New mysteries abound.

Creative Staff:
Story: Evan Dorkin
Art: Jill Thompson
Letterer: Nate Piekos of Blambot

What They Say:
A team of paranormal investigators poking around Burden Hill disturb the graveyard where the ”Master” lies, setting off a chain of events that will have serious consequences for the animal defenders of the haunted town.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Eally enjoyed the previous series that we got for this property as it worked well even without reading the original Beasts of Burden series. With this work, The Presence of Others, Evan Dorkin works with Jill Thompson this time for the artwork. It’s definitely a different flow and feel compared to what we had before but that helps this to be its own work as well, particularly since there are a lot more people actually in the series and not just animals. I’ve long been a fan of Jill Thompson’s work predating her time on Sandman years ago and seeing her working still after all these years just delights me because she’s got such a great eye for composition and laying out the scene through the flow of panels.

Our entry into this world this time around is through a family that’s also a team of paranormal investigators. The father, Paul, has brought his two teenage kids to the mountain to investigate what’s going on there with two people that died here recently. He’s got a gift like his daughter Sabina that goes back a few generations while his son Russ doesn’t. But Russ can be attuned to it if he holds Sabina’s hand. That comes in handy while they prepare to dig for the first body that they believe is hidden out here only to have a good-sized group of Wise Dogs show up and just start talking to them. There’s still something of a myth about the Wise Dogs existing anymore but tales are still told and the family is fully aware of them, just not having seen them personally before. What this turns into is a great back and forth about what they are, what the family is looking for, and how they can kind of help each other.

There’s a good feeling to the family dynamic here as they’re all on the same page, even if the kids aren’t thrilled with being away from their mother and the fact that this particular town sucks. But watching them as they deal with the sudden arrival of a group of rats (not the bad kind) and then a giant evil rat (the bad kind) and how they deal with that and more is pretty exciting. None of the human characters get a lot of real depth but we understand them through their narration-writing at first and then a good look at the dynamic as they interact with each other, which in its own small way wins over the Wise Dogs. The dogs themselves are intriguing but we get so many of them so quickly here that it’s hard to really latch onto any of them in a big way, though Pugsy makes himself stand out because of his gallows sarcastic side as they all begin to work together.

In Summary:
We get the first slivers of the story here but I’m hard-pressed to read too much into it at this point as it’s all exploratory and it feels like bigger things are about to be introduced that will dominate. I like the human family that we get here as it plays the paranormal investigator team well and it provides some insights into how the world of Wise Dogs works – something I missed out on having not read the original series. The investigations here are just the edge of what’s going on so I’m interested to see where it goes from here and have a lot of aith based on Dorkin’s prior works. What makes it a delight even if the story doesn’t catch by the end is that we get a great run of Jill Thompson artwork with fantastic characters, great looking Wise Dogs, and some beautiful coloring that makes it feel like a part of what’s come before but also its own thing.

Grade: B+

Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: May 1st, 2019
MSRP: $3.99

While we saw Crunchyroll handle the simulcast for Twin Star Exorcists previously, the streaming service is now adding a bit more for the show. The’ve now added the complete run of the series in its English dubbed form that has been on Funimation’s service. The show had Ryan Johnston and Suzanne Goldish directing it with a cast that included Bryce Papenbrook as Rokuro Enmado, Cassandra Lee Morris as Benio Adashino, Laura Summer as Mayura Otomi, Vic Mignogna as Yuto Ijika, Erica Lindbeck as Kohana, Todd Haberkorn as Ryogo Nagitsuji, Joey Lotsko as Kinako, Alex Evette as Kinu Furusato, Brian Beacock as Shinnosuke Kunizaki, Kate Higgins as Subaru Mitejima, and Johnny Yong Bosch as Shimon Ikarugaon.

No regional availability was listed with the announcement.

Check out our review of the first set.

The series was directed by Tomohisa Taguchi, who has worked on a lot of Persona works recently, with animation being done at Studio Pierrot as we previously knew. Shisho Igarashi served as the assistant director and they worked off of the series composition from Naruhisa Arakawa. Character designs were handled by Kikuko Sadakata.

The cast includes Natsuki Hanae as Roku Enmadou, Megumi Han as Benio Adashino, Ayumu Murase as Yuto Ijika, Yu Serizawa as Mayura Otomi, Junichi Suwabe as Seigen Amakawa, Kaito Ishikawa as Shimon Ikaruga, Daisuke Namikawa as Arima Tsuchimikado, Tomoaki Maeno as Ryougo Nagitsuji and Jun Fukuyama as Kinako.

The series is directed by Ryan Johnston and Suzanne Goldish and produced by Crunchyroll. The cast includes Bryce Papenbrook as Rokuro Enmado, Cassandra Lee Morris as Benio Adashino, Laura Summer as Mayura Otomi, Vic Mignogna as Yuto Ijika, Erica Lindbeck as Kohana, Todd Haberkorn as Ryogo Nagitsuji, Joey Lotsko as Kinako, Alex Evette as Kinu Furusato, Brian Beacock as Shinnosuke Kunizaki, Kate Higgins as Subaru Mitejima, and Johnny Yong Bosch as Shimon Ikarugaon.

