Archive
DVD Review: Needless Part 1 Episodes 1-12
An anime series about a group of post-holocaust survivors with extraordinary powers!
It is the year 2130, 50 years after the catastrophic events of World War III. Where Tokyo once stood, there is now a nuclear contaminated hole full of rubble and destruction, known as ‘The Black Spot’. Now populated by refugees and outcasts, many of The Black Spot’s inhabitants have developed special powers ranging from telekinesis to super strength, speed and even transmutation. These powers are known as ‘fragments’ and the people who wield them known as the ‘Needless’. Read more…
DVD Review: Rosario & Vampire Capu2 Collection
Contains complete second series!
Due to his failing grades, Tsukune Aono has been unable to get accepted into any well thought of human high schools. Consequently, he has been enrolled at Youkai School, a private school for monsters and other supernatural beings. As the only human boy in the school, he has obviously aroused the interest of several monstrous young girls. Most notably he has taken interest in Moka Akashiya, a powerful vampire who has hidden her full supernatural power through the use of a magical rosary necklace, which only Tsukune seems to be able to Read more…
DVD Review: Crows Zero II – A Sequel By Takashi Miike
A very different beast from its predecessor!
Takashi Miike returns to the Suzuran High School for Boys for a second slice of all-action fighting in this sequel to his 2007 hit Crows Zero. Having fought their way to the top of the tree in the first film, Genji (Shun Oguri) and his GPS alliance struggle to hold the school together in the face of an all-out attack by the students of the Hosen Academy, the ‘Army of Killers’. There is a long-lived hatred between the two schools, but also an uneasy truce. However, in his desire to rule Suzuran completely, Genji mistakenly breaks the truce and has to prepare for all-out war between the two schools. Meanwhile, Read more…
DVD Review: Broken Blade Collection
Contains 6 feature length episodes!
Broken Blade sees us in the land of Krisna where the population is born with the ‘magic’ ability to manipulate quartz. Quartz is duly used in everything from vehicles to weapons. Krisna is on the brink of war with the Athens commonwealth and into this backdrop we have four old school friends all with their part to play, on both sides of the war.
The main characters are Rygart Arrow who was born without the ability to control Quartz, King Hodr and Queen Sigyn of Krisna and the Read more…
DVD Review: Kiddy Grade – The Complete Series Collection
A surprisingly rich and intriguing series with a cast of interesting characters!
Based on the Tomohiko Aoki light novel of the same name, Kiddy Grade originally ran between 2002 and 2003. Previous reviews of this series have been mixed, often due to reviewers only critiquing early episodes rather than the series as a whole. Though the narrative of the entire series is a slow burn, it rewards patience.
The twenty four episode series is based in a scientifically advanced future in which the human race has expanded and colonised a Read more…
DVD Review: Crows Zero – A Film By Takashi Miike
The J-Rock soundtrack is as hard-hitting as the fight scenes!
Based on the bestselling manga by Hiroshi Takahashi (screenwriter of the original Japanese Ring movies), Crows Zero, directed by Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi the Killer), became a box office hit in Japan and spawned an equally successful sequel.
The notorious Suzuran Senior High School for Boys is Japan’s lowest achieving and most violent school, nicknamed “The School of Crows” after its students’ tendency to band together in Read more…
DVD Review: Samurai Warrior – A Film By Kenichiro Nishiumi
A coming-of-age story about a boys journey into manhood!
Learning his trade from Takashi Mike as assistant director, Kenichiro Nishiumi directs this 65 minute martial arts action saga about brotherhood, masculinity and self-discovery during Japan’s Warring States Period.
Three young men, Ryu, Yonesuke and Gon, known collectively as ‘The Devils’, set out to have feudal battles with other like-minded gangs from surrounding villages to see who is the toughest. This they do to create a fearsome reputation for pride and honour, and to win the Read more…
