© RErideD Partners

The fall 2018 anime series RErideD is getting its home video releases handled by Kadokawa and they’ve set a tight release schedule for it. With the first set coming up in a few weeks, especially since the series already finished its broadcast run, we now have a look at the packaging for it that looks quite good. The twelve episode series is getting released as two box sets beginning on December 21st, 2018. They’re being done on Blu-ray only with them each priced at 18,000 yen. Check the schedule and known details below.

Takuya Sato directed the series with the series composition handled by Kenji Konuta. Yoshitoshi ABe worked on the character designs.

The Japanese cast includes Kensho Ono as Derrida Yvain, Himikawa Akaneya as Yuri Dietrich, MAO as Mage Bilstein, Hiroo Sasaki as Vidaux Völker, Kaede Hondo as Mayuka, Kazutomi Yamamoto as Graham, Yu Kobayashi as Donna, Takahiro Sakurai as Nathan Bilstein, Minoru Inaba as Hans Andrei, Kazuyuki Okitsu as Schmidt Maier, Haruki Ishiya as Funt, Wataru Komada as Katze, and Kenichirou Matsuda as Jacques Yvain.

Check out the official site and Twitter.

Plot Concept: The year is 2050. A young engineer named Derrida Yvain became famous thanks to his contribution to the development of the “Autonomous Machine DZ” at Rebuild, the manufacturing company founded by his father. One day, Derrida and his colleague Nathan discover a flaw in the DZs and try to warn their boss, but are ignored. Although Derrida and Nathan are aware of the danger, they reluctantly decide to put off taking any measures, and instead go to Nathan’s daughter Mage’s birthday party. The next day, after enjoying a peaceful day, Derrida and Nathan are suddenly attacked by unknown forces. At the end of the escape, Derrida falls into a cold sleep machine and 10 years later, he wakes up to a devastated world in the middle of a war. While Derrida is attacked by a group of out of control DZs, he almost gives up, but he recalls Nathan’s last words.
“Take care of Mage.”

Despite the harsh fate that has fallen upon him, Derrida sets off to seek Mage.

Beyond the time, we reunite — this is the story of a journey for hope.

ReRideD Japanese Box Set 1 Cover

ReRideD Japanese Box Set 1 Packaging

[Source: ReRideD]

© Akane Shimizu / Kodansha / Aniplex / David Production

The summer 2018 anime series Cells at Work is getting its home video release handled by Aniplex Japan and they’ve set their standard style release for it. With the fifth set coming up in a couple of weeks as the show rolls on, we now have a look at the slipcover and the case artwork below for it! The thirteen episode series is getting a seven-volume release that began on August 29th, 2018. Each disc has two episodes per disc but the first has one episode, which is why the DVD and Blu-ray for that are priced at 3,000 yen and 4,000 yen respectively. The remaining discs are priced at 5,800 yen and 6,800 yen respectively. Check the full schedule below.

The series was directed by Kenichi Suzuki based on the series composition by Yuuko Kakihara. Takahiko Yoshida handled the character design and served as the chief animation director with the animation produced by David Production.

The Japanese cast includes Tomoaki Maeno as White Blood Cell (Neutrophil), Kana Hanazawa as Red Blood Cell (Erythrocite), Kikuko Inoue as Macrophage, Daisuke Ono as Killer T Cell, Maria Naganawa as Platelet, Takahiro Sakurai as Helper T Cell (T Lymphocyte), Saori Hayami as Regulatory T Cell, M.A.O as Eosinophil, Nobuhiko Okamoto as Dendritic Cell, Yūichi Nakamura as Memory Cell, Ayako Kawasumi as Mast Cell, Aya Endo as Senpai Red Blood Cell, Hiroyuki Yoshino as Pneumonia Coccus, Shōya Chiba as B cell, and Mamiko Noto as the narrator.

The theme song of “Mission! Health First” is being done by four members of the cast with Kana Hanazawa, Tomoaki Maeno, Daisuke Ono, and Kikuko Inoue.

The manga began in winter 2015 and has five volumes released so far.

Check out the official site and Twitter.

Plot Concept: This is a story about you. A tale about the inside of your body…

According to a new study, the human body consists of approximately 37 trillion cells. These cells are hard at work every day within a world that is your body. From the oxygen-carrying Red Blood Cells to the bacteria-fighting White Blood Cells, get to know the unsung heroes and the drama that unfolds inside of you!

Cells at Work Japanese Volume 5 Slipcover

Cells at Work Japanese Volume 5 Cover

Cells at Work Japanese Volume 4 Slipcover

Cells at Work Japanese Volume 4 Cover

Cells at Work Japanese Volume 3 Slipcover

Cells at Work Japanese Volume 3 Cover

Cells at Work Japanese Volume 2 Slipcover

Cells at Work Japanese Volume 2 Cover

Cells at Work Japanese Volume 1 Slipcover

Cells at Work Japanese Volume 1 Cover

[Source: Hataraku Saibou]

© Saito Kenji · Nao Akinori / KADOKAWA / Trinity Seven HC Production Committee

With a new feature film coming out next year it’s no surprise to see Avex Pictures stepping in to grab some new sales for past works with Trinity Seven. A new box set is scheduled to land on February 27th, 2019 priced at 20,000 yen that will include the TV series and the first movie. It’s listed as a twelve-disc set that includes the unaired episode from the manga. The disc count has us looking askew at it but the potential for it including CD material as well is there.

The manga for this property started in 2010 and has eighteen volumes to its name as created by Akinari Nao and Kenji Saitou, which Yen Press is currently releasing. The series was directed by Hiroshi Nishikiori based on the series composition by Hiroyuki Yoshino while Shinpei Tomooka did double duty as the character designer and director of photography. The series was animated at Seven Arcs Pictures.

