Grimoire
Of Zero: Complete Collection
(2017*)/In This Corner Of
The World (2016/Umbrella
Region Free PAL Import DVD)/Initial
D: Legend 2 Racer (2015*)
+ 3 Dream
(2016/*all Sentai Blu-rays)/Loving
Vincent (2016/Cinedigm
Blu-ray)/RWBY: Volume 5
(2017/Flatiron Films/Rooster Teeth/Cinedigm Blu-ray w/DVD)
Picture:
B+/C+/C/C/A/B & C+ Sound: B+/B-/B/B/B+/B- Extras:
C*/D/D/D/A/A Main Programs: B+
PLEASE
NOTE:
The In
This Corner Of The World
Import DVD is now only available from our friends at Umbrella
Entertainment in Australia, can only play on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K
Blu-ray players that can handle the PAL DVD and can be ordered from
the link below.
Here's
a diverse new group of animated releases, mostly from Japan, but
there's more...
In
a land filled with magic and monsters, Mercenary is white half-tiger
beastfallen. Created by witches, he hates and hunts witches that
created the beastfallen to be their protectors. That is until he
meets a young girl witch named Zero and hired him to be her
bodyguard. Together they journey to find her missing book, the
Grimoire of Zero which contains the secrets to magic, but also a cure
to turn Mercenary human. As they journey through the kingdom they
learn the truth about origin of magic and why humans hate witches and
beastfallen, they discover a conspiracy that plans to turn the
kingdom into chaos in Grimoire Of
Zero: Complete Collection
(2017).
Mercenary
is a white half-tiger beastfallen. Beastfallen were humans turned
into animal creatures to fight and protect witches from humans who
blame witches for all misfortunes, disasters. Witches were burned at
the stake, regardless if they are good or evil. The Beastfallen were
seen as a lower/slave race and often feared, hunted and killed as
well. But after Mercenary learns that Zero can turn him human again,
he agrees to not only not kill her, but to help her recover her book
(and be her cute and cuddly body pillow/pet). Along with their
friends they soon discover Zero's Grimoire is source of all the
witches magic and at the heart of war between witches and humans.
Originally, Zero wanted magic to help humans and co-exist with them,
but because of peoples greed and lust for power witches became hated,
feared and envied.
This
was anime was a mix of dungeons and cute animal characters with
action, comedy and adventure. While the animation and styles were
cute, the jokes and comedy were more for a more mature audience.
Extras include Japanese promo, clean opening and closing animations
and trailers, but a Premium Edition is also available loaded with
many more extras.
Episodes
include:
The
Witch and the Beastfallen - Mercenary finds himself chased by
Albus a witch, but is rescued by Zero. Albus accepts his defeat and
Mercenary become Zero's bodyguard.
Witch-Hunting
- Mercenary, Zero and Albus come across a village that hates witches.
Duel
- Mercenary, Zero and Albus arrives in a town, Zero gets new clothes
and Mercenary frees 3 slave girls from a wolf beastfallen.
The
Road to Latette - Mercenary, Zero and Albus are on the road again
as Zero explains more of what magic is and what she can do.
The
Sorcerers of Zero - Mercenary, Zero and Albus come across an
entire town of dead people and suddenly faced a mysterious mage call
Thirteen.
Thirteen
- Thirteen explains that there are 3 groups of witches all fighting
against one another for control of magic. Thirteen then causes
Mercenary to doubt Zero reason for helping him and he leaves her.
Plasta,
the Royal Capital - Mercenary leaves the capital, only to find
himself hunted by Thirteen's followers and assassins.
Sorena's
Granddaughter - After realizing he has been betrayed, Mercenary
teams up with with Holdem the wolf beastfallen comes up with a plan
to rescue Zero and Albus.
Reunion
- After rescuing Albus, Mercenary discovers Albus is really a girl
and they come up with a plan to stop Thirteen's war by sealing all
the magic in the kingdom.
