Eureka Seven: Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers Review

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(More customer reviews)Well since the only review on here is a huffy rage one-starring a really decent movie they didn't even finish I'll try to provide another perspective. I fived it just to balance the score a bit, but it's not really a perfect movie, 4 out of 5 is probably closer if you put any stock in review ratings to begin with.
Just to quickly address a point that was brought up there is indeed reused animation from the original series, but you're bound not to notice most of it anyway, as it never breaks the flow of the new narrative, and is often even reworked a bit or put into clever or amusing new contexts. Overall the art and animation is exactly what you'd expect of this studio: gorgeous, top-notch stuff, and I'm really pumped that they are actually releasing this on Blu-ray.
SPOILERS AHEAD SPOILERS AHEAD
One of the most common complaints about this movie and the one that sent the other reviewer packing is that they've completely changed some of the characters. The thing is that this is done very purposefully as part of the central theme of the new story. This movie actually takes place in a parallel universe to the original series. Because of a brief glimpse into that world which occurred before the events of the movie, many of the main characters in the movie universe, who are in a bit of a dire predicament, end up following a legend based on that interaction in hopes that recreating the events that took place in the world of the original series will help solve their own problems. What they come to find out is that they have to stay true to their own unique lives and experiences and create their own legend, solve their own problems. Part of the reason the movie is so in your face about the changes to key characters is to drive this point home. It's really one of the most clever twists I've ever seen in terms of remaking a series into a movie. Unfortunately such an elaborate plot device relies a lot of talking head scenes which sort of hamper the pacing of the show, which is really probably my one and only complaint about the movie.
As a kind of aside I'm going to just say I thought the pedophilia jab at Dewey that was mentioned was actually a pretty dark and hilarious slight on his persona from the original series, where he had an army of utterly loyal children. Also Nirvash and the END in "pokemon" form are hilarious and adorable, so I really fail to see how that's a downside.
SPOILERS BEHIND SPOILERS BEHIND
Overall it's a really enjoyable movie. It's a very well animated, fun and interesting new adventure with familiar faces and interesting new personalities. Easily the best series->movie adaptation/remake I've seen. Just go into it with an open mind and you'll probably enjoy it.

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EUREKA SEVEN:GOOD NIGHT SLEEP TIGHT Y - Blu-Ray Mo

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Fullmetal Alchemist: Season Two, Part 2 Review

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(More customer reviews)SOME SPOILERS ARE CONTAINED IN THIS REVIEWFullmetal Alchemist is an amazing series, but one of its greatest achievements, in my mind, is that it managed to not only maintain its stellar quality over time, it consistently got better and better until it actually hurt to see the series come to an end. Seeing all of the plot threads that have been building throughout the whole series coming to fruition is a great payoff, sure, but it's made all the better by the fact that nothing feels like a cop-out; there wasn't a single moment where I thought "Oh, these guys were running out of time and so they just threw that up there." No, everything flows to a logical, incredibly satisfying and poignantly melancholy conclusion. It certainly isn't a Hollywood-style happy ending, but that was never what the series was about in the first place. And even more gratifying than the ending was being able to look back on how all of these characters had grown and changed throughout the series: Lust springs to mind first and foremost, having gone from being your stereotypical femme-fatale to a multi-layered, incredibly sympathetic and tragic heroine. And I never, ever thought I'd be able to empathize with a psychopathic monster like Envy, but the final scenes of episode 50 made me come really close to doing so, even as he... well, I won't spoil it for you here.
In short, Fullmetal Alchemist is an incredibly well done, superbly animated and acted show. The Japanese and English voice tracks are both equally impressive (one of the RARE few animes in which this has happened, the only other to my knowledge being Samurai Champloo). And sure, if you're reading this product description you're probably going to buy this anyway and you've seen the series before, but in case you haven't, just know that you're about to see some of the finest episodes of one of the best anime series ever. This world definitely goes out with a bang, and not a whimper.

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As the chaos surrounding the quest for the Philosopher’s Stone boils over, Edward Elric is left to face his destiny and bear the burdens of his actions alone. Scar, determined to reenact the horrors of the past, must be stopped at all cost. But when those who sought to save lives are instead sought as fugitives of the State, the Elric brothers will be forced to flee…Alliances shift and factions fracture as undeniable truths glare in the light of day and the rumor of civil war drives unrest. And yet all seek the Philosopher’s Stone. Al has been changed into something impossible to comprehend and as the brothers are separated, his suit of armor begins to disintegrate. Ed has precious little time left to find his sibling. These weary young men have traveled a long and difficult path, seeking to regain what was lost. Enemies have been toppled, friends have been buried and the State will be remade. Even the one inevitable truth will be called into question – The Law of Equivalent Exchange.

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Neon Genesis Evangelion: Complete Platinum Collection (Limited Edition Holiday Special) Review

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(More customer reviews)Despite what one of the other reviewers said, this DOES NOT COME WITH THE MOVIE. It comes with the director's cut episodes and the DVD extras, but no more.
I wouldn't spend over $55 dolars on this though, if you don't want the extras, the Platinum collection can be had relatively cheaply, and the Platinum Perfect is still around if you have the cash.
Another thing is that one of the disc holders inside had some molding issues and made a hairline scratch around one of my discs. Everything played OK, but this is something to watch out for.