The series stars Yumi Hara as Lilith Asami, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Arata Kasuga, Aya Uchida as Arin Kannazuki, Ayane Sakura as Revi Kazama, Yōko Hikasa as Mira Yamana, Ryoka Yuzuki as Akio Fudo, Rie Murakawa as Yui Kurata, Rie Kugiyama as Sora, Shinichiro Miki as the princinap and Nao Tōyama as Liselotte Sherlock.

Plot concept: Things have been looking sunny for Arata Kasuga lately. Unfortunately, it’s been the wrong sun in the sky, and the mysterious Breakdown Phenomenon that accompanied it destroyed his town and stole his beloved cousin Hiijiri, leaving Arata in a fantasy world of his own creation! There’s still a chance to save her, however, as the appearance of the Black Sun also revealed Arata’s potential abilities as a mage, placing him in the powerful Demon Lord class. But first, since Arata and his newfound magical talents are far too dangerous to leave to their own devices, he’s immediately whisked off to the Royal Biblia Academy. That’s where he’ll meet seven beautiful female mages whose powers are intrinsically tied to the same sins that Arata has to master to put his world back together. Of course, the tricky part is that they have their own plans for him as well! The lessons in sin are about to begin as Arata takes on the TRINITY SEVEN!:

[Source: Trinity Seven]

© 2017 Yasuhiro Naito / Shueisha · Blood Blockade Battlefront & BEYOND Production Committee

The fall 2017 anime series Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond arrived with its home video release on November 20th, 2018 from Funimation and they’re doing a little promotion for it. This clip focuses on a lot of action as the group gets into a pretty good fight that lets a number of players get involved quickly. The set is priced at $64.98 for the twelve episode bilingual release that contains a video commentary, lots of promos and commercials, and the clean opening and closing sequences along with a digital copy.

The series was directed by Shighito Takayanagi with Yasuko Kamo on the scripts. Toshihiro Kawamoto is the character designer and Bones produced the animation.

The show comes from the manga of the same name by Yasuhiro Nightow, who made a name for himself early in the previous decade with his Trigun work. The manga began in 2009 and has nine volumes released so far, with six of them out in North America through Dark Horse Comics. The first season of the anime adaptation was produced by Bones with Rie Matsumoto directing based on scripts by Kazunao Furuya and character designs by Toshihiro Kawamoto.

The Japanese cast includes Daisuke Sakaguchi as Leonardo Watch, Rikiya Koyama as Klaus Von Reinhertz, Kazuya Nakai as Zapp Renfro, Yu Kobayashi as Chain Sumeragi, Hikaru Midorikawa as Zed O’Brien, Ai Orikasa as K.K., Banjou Ginga as Gilbert F. Altstein, Mitsuru Miyamoto as Steven A. Starphase and Yūma Uchida as Sonic Speed Monkey.

Plot Concept: Produced by Studio Bones (Fullmetal Alchemist, Space Dandy, Soul Eater) and created by Trigun writer Yasuhiro Nightow, Blood Blockade Battlefront brings compelling characters and dynamic plotlines together for one unforgettable adventure. After a breach between Earth and the netherworld opens up over New York, humans and creatures from other dimensions become trapped in an impenetrable bubble that surrounds the city. Forced to coexist in a new city known as Salem’s Lot, the shaky peace between humanity and the netherworld creatures is protected by an underground group of super humans known as Libra. When a case of mistaken identity brings not-so-ordinary delivery boy Leonardo Watch face-to-face with this group, he joins their ranks hoping to help prevent the destruction of the world by a group of monsters and madmen lead by a powerful being known as the King of Despair.

The fall season is now in the final month of episodes and we’re moving through the end run for a lot of shows. HIDIVE loads up a new dub for Tsurune while Funimation has some new dubbed material that includes Zombieland Saga. Crunchyroll sticks to some good simulcasts with Black Clover and Boruto getting the day underway already plus a few more.

Crunchyroll:

• 2:00am – BLACK CLOVER
• 4:00am – BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS
• 12:00pm – ANIMA YELL!
• 12:45pm – HIMOTE HOUSE: A SHARE HOUSE OF SUPER PSYCHIC GIRLS
• 1:00pm – SKULL-FACE BOOKSELLER HONDA-SAN
• 1:45pm – TSURUNE

Funimation:

• 10:30 AM – DOUBLE DECKER! DOUG & KIRILL Episode 9 Simulcast Premium TV-14
• 4:00 PM – ZOMBIE LAND SAGA Episode 7 Simulcast Premium TV-MA
• 4:00 PM – Black Clover Episode 59 Simulcast Premium TV-14

HIDIVE:

• 11am – Tada Never Falls in Love (Dub), Ep 11

The latest rankings with what manga and light novels are selling how well in Japan has arrived for the week ending December 2nd, 2018. It’s hard to believe that we’re almost ten years on since Drifters started, but here we are with the sixth volume now arriving and taking the top of the chart on a very light week. With 174,000 units, it’s a pretty good movement for the book. Once past that, however, everything else opens under 90,000 units and by a good number as we get the end-of-month push for lower tier titles and lots of second-week sales factoring in. Ao Ashi is showing some growth while Splatoon has very much found its niche.

On the light novel side the latest Snafu novel adds another 22,000 units to bring it to a whopping 114,000 units so far, a real powerhouse. We get good additional sales onf Gundam NT and the Mahouka latest release as well. There continues to not be a big surge for any of the fall shows, though the Seishun Buta Yarou light nove has gotten the best boost overall.

