The nature of Japanese trailers continues to be an interesting one compared to what we get in the US in terms of timing and style. We’ve had a really good pair of teasers and trailers so far for Black Panther but the new Japanese trailer gives us a look at more footage that we hadn’t seen before. And a lot of it focuses on the world building side with the kind of thriller aspect to it before it builds to the costumed fun, all while getting the Japanese narration that has its own particular inflection that’s quite appealing alongside the music.

Written by Joe Robert Cole and Ryan Coogler with Coogler directing, the film arrives on February 16th, 2018. The cast includes Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther, Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaw, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Forest Whitaker as Zuri, Angela Bassett, Martin Freeman, Letita Wright, Florence Kasumba, Sterling K. Born, and John Kani.

Plot concept: Black Panther follows T’Challa who, after the events of “Captain America: Civil War,” returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to take his place as King. However, when an old enemy reappears on the radar, T’Challa’s mettle as King and Black Panther is tested when he is drawn into a conflict that puts the entire fate of Wakanda and the world at risk.

Previously Released Teaser Trailer:

Crunchyroll is digging into some new clips to try and draw more viewers to one of their shows with the Love Live! Sunshine!! property. They’ve put together three new clips from the show that covers a few different areas with the characters that are also definitely fun and easily shareable pieces with friends.

Animated by Sunrise, it was directed by Kazuo Sakai based on the series composition from Jukki Hanada. Yuhei Murota worked on the character designs for it.

The Aquors cast includes Inami Anju as Chika Takami, Rikako Aida as Riko Sakurauchi, Nanaka Suwa as Kanan Matsuura, Arisa Komiya as Dia Kurosawa, Shuka Saito as You Watanabe, Aika Kobayashi as Yoshiko Tsushima, Kanako Takatsuki as Hanamaru Kunikida, Aina Suzuki as Mari Ohara and Ai Furihata as Ruby Kurosawa.

Plot concept: Love Live! Sunshine!! follows the nine-member school idol group Aqours (pronounced “aqua”) at Uranohoshi Girls’ Academy in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture. Chika Takami, who is a fan of the Otonokizaka Academy’s μ’s school idol group, similarly forms Aqours in order to save her school from being closed down.

Viz Media has kicked off their next manga series sale with Ultraman getting the attention. And it’s well-timed as we learned just a couple of weeks ago that an anime adaptation is in the works for next year, giving folks a chance to read up on it ahead of that. The sale via ComiXology and Amazon Kindle brings the nine volumes released so far out for a reduced $6.99 price point, which shaves a few bucks off the digital backlist price and almost half off the print pricing.

The manga comes from Eichi Shimizu an Tomohiro Shimoguchi which began in 2011 and has eleven volumes out as of this month in Japan. Viz Media is bringing the manga out in North America with nine volumes out so far.

Plot Concept: Shinjiro is an ordinary teenager, but his father is the legendary Shin Hayata. When he learns that his father passed on the “Ultraman Factor” to him and that he possesses incredible powers, nothing will ever be the same again.

Viz Media’s got another manga sale they’re moving into the spotlight today with the reveal that the Terraformars property is getting some digital attention. The series has nineteen volumes released domestically so far and they’re now on sale for $6.99 a volume, which shaves a few bucks off the digital backlist price and is almost half off the print price. They’re available through ComiXology and Amazon Kindle services.

The sale runs through December 18th, 2017.

Plot concept: TERRAFORMARS makes its anime debut as a startling work of science fiction and adventure. With Earth becoming increasingly overpopulated, an ambitious plan has been put into place to terraform Mars using mold and cockroaches. Nearly 500 years after the plan, a mission to Mars, Annex 1, is under way to accomplish crucial research into the Virus currently plaguing mankind with the crew members who’ve been injected with various DNA of life on Earth in order to combat the Terraformars, giant humanoid cockroaches.

