Pioneer

Hellsing Ultimate Volume 3

As the OVA sequel to the vampire-adventure Hellsing builds toward its climax, the carnage continues, but with new targets. Sir Integra Hellsing meets with representatives of the Vatican's Iscariot Organization to discover who launched the ghoul-army against her headquarters in the previous episode. The perpetrators are the Millennium Brigade, a cadre of Nazis who moved their research program involving the undead to South America after WW II--with the assistance of the Pope. Hellsing dispatches Arucard and Seras to Rio de Janeiro on a "search and destroy" mission against the Millennium Brigade. The cover of the disc promises "a carnal bloodbath of epic proportions," and Hellsing delivers. Arucard attacks a human SWAT team, impaling its members on flagpoles, shooting them at point-blank range, and ripping out their throats with his fangs. As the entire series to date could easily fit on two discs, this release pattern seems chintzy. (Rated 16 and older, but more appropriate for 18 and older: graphic violence, violence against women, sadism, grotesque imagery, tobacco use, profanity, potentially offensive religious imagery) --Charles Solomon

Akira (Geneon Signature Series)

Artist-writer Katsuhiro Ôtomo began telling the story of Akira as a comic book series in 1982 but took a break from 1986 to 1988 to write, direct, supervise, and design this animated film version. Set in 2019, the film richly imagines the new metropolis of Neo-Tokyo, which is designed from huge buildings down to the smallest details of passing vehicles or police uniforms. Two disaffected orphan teenagers--slight, resentful Tetsuo and confident, breezy Kaneda--run with a biker gang, but trouble grows when Tetsuo start to resent the way Kaneda always has to rescue him. Meanwhile, a group of scientists, military men, and politicians wonder what to do with a collection of withered children who possess enormous psychic powers, especially the mysterious, rarely seen Akira, whose awakening might well have caused the end of the old world. Tetsuo is visited by the children, who trigger the growth of psychic and physical powers that might make him a superman or a supermonster. As befits a distillation of 1,318 pages of the story so far, Akira is overstuffed with character, incident, and detail. However, it piles up astonishing set pieces: the chases and shootouts (amazingly kinetic, amazingly bloody) benefit from minute cartoon detail that extends to the surprised or shocked faces of the tiniest extra; the Tetsuo monster alternately looks like a billion-gallon scrotal sac or a Tex Avery mutation of the monster from The Quatermass Experiment; and the finale--which combines flashbacks to more innocent days with a destruction of Neo City and the creation of a new universe--is one of the most mind-bending in all sci-fi cinema. --Kim Newman

Hellsing Ultimate Vol. 1 (2006)

The Ultimate OVA series (2006) continues the popular vampire hunter broadcast series Hellsing (2001), both of which were based on the manga by Kouta Hirano. Vampires are stalking England, which means Sir Integra Hellsing must take them out. Most of this 50-minute segment is devoted to a duel between Hellsing's super-vampire Arucard and Father Alexander Anderson, a bio-engineered vampire in the service of the Vatican's murderous Iscariot Organization. It's a veritable gorefest, but not a particularly original one: the shooting effects are copied from T2, while the ghouls recall The Night of the Living Dead. The dialogue is often unintentionally hilarious: "It's been a while since I had my head cut off." Viewers may be repulsed by the endless sprays of blood, the leering sadism, and misappropriation of religious symbols. (Rated 16 and older, but more appropriate for 18 and older: graphic violence, violence against women, sadism, sexual situations, grotesque imagery, offensive religious imagery, tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

Hellsing (Complete Boxed Set)

The worst enemy of the night - is one of its own…A secret war brews in the night - a war where humanity is only a pawn. The Hellsing Organization deploys in the shadows to protect the mortal world. But now, artificially spawned vampires have appeared, forcing Hellsing to call in their ultimate weapon - the rogue vampire, Arucard! After he transforms the dying Seras Victoria into a vampire, they join forces to combat the undead army, as well as her own newfound hunger!

