This week on Anime Update – Manga Edition: Upcoming digital manga releases from Viz Media

Viz Media is bringing us a ton of great digital manga releases in the next few weeks. Get ready to fill up your reading list!

VIZ Media continues to offer manga fans a vast library of newly added digital titles for September through VIZManga.com and the VIZ Manga App for the Apple iPad™, iPhone™ and iPod™ touch. The latest update includes a just-announced manga “speed up” for BLEACH and ONE PIECE that will bring both series up to date with their North American print counterparts by December. (This is especially awesome for new readers because it means you can have a marathon reading session! I personally really enjoy being able to go through large chunks of story at once without having to wait for the next manga to come out.)

Starting Monday, September 12th, and continuing each Monday thereafter, new digital volumes of manga creator Tite Kubo’s supernatural action saga, BLEACH, as well as the high seas pirate adventures of Eiichiro Oda’s ONE PIECE, will be available online on VIZManga.com and also for download on the VIZ Manga App.

The latest manga “speed up” complements a similar accelerated release schedule announced earlier this month for NARUTO, which just saw the release of 7 manga volumes in 7 days on VIZManga.com and the VIZ Manga App, and established digital parity with the bestselling series’ print counterpart.

Other notable September digital manga releases for both platforms will include the concluding volume to Inio Asano’s WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD!, (September 12th) as well as the final volume to Akira Toriyama’s DRAGON BALL Z (also September 12th). The newest edition of Natsume Ono’s acclaimed samurai drama, HOUSE OF FIVE LEAVES Volume 4, is scheduled for September 19th, a day before the print counterpart’s national release.

Additional new VIZ Media manga volumes launching in the next few weeks include:

September 12th:

BAKUMAN Vol. 6

BLEACH Vol. 23

CLAYMORE Vol. 18

D GRAY-MAN Vol. 19

DRAGON BALL Z Vol. 26 – Final Volume!

FUSHIGI YUGI: GENBU KAIDEN Vol. 6

HYDE & CLOSER Vol. 5

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION Chapter 6

ONE PIECE Vol. 43

OTOMEN Vol. 10

SATURN APARTMENTS Vol. 2

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD! Vol. 2 – Series Conclusion!

September 19th:

BLEACH Vol. 24

HOUSE OF FIVE LEAVES Vol. 4 – Debuts a day before the print counterpart!

KEKKAISHI Vol. 13

NATSUME’S BOOK OF FRIENDS Vol. 8

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION Chapter 7

ONE PIECE Vol. 44

ROSARIO + VAMPIRE II Vol. 5

RUROUNI KENSHIN Vol. 22

September 26th:

ARATA: THE LEGEND Vol. 6

BLEACH Vol. 25

CHILDREN OF THE SEA Vol. 4

D. GRAY-MAN Vol. 20

INUYASHA (VIZBIG) Vol. 4 – Exclusive to the VIZ Manga App for iPad

MAOH: JUVENILE REMIX Vol. 6

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION Chapter 8

ONE PIECE Vol. 45

VAMPIRE KNIGHT Vol. 11

For more information about these awesome upcoming releases, visit VIZManga.com or www.VIZ.com/apps.

and since I’ve been watching and reading a lot of Naruto this week, I leave you with this awesome Anime Boston AMV that won Best Editing in 2007: Ganseki no Kobushi. (AMV by Songbird21 of QuickSilver Studios.)

This week: Trigun: Badlands Rumble clips, some fun news about Dragon Quest in Japan, and Spice and Wolf comes to DVD/Blu-ray.

First up: Trigun: Badlands Rumble is coming to the U.S. on Blu-ray Tuesday, September 27th (after a very limited theater release during the summer), and Funimation is gearing up by sharing some clips from their youtube page.

The most wanted man in the galaxy returns in glorious HD for the first and only Trigun full length feature film. Gasback plays dirty, but he puts his faith in one high holy roller.

Clip # 1:

Yep. Just in case you weren’t aware – Vash loves donuts. He also tries to avoid violence at all costs. Both are important to keep in mind when watching Trigun.