The live-action Pokemon film under the working title of Detective Pikachu landed Ryan Reynolds to take on the title character in the film and now a bit more has surfaced through Variety. The film has now been formally scheduled for a May 10th, 2019 release date, which is generally a busy time of year. 2019 is no exception as we get the Avengers: Infinity War sequel arriving on the third while the end of that month features the live-action Aladdin film as well as a Minecraft release and the Ugly Dolls film that will draw on kids attention. The studio is hoping to get in fron t of that as there’s not a lot in April that appeals to the kid set overall with just Playmobil getting a film and some untitled Disney space movie.

Legendary Pictures has brought in Rob Letterman to direct it. Letterman’s not exactly a household name but he’s got some solid credits that should make this work. His most recent film was the live-action Goosebumps and he also directed the CG film Monters Vs. Aliens. He was also the writer and director for Shark Tale.

Nicole Perlman and Alex Hirsch are on board as the writers for the project. With a lot of attention on the franchise thanks to the Pokemon Go game, new Nintendo DS games out for this holiday season, and a host of book projects that are moving through for the holiday season, it’s little surprise that this  film is going to be moving at a pretty good clip. Nicole Perlman has seen her star rise since working on Guardians of the Galaxy and she’s currently co-writing Captain Marvel with Meg LeFauve. Alex Hirsch is known more by a different crowd as the creator behind Gravity Falls, the very popular Disney XD series. The inclusion of the two to help lay the groundwork for what this film could become is definitely intriguing.

As we learned this summer from Deadline, the feature franchise will be built around Detective Pikachu, a character in the Pokemon universe. Universal Pictures, who has had some very strong box office years recently with its live-action and CG animation slates, will distributor worldwide outside of Japan as they and Legendary are producing partners.

According to The Pokemon Company, the original property has sold more than 279 million video games since its inception, 21.5 billion TCG cards in 74 countries and the animated series has been running for 19 seasons.

The Pokémon Company’s longtime movie collaborator, Toho, will handle distribution of the film franchise in Japan, as it had similarly done in its partnership with Legendary on Godzilla.

Dynamite Entertainment has put things together for what’s coming out tomorrow as the final solicitations have arrived. With a limited run of 500 copies we have an exclusive cover for Bob’s Burgers that will delight that comes from Maggie Harbaugh. This week also has a fun Garfield/Grumpy Cat crossover hardcover that’s definitely a fun mix of characters. And we also get the latest Sheena and Killer Instinct. There’s also a triple-sized Skin and Earth finale out tomorrow as well!

Bob’s Burgers #16 Exclusive Cover
writer: Rachel Hastings
artist: T.G. Hopkins, Maggie Harbaugh, Brad Rader
cover: Maggie Harbaugh
FC | 32 pages | $19.99 | Teen+
FIRST TIME AVAILABLE TO THE DIRECT MARKET!
MARKETING DESCRIPTION: Dynamite proudly presents this exclusive cover by Bob’s Burgers artist Maggie Harbaugh! Gene, Louise, and Tina share a spooky story of a burger gone bad in issue #16 of the Bob’s Burgers Comic Book! Bob prepares a burger with a strange spice, but when a hungry Gene reaches for it and pricks his finger, the kids find out that it’s the burger that’s hungry – for blood. As it grows and brings great success to the restaurant, the kids have to decide whether to continue to feed the burger, or fry it.
NOTE: Limited to only 500 copies. Allocations may occur.

Grumpy Cat / Garfield HC
writer: Mark Evanier
artist | cover: Steve Uy
FC | 96 pages | $12.99 | All Ages
COLLECTS ISSUES 1-3 + BONUS CONTENT
It’s the inevitable meeting of the sourpusses! Garfield, the reigning cynical cat of newspapers and TV crosses paths with Grumpy Cat, the internet sensation whose scowl endeared herself to the world. Who’s the most sarcastic? Well, he likes lasagna and not much else…and she doesn’t even like lasagna. Can these two inhabit the same comic book mini-series, let alone the same planet? You’ll find out in a trio of issues written by Mark Evanier and illustrated by Steve Uy. We’d say it’s the cat’s meow but neither of these cats meows.

