustrating tangle, I’m sympathetic to that view.  However, I did find myself surprised that whatever I did wind up feeling for the leads, I felt more because of my knowledge of them from Overlooking View.  This story gives us the backdrop that make the puzzle fit together a bit more securely, and I believe it helpsOverlooking View seem more meaningful on the whole.  What I would honestly suggest is that the neophyte viewer just plan to watch the first two parts back to back as one roughly two-hour movie.

I am still not convinced that The Garden of Sinners is a great anime series.  The rest of the films have a lot of work to do to make me believe that all the hype is warranted.  That said, A Study In Murder Part 1 is a significant step in the right direction, and it may prove to be the groundwork on which excellence may yet be built.

source from: theanimereview

Yes there is: Apparently, it’s a “game” controlled by an all-powerful corporation and there are specific number of Sekireis (although they appear to all live at the protagonists domicile). It could have easily become a “harem” plotline, but doesn’t, at least, not right away.

However, our hero, a bumbling fool named Minato Sahashi, learns that he is an “Ashikabi”, someone who can “wing” a Sekirei (by kissing them), which allows the Sekirei to use his or her full powers (yes, there are male Sekirei, but they are Bishonen, which I guess was thrown in to give something to the ladies rather than making this an all-about-boy-libido show). However, problems can ensue for an Ashikabi, especially when he “wings” more than one Sekirei (because they bond with him). This however, makes him a target as killing the Ashikabi also kills any Sekirei he has bonded with.

And, if you think they haven’t taken this far enough, it turns out the Sekirei are aliens. Yes, there was a spaceship and everything. And there are eight mysterious artifacts from the spaceship that can be gathered (dragonball, anyone?) which can terminate all the Sekirei if the user so wishes. Is it getting complicated yet? One wonders if this wasn’t really set-up for a videogame rather than an anime series, although the line between the two has blurred to the point where it essentially doesn’t matter.

While it’s original enough to keep you entertained, if you’re not into constant fan-service, you’re likely to be put off by this series. However, if you’re male, have just entered puberty, and boobies are a big attraction, you won’t find ‘em much bigger than here. And in your face. Constantly.

Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, March 2011

Below: Scenes from Sekirei.

source from: anime