Originally scheduled for release this week on the UK, Anime Limited has now (once again) delayed their Ping Pon the Animation release with no date to be revealed yet. This is another delay in the release, which had a couple last year and was rescheduled to January 11th, 2016 at the end of October.

“[W]e can confirm that Ping Pong: The Animation is having its release date shifted again. We apologise for this and appreciate it’s quite late notice on this from us directly in this instance due to the festive break. The reason this is quite simply unforeseen circumstances that does include something we’ve not previously mentioned that we are looking to have included that will be exclusive to our Collector’s Edition release. As soon as we have more details on this we’ll be sure to share them. Until then any release date being mentioned by retailers is only a tentative one. With that in mind we (Anime Limited) will be noting the release date as TBC until further notice.”

The series is based on the manga that ran for five volumes between 1996 and 1997. The original manga came from Taiyou Matsumoto, which spawned a 2002 live action film as well, and Tatsunoko Productions brought this anime form in the spring of 2014 with Masaaki Yuasa directing it. FUNimation dubbed and released the show in North America.

The English language adaptation is directed by Christopher Bevins and stars:

Yutaka Hoshino/Peco – Aaron Dismuke
Makoto Tsukimoto/Smile – Micah Solusod
Jo Koizumi/Butterfly Joe – Mark Stoddard
Ryuichi Kazama/Dragon – Marcus D. Stimac
Manabu Sakuma/Demon- Anthony Bowling
Kong Wenge/China – Alan Chow
Ota – Tyson Rinehart
Masayuki Sanada – Ian Sinclair
Shuji Nekota – Clifford Chapin
Yurie – Lindsay Seidel
Egami – Eric Vale
Michio – Jeremy Inman

Plot concept: Smile and Peco. Peco and Smile. Besties from the beginning, both with a badass backhand. Peco is known for his arrogance on the table tennis court, and Smile for his silence. But with a new school year and a new high school table tennis team, both boys are in for a challenge, on – and off – the court.

Peco’s slacker ways are hurting his game, and after getting crushed in a tournament, he decides to quit. Smile is finally learning to harness his natural talents, but can he squash his sympathy for his opponents enough to beat them?

A whole lot of cuteness.

What They Say:
When your neighbor’s and angel in training, there’s no telling what could happen!

Kotarou used to spend most of his time alone, but when the apprentice angel Misha moves in next door, his life is thrown into chaos. Misha immediately clings to Kotarou, but since she doesn’t know much about life on Earth, her “divine intervention” is anything but helpful. She constantly breaks things, gets into trouble, and causes all sorts of misunderstandings.

Now, Kotarou finds himself in one weird situation after another. Where will he end up next? The accidental lead in a school play? Literally glued to his friends? The victim of a voodoo doll? Who knows, but at least he won’t be bored!

The Review:
Audio:
The audio presentation for this series brings us the original Japanese language only in stereo encoded at 192kbps. The series is one that doesn’t do much in the way of traditional action, but it has its silly and wacky moments where it gets to play things up a bit. These areas work well as they’re fun and well played across the forward soundstage, but they don’t really stretch the show in a big way. The bulk of the show is fairly straightforward dialogue based material and it works well while keeping it relatively basic. While there are areas where a few characters talk at the same time, most of it is kept to the center channel without a lot of placement or directionality. There are a few moments of it but they’re far between overall across the whole series. Dialogue is clean and clear throughout and we didn’t have any problems with dropouts or distortions during regular playback

Video:
Originally airing in 2002, the transfer for this TV series is presented in its original full frame aspect ratio. The twenty-six episode series is spread across five discs with five on each except the final that has six. Animated by Madhouse, the show has a very clean and appealing look to it with its designs, going for a simpler approach while not looking completely cartoonish and cheap. It works the kids oriented angle well and the transfer captures the color design in a good way that keeps it bright and vibrant without being overexposed. The character designs have some decent detail to it and we get solid backgrounds, both of which are mostly problem free with little in the way of line noise and no cross coloration to be had. The show has plenty of space to work with on each disc and the results are solid.

Packaging:
The packaging design for this release is done up in a standard sized DVD case that holds the five discs on hinges. The set has a good bit of weight about it and there’s always a bit of appeal with that in making it feels like it has value. The front cover is one that’s definitely cute as we get Misha in the foreground along the top, dominating the landscape, while along the bottom we get the rest of the main cast in cute form just above the logo. It’s nicely laid out even if the angle feels just a little weird, but it all works to reinforce the cuteness factor significantly. With a simple white background with just a bit of shading, all the draw is with Misha and her color design before being drawn to the logo, so it works well. The back cover goes for a couple of illustration shots of two of the main characters as well as a pair of shots from the show, giving it some soft color that contrasts with the soft white background. The premise is covered well and the extras are listed clearly as are the production/origin credits. Add in a simple but effective technical grid and things are covered well. No show related inserts are included nor is there a reversible cover.

Menu:
The menus for this series are pretty cute and set the tone well with its design as we get a mostly split screen format that uses a mix of soft whites and purples for the backgrounds. The left side uses different illustration pieces for each volume of the main cast of characters and these add some great color and detail that helps to set the expectations for the series right. I also like that we get a good variety of characters over the five discs. The right side goes with the kind of vague background that works well against the brightness of the logo that dominates with its pink and pale yellow. The navigation is simple and clean in its look and use, so getting around is a breeze and it all works smoothly and without problems.

Extras:
The extras for this release are spread across the set and we get some good things with it. The clean opening and closing sequences are here, which are always welcome, and there’s a good selection of commercials from various aspects of the show – including some cute trading card commercial material. The event promo gives us a very good look at the show through this form, but the best extra are the solid liner notes that have new installments with each disc that covers a range of cultural and entertainment topics.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Based on the eight volume manga series from Koge-Donbo, Pita-Ten is a twenty-six episode anime series that aired back in the spring and summer of 2002. Animated by Madhouse, it’s a show that plainly and simply goes for the younger set and makes no bones about it. You could see this as a spiritual cousin to Cardcaptor Sakura in a way, though without any real long ranging story elements to it. But the idea is there to present these young kids, elementary school students, who are going through their tween years or so and have a whole lot of fun together while discovering that one of their friends is actually an angel in training while the other is a devil in training.