Appleseed (Widescreen) (2004)

The 2004 Appleseed feature is a reworking of the earlier video based on the manga by Masamune Shirow (Ghost in the Shell). In 2131, most of humanity has withdrawn to the glittering city of Olympus after a devastating war. When the curvaceous Deunan Knute comes to Olympus, she encounters her former comrade Briareos, now a cyborg, and the lovely android Hitomi. The fate of Hitomi, Olympus, and humanity rest on the lost "Appleseed" technology that Deunan's mother helped to develop. A standard series of chases, mecha battles, and confrontations leads to a predictable ending. When the original Appleseedappeared in 1988, it felt like a summary of anime's past, while Akira pointed the way to the future. This new version feels like a mishmash of Ghost in the Shell, Akira, Jin-Roh, Evangelion, and other, more exciting works. The motion-capture CG is typically weightless, and the mecha look oddly squat. (Rated R: violence) --Charles Solomon

Earth's last city, Olympus, rose from the ashes of a global war on the backs of Bioroids, artificial clones who make up half the city's population. Under the strict guidance of a supercomputer, humanity's last survivors enjoy an idyllic peace, but only on the surface Human terrorists within the military seek a return to power and clash with the government's ESWAT forces lead by the legendary soldier, Deunan Knute, and her boyfriend who is 75% machine. Retrieving the Appleseed will end the conflict, and Deunan alone holds its secret. The outstanding feature film based on the manga by SHIROW Masamune (Ghost In the Shell), directed by Shinji ARAMAKI (Bubblegum Crisis), and produced by SORI (Ping Pong) features a soundtrack by Boom Boom Satelites, Paul Oakenfold, Basement Jaxx and more and will be available from TOFU records. The DVD will feature high quality video encoded directly from the HD master in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen with 5.1 English Dolby Digital and DTS audio as well as the original Japanese 2.0 stereo and 5.1 DTS Dolby Digital soundtracks! This DVD also features commentary from both the director and the producer!

Trigun - The Complete Boxed Set

Who and what is Vash the Stampede, a.k.a. "The Humanoid Typhoon"? To bounty hunters, he's an outlaw with 60,000,000,000 Double Dollars on his head. To Meryl Stryfe and Millie Thompson of the Bernardelli Insurance Society, he's a walking disaster area who's cost the company a fortune. To otaku, he's one of the most popular characters in anime. Based on Yasuhiro Nightow's manga, this comic adventure takes place in the distant future on a desert planet that looks like the American Old West. Vash wanders from town to town, unsuccessfully pursuing peace, doughnuts, and "the mayfly known as love." Meryl and Millie follow him, trying to minimize the destruction, but Vash's only real friend is the gun-totin' preacher Nicholas Wolfwood. Despite their grudging affection, Wolfwood articulates the other characters' thoughts when he tells Vash, "When you're around, things always seem to get worse!"

Anime heroes tend to be either cold-blooded warriors who kill for honor (the Gundam Wing pilots) or unlikely nerds who grow into the role of warrior when it's thrust upon them (Shinji Ikari in Evangelion). Sometimes comic and kooky, sometimes gentle and earnest, Vash reveres life and agonizes over the bloodshed he inadvertently causes. He'd rather eat than demonstrate his amazing marksmanship: he doesn't fire a shot until the fifth episode, although one of his arms is actually a gun. Voice actor Johnny Yong Bosh articulates both Vash's suffering and adolescent exuberance whenever he sees a pretty girl with exceptional panache. The runaway popularity of Trigun seems to have surprised the filmmakers. Although no plans have been announced for additional animation, a new manga series has appeared, Trigun Maximum. It seems unlikely that the artists would prematurely end the adventures of a figure with so much potential--and so many fans. --Charles Solomon

The wild gun-crazy action of Trigun gets collected in a new eight-volume DVD boxed set featuring 26 episodes of brand-new art from Takahiro Yoshimatsu, the character designer of Trigun.

