Samurai Deeper Kyo – Volume 1
Label: MVM.
Release date: 13th July 2009
Certificate: PG
Discs: 1.
Running time: 120 mins approx (7 episodes)
Video: 16.9 anamorphic
Sound: English 2.0, Japanese 2.0
Subtitles: English.
RRP: £15.99
Brief synopsis:
At the start of the 17th century, two mighty samurai, the honourable Kyoshiro Mibu and the murderous Demon Eyes Kyo, face each other in the midst of the Battle of Sekigahara. When a meteorite falls to earth leaving a path of destruction in it’s wake, both men are considered dead, lost to the mighty power of the meteorite’s explosive demise. Four years later and a young female bounty hunter is shocked to discover that the travel physician she’s just apprehended, wanted for the petty crime of eat and run, is actually Kyoshiro Mibu. Even more shocking is that when they’re attacked by a demon, the soul of Demon Eyes Kyo, who has been sleeping within Kyoshiro all these years, takes possession of his old foe’s body and defeats their would be attacker. It seems that Demon Eyes Kyo has found a way to take over Kyoshiro’s body for short periods of time and is determined to use it to track down his own body and return his soul to it’s rightful place.
Based on the (very) long running manga by Akimine Kamijyo, Samurai Deeper Kyo – Vol 1 contains the first seven episodes of this 26-episode samurai sword fighting action comedy series.
Extras:
Not a whole lot, just the text-less opening and closing animation and an interview with the Director, but as you get 7 full episodes instead of the more usual 3 or 4 this still sounds like decent value for money.
Samurai Deeper Kyo – Volume 1 will be available on DVD from most high street retailers, as well as online retailers such as Amazon and Play from 13th July 2009.
Gunparade March – Volume 1
Label: MVM.
Release date: 3rd August 2009
Certificate: 15
Discs: 1.
Running time: 96 mins approx (4 episodes)
Video: 4:3
Sound: English 2.0, Japanese 2.0
Subtitles:English. (full or signs only)
RRP: £15.99
Brief synopsis:
In the latter years of WWII humanity turned their guns away from each other and towards an insidious new foe. Alien invaders have targeted the Earth and for the first time ever the whole of humanity, no matter the creed, colour or religion, must fight together to defend the planet from attack. Fifty year later and the battle is still wages on. The island nation of Japan has become one of the last strongholds for a rapidly diminishing human race. With resources and manpower both running out the decision was taken to start drafting schoolchildren into what was left of the battered and beleaguered armed forces. Using just their wits, their limited training and their standard issue “Humanoid Walking Tanks”, Unit 5121, a group of teenage recruits find themselves tasked with defending mainland Japan from wave after wave of alien intruders. Along with this they also have to cope with all the normal problems adolescence can bring and when an enigmatic new pilot transfers into the Unit, internal tensions threaten to become as much of a threat as the alien invaders.
Comments:
Based on the Playstation game of the same name and touted as “Neon Genesis Evangelion meets Love Hina by way of Starship Troopers” – though personally I’d have gone more for Full Metal Panic meets Blue Gender – Gunparade March is as much about the relationships between the young soldiers of Unit 5121 as it is about the war against alien invaders. This might irritate some viewers as at times you can be getting quite involved in a nice “giant mecha verses big ugly nasty thing” battle when suddenly the main characters all stop to have a bit of a squabble until the aliens threaten to sneak up behind them and show them what for. There’s times where GPM doesn’t seem to know what kind of show it actualy is: Is it a lighthearted love comedy?, A survival horror?, A coming of age story?. Either way, when it does manage to keep itself on track it’s a decent enough show and once you’ve warmed to the characters, which can take a while, they can be quite endearing.
The animation’s above average for it’s age (GPM was first broadcast in early 2003) and follows a slightly different story to both the Playstation game and the associated manga.
Extras:
Textless opening; Textless closing; Trailers;
Gunparade March – Volume 1 will be available on DVD from most online and high street retailers from 3rd August. As usual, both Amazon and Play, are currently offering this volume at some quite heftily discounted prices.
Reviewer: Penfold