Toriko Volume 17

A mixed bag volume that still entertains, mostly because we get to spend time with manga’s greatest Tsundere: Sunny.

Creative Staff
Story: Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro
Art: Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro
Translation/Adaptation: Christine Dashiell/Hope Donovan

What They Say
After a trip to the Gourmet Shrine, the place where Gourmet God Acacia’s Full-Course Meal is honored, Toriko and Komatsu set their sights on the Shining Gourami. Since this glittering fish lives in one of the world’s most humongous and deadly waterfalls, they enlist the help of a powered-up Sunny and his new pet snake for a major fishing expedition.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With the completion of the Gourmet Pyramid arc, this volume starts off with what basically amounts to filler. I don’t mean to make that come off as condescending though. The first three chapters are essentially filler but they encapsulate the essence of Toriko; that means fun. The stories told involve the Gourmet Shrine, a Stun Apple capturing contest, and a conversation with an old man out to sell a single square foot of land. Not once during these moments do we get the feeling that we’re wasting time, that it is just padding because the author doesn’t know what to do next. The world of Toriko is so creative and so immense that there is a never ending supply of stories that can be told. That is what these chapters provide. More glimpses into this vast and wondrous world that act as both insight to the world and characters as well as just a bit of fun. I mean, you honestly don’t think that the world of Toriko is all serious business right? Didn’t think so.

Afterwards we begin our next arc: The Shining Gourami. It is yet another ingredient that Toriko has been tasked to collect by the IGO President as training to prepare him for entry into the Gourmet World. Whereas Toriko sought the assistance of Zebra for the Gourmet Pyramid, this arc has him enlisting the aid of my personal favorite Four Kings member, Sunny. Sunny’s extremely flamboyant mannerisms and general attitude and presence always seem to make the page that much more vibrant. And it’s not just his rainbow colored hair either. Together, Toriko, Sunny, and Komatsu head off to Death Falls to try and gain access to the caverns behind its massive wall and obtain the Shining Gourami. However, this bulk of the book is actually its shortcoming. We travel to Death Falls pretty quickly and everything seems to follow the brisk and exciting pacing that we have come to expect from the series. However, once the gang begin to try and get past the Falls’ wall, the pacing comes to a screeching halt. It’s actually very hard for me to try and explain.

The pages move by quickly and it is always exciting. We bounce between our crew in their ever increasingly treacherous predicament to flashbacks of Sunny training at the Roads to Hell. It is still a testament to the author that the artwork and panel flow is so mesmerizing and terrific to look at. However, once you reach the end of the book, you’ve seen one new move from Sunny, two new moves from Toriko, and they finally clear a path through the falls. In short, nothing actually happens. At all. It’s just a lot of talking and posturing, but mapped out to never be boring. That sounds like another glowing recommendation right? Just the fact that you feel so hollow at the end, that all of that excitement went nowhere…it just feels off and like Toriko is definitely not playing on either its “A” or “B” game.

In Summary
In the anime, each of the “filler” chapter were their own episode. That was actually pretty good. Make the fun self encapsulate just like these chapters. However, the rest of the book was also it’s own episode if I remember correctly. Maybe two episodes because there is a chapter or two of setup and travel to work through. That approach gives the tedium I describe as an encapsulated moment that is necessary and is then over. The sheer sprawl of encompassing 6 or 7 chapters in this volume only to leave the book empty-handed feels cheap. I can never discount the series’ artistry, it’s still top notch and among the very best running in the Shonen demographic, but I can’t ignore my gut feeling. That’s what Sunny has taught me.

Content Grade: B-
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: A-

Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: August 6th, 2013
MSRP: $9.99

Love is in the air, or at least in the mssages.

What They Say:
Bossun has a new e-mail friend, as does Himeko… In fact, they both start to fall for their respective pseudonymous pal, unaware of the person’s true identity.

The Review:
Relationships dealing with the main cast have been done kind of sparingly at best with Sket Dance and that’s been for the better as it’s not the kind of show that I think would work with a lot of romantic complications coming in. Especially if they were within the group itself. The bit in the previous episode with Switch and Momoka works well because it’s not exactly followed through on and has a certain air of innocence to it. They also work well as a pair since one of them is definitely interested and the other is kind of oblivious.

With this episode, the fun of doing all your email communication through your phone is again a big part of a Japanese teenagers life as we see that both Bossun and Himeko are getting into some fun conversations with someone through theirs. Bossun is having some great conversations with a girl he only knows as Pudding, someone that has a lot of similar interests to his. He uses the name Samurai-san, since Shinzou was there when he signed onto this service, but the whole thing is just comical to watch with how into it he gets and the way he eagerly anticipates every new message that comes his way. He’s completely addicted just as Shinzou said he would be and it’s spot on with how he’s in denial but still hooked.

Himeko for her part gets caught up in it as well, helping a friend with an email communication she wants to write and needs to use Himeko’s phone. She didn’t intend to get into it, but before she knows it, it just spirals out of control and she takes on the role of the other person in order to expand things for her and it almost becomes a kind of acted out romance. She’s completely into it and only Switch realizes along the way what’s going on. But smartly, for out benefit and his, he doesn’t tell them the truth but rather puts things in motion so that he can have a heck of a lot more fun with what will happen. Suggesting a meeting is just the perfect thing for him to oberseve and you can see how practically giddy he is about how it would play out.

In Summary:
Things do pretty much play out as you’d expect here when you have Himeko and Bossun messaging each other without realizing it and it all leading up to the big explosive moment where it all comes out. Considering their personalities, it’s no surprise that things just go in a very comical and over the top way, for this series. The ending provides a lot of laughs but I really liked everything else in it where they’re messaging each other and getting so head over heels at times that they’re just rolling with glee on the couches. The messaging addiction is strong but it also shows that Bossun in particular really does want a relationship with someone, something that doesn’t come across much in the series as a whole.

Grade: B

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.

A parasyte with an unexpected agenda infiltrates Shinichi’s school.

What They Say:
They arrived in silence and darkness, descending from the skies with a hunger for human flesh. Parasites – alien creatures who must invade and take control of a human host to survive – have come to Earth. No one knows their secret except high school student, Shinichi Izumi, who’s right hand has been invaded by an alien parasite. Shinichi and Migi, the parasite in his hand, begrudgingly form a friendship and find themselves caught in the middle of a war between humans and parasites.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Last week’s episode brought the much-heralded dick arm to Parasyte fans across the world, but this week saw one of the first substantial changes made to Parasyte in adaptation: The lion is gone! An early, weird chapter, and one of my personal favorites to boot, detailed the adventures of a lion that had escaped from the zoo and its luck with the parasytes. While disappointed, I can guess why it was cut. It’s inessential, it would take a lot of animation work, and what works with text narration in manga might very well come off awkwardly with spoken narration. Still, I’m disappointed such a unique series of events will not be animated.

Instead we skip right ahead to the introduction of Tamiya Ryoko, the first female parasyte we meet. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say, the first parasyte that has taken over a female host. We first see her dealing with a molester on a train, who Tamiya first calls out and humiliates, and then tosses off the train. By parasyte standards this is fairly restrained, and it gives good insight into Tamiya’s character. Migi detects Tamiya’s presence, but Shinichi is taken by surprise when the parasyte’s signals seem to be coming from inside his school. Tamiya is quick to recognize the panicked Shinichi, but instead of immediately lunging in for the kill, she invites Shinichi to the teacher’s lounge to talk. There, she invites Migi and Shinichi to meet at a hotel to share information, as she finds herself quite interested in Migi and Shinichi’s unique predicament. Migi accepts the offer, but Shinichi remains on guard.

And it almost seems Shinichi’s worry is validated when Tamiya shows up with a second parasyte, a nameless man who goes by A-san. He’s also not particularly enthusiastic about the meeting, but Migi and Tamiya hit it off, in a sense, swapping information on the types of parasytes they have so far encountered. Tamiya offers that she and A-san had sex, and she is pregnant with a human child. Before Tamiya and Migi are able to ponder the inability of parasytes to reproduce, A-san impatiently barges out. As the meeting concludes, Tamiya tells Shinichi she intends to leave him alone, but she’ll kill all of his friends if he interferes with her attempt at blending into human society.

A-san is not so patient. The next day at school, A-san attacks, killing three near the school’s entrance. The school is put on alert and students are told to evacuate. Migi feels the chaos of evacuation is the perfect time to kill A-san, considering that Shinichi will be surrounded by a “wall of flesh.” Shinichi refuses to get the others involved, and heads off to find a way to defeat A-san on his own.

