Next up on this celebration of Masami Kurumada’s 40th is a live-action production based on his “Fourth-Most-Well-Known-Title”. To be quite honest, this J-Drama/toku adaptation is actually the best take on the first story arc of Fuma no Kojirou. You could literally watch this in place of watching the Yasha-hen OVA series or reading the manga’s version of this arc (not like you could, since they aren’t available in English, unlike this toku show, but still…).
Enjoy!
I’m sure most anime fans, if not everyone, in North America knows about Viz’s release of the Saint Seiya manga, especially with it having been given a digital re-release in the firs half of this year… But how many know about the other Masami Kurumada manga we received in English, essentially right alongside Viz’s original Seiya print release? Well, from 2004-2010 TokyoPop released Kurumada’s main manga of the 90s, but considering that “only 8 people” bought it I expect few to know of it. A damn shame, too, because it’s an excellent shonen action manga that actually challenges & even deconstructs some of the ideas, tropes, & standards of said genre.
Enjoy!
The second half of my celebration of Masami Kurumada’s 40th will be about the Saint Seiya Hades OVAs, but before I get to those let me say how I feel about the original TV series (what I’ve seen of it, at least). Luckily, a 25-minute recap special was made to go alongside Hades Sanctuary, so that gives me a perfect excuse to talk about Saint Seiya TV… As well as actually review the special, right? Also, I talk about Cinedigm’s recent DVD release of the Sanctuary Chapter & their even-more-recent digital offering.
EnjoY!
The first Saint Seiya Hades OVA series featured the return of Shigeyasu Yamauchi as director, Seiji Yokoyama’s music, Shingo Araki & Michi Himeno’s character designs, & all of the main cast reprising their characters for the first time in more than a decade. Still, absolute nostalgia bombing aside, this is an excellent Seiya anime production, likely the best out there.
Enjoy!
The second Hades Chapter OVA series never had a chance to warm up to the truly hardcore fans of Saint Seiya. After the removal of director Shigeyasu Yamauchi & the recasting of the main characters, this second series had very little of the nostalgia that Hades Sanctuary featured. Still, the final product is just fine & as time has gone on the hatred has seemingly lessened.
Enjoy!
I couldn’t seem to access this site back when the last review came out, so you guys get a double-dose.
First, finishing up the Saint Seiya Hades OVA reviews is the final piece of the story: A 6-episode production from 2008. Detailing the final battle between the Bronze Saints & Hades, this last OVA series definitely shows how Kurumada was forced to rush the ending of the manga, but still manages to do its job… Even with limited animation rearing its head.
Second, to finish up this celebration of Masami Kurumada’s 40th Anniversary, I give celebrate the work of music duo Marina del ray, whose music has graced nearly every anime based in some way on a Kurumada work for the past 10 years. These are, in my opinion, the top 8 songs MDR has ever made!
Enjoy, and look forward to Review #150, which is up next. The subject:
AWOL -Absent WithOut Leave-!
Well, here it is… Review #150. The subject of this third milestone review is an anime that aired back in 1998 but got forgotten during the years, yet is not just an absolutely lopsided production but also is likely one-of-a-kind in terms of release history. The craziest thing, though, is that because of this release history I’m going to have to re-watch it in a “remixed” form, meaning that this show will need two reviews! So here’s the first of two reviews for this milestone Review #150:
Enjoy!
I’ve returned from a re-watch of AWOL, this time the shorter, re-edited, “speedy & powerful” home video version that was exclusive to Japan. Even though it was fully released by the time AnimeVillage.com licensed AWOL, we only got the original TV version. That’s sad to know, because this redo actually makes the series not only watchable, but also pretty enjoyable!
Enjoy, for I am free of AWOL now! Yahoo!