Dive!!
(2017)/Human Crossing
(2003/Maiden Japan)/Princess
Tutu (2002 -
2003)/Takumoni
(2018)/Xabungle
(2015/Maiden Japan/all Sentai Complete
Collection Blu-rays)
Picture:
A/C+/B+/B+/C- Sound: B/B/B+/B+/C- Extras: C/D/A/C/C
Episodes: B+/B+/B+/B+/C+
Now
for more Anime series, old and new, on Blu-ray for you to know
about...
Tomoki
Sakai loves diving and has been doing it since he was a child. He is
enrolled in at diving school, the Mizuki Diving Club (a.k.a. MDC),
but the board is threatening to close the school, that is until their
new coach made a deal with them. Their new female coach, Coach
Kayoko Asaki says if they are able to get one of the club members
into the next Olympics, the board will keep the MDC open. Now,
Tomoki and his teammates must aim for the gold, will they sink or
swim ...or will they be forced to close the school?
In
Dive!!:
Complete
Collection
(2017), Tomoki
is still young and considered a novice, he dives with Yoichi, a
senior diver in whom he respects and aspires to be, but their diving
school has fallen on tough times, but their new (and hot) fiery
female Coach Kayoko has a simple plan to save the school, to get into
the Olympics. She immediately rebuilds the team from ground up with
new training material. While Yoichi is the hope of the team, she
recognizes Tomoki has amazing potential and natural talent. She also
recruits outside talent to join the MDC, Shibuki Okitsu a freestyle
ocean diver. And while Tomoki dreams of competing on the national
level, he has yet to realize the sacrifices he must make to become a
world class diver.
This
anime is full of boys with cool looks, rock hard abs, glistening wet
speedos and tight curves (fanservice for all the girls), however the
story is serious about what it takes to become an Olympic level
athlete, on how hard they must train, effort, natural ability and the
sacrifices they must make in order to be number one ...including
friends (and girlfriends) they must leave behind.
Extras
include clean opening and closing animation and trailers.
Episodes
include...
Dive
to Blue
- Tomoki and the team meets their fiery new coach who has plans to
help them save the MDC.
Concentration
Dragon
- Tomoki and his teammates get new training schedule, but can they
handle the work load?
Enter
Shibuki
- Coach Asaki recruits Shibuki, an amazing diver ...only if his
splash entry wasn't so big.
The
Strong Men
- During Golden Week MDC has a special practice training camp with
rival divers from other schools.
The
Days of Gray
- Tomoki's friends are jealous of his improvement and resent him and
start distancing themselves from him.
Diamond
Eyes
- Tomoki finds out his young brother has been cheating on him with
his girlfriend.
Dear
Friends
- After their first meet, Yoichi, Tomoki and Shibuki realize if they
want to improve they must leave behind their friends who didn't
qualify.
So
I Envy You!
- Yoichi and Tomoki spend a week visiting Shibuki's hometown.
Shibuki learns about his grandfather's past.
Next
Stage Coming
- Behind closed doors Yoichi learns he has been pre-selected for the
Olympics, ...but not by merit. He doesn't like that he was selected
from favors and popularity.
Meet
the Monster
- Yoichi gives up his position in the Olympics and wants to earn his
place in the Olympics and to have a fair competition with Tomoki and
Shibuki.
Final
Stage
- The trial for the Olympics begins, but unknown to the others Yoichi
suffers from a fever.
Concrete
Dragon
- Both Yoichi and Shibuki manage to do well at the competition, can
Tomoki rise up to the challenge?
There
are over 120 Million people living in Japan, over 38 million living
in Tokyo alone. Everyday people struggle to live through hardships,
low income, difficult relationships and inequality and yet... life
goes on, people still manage to find a reason and maybe even a bit of
happiness in Human
Crossing: Complete
Collection
(2003).
Life
is harsh, people get so caught up with jobs and wealth they forget
what is important family, friends and happiness. They all make the
similar mistakes of mistaking making money means more happiness, more
often than not they either repeat the mistakes of the past or become
the very thing they were trying to avoid. In the end, they learn
life lessons what is truly important isn't always around but to make
the best of what they got and learn from their mistakes and to
forgive others as they would have like to be forgiven themselves.