Tenchi Universe: Collection

The broadcast series Tenchi Universe (1995) remains the silliest and, probably, the funniest entry in the popular Tenchi Muyo! ("No Need for Tenchi!") franchise. Tenchi Masaki seems like a normal high school kid, living near the family shrine in Okayama. But any semblance of normalcy is shattered by the arrival of the outrageous space pirate Ryoko, followed by bubble-brained Galactic Police Officer Mihoshi. They're joined by Princess Ayeka of the planet Jurai and her sister Sasami; Mihoshi's long-suffering partner, Kiyoni; and batty super-genius Wasshu. Life is soon "like a carnival," as Tenchi says in a rare understatement. Tenchi's grandfather turns out to be the long-lost crown prince of Jurai. When Kagato seizes the throne, Tenchi must defeat him in a dramatic confrontation between good and evil. Before the battle, the plot careens along merrily, pausing for a trans-galactic beauty pageant and a harvest festival that's engulfed in a sea of pink goo when Mihoshi tries to operate a cotton-candy machine. At the end of the adventure, Tenchi sighs for the days when "life was like a carnival," but the peace that reigns in Okayama won't last. The Tenchi series established the anime genre of the harem comedy--all six women from outer space are after Tenchi. Many other series have followed the formula, but few, if any, have been as much fun. The new slim pack takes up about one-fourth the shelf space of the original eight discs. (Rated 13 and older: cartoon violence, alcohol use, brief nudity, risqué humor) --Charles Solomon

Ryoko the Dreaded Space Pirate, Mihoshi the Galaxy Police officer, Ayeka the crown Princess of Jurai, and Washu the Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe! What could these women of interstellar importance possibly have in common? Causing one ordinary high school boy to miss class...
Come join the fun as Tenchi Masaki attempts to act as mediator to these out-of-this-world characters as they all fight for Tenchi's attentions. How much excitement can one guy take?

Paradise Kiss Box Set

The complete series in one box!Yukari lives the typical high school life continually stressed by her mother's desperate desire for her to succeed as a student. One day she meets a group of fashion design students who go by the name of Paradise Kiss and is scouted to be a model for their Yazawa School of Design fashion show. Yukari is emotionally lost at first but as time goes by she becomes influenced by the determination to pursue their dreams. Yukari agrees to join the fashion show to explore her true potential and her growing attraction to George the outrageous leader of Paradise Kiss.System Requirements:Running Time: 300 minutesFormat: DVD Genre: ANIMATION/ANIME UPC: 704400084423 Manufacturer No: 12962

Hellsing Ultimate Volume 3 Limited Edition

As the OVA sequel to the vampire-adventure Hellsing builds toward its climax, the carnage continues, but with new targets. Sir Integra Hellsing meets with representatives of the Vatican's Iscariot Organization to discover who launched the ghoul-army against her headquarters in the previous episode. The perpetrators are the Millennium Brigade, a cadre of Nazis who moved their research program involving the undead to South America after WW II--with the assistance of the Pope. Hellsing dispatches Arucard and Seras to Rio de Janeiro on a "search and destroy" mission against the Millennium Brigade. The cover of the disc promises "a carnal bloodbath of epic proportions," and Hellsing delivers. Arucard attacks a human SWAT team, impaling its members on flagpoles, shooting them at point-blank range, and ripping out their throats with his fangs. The Limited Edition comes in a metal box with a second disc of production art, interviews, and a cast panel recorded at Anime Expo 2007. As the entire series to date could easily fit on two discs, this release pattern seems chintzy. (Rated 16 and older, but more appropriate for 18 and older: graphic violence, violence against women, sadism, grotesque imagery, tobacco use, profanity, potentially offensive religious imagery) --Charles Solomon

Samurai Champloo, Volume 5 (Episodes 17-20)

The outrageous comedy-adventure Samurai Champloo reaches new heights of absurdity in episode 18, a showcase for creator Shinichiro Watanabe's interest in hip-hop culture. While Mugen belatedly learns to read in a smackdown elementary school, Jin tries to settle the rivalry between two brothers who inherited the dojo of a former sensei. The two seemingly unrelated storylines collide in a hilarious, no-holds-barred anachronistic graffiti contest that features Tokugawa-era rap lyrics, gang signs, ink-brush tagging, Hiroshima homeboys, and a designer-connoisseur who's a caricature of Andy Warhol. Only Watanabe could pull off these anachronistic high jinks so effortlessly. In the darker episode 19, Jin and Mugen learn a bit more about the mysterious "samurai who smells of sunflowers," the curious skull-shaped charm he left behind, and why Fuu is so determined to find him. The mismatched trio also encounters a group of hidden Christians, who were persecuted by the Shoguns, in part for their links to gunrunners. (Rated 16 and older: violence, profanity, brief nudity, sexual situations, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon