Darylsurat

In 2013, Fox News worked to stoke outrage over the supposed decline of traditional American values, identifying the purported "wussification" of America in everything from the "disturbing trend" of yoga in schools to the availability of human resources in the workplace. Here is Media Matters' top ten countdown of Fox News' 'wussification' fears:

10. Yoga For Children

On January 3, Fox & Friendsasked whether young children participating in yoga is leading to the "wussification of America."Guest Larry Winget called yoga a "disturbing trend" and complained that yoga wasn't competitive enough and, doesn't teach people how to be "tough." Winget admitted that yoga has positive properties only because he didn't "want all those yoga Nazis coming after [him] on this thing." [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 1/3/2013]

9.Fines For Poor Sportsmanship

On September 25, Fox reported that youth football coaches in one town may face up to $200 in fines for allowing their teams to run up the score against an opponent. Such "mercy rule" regulations are recognized by many youth league sports, but Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade wondered if this represented "wussification" or "good sportsmanship." [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 9/25/13]

8. A Police Officer Who Was Suspended For Cursing

On the December 6 edition of The Kelly File, host Megyn Kelly reported that a police officer was suspended for cursing at a school bus full of children, while the children who were misbehaving faced no consequences. Fox contributor Arthur Aidala said this is the "wussification of America, literally," attributing the children's apparent lack of respect to insufficient fear that their "father is going to give [them] a whack in the mouth." [Fox News, The Kelly File, 12/6/13]

7. Paid Internships

On the May 18 edition of Fox & Friends Saturday, co-host Clayton Morris hosted author Ron Perlin to discuss internships and the "culture of unpaid work." Morris asked if interns deserve money for their work, or if this demonstrates an "entitlement generation" and the "wussification of America." [Fox News, Fox & Friends Saturday, 5/18/13]

6. The Possible Redskins Name Change

On the November 1 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, guest host Eric Bolling was incredulous that the NFL's Washington Redskins considered changing their team name to something less racially offensive, characterizing the proposed change as the continued "wussification of America." [Fox News, The Five, 11/1/13]

5. Common Core Math Strategies

On August 19, Fox & Friends guest host Anna Kooiman wondered if new Common Core math standards' emphasis on the learning process actually represented "the continuation of the wussification of America." [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 8/19/13]

4. Helmets For Youth Soccer League

On the October 10 edition of Fox & Friends, co-host Brian Kilmeade reported that one town was campaigning for youth soccer leagues to require helmets. Kilmeade asked if this meant "we [have] become a bunch of wussies in this country" because "we're not open to the good old head injury like we used to." [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 10/10/13]

3. Human Resources

On September 9, Fox & Friends hosts asked regular guest Larry Winget to weigh in on people who talk themselves into being "victims" and offer advice on how to take personal responsibility. Co-host Brian Kilmeade cited as an example those who "complain to [their] boss or run to human resources" when someone "is being mean to you." Winget criticized America from being a "huge nation of weenies," and in response to a question about the recent problems with extreme cyber-bullying, Winget advised parents:"you've got to teach your kid not to be a victim." [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 9/17/13]

2. Co-Ed Sports Teams

On the June 27 edition of Fox News'The Five,co-host Eric Bolling lamented the "blurring of gender lines" in response to a story about a girl playing football. Bolling labeled the idea of co-ed sports teams the "wussification of American men," while co-host Andrea Tantaros likened this to letting "donkeys" and "chickens" play, adding,"[w]hy do we have rules anymore?" [Fox News,The Five, 6/27/13]

1. Firing Abusive Coaches

On April 3, Fox News' Eric Bolling described the firing of Rutgers University basketball coach Mike Rice, who was captured in a video beingphysically and verbally abusive to players and spouting homophobic slurs, as the "wimpifying" and "wussificating" of America and part of a trend in "basically making men Chihuahuas." On April 4, Bolling appeared on Fox News' America Live to defend his stance, citing personal experience to claim that "the best coaches are coaches like that." Bolling added, "We're wussifying American men, and it has to stop." [Fox News, The Five, 4/3/13; Fox News, America Live, 4/4/13]

Magical girls are awesome, but not everyone can be one. You have to be chosen, elected, or make a contract with an alien creature to become one and, you have to be a girl...until now. The new Drama CD due in 2014, Mahou Chunen☆Ojamajo 5 introduces 5 middle-aged Japanese men with careers who are also magical girls who look like middle-aged men in magical girl costumes.

 

 

Satoshi Yoshikawa, the pink one in the center, decided to make his granddaughter's wish for him to become a magical girl come true. Satoshi then recruits 4 of his friends to form a magical girl group.

 

 

Satoshi Yoshikawa is 55 years old and owns a company called Yoshikawa Seisakujo, and transforms into Innovation Shacho. This is what happens when someone has too much money in Japan. Satoshi will be voiced by Joji Nakata (Kirei Kotomine from Fate/Zero, Giroro from Sergent Frog).

 

 

 

Shuntaro Iida, who is 52 years old turns into Sunshine Madogiwa. He is voiced by Toshihiko Seki (Senketsu from Kill la Kill) and people are suspicious of his striking resemblance to the character.

 

 

 

Ryota Soejima, 33 years old becomes Catharsis Chuto Saiyou and is voiced by Daisuke Namikawa (Waver Velvet from Fate/Zero).