Now
on Blu-ray, Human
Crossing
is a melancholy, anthology drama series, a lot of "What
is the moral of this tale?"
Every episode is a short story and allows the audience to be able to
relate to it. Extras include trailers.
Those
episodes include...
The
Wound
- A boxing champion remembers why he got started into boxing and is
reminded on how his mother raised him.
The
25th Hour
- A young law clerk helps a teenage unwed mother make amends with her
child's grandparents ...and maybe figure out his own life too.
A
Promise
- A hard working father realizes he hasn't been spending time with
his own son, and remembers what was important to him when he was a
child.
Direction
- A young woman is afraid of getting married and starting a family
because of the abusive males in her family.
The
Cicadas of Winter
- An actor that's so focused on his position and making it big, he
gets caught up in drinking and scandals and misses out on his infant
son's death.
The
Beautiful Afterimage
- A teacher reflects back on how he hard he had to work to get a
scholarship and higher education.
Sidelined
- A big city new reporter is forced write for a county paper, but he
learns there is more to the news than always getting the 'big' scoop,
but there are action because of his reports.
Message
in White
- A female warden learns there is more to every prisoner and each
prisoner has a story of how they got there, not every story is black
and white.
The
Smile
- A family takes in an elderly woman who pretends to be their
'grandmother', but the wife is tired and can't stand this 'pretender'
in their family.
The
City
- A woman remembers the man she fell in love with Paris 18 years ago
and how moving from the city has changed him.
Whispers
- A young boy gets beat up every day learns from an old man how to
hold his head up with pride.
The
Instructor's Rain
- A prison warden doesn't give up on reforming a female prisoner, no
matter how many time she she breaks the rules or how badly he has
been treated, because if the teacher doesn't have faith in the
student ...how can the student ever have faith in themselves?
The
Watershed
- A country girl comes to the big city with her big dreams, but her
dream is shattered when she is abused by her 'gangster' husband she
kills him for sexually abusing and beating her.
Once
upon a time, there was a writer named Drosselmeyer who had the power
to bring his stories to life, but his final story 'The
Prince and the Raven'
he died before he was able to finish it. Now, the Raven and Prince
has escaped to reality, the Prince had shattered his heart to seal
the Raven away. Duck finds herself transformed into a human,
Princess Tutu and must help find and collect the shards of the
Prince's heart and help finish his story Princess
Tutu: Complete
Collection
(2002 - 2003).
A
Duck finds herself to be the magical ballet Princess Tutu and is in
love with Mytho, the Prince who lost his heart to seal away the evil
Raven, but she is not the only one in love with the Prince, Rue
daughter of the Raven is also in love with Mytho and transforms into
Princess Kraehe, Princess Tutu's counterpart. Fakir (a descendant of
the Drosselmeyer) is overprotective Mytho and he gets jealous of
anyone getting close to Mytho. As Duck helps collect the shards of
Mytho's heart she believes once the prince is restored their story
will come to a happy ending, but the spirit/ghost of Drosselmeyer
seems intent on making their story a tragedy. What will happen next?
This
is a ballet themed anime featuring all the popular ballet dance and
music with various folktales, fairytales, plays and stories. Within
each episode, the main character dances to recover a piece of the
prince's heart which eventually helps them overcome evil.
Extras
are many and include TV specials, outtakes, commentaries, ballet for
beginners, clean opening and closing animation, TV specials episodes,
Path to Tutu, In the Studio and trailers.
Episodes
include...
The
Duck and the Prince
- Duck dreams of her one day dancing with her 'Prince' but then
suddenly discovers she is really a duck ...AND Princess Tutu.
Heart
Shard
- Duck learns she must help restore the Prince's heart and collects
the first shard from an Anteater-girl.
The
Princess's Vow
- Duck learns of the story of the Prince and the Raven and collects
another shard from a lonely cook.
Giselle
- Fakir discovers Mytho's heart is returning (to his dismay). Duck
and Rue goes looking for Mytho in the land of the dead and gains the
shard of sadness.
On
the Night of the Fire Festival
- Fakir begins to suspect Duck is Princess Tutu. Duck finds and
discovers another shard of the Prince's heart.
Dreaming
Aurora
- A traveling ballet group passes through town playing Sleeping
Beauty and Duck finds discovers the lead dancer has another shard.
The
Crow Princess
- Duck thinks of quitting find shards if it only restores negative
feelings. Mytho discovers the shard of curiosity, but is stolen by
Rue, Princess Kraehe.
The
Warrior's Fountain
- Fakir begins to realize he is unable to control Mytho. Duck
returns the shard from Rue, but Mytho's finds out she is a duck.
The
Black Shoes
- Both Fakir and Rue want Mytho's for themselves, but must choice if
they want to help or stop Mytho's from finding his heart. Princess
Tutu discovers the shard of devotion.
Cinderella
- Duck loses her pendant and transforms back into a duck. Duck helps
find and return the shard of regret, but then Fakir discovers Duck is
Princess Tutu.
La
Sylphide
- Mythos discovers the shard of love, but not before Rue taints it.
Rue then takes Mytho's half completed heart.
Banquet
of Darkness
- Rue and Mytho disappears, Fakir and Princess Tutu teams up
(unwillingly) to find them. Fakir discovers Duck's true form.
Swan
Lake
- Princess Tutu confronts Princess Kraehe to return Mytho's heart.
Duck risks everything and Mytho's heart is restored, but the the
ghost of Drosselmeyer hints their trials are far from over.
The
Raven
- Duck, Fakir, Mytho wonder what their fates are now, but Mytho's
tainted heart begins to change him.
Coppelia
- The audience learns that the Raven is behind Mytho's tainted heart
and Rue learns that Princess Tutu must help complete Mytho's heart
for Raven's plan to return.
The
Maiden's Prayer
- Mytho tries to take the hearts of others, but once again is stopped
by Fakir and Princess Tutu.
Crime
and Punishment
- A fake prince appears, trying to trick everyone that all women
loves him and his dancing.
The
Wandering Knight
- Fakir confronts a knightly ghost and recovers another shard for
Mytho.
A
Midsummer Night Dream
- Duck meets a wandering donkey. A lover letter cause everyone to
wonder about who their true love is.
The
Forgotten Story
- A mysterious girl appears and claims to Fakir's sister and tells
them Fakir has the power to write stories that can become real.
The
Spinners
- Fakir discovers he is the direct descendant of Drosselmeyer and
tries to find if he has inherited the same power.
Crown
of Stone
- Duck must decide where her own heart is. Fakir discovers he must
fight against Drosselmeyer's story in order to change their fates.
Marionette
- Princess Tutu is trapped in Drosselmeyer's world and Rue discovers
the truth about her origins, she was a human baby kidnapped and
raised by the Raven.
The
Prince and the Raven
- Mytho's transforms into a Raven and becomes completely under the
Raven's control.
The
Dying Swan
- Rue sacrifices herself for Mythos and is then consumed by the
Raven. Mythos asks Duck to give him the final shard to rescue Rue.
Finale
- Mytho battles Raven as Duck watches. Fakir continues to write
Duck's story and she dances one final time and gives Mytho the
courage and power to defeat Raven and save Rue, and for Fakir to end
Drosselmeyer's story.
Michiru
has just moved into the big city and is ready to her Tokyo debut.
She moves into the Stella House Haruno, a woman's only shared house,
with Kae, Nao and Makoto. And the first thing they do is have a
party for their new roommate, and they teach her how to be a Tokyo
girl she must learn how to drink alcoholic beverages. Along with
sparkling feminine chatter, there is a drink for nearly any occasion
in Takumoni:
Complete
Collection
(2018).
Michiru
was a country girl who just moved to the big city. She moves in with
Kae, Nao and Makoto and the tell her in order to fit in as a modern
'Tokyo girl' she must learn to drink. Kae is a wedding planner, Nao
works in the clothing industry and Makoto is Nao's perfect younger
sister who is in college. Every day after work, they share stories
and drinks to help either celebrate, cope or just deal with the daily
stresses of life, there nothing that can't seem better after an empty
beer mug at the end of the day.
