Top Ten Anime and Manga DVD Center |
Top Ten Anime DVDs
Cowboy Bebop Remix: Anime Legends - Bandai Entertainment
- AC-3, Animated, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
Release Date: 05 February, 2008 DVD More Info... List Price: $49.98 Our Price: $39.99 Used: $24.99 Compare at $25.41 
Naruto Uncut Boxed Set, Volume 6 - VIZ VIDEO
- Animated, Box set, Color, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
Release Date: 12 February, 2008 DVD More Info... List Price: $49.98 Our Price: $29.99 
Dragon Ball Z - Season Four (Garlic Jr., Trunks, and Android Sagas) - Funimation Prod
- Animated, Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Release Date: 19 February, 2008 DVD More Info... List Price: $49.98 Our Price: $39.99 
Invader Zim Complete Invasion (3 vol. set) - Anime Works
- Animated, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Release Date: 21 November, 2006 DVD More Info... List Price: $29.95 Our Price: $15.99 Used: $20.06 Compare at $15.98 
Spirited Away - Walt Disney Video
- Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
The highest grossing film in Japanese box-office history (more than $234 million), Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (Sen To Chihiro Kamikakushi) is a dazzling film that reasserts the power of drawn animation to create fantasy worlds. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and Lewis Carroll's Alice, Chihiro (voice by Daveigh Chase--Lilo in Disney's Lilo & Stitch) plunges into an alternate reality. On the way to their new home, the petulant adolescent and her parents find what they think is a deserted amusement park. Her parents stuff themselves until they turn into pigs, and Chihiro discovers they're trapped in a resort for traditional Japanese gods and spirits. An oddly familiar boy named Haku (Jason Marsden) instructs Chihiro to request a job from Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette), the greedy witch who rules the spa. As she works, Chihiro's untapped qualities keep her from being corrupted by the greed that pervades Yubaba's mini-empire. In a series of fantastic adventures, she purges a river god suffering from human pollution, rescues the mysterious No-Face, and befriends Yubaba's kindly twin, Zeniba (Pleshette again). The resolve, bravery, and love Chihiro discovers within herself enable her to aid Haku and save her parents. The result is a moving and magical journey, told with consummate skill by one of the masters of contemporary animation. MPAA Rated: PG ("Some scary moments") --Charles Solomon Release Date: 15 April, 2003 DVD More Info... List Price: $29.99 Our Price: $20.49 Used: $14.91 Compare at $20.49 
Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Collector's Set (40 discs) - 20th Century Fox
- Box set, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
From its charming and angst-ridden first season to the darker, apocalyptic final one, Buffy the Vampire Slayer succeeds on many levels, and in a fresher and more authentic way than the shows that came before or after it. How lucky, then, that with the release of its boxed set of seasons 1-7, you can have the estimable pleasure of watching a near-decade of Buffy in any order you choose. (And we have some ideas about how that should be done.) First: rest assured that there's no shame in coming to Buffy late, even if you initially turned your nose up at the winsome Sarah Michelle Gellar kicking the hell out of vampires (in Buffy-lingo, vamps), demons, and other evil-doers. Perhaps you did so because, well, it looked sort of science-fiction-like with all that monster latex. Start with season 3 and see that Buffy offers something for everyone, and the sooner you succumb to it, the quicker you'll appreciate how textured and riveting a drama it is. Why season 3? Because it offers you a winning cast of characters who have fallen from innocence: their hearts have been broken, their egos trampled in typically vicious high-school style, and as a result, they've begun to realize how fallible they are. As much as they try, there are always more monsters, or a bigger evil. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the core crew remains something of a unit--there's the smart girl, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) who dreams of saving the day by downloading the plans to City Hall's sewer tunnels and mapping a route to safety. There are the ne'r do wells--the vampire Spike (James Marsters), who both clashes with and aspires to love Buffy; the tortured and torturing Angel (David Boreanz); the pretty, popular girl with an empty heart (Charisma Carpenter); and the teenage everyman, Xander (Nicholas Brendon). Then there's Buffy herself, who in the course of seven seasons morphs from a sarcastic teenager in a minidress to a heroine whose tragic flaw is an abiding desire to be a "normal" girl. On a lesser note, with the boxed set you can watch the fashion transformation of Buffy from mall rat to Prada-wearing, kickboxing diva with enviable highlights. (There was the unfortunate bob of season 2, but it's a forgivable lapse.) At least the storyline merits the transformations: every time Buffy has to end a relationship she cuts her hair, shedding both the pain and her vulnerability. In addition to the well-wrought teenage emotional landscape, Buffy deftly takes on more universal themes--power, politics, death, morality--as the series matures in seasons 4-6. And apart from a few missteps that haven't aged particularly well ("I Robot" in season 1 comes to mind), most episodes feel as harrowing and as richly drawn as they did at first viewing. That's about as much as you can ask for any form of entertainment: that it offer an escape from the viewer's workaday world and entry into one in which the heroine (ideally one with leather pants) overcomes demons far more troubling than one's own. --Megan Halverson 
Princess Mononoke - Miramax
- Animated, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