Clip # 2:

Alright… “Your leg’s got a bad habit of kicking.”…really? Oh English dubbing… Good thing there are some awesome English voice actors to make up for lines of poorly translated / regionalized dialogue like that! Usually I just opt for watching with the original Japanese audio, but this film’s English track features the amazing Johnny Yong Bosch, Luci Christian, Colleen Clinkenbeard, and a few other voice actors that I really like. I think my biggest problem is with lines like the one just mentioned which aren’t translated all that effectively. (Admittedly, it’s often no fault of the translator – there are just some Japanese jokes that don’t turn out all that well in English).

Clip 3:

Clip 4:

Overall the film seems like a fun ride for any fans of the Trigun series. I didn’t catch this one in theaters in Japan but I heard good things from friends that saw it on the big screen. It had an extremely limited screening of only a day or two in select cities around the U.S. so chances are you’ll have to pick up the Blu-ray on the 27th to give it a watch.

For more about the film, visit Funimation’s website.

Next up: Anime News Network shared a neat announcement that Family Mart (a convenience store chain) in Japan will be selling pork buns (nikuman) that look like the Slimes from the Dragon Quest series. As the post mentions, Slimes are iconic enemies in the games and have been featured in every version since the first one premiered in 1986.

Something about food with eyes isn’t all that appetizing to me…but I bet these things will sell like crazy!

Photo from Anime News Network.

Finally this week: Spice and Wolf just came out on DVD/Blu-ray combo pack. You can pick it up for list price USD $64.98 or $59.99 on Amazon.

The journey through the wild countryside continues for the merchant Lawrence and the untamed harvest goddess, Holo. The companions reap the bounty of an ever-strengthening bond, depending on street smarts and animal instincts to carry them along the last miles of their trip to Holo’s northern home. While the villages along their route offer many opportunities for profit, the road is marked by heretics and shady dealers looking to separate the travelers from their savings — and from each other. With the end of the journey in sight, Lawrence and Holo revel in the riches of the relationship they’ve built — but what truly awaits the simple peddler and the forgotten deity at the end of their winding path?

You can watch the trailer here:

Guest author Kondroid (and yours truly) are here with our third part of this year’s Comiket coverage – The Cosplay of Comiket!

No one is entirely certain who started cosplay, but there is little doubt about who perfected it. Japanese cosplayers are legendary in their design, creation, and modeling of one of the ultimate forms of fan devotion: dressing up and becoming your favorite character.

Cosplaying in Japan is a little different from cosplaying overseas. The cosplay community here is a tight knit group, with a very rigid set of self imposed guidelines in place to preserve the good name of the art. As was previously mentioned in our Guide To Surviving Comiket, one does not simply turn up to an event already in costume (as most of us would do at a western con). To walk around on the streets in costume is a major no-no in Japan. Cosplaying is to be done only in certain predetermined areas and only at certain times – so as not to “inconvenience” the general public by creating a spectacle. Similarly, certain costumes are only welcomed at the appropriate events, especially in the case of themed events (that means that while your Resident Evil zombie cosplay group would fit in perfectly at Tokyo Game Show, it wouldn’t be quite so well received at, say, a Hetalia meet up… unless the people at the event are EXTREMELY familiar with a certain game mode of Call Of Duty… which is highly unlikely).

The reason for such strict regulations is because cosplaying is often associated with Otaku in Japan. And in Japan, to be publicly identified as an Otaku is one of the worst fears many closet fans have. I won’t go into details as to why, as there are many a write up about the subject in existence on the internet already, but suffice it to say there have been some very bad things done in Japan by people who have been identified as Otaku. This is the main reason why the public at large do not hold them in very high regard (“fear and loathing” would be a better description of the popular opinion).

Regardless, the cosplay community in Japan seeks to restore some dignity to their hobby-lifestyle by exhibiting their skill at numerous cosplay events around the country every year. Comiket, as one of the largest cosplay events, is host to some of the greatest examples of high level cosplay you’ll ever see. At this three day cosplay extravaganza you’ll even be able to witness cosplay celebrities displaying their latest creations.

The cosplay sections of Comiket usually wrap up an hour before the actual con does, but there’s nothing saying the day is done for the people in costume. Across the street is a private cosplay event only open to those in character… or willing to fork out ¥2000 (USD $20) for entry. There, cosplayers are free from the prying eyes of the public to pose and shoot the night away. (This event usually goes until about 10 PM every night of the convention.) Afterwards, if you know people who know people, you might be able to find your way to the “dan-pa”, or “cosplay Dance Party”, which goes on to early morning. It’s here that you can see hundreds of cosplayers in a dark strobe lite room swaying to anime songs in an odd but amazing mass-synchronized routine that everyone somehow seems to be familiar with… no matter what the song is.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get to the private “after con” events, but Comiket itself had more than enough cosplay to feast our eyes on.

