Sentai Film Works the company\publisher of such titles as NeedLess and Demon King Daimao and Angel Beats has yet another release in the Harem comedy\action category, Samurai Girls. This release is a complete show so you get all 15 episode in crystal clear 1080P and uncensored. Yep the fog of war has been lifted to bare all, for better or worse in some cases.

So what does this show bring to the table, well it has plenty of fan service, a crazy story, and some interesting twists. I would say this show combines many little attributes from other genres, such as magical transformation, harem, super important dude, and historical figures. This is no history lesson but it’s set back in the Sengoku time period and the main characters are named after well known samurai.
So how good is the show itself and is the blu-ray any good? Well I’d say the show is not for everybody, and for those interested its good but far from great. Some things about this show don’t make sense, and with all the fan service shows out there it’s a middle of the road show with benefits. The blu-ray image quality is great, the Dub is bad really bad, and the sub quality is okay overall. The extras and art included with the blu-ray are nice but not a huge sales point.

Overall I’d say it’s a buy if you like this sort of show,I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I’d If you enjoyed Demon King Daimao, or Needless you will like this show.

Check out the Opening

Dark Saber

Manufacture: Good Smile Company
Scale: 1/7th
Run: First production run
Cost: $140-200
Character: Saber (Dark Form)
Show: Fate Stay\\Night
Sculpted by: Hiroshi Sakurazensen

This week we take a walk on the Dark side, the Dark side of Saber of the Fate Stay\\Night series. This figure is impressive and if I’m honest a bit frightening. When I went to shoot the photos for this article I shot with an extra light source initially, but after reviewing the first set I decided to do another shoot this time in the dark with a controlled light source and various bounce flash sources. But enough about me and my camera let’s talk about this Figure.

I would run faster Miku!

This Saber loves the shadows, her expression screams “I’m going to kill you!” in a delicate way and her stance with her sword ready to strike generate a great and terrifying aura. Blood rising out of the base like geysers, swelling upward in a violent gruesome gurgle. Her anger and power are on full display.

This figure has amazing detail, the armor and weapons are top notch and the dress is spot on. The face and neck are done well and the hair is accurate. The base is gory and made of a thick plastic, it works ok, but it’s a bit flimsy when she is equipped with here large sword. Bringing me to my next point and that is this figure comes with two swords and a mask for Saber’s face. These extra parts are a nice offering and help this figure fit into most people’s display cases, that said She fits inside My Cases with her large sword just fine.

Darkness Consumes Your Soul

Both the Dark Excalibur and its attacking form are exceptionally cool and accurate to drawings. The Attack version is slightly transparent; we took a shot to demonstrate what it looks like lit up. And last but not least the Mask, I did not shoot any photos with the mask on (ya sorry bout that folks) But take it from me it looks neat, and its high quality and a major pain to attach, I almost broke the figure swapping it out, though this might just be my figure but the hair paint is so-so and might be causing the issue almost like they put on the plain face version while the paint was still drying. Not as big of a deal as I’m making it but an annoyance none the less.

Pros and Cons

Blood Armor

Cons:  The few flaws I found were in the paint, a few spotty areas and the hair has some minor speckle issues almost like it was prepped incorrectly or some dust or dirt got onto the drying hair which led to some sticky face issues. The Cost could be a little high for some and the Base could use some work.

Pros: The figure is visceral, dark and full of motion. The armor is sharp and the weapons are sick. The base is very cool looking despite it being a little on the Con side. I really like the face and details, Good Smile has done a great job capturing this character.

Overall: The minor flaws aside it’s a very nice overall piece and I can easily recommend it to fans of the series. And it’s a must have if you are collecting the series which has been overall one of the best figure lines I’ve ever seen. This one is a Buy!

Get out there and Go Figure!

