The latest rankings have come in for what’s selling in Japan when it comes to manga and light novels for the week ending February 11th, 2018 and its a pretty good one. Most of what makes up the top ten manga are second-week sales where we see Hunter x Hunter adding another 250,000 units to its total, showing some real strength, while Haikyu and My Hero Academia among others add some big numbers as well. Mix makes its way into the top ten as do a couple of other volumes. On the light novel side, Sword Art Online: Progressive drops its fifth volume to just over 48,000 units, showing more strength for the franchise. This week again shows just how well Ryuuou no Oshigot! is doing as all the volumes are ranking and adding thousands per volume each week since the debut of the anime.

Manga Rank / This week’s sales by copies / Cumulative sales / Titles

*1. 250,682 728,167 Hunter x Hunter Vol.35
*2. 211,493 478,477 Haikyuu!! Vol.30
*3. 174,546 376,234 Boku no Hero Academia Vol.17
*4. 155,635 349,064 Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii Vol.5
*5. 119,695 119,695 Mix Vol.12
*6. 110,428 242,636 Shokugeki no Souma Vol.28
*7. 105,918 105,918 Five Star Monogatari Vol.14
*8. *75,115 *75,115 Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san Vol.8
*9. *68,477 138,565 Shuumatsu no Harem Vol.5
10. *58,434 *58,434 Karakai Jouzu no (Moto) Takagi-san Vol.2

11. *42,540 *94,466 Darling in the FrankXX Vol.1
12. *36,727 *36,897 Masamune-kun no Revenge Vol.9
13. *36,484 *37,007 Uso Kano Vol.10
14. *35,591 *35,591 Baki-Dou Vol.20
15. *34,463 571,895 Tokyo Ghoul:re Vol.14
16. *32,680 711,716 Kingdom Vol.49
17. *32,171 *32,171 Basilisk: Ouka Ninpouchou Vol.2
18. *32,124 *32,124 Torikae Baya Vol.13
19. *31,272 *31,272 Ningyou no Kuni Vol.2
20. *30,230 *72,145 Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai Vol.5

21. *29,595 *66,013 Dr. Stone Vol.4
22. *26,447 *26,447 Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: Natsuyasumi-hen Vol.3
23. *26,159 *26,159 Trinity Seven: 7-nin no Masho Tsukai Vol.18
24. *23,125 *23,125 Juu: Ninpou Makai Tensei Vol.12
25. *22,364 *22,364 Gekijouban Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: Hoshi wo Yobu Shoujo Vol.1
26. *22,257 119,653 Kakegurui Vol.9
27. *19,567 *19,914 Otona no Kobayashi-kun Vol.4
28. *19,461 *63,672 Kenja no Mago Vol.6
29. *18,737 *41,549 Isekai Maou to Shoukan Shoujo no Dorei Majutsu Vol.6
30. *16,964 *16,964 Btooom! Vol.25

31. *16,512 *16,854 Inferno Vol.5
32. *15,976 *15,976 Papa to Oyaji no Uchi Gohan Vol.8
33. *15,961 *15,961 Shirouto Yankee♂Kikiippatsu!!
34. *15,918 185,100 Giant Killing Vol.46
35. *15,362 193,085 Karakai Jouzu no (Moto) Takagi-san Vol.1
36. *15,101 *15,101 Shippu Densetsu Tokkou no Taku: After Decade Vol.2
37. *14,559 *98,124 Doukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue. Vol.4
38. *14,551 *14,551 Masamune-kun no Revenge Vol.9 Special Edition
39. *14,305 *14,305 Botsuraku Yotei nano de, Kaji Shokunin wo Mezasu Vol.2
40. *14,151 *14,151 Kitto Aishiteshimaunda. Vol.5

41. *13,009 *13,009 Sword Art Online: Girls Ops Vol.5
42. *12,952 *12,952 Koi ni Koisuru Yukari-chan Vol.1
43. *12,905 *26,003 Karadasagashi Vol.17
44. *12,823 *12,823 Beastars Vol.7
45. *12,557 *30,332 Kanata no Astra Vol.5
46. *12,347 186,241 Major 2nd Vol.12
47. *12,280 347,520 Yakusoku no Neverland Vol.7
48. *11,621 *11,621 Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san Vol.8 Special Edition
49. *11,347 118,908 MF Ghost Vol.1
50. *11,070 *52,958 Asahinagu Vol.25

Light Novel Rank / This week’s sales by copies / Cumulative sales / Titles

*1. 48,264 48,264 Sword Art Online: Progressive Vol.5
*2. *8,079 *8,079 Netgame no Yome wa Onna no Ko ja Nai to Omotta? Vol.16
*3. *7,983 23,997 Boku no Hero Academia: Yuuei Hakusho Vol.3
*4. *7,002 *7,002 Ookami to Koushinryou Vol.20
*5. *6,637 65,615 Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e Vol.7.5
*6. *4,287 12,068 Isekai Maou to Shoukan Shoujo no Dorei Majutsu Vol.9
*7. *4,185 45,793 Ryuuou no Oshigoto! Vol.7
*8. *3,837 78,162 Ryuuou no Oshigoto! Vol.1
*9. *3,541 58,632 Ryuuou no Oshigoto! Vol.2
10. *3,517 57,650 Ryuuou no Oshigoto! Vol.3

