Classic Media released a handsome complete box set of all the original Toho Godzilla films, re-mastered, and re-packaged back in the fall of 2007. Included were two exclusive films: Terror of Mechagodzilla and All Monsters Attack. Impulsive diehard G-Fans snatched up Gojira and others as they saw their initial releases so they had no purpose of buying the box set, but finally those two films have been made available in single releases.

All Monsters Attack (1969)

A major turning point for Toho Godzilla films was All Monsters Attack aka Godzilla’s Revenge. In this film the dark and strange tales of science fiction was replaced with the lighter story of a latch-key boy, Ichiro (Tomornori Yazaki) estranged from his working parents and inspired by a wild imagination. The entire film follows the boy and his back and forth adventures in reality and the dream world. In his dreams he discovers Dinosaur Island and makes friends with Minilla, often rumored offspring of Godzilla. It’s in these dreams that Ichiro learns how to tackle his problems in the real world where he must overcome bullies, social acceptance, the neglect of his working parents, and yes, two bumbling crooks.

There’s no Godzilla saving the day at the end of this film, but it could have really used him. In fact the only supernatural elements in the All Monsters Attack are in Ichiro’s dreams marking the least amount of screen time for Godzilla. Attentive fans will find most of the fight sequences are lifted from older films and without proper context these scenes give off a hodge-podge effort of a studio film looking to stretch the dollar. In fact, the American title, Godzilla’s Revenge is pretty misleading when the real story is Ichiro and there is a lack of revenge. If taken as a Godzilla film, it may not satisfy you. If you’re looking for a film about Japanese children growing up in the industrial age, the film takes on a much more tangible flavor.

All Monsters Attack comes out after several big budget classics accentuating its odd place in Godzilla history. After establishing itself as a cult classic, the production values went south. Godzilla and the suits themselves looked cheaper and sets were less elaborate. Still, Ishiro Honda experimented with camera techniques used with friend, Akira Kurosawa. He or writer Yukiko Takayama must have been affected at Japan repairing itself from the war and the affect that had on children. There’s a message of youth standing up for itself and taking responsibilityt because the adults may not be there someday. Audiences spoke as this suffered greatly in the box office universally and would become a small blip on G-Fans’ radar.

Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Near the end of Toho’s original Godzilla run, aliens were running rampant on Earth and tired of getting their butts whipped by Godzilla they built a robot called Mechagodzilla and he would prove to be a deadly opponent. One of the most bloody final battles took place in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), where the robot met his doom at the bottome of the ocean floor. In Terror of Mechagodzilla aliens from Planet Three in the Black Hole employ Dr. Shinzo Mafune (Akihiko Hirata) to rebuild the giant robot. Forced to leave the science institute for his intentions, Mafune caught the aliens’ eye and they in turn earned his trust when they saved his only daughter, Katsura (Tomoko Ai) from dying as a result of his experimental work.

Mafune and Mechagodzilla are just the beginning. The Planet Three plot a hostile takeover of the world starting with Tokyo–naturally.They also control by a sea-dwelling monster called Titanosaurus who destroys a submarine investigating the Mechagodzilla wreckage. Interpol would later investigate and Katsura would cover for her father. But when Akira Ichinose (Katsuhiko Sasaki), a marine biologist and believer of Mafune’s work, begins to prod and things get complicated. He would champion Mafune’s work and fall in love with Katsura but doing so may be a deadly proposition.

After many lighter releases in the Godzilla library, Terror of Mechagodzilla returned to its roots with cynical views of the world, and the climate was ripe for a superior alien race takeover. Weighted with dark tones, wild science and sexy cyborgs–we even get our first nude scene (even though it’s fake)–the story on the streets of Tokyo provide more interest than the threat of Mechagodzilla. He would later prove to be more of a looming presence as viewers anticipate an epic rampage. But this film is just as much a stage for Titanosaurus as it is Mechagodzilla.

The English dub saw its American debut in 1978 under the same title but was butchered by Bob Conn, taking out everything that was remotely violent to get a G rating. I will never understand how films can be so mutilated when traveling across seas. The film would eventually be shown on US TV with the violence (minus the breast scene) put back in and would be over five minutes longer than the original release to include a prologue of clips from older films. This version is preserved in the US version on the DVD. Despite the return to the darker tone, Terror of Mechagodzilla was the final box office blow as the franchise as shelved until 1984. It would also be Ishiro Honda’s last Godzilla film he would direct, later joining Akira Kurosawa’s film crew. Still this is a more than worthy entry to the Godzilla lore. The acting is enjoyable with dramatic turns by Tomoko Ai and Akihiko Hirata. And with a story that contained bizarre love, giant robots and sea monsters, all of the iconic mainstays in Japanese science fiction are present here.

The DVDs

Both discs load up initially with a rundown of all of the Classic Media Toho releases and a trailer for the Godzilla Unleased video game released last year from Atari. After the trailers, one chooses which version of the film they want to view, English dubbed or the original Japanese cut with subtitles. Each title comes packaged in a slim case with classic poster art on the cover and decorated in silver foil. Don’t throw away the small sleeve to keep the case closed when not in use, otherwise it opens like a book. Both films are presented in an enhanced transfer (2.35) that look and sound great. This is the reason to buy the Classic Media releases. So many poor transfers of the Toho films were released in years past, but the color is vivid, and only a trace of dirt. The original Dolby Digital Mono soundtracks is preserved in both languages so whether you grew up on the badly dubbed English cuts or you’re a purist like me who will stick with the original Japanese. Regardless, it’s a nice touch to have both available because each has their own particular experience and is a testament to Godzilla’s popularity transcending the language barrier. And you won’t need to turn it up much to hear Godzilla’s wailing fill your home.
SHOCK VALUE: A

Extras

All Monsters Attack Extras

Like Mechagodzilla, the IMAGE GALLERY and POSTER SLIDE SHOW are basic production photos and poster art which you can thumb through. The ISHIRO HONDA biography is a short biopic about the legendary Godzilla director as a post-war filmmaker and his friendship and collaborations with film visionary, Akira Kurosawa. Again these snippets of Godzilla history are some of the best things about these Classic Media releases but the potential is ripe here for much longer and deeper productions. For the AUDIO COMMENTARY, Richard Pusateri (contributing writer for G-Fan and Cult Movies) is a great choice for trying to make sense of the film. He provides a well-spoken track that’s natural and in the flow of the film. It’s filled with facts and theories behind the dramatic change in the Godzilla films (it’s intended audience was for fourth graders) and Pusateri is able to not take the film lightly by poking a little fun at it as well. I’m a firm believer that the weakest films still make for good commentary especially in this case where the film is such a departure from its predecessors and if you’re going to pick this up, this makes for the film. SHOCK VALUE: B