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

*1. 173,960 173,960 Drifters Vol.6
*2. *89,287 216,108 Saint☆Onii-san Vol.16
*3. *61,306 162,794 Grand Blue Vol.12
*4. *58,262 255,368 Black Lagoon Vol.11
*5. *55,559 *55,559 Splatoon Vol.7
*6. *51,763 343,911 Nanatsu no Taizai Vol.34
*7. *50,061 118,064 Ojisama to Neko Vol.2
*8. *49,439 123,809 Ookiku Furikabutte Vol.30
*9. *48,903 *48,903 Ao Ashi Vol.15
10. *47,862 127,530 Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet Vol.12

11. *45,469 195,160 Terra Formars Vol.22
12. *32,965 143,386 Akatsuki no Yona Vol.28
13. *31,496 218,761 Diamond no Ace Act II Vol.14
14. *27,087 *27,087 Shouwa Tennou Monogatari Vol.3
15. *25,851 *25,851 Asahinagu Vol.28
16. *25,160 *59,386 Marmalade Boy Little Vol.7
17. *25,023 *25,023 Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san Vol.7
18. *24,294 *68,645 Youjo Senki Vol.11
19. *23,974 210,706 Chihayafuru Vol.40
20. *23,602 *23,602 Kono Ai wa, Itan. Vol.3

21. *23,207 *39,213 Knight’s & Magic Vol.7
22. *23,008 145,212 Ahiru no Sora Vol.50
23. *22,828 *44,839 Sayonara Mini-skirt Vol.1
24. *22,183 *22,183 Kenja no Deshi wo Nanoru Kenja The Comic Vol.4
25. *21,931 *22,316 Teito Hatsukoi Shinjuu Vol.5
26. *21,819 150,733 Major 2nd Vol.16
27. *21,686 *22,296 Gedou no Uta Vol.7
28. *21,353 *52,662 JJM: Joshi Judou-bu Monogatari Vol.5
29. *19,521 126,551 Bakemonogatari Vol.3
30. *19,174 *51,845 Suteki na Kareshi Vol.8

31. *18,708 *34,010 Koisuru Intelligence Vol.6
32. *18,280 *44,853 Dame na Watashi ni Koi shite Kudasai Returns Vol.6
33. *17,663 *41,284 Battle Studies Vol.17
34. *17,508 405,006 Yakusoku no Neverland Vol.11
35. *17,418 *97,793 Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo Gaiden: Hannin-tachi no Jikenbo Vol.4
36. *15,947 112,270 Days Vol.30
37. *15,887 252,842 Arslan Senki Vol.10
38. *15,340 *15,340 Moto Saikyou no Kenshi wa, Isekai Mahou ni Akogareru Vol.1
39. *14,725 332,788 Ao no Exorcist Vol.22
40. *14,592 *98,468 Edens Zero Vol.2

41. *14,388 *91,793 Hajime no Ippo Vol.123
42. *14,135 205,606 Ajin Vol.13
43. *13,823 122,603 Shinya no Dame Koi Zukan Vol.5
44. *13,570 *13,570 Around Thirty Mushuusei Vol.6
45. *13,546 *13,546 Kuroneko Kareshi no Amaekata Vol.2
46. *13,471 *13,471 Sekkaku Cheat wo Moratte Isekai ni Teni shita n dakara, Suki na You ni Ikitemitai Vol.1
47. *13,344 *20,789 Dimension W Vol.15
48. *13,013 *39,288 Hanebado! Vol.14
49. *12,998 *24,057 Ikinokore! Shachiku-chan Vol.4
50. *12,783 *12,783 Henjo: Hen na Joshikousei Amaguri Chiko Vol.11

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

*1. 21,956 114,360 Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. Vol.13
*2. *8,250 *13,715 Kidou Senshi Gundam NT
*3. *8,245 109,399 Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Vol.27
*4. *7,850 **7,850 Seirei Gensouki Vol.12
*5. *7,019 **7,019 Last Embryo Vol.6
*6. *6,860 **6,860 Deokure Tamer no Sono Higurashi Vol.2
*7. *6,529 **6,529 Kenja no Deshi wo Nanoru Kenja Vol.10
*8. *5,690 *25,050 Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records Vol.13
*9. *5,515 **5,515 Hisshou Dungeon Unei Houhou Vol.10
10. *5,479 **5,479 Youseiryuu wo Kainarase Vol.6

11. *5,173 **5,173 Owari no Seraph: Ichinose Guren, 19-sai no Sekai Resurrection Vol.2
12. *4,570 *93,234 Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! Vol.15
13. *4,496 **4,496 Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear Vol.11
14. *4,231 **4,231 Shounen Onmyouji “Gendai-hen Too no Nemuri no Mina Mezame”
15. *4,145 **4,145 Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Mou Ichido dake, Aemasu ka? Vol.7
16. *4,108 *22,088 Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata “FD” Vol.2
17. *3,637 *84,603 Seishun Buta Yarou Series Vol.1
18. *3,575 **3,575 Flower Knight Girl: Akaki Houseki to Kodai no Dance Party
19. *3,484 **3,484 Million Crown Vol.3
20. *3,413 **3,413 Kodomo no Ryoubun Remix: Be Under

21. *3,148 **3,148 Kyoumei Hatsujou
22. *2,959 *15,543 Kami-tachi ni Hirowareta Otoko Vol.5
23. *2,908 **2,908 Free Life Fantasy Online: Jingai Himesama, Hajimemashita
24. *2,650 **2,650 Haikyuu!! Shousetsu-ban!! Vol.10
25. *2,631 **2,631 Sekkaku Cheat wo Moratte Isekai ni Teni shita n dakara, Suki na You ni Ikitemitai Vol.4
26. *2,553 **2,553 Koushaku-ke ni Umarete Shonichi ni Atotsugi Shikkaku Rakuin wo Osaremashita ga Kyou mo Genki ni Ikitemasu! Vol.2
27. *2,547 **2,547 Itsuka Yasahii Ame ni Naru

[Source: Oricon Youtaijou via MAL]

Picked p for a ten-episode run in 2017, Netflix is now showing off the first trailer for The Umbrella Academy. The series is an adaptation of the comics by My Chemical Romance lead and prolific writer Gerard Way and artist Gabrial Ba who publishes the work under Dark Horse Comics. The series is set for a February 15th, 2019 debut on the streaming service.