11. *3,416 37,604 Hidan no Aria Vol.27
12. *3,325 50,714 Ryuuou no Oshigoto! Vol.5
13. *3,286 51,707 Ryuuou no Oshigoto! Vol.4
14. *3,262 52,083 Ryuuou no Oshigoto! Vol.6
15. *3,142 *3,142 Shuumatsu Boukensha Vol.2
16. *2,996 *3,508 Itoshii Kimi ni Ai wo Kou
17. *2,798 28,244 Okitegami Kyouko no Iromihon
18. *2,757 *2,757 Mitou Shoukan://Blood Sign Vol.8
19. *2,732 81,412 Kagerou Daze Vol.8
20. *2,667 *2,667 Tenshi no 3P! Vol.11

21. *2,454 27,907 Gamers! Vol.9
22. *2,296 *2,296 Madoushi wa Heibon wo Nozomu Vol.20

[Source: Oricon Youtaijou via MAL]

With the first bit of casting news, and news that it was being done at all, out earlier this week, David Sandberg’s crowdfunded project from several years ago with Kung Fury has now revealed another cast addition. Sandberg is set to direct and produce the film with Michael Fassbender previously announced along with David Hasselhoff. Now, Arnold Schwarzenegger has joined the project in an undisclosed role.

The film is serving as a sequel to the original short and will shoot this summer.

Plot Concept: The story is set in 1985, the best year ever. Miami is kept safe under the watchful eye of Kung Fury, the greatest damn cop of all time. His Thundercops are the ultimate police force assembled from across history to defeat the villainous Kung Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler. After the tragic death of one of their members causes the group to disband, a mysterious villain emerges from the shadows to aid in the Fuhrer’s quest to attain the ultimate weapon. Kung Fury must travel through space and time to save his friends, defend the prestigious Miami Kung Fu Academy, and defeat evil once and for all.

© Maruyama Kugane · Published by KADOKAWA / Overlord 2 Pro

Crunchyroll is streaming the winter 2018 anime series Overlord II and they’re rolling out new episodes every Tuesday on the service. With the seventh episode set to arrive on February 20th, 2018 at 10:00 am ET for their members, Kadokawa has now put out the two different previews for the episode that showcases the different sides of the storyline getting their own say.

Check out our review of the first season.

The series comes from author Kugane Maruyama with illustrations by so-bin that’s published by Enterbrain. It began in the summer of 2012 and released its twelve volume so far, which are released by Yen Press domestically along with the manga adaptation. The series has had two drama CDs released with previous volumes.

It’s being animated by Madhouse with Naoyuki Itou directing it based on scripts by Yukie Sugawara and character designs by Takahiro Yoshimatsu as they adapt from the original works.

The series will star Kenta Miyake as Cocytus, Manami Numakura as Narberal Gamma, Masayuki Katou as Demiurge, Shigeru Chiba as Sebas Tian and Yumi Uchiyama as Mare Bello Fiore.

Plot Concept: The series follows a salaryman who remains online when the service for an MMORPG ends. In doing so, he becomes a powerful skeletal wizard. In his new form, he begins attracting followers and conquering the digital world that remains.

With new material coming up this year and compilation films out there as well, expanding on the availability of the Full Metal Panic property with its original series is the smart thing to do. Tubi TV now has the full twenty-four episode run streaming on their service thanks to their partnership with Funimation in its original Japanese language with English subtitle.

Originally airing in 2002, the series was directed by Koichi Chigara based on the screenplay from Fumihiko Shimo. Osamu Horiuchi worked as the character designer and chief animation director with Gonzo producing the animation.

The Japanese cast includes Satsuki Yukino as Kaname Chidori, Tomokazu Seki as Sousuke Sagara, Akio Ohtsuka as Lt. Cmdr. Andrey Kalinin, Ikue Kimura as Kyoko Tokiwa, Mamiko Noto as Shinji Kazama, Masahiko Tanaka as Gauln, Michiko Neya as Melissa Mao, Shinichiro Miki as Kurz Weber, Tomomichi Nishimura as Cmdr. Richard Mardukas, and Yukana as Teletha “Tessa” Testarossa.

Plot Concept: Kaname’s a popular girl at her high school, but it’s her popularity off campus that’s the problem. Unbeknownst to Kaname, terrorists are plotting her abduction, believing she possesses the abilities of the “Whispered.” That’s where Sousuke enters the picture. He’s a soldier from Mithril, a secret counter-terrorist unit—and he’s going undercover at Kaname’s school to try and keep her safe.

© Show Shiratori / Shirabi · SB Creative

The anime adaptation of the light novel series Ryuuou no Oshigoto!, also known as The Ryuo’s Work is Never Done!, is being handled by Nippon Columbia and they’ve set a solid schedule for it. With it about six weeks until the first volume arrives we now have a look at the first cover that will set the tone for the run that should do very well in sales. The twelve episode series is getting a four-volume release with three episodes per disc beginning on March 28th, 2018. It’s a Blu-ray only release with each volume priced at 8,500 yen. Check the full schedule below!

It was directed by Shinsuke Yanagi with Project No. 9 handling the animation production. Fumihiko Shimo handled the series composition with Akane Yano on character designs.

The Japanese cast includes Rina Hidaka as Ai Hinatsuru, Ayane Sakura as Ai Yashajin, Hisako Kanemoto as Ginko Sora, Yurika Kubo as Mio Mizukoshi, Chinami Hatsumoto as Ayano Sadatou, Yui Ogura as Charlotte Izzard, Yuma Uchida as Yaichi Kusuryu, Ichirou Mizuki as Takashi Hinatsuru, and Mitsuko Horie as Akina Hinatsuru.