Terror of Mechagodzilla Extras

The ART GALLERY is as thrilling as an old slideshow can get as users click through promotional stills and poster art accompanied by factoids. WOMEN OF GODZILLA 1954-1976 is a ten-minute feature about the important role of the leading ladies in Godzilla films and Toho science fiction film library. Portrayed as complete and assertive femme fatales to scientists, simple damsels or one-dimensional villains, women always played pivotal roles. It’s a fast rundown narrated by Steve Ryfle who tributes versatile actresses such as Momoko Kochi (Gojira), Kyoko Kagawa (Red Beard, Shall We Dance), Akiko Wakabayashi (Dogora), and fan-favorite Kumi Mizuno (Matango, Gorath, and Monster Zero) all of which would become or were already contemporary actresses or of Japan from the 1950’s through the 1970’s. I only wished it could have been longer and that they would have flashed the names of the actresses so that fans could easily look up their work. The main extra is the AUDIO COMMENTARY by Keith Aiken and Bob Johnson accessible only through the English Version special features menu. This track is in-depth and continually keeps the facts and anecdotes coming from both Aiken and Johnson who each recorded a track separately and both were clipped into one. There are a few problems though. It could have benefitted from having both parties in the same room to play off one another to create a more natural conversation instead it’s clear that both men are reading from a scripted commentary and some rehearsal could have helped. SHOCK VALUE: B

Final Thoughts

Classic Media’s re-masterings look great and if you haven’t purchased a single one of their releases spend big on the box set. They’ve really made a great effort to preserve the look and sound of these films and they haven’t looked this sharp in decades. The Godzilla legacy has evolved and in some cases devolved since the 1956 classic, Goijira, but the broad scope of Japanese science fiction and fantasy continues in its many forms. For film buffs it’s interesting to see two films under the Toho studio could be so drastically different yet still fit within the great Godzilla library, pick these up. These two films may not the ones to start a Godzilla collection, but they will satisfy completists and Toho fans alike who were buying the single-release films that the high quality was maintained through the last film.

Animation Review - Justice League: The New Frontier

Distributed by Warner Premiere
75 minutes

Based on Darwyn Cooke’s award-winning graphic novel, Justice League: The New Frontier is a story of DC’s most iconic heroes set amidst the uncertainty and paranoia of the Cold War. The general public has become fearful of superheroes, and the American government is delving into secretive activities to gain control over perceived subversive elements. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and other heroes who once formed up the Justice Society have disbanded, each trying to do good in their own way. Meanwhile, a shape-shifting extraterrestrial visitor, brought here by mistake, attempts to understand and help humanity, while an idealistic, yet disheartened, test pilot by the name of Hal Jordon pursues his goal of seeing the stars. Behind the scenes, an ancient sentience, overwrought with anger at the savagery and destructiveness of a now nuclear-armed human race, plans the unthinkable, aiming to wipe humanity from existence.

Justice League: The New Frontier is a fascinating look at superheroes in the Cold War era. Much like in the acclaimed Cadmus storyline arc in Justice League Unlimited, DC’s finest are no longer the objects of unquestionable adoration and unwavering trust, and must adapt to being looked at with suspicion. Though hinted at during the opening credits, we don’t actually see this shift in public attitude. Instead, these events are inferred via the points of view of the various heroes. Masterful storytelling ensures that you won’t be lost; from Superman’s tireless idealism to Wonder Woman’s clear cynicism, you can see that these heroes know that the populace is headed in a worrisome direction. The uncertainty convincingly affects superheroes as well, and even causes some, like the Flash, to consider retirement. The story is not limited to just superheroes, though. Normal human beings are working to make things better too, from somewhat misguided government agents like Faraday to a certain test pilot whose destiny is already well known by DC fans.

There’s a lot of characters to focus on, including, but not limited to, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Hal Jordon, and Martian Manhunter. The latter two get most of the screen time, their stories being the film’s focus. Forced to kill in self-defense in the closing days of the Vietnam War–the only life he had ever taken–Hal balances a positive attitude with muted melancholy. When given the chance to become more than a mere man, Hal is wary, and attempts to face the threat to the world as a pilot, not a superhero. Martian Manhunter shares a similar past, having accidentally given the man who accidentally brought him to Earth a heart attack. The shape-shifting alien, under the identity of detective John Jones, fights crime, partly as a way to atone. The guilt drives both characters to action when the ancient entity known only as The Center marches forward in its apocalyptic campaign. Speaking of which, The Center’s disdain for humanity is, unfortunately, rather accurate, and it’s easy to see how it can reasonably judge human beings as savage, destructive, and worthy of annihilation.

Sadly, it seems as though the very talented Bruce Timm and his entourage did not learn from Superman: Doomsday. Justice League: The New Frontier has a very short running time of just seventy-five minutes, and the abridged characterization present in the movie’s second half is proof that more time was sorely needed. The first half of the movie is expertly paced, but the last half felt rushed. A less concerning but equally disappointing consequence of the short running time are the quick cameos of characters like Robin, Green Arrow, and Aquaman, all of which left me wanting more. Truly, all of this film’s problems can be traced back to that curious seventy-five minute running time, which is a shame, because, barring that, New Frontier would have damn well been near-perfect.

Regardless of any limits on money or time, though, the production values here are simply astonishing. The animation is crisp and fluid, and the vintage character designs smack of brilliant color and magnificent nostalgia. Yes, kids, Superman’s emblem used to have a black background, and Batman’s costume reeked of blue; get used to it. The musical score isn’t quite as superhero-y as most superhero movies (animated or otherwise), but the orchestral music is nonetheless suitably epic, string-heavy, and very pleasing. The voice acting is perfect; not a single voice is poorly done or out of place. Notable are both Miguel Ferrer’s very convincing, thoughtful Martian Manhunter and the unmistakable Keith David’s deep and powerful voice as The Center.

Justice League: The New Frontier is an exquisite animated film that explores very relevant issues but is marred by a puzzling time limit. Still, it shows the timelessness of these iconic heroes, these characters whose stories and relationships are easily applicable to just about any time period.

Gackt: The Greatest Filmography 1999-2006 RED

Distributed by VIZ Pictures
54 minutes (12 music videos)

Viz Pictures really ought to have the subtitle: Stuff Erin Likes. It’s uncanny. I should meet the guy who’s picking these titles and shake his hand - I should buy him a beer at SDCC. I just hope that my personal taste in film is commercial enough to last!

Last fall I was randomly thinking, “I should listen to some Gackt!” and suddenly, like magic, Viz releases a filmography of his music videos! Unfortunately Carlos didn’t like the Blue volume, and I didn’t either, because I don’t like slow love songs. The Red volume is definitely the way to go, (even Carlos admitted it). Red contains much peppier rock and pop songs.

The strongest music video in this 12 video compellation is “Metamorphoze,” wherein Gackt plays a (dead) Gundam pilot singing to his lost love. Live-action footage of Gackt floating through space in a Gundam cockpit is inter-cut with scenes from Gundam anime series, including mech battle scenes. Although it is a little cheesy, and I’m not a fan of Gundam, I watched this video three times in a row as soon as I got the shrink wrap of the DVD case.