In Summary:
Once again, Parasyte offers up a somewhat frustrating mix of the inspired and the questionable. I still think the opening and ending themes are incredibly ill-fitting, and many of the music tracks during the show seem just as out of place. There’s yet another shot of clumsily-rendered CGI students standing in line, though thankfully it’s over quickly. Hand-drawn animation continues to be strong, but Ryoko Tamiya is the real standout here. She has a great character design that looks beautiful one moment, and like a grim death mask the next, which fits the character perfectly. The hotel diner scene is as well done as I could have wished. Next week, we’ll see the conclusion of the battle with A-san, and I hope Madhouse delivers the animation to make it satisfying.

Grade: B

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Review Equipment:
Sony VAIO 20″

Racing the Devil.

Creative Staff:
Story: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Art: Robert Hack
Letters: Jack Morelli

What They Say:
There are some things in this world that mortal eyes should never witness — that’s a lesson poor Harvey Kinkle will learn the hard way, when he makes the unfortunate mistake of intruding on the darkest of ceremonies — an offense that the witches’ coven takes very seriously. Though Harvey’s life hangs in the balance, it is the Spellman family that will come face-to-face with true evil. Indeed, the choices made by teen-witch-in-training Sabrina on this dread night will determine the fate of every living soul in Greendale.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Fooled by Madam Satan, Harvey Kinkle enters the Greendale woods at night to catch his fiancé-to-be, Sabrina Spellman, meeting some other boy. Instead, he stumbles upon a dark ritual designed to initiate Sabrina into the coven of witches. Now the boy runs for his life—racing the Devil both figuratively and literally—while Sabrina tries to find a way to salvage the situation.

As Harvey runs, he remembers another time when forces bent on causing him harm chased him through the woods. It involved a hollowed-out tree trunk, a stash of adult magazines, and three toughs from the high school. As frightening as that situation was, it had nothing on what he saw in the woods—the blood, the witches, the Devil himself, and his beloved Sabrina covered in viscera, one step away from signing her name in the Devil’s book.

Sabrina struggles to free herself from magical bonds placed upon her by the ritual’s officiate, who offers sinister, cryptic warnings about Sabrina and her aunts facing the “Council.” It’s unclear just what the Council is or what it will do, but the threat is clear and frightening. Sabrina does free herself and races her own Devil to reach Harvey.

But she’s too late.

She finds Harvey in the arms of a witch, his jaw gone, his tongue lolling, his flesh torn from his neck and chest. “He was delicious,” the witch says, and Sabrina passes out.

The rest of the issue deals with the Council covering up the death and Sabrina dealing with the trauma. She stands at a crossroads, physically and spiritually exhausted, and that’s exactly where Madam Satan wants her. She approaches the sobbing girl in the school bathroom and offers her the chance to bring Harvey back to life. How this fits in with her plans remains to be seen, but it certainly spells trouble for Sabrina and the rest of Greendale.

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina 4 is another feather in the Archie Horror cap. Aguirre-Sacasa and Hack tap into something primal with Harvey running through the woods (“Being chased by something…[is] as old as the woods, themselves). It’s terrifying but also surprisingly sexual. The two moments we see Harvey being chased share more in common than just the setting. The first time he ran into danger was out of a desire to see the stash of adult magazines, and the second time was out of a desire to see his beloved Sabrina. When the witches finally do catch up, one of them appears to him as Sabrina. She casts a spell on him, asking him for “A real…grown-up…kiss,” which he obliges, flashing back for a moment to the cover of the magazine he discovered in those very same woods years ago. The next time we see Harvey, he’s dead, partially devoured by the witch he kissed.

Sex and eating go together surprisingly well, and that connection pops up time and again in art and even our language. How many times have people referred to their objects of desire as “yummy” or “scrumptious” or “delectable”? How many times have people said to children, “I could just eat you right up!”? Perhaps it has something to do with the role of the mouth in both situations, or perhaps there is something primal and visceral to both acts that we understand subconsciously. Whatever the reason, this issue uses it to great measure, twisting fear and desire, sex and appetite together into a profoundly disturbing moment.

And speaking of disturbing, the witches that hunt Harvey are terrifying. Hack does a marvelous job of making them bestial, otherworldy, and powerful, with clawed feet, skeletal faces, and grotesque body hair. Thankfully, Hack also excels at drawing non-terrifying characters. His facial expressions, body language, and general sense of design are excellent and particularly suited to this comic. I especially love his colors, which are rough and dark and textured to resemble chalk. It fits the dark, rough feel of the comic, bringing to mind B horror movies from the ‘70s and ‘80s (which I believe is the intention). It’s difficult to imagine this comic being drawn by another artist.

The only issue I had with this comic concerns the appearance of Betty and Veronica. The girls join with the rest of the Riverdale gang to assist in the search for Harvey, and Veronica convinces Betty to play hooky for a little while. They’re approached by Madam Satan, and the three engage in a rather cryptic exchange where we learn that Betty and Veronica are witches and were involved in some nasty business in the Greendale woods some time ago. I had difficulty discerning whether the two were actually witches, or if Madam Satan was speaking metaphorically. I also don’t know what it was that the two of them got into in the woods, or if I’m even supposed to know. I missed the first two issues, so it’s possible that I simply missed it, but it was a moment that took me out of the story just a little bit.

In Summary:
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina 4 continues the standard of excellence Archie Horror has established. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is quickly becoming one of my favorite horror writers, and Robert Hack is perfect on this title. It’s frightening, disturbing, and excellent. If you aren’t reading this, then you’re doing yourself a disservice. Dr. Josh gives this an…

Grade: A

Age Rating: N/A
Released By: Archie Horror
Release Date: July 29th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99

Keima’s intent on his conquest of Jun but she keeps turning the tables on him to his surprise.

What They Say:
Jun is doing her best to meet the expectations of the students. She’s very popular with the students, but she’s been possessed by a loose soul. And so, Keima begins his conquest of Jun. However, she’s preoccupied with becoming the ideal teacher, so she only sees Keima as a student. In order to break free of the teacher-student mold, Keima decides to approach Nikaido, who was Jun’s senior in school…

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As the series gets closer to the end of the season, the story being worked here is a pretty interesting one so far. The use of a student teacher gives us someone outside of the school realm again but still young enough to be within an interesting range rather than it being an older woman. Though there is some curiosity as to how that would play out. Could Keima add a cougar to his conquest list? Do his games give him the skills necessary to deal with a woman like that? Color me curious as I apparently imagining the adult version of the show. With Jun, we do get the attractive student teacher angle going and it’s a cute stereotype overall, especially as so many students adore her as she does the traditional things. And her enthusiasm for helping others like Keima is pretty apparent as well, though things go a bit over the top when we see how many games he has around his desk as she tries to help him.

Unfortunately for Keima, the things he’s doing to try and get a reaction out of Jun aren’t having the desired effect since she’s doing her absolute best to help him with his problems as she sees them in her eyes. What becomes more apparent to Keima as time goes on is that he’s lost control of this particular story as Jun isn’t playing by the normal rules that he knows. She’s continually putting him on the defense, reacting to what she does, rather than making the moves himself and directing things. For someone so familiar with the rules of the game and the way things should play out, it’s a frustrating thing for him. Even worse is when she challenges him to a game challenge and she can’t even hold the portable the right way, never mind figure out how to turn it on.

This all forces Keima into going into an unusual direction for him in going after Nikaido, who as we know from the previous episode is Jun’s sempai from when she was in school. Trying to win over Nikaido to help him in his conquest of Jun isn’t going to end well, and his visualized version of it is priceless as he has a Giant Robo-like Nikaido robot that he can use as he needs. It’s actually amusing as he does what he can to win over Nikaido to help him and she spends her time playing his games while criticizing how bad the dialogue is written in terms of grammar. His efforts are in good faith though since he wants to find out something from her that could help him deal with Jun, but she’s the sadistic kind of teacher that doesn’t give anything away. The relationship between the two continues to be a fun point of the series that I’m definitely glad had a bit more than a passing reference this time around.

In Summary:
With Keima working harder than he’s had to before in a lot of ways, the challenge here is fun on that level but also to see how Jun is dealing with her own issues. Slowly but surely, we’re getting a better picture of what’s gnawing away at her just below the surface and it comes as Keima starts to put the pieces together. This series continues to be one of the consistently best looking ones of the season and this episode is no exception, especially as it deals with the adults a bit more and adds some flavor with it. Keima and Jun are a very interesting combination to work at and it’s definitely shaping up to be one of the more interesting arcs of the two seasons.

Grade: B

Simulcast By: Crunchyroll

Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.

Wake Up, Girls! Episode #04

Internet comments can ruin anyone’s day — more so when you’re an ex-idol with a scandal.

What They Say:
“Scandal”
Following their TV program, WUG makes smooth progress on the road to idoldom by appearing on a radio program and beginning work on their second song. However, as word of their activity spreads, people begin sharing less than kind words about former I-1 Club member Mayu.