Machico performed the opening theme “Kore kara” while Miku Itou performed the ending theme with “Mamoritai Mono no Tame ni.”

Plot Concept: The story is about a teenage boy who happens to be a shogi master. One day, a nine-year-old girl turns up at his house, announcing that she will take him as her disciple. From there, all kinds of wacky hijinks ensue.

Ryuo no Oshigoto Japanese Volume 1 Cover

[Source: Ryuo no Oshigoto!]

YO-KAI WATCH © 2013 Noriyuki KONISHI / SHOGAKUKAN ©LEVEL-5 Inc.

TV Tokyo is continuing its promotion for the long-running ongoing series Youkai Watch. The 210th episode of the series is scheduled for a February 23rd, 2018 debut and they’ve now brought out the first teaser preview of it.

Please note that TV Tokyo takes these previews down when the episode airs.

The series is directed by Shinji Ushiro based on the series composition by Yoichi Kato. Toshiya Yamada is handling the character designs and it’s animated by Oriental Light & Magic.

The Japanese cast includes Etsuko Kozakura as Jibanyan, Haruka Tomatsu as Kēta Amano, Tomokazu Seki as Whisper, Aya Endo as Fumika “Fumi” Kodama, Chie Satou as Kanchi Imada, Naoki Bandou as Jinmenken, Ryoko Nagata as Kēta’s mom and Tooru Nara as Gorōta “Kuma” Kumashima.

Plot Concept: When Keita frees Whisper, a ghost-like yōkai, from 190 years of imprisonment, Whisper pledges to protect Keita from supernatural dangers. Whisper also gives Keita a watch that allows Keita to see other yōkai. Together with the twin-tailed cat spirit Jibanyan, they encounter lots of yōkai-related problems and solve them.

The fall 2017 anime series Konohana Kitan is having its home video releases handled by Media Factory and they’ve set a good schedule for it. With the third volume in the series that’s set for a February 23rd, 2018 release, we now have a look at the packaging in full for it. The twelve episode series is getting a four-volume release that began December 22nd, 2017. The DVDs are priced at 8,000 yen each while the Blu-ray’s are priced at 8,500 yen.

Hideko Okamoto directed it with the series composition by Takao Yoshioka. Keiko Kurosawa worked on the character designs and studio Lerche produced the animation.

The Japanese cast includes Yuuko Oono as Yuzu, Sawako Hata as Satsuki, Ayaka Suwa as Natsume, Risa Kubota as Ren, Ai Kakuma as Sakura, and Manami Numakura as Kiri.

Plot Concept: In a village inhabited by youkai, the lives of several fox mononoke working in a hot spring inn. The stories revolve around a new employee, Yuzu. Yuzu had always been living in the mountains, but now has to adjust to a new life working in a high class inn. She is oblivious and clumsy at first, but with her simple cuteness, she is able to get along with all the other foxes.

Konohana Kitan Japanese Volume 3 Packaging

Konohana Kitan Japanese Volume 2 Cover

Konohana Kitan Japanese Volume 2 Packaging

Konohana Kitan Japanese Volume 1 Cover

Konohana Kitan Japanese Volume 1 Packaging

[Source: Konohana Kitan]

Funimation is getting things in order for the upcoming home video release of Interviews with Monster Girls and that’s landed us a new dubbed preorder trailer. The series is scheduled for an April 17th, 2018 release priced at $64.98 for the thirteen episode series. The bilingual release comes with a couple of extras as well with the clean opening and closing as well as the Japanese promos and commercials.

The show was directed by Ryou Andou based on the series composition by Takao Yoshioka. Character designs were handled by Tetsuya Kawakami with A-1 Pictures producing the animation.

The Japanese cast includes Junichi Suwabe as Tetsuo Takahashi, Kaeda Hondo as Hikari Takanashi the vampire, Minami Shinoda Kyōko Machi the dullahan, Shiina Natsukawa Yuki Kusakabe the snow woman, Yoko Hikasa Sakie Satō the succubus and Lynn Himari Takanashi.

TrySail will be performing the opening theme song “Original” while the group Sangatsu no Phantasia is on board to perform the ending theme song “Fairy Tale.”

The property originally began serialization in Young Magazine the 3rd back in September 2014 and has four volumes published so far in Japan.

Plot concept: Monsters of legend walk among us, going by the name “demi-humans.” Ever since he’s discovered the “demis,” one young man has become obsessed with them. So when he gets a job as a teacher at a high school for demi-girls, it’s a dream come true! But these demis, who include a rambunctious vampire, a bashful headless girl, and a succubus, have all the problems normal teenagers have, on top of their supernatural conditions. How to handle a classroom full of them?!

A few moments of quite are stolen between Yuri and Kail before war dominates everything.

Creative Talent:
Writer/Artist: Chie Shinohara
Translation: Yuko Sawada

What They Say:
Yuri returns to Ugarit along with the news that Nefertiti, the queen dowager of Egypt, has fallen from power. Kail is relieved that the dire threat posed by the covert communications between Nefertiti and Nakia is now over, but feels certain this development will only fuel the war between the Hittite Empire and Egypt. What neither he nor anyone else on either side of the conflict realizes is how hot things are actually going to get!

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
When Red River first came out, I struggled through the first volume as it felt like just another in a series of titles that was like Fushigi Yugi and I in no way wanted to experience another Miaka event. The idea of a fifteen-year-old girl going back in time isn’t a bad one, and Red River at least changes things up a little bit by sending her to the Hittite Empire, which takes us back quite a way and to a land not often covered never mind a time not often covered. Yuri makes the choice to stay there and work with Kail, now the king of the empire, in order to push forward the idea of a peaceful empire backed by force when necessary.