Hack Slash / Vampirella #3
writer: Shawn Aldridge
artist: Rapha Lobosco
covers: Jen Vaughn (A), Goran Sudžuka (B)
Jen Vaughn (RI-Virg), Goran Sudžuka (RI-B/W)
FC | 32 pages | $3.99 | Teen+
When the Queen of Hearts starts possessing bodies, Cassie and Vampi’s alliance hits a bit of a rough patch and things turn into a battle you can really sink your teeth into. Because…vampires!

Killer Instinct #3
writer: Ian Edginton
artist: Ediano Silva
covers: Yildiray Cinar (A)
Jonathan Lau (B)
Cam Adams (C-Sub)
Jonathan Lau (RI-B/W)
Yildiray Cinar (RI-B/W)
FC | 32 pages | $3.99 | Teen +
Jago is under attack by the Coven’s wendigo army – but the unexpected arrival of Tusk turns the tide of the battle! The two warriors compare notes – and decided to investigate the loss of their guardian spirits! Meanwhile, the ancient sorcerer Kan-Ra begins his own investigations…

Sheena: Queen of the Jungle #4
writers: Marguerite Bennett,
Christina Trujillo
artist: Maria Sanapo, Mario Torrisi
covers: Moritat (A)
Maria Sanapo (B)
Marco Santucci (C)
Cosplay Photo Variant (D)
Moritat (RI B/W)
Marco Santucci (RI B/W)
Maria Sanapo (RI B/W)
FC | 32 pages | $3.99 | Teen +
Monsters out of myth and nightmare explode from the rot of time, hungry for living flesh! Sheena now must find a way to stop both the creatures and Cadwell’s men before the unthinkable happens and the forest she calls home is forever destroyed.

Skin & Earth #6
writer: Lights
artist: Lights
covers: Lights (A, B)
FC | 64 pages | $7.99 | Mature
Now trapped in Mitsuki’s strange domain, a vast and surprising truth is revealed to En about her world and those she knows and loves. In this last instalment of Skin&Earth, En finds new power in the depths of captivity, and it is up to her what she will do with it.
Written and drawn by alt-pop phenomenon Lights, Skin & Earth ties directly into her next full lengthalbum, released in Fall 2017 on Warner Bros Records.

We learned back in February of this year that Yu Sasuga and Kenichi Tachibana’s manga series Terraformars was entering an indefinite hiatus with the March 9th chapter and that they had plans for a fall return. That’s obviously not happened but the Young Jump Twitter account has revealed that the series is definitely coming back and is looking at an April 2018 return for it.

At the time, the OAD that was set for the 21st volume due out on May 19th, 2017 has now been cancelled with it set to be resolicited at a later time when that volume is put back on the schedule.

The first season was produced at LIDEN FILMS with Hiroshi Hamasaki directing based on scripts by Shogo Ysukawa. Character designs were done by Masanori Shino while Satoshi Kimura did the secondary character design work.

The series stars Yoshimasa Hosoya as Akari Hizamaru, Hidenobu Kiuchi as Shōkichi Komachi, Shizuka Itou as Michelle, Kaito Ishikawa as Marcos, KENN as Alex, Ai Kayano as Sheila, Daisuke Ono as Keiji Onizuka, Chiaki Takahashi as Kanako Sanjō, Aki Toyosaki as Yaeko Yanasegawa, Tomokazu Sugita as Ichirō Hiruma, Koji Yusa as Adolf Reinhard, Akira Ishida as Joseph, Unshou Ishizuka as Sylvester, Tetsuo Komura as Liu Yiwu, Ayane Sakura as Eva Frost, Kenji Akabane as Ivan Perepelkina, Romi Park as Elena Perepelkina, Toshiyuki Morikawa as Shichisei Hiruma, Tooru Nara as Alexander Asimov, Nozomi Sasaki as Hong, Hidenori Takahashi as Jet, Sayaka Ohara as Xi Chunli, Yuuki Ono as Bao Zhilan and Takahiro Fujiwara as Borgijin Dorjiberke.

