Manga

Ghost in the Shell

The skillful blending of drawn animation and computer-generated imagery excited anime fans when this science fiction mystery was released in 1995: many enthusiasts believe Ghost suggests what the future of anime will be, at least in the short term. The film is set in the not-too-distant future, when an unnamed government uses lifelike cyborgs or "enhanced" humans for undercover work. One of the key cyborgs is The Major, Motoko Kusanagi, who resembles a cross between The Terminator and a Playboy centerfold. She finds herself caught up in a tangled web of espionage and counterespionage as she searches for the mysterious superhacker known as "The Puppet Master."

Mamoru Oshii directs with a staccato rhythm, alternating sequences of rapid-fire action (car chases, gun battles, explosions) with static dialogue scenes that allow the characters to sort out the vaguely mystical and rather convoluted plot. Kusanagi's final quote from I Corinthians suggests that electronic evolution may compliment and eventually supplant organic evolution. The minor nudity, profanity, and considerable violence would earn Ghost in the Shell at least a PG rating. --Charles Solomon

Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. - 2nd Gig (Complete Collection)

Based on the manga by Masamune Shirow and directed by Kenji Kamiyama GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX takes viewers to a futuristic society where technology has saturated citizens' daily lives. Along with the new technology comes new types of crime that exploit it but female cyborg Major Motoko Kusanagi and her team of police Section 9 devote their lives to chasing criminals both on land and in cyberspace. In this complete collection of episodes from the epic show's second season (also known as 2nd Gig) Major Motoko Husanagi and Section 9 continue to battle terrorists in the actual world and in cyberspace. This season gives a new spin to Masamune Shirow's popular concept by combining the talents of directors Mamoru Oshii and Kenji Kamiyama and the animators at Japanese studio Production I.G.System Requirements:Length: 360 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ANIMATION/ANIME Rating: PG-13 UPC: 669198252679 Manufacturer No: 25267

Major Kusanagi and the rest of Public Security Section 9 hit the ground running as the second season of Stand Alone Complex (2004) begins: Their new adventure centers on a complex mystery even more dangerous than the case of the Laughing Man. Terrorist incidents linked to the mistreatment of Asian refugees after World War IV threaten to ignite a powder keg in Japan. Kusanagi, Batou, and even Chief Aramaki chafe when they're drafted to protect Prime Minister Kayabuki from would-be assassins. But the threats to the government are linked to the Individual Eleven, a cell that recalls the May 15th Incident. (On May 15, 1932, a group of junior naval officers and army cadets assassinated Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi, ensuring that power would remain in the hands of the militarists.) The members of the Individual Eleven--except for Hideo Kuze, their charismatic leader--commit mass suicide in a bloody spectacle that recalls the theatrical death in 1970 of Japanese writer Yukio Mishima. Kuze's campaign to win political freedom for the refugees grows increasingly violent, involving suicide bombers, Russian mobsters selling stolen plutonium, and strained relations between Japan and an Imperial America that is trying to reassert its military dominance in the face of economic weakness. And what role does the devious, hideously scarred intelligence officer Kazundo Gohda play in these actions? The Tachikoma robots speculate that as they are abandoning collective consciousness and developing individuality, a dependence on the Net is leading humans in the opposite direction. That trend makes people more vulnerable to cyber-viruses involved in the plot--unless Section 9 acts in time. Most of the adventures take place in bleak, gray and brown settings, which contrast effectively with the bright, colorful cyberworld the Major and the Tachikomas visit. S.A.C.--2nd Gig continues the tight plotting, dynamic action sequences, and interesting character relationships that made the series a hit. (Rated 13 and older: violence, violence against women, brief nudity, alcohol, drug, and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

Ninja Scroll

A peak achievement of Japanese anime, Ninja Scroll is a propulsive mix of samurai action adventure and supernatural fantasy from writer-director Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Supernatural Best City). This is defiantly animation for grown-ups, complete with fountains of blood, plenty of naked flesh, and (in both the subtitled and dubbed versions) some decidedly strong language. (Students of Japanese language could pick up some useful expressions.) The plot sounds like a 16th century variation on the X-Files: An entire village has been wiped out by a mysterious plague and an anti-government conspiracy of invulnerable demons seems to be responsible. A wandering ninja, Jubei, and his female counterpart, Kagero, team up to defeat the plotters. Jubei is a classic reluctant hero, agreeing to participate in the mission only after being fed a slow-acting poison; the antidote will be supplied after he cooperates. And Kagero, a looker whose embrace is lethal, is a femme fatale with a difference that seems distinctively Japanese: sexual contact itself is poisonous, especially for a warrior with a pure soul. --David Chute

Karas - The Complete Collection (The Prophecy / The Revelation)

In a city where humans and demons once held equal ground an innate struggle for power and subservience has risen in a dangerous attempt to seize power for the demons and bring order to the streets through violent force. Nauseated by human arrogance the demons have declared war against the humans and the final battle between the new Karas Otoha and the previous protector turned despot Eko has begun. Will they destroy Tokyo? Or will the human race survive to see another day?Starring: Jay Hernandez Matthew Lillard Piper PeraboSystem Requirements:Length: 180 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ANIMATION/ANIME UPC: 013138207098 Manufacturer No: M2070