Having read some of the manga before and being somewhat familiar with the bigger end plot points, this series essentially avoids all of the serious material and just goes for the heart with light, fluffy and enjoyable things. In a way, it’s both good and bad depending on whether you think kids/audiences should be challenged or not. The manga does the hard stuff that you wish more series did in really making choices and bringing closure to events. Here, it’s all about keeping it open ended with the potential to produce more. But by avoiding the complex (and complicated!) relationships that the book establishes along the way, it takes a lot of the drama out of this series. In fact, outside of the final two episodes, there’s no real drama at all. And amid watching a slew of very dramatic shows and films, I can totally get into that.

The series focuses on this group of sixth graders where the glue of it all is Kotarou, a young boy who has lost his mother and now lives with just his father. The two get on very well and things are good, though there’s that background sadness that naturally exists. Kotarou has a decent group of friends with his best friend Takashi and a girl named Koboshi who really has a big crush on him. They’re a solid group for this age range and while there’s no depth to it because of said age, you don’t come away feeling that it’s all false. The false comes in the form of Hiroshi, the wealthy family son who is just far too stereotypical, and his younger sister Kaoru, who has some serious hots for Takashi and makes for some uncomfortable situations at times. It’s just that aspects of it within the context of their ages doesn’t jive well, though at least Takahashi seems mostly disinterested in actually dating anyone.

The catalyst for change in this series is that of Misha, an angel in training that has suddenly moved in next door to Kotarou and is working through her exam to become a full fledged angel. She’s not exactly the same age in a sense, though she acts it. Physically she’s about half a foot taller and far too stacked for the kind of show that this wants to be, making it pure fanservice when it offers nothing in-story to work with – especially in the swimsuit episode. I know kids are like that at this age (believe me, I’ve got two girls!), but the way it’s presented here in contrast with the other kids is pretty blatant. Misha’s your basic loveable goof that tries her best and through sheer luck and a big heart tends to succeed. You can see her arc a mile away, mostly because that’s where it exists. For the bulk of the series she essentially just plays around and occasionally helps while simply enjoying the time with everyone. Most know what she is so it’s not exactly a secret within the core group, but it’s also not talked about much or exploited.

To balance out Misha a bit we get Shia, a demon girl in training whose entire story from the manga is wiped away so that she’s essentially just another trainee gaining experience on Earth. She’s your typically quiet and always smiling Japanese stereotype here, always there to lend a hand, have a meal ready, and assist in whatever way is needed. There’s no real “demonic” aspect to her that we get to work with, though some of the “darker” elements comes from her mentor, a cat named Nya that watches over her and tries to work her through the process. That’s mostly off camera, however, and Shia herself is often more talked about than actually involved. Half the time she feels more like the mother of the group than just another of the gang that she gets together with from time to time.

The series is one that adheres to the familiar and there is something comforting about that. We get episodes that focus on the sports festival, albeit by drawing in some old timers that challenge the kids, and we get the requisite beach episode where there’s a lot of silliness. We even get some time out in the woods adventure where Koboshi and Misha pretend that they’re drowning to try and help fix a difficult situation that Kotarou and Takahashi are involved in. We even get the ever standard school festival episode that involves the Princess Kaguya play being put on, which means drama. These and other episodes really do work the familiar tropes and cliches in a big way, yet I kept finding that the simplicity of it all and the basic charms of the cast – especially since they’re not truly playing them up for fanservice or overly complicated plots – end up working because it runs in just that kind of way.

While Madhouse doesn’t go above and beyond with its animation or design work, they hit the right tone for it overall here. It has that lighter color palette to it that definitely helps and it works in some bolder primary colors at times, such as the uniforms and some of the hair colors. it’s not looking for truly real world here or highly detailed, but it makes everything feel like it’s inhabited and a part of a larger whole. Both at school and at home. While the group does get out and about a bit, they’re never really unique places and that kind of diminishes things a bit as you can imagine any number of other characters from other shows walking through and not feeling out of place at all. But at the same time, that’s a factor that makes it feel comfortable and accessible.

In Summary:
If you’ve watched any amount of school based anime before, you can see most of what’s going to happen here. So it really does come down to whether you connect or like the cast, setting, and premise that’s established. While I don’t think it’s something that stands out against the sea of other shows, it has its own charm and it does work because it knows what it wants to do. Part of me is curious as to what an adherence to the source material would have been like as going really dark would have been a lot more interesting in the back end of it, especially compared to the mildly serious way it gets before resetting back to zero. Still, Pita-Ten knows what it wants to be and executes it solidly. It’s a tween show that doesn’t try to be more than that and succeeds because of it.

Features:
Japanese 2.0 Language, English Subtitles, Clean Opening and Closing, Event Promo, Liner Notes, Commercials.

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

Released By: Nozomi Entertainment
Release Date: February 2nd, 2016
MSRP: $49.99
Running Time: 650 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.

It’s a new week and that means lots of new anime hitting the shelves today. Well, a lot compared to how January release weeks usually are since it’s fairly dead. Sentai Filmworks is bringing out the second and final half of the Argevollen series, which is getting a dual format release but is a monolingual one. FUNimation has a big new release on tap that a lot of fans will be excited about as Noein makes it back to the market with a regular and limited edition, bringing it to Blu-ray for the first time in all its bilingual glory.

1. Argevollen Collection 2 DVD
2. Argevollen Collection 2 Blu-ray
3. Noein: To Your Other Self Complete Collection Blu-ray & DVD Combo
4. Noein: To Your Other Self Complete Collection Blu-ray & DVD Combo Limited Edition

Previously scheduled but moved to indefinitely delayed status was the IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix Complete Collection.