Bookmark the series here.

The series stars Aidan Gallagher,(Ellen Page, Mary J. Blige, Cameron Britton, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Colm Feore, Adam Godley, John Magaro, Ashley Madekwe, and Kate Walsh. The show is produced by Universal Cable Productions for Netflix, with Steve Blackman serving as executive producer and showrunner, and additional EPs Jeff F. King, Mike Richardson, Keith Goldberg, Gerard Way, and Gabriel Bá.

Plot Concept: In an inexplicable worldwide event, forty-seven extraordinary children were spontaneously born to women who’d previously shown no signs of pregnancy. Millionaire inventor Reginald Hargreeves adopted seven of the children; when asked why, his only explanation was, “To save the world.” These seven children form the Umbrella Academy, a dysfunctional family of superheroes with bizarre powers. Their first adventure at the age of ten pits them against an erratic and deadly Eiffel Tower, piloted by the fearsome zombie-robot Gustave Eiffel. Nearly a decade later, the team disbands, but when Hargreeves unexpectedly dies, these disgruntled siblings reunite just in time to save the world once again.

A side story that takes a look at what goes on when the two races meet on the battlefield.

What They Say
The war between the tribes of Light and Shadow has heated up as bloody battles become more and more common. Redheaded Persia and blonde, tanned Sabrina are the only survivors from their unit, and a lovely catch for lurking Shadow Tribe soldiers. But their predators’ are being followed as well, by elven beauties.

The Review:

Features
Japanese 2.0 Language, English 2.0 Language, English Subtitles

Content Grade: D
Audio Grade: B+
Video Grade: B-
Packaging Grade: B+
Menu Grade: B
Extras Grade: N/A

Released By: Kitty Media
Release Date: April 13th, 2010
MSRP: $19.99
Running Time: 60 Minutes
Video Encoding: 480i/p MPEG-2
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1

Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Sony PlayStation3 Blu-ray player via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.

© Yusagi Aneko / KADOKAWA

The anime adaptation for the light novel series The Rising of the Shield Hero is going to be handled by Crunchyroll for its simulcast with it set for a January 2019 debut in Japan. An event this weekend in Japan has now brought out the second promotional video that came alongside three more cast reveals and character design reveals as well as a premiere date and key visual. The series will be directed by Takao Abe based on the series composition by Keigo Koyonagi. Masahiro Suwa is on board as the character designer with Kinema Citrus handling the animation production. Now, the main Japanese cast has been revealed along with a great new key visual to the right.

The newly announced cast includes:

• Sarah Emi Bridcutt as Myne
• Yutaka Nakano as Aultcray Melromarc XXXII
• Hiroki Yasumoto as Elhart

【生放送】追加キャラを公開！

マイン　CV：ブリドカット セーラ恵美
盾の勇者の尚文の最初の仲間。遠慮のない、気さくな女の子だが……。https://t.co/an9EA3jxOc#shieldhero　#盾の勇者の成り上がり pic.twitter.com/3AvalQztzw

— TVアニメ『盾の勇者の成り上がり』 (@shieldheroanime) December 8, 2018

【生放送】追加キャラを公開！

オルトクレイ＝メルロマルク32世
CV：仲野 裕

尚文たちが召喚された異世界・メルロマルクの王。
四聖勇者の中でも盾の勇者・尚文を目の仇にして色々と不公平な態度を取る。https://t.co/an9EA3jxOc#shieldhero　#盾の勇者の成り上がり pic.twitter.com/bpjnUds2oa

— TVアニメ『盾の勇者の成り上がり』 (@shieldheroanime) December 8, 2018

【生放送】追加キャラを公開！

エルハルト　CV：安元洋貴

メルロマルクで武器屋を営む体格の良い親父。
オーダーメイドで蛮族の鎧を作るなど、武器屋としての腕も一流で、尚文達は信頼を置いている。https://t.co/an9EA3jxOc#shieldhero　#盾の勇者の成り上がり pic.twitter.com/ew0ZDABsJq

— TVアニメ『盾の勇者の成り上がり』 (@shieldheroanime) December 8, 2018

The previously Japanese cast includes:

• Kaito Ishikawa as Naofumi Iwatani, the Shield Hero
• Asami Seto as Raphtalia, a demi-human
• Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Ren Amaki, the Sword Hero
• Makoto Takahashi as Motoyasu Kitamura, the Spear Hero
• Yoshitaka Yamaya as Itsuki Kawasumi, the Bow Hero
• Rina Hidaka as Firo
• Maaya Uchida as Melty

【生放送】キービジュアルを公開！
尚文、ラフタリア、フィーロの活躍にご期待ください！https://t.co/an9EA3jxOc#shieldhero　#盾の勇者の成り上がり pic.twitter.com/2YBIqm9m0L

— TVアニメ『盾の勇者の成り上がり』 (@shieldheroanime) December 8, 2018

The series has been going on since 2012 in print published form after starting off as a web novel where it will now have eighteen volumes out as of this August. With a manga adaptation that’s being released in English by One Peace Books, it’s at a surprising place to get an adaptation. The novels come from writer Yusagi Aneko with illustrations by Seira Minami and the manga version is adapted by Kyu Aiya. No details of who is involved in the adaptation were revealed.

Check out the official site and Twitter.