This epic, animated 1997 fantasy has already made history as the top-grossing domestic feature ever released in Japan, where its combination of mythic themes, mystical forces, and ravishing visuals tapped deeply into cultural identity and contemporary, ecological anxieties. For international animation and anime fans, Princess Mononoke represents an auspicious next step for its revered creator, Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service), an acknowledged anime pioneer, whose painterly style, vivid character design, and stylized approach to storytelling take ambitious, evolutionary steps here. Set in medieval Japan, Miyazaki's original story envisions a struggle between nature and man. The march of technology, embodied in the dark iron forges of the ambitious Tatara clan, threatens the natural forces explicit in the benevolent Great God of the Forest and the wide-eyed, spectral spirits he protects. When Ashitaka, a young warrior from a remote, and endangered, village clan, kills a ravenous, boar-like monster, he discovers the beast is in fact an infectious "demon god," transformed by human anger. Ashitaka's quest to solve the beast's fatal curse brings him into the midst of human political intrigues as well as the more crucial battle between man and nature. Miyazaki's convoluted fable is clearly not the stuff of kiddie matinees, nor is the often graphic violence depicted during the battles that ensue. If some younger viewers (or less attentive older ones) will wish for a diagram to sort out the players, Miyazaki's atmospheric world and its lush visual design are reasons enough to watch. For the English-language version, Miramax assembled an impressive vocal cast including Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup (as Ashitaka), Claire Danes (as San), Minnie Driver (as Lady Eboshi), Billy Bob Thornton, and Jada Pinkett Smith. They bring added nuance to a very different kind of magic kingdom. Recommended for ages 12 and older. --Sam Sutherland 
Naruto Uncut Boxed Set, Volume 5 - VIZ VIDEO
- Animated, Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
The Chunin Exams enter their final round as the popular fantasy-adventure Naruto continues. The arrival of Jiraiya, the lecherous arch-ninja known as The Sage of Toad-Mountain interrupts Naruto's intensive training regimen. Jiraiya wants to ogle the local girls, but Naruto wheedles and fusses until the Sage agrees to teach him the powerful jutsu used to summon a monster toad. His first efforts are unimpressive: All he can conjure is a tadpole. But Jiraiya's instruction enables Naruto to tap into the extraordinary spiritual power of the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon imprisoned within his body. Drawing on this energy, Naruto defeats Neiji, avenging his cruel treatment of the gentle Hinata. But more serious matters overshadow Naruto's match: Sasuke vanishes from the hospital and everyone fears Orochimaru may be involved. Or is Sasuke's disappearance linked to a plot by the leaders of the Sand and Wind Villages to break the peace treaty among ninja and destroy the Hidden Leaf Village? At the center of this intrigue is the highly anticipated face-off between Sasuke and Gaara, the murderous psychotic who fights with enchanted sand. Sasuke arrives just as the match is slated to begin, and the collection ends on a cliff-hanger. The filmmakers also provide plenty of slapstick, ramen dinners, jutsu, and cartoony tantrums that Naruto fans expect. (Rated T+ Older Teen, suitable for ages 12 and older: violence, toilet humor, brief nudity, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon Release Date: 04 December, 2007 DVD More Info... List Price: $49.98 Our Price: $24.99 Used: $22.50 Compare at $23.74 
My Neighbor Totoro - Walt Disney Home Entertainment
- Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, THX, Widescreen, NTSC
My Neighbor Totoro is that rare delight, a family film that appeals to children and adults alike. While their mother is in the hospital, 10-year-old Satsuki and 4-year-old Mei move into an old-fashioned house in the country with their professor father. At the foot of an enormous camphor tree, Mei discovers the nest of King Totoro, a giant forest spirit who resembles an enormous bunny rabbit. Mei and Satsuki learn that Totoro makes the trees grow, and when he flies over the countryside or roars in his thunderous voice, the winds blow. Totoro becomes the protector of the two sisters, watching over them when they wait for their father, and carrying them over the forests on an enchanted journey. When the children worry about their mother, Totoro sends them to visit her via a Catbus, a magical, multilegged creature with a grin the Cheshire Cat might envy. Unlike many cartoon children, Satsuki and Mei are neither smart-alecky nor cloyingly saccharine. They are credible kids: bright, energetic, silly, helpful, and occasionally impatient. Filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki makes the viewer believe the two sisters love each other in a way no American feature has ever achieved. My Neighbor Totoro is enormously popular in Japan, and some of the character merchandise has begun to appear in America. The film has also inspired a Japanese environmental group to buy a Totoro Forest preserve in the Saitama Prefecture, where Miyazaki's film is set. --Charles Solomon 
Howl's Moving Castle - Walt Disney Home Entertainment
- Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Like a dream, Howl's Moving Castle carries audiences to vistas beyond their imaginations where they experience excitement, adventure, terror, humor, and romance. With domestic box office receipts of over $210 million, Howl passed Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke to become the #3 film in Japanese history, behind his Spirited Away and James Cameron's Titanic. Based on a juvenile novel by Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle marks the first time Miyazaki has adapted another writer's work since Kiki's Delivery Service (1989). Sophie, a 19-year-old girl who believes she is plain, has resigned herself to a drab life in her family's hat shop--until the Witch of the Waste transforms her into a 90-year-old woman. In her aged guise, Sophie searches for a way to break the Witch's spell and finds unexpected adventures. Like Chihiro, the heroine of Spirited Away, Sophie discovers her hidden potential in a magical environment--the castle of the title. Using CG, Miyazaki creates a ramshackle structure that looks like it might disintegrate at any moment. Sophie's honesty and determination win her some valuable new friends: Markl, Howl's young apprentice; a jaunty scarecrow; Calcifer, a temperamental fire demon; and Heen, a hilarious, wheezing dog. She wins the heart of the dashing, irresponsible wizard Howl, and brings an end an unnecessary and destructive war. The film overflows with eclipsing visuals that range from frightening aerial battles to serene landscapes, and few recent features--animated or live action--offer as much magic as Howl's Moving Castle. --Charles Solomon The Many Worlds of Hayao Miyazaki
