(C) 2017 サンカクヘッド／集英社・「干物妹！うまるちゃんR 」製作委員会

With Sentai Filmworks having picked up the second season of Himouto! Umaru-chan as expected, we’re now just enjoying the promotion coming out of Japan for the series. The latest comes in the form of TOHO streaming the ending sequence to the series with “Nimensei ☆ Uraomote Life!,” which translates as Two-Sidedness ☆ Two-Faced Life! and is performed by Aimi Tanaka.

Check out our review of the first season.

The anime adaptation of SankakuHead’s manga series was directed by Masahiko Ohta based on the scripts by Takashi Aoshima along with character designs by Aya Takano and was done at Dogakoba. Ohta, Aoshima and sound director Yasunori Ebina all worked together on Yuruyuri and a few of them on Kotoura-san.

The main cast is set to include Aimi Tanaka as Umaru Doma, Yurina Furukawa as Sylphynford Tachibana, Haruka Shiraishi as Kirie Motoba, Akari Kageyama as Nana Ebina, Kenji Nojima as Taihei Doma, Tetsuya Kakihara as Alex, Hiroki Yasumoto as Bonba and Ami Koshimizu as Kano.

The original manga series has nine volumes to its name so far. That property has been running since 2013 in Weekly Young Jump.

Plot Concept: To her classmates, Umaru Doma appears to be the perfect girl. She’s beautiful, friendly, and fashionable, earns top grades, and seems to be able to do any task asked of her with ease. She’s even humble and polite! However, if Umaru’s classmates could see her in the privacy of her home, they wouldn’t even recognize her.

Once she’s inside the door, the pretty clothes come off, the orange hamster hood goes on, and it’s time to pig-out on snack foods, binge-watch television, and play violent video games! This version of Umaru is everything that the public Umaru isn’t: she whines, rolls on the floor, leaves messes all over the apartment, and makes life miserable for her poor older brother, Taihei. Even the most guarded secrets have a way of being found out, and, as Umaru becomes even more obnoxious and outrageous, her two lives are bound to collide in disastrous fashion!

A new release week is dawning tomorrow and the folks at Dynamite Entertainment have finalized their plans for what’s out and have sent out the solicitations with all the cover artwork and variants. This week has some good trades, such as John Carter: The End, a series we adored, as well as Charmed and Army of Darkness/Xena Warrior Princess. We also get some ongoing series with Fruit Ninja and Sheena alongside new Skin & Earth.

Army of Darkness / Xena, Warrior Princess Vol. 1: Forever… And A Day TP
writer: Scott Lobdell
artists: Elliot Fernandez, Diego Galindo
cover: Reilly Brown
FC • 144 pages • $19.99 • Teen+
COLLECTS ISSUES 1-6
Xena, Warrior Princess, has toppled nations through the force of her will. She’s captained the most deadly pirate crew ever to sail the seas. She even turned her back on her past, seeking redemption for her darker acts alongside her partner Gabrielle. And yet, despite her propensity for defeating all odds, her thousand-strong army has fallen to an implacable and ancient evil. Her only recourse? To use the dreaded Necronomicon to summon Ash Williams – the wise-ass, butt-kicking, smooth-talkin’ demon-killer from the future – for aid! But how can Xena save the world when that chainsaw-wielding knucklehead’s every temporal mishap threatens to unravel time itself?
Cult favorite media sensations Army of Darkness and Xena, Warrior Princess collide in a wildly hilarious adventure written by Scott Lobdell (Red Hood and the Outlaws, Uncanny X-Men) and featuring artwork by Elliot Fernandez and Diego Galindo!

Charmed Vol. 1 …A Thousand Deaths TP
writer: Erica Schultz
artist: Maria Sanapo
cover: Joe Carroney
FC • 136+ pages • $19.99 • Teen+
Dynamite Entertainment is proud to continue the story of Phoebe, Piper, and Paige, television’s fan-favorite witches, in all-new adventures set within the official continuity of Charmed! A dark force has set its sights on the art world of San Francisco, utilizing a gallery exhibit to feed souls to the underworld and unleash demons into our reality. Only the Power of Three, harnessed by the Halliwellsisters, can stop the madness!

Fruit Ninja #2
writer: Nate Cosby
artist: Scott Brown, Ruairi Coleman
covers: Scott Brown (A)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99 • All Ages
Based on the adorable BILLION-times-downloaded game! In this cram-packed issue:
-MODERN FRUIT NINJAS go out on dates with date-loving cowboys who might be super-villains!
-ANCIENT FRUIT NINJAS get their feelings hurt and decide to throw fruit at each other! (they’re Fruit Ninjas, it’s their thing)
-…and JETPACK JOYRIDE tells the story of a machine that turns ocean water into cat hairballs for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON!

Greatest Adventure #6
writer: Bill Willingham
artist: Cezar Razek
covers: Cary Nord (A), Greg Smallwood (B)
Roberto Castro (C)
Cary Nord (RI-Virgin)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99 • Teen+
Two legends meet at last! Tarzan has been captured by a tribe of Green Martians – and now he must team up with John Carter of Mars in order to escape their clutches! But will they be in time to stop the villainous crew of the Resolve?

John Carter: The End TP
writers: Brian Wood, Alex Cox
artist: Hayden Sherman
cover: Juan Doe
FC • 136 pages • $19.99 • Teen+
Centuries have passed and time has taken its toll on Mars. Conflict burns across the landscape. A war of supremacy and genocide at the hands of a brutal despot has brought the planet to the edge of collapse. A search party has finally located an aged John Carter and Dejah Thoris, living in quiet seclusion on a desert moon, in perpetual mourning for their lost son. How could they be Mars’ last hope?
Introducing a John Carter story like you’ve never seen before, from co-writers Brian Wood (Star Wars, DMZ, Northlanders) and Alex Cox (Adventure Time), joined by artist Hayden Sherman (Civil War II: Kingpin).

