The anime adaptation of the manga series Keijo!!!!!!!! has just gotten something that we’ll start seeing more of I suspect, especially from WB Japan as they take a more global approach to the series they manage. With a fall 2016 plan, they’ve brought out a new minute long trailer for the show where one is in Japanese with the narration about it while the other is in English highlighting what it’s about. Animated by Xebec, the series will be directed by Hideya Takahashi based on the series composition from Takao Kato. Keiya Nakano is handling the character designs for it.

The cast includes:

• Lynn as Nozomi Kaminashi
• M.A.O as Sayaka Miyata
• Kaede Hondo as Kazane Aoba
• Saori Oonishi as Non Toyoguchi

The work comes from creator Daichi Sorayomi which began back in 2013 and has eleven volumes out as of this past spring. No details of the adaptation were revealed such as production, cast, or scheduling. The work is Sorayomi’s second after the three volume series Momi-Baraishi ran in Club Sunday for three volumes between 2011 and 2012.

Plot concept: Kaminashi Nozomi (17) is an exceptional gymnast. So much so that colleges with some of the best gymnastic programs are trying to recruit her. Unfortunately for them, she has other plans. Due to her family being extremely poor, money is everything to her. That’s why she wants to step into the world of “Keijo.” “Keijo” is a type of gambling sport where girls stand on a small floating platform and compete against one another. The aim is to push the other contestant off of the platform into the water, but they are only allowed to use their butt or breasts to push the others off. Will Nozomi be able to compete in the intense world of “Keijo” and bring wealth and fortune for her family?

Sunday tends to be fairly quiet but sometimes we get a little bit of a bump in material. This week has Kodansha Comics bringing out the latest installment of the weekly series GTO: Paradise Lost, which is moving further into its second year. We also get the latest monthly installment of the TOPPU GP series that kicked off this past spring from the Ah! My Goddess creator.

Viz Media also gets to step into play today with a new free chapter for Boys Over Flowers Season 2, which has its 31st chapter arriving.

Marvel Studios had their SDCC panel time this weekend and while there isn’t a lot to reveal about their plans for the Captain Marvel film that’s due out on March 8th, 2019, they have finally confirmed something that has been swirling for some time. The studio, who has nine films currently in phase of production over the next three years, has formally cast Academy Award Winner Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel. The character is expected to have something of a smaller role in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War two-part event, though it’s unknown as to which of the two films she’ll be in or both in addition to her own film, which is being written by Inside Out co-writer Meg LaFauve with Guardians of the Galaxy writer Nicole Perlman. No director has been set for the film yet.

Larson has a leading role in next year’s Kong: Skull Island and won her Academy Award this year for Room.

“The first casting choice as our own studio was Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark,” Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige says. “We set a bar that was very very high. Every time we bring somebody, whether or not it’s a co-starring role, certainly if it’s a starring role, we need to match that bar if it’s even possible. With Carol Danvers, with our first title female super hero in Captain Marvel we could do no less than that.”

“The fact that Brie, even after she won her big Academy Award, was interested in coming in and talking to us about the character, really fell in love with this character, really fell in love with the notion of being a symbol that can inspire everyone… We were very lucky. We were very lucky that she agreed to come on board and agreed to come out tonight at the end of the panel.”

Call me Captain Marvel. pic.twitter.com/IgqRIb9ijM

— Brie Larson (@brielarson) July 24, 2016

The new Star Trek series is still set for a January 2017 debut and while there weren’t a ton of reveals at the SDCC panel last night for it, we did get some new information. The series is officially being titled as Star Trek: Discovery as it focuses on the ship of the same name, the U.S.S. Discovery. The teaser trailer that series showrunner Bryan Fuller brought out is focused on giving us a look at the ship itself and the CG style for the series through it. There’s still no casting information.

The series is set to work a more “novel” like seasonal approach as opposed to the more traditional episodic style of most of the past seasons of the original timeline.

The show is an interesting way that CBS is looking to work the CBS All Access platform as it’s the first original series developed specifically for U.S. audiences for it. “CBS All Access is a cross-platform streaming service that brings viewers thousands of episodes from CBS’s current and past seasons on demand, plus the ability to stream their local CBS Television station live for $5.99 per month. CBS All Access already offers every episode of all previous Star Trek television series.”

Alex Kurtzman will serve as executive producer for the new Star Trek TV series. Kurtzman and Heather Kadin will serve as executive producers. Bryan Fuller is on board as showrunner, co-creator and executive producer and Nicholas Meyer is working on some of the scripts.

Sometimes reviving a demon king isn’t a bad thing for the world.

What They Say:
In a strange dark age, across the land that will someday become Europe, the Divine Empire has been on the march, ruthlessly devouring its weaker neighbors for generations. But when a savage priest attempts to resurrect the long-buried Demon King Arawn by sacrificing Riannon, the young high priestess of the Gael Clan, the Empire sows the seeds of its own destruction! Deciding to side with the beautiful girl instead, the revived Demon Lord joins forces with her potentially legendary brother Arthur, and begins to assemble a mighty force that may just bring the Divine Empire its knees! Humans, elves and even dragon take arms in a spectacular animated interpretation of the Celtic, Gaelic, British and Roman myths of Albion, as an all star English vocal cast adds the crowning glory to TEARS TO TIARA the complete epic collection!

The Review:
Audio:
This release contains the new dub for the series so we get a pair of stereo tracks encoded with DTS HD MA lossless codec. Though it’s a variable bitrate codec, it’s been encoded with a strict 1.6 mbps minimum bitrate which seems to defeat the point of saving space since even in dead silent scenes it’s at 1.6 mbps. That said, the two tracks are pretty good overall with the lossless stereo mix as it covers the forward soundstage well. There’s a fair bit of directionality across it with a good bit of depth as well during several scenes. The opening and closings tend to make out the best but the incidental music is noteworthy as well. Dialogue is clean and clear throughout with no dropouts or distortions during regular playback.

Video:
Originally airing throughout 2009, the transfer for this TV series is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 in 1080p using the VC-1 codec. The twenty-six episode series is spread across two dual layered Blu-ray discs with thirteen episodes a disc. As can be expected, the bitrate is pretty variable with some strong highs in the thirties to a lot of lows a well. The transfer overall looks decent but the gradients feel like they’re more noticeable than normal. Colors are very good looking with a lot of very vibrant moments. The original DVD release was definitely very good and this one takes it up a notch or two. There’s little in the way of noticeable problems here but fitting thirteen episodes on a disc, even with stereo mixes, just makes you more concerned for quality because it feels like it’s being crammed on there.