Stills from Howl's Moving Castle (click for larger image)
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Anime Characters and Series
Cowboy Bebop Remix: Anime Legends - Bandai Entertainment
- AC-3, Animated, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
Release Date: 05 February, 2008 DVD More Info... List Price: $49.98 Our Price: $39.99 Used: $24.99 Compare at $25.41
Naruto Uncut Boxed Set, Volume 6 - VIZ VIDEO
- Animated, Box set, Color, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
Release Date: 12 February, 2008 DVD More Info... List Price: $49.98 Our Price: $29.99
Dragon Ball Z - Season Four (Garlic Jr., Trunks, and Android Sagas) - Funimation Prod
- Animated, Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Release Date: 19 February, 2008 DVD More Info... List Price: $49.98 Our Price: $39.99
Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Collector's Set (40 discs) - 20th Century Fox
- Box set, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
From its charming and angst-ridden first season to the darker, apocalyptic final one, Buffy the Vampire Slayer succeeds on many levels, and in a fresher and more authentic way than the shows that came before or after it. How lucky, then, that with the release of its boxed set of seasons 1-7, you can have the estimable pleasure of watching a near-decade of Buffy in any order you choose. (And we have some ideas about how that should be done.) First: rest assured that there's no shame in coming to Buffy late, even if you initially turned your nose up at the winsome Sarah Michelle Gellar kicking the hell out of vampires (in Buffy-lingo, vamps), demons, and other evil-doers. Perhaps you did so because, well, it looked sort of science-fiction-like with all that monster latex. Start with season 3 and see that Buffy offers something for everyone, and the sooner you succumb to it, the quicker you'll appreciate how textured and riveting a drama it is. Why season 3? Because it offers you a winning cast of characters who have fallen from innocence: their hearts have been broken, their egos trampled in typically vicious high-school style, and as a result, they've begun to realize how fallible they are. As much as they try, there are always more monsters, or a bigger evil. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the core crew remains something of a unit--there's the smart girl, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) who dreams of saving the day by downloading the plans to City Hall's sewer tunnels and mapping a route to safety. There are the ne'r do wells--the vampire Spike (James Marsters), who both clashes with and aspires to love Buffy; the tortured and torturing Angel (David Boreanz); the pretty, popular girl with an empty heart (Charisma Carpenter); and the teenage everyman, Xander (Nicholas Brendon). Then there's Buffy herself, who in the course of seven seasons morphs from a sarcastic teenager in a minidress to a heroine whose tragic flaw is an abiding desire to be a "normal" girl. On a lesser note, with the boxed set you can watch the fashion transformation of Buffy from mall rat to Prada-wearing, kickboxing diva with enviable highlights. (There was the unfortunate bob of season 2, but it's a forgivable lapse.) At least the storyline merits the transformations: every time Buffy has to end a relationship she cuts her hair, shedding both the pain and her vulnerability. In addition to the well-wrought teenage emotional landscape, Buffy deftly takes on more universal themes--power, politics, death, morality--as the series matures in seasons 4-6. And apart from a few missteps that haven't aged particularly well ("I Robot" in season 1 comes to mind), most episodes feel as harrowing and as richly drawn as they did at first viewing. That's about as much as you can ask for any form of entertainment: that it offer an escape from the viewer's workaday world and entry into one in which the heroine (ideally one with leather pants) overcomes demons far more troubling than one's own. --Megan Halverson
Naruto Uncut Boxed Set, Volume 5 - VIZ VIDEO
- Animated, Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
The Chunin Exams enter their final round as the popular fantasy-adventure Naruto continues. The arrival of Jiraiya, the lecherous arch-ninja known as The Sage of Toad-Mountain interrupts Naruto's intensive training regimen. Jiraiya wants to ogle the local girls, but Naruto wheedles and fusses until the Sage agrees to teach him the powerful jutsu used to summon a monster toad. His first efforts are unimpressive: All he can conjure is a tadpole. But Jiraiya's instruction enables Naruto to tap into the extraordinary spiritual power of the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon imprisoned within his body. Drawing on this energy, Naruto defeats Neiji, avenging his cruel treatment of the gentle Hinata. But more serious matters overshadow Naruto's match: Sasuke vanishes from the hospital and everyone fears Orochimaru may be involved. Or is Sasuke's disappearance linked to a plot by the leaders of the Sand and Wind Villages to break the peace treaty among ninja and destroy the Hidden Leaf Village? At the center of this intrigue is the highly anticipated face-off between Sasuke and Gaara, the murderous psychotic who fights with enchanted sand. Sasuke arrives just as the match is slated to begin, and the collection ends on a cliff-hanger. The filmmakers also provide plenty of slapstick, ramen dinners, jutsu, and cartoony tantrums that Naruto fans expect. (Rated T+ Older Teen, suitable for ages 12 and older: violence, toilet humor, brief nudity, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon Release Date: 04 December, 2007 DVD More Info... List Price: $49.98 Our Price: $24.99 Used: $22.50 Compare at $23.74
Dragon Ball Z - Season Three (Frieza Saga) - Funimation
- Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Surround Sound, Widescreen