Originally kicking off at the end of 2013, the original manga comes from Yoshiaki Sukeno, whose previous series, the supernatural manga comedy Binbougami ga!, was adapted into the anime Good Luck Girl in 2012. Viz Media is releasing the manga in North America.

Plot Concept: He vows to never use his powers—she wants revenge for her family. But when a prophecy states that 14-year-olds Rokuro and Benio will be the parents of the child destined to save the world, things don’t go as planned. Only their combined powers can defeat the invasion of monsters from another realm. Which means that before these two can have a baby, they’ll have to raise a little hell.

A new wave of kidnappings with deep ties to the past.

Creative Staff:
Story: Stephanie Phillips
Art: Evgeniy Bornyakov
Colors: Lauren Affe
Letterer: Troy Peteri

What They Say:
Conspiracy theories, government corruption, and a really good mix of Prince drives David Corey to help solve the mysterious disappearance of a famous politician’s son. When David realizes that the truth is much more dangerous than a kidnapping, he must battle ancient secrets that have endangered the lives of children for centuries. This conspiracy-fueled adventure story looks at the darker side of American history through the eyes of an unlikely team of heroes. If they fail, the American government and its people may not survive.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
I’ll admit, my enjoyment of conspiracy theories have taken a real hit in the past decade as more and more people latch onto them so seriously even when there are such obvious realities about many of them. AfterShock has a couple of books that have delved into conspiracies and launches this new one from writer/creator Stephanie Phillips. There are a few things going on here but it hits its stride pretty early on overall and gets you ready for the ride ahead. With this book she’s working with artist Evgeniy Bornyakov and he’s put together a pretty solid book here with distinctive designs and a sense of the world it all inhabits. I like the character details and the way they move and the designs in general.

The premise here is one that takes us back to Lindbergh a bit with a new little twist. In the here and now, we get Senator Miller preparing for his run for the presidency only to have his two-year-old son kidnapped right from under him and his wife in their house. We see the strange symbol that’s tied to the ransom note and later get the reveal that the Lindbergh baby correspondence contained the same piece. For the Millers, it’s pretty standard fare stuff here as they deal with it politically and go public even though the note says otherwise and the forensic team discovers a larger symbol hidden in the room that raises interest, especially if there’s a mystical level to it that could be neat. It’s a solid setup for the bigger picture, especially as other children of politicos start to disappear.

The catalyst for events to get out there more comes in the form of Davis, a young man who runs roughshod onto Langley in order to hold them accountable for mind control experiments he’s convinced that they’re running. While he gets out of all of this all too easily thanks to his ex-wife lawyer in a way that just drove me bonkers, what we get is someone who uses his vlog in order to expose the conspiracies that exist all around us. A few wrong ones don’t diminish the times that he’s right and we see why he’s convinced he’s right about this. But the reveal of that symbol on TV moves in toward something far more reaching into his bailiwick than the mind control piece because of all the things that go back to Lindbergh. How he’ll connect to it is unclear at the moment but the book sets up plenty of different characters while keeping our mystery interventionists out of sight for now.

In Summary:
Descendent has some interesting angles it can pursue here and my general interest in the of conspiracy theories as an exercise in thought will have me enjoy it. The problematic piece was how quickly Davis ends up out of custody and that really took me out of the way the book was building things. I’m definitely curious as to where it’ll go as we’ve got some good characters to work with right out of the gate. I’m also really keen just from the visual design aspect of the symbol and what the covers are teasing for who we’re dealing with. It’s just the opening salvo so there’s plenty of room to grow here with it with what Phillips and Bornyakov are bringing to the table.

Grade: B

Age Rating: 15+
Released By: AfterShock Comix
Release Date: May 1st, 2019
MSRP: $3.99

Sentai Filmworks has their SDBD release of the Pet Shop of Horrors OVA series coming up on July 9th, 2019 and they’re now rolling out a look at the finalized packaging for it. The 100-minute set will be in bilingual form priced at $19.98. No extras are solicited with the set. Check out the finalized full look below!

Plot Concept: Are you seeking something unusual in a pet to fill an empty space in your heart? Then venture, if you dare, into a strange little pet shop in Chinatown, where the mysterious proprietor knows your every need and desire. But watch out. When you buy from Count D, what you get may be what he thinks you deserve rather than what you want. So even if that rare rabbit does somehow look just like your lost child, perhaps you’d be safer shopping somewhere else. That’s certainly what Detective Orcot of the LAPD would advise, as nightmarish things seem to keep happening to the shop’s customers. Unfortunately, there’s never been quite enough evidence to implicate the Count. And until there is, business will continue to boom at the PET SHOP OF HORRORS.