Check out our gallery from this year’s Comiket yourself! Enjoy!

Guest author Kondroid is here with the second part of this year’s Comiket coverage – his Guide to Surviving Comiket!

As discussed in our first article, attending Comiket can be a pretty harrowing experience for the unprepared. If you’re ever planning on attending Comiket, here are ten pointers which will make the experience a little easier to bear.

1- ACCOMMODATION. Don’t expect to be staying anywhere near the convention center itself. Any room that will still be available (hint: better luck finding a speck of pepper on a black sand beach) will be astronomically priced. Find somewhere to stay elsewhere in the city and just take the train in like everyone else does.

2- GETTING THERE. As mentioned above, take the train. The Yurikamome line or the Rinkai line will take you right to the convention center… the only issue will be, it will seem like everyone one else in the entire city will also be riding the train that day. Overcrowding does not even being to describe it. Be prepared for the worst. Once you get out, don’t even worry about trying to find the convention center if you’re not sure where it is. Just follow…

3- THE LINE. Expect to be in it for a long time. “Oh, I’ve been in long lines before–” … no. Not like this, you haven’t. The world “Colossal” does not do this line justice. It starts early in the morning, as overnight line waiting is not allowed, meaning the truly devoted have no choice but to catch “first train”, normally getting there around 5am. By the time the doors open at 10am the line stretches further than you can see, from every corner of the massive Tokyo Big Sight convention center.

Bringing a DS or PSP should be a must-have – anything to take your mind off the tedious standing/shuffling around (they will move the crowds into more organized lines closer to opening time, so be ready to move when they tell you).

4- FOOD. Surprisingly, food is not too over-priced at the various vendors inside and around the convention center. Still, it’s probably a better idea to bring something to eat and drink with you. Bring something to keep you going while waiting in the line in the morning, as well as something to munch on over the course of the day. Just a note, though: try not to walk around while eating, as Japanese people consider it rude (don’t ask me why, no one really knows for sure!).

– Food vendors outside the convention center. –

– If you’ve got plenty of ¥100 ($1) coins with you, then you can take advantage of the many vending machines around. Just be warned that under heavy traffic they can run low (or empty) of your favorites (Have you tried Pocari Sweat yet? It’s a must when trying Japanese vending machine drinks for the first time!) –

5- INSIDE. Once you get in to the halls themselves, good luck trying to navigate the sea of people. Comiket is divided into several halls, each of which is the size of several football fields. Depending on what day you’re attending, those halls will be divided into different themes based on what is available in each area. If you’re attending in hopes of finding something particular, your best bet would be to purchase the Comiket Catalog before you come (available at comic stores around Tokyo, as well as online), so you’ll know exactly where (and when) to find the vendors you’re after. Once you find them, however, depending on how popular the circle in question is, you may be required to wait in ANOTHER line just to purchase their doujin. If you’re only interested in doujin from top circles, you may find yourself standing in lines all day and only having a handful of comics to show for it.

6- WHAT DAY TO GO. Yes, this makes a massive difference. Because there are so many circles vying to get in to peddle their wares at Comiket, they’ve had to restrict who is allowed to sell what on certain days. As a result, days have “themes” assigned to them. Day one is “girls day”, with the majority of vendors displaying all manner of homoerotic match ups from everything you can think of (even if you didn’t want to imagine what a romance between Yoshi and Luigi would look like). Day two is devoted to more “normal” stuff, with day three being the biggest: “guy’s day”, with your regular run-of-the-mill hentai stuffs (largely devoted to whatever the current popular anime is – this years favorite was ‘Madoka.’).

7- SHOPPING. If you’re planning on buying anything, please don’t whip out a ¥10000 (about USD $100) bill for that ¥300 (about USD $3) comic and expect to see a smile on the vendor’s face. If they run out of change, they do not have the luxury of dashing off to get some more. Carry around a stack of ¥1000s ($10’s) in your wallet and you will be everyone’s friend. Also, if you missed out on picking up that Naruto doujin from your favorite artist you had had your heart set on, not to worry… There’s a pretty good chance you might be able to pick it up in Akihabara or Otome Road from one of the many doujinshi re-sellers that exist… for an exorbitant mark up (the average price for a doujin sold at Comiket is about ¥500 ($5). To find one of these doujin at a shop later may run you ¥1500 to ¥5000 ($15 – $50), depending on how rare and in demand it was. Some doujin can ever make it as high as ¥10000+ ($100+)… suddenly you can see why there is such a rush to be the first one in the doors to buy a certain doujin before it sells out).

