Romeo X Juliet – Volume 2
Label: MVM.
Certificate: 12
Discs: 1. (6 episodes)
Running time: 150 mins approx
Video: 16.9 anamorphic
Sound: English 5.1, Japanese 2.0
Subtitles: English.
Release date: 15th March 2010
RRP: £15.99 – Amazon – Play – MVM
Romeo X Juliet – Volume 3
Label: MVM.
Certificate: 12
Discs: 1. (6 episodes)
Running time: 150 mins approx
Video: 16.9 anamorphic
Sound: English 5.1, Japanese 2.0
Subtitles: English.
Release date: 5th April 2010
RRP: £15.99 – Amazon – Play – MVM
Romeo X Juliet – Volume 4
Label: MVM.
Certificate: 12
Discs: 1. (6 episodes)
Running time: 150 mins approx
Video: 16.9 anamorphic
Sound: English 5.1, Japanese 2.0
Subtitles: English.
Release date: 3rd May 2010
RRP: £15.99 – Amazon – Play – MVM
Brief synopsis:
As the house of Capulet, once thought destroyed by the house of Montague, struggles to make a stand against prince Montague’s despotic reign as he holds the city of Neo Verona it a tortuous stranglehold, Romeo’s show of disdain for his fathers actions land him a one way trip to the mines on the outskirts of the city. But far from being the humbling and potential fatal exile it is designed to be, this fall from grace opens Romeo’s eyes to what it means to live at the edges of society, far from the ivory towers of his birth. Both Romeo and Juliet soon finds that their love and their promises to one another may be all that keeps them going through the trying times ahead but it may be that love may not be enough to save them both from what the fates have in store for these star crossed lovers
Comments:
I stated in my review for the first volume of this series that if production company GONZO didn’t “drop the ball by doing something stupid at the last minute – then this show has the potential for greatness.” Well I’m pleased to say that the ball was not dropped and GONZO have managed to produce what is arguable their finest piece of work yet. They’ve managed 24 episodes of story telling that pulls in the audience with high quality animation throughout, characters that are both believable and sympathetic, good music and – most important of all – an ending that didn’t suck worse than a two dollar whore. One of GONZO’s other common failing (apart from the sucky endings thing) are that they have a habit of over using the CGI or shoehorning it in where it isn’t required but thankfully this isn’t the case with this show.
Musically this show is a treat with the score being handled by Hitoshi Sakimoto (probably best known for his work on several of the Final Fantasy games) and including may orchestral pieces clearly influenced buy western folk and traditional pieces. If the opening theme “Inori” sounds strangely familiar it’s because it’s a Japanese version of Secret Garden’s “You raise me up”, a song which seems to have been covered by just about everyone and their dog and has made more appearances on X-Factor than I’d even like to think about.
As a whole, this series will appeal equally to guys who aren’t afraid of a little romance in with their action and girls who love a bit of action to spice up their romance. Through the course of this series, Romeo is ripped from his safe and cosseted life of plenty and thrust into the harsh reality of what it means to life as one of the people but in doing so learns what it means to truly live. Al the same time Juliet moves from being a sheltered and a protected little girl onto being idealistic though ineffectual young woman before she can finally become a true leader to the downtrodden people. All the while its their love and faith in each other that keeps them strong enough to do what must be done. Be warned though, a happy ending is far from guaranteed but then considering the source material this is hardly a show you could come to expecting a happy ending. But then, after the like of Evangelion, Aquarion or Saikano, who else does bitter-sweet endings better than the Japanese?
Of course, it helps that the team behind the English language dub have done such a great job on this series that it not only matches the quality of original Japanese version but also surpasses it with ease, and that’s not something you’ll be often hearing from my lips. The English scriptwriters have managed not only include the elements of – and scores of references to – a large number of Shakespeare’s other plays but also to cram in many more for the fans out there to spot. The dub cast have proven what can be done when they put their minds to it and Brina Palencia proves that she really is leading lady material and not just as the Lady Juliet, but also as her boyish alter ego Odin as well as the heroic Red Whirlwind.
So what would the Bard himself have to say if he was around to pass comment? Well apart from being pleasantly surprised that over four hundred years and half a world away from his birth, his plays are as relevant and loved as they ever were, I think he’d be pleased that modern story tellers are still invoking many of his basic principles; that status and nobility ultimately mean nothing, that it’s human nature to rile against whatever the fates may have in store for us and that love really does conquer all. Eat that Stephenie Meyer
Extras:
None on either Volume 2 or Volume 4 but Volume 3 has the original trailer for this show, textless opening and closing animations; an art gallery and a pair of trailers. With 6 episodes on each volume that’s still good value for money.
Romeo X Juliet – Volume 2 is available now from most high streets and online retailers. Volume 3 will be available from 5th April and Volume 4 from 3rd May. If MVM sticks to the same Modus Operandi they’ve used for a number of their other series then we’ll probably be seeing a box-set for this series within the next six months.
