Black Blood Brothers vol. 2 Impression

Black Blood Brothers volume 2 from FUNimation picks up right where volume one leaves off … but that’s the point of a continuing series, right? Anyway, Jiro and Kotaro enter the Special Zone just in time for the poo to hit the fan. While searching for a permanent residence Jiro and Kotaro crash at Mimiko’s pad, which is quaint but not quite big enough for all three residents. Mimiko informs the brothers that in order to stay in the Special Zone they will need to petition, meet with one of the three houses that run the zone, but at every turn they are declined and even attacked by dark house. Seems the Silver Sword is not too popular and everybody wants a piece of him. The Company begins to inquire about his uses while the houses go about recruiting him in one manner or another. On top of it all a second generation Kowloon shows up, the younger brother of Cassa who we learn about in flashbacks has a history with Jiro, a not too good history. Things get blow up (Mimiko’s apartment) old faces appear in new places and the past is about to catch up with Jiro on volume 2 of Black Blood Brothers.

Ok, so volume 1 of Black Blood Brothers brought the goods. Solid animation mixed with an evolving storyline. Volume 2, yeah it ups the ante, and trust me when I say I left out a lot of info in my quick recap. Viewers are treated to more and more flashbacks to Jiro’s past as those he interacted with show up in the present, and the Silver Blade shows a vulnerability not often seen this early in a series for the hero. He displays a true desperation while searching for his brother, really adds depth to his character. I really love the multiple parties, the three main vampire houses, the Company and Cassa’s family. There is also the appearance of another Kowloon, and not Cassa’s brother. Yup, this series is getting good. The story is flowing more from the past than the present and that’s ok because the flashbacks give just enough of a taste for you to stay interested while present day plays out. No complaining here as Black Blood Brothers takes itself serious when it should and throws in bucket splashing fun when appropriate. Volume 2 of a series can be a turning point and this is one series headed in the right direction.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift Images

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift is the follow-up the the excellent Game Boy Advance tactics title. It hits store shelves this June and is sure to be one of the best titles to every hit the young Nintendo DS. The touch screen system is perfect for tactical RPG's and we are quickly seeing each new Square Enix title released on the system getting better and better. I'm totally geeked for this game, so should you be.

Blood + Manga vol. 1 Impression

Saya Otonashi is just your average high school track athlete, superb in the high jump, not so great with her memory. Saya does not have any memory beyond the past year, a case of amnesia that causes teasing at school as well as internal strife. What Saya doesn’t know can indeed hurt her. See Saya is not ordinary, in fact she seems to be ageless to a degree with vivid flashbacks to times long past. After she’s attacked by a Chiropteran, a vampire like monster, and assisted by a mysterious cello player named Hagi, do we begin to see more of what Saya is, of what her memory won’t allow her to remember. Saya’s family, father George as well as her ‘brother’ Kai, are under the orders of the Red Shield for whom Saya works. No matter how ordinary her high school and family life have been things are about to get really mess, really fast. Who is Saya? Why is her blood the only weapon against the Chiropterans? How does Kai, who most def has feelings for his ‘sister’ tie into things and what’s up with Hagi’s hand, the sword he gives Saya and this little arm missing dude Charles? So many questions, so few pages.

The Blood + manga from Dark Horse is excellent, yes excellent. The original Blood one shot anime from a few years back introduced US Otaku to a mysterious and dark warrior named Saya and the Chiropteran’s she fights. It also left the same audience wanting more, which we’ve received in the form of the Blood + anime which is not a direct follow-up to the first anime, but an excellent story in and of itself. The Blood + manga takes the Production IG anime (seen on Cartoon Network) and delivers the story on the printed page, as adapted and drawn by Asuka Katsura. I find myself adoring the art style, more so that what is seen in the anime. This feels like the original Blood anime, has a touch of Goth mixed with high school innocence that all crashes in on itself when the Chiropteran attack. Sounds like a mixed bag, well it’s not. Let me take a step back and establish this. The art is excellent, characters well drawn in a style that just suites this series. Each character relays a true range of emotion from clumsy family encounters, touching emotional encounters and of course dead serious action sequences that animate themselves in the readers mind. The story teases with the last past of Saya and the journey yet to come. The many questions outlined above build on each other without frustrating the reader. You want to find out more about Charles, Hagi, Red Shield, Kai and even Kai’s lost baseball career. Yes this is indeed the complete package. Did I mention it gets the signature Dark Horse treatment with a high quality printing and colored pages as seen in Ghost in the Shell? It’s yummy.