Character: Fate -T – Harlaown – Shin sonic Form
Show: Nanoha Strikers
Sculped by: Tsumezuka Hiroyuki

This figure is huge for a 1/7th scale. You can use her swords to slice pizza and serve it. She is so big because of her hair and weapons that she won’t fit in my display cases. If you are thinking about buying this figure make sure you have a nice and wide place to display her in both of her forms.

As far as quality goes I would say that this figure is worth the price, it is well constructed, well thought out, and painted nicely. I wish the weapons had a bit more color but it’s hard to achieve the effect without some transparency. A solid base, yet another great feature, the use of metal and high quality plastics for bases and supports.

Again overall this figure is a must buy for fans of the Nanoha series.

Note: By clicking more, you may be exposing yourself to spoilers and ranting.

I’m not even really sure where to start with this one. Our protagonist shares the name ‘Saya’ like in the other two Blood titles and when they say she is clumsy.. they really mean it. She falls over twice within the first two minutes after the opening and its like the watcher they are constantly reminding us of it. There were also a few scenes that lasted an uncomfortably long amount of time — the type that are just a few seconds longer than they really should be to fill time. One scene in the second part actually felt as if time were frozen because of this. To make things worse, not much of anything is explained.. things just happen and you kind of have to just take them as they are. I found myself with more questions then answers and sour taste of FFXIV in my mouth as I continued to watch.

Saya had a basic introduction, happy-go-lucky and clumsy (get used to it) but nothing is really known about the neighbor she has breakfast with or her friends at school. At one point the teacher actually cracks a joke while taking attendance to remind us that Saya is always late because of her kindness. Later on in the episode after school lets out, our protagonist heads home to make a ceremony that seemed to just appear out of mid air and all while she is walking home there isn’t a single living thing on screen besides her and a dog. When she pokes at the dog or even speaks to her father later on the reactions seem a bit ‘hard’. When the actual fighting begins there is next to zero explanation about that as well other than its her ‘duty’ and that she must slay it. It wasn’t till after the show and I began digging a little so I could write the description that I even have a hunch on the statue is.

Overall I think this series has potential, its really too early to base what the whole series will be like based on this one episode. The art style is nice even though shortcuts were taken — the fight scenes are fluid and well put together and probably one of the major redeeming qualities that this show has so far.

Those that gave this a watch, what are your impressions of things so far?

P.S. Don’t mind the above picture.

This Movie is animated by Mad house the same Mad house that did the series and I must say it took a long time to get the job done but it is done very well. If you recall several years ago say around 2005, the studio head was talking about the Trigun movie and in 2010 there have been several anime convention screenings on the West coast of the United States, Anime Expo being the first. This is where we the North Americans of Anime root first saw this film. Oddly I have been waiting for the North American release an entire year, so I settled on an imported Blu-ray. Funimation has held the rights to release the film, rumor has it that they are still Dubbing it and prepping the film for an actual movie theater release. Whats the hold up Funimation? Regardless I don’t want them to rush it, but there better be a North American Blu-Ray or I will be very disinterested in Funimations practices once more.

Ok with that introduction over I will keep this review Brief and simple. I will not be talking about the plot or doing the fan boy thing or rambling on and on.

Plot: Solid, set somewhere in the middle of the series, with several known characters making appearances. The story within is entertaining, even if you have never watched the series the movie still delivers a grand adventure

Animation: Top shelf, it took 5 years to create and is presented in High definition. Vash is looking great, amazing use of colors, darks, and lighting

Audio: I can’t say much about the english audio but the Japanese voice talent was spot on, and the music and sound effects are very polished

Overall: If this movie makes its way to the box office I would gladly pony up the cash to go see it, and will definitely be buying the North American release whenever it drops in the distant future. Better be on Blu-Ray or I’m not buying it.