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Initial D: First Stage - The Complete First Season Review

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(More customer reviews)Wow, I have not seen this one for more than ten years ago. Time sure flies. When I see this product in stores, I was a bit hesitating because I have seen the trailer in english dubbed and music changed. Once I have heard from friends who rented or owned it, they said the japanese versions were kept in tact. You know, they were right!. That made me happy. I tried to give english version a chance, but I cannot surpass the music, the new given names, and the new special effects during the race. It just not the same! Just to be fair, I will only review only the original japanese version. The picture and the sound are really clean for a first season TV series. The contents are kept intact. I do not recall any scenes have been edited out. I recommend who enjoys classic sport cars do battle and remind how good the cars in their time.

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When Keisuke Takahashi of the infamous RedSuns racing team accidentally witnesses normal, everyday tofu delivery boy Takumi Fujiwara's, expert drift technique, Takumi's life shifts into high gear. Keisuke challenges him to a racing battle and the race results in Takumi plunging headlights first into the white-knuckle, adrenaline rushing world of underground mountain-pass street racing. With his incredible techniques and top notch AE Eight-Six, Takumi blows the competition away battle after battle. As the word rapidly spreads about a new racer beating out the best drivers and cars that drift racing has to offer, one by one, new challengers quickly step out to battle him. Yet, time and time again, Takumi proves himself to be a force to be reckoned with. Can Takumi be the best? This 9 disc set contains the complete first season of heart stopping Initial D action!DVD extras include:
Exclusie footage from Mount Akagi
Bonus episode from Season 2
16-pg Owners Manual
Outtakes and much more!

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Samurai X - The Motion Picture (Rurouni Kenshin) Review

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(More customer reviews)To get it out of the way first, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie--I am huge fan of the Rurouni Kenshin series, and the movie, while not quite as good as the series' best parts, succeeded in giving me more of the same stuff I love so much (as long as you don't watch the horrific English dub--even compared to the series' English dub it's horrible).
Now on to the important part--the confusion that has been steeped upon this release. Here's what everyone should know, but seems to ignore (at least in reviews): "Samurai X" is the American title used to replace the Japanese title, "Rurouni Kenshin," when this movie and the OVA's were released by ADV. The original series (it came first, only after the comic) is being released under its original title by Anime Works. The Kenshin OVA's (under the American titles "Samurai X: Trust" and "Samurai X: Betrayal") were made later as a prequel to the series, chronicling the early days of Battousai the Manslayer/Hitokiri. By the time the series begins, 10 years later, the main character Kenshin has given up his past role of Battousai in order to somehow make up for his evils, so he lives as a wandering swordsman (note: not a samurai by any means, ever!) who refuses to kill. The Rurouni Kenshin movie takes place around the time of the series--as in, the same supporting cast appears, and Kenshin is currently a wanderer. Not only does the movie's story occur within the context of the series, but stylistically it fits as well.
Comparing the RK movie to the OVA series, in terms of story or style, is useless. They are two completely different works based on the same series, one made to portray the dark and violent aspects of Kenshin's early life, and the other meant to act as a direct companion to the material in the series. One reviewer relates the series and OVA's as being two seperate universes, and the movie an amalgamation of the two. Well, that is just flat-out wrong. All three works have been created along a timeline in terms of story, and in the case of style, have been created to reflect the period of Kenshin's that is being chronicled. The only reason the name "Samurai X" was given to the OVA's and movie was to make them look "cooler" for an American audience by Sony & ADV after they acquired the rights. The American name says nothing about the contents.

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The war against the Tokugawa Shogunate ended years ago. But there are some who are not happy with the outcome. Shigure Takimi watched his friends and family get slashed down in the name of freedom and prosperity. Now he and a band of desparate rebels have sworn to settle one final score. Only one man stands in their way: Rurouni Kenshin. Will the former assassin take up his sword to fight again? When Shigure discovers Kenshin's true identity and his fight becomes a personal vendetta, the young hero will have no choice.

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Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 13: Brotherhood (Episodes 49-51) (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)The trials of the Elric brothers have all been leading up to the events of this volume, which deals with the final, all-out culmination of the struggle between the story's forces of good and evil.
As Hawkeye deals with the madman Archer and Mustang tries to redeem himself by taking personal responsibility for stopping Bradley's reign of terror, the time of Dante's triumph draws nigh. As Ed races to save Al, he finally faces his greatest challenge - an inevitable, to-the-death battle with the psychotic, androgynous shapeshifter Envy - that even his love for Al might not help him win this time.
Although loose ends are left for the movie which follows, alot is wrapped up, particularly Mustang's storyline and the shocking revealation of exactly why the mere mention of any of the Elrics, especially the boys' father, throws Envy (who has some of the volume's most memorable moments) into an unspeakable rage. In a way it almost seems sad that a movie follows, because the ending of the series proper just seems so right.
As a whole, this was an intelligently written and extremely moving series that transcended it's genre.

