Anime Review Roundup
One Final Hurdle for Gurren Lagann
It’s been a long and rocky road to get the Blu-ray of Gurren Lagann out in the UK, and it seems that every single delay for approval (you have to have the Japanese licensor’s approval for everything you distribute, from the packaging to the content), has only served to heighten anticipation, especially for the forthcoming Ultimate Edition of Gurren Lagann. But just when you think you have your ducks lined up in a row, a whole other flock descends. For Anime Limited, a.k.a. All the Anime, that flock turned out to be an overworked printer, which means that the Ultimate Edition of Gurren Lagann has been pushed back one more (hopefully final) time to October 20th.
Look forward to a review on this site in the upcoming weeks.
My first review last week was for Psycho-Pass Complete Series. I love this idea of releasing shows in complete season sets, although it might not be as easy-going on the wallet. Psycho-Pass is a show that works best as a whole though, a thought provoking cyberpunk sci-fi show that is wonderfully inspired by the works of Philip K. Dick. In this future world, people are categorised by psychological scan, a technological means to weigh whether someone is prone to criminal acts, and pre-emptive therapy or segregation can be applied, or in extreme cases, pre-emptive execution. But what happens when a criminal can beat the scans? Epic world building and high production values make this show a must watch.
Then it was the turn of Arcana Famiglia Collection. This is a little more conventional an anime, a story with a reverse harem set-up, a young girl surrounded by a group of elegant men, and in particular torn between two. Its selling point is that this particular group is the mafia, although it’s the nice cuddly mafia, and they protect their little Mediterranean Island by means of special powers derived from contracts with tarot cards. Life for this particular girl gets complicated when her father (the boss) offers her hand in marriage to whoever can win a tournament of special powers.
I then took a look at the One Piece Movie Collection 2. We get three more movies in the One Piece universe, three more spin-off stories for the big screen, which sees Luffy and his friends get into all kind of Devil Fruit powered hi-jinks. You’ll be entertained by a grand pirate race, and thrilled by a cursed sword, but the selling point in this collection is Movie 6, which was directed by Mamoru Hosoda, who subsequently went on to direct The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, and Wolf Children. Read the review to see what makes this particular movie so special.
Finally, David Simpson reviewed the controversial final film (for now) from acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki, made just prior to his retirement from feature film directing at Studio Ghibli. It’s a film that was a labour of love for him, a film that encapsulates and tries to sum up a career in animation. And it’s a film about the creation of the Zero fighter plane. That’s still a sensitive topic some seventy years after the end of the Second World War. Click on David’s review to see if The Wind Rises is a suitable final testament from the man who’s come to be known as the Japanese Disney.
Manga Entertainment released Psycho-Pass Complete Series on DVD and on Blu-ray on the 1st of September, while One Piece Movie Collection 2 came out on DVD last Monday. MVM released Arcana Famiglia on DVD last Monday as well, and Studiocanal release The Wind Rises on Blu-ray DVD combo, and DVD on the 29th of September.
It’s been a long and rocky road to get the Blu-ray of Gurren Lagann out in the UK, and it seems that every single delay for approval (you have to have the Japanese licensor’s approval for everything you distribute, from the packaging to the content), has only served to heighten anticipation, especially for the forthcoming Ultimate Edition of Gurren Lagann. But just when you think you have your ducks lined up in a row, a whole other flock descends. For Anime Limited, a.k.a. All the Anime, that flock turned out to be an overworked printer, which means that the Ultimate Edition of Gurren Lagann has been pushed back one more (hopefully final) time to October 20th.
Look forward to a review on this site in the upcoming weeks.
Manga Entertainment released Psycho-Pass Complete Series on DVD and on Blu-ray on the 1st of September, while One Piece Movie Collection 2 came out on DVD last Monday. MVM released Arcana Famiglia on DVD last Monday as well, and Studiocanal release The Wind Rises on Blu-ray DVD combo, and DVD on the 29th of September.
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