STACK NZ Magazine April 2015 Issue 61

Image: Yassir Narkemonball

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www.stack.net.nz

APRIL 2015

JB Hi-Fi

www.jbhifi.co.nz

Rurouni Kenshin – Kyoto Inferno

hile it may not strictly be an anime

release, the manga and anime

pedigree of

Rurouni Kenshin –

Kyoto Inferno

is undeniable. If you’re a

samurai fan, this little number is sure to

please with some of the best swordplay

and practical effects in recent memory.

Action, adventure, and even a few laughs,

Rurouni Kenshin

has got it all.

For even more manga/anime/live-action

indulgence,

Black Butler

serves up a

slice of (live action) supernatural delight.

This mystery-filled, gender-bending tale of

demons and servitude is a fan favourite, and

for good reason. Also, it doesn’t hurt that

Sebastian is easy on the eyes.

Fans of

Sword Art Online

, the .hack

franchise and fantasy in general

will love this month's

release of

Log Horizon –

Part 1

. After eight years

and hundreds of hours

behind the keyboard,

30,000 players find

themselves trapped in

the game world, or at

least a version of the

game world

they knew.

Set on a tiny island

in post-WWII Russia,

Giovanni’s Island

tells

the story of friendship

through adversity, with two children

overcoming the odds – and a language

barrier – to become friends in spite of

adversity. Imagine

Grave of the Fireflies

…

but happy.

StellaWomen’s Academy High School

Division C3

is not only a contender for the

longest anime title of the year, but also for

most funnerest romp of 2015, with the

girls at SWA being a bunch of gun-crazy

survivalists. In case you were wondering, the

C3 in the title stands for Command, Control

and Communications.

Forget SWA,

Nocome – My Mental

Choices Are Completely InterferingWith

My School Romantic Comedy

is the hands

down champion of long anime titles… for

now. Poor Kanade lives a

cursed life until a young

lady with the ability to

lift the curse falls into

his life, literally. Problem

is, the fall has caused

young Chocolat to get

amnesia.

Also out this

month is the totally

irreverent

Kill La Kill:

Volume 3

and shonen

stalwarts,

Bleach

collection 24

and

Naruto Shippuden

Collection 21

ANIME

ROUND-UP

Live Action

Anime Movies

Many an anime and manga series

get the live action treatment and

thankfully Madman are good enough

to release most of them. Honourable

mentions this month go to

Yatterman,

Dororo,

based on the work of Osamu

Tezuka, and

Devil Man,

which is

based on the work of Go Nagai.

20th Century Boys –

Based on the manga series by

legendary creator Naoki Urasawa,

20th

Century Boys

is a trilogy of films set

before, during and after the destruction

of Japan at the hands of a crazed cult

and their death-spewing robot.

Space Battleship Yamato –

If you’re an aging geek like me,

you will have been raised on

Space

Battleship Yamato,

or as it was known

here in Australia,

Star Blazers

. Suffice

to say that seeing that big, beautiful

space boat back on screen is a buzz.

Gantz –

While not quite as sexual

nor violent as the source material,

Gantz

is guaranteed to get your pulse

racing with great effects, awesome

action, and those awesome suits!

Death Note –

The world went

Death Note

crazy a while back,

so Japanese cinema called on some

heavy hitters to star in the live action

adaptation: Kenichi Matsuyama of

Gantz

and Tatsuya Fujiwara of

Battle

Royale

and

Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto

Inferno

Rurouni Kenshin –

The precursor

to this month's

Kyoto Inferno

Rurouni Kenshin

is a superb

piece of modern samurai

filmmaking. Who’da

thunk a long haired

ginger from Japan would

kick so much butt?

StellaWomen’s Academy

High School Division C3

DVD