Anime box-sets for 2010: Part 3.1415927
The Slayers Next: Complete Box Set
Label: MVM.
Certificate: 12
Discs: 4. (26 episodes)
Running time: 640 minutes
Video: 4:3
Audio: Japanese 2.0, English 2.0.
Subtitles: English.
Release date: 12th April 2010
RRP: £39.99 – Amazon – Play – MVM
Brief synopsis:
The Slayers are back again and they’re still roaming the land punishing bandits, defeating evil sorcerers, looting anything that isn’t nailed down and eating pretty much anything they can get their hands on.
When the kingdom of Zoana decides to pick a fight with it’s neighbours, the nearby kingdom of Saillune sends Princess Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune to try to talk them down with some good old-fashioned diplomacy. Unfortunately for Zoana, Amelia’s good friend Lina Inverse (who’s also an incredibly potent and short tempered sorceress) is also in town and her idea of diplomacy involves blowing up everything in sight with extremely powerful magic and asking questions later. In order to assist their human/demon/golem hybrid friend Zelgadis Greywords in his quest to turn himself back into a full human by obtaining the Clare Bible, Lina and her group travel to Atlas City. There they somehow become separated onto opposing sides of a power struggle involving the local Magic Association. Loyalty to your travelling companions may be one thing but the prospect of a huge reward for kicking their behinds is just too much for Lina to resist.
Comments:
Slayers season two is pretty much a straight continuation of season one but not only brings over all our favourite characters but also introduces some new faces such as the “Trickster Priest” Xellos and Lina’s newest nemesis Martina Zoana Mel Navratilova, both of whom will play rather important roles later in the Slayers mythos. The art style and production values are also brought over from the previous season with slight improvements (and a slight bit more “bounce” in the chest dept) which as I’ve said before, may look slightly dated by modern standards is still much better than most other shows of the same vintage. All in all, while this show is undeniably old, it’s also undeniably fun and it’s easy to see why it still retains it’s popularity after all these years. The characters are interesting and engaging, the humour’s both cheesy and entertaining and the basic “band of misfits kick arse across a medieval swords-and-sorcery world” premise is almost timeless. Like many other older series such as Outlaw Star and Tenchi Muyo this show is part of the reason for many an anime fan becoming hooked in the first place. Seeing as this anime originally came out in Japan in spring 1996, this show’s held up remarkably well. While the lines aren’t as sharp and the colours not as vibrant as the majority of the 21st century anime series we’ve seen over the last few years, there’s been no noticeable image degradation over the years. As was the case with the first Slayers series, the dub for this series is excellent. In fact I’d even go so far as to say it rivals the original Japanese version in terms of quality and I’d have no trouble recommending either version. A couple of the voice actors have been changed since the start of the first season. Luckily while the marvellous Lisa Ortiz is still handling the spunky and unpredictable Lina Inverse, straight man and comic foil Zelgadis Greywords is now been handled by fan favorite Crispin Freeman who is probably best known for his stellar work as Alucard from Hellsing.
Extras:
Production art, sketch galleries and a bunch of trailers.
The Slayers Next: Complete Box Set will be available from most high streets and online retailers from 12th April 2010.
The Slayers Try: Complete Box Set
Label: MVM.
Certificate: 12
Discs: 4. (26 episodes)
Running time: 650 minutes
Video: 4:3
Audio: Japanese 2.0, English 2.0.
Subtitles: English.
Release date: 3rd May 2010
RRP: £39.99 – Amazon – Play – MVM
Brief synopsis:
Several months after the end of Slayers Next we rejoin spunky teen sorceress Lina Inverse and her travelling party of mismatched misfits. Now that the Mazuko’s magical barrier to the outside world has been destroyed, passage to these new lands is finally possible. There’s new countries to explore, new people to meet and, more importantly, all manner of new and exciting cuisine to be quaffed. Lina’s intent on getting out there to start sampling previously unforeseen menus, plundering undiscovered treasures and relieving the wealthy & unwitting of their purses. But barely have they had time to even start on the hors-d’oeuvres when they become entangled in a prophecy involving Dark Star Dugradigdo, a dark lord from another dimension, who’s stated to be coming to their world and will bring nothing by destruction and chaos in it’s wake.
Comments:
So here we have the fourth and final Slayers TV series produced in the 20th century before production took a ten-year hiatus until 2008 when the fifth series, Slayers Revolution was finally released. Originally released in 1997, Slayers Try follows almost straight on from Slayers Next and the animation quality, voice acting and general feel remaining about the same
Extras:
There’s a featurette showing behind the scenes with the dub cast; several deleted scenes; an image gallery and a number of production sketches.
The Slayers Try: Complete Box Set will be available from most high streets and online retailers from 3rd May 2010.