Plot concept: TERRAFORMARS makes its anime debut as a startling work of science fiction and adventure. With Earth becoming increasingly overpopulated, an ambitious plan has been put into place to terraform Mars using mold and cockroaches. Nearly 500 years after the plan, a mission to Mars, Annex 1, is under way to accomplish crucial research into the Virus currently plaguing mankind with the crew members who’ve been injected with various DNA of life on Earth in order to combat the Terraformars, giant humanoid cockroaches.

[Source: Mantan Web via MAL]

© 2017 Ryosu Mizuno, Fukayama / Published by KADOKAWA Corporation / Aram Magic Society Association

The Gancrest Senki series is one of those slam dunks we already know about with Aniplex USA having picked up distribution rights for it. Now it’s just down to the details and one of those is an update on the official site that has revealed a January 5th, 2018 premiere on the main networks in Japan. Mamoru Hatakeyama will be directing it based on the series composition by original creator Ryou Mizuno and writer Satoshi Yano. Hiroshi Yakou is on board as the character designer and A-1 Pictures is producing the animation.

The Japanese cast includes Reina Ueda as Aishera, Yuuichi Nakamura as Ervin, Natsumi Takamori as Priscilla, Ai Kayano as Marine Kreische, Takahiro Sakurai as Virale Constance, Satoshi Hino as Lassic David, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Moreno d’Ortous, Yuuichi Iguchi as Alex Deux, Wataru Hatano as Mirza Kooches, Minori Suzuki as Emma, Megumi Nakajima as Luna, Yuuko Kaida as Margaret Odius, Chika Anzai as Laura Hardly, Yumi Uchiyama as Helga Piaroza, Kaede Hondo as Coleen Messala, Satoshi Mikami as Aubest Meletes, Ayane Sakura as Layla, and Ari Ozawa as Cammy.

The work comes from Ryou Mizuni with artwork from Miyuu that began back in the summer of 2013 and currently has eight volumes in print. The project was suspected to be in the works when a manga serialization began this past June from Makoto Yotsuba. No details about the anime production or timeline were revealed at the announcement.

Ryou Mizuno has a solid following to be sure as the creator of Record of Lodoss War and Starship Operators.

Plot Concept: On a continent ruled by chaos, the Lords have the power of a holy seal that can calm the chaos and protect the people. However, before anyone realizes it, the rulers cast aside their creed of purifying the chaos, and instead start to fight each other for each other’s holy seals to gain dominion over one another. Shiruuka, an isolated mage who scorns the Lords for abandoning their creed, and a wandering knight named Theo, who is on a journey to train to one day liberate his hometown, make an everlasting oath to work together to reform this continent dominated by wars and chaos.

© Afro · Yoshifusa / Outdoor Activity Circle

With it already set for Crunchyroll when it debuts next year, the anime adaptation of Yuru Camp from has a key new detail. After getting some additional casting recently the official site has now updated to reveal a January 4th, 2018 debut for the show on multiple networks. That’ll likely be the same with its streaming through Crunchyroll but they’ll announce their own plans for it soon enough.

Yoshiaki Kyougoku will be directing it based on the series composition by Jin Tanaka. C-Station will be handling the animation.

The Japanese cast includes Nao Touyama as Rin Shima, Yumiri Hanamori as Nadeshiko Kagamihara, Sayuri Hara as Chiaki Oogaki, Aki Toyosaki as Aoi Inuyama, Rie Takahashi as Ena Saitou, Marina Inoue as Sakura Kagamihara, and Akio Ootsuka as the narrator.

The manga began in May 2015 and has three volumes out so far in Japan while Yen Press has picked up the series for North American release beginning in 2018.

