areaseven

Dude, I must have this DX Dekaranger Robo, but it's too freakin' expensive (Y6.800). Should I pool in some cash for it now, or wait until Bandai ships it next year as a Power Rangers Megazord?

Episodes 1 & 2 are now available online and properly fansubbed by Live-eviL & Ideology. There's just one question I have to ask, though... In episode 2, Takumi managed to use the deep gutters to his advantage by doing a three-wheel drift. How do you shift the weight to the outer rear tire to do this trick?

NeoType Station in Chinatown has both AE86 (well, at least one left, last time I checked) and FD3S models. I'll wait until they make an FC3S or EVO3.

Hey Solscud007, are you gonna get the Initial D tissue holders as well?

Kaleido Star ( カレイドスター ) GONZO Digimation/G&G Entertainment/TV Tokyo/King Records, 2003-2004 ADV Films, 2004-2005 Directed by Junichi Sato (Sailor Moon, Gate Keepers) Rated 13+ for mature situations and mild language. Sora Naegino travels from Japan to the U.S. to fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a member of the Kaleido Stage, the world's grandest spectacle. Unfortunately, due to some mishaps around the city, she misses the final audition and is told by star acrobat Layla Hamilton to go home. But when she accidentally injures a cast member, Sora is chosen by stage owner Kalos Eido to take her place in the show. She must now conquer her stage fright and peer pressure from other cast members to prove herself worthy of being part of the Kaleido Stage. Story: B Kaleido Star seems like a promising story, but it feels like a derivative of other underdog titles like Ace o Nerae!, Battle Athletes, Princess Nine and Sakura Wars - only with a huge serving of Cirque du Soleil on the side. Where it lacks in originality, Kaleido Star makes up for it with creativity and a host of interesting characters. Animation: A- While not GONZO Digimation's (Last Exile, Yukikaze) best work to date, Kaleido Star boasts some very good digital animation and lots of pretty colors. Character designs by Hajime Watanabe (Kodocha, Animation Runner Kuromi-chan) and Fumitoshi Oisaki. Soundtrack: A- Of course, something like this has to have some decent music. Mina Kubota delivers a remarkable orchestral score to go with the acrobatic performances. Sub vs. Dub Kaleido Star features Ryo Hirohashi (Rakka in Haibane Renmei, Tails in Sonic X) as Sora, Sayaka Ohara (Racquel in Scrapped Princess, Ezra in Vandread) as Layla, Mai Nakahara (Miina in Onegai Twins, Chihaya in Maburaho) as May, Hiro Shimono (Ayato in RahXephon) as Ken, Chinami Nishimura (Kiki in Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, Greta in A Little Snow Fairy Sugar) as Mia, Takahiro Sakurai (Boma in Heat Guy J, Shun in Gate Keepers) as Leon, Susumu Chiba (Bakunetsumaru in SD Gundam Force) as Yuri, Fumiko Orikasa (Pacifica in Scrapped Princess, Chise in SaiKano) as Marion, Takehito Koyasu (Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Betterman) as Fool, Keiji Fujiwara (Eledore in Gundam 08th MS Team, Edmundo in Heat Guy J) as Kalos, and Unshou Ishizuka (Guld in Macross Plus, Jet Black in Cowboy Bebop) as the policeman. The English dub is not that good. DVD Extras Under Construction. The Bottom Line Not bad for something co-produced by ADV Films. I'll be checking out more of Kaleido Star in the near future. Links Official Kaleido Star Homepage (Japanese) TV Tokyo's Official Kaleido Star Homepage (Japanese) ADV Films' Official Kaleido Star Homepage Reference Anime News Network

