Yu-gi-oh! Zexal chapters 36-45 review

Yu-gi-oh! Zexal chapters 36-45 Story by Kazuki Takahashi and Shin Yoshida, Art by Naoto Miyoshi Review

In this set of chapters, Zexal continues to raise the stakes and be absolutely ludicrous. The plot seems to be barreling towards a climax with nothing less than the fate of the world on the line. I could practically hear the violin playing in my head during the melodramatic reveals.

The series has entered the realm of “so bad it’s good” a feat not easily achieved. With over-the-top execution of the rather mundane concept of the previous incarnations that spun out of the original Yu-gi-oh!— Zexal is at the very least enjoyable each month. That being said the quality of the series has slipped from bad to downright awful. In conclusion this chunk of the series is enjoyably bad for those who enjoy such fare. Grab the popcorn and read the soapy goodness!

One-Punch Man Chapters 1-37 review

One-Punch Man Chapters 1-37 Story by One, Art by Yusuke Murata Review

From Viz Manga: “Nothing about Saitama passes the eyeball test when it comes to superheroes, from his lifeless expression to his bald head to his unimpressive physique. However, this average-looking guy has a not-so-average problem—he just can’t seem to find an opponent strong enough to take on! Every time a promising villain appears, he beats the snot out of ’em with one punch! Can Saitama finally find an opponent who can go toe-to-toe with him and give his life some meaning? Or is he doomed to a life of superpowered boredom?”

As far as superhero parodies go, One-Punch Man is well done. The artwork is well drawn and the comic is just genuinely funny. One problem I have with the series is its portrayal of gay men  though which is just downright offensive and uncomfortable. The action scenes are slick though with the series doing some interesting things with the comic medium.

Narrative wise there is little to say, the characters are not terribly well developed, often being rather one note, though this is a parody so I suppose that is to be expected. The series follows a formulaic structure with each clash being more escalated than the last. In conclusion, One-Punch Man is decent though flawed work. It has its moments of brilliance though and manages to be entertaining, so make of that what you will. 

Seraph of the End Chapters 1-24 review

Seraph of the End Chapters 1-24 Story of Takaya Kagami, Art by Yamato Yamamoto Review

From Viz Manga: “After trumpets of the apocalypse proclaim the fall of humanity, vampires arise from the shadows to rule the earth. Yuichiro wants just one thing—to get revenge by killing each and every vampire.”

Serialized in Jump Square in Japan and Weekly Shonen Jump in North America, Seraph is on the darker side of boys’ comics. The cast, even the antagonists, are at the very least compelling. The artwork is done well and the story flows quite nicely if a touch on the slow side. The world itself is compelling enough. The main source of tension, as well as what propels the comic forward, throughout the series thus far seems to be the relationship between Yuichiro and his childhood friend.

 That being said the title is largely forgettable. Yuichiro is a rather standard shonen comic lead, charging forward without thinking yet sticking to his morals. The villains are far more compelling though they are not scene for large swaths of pages. The supporting cast is likewise interesting though they take a bit of back seat in the series. In conclusion, the series is rather standard for boys’ comics if on one of the higher rungs on the ladder in terms of quality.

Blue Exorcist Chapters 1-59 review

Blue Exorcist Story & Art by Kazue Kato Chapters 1-59 Review

From Viz Manga: “Raised by Father Fujimoto, a famous exorcist, Rin Okumura never knew his real father. One day a fateful argument with Father Fujimoto forces Rin to face a terrible truth—the blood of the demon lord Satan runs in Rin’s veins! Rin swears to defeat Satan, but doing that means entering the mysterious True Cross Academy and becoming an exorcist himself. Can Rin fight demons and keep his infernal bloodline a secret? It won't be easy, especially when drawing his father’s sword releases the demonic power within him!”

Despite the rather standard set-up, Blue Exorcist is rather well crafted. It boasts gorgeous artwork leaps and bounds better than many of its peers. The world itself is rather neat and the majority of the core cast is sympathetic. That being the case, antagonists are often more cartoonish than threatening even considering the medium.

The majority of the cast has had a character arc thus far with bits of character development strewn throughout. Not mistakes should be made though: this is still very much a standard shonen action series. I have yet to watch the animated television adaption but as of writing have heard mixed reviews of it. In conclusion, Blue Exorcist is a fun if standard shonen fare, while there are better works in the field of Japanese comics this will hold one’s attention should they choose to read it. 