Plot Concept: Naofumi Iwatani was summoned into a parallel world along with 3 other people to become the world’s Heroes. Each of the heroes respectively equipped with their own legendary equipment when summoned, Naofumi received the Legendary Shield as his weapon. Due to Naofumi’s lack of charisma and experience he’s labeled as the weakest, only to end up betrayed, falsely accused, and robbed by on the third day of adventure. Shunned by everyone from the king to peasants, Naofumi’s thoughts were filled with nothing but vengeance and hatred. Thus, his destiny in a parallel World begins…

© LEVEL – 5 / Layton Mystery Detective Company

Pony Canyon is handling the home video release plans for the spring 2018 anime series Layton Mystery Tanteisha: Katri no Nazotoki File and have now updated their plans. The distributor has now set the third box set release for next year as well as updating the singles with three more volumes. We’re also catching up in getting a lot of the artwork posted. The show is getting released as a Blu-ray box set priced at 9,900 yen while the DVD side is being done as three singles priced at 2,800 yen.

The project has Akihiro Hino serving as the creative director and working on the series composition with Susumu Mitsunaka on board as the hands-on director. Yoko Takada is working on adapting the character designs from Tetsuzou Nagano with LIDENFILMS producing the animation.

The Japanese cast includes Kana Hanazawa as Katrielle “Kat” Layton, Juurouta Kosugi as Sherl, Kyousuke Ikeda as Noah Montoir, and Youhei Tadano as Darjeeling Aspowalo.

Plot Concept: “Everything is clarified and it is the motto of our Layton Detective Company”

Professor Layton “Katrielle Layton” is a drama “Charlot” and the assistant’s ” Noah “together with” Layton Detective Company “, and resolves the mysterious incident occurring in London on a daily basis. Originally it was a job that I started with the purpose of searching for my father who disappeared suddenly “El Chal Leighton”, but Nazotake caused by a fantastic idea gradually became a topic, various requests will come in.

Layton Mystery Tanteisha Japanese Box Set 1 Cover

Layton Mystery Tanteisha Japanese Box Set 2 Cover

Layton Mystery Tanteisha Japanese DVD Volume 4 Cover

Layton Mystery Tanteisha Japanese DVD Volume 5 Cover

Layton Mystery Tanteisha Japanese DVD Volume 6 Cover

[Source: Layton Mystery Tanteisha]

It’s been a busy week this past week for the anime world with a lot of things going on, and some interesting Netflix pickups of projects, and we’ve been working through polishing off the last round of arrivals that we had. Which we’re close to doing as the latest UPS delivery alerts have arrived. It’s been a decent week of shorts for me and catching up on a range of shows and having a blast reconnecting with older works and enjoying some recent ones.

While we won’t have reviews right away because there’s just so much freaking content, we got in a pair of releases I’m super excited to revist after not seeing them for years with the best Gundam series ever, G-Gundam.

 

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Well hello my beauties. H/t @nozomient

A post shared by Chris Beveridge (@cjbeveridge) on Dec 7, 2018 at 1:20pm PST

We’ve got a few things up for review this week with some pieces coming in from the review team. For myself, we’re going to get things moving with some good stuff as the week goes on starting with

 

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Next #anime up for review is #juunitaisen from @funimation

A post shared by Chris Beveridge (@cjbeveridge) on Nov 30, 2018 at 8:51am PST

Juni Taisen was a real surprise. One that had me going around extolling it to others, something I don’t often do.

 

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Next #anime up for review is more #hellokitty from @sentaifilmworks

A post shared by Chris Beveridge (@cjbeveridge) on Dec 4, 2018 at 3:35am PST

We worked through some big sets recently and what better way to break it up than with some Hello Kitty?

 

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Next #anime up for review is #uqholder from @sentaifilmworks

A post shared by Chris Beveridge (@cjbeveridge) on Dec 4, 2018 at 6:38am PST

After going through all the Negima works recently, stepping into UQ Holder felt like the right choice.

 

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Next #anime up for review is #zillion from @funimation

A post shared by Chris Beveridge (@cjbeveridge) on Dec 6, 2018 at 3:33am PST

And we’re capping off the week with a look at the Zillion series, which takes us back in time by about thirty freakin’ years.

Bandai Visual is starting to dig into some of its sports properties with some new releases coming up on the Blu-ray side with  The Prince of Tennis. The distributor has set four box sets focusing on the OVA side with aspects of the National Tournament as well as the Another Story series. With the first two sets out so far, the focus is on the December 21st, 2018 release of The National Tournament Final set and we now have a look at the packaging for it and the cover with a close-up image.

The plan includes:

– The Prince of Tennis OVA The National Tournament BD-Box (13 eps):
15000yen + tax. July 27, 2018.

– The Prince of Tennis OVA The National Tournament Semifinal BD-Box (6 eps):
7500yen + tax. September 26, 2018.

– The Prince of Tennis OVA The National Tournament Final BD-Box (7 eps):
10000yen + tax. December 21, 2018.

– The Prince of Tennis OVA ANOTHER STORY BD-Box (8 eps):
10000yen + tax. February 26, 2019.

The Prince of Tennis: BEST GAMES!! Tezuka vs Atobe
– BD: 6000yen + tax / DVD: 5000yen + tax. October 26, 2018.

Property Concept: Seishin Gakuen Junior High School, more commonly known as Seigaku, is one of the most prominent contestants in this battle of the finest. Their team line-up gets even stronger with the sudden arrival of a young prodigy from the West, Ryouma Echizen, who is determined to prove himself and escape the towering shadow of his legendary father. This fine addition changes the team forever.

