Friends become rivals over what to do about the Dragon Torque and the young Haruka Kaminogi who carries it within her. Karasu is willing to lay down his life to protect Haruka, but would Yu do the same if he was there? La’cryma’s Dragon Knights are dwindling with each dimensional jump, Haruka is starting to understand just what power she has over reality, and Noein reappears and wants to take Haruka to Shangri-la. Director Kazuki Akane’s (The Vision of Escaflowne, Escaflowne the Movie, Heat Guy J) twisted vision of the past and future returns with Noein - to your other self: Volume 3 from Manga Entertainment. (more…)
Daisuke Ichijyo’s “Career Dramatic Practice” has been pretty popular with the students and faculty alike. However, his encounters with Nao, Mitsugu, and Ms. Touko in Lecture One are going to get him into some new trouble now. Nao is waiting for Daisuke at home and Mitsugu isn’t far behind on wanting another encounter with her teacher. Based on the popular Crossnet-Pie hentai game boin and animated by Milky comes Boin: Lecture Two from JapanAnime. (more…)
Based on Ryotaro Iwanaga’s ongoing manga series, the aftermath of the Great War has taken a huge toll on the citizens of the Royal Empire. Former soldiers have become bandits, poverty is widespread, and food is scarce. As a proud member of the Malvin house of nobility, Alice L. Malvin joined the military to continue the family’s tradition of serving in the armed forces of their homeland. But as Alice was graduating, a ceasefire had already been reached between the Royal Empire and the Republic of Frost. Cities and countrysides alike were ravaged by the war. Three years after the ceasefire, a new war relief unit has been formed within the military. Imperial Army Section III, better known as Pumpkin Scissors, is to investigate and assist with the problems reported across the nation. But for Second Lt. Alice L. Malvin, leading the field efforts of this unit is more than just a job. Animated jointly by GONZO (Hellsing, Last Exile) and AIC (Blue Gender, Armitage III) comes Pumpkin Scissors: 1 - Honor and Blood from ADV Films. (more…)
Tatsuhiko Sato has found himself in the middle of the darkest plot in the world! Well, after Area 51, the Kennedy assassination, and American Idol. The twenty-two-year-old college dropout is a hikikomori, someone with acute social withdrawal, with a growing psychosis that there are conspiracies all around him. A cute girl named Misaki Nakahara is willing to save Tatsuhiko from being a hikikomori if he signs a contract to join her project, but is any of it real? Tatsuhiko Takimoto’s twisted look at Japanese subculture has transformed from novel to manga and now an animated series with Welcome to the NHK: 1st Conspiracy from ADV Films. (more…)
Just as I was getting ready to wrap up the Xbox 360’s Dynasty Warriors: Gundam for review, the friggin’ machine decided to go Red Ring of Death on me. WTF!? Don’t you know Halo 3 comes out next week!? The biggest game of the Fall season and the system chooses to up and die now!?!
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Something happened last night. Something awful which took the lives of four private high school girls. However, the next morning each of them wake up with no memories of what happened the previous day. As night falls, a flock of red butterflies appear overhead and each of the girls find themselves strangely beckoned to follow. Arriving at the same location separately, the girls are shocked to see each other. However, someone is waiting for them and has all the answers. GONZO (Gate Keepers, Last Exile, Hellsing) brings supernatural horror to New York City in Red Garden: Volume 1 - Live to Kill from ADV Films. (more…)
The evil Ungrar is plotting to take over the world and the Goddess of Vaccine World’s only hope is Mugimaru finding a suitable candidate to defeat the viruses. Komugi-chan is selected for the job, but forget everything you know about magical girl series because Komugi is going to shatter the traditional formula as only she can. The SoulTaker’s cosplaying Komugi Nakahara returns to reveal a different take on the SoulTaker world with Nurse Witch Komugi: Volume One. (more…)
Seishun Gakuen Middle School’s tennis team is facing some stiff competition in the district tennis tournament from an unknown team. Mamoru Inoue investigates Fudomine’s checkered past while each of the Seigaku players meets an on-court rival equal to their own power. Meanwhile, Ryoma has his own problems (physically and mentally) to overcome if he’s going to take his game to the next level. Takeshi Konomi’s long-running manga and anime series returns with The Prince of Tennis Box 2: Battle Scars from Viz Media. (more…)
Shion Uzuki and her KOS-MOS project for Vector Industries are in the testing phase when the Gnosis attack the ship, the Woglinde, to obtain the Zohar artifact replica. However, not everyone attacking the Woglinde is looking for the artifact. As Shion’s life is endangered by the Gnosis attack, KOS-MOS activates herself to save Shion as part of her hidden prime directives. KOS-MOS is now able to operate independently of Shion’s orders, and this worries Shion. Based on the PS2 game Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht, Xenosaga the Animation: Enter the Gnosis adapts the original storyline found in the first game for veteran gamers and new viewers alike. (more…)
Ginta, Babbo, and Jack are back for more adventures in the land of MÄR Heaven. The Chess Pieces are on the move and their commander, Phantom, is rising from his grave. Alviss warns Ginta of the Chess Pieces, but only a real battle will convince him of the danger. Meanwhile, a princess (who happens to look a lot like Koyuki) is trapped inside a castle while the Chess Pieces threaten to take her back to the evil Queen. The trio are about to join an adventure far bigger than they ever imagined. Based on the manga by Nobuyuki Anzai (Flame of Recca) comes MÄR (Märchen Awakens Romance): 2 - The Return of Phantom from Viz Media. (more…)