Plot Concept: The story revolves around the camping adventures of Rin and Nadeshiko who met each other to see Mt. Fuji.

Nothing goes to plan – unless you’re Catwoman.

Creative Staff:
Story: Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing
Art: Aneke
Colors: Kelly Fitzpatrick
Letterer: Wes Abbott

What They Say:
The duplicitous Catwoman begins the greatest heist of her career, with Dick Grayson and Kara Gordon caught in her crossfire!

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The nature of the digital-first series when it comes to artists, pacing, and overall quality of work is just as variable as regular print books but there’s always that feeling that they could be better. I’ve been enjoying this series with what Kelly and Lanzing are doing while wishing for a bit more world building exposition to flesh things out more but that’s not in the cards at this point. What I am getting is a good bit of fun and that was made a whole lot better this time around once again thanks to Aneke’s work. I continue to really enjoy what she does with layouts and line work but also because there’s some good detail and thought to the settings that go beyond the bare minimum. It also doesn’t hurt that I think Fitzpatrick does some of her best color work with Aneke’s artwork.

With a lot of things having gone down so far I rather like that we get a little downtime at the Garage where Dick Grayson is telling tales to Kara. The visual for him is great with the full chest tattoo and cockiness of it all, especially since he’s trying to impress Kara only to have Selina come by and reduce him by calling him Robin – even as she needs him for a mission. The setup is straightforward enough in going after a Lex facility called Amazo to deal with where the Gardners are built and Kara wants all in on that to further her involvement even just as a potential member. It’s fun seeing this odd group come together and how Selina has to spend a decent part of her time trying to keep the other two both on target with what they’re doing. Aneke’s layouts as they make their way into the facility are great since there’s a lot of packed in material here and just the nature of the movement is fun to watch.

The mission here is definitely interesting, though we see Selina is using the pair for her own real mission behind all of it, as they discover that Amazo is more than just the Gardners facility. A lot of familiar names of intelligent heroes and villains are kept in cryo here with their brains actively working on things and we see there’s an actual Amazo robot as well that ends up creating a lot of chaos and action by going after everyone. I’d be disappointed if it was a mobile Amazo, after all. The look into the facility shows some neat things about what Lex has taken in to achieve his goals and mixing that with the bits of dialogue from the characters, such as the nod that Dick worked with Batman before, definitely gives us a “lived-in” feeling for the world that hasn’t quite come through yet.

In Summary:
Gotham City Garage has been a somewhat uneven book for me so far and I know part of that is based on the strength of the artists involved as a title like this really is defined more so than others in that area. This issue with Aneke continuing to do the art definitely appeals to me in the character design department and I love her layouts that keeps things busy and well filled with little nods and bits that stop you from just burning through it as a quick read. Kelly and Lanzing’s story is opening up more as to what the world is about and I like the addition of Dick here as Nightwing to bring a bit of bravado and cockiness that’s different from some of the more outgoing female characters so far, especially since he’s trying his best to impress Kara. It has some interesting areas to go from here and I’m definitely still very on board with this title.

Grade: B

Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: October 18th, 2017
MSRP: $0.99

© Project Shinkallion · JR-HECWK / Super Evolution Laboratory · TBS

The upcoming Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion the Animation anime series has a premiere date of January 6th, 2018 on the TBS network at the plum 7:00 am slot for kids of all ages. In addition to that, we now have a trio of new cast additions to the project with some very familiar names stepping into it that will delight fans. The show has Takahiro Ikezoe directing it with Kento Shimoyama handling the series composition. Yuka Aono is working on the character designs for it.

