Latest Column Entries

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

A Couple Of Crunchyroll Charms With a lull in anime review discs over the holidays, I’ve been catching up a little with my online streaming. Of course being this far behind means that I have the benefit of marathoning series, rather than waiting for each subsequent episode on a weekly schedule. That means that many of you...

3D Or Not 3D, That Is The Question
Written by Mark Oates

After two years and five months, it was time to retire our trusty 32” LG LCD. The picture was starting to show signs of deterioration, with the very edges of the screen looking a little darker than the centre. It had given us sterling service, our first full 1080 capable high definition telly, and I had been saving up in my...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

No news is good news. It’s the first week in 2012 that no anime company has closed its doors, downsized, or announced that it is suing someone. No releases have been cancelled, downgraded, or delayed. Nothing much of substance has happened; I can breathe a sigh of relief and just get to talking about what I’ve been reviewing of...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

It Never Rains, But It Pours: Part 1 I had thought 2008 was anime’s Horrible Anus, the year when everything fell apart, when the bubble burst and companies dropped like flies. Well 2012 is turning out to be a Horribler Anus, as the New Year’s removal of Bandai and Beez from the landscape was apparently just the beginning....

Happy New Year, My Arse!
Written by Jitendar Canth

Where Bandai Goes, Beez Follows It’s been a miserable New Year if you’re an anime fan, and at this point there doesn’t seem to be any light on the horizon. On the 2nd of January, the announcement came from across the pond, just in time for last week’s Review Roundup, that Bandai Entertainment International was withdrawing...

Anime Review Roundup (updated)
Written by Jitendar Canth

Bye Bye Bandai... update Following yesterdays bombshell regarding Bandai Entertainements retreat from distribution, Anime News Network has posted an interview with Bandai Entertainments Ken Iyadomi that states the reasons for, and the timeline leading up to the announcement. One thing becomes readily apparent. This was a...

Anime Review Roundup Update
Written by Jitendar Canth

Anime on Demand... On Subscription I mentioned yesterday that Anime on Demand had been down for the weekend while it shifted to new servers and updated its front end interface. Last night it came back online, and with it a development that was quite dismaying, if not unexpected. From the beginning, Anime on Demand has...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

MVM Have Two Licences Forthcoming Just a heads up, as MVM announced today on their Facebook page that they have acquired two new titles for UK release. They say that they have never been released in this country before, and all being well, they should make their UK debuts in April and May. Just what titles they are will be...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

Facebooking the Tweets Once upon a time, companies used to issue press releases, hard information that you could take the bank, could rely upon, until said information would be retracted or altered in a subsequent press release. Now its all social networking, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, where you set forth a rumour, make a...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

Darker Than Black: Gemini of the Meteor - Blu-ray Cancelled Or should I say postponed? Season 2 of the fan favourite Darker Than Black was set to be Manga Entertainments last big hitter of the year, coming out on DVD and Blu-ray just when eager young consumers would have grandmas Christmas present in their wallets, ready to...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

Once again Ive been left chasing after the bandwagon long after it has left the village. This time its for Hanasaku Iroha, the most talked about slice-of-life anime this summer just past. Its wonderful collection of characters, its gentle story, and its appealing feel-good approach has attracted legions of fans on the Internet,...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

Online Anime Bonanza Anime on Demand has finally been catching up on their autumn announcements the past couple of weeks, following the debut, and subsequent delay of Persona 4: The Animation. The first episodes of Mirai Nikki are up, a concept sci-fi action series that looks a little like a cross between Death Note and...

MCM Expo News and Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

The Expo News… Another expo has been and gone, and I was so bloated from Diwali sweets that I couldnt be asked to shift from my seat in front of the inaugural Indian Grand Prix to attend the Industry Panel… Thats my excuse and Im sticking to it. Thankfully there are websites and devoted fans out there doing the legwork,...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

Persona 4: The Animation Not So-Simulcast When will people learn to read calendars? Because of a mistake on the French side of things, Anime on Demands streams of Persona 4 will henceforth be on a one-week delay. Before we start campaigning to have the Channel Tunnel filled in as retribution, there is some good news because...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya Continues On Blu-ray Haruhi Suzumiya wont appear on Blu-ray until February 2012 at the earliest. That was the announcement from Manga Entertainment this week, after they discovered that the Blu-ray check discs for the film wouldnt play on PS3s, a distinct problem in a world where the Sony...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

New Anime Coming to the UK Soon and Sooner Another week, another batch of reviews, and some more news to share. Manga Entertainment have been Twittering again. This time, to celebrate the acquisition of 9000 twats, or whatever the character limited cyberstalkers are termed, theyve announced a new licence. Next year will...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

Its The New Anime Season Again Every thirteen weeks its the same thing, the anime production houses announce the new shows that they will be airing, or the old shows that will be continuing, and for the last couple of years, thats when fans in the West have been patiently awaiting the consequent announcements from their...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

Manga licence news. Brighter Than White… …Is the tag line for a detergent commercial. The reverse is one of the most striking anime series around from the inimitable Studio Bones. Last week Manga Entertainment confirmed via Twitter that Darker Than Black Series 2 will get a DVD and Blu-ray release on the 26th of December 2011...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

MVM’s New Licence Is… MVM aren’t as prolific when it comes to releasing anime as they once were, but they certainly haven’t abandoned the UK market, and given some of the titles they have released in the past, I make certain to sit up and pay attention when they get around to announcing something new. I’ll admit that I wasn’t...

Souping up my Sinclair ZX Spectrum+ 128k
Written by Robert John Shepherd

Ah yes, some might think that the ZX Spectrum +2 or +3 where the pinnacle of the Sinclair computers, even though they were made by Amstrad. But no, the best ZX Spectrum ever made was the Spectrum+ 128k, lovingly known by fans as the "Toastrack" due to the heat-sink. It didnt have the best keyboard, the +2/+3 had those, neither...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

Two reviews for you last week, beginning with what for me has been the surprise of the summer season, Birdy The Mighty: Decode 02. Its a show with a patently daft title, and the gender-bending premise of a hot alien secret agent fused with a high school boy is certain to raise smirks and eyebrows of anyone who pays the...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

Anime on Demands New Shows Starts Streaming Its a rollover! Or rather a deficit of news (including an annoying false alarm about Dragonball Z), and not too many reviews, convinced me to skip a week of my usual Review Roundups. Anime On Demand still arent all that hot when it comes to keeping a timely schedule, but this past...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

Xamd Lost Memories Part 2 Blu-ray Cancelled By Manga The third time was definitely not the charm with this hi-def anime, indeed it looks as if it is another nail in the coffin of long running anime series on Blu-ray in the UK, at least for now. Last week saw a flurry of tweets from Manga Entertainment, announcing the...

Falling Skies - Epic Fail
Written by Robert John Shepherd

There is no justice in the world. But then anyone who has been watching the lowlifes go on a rampage looting London, will already know that. TV can often reflect true life, to varying degrees of success and enjoyment, and sometimes the industry that is TV does too. This season, we saw a few SciFi series from the US, one of...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

The BBFC Scythe Their Way Through Another Anime Sensationalist enough for you? The anime in question is MVMs forthcoming Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny, and to set the record straight, the BBFC dont object to any of the anime series itself. Its one of the bonus mini-episodes provided in the extra features that has earned their...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

Two reviews for you last week, and it was one disappointment followed by a pleasant surprise. The funny thing is that both disappointment and surprise stemmed from the staple anime ingredient of fan service. First up was Shikabane Hime Corpse Princess Part 2. Part 1 was a qualified delight, a dark, spooky story about the dead...

Revisiting Old Friends
Written by Mark Oates

Sparked off by Jitendars revisiting of Lethal Weapon 4, I started thinking about how much I revisit old movie friends.  Of course anybody who knows me knows I have a catalogue of comfort movies which I regularly revisit from time to time, but I was thinking of the movies that either I loved once and dont go near these days, the...

Anime Review Roundup
Written by Jitendar Canth

Manga Entertainment Dont Give A Tweet About A New Licence Usually you can rely on Twitter for Manga Entertainments news, but this week it was an eagle-eyed customer who spotted a new licence up for pre-order on an e-tailers website. Samurai Girls, the Complete Collection is to be released to UK audiences on November 21st 2011...