© Eiichiro Oda / Shueisha · Fuji Television · Toei Animation

What They Say:
Stelly, Sabo’s adopted brother and now the king of the Goa Kingdom, walks up to Garp who is escorting the royal family of the Fish-Man Island, with an air of importance and something up his sleeve. Meanwhile, Shirahoshi sees the surface world for the first time.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The series spent a lot of its focus the last time around on the Paramount War and dealing with the death of Ace. It’s admittedly felt like a while since they last brought that up so I’m hard pressed to really call them out on doing it again and making it feel gratuitous in how they kind of revel in this key moment. It’s an important and defining moment for the series and the characters themselves but there was a period where it was referenced way too much and just felt like they were trying to take advantage of people’s emotions. With Reverie underway, and so many Navy characters popping up again as well as others from the past, it was worthwhile to go back to all of this. 80% of the episode focused on recap? Mmm, not so much.

This episode focuses a bit of its early time with Garp coming through with a few familiar faces, some of which aren’t that familiar with things on land, and it’s a cute little bit. Where it takes a curious turn is when Garp is confronted by a punk-ish character that claims to be Stelly. He was adopted by Sabo’s parents after Sabo left and that lead to him growing up to be king of that area. Naturally, the episode shifts gears to give us a lot of time between Sabo, Ace, and Luffy when they were little as Luffy wanted to be like them and be a pirate, causing lots of trouble for Garp. I remember this run in the early 500’s well and enjoyed a lot of aspects of it after having Ace’s fate decided because going back and seeing more about Sabo and what defined young Luffy was pretty fun and engaging.

And that’s really the bulk of the episode as it digs into the past. The last few minutes gives us a bit more in the present as we see Sabo skulking in the shadows but it also has Stelly attempting to really make a name for himself in the worst way. With his kingdom having something of a reputation because it’s where Luffy and Sabo and Garp came from, he’s trying to establish some dominance and actually tries to get Garp to kneel before him. The stones on some characters is positively hilarious to watch play out and Stelly really has no idea what sea he’s currently swimming in. Even when you see all the Fish-men with Garp that are giving him the stink-eye, including a real King, you know it doesn’t truly sink in with him just how outclassed he is.

In Summary:
If the recap side of things isn’t for you, the best bet is to find the timecodes for the new material and just watch that, which is the equivalent of a five-minute episode or so, maybe a bit more. Which is fine as I’ve said before when you’re closing in on 900 episodes you’re going to recap sometimes and especially before a big event where people from all over are coming to visit. I liked the new material we got in here and am really hoping we never, ever, see Stelly 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.

With the final numbers to come out later today, the estimates are in and Avengers: Endgame has taken the top spot at the box office. With $350 million last weekend, this weekend saw it make another $145.8 million this weekend. But let’s also note that its weekday numbers have it bringing in almost $120 million total across the four days, which is pretty fantastic. The film is now just under $620 million domestic and it’s looking more and more like it may have the potential to break the $900 million mark by the time is all said and done – but breaking the record of $936 million of The Force Awakens remains in doubt.

The film did another $282 million this weekend and with all of the weekday showings and minor expansions that were left, it’s at $1.5 billion overseas for a worldwide total of $2.1 billion in ten days. This puts it firmly in the second position slot for the largest worldwide release of all time and has just $600 million to go to break Avatar‘s record. It took Avatar forty-seven days to break the $2 billion mark but that film had some real legs with the way it drew people into the early days of how 3D could be done right.

Once past that, the new film The Intruder took the second place spot at $11 million while Long Shot landed at $10 million. Ugly Dolls came in at $8.5 million and it’s easy to imagine across all of these that if you weren’t seeing Endgame, you were avoiding the theater and its crowds, which impacted the new releases.

The fifth place slot is where Captain Marvel fell to after hitting a boost last weekend at second place. It brought in another $4.2 million to bring it to $420 million. This places it fifth highest female action heroine lead film and the eighth position slot for comic book adaptation.

This coming week will see more attempts to break the Endgame dominance or at least free up some oxygen for other works. Warner Bros. goes big with Detective Pikachu in 4,100 screens while STX Entertainment goes for Poms in 2,700 screens. United Artists has The Hustle sliding into 2,750 screens while Fox Searchlight looks for audiences in 1,300 screens. Not looking at wide releases are All is True from Sony Classics, Biggest Little Farm from Neon, Charlie Says from IFC, My Son from Cohen Media Group, The Professor and the Madman from Vertical, and FIP with 175 screens for Student of the Year 2.

