Series: .hack//
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 125 minutes
Based on the popular Playstation 2 videogame .HACK//SIGN is the story of Tsukasa, a young man trapped in "The World", the most popular videogame ever. Played by millions online everyday, for Tsukasa "The World" is no longer a game, but his disturbing reality, from which he must now figure out how to escape.
Series: .hack//
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 125 minutes
Based on the popular Playstation 2 videogame .HACK//SIGN is the story of Tsukasa, a young man trapped in "The World", the most popular videogame ever. Played by millions online everyday, for Tsukasa "The World" is no longer a game, but his disturbing reality, from which he must now figure out how to escape. In these episodes, Tsukasa is captured by the Crimson Knights, but just as he begins to reason with his captors, a demented fellow prisoner stages a chaotic jailbreak.
Series: .hack//
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Based on the popular Playstation 2 videogame .HACK//SIGN is the story of Tsukasa, a young man trapped in "The World", the most popular videogame ever. Played by millions online everyday, for Tsukasa "The World" is no longer a game, but his disturbing reality, from which he must now figure out how to escape.
Series: .hack//
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Based on the popular Playstation 2 videogame .HACK//SIGN is the story of Tsukasa, a young man trapped in "The World", the most popular videogame ever. Played by millions online everyday, for Tsukasa "The World" is no longer a game, but his disturbing reality, from which he must now figure out how to escape. In these episodes, Tsukasa and the rest finally finish their battle at the upside-down castle. Afterwards, everyone except Tsukasa is transported back to a field in "The World", leaving everyone to wonder what happened.
Series: .hack//
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Based on the popular Playstation 2 videogame .HACK//SIGN is the story of Tsukasa, a young man trapped in "The World", the most popular videogame ever. Played by millions online everyday, for Tsukasa "The World" is no longer a game, but his disturbing reality, from which he must now figure out how to escape. In these episodes, the 'sleeping girl' goes missing, prompting renewed interest in logging on to the game. Nearing the final battle, the players must now decide who will fight and who won't.
Series: .hack//
Format: DVD
# of disks: 2
Running Time: 100 minutes
Based on the popular Playstation 2 videogame .HACK//SIGN is the story of Tsukasa, a young man trapped in "The World", the most popular videogame ever. Played by millions online everyday, for Tsukasa "The World" is no longer a game, but his disturbing reality, from which he must now figure out how to escape. In these episodes, the group gathers for the final battle in the Net Slums, a secret area that Helba made out of discarded files and pieces of leftover data. Subaru and Tsukasa come together and promise to work together till the end, as well as another, very important promise. Sora gives in to the enemy Morganna, and the group must rally against them. Who will remain friends and allies when the secret to the sleeping girl finally reveals itself?
Series: Agent Aika
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 120 minutes
Series: Agent Aika
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Description From the creator of Project A-Ko! Aika's on vacation and ready to let her hair down. But she's seduced by a master manipulator intent on revenge. Can Aika fight her way to freedom without losing her heart...and her inhibitions? Frills will fly tonight! Includes 3 episodes!
Series: AMG
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 87 minutes
Amazon.com Kosuke Fujishima's delightful Oh My Goddess! began as a manga in 1988 and was made into a five-part OAV in 1993-94. Fujishima used bits of Western mythology for his offbeat romantic comedy: the three sister-goddesses are based on the Norns, the Fates in Scandinavian legends. Keiichi Morisato is a familiar anime type: a short, skinny nerd at the bottom of the pecking order. One afternoon, while he's stuck in his dorm taking phone messages for his older classmates and trying to order lunch, the lovely Belldandy appears and declares she is a goddess who will grant him one wish. Convinced she's part of an elaborate prank, Keiichi asks her to become his girlfriend forever--and is dumbfounded when she grants his wish. Her presence gets him kicked out of the all-male dorm, so they set up housekeeping in an abandoned temple. What should be an idyllic existence is soon complicated by the arrival of Megumi, Keiichi's kid sister; Urd, Belldandy's voluptuous older sister; and Skuld, her sulky younger sister. But despite the contretemps, the bond between Keiichi and Belldandy only grows stronger. Keiichi, like Tenchi or Akito in Nadesico, is initially unprepossessing, but his maladroit exterior conceals a genuinely kind heart. Perhaps because she's a real goddess, rather than a magical girl, Belldandy never whines or grows smarmy; she remains a warm, gentle presence. Voice actors Scott Simpson and Juliet Cesario offer sensitive performances that add to the series' charm and good-natured comedy. Unrated; suitable for ages 12 and up for minor nudity and occasional risqué humor. --Charles Solomon From the Back Cover Moonlight and Cherry Blossoms - College freshman Morisato Keiichi gets more than he bargained for when he goes dialing for dinner and gets an unexpected delivery - Belldandy, a real live, honest to goodness GODDESS! Belldandy grants him a wish, and Keiichi decides that what he really needs is a girlfriend just like her. And that's exactly what he gets. The mysterious Ultimate Force that enforces all Wish Contracts comes into play, and Keiichi and Belldandy are now inseparable. Then Keiichi...
Series: AMG
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 69 minutes
Series: AMG
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 115 minutes
Amazon.com Based on a manga by Kosuke Fujishima, Oh My Goddess! was made into a popular five-part OAV in 1993-94. Keiichi Morisato acquired the goddess Belldandy as a girlfriend in a charming, small-scale domestic comedy. The feature (2000) is set three years later: Keiichi has grown more attractive and less maladroit. Belldandy remains essentially unchanged--until she encounters Celestin, her former "mentor." Celestin rebelled against the powers of Heaven and was imprisoned. Having escaped, he wants to resume his rebellion and reformulate the universe according to his designs. The filmmakers attempt to link computer viruses with apocalyptic mythology and the relationship between Belldandy and Keiichi. Although they made an agreeably mismatched couple in the OAVs, Keiichi and Belldandy simply don't have enough depth as characters to challenge what amounts to a Lucifer figure or support such a baroque story line. Rated 13 Up: brief nudity, risqué humor, violence. --Charles Solomon Description Trouble in Paradise! Belldandy's mentor mentor, Celestin, was imprisoned for attempting to overthrow the Goddess system, but now he's back! Using a system virus, Celestin, corrupts the Goddess system and removes all of Belldandy's memories of Keiich! Will Belldandy's love for Keiichi prove to be the key to ruining Celestin's plans, or will it be the final ingredient necessary to destroy our reality?! BONUS: Don't miss the first episode of the Adventures of the Mini-Goddess after the end of...
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 2
Running Time: 125 minutes
Amazon.com essential video Artist-writer Katsuhiro Ôtomo began telling the story of Akira as a comic book series in 1982 but took a break from 1986 to 1988 to write, direct, supervise, and design this animated film version. Set in 2019, the film richly imagines the new metropolis of Neo-Tokyo, which is designed from huge buildings down to the smallest details of passing vehicles or police uniforms. Two disaffected orphan teenagers--slight, resentful Tetsuo and confident, breezy Kanada--run with a biker gang, but trouble grows when Tetsuo start to resent the way Kanada always has to rescue him. Meanwhile, a group of scientists, military men, and politicians wonder what to do with a collection of withered children who possess enormous psychic powers, especially the mysterious, rarely seen Akira, whose awakening might well have caused the end of the old world. Tetsuo is visited by the children, who trigger the growth of psychic and physical powers that might make him a superman or a supermonster. As befits a distillation of 1,318 pages of the story so far, Akira is overstuffed with character, incident, and detail. However, it piles up astonishing set pieces: the chases and shootouts (amazingly kinetic, amazingly bloody) benefit from minute cartoon detail that extends to the surprised or shocked faces of the tiniest extra; the Tetsuo monster alternately looks like a billion-gallon scrotal sac or a Tex Avery mutation of the monster from The Quatermass Experiment; and the finale--which combines flashbacks to more innocent days with a destruction of Neo City and the creation of a new universe--is one of the most mind-bending in all sci-fi cinema. --Kim Newman --This text refers to the DVD edition. Additional features Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira is often described as the movie that created a mass audience for Japanese animation in America. Akira looks better now in this remastered DVD than it did on its original release: dust, dirt, and scratches have been digitally removed and the color has been rebalanced. It also makes more sense in a new translation. The ending still leaves many questions unanswered (which is not unusual in anime), but the convoluted plot is easier to follow than it was in the initial English...
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com Despite the series title, Nanako Shichigusa is not a nurse, but the maid of Dr. Kyoji Ogami, an internationally noted surgeon and bio-engineer. She's also a klutz--wherever she goes, she breaks dishes, incinerates meals, slips, trips, and falls. Of course, her real function is sex object. She wears short skirts that hike up to show her panties and low-cut tops that accentuate her constantly jiggling cleavage. She frequently loses even these minimal garments, always when an audience is present. Dr. Ogami is often verbally and physically abusive and insists on her following a grueling athletic training regimen. For some reason she adores him. Ogami is also involved in a top-secret bio-medical program involving "Green," an alien creature with three strands of DNA in its cells. The experiments are supervised by the Pentagon and the Vatican (!), and Ogami has to fend off the interference of a crotchety general and a frosty papal emissary. The slapstick sexual comedy fails to mesh with the sinister intrigue, and Nanakofeels like two ill-matched series imperfectly edited together. However fans of anime jiggle shows aren't likely to worry about plot nuances. Rated for ages 16 and up for nudity, sexual situations, and violence. --Charles Solomon Description From the mind of the world's most brilliant scientist, comes the most powerful weapon of the 21st Century... Then again, maybe not. My name is Dr. Kyoji Ogami, the world's leading surgeon, scientist and bio-engineer. The young lady that you see here is Nanako Shichigusa. She works for me as a nurse, housekeeper and addle-minded troublemaker. But despite Nanako's flaws, she is about to become the subject of my greatest experiment. Her simple brain will be removed and transplanted into the body of...
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 60 minutes
Description Tradeshows and Psychos! Dr. Ogami's new patient is accused of being a serial killer, and his blood holds far more secrets than just the truth. Meanwhile, Dr. Ogami's old rival wants nothing more than to destroy Dr. Ogami's Power Suit Prototype II at the high tech weapons exhibition, but our lovely nurse, Nanako, is inside! The patient and the rival both pursue Nanako for more than her good looks, and if she's not careful she won't be able to bounce back from their advances!
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 60 minutes
Description Tibetian soldiers have attacked my hospital and attempted to uncover Nanako's secret! Yet, I will not allow them to interfere with Nanako's survival so we will go to Tibet and attack their secret lab. While we may interrupt their attempt to make a clone from the Shroud of Turin, at least I may finally be able to keep my Nanako! - Dr. Ogami.
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time:
Amazon.com This sequel offers little of the Blade Runner-influenced vision of a despotic future that made the original OAV and previous feature so popular. After living peacefully under assumed names on Mars, Naomi Armitage and her husband Ross Sylibus are drawn into a standard anime plot involving a sinister corporation's efforts to create artificial humans. The curvaceous Naomi is actually a "Third," the most formidable type of cyborg. (She's even borne a child, which suggests just how sophisticated her circuitry is.) Naomi takes on the duplicates of her that the evil Demetrius Mardini has created, in a series of gunfights, fistfights, knife fights, and explosions. Despite the film's promising origins, clumsy storytelling and director Katsuhito Akiyama's tendency to stage many of the battles in dim dramatic lighting hurt its impact, as it's difficult to follow what's happening. Rated 16 Up: Graphic violence, violence against women, nudity, profanity. --Charles Solomon --This text refers to the DVD edition.
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 90 minutes
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 3 Hours
Description Dark Schneider is the Bastard!!! A lone warlock, freed from years of imprisonment, stands against an army of destruction bent on world conquest and the resurrection of an ancient evil. But Dark Schneider is not protecting the desperate people of Meta-Rikana out of the goodness of his heart. After all, they were the ones who imprisoned him for leading this same army against their city the first time! However, he's not about to let his old army, his old generals, and his ex-girlfriend show him up. Besides, his new girlfriend is counting on him, and it's been a while since he had some fun... First time ever on DVD for release in North America! DVD contains all six episodes.
Series: Gatchaman
Format: DVD
# of disks: 4
Running Time: 600 Minutes
Collecting together 12 episodes of cult animated TV show BATTLE OF THE PLANETS, this lavish box set is a must for any Japanese animation fans. Following the fortunes of G-Force --Mark, Jason, Princess, Keyop, and Tiny-- as they attempt to protect the galaxy from evil invading forces, this show has a huge worldwide cult-following, and is set to expand it with this amazing compendium of episodes!
Series: BBC
Format: DVD
# of disks: 6
Running Time:
Amazon.com The latest adventures of the four women of the Knight Sabers are not a continuation, but an alternate version of their earlier escapades. In 2040, much of the labor in Tokyo is done by Boomers, robots initially manufactured by Genom to rebuild the city after a devastating earthquake. Unfortunately, Boomers sometimes go berserk and attack humans. Only the Knight Sabers, a cadre of female vigilante mercenaries who fight in high-heeled armor suits, can really tackle a rogue Boomer. Klutzy Linna Yamasaki comes to Tokyo hoping to join the Knight Sabers. A rampaging Boomer brings her into contact with the women of the squad: motorcycle-riding rock singer Priss Asagiri, AD Police officer Nene Romanova, and lingerie-boutique owner Sylia Stingray, who heads group. Linna eventually persuades them to give her a tryout. Despite the hard-hitting action scenes, the story begins very slowly, and the characters aren't terribly appealing. Priss is given to sullen silences, Nene sounds like a case of arrested development, and Linna inexplicably shifts between small-town innocent and defiant rebel. The men are all jerks and/or lechers. The settings look less like the blighted dystopia of the earlier entries in the series and more like a standard-issue Tokyo-of-the-Future. Episodes: 1. "Can't Buy a Thrill," 2. "Fragile," 3. "Keep Me Hanging On," 4. "Machine Head." Not rated; suitable for ages 13 and up for violence, profanity, and brief nudity. --Charles Solomon Description In the aftermath of the great earthquake, one ruthless corporation, Genom, stands ready to take over the devastated city of Toyko with an army of synthetic monsters, called Boomers. Only one small band of female mercenaries is ready to stand against the monolithic power of Genom, but in this case four women is all it takes! Armed with the most incredible combat unit suits ever designed, the Knight Sabers wage a desperate war in the shadows, combating the monstrous by-products of technology run... read more
Series: BBC
Format: DVD
# of disks: 3
Running Time: 399 minutes
Series: Miyazaki
Format: DVD
# of disks: 2
Running Time: 125 minutes
Hayao Miyazaki's CASTLE IN THE SKY is a rousing adventure that follows an orphan named Sheeta as she eludes the clutches of a secret agent named Muska while trying to discern her family's history. After her first escape from Muska, Sheeta meets up with a young boy named Pazu, whose father, a photographer, was disgraced after he took a picture of the legendary flying island of Laputa and had it dismissed as a hoax. When the two realize that a family heirloom Sheeta carries allows them to levitate, the two begin a search for the lost island, trailed by Muska, who is also searching for Laputa. -- (Muze Description)1266411 "...[The film] culminates in a breathtakingly animated siege on the titular structure..." -- (Review)1277874
Series: Cowboy Bebop
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com Each of these two snazzy 20-minute installments is a self-contained and satisfying adventure tale about a futuristic hipster bounty hunter, from the most popular Japanese animated TV series of 1998. This is elegant action-comedy anime, with smoothly integrated CGI space-flight elements, gorgeous graphics, blues harmonica and sax riffs on the soundtrack, and a no-sweat post-Tarantino attitude. Despite occasional eruptions of gun-fu Asian-action violence, and some intimations of heavy-duty drug use (one especially noxious narcotic is administered as an aerosol spray, straight onto the user's eyeballs), the tone is surprisingly convivial. None of the generic tough elements are grim or mean-spirited. Lanky antihero Spike Spiegel is a planet-hopping freelance cop with a cyborg sidekick and a genetically enhanced Welsh Corgi assistant, and as many wisecracks as punches get thrown. The emphasis is on clever twists of plot in an episodic short-story format. --David Chute Additional features This DVD contains three more episodes from the imaginative and satisfying series that combines several genres, à la Blade Runner. Faye Valentine, the spunky, soon-to-be partner of Spike and Jet, is introduced in "Honky Tonk Women." Spike meets her in a giant casino where the most valuable item is a special poker chip. Faye and Spike cross paths again in "Gateway Shuffle," which starts with an eco-terrorist group going berserk and ends with an exciting race through space. Though plucky... read more
Series: Cowboy Bebop
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com The popular anime series Cowboy Bebop is one of the few Blade Runner spin-offs that pays off big dividends. The Cowboy Beboppers are free-spirited bounty hunters who roam the solar system looking for criminals. Told in 25-minute episodes, this very different anime series has the stuff many shows lack: a strong vision, intriguing plots, and tantalizing back-stories. In this second session (episodes 6-10), we begin to learn some of the history of our hero, Spike, his right-hand man, Jet, and even the gloomy story behind the fate of the charred Earth. Episodes include a run-in with a deadly child prodigy, a trucker tale, a curious trip to the terraformed Venus, where a loner seeks to learn from Spike. There's also a tale of Jet's old flame, and the introduction of the crew's latest member--a computer hacker named Ed. Gorgeously drawn and fueled by cool music--often counterpointing the action--Cowboy Bebop is too good (and accessible) for just anime fans. (Ages 12 and older) --Doug Thomas Description Contains episodes 6-10 of the television series - five full episodes! Spike and Vicious conclude their reunion with a deadly duel. And after that, more mayhem and hilarity await as the crew of the Bebop continues to try and make a living as bounty hunters. As they travel, they will meet up with a feisty space trucker, make a stop on Venus, and meet up with the great hacker Ed.
Series: Cowboy Bebop
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Includes Episodes 11 - 14 of the television series. See individual titles for details.
Series: Cowboy Bebop
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
There's always a new mystery for the Bebop crew to solve, and always with humor. Includes Episodes 11-14.
Series: Cowboy Bebop
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Contains episodes 19-22 of the series ("Wild Horses," "Pierrot Le Fou," "Boogie Woogie Feng Shui," and "Cowboy Funk"). See individual titles (Vols. 10 and 11) for episode details.
Series: Cowboy Bebop
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
COWBOY BEBOP, one of the best anime series of the 1990s, reaches its conclusion in this DVD "session." Here, Spike is bout to catch up to his dream girl, his ex-girlfriend Julia, but it remains to be seen whether the spark between them will still be there. And, Spike and Vicious meet once more leading to an unexpected finale.
Series: Cowboy Bebop
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 107 minutes
Set on Mars in the year 2071, COWBOY BEBOP: THE MOVIE is based on the much-loved animated television series by Japanese director Shinichiro Watanabe. (The show airs on the Cartoon Network in the U.S.) As the film begins, Spike (Steven Jay Blum) and his gang of gypsy vigilantes are roaming the city, looking for trouble when Faye (Wendee Lee) witnesses a bioterrorist attack. Hovering above the city in her spaceship, she sees a man fleeing the scene. Over 500 people die in the attack, and the city offers a monetary reward for any information. The gang jumps at the opportunity. They decide to branch out, each using their own tactics to research the tragedy. Spike slinks through Chinatown, being led by shady underground characters. Faye traces the image of the man she saw back to military files. And the young Ed (Mellisa Fahn) and her dog Ein do some handy computer research. Meanwhile Jet (Beau Billinglsea), holds down the fort, worried about the gang. When the criminal Vincent (Daran Norris), is identified, with a connection to Spike's love interest Elektra (Jennifer Hale), the real action begins. COWBOY BEBOP is a visually dramatic film that combines several styles of illustration into one beautiful, cohesive animated environment. The Mars of this film is a combination of cities: New York, Hong Kong, London, Paris, and many more. Viewers are compelled to identify monuments and familiar structures, while the terrorist theme hits fearfully close to home. IN THEATRES: AUGUST 30, 2002 (NY, World Premiere) APRIL 4, 2003 (LA/NY)
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 82 minutes
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time:
Amazon.com These two short episodes rank among the silliest anime series of all time. Years ago, a king sent his greatest knight, Ruth the Great Red Lightning Bolt, to slay a dragon; but instead of killing her, the warrior married her. Mink is the result of that union: a scantily clad redhead with horns, wings, and a short tail. (Although she commands an array of super powers, Mink didn't inherit brains from either parent.) In "Mink's Voyage" the lecherous king sends his top warriors to slay Ruth so he can marry the curvaceous dragon himself, but Mink clobbers all of them. She enters a no-holds-barred contest, hoping to win the plane fare to pop star Dick Saucer's next concert in "The Brutal, Killer Martial Arts Tournament." Mink triumphs, defeating a demon who "doesn't care about story continuity." Rated 15 Up: Violence, profanity, nudity. --Charles Solomon
Series: Dual
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com Although the packaging proclaims that this new series is from "the creators of Tenchi Muyo!", Dual!is closer in tone to a mecha version of El Hazard. Everyone at Naniyo Academy regards nerdy Kazuki Yotsuga as weird because he flinches and ducks for no apparent reason. But Kazuki sees visions of giant robots fighting in the city where he lives. When the pretty and popular Mitsuki Sanada learns about the visions, she takes him to her father, Ken, an eccentric scientist whose specializes in "dimensional physics." Kazuki's visions confirm Ken's belief in a parallel world--where he accidentally sends the two teenagers via an untested invention. In the very different parallel world, Ken heads the Earth Defense Force, commanding the giant robots that engage in stylized battles against the troops of the fanatic scientist Rara. In the best anime tradition, Kazuki demonstrates an unheard of empathy with the huge mecha Hartzenan, winning a battle for its injured pilot. But all the other pilots are girls: to hide the existence of his new star warrior, Ken puts Kazuki in drag, which leads to new problems. The results are agreeably silly, although Dual!lacks the warmth that gives the "Tenchi" series its offbeat charm. Rated for ages 13 and up for mild profanity, sexual humor, and robot vs. robot violence. --Charles Solomon Description Kazuki is plagued by visions of giant, destructive robots that no one else can see. But all of the years of ridicule are about to pay off! Before he knows what's happening, Kazuki gets ensnared by a pretty face, and then a mad scientist's experiment throws him into his world of visions! Now the danger is very real and his allies are twice as strange as he ever imagined! On the plus side, he gets to drive the robots! Includes episodes 1 - 4
Series: Dual
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com Kazuki and Mitsuki attempt to adjust to life in the parallel world where they were inadvertently sent by Mitsuki's addled scientist-father: they pose as siblings, attend school, and train as pilots for the Core Robots used in the strangely stylized war with the fanatic Rara. The situation is further complicated by the arrival of the amnesiac alien girl D, who talks like the robot-heroine of Key, the Metal Idol, and the attractive Yayoi, their school teacher, battle instructor, and house guest. Yayoi's presence arouses Mitsuki's jealousy over who will be the domestic leader of this mismatched ménage. Mitsuki arranges an engagement interview for Yayoi with a wealthy industrialist just as the next battle with Rara begins. Rara unveils a gargantuan, seemingly invincible robot that is an example of "ancient technology," and the battle ends with Kazuki's capture. Dualis a series that sharply divides otaku. Fans praise its blend of humor and adventure; detractors dismiss it as weak copy of "Evangelion." It's similar in tone to the "El Hazard" series, with a whiny, put-upon hero and strong female characters linked by ill-defined relationships. There's little chemistry between the characters, which makes it difficult to care about them. Rated for ages 13 and up for mild profanity, sexual humor, and robot vs. robot violence. --Charles Solomon Description Vol. 2 (Episodes 5-7) Kazuki's old life is gone. Now, in the parallel world, he must juggle his life as a Core Robot Pilot along with his school work, and the most difficult subject of all - girls! Its bad enough to share the house with the most beautiful girl in the the school, but then D, the alien girl moves in, and his teacher invades his bedroom! Now, when Rara reveals its most powerful weapon, will Kazuki be up for the challenge, or suffer a crushing defeat?
Series: Dual
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com The adventures of nerdy Kazuki Yotsuga and temperamental Mitsuki Sanada in a parallel world continue in three episodes marked by odd shifts in tone. Injured in one of the stagy battles fought against General Rara, Kazuki is found and cared for by his daughter, Mitsuki--the counterpart of the abrasive girl from Earth. She arranges for Kazuki to escape; after he beats her in a high-stakes battle, she defects to the opposing side. Although she was a leader of the enemy forces, Mitsuki Rara moves into the house of the head of the Defense Forces with Kazuki, Mitsuki Sanada, the semicatatonic Dee, and battle instructor Yayoi. Without her, Rara's squadrons repeatedly lose to the Defense Forces, as Kazuki's new Core Robot crushes everything in its path. Rara's steely wife Ayuko, who is really waging the war, takes matters into her own hands, and Kazuki literally goes down in flames at the end of "Repatriate," although mecha pilots are notoriously difficult to kill. Reluctant warriors have become a feature of many mecha series, but Kazuki lacks both the complex motivations of the melancholy Shinji in Neon Genesis Evangelion and the self-deprecating humor of Akito in Martian Successor Nadesico. Rated 13 and up for mild profanity and robot vs. robot violence. --Charles Solomon Description Caught behind enemy lines! When a seriously injured Kazuki awakens, he finds himself iin the clutches of the infamous Miss Rah! Or is she? Kazuki is confused when Miss Rah tends to his wounds and even cooks for him! What's Kazuki to do? Meanwhile, the Rara army has come up with a plan that will ensure their victory. Get rid of Kazuki...
Series: Dual
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com The barriers between Earth and the parallel world begin to break down in the final episodes of this adventure-comedy, threatening to destroy both planets--and what remains of the story line. When he's on Earth, Kazuki worries about his friends on the alternate planet; in the parallel world, he finds the war with Rara going badly. Dr. Sanada makes it clear just how confusing the links between the planets have become when he asks Kazuki to send his greetings to himself. The battle for the parallel world crystallizes around Ayuko and her pursuit of ever more power. Kazuki agrees to sacrifice his beloved mecha, and the explosion somehow creates a new Earth that preserves elements of the parallel world. It's not clear why Kazuki's wishes have the power to transform space, time, and matter. Many of the artists who created the series worked on Tenchi, but Tenchi is the long-lost crown prince of the planet Jurai and commands extraordinary powers; Kazuki is just a whiny teenager from Earth. The story really ends in episode 13, "The World"; the following episode, "Final Frontier," is a sort of coda that suggests a sequel is in the works. Rated 13 and up for mild profanity, sexual humor, and robot versus robot violence. --Charles Solomon Description The barriers separating the parallel worlds are breaking down the existence of both Earths! In theory, the process can be halted by the elimination of elements unique to one of the two Earths, but that means either the alien technology must be destroyed, or Kazuki must die! (Episodes 11-14) From the creators of Tenchi Muyo! Collectable "Static Cling inside (while supplies last)! Black BRC response card (regular version).
Series: El Hazard
Format: DVD
# of disks: 3
Running Time: 245 minutes
Amazon.com The seven-episode OAV El Hazard: The Magnificent World began the popular comedy-adventure that encompasses the 13-part broadcast series El Hazard: The Alternative World and the four-episode OAV El Hazard 2: The Magnificent World. Director Hiroki Hayashi is the co-creator of Tenchi Muyo, and both series focus on strong, outrageous female characters who fight for the affections of a dense but well-intentioned hero; in this case, Nanami and Shayla-Shayla over Makoto. Makoto lacks Tenchi's charm and secret powers, but the hard-drinking teacher Mr. Fujisawa balances the flakiness of Tenchi's father with genuine strengths. In the ruins beneath Shinanome High School, Makoto encounters Ifurita, an ancient, mysterious entity who transports him to the parallel world of El Hazard. She also takes the scheming Jinnai, Jinnai's irrepressible sister Nanami, and Mr. Fujisawa. The Earthlings find themselves in an elaborate sword-and-sorcery tale involving the Eye of God, a super-weapon created by an earlier civilization. Balanced against this threat are comic interludes that include Makoto posing in drag as the Princess Fatora and Jinnai making himself ruler of the insectlike Bugrom. The plot has an odd, circular structure in which the climax sets up the action in the first episode. El Hazard 2 picks up the action, but much of the story feels like a rerun: the characters deal with similar problems, and the threat comes from another terrible weapon, "the Trigger of Destruction." The many fans of El Hazard will welcome this set, even though it contains no supplemental material. Rated 13 and up for drinking, mild profanity, and violence. --Charles Solomon Description Encounter a world of wonder and fantasy! Three high school students and one of their teachers are mysteriously transported to the magical world of El Hazard. There, they discover hidden talents, lost technology, an empire of sentient bugs, and enough adventure to fill a lifetime! The long-awaited DVD compilation of the seven original El Hazard OVAs and the four OVA's from El Hazard 2 are finally here! From the writer of Tenchi Muyo and the animation studio behind Bubblegum Crisis, Tenchi...
Series: El Hazard
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com "The Priestess of Water" contains the first four episodes in a 13-chapter (on 4 separate discs) broadcast series that continues the story from the two popular OAVs. Many of the artists also worked on the Tenchi series, and they've created another comic sci-fi adventure centering on a pleasant, somewhat dense hero pursued by colorful, powerful women. The arrival of Qawoor, the new priestess of water, in the Kingdom of Roshtaria, sets the story in motion: the power-mad Mr. Jinnai uses the insectlike Bugrom in a new bid for power; a curious device Makoto found emits blasts of energy. At Qawoor's coronation, the mysterious Arjah, who calls himself the ruler of the universe, sends the cast from the idyllic El Hazard to a gritty industrial world. The characters land in different regions and the plot complications multiply. Honeymooners Miz and Fujisawa discover they're climbing a mountain on a floating island; the flamboyant emperor Dall Narciss falls in love with Qawoor. He wants Makoto to repair the dimensional reactor that supplies their power, but his lieutenant, Gilda, suspects Matoko of espionage. Fire priestess Shayla-Shayla dukes it out with Jinnai and finds herself a prisoner of the Bugrom. The tone is too silly for any of these problems to seem like much of a threat to the eccentric characters. --Charles Solomon Description The Priestess of Water is retiring and her replacement is long overdue! What has happened to her? And just when Makoto is trying to learn more about this new world... What's this? An alternative world?