The Prince of Tennis OVA The National Tournament Final Japanese Box Set Packaging

The Prince of Tennis OVA The National Tournament Final Japanese Box Set Cover

[Source: Prince of Tennis]

There has been a lot of movie stuff going on this past week but the one that topped it was the debut of the Avengers: Endgame trailer where it smashed the records by hitting 289 million views in 24 hours. There’s the usual round of squeaky wheel complaints about it from all quarters but the bulk of those viewing it are excited. And count me among them as there’s a lot of small and neat moments in it that sets the stage for what’s to come, reinforcing the advancement of time, a great Paul Rudd sequence, and my favorite meme about it so far with:

It’s a long wait until April but we have the Captain Marvel film coming up as well and there’s a whole lot to like with that as well. Marvel continues to roll out its standard trio of trailers in pattern with the first one being more for the hardcore fans and enticing with themes while the second is more story oriented material. The third one kind of wraps things up more and solidifies the villain because, as research has shown, the more clear the villain and their plan in these kinds of movies the more potential audiences connect with it through advertising and are interested in going.

This week was light in terms of new movie pickups as there were only a couple of things on iTunes that hit my price threshold with Juliet, Naked and Blackkklansman. The latter is on my to-watch list but I took in Juliet, Naked quickly because I’ve loved Ethan Hawke since the 90’s with Reality Bites and Before Sunrise among others. It’s a fun little movie based on the Nick Hornby novel that I imagine might touch well with some of the others like High Fidelity in a different way. The big win was the focus on Rose Byrne as the lead as she’s just utterly delightful through and through and the film just made me smile constantly throughout it.

I did a movie night for a couple of great folks who had never seen Nightmare Before Christmas and it was just a treat to see this again. I haven’t seen it in several years and getting to revisit it was a very welcome experience.

Backlist movies are where I spent a lot of my time on the background side of viewing during the week while doing various things. And that was mostly a trek-a-thon as I worked through all the Next Generation films. After going through the TOS works first, I admit to finding myself being kinder to these films than I probably was at the times, especially the weaker ones, because there’s just this charm of character and growth that really clicked for me.

I did, however, circle back and watch Star Trek: The Motion Picture. This one was rough for a lot of reasons as they just didn’t get how to make a project like this and there as fallout from the Star Trek: Phase II TV project cancellation. But what I found in revisiting it is that I really wish we’d get this film remade for the present.

I also watched Hereditary but I really feel like I don’t want to talk about it. I really enjoyed the performances and the whole process of trying to figure out what it is that it wanted to do, the gimmick or trick of it all, but the further it went the more disturbed I felt and then hit the final act of the final act and just yelled at the TV.

Which is why after it finished I went in this direction. I’ve got a sequel to watch which meant it was time to go and watch the original Christmas Prince that I missed before.

© Yuji Shiozaki, Shonen Ginjin / Ikki Tousen WW Partners

Announced in October, a new series is coming for a franchise that’s been idle for awhile with Ikki Tousen Western Wolves. Serving as a sequel to the 2014 OVA, it’s set to as a three-episode OVA series at the start of each month on AT-X next year in addition to the home video release. The home video release information was set recently and we’re catching up on that as it’s scheduled for a February 27th, 2019 debut. The DVD is priced at 9,000 yen while the Blu-ray is at 10,000 yen. The sets come with promos, a booklet, and a theme song CD.

It’s directed by Takashi Watanabe as the chief director working with Mitsutoshi Sato as the hands-on director. Masaya Honda is working on the series composition with Rin-Sin returning as character designer and GENCO with the animation production.

The Japanese cast includes Masumi Asano as Hakufu Sonsaku, Kei Shindou as Gentoku Ryūbi, Hitomi Nabatame as Unchou Kan’u, Minori Chihara as Ekitoku Chōhi, Chiaki Takahashi as Himiko, Ami Koshimizu as Shinmen Takezō, Satoshi Hino as Kōkin Shūyū, Yuko Kaida as Shimei Ryomō, Mai Kadowaki as Kōmei Shokatsuryō, Yuu Asakawa as Shiryū Chō’un, Susumu Akagi as Mōtoku Sōsō, Shuuhei Sakaguchi as Genjō Kakōton, Hana Takeda as Chūkō Kyocho, Chiwa Saito as Shikō Sōjin, Rui Tanabe as Mitsuyoshi Yagyū, Yuiko Tatsumi as Yoshitsune Minamotonokurō, Ayaka Ohashi as Chūbō Sonken (replacing Yui Horie), Hiromi Igarashi as Ashiya Dōman, Hisao Egawa as Shikyo Shōnin, Honoka Inoue as Ekisai, Minami Takahashi as Nansai, and Shizuka Itou as Kotetsu.

Check out the official site and Twitter.

Property Concept: Everyone wants a piece of the new girl in town, but nothing turns Hakufu on more than a brutal street fight. She shrugs off her shredded skirts and tattered tops with a flurry of busty badassery while fighting to unite seven rival schools. With no shortage of enemies, why take on one guy when she can take on ten?

In this adventure in which teenage brawlers are guided by jewels infused with the spirits of ancient warriors, Kakufu is content to flash her panties and crack some skulls. But like any hero, she cannot escape her destiny – no matter how dark it may be.

[Source: Ikki-Tousen]

As we barrel toward the end of the fall season and get ready for the winter break, I’m looking forward to catching up on a lot of shows that I’ve gotten behind on as my “TV crew” that I watch a number of shows with haven’t been around as much. I’m also looking to get back into a show that I only got into back in January with Parts Unknown. I became quickly addicted to this series but, like many, hit that brick wall with Anthony Bourdain’s death. The show is one of the best things I watch but I’ve been in a headspace where I just couldn’t do it, though I let the recordings pile up on the TiVo for this time of year when there’s not a lot on. Now I’ve got 74 episodes to dig into and explore and have tackled the Senegal and Greek Islands episodes, which reminded me exactly why I treasure this show so much.

But before I really go all in I have to finish off things like Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later and continue to wonder why. WHY.