While we’d gotten some teasers before for Spider-Man: Far From Home, they came out in-between the two Avengers films and had to skirt a particular line so as to not spoil anything. With a nod toward spoilers at the beginning of this trailer, we now have our first and some may say more accurate trailer for the film that’s scheduled for a July 5th, 2019 debut through Sony Pictures. This year saw Captain Marvel coming out in March and Avengers: Endgame landing in just ten days ago, so there’s a lot to like this year for Marvel fans.

Directed by Jon Watts based on the screenplay by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, the film stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes / Vulture, Jon Favreau as Harold “Happy” Hogan, Zendaya as Michelle “MJ” Jones, Marisa Tomei as May Parker, Jake Gyllenhaal as Quentin Beck / Mysterio, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Jacob Batalon as Ned, Tony Revolori as Eugene “Flash” Thompson, Angourie Rice as Betty Brant, Hemky Madera, as Mr. Delmar, Numan Acar as Dimitri, J. B. Smoove, Oli Hill, and Remy Hii.

Plot Concept: Peter Parker returns in Spider-Man: Far From Home, the next chapter of the Spider-Man: Homecoming series! Our friendly neighborhood Super Hero decides to join his best friends Ned, MJ, and the rest of the gang on a European vacation. However, Peter’s plan to leave super heroics behind for a few weeks are quickly scrapped when he begrudgingly agrees to help Nick Fury uncover the mystery of several elemental creature attacks, creating havoc across the continent!

Previous teasers:

The spring 2019 anime series on the Noitamina block on Fuji TV, Sarazanmai, is getting some promotion for its next episode. The official site has brought out a look at the fifth episode due out on May 9th, 2019. Crunchyroll picked up the rights for the series and will bring it out the same day at 3:55 pm ET for their members. Availability for it is limited to the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Denmark, Central America, and South America.

The series is directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara it was written by him and Teruko Utsumi for the overall composition. Nobuyuki Takeuchi is serving as the chief director and Kyoko Ishikawa is adapting Migi’s designs for the work. It’s being produced by MAPPA and Lapin Track.

The Japanese cast includes Ayumu Murase as Kazuki Yasaka, Kouki Uchiyama as Yū Kuji, Shun Horie as Enta Jinnouchi, Junichi Suwabe as Keppi, Mamoru Miyano as Reo Shinsei, Yoshimasa Hosoya as Mabu Akutsu, Teiko as Sara Azuma, and Kenjiro Tsuda as Chikai Kuji.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LIMBBhu2ytw

Check out the official site and Twitter.

Plot Concept: The setting is Asakusa. One day, second-years in middle school Kazuki Yasaka, Toi Kuji, and Enta Jinnai meet Keppi, a mysterious kappa-like creature, who steals their shirikodama and transforms them into kappas. “To return to your original forms,” Keppi tells them, “you must fight the zombies and take the shirikodama from them.” Can the boys connect with each other and steal the zombies’ shirikodama?! At the same time, something is happening at the police box where Reo Niiboshi and Mabu Akutsu work. This is the story of three boys who can’t connect with someone important to them, learning about what it truly means to do so.

The winter 2019 anime series Kakegurui is having its home video releases handled by Avex Pictures and they’ve set a standard plan for it. The twelve episode series is getting a two-volume release that begins on May 17th, 2019 and we now have a look at the full packaging spread for this first half. The DVDs are priced at 19,000 yen each while the Blu-ray’s are priced also priced at 19,000 yen each.

Yuuichirou Hayashi directed it based on the series composition by Yasuko Kobayashi and character designs by Manabu Akita. MAPPA is on board to produce the animation. The music is being handled by TECHNOBOY’S PULCRAFT GREEN-FUND.

The Japanese cast includes Saori Hayami as Yumeko Jabami, Minami Tanaka as Meari Saotome, Tatsuya Tokutake as Ryouta Suzui, Yuki Wakai as Itsuki Sumeragi, Karin Nanami as Yuriko Nishinotōin, Mariya Ise Midari Ikishima, and Miyuki Sawashiro as Kirari Momobami.

The series has six volumes out so far and is published digitally in English by Yen Press and they have plans to bring it to print later this year.

Plot Concept: Hyakkaou Private Academy. An institution for the privileged with a very peculiar curriculum. You see, when you’re the sons and daughters of the wealthiest of the wealthy, it’s not athletic prowess or book smarts that keep you ahead. It’s reading your opponent, the art of the deal. What better way to hone those skills than with a rigorous curriculum of gambling? At Hyakkaou Private Academy, the winners live like kings, and the losers are put through the wringer. But when Yumeko Jabami enrolls, she’s gonna teach these kids what a high roller really looks like!