Totsuzen! Neko no Kuni Banipal Witt ( とつぜん！猫の国　パニパルウィット ) Triangle Staff/AC Create/Oniro/Bandai Visual/Pioneer LDC, 1995 Pioneer/Geneon Entertainment, 1999, 2004 Directed by Takashi Nakamura (A Tree of Palme) Rated 3-Up. No cats or dogs were harmed during the production of this anime. Fifth-grader Toriyasu and his little sister Miiko have a dog named Papadoll, who has been missing for the past week. One night, two cats take the two children to the distant cat land of Banipal Witt, where Papadoll was abducted. Because of his long exposure to Banipal Witt's sun, Papadoll mutated into a giant dog monster, terrorizing the city under the control of the evil Princess Buburina, who has the curse of turning anyone she touches into balloons. Toriyasu, Miiko and the cats have until the next sunrise to turn Papadoll and the ballooned citizens of Banipal Witt back to normal and return back to their home planet - or end up with the same fate as their dog. Story: B+ Let's face it: a lot of children's stories out there are twisted. Banipal Witt is like something straight out of a Dr. Seuss storybook. It may be a children's anime movie, but I would recommend some parental guidance when showing this to kids, as there are a lot of scary elements in it. But then again, parental guidance is another word for "family entertainment." Animation: B- Just because it's done by Triangle Staff doesn't mean Banipal Witt's animation is of the same level as Macross Plus or Junkers Come Here. The artwork is pretty messy and some of the characters look pretty demented. Soundtrack:B Not too much a fan of this movie's BGM. The ending theme is too sugary for my tastes. Sub vs. Dub Banipal Witt features Hiroaki Hiro as Toriyasu, Mirai Sasaki as Miiko, Noriko Hidaka (Noriko in Gunbuster, Akane in Ranma 1/2) as Buburina, Fumihiko Tachiki (Gendo in Neon Genesis Evangelion, Choro-sama in A Little Snow Fairy Sugar) as Papadoll, Mayumi Iizuka (Sora in Escaflowne: The Movie, Nanaka in Magic User's Club) as Chu-Chu, Masato Yamauchi as Sandada, Ichiro Nagai (Happosai in Ranma 1/2, Left Hand in Vampire Hunter D) as Henogee, Sukekiyo Kameyama as Suttopoke, and Mitsuo Iwata (Kaneda in AKIRA, Pyoro in Vandread) as Doh-Doh. I wasn't very impressed with the English dub. DVD Extras: C Just an image gallery and character descriptions. The Bottom Line If you're a cat person, you'll like Banipal Witt. Otherwise, it's strictly rental material. Reference Anime News Network

Do not eat batteries.

Ball's on your court, UN Spacy.

Well, since yellowlightman has no question to post, on to the next question: Which animated movie is about the space vessel Starlight and its voyage to the Canopus system?

Okay, that's just someone having way too much time on Photoshop...

Good thing I sold my original DVD set last year. I might buy this new set. But then again, nothing beats RahXephon.

LMAO! The battery episode was too much. Can't wait for the next episode.

It's already mentioned on the synopsis above that Sailor Luna is Luna.

Good news: TV-Nihon has released a new fansub of episode 1 using the DVD version as their raw source. As expected with DVD versions, the fansub is cleaner in terms of video and sound quality. And you don't have to put up with clocks or sponsor banners on this one. Expect TV-Nihon to revamp the rest of their fansubs soon. http://bt.base0.net/tv-n/

DVD Extras: A+ (Boxed Set) The Supplemental DVD includes the following features: Behind-The-Scenes Footage 1. Action Scene Choreography - Hosted by Masaya Matsukaze (Daisuke), this short clip shows how the cutting-edge fight scenes are choreographed by martial artist Yuichi Aida. 2. Radio Drama: Saeko Chiba's "Let's Go Home" - Saeko Chiba (Kyoko), Matsuzake and Takayuki Sugo (J) share their ideas and take you inside the recording studio for the Heat Guy J radio drama. Opening/Ending/Music Video 1. "Face" 2. "Kokoro no Sukima" 3. "Face" (Music Video) - Both opening and ending themes have creditless and Japanese text options. Creditless versions include Karaoke feature (excellent for anime parties). - The music video is good, but it's a bit short. Commercials/TV Spots "Heat Guy J! DVD! Heat Guy J! DVD!" - Daisuke Aurora "A man shouldn't promote himself so easily." - J Outtakes (Intentional and Unintentional) - In English only. Some are bloopers, while others are total gags. In one scene, the English voice of J attempts to impersonate Arnold Schwarzenegger. "Hey, it's deja vu again." - J, while being incinerated on an exploding tanker truck. Conceptual Art Galleries 1. Characters 2. Mechanical Designs 3. City of Judoh Other Extras - Just TV warnings by J and Kyoko. These warnings have been standard on anime titles ever since the Pokemon epileptic incident back in 1998. In short, Heat Guy J Boxed Set I is nothing short of omake heaven. Do not hesitate to buy Heat Guy J now. It's definitely worth the $39.99 sticker price