Ai Yazawa’s Paradise Kiss is back for another round of love and heartbreak as the Parakiss group tries to finish George’s dress design in time for the Yazawa School of Design fashion show. Meanwhile, Yukari Hayasaka is falling for a man while trying to stand on her own two feet at the same time. Having run away from home, Yukari is going to show her overbearing mother and everyone else that the only person who should have a say in her tumultuous life is Yukari. Featuring popular J-drama actress Yu Yamada in her first seiyuu role and character designs by Yuki Nobuteru (The Vision of Escaflowne, Heat Guy J), Paradise Kiss: Volume 2 struts down the runway of Japanese fashion design for a second look into the animated drama. (more…)
Ranmaru Shindo’s job isn’t getting any easier as the demon attacks continue to escalate. As Ranmaru probes deeper into Section 2, the dark truth behind the hidden war is finally revealed. Ranmaru faces the choice to either join Section 2 or walk away, but the choice is his alone. From Manga Entertainment comes Toru Fujisawa’s (GTO) dark look into the near-distant future with TOKKO: Volume 2. (more…)
The Soul Society has finally caught up with Rukia’s activities on Earth and her own brother, Byakuya Kuchiki, has come to take Rukia back. A Soul Reaper giving their powers to a human is a serious crime and Rukia must face her punishment for having involved Ichigo now. However, Ichigo isn’t going to let her go easily and neither are the rest of her friends. Based on the popular manga series in Weekly Shonen Jump comes Bleach: Volume 5 from Viz Media. (more…)
Masaki Kajishima (Dual!, Tenchi Muyo!, Masquerade) is back with another silly adventure across space and the bedsheets. Taiyo and his guardian android, Kei, travel through space onboard the Agga Ruter, a special ship not unlike some certain Jurai-related vessels. During their travels, Kei teaches Taiyo very special lessons in how to please women. Now that Taiyo has finally become a man, Kei can start their new adventure to find the Virginia and other key components her master has sent her out to locate. But the space pirates are hot on their trail to claim the ship and the secret components for themselves. The Space Opera hentai animated by AIC comes to DVD as Spaceship Agga Ruter from Anime 18. (more…)
Once, long ago, Wo and four other men used to be friends on the gang-controlled streets of Macao. However, a failed plot attempt on Boss Fay put Wo on the run and separated him from everything he knew. Returning to Macao to settle down with his new wife and baby, Wo finds two men who have been assigned to kill him and two more willing to protect him. The five comrades are together again and facing the issue of what to do when Wo’s life has already been spared once. Director Johnnie To’s (Running Out of Time, The Mission, Triad Election) tale of gangs and brotherhood, Fong juk, comes to America as Exiled from Magnolia Pictures. (more…)
Combining cutesy character designs, ’70s-style Go Nagai robots, and a rock soundtrack, Pan-Taron and the P-Z Lab try to defeat evil (or just accomplish daily tasks) in five-minute increments. Adopting title cards, dialogue is delivered just as it was during the silent film era, capturing only plot-related lines and leaving the characters to tell the rest of the story through their actions. From Bandai Entertainment comes the combination of Hello Kitty type characters trapped in a Go Nagai mecha dream with Robonimal Panda-Z: The Robonimation - Volume 1. (more…)
It started as a joke. Then the hints started to arrive. Is this madness? No. THIS IS COFFEE MAN!!!
By the way, if someone sees Wheeler tell him we’re sending a bill for all the advertising he’s getting. 
Not pictured are the issue of HELIO, Tick: Season 2 iron-on, Sneek Peeks of new manga (Viz, Dark Horse, CMX, MegaTokyo 5) and the Futurama Returns comic. The last one is particularly fun since I’m a Futurama/Simpsons fan. No wonder the box from Geneon was 5 pounds.
Next year let’s hope someone can swing me a ticket to ComicCon and a chance to meet Jessica Alba. Strictly for interview content purposes only, of course. (Or at least will be my excuse when the gf starts to ask…)
Mixing the stunning visuals of Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence along with full-length versions of the music from the soundtrack comes a unique second look into the Innocence film. The Innocence Music Video Anthology selects seven memorable (if not occasionally haunting) tracks from the film and sets them to the grandiose visuals of a future world. Bandai Entertainment brings Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence Music Video to America for a rare, deeper glimpse into the Innocence film. (more…)
Venus Versus Virus: Volume 2 contains episodes 3 and 4. The animated series hasn’t been released in America yet, so I’m watching the R2 DVDs. The first two episodes introduced us to Lucia and Sumire who each have their own powerful abilities for exterminating Viruses. Lucia has accepted her responsibilities, but Sumire is having trouble adjusting. So, what ways will Sumire find to screw up now? (more…)
Koutaro has been in charge of the faltering Sakura Market since his father’s recent passing. Koutaro’s stepmother Mintaro and stepsister Nagisa try to help out, but the family business is Koutaro’s to protect from his older-brother Taiyo and the corporate backer Kaneshiro. The two men are looking to buy the shop to add to their chain of markets. Between financial problems and the fact that he lives with two sexy, available women, Koutaro’s days have been anything but easy. Based on the hentai game Tsuma Tsuma 3 from Discovery and animated by ANIMAC comes Wife with Wife: Volume 1 from JapanAnime. (more…)