It’s significant that Gackt is singing from the point of view of a dead pilot, as he plays a dead guy in over half of the music videos on Red. These aren’t murder ballads, per say, but if you are interested in murder ballads, I recommend the 1996 album “Murder Ballads” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, wherein each song is sung from a murder victim’s point of view.

Gackt’s death is less obvious in some of the videos. In the upbeat song “Another World” Gackt is shot off-camera in a heist gone wrong. As he drives away (looking gorgeous) in a red VW bug at the end we see a brief shot of his bloody shirt. He’s probably not going to live, but it was a fun video, even if the details of the plot were hard to follow.

“Oasis” takes place in a post-apocolyptic desert. It seems like the blonde chick and little boy in the video may already be dead - Gackt’s cyber-armed character is pretty depressed about that. Maybe he won’t last much longer either.

In “Secret Garden” Gackt’s character disappears in a mysterious flash of light at the end after spending some time in a bus station filled with racial stereotypes. Was he dead before the video started? Was he a guardian angel?

“Redemption” features more fantastic visual-kei outfits with a lot of leather straps, shoulder guards, and feathers. The microphone is inside a huge ornate dragon staff. Gakct (looking hot) plays a dead character, although the reason for the death is not obvious (on first viewing) and the character stands up at the end. Perhaps he recovered?

In “Seki-Ray” Gackt (looking cute) dies of exposure in the snow. In “Never Forget You” Gackt apparently dies by drowning after riding his motorcycle a lot and also leaning against it in an airplane hanger. (Gackt is hotness in leather.)

“Dreams You Pursued” reminded me of Cibo Matto’s video to “Sugar Water”. Gackt (I didn’t like his jacket in this one) is going to meet his date at European café near a fountain. He can’t get the waiters’ attention and his watch is inexplicably smashed. It turns out Gackt’s character is already dead, hit by a car on the way to meet his date! The girl in the video is really cute, and the song is surprisingly cheerful.

Gackt does not die in “Mizerable,” wherein he’s carried around in a palanquin and the devil plays violin in a glam-rock version of medieval Europe. It’s hard to take the song seriously, as part of the chorus is sung in English, “I am ‘Les Miserables’!” Nevertheless, Gackt wears the most David Bowie like outfits in this video, and I mean Bowie from the “Spiders from Mars” era.

“Black Stone” and “Mirror” rock out (in a pop way). In “Black Stone” Gackt is accompanied by several dreadlocked guitarist in the back of a moving semi-truck. In “Mirror” the accompanying band and Gackt wear matching (and totally hot) red leather jackets and gold pants. This song is the most angry, with a couple of swear words thrown in. The guitar riff reminded me favorably of the riff in the Stone Temple Pilots’ song “Vaseline”.

“Vanilla” is the weakest video on the DVD, despite the upbeat, ska-like song and interesting futuristic outfits. Strange white-hooded nurses run up and down a hallway, occasionally carrying the type of ribbons used in rhythmic gymnastics and/or a pilates ball. Unfortunately, there are only three or four camera set-ups in this video, and the editing is random. The song never builds to much of anything and the future nurses aren’t great dancers. (Gackt wasn’t as attractive either.)

I really enjoyed almost every single song on this compilation, even if I found some of the videos a little too weird (or not weird enough). Gackt’s singing reminds me a little of Billy Corgan’s on the album “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness”. Fortunately for me, Gackt’s catalog was made available in the iTunes store around the time these DVDs were released.

This a great DVD to squeal over at your junior high slumber party. I would show it back to back with Death Note the Last Name if I was turning 13 or 14 again.

The only way Red could have been improved would be by providing some kind of DVD extras - perhaps a “making of” featurette or an interview with Gackt. The DVD booklet does not contain any information besides basic facts - a Gackt biography included somewhere would have been fun. The lyrics are available on the disc in both Japanese and English. I would have liked romanji lyrics so I could practice for karaoke, but I guess I could buckle down and learn the kanji if I was that serious about it.

I’m totally stoked that Viz is importing Japanese music videos. What’s next? M-Flo? The Pillows? Shiina Ringo? Shojo Beat magazine seems to cover more and more J-rock and J-pop. What is Viz secretly planning?

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, swarming me. I try to fight back using my trademark girlish shrieks and wild arm flailing, but to no avail. Using secret ninjutsu techniques that they likely learned from that wacky Naruto show, they teleported me to some undisclosed location.

I found myself tied to a chair, facing a television. Hooked up to it was a DVD player, its tray closing. I shuddered. What manner of vile imagery were these devious ninjas going to impart? It began: Gackt, it’s called, and it appeared to be about a Japanese band. Okay, fine; so far so good. If all they were going to show me was a bunch of Japanese music videos, how terrible could it be?

The first song, “My Story,” didn’t start off too badly. The video depicts an Advent Children cosplayer (I think; it might have been a really mannish woman) lamenting over the fact that he misses his old girlfriend. Not the greatest song I’ve ever heard, but certainly not the worst. Until just before the end, that is, when the main singer dude starts to convey his supposed desperation… by gesturing in a manner so overly melodramatic that Julia Roberts would shake her head in shame. I asked my ninja captors if there was something wrong with the man: clearly he was having an epileptic seizure. The ninjas laughed. Devious buggers.

The second video, “Everything for You,” was more of the same. This time, the Cloud-wannabe is singing about an unhappy girl that he wants to love. Or something to that effect. More spastic “dancing” ensued: really, this was just a different version of the first song. I suddenly realize the exquisitely terrifying reality of my plight. These ninjas, clearly hired by my mortal nemesis Anti-Carlos, are clearly trying to break my spirit through psychological torture. Their tool: Gackt: The Greatest Filmography 1999-2006 BLUE. (There’s also a RED version, apparently. Like Pokemon.)

Moving on to “Luna Hymn,” a computer-rendered piece of animation that would have been more at home in a first season episode of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, we find–wait for it–a broken man singing about some lost love. Big surprise! Sadly, the guy’s mechanical arm is used only to convey more emo-angst; if he had, say, killed a man with it, I could have at least answered that primal urge to bear witness to cartoon violence.

The videos continued, and each time, I desperately hoped that it would not be a song about tragic love. But then, the first or second subtitle would shatter that hope. Confound it all! Does this “Gackt” fellow/lady/genderless being not know any other type of song? Perhaps he’s/she’s/it’s a victim of fate, being typecast because of some past performance some bigwig producer saw money-making potential in. Maybe I’m just not getting it. Is there a cultural barrier at work, and is this noise that dares to call itself music infinitely more appreciable in the land of the rising sun? The questions could only preoccupy my mind for so long before more of Gackt invaded my brain. I thought I wouldn’t survive.