Dynamite Entertainment has a big release week ahead of it if only for the arrival of the new Red Sonja series. Coming off of the very popular Gail Simone run, Marguerite Bennet is stepping into the writers realm here with artwork coming from Aneke, and while expectations are high we’re pretty sure they’re going to nail it. This week also has new installments of Doc Savage and The Precinct with their second issues while Cage Hero hits its third installment and we get a new Legenderry Green Hornet trade paperback release. Add in a little Alice cooper vs Chaos! and it’s a pretty fun and diverse week of work!

Alice Cooper Vs. Chaos! #5

writer: Tim Seeley, Jim Terry

artist: Jim Terry

cover: Joyce Chin

incentive cover: Joyce Chin (B/W art)

FC • 32 pages • $3.99 • Teen+

Alice Cooper discovers just how chaotic the Chaos! Universe can truly be, as he faces off against the horrific monsters of his own mind. Meanwhile, the Chosen tangle with a monstrous tree, while Evil Ernie is the prisoner of an even more evil pharmaceutical company! Can the unlikely alliances of Alice Cooper, the dream witch Vex, and the vampire assassin Chastity escape from a twisted nightmare realm and stop the badder guys from beating the bad guys?

Cage Hero #3

writers: Ian Parker, Kevin Eastman, Rik Hoskin

artist: Renato Rei

cover: Renato Rei

FC • 32 pages • $3.99 • Teen+ 

Student Ryder Stone has been inducted into the Cage Hero program, a secret project developing the hidden powers held by a select group of people. With the world in danger, can this new team unlock the hero from within themselves before it’s too late?

Doc Savage: The Spider’s Web #2

writer: Chris Roberson

artist: Cezar Razek

cover: Wilfredo Torres

incentive cover: Wilfredo Torres (B/W art)

FC • 32 pages • $3.99 • Teen+

While investigating a series of man-made earthquakes that have ravaged South America, Doc Savage finds evidence that links the current case to another which he thought had been closed six decades before, when he and his friends had been all that stood between a private army and the destruction of the lost Mayan empire that was the source of Doc’s vast wealth: the Valley of the Vanished.

Precinct #2

writer: Frank J. Barbiere

artist: Crizam Zamora

cover: Sergio Dávila

incentive cover: Sergio Dávila (B/W art)

FC • 32 pages • $3.99 • Teen+ 

The steampunk police procedural continues! Mort and Jo face off against a monstrous machine, while the Alchemy Academy makes bold political moves behind the scenes. Action, magic, and political intrigue await in The Precinct from Frank J. Barbiere (Howling Commandos of SHIELD, Five Ghosts) and Crizam Zamora (Vampirella: Prelude to Shadows)!

Red Sonja Vol. 3 #1

writer: Marguerite Bennett

artist: Aneke

covers: Marguerite Sauvage (a), Jay Anacleto (b) (connects with the upcoming Vampirella #1 and Dejah Thoris #1!), Tula Lotay (c)

subscription cover: Tony Fleecs (d) (connects with the upcoming Vampirella #1 and Dejah Thoris #1!)

incentive covers: Ming Doyle, Nicola Scott

Fans & retailers, order the cover of your choice!

FC • 32 pages • $3.99 • Teen+

Through the plains of Hyrkania, a message sweeps through the scattered peoples of the nation. Bells ring, horns blow, voices shout – the King is dying! Red Sonja rides to save the King from his doom as the powers of Hyboria crowd around to strike when the kingdom is weakest. But a dread new power rises from within Hyrkania’s own borders, bent on defending its homeland – no matter the cost, no matter what its people become. A defining chapter of the Red Sonja saga – dark, clever, vicious, and funny – as the She-Devil with a Sword must stop the rise of a brutal new regime… her own people!

**UPDATED RELEASE DATE**

Legenderry Green Hornet TP

writer: Daryl Gregory

artist: Brent Peeples

cover: Joe Benitez

FC • 128 pages • $17.99 

COLLECTS ISSUES 1-5!

From the pages of Bill Willingham’s Legenderry: A Steampunk Adventure… it’s Green Hornet and Kato, goggles-deep in an all-out gang war. Against a Neo-Victorian backdrop of clockworks and bowler hats, writer Daryl Gregory and artist Brent Peeples take the classic pulp crusaders and their war against crime – infiltrating the enemy in their colorful masked guises — to whole new levels of whimsy and wonder!

When Little Lord Homicide makes his claim as heir to the Big City’s underworld, the pint-sized child psychopath incites a gang war against the reigning Veiled Lady… and draws our disguised heroes into a web of intrigue and revenge. As urban warriors from every dank alleyway pour into the violent cobblestone streets, a mysterious new player known as the Brass Hornet makes the chaos decidedly personal by offering a king’s ransom for the Green Hornet’s head!

While the new anime releases this week are a bit weak with just two titles spread across four volumes, the manga side is a bit better off with fifteen new releases. It’s worth noting that a number of the Digital Manga Publishing releases arrive earlier through outlets like Right Stuf than through Amazon – sometimes by a matter of months. This week has some good titles across the board from them, from new Lovephobia to new installments of Itazura na Kiss. We also get the latest Astro Boy omnibus from Dark Horse as well as new Case Closed and Requiem of the Rose King from Viz Media.

What manga will make it onto your shelf?

1. Astro Boy Omnibus Vol.2
2. As Many As There Are Stars Vol.1
3. Border: Kyoukaisen Vol.4
4. Border: Kyoukaisen Vol.5
5. Case Closed Vol.57
6. Does the Flower Blossom? Vol.2
7. Itazura na Kiss Vol.11
8. Itazura na Kiss Vol.12
9. Kill la Kill Vol.2
10. Lovephobia Vol.3
11. Persona 4 Vol.1
12. Persona 4 Vol.2
13. Requiem of the Rose King Vol.3
14. The Tyrant Falls In Love Vol.9
15. Ze Vol.11

Funimation is a bit over a month away from their release of Tokyo ESP on DVD/BD combo on February 23rd, 2016, but fans are getting their first full taste of the series today as the first two episodes have gone live on their subscription service. That means we now get our look at it and a credits list for the opening episode that breaks down the main cast and some incidental characters in it as well. Funimation has the set coming out in both a regular edition priced at $64.98 and a limited edition priced at $69.98. Extras for the set includes Episode Commentaries, DVD/BD Spots Commercial, Textless Opening “Tokyo Zero Hearts”, Textless Closings “Kyuusei Argyros” and “Lasting Memories”.