This volume plays through a few different areas that are all intriguing, though people reading it from the start of the series will likely get more out of it. The opening storyline alone made me a lot more interested in the book as Yuri’s return to where Kail it has her quickly falling into bed with him as the two share what little time they often have together. It’s not exactly explicit, but there’s more nudity than I expected and certainly, a stronger relationship presented here than expected as well with how most books revolve around a fifteen-year-old protagonist. The two have very engaging discussions about their relationship and where it will stand in the midst of the war that’s going on as so much of what they want depends on how the war goes.

The other two storylines that play through this volume are rather engaging, though confusing at times again because of dropping into this in the middle. The first is a mysterious letter of Queen Nakia which is being sought after by different parties. Yuri’s acquisition of the letter recently has opened a whole can of worms with it and there are those that want it back and have no problem using unsuspecting people to regain it. There is a good deal of name-dropping and intrigue in the palace so to speak going on here, which is fascinating to try and figure out at this point as it comes across as complicated yet painting a very large picture of what’s going on with the different groups.

Taking up almost half of the book, the remaining storyline that is dealt with involves the Egyptians whose army is now arriving just at the Northern Byblos border, which means it’s time for the Hittites to meet them in battle. Kail is ready for it and the field chosen is appropriately picked as it doesn’t truly give anyone a serious advantage. There is a very large scale battle that takes place across this, but it’s the smaller stories and battles that really fleshes it out. What made this work so very well for me is that it deals quite a lot with Yuri as she’s taken on the role of Kail’s Dal Meshedi, which is a very valued role in the battle. Unlike most female characters that would flounder and fail, needing to be rescued, Yuri instead thrives in the role. So much so that the Egyptians are targeting her forces in the battle in order to push Kail’s buttons.

Red River, which ran from 1995 to 2002, has an almost classic shoujo look about it with its designs. The men are all lanky and hot in different ways while the women follow a similar kind of design but with a few more curves thrown in. Yuri is really appealing here as she feels like she stepped out of the manga from 1980’s with her facial design and hairstyle, but that adds even more to her fish out of water role here as someone from the end of the 20th century living and a time some three thousand years prior, depending on when exactly this takes place. The contrast in the styles works very well for the book and Yuri comes across the best as a tough, attractive, smart and loyal woman who has made her choice and is working very hard to see it become reality.

In Summary:
Red River is a book that flows really well with what it does here in providing for big action sequences with armies moving across the area, dealing with political intrigue as well as making sure that there are very human and tender moments between some of the characters. With great looking character designs, a certain simplicity in its overall design and a story that’s complicated but accessible, Red River has a lot to offer here and makes me regret not getting past the first volume ages ago. This may not be the best jumping on point, but it’s general accessibility is a very strong mark in its favor in that even twenty-three volumes in, it can get me very interested in it.

Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B

Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: October 14th, 2008
MSRP: $9.99

© Eiichiro Oda / Shueisha · Fuji Television · Toei Animation

It’s Saturday and that means more anime than you can shake a stick at. Crunchyroll has the bulk of it with some really good shows hitting today from a range of genres that include:

• 7:00am – TIME BOKAN THE VILLAINS’ STRIKE BACK
• 7:30am – CASE CLOSED
• 9:00am – THE SILVER GUARDIAN 2
• 10:30am – SANRIO BOYS
• 11:00am – CITRUS
• 12:00pm – DARLING IN THE FRANXX
• 12:30pm – POP TEAM EPIC
• 1:00pm – SLOW START
• 1:30pm – THE ANCIENT MAGUS’ BRIDE
• 8:00pm – CARDCAPTOR SAKURA: CLEAR CARD
• 9:30pm – FOLKTALES FROM JAPAN SEASON 2
• 9:40pm – CARDFIGHT!! VANGUARD G Z

Funimation has two simulcasts for today and three simuldubs as well with:

• 4:00 pm EST – Junji Ito Collection Episode 5
• 4:00 pm EST – Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls Episode 4
• 4:00 pm EST – Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Episode 4
• 8:30 pm EST – Dragon Ball Super Episodes 128
• 9:00 pm EST – One Piece Episodes 826

HIDIVE has three shows today with:

• 6:00 am – Classicaloid 2 Episode 20
• 8:00 am – Takunomi Episode 6
• 12:30 pm – Pop Team Epic Episode 7

As if my slate of books wasn’t stacked pretty high already; Lucasfilm has revealed the novels that will be arriving around the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story film. There are two main books being produced as well as a new comic miniseries. On the comic side, Marvel is producing Lando: Double or Nothing as written by Rodney Barnes and with the art team to be revealed. That’ll run for five issues with Lucasfilm Publishing creative director Michael Siglain saying, “It’s focused on Lando set during an incident right before the film, with backstory about Lando and L3.”

On the novel side, we’re getting Star Wars: Last Shot from Daniel Jose Older that will tackle different points for the character from before the film, before A New Hope, and a post-Return of the Jedi sequence.

“Part of it takes place before the events of Solo and focuses on Lando and L3-37,” Siglain says. “Part of it takes place between Solo and A New Hope, and that focuses on Han and Chewie, and that’s where we get Sana Starros for the first time.”

