DVD Review: Hakuoki OVA Collection - A Memory Of Snow Flowers (2011 - 2012)

Posted by Retrokaiser On Friday, May 31, 2013 0 comments

You've seen me give great praise to season one and two of the samurai drama Hakuoki but now it's time to move onto the third set which is not a third season but a OVA (Original Video Animation) collection consisting of six episodes about the same story but seen from the perspective by six different characters from the show.  Anyway I'm skipping too far ahead but continuing on...  Hakuoki: A Memory of Snow-flowers is a special mini series about a local geisha bar coming to the Shinsengumi for a job to spy on a gang of swordsmen staying at the bar who plan on attacking the Shinsengumi's Headquarters and they need someone to keep watch so they know when they plan to attack so they can prevent it.  They choose to send Chizuru to pose as one of their geishas but they greatly fear that she will get herself in danger and become more protective of her than normal as if she was their sister or daughter. (Click "Read More" to see the full article).

DVD Review: Hakuoki Season 2 - Record Of The Jade Blood (2010)

Posted by Retrokaiser On Wednesday, May 29, 2013 0 comments

Based on the video game series of the same name, Hakuoki Season Two - Record of the Jade Blood picks up right after season one with our favorite bunch of rouge samurai, The Shinsegumi are trying to plan a strategy to storm the castle after their last attempt which left some of their men killed in action.  Unfortunately for them the times have changed from an era of swords and honor to the age of gunfire and cowardice so their way of fighting has become obsolete.  That's not all as they are also thrown into a war that separates them all into groups leading them to battle.  That's still not all as they also have a group of seemingly unstoppable demonic humans called Fury who seek to take advantage of this war so they can feed on all the blood from both fallen and living.  While battling the Fury they find themselves in shock as their leader is none other than Chizuru's father whom she's been desperately searching for since the shows beginnings (season one if you want a simplified version kiddies).  All hell is breaking loose (or seems to be) in this epic samurai drama turned war journal.

Blu-Ray Review: Inu X Boku Secret Service (2012)

Posted by Retrokaiser On Friday, May 24, 2013 1 comments

Listen up all you Human Toilets out there! Inu X Boku Secret Service is a show about a fifteen year old girl (soon to be sixteen) named Ririchiyo Shirakiin who moves into a very nice looking apartment building and soon meets up with Soshi Miketsukami who is assigned to be her servant (in the same manner as a butler or a bodyguard).  Soshi is a very kind guy that is willing to do anything for her even risking life and limb.  Ririchiyo is very rich, very stuck up , and very rude to everyone around her  and is always putting them down with harsh insults.  Although deep down inside her she is a sweet little thing that always feels bad for the trouble she has caused people but is a little shy to go up and apologize to them so she writes them letters instead.  There are also other servants there that serve the other residents like the very quiet and always hungry Karuta Roromiya, the cheeky but caring bunny-man named Zange Natsume, and the horny lesbian Nobara Yukinokoji.  One night a burglar breaks into the building but gets a nasty shock when he sees that all the people there have supernatural powers.  They give Mr. Hamburgerler a good thrashing (that's not his actual name but I rarely get a chance to bring up "Mr. Hamburgerler" in a review) and soon we find out that the apartment building serves as not only a home but also a protection agency for decedents of humans who couldn't keep it in their pants and ended up getting monsters knocked-up.  (Click "Read More" for full article).

Beastcast 38 - the Beast is Back!

Posted by theGamingBeast On Tuesday, May 21, 2013 2 comments

The Gaming Beast is back in action after a long hiatus. Talking mainly about Star Trek into Darkness and Iron Man 3. Download and player after the bump!

Blu-Ray Review: Hellsing Ultimate Collection 2 (2008 - 2011)

Posted by Retrokaiser On Thursday, May 16, 2013 0 comments

Hellsing Ultimate Collection Two is the second volume of this OVA series containing parts five to eight and damn it was a long wait to finally get these episodes outside of Japan as we have been waiting for close to five years to see episode five onwards.  In this bundle of episodes we have the Nazis reaching the United Kingdom and deploying waves upon waves of vampire soldiers in full bloody (no pun intended) force attacking men, women, and children with no remorse what so ever.  They also send a squad to attack the Hellsing Organization's headquarters but not without a fight as Seras Victoria and Pip Bernadotte have prepared for their arrival and have some strong defenses of their own.  Meanwhile back at the hall of justice... I mean back at the battle ship from episode four we have Alucard taking control of it and he is heading to the battlefield so you know that shit is going to get real once he hits shore (pardon my French on that one as I'm really excited for this one).  If you think that is all? Well it's about to get even more bigger when the Vatican army joins the party.  Vampires, Nazis, Catholics, this is going to be one hell of a party and I brought the snacks. (Please click "Read More" if you are viewing this from the main page.  You are missing out on quite a bit of stuff).

DVD Review: Bakemonogatari Part 2 [Limited Edition] (2009)

Posted by Retrokaiser On Sunday, May 12, 2013 0 comments

Bakemonogatari part 2 is the second (and final) volume of this lo-fi horror (or new wave anime*) series about an ex-vampire named Koyomi Araragi trying to live a normal life but gets anything but.  During a trip to a shrine with his friend Suruga to deliver something important they see a girl running in the opposite direction and Koyomi starts to wonder who she was as she looked very familiar to him.  When they deliver the item to the shrine they see what seems to be a ritualistic slaughter of snakes and suspect that something is up and they start to look for the girl that ran past them because they think that she has something to do with it.  Koyomi and Suruga meet up with the girl from the shrine steps and they find out that she was doing a ritual to get rid of a curse she has.  Koyomi feels bad and decides to help her get rid of the curse.  That's not all as Koyomi has a really big problem of his own and the problem is that his psycho girlfriend (downgraded from suicidal, homicidal, genocidal bitch and no, he isn't dating the wrestler Sabu) named Hitagi wants to go out on a date.  I wonder how this first date will turn out for this delightful (not making a joke there) couple.  (To see the full review click "Read More").

DVD Review: Hakuoki Season 1 - Demon of the Fleeting Blossom (2010)

Posted by Retrokaiser On Thursday, May 9, 2013 0 comments

Based on the video game series of the same name, Hakuoki is an animated drama series about a girl named Chizuru Yukimura who is looking for her lost father and ends up getting captured by a clan of rouge samurai called "The Shinsegumi".  During her imprisonment she actually starts to like it there and grows fond of them and they grow fond of her back allowing her to take part in all their missions.  While on a mission they come across another group of rouge samurai that call themselves "The Devils" and they have some incredible skills of likes they have never seen before.  This battle leaves a good chunk of The Shinsegumi men in critical condition.   Chizuru steps up to treat their wounds and thus she gets entrusted with being a medic during missions.  Shortly after the battle Chizuru finds out a dark secret that only a few people know that could quite possibly put her life in jeopardy. (If you want to read the rest of the review, please click "Read More' and bam!  There is the rest of the review).

The Anime Room: Kara no Kyoukai Review

Posted by Shintai On Sunday, May 5, 2013 0 comments

Murder? Chicks with daggers? Supernatural shit? It's all here, it's all awesome. Check out my review of Kara no Kyoukai, a 7 film anime series filled to the brim with raw, unfiltered win.

DVD Review: Azumanga Daioh The Animation Complete Collection (2002)

Posted by Retrokaiser On 0 comments

Azumanga Daioh is an animated comedy based on the 4-panel comic strip of the same name  about a group of high school girls just being normal teenage girls but with a comedic twist soldiered on to it.  Chiyo Mihama (AKA Chiyo Chan) is a 10-year old that got skipped ahead due to being super duper smart kinda like the character Harold from the classic comedy film "Revenge From The Nerds (1984)", Tomo Takino is a very energetic, mischievous and likes to compete in sporting events, Koyomi Mizuhara (AKA Yomi) is the straight-headed one but is also very weight conscious, Sakaki Mizuno is the tall silent one that loves animals but animals don't share the same feelings back, Ayumu Kasuga (AKA Osaka) is a transfer student from Osaka and is very slow, naïve and is always sleeping in class, Kaorin is a very sweet girl that has a huge obsession over Sakaki which adds some lesbian innuendo into the show (but you never find out if she is or not), and mid-way into the show we are joined with Kagura who is also very athletic that majors in running.