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Fans of mangaka and director, Katsuhiro Otomo, known for Akira (1988), won't want to miss a 90s sci-fi anime anthology. Memories (1995) is now streaming and it includes a must-see story as its introductory feature. Severely underrated, it was released on home video in North America in recent years but can now be streamed by anime fans.

Originally released in 1995 in Japan, then in the U.S. two years later, Memories is an anthology film comprising three separate features: Magnetic Rose, Stink Bomb, and Cannon Fodder. Each is based on manga short stories written by Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo. With a screenplay by Satoshi Kon, Magnetic Rose is directed by Kōji Morimoto. Stink Bomb is directed Tensai Okamura with a screenplay by Otomo. Cannon Fodder is directed and written by Otomo. While there are three short films, the highlight of the grouping is definitely Magnetic Rose.

Related: Demon Slayer, Spy x Family,...

The following is a list of all comic books, graphic novels and specialty items that will be available this week and shipped to comic book stores who have placed orders for them.

Abrams

Adventure Time Encyclopedia Hc (not verified by Diamond), $19.95

Action Lab Entertainment

Princeless Volume 2 Get Over Yourself Tp, $14.95

Alterna Comics

Kill All Monsters Volume 1 Ruins Of Paris Sc, $11.99

Amaze Ink (Slave Labor Graphics)

Eldritch Volume 1 Tp, $17.95

Amigo Comics

Rogues #3, $3.99

Amp! Comics For Kids

Cul De Sac Mighty Alice Goes Round And Round Tp (not verified by Diamond), $9.99

Pearls Before Swine Beginning Pearls Tp (not verified by Diamond), $9.99

Applause Publishing

Star Trek Faq 2.0 Everything To Know About The Next Generation The Movies And Beyond Sc, $22.99

Archaia Entertainment

Gunnerkrigg Court Volume 4 Materia Hc, $26.95

Jim Henson’s The Storyteller Gn, $14.95

Killer Omnibus Volume 1 Tp, $24.95

Killer Volume 4 Unfair Competition Hc, $19.95

Archie Comic Publications

Betty And Veronica Friends Double Digest #235, $3.99

Sonic Universe #54 (Patrick...

The following is a list of all comic books, graphic novels and specialty items that will be available this week and shipped to comic book stores who have placed orders for them.

3 Finger Prints

Zombies Vs Cheerleaders Volume 2 #2 (Cover A Ryan Kincaid), $3.99

Zombies Vs Cheerleaders Volume 2 #2 (Cover B Jason Pedersen), $3.99

Zombies Vs Cheerleaders Volume 2 #2 (Cover C Matt Hebb), $3.99

Aam Markosia

Infernal Fyre-Dragon Gn, $17.99

Tales Of Discord Gn, $17.99

Abstract Studios

Rachel Rising #18, $3.99

AC Comics

Men Of Mystery #90, $29.95

Action Lab Entertainment

Princeless Tales Of The Family Ashe (One Shot), $3.99

Altus Press

Doc Savage The New Adventures Volume 5 Skull Island Sc, $24.95

Amigo Comics

Westwood Witches #2 (Of 4), $3.99

Antarctic Press

Boneyard The Biggening #1 (One Shot), $3.99

Victorian Secrets Summer Special #1, $3.95

Archaia Entertainment

Mouse Guard Volume 3 The Black Axe Hc, $24.95

Archie Comic Publications

Archie And Friends Double Digest #29, $3.99

Archie Meets Glee Tp, $12.99

Jugheads Double Digest #194, $3.99

Mega Man #27 (Patrick Spaziante Variant Cover), $2.99

Mega Man #27 (Patrick Spaziante Regular Cover...

What if little girls were hired assassins? That’s not an uncommon film scenario today, but usually the answer is that they’d be well-trained, bred to be killers from early on and void of most stereotypes you associate with normal young women. Hit-Girl from Kick-Ass and the title teenager from Hanna come to mind. But Violet & Daisy takes a different approach. The girls here are really “girly.” They take on hit jobs in order to buy pretty dresses. They blow bubble gum bubbles while shooting up mob hideouts. They talk all cutesy and have flowery code names and play patty-cake with their boss (Danny Trejo) and ride a tricycle and love milk and cookies and say “ewwwwww” in response to things they find gross as if they’re referring to cooties. I’m kind of surprised to learn this movie isn’t based on a manga series, something like “Gunslinger Girl” or “Young Gun Carnaval.” Instead...