Content: (please note that the content portion of a review may contain spoilers)
The story gets a text-based start this time as the bespectacled fan we’ve seen off and on in past episodes takes part in an online discussion about Mayu being a part of the new idol group. While he’s excited, he’s shocked to discover that not only are other fans unhappy about this, they’re angry that Mayu would dare attempt idolhood again. This links back to other moments where Mayu looked uncomfortable talking about fans, and we get hints that her break with I-1 may have had something to do with a supposed boyfriend.

Mayu refuses to talk about quitting I-1, even with her new friends, but the problems she’s having are hardly secret. Miyu has also been reading the online discussion, and the groups’ managers and songwriters acknowledge that she must have a lot of past issues that she unfortunately has to deal with now that she’s in a group again.

While the other girls and the adults are content to let Mayu talk about it when she feels like, the wider public isn’t so happy about that. Suzuki, a creepy reporter we saw smirking at the end of last episode, calls President Tange about a fake idol documentary, saying he wants to interview the girls. Unsurprisingly, it’s a trick to force Mayu into revealing why she really left the group. A man? Scandal with other members? Mayu (again unsurprisingly) keeps tightlipped, but the other characters’ reactions are pretty satisfying. First, Tange and Matsuda show they actually know how to protect their clients as Tange punches Suzuki and boots him out, while Matsuda quickly pulls Mayu away from them. And the girls react in a pleasantly non-catty way; though Mayu won’t talk to them, and Suzuki said they wouldn’t exist if she wasn’t in the group, they aren’t annoyed at her or jealous that they’re perceived as less-than compared to her. Instead, they decide they have to work harder so they can get better, and agree together that it must be very hard to be in Mayu’s situation.

In Summary
Not much seemed to happen in this episode, but the story still moved along as bit by bit some things came to light. More of the secret behind Mayu leaving I-1 is revealed, and though Mayu is obviously not ready to talk about it, it may soon be time for the full story to come out. The ability of the other characters to support their friends starts to shine out, too, as none of them pressure her to talk about these problems, even though it’s becoming clear that her history will affect the way Wake Up, Girls! is perceived in the public eye. This maybe lessens the group drama, but that kind of conflict is annoying more times than not, and the girls are realizing they might have their own problems to focus on if this is what happens when you’re in the entertainment business. And besides, as the I-1 group prepares to come to Sendai, and one girl vows to crush Mayu, we may soon be getting all the girl drama we can handle.

Grade: B-

Streamed by: Crunchyroll

Review Equipment: 13″ Apple Macbook set to 720p

The second half of the season introduces some larger plot elements and explores the greater aspects of gods, spirits and more.

What They Say:
Kugen meets its sibling, Gyokuyo, for the first time in centuries during the joyful clamor of the Culture Festival at Akagi. Though Kugen thought nothing of the time it remained sealed, Gyokuyo saw things differently. Swearing revenge on the humans who harmed its only kin, Gyokuyo plots various schemes. Even more trouble comes to the Takagami brothers involving gods, werewolves, and the lost clan of the oni!

Audio:
The monolingual presentation for this release is pretty good with a standard stereo mix encoded at 224kbps. The show is more dialogue than anything else but when it dips into the realm of action it holds up pretty well. The dialogue doesn’t stretch the mix much since it’s all fairly relaxed most of the time and it’s rare more than one person speaks at a time or is off the center part of the stage when doing so. It’s not a huge standout show with the action but it has a good sense of self when it gets rolling which allows it to have some impact to it. The mix doesn’t overwhelm but it serves the material well and the Japanese language track here is pretty much spot on throughout.

Video:
Originally airing in the spring of 2008, the transfer for this TV series is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is enhanced for anamorphic playback. The two disc set contains the second twelve episodes spread out in a six/six format. The show has a good bit rate to it and a very good look overall with a lot of bright, clean colors that stand out well. There’s a lot of detail to the show in the backgrounds and the animation has a lot going for it throughout. It’s not a show that’s very flashy, but it has some strong moments in the action scenes when they arrive. There’s little in the way of noise overall and it’s free of cross coloration while only having a touch of aliasing during some panning sequences. Overall the look of the transfer is very good here and it represents the source material well.

Packaging:
This series is just like everything else from NIS America in that it gets a really great presentation for its packaging. The oversized box is done in portrait mode with a gret large cast show of all the main characters from this arc that really pops with its color and design even with the pink background. The hair and outfits really stands out beautifully here and looks amazing. The back side goes with a simple pair of the two foxes of this set as they’re in girl mode looking cute and sexy which can be a little unnerving. Unfortunately, as great as the release looks at first blush, a closer look at it reveals some issues. When you look at the detail of certain parts of it, such as the logo and the character artwork, you can see that it’s not smooth and clean linework. Compare the “volume 2 premium edition” piece on the bottom to the series logo and you can see how soft it really is. I love the colors of the artwork and the look of it all, and from a distance of like a foot and a half to two feet away it looks good, but when you get clero to it you can see the flaws in the source material used. It’s like an image that was upscaled slightly and has lost resolution because of it.

Within the box we get the two clear thinpak cases where each of the volumes has a different groping of the characters in their usual street clothes and the like. It’s all set against a nice soft yellow background with light flowers on it. The framing is nice in that it gives it an older feeling that ties in well with the theme of the show. The back covers are laid out the same with the background wrapping around of the checkered look while having an image associated with every episode number and title listed. The discs features are clearly listed with bonus features for the second disc laid out very cleanly. The technical grids are well laid out with everything clear and and accurate. The reverse sides are done with either yellow and white checkered or blue and white checkered patterns. .

Like previous NIS America releases, the real big bonus item here is the hardcover book that’s included. The book is presented as a Takagami family album and it’s filled with lots and lots of great pictures and a mixture of promotional artwork as well that’s labeled as such. There’s the inclusion of some character profiles as well that’s done with a bit of text and images of various characters that’s fairly standard. What really sells it is the great looking gallery that really shines here and shows off the characters very, very well.

Extras:
The first batch of extras are on the second volume as we get a few commercials from before the show started and after and in general as well. In addition to that, we get a set of four short clips that highlight parts and characters of the series to help flesh things out just a touch. Add in the clean opening and closing and you have a decent selection of basic extras.

In the keepcase for the second DVD, an additional disc is included that has more extras on it. What this set has is a good amount of extras that are divided up into twelve parts as they were released at different times with the original Japanese releases. There’s a screening at one event, a theme song convention extra and four parts from a couple of the Japanese stores from the release events that happened. There’s a huge, huge amount of content here that’s basically all live action and encoded fairly low as there’s something like over four hours of material from all the events. It’s essentially overwhelming from a review standpoint but for fans of the cast, the show and those wanting to see the Japanese release events at various stores, it’s an amazing treasure trove of material.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The second half of Our Home’s Fox Deity brings out another twelve episodes of the surprisingly charming and low key series that manages to avoid big moments that would feel out of place. The first set introduced us to the core cast of characters for the series and how Kugen ended up living with them and watching over young Toru as the new head of the family. A number of other deities and related started to appear since once you’re aware of one, another is certainly easier to see. The adventures the characters had were fairly limited in a way, more verbal sparring than anything else, but there were some dangers along the way that Ku had to step in to handle since the family was threatened.

With this set of episodes, there’s a good variety of material here but the first disc actually spends most of its episodes on one storyline which works rather well. The show has a bit of a mishap occur when a package ends up at Noboru’s house that Ko actually signs for. It turns out that inside is a young white haired woman that’s all wrapped up in bandages who can’t seem to talk. Toru takes to her quite easily and strongly as he gets protective about her and spends his time playing and talking with her. While he spends that time with her at the house, out in the world Noburo is getting picked up at the head of the family when he’s not and being accused of stealing the Byakki. Nobody actually says what it is, but it’s obvious quickly that Toru has the Byakki at the house.

The larger elements that figure into this storyline are what makes it really interesting. Members of the oni clan that are in the area want the Byakki as they’ll be able to use her in order to re-establish their clan and gain back a modicum of power after being largely dispersed to the four corners over the years. While they go through some rather poorly thought out plans in order to get the Byakki back for their leader, Enju, another group is watching all of this and getting involved. We’ve had whispers of the Overseers before, but they have a larger issue with the Byakki as her true power is to draw spirits to her which could cause significant problems if she begins to talk. She’s been sealed before and they need to perform that seal again before something catastrophic occurs. And in the middle of all this is a young boy who wants to protect the Byakki and finds himself having to make some very hard choices as everything starts coming together.

Our Home’s Fox Deity does throw in some standalone material that’s fun and some that’s not so fun. One that works really nicely is when it’s discovered that a Binbogami has appeared in the town and that can caused problems of poverty and luck disappearing. Because of that, a reward is offered to find it since it’s Halloween and he can blend into the crowd easily and gobble up a lot of luck at numerous households. It’s a very cute episode with all the kids involved and the costumes they wear as well as the general confusion. Not so fun is an episode that has Ku and Noboru off on a trip where they do an overnight at an inn only to discover that a mystery is involved. It’s all by the numbers, which Ku likes since it’s like on TV, but because of that and the self aware aspect of it that’s hurting it the most. With all the key things pointed out right from the start, you can see where it’s going to go and it’s more of a chore to watch than anything else.