8- COSPLAY. This is important. If you are planning on cosplaying in Japan (this goes for anything, not just Comiket), DO NOT WEAR YOUR COSTUME TO THE EVENT. This is considered to be in extremely bad taste by Japanese cosplayers. There are changing areas where you are expected to change into your costumes (once inside the con) and storage areas for you to ditch your bags. This year’s Comiket saw a “crackdown” on skimpy costumes, with new rules such as “no visible underwear” and “not too much exposed flesh” being enforced…. This didn’t stop everyone from pushing the envelope, though.

– Cosplayers will often show up with a suitcase containing their costume and change once they have reached the designated changing areas. There are places to check your suitcase during the day so you don’t have to lug it around. –

Once you’re in costume, you’re free to walk around anywhere you like. Just be prepared to be inundated with requests to pose if you’re in the cosplay photo area. (Note: if your costume is particularly good, you may be getting more requests than you can handle. Feel free to say no if you wish.)

9- PHOTOS. Common sense prevails when photographing cosplayers. Always ask. Even if there is a crowd of people already taking photos themselves, always ask. There’s one catch, though: do not, I repeat DO NOT take photos of cosplayers outside of the designated cosplay photos areas. YOU WILL BE KICKED OUT IF YOU DO NOT ADHERE TO THIS RULE. This is not an exaggeration. The rule applies to attendees taking photos, attendees having their photos taken, cosplaying vendors sitting at their booths, and even staff in costume. The one exception is the corporate booths who employ professional cosplayers to dress as their characters, but even then, you still need to ask. One note of courtesy would be try not to clog up foot traffic, as that was the main reason the rule was created in the first place.

– Cosplay photography: don’t do it like this guy… unless you ask first. –

10- LEAVING. As was mentioned in my last article, once 4pm rolls around the whole  con shuts down for the day. By that time the majority of the crowd will have disbursed. Everyone will have picked up what they were after and headed home – or off to Akihabara to sell their swag and/or find what they had missed out on while it may still be in stock at the doujin re-sellers (for probably triple its original price). The congestion getting back to the city is just as bad as getting to the con itself and goes well into the night. If you’re not in a hurry to get anywhere, your best bet would be to jump on the train heading in the OTHER direction (away from the city), go a few stops till the train gets to the end of the line and turns around, thus ensuring you’ll have a seat all the way back! (common sense, you would think, but only ever see a handful of people exploiting this seemingly obvious tactic).

And that’s it!
So do you think you have what it takes to tackle the biggest con in the world? (or more importantly, now that you know what it’s all about, would you even want to?)
x__x

…check out part three of our Comiket coverage coming tomorrow – The Cosplay of Comiket!

Guest author Kondroid (from Tokyo, Japan) is here to bring us an insider’s look into the world’s largest convention. Kondroid attended this year’s 2011 Comiket at Tokyo Big Site in Tokyo, Japan and got us exclusive coverage that is rarely published in English. Enjoy!

Listen up manga and comic artists! Viz Media is calling out to all visual, graphic, and manga/comic artists to submit original work and participate in their Art For Hope project!  Read their statement below and submit art to help make a difference for earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan.

VIZ MEDIA CALLS OUT TO DIGITAL ARTISTS TO SUBMIT WORK FOR ART FOR HOPE TO BENEFIT ONGOING JAPAN DISASTER RELIEF

Unique Art Book Project In Partnership With Autodesk Will Curate Digital Artwork Created With Autodesk SketchBook^® Software

VIZ Media reaches out to visual, graphic and manga/comic-inspired artists to submit original work and participate in ART FOR HOPE, a special limited edition digital art book anthology, to be sold through VIZManga.com and the VIZ Manga App for iOS devices, with 100% of net proceeds supporting ongoing disaster relief efforts in Japan. Artists interested in submitting work to be considered for the collection can get the full details at www.viz.com/artforhope.

