areaseven

Battle Royale ( バトル・ロワイアル ) Toei Co. Ltd., 2000 Anchor Bay Entertainment, 2012 Directed by the late Kinji Fukusaku Based on the best-selling novel by Koushun Takami Running Time: 122 minutes Rated R for graphic violence and profanity. Cast Tatsuya Fujiwara as Shuya Nanahara. Aki Maeda as Noriko Nakagawa. Taro Yamamoto as Shogo Kawada. "Beat" Takeshi Kitano (Zatoichi, Yamamoto in Brother) as Mr. Kitano. Yuko Miyamura (Asuka in Neon Genesis Evangelion) as the Battle Royale training video girl. Ai Maeda (Kino's Journey) as Shiori Kitano. Synopsis At the beginning of the 21st century, Japan suffered an economic and social turmoil. With the unemployment rate at 15% and the country's youth boycotting the educational system, the Japanese government passed a new law called the Millennium Educational Reform Act (a.k.a. "Battle Royale Act"). It's a field trip to hell as a class of 42 high school students are drugged and sent to a remote island, where their teacher, Mr. Kitano, prepares them for Battle Royale. In a span of three days, the students must kill each other until one is left standing. While the class is joined by two transfer students, two of their own are already killed for their defiance during the game introduction. When the game begins, all of the students must set aside their friendship, honor and love for each other aside in order to survive and go home. Lowdown Battle Royale sparked a lot of controversy with its ultra-violent content and depiction of a crumbling society. It borrows a lot of elements from Lord of the Flies, The Running Man and Deadlock (hence the explosive necklaces on the students) with a little bit of Survivor on the side. The movie focuses mostly on Shuya - who lost his father through suicide due to unemployment, Noriko - who apparently has a crush on Shuya, and Kawada - a transfer student with an agenda on his own. Aside from that, you'll see a lot of character development between the three protagonists and every other student before their last dying breath. "Beat" Takeshi delivers an astounding performance as Mr. Kitano - the twisted teacher who finds amusement in seeing his students die one at a time. The soundtrack, composed by Masamichi Amano (Giant Robo, Urotsukidoji) and performed by the Poland Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra (Ah! My Goddess: The Movie, Escaflowne: The Movie), sets the mood with original compositions and classical masterpieces by Verdi, Strauss, Schubert and Bach. It's kind of funny how Bach's "Air from Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major" is always associated with death. In a nutshell, Battle Royale is the best mix of ultra-violence and a good story since The Silence of the Lambs. It's also up there with Kurosawa's films as one of the greatest achievements in Japanese film history. Rating: A References Battleroyalfilm.net Battle Royale Online The Internet Movie Database

Yeah, but who's gonna play Shin? Kaneto Shiozawa died three years ago.

It may be bad, but it's still a game. The poll focuses on non-game adaptations.

I only learned about that today. Guess I'll add Southern Cross to my Christmas wish list.

Who drew this? Tommy Yune?

Ah, crap. The poll is supposed to be for Worst Use of the Final Fantasy Trademark. For some reason, the question got erased when I previewed this post.