Series: El Hazard
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Description Romance is in the air for Miz and Rune, for they have found their true loves. Unlike the ruler of Creteria, Dall Narciss, whose infatuation is ignored by the naive Water Priestess, Qawoor. Even Fatora thinks she's in love. But what kind of relationship could she have with Gilda, the head of Creteria's militia? Then there is Makoto who is diligently seeking the secret behind the Spring of Life, an artifact that might have the capability to send them back home, that is if it wasn't dying...
Series: El Hazard
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Description What is this past that Gilda has with the Emperor of Creteria? And what does the Eye of God have to do with the Spring of Life? Meanwhile, Jinnai has his own problem understanding just what these new type of Bugrom are thinking.
Series: El Hazard
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com This 13-episode broadcast adventure concludes as the sinister Arjah possesses Gilda. She forces Makoto to continue unsealing the Spring of Life, which he identifies as the controls for the super-weapon, the Eye of God. He also realizes his mysterious crystal is a lock for those controls. Arjah tempts Makoto, promising to return him to Roshtaria and even Earth. But Makoto seals the Spring with the aid of the three Priestesses, ending its threat to Cretaria. The filmmakers fail to tie up a number of loose ends in the story: Emperor Dall Narciss forgets his passion for Qawoor and reveals he was once betrothed to Gilda. The viewer never learns what becomes of Chibal, the honest farmer who rescued Princess Rune, or who or what Arjah is. But these omissions aren't likely to bother serious El Hazard fans. As the story really ends with episode 12, "Night of Captivation" offers little more than slapstick comedy: Fatora and Alielle try to seduce the other women; Shayla-Shayla, Nanami, and Qawoor fight over Makoto; Mr. Fujisawa searches for a drink. American viewers may not recognize the nosebleed Makoto suffers when he sees the female cast nude as a metaphor for arousal. Rated 13 and older for violence, mild profanity, nudity, and sexual situations. --Charles Solomon Description Gilda leads Makoto inside the Spring of Life, where he realizes its secrets and discovers the threat of world annihilation! Arjah uses Gilda to get the activation password from Dall Narciss, and when Gilda speaks the password, the floating colonies crumble and the farmlands are destroyed as the ancient artifact reforms! Now it's up to Makoto and the Three Priestess to stop Arjah from destroying the alternate world of Creteria.
Series: Excel Saga
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com A truck flattens Excel, the heroine of this nutty adventure, in the opening minutes of the first episode. But the Will of the Cosmos insists the main character in a series can't die, and brings her back to life. She becomes the overly enthusiastic follower of Ilpalazzo, the leader of Action, an ideological organization that plans to purify the world. Excel stumbles her way through parodies of everything from Star Wars to Galaxy Express 999 to Japanese dating shows. She adopts a cat as a pet (and possible emergency food source), and little balloons with cats periodically pop up to translate the puns and explain what's being spoofed onscreen. Excel Saga is generally regarded as one of--if not the--craziest series in the history of anime, and compared to it, the likes of Dragon Half plays like King Lear. Rated 17 Up: Violence, profanity; risqué and gross-out humor. --Charles Solomon Description Excel Saga is a one-of-a kind work of art that can only be described as the ultimate parody of anime. From the opening credits - a rather odd spoof of Japanese pop videos - to the ending song featuring Menchi the dog singing/barking a plaintive ballad while a human interpreter translates for viewers, nothing is sacred in the world of Excel Saga. Excel Saga contains the chronically over-challenged and understaffed secret ideological organization of ACROSS (total membership: 2), whose goal is to... read more
Series: Excel Saga
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com This nutty comedy adventure careens out of control, spoofing everything from anime conventions to American blockbusters. This second collection offers parodies of E.T., Alien, and Titanic, as well as the clichés of sports and horror anime. The horror sequence--announced by animated manga artist Koshi Rikado--features titles drawn in blood and blizzards of flower petals. The horribly cute little Puchuus, who beat the dust out of futons, bear a more than passing resemblance to Pikachu in Pokémon; during a "fan service" beach scene, Misaki asks, "Why are there only women here?" The perpetually hysterical Excel and her assistant Hyatt/Hatchan get help from the pink-haired moppet Cossette Sara, who recalls Chibiusa in Sailor Moon, but the trio of Watanabe, Sumiyoshi, and Iwata must struggle to succeed as civil servants--and to get a modicum of screen time. Rated 17 Up: Violence, profanity; risqué and gross-out humor. --Charles Solomon
Series: Excel Saga
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com As this screwball comedy reaches its midpoint, the filmmakers take aim at the clichés of anime, manga, and Japanese live-action television. In "Butt Out, Youth," Excel and Hyatt pose as teachers in a parody of high school sports shows. Faced with a classroom of unruly thugs, Excel flourishes a set of steel ninja claws--and drags them over the blackboard, reducing everyone to agonized submission. In episode 10, Menchi, the hapless cat everyone refers to as a dog (and Excel keeps threatening to eat), escapes in an outrageous send-up of adventure series, down to the scar across the canine villain's face. How this insanity is supposed to advance Lord Ilpalazzo's plan to purify the world is never made clear. Menchi also appears onscreen to translate the wordplays ("a small pun") and explain what's being spoofed onscreen. (Rated 17 and older: violence, profanity; risqué and gross-out humor) --Charles Solomon
Series: Excel Saga
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com As this madcap spoof reaches its midpoint, the plot careens as wildly as a runaway grocery cart on Lombard Street in San Francisco. As they execute Lord Ilpalazzo's plans, Excel and Hyatt/Hatchan are assisted by two androids, both named Ropponnatsu. One is a parody of the cutesy cat-girls in many anime series; the other spoofs cyber-babes like Steel Angel Kurumi. Hatchan dies in almost every episode, leaving Excel to pick up the pieces. Episode 17 satirizes the animation process and anime art collectors, with Hatchan noting that no one does animation on cels anymore. A series of mini-parodies follows that includes send-ups of Sailor Moon, Rocky, The Simpsons, Mickey Mouse, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It doesn't make much sense or advance Lord Ilpalazzo's plans, but Excel fans aren't like to care. (Rated 17 and older: violence, profanity, brief nudity, risqué and gross-out humor) --Charles Solomon
Series: Excel Saga
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com When the Excel Saga animators meet, a caricature of director Sinichi Watanabe announces, "We're starting to run out of ideas and falling behind in production!" Koshi Rikdo, who supposedly drew the original Excel manga, gives his permission to turn these episodes into examples of other genres. "Municipal Force Daitenzin," supposedly based on his earlier work, is a very funny send-up of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. "Visually Appealing Type" spoofs rock anime, complete with MTV video-style credits for the "songs" performed by sexy vocalist Key. The long-suffering Mr. Pedro struggles to win back his faithless but sexy wife, and even the hapless Menchi gets a special adventure. These parodies have nothing to do with Lord Il Palazzo's efforts to take over the city, but fans of Excel Saga know better than to expect logic or coherent story lines. (Rated 17 and older: violence, profanity; brief nudity, risqué and gross-out humor) --Charles Solomon
Series: Excel Saga
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 125 minutes
Billed as "the ultimate parody of anime," EXCEL SAGA certainly goes out of its way to parody every convention of the genre it can. From the cloying J-pop opening, it's clear that this series' sole aim is to be a good-natured farce, one that revolves around a main character who, on the surface is not much different from any other anime heroine. However, the key difference between Excel and all those who preceded her is that Excel is completely and utterly insane and considers it her goal to to conquer the city of F. In these final episodes, Excel must fight for her lives as the Puchuu goes on a rampage and ACROSS makes its move.
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 4
Running Time:
Amazon.com A sprawling mixture of mythical crises and slushy teenage romance, Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play has the scale, but not the depth, of an epic. Like the heroine of Sailor Moon, Miaka is a ditzy 15-year-old girl who's crazy about junk food and boys. She and her scholarly friend Yui find an ancient Chinese volume, The Universe of the Four Gods, about a girl "who made her dreams come true after she came to possess the seven stars of Suzaku," and are literally drawn into the book. Miaka is hailed as the girl from another world destined to become the priestess of Suzaku, the protecting deity of the Empire of Konan. She soon finds herself caught in a web of adventures, magic, deadly perils, intrigue, and counterintrigue. Miaka gains the affection of the seven Celestial Warriors of Suzaku: martial artist Tamahome; the exquisite emperor of Konan, Hotohori; the transvestite Nuriko; sorcerer-in-training Chichiri; mountain bandit Tasuki; physician Mitsukake; and the flute-playing Chiriko. The Warriors and the Priestess are all needed to summon Suzaku to save Konan from an invasion from the rival kingdom of Kutuo. Complicating matters are Yui's estrangement from Miaka and their rivalry for the dashing Tamahome. The animation is extremely limited, even by anime standards: director Hajime Kamegaki often uses pans over comic book-style artwork in place of character movements. But the adventures are enjoyable and the side characters are often engaging, especially Chichiri. The weakest aspect of the series is Miaka, who comes across as a whiny twit: Tamahome and Hotohori fall in love with her, but it's difficult to understand why. Mysterious Play began as a girl's manga, then became a weekly TV program. It's more entertaining to watch one or two episodes at a time: after too many at one sitting, the story begins to feel repetitious and padded. This four-disc set includes only the first half of the story (the TV series' entire first season), ending on a real cliffhanger. The supplemental material offers a well-organized chart of the characters and their relationships, keyed to scenes in the story. --Charles Solomon
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 4
Running Time:
Amazon.com The second four-disc set of Fushigi Yugi continues the adventures of Miaka and Yui, two Japanese middle-school girls drawn into an ancient Chinese book, The Universe of the Four Gods. The later episodes are darker in tone, marked by threats of rape, attempted rape, and the deaths of several secondary characters (some of whom die two or three times). Miaka and her friends, who fight in the name of the "beast-god" Suzaku, are pitted against the warriors of the rival deity, Seiryu: twins Amiboshi and Suboshi; werewolf Ashitare; lightning-wielding Soi; Miboshi, who looks like a tiny monk; Tomo, who dresses like a Peking Opera general; and the icily vicious Nagako. Nagako commands this troop in the name of Yui, who is waging a vendetta against Miaka. Despite the myriad plots, battles, and spells, director Hajime Kamegaki focuses on the romance between Miaka and martial artist Tamahome. Tamahome has lost the outlaw panache that initially made him attractive, and Miaka has grown no more prepossessing. She whines continuously, and every third episode seems to end with her either declaring she'll never forgive some evil or apologizing for not living up to someone's expectations. What does Tamahome see in her? Their endless proclamations of undying fidelity leave little time for the activities of the more colorful and interesting supporting characters--transvestite Nuriko, sorcerer-in-training Chichiri, and mountain bandit Tasuki. While Miaka and her friends slog on, her brother Keisuke and his friend Tetsuya are reading The Universe of the Four Gods and tracking its effects in the real world. The final battle that pits Tomahome against Nagako and Suzaku against Seiryu proves more anticlimactic than apocalyptic. Kamegaki has several key events occur off camera, including Yui's final wish to Seiryu and how Miaka escapes from the penalty customarily imposed on those who summon Suzaku. Fushigi Yûgi should be seen one or two episodes at a time: watching for more than an hour is like eating a box of bonbons in one sitting. Rated 13 and up for violence, nudity, and sexual situations, including suggestions of rape. --Charles Solomon
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 82 minutes
Amazon.com essential video The skillful blending of drawn animation and computer-generated imagery excited anime fans when this science fiction mystery was released in 1995: many enthusiasts believe Ghost suggests what the future of anime will be, at least in the short term. The film is set in the not-too-distant future, when an unnamed government uses lifelike cyborgs or "enhanced" humans for undercover work. One of the key cyborgs is The Major, Motoko Kusanagi, who resembles a cross between The Terminator and a Playboy centerfold. She finds herself caught up in a tangled web of espionage and counterespionage as she searches for the mysterious superhacker known as "The Puppet Master." Mamoru Oshii directs with a staccato rhythm, alternating sequences of rapid-fire action (car chases, gun battles, explosions) with static dialogue scenes that allow the characters to sort out the vaguely mystical and rather convoluted plot. Kusanagi's final quote from I Corinthians suggests that electronic evolution may compliment and eventually supplant organic evolution. The minor nudity, profanity, and considerable violence would earn Ghost in the Shell at least a PG rating. --Charles Solomon Amazon.com The skillful blending of drawn animation and computer-generated imagery excited anime fans when this science fiction mystery was released in 1995: many enthusiasts believe Ghost suggests what the future of anime will be, at least in the short term. The film is set in the not-too-distant future, when an unnamed government uses lifelike cyborgs or "enhanced" humans for undercover work. One of the key cyborgs is The Major, Motoko Kusanagi, who resembles a cross between The Terminator and a Playboy...
Series: GundamWing
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 125 minutes
Amazon.com essential video Gundam premiered on Japanese television in 1979 and redefined the "giant robot" genre. It's become one of the longest-running franchises in anime history, with more than a dozen broadcast, original animation video (OAV), and feature versions. The four episodes on Shooting Stars (the DVD contains a fifth episode) opened a 49-part broadcast series that aired in Japan in 1995 and 1996. After a war devastated the surface of the earth, many people left for the Space Colonies. The remaining inhabitants are governed by the United Earth Sphere Alliance, which has oppressed the Colonies. A group of rebels hope to win their freedom by attacking Earth with five teenage pilots in Gundam mobile suits (robotic rocket ships made from Gundanium alloy). Heero Yuy, the brash hero, immediately comes into conflict with the sinister Lieutenant Zechs and Colonel Treize, who are important officers in OZ, an elite mobile-suit unit trained and staffed by the powerful Romefeller Foundation. Heero also inadvertently wins the heart of Relena, the wealthy daughter of a cabinet minister. While Heero insults Relena and fights the forces of OZ, the other four Gundam pilots, Duo, Trowa, Quatra, and Chang (who, oddly, don't know each other) wreak havoc on Alliance factories and military bases. It's a classic confrontation between indestructible good guys with invincible weapons and bad guys who can't hit the broad side of a robot. The DVD contains the "unedited version" of the show that plays on the Cartoon Network. It contains no nudity or sex; the violence is largely restricted to machines attacking each other and is recommended for ages 7 and older. The VHS version has some language changes ("I will kill you" becomes "I will destroy you") and the blood has been removed when characters are injured. There is no difference in running time. --Charles Solomon --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. Description The space colonies have grown tired of the oppressive rule by the Earth government, a corrupt organization ruled by people who have no real interest in the colonists or their well-being. Their rule is unjust and unfair, but not unopposed... Resistance forces in the colonies have created five special Mobile Suits (robot-like vehicles) called Gundams. Five young pilots have been selected to sneak these Gundams down to Earth and begin a guerilla campaign that will end the Earth government's rule...
Series: GundamWing
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 125 minutes
Amazon.com Gundamis one of the oldest and most popular franchises in anime history; Gundam Wing, a 49-part series that was broadcast in Japan in 1995-1996, is currently airing on the Cartoon Network. Several story lines unfold against the background of a rebellion by the Space Colonies against the United Earth Sphere Alliance; at the same time, the OZ Special Forces mount a coup d'état against the Alliance. The Colonies send Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatra, and Chang, the pilots of the Gundam Mobile Suits, to Earth to wreak havoc on military installations. The wiry teenagers find themselves caught up in these interconnected conflicts, fighting OZ leader Treize, his glacial, sadistic, assistant Lady Une, and the masked pilot Zechs, who pursues his own agenda. Although they're heroes of the series, the Gundam pilots often come across as cold, arrogant, and needlessly brash. In the middle of one battle, Chan leaves his indestructible Gundam to fight a duel with Treize using swords. But fans of the series aren't interested in character arcs or plot development: every episode offers lots of elaborate battles between the splendidly designed transforming Gundams and the lesser robot-suits of the villains. Rating: 8 and older: no nudity or sex; occasional profanity; violence largely restricted to machines attacking each other. --Charles Solomon Description The second Gundam Wing DVD arrives with 5 more action-packed episodes. Now that Relena has learned her true identity, she must decide what course her life will take. Meanwhile, the Gundam Pilots are led into a trap by Oz forces. Can the combined might of these five young pilots and their Gundams stand up to the treachery of Oz? Extras include character and mecha image gallery, Animated Menus, and Interactive DVD Menus. Contains episodes 5-10 in both subtitled and dubbed unedited (13UP) versions. read more
Series: GundamWing
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 125 minutes
Amazon.com The Space Colonies, the United Earth Sphere Alliance, and the OZ Special Forces (an arm of the sinister Romefeller Foundation) remain locked in a three-way struggle in this 49-part series that aired in Japan from 1995 to 1996. The outcome hinges on the actions of the five young pilots and their indestructible Gundam mobile suits. Duo and Quatre, who is the heir to an enormous fortune, hide out in the desert with sympathetic rebels while their three counterparts undergo various personal crises. Having lost a sword duel to Treize, Chang broods and announces, "I have no right to fight." Heero seeks forgiveness for having inadvertently caused the death of pacifist leader Marshal Noventa--and offers to let each of the Marshal's relatives shoot him. Trowa is overcome with admiration for Heero's nobility, and almost kills himself in an attempt to follow his example. Dissuaded by circus performer Catherine, Trowa helps Heero prepare for a mobile suit duel with Treize. Meanwhile, Relena tries to assassinate the icy Lady Une and forges an alliance with Lieutenant Noin. The plots and character motivations may sound improbable, but the episodes deliver plenty of robot vs. robot battles--which is what Gundam fans want. Rated 13 and older for occasional profanity and violence, largely restricted to machines attacking each other. --Charles Solomon Description With the tragedy on the space colonies, the Earth and the Colonies now seem locked in war as the Gundam pilots continue their deadly mission with cool efficiency. But the scheming Lady Une has set a trap for them, and it's up to Heero to get them out alive! Meanwhile, the Earth government collapses under the enormous strain of recent events, clearing the stage for the true enemy's emergence. And, for the first time, the Gundam Wing and Zech's Tallgeese meet on the battlefield.
Series: GundamWing
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 125 minutes
Amazon.com Feudal concepts of personal honor collide with cynical realpolitik as the 49-part saga of five heroic Mobile Suit pilots unfolds against the efforts of the Romefeller Foundation to control both Earth and the orbiting Space Colonies through their puppet military entity, OZ. After agonizing over the purity of their motives, Heero and Zechs duke it out in their Mobile Suits in the wastes of Antarctica. Relena arrives and denounces their duel as futile; she also discovers Zechs is really her long-lost brother. Zechs later loses his stylized helmet, which somehow shatters his bond to OZ leader Treize Marquis. Meanwhile, the merciless Lady Une instigates an elaborate scheme to convince the leaders of the Colonies that OZ has become a benevolent organization dedicated to peace. The leaders are taken in by her assumed charms and quickly fall into line with her plan. Une turns them against the Gundam Pilots and kidnaps the five mad scientist-engineers who created the Gundams. As prisoners, they're assigned to create even more powerful suits: Mercurius and Vayeate. Pilots Heero and Trowa use different strategies to infiltrate this operation and end up in direct conflict in a cliffhanger ending. Contains these episodes: 16. "The Sorrowful Battle," 17. "Betrayed by Home, Far Away," 18. "Tallgeese Destroyed," 19. "Assault on Barge," 20. "The Lunar Base Infiltration." Rated 13 and up for occasional profanity and violence, largely restricted to machines attacking each other. --Charles Solomon Description Oz moves to destroy the remnants of the alliance military, and makes plans to reconcile with the colonies. Quatre and Duo decide to head for outer space to warn the colonies of Oz's conspiracy, but the colonies that had once been their homes declare the Gundams their enemies. After an intense battle in space, Duo is defeated and taken prisoner by Ox. Heero searches for Duo to silence him, however, with the development of Oz's newest mobile suits, Heero must confront Trowa in order to stop the...
Series: GundamWing
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com The struggle between the adherents of a warrior code of honor derived from the samurai concept of bushido, the way of the sword, and the soulless adherents of realpolitik continues, with the steely Lady Une at its focus. The powerful Romefeller Foundation builds a large factory on the Moon to manufacture Mobile Dolls: pilotless, self-contained battle robots. Une, the five Gundam pilots, and OZ leader Treize Khushrenada all object to the existence of the Dolls, not because they can make the Foundation all-powerful, but because they will replace human warriors--and deprive humanity of the singular emotions experienced only through heroism in battle. Treize resigns the leadership of OZ, the Foundation's puppet military organization. Zechs Marquise has also left OZ, and assumed the throne of the Sanc Kingdom. In a strange subplot, Gundam pilot Quatra sees his fabulously wealthy father killed defending his pacifist ideals. Shattered by grief, Quatra embarks on a one-man campaign of devastation in his improved Gundam. His actions bring him into conflict with his former comrades, Trowa and Heero. While these battles are raging, the scientist-engineers who created the first Gundams are working in secret on yet more powerful mobile suits. Rated 13 and up for occasional profanity and violence, largely restricted to machines attacking each other. On the Cartoon Network, an edited version of these same episodes (21. "Grief Stricken Quatra," 22. "The Fight for Independence," 23. "Duo, the God of Death Once Again," 24. "The Gundam They Call Zero," 25. "Quatra vs. Heero") airs and is available on VHS. --Charles Solomon Description Zech's return as Milliardo Peacecraft encourages the rebellion against Oz! However, Quatre has succumbed to the pressure of war and returns to L4 to fing his home in disarray and with it... his sanity. The colonies have begun to arm themselves with weapons of war. Duo must travel to the Lunar Base in an effort to destroy the Mobile Doll production facility. But as the Mobile Doll Project becomes the focal point for the Romefeller Foundation's victory, can Heero and Trowa defeat a craze...
Series: GundamWing
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 125 minutes
Amazon.com All roads lead to the Sanc Kingdom as the battle escalates between human warriors who follow a samurai-style code of honor and the Romefeller Foundation's attempt to use "mechanical dolls" (pilotless robots) to control Earth and Space. Treize Khushrenada, the leader of OZ, Romefeller's military arm, breaks with his superiors, declaring, "I think fighting in wars can indeed be beautiful." Gundam pilots Heero and Quatre return to Earth. Quartre is increasingly uncertain about his role in a world of rapidly shifting allegiances, but Heero assists the rebel "Treize Faction" of OZ. After a series of verbal and physical battles, the two pilots find themselves heading for the pacifist Sanc Kingdom. Lieutenant Lucretia Noin and Sally Po--who hadn't been seen for several episodes--recapture one of the surviving Gundams from OZ forces and take it to the Sanc Kingdom, now ruled by Relena Peacecraft. But Relena faces a new threat from Dorothy Catalonia, a blonde with double eyebrows, who may be the daughter of Duke Dermail, the head of the Romefeller Foundation. Director Masashi Ikeda manages to cram a lot of action into the story, even though episodes 27 and 28 consist almost entirely of flashbacks. Rated 13 and up for occasional profanity and robot versus robot violence. --Charles Solomon Description Hearing of Treize's confinement, Oz soldiers calling themsleves the Treize Faction enter the war against the Romefeller Foundation. Seeing the Gundam pilots as symbols of opposition, the Foundation begins the operation to eliminate the pilots. Without time to rest, Heero heads to gather information for his next battle when he hears of the Sanc Kingdom, Relena's home country. Acting as mercenaries for the Treize Faction, Heero and Quatre decide to stay in the Sanc Kingdom, where Relena...
Series: GundamWing
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 125 minutes
Description While Heero and Quatre wage their battles on the ground, the other Gundam pilots remain in space. Duo must take the offensive while piloting an incomplete Gundam Deathscythe into battle. Back on Earth, Zechs continues his crusade to destroy the Romefeller's Mobile Dolls. The Treize Faction faces near destruction at the hands of the Romefeller Foundation, while Heero must head alone towards the battlefield and with him, the destructive power of a new Gundam is leashed... DVD features: Interactive menus, Dolby Digital audio, bilingual format (Japanese/English) with English subtitles, extras - character/Gundam information. As seen on the Cartoon Network! Hit series backed by extensive licensing - including Toys and models by Bandai!
Series: GundamWing
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 125 minutes
Description The battle for Space Fortress Barge begins, and the Gundam pilots are right in the middle of the fight, but WuFei continues his fight alone. Zechs, the new leader of the white Fang, oversees the competition of the might battle ship Libra. And, once it is ready for action, he orders it directed towards Earth. Duo learns of this, and attacks the gigantic ship. Relena arrives, but can she talk some sense into her brother before it's too late?
Series: GundamWing
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 125 minutes
Description The Gundam pilots face their toughest challenge ever as the battle OZ forces equipped with a battle program based on the Epyon's operation system! Heero leaves Quartre to take command while he goes off on a separate mission -- to sneak onto the Libra. He Relena face Milliardo, but Milliardo has other callers as well. His old friend Treize has arrived and challenges him to a duel to decide the outcome of the war!
Series: GundamWing
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
This incredibly popular extension of the venerable GUNDAM series has spawned a rabid following all over the globe. The series begins as the space colonies have grown tired of the oppressive rule by the Earth government, a corrupt organization ruled by people who have no real interest in the colonists or their well-being. Their rule is unjust and unfair, but not unopposed. Resistance forces in the colonies have created five special Mobile Suits (robot-like vehicles) called Gundams. Five young pilots have been selected to sneak these Gundams down to Earth and begin a guerilla campaign that will end the Earth government's rule forever. In these final episodes, the five Gundam pilots fight their own final battles as the White Fang ship Libre heads toward Earth, certain to destroy the planet if nothing is done. So, as Wu Fei, Trowa, Duo, and Heero set out to fight, Quatre must find a way to save the Earth from being destroyed. -- (VideoLog Description)1203987
Series: GundamWing
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 125 minutes
Amazon.com This three-part OAV adventure picks up one year after the conclusion of the Gundam Wing series. Earth and the Space Colonies have joined to form the Earth Sphere Unified Nation; after a brief reign as Queen of Earth, Relena Peacecraft/Darlian has abdicated and is serving as a government minister. The giant Gundams (the large, robotic armor suits) have been hidden or sent hurtling into the sun. This fragile peace is shattered when the sinister Dekim Barton initiates a revolt to make Mariemeia, the daughter of former Oz chief Treize Khushrenada, absolute ruler of the new world-state. She describes the change as part of History's Endless Waltz of "peace, war, and revolution." If Earth refuses to accept the new regime, Barton will crash one of the orbiting colonies into the planet's surface. Only the Gundam pilots can resolve this crisis--with a little help from their friends and former enemies; writer Katsuyuki Sumisawa uses the lulls in the action to explore their early lives in flashbacks. This special-edition DVD includes both the three-part OAV series and the compilation feature, which contains about eight minutes of additional animation. The extras include a "Mobile Suit Encyclopedia" with information about the five Gundams and the Tallgeese. The OVA episodes are: 1. "Silent Orbit," 2. "Operation Meteor," 3. "Return to Eternity." Rated 13 Up for violence, largely restricted to machines attacking each other. The regular edition is suitable for television play. --Charles Solomon Description After Colony 196 - A year has passed since the events that took place in the Gundam Wing television series. Tranquility has spread through the Earth and the colonies are at peace. The Gundam pilots new find themselves attempting to rebuild their lives in this new era. No longer having need of their weapons of war; they have sent their Gundams into the sun to be destroyed. But suddenly, Relena Darlian, a high-ranking government official is kidnapped by a colony with aspirations of total...
Series: HandMaidMay
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Description Nanbara is furious! Nanbara, the self-absorbed, pompous, overbearing villain of our show has always resented Kazuya, the constantly distracted hero, and developed a virus to exact his ultimate revenge. Unfortunately, "revenge" became an accidental delivery of a 1-foot tall cyborg maid whose sweetness is only exceeded by her cheerfulness! Will Nanbara's schemes of revenge ever become realized? Will Kazuya be able to pay the $1,450,000 bill? Join May and our new cast of lunatics for a wild ride to explore the cutting edge of computer peripherals...
Series: HandMaidMay
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Description Full scale lunatics! Cyberdyne pursues May's recall due to Kazuya's failure to pay the million-dollar invoice. However, thanks to Kasumi's kindness, Kazuya and May share some wonderful last-minute memories. Still, with Nanbara "assisting" to Cyberdyne and the introduction of the mysterious Cyber-X, Kazuya's little troubles may become a full-sized affair of the heart! * Bilingual (English and Japanese language) DVD with optional English subtitles.
Series: HandMaidMay
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
From the Back Cover Hand Maid May New arrivals threaten the stability of the Kasumi House! First comes a powerful typhoon which threatens to blow everyone away, followed by Nanbara's descendant from the future who proves that some behavior is genetic. However, the most threatening arrival is a virus that may destroy the Cyberdyne Dolls! Kazuya has less than 24 hours to find the secret to May's immunity if he is to save them all!
