Successful entrants will watch the first six episodes of Book of Bantorra now through June 30 and visit the Book of Bantorra Contest Page to answer a few simple questions.

Book of Bantorra is among four anime titles featured in May’s Xfinity Top Picks section celebrating Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, Anime Network. Along with Angel Beats, Elfen Lied and Infinite Stratos, Book of Bantorra was selected because they represent the unique use of colorful illustration, pop music and storytelling indicative of the Japanese art form that has grown in worldwide popularity.

About Book of Bantorra

When a person dies, the soul departs from its body and is crystallized into a book. Written in that book are all the memories of that soul’s life. For anyone who touches that book, the dead person’s past can be relived…. It is in the Library of Bantorra, run by an elite organization known as the Armed Librarians, that all excavated books are stored. Under the direction of Acting Chief Librarian Hamutz Meseta, all Armed Librarians possess an extraordinary combination of encyclopedic knowledge and fighting skill. For this reason, the Armed Librarians are the most difficult profession to enter in the world. But will they be good enough to stop the fanatics of the Shindeki Church from exacting vengeance on the entire world? Only time will tell, but that book hasn’t been written yet.

ABOUT ANIME NETWORK Celebrating its 10th year, Anime Network is a leading broadcast and digital distributor of Japanese animation and Asian cinema in North America. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Anime Network was founded in 2002 and launched as one of the first VOD networks on most major cable providers. Anime Network’s mission is to bring the best in anime programming to every household in North America. In addition to our VOD network, consumers can access our Online Streaming Service on our official website. This dynamic website, featuring an ever growing anime community, includes a subscription service that mirrors the VOD network and allows viewers to catch up on episodes they may have missed on broadcast.

www.theanimenetwork.com

THE FUTURE IS JAPANESE © 2012 VIZ Media

New Literary Release Features 13 Innovative Stories From And About Japan By An International Collection Of Some Of Sci-Fi Fiction’s Most Acclaimed Authors

 San Francisco, CA, May 16, 2012 – VIZ Media’s Haikasoru imprint announces the release of THE FUTURE IS JAPANESE, a new fiction anthology featuring science fiction and fantasy stories from some of today’s greatest writers from both Japan and the English-speaking world. The book is now available from the company’s Haikasoru imprint and has a MSRP of $14.99 U.S. / $17.99 CAN. An eBook edition will also be available for the Amazon Kindle, Apple’s iBooks Store, the Barnes & Noble’s Nook Books Store, and the Sony Reader™ Store.

Haikasoru publishes some of the most compelling contemporary Japanese science fiction and fantasy stories for English-speaking audiences, and is the first imprint based in the U.S. dedicated to Japanese science fiction and fantasy in translation.

THE FUTURE IS JAPANESE offers a selection of original and classic science fiction about Japan from some of the greatest writers in the world. Stories include a web browser that threatens to conquer the world, the longest, loneliest railroad on Earth, a North Korean nuke hitting Tokyo, a hollow asteroid full of automated rice paddies, and a specialist in breaking up “virtual” marriages. And yes, giant robots. These thirteen stories from and about the Land of the Rising Sun run the gamut from fantasy to cyberpunk, and will leave readers knowing that the future is Japanese!

“THE FUTURE IS JAPANESE is a stirring new anthology and the first release of original prose fiction by Haikasoru,” says Nick Mamatas, Haikasoru Editor. “Japan is a nation long renowned for its futuristic worldview, and THE FUTURE IS JAPANESE will engross readers with short stories by authors such as cyberpunk legends Pat Cadigan and Bruce Sterling, New York Times bestselling author Catherynne Valente, the enormously popular and prolific Japanese writer Hideyuki Kikuchi, and hot new writers Rachel Swirsky, David Moles, and Ken Liu, who have all already won or been nominated for the Nebula and Hugo awards. We look forward to readers discovering and enjoying this new collection!”

For more information on THE FUTURE IS JAPANESE and the Haikasoru imprint, please visit the dedicated website at www.haikasoru.com.

About VIZ Media, LLC

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan.  Owned by three of Japan’s largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular monthly manga anthology SHONEN JUMP magazine and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages.  VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.  Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.

GRIMES, Iowa, May 16, 2012 – Anime producer and distributor Right Stuf, Inc. and Nozomi Entertainment want fans’ questions for Tatsuo Sato, the director of MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO and numerous other fan-favorite anime series. Please submit your questions, via the form located at the official Nadesico site (nadesico.rightstuf.com), by 4 p.m. CDT on May 25, 2012.

The MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO Complete Collection Limited Edition DVD set will be available on September 4, 2012.

This new DVD box set will feature the entire 26-episode television series and its sequel motion picture (Prince of Darkness), as well as its Gekigangar 3 OVA spin-off. This will be the first time Gekigangar 3 will be available to North American audiences.

It will also include remastered video from the Japanese DVD release for the Nadesico TV series and Gekigangar 3 OVA and the previously released English-language dub (TV series and film), plus Japanese audio, English-language subtitles and on-screen translations, and on-disc extras. The limited-edition set’s seven discs will be housed in a Thinpak-style, full-color chipboard art box.

