Anime Review Roundup
I've Got Some Good Twit For You, And I've Got Some Bad Twit…
You can't keep Manga away from their Twitter account, which means that I have some one-line news items to share…
1) Manga will release Eden of the East.
2) Manga will release Evangelion 2.0, or 2.22 as the case may be.
3) Manga have put back the release of Summer Wars to February 2011, due to delays in the dubbing process.
Eden of the East is an awesome series, the most recent offering from Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex's Kenji Kamiyama, which comprises a series, a compilation movie of that series, as well as two separate feature films. I've seen the series, and in my opinion, it's the best anime in years. Funimation have the rights to it in the US, but one tweet is just rumour. I'm sure there will be more come the MCM Expo.
Even more tenuous is the Evangelion 2.0 announcement, as no one has announced it in the US, and the DVD/Blu-Ray is only now being released in Japan. But perhaps it's not that tenuous, given Manga's standing in the UK in terms of anime, Evangelion's status as an anime classic, and the sheer inevitability that after releasing the first film, you'd expect both Funimation and Manga to pick up the second feature as well. A little alacrity would be nice though.
As for the Summer Wars development, since Manga aren't dubbing it themselves, they are at the mercy of Bandai's schedule in the US, and all I can say to that is a Dick Dastardly-esque, 'Drat, Drat, and Double-Drat!'
This week we have one anime, one not, and one in-between and the eclectic mix begins with my final visit to the world of Utawarerumono. It had to come to an end eventually, and with the way that the story was veering into ever wilder and woollier territories, it probably didn't come a moment too soon, lest the writers resort to psychotropic substance abuse to further stimulate their overworked imaginations. Any simple description of what happens in Utawarerumono: Volume 6 is going to beggar belief. The more important question is whether it works in the context of the show. Click on my review to find out, and let us all give thanks that I probably never have to spell Utawarerumono again.
The in-between is Astro Boy. You may be surprised, as Astro Boy is the quintessential anime, indeed an Osamu Tezuka creation, it's actually the first anime, the one that crossed over, became a global phenomenon. You can't get much more anime than this. Except this Astro Boy isn't a Japanese production at all. This is Hollywood buying the rights, and Imagi Studios creating a 3D feature film that conforms to the usual 3D CGI family movie tropes of a story supported by quick-fire gags and pop culture references, or is it? This version of Astro Boy may just hold truer to the Tezuka original than you might think. Click the link to see if this movie turns out to be more Toy Story than Valiant. You remember Valiant, don't you…? My point exactly.
And while I was puttering about with anime as usual, David Beckett turned to something a little closer to home, with his review of the Ralph Bakshi movie, Wizards. Ralph Bakshi is an animator who has always explored the edges of the medium, with movies like Fritz the Cat, and the abortive attempt to bring The Lord of The Rings to the screen. Wizards is a little more family oriented, and you can see what David made of the Blu-ray by clicking the link.
You can't keep Manga away from their Twitter account, which means that I have some one-line news items to share…
1) Manga will release Eden of the East.
2) Manga will release Evangelion 2.0, or 2.22 as the case may be.
3) Manga have put back the release of Summer Wars to February 2011, due to delays in the dubbing process.
Eden of the East is an awesome series, the most recent offering from Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex's Kenji Kamiyama, which comprises a series, a compilation movie of that series, as well as two separate feature films. I've seen the series, and in my opinion, it's the best anime in years. Funimation have the rights to it in the US, but one tweet is just rumour. I'm sure there will be more come the MCM Expo.
Even more tenuous is the Evangelion 2.0 announcement, as no one has announced it in the US, and the DVD/Blu-Ray is only now being released in Japan. But perhaps it's not that tenuous, given Manga's standing in the UK in terms of anime, Evangelion's status as an anime classic, and the sheer inevitability that after releasing the first film, you'd expect both Funimation and Manga to pick up the second feature as well. A little alacrity would be nice though.
As for the Summer Wars development, since Manga aren't dubbing it themselves, they are at the mercy of Bandai's schedule in the US, and all I can say to that is a Dick Dastardly-esque, 'Drat, Drat, and Double-Drat!'
Eureka Entertainment bring Wizards to the UK today. For Astro Boy, you'll have to look to E1 Entertainment, and wait until the 31st of May. Utawarerumono: Volume 6 was released by ADV in the US in 2007, and not long after in the UK.
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