KISS / Vampirella #5
writer: Christopher Sebela
artist: Annapaola Martello
covers: Juan Doe (A)
Carli Ihde (B)
Roberto Castro (C)
Cosplay Photo Variant (D)
Carli Ihde (RI B/W)
Juan Doe (RI Virgin)
Roberto Castro (RI B/W)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99 • Teen +
The demons bent on destroying rock ’n’ roll via a wave of soft rock laced with murderous messages have declared all-out war on the world. With a huge show scheduled at the Hollywood Bowl and a massive crowd of willing victims, KISS and Vampirella will storm the stage in a jam of violence and rock so loud that Los Angeles will never be the same.

Sheena: Queen Of The Jungle #2
writers: Marguerite Bennett, Christina Trujillo
artist: Moritat, Dimi Macheras
covers: Mike McKone (A), Rodney Buchemi (B), Moritat (C), Cosplay Photo Variant (D-Sub)
Moritat (RI-B/W), Rodney Buchemi (RI-B/W), Mike McKone (RI-B/W)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99 • Teen +
With 24 hours to find a missing man and save her village from extermination, Sheena must trespass deeper into the forest than she has ever gone before!

Skin & Earth #4
writer: Lights
artist: Lights
covers: Lights (A, B)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99 • Mature
Despite the thrill and renewed sense of freedom she is feeling under the influence of her new and mysterious companion, En is forced to discover a dark truth about her ex-lover, Priest. It seems the boundaries of spirituality and her world as she knows it are beginning to blur.
Written and drawn by alt-pop phenomenon Lights, Skin&Earth ties directly into her next full lengthalbum, released in Fall 2017 on Warner Bros Records.

With the debut of the Black Clover anime series last week, what better time to run a sale on the manga? Viz Media has kicked off the first eight volumes on sale through ComiXology where they’re priced at $4.99 per volume. We also get a Bloody Mary sale that brings us eight volumes of that series that has some gorgeous covers where they’re priced at $4.99 as well per volume.

The sale ends on October 16th, 2017.

Bloody Mary: “Bloody” Mary is not your typical vampire. He can withstand sunlight, holds a reflection in mirrors, refuses to drink blood—and wants 17-year-old student and priest Maria to kill him. But to Mary’s dismay, Maria doesn’t know how to kill vampires. Desperate to die, Mary agrees to become Maria’s bodyguard until Maria can find a way to kill him at last.

Black Clover: Young Asta was born with no magic ability in a world where magic is everything. In order to prove his strength and keep a promise with his friend, Asta dreams of becoming the greatest mage in the land, the Wizard King!

Last week saw the debut of the Drifters first anime season as a DVD/BD combo priced at $64.98 from Funimation and that means promotion is ramping up. The latest comes in the form of a fun and engaging clip that showcases the dub but also lets the animation style shine through with a lot of action as it’s all about the Drifters versus the Ends! Extras include twelve Inside the Episode featurettes, two audio commentaries, promotional videos, and the clean opening and closing sequences.

The show was directed by Kenichi Suzuki based on the script and composition by Hideyuki Kurata and Yousuke Kuroda. Ryouji Nakamori served as the character designer and chief animation director. Music is handled by Yasushi Ishii and Hayato Matsuo.

The ADR director for it is Christopher Bevins as he’s working with ADR engineer Matt Grounds and mix engineer Nathanael Harrison. The script adaptation was done by Patrick Seitz.

The English cast is set with Josh Grelle as Shimazu Toyohisa, Robert McCollum as Oda Nobunaga, Justin Briner as Nasu no Yoichi, Mark Stoddard as Scipio Africanus, R Bruce Elliott as Hannibal Barca, J. Michael Tatum as Butch Cassidy, Kent Williams as Sundance Kid, Justin Cook as Naoshi Kanno, Sonny Strait as Tamon Yamaguchi, Colleen Clinkenbeard as Jeanne D’Arc, Christopher R. Sabat as Gilles de Rais, Rachel Robinson as Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, Christopher Bevins as Grigori Rasputin, Ian Sinclair as Hijikata Toshizo, Jeremy Schwartz as Black King, David Wald as Murasaki, Chris Patton as Abe no Seimei (Harukira), Gwendolyn Lau as Olminu, Aaron Roberts as Kafet, Monica Rial as EASY, Greg Ayres as Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Mikaela Krantz as Masha and Apphia Yu as Mark.

The Japanese cast includes Yuichi Nakamura as Shimazu Toyohisa, Naoya Uchida as Oda Nobunaga, Mitsuki Saiga as Nasu no Yoichi, Takahiro Sakurai as Abe no Haruakira, Shiho Kokido as Olmine, Masakazu Nishida as Kafeto, Junko Minagawa as Jeanne d’Arc, Kenji Nomura as Gilles de Rais, Junko Kitanishi as Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, Masahiko Tanaka as Grigori Rasputin, Hiroki Yasumoto as Toshizou Hijikata, Mitsuru Miyamoto as Murasaki, Taiten Kusunoki as The Black King, Yutaka Aoyama as Hannibal Barca, Hiroshi Yanaka as Scipio Africanus, Kanae Itou as Easy, Junji Majima as Shara, Tomoko Tsuzuki as Mark and Sayori Ishizuka as Marsha.

