Tag: Blu-ray Review

Challenging Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis to the Unexpected. Decisions, Decisions….

At least the 3D CGI renders make Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis  look respectable. It’s like following the North American adaptation of Astro-Boy.

Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis
Available to purchase on Amason USA

Shout! Factory and Eleven Arts
Released July 5, 2022

Prince of Tennis’ new movie is all song and dance. Titled, Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis <Decide>, I wasn’t too sure about what to expect but when I’m a fan of musicals and West Side Story, it’s worth the watch. The drama examines the relationship between father and son, and dispenses with any sci-fi style elements to get to the chase.

To be honest, not many cinematic musicals about aiming for the top in some sport exist. While there’s many anime musicals set in different genres, to have an animated franchise annually releasing a work in this subgenre is much rarer. This 23-year-old franchise had regular stage shows, and this latest follows in that tradition.

This film continues the story of tennis prodigy Ryoma Echizen. He’s determined to take his game to the next level, but to do so means learning from the best. After he saves classmate Sakuno from some thugs (where two tennis balls collide like two atoms in a hadron collider), he’s magically transported to the past and meets his much younger parent. He knows that reveal himself is a bad idea, otherwise the timeline would unravel.

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The Secrets Are Revealed in Poupelle in Chimney Town’s Home Video Release

Poupelle in Chimney Town’s adventures are far from over, and this home video release reveals plans on where it can go! Worth picking up for those enamoured with this world.

Poupelle of Chimney Town Blu-Ray & DVD Cover
Available to preorder on Amazon USA

Shout Factory
Release Date: May 31, 2022

Poupelle in Chimney Town (映画 えんとつ町のプペル) will soon be available on home video, and if the bonus material is any indication, his adventures are far from over. This highly anticipated release is available to stream (Amazon Prime), but my money is on the physical release. It has everything for fans to fawn over and it comes with a nice mini booklet to introduce and explain what this story is all about–a young man daring to dream.

There might be plans for a 4K release down the road, but there’s no official news yet. I can see this film shine with a higher resolution release. There’s a lot of detail to appreciate, and when it’s been wholly animated in CGI, I like to know who those figures are in the background. In what’s offered in this blu-ray version is crisp. The original 5.1 sonic presentation is perfect.

I read more into this movie and expressed it in my article, “From Book to Film and Beyond Poupelle in Chimney Town!” and in what I understood, it’s also about not letting the past get the better of you. The tale is also comparable to the themes explored in the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from Wizard of Oz after I finished watching the bonus material.

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Ghostbusters Afterlife & Ultimate Set in Review

The difference between buying the individual releases of the Ghostbusters film on Blu-ray and the massive 4K box set is not just the cardboard.

Win GHOSTBUSTERS AFTERLIFE on Blu-ray - STARBURST Magazine

Bluray Available to Purchase on Amazon USA (all countries)
4K Ultimate Collection (limited to USA)

The difference between buying the individual releases of the Ghostbusters film on Blu-ray and the massive 4K box set is not just the cardboard. It’s a fairly big box that can be put on a display shelf, and as for the individually cardboard sleeved discs, perhaps moving them onto proper cases is better. Those can be placed on the video library shelf.

The collectable edition has a cool green-coloured light-up effect when you open the faux ghost trap to reveal the packages. The study cardboard construction can take some bruising, but I’ll be trying to keep mine as prestine (still with the plastic sleeve) as possible and dusting it more often than usual. The two bonus discs is the reason why long time fans are buying this edition over the single. I’m still going through them all (as time allows) and find reading the recreation of Don Shay’s Making Ghostbusters book from 1985 the big bonus. 

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Examining Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho

The glamour of the era and the music in Last Night in Soho s as delightful and sinister as Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge.

Last Night In Soho Available On Digital &amp; Blu-ray JanuaryUniversal Pictures
4K Edition available to purchase on Amazon USA

Edgar Wright‘s Last Night in Soho plays better after watching the bonus features in its home video release. This movie is more of a coming-of-age drama than a horror film and I can see this work easily fitting into the same universe as Disney’s live-action Cruella. This work’s emphasis on fashion is key to my theory. 

Even thoughts of Suspiria come to mind because of the colour palette and catapulting of Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) to an era not everyone knows. She somehow manifests, if not dreams, of 60s London. Instead of appearing in her own corporeal form, she’s in the body of her singer idol, Sandy (Anya Taylor-Joy). The two experience the seedier side of Soho district, hence the title. The glamour of the era and the music is as delightful and sinister as Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge–but minus Christian’s perspective of All You Need Is Love and saving the starlet from her demons.

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Kamen Rider Zero-One & Real×Time in Revue

The Kamen Rider franchise isn’t meant to be compelling television. It’s silly anime-style fun realised as live-action.

Kamen Rider Zero-One: The Complete Series + Movie - Blu-ray :: Shout! FactoryShout! Factory
Available to order on Amazon USA

Kamen Rider is a beloved Japanese comic book superhero franchise that’s gone on just as long as a few sci-fi media empires, namely Doctor Who and Star Trek. Shotaro Ishinomori created this epic tokusatsu style series in 1971, and to distinguish between the many televised products, manga and films, it’s been categorised according to who was the emperor of the country, much like the Gojira films. 

The latest Kamen Rider Zero-One (仮面ライダーゼロワン) made its debut in Sept 2019, with Saber the following year and Revice in 2021. They mark the Reiwa era, and four years isn’t that bad of a wait for a home video release in foreign markets. Not everyone has access to TV Asahi or wants to search YouTube for the fan posts of the latest episodes. Each season is self-contained narrative-wise, and when I take interest, that’s because of the theme. I can’t wait for Saber because it involves fairies and Revice for its Devilman influnced narrative. Fans of Hideaki Anno are especially excited because he’s helming a Shin revival.

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Is Gintama: The Very Final Going to be The Last?

The cinematic treatment of Gin Tama is concluding with the release of The Very Final to home video in North America.

Gintama THE VERY FINAL + Exclusive Poster - Blu-ray/DVD :: Shout! FactoryShout! Factory
Available to order on Amazon USA

Spoiler Alert

The cinematic treatment of Hideaki Sorachi‘s Gintama is concluding with the release of The Very Final to home video in North America. For some, that may well mean a renewed interest with this amusing samurai cum science fiction manga series. The ending offered in this animated take differs from the print version and this work wastes no time in telling viewers this fact.

Ever since its debut in Weekly Shōnan Jump nearly 20 years ago, the additional products that followed quickly put this universe in other narrative mediums. The anime was released in 2006, and typical of any successful product, there came soundtracks, light novels, original animation shorts and films. There’s a lot to like because of its fourth wall breaking moments, and the humour doesn’t end there. It not only pokes fun at itself but also references anime classics, especially Dragonball. But it doesn’t stop there. It makes oddball remarks about American pop culture, which includes jabs at Beyonce and Donald Trump in this latest.

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