I’ve read a lot of manga, seen a lot of anime and how the two touch each other. Reading Blood + is indeed a joy as it delivers on the best of what manga is. Excellent story with plenty to tell, engaging characters, action, beautiful character designs for characters you actually care about brought together by Dark Horse in a book that looks great, reads even better and will make your manga collection glow. Yes, it’s that good. I for one hate that I’ve got to wait for volume 2, but you need to give this book a go around. If you like vampire manga, if you like action, mystery and a great story then this book is for you. Well done to Dark Horse, you are indeed giving fans what they want.

Gimmick! vol. 1 Impression

Kohei Nagase may get off track while on the job, but he’s one of the best special effects artist around, and you can find him at Studio Gimmick. Kohei takes on the work Ms. Shiho, his manger, throws his way, but he always seems to get sidetracked, or just shows up late to his job. Thank the lord he’s got stuntman Shingo there to save his butt and keep him on track. See, Kohei is a master of his trade, and he uses these skills with his Silver Spatula of God, to assists those in need, or I should say those hot, young actresses with nowhere else to turn in need. From helping a young actress escpate an abusive manager to see her boyfriend to foiling the plans of a spurned monster maker and helping cover up career altering scars, Kohei is the man for FX.

Gimmick! Volume 1 from Viz is a fun manga that carries on the FX action tradition seen in movies like … FX, and drops plenty of pop culture references along the way. The art of Kuroko Yabuguchi won’t blow readers away, but seeing as how these stories are set in present time, it does not need to. Characters are fun to look at and remind a lot of those seen in GetBackers. No, for Gimmick! it’s the creative storytelling of Youzaburou Kanari mixed with Yabuguchi that shines. Each story is fun, and great stand alone stories, up until the final chapter which leaves you hanging for volume 2. Using make-up to discuise an actress, to cover up a scar and even confuse and capture a disgruntled employee are all creative and references to The Godfather, The Evil Dead, Sam Rami and The Grudge just solidify this anime a one solid story. Why, because it takes it’s craft serious, talks about makeup and effects as they should be touched on, as real crafts in this day and age of digital FX. The story gets readers interested in FX in the same manner Yakutake did for bread making. Taking a interesting subject and turning it into an engaging manga is no small feat and Gimmick! delivers the goods. If your looking for something new, a break from the norm found in manga then give Gimmick! a try. It’s got action, but done in a refreshing new way, and who knew wearing makeup could be so cool.

Puchi Puchi Virus Nintendo DS Impression

Puzzle games, causal games, are a dime a dozen on the Nintendo DS. Some are good, original titles while others are posts of games that have been out on the web for years. Puchi Puchi Virus from NIS America is the former and offers up an enjoyable gaming experience built for one-the-go action. I will say this first. I played over three hours of the single-player game and cannot speak to the multiplayer options, so take what I say about the game, imagine it head-to-head with a buddy and there you go.

The world has been stricken with a sickness, one that turns humans into animals with human clothes and traits. With your trusty nurse, and chicken it’s up to you, doctor, to cure each victim of their virus by connecting groups of three similar viruses to eliminate them. Going backwards a bit, there is a collection aspect to Puchi Puchi Virus as you get a card for each person you cure, with details of their sickness and extra achievements you can accomplish for each character. Go back and try to beat your best time for each characters and time is a big factor as each level, each character, has a timeframe, usually 3 minutes, in which you must cure the patient. The bottom screen on the DS fills with circular virus of various colors, they appear slowly speeding up as time counts down. If you don’t touch them fast enough, connect three in a triangle to eliminate the, they will solidify and fill your screen. Connecting like colored virus is the name of the game, and mindlessly touched the screen as quickly as possible will serve gamers for part of the game, but strategy becomes a major factor about 1-1/2 hrs into the game. You need to think out how to chain virus together to reach cure goals, and it’s in these exercise that Puchi Puchi Virus excels. There is a true feeling of accomplishment when you knock out five seven chain combos in three minutes.