Fans of Hellsing creator Kouta Hirano are used to the slow pace of his works in terms of getting released, and that means there’s not a lot of material to be made into anime form. Drifters began in 2011 and has five volumes out so far, three of which have seen release in North America through Dark Horse Comics.

Plot Concept: Shimazu Toyohisa, whilst involved at the Battle of Sekigahara, manages to mortally wound Ii Naomasa, but is critically wounded in the process. As he walks from the field broken and bleeding, Toyohisa finds himself transported to a corridor of doors, where a bespectacled man at a desk waits for him. This man, Murasaki, sends Toyohisa into the nearest door where he wakes up in another world. There, Toyohisa meets other great warriors like him who have been transported as well, to be part of a group known as “Drifters.”

As we’re seeing with most seasons, just before the new season starts a number of Chinese based adaptations are announced. One of those was the Evil or Live property that’s known as Lixian Jinque from Zhannan Li. The series got its pickup by Crunchyroll with the first episode having just gone live and new episodes going live every Tuesday at 1:45 pm ET for their members. Availability for it is strong as it’s open to viewers worldwide outside of Asia..

Check out the new commercial for it below as well as the previous promotional video.

The show is directed by Dongyi and animation produced by studio Emon.

The Japanese cast includes Shinichirou Ueda as Hibiki, Kouki Uchiyama as Shin, and Chika Anzai as Shiori.

Plot Concept: In this modern society, a new kind of “illness” is striking young boys and girls. Loneliness, disbelief and outrage are pushing this generation to become more and more attached to the Internet and technology. Experts call this symptom “Net Addiction”. To prevent this, a Rehabilitation Facility has been set up to “Lead the young generation back onto the right path.” Enrolled to treat his addiction, Hibiki has no idea that this Rehabilitation Facility is nothing more than a prison. In this place escape is not permitted, how will Hibiki challenge despair in this hell?’

HOUSTON, TX, October 10, 2017 - HIDIVE will soon begin streaming the English dub of Flying Witch, produced by Sentai Filmworks!

Starting October 12, HIDIVE members will be able to stream new episodes of Flying Witch every Thursday at 12pm CDT exclusively on HIDIVE’s anime streaming service.

When a witch turns fifteen, it is her duty to move out and begin work. For Makoto Kowata, that means moving in with relatives to start her training as a witch. Set against the beauty of rural Aomori, Makoto and her familiar arrive to a scene that’s more captivating than they could have imagined. With her second cousins, Kei and Chinatsu, to help her, this somewhat flighty junior witch will encounter all sorts of new experiences as she learns more about magic and herself.

To learn more about HIDIVE™’s anime streaming services, or to sign up for a 7-day free trial, visit HIDIVE.com, or follow HIDIVE™ on Facebook and Twitter.

About HIDIVE™ LLC

HIDIVE™ is a new anime streaming service built with the needs of anime fans in mind. Currently offering a beta with a curated (and growing) catalog of some the most iconic anime and live action titles of the past and present, HIDIVE™ provides a unique streaming experience to its territories around the world. Featuring one of the industry’s best players, customizable subtitles, in-episode live-chat, pinned searches, and more, fans can watch, discover, and share their favorite shows. For more information, or to start a free trial, visit HIDIVE.com.

More of the Emperor’s long range plans come into focus.

Creative Staff:
Story: Charles Soule
Art: Giuseppe Camanucoli, Cam Smith
Colors: David Curiel
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

What They Say:
Darth Vader…meet THE INQUISITORIUS!

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
One of the fun things about the expanded Star Wars universe is that we get to see new connections over the course of years in creative ways. Charles Soule’s work on the early part of Vader’s life post-ROTS is something that requires the reader to re-examine how they view Vader at this point and expand on what it means to be a Sith. At the same time the things that are part of the original trilogy of films have their seeds in this period and are being explored, which is intriguing with the Rebels TV series that’s leading up to the original film with a leaning in on Rogue One to come in its next season. So seeing the Vader series tackle the Inquisitors that we got from that show here is definitely something that I welcome.

Palpatine’s dominance over Vader is certainly complete and he delights in what his apprentice is doing, such as achieving his lightsaber at this point. The opening is an intriguing piece with that but also for him to remind Vader that he is quite the engineer in his past life and that he should customize his armor because of that. It allows for a finely tuned way of using the force, reinforcing those skills along the way as well, that allows him to own his new identity all the more. There’s a really neat sense of the whole “team of rivals” element to how the Sith work at this stage and knowing there’s that kind of testing and distrust makes for a really fun dynamic to watch.

That comes into place a bit when the Jedi Temple has an intruder that Vader goes to deal with, allowing him an opportunity to test his armor. The opponent, who is the Grand Inquisitor, doesn’t know about Vader and thinks he has the upperhand on him. It’s a great fight sequence from Camanucoli and Smith that delivers, especially with Vader making it clear he wasn’t fighting at full force. Getting introduced in brief to the larger group of Inquisitors in their base of operations with the Emperor and Vader overseeing it sets up their basic premise, hunting down of Jedi (and presumably Force-sensitive types that could be a threat) and placing Vader as the one to teach and train them in this mission. Palpatine has had plans in motion for quite some time as we always knew and seeing them coming out into the open more here, and knowing the path of some thanks to the Rebels series, gives it all a bit more weight.