The newly announced additions include:

• Tomokazu Sugita as Hokuto Hayasugi
• Sora Amamiya as Futaba Mihara
• Hikaru Midorikawa as Shinpei Izumi

The previously announced Japanese cast include:

• Ayane Sakura as Hayato Hayasugi
• Manami Numakura as Akita Oga
• Rie Murakawa as Tsuranuki Daimonyama
• Yuji Ueda as Shashot
• Aana Taketatsu as Azusa Ueda

Plot Concept: Hayato and other children will serve as conductors to pilot the Shinkalion. The children must work together with the adults of the “Shinkansen Ultra Evolution Institute” (SUEI) to defeat a monster that looks like a jet black bullet train.

アニメ「シンカリオン」追加キャストに杉田智和、雨宮天、緑川光 https://t.co/tvKGcehgZy pic.twitter.com/Ti59X4UycK

— コミックナタリー (@comic_natalie) December 11, 2017

[Source: ANN]

Vader gets involved!

Creative Staff:
Story: Charles Soule
Art: Giuseppe Camanucoli, Daniele Orlandini
Colors: David Curiel
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

What They Say:
As the threat of the Jedi continues to menace the fledgling Empire, Vader finds himself on the trail of Jedi his master has commanded him…to keep alive?

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With this arc providing more shape to the series that works for me compared to the first one, I’ve been getting into what Charles Soule has been doing with it through the expansions and ways of looking at things. With this issue he actually makes me sympathetic to the Grand Inquisitor, which makes me dislike Soule just a bit. His work has been solid on this book and that’s how I’m feeling with Camanucoli and Orlandini’s artwork as it’s definitely solid and achieves what it needs to but just comes up a little short in style. There are some neat moments to be had but something still hasn’t fully clicked in that area for me, though I’ve got no problems with it in the larger sense.

The expansion on Jocasta has certainly been well done so far as we have more of a view of her work and role as the Master Archivist. That importance shot up a good bit more with Palpatine wanting her alive and sending Vader to bring her in. His intent is straightforward and it’s amusing to see how he deals with the Clone Troopers outside as they question what they’re after here and their role in Order 66, reminding us again of just how conditioned they were so that when all is said and done they believe they did the right thing. We know from stories down the line that some got past that conditioning but this reminder here is important, especially since the fact that they didn’t get them all shows the troopers a failure and that’s not something they like to have on their record.

While we do get a solid enough action/chase sequence setup in the back half of the book with Jocasta learning who Vader is and his going after her directly, the first half is what really delighted me in a surprising way. Jocasta’s inability to move past the Inquisitor frustrated me but it lead to a strong sequence here amid the fight as he’s still angry over the rejections toward his requests, revealing himself to be a former Jedi. He knows he’s not sith but finds himself to be a lot more at home with the Dark Side, which made his time in the Jedi Order exceedingly difficult because he never fit in. You can imagine that the Order was trying to guide him toward the right side but the reality is that some will feel more comfortable on the other side. It gives us a greater look in simple terms as to why he would have gone this route and how the Order was dealing with people like him, if they really knew that this was his leaning.

In Summary:
It’s taken a bit for me to get into this groove of this incarnation of Vader and some of that is shaking off assumptions and realigning views. Charles Soule does some solid stuff in this arc with what Palpatine is up to and some of the fallout on Corcuscant after Order 66 and the things that needed to be done. I definitely like, much to my chagrin, the expansion on the Grand Inquisitor while also getting to see more of Jocasta’s capabilities and quick thing. Camanucoli and Orlandini put in another solid issue here that flows well with the action and works some good designs for the temple, leaving me wanting a deeper look at it all as well.

Grade: B+

Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: December 6th, 2017
MSRP: $4.99

With a TV adaptation out last fall it looks like Junko’s manga property Kiss Him, Not Me isn’t much longer for this world. Bessatsu Friend magazine has confirmed that the series will end in three chapters, which in the monthly run of the book means the March 13th, 2018. The fourteenth volume due out next year will be the final volume for it.

The anime TV show was directed by Hiroshi Ishiodori based on the series composition from Michiko Yokote. Kazuhiko Tamura served as the character designer while Mina Oosawa served as the chief animation director. Brains Base produced the animation for it.