Martian Successor Nadesico is a science-fiction comedy directed by Tatsuo Sato (Bodacious Space Pirates, Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars, Stellvia), with character designs by Keiji Gotoh (Sengoku Collection, Uta~Kata) and animation production by XEBEC (The Third: The Girl With the Blue Eye, Fafner, Lagrange – The Flower of Rin-ne). Martian Successor Nadesico: Prince of Darkness won the fan-voted Animage Grand Prix award in 1998.

Visit nadesico.rightstuf.com to find out more about Martian Successor Nadesico and to pre-order the Complete Collection Limited Edition DVD box set.

About MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO

The Earth, its moon and its Martian colonies are under alien attack, but the war against the “Jovian lizards” has, so far, been nothing short of a series of disasters.

Disgusted by the incompetence of Earth’s military, the independent arms manufacturer Nergal builds its own space battleship and plans to launch a desperate offensive to save humanity. But due to a shortage of trained soldiers, they’ve assembled the most unorthodox crew to ever launch into orbit! With a pacifist cook-turned-unwilling mecha pilot and a ditsy admiral’s daughter in command, can this unprecedented gathering of geeks, misfits and anime fans prevail against the Jovian menace?

Includes the complete, 26-episode TV series and Gekigangar 3 OVA (with remastered video), plus the Prince of Darkness motion picture!

MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO Complete Collection L.E. (TV+OVA+Movie) Format: DVD (Thinpak-Style Art Box) Pre-Book: 8/7/2012

Street Date: 9/4/2012

Runtime: 740 minutes

Genre: Sci-Fi / Comedy

Suggested Rating: 13+

Audio: – TV Series: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo);

- OVA: Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo);

- Movie: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Subtitles: English subtitles and English on-screen translations Video: TV Series + OVA: 4:3, Color, Remastered; Movie: 16:9 Letterboxed, Color

Catalog #: RSDVD1268 ISBN: 1-57032-713-0

UPC: 7-42617-1268-2-6

SRP: $59.99

Discs/Set: 7 Case Quantity: 9

Features:  Interviews with actors and staff; “Welcome to Belle Equipe” featurette (45-minute documentary on the TV series, its music, and its staff); “Nadesico Sorekara” special (25-minute special with footage from the Nadesico Roadshow, as well as voice actor interviews and promo clips for the film); clean opening and ending for the TV series; TV spots; movie spots; movie trailers; music video for the movie, featuring Yumi Matsuzawa; and Nozomi Entertainment trailers.

* Cover Art: http://outgoing.rightstuf.com/sleeves/rsdvd1268.jpg  MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO TV (Kidou Senkan Nadeshiko) MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO: Prince of Darkness Movie (Kidou Senkan Nadeshiko: Prince of Darkness) MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO Gekigangar 3 OVA (Gekigangar 3 – Nekketsu Dai Kessen!!) © XEBEC / Project NADESICO • TV TOKYO © 1998 XEBEC / NADESICO PRODUCTION COMMITTEE

** Product specifications and content may be subject to change.

ABOUT RIGHT STUF, INC.  Currently celebrating its 25th year in business, Right Stuf, Inc. was one of the first players in the U.S. Japanese Animation (“anime”) industry, as both an anime producer/distributor and a retailer. Right Stuf works to promote knowledge of its own products, as well as the anime and manga industry, in general, through its online storefront at RightStuf.com and a variety of media including podcasts and special publications.

ABOUT NOZOMI ENTERTAINMENT

Right Stuf’s production division, Nozomi Entertainment, is dedicated to the highest quality releases. True to the Japanese word that inspired its name, Nozomi’s focus is on “what fans want.”By focusing on a limited number of anime properties each year, the Nozomi production team ensures each release receives the care and attention to detail it deserves.

From anime classics like Astro Boy, Kimba and Gigantor to modern comedies, dramas and favorites such as The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, His and Her Circumstances, Gravitation, Ninja Nonsense, The Third: The Girl With the Blue Eye, Emma: A Victorian Romance, Maria Watches Over Us, ARIA, Gakuen Alice, Rental Magica, Dirty Pair, Junjo Romantica and Revolutionary Girl Utena, Right Stuf and Nozomi Entertainment produce quality programming for fans of all ages and interests.

For more information, visit www.rightstuf.com and www.nozomient.com.

GRIMES, Iowa, May 16, 2012 – Anime producer and distributor Right Stuf, Inc. and its Nozomi Entertainment division are pleased to announce the MARIA WATCHES OVER US, Season 1 DVD set will be available on September 4, 2012.

This new DVD set repackages the entire 13-episode first television season of Maria Watches Over Us, plus the Season 1 specials, in a single DVD keepcase. It features Japanese audio, along with English on-screen translations, and two English-language subtitle tracks: one with regular dialogue subtitles and a second, special subtitle track that retains the Japanese honorifics.

“funny, touching and engrossing” – Anime News Network

“this series is awesome” – Otaku USA

“Very recommended.” – The Fandom Post

“Shelf Worthy” – Anime News Network’s Shelf Life

“a truly beautiful anime” – Future Anime

The Maria Watches Over Us anime is based upon a series of novels – written by Oyuki Konno and illustrated by Reine Hibiki – that began in 1998 and spans 38 volumes. Short stories related to the series have been published in the shoujo (girls’) magazine Cobalt, and a manga adaptation was serialized in the anthology magazine Margaret. The series’ publisher, Shueisha, produced 14 drama CDs (featuring radio-style plays), and there are also several Internet radio plays, a live-action film adaptation and a spin-off novel series.

The anime adaptation of Maria-sama ga Miteru – also referred to by fans as “MariMite” – encompasses two, 13-episode TV seasons, a 5-episode OVA (original video animation) as its third season, and a 13-episode fourth season, which aired on Japanese television during 2009. All four seasons are licensed for English-speaking audiences by and available on DVD from Right Stuf’s Nozomi Entertainment.

Maria Watches Over Us features animation by Studio DEEN (Fruits Basket, Gravitation, Rurouni Kenshin), scripting by Reiko Yoshida (ARIA, Boys Over Flowers, Story of Saiunkoku), and direction by Yukihiro Matsushita (Seasons 1-3; Blue Dragon, Sugar Sugar Rune) and Toshiyuki Kato (Season 4; Full Moon O Sagashite, CODE-E).

Visit maria-sama.rightstuf.com for more information about Maria Watches Over Us (Maria-sama ga Miteru), including detailed character profiles, trailers, downloads and more.

About MARIA WATCHES OVER US, Season 1

When Yumi Fukuzawa entered the Lillian Girls’ Academy, a prestigious all-girls Catholic school in Tokyo, she never imagined that she would catch the eye of beautiful and demure Sachiko Ogasawara, one of the school’s most popular students. Now Sachiko has offered to be Yumi’s sœur – her “sister” and guide for all her years at the academy. The whole idea has Yumi completely flustered – after all, they hardly know each other! The entire school is abuzz with rumors about the two of them, but Yumi is conflicted over accepting Sachiko’s offer. While she admires Sachiko, being her sœur would also mean constantly being at the center of the entire school’s attention!

Contains the complete 13-episode first season, plus the Season 1 specials.

MARIA WATCHES OVER US, Season 1 Format: DVD (Litebox) Pre-Book: 8/7/2012

Street Date: 9/4/2012

Runtime: 325 minutes

Genre: Drama

Suggested Rating: 13+

Audio: Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) Subtitles: 2 English subtitle tracks, plus English on-screen translations Video: 4:3, Color

Catalog #: RSDVD1280 ISBN: 1-57032-719-X

UPC: 7-42617-1280-2-8

SRP: $39.99

Discs/Set: 4 Case Quantity: 30

Features: Two English subtitle tracks (standard dialogue subtitles, plus a special subtitle track that includes Japanese honorifics) and English on-screen translations. PLUS: Season 1 specials 1-7, character bios, liner notes, and Nozomi Entertainment trailers.

* Cover Art: http://outgoing.rightstuf.com/sleeves/rsdvd1280.jpg  MARIA WATCHES OVER US (Maria-sama ga Miteru) Season 1 © OYUKI KONNO / SHUEISHA • YAMAYURIKAI Licensed by d-rights Inc.

** Product specifications and content may be subject to change.

ABOUT RIGHT STUF, INC. Currently celebrating its 25th year in business, Right Stuf, Inc. was one of the first players in the U.S. Japanese Animation (“anime”) industry, as both an anime producer/distributor and a retailer. Right Stuf works to promote knowledge of its own products, as well as the anime and manga industry, in general, through its online storefront at RightStuf.com and a variety of media including podcasts and special publications.

ABOUT NOZOMI ENTERTAINMENT Right Stuf’s production division, Nozomi Entertainment, is dedicated to the highest quality releases. True to the Japanese word that inspired its name, Nozomi’s focus is on “what fans want.”By focusing on a limited number of anime properties each year, the Nozomi production team ensures each release receives the care and attention to detail it deserves.

For more information, visit www.rightstuf.com and www.nozomient.com.

GRIMES, Iowa, May 16, 2012 – Anime producer and distributor Right Stuf, Inc. and its Nozomi Entertainment division are pleased to announce the MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO Complete Collection Limited Edition DVD set will be available on September 4, 2012.

This new DVD box set will feature the entire 26-episode television series and its sequel motion picture (Prince of Darkness), as well as its Gekigangar 3 OVA spin-off. This will be the first time Gekigangar 3 will be available to North American audiences.

It will also include remastered video from the Japanese DVD release for the Nadesico TV series and Gekigangar 3 OVA and the previously released English-language dub (TV series and film), plus Japanese audio, English-language subtitles and on-screen translations, and on-disc extras. The limited-edition set’s seven discs will be housed in a Thinpak-style, full-color chipboard art box.

Martian Successor Nadesico is a science-fiction comedy directed by Tatsuo Sato (Bodacious Space Pirates, Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars, Stellvia), with character designs by Keiji Gotoh (Sengoku Collection, Uta~Kata) and animation production by XEBEC (The Third: The Girl With the Blue Eye, Fafner, Lagrange – The Flower of Rin-ne). Martian Successor Nadesico: Prince of Darkness won the fan-voted Animage Grand Prix award in 1998.

Visit nadesico.rightstuf.com to find out more about Martian Successor Nadesico and to pre-order the Complete Collection Limited Edition DVD box set.

About MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO

The Earth, its moon and its Martian colonies are under alien attack, but the war against the “Jovian lizards” has, so far, been nothing short of a series of disasters.

Disgusted by the incompetence of Earth’s military, the independent arms manufacturer Nergal builds its own space battleship and plans to launch a desperate offensive to save humanity. But due to a shortage of trained soldiers, they’ve assembled the most unorthodox crew to ever launch into orbit! With a pacifist cook-turned-unwilling mecha pilot and a ditsy admiral’s daughter in command, can this unprecedented gathering of geeks, misfits and anime fans prevail against the Jovian menace?

Includes the complete, 26-episode TV series and Gekigangar 3 OVA (with remastered video), plus the Prince of Darkness motion picture!

MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO Complete Collection L.E. (TV+OVA+Movie) Format: DVD (Thinpak-Style Art Box) Pre-Book: 8/7/2012

Street Date: 9/4/2012

Runtime: 740 minutes

Genre: Sci-Fi / Comedy

Suggested Rating: 13+

Audio: – TV Series: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo);

- OVA: Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo);

- Movie: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Subtitles: English subtitles and English on-screen translations Video: TV Series + OVA: 4:3, Color, Remastered; Movie: 16:9 Letterboxed, Color

Catalog #: RSDVD1268 ISBN: 1-57032-713-0

UPC: 7-42617-1268-2-6

SRP: $59.99

Discs/Set: 7 Case Quantity: 9

Features: Interviews with actors and staff; “Welcome to Belle Equipe” featurette (45-minute documentary on the TV series, its music, and its staff); “Nadesico Sorekara” special (25-minute special with footage from the Nadesico Roadshow, as well as voice actor interviews and promo clips for the film); clean opening and ending for the TV series; TV spots; movie spots; movie trailers; music video for the movie, featuring Yumi Matsuzawa; and Nozomi Entertainment trailers.

* Cover Art: http://outgoing.rightstuf.com/sleeves/rsdvd1268.jpg

MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO TV (Kidou Senkan Nadeshiko) MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO: Prince of Darkness Movie (Kidou Senkan Nadeshiko: Prince of Darkness) MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO Gekigangar 3 OVA (Gekigangar 3 – Nekketsu Dai Kessen!!) © XEBEC / Project NADESICO • TV TOKYO © 1998 XEBEC / NADESICO PRODUCTION COMMITTEE *

** Product specifications and content may be subject to change.

ABOUT RIGHT STUF, INC. Currently celebrating its 25th year in business, Right Stuf, Inc. was one of the first players in the U.S. Japanese Animation (“anime”) industry, as both an anime producer/distributor and a retailer. Right Stuf works to promote knowledge of its own products, as well as the anime and manga industry, in general, through its online storefront at RightStuf.com and a variety of media including podcasts and special publications.

ABOUT NOZOMI ENTERTAINMENT Right Stuf’s production division, Nozomi Entertainment, is dedicated to the highest quality releases. True to the Japanese word that inspired its name, Nozomi’s focus is on “what fans want.”By focusing on a limited number of anime properties each year, the Nozomi production team ensures each release receives the care and attention to detail it deserves.

From anime classics like Astro Boy, Kimba and Gigantor to modern comedies, dramas and favorites such as The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, His and Her Circumstances, Gravitation, Ninja Nonsense, The Third: The Girl With the Blue Eye, Emma: A Victorian Romance, Maria Watches Over Us, ARIA, Gakuen Alice, Rental Magica, Dirty Pair, Junjo Romantica and Revolutionary Girl Utena, Right Stuf and Nozomi Entertainment produce quality programming for fans of all ages and interests.

For more information, visit www.rightstuf.com and www.nozomient.com.

Shinichi Watanabe (aka “Nabeshin”) is known to anime fans as a larger-than-life, iconic figure with an outrageous sense of humor. He directed the comedy anime series Excel Saga, Nerima Daikon Brothers, and Puni Puni Poemy, which feature frenetic pacing and appearances by his animated alter ego, a mysterious, recurring character with an afro and distinctive outfit who is tangential to the story. Nabeshin has also served as series director for The Wallflower and Tenchi Muyo! GXP, and he can be found in these series as well, in cameo or supporting roles.

Nabeshin has been quoted as saying that he places great importance in making viewers laugh. Stating that he values laughter as much as tears, his preference is to motivate viewers to have fun and enjoy a show. He reasons that his success stems from provoking the same, strong emotional investment—in a humorous way—as a traditional, sentimental story does.

Nabeshin has also written lyrics for the opening songs of Excel Saga and Tenchi Muyo! GXP, and has served as storyboarder and episode director for a variety of other anime series.

Nabeshin will be doing numerous panels at the convention, including “Q&A with Nabeshin’s Afro,” a couple 18+ panels, and more!

Shinichi Watanabe / Nabeshin joins numerous other stars at this midwest anime convention. Previously announced stars include the English cast of Panty & Stocking, Jamie Marchi (Panty), Ian Sinclair (Chuck), and Joel McDonald (Brief), in addition to LittleKuriboh of Yu-Gi-Oh abridged. The convention also features performances by the sensational Random aka MegaRan, The Pillowcases, V is for Villains, FanService Renji, and the Level Boys. All the convention’s guests will be available in various panels, interview sesions, Q&A sessions, and more. The complete guest list can be found online at http://animemidwest.com/guests

There will be over 60 different events packed into one weekend at Anime Midwest. Featured special events at Anime Midwest include a cosplay masquerade contest, anime screenings, autographs, fan panels, workshops, a date auction, a formal dance, and two rave dances in addition to many other events.

Anime Midwest will be held July 6-8, 2012, at the Wyndham Hotel & Convention Center in Lisle, Illinois, about twenty minutes from downtown Chicago. Anime fans can get rooms for the convention online at http://animemidwest.com/location for only $99.99 per night. Weekend registration is online for only $30 until June 10th, or $35 at the door for a weekend pass. Online registration can be found at http://animemidwest.com/register

Registration for the convention includes unlimited free Mt. Dew and Pepsi products all weekend for all attendees.

More information about Anime Midwest’s events, guests, and more, can be found at http://animemidwest.com

HOUSTON, May 15, 2012 – Home video distributor Section23 Films today announced its August slate of releases; including THIS BOY CAN FIGHT ALIENS. Written and created by director Soubi Yamamoto, the newest and most innovating creator in the anime field, and produced by CoMix Wave Inc., THIS BOY CAN FIGHT ALIENS will be released on DVD & BLU-RAY by Section23 client, Sentai Filmworks.

Product details follow, in order of release

Coming August 2012

Title:                 THE WORLD GOD ONLY KNOWS SEASON 2

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         300 min.

Street Date:      8/7/2012

Format:             DVD

Language:         English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $59.98

SYNOPSIS:  Every otaku’s favorite dating sims champion is back! And Keima still has his adorable lost soul-hunting, demon cutie with him!  Together, they continue their pursuit of finding escaped lost souls who are hiding within beautiful, young school girls.  But how to release these trapped spirits?  Why they have to get the girls to fall in love of course!  And this time when lost souls turn up in everyone from the school’s sexy bully to the school’s hottest new student teacher, Keima finds even his romantic powers are going to have to be working over time.  And when a giant loose soul turns the entire school into a group of love-starved zombies, Keima and Elsie have to recruit a new demon to help!  It’s two times the adventure, two times the excitement, and two times the romance in The World God Only Knows Season Two!

Title:                 THE WORLD GOD ONLY KNOWS SEASON 2 BLU-RAY

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         300 min.

Street Date:      8/7/2012

Format:             BD

Language:         English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $69.98

SYNOPSIS: Every otaku’s favorite dating sims champion is back! And Keima still has his adorable lost soul-hunting, demon cutie with him!  Together, they continue their pursuit of finding escaped lost souls who are hiding within beautiful, young school girls.  But how to release these trapped spirits?  Why they have to get the girls to fall in love of course!  And this time when lost souls turn up in everyone from the school’s sexy bully to the school’s hottest new student teacher, Keima finds even his romantic powers are going to have to be working over time.  And when a giant loose soul turns the entire school into a group of love-starved zombies, Keima and Elsie have to recruit a new demon to help!  It’s two times the adventure, two times the excitement, and two times the romance in The World God Only Knows Season Two!

Title:                 PARASITE DOLLS COMPLETE COLLECTION

Published by:    AEsir Holdings

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         95 min.

Street Date:      8/7/2012

Format:             DVD

Language:         English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $19.98

SYNOPSIS:  In a near future world where the dividing line between the people and the plastic is becoming increasingly blurred, it’s the job of the Branch to keep the streets of Genom City safe from the dangers of a technology that no one yet knows the limits of.  If it even has any.  Between the evolving sentience of an entirely new manufactured species, the chaos that inevitably ensues when backyard cyber-hackers attempt to do their own field mods and the willingness of powerful hi-tech corporations to cut a few corners, the men and women of the Branch have already got their work cut out for them.  And that’s before they factor in the danger of internal corruption, given that one of their own members boasts a metal endoskeleton.  Join the ultimate robo-cops as they patrol the dark side of the day after tomorrow in PARASITE DOLLS!

Title                  THIS BOY CAN FIGHT ALIENS

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         28 min.

Street Date:      8/14/2012

Format:             DVD

Language:         English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $14.98

SYNOPSIS:  When aliens suddenly invade the world, Earth seems to be fighting a losing battle until Arikawa, one of the defense command staff, accidentally discovers a young man lying on a hill.  Tests soon prove the impossible: this one teenager, Kakashi, has the power to defeat the attackers!  Unfortunately, Kakashi has also lost his memory, and with it the knowledge of how to actually use his power.  Moving Kakashi in with himself and his own commander, Shiro, Arikawa accidentally starts a strange triangle of emotions and relationships.  A triangle that threatens the fate of the planet as Kakashi begins to question his own motivations!  From up and coming director Soubi Yamamoto, and CoMix Wave, who spearheaded Japan’s new wave of independent anime production with the works of Makoto Shinkai, comes a film that turns The War of The Worlds inside out:  THIS BOY CAN FIGHT ALIENS!

Title:                 THIS BOY CAN FIGHT ALIENS BLU-RAY

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         28 min.

Street Date:      8/14/2012

Format:             BD

Language:         English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $24.98

SYNOPSIS:  When aliens suddenly invade the world, Earth seems to be fighting a losing battle until Arikawa, one of the defense command staff, accidentally discovers a young man lying on a hill.  Tests soon prove the impossible: this one teenager, Kakashi, has the power to defeat the attackers!  Unfortunately, Kakashi has also lost his memory, and with it the knowledge of how to actually use his power.  Moving Kakashi in with himself and his own commander, Shiro, Arikawa accidentally starts a strange triangle of emotions and relationships.  A triangle that threatens the fate of the planet as Kakashi begins to question his own motivations!  From up and coming director Soubi Yamamoto, and CoMix Wave, who spearheaded Japan’s new wave of independent anime production with the works of Makoto Shinkai, comes a film that turns The War of The Worlds inside out:  THIS BOY CAN FIGHT ALIENS!

Title:                 SULTRY ASSASSIN: NINJA BRAINWASH

Published by:    Switchblade Pictures

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         73 min.

Street Date:      8/14/2012

Format:             DVD

Language:         Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $19.98

SYNOPSIS: When Yui Kusunoki, an undercover geisha secretly in the employ of the Inner Secret Guard, disappears while en route to deliver an oral message concerning rogue Koga Ninja penetrations in southern Hikone, there’s just one sword-mistress who can go down after her: the notorious but very easy on the eyes Rin Saejima a.k.a. the Sultry Assassin!  But knowing that her identity may have already been compromised as a result of the Koga’s Erotic Brainwashing technique, Rin devises a cunning plan of her own: one that involves bringing her “associate” Yasuburo back into her fold posing as her husband!  Get ready for sword-handling of every kind and lots of derring-do getting done in the most unexpected places (and locations) as the team behind the sizzling escapades of THE APHRODISIAC KILL reunite for a double-sworded, sordid ero-ninja epic that scholars of Japanese history would very much prefer that you don’t bring up in class: SULTRY ASSASSIN: NINJA BRAINWASH!

Title:                 NO. 6

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         275 min.

Street Date:      8/21/2012

Format:             DVD

Language:         English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $59.98

SYNOPSIS: In a near future world after the last great war, most of mankind now lives in a handful of city states.  There, for the privileged elite, life should be perfect.  But for young Shion, the only thing perfect has been the nightmare his life has become since letting a strange boy called Rat spend the night in his apartment.  Banished to the outskirts of the city and stripped of all privileges for helping the mysterious stranger who has since disappeared, Shion now finds himself in even worse danger as his inquiry into a new series of mysterious deaths results in his being arrested on suspicion of murder!  But even as Shion is being sent to the city’s Correctional Institute, the long missing Rat reappears to rescue him!  Now, on the run, the two young men have only one chance at survival: uncover the mysterious secrets that lie at the sinister heart of No. 6! 

Title:                 NO. 6 BLU-RAY

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         275 min.

Street Date:      8/21/2012

Format:             BD

Language:         English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $69.98

SYNOPSIS: In a near future world after the last great war, most of mankind now lives in a handful of city states.  There, for the privileged elite, life should be perfect.  But for young Shion, the only thing perfect has been the nightmare his life has become since letting a strange boy called Rat spend the night in his apartment.  Banished to the outskirts of the city and stripped of all privileges for helping the mysterious stranger who has since disappeared, Shion now finds himself in even worse danger as his inquiry into a new series of mysterious deaths results in his being arrested on suspicion of murder!  But even as Shion is being sent to the city’s Correctional Institute, the long missing Rat reappears to rescue him!  Now, on the run, the two young men have only one chance at survival: uncover the mysterious secrets that lie at the sinister heart of No. 6!

Title:                 K-ON! SEASON 2 COLLECTION 2

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         350 min.

