DVD Review Corner

Welcome anime fans, to my newly added DVD Review corner! here you'll find reviews of the anime DVD's that I own, rated from ½-5 stars:

½ - Treat as though it were infected with the ebola virus, or worse :( (I doubt I'll have to use this rating, but hell, EGM gave Superman 64 a .½ out of 10(ick!)
* - $30 drink coaster (the anime/series itself probably sucks as a whole, or the audio/video isnt very good, or the art, or it lacks features)
** - Only if you a) really need a DVD, or b)are a fan of the particular series/license/etc.) but just enough merit to give it a 2nd star.
*** - Maybe not Greatest of all time status, but you can't go wrong here
**** - Maybe lacking somewhat in the anime itself, or in the features dept. but give it a shot. :)
***** - These should have their own seperate area away from those 'other' DVDs you own ^_- if you don't get these soon (or don't already have them) I'll personally come to your house and drag you by the collar to the store to go buy it! ;P okay kidding... but you see my point :)

AKIRA	What better way to kick off the new year with a review of one of anime's most groundbreaking examples to ever grace the almighty DVD format... AKIRA!!! Probably #3 on my list (behind Ghost in the Shell and Princess Mononokè (below)... Hopefully you already know the story by now; a young Tetsuo* gets kidnapped by the government after a short encounter with a strange psychic child, which brings about his inner psychic powers, all set against the backdrop of a futuristic Neo-Tokyo with its biker gang infested, war-torn atmosphere; all leading up to the ultimate conclusion!!! This special edition comes bursting with extras -- so full infact, that it comes in a metal case with two DVDs; One featuring the film itself, (and a special 'capsule feature' -- look for an overview next update) and the 2nd devoted entirely to the behind-the-scenes stuff, like the restoration, the new redubbing (the new voices are only so-so, IMO) and some history of AKIRA, too! it also includes a promotional flyer for the McFarlane Toys (Spawn, MGS/MGS2) AKIRA line of figures UPDATE: Now that I've been able to spend some more time with the set, I was able to watch the original 'Making of AKIRA' special that apparently aired in Japan prior to AKIRA's original release, which goes into extreme detail about every aspect of the film, from its characters to the coloring scheme all the way down to the attention to detail to some of the film's objects that you would only be seeing for a fraction of a second... its incredible! There's still quite a bit to go through so I'll be back with more updates, which just proves how much extra stuff's been packed onto this deluxe 2 disc set! So basically, it doesn't matter if you've seen it already or not, hell it doesn't matter if you already have it (like I do) -- if you enjoyed the original version, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?? * and no, if that's what you're thinking the names just happen to have a similar spelling...
Produced by: Pioneer	Features: Disc 1: English and Japanese language tracks 'Capsule' info feature Disc 2: Original 'Making of AKIRA' (from the 1988 Laserdisc) Original trailers (Plus the new AKIRA 2001 trailer) Restoration English cast interviews Photos of promotional items (toys, comics, concept art, images, posters, etc.)
Score:	***/*** (5/5)
Search/Buy this DVD:	Amazon \| Yahoo \| Ebay \| Search.com \| GO.com \| Altavista \| Lycos \| AKIRA 2001 official Site

