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Giant Robo : Day the Earth Stood Still Box Set
It is a new dawn for mankind. The Shizuma Drive has brought clean, limitless energy and launched humanity into an age of prosperity. But even in paradise, there lurk the shadows of envy and greed. The world is protected by the Experts of Justice, a team of operatives assembled from around the globe to stop the ultimate disaster of the Eternal Night. The key to everything however, is a boy named Daisaku Kusama, and the great machine he commands...
Yahoo!!! One of our favorite anime flicks finally gets the treatment it deserves by making it to DVD. Giant Robo will simply blow your mind. It's like old-style anime with a big budget, and was the first of the "retro-look" animes to inspire such awesome creations as Big O. Excellent in every way, this series is not to be missed -- especially not fan-favorite super-hottie Ginrei!
Stellvia - Foundation I (Vol. 1) + Series Box
Tatsuo Sato (Nadesico, Ninja Scroll) took a manga by Ryo Askizuki and created what looks like Harry Potter as written by Starship Troopers author Robert Heinlein. You might say Lord Voldemort is a star called Hydrus Beta. It went supernova 20 light years away but its wake still managed to pulverize the Earth. The survivors pieced the world back together, and prepared for another wake that will finish us off for sure.
The year is 2356, 189 years after the first wake. We follow fifteen-year-old Shima Katase to a cosmic Hogwarts, the orbiting academy, Stellvia. She and her fellow cadets are in for some intensive training and some great adventures in a series that sports terrific character designs (Makoto Uno, best known for Love Hina and Gravion) and fun CGI. Check it out!
Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers - Tortuna
Statement of Bias: We absolutely adore this amazing, ahead-of-its-time series. It was the highlight of 80's television, featuring tight characterizations, wonderful voice-talent, a heavy-metal-stylized soundtrack, a plethora of interesting subplots that ran throughout the 65-episode run, and some of the best animation TMS could crank out.
 Some of the episodes (particularly ones involving Gooseman tracking down his Supertrooper "buddies", or Zachary Fox trying to get his wife back from the clutches of the Queen of the Crown) are jaw-dropping in the complexity of story and the kick-ass action. Stylistically, it paved the way for anime masterpieces such as Cowboy Bebop.
This remastered release is just what we've been waiting for. With digitally restored episodes and 5.1 sound, the show has never looked or sounded better. It's a real treat for longtime fans, and will no doubt garner new fans as well! Throw away your old 6-hr speed VHS tapes and pick up these bright, sharp DVDs!
Lunar Legend Tsukihime - Life Threads (Vol. 1)
Expect a complex plot, imperfect, multi-layered characters, and a surprise or two when you pick up this gothic-romance, vampire-killer drama. If you liked Witch Hunter Robin, you'll find this series to be the best horror series so far.
 Shiki Tohno, the hero of the story, has the ability to see the "life threads" that bind everything and everyone together. Cutting those threads will kill or destroy. He must wear special glasses to avoid being able to kill with a glance. Yet, the threads that bind him will take a turn as he meets up with a vampire and she insists he join her quest to destroy the Apostles. Although the series seems slow at points, it includes some amazingly violent sequences, and is rated for 16 or up.
Returner (2002)
In yet another victory of style over substance comes this wonderfully derivative live-action anime film. Combining elements of The Matrix, E.T., The Terminator, and Independence Day, plus a dash of Back to the Future, director Takashi Yamazaki throws it all into a blender and hits frappe!
 Returner is every sci-fi movie you've ever seen, plus a few more, and yet, it's vastly entertaining, and in an odd way, fresh. Miyimoto, played by the stunning Takeshi Kaneshiro, is really a live action anime character – perfect good-looks, a tough, brooding attitude hiding a sweet heart, brightly colored hair streaks, and volatile temper. Not for kids (due to excessive violence), but definitely cool.
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Kirby and The Amazing Mirror
Whether you're 9 or 99, there's something oddly comforting about a character that consists of little more than a ball with some eyes drawn on it. However, giving that "smiley" amazing superpowers is what makes a fun game, and in this latest installment of "Kirby", a shattered mirror splits our hero into 4 differently colored Kirbys, who can be called up (via cell phone) to help out when needed. The player will have to retrieve the mirror shards to put everything right again.
Considering this is a hand-held game, the number of options are astounding. Single player or link with 1 to 3 other friends, also there are lightning-fast sub-games within the overall plot of the game. Kirby gets to make use of attacks from Super Smash Brothers, as well as his usual "inhale" to absorb other character's abilities. Keeping the cell phone charged is also part of the fun. Rated E for Everyone, so kids can enjoy this game as much as adults.
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Negima:
Magister Negi Magi, Vol. 1
It's Harry Potter meets Love Hina when a 10-year-old wizard in training who goes off to do his work experience teaching English in an all-girls school.
Unfortunately, the girls he has to teach are older and more physically developed than he is, which brings out his allergy to uncomfortable situations – a magical sneeze capable of blowing the outer garments off any female in his path!
Particularly striking about this manga is Ken Akamatsu's ability to create a class of 31 girls and have them all with different looks and personalities. The art undoubtedly helps - although there's a simplistic style to his work, he's managed to keep his class of girls looking individual, with differing heights and haircuts. If you enjoyed Love Hina, you'll adore this manga series!
Understanding Comics
Scott McCloud takes on the genre as only Joseph Campbell could have done. Within this informative, eye-opening investigation he disassembles what makes the comic book what it is and why it works as a medium. In so doing, he's also created one of the most important reference works of our era.
 If you have even a passing interest in comics you must read this book.McCloud, using a comic-book format within the book itself, picks apart the visual language of storytelling – concepts that make this a valuable work for multimedia artists and film-makers alike. You'll understand after this read just *why* anime has such dramatic impact.
Kizuna: Bounds of Love
Ranmaru just might be the prettiest kendo master of all time. His affairs with the bookish, rugged Kei are confusing, but oh so loving. Their relationship would have been ideal if it wasn't for organized crime. Kai, the son of a Yakuza boss, is also in love with Kei. Did he have something to do with the car crash? Kei survived the accident, but can never compete in kendo tournaments again.
The stage is set for one of the most popular Yaoi manga on the market. Kazuma Kodaka's Kizuna: Bounds of Love is a stylized, graphic exploration into the Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name. Not for the squeamish or anyone under eighteen years of age.
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Mishima:
A Life In Four Chapters
Regardless of what you think of Paul Schrader's 1985 film of the life of Japan's celebrated twentieth-century author Yukio Mishima, there is no denying that the Philp Glass score composed for this work is perhaps the best work of his career. It literally steals the show and yet also grounds the movie.
Utilizing a string quartet and abandoning his synth, the result is warmer, richer music, but still with the trademark minimalist Glass sound that is essentially 4 notes over and over. The title track is earth-shattering, hypnotic and haunting, something you'll hear in your head forever.
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