The winter 2018 anime series Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san, aka Teasing Master Takagi-san, did pretty well last year and we learned recently that a second season is officially coming this summer. With that in mind, TOHO is doing some new promotion with the creation of an anime music video for the first season opening song. That was with Yuiko Ohara’s “Iwanaikedone” and comes with the news that they’re returning for the second season opening song with “Zero Centimeter” as the song. Check out the key visual for the second season below the music video as well!

Check out our review of the first season.

Hiroaki Akagi directed the first season based on the series composition by Michiko Yokote. Aya Takano adapted the character designs with Takuji Mogi serving as the chief animation director with Natsuko Kondou at Shin-Ei Animation. The manga currently runs in Gessan magazine after moving there from Gessan Mini where it kicked off back in 2012. There are nine volumes out so far.

The Japanese cast includes Rie Takahashi as Takagi-san, Yuki Kaji as Nishikata, Rie Takahashi as Takagi-san, Konomi Kohara as Mina, M.A.O as Yukari, Yui Ogura as Sanae, Yūma Uchida as Nakai, Kotori Koiwai as Mano, Nobuhiko Okamoto as Takao, Fukushi Ochiai as Kimura, and Hinata Tadokoro as Tanabe-sensei.

【ティザービジュアル第2弾！】アニメ第2期のティザービジュアル第2弾を公開！今日から5月ということで「鯉のぼり」で遊ぶ高木さんと西片くんです！
令和の時代も『からかい上手の高木さん』をよろしくお願いいたします！https://t.co/C24kFFbhpB#高木さんめ pic.twitter.com/sj9Fo0O2C2

— TVアニメ『からかい上手の高木さん』公式 (@takagi3_anime) May 1, 2019

The English language dub was directed by Jeremy Inman based on the scripts by Matt Shipman. The English cast includes Aaron Dismuke as Nishikata, Sarah Wiedenheft as Takagi, Blake Shepard as Takao, Chris Thurman as Nakai, Cris George as Tanabe, Jerry Jewell as Kimura, Kristen McGuire as Yukari, Kristi Rothrock as Sanae, and Leah Clark as Mina.

Yen Press is releasing the manga in North America while Funimation brought out the first season of the series.

Plot Concept: Tired of being mercilessly teased by his classmate Takagi, Nishikata vows to get back at the girl that’s made him blush countless times. After all, if you blush, you lose! But getting vengeance isn’t so easy when every attempt blows up in his face. Will Nishikata ever make Takagi blush, or will he gain something more fulfilling from his bumbling attempts?

New twists enter the picture.

Creative Staff:
Story: Ryan Parrott
Art: Marco Itri
Colors: Leonardo Paciarotti
Letterer: Marshall Dillon

What They Say:
With their quest seemingly drawing to a close, Hale-19 and Amber-7T are suddenly pulled in dangerous opposite directions. One comes face to face with their past, the other with a dark potential future. Questions will be answered as we move ever closer to the truth at the heart of this sci-fi epic.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The fourth installment of Volition was a fun trip but a difficult one as it went almost three months between issues. I had hoped for better going into the fifth but we basically ended up with the same thing, which for the story that Ryan Parrott has constructed doesn’t help it at all. It’s not super complicated but it’s a standalone tale and a lot of time between issues makes things easy to forget. What’s changed with this one is that Marco Itri has stepped in to take over the art duties with Leonard Paciarotti on the color design. It’s not the same as what Omar Francia did in the first three issues and it’s unfortunate because it was some high-end beautifully painted style work. But that was likely causing the significant delays and has me hopeful that we’ll see more of his work in original graphic novel form instead as that’s where it’ll shine.

This issue has Hale and Amber ending up at Jalon’s place while they try to lay low as they’re still being very much hunted. That does have them coming up with a bit of a cover story in order to not panic Jalon or get him drawn into things which is a plus. It’s nice seeing the way Amber is with him since they have a past as well as seeing how well Jalon has moved on, getting married and having a son named Oliver. But it’s all something that Amber has to put to the side in her quest to figure out what’s going on and the truth behind the rust cure that she’s been tracking. That even has her going for what looks like an obvious trap with the secret entrance below a church that they’ve mapped out and been told to go to by the mystery voice. They know it’s a trap but still have to spring it.

That it’s a dog art down there is surprising, but revealing that it’s actually working with Elizabeth and she’s telling them to stop hunting for her adds a new wrinkle. This is all confusing to be sure, partially as I’ve forgotten some story material I read back in January, but for Amber and Hale it feels like they’re being told to forget about something hugely important – even if she does say that their hunt is bringing harm to a lot of others. Of course, they’re being tracked by those we’ve seen before so the book turns to a good bit of action where Amber and Hale get split and new revelations are starting to trickle out that changes everything. It’s a solidly put together book and I like the flow of it overall as the action has a good design to it even if some of the backgrounds for it are just a lot more basic than what we’ve grown accustomed to with this series.

In Summary:
I hate to see a great artist depart a series, even if likely was for the delays between issues because it was hampering the title I’m guessing. The new team here does a solid job and they capture the general designs well, but it’s clearly not the same thing. But there’s a good story here and it’s easy to adapt over to what Itri and Paciarotti bring to the title as we continue to follow the crazy path that Hale and Amber are on. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next with it because we do get a few twists in this issue that changes our understanding of what’s going on, or at least opens us up to some different perspectives on it all.