Nisekoi Chapters 1-133 review

Nisekoi Chapters 1-133 Story & Art by Naoshi Komi Review

From Viz Manga: “It was hate at first sight... rather a knee-to-the-head at first sight when Raku Ichijo meets Chitoge Kirisaki! Unfortunately, Raku’s gangster father arranges a false love match with their rival’s daughter, who just so happens to be Chitoge! However, Raku’s searching for his childhood sweetheart from ten years ago, with a pendant around his neck as a memento, and he can't even remember her name or face!”

                Serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, Nisekoi is comedy wise a great series. The art is well done perhaps more than it has any right being. That being said, narrative wise it is (at least thus far) yet another in a very long line of harem manga. The only other notable aspect of the series is the absence of fan service in many chapters.

                Nisekoi especially in more recent chapters has cast aside things like plot in favour of mindless comedy. To be fair, said comedy is done rather effectively. Quality wise the episodic plots vary wildly. The characters are rather one note with the protagonist in particular being rather bland. In conclusion, Nisekoi is largely forgettable and at times uncomfortable. Skip it. 

Pac-man and the Ghostly Adventures Episode 7 review

Pac-man and the Ghostly Adventures Episode 7  Produced by 41 Entertainment, Arad Productions Inc. and Bandai Namco Games, Directed by Moto Sakakibara Review

Between saving the world and going to school Pac-man’s life is rather busy. One the day the worst tragedy to ever befall humankind strikes: Pac-man has a zit and picture day’s tomorrow! How will Pac-man ever survive this crisis!?

If this episode is representative of the show as a whole then god help us all. It’s bad enough that they took an iconic character and gave him one of the most generic shows to come out of the woodworks in years. The jokes fall flat 9 out of 10 times and the “villains” are so non-threatening they don’t even deserve the name (their big plot is to make Pac-man feel bad… how this benefits them in any way alludes me).

The show is devoid of any tension it’s trying so hard to be inoffensive. If I could say one positive the CG looks halfway decent at least. That being said content wise nothing sets it apart from any other kids’ show. In conclusion this episode of Pac-man and the Ghostly Adventures was just painful to watch, it certainly isn’t the worst thing I’ve ever seen but goshdarnit if it doesn’t come close. 

The Nightmare Before Christmas review

The Nightmare Before Christmas Directed by Henry Selick, Produced by Skellington Productions Review

From IMDB: “Jack Skellington, king of Halloweentown, discovers Christmas Town, but doesn't quite understand the concept.”

                Quite possibly the darkest Christmas film I’ve come across to date, The Nightmare Before Christmas has many things going for it. Its protagonist is rather likeable in an odd way and it is rounded out by a colorful cast of characters. Animation wise it is nice to look at and it boasts fantastic musical numbers.

                The voice acting is quite well done as is the singing. Honestly, my only complaint is the portrayal of humanity who I believe we are meant to sympathize with.  Humanity in this film strikes me as awful as a collective and the viewer is given little time to see their perspective to gain a better understanding of why they do what they do in the film. That being said, this is more a nitpick than anything else. The film as a whole was very well done and well worth recommending! 

World Trigger Chapters 1-72 review

World Trigger Story & Art by Daisuke Ashihara Chapters 1-72 Review

When Osamu meets Yuma for the first time they don’t realize the conflicts yet to unfold or really who the other even is. As the war between humanity and aliens, referred to as neighbors, unfolds how will events play out? Can Yuma even be trusted? Soon the two will find themselves embroiled in a web of secrets and a war of epic proportions.

Serialized in the boys’ anthology Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan, World Trigger has a cast of thousands and this can be detrimental at times. This does not become a problem until later chapters though. Earlier chapters feature introducing the core players in the plot. However, this means that thus far character development for many people has been limited at best.  Currently it is probably one of the better manga being serialized in the English version of Weekly Shonen Jump. The world itself is rather dark and fascinating.

Another core character, who is not introduced for a few chapters, is Chika who becomes one of the driving forces for the series. It’s clear the series has a grand story to tell and has already started going in compelling directions. The plot begins to become more gradual in the latter half of this set of chapters with the recent arc running for roughly half a year to date. In conclusion, World Trigger is a rather interesting series and worth a read if one is a fan of science fiction. 

