Gackt: The Greatest Filmography 1999-2006 BLUE Distributed by VIZ Pictures 65 minutes (12 music videos) After a hard day’s work, one crisp autumn afternoon, I walked to my car parked about a block away. Suddenly, from behind a lamppost far too thin for any normal human being to hide behind, a posse of ninjas appears, [...]

Bleach, Vols. 2-6 Distributed by VIZ Media Volume six of Bleach is now available on DVD, and the ongoing saga of Ichigo the substitute Soul Reaper continues. Quite a bit has happened since the first disc: Ichigo confronts his own inner demons, both figuratively and literally, more than once; Rukia grows to love the human [...]

Editor’s note: This month’s Comics for Manga Lovers looks at two straight-to-DVD movies aimed squarely at the tights and capes crowd. If you’re a recovering Marvel maniac or have fond memories of the Super Friends, you’ll be interested in what our resident anime expert Carlos Alexandre has to say about Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme and [...]

Animation Review: Superman: Doomsday Distributed by Warner Premiere 74 minutes It’s been a while since Bruce Timm and fellows ended the long-ongoing and fan-adored “DC animated universe,” a cohesive timeline that started in 1992 with Batman: The Animated Series, ended an amazing fourteen years later with the series finale of Justice League Unlimited, and spanned [...]

Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme Distributed by Lionsgate Home Entertainment 95 minutes The Marvel Animated Features, an ongoing set of direct-to-TV and DVD animated movies, have ranged in quality from “just okay” to “monstrously bad.” Ultimate Avengers and Ultimate Avengers 2 were good enough, combining decent animation and passable stories; both movies were neither perfect [...]

Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow Distributed by VIZ Media 95 minutes As I mentioned in my review of Naruto: The Lost Story, Naruto just isn’t my thing. I feel that too many potentially good things about that franchise are weighed down by its negatives: unfunny humor, repetitive character interactions, and [...]

Samurai 7, Vol. 1 Distributed by FUNimation 105 minutes (4 episodes) I hate writing an unfavorable review for a FUNimation title, because FUNimation is, in my humble opinion, the hands-down best importer of anime this continent has ever had. Top quality English voice acting, impressive packaging, and release schedules that don’t keep audiences waiting for [...]

Mushi-Shi, Vol. 1 Distributed by FUNimation 125 minutes (5 episodes) I had a conversation with a close friend of mine not too long ago about ongoing television series’ approaches to storytelling and characterization. He and I both agreed that an ongoing storyline with continually developing characters is far more enjoyable than a mere collection of [...]

Bleach, Vol. 1 Distributed by VIZ Media 100 minutes (4 episodes) Welcome, dear reader, to my review of Bleach. I usually start my reviews with some little snippet that relates to what I’m about to review, sometimes equating aspects of it to real life situations or stating how I feel about the franchise in question. [...]

Naruto OVA: The Lost Story Distributed by VIZ Media 40 minutes Ah, Naruto. The series about ninjas with powers that, depending on who you ask, is either the best thing since sliced bread or the worst scourge on the face of the Earth. Me, I simply don’t care about it. I’ve seen a few episodes, [...]