I popped this in, to see the OP for Maria-Holic, and I have to say a few things about it. Sentai gave this a pretty great release. The artwork they chose is amazing, as we’ve all seen from the cover art. BTW, it was picked anime DVD cover of the month over at Mania.com. But the art on the back of the release and spine are also great. The discs themselves look awesome as well.
I think my favorite touch is the on screen menus. There don’t have any motion, or anything fancy like that. But the art that was chosen for both discs is creepy and absolutely perfect. They even threw some splatters of blood on the screen, and wrote the episode numbers and menu options in blood. The music they chose also sets the mood just right.
No problem! Now, I’m just curious to know if my other Sentai releases have artwork like that. I’ve never had any DVD’s where it popped up like that. It’s rather interesting.
A pretty good show. A bloody, violent show when it was called for. Not overly gratuitous, but on the spot. Has a very film-noir feel to it, a retro feel and look to it, like something out of the 70’s. It’s also one of those show you can’t wait for a second season for, but then I remembered:
The Skull Man is a pseudo-prequel to Cyborg 009. Sort of like how Legends of the Dark Kings is to Fist of the North Star. There are some inconsistensies between each series’s prequel/sequel pair, but enough to get the point and story connections across.
I just finished up the DVD’s for this the other night, and I have to say I was impressed with this the whole way through. The show was dark and gritty and at times very dramatic and powerful. It even managed to sew some interesting mysteries and throw a few curve balls at you. Also, the ending was great! It suited the show perfectly.
Also, after the end credits on the last episode there is a bit more story to be told, however, it does have an open ending, albeit a very interesting one.
This is a show I can find myself easily recommending.
The first manga is a fairly direct prequel, even the point of having the Skull Man taking his place as the CEO of the corporation he fought to bring down, becoming the evil that he had fought to destroy.
Also, if you read other Ishinomori works, there are clues as to the progression of this sub-plot and how it ripples out through the rest of his works at the time. He loves taking existing characters from his other works, changing their hat and clothes, and having them show up in another doing the exact same crap they always do. Or, in some cases, seeking redemption for roles in his other stories. I really love when he does this with Jet Link, who seems to me to be his closest direct reflection in character. I love that even the good guys are dark and troubled, if you can figure out who the good guys are at any point =). It’s one of the things that really draws me to his writing style. These stories would make just as amazing movies or live action series as they would anime because the stories are amazing (Kikaider is a good example of this).
Some day, some forward thinking Anime distributor will buy some of those classic Cyborg 009 movies and series, translate them and release them on DVD. Those are definitive early works in science fiction anime.
It was noted on the email TAN sent out about the new simulcast. It listed the new shows at the bottom that are coming to VOD and Online in April, including The Skull Man and Glass Mask.
I have a Cyborg 009 DVD set, a cheap thing I picked up and have yet to watch, sounds like after this series has run might be a good time to look at that?
That’s right. They only released two volumens which consist of the first 7, i believe, episodes out of 51/2. That’s a shame too, because The Skull Man is a prequel to Cyborg-009, the 2001 version at least, never seen the older versions.
Finally got my Skullman DVD in the mail today(after 3 or 4 weeks). Shouldn’t have gone the cheap route, and should have went priority mail. Can’t wait to watch it on my HDTV. I think I’ll re-watch the first 7 episodes and then finish it this weekend.
Slick
Oh I know, the release I picked up is all 7 eps on 2 DVDs in one case, just figured if I’m going to watch it at all, after this is as good a time as any.
I actually picked up several of them and put the rest in my flea market stuff.
But the art on the back of the release and spine are also great. The discs themselves look awesome as well.