The unique project was launched in partnership with Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, and was initially announced at the 2011 Comic-Con International.  All of the artwork for the ART FOR HOPE collection will be rendered using Autodesk SketchBook^® digital paint and drawing software applications.

VIZ Media’s editors will collaborate with Autodesk to review and select works for inclusion in the digital anthology, which will be released later this fall through VIZManga.com and the free VIZ Manga App, available on iPad™, iPod Touch™ and iPhone™.

The World Cosplay Summit, a tournament and festival for cosplayers from around the world, was held in Nagoya, Japan last Sunday. An annual event, the Summit is a chance for international cosplayers to come together and share a passion for all things cosplay. Each country is represented by a team of 2 people in the competition, and this year’s tournament had 17 countries competing – Australia, Germany, Spain, Italy, Finland, Denmark, Thailand, Mexico, the USA, China, Korea, Brazil, Japan, Singapore, France, the Netherlands and Malaysia. 17,000 attendees watched as the teams gave it their all in their performances.

Judges selected winners based on evaluation criteria regarding the costume, the performance (acting, creativity, entertainment value),  and how faithful the performance was to the original story. After presenting an amazingly choreographed performance and mesmerizing costumes from Final Fantasy XII (Balthier and Ultima), it was Brazil that went home with First Place. This same pair from Brazil had also won in 2006, making this their second World Cosplay Summit win.

The champions were presented two round trip airline tickets between Brazil and Japan and a special award from the Foreign Ministry of Japan. Winners Monica and Mauricio Somenzari were extremely grateful for the honors bestowed upon them. Mauricio told reporters – “I’d just like to express my gratitude to everyone who supported us, our Brazilian friends who came to this event, and to our father who stuck with us even in tough times.”

Runner ups in the tournament were second place Italy (Sugar Sugar Rune), third place China (Dynasty Warriors 7), Brother Award (best costume) winners Australia (Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust), and Cyperous Award (best wig) winners the Netherlands (Mai Otome). The United States was represented by Alexandra Weber and Ashley Laure Rice (XXXHolic) but did not place this year.

And now, please enjoy these stunning photos from the Championship, the Nishiki-dori Parade, and the Osu Parade provided to us by T.V. Aichi! All images © TV Aichi Broadcasting Co., LTD.

A very special thank you to TV Aichi for providing us with photos for this special report! All images © TV Aichi Broadcasting Co., LTD. For more information, visit the World Cosplay Summit Website.

Marvel has announced that the anime version of Iron Man is coming to the U.S. this Friday at 11 PM ET on G4. The show originally aired on Japanese network Animax in October of 2010 and the 12 episode run was fairly successful. The big question is…how successful will it be here in the States?

Marvel has been lightly criticized by anime fans for taking almost a year to bring this series to the states, but I’ve heard mixed reviews about the show so maybe they deliberated over how well it would do here. I haven’t had a chance to see the Iron Man anime yet but I did watch the entire X Men anime run (also by Madhouse production company) and thought it was pretty cool. The show did take a while to get going but once it did it was a fun watch.

I’ve honestly been wondering what non-anime-fan reactions will be to all these regionalized versions of iconic Marvel characters – especially since Wolverine, Iron Man, and the X Men have each had their own anime series created in the past two years.

Watch the new Iron Man anime trailer here and tune in this Friday to G4 to see the premier:

Seen any of the new Marvel anime series? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Today I’m bringing you my review of the first few episodes of the new anime series Usagi Drop, which currently airs for viewers outside of Japan on Crunchyroll each week (simulcast with Japan).

The Usagi Drop manga started in 2005 and has recently been nominated for the 2011 Eisner Award in the Best U.S. Edition of International Material-Asia category. Not only has this manga made its way into anime form after only about five years – it has also been made into a live action film that is set to release in Japan on August 20th.

Here is my review of the first four episodes of the anime (please keep in mind that I have not yet read the manga, so this is just a review of the anime itself).

The story: Japanese salaryman Daikichi’s grandfather passes away and he heads to his family’s homestead in the countryside to pay his respects. Upon arrival, Daikichi learns that his grandfather had an illegitimate child (yes that’s right, child), a little girl named Rin. Unfortunately, Rin has no one to care for her now that her rather has passed away and her mother has run off and disappeared. All the family members firmly state that they do not have the time or resources to care for her, and Daikichi seems to be the only one in the family not alienated by the fact that she is an “illegitimate child.” Daikichi appears to be drawn to Rin’s innocence and her surprising ability to continue onward even with all the hardship and negative feelings around her. He offers to take Rin in and care for her despite being a single man working at a huge corporation with absolutely no frame of reference as to how to raise a kindergarten-age child.

Unlike so many other anime stories where the locations, characters and plot are often exaggerated to a large extent, this story comes off as honest and average. For me as a viewer, it’s refreshing that this well crafted story is grounded in true-to-life locations with realistic characters and events (I even pictured myself back in Tokyo a few times while seeing these artistically accurate portrayals of train stations, the city, and the countryside). The writers have given us a pretty honest depiction of some aspects of Japanese culture and society – especially in its portrayal of Daikichi and the difficulties that he must face as a salaryman (Japanese business man) raising a little girl in the city while working long hours for a large corporation. Even little things like Daikichi’s long daily commute on the trains and the Japanese system of “Emergency Daycare/Nursery School” are addressed with a remarkable amount of accuracy and straight-forwardness.

The relationship between Rin and Daikichi as a family is touching, and the interactions of all the characters are carried quite effectively through life-like exchanges. Usagi Drop has really exceeded my expectations in this regard. For example – the two little girls in the first episode behave as truly life-like polar opposites – the abandoned Rin is quiet, smart and collected, while another family member’s daughter – Reina – is loud, badly behaved, and lacking any sort of manners.

The animation is beautiful – dripping watercolors and crisp lines that look a bit more like colored pencil rather than a digital pen. This toned-down art style stands out in today’s digitally dominated market of ultra-shiny, brightly colored anime. Admittedly, I don’t really like the intro sequence at all. It’s cute but to me it doesn’t seem to fit with the mood or style of the rest of the show. And yeah, the opening sequences for a lot of anime series don’t necessarily fit their show counterparts…but to me this one really could have been improved.

My final thoughts – Usagi Drop will be one of the best anime this year, and I’m willing to bet it will become a huge success given the quality of the work and the press that the manga has already received. I love the story and I think it will do very well in the international market. You can watch Usagi Drop on Crunchyroll as it airs and give it the support it needs to be picked up by an import company.

Seen Usagi Drop? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Amazon has been running a 58% off sale on more than 200 anime titles for the past couple of weeks (this includes full series). If you haven’t had the chance to go take advantage of it yet, I highly recommend you do before the sale runs out this coming Monday (August 8th). Normally I’m not the type to go promoting one specific website to purchase anime from – but this sale means a lot to those of us who could use a little discount to help expand our media collections. Many of you already know that full anime series can get really expensive! The most prolific series – Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Bleach, etc. – can be especially draining on the wallet!

I picked up a couple of my favorite series last week on Blu-ray. Samurai Champloo came out on Blu-ray on May 24^th and I got it for only $22.99 (discounted from USD $54.98). And I just couldn’t resist getting all the Full Metal Panic incarnations – including Fumoffu – which was only $18.49. (Seriously, I can’t get enough of that series, and it looks awesome on Blu-ray.)

If you’ve had any doubt about picking up your favorite anime on Blu-ray let me assure you that the newer series do look and sound a lot sharper in that format, BUT – buyer beware – they rarely come with the special features that the Japanese Blu-ray releases get (what’s the deal with THAT, import companies?)! I’m sure the argument is that it’s not cost effective to translate the extra features, but I do wish we could occasionally see a behind the scenes segment or interviews with Japanese voice actors and creative staff. Saying “Special Features” on the back of a box should not mean, “We put three trailers on here that you would normally have to look online for!”

Great titles (many of them staples for your anime collection) included in the sale on Blu-ray are: Evangelion 2.22: You Can [not] Advance ($16.49), Summer Wars ($15.49), FLCL ($19.49), Eden of the East: The King of Eden ($13.99 Blu-ray DVD combo pack), and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete ($12.99 – If you haven’t seen Complete do yourself a favor and see the HUGE chunks of the story that were cut out from most American releases of this movie. I went back and was shocked to see how much of the story had been cut from both of the DVD versions I had purchased.).

DVD discounts in the sale include: My Neighbor Totoro ($18.99 for the two disc special edition), Trigun ($21.99 for the complete series), Dragon Ball Z Season Six: Cell Games Saga ($16.99 – along with several other seasons offered for around $16), Ponyo ($18.99), and Ouran High School Host Club ($29.99 for the complete series).