This week was rife with sitcoms for me where there were some very funny ones, such as Modern Family and The Good Place but I also really enjoyed Big Bang Theory. The tie-in with Young Sheldon could have been something that just played for simple laughs but with it being the rare time of using his father for the storyline in a positive way rather than the butt of a joke, that was a huge plus and really made the whole thing work very well.

I do keep hoping that The Gifted gets canceled. I can’t figure out what they’re really trying to accomplish here beyond a spaghetti against the wall kind of approach to finding something that clicks. It really makes me want Emma Dumont in a better show with better material to work with when it comes to the Lorna character.

On the flip side, Legends of Tomorrow continues to absolutely delight with how it operates and I’m glad to see Oliver back on the outside with Arrow. This season still needs to get thing to a better place as I continue to be absolutely done with Diaz and want no more of that.

What capped off my week in a really great way is my bi-weekly viewing of Titans on DC Universe. I’ll be doing a full season review when it’s done but these last two episodes were great. A good focus on Donna Troy and tying into her younger days with Dick under the watchful eye of Bruce and Diana was great and seeing an adult Donna finding her way in the world was fun. But for my money, the Hawk and Dove episode with their backstory explored was fantastic and left me really craving their own series once again. Alan Ritchson is perfect as Hank Hall and the man is a finely chiseled piece of humanity that really captures the power of the role well. I also really loved seeing them bring in Elliot Knight as Don Hall, his half-brother and the storyline they explored there to dig into the defining moments of both of their young lives. And getting more of Minka Kelly as Dawn and seeing how she and Hank came together was great/brutal at the same time – but we got some Marina Sirtis as her mother and that delighted the hell out of me.

I know the show gets a lot of gruff from a number of folks but it damn well delivers for me.

What are you watching?

© GoHands, Frontier Works / W’z-Project

The winter 2019 anime series W’z is getting it home video releases handled by Frontier Works and they’ve set a decent schedule for it. The series is getting a thirteen episode run plus OVA that will be released beginning February 27th, 2019. The first volume for both is listed at 3,700 yen while the second through fifth volumes for both formats are priced at 8,000 yen each.

The series will have Katsumi Fukuhara as the leading character Yukiya who is a 14-year-old student that’s into DJing as well as Toshiki Masuda as Midori, a 19-year-old man who became a company director a young age.

The rest of the Japanese cast includes Yōko Hikasa as Yukine, Katsumi Fukuhara as Yukiya/Y’s, Toshiki Masuda as Midori, Shunsuke Takeuchi as Seba, Takuya Eguchi as Gai, Yoshinosuke Yamagami as Masataka, Daisuke Namikawa as Fumiyuki, Jun Fukuyama as Reijirō, Akane Fujita as Haruka, Inori Minase as Senri, Atsumi Tanezaki as Hana, and Minami Takahashi as Tamari.

The original announcement brought a list of a wide range of musical artists that will participate, which means there’ll be a lot of music-oriented merchandise with it. That list includes acro jazz laboratories, Afro Soma, A June & J Beat X OCTOBER, Asuka Mochizuki, Avens, CM Smooth, DJ Chika a.K.a. INHERIT, DJ Juice, DJ Ryow a.K.a. Smooth Current, GEMINI, Hiroki Mizukami, Incise, Jay Lee, Kenichiro Nishihara, Kondor, Leehahn, LEMS, Marcus D, MIC B A.K.A. 73 PIKE SET, Nomak, Robert de Boron, Ryosuke Kojima, re:plus, Sam Ock, SoulChef, Still Caravan, and 216Project.

Check out the official site and Twitter.

Plot Concept: The story deals with Yukiya, who is “probably” 14 years old. He spends his time DJ-ing alone. Due to his father’s influence, he’s listened to house music since he was young, and he uploads videos online. He wants to convey something to someone. He wants to be recognized, and become important. But getting hurt is scary. One day, while trying to get more views, he does something that can’t be undone. And he sees a live broadcast from “that world.” Yukiya believes he can’t do anything alone, but that he could accomplish something if he were doing it together with someone else.

[Source: W’z]

Funimation’s continuing to work on bringing out the Dragon Ball Super anime series on home video (and Toonami) and we’re just pining for more new episodes in the future. Until then, however, we’re getting to revisit everything on home video and now the sixth set is scheduled for a January 8th, 2019 debut. With that coming up soon, Funimation has a new trailer to highlight what’s involved with it..

Toei Animation is animating the series that comes from a story concept from Akira Toriyama. The debut of the series marks the first new series for the property in eighteen years. The show is being broadcast in Asia, Germany, and elsewhere through various agreements set up.

The cast includes Masako Nozawa as Son Goku, Son Gohan and Son Goten, Ryo Horikawa as Vegeta, Hiromi Tsuru as Bulma, Takeshi Kusao as Trunks, Mayumi Tanaka as Krillin, Masaharu Satou as Kame-Sen’nin, Toshio Furukawa as Piccolo, Naoko Watanabe as Chi-Chi, Yuko Minaguchi as Videl, Unshou Ishizuka as Mr. Satan, Kôzô Shioya as Majin Buu, Kouichi Yamadera as God of Destruction Beerus and Masakazu Morita as Whis.

Plot Concept: The universe versus universe tournament finally has it winner with it, a chance to wish on the Super Dragon Balls! But are they really going to wish something like that?! Then, after an unexpected visit to a bizarre planet, a sudden SOS from the future arrives in the form of Future Trunks! What horror plagues his timeline, and can the Z Fighters face a foe that looks exactly like Goku?

The fall season is now in the final month of episodes and we’re moving through the end run for a lot of shows. Crunchyroll has a good slate of shows with more Slime and Golden Kamuy on tap while Funimation works through a new dub episode of ReRideD along with a few other things. HIDIVE has a new simulcast and some new dub availability with Hitorijime my Hero.