Ghost in the Shell SAC Complete 1st Season Collection Box Set

The Smash First Season Anime Extravaganza in one complete set! Major Motoko Kusanagi is a beautiful but deadly cyborg that is squad leader of Section 9-the Japanese government's clandestine unit assigned to battle terrorism and cyber warfare Surrounded by an expertly trained team Motoko faces her ultimate challenge- the Laughing Man- a terrorist who orchestrated a kidnapping and extortion plot many years ago and has suddenly reappeared. In order to discover the identity of this enigmatic criminal Motoko and Section 9 are drawn into a deadly labyrinth and they ll have to use all their expertise to survive This acclaimed anime series is from Production I.G (Kill Bill) and features the amazing music if Yoko Kanno (Cowboy Behop) with stories by Kenji Kamiyama (Blood Jin-Roh) and Dai Soto (Eureka SeveN) Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ANIMATION/ADULT SWIM Rating: NR UPC: 669198252655 Manufacturer No: DV25265

The 2002 broadcast series based on Mamoru Oshii's landmark film Ghost in the Shell (1995) takes place in a parallel world, where Major Motoko Kusanagi didn't vanish into The Net. Although its production values are lower, and director Kenji Kamiyama never matches Oshii's inspired camerawork, Stand Alone Complex does an impressive job of recreating the setting and characters. With the help of the other officers from Public Security Section 9, Kusanagi moves through a deadly city of mecha, cyborgs, humans, and human-prosthetic hybrids. Batou emerges as a more complex and compelling character in the TV series than he was in Ghost in the Shell II: Innocence: He engages the other characters, instead of endlessly quoting philosophers.

Politics and cyber-espionage collide in a somewhat tangled plot that centers on the pursuit of The Laughing Man, an über-hacker whose pseudonym is linked to J.D. Salinger's 1949 story of the same name. The master cyber-criminal leads Kusanagi and Batou into a web of murder and deceit involving bogus cures for "cyberbrain sclerosis" and corrupt government ministers. In the secondary story, the Tachikomas, crab-like robots used by Section 9, develop personalities and an awareness of their existence. The Tachikomas recognize some of the implications of their growing consciousness, but their childish voices--modeled after the performance of Japanese actress Akiko Tamagawa--sound odd discussing philosophical questions. Not surprisingly, the story ends with Kusanagi, Batou, et al. tackling a new case that leads into the 2nd Gig. (Rated 13 and older: considerable violence, violence against women, grotesque imagery, nudity, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

Noein: To Your Other Self - The Complete Series, Vol. 1-5

Noein (2005) begins with an innocent ghost hunt by a group of 12-year-olds that expands into a potentially world-threatening experience. Although she appears to be a normal girl, Haruka is the Dragon Torque, whose powers preserve and threaten dimensions across space and time. The inhabitants of La'cryma and Shangri-La want to use Haruka's abilities for their own purposes. With only the friendship of the neurotic Yu as a shield, Haruka must overcome the Dragon Warriors and the masked title character. Noein mixes elements of Escaflowne, Evangelion, RahXephon, and other "magical girl" and fantasy series to create a program that suffers from both too much story and too little. The characters from alternate dimensions offer portentous statements about dimensions, time, and destruction; the Earthlings talk about quantum physics. But their speechifying does little to unscramble the plot. Although Haruka is the Dragon Torque, an Ouroubouros-like necklace appears around her neck, then disappears for no apparent reason other than to resolve story problems. Some episodes feel like filler, while major events end before they really begin. And having characters meet themselves at different ages creates paradoxes more problematic than most time-travel stories. The filmmakers clearly spent most of the budget on the computer-animated effects: The anthropomorphic ships of Shangri-La are strikingly original and disturbing, but the character designs suffer from inconsistencies. Noein will appeal to viewers who prefer splashy visuals to coherent storytelling. (Unrated, suitable for ages 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery, brief nudity, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

In the near future, a violent battle takes place between the dimension La cryma (protector of humanity) and the dimension Shangri-La, bent on the annihilation of all space-time. A group known as the Dragon Calvary is dispatched through space and time, searching for the only thing that can stop the invasion: the Dragon's Torque. In the present, twelve-year old Haruka and her friend Yuu are contemplating running away from home when they meet a member of the Dragon Calvary named Karasu (Crow). He believes that Haruka possesses the Dragon's Torque and claims to be Yuu from fifteen years in the future...

