November 6, 2018:
Patlabor: The Mobile Police – Ultimate Collection (Blu-ray)
Giant Robots, sociopaths, madmen waving guns: these aren’t problems the Mobile Police have to deal with every day, these ARE the Mobile Police! But in a world where giant robots called Labors are frequently used for criminal purposes, the boys and girls in blue have to face things that are even bigger and scarier! So when police cadet Noa Izumi comes in to take a pilot aptitude test and instead initiates a high speed chase after a stolen Police Labor, it’s clear that she’s got exactly the right combination of guts, brains and just plain crazy that the Second Special Vehicles Division desperately needs. But fitting into the frequently insane lifestyle of SV2 won’t be easy. She’ll have rivals for the pilot’s seat of the mech that’s stolen her heart, and her patrol duties will include herding whales, exorcising hauntings and fighting rogue military units on top of the usual terrorists. On the other hand, she gets to carry the biggest handgun EVER. The wheels of justice keep turning (or, in this case, running on giant metal legs,) as SV2 hits the street in MOBILE POLICE PATLABOR!
Special Features: Deleted Scenes; English Dubbed Episodes of Griffon Resurrected, SCHAFT’S Counterattack, The Greatest Showdown in History, and GAME OVER; MINIPATO 1, 2 & 3; Clean Opening Animation and Clean Closing Animation
Price: $129.98 MSRP/$84.99 Store Price
POV: If you’ve been holding out on a larger release of Patlabor from Maiden Japan, then this will be the right time to buy it. Containing all 47 episodes of the anime series, all of The New Files, all of the original OVA series, and all three movies, this is probably the biggest package for the series you’ll ever find. Odds are that this will be a re-release of their prior Patlabor releases with the same discs, so if you’re a bit stingy about that, maybe wait it out for a bit for some reviews to detail what’s what.
Negima!? – Complete Collection & OVAs (Blu-ray)
It’s not easy being a wizard before you’ve hit puberty, but Negi Springfield has far more on his narrow shoulders than many wizards twice (or even thrice) his age. When he’s not searching for his missing father, or teaching the 31 teenage girls who make up the highly unusual class 3A, he always seems to find himself being drafted to perform magical tasks that most sane adult wizards avoid. So, when the mysterious and dangerous artifact known as the Star Crystal disappears, it’s just a matter of time before Negi and his all-girl regiment of gifted students find themselves trapped in the middle of the mystery. Does fighting the supernatural satisfy the girl’s PE requirement? Find out when class roars back into session for a new spellbinding semester of NEGIMA!?
Price: $89.98 MSRP/$58.99 Sale Price
POV: More of Negima for fans who missed out when it was in FUNimation’s hands, I’d say that’s a good deal right there. And if you want a bit of what pre-Madoka Akiyuki Shinbo and SHAFT can pump out, it’s probably worth checking out for curiosity’s sake.
November 13, 2018:
Gatchaman Crowds – Complete Collection (Blu-ray)
The city of Tachikawa is in danger! As humans are being abducted by a strange alien entity, the city’s secret defenders, the Gatchaman Squad, are leaping covertly into action to save the world once again. However, this time things aren’t going to follow the usual super-heroic pattern, since the Squad’s latest recruit, Hajime Ichinose, definitely marches to the beat of a different drummer. And while she’s more interested in stationery than being a hero, she’s about to cause a world-altering series of changes simply by thinking WAY outside the box in GATCHAMAN CROWDS! But wait, there’s even more! When someone starts hijacking CROWDS technology, the Gatchaman team needs to start recruiting again and things go crazy quickly when a very unusual alien lands in Niigata in GATCHAMAN CROWDS INSIGHT!
Special Features: Gatchaman Crowds Clean Opening Animations (x6); Clean Closing Animation; Gatchaman Crowds Insight Clean Opening Animation; Clean Closing Animation
Price: $99.98 MSRP/$64.99 Sale Price
POV: Do you like weird takes on Tatsunoko properties from the 1970s? Then this show is right for you! It’s a pretty unique series that’s earned a bit of a cult following, so it’s nice to see this show get a full release with both seasons included. That being said, it still astounds me that the Crowds OVA, a “director’s cut” edition of its last episode, was never licensed stateside by Sentai. Was there some kind of brick wall with the licensor over it, or what happened that prevented it from getting released?
November 20, 2018:
Hello Kitty & Friends -Let’s Learn Together- – Collections 1 and 2 (DVD)
Hello Kitty loves learning new things, and now that Kitty and her twin sister Mimmy have three new friends, it seems like there’s never enough time for all the adventures they could have. But that doesn’t mean that they’re not going to try! From experimenting with shapes and learning to take care of flowers, to studying dance and the rules for visiting other people’s houses, it’s all very educational and exciting. If you want to have lots of fun and discover new and amazing things, come join Kitty, Mimmy and the three Berry children, Amy, Eric, and Harry, and share the friendship and wonder as they explore the world around them in HELLO KITTY & FRIENDS – LET’S LEARN TOGETHER!
