Amazon.com

Classic cartoon fans will delight in the bevy of classic Tom and Jerry animated shorts, each of whichends in the proclamation "Made in Hollywood, U.S.A.," and most of which are from the '40s. Fifteen episodes (totaling morethan an hour) are featured. Included are: "The Cat Concerto," "Johann Mouse," "The Little Orphan," "YankeeDoodle Mouse," "Salt Water Tabby," "Tee for Two," "Solid Serenade," "Zoot Cat," "Johann Mouse," "Dr. Jekyll" andMr. Mouse," "Mouse in Manhattan," "Kitty Foiled," "The Little Orphan," and"Jerry's Diary." It might surprisemore mature viewers, with fond recollections of the adventures of the gray cat and the little mouse, howrelentlessly violent (albeit cartoon violence) the 'toons are. This video, a collection of chase-centricfilms, is notably chock full of head bangin', body bashing, poisoning, and all-around disorder.

The absolute highlight are two shorts low on smashin' and high on entertainment: "The CatConcerto" and "Mouse in Manhattan," the first with Tom as the focus and the second with Jerry.They both involve forays into entertainment, a great soundtrack, and a fun story. The DVD edition adds"The Worry Song" from Anchors Aweigh, the classic showcase of the amazing (and oft-copied)duet of animation and live action, as Jerry dances with the wonderfulGene Kelly. Contrasted with thePC content of today's 'toons, Tom and Jerry is a literal blast from the past--a must for collectors,and for parents comfortable with explaining that Tom isn't really burned to ashes, and Jerry hasn't beenbeheaded. --N.F. Mendoza ... Read more

Reviews (21)

This DVD is *almost* perfect.
I am a huge fan of classic (i.e., before 1970) cartoons. In the current absence of Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies DVDs, this Tom and Jerry DVD is my favorite currently existing animation DVD.

First, this DVD contains 13 complete and uncut classic Tom and Jerry cartoons. The selection of cartoons is very good. They have lots of action and are very well written. The quality of the picture is superb. They did a very good job of mastering these 13 cartoons. If you are a Tom and Jerry fan then you will be very pleased with these 13 cartoons.

Also included is a clip from the movie ANCHOR'S AWAY featuring Jerry dancing with Gene Kelly. I consider this to be a very nice bonus feature.

This DVD is *almost* perfect. However, there is one flaw. Specificallly, the cartoon "The Little Orphan" has been edited. In the original cartoon, after a candle lands on Tom's tail, Tom turns black. Then the little mouse throws a champagne bottle at the black Tom, and the black Tom is pushed into a cabinet of dishes. All of this part has been edited out of this cartoon on this DVD.

It's really terrible that they would remove part of the cartoon. I paid for the cartoon, and I deserve to get what I paid for.

Tom And Jerry As I remembered them
Just as the title suggests, this is Tom and Jerry as I remembered them when I was a kid.
When I saw that the Cat Concerto was on it, I just had to buy it as it was my all time favorite of Tom and Jerry.

All are as I remember them.. uncut.. except one cartoon where Tom gets burned, otherwise the video and audio quality are very very good.

A nice bonus in the DVD is Jerry dancing with Gene Kelly.

For cartoon collectors, this one is a must.

If you are into modern cartoons where they must be politically correct, non-violent, and have to teach you something, don't buy it.

No where near the quality of Looney Tunes....
These cartoons have not aged well. The jokes are not funny, the music stinks, and the chases were done a lot better by Willie E. Coyote and Road Runner.

All your favorite Tom and Jerry Cartoons
This one was worth the money. My favroite episode is the Cat Concerto where Tom plays the Hungarian Rhapsody on the piano and Jerry runs in and out of the piano, causing Tom to have to play faster and faster to keep up. There 14 cartoons and a special bonus where Jerry dances with Gene Kelly in an excerpt from Anchors Aweigh. The Cartoons included are: Yankee Doodle Mouse, Salt Water Tabby, Tee for Two, Mice Follies, The Cat Concerto, Solid Serenade, Zoot Cat, Johann Mouse, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse, Mouse in Manhattan, Jerry and the Lion, The Little Orphan, Kitty Foiled, and Jerry's Diary. The entire DVD lasts about 90 minutes and is well worth the money. We'll be taking it in our minivan this summer when we travel.

Don't bother
Tom and Jerry, a wonderful childhood memory and a wonderfully entertaining comedic duo, have been butchered for DVD release. "The Little Orphan" contains an edit which is so idiotic that I cannot recommend this DVD. I would not even buy this at a bargain price. I don't care if everything else is uncut, one edit is all it takes. It is sad that some of the greatest animated characters have to be butchered just to be politically correct. One scene is cut while modern cartoons, full of innuendos and violence, recieve no such censoring. Do not support censorship and avoid this DVD. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The sixth broadcast season of Ranma 1/2 includes some of the silliestentries in a continuity known for its silliness: a seaside resort isterrorized by a ceramic octopus trap, and upperclassman/school gasbag Kuno is strickenwith amnesia after a watermelon gets stuck on his head. But at times, thepremises feel decidedly thin. When Akane is kidnapped by a Minotaur-like monster (the adult version of ababy Happosai bathed in the most accursed spring at Jusenkyo--the one in which aYeti riding an ox carrying a crane carrying an eel drowned), Ranma and thegang discover there are worse fates than turning into a girl--or a monster.Director Junji Nishimura spoofs Japanese monster movies in "Scribbled Panda," as aKabuki-style spider and demon emerge from a Chinese scroll to attack acarnival. But the most horrible beast is an icky-cute little drawing who develops acrush on Ranma: it's like Hello Kitty on a rampage. Ranma's furiouswhen a newcomer who practices Martial Arts Calligraphy won't accept a challengebecause Ranma's handwriting is so atrocious. The filmmakers balance the slapstick by making kindness an element inthe way Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga defeat a Snow-Woman (Yuki-onna) and abizarre Abominable Snowman who threaten to turn Furinkan into an outdoor icebox.Telepathic boy Satori sums up the series when he visits the Tendo-Saotomihousehold and screams, "The people in this house are weird!" (Rated 13 and older: brief nudity, slapstick violence) --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Ranma 1/2 is still going strong as ever!
I got Ranma 1/2 season 6 for Christmas and I was definitely not disappointed at all with this season. The animation was great and the voice acting was still good (I mostly hear the english dub). When I had bought the comics of Ranma 1/2, there were a lot of funny stories that I was hoping would get animated, and to my pleasure, I heard that the sixth season had the stories in my comics animated; so I was super excited about seeing my favoirte manga stories animated in front of my eyes. One of my favorites was "Gosunkugi's Paper Dolls of Love", it was hiliarious, at least to me it was. Still the season starts out slow and then really kicks it into high gear. Here are my reviews for each episode on a scale of 1-10.

Dear Daddy...Love Kodachi - 5
Enter Gosunkugi, The New Rival - 10
Ranma's Caligraphy Challenge - 4
The Secret Don of Furinkan High - 4
Back to the Way We Were Please - 6
Ryoga Inherits the Saotome School!? - 7
Tendo Family Goes to the Amusement Park! - 8

Case of the Furinkan Stalker - 9
The Date-Monster of Watermelon Island - 10
The Demon from Jusenkyo, Part 1 - 10
The Demon from Jusenkyo, Part 2 - 10
The Missing Matriach of Martial Arts Tea! - 7
A Xmas without Ranma - 9
A Cold Day in Furinkan - 10
Akane Goes to the Hospital! - 7
Curse of the Scribbling Panda - 10
Legend of the Lucky Panda - 9
Mystery of the Marauding Octopus Pot! - 8
Ukyo's Secret Sauce, Part 1 - 9
Ukyo's Secret Sauce, Part 2 - 9
A Teenage Ghost Story - 7

Gosunkugi's Paper Dolls of Love - 10
Akane's Unfathomable Heart - 6
Master and Student...Forever!? - 10

I named my Kool-aid after this series!
Unlike the other episodes in this series, this was the first season I saw where Akane and Ranma actually got along...for the most part. The episodes in this are definitely random. There are two, 2-part episodes, but the rest are clearly undefined amoungst one another.

The episodes are more based upon Akane and Ranma, as Ryoga, Ukyo, and Shampoo really didn't have much screen time (and I was hoping for Ryoga and Ukyo!). Of course, this isn't a bad thing. Some of the episodes are great, while others are "okay, that was dumb." But even those "dumb" ones are funny.

Akane and Ranma actually get along in a few episodes, something I was waiting SOOO long to see! Kuno makes more appearences than usual, being in about every other episode....but he is quite the character when he does! Definitely not eh serious Blue Thunder of FH as he was in the first season!

The last disk is the only one with special features, and they aren't too amazing. Just similar features other DVDs would have.

Some episodes are funny, while a few are just beautiful (cry). I recommend this for any fan. It isn't the most cohesive season, but it is definitely entertaining!

(Oh, and th eKool-aid we drank while watching it was an orange powder that turned green in water and tasted like strawberries. We call it Random Rhapsody now. Yeah!)

And more!
Hilariously funny! The beginning seemed a bit dry at first but it really kicked up bringing out more goofy episodes to laugh over! It's a great box set for all Ranma Lovers, but of course there will aways be a couple episodes where "ok, kind of stupid" but they always end up great anyway. The last episode leaves you hanging for more!

Good season for all Ranma lovers!
Although this season doesn't quite come close to the first season, it is a very funny one. It is way better than season 5 because of taro and hikaru, characters from the manga, coming in.

This season is perfect for all ranma collectors, although the newer peoplewill want to start from the beginning and work your way up here. Although there isn't as much character development as in the manga, ranma 1/2 season six will make you laugh again and again.

hilarious
ranma is still funny not as good as the 1 first but its worth the money get this box set if ur looking four laughs its the best ... Read more

Description

Pete, a young orphan, runs away to a Maine fishing town with his best friend--a lovable, sometimes invisible dragon named Elliott! When they are taken in by a kind lighthouse keeper, Nora (Helen Reddy), and her father (Mickey Rooney), Elliott's prank playing lands them in big trouble. Then, when crooked salesmen try to capture Elliott for their own gain, Pete must attempt a daring rescue. ... Read more

Reviews (67)

Reddy, Rooney and a dragon named Elliott
The seventies were rough on the family entertainment market. Disney, once untouchable in this respect, found itself in a bit of a quandry, the likes of which the theatrical release of "Pete's Dragon" didn't help. Most critics found it hammy and, with the exception of Elliott, the dragon, discarded the movie as just a trite piece of fluff. Well, it was and it is - but why does anything so light-hearted, gay and original have to be anything but? In the intervening decades "Pete's Dragon has gone on to become a much loved Disney classic and for good reasons. Helen Reddy, Mickey Rooney, Red Buttons and Jim Dale are inspired casting choices, giving a depth to their characters that greatly enhances the film. True, the film's score doesn't match the staying power of Mary Poppins but 'Candle on the Water' is a great romantic ballad, 'Brazzle Dazzle Day' is a fun-loving feel good song and 'Passamaquadi' is ultra camp played in the best sense. Not much to complain about with Disney's transfer of the film. It's anamorphic, near pristine and remixed to 5.1 stereo. One note - 'Candle On The Water', for some inexplicable reason, may suddenly freeze frame in the middle of the song on some players the first run through. If you are worried about this, play the song first to see if it does this and if so, simply still frame advance to the next track, then go back and replay the song. This solves the problem for all subsequent times you choose to play the song. As I say, I'm at a loss to explain why this problem sometimes occurs. Over all, this is a wonder film experience no matter your age. One only regrets that there is no making-of documentary included.

Pure Disney Musical Magic
There's something about live-action, animation Disney films that just seem to fascinate me. For one, Disney can go beyond two hours of a movie, and still keep it G-rated. Now that's pretty impressive to me. Most companies would probably have rated it PG, but not Disney. They try and it keep for the whole auidience. Which is what everyone needs to see in a film. And the special effects isn't bad either.

This film also includes the legendary Mickey Rooney. The story of Pete's Drangon is pretty simple. Pete is a young orphan, who is running away from his abopted parents, and end up in Maine, a fishing town with his best friend, Elliott. Sometimes you can see him, and other times, you can't. A kind lighthouse keeper, Nora played by (Helen Rebby), and her father (Mickey Rooney), Elliott's pranks gets them into a whole lot of trouble.

The music in this film is Ocar-nominated beautiful. Like "The Happist Home in These Hills," "It's Not Easy," "Candle on the Water," & "Brazzle Dazzle Day." A simply marvoulous soundtrack for the whole family.

Now you must know, that Pete's Dragon was made in the late 70s, which was long before computer technology was invented. You know, like CGI grahpics and so forth. Which is another thing that impressive me, how Disney can create these images and actually make them work. Pete's Dragon is a wonderful story, that will be treasured for the next generation to come.

Good movie for a Disney musical
I remember this movie from my childhood, so I bought it for my toddler. He loves it. My son points at the DVD case and grunts. He watches it everyday (for 2 weeks now). It must be the music and singing because the storyline is lackluster. Everytime he sees the dragon or hears a song he starts chattering away with his gibberish pre-talk. My preferred character is Doc Terminus - the con man / man of science. I give it 4 stars because I have watched it so many times the melodies are stuck in my head. I hope he gets a new "favorite" movie soon :)

One of Disney's Best Live Action Films!
This is one of those films that you never forget. I saw this movie when i was little and I am still a fan of it. Pete's Dragon is one of the first Disney films to use live action and animation together in a film. The story follows a boy who is on the run from his terrible adoptive family the Gogans (Shelley Winters, Rob Conaway)and his friend Elliot the dragon (voiced by Charlie Callas) who is sometimes invisible. Together, they are the best of friends until they come upon a quaint fishing town where they soon start to get into mischief.
Eventually Pete is taken in by Nora(Helen Reddy) a lighthouse keeper and her father(Mickey Rooney) where he soon becomes part of the family. But soon, the Gogans discover where he is living and are determined to get him back. There are many delightful performances in this film including Jim Dale who plays the terrible Dr. Terminus and his obnoxious side-kick Hoagie(played by red Buttons). The funny thing about this movie is that Mickey Rooney and Red Buttons are drunk through most of it. Lastly, I recommend this movie because of the music. This film has some of the best Disney songs. Most notably Helen Reddy's "Candle on the Water" and "There's Room For Everyone". Along with the singing and dancing, this is one great Disney film and it is not to be missed. If you've seen it, watch it again and if you haven't ,DO!

Woo-hoo! My kid likes it as much as I did!
Yes, the animation is dated. Yes, the plot is kind of corny BUT my daughter is just as enchanted as I was (and still am). You can't miss with this one! Pete's Dragon shows you what it means to be a kid with an unbelievable (only to the grown-ups) best friend who helps you out when you think that there's no one else left to care. The songs are still catchy and the baddies are still scary. The DVD is sooooo much better than VHS; and unlike my VHS copy there is no fear of it wearing out from over-playing. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In this 1998 television series, four bishonen (beautiful boys) work asflorists to cover their activities as the vigilante posse Weiß Kreuz,the Knights of the White Cross. Ex-soccer pro Ken fights with a ninja claw;self-styled ladies' man Yoji uses nooses; computer ace Omi fires poison dartsand crossbow bolts; sullen, taciturn Aya wields a traditional samurai sword.The Knights assassinate murderers, kidnappers, and sexual predators when theirhidden superiors tell them, "Hunters of the Night, Deny these Dark Beaststheir tomorrows."

Knight Hunters begins as a sort of male version of BubblegumCrisis, with the dedicated quartet squabbling among themselves beforethey fight as a unit. But after the first few episodes, it turns into anelaborate and bloody soap opera of vengeance, hidden identities, and oldfamily wrongs that must be righted. Their main target in the first adventureis the evil Masafumi Takatori, who tries to assume dictatorial powers whenhe's elected Prime Minister. After Takatori's murder, the series grows increasingly bizarre withsupernatural and satanic elements. The Knights have to take out a musicianwhose songs induce insanity, a serial kidnapper, a trio of cult leaders, andthe still-active agents of Takatori. The last episodes are heavily padded,and the ending is a classic cliffhanger, leaving open the possibility ofadditional adventures--should anyone be interested. (Rated 13 and older, butmore appropriate for 16 and older: violence, violence against women, briefnudity, sexual situations, grotesque imagery, torture, alcohol and tobaccouse) --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Flawed But Worthwhile
The idea of Weiss Kreuz is rather better than its execution. The series doesn't make the most of its material, either in plot or in character development, and between that and the distinctly lackluster animation it gives the impression of not quite living up to its potential.