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 2
Running Time:
Amazon.com More spirits live in Saito High School than in Harry Potter's Hogwarts, including the Giant Who Dances in the Gym, anatomical model Haruo and his skeleton Bones, the dashing Scarlet Mantle, sexy Miss Hanako, the Girl in the Mirror, an animated statue--and the head of the school. The members of the "Holy Student Council" are charged with keeping them in line and fending off hostile entities. Council President Haruto Hokujo says he wants to lead a normal life but finds himself in the thick of every crisis. When he's not being possessed by some wandering spirit, Kazumi Ryudo lusts after Miss Hanako. Asahina Mutsumi handles exorcisms while suffering from "Shouta Complex"--the female equivalent of the "Lolita Complex" that afflicts so many males in anime and manga: she lusts after pubescent boys. This running gag doesn't play well in America, where suggestions of child molestation aren't considered funny. The situations in this 12-part, no-holds-barred comedy invariably degenerate into slapstick disasters. When the ghost of a lovely girl tries to take possession of Kazumi so she can spend the night with her musician-lover, he imagines a homosexual encounter; she wants to hear the song he wrote for her. A disgruntled former student steals 1,000 statues, hoping to absorb their mental powers--but is sidetracked by Kazumi's girlie magazine. Although Haruto ends each episode sighing, "Oh my God!" the characters actually enjoy their unconventional lives. Rated 13 and up for profanity, nudity, sexual humor, toilet humor, and violence. Only available in original Japanese language with English subtitles. --Charles Solomon Description Meet Haruto Hojo, an ordinary high school student with an unusual problem. He's got ghosts and spirits running amuck at school! Appointed President of the Saints Club, Haruto, Mutsuki, and Kazuo are charged with the task of investigating strange phenomena on campus and improve the quality of life for the school spirits that roam the halls. But how can three students handle the likes of Hanako, the sultry bathroom spirit, a Kosak-dancing skeleton, a fish monster living in the school's pool, Red...
Series: Hyper Police
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 95 minutes
Description Skilled and deadly bounty hunter Natsuhime Sasawara, a cunning blend of human and futuristic demon cat, protects the laws of humans and monsters. After a tragic accident, Natsuhime is teamed up by the Police Company with Sakura, a Nine-Tail Fox striving to achieve new magical powers. Blast into the future with this fast paced combination of science fiction, cop thriller, monster mayhem, and comical fantasy, now available for the first time in the U.S.! Contains the first four explosive episodes: "Bounty Hunter," "Nine-Tail Fox? Sakura Appears," "Combination Anxiety" and "A Meal and a Night's Lodging."
Series: Hyper Police
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 95 minutes
Description The adventures of crafty futuristic Police Company cops Natsuki Sasahara, a cunning blend of human and futuristic demon cat, and Nine-Tail Fox Sakura continue in this dynamic blend of science fiction, cop thriller, monster mayhem, and comical fantasy. Here the balance of law and order is torn apart by a botched assassination, the arrival of a young female apprentice, and financial peril for their employer. Contains four explosive episodes never before released in the U.S.: "A Night You Feel Like Crying," "A Bounty Hunter's Vacation," "Sorry!," and "No Time, No Money, No License."
Series: Hyper Police
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 95 minutes
Those super crime fighters from the future are back with four more attempts at bringing some anime criminals to justice. Episodes featured include "Friendship Like Ice," "Say Goodbye to a Cold Jail Cell," "I Want the Licence" and "Osaka Rhapsody." -- (Muze Description)1255696
Series: Hyper Police
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 96 minutes
Those super crime fighters from the future are back with four more attempts at bringing some anime criminals to justice. Episodes featured include "Cat's Bell," "Samurai Japan," "Cherry (Sakura) Blossoms, or Does It?" and "Everybody, Strange?" -- (Muze Description)1262857
Series: Hyper Police
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 96 minutes
Four more episodes from your favorite super crime fighters from the future, including: "Kids Floating, Natsuki Fainting," where Natsuki flee's from Sakura after her liberal parenting methods end up driving him crazy! "An Era of Cohabitation," in which some romantic tension rises to the surface between Natsuki and Batanen. "There is No Tomorrow For the Cats," in which the hideout of the Cat Crusade is finally discovered; And some magical occurrences emerge from a submerged time capsule in "A Mysterious Dome."
Series: Hyper Police
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 96 minutes
Five more adventures from the futuristic crime fighters are presented here: THE GOOD SUNNY SIDE OF THE VERANDAH see's Natsuki acting childishly towards Batanen; PO'S DEPRESSION features an exhausted Po, tired out after repairing too many space holes; SAKURA BECOMES INSANE involves Sakura drawing on her father's mind power to tamper with her husbands thoughts; THE DAY OF CATASTROPHE is a tale when monsters and people began to coexist; and WHICH DO YOU LIKE? offers Natsuki the chance to become a human being.
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
Amazon.com Based on the manga by Rumiko Takahashi, the creator of Ranma 1/2 and Urusei Yatsura, the Inu-Yasha TV series (2000) has been eagerly awaited in the U.S. Kagome Higurashi, a normal 15-year-old girl, falls down a dry well--and finds herself in the feudal past, 50 years after her ancestress Kikyo imprisoned the half-human/half-demon Inu-Yasha. As the reincarnation of Kikyo, Kagome possesses a magic jewel that greatly increases the power of demons. (Inu-Yasha needs it to make himself all demon.) Kagome fetters Inu-Yasha with the help of her priestess-ancestor Kaede, and when the jewel is shattered Kagome and Inu-Yasha must ally to recapture the fragments. If a demon or evil human were to obtain a single shard, the consequences would be terrible. Inu-Yasha sometimes feels like cross between Ranma and Blue Seed, but Takashi once again blends interesting characters, comedy, and adventure into a winning story line that is entirely her own. (Unrated: Suitable for ages 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery, brief nudity) --Charles Solomon
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
Amazon.com The new fantasy-adventure from Rumiko Takahashi really begins to hit its stride in these episodes. Despite their endless bickering, Kagome and Inu-Yasha prove an effective team against the demons they encounter in the Warring States netherworld. Kagome grows more aware of her psychic talents; Inu-Yasha develops a grudging respect for her. Together they defeat Yura, whose weapons include nets of hair and skulls. A much more formidable opponent is Sesshomaru, an exquisite mage who is Inu-Yasha's older brother. Sesshomaru wants the enchanted sword--carved from one of the fangs of their demon-father--which lies hidden in a most unlikely place. Sesshomaru's servant Jaken and Myoga the flea, who joins Kagome and Inu-Yasha, both resemble Happosai in Ranma 1/2. Once again, Takahashi infuses what could be a formulaic story with vivid characters, striking visuals, and unexpected twists. (Unrated; suitable for ages 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery) --Charles Solomon
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
When 15 year-old Kagome Higurashi falls down a well she finds herself magically transported to medieval Japan, a place where the countryside is inhabited by demons and goblins. Here, she must search the countryside with the demon dog Inuyasha for the sacred "Jewel of Four Souls". In these episodes, Inu Yasha finds herself squaring off against his brother, with whom she has always had an acrimonious rivalry. Later, Inu Yasha must fight the Thunder Brothers while she tries to protect Kagome. -- (Muze Description)1263967
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
When 15 year-old Kagome Higurashi falls down a well she finds herself magically transported to medieval Japan, a place where the countryside is inhabited by demons and goblins. Here, she must search the countryside with the demon dog Inuyasha for the sacred "Jewel of Four Souls".
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
When 15 year-old Kagome Higurashi falls down a well she finds herself magically transported to medieval Japan, a place where the countryside is inhabited by demons and goblins. Here, she must search the countryside with the demon dog Inu Yasha for the sacred "Jewel of Four Souls". In these episodes, Inu Yasha faces a tough challenge when, temporarily without his powers, he is confronted by a demon who has a piece of the sacred jewel. Contains episodes 13-15.
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
When 15 year-old Kagome Higurashi falls down a well she finds herself magically transported to medieval Japan, a place where the countryside is inhabited by demons and goblins. Here, she must search the countryside with the demon dog Inu Yasha for the sacred "Jewel of Four Souls". In these episodes, Inu Yasha meets a monk who is also seeking the sacred jewel, but for his own reasons. Later, Inu Yasha must retrieve Kagome's stolen shards.
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
When 15 year-old Kagome Higurashi falls down a well she finds herself magically transported to medieval Japan, a place where the countryside is inhabited by demons and goblins. Here, she must search the countryside with the demon dog Inu Yasha for the sacred "Jewel of Four Souls". In these episodes, Inu Yasha and company have their hands full trying to fight off Sesshomaru, who has stolen the Tetsusaiga from Inu Yasha.
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
When 15 year-old Kagome Higurashi falls down a well she finds herself magically transported to medieval Japan, a place where the countryside is inhabited by demons and goblins. Here, she must search the countryside with the demon dog Inu Yasha for the sacred "Jewel of Four Souls". In these episodes, Inu Yasha and the others agree to protect a nobleman's daughter from a soul collecting demon. Though guarding the girl proves to be easy, Inu Yasha wonders just who is collecting these souls.
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
When 15 year-old Kagome Higurashi falls down a well she finds herself magically transported to medieval Japan, a place where the countryside is inhabited by demons and goblins. Here, she must search the countryside with the demon dog Inu Yasha for the sacred "Jewel of Four Souls". In these episodes, Sango, the Demon Slayer, blames Inu Yasha for the death of a relative and promptly attacks the demon dog and his companions. However, once Inu Yasha convinces Sango that Naraku is actually the one to blame, Sango nurses her wounds and plots another revenge scheme.
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
Amazon.com The cast of Rumiko Takahasi's "feudal fairy tale" begins to discover both the extent and the limits of their powers, as director Masashi Ikeda sets the machinery for the ultimate battle into place. Sango recognizes that she will betray her comrades, if she thinks it will restore the life of her brother Kohaku. Miroku learns that the curse that afflicts his right hand may shorten his life. Inu-Yasha discovers just how formidable a weapon the Tetsusaiga, the enchanted sword carved from one of his father's fangs, can be. The evil demon Naraku is stunned to find that Kagome's arrows strike with the same deadly force as her ancestor Kikyo's. But the characters don't yet fully comprehend the source of their magical strengths and weaknesses, so they will have to grow as they learn--and the story continues. (Unrated, suitable for ages 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery, brief nudity) --Charles Solomon Description Contains Episodes 28-30 During a routine demon-slaying, Miroku wanders away from the others in pursuit of a young woman. (Predictably, she turns out to be a giant mantris-demon in disguise.) Although the enemy is dispatched easily enough by means of Miroku’s Wind Tunnel, as it vanishes into the void of Miroku’s hand, its claw damages the edge and now Miroku must return to the monk who helped read him, in hopes that the damage can be repaired before the wound grows and eventually swallows him whole. Later, the group reaches a village whose inhabitants have been slain by the weapon of a Demon-Slayer. Kohaku, the younger brother of Sango who died in Naraku’s castle, appears to have been involved. Sango chases him, only to find herself before Naraku himself. Told that it was he who brought Kohaku back to life (using a shard of the Sacred Jewel, no less), Sango is ordered by Naraku to steal Tetsusaiga from InuYasha…else Kohaku die a second time.
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
When 15 year-old Kagome Higurashi falls down a well she finds herself magically transported to medieval Japan, a place where the countryside is inhabited by demons and goblins. Here, she must search the countryside with the demon dog Inu Yasha for the sacred "Jewel of Four Souls". In these episodes, a peaceful half-demon named Jinenji is wrongly accused by the fearful citizens of his town. Seeing this injustice, Inu Yasha takes up the cause for the gentle demon.
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
This work contains adult situations and language and parental guidance is suggested. When 15 year-old Kagome Higurashi falls down a well she finds herself magically transported to medieval Japan, a place where the countryside is inhabited by demons and goblins. Here, she must search the countryside with the demon dog Inu Yasha for the sacred "Jewel of Four Souls". In these episodes, an ancient demon, Totosai, presents InuYasha with a sword that he claims he forged for her father. Sesshomaru insists that Totosai also forge a blade for him, but InuYasha steps in to protect him.
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
When 15 year-old Kagome Higurashi falls down a well she finds herself magically transported to medieval Japan, a place where the countryside is inhabited by demons and goblins. Here, she must search the countryside with the demon dog Inu Yasha for the sacred "Jewel of Four Souls". In these episodes, Wolf-Demon tribe leader Koga snatches Kagome for help in collecting fragments of the jewel. InuYasha must save Kagome, but finds himself pitted by Naraku against Koga in a fight to the death.
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
When 15 year-old Kagome Higurashi falls down a well she finds herself magically transported to medieval Japan, a place where the countryside is inhabited by demons and goblins. Here, she must search the countryside with the demon dog Inu Yasha for the sacred "Jewel of Four Souls". In these episodes, Inuyasha and Koga continue a fight to the death, as they cannot make the Wolf-Demon believe that Naraku framed them. Just when they extricate themselves from one battle, Naraku leads them into another when he sends two ruthless goons to lure them into a trap. This program contains the episodes, "The Deadly Trap of the Wind Sorceress, Kagura," "Kagura's Dance and Kanna's Mirror," and "The Wind Scar, Defeated."
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
When 15 year-old Kagome Higurashi falls down a well she finds herself magically transported to medieval Japan, a place where the countryside is inhabited by demons and goblins. Here, she must search the countryside with the demon dog Inu Yasha for the sacred "Jewel of Four Souls". In these episodes, Naraku sends a new demon, Goshinki after Inuyasha and his friends. Even deadlier than past opponents, Goshinki can read minds - - which makes him almost unbeatable! When the Tetsusaiga breaks, it reveals a secret about Inuyasha and the legacy. This program contains the episodes, "Tetsusaiga Breaks," "Kijinbo's Evil Sword," and "Sesshomaru Wields Tokijin."
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
Description Two deadly new incarnations of Naraku-Juromaru and Kageromaru-confront Inuyasha and Koga. Can they stop fighting each other long enough to defeat the new demons? Later, Kikyo discovers a fatal flaw within Naraku, which puts her in danger. Fearing for Kikoyo’s safety, Inuyasha comes to an important decision… Features 3 action-packed episodes! • Juromaru and Kageomaru • Onigumo’s Heart Still Beats Within Naraku • Return to the Place Where We First Met
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
Amazon.com The fractious and unresolved relationship between Kagome and Inu-Yasha recedes into the background as they and their companions confront Naraku's latest scheme. The demon-lord has taken control of Sango's younger brother Kohaku, and is using the young man as an assassin. But even Naraku's powers have limits: the kindness of Sango and Kagome touch Kohaku's still-human heart. Inu-Yasha's suavely sinister brother Sesshomaru visits a 2,000-year-old magnolia tree whose branches were used to make the sheathes for the enchanted swords Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga. From the tree-spirit, Sesshomaru learns that Inu-Yasha's half-human/half-demon nature may eventually reduce him to a mindless killing machine. Sesshomaru wants to destroy Inu-Yasha almost as much as Naraku, but Kagome's largely untapped powers and the awesome magic of the nearly restored Shikon Jewel remain the wild cards in their deadly game. (Unrated, suitable for ages 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery) --Charles Solomon Description Inuyasha and the others come upon some puzzling ruins. Finding the buried remains of Demon Slayers, they determine that they must have discovered Naraku's castle…now empty. When Sango's kid brother, Kohaku, is found fleeing from a demon, Sango chooses to believe that he has escaped Naraku's control. Or…has he? Features 3 episodes! • Kohaku's Lost Memory • That Unforgettable Face! • Inuyasha's Soul, Devoured
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
When 15 year-old Kagome Higurashi falls down a well she finds herself magically transported to medieval Japan, a place where the countryside is inhabited by demons and goblins. Here, she must search the countryside with the demon dog Inu Yasha for the sacred "Jewel of Four Souls". In these episodes, InuYasha heads out on a quest to lighten his sword, Tetsusaiga. He learns from Totosai that the only way is for InuYasha to achieve a power greater than that of his father's. To that end, he sets off to stab Ryukotsusei, a dragon-demon -- but will this task prove as easy as he thinks?
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
When 15 year-old Kagome Higurashi falls down a well she finds herself magically transported to medieval Japan, a place where the countryside is inhabited by demons and goblins. Here, she must search the countryside with the demon dog InuYasha for the sacred "Jewel of Four Souls". In these episodes, a demonic tree purports to offer the secret to enlightenment, and tempts those who cross its path. InuYasha and the others find that the secret isn't as easy to come by as the tree claims, and they end up in the clutches of a false wise man, who uses those who seek his advice. Finally, Kagome gets captured, and InuYasha must try to save her without the use of his powers!
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
When 15 year-old Kagome Higurashi falls down a well she finds herself magically transported to medieval Japan, a place where the countryside is inhabited by demons and goblins. Before long, she encounters a demon named Inuyasha, a dog who has been pinned to a tree for the last 50 years. When she approaches, he tells her that she smells exactly like Kikyo, the woman who pinned him to the tree all those years ago. Upon freeing the demon, Kikyo uneasily allies herself with the dog and begins the search for the sacred "Jewel of Four Souls" with him as she begins to suspect that she could be the reincarnation of Kikyo. In these three episodes, the heroes Miroku (the lecherous monk), Shippo (the little fox demon), and Kagome help free Inuyasha from a human fruit tree that is slowly killing him with its vines. Two strange girls approach Sango, the boomerang wielding demon hunter, and ask if they can be her apprentices. Naraku convinces a dark priestess named Tsubaki to put a death curse on Kagome and promises her the Jewel for herself. Tsubaki sends a snake to bite Kagome's leg.
Series: InuYasha
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
When 15 year-old Kagome Higurashi falls down a well she finds herself magically transported to medieval Japan, a place where the countryside is inhabited by demons and goblins. Before long, she encounters a demon named Inuyasha, a dog who has been pinned to a tree for the last 50 years. When she approaches, he tells her that she smells exactly like Kikyo, the woman who pinned him to the tree all those years ago. Upon freeing the demon, Kikyo uneasily allies herself with the dog and begins the search for the sacred "Jewel of Four Souls" with him as she begins to suspect that she could be the reincarnation of Kikyo. In these episodes, Kikyo returns to warn Tsubaki not to harm Kagome. While Inuyasha fights with Tsubaki's pet demon, Kagome uses her mental capability to break the spell she is under. Tsubaki tricks two priestesses into attacking Inuyasha and Kagome. They turn out to be equal matches for the duo.
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 2
Running Time: 142 minutes
Amazon.com Written by Mamoru Oshii (the director of the cult favorite Ghost in the Shell) and directed by Hiroyuki Okiura (a key animator on Akira), Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade offers a violent but compelling vision in animation. The story is set in a fictionalized version of the recent past, when a repressive Japanese government is battling the Sect, a violent revolutionary organization that uses adolescent girls they call "Red Riding Hoods" as couriers. During a raid, Capitol Police Constable Kazuki Fuse (pronounced "foo-seh," voice by Michael Dobson) balks at killing Nanami Agawa (Maggie Blue O'Hare), one of the Red Riding Hoods. She commits suicide with a powerful bomb. While Fuse undergoes retraining, he meets Nanami's older sister, Kei (Moneca Stori), and initiates an odd romance. Soon both characters are caught in a web of plots and counterplots that center on the possibility that Fuse may be a "wolf," a member of a secret cabal within the Capitol Police. Jin-Roh is drawn in a comic book style that recalls the work of the popular graphic novelist and film designer Jean "Moebius" Giraud; Okiura's skillful cutting and striking imagery transcend the limited animation. Although anime continues to grow in popularity in America, it's rare for a Japanese feature to receive even a limited theatrical release, as this one did: a dark, brooding film of exceptional power, Jin-Roh deserves to be seen by a large audience. Suitable for ages 18 and up: considerable violence, profanity, and tobacco use. --Charles Solomon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. Additional features The special edition of this dark, compelling feature comes with a CD of Hajime Mizoguchi's excellent score, which is unavailable separately in the states. The "extras" disc includes Japanese and English trailers, a selection of pre-production drawings, and an eight-part set of interviews, primarily with writer Mamoru Oshii and director Hiroyuki Okiura. Jin-Roh began as a video series based on an earlier manga by Oshii but gradually developed into a theatrical feature. As Oshii was "swamped" on ...
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 200 minutes
Amazon.com Tokiko "Key" Mima is a robot shaped like a pubescent girl who wants to become human. In a deathbed message, her "grandfather," a brilliant scientist, told her that the love of 30,000 friends could somehow change her into a human girl. Key leaves her small village for Tokyo to recruit the necessary friends. In the city, she encounters a slimy pornographer and his muscle-bound assistant. She's saved from their clutches by Sakura, a friend from junior high school, which sets a pattern. The alternately bitchy and loving Sakura, the dashing young Tataki, and Tamayo, a self-styled bodyguard from her native village, take turns rescuing Key. Her grandfather's ultimate creation, Key contains components that the sinister president of Ajo Heavy Industries needs to perfect his unreliable cyborgs. As the president's icy henchman stalks her, Key reveals she possesses superhuman strength, the ability to levitate, and the power to blow up Ajo warrior robots. These adventures are played against the search for 30,000 friends, which leads Key to a concert by rock star Miho (another cyborg controlled by Ajo) and a cult that worships a snake god. Key's waif-like appearance recalls Yasuomi Umetsu's "Presence" segment of the 1987 feature Robot Carnival, but her monotone voice and habit of referring to herself in the third person ("Key understands") quickly cloy. The tone of the adventures seesaws between wistful yearning and sinister violence. Unrated; graphic violence, nudity, profanity, and sexual situations are unsuitable for children. --Charles Solomon Description Wanted: 30,000 people to give their love to a girl made of metal... Created by a kindly old scientist, Key is an android who has been growing up, but only when the doctor exchanges her artificial body for an older one. When her creator dies, Key is trapped in the body of a teenage girl who will never age or die, and even though she doesn't really understand how to act human, it is her most treasured dream to become a real girl. Key pins all of her hopes on her creator's last message, which...
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 180 minutes
Amazon.com Logic falls by the wayside as the tangled plots and subplots of this Pinocchio story unfold. Key, a robot in the form of a pubescent girl, believes she must win the love of 30,000 friends to become a human, and the easiest way to attain that goal is to become a rock star. The alternately icy and hysterical Hikaru Tsurugi, who serves as superstar Miho's choreographer, takes up Key--even though she can't sing, dance, or act (or use first-person pronouns). Meanwhile, the sinister president of Ajo Industries continues his experiments with deadly cyborgs that run on "gel," a mysterious, power-giving substance extracted from humans. Key's grandfather/inventor, a brilliant scientist, endowed her with powers linked to gel that Ajo both fears and covets. The grotesque priest of the snake god continues his campaign for Key's "salvation," which brings him into conflict with Key's old school friend, the fractious Sakura; her sometimes boyfriend Tataki; and the mysterious self-appointed bodyguard, Tamayo. When a concert by Ajo's cyborg-performer Miho stumbles to a halt, Key demonstrates some of her powers, which prove formidable. But tying these disparate elements into a satisfying conclusion will be a real challenge for writer-director Hiroaki Sato. Contains these episodes: 8. "Goto," 9. "Return," 10. "Bug," 11. "Save," 12. "Virus I," 13. "Virus II." Unrated; graphic violence, nudity, profanity, and grisly imagery are unsuitable for children. --Charles Solomon Description Key's need for 30,000 fans makes her pursue the career of a pop-singing idol - even though she can't sing or dance. At an audition for a musical, a major producer becomes interested in Key even though she does nothing at all. Is this her big break, or will the president of a rival's fan club uncover a link with the sinister Ajo Heavy Industries and their deadly experimental robots?! Volume 2 (Contains episodes 8-13)
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 160 minutes
Amazon.com The saga of Takiko "Key" Mima reaches an incongruous climax in two 90-minute episodes marked by long explanatory scenes between her friends Tataki and Tamayo. The crowning achievement of her grandfather's experiments, the wistful Key is a robot who wants to become a human, something she needs the love of 30,000 friends to accomplish. She's also feared and desired by the evil president of Anjo Heavy Industries, who traffics in battle robots and cyber-entertainers. His machines run on "gel" or "geist," a physical manifestation of the life force. Key is to geist what Kuwait is to petroleum, and her vast reserves give her the superpowers she occasionally manifests. The plot lines established in the first 13 episodes collapse amid a plethora of contradictory revelations. Viewers either have to accept Key's story and ignore the contradictions, or look for other anime entertainment. Unrated; unsuitable for children because of violence, violence against women, nudity, profanity, and grisly imagery. --Charles Solomon Description The Charade is over...will the show go on? The surviving assistant of Key's creator reveals the truth about Key's true nature and why she needs 30,000 friends! But the story is far from over because Key must learn to use her newly manifested powers to counter the paranoid insanity of the president of Ajo Industries! Finally it's time for everyone to hear Key's song....
Series: Miyazaki
Format: DVD
# of disks: 2
Running Time: 105 minutes
Set in a time when airships still ruled the skies and World War II never happened, KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE is a coming-of-age tale that explores the difficulties of being a young witch. On her thirteenth birthday, budding witch Kiki is in a hurry to leave her family and establish her independence. With only her talking pet cat as a companion, Kiki is attracted to the bright lights of a beautiful port city, but finds that making friends is not easy. Using her skill at riding a broom to start an express delivery service, Kiki quickly discovers that she cannot take her unique abilities for granted. The film is based on the book MAJO NO TAKKYUBIN by Eiko Kadono, a Japanese writer of children's books; the title literally means "Witch's Special Express Delivery." Like Miyazaki's MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, KIKI is languidly paced--the better to appreciate the level of detail of the film's animation. KIKI differs from the typical "witch" film, like THE CRAFT: Kiki's abilities serve not as a symbol for evil or for ultimate power, but for the talents that lie within the reach of every girl. The film was dubbed in English by several prominent actors, including Kirsten Dunst, Phil Hartman, Janeane Garofalo, and Debbie Reynolds. -- (Muze Description)1081681 "...If you see KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE at the video store, pounce....An extraordinary film..." -- (Review)1163420 Hayao Miyazaki originally was supposed to serve as producer of the film. When the young director slated to helm the film opted out, Miyazaki stepped in as director. For the film's screenplay significant changes--including the crisis Kiki experiences--were made to the novel, which required much negotiation with Eiko Kadono. Before work on the film began, Miyazaki traveled to Sweden for inspiration for the film's backgrounds. In the Japanese version, the opening and ending songs are by a popular singer from the 1970s, Yumi Arai. Of the Japanese films released in 1989, KIKI was the highest grossing. "In Kiki's life we see reflected the lives of so many young Japanese girls who are loved and supported economically by their parents, but who long for the bright lights of the city, and are about to go there and become independent. The weakness of her determination and shallowness of her understanding are also reflected in the world of today's young people."--Miyazaki, quoted in HAYAO MIYAZAKI: MASTER OF JAPANESE ANIMATION -- (Muze Annotation)1174102 On her thirteen birthday, budding witch Kiki must head off into the world to start her training and find herself. Moving away from her family with only her pet cat as a companion, Kiki parlays her best skill--riding a broom--into a brisk cottage business. Dubbed in English by big-name actors under the auspices of U.S. distributor Disney, including the vocal talents of Kirsten Dunst, Phil Hartman, Janeane Garofalo, and Debbie Reynolds. -- (Synopsis)1174103 "Without even thinking about it, I used to be able to fly. Now I'm trying to look inside myself to find out how I did it. But I just can't figure it out."--Kiki to Ursula "We fly with our spirit."--Kiki to Ursula -- (Product Quotation/Excerpt)1174112 "...A whimsical, fun film....KIKI is a welcome novelty to the animation race going on here in the States..." -- (Review)1211988
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 180 minutes
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com In serial experiments lain, things get very weird very quickly, and they stay that way. A schoolgirl commits suicide, but several days later her classmates receive e-mail from the dead girl. One--an introverted 13-year-old called Lain--replies, and her correspondent claims not to be dead, but to have passed into the "wired world." Eventually, Lain must join her. What follows is a story that combines virtual-reality, nanotechnology, a host of other science fiction concepts, and a healthy dose of postmodern paranoia. It would be unfair to reveal much more about the plot, but the phrase "nothing is what it seems" applies to just about everything in this compelling anime. The beauty of serial experiments lain is the deliberate pace at which the story unfolds. Director Ryutaro Nakamura eschews the hyperkinetic style of many anime, allowing the plot to develop in slow motion and making every single image count. The first episode (a total of four are included) is a masterpiece of shifting moods and slowly building tension. Every detail--from the strange blotchy shadows to the ever-present hum of power lines to the slow tracking shots across the dazed face of Lain herself--helps create an atmosphere of unease, and as the truth is gradually revealed, that unease is amply justified. The art direction is superb, mixing computer graphics with traditional animation and making frequent use of high-contrast images that set deep shadows against a blinding white sky. The first four episodes of serial experiments lain combine the millennial dread of Neon Genesis Evangelion with the subtle menace of The X-Files to create a uniquely disturbing beginning to an imaginative and intelligent story. Stay tuned. --Simon Leake Description We're all Connected... There is the world around us, a world of people, tactile sensation, and culture. There is the wired world, inside the computer, of images, personalities, virtual experiences, and a culture all of its own. The day after a classmate commits suicide, lain, a thirteen year-old girl, discovers how closely the two worlds are linked when she receives an e-mail from the dead girl: "I just abandoned my body. I still live here..." Has the line between the real world and the...
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com As Lain's story continues to unfold, she--and the viewer--becomes increasingly unsure of what is real and what exists in the cyber-realm of The Wired. The cyber-Lain grows bolder and more unpleasant, spying on her friends and spreading rumors, while her real-world counterpart seems to be fading out of existence. Does she need a body any longer? Does she still possess one? Her father departs, announcing that her family has never been anything but a group of actors. The Knights, who seemed omnipotent within The Wired, lose a critical power struggle: its members are executed by agents of Tachibana Laboratory. Lain greets these revelations and questions with her usual fixed stare and little indrawn breaths. Chiaki Konaka clutters his already fragmented screenplay with references to alien contacts and some odd theology. Lain debates the nature of God and free will with the Masami Eiri, who researched the idea that human minds are linked like electronic circuits on a subliminal level--before he was found murdered. Director Ryutaro Nakamura doggedly reuses the same close-ups of Lain's eyes, the shots of power wires, the simple computer graphics, etc. Viewers will love or hate Lain; no one will watch it with indifference. Rated 16 and up for violence, implied sexual situations, and an abstruse story line. --Charles Solomon Description Who are you really?" lain delves deeper into the Wired World, and is confronted by the men in dark suits. They know something about the Knights and the rash of kids who seem to be committing suicide, yet they ask lain "Are those people who you live with really your parents?" and "Are you lain of the Wired?"
