Anime For Halloween

Planning your own anime-themed Halloween party/rave/shindig/etc.? Then here's a quick list of anime OVAs & movies readily-available in America you might wanna screen for some screams:

VAMPIRE HUNTER D

The original anime movie about a dhampir(half-human/half-vampire)who is a vampire hunter about 10,000 years in the future, and rescues a sexy werewolf hunter from an evil vampire lord. Yoshitaka Amano of Final Fantasy did the eerie character designs for this , and it was produced by Toyoo Ashida who did this right after finishing Fist Of The North Star, another killer 80s post-apocalyptic anime. Some serious grindhouse-meets-Hammer Horror magic here!

VAMPIRE HUNTER D: BLOODLUST

This movie is seen as a sequal to the original, although you can view it on its own without having any knowledge of the prior. Based on the third of the VHD book series, this one is alot more geared toward fans of Castlevania and The Vampire Chronicles with dark images and some addictively grotesque action sequences. In it, D has to rescue another maiden who has been taken by a vampire lord, although this one is more of a gothic love story. But the main selling point in it is the team of vampire hunters modeled after the A-Team!

KAKURENBO

This short indy Japanese animated movie was fully computer animated about a group of children who put on fox maskes and run around an abandonned part of the city and play a game of hide-n'-seek. One of goes along to find his missing sister, but its soon revealed that the entire area is haunted by demons. The movie makes for a suspenseful slasher-type story as each of the kids get picked off one-by-one by the monsters, especially the mechanical menace that feeds off the children.

BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE

Another bloodsucker movie, but also kinda short is the original Blood anime. This was created by Kenji Kamiyama who worked on Ghost In The Shell, and was one of the first anime productions to mix computer animation with 2D. A vampire slayer in mid-60s Japan takes on vampiric creatures called Chiropterans on an American air force base on Halloween. This is probably the best selection for a Halloween party in retrospect.

GHOST SWEEPER MIKAMI: THE MOVIE

Even though the TV series that its a continuation of is "supposed" to be coming out sometime soon to America, the movie was the first anime of it to be released in English. Mikami is a busty exorcist known as a Ghost Sweeper, who is always out to make a quick buck. Now, the Nosferatu has been resurrected, and Mikami has to team up with her business rivals in order to take him down. A sexy/funny romp for any ghostbusters fan.

MISC. MANGA, *Comic Party

After a successful adult and then non-adult dating sim game, Comic Party was adapted into a manga, and then later by two hit anime TV series. It was a little strange at the time to do a manga about the manga industry, or more accurately the world of dojinshi. Dojinshi is considered to be "fan comics" which are comics created by Japanese artists and tradtionally sold at comic book shows and conventions, the biggest of which is Comiket that is usually shown in this story as well as several other anime/manga titles. Unlike in America, Japanese publishers actually encourage independent artists to create books based on their works. Some of these artists actually get picked up by major labels after they start doing their own original material. While it is a fact that alot of dojinshi is hentai-themed, not all of it intended solely for lonely fanboys.

The story concerns high school student Kazuki, a boy with a talent for drawing that his cavalier fanboy friend Taishi cons him into going with him to Comiket and experiencing the feeling of being a dojinshi artist. This sparks Kazuki's ambition to becoming a dojinshi creator himself, much to the disappointment of his wouldbe girfriend Mizuki. Throughout the series, Kazuki meets other girls, who in the original dating-sim were the other love interests you would choose from. They consist of the country girl but gung-ho artist Yu, the egotistical and successful artist Eimi, the shy artist Aya, the klutzy printer Chisa, Minami who on the con staff, cosplayer Reiko, the idol singer Asahi, and the hero-obsessed comics creator Suburu. Suburu actually forms a special sentai team out of the cast to stop a disgruntled fan from ruining the convention. Despite all these potential girlfriends, Taishi sticks with Mizuki who has been his friend since childhood(as well as being the bustier one out of them all!). Taishi also has a big selloff with Eimi to take a position at a promising mainstream manga publisher, of which he eventually wins.

The manga to me told a slightly better story than the original anime series, as it carries Taishi's journey from casual fan to full-fledged manga artist, albeit a little swifter than expected over only five volumes. The original anime series was followed up by another TV show which was first going to be an OVA titled Comic Party Revolution, which in some respects is kind of a real sequel to the manga for more than one reason. One is that it was done by a completely different animation studio from the first series, and another reason is that there are characters and events introduced to Revolution that didn't appear in the original anime. Manga-ka Sekihiko Inui did a great job with this manga, and went on to create his own work like Murder Princess and Ratman. There was a totally different manga released in America through CPM Manga also titled Comic Party, but these was a three-volume anthology series featuring the regular characters as done by different dojinshi artists. Feel free to look both of them up.

ANI-MOVIES, *Ninja Scroll

Yoshiaki Kawajiri directed Wicked City, X, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Highlander: Search For Vengeance, plus segments from Batman: Gotham Knight and The Animatrix, but his first big break in the West was Ninja Scroll. Thought to be originally based on the life of the famous swordsman Yagyu Jubei, the only thing that it has in common with that is the main character has the same first name and is also a great swordsman.