The cast includes;

• Sarah Wiedenheft as Rinka
• Adam Dahlberg as Kyotaro
• Bryan Massey as Rindou
• Heather Walker as Peggy
• Ray Gestaut as Casey
• Greg Dulcie as Nabeshima
• Mallorie Rodak as Minami
• Morgan Berry as Ayumu
• Lara Woodhull as Murasaki
• Jenny Ledel as Kuroi
• Jeffrey Schmidt as Professor
• Leah Clark as Kagura
• Alexis Tipton as Yomi
• David Matranga as Toru
• Brina Palencia as Natsuki
• J. Michael Tatum as Kudo
• Marcus D. Stimac as Kiriya
• Michelle Rojas as Mami
• Kenny Green as Prime Minister
• Heather Walker as Reporter

ADR Director – Tyler Walker
Head Writer – John Burgmeier
Script Writers – Blair Rowan, J. Michael Tatum

FUNimation has the North American rights, Madman Entertainment has the Australian rights and Anime Limited has the UK rights.

The series is based on the manga of the same name that comes from Hajime Segawa which began back in 2010 and has eight volumes running so far. The anime adaptation is setup at Xebec with Shighito Takayanagi directing based on scripts by Hideyuki Kurata and Yasuko Kamo while Mitsuru Ishihara will be handling the character designs along with Masaaki Takiyama, who is also serving as the chief animation director. The original creator, Segawa, also was behind a previously licensed series in North America with Ga Rei Zero.

Plot concept: The girl next door is about to become so much more.

Rinka is a high school student in Tokyo trying to make ends meet while supporting herself and her father. Her ordinary life takes a turn for the extraordinary when she witnesses a penguin and a school of fish flying through the air. After catching up to one of the fish, she passes out and wakes up to find herself suddenly granted supernatural powers. With her newfound ability to walk through solid objects, Rinka is about to learn just how transparent the world can be.

[Source: Buckeye]

Nothing ever goes to plan.

Creative Staff:
Story: Brian Buccellato
Art: Mike S. Miller
Colors: J. Nanjan

What They Say:
Disagreements break out in the Regime about the use of villains for enforcement. Meanwhile, Bane and Killer Frost hunt down Catwoman.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The fifth year of Injustice has moved along in a fun way for me, more so than the fourth year overall, and this installment provides a bit of a breather after the events of the first three plus the annual that serves as a catalyst for things. The world has changed since all of this began five years ago and we see that early on here with Superman talking about how the villain percentage that aren’t killed or captured is far too high. There’s a focused aspect to him at this point that’s certainly worrying, but it’s really been there all along. It’s just that now it feels colder and more intense, not quite so passion filled as it was before. The light that was him has been snuffed out and it’s just the embers that we see from time to time.

This focus also has him becoming a lot more solitary, keeping everyone else in the regime at a distance, which is something that Diana calls him out on. And that’s on top of her distaste for their working with Bane (though hardly the first time any of them worked with a villain for any number of reasons). There’s a welcome simplicity to how Diana approaches it with him when they’re alone in the sky and it’s really just her establishing what she thinks and not really making it a conversation. Amusingly, Superman views this as an invitation to reinforce his own feelings for her, making it clear that he knows that she’s the one that’s really helped him by being there all these years, and I loved that she literally pushes him to arm’s length to make her point once again about Bane. A Superman scorned…

The villains are certainly taking up more of the page time this time around as we see Catwoman doing her best to bring Penguin over to Batman’s side to build up a Gotham Resistance. Networking is key and old school villains with a code of honor are needed, and Penguin does still fall into that. I liked her pitch overall, but I had to laugh at how bad it all goes down when Bane shows up and really starts tossing her around. A little Killer Frost time doesn’t hurt here either as she teams up with Bane for this mission while they end up working towards a bigger catch. Bane’s desire for order in the world is what’s driving him overall, but the grudge with Batman looms large over that as well and seeing him working it constantly and methodically in his own manner continues to be fun to watch.

In Summary:
While there are no truly big moments here, Injustice does some stage setting and adds a little more to the growing schism within the regime. Superman’s methods obviously do not go over well with some as he’s in an ends justify the means phase in a big way here. Which isn’t a surprise after battling gods and Darkseid in order to protect the world from what he sees as threats. Validation all around, which really makes him difficult to deal with when there’s some rejection in his life. I liked his story and I had fun with Catwoman’s, both of which Mike S. Miller once again doles out in a great way for the readers. There’s something close to a “series style” for this book across the various artists and they all work it pretty well while also adhering to the game to some degree as well.

Grade: B

Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: January 11th, 2016
MSRP: $0.99

The winter 2016 scheduled show Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! is coming up in a couple of days with a Japanese premiere date of January 13th, 2016 and now we’ve got some new simulcast information for it. Crunchyroll has added the series to its slate with it set to debut tomorrow at 1:35pm ET for its users. The show will be made available to their viewers worldwide except for Asia, Spain, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand; and German, French, Italian and Dutch Speaking Europe. The English-language title for it that’s being used is KONOSUBA – God’s blessing on this wonderful world!!, which certainly works but is certainly a mouthful, which is why Konosuba is what we expect to see mostly.

The cast includes Jun Fukushima as Kazuma Satou, Sora Amamiya as Aqua, Rie Takahashi as Megumin, Ai Kayano as Raratina Dustiness Ford, Sayuri Hara as Luna, Tetsu Inada as Ruffian, Ayaka Suwa as Chris, Takuya Eguchi as Kyouya Mitsurugi, Hiroki Yasumoto as Beldia Dullahan and Yui Horie as Wiz.