The third season of the popular shonen (boy's) show Dragon Ball Z continues the adventures of Goku and Gohan on Namek, Piccolo's home planet. Goku, who has been in a regeneration tank since the end of season 2, recovers just in time to challenge the sniggering Frieza, one of the most grating villains in anime history. Having defeated Gohan, Krillin, Vegeta, and Piccolo, Frieza takes on Goku in a protracted duel. When he begins to doubt his ability to overcome Goku, Frieza destroys the core of Namek, ensuring it will explode in a matter of minutes. Enraged by the death of Krillin and so many others, Goku transforms into the one thing Frieza fears: a Super Saiyan, a legendary warrior who appears once every 1,000 years. As the seconds tick away, the two most powerful individuals in the universe duke it out. While they're beating the soba out of each other, King Kai hatches a plan to use the Dragon Balls of Earth and Namek to ensure a happy ending. As the battle between Goku and Frieza intensifies, the kicks and punches fly, producing titanic explosions. But the duel goes on for more than 20 episodes: With only a limited budget and crude special-effects techniques at their disposal, the filmmakers have to recycle footage endlessly. Dragon Ball Z: Season 3 is more entertaining when the viewer allows a few days to elapse between episodes, rather than indulging in a Super Saiyan marathon. (Rated TV PG. suitable for ages 8 and older: violence, brief nudity, tobacco use, ethnic stereotypes) --Charles Solomon Release Date: 18 September, 2007 DVD More Info... List Price: $49.98 Our Price: $29.99 Used: $25.00 Compare at $28.49
FLCL - Ultimate Edition DVD Collection - Broccoli Int'l
- Animated, Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
An outrageous mixture of science-fiction action, mecha misadventures, sinister coporate plots, and broad slapstick comedy, FLCL ("Fooly Cooly") has been a fan favorite since the six-part OAV debuted in 2000. The four-disc Ultimate Edition includes all the episodes, an additional disc with music, a rock video, and poster art, plus a booklet, a rubber bracelet, and a postcard to send in for a free T-shirt. Things have been going badly for sixth-grader Naota since his older brother Tasuku left to play pro baseball in America. At the opening of the series, he complains, "Nothing amazing happens here. Only the ordinary." Then Haruko, a girl from outer space, charges in on her motor scooter and clobbers him with an electric guitar. Her arrival upsets Tasuku's old girlfriend Mamimi, who regards bugging Naota as her prerogative. The fragmentary plot quickly dissolves into a string of chaotic events involving the main characters, Naota's lecherous father and grandfather, and various mecha (which grow from horns on Naota's head). Looming over the town is the mysterious Medical Mechanica factory, which looks like a giant iron. The freewheeling nuttiness of FLCL helped set the pattern for Dokkoida?!, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, and other reflexive comedies. The episodes feature references to everything from Doraemon and Gundam to South Park. The bold graphic style of the animation shifts radically from scene to scene, including two sequences done as manga pages. The extras include commentaries, outtakes, and storyboard comparisons. FLCL is a bizarre series that will delight otaku who value comedy and action over coherency. (Unrated, suitable for ages 14 and older: violence, risqué humor, brief nudity. tobacco use) --Charles Solomon
Dragon Ball Z - Season Two (Namek and Captain Ginyu Sagas) - Funimation
- Animated, Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
The second season of the wildly popular Dragon Ball Z comprises the "Namek" and "Captain Ginyu" sagas. Gohan, Krillin, and Bulma travel to the planet Namek to find an even more powerful set of Dragon Balls that can restore the lives of Tenshinhan, Yamucha, Chaozu and Piccolo, who were killed by Vegeta during the first season. (Their souls continue to train with King Kai in the Other World.) All is not well on Namek: the arch-villain Frieza, who looks and sounds a bit like Truman Capote, also desires the Dragon Balls. If he uses them to obtain eternal life, he'll rule the universe forever. With a cadre of lieutenants that includes Vegeta, he slaughters the Namekians to gain the supernatural orbs. After his injuries have been healed by a magic senzu bean, Goku heads to Namek. En route, he trains at 100 gravities, raising his powers enormously. Vegeta believes Goku may be the legendary Super Saiyan that appears once a millennium--except he lacks the requisite love of battle. This version of Goku is less aggressive, and he uncharacteristically uses his brain (never his greatest asset) to defeat Ginyu, Frieza's second-in-command. Unlike Season 1--Vegeta Saga, Season 2ends on a cliff-hanger. Skeptics may find Goku's adventures needlessly protracted, over the top, and even silly. But for millions of boys, they provide the special blend of comradeship, martial arts training, and take-no-prisoners battles they love. The newly remastered edition includes the original Japanese dialogue for the first time. (Rated TV PG. suitable for ages 8 and older: violence, minor risqué humor, brief nudity, tobacco and alcohol use) --Charles Solomon Release Date: 22 May, 2007 DVD More Info... List Price: $49.98 Our Price: $29.99 Used: $14.00 Compare at $28.50
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Sixth Season (Slim Set) - 20th Century Fox
- Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Release Date: 30 May, 2006 DVD More Info... List Price: $39.98 Our Price: $29.99 Used: $18.18 Compare at $18.14
The Cutting Edge - Gold Medal Edition - MGM (Video & DVD)
- Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Widescreen, Special Edition, Subtitled, NTSC
As far as ice-skating movies go (or those that prominently feature the cold-bladed sport), this romantic movie is one of the best, thanks to utterly charming performances by underrated actors D.B. Sweeney and Moira Kelly. The couple play, respectively, a washed-up hockey player and a prima-donna skater who end up in doubles figure skating together at the Winter Olympics. Of course, the mismatched pair fall in love. In between, there's a lot of verbal sparring, talk of toe picks, and surprisingly skillful directing by Paul Michael Glaser (Kazaam, The Air Up There). Direction here is critical--unlike in Flashdance, where the dancing was done in the shadows, face and feet obviously shot separately--and Release Date: 28 February, 2006 DVD More Info... List Price: $14.98 Our Price: $7.49 Used: $5.98 Compare at $6.42 |