As the season winds down, it actually does a decent job of avoiding what a lot of shows do at this point by going big and overly serious. We do get a two part storyline involving students getting turned into powerful werewolves, but it’s one of those kinds of stories that gets wrapped up pretty quickly and easily once a bit of work is done. There’s just more of a continued threat against Toru more than anything else. As it does get to the end though, as the manga is ongoing still, they do get a little serious as events transpire that has Kugen being told he has to protect the family from afar rather than living with them as Tama sees them the wrong way with Noboru ordering Kugen around and similar. Rather than having it go on for several episodes with lots of drama, it’s all kept to the final episode and resolved quickly so the show can move forward again if there was more to be made.

In Summary:
Our Home’s Fox Deity proved itself to be a very charming show that avoided a lot of obvious story ideas and methods of execution. It was fairly relaxed for the most part but it also knew when to step things up a bit. The larger storyline that could have defined the second half of it ended up being taken care of with the first disc over several episodes and that let the remainder of it all play out in a way that wasn’t stressed or forced. It had a good bit of fun, some serious material and a greater sense of bonding and family among the characters involved. This show is one that I went into with pretty much zero knowledge and really enjoy it a lot. NIS America put together a very good release here overall in combination with the first set that makes it a big plus for fans and one that everyone else should try out and discover.

Features:
Japanese 2.0 Language, English Subtitles, Clean Ending 2, TV Commercials, Events and Interview Footage of Japanese Voice Actors with Yukana (Kugen/female), Yuichi Nakamura (Kugen/male), Saori Hayami (Ko), Daisuke Ono (Ebisu)

Content Grade:
Audio Grade:
Video Grade:
Packaging Grade:
Menu Grade:
Extras Grade:

Readers Rating: [ratings]

Released By: NIS America
Release Date: February 22nd, 2011
MSRP: $59.99
Running Time: 300 Minutes
Video Encoding: 480i/p MPEG-2
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen

Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Sony PlayStation3 Blu-ray player via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.

gdgd Fairies 2 Episode 2

When it rains on the fairies’ tea party, can things ever be the same?

What They Say
The fairies discuss the weather, heroes, and the dubbing lake returns.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
This episode of gdgd fairies is a return to formula, albeit with a gag promo at the episode’s start and a new opening animation with different lyrics.

The first skit involves the fairies sitting down for tea and discussing the weather, as for the first time it appears it’s raining in the fairies’ tree. pkpk, shrshr, and krkr discuss the best ways to construct anti-rain charms, the types of weather associated with each of them, and the fates of women unlucky enough to summon up even weirder forms of weather. The conversation is amusing, but more bizarre than clever, so it seems a bit of a step down from the discussions of the first season.

In the room of spirit and time, the fairies’ try and create a hero to rescue pkpk, in order to fulfill her fantasies. As expected, they fail in different amusing ways. Sentai and masked hero fans will get more out of this than I did, but I still found the sketch amusing, especially in regards to krkr’s first hero, who threatened to kill pkpk in order to save her. Poor pkpk, whose moe hopes are always dashed by the other two cynical fairies.

Finally, the speaker is dropped for the return of the dubbing pool. The animation this time is very short, due to the length of the second sketch, and so doesn’t really have a chance to build up the laughs the way more elaborate animations have in the past.

In Summary
There’s less energy and surprise in this second episode of gdgd Fairies, but the formula is still solid and guarantees laughs and smiles. I’ll still look forward to it every week as long as it keeps turning out episodes like this one, but I do hope the new writers have some other surprises in store as the season continues.

Grade: B

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Review Equipment:
Sony VAIO 17″ HD screen

Mio has enough energy to power a small city all on her own.

What They Say:
Misato and Sasahara get a little closer, Mio-chan goes for a run, and Nakamura-sensei enters the lair of the beast.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
One of the more unusual characters of the series that hasn’t been used that well is that of Sasahara. With his slightly more elegant look while still using his standard school uniform combined with his style of speech and voice in general, he definitely comes across as someone coming from money or a higher breeding background. It’s amusing to watch him because he comes across as refined. Pairing him with Misato here who actually breaks his glasses by accident, she helps him get around by walking arm in arm with him. She’s not thrilled with the idea, but she feels it’s necessary. And everyone is staring at them and the way they’re now apparently a couple. Her reactions here are quite good as she panics over the way it unfolds and the way the final if obvious gag is dealt with.

Where the show once again manages to seriously impress though is when it comes to Mio, who upon seeing this sudden and unexpected pairing, simply flips out. She goes on an absolute tear at that point and heads off out of the school with such energy that Yukko is barely able to keep up as the situation seemingly gets worse and worse. But it’s great seeing the variety of situations that they get involved in and the quick hit gags that are brought into play. It also has a callback to an earlier episode when the two girls ran into trouble with a police officer that gets itself resolved to good effect considering the actions Mio just performed. It’s good to see that such a cute bit from before has been brought back into play in such a fun way and dealt with.

One of the other really good segments here involves Nakamura who has worked up the courage to go to Nano’s home and to try and figure out if he can get the truth about things. Being the overactive imagination kind of guy that he is, he imagines all sorts of crazy scenarios right from the start, before even setting foot in past the gate, and it just goes downhill (comically) from there as he’s invited inside. Nano’s so oblivious in a way that she doesn’t quite get it and misinterprets everything along the way. When the Professor shows up, it gets even more surreal for Nakamura since she’s so up front about creating Nano. And poor Sakamoto, he’s in a bind at the moment and it just about blows up everything else for Nakamura. His imagination takes the surreal so much further while he tries to keep it calm is just priceless.

In Summary:
With the series close to ending here, they are to some surprise wrapping up certain parts of certain storylines and advancing things in just the right way. With a little callback and a long overdue encounter, My Ordinary Life offers up a whole lot of fun here. Mio’s wackiness here is a great reaction to seeing what Misato and Sasahara were up to and I absolutely loved the way that Nakamura handled dealing with seeing the imagined and real truths at Nano’s home. But the show also knows when to slow things down and sort of wrap us up in its basic charms of how these girls see the world and things around them. And the way it can go so absolutely bizarre on the turn of a dime. But it works, against all odds, and it continually makes me grin and smile throughout it.

Grade: B+

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.

Green Lantern The Animated Series – Blue Hope

The best animated superhero series only gets better. And the only science fiction series on TV that involves spaceships.

What They Say:
Blue Hope

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
After a far too enjoyable side episode involving an alternate universe with a Steam Lantern used that helped to expand on the Anti-Monitor just enough to make it worthwhile, the series shifts to a different area to revisit someone we haven’t seen in quite a bit. Taking us back to where Saint Walker and Razer are, we see how Saint Walker is working with him and Warth to try and expand their knowledge a bit more and tune them into the universe and the idea of hope. The Blue Lanterns are an interesting aspect of the various color lanterns and one that I’ve always enjoyed for the way that it felt like there were just so few but they had an aura about them that was engaging. Even more so within this universe as we saw just Saint Walker at first before Warth ended up being drawn into it. And using them as a way to teach Razer a bit more provides for a good angle to work with.

While this is really engaging on its own, there is a tie-in to what’s going on within the main thrust of this half of the season. With Hal, Kilowog and Aya coming to talk to the Guardian that’s there to find out more about the Manhunter issue in their primary sector, it’s welcome to see how it all comes together, especially in the way that Razer is glad to see them in his own way. And how he’s very, very glad in his restrained way to see Aya again after everything. There’s some really good growth and character exploration here that shows just how people can grow and change. With Hal only trusting Ganthet at this point, it makes sense to hunt him out and to get the details on what the manhunters are all about, and to see if there are some secrets that could be feretted out to help in pushing back against the incursion.

There’s also the bonus of seeing the Blue Lantern power battery become fully operational, which lets Hal see just how much the power of Blue powers up everyone in the area. And that includes the manhunter that they had brought with them, which gives us some good, powered up action. At least briefly, but it shows just what the power of working together can do. On the downside, as much as Razer has grown, he’s also not managed to think before he speaks as he’s definitely no fan of what he sees of the manhunter. And the things he says in its own way applies to Aya as well, though there are definite differences between her and the manhunter. Razer players his role well enough here, but it’s certainly cold on his part considering what he knows of Aya and the time they spent together.

Interestingly, the encounter pushes Aya to do something that’s both good and bad as she secretly takes the manhunter off the ship to try and help it to evolve its thinking. It’s a decent plan overall and fits in with her idea that machines can grow since she did so, but there’s something to be said for her being a special case. To balance this angle, and to play into it, we also get the arrival of three more powered up manhunters from space that have followed it to the source in order to deal with the emotional beings there and capture the battery. The battle is pretty big as it plays out as the powered up manhunters are definitely impressive beings, but it’s seeing what happens after things shift that really hits home. Aya’s attempts to sway the manhunters, to evolve, is well done as it reveals more about her. But it also reveals things about Razer as she gets caught up in the battle in a way she didn’t expect.