Packaging:
Tears to Tiara has a standard size Blu-ray case which has the discs attached to each of the interior sides. The front cover uses different artwork than the previous DVD editions to good effect as the new image is of the principle cast standing on a somewhat mirrored surface against a setting sun skyline. The character artwork looks really attractive and there’s a good sense of color and detail about it. It’s all inside a leathery style framework with a bit of elegance to the edges to give it more detail. Promoting it as a two disc set is kind of a plus until you see the 26 episode listing which may make quality conscious buyers a bit wary. The back cover has a similar framing to it and brings in some decent minor character artwork as well. The top half has another push for the new dub and the episode count. The summary covers things well enough and there’s a decent selection of small shots from the show. The production credits rounds out a bit more of it and we get a good technical grid that details the discs features, though it doesn’t say whether it’s a native HD release or an upscale. No show related inserts are included nor is there a reversible cover.

Menu:
The menus for this release are pretty decent though it points to the lack of much on the disc outside of the episodes. The top level menu gives over about two thirds of the screen to a good shot of the characters against some runes and other symbols with the logo placed along the upper left. The bottom third also doubles as the pop-up menu where it has a bit of similar framing to the cover with the leathery feel as well that contains individual episode access with episode numbers and titles below them. The first disc has the languages options as well while the second has the extras on it. The pop-up menu is decent and I do like that it’s a bit bigger than what you usually get so you can see it easily but it’s definitely very busy with the individual episode access, but cuts down on another submenu to navigate through. With nothing else on the disc it’s pretty simple and easy to use though the colors and layout of the language selection makes it uncertain at first which one you’ve selected or is active at the time. The disc defaulted to the Japanese language track with the full subtitles.

Extras:
The only extras included on the second disc with the clean opening and closing sequences.

Taking its cues from the darker ages of European history, Tears to Tiara starts off as any good series should by having a young girl readied for sacrifice. Riannon is a special young woman of the Gael tribe on the island of Erin who has magic healing powers and a ancient ties to the greatly revered elf Pwyll from time gone past, an elf who had made a kingdom into a legend before it fell to ruin. The sacrifice doesn’t go all that well as the ritual is interrupted by the arrival of Riannon’s brother, Arthur, who serves as the First Warrior of the clan and will do anything he can to protect his sister. His timing is unfortunate though as the seal has already been broken and the great demon king Arawn has already awakened and taken Riannon into his grasp.

Things take an amusing turn though as Riannon gives herself willingly to Arwan and Arwan isn’t quite what the legends had made out, something that he is quick to point out when he doesn’t seem to meet up with other peoples expectations since he’s slumbered for so long. What makes the situation even more complicated is that Riannon’s position as his sudden new wife means that Arwan is the chieftain of the Gael clan now, something he wasn’t exactly looking for. The only thing that mollifies him is the arrival of a very old friend in a sage and mage named Ogam who has watched over the Gael but also knew Arwan when he wasn’t in the human form he is now, a time when he was something akin to a godling.

This sets the stage for Arwan now as he slowly comes to grips with his position and the growing need to protect those that have suddenly become his people. With Riannon prodding him along and having Arthur doing the same, Arwan takes to the role fairly well while still getting a lay of the land and the numerous changes since the empire he was involved with was founded and fell. His past plays a role in the present as he brings his new people to the sanctuary that had been created generations before and is watched over by a few elves. The elven race has moved on to a new land far, far away but some have still stayed in order to serve, and one even comes back from the other land in order to help Arwan.

Over the first dozen episodes, the cast grows fairly significantly as Arwan draws people to him. With Riannon and Arthur as his base, he ends up with humans and elves alike following him. His arrival has not gone unnoticed by those who would seek out to do him harm as the Divine Empire that has risen from the ashes of the previous empire is now completely corrupt and out to do whatever it takes to survive. Through this angle we start to see the two sides gradually coming up against each other as Arwan intends to protect his people and allow them to grow and forge bonds while the Divine Empire cannot let any potential threat be left alone. And like a good series, we get to understand those on the Imperial side. It does add to the size of the cast, but it also adds a good balance as we learn about those who serve, from simple warrior to those ranked much higher.

While the first half of the set does a decent job at setting things up, it’s really the second half that pushes things forward. The details of Arwan’s past and his true role in things is what’s key. He’s decided to return to his tomb in order to gain some funds that are needed to continue the campaign. The tomb starts to open some memories of the past as Riannon sees things from a long time ago with Primula and Pwyll. These visions of the past start haunting Riannon more and more throughout these episodes as she’s coming to realize the power that’s actually inside her. There’s a really good arc with this that’s spread out across much of these episodes as Riannon starts to understand her connection to the past, something that Arther deals with as well as both have strong ties to those that have come before them in Primula and Pwyll. These kinds of connections are fun to watch play out as you see them somewhat influenced by what has happened but also staking out their own positions in life.

While the show has focused more on the war between Albion and Arawn as they try to take over the land, it does shift away from there in this set as it progresses. The initial early battles are really good though, as Arawn has fallen into a slumber due to a weakness and that has given the Emperor’s army the opening they needed to go after Castle Avalon. With Arawn down, morale drops but it gives everyone else a chance to shine as they try to hold off the invasion as best as they can. Octavia and Morgan shine the best here though as they’ve become very close and have a sense of rhythm between them that allows them to have fun while dealing out all manner of death. It’s an interesting mixture for them but it works incredibly well.

Where the majority of the middle arcs episodes focus, and it’s a good focus even if it does alter the flow of the show for awhile, is on the past where we see Arawn when he essentially first came to life. His time aeons ago as the thirteenth White Spirit highlights the rigid nature of the group as there can be only twelve and he’s considered an abomination. But he’s saved because he’s taken on the wing of Myrddin who is attempting to change the long range goals of the Twelve. The group has a very distinct idea about how the world should be and it’s one that does not include humans, as they believe it’s God’s will that the world should be pure and white with nothing there to despoil it. But Myrddin believes that the ice age that they’ve created must end and spring must come to the world, a world where mankind along with others will find their rightful place.