Crunchyroll:

• 8:00am – THUNDERBOLT FANTASY SWORD SEEKERS2
• 11:30am – THAT TIME I GOT REINCARNATED AS A SLIME
• 12:30pm – GOLDEN KAMUY
• 1:00pm – SPACE BATTLESHIP TIRAMISU ZWEI
• 1:30pm – FIST OF THE BLUE SKY: REGENESIS
• 3:00pm – XUAN YUAN SWORD LUMINARY

Funimation:

• 4:00 PM – Fairy Tail Episode 284 English Simulcast Premium TV-14
• 4:00 PM – That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Episode 8 Simulcast Premium TV-14
• 4:00 PM – RErideD – Derrida, who leaps through time – Episode 7 English Simulcast Premium TV-14

HIDIVE:

• 6:30 am – The Girl in Twilight Episode 11
• 11:00 am – Welcome to Pia Carrot!! 2DX
• 1:00 pm – Hitorijime My Hero Episode 5 (Dub)

© Eiichiro Oda / Shueisha · Fuji Television · Toei Animation

What They Say:
Luffy, through sheer force of will, can almost use his Haki to battle Katakuri! Meanwhile, the Sunny catches fire while the Straw Hats try to kick out Big Mom but that’s when Jimbei steps up to the plate and takes a swing at her!

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
A skip week can slow down the way a series moves sometimes in a way that you wouldn’t always expect. One Piece tends to not have this problem as much simply because the nature of its arcs and how its momentum is almost always a slow-building event that eventually hits and retreats quickly. The show continues to have a lot going on in small places with the various subplots that are going so that it can take a gap hit well and let us reconnect with them individually, especially since they sometimes push one or two the side here and there to focus on one of the plots.

A lot of this episode focuses on the ongoing fight between Luffy and Katakuri, which deals with the problem Luffy has in being able to go all out as he’s still not fully recovered. There’s a lot of this fight overall and it’s painted well as Luffy going the distance in holding his own against him, but this fight has bored me for a dozen episodes already. More interesting is watching Big Mom on the Sunny looking for her cake as she begins to tear things apart, sword in hand and hair a flamin’. It’s a good look that shows someone dangerous that can inspire the fear it does in the Straw Hats as they see the damage that the Sunny is taking with her on board. Big Mom’s singlemindedness plays well here as she hunts for the cake that’s not here that she needs and the reactions are strong, especially knowing Carrot is recovering below as well. The Sunny hasn’t taken a beating like this in forever.

Which does make it amusing that a “splash” of water helps to shift the balance, at least momentarily here, with how the battle is going. Dousing the flame of her hair and the attack in general shifts how everything feels for a moment but I love that it just turns her even more irate. A lot of the appeal in this is that it lets Jimbei go up against her directly and I’ve been a huge Jimbei fan since the Impel Down storyline. So getting him going all out in a big way against a longtime threat like this, and doing it so well, is just a beautiful sequence. The fight here does get to go in some interesting directions that’s better than the ongoing chase that it’s been, such as the rematch with Brook that happens and his remembering of some of what happened before that’s coloring his view of how to go against her now.

In Summary:
While One Piece doesn’t deliver much in the way of real and true progress here we do get a very fun episode. Getting more time with Luffy and Katakuri really is just boring me completely at this point, though thankfully that doesn’t dominate this episode. What does is Big Mom arriving on the Sunny and facing off against the Straw Hats. There are a lot of fun and creative moments with this throughout that are all tied to the way she’s tearing up more and more of the ship, which gives it a bit more weight. Hopefully, we’ll see some resolution on some of these arcs soon and begin some real forward momentum again.

Grade: B

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

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

It’s a quiet weekend at the box office in terms of new films coming out as everything is getting loaded closer to the holiday but there is some significant news that hit. Aquaman hit overseas this weekend with a Chinese debut. The film did $93.6 million, which is $3 million more than Wonder Woman did in total there. It’s $2 million short of the lifetime run for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice there and is about $12 million shy of what Justice League did there in total. Suffice to say, the buzz for the film is only going to increase from here – especially since it became the #1 film globally for the weekend and from just one market. The film really dominated in China where it represented 85% of what was seen this weekend.

This weekend didn’t have anything of note going big and wide and that’s left us with a similar chart to last week with smaller numbers overall. Ralph Breaks the Internet takes the top spot with a $16 million take to bring it to $141 million while The Grinch adds another $15 million to bring it to $223 million. The kids/family fare is doing well s expected and it seems like the early launch for The Grinch has served it well.

Creed II took the third place spot where it added another $10 million to bring it just shy of $100 million while The Crimes of Grindelwald, which I was glad to finally catch in the theater this past week, added another $6.8 million to bring it to just over $145 million. It’s still the weakest of them all and its worldwide take is now at $568 million.

The Favourite expanded by 57 theaters this weekend to bring in $1.4 million that gets it to the $3.4 million mark and a decent marketing campaign to raise awareness for it as it gets ready to expand into 525 screens next weekend.

While it didn’t chart, the 25th-anniversary release of Schindler’s List brought in $551,000 with its 1,000 screen run. It wasn’t promoted hardly at all from what I could see so that’s no surprise.

Overseas also saw the debut of Mortal Engines ahead of the domestic side where it did $17.9 million in 43 markets with Russia being the biggest at $4 million.

This coming Wednesday sees the arrival of Once Upon a Deadpool in 500 screens. Friday has Universal bringing out Mortal Engines in 3,000 screens while Warner Bros. hits up 2,400 screens for The Mule from Clint Eastwood. Sony’s betting big on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse with more films coming as it prepares to open in 3,400 screens.