Heat Guy J (ヒートガイジェイ) Satelight/Heat Guy Project/TBS/Bandai Visual, 2002-2003 Pioneer/Geneon Entertainment, 2003-2004 Directed by Kazuki Akane (Escaflowne, Geneshaft) Rated 13-Up (should be 16-Up) graphic violence, suggestive drug use, mature situations, and strong language. In the city of Judoh, Claire Leonelli has inherited leadership of the Mafia group "Vampire" following the death of his father. To keep Claire's and other criminal activities in check, the city's Bureau of Urban Safety has Special Services Division operative Daisuke Aurora and the super android codenamed "J" (who is apparently kept in secrecy, as androids are banned in the city). With both of them around, crime now has little room to breathe in Judoh. Story: A- Heat Guy J is Ghost in the Shell meets Cowboy Bebop, only with more action. The series is episodic like Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, so one episode doesn't need to rely heavily on another. Despite not being the main character, J remains a badass by his own right. He's kind of like a T-800 Terminator on steroids. And the way he lets off his steam is unbelievable. Animation: A++ Satelight (Macross Zero, Earth Girl Arjuna) takes no prisoners when it comes to churning out a deadly barrage of digital 2D and 3D animation. Whether it's J's fight sequences or Daisuke's badass bike, Heat Guy J is nothing short of awesome. Character designs by Noboteru Yuki (Escaflowne, Angel Cop). Mechanical designs by Takayuki Takeya (Gene Shaft) and Takeshi Takakura (Martian Successor Nadesico). Soundtrack: A+ Try Force (led by veteran anime music artist Hironobu Kageyama) delivers with their arsenal of techno and hard rock, and some bagpipe music on the side. Their opening theme "Face" is nothing short of awesome. Sub vs. Dub Heat Guy J features Masaya Matsukaze (Ragna in Get Ride! Amdriver ) as Daisuke, Takayuki Sugo (Nenji in NieA Under 7) as J, Saeko Chiba (Tsubaki in His and Her Circumstances, Asmaria in Chrno Crusade) as Kyoko, Shinichiro Miki (Allen in Escaflowne, Kurz in Full Metal Panic!) as Shun, Daisuke Sakaguchi (Kazuki in Maburaho, Usso in Mobile Suit Victory Gundam) as Claire, Sanae Kobayashi (Sara in Macross Zero, Reina in Najica Blitz Tactics) as Antonia, Ai Shimizu (Minawa in Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful, Karen in Onegai Twins) as Monica, Keiji Fujiwara (Eledore in Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, Volcott in Galaxy Angel) as Edmundo, Hikaru Miyata (Prof. Hodgson in Serial Experiments Lain) as Shogun, Ryoko Nagata as Cynthia, Takahiro Sakurai (Cyborg 009, Shun in Gate Keepers) as Boma, Nobuaki Sekine as Mauro, Kenta Miyake (Tsume in Wolf's Rain) as Giovanni, Kazuhiro Nakata (Bear in .hack://SIGN, McDougal in Outlaw Star) as Misha, Katsuyuki Konishi (Samurai Deeper Kyo, Louie the Rune Soldier) as Nichol, Michiko Neya (Nancy in Read Or Die, Melissa in Full Metal Panic!) as Phia, Akeno Watanabe (Witch Hunter Robin) as Janis, Mayumi Iizuka (Sora in Escaflowne) as Rumie, Jurota Kosugi (Dryden in Escaflowne, Darain in Dirty Pair) as Noriega, and Norio Wakamoto (Coach Ota in Gunbuster, Vicious in Cowboy Bebop) as Echigo. Wow. Bang Zoom! Entertainment (Vandread, Chobits) has just produced their best dub ever (right up there with Animaze's Cowboy Bebop dub). Featured voices include Steve Cannon (Shiro in Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, Rei in Yukikaze) as Daisuke, Bob Pappenbrook as J, Kay Jensen (Witch Hunter Robin, Haruko in FLCL) as Kyoko, Johnny Yong Bosch (Vash the Stampede in Trigun, Kaneda in AKIRA) as Claire, Lex Lang (Space Pirate Captain Herlock, Gineas in Gundam 08th MS Team) as Shun, Wendee Lee (Faye in Cowboy Bebop, Kaolla Su in Love Hina) as Antonia, Sandy Fox (Sumomo in Chobits, Kiyoko in AKIRA) as Monica, Edward Villa (Rurouni Kenshin, Legato in Trigun) as Boma, Abe Lasser (Teddy Bomber in Cowboy Bebop, Kaiser in Gate Keepers) as Shogun, Sparky Thornton (Gato in Mobile Suit Gundam 0083) as Edmundo, Richard Epcar (Guld in Macross Plus, Bateau in Ghost in the Shell) as Misha, Dave Wittenberg (Kei in Please Teacher!, Sora in .hack//SIGN) as Ian, and Beau Billingslea (Jet Black in Cowboy Bebop, Millard in Macross Plus) as Wei-Long Lin. DVD Extras: A+ Details are too big to list here. Scroll down for the full review. The Bottom Line Finally, an anime that can go head-to-head with Cowboy Bebop in the badass factor. Links Heat Guy J Official Homepage (Japanese) TBS' Official Heat Guy J Homepage (Japanese) Pioneer/Geneon Entertainment's Official Heat Guy J Homepage Reference Anime News Network Newtype USA #1