Also coming out is a Young Adult novel from Rae Carson with Most Wanted. This focuses on Han Solo and Qi’ra back in their teenage years. “This is about the younger, young Han solo,” Siglain says. “We’ll see what it was like for these two kids from Corellia to survive the seedy streets of this industrial world. They’re definitely products of their environment, and this story shows that.”

© 2018 Studio Map

Mamoru Hosoda has his next work is on track with Mirai from the Future as announced recently and the film is scheduled for a July 20th, 2018 release in Japan. We’ve seen the acquisition of it through a couple of fronts and Variety revealed the inclusion of Anime Limited in their story about it yesterday for UK distribution. That has the distributor now talking about it, saying:

Most likely you’ll already have seen our continued efforts to bring the best new theatrical anime this year with our announcement of Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms last month, but we’re not stopping there and are still hard at work building an incredible slate of films for 2018 to bring to cinemas around the UK, and today we’re proud to announce another such film – the latest work from a director we’re sure you’ll all recognise.

mirai_t_pos_B1_outThus, we can confirm that the fourth quarter of 2018 will see us bring the exciting new film from Mamoru Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Wolf Children) tentatively titled Mirai – or Mirai From the Future as an alternate working title – to the UK and Ireland.

The film saw its first key visual and teaser trailer unveiled in Japan at the end of last year, and you can see that visual right here alongside our own English subtitled teaser trailer at the bottom of this post.

Needless to say, we’re still some way from the film arriving in cinemas so we don’t have any further specific details to share at this time, but we have plenty of exciting plans in the works to celebrate what we’re anticipating to be another classic film from Mamoru Hosoda, one of anime’s most well-known and recognisable directors.

Hosoda wrote and directs the film with Hiroyuki Aoyam and Ayako Hata serving as the animation directors. Studio Chizu has handled the animation production and we’ve got a brief teaser for it below.

Plot Concept: The film centers on Kun-chan, a spoiled four-year-old boy in a small house in a corner of a certain city. When his little sister Mirai is born, he feels that his little sister has deprived him of their parents’ affection, and is overwhelmed by a series of first experiences. Amidst his new life, he meets an older version of his little sister Mirai, who has come from the future.

Marvel Comics is bringing together a fun companion piece this May with the release of the X-Men Wedding Special. The book will have three separate tales in it to complement events in the main storyline that focuses on the wedding between Kitty and Peter. The talent involved is pretty sweet with Kelly Thompson (Hawkeye, Rogue & Gambit) and X-Men Gold scribe Marc Guggenheim getting stories plus an all-new Kitty Pryde story from legendary series writer Chris Claremont.

“X-Men weddings are always a big deal, if only because they’re so rare,” teased writer Kelly Thompson. “I think you probably have to go all the way back to X-Men #30 in 1994 – the wedding of Jean Grey and Cyclops – to get a wedding as potentially big as the wedding of Kitty Pryde and Colossus: two X-Men who’ve been around (and on again/off again) for literal decades.”

Plot Concept: In this essential companion to the X-Men Gold (issues #26-30) story ‘Til Death Do Us Part, get a glimpse at Kitty and Peter’s march toward wedded bliss! It’s a celebration, Marvel style, with all the action, adventure and surprises that you’ve come to know and love from Marvel’s merry mutants – and it’s only in comic shops this May!

• X-MEN WEDDING SPECIAL #1
• Written by MARC GUGGENHEIM, KELLY THOMPSON & CHRIS CLAREMONT
• Art by GREG LAND, MARIKA CRESTA & MORE
• Cover by J. SCOTT CAMPBELL
• On-Sale 5/16/18

The danger comes to a head quickly and with disastrous results.

What They Say:
Rin’s anger towards Ryuji Suguro releases as blue flame in front of everyone, resulting in Rin being thrown into prison. While locked up, Shura delivers a letter to Rin from Tatsuma, Ryuji’s father and the head priest of Myohda Sect. From the letter they learn of the relationship between Tatsuma and Shiro Fujimoto, as well as the secret of the demon sword, Kurikara.

Meanwhile, Todo attempts to resurrect the Impure King and Tatsuma tries to disrupt his plans, but despite Tatsuma’s best efforts, Todo resurrects the Impure King!

Now Rin and his classmates must band together and defeat the Impure King!

The Review:
Audio:
The audio presentation for this release comes with the original Japanese language track in stereo as well as the new English language dub that gets the 5.1 bump, both of which are presented in the uncompressed PCM format in at 2.3mbps each. The two mixes are very strong overall with what they do here as they work the forward soundstage as there’s a lot of clarity, placement and appropriate areas of depth when they come along. The show sounded decent on the DVD incarnation, but here everything feels warmer and richer and just generally stronger, though not overdone where it’s brash or obnoxious. The series works the forward soundstage well when it comes to using the dialogue among the characters but it shines more with the action sequences and all the sounds associated with it. The music is decent throughout but it’s the opening and closing sequences where it feels the riches and warmest. Dialogue is clean and clear through and we didn’t have any problems with dropouts or distortions during regular playback.

Video:
Originally airing in 2017, the transfer for this TV series is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 in 1080p using the AVC codec. The six episodes for this release are spread evenly across two discs and pretty much sits at the top end of the bit rate around 39mbps. Animated by A-1 Pictures, Blue Exorcist is simply gorgeous. The visual presentation here has rich colors and the fluid animation is just a delight to watch. Detail is strong and clean and we didn’t have any issues with noise or other encoding defects or any issues with the source material across the thirteen episodes here. This is just gorgeous and feels very in line with the previous series while still coming across as feeling fresh and new at the same time, which isn’t always easy to do.