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com As Lain's story continues to unfold, she--and the viewer--become increasingly unsure of what is real and what exists in the cyberrealm of the Wired. The cyber-Lain grows bolder and more unpleasant, spying on her friends and spreading rumors, while her real-world counterpart seems to be fading out of existence. Does she need a body any longer? Does she still possess one? Her father departs, announcing that her family has never been anything but a group of actors. The Knights, who seemed omnipotent within the Wired, lose a critical power struggle: its members are executed by agents of Tachibana Laboratory. Lain greets these revelations and questions with her usual fixed stare and little indrawn breaths. Chiaki Konaka clutters his already-fragmented screenplay with references to alien contacts and some odd theology. Lain debates the nature of God and free will with the Masami Eiri, who researched the idea that human minds are linked like electronic circuits on a subliminal level--before he was found murdered. Director Ryutaro Nakamura doggedly re-uses the same close-ups of Lain's eyes, the shots of power wires, the simple computer graphics, etc. Viewers will love or hate Lain; no one will watch it with indifference. (Ages 16 and older due to violence, implied sexual situations, and an abstruse story line) --Charles Solomon Description I am God in the wired... I created you, lain. There are rumors that lain is stealing people's secrets and spreading them in the wired. Her friends, including Arisu, start to leave lain. Lain finds that her "other" self in the Wired is the one revealing these secrets. "Which is the real me!?" Even her parents leave lain, telling her that they were not her real parents. Lonely lain then encounters Masami Eiri, who calls himself "God" in the wired... layer 08: Rumors layer 09: Protocol layer 10:...
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Description "I'll delete myself and reset everyone's memory." Who am I? The question is asked over and over again throughout the noise. Lain destroys her own creator and loses her best friend, now Lain must decide what to do - should she delete herself from everyone's memory! If she does, the real world should remain exactly the same, but if no one remembers her, did Lain ever really exist? layer 11: INFORNOGRAPHY layer 12: LANDSCAPE layer 13: EGO
Series: Love Hina
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com An agreeable loser in the tradition of Keiichi in Oh My Goddess, 20-year-old Keitaro Urashima promised a girl when he was 5 that they'd attend prestigious Tokyo University together. He's in prep school, struggling to fulfill that promise, when his grandmother retires, making him the manager of the Hinata Apartments, which serves as a high school girls' dorm. The residents include an assortment of standard anime females: painfully shy Shinobu, violently anti-male kendo champion Motoko, irrepressible Su, and brainy, pretty Naru, whose temper makes Akane in Ranma look placid. Keitaro has a talent for turning up in the wrong place at the wrong time: he inadvertently infuriates the girls--who beat the sushi out of him. But Keitaro also has a genuinely kind heart, which eventually carries the day, overcoming his low self-esteem, poor study habits, and overactive fantasy life. Rated 13 Up: Comic violence, risqué humor, tobacco use. --Charles Solomon
Series: Love Hina
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com After Keitaro and Naru fail the entrance exam for prestigious Tokyo University--she for the first time, he for the third--they set off independently for Kyoto to think about life. They meet on the train after breaking their glasses, fail to recognize each other, and become fast friends--until an optometrist resets their lenses. The recognition scene feels improbable, even by cartoon standards, but their new friendship suggests future complications for this popular romantic comedy. The stand-out episode on the collection is the very funny "Kendo Girl": man-hating martial artist Motoko dreams herself into an old video game that spoofs Sailor Moon, El Hazard, and other anime series. The Dragon Palace and giant turtle are references to the Japanese folk tale "Urashima Taro," which plays off Keitaro's last name, Urashima--jokes American viewers may not catch. Rated 13 Up: Comic violence, risqué humor, tobacco use. --Charles Solomon
Series: Love Hina
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
A sweet natured romantic comedy series that throws a bit of THREE'S COMPANY into the mix, LOVE HINA is the story of Keitaro, a befuddled young student who hopes to attend Tokyo University. In the meantime, he searches for his lost love and works at his job as the super of Hinata Sou, an all girl dormitory where he will bide his time before trying to pass the entrance exam once more. In these episodes, Keitaro faces one crisis after another when a thief makes off with the building's rent money and a woman arrives with a mischievous pet alligator in tow. Later, Keitaro finds himself worried about the newly famous Naru's neglect of her studies and challenging Motoko to a duel.
Series: Love Hina
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com The course of true love seldom runs smooth--especially at the Hinata Apartments. The residents of the building find they're broke and the bills are due, so they need to make some money in a hurry. The hapless Keitaro finds a job babysitting the thoroughly obnoxious adopted daughter of Noriyasu Seta, a dashing Indiana Jonesesque professor of archeology at Tokyo University. Naru nurtured a crush on Mr. Seta several years ago, when he was her tutor. Keitaro and the rest of the group assume Naru is still in love with him, despite her insistence that she isn't. The romantic misunderstandings reach an outrageous climax when the cast stages a slapstick adaptation of the classic Chinese novel The Journey to the West, which brings down the house--and much of the theater--when they accidentally uncork a hidden hot spring. Rated 13 Up: Comic violence, risqué humor, brief nudity, tobacco use. --Charles Solomon
Series: Love Hina
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com The plot of this popular slapstick romance veers into the supernatural as the summer ends. The gang from the Hinata Apartments prepares to leave the seashore and resume their studies when Naru is possessed by the ghost of a woman who drowned years earlier. Motoko uses her training in martial arts and Shinto exorcism to defeat the spirit. Kaolla Su, who has the unnerving habit of metamorphosing into an older version of herself, is joined by her brother, who looks like a handsomer version of Keitaro. The resemblance between everyone's favorite loser and Crown Prince Lamba Lu produces foreseeable complications. The disc concludes on an wistful note, when the characters stumble into an unused part of the building and find Moé, a century-old automaton. She mistakes Keitaro for his great-grandfather, suggesting an ill-starred romance decades earlier. (Rated 13 and older: comic violence, risqué humor, brief nudity, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon
Series: Love Hina
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com Consternation reigns, as this romantic farce concludes (except for the 25th episode, which is included with the Christmas Movie). Years ago, did Keitaro actually promise to attend Tokyo University with Mutsumi, rather than Naru? Circumstantial evidence suggests he did, which increases tensions among the characters. Further complications ensue when Keitaro blows his entrance exam yet again, and his grandmother returns from her travels. If she resumes her place as manager of the Hinata Apartments, what will become of Keitaro? When he goes off to brood by himself, the other members of the cast reflect on how much their favorite goofball has come to mean to them, despite his flaws. Everyone may not live happily after, but they eventually settle matters in a way that's appropriate to the story--and that leaves open the possibility of future sequels. (Rated 13 and older: comic violence, risqué humor, brief nudity, tobacco use) --Charles Solomon Description Based on the best selling comic book series by Ken Akamatsu! The Love Hina romantic comedy continues to win over new fans as Keitaro attempts to keep his promise to his long lost love and enter the prestigious Tokyo University! But who is this mystery girl!? Love is in the air! Could Naru finally be opening up to geeky Keitaro!? The residents of Hinata Inn sure hope so! With the Inn under construction, the fun loving gang must deal with time away from the Hinata Inn, but what will happen to the... read more
Series: Love Hina
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Description: A sweet natured romantic comedy series that throws a bit of THREE'S COMPANY into the mix, LOVE HINA is the story of Keitaro, a befuddled young student who hopes to attend Tokyo University. In the meantime, he searches for his lost love and works at his job as the super of Hinata Sou, an all girl dormitory where he will bide his time before trying to pass the entrance exam once more. This Xmas special finds the residents of Hinata Sou in full winter break mode leaving Keitaro to deal with a house full of women anxious to celebrate the holidays.
Series: Love Hina
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 93 minutes
A sweet natured romantic comedy series that throws a bit of THREE'S COMPANY into the mix, LOVE HINA is the story of Keitaro, a befuddled young student who hopes to attend Tokyo University. In the meantime, he searches for his lost love and works at his job as the super of Hinata Sou, an all girl dormitory where he will bide his time before trying to pass the entrance exam once more. This full length movie begins as Keitaro and Naru both finally enter Tokyo University. Meanwhile, the residents of the Hinata Apartments find themselves with a new manager, who is sure to be surprised at the behavior of his new tenants.
Series: Love Hina
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 60 minutes
Series: Robotech
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 90 minutes
Series: Robotech
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 90 minutes
Series: Nadesico
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 90 minutes
Amazon.com The unbridled silliness of Nadesico provides a welcome counter to the grimly serious tone of many mecha series. It's A.D. 2195 and the "Jovian Lizards" are attacking Earth after capturing Mars and the Moon. Tired of the inept campaigns of the United Space Force, Nergal Heavy Industries builds a super battleship, the Nadesico. They staff the ship with an assortment of oddballs and misfits under Captain Yurika, a flaky young woman. Yurika nurses a crush on Akita Tenkawa, who was traumatized when he saw the Jovians slaughter innocent civilians on Mars. Despite his skill as a robot pilot, he wants nothing to do with heroics--he signs on to the Nadesico as a fry cook. He's won over by the irrepressible Gai Daigoji, who's a fanatic admirer of the old Gekigangar III series--a very funny spoof of '70s mecha programs. Gai soon has Akita fighting the Jovians in the best anime tradition. The vocal performances tend to be over the top, and the manic tone prevents some plot points from carrying the requisite emotional punch. Still, it's easy to see why the freewheeling insanity of Nadesico has made the series and its follow-ups so popular in Japan and the U.S. Contains the first four episodes: 1. "To Go Like a Man," 2. "Leave the Blue Earth to Me," 3. "A Goodbye that Came Too Soon," 4. "Charmed by Aqua Space." Unrated; suitable for ages 10 and up for minor sexual innuendoes and violence, largely restricted to robot versus robot. --Charles Solomon Description The aliens have destroyed our base on Mars, wiped out our space fleets, and now, only one ship stands between Earth and total annihilation! Disgusted by the incompetence of Earth's military, the independent arms manufacturer Nergal has built it own space battle cruiser. But due to the shortage of trained soldiers, they've had to assemble the most unorthodox crew to ever launch into orbit. With a cook who's also a pilot and an Admiral's daughter in command, the new starship is the most...
Series: Nadesico
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Description As the Nadesico heads for Mars and a deadly encounter with the Jovian menace, new recruits, a tragic death, an enemy ambush, a budding romance and a frantic battle all spice up the plot as the action really begins to heat up. Is it a recipe for disaster or mankind's last hope for salvation?
Series: Nadesico
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com The nutty crew of the redoubtable space ship Nadesico pursue the war against the invading Jovian Lizards as this rollicking sci-fi comedy continues. Typically nonplused computer scientist Ruri sets the tone for these episodes when she notes, "What began as a love triangle is now, by my calculations, a septagon." Most of the female crew members are pursuing fry-cook-turned-pilot Akito; when they try to cook for him, they almost poison him and his cabin has to be fumigated. The only way for Akito to get a decent meal is to cook it himself. But Akito has little time to spend in the kitchen: he's too busy piloting his mecha suit, rescuing a secret agent with a surprising identity, and destroying the Walking Stick, a new Jovian superweapon. In the hilarious "Those Unforgettable Days," Omoikane, the Nadesico's computer, develops psychological problems that cause it to target allied ships as well as enemy vessels. Akito is sent into the computer in a cyber-adventure that hinges on his knowledge of the imaginary mecha series "Gekigangar III"--an outrageous spoof that captures the look of '70s TV animation, down to the Xeroxed lines. Who knew interplanetary warfare could be so much fun? Contains these episodes: 9. "The Miracle Operation of the Kiss," 10. "The Dangers of Femininity," 11. "Finding Yourself in a Routine Plot," 12. "Those Unforgettable Days." Unrated; suitable for ages 10 and up for minor sexual innuendoes and violence, largely restricted to robot versus robot. --Charles Solomon Description As the crew of the most powerful ship in the fleet, the Nadesico team has to be ready to fight anywhere, anytime and at a moment's notice. Missions to rescue a missing VIP and recover a fallen Chulip are only warm-ups for a deadly battle against an army of tanks and a new weapon that can envelop the Earth in a miniature black hole! But the worst is yet to come, because the ship's main computar is starting to develop a mind of its own, and it's not quite sure which side of the battle it should be...
Series: Nadesico
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com Revelations, threats, and decisions pile up as this rollicking sci-fi adventure comedy continues. The Nadesico is to be commandeered by the United Earth Forces and Akito, the reluctant hero of the series, relieved of his duties. Both Nergal Heavy Industries and the military are very interested in Akito, as he seems to have demonstrated an ability to teleport between planets using the blue Chulip Crystals found on Mars. Typically, he doesn't remember how--or if--he teleported from Mars; he only recalls waking up on Earth. Meanwhile, Yurika refuses to give up her one-sided romance with Akito and cheerfully defies the ambitious Erina Won. Megumi and Minato make an astonishing discovery about the identity of the "Jovian Lizards" who are at war with Earth: the pilot's capsule in the captured Jovian mobile suit contains toys from the spoof '70s mecha series "Gekigangar III"! Director Tatsuo Sato takes the story to new heights of absurdity in "Let's Go with Hot-Blooded Anime": the casts of Nadesico and "Gekigangar" watch each other's programs, borrowing ideas for weapons and complaining about the plots. Among American TV cartoons, only Rocky and Bullwinkle and The Simpsons dared this kind of outrageous self-parody. Unrated; suitable for ages 10 and up for minor sexual innuendoes and violence, largely restricted to robot versus robot. --Charles Solomon
Series: Nadesico
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time:
Series: Nadesico
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 125 minutes
Amazon.com As this rollicking sci-fi comedy concludes, computer officer Ruri sighs, "I guess we'll be fumbling about, making noise til the end. However, when you think about it, that's rather appropriate for us." The last five episodes offer a lot of action, from mutiny to murder. A three-way struggle that pits the crew of the Nadesico against both the Jovians and Nergal Industries hinges on Akito's mysterious ability to move through space and time in a "boson jump." The action is played against typically outrageous comedy: the solution to the war between Earth and the Jovian Lizards lies in the imaginary mecha series "Gekigangar 3" ("the thread ties humanity together!"). The crew holds a "Geki Fest" that satirizes anime conventions, including booths selling special, limited-edition merchandise. When the Nadesico is impounded, Megumi gets a job as a voice actress on "Natural Princess Magical Lychee," an uproarious spoof of Sailor Moon. (Nadesico was initially criticized in Japan for making fun of both anime and fan culture, but its good-natured humor won over critics--and large audiences.) Many questions about the plot are left unanswered at the conclusion; Ruri suggests that some of them will be sorted out "in the inevitable sequel." Alas, no more episodes of Nadesico were produced. Unrated; suitable for ages 12 and up: brief nudity, mildly risqué humor, and cartoon violence. --Charles Solomon
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1.5
Running Time: 109 minutes
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Series: Najica Blitz
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Najica Hiiragi is the world's premiere perfume designer as the architect of CRI Cosmetics' Day Series perfumes, but this jet-setting young woman is far from being just another talented fashionista. Though by day she mingles with the fabulous, Najica spends the rest of her time battling the seamy underworld of the rich and famous as an agent for the CRI intelligence organization. When Najica rescues a young girl named Lila from a depraved socialite, she is surprised to find that Lila is actually an android. Discovering that they work well together, the two team up and embark on a series of dangerous missions together.
Series: Najica Blitz
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Najica Hiiragi is the world's premiere perfume designer as the architect of CRI Cosmetics' Day Series perfumes, but this jet-setting young woman is far from being just another talented fashionista. Though by day she mingles with the fabulous, Najica spends the rest of her time battling the seamy underworld of the rich and famous as an agent for the CRI intelligence organization.
Series: NGE
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 120 minutes
Amazon.com essential video One of the most popular anime series of all time, Neon Genesis Evangelion offers interesting characters, sophisticated direction, and solid storytelling. A giant meteor struck Antarctica in 2000, devastating much of the Earth. Since then, humans and the mysterious aliens known as Angels have been locked in a deadly struggle. In 2015, scientists at the NERV Center in the fortress-city of Tokyo 3 are developing ways to combat the Angels, notably the Human Enhancement Project and the giant battle robots called Evangelions. Fourteen-year-old Shinji Ikari, whose aloof father heads these research projects, is drafted to pilot Evangelion Unit 01. Shinji is a reluctant hero, as many mecha pilots are, but his reluctance is not just an arbitrary whim; it's rooted in his estrangement from his father. Shy and socially maladroit, Shinji displays a likable warmth the grimly taciturn teenagers in ordinary mecha shows lack. Rounding out the cast are Rei Ayanami, the silent, albino pilot of Unit 00; irrepressible Misato Katsuragi, who serves as a substitute mother to Shinji; technical expert Ritsuko Akagi; and Shinji's classmates Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida. Evangelion offers a dark vision of the future, but director Hideaki Anno presents it very skillfully. Episodes include: 1. "Angel Attack," 2. "Unfamiliar Ceiling," 3. "The Phone That Never Rings," 4. "Rain, Escape & Afterwards." Not rated; suitable for ages 14 and up: robot vs. robot violence, brief nudity, and minor profanity. --Charles Solomon
Series: NGE
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 120 minutes
Amazon.com As this popular sci-fi drama continues to unfold, 14-year-old Shinji Ikari, the pilot of warrior-robot Evangelion 01, begins to emerge from his shell. He's traumatized in a skirmish with an octahedral flying fortress, but Misato sends him right back into battle. Rei plays defensive blocker in her Evangelion as Misato diverts all the electric power in Japan to the untested cannon Shinji uses to destroy the fortress. (They'd never manage it in California.) Shinji begins to recognize his feelings for the taciturn Rei and the garrulous Misato. He also learns his textbooks lie: the devastation of the Earth was caused not by a meteor strike, but by the explosion of an Angel that human explorers discovered in Antarctica. Complications ensue with the arrival of the third pilot, Asuka Sohryu, a temperamental redhead who quarrels with everyone in sight. She and Shinji are forced to work as a team, piloting Evangelion 03 in an unexpected sea battle with a sharklike Angel. But Shinji and his friends face even graver danger from the plots of his scientist-father and the dashing agent Ryoji Kaji. Director Hideaki Anno continues to develop his main characters while keeping the plots and subplots moving smoothly ahead. Contains these episodes: 5. "Rei, Beyond Her Heart," 6. "Showdown in Tokyo 3," 7. "The Human Creation," 8. "Asuka Strikes." Not rated; suitable for ages 14 and up: robot versus robot violence, brief nudity, and minor profanity. --Charles Solomon
Series: NGE
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com Brash new Eva pilot Asuka seems to take a sadistic pleasure in deriding shy, melancholy Shinji. When the two of them are required to fight as a unit to destroy an invading Angel, she moves in with Shinji and Misato, complaining all the way. After practicing to music, they win the battle with a mecha version of a rhythmic gymnastics routine. Asuka volunteers to take her Eva into an active volcano to capture an Angel in its chrysalis stage; she's nearly killed when it escapes and has to be rescued by Shinji. After the volcano adventure, the pilots and Misato take a well-earned rest at a hot springs, where Shinji discovers the principal of thermal expansion can have embarrassing personal applications. Asuka also insults Rei, but all three pilots have to work together to defeat a huge, spidery Angel that secretes a corrosive acid in episode 11, "In the Still Darkness." A mysterious power failure that occurs during the Angel attack points to the actions of Shinji's father, Commander Ikari, who ruthlessly pursues his private agenda. All three episodes display the strong storytelling that has made Evangelion one of the most popular anime series. Not rated; suitable for ages 14 and up for robot versus robot violence, brief nudity, and minor profanity. --Charles Solomon Description It's triple jeopardy as the Angels continue to attack and the forces of NERV are finding themselves sorely pressed to find new ways to combat the alien invaders. Facing a new Angel with the ability to instantly replicate itself poses problems enough, but when an unborn Angel is found incubating inside an active volcano, the decision is made to meet the devil in it's lair! Can even an Evangelion survive mortal combat beneath a million tons of molten lava? Then NERV is left defenseless as a major...
Series: NGE
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com Director Hideaki Anno explores the pasts of his characters in these episodes, revealing the events that molded their personalities. In a flashback, Misato, who has just been promoted to major, recalls how her father rescued her from the destruction caused by the Second Impact. Her resentment of his single-minded devotion to his work at the expense of his family mirrors Shinji's troubled relationship with his father, Commander Ikari. Misato's experiences, which left her physically and psychologically scarred, caused her to dedicate her life to fighting the Angels. Shinji, the reluctant warrior, is dumbfounded when his aloof father praises his performance in battle but realizes he became an Eva pilot to hear those words. Ritsuko reveals her difficult relationship with her mother, who helped to create the powerful trio of computers known as the Magi. A colony of microscopic Angels invade the Magi, threatening NERV and Tokyo 3, but are defeated at the last possible moment. After two hard-hitting episodes, Anno changes pace in "Seele." Commander Ikari recaps the Angel attacks and assures his superiors that everything is unfolding according to a plan revealed in the Dead Sea Scrolls--setting the stage for the next adventures. Not rated; suitable for ages 14 and up for robot versus robot violence, brief nudity, and minor profanity. --Charles Solomon Description The war for the fate of mankind shifts to a new field of battle as a promotion for Misato sparks an introspective review of the events behind her early recruitment into NERV. Against the background of an attack by the largest Angel yet, both Shinji and Misato must come to grips with their feelings for their respective fathers while still trying to save the Earth from total destruction! Then, the powerful MAGI computers that control Tokyo 3 are violated by a savage wave of neural attacks that...
Series: NGE
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com The dashing Ryoji Kaji reveals he is playing a double game, working for both NERV and the Japanese government. Through him, Misato learns that Commander Ikari has somehow preserved Adam, the first Angel, who was the prototype for the Evas. He also tells her that the Marduk Institute, which is supposed to oversee NERV, is just a shell: Ikari is secretly pulling all the strings. In "Sickness Until Death," Asuka goads Shinji into attacking a weird Angel that resembles a black film only microns thick--yet it engulfs him and Eva 01. As the power supply for his life-support system nears depletion, Shinji experiences what may be hallucinations--or a fragmentary dialogue with the Angel. As the rescue mission Ritsuko has organized is about to begin, the Angel suddenly ruptures, expelling Eva 01. While Shinji recuperates, Eva 04 and the US NERV First Unit disappear from their Nevada testing ground in a mysterious explosion. Shinji's seemingly ordinary classmate, Toji Suzuhara, is revealed to be the "4th Child," the pilot of the newest Eva. The combination of revelations, mysteries, and action make for exciting viewing, and director Hideaki Anno skillfully builds suspense over the extended screen time. Not rated; suitable for ages 14 and up for robot versus robot violence, brief nudity, and minor profanity. --Charles Solomon
Series: NGE
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com The new Eva Unit 03, piloted by Shinji's friend Toji, mutates during its initial test and becomes an Angel. When Shinji realizes another human being is inside the menace, he refuses to attack it. Using an override circuit, Shinji's father takes control of his Eva and rips the 03 apart. Horrified and disgusted at this brutality, Shinji quits as an Eva pilot--until a new and more powerful Angel strikes at NERV headquarters. Seeing his friends Asuka and Rei overcome, Shinji returns to defeat the deadly new foe. But his Eva goes berserk, attacking and devouring the Angel. As it grows in power, the Eva partially absorbs its pilot. Drifting through semiconsciousness, Shinji confronts memories that recur in variations, like an aria by Philip Glass. Characters in other, popular mecha series never confront these moral dilemmas. The youthful pilots in Gundam Wing adhere to a warrior code that extols heroism; they have few qualms about slaughtering their foes. Shinji knows that warfare is not a noble calling, and that causing the death of a human being is a horrifying prospect. His ambivalence about his role as a pilot forces him to analyze his troubled relationship with his remote and brutal father and how that relationship has warped his self-perception. Episodes: 18. "The Judgment of Life," 19. "A Man's Fight," 20. "Form of the Mind, Form of the Man." Not rated; suitable for ages 14 and up for robot versus robot violence, nudity, minor profanity, and sexual situations. --Charles Solomon
Series: NGE
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com In "The Birth of NERV," the filmmakers offer the viewer glimpses of the main characters' childhoods in scenes that hint at the sources of their problems and sorrows. And the penultimate episodes are dominated by sorrows at NERV, the organization that handles the Earth's defenses against the invading Angels. Asuka has grown so hostile, she can no longer bond with her Eva. After being badly injured in battle with the 15th Angel, she's removed from the program she lived for. As Commander Ikari insists on keeping Shinji's Eva in "cryostasis," Rei is left to face the serpentine 16th Angel alone: rather than be overcome by it, she destroys her Eva, the Angel, much of the surrounding landscape--and herself. Shinji is shattered by her disappearance. After decoding a message from the murdered Kaji, Misato forces Ritsuko to reveal to her and to Shinji the hideous truth about the creation of the Evas. But Misato, Shinji, and Ritsuko are only pawns in the larger game being played by the ruling cadre of the sinister SEELE organization. The 16th Angel has been vanquished and, according to the predictions they have derived from the Dead Sea Scrolls, only one remains to appear. These fragmented episodes showcase the singular mixture of Christian symbolism, sci-fi action, and Eastern mysticism that has made Evangelion one of the most widely--and hotly--discussed series in the history of anime. Not rated; suitable for ages 14 and up: robot versus robot violence, minor nudity, and grotesque imagery. --Charles Solomon
Series: NGE
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time:
Amazon.com The final episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion have been the subject of widespread and often heated debate since the series debuted in Japan in 1995. Shinji is no surer of himself at the end of the 26th episode than he was at the beginning of the 1st; his victories as an Eva pilot have only intensified his doubts and fears. As he broods on his lonely fate, he meets the mysterious Fifth Child, Kaoru Nagisa, the only character who treats him with genuine kindness. The battle with the 17th and final Angel assures the continued existence of humanity but devastates Shinji. As he attempts to grasp what has occurred, his identity shatters. Everyone he has known appears to question and torment him in long sequences of animated schizophrenia. The collapse of Shinji's ego recalls the chilling conclusion of Yukio Mishima's "Sea of Fertility" tetralogy, when the main character realizes he can no longer be certain of his own existence. Buddhist theology, Western existentialism, and apocalyptic Christianity fuse into a bleak vision of a universe in which there are no answers, in this life or any other. Anno created the series after four years of deep depression, and his logical yet frustrating conclusion to Shinji's odyssey gives Evangelion a fascination that has made it a landmark in the history of Japanese animation. Not rated; suitable for ages 14 and up: brief nudity, violence, sexual humor, and complex adult themes. --Charles Solomon Description In the deadly calm of the aftermath, the sudden and unexpected arrival of the Fifth Child hits like a hurricane, leaving Shinji at the eye of a whirlwind of activity as he finds a kindred soul in the unearthly Nagisa Kaoru^E but does Kaoru really have a soul at all? Prepare for the shocking conclusion to the most controversial animated series ever produced. Where Angels fear to tread, Shinji must go alone. At last, the circle of life will be completed. He is The Beast That Shouted I at the Heart...
Series: NGE
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 90 minutes
The conclusion of the NEON GENESIS EVANGELION series was one of the most confounding moments to be found in anime. For as many people that were exhilarated by its mystery, there were those who were just plain angry. Still, it is obvious that EVANGELION is one of the most popular, and arguably one of the best animes ever produced, and is one of the rare sci-fi series that actually follows through on the ambitious themes and ideas that it presents. That follow through is THE END OF EVANGELION, a 90 minute feature that picks up right where episode 24 (as well as DEATH & REBIRTH) of the series left off to provide, well, an end to the series. Beautiful, compelling, confusing, and provocative, THE END OF EVANGELION is all that it promises and more.