In Summary:
The Darth Vader series for me is at its best in seeing Vader learning more about himself in this form, the jockeying of position with the Emperor, and seeing more of the Emperor’s long term goals coming to light and being put into motion. While there will always be action on some level I hope this series takes on more of a “buddy” series wherein through Vader we see more of the first stages of the Empire and how Palpatine achieves it. The nods we’ve gotten to aspects of it down the road in the recent Princess Leia novel has been great and the flashes in Rogue One: Catalyst did a lot of heavy lifting that could make for some compelling comic series to work with – this one included. Good stuff all around that leaves me wanting more.

Grade: B+

Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: October 4th, 2017
MSRP: $4.99

The manga series Rainbow Days is moving to the next level after an anime TV series previously with a live-action feature film coming for it. with plans for a summer 2018 debut, it’ll be directed by Ken Iizuka based on the screenplay from Rika Nezu. The cast for it includes Mahiro Takasugi as Tsuyoshi Naoe, Reo Sano as Natsuki Hashiba, Taishi Nakagawa as Tomoya Matsunaga, and Ryūsei Yokohama as Keiichi Katakura.

Check out our review of the anime TV series which Funimation simulcast and released on home video.

Based on the manga Nijiro Days that began in 2012 from Minami Mizuno, the TV series was directed by Tetsuro Amino as the chief director while Tomihiko Okkubo served as the main director. Aki Itami worked on the scripts while the animation was done at Production Reed.

The cast includes Takuya Eguchi as Tomoya Matsunaga, Nobunaga Shimazaki as Keiichi Katakura, Kouki Uchiyama as Tsuyoshi Naoe, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Natsuki Hashiba, Minami Tsuda as Anna Kobayakawa, Yumi Uchiyama as Mari Tsutsui, Ai Kayano as Nozomi Matsunaga and Shizuka Ishigami as Yukiko Asai.

Plot Concept: After getting dumped on Christmas day, high school boy and hopeless romantic Natsuki Hashiba crosses paths with Anna, an aloof girl in a Santa outfit passing out tissues. For him it’s love at first sight, for her… not so much. With help from his best friends—a playboy, an otaku, and a nice guy with a sadistic streak—Natsuki sets out to win Anna’s heart and heal his own heartbreak along the way.

[Source: ANN]

Creative choices and a flashback to the past.

Creative Staff:
Story: Kelly Thompson
Art: Marco Checchetto
Colors: Andres Mossa
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles

What They Say:
Phasma and Pilot are in disguise! After tracking down a First Order officer to a mysterious planet, Captain Phasma finds herself leading a new army against a new threat.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With one more issue to go after this, the Captain Phasma series is going to wrap things up quickly and efficiently by the look of things. Kelly Thompson doesn’t quite go that route in this issue as it’s a bit more roundabout in a way but it serves in showing us more of Phasma, a glimpse into her past, and the approach she takes to solving problems when on her own. While the story is moving along decently the real draw for me is Checchetto’s artwork. That’s not to take away from the story but he delivers such a visually strong work here in making this world come alive and feel theatrical in so many ways that it does kind of stand above it. Especially since it’s hard to connect with Phasma as a character. Heck, I think we know the Pilot more, in a way.

The path in the hunt that Phasma is one is one that has found a real obstacle to deal with when it comes to those large creatures in the water that are just intriguing to look at. They’re not easy to pass even when they do sleep and that requires her coming up with another plan. This is a little roundabout in a way as she gets a clue from one of the locals and meets with the village to get a feel for how they fit into things. It’s almost like a Star Trek episode in that these people are not indigenous to this world and that gives her options in a ship that she can use its power crystal from to try and deal with the giant creatures that slumber in the water. The back and forth with it is fun to watch and it brings us to a great last page where the scale of what they have to deal with is just beginning – and felt like it was out of Attack on Titan in a way.

For me, it was the smaller moments that clicked well with this issue more than anything else. The intriguing bit is seeing a flashback to Phasma as a child doing a climb similar to one that she’s doing in the present which hints at some form of family she had. This world is very similar to her own in ways and has been made clear previously so it’s nice to see it bringing a bit more to the surface as well. But what really makes this book work for me is the Pilot as she’s got some great little moments of incredulity at what they’re doing and even misreads Phasma in a big way, though it’s not hard to believe that members of the First Order view themselves as being on the right side of things rather than an oppressive force of evil. The PIlot has some great expressions and it really has left me wanting to see more of her and what that part of the First Order is like.

In Summary:
The Captain Phasma series is light on character as I expected but delivers just enough moments with our title character that it can work – and work well. The story is interesting and getting to see a new alien world and its weirdness is definitely a delight, as is the supporting cast that’s more interesting than I would have expected. The big win for me once again, however, is Marco Checchetto’s artwork. I just can’t rave about it any more than I have as it’s just the kind of ideal thing for this franchise. His work looks fantastic, is richly detailed and the layouts within the frames are fantastic, and paired with Andreas Mossa means it’s just being taken to a whole other level. Fantastic material.

Grade: B+

Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: October 4th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99

With plans for a complete collection for Robot Girls Z set for January, the previous reveal of a new bonus episode has now had a little extra detail revealed with some new characters in it and the casting revealed. This group is known as Team M and includes:

• Rie Murakawa as Goobari-san
• Aki Sairenji as Guro-chan
• Moemi Otaka as X-san

THe show, clocking in at 133 minutes, is now set for January 10th, 2018 priced at 7,000 yen. It’ll have all of the material produced for it on one disc. Extras are to be determined.

