Texhnolyze
- Volume 1 - Inhumane & Beautiful
You are looking at the future
of anime. A gritty, futuristic dystopia on
the level only previously imagined
in the novels of William
Gibson, this series is a shocker in its brutality and ground-breaking creativity.
Bringing together the talents of Yoshitoshi
ABe, Yasuyuki Ueda and Chiaki Konaka,
this cyberpunk tour-de-force
is a must-have, and will certainly influence
filmmaking on both
sides of the planet.
The blending of animation techniques is particularly impressive and we appreciate
the effort that went into the design of this series. Every dollar spent is on
the screen. Take notice and don't blink, it's a lesson on how to do this genre
correctly with every frame. Not since Ghost
in the Shell has something this impressive exited the studios of Japan. The
kick-ass techno soundtrack makes
us want to buy the BGM when it's available!
Cyborg
009 Complete and Uncut
WooHoo! One of the greatest kick-ass series of all time, and one of the most
durable franchises in anime, ever, comes to DVD courtesy of Sony/Tristar. For
us 'old skool' anime fanatics, Cyborg is simply "da-bomb" because,
aside from Captain
Harlock, this was pretty much the first "hardcore" anime we were
exposed to. This is the third TV incarnation based on Shotaro Ishinomori's trend-setting 1964
manga, and the animation is slick-looking and fluid (although the original
had a lot of character!)
As they battle, we learn about each character's past and how each suffers to
find his or her own humanity, while trapped inside a cyborg body. Take up this
series and discover this ancestor to everything you know about anime today. There's
so much buried in the story, it's little wonder that so much evolved
from it.
Black
Jack – Seizure
Straight out of the brilliantly influential and most-loved
manga from the universe of Manganokamisama - the legendary Dr.
Osamu Tezuka! A brilliant renegade surgeon known only as Black Jack operates
outside the law, performing medical miracles and often setting things right in
a world where the divide between the "haves" and "have-nots" is
too great.
This celebrated anti-hero, who made facial
scars cool, has a series of DVDs out by Central
Park Media - SEIZURE, INFECTION,
and .... Watch them in any order as many of the episodes are self-contained stories
and very little background
info is needed to figure out what's going on.
Arcade
Gamer Fubuki
And now for something completely different. From the screenwriter
of Cowboy
Bebop and Escaflowne:
The Movie and the animation director of RahXephon comes
this little bit of weirdness. Fubuki is a girl whose only goal in life is to
be the best at arcade games. In normal life, she's a total spaz, but when
it comes to arcades, Fubuki's a whiz with special super-powers. When an
evil organization steals her special abilities, she and her friends must battle
the wackiest bunch of video game villains in order to halt a conspiracy for world
domination!
It's light and fun faire for everyone. Not unlike Animation
Runner Kuromi, this DVD has appeal just from being fresh and inventive and
not depending on a long, drawn out storyline. Everything you need to know is
laid out in the first few minutes and the rest of the film is watching the fun
unfold.
Jem
-
The Complete 1st & 2nd Seasons
It's not just a TV show, it's a lifestyle! The truly outrageous adventures of
the mysterious pop-star brings us back to the glory days of the 80's, when style
was everything and substance was a far second-place. The very crude-looking first
season is upstaged by the much slicker second season (when the show moved from
a 10-minute format to a full half-hour), but all the songs are still awesome.
The DVD has a wonderful feature allowing to you to just play all the song segments,
and yes, we definitely prefer the Misfits (their music is much more edgy), and
while Jerrica/Jem always took the spotlight, Kimber was much cuter! Either way,
this multi-disk set containing seasons 1 & 2 is an absolute "must-have" for
those of us who know that Music is Magic. Rhino has done an excellent job with
this package. It's showtime Synergy!
Transformers
for Playstation2
You will believe Transformers are REAL when you look at this
game. The graphics are so AWESOME that you'll want to have
someone else play just so you can concentrate
on just looking at the screen! Like the best-seller HALO,
this game has wide-open levels where you can essentially do anything. It's a
live-action looking cartoon where you're in complete control of what happens
on screen. Make your own episodes of transformers by connecting a VCR and dubbing
in some dialog!
With astoundingly open-ended gameplay and intuitive control, the game is way
more fun that you'd expect. Blow stuff up and transform into your vehicle and
run 'em over for good measure. It's like having the best elements of Halo, Gundam and Grand
Theft Auto all in one.
Tezuka
School of Animation Vol 1
If you are going to buy a book on how to do animation, why not get one from the
man who practically invented anime, Osamu Tezuka! Dr.
T's series
of books use familiar characters such as Astroboy to
guide you, step-by-step through the process of how things move and how to accurately
represent that in animation drawings.
Much like the old
large-formatPreston
Blair books of the heyday, these are books you'll referr to again and again
as the basic techniques shown here apply to all types of animation, not just "anime".
Make these a part of your bookshelf.
You
Are Here
Statement of bias: We think Kyle
Baker is the one of the top talents in the world, his humor is cutting-edge,
his art is brilliant, and his writing is concise, clear and very, very ironic.
All that said, 'You Are Here' is even more fan-tab-ulous than even we were expecting.
Only a very twisted mind could conjure up such a cynical and convoluted plot
for an imaginary movie that's fresher and more thrilling than anything Hollywood's
done in decades.
The Japanese should take note. Only Satoshi
Kon is doing adult-level dramas that don't have to have an annoying toy tie-in
or involve Giant Robots or Psyonics in some way. Something on the level of 'You
Are Here' actually produced as a film would be a welcome change.
How
to Draw Manga: Costume Encyclopedia
Although it is part of the "How
to Draw Manga" series
of books, this is no regular 'how to' book. Instead it is an encylopedic
reference guide to hundreds of different fashions and pieces of clothing as seen
in manga and anime. Anyone who draws should have this book. Within it's packed
pages are all the little details that will help make your art more accurate and
alive. Every sleeve, skirt, coat, workboot and high-heel pump is cataloged, diagrammed
and described for easy reference.
Aspiring manga artists, animators, fashion students, illustrators, and casual
doodlers alike will all benefit from the plethora of material found in this amazing
and diverse reference resource.
Big
O: Sound Score II for Second Season
We had already reviewed the first
season,
and its soundtrack,
but when Cartoon Network co-produced an entirely new
season
of Big O, out come some more stunning music. This collection includes some
re-ochestrated favorites from the first season as well as the new music from
Season 2, PLUS, welcome bits that were heard in episodes from both, but never
made it to the first album.
Basically, it's great stuff overall. Gothic, jazzy, fun and somber, it's the
music that really makes Big O the show that it is (that is, apart from a killer
storyline, amazing art direction, and of course, everyone's favorite sardonic
android...) Big O rulez.
The Attack of the Giant Red Octopus
Very cute online anime styled animation! Warning: "slightly adult" material
- nothing that you wouldn't see in an R rated movie but I thought we would mention
it...