That said, it's still worth watching, and I give it four stars for a good try and a great idea. Although they could have been explored more fully, the characters are intriguing, in part because although they are assassins who hunt and kill evildoers, they do not consider themselves particularly righteous men - they call themselves a necessary evil and expect to be held accountable for the lives they've taken. Each of the four main characters has his own reason for being in Weiss; each one suffers over the course of the series, and each one at least considers the possibility of quitting and has to choose whether or not to stay.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it... doesn't quite. Yoji's first spotlight episode leaves one with the impression that he's not nearly as competent as the Weiss boys are supposed to be - but in a much later episode, he dishes up one of the most gutwrenching moments of the series in his final encounter with villainess Neu. And any episode featuring Aya is bound to be fascinating.

Where the series fails to plumb the full depths of its main characters, it makes up for the lack by doing surprisingly well by its supporting characters. In particular, Weiss handlers Manx and Birman and the mysterious Persia acquit themselves better then you might expect from this kind of series.

With a few exceptions, Weiss always get their man - or woman - but the series largely refrains from being repetetive. Plot points crop up for a few episodes, subside, and then pop up again to be developed a little further. The series is also, as will be made clear by the opening of the first episode, not afraid to kill people. Sometimes the heroes arrive in time to save the day, but just as often they can only enact bloody vengeance after the damage has been done. Even supporting characters who've appeared in several previous episodes are not sacred.

The first season, aside from the episodes dealing directly with Schreient and their leader Masafumi Takatori, is mostly superior to the second; the Takatori clan makes for a more effective source of antagonists and evil plots than the second season's villain organization, which has a more supernatural bent.

The DVDs include outtakes from the English dubbing sessions. The dub itself is typically bad and should be skipped if possible, but the outtakes are hysterical and nearly worth the price of the collection on their own.

Then there's Gluhen. Weiss Kreuz: Gluhen is either the third season or the second series of Weiss Kreuz, depending on how you want to look at it. It isn't currently available in the US, but it looks as though it will be released starting in July as Knight Hunters: Eternity File. The animation is greatly improved from the original; however, because of legal issues, the designs of the four main characters were changed. Aya and Ken fared all right, but Yoji looks as though he had a fight with a weedwhacker and lost, and wears an awful hat to boot. Gluhen also introduces two new members of Weiss, who take up a lot of the focus of the series, to the point that Ken and Yoji don't even appear for about seven episodes.

The story is also improved - sort of. In the first two seasons, the main villains have various operations which Weiss foil, so there's something of a sense of progress and there are distinct character arcs. In Gluhen, there are simply events which occur and which Weiss must face, and which frequently pass without much resolution. It's a better depiction of the covert-ops sort of organization Weiss is supposed to be - in the earlier seasons, the team was usually just given a target and sent out to kill them, with the intelligence work already done - but can give viewers the impression that they're missing a big chunk of the story, particularly when the other two members of Weiss finally show up and are just finishing a related mission. The first two seasons sometimes seem a bit rushed - Gluhen is the opposite.

All told, Weiss Kreuz is worth watching. Don't go into it with high expectations; it's not perfect. But if you can accept it for what it is, it's solid entertainment.

Hunters of the Night, hunt the evils of tomorrow
Besides the non-direct translation of Weiß Kreuz (white cross) I totally recommend the DVDs. The storyline is angsty in some aspects and having mainly bishounen's as the main characters are a plus. 4 guys: Aya (Ran), Ken, Omi (Mamoru Takatori), and Yohji who work in a flower shop in the day and are assassins at night, each with a sad past and reason for being Weiß. Toss in their wicked rivals: Schwarz (male group of assasins with powers: Brad, Schuldig, Farfarello, and Nagi) and Shrient (group of female baddies:Hell, Schoen, Neu, and Tot) makes this anime a must watch.
Having watched the series before it's release on DVD in the US. And watching the U.S. DVDs myself, the translations and conversion is great. Now if only they brought over the OVAs and Glühen. The manga is also a must get, with details on how Aya joined the Weiß group.

Starts off strong, ends weak
I'm so disappointed that the animation changes halfway through the series. I love discs 1-3 but there are obvious changes in discs 4-5. The animation gets very choppy and the storyline no longer has any heart. The creators of this series need to fire the animators of discs 4 & 5 and bring back the original group. Only 1-3 are worth watching, 4-5 bored me to tears. Before you invest your money, rent it first (netflix).

Great series, great DVD edition
I don't know where all those reviewers have been coming up with the notion that Cheesiness, Angst, & Extreme High Melodrama are *surprising*-- or *unwanted*-- in a shojo anime. Come on! Really. This is for us. We want our angst and family tragedies and long-lost siblings and haunted pasts and Good Vs. Evil and unrequited love and knee-weakeningly beautiful boys... we want it all, and we want it bloody.

That said, the Weiss Kreuz collection is one of the best things that you could possibly take home & watch on the sofa with your box of chocolates & your pink tissues. Four pretty young things, each one with a worse revenge-complex than the next, all with clashing personalities; an expansion on the buddy-cop concept, only better... four pretty young vicious bloodthirsty international assassin boys who run a flower-shop. And of course they're all straight. If you don't love an idea like that right away, then you shouldn't be renting this in the first place. But if you have to keep hitting Rewind because you drown out the dialogue with your own squeals, then you're one of us, and you should buy this DVD set.

The DVD edition is fabulous, easy to navigate, crammed with features, sketches, interviews, you name it. I was especially (pleasantly) surprised by the outtakes. Recording all that drama had to be taxing-- so it must've been a great release to make that mutant-monster croon "Till There Was You" at Aya while smashing him repeatedly against a piano.

I personally like the animation well enough; it's not groundbreaking, but it does not look like 1987, either. The dubs and subs are equally good here, in my opinion. They put a nice amount of effort into the setup. I think the English translation was pretty great, very natural-sounding; people's opinions on these tend to run hot & cold, but I can say that at least the English doesn't sound stilted, and the subtitles at least follow pretty much what the dub says. Bold yellow subtitles were easy to read, for when you're in the mood to follow in Japanese for awhile.

The voice actors were often lackluster, I agree with everyone on that point. I privately think Aya could be even b*tchier, Omi even squeakier, and Farfarello even crazier... in both languages. Schuldig's erotically snide baritone is definitely the brightest point of the English dub, however. You may find yourself listening to him purr "ruined lives taste like honey" repeatedly until your Rewind button sticks.

You can watch many of these stories independently of each other without worrying about the overarching plot, which is nice for those who don't want the full collection. The boys get a mission, they go out and find the bad guys, and much fighting & bickering ensues. Most episodes have at least some brokenhearted weeping, and they all have bloodshed (although the pedestrian fight-sequence style in this anime doesn't do much for me). If you're lucky, you'll get to see the gang of psychic/psychotic villain boys, who are even more interesting than the heroes. You can start watching to just absorb the cheesy missions, but soon be hooked on the tangled interpersonal relationships and vendettas. Which is, after all, the point in a bishonen anime. So addictive!