Set in feudal Japan, wandering ronin Jubei runs across Kagero the surviving member of a team of ninjas who were slaughtered by one of the 8 Devils of Kimon, a band of warriors with supernatural powers. Kagero and her group were investigating a village that was reported to have a plague in it, but she was accosted and molested by a large rock monster. Jubei manages to escape with her, even though the monster comes back after him, then he mysteriously dies during the fight. Its revealed that Kagero gives off a natural poison to anyone who makes love to her, which kills the monster. Jubei is then attacked by another one of the Devils, but dispatches her. Although, during the fight, the government spy Dakuan poisons him, and convinces Jubei to help him investige the case with the plagued village in exchange for the cure. The two of them join forces with Kagero to make their way to the village, but are continuously being attacked by the other Devils, which go from a blind swordsman, a hunchback with killer hornets coming out of his back, a ninja with the power to dive into shadows, and a naked woman with snakes coming out of every oraphus of her body. Kagero summons her lord to the village of where the Devils of Kimon have been actually collecting gold for an underworld clan lead by the "Shogun of the Dark". Unfortunately, the Devil's leader was masquerading as Kagero's lord the whole time, and kills her on the spot. Their leader is Gemma, who is one of the members of Jubei's old squad from five years ago that betrayed him, and Jubei thought he had beheaded him. Gemma though knew a reincarnation ninja technique, and since then planned to take over the shadow originization by becoming the "Shogun of the Dark" himself. Jubei and Gemma have and all out slugfest on the boat carrying the gold, which Jubei finally manages to do away with Gemma, Terminator 2-style.

Ninja Scroll has created a hell of a following, oddly more in America than in Japan. So much so, that it spurred an American-produced anime TV series sequal, as well as a comic book from Wildstorm. The only drawback to its fame was alot of American distributors tried slipping in completely unrelated titles like Ninja Resurrection or Jubei-chan as being sequals to it. There are plans to do an American live-action remake of it, but hopefully it'll be better than the Blood: The Last Vampire remake. As for the original movie itself, it remains to be one of the most dynamic action anime movies ever. The plot is about as standard as most samurai flicks, but the stylish animation and fight scenes totally move it along. The movie might be a product of his time which appealed to alot of the "extreme" nature of the 90s, but it has a very lasting nature for a classic getway drug for anyone wanting to get into anime. Throw out your obligatory copy of Scarface and make this a permanent addition to your movie library.

JESI THE GENIE, *Part 5: Page 6

Hey, eyes up here, pal!

ANI-MOVIES, *Ultimate Avengers

With all the Avengers live-action movie finally here, I figured it was overdue for a review of the original Avengers flick, and I don't mean that crappy one based on the British TV show. Beating out DC Universe by over a year, Marvel Entertainment lauched a series of made-for-video movies based on their comics, which were produced by Lions Gate Films. This was of course before the huge Disney buyout, and what this means for future releases of their line is unknown. But their first one out the gate was a real winner. Taking elements from their alternate universe line of Ultimate, they take their original superhero group which was given an edgier look to it, and then slighty polished it for younger viewers.

It starts out at the end of WWII were Captain America is leading a strike force against the last vastages of known Nazis, where its revealed that the Germans were in cohoots with shapechanging aliens called Chitari, who are the Ultimate Universe equivilent of the Skrull(from Secret Invasion fame). They plan on launching a nuke on America, but Cap manages to climb on the missle and stop it. However, he ends up falling into the North Pole and remaining frozen for decades. Cut to modern day where "General" Nick Fury(the Samuel L. Jackson version)is leading SHIELD on an expedition to find Captain America's body so that they can use his DNA to synthesize the Super-Soldier Serum in their constant feud with the Chitari. Cap is however not dead, and decides to join SHIELD as part of their new Project Avenger team which Fury is assembling to protect the Earth from those obnoxious aliens. They recruit Giant Man, Wasp, and the mysterious Iron Man, along with SHIELD operative Black Widow(rroawr!), although Thor, the self-proclaimed Norse god, rejects them. Dr. Bruce Banner is the reproducing the Super-Soldier Serum, but mainly wants to do it to control the raging spirit that dwells within him which is the Hulk, a monster he turns into from when he first tested the serum on himself. After failing to stop the Chitari infiltration of a military base, the team disbands. But they all manage to come together to stop the Chitari from destroying the main SHIELD headquarters, and then have to then take down the Hulk who goes all "Russel Crow" on everyone. After finally turning Hulk back to normal, the rest of the heroes sign on to be a permanent team called The Avengers(even though in the comics they're called The Ultimates).

As far as a made-for-video feature goes, this was pretty bad-ass. It has acceptable animation, even though its not theatrical quality, and a good selection of voice actors. I'll admit that I was hoping they'd take some of the more mature aspects of the actual Ultimates comic, like Hulk going on a rampage because Betty Ross dates some actor douchebag, and Giant Man using ants to attack Wasp. But since this movie was meant to appeal to a wider audience, most of that material was left out. I'd say this is probably the best superhero team movie ever done(team, not superhero group like X-Men or Fantastic Four), mainly for the way the characters put aside their personal differences to come together and defeat their common foe in the end. This  was followed by the equally fine sequal, Ultimate Avengers 2, and supposedly the totally odious movie of The Invincible Iron Man was a prequal to it. BTW, there's no connection between this and the other Marvel animated movie, Next Avengers, which was more of a What If? story involving the classic Avengers' kids. I'd say that even if you're a moderate fan of superheroes or comics, that you should give this one a look, at least for some "amazing adventures, True Believers"!

Top 5 WORST Superhero Animated Movies

There has been alot of great superhero animatied films have hit the home video market in the last few years via DC Universe or Marvel Entertainment through Lions Gate Films. However, there have been a few of them that were bogus as hell! Not only in recent years, but as far back as the stalwart days in the 80s. So, here's a list of what I consider to be the five worst ones ever done. These are ones that were either released in theatres, or was created specifically for home video(VHS/DVD).
5.Turok: Son Of Stone This made-for-DVD feature was based on the semi-popular comic book series, that gained even more notice as the hit video game series about a Native-American during the old west who regularly hunts dinosaurs. So, a "weird west" story sounds like a good idea for a comic, but the way this crappy movie executed it was totally off target. Shotty animation by former Disney producer Tad Stone with some really bad action sequences that make the old Cadillacs & Dinosaurs TV series from the 90s look better by comparison. There's just some shameless wannabe gore that never goes the route it should, and poor voice acting. Only if you're a huge fan of the games should you even bother checking it out. You'd be better off watching Jurassic Park 2 backwards.
4.He-Man/She-Ra: The Secret Of The Sword Believe it or not, this was put out in theatres in the 80s. It was meant to be a pilot of the She-Ra: Princess Of Power TV series, but is actually just the first 5 episodes compiled into a single feature. If you thought the whole He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe show was gay as all outdoors, then this spinoff was sprouting flowers left and right. Aside from the recycled footage that Filmation is famous for, this is also just limp as hell as a movie. Granted, its the second movie ever made based on a toyline, but even that wasn't an excuse for this to be done as a "movie".
3.Superman: Braniac Attacks Meant to be a followup to Superman: The Animated Series, this made-for-video film actually sat on the shelf for years. It was only after Superman Returns came out that they even bothered releasing it. This features some of the voice actors from the original series like Tim Daly as Superman, but Powers Boothe taking over as Luthor and Lance Henrkisen as Braniac really didn't help, especially since it wouldn't be much trouble to get the original actors for it. The other problem is that this film doesn't match up with the TV series at all, as if its outside the TV series continuity. Plus there's this boring subplot with Jimmy Olsen's lovelife(like we're supposed to care!). So, as this was one of the original DC Universe projects, its totally skipable.
2.Next Avengers Where the less-informed might've thought this was a followup to the Ultimate Avengers movies, it was really inspired by the classic comic book Avengers, but done in a way that was supposed to cash in on the popularity of the Teen Titans animated series by making a younger version of their lead superhero group. In a post-apocalyptic world, most of the Avengers were killed off by the super-android Ultron, so Iron Man takes their children into hiding while Ultron takes over the entire world. This has the Avenger-teens learning how to use their powers in order to survive Ultron, and the robot Avenger clones that Iron Man was retarded enough to let Ultron get control of. The story premise is pretty bad for this which makes you wonder why heroes like Hulk and Thor would just sit back while that planet gets raped up the ass by a genocidal robot. Even the appearance of the rarely seen Vision doesn't help this turd. It might've worked better if it had the "Kidvengers" fighting crime in a future time instead of having them in the Old Man Logan version of the future.
1.The Invincible Iron Man Beating out the first live-action Iron Man movie by over a year, this was meant to act as a prequal to Ultimate Avengers which already had Iron Man as a hero in it. But, anything that would've been cool about an Iron Man movie was completely left out of it. First of all, the whole involvement of the Mandarin is the worst idea ever. If there was a reason for not having this character in a film, this movie is a shining example of it. The sad part is that its not even the "real" Mandarin. He's more like Dormammu from Dr. Strange. In fact, the entire Mandarin plot is almost completely ripped off in the Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme movie. Plus, Tony Stark is just nothing like his comic counterpart. The addition of his father in this makes him a more responsible character, which is what you don't want out of Stark to begin with. That, and where after he and Rhodey come back from China, it turns out that Stark already had a vault full of armored suits was just lazy writing. Plus, can you possibly believe that SHIELD agents wouldn't bother looking over Stark's plane for any incriminating evidence after he's framed for selling illegal weapons, and not find a large robot suit hidden in giant trunk? The worst part is that you barely see the genuine Iron Man armor, which is only used in one scene in the whole movie. The rest of it is mostly all him in the garage kit armor, which is done in computer animation which doesn't work at all. It makes it look cheap and choppy, because it worked way better as regular 2D animation in Ultimate Avengers. For what this movie should have been, it is a big disappointment, and a fail of epic proportions.