The series takes characters from Toei and Dynamic Planning and changes the various giant robots into cute girls for wacky and silly adventures that will delight many and infuriate others. It’ll be directed by Hiroshi Ikehata based on scripts by Kazuho Hyodo with Tetsuya Kawakami doing the character designs at Toei Animation. It stars Kazusa Aranami as Grenda-san, Inori Minase as Gre-chan, Mariko Honda as Z-chan, Sayuri Yahagi as Liga-sama, Maaya Uchida as Gecchan Dragon, Misaki Kuno as Pon-chan, Minami Tsuda as Jeeg-san, Natsumi Koike as Paan-san, Emi Nitta as Raicchi, Kaori Takaoka as Triple Gai-chan, Naomi Ozora as Bal-chan, Emi Hirayama as Shoo-chan, Shiori Mikami as Go-chan, Ari Ozawa as Gai no Jo, Minami Takashi as Bong, Manami Maeda as Gurangen and Ayana Taketatsu as Bossborokko.

Plot concept: Robot Girls Z centers around three girls based on Toei’s famed Mazinger Z franchise: Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger, and UFO Robot Grendizer. The girls go around Tokyo raising awareness about the promising new energy source “Photon Power.” However, when the enemy Mechanical Beast girls appear and attempt to steal the energy, the girls, collectively called “Team Z”, must battle them in order to prevent the Photon Power from being stolen!

7日のイベントにて発表された新情報のおさらいです。「ロボットガールズZ フルコンプBlu-ray」新作ぷちキャラアニメーション 新キャラキャスト解禁となりました。■ゴーバリアン（ゴーバリさん）：村川梨衣■グロイザーX（グロちゃん）：西連寺亜希■ビッグダイX（Xさん）：尾高もえみ pic.twitter.com/H5osE09XIZ

— ロボットガールズZ＠ﾌﾙｺﾝﾌﾟBD発売 (@robot_girls_z) October 10, 2017

[Source: animate Times via MAL]

Once more unto the breach!

Creative Staff:
Story: Jason Aaron
Art: Salvador Larroca
Colors: Edgar Delgado
Letters: VC’s Clayton Cowles

What They Say:
Scar Squadron is back…with their deadliest attack yet!

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Jason Aaron’s run on the Star Wars series comes to a close with this issue after thirty-seven solidly fun and engaging installments and some little crossovers that were a delight. While I think there was some stumbling out of the gate to get a handle on the property and the path forward with it there were a lot of very bright spots along the way, including Kenobi’s journal material. This issue focuses on one of the original creations that Aaron got to add to the Star Wars universe with the Scar Squadron, which I understand the appeal of even if it doesn’t click for me and I don’t find this group to be particularly compelling in general. So it’s a kind of weak ending for me in that regard.

What I do like is seeing some of what’s going on with the squadron, notably as the leader has taken to the lightsaber as a way to fight against some of those that use bladed weapons – and the fact that Luke is out there. We see his training to try and get better but there’s only so much he can do with the weapon, especially knowing the kind of bond that exists between wielder and Jedi. Vader’s dialogue about it with Kreel is pretty good as Kreel is a true believer to be sure and believes in being a Stormtrooper above all else. Vader’s badass nature is played well here as he puts the screws to Kreel about recent failures and is ensuring that things go his way, but the best moment is how Kreel essentially turns into a fangirl when he suddenly realizes the Emperor has walked in. Never mind that Vader shifts to obedient dog mode here, it’s Kreel’s performance that really steals the show.

The rest of the issue has the Scar Squadron heading to the Horox system where they think the Rebels may be setting up next. That has them dealing with the locals to curry favor since they’re not exactly in the loop on things and it’s a kind of bullies taking down a bully to replace him and get what they want. Larroca makes it fun even if the little creatures remind me of Ewoks in a way through their personality but it leads to a decent fight sequence when the Squadron takes on the Rebel base there and makes inroads, something that allows them to deal with the “red shirts” of the Rebellion. It’s a nice piece for Aaron to do to give the Scar Squadron a good sendoff until he gets the chance to possibly write them again and I like that he does end the main story with a reconnect to the principal characters from the film as they arrive to see what happened. It shows once again that Aaron does get the characters and Larroca has some fun in giving us something very moody here thanks to Delgado’s color work.

In Summary:
This issue also gives us a small backup story with one more Kenobi tale that’s focused more on the Tusken Raiders with Dash Aaron also writing with Andrea Sorrentino on the art. It’s a charming little story that humanizes the group a bit more, which we’ve seen previously.and gives Aaron one more Kenobi tale to tell. Overall, Aaron’s run on this series got things where ti needed to be and worked well in crossing over with the previous Darth Vader series and exploring some fun events after A New Hope. There’s been a lot of ground covered here before but under the new and tighter continuity things are connecting in other ways, especially as the film universe itself grows and the novels are connecting as well. I liked what Aaron did as a whole and I have hope that he’ll swing back again someday with a limited series to do something elsewhere in this sprawling galaxy far, far, away.

Grade: B

Age Rating: All Ages
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: October 4th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99

Funimation kicked off the Saiyuki Reload Blast anime simuldub earlier this season but they haven’t done much in getting clips of it out there to try and draw in people. We do have a relatively recent one though that lets the Sanzo gang shine a bit within just a short bit of time to get a taste of the cast and their performances with familiar characters.

• Greg Ayres as Goku
• David Matranga as Sanzo
• Ian Sinclair as Gojyo
• Micah Solusod as Hakkai
• Justin Briner as Tamaro
• Kyle Phillips as Tamaro’s Father
• Julie Shields as Rei
• Bruce Carey as Narrator
• Monica Rial as Talche
• Aaron Roberts as Saitaisai
• Vic Mignogna as Kougaiji

The show was directed by Hideaki Nakano based on the series composition by Kenji Konuta. Youko Satou handled the character designs and it was animated at Platinum Vision. This marks the second show for the studio with Servamp being their first.

The Japanese cast includes Toshihiko Seki as Genjo Sanzo, Souichiro Hoshi as Son Goku, Hiroaki Hirata as Sha Gojyo, Akira Ishida as Cho Hakkai, Rei Igarashi as Kanzeon Bosatsu, Takeshi Kusao as Kougaiji, Junichi Suwabe as Saitaisai and Chiwa Saito as Taruchie.

This incarnation of the property kicked off in 2009 with Kazuya Minekura working at it through her health issues and it has ten volumes to date, which if this news that a new anime adaptation is coming would mean there’s a decent bit of material to work with.

The opening theme song is “move on! Ibara Michi” from GRANRODEO while the ending theme song is “Refrain” as performed by Luck Life.

Plot Concept: At last, the Sanzo Party has arrived in India. In this foreign land, where the anomaly’s influence runs rampant, their battles only heighten in their violence. And also awaiting them is their tragic fate from 500 years ago. What will they find at the end of their long and treacherous journey?

The latest release week has arrived for anime DVD and Blu-ray releases and it’s definitely a pretty solid one at that. Sentai Filmworks has some fun with the release of the Amagami SS and Persona 4: The Animation complete collections that delivers a lot of material at a lower priced. Viz Media keeps in the mix with the latest Naruto: Shippuden DVD release as well as a movie collection with separate DVD and Blu-ray editions.

Funimation fleshes out the rest of the run with the third season of D.Gray-man finally surfacing as well as a new One Piece collection. But people are going to really be after their releases of ReLIFE and Space Patrol Luluco I think more than anything else.

1. Amagami SS  Complete Collection Blu-ray
2. D.Gray-man Season 3, Part 1 DVD
3. Naruto: Shippuuden Movie Collection DVD
4. Naruto: Shippuuden Movie Collection Blu-ray
5. Naruto: Shippuuden Set 32 DVD
6. One Piece Season 9, Part 3 DVD
7. Persona 4 the Animation Complete Collection Blu-ray
8. ReLIFE Complete Collection Blu-ray & DVD Combo
9. ReLIFE Complete Collection Blu-ray & DVD Combo Limited Edition
10. Space Patrol Luluco Complete Collection Blu-ray & DVD Combo

(C) 2017 サンカクヘッド／集英社・「干物妹！うまるちゃんR 」製作委員会

With Sentai Filmworks having picked up the second season of Himouto! Umaru-chan as expected, we’re now just enjoying the promotion coming out of Japan for the series. The latest comes in the form of TOHO streaming the ending sequence to the series with “Umarun Taisō,” which translates as Umarun Calisthenics and is performed by SisterS.

Check out our review of the first season.

The anime adaptation of SankakuHead’s manga series was directed by Masahiko Ohta based on the scripts by Takashi Aoshima along with character designs by Aya Takano and was done at Dogakoba. Ohta, Aoshima and sound director Yasunori Ebina all worked together on Yuruyuri and a few of them on Kotoura-san.

The main cast is set to include Aimi Tanaka as Umaru Doma, Yurina Furukawa as Sylphynford Tachibana, Haruka Shiraishi as Kirie Motoba, Akari Kageyama as Nana Ebina, Kenji Nojima as Taihei Doma, Tetsuya Kakihara as Alex, Hiroki Yasumoto as Bonba and Ami Koshimizu as Kano.

The original manga series has nine volumes to its name so far. That property has been running since 2013 in Weekly Young Jump.

Plot Concept: To her classmates, Umaru Doma appears to be the perfect girl. She’s beautiful, friendly, and fashionable, earns top grades, and seems to be able to do any task asked of her with ease. She’s even humble and polite! However, if Umaru’s classmates could see her in the privacy of her home, they wouldn’t even recognize her.

Once she’s inside the door, the pretty clothes come off, the orange hamster hood goes on, and it’s time to pig-out on snack foods, binge-watch television, and play violent video games! This version of Umaru is everything that the public Umaru isn’t: she whines, rolls on the floor, leaves messes all over the apartment, and makes life miserable for her poor older brother, Taihei. Even the most guarded secrets have a way of being found out, and, as Umaru becomes even more obnoxious and outrageous, her two lives are bound to collide in disastrous fashion!

It’s not a terribly deep week when it comes to new releases this week on the manga and light novel front but there are some good books. The big one to get into is the arrival of the Juuni Taisen novel from Viz Media as the anime adaptation gets underway. Viz also has new installments of Case Closed and Magi out this week while Vertical slides in more Ajin for fans. Kodansha Comics delivers on more Fire Force and Clockwork Planet.

1. Ajin Vol.10
2. Clockwork Planet Vol.5
3. Case Closed Vol.64
4. Fire Force Vol.6
5. Finder Series Deluxe Edition Vol.3
6. Gangsta:Cursed Vol.3
7. Jackass!
8. Magi Vol.26
9. Monster Hunter: Senkou no Kariudo Vol.10
10. Real Account Vol.8
11. The World’s Greatest First Love: The Case of Ritsu Onodera Vol.8
12. Spirit Circle Vol.1

Light Novels:

1. Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash Vol.3
2. Juuni Taisen
3. Lord Marksman and Vanadis Vol.5

The latest rankings have come in from Japan with what anime is selling and grooving in Japan for the week ending October 8th, 2017. This week sees another movie taking the top spot and it’s one with some solid balance between formats as it does lean toward the cheaper DVD side more. The latest Case Closed movie did about 13,000 units on DVD and another 13,000 on Blu-ray to make for a good debut week for it. While it’s not as strong as some other recent movies it’s definitely solid enough for this franchise.