In Summary:
While I liked the first half of the season a lot, the second half is really reinforcing my belief that this is one of the best superhero series I’ve seen. There’s so much to like here in how it uses solid callbacks to past incidents in a creative way, grows its characters in meaningful ways and expands the lore of the various corps in engaging scenarios. The manhunters get some more material here and we see, at least at this time, that they truly cannot grow. We see that against the growth that Razer has been going through and how he still has much more to go. We also see it playing out against the way the Blue Lantern corps is growing and becoming a force to be reckoned with, but one that you have to be very careful with as well. Bringing Razer back into the fold is very welcome and seeing more of the Blue’s only adds to the enjoyment.

Grade: A-

Teen Wolf Season 3 Episode 5

A move against Deucalion leaves both sides struggling with a lot of consequences.

What They Say:
Frayed – Scott and his friends recollect the events of the preemptive strike against the Alphas.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Teen Wolf takes a slightly different approach to what it wants to do here compared to past episodes as it deals with events that have happened in a past tense. With a lot of things building up in the first four episodes, this has the various people that exists within Scott’s circle of friends and acquaintances talking about what had happened prior to the bus trip that they’re on for the school now. It certainly sets things in a dark tone from the start as Scott doesn’t want to talk about and is suffering from quite the wound across his stomach due to a fight with an Alpha. And, of course, they have to provide the right kind of tease at the start by having him talk briefly about how Derek is dead from those mysterious events.

With the group having come to grips with what it is that Deucalion and all the Alphas under him are about, especially with Derek having very much having first hand experience, he and his uncle and sister are now coming up with a preemptive plan to deal with him. And with him specifically as they’re going with the idea of taking down the leader and eliminating the larger threat that exists. Of course, there’s some talk about how there is the problem that if Deucalion is taken out and he’s not really the leader, it could be a whole Hercules and Hydra event where two more would take his place and become truly a difficult situation.

Some of what’s dealt with initially is just getting the bearings and all, with Scott trying to convince Allison to not get involved after finding out she was sneaking into things again recently. It’s a tough situation since she’s convinced she can handle this, but as Scott makes clear in a really difficult way, she’s capable only so far when it comes to dealing with Alphas. But Scott himself is in over his head as well as we see in another scene where he ends up in an elevator with Deucalion and Deucalion makes it clear just how little of a threat he perceives him to be. It’s humbling in its own way because there is a certain truth to what Deucalion says that even Scott has to register as being right.

The show spends a lot of time going back and forth with different elements coming into play before the preemptive strike itself and there are some decent things that do happen. I like the tension that comes from when some of the Alpha’s come to Allen in order to get help and we continue to see that he has a hell of a lot of power or knowledge backing him up to allow him to push back against them so much. We also get a lot of time on the bus where we see things going on with how Scott’s wound is getting worse and worse from the event all while trying to keep Boyd from going nuts on one of the twins and taking him out. Scott’s in this place where he’s trying to really grasp what Allen has suggested that he do, to lead them instead of continually trying to stop them, and it’s a thoroughly engaging approach to take for the character.

When it does get to the fight itself, the lead up to it in the building is pretty intense as essentially everyone has shown up at this point to engage or defend Deucalion. Because of the set design, which thankfully takes us out of the normal locations we get, it has an added sense of coldness and emptiness about it that makes the encounter all the more fun to watch, especially with all the shadows to it and the fast action and intensity. And with Deucalion overseeing it all while the rest pretty much go through a ballet of violence, it’s definitely a little visual feast that works very well, even if the plan itself hasn’t gone to expectations.

In Summary:
While I’m not a huge fan of the way the episode is structured since it’s a filling in the blanks rather than experiencing it as it happens, there’s a whole lot to like here. While we get some very small character bits that are really good when it comes to Scott and Allison and a brief but excellent scene between her and her father, the real focus is on the fight itself as it gets down to the nitty gritty. I like what they do on the bus and the ongoing epilogue of the fight, but it’s the fight itself with all the werewolves going at it, the way Deucalion is overseeing it and the way Allison inserts herself into it no matter the danger. It has a lot of impact overall and it also shows just how conflicted Derek really is, which is hepling to make him a bit more than a one-note character he all too often comes across as.

Grade: B+

Space Brothers Episode 73

Mutta’s past and present are set to change the future.

What They Say:
Mutta comes up with an idea to prevent vehicular accidents on the moon. Will NASA accept his proposal?

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Space Brothers hasn’t been unfocused lately, but it’s been working on what are largely secondary concerns in some ways. With the previous episode, we started to see more of a shift into some more serious material, with Hibito struggling with the EVA aspect of his job after the lunar incident where they went into the canyon and nearly. And we also started to see the other side of the coin with Mutta assigned to working with an engineering team because of his background to try and find a way to fix it so something like that doesn’t happen again. It’s a smart decision to make because of his real world exposure to engineering that isn’t specialized like a lot of the guys here. And it was just fun to see the old crew for a little bit from Japan getting drawn in and quite excited about it all.

The show spends a surprising amount of recap time here in the prologue, sprinkling in a few other elements as we get closer to Mutta and his team doing their presentation for the higher-ups, which admittedly comes rather quickly after Mutta was assigned to the team. With the connections he’s made, especially back in Japan with the Kaguya II satellite, he’s able to bring a lot of data to bear on his proposal and make something that definitely can make an impression. Though there are certainly quirks with the speech and the way it unfolds, especially the nudge that Mutta makes that should make it a given that he be assigned to a lunar mission, we get some welcome flashback along the way to the days prior in seeing how Mutta’s plans actually unfolded and some of the quirks of conversation between everyone while he worked and they played cards.

Coming up with a lunar navigation system certainly makes the most sense and with the way it’s been built around the world, presumably even more so since this takes place in the mid 2020′s, there’s a lot of options for what can be done, especially as Mutta brings in his old auto company crew. Delving into the flying car aspect and what that can mean, which to someone like me goes back to the 2001 film with some of the lunar flyers it had, it’s an amusing full circle in its own way that’s only made more fun by seeing some of what happened previously in Japan for Mutta. It provides some fascinating views of what happened then, the dream that he had and how others came to it but also found resistance because of protocol definitely shows why his frustration was like it was. Having it all come full circle with some of what they created then and what Miracle Car company can do now is really a lot of fun to watch come together.

In Summary:
Space Brothers focuses exclusively on Mutta here when it comes to the new things going on and that works very, very well overall. Bringing more of Mutta’s past and seeing the way he had drawn people to him then even in difficult work conditions was very well done and ties well into what he’s experiencing now in a different way. With NASA looking to expand what it can do, but not realizing some of the potential because of agency disconnect, getting Mutta to find a way to bring it together and expand on what his personal project of the moment is works really well, especially since there are some even bigger bits of potential that can come from it. It’s not a huge presentation or flashy, but it hits all the right notes and definitely makes for a good transitional moment for Mutta.

Grade: B+

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.

A classic series re-envisioned.

What They Say:
Daiya Tsuwabuki is a boy in junior high who is known as the town liar. He claims that five years ago, he was saved by a large mechanical dragon when he and his father were attacked at sea by mechanical beasts.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The origins of Gaiking lie in what too many anime fans will feel like the distant past as the original series aired in Japan for a total of 44 episodes starting in 1976. Then the series then went dark there in part as a fight between Toei and the series creator, the legendary Go Nagai, made the series one that looked to be untouched moving forward. In other parts of the world however Gaiking wasn’t going to face the same struggles as the robot made an appearance in the Shogun Warriors toy line and the series itself would get worked into the Force Five series.

Sadly the robot wouldn’t see much new action in its homeland until he appeared almost a quarter century later in New Super Robot Wars on the Playstation. 2005 brought a change to the franchise’s status as Toei went back to the giant robot and did a revamp/reworking of the original series to create Gaiking: Legend of Daiku-Maryu and there is reportedly a live action film in the works set to debut in 2012.

The protagonist of the story is Daiya Tsuwabuki, a young man who is shown to be incredibly focused during his introduction. Despite his young age he has trained like crazy and looks to have developed his body to a level some superheroes would envy, his drive coming from the fact that five years ago he and his father were in an accident at sea and his father was lost. Normally this would probably get a kid some sympathy from at least the adults in the city but Daiya’s insistence that sea monsters were to blame have left him practically a pariah and labeled “monster boy” as everyone in these civilized times know monsters don’t exist. Even his best (and only) friend Naoto suffers from association and finally reaches a breaking point when Daiya decides to share all the details of his encounter and talk about the giant dragon that saved him-and as if summoned, all hell breaks loose.