HELLO KITTY® SHOWS ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE IF ONE JUST IMAGINES IN ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL RELEASE FROM PERFECT SQUARE

HELLO KITTY^® SHOWS ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE IF ONE JUST IMAGINES IN ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL RELEASE FROM PERFECT SQUARE

Creativity And Friendship Combine In New All Ages Release HELLO KITTY: JUST IMAGINE

San Francisco, CA, August 26, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, invites readers of all ages to tap their creative sides for some whimsical new graphic novel adventures with the release of HELLO KITTY: JUST IMAGINE, available now.

HELLO KITTY: JUST IMAGINE is published under the Perfect Square imprint and expands the line of full-color HELLO KITTY^® original graphic novels inspired by the global pop icon. JUST IMAGINE brings back the talented team of HELLO KITTY artists including Jacob Chabot, Ian McGinty and Jorge Monlongo, and introduces artist Giovanni Castro and special guest artist Sarah Goodreau. HELLO KITTY: JUST IMAGINE is rated ‘A’ for All Ages and will carry an MSRP of $7.99 U.S. / $9.99 CAN.

Anything is possible if you just imagine...

Hello Kitty and her friends are letting their imaginations run wild – dreaming up rainy day adventures, inventing amazing machines and solving problems in the most inventive ways. When creativity and friendship combine, the possibilities are endless!

“As Hello Kitty marks her 40th anniversary she's as popular as ever, keeping up with the maker movement in HELLO KITTY: JUST IMAGINE," says Traci Todd, Senior Editor, Children's Publishing. “We hope the young and young at heart will enjoy these new stories and discover their own spirits of creativity and inspiration as well.”

Don’t miss additional full-color HELLO KITTY original graphic novel titles available in-print from Perfect Square including, HELLO KITTY: HERE WE GO!, HELLO KITTY: SURPRISE!, and HELLO KITTY: DELICIOUS!, as well as the brand new HELLO KITTY, HELLO 40 commemorative story and art anthology.

Created by Sanrio, Hello Kitty^® is a true lifestyle brand that enjoys tremendous international popularity. In North America, and throughout the world, Hello Kitty is a leading brand that is loved by fans of all ages. The pop icon has more than 14 million followers on Facebook.

HELLO KITTY artist Jacob Chabot is a prolific New York City-based cartoonist, illustrator and writer. His comics have appeared in publications such as Nickelodeon Magazine, Mad Magazine, SpongeBob SquarePants comics, and various Marvel titles. He also illustrated HELLO KITTY editions including HERE WE GO!, DELICIOUS! and SURPRISE!, as well as Voltron Force: Shelter from the Storm and Voltron Force: True Colors for Perfect Square. His comic series, The Mighty Skullboy Army, is published by Dark Horse, and in 2008 Chabot was also nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Book for Teens.

Artist Ian McGinty resides in Savannah, Georgia, and his portfolio includes Adventure Time: Candy Capers (kaBoom!), Bravest Warriors (kaBoom!), HELLO KITTY (VIZ Media), UGLYDOLL (VIZ Media), and Suckers (Zenescope). He is also creator of Chomp! (Top Shelf).

Book and comic illustrator and game designer Jorge Monlongo hails from Spain and combines traditional and digital techniques to create worlds in beautiful colors that hide secrets. JUST IMAGINE… is his latest HELLO KITTY title for VIZ Media/Perfect Square and his work has also been featured in several prominent magazines, including Rolling Stone.

Artist Giovanni Castro was born in Colombia, studied art there, and now lives and works in Barcelona, Spain. He works mainly in editorial illustration and comics. Castro has worked with traditional media, but nowadays he does his illustrations digitally. He loves science fiction and historical themes and is interested in history, art and languages.

HELLO KITTY guest artist Sarah Goodreau was born and raised in Massachusetts. Pursuing a lifetime interest in art, she traveled south to study at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Afterwards she spent three years as an illustrator in New York City until moving to Amsterdam where she currently resides.

VIZ Media’s Perfect Square imprint focuses on delivering original comics, manga (graphic novels) and other children’s books with an emphasis on strong storytelling, eye-popping graphics, empowering themes, and a dash of irreverence, that captures the imagination of a whole new generation.