Kakegurui Japanese Season 2 Box Set 1 Packaging

Kakegurui Japanese Season 2 Box Set 1 Cover

Kakegurui Japanese Volume 6 Cover

Kakegurui Japanese Volume 5 Cover

Kakegurui Japanese Volume 4 Cover

Kakegurui Japanese Volume 3 Cover

Kakegurui Japanese Volume 2 Cover

Kakegurui Japanese Volume 2 Packaging

Kakegurui Japanese Volume 1 Packaging

Kakegurui Japanese Volume 1 Cover

[Source: Kakegurui]

© The CW

The CW is getting a look at the next episode of Supergirl that’s set to arrive with “Red Dawn,” which is scheduled for a May 12th, 2019 debut. The 21st episode of the 4th season, it’s directed by Alexis Ostrander based on the story by Lindsay Sturman and a teleplay by Gabriel Llanas and Eric Carrasco.

The series airs on The CW with streaming the day after through their site and app.

The main cast includes Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers / Kara Zor-El / Supergirl, Mehcad Brooks as James Olsen / Guardian, Chyler Leigh as Alex Danvers, Katie McGrath as Lena Luthor, Jesse Rath as Querl “Brainy” Dox / Brainiac 5, Sam Witwer as Ben Lockwood / Agent Liberty, Nicole Maines as Nia Nal / Dreamer, April Parker Jones as Colonel Lauren Haley, and David Harewood as J’onn J’onzz / Martian Manhunter.

Season Concept:  The season follows Kara, a reporter and superpowered alien who fights against those who threaten Earth, and the fallout of her use of mysticism and time traveling.

A search for love across many “book worlds.”

What They Say:
The sweeping, romantic cosmic saga of a girl named Hazuki, a high school student who has a serious crush on her older adopted sister Hatsumi. On Hatsumi’s 16th birthday, she is suddenly engulfed by a green glow and vanishes! Hazuki manages to follow Hatsumi to a mysterious place called “The Great Library”, curated by Lilith, that houses a fantastic labyrinth of books, each containing its own exotic fantasy world and characters. When Hatsumi vanishes into one of the books, Hazuki’s epic extradimensional search begins.

The Review:
Audio:
The audio presentation for this release brings us the original Japanese language track only in stereo using the uncompressed PCM format. The show is a fairly standard stereo mix where it handles movement across the forward soundstage well but there’s not a lot of big moments of depth and action here to really showcase things. The score works well through this form, however, and there’s some very nice and warm sequences from it beyond just the opening and closing sequences. Dialogue is pretty straightforward with what it does here as there’s some decent placement from time to time but nothing that stands out in a big way. Everything is clean and clear throughout and we didn’t have any issues with dropouts or distortions during regular playback.

Video:
Originally airing in 2003, the transfer for this TV series (using the home video masters) is presented in its original full frame aspect ratio in 1080p using the MPEG-2 codec. The show is spread across two discs with seven episodes on the first and six on the second. Animated by Studio Deen, the series has a good look to it as it handles the darker colors with the blacks and blues but there’s still a softness to it in some places that’s stronger than others. It handles the flashback scenes which are done with intentional noise well and the bulk of the show has a clean and appealing look to it. The softer areas are noticeable when they come up but they’re not a huge detriment or anything. I like the details that we get in the show and the overall visual design that the encoding captures well.

Packaging:
The packaging for this release comes in a standard sized Blu-ray case where the two discs are held against the walls with no hinges. The front cover gives us the two leads in close embrace just about to kiss and I love the way we get one with the eyes closed and the other watching with eyes wide open. It’s a very close feeling cover because o the embrace and with the flowing hair, it really is distinctive and looks great. The logo is kept along the bottom and has the full name with the subtitle below it. The back cover has a nice character visual and a good dark background over which we get the summary of the premise. The episode count is listed clearly and the production credits break things down well. We get a clean and easy to read technical grid as well that covers things accurately. No show related inserts are included nor is there a reversible cover.

Menu:
The menu design for this release is pretty nice as we get a star-filled background with lots of blacks and blues that fills everything up. Within the middle, we get a circle that brings in some character artwork. The navigation strip gives us a great look at the logo along the left while the right has some full-color character artwork. Inbetwen has the selections which are simple with turning the subtitles on or off, exploring the episodes or trailers, and just playing it all. Navigation is simple and easy but we only get a main menu here as there are no pop-up menus during regular playback.

Extras:
None.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Based on the game that was released in 2002 and part of an overall project, Yamibo is a thirteen-episode anime series that landed in the fall 2003 season. It followed a single-volume manga that was illustrated by Aya Sakurai. The anime saw Yuji Yamaguchi directing it based on the series composition by Tomomi Mochizuki with studio Deen animating it. The show got a lot of attention for its yuri leanings back in the day and it doesn’t shy away from them but it’s not as hot and heavy as some may hope for. In fact, it’s the kind of show where there are so many story points going on here that it reduces the interest in the actual yuri elements because you’re trying to piece everything else together.