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At the end of destiny, where will peace be found? The brothers Elric will consider the answers that are left once the Philosopher’s Stone has guided their saga to its end. True sacrifice, the deep love of family, the cruel truths of life and death… these are the realities that will bring the Fullmetal Alchemist’s tale to a close.Episodes: The Other Side of the Gate Death Laws and Promises DVD Features: Character profiles Production art Image gallery Textless songs

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One Piece: Season Two, Sixth Voyage (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)"ONE PIECE" is a popular anime series based on the popular manga series serialized in Shonen Jump by Eiichiro Oda. Suffice to say, "ONE PIECE" is the highest selling manga for Weekly Shonen Jump and its popularity has extended to various anime (via the TV series, OVA and films) and video games in America and also worldwide. The series is so popular, the episode count currently in Japan is over 400 episodes and despite receiving a heavily edited version in North America via 4Kids Entertainment earlier on, FUNimation Entertainment began releasing the original, uncut versions since the May of 2008 with a total of 13 episodes per volume.
"ONE PIECE" is an adventure anime about a 17-year-old boy named Monkey D. Luffy who gained enormous strength (and stretching abilities) after eating a magical demon fruit. He eventually teams up with a group of pirates and have the name "The Straw Hats". Luffy's driven to one day obtain the most sought out treasure known as "One Piece" and eventually become the King of the Pirates.
In "One Piece - Season Two: Sixth Voyage", the group are in the country of Alibasta as each member of the Straw Hat Pirates takes on a member of Crocodile's group while Luffy goes against Mr. Crocodile, Zoro vs. Mr. One and Nami vs. Miss Doublefinger. Meanwhile, Smoker's second-in-command leads the marines to capture Crocodile and Baroque works and also the Straw Hat Pirates.
The "ONE PIECE - Season Two: Sixth Voyage" comes with episodes 117-130 on two DVD discs (note: In Japan, this volume is actually the conclusion of season 4). Here are the spoiler-less summaries of each episode:
DISC 1:
* EPISODE 117 - Nai's Cyclone Advisory! Clima Tart Burst - Vivi uses her new weapon in battle and takes on Miss Doublefinger.
* EPISODE 118 - Secret Passed Down In the Royal Family! The Ancient Weapon Pluton! - Crocodile intends to use the ancient weapon of Pluto to destroy the city.
* EPISODE 119 - The Secret of Powerful Swordplay! Ability to Cut Steel and the Rhythm Things Have! - Zoro vs. Mr. One.
* EPISODE 120 - The Battle is Over! Koza Raises the White Flag! - Koza raises the white flag in order to end the war but Baroque Works have something else in mind.
* EPISODE 121 - Where Vivi's Voice Gets Heart! The Hero Descends! - With a war in Alabasta, the Straw Pirates try to help Vivi get to the center of the city.
* EPISODE 122 - Sand Croc and Water Luffy! - Luffy takes on Crocodile in their second duel!
* EPISODE 123 - That Looks Croc-ish! Luffy, Run to the Royal Tomb! - The battle between Luffy and Crocodile goes underground.
DISC 2:
* EPISODE 124 - The Nightmare Draws Near! This is the Sand-Sand Clan's Secret Base! - The continuation of Luffy vs. Crocodile!
* EPISODE 125 - Magnificent! Wings! My Name is Pell, Guardian Deity of the Country! - Vivi and the Straw Hats work hard to stop a bomb from destroying the city and they receive unexpected help from Vivi's guardian.
* EPISODE 126 - I Will Surpass You! Rain Falls in Alabasta! - As Vivi tries to stop her countrymen from killing each other, the rains fall on Alabasta.
* EPISODE 127 - A Farewell to Arms! Pirates and Different Ideas of Justice - The aftermath of Alabasta and how Tashigi, Smoker and the Marines must deal with what has happened in Alabasta.
* EPISODE 128 - The Pirates' Banquet and Operation Escape from Alabasta! - After the Straw Hat Pirates recuperate, it's time to eat and celebrate and leave Alabasta before the marines catch up with them.
* EPISODE 129 - It All Started On that Day! Vivia Tells the Story of Her Adventure! - Vivi must make a decision...to stay in Alabasta as princess or to fight among the Straw Hat pirates.
* EPISODE 130 - Scent of Danger! The Seventh Member is Nico Robin - Nico Robin chooses to join the Straw Hat Pirates.
VIDEO :
For most television series, because they are created nearly before they are aired on television, unlike film and OVA's, there typically is not much detail involved in a Japanese animated television series. "ONE PIECE" is probably one of those rare exceptions in that it has really cool character designs and very detailed artistic backgrounds. Of course, since it is on DVD, you will see some artifacting and edge enhancement but it's not so noticeable unless you are really looking for it.
The anime series is presented in standard 4:3 definition but for a television series, "ONE PIECE" sports cool and unique character designs and beautifully painted artistic backgrounds. Definitely one of the better looking anime series that has remained consistent and has not downgraded since it first aired on television. Character designer Kazuya Hisada (who worked on the "Dragon Ball" and "Dragon Ball GT" series) and Noboru Koizumi (who worked on "Giant Robo", "Dragon Ball GT" and "Tenchi Universe") have been very good of capturing "One Piece" creator Eiichiro Oda's unique style.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
As for the audio, the series is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound, English Stereo and Japanese Stereo. Of course, the English 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound is the better audio choice to listen to, although one who has a receiver that can set their audio to all channels can definitely enjoy the Japanese stereo track as well. But both audio tracks are done very well and I have to admit that "ONE PIECE" has one of the most solid English dub tracks for an anime TV series. Very well done on both audio tracks but again, have been very impressed by the voice talent for the series thus far.
Subtitles are in English.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"ONE PIECE - Season Two: Sixth Voyage" comes with the following special features:
DISC 1:
* Audio commentary for EPISODE 119 - The Secret of Powerful Swordplay! Ability to Cut Steel and the Rhythm Things Have! - Director Scott Sager joins voice talents Christopher Sabat (Zoro) and (Brett Weaver) Mr. One.
DISC 2:
* Textless Songs - Textless Songs for the opening and ending theme.
* Trailers - FUNimation Entertainment trailers
JUDGMENT CALL:
I absolutely love "ONE PIECE". The characters, the action, the involving and well-written storylines and of course, the wonderful voice work via Japanese and also the English dub tracks and the refreshing and unique artwork. But what I enjoyed the most about "One Piece - Season Two: Sixth Voyage" is that it has literally been a long stretch between the introduction of Vivi, the trip to Alabasta and now this volume finally gets to the final battle between Luffy and Crocodile, while Nami takes on Miss Doublefinger and Zoro takes on Mr. One, and also the Straw Hats have a new member of the group.
Although nearly every volume has its share of action, this time around the opponents are deadlier than ever before. Before it was a team taking on various opponents but now we have one-on-one battles especially an exciting first battle between Luffy and Crocodile. With the events that are featured in "One Piece - Season Two: Sixth Voyage", for those who have seen the movie "ONE PIECE MOVIE 8: THE DESERT PRINCESS AND THE PIRATES - Adventures in Alabasta" will be familiar between two of the battles that take place in this volume. But of course, the television series features more of the actual battle.
So, for those who have kept up with the adventure to Alabasta will be happy with this volume as the war in Alabasta and the battle between Crocodile and his henchman versus the Straw Hat Pirates reaches its final conclusion. No doubt that Luffy, Nami and Zoro fans will dig this latest volume. Actually, with all the action that takes place in this volume, any "One Piece" fan will dig this latest volume!
Overall, "ONE PIECE" continues to be a fantastic anime series that has a great combination of humor, action, artwork, great voice acting and cool animation. Another thrilling, action-packed volume that is highly recommended!