Ah
This is a great series, worthy to soon be a classic. The art is kind of messy sometimes with the fire and stuff (well, I do respect its all done the old good way, all hand drawn, and I guess if I had to draw about 10 different frames per second for an entire series, I would do the same). The characters are all pimp as well as the story. The ending episodes are the great ones. Well worth buying and watching over and over. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This wacky sci-fi comedy-adventure originally aired in Japan from 1993 to 1994 and was followed by a 10-part original animation video. Justy Ueki Tylor bridges two Japanese traditions: he begins as a common anime type, the endearing dolt, but develops into the drunken, wise fool of Zen parables. As war erupts between Earth and the Raalgon Empire, Tyler enlists in the United Planets Space Force because he wants "an easy life." Through sheer dumb luck, he resolves a hostage crisis involving a venerable admiral and wins a promotion to captain of the Soyokaze, a broken-down battle cruiser manned by a crew of misfits. His bumbling successes bring Tylor to the attention of the 16-year-old Raalgon empress Azalyn and her trusted lieutenant, Captain Ru Baruba Dom: he wins the heart of the former and the respect of the latter, along with the affection of his crew. Although Tylor's adventures are played for laughs and clearly aren't intended to be taken seriously, there are some major holes in the plot. The filmmakers introduce questions and subplots, ranging from a scheme to usurp the throne of Raalgon to the fate of the previous captain of the Soyokaze, that are left unresolved when Tylor and his crew blast off for new adventures. Captain Tylor lacks the no-holds-barred nuttiness of Nadesico but will appeal to fans of comic space adventures. Unrated; suitable for ages 12 and up: sexual humor, minor nudity, violence, alcohol use. --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Soooo Irresponsible
This review is partially a direct review of the series and partially a response to other reviews read here.

If you don't like a series that goes over-the-top, you won't like ICT.

If you don't like blatant denial of probability and how things actually work, you won't like ICT.

If you don't like humerous character stereotypes taken to and beyond the extreme, you won't like ICT.

I love this show. I first purchased it used on VHS several years ago from a comic store I had some in-store credit with. Irresponsible Captain Tylor is purposefully and blatantly overboard with its wackiness and characters. I guess it is possible to find this annoying, as at least one reviewer on here did, but this characteristic is really the entire point of the series. Tylor's mind-numbingly constant good luck is not a crappy plot gap, it's a cornerstone of the series, as are the niches filled by the characters around him.

There's really nothing in this series you could change to improve it, not because it's the best anime ever (though it's one of my favorites) but because changing it would destroy everything it's trying to be.

Probably none of this matters or makes sense to you and you're all going to click the little "this reveiw did not help me at all" button underneath, but as far as I'm concerned, you can't find a better comedy anime than Irresponsible Captain Tylor.

It's Irresponsible of you to miss this Great Series!!!!!
I'm not going to go into to much detail with my review. All I would like to say is that The Irresponsible Captain Tylor is a rare type of Anime. Its the kind where you laugh, but at the same time feel that you have come away from it having learned something. Its hard to explain. But what I will say is the world would be a better place if more people had Tylor's attitude.
The series is laugh out loud funny and rich with characters. Sometimes certain characters are left out of the loop and are underused or undercharacterized but its not enough to take away from this series.
The over all story is really enjoyable and the Final battle is very intense, and the victory OUTSTANDING!!!
This series also has one of the most satisfying endings I have ever encountered and left me wishing it never ended (there is the OVA series you can watch after this, a sequel of sorts, to the first series).
The extras on the DVD are wonderful, ships schematics (ALL of them, even ships seen for 2 seconds in the series), character synopsis, music videos, and more.
I recommend this to anyone who wants to watch a good anime series and to people who want to get a taste of what anime has to offer. I highly recommend this to everyone you will not be disapointed!!

A great anime
Captain Tylor is the best anime I've seen since Cowboy Bebop. And it is just as good!

Well done.
This is the first, and one of the only, anime series I have ever seen, and it was thrilling for me. The film makes an effective mockery of Star Trek, Star Wars, etc, and is, for the most part, free of overly ribald materials.

its got jason in it! O_O
Growing up in a Trekkie household, I found Tylor to be the perfect yin to Star Trek's yang. Tylor, quite simply, is the anti-Kirk, and it works beautifully. This series is one of the most beautiful productions I have ever seen, and is the perfect blend of comedy and drama, with even the most minor of characters fleshed out. From what I understand, this series was a labor of love ... and it shows.

For the space opera genre, which often takes itself way too seriously, it's refreshing to see a takeoff on it that isn't overtly slapstick. Instead of going for sight gags and below-the-belt humor, the writers go for wry, witty dialogue, and allusions to many a classic science-fiction novel and movie. The situations, while unbelievable, are still plausible ... they really could happen in battle, and you never really figure out whether Tylor is along for the ride or really IS the great tactical genius in military history.

Again, though Tylor is the main character, and an incredibly good one at that, he doesn't steal the show. He has the perfect balance of supporting characters, ranging from Yuriko Star, the uptight, by-the-book lieutenant; Yamamoto, the even-more by-the-book traditionalist, who is prone to weeping spells and (ultimately useless) dramatic speeches, the marines Andressen and Cryburn, who could have been pulled out of Starship Troopers (mind you, the Heinlein novel, not the Hollywood travesty), and the obligatory cute teenage twins, Yumi and Emi, who turn out to be pretty darn good fighter pilots. Even Jason. Yes, THAT Jason, the star of so many slasher films, is a crew member on the Soyokaze. And a good team player to boot! (Who'd have thunk it?)

In short, Tylor is a smart spoof that stands up quite well on its own. With an engaging plot, wonderful characters, well-rendered world-building, and surprisingly sympathetic "bad guys", Tylor will still be as fresh years from now as it is today. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A sprawling mixture of mythical crises and slushy teenage romance, Fushigi Yugi: TheMysterious Play has the scale, but not the depth, of an epic.

Like the heroine of Sailor Moon, Miaka is a ditzy 15-year-old girl who'scrazy about junk food and boys. She and her scholarly friend Yui find anancient Chinese volume, The Universe of the Four Gods, about a girl "whomade her dreams come true after she came to possess the seven stars ofSuzaku," and are literally drawn into the book. Miaka is hailed as the girl from another world destined to become the priestess of Suzaku, the protectingdeity of the Empire of Konan. She soon finds herself caught in a web ofadventures, magic, deadly perils, intrigue, and counterintrigue.

Miaka gains the affection of the seven Celestial Warriors of Suzaku: martialartist Tamahome; the exquisite emperor of Konan, Hotohori; the transvestite Nuriko; sorcerer-in-training Chichiri; mountain bandit Tasuki; physicianMitsukake; and the flute-playing Chiriko. The Warriors and the Priestess are all needed to summon Suzaku to save Konan from an invasion from the rivalkingdom of Kutuo. Complicating matters are Yui's estrangement from Miaka andtheir rivalry for the dashing Tamahome.

The animation is extremely limited, even by anime standards: director HajimeKamegaki often uses pans over comic book-style artwork in place of charactermovements. But the adventures are enjoyable and the side characters are oftenengaging, especially Chichiri. The weakest aspect of the series is Miaka, whocomes across as a whiny twit: Tamahome and Hotohori fall in love with her,but it's difficult to understand why.

Mysterious Play began as a girl's manga, then became a weekly TV program.It's more entertaining to watch one or two episodes at a time: after too many atone sitting, the story begins to feel repetitious and padded. Thisfour-disc set includes only the first half of the story (the TV series' entire first season), ending on a realcliffhanger. The supplemental material offers a well-organized chart of thecharacters and their relationships, keyed to scenes in the story. --CharlesSolomon ... Read more

Reviews (137)

An outstanding series of epic proportions
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play is definitely my favourite full-length anime series. It has an exciting plot with very believable twists that always keeps the viewer thinking. Every episode ends with a cliffhanger that makes one crave to watch more.

The series has 52 episodes, and the red Suzaku Box Set contains the first half (26 episodes). The multi-fold box set case is very beautiful and the finest I've seen to date. I would expect that the second half will be presented in a similar blue Seiryu Box Set.

The DVD version is bilingual with optional subtitles and can satisfy all audiences that may prefer original Japanese dialogue with/without subtitles, or dubbed English. Dubbed English and subtitle translations are never perfect, but I believe they've done a very good job here.

In conclusion, I highly recommend getting the Fushigi Yugi series in DVD format starting with this Suzaku box set, and hope the waiting goes well for the next DVD box set.

Despite it's failings, a classic
Over the top shoujo (girls) romantic content, an annoying centric character, incredibly likable secondary characters, and a couple anime firsts for me. Yes, this is the "Mysterious Play" I've heard so much about.