SPOILER ALERT!!! Do not read further unless you've reached episode 27. Evil Sailor Mercury confronts Sailor Luna, who tells her that the evil spell on her is weakening due to her exposure to the Mystical Silver Crystal. Sailor Luna then flashes her Moon Stick and disappears. She reappears on another side of town, hopping and skipping before turning into a cat. Usagi-chan is walking around, pondering on when Ami-chan will return to normal. Then, without warning, she gets hit in the head with a paper ball. She turns around and sees a little girl with blue hair. But before the girl reveals her true identity to Usagi-chan, a dog barks at her and scares her off. Shameless plug of the week: Toys 'R' Us. Rei-chan brings Erika (a girl that was in the Princess Kaguya episode) to the store when she senses an unusual presence nearby. She turns around and sees a little girl with blue hair. But before the girl reveals her true identity to Rei-chan, a ball bounces past her. More balls start bouncing past her, until she loses the resistance to play with them and disappears. Mako-chan is cooking when she notices a little girl with blue hair. But before the girl reveals her true identity, Mako-chan drops the pepper shaker, causing the girl to sneeze and disappear. Usagi-chan, Rei-chan and Mako-chan arrive at Crown Karaoke to see the blue-haired girl eating all the junk food. They interrogate her, but before she reveals her true identity, Usagi-chan's cell phone rings. Ami-chan tells Usagi-chan to have Rei-chan and Mako-chan meet her at the amusement park from the previous episodes. Meanwhile, Kunzite and evil Mercury are having an argument. Later on, Rei-chan and Mako-chan arrive at the amusement park, not knowing that Usagi-chan led them to the wrong place. Usagi-chan meets up with Ami-chan in a building. Ami-chan: "DARK POWER! MAKE-UP!" Evil Mercury is about to kill Sailor Moon again when the blue-haired girl shows up. She pulls out her cell phone. Luna: "LUNA PRISM POWER" (Dials 672 on the phone.) Phone: "Standing by." (J/K ) Luna: "MAKE-UP!" I don't know with you guys, but Luna's transformation is really nauseating. Sailor Luna jumps in, telling evil Mercury to stay away from Sailor Moon. Kunzite appears, telling Mercury to continue beating up Sailor Moon, while he deals with Sailor Luna. She plays mind games with him by appearing and disappearing around him until she whacks him with a Harisen (paper fan, similar to the one Chidori uses on Sousuke in Full Metal Panic!). The Harisen magically turns into a Moon Stick. A pissed-off Kunzite slashes Sailor Luna, turning her back into a plush cat. Meanwhile, Mercury is about to kill Sailor Moon when recurring memories of her past start flashing in her mind once again. She stops, pauses, and then does another attempt to kill Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon sees that Ami-chan is fighting her dark side within her body. Once again, the Mystical Silver Crystal within Sailor Moon glows with radiance, but before she gets a chance to return Ami-chan to normal, Kunzite casts another evil spell on Mercury. Evil Mercury slashes at Sailor Moon, destroying her Moon Stick. Rei-chan and Mako-chan run back to Crown Karaoke and find a note on the table. On the note, Usagi-chan apologizes for lying to them and that she definitely wants Ami-chan back. Sailor Moon slumps to the ground. Mercury smiles for a second, but pauses for a moment, finally remembering who she is. The spell cast on her by Kunzite has apparently worn off, but Ami-chan realizes that it was at Usagi-chan's expense. Next week on Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The hell I know. What a vague preview.

I got my bootleg copy at a store in Chinatown last week. It's also available on eBay.

yes many times other companies help with distrbution outside of the US or where the film was made. For instance: Le Pact de Loup [brotherhood of the wolves] was made by Studio Canal but to distribute in the US it was under Universal. Another example is Titanic. In North America only, it was distributed by Paramount. But for the rest of the world, 20th Century Fox handled the release. Terminator 3 is another example. U.S. distribution is by Warner Bros. while Japanese distribution is by Toho.

This I gotta see...

Tonight on SmackDown!: - Paul Heyman returns as GM for the night. - The Dudleyz turn heel. RVD jobs again. - Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty lose the Tag titles to Charlie Haas and his new tag team partner, Rico. - Rene Dupree gets his own segment called "Cafe du Rene" Aside from that, it's gonna be another boring episode.

All yours, yellowlightman.