The general idea behind the show is simple and effective as we’re introduced to Hazuki, our raven-haired lead, who is looking for her adopted sister, Hatsumi. Hatsumi’s an attractive girl who is actually Hazuki’s love interest and it’s pretty mutually shared overall. The problem is that Hatsumi has ended up missing in the Great Library where each book within it leads to a different world. With the help of a talking bird named Ken and a woman named Lilith who wears massive hats, Hazuki is guided toward where Hatsumi may be. Only she’s known as Eve once out of the starting world, which adds its own wrinkles and complications as time goes on.

The show works things a little forward/backward at the start but once it gets fully underway in hitting up the worlds we see some decent variety. The prehistoric world is interesting as we see Lillith thought of as a god while Hazuki gets caught up in some sacrificial moments. Another episode provides for some island time where one of the girls there is connected to the Great Library as she deals with headaches related to it that distort her mind. Another episode takes us back to ancient Japan where we see them caught up in a power struggle there as Lilith continues to guide Hazuki and as they learn more about Hatsumi as Eve. The final arc takes us on more of a science fiction adventure but by this point the variety of stories and interactions that we got had me feeling, well, not lost or anything, but rather disconnected from the events going on as each world hop landed less and less as it progressed.

In Summary:
I had a hard time connecting with this release with the way it was telling its tale and that just became harder the more it went on. I really like the visual design for it and that it seems like we’ve gotten the home video masters going by those that saw the previous DVD edition that Media Blasters released. The show looks pretty good here overall and it delivers the series that many have wanted for a long time. I like the concept of the series but the execution just left me feeling a bit stranded from early on, like I was always a couple of steps behind. Add in the changing worlds and cast from there and I never felt like I caught up with it even while getting the basics. It’s an interesting show but one that I don’t think nailed the execution right, at least for me.

Features:
Japanese 2.0 PCM Language, English Subtitles

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

Released By: Media Blasters
Release Date: March 26th, 2019
MSRP: $39.99
Running Time: 300 Minutes
Video Encoding: 1080p 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.

YTV is handling some of the broadcast for the Case Closed / Detective Conan series in Japan and ahead of the next episode they have a new preview out for it. The 940th episode is set for a May 11th, 2019 debut in Japan and the first preview for it has arrived. Crunchyroll handles the streaming distribution for it in North America.

The series has been running since 1996 with over 900 episodes to date. The manga itself from Gosho Aoyama is ongoing as well with over 96 volumes released in Japan while Viz Media is bringing them out here, having recently past the 70 mark. FUNimation brought over some of them and some of the movies years ago but were never able to really keep up on it as it’s a very difficult property in terms of wanting to own it since it is so long and ongoing. It’s a series that’s far more suited for one-off viewings and streaming marathons here and there.

Plot concept: Kudo Shinichi is a seventeen year-old high school detective whom people call the “Modern Sherlock Holmes.” However, one night after a date with his childhood sweetheart, Ran, Shinichi witnessed an illegal trade and, caught off his guard, was knocked unconscious and fed a drug that was supposed to kill him… but he woke up and found himself shrunken to a seven-year-old. In order to track down the men who did this to him, Shinichi hid his identity and lived with Ran, whose father happened to be a hopeless detective, and with that came a series of murders and mysteries that he must solve.

© 2019 Five fairy scholars / Fairy Gone Production Committee

P.A. Works original series Fairy gone has been picked up for streaming by Funimation this season and TOHO is doing some new promotion for the show. TOHO has long done a lot of solid promotion for their original works, especially when it involves (K)NoW_NAME as they essentially make music video clips out of the insert songs. The latest one has arrived for the fifth episode focusing on the song “Forest Gleam” by them that also includes English subtitles.

The series has Kenichi Suzuki directing with the scripts from Ao Jumonji, the author of Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash. The original designs by Haruhisa Nakata are being adapted by Takako Shimizu with P.A. Works handling the animation production. [K]NoW_NAME is on board for music production.