http://areaseven.net/anime/ratings/adv13.jpg FF:U - Final Fantasy: Unlimited ( ファイナルファンタジー：アンリミテッド ) Square-Enix/GONZO Digimation/TV Tokyo/Dentsu, 2001-2002 ADV Films, 2003-2004 Directed by Mahiro Maeda (The Animatrix - The Second Renaissance, Last Exile) Rated 13+ for violence and mature situations. Inspired by the best-selling Final Fantasy game series by Squaresoft. Twelve years ago, mankind experienced an unusual phenomenon when the Pillar of Chaos of Darkness appeared in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Now, a new adventure begins when two children board a mysterious train on a journey to Wonderland to search for their missing parents. In the beginning of their journey, they meet magic user Lisa Pacifist and a mysterious gunman that goes by the name "Kaze." Story: D+ A lot of fans have said that Final Fantasy should remain on video consoles. They were right when Sony and Square Pictures released their ambitious 3D film Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within in 2001, only to suffer from the backlash of bad reviews and poor box office sales. As for this recent adaptation of the famed videogame franchise, FF:U is too cliché and predictable from the start. Hell, I nearly fell asleep after the first 10 minutes of the pilot episode. Animation: B As always, GONZO (Vandread, Yukikaze) did an excellent job with the digital 2D and 3D animation. However, Kazuto Nakazawa's (El-Hazard, Tomorrow's Nadja) character designs leave a lot to be desired, as they lack detail and somewhat clash with the backgrounds. Much like The Legend of Black Heaven, the character art looks like it was drawn on an Etch A Sketch®. Soundtrack: B+ What's Final Fantasy without Nobuo Uematsu's (Ah! My Goddess: The Movie) legendary opening and victory themes? Well, that's all he's credited for here. The soundtrack by Akifumi Tada (Nightwalker) and Shiro Hamaguchi (Ah! My Goddess: The Movie, Kiddy Grade) sounds good, but can't compare to Yuki Kajiura's score for .hack//SIGN. Sub vs. Dub FF:U features Nobutoshi Canna (Guts in Berserk, Ban in GetBackers) as Kaze, Yuka Imai (Rio in Burn-Up W/Burn-Up Excess, Otaru in Saber Marionette J/J Again/J to X) as Yuu, Haruko Momoi (Chika in Ai Yori Aoshi, Mii in Popotan) as Ai, Kyoko Hikami (Rabi~En~Rose in Di Gi Charat, Dojima in Witch Hunter Robin) as Lisa, Akiko Yajima (Dorothy in The Big O, Anna in Battle Athletes) as Chobi, Takumi Yamazaki (Isamu in Macross Plus, Incognito in Hellsing) as Joe, Yuko Minaguchi (Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl, Sailor Saturn in Sailor Moon S) as Mary, and Kikuko Inoue (Belldandy in Ah! My Goddess, Mizuho in Please Teacher!/Onegai Twins) as Fabula. ADV's English dub sounds too much like a Saturday morning cartoon. Stick with the subtitles. DVD Extras This review covers episode 1 as featured in the October 2003 issue of Newtype USA. I don't know if I'll ever rent the full version. The Bottom Line Final Fantasy: Unlimited isn't really bad; it just has a dull, boring plot. At least it's better than the 2001 flop Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Do yourself a favor and watch .hack//SIGN instead. Links Official Final Fantasy: Unlimited Fan Site (Japanese) Reference Anime News Network

Idol Boeitai Hummingbird ( アイドル防衛隊ハミングパード ) Youmex/Toshiba EMI, 1993 U.S. Distributor Pending. Not Rated (Suggested 13-Up). Contains violence, slight nudity and mature situations. When the Japanese government puts civilian organizations in charge of the country's air force, some of these companies decide to put their aspiring idol singers behind the controls of their fighter planes. Among these groups of idol singers is Hummingbird, a five-woman team consisting of the Toreishi sisters - Satsuki, Uzuki, Yayoi, Kanna and Miina. During a taping session, video director Kudo sees some potential in these girls and jumps in to help them reach the top of the charts by directing their debut video. Story: B- Top Gun meets American Idol in this high-flying adventure. Sounds like a silly idea at first. As a matter of fact, I got flashbacks of the idol anime flop Assemble Insert when I read the synopsis. And when I look at the whole flying girls premise, I keep thinking of another anime flop: Virgin Fleet. I'll tell you one thing, though: Idol Defense Force Hummingbird is much better than those two titles. And yes, the singing pilots premise sounds ridiculous, but if you're a fan of Macross 7, you'll definitely enjoy this one. Animation: B- Aviation buffs will want to check this title out as the F-14s and F-4s and other aircraft are well-drawn. The character designs are pretty good, but the animation seems a bit dated compared to other fighter pilot anime like Area 88 and 801 T.T.S. Airbats. Soundtrack: B The BGM itself is late-80s style music reminiscent of Harold Faltermeyer's score for Top Gun. The songs by the voice actresses themselves are pretty good, but not Bubblegum Crisis material. Cast Idol Defense Force Hummingbird features Kotono Mitsuishi (Excel Saga, Misato in Neon Genesis Evangelion) as Satsuki, Fumie Kusachi (Miki in Fancy Lala) as Uzuki, Yuri Amano (Kiyone in Tenchi Muyo!, Rain in Mobile Fighter G-Gundam) as Yayoi, Sakiko Tamagawa (Natsumi in You're Under Arrest, Tachikoma in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) as Kanna, Hekiru Shiina (Hikaru in Magic Knight Rayearth, Kotomi in DNA²) as Miina, Koichi Yamadera (Spike in Cowboy Bebop, Togusa in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) as Yajima, Mika Doi (Misa in Macross, Houquet in Genesis Climber Mospeada) as Hazuki, Masami Kikuchi (Tenchi Muyo!, Keiichi in Ah! My Goddess) as Yasuda, Katsumi Suzuki (Kakizaki in Macross) as Ijyuuin, Ryotaro Okiayu (Jinnai in El Hazard, Sakata in Love Hina) as Kato, and Takehito Koyasu (Il Palazzo in Excel Saga, Gamlin in Macross 7) as Piotr. The Bottom Line It's got fighter planes, but it ain't Macross Zero. It's got chicks, but it ain't 801 T.T.S. Airbats. Nevertheless, Idol Defense Force Hummingbird is worth checking out for its unique concept. Reference Anime News Network