The Japanese cast includes Yu Kobayashi as Kae Serinuma, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Hayato Shinomiya, Yuuki Ono as Yūsuke Igarashi, Nobunaga Shimazaki as Asuma Mutsumi, Keisuke Koumoto as NozomuNanashima, Miyuki Sawashiro as Shima Nishina, Asami Shimoda as Amane Nakano, Yuu Sugimoto as Mitsuko Serinuma, Takahiro Mizushima as Takurou Serinuma, Daisuke Namikawa as Shion, Kenjirou Tsuda as Tella and Yuuichi Nakamura as Kazuma Mutsumi.

From4to7, which is made up of the various actors from the show, performed the opening theme song “Prince x Prince”, while Rie Murakawa performed the ending theme song “Doki Doki no Kaze.”

Plot concept: Kae is a normal, everyday high school girl with a secret – she’s a fujoshi, a fan of yaoi manga, who has fantasies about the boys in her school making out with each other. When the death of her favorite character causes stress-induced rapid weight loss, she becomes the object of those same boys’ affections. What can she do when she’d rather they kissed each other instead of her?

[Source: ANN]

After a very busy week last week the new anime release list is pretty light this time around as the chance to get product in front of consumers before the holiday shrinks. Funimation has two titles this week as they bring out more D.Gray-man and the first part of Trickster while Sentai Filmworks bundles up a bunch of releases with When They Cry and Chaika. Nozomi Entertainment is delivering the dream for many with the ultra edition 20th-anniversary release of Revolutionary Girl Utena on Blu-ray after bringing out the show in season form sets the last few months.

• D.Gray-man Season 3, Part 2 DVD
• When They Cry Complete Collection Blu-ray
• Coffin Princess Chaika Complete Collection Blu-ray
• Revolutionary Girl Utena 20th Anniversary Ultra Edition Blu-ray
• Trickster Part 1 Blu-ray & DVD Combo

© Kohei Horikoshi / Shueisha · My Hero Academia Production Committee

The second cour of the second season of My Hero Academia has wrapped up and Funimation’s getting some extra promotion out there for their involvement in the series. The distributor is working through the simuldub of the show and they’ve now brought out a new promo for it that focuses on Sirius as played by Ami Koshimizu in Japanese and Emily Neves in English.

Animated by studio Bones, the series is directed by Kenji Nagasaki based on the series composition from Yousuke Kuroda. Yoshihiko Umakoshi serves as the chief animation director and character designer.

The Japanese cast includes Daiki Yamashita as Izuku, Kenta Miyake as All Might, Ayane Sakura as Ochako Uraraka, Kaito Ishikawa as Tenya Iida, Aoi Yuki as Tsuyu Asui, Ryou Hirohashi as Minoru Mineta, Marina Inoue as Momo Yaoyorozu, Yoshimasa Hosoya, Yuuki Kaji as Shoto Todoroki, Eri Kitamura as Mina Ashido, Kōsuke Kuwano as Yūga Aoyama, Kei Shindou as Kyōka Jirō and Masakazu Nishida as Mezō Shōji.

The English cast includes Christopher R. Sabat as All Might, Justin Briner as Izuku Midoriya, Luci Christian as Ochaco and Clifford Chapin as Bakugo.

Originally starting back in the summer of 2014, after creator Kouhei Horikoshi Barrage series ended, My Hero Academia is one of the more well-received books in the English edition of Weekly Shonen Jump.

Horikoshi received a Tezuka Award Honorable Mention in 2006 after publishing several short stories in Akamaru Jump. His first serialized work was Oumagadoki Doubutsuen back in 2010.

Plot concept: What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks”? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless? Middle school student Izuku Midoriya wants to be a hero more than anything, but he hasn’t got an ounce of power in him. With no chance of ever getting into the prestigious U.A. High School for budding heroes, his life is looking more and more like a dead end. Then an encounter with All Might, the greatest hero of them all, gives him a chance to change his destiny.