This week sees a few series debut on the charts that have some unfortunate numbers. Tenshi no 3P! hits a weak 1,500 units and the Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e did an unfortunate 1,200 as well, with a fraction of that on DVD. A few box sets are doing decent but with low numbers as expected with Dragon Ball Super hitting 6,00 and Aikatsu Stars at 668 on Blu-ray.

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

Blu-ray
*1. 13,263 *13,263 Meitantei Conan Karakurenai no Love Letter Limited Edition
*2. *4,696 *93,752 Sword Art Online Movie: Ordinal Scale Limited Edition
*3. *3,965 **3,965 Meitantei Conan Karakurenai no Love Letter Regular Edition
*4. *1,815 *18,048 Senki Zesshou Symphogear AXZ Vol.1 Limited Edition
*5. *1,728 *19,161 Kuroko no Basket: Last Game Special Limited Edition
*6. *1,559 **1,559 Tenshi no 3P! Vol.1
*7. *1,496 *11,622 Sword Art Online Movie: Ordinal Scale Regular Edition
*8. *1,387 268,075 Kimi no Na wa. Standard Edition
*9. *1,202 **1,202 Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e (TV)Vol.1
10. *1,160 *27,057 Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni

11. *1,131 **1,131 Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R Blu-ray Collection 1
12. **,906 ***,906 Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni. Vol.2
13. **,873 *17,525 Biohazard: Vendetta Blu-ray+DVD Set
14. **,851 *11,359 Kubikiri Cycle: Aoiro Savant to Zaregototsukai Vol.8 Limited Edition
15. **,830 **6,252 Princess Principal Vol.1 Special Limited Edition
16. **,668 ***,668 Aikatsu Stars!: Hoshi no Tsubasa Series Blu-ray BOX 1
17. **,621 ***,621 Tsugumomo Vol.5
18. **,600 ***,600 Dragon Ball Super Blu-ray BOX 8
(cut-off 600)

DVD
*1. 13,824 *13,824 Meitantei Conan Karakurenai no Love Letter Limited Edition
*2. *9,382 **9,382 Meitantei Conan Karakurenai no Love Letter Regular Edition
*3. *2,192 320,954 Kimi no Na wa. Standard Edition
*4. *1,569 *24,313 Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni
*5. *1,472 *21,071 Sword Art Online Movie: Ordinal Scale Limited Edition
*6. *1,439 **5,901 Kuroko no Basket: Last Game Regular Edition
*7. *1,360 **8,285 Sword Art Online Movie: Ordinal Scale Regular Edition
*8. *1,304 *12,997 Kuroko no Basket: Last Game Special Limited Edition
*9. **,847 ***,847 Naruto: Shippuuden “Konoha Hiden: Shugenbiyori” Vol.1 (eps.714-716)
10. **,763 ***,763 One Piece 19th Season “Whole Cake Island-hen” Vol.1

11. **,594 ***,594 Dragon Ball Super DVD BOX 8
12. **,477 105,965 Tonari no Totoro
13. **,371 *13,664 Doraemon Movie 37: Nobita no Nankyoku Kachikochi Daibouken
14. **,368 ***,368 Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni. Vol.2
15. **,354 ***,354 Tenshi no 3P! Vol.1
16. **,346 **2,348 Senki Zesshou Symphogear AXZ Vol.1 Limited Edition
17. **,328 *32,933 Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa
18. **,299 **2,125 Kubikiri Cycle: Aoiro Savant to Zaregototsukai Vol.8 Limited Edition
19. **,288 **3,404 Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu Vol.3 Limited Edition
20. **,286 **2,379 Natsume Yuujinchou 6 Vol.4 Limited Edition

21. **,282 ***,282 Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e (TV) Vol.1
22. **,267 *13,829 Granblue Fantasy The Animation Vol.5 Limited Edition
23. **,259 *17,773 Gake no Ue no Ponyo
24. **,219 *14,457 Granblue Fantasy The Animation Vol.4 Limited Edition
(cut-off 219)

[Source: Oricon Youtaiju via MAL]

The spring 2017 anime series Tsugumomo is having its home video release plans handled by Toei and they’ve set a familiar scheduled for it. With the sixth and final volume coming up on November 8th, 2017, we now have a look at the packaging design in all its NSFW-ness. The twelve episode series is getting a six-volume release that began on June 14th, 2017. The DVDs are priced at 5,800 yen each while the Blu-ray’s are priced at 6,800 yen each.

The series has set Ryouichi Kuraya as both the director and working on the series composition, which you don’t see often. Kiyotaka Nakahara is on board as the character designer and working as the chief animation director along with Masaaki Sakurai. Zero-G is on board to produce the animation for it.

The previously confirmed Japanese cast includes Yuuko Sanpei as Kazuya Kagami, Naomi Oozora as Kiriha, Yurika Kubo as Kukuri, Eriko Matsui as Kokuyou, Noriko Shibasaki as Chikaishi Chisato, You Taichi as Sunao Sumeragi, Ayana Taketatsu as Kasumi Kagami, Sachi Kokuryu as Shirou Shiramine, Shiho Sasaki as Osamu Osanai, Kotono Mitsuishi as Kanaka Kagami, Rumi Ookubo as Kotetsu and M.A.O as Taguri Kanayama.

The opening theme song will be performed by Band Ja Naimon! while the ending theme song will be performed by MICHI, both of which will have their titles revealed later.

The property began its serialization in Monthly Action magazine back in 2007 and has had a solid run ever since.

Plot concept: Kazuya Kagami never goes anywhere without the precious “Sakura Obi” his mother gave him. One day a beautiful, kimono-clad girl named Kiriha appeared before him, and began to live in Kazuya’s room. Then there’s Chisato, Kazuya’s childhood friend with glasses and a ponytail, who likes to meddle with his affairs. Soon, there’s also an overprotective sister who seems to want to take baths with him. Jumble in a huge-chested priestess, a good-looking sorceress named Kokuyoura, beautiful women, and hot girls, Kazuya’s happy, embarrassing, and confusing life begins…

Tsugumomo Japanese Volume 6 Blu-ray Packaging

Tsugumomo Japanese Volume 6 DVD Packaging

Tsugumomo Japanese Volume 5 Blu-ray Packaging

Tsugumomo Japanese Volume 5 DVD Packaging

Tsugumomo Japanese Volume 4 Blu-ray Packaging

Tsugumomo Japanese Volume 4 DVD Cover

Tsugumomo Japanese Volume 3 Blu-ray Packaging

Tsugumomo Japanese Volume 3 DVD Cover

Tsugumoimo Japanese Volume 2 Slipcover

Tsugumoimo Japanese Volume 2 Packaging

Tsugumoimo Japanese Volume 2 Cover

Tsugumoimo Japanese Volume 1 Packaging

Tsugumoimo Japanese Volume 1 Slipcover

Tsugumomo Japanese Volume 1 Cover

[Source: Tsugumomo]

As the Idol Time Pripara season continues along, the promos from TV Tokyo arrive to give us a taste of it. Shows like these tend to be the hardest to make their way overseas for a range of reasons, none of which makes the lack of them any less frustrating. The twenty-ninth episode of Idol Time Pripara is being queued up for an October 17th, 2017 debut from TV Tokyo and they’ve now cut loose the first promo for it – which we’ll warn you end up being taken down around the same time as the episode airs in Japan.

With animation production from Tatsunoko Production, the series is directed by Makoto Morikawa based on the series composition from Michihiro Tsuchiya and character designs by Shoji Hara. The series stars Arisa Date as Yui Yumekawa, Himika Akaneya as Laala Manaka, Yō Taichi as Nino Nijiiro, Yuina Yamada as Michiri Kōta, Reiō Tsuchida as Koyoi, Seiichirō Yamashita as Shōgo and Tatsuyuki Kobayashi as Asahi.

Plot Concept: PriPara (Prism Paradise) is the successor to the popular Pretty Rhythm series. The new anime is set in the PriPara world, filled with girls’ dreams and yearnings for fashion, dance, and music. Every day, there are auditions that send top idols to worldwide fame on television and online. Manaka Laala is a 5th-grader at Paprika Academy. Like most girls, she admires the world of PriPara, but unfortunately for her, her school does not allow elementary school students to participate in PriPara. However, through miraculous circumstances, Laala passes the audition to become a PriPara idol.

Aniplex USA is continuing its foray into the go90 streaming service for their anime in an effort to try and reach new fans and expand their reach in general. The latest series they’re bringing to the service is the first season of Magi with The Labyrinth of Magic. The full twenty-five episode series is now streaming with its English language dub only to be as widely accessible as possible.

The 2012 anime series was based on the manga by X and was directed by Koji Masunari based on the series composition by Hiroyuki Yoshino. Toshifumi Akai served as the chief animation director and character designer with animation production handled by A-1 Pictures.

The main Japanese cast includes Haruka Tomatsu as Morgiana, Kaori Ishihara as Aladdin and Yuuki Kaji as Alibaba Saluja while the main English cast includes Cristina Vee as Morgiana, Erica Mendez as Aladdin, and Erik Scott Kimerer as Alibaba Saluja.

Plot concept: The bond has become stronger between Aladdin and the others following their great battles within the Zagan dungeon. But, each member knew that it was time for them all to move on from the Kingdom of Sindria in order to reach their own goals. Aladdin heads to the magical land of Magnoshutatt where he enrolls as an exchange student at their Magic Academy and befriends his roommate Sphintus and the genius Mage Titus. However, peaceful days at the academy are suddenly interrupted when Headmaster Mogamett declares war on the Leam Empire claiming that this was the only way to protect their land! What will Aladdin do…and will he ever see Alibaba and the others again?!

One of the more anticipated shows of the fall season is The Ancient Magus’ Bride and new episodes continue to roll out on Fridays. Ahead of the second episode due out on October 13th, 2017, the preview for it has arrived to give us a taste of what we’re in store for from it. The series is based on the manga by manga creator Kore Yamazaki and set Norihiro Naganuma to direct it based on the script from Aya Takaha. Hirotaka Kato is working on the character designs for it.

Known as Mahou Tsukai no Yome in its original Japanese form, Seven Seas Entertainment acquired The Ancient Magus Bride manga back in 2014 for release. The manga series comes from Kore Yamazaki, their third professionally published work, and the first North American volume landed in May 2015. The series is currently being serialized in Monthly Comic Garden with six volumes have been released so far in Japan.

Plot concept: Hatori Chise is only 16, but she has lost far more than most. With neither family nor hope, it seems all doors are closed to her. But, a chance encounter began to turn the rusted wheels of fate. In her darkest hour, a mysterious magus appears before Chitose, offering a chance she couldn’t turn down. This magus who seems closer to demon than human, will he bring her the light she desperately seeks, or drown her in ever deeper shadows?