Because I wasn’t born in time and be of the right age to witness Metal Messiah back in 1977, whether in theatres, if it ever reached Victoria’s Roxy or Vic Theatre, or later on VHS, discovering it now feels surreal. With it’s recent 4k remaster, some scenes only look that much more cosmic when considering the how well it’s been colour balanced. Although some video artifacts remain, this movie would not be what it is, a product of the times. Even today, I wasn’t sure what to expect from a story so deeply rooted in an era still firmly rooted in The Cold War.
Today, it’s a cult film that embodies the raw spirit of Toronto’s early punk movement. And when looking back at my own discovery of the stylings of Iggy Pop and Ziggy Stardust, I’m sure either would’ve appreciated what writer-director Tibor Takács (The Gate, Sabrina the Teenage Witch) accomplished here. What he made feels like hard-boiled detective fiction colliding with This Is Spinal Tap, only with a far more philosophical edge.
Antique Bakery is a slice-of-life anime series about four men who work in a French bakery in Tokyo. It’s based on an acclaimed manga series created by Fumi Yoshinaga (Ooku: The Inner Chambers, What Did You Eat Yesterday?) that won a Kodansha Manga Award for best shojo manga. The 2008 TV anime ran for 12 episodes on Fuji TV’s late-night Noitamina block, following an earlier live-action drama adaptation from 2001. AnimEigo will release the series on Blu-ray in 2027.
As the year winds down, 
Back in the 70s, I often tuned into CBC’s French channel to get my daily anime fix. They often featured films and series more often than the other channels, and two such works included Sherlock Hound and Nobody’s Boy Remi. As for The Mysterious Cities of Gold, that did not arrive until the early 80s, and together they defined a part of my childhood. ‘
The home video release of Light Chaser Animation’s White Snake Afloat is now available in China and select surrounding regions. When I saw a limited edition box set released back in December, I wanted to buy it—but I didn’t have the funds saved.