Demon
Girl Next Door (2019/aka
Machikado Mazoku*)/A
Dog's Courage (2018/Well
Go Blu-ray)/Z/X Code
Reunion (2019/*both
Sentai Complete Collection
Blu-ray Sets)
Picture:
A-/B+/A- Sound: C+/B+/C+ Extras: C/D/C Main Programs:
A-/A-/B+
Now
for more Asian animation from our in-house expert...
Yuko,
a.k.a. Shamiko, discovers she has grown horns and a tail and her
family are actually demons, and they have been fighting magical girls
since the dawn of time, but for the last several centuries they have
been losing and powers sealed away and because they have been losing,
they are cursed to be poor. Now, Yuko has to find and defeat Magical
Girls to redeem their honor and improve their family budget and go to
the all-you-can-eat pancake restaurant. And just so happens Yuko's
classmate Momo turns out to be a magical girl, but she is so nice and
she keeps on saving Shamiko and helping her out in all sorts of ways.
Shamiko ends up feeling conflicted, the girl she is supposed to
defeat keeps on saving and she rather be friends with her in
The
Demon Girl Next Door: Complete
Collection
(2019).
After
discovering she is a demon girl and must fight magical girls,
Shamiko's first encounter with Magical Girl Momo is that she is
rescued by her and indebted to her. To make things worse, she not
only blew her cover, but she is ridiculously weak compared to Momo,
but Momo not only knows and doesn't mind, but decides to help train
her and to become a respectable demon girl. As Shamiko learns more
on how to be a demon girl, can she resist becoming friends with Momo
who is nothing but nice and sweet to her? Damned if she does, damned
if she doesn't Shamiko is like the cute little girl next door than a
demon.
This
anime was just pure comedy and cuteness, cute little demon girl and
magical girl trying to get along even though they should be natural
enemies. Extras include clean opening and closing animations and
trailers.
Episodes
include:
Yuko
Awakens! For Family Reasons You're Now a Demon Girl - Yuko
discovers she is a demon, Shamiko and the first thing is she gets
saved by her arch nemesis Magical Girl Momo.
Just
How Sporty Are You?! Everything is Fluctuating - Shamiko realizes
how weak she is but she still challenges Momo, but is Momo here to
train her or to put her through workout hell?
Nightmare
of Forebear?! The Doorstep of Darkness Descends - Shamiko is
contacted by the spirit of her ancestor Lilith and she needs to
improve domestic home skills.
Sharpen
Your Mind! The Newly Awakened Power of the Magical Girl - Lilith
manages to possess Shamiko's body. In order to pay Momo back, Shamiko
takes a part time job.
A
Town Full of Traps? The Demon on the Brink Awakens a New Ability
- Shamiko wants to buy her little sister a present, but going out
shopping she asks Momo to pretend to be friends with her. Shamiko
transforms for the first time.
Courage
to Face the Future! The Heavy Roller Won't Stop - Momo and her
Lilith sneak into Momo's dream. Momo get sick and Shamiko calls a
truce to take care of her.
The
Pink Method! The Wheel of Fate is a Round Tire - Momo continues
Shamiko's training to help get her stronger. Shamiko takes a part
time job as a mascot and meets another Magical Girl Mikan.
The
Curse Fruit! Beware of the Sour Mikan! - Shamiko meets and
befriends Magical Girl Mikan, however she has an odd side effect,
whenever she gets excited those close to her gets bad luck.
Final
Exams! Today I'm One of Those Brainy Demons - Momo and Shamiko
compete in school to who can get better grades. Lilith says demons
are allowed to cheat, but Shamiko wants to fight her fair and square.
Shamiko and Mikan go the movie theater to help 'train' to control
their fears.
The
Ancestor Evolves! A Pair of Glasses Reflect Within a Dark Lab -
Shamiko's classmate wants some questionable 'experiments' that she
wants to try out with Shamiko and Lilith.
Diving
into Dreams Once Again! Breaking Through the Pink Defense Line -
Shamiko learns her father was sealed away when Momo's big sister
disappeared.
and
Feelings to Convey! A New Leap Forward for Demonkind! -
Shamiko proposes a plan to work together with Momo to find her sister
and free her father and create a city where Demons and Magical Girls
can live together.
Jacob
was an ordinary dog until one day, his owners just abandoned him in
the middle of nowhere. Lonely and afraid, Jacob joins a group of
strays, but even then, life is not easy and Jacob has a lot to learn
if he wants to survive. After meeting another group of strays
outside of town they decide to journey together and find paradise, a
place where they can live in peace and without fear in
Chun-Baek Lee's A Dog's
Courage (2018).
Jacob
was considered merely a common household pet until he grew too big
and his owners had to get rid of him. He was abandoned and then
picked up by a group of strays like him. As they live in an
abandoned house, they must scrounge for scraps and food. Jacob then
meets another group of dogs who live in the mountains outside of town
and instead of eating scraps and trash they hunt for food, but all
their lives become threaten when a merciless dog hunter starts
hunting all of them for his dog mill. Forced to run for their lives
the two packs work to find a safe home beyond the town and mountains,
with only their noses and instinct as their guide.
Watching
this film will make you want to call Animal Cruelty and support
stronger laws against cruelty to animals, not all the dogs make it in
the end. It shows a bit of insight to what animal cruelty is like in
other countries like Korea, animals that grow too big, too old or too
expensive to care for are thrown away like garbage or even worser
fates. Extras include trailers.
Finally,
when the inter-dimensional gate opened years ago, it united the 5
realms on Earth, bring the Z/X and their inter dimensional war with
them. Now, the only way for humans to survive is to form pacts with
the Z/X. Azumi dying of an incurable disease unites with the
powerful Z/X known as Rigel to prolong her life. But now, she has to
train with the other girls and teams at the Fujimisaki Academy. Will
they ever become strong enough to become heroes to save the world?
In
Z/X
Code Reunion Complete
Collection
(2019),
Azumi is a dying girl, forms a pack with Z/X Rigel to help prolong
her life, in turn she is Rigel's source of energy. They fight an
unknown enemy known only as Inerma, which threatens to destroy all
the dimension. Unfortunately, Azumi and Rigel are with the lowest
ranking team at the Academy, can they prove to their
Senpai/upperclassmen(women) that they aren't a bunch of flukes and
hopeless?
This
series is less about the plot and battles and more about cute magical
girls and their relationships with each other. The characters train
with each other and they become friends, and in the end it's that
'friendship' (their source of their power) that saves the world.
Extras include clean opening and closing animation and trailers
Episodes
include:
Blossom
Adorned Campus - Azumi and Rigel arrive at the Academy, but no
sooner than they arrive they school is under attack.
Drive
Shaft Ignition! - Azumi and Rigel meet their teammates while in
combat and manage to defeat the enemy.
Branded
E - Azumi and her friends are listed as the lowest rank and
powered girls at the academy and get 'special' training.
The
Guardian and the Guarded - Azumi trains with Rigel, can she prove
to her and the team she is not just dead weight?
Overboost
- Matoi manages her overboost mode, but can she overcome her fears
and control her powers?
Slacker
Z/X - Yuni tired of all the training and runs away, but ends up
finding her overdrive after being chased by a bear.
Vow
to the Blue Skies - E team fights A team in a mock battle, but
suddenly the enemy attacks. Azumi and Rigel combine to form their
overboost to defeat the enemy.
Summer
Vacation! - It's summer break, and the girls go to Yuni's summer
house, but is Ena secretly a spy for the Inerma?
Never
Say Goodbye? - The girls prepare a party for the graduating
student council members.
Inerma
and Dunamis - The girls learn of how Inerma is being controlled
by a Goddess of destruction Dunamis and Ena is her avatar of
destruction and defeats all the teams but Team E.
Fabricated
Life - Azumi and Team E decides to save their friend Ena and free
her from the mind control of Dunamis.
and
Code Reunion - Only Team E is left to fight the Doomsday
device heading toward Earth, can love and friendship truly save the
world?
Now
for playback quality. The
1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image transfers for the
episodes of both shows look great and are both 4K disc candidates for
their color and detail. They are recent productions and it shows.
Both also offer Japanese DTS-HD
MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Stereo lossless mixes that are passable, but
are not as rich, warm or strong as one would have liked. Demon also
adds an English dub in DTS-MA 2.0, but it is even a little poorer.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Courage
is also fine, if not as vivid as the Sentais, but looks fine and a 4K
version should also be considered here. As for sound, you get both
Korean and (again lesser dub) English DTS-HD
MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mixes that are much more like it
sonically. There is definitely a larger audience for this one.
-
Ricky Chiang