Packaging:
The packaging for this release comes in a soft slipcover that holds the clear Blu-ray case inside along with the extras. The slipcover artwork is quite nice with some very detailed pieces that has Rin and Yukio together but facing away from each other, yet still connected in a way that works well – especially with the background and the way the logo is put together. It’s the kind of piece that goes for something serious and elegant and largely captures it, albeit with a soft case. The case itself uses different artwork that puts Bon in the center of things all serious as he’s really going all out and it’s definitely a very good piece to use. The set does come with some pack-in material that includes a small selection of gorgeous art postcards of the character artwork as well as a fairly thick overall booklet that’s in color and shows off a lot of the character design work.

Menu:
The menu design for the release is fairly traditional in a way as it provides for a simple but easy to use menu strip along the bottom that covers the basics that you need. The bulk of the menu though is just clips from the episodes themselves, which flashes the logo early on and then runs through a series of character pop-ups that look good and action backgrounds along the way. It has a good flow and everything is easy to navigate overall and works well. I do like that when I select the Japanese language, it automatically tags the proper subtitles for it. It’s a fairly flashy menu that stands out well in the sea of static simple flat color image menus that we’ve been getting from lots of publishers later..

Extras:
The extras for this release are pretty slim as we essentially get just the clean ending for the eleventh episode, which is simply part of the show with credits playing over it but without the credits.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The half season split for Blue Exorcist was essentially a given with how Aniplex USA works its titles in general, especially ones like this where there was obviously a big budget to the show itself and it’s not a cheap on, but sometimes the structure of a show makes it problematic. I had enjoyed the first half that we had a few months ago well enough even though it bumped the adaptation past several volumes of material that wasn’t animated to get to this tale of the Impure King. It reconnected easily overall and what we got was a lot of good drama, some creative things put into motion with Rin, and some action that kept our attention. The back half of the season? It’s mostly just action, which is beautifully animated, don’t get me wrong, and Aniplex delivers it in striking form, but it feels a bit lighter with the distance between releases because all the foundations were there.

The initial events are certainly fun as the Impure King is starting to show itself outside the village on the mountain and we’ve got Rin all secured away, waiting judgment on whether he’ll eventually be executed or not. It’s an interesting sequence because we have Shura basically saying that he needs to decide for himself who he wants to be and gets his sword into his hands. The problem is that because of the way he’s been pushed by so many, he’s now fearful of actually using it and can’t remove it from the scabbard as he’s got one hell of a mental block. That doesn’t stop him from wanting to help with what’s coming and it’s the oh so timely arrival of Mephisto that helps to facilitate that. It’s a fun little bit with Pheles as he’s just got such a way about him but a lot of this is because he has a real interest in Rin and also simply enjoys a good show. He ends up providing some commentary over the course of it but the big key moment here is when Shura says that even if Rin gets an execution order that Pheles would protect him as there’s bigger wheels turning than what the Exorcists are doing.

What the bulk of this set ends up dealing with once past that is the Impure King itself, which for a decent chunk of it is just a sprawling mass of miasma spreading down the mountain. It does get creative as it progresses and there are buildings and other neat structures that allows the exorcists to play with in trying to push it back through supernaturally enhanced flamethrowers, but there’s also a more physical form of it as a massive creature that provides an opponent to rally against. It’s definitely fun and seeing how Rin deals with it for a while before realizing his true strength and working alongside Bon makes for some great moments. For Rin, however the big moment comes in finding some communion with the local spirit that the village engages with and he learns how to master his flames, giving him clarity of purpose in the long run as well with what path he wants to follow.

Though a shorter aspect of the arc, I really liked what we got for Yukio with it as he does a lot of defending the line work with the locals but gets caught up in a fight with Todo as Todo tries to get under his skin as part of the larger plan.There’s a lot going on with the relationship that exists between these two “brothers” and Todo’s attempted exploitation makes a lot of sense and reveals that Yukio really does have a lot of issues to contend with. It’s not all simple or done with and having Rin break out earlier didn’t help since he works so hard to be a proper Exorcist. This material, plus the last episode serving as an epilogue, does a lot of good stuff in setting the show in a proper place. Healing, reconnections being made, and a real bond made with the locals goes a long way toward making all of this feel like a fully realized event rather than just a quick cut and run. There’s obviously plenty more story but taking the time to touch base with a lot of them, especially after some fellow students turned on Rin a bit and others have now moved closer to the academy, it’s all good stuff that brings lots of smiles.

In Summary:
I really like Blue Exorcist as a property and am glad we got another season of it with a mostly self-contained arc that helps to put Rin in a new place moving forward. The season as a whole works well as it’s all about setup and then multiple episodes of payoff that really does deliver. There’s good growth for several characters, revelations for others, and lots that it can do in a moving forward kind of way. This set by itself is just action with the distance of the setup from several months ago so that made it a bit harder to connect with. But it works well because of the quality of the show and Aniplex USA put it together in a great way with the package as it’s a high quality looking work combined with a great thick book of material to sink your teeth into.

Features:
Japanese 2.0 PCM Language, English 5.1 PCM Language, English Subtitles, Ep. 11 Textless Ending Scene

Content Grade: B+
Audio Grade: A
Video Grade: A
Packaging Grade: A
Menu Grade: B
Extras Grade: C

Released By: Aniplex USA
Release Date: February 13th, 2018
MSRP: $74.98
Running Time: 325 Minutes
Video Encoding: 1080p AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen

Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Sony PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Player via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.