Fushigi Yuugi is, at first glance, a typical shoujo anime. Two high school exam candidates, Miaka Yuki and Yui Hongo, are in the library reseaching, when they come across a book titled 'Universe of the Four Gods.' No sooner do they pick it up, then they are drawn into this book, and straight into ancient China! Miaka and Yui become separated, and Miaka finds herself in the Konan Empire, being hailed as the Priestess of the phoenix god Suzaku. She has to find the Seven Seishi (warriors) bearing the "mark of Suzaku" (think of it as a tattoo that shows up when they're fighting), and summon the god to have all her wishes fulfilled.

She finds her seven warriors: Tamahome, her money-obsessed love interest devoted to his family. Hotohori, the narcissistic Emperor of Konan, also in love with Miaka (of course...) Nuriko, my personal favorite, a sassy crossdresser in love with Hotohori (and a guy, in case you're wondering). Chichiri, the chipper sorcerer in training. Tasuki, the brash, energetic mountain bandit. Mitsukake, the stoic healer. And Chiriko, the 13-year-old genius. After enlisting the help of the sorceress Taiitsikun, she begins.

But she soon finds out that Yui has been chosen by the Kotou Empire to summon rival god, Seiryu. Life in the book has not been easy for Yui, and after finding out that Miaka is in a relationship with Tamahome, whom she loves, she begins to jealously resent Miaka, and works against her with the cruel Nakago to summon her own god first.

Yes, I like this anime a lot. Although the romance can be tough to take at times ("MIAAAKKKAAAAA!" "TAMAHOMEEEEEEE!") and I like neither Miaka NOR Tamahome very much, it's not a big deal, there are other aspects that I love. Like, for example, the wonderful Nuriko. He is my favorite character, and one of the most entertaining to watch, in my humble opinion. Most of the secondary characters have a little something to love, particularly Chichiri and Tasuki, who not only provide great comic relief, but who's partnership in the later episodes seems so genuine that it might as well be real life. The dynamics between the seishi is really what makes the show; not all the business about Suzaku and gods. There wasn't anything really special between the Seiryu seven, so their scenes were not nearly as interesting to watch.

The animation is nothing special. It gets a little sloppy at times, and sometimes the characters' motions are a bit jerky. There are some lovely colors used, however. I know that sounds incredibly lame, but Suzaku's vibrant reds and golds just make it come to life for you. However, Yu Watase, who did the original manga story and artwork, had much more vivid character designs, and compared to hers, they look a bit squashed.

The music could be very nice at times (the opening comes to mind, with it's Ancient China meets peppy J-Pop approach) but some of the other music was a bit over the top (Miaka and Tamahome's theme was quite overplayed... I got pretty sick of it). The voice acting I had no problem with, generally. Nuriko redefined the "bishounen with a girly voice" stereotype, Chichiri was the same genius behind Escaflowne's Van and Fruits Basket's Kyo, Hotohori's made every fan girl's dream come true, and Miaka's was just plain annoying.

Fushigi Yuugi, despite it's failings, is a favorite of mine. This isn't necessarily because of a thrills-a-minute plot, or a fantastic, deep meaning, or splendid animation. I love it because it creates characters you can fall in love with, and get extremely attached to, which, as this anime proves, can be hazardous. Keep a box of tissues handy. You'll need it. Trust me, I did!

Definitely worth it
The first half of Fushigi Yugi, despite a few bumps along the way, is certainly worth seeing (if not also seeing again, and again, and so on).

While lead character Miaka may grate on many people's nerves, and love interest/lead "bishounen" Tamahome lacks something no main character should be without (namely, a personality), the supporting cast more than makes up for this.

The series gets off to a pretty quick start, with Miaka and her best friend Yui discovering The Universe of the Four Gods and being taken inside (Yui is almost instantly sent back to the real world). Miaka is made the Priestess of Suzaku and she must find the seven celestial warriors that will protect her. Once this is accomplished, the empire of Konan will be saved and Miaka can have any wish she wants.

Once all the background is established, the story slows down for a bit, but it soon becomes apparent that all is easier said than done. The first half ends on a real cliffhanger that will leave anyone who sticks with it more than enough reason to watch the last half.

As I said before, the supporting cast is wonderful. There's crossdressing Nuriko, who's cool beyond cool and a personal favorite, masked monk Chichiri, emperor Hotohori, and many more. There are so many supporting characters with such distinct personalities that at least one of them should appeal to anyone--but don't think they'll be too confusing to keep track of; it's simple enough, really.

The one who'll really win your sympathies, though, is Yui--if you can find it in your heart to look past her deeds to her real motivation, that is.

Overall, though the main couple is quite possibly the worst couple in the history of anime, Fushigi Yugi manages to be engrossing and entertaining. You'll laugh, you'll cry (especially later on), and hopefully you'll want to see it through to the very end.

[The music is fantastic]
Wow. Fushigi Yugi is great. The music is fantastic, the animation gorgeous although sometimes the animators were lazy, long (52 eps.), creative, everything I could ask for. The first box covers the first 26 episodes. It's about two girls (Miaka and Yui) who get sucked into the book world. Yui manages to get back to their world, but reads about Miaka in the book (not too important yet). Miaka becomes the priestess of Suzaku who will gather the seven stars of Suzaku and will summond suzaku and be granted her wishes. I know, it sounds like an average, cliche, shojo fantasy. It's not. The story goes further. A lot of the first box is about gathering the warriors. The Japanese voices are ten times better, as always but the English voices could be a lot worse. The box ends at a cliff hanger. A good one and by then you're so close to the characters that you just have to know what happens next. The biggest down fall is the price. I have never seen one of these boxes cost less than 100 dollars. Sometimes I have seen them at 200. But if a friend or someone you know already has it, definitely watch it. If not, read the manga. Buying the manga for the whole series is about the cost of 1 box. The best thing is, you can read it in stores. I definitely recommend this series to any Watase or Inuyasha (and a shojo) fan.

iViva la Fushigi Yugi!
Okay, I was about ready to give up on anime *die DBZ die!*, but then a really good friend introduced me to the wonderful world of Fushigi Yugi and now I'm getting into the real high quality stuff (Fruits Basket, InuYasha, Escaflowne, Pretear, etc.) It has everything: humor, adventure, action, romance, hot guys (I thought the DVD player was going to melt for a minute there ^_^ ). The dub is okay, mostly because that's the only way I've been able to watch it, so I'll have to find the time for the Japanese version one of these days. If your wallet can handle the hit and you have a weekend with nothing to do, I highly recommend this anime. After FY, try some of the others by Yu Watase like Ceres and Alice 19th (which is still just in manga form) ... Read more

Amazon.com

These brief features--barely an hour apiece--continue the adventures of the Bogard Brothers, Terry and Andy, from the popular video game. In "Legend of the Hungry Wolf," the adolescent brothers witness the murder of their father by Geese Howard. After 10 years of intensive martial arts training, they're ready to seek revenge, but Master Tung will teach only one of them the secret Hurricane Punch. He chooses Terry, who draws strength from the chi of the Earth. Along the way, the brothers meet kickboxer Joe Higashi and Lily, the mysterious barroom queen. An injured Terry is traumatized when he loses a fight to evil German aristocrat Wolfgang Krauser in "New Battle." He binges on self-pity and scotch until his confidence is restored by a feisty kid and the ghosts of Master Tung and Lily. Ninja girl Mai Shiranui provides comic relief and jiggle interest. In both films, Andy and Joe rush precipitously into battle and get the cookies beaten out of them, leaving Terry to destroy the enemy. Although Terry kills Geese in "Hungry Wolf," he's alive at the end of "New Battle," leaving open the possibility of further sequels. Anime villains have more lives than cats. Not rated: suitable for ages 13 and up for considerable violence, alcohol use, and sexual humor. --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (7)

First >_<, Second @_@
The first Fatal Fury was very cheesy and the animation was off. It did not hold true to the characters in terms of looks and character (except Terry, of course).

Now, the second Fatal Fury was downright awesome. Terry, Tony, Andy, and Joe all are developed so beautifully and in such a great plot. I don't know who they got to do Krauser's character, but by gone, they did an excellent job. I love it that he was not so easily beat; it demonstrated how powerful he really was ('cause he was such a cheater in the game!)