The Japanese cast includes Kana Ichinose as Maria Noel, Tomoaki Maeno as Free Underbar, Ayaka Fukuhara as Veronica Thorn, Yoshimasa Hosoya as Ulfran Low, Ayaka Suwa as Clara Kisenaria, Yoshiki Nakajima as Serge Tovah, Mie Sonozaki as Nein Auraa, Takehito Koyasu as Damian Carme, Houchu Ohtsuka as Marco Bellwood, Eizou Tsuda as Ray Dawn, Atsumi Tanezaki as Lily Heineman, Kōji Okino as Robert Chase, Mikako Komatsu as Eleanor Need, Yasuhiro Mamiya as Oz Maher, Kenjiro Tsuda as Griff Mercer, Mugihito as Cain Distaroru, Shinji Kawada as Axel Rabū, Minako Kotobuki as “Sweety” Bitter Sweet, Yuka Iguchi as Patricia Pearl, Kazuyuki Okitsu as Jonathan Passepierre, Hisao Egawa as Biivii Risukaa, Shizuka Itou as Sophie, Takaya Hashi as Schwartz Diese, Hiroki Touchi as Jet Glaive, and Kenji Nomura as Ewan Breeze.

Check out the official site and Twitter.

Plot Concept: The show is set in a world where fairies possess and reside within animals, granting them special powers. By surgically removing and transplanting the organs of a possessed animal into a human, humans can partially summon the fairy and use it as a weapon. Eventually, such individuals were used for war, and were called “Fairy Soldiers.” After a long war, these soldiers lost their purpose and had to reintegrate into society. From the government to the mafia, and even becoming terrorists, each treads their own path.

Viz Media is following up on their plans to bring out the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure series to North America and they’ve now set the first part of the fourth season release with Diamond is Unbreakable. Scheduled for a July 2nd, 2019 debut, it’s being produced as a limited edition priced at X and a DVD-edition priced at $39.99. The limited edition release is priced at $69.99 and will have twenty episodes, a 104-page booklet, Clean Opening and Ending, English Cast Interviews, Art Gallery, and Trailers. Check out the packaging for the LE below!

Yasuhiro Kimura directed with Hideya Takahashi while Naokatsu Tsuda served as the chief director. Yasuko Kobayashi handled the series composition with Takahiro Kishida working on the character designs. David Productions handled the animation production.

The Japanese cast for this segment includes Kensho Ono as Giorno Giovanna, Yūichi Nakamura as Bruno Bucciarati, Junya Enoki as Pannacotta Fugo, Daiki Yamashita as Narancia Ghirga, Kousuke Toriumi as Guido Mista, and Junichi Suwabe as Leone Abbacchio.

The original manga for this storyline ran for seventeen volumes with 155 chapters between 1995 and 1999 in Weekly Shounen Jump.

Check out the official site and Twitter.

Plot Concept: Naples, 2001. Giorno Giovanna is a small-time crook with one big dream—to become a “Gang-Star.” No ordinary thief, Giorno has a connection to the remarkable Joestar bloodline, and possesses a Stand named Gold Experience. His dream starts to become reality when he meets Bruno Buccellati, a mobster from the gang Passione and a fellow Stand user himself. Realizing that they share similar ideals, and both disagree with the gang’s harmful affairs, Giorno reveals his goal to Bruno: with Bruno’s help, he will reform Passione by overthrowing the boss.

As Giorno becomes a member of Passione, and is inducted into Bruno’s squad, he discovers that it is no simple gang; its numbers are teeming with Stand users. Now confronted by other squads of differing loyalties and unpredictable caliber, their goal to change the gang from the inside out will be a tough one. Taking on these adversaries, Giorno attempts to rise through the ranks and inch closer to the boss, a man who is shrouded in mystery.

With some solid opening and closing theme song performances so far, Japanese group Kishida Kyōdan & THE AKEBOSHI ROCKETS has gotten a new interview with Aniplus Asia in Singapore to talk about their work and what gets them excited. The 90-second piece is a fun interview with some good questions for them and some fun bits about their goals with where they want to perform. The group got started a bit ago and they’ve done the opening theme songs for both seasons of Gate as well as the TV and OVA theme songs for some of Strike the Blood. Their earliest anime theme song bit looks to be with the opening for High School of the Dead.

Check out the interview:

© Negi Haruba / Kodansha

The winter 2019 anime series Quintissential Quintuplets has a new announcement that came out over the weekend as a part of the girls’ birthday on the 5th with the news that a second season has gotten the green light! The first cour ran for twelve episodes earlier this year and saw both a simulcast and a simuldub produced for it. It’s expected that the main cast and staff will be back for the second season with details to come later.

The series is directed by Satoshi Kuwabara based on the series composition by Keiichiro Ochi. Michinosuke Nakamura and Miyabu Uta are handling the character designs with Tezuka Productions working on the animation.

The Japanese cast includes Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Futaro Uesugi, Kana Hanazawa as Ichika Nakano, Ayana Taketatsu as Nino Nakano, Miku Itō as Miku Nakano, Ayane Sakura as Yotsuba Nakano, Inori Minase as Itsuki Nakano, Natsumi Takamori as Raiha Uesugi, and Satoshi Hino as Isanari Uesugi.