And for Myrddin, he believes that Arawn, who he names Lucifer, will be the one who can do that once he learns what it is he wants to accomplish in life. When Myrddin moves on and Lucifer takes on a formal position as one of the Twelve, he becomes an integral part of their plan until he starts to question it based on what he was told by Myrddin years ago. The connection between Heaven and Earth becomes the focus as Lucifer starts to understand the potential of the humans that have been brought to near extinction, causing him to question everything that he’s been doing. With all of this taking so long ago, seeing the differences in the world from then to the present time is really nicely done as is seeing Arawn in a very different way than we know him now. Unfortunately, the spend several episodes on this and when we get back to the present, it takes a bit to get back on track.

With Albion being less of an issue now and the focus shifting to dealing with one of the White Spirits’ that’s there, the war shifts to dealing with him and the massive armies of golems that are mobilizing out there. It takes on a good epic feel as we see more of the dragons of the past, giants with their hammers getting involved and entire mountains being demolished. The large scale of the battles, especially at the mountain, is really fantastic as everyone gets involved and it feels like a good solid epic moment. Tears to Tiara does get back to more personal moments though when the core cast heads into the castle where the White Spirit is operating out of as he has an obelisk there that will unleash enough Gravitas that will eradicate everything on the planet.

The final arc of the series is good as it wraps everything up, but there’s also the problematic part in that everyone gets split up into smaller groups and they each have to face different groups of villains that play to their strengths. After all the material on Lucifer and Arthur, giving the secondary cast subplots designed to give them more time is nice but forced. Everything does come down to Arawn and Arthur though and it’s really well done as it goes back to the time when the pair first met and how their relationship has changed and evolved over the course of it. There’s a lot of history between the two men that has happened, a lot of it that Arthur wasn’t even aware of for awhile, but when it reaches its climax it really is a spot on piece of epic fantasy.

One of the big differences between this set and the previous DVD editions is the inclusion of a new English language dub. Having enjoyed the last dub on on Aquaplus property with Utawarerumono, I was keen to hear how they’d deal with the dub here. Unfortunately, nearly everything about this one ended up grating on me from almost the first frame. What’s been done here is that accents are very heavy throughout and when it starts with Riannon and Arthur, and Arthur especially, it’s extremely heavy and thoroughly distracting. Accents are a difficult thing to incorporate into a dub and they’re usually more of than not a miss and unfortunately Tears to Tiara is a miss. Arwan’s voice comes across alright but the accents of Arthur and his clan kill a lot of the enjoyment right from the start. I’ve enjoyed number of dubs by Matt Greenfield in the past, but this one left me cringing too many times.

In Summary:
When Tears to Tiara first came out, so close to the Japanese broadcast at that, I was very interested in it. Utawarerumono really raised the bar on what I wanted from a show of this nature and with Aquaplus tackling something similar but different, I was really thrilled to have another shot at it. Tears to Tiara has a lot to offer but it’s execution is a bit off at times which keeps you feeling like it’s not sure of what kind of story it wants to tell. Looking at it from a larger perspective, they have some big ideas here but they don’t come into play until later in the second half after a lot of time spent on Arwan’s past and it feels like it came out of nowhere. I enjoyed the show overall, both this time and the time before, but it’s a more flawed show than I thought it would be and suffered a bit from high expectations after the work Aquaplus has done before. It’s definitely a good fantasy style show to check out, especially with how few come out and how few are actually good, making it a worthy addition to any fantasy fans library.

Features:
Japanese DTS HD MA 2.0 Language, English DTS HD MA 2.0 Language, English Subtitles, Clean Opening, Clean Closing

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

Released By: Sentai Filmworks
Release Date: October 19th, 2010
MSRP: $89.98
Running Time: 650 Minutes
Video Encoding: 1080p AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen

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.

With the first trailer previously stoking my excitement for one of my more anticipated films of the year from the comic adaptation with Doctor Strange, it’s no surprise that the project had a decent debut at SDC this weekend. Marvel Studios brought out the second trailer for it last night and while it starts off with some of what we saw in the first trailer, the vast majority of it is new material that adds more intrigue, a touch of humor, and definitely a whole lot to get excited about.

Directed by Scott Derrickson, it will star Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo, Rachel McAdams, Michael Stuhlbarg, Mads Mikkelsen, Benedict Wong and Tilda Swinton. It’s set to debut on November 4th, 2016.

Plot concept: The film will follow the story of neurosurgeon Doctor Stephen Strange who, after a horrific car accident, discovers the hidden world of magic and alternate dimensions.

First trailer:

The spring 2016 anime series Anne Happy, originally listed as Unhappy in its first mentions, had its home video release plans set recently. With the second volume coming up soon they’re now focusing on the artwork for the fourth volume that arrives on September 28th, 2016 as it has the latest character image. The twelve episode series is getting a six-volume release that began on June 22nd, 2016. The Blu-ray releases are priced at 7,000 yen each while the DVDs are priced at 6,000 yen each.

The series is being produced by Silver Link. Shin Oonuma is on board to direct based on scripts by Hitoshi Tanaka. Miwa Oshima is serving as both character designer and chief animation director.

The cast includes Yumiri Hanamori as An Hanakoizumi, Haruka Shiraishi as Ruri Hibarigaoka, Kiyono Yasuno as Botan Kumegawa, Hibiku Yamamura as Hibiki Hagyuu, Mayu Yoshioka as Ren Ekoda, Yumi Hara as Kodaira-sensei and Chitose Morinaga as Timothy.

Four volumes have been released so far since it debuted at the end of 2012.

Plot concept: The story centers around class 1-7 of Tennogofune Academy, where all the students with “bad karma” or misfortune seem to have been gathered. Hibari, a student in this class, meets the unlucky Hanako and the perennially unhealthy Botan on her first day of school, and together they try to find a way to turn their school life into a happy one.

Unhappy Japanese Volume 4 Cover

Unhappy Volume 3 Japanese Cover

Unhappy Volume 2 Japanese Cover

Unhappy Volume 1 Japanese Cover

Unhappy Series Box Set B

Unhappy Series Box Set A

[Source: Anne Happy]

Aniplex Japan is handling the home video release for the summer 2016 anime series B-Project and has laid out all the release dates and volumes ahead of time. While we’ve got a little bit to go before the home video releases begin to arrive – which are starting before the series ends, they’ve now revealed the first piece of cover artwork with the first volume due out on August 31st, 2016. The series is getting a six-volume release that begins on August 31st, 2016 where both DVD and Blu-ray are being listed as limited editions as each comes with a bonus CD. The DVDs are priced at 5,800 yen while the Blu-ray’s are priced at 6,800 yen.