The following is a list of all comic books, graphic novels and special items that will be available this week and shipped to comic book stores who have placed orders for them.

Aam Markosia

Cancertown Blasphemous Tumours Tp, $19.99

AC Comics

Men Of Mystery #88, $29.95

Ace Books

Doctor Who The Wheel Of Ice Hc, $26.95

Action Lab Entertainment

Order Of Dagonet #2, $3.99

Amryl Entertainment

Cavewoman 2008 HeroesCon Signed Regular Sketchbook, Ar

Cavewoman Gangster #3 (Of 3), $3.75

Antarctic Press

Gold Digger Holidays Special #2, $3.50

How To Draw And Design Steampunk Pocket Manga Tp, $14.95

Zombie Kid Diaries Volume 3 Walking Dad Gn, $10.99

Ape Entertainment

Strawberry Shortcake Digest Volume 3 Field Day And Other Stories Gn, $6.99

Strawberry Shortcake Volume 2 #2, $3.99

Arcana Studio

Arcana The Book Gn, $14.95

Intrinsic Gn, $14.95

Archaia Entertainment

God Machine Hc (Leather Bound Edition), $49.95

Archie Comics

Archie #640, $2.99

Archie And Friends Double Digest #23, $3.99

Betty And Veronica Prom Princesses Tp, $9.99

Jugheads Double Digest #188, $3.99

Mega Man #21 (Alice Meichi Li Variant Cover), $2.99

Mega Man #21 (Chad Thomas...

The following is a list of all comic books, graphic novels and special items that will be available this week and shipped to comic book stores who have placed orders for them.

007 Magazine And Archive

007 Magazine #55, $18.00

215 Ink

Little Heroes Gn, $10.99

Aam Markosia

Ketsueki Gn, $15.99

Toybox Turmoil Gn, $15.99

AC Comics

Femforce #161, $9.95

Aladdin Books

So You Want To Be A Comic Book Artist Ultimate Guide On How To Break Into Comics Hc (not verified by Diamond), $16.99

So You Want To Be A Comic Book Artist The Ultimate Guide On How To Break Into Comics Sc, $9.99

Archaia Entertainment

Return Of The Dapper Men Hc (Special Edition), $29.95

Archie Comics

Betty And Veronica Double Digest #205, $3.99

Knuckles The Echidna Archives Volume 3 Tp, $9.99

Mega Man #17 (Chad Thomas Regular Cover), $2.99

Mega Man #17 (Chad Thomas Variant Cover), $2.99

Avatar Press

Crossed Badlands #13 (Jacen Burrows Regular Cover), $3.99

Crossed Badlands #13 (Jacen Burrows Red Crossed Incentive Cover), Ar

Crossed Badlands #13 (Oscar Jimenez Torture...

The following is a list of all comic books, graphic novels and special items that will be available this week and shipped to comic book stores who have placed orders for them.

Abrams

Art Of Daniel Clowes Modern Cartoonist Hc (not verified by Diamond), $40.00

Garbage Pail Kids Hc (not verified by Diamond), $19.95

Gonzo A Graphic Biography Of Hunter S Thompson Tp (not verified by Diamond), $17.95

Sidekicks Gn (not verified by Diamond), $12.99

Antarctic Press

How To Draw Sci-Fi Pocket Manga Tp, $14.95

Ape Entertainment

Dark Axis Rise Of The Overmen #3 (Of 4), $3.99

Dark Axis Rise Of The Overmen #4 (Of 4), $3.99

Archaia Entertainment

Judge Bao Volume 1 Judge Bao And The Jade Phoenix Hc, $14.95

Archie Comics

Archie & Friends Double Digest #14, $3.99

Jughead #212, $2.99

Jugheads Double Digest #179, $3.99

Knuckles The Echidna Archives Volume 2 Tp, $9.99

Sonic Genesis Hc, $24.99

Sonic Universe #38, $2.99

Stan Lee’s Mighty 7 #1 (Alex Saviuk Regular Cover), $2.99

Stan Lee’s Mighty 7 #1 (Alex Saviuk Variant Cover), $2.99

Stan Lee’s Mighty 7 #1 (Signed...