If you can find the second one on DVD by itself, go ahead and get it; it is my personal opinion that the first one is not worth the money because of how poorly it its developed.

The first one is mediocre, the second is excellent
These two OVAs are an hour a piece and revolving around the same video game franchise. So how do we decide on which?

The first OVA is your typical game-to-movie. It squishes as many characters as it can into one piece, and mainly tries to put in as much fighting as possible. There isn't much in the way of plot, just characters duking out moves one by one. As usual, there's a fighting competition the main characters enter and, as usual, things get heated and moved to the bad guy's terrain. If you've seen this sort of formula before, you've seen them all.

The second OVA is different. Even if it still shows all the characters from the game, it has two thing the first OVA didn't: plot and character development. It does it much better than any other game-to-movies I've seen. Its as if they took every thing they heard was wrong with the first OVA and improved on it. They do a very good job, and the one hour OVA has all the qualities of a real film, with the exception of perhaps theatrical quality, but the animation is good enough for you to forget that.

Basically, they are all around good OVAs, but one is mediocre and saved by the second. Who knew a sequel could improve the original so well?

Great but not a PS2 compatible
The only problem I have with this is I have to go to some other room besides mine to see this DVD.

2 GREAT ANIMES
FATAL FURY

The Fatal Fury franchise is full of promises and this first animated feature takes the characters beyond the video game boundaries. It's cool how the fighters (Terry Bogard especially) are written as being normal and sensitive rather than always butch, evil and trying to start a fight. The characters in the Street Fighter series were too much like this but Terry Bogard always appears innocent and his adult form still looks like the child he was at the beginning.

But my fave character in Fatal Fury was always Geese Howard. He is such a cool bad guy and live action bad guys should be more like him. Andy Bogard and Joe Higashi are amusing supporting characters and make great sidekicks for Terry.

The ending is a little too quick but when you consider that there is a follow up and a great animated movie it ain't so bad. If you like this one then the others should give you a good fix.

FATAL FURY 2

Not a revolutionary animated movie by any means but this sequel to Fatal Fury has a reasonably good story and interesting characters. The color scheme is bright and easy on the eye and the animation style is better than most Japanese anime in which everyone looks like Asian/American to appeal to both audiences.

I thought that Krauser was a cool bad guy and, for once, one that I doubted the hero (Terry Bogard) couldn't defeat so easily. His costume was a bit excessive and it is hard to believe that he could be so agile under such a suit but one can overlook such a flaw easily.

Terry's brother Andy returns and so does Joe Higashi but it's the 2 new characters that are the best thing about this movie. Kim is a teenage boy who idolizes Terry and considers him to be a real role model. But he is gutted when he discovers that Terry is just a burnt out drunk and will do anything for him until he gets back on his feet. The other new character is Mai and she is a very "bouncy" character if you know what I mean.

The fight scenes are very well thought out and vivid. Every punch and kick looks painful and the other heavies look pretty mean too. But we all know that in the end Terry is gonna beat the crap out of them. Just like the video game says...Terry Bogard is the King of Fighters.

But at 68 minutes you feel a little cheated. But with such a short running time there is no room for fat.

The DVD is in 1.33:1 with a nice picture transfer with brilliant colors and the Dolby Stereo soundtracks are adequate but not impressive. Many trailers are available and there are some cool motion menus.

It Rocks!
Fatal Fury I love the series Including the Movie!I just wish they continued it more! Japan had 20 Eposides!We American's always get to miss the good part's! But it was good that we at lest saw some of the cool stuff! : ) My way I would buy it! ... ... Read more

Amazon.com

With the Van Gogh, Dolittle, and other Baby programs under their belts, the tots who follow Julie Aigner-Clark's Baby Einstein series will sidle up to Baby Newton expecting a similar exploration of building blocks to brilliance, but this time there's a wrinkle or two. Animation makes its first appearance, and parents steeped in keep-it-simple culture may object to the springy "I Know My Shapes" song, a departure from classical-only video predecessors. Otherwise, the tried-and-true genius launchers of titles past pop up anew--Vivaldi floats through each of five shape segments, and clever puppet shows play quickly and infrequently enough to captivate the under-2 crowd. Plus, talk about well rounded: Clark covers the bases, showing off triangular sails drifting toward the sunset one second and geometric patterns the next. Play it for a departure from skill-building standbys like pop-up books and plastic sorters for ages 1 to 3. --Tammy La Gorce ... Read more

Reviews (104)

Just watched and am disappointed but I thought Disney
would do what they did. Disney went and tried to make the videos better. Lots of animation, loud music and fast moving things. They did keep some of the old (simple) concept but they added to it and made it more like most other kids videos. It was so peaceful to watch the old ones. I have all of the other Baby Einstein videos and love them and both of my kids love them. I bought this one because of the reputation of the original company. Now, that Disney owns them I guess I'll be thinking twice before I buy the next one that comes out. I was wondering if they would try to improve on something that worked so well just like it was. There are also no children in this video and the puppets are limited. These were my daughter's favorite things in the other videos. It certainly isn't a bad video but it's just not as good as the others. So, if you really liked the others you might be disappointed in this one also. And, to be fair, my daughter asked to watch it a second time right after watching it so it can't be all bad.

My Baby Loves It!
My son is only 6 months but absolutely loves this movie. He watches from the floor or his entertainment center for more than half of it. I also run a day care out of my house and my 15 month old who doesn't sit still for anything loves this one best. While I like the all classical approach we must face that kids love cheesy songs so I think the shapes song is a hit. I enjoy all of the movies I've seen so far and I use the language library to teach my son German but as for him this is by far his favorite.

Disappointing experiment by the BE Folks!
Forget the plush puppets, enticing visuals, and enchanting classical music of the other Baby Einstein videos. This one does not follow the BE formula. Instead, it is an animated presentation with an original song that is played repeatedly, assuring the viewer that the (albeit untalented) singer "knows his shapes." Computer generated crayons draw a clown out of shapes, and he becomes a more dimensional computer graphic.

What's the problem? I noticed that my son did not enjoy this show as much as the others. He prefers the more engaging BE vidoes with puppets, changing scenes, and classical music. (E.g., Baby Galileo). I purposely buy BE videos because they are NOT flatly animated with uninteresting music. Other than the fact that baby didn't care for the video, I found the visuals uninteresting and the song about shapes very annoying.

I recommend Baby Shakespeare or Baby Van Gogh instead of this one & hope that the BE people learn from this mistake.

Toddlers love it even if parents don't
In looking at some previous reviews it looks like the DVD received 5 stars when people went by their children's reaction. When people reviewed it from their perspective the rating was lower. I concur that this is our son's favorite while I like some of the older versions in the series better. Since these productions are not aimed at adults I give it 5 stars.
Our son talks about or laughs at nearly every scene in this video. While there are highlights in all of the other Einstein videos none so fully engage him as this one. It's not for children under 12 months and our son didn't really take to it until around 18 months but now he can't get enough.
Parents, target this one for 1 1/2 - 3 year olds and don't worry if you don't like it as much as Baby Mozart.

The Worst One I've Seen Yet!
We got this for our daughter's 2nd birthday, as she really enjoys the other DVDs in the Baby Einstein line. She likes this one too, but it is really a departure from the other BE DVDs we've seen. First of all, there is the cheesy original song "I Know My Shapes"...they should have just stuck to the classical music entirely. (Isn't that one of the ideas the company was founded on to begin with? But that was BD, BEFORE DISNEY. Now, I have nothing against Disney, but please don't fix what's not broken!!) Then, there's the computer animation of the crayons and the clown. A clown puppet (like the other characters in this line of videos) would have been more endearing. And the crayons just don't belong! If I had seen this before buying I would have chosen another title. If you're still looking for a new BE DVD, I would recommend Baby Van Gogh, which really helped our daughter learn all of her colors well before the age of 2, or Numbers Nursery (even though it only goes up to 5). ... Read more

Amazon.com

If the fifth broadcast season of Ranma 1/2 doesn't quite match theconsistent inspiration of the third (Hard Battle), it's much better thanthe fourth (Outta Control), with more imaginative writing and fewer weakepisodes. A spoof of American Westerns, with Ryoga as the wandering hero whoconfronts the villain in a saloon-cum-ramen parlor, is simply hilarious, as isa spoof of Japanese historical dramas with Ranma in formal hakama. Anaphrodisiac-impregnated band-aid turns Ranma into a suave ladies' man; thecord binding his trademark pigtail turns out to be a charm that grows hair,something Happosai, Genma, and four characters with heads like bao rollsdesperately want. The entire cast brings the Anything Goes School of Martial Artsstyle to such improbable activities as men's rhythmic gymnastics,Japanese chess, Okonomiyaki cooking, Bath House-Fu, and the "Gourmet deFoie Gras" technique of fine dining. Ryoga sets new records for geographicalconfusion, getting lost in a three-legged race and inside a log cabin. Even moreimprobable is Sasuke's suggestion that Furinken High's pidgin-speakingPrincipal may be the long-lost father of Kuno and Kodachi.

