The ANN review of Golgo 13 DVD box set one mentioned one small point that made me sit up and scratch my head as I sleepily read it on the bus in to work. The review text mentioned that there was no overarching plotline to speak of, and when it came time to give the score this was singled out as a reason to ding the series.

I am in no way saying this is incorrect; in fact, pointing this out to the prospective buying audience is a service, informing them of one of the cornerstones of the series’ format. But as a key part of the series structure, should it be cited as a negative issue? I don’t think so! Read the rest of this entry →

If you were one of the lucky few to attend the Dexter panel at Comic Con on Thursday, you were able to catch the exclusive season five trailer. If you were like me, you were left watching crappy cell phone videos of the trailer on YouTube. Thankfully Showtime has since released it online in beautiful HD.

After the incredibly strong fourth season, I was concerned that the follow up would fall flat; however, this sneak peek has allowed me to put those worries aside. It seems that Dexter is going to have to deal with the increasing suspicion of his coworkers, a backlash from his stepchildren, and more bad guys than previous seasons. Executive produce Chip Johannessen said, “We wanted to get away from the single serial killer. We’re not doing a serial killer of the week thing. We just have more balls in the air.”

In the meantime, Dexter will have to find a way to deal with the guilt he’s feeling for his wives death. Michael C. Hall said, “An appetite remains for killing and I think there’s an inexpressible unquenchable vengeance alive in Dexter now because of the fact that he killed Trinity and allowed himself to express a sense of kinship and a sense of mercy, only to discover that the guy had murdered his wife,” Hall said. “He can’t bring Trinity back to life and kill him again, so he has to find other victims.”

We also learned the role Julie Benz will play in the upcoming season. Benz returned to the bloody bathtub for a murder investigation scene, and laid inside a casket her funeral. “It’s a pretty creepy thing to get into a casket, especially when you’re having to act dead,” said Hall, “Julie and I laughed about the absurdity of the situation, but we didn’t joke around about it too much. I wanted her to be able to get out of there as soon as she could.” It remains unclear whether she will be in any other scenes.

[SOURCE: TVGuide.com, TVGuide.com, SHOWTIME]

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Revolutionary Girl Utena is a magical-girl anime of sorts, about a high-school girl called Utena Tenjou – and, as you might have guessed, she’s no ordinary girl – but perhaps not in the way you might expect. You see, Utena wants desperately to be a prince, constantly getting into trouble at Ohtori Academy for wearing the boys’ uniform. In fact, Utena wants to be a prince so much, that when she sees a girl in distress – that’s Anthy Himemiya – she sees no other option but to go sort out her abusive boyfriend. That’s when Utena becomes drawn in to the secrets of Ohtori Academy and it’s mysterious Dueling Club – and needs to protect her Anthy more than ever.

One great thing about this anime is that, for a shojo series, this has a really damned good story about fighting for what you believe in, for who you believe in, for going against the grain. I love this series for that because I’ve never seen anything like it. Read the rest of this entry →

It’s the Used Anime Store Pick of the Week!

Yu Yu Hakusho, Vol. 16 (Edited)! If you’ve been in the anime game for a while, you know that Funimation hasn’t always been the powerhouse they are today. This volume of Yu Yu Hakusho offers a glimpse into the history of their company, as well as the anime industry in general. Not only did they offer the option to purchase the TV edit on DVD–something unheard of today–they also released long running series with only 3-4 episodes per disc!

Click hear for more details!

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As more secrets behind the returning heroes of Brightest Day are slowly revealed, more murders and mysterious events occur. Martian Manhunter investigates with The Oracle, Firestorm is formed again with a drunk Ronnie, and Deadman is still coming to grips with the power of being a chosen White Lantern.

Best Quote of the Issue: “He loved cheeseburgers? What the hell does that have to do with any–?”