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Monkey D. Luffy emerges from a death-defying dirt nap to rejoin his mates on their mission to save Alabasta from the clutches of a sinister sandman. Crocodile is on the prowl for the world’s deadliest weapon, and his Baroque Works bombers are about to blast Vivi’s kingdom into oblivion! Only the Straw Hats can protect her people from their reptilian oppressor, but no one survives this battle without getting a little blood on their hands. Be on the lookout as Nami unleashes the power of thunder and lightning, Zoro tests his swords against a man made of steel, and Luffy goes underground to settle the score with Crocodile – once and for all!

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The Familiar of Zero: Box Set Review

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(More customer reviews)Chances are, if you know anime and are looking at this, The Familiar of Zero, you probably already going to get it. And for good reason too, as you are going to find a welcome amount of what I call "good stuff" and a pretty good plot behind it all. My opinion is really,"You're not gonna go wrong with Zero", but I have to give you an idea of what the Familiar of Zero is about.
Our heroine, the cute and proud Louise, Louise de la Valliere, is absolutely incapable of performing even the most basic spells of magic elements. To her classmates, she is "Louise the Zero" for an unprecedented perfect failure rate with regards to successful magic. She messes everything up, and by "mess" up, I usually mean "blows" it up! You can't help but laugh at her failures and feel sorry for the proud Louise. That is how she presented.
When her class begins to summon all their respective familiars, she summons something completely different--a boy. And, of course, things really go downhill for her after that. She has him do everything for her--And I mean EVERYTHING. I hope you know what I mean. Her temper is fiery, but she is so bossy-cute, you wouldn't mind being her slave. Unfortunate for the boy, as he wants to get away from her. But then again, he has secret powers...
If you don't get this, you ruin the chances that the other seasons of 'ZERO' will get published here in the States. A sad thing, since it is a really good series. There are two more 13-episode seasons after this, just as funny. You really are not going to go wrong when you watch this, trust me. :D

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In a magical land where two moons shine in the night sky, one young student in the magic school, Louise, has acquired the nickname of"Zero". Why?Her "zero" talent!With a near perfect failure rate for her spells, the shock that Louise's summoning spell works equals the surprise of her new familiar, a human boy from Japan!When the boy begins exhibiting some unexpected abilities, why do the teachers get so nervous?

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Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple - Season Two, Part One (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)After buying the first season box set I instantly became a fan of the series and knew I had to see the series through to the end and bought these last two box sets to do it. Like one reviewer said with the previous season one box set I could have waited until Funimation released the second season in one box set but I had the money and just felt I had to get it now. The stories main character Kenichi Shirahama who after being bullied at school for sometime even from some of the students of the martial arts club he tried joining to defend himself finds a young well endowed female transfer student by the name of Miu Furinji being set upon by some of the bullies fears for her safety but feels he can't do anything about it, but as he finds out she herself is quite a skilled martial arts fighter after seeing her defeat the pack of bullies easily, after trailing her unknowingly to her dojo home he sees the martial arts masters she lives with and after a somewhat forced pushing from one of the masters becomes their student. But after a few fight wins he now finds himself being faced with new opponents who are looking to reach the top by knocking off the stronger fighters that Kenichi has unknowingly placed himself in. The series is pretty funny with some drama of course in the series as well but luckily they don't saturate the series with it so it doesn't become to dramatic because of it. The series animation and soundtrack fit perfectly together both done pretty well and the voice cast for the Japanese and English cast fit their characters pretty well too. So if you like fighting animes or comedy animes here's a good combination of both...