Price: $14.98 MSRP/$9.98 Sale Price
POV: Well, isn’t this something out of the blue from Sentai, eh? This marks the start of their “Sentai Kids” line, but not their first foray into the children’s market as, in their past life, they had their “ADV Kids” line – which also had Hello Kitty releases, as well, by sheer coincidence. Anyway, with as big a name as this, this will be a fine pickup for anyone with young’n’s, and it’s just as cute and cuddly as ever. But remember, you start with Hello Kitty and when older, you discover Aggretsuko – that’s just indisputable proof.
Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions! -Take On Me- (Blu-ray + DVD)
Yuta and Rikka may have finally started to come to terms with the various delusions that have run their lives, but as their relationship becomes progressively more real, their development as a couple seems to be increasingly in danger of stalling out! When your relationship is partially the result of a series of fantasies, what can reality serve up that’s equal to the make-believe? Rikka’s sister decides that she’s going to move to Italy and take Rikka with her, and the solution that Rikka and Yuta decide on is both improbably logical and unrealistically practical: They’re going to elope! For real! Get ready for the ultimate fantasy road trip as our two young would-be lovers take off a whirlwind tour of the real Japan in Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions! -Take On Me-
Special Features: Clean Opening Animation; Clean Closing Animation; Japanese Promo Videos (x4); Kotatsu Photo Session Shorts (x3)
Price: $39.98 MSRP/$25.99 Sale Price
POV: Boy, KyoAni sure does love their “trip abroad” movies, don’t they? But in all seriousness, I’ve heard big things about the Chu2Koi franchise, so for fans of the series, this is sure to be a must-own, and just in time for the Black Friday sales as well. (even if it’ll be available a month before street date but shhhhh)
K-ON! – Premium Box Set (Blu-ray)
The Sakuragoaka Girls’ Academy curriculum traditionally focuses on the three “R”s of reading, writing and arithmetic, but Ritsu Tainaka wants to add two more “R”s: Rock and Roll! To do that, however, Ritsu has to save the Light Music Club from being shut down due to little problems like not having any other members or a faculty advisor. After strong-arming her best friend Mio into joining and convincing Tsumugi Kotobuki to make it a trio, Ritsu’s would-be rockers are soon only one talented guitarist short of the quartet they need for school approval. What they get, unfortunately, is Yui Hirasawa, who’s never held a guitar in her life, but she’s determined to learn! Will the school halls come alive with the sound of music? Find out as four outrageous girls band together in K-ON! THE COMPLETE COLLECTION!
Special Features: Clean Opening Animations (x2); Clean Closing Animations (x3); Shorts (x16); K-ON! Collection Soundtrack (x25 Tracks); Box Set Contents: Soundtrack, Booklets (x3), Limited Edition Guitar Picks (x6), Art Cards (x6), Pin Set, Sticker Set, Keychain
Price: $279.98 MSRP/$181.99 Sale Price
POV: It’s one of the biggest KyoAni shows ever, and it’s getting about as nice a treatment as anyone could ask for. It’s everything in one package for the most diehard of K-ON! fans (ahemKadeem), with some fine accoutrements to go along with it; I’d imagine this will sell out pretty fast, so if you want it, get it and get it quickly. You don’t know how deep the fandom for five J-rock girls goes until a set like this is sold out. But if you want to see it first, it’s up on HiDive in full for all to see and enjoy.
November 27, 2018:
UQ Holder (Blu-ray)
When you’re the grandson of a famous hero, you’d think that your life would be interesting, but Tota Konoe is stuck in the dullest place he can imagine! He can’t even leave his tiny village until he can defeat his teacher and foster parent Yukihime, and she seems to be impossibly powerful. Then everything changes when Yukihime is attacked and Tota learns that both she and Tota himself aren’t who or what Tota thought they were! Now Tota has a new, impossibly long life ahead of him and an amazing destiny that ties in with the fate of his grandfather, the legendary Negi Springfield! Get ready for vampires, demons and magic users galore as Tota discovers the perils of being a member of the world’s most exclusive organization as a UQ Holder!
Special Features: Clean Opening Animation; Clean Closing Animation; OVA Clean Closing Animation (x2); Japanese Promos (x2); Episode 1 Advance Screening Event; OVA (x3)
Price: $69.98 MSRP/$45.99 Sale Price
POV: Well, if you’re in the market for a spiritual successor (of sorts) to Negima, then here you go – I present Ken Akamatsu’s latest bit of ecchi action… whatever it is. And since this is listed with a dub, I guess it did well enough while it was locked up on Amazon to warrant it. Probably watch it online when it hits HiDive first, before committing to buying it on disc.
Recommended titles for the month:
Patlabor: The Mobile Police – Ultimate Collection
Gatchaman Crowds – Complete Collection