Boxed Sets
Cowboy Bebop Remix: Anime Legends - Bandai Entertainment
- AC-3, Animated, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
Release Date: 05 February, 2008 DVD More Info... List Price: $49.98 Our Price: $39.99 Used: $24.99 Compare at $25.41
Naruto Uncut Boxed Set, Volume 6 - VIZ VIDEO
- Animated, Box set, Color, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
Release Date: 12 February, 2008 DVD More Info... List Price: $49.98 Our Price: $29.99
Naruto Uncut Boxed Set, Volume 5 - VIZ VIDEO
- Animated, Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
The Chunin Exams enter their final round as the popular fantasy-adventure Naruto continues. The arrival of Jiraiya, the lecherous arch-ninja known as The Sage of Toad-Mountain interrupts Naruto's intensive training regimen. Jiraiya wants to ogle the local girls, but Naruto wheedles and fusses until the Sage agrees to teach him the powerful jutsu used to summon a monster toad. His first efforts are unimpressive: All he can conjure is a tadpole. But Jiraiya's instruction enables Naruto to tap into the extraordinary spiritual power of the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon imprisoned within his body. Drawing on this energy, Naruto defeats Neiji, avenging his cruel treatment of the gentle Hinata. But more serious matters overshadow Naruto's match: Sasuke vanishes from the hospital and everyone fears Orochimaru may be involved. Or is Sasuke's disappearance linked to a plot by the leaders of the Sand and Wind Villages to break the peace treaty among ninja and destroy the Hidden Leaf Village? At the center of this intrigue is the highly anticipated face-off between Sasuke and Gaara, the murderous psychotic who fights with enchanted sand. Sasuke arrives just as the match is slated to begin, and the collection ends on a cliff-hanger. The filmmakers also provide plenty of slapstick, ramen dinners, jutsu, and cartoony tantrums that Naruto fans expect. (Rated T+ Older Teen, suitable for ages 12 and older: violence, toilet humor, brief nudity, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon Release Date: 04 December, 2007 DVD More Info... List Price: $49.98 Our Price: $24.99 Used: $22.50 Compare at $23.74
Voltron, Vol. 5: Defender of the Universe-Black Lion - ANIME WORKS
- Animated, Box set, Collector's Edition, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Release Date: 11 December, 2007 DVD More Info... List Price: $39.95 Our Price: $19.99 Used: $26.77 Compare at $19.97
FLCL - Ultimate Edition DVD Collection - Broccoli Int'l
- Animated, Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
An outrageous mixture of science-fiction action, mecha misadventures, sinister coporate plots, and broad slapstick comedy, FLCL ("Fooly Cooly") has been a fan favorite since the six-part OAV debuted in 2000. The four-disc Ultimate Edition includes all the episodes, an additional disc with music, a rock video, and poster art, plus a booklet, a rubber bracelet, and a postcard to send in for a free T-shirt. Things have been going badly for sixth-grader Naota since his older brother Tasuku left to play pro baseball in America. At the opening of the series, he complains, "Nothing amazing happens here. Only the ordinary." Then Haruko, a girl from outer space, charges in on her motor scooter and clobbers him with an electric guitar. Her arrival upsets Tasuku's old girlfriend Mamimi, who regards bugging Naota as her prerogative. The fragmentary plot quickly dissolves into a string of chaotic events involving the main characters, Naota's lecherous father and grandfather, and various mecha (which grow from horns on Naota's head). Looming over the town is the mysterious Medical Mechanica factory, which looks like a giant iron. The freewheeling nuttiness of FLCL helped set the pattern for Dokkoida?!, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, and other reflexive comedies. The episodes feature references to everything from Doraemon and Gundam to South Park. The bold graphic style of the animation shifts radically from scene to scene, including two sequences done as manga pages. The extras include commentaries, outtakes, and storyboard comparisons. FLCL is a bizarre series that will delight otaku who value comedy and action over coherency. (Unrated, suitable for ages 14 and older: violence, risqué humor, brief nudity. tobacco use) --Charles Solomon
Dragon Ball Z - Season Two (Namek and Captain Ginyu Sagas) - Funimation
- Animated, Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
The second season of the wildly popular Dragon Ball Z comprises the "Namek" and "Captain Ginyu" sagas. Gohan, Krillin, and Bulma travel to the planet Namek to find an even more powerful set of Dragon Balls that can restore the lives of Tenshinhan, Yamucha, Chaozu and Piccolo, who were killed by Vegeta during the first season. (Their souls continue to train with King Kai in the Other World.) All is not well on Namek: the arch-villain Frieza, who looks and sounds a bit like Truman Capote, also desires the Dragon Balls. If he uses them to obtain eternal life, he'll rule the universe forever. With a cadre of lieutenants that includes Vegeta, he slaughters the Namekians to gain the supernatural orbs. After his injuries have been healed by a magic senzu bean, Goku heads to Namek. En route, he trains at 100 gravities, raising his powers enormously. Vegeta believes Goku may be the legendary Super Saiyan that appears once a millennium--except he lacks the requisite love of battle. This version of Goku is less aggressive, and he uncharacteristically uses his brain (never his greatest asset) to defeat Ginyu, Frieza's second-in-command. Unlike Season 1--Vegeta Saga, Season 2ends on a cliff-hanger. Skeptics may find Goku's adventures needlessly protracted, over the top, and even silly. But for millions of boys, they provide the special blend of comradeship, martial arts training, and take-no-prisoners battles they love. The newly remastered edition includes the original Japanese dialogue for the first time. (Rated TV PG. suitable for ages 8 and older: violence, minor risqué humor, brief nudity, tobacco and alcohol use) --Charles Solomon Release Date: 22 May, 2007 DVD More Info... List Price: $49.98 Our Price: $29.99 Used: $14.00 Compare at $28.50