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When we last saw Kenichi, he was making the transition from wimp to warrior – okay, maybe no warrior, but he was definitely taking steps to man up.
Well, the world is starting to notice, which is good and bad. On the plus side, he’s making friends and getting more respect. In the minus column, his rep is growing faster than his skills, which is tricky now that every thug in town wants to test his new techniques. That means between street brawls and trying to score with Miu, Kenichi still has to hang tough with the six Martial Arts masters. Lucky for him, the training is getting more intense – because before Kenichi can finally stand tall, he’ll have to beat his fiercest opponent yet!

Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple - Season Two, Part One contains episodes 27-38.

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Volume 1 (Limited Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a very orginal and creative title. When I watched the imports, it gave me a fresh interest in old steriotypes. You got the logical alien, the sexy timetraveler, the omipotent being who can destroy the universe, and the annoying esper who knows everything that you want to punch in the face. All this amazing adventures takes place in a high school drama setting.
Basically a guy nicknamed as Kyon just recently matured enough to relise there is nothing special about his life, a completely normal boy who goes to school. This all changes when he meets Haruhi Suzumiya, who is obessed with the paranormal and everything else you find in a Otaku(crazy fan), and utterly bored with her life in general. Because of certain series of events, Kyon is conscripted in start a club with Suzumiya called the SOS brigade. The club is has no real purpose except to solve mysteries and discover paranormal activities. Ironiclly an alien, timetravler, and a esper join the group in disguise revealling there nature and motive to Kyon; the only normal person in the club. All three of them inform Kyon that Suzumiay unknowingly is the a powerful being that can reshape reality to her will. Their mission to keep Suzumiya occupied with fun activities, with the alternative being the destruction of autoevolution/time line/universe.
The main story arc actally takes a back seat, with mainly just drama/comedy antics you find in many anime. there was no real action for the most part, but I couldn't stop watching until I finished it in one day. The main character Kyon with is pessimistic outlook on life, and is tentency to notice plot holes, and maintain a dry sense of humor; made me identiy with him easilly. The animation is high quality in my opinion, and the music.....is abolutely amazing! I spent half the day just listening to the ending credits!
So in short the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a good well rounded title that has everything a anime newbie would like, but still give someing new for those long time otakus.

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The annual school culture festival has begun and with it comes the debut of Haruhi's surreal film! Who did she threaten this time to have her movie shown? More importantly what other event has she schemed up and what impact will it have on the rest of the SOS Brigade? At least I've got Mikuru and the cosplay cafe to look forward to, but perhaps someone should explain to Yuki that fortune-telling isn't about eerie accuracy! The computer club counter-attacks! After Haruhi extorted the club's president for their best computer challenge the SOS Brigade to a not so friendly strategy game. How are we going to win when our chief's strategy doesn't exist? We should just raise the white flag and give up. Can we win without the help of Yuki's bogus magic or will defeat drive Haruhi into a world-ending rampage? It is a slow day for us in the club room, that is until Haruhi arrives. She's somehow managed to swindle a heater from one of our movie's sponsors. I hope Mikuru's okay while I'm forced to make the exhausting trek in the rain to retrieve it. What bizarre activity while I'm gone? Limited Edition includes Haruhi iron-on, SOS pillow case, pencil board, Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya CD Haruhi No Tsumewawase, Vol. 1, and Limited Edition Box.Also includes a bonus DVD that contains episodes 11-14 in original TV broadcast order! Genre: Comedy/ Action.

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Dragon Ball - The Saga of Goku - Boxed Set (1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)First of all, let me say this: If you're planning on getting this set to see the version of the first 13 episodes that aired Cartoon Network, you're sorely mistaken. These episodes were dubbed in 1995, and are fairly different from the newer incarnation. Not only are they heavily censored, but they are dub-only, and the discs are poorly encoded to boot. Funimation can't release an uncut version of the of these particular episodes, because KidMark still holds the rights to them. However, since the 1995 dub only went to episode 13, the remaining 140 episodes of Dragon Ball can be found uncut in the other "_____ saga" DVD sets.
First and foremost in the differences between the new and old dubs: the music. Although the redub from Funimation uses the original Japanese score and English arrangements of the original themes, this uses its own score. The theme's kinda catchy, and reminds me a bit of the ending theme to Mystical Adventure (movie 3), but the music in general reeks of a generic "American cartoon" quality that doesn't fit the series too well. It's mainly this that gives it a feel quite apart from the new version.
Then there's the voices. Some of them will seem familiar to you if you've seen the first two dub seasons of DBZ, or live in part of the world that shows the International DBZ dub instead of Funimation's. In general, they're pretty good, but hard to get used to after all these years of hearing Funimation's voice actors in these roles. The pronunciation that this dub used for "Kamehame-ha" gets pretty annoying, too.
The scripts are fairly accurate outside of the censorship (which there's a lot of), but there are also the classic jokes-that-fall-flat typical of anime dubs aimed at children. Also worthy of note is that many of the lines from this dub carry over into at least the edited version of the new one, though there are some changes in the redub to bring it in line with the rest of FUNimation's releases.
Censorship in this set is, for the most part, roughly equal to that of the version showed on Cartoon Network. It's in different areas, though. Cut-wise, a little more of the video is left in, but it's made-up for in some completely ridiculous use of digital paint and bad script rewrites. There's even some extra footage thrown in the first few episodes, and added recaps in most of them (since true previous-episode recaps didn't really start until about episode 22 or so).
One example of the goofy censorship in this version: Goku catches a fish in the first episode. In the re-dub seen on Cartoon Network, Goku is naked, though much of the scene is cut. In this version, all of the scene is left in, but Goku is wearing very poorly-drawn digital underpants. One major digital censor that carries over into the newer edited version is the use of American dollars on the fishing pole in episode 5 to catch Oolong (instead of Bulma's panties); you may notice that, when the episode airs on Cartoon Network, Goku dives into the water nude, but is suddenly wearing underpants when he surfaces, due to the re-use of some (but not all) of the older dub's footage for that one scene.
The feature "Curse of the Blood Rubies," though touted as a "pilot" for the series, is actually a dub of DB movie 1, "Shenron no Densetsu" ("The Legend of Shenlong"), with some footage from episode 2 thrown in. I'm not quite sure why this was done, though it was probably either to replace a very perverted scene or just balance out the amount of cuts from the film... probably both.
Overall, I wouldn't recommend getting this if you like Dragon Ball for its off-color and oft-perverted humor; the newer "saga" DVD sets will suit you fine. The jury is still out as to when these 13 episodes will appear uncut on DVD, but even so, only get this set if you're really itching to see what Funimation intended all of the Dragon Ball franchise to be like when they first set out to dub the series: a mere shadow of its original self, aimed squarely at kids far too young to appreciate Akira Toriyama's quirky sense of humor.