The series comes from creator Negi Haruba which began in August 2017. Kodansha Comics picked up the rights to the Quintissential Quintuplets manga for domestic release back in June 2018.

Check out the official site and Twitter.

Plot Concept: One day, a poor high school second-year named Futaro Uesugi comes across a private tutoring gig with good pay. But his pupils are his classmates!! And they’re quintuplets!! A-and they’re all gorgeous girls, but they’re also troublemakers who hate to study and are on the verge of flunking out! And his first task is simply gaining the sisters’ trust?! Every day is a party! The curtain is rising on the Nakano quintuplets’ quirky romantic comedy with five times the cute!

Tokyo Ghoul re Japanese Volume 1 Cover

Australian distributor Madman Entertainment has scheduled their first home video release for the Tokyo Ghoul:re anime series with an August 7th, 2019 street date. The first set has the twelve-episode first cour for it priced at $59.98 on DVD and $64.98 on Blu-ray. Extras for the set should mirror the North American release and those include:

– Never-before-seen interview with the English cast & crew
– Episode Commentary For 1 & 12
– Japanese Promo Videos

This season was directed by Odahiro Watanabe with Chuji Mikasano handling the scripts and composition. The character designs this season were done by Atsuko Nakajima. Studio Pierrot and Pierrot Plus handled the animation production.

The Japanese cast includes Natsuki Hanae as Ken Kaneki/Haise Sasaki, Kaito Ishikawa as Kuki Urie, Yuuma Uchida as Ginshi Shirazu, Natsumi Fujiwara as Tooru Mitsuki, and Ayane Sakura as Saiko Yonebayashi, Yu Kobayashi as Kanae von Rosewald, and Mamoru Miyano as Shu Tsukiyama.

Plot Concept: Two years after the raid on Anteiku, Ken Kaneki lives a steady life as an officer in the CCG. His memories wiped, he clings to a new identity and a taxing responsibility as the leader of the CCG’s experimental Quinx Squad. This unruly team of humans uses ghoul powers to fight, and while Ken struggles to improve their teamwork, he unearths memories that threaten his peace.

© Ayano Takeda · Nikki Asada / Hibiki! Production Committee

With the Liz and the Blue Bird feature film the first of two new films under the Sound! Euphonium banner out last year, the recent focus has been on the second one with Sound! Euphonium The Movie: Oath’s Finale. The film arrived with an April 19th, 2019 theatrical debut date in Japan and with it doing some moderate business. To help support it a bit more, four new character/situation promos have come out for the project. These also work well for North American fans as Fandango and the AMC theater chain are listing a screening for it, possibly as a one-night event, through Fathom Events on July 11th, 2019. It also looks like the regional chain Emagine is showing it for that date but also lists a July 15th, 2019 dubbed screening in addition to the subtitled screening a few days prior.

Tatsuya Ishihara is on board to direct after working on the TV series while Jukki Hanada is handling the screenplay and Shoko Ikeda as the character designer. You can also check out the ten-minute digest video that deals with recapping the two seasons of the TV series so far and a new key visual as well.

The Japanese cast includes Ayaka Asai as Hazuki Katō, Chika Anzai as Reina Kōsaka, Moe Toyota as Sapphire Kawashima, Tomoyo Kurosawa as Kumiko Ōmae, Aya Hisakawa as Michie Matsumoto, Haruki Ishiya as Shūichi Tsukamoto, Kenjiro Tsuda as Takuya Gotō, Konomi Fujimura as Natsuki Nakagawa, Manami Numakura as Mamiko Ōmae, Minako Kotobuki as Asuka Tanaka, Minori Chihara as Kaori Nakaseko, Miyuki Kobori as Riko Nagase, Saori Hayami as Haruka Ogasawara, Takahiro Sakurai as Noboru Taki, Yōko Hikasa as Aoi Saitō, Yuri Yamaoka as Yuko Yoshikawa, Atsumi Tanezaki as Mizore Yoroizuka and Nao Toyama as Nozomi Kasaki. The new additions to the cast include Sora Amamiya as Kanade Hisaishi, Ayaka Nanase as Mirei Suzuki, Misaki Kuno as Satsuki Suzuki, and Shimba Tsuchiya as Motomu Tsukinaga.

The property released a new OVA with the seventh volume of the manga that came out on December 16th, 2015.