The videos’ settings ranged from predictable to outright absurd. One took place in New York City, and featured people of many different backgrounds holding up peace signs… yet the song is no less about “wanting to see you again” than every other one on the disc. Don’t get me wrong; there’s nothing wrong with showing the population’s wishes for a peaceful world, but the scenario and the song itself are wildly mismatched. Another video involved vampires and some of the most poorly choreographed swordfights I’d ever seen. It was so absurd that I was almost able to tune out the lyrics and subtitles. Almost.

Mercifully, there were a couple of times where I didn’t want to rip out my eyes and ears. “Because You Are Expecting Me” was a nice little tune, with guitars and strings contrasting nicely. It also really showcased Mr. Gackt’s very nice voice; it’s really too bad he doesn’t practice subtlety more often. “Because You Are Expecting Me” is shot in a Tokyo studio amidst a quiet audience, which was, at the very least, a nice change of pace from the vampires. “Last Song -Unplugged-” features some very pleasing piano work. The lyrics aren’t terribly impressive, but I could listen to that mesmerizing piano all day.

Eventually, it all ended, the pain finally over. The evil ninjas then, somewhat uncharacteristically, drove me home in a red Pontiac Sunfire, booting me out and speeding off. And that’s my story. But worry not, dear readers. Anti-Carlos is getting a very special present for his trouble: I’ve hired my own army of psycho-ninjas, and they will force him to listen to every song that Linkin Park has ever made. Or poison his tequila. Whatever’s funnier.

With apologies to Harper’s, it’s time for another quasi-statistical look at this quarter’s reviews. Links to all 55 reviews (yes, 55!) follow the numerical analysis.

REVIEWS BY THE NUMBERS
Total number of series reviewed: 55
Number of one-shots/anthologies reviewed: 8
Number of OEL/OGM reviewed: 7
Number of manwha reviewed: 7
Number of yaoi titles reviewed: 2
Number of first volumes reviewed: 30
Titles receiving highest grade: Tekkon Kinkreet, To Terra
Title receiving lowest grade: Pop Japan Travel: Essential Otaku Guide
Average grade received: B
Percentage of titles receiving a grade of A- or better: 25%
Percentage of titles receiving a grade of B-, B, or B+: 51%
Percentage of titles receiving a grade of C-, C, or C+: 20%
Percentage of titles receiving a grade of D+ or worse: 4%
Longest running series reviewed: Golgo 13
Highest volume reviewed: Kekkaishi, Vol. 10
Number of series set in feudal Japan: 2
Number of series set in Victorian England: 1
Number of series set in wish-granting emporiums: 1

REVIEWS BY PUBLISHER
Number of titles by Aurora Publishing: 1
BLU Manga: 1
CMX: 3
Dark Horse: 5
Del Rey: 4
DMP: 3
Drama Queen: 1
DRMaster: 1
Go! Comi: 2
NBM/Comics Lit: 1
NETCOMICS: 2
Seven Seas: 1
Tokyopop: 11
UDON Entertainment: 1
Vertical, Inc.: 3
Viz: 16

AURORA PUBLISHING
Walkin’ Butterfly, Vol. 1 (reviewed 9/2/07)

BLU MANGA
Fumi Yoshinaga’s Truly, Kindly (reviewed 8/19/07)

CMX
Emma, Vol. 5 (reviewed 9/16/07)
I Hate You More Than Anyone, Vol. 1 (reviewed 7/29/07)
Samurai Commando: Mission 1549, Vol. 1 (reviewed 7/16/07)

DARK HORSE
Chunchu: The Genocide Fiend, Vol. 1 (reviewed 8/6/07)
Gunsmith Cats: Revised Edition, Vol. 1 (reviewed 9/19/07)
Hanami: International Love Story, Vol. 1 (reviewed 7/8/07)
Hellsing, Vol. 8 (reviewed 7/16/07)
XS Hybrid, Vol. 1 (reviewed 7/8/07)

DEL REY
Alive: The Final Evolution, Vol. 1 (reviewed 7/20/07)
Le Chevalier d’Eon, Vol. 1 (reviewed 7/1/07)
Mushishi, Vol. 2 (reviewed 7/29/07)
Shiki Tsukai, Vol. 1 (reviewed 8/26/07)

DMP
Heroes Are Extinct!!, Vol. 1 (reviewed 8/19/07)
Only the Ring Finger Knows (reviewed 8/26/07)
Pop Japan Travel: Essential Otaku Guide (reviewed 8/12/07)

DRAMA QUEEN
Vision of the Other Side, Vol. 1 (reviewed 8/26/07)

DRMASTER
Puri Puri, Vol. 1 (reviewed 8/26/07)

GO! COMI
Her Majesty’s Dog, Vol. 7 (reviewed 9/16/07)
Kanna, Vol. 1 (reviewed 9/9/07)

NBM/COMICS LIT
Run, Bong-Gu, Run! (reviewed 7/8/07)

NETCOMICS
Narration of Love at 17, Vol. 4 (reviewed 9/9/07)
Pine Kiss, Vol. 5 (reviewed 8/19/07)

SEVEN SEAS
Hollow Fields, Vol. 1 (reviewed 7/12/07)

TOKYOPOP
Boys of Summer, Vol. 1 (reviewed 9/7/07)
Gothic Sports, Vol. 2 (reviewed 9/23/07)
I.N.V.U., Vol. 4 (reviewed 9/23/07)
Kat & Mouse, Vol. 3 (reviewed 9/30/07)
Me & My Brothers, Vol. 1 (reviewed 7/23/07)
ME2, Vol. 1 (reviewed 8/5/07)
Million Tears, Vol. 1 (reviewed 8/5/07)
Mitsukazu Mihara: The Embalmer, Vols. 1-4 (reviewed 9/18/07)
Peach Girl: Sae’s Story, Vols. 1-3 (reviewed 9/7/07)
Rising Stars of Manga, Vol. 7 (reviewed 8/7/07)
Undertown, Vol. 1 (reviewed 8/12/07)

UDON ENTERTAINMENT
Street Fighter Alpha, Vols. 1-2 (reviewed 9/14/07)

VERTICAL, INC.
Andromeda Stories, Vol. 1 (reviewed 9/30/07)
The Cute Book (reviewed 9/9/07)
To Terra, Vol. 3 (reviewed 7/16/07)

VIZ
Claymore, Vol. 2 (reviewed 8/26/07)
Crimson Hero, Vol. 6 (reviewed 7/23/07)
Fall in Love Like a Comic, Vol. 1 (reviewed 9/20/07)
Golgo 13, Vols. 1-6 (reviewed 9/5/07)
Kekkaishi, Vol. 10 (reviewed 7/29/07)
Kurohime, Vol. 1 (reviewed 8/20/07)
La Corda d’Oro, Vols. 1-4 (reviewed 8/23/07)
Love*Com, Vol. 2 (reviewed 8/26/07)
Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation, Vol. 1 (reviewed 9/30/07)
Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, Vol. 9 (reviewed 7/8/07)
Portus (reviewed 9/26/07)
Pretty Face, Vol. 1 (reviewed 7/23/07)
Tail of the Moon, Vol. 7 (reviewed 9/30/07)
Tekkon Kinkreet (reviewed 9/13/07)
Yume Kira Dream Shoppe (reviewed 8/26/07)