Grade: B

Age Rating: 16+
Released By: AfterShock Comics
Release Date: May 1st, 2019
MSRP: $3.99

© Go Nagai / Dynamic Planning – Project CHU

As part of the 50th anniversary Go Nagai’s work, the spring 2018 season included a new incarnation of one of the more popular mainstream works with Cutie Honey Universe. Sentai Filmworks picked it up this time last year revealed at Anime Boston that they’ll be dubbing the series for release on Blu-ray. Even better is that Jessica Calvello is confirmed to come back to play Cutie and that David Wald is directing it. With the release set for a July 23rd, 2019 debut, we now have a look at the packaging for the regular edition release of it in full, and a reminder of how great the limited edition looks as well.

Akitoshi Yokoyama directed the series based on the series composition by Natsuki Takahashi. Shuuichi Iseki served as character designer and animation director with Production Reed handling the animation.

The Japanese cast includes Maaya Sakamoto as Honey Kisaragi/Cutey Honey, Atsuko Tanaka as Sister Jill, Kousei Tomita as Danbei Hayami, Rie Kugimiya as Tarantula Panther, Shintarō Asanuma as Seiji Hayami, Yui Horie as Natsuko Aki, Yuka Terasaki as Junpei Hayami, Ippei Orishima as Kogoro Iboji, Katsuji Mori as Professor Kisaragi, Minoru Shiraishi as Alphonse, Romi Park as Naoko, Rui Tanabe as Akebi Tetora, Ryo Naitou as Pochi’s Wife, Yu Kobayashi as Miharu Tsuneni, and Yūki Hirose as Momomi Wareme.

Plot Concept: Cutie Honey Universe follows Honey Kisaragi, an amazingly humanlike and fashion conscious android with the unique ability to transform her body into a wide range of outrageous yet stylish disguises, each of which comes with its own dazzling super ability. After a run-in with a sinister secret criminal cabal organization, Panther Claw, the luscious and law-abiding Honey makes it her mission to bring them down.

“The empire is like a giant with a small blanket.”

Creative Staff:
Story: Mark Russell
Art: Mirko Colak
Colors: Dearbhla Kelly
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

What They Say:
“The Brothers Of Misfortune” The Zamoran Empire musters a fleet of war chariots to rush arms and provisions to the front line. Hyrkania would be lost, were they not led by Sonja The Red, who knows it is not enough to know one’s own strength, but to understand the strengths, and weaknesses, of one’s opponents. By award-winning writer MARK RUSSELL (Exit Stage Left, The Wonder Twins) and MIRKO COLAK (Conan).

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The war as it has unfolded so far has been quite engaging to watch with Sonja as the unexpected Queen. Mark Russell has given the Hyrkannian’s the perfect personalities here as we see them deal with the Zamoran Empire and how Sonja in particular responds all while coming across as hugely wear. It also helps, once again, that Mirko Colak is turning in some fantastic material. I continue to really enjoy his take on these lands and how oppressive they feeling which is captured in the movements and expressions of every Hyrkannian we come across, even when they work their gallows humor. There’s an oppressive tone to the artwork that completely fits here perfectly.

Dagan’s plans take shape with the arrival of the chariots from the capital and he’s still feeling reluctant about all of this. As he says, the empire is like a giant with a small blanket and when you move resources from one place it makes that place vulnerable, so you’re always adjusting your strengths and weaknesses. His aides are confident with the new plan to send the chariots out to crush their opponents and you do know that they’d be crushed under it simply because they’re not a proper standing army that knows how to deal with them. There’s some good setup for the fight to come for this and a nod to Sonja’s past as another lesson she learned years ago that’s influencing her decision-making in the here and now. I do like these moments of added depth but I also hope that they’re not going to be used every issue.

Sonja’s time away from these lands has her not sure how to proceed because of what’s coming but there’s help from her cousin with that. The land has changed over the years and offers them a way to blend in sight unseen so as to get behind the chariots, which is the only way to really deal with this kind of problem. It’s a delightful run in seeing the setup for this and then the attack itself, all while there’s a real kind of weariness to Sonja that I really do find engaging. She’s setting up for the bigger picture here as well in how to protect as many of her people as possible, but that weariness infects the way she moves and acts with regards to everything else. It’s beautifully captured here by Colak and I’m hard-pressed to say we get too many panels with her face and instead focus just on this overall visual of her that’s almost drooping and falling down from exhaustion.

In Summary:
I’m still surprised I’m as engaged with this character as I am. I’ve liked my past experiences with Sonja with her previous titles and her Sword of Sorrows crossover event but it’s not been a book that I ever felt really called to me. Russell and Colak are going with something that feels vastly different from what we had before in the way that the King Conan title felt like it was giving readers something different from the original ongoing work. I’m loving the way Sonja is dealing with the threat to her people, enjoying the heck out of watching Dragan deal with the demands of an empire and his position, and the growing cast of characters that are just a delight from start to finish. Red Sonja has had a lot of great artists in its ranks over the years and Mirko Colak should be standing tall among them with what he’s doing here. More and more, please!

