Gunslinger Girl is the next show to go the way of tacking on video only episodes to the DVD release. (Via Anime News Network).
Two additional episodes will be offered on the DVDs for Gunslinger Girl - Il Teatrino (the sequel to the original Gunslinger Girl anime, which was distributed domestically by FUNimation, who also have the rights to the sequel) - "Light of Vanessa, Darkness of the Heart" and "Phantasma." According to ANN, FUNimation has not made any announcements regarding their acquirement of these bonus episodes.
Personally, I think this is a good way to go for the industry. These "video only" episodes. Assuming the DVDs aren't ripped (which is probably assuming a lot, honestly), it's a decent way to counter against torrent viewers. Boost the DVD sales for people who have either already seen it on TV, or who have downloaded all the fansubs. I'm all for that, if it keeps the industry alive.
Spice and Wolf had an extra DVD only episode as well. I'm not sure what other shows have done the same, though I'm certain there are others.
By the way, while the anime is being distributed by FUNimation, the manga, which is also quite excellent, is being (horrendously slowly) released by ADV. They're up to volume 6 now, out of 8, I believe. Should only take them another 3 years to get those last ones out.
6/25/2008
Samurai Champloo disc 1
Samurai Champloo is a fantastic little anime directed by Cowboy Bebop's Shinichiro Watanabe. It is a 26 episode series, distributed (or I guess, formerly distributed) by Geneon here in the states, across 7 discs.
The series follows Mugen, Jin and Fuu during Japan's Edo period, but incorporates a lot of modern culture; in particular, there is a lot of hip hop and punk culture, especially in the show's soundtrack. The show is very well animated, with a fantastic opening sequence. It should appeal to Cowboy Bebop fans, in particular. You can really feel Watanabe's influence.
Mugen is a hot tempered, rash, loud mouthed sword for hire. He's an excellent swordsman but has a very wild and dangerous sword style. Many of his moves resemble break dancing.
Jin is a quiet, calm, wandering samurai (a ronin). He's very traditional and provides a stark contrast to Mugen's undisciplined style and personality.
Fuu is a clumsy, outspoken, feisty girl in search of a man she refers to as "the samurai who smells of sunflowers." She also carts around an adorable flying squirrel, which often pops out of her kimono to help her in troubling situations (which she lands herself in, in nearly every episode).
Mugen and Jin get off on the wrong foot immediately, and most of the series has them fighting against each other. Fuu convinces Mugen and Jin to accompany her in search of the Sunflower Samurai, making them promise not to kill each other until her journey is complete.
The first disc contains the episodes "Tempestuous Temperaments," "Redeye Reprisal," "Hellhounds for Hire (Part 1)," and "Hellhounds for Hire (Part 2)."
Tempestuous Temperaments:
We meet all three of the main characters in this episode. It opens with a scene showing Mugen and Jin about to be executed, then launches into a flashback sequence of how they got there. We first see Fuu and the tea house she works at, where she is being bullied by a group of thugs led by the local magistrate's stuck up son and a guard named Ryujiro who is itching to try out his new sword. Mugen arrives and immediately starts to tick them off by eating their food. At this point, the episode starts switching back and forth between the tea house, and a scene where Jin watches the magistrate roughly attempt to extract taxes from a local. Fuu's clumsiness lands her in trouble when she spills tea on the magistrates son, and by bribing Mugen with food, convinces him to help her deal with the thugs. Meanwhile Jin, upset by the injustice he sees happening before him, steps in to teach the magistrate a lesson. Eventually Mugen ends up cutting off Ryujiro's arm. Jin arrives at the tea house for a well deserved refreshment, and gets pulled into the argument. Mugen and Jin enter a spectacular sword fight, but it only ends in their arrest.
Redeye Reprisal:
Having (sort of) saved Mugen and Jin from execution, Fuu has convinced them to help her find the Sunflower Samurai. Unfortunately they're all broke and can't even afford to buy lunch. At a cafe they overhear the locals talking about an ogre terrorizing their farms, and Mugen offers to take care of it. Jin finds interest in an apparently cowardly old Samurai, while a group of men slip Fuu some sake which knocks her out at once. They're informed about a nearby empty cabin where they can stay the night for free, and off they go. Mugen spots a lonely, busty woman whose sandal is broken, which he offers to fix, for a price. So after dumping Fuu off at the shack, he sets off to reap his reward. Jin meanwhile wanders off for a bath and runs into the old samurai again. Poor Fuu, who has been left behind defenseless and unconscious, is kidnapped by a vengeful Ryujiro and his new "ogre" partner, a giant and deformed man named Oniwaka.