The problem the city quickly faces is that while they hadn’t believed that monsters exist the monsters don’t seem to care whether they are believed in or not and if they do they aren’t going to let any existential crisis negate their reality. Daiya watches as, from a green flame out to sea ,suddenly two behemoths-one looking like an ogre and the other an enormous mutant snail-emerge and set their sights on the port city he calls home. As a stunned populace has to try to deal with the shock he runs home and grabs a spear as this is what he has spent the last five years training for, even though it is obvious he is hopelessly outclassed in his attempt. As he is about to get to the inevitable conclusion to his suicide attack he suddenly is rescued by a giant metal dragon Daiku-Maryu-the same ship that saved him five years ago. Though Daiya will still have to fight the monsters he will now be equipped with a giant mech to even the odds-the flame giant known as Gaiking .
It turns out that Daiya is one of the few people capable of operating the mighty suit and in fact he is the most capable person that has ever been found. Despite a set back or two as Daiya learns the difference between the mech he pilots and the anime series he watched he manages to come through with a victory and has earned the opportunity to make the hardest choice of his life: Leave his mom and homeland and travel to fight the monsters masters on their own turf, using the Daiku-Maryu as a base to fight along with the members of its crew in the hope he can both prevent further attacks on Earth and find his missing father as well.

It won’t be easy as once they hit the foreign land Daiya discovers that one person’s justice is another’s enemy of the state and that friendly ports will be few and far between as the assaults by their enemies grows with the convenience of fighting on their own turf. As the attacks come in waves Daiya will have to learn both about how to use the Gaiking as well as find his place in the crew and with the people who will be fighting the enemy alongside him. Throughout the early episodes challenges will be made and stakes raised as the enemy becomes more desperate and determined and the crew of the Daiku-Maryu has to learn to rise to the occasion. As things build a powerful threat to Daiya emerges earlier than anyone feared and the secrets behind a pair of masks may change motivations or even threaten to turn the power of salvation into damnation instead.

First things first, the initial thirteen episodes use a lot of ideas that tend to appear a lot in giant robot shows- the monsters no one else believes in, a kid thrust into a robot right away (and can use it), partner conflicts, self doubts as well as a combination of a number of things almost feel like they were grabbed out of a bag marked “typical giant robot series elements.” A lot is placed immediately on the lead character Daiya when it comes to the load of carrying the series and how successful he is will depend greatly on how the viewer reacts to these familiar elements. An additional problem is raised in that the writers were either unwilling or unable to really give Daiya a personality that stands out from the giant robot crowd so the task of focusing in on him causes the series to come up even shorter in the originality department early on.

That said, I like giant robot shows and my biggest issue was it seemed early on the Gaiking writers were playing it a bit vanilla which worked for me for the most part but didn’t really make the series special until near the end of this chunk of episodes. There is enough here to keep genera fans coming back but these first episodes aren’t going to convert those not already inclined to watch such shows.

In Summary:
With roots dating back to some of the earliest of giant robot days it isn’t a surprise that there are a number of elements found here that have become almost tropes in themselves in the over 30 years since the giant first sprang to life on the screen. The first third of the series sets up the characters and the world they live in a way that will seem familiar- bordering on cliché- for giant robot fans but there are a few hints sprinkled in to point that this is simply the tip of the iceberg and there may be some surprising events ahead.

Grade: B-

Simulcast By: Hulu, Crunchyroll

Review Equipment:
Toshiba 15.4” Notebook

Another aspect of Blade’s back story comes to light.

What They Say:
Blade reunites with Noah Van Helsing, the hunter who taught him how to kill vampires.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With little ties to the Blade character myself, though roughly familiar with an older time period of his history, watching the anime incarnation is kind of liberating since it’s not something that I’m analyzing in every detail. While we got the basic idea behind Blade’s origins earlier where he was made into a hybrid of sorts when his mother was bit while she was pregnant, we haven’t gotten much else beyond that. This changes a bit with this episode and the introduction of an old friend of sorts with Noah Van Helsing, the man who helped him become the fight that he is, but also the one that administers a medicine that helps to deal with his dual nature, keeping him from going over the edge. And it’s a fine line at that since he’s starting to develop a bit of a resistance to things.

With Blade down for a bit, the show allows for Van Helsing to tell his tale to Makoto about how he first met Eric all those years ago. Taking it back to when he was a young man in England and still not sure about what he was, apologizing to those he killed and drank from but also convinced he was simply human with a problem. When he ends up getting involved with a group of real vampires by protecting a young woman they were hunting. And it comes at the same time that Van Helsing arrived to deal out a little justice himself. Van Helsing takes a particular interest in him because of his nature, but the real fun is in watching the decently layered and mildly nuanced Eric at this age who struggles with what he is and doesn’t quite understand it. But even with these issues, he’s still focused on finding Frost and will do whatever he can to achieve it. Which is why Van Helsing is useful as he’s got his retrovirus that could help and the skills to teach him how to survive right.

Though the bond between the two can be explored only so much in the time frame allowed here, they do a nice job of showing how Eric managed to control his urges and to become more a partner than an apprentice since he has his own agenda. The tale is one that is definitely of interest to Makoto, though she has the difficulty in hearing about it since her father was a hunter as well and his death still is a big driving part of her life at this point considering how recent it was. The dialogue and exposition aspect of the show may slow things down a lot here, but moments like these are useful and Makoto needs it far more than Blade does at this point. She’s been such a poorly used character from the start that giving her even a period of time where she’s just listening to others helps how she’s perceived.

In Summary:
If there’s a tacked on aspect to this episode, it’s the action that fills out the last couple of minutes. It’s not bad action in itself, especially since it lets Steve Blume as Captain McCrea have some fun, but it’s just the forced nature of it to ensure that there’s action in each episode. The more relaxed tone to it all and the way it helps to flesh out what young Blade was like before he understood himself definitely helps him a lot, though he does manage to come across as the strong and silent type well even with this back story. Blade’s world expands nicely here and we even get to see the equivalent of a smile out of him, but it’s all pretty dark material when you get down to it, within the constraints of what it is, and it works well to set up where the show is going to go from here for a bit. It’s all about Deacon Frost, but it looks to take some nice diversions as well.

Grade: B

Highschool DxD New Episode 5

The battle gets underway and as Issei gets boosted, Kiba stands tall.

What They Say:
The Kuoh Academy students fight Kokabiel and his minions to defend their school and their town.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the school now protected in a barrier in order to stave off any problems from the outside, the new showdown is getting ready to commence. With the help of Sona and her group to make sure things stick to the status quo, she at least does indicate that there’s a chance that things could go really awry as nothing can be kept truly safe and the whole event could just be a mess. Which is why Akeno does make the push to get help from the big Devil himself with her older brother Zechs in bringing in additional help. That’ll be there in about an hour, which Rias does actually agree to, but does she agree to wait the hour before going in and dealing with what must be dealt with?

At this point, it’s essentially a stalling game as Rias wants to get Issei up to speed and properly powered up as needed since he’ll be key to the fight. And as we’ve seen before, this kind of praise and incentive is what he needs to really rally himself and that always makes Issei fun to watch since he can get aggressive in wanting to please the women in his life. Such is the case when they all go up against Cerebus, as the rest of the team distracts and pushes back against him while Issei boosts up with Asia keeping close by to help him out if needed. It’s a pretty fun series of actions as it goes on, with Kiba throwing some surprisingly good bits along the way and Rias herself getting involved quickly and strongly in order to provide overall support, especially since Kokabiel is realizing just how much of a problem the Red Dragon Emperor is going to be.

Kiba actually ends up dominating a good part of the second half of the episode as events start to work against him when dealing with the opposite side, and we get some small nods to his past as well which helps to flesh him out just a touch more. But it also draws Freed back into the game as he defends the priest and sets up for a fight that everyone else rallies around him for in order to take it to its natural conclusion. Considering Freed was pretty much despised in the first season, he’s not changed much here, and if anything is just even more intolerable. Though there’s a good bit of dialogue that’s pushed into it, which isn’t a surprise since the first half was more action heavy, the posing and stances here are fun and it’s really nicely animated as we get the twist that pits the team against Freed to take him down once and for all.

In Summary:
This season of Highschool DxD has been a bit difficult to get into for me but this episode feels like things are a bit better off and more on track, giving us a good bit of action, some very fun animation and finally some additional if brief character material for Kiba. Bringing Freed back into the game annoys me to no end, still making me wish he was just sliced up in the first season, but it makes for some good psychotic material here that is fun in its own way. The show has a lot of action here but also slows down for a bit of exposition and posing so that they’re not over-animating the thing, and the end result is a pretty solid episode that does leave me curious where it will go next.

Grade: B

Streamed By: FUNimation

Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.

Gargantia On The Verdurous Planet Episode 4

What is with this beautiful, heartwarming tale, Urobuchi?

What They Say:
In order to compensate for the damage to the hangar they caused, Chamber is put to work hauling around heavy cargo, but that leaves Ledo on the sidelines with nothing to do. Amy takes him around the fleet and introduces Ledo to the knowledgeable Dr. Oldham as well as her sickly but wise younger brother, Bebel.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Although this series is moving along smoothly and naturally, it’s keeping me guessing, and not in the way previous Urobuchi writings have. While I’ve grown used to what I think I should expect from him, this series is turning his own inventive subversions on their head, and thus we get this episode. There’s no action, nothing really happens, and it’s almost all happy or, at the very least, heartwarming, and incredibly human all the while.

The episode consists largely of Ledo digging deep into the standards of this foreign society to try to learn how it works and why it makes sense, as he’s experienced nothing remotely like it in his life. It was clear that the story was heading in this direction, but seeing him go through this episode without any conflict beyond his own internal confusion feels so serene and calming considering some of the potential for violence the series has shown us.

I suppose it’s a method of showing us the difference between Ledo’s upbringing and the lives led by the inhabitants of Gargantia, obviously the main theme of the series thus far; this world feels so bright and happy compared to what we may expect from the writer, the protagonist’s outlook on life, the death and destruction we’ve seen glimpses of, etc. And for that purpose, it works quite well. As the viewers, we’re caught in an interesting position to examine this story. On one hand, the Earth in this series is, for all its history of destruction and relative primitiveness, the closest thing we can connect to, as the customs of human beings have persisted throughout the ages on our home planet and feel much more familiar than anything else. On the other, we see it from Ledo’s eyes, and while the first half of the first episode was far less interesting than anything since, it was in retrospect an effective way to start the series, giving us enough of a taste of what Ledo was used to in order to understand why a society which makes much more sense to us would seem more alien than the creatures he was fighting.

Because of this dynamic, of course, the episode can’t exactly be treated as all smiles and sunshine. Seeing Ledo slowly learn about how beautiful humanity can be is a wonderful thing, but realizing that the reason he has to learn it at all is that the existence he’s used to is so disgustingly brutal and cold, but by necessity, allows for there still to be a dark undertone. While it’s mostly a simple day-in-the-life episode that doesn’t appear to amount to much on the surface, the memories that it jogs in Ledo are the one clear piece of setup to look forward to learning more about in the coming episodes. It would’ve been good without that, but I was glad to have something to grab onto and be carried along to next week with.

In Summary:
This episode isn’t about action or spectacle, but pure humanity. Ledo’s disconnect with the world he’s been thrust into has been the major theme all along, so as uneventful as it ultimately is, it’s good to have an episode dedicated solely to exploring that, allowing him to learn about what humans can be beyond self-sustaining killing machines. It’s simple, but very deep and beautiful.

Grade: B+

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Review Equipment:
Custom-Built PC, 27” 1080p HDTV.

And cut. That’s what happens to the joy at Kissuiso when things do not go entirely as hoped for.

What They Say:
“Pool on the Hill”

The movie shoot is over and it there wasn’t a happy ending. The reputation of the Inn is damaged and rumors begin to spread.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Well, that’s a very spoiler-filled official description provided this week, isn’t it? Granted, this was not unexpected, as there was that ominous ringing phone at the end of the previous episode. But before we get to any bad news, we have Yuina stealthily making her way into Kissuiso before she is caught by Ohana and Nako, who corner her in the stairwell. Yuina, however, seems intent on not getting caught, and jumps out of a window, even though they’re on the second floor. Death awaits…

Or not, since this is a scene from the movie being shot. But despite the impressive appearance of the movie crew, with their equipment and apparent professionalism, not everyone is feeling good about it. The ominous phone call is revealed to be from Satsuki to her mother, warning Sui about the film people. There’s just something fishy about it. Sui, who has already given Enishi free rein, in an indirect way asks Satsuki to express how strongly she feels about the matter. She wonders if Satsuki would rather inherit and run Kissuiso instead of Enishi? Satsuki, however, is not interested in that possibility.

As we start to see more of the movie being filmed, it’s already obvious to anyone who is genre-savvy that this is some sort of low-budget violent thriller, as the next scene we see is Ohana and Yuina being gunned down in their waitress uniforms. As it is, all of this was merely test footage, not even the real thing just yet. We hear that the other inn managers are not all that happy with what is happening at Kissuiso, though the guests are not upset at the movie shoot, as it adds a little excitement to their stay.

Besides the movie, we also have the pool, which has been completely cleaned out and is ready for use. But that’s when everything appears to go to downhill. Yuina overhears her grandmother gossiping with several other older women (probably other inn managers) that the whole movie thing is a scam. Back at Kissuiso, Enishi and Takako are frantically trying to contact Mr. Isami, the movie producer, who apparently sent them an email saying that the project had been called off. Enishi is on the hook, having paid out a large amount of money, while Takako only now tells him that she had suspicions about the whole thing from the start (and allegedly warned Enishi not to make the payment until everything was firm and set).

On the surface, however, everything is normal while behind the scenes Enishi and Takako scramble. Yuina runs to Kissuiso to see how things are, expecting dejection and confusion, only to find Ohana cheerful and working as normal, only just a touch disappointed that the film is not going to be made. Yuina leaves, knowing that Ohana is ignorant of the truth behind things. Enishi then receives a call from his sister. Satsuki apparently did a little checking up on Mr. Isami, and it appears that he is deeply in debt and probably already used Kissuiso’s money to pay his debts. A disreputable person. Enishi will be taking the blame for the entire affair.

Then we get the centerpiece for this episode, focusing exactly on what I expected. A powerful and frantic argument between Takako and Enishi, where she is apparently intent on going to Tokyo to clear up some matters (and perhaps run away from the movie debacle), while Enishi wants her desperately to stay. It’s clear that Takako feels that Enishi is too dependent upon strong women (he’s clinging to her and he suggests that he turn to his perfect sister for help), while it’s fairly clear to the viewer that it’s not just simple dependence upon women that drives Enishi’s feelings for Takako. As the two of them struggle at the pool (and fall in, naturally), Enishi is practically doing everything but proposing to Takako, and we get the sense from her facial reactions that she has some feelings towards him as well.

But there is real damage to be assessed and dealt with. Sui goes to a meeting with the other Yunosagi inn managers to lay out the situation (though we do not get to hear her side of things). She then returns to talk to Enishi. She states clearly that Takako will have to take her share of the blame, though Enishi defends her fairly vigorously. Sui, who allows Enishi to call her Mom for a change, is of course not pleased at what happened, but is impressed that Enishi has come to feel strongly enough to defend someone before her. It’s an interesting scene that is capped off by a flashback to the pool many years ago. Enishi was not the center of attention, as he could not swim well at all, merely floating on an inner tube. Satsuki was the focus, as she could swim well, enough to have her mother’s full attention. But this little vignette shows us much of the future, as Satsuki leaves the pool with little more than a cold expression for her mother, while Enishi, floating along, desperately calls for his mother’s attention. It is clear which child was ignored and which one had perhaps too many expectations placed upon her.

What is interesting about this episode is how despite the negative events and rather dramatic developments that take place, the mood and tone remains relaxed and at times nostalgic. You don’t really feel your heart beating fast or your emotions being stirred greatly. This is not a negative criticism that I am making. It is an observation of how the setting and the people, who are largely devoted to the business of helping others to relax and feel a reduction in stress, have the effect of reducing the sting of the betrayal to a certain extent. Perhaps that is because despite the damage done, we get the feeling that Kissuiso is not in imminent danger of being closed. Perhaps Sui only agreed to Enishi’s idea because she knew that the loss could be sustained (not that it was a good thing to happen in any way). Or else she knew that this was an important test for Enishi. If he could not handle this situation, then he would be incapable of inheriting the inn and running it properly. But he has apparently passed the test in terms of character, if not in business acumen and the ability to sniff out a crook.

Next week seems to promise Nako in a mermaid outfit. I look forward to it with great expectations.

In Summary:
While the movie idea seemed good, often things that are too good to be true are. But this is just a blip on the radar, as more important things occur. Enishi appears to be ready to press his relationship with Takako further. And the girls just get along with life. Sure, Ohana and Nako are disappointed in the movie not being made, but they will survive. In the end, the timeless qualities of Kissuiso and the life there appear to suppress the stresses and misfortunes of everyday events. But we will have to see what the long-term impact will be.

Grade: A-

Simulcast by: Crunchyroll

Review Equipment:
Apple iMac with 4GB RAM, Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard

The coming of age ceremony for one young man leads to an awakening of something that only brings forth pain and suffering.

What They Say:
Oz Vessalius, who just turned fifteen, leads a rich and privileged life as the heir to the Vessalius name and estate. But everything changes when, during his Coming of Age Ceremony, he is drawn into an eternal prison known as “Abyss.” There he meets and is saved by Alice, the Bloody Black Rabbit (B-Rabbit for short). Join Oz on this fantasy adventure as he unravels the mysteries behind Alice, Abyss, and the “Pandora” organization!