The
Truth Revealed - Mercenary rescues Zero only to discover Thirteen
has been manipulating war and wants to create a kingdom for himself
and to become the most powerful sorcerer.
The
Witch and the Sorcerer - Zero and Thirteen face off against each
other. Zero manages to win and when Thirteen realizes he will never
be as powerful as her he relents and agrees to help them seal all the
magic in the land.
The
Grimoire of Zero
- With the war in full swing, Zero and Thirteen perform the ritual
for sealing all the magic in the land while Mercenary and Holdem
protects them.
It's
Hiroshima, Japan, circa the early 1940s. Suzu is your ordinary girl
who enjoys drawing, the simple things in life and caring about her
family. Everything she does is always big hearted and kind, helping
and about serving others. She marries and moves to a small village
Kure. But as the war approaches, things get more frugal with food
and supplies, but Suzu continues preserve and help others, living
life to the fullest in Sunao Katabuchi's In This Corner Of The
World (2016).
Suzu
is a bit of a dreamer, she loves art and drawing and always sees the
brighter side of things, but all her life, she has been raised to
become a wife and even forced into an arranged marriage. Even then,
she continues loves her life and everyone loves her too, but with war
dragging on, food and supplies are in short supplies and anything
extra is sent off to the army, Suzu is resourceful and continues to
serve her family and the country she loves. How long can her heart
remain open? The war soon reach even their village with bombers and
their way of life is forever changed.
This
was a very touching, historical drama movie; the story of a girl how
she continues to be the perfect ideal of the Japanese woman (with a
few quirks) to serve one's home, husband and country, to always find
a way to provide for the family. The characters represents innocence
and hope, but as well the enduring spirit of Japanese despite the
Atomic Bomb, losing the war, friends, family and tragedy. It reminds
people how important to continue to live normally (specially in times
of war) and that life must go on.
Next
we happened to get Initial
D: Legend 2 Racer
(2015) and Legend
3 Dream
(2016) at about the same time, so we'll just cover them
concurrently.
Picking
up on the second installment (see the first elsewhere on this site),
after winning the race against the RedSuns, Takumi Fujiwara's fame
spreads like wild fire. Soon new and faster racers come challenging
him, the Myogi Nightkids. But now, that people know there's a new
speedster, there are those who are not above cheating. Meanwhile, as
his former rival, Keisuke is not completely out of the race, he and
his brother uses Takumi's races to collect data and challenge him to
a rematch in Initial D: Legend 2
Racer (2015).
Takumi
Fujiwara is your ordinary high school boy and tofu delivery boy, but
underneath his innocent face he is the son of a legendary racer and
has blood of a pro-racer. Even among his friends, his father has
secretly passed along his driving skills. After winning the race,
Takumi soon finds himself with a new passion, wanting to test his
skills he accepts his new challengers, as well as protect the pride
of this home town and reputation of his friends.
This
was a racing anime about fast cars and even faster drivers. The
series was remade into a movie and brought back to inspire late night
improtu illegal racing and car fanatics. The movie is mostly
narrated through the split seconds as the characters list the stats
on the cars and how to take advantage of the race track, but however
like any good driver knows, it's not the car but in the end it is
about the driver and his skills.
After
defeating both the Akagi RedSuns and Myogi NightKids, Takumi awakens
to the racer blood within him and now wants to not only race, but
become faster. Ryosuke from the Akagi RedSuns returns and demands a
rematch with Takumi after retraining and improving his driving
techniques. And while Takumi is still King of the Road, he is
conflicted with wanting to race and his growing romance between him
and Mogi in Legend 3 Dream
(2016).
We
won't say anything else or spoilers will be the result, but extras
only include trailers in both cases.