Princess Mononokè	I'm only gonna say this once: If you only own/buy one DVD(this week/month/year, whatever), THIS... IS... IT!!!!!!!!!!(well as of last year, see above - DT) Currently residing at the #1 spot of my top 5 anime films ever, this masterwork of the almighty Hayao Miyazaki is the epitome of my collection so far... if you didn't see it in theaters, get it NOW! The story follows a young man who becomes cursed by a boar after it attacks his local village, and he sets off to find a cure for it... meeting up with the likes of Jigo (Thornton) and eventually meeting up with the Princess herself, San (Danes) who is somewhat dissatisfied with Ashitaka's intrusion into her forest at first, but when she discovers he's not as bad as originally thought.... well I think I'll stop there so you can see for yourself what a great work of art this is...
Produced by: Miramax	Features: Mini-Featurette with comments from the all-star acting cast Widescreen format English/Japanese language \| English/CC Subtitles
Score:	***/*** (5/5) Perfection (actually 10/5, but... :P)
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Street Fighter Alpha: The Movie	Wow, not bad really... maybe not the best anime DVD ever, but it sure packs a wallop! ;) Ryu, Ken and company venture forth in yet another hard-hitting, bone-crushing martial arts slugfest! :) Ryu encounters Shun, who claims to be his long lost younger brother, and his emergence spawns forth the mysterious Dark Hadou power from within Ryu... And with Rose acting as a guide early on, Ryu sets forth to find out what is causing this force... and eventually encounters an ultimate evil which he must use the Dark Hadou's power to defeat. Personally I didn't like it actually as much as the original Street Fighter II: The Motion Picture, but that's probably just me ^_- the art, music, voice-work, etc. is all top-notch for an SF movie... though there are a few problems, mainly just the inconsistency of the subtitles; for example in Japan, Akuma is called Gouki, but the subtitles don't reflect the change there(they still say 'Akuma' in the subtitles), and Birdie is spelled two different ways in the subtitles during the movie... and lastly the whole Vega/Balrog thing :\ Finally, the only thing lacking is a widescreen format; the DVD I have only came in 4:3 (standard TV pan/scan) format. Aside from that, the movie's really good, lots of action for hardcore SF fans, and even anime fans will probably like the pyrotechnics of the Dark Hadou ^_- and there are quite alot of extras, too :) So if you're looking for some more Street Fighter action, you may want to give this DVD a spin ...
Produced by: Manga Video	Features: Interviews with the Japanese voice actors, artists, directors, etc. English/Japanese language \| English Subtitles Trailers for other Manga Videos/DVDs Making of Street Fighter Alpha mini-video Manga 2000 video montage featuring other Manga animes Internet/DVD-ROM features
Score:	*½/*** (3.5/5)
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Battle Athletes: On Your Mark	I've never really seen much of this series actually, this DVD is all of it, infact :) But apparently it takes place in the year 4999, where the 'Cosmic Beauty' competitions are held, and a young Kanzaki Akari strives to be just like her mother, and go for the gold! After being sent into space to take part in the games, she makes friends (and foes) along the way! Her first competiton is in the 'Battle Lacrosse' which is like the earth version, only in zero-g's! I enjoyed this DVD (which I presume is 2 episodes on each one, of 8) and I'll probably be collecting more of the series :)
Produced by: Pioneer	Features: Bios of the characters English/Japanese Language with English Subtitles
Score:	**/*** (4/5) Near-Perfection
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Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Rose Collection Volume 1	I have heard of this series, but unfortunately up until now I haven't been able to see any of it... and so far I've enjoyed it... It follows the adventures of a young Utena Tenjou as she recieves a rose ring from a mysterious prince and becomes involved in a 'Rose bride' competition... and meets various interesting friends and foes along the way.
Produced by: Software Sculptors	Features: Previews for other US Manga Corps animes Song selection English/Japanese Language option ALL Region 7 Episodes
Score:	**/*** (4/5)
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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon	No, this isn't animated, or Japanese... but I've been seeing commericals, references, reviews, etc. and just by looking at the special effects during the fighting sequences... wow. A young man who has grown weary of fighting, entrusts his once faithful sword to a friend, but after it's stolen late at night, he must fight to regain it, and return it to its new master. Want flying, crazy sword swinging, and not to mention great settings, costumes, backdrops, music, etc. etc.Though its probably just me, the movie seemed pretty long, and, maybe it's just my TV/setup, but sometimes the nighttime/dark scenes seemed a bit too dark... but other than that,, no complaints since all the action sequences make up for it, IMO ^^;; The flying and running up the walls/through the trees is the sort of thing you'd probably see in The Matrix,(another great flick) but it's the sort of thing to remind viewers that this is a movie... a great fantasy movie, so suspend belief for a couple of hours, kick back and watch the swords (and people) fly!
Produced By: Columbia/Tri-Star	Features: English/Mandarin/French dialog English/French Subtitles Photo Montage Audio Commentary English and Chinese movie trailers
Score	**/*** (4/5)
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