Source: FilmShaft - Al’s Anime Annex – May

Oi, oi – it's been a month already and I'm back with volume 2 of Al's Anime Annex. As my postman will attest, there is plenty of Manga goodness to look forward to this May. I've watched the lot and am looking forward to telling you all about it – so let's stop gabbing and crack on. This month we've got ninjas, pint sized gunslingers, time travel and loads, loads more.

Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino Series 2

The Social Welfare Agency in the Italy of Gunslinger Girl is a front. They don't dish out dole money and they don't hand out soup to the homeless. They do look after orphans though, as long as they're little girls, and by “look after” I mean they wipe their memories and give them cybernetic bodies and as many Ak's as they can fit into their Hello Kitty lunch box.

Gunslinger Girl can be best defined as an action drama anime covering politics, power and petite professionals; mechanical assassins that belong to the Social Welfare Agency with young male handlers that they develop complex relationships with.

 

The Ova has finally been released on DVD, and for fans it is a nice enough farewell to all of the protagonists as they are left in relative peace, but for everyone else it may come off as confusing and creepily moe (young cuteness) and bish (pretty boy).

 

Unfortunately this was designed for the former audience base; the Ova is covered over two short episodes and there is no recap for the past seasons, as such it feels disjointed, jumping from one character and sharply colourful scenario to the next. Every aspect of Europe is overdone with bright striking colours that are more akin to a fun fair, as opposed to the grittier more...

So, a while back, I won an Amazon gift card of a pretty hefty amount. I looked at all kinds of fun electronics, gardening and kitchen stuff that I could buy with it... Before going straight to the huge anime sale and spending the whole thing, Plus a little extra on 1000+ hours of anime... It’s not an obsession, it’s a way of life, okay?I’ve been going through it and realizing that while some of it is good and has great production values, it just isn’t for me. That’s the stuff I gifted to my sister, who has been all ga-ga about it. I’m such a good older brother :) (Ps I got her comic books for her graduation present this year, and you should have seen the looks my family was giving me when she passed them away and they saw some of the title.

Online retailer Amazon.com has reduced the price for several anime series and movies. Most of them are from FUNimation, so check the disc detail page (using the disc icon) first to see if these are HD upscales and if they will play on your non-Region A player.

The Sky Crawlers – $12.99

Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa – $10.99

Paprika – $14.99

Blood: The Last Vampire – $9.99

Witchblade: The Complete Series – $22.99

Gunslinger Girl: The Complete First Season – $21.49

Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino – $21.49

Tekkonkinkreet – $13.49

Samurai 7: The Complete Series – $29.99

Vexille – $15.99

Burst Angel: The Complete Collection – $32.99

Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone – $16.49

Basilisk: The Complete Series – $28.99

Heroic Age: The Complete Series – $24.99

D. Gray-Man: Season One, Part One – $26.49

Claymore: Complete Series Box Set – $29.49

Trinity Blood: Complete Series Box Set- $29.99

Clamp Double Feature: Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE and xxxHOLiC – $14.99

Big thanks to Jeremy for the heads up!

This week sees the release of several new movies and TV shows, some for the first time ever on Blu-ray. Of the ones coming out this week, we’re excited for Ninja Assasin, new seasons of Hawaii Five-o, Monk, and South Park and the Blu-ray release of The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary Edition.

Oh, and there’s that Twilight movie coming out on Blu-ray this week you may have heard of. I think its called New Moon.

Check them out:

Movies

Armored ~ Matt Dillon, Laurence Fishburne (Blu-ray and DVD)

Astro Boy ~ Nicolas Cage (Blu-ray and DVD)

Bandslam ~ Vanessa Hudgens (Blu-ray and DVD)

Broken Embraces ~ Penélope Cruz (Bl-ray and DVD)

Did You Hear About the Morgans? ~ Sarah Jessica Parker, Hugh Grant (Blu-ray and DVD)

Fallen Angels ~ Leon Lai Ming, Karen Mok (Blu-ray and DVD)

Ninja Assasin ~ Rain (Blu-ray and DVD)

Paris ~ Juliette Binoche (Blu-ray and DVD)

The Fourth Kind ~ Milla Jovovich,...