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Shido, his city's self-appointed Vampire Hunter, works hard to make sure that none of the bloodthirsty undead take over his town. Much to his chagrin, Shido finds that he has an apprentice in an extremely beautiful and young policewoman. Trying to figure out what exactly is motivating his fellow nightwalker, Shido faces a particularly nasty invasion of vampires and grudgingly accepts this upstart's help. Contains episodes 1-6. -- (VideoLog Description)1199081
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 180 minutes
Shido, his city's self-appointed Vampire Hunter, works hard to make sure that none of the bloodthirsty undead take over his town. Much to his chagrin, Shido finds that he has an apprentice in an extremely beautiful and young policewoman. Trying to figure out what exactly is motivating his fellow nightwalker, Shido faces a particularly nasty invasion of vampires and grudgingly accepts this upstart's help. Now, she has been reborn as a vampire and Shido must do everything he can to protect her from her own hunger. Contains episodes 7-12. -- (VideoLog Description)1199078
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 90 minutes
Amazon.com A peak achievement of Japanese animation (anime), a propulsive mix of samurai action adventure and supernatural fantasy from writer-director Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Supernatural Best City). This is defiantly animation for grown-ups, complete with fountains of blood, plenty of naked flesh, and (in both the subtitled and dubbed versions) some decidedly strong language. (Students of Japanese language could pick up some useful expressions.) The plot sounds like a 16th century variation on the X-Files: An entire village has been wiped out by a mysterious plague and an anti-government conspiracy of invulnerable demons seems to be responsible. A wandering ninja, Jubei, and his female counterpart, Kagero, team up to defeat the plotters. Jubei is a classic reluctant hero, agreeing to participate in the mission only after being fed a slow-acting poison; the antidote will be supplied after he cooperates. And Kagero, a looker whose embrace is lethal, is a femme fatale with a difference that seems distinctively Japanese: sexual contact itself is poisonous, especially for a warrior with a pure-soul. --David Chute --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 4
Running Time:
Amazon.com Shuzo "Shu" Matsutani, a rambunctious adolescent kendo student, encounters a mysterious girl named Lala-Ru in an abandoned factory near his home. When she's captured by hostile mecha, Shu is taken with her to another world, to the unfortunately named fortress-ship Hellywood, ruled by the psychotic King Hamdo. The apparently ancient Lala-Ru can produce vast quantities of water, which Hamdo desires. Shu is imprisoned, beaten, and tortured before being inducted into Hamdo's army of child-soldiers. He doggedly insists that he must protect Lala-Ru, despite her great powers. They escape Hellywood, wander through the desert, and reach a pueblo-like village where they defeat Hamdo. The rambling storyline recalls both El Hazard and Escaflowne. What sets Now and Then apart is the gritty realism of the violence: unlike other anime characters, Shu seems to feel real pain when Hamdo's thugs beat him. Although the rape of the Earth girl Sara is suggested rather than depicted, she has to decide whether to keep or abort the child. These depictions of the brutality of war give Now and Then a grim power many better-written and better-animated series lack. The most interesting segment on the "bonus disc" juxtaposes the animated version of the final episode with the storyboards. "From Then to Now" includes clips from the audition tapes of the actors playing Hamdo (Jack Taylor) and Shu (a surprisingly burly Ed Paul) along with interviews and standard behind-the-scenes footage of the recording sessions. Rated 16 Up for considerable violence, minor profanity, adult themes. --Charles Solomon Description From the master of Japanese anime, Akitaroh Daichi (director, "Jubei-Chan the Ninja Girl" & "Elf Princess Rane") Dragged through a time warp by a giant machine, Shu is thrust into a hellish future just as it explodes into war! He is caught in the carnage as a tyrant unleashes deadly force against a rebel army. But Shu is not alone...he is surrounded by courageous soldiers, a battalion of enslaved children, and enigmatic wanderers, each with their own fascinating story. Together, they face the... read more
Series: Patlabor
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 118 minutes
Amazon.com This stylish science fiction detective story bears the stamp of director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell). "Labors" are gigantic robots used for everything from construction work to law enforcement, but a massive land reclamation project in Tokyo Bay is threatened by robots going on unexplained rampages. Patlabor cops Noah Izumi and Azuma Shinohara are called in to investigate, and soon find themselves trying to decipher the apocalyptic visions of E. Hoba, who wrote the operating system for the Labor robots and then committed suicide. Hoba introduced a virus into the software that could affect robots all over world and cause unparalleled destruction. In abandoned slum apartments and high-tech construction sites, he left clues about what he was doing--and why. But are Noah, Azuma, and their friends clever enough to second-guess a genius? And will their superior officers accept their conclusions? The first Patlabor feature has a darker tone and look than the previous OVA series. Oshii assumes the viewer already knows the characters, and doesn't bother introducing them. But this powerful tale of the dangers of over-reliance on technology is far superior to ordinary mecha features. The recent attacks of powerful computer viruses give the story an added relevance. Unrated; suitable for ages 10 and older: occasional profanity and robot vs. robot violence. --Charles Solomon From the back cover The year is 1999 and Tokyo's Mobile Police have a new weapon in the war on crime--advanced robots called Labors are used to combat the criminals who would use the new technology for illegal means. The suicide of a mysterious man on the massive Babylon Project construction site sets off a cascade of events that may signal the destruction of Tokyo. What is the connection between the suicide, the new mobile Police AV-XO Zero Labor, and a berserk prototype tank? When Patlabor cops Noah Izumi and...
Series: Patlabor
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 118 minutes
Amazon.com Labors are giant construction robots piloted by humans, and the Patlabor team is a mobile police force whose job is to protect the population from people who might hijack or sabotage these powerful tools. Though events of the first movie called Labor technology into question, the needs of big business outweighed the concerns of citizens, and eventually they came back into common use. The military had also begun to adopt and adapt the technology, amidst some controversy. The story picks up with a terrorist attack on a Tokyo city bridge. The suspects include Americans who want to destabilize the Japanese government, corrupt forces within the Japanese government who want to increase military spending, and Tsuge, the genius of labor technology who was misused by the government three years prior. The animation is gorgeous, particularly the cityscapes and long shots, but that's not surprising coming from director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell). Sparkling animation would mean very little without a good story or good characters, which Patlabor 2 has in spades. At the core of the story is a quiet dialogue about the nature of peace in post-WWII Japan--how the peace has been unjust because they've ignored poverty-stricken countries in times of prosperity. Then it's back to unraveling the conspiracy and the requisite action-packed ending. These Patlabor movies are excellent, and not just for fans of anime. --Andy Spletzer
Series: Patlabor
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 105 minutes
In this Takayama Fumihiko-directed anime film, two government detectives are investigating a group of bloody murders in the vicinity of Tokyo Bay. Hata, a young and handsome man whose role takes prominence, seems to have an edge over his older, fading partner, Kusumi. However, later in the film each man's competence, and their allegiance to each other, is tested and proven. After days of following dead-end leads, they receive a strange phone call that leads them straight into action. A power outage in a storage facility brings Hata and Kusumi face to face with their culprit, a genetically modified monster. Little do they know, a team of scientists on the other side of Tokyo have been experimenting with cell manipulation attempting to create a biological weapon, and they realize that they have created an absolute disaster in this monster that is now rampant in the bay. While a complicated plan is constructed and the Tokyo militia is deployed to capture the monster, the Patlabor robots are readied. But it is not until the shocking conclusion, when dark secrets about Hata's love interest are revealed, that the movie gets its final burst of energy. WXIII's beautifully drawn settings--all in a gray, film-noirish Tokyo--mimic the look of actual film and create a very realistic atmosphere. For instance, reflections on the windshields of cars, shadows cast on the sidewalk by trees, complicated computer programs and tv broadcasts; are detailed flawlessly. On the whole, WXIII is both visually and mentally captivating. Theatrical release: January 10, 2003 (NY)
Series: Patlabor
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 120 minutes
Amazon.com In the not-too-distant future, heavy construction work is performed by giant robots called "Labors"; the robots also get involved in accidents and crimes, so the Tokyo police force needs "Patlabors" (an elision of "Patrol Labors") to keep them in check. Masami Yuuki's Mobile Police Patlabor began as a serial in the Shounen Sunday Comics and was adapted to a seven-part OVA in 1988. The subsequent 47-episode broadcast series proved so popular, additional OVAs and two features followed. The television program has a more upbeat tone than moody features, and despite a slower pace, it retains the freshness and good humor that won it so many fans. Although the heroine of the show is perky Noa Izumi, a young officer determined to succeed as a robot pilot, the stories focus on the interactions of the crew of oddballs who make up Special Vehicles Division 2. Noa's partners include the thoughtful Asuma Shinohara, no-nonsense New York police officer Clancy Kanuka, bigmouth Isao Ota, and understated Captain Goto. This ensemble playing suggests a sci-fi version of Hill Street Blues. Unlike their counterparts in other mecha series, the Patlabor pilots are not always seen as heroic. Captain Goto observes that the robots "have been called everything from jokes to money pits to piles of useless waste," but when a military experiment runs amok or a mutant monster gets loose in a forest, Division 2 is there to save the day. Unrated; suitable for ages 8 and up; robot versus robot violence. This collection contains the first five episodes: 1. "Ingram Animated," 2. "Kanuka Appears," 3. "Speed Vehicles Department 2," 4. "Goto Demon Mountain!" 5. "Labor X-10, Out of Control!" --Charles Solomon
Series: Patlabor
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 120 minutes
Amazon.com The men and women who make up Special Vehicles Division 2 of the Tokyo police force in the not-too-distant future are perennial underdogs. Because they deal with crimes involving the giant industrial robots called Labors, they're known as Patlabors (an elision of "Patrol Labors"). The 47-episode broadcast series based on Masami Yuuki's manga serial "Mobile Police Patlabor" has a lighter tone than the features. The misfits and oddballs who make up Division 2 suggest a comic Hill Street Blues. They watch others get the credit for their work saving a government minister from a construction site in "The Tower: SOS," save an ancient, sacred tree in "The Green Phantom," and thwart a dated terrorist plot in "Red Labor Landing." All the episodes offer the combination of mecha adventure and ensemble comedy that have made Patlabor such a popular franchise. Unrated; suitable for children 8 and older; minor violence, tobacco use. --Charles Solomon From the Back Cover Everybody loves Alphonse-A giant robot with huge guns! But technology marches on, and his police officer pilot may be forced to abandon him for a newer model. She'll have to prove that Alphonse is still strong enough, big enough, and cute enough to stay on the force. Together, they'll rescue a famous politician, hunt down a pesky demon, and solve a national conspiracy.all while causing worse trouble along the way! Contains episodes 6-10.
Series: Patlabor
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 120 minutes
Amazon.com The misfits of the Special Vehicles Division #2 of the Tokyo police force continue to deal with crises--on and off duty--and renegade giant industrial robots ("Labors") are often the least of their problems. Isao, the squad's resident big mouth, finds himself with a lovely girl in an omiai, a preliminary meeting for an arranged marriage. Naturally, the entire crew butts in. The adolescent prince of an oil-rich Middle Eastern realm visits Japan--and finds a kindred spirit in mecha-loving Noa. When the male members of the squad are injured in a judo match, Captain Goto has to make peace between irreverent Noa and no-nonsense Kanuka. He stages a drinking contest that produces new bonds (and hangovers), as the 47-episode broadcast series based on Masami Yuuki's manga serial "Mobile Police Patlabor" careens along its merry way. (Unrated; suitable for ages 8 and older; minor violence, alcohol use) --Charles Solomon
Series: Patlabor
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 120 minutes
Series: Patlabor
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
In the world of PATLABOR: THE MOBILE POLICE, the city of Future Tokyo is threatened by crimes perpetrated by criminal elements in control of Labors, all-purpose humanoid machines built to perform physical work. The new Special Vehicles, Section 2 unit of the Tokyo Police finds itself facing terrorists without the aid of their newly-modified Labors and investigating potentially criminal behavior around Tokyo Bay. Contains episodes 21-25.
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 120 minutes
Contains the entire series of PHOTON, the young man with the superhuman strength. See individual titles for details. -- (VideoLog Description)1154980
Series: Onegai Teacher
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
High school student Kei Kusanagi is in an unusual situation. Not only is he an 18 year-old in a 15 year-old's body because of rare disorder that put him in a coma for three years, but he has also found out that his incredibly attractive teacher is also an alien. Now, the alien race that sent Kei's teacher to Earth is forcing him to marry her, a situation to which Kei is not opposed. Now, however, he must keep her secret, do his homework, and be a good husband.
Series: Onegai Teacher
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
High school student Kei Kusanagi is in an unusual situation. Not only is he an 18 year-old in a 15 year-old's body because of rare disorder that put him in a coma for three years, but he has also found out that his incredibly attractive teacher is also an alien. Now, the alien race that sent Kei's teacher to Earth is forcing him to marry her, a situation to which Kei is not opposed. In these episodes, Kei and Mizuho's romantic honeymoon draws to an abrupt close when they realize that Hyosuke and the gang are vacationing in the same spot, making any sort of privacy for the newlyweds nearly impossible.
Series: Onegai Teacher
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
High school student Kei Kusanagi is in an unusual situation. Not only is he an 18 year-old in a 15 year-old's body because of rare disorder that put him in a coma for three years, but he has also found out that his incredibly attractive teacher, Mizuho, is also an alien. Now, the alien race that sent Kei's teacher to Earth is forcing him to marry her, a situation to which Kei is not opposed. In these episodes, Kei's commitment to marriage is tested for the first time when a classmate voices an attraction to him. At the same time, however, Kei gets jealous when Matagu asks Ms. Kazami for some extracurricular instruction.
Series: Onegai Teacher
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
In this installment of PLEASE TEACHER, Kei struggles with his feelings for his alien teacher, Mizuho. While he conducts an internal discussion about the situation with a figment from his past, Mizuho must decide whether to violate Galaxy Federation rules to save Kei. Her choice forever will alter Kei's destiny.
Series: Miyazaki
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 126 minutes
Amazon.com essential video This epic, animated 1997 fantasy has already made history as the top-grossing domestic feature ever released in Japan, where its combination of mythic themes, mystical forces, and ravishing visuals tapped deeply into cultural identity and contemporary, ecological anxieties. For international animation and anime fans, Princess Mononoke represents an auspicious next step for its revered creator, Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service), an acknowledged anime pioneer, whose painterly style, vivid character design, and stylized approach to storytelling take ambitious, evolutionary steps here. Set in medieval Japan, Miyazaki's original story envisions a struggle between nature and man. The march of technology, embodied in the dark iron forges of the ambitious Tatara clan, threatens the natural forces explicit in the benevolent Great God of the Forest and the wide-eyed, spectral spirits he protects. When Ashitaka, a young warrior from a remote, and endangered, village clan, kills a ravenous, boar-like monster, he discovers the beast is in fact an infectious "demon god," transformed by human anger. Ashitaka's quest to solve the beast's fatal curse brings him into the midst of human political intrigues as well as the more crucial battle between man and nature. Miyazaki's convoluted fable is clearly not the stuff of kiddie matinees, nor is the often graphic violence depicted during the battles that ensue. If some younger viewers (or less attentive older ones) will wish for a diagram to sort out the players, Miyazaki's atmospheric world and its lush visual design are reasons enough to watch. For the English-language version, Miramax assembled an impressive vocal cast including Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup (as Ashitaka), Claire Danes (as San), Minnie Driver (as Lady Eboshi), Billy Bob Thornton, and Jada Pinkett Smith. They bring added nuance to a very different kind of magic kingdom. Recommended for ages 12 and older. --Sam Sutherland
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Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time:
Amazon.com Originally released in 1983, the fast-paced, cheerfully inane Project A-Ko OAV spawned numerous sequels and won a devoted fan base. The story, which spoofs many early anime properties, focuses on the efforts of rich, mecha-building B-Ko to win the affections of the infantile C-Ko from A-Ko, who possesses super-powers. The result is a drawn-out duel. Although she turns out to be a long-lost alien princess, viewers may wonder why anyone would fall for a whiny case of arrested development like C-Ko. (The character names play off the Japanese equivalent of "Girl A, B, C" to designate an extra in a script.) In Japan, the rivalry between A-Ko and B-Ko plays as a satire on the intense, platonic friendships among high school students, rather than lesbian attraction, but a weird sexuality pervades the film. Rated 13 Up: Nudity, profanity, violence, alcohol and tobacco use. --Charles Solomon
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 90 minutes
Ms.Yomiko Readman, a Library Special Operations officer known as Agent Paper, is on the trail of one of the most nefarious criminals she has ever faced. Determined to locate a long lost Beethoven manuscript, this unknown criminal has cloned some of history's most extraordinary people to help him find the manuscript. Now, Readman must not only contend with a ruthless criminal, but also Tokugawa-era scientist Gennai Hiraga, aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal and 19th century entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre as she tries to stop a plot that could potentially destroy the Earth.
Series: Ranma 1/2
Format: DVD
# of disks: 2
Running Time: 720 minutes
Amazon.com essential video Since its debut in the manga weekly "Shônen Sunday Comics" in 1988 and as an anime series a year later, Rumiko Takahashi's gender-bending comedy Ranma 1/2 has been a popular favorite in both Japan and the United States. The first OAV episodes make it easy to understand why: the stories blend outrageous physical comedy, absurd situations, and likable, obtuse characters with just enough sentiment to keep the humor from becoming mean-spirited. Ryota Yamaguchi's screenplays push the nutty situations to the maximum, and director Junji Nishimura keeps the action moving. School blowhard Kuno hatches a phoenix that looks more like an outsized marshmallow Easter chick than the noble bird of legend: it imprints on Ranma, causing no end of trouble. An enchanted brooch produces 180-degree revolutions in the emotions of Shampoo, the Chinese girl. When she wears the pin right-side up, she chases Ranma harder than ever; when she wears it upside-down, she detests him with equal fervor. A demon escapes after 300 years of imprisonment and possesses members of the cast: Ranma and Ryoga use their martial arts skills to bombard the monster with charms that would recapture it--if they had spelled the magic formula correctly. The filmmakers balance these absurdities with gentle moments that anchor the character relationships. When Akane knits a scarf for Ranma in "Tendo Family Christmas," it looks like it's been attacked by a flock of voracious moths. He happily dons it and hands her a gift he bought with money borrowed from her venal sister Nabiki. Not realizing that Akane's spirit has been trapped in an enchanted doll, Ranma holds it and reflects on the things that make her attractive to him. The warm moments play against the exaggerated slapstick--when Akane punches Ranma, he literally goes flying--and vice versa. Ranma fans will want this three-disc set in their libraries; newcomers will find it an excellent introduction to one of the best-loved anime series of all time. Not rated; suitable for ages 12 and up: minor nudity and cartoon violence. --Charles Solomon Description Includes 12 original video episodes. Romance, comedy, martial arts mayhem, multiple personality changes, devilish dolls, haunted caves, magical phoenixes, evil ogres, legendary monsters and more! Special features include: Bilingual (English & Japanese), English Subtitles, Scene Access, Character Profiles & Info, Music Videos, and Trailer.
Series: Ranma 1/2
Format: DVD
# of disks: 4
Running Time: 450 minutes
Amazon.com The 18 episodes that comprise the first broadcast season of Ranma offer an appropriately zany introduction to the popular transgender martial arts comedy. These episodes form a single extended narrative, unlike the OVA installments, which can be watched in any order. The pacing is a little slower, the violent martial arts encounters are more clearly staged, and there's more nudity, but the mixture of slapstick humor and reluctant sentiment remains the same. When the Saotomes join the dojo-home of the Tendo family, fathers Genma and Suon decide son Ranma and daughter Akane are engaged, despite the participants' objections. Ranma and Genma have to explain why they turn into a girl and a panda when hit with cold water--the result of a disastrous visit to the cursed springs of Jusenkyo. Before they can establish any semblance of domestic tranquility, the geographically challenged Ryoga arrives to continue a quarrel with Ranma that dates back to junior high school. It's taken him this long to find Furinkan High. Kuno, the school kendo champion and windbag, discovers he's as smitten with Ranma's female form as he is with Akane, while his loudmouth sister Kodachi falls for Ranma as a male. Shampoo the Chinese Amazon is equally dedicated to killing girl-type Ranma and marrying boy-type Ranma. When the overwrought Suon Tendo tells Genma, "With you and your son in the house, there's never a dull moment," he makes a rare understatement. Not rated; suitable for ages 12 and up: Slapstick violence, nudity, mildly risqué humor. --Charles Solomon Additional features Contains these episodes: 1. "The Strange Stranger from China," 2. "School Is No Place for Horsing Around," 3. "A Sudden Storm of Love...Hey, Wait a Minute!" 4. "Ranma and...Ranma? If It's Not One Thing, It's Another," 5. "Love Me to the Bone! The Compound Fracture of Akane's Heart," 6. "Akane's Lost Love...These Things Happen, You Know," 7. "Enter Ryoga, the Eternal Lost Boy," 8. "School Is a Battlefield! Ranma vs. Ryoga," 9. "True Confessions: A Girl's Hair Is Her Life!" 10. "P-P-P-chan! He's...
Series: Ranma 1/2
Format: DVD
# of disks: 5
Running Time: 500 minutes
Description This 22 episode, 5 DVD box set continues in its second season to develop the on-going storylines of Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo, their families and introduces even more of the series' zany cast of characters. Get to know the infamous Golden Pair of the high school combat figure skating world; Mikado "Emperor" Sanzenin; Azusa Shiratori, the girl who gives anything "cute" a bad name (before taking it home); Sasuke, loyal ninja manservant to high school swordsman Tatewaki "Blue Thunder" Kuno; Cologne, the hundreds-of-years-old-leader of the same Chinese Amazon tribe that introduced the sassy Shampoo; Mousse, the nearsighted master of hidden weapons and all things avian; Happosai, lecherous master of both Ranma and Akane's fathers; plus a host of others!
Series: Ranma 1/2
Format: DVD
# of disks: 5
Running Time: 500 minutes
Series: Ranma 1/2
Format: DVD
# of disks: 5
Running Time: 500 minutes
This box set contains the entire fourth season of Ranma 1/2, an anime series that revolves around Ranma and his father, who, after using an ancient Chinese spring as their training ground, now turn into a woman and a panda, respectively, when they get wet. They are also the proprietors of the Tendo Dojo, home of the the Tendo Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts, which is damaged almost daily by a fight. Contains 24 episodes on five DVDs.
Series: Ranma 1/2
Format: DVD
# of disks: 5
Running Time: 500 minutes
Amazon.com If the fifth broadcast season of Ranma 1/2 doesn't quite match the consistent inspiration of the third (Hard Battle), it's much better than the fourth (Outta Control), with more imaginative writing and fewer weak episodes. A spoof of American Westerns, with Ryoga as the wandering hero who confronts the villain in a saloon-cum-ramen parlor, is simply hilarious, as is a spoof of Japanese historical dramas with Ranma in formal hakama. An aphrodisiac-impregnated band-aid turns Ranma into a suave ladies' man; the cord binding his trademark pigtail turns out to be a charm that grows hair, something Happosai, Genma, and four characters with heads like bao rolls desperately want. The entire cast brings the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts style to such improbable activities as men's rhythmic gymnastics, Japanese chess, Okonomiyaki cooking, Bath House-Fu, and the "Gourmet de Foie Gras" technique of fine dining. Ryoga sets new records for geographical confusion, getting lost in a three-legged race and inside a log cabin. Even more improbable is Sasuke's suggestion that Furinken High's pidgin-speaking Principal may be the long-lost father of Kuno and Kodachi. A few gentle moments provide the needed balance to the insanity: Ranma apologizes--sincerely--to Akane in "Hot Springs Battle Royal" and admits he thinks she's cute in "Ranma the Lady-Killer." Richard Cox, the voice of boy-type Ranma (and Inu-Yasha), has grown more comfortable in the part, effectively conveying the sullen and likeable sides of Ranma's personality. (Rated 13 and older: slapstick violence, nudity, mildly risqué humor) --Charles Solomon
Series: Ranma 1/2
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
Amazon.com In the two-part title episode, Happosai gets an overdue comeuppance when Akane is kidnapped by a Minotaur-like monster. Happosai once bathed a baby in the most cursed of the springs at Jusenkyo--the one in which a yeti riding an ox carrying a crane carrying an eel drowned--hence this bizarre creature. But there are worse fates than turning into a monster, as Ranma and the gang discover. Purloined underwear from a girls' dorm saves Ranma and Akane--and undoes the lecherous old man. Sentaro, the terrible jinx who rivals even Joe Btfsplk in "Li'l Abner," reappears, and disaster inevitably follows. The fate of the Daimonji School of Martial-Art Tea Ceremony hangs in the balance as Ranma and Akane help find his missing grandmother. It's all very silly--even by Ranma's freewheeling standards--but very funny. Not rated; suitable for ages 12 and up: Slapstick violence, mild risqué humor. --Charles Solomon Description The visitor's log at the cursed springs of Jusenkyo has been stolen by someone... or something. Now all the people who've visited Jusenkyo in the past are systematically being attacked! Ranma and the others at the Tendo Dojo prepare for battle while trying to figure out why someone would be after them. Who will be the next victim of this mysterious enemy? Contains 3 episodes: "The Demon from Jusenkyo, Part I" "The Demon from Jusenkyo, Part II" "The Missing Matriarch of Martial Arts Tea" The...
Series: Ranma 1/2
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
Amazon.com Everything's normal at Furinkan High School--which means everything's chaotic by any reasonable standard. The principal of Furinkan, who sounds like a pidgin English version of a surfer dude, tries to play traditional father to his long-lost progeny, Kuno and Kodochi, in "Dear Daddy." The results are predictably disastrous. Gosunkugi's a new student, so he doesn't understand why Ranma won't let him accept the lunch Akane offers. The indignant Gosunkugi tries to work voodoo on Ranma but only wreaks havoc on Kuno--and himself. Ranma's outraged when a martial artist won't accept his challenge: the newcomer practices Martial Arts Calligraphy--and Ranma's handwriting is atrocious. American viewers may not recognize the ink stones and sticks used in traditional Japanese calligraphy, but they know what happens when Ranma and Happosai get mixed up in anything. Despite the general chaos, these three episodes rank among the tamest in the series, with no gender transformations. Still, Sasuke sums up the whole series when he comments at the end of "Dear Daddy," "After all that, nothing's changed. The family's just as strange as before." Not rated; suitable for ages 12 and up. --Charles Solomon Description In these three episodes, see Ranma Battle with Sotatsu, master of Martial Arts Calligraphy! Witness upperclassman Kuno and his sister, Kodachi, contend with their father, Ranma's kooky Hawaiian high school principal! And thrill to the strange new kid with a crush on Akane and a creepy affection for voodoo dolls!
Series: Ranma 1/2
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
Amazon.com In the last volume, Back to the Way We Were... Please, a peddler offers Ranma, Ryoga, and Mousse the answer to their prayers: a powder that will reverse the curse of the Spring of the Drowned Man that causes them to transform into a girl, pig, and duck, respectively. They buy three envelopes of powder, only to discover the labels are missing. One envelope contains the magic antidote; the other two are unknown substances, and bathing in them could produce horrific results. The efforts of the trio to figure out whose envelope is whose and which one contains the curse-ending philter provide the special brand of slapstick comedy that has made Ranma 1/2 an international hit. Typical insanity reigns in the other two episodes. Ranma wanders into a deserted corridor of Furinken High and stumbles across a strange old man who guards a dark secret about the school's nutty principal in "The Secret Don of Furinken High." The filmmakers spoof the look of historical manga to depict the old geezer's tangled memories and fantasies. In the third episode, an argument over a batch of stolen candy escalates into Genma disinheriting his son. But if he does, what happens to the fractious "engagement" between Ranma and Akane? Things eventually get sorted out, but there's no way any situation in Ranma could be described as "back to normal." Not rated; suitable for ages 12 up: slapstick violence. --Charles Solomon Description Ranma runs into a shady man who runs a secret black market store on Furinkan High's campus! Principal Kuno wants him off the grounds, but this is one feisty merchant that won't go without a fight. Then, Ranma, Ryoga and Mousse travel into the mountains in search of the legendary Spring of Drowned Man in an attempt to restore their original forms. Will the three martial artists be successful, or will paranoia tear them apart? Plus, what is Genma thinking when he names Ryoga as the interior of...
Series: Ranma 1/2
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
Amazon.com This zany martial arts comedy reaches new heights of absurdity as school kendo champion and blowhard Kuno washes ashore with a watermelon stuck on his head. Stricken with amnesia, he's more smitten than ever with Ranma-chan and determined to win "her" heart. Ranma and Akane simultaneously cure and clobber Kuno, as fans of the series would expect. Shy Dr. Tofu wants to take Kasumi to an amusement park for a day of fun, but their date turns into a mass outing for the terminally nutty Tendo and Saotome families. Hoping to win a special dinner, the gang enters a go-cart race, which quickly degenerates into a destruction derby. Things take a darker turn when a pigtailed stalker frightens the girls at Furiken High with icky plastic bugs. Is Ranma behind the scare campaign? Not rated; suitable for ages 12 and up: Slapstick violence, brief nudity, mild risqué humor, alcohol use. --Charles Solomon Description The residents of the Tendo Dojo take a family vacation to a local beach, only to find Kuno washed up on the shore wearing a watermelon on his head. Even more confusing, Kuno seems to have lost his memory and gained incredible skill, making him possibly more powerful than Ranma! The answers lie on a deserted isle called Watermelon Island...
Series: Ranma 1/2
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
Amazon.com Three winter-themed episodes emphasize the affection underlying the endless quarrels that divide Ranma, Akane, their wacky friends, and their oddball relatives. Akane suffers a hairline fracture falling off a balance beam, and Ranma finds the most awkward way to express his concern. When a Snow-Woman (Yuki-onna) out of Japanese folk tales and a bizarre Abominable Snowman threaten to turn the town of Furinkan into an outdoor icebox, Ranma, Akane, and the long-suffering Ryoga defeat them with a mixture of martial arts and kindness. Arguments over who will spend Christmas Eve with whom lead to fisticuffs, but a gargantuan dinner brings everyone together. Like The Simpsons and I Love Lucy, Ranma 1/2 is about people who love each other but drive each other crazy: the love provides the leavening that keeps the slapstick comedy from seeming mean-spirited or cruel. Unrated; suitable for ages 12 and up: Risqué humor and cartoon violence. --Charles Solomon Description As the Tendo family prepares for Christmas, Ranma goes missing. A routine search brings in the usual troublemakers, but still no Ranma in time to spend Christmas with Akane? Then, the cold weather brings an unnatural snowfall and unnatural enemies. When a mysterious creature attacks Ryoga, Ranama and Akane head into the cold to find out what happened only to find a little girl and some very large footprints. What could be the connection be?
Series: Ranma 1/2
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
Amazon.com Director Junji Nishimura spoofs the popular Japanese genre of monster movies in these three episodes of Rumiko Takahashi's absurd martial arts comedy. A spider and a demon modeled on traditional Kabuki creatures emerge from a Chinese scroll to attack a carnival in "Scribbled Panda." The ringleader and most horrible of these beasts is an icky-cute little drawing who develops a crush on Ranma. This very funny misadventure suggests "Hello Kitty" on a rampage. "Lucky Panda" takes Genma down a river to a mysterious hidden village in the Japanese Alps--where he finds the regular cast in parallel form, but as argumentative as ever. Only in a Ranma episode could a seaside resort be terrorized by a ceramic octopus trap. Although things eventually get sorted out, no place Ranma visits could be described as getting back to normal. Unrated; suitable for ages 12 and up: Nudity, slapstick violence, mild risqué humor. --Charles Solomon Description Ranma and the others visit an exhibit of cursed Chinese paintings at a local festival. During a scuffle over food between Genma and Ranma, the exhibit is crashed into and three scary monsters depicted in the paintings are unleashed! Two of the paintings depict traditional demons (which Soun, Happosai and Genma must fight), while the third demon -- a very high girlish demon -- declares she won't go back into her painting unless Ranma takes her out on a date! Brand New Episodes of Ranma 1/2!