The Review:
Audio:
The monolingual presentation for this release is pretty good with a standard stereo mix encoded at 224kbps. The show has a good balance of dialogue and action scenes so there’s plenty of times where it deals with just the dialogue, which is well placed and has a fair bit of depth when needed, and the action ramps things up rather well. It’s not a huge standout show with the action but it has a good sense of self when it gets rolling which allows it to have some impact to it. The mixes don’t overwhelm but it serves the material well and the Japanese language track here is pretty much spot on throughout.

Video:
Originally airing in the spring of 2009, the transfer for this TV series is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is enhanced for anamorphic playback. The two disc set contains the first thirteen episodes spread out in a seven/six format. The show has a good bit rate to it and a very good look overall but it’s controversial as there are stylistic choices made in the visuals as the show has a lot of intentional grain/noise to it. This, combined with the difference in brightness levels that often happens with US releases compared to Japanese releases due to differences in home video releases, makes it stand out more here. Having experienced significant visual design like this before, it doesn’t bother me anywhere neat as much as it used to since it is intentional. It does add a lot to quite a few scenes, but it feels like it could have been used more judiciously. The release looks great overall I think as it captures a very distinct looking show with great animation and some really vibrant and eye-popping colors.

Packaging:
Pandora Hearts gets a really great presentation for its packaging that mirrors what we saw with NIS America’s launch titles of Persona and Toradora. The oversized box is done in portrait mode with a really elegant illustration that has three of the principle cast members together that’s really quite appealing. With the heavy black border around it, the muted colors really stand out well and the detail to it gives it such a great portrait feeling that you can notice new details every time you look at it. The back side keeps it very simple with an all black piece with just the series name through the middle with some ornamentation on the top and bottom. Within the box we get the two clear thinpak cases where the first volume shows off Alice against a mostly white background while the second lets Gil take center stage with his heavy black outfit. The back covers are laid out the same with the background wrapping around of the checkered look while having an image associated with every episode number and title listed. The discs features are clearly listed with bonus features for the second disc laid out very cleanly. The technical grids are well laid out though the run times on them are just a bit off, at least for the second volume since it lists it as 330 minutes while the first has 168 minutes. The reverse sides are done with just the gray and white checkered look with some small pieces from the Abyss world added in.

Like previous NIS America releases, the real big bonus item here is the hardcover book that’s included. With a great visual of Oz in his coming of age outfit set against the white theme with the watch to one side, it’s eye grabbing right from the first moment you see it. The full color book has about half of it given over to the who’s who pages and a vocabulary breakdown with pictures and descriptions as well as a cast list. There is a really beautiful illustrations section as well that shows off some very detailed images. The very welcome part is a Gilbert side story manga that’s included which is fully translated and adds a good bit of fun to the character. Like previous books, this is something you just don’t see all that often and stands out as a really strong value added item that makes these releases unique and highly worthwhile.

Menu:
The menu layout uses some of the thematic elements from the cover artwork with the white checkered background for example. Like other NIS America releases, the menus don’t come up at the start, just at the end of the last episode on the disc after the bonus material if any. They can be accessed any time though. The layout is straightforward with the episode number and title selection along the left and submenus that load quickly and without problem. The right side is given over to the character artwork for that volume which we saw on the thinpak cases as well. It’s all nicely stylized and though static in nature with some instrumental music playing along, it fits really nicely and sets the mood well enough.

Extras:
The extras for this release are on the second volume and we do get some fun stuff. The basics are welcome here with the clean versions of the opening and closing sequences but we also get some bonus sequences. The bonus clips are all about three minutes long for the five of them and they’re cute little pieces that often have the characters speaking directly to the viewer before doing some out of character gag or little side goof to make things sillier. It’s a welcome bit of silliness for a series that’s filled with serious moments as it’s nice to see the cast in different forms and interactions. The tiny form of some of them, such as the bonus episode about the errand, is priceless.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMTNigGt63Y]

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Based on the manga by Jun Mochizuki, Pandora Hearts is a twenty-five episode series that really manages to avoid a number of traditional cliches while still playing within others. With the manga series ongoing as of this writing with twelve volumes out there, the anime has a lot of material to work with, though it can’t exactly tell a complete story since there is no end. But it can tell an engaging opening story with introducing some interesting characters and settings. What surprised me the most with this show is that they managed to avoid doing a monster of the week show and instead did something really that builds on everything else to form a larger world. And while some of it may be obvious, they craft it well enough so that you can be surprised.

Pandora Hearts tells the tale of Oz Vessalius, a young man who is about to attend his coming of age ceremony as he’s turning fifteen. The ceremony is an important one within the family as it’s filled with tradition and can only be attended by those of that age and up. Oz isn’t exactly excited by it, but he’s looking forward to getting past it, especially since his estranged father won’t be attending but his best friend and servant Gil will be. Gil was a young boy who was taken in by the family and slated to being Oz’s servant. The two young men are definitely close and Gil has made himself totally beholden to his masters needs, pledging eternal loyalty. While Gil may be skittish and always looking to please, he has an honest earnestness to himself based on feeling that he’s very luck to be a part of Oz’s life.

The setup for this world is interesting as it has a fairly European style to it as it deals with four dukedoms that have gained power because of acts they performed a hundred years prior in an important war. For the Vessalius family, the coming of age ceremony is important as there is hope that an awaited one from within the family will awaken something during the ceremony that will start something new. While the four dukedoms all have something key from that time, there is a group called Baskerville that has their own and wants what the dukedoms have. So when Oz goes through his ceremony and it turns out that he’s (obviously) the prophesied one, they do their best to kill him.

Which, interestingly, is done by sending him into an otherdimensional place called The Abyss. It’s here that the show starts to pick up a lot more on its Alice in Wonderland themes as Oz faces off against the Black Rabbit, really named Alice, who is something called a Chain, creatures that inhabit this world and form contracts with people that allow them into the real world. Alice has an immense amount of power and quite the reputation in the real world as the Black Rabbit and she sets up quite the deal to get back with Oz. Unfortunately for Oz, it’s going to cause a strain on his system and start him down the path to losing his life through it. And as bad as that is, his coming back to the real world happens with the passage of time of about a decade, which puts him on the outside of everyone he knew since if Baskerville discovers he’s back, they’ll be threatened.

Pandora Hearts covers a lot of ground in the first few episodes and shifts things around in a way that really keeps you on your ties. It introduces a few characters and hints at more in the shadows and then throws a lot of it out the window with the leap forward in time. But it’s all key material because it deals with the time that Oz first started at but it also goes back and starts to tell the tale from a hundred years prior. There are some interesting layers here and as more characters come into play in the leap forward period as Oz is brought into the Pandora group, it really becomes fascinating to watch to see what threads start to come together and what the real, larger storyline is.

Pandora Hearts has a really great look to it that totally won me over as it progressed. Taking the grain/noise style out of the equation, animation studio Xebec really did a fantastic job with it. The character designs have a lot of detail to them and the color palette throughout it is quite rich and vibrant when dealing with the key areas. The Abyss areas have a good mixture of opulence to it that gives off that aristocratic feeling, particularly with the reds and greens. The show also does some really strong animation and flow to it when it comes to action scenes as they do tend to go big and creative. With the couple of Chains that show up in it and their designs, it gives it the otherworldly supernatural feeling while still being grounded with a lot of reality around it. Unless it takes place in the Abyss of course.

In Summary:
Like a small number of shows, Pandora Hearts in its first set is kind of awkward to write about because it changes things about halfway through the set in what a lot of it means and how the relationships work. There’s a lot to like here, from the visuals to the characters and the storyline itself as it’s slowly revealed. Each new episode adds a bit more to the mystery and draws you in before you really realize it. While the show does deal with a fifteen year old lead, he’s got that aristocratic element to him that ages him a bit and a different skewed sense of what to do because of his privilege. It’s not another typical action/adventure piece but rather one that weaves some really neat elements to it from the Alice lore and kept me wondering where it was going to go on a regular basis. And shows like that are fairly rare in general, making this one to definitely watch.

Features:
Japanese 2.0 Language, English Subtitles,Detective Break, Sharon’s “Mission: Innocent Maiden,” Heartthrob Pandora Academy Parts 1-2, Alice and Echo’s Errand, Clean Opening & Ending

Content Grade: B+
Audio Grade: B+
Video Grade: B
Packaging Grade: A+
Menu Grade: B
Extras Grade: B

Readers Rating: [ratings]

Released By: NIS America
Release Date: October 26th, 2010
MSRP: $59.99
Running Time: 330 minutes
Video Encoding: 480i/p MPEG-2
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen

Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Sony PlayStation3 Blu-ray player via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.