The Highlander series has been around for over twenty years thanks to a never-ending supply of movies, TV and animated series, and spin-offs. To take the title in a new direction, Davis-Panzer Productions approached director Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll, Wicked City) and Madhouse to creature a new feature film based on a script by David Abramowitz (Highlander: The Series, Highlander: The Source). The final result is a Kawajiri-styled Highlander film that draws inspiration from Kawajiri’s original ideas, Abramowitz’s script, and Russell Mulcahy’s original Highlander film. Following Colin MacLeod, we watch his epic battle cross two thousand years of history as he tries to slay Marcus Octavius for murdering his wife. Manga Entertainment brings the animated introduction of a new MacLeod to the ongoing series with Highlander: The Search for Vengeance. (more…)

Yoko Noguchi (Yukiko Okamoto; Bounce KO Gals, The Returner) is a successful plastic surgeon with a cold heart. Her warped view regarding beauty has left her greedy and selective of the clients she takes on; Dr. Noguchi’s practice is based on her customers’ looks and the size of their wallets. Late one evening, a disfigured woman appears on the doorstep of Yoko’s home/business. Yoshie Kono (Asuka Kurosawa; A Snake of June, Dead Waves) is seeking Dr. Noguchi’s expert skills to re-sculpt her into a beautiful specimen. Yoshie is willing to pay three million yen if the doctor will follow the patient’s unusual request: the doctor will perform the surgeries alone, after the clinic is closed, and with no nurses to assist. Director Katsuya Matsumura’s twisted psychological-horror film Kirei – the terror of beauty arrives in the US from Tokyo Shock. (more…)

FUNimation has updated their Suzuka website with the English dub of the first episode. You can find the episode split into two parts on the flash-based website under the “Video” link. Leah Clark voices sports athlete Suzuka Asahina. Todd Haberkorn as her infatuated fan Yamato Akitsuki. And Robert McCollum as the infatuated fan’s player-of-a-best-friend Yasunobu Hattori. (more…)

With the Emiya estate filling up with boarders and Saber off on her own, Shirou’s life is getting far too complicated. And with Shirou’s best friend Shinji being the Master of Rider, far more dangerous, too. The Servant guarding Ryudou Temple is Saber’s concern while Rin and Shirou are more worried about what Shinji may be up to. Type-Moon’s Fate/stay night series is only going to get more interesting from this point on. Geneon Entertainment brings the third of six volumes to America with Fate/stay night: Master & Servant. (more…)

Type-Moon’s Fate/stay night is back with another volume of battles between the Magi competing in the Holy Grail wars. Shirou Emiya, the soul survivor of an explosion related to the last Grail war, has grown into a “nice guy,” though he is still haunted by memories of the past. Looked after by classmate Sakura Matou and teacher Taiga Fujimura, Shirou’s life is fairly well watched-over as he takes care of the estate he inherited from his father and goes to high school. But now that he has entered the Holy Grail wars, Shirou is going to have to learn a new role in life: Master. With the servant Saber at his side, Shirou will have to battle people he may already know in order to keep the general public safe from the deadly game of the Grail wars. From Geneon Entertainment comes the second of six volumes in the Fate/stay night series with Fate/stay night: War of the Magi. (more…)

Joining Geneon Entertainment’s Foreign Film Favorites DVD line is director Kihachi Okamoto’s humorous tale of three amateur kidnappers trying to outfox a shrewd 82-year-old woman to earn some money. Rainbow Kids follows three pitiful thieves recently released from jail trying to get some money. Their leader, Kenji Tonami (Toru Kazama), knows of a rich old woman who would be perfect to kidnap and demand a ransom for. His accomplices, Masayoshi Akiba (Katsuyasu Uchida) and Heita Miyake (Hiroshi Nishikawa), perk up at the idea of kidnapping the richest lady in Kishu because they can demand fifty-million yen for her safe return and live on easy street for awhile. Toshiko Yanagawa (Tanie Kitabayashi; My Neighbor Totoro) may be old, but these thieves are in for a rough ride when the popular matriarch’s disappearance becomes a media news sensation. (more…)

A group of friends takes a camping trip together to enjoy the outdoors. The air is clean, the lake is clear, and the area is full of mountains and trails through the woods. While exploring the forest during the day a rainstorm rolls in and forces the kids to take refuge in an old mansion in the middle of the woods. Any fan of 80’s American slasher films knows where this tale is already going. Based on the PC hentai game Kurohime from SPD and animated by Discovery comes the nightmare vacation Black Widow from Anime 18. (more…)

Originally released in Japan by Only Hearts’ Mint House label comes a trio of undercover agents fighting for justice: the Midnight Strike Force. Led by Kaidoh Ochi and backed by a mysterious “Lady Mother”, the cult of Charisma has been up to no good as it uses its connections to shuffle recently-dead and dying patients into its lab for experiments. Yuka, Sakura, and Miharu have been called in to go undercover as nurses to find out why bodies are disappearing and the cult of Charisma next door to the hospital is an obvious suspect. Featuring character designs by Masaki Yamada (Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040, Lingeries, Dark Shell, Appleseed) comes Midnight Strike Force from Anime 18. (more…)

As DLsite.com continues to roll out new items, we quickly get a variety of things to choose from for the English speaking audience. Shisen-sho is a tile-based puzzle game similar to mahjong, but different enough that it presents a new challenge for many players. HARO: Tale of the Western Country from circle Ponidog mixes the shisen-style puzzle game with leveling up your character to have his way with the very sexy HARO. (more…)

Weekly Shonen Jump’s insane adult-styled parody series is back with Illumitoon properly subtitling the Japanese track this time around. When we last saw our heroes, Bo-bobo, Don Patch, and Beauty had just survived an encounter with Kode-bun, the Hair Hunt Troops’ mind-reading assassin. Now they get ready to take on a whole new crew of weirdos, including a Green Tea Rice Soup Alien from outer space, the skilled fighters of C Block, and Softy Serve who looks like… well, his head is soft-serve ice cream. No sane mind is safe when BoBoBo-Bo Bo-BoBo is on the TV. From Illumitoon Entertainment comes the uncut version of Bo-BoBo: Scream for Ice Cream. (more…)