Tag: Supernatural

Netflix Spectros – When the Folklore Doesn’t Hit Home

Sadly, Spectros has nothing to make the supernatural feel like it came from South America!

Spectros Netflix Series - Promotional PosterAnyone who loves supernatural Japan should tune into Spectros right away! The series blends paranormal with Breakfast Club mentality from three teens–Pardal (Danilo Mesquita), Carla (Mariana Sena) and Mila (Cláudia Okuno)–coming together to deal with the supernatural coalescing in their neighbourhood of Liberdade in São Paulo, Brazil.

Ultimately, this series is the type of cheesy pulp action style fun expected when showrunner Douglas Petrie was a key figure in the production of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

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Capping off the Lunar New Year with White Snake

White Snake on DVD Angle
Available to preorder on Amazon USA

Light Chaser Animation Studios
Warner Bros. Far East

Released by:
Shout! Factory & GKIDS
Feb 4, 2019

Arriving just in time to cap off the Lunar New Year is the home video release of the Chinese computer animated movie, White Snake. While the world is waiting for the release of Jiang Ziya, the intended release for 2020 to celebrate the Year of the Rat, thankfully, the romantic action comedy does something different to think of this year differently: we have a tale of romance, perseverance and true love.

This release also works with Valentine’s Day coming up next! Here, we have more than a simple tale about two star-crossed lovers. They come from two distinct worlds. One is a mortal and the other a spirit. It’s far different from but has connections to Chinese Ghost Story from decades ago. How can you control fate? Destiny is a key theme in this work. For a full review, please click here.

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Donten: Laughing Under the Clouds Rains Home Feb 4th!

Donten Laughing Under The Clouds Movie PosterShout! Factory
Release Date: Feb 4, 2019

All three films of Donten: Laughing Under The Clouds – Gaiden (曇天に笑う) are coming to home video! Based on the manga Laughing Under the Clouds by Karakara-Kemuri, these movies differ somewhat from the television series broadcast back in 2014. The latest chapter, Laughing in Limbo is ongoing, and I’m curious in when this will get animated.

The series is a medieval fantasy, set during the time of the Meiji Restoration. The Samurai are no longer needed and many see the future is with a competent military presence. With the old ways disappearing fast, some have turned ronin and others are simply no longer doing their job….

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Summer Days with Coo Cannot Come Any Sooner

Perhaps the reason for the late home video release of Summer Days with Coo is to gauge international interest if a sequel can be made.

Summer Days with Coo Blu-ray CaseAvailable now on Shout! Factory or AmazonSummer Days DVD Cover

Winter’s grasp may well still be upon us in certain parts of the world, but thankfully, spending (or rather, watching) Summer Days with Coo (河童のクゥと夏休み) is an option.

This anime not only gives us a heartwarming comedy drama between Kōichi Uehara, a young boy having an awkward time in school, but also looks at the life of a kappa, nicknamed Coo, who is a stranger in a strange land. Unlike those prankster frog-like spirits of lore, these creatures are very friendly towards humans. They don’t hate them unless threatened. The cute character designs in this anime suggest they are simple country folk.

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Zombies come to Webtoon Digital Platform in Rot & Ruin!

WEBTOON Rot & RuinJonathan Maberry’s young adult post-apocalyptic zombie series, Rot & Ruin is not only getting developed for film but also is now available to read online through the Webtoon App (iOS and Android). This program allows users to choose what genres they like and also art styles. Since there’s a huge diversity in how artists like to draw, this additional filter is welcomed. Various signup options are available to access the huge number of free comics available.

The comic book series was originally published back in 2014. While the first three issues are available to read for free, further releases will require purchasing. For those who don’t want to wait, tracking down the comic books released by IDW Publishing shouldn’t be too hard. Five issues have been released to date, and there’s also the graphic novel, Warrior Smart.

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The Stakes were Never Big in Netflix’s Dracula

Image result for bbc dracula posterBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Just how many reimaginings of Bram Stoker’s Dracula do we need? Let me count the works from this century: there’s at least a dozen—Untold, Dark Prince, and Reborn are perhaps the closest they can get to the book’s lore. The rest sticks around even after being “killed” so he remains a threat to humanity.

Mark Gatiss (Sherlock) and Steven Moffat (Doctor Who) developed this latest take and it’s a curious mix of period drama and Hammer style horror. This three-part series has each episode nearly movie length. Like the novel, it begins conveniently enough with Jonathan Harker (John Heffernan) visiting the Count (Claes Bang) and Mina (Morfydd Clark) swearing her eternal love. The nobleman has other plans and his lust for both the male and female gender goes nowhere fast. Either he’s too decrepit to get off, or those tones brought down for Netflix’s broadcasting standards.

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