With A-1 Pictures producing the animation, Eiji Suganuma directed it with Akira Satou as the assistant director. Deko Akao worked on the series composition with the MAGES production team. Toshie Kawamura served as the character designer and chief animation director.

The cast for the show includes Daisuke Ono as Tomohisa Kitakado, Daisuke Kishio as Ryuuji Korekuni, Toshiyuki Toyonaga as Goushi Kaneshiro, Natsuki Hanae as Yuuta Ashuu, Kazuki Kato as Kento Aizome, Yuto Uemura as Kazuna Masunaga, Tetsuya Kakihara as Momotarou Onzai, Showtaro Morikubo as Hikaru Oosari, Genki Okawa as Tatsuhiro Tome, Toshiki Masuda as Mikado Sekimura, Hisako Kanemoto as Tsubasa Sumisora, Kousuke Toriumi as Sakutarou Yashamaru, Kazuyuki Okitsu as Atsushi Daikoku and Daisuke Namikawa as Shuuji Daikoku.

Plot concept: Tsubasa Sumika joins the large record company Gandala Music. Not long after she enters, she is assigned to manage the B-Project idol units, as if she has fallen into a trap. To manage B-Project means she has to manage three groups – Kitakore, THRIVE, and MooNs. It’s difficult for her to concentrate on her job, and she will also get into troubles and accidents……!? Be ambitious with colorful and and unique boys!

B-Project Japanese Volume 1 Cover

[Source: B-PROJECT ~Kodou*Ambitious~]

The spring 2016 anime series Flying Witch is being handled by VAP for its home video distribution in Japan. With the second volume arriving earlier this week, they’ve now brought out the cover artwork for the third volume on August 24th, 2016. The twelve episode series is getting a six-volume release that began on June 22nd, 2016. The Blu-ray releases will be priced at 6,800 yen each while the DVDs are priced at 5,800 yen. The first volume cover artwork has also been released that you can see below.

Produced by JC Staff, Katsushi Sakurabi directed the series with Deko Akao handling the scripts. Character designs were done by Masato Yasuno.

The cast includes Minami Shinoda as Makoto Kowata, Eri Suzuki as Chinatsu Kuramoto, Shinsuke Sugawara as Kei Kuramoto, Kana Aoi as Akane Kowata, Shiori Mikami as Nao Ishiwatari, Mari Hino as Inukai, Yuka Iguchi as Anzu Shiina, Ai Kayano as Chito, Ayane Sakura as Kenny and Ari Ozawa as Al.

The manga began back in 2012 in Bessatus Shonen Magazine and has released three volumes so far with a fourth to ship in April in Japan. The show has enlisted the voice actors Shinoda and Suzuki to perform the ending theme song for it as well.

Plot concept: The series follows the 15-year-old witch Makoto Kowata and the other boys and girls in her daily life. With her black cat Chito, the somewhat aimless girl moved from Yokohama to live with her second cousin at Aomori in verdant northern Japan.

Flying Witch Japanese Volume 3 Jacket

Flying Witch Japanese Volume 3 Cover

Flying Witch Japanese Volume 2 Cover

Flying witch Japanese Volume 1 Cover

[Source: Flying Witch]

With the summer anime season underway we’ve got a situation where it works out well on the manga side. Seven Seas Entertainment has their two volumes of Orange charting once again with the fourth and sixth slots, making a very good return to the list. That provides a little balance against the other eight positions where Viz Media has conquered the list once more. Haikyu!! hits the seventh place spot while familiar titles populate the rest. With One-Punch Man getting ready for a Toonami run that will generate more interest as well in the coming months, reaffirming its place on the charts here to be sure.

1. One-Punch Man Vol.1
2. One-Punch Man Vol.7
3. Tokyo Ghoul Vol.1
4. Orange The Complete Collection Vol.2
5. Bleach Vol.67
6. Orange The Complete Collection Vol.1
7. Haikyuu!! Vol.1
8. Tokyo Ghoul Vol.7
9. Assassination Classroom Vol.10
10. Tokyo Ghoul Vol.2

[Source: NY Times Manga Best Seller List]

The summer 2016 anime series Servamp is getting its home video release plans handled by Media Factory. The twelve episode series is getting a six-volume release when it begins on September 28th, 2016. The DVDs are priced at 5,800 yen and the Blu-ray releases are priced at 6,800 yen. The listings indicate some sort of original animation with some of the volumes, though it’s not clear this point what kind of bonus it will be.

The staff for it has Ittou Kou serving as the chief director while Hideaki Nakano will serve as the director. The series composition is done by Kenji Konuta while Junko Yamanaka is handling the character designs. The series is being animated at Brains Base.

The Japanese cast includes Takuma Terashima as Mahiru Shirota, Yuuki Kaji as Kuro, Hiro Shimono as Misono Arisuin, Tatsuhisa Suzuki as Tsubaki, Kazuma Horie as Snow Lily, Ryohei Kimura as Lawless, Nobunaga Shimazaki as Todoroki, Yuuki Ono as Tetsu, Ayumu Murase as Hugh the Dark Algernon, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Belkia, Kenjiro Tsuda as JeJe, Tetsuya Kakihara as Mikuni Alicein and Yuuto Suzuki as Sakuya Watanuki. This basically brings the cast from the drama CDs into the anime adaptation for the primary characters.

OLDCODEX is performing the opening theme song Deal with while Takuma Terashima is performing the ending theme song sunlight avenue.

The work from Strike Tanaka began back in the summer of 2011 and has nine volumes to its name with Seven Seas Entertainment releasing them in North America.

Plot concept: The story revolves around a 16-year-old boy (15 at the beginning of the story) named Mahiru Shirota who likes simple things and dislikes difficult things. One day, he picks up a stray black cat he finds in the middle of the road and gives it the name Kuro (which literally translates into “black”). From this moment on, a contract between the servamp Sleepy Ash and Mahiru is formed, and Mahiru is pulled into the Servamp war between the seven deadly Servamps and their eighth sibling Tsubaki.

[Source: Servamp]

Funimation’s getting another of the previous Broadcast Dub shows ready for a home video release with the September 27th, 2016 debut of Maria the Virgin Witch on DVD/BD. While we’ve got a bit of time before it does arrive, Funimation has now put out the first trailer for it to get new fans excited about it as well as remind those that enjoyed it during the simulcast and Broadcast Dub run to get their preorders in for it.

Extras include an Episode 1 Commentary, Episode 12 Commentary.

The show is animated by Production I.G. and is directed by Goro Taniguchi based on series composition by Hideyuki Kurata and character designs by Yuriko Chiba. It was previously announced that Hisako Kanemoto as Maria, Yoko Hikasa as Artemis, Mikako Komatsu as Priapos, Kana Hanazawa as Ezekiel, Kenshi Ono as Joseph and Kikuo Inoue as Michael would headline it. It will also star Yuuki Ono as Garfa, Bin Shimada as Guillaume, Kenta Miyake as Yvain, Sachiko Kojima as Lolotte, Takahiro Sakurai as Bernard, Natsuki Hanae as Gilbert, Mamiko Noto as Viv, Ai Kakuma as Anne and Miyuki Ichijou as Martha.

The series is based off of the manga of the same name by Masayuki Ishikawa which began back in 2008 in good! Afternoon before ending its run last year. The series has gotten a domestic pickup with Kodansha Comics bringing it out in 2015.

Plot concept: Don’t miss this intriguing tale of magic, war, and sexual politics from Production I.G., the studio that brought you Eden of the East, FLCL, and Ghost in the Shell! In the time of the Hundred Years’ War, a young and powerful witch known as Maria leads a reclusive existence. Shunned by the church – but beloved by a few locals – Maria endeavors to use her magic to bring an end to the warfare she so despises. Using her magical ability, she aids humanity alongside her two familiars: a seductive succubus and an incubus who’s a little incomplete. Though she seeks only peace, the archangel Michael despises the way she uses magic to interfere with human affairs and decrees that should she ever manage to lose her virginity, her powers will vanish! To ensure that Maria no longer mixes magic with warfare, Michael sends the angel Ezekiel to keep a watchful eye on the virgin witch. In theory, his plan is sound. But keeping a fiery young woman bound by the rules of a higher power might prove too daunting even for an ever-vigilant angel.

The winter 2016 anime series Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm has its home video release plans set previously with all of them being limited edition releases. With the fifth volume out this past week, the cover artwork for the sixth and final volume that lands on August 24th has arrived as well as the extras. The twelve episode series is getting a six-volume release that began on March 18th, 2016. The DVDs are priced at 6,800 yen while the Blu-ray’s are at 7,800 yen. Check out the chart below for details!

The series was directed by Fumitoshi Oizaki based on series composition by Reiko Yoshida. It was animated by Gonzo with Mami Kawada singing the opening theme song, Contrail ~Kiseki~, while Ray performed the ending theme a-gain.

The cast includes Misato Fukuen as Asuka Kurashina, Azumi Asakura as Misaki Tobisawa, Nozomi Yamamoto as Mashiro Arisaka, Madoka Yonezawa as Rika Ichinose, Naomi Wakabayashi as Madoka Aoyagi, Kondou Takayuki as Shion Aoyagi, Risa Taneda as Reiko Satouin, Kazuyuki Okitsu as Kazunari Shindou, Ryota Osaka as Masaya Hinata, Yuko Gibu as Minori Hosaka and Megumi Ogata as Aoi Kagami.

The sprite/fairys side has had one anime adaptation before of note with Love, Election and Chocolate, which was licensed and released in North America by Sentai Filmworks.

Plot concept: The story is set in an archipelago of four islands far south of Japan or even the South Seas. It is all but a different world from modern Japan. From the discovery of anti-gravitons came the dream invention of anti-graviton shoes (“grash”) that let people fly the skies. They introduce people to a new realm by enabling flight with just one’s own body strength, without feathers or engines. This led to the rise of the sport of “Flying Circus” (dogfight race).

The protagonist who once hoped for a future in this sport suffered a setback due to an overwhelming defeat, and withdrew from the sport for this and some other reason. However, he met the transfer student Haruka Kurashina, and in teaching her to fly the skies, the old passion returned. He takes part in the Flying Circus again.

Ao no Kanata Japanese Volume 6 Cover

Ao no Kanata Japanese Volume 5 Cover

Ao no Kanata Japanese Volume 4 Cover

Ao no Kanata Japanese Volume 3 Cover

Ao no Kanata Japanese Volume 2 Cover

Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm Japanese Volume 1 Cover

Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm Japanese Volume 1 Box A

Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm Japanese Volume 1 Box B

[Source: Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm]

Monday’s used to be one of the quietest days of the week but the summer season has it a bit busy. Crunchyroll has a great range of shows on deck today including the latest Mob Psycho 100, which is garnering a lot of attention.

• 9:00am - BANANYA - Episode 4
• 11:30am - NEW GAME! - Episode 4
• 12:30pm - MOB PSYCHO 100 - Episode 3
• 1:35pm - SWEETNESS & LIGHTNING - Episode 4
• 2:35pm - TABOO TATTOO - Episode 4 

The free side unlocks last week’s episodes.

• 9:00am - BANANYA - Episode 3
• 12:30pm - MOB PSYCHO 100 - Episode 2
• 1:35pm - SWEETNESS & LIGHTNING - Episode 3
• 2:35pm - TABOO TATTOO - Episode 3

Funimation’s subscriber side is pretty busy with a Broadcast Dub and simulcast for Puzzle & Dragons as well as the latest D.Gray-man, Danganronpa and more.

	Puzzle & Dragons X - Season 1	4	Sub	TV-14	7/25/16
	Puzzle & Dragons X - Season 1	2	Dub	TV-14	7/25/16
	D.Gray-man - HALLOW	107	Sub	TV-14	7/25/16
	Show By Rock!! - Short!!	16	Sub	TV-14	7/25/16
	Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak High School	15	Sub	TV-MA	7/25/16
	The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. - Season 1	Special 17	Sub	TV-14	7/25/16

The free side brings out last week’s simulcasts.

	Puzzle & Dragons X - Season 1	3	Sub	TV-14	7/25/16
	D.Gray-man - HALLOW	106	Sub	TV-14	7/25/16
	Show By Rock!! - Short!!	15	Sub	TV-14	7/25/16
	Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak High School	14	Sub	TV-MA	7/25/16

The Anime Network has their series finale for Ushio & Tora.

• 2:30 PM GMT – Ushio & Tora – 39 – The Destiny of Ushio & Tora

Dangerous games at home and abroad.

What They Say:
In the Dark – The Nathan James is forced to evade an overwhelming threat; President Michener is put in a terrible position by a revelation in St. Louis.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Action was the name of the game the last time around with the assault on Takehaya’s base, which gave us a few redshirt moments to deal with and a bit of emotional material with a very minor supporting character that was actually named previously. The show executes its action elements well and the whole professionalism side has been a big selling point for me since it offers up something different from the few action shows we get now or in years past. The season has a lot more to tackle in regards to the region, its politics, and the cure – along with the virus itself – so I’m curious to see where it tries to head now. It’s been a show with a kind of odd touch when it comes to all of this as it shifts its focus globally, but I’ll admit I’m just glad it’s not focusing solely on one area and one issue.

With all that those that were captured went through, spending some time on them readjusting to being back on the ship is welcome since there’s certainly a lot of issues to cover. The problem will potentially become that it’s mostly dealt with and wrapped up in one episode, or given just a little lip service later on. I’m hopeful that it will be a thread worked with from time to time without it seeming like it’s pandering. Slattery’s playing it as you’d expect from someone in command as he’s aware and watching, but he went through his own hell with them as well with the added burden of command. So there’s definitely a need for it to be explored through him as well, but I don’t have hopes for it to be handled well in favor of working toward other story elements needed for the larger themes playing here.

With that in the background and Chandler making things clear to Takehaya that he was torturing the very people that were sent there to help, there are bigger problems in the mix. Since Chandler made a big play against Peng to save the crew, Peng’s sent a number of ships out there to follow and deal with them and the Takehaya problem himself since there are all sorts of outstanding issues there. We’ve gotten plenty of nods but little clarity on what’s really going on in this region with the cure and how it’s all unfolded. There just feels like there’s something that’s being left out that needs a bit more nudging in order to really make it interesting and relevant as well. For Chandler and Slattery, we get the fun of some cat and mouse games in the sea in trying to avoid being tagged by the fleet’s radar all while needing to get far enough out of range in order to connect with home base to fill them in on the results of everything.

So, after seven episodes, we finally get details on what happened in Japan with how the American ships arrived in Japan with the cure but it ended up seemingly killing everyone there. The thought of someone local tampering with it is certainly there, though Takehaya was the one responsible as a partner in all of this and that has him seeking justice as he was. Again, it doesn’t truly answer the question of what happened but it explains the personal/honor nature of what Takehaya is doing and the reason for the huge amount of distrust. Chandler’s view that Peng may be involved and Takehaya aligned with him, but that feels more like it’s a fishing operation in order to get some new details and context through separate means than usual.

So what else does the episode need? Takehaya’s wife’s condition putting the baby in distress, which means a surgery scene to help get things done. There’s a reason I don’t watch medical shows and as “light” as this one is on the surgery side, it’s enough to make me cringe in watching what they do here. Not the baby being pulled out or anything but the whole slicing, clamping, draining… ew.

The episode also continues to work the St. Louis plot where the reporter that’s been dogging Michener about the recent past with the outbreak and has hunted up the man who killed Dr. Scott from the Immune Army. That gives him some damning material about Michener’s state of mind when he was first found by Chandler – and then sworn in as President eleven days later – and could be used well enough to foist a lot of anti-government support toward him in a bigger way now. You can see how Peng could be using this reporter to destabilize the US government at this point but the whole subplot with the reporter since day one hs felt too weird and abstract for a show like this to pull it off competently. Again, like what we’ve seen with Takehaya, there are just too many unknowns and not enough to really latch onto in a compelling way. Even more so here because the political side of the series through St. Louis has felt ill-formed since the start.

In Summary:
The Last Ship is doling out some new details but it’s still mostly playing around the edges when we really need some more concrete pieces of the puzzle to work with. I like that the show starts working with the PTSD elements at the start but I’m not surprised that it gets pushed to the side for the bulk of the episode in favor of other story elements. That you have everyone working with Takehaya by the end as they win him over by being human and honorable isn’t a surprise either and it goes back to that whole professionalism aspect of the show. How that would work in reality, well, you hope it would be close to that as they take a bigger picture view of things. The cat and mouse piece of the show is decent if comical at times and that lets the final act of the episode take center stage in a good way, but it’s almost a little forced in just giving us some ship stealthy fun time. It’s at least more engaging than what Michener’s story is at the moment.

Grade: C+

With the two previous films in the Kelvin timeline of Star Trek films breaking the $70 million mark, Star Trek Beyond didn’t manage that this time around though it won the weekend overall. The film landed as part of the 50th anniversary period with a $59.6 million take and is likely to do fairly well during the week based on positive word of mouth and overall reactions to it. While there are some problems to be had and it certainly feels like a Justin Lin action film in some regards, it’s definitely a very fun, engaging, and enjoyable film that kept me and my family very entertained when we caught up.

It’s not quite as good a weekend for Ice Age: Collision as the kids fare movie underperformed (as expected) as The Secret Life of Pets took the second place spot with $29.3 million. Ice Age: Collision Course landed a $21 million debut, which is about $20 million under the previous and already low debut. With this being the fifth? film in the franchise, it’s time to put a fork in it.

Doing very well this weekend, especially with a brisk 90 minute running time, is the PG-13 horror film Lights Out. The flick did $21.6 million on a $5 million budget for Warner Bros., so we’ll be seeing a little bit more of this in the future.

With 313 theaters and a very targeted audience (me!), the Absolutely Fabulous film landed with a $1.8 million debut, which is definitely respectable – something that you won’t find these lovely ladies accused of all too often.

A little domestic bliss never hurt anyone, right?

What They Say:
Aoba tries to make porridge for Momiji, but then Ko proceeds to skillfully prepare some food for Momiji, and the three of them end up spending New Year’s Eve together. And then, the cherry blossoms bloom and…

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Ko’s training continues on as Akaishi wants to utilize him as a secret weapon for when they hit high school and Ko is going along with it fairly well. He’s still not sure about his own abilities and is questioning it somewhat regularly but as he sees that Nakanishi is also standing behind Akaishi on this, he’s starting to get the picture. The push to put together Koshien-level teams starts early and Akaishi sees Ko as a big part of it as he starts figuring out who they’ll end up with come high school. There’s an amusing piece where the trio head to a high school field during New Years break to try it out and they’re spotted by the actual coach, who treats it as a bit of a dream to see such a practice. A nice hint of things to come.

Cross Game plays up the domestic side nicely as well as New Year’s Eve is off to a bad start as Aoba’s grandmother has a fever, so her older sister and her father head off to help out there. At the same time. Momiji isn’t feeling well either so Aoba is staying there to help take care of her. Ko’s long history with the family has him all too aware of the grandmother since he used to go with them to see her and he’s certainly sympathetic. Amusingly, he’s asked to check in on Aoba and Momiji and that eventually turns into Momiji insisting he spends the night there. Ko and Aoba are very cute to watch together as she’s got that simmering anger going on and can’t even do the most basic of things with him around without going that route. The two are still so young that watching their most basic emotions and uncertainties worn on their sleeves like this is very charming.

What continues to be interesting with Cross Game is that Ko really comes across as a nice guy overall with no serious faults to be found other than a slight lack of confidence in his abilities. The time he’s spent with Aoba’s family over the years, because of Wakaba initially, of course, has him feeling very close to them even as Aoba pushes him away regularly. The time he spends with Momiji here during her illness is very endearing to watch and even Aoba starts to recognize that. What makes it worse for her is that she remembers when she was being taken care of by Wakaba and can’t see herself in the same light when she takes care of Momiji. It all spirals on her even worse because she does see how well Ko is with her and that aggravates her for all sorts of reasons.

In Summary:
There’s very little in terms of baseball going on here, though we get a few pitches here and there as Ko continues to train under Akaishi’s slightly intense regimen. Mostly what we get here is the continued strengthening of the family bonds that definitely have their hold on Ko since he’s been a part of that family for so long. The way we see both Ko and Aoba interact here is really very charming as it’s reminiscent of real childhoods and that age from my own memories and how things were with friends and those I was interested in but not really aware of. The relationship between Ko and Aoba is one that you want to see bloom, because Ko really is that great guy and you want to see Aoba relax on the problems she has with the loss of her sister and hope that Ko is the one that can help her with that pain. A very solid character episode so early in the series that works very well.

Grade: B+

Originally Streamed By: Hulu

With the One Piece Film: Gold doing solid box office business this weekend with just under $11 million made in Japan as it took the top of the box office charts, we’ve got a bit of a clue as to the home video release now. The TV special that preceded it has now gotten its home video release plans set by Avex Pictures with a planned October 28th, 2016 debut for the lengthy special that served as a lead-in to the film, connecting the recent Silver Mine arc to One Piece Film: Gold. The special, whose extras and benefits have not been announced yet, will have four editions to choose from with:

• BD LE: 7,560 yen
• BD Reg: 5,940 yen
• DVD LE: 6,480 yen
• DVD Reg: 4,860 yen

The special is directed by Tatsuya Nagamine based on the screenplay by Tsutomu Kuroiwa.

Plot concept: There exists a mysterious treasure that even Tesoro desires, the ‘Pure Gold.’ The Straw Hats meet a girl who knows where this treasure lies, and they head for the legendary island, ‘Alchemy.’

The recovery and destruction of companion robots is hard work.

What They Say:
In a world where there were slight scientific advancements… Tsukasa Mizugaki is offered a position at the renowned SAI Corporation thanks to his father’s connections. SAI Corporation is known for its production and management of androids capable of feeling human emotions called “Giftia.” Tsukasa’s position is in the terminal service department where their main job is to recover Giftias who are near their expiration – it is a dead end department in every sense. To make matters worse, Tsukasa is assigned to work with a female Giftia named Isla, who was never given any responsibility other than serving tea to her co-workers.

The Review:
Audio:
The audio presentation for this release brings us the original Japanese language track only and it’s done up in the uncompressed PCM format in stereo. The show is a dialogue piece for the most part so it’s not one that has a lot of stretching to do, though there are a couple of brief areas of “action” if you want to call it that where it gets to shine a bit more. The music is where it gets to stand out the most when you get down to it as there’s a warm and richness that clicks very well in making it feel right. The incidental music weaves in and out almost unnoticed at times in really good ways. Dialogue itself is definitely well handled with good placement and depth as needed and a clear sense of movement as well. It’s a well put together mix that’s encoded without problems, but it’s not a mix that’s going to grab your attention.

Video:
Originally airing in 2015, the transfer for this TV series is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 in 1080p using the AVC codec. The seven episodes for this set are spread across two discs with three on the first and four on the second. Animated by Doga Kobo, the show has a very appealing looking with some nice little quirks to the character designs with the white edges of the hair to give it an interesting look. The character artwork is solid with some very good detail to many of them while the backgrounds bring the show to life in a lived-in kind of way while still feeling slightly into the future. The fluidity of the animation is spot on where it needs to go big while the more laid back scenes have their own richness. It may not be a show that stands out in some ways with its animation quality but what we get here is very good with some very beautiful moments to it mixed in with the great character moments.

Packaging:
The packaging design for this release brings us a soft slipcase that holds the standard sized clear Blu-ray case inside. The slipcase is pretty nice as we get a serious and somewhat emotional front piece with Isla that has some neat blurry aspects to the background that allows the clarity of her design to be all the stronger. The color design is great and using a wraparound that you can see through adds to it. I’m just not a fan of the font design for the logo or the split of Memories across two lines even if it brings in some additional text. The back cover gives us a bit more of a fun version of Isla as she’s swimming, though even that has her a little subdued in a way since she’s not exactly an emotional character. Within the box we get the clear case that has some really nice artwork of some of main SAI staff with bright outdoor colors while the back cover works a more serious and tense moment for Tsukasa and Isla together in their uniforms. They’re good covers all around and I like that they use as many as they do here across the various panels. The reverse side doesn’t have any character artwork but it does break down each disc by episode number and extras. Also included in the first pressing of the set is a small packet of postcards that uses the cover artwork and is perfect for framing.

Menu:
The menu design is one that fits in with how Aniplex does a number of their menus, which tend to underwhelm me, as we get a lot of blank space and a lot of text over it. The three-lined logo is along the left and it has a small window of clips playing underneath it from the show. The right breaks out a few blocks in which we get the navigation itself, which has submenus for the chapters and access to subtitle options and extras. It’s just very simple and kind of bland since it’s done with white and gray, leaving the only color the window with the clip animation, which itself is about 25% of the menu’s real estate. Everything works quickly and smoothly without any problems, so the functionality is spot on, but it just doesn’t sell the show well or set the mood much.

Extras:
This release comes with some good extras that will definitely make fans happy who want to know more of what went into the show. We get some of the usual material here with the web previews, of which there are obviously several, but we also get the staff and cast talk session material. The first one is a good and lengthy piece that works with the main voice cast to talk about their characters and the show while being outgoing and having a lot of fun with it as you’d expect, even if it is mostly light and superficial. The second piece is a bit more interesting as it brings out some of the staff to talk about how the series came together and what went into it. They both run a good bit of time, not a two minute quickie thing, but I didn’t dig deep into them since there’s always the potential for spoilers as we’re going through just the first half of the show here.

The premise for the series is interesting enough as there are a range of androids that have been introduced into society known as Giftia’s. These are essentially indistinguishable from your real person in just about all ways and they serve as companions and friends for people in need. Because of their design, they’re only good for about just over nine years before they’re irreplaceable battery begins to wind down which in turn puts them into a kind of corrupt process where their memories go, they’re not who they were, and they begin to wander about and get tagged as Wanderers. Those that end up in this phase tend to not last long as they end up becoming violent and attack people, producing some very dangerous situations. Because of that, they’re collected a bit of time before the end from their own and are then decommissioned and dealt with about as you’d expect.

This is done by the SAI Corp, the biggest of the companies with branches worldwide in numerous countries. It’s here that we’re introduced to Tsukasa, a new to the workforce young man doing this because he didn’t make it into college due to some social problems in how he interacts with others and copes with stress and pressure. With some family connections getting him into this, he quickly finds himself put on a team with a Giftia named Isla where their job is to go to the residences of Giftia’s that are about to end their lifespan and work with the responsible owner in going through the process. It’s actually an interesting area of closure for the owner because they have to be involved through the ring that they possess and sign off on it all. The Giftia’s in general are pretty good about going through the process as that’s how they’re programmed, but you can imagine there are plenty of people that become very attached to their Giftia’s, regardless of whether they’re child-like designs or adult designs. That makes some of these collections very problematic with the way people will react, but you have to deal with it in a polite and constructive way as you’re representing the company. Of course, you also have to deal with it before the Giftia begins to wander and causes a lot of senseless violence.

While we get a decent range of fellow employees at this headquarters area branch to deal with, including Michiru who ends up slowing coming to like Tsukasa even though she’s harsh toward him at first, the real focus is just on Tsukasa and Isla. Tsukasa is a fairly standard easy to plug in viewer-character where we see this new setting through his eyes as he learns the ins and outs and the process of it all. Isla is also fairly standard as Giftia who has served for a long time but ended up being kept to office work recently after some problems with Tsukasa’s boss, Kazuki. That Tsukasa gets assigned with Isla is a sign that there’s more to this, though you can figure out very quickly here that Isla is closing in on her decommission date as well, though that’s kept hidden from Tsukasa for a bit. That her lifespan is essentially the span of a season? Almost amusingly cruel in its own way.

While we get a good supporting cast and they provide additional insights, it really is all Tsukasa and Isla, especially as one of the things that happens is that they room together in the corporate dorm so that they can bond better. Admittedly, it feels weird to assign her to him as his first and knowing that she’s on her way out, but it shows us a lot about Tsukasa as he is that classic good guy in a sense. He doesn’t know about what’s happening but he works hard to understand her and to try and connect with her as a partner since even by Giftia standards she comes across as a little off. But what we get is an honest attempt by him to do normal things, such as shopping and going out on a date of sorts, all while mixing it in with the usual work day stuff. That brings us a lot of good character stories in brief as we see how people exist with Giftia’s, which in turn shows more of why it feels normal and natural for Tsukasa to do what he does here.

In Summary:
As I said, the bulk of this half of the season is all setup. We’re getting the basics of how it works, how it functions in society (in a very light and hands-off kind of way, especially globally), and a look at who these characters actually are. It may have a decent sized cast but its focus is squarely on the two leads and their relationship as it connects and begins to grow in its own very awkward way. Doga Kobo brings this to life well with how it looks through the detail but also the kind of slightly different than normal coloring for areas such as the hair, which softens the feeling in a rather neat kind of way. There are some really beautiful sequences to be had here, some wonderfully emotional and evocative moments with the guest characters and their stories, but also a good bit of structural familiarity. I suspect that the second half will drive the emotional side home in a bigger way which makes me wish we got the season in full instead of in halves, but there’s a lot to like here and a lot to build on.

Features:
Japanese 2.0 PCM Language, English Subtitles, Spanish Subtitles, Staff and Cast Talk Session 1, Staff and Cast Talk Session 2, Web Previews

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

Released By: Aniplex USA
Release Date: July 19th, 2016
MSRP: $89.98
Running Time: 170 Minutes
Video Encoding: 1080p AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen

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.

The Re: Zero series worked a “break time” series of shorts over the first half of the main show’s run to have a little fun with the characters and they kicked off the second half of the main series with Re: Zero Petit, which is essentially the same stuff just started from the first episode with some new settings and a bit more animation and interaction to them. We’ve been talking about these episodes as they arrive so fans knew they were up and had been wondering if, with the deal that Crunchyroll has with Kadokawa, whether they’d stream them or not. It looks like they well as the full Break Time series has now been added with eleven episodes available with subtitles. This coming Friday will see the kickoff of the Petit series as well with five episodes queued up and new episodes of it going live every week.

Based on the light novels from writer Tappei Nagatsuki and illustrator Shinichirou Ootsuka, the series has seven volumes to its name so far and was announced as being a part of the spring season back in December 2015.

The series was directed by Seiji Watanabe working off of series composition by Masahiro Yokotani. Character designs were done by Kyuta Sakai with White Fox handling the animation production. The cast includes Yuusuke Kobayashi as Subaru Natsuki, Rie Takahashi as Emilia, Yumi Uchiyama as Pack, Chinatsu Akasaki as Felt, Rie Murakawa as Ram, Inori Minase as Rem, Satomi Arai as Beatrice and Yuuichi Nakamura as Lineheart.

Plot concept: Natsuki Subaru, an ordinary high school student, encounters a beautiful silver-haired girl from another world. Subaru wants to stay by her side and help her, but the burden she carries is far beyond anything Subaru imagined. They’re faced with one attacking monster after another, betrayal, irrational violence… and finally death. Subaru doesn’t want to see her get hurt, so he vows to take down any enemy, any fate that comes his way, to protect her. And so this powerless boy obtains “Return by Death,” a unique ability that allows him to turn back time by dying. It becomes the potential to guide all people to a world where everyone can always be smiling, dependent on Subaru’s life and loneliness. By using his power, the past can be lost, and memories can be rewritten. Subaru must now fight the fate that dooms him to keep all those forgotten memories hidden within, to be perpetually beaten, to see his own heart wearing down, to wager his life… all to protect the people he cares about. To get back the precious times that he’s sure must have happened.

“Even if you forget me, I will never forget you.”