Amazon.com

The violent five-part adventure Afro Samurai marks both the increasing confluence of American and Japanese pop culture and the shift in Japanese depictions of African-Americans. The popularity of hip-hop in Japan has led to more positive images of blacks, including Takashi Okazaki’s original manga. The “Director’s Cut” contains an additional 15 minutes of footage, and is even gorier than the broadcast version on Spike TV. As a boy, Afro Samurai saw his father beheaded by the maniacal Justice. The murderer sought an ancient headband that marks the wearer as the #1 warrior in the world. As an adult, Afro seeks only revenge, cutting down anyone who blocks his path to Justice. Afro Samurai depicts a oddly anachronistic world that infuses cell phones, cigarette lighters, and cyber technology into traditional Japanese culture. The elongated character designs recall Peter Chung’s Aeon Flux, and much of the series is rendered in moody grays, accented by gobbets of scarlet blood. Afro is such a taciturn figure, most of the dialogue goes to his motor-mouth comrade Ninja Ninja. This big budget production features an eclectic score by Wu-Tang Clan co-founder RZA and an A-list vocal cast that includes Samuel L. Jackson and Ron Perlman. But for all its elaborate production values and over-the-top fights, Afro Samurai suffers from a weakness at its core: Afro is so monosyllabic and cold-blooded, he’s not very interesting. His inevitable duel-to-the-death with Justice lacks the emotional punch of Spike’s face-off against Vicious in Cowboy Bebop or Kenshin’s one-on-one with Shishio in Rurouni Kenshin. This extremely violent series is not for the faint of stomach. (Rated TV MA, suitable for ages 17 and older: graphic violence, profanity, sexual activity, grotesque imagery, nudity, risqué humor, alcohol and tobacco use) –Charles Solomon

More from Studio Gonzo

Origin: Spirits of the Past

Trinity Blood

Solty Rei

Stills from Afro Samurai (click for larger image)

More Samuel L. Jackson

Snakes on a Plane

Shaft

Pulp Fiction

More Stills (click for larger image)

Product Description

Ice Cold Soul and a Jones For Revenge?.now available on Blu-Ray!

Afro Samurai (voiced by Academy Award® nominated Samuel L. Jackson) is an epic tale of a black samurai’s hunt for Justice (voiced by Ron Perlman: Hellboy Alien Resurrection ) who murdered his father. With music score by The RZA ( Kill Bill Wu Tang Clan) Afro Samurai blends traditional Japanese culture, funky technology and hip hop to create a brutally fresh entertainment experience.

Director’s Cut features:

Amazon.com

The feature film Resurrection amps up the adventures of Afro Samurai, the Black warrior who debuted on Spike TV in 2007. Taciturn and deadly, Afro (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) wanders through an anachronistic, post-apocalyptic world, accompanied by motor-mouth Ninja-Ninja (also Jackson). This time, his nemesis is not the maniacal Justice from the series, but Sio (Lucy Liu), an embittered beauty who hates Afro for nearly killing her brother Jinno. She has Professor Dharman (S. Scott Bullock) recreate Afro’s father from a jawbone stolen from his grave, a scheme that leads to the ultimate Oedipal showdown. The original series was rendered primarily in brooding grays, accented by spatters of red blood; Resurrection uses brilliant blues, oranges, and reds to underscore the conflicts. Hiphop artist RZA contributes another eclectic, moody score. But the over-the-top action can’t disguise that the icy, silent Afro is a very limited character: he lacks the humanity that redeems the equally deadly swordsman Kenshin Himura in Rurouni Kenshin. Resurrection is clearly intended as an installment in a ongoing franchise. Afro kills the warrior Shichigoro (Liam O’Brien) in front of Kotaro (Zachary Gordon), his adopted son. At the end of the film, Afro sees Kotaro clutching his father’s sword, tells him, “Anytime you’re ready,” and walks into the distance. Although the many extras stress that Afro-Samurai: Resurrection was a Japanese-American co- production, the film is presented only in English. (Unrated, suitable for ages 17 and older: graphic violence, violence against women, profanity, sexual activity, grotesque imagery, nudity, risqué humor, alcohol and tobacco use) –Charles Solomon

Product Description

Afro Samurai (Academy Award ® nominee Samuel L. Jackson) avenged his father and found a life of peace. But the legendary master is forced back into the game by a beautiful and deadly woman from his past. The sparks of violence dropped along Afro’s bloody path now burn out of control – and nowhere are the flames of hatred more intense than in the eyes of Sio (Lucy Liu: Kill Bill). She won’t quit until Afro is schooled in the brutal lessons he dealt those who stood in his way.  There’s no such thing as final vengeance. The cycle of bloodshed spinning around the Number One Headband must roll on. Featuring the voice of Mark Hamill (Star Wars) and fresh production from The RZA (Wu-Tang Clan), the saga that began in the best-selling anime DVD of 2007 continues in AFRO SAMURAI: RESURRECTION.

The Director’s Cut and Blu-ray features:

Over an hour of exclusive behind the scene featurettes including the making of the anime, the making of the video game, interviews with the cast and crew, RZA in the studio, commentary from the creators and much more!

Stills from Afro Samurai: Resurrection (Click for larger image)

Product Description

The Legendary Epic Reborn.

Samurai 7 is set in a futuristic world that has just seen the end of a massive war, many villages are being terrorized by Nobuseri bandits. The Nobuseri are no normal bandits. They were once men, but during the war they modifed themselves with machines to become living weapons and now apprear as more machine than man. A group of villagers decide to hire samurai to protect their village. These men of valor are as skilled as they are unique.