A few gentle momentsprovide the needed balance to the insanity: Ranma apologizes--sincerely--to Akane in"Hot Springs Battle Royal" and admits he thinks she's cute in "Ranma theLady-Killer." Richard Cox, the voice of boy-type Ranma (and Inu-Yasha), has grownmore comfortable in the part, effectively conveying the sullen and likeablesides of Ranma's personality. (Rated 13 and older: slapstick violence, nudity,mildly risqué humor) --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (4)

dbz_sayen@hotmail.com
ranma 5th season is hilarias the episodes are so funny i watched the whole series 4 times this is a must buy four anime fans

Ranma 1/2 Forever Please
I don't know how anyone says everything went downhill with these episodes. I don't even know how anyone can stand to watch the English episodes, for starters they aren't very good voice actors. They lack something. I don't know, just my opinion. I love this anime so much, it has romance and humor. That's my 2 favorite things. And great twists, people turning into animals or in Ranma's case, a different gender, when hit with cold water. This is one anime I'll never evern tire of watching.

A surprisingly good followup
The fourth season was a step down, and I didn't have high hopes for this set, but I was pleasantly surprised and well-pleased with the purchase.

First, technical notes: the animation quality is much better than the previous season, more on par with the 1st/2nd season in quality and detail, although the evolution towards the OAV-style is obvious (and welcome). Copious line art is available on the fifth disc, along with the ever-present "naked" opening/closing, and good on-disc notes. Some new and playful incidental music appears in this season from Kenji Kawai that perhaps Viz will release on CD one day????

These are certainly some of the more bizarre and original offerings, including a Dragon's Whisker (holding Ranma's pigtail together) with strange effects on men pursued by murderous bean, curry, pizza and pork buns; the ghost cat from season 4 returns to possess Ryoga; a weird martial arts school with impossibly huge mouths gets their clutches on girl-Ranma; and the Principal's relationship to Kuno is revealed. Some are clinkers (the Tea Ceremony School is tedious at best), but they're definitely unlike anything you've seen before.

English notes: Richard Cox (boy-Ranma) has improved greatly since season 4, although in the first few episodes the English voices seem to have trouble with their lines flowing well (might be a dubbing artifact). Unfortunately, Teryl Rothery has been replaced as Kodachi, and her replacement sounds too much like Ukyo (lacking the shrill quality that made Rothery's voice perfect for the character). Also, while Nabiki is still Angela Costain, some of her later voice work is rather deep-sounding as if like she had a cold. Miriam Sirois is still fabulous as Akane, and Venus Terzo continues to be a superb girl-Ranma as well.

Quibbles aside, this box set does much to drag the series back on positive territory, and the episodes are in general good fun. Recommended for fans and even those just starting their journey to Ju-sen-kyo.

Ranma 1/2 Martial Mayhem
Yes, finally the last season of Ranma 1/2 to be released on DVD is in America. Now people say that when it hit the 4th season, everything went to hell, but they're wrong about that. In my opinion, Ranma 1/2 gets better and better. The season had me in stitches in almost every episode. Others just kept me interested enough to finish seeing them. Anyways, this box set is a true jewel. One problem I found with it was that on most of the episodes the opening credit title would be in Japanese instead of an English title. Towards the last two discs this problem is fixed, but I think it's like this because technically the fifth season is the rarest season and from what I've heard, not even all of the volumes (VHS) weren't even dubbed to begin with, so this can explain why the earlier episodes of this season are still in Japanese and the later ones were later fixed like all the other seasons. Also I noticed that Viz Video changed their logo now, it's now just Viz, I don't get why even in this picture it still has Viz Video; but that picture at the top of the screen is wrong. I own it and the logo is different, I even checked their web site and it's different. Anyway, here's my episode reviews.

Episode reviews (these are on a scale of 1-10):

"Gimme That Pigtail" - 6
"When a Guy's Pride and Joy is Gone" - 6
"Ryoga's Proposal" - 10
"Genma Takes a Walk" - 5
"The Gentle Art of Martial Tea Ceremony" - 5
"And the Challenger is...A Girl?! - 5
"Hot Springs Battle Royale!" - 8
"Me is Kuno's Daddy, Me is..." - 7
"The Matriarch Takes a Stand" - 4
"A Leotard is a Girl's Burden" - 6
"The Mixed-Bath Horror!" - 5
"The Frogman's Curse!" - 4
"Revenge! Raging Okonomiyaki!" - 4
"Ranma the Lady-Killer" - 10
"Shogi Showdown" - 6
"Sasuke's Mission Improbable" - 9
"Bonjour, Furinkan!" - 3
"Dinner at Ringside!" - 4
"Swimming with Psychos" - 5
"Ryoga, Run Into the Sunset" - 7
"Into the Darkness" - 8
"Nabiki, Ranma's New Fiancee!" - 9
"Case of the Missing Takoyaki!" - 7
"Ranma Versus Shadow Ranma!" - 10 ... Read more

Reviews (29)

Great video - Entertained my 23 month old
My daughter has been a big fan of the Baby Einstein video series and we have nearly all of the videos. This one has gone back to the B.E. earlier videos, in using some familiar puppets from previous videos and has the typical classical music playing while showing one toy. I watched it with my daughter as a before bedtime video and she sat with me the entire time and didn't move. When they counted she would hold up a few fingers to show me "how many" and when I asked her if she liked her video, she nodded yes.

Sure it would be nice if they went a bit higher in the numbers, but this isn't supposed to replace me teaching my daughter how to count. It's an entertaining video and helps associate one-two-three with how many objects are in front of her. I highly recommend this video for your younger child and also for those children who are my daughter's age and are big fans of the baby einstein videos.

Excellent DVD
We own several Baby Einstein DVD's and this one, as well as Baby Shakespeare, are my 14 month old sons' favorite videos. He will walk into a TV room and run up to the television, insisting either one to be played. The puppets play a large part in this video, along with other children. There are also various puppets included, instead of only 1 or 2. For these reasons, he really enjoys them. They are extremely educational and fun to watch. Of all the Baby Einstein videos,Nursery Numbers and Baby Shakespeare are the ones to get if your child is 1 year and older. These are the only vidoes my extremely active son will actually sit down and watch! I have bought this video for 2 girlfirends who have 1 year olds. I strongly recommend both of them.

Love the Learning...Nice New Twist for Baby Einstein
I'm a big fan of Baby Einstein videos for the most part. We own most of them and have watched them countless times. My daughter (now 20 months) has lost interest in them now. She was most drawn to them from 8-15 months I think.

But I was thrilled to see this one come out and got it thinking it would be more "educational" than the others seem to be. I was right. I really like how this one goes through the numbers, counting, sequence, etc. The puppets, music, objects, format just seems to make more sense than some of the other more "out there" ones.

Best of all, my daughter loved it and quickly learned to count from 1-5. My only regret was that 5-10 wasn't out (and still isn't)! I'd also love to see an A-Z one! The other new one Baby McDonald is pretty good and slightly different than the "traditional" format too. My daughter asked for "mcdonalds" almost every day for a month after we first got it!

And like another reviewer said, be sure to check out the other choices on the DVD, especially if your child seems bored with just the video. You can find lots of other learning/fun things on each one too!

One of her favorites
Next to Beethoven this is her favorite Einstein video. It is really interesting how some she won't watch and others she loves. This is one she adores.