The summer and fall 2017 anime series Mahoujin Guru Guru is having its home video releases being handled by Media Factory. With the fifth volume coming up in a few days on February 23rd, 2018, we now have a good-sized look at the cover for it and the packaging in general. They’ve set a solid scheduled for it as the twenty-four episode run will get a six-volume release that began on October 25th, 2017 where they’ll have four episodes each. The DVDs are priced at 9,000 yen each while the Blu-ray’s are priced at 10,000 yen each.

The property comes from Hiroyuki Etou and ran for about a decade back from 1992 to 2003 where there were sixteen volumes produced. The property did have an OVA back in 1994 and it had a TV series in 2000 that ran for almost a year. A sequel series landed in 2012 and the seventh volume came out recently.

The staff for it has Hiroshi Ikehata as the series director with Hisaaki Okui working on the series composition and Naoyuki Asano on character designs.

The Japanese cast includes Shizuka Ishigami as Nike, Konomi Kohara as Kukuri, Katsuyuki Konishi as Kita Kita Oyaji, Yō Taichi as Juju, Yukiyo Fujii as Toma and Takahiro Sakurai as Gipple.

Plot Concept: Nike, a boy from the Boering Village village, is forcefully sent along on a quest to defeat the Devil King after his Hero-worshipping parents see a posting from the king summoning potential heroes.Following the village’s traditions, he visits the magical old lady where he is entrusted with caring for a young girl named Kukuri, who can use the mysterious Guru Guru magic. According to the old woman’s claims, Kukuri is the last survivor of the Migu Migu clan who wields Guru Guru, and she has been waiting for a Hero to appear. It will be a journey filled with laughter and occasional tears. And now the classic fantasy featuring a slacker Hero and a naive young Mage begins to unfold!

Mahoujin Guru Guru Japanese Volume 5 Packaging

Mahoujin Guru Guru Japanese Volume 4 Packaging

Mahoujin Guru Guru Japanese Volume 3 Cover

Mahoujin Guru Guru Japanese Volume 3 Packaging

Mahoujin Guru Guru Japanese Volume 2 Cover

Mahoujin Guru Guru Japanese Volume 2 Packaging

Mahoujin Guru Guru Japanese Volume 1 Cover

Mahoujin Guru Guru Japanese Volume 1 Packaging

[Source: Mahoujin Guru Guru]

The fall 2017 anime series Land of the Lustrous is getting its home video releases handled by TOHO and they’ve set a standard schedule for it. While the third volume just landed, we do now have a look at the packaging with a larger and expanded view of it for the fourth volume that arrives on March 14th, 2018. The twelve episode series is getting a six-volume release that began on December 20th, 2017. The DVDs are priced at 5,800 yen each while the Blu-ray’s are priced at 6,800 yen.

The series was directed by Takahiko Kyougoku based on the series composition by Toshiya Oono. Asako Nishida worked on the character designs with studio Orange handling the animation.

The Japanese cast includes Tomoyo Kurosawa as Phosphophyllite, Mikako Komatsu as Cinnabar, Ayane Sakura as Bort, Ai Kayano as Diamond, Yumi Uchiyama as Rutile, Saori Hayami as Goshenite, Mutsumi Tamura as Morganite, Ayahi Takagaki as Jade, Ari Ozawa as Benitoite, Himika Akaneya as Zircon, Atsumi Tanezaki as Neptunite, Mamiko Noto as Euclase, Junko Minagawa as Yellow Diamond, Rie Kugimiya as Alexandrite, Jouji Nakata as Kongou-sensei, Sayaka Harada as Watermelon Tourmaline, Reina Ueda as Hemimorphite, Hitomi Nabatame as Sphene, and Houko Kuwashima as Peridot.

Serialized in Afternoon magazine since 2012 and has seven volumes out so far, the original work comes from Haruko Ichikawa. Kodansha Comics released the first volume as Land of the Lustrous on June 27th, 2017.

Plot Concept: In the distant future, a new immortal and genderless life form called Gems populate the Earth. The 28 Gems must fight against the Moon Dwellers, who attack them regularly to abduct them and to turn them into decorations. Each Gem is assigned a role, such as a fighter or a medic.

Being only 300 years old, Phosphophyllite is the youngest of the Gems and has no assignment yet. He wants to help to fight the Moon Dwellers, but is too weak and brittle for battle. One day the master of Gems, Adamantine, assigns him the task of creating a natural history encyclopedia.

Land of the Lustrous Japanese Volume 4 Cover

Land of the Lustrous Japanese Volume 4 Packaging

Land of the Lustrous Japanese Volume 3 Cover

Land of the Lustrous Japanese Volume 3 Packaging

Land of the Lustrous Japanese Volume 2 Cover

Land of the Lustrous Japanese Volume 2 Packaging

Land of the Lustrous Japanese Volume 1 Cover

Land of the Lustrous Japanese Volume 1 Packaging

[Source: Land of the Lustrous]

The summer 2017 anime series The Reflection Wave One has its home video release plans being handled by Bandai Visual in Japan. The show is getting a complete Blu-ray box set that lands on February 23rd, 2018 where it’ll be in two different flavors, presumably a regular edition and a limited edition. As we’re just a few days away from that we now have a look at the two sidesof the box set forit that definitely looks good. They’re priced at 24,000 yen and 35,000 yen respectively. The sets will come with a 48p-booklet while on-disc extras include an interview with Lee and Nagahama as well as promos, commercials, and an audio commentary for the first episode.