Plot concept: It’s finally time for Kumiko Oumae to enter high-school and begin the next chapter of her life. Being a member of concert band all throughout the lower-grades, one of her first orders of business is scouting out the band at her new school to see how they compare to what she has grown up with. After actually hearing them, however, Kumiko is…surprised to say the least. The concert band of Kitauji High School is terrible, especially compared to the borderline-national’s band Oumae was in earlier. Students in the band have gotten lazy and fallen into a slump in which none of them particularly care about the band’s future. But all of that changes when they meet their new teacher, professional composer Noboru Taki.

[Source: WTK]

via Netflix

Netflix has a new science fiction movie coming up on May 24th, 2019 that’s certainly aimed more toward the younger set – which is good because they can get lost in the shuffle of big blockbuster films. Rim of the World comes from a screenplay by Zack Stentz with McG directing and producing it. With a $16 million budget, the first trailer for it has arrived that gives you a good feel for what’s in store.

The film stars Jack Gore as Alex, Miya Cech as ZhenZhen, Benjamin Flores Jr. as Dariush, Alessio Scalzotto as Gabriel, King Bach, Lynn Collins, Annabeth Gish, Michael Beach, Tony Cavalero as Conrad, Rudy Mancuso, Carl McDowell, Chris Wylde, David Theune, Punam Patel, and Jason Rogel.

Check out the Netflix film page.

Plot Concept: Four misfit teenagers stranded at a summer camp when aliens attack the planet, Four misfit campers with nothing in common must band together, conquer their fears, and embark on a perilous mission to save the world.

Madman Entertainment has now set a home video release for the Yamada-Kun And The Seven Witches work. The show is getting a Blu-ray only release in Australia on August 7th, 2019 where it’ll be priced at $44.95 AUD. The set will be bilingual and include the twelve-episode run across two discs with the clean opening and closings as the extras.

Check out our review of the series.

The series ran for twelve episodes and was directed by Tomoki Takuno, who did the storyboards as well, with Fumiaki Usui serving as the assistant director while Eriko Iida handled the character designs and Michiko Yokote on the scripts.

The Japanese cast includes Ryota Ohsaka as Ryu Yamada, Saori Hayami as Urara Shiraish, Toshiki Masuda as Toranosuke Miyamura, Maaya Uchida as Miyabi Ito, Masumi Tazawa as Rika Saionji, Aoi Yūki as Noa Takigawa, Toshiharu Sasaki as Kentarō Tsubaki, Eri Kitamura as Nene Odagiri, Daisuke Ono as Ushio Igarashi, Yui Makino as Meiko Ōtsuka, Yuki Takao as Maria Sarashima, Shinnosuke Tachibana as Shinichi Tamaki, Tomokazu Sugita as Hideaki Tsurukawa and Yuuki Ono as Mitsuru Kamedea.

The English cast includes Newton Pittman as Ryu Yamada, Mikaela Krantz as Urara Shiraishi, Rachel Glass as Miyabi Ito, Todd Haberkorn as Toranosuke Miyamura, Jessica Peterson as Nene Odagiri, Will Short as Ushio Igarashi, Michelle Rojas as Meiko Otsuka, Tabitha Ray as Maria Sarushima, Alexis Tipton as Noa Takigawa, Orion Pitts as Kentao Tsubaki, Jeannie Tirado as Mikoto Asuka, Seth Magill as Haruma Yamazaki, Elizabeth Maxwell as Leona Miyamura, Chris Burnett as Shinichi Tamaki, and Luci Christian as Rika Saionji.

Plot concept: Suzaku High School has a big secret. One that punk student Ryu Yamada finds himself tangled in after a literal run-in with honor student Urara Shiraishi. The two find themselves in a bizarre body swap caused by…a kiss?! A convenient albeit weird new trick, the two keep switching places (and kissing!) until they’re found out by student council member Miyamura. Rather than give them away, he has a better idea—reform the Supernatural Studies Club. A great cover up…except for the fact that Yamada keeps kissing everyone!

Soon they learn they that aren’t the only two with abilities. In fact, school legend speaks of seven witches—female students gifted with different powers. But when they start seeking out the witches, they find themselves in a situation more dangerous than expected. Secrets kept by the student council, the powers that lie with the witches, and the possibility of losing everyone he’s grown close to—are the answers Yamada seeks worth the cost of everything he holds dear?

The new adaptation of the Osamu Tezuka Dororo manga that he created back in 1967 is underway and some new promotion has landed for it. The eighteenth episode is set to arrive on May 13th, 2019 and the first promotional spot for it has arrived. Kazuhiro Furuhashi is directing it based on the series composition by Yasuko Kobayashi. Satoshi Iwataki is handling the character designs with MAPPA handling the animation production.

The Japanese cast includes Hiroki Suzuki as Hyakkimaru, Rio Suzuki as Dororo, Mutsumi Sasaki as Biwamaru, Naoya Uchida as Daigo Kagemitsu, Shōya Chiba as Tahōmaru, Akio Ohtsuka as Jukai, Chie Nakamura as Nuinokata, and Mugihito as the narrator.