Here's one for the handheld gaming fans. Which is your favorite portable gaming console?

And now for the official logo:

Yeah. Dale Jr. rules, especially on Talladega. Speaking of NASCAR, I should be posting some new anime stock car designs by next week. Stay tuned at the Fan Works section for the 2004 edition MW car.

I'm getting mine at Best Buy today, along with Wild Speed X2.

Perhaps some people thought the show was trying too hard to be like Star Trek: The Next Generation underwater. Personally, I liked the series, but lost interest when Roy Scheider left the show.

It's kind of funny how many celebrities drop by the computer store where I work. To date, I've bumped into Thom Barry (FBI Agent Bilkins in The Fast and the Furious and 2 Fast 2 Furious), Bob Justman (former Star Trek producer), Shadoe Stevens (former voice-over for Hollywood Squares and American Top 40), Linda Dalziel (current lead vocalist of the band Berlin) and softcore actress Nikki Fritz. Early this week, a new customer claimed he was a co-star of this upcoming B-movie called Shira: The Vampire Samurai and he gave us promotional cards for the film. I don't know if it's any good, even if it features former Playboy model Chona Jason, but I'll still check it out. it probably won't be as good as Six-String Samurai or The Princess Blade, though.

In connection to the company, Tatsunoko means "Tatsu's Children." This is referring to company founder Tatsuo Yoshida and the titles (i.e. Mach Go-Go-Go, Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman, etc.) being his creations (or literally, his "children").

Wow. No love for the Saturn? It did have the Macross DYRL game before Bandai ported it to the PS One.

Actually, from what I've read, the people in the cutting room left out some of the mature scenes, resulting in major outcry from parents who brought their kids to watch the movie.

Well, actually, the Lynx had a more powerful processor than the Game Gear and the Game Boy combined. Like the NEC TurboXPress, It had potential to be a great portable console, but it died due to a lack of software support.

Uhhh...the XBOX is on the polls.

Damn, I forgot all about that console. Click here for a sample of CD-i graphics

Yeah, perhaps I forgot to list that one, but at least it doesn't kill your eyesight like the Virtual Boy does.

Which of these do you think is the best gaming platform ever made?

What was the worst gaming platform ever made? Atari 2600 Okay, it wasn't that bad, especially since it was sold from the mid-1970s to the mid 1980s. But it was marred by a whole bunch of horrible games like Superman and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. The latter title led to the great videogame crash of 1983, when console sales plummeted and tons of E.T. cartridges ended up underneath a New Mexico landfill. Atari Jaguar On the Jaguar's initial release, Atari's slogan was "Do the Math." Go figure - while the Jaguar claimed to have 64-bit graphics, it actually had two 32-bit chips (or was it eight 8-bit chips?) inside. The only good games coming out of it were Tempest and an pre-PC version of Aliens vs. Predator; every other game just plain sucked. The Jaguar eventually led to Atari's bankruptcy. Nintendo Virtual Boy Every game manufacturer has made a mistake or two in their life. Nintendo really f'd up big-time with this $280 flop. Released in the mid-1990s, the Virtual Boy was merely an oversized, overpriced Game & Watch that had only two colors - red and black - that were a severe eyesore to anyone who used it. Less than a year after it hit stores, the Virtual Boy was canned and every toy store got rid of their units at under $20 each. Games and accessories that sold for $40 went for under $10. Sega 32X This was supposedly Sega's answer to turning the aging 16-bit Genesis/MegaDrive into a 32-bit system. While the console's version of DOOM was good, everything else sucked. The upgrade died less than a year after its release due to developers moving to more advances systems. SEGA CD Unlike the 32X, this add-on to the Genesis/MegaDrive actually had potential to compete with similar products like the 3DO. The release of the system was just marred by horrible games like Night Trap, Sewer Shark and a series of "Make My Music Video" CDs. It's too bad the Sega CD sold poorly, as it actually had some good games like Snatcher by Hideo Kojima (creator of Metal Gear Solid). SNK Neo-Geo CD As a fan of old-school SNK games, I was extremely disappointed with this console. The colors looked completely washed-out and because of its single-speed drive, it took longer to load a game than to finish it.

Kido Senshi SD Gundam Mk. I ( ‹@“®?íZmSDƒKƒ“ƒ_ƒ€ Mk. I) Sunrise/Sotsu Agency/Bandai Visual, 1987-1988 Sorry, Bandai's not interested in releasing this series in the US. Not Rated (Suggested 13-Up). Contains comic violence, nudity and mature situations. SD (Super-Deformed) Gundam is a collection of short parodies of the Mobile Suit Gundam saga. Episode 1 makes fun of key events that happened on the first series. In epsode 2, Gundam pilots Amuro, Camille and Judeau fight over whose pension is better, only to have their party trashed by Char. Episode 3 is the all-star Gundam Olympics, featuring no-holds-barred events with characters and mobile suits as the participants. Story: B+ If you haven't seen the first Mobile Suit Gundam TV series/movie trilogy, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam or Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, you won't get most of the jokes. Hardcore Gundam fans will probably die laughing at all the gags and toilet humor used in SD Gundam. The series even treats a colony drop like Monty Python's trademark foot stomp. Animation: B Because it's a parody title, don't expect high-quality animation like the new SD Gundam Force series airing on Cartoon Network. The artwork obviously lacks detail, but is wacky as hell. "Puru-puru-puru-puru!" - Puru-chan Soundtrack: B- Not like there's anything worth talking about. "Woody, desu." - Woody Malden Cast Reprising their roles are Toru Furuya (Yamcha in Dragon Ball/DBZ/DBGT, Tuxedo Kamen in Sailor Moon) as Amuro/Gundam, Shuuichi Ikeda (Captain Napolipolita in Project A-Ko, Seijuro in Rurouni Kenshin) as Char, Nobuo Tobita (Aoshima in Ah! My Goddess, Tomo in Fushigi Yuugi) as Camille, Kazuki Yao (Iketani in Initial D, Dark Schneider in Bastard!!) as Judeau, Bin Shimada (Stick Bernard in Genesis Climber Mospeada, Nakajima in You're Under Arrest) as Scirocco (not "Syrup" or "Torokko"), Keiko Han (Luna in Sailor Moon, Annerose in Legend of the Galactic Heroes) as Lalah, Hirotaka Suzuoki (Kuno in Ranma 1/2, Lynn Kaifun in Macross) as Bright Noah, Sanae Takagi as Haro, Toshio Furukawa (Ataru in Urusei Yatsura, Piccolo in Dragon Ball/DBZ/DBGT) as Kai, Chieko Honda (Miku in Hades Project Zeorymer) as Puru-chan, the late You Inoue (Kanuka in Mobile Police Patlabor, Gepelnich in Macross 7) as Sayla, Maya Okamoto (Soletta in Sakura Wars, Lamba Nom in Dangaioh) as Emma, Yoshiko Sakakibara (Sylia in Bubblegum Crisis, Integra in Hellsing) as Haman, Rumiko Ukai as Frau Bow, Saeko Shimazu (Yuri in Dirty Pair, Shinobu in Urusei Yatsura) as Four, Miyuki Matsuoka as Fa, Fuyumi Shiraishi as Mirai, Miki Ito (Project A-Ko, Battle Angel) as Mineva Zabi, Hidekatsu Shibata (Geese in Fatal Fury, male Baron Ashura in Mazinger Z/Mazinkaiser) as Degwin Zabi, Daisuke Gouri (Umigame in Dragon Ball/DBZ/DBGT) as Dozle Zabi, Katsuji Mori (Ken in Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman) as Garma Zabi, Hideyuki Tanaka (Fujitaka in Cardcaptor Sakura) as Woody, Keiko Toda (Iczer-2 in Fight! Iczer-One) as Matilda, and Ichiro Nagai (Happosai in Ranma 1/2, Cherry in Urusei Yatsura) as the narrator. "NYAA!" - Camille Vidan The Bottom Line While the new SD Gundam Force series is for kids, this OAV collection is for hardcore Gundam fans only. Otherwise, if you want loads of cheap laughs, pick up SD Gundam today. "BOPPIN!" - random phrase by anyone in the series Reference Anime News Network