The twelve episode series comes from an original story by Stan Lee with Hiroshi Nagahama. Nagahama directed the work based on the script by Yasuyuki Suzuki with character designs by Yoshihiko Umakoshi. Trevor Charles Horn is on board with the music and Studio Deen produced the animation.

The Japanese cast includes Shinichiro Miki as Exon, Satoshi Mikami as Ian Izzet / Aigai, Mariya Ise as Eleanor Evarts, Satomi Hanamori as Risa Livingstone, Kanae Yoshii as Kana, Hirona Murata as Hiro, Uki Satake as Uki, Sayaka Nishiwaki as Saya, Shouto Kashii as Dead Wing, Yuuko Sanpei as Flaming Fury, Yoko Hikasa as Steel Ruler, Tomomichi Nishimura as Mister Mystic and Kouki Miyata as Raise.

The ending theme is being performed by 9nine.

Plot Concept: Many people has lost their lives when the sky was covered with smoke contains dark and evil darkness and light to erase it. This incident is called Reflection incident. The rare people who were lucky to be alive are those with super powers called “Reflected”. Among them, some are heroes, others are villains. Why did Reflection happen? What’s the purpose? The new story between the new heroes and villains starts now withholding this big mystery.

The Reflection Wave One Packaging

[Source: Reflection]

© Hiroyuki / Kodansha / Ahogirl Production Committee

The summer 2017 anime series Aho-Girl hasn’t had any home video release plans set until now as King Records has finally set a plan for it. The distributor has scheduled a June 20th, 2018 release for the complete series on Blu-ray priced at 9,800 yen. The set will have the show on a single Blu-ray and will include the original soundtrack CD as well. On-disc extras include the clean opening and closing, commercials, promos, and an audio commentary for the first episode. A booklet will be included as well.

The series had Keizou Kusakawa as the general director with Shingo Tamaki handling direction. The series composition was done by Takashi Aoshima with character designs by Masakazu Ishikawa. Diomedia handled the animation production for it.

The Japanese cast includes Aoi Yūki as Yoshiko Hanabatake, Tomokazu Sugita as Akuru Akutsu, Sayaka Harada as Sayaka Sumino, Sumire Uesaka as Public Morals Committee Chairwoman, Yōko Hikasa as Yoshie Hanabatake, Daisuke Namikawa as Dog, Taku Yashiro as Ryūichi Kurosaki, Sayaka Senbongi as Ruri Akutsu, Rina Satou as Atsuko Oshieda, M.A.O as Akane Eimura, Rena Maeda as Kii Hiragi, and Yuka Iguchi as Kuroko Shiina.

angela performed the opening theme song “Zenryoku☆Summer!” while Sumire Uesaka performed the ending theme song “Odore! Kyūkyoku Tetsugaku.”

The manga comes from Hiroyuki and began back in November 2012 with twelve volumes published so far. The manga was picked up by Kodansha Comics USA with the first volume set to be published in June 2017.

Plot Concept: This 4-koma style manga features Yoshiko, a genuinely stupid girl (she can even manage to get all 0′s on multiple choice tests). She hangs out at school with her childhood friend, who she claims to like, and he has to put up with all her ridiculous behavior!

[Source: Aho-Girl]

© Hiro Mashima / KODANSHA / Fairy Tail Guild

Funimation is gearing up for the March 6th, 2018 release of the Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry feature film as a DVD/BD Comb that also comes with an UltraViolet release and they’ve set a new dub clip for it. Details on the release are still slim as no extras have been revealed for the bilingual project. The latest clip has Natsu coming across the Dragon Cry itself, making for a pretty good moment!

Check out our review of the film.

The film is directed by Tatsuma Minamikawa based on the script by Shoji Yonemura. With animation by A-1 Pictures, Yuuko Yamada served as the character designer and chief animation director.

The Japanese cast includes Tetsuya Kakihara as Natsu Dragneel, Aya Hirano as Lucy Heartfilia, Rie Kugimiya as Happy, Yūichi Nakamura as Gray Fullbuster, Sayaka Ohara as Erza Scarlet, Satomi Satou as Wendy and Yui Horie as Carla/Charle. The new characters cast are Makoto Furukawa as Animus, Aoi Yuuki as Sonya and Jirou Saitou as Zash Caine.

The manga is currently being released by Kodansha Comics in North America while Funimation is handling the anime releases.

Plot Concept: Enter the Dragon Cry, a magic staff rumored to possess the power to destroy the world. For years it’s been safely guarded in the Kingdom of Fiore until Zash, a traitor of Fiore, steals it. Luckily, the task of recovering the Dragon Cry is the perfect job for the wizards of Fairy Tail – Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Wendy, and the cats!

© Aito Hiro · shri · Kadokawa Books

It may be Sunday but it’s also a new anime day! Crunchyroll has four simulcasts with new episodes arriving today that are all fairly different with:

• 10:30am – IDOLISH7
• 11:00am – SCHOOL BABYSITTERS
• 12:00pm – TOUKEN RANBU – HANAMARU 2
• 2:35pm – GINTAMA SEASON 4

Funimation has four simuldubs scheduled for this afternoon:

• 4:00 pm EST – Katana Maidens ~ Toji No Miko Episode 5
• 4:00 pm EST – Black Clover Episode 17
• 4:00 pm EST – Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody Episode 4
• 4:00 pm EST – KARAKAI JOZU NO TAKAGI-SAN Episode 4

HIDIVE has one show today with:

• 9:30 am – Mitsuboshi Colors Episode 7