Dragon Ball Z - Season One (Vegeta Saga) - Funimation
- Animated, Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC
One of the most popular franchises in anime history, Dragon Ball began in 1984 as a manga by Akira Toriyama in Shonen Jump. Dragon Ball Z (1989), the second TV adaptation, is the most beloved: it ran for 291 episodes--more than Dragon Ball (1986) and Dragon Ball GT (1996) combined. Over the years, the program has introduced countless boys to the world of Japanese animation. The first season re-introduces the main characters and sets up a new threat. Goku learns he's not an Earthling, but a Saiyan from the planet Vegeta. Only three other Saiyans survive, all of them extremely powerful and destructive. Goku destroys Raditz with the help of Piccolo, but dies in the process. He spends much of the season training in the Other World with King Kai. Piccolo takes over training Goku's son Gohan, anticipating he will have to face the remaining Saiyans, Nappa and Vegeta. These episodes set the pattern for the combination of martial arts training, fantasy-battles and slapstick comedy that make the series so popular. The storyline rambles, with lots of digressions, repeats, and false endings--none of which bother the fans. Although Dragon Ball Z has been released previously in the US, Funimation pulled out all the stops for this edition. The entire series has been remastered from the original prints, and the Japanese language track is included for the first time. (Goku and Krillin have higher-pitched, younger voices than they do in the American dub.) For Dragon Ball Z fans, this version clearly supercedes all previous ones. (Rated TV PG. suitable for ages 8 and older: violence; minor incidents of risqué and toilet humor, ethnic stereotyping and alcohol use) --Charles Solomon Release Date: 06 February, 2007 DVD More Info... List Price: $49.98 Our Price: $29.99 Used: $23.79 Compare at $28.41
Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. - 2nd Gig (Complete Collection) - Manga Video
- Animated, Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
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 Release Date: 20 November, 2007 DVD More Info... List Price: $99.98 Our Price: $66.99 Used: $67.63 Compare at $59.67
Naruto Uncut Boxed Set, Volume 7 - VIZ VIDEO
- Animated, Box set, Color, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
Release Date: 06 May, 2008 DVD More Info... List Price: $49.98 Our Price: $37.49
Princess Tutu: Complete Collection - Adv Films
- Animated, Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
The shojo (girl's) series Princess Tutu (2002) combines elements of Hans Christian Andersen, Swan Lake, Sailor Moon, Ranma 1/2, and Inu-Yasha into an elaborate fantasy-romance. Duck (Ahiru in Japanese) is just that: a duck, until Drosselmeyer (the magician who gives Clara the Nutcracker in the Tchaikovsky ballet) grants her the power of transformation. Water changes her into a human girl, but when she says, "quack," she turns back into a duck. As a human, she's a typically clumsy, good-hearted anime heroine. A student at the Gold Crown Academy of ballet, she becomes the exquisite ballerina Princess Tutu when she needs to aid Mytho, the sad-eyed star dancer. Duck undertakes the mission of restoring the lost shards of Mytho's heart with the aid of his best friend, Fakir. Their adventures are complicated by Kraehe, the Crow-Princess; a giant Raven; various puppets; hooded "Bookmen"; and Drosselmeyer himself. The filmmakers manage to create the impression that the characters are dancing, despite the very limited animation. Although the series centers on ballet, the score leans heavily on program music, including "Pictures at an Exhibition," "Dance Macabre" and the "Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy."Princess Tutu probably would have worked better at 13 episodes than 26, as the story stumbles into wearying repetitions and needless digressions. But adolescent girls who enjoy the mixture of ballet, aching passion, syrupy romance, and slapstick comedy will probably overlook the flaws. (Rated TV 14: violence, grotesque imagery, brief nudity) --Charles Solomon Release Date: 20 November, 2007 DVD More Info... List Price: $49.98 Our Price: $27.49 Used: $31.06 Compare at $27.21 |
Anime Films
Spirited Away - Walt Disney Video
- Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
The highest grossing film in Japanese box-office history (more than $234 million), Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (Sen To Chihiro Kamikakushi) is a dazzling film that reasserts the power of drawn animation to create fantasy worlds. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and Lewis Carroll's Alice, Chihiro (voice by Daveigh Chase--Lilo in Disney's Lilo & Stitch) plunges into an alternate reality. On the way to their new home, the petulant adolescent and her parents find what they think is a deserted amusement park. Her parents stuff themselves until they turn into pigs, and Chihiro discovers they're trapped in a resort for traditional Japanese gods and spirits. An oddly familiar boy named Haku (Jason Marsden) instructs Chihiro to request a job from Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette), the greedy witch who rules the spa. As she works, Chihiro's untapped qualities keep her from being corrupted by the greed that pervades Yubaba's mini-empire. In a series of fantastic adventures, she purges a river god suffering from human pollution, rescues the mysterious No-Face, and befriends Yubaba's kindly twin, Zeniba (Pleshette again). The resolve, bravery, and love Chihiro discovers within herself enable her to aid Haku and save her parents. The result is a moving and magical journey, told with consummate skill by one of the masters of contemporary animation. MPAA Rated: PG ("Some scary moments") --Charles Solomon Release Date: 15 April, 2003 DVD More Info... List Price: $29.99 Our Price: $20.49 Used: $14.91 Compare at $20.49
Princess Mononoke - Miramax
- Animated, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