Series: Ranma 1/2
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 1 Hour 18 Minutes
Description: In these episodes, Ranma causes a problem for himself once again when he ruins Ukyo's secret sauce, whom he then must marry in order to atone for his carelessness. However, when Akane claims that she is already married to Ranma, it only confounds a difficult situation. Later, a teenage ghost lurking around Furnikan High leads a treasure hunt on the school's grounds. Description: DVD Features: Region 1 Keep Case Full Frame Audio: Stereo - Japanese Stereo - English Subtitles - English - Optional Interactive Features: Scene Access Interactive Menus Description: Volume 7 features a special two-part episode in which Ranma ruins Ukyo's secret sauce and has to marry her to make up for it. But what's with Akane claiming that they are already married? Then later, a teenaged ghost leads the way in a troubling treasure hunt on the grounds of Furinkan High.
Series: Ranma 1/2
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 78 minutes
It's a new year at school, and Akane has found herself the object of a new student's ardent affections. In a bizarre ploy for attention, this student, Hikaru Gosunkugi, buys a set of paper dolls that will make anyone follow a single command. Later, Akane acquires another suitor, this one a child named after a creature from a fairy tale. Finally, Happosai thinks he has found the cure for Ranma's insolence when he uses a mystical pill that causes subservience. Unfortunately the pill has a side effect that could cause him some permanent discomfort. -- (VideoLog Description)1226876
Series: Ranma 1/2
Format: DVD
# of disks: 5
Running Time: 500 minutes
The entire seventh season of the exciting animated adventure series is collected here. See individual RANMA FOREVER titles for detailed information.
Series: Ranma 1/2
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 74 minutes
Description It's just another day at the Tendo Anything-Goes Martial Arts Training Hall - that is, until a strange girl named Lychee and her giant elephant Jasmine arrive to settle a score with lecherous martial arts master Happosai. Apparently, a very long time ago, Happosai gave Lychee's great-grandmother half of a legendary scroll guaranteed to bring happiness to whoever was holding it. The women of Lychee's family have been waiting for three generations now, and the prince STILL hasn't come - but of course, the moment Lychee lets the scroll out of her hands, the prince finally appears. Only now it's Ranma's reluctant fiancée Akane that's holding the scroll, and the long-awaited prince is only too ready to sweep his lucky bride off her feet. Now Ranma & Co. have no choice but to follow Prince Kirin's majestic flying barge all the way to Nekonron, China, where they find themselves in a showdown with the Seven Lucky Gods of martial arts!
Series: Ranma 1/2
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 60 minutes
Amazon.com The second theatrical feature in this popular series, based on Rumiko Takahashi's manga, continues the comic adventures of a clutch of mismatched teenaged martial artists and their families. In the best anime tradition, the girls are buxom and long-legged, and sport minimal outfits that cover less of them than do their cascades of hair; the guys are slim, cute, and somewhat thick-witted. The gang wrecks a yacht on the mysterious floating island of Togenkyo, ruled by Prince Toma, who's been seeking a bride by kidnapping girls wherever he drifts. Naturally, Toma is attracted to Akane, Ranma's fractious girlfriend. Ranma sets out to rescue her, but the dark-haired boy is transformed into a busty, red-haired girl whenever he's splashed with cold water. When the inevitable transformation occurs, Ranma finds him/herself as a bridal candidate, competing doggedly in such off-the-wall events as "survival flower-arranging" and "obstacle-course cooking." Some Western viewers may take offense at the lighthearted treatment of kidnapping and the lecherous little old man who steals the tops from the girls' bathing suits. But Takahashi and Iuchi play everything for laughs, including a subplot involving the water from an enchanted spring that turns everything it touches irrevocably male--the obvious solution to Ranma's problem. The results are fast-paced and zany, but don't always make much sense. --Charles Solomon Description When poetry-spouting swordsman Tatewaki Kuno invites Ranma & Co. for a jaunt on his new luxury yacht, the last thing the group expects is a sudden storm to shipwreck them all on a deserted island. However, fixing the boat to get home soon becomes the least of their worries, as all the young girls in the group begin to disappear. As it turns out, they've been bride-napped by Prince Toma, the youthful ruler of the floating island, Togenkyo. Because of a magical spring which turns anything it...
Series: Samurai Girl
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time:
Amazon.com Ryoko Mitsurugi is the champion of the K-fight, an anything-goes, anytime, anywhere martial arts battle that is the signature feature of Daimon High. Her prowess also brings problems: Daisaku follows her everywhere with a camera and computer; Azumi, the snide president of the flower-arranging club, keeps interrupting her moments with Tatsuya, the gentle kendo coach; and Shizuma, the school's rowdy ex-champion, insists on a rematch. Ryoko finds a mysterious pendant that transports her to the world of Solvania, where she battles a dragonlike "demon beast." Convinced it's just a dream, Ryoko begins an intensive apprenticeship in traditional swordsmanship at Hiten Temple, only to be pulled back to Solvania, this time with Shizuma. The engaging characters and deft balance of slapstick and adventure give Real Bout High School a rambunctious charm that will appeal to fans of Generator Gawl and Outlaw Star. Rated 13 Up: Violence, minor profanity. --Charles Solomon
Series: Samurai Girl
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time:
Amazon.com As this zany comedy-adventure continues, martial arts champions Ryoko Mitsurugi and Shizuma "Nagi" Kusanagi squabble on Earth and battle monsters together in the alternate world of Solvania. In a mall-restaurant promotion that spoofs Sailor Moon, Ryoko appears as Magical Waitress Oyster Lulu--and defeats an army of giant crabs. Three new enemies become allies who reveal that these conflicts are linked to the mysterious figures of the Yonshinkan and Old Genya. Daimon High School feels like Ranma's Furinken High when Ryoko and Azumi vie to fix lunch for shy kendo captain Tatsuya in a Kitchen K-Fight. The lunches accomplish what no fighter can do: they reduce Tatsuya and Nagi to helpless, nauseated weaklings. Ryoko also takes on Azumi's Secret Flower Arrangement Club, who use multipointed flower holders as ninja weapons. It all adds up to a winning mixture of slapstick humor and magical-girl action. Rated 13 Up: Violence, minor profanity. --Charles Solomon
Series: Samurai Girl
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time:
Amazon.com The plot of this rollicking comedy-adventure appears to be careening out of control: eerie scenes of sorcerers invoking unexplained magical rituals and objects alternate with the activities of the strange characters linked to the alternate world of Solvania. But these matters remain mysteries to martial arts champions Ryoko Mitsurugi and Shizuma "Nagi" Kusanagi. To help two children in trouble, Ryoko once again dresses up as Magical Waitress Oyster Lulu in an outrageous spoof of Sailor Moon ("In the name of oysters, I'll teach you a lesson!")--with Nagi joining her in drag as Lobster Coco. The growing but grudging affection between Ryoko and Nagi gets a boost when she realizes that her crush on shy kendo captain Tatsuya is hopeless. The misadventures of this nutty crew remain entertaining, even when they don't make too much sense. Unrated; suitable for ages 12 and up: Violence, minor profanity. --Charles Solomon
Series: Samurai Girl
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time:
Amazon.com This engaging action-comedy falters to a needlessly complicated conclusion in its final episodes. All the villains from Earth and Solvania--Willard Gates, the Yonshinkan, and Ryugen Higashita--attack during the Daimon High School fair, wrecking the play martial arts champion Ryoko Mitsurugi is performing with kendo captain Tatsuya. During the battle, Ryoko realizes that brash fellow martial artist Shizuma "Nagi" Kusanagi is a more effective partner for her than the shy Tatsuya. Unfortunately, the filmmakers never really explain who all these bad guys are or how they relate to Ryoko and her friends. Is the timorous Miyuki the War Priestess of Solvania? Is Gates a mafia capo or a demon-sorcerer? Did Nagi learn his fiery techniques from the human embodiment of Fate? What is the significance of the sword Schwartzkaiser? These likeable, silly characters deserve a better finale. (Unrated: suitable for ages 12 and older: violence, minor profanity) --Charles Solomon
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 2
Running Time: 355 minutes
Amazon.com Since the first chapters debuted as a direct-to-video release in 1990, this sprawling sword-and-sorcery epic has delighted fantasy fans with its ancient prophecies, lost kingdoms, enchanted swords, dragons, and wizards. The tangled story line borrows heavily from The Lord of the Rings, the Star Wars films, and numerous other fantasy works. Six mismatched characters find themselves thrown together to protect the land of Lodoss from imminent destruction: Parn is the impetuous young warrior with heroic potential who typifies the genre; in place of the usual spunky girl, there's Deedlit, an elf with magical powers. They're joined by Etoh, a young priest and healer; Ghim, a dwarf-warrior with a heavy heart; Slayn, a wizard in training; and the rascally thief Woodchuck. Their allies include the dashing lord of a desert realm, a mercenary and her Berserker companion, and a benevolent, Arthurian king. They're pitted against an array of villains that includes human warriors, an evil sorcerer, dragons, kobolds, zombies, and Karla, the mysterious "Gray Witch" [sic]. An elegant art nouveau sensibility runs through the designs of Lodoss War, especially the extravagant armor of the warriors. But the film lacks a coherent plot, probably the result of producing so much animation in a short time with multiple directors. Characters are forever dropping in and out of the story: the initial villain, the evil emperor Beld, is replaced by his henchman, Ashram, who is superseded by the dark sorcerer, Wagnard. The last three episodes build to a titanic climax that leaves a lot of plot points unresolved. Hard-core fantasy fans will love Lodoss War; but other viewers are likely to tire of its drawn-out and needlessly complicated story. Unrated; suitable for ages 12 and up; considerable violence and an extremely complicated plot. --Charles Solomon Description Lodoss, the accursed island, has seen wars ravage its kingdoms for thousands of years. Now comes an evil beyond any it has ever faced before, and a party of six are drawn together in battle. Six who barely know each other, but who are destined to become heroes as they encounter enemies and allies beyond their wildest imaginations. Contains all 13 episodes.
Series: RG Utena
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 170 minutes
Amazon.com A logical step for the young fan of anime is this series from the creator of the popular crossover hit Sailor Moon. The story line skews slightly older, not for its violence but for its complexity. The theme is modern mythology, not intergalactic warfare, so it's more interesting and less violent than in Sailor Moon. And less bubble-headed. Our heroine, Utena, is admired by classmates who share Sailor Moon's giddy hysterics, but Utena herself is solid, noble, and strong. Saved by a prince as a child, Utena dresses in the men's uniform of the expansive Ohtori Academy. Her goal is to be prince, and in this introductory disc (seven episodes, nearly three hours of material), she shows signs of becoming one. The scheming student council allows her into the mysterious forest arena, where she wins a sword duel (not played for blood) and wins the devoted loyalty of Anthy, the mysterious Rose Bride. They become a team, discovering the riddles of the arena forest and fending off challengers (while excelling in classes to boot). While some Westerners may read far too much into the sexual politics of the series, it's very old-fashioned at its core: Utena's affections are girded toward a duelist who just may be the prince who saved her years before. Some mild domestic violence and oddly subtitled songs ("Absolute Destroy Apocalyptic," "Paleozoic Era in the Flies") will ruffle some parents, but for ages 9 and up it's engaging entertainment. Utena delivers for girls what Star Wars did for boys: a never-ending series of adventures that one can imagine themselves in, whether daydreaming or playing in the backyard. The DVD comes in both subtitled and dubbed formats. --Doug Thomas
Series: RG Utena
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 144 minutes
Amazon.com The mysteries of Ohtori Academy unravel a bit more in this second collection of episodes. Our noble heroine, Utena, is drawn into a series of bloodless fencing duels, the winner receiving the loyalty of Anthy, the mysterious Rose Bride. Being the first winning female Duelist, Utena has some peculiarities to resolve, sometimes quite comically. Nevertheless, she wants to free Anthy of her obligation and allow her to be a regular student, much to the chagrin of the shadowy student council who dub themselves "End of the World." Director Kunihiko Ikuhara (the inferior Sailor Moon) adopts a variety of tones in this series. "Curried High Trip" is played for laughs while the next episode, "Castle Where Eternity Dwells," deals ominously with Utena's past when her parents died (offscreen) and she is brought hope by way of a prince's gift--a ring, the symbol of a Duelist at Ohtori. Several duels take place in these episodes as we see the sides more cleanly defined: Utena will have to face down the student council at some point. The final episode recaps the first 12 episodes and tantalizes us with a key development for future episodes (there's 39 in all). Some mild domestic violence and oddly subtitled songs ("Absolute Destroy Apocalyptic," "Paleozoic Era in the Flies") will ruffle some parents, but girls ages 9 and up accustomed to anime will find this engaging entertainment. --Doug Thomas Description From the director of Sailor Moon. Utena never wanted to be a Duelist. She came to the Ohtori Academy in pursuit of the mysterious prince from her past, not to fight for possession of the Rose Bride. But the President of the Student Council is also a Duelist, and he may be Utena's long-lost prince as well. Can Utena fight the man she's loved since childhood? Contains episodes 8-13.
Series: RG Utena
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com This 1997 transvestite high school romance-adventure suggests a stilted mixture of Rose of Versailles, Escaflowne, and Project A-Ko. As the characters all have long hair, emaciated bodies, and syrupy voices, it's not surprising to see Utena dressed as a boy and a boy aspiring to become "Rose Bride." While Akio plots to destroy Utena, Anthy faces her older brother's jealous fiancée, Mickey nurtures a crush on Anthy (to his twin sister's chagrin), and Nanami turns into a cow (!). As he did in Sailor Moon, director Kunihiko Ikuhara makes extensive use of repeated footage: in almost every episode a character undergoes a psychological "appointment" and Utena climbs a CG staircase to the dueling ground. The sheer, breathless hokiness of Utena makes it ideal viewing for adolescent girls, who can elevate a crush and quarrel to the level of a world crisis. (Rated 13 and older: violence, suggestions of homosexuality and incest) --Charles Solomon
Series: RG Utena
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com Romance at Ohtori Academy suggests a weird round or A Midsummer Night's Dream after Puck has misused the magic flower. Tatsuya is in love with Utena's best friend Wakaba, whom he knew as a child. When Utena persuades him to declare his affection, Wakaba spurns him. She adores Kyoichi, a former student council member who's been expelled, and is providing him with food and a place to stay. But Kyoichi remains smitten with Anthy, Utena's roommate and the Rose Bride. Behind the scenes, the members of the Black Rose Circle continue to plot, using other students as pawns. They seduce Wakaba and fourth-grader Mitsuru (who worships Nanami) into challenging Utena to duels, with predictable results. Utena is as stilted and stylized as a Peking opera, and as difficult to decipher. (Not rated; suitable for ages 14 and older: violence, suggestions of homosexuality and incest) --Charles Solomon
Series: RG Utena
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Series: RG Utena
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
From the director of SAILOR MOON comes this series about Tenou Utena, a new student at Ohtori Academy, who has somehow obtained a rose signet, a ring that allows one access to hidden world of duels and floating arenas where the struggle for the Rose Bride and World Revolution takes place. In these episodes, Utena meets the abusive ex-fiancé of her best friend Anthy, who may be her toughest opponent yet. Determined to exact revenge for her friend, Utena takes the challenge head-on.
Series: RG Utena
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 Minutes
From the director of SAILOR MOON comes this series about Tenou Utena, a new student at Ohtori Academy, who has somehow obtained a rose signet, a ring that allows one access to hidden world of duels and floating arenas where the struggle for the Rose Bride and World Revolution takes place. In these episodes, Utena must defend her championship title from a new duelist who also appears to be contending for Shiori's heart. Contains episodes 27-30.
Series: RG Utena
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
From the director of SAILOR MOON comes this series about Tenou Utena, a new student at Ohtori Academy, who has somehow obtained a rose signet, a ring that allows one access to hidden world of duels and floating arenas where the struggle for the Rose Bride and World Revolution takes place. In these episodes, Nanami runs away from home after discovering a secret about her brother. While she's gone, she must decide whether it is time to start a new life or return home and accept what she now knows. Contains episodes 31-33.
Series: RG Utena
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 87 minutes
Amazon.com This movie version of the Japanese television show takes the entire series plot and streamlines it into 80 minutes, pushing the characters into an alternate universe. For those who have seen the series, the action and characters will feel familiar: Utena learns to be a duelist and fight against a righteous faction at her school. But director Kunihiko Ikuhara revises the series in details both small (the duels take place in a rose field, not a stadium) and large (the bizarre finale). The gender-bending relations between Utena and Anthy--a friendship in the series--now take on lesbian overtones. The film will certainly be remembered for its finale as Utena becomes a racecar--literally. The end result should polarize fans yet bring new anime enthusiasts onboard. Rated 13 Up for mild violence and nudity. --Doug Thomas --This text refers to the DVD edition. Description Utena duels her classmates to protect her friend Anthy, who is the key to a magical power that could make her dream - to become a prince - come true. But Anthy hides a terrible secret, and Utena must face the truth about herself and those she loves and learn what it means to be a true hero. Anamorphic widescreen format!
Series: Robotech
Format: DVD
# of disks: 4
Running Time: 375 minutes
Amazon.com This early anime series that helped introduce the genre to the United States in the mid-1980s is a curious hybrid. Harmony Gold bought the rights to the 36-episode Super Dimension Fortress: Macross, in which an alien invasion was held at bay by the voice of a girl pop star, but executives felt that American viewers wouldn't accept that plot. Producer-story editor Carl Macek intercut sequences from Macross with two similar-looking sci-fi series from Tatsunoko Studios, Genesis Climber Mospeada and Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross, creating a sprawling 85-episode space opera with a completely new story line. A gigantic spaceship crashes into the Earth in 1999; after 10 years of analysis and repairs, the Earth forces relaunch the gargantuan flying fortress--just as the 50-foot alien Zentraedi attack hoping to capture it--precipitating an interstellar war. In addition to two discs (12 episodes) of the Macross adventure, this first collection includes the first video release of Codename: Robotech. Made to promote interest in the series before its debut, Codename consists of the first 13 episodes recut as a feature. Captain Gloval's reminiscences about the characters' adventures ties together the rather choppy film. The supplemental disc also offers a commentary by Macek, describing the origins of the Robotech project and the making of the Codename feature; a portfolio of character model sheets; and selected scenes in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. A must-have for Robotech fans. Unrated; "contains mild animated violence." Suitable for ages 8 and up: violence is restricted to spaceship and robot battles. --Charles Solomon From the Back Cover A special 3 disc collector's edition which includes episodes 1-12 of Robotech plus an extra disc (only available in this edition) which contains CODENAME: ROBOTECH - a home video premiere, a gallery of animation character model sheets and Robotech International - scenes from various international versions of Robotech in Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and English.
Series: Robotech
Format: DVD
# of disks: 4
Running Time: 300 minutes
Amazon.com Although it helped to create an audience for Japanese animation in the United States, Robotech (1985) has always been an anomaly: an anime series that was never seen in Japan in its final form. Producers at Harmony Gold edited together footage from Super Dimension Fortress: Macross, Genesis Climber Mospeada, and Super-dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross, three similar-looking series from Tatsunoko Studios, to create an 85-episode sci-fi epic with a new story line. In addition to the second 12 episodes of the Macross adventure, this second three-disc set includes "Robotech Galaxy of Stars," a short promotional film from 1986, with unidentified voice actors signing photographs for children, and "Point of View," an interview that producer and story editor Carl Macek did with a Dallas talk show just before the local premiere of the feature. There are galleries of character model sheets and comic book covers, and "International Clips" offers two short sequences in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. Even more fun is a collection of TV commercials for the original Matchbox toys, although the action figures, play sets, and spaceships the long-haired little boys gleefully play with now sell for up to $600 in online auctions. Robotech occupies a special place in the hearts of the Generation Y's who grew up watching it, and the appearance of the series on DVD has been eagerly awaited. Unrated; "contains mild animated violence" restricted to spaceship and robot battles; suitable for ages 8 and up. --Charles Solomon From the Back Cover A special 3-disc collector's edition which includes Homecoming, Battlefront and the second installment in the Elements of Robotechnology extras series available only in this collection. This bonus disc continues with a collection of animation designs featuring mecha from Macross Saga; character bios newly adapted from Harmony Gold's original production bible by series producer Carl Macek; another section of Robotech international clips; a gallery of vintage comic book covers from Comico...
Series: Robotech
Format: DVD
# of disks: 4
Running Time: 300 minutes
Amazon.com Producers at Harmony Gold edited together Super Dimension Fortress: Macross, Genesis Climber Mospeada, and Super-dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross to create Robotech (1985), a landmark sci-fi adventure that helped to establish an audience for Japanese animation in America. In the final episodes of the Macross segment, the Lisa-Rick-Minmei romantic triangle plays out against the ongoing Earth-Zentraedi conflict and the machinations of rebel Zentraedi captain Khyron, which devastate much of the planet. Intimations of a new threat posed by the distant Robotech Masters serve as a lead-in to the second part of the epic. A planned 65-episode fourth installment in the saga was never completed, but the first four episodes and some additional footage were combined into the feature Robotech II: The Sentinels, the final installment in the Robotech continuity. The supplemental "Elements of Robotechnology III" disc includes The Sentinels, a trailer for it prepared for the 1987 Toy Fair, and a rather self-serving commentary by writer-director Carl Macek. Members of Gen-X who grew up on Robotech will delight in retracing these romances and battles; it's a classic, of sorts. Viewers accustomed to the more rapid pacing, dynamic action, and sophisticated direction of recent anime will tire of the endless shilly-shallying. Unrated; suitable for ages 8 and up: Mild violence restricted to spaceship and robot battles. --Charles Solomon Description A special 3-disc collector's edition which includes War and Peace, The Final Conflict and the third installment in the Elements of Robotechnology extras series available only in this collection. This bonus disc continues with another section of Robotech International clips; a promotional video announcing Robotech II: The Sentinels television series; a library of character and mecha designs from Robotech II: The Sentinels and the feature-length original Harmony Gold production of Robotech II: The...
Series: Robotech
Format: DVD
# of disks: 4
Running Time: 315 minutes
Amazon.com To create Robotech (1985), the early sci-fi epic that helped to foster an audience for Japanese animation in America, producers at Harmony Gold edited together three unrelated series: Super Dimension Fortress: Macross, Genesis Climber Mospeada, and Super-dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross. "Dana's Story," which begins the Robotech Masters (Southern Cross) adventure, opens 15 years after the previous episode ended. The daughter of Earthling Max Sterling and Zentraedi pilot Miriya (who married in episode 25), spunky Dana Sterling quickly becomes a squadron commander during the Second Robotech War. Serving with her are brooding musician Bowie Grant, corps Casanova Sean Philips, and no-nonsense Marie Crystal. The Robotech Masters attack Earth, hoping to recapture the mysterious Protoculture factory, which was hidden in the flying fortress SDF-1 centuries earlier: they need the Protoculture to maintain control over their oligarchic civilization. But the Masters cannot control Zor Prime, a clone of the inventor of Protoculture, whom Dana captures. This interplanetary struggle is complicated by the mutual attraction between Bowie and the alien Musica, "the Mistress of the Cosmic Harp." The Robotech Masters story line is as convoluted as the Macross continuity, the pacing as slow and the dialogue as wooden. American viewers either love or hate Robotech, with little middle ground. The supplementary disc offers less material than the previous three: openings and closings of the component series, galleries of model sheets and comic book covers, and two clips in five languages. Unrated; suitable for ages 8 and up: Mild violence restricted to spaceship and robot battles. --Charles Solomon From the Back Cover A special three-disc collector's edition which includes A New Threat, Revelations and the 4th installment in the Elements of Robotechnology extra series available only in this boxed set. This bonus disc continues with another selection of Robotech; original titles sequences and end credits from the Macross, Southern Cross, and Mospeada television series; and other rare Robotech behind-the-scenes material, available on DVD exclusively in this three-disc collector's edition.
Series: SMJ
Format: DVD
# of disks: 2
Running Time: 3 Hours 45 Minutes
Amazon.com This fan-favorite anime TV series, which debuted in Japan in 1996, is a bizarre combination of low-brow double-entendre comedy and truly adventurous science fiction. It unfolds on a distant planet whose human population, sustained by cloning, is entirely male. All the "women" here are lifelike but entirely submissive robots, known as marionettes. The early episodes are fairly conventional, a mix of splashy design elements from the shojo school of anime for girls, and a plot premise lifted from naughty fantasies like Video Girl Ai, which are aimed at horny adolescent males. Here, too, we have a nebbishy teenaged hero, Otaru, fending off the advances of several nubile nonhuman females, a trio of affectionate automatons named Lime, Cherry, and Bloodberry. But this fast-paced series gets richer as it goes along, and slapstick elements are sidelined. It emerges that each of the leading nations on this planet, Terra 2, are theme-park retro-re-creations of dimly remembered Old Earth originals. Our Asian heroes live in Japoness, a pastiche of samurai-era Tokyo, while their Euro-Trash archenemies have molded nearby Garlant into a Soviet-style dictatorship. The nine episodes in this gorgeous double-disc package launch a story arc about the rising tensions between Japoness and Garlant, and pivot upon the discovery that Otaru's trio of marionettes may be a promising new breed: they have been outfitted with "maiden circuits" that seem to generate quasi-human emotions. Females with free will would be a scary novelty on Terra 2 and could shake the place to its foundations. Stay tuned! --David Chute Description Welcome to Japoness, an all-male society, where the only females are high-performance emotionless androids known as "marionettes". Martial arts students and all-around nice guy, Otaru, accidentally discovers and wakes a marionette named Lime. He soon learns that Lime is very different from other marionettes; she has emotions! After waking two more emotion-filled marionettes, Cherry and Bloodberry - Otaru faces tough challenges ahead of him as he battles the evil Faust and his Sabre Dolls. ...
Series: SMJ
Format: DVD
# of disks: 2
Running Time: 200 minutes
Amazon.com The bizarre premise of this fan-favorite anime TV series gave it plenty of room to grow, leaving behind the mildly suggestive sitcom farce of its early episodes in favor of real suspense and imaginative science fiction extrapolation, elements that come increasingly to the fore in this second set of eight episodes. After wrapping up the first phase of the Japoness versus Garlant story arc elaborated in the first collection, our goof-ball hero Otaru and his nubile robot companions take a breather and confront some pressing personal issues. The most important new wrinkle is the budding humanity of Otaru's three love-struck "marionettes," Lime, Cherry, and Bloodberry, experimental models outfitted with emotion-generating "maiden circuits." We now learn that these bio-engineered circuits have the capacity to learn and evolve, perhaps toward full-fledged human autonomy. It is suggested that with their help the all-male human settlements on Terra 2 (which for generations have been sustained only by cloning) may finally be able to reproduce again the old-fashioned way; in time they could even overcome the stagnant nostalgia that has turned every society on the planet into a retro theme-park copy of a dimly remembered Old Earth original. Presumably we'll have to wait for the next collection to learn if this promise of rebirth ever comes fully to fruition. Don't touch that dial! --David Chute Description Otaru and his Saber Marionettes have been asked to infiltrate Gartlant and put a stop to Fausi's evil plans. But even the combined strength, speed, and courage of the Marionettes may not be enough. After all, the Saber Dolls are just as devoted to Faust as the Marionettes are to Otaru. Danger takes a back seat to love as Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry continue to try and win Otaru's affection and live "happily ever after," with some hilarious results. But how can there be a happy end when...
Series: SMJ
Format: DVD
# of disks: 2
Running Time: 200 minutes
Description The leaders from every corner of Terra II have decided to hold a council in Japanese to determine what must be done about Faust's invasion. With the lives of everyone on Terra II hanging in the balance, their decision is final! What role will Otaru, Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry play in the upcoming battle? The true purpose of the maiden circuits is finally revealed! And that knowledge could mean the loss of his beloved marionettes forever!
Series: SMJ
Format: DVD
# of disks: 2
Running Time: 180 minutes
Amazon.com This six-part OVA serves as a bridge between Saber Marionette J (1995) and Saber Marionette J to X (1998). It repeats the weirdly sexist setup from the earlier series: decidedly female-looking robots called Marionettes take the place of women on Terra II. The first three episodes play as a sort of domestic comedy, with Faust sending his three Marionettes, Tiger, Panther, and Luchs, to learn about domesticity from Otaru's crew of Lime, Cherry, and Bloodberry. In the woods, Lime meets the mysterious and powerful Marionette Marine, who joins their household. The story darkens in the second trio of episodes, as a once-every-80,000-years "Plasma Storm" threatens to destroy Terra II. The dangers are increased via a weird subplot in which the nasty president of New Texas tries to capture Marine using "liquid metal" cyborgs lifted from Terminator 2. Much of J Again plays like a very un-PC cross between Tenchi and Slayers. The Marionettes all love Otaru and desire only to please him, although it's not clear why. Unlike Tenchi or Akito in Nadesico, Otaru never displays the good heart or hidden powers that would make him worth all the bother. The series offers lots of "fan service" jiggle shots, and there's a running gag involving Hanagata, a gay guy who makes passes at Otaru, only to get punched out by him--all of which will probably delight many adolescent boys, the obvious audience for the discs. Suggested for ages 13 and up: Sexual humor, violence, partial nudity, alcohol use, mild profanity. --Charles Solomon
Series: SMJ
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 150 minutes
From the Back Cover It's not over yet! Return to Japoness for a visit with everyone's favorite marionettes! Everyone's enjoying the peace and quiet - except for Lime. The winds of change are in the air, and the old ways are being swept aside. With Lorelei back, TerraII is going to halt production on marionettes. Even the Sanja Festival, the high point of Japoness culture, is undergoing radical change. Will everyone forget about Lime and the others? Amidst all this turmoil is a visit from Hanagata's father, a high-tech float race, a thief, a letter from Faust, and the rise of the Shiritaki Alliance!