Scrapped Princess ( スクラップドプリンセス ) BONES/WOWOW/Kadokawa Shoten, 2003 Bandai Entertainment, 2005 Directed by Souichi Masui. Rated 13-Up for violence, slight nudity, mature situations and strong language. When Pacifica Casull was born, so was an evil prophecy of her bringing forth destruction in the world when she reaches the age of 16. With that year coming up, bandits and sorcerers from various parts of the land make attempts to kill her before that prophecy is made, but Pacifica is well-guarded by her siblings Raquel - a powerful user of magic - and Shannon - an expert swordsman. Story: A- After being bored to hell by Sorcerer Hunters, I picked up this title and I was very impressed. Unlike recent medieval anime titles, Scrapped Princess does not deviate from the story by using unnecessary fan service. Instead, it keeps you hooked with its unique storytelling and character development. It's always interesting to know more about Pacifica and see who's out to kill her next. Animation: A+ BONES (RahXephon, Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door) never fails to deliver when it comes to excellent animation. Takahiro Komori's (Battle Doll Angelic Layer) character designs capture the essence of the show. Pacifica herself is very kawaii. Soundtrack: A Excellent use of acoustics and medieval-style music make the soundtrack a great add-on to your CD collection, along with the opening theme "Little Wing" by JAM Project (Mazinkaiser, The SoulTaker) and the ending "Daichi no la-li-la" by Yoko Ueno and Masumi Itou (Azumanga Daioh). Cast Scrapped Princess features Fumiko Orikasa (Chise in Saishuu Heiki Kanojo, Seras in Hellsing) as Pacifica, Shinichiro Miki (Takumi in Initial D, Allen in Escaflowne) as Shannon, Sayaka Ohara (Kaede in Please Teacher!, Ai in Popotan) as Raquel, Takahiro Mizushima (Tadahiro in Asagiri no Miko) as Chris, Ayako Kawasumi (Mahoromatic, Aoi in Ai Yori Aoshi) as Winia, Takashi Kondo as Leo, and Kaori Mizuhashi (Taeko in Ai Yori Aoshi, Pepper in A Little Snow Fairy Sugar) as Zephylis. The Bottom Line When it comes to medieval anime, very few can compare to Scrapped Princess when it comes to action and comedy. Once it gets licensed, do not hesitate to buy or rent it. Links Official Scrapped Princess Homepage (Japanese) WOWOW's Official Scrapped Princess Homepage (Japanese) Kadokawa Shoten's Official Scrapped Princess Homepage (Japanese) Reference Anime News Network