Once Upon a Time… Life
By Raz Greenberg.
Based on Akane Shimizu’s original manga, David Production’s Cells at Work! quickly became one of the highlights of the current anime season, especially due to its innovative concept: portraying the cells within the human body as anthropomorphised characters, with a particular emphasis given to the daring deliveries of oxygen by the red blood cells under the threat of invading bacteria, and the struggle of the white blood cells against the bacteria, all while teaching the readers some basic concepts of human biology.
The idea of animating the inner work the human body using anthropomorphized characters is not new; the most famous example is of course Pixar’s Inside Out, and those with affinity for bad movies might remember the Farrelly brothers’ 2001 live action/animation hybrid feature Osmosis Jones. Long before both films, however, there was Il était une fois... la vie (Once Upon a Time… Life), a French 1987 television series with a Japanese touch, produced by Albert Barillé. Continue Reading
Anime Limited acquires B: The Beginning for UK home video release. New Netflix title from Production I.G coming to Blu-ray in 2019.
Thus far, 2018 has seen streaming juggernaut Netflix bring a number of new "Netflix Original" anime titles to their streaming platform. This March saw a show that we're particularly excited about arrive on the service, as B: The Beginning was made available in full for all and sundry to view. How excited were we by the series? Excited enough to acquire the rights to release the show on home video in the UK and Ireland - news that we're very proud to share with you today!
This all-new, original series comes courtesy of renowned studio Production I.G (Ghost in the Shell, Psycho-Pass) and is directed by Kazuto Nakazawa (Parasite Dolls). Music is composed by Yoshihiro Ike (Blood: The Last Vampire, Tiger & Bunny, Project Itoh trilogy), and the theme tune to the series is provided by none other than former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman!
ABOUT B: THE BEGINNING
Synopsis: "The Royal City of Cremona's beautiful archipelago is darkened by the shadow of a brutal serial killer, known only as 'Killer B' due to the distinctive calling card he leaves at the scene of his crimes.
With the royal police force struggling to hunt down Killer B, they turn to the enigmatic and eccentric detective Keith Flick to unlock the secrets of this case. However, the returning detective arrives with no shortage of baggage of his own, and the truth behind the murders drags him and his colleagues into a dangerous, conspiratorial world that is stranger than any of them could have imagined.
But is Keith Flick's brilliant mind alone enough to catch the killer? In the brash and outspoken young detective Lily Hoshina, he may have met his equal and seeded the origins of an unlikely partnership..."
For a better look at B: The Beginning, take a look at this English-subtitled trailer released by Netflix:
Our current - very provisional - plan is to release B: The Beginning on Collector’s Edition Blu-ray in 2019, so bear in mind that this is a tentative schedule and it’ll be a while before you hear any more news from us on this title. That said, you can expect some more exciting UK-related news for fans of the series very soon indeed...
Needless to say we don't have any further details on the precise contents of our release to share at this time, but we'll be sure to update you closer to that release date as our exact plans are cemented. For now though, Netflix UK subscribers can watch the entire series - complete with both Japanese and English audio and English subtitles amongst the language options available - so why not jump into the show and enjoy the ride?
Now that we've hopefully spiced up the beginning of your week, take care until next time!
~ Andy H
Twin Star Exorcists
By Andrew Osmond.
As anime fans have probably guessed, the “real” world is a thin veneer over a realm of horrid demon monsters ready to gobble us up. Our only protectors are exorcists who go into daily battle on our behalf, wielding spells and charms as their armour. Twin Star Exorcists focuses on a young boy and girl, both exceptionally talented, but with very dark traumas in their pasts. Similar in many ways, the boy and girl madden and frustrate each other in rom-com style. Continue Reading
Disenchantment
By Andrew Osmond.
The first thing to stress is that Disenchantment, now streaming on Netflix, gets better. This is a terrible advert for a TV series, of course, though anime fans may be readier than most viewers to give animated shows time to improve. After a first part that feels naff and derivative – and a huge misstep from Matt Groening, creator of Futurama and The Simpsons – Disenchantment quickly starts gelling and connecting. No, it may never achieve the greatness of the previous shows at their peak, but it’s a perfectly likable corner of the Groening-verse. Continue Reading
Books: Pencil Wars
By Motoko Tamamuro.
“I could not marry because of Hayao Miyazaki.” That is the provocative opening sentence picked out for Hitomi Tateno for her column in Neppu, Studio Ghibli’s in-house magazine. As ever, producer Toshio Suzuki was behind the scenes, suggesting things that would make the impact of her 27-year career memoir substantially punchier. But already, Tateno had other ideas.
“I think,” she replied, “it should rather be: ‘I could not marry because of Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki.’” The results were eventually published in book form, in Japanese only, as Pencil War Chronicles: The Studio Ghibli Nobody Knew (Enpitsu Senki: Dare mo Shiranakatta Studio Ghibli).