Baby Einstein Numbers Nursery
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!! I own all of the titles, and feel that this is certainly the best one for toddlers age 1 and up. When my daughter turned 19-months old she could count to 5, thanks to this video (of course I recommend the use of books, fridge magnets, and counting as you walk, etc.) but if you need 25 minutes to prepare dinner and would like for your child to get some educational fun in, this is it. Once she was too familiar with the main video, I clicked on 'Bonus Material' to discover that it was loaded with additional videos, counting games, discovery games and even flash cards for numbers 1 - 10 in 7 languages, which is perfect for our English/French bilingual household. Within 3 days, she was counting to 10! Now if only there were a part 2 that would count to 20. ... Read more

Reviews (401)

Fantastic Movie
An instant classic. The characters are strongly developed, every frame is a breathtaking masterpiece of art, and (thank goodness) NO SILLY SONGS. This movie will stand up to the test of time and across international borders because its themes are universally familiar to all people of all cultures. I have seen it three times in the movie theaters and look forward to seeing it again and again.

For those of you who like ANTZ, consider this: Pixar was already roughly two years into development on "Bug's Life" when Jeffrey Katzenberg left Disney for Dreamworks. Obviously he took many of the ideas with him to create ANTZ (wonder why Disney's "Armageddon" is similar to Dreamwork's "Deep Impact" -- and why both were released around the same time? Same reason.) So PIXAR gets an extra PLUS for originality.

Entertaining for kids and adults!
A Bug's Life is entertaining for kids and adults alike. This movie is a non-stop action fest that has been masterfully captured on DVD.

The picture quality if superb, if not the best I've seen, for an animated DVD due to the direct digital to DVD transfer. In full screen mode, you will be amazed how clean and delineated the picture is; the detail is incredible!

My big surprise was how amazing the sound is on this disc. You can use this to show off your Dolby Digital sound system to friends just as well as any action film. The surround effects are crisp and the bass is well defined.

My only complaint would probably be that the action and sound is so non-stop, that it can tire out adults, albeit mesmerizing children the whole time.

The extras are plenitiful and well done. The inclusion of the end-title outtakes is the highlight of a wonderful special edition disc you're sure to enjoy.

Gotta love them bugs
Those Pixar folk are amazing. Not only do they make an excellent movie, but they complement it with a first rate package of extras, especially the outtakes and the movie short "Geri's Game". The two-disc Collector's Editions are worth waiting for, and you will find yourself playing the second disc as often as the first.

This innovative take on the old fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper" teaches us a few important lessons:

1. There's a clumsy nerd who wants to be a hero in every colony
2. Phyllis Diller is an old queen
3. David Hyde Pierce is stiff
4. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is neurotic and can't dance
5. Grasshoppers live it up in Mexican joints during the Summer
6. German caterpillars are funny, and so are pill-bugs.
7. Ladybirds may not be ladies
8. Birds can be flammable
9. An ant may look at a queen
10. Don't stir up an ants nest

To maintain good family relations, you should allow your kids to watch this movie too.

Amanda Richards July 13, 2004

A Fun New Classic From Disney
As always, Pixar delivered a breath taking experience when they brought us A Bug's Life. While not overly realistic, the animation is bright and rich and incredibly detailed. The colours and textures suck you into their world.
The movie features a nice mix of humor and excitement. Some moments are full of suspense and tension.
The voice actors do a great job, particularly Kevin Spacey as the villain Hopper. He's truly menacing! When the voice talents are combined with Pixar's fabulous job of giving natural movements and mannerisms to each different species of insect the mix creates very believable characters.
As per usual Disney style there is a great moral to be learned through the story, about the importance of standing up for yourself, and how one small person truly can change the world.
The only drawback of the movie is that the characters are relatively shallow and underdeveloped when compared to Disney's usual level of complexity. However, when you consider that this film is based off of the fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper" it puts things into perspective and you appreciate how much imagination and creativity actually went into this project. The end result is highly entertaining and sure to be a classic in generations to come.

Just a Few Notches Below Finding Nemo
This film was originally released in 1998, but I didn't actually see it until a few months ago. Simply put, it's Pixar doing what they do best. A widely caried and excellent cast of characters, a simple but elaborately executed plot, and of course, the rendition of a half a dozen themes that run universal throughout our lives.

Essentially, a mild and nerdy ant known as Flic accidentally destroys the entire food supply of his ant colony. Of course, the food was not for them; it was their yearly offering to the grasshoppers. As a result, the grasshoppers decree that the ants can spend the remainder of summer gathering it all again. Hopper, the ingenius and menacing leader, notes that Flic stands up to him for one brief moment, and this becomes pivotal later. I won't say any more past there, only that there are plenty of intriguing twists to keep things interesting.

Overall, this movie bears an obvious resemblance to Finding Nemo. First of all, both movies involve the creation and manipulation of a natural environment and its inhabitants. Second, they both involve unlikely heroes (A bumbling ant and a fearful clownfish). Third, both are at a standard of quality that the animation world has never before seen.

Honestly, Kevin Spacey's portrayal of Hopper is reason enough to see A Bug's Life. (I could say the same thing about Albert Brooks' portrayal of Marlin in Finding Nemo.) However, the movie offers much more in the long run, and the special features are deep and surprisingly un-boring. The director's commentary of this movie and other Pixar films is much, much more entertaining than most movies. I credit a lot of that to Andrew Stanton, but the guys just have a creative knack to them that makes their ideas and comments brilliant.

Recommended to all fans of animation, all lovers of Pixar, and all those with good taste. ... Read more

Amazon.com

By 1939, when the earliest films in this collection were made, Mickey Mouse was the most famous cartoon character in the world. The unsuccessful hunter in "The Pointer" (1939) and the irrepressible magician in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (1940) rank among his finest performances. In both films, he sparkles with vitality.But as Mickey grew more popular, more restrictions were placed on what he could do, and the character grew dull. Those restrictions become obvious when the viewer compares these films with the shorts on Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Living Color. In "Mickey's Birthday Party" (1942), he clowns and stumbles through a comic dance routine, but it feels like he's working for the laughs. In 1936, when a more impish Mickey danced with a deck of cards in "Thru the Mirror," the fun came from the stylish grace of his movements: That Mickey didn't need to mug for the camera. In the later films, Mickey serves as a genial straight man, with Pluto and other side characters supplying the comedy.

A new generation of animators faced the same problems and restrictions when they tried to revive the character in "Mickey's Christmas Carol" (1983) and "The Prince and the Pauper" (1990). The extras include some deleted animation from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," and the five opening sequences from the "Mickey Mouse Club" (1955), the last time Walt Disney provided the character's voice. (Rated G, suitable for all ages: minor cartoon violence, tobacco use) --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Excellent and overdue collection of Mickey's Best
I love Mickey Mouse cartoons. They might not be as funny as Donald Duck's, Goofy's or the entire Looney Tunes set, but they do posess a certain little magic, not to mention quality, to them that make them more like little artistic masterpieces rather than comic gems. This said, I'm glad we finally get to see "Runaway Brain" released on DVD, along with fellow Oscar-nominated shorts "The Pointer," "Mickey and the Seal" and "Mickey's Christmas Carol." The extras are more than plentiful and the inclusion of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", although already available in both Fantasia and Fantasia 2000, is, as always, welcome, especially in a collection that is supposed to showcase what the mouse is all about...I've been a fan forever and I really couldn't have asked for a better DVD set than this!

Excellent!!! Also, Wave 4 announced!
I am very happy with the Disney Treasures Wave 3 collection. It's great to finally have Mickey's Christmas Carol, Runaway Brain, and Prince and the Pauper finally available on DVD along with the other classic Mickey films. Also enjoyed On the Front Lines, Chronological Donald, and Tomorrowland. They did not let me down. It has also been announced (and I've heard from a very reliable source) that the Disney Treasures Wave 4 will most likely be released in December. They are going to be "Mickey Mouse in Black and White Vol.2","Disney's True Life Adventures","A Pluto Collection", and the one I'm excited about, "The Original Mickey Mouse Club, Season One." Anyway, thank you Disney, and keep them coming! They are worth the wait!