The single player campaign is good puzzling fun, and collecting cards and stats for your games leaves gamers with a feeling of accomplishment, one that goes beyond your typical high score. Props to NIS for a unique puzzler on the DS. If you like puzzle games, Puchi Puchi Virus is worth the purchase and if you want me to rank it, I’d say 8-10.

Gears of War 2 GDC Trailers

YOU MUST BE 18 TO VIEW
If you are of age, then please check out these two trailers showing off Gears of War 2 as seen at GDC 2008. Not many new games get this much hype for a followup, but if you've every played Gears of War you'll understand by. Games like Gears, Halo and even Devil May Cry as beginning to put gaming on a level with big budget movies, and hell the stories are a lot better. Don't agree, watch and begin the conversion ...

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 - Kakashi & Tsunade Trailers

Check out the always cool Kakashi as he battles it out in Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 on PlayStation 2 and take a look at Tsunade in action also. These trailers are hot!

Closer Look at Virgin Comics

Take a closer look at Jenna Jameson’s Shadow Hunter, The Megas and The Stranded

Virgin Comics has been taking an interesting angle on comic creation. They expose creative talent from other fields with the chance to create stories that reader may not expect. When you see the name Jenna Jameson on a comic you don’t expect what you get in Shadow Hunter, nor do you expect a Sci-Fi channel venture to turn out as well as The Stranded or the director of U-571 and Terminator 3 creating a book as thought provoking as The Megas. Yes, the books from Virgin Comics are indeed unique and not your average hero in spandex fare. Let’s take a look at the three examples I mention above.

Jenna Jameson’s Shadow Hunter Issue 1 – Jezzerie Jaden is one of the most sensual, attractive heroines to come along in a while. From a young age Jezzerie has been able to see monsters and spirits. As she grows the visions become more vivid, so real she can touch them, not to mention scarier. To get a handle on what she’s seeing Jezzerie seeks the help of Dr. Ingersol who performs various test on Jezzerie, but seems to have his own agenda as he references her state being similar to a group called the Omegas who are housed at Area 51 as well as referencing the Great Tomb of Lilith. Religious references are the least of Jezzerie’s problems when her powers take a turn for the super, her hair color changes and she wields a sword to defeat insane monsters all around. Next up a hero guy joins the fight and some mega bad guy also wielding a sword and talking about royalty not to mention a big secret that ends issue 1.

Jenna is known for many things, her creative mind is not one of them, but that will change. Jenna’s collaboration with Christina Z, of Witchblade fame, merged with the art of Mukesh Singh is a winning formula. This story is not bound by any existing comic worlds or conventions. The story is not ground breaking, but carried by excellent art and strong creative names this is one book to keep an eye one. Readers will enjoy this title long after the main creators name wears off.

The Megas Issue 1 – The concept is simple. What if the founders of the United States never created a democracy, but instead instituted a monarchy that existed even today. Follow the life and investigations of Agent Jack Madison, a commoner who investigates Mega related crimes and has a past with the king through his father who served the now sickly King Marcus Arcadia. It’s not enough he has to help cover-up certain crimes but he must also deal with an apparent drug issue and a rebellious group called the Dada. The stage is set for further political intrigue as an heir to the king will be revealed, changes in government policy are sure to follow, the rebels get more aggressive and you just know there is something behind the opening crime Madison investigates. The stage is set for rebellion.

Stories don’t get much better than this. This is like reading the latest NY Times best seller but in comic form. John Harrison, DUNE on Sci-Fi, created the script and it flows like a feature worthy to be related to DUNE. The art is nothing spectacular , but it serves the story very well as this is the real world seen in a different light, and conceptual artist Peter Rubin does a fine job. The unique white hair seen on a Mega has a way of popping off the page and you can just see how this would piss off commoners. There is so much room for an excellent politically charged thrill ride her, and I think Jonathan Mostow has a winner on his hands, one worthy of a read if you’re cool with a book grounded in what could be reality.

The Stranded Issue 1 – Mix Sci-Fi with Virgin Comics, throw in a creative mind of Mike Carey’s caliber (X-Men) and you’re getting a comic that could go head-to-head with the Heroes, Angel … any super powered, sci-fi show out there. We’ve got a rat with part of a super-genius, Zante, in it, a secret base for Tamree, sexy super chic, who has Sleepers getting killed around the planet and a genuine concern that the other Anchors will be wiped out, which is confirmed when her base is attacked. Ok, so this is only part of the story, there’s also some buff hero-ish looking guy who is responsible for the attack on Tamree and has been killing off Anchors and ends the issue by crashing a wedding. Who are the Sleepers, why are their memories and powers locked? Tune in to find out more.