Film Poster

The story of the movie takes place several years before the events of the game. Yuri Lowel is a new recruit the knights, and is put under the command of a very interesting captain. Alongside Yuri is his child hood friend Flent, and they still don’t get along together but can agree with one thing ” justice” but how you execute it that’s another story. The two main characters and the supporting cast are sent to a town to protect the villagers from the creatures coming from the forest which have been getting stronger by the day. More time passes and some events cause a few twists to happen, and more people die. Something must be done to save the villagers and the forest from total destruction. Can Yuri and the Knights stop the source of evil, or is something bigger hiding in the shadows?

Visually stunning, the quality of the animation is great, the colors, texture and frame rate all very smooth and crisp. With many Games that became anime the art style is lost with Tales of Vesperia the game and the movie line up perfectly, and the artists that worked on the game were major players in the movies creation. The same visual team at Bandai Japan, has done well with this franchise, for those who have not played the game its like playing an anime RPG that looks and feels like anime. Bandai did throw in a few shots taken striaght from the game, and used the map on a few occasions.

Game Screen Cap "not the movie"

The characters are just like the ones found in the game, Though the movie takes place several years before the game many of the supporting cast make cameos during the films duration. Some new characters are in the mix and the cast is solid. You will not be disappointment with the character development regardless if you have played the game or not. If you have played the games you will be not as surprised about Yuri’s past but I will hold out on spoilers there are a few good ones in there. All the original voice cast from the game are back, and some top notch talent was added for extras. This movie took several years to make and it shows, bandai really cares about its fans and its franchise.

Plot was much better then expected, I initially thought this was going to be some low budget re-hash but I was completely wrong. The plot was a deep and rich tale full of good and bad, tales of life and plenty of death. This film jerks your heart around and leaves you on the edge of your seat at times. This  is not a Rated G film for sure, but it kept a very high class tone, I would put it in at about Princess Mononoke about a PG-13 film. Sometimes fan service and vulgar language can take the backseat to solid plot and amazing characters, this is the case with Tales of Vesperia.

Overall I think this movie is a solid 4/5 if I had to give it a number. Why not a 5 well its still kinda short on a few things and was a little off topic at times, other than that I thought it was fantastic. I really hope this gets a US-release it deserves it. Bandai please give us the Blu-ray! Which you can buy in Japan but not here yet, the blu-ray is fantastic!

Surely not Haruhi.. This one is different.. Kinda

For many of us that are up to date with this seasons anime, there is a huge selection of title. Among the few sequals I.E. K-On!!, Ikkitousen: Xtreme Xecutor and Da Capo there are big name companies rolling out new series as well. Angel Beats! is produced by P.A Works, with the orginal story created by Studio Key (AIR, Clannad, Little Busters). For those that aren’t familar with Angel Beats!;

Angel Beats! Takes place in a world after death, angels fight for their fate and their future. Yuri, the leader of the Shinda Sekai Sensen, rebels against the god who destined her to have an unreasonable life. On the other hand, Tenshi, the chairperson of the student council for the world after death, battles against the SSS members. SSS members utilize armed weaponry to battle it out against the angels harnessing supernatural powers.

From Animenewsnetwork

Haruhi vs Yurippe Mashup

The first thing that you may notice is that the main character looks a lot like Haruhi Suzumiya from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and let me be the first to say the similarities don’t end there. The story is first introduced to you in a way that you say ‘What?’, and then you go on to learn that Yurippe is the leader of a organization in which their HQ is located in a school clubroom. Both characters also have the persuasive tsudere attitude we’ve come to know as well.

Besides having a similar story to other series, the animation is riddled with perspective flaws and ‘what’ moments.

While some of it can be marked off as art style (maybe) some of them are just plain lack of attention during the animation phase. Only the first episode has been released thus far, so some may say it is a little early to tell — which is true, but they’re off to a quality van start. Its a little too early for me to give this series a score but  I can say that I will at least be watching this show; even if it is to see how derailed it can get.

Excuse me.. but hands dont bend that way.

Nice Cover

After acquiring it I returned to the dungeon and popped it into the DVD player, the old ADV intro and related run past the screen, then a boom and the menu comes up. Got a few choices to make, ok they are:
-Play movie
-Scene selection
-Language setting
-Extras

I jumped to the Extras and found some trailers, art from production and my favorite the Jiggle Counter. Enabled that fun little feature and headed back to main menu. I started the film, the English track was on before I realized that I forgot to switch it over, but I decided heck let it ride anyway. So I watched a good portion in English and about half way I swapped back to the Japanese sound track. The dub was good, but made no sense, the voice actors all voiced the characters like they were from mother Russia, and Sweden, and it was bad to say the least, but at least it was in Dolby 5.1, where the natural sound track was only 2.0 stereo.
As soon as the movie starts up you meet Tita the Perky crazy captain of a pack of Pet shop hunters on a space boat. Fan service ensues, followed shortly by the introduction of the story, some chase scenes, a fantastic bath scene and explosions. Tita gets beat down a few times, there is a cool break in and more shooting followed by a overly dramatic gravity weapon exploding some city, then some more shooting and the end shortly follows with a cool chase scene and some laughing. All in all the best part of this whole movie was the Tits and Ass, amazing fan service, realistic work. I just love Satoshi Urushihara art style enough to rescue this odd movie from being a sinker.

More here

Art: Amazing, high quality animation, the body’s and fan service were top notch, the most amazing breasts I’ve ever seen in an anime! 10/10

Story: The plot was solid, but it was a 60 minute film so it was rushed big time and somewhat dry, Check your brain at the door for this one. 4/10

Sound: English dub was a joke, but if you hate reading it works well. The English track was re-mastered in Dolby 5.1 and they left the Japanese track in the past, GRRRR! If you go the Sub route you will be reading YELLOW SUBS, GRRR! 4/10

Extras: Fun giggles counter, a little hard to keep up with, but with a few beers its still fun. The art and trailers are a nice touch, though limited. 6/10

Overall I would say it was worth buying, a fun hour and some amazing art, so if I had to score it I would say 6.5 out of 10 would be fair, though I’m glad I only paid $10 bucks for it.

Dvd Extra

We <3 this show!

Welcome to the first week of March! You have survived up until February and if you follow anime as it airs in japan like I do, you must be ripping your eyes out by now as this season has been full of terrible fucking shows with only a few exceptions.

The upcoming spring season should be better as this past fall and winter anime seasons have been lacking as a whole. There haven’t been any current shows that I rush home from school to watch every week. It is times like this in which I reflect back onto the shows of the past, the shows that I feel nostalgic while discussing.

So what is my pick for this week? The Slayers of course! This is the perfect time to recommend that everyone watch this show because in 2008 they began airing the 4th season of this show which is called Slayers Revolution. This show continues all of the long standing traditions of the old seasons and is actually really good. The 5th season, Slayers Evolution-R is currently airing in japan right now.

Enough about the new seasons, what makes this show so classic and worthy of watching? It may have many stereotypes that you have found in previous shows like the protagonists eating an obscene amount of food or the whole magic user fantasy setting, but this was one of the pioneering shows that brought those ideas full circle and solidified them as classic things. It is an absolute classic and FUNimation has recently secured the rights to re-releasing the DVDs in a slim pack box set so I highly recommend everybody go out and buy this as soon as humanly possible.

It is a world of fantasy, where magic reigns and monsters lurk, then there’s Lina Inverse! A cute, fireball-throwing sorceress who steals from the wicked and gives to herself! Along with Gourry, a handsome but not-so-smart swordsman, Lina faces the uncanny as she seeks fame and fortune. Meanwhile Zelgadis, a powerful soldier pursues Lina in an attempt to recover a magical item that can bring about the end of the world.

For now, you can stream the whole series on Hulu for free with commercials, but even if you watch the whole thing on there, I hope you will still go out and buy the show because it is one of my personal favorites and helped get me into anime to begin with. Find all of the episodes on hulu here.