DVD Extra Features:

• Staff Commentary- Director/Actor Commentary
• Promotional Video
• Textless Opening and Closing Songs
• Trailers

Stills from Samurai 7 (Click for larger image)

Amazon.com

Produced by John Woo and directed by Shinji Aramaki, Appleseed Ex Machina (2007) ranks as the most elaborate, stylish, and violent of the three adaptations of Masamune Shirow’s manga. When it was released in 1988, the original Appleseed felt like a summary of anime’s past, while Akira pointed the way to the future. The second Appleseed (2004), also directed by Aramaki, was an unimpressive motion-capture CG feature that borrowed elements from other sci-fi anime. In this latest incarnation, Deunan, Briareos, and Tereus of the E.S.W.A.T. team are charged with preserving the peace of the city-state of Olympus, a hi-tech paradise on a largely ruined Earth. Screenwriters Kiyoto Takeuchi and Todd W. Russell have given the story a contemporary twist, adding attacks by “cyborg terrorists” and an effort by the ruler of Olympus to control a world-wide satellite surveillance system. When cyborgs and human launch coordinated attacks on the government headquarters in Olympus, Deunan, Briareos, and Tereus swing into action against a mysterious enemy. The plot has little in common with the earlier films: the Appleseed technology that was at the core of the story isn’t even mentioned. The look, tone, and characters in Ex Machina recall Shirow’s Ghost in the Shell, rather than the original Appleseed. Not surprisingly, the elaborately choreographed fight scenes reflect Woo’s signature style, with slo-mo martial-arts combat, close-ups of falling shells, dynamic camerawork, and all-out gun battles. But the weightless movements of the motion-capture characters and the limited rendering of the skin textures gives Appleseed Ex Machina the feel of an extremely elaborate computer game. Despite the limits of the mo-cap technology, Appleseed Ex Machina is a fast-past, take-no-prisoners cinematic adventure that will delight action-movie fans as well as anime lovers. (Rated PG-13: violence, violence against women, profanity, grotesque imagery, potentially offensive religious imagery.) –Charles Solomon

Product Description

Bluray Disc

Amazon.com

A desert may seem like an unlikely place for pirates, but Luffy and his Straw Hat crew fight for Princess Vivi in the eighth One Piece movie, subtitled “The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventures in Alabasta.” Crocodile and his Baroque Works gang foment a civil war in Alabasta, so they can control the country after most of its warriors have been killed. Crocodile also hopes to gain control of the Pluton, an ultimate weapon that may or may not exist. But Luffy and the Straw Hats charge to Vivi’s rescue. Having eaten the Suna Suna or Sand Fruit, Crocodile can turn any part of his body into sand–a trick that may remind viewers of Gaara in Naruto. The climactic battle between the two pirate leaders pits Crocodile’s sand transformations against Luffy’s Gum Gum limbs and wits. Despite its title, One Piece: Movie 8 consists of recut footage from the “Alabasta” story arc of the TV series with some bits of additional animation. The repurposed footage doesn’t always fit together: the film opens in the middle of an adventure and some important story elements get lost in the shuffle, including how Luffy is saved from the poisoned wound Crocodile inflicts. These inconsistencies probably won’t bother One Piece fans. (Rated PG-13: violence, risqué humor, tobacco use) –Charles Solomon

Product Description

The island kingdom of Alabasta is about to erupt in civil war – a war engineered by Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and his criminal organization Baroque Works. Monkey D. Luffy, his Straw Hat pirates and Princess Vivi race to the island, where the strongest warriors of Baroque Works wait to stop them. Can Vivi and her friends stop an entire war? And how can Luffy fight Crocodile, when Crocodile can turn into sand?

Product Description

Studio: Infinity Resources Inc Release Date: 12/09/2008 Run time: 124 minutes Rating: R

Amazon.com
Vexille (2007, subtitled 2077 Nippon Sakoku: “2077 Isolation of Japan”) is a CG/motion capture film that apes the popular Appleseed series. In 2077, 10 years after Japan withdrew into a sort of neo-Tokugawa isolation to pursue illegal cyborg technology, most of the population has been turned into androids by the evil Daiwa Heavy Industries. Vexille, a tough-as-press-on-nails mecha pilot in theDeunan Knute mode, joins in a raid on the remains of Tokyo to learn about the threat this technology poses. An unremarkable series of chases, mecha battles and Morris-the-Explainer-scenes ensues as Vexille, her beau Leon, and the few Japanese who still cling to their humanity destroy Daiwa’s fortified island headquarters. Most of the story elements are borrowed other films, including Appleseed Ex Machina, Dune and the two Ghost in the Shell features. Vexille was clearly a low-budget production: the poorly rendered figures ressemble wax puppets and their shadows shrink and grow like stains on their clothing. (Rated PG-13: violence, violence against women, tobacco use) –Charles Solomon

Product Description

2067: Isolation. Japan seals herself off from the eyes of the world in the face of unilateral international policy setting strict limits on the use of robotic technology. The island nation exists only behind a veil of seclusion. No soul shall enter. No soul shall leave.

2077: Revelation. The veil is breached. Japan is infiltrated by agents of the organization S.W.O.R.D., a fighting force operating outside of the protection of the United States and her allies. Their mission: Determine if the Japanese are developing banned robotic bio-technology, forbidden due to its threat to humankind.

In the battle between machine and man, humanity stands to suffer most.

Includes 2 hours of special features: