Holiday anime | Sound & Vision
Akiba Maid War The Complete Collection Blu-ray / I Do Everything Premium Box Set Blu-ray (both Sentai Filmworks)
Young Nagomi takes a job as a “waiter” at the Oinky Doink Café in Akihabara, around the turn of the millennium, as this Tokyo district was famous for being an otaku hotbed… but it’s all a yakuza front. This sets up an absurd contrast between the deep beauty of the ladies and the over-the-top, TV-MA violence they inflict on the more sinister aspects of their jobs, making it both delightful and oddly funny. This is the complete saga (12 episodes, five hours in total) on two SteelBooked discs, with neat opening/closing animations, twelve web previews, and a beautifully bound 100-page book enclosed inside a colorful plastic slip.
In I Do Everythingour bitterly humble hero Noor… well, he balances everything because in his quest to become a traveler, he has only used this one form of defense. The good news is, he’s already very good at deflecting anything from a simple punch to a fire dragon’s wind. That’s how he comes to rescue a little girl who doesn’t know anything here in Season One. She becomes his page but unbeknownst to him, she is Miss Lynne, and many hilarious misunderstandings ensue. Inside its collector’s box sits not only a 12-episode Blu-ray (with reverse cover) but a small metal sword, a large cloth poster, an “F-Ranked Adventurer” pin, large stickers and a 48-page booklet and a 154-page “how-to” book! Each of these finite sets has an individual number.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End – Part 2 Blu-ray Limited Edition (Crunchyroll)
Where many wonderful quests end, Frieren begins, as the immortal elf of the title–who has just defeated the Demon King–begins a new quest of discovery. He struggles with the grief of living above his loved ones (think Highlander) by learning to appreciate the few moments of friendship that make our time here worthwhile. Part 2 of Season 1 included here on Blu-ray and DVD pivots from its slow pace to a tense arc, building on the brooding, melancholic tone that came before. Crunchyroll chose to commemorate the series with a detailed gift box FrierenAn ever-present grab bag, a functional and symbolic prop that’s incredibly well-made and strong IRL. Inside is a 200-page hardcover art book, three art cards to complete the set that started on Part 1 of the Blu-ray (sold separately), and there’s room to store Part 1 inside a hardcover slipcase, made to look like a grimoire (Wicked taught me that term). There are also seven “Shikishi” character cards, seven stickers, a luggage tag and an acrylic standee Frieren he.
Castlevania The Complete Series Blu-ray (VIZ Media)
Acclaimed novelist Warren Ellis has transformed Konami’s Gothic video games into a dark medieval fantasy that follows monster hunter Trevor Belmont, sorcerer Sypha Belnades and Dracula’s one-man son Alucard as they team up to stop Drac’s 15th-century war on humanity. While maintaining the action and atmosphere of the game–the fight scenes are movie quality–the anime elevates the characters with meaningful arcs and witty dialogue. All four seasons/32 episodes of the series produced by Netflix are collected here on six discs, along with storyboards, animatics, trailers and interviews of the voice actors. The beautiful box holds a lot, though: an art notebook, a set of adhesive windows, a themed 22-card tarot deck, and a Ouija board and planchette, referred to here as a “game board and game piece.”
Attack on Titan Final Season Complete Blu-ray / Attack on Titan Original sound vinyl (both Crunchyrolls)
In a beautiful post-apocalyptic style, the remaining members of the Survey Corps learn the truth of their country and leave the island of Paradise to join the global war, facing new enemies, old allies, and the consequences of war that threaten to destroy all life. Released over the course of three years, the four waves that converge in this SteelBook (28 episodes and two specials, actually “Season 4”) wrap up the Titan’s story forever, up to the familiarity and final conflict of the manga that has never been seen before. There’s a lot to cover, over 16 hours here on seven discs, with behind-the-scenes features, funny Chibi theater, an art gallery, promo clips and more.
Music by Hiroyuki Sawano The Titan it wasn’t just background noise. It’s a loud, aggressive part of the story, freely combining powerful orchestral elements, electronic rhythms and sometimes screaming vocals, perfectly suited to the deep, emotional story. The LP soundtracks of the first three seasons are available in a variety of formats, including colored vinyl with many different effects (shown in Season 1’s “Blue Smoke”), some in beautiful book-type packaging. They are a great way to drop the needle and lose the nightmare again.
Devilman Crybaby The Complete Series Blu-ray (Shout! Studios/Anime Limited)
Akira Fudo is a sensitive person, prone to tears, so much so that when a demon tries to capture him, he fails, leaving behind a pure-hearted young man with a terrifying physical form and strength but a human soul: primarily, “Devilman Crybaby” (God, I love anime sometimes), guided by his best friend Ryo who has his own hellish secret. As of 2018, the ten-episode Netflix original has been beloved for its raw, highly stylized animation, relentless intensity, and absurd human perspective. Be warned that this is strong TV-MA, with explicit violence and profanity, full of early nudity and non-conformist acts, profanity and drug use because why not now? The Deluxe version of Shout! the two-disc comes with Japanese and English stereo audio, English and French subtitles, and a small but no less engaging 150+ page art book inside a foil-accented slipcase.
