STACK NZ Nov #79

DVD&BD

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ANIME ROUND-UP

BLOODY ANIME

E arly on in my anime viewing days I realised that blood and guts were going to be a constant and I could not have been more correct. This month's re-release of Berserk is evidence of the viewing public's fascination with gore galore. One of my earlier anime memories is watching 1993's Ninja Scroll on VHS (ask your parents), seeing the devilish monster Tessai guzzle blood from a victim he's only just... disarmed. From then on things only got more intense to the more recent example of Attack on Titan which frequently shows poor helpless humans being eaten alive and ripped apart by the eponymous titans. Another top notch fantasy series is Claymore which also deals with humans as prey but in this instance being hunted by shape-shifting creatures called Yoma. As far as eye-wateringly horrific scenes, Blood-C would have to be

Blood Blockade Battlefront

O ne of my personal favourite series of the last 12 months, Blood Blockade Battlefront hits shelves this month in all of its alliterative glory. From the mind of Yasuhiro Nightow ( Trigun ) and with animation by Studio Bones ( Fullmetal Alchemist ), pedigree is guaranteed but this sci-fi/fantasy gem is so much more than its parentage. It's loosely shonen but not so much so as to resort to many of the well worn tropes we've come to love and loathe. This is one of those titles that should be on everybody's watch list. Yet another outstanding sports anime Haikyu!! Season 1 spikes into shelves bringing with it laughs, inspiration and action aplenty. Like any good sports anime, our under-dog, Hinata, is a persistent scamp who is as determined as he is loveable. I have to admit, prior to watching this series, I thought volleyball was pretty lame and while I'm not

intrepid girls caught between warring vigilante states after Japan is destroyed in the Great Tokyo War. If fan service is your thing, then there is plenty to choose from in November. From the studio behind Aquarion Evol and Infinite Stratos comes Absolute Duo! The Complete Series , which is set at a special school where students are trained to fight with weapons that are manifestations of their souls. There are also plenty of fantasy/harem antics on offer in Trinity Seven: Complete Series in which a young boy who enrols in a school of magic when he is given a book of spells following the destruction of his hometown in a mysterious disaster. Then there is Punchline: Complete Series , a silly but fun romp which boasts the great tagline: “If he see panties, humanity will be destroyed"! Also available this month is Naruto Shippuden Collection 27 , World

Blood-C

up there with the best. Not only do hapless humans get torn limb from limb, but they also wind up as human shish-kebabs at one point. More horrors abound in one of the best anime and manga series of recent years in Tokyo Ghoul which sees human-like ghouls feeding on humans because apparently burgers don't taste so good to them. Madness! Honourable mentions go to the head popping Gantz , Deadman Wonderland where blood is literally used as a weapon and the desperately under appreciated Elfen Lied which to this day involves a particular scene which still gives me the heebie jeebies.

exactly running out to buy a lifetime supply of knee high socks, Haikyuu helped me to understand and appreciate the sport. Fans of Attack On Titan will be eager to check out The Rolling Girls: The Complete Series , which is the first original anime from

Break: Aria Of Curse For A Holy Swordsman Completes Series , Yowamushi Pedal Part 2 and Log Horizon Season 2 Part 2 ,

Wit Studio. It’s an action- packed, post-apocalyptic yarn about group of

Haikyu!! Season 1

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NOVEMBER 2016

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