Grade: A-

Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: May 1st, 2019
MSRP: $3.99

Youka Nitta’s yaoi manga series Embracing Love began this particular incarnation in 2014 after the original one ran from 1999 to 2009. Running in the Be-Boy Gold magazine, the latest installment landed this past week and has revealed that the series will wrap up in five more chapters, which should be early fall if things stay on track with the current publication schedule. The series has five volumes out so far with the sixth scheduled for next month and it should all wrap up with seven volumes.

SuBLime Manga, the boys-love imprint from Viz Media, has been releasing the original series in omnibus form since 2013. The new series has not been picked up for license in English. An anime adaptation of the original was released in English by Media Blasters.

Plot Concept:  The role of ‘Nobunaga’ was offered to Katou Youji to perform under Mochimune’s direction. However, Iwaki-san has just finished playing the same role for a taiga drama. Will Katou accept to jump into the successful vagon of his partner’s drama?

One day Katou meets accidentally Sawa-san but her personality has changed and Katou suspects of her intentions. On the other hand, Iwaki-san meets Yuukihito which is Sawa-san’s lover just to found out that Yuukihito left Sawa-san’s side and works as AD. What could be the outcome of this separation?

[Source: ANN]

The mission becomes clear(ish).

Creative Staff:
Story: Leah Williams
Art: German Garcia
Colors: Addison Duke
Letterer: Crank!

What They Say:
Barbarella and Dejah Thoris make their way across the vast, endless waters of the mysterious water planet they find themselves marooned on. But after encountering all manner of never-before-seen creatures, they find there’s not one but two dominant species here…and they’re at war! And if that isn’t enough to rattle our heroes, the discovery of just what planet they’re on surely will!

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With a bit of a gap between issues that definitely makes it hard to reconnect with the book, the latest issue gives us a lot to live even with the frustrations. Leah Williams story is one that I think will really connect well when read in full than with the gaps between installments. I love her dynamic between Barbarella and Dejah as it just hits a sweet spot where they’re both captured so well. I also continue to adore German Garcia’s work here as it’s just stunningly beautiful throughout with great layouts set for it. The character designs are almost intoxicating in how great they look and combined with Addison Duke’s color work they’re rich and alive in a beautiful way. I hope this book gets a glossy high-quality paper hardcover someday to really show it all off.

The first half of the book involves Dejah and Barbarella as they recover from their previous encounter and just try and grapple with the situation. The understanding of this world is definitely an interesting place to work with since it has a lot to offer but I really like seeing how Dejah keeps trying to prove herself in some ways while Barbarella tries to reassure her that she doesn’t view her in a poor light. The reality is that, as Barbarella points out, she exists in a place where all this knowledge is available to her and she’s able to break things down in a way that Dejah can’t because of that. Dejah’s attempts to prove herself have complicated things to be sure but Barbarella handles it all beautifully, including talking about her fascination with Barsoom and how a world like that exists. I also love that Barbarella makes it clear that most worlds like this one are easy to understand because they’re fairly common and dealt with.

The back half of the book has them dealing with the way the threats are starting pile up while trying to figure out how to get down below in order to move onto the next phase that Gitu has likely set for them. The working dynamic between the two women is fantastic and there’s so much implicit trust that it’s beautiful to watch. The action moves smoothly and just the expressiveness of stand and their faces are utterly delightful. But it also does take us further down below through a creative move on Dejah’s part and delivers them into a new phase of events. That it ties back to Gitu is no surprise but it’s an interesting version and one that offers up a different view of the world they’re on and what their real mission will be.

In Summary:
While the gap between issues is quite frustrating there’s just so much to love about the book that I want more and more. The visual aesthetic is admittedly a big draw for me but Williams brings in a lot of great material in here bringing these characters to life with personality. Garcia’s artwork is strong and the world design visuals are captivating. The story gives us a good twist toward the end that will definitely give us a new way of looking at what’s going on and providing some new challenges. There’s a lot to like in this book from start to finish and I’m super excited to see more soon of this pairing.

Grade: A-

Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: May 1st, 2019
MSRP: $3.99

Archipel has the latest toco toco special up where this one takes us on a thirty-minute look at manga creator Atsushi Kaneko. Kaneko’s works go back to 1998 with some of his first published material. He’s gone on to create an array of projects over the year from seinen to josei, supernatural to science fiction. His most recent work is the 2018 series Search and Destroy which is a loose adaptation of Dororo from Osamu Tezuka. That’s serialized in TezuComi with one volume out so far.