Street Date:      8/28/2012

Format:             DVD

Language:         English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $59.98

SYNOPSIS: Sometimes music and words come together so perfectly that the combination is far more powerful than either would be alone.  In much the same way, the five members of the Sakuragaoka Girl’s High School’s Light Music Club have become far more than just a group of girls with similar interests.  More, even, than just a group of friends.  Through the medium of music they’ve found a common course in life, and whatever the future may bring, they know they can get through it if they stand together. Which makes the coming end of the school year and the graduation of the four older members something that’s dreaded as much as it’s looked forward to.  But in the meantime there’s so much going on, it’s as life has decided to throw everything it can at them.  Going to music festivals won’t be hard to swing, but running a marathon?  That will be a stretch!  Yearbook photos?  The horror!  And a school play with Mio and Ritsu cast as Romeo and Juliet?  Ooo, VERY awkward.  And then, of course, there’s one big final performance for the band!  The tempo is rising and emotions run wild as the final encore approaches in K-ON! Season 2 Collection 2!!

Title:                 K-ON! SEASON 2 COLLECTION 2 BLU-RAY

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         350 min.

Street Date:      8/28/2012

Format:             BD

Language:         English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $69.98

SYNOPSIS: Sometimes music and words come together so perfectly that the combination is far more powerful than either would be alone.  In much the same way, the five members of the Sakuragaoka Girl’s High School’s Light Music Club have become far more than just a group of girls with similar interests.  More, even, than just a group of friends.  Through the medium of music they’ve found a common course in life, and whatever the future may bring, they know they can get through it if they stand together. Which makes the coming end of the school year and the graduation of the four older members something that’s dreaded as much as it’s looked forward to.  But in the meantime there’s so much going on, it’s as life has decided to throw everything it can at them.  Going to music festivals won’t be hard to swing, but running a marathon?  That will be a stretch!  Yearbook photos?  The horror!  And a school play with Mio and Ritsu cast as Romeo and Juliet?  Ooo, VERY awkward.  And then, of course, there’s one big final performance for the band!  The tempo is rising and emotions run wild as the final encore approaches in K-ON! Season 2 Collection 2!!

Title:                 KOIHIME ULTIMATE COLLECTION

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         975 min.

Street Date:      8/28/2012

Format:             DVD

Language:         Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $89.98

SYNOPSIS: You’ve heard of Mulan, you may have heard of Wu Zetian, but even before those legendary lady warriors, the soil of Ancient China had proved fertile ground for the cultivation of an elite force of ferociously female fighters!  The saga begins as a girl named Aisha takes on the name Kan’u and sets forth on a journey that inspires others to shatter the shackles of their own tradition and take up the way of the sword.  And once you and the girls have accomplished one heroic quest, how do you top it except by taking up another?  And then another!  (Some epochs it just seems like a woman’s work is never done!)  All three epic adventures in the spectacular Koihime Muso series, including the OVAs, are collected together at last as the ancient epic Romance of the Three Kingdoms takes on an unexpected new look and some very feminine curves in KOIHIME MUSO – THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION!

About Section23 Films:

Section23 Films provides home video marketing and distribution services for a variety of companies, including Sentai Filmworks, Switchblade Pictures, Maiden Japan and AEsir Holdings.  With its special focus on genre entertainment, Section23 Films distributes some of the very best anime, martial arts, and horror titles on the market today.

And not just any demon: this is Elsie, a not particularly competent, young female demon who’s been charged with recapturing runaway spirits that prefer to hide in girls hearts, where they can only be driven out by the girls falling in love. Now Elsie’s got Keima by a collar and he’s got to get the girls or die trying!

REVIEW:
The World Only God knows is a gut buster and then some. It could have come off trite or a one trick pony but they managed to make Keima not too pervy or pompous and the characters have key flaws to get the audience involved emotionally. The execution of the premise is what totally won me over.

Keima is a date sim champion. He’s like the Conan of the Dating sim games. He’s mastered them all and no binary girl is able to refuse his allure. In the real world the last thing he wants is to have anything to do with real girls or real people in general. He has no buds, no interest in real gals and only wants to play his games. That all changes when Elsie the demon from Hell visits him. She thinks due to his name as the God of his world of game sims that he is a ‘divine one’. Oh, how wrong she is! But to make it worse for Keima, she’s put a special deadly collar on him to force his help. All he has to do is seduce any and every girl that has a runaway bogie Hell spirit in them. He may rather die than get near a real woman, but he really will bite the dust if he doesn’t put on the charm!

This is where the fun is because Keima hasn’t got a clue how to treat people in the real world. So when he gets his first charge to win the heart of a track team member being ostracized by her jealous team mates, he uses techniques he learned where? In the world of dating sims! The results are outrageous every time. They manage to make each girl’s story have a bit of dramatic bite to add some emotional weight to the zany tactics Keima gets up to.

From there the show is predictable and formulaic as Keima goes from one girl to the other to win her heart and save the girl from the run amuck Hell spirit that Elsie has to tag and bag. The surprises come with finding out what insane dating sim tactic Keima uses each time. Elsie is a cute and fun character who takes her alias of being Keima’s long lost sister to gut busting extremes.

The show ends with a pretty dramatic finale about a super shy girl locking herself up in the library. There is some super cool animation during that climactic moment when Keima tries to save her. Then the final episode is a total crazy one-off about Keima being all game obsessed to finish all his backlogged games since Elsie came into his life.

The animation and music are both fun. Manglobe does the deed this time around for the animation. You might recognize there work from worldwide hits like Ergo Proxy and Samurai Champloo. I won’t steer you wrong, a fluff piece of comedy like The World only God Knows isn’t going to rock your anime world visually, but the studio makes things more dynamic and pretty than the average comedy anime.

EXTRAS:
Extra goodies include trailers of anime series, clean opening and ending animation, and music videos.

IN SUMMARY:
Expect to have fun, expect to laugh. The World only God knows is a good time.

• Released By: Sentai Filmworks
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
• Audi: English and Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0
• Running Time: 300 minutes
• Rating: TV-14
• Release Date: 1/24/2012
• Reviewed By: Davey C. Jones

The nursery where Fujimoto works is in trouble, and nothing Kobato can do seems to make things any better. Worse, while her magic healing flask is filling with kompeitos, the negative emotions she pulls from the others that she helps, she cannot tell Fujimoto about how she herself truly feels, and Ioryogi knows that the time given to Kobato in order to prove herself is rapidly running out. Will Kobato’s time run out before she can ease the heart of the one closest to her?

REVIEW:
It’s more cuteness and ‘aw shucks’ moments in the second half of Kobato the anime series. She helps people little by little, a kid that ran away from home, helps with the nursery, and more. But a couple of main story points run throughout the series. The first is that the nursery is in trouble and the second is that Kobato’s time on Earth may be running out.

The nursery debt is a large worry for Sayaka, weighs on the minds of Fujimoto, and the others. Kobato works to get to the bottom of it and the mystery as to why Sayaka’s husband is such a hateful so-and-so. Except maybe he isn’t. By the end of the anime we learn all about his reasons behind his debt collecting ways. Frankly, it’s convoluted in a soap opera way and even for a soap opera it still is kind of weird to me. But hey, it made for some angst and drama and a bit of romance too so I’m okay with it. And with that swept under the carpet at last, it leaves Kobato’s story center stage.

Things carry on in a slowly inching manner until finally her time is up. She was given a choice during her final days to finish collecting the Kompeito for her bottle so her wish could be granted or spend time with Fujimoto after he’s been in an accident. If you’ve watched the show up to this point, you don’t have to wonder which she chooses. It ends up with this incredibly heart wrenching scene where Fuji at last learns the truth about Kobato and it’s too late.

The tear jerking aside, the final episode wraps things up in mostly a pretty little bow. It was totally soulful I have to say (pun intended). It got to me, it tugged my heart strings something fierce that ending did.  The anime goes in a different direction in many ways from the manga. The way it ends, what happens with the nursery, Kobato’s wish, how it affects Fujimoto and Fujimoto’s reunion all play out with all new twists in the anime.

As a total aside, there’s something else that happens in this story that is worth a mention. Tsubasa fans this is a shout out to you. In episode 20 we get a special episode featuring our time traveling world hopping band of Fay, Kurogane, Syaoran and Mokona as they make a special appearance in Kobato.

EXTRAS:
Bonus extras include clean opening and ending animation along with trailers of other anime titles.\

IN SUMMARY:
A slowly moving, deeply touching romance. Very pretty, gorgeous anime and a lovely message about never ending and unconditional love.

• Released By: Sentai Filmworks
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
• Audio: Japanese 2.0 w/ English Subtitles
• Running Time: 300 minutes
• Rating: TV-PG
• Release Date: 10/11/2011
• Reviewed By: Rachel Bentham

It’s high suspense for the manga series this round. The gang gets on a plane for Hong Kong but gets attacked on the plane. It seems Fairy Tale members Kiria and Hokuto still want Tsukune and want him dead. Meanwhile danger is far from over at the Huang family mansion. Fangfang is overjoyed that he at last has friends over to his family home but the girls are quickly disappearing one by one! A mafia attack by zombies and suddenly Fang and Tsukune are facing hard truths about themselves and each other. However the agenda behind the attack is right out of left field.

When the group at last reaches a person who can help seal the Rosario again the friends find out something extraordinary and ten times as dangerous: the Rosario isn’t what they think it is. Now Tsukune has been sucked into Moka’s sealed memories and he sees a sister to Moka he never knew. Aqua is the deadliest vampire he’s ever seen and for some reason, present Moka and Aqua must never, ever meet!

The latest manga leaves readers on the cusp of a lot of big revelations! It’s an edge-of-your-seat volume to be sure. It also has a fold out mini-poster featuring both sides of Moka.

IN SUMMARY:
Tsukune gets in deep when he tries to find a way to fix Moka’s Rosario in time. However the Rosario is hiding secrets of its own and it could change everything for Tsukune and most especially for Moka!

• Published By: VIZ Media
• Author / Artist: Akihia Ikeda
• Format: Japanese / BW
• Pages: 200
• Rated: T+
• Release Date: 1/3/2012
• Reviewed By: Holly Ellingwood