Vertical Comics released the manga back in 2012. Anime Sols attempted to bring the 1969 series over a few years back via crowdfunding. A Japanese release did hit in 2015.

Check out the official site and Twitter.

Plot Concept: The setting is the middle of the Muromachi Period, during the 1470s after the Wars of Onin and Bunmei. The story begins in the Noto Peninsula of the Hokuriku District. The main character (Hyakkimaru), who lacks as much as 48 body parts, obtains a fake body and eliminates 48 monsters that were made from his body to retrieve his missing body parts.

© Amyu / Shueisha

The spring 2019 anime adaptation of Kono Oto Tomare! is getting some new opportunities for ownership. For those that prefer to do digital subscriptions and have new episodes in the owned bucket, Funimation is now selling episodes from the second cour the series through Amazon now where you can get them for $2.99 per episode or the whole season for $26.99. You can get it in either its original Japanese or English dubbed format.

The anime adaptation has Ryoma Mizuno directing it with Ayumi Hisao handling the scripts. Junko Yamanaka is on board as the character designer with Platinum Vision handling the animation production.

The previously announced cast includes Yūma Uchida as Chika Kudō, Junya Enoki as Takezō Kurata, Atsumi Tanezaki as Satowa Hōzuki, Yoshimasa Hosoya as Tetsuki Takaoka, Shouta Aoi as Mio Kanzaki, Haruki Ishiya as Saneyasu Adachi, Makoto Furukawa as Michitaka Sakai, Yūichi Iguchi as Kōta Mizuhara, Sara Matsumoto as Hiro Kurusu, and Daisuke Namikawa as Suzuka Takinami.

The manga comes from creator Amyu that began in 2012 and has eighteen volumes out as this summer as serialized in the Jump SQ magazine.

Check out the official site and Twitter.

Plot Concept: Takezō is the last remaining member of the koto club, a club dedicated to the traditional Japanese string instrument. If he doesn’t find new members, the koto club will be terminated. One day, Takezō is alone in the club room when a student barges in and demands to join. The student is delinquent Chika Kudō, a girl who even scares delinquent upperclassmen at other schools!

© Mitsuru Adachi · Shogakukan / Yomiuri Television · ShoPro

The anime adaptation of the Mix manga from Mitsuru Adachi is underway and YTV is doing some new promotion for it. They’ve now got a look at the sixth episode that lands on May 11th, 2019. The series is seeing streaming from Funimation who will bring out new episodes every Saturday at 10:00 am ET for their members with a same-day simuldub as well. Availability for the series is limited to the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia.

The show will be directed by Odahiro Watanabe based on the series composition by Atsuhiro Tomioka. Tatsuto Higuchi, Kenichi Yamada, Yoshifumi Fukushima, and Chinatsu Houjou are all working on scripts for it. Takao Maki is handling character designs while OLM is handling the animation production.

The previously revealed cast was Noriko Hidaka as Minami Asakura, Yuuki Kaji as Toma Tachibana, Yumi Uchida as Soichiro Tachibana, Ryusei Nakao as Isami Nishimura, and Maaya Uchida as Otomi Tachibana.

The manga from Mitsuru Adachi launched in 2012 and has thirteen volumes out this year. It’s related to the events in the Touch manga that ran for twenty-six volumes during the early 1980s.

Check out the official site and Twitter.

Plot Concept: The story takes place in the same Meisei Gakuen high school as Touch, only it is set 26 years later. Like Touch, Mix revolves around brothers and baseball as the main theme.

With a lot of releases that have been available only on DVD for so long, Nozomi Entertainment revealed last summer that they’re planning a Blu-ray edition of the two-episode Gravitation OVA series. While we’re still waiting for details on that, the distributor has now started adding the TV series to its YouTube channel with the first two episodes now available for streaming in their original Japanese language with English subtitles. Check ’em out below!

Plot concept: Shuichi Shindou wants to make a famous band. He works on his band, hoping to get a chance in the public eye, with nothing on his mind but his musical ambitions. One night as Shuichi writes song lyrics, his paper blows away, and a stranger picks it up. The man is Yuki, a famous romance novelist who tells Shuichi that his writing skills are grade school level. From that moment on, Shuichi is determined to find Yuki and have him explain his rudeness… he just doesn’t realize that he’s experienced love at first sight. When Shuichi finally finds Yuki, it’s a journey of obstacles, frightening experiences and haunting pasts trying to keep them apart. But, it’s just the gravitation of fate and love that always pulls these lovers back together every time.