The special takes us to a few interesting places as we’re introduced to his life and work, such as Shimokitazawa Club Que, Shimokitazawa Area, Meguro River, Naka-Meguro Area, Red Shoes, Minami-Aoyama Area, and Katsu Shimokitazawa, Shimokitazawa Area/

“Atsushi Kaneko is a mangaka known for his work on Bambi, Soil, Wet Moon or Deathco. With a singular style rallying strong influences that range from punk rock and cinema to lowbrow art, Kaneko created his own universe, with themes including rage, loss of control and an adversity against the world. His passion for cinema also led him to direct “Mushi”, a segment part of the anthology film “Rampo Noir”, where he leveraged his past mangaka experience, which in turn influenced his manga career onwards.”

©ONE / Yusuke Murata / SHUEISHA, Hero Association HQ

The second season of One-Punch Man is underway and the official site is rolling out a new preview. The seventeenth episode of the series is set to land on May 7th, 2019, and they’ve got the first preview piece for it. The show has its distribution in the US handled by Viz Media as they work through Hulu with it while Tubi handles it in Canada. Crunchyroll is coming through for European subscribers as they’ve picked the show up for members with it open to viewers in Europe, excluding French Speaking Europe and German-Speaking Europe, and MENA. They expect to set up for Italian speaking territories to launch later this year.

The new season has Chikara Sakurai on board as the director and instead of Madhouse animating it, the series will be animated by J.C. Staff.

Check out our review of the first season.

The anime adaptation for the first season was produced by Madhouse for the animation with Shingo Natsume set to direct based on the overall scripts by Tomohiro Suzuki. Chikashi Kubota worked on the character designs for it.

The cast for the TV series includes Makoto Furukawa on board to play Saitama, Kaito Ishikawa will be playing Genos, Yuuki Kaji as Speed of Sound Sonic and Aoi Yuki as Tornado of Terror. Supporting cast includes Yūichi Nakamura as License-less Rider, Kazuhiro Yamaji as Silver Fang, Hiroki Yasumoto as King, Takahiro Sakurai as Zombieman, Katsuyuki Konishi as Tanktop Master, Saori Hayami as Blizzard of Hell, Mamori Miyano as Sweet Mask, Kenjiro Tsuda as Atomic Samurai, Minami Takayama as Child Emperor, Tesshô Genda as Metal Knight, Youji Ueda as Drive Knight, Daisuke Namikawa as Pig God, Satoshi Hino as Superalloy Blackluster, Yuji Ueda as Watchdog Man, Kousuke Toriumi as Flashy Flash, Wataru Hatano as Metal Bat and Masaya Onosaka as Puri-puri Prisoner.

The manga comes from ONE and Yusuke Murata, which began in 2012 in Tonari no Young Jump online after it was originally started back in 2009 by Murata online and Viz Media is releasing the manga in North America in both print and digital form.

Plot concept: Saitama started out being a hero just for fun. After three years of “special” training, he became so powerful that he can defeat opponents with a single punch. Now, alongside Genos, his faithful cyborg disciple, Saitama is ready to begin his official duties as a professional hero working with the Hero Association.

However, the frequency of monster appearances is surging and it increasingly appears as if the Great Seer Madame Shibabawa’s prediction about the Earth’s doom is coming true. In the midst of this crisis, the “hero hunter” Garou makes his own appearance.

With a lot of attention on the movie side for Code Geass lately, it’s nice to see the TV series getting some renewed attention. Funimation has now brought the original run over to the Netflix service for streaming and has done so in bilingual form – while also including Spanish subtitles. With the show getting some solid broadcast time in the past on Cartoon Network, this will let some who had seen it years ago but had forgotten about it rediscover it in addition to potential new viewers for the first time.

The series was directed by Goto Taniguchi based on the series composition by Ichiro Okouchi and Hiroyuki Yoshino. CLAMP worked on the original character designs with Takahiro Kimura adapting them with Sunrise handling the animation production.

The Japanese cast includes Jun Fukuyama as Lelouch Lamperouge, Takahiro Sakurai as Suzaku Kururugi, Yukana as C.C., Akeno Watanabe as Viletta Nu, Ami Koshimizu as Kallen Stadtfeld, Fumiko Orikasa as Shirley Fenette, Jouji Nakata as Diethard Ried, Junko Minagawa as Cornelia Li Britannia, and Kaori Nazuka as Nunnally Lamperouge.

The English cast includes Johnny Yong Bosch as Lelouch Lamperouge, Kate Higgins as C.C., Yuri Lowenthal as Suzaku Kururugi, Amy Kincaid as Shirley Fenette, Brian Beacock as Rivalz Cardemonde, Cindy Robinson as V.V., Crispin Freeman as Jeremiah Gottwald, Deborah Sale Butler as Cecile Croomy, Jamieson K. Price as Diethard Ried, Julie Ann Taylor as Milly Ashford, Karen Strassman as Kallen Stadtfeld, Kim Mai Guest as Nina Einstein, Kirk Thornton as Kaname Ohgi, Laura Bailey as Rakshata Chawla, Liam O’Brien as Lloyd Asplund, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as Cornelia Li Britannia,
Megan Hollingshead as Villetta Nu, Michael Lindsay as Shinichiro Tamaki, Michelle Ruff as Euphemia Li Britannia, and Rebecca Forstadt as Nunnally Lamperouge.

