STACK NZ November 2016 Issue 79

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One 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
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
Wit Studio. It’s an action-
packed, post-apocalyptic
yarn about group of
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
Break: Aria Of Curse For A Holy
Swordsman Completes Series,
Yowamushi Pedal Part 2 and
Log Horizon
Season 2 Part 2,
ANIME ROUND-UP
Early 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
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.
Blood Blockade Battlefront
BLOODY
ANIME
Blood-C
Haikyu!! Season 1
visit
42 NOVEMBER 2016
DVD&BD