There is much more I could tell you, but that is for you to find out, no spoilers here. See this is a superhero book through and through and flows very well with hints at a much broader scope, very similar to Heroes. We establish the existence of Anchors and Sleepers and a force looking to wipe them out. The reason for this, tbd, but the action is already fast paced. The art is not as outstanding as Shadow Hunter, but it’s a solid hero looking effort. The creative tandem of Mike Carey and Siddharth Kotian is looking to be a solid partnership that readers will enjoy. From what I’ve read so far I really must say it’s only a matter of time before we are craving the TV version with special powers and all revealed. It will happen, but before then pick up this book … after Jenna of course.

So where’s that leave us? I’ve given you a quick look at these three books with some of the finer points I took from each. Shadow Hunter has the best art, but most predictable story (of the three) while the Megas is lacking in art, but has one rock solid story and The Stranded is in the middle in both instances. I’ve been reading comics for a very long time and it’s refreshing to see not only a new take on storytelling but the inclusion of brilliant minds from other entertainment fields, a trend I hope continues.

VHS HELL: Captain Power: Future Force Training

You are in control of the XT-7 as you'll be training for battle against Lord Dread and his evil machines in this 3-volume series of videos to aim your toys at.

In reality, I had never played or saw the show 21 years ago, but remember seeing the ads for this stuff though I never got around to thinking about those training tapes until now as they had been animated by AIC and Artmic. Shinji Aramaki is both mecha and background designer on these as well as Riding Bean's Yasuo Hasegawa as animation director.

Click the links to download the action-packed, strobic fun!
Skill Level 1
Skill Level 2
Skill Level 3

Remember to check your Power Points!

animehell

VHS Hell - MUTANT VIDEO

This bright yellow package contains MUTANT VIDEO, so look out! Crazy entertainment from those edgy, with-it hipsters at the USA Network, this VHS tape promises cutting edge video type action that, it being the 80s, probably involves Devo or people wearing garbage bags. Well, never fear; this tape won't make you regret voting for Reagan or stop you from thinking that wearing sweaters on your back with the arms tied over your chest is pretty cool. What MUTANT VIDEO is, is short films. The kind of movies they used to run on "Saturday Night Live" or at film festivals or on NIGHT FLIGHT, coincidentally also owned by USA Network. Anyways, what you gots here is a proto-SubGenius film about people who are intensely religious about meat, a crazy juggling video that would be computer animated if they had invented computer animation yet, a not bad New Wave music act featuring "aliens", and an idyllic date gone horribly wrong because it stars Jim Belushi whose appearance anywhere automatically means "horribly wrong."



Other films include EXTENDED PLAY, which is very interesting as it's set in a video game arcade circa 1984 and features a video game shooting back and destroying the arcade with blood and explosions, and GRAVITY, which is a fake educational film all about how we're running out of gravity and we have to conserve it. You may have seen a slightly edited version of this shown on NIGHT FLIGHT. If you want the version with bare tits, MUTANT VIDEO is the tape for you!

The quality of the shorts vary widely. Some are Hollywood productions with professional lighting and acting, others are student films or proto-MTV videos, and the juggling thing is like something they'd run on Nickelodeon or Showtime between films back in the early cable days.

Apart from GRAVITY and about half of EXTENDED PLAY this video is nowhere near as 'edgy' or 'mutant' as it would like to believe. While these guys were telling each other how wild and out-there they were, David Lynch was shooting ERASERHEAD which leaves these films spinning in its confusing, murky dust. Most of these shorts could stand to lose about half their running time. In five years the home video revolution would enable every Tom, Dick, and Corn Pone Flicks to create short films that were goofier, bloodier, and shorter, and today you can waste an entire 8-hour workday gorging your eyeballs on short films via Youtube. Nevertheless, MUTANT VIDEO remains a quaint artifact of a time when great package design could sell damn near anything.


animehell

Ozone Commandos original trailer

Ozone Commandos original trailer from Corn Pone Flicks on Vimeo.

animehell