Hellhounds for Hire (Part 1 and Part 2):
Mugen and Jin are tired of Fuu's arrangement, and of Fuu herself, and ditch her at a 3-way crossroads by running off in different directions. As in the first episode, once Mugen enters the town, he walks right up to the toughest looking guys around and begins to eat their food. But these guys are yakuza, the Nagatomi Clan, to be exact, which has been taking over the city. Somehow he manages to get hired immediately by their boss, Rikiei, who is impressed by Mugen's particular way of doing things. An old man named Daigorou loses all his money in a rigged game at the Nagatomi's gambling club, and the clan demands his shop or his daughter as payment. Osuzu, his daughter, has been tutoring Sousuke, the son of the rival Kawara Clan leader. Sousuke chases off after the Nagatomi gang and gets into an argument with them at a cafe where (guess who?) Jin has been eating lunch. As the thugs prepare to give Sousuke the beating of his life, Jin steps in and offers to be the kid's bodyguard, and scares off the thugs, who also fork over Daigorou's IOU note for his shop. Fuu meanwhile, entering the same town, gets duped by a man who accuses her of breaking his expensive pot, and is taken to a brothel to pay off her debt.
Since Sousuke took the IOU from the Nagatomi gang, they've decided to lay claim to Osuzu, and throw her in the same brothel as Fuu. The Nagatomi second in command, Ishimatsu, is delegated this task, and it sets off a rivalry between him and Mugen, who has apparently taken his place by the boss' side. Sousuke decides to rescue Osuzu, with Jin's aide, but when they arrive at the brothel, Mugen is waiting for them. And to their surprise, Fuu is (as we know) there too.
Rikiei starts trying to control Mugen, which does not sit well with the free spirited swordsman. It seems he was only hired on as an example to the other men, something for them to work toward, and nothing more. Back at the brothel, Sousuke stabs a Nagatomi members trying to have his way with Osuzu. This brings the fury of the Nagatomi down on the Kawara clan, and Heitarou, the clan's leader, is backed into a corner. Deciding that a game of gambling would settle things, the two clans place their bets. If Heitarou wins, his son's life will be spared, but all of the Kawara Clan's holdings are forfeit to Rikiei. Heitarou offers up his own life if he loses. Kawara gets to provide the dice roller, but Rikiei has plans of his own.
The series follows Mugen, Jin and Fuu during Japan's Edo period, but incorporates a lot of modern culture; in particular, there is a lot of hip hop and punk culture, especially in the show's soundtrack. The show is very well animated, with a fantastic opening sequence. It should appeal to Cowboy Bebop fans, in particular. You can really feel Watanabe's influence.
Mugen is a hot tempered, rash, loud mouthed sword for hire. He's an excellent swordsman but has a very wild and dangerous sword style. Many of his moves resemble break dancing.
Jin is a quiet, calm, wandering samurai (a ronin). He's very traditional and provides a stark contrast to Mugen's undisciplined style and personality.
Fuu is a clumsy, outspoken, feisty girl in search of a man she refers to as "the samurai who smells of sunflowers." She also carts around an adorable flying squirrel, which often pops out of her kimono to help her in troubling situations (which she lands herself in, in nearly every episode).
Mugen and Jin get off on the wrong foot immediately, and most of the series has them fighting against each other. Fuu convinces Mugen and Jin to accompany her in search of the Sunflower Samurai, making them promise not to kill each other until her journey is complete.
The first disc contains the episodes "Tempestuous Temperaments," "Redeye Reprisal," "Hellhounds for Hire (Part 1)," and "Hellhounds for Hire (Part 2)."
Tempestuous Temperaments:
We meet all three of the main characters in this episode. It opens with a scene showing Mugen and Jin about to be executed, then launches into a flashback sequence of how they got there. We first see Fuu and the tea house she works at, where she is being bullied by a group of thugs led by the local magistrate's stuck up son and a guard named Ryujiro who is itching to try out his new sword. Mugen arrives and immediately starts to tick them off by eating their food. At this point, the episode starts switching back and forth between the tea house, and a scene where Jin watches the magistrate roughly attempt to extract taxes from a local. Fuu's clumsiness lands her in trouble when she spills tea on the magistrates son, and by bribing Mugen with food, convinces him to help her deal with the thugs. Meanwhile Jin, upset by the injustice he sees happening before him, steps in to teach the magistrate a lesson. Eventually Mugen ends up cutting off Ryujiro's arm. Jin arrives at the tea house for a well deserved refreshment, and gets pulled into the argument. Mugen and Jin enter a spectacular sword fight, but it only ends in their arrest.
