The Fanboy Review

Category: Reviews

  • Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Box 1 Review


     
    In 1999, Pioneer began releasing the edited TV version of the first two dub seasons of Dragon Ball Z on DVD. In 2000, FUNimation began releasing their own uncut, bilingual DVDs of the series, starting with the third dub season. In 2005, after the rest of the series was finished, FUNimation began releasing bilingual, uncut versions of the episodes that were previously sub-licensed to Pioneer (now known as Geneon). But those releases were quietly canceled before even the first dub season was finished, leaving a gap of forty episodes that were never released in this format. However, in 2007, FUNimation re-started their Dragon Ball Z DVD releases in a “remastered” format that was cropped to widescreen, and fully released every episode this way from beginning to end in boxed sets. Thus, there has only been one consistent release of all 291 episodes of Dragon Ball Z in North America, but at the cost of roughly one-sixth of the footage from every frame of every episode. (more…)

  • Sands of Destruction: The Complete Series, Early Look/Review

     
    Back with another anime DVD to review, this time we have a Funimation show, via a Sega game… Sands of Destruction.
     

     
    Sega doesn’t normally get the high marks for quality they used to long ago, so can a Sega based anime work out? (more…)

  • Siege #1 Review

     

    In the immediate aftermath of Dark Reign comes Marvel’s next big crossover event, Siege. This event is being hyped as perhaps the biggest, most important one in years for the Marvel Universe; a culmination of everything since Avengers Disassembled, and the end of an era. It’s an awful lot to live up to, and comic promotion by a publisher is naturally full of exaggeration. But is the series really going to be that grand? Looking at the first issue, it’s a little hard to tell. (more…)

  • Linebarrels of Iron: Part 1, Early Look/Review

    Back on a new computer with a new review.  This time we have Gonzo popping up with the story of a boy and a mech (a story no anime fan has ever heard before…)
     

     
    So does Linebarrels of Iron and the story of a boy and a mech show us anything we haven’t seen in the genre before?  Let’s take a look. (more…)

  • Ministry #1-3 Review

     
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    We recently received a few issues of an independent comic series to look at called Ministry, by Lara Phillips. As a big departure from our usual Marvel or DC reviews, I definitely wasn’t sure what to expect going in. Let’s see how it turned out. (more…)

  • Blackest Night Part 1 Review

    After much build-up and hype, DC’s big Blackest Night event finally began this summer, and is roughly halfway over now. The Green Lanterns, as well as numerous other heroes, are put to the test by the appearance of Black Lanterns — fallen heroes revived to extinguish all light from the universe. One could call it a glorified zombie event, but is there more to it than that? Let’s look at all the material released thus far.
     
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    To clarify, this review will cover Blackest Night #0-4, Green Lantern #43-47, Green Lantern Corps #39-41, Blackest Night: Batman #1-3, Blackest Night: Superman #1-3, Blackest Night: Titans #1-3, and Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #1-3.
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  • Naruto Shippuden The Movie, Early Look/Review

    Another year, another Naruto movie on DVD.  This time it’s based on Shippuden though, so everyone is a little older and a little wiser (well not really wiser…)
     
    Shippuden Movie Cover
     
    Shonen movies are always stuck in that loop of wanting to be ‘the big movie’ version of a show, and then having to reset to point zero at the end.  Let’s see how the newest Naruto movie does.

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  • Blassreiter: Part 1, Early Look/Review

    Back again, and this time with a bloody treat, Blassreiter.  One of the original simulcasts is finally getting a DVD release. After the show was given out for free, does the DVD deserve a place on your shelf?
     
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    Instead of my normal comment, a small warning.  Look at the cover art.  If the cover art makes you a bit creeped out, just consider… this is the American cover art.  If this is what we get for the cover, imagine the content of the show itself… but for the rest of you, it may be a ride worth catching ( and aha!, fought the effort to make a motorcycle joke!)  Also, after the jump is the entire first episode embedded for your viewing pleasure via Gonzo’s Youtube channel, and Funimation Video is also streaming the entire series subtitled (along with a few dub episodes as a preview.) (more…)

  • Red Dwarf: Back to Earth (Blu-ray), Review

    Gone for a decade, but definitely not forgotten, the Red Dwarf crew return.
     

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    After a decade away, is one of Britian’s premier sitcoms as strong as ever, or in this case, does time erode all things? Let’s go “Back to Earth” to find out. (And yes, I’m aware how terrible that line is.)
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  • Escaflowne: The Movie (Blu-ray), Early Look/Review

    Time for another early review.  This time we have the Escaflowne movie, now having over half a dozen American releases.
     
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    Having had over a dozen releases, and the Ultimate Edition from day one still being the preferred version, is Escaflowne on Blu-ray a great release?  Or should it go in the pile of disks that few want, next to Escaflowne on UMD and Bandai’s Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence Blu-ray.
    (more…)