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The first 13 episodes on a two-disc set. 1. Secret of the Dragon Ball, 2. The Emperor's Quest, 3. The Nimbus Cloud of Roshi, 4. Oolong the Terrible, 5. Yamcha the Desert Bandit, 6. Keep an Eye on the Dragon Balls, 7. The Ox-King on Fire Mountain, 8. The Kamehameha Wave, 9. Boss Rabbit's Magic Touch, 10. The Dragon Balls Are Stolen, 11. The Penalty Is Pinball, 12. A Wish to the Eternal Dragon, 13. The Legend of Goku; Curse of the Blood Rubies

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Grappler Baki Review

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(More customer reviews)Once in a while, I like to kick back and watch an anime that's got nothing but lots of good old dirt-under-the-nails FIGHTIN'. You can't go wrong with a title like "Grappler Baki: The ULTIMATE FIGHTER", can you? So I gave it a rent and checked it out. And you know what? I was pretty impressed. There's a lot to enjoy in this flick, most of which is the fighting itself. The fight scenes were well done; not on par with, say, the choreographed genius of "Street Fighter: the Animated Movie", but they hold their own. A lot of the moves hurt just to look at (like when a shoulder gets separated and they show you an inside-the-body shot of the bones coming apart) and the animation is pretty decent as well. There's not much story here; just a guy named Baki who wants to be the best fighter in the land and the people he goes through to get there. The final battle, though, between Baki and the "Cord Cutter" (speaking of painful techniques, ever have someone pull on your NERVES?) is a sight to behold. All in all, a decent fight flick that will keep you entertained for almost an hour. The only real problems I saw were the crowd shots (completely still and noiseless; I guess they were completely mesmerized by the fight) and the dubbing. It wasn't bad, but I've heard a LOT better. But hey, if you like the fightin' stuff, you'll enjoy it. Great action and a minimum of sentiment. It's a good combination.

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His name is Baki Hanma. No one knows where he came from or wherehe learned his unique fighting style. He can defeat an opponent with a single blow andhe's taking the Karate Championship by storm. But now he's in for the fight of his life.Anything goes and his opponent can rip his nerves out — literally. If he wins, he's theBEST. If he loses... he's DEAD.

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Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple - Season Two, Part 2 Review

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(More customer reviews)The basic information of the series is this The stories main character Kenichi Shirahama who after being bullied at school for sometime even from some of the students of the martial arts club he tried joining to defend himself finds a young well endowed female transfer student by the name of Miu Furinji being set upon by some of the bullies fears for her safety but feels he can't do anything about it, but as he finds out she herself is quite a skilled martial arts fighter after seeing her defeat the pack of bullies easily, after trailing her unknowingly to her dojo home he sees the martial arts masters she lives with and after a somewhat forced pushing from one of the masters becomes their student. But after a few fight wins he now finds himself being faced with new opponents who are looking to reach the top by knocking off the stronger fighters that Kenichi has unknowingly placed himself in.
The second season deals more with Kenichi having to face the Eight Heavy fist of the gang called Ragnarok in battles as they try in dissolve this problem to their group that Kenichi has caused with his heroics, and as with each of the Ragnarok fist he faces proves to be more powerful than the previous one forcing Kenichi to train harder in order to defeat the next challenger of Ragnarok. Also as he reaches the final fighters he'll meet a person in his past whose joined Ragnarok because of their past with Kenichi and who holds a deep grudge against Kenichi for their past together. The series gives a nice closing of the anime somewhat but also leaves it open as it still leaves some questions too so it looks like we may see another season of Kenichi which I do hope for. Again the animation and soundtrack for the series fits perfectly and the voice cast for both the Japanese and English crew did their parts very well too playing their character roles perfectly. The video is standard format in the set comes like the usual Funimation box sets now a days with two dvd slim cases put into a paper sleeve, the extras aren't anything to shout about just the trailers and textless intro/ending songs.So if you already got the first season box set than finish the collection right away and if you're still not sure about the series check out the Funimation website for a few episodes you might be shocked about how enjoyable the series is for you....