OTHER REVIEWS
Anime: Afro-Samurai: Director’s Cut (reviewed 7/8/07)
Anime: Bleach, Vol. 1 (reviewed 7/30/07)
Anime: MÄR (Märchen Awakens Romance): Gateway to MÄR, Vol. 1 (reviewed 6/22/07)
Anime: Mushi-Shi, Vol. 1 (reviewed 8/20/07)
Anime: Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow (reviewed 9/11/07)
Anime: Naruto OVA: The Lost Story (reviewed 7/16/07)
Anime: Samurai 7, Vol. 1 (reviewed 9/4/07)

Book: Brave Story (reviewed 9/9/07)
Book: Japanese School Girl Inferno (reviewed 8/7/07)
Book: Kamikaze Girls (reviewed 8/7/07)
Book: Only the Ring Finger Knows, Vol. 1 (reviewed 8/26/07)

Comics for Manga Lovers: The Red Star (reviewed 8/15/07)
Comics for Manga Lovers: Dr. Strange and Superman (reviewed 9/24/07)

Movie: Aachi and Ssispak (reviewed 8/19/07)
Movie: Hula Girls (reviewed 8/28/07)
Movie: Kamikaze Girls (reviewed 8/7/07)
Movie: Linda, Linda, Linda (reviewed 7/10/07)
Movie: Ping Pong (reviewed 8/28/07)
Movie: Taste of Tea (reviewed 7/10/07)

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 almost a dozen separate TV series and movies.

Superman: Doomsday, along with two other direct-to-DVD animated movies Timm and co. are currently working on (Justice League: New Frontier and Teen Titans: The Judas Contract), is not a part of that canon. Which, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. But, still, why do I feel like this movie could have been so much better had it been a sequel to Justice League Unlimited (which conveniently had a loose end concerning the character Doomsday), instead of a retelling of the classic Death and Return of Superman comic arc?

Synopsis
Clark Kent is off to Afghanistan as a war correspondent, as his alter-ego Superman continues a romantic relationship with longtime flame Lois Lane. Lois isn’t too happy about certain aspects of the relationship, though, including Superman’s reluctance to reveal his secret identity, an identity Lois hints at already knowing.

Meanwhile, billionaire mogul and supervillain Lex Luthor is at it again. This time, searching for a means to make even more money, presumably to continue the quest for more power and eventually kill his nemesis Superman, Lexcorp crews happen upon an ancient alien vessel. An ancient, and damaged, alien vessel, meant to forever imprison an otherworldly horror: Doomsday, a weapon that knows killing… and nothing else.

The fractured tomb can no longer hold Doomsday, who escapes and violently murders the Lexcorp workers as Lex, from the safety of his Metropolis office, watches. Before long, Doomsday makes his way to the surface, prompting a killing spree that leads all the way to Metropolis. Superman intervenes, but the monster is more than a match for the Man of Steel.

Superman fights what is likely his greatest foe, and seemingly dies in the process. But is he really dead? And what consequences will his return have on the world and the people closest to him?

Storytelling/Characters
Long story short: the plot is rushed and clumsy, but the characters themselves are done justice.

Short story long: checking in at a meager seventy-four minutes, what Superman: Doomsday really needed was more time.

The lead up to the Doomsday fight, along with the fight itself and its aftermath, was not given enough time to blossom. You don’t really get the sensation that Superman was hopelessly outmatched, nor do you really feel that the fight took so much out of him as to believe that he could have died. Without the Justice League’s presence, or any other superhero for that matter, I feel that the true weight of Superman’s battle with Doomsday and subsequent “death” wasn’t felt. Part of the reason Doomsday seemed so unbeatable in the original comic book storyline was because the guy pretty much ripped the Justice League a new one. Had one or more members of the JLA been present to fight Doomsday before Superman’s arrival, we would have seen, from the sheer ability to take out the league, just how formidable Doomsday truly is, and how Superman was easily outclassed. Maybe Justice League Unlimited spoiled me, but with Superman as the lone existing superhero, Superman: Doomsday just feels… empty.

With no other heroes present at Superman’s funeral, or even a few world leaders, for cripes sake, the whole affair was just so underwhelming. Yes, we all know that Superman isn’t really dead… but that’s not knowledge the people of the movie’s fictional world are privy to. They honestly believe that Superman has met his end. Shouldn’t we be feeling his death, no matter how untrue we know it to be, as more than simply a stepping stone to the second half of the movie?

It’s also possible that the movie’s erratic pacing, abrupt scene transitions, and unneeded plot elements added to my sense of frustration. Seriously, the show jumps from Lois to Superman to Jimmy to Luthor with all the subtle grace of a cartoon elephant running from a mouse. Some transitions are logical, but most are too sudden, breaking up the plot’s flow. Some plot elements, like Jimmy Olsen’s decision to leave the Daily Planet, are so wholly unnecessary that one wonders why they’re taking up valuable screen time needed elsewhere.

Despite the storyline’s rough edges, though, Superman: Doomsday has many high points, the most obvious being its characters. This is Superman you’re seeing: the sometimes insecure, simple-minded, petty man who will not allow evil to reign unchecked. From his arguments with Lois about the need to keep secrets, to his second wind when Doomsday is about to kill a little girl, there’s no mistaking that this character encompasses everything that Superman is all about. Lois Lane is as convincingly motivated and confident in the face of danger as she is heartbroken when Superman is in danger of dying. Lex Luthor’s rather disturbing way of mourning Superman’s apparent demise makes perfect sense given the kingpin’s very skewed set of ideals. Every character is presented very well.

Superman: Doomsday’s dialog is equally impressive. It’s smart, funny, and moving, the sort of mature, intelligently-written stuff that proves, yet again, that superhero stories are far from being kids’ stuff.

Animation/Visuals
Breathtakingly gorgeous, Superman: Doomsday is exceptionally well-animated. The fights between Superman and Doomsday, and later with the movie’s final antagonist, are extremely high quality skirmishes; you truly feel as if you’re watching massively powerful beings fighting to the death in the middle of a vast city. Superman and Lois’s intimate moments are visually convincing; words almost aren’t necessary to convey the emotion. The same can be said about anything Lex Luthor does, from calmly ordering the death of his own workers to his expression when he realizes that Doomsday has done, in a mere evening, what Lex has been unable to do for years.

One gripe: Superman’s face is drawn with about four lines too many. Cheekbone definitions? Stylistic facial structure? I don’t know, but I don’t care; his face just looks stupid with all those damn lines.