Redeye Reprisal:
Having (sort of) saved Mugen and Jin from execution, Fuu has convinced them to help her find the Sunflower Samurai. Unfortunately they're all broke and can't even afford to buy lunch. At a cafe they overhear the locals talking about an ogre terrorizing their farms, and Mugen offers to take care of it. Jin finds interest in an apparently cowardly old Samurai, while a group of men slip Fuu some sake which knocks her out at once. They're informed about a nearby empty cabin where they can stay the night for free, and off they go. Mugen spots a lonely, busty woman whose sandal is broken, which he offers to fix, for a price. So after dumping Fuu off at the shack, he sets off to reap his reward. Jin meanwhile wanders off for a bath and runs into the old samurai again. Poor Fuu, who has been left behind defenseless and unconscious, is kidnapped by a vengeful Ryujiro and his new "ogre" partner, a giant and deformed man named Oniwaka.
Hellhounds for Hire (Part 1 and Part 2):
Mugen and Jin are tired of Fuu's arrangement, and of Fuu herself, and ditch her at a 3-way crossroads by running off in different directions. As in the first episode, once Mugen enters the town, he walks right up to the toughest looking guys around and begins to eat their food. But these guys are yakuza, the Nagatomi Clan, to be exact, which has been taking over the city. Somehow he manages to get hired immediately by their boss, Rikiei, who is impressed by Mugen's particular way of doing things. An old man named Daigorou loses all his money in a rigged game at the Nagatomi's gambling club, and the clan demands his shop or his daughter as payment. Osuzu, his daughter, has been tutoring Sousuke, the son of the rival Kawara Clan leader. Sousuke chases off after the Nagatomi gang and gets into an argument with them at a cafe where (guess who?) Jin has been eating lunch. As the thugs prepare to give Sousuke the beating of his life, Jin steps in and offers to be the kid's bodyguard, and scares off the thugs, who also fork over Daigorou's IOU note for his shop. Fuu meanwhile, entering the same town, gets duped by a man who accuses her of breaking his expensive pot, and is taken to a brothel to pay off her debt.
Since Sousuke took the IOU from the Nagatomi gang, they've decided to lay claim to Osuzu, and throw her in the same brothel as Fuu. The Nagatomi second in command, Ishimatsu, is delegated this task, and it sets off a rivalry between him and Mugen, who has apparently taken his place by the boss' side. Sousuke decides to rescue Osuzu, with Jin's aide, but when they arrive at the brothel, Mugen is waiting for them. And to their surprise, Fuu is (as we know) there too.
Rikiei starts trying to control Mugen, which does not sit well with the free spirited swordsman. It seems he was only hired on as an example to the other men, something for them to work toward, and nothing more. Back at the brothel, Sousuke stabs a Nagatomi members trying to have his way with Osuzu. This brings the fury of the Nagatomi down on the Kawara clan, and Heitarou, the clan's leader, is backed into a corner. Deciding that a game of gambling would settle things, the two clans place their bets. If Heitarou wins, his son's life will be spared, but all of the Kawara Clan's holdings are forfeit to Rikiei. Heitarou offers up his own life if he loses. Kawara gets to provide the dice roller, but Rikiei has plans of his own.
6/22/2008
Less is More
So it seems like almost everybody has the new Rei You're (Not) Alone statue. This gorgeous thing right here. When it first came into my local comic store, I immediately fell in love with it. It's really an amazing looking figure. Seeing it over and over again in other people's collections has only intensified this longing. But she's $50+. I've also really been wanting, from Final Fantasy Play Arts, the Advent Children Reno, and the Kingdom Hearts 2 Axel. Or I could even get this entire mini Cowboy Bebop figure set.
So as you can see, "Less is More" holds true. I can get more figures for about the same amount of money as one. So I really can't decide. Of course, I also don't actually have the money for any of this. My birthday in just over a month away, and I'm hoping some cash will come in. There are, of course, countless video games and anime I want to buy...but it's time for some new figures, I think. They're a little more difficult to get a hold of as time passes.
I just can't decide. :(
So as you can see, "Less is More" holds true. I can get more figures for about the same amount of money as one. So I really can't decide. Of course, I also don't actually have the money for any of this. My birthday in just over a month away, and I'm hoping some cash will come in. There are, of course, countless video games and anime I want to buy...but it's time for some new figures, I think. They're a little more difficult to get a hold of as time passes.
I just can't decide. :(
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