Please
drink responsibly and legally, all the characters in the show are of
legal age. This is an anime for beer and alcohol lovers. Along with
a bit of drama and comedy, it sensationalizes drinking alcoholic
beverages along with what types of food, snacks or condiments go well
with them. Each episode features a new drink for the characters to
explore/explain.
Extras
include clean opening and closing animation and trailers.
Episodes
include...
Yebisu
Beer
- Michiru moves to Tokyo and meets her new roommates and they
introduce her to the world of alcohol and drinking.
Shochu
Highball
- Michiru begins her first day at work and then learns how to make
and drink mixed drinks.
Suiyoubi
no Neko
- Michiru attends a gym and Nao shares with her first drinking
experience with her.
Hyoketsu
- Michiru shares drinks with Makoto and Nao they becomes closer.
Kitty
- The girls talk about fashion and how to look more 'adult-like' and
Kae teaches them how to drink wine.
Dossai
- Michiru misses her hometown and it's sea foods. Nao shares her
knowledge that fish is better eaten with Japanese sake.
Kahlua
- Michiru runs into Makoto in a local cafe and learns on alcoholic
mixed coffee drinks.
Kakubin
- Michiru gets a her own project at work and then she learns how to
drink whiskey.
Otoko
Ume Sour
- Michiru want to lose some weight, but the girls introduce her to
salty and sour beer that just goes so well with snacks.
Orion
Beer
- Nao and the girls share Okinawa beer with traditional Okinawa
foods.
Daishichi
- It's the new year and the girls teach Michiru on how to drink hot
sake.
Asahi
Super Dry
- Makoto wants to use social networking to find new job and to do so
she must learn how a woman should 'properly' serve/pour (and drink)
beer for others.
Jiron
was just an outcast and vows to hunt down the one who killed his
family. He joins along with a group of bandits, the Sand Rats and
becomes a thief and leader, and the first thing they do is steal the
ultimate weapon for his revenge: a Walker Machine, Xabungle. Along
with their transforming land-ship The Iron Gear, they find themselves
with other outcasts of society and eventually in the battle for the
freedom of the planet in Xabungle:
Complete
Collection
(2015).
Jiron
seems to be the luckiest man on the planet, he was all alone and yet
he is able to become an outlaw hero. He meets the Sand Rats and he
charms the leader Rag and becomes the leader of the group. Jiron
seems to be able to charm his way with (almost) any female, survive
any odds (or simply blow it up). The major force/power on the planet
seems to be giant robots or 'Walkers'. Jiron learns that the planet
is controlled by the 'Innocent', people who survived in space and
returned to the planet after a planetary crisis. The majority of the
people are 'Civilians', people who survived the crisis and are the
work force human race. Eventually there is an uprising and the
Civilians tired of the Innocents rule and rise up to overthrow the
masters.
Before
Transformers,
there was Xabungle.
Xabungle
seems like a mix of giant robots and the Wild West. A lot of the
episodes are pretty much the same of thing, the main characters
fighting in giant robots against different group with their giant
robots. The group gets bigger until there is a final battle for the
fate of the planet.
Extras
include clean opening and closing animations, trailers and promos.
The
1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image on Dive
and Takimoni
are looking fine as expected, with Dive
offering the best playback and the rest of the older series are
presented in their original black style aspect ratios at 1080p 1.33 X
1 digital High Definition image transfers (bookened by side black
bars). Tutu
is the best of these, holding up well, and Crossing
is not bad, with ups and downs quality-wise. However,
Xabungle
looks horrible as if this
series seems like someone just transferred it from VHS or DVD to
Blu-ray! That it sounds as bad tells us the original film and/or
video masters are missing, misplaced, destroyed and/or are trapped in
some kind of legal battle where separate companies own the masters
and rights. Thus, the set is fir hardcore completists only.
All
five releases have DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) Japanese 2.0 Stereo
lossless mixes that play well and the better ones work well with Pro
Logic-like surrounds on home theater playback, plus Human
and Tutu
have English 2.0 Stereo dubs, but they are not as good as their
native counterparts. Tutu
and Takumoni
sound best to the point you'll wish they were 5.1 mixes.
-
Ricky Chiang