This epic, animated 1997 fantasy has already made history as the top-grossing domestic feature ever released in Japan, where its combination of mythic themes, mystical forces, and ravishing visuals tapped deeply into cultural identity and contemporary, ecological anxieties. For international animation and anime fans, Princess Mononoke represents an auspicious next step for its revered creator, Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service), an acknowledged anime pioneer, whose painterly style, vivid character design, and stylized approach to storytelling take ambitious, evolutionary steps here. Set in medieval Japan, Miyazaki's original story envisions a struggle between nature and man. The march of technology, embodied in the dark iron forges of the ambitious Tatara clan, threatens the natural forces explicit in the benevolent Great God of the Forest and the wide-eyed, spectral spirits he protects. When Ashitaka, a young warrior from a remote, and endangered, village clan, kills a ravenous, boar-like monster, he discovers the beast is in fact an infectious "demon god," transformed by human anger. Ashitaka's quest to solve the beast's fatal curse brings him into the midst of human political intrigues as well as the more crucial battle between man and nature. Miyazaki's convoluted fable is clearly not the stuff of kiddie matinees, nor is the often graphic violence depicted during the battles that ensue. If some younger viewers (or less attentive older ones) will wish for a diagram to sort out the players, Miyazaki's atmospheric world and its lush visual design are reasons enough to watch. For the English-language version, Miramax assembled an impressive vocal cast including Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup (as Ashitaka), Claire Danes (as San), Minnie Driver (as Lady Eboshi), Billy Bob Thornton, and Jada Pinkett Smith. They bring added nuance to a very different kind of magic kingdom. Recommended for ages 12 and older. --Sam Sutherland
My Neighbor Totoro - Walt Disney Home Entertainment
- Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, THX, Widescreen, NTSC
My Neighbor Totoro is that rare delight, a family film that appeals to children and adults alike. While their mother is in the hospital, 10-year-old Satsuki and 4-year-old Mei move into an old-fashioned house in the country with their professor father. At the foot of an enormous camphor tree, Mei discovers the nest of King Totoro, a giant forest spirit who resembles an enormous bunny rabbit. Mei and Satsuki learn that Totoro makes the trees grow, and when he flies over the countryside or roars in his thunderous voice, the winds blow. Totoro becomes the protector of the two sisters, watching over them when they wait for their father, and carrying them over the forests on an enchanted journey. When the children worry about their mother, Totoro sends them to visit her via a Catbus, a magical, multilegged creature with a grin the Cheshire Cat might envy. Unlike many cartoon children, Satsuki and Mei are neither smart-alecky nor cloyingly saccharine. They are credible kids: bright, energetic, silly, helpful, and occasionally impatient. Filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki makes the viewer believe the two sisters love each other in a way no American feature has ever achieved. My Neighbor Totoro is enormously popular in Japan, and some of the character merchandise has begun to appear in America. The film has also inspired a Japanese environmental group to buy a Totoro Forest preserve in the Saitama Prefecture, where Miyazaki's film is set. --Charles Solomon
Howl's Moving Castle - Walt Disney Home Entertainment
- Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Like a dream, Howl's Moving Castle carries audiences to vistas beyond their imaginations where they experience excitement, adventure, terror, humor, and romance. With domestic box office receipts of over $210 million, Howl passed Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke to become the #3 film in Japanese history, behind his Spirited Away and James Cameron's Titanic. Based on a juvenile novel by Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle marks the first time Miyazaki has adapted another writer's work since Kiki's Delivery Service (1989). Sophie, a 19-year-old girl who believes she is plain, has resigned herself to a drab life in her family's hat shop--until the Witch of the Waste transforms her into a 90-year-old woman. In her aged guise, Sophie searches for a way to break the Witch's spell and finds unexpected adventures. Like Chihiro, the heroine of Spirited Away, Sophie discovers her hidden potential in a magical environment--the castle of the title. Using CG, Miyazaki creates a ramshackle structure that looks like it might disintegrate at any moment. Sophie's honesty and determination win her some valuable new friends: Markl, Howl's young apprentice; a jaunty scarecrow; Calcifer, a temperamental fire demon; and Heen, a hilarious, wheezing dog. She wins the heart of the dashing, irresponsible wizard Howl, and brings an end an unnecessary and destructive war. The film overflows with eclipsing visuals that range from frightening aerial battles to serene landscapes, and few recent features--animated or live action--offer as much magic as Howl's Moving Castle. --Charles Solomon The Many Worlds of Hayao Miyazaki
Stills from Howl's Moving Castle (click for larger image)
Kiki's Delivery Service - Walt Disney Video
- Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
In Hayao Miyazaki's magical Kiki's Delivery Service, a 13-year-old girl meets the world head on as she spends her first year soloing as an apprentice witch. Kiki (Kirsten Dunst) is still a little green and plenty headstrong, but also resourceful, imaginative, and determined. With her trusty wisp of a cat Jiji (a gently subdued Phil Hartman) by her side she's ready to take on the world, or at least the quaintly European seaside village she's chosen as her new home. Miyazaki's gentle rhythm and meandering narrative capture the easy pulse of real life (even if his subject is a girl flying high upon a broomstick) and charts the everyday struggles and growing pains of his plucky heroine with sensitivity and understanding. Beautifully detailed animation and the rich designs of the picture-postcard seaside town of red-tiled roofs and cobblestone streets only add to the sense of wonder. This charming animated fantasy is a wholesome, life-affirming picture that doesn't speak down to kids or up to adults. --Sean Axmaker Release Date: 15 April, 2003 DVD More Info... List Price: $29.99 Our Price: $21.49 Used: $19.99 Compare at $20.99