The series is animated at Studio DEEN with Takaomi Kansaki directing based on scripts by Makoto Uezeu and character designs by Kouichi Kikuta.

The original work comes from writer Akatsuki Natsume with illustrations by Mishima Kurone. The book began in the fall of 2013 and has eight volumes released so far. It also got the expected manga adaptation along the way with Masahito Watari illustrating that starting back in September 2014, which was one of the clues that this was likely going to get an anime adaptation.

Plot concept: After a traffic accident, Kazuma Sato’s disappointingly brief life was supposed to be over, but he wakes up to see a beautiful girl before him. She claims to be a goddess, Aqua, and asks if he would like to go to another world and bring only one thing with him. Kazuma decides to bring the goddess herself, and they are transported to a fantasy world filled with adventure, ruled by a demon king. Now Kazuma only wants to live in peace, but Aqua wants to solve many of this world’s problems, and the demon king will only turn a blind eye for so long…

Aniplex USA revealed previously that the first film in the Kizumonogatari trilogy with Tekketsu-hen would being a limited theatrical run in North America beginning on February 26th, 2016. Now they’re revealing the plans for it with locations and dates and it looks like a lot of peple are going to get a good shot at it – though us Northeastern anime fans get left out in the cold a bit with the rollout here.

There’s been a stronger push in the past year or so to get more anime films into theaters as events and this definitely would be an interesting one to get out there.The second film will arrive this coming summer in Japan and we’d hazard that the third film will get a late fall release if they’re sticking to this kind of schedule for it.

The second film will arrive this coming summer in Japan and we’d hazard that the third film will get a late fall release if they’re sticking to this kind of schedule for it. The second film is titled Nekketsu-hen, aka Passionate Blood, while the third film is Reiketsu-hen, aka Cold Blood. Formal dates will arrive later.

The first film had Akiyuki Shinbou as the chief director with Tatsuya Oishi directing it. Akio Watanabe and Hideyuki Morioka are on board for the character designs and Shaft is once again handling the production for it. It stars Hiroshi Kamiya, Maaya Sakamoto, Yui Horie and Takahiro Sakura.

Plot concept: I think it’s about time I talked about Kiss-Shot-Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade. I believe it’s something I have to do. I met her in the spring break between my second and third years of high school. That meeting had such impact, and was also quite devastating.

• Tempe, AZ: Harkins Theatres – Valley Art (February 26-March 3)
• Los Angeles, CA: Downtown Independent (February 26, 27)
• Sacramento, CA: Tower Theater (March 1, 5)
• San Diego, California: Angelika Carmel Mountain (March 1, 5)
• San Francisco, CA: New People (February 27)
• Littleton, CO: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Littleton (February 28, 29, March 3)
• Fort Lauderdale, FL: Cinema Paradiso – Fort Lauderdale (February 27)
• Honolulu, HI: Ward Stadium 16 (March 1, 5)
• Chicago, IL: Music Box (TBA)
• Bloomfield, MI: The Maple Theater (February 27)
• Kansas City, MO: Alamo Drafthouse Mainstreet (March 1)
• Manville, NJ: Manville 12 Plex (March 1, 5)
• Albuquerque, NM: The Guild Cinema (March 4, 5)
• New York, NY: Village East Cinema (March 1, 5)
• Columbus, OH: Gateway Film Center (February 27, 28, March 2)
• Pittsburgh, PA: The Hollywood Theater (February 27, 28, March 1)
• Austin, TX: Alamo Drafthouse Austin Lakeline (February 27)
• Dallas, Texas: Angelika Film Center & Café – Dallas (March 1, 5)
• Houston, TX: Alamo Drafthouse Mason Park (February 27)
• San Antonio, TX: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Westlakes (February 28)
• Sandy, UT: Megaplex – Jordan Commons (February 27)
• Fairfax, VA: Angelika Film Center & Café – Mosaic (March 1, 5)
• Seattle, WA: Grand Illusion (February 27, 28)
• Washington DC: Angelika Pop-Up (March 1, 5)

What’s a widow to do when the young stud she likes ends up with an older woman?

What They Say:
It has been a year since Chiho became a widow and her nights alone have become very lonely. It’s a good thing that her friend Kanae is there to help. Kanae is experienced; she’s been married for eight years and she knows just what Chiho needs…

A little spice, a little color, and some new scenery are what’s missing from Chiho’s life…

The Review:
Audio:
The audio presentation for this series brings us the show in its original Japanese and English language forms, both of which are in stereo and encoded at 192kbps. The show has a fairly straightforward stereo mix with the bulk of the dialogue being through the center channel. There are a few ambient effects that use the stereo channels and the music does as well, but most of it’s relegated to the opening and closing sequences as much of the music is very low-key. Dialogue is clean and clear throughout and we had no issues with dropouts or distortions during regular playback.

Video:
Originally released to video back in 2003, the two episodes that make up this series are presented here in their original full frame format. With a normal world setting, the color palette would normally be somewhat subdued other than the character animation but this show goes with a very lively and vibrant set of colors, from the great looking blues in the skies to a lot of cherry tree moments. The character designs use a good set of colors as well while the show, in general, avoids problems with cross coloration and aliasing. The two episodes on this volume look really good and are essentially problem free outside of a few soft areas.

Packaging:
The cover artwork for this show is decent but not one of the better pieces out there. The background has the two lead female characters in various stages of undress but it’s done with a heavy softness to it and with a series of muted pinks and purples. Along the logo, the Kanae character is done with a more distinct and clear look which looks good but is awkward against the softer background. The back cover has a number of character shots of the two women done in soft colors underneath all the text that’s here. There’s a basic summary and the usual production information that’s covering up otherwise decent looking artwork. The insert does a silhouette version of the two leads kissing while listing the chapter stops for the two episodes. While this is in a clear keepcase, there isn’t any reversible cover or anything on the other side at all.

Menu:
Much like many of the Kitty menus, the layout here is very simple with a static image used from the cover artwork that doesn’t have any music playing along to it. With only the show and a selection of trailers on the disc, there aren’t many selections to make and access times are nice and fast. Submenus load quickly and the disc read our players preset languages half correct as the sign/song subtitle track was listed as the first English track instead of the full translation track.

Extras:
None.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With a name that sounds like it belongs in a horror movie, Wife Eater is actually something of an attempted sweet show that deals with women and their need for men as well as the one young man that gets caught up in the middle of a couple of them.

Young Chiho is a recent widow who is trying to move on from her husband’s death but ends up being reminded of him fairly frequently due to others in the apartment complex she lives in. She’s a generally quiet and reserved girl who doesn’t seem to leave her apartment much but she isn’t bad off from the experience. She still dreams of her husband but she’s not imagining him coming back to life or even amusing herself with the thought of him. Other than looking at a recently found picture from when they were in school together, Chiho seems well-adjusted.

Moving into the same complex is an “older” woman named Kanae. Mind you, older here probably means the late twenties. Her design is different enough from Chiho both in how she’s drawn and how she carries herself so that she does give off a different feel than Chiho so it works well enough. Her husband is mysteriously out of the picture by working elsewhere, presumably out of the country, so Kanae is setting up home in a new smaller place. When she arrives, she happens upon a young girl named Konomi and her “daddy” Satoru. He’s not really her father but just someone that the girls in the complex find easy to play with and Konomi has adopted him in a sense. The two of them help Kanae move in and eventually Konomi heads off home, leaving Satoru subjected to the wiles of the older woman who is learning that Satoru has the hots for Chiho. While feeding her own needs, she offers to teach Satoru some confidence so that he can pursue Chiho as he wants and before he knows what’s going on the two are knee-deep in each other and having a good time.

Each of the episodes has only one sex scene to them so a lot of time is given over to the characters getting to know each other and some verbal foreplay. Though it’s labeled as a comedy there isn’t all that much humor in here as it’s a slightly romantic dramatic show more than anything else with a healthy dose of good simple consensual sex tossed in. The two scenes are well done and with great looking designs both are appealing. Add in the differences in their characters and there is some nice variety to the encounters that Satoru has here. They’re not hugely explicit but everything is shown and there wasn’t any skimping on the details.

In Summary:
Wife Eater is a decent little show that’s great for first-time hentai viewers and couples. With all consensual sex, good character designs and a stronger focus on the characters and their emotions, it’s not one that goes in for the heavy nasty material or throws in anything that you wouldn’t expect to see in some soft core show really. The designs and animation are all well done and this was a pleasant way to spend about an hour but it’s not one that most hardcore hentai fans will find much to do with unless they’re looking for a break from the heavier things out there.

Features:
Japanese 2.0 Language, English 2.0 Language, English Subtitles

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

Released By: Kitty Media
Release Date: August 21st, 2004
MSRP: $29.99
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.

GA Bunko is kicking off a new light novel series this week with Masakashi no Messiah and they’ve put together a fun little preview of it. Set for release on January 15th, 2016, the new book is written by Katsumi Enami with illustrations from Rika Rokka. Enami’s name may not be a household one among anime and manga fans, but they should know him. He worked as the original character designer on the Baccano! anime series and did work on a range of books from Hariyama-san to Junkgirl and some Baccano! work as well.

Illustrations for this are coming from Rika Rokka, and is their first published work that we’re aware of.

Being a new series means there’s little in the way of details on it, but it takes place in Switzerland and certainly has a really neat look about parts of it from the little bit of illustration work that we can see.

With there being a good bit of time until the film hits, there’s not a lot of details beyond the excellent news that Ryan Coogler has boarded the Black Panther project as director. Coogler is riding high at the moment with his film Creed, which has done some really strong business at the box office and received a lot of critical acclaim as well. The film doesn’t have a lot attached to it yet outside of its lead actor in Chadwick Boseman, who is debuting the character in Captain America: Civil War this May.

“We are fortunate to have such an esteemed filmmaker join the Marvel family…The talents Ryan showcased in his first two films easily made him our top choice to direct ‘Black Panther.’ Many fans have waited a long time to see Black Panther in his own film, and with Ryan we know we’ve found the perfect director to bring T’Challa’s story to life.”

Directed by Ryan Coogler, Black Panther is scheduled to arrive on February 16, 2018. It stars Chadwick Boseman.

The sequel to World War Z had gotten a release date from Paramount for June 9th, 2017 back in May 2015 that will bring Brad Pitt back to the lead role. At the time, it was going to be directed by Juan Antonia Bayona, who got some positive nods for his work in The Orphanage and The Impossible. Now that looks to have ended as Bayona has departed the project after being involved with over the past year, citing that the timing doesn’t work. With the film needing to get underway this summer for its principal photography, his work on other projects means he won’t be prepared for it, so it’s apparently been an amicable split.

No word on who Paramount will want to have take over the chair next, though we don’t believe they’ll have a hard time finding someone. Though costs for the first film skyrocketed when the entire third act was scrapped and done again, the film still did solid numbers and the belief is that a sequel will do the same or more but cost less.

Steven Knight wrote the script for the film as it attempts to work in more material from the diary/novel as originally written Max Brooks. Knight has a few things to his resume over the last few years with writing credits for Seventh Son and the upcoming The Hundred Foot Journey, but he was also the writer and director on Locke. Since then, Paramount brought on Dennis Kelly for a rewrite.

The first release week of the year is here and with little in the way of big and new material out we get a pretty dismal looking list overall. The Love Live movie takes the top spot on the Blu-ray chart with 4,500 units and that’s followed closely by the third Tamayura feature, which acquired 3,000 in sales for the format plus another 400 on DVD. A couple of boxes work some decent numbers here with Zoids and Aikatsu, but once you get past that it’s all bleak with the first Ore ga Ojo hitting just 910 copies, World Trigger at 808 and even the Digimon movies set getting just 780 as nostalgia is not saving it there. The DVD side is bleak across the board as well.

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

Blu-ray
*1. 4,526 216,163 Love Live! The School Idol Movie Limited Special Edition
*2. 2,929 **2,929 Tamayura: Sotsugyou Shashin Part 3 – Akogare
*3. 1,681 **1,681 Aikatsu! Season 3 “Akari Generation” Blu-ray BOX 4 (eps.140-152)
*4. 1,130 **1,130 Zoids Genesis Blu-ray BOX
*5. *,910 ***,910 Ore ga Ojousama Gakkou ni “Shomin Sample” Toshite Gets♥Sareta Ken Vol.1
*6. *,808 ***,808 World Trigger Vol.11
*7. *,806 *23,048 Owarimonogatari Vol.1 Ougi Formula Limited Edition
*8. *,780 ***,780 Digimon The Movies Vol.1 (incl. Digimon Adventure Movie and Digimon Adventure: Bokura no War Game!)
*9. *,726 *11,455 Digimon Adventure tri. 1: Saikai
10. *,702 *12,649 Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka?? Vol.1 Limited Edition

11. *,608 *48,168 Girls und Panzer: Kore ga Hontou no Anzio-sen desu!
12. *,602 **8,338 Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. Zoku Vol.6 Limited Edition
13. *,556 **5,622 Charlotte Vol.4 Limited Edition
(cut-off 556)


DVD
*1. 1,066 **1,066 One Piece 17th Season “Dressrosa” Vol.19
*2. *,693 ***,693 Naruto: Shippuuden “Naruto no Senaka – Nakama no Kiseki” Vol.5
*3. *,576 *51,518 Tonari no Totoro
*4. *,538 ***,538 Diabolik Lovers DVD-BOX Complete BTO Edition
*5. *,520 *10,758 One Piece Log Collection “Noah” (ep.555-573)
*6. *,494 **9,939 Kuroko no Basket 3rd Season Vol.9
*7. *,487 **3,588 Digimon Adventure tri. 1: Saikai
*8. *,452 *13,608 Crayon Shin-chan Movie 23: Ora no Hikkoshi Monogatari – Saboten Daisuugeki
*9. *,418 ***,418 Tamayura: Sotsugyou Shashin Part 3 – Akogare
10. *,413 **5,823 Sore Ike! Anpanman: Mija to Mahou no Lamp

11. *,371 136,795 Youkai Watch Movie 1: Tanjou no Himitsu da Nyan! Special Price Edition
12. *,370 **9,438 Detective Conan Movie 19: The Hellfire Sunflowers
13. *,367 **6,223 Pokemon the Movie XY: Ring no Choumajin Hoopa
14. *,362 ***,362 Cyborg 009 vs. Devilman Vol.3
15. *,361 ***,361 Pri Para Season 2 Vol.4
16. *,360 *26,569 Majo no Takkyuubin
17. *,352 **4,807 Starmyu Vol.1 Limited Edition
18. *,338 ***,338 World Trigger Vol.11
19. *,335 ***,335 Umeboshi Denka DVD-BOX
20. *,331 ***,331 Ore ga Ojousama Gakkou ni “Shomin Sample” Toshite Gets♥Sareta Ken Vol.1

21. *,306 ***,306 Eikoku Ikke, Nihon wo Taberu Vol.1
22. *,287 *15,951 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Vol.2
23. *,271 *17,543 Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa
24. *,269 ***,269 Eikoku Ikke, Nihon wo Taberu Vol.2
(cut-off 269)

[Source: Oricon Youtaiju via MAL]

December has come and gone and the folks at ICv2  have the latest info from Diamond Distribution about what sold during the month. December isn’t usually a really big month even as we saw Marvel launch a lot of new books as part of their All-New event, since people tend to put their money a bit more towards holiday things and trades. Marvel manages to grab a lot of spots in the top ten, notably with Secret Wars doing the best with just under 170,000 copies. They also hit up well with Star Wars as part of the Vader Down event as well as Guardians of Infinity, which we’re not expecting to sell as well with its second book. Surprisingly, the Star Wars Annual managed to eke out a ninth place position.

D Comics has a few in the top with the strong selling Dark Knight III: Master Race as well as the newest Batman and the debuts of Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesb and Harley’s Little Black Book.

Only six titles topped 100,000 this month and nothing crossed the 200,000 mark, which we’ve seen a few times this past year with some series launches.

N

The winter 2016 anime series Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn is moving right along with its simulcast and Funimation has made it one of the shows that they’re also doing through Hulu as a simulcast. The first episode of the series is live for subscribers only with it rolling into free mode later on. The service will add new subtitled episodes on a seven-day delay from their original Japanese air date while new episodes stream sooner with plus subscription. Those that subscribe to Hulu get to watch this show on your TV and mobile devices.

Due to Hulu eliminating previews, you can just access the whole series page here.

The series stars Sanae Fuku as Nene Nanakorobi, Manami Numakura as Clarion, Atsuko Tanaka as Uzal Delilah, Junpei Morita as Buer, Satsumi Matsuda as Buri, Rie Murakawa as Bunny, Marie Miyake as Takumi Korobase, Tetsu Inada as Robert Altman, Junichi Suwabe as Ian Crutz and Maria Naganawa as Eimi Giliam.

The manga was recently licensed in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment. It comes from creators Masamune Shirow and Koshi Rikdo. With Shirow writing and Rikdo illustrating, it’s a strange and surreal piece just from the cover artwork alone that you can see on the right. The series began back in October 2012 in Kadokawa Niconico Ace with several volumes published so far.

Shirow is well known for his many creations over the years, from Appleseed to Ghost in the Shell, and Rikdo gained fame with Excel Saga, which ended in 2011 and had a very popular anime adaptation for North American fans.

Plot concept: In an age when large-scale natural disasters frequently happen all over the world, when cyborgs and autonomous robots are beginning to appear on the market in technologically advanced nations, and major world powers compete for technology and resources, the divide between rich and poor grows and the future for the poor looks bleak. In this transitional stage, everyone wanders around in a self-indulgent daze and the way out isn’t clear… This is the story of how two cybernetically enhanced girls meet.