Additional information on titles published by Perfect Square is available at www.PerfectSquare.com.

For more information on other manga titles from VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.

About Sanrio^®                                                              

Sanrio is the global lifestyle brand best known for pop icon Hello Kitty^®, who celebrates her 40^th Anniversary this year with a museum exhibition and Hello Kitty Con 2014, the first ever Hello Kitty convention.   Home to many endearing characters including Chococat^® My Melody^®, Badtz-Maru^® and Keroppi^®, Sanrio was founded on the ‘small gift, big smile^®’ philosophy – that a small gift can bring happiness and friendship to people of all ages. Since 1960, this philosophy has served as the inspiration for the broad spectrum of unique products and experiences.  Today, more than 50,000 Sanrio-branded items are available in over 130 countries and upwards of 15,000 U.S. retail locations including department, specialty, national chain stores and over 80 Sanrio boutiques. For more information please visit www.sanrio.com and www.facebook.com/hellokitty

About VIZ Media, LLC

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan.  Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages.  VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.  Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY AND DVD COMBO PACK FOR THE PARANORMAL ANIME ACTION COMEDY BLOOD LAD

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES LIMITED EDITION

BLU-RAY AND DVD COMBO PACK FOR THE PARANORMAL ANIME ACTION COMEDY BLOOD LAD

An Otaku Vampire Obsessed With The Human World Falls For a Pretty Girl That Becomes A Ghost; 10-Episode Anime Series Also Features Talented English Dub Cast

San Francisco, CA, August 25, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, gives fans and viewers the opportunity to add BLOOD LAD to their personal home media collections as it announces the release of the complete anime series as a special Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, and also as a Standard Edition DVD set, on September 2^nd. VIZ Media is the exclusive North American master licensor for the BLOOD LAD anime property.

The 10-episode paranormal action comedy about a nerdy vampire that is obsessed with the human word is rated ‘TV-14’ and will be offered as a Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD combo pack with an MSRP of $69.99 U.S. / $89.99 CAN. The special set comes packaged in a full-color chipboard box featuring 4 discs containing the entire series as well as the BLOOD LAD “BLOOD LAD-EX” OVA short film and a 96 page premium art booklet featuring episode guides, art, interviews and more. Other combo pack bonus features include an interactive art gallery,  nearly a half-hour of English dub session outtakes, an Anime Central convention chalk art video along with series trailers and clean opening and ending segments.

The Standard Edition 2-disc DVD set for BLOOD LAD features the complete series and OVA film and will be offered at an MSRP $44.82 U.S. / $43.24 CAN. The Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and standard DVD set both feature English dubbed and original Japanese stereo audio selections (with English Subtitles).

The Demon World: a place where it's good to be bad. Werewolves, zombies, and even the Abominable Snowman fight day and night for the title of Territory Boss. The vampire Staz, however, finds the whole thing to be a serious pain. He spends his time watching anime, playing video games, and daydreaming about going to the Human World. That all changes when he meets Fuyumi, a human girl who instantly wins Staz's heart but subsequently loses her life to a man-eating plant. Staz refuses to give up on the girl of his dreams and travels across the Demon and Human Worlds in search of a way to bring Fuyumi back to life by any bloody means necessary.

The English dub cast for BLOOD LAD notably stars Bryce Papenbrook as Staz and Xanthe Huynh as Fuyumi and also features talented voice actors such as Johnny Yong Bosch, Kyle Hebert, Cristina Vee and Wendee Lee in key supporting roles.

“BLOOD LAD was adapted from Yuki Kodama's bestselling manga series and offers a hilarious, action packed story featuring plenty of adventure and laughable situations, and fans won’t want to miss the chance to own the complete series as a special Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD combo pack,” says Charlene Ingram, Senior Animation Marketing Manager. “The combo pack also features a wealth of entertaining bonus material including the BLOOD LAD OVA which picks up right after the series’ final episode and follows Staz and Fuyumi as they journey to the Demon Acropolis. Don’t miss this special release coming next month!”

For more information on BLOOD LAD, or other award-winning anime titles from VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.

About VIZ Media, LLC

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan.  Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages.  VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.  Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.