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind - Walt Disney Home Entertainment
- Anamorphic, Color, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Widescreen, Animated, NTSC
Hayao Miyazaki gained widespread attention in Japan for his complex ecological manga series, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1982), which he adapted for the screen two years later. One thousand years after a war devastated much of the Earth, humanity clings to existence at the fringes of a vast, polluted forest inhabited by monstrous insects. Only Nausicaä, the princess of the tiny realm of the Valley of the Wind, grasps the environmental significance of the forest. She sees beyond petty wars and national rivalries to the only viable future for the planet. In Nausicaä, Miyazaki began to explore elements he would develop more fully in his later films: daring, compassionate heroines; exciting flying sequences; colorful side characters; strong interpersonal relationships; and a call for an ecologically sustainable way of life. Nausicaä prefigures Sheeta in Castle in the Sky and Chihiro in Spirited Away, just as the rough and ready Asbel anticipates Pazu in Castle in the Sky and Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke. For years, Nausicaä was available in the United States only as the badly re-edited Warriors of the Wind. The new English dub from Disney presents the film in its entirety, with strong vocal performances by Uma Thurman, Patrick Stewart, Alison Lohman, and Edward James Olmos. (Rated PG: violence, frightening imagery) --Charles Solomon Release Date: 22 February, 2005 DVD More Info... List Price: $29.99 Our Price: $21.49 Used: $9.99 Compare at $21.36
Castle in the Sky - Walt Disney Video
- Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Inspired by "Gulliver's Travels," the fantasy-adventure Castle in the Sky (1986) was Hayao Miyazaki's third feature, and helped to establish his reputation as a visionary in both Japan and America. The orphan Sheeta inherited a mysterious crystal that links her to the legendary sky-kingdom of Laputa. With the help of resourceful Pazu and a rollicking band of sky pirates, she makes her way to the ruins of the once-great civilization. Sheeta and Pazu must outwit the evil Muska, who plans to use Laputa's science to make himself ruler of the world. Castle echoes elements in Myazaki's earlier Nausicaä, and anticipates imagery in his later films, from My Neighbor Totoro to Spirited Away. Disney's new English dub, which features Anna Paquin (Sheeta), James Van Der Beek (Pazu), and Cloris Leachman (pirate matriarch Dola), is lively and close in tone to the original Japanese, if a bit talkier. The exciting flying sequences, appealing characters, and fantastic vision of a steam-powered future Jules Verne might have imagined make Castle in the Sky a must-have for fans of Japanese and Western animation. (Unrated: suitable for ages 10 and older: violence) --Charles Solomon Release Date: 15 April, 2003 DVD More Info... List Price: $29.99 Our Price: $21.49 Used: $15.50 Compare at $18.75
Cowboy Bebop - The Movie - Sony Pictures
- Anamorphic, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
As the eagerly awaited Cowboy Bebop feature film reunites the original director, screenwriter, composer, and vocal cast, it's not surprising that the film plays like an expanded TV episode. What should be the routine capture of a two-bit hacker by Faye escalates into a deadly game of cat and mouse, as Spike and the gang struggle to prevent the evil Vincent Volaju from murdering every human on Mars. Director Shinichiro Watanabe handles the action sequences with his usual panache. Inside the sinister Cherious Medical research facility, Spike fights a beautiful agent, using a push broom in a series of maneuvers Jackie Chan might envy. The climactic duel between Spike and Vincent plays against innocent yet eerie images of a Halloween carnival, recalling the amusement park setting of episode 20, "Pierrot Le Fou." Knockin' on Heaven's Door will delight fans of the series and provide an excellent introduction for the uninitiated who want to know why Cowboy Bebop is so popular on both sides of the Pacific. (Rated R: violence, brief nudity, minor profanity, tobacco use) --Charles Solomon Release Date: 24 June, 2003 DVD More Info... List Price: $19.94 Our Price: $10.49 Used: $7.80 Compare at $10.48
Ghost in the Shell - Manga Video
- Anamorphic, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
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
Whisper of the Heart - Walt Disney Home Entertainment
- AC-3, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Based on a manga by Aoi Hiiragi, the gentle coming-of-age story Whisper of the Heart (1995) was scripted and storyboarded by Hayao Miyazaki, and directed by the late Yoshifumi Kondo. Shizuku Tsukishima is an absent-minded, insecure junior high school student who reads book after book of fairy tales, helps her friends, and does most of her chores, but remains dissatisfied. When she encounters a wonderfully supercilious cat on the train, she follows him and meets Seiji Amasawa, a student in her class who hopes to become a violin maker. Seiji's commitment to his dream helps Shizuku find her voice, literally and figuratively: she realizes she wants to become a writer. A statue of a cat in the antique store of Seiji's kindly grandfather inspires her first story, "Whisper of the Heart." Shizuku and Seiji exhibit believable strengths and flaws: their warm humanity contrasts markedly with the shabby superficiality of the characters in many American animated films. The lively performances of Brittany Snow and David Gallagher transcend the geographic limits of the story to make Shizuku and Seiji the kids the viewer wishes lived next door. Miyazaki's script suggests that a sense of magic can exist, even in everyday Tokyo. Whisper of the Heart was the only film Yoshifumi Kondo directed before his untimely death at age 47, but its understated charm stands as a monument to his talent. (Rated G, suitable for ages 10 and older: tobacco use) --Charles Solomon |
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