Voices/Music
Adam Baldwin is the perfect choice for a modern-day Man of Steel; his voice just drips the essence of Superman with every word. James Marsters’s youthful Lex Luthor will sound unusual to Justice League Unlimited fans, but fits the villain very well. Marsters captures every aspect of Luthor’s dark personality very well.

Overall, the voice work is superb, with one slight exception: Anne Heche as Lois Lane. Sometimes, she nails her lines perfectly, such as during Lois’s tearful breakdown in front of Martha Kent. For the most part, though, her attempts at sounding like a go-getter journalist come off as annoying.

The film’s orchestral score, including a new Superman theme, accompanies every scene perfectly. The movie’s as easy on your ears as it is on your eyes.

Overall
Superman: Doomsday is better than I expected it to be… but not as good as I hoped. However, though starved for time and guilty of clumsily handling its plot, Superman: Doomsday still manages to deliver an entertaining re-envisioning of a classic comic book storyline.

If Justice League: New Frontier exhibits the same downfalls, though, I won’t be quite as forgiving.

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 nor terrible. The Invincible Iron Man, however, was so horrible that I honestly wonder how it could have possibly been given the green light.

But I love superhero stories. Despite not being a comic collector, I love following and reading about superheroes, their past and present story arcs, and their rogue galleries. So despite the average-at-best showing of its three predecessors, I picked up Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme. Thankfully, it wasn’t “monstrously bad.” It settles with being “just okay” with the addition of “could’ve easily been much better.”

Synopsis
A brilliant neurosurgeon more concerned with making his employer money than actually saving lives, and haunted by both supernatural visions and the ghosts of his own past, Dr. Stephen Strange isn’t the jolliest of fellows. After being in a horrific car accident, one that mangles his hands to the point where he can barely operate a door handle, let alone perform surgery, Stephen loses everything searching for a cure.

Deprived of all hope, he is approached by Wong, a mythical man of the east, and told to head to Tibet. Strange takes on the exhaustive journey, and soon comes face to face with a world beyond what he thought possible, one of powers beyond human comprehension. Soon, he will have to unravel a mystery that threatens the Earth itself, and face both an encroaching evil and his own lingering guilt.

Storytelling/Characters
Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme differs from the comic book origins of its titular character somewhat

Comic Strange retained the use of his hands; he just couldn’t perform delicate surgery anymore. The movie’s Dr. Strange, however, has to contend with a far greater loss of function. Seeing the man trying so hard just to unlock his apartment door, and being forced to ask for help, is much more powerful than if he simply lost the ability to be a surgeon and nothing else.

In the comics, Dr. Strange sought out the Ancient One in Tibet for a cure, whereas the animated movie instead shows the Ancient One and his order seeking out Strange. This fits Stephen’s firm beliefs in science over superstition; every method he had pursued had been rooted in modern medicine in some way, and he had never gone as far as to pursue “magic” as a possible remedy.

Another new element that really works is Dr. Strange’s lament over being unable to save his sister, April. His inability to get over her death makes his curt demeanor and descent into despair all the more believable.

Despite these positives, Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme doesn’t remain consistently good throughout. For every moment that the story captures your interest, there is another moment where it utterly fails to. For every smart move the movie makes, it also makes at least one move in a direction that leaves you wondering why.

Take Mordo, for instance. His betrayal just happens out of nowhere. It felt like I was watching Revenge of the Sith all over again: here is this character that I know, based on established lore, is going to be a traitor… and yet, when it finally happens, it makes little sense given his actions prior. Mordo’s unmotivated betrayal could have been handled a lot better.

Actually, much of the film should have been handled a lot better. An hour and a half felt like too little time to finish the story, and while some details are nicely fleshed out, others, such as Strange’s training and his final battle with Dormammu, are unnecessarily rushed, almost as if the creators were bumping their heads on the roof of a budget. Speaking of which…

Animation/Visuals
The animation in The Sorcerer Supreme is a mixed bag at best. Some scenes, whether they be elaborate fights or moments of drama, are animated beautifully. But there are other scenes that look absolutely bargain-basement, the kind of stuff you’d find in bad Saturday morning cartoons or low-budget anime. When at its best, this is a very nice-looking animated film. When at its worst, it’s laughable.

Voices/Music
Fortunately, at least one area of The Sorcerer Supreme remains consistent throughout. Guy Michelmore, who scored the previous three Marvel Animated Features, returns with an orchestral soundtrack befitting the film’s moments of mayhem and melancholy. Though the tunes are your typical superhero fare, Michelmore’s score fits very well.

The voice acting is equally high quality, professional stuff, despite some of the dialogue not being particularly well-written.

Overall
Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme manages to entice and entertain, but it could have done so much more. As an alternate take on Dr. Strange’s origins, it does reasonably well; Dr. Strange fans won’t be disappointed, nor will anybody who enjoyed The Invincible Iron Man or either of the Ultimate Avengers movies. More discerning viewers, though, will find themselves thirsting for more.

As the New York Asian Film Festival draws to a close, Viz is releasing one of my favorite films that I saw in the festival two years ago: The Taste of Tea. In fact, several of the films I watched at NYAFF over the last few years have recently been acquired by Viz, much to my surprise and delight. I can imagine the Viz film scout attending the same festivals I did and picking out the same films I would pick.

You really can’t go wrong with Viz Picutes so far. All of their live action titles are solid entertainment. It’s almost as if Viz Pictures is your cool friend, out there attending festivals and recommending movies to you, except instead of loaning you R2 DVDs (or VCDs) they distribute R1 DVDs.

I hope they pick up Zebraman and Dasepo Naughty Girls next!

The Taste of Tea (NYAFF 2005)

Directed by Katsuhito Ishii
Viz Pictures, 143 minutes
No Rating

I haven’t seen a lot of magical realism films, so The Taste of Tea might be a first. Directed by Katsuhito Ishii, (best known for his animated sequence in Kill Bill), The Taste of Tea won the 2005 Subway Cinema audience award, as well as a truckload of awards at other festivals.

The film follows the members the eccentric Haruno family through a transition period in the lives of the characters.

Grandpa Haruno, as played by Tatsuya Gashuin, (Calcifer from Howl’s Moving Castle) is a retired animator with THE GREATEST OLD MAN HAIR IN CINEMA HISTORY. The mom, Yoshiko, is making a short animated film to get back into the anime industry now that her children are grown. The dad, Nobuo is a hypno-therapist. Hajime, the brother, is in junior high and has just fallen in love with the new transfer student Aoi (she’s also in Kamikaze Girls) whom he’s too paralyzed to speak with. Sachiko, the little sister, has the peculiar problem of seeing a giant version of herself following her around. She knows it’s in her imagination, but she can’t get the giant Sachiko to disappear. Uncle Ayano is a recording engineer who befriends an experimental dancer. The other uncle, Nobuo’s brother, is a manga artist who gets kneed in the groin by love (both physically and metaphorically).

The film is slow-paced and somewhat artsy-fartsy, but what it lacks in speed it makes up for in weirdness. For example, in one scene, a yakuza gets buried in mud past his head. He’s left to die, but Sachiko discovers this “mud man” and gets help from two stop-motion animators who happen to be working nearby.

When I think about CG or special effects in films, I usually think of action, sci-fi, or fantasy elements. The Taste of Tea cleverly uses CG to portray heartfelt moments of everyday life. Lovelorn Hajime imagines a train going straight through his head. Sachiko’s moment of triumph is a huge special effects shot that is pulled off so well that theater audiences actually applaud the scene spontaneously.

One of my friends who saw it with me at NYAFF said it best on her blog:

“As a bonus, this movie hits a whole bunch of dork buttons. Yoshiko makes anime, Nobuo’s brother is a manga artist, Hajime plays Go (look at it as equivalent to chess), the suburb has two hardcore otaku and Anno Hideaki from Gainax has a cameo role.”

The same friend shelled out $80 to get the special-edition DVD from Japan with the artwork the Grandfather in the story makes at the end of the film. Thanks to Viz, you won’t have to shell out $50 to import an R2 of this fine film–you can get it at a normal American price of $25, with a special edition DVD going for $35.

The Taste of Tea has been compared to Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander, and Linda Linda Linda (below) has been compared to films by Jim Jarmusch, but honestly these are films that high schoolers and adults unfamiliar with (or alienated by) Bergman or Jarmusch could enjoy. While I’m at it, I think Kamikaze Girls compares quite favorably to Raising Arizona, but you need not have seen the Coen brothers’ back catalog to “get” it.

The Taste of Tea is a surprise and a delight. It is highly recommended.

Linda Linda Linda (NYAFF 2005)

Directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita
Viz Pictures, 114 minutes
No Rating

The title of Linda Linda Linda will be lost on American audiences unfamiliar with the Japanese band The Blue Hearts. The Blue Hearts’ song titled Linda Linda Linda was a huge hit in Japan in the 1990’s and can be found in any Japanese language karaoke songbook, guaranteed.

Linda Linda Linda the film has a plot that covers three hectic days preceding a high school cultural festival. Regular anime watchers and manga readers will be familiar with the cultural festival customs, but if you’re looking for examples, there’s a plot-central festival in Kare Kano, Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer (directed by Oshii), and the more recent The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (episode 12).

Kei’s band was going to perform a song in the school gym for the festival, until the guitarist Moe sprained her wrist at the last possible minute. Kei (played by Yu Kashii) decides to play at the festival anyway, substituting Moe with whomever happens to walk across the school courtyard next. The unlucky passerby turns out to be the Korean exchange student Son (played by Bae Doo-Na), who doesn’t speak Japanese fluently enough to realize that she’s accidentally agreeing to sing for the band. Over the next few days the band practices like crazy, as Son learns to sing.

The film is shot in an almost-documentary style, with straight up, un-glamorous cinematography to bring home the realism of the moment. Even if you’ve never heard of a school festival, anyone can identify with this kind of stress over a big project. An older Japanese woman watching this in the audience behind us at the ImagineAsia theater kept saying “I feel so bad for them!” in Japanese. My boyfriend loved this film, but may never watch it again because it was “so stressful.”

The DVD features audio segments by Patrick Macias explaining the historical context of The Blue Hearts. You can’t “Play All” of these segments and are forced to select each one and play it individually, which I found annoying. The audio is not accompanied by photographs or any visual elements. Although the segments are informative, the presentation is lackluster.

Like most of the other Viz Films I’m listing here, Linda Linda Linda is freaking heartwarming, but not in some obnoxious saccharine way. Even though it’s about an all girl band (or perhaps, because it’s about an all-girl band), this is still a film guys can enjoy. I mean, I’m a jaded hipster and all, but this movie touched my heart. Watching Yu Kashii and Bae Doo-Na act is like falling in love.

Train Man

I reviewed this film after watching it at a press screening last year. It’s adequately cute and charming, and a fine introduction the Densha Otoko franchise if you haven’t read the novel, read the translation of the 2channel conversation, read any of the four manga series based on the story, or seen the TV series.

Word on the street (from other podcasters) is that the real gem of the Densha Otoko DVD is the commentary by Patrick Macias. Macias fills in viewers with everything they need to know about Akihabara culture. I haven’t heard it, but apparently it’s hilariously great.

Kamikaze Girls (NYAFF 2004)

I plan to review Kamikaze Girls in more detail when I write about the book and Patrick Macias’s School Girl Inferno, since all three are Goth-loli must-haves, and really fun reading for normal people, too.

Briefly, I had heard this film was really great but missed it at the ImaginAsia theater and picked up the DVD back in January. The DVD sat on my shelf for couple of months and when I finally watched it I kicked myself for not having watched it sooner. It’s fast-paced, hilarious, and I hate to used the word “quirky” so I’m just going to say “awesome” instead.

Ping Pong (NYAFF 2003)

Katherine mentioned Ping Pong on this website previously, but I haven’t watched it yet. I borrowed it from a friend (Adan), and if the Viz Pictures track record holds true, as soon as I watch it I will start kicking myself for not having seen it sooner.

System: Playstation 3
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Insomniac Games

Of all the launch titles available for the Playstation 3, Resistance: Fall of Man was one of the most anticipated. Insomniac Games, of Ratchet and Clank fame, thrusts gamers into an alternate past with the world on the brink of destruction. Resistance: Fall of Man does not really add anything new to the FPS arena but it serves as the best testament of what the PS3 has to offer to the gaming public.

Resistance: Fall of Man places you in an alternate past where World War II never took place. Instead, a race known as the Chimera invades Earth and quickly takes over Asia and a large portion of Europe. Enter Nathan Hale, an American soldier that has been mobilized with British troops to help defeat the encroaching menace. As the story progresses, things go from bad to worse but Nathan keeps on trucking to try and gain some ground in this endless war.

For the most part, Resistance: Fall of Man is a better than average shooter. If you have ever played an FPS on a console, you will be right at home with the controls and the atmosphere. Although very few things separate Resistance: Fall of Man from other shooters out there, it does however offer some pretty interesting weapons, loads of things to shoot at, and personality by the boatload. The game also happens to boast some of the best enemy AI that I have seen in awhile.

Clocking in at around 10 hours to finish, Resistance: Fall of Man has a decent length to it. With any normal shooter, it’s easy for things to get monotonous and boring. Thankfully from the unrelenting waves of Chimera to piloting different vehicles to the increasing difficulty, Resistance: Fall of Man displays the finely balanced pacing that Insomniac is known for. The fire fights will suck you in and keep you hooked.

The multiplayer portions of the game are also extremely well done. Many of the multiplayer maps are taken from different areas of the single player campaign. Depending on the map, battles can range from eight to forty players. Needless to say, 40 players running around blasting each other is always welcome in my book. There are six different multiplayer modes to play in, ranging from the traditional deathmatch to capture the flag. Though the Playstation Network is far from unified and in bad shape at the moment, Resistance: Fall of Man does provide you options of such as playing in ranked or unranked matches, clans and friends lists. Besides the online multiplayer, you also have the option of playing four player split screen in the various modes as well as being able to tackle the campaign with another person.

Being one of the showcase titles for the PS3, Resistance: Fall of Man boasts some pretty nice visuals. As a whole, it feels extremely polished. While Resistance: Fall of Man doesn’t leap out and smack you with the visuals, it merely does what it does extremely well and it happens to look very good. And as fate would have it, this game can not truly be enjoyed unless you have access to a HDTV.

For a launch title, Resistance: Fall of Man will be a welcome addition to any PS3 owners library. But on the other hand, if you have an Xbox 360 there is not much here that you haven’t seen already. As they say, “personality goes a long way,” and Resistance has that in spades. Insomniac Games has done what they do best and that is developing quality games that are fun as well as being easy on the eyes.

FEATURES – A

Brisco County was a short-lived, genre-spanning, half-hour show that aired Friday nights on Fox as the lead in to Fox’s other new show, the X-Files. Combining westerns, science fiction, slapstick comedy as well as romance, Brisco became an instant cult classic.

The show chronicles the adventures of Brisco County Jr. (Bruce Campbell), a former Harvard educated lawyer turned bounty hunter, tracking down the Bly gang who killed his father (R. Lee Emery). Along the way, Brisco teams up with a rival bounty hunter (Julius Carry), a Mae West-ish seductress (Kelly Rutherford) and crazy inventor (John Astin) to put the gang behind bars and finish his father’s work.

Complicating matters is the arrival of a mysterious object potentially from the future called The Orb. The orb grants its possessor enhanced strength and can heal others, and becomes sought after by the Bly gang. As both sides race to take possession of the orb, the fate of the world hands possibly hangs in the balance.

Brisco County Jr. holds a special place in the hearts of many DVD aficionados. In many ways, it was the unrealized dream; the box set that you always wanted, but never thought you’d see due to its cult classic roots. After numerous false starts, many fans began to lose hope that the project would see the light of day, and everyone could share in the genius of the series. At the very least, you could prove that the show DID exist, and you hadn’t imagined the whole thing.

For me, Brisco was a briliant experiment, like many of Fox’s other “failed” launches. From Firefly to Wonderfalls to Family Guy and every series in between, Fox pushed into new territory and Brisco was there at the start of it all. As mentioned elsewhere, Brisco had the distinguished honor of serving as the lead into Fox’s other fan favorite series, the X-Files.

Thematically, the two shared many similarities. From a charismatic cast to the quirky settings and plots, they explored new territory for Fox each week with their flair for the cinematic. Alas, the 8pm Friday slot has proven time and time again to be the death knell for television series, and Brisco was no exception.

Genre television always faces an uphill battle to begin with, so naturally Brisco faced twice as much opposition given the genre spanning nature of the show. Yet, even in the face of all this, Brisco managed to find a faithful, dedicated fanbase, much like the X-Files.

PRESENTATION – C

Now, onto the box set’s overall presentation.

The outer packaging consists of a cardboard gatefold layout that fits snugly into the Campbell laden slipcase. The images chosen give the box set a nice “western” feel, and great shelf presence when stacked amongst your other television collections.

8 discs total are held in sturdy, stackable hubs graced with a picture of one of the show’s main characters, from Brisco to Comet the horse. When the discs are removed, a larger image of the main cast is revealed from underneath. Each gatefold has its own full color photograph of the cast, and complements the outer packaging well.

Finally, the 30-page booklet fits nicely into its own pocket and doesn’t slip out keeping the liner notes crease free. Despite the thickness, the booklet doesn’t impede with how the gatefold collapses.

Now, onto the DVD menu layout. This is one of the places where I’m most disappointed. Each menu consists of the same static photograph, the same theme song, blah blah blah… In other words, there’s absolutely nothing to distinguish each disc from the others. Where are the animated menus and alternate music tracks? At the very least, I would have preferred to see some different photographs or a number indicating which disc was currently playing. Finally, while I loved the theme, the one-minute loop can get tiresome by the time you get to the seventh disc.

AUDIO / VIDEO – B

The only possible fault with this box set stems largely from the Dolby Stereo 2.0 audio track. With a show as epic as Brisco, it’s disappointing not to hear sound effects panning between speakers. To make matters worse, there’s a surprising lack of English subtitles that could have made it easier to understand some of the dialogue on screen.

Originally produced in 4:3, the transfer maintains the full frame aspect ratio (1:33:1). Through no fault of the transfer, the production values of the era show, despite the lack of scratches, dirt or specks. The color values for the most part are vibrant, and special effects, such as the orb stand out as intended. All in all, it’s an excellent transfer, despite the limitations placed on technology at the time the show was created.

EXTRAS – B

For those deciding whether or not this is worth a blind purchase, I have the following advice to offer:

If you’re a Bruce Campbell fan, you will absolutely love this box set. Much like BUBBA HO TEP, fans get Campbell acting in character on the extra “Brisco’s Book of Coming Things”. And as an extra bonus, it vaguely resembles Campbell’s narration in Evil Dead when describing the Book of the Death. Campbell’s charisma and humor shines through with each description of what he sees as the future, from cars to sushi.

Next up is “A Reading From the Book of Bruce”. Chances are, if you’re a big Campbell fan, you’ve already read IF CHINS COULD KILL or bought the audiobook, so, you might be a bit let down by the inclusion of this feature. At seven minutes, it’s amusing if you haven’t read the chapter, or heard Campbell narrate it. Only one commentary track to speak of on the entire set and that’s in the pilot. Fans looking forward to Campbell’s always informative and hilarious commentary tracks might be disappointed.

The extra that makes the set truly worth purchasing is the feature entitled “A Brisco County Writer’s Room” wherein the series creators provide a detailed retrospective autopsy on the series. Weighing in at 43 minutes, you get a thorough look at the minds that created the series and the difficulties in bringing their vision to the small screen.

What would I have liked to see more of? It would have to be additional commentary tracks, by far. More information about the orb and where they planned on go with future seasons. Amusing and informative anecdotes we’ve gone to expect from Campbell’s theatrical releases.

OVERALL – B+

For 13 years, Brisco has reigned as one of the most requested television box sets and with this release it comes as no surprise why that’s the case. The series has something for everyone and is very appropriate for all age groups. Its appeal stems largely from the chemistry among the cast and the show’s rich setting. Add in clever writing, and brilliant performances and you have a recipe for a successful series.

Had Brisco made its debut ten years later, I wouldn’t hesitate to say that it’d thrive in today’s television market. In many ways, the show should appeal to fans of shows like ABC’s LOST. With it’s overall story arc, unique characters, and constantly off beat and unique plot, it’s no wonder why many fans, including myself see Brisco as truly being ahead of it’s time.