Plot Concept: In 2017, parts of the world are under the control of the Holy Britannian Empire. Japan is now known as Area 11, the proud people treated as lower class citizens. Lelouch Lamperouge was once a Britannian prince but when his mother was assassinated, he was left in Japan and thought to be dead. After getting caught up in a terrorist attack, he encounters a strange girl known as C.C., who grants him the power of Geass and the ability to command others.

With his newfound powers, Lelouch becomes Zero, a rebel leader for justice, and forms his own anti-government group. His goals are simple: get answers about his mother’s murder and make a world that is worthy of his beloved little sister, Nunnally. Even with his Geass, Lelouch will encounter countless challenges. But nothing can prepare him to face his former best friend, Sazaku Kururugi, a Japanese citizen…and soldier of Britannia? The power of Geass: Is it a blessing…or a curse?

© 2020 Fumikane Shimada · KADOKAWA / 501 Integrated Battle Group

The next project is underway for the Strike Witches franchise with the Strike Witches 501st Unit, Taking Off! anime adaptation. The fifth episode is scheduled for a May 7th, 2019 debut, and the official site through Kadokawa has put out a new preview for the episode. Funimation is bringing it out at 12:15 pm ET for their members every Tuesday and the availability for it is pretty solid as it’s open to viewers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia.

Fumio Ito is directing based on the series composition by Shinya Murakami. The anime production lists acca effe and Giga Production, with Production I.G and Anime Beans involved.

The Japanese cast includes Misato Fukuen as Yoshika Miyafuji, Saori Seto as Mio Sakamoto, Kaori Nazuka as Lynette Bishop, Miyuki Sawashiro as Perrine-H. Clostermann, Rie Tanaka as Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke, Mie Sonozaki as Gertrud Barkhorn, Sakura Nogawa as Erica Hartmann, Chiwa Saito as Francesca Lucchini, Ami Koshimizu as Charlotte E Yeager, Mai Kadowaki as Sanya V. Litvyak, and Ayuru Ōhashi as Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen,

The project comes from Makoto Fujibayashi’s manga that ran in 2012 as a four-panel series with a couple of volumes to its name and some additional incarnations later on.

Check out the official site and Twitter.

Plot Concept: Strike Witches, the 501st Joint Fighter Wing girls, are back from battle and ready to relax as best they can! War with the deadly Neuroi won’t last forever, but one thing is certain, the war on laundry is eternal. Join these aerial combat cuties in a down-to-earth series highlighting the team’s hijinks between missions.

© Hiro Mashima / KODANSHA / Fairy Tail Guild

The most current season of Fairy Tail got underway back in 2018 and now a new round of episodes in dubbed form is finding its way to the Hulu streaming service. Funimation has a solid relationship with them for shows, especially like this one, and they’re now bringing out episodes 291-303 for streaming in its English language form. This season began with episode 278 so there’s a good chunk of it there already.

The series has the main staff coming back with Shinji Ishihira directing it with Masashi Sogo working on the series composition. Shinji Takeuchi and Toshihiko Sano are handling the character designs with A-1 Pictures and Bridge managing the animation production.

Check out the official site and Twitter.

Property concept: Cute girl wizard Lucy wants to join the Fairy Tail, a club for the most powerful wizards. But instead, her ambitions land her in the clutches of a gang of unsavory pirates led by a devious magician. Her only hope is Natsu, a strange boy she happens to meet on her travels. Natsu’s not your typical hero – he gets motion sickness, eats like a pig, and his best friend is a talking cat. With friends like this, is Lucy better off with her enemies?

The DC Zoom line of books that focuses on the elementary school age segment has been announced with Dear Justice League. The book comes from writer Michael Northrop with illustrations by Gustavo Duarte and is scheduled for an August 6th, 2019 release. Clocking in at 176 pages, the book was announced with a new trailer as well that showcases the artwork. It’s priced at $9.99 and is set for print and digital release.

Plot Concept: Does Superman ever make mistakes? What was Wonder Woman’s eleventh birthday like? Does Aquaman smell like fish? From writer Michael Northrop (TombQuest) and artist Gustavo Duarte comes Dear Justice League, a funny, heartfelt look at superheroes as they answer letters written to them by their biggest fans—kids!

YU-GI-OH! © 1996 by Kazuki Takahashi/SHUEISHA Inc.

The sixth series in the franchise with Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS debuted back on May 10th, 2017 and it got picked up for streaming with Crunchyroll bringing out new episodes every Wednesday for it. Ahead of the debut of the 101st episode of the series that’s set for a May 8th, 2019 debut, TV Tokyo has now brought out the first promotional spot for it.

Please note that these previews are removed by TV Tokyo when the episode itself airs.

Masahiro Hosoda is directing it based on the series composition by Shin Yoshida while Kenichi Hara is on board to work on the character designs. Studio Gallop will be handling the animation for it.

Plot Concept: In “Den City” where the latest network has developed, people were dueling day and night in the VR world called “LINK VRAINS” managed by SOL Technology Inc. The main character, Yusaku Fujiki is a quiet high school student with great insight. He has been dueling, transforming himself into his avatar “Playmaker”, to battle the “The Knights of Hanoi” that plots to destroy “LINK VRAINS”.

© TMS Entertainment

With the Lupin the 3rd: Fujiko Mine’s Lie feature film scheduled to land on May 31st, 2019 in Japan, Kadokawa has now set the home video release plans for it. Set for an August 23rd, 2019 debut, there are four editions being planned for it with:

• BD LE: 7,800 yen
• BD RE: 4,800 yen
• DVD LE: 6,800 yen
• DVD RE: 3,800 yen

It looks like the limited editions get a specialty box, a 100-page reference materials book, a genga collection, stage greetings video, the announcements, a cast commentary, and a staff commentary.

This film is part of the recent “trilogy” of feature films that begin with Jigen’s Gravestone and was followed up by Goemon Ishikawa’s Sprawy of Blood.

The film is directed by Takeshi Koike with a screenplay by Yuya Takahashi, both of whom worked on the two prior films. Animation production was done by Telecom Animation Film. The Japanese cast includes Miyuki Sawashiro as the titular Fujiko Mine, Kanichi Kurita as Lupin, and Kiyoshi Kobayashi as Daisuke Jigen.

Check out the official site and Twitter.

Property Concept: Arsène Lupin III is the grandson of world-famous thief Arsène Lupin, and he’s living up to his grandfather’s memory as a high-profile thief himself. Due to his infamy, Lupin III attracts the attention of the persistent Inspector Zenigata of the ICPO, as well as rival criminals. Lupin III’s criminal lifestyle even seeps into his love life. The main woman in Lupin III’s world is femme fatale Fujiko Mine, who Lupin III can never tell is working with or against him. Follow Lupin and his gunman partner Daisuke Jigen on their quest to own the world－or at least the valuable bits!

[Source: Lupin the IIIrd: Fujiko Mine’s Lie]

© Fuse / Mitz Vah / Kodansha

The anime adaptation of the manga That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime from Fuse and Mitz Vah got underway in Japan on its October 1st, 2018 premiere, and the first season production has wrapped up. Funimation is doing some new promotion for it which means a new dub clip has arrived where we get a three-minute piece that essentially showcases a lot of pieces of the series to entice those that haven’t seen it to try it out.

They’re giving it some good availability as it’s set for viewers in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia. The show has Clifford Chapin directing working from the scripts by Kristen McGuire. The English cast includes:

• Mallorie Rodak as Great Sage
• Kristi Rothrock as Miho
• E. Jason Liebrecht as Mikami
• Brittney Karbowski as Rimuru
• Dawn M. Bennett as Shizue
• Jordan Dash Cruz as Tamura
• Chris Rager as Veldora

The Japanese cast includes Miho Okazaki as RimuruTomoaki Maeno as Veldora, Yumiri Hanamori as ShizuMakoto Furukawa as Benimaru, Sayaka Senbongi as Shuna, M.A.O as Shion, Takuya Eguchi as Sōei, Houchu Ohtsuka as Hakurō, Rina Hidaka as Milim, Megumi Toyoguchi as Great Sage, Junichi Yanagita as Kurobee, Chikahiro Kobayashi as Ranga, Kanehira Yamamoto as Rigurdo, Haruki Ishiya as Rigur, Asuna Tomari as Gobuta, Atsushi Ono as Kaijin, Takuma Terashima as Satoru Mikami, Rie Tanaka as Trainee, Takaya Hashi as the dwarf king Gazeru, Kenjiro Tsuda as the minister Besutaa, Ken Narita as Fyūzu, Itaru Yamamoto as Beruyaado, Ryūichi Kijima as Gido, Akane Kumada as Ellen, and Kengo Takanashi as Kabaru.

The manga, which has just under 5 million copies in print in Japan, began in 2013 and a manga adaptation launched in 2015, both of which are being brought out by Yen Press and Kodansha Comics respectively.

Check out the official site and Twitter.

Plot Concept: Lonely thirty-seven-year-old Satoru Mikami is stuck in a dead-end job, unhappy with his mundane life, but after dying at the hands of a robber, he awakens to a fresh start in a fantasy realm…as a slime monster! As he acclimates to his goopy new existence, his exploits with the other monsters set off a chain of events that will change his new world forever!

With the first month of the spring season done for a lot of shows, everything has settled in and fans have staked out what they’re watching. Most everything has found their homes and are rolling out new episodes. Series with new episodes today include the following!

Crunchyroll:

• 8:00am – WACKY TV NANANA 2ND SEASON
• 10:00am – MILLION ARTHUR SEASON 2
• 3:55pm – SARAZANMAI
• 4:30pm – BAKUMATSU CRISIS

Funimation:

• 10:00 AM – Million Arthur Episodes 1-2, 11-12, 14-15 Japanese Simulcast Free TV-14

HIDIVE:

• Nothing on tap today.