Lupin the III: The Castle of Cagliostro (Special Edition)

Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro) achieved his first international hit with this delightful 1979 adventure yarn. Quick-paced, high-spirited, and loaded with wit, Cagliostro is a dandy throwback to the caper pictures of the '60s. International man of mystery Lupin III stumbles back into the picturesque European duchy of Cagliostro with his faithful and gruff sidekick, Jigen. They will encounter, in no particular order, a runaway bride, a magical ring, an evil count with a dastardly plan, an inspector bent on catching Lupin, perilous rooftop chases, hooded guards with superhuman powers, a well-used dungeon, a counterfeiting scheme, and an ancient mystery promising grand treasure. Lupin deploys an array of Bond-type gadgets, razor-sharp wit, and a surprise up both his sleeves. Despite the hail of bullets, this caper is great fun, never taking itself seriously. Miyazaki's career illustrates how limiting the term anime can be for these films; there are hardly more than 10 live-action films of this genre as entertaining. Far less mean than Hollywood fare, it nevertheless is for ages 9 and up with language and gunplay. The Lupin character has been featured in other anime films, but never as successfully or with as much fun as in Miyazaki's film. The new English-language dubbing is excellent to boot. --Doug Thomas

Ghost In The Shell - Solid State Society

A.D. 2034. It has been two years since Motoko Kusanagi left Section 9. Togusa is now the new leader of the team that has considerably increased its appointed personnel. The expanded new Section 9 confronts a rash of complicated incidents and investigations reveal that an ultra-wizard hacker nicknamed the Puppet Master" is behind the entire series of events. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ANIMATION/ADULT SWIM UPC: 669198251702 Manufacturer No: 25170

The television movie Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society (2006) continues the adventures of the cast of Stand Alone Complex, the TV series based on Mamoru Oshii's watershed feature. It's been two years since Major Kusanagi left Public Security Section 9 and struck out on her own. Batou pursues only investigations that interest him. Togusa is in charge of the Section, largely by default. All three characters, plus Chief Aramaki and the Tachikoma robots, join in the investigation of a string of suicides by agents of a foreign general. The trail leads them to a terrorist plot involving micro-machines created to release a deadly virus, and to the master-hacker known as the Puppeteer. The depiction of a corrupt politician using resources earmarked for the care of an aging population for his own ends reflects recent scandals in Japan. But Solid State Society feels derivative. The plot borrows heavily from the "Laughing Man" storyline, and the general lack of inspiration is evident in the failure to resolve the mystery satisfactorily. (Rated 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery) --Charles Solomon

Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

All the lightning-fisted thrills of the world s wildest combat video game series explodes onto DVD in this brilliantly animated sensationally supercharged adventure Street FighterTM II: The Animated Movie. This all new unedited and uncensored version now boasts a stunning new 5.1 surround sound mix of the equally popular soundtrack.In the not too distant future civilization is under attack. Leading the forces of darkness is the evil mastermind Bison who is determined to capture the minds and bodies of the world s greatest fighters for use in his manic plan to conquer the world. The only people on Earth with the potential to stop him are Ken and Ryu two powerful legendary martial arts warriors. Together they face the fights of all fights. The final battle of good against evil is about to begin!System Requirements:Running Time: 101 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ANIMATION/ADULT SWIM UPC: 013138205797 Manufacturer No: M2057

Based on the video game, Street Fighter II: the Animated Movie (1994) is the first feature in the popular continuity that includes a second animated film, a TV series, an OAV, and a live-ction feature. With physiques that Mr. Olympia would envy and moves that would shame Bruce Lee, Ryu and Ken Masters rank as the world's greatest martial artists. They face a dire challenge when Vega (Bison in the English dub), the psychic master of the criminal syndicate Shadowloo (Shadowlaw), attempts to turn the world's top street fighters into his agents. The minimal plot exists only as a framework for the over-the-top martial arts battles. Director Gisaburo Sugii stages many of the fights at night in an effort to heighten the drama, but the results are so dark, it's difficult to see what's going on. Fans of the series complain--justifiably--that the English voices sound stiff and hokey, although the dialogue is hopelessly silly. The double-sided disc offers both the English and Japanese versions; the latter contains about two more minutes of violent fighting. (Rated PG-13, suitable for ages 17 and older: graphic violence, violence against women, nudity, alcohol use, profanity, ethnic stereotypes) --Charles Solomon

Perfect Blue

One of the most ambitious animated films to come out of Japan (or anywhere, for that matter), Perfect Blue is an adult psycho-thriller that uses the freedom of the animated image to create the subjective reality of a young actress haunted by the ghost of her past identity. Mima is a singer who leaves her teeny-bop trio to become an actress in a violent television series, a career move that angers her fans, who prefer to see her as the pert, squeaky-clean pop idol. Plagued by self-doubt and tormented by humiliating compromises, she begins to be stalked, in her waking and sleeping moments, by an accusing alter ego who claims to be "the real Mima," until she collapses into madness as her coworkers are brutally slain around her. Director Satoshi Kon, adapting the novel by Yoshikazu Takeuchi, shows us the world from her schizophrenic perspective: days blur, dreams cross over into the waking world, the TV show blends into her real life, until her life merges with her part and she can't separate the ghosts from the real-life stalkers. Though the pat ending sweeps the psychosis and anxiety away with nary an emotional scar, it remains a smart, stylish thriller and one of the most intelligent and compelling uses of animation in recent years. Though tame by the extreme standards of "adult anime," there is nudity and a few sexually provocative scenes, and the animation is detailed and stylized (if somewhat stiff and jerky by Disney standards). --Sean Axmaker