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 60 minutes
Amazon.com A wicked ice princess sets out to freeze and capture Earth for her planetary collection. But Sailor Moon and her tight-knit group of gal pals will have nothing of the sort. Paced more for the love story fan, this episode focuses on a handsome young astronomer, Kakeru, who discovers a mysterious crystal needed by Princess Snow Kaguya to carry out her plan. Soon after finding the crystal, Kakeru develops a deep friendship with Luna (Sailor Moon's cat), a friendship that eventually leads to the Sailors' discovery of the Earth's predicament and to each character's discovery of the tremendous powers of love and justice--all in about an hour. Despite its slower pace, this feature incorporates all the positive qualities other Sailor Moon episodes share: sharp, eye-catching artwork; humorous but heartfelt communication among the girls; an understandable plot line; and plenty of flashy transforming. Further enhancements include an intelligent soundtrack (a nice balance of kooky sci-fi and seriously beautiful tunes) and the introduction of the "Outer Senshi." This slightly older, more mature group of young women--Sailors Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto--join our regular band of bubble-spraying, crescent-beaming skirt tossers to melt the ice princess once and for all. The dubbed movie (tagged with the new title of Hearts in Ice) is an edited version of the subtitled film. Some language and violence (a few frames) have been altered. Due to the inclusion of mild nudity (imagine a spinning, naked Barbie), parents may want to think twice before offering this movie to fans younger than 6. The DVD is of the uncut version but also has the English language dialogue. --Liane Thomas --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. Description As Serena and her friends enjoy Christmas vacation, an unusual and fierce snowstorm hits town... The evil Snow Queen Kaguya has returned to claim Earth as her own. Crucial to Queen Kaguya's plan is a magical crystal from outer space, approaching Earth disguised as a comet. Once she gets hold of the crystal, she will have the power to suck away all life energy and cover the Earth in ice. Will Sailor Moon find the crystal before Queen Kaguya? Will her powers be enough to save the Earth from...
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 120 minutes
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 180 minutes
Amazon.com With her enormous eyes, Barbie-doll figure, skimpy costumes, and masses of auburn hair, Tiara is almost a caricature of the clichéd anime heroine. The theft of the mysterious and powerful Throne of Yord sends her from the magical Guardian World to Earth to recover it, accompanied by her weasel-like partner, Japolo. Tiara sometimes battles her old friend Lena and sometimes allies with her; both women seem more interested in their friend Sara and in winning Kagetsu's affection than in the fate of entire worlds. Director Mitsuru Hongo, who also wrote the original story, shows more of a flair for choreographing midair battles than presenting a coherent story. Numerous dreams and flashbacks interrupt the flow of the narrative, and much of the plot doesn't begin to make sense until the final episodes. Even fans of the series concede that Tiara's adventures are easier to follow if the viewer begins with episodes 9 to 12, then goes back to "The Throne of Yord." Shamanic Princess embodies the visual style of the Clamp studio at its most flamboyant, with lots of full moons, figures reflected in vast eyes, blizzards of flower petals, and so much hair blowing in sinuous curves, the screen resembles an Alphonse Mucha poster gone berserk. Rated 13 and up for nudity and violence. --Charles Solomon
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time:
Amazon.com The title of this two-part OAV was changed from Chivas 1-2-3 for the U.S. release because of copyright issues. The slapstick sword-and-sorcery saga takes place on the Spooner Continent, the setting for Sorcerer Hunters, but the only link between the shows is screenwriter Hiroyuki Kawasaki. Shibas Scotch is a cloddish wizard-warrior, who travels with curvaceous "Sister of the Gold Cross" Gin Fizz; Kiss, an elfin werewolf; and Genmi, a junior warrior with a terminal crush on "Lord Shibas." To settle the debt Shibas owes the raucous Million Dollar, the quartet is forced to fight a monster that's either a god or an extremely advanced war robot. It all adds up to a very silly mock epic that overflows with "fan service" nudity. The OAV feels like a pilot for a series that remains unmade. Rated 15+: Nudity, violence, violence against women, sexual humor, alcohol and tobacco use. --Charles Solomon Description Get ready for magical mayhem! First there was Sorcerer Hunters, the hit fantasy series that flew off the shelves. Now, from the same creator, Satoru Akahori, ADV Films brings you Sorcerer on the Rocks, a stand-alone story with even more of the things that made Sorcerer Hunters a hit. More scantily clad women and more fast-paced swords and sorcery action.
Series: Miyazaki
Format: DVD
# of disks: 2
Running Time:
Amazon.com The highest grossing film in Japanese box-office history (more than $234 million), Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (Sen To Chihiro Kamikakushi) is a dazzling film that reasserts the power of drawn animation to create fantasy worlds. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and Lewis Carroll's Alice, Chihiro (voice by Daveigh Chase--Lilo in Disney's Lilo & Stitch) plunges into an alternate reality. On the way to their new home, the petulant adolescent and her parents find what they think is a deserted amusement park. Her parents stuff themselves until they turn into pigs, and Chihiro discovers they're trapped in a resort for traditional Japanese gods and spirits. An oddly familiar boy named Haku (Jason Marsden) instructs Chihiro to request a job from Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette), the greedy witch who rules the spa. As she works, Chihiro's untapped qualities keep her from being corrupted by the greed that pervades Yubaba's mini-empire. In a series of fantastic adventures, she purges a river god suffering from human pollution, rescues the mysterious No-Face, and befriends Yubaba's kindly twin, Zeniba (Pleshette again). The resolve, bravery, and love Chihiro discovers within herself enable her to aid Haku and save her parents. The result is a moving and magical journey, told with consummate skill by one of the masters of contemporary animation. MPAA Rated: PG ("Some scary moments") --Charles Solomon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. DVD features The most interesting extra feature on the two-disc set is the Nippon Television Special on the making of Spirited Away, not because it's significantly different from American making-of programs, but because the camera crew was allowed to film Miyazaki at work. It's fascinating to watch the visionary director explaining how individual movements should be animated, and even performing the little dance the frog-master does to welcome the No-Face to Yubaba's bath house. (Old animators describe... read more
Series: Miyazaki
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time:
Amazon.com The highest grossing film in Japanese box-office history (more than $234 million), Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (Sen To Chihiro Kamikakushi) is a dazzling film that reasserts the power of drawn animation to create fantasy worlds. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and Lewis Carroll's Alice, Chihiro (voice by Daveigh Chase--Lilo in Disney's Lilo & Stitch) plunges into an alternate reality. On the way to their new home, the petulant adolescent and her parents find what they think is a deserted amusement park. Her parents stuff themselves until they turn into pigs, and Chihiro discovers they're trapped in a resort for traditional Japanese gods and spirits. An oddly familiar boy named Haku (Jason Marsden) instructs Chihiro to request a job from Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette), the greedy witch who rules the spa. As she works, Chihiro's untapped qualities keep her from being corrupted by the greed that pervades Yubaba's mini-empire. In a series of fantastic adventures, she purges a river god suffering from human pollution, rescues the mysterious No-Face, and befriends Yubaba's kindly twin, Zeniba (Pleshette again). The resolve, bravery, and love Chihiro discovers within herself enable her to aid Haku and save her parents. The result is a moving and magical journey, told with consummate skill by one of the masters of contemporary animation. MPAA Rated: PG ("Some scary moments") --Charles Solomon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 90 minutes
Amazon.com Fast paced, violent, and loud, Spriggan uses a combination of drawn and computer animation to deliver the kind of slam-bang thrill ride Final Fantasy only promised. The convoluted plot, based on a manga series by Hirotsugu Kawasaki and Yasutaka Ito, mixes elements from Raiders of the Lost Ark, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Akira, and Universal Soldier. Yu Ominae (voice by Christopher Patton) is a Spriggan, a member of an elite corps of biologically engineered warriors created by the secret organization ARCAM, who finds himself involved in a baroque adventure centered on the newly discovered Ark of Noah. The Ark is actually an extraterrestrial vehicle with the power to alter the Earth's climate and spawn new animal species. A sinister cadre of rogue Pentagon generals wants it and dispatches a corps of murderous cyborgs lead by Col. MacDougall (Kevin Corn), a monstrous child who's also the product of biological experiments, to capture it. ARCAM is determined to prevent the generals from gaining control of the Ark's awesome powers. Yu battles his way to victory through car chases, sword fights, shootouts, explosions, knifings, and psychic blasts, with a little help from fellow-Spriggan Jean-Jacques Mondo (Andy McAvin). Director Hirotsugu Kawasaki handles the action sequences more effectively than the minimal character development, and Katsuhiro Otomo's screenplay doesn't always make a lot of sense. But Spriggan supplies what hard-core action fans sought in vain in many recent Hollywood blockbusters. Just don't sit too close to a speaker. MPAA rated R, under 17 not admitted (for considerable violence). --Charles Solomon From the Back Cover Directed by first-time director Hirotsugu Kawasaki and supervised by Katsuhiro Otomo, the legendary creator behind the cinematic masterpiece Akira, Spriggan is based on the comic Striker by Chu Takasige and Ryoji Minagawa, which originally appeared in the Japanese monthly magazine, Shonen Sunday. The comics were a popular success, selling millions of copies of the paperback releases, which led to a fervent bidding war over the right to make a movie based on the property. Otomo and Kawasaki...
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Description Brand new Tenchi! New Home in Tokyo, at a new school, with a new love interest named Sakuya, with new studies in exorcisms, a new hidden enemy named Yugi, Washu's new dimensional doors, and Ryo-ohki's new Mecha-Rabbit transformation! Too many troubles, too many girls, too nice a guy... Same old Tenchi!!
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com These three episodes of the extremely popular slapstick-romance series were broadcast on Japanese TV during its second season. The stories center on four girls from outer space: Ryoko, the dangerous galactic criminal; Ayeka, the proper Jurai princess; her more practical little sister, Sasami; and Mihoshi, a bubble-brained Galactic Police Officer. Ayeka, Sasami, and Mihoshi, who were trying to capture Ryoko, find themselves living with her on Earth after an unplanned landing. All four of them are interested in Tenchi Masami, whose attraction has to be taken as a given--the viewer sees very little of him. Director Nobuhiro Takamoto keeps the action focused on the girls, whose adventures juxtapose interplanetary intrigue with such mundane difficulties as budgeting, keeping house, and cooking. Additional comedy is provided by Ryo-Ohki, Ayeka's spaceship, which has been transformed into a "cabbit," a fuzzy cross between a rabbit and a cat. The animation is minimal, even by anime standards, although Takamoto sometimes uses the limits cleverly, e.g., reducing a group of roommates trying to borrow money to a clutch of begging hands. Many elements in the stories play off Shinto legends, references American viewers are not likely to recognize; in the U.S., Tenchi plays like a cross between The Archies and My Favorite Martian. In addition to the regular series, there have been TV specials and direct-to-video adventures for Tenchi and the gang. --Charles Solomon Description While Tenchi enjoys his new life in Tokyo, the girls back at home experience a financial crisis! They resolve to get jobs in Tokyo to earn money, but can the easily distracted and excitable alien girls really hold down a job? Can Tokyo even survive their attempt?!
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Description The Anniversary of the Tenchi Extended Family! Tenchi returns to his hometown for the anniversary celebration of the arrival of the alien girls. However, when Sakuya follows Tenchi home, Ryoko and Ayeka almost turn the party into a war! The situation only gets worse when all of the alien girls' crystal pendants disappear shortly after Sakuya arrives. Who is the real thief!? Later in a suburb of Tokyo, an old ruin is discovered and Tenchi and his friends fall into a cavern beneath the ruins. There, they discover an empty 3,500 year old sarcophagus, and two very hostile Jurai Guardians looking for the contents. This dual language DVD features episodes 8 - 10.
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Description Contains episodes 11-13 - Yugi slowly builds her plot to divide Tenchi's group and bring her devious plan to fruition. First Ryo-ohki is seduced by another cabbit and taken to a colony of cabbits on the moon. Then, a stupid, love-crazy dopleganger of Tenchi's father tries to bring Tenchi and Sakuya together by kidnapping Sakuya. Then Yugi attacks Ryoko and sends two of her agents to protect Ryoko and to earn her trust. With everyone's loyalties going in different directions, will they be able to withstand a future onslaught?
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Description Nothing can come between Sakuya and Tenchi. First, when Ayeka and Sasami try to hitch-hike to Tokyo, Yugi arranges for them to meet up with an aggressive woman on a motorcycle with an obsession for an impossibly fast jogger. Then, when Tenchi's friend Amagasaki threatens to break up the pair's romantic mood with interruptions, Yugi sends a spirit in the form of a professional female wrestler to intervene. Finally though, it is the bumbling nature of Ayeka, Mihoshi, Washu, and even Ryo-ohki that drives Tenchi to protect Sakuya from them when they accidentally destroy half of the culture festival at Tenchi's High School!
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Description When Ryoko catches Tenchi kissing Sakuya, she becomes so distraught that she considers a return to a career of piracy! Meanwhile, Kiyone and Mihoshi are promoted to headquarters and Washu becomes obsessed with her research. Feeling alone and abandoned, Ayeka and Sasami attempt to bring the Masaki household together, but will Tenchi be too involved with Sakuya to care?
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com Yuugi's plot to destroy the Masaki household and leave Earth vulnerable to her attack has almost succeeded when the balance begins to shift back in favor of Jurai and Earth. Galaxy Patrol Agents Mihoshi and Kiyone infiltrate Ryouko's gang of space pirates and reestablish their friendship, despite Hotsamu's efforts to keep them apart. Back on Earth, Washu discovers that Yuugi is a powerful mutant who nearly destroyed Jurai 3,500 years ago. Sealed in a special capsule by the empress Hinase, Yuugi was exiled to the far reaches of space, but somehow crashed on Earth. Ayeka visits the crash site and confirms Washu's findings. She prepares elaborate defenses for the Masaki house--and catches Tenchi's dimwitted father in her traps. Yuugi adopts the guise of a blonde waif to befriend the naive Sasami. Meanwhile, Tenchi and Sakuya conclude the school year in Tokyo and begin making plans for a vacation trip with their friends. Their relationship seems to be developing smoothly, but Tenchi is puzzled by Sakuya's lack of knowledge about her own past and family. When the eternally oblivious Tenchi begins to suspect something's wrong, viewers know that major trouble is on the way. Rated 13 and older. --Charles Solomon Description In order for the Galaxy Police to locate Ryoko's secret hideout, Mihoshi and Kiyone have gone undercover to infiltrate Ryoko's gang of pirates. But instead of arresting Ryoko, Mihoshi and Kiyone try to find out what Ryoko really wants and to see if there's any hope of reforming her. Back at the Masaki residence, Washu has finally come out of her laboratory. She sends Aeka to investigate some ancient ruins to discover the true nature of Yugi. They find out that Sasami's playmate and the one...
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com The sinister Jurai mutant, Yugi, begins her assault on Earth. She ends the existence of Tenchi's girlfriend, Sakuya (who was just a projection), and freezes time. But her plans to turn Earth into her private empire/playground failed to consider the extraordinary power of the Masaki family members in their role as Guardians of the Planet. The mysterious crystal gems left to Tenchi by his mother are powerful enough to reunite the scattered family as they battle Yugi's agents. Ryoko dukes it out with the icy Hotsuma; Galaxy Patrol Agents Mihoshi and Kiyoni take on the sorcerer Tsugaru; Ayeka confronts the feline Matori. When gems are brought together, they fuse, giving Tenchi a deadly sword and the power to challenge Yugi. Instead of indulging in standard anime mayhem, director Nobuhiro Takamoto gives the adventure a surprise ending that's in keeping with the character's personalities and the lighthearted tone of the series. Of course, once Yugi ceases to be a menace, things return to (ab)normal at the Masaki household: the women from outer space fight over Tenchi, and new crises threaten to erupt at any moment--which is just what Tenchi fans want. (Ages 13 and older for brief nudity and stylized cartoon violence) --Charles Solomon Description Heartbreak and Conflict! Washu discovers Yugi's secrets and reveals them to a stunned Tenchi. Tenchi rushes to Sakuya's where he discovers Yugi and her crystal fortress. Tenchi is joined by the rest of the Tenchi "Family" to confront Yugi, but Tenchi must enter Yugi's crystal fortress on his own. Will defeating Yugi mean the end of Sakuya?!
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 4
Running Time: 550 minutes
Amazon.com essential video Although the title means something along the lines of "no need for Tenchi," everyone wants the hapless hero of this popular series. These 13 OAV episodes reunite the cast from the TV show, but with some changes. Sasami is initially much younger and less domestic; grandfather Masaki turns out to be Yosho, the long-lost Jurai prince who was betrothed to Ayeka centuries ago; genius-in-residence Wasshu reveals an unexpected bond with interstellar outlaw Ryoko. The tone is a little racier than the broadcast version: Ryoko runs around naked and the attempts to seduce the terminally klutzy Tenchi are more pointed. In the first adventure (episodes 1-7), Tenchi inadvertently wakes a mummified demon who was imprisoned at the Masaki family shrine 700 years ago--none other than space pirate extraordinaire Ryoko. The problems she causes are dwarfed by the arrival of Jurai princesses Ayeka and Sasami, bubble-brained Galactic Police Agent Miyoshi--and interstellar criminal Kagato. Assuming the role (and costume) of the Crown Prince of Jurai, Tenchi defeats the evil Kagato with a magic sword that resembles the lightsabers in Star Wars. Unexpected arrivals keep the Masaki household in chaos in the later, shorter adventures (episodes 8-13), including a baby cousin of Tenchi's, a shape-shifting robot who impersonates Ryoko, and the Emperor and Empress of Jurai. The writers occasionally lose track of the plot, especially in episode 13, "Here Comes Jurai," but Tenchi has never been noted for its logic. In all the episodes, the filmmakers manage to balance interplanetary threats, teenage romance, and broad comedy with their usual aplomb. The Tenchi Encyclopedia (powered by Wasshu OS) offers short biographies of the main characters with clips and stills, pencil tests, digital comics, Japanese commercials, and full credits for the series. A must-have for Tenchi fans. --Charles Solomon Description The classic Tenchi Muyo OVA series collected in a two disc, bilingual, THX approved Box Set! The re-mastered film transfers and re-mixed 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround sound for the Japanese tracks are included with the original 2.0 Dolby Digital tracks for Japanese and English languages. This box set contains a bonus third disc - the new, improved, Tenchi Muyo Encyclopedia (Ver.3.0) that contains detailed information about every Tenchi incarnation: The OVA series, the movies, Tenchi Universe,...
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 95 minutes
Amazon.com essential video Although the first feature in this popular franchise is more serious in tone than Tenchi in Tokyo or Tenchi Muyô!, the characters prove strong enough to carry a longer story while remaining true to their established personalities. When the criminal Kain escapes from prison, he destroys Galactic Patrol Headquarters, then moves to Earth to strike the Masaki family, whose link to the royal family of Jurai engenders his hatred. Capable of moving through time as well as space, he plans to kill Tenchi's mother, Achika, before she marries his father, Nobuyuki. If Kain were to succeed, Tenchi would cease to exist, the Masaki line would end, and his friends would disappear. Scientific genius Washu transports Tenchi, Jurai princesses Ayeka and Sasami, space pirate Ryoko, Galactic Patrol officers Mihoshi and Kiyone, and cabbit Ryo-Ohki back to 1970 to defend Achika. The inevitable wacky contretemps occur--Ayeka and Ryoko get into a fight that brings Tokyo's commuter train system to a halt--and it's interesting to see Nobuyuki as an uncertain architecture student, rather than a comic lecher. The final confrontation with Kain takes on an unusual poignancy from Tenchi's feelings for the mother he never knew (she died while he was an infant). Unrated; recommended for ages 10 and older for brief nudity and cartoon violence. --Charles Solomon Description The merciless criminal Kain has escaped from sub-space where he has been captured! Kain, who was deprived of his freedom by the Jurai royal family and GP (Galaxy Police), has demolished the GP headquarters and attacked the Jurai King. His next target is earth! Around the same time on earth, Tenchi's house has suddenly disappeared. What's even worse is that Tenchi's body is disappearing too! Something must have happened in the past to Tenchi's mother, Achika! So the gang must now leave for a...
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 60 minutes
Amazon.com The film opens on a peaceful summer afternoon at the Masaki home in Okayama--where it's never peaceful for very long. A mysterious girl appears and begins calling Tenchi "Daddy." Predictably, she causes uproar among the women of the Masaki household. Ryoko takes an immediate dislike to her; Sasami quickly befriends her. Mayuka was created by the demon Yuzuha, the embodiment of the Tree of Darkness. She fell in love with Yosho, Tenchi's grandfather, when he was a child on Jurai, but was driven away by his guards. After centuries of nursing her hatred, she plans to strike at Yosho through Tenchi. Ryoko and Tenchi battle Yuzuha in a weird netherworld filled with vicious but saccharine-looking toys. They finally defeat her with the help of Ayeka, who enables Tenchi to use his Jurai powers: he cleaves the demon in two with the Lighthawk sword. The second Tenchi feature is the oddest of the three, with the strongest conflicts among characters: Tenchi even loses his temper and slaps Ryoko. It's less playful than the other entries in the series, but still entertaining. The one-hour feature comes with a Tenchi encyclopedia--different from the one included with the Tenchi Muyô! DVDs--that offers useful information about the characters, although its links are a bit temperamental. Unrated; recommended for ages 12 and older for brief nudity and cartoon violence. --Charles Solomon Description On a hot summer day, a fetching young girl named Mayuka appears to Tenchi, calling him Daddy! Jealousy and envy follow as Ryoko and Ayeka battle for Tenchi's attention with an apparently new rival. Who could the mother be?! Hiding in the background, Yuzuha, the Demoness of Darkness, is about to get her revenge against Yosho for a grudge held for over 700 years! She begins her plan by using Mayuka to steal Tenchi away to the Dimension of Darkness. So it begins again, Tenchi must fight to save his...
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 95 minutes
Description Tenchi walks into the mountains and disappears. After searching all over Japan for Tenchi, Ayeka and Ryoko finally locate him in Tokyo where he is now several years older. Tenchi appears to be in a parallel world with a mysterious girl, named Haruna, and doesn't remember Ayeka and Ryoko! What is the mysterious connection between Haruna and Tenchi's grandfather, Yosho? It's up to Ayeka and Ryoko to discover what Haruna wants with Tenchi and to rescue him before he disappears forever!
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com The first broadcast series may be the silliest--and funniest--entry in the Tenchi Muyo! franchise. The first four episodes set up the familiar situation of six women from outer space living at the Masaki family shrine in previously peaceful rural Japan. In this version, the outrageous space pirate Ryoko arrives first, hotly pursued by bubble-brained Galactic Police Officer Mihoshi. After their ships crash in a nearby lake, Mihoshi sends out an SOS that reaches Jurai Princess Ayeka, who goes to investigate, followed by her little sister, Sasami. When Tenchi's grandfather explains that the shrine was built 700 years ago to imprison a goblin, Ryoko can't resist investigating. She and Ayeka get into yet another brawl over Tenchi and inadvertently release the goblin, who turns out to be the eccentric scientific genius Wasshu. She gleefully adds to the complications and, as Tenchi says in a rare understatement, life is soon "like a carnival." The artists play the story for laughs and deliver. After the grimly serious battles in so many mecha films, it's a hilarious change to see an attack robot slip on a soda can, fall, and flail about like a turtle on its back. Rated for ages 13 and up, but suitable for slightly younger viewers; some sexual innuendoes. --Charles Solomon Description Episode 1: No Need for Discussions! Episode 2: No Need for a Princess! Episode 3: No Need for Worries! Episode 4: No Need for Monsters!
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com Poor Kiyone! She graduated second in her class at the Galactic Police Force Academy and finds herself assigned to the backwater planet Earth with her well-intentioned but ditzy partner Mihoshi. Rather than stay at the Masaki home in rural Japan with the rest of the interstellar freeloaders, Mihoshi and Kiyone get an apartment in Tokyo, taking part-time jobs to pay the rent. Mihoshi inadvertently wreaks havoc wherever she goes, from construction sites to fast food restaurants, but karaoke bars provide a welcome break from these fiascoes. The funniest episode in this collection of the first "Tenchi" broadcast series is "No Need for a Carnival." The women from outer space pitch in at the Masaki Family Shrine harvest festival with predictably disastrous results. Space pirate Ryoko and Jurai Princess Ayeka set up rival shooting galleries, with little figures of each other as the targets. Super-genius Washu creates a haunted house that's a little too realistic for Tenchi, and when Mihoshi makes Sasami a cotton candy, she creates a tsunami of pink spun sugar that engulfs the entire carnival. It's all very silly in the special way that "Tenchi" fans on both sides of the Pacific expect. Rated for ages 13 and up for brief nudity, minor profanity, and some scary imagery in the fun house. --Charles Solomon Description The uncut version of the Tenchi Muyo series airing on the Cartoon Network's Toonami Block starting in June! Story: Meet Galaxy Police Officer Kiyone as she comes to grips with her ditzy partner, being stranded on Earth, and associating with wanted felons. Can she survive both life on this backwater planet called Earth as well as the mayhem surrounding Tenchi's life without losing her mind?! Contains episodes 5-7.
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com In "No Need for a Genius!" one of Washu's experiments goes awry and produces the most terrifying monster since the Marshmallow Man attacked in "Ghostbusters": a robot with her formidable powers--and the brain of bubble-headed Galactic Police Officer Mihoshi. Happily, Kiyoni manages to defuse the situation before too much damage is done. Events take a sentimental turn in "No Need For Memories": a rare snowfall brings recollections of the day Tenchi's mother died. As everyone else has drunk too much sake, Sasami has to care for the stricken Tenchi with the help of robots Azaka and Kamidake: Jurai medicine cures him. The arrival of Ryoko's archrival, the bounty hunter Nagi, raises hob at the Masaki family shrine. She kidnaps Tenchi as bait for Ryoko, leading to a duel in a Western town Washu creates on Venus. Worried about Tenchi's fate as the face-off begins, Ayeka calls out, "Ryoko, I don't care if you die, but don't lose, OK?" Things eventually get sorted out, but not before cabbit/spaceship Ryo-Ohki falls in love with Nagi's Ryo-Ken. This first broadcast series is even sillier than Tenchi Muyo! but every bit as much fun. Rated for ages 13 and up for cartoon violence and drinking. --Charles Solomon Description Chaos reigns in the Masaki household! First, Washu, the resident mad-scientist attempts to make an android genius modeled after herself, but Mihoshi adds her own touch and soon they find themselves in a life-and-death struggle with a maniacal mad-scientist mecha-air-head! Then, Ryoko's past comes back to haunt her when the top bounty hunter in the Galaxy, Naga, comes looking for Ryoko... It's a showdown old west style!
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com In these linked episodes, supergenius Washu invents the Dimensional Cause and Effect Controller, a machine that produces a world corresponding to the user's desires. When she explains it to the other women from outer space, a five-way battle for the controls erupts. The machine overloads, sending the cast to a succession of alternate worlds that represent each woman's fantasy, but where their quarrels continue. Ayeka's servants, Azake and Kamidake, introduce the segments from a modified Kabuki stage. Ayeka imagines herself as a Japanese princess; Tenchi is a samurai; and Ryoko, a demon. Kinoye becomes a pulp-fiction Woman with a Past in a remote village, where Tenchi runs a noodle stand and Ayeka and Sasami are tavern keepers. As high school students, school president Ayeka and juvenile delinquent Ryoko (in matching plaid skirts) fight over Tenchi until Sasami intervenes as Pretty Sammy the Magic Girl. Tenchi becomes a salaryman and Ayeka a fussy sister-in-law in Mihoshi's fantasy of domesticity. Tenchi, incongruously clad in a fedora and bow tie, finds himself an unwilling Clyde to Ryoko's Bonnie in a spoof of crime movies. Seeing the characters in these parts is like watching familiar actors in a comedy sketch on a variety show, and very funny. Rated 13 and up for cartoon violence, drinking, and nudity. --Charles Solomon Description Washu invents the Dimensional Cause & Effect controller that is designed to alter the world to the user's wishes. Unfortunately, her grand unveiling results in a mad-dash for the controls which leave Tenchi falling from one parallel universe to another experiencing each girl's ultimate fantasy lifestyle! Contains episodes 11, 12, & 13: Time and Space Adventures Part 1 - 3
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com The relative calm of the Masaki household is shattered when Kiyone gets a long-awaited promotion. She returns to Galactic Police Headquarters, hoping to get away from her disaster-prone partner, Mihoshi. Then Tenchi returns from school to find a ship from the planet Jurai has carried off not only his friends and relatives, but his house in Okayama as well! A coup has taken place on Jurai: the legendary warrior Yosho has returned and installed himself as emperor. He's captured all the other claimants to the throne, including Crown Princesses Ayeka and Sasami. His soldiers also seize Ryoko, the space pirate. With the aid of Washu, his grandfather, and Ryo-Ohki (who conveniently turns into a space ship), Tenchi rescues the three prisoners. When Kiyone and Mihoshi learn about the Jurai crisis, they're naturally drawn into the fray, and soon the gang is on the lam together. To buy more fuel, they set up a karaoke bar-clip joint on the planet Concor, while dodging the Jurai military, the Galactic Police, and the interstellar bounty hunter Nagi. As fans know and expect, whenever Tenchi and his friends appear, chaos and comedy are never far behind. Rated for ages 13 and up for cartoon violence and drinking. --Charles Solomon Description Fugitives! Tenchi an dthe girls are wanted throughout the galaxy for attempting to overthrow the Jurai government as they flee through space to Jurai to clear their names. With the Galaxy Police and the Jurai Military on their trail, they have very little itme to try and find out who framed them, especially when they have no money and they just ran out of gas!
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com Tenchi and the gang are still on the run from the usurping junta on the planet Jurai, but the filmmakers seem to lose track of that story line in these three episodes. While Washu repairs the engines in "No Need for Hunger," Ryoko is dispatched to a nearby planet to buy groceries for the hungry crew. After eating, drinking, and gambling her way through the cash on hand, she robs the local branch of the Bank of Jurai--and brings the Galactic Police out in force. Sasami strikes up a friendship with Mirei, the lonely ghost of a little girl in episode 18. They share some special adventures, and Sasami's image appears in an old photograph of Mirei, indicating the strength of their bond. A pair of two-bit punks hijacks Kiyoni's spaceship Yagami--with Tenchi's father and grandfather still aboard playing chess--in "No Need for Runaways." Tenchi, Ryoko, Washu, Kiyoni, and Mihoshi pursue them in "Ryo-Oki"--leaving Ayeka and Sasami stuck with the bill at the fast-food restaurant where they'd stopped. Rated 13 Up for alcohol use and minor cartoon violence. --Charles Solomon Description Tenchi & Company's journey through space is complicated by low provisions, engine trouble, ghosts, and hijackers. On top of that, they still have to deal with the Galaxy Police!
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com After a final digression in episode 20 for a bathing-beauty contest--which the bounty hunter Nagi unexpectedly wins--director Hiroshi Negishi returns to the main story line: the cast's flight from the mysterious usurper who occupies the imperial throne of Jurai. "No Need for a Checkpoint" exemplifies the inspired combination of sci-fi adventure and slapstick humor that makes the Tenchi series so popular. Arriving at a Jurai customs station, the gang tries to sneak past the authorities by disguising themselves as a school field trip, and Washu even provides bogus genetic data and retina patterns. Tenchi looks hilariously incongruous in a girls' school uniform and long braids. But no plan is foolproof when Mihoshi is around: she absentmindedly carries her Galactic Police gun and ID through a metal detector, setting off every alarm in the station. An uncle who helped Sasami when she was a child arranges their escape aboard Ryo-Ohki. The complications pile up in episode 22, as Tenchi's Grandfather leads everyone to the sacred tree where two legendary warriors lie sleeping until the royal family of Jurai requires their aid. Their names are curiously familiar to Tenchi fans: Azake and Kamidake. Rated 13 and up for alcohol use, sexual humor, and cartoon violence. --Charles Solomon Description Mysteries and surprises! To get money for repairs to their space ship, the girls all compete in a swimsuit competition, but no one expects the shocking swimsuit on the surprise competitor! Later, Mihoshi's blundering results in chaos at a Jurai checkpoint that leads to the even more shocking revelation of Katsuhiko's past, and the resurrection of the sleeping Jurai guardians of legend! Contains episodes #20, 21 & 22.
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com The first broadcast series reaches its climax as Tenchi, his friends, and the restored knights Azake and Kamidake challenge Kagato, who has usurped the throne of Jurai. (This Kagato is not the "Ruins Buster" villain from Tenchi Muyo! but a rebel Jurai prince banished ages ago.) Kagato attacks, wounding Tenchi's grandfather and kidnapping Ayeka, then withdraws to his fortified palace. Washu creates a computer virus that sabotages the Jurai defense network; Ryoko sneaks Tenchi, Azake, and Kamidake into the palace while bounty hunter Nagi creates a diversion. It's a foregone conclusion that Tenchi will triumph over Kagato, but director Hiroshi Negeshi makes their duel a surprisingly dramatic confrontation between good and evil. Although he's the rightful crown prince of Jurai, Tenchi returns to Earth, his adventures in space counted as "an excused absence" from school. The final episode, "No Need for a Conclusion," returns to the bittersweet tone of the initial "No Need for Discussions." After describing what's become of each friend, Tenchi sighs for the days when "life was like a carnival," although he enjoys the peace that now reigns in Okayama. But as fans of the series know, things never stay calm around Tenchi for long. Rated 13 and up for cartoon violence. --Charles Solomon Description Prince Tenchi? Tenchi's grandfather, Hatsuhiko, reveals that Tenchi is the true heir to the throne of Jurai, but will the power of tryth be of any consequence when the evil and powerful Kagato rules the Jurai Empire? The amazing conclusion! Tenchi Universe Vol. 8 (Episodes 23, 24, 25, 26).
Series: The Slayers
Format: DVD
# of disks: 4
Running Time: 600 minutes
Amazon.com These four discs constitute the first broadcast season of the well-liked Dungeons and Dragons-style farce The Slayers. Red-haired Lina Inverse has a typical anime heroine's hot temper and insatiable appetite for food but also a rare talent for swordplay and casting powerful spells. As she roams from town to town, she acquires a cadre of able but quarrelsome companions: Gourry, a big, blond, dumb knight; Zelgadis, a once-human chimera who practices shamanic magic; sorceress-in-training Amelia, who makes Gourry look bright and Lina appear graceful; and the shrine maiden Sylphiel. Together they make short work of the hordes of bandits, golems, werewolves, trolls, mercenaries, and evil spirits their enemies send after them. They also have to face some more formidable foes, including the wizard Vrumugun, ace swordsman Zangulus, and archsorceress Eris. But the greatest threats come from the exceedingly powerful Rezo the Red Priest and the Dark Lord, Shabranigdo. All Lina's adventures involve a lot of slapstick humor, but these episodes have a more carefree tone than the later feature and the OAVs that paired her with the overendowed Naga. The convoluted plot lurches and stumbles along, much the way Lina fumbles around after getting clobbered. Although the fate of the world is supposed to hang on the outcome of these adventures, the broad comedy prevents the various episode directors from creating much suspense or a sense of menace. The Slayers is featherweight entertainment, but one that has won many fans in both Japan and the United States. Some viewers may object to the jokes about a mincing gay dragon, Lina losing her power at "that time of the month," and the many wisecracks about her being flat-chested. Japanese filmmakers and audiences clearly have different standards of what qualifies as PC humor. "Suggested 13 Up" for violence, profanity, brief nudity, and sexual humor. --Charles Solomon Video description Welcome to the world where magic reigns and monsters lurk behind every corner. Into this land of deadly dragons and menacing magicians comes our heroine--Lina Inverse, a cute, fireball-throwing sorceress who steals from the wicked and gives to herself! Along with Gourry, a handsome but dumb-as-a-rock swordsman, Lina challenges the forces of not-so-goodness as she seeks truth, justice, fame, and gold! This four-disc collection of The Slayers contains twenty-six 25-minute episodes: 1. "Angry?...
Series: The Slayers
Format: DVD
# of disks: 4
Running Time:
Series: The Slayers
Format: DVD
# of disks: 4
Running Time: 598 minutes
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 150 minutes
Amazon.com Award-winning actress Airi, weapons expert Ritsuko, and martial artist extraordinaire Junpei have somehow been transported to an alternate sword-and-sorcery world. The only way they can get back to Japan is with a magic spell that was accidentally "quinsected": its five fragments were transferred to the skins of five elves. With the reluctant assistance of elf queen Celcia, who has been transformed into a dog, the trio roams the world in an army tank, getting into scrapes and forcing elves--invariably curvaceous female elves--to strip. (Even fans have asked why the Earthlings have yet to encounter a male elf.) Sometimes they help villagers defeat monsters, sometimes they just cause trouble. Elves is a very silly series with paper-thin characters and over-the-top vocal performances, but it offers a slapstick diversion for viewers weary of pondering the semiotics of Slayers and Dragon Half. Contains the first 6 of 24 episodes. Unrated; suitable for ages 14 up: Nudity, violence, minor profanity. --Charles Solomon From the Back Cover Warning! Elf strippers ahead! No one knows exactly how strongman Junpei, Hollywood actress Airi, teenage Ritsuko, and their T-74 tank landed in a world of elves, but it's up to Celcia, the elves' elder, to cast the spell to send them back to their own world. Unfortunately, the spell runs amok and splits into five fragments that now appear as tattoos upon the bodies of five elves, five young female elves that is, somewhere in the land. So begins the quest of Those Who Hunt Elves to strip every...
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 150 minutes
Description Martial arts expert Junpei, Hollywood superstar Airi, and machine gun toting tomboy Ritsuko -- also known as Those Who Hunt Elves -- continue their quest to find their way back to their native world. To do that, however, they'll have to locate the fragments of the spell that sent them to the land of elves in the first place--and it's hidden as tattoos on the bodies of five female elves. They'll strip every elf in the land in order to find what they need; and, despite the protests of her newly naked subjects, the elves' elder, Celcia, continues to help in the search. Because the naked truth is if the elf hunters aren't sent back home soon, their world and the world of the elves may both cease to exist in a bang of cosmic proportions. It's strip or be vaporized as Those Who Hunt Elves comes to its explosive conclusion.
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 150 minutes
THOSE WHO HUNT ELVES follows the adventures of three Japanese travelers, Junpei, a muscle head, Airi, a talented actress, and Ritsuko, a beautiful young munitions specialist, who become trapped in a bizarre fantasy world. In this second season of the series, our semi-heroic trio have found themselves transported to yet another bizarre world after a spell meant to get them back to Earth goes awry. So, Junpei, Airi, and Ritsuko must once again resort to stripping elves in the hopes of finding the magical tattoo that will be their ticket home.
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 150 minutes
THOSE WHO HUNT ELVES follows the adventures of three Japanese travelers, Junpei, a muscle head, Airi, a talented actress, and Ritsuko, a beautiful young munitions specialist, who become trapped in a bizarre fantasy world. In this second season of the series, our semi-heroic trio have found themselves transported to yet another bizarre world after a spell meant to get them back to Earth goes awry. So, Junpei, Airi, and Ritsuko must once again resort to stripping elves in the hopes of finding the magical tattoo that will be their ticket home. STILL STRIPPING is the final volume of the second series.
Series: Trigun
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Amazon.com Japanese anime--animated movies--have a reputation for being ultraviolent and ultracool. And there's a lot of cool to be found in Trigun: The $$60,000,000,000 Man (those two dollar signs aren't a typo--money, in the Trigun world, is counted in double dollars). If you liked the way Nicolas Cage's coat flapped in the wind in Face/Off, you'll get plenty of that as Vash the Stampede, notorious ace gunman, walks through the desert landscape of an alien planet with two suns. Vash is so feared and famous that there's a $$60 billion price on his head. He's destroyed entire cities, yet no one has ever been killed in his rampages--though rumors paint him as a ruthless murderer. However, in truth, Vash is a goofy buffoon who can step out of the way of bullets (which may have inspired The Matrix) but who never actually shoots anyone--in fact, on several occasions, he pointedly chooses not to. The whole sensibility of Trigun is surprisingly innocent; it's like a wildly hip Saturday morning cartoon. There's a fair amount of over-the-top violence, but it's pretty harmless, more silly than extreme. Most of the stories--for this isn't a single movie, but a collection of four episodes from an ongoing series--all have earnest morals, most of which are about peace, equality, and being humane. Besides, how can you not like a cartoon in which two main characters are Meryl Styfe and Milly Thompson, disaster investigators for the Bernardelli Insurance Society? Dubbed in English, Trigun is frivolous and very entertaining. --Bret Fetzer Description The legendary Vash the Stampede is a gunfighter so ruthless he has a $$60,000,000,000 bounty on his head and entire towns evacuate at the rumor of his arrival. Fortunately, the real Vash the Stampede is more heroic - even if he does act like a complete idiot.
Series: Trigun
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com The tone of this space western darkens as director Satoshi Nishimura hints at the hero's curious past. In a two-part episode, the people of Inepril City try to capture Vash: they need the $$60,000,000,000 reward on his head to repair their ancient power plant. When Vash defeats the evil Nebraska Family with his extraordinary marksmanship, he gives the reward to the townspeople to fix the plant. Meryl has to admit that the often clownish blond stranger really is Vash the Stampede. Elizabeth, the beautiful repair engineer, believes Vash destroyed her hometown years ago and is seeking revenge. But Vash has no memory of what happened to the city; he can only recall the ruins. Vash leaves on a sand steamer, but a young stowaway takes advantage of the soft heart beneath his cool exterior. The kid helps the Bad Lad gang hijack the steamer, but the plan backfires as the vicious leader threatens to destroy the vehicle and kill everyone aboard in a cliffhanger ending. The increased violence and choppy cutting don't always mix satisfactorily with the comic tone set in the first episodes, but Nishimura piques the viewer's curiosity about who and what Vash really is. --Charles Solomon Description A city is dying, but when they decide Vash's bounty is the cure, will they find it comes with too high a price? The reckless pursuit of rewards or revenge sometimes leads away from the true goals of life - love and peace. It's time for Vash to show what he can do when his past comes back to haunt him.
Series: Trigun
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com "And Between the Wasteland" concludes outlaw Vash the Stampede's adventure aboard a hijacked sandship that began on the previous disc. The orphan Kaite--and insurance inspectors Meryl and Millie--help him outwit B.D. Neon's Bad Lad Gang. The artists hint at Vash's unhappy past when an old song recalls a lost love. The tone shifts to the farcical with the arrival of Nicholas D. Wolfwood, an outrageous, fast-talking priest, who becomes the closest thing to a partner Vash is likely to find. When their bus is attacked in the middle of the desert by a horde of insectlike robots, a child is left behind. Vash and Wolfwood charge to the rescue, shooting robots and swapping repartee like a futuristic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Meryl and Millie are horrified at the potential destruction when Wolfwood enters Vash in a high-stakes marksmanship contest to aid a needy family in "Quick Draw." But both heroes come through--in their fashion. Vash remains an endearing if disaster-prone hero, unsuccessfully pursuing peace and "the mayfly known as love." But Wolfwood echoes the thoughts of both the other characters and the audience when he observes, "When you're around, things always seem to get worse." Rated 13 and up for mild profanity, drinking, and cartoon violence. --Charles Solomon Description Wolfwood, the man of the cloth with the cross, is also a gunman with a past. Like Vash, Wolfwood travels to find redemption in the desert but continually finds that controntations with one's past can be far more deadly than a duel with pistols. Will these two kindred souls walk the same path or find each other obstacles to survival?
Series: Trigun
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com In "Escape from Pain," Vash and his friends bid an appropriately offbeat farewell to the gun-and-cross toting preacher Nicholas D. Wolfwood, as the two antiheroes help a young couple escape to freedom. Vash's past comes back to haunt him in the linked episodes "Diablo" and "Vash the Stampede," when Legato Bluesummers and the gargantuan Monev the Gale try to murder him. Vash escapes with his usual élan, but refuses to kill his would-be assassin. The ace marksman's behavior puzzles investigators Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson. They discover further hints about who Vash is (or was) when they see him without a shirt: his upper body is a mass of hideous scars. And the viewer has seen the intriguing Rem, the long-haired girl who appears only in Vash's memories. Meryl tries to decipher this charismatic and frustrating character in a report to the Bernardelli Insurance Society, which triggers a series of flashbacks from previous episodes. The outrageous man with the long blond crewcut is clearly the outlaw known as "The Humanoid Typhoon," but what does that mean? Director Satoshi Nishimura and writer Yosuke Kuroda aren't ready to tip their hands yet, and Vash remains the enigma he's always been. Rated for ages 13 and up for violence and mild profanity. --Charles Solomon Description Which is the real face of Vash? The clown, the saint, or the killer? Vash reveals more of his character and more of his secrets as he takes on a contract to kill, and then faces a man whose sole purpose in life is to destroy Vash! When a man is programmed to kill, can he deny his destiny? Volume 4 (Contains episodes 11-13)
Series: Trigun
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com In "Little Arcadia," insurance investigators Meryl and Milly defend a courageous pair of homesteaders against an evil land baron and his hired thugs, the bizarre Marilyn Nebraska and Friends--with Vash supplying a little covert assistance. The tone darkens as the conflict between Vash the Stampede and the bloodthirsty Legato Bluesummers escalates. Legato murders criminals, whom he dismisses as trash, "to teach them the pain of living." His actions and attitude appall Vash, who values life. Rather than duel with Vash, Legato hires the Gung-Ho Guns, a succession of weird assassins. Vash outwits Dominique the Cyclops, whose mysterious powers derive from the Demon's Eye of the title. In "Fifth Moon," the futuristic samurai Rai-Dei the Blade wounds Vash and threatens to kill him. His threats trigger a violent, unexpected reaction: Vash somehow produces a blast of energy that levels the entire city, burns a gaping hole in the moon, and attracts itinerant preacher Nicholas D. Wolfwood. The power he unleashes explains Vash's alternate moniker, "The Humanoid Typhoon." As they watch the destruction from a distance, Meryl and Milly are heartbroken to learn they've been taken off the supervision of Vash and ordered to return to Bernardelli Insurance Society headquarters. Rated for ages 13 and up for violence. --Charles Solomon Description Bonds of love and friendship are strong, but some can only be preserved when they are severed. Vash must leave his friends and happiness behind as he walks the treacherous and bloody path prepared by Legato. The body count begins to rise as the Gung-Ho Guns enter the picture, but Vash will do anything he can to preserve life.
Series: Trigun
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Amazon.com Fans of this rollicking sci-fi Western discovered that its hero, Vash the Stampede, wasn't human when he loosed a blast of energy that burned a huge crater in the Fifth Moon in episode 16. "Rem Saverem" reveals that he and his twin brother, Knives, were raised aboard a ship seeking new worlds for ecological refugees. Vash's awareness of his alien nature--and the example of their loving substitute mother--taught him compassion for all living things. Knives grew cruel and bitter, mocking the humans he despised as his inferiors. Are they angels? Aliens? Itinerant preacher and gunslinger Nicholas Wolfwood finds Vash living in a two-bit town, trying to forget the Fifth Moon incident. Although he seeks peace and anonymity, Vash can't stay hidden for long: who else would strip in the town square (revealing hideous scars) and act like a dog to prevent a bandit from harming someone? In "Hang Fire," Meryl and Milly of the Bernardelli Insurance Society are reassigned to "Vash duty." It's a happy reunion, although they're all reluctant to reveal how glad they are to be together again. But trouble is just over the horizon: Legato Bluesummers's plot to destroy Vash is advancing like a juggernaut. Contains these episodes: 17. "Rem Saverem," 18. "Goodbye for Now," 19. "Hang Fire." Rated 13 Up for violence and brief nudity. --Charles Solomon Description The seeds of life also spawned the seeds of death, but it is human nature to survive. Despite his urge for a simple life, Vash's past and his present continue to collide, and with Wolfwood's help, Vash resumes his crusade to save the world. Knives, puppets, and revenge versus love and peace! (Episodes17-19)
Series: Trigun
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 75 minutes
Description Vash leaps into the heart of the storm and leads Wolfwood to the spaceship that failed to crash. Unfortunately, the Gung -Ho Guns have also invaded paradise wth two purposes - to destroy a sanctuary for humans, and to inflict as much pain to Vash as possible. Wolfwood chooses to side with Vash, but questions his ability to win - will Wolfwood walk the path of destruction again?! Trigun Vol. 7 - Puppet Master (Episodes 20, 21 & 22) Special chromium front cover! (While supplies last.)
Series: Trigun
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time:
Amazon.com In these final four episodes, the saga of Vash the Stampede builds to the climactic confrontation between Vash and his vicious twin, Knives. Director Satoshi Nishimura and writer Yosuke Kuroda also sort out the fates of the other characters: gun-toting preacher Nicholas V. Wolfwood reveals a surprising past; sorrow gives Milly an unexpected strength, shifting the balance between her and Meryl. Vash also has to deal with the last of the Gung-Ho Guns, including Legato Bluesummers. These confrontations involve some agonizing decisions, and voice actor Johnny Yong Bosh articulates Vash's suffering in an exceptional performance. Before the final face-off, the filmmakers show some of the backstory of Vash and Knives, which they began to explore in episode 17. But Nishimura and Kuroda fail to supply some important information: it's been clear all along that Vash isn't human, but what is he? Trigun ends on an upbeat note that will please its many fans, despite the unanswered questions. Apparently no one expected the series to become so popular when it hit the states in 2000; there's already talk of additional episodes or a feature. Sometimes comic and kooky, sometimes gentle and earnest, Vash stands out as one of the most appealing and individual characters in recent anime. It seems unlikely that the artists would end the adventures of a figure with so much potential--and so many fans. Rated 13 and up for violence and mild profanity. --Charles Solomon Description The choices one makes. The excuses one uses. What do they mean in the end if you don't get what you want? The time for the ultimate show down has arrived, but will Vash be able to save everyone? Can he save anyone? Trigun Vol. 8 (Episodes 23, 24, 25 & 26). The Final Volume! Featuring a limited edition chromium onsert! (While supplies last.)
Series: Tsukikage Ran
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Ran is a master swordsman who wanders Japan's countryside determined to battle injustice and fight for law and order. However, her noble quest doesn't preclude her from enjoying herself. Unfortunately, Ran is saddled with an unwanted companion for her journey, a young woman named Myao. While Ran and Myao are hoping to bring justice to the wild countryside of Japan, they'll be lucky if they can get along without killing each other.
Series: Tsukikage Ran
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Ran is a master swordsman who wanders Japan's countryside determined to battle injustice and fight for law and order. However, her noble quest doesn't preclude her from enjoying herself. Unfortunately, Ran is saddled with an unwanted companion for her journey, a young woman named Meow. In these episodes, Meow and Ran begin getting more comfortable with each other and even manage to share a civil drink until Meow is approached by a modeling agent. Flattered and immediately dreaming of living the glamorous life of a model, only Ran detects something suspicious about Meow's supposed talent scout and becomes determined to expose the operation as a fraud.
Series: Tsukikage Ran
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Series: Tsukikage Ran
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Description During their outrageous adventures, Ran and Meow, of the Iron Cat fist have had some rather unqiue experiences: they’ve fought off clans of evil bandits, stopped a crooked sake producer, and have been chased across Japan by a giant foreign blonde woman! Now, their adventures are about to come to an end, but there are still some surprises left. What’s this? Ran had a boyfriend?! But this guy looks like some washed-up loser. There’s no way Ran would fall for a guy like that! KEY SALES POINTS: * Genre: Martial Arts/Comedy * Animation by MADHOUSE (Jubei-Chan the Ninja Girl, Ninja Scroll) DVD FEATURES: Reversible DVD Foil Cover Dolby Digital Surround Sound Liner Notes Production Art Gallery Bandai Previews
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 50 minutes
Amazon.com Based on the manga by Saki Okuse, Twilight of the Dark Master is a brief--less than 45 minutes--feature that is long on static imagery but rather short on storytelling. Although the opening narration tells of the Great Mother creating demons and guardians, humans are transformed into demons through drugs and bioengineering onscreen. As he's celebrating his engagement, Eiji, a pharmaceutical researcher, metamorphoses into a monster resembling Ray Harryhausen's Cyclops in The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. Eiji goes on a rampage until he's captured by the eerie brother-sister team of Chen and Huang Long, who take him to a sex club and feed him prostitutes. Eiji is part of an experiment conducted by Mr. Takamiya, the master demon. Opposing the forces of evil is Guardian and "fire manipulator" Tsunami Shijyo. Tsunami and Takamiya meet in a duel that ends before it really begins. Director Akiyuki Shimbo favors still images with the action occurring on the soundtrack, producing a striking but static feature that resembles a manga shot panel by panel, rather than a conventional animated film. Not rated ("for mature audiences"); suitable for ages 18 and up for nudity, violence, violence against women, suggestions of rape, and incest. --Charles Solomon Description Powerful, grotesque Demons and beautiful, noble Guardians have battled for Earth - the everlasting gift of the one great Mother, creator of all life. Ages ago, the arrogant Demons enslaved humans, while the Guardians fought for human freedom. A deep hatred eternally burns between Demon and Guardian; the Guardians know the Demons thirst for blood and power would destroy humanity and the world itself. Eons later: Neo-Shinjuku, 2089 - few Demons or Guardians remain to continue their epic war....
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 105 minutes
Amazon.com Based on a series of fantasy novels by Hideyuki Kikuchi, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is a bloody anime adventure. Set in the distant future, the story focuses on D (voice by Andrew Philpot), the son of a vampire and a mortal who has dedicated his life to exterminating vampires. D is pursuing Charlotte (Wendee Lee), who has been carried off by vampire Meier Link (John Rafter Lee). The bounty-hunting Markus brothers and tough-talking Leila (Pamela Segall) are also on the trail. A long, violent chase brings them to the Castle of Carmila the Bloody Countess (Julia Fletcher), where the narrative founders in a series of confusing illusions that lead to an inconclusive ending. Bloodlust looks better in still images that evoke Yoshitaka Amano's intricate illustrations than it does in motion. The very limited drawn animation clashes visually with the more fluid computer-generated imagery--D's cape billows dramatically, but his expression rarely changes. Fans of such violent anime features as Sword for Truth and Ninja Resurrection will enjoy the no-holds-barred action sequences, but more squeamish viewers will be put off by the beheadings, impalements, disembowelments, etc. Vampire Hunter D, an earlier, more modest feature based on the same material, is a better adaptation. --Charles Solomon
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 80 minutes
Amazon.com D, a haunted half-human, half-vampire warrior, wanders the countryside of a feudalistic future, hunting his own kind while battling his own evil nature. Like a rogue samurai, the silent, solitary hero wanders into a small hamlet terrorized by the all-powerful Count, a monstrous vampire lord, and his demonic minions from a castle that casts a long shadow over the countryside. The Count has claimed the human Doris (who wields a mean cutlass herself) as his bride. D becomes her protector and--when she's captured by the Count's shape-shifting minions--her savior. Designed in slashes and sharp, angular images and directed with abrupt explosions of lightning-fast action, Vampire Hunter D is violent and bloody in the mode of a samurai adventure. The sleek D is appropriately dark and quiet, cutting a mysterious figure, while the Count is a veritable demon of a vampire, a supernaturally powerful monster whose appetites know no bounds. The undercurrent of sexuality never spills over into the sadistic vein of so many "adults only" thrillers, but it is recommended for mature audiences. The DVD features both English and Japanese language soundtracks with optional English subtitles. It also has a documentary featurette, deleted footage, and an artwork gallery by Amano among its supplements. --Sean Axmaker
Series: Wild Arms
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 125 minutes
Based on the popular PlayStation game, WILD ARMS is a futuristic western that follows the exploits of Sheyenne Rainstorm, a deadly 25 year-old gunslinger who inhabits the body of a 5 year-old. As this fact alone wouldn't draw attention to him, Sheyenne has also come into possession of ARMS, one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. Soon, Sheyenne finds himself crossing paths with treasure hunters, con-artists, dragons, and librarians as he tries to get his old body back and others just try to pry ARMS away from him.
Series: Wild Arms
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Based on the popular PlayStation game, WILD ARMS is a futuristic western that follows the exploits of Sheyenne Rainstorm, a deadly 25 year-old gunslinger who inhabits the body of a 5 year-old. As this fact alone wouldn't draw attention to him, Sheyenne has also come into possession of ARMS, one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. In these episodes, romance is in the air as Sheyenne and Kiel head out in search of Sheyenne's body. Unfortunately, their train trip is littered with all manner of amorous complications, which compound Sheyenne and Kiel's already numerous list of troubles.
Series: Wild Arms
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Based on the popular PlayStation game, WILD ARMS is a futuristic western that follows the exploits of Sheyenne Rainstorm, a deadly 25 year-old gunslinger who inhabits the body of a 5 year-old. As this fact alone wouldn't draw attention to him, Sheyenne has also come into possession of ARMS, one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. In these episodes, Sheyenne has a premonition of trouble when a woman from the past pops up in his dreams. Sure enough, Sheyenne encounters her in the next town he reaches. Unfortunately, he's put his lost love in danger and his child's body may not be up to the task of saving her.
Series: Wild Arms
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 100 minutes
Based on the popular PlayStation game, WILD ARMS is a futuristic western that follows the exploits of Sheyenne Rainstorm, a deadly 25 year-old gunslinger who inhabits the body of a 5 year-old. As this fact alone wouldn't draw attention to him, Sheyenne has also come into possession of ARMS, one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. In these episodes, Mirabelle finds herself with a suitor as an encounter with Count Ampire leads him to become obsessed with her. Later, Sheyenne is hired as a bodyguard by a beautiful young woman who claims to know where Sheyenne's real body is.
Series: Wild Arms
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 125 minutes
Based on the popular PlayStation game, WILD ARMS is a futuristic western that follows the exploits of Sheyenne Rainstorm, a deadly 25 year-old gunslinger who inhabits the body of a 5 year-old. As this fact alone wouldn't draw attention to him, Sheyenne has also come into possession of ARMS, one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. In these episodes, Sheyenne finally finds Laila who has rather unfortunately fallen in with a bizarre cult and is convinced that she is the reincarnation of a goddess. Meanwhile, Sheyenne, Kiel and Issac find that they're wanted men after someone puts a five million dollar bounty on them.
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 125 minutes
THE WINGS OF HONNEAMISE, one of the best animated films ever made (it won three separate best animated picture prizes in 1987), is an epic tale set in an alternate universe, somewhat similar to our own. In it, human civilization is on the verge of travelling into space, though no one is taking any real serious steps to get there, and The Royal Space Force is no exception. More a government publicity stunt than a viable space program, its recruits are often ridiculed and demeaned by both the public and the government. However, when one recruit, Shiro Lhadatt, meets a young woman who encourages him to kick-start the program, he organizes a haphazard team of scientists and pilots who race to be the first into space. -- (Muze Description)1059204 Running time 121 minutes. -- (Muze Annotation)1102012 DVD Features: Region 1 Encoding -- (Muze Annotation)1125361 "...Honneamise rates with the best Japanese animation..." -- (Review)1161739 "...Great-looking....A boldly sketched vision of the future in a realistic style..." -- (Review)1224225 "...A visually sensational two-hour extravaganza....One of the pleasures of the film is simply enjoying Yamaga's visual imagination..." -- (Review)1262803
Series:
Format: DVD
# of disks: 1
Running Time: 87 minutes