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Guilty Crown (Blu-ray), Early Review
Mobile Suit Gundam (DVD), Review
Who Is the Man of Steel?
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Monthly Archives: July 2009
Lucky Star OVA, Early Look/Review
By Marc | July 27th, 2009

Lucky Star returns for one last… well not sure I’d call Lucky Star an adventure… but Lucky Star is back for one more go round (that works).
 
luckystar-ova-cover
 
A few months after the series has ended we get about another episode and a half.  With a bit of time having passed, is Lucky Star still the bright shining star we remember? Continue reading

Categories: Anime Review, Reviews
Amazing Spider-Man #600 Review
By Justin | July 26th, 2009

At first I’d planned to kick this off with a joke, and then I realized I am just not that funny. So, whatever, its Spider-Man!
 
amazing-spider-man-600-1
 
So, Spidey’s made something of a milestone for himself in the comic world with his book, The Amazing Spider-Man, reaching its 600th issue. Six hundred issues. That’s an impressive number of books, to say the least. I can’t even fathom what such a collection would look like.
 
But that isn’t the only thing Marvel had in store for us, simply not content to let a momentous occasion like this to slip by, the book boasts over one hundred pages and a variety of short stories.
 
There’s seriously a lot of book here. Now to find out if it lives up to its special treatment…. Continue reading

Categories: Comic Review, Reviews
Gad Guard, Series Review
By Heath | July 25th, 2009

So I sat down to start watching Gonzo’s “Gad Guard”, not knowing much about the series, except that it was a mecha anime.  Now I know what you’re thinking (I thought it too); if you’ve seen one mecha anime, you’ve seen ‘em all.  But don’t count out “Gad Guard”; it may surprise you, a little.
 
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I actually watched the show subtitled on FUNimation’s website via their free internet stream.  So for obvious reason I won’t get too technical about the video or audio quality, but stick more to the story and animation elements.  Also, this review pertains only to the original subbed version of the show and not the dub.  However, from watching the dubbed series trailer, it doesn’t sound half bad.  In fact, it sounds damn good, but I’m only saying that based off a trailer, so I wouldn’t take that statement to heart. Continue reading

Categories: Anime Review, Reviews
Viz Announces Kekkaishi and InuYasha: The Final Act
By Marc | July 24th, 2009

Confirming the news we found out earlier in the week, Viz is indeed releasing the Kekkaishi anime in the USA.
 
They also announced they will be releasing the new Inuyasha anime under the title “InuYasha: The Final Act.”
 
CCI09: VIZ Anime & Manga Liveblog at AnimeVice
 

Categories: News
Kannagi: Volume 1, Early Look/Review
By Marc | July 24th, 2009

It’s sorta odd to have a DVD in hand for a license announced just a week ago, but here Kannagi is.
 
kannagi-cover
 
After a year of oddity from Bandai in regards to quality and actually getting releases out (not to mention similar issues in the past), people are being a bit on the cautious side with Bandai disks, let’s see how this one fares. Continue reading

Categories: Anime Review, Reviews
License Alert- Kekkaishi
By Marc | July 22nd, 2009

Based on the popular manga (released by Viz in North America), Kekkaishi ran for 52 episodes a couple years ago in Japan.
 
kekkaishi-1
 
Not sure who has licensed it yet, but Kekkaishi’s dub is currently in production in Los Angeles (maybe we will hear something at San Diego Comic-Con?)
 
Update- Based on some further information, I believe the license holder to be Viz or a company that we don’t traditionally think of as an anime company, but that isn’t confirmed (officially OR unofficially.)
 

 

Categories: News
Fullmetal Alchemist: Premium OVA Collection, Early Look/Review
By Marc | July 22nd, 2009

Wow, been almost seven months since we found out this would be coming out in the USA.
 
fma-coverart
 
It’s been a few years since the last time we checked in on Ed and Al, let’s see if the Fullmetal Alchemist still shines (I really should stop with the puns and bad jokes in reviews…) Continue reading

Categories: Anime Review, Reviews
A History of DragonBall Z DVDs in North America
By Heath | July 19th, 2009

 
Introduction by Marc- We get to welcome a new staff member to FBR today.  Heath will be writing some editorials and reviews for us in the future.  Many Dragonball Z fans will know him as Hujio, from one of the premiere American DBZ sites, Kanzentai.  For his first article he wrote up a little history of DBZ DVDs, including some of his personal thoughts on the matter.  I actually asked him to do this prior to his first review because a lot of the more casual DBZ fans out there don’t get why the announcement of the American ‘Dragon Boxes’ are such a big deal to many of the more hardcore DBZ lovers.  So I’ll pass the dragonball over to Heath for his initial post at FBR.
 
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Continue reading

Categories: Editorial, Feature
Funimation Announces the DragonBoxes
By Marc | July 18th, 2009

We are finally getting an American release of the fully remastered Dragon Ball Z Dragonboxes.
 
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Not generally a person to just post post press releases, but for now I’m just quite happy that it’s actually happening, so I’ll let Funi’s press release do the talking. There are also more pictures of early packaging mockups from our friends at DaizenshuuEX at the bottom.
 
Flower Mound, TX – July 18, 2009 — FUNimation Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation, today announces that it has acquired the original masters for the entire Dragon Ball Z anime series, episodes and films, and will release all as the Dragon Box for the first time in the U.S. The first of seven Dragon Boxes will be available at major retailers nationwide this Fall.

The Dragon Box will be produced from the original Dragon Box masters after a frame by frame restoration and will span the entire 291 episode television series and all 13 of its movies.
 
This definitive DVD box release begins with Dragon Box One which includes the first 42 episodes, uncut, on 6 discs.

The Dragon Box releases will feature an aspect ratio of 4:3, the original Japanese audio (with options for an English track or English subtitles), the original episode previews, complete opening and closing credits and a collector’s booklet.
 
Dragon Box One will be available at major retailers nationwide on November 10, 2009 and will have an SRP of $79.98.
 
About FUNimation Entertainment

 
FUNimation® Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation, is the leading company for home video sales of Japanese animation in the United States.  FUNimation has a proven formula for launching and advancing brands, and manages a full spectrum of rights for most of its brands including broadcasting, licensing, production, internet, and home video sales and distribution. For more information about FUNimation Entertainment and its brands, visit www.funimation.com
 

 

Categories: News
Stitch! Anime Coming to the USA
By Marc | July 14th, 2009

Fans of both Disney and anime should be happy because it appears the Disney/Madhouse anime production Stitch! (a spin-off of the Lilo and Stitch franchise) will be coming to the USA relatively soon.
 
stitch
 
I’ve been able to confirm that pre-production work has began on an English version of Stitch! at Studiopolis using the normal crop of Los Angeles area dub actors (no idea if Chris Sanders, one of the directors of the original film, will be reprising his role as Stitch).  Should be interesting to see how an English dub, of a Japanese anime, based on a Disney property will turn out.
 

 

Categories: News
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