Reviews

The Ergo Proxy DVD Review Is Now Available

Ergo Proxy DVD CoverThe Ergo Proxy DVD review is now available in the reviews section and here.

I always thought the DVD cover for this series was poorly done. The mask Vincent holds in his hand appear more like a hideous set of nails than a mask, the background looks like puke and Pino is nowhere to be found. That aside, did you know Geneon released a Blu-ray version of Ergo Proxy in Japan? It did originally air in 720p so a Blu-ray version can be mastered fairly easily, but I think FUNimation did the right decision when they chose to release the DVD version. There isn’t anything visually spectacular as to warrant a Blu-ray release for this title and I am very much pleased with the DVD release.

 

The Clannad Blu-ray Review Is Now Available

Clannad Blu-ray CoverThe Clannad Blu-ray review is now available in the reviews section and here.

I think it takes a certain degree of maturity to fully understand the inner workings of Clannad. When I first saw Clannd (back in 2009) I couldn’t really relate to any of the characters and though that the series portrayed angst for angst sake. I ended up discarding it as a series that creates unnatural situations for the sole sake of squeezing an emotional response from us. I was wrong. Three years later, and after experiencing a bit of personal grief myself, Clannad rings true to me more than any other drama series.

Here’s an interesting trivia fact for you: Clannad and Toradora coexists in the same world. In one scene the Toradora crew is seen passing alongside the Furukawa bakery. How awesome is that!

 

The Fate/Unlimited Blade Works Blu-ray Review Is Now Available

The Fate/Unlimited Blade Works Blu-ray review is now available in the reviews section and here.

After watching Unlimited Blade Works I am genuinely weary of Sentai Filmworks’ upcoming Fate/Stay Night release. Sentai Filmworks clearly did a lousy job at translating and mastering Unlimited Blade Works, a fact that I mention more than once in my review. As a Fate fan who’s favorite Fate/Stay route was Unlimited Blade Works I feel bad for having to write such a bad review on such a promising product. Oh well. At least the upcoming Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya won’t let me down. Right?

Fate/Unlimited Blade Works

The Strike Witches 2 Review Is Now Available

Strike Witches 2 Box ArtThe Strike Witches 2 Blu-ray/DVD Combo review is now available in the reviews section and here.
I really took my time with this one to make sure everything is perfect so be sure to read it. I’m happy that both seasons of Strike Witches are finally available legally in the U.S. It worries me that we still have no news regarding the acquisition of the movie while other, more recent, anime series are being license left and right. But all in good time. When I look at the Strike Witches universe I see a lot of potential. A third season, which will animate the Witches of Africa and the One Winged Witches manga, seems like a great choice to continue this series.

The Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex DVD Review Is Now Available

The Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex DVD Review is now available in
the reviews section and here. Even though I’ve seen my fare share of anime along the years I’ve found that police-related anime can never quite hold a candle to the live action cop dramas we have on TV. There is no technical reason holding anime studios back from making a great series in this genre so I can only assume that gifted scriptwriters in this field are a scarce commodity. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex demonstrated that pretty well – the production studio hired more than six script writers who worked for more than half a year just to write the basic plot for the series. If not for the fact that Ghost in the Shell was guaranteed to sale no matter what I doubt Production I.G would have gone to such lengths just to create a quality series in this particular genre.

Since GITS:SAC has many interesting facts surrounding it here’s a nice Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex trivia section!

  • The line of text written around the Laughting Man logo is a line Holden says in J.R. Salinger’s book The Catcher in the Rye.
  • In episode 11 (Escape From) a poster with the words GoSeeBananafish ca be seen. Banana Fish is a manga by Akimi Yoshida which was inspired by A Perfect Day for Banana Fish – another story by J.R. Salinger.
  • Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex coined the term Stand Alone Complex. According to the Urban Dictionary Stand Alone Complex is a “Phenomenon where in behavior by unconnected individuals creates a seemingly concentrated effort. This behavior is copied from a previous source without an original.” Stand Alone Complex is a type of Simulacrum. The hacker group Anonymous is considered by some to be a Stand Alone Complex.
  • While Mamoru Oshii did not take part in the production of GITS:SAC the production team have consulted him at least once during the production process. This was done in order to make sure the series preserves some visual cues from the movie.
  • A PS2 game, also called Ghost in the Shell:Stand Alone Complex, was released in Japan and the U.S. in 2004. This game is considered to be one of the most impressive anime-inspired video games available for PS2. It has an entirely new plot set in the Stand Alone Complex timeline and both Major Kusanagi and Batou are playable characters.
  • The phrase “aeria gloris” can be heard several times during the opening theme for the series. This phrase was in fact made up for the song. The words aeria gloris hold no meaning in Russian and Latin.

 

The Ai Yori Aoshi: The Complete Series DVD Review Is Now Available

The Ai Yori Aoshi: The Complete Series DVD review is now available in the reviews section and here.Ai Yori Aoshi Anime Classic

This collection is a great way to introduce yourselves to Ai Yori Aoshi and is definitely one of the rightfully titled classic anime in FUNimation’s anime classics line. But those who really want to know the entire story, and on the way get to read one of the best manga ever made, should definitely check the Ai Yori Aoshi manga as well. It was released in its entirety by Tokyopop, and while Tokyopop is no longer here the manga is still relatively easy to find. If you’d prefer to skip the volumes that were already animated I recommend you begin with volume 10 (which was only partly animated). The Ai Yori Aoshi anime focuses more on the fun and games in the life of the boarding house, while the manga offers a more balanced story and does not shun away from portraying the personal hurdles and hardships of life alongside the more happy occurrences seen in the anime.

 


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