D.Gray-Man Competition Results

Last week the D.Gray-Man competition closed, and the Reviewer hat-picker-outer went into overtime searching for deserving winners. Two doves, one startled rabbit, and a mouldy toupee later, I can proudly announce that D.Gray-Man Volume 1 will be wending its way to…

Andrew Craig of Putney
Roger Owen of Bedfordshire and
Hayley Todd of Flintshire

It’s all in the hands of Royal Mail now, so once again… Good Luck!

Reviews this week, there were a few, beginning with Bleach: Series 4 – Part 2. This is the second of Manga’s big shonen properties, those shows like D.Gray-Man designed to cater primarily for young teen male audiences, with plenty of battles and levelling up of abilities to appreciate. The first three seasons of Bleach introduced quite a compelling universe and some interesting characters, and while tastes may vary, there was a consistency of quality and thought in the stories that really impressed. With Season 4 though, we hit the blight of all long-running anime shows, filler. The nadir of filler can be seen in shows like Naruto, and that’s a benchmark that I have fervently hoped Bleach can avoid. See if it managed it by clicking the link.

Next up was my continuing sojourn into the High School comedy genre. I bought the series as a job lot from the US, so there’s been no pesky waits for subsequent volumes. Paniponi Dash: Volume 2 offers more fast paced mayhem and chaos from an eclectic bunch of characters and their teacher, who manages the impossible feat of being simultaneously cute and obnoxious. You know where to go to read more.

Finally, we head into penultimate territory with X: Volume 5. This apocalyptic fate fuelled drama is heading inexorably towards a climax. Slowly and surely, the tensions build as the Dragons of Earth and Dragons of Heaven test each other, so slowly and surely that I must admit that I have some concerns whether the story can be told in the time that remains. See if those concerns are addressed by wandering over to my review.

Before I wander off myself, let me just point out to fans of live action Japanese cinema, that my review of Sinking of Japan also went up last week. Eat your heart out Roland Emmerich!





Manga Entertainment release Bleach: Series 4 – Part 2 today. ADV released Paniponi Dash: Volume 2 years ago in the US, but it is available in the UK as well. MVM release Sinking of Japan, and X: Volume 5, and both have fallen behind in the schedules, being released on the 15th of March.

Posted by Jitendar Canth

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Just two reviews for you this week, and one of them is a live-action film at that. Since it was adapted from an anime and manga, it ought to count anyway. Besides, with all the CGI and green screen work, it’s half animation in itself. I’m talking of course about Casshern, one of the raft of digital backdrop films that were made a few years ago, alongside titles like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, and Immortel. Casshern was a seventies superhero, but he gets a anti-war polemic update in the 2004 movie, which sees the powerful warrior resurrected by his father in a war-weary, polluted, dystopian future. See if the breathtaking visuals outweigh the story by clicking on my review.

Then it was the turn of Aquarion: Volume 4, in which the mecha series comes to its conclusion. You would have had to twist my arm to say it three volumes ago, but the idea of teenagers fighting giant robots by piloting giant robots of their own is actually beginning to grow on me. In fact I can freely admit now that I enjoy this series, and have found its action ethos coupled with a rather interesting mythology to be really quite appealing. Of course final volumes are where anime series can so often totally blow it, so it will be fascinating to see if Aquarion remains strong, or falters at the final hurdle.








Momentum Asia released Casshern in 2005, and it has been lurking in the bottom of bargain buckets ever since. MVM release Aquarion: Volume 4 on the 15th of March, which is a tad delayed from their initial schedule.

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Since you got a dose of news on Saturday, I think I’ll dive straight into the anime reviews this week, and fortunately there’s more than just a single review to point you to. First up was Fate/Stay Night: Volume 2, in which the fantasy battle genre still crosses with the harem comedy genre, and somehow manages to work. In this volume, when characters aren’t getting their wires crossed, they cross swords instead. Magic and romance, what more could you want from an anime?

More romance next, and if you hadn’t noticed, yesterday was Valentine’s Day. Romeo X Juliet: Volume 1 would be the perfect anime ingredient for an otaku romance. Studio Gonzo take the classic Shakespearean tragedy, and put their own unique spin on the story. We have the floating continent of Neo Verona, the Montagues wiped out the Capulets when they usurped their throne, but one little girl survived. Now that girl Juliet is the freedom fighter, The Red Whirlwind, who one day encounters a young nobleman named Romeo. Travesty, homage, or work of genius? Click my review to find out.

Finally, it was the turn of Region 1 to fall victim to my debit card. It’s still cheaper to buy some anime in the US and transport it thousands of miles across the Atlantic, leaving a bunch of carbon footprints in its wake. I took a look at Paniponi Dash: Volume 1. It’s yet another high school comedy in a medium that abounds with high school comedies. It’s also another comedy that sees a schoolteacher younger than her students. If you already own Negima, should you be buying this? You know what to click…

Oops, almost forgot! Continuing from last week’s sojourn in the world of Japanese live action cinema, you may be interested to know that there is a Special Edition release of Kamikaze Girls.







MVM release Fate/Stay Night: Volume 2, and Romeo X Juliet: Volume 1 today. ADV released Paniponi Dash in the US years ago, before they went bust. Third Window Films released Kamikaze Girls SE last Monday. And don’t forget to enter the D.Gray-Man competition.

Posted by Jitendar Canth

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