King Records has announced what the Japanese release plans are for the second season of Hozuki no Reitetsu and it’s definitely interesting. The show is getting two box set releases that brings out the series in full in quick fashion and we now have a look at the first set’s main cover artwork that’s definitely colorful. The show will have both the DVD and Blu-ray sets priced at 18,000 yen each when they land on January 17th, 2018 and March 14th, 2018.

The show is based on the manga of the same name by Natsumi Eguchi which has been running since 2011 in Morning 2 that has resulted in twenty-four volumes seeing compilation so far.

Crunchyroll simulcast the first season and Sentai Filmworks released it on home video.

Plot concept: Hozuki is the aide to the Great King Enma. Calm and super-sadistic, Hozuki tries to resolve the various problems in Hell, including a rampaging Momotaro and his companions. However, he also likes spending his free time on his hobbies, such as fawning over cute animals and raising ‘Goldfish Flowers.’

Hozuki no Reitetsu Season 2 Box Set 1 Cover

[Source: Hozuki no Reitetsu]

ⓒ 2002 MASASHI KISHIMOTO / 2017 BORUTO. All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday has already gotten underway with new simulcasts and Crunchyroll is leading that charge as four episodes are now live already. We’ve got three more shows coming up throughout the day to dig into as well with:

• 4:25am – BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS
• 6:55am – YU-GI-OH! VRAINS
• 7:15am – URAHARA
• 8:00am – KONOHANA KITAN
• 10:30am – TSUKIPRO THE ANIMATION
• 11:30am – AME-CON!!
• 4:00pm – STAR BLAZERS: SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO 2199

Funimation is keeping it light today with just two newly dubbed episodes going live with:

HIDIVE has one new show on tap for today with:

• 1:00 pm – Lone Wolf Samurai & Cub Episode 4

© Miyuki Nakayma / Houbunsha

With the Blend-S series getting a lot of love around here, one way to show why it is getting that attention is through some clips. Crunchyroll is putting a lot of these out lately and there’s now two more out there that are quite different. The first shows the “fun” that Dino is having in handling the dog, while the second delves into some comical goodness regarding sisters.

The series was directed by Ryouji Masuyama based on the series composition by Gou Zappa. Yousuke Okuda worked on the character designs and it was being animated by A-1 Pictures.

The Japanese cast includes Azumi Waki as Maika Sakuranomiya, Akari Kito as Kaho Hinata, Anzu Haruno as Mafuyu Hoshikawa, Atsumi Tanezaki as Miu Amano, Sora Tokui as Hideri Kanzaki, Tomoaki Maeno as Dino, and Tatsuhisa Suzuki as Kouyou Akizuki.

The series had its third volume release at the end of January 2017 after it started as a pair of one-shots back in 2013 and then as an ongoing in 2014 in Manga Time Kirara Carat.

Plot Concept: Sakura Nomiya is, by nature, a person with bad luck and always gets into trouble, but knows Dino, who manages a cafeteria. However, it is not any cafeteria, and the waitresses have to act according to their “attributes.”

Add another show that’s been under the radar and likely not getting more made with the arrival of Daily Lives Of High School Boys on the Crunchyroll service. Originally licensed and release by NIS America, they’ve brought it over to Crunchyroll to get some additional eyeballs on it. Due to its original licensing for home video it’s only available to viewers in the US and Canada and in its original Japanese language with English subtitles as it was never dubbed.

Check out our review of the NIS America release.

Plot concept: Tadakuni, Hidenori, and Yoshitake are students at the all-boys academy, Sanada North High School. This is a tale about just that—their daily lives as students. Winning the basketball tournament? Finding true love? You won’t find any of that here. Whether it’s sparking random arguments while hanging out with friends, meeting that one weird co-worker at a part-time job, or even letting imaginations run wild on a windy afternoon, we’ve all experienced the show’s ordinary but true-to-life themes at one point or another.