Here are the new Blu-ray releases for December 01, 2009: Ben 10: Alien Swarm (Warner Brothers) A Christmas Tale (Criterion) Death Warrior (Lionsgate) Gimme Shelter (Criterion) The Green Mile (Warner) Gremlins (Warner) Gunslinger Girl: Season 1 (FUNimation) IMAX: Ride Around the World (Image) Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (Universal) The Mask of Zorro (Sony) Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (20th Century Fox) Paper Heart (Anchor Bay) Secondhand Lions (New Line) Snatch (Sony) Terminator Salvation (Warner) Vactor’s Picks of the Week: Tags: 2009 Blu-ray Releases, Blu-ray, Blu-ray Bulletin, Justin Vactor

Related posts Blu-ray Bulletin for September 8, 2009 (0) Blu-ray Bulletin for September 1, 2009 (0) Blu-ray Bulletin for October 13, 2009 (0) Blu-ray Bulletin for July 28, 2009 (0) Blu-ray Bulletin for July 21, 2009 (0)...

How many times have you seen a “horror” movie use the cliché crutch of a dead or possessed girl to try and scare you. How many times has it actually worked? My biggest problem with movies like these is that the mechanism of possessed/dead girl and religious undertones is so overused that audiences are completely desensitized to them. At the end of the day, you don’t fear the possessed girl. Instead, you find it laughable. By contrast, the Gunslinger Girl Anime series isn’t a horror series at all, yet its use of girls is all too scary. Imagine a world where a government welfare organization saves orphaned children who are terminally ill or on the brink of death for the purpose of creating emotionless killing machines. That’s the story of Gunslinger Girl. The Social Welfare agency has made it their business of saving young girls from...

The end of the year could become pretty expensive for anime lovers equipped with a Region A capable Blu-ray Disc player. During the weekend several Blu-ray Disc collections of anime series from FUNimation have appeared on Amazon.com, starting with Witchblade on November 3rd. With several bust sizes smaller but not less effective, the first season of Gunslinger Girl will be released on December 1st, only a few weeks after the Japanese collection.

On December 15th, Shinichiro Watanabe’s Samurai Champloo and the ninjatized Romeo & Juliet adaptation Basilisk will hit the Us shelves without having been announced in Japan.

Thanks to Asian Blu-ray Guide contributor r3d-3agl3 for the heads up!

Funimation Entertainment announced this week that it has acquired broadcast, digital, and home entertainment rights to the 13-episode Ikki Tousen anime series, which was produced by J.C. Staff and broadcast in Japan in 2003. The Ikki Tousen anime was previously released in the domestically by Geneon, but Funimation’s announcement clearly stated it had licensed the series directly from Enoki Films.

Tokyopop is publishing Yuji Shiozaki’s original Ikki Tousen manga series under the English title Battle Vixens. The 14th and final volume in the series is due for release here on February 10. Shiozaki’s seinen manga followed the martial arts adventures of a number of well-endowed high school girls who are possessed by the spirits of warriors from the bloody Three Kingdoms period in China (roughly184 Ad-280 Ad).

A second anime series, Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny, aired in Japan in early 2007. In 2007 Media Blasters announced that it has acquired...

IFC said Monday that it has acquired two new Japanese anime series from FUNimation Entertainment: Basilisk and Gunslinger Girl. Basilisk will debut in at 11 p.m. ET on Oct. 6 with the first four episodes and then return at 11:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 12, when the series will join Gunslinger Girl -- premiering at 11 p.m. ET on Jan. 12 -- to create a one-hour anime programming block, kicking off the network's new Friday night lineup dubbed The Grind House. In addition, the network said it will premiere the half-hour special "IFC News Special: Terror From Tokyo," which offers an inside look into the Japanese horror scene and its impact on American film, at 7:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 7.