The December rankings for what sold in the direct market for graphic novels is always interesting since it takes a very different course from your normal bookstore rankings. This month has the continually in demand Brian K. Vaughn debuting a new potential evergreen work with the deluxe edition of Private Eye, which in moving just under 8,000 copies does some great business – especially at a retail priced of $49.99.

DC Comics gets a few books in the top ten that are among the usual Batman and Harley related pieces while Marvel brings their Star Wars face to the game again, though Civil War continues to do well and the Secret Wars book Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows grabs the tenth place position. Image Comics does more than just Private Eye as they also had Saga selling well. Dark Horse also charts in the top ten with the new Avatar the Last Airbender trade.

On the manga side, Viz Media has their highest charting one here with Tokyo Ghoul‘s fourth volume at 22nd place with 2,298 copies moved. It’s a far drop to the next one with One-Punch Man‘s first volume at 119th place and 993 copies moved. Viz Media has thirteen titles overall on the list. Kodansha Comics has their highest with the 18th place position for the latest Attack on Titan release while a few other releases from the franchise are spread out. They have about fourteen titles on the list, making a pretty good show. Yen Press has seven books on the list with Black Butler at the top of it at 173rd and several other releases in the 200s. Seven Seas has no books in the top 300.

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Dagashi Kashi Episode 1

Daisuki has updated their streaming plans for the UK now that the winter 2016 anime season is here and there’s definitely some good news for fans as they gain an Aniplex title and five series that Funimation picked up for simulcast in North America and most of which I believe are also picked up by AnimeLab for Australian streaming. On the downside, Daisuki has lost eight titles that it was streaming that came out before, but most have been around for a bit and nothing will stay streaming forever, hence the mantra of if you really want it, you need to grab the home video release to add to your collection.

Which shows will you be checking out this season?

The newly arrived:

1. Dagashi Kashi
2. Erased (Boku Dake ga Inai Machi)
3. Haruchika: Haruta & Chika (Haruchika: Haruta to Chika wa Seishun Suru)
4. Luck & Logic
5. Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn (Kōkaku no Pandora)
6. Prince of Stride: Alternative

The departed:

1. Aldnoah Zero
2. Black Butler: Book of Circus
3. Buddy Complex
4. Hanamonogatari
5. The iDOLM@STER
6. Persona 4 the Golden Animation
7. Sword Art Online: Extra Edition
8. Sword Art Online II

[Source: NormanicGrav]

Ahead of the January 17th, 2016 debut, Toei Animation is now streaming the preview for the sixty-second episode of World Trigger. The show is moving right along and is dealing with the sorta-sequel/side season material. Crunchyroll is currently streaming the series in the USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America. Toei Animation is also streaming it through Hulu.

Please note that Toei Animation removes these previews when the episodes air.

The series is directed by Mitsuru Hongo at Toei Animation based on scripts by Hiroyuki Yoshino and character designs by Toshihisa Kaiya, who is also handling the animation director duties. Kenji Kawai has surfaced again to provide the score for the series.

The cast includes Yuuki Kaji as Osamu Mikumo, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Rie Kugimiya, Jun Fukuyama, Hideyuki Tanaka – Replica, Nao Tamura as Chika Amatori, Tomo Muranaka as Yuma Kuga, Yuichi Nakamura as Yuichi Jin, Rie Kugimiya as Kirie Konami, Jun Fukuyama as Kyōsuke Karasuma, Tomoaki Maeno as Reiji Kizaki, Keiji Fujiwara as Takumi Rindō, Takeshi Kusao as Masafumi Shinoda, Masakazu Morita as Shūji Miwa, Kana Hanazawa as Ai Kitora and Nobuhiko Okamoto as as Jun Arashiyama.

The anime adaptation is working off the manga that began back in 2013 in Weekly Shonen Jump, which has been available digitally in North America to readers via Viz Media as well as compiled volumes.

Plot concept: One day, a gate to another world suddenly opens in Mikado City. Aliens invincible to Earth’s weapons, called “Neighbors”, start coming over. Earth’s only line of defense is a mysterious group called the “Border” who are armed with weapons called “Triggers”.

Four years later, the city has recovered from initial attacks and citizens of Mikado City have started to get use to the Neighbor’s attacks. Yuma Kuga, a transfer student, and his classmate Osamu Mikumo find themselves fighting a Neighbor that suddenly appears. Osamu, who is actually a Border agent, activates his Trigger but is unable to defeat it. This leaves Yuma to activate his own Trigger and defeat the alien. Yuma reveals that he is not part of Border and is actually a Neighbor who has transferred from the other side.

The winter 2016 anime series Mahou Shoujou Nante Mouiidesukara kicked off this week and the folks at Comic Earth Star have debuted their home video release plans for the series. The short-form show is getting a single Blu-ray release that will arrive on May 27th, 2016 priced at 5,184 yen. No bonus items or extras are detailed yet and will be coming at a later date. The series total running time is fifty minutes.

The series was directed by Kazuhiro Yoneda while the scripts and composition were done by Fudeyasu, who received script assists from Momoko Murakami. Character designs were done by Kazuaki Shimada who also served as the chief animation director. The anime project was handled by Pinejam. The opening theme song will be performed by Earth Star Dream.

The cast includes Akane Fujita as Yuzuka Hanami, Yūki Wakai as Miton, Miku Itō as Mafuyu Shinoki, Asuka Nishi as Pochi, Minami Tanaka as Daiya and Nichika Omori as Chiya Sakagami.

The manga comes from Sui Futami that began back in March of 2015.

Plot concept: The story follows Yuzuka Hanami, a young girl who has few friends but who can do anything. One day, Yuzuka gets accosted by a strange creature named Miton who is digging through a trash dump. Miton tells Yuzuka, “you have the makings of a magical girl” and seems extremely suspicious. When Yuzuka is suddenly transformed into a magical girl, she’s wearing a bathing suit

[Source: Mahou Shoujo Nante Mouiidesukara]