Who
was Vincent van Gogh? Vincent van Gogh was a painter and an artist,
but who was he as a man? If his paintings could tell his story, what
would they say? From the events that lead up to his final days to
the days afterwards, who knew those painting would be immortalized,
remembered and then treasured by the world... Armand, a man discovers
the last days of Vincent van Gogh as he delivers Vincent's last
letter to his family and seeks to understand why Vincent took his
life in Loving
Vincent
(2016).
Armand,
the son of a postman who was a friend of Vincent van Gogh sets out on
a journey to meet the doctor who treated him, instead he meets the
town and the people who lived with him. Some saw Vincent as a crazy
artist, others just a fool, or just a weak man who couldn't connect
to others. But Armand discovers alarmingly that everyone had a
different story of Vincent, while some accepted him, others distanced
themselves. Six weeks prior to his death he said he was fine, calm
and normal, what could of changed him so fast? Through each
painting, each story, they paint the life of van Gogh as he painted
his life around him. Through the eyes his paintings they show what
he wanted the world to see.
Vincent
van Gogh's life was like his paintings, he lived a poor life and was
a struggling artist while he lived, it was only until after he died
that people paid attention to his painting and life. While many
people feel that van Gogh was a social outcast, very few will ever
understand him a man. He was a passionate man, sensitive and better
than most, it is only those who care more about others are more prone
to melancholia and depression, and the truth is that critics just as
often as harsh and cruel as the world. The truth of Vincent's
suicide, no one probably will ever know the 'real' reason, but no one
was willing to say they cared about him while he was alive nor helped
him when he was depressed. This entire movie was done stylized in
Vincent van Gogh's painting style and told through the characters of
his painting and through the letters of van Gogh. Extras include a
Making Of the film featurette, Vincent's Neighborhood, creating the
props, interviews and trailers.
Since
the fall of Beacon Academy team RWBY has been scatter to the winds,
Salem has begun to takeover academy by academy, searching for the
power of the four maidens and the ancient relics they guard. While
the girls of team RWBY are scarred, each one of the girls hasn't
given up, vowing to become stronger and fight back. But the White
Fang already secretly taken control Haven Academy, their fall back
academy and laid a deadly trap to destroy them in RWBY:
Volume 5 (2017).
With
the fall of Beacon Academy, other countries have closed their boarder
and halted aid, but the White Fang continues to secretly manipulate
each government just to keep them from uniting against them. All
members of team RWBY head for their sister school Haven academy, yet
secretly. Haven Academy has already fallen into White Fang control.
Weiss abandons her family to help and rejoin team RWBY, Blake fights
to protect her family, Yang fights against her own mother who fights
them her own reasons. Secrets are revealed as hidden powers awaken,
will Ruby discover hers in time? Director Ozpin returns but is he
too late to save team RWBY?
With
each new chapter to RWBY, the CGI continues to improve, the
story has reach a climax with good and evil facing off with
surprising twists, relationships and new characters. It seems like
the show is a mix of action in a fantasy world in where anything and
anything is possible. Extras include 5 years of RWBY, Weiss
Character Short, Blake Character Short, Yang Character short, and
RWBY Series.
Though
I think the 1080p
1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image on the RWBY
Blu-ray has improved and similar framing on all three Sentai
releases (including both Initial
D
follow-ups still underwhelming), the 1080p 1.33 X 1 digital High
Definition image transfer on Vincent is the visual winner here with
it rich colors and dense visuals. I even thought the
good-for-the-DVD-format, anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 images on
World
and the RWBY
DVDs tended to look a bit better than either Initial
D
Blu-ray. Oh well.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mixes on Vincent
and three Sentai
releases are really good, but Zero
and Vincent
have the best overall sound and solid playback performance
throughout. Both format versions of RWBY
and the World
DVD have lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, though why the RWBY Blu-ray
still
does not offer lossless sound of some kind is sad. In all cases,
they sound as good as they can in the older sound format.
To
order the In
This Corner Of The World
Umbrella import DVD, go to this link for it and other hard-to-find
releases:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
-
Ricky Chiang