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Dragon Ball Z - Bardock: The Father of Goku (1996) Review

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(More customer reviews)...I really enjoyed this one. It MUST be watched in its original language to be really appreciated and that's the strength of this DVD. It has the original version with English sub titles!
The reason I was unsure about the story line is that it was about Bardock, I mean, who cares about Goku's father, right? It's Goku and Vegeta and Piccolo we all care about, right? But despite my reservations this was a rousing good story giving us a rare glimpse into the past and the lives of the Saiyins. In the Japanese version Bardock comes across as the trained soldier that he is, ruthless and single minded until he is granted the chance to see things from another point of view and therefore begin questioning for the first time in his life.
In the English version they try to whitewash him a bit and it just doesn't work. The beauty of the story is Bardock's realisation of what he and his people have allowed themselves to become in the service of Frieza, making the destruction of his race all the more poignant.
I recommend any anime title that has the original Japanese version on it anyway, but this one really illustrates the differences between the original and Funimations condescending makeover. Watch the two versions one after another and see if you agree with me!

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Inuyasha: Complete Movies Box Set (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)Hello, I'm 100% sure that this dvd is awasome just like the rest of Inuyasha's dvds and movies. What I'm trying to do right now is warn all you Inuyasha fans from bad people like BESTPREICEANIMEEVER i order from him and he sent me (inuyasha the tv series) when i had ordered "Inuyasha special edition dvd". Worst of all is that he had very bad reviews that i did not read before buying form him and all because when i think AMAZON i think safety while i'm buying online. It was a great mistake please be aware of this seller and nextdayanime.com for that is where they do bussinness from. There is alot of people that like me all we wanted was to buy something to make a loved one happy and it was ruined by somebody that has no heart and ethics. thanks for reading this and happy and above all safe shopping!

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Inuyasha - Down the Well (Vol. 1) (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)Rumiko Takahashi is one of the, if not the, most famous female manga artist in the world. With titles such as "Ranma" and "Maison Ikokku" in her resume, she has established a worldwide following and has garnered a reputation as the Queen of Romantic Comedy. Her latest undertaking, "Inu-Yasha", has already gained a cult following in the US and, like her other manga series, has been made into a successful anime series that has just a strong following in America. American publisher Viz, having already published twelve volumes in the US, now brings us the anime.
At first glance, "Inu-Yasha" seems like a typical anime series. Kagome, a Japanese high school girl, is transported to the feudal age of Japan through a magical well, where she unwittingly awakens a cocky, imprisoned half-demon called Inu-Yasha. You see, Inu-Yasha was after the Shikon no Tama, a powerful jewel that could grant him his wish to become full demon, but a village priestess called Kikyo stopped him with a mystical arrow. Suffering from untreatable wounds, Kikyo decides to die and take with her to her grave the Shikon no Tama. But get this: Kagome is apparently Kikyo's reincarnation, and she just so happens to have the Shikon no Tama with her! Then, through a bizarre set of circumstances, the jewel ends up shattering and scattering all over Japan, and now Inu-Yasha and Kagome have to team up and find these pieces.
Typical, huh?
Not quite.
You see, "Inu-Yasha" is a lot deeper than the first set of episodes will have you believe. Sure, it looks like something you'd find in just about every other fantasy anime series out there, but truthfully, the meat of the series is found in later episodes, when Takahashi demonstrates her true (if not bizarre) genius. But even with this in mind, the first three episodes found on this DVD do a really good job of starting the series and drawing you in. The characters are likable and three-dimensional, and the plot is executed at a reasonable pace. And with Takahashi's unique sense of humor spread all over, you know this series is over-the-top as well as dark and intriguing. Overall, the first three episodes are well done and should give the viewer a general idea of what to look forward to, even though Takahashi's plot twists are completely unexpected.
Visually, "Inu-Yasha" is one of the cleanest series around. The artwork isn't as clean as, say, that of "X: TV", but it's definately sharp and crisp enough to make an average viewer go "wow!". Character models present marvelous representations of their manga counterparts, backgrounds are vibrant and fully detailed, and movement is smooth and fluid. In short, "Inu-Yasha" is a beautiful series that does justice to its source material.
Sound wise, the music is a beautiful compliment to the visuals. It's not the most memorable of soundtracks, but Kaoru Wada's melodies are beautiful and wistful and can get emotional when they need to be. The one complaint I have, however, is that the songs tend to repeat themselves quite often and some songs are often nothing more than variations of other songs. But overall, the series' soundtrack has no real complaints. And the opening and ending...well, the ending song is really haunting and ends each episode on a perfect note, but who's idea was it to use a Korean boy-band song as the opening?
As for the English dub...to put it simply, the dub is above average. It does have its problems, but overall it's enjoyable. Richard Cox does a marvelous job as the half-demon Inu-Yasha, bringing the cocky anti-hero to life wonderfully. Monica Stori, unfortunately, stumbles at the beginning as the heroine Kagome. Many complain about her sounding too young, but I feel her biggest problem was that at first she didn't feel comfortable with her role. In later episodes she improves remarkably, but starting out she sounds somewhat stale and flat. Pam Hyatt does a respectable job as Kaede, but she can sometimes sound unenthusiastic and it's somewhat weird that she speaks in Old English and no one else does...
...which brings me to the dub's biggest problem: the script, written by Trish Ledoux, who also wrote the script for "Ranma". Trish has an annoying habit of using "Trishisms," which are cliches and catchphrases, in her scripts and it's these Trishisms that bring the dub down. Adding in her own "touches" such as the phrase, "Toto, I don't think we're in Tokyo anymore" makes the script feel dumbed down. Granted, the script doesn't drastically alter the story in any way, but these Trishisms are the biggest thing holding the quality of the English track back.
So in general, for die-hard fans of the show, the dub will be debatable because they associate the characters so much with the original Japanese voices and thus anything that doesn't fit will render the dub a travesty; nitpicking and complaints such as "they pronounce names differently" or "this voice sounds off" or "Kagome says, 'Sit, boy!'" will definately be popping up in many reviews to come. But for casual anime fans who won't have to go into the show with this kind of baggage for an incredibly popular series, the dub should satisfy.
Overall, the first volume of "Inu-Yasha" is a solid release. The only complaint I have about the show is that the content of the series was toned down from the manga to meet television standards (no full frontal nudity, not as much violence, etc.), but that's only a minor complaint. Many will complain about the episode count per DVD, but just remember that the Japanese got only two episodes on the first disc and you may feel better (maybe). But if you're still unsure as to whether you'll like this series or not, you can catch it on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block in a very, very lightly edited format. And since the show gets better as the series progresses over its 90+ episodes (it's still running in Japan, by the way), there will be plenty more "Inu-Yasha" to get excited about in the future.

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Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)With the latest anime movies I've seen before this being made in the mid-nineties, I had some low expectations when I ordered this from amazon. But I guess anime movies have come a long way since '95!
STORY
In a nutshell, Naruto and his squad are assigned the task of guarding an actress during the filming of her latest movie. But like all Naruto characters, this actress has some skeletons in her closet and it was only a matter of time until her past catches up with her.
The movie keeps the general flair of the series without getting too caught up in stuff like fight scenes. Like it's canon series counterpart, this movie does a good job of things like good back-stories and character development.
My only nitpicky complaint about the movie itself is that you could tell that the writers were trying to cram in every awesome attack there was available to the according characters (Kakashi and Sasuke's sharingan; Naruto's Mass Shadow Clones; even Sakura's evil side near the start of the movie!). The character designs for the bad guys and other movie-only characters are also not the best (the Princess' is probably the best out of all the new characters), but their back-story and weird quirks definitely make up for this.
Amazingly enough, this movie also fits in well into the series (as far as I know). Naruto's flashback in the series and Sasuke still being there shows that the movie is around the time right after Tsunade arrives in the village.
TECHNICAL STUFF
As for the animation, you can definitely tell that the movie got the royal treatment in that department. You can especially tell during the chidori/wolf scene. And, of course, like all current animated shows, the picture quality is beautiful. The background music also keeps most of the more memorable music from the series as well as some new tracks of their own.
One thing I was worried about when ordering this DVD was it's aspect ratio. See, the movie was originally filmed to be shown in theaters, so the aspect ratio is widescreen. Again, rest assured, that this release has the widescreen version as well, as opposed to being cropped to fit full screen TV monitors. And to make matters better, it's in anamorphic widescreen, meaning that if you've got a widescreen TV, the footage will automatically fit to the size of the screen (as in, without the black bars on the top and bottom of the screen). A much better option than the alternative of setting up your widescreen TV to zoom in to remove the black bars, but keeping the rest of the picture, since that would in turn cut off part of the subs and make the picture slightly fuzzy.
LANGUAGE TRACKS
Upon getting the movie today, I was most worried about the movie only having the dubbed version. Rest assured that there is a subbed Japanese version available. Now, I have close to no knowledge on the Japanese language, but it looks like the only changes made sub-wise were done for the sake of "American-izing" it (ie: having the subs read the first name before the last name and excluding suffixes like "-san" and "-chan") But nothing major.
And for those interested in the dub, based on the one scene I've seen of it, it looks like they've done a good job keeping close to the script and only making some changes for the sake of making the prose flow better and for the mouth movements to match up.
It definitely would have helped if they pointed out that both the dub and sub were available on the box art. Upon buying this, I was completely freaking out about whether this release had both versions or not!
EXTRAS
No way I would have given this release the full five stars if it didn't have at least one legit special feature-- a 10-ish minute short featuring Naruto and most of the other genin. The story's basically about Konohagakure holding a little tournament among the younger ninja. The only problem is that poor ol' Naruto's constipated and is forced to hold it in for the entire tournament.
The short is also available in dub and sub and is in widescreen, so I'm assuming this was played before the actual movie when shown in theaters in Japan (kinda like Pikachu's Vacation playing before the Pokemon movie). My only complaint with this is that unlike the movie itself, this short is NOT anamorphic, so your options to watching the sub while maintaining its aspect ratio (on a widescreen TV) are limited to 4:3 (full screen). Either that or you can have the screen stretch out or zoom in to remove those darn black bars. The problem with zooming in is that this means the subs will also be cut off slightly since well... it's not anamorphic. A slight pain, but still worthy of five stars.
WHY BUY IT?
You may be one of those fans who've downloaded this movie before Viz came around to distribute it here in the US... so you may be asking why you should buy it in the first place? Well, the way I see it, you're basically hurting the well being of the series if you don't! Downloading the episodes while they're available is one thing, but you should show your love for the series by buying the official releases once they're available on DVD. It's also always good to have a hard copy outside of your computer.
In conclusion, "Naruto The Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Show" is definitely worth the purchase, whether you're a subtitle or an English dub kind of fan. It's everything a fan would expect from the series meshed together into an hour and 35 minute movie.

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