 

 

 

 

 

Naosuke Katada, 47 years old calls himself Global Eigyo Bucho and is voiced by Kazuya Nakai (Toshizo Hijikata from Gintama).

 

 

Haruka Inoue, 42 years old is Venture Inoue and is voiced by Yasunori Matsumoto (Wataru Akiyama in Initial D).

 

 

 

Akira Ishida will voice a cat named Elizabeth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you happen to feel like changing your Twitter icon, Ojamajo offers five of them at their site. The drama CD release date is yet to be determinded, but some merchadise will be available at winter Comiket this year.

 

© ぼへ・CROWN WORKS All rights reserved.

 Source: Nijimen

30-minute film is scheduled to premiere next Christmas

Here's the second of three parts of our answers to Anime82's questions. We may have a separate episode before posting the third part. Or not. Visit www.animeworldorder.com for full show notes and supplemental links.

18th volume of Yukito Kishiro's sci-fi series GUNNM: Last Order shipped in Japan, N. America this year

National evening cable news programs have largely ignored the voices of women's health experts in their coverage of issues pertaining to women's reproductive health care following Texas State Senator Wendy Davis' June 25, 2013, filibuster of extreme restrictions on reproductive health clinics in Texas.

Women's Health Experts Missing From Segments On Reproductive Health

Women's Health Experts Only 15 Percent Of Total Evening Cable News Guest Appearances. During the 229 evening cable news segments that focused on women's reproductive health from June 24 to December 1, there were 246 guest appearances -- but women's health experts were hosted only 38 times, or 15 percent.

CNN Evening Shows Hosted Zero Women's Health Experts; Fox News Hosted Experts Only Five Times. Of the 38 appearances of women's health experts featured in evening cable news segments that focused on women's reproductive health, 33 of them were on MSNBC. Fox News hosted a women's health expert five times, and CNN hosted none. Other guests included politicians, journalists and pundits, and individuals who did not fit into those categories.

For more information on cable news' coverage of reproductive health, click here and here.

Methodology

Media Matters conducted a Nexis search of transcripts of evening (defined as 5 p.m. through 11 p.m.) programs on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC from June 24 (the day before Wendy Davis' filibuster) through December 1.  We identified and reviewed all segments that included any of the following keywords: abort! or contracept! or reproduct! or birth or plan b or fetal or fetus or women's health or pill. The Nexis operator "!" functions by searching all permutations of suffixes for the root word (Example: "abort!" would effectively search transcripts for mentions of "aborts," "aborted," "aborting," "abortion," "abortions," etc.).

The following programs were included in the data: CrossFire, The Situation Room, Erin Burnett OutFront, Anderson Cooper 360, Piers Morgan Live, The Five, Special Report with Bret Baier, The Kelly File, The O'Reilly Factor, Hannity, On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, Hardball with Chris Matthews, The Ed Show, Politics Nation with Al Sharpton, All In with Chris Hayes, The Rachel Maddow Show, and The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell. For shows that air re-runs (such as Anderson Cooper 360 and Hardball with Chris Matthews), only the first airing was included in data retrieval.

Media Matters only included segments that had substantial discussion of reproductive health. We did not include teasers or clips of news events, or re-broadcasts of programs that were already counted on their initial broadcast in the 5p.m.-11p.m.window.

We defined women's health experts as individuals whose primary occupation at the time of their appearance was physician or who were employed by organizations which focus on women's reproductive health care; individuals who hold medical degrees but were primarily occupied as politicians, pundits, government officials, or other private sector employees at the time of their appearance were not counted as experts for the purposes of this study. We included individuals who are both pro- and anti-choice, despite the fact that many of the anti-choice guests frequently push misinformation about reproductive health care.

Women's health experts included were: Alexis McGill Johnson (Planned Parenthood), Cecile Richards (Planned Parenthood), Terry O'Neill (National Organization for Women), Nicole Safar (Planned Parenthood), Teri Hurck (Planned Parenthood), Janet Colm (Planned Parenthood), Jordan Goldberg (Center for Reproductive Rights), Ilyse Hogue (NARAL), Amy Hagstrom Miller (Whole Women's Health), Tammi Kromenaker (Red River Women's Clinic), Melaney Linton (Planned Parenthood), Nancy Northup (Center for Reproductive Rights), Ben Carson (Neurosurgeon), Lila Rose (Live Action), Kristan Hawkins (Students for Life), Susan Muskett (National Right to Life Committee), and Marjorie Dannenfelser (Susan B Anthony List).

Media Matters' Senior Economic Researcher Albert Kleine contributed research to this report.

The hits just keep on coming--we're simulcasting One Piece, then Toriko, and now another JUMP favorite joins the library with Rurouni Kenshin, just announced earlier today! Here's the official synopsis:

 

 

Welcome to the Meiji Era. Japan is a land experiencing times of troubled peace and renewal after a long and bloody civil war. Swords and killing are outlawed, but all is not as well as it would seem. Lurking in the shadows are many survivors of the revolution awaiting their chance for vengeance. Only the former government assassin, Kenshin Himura can keep the peace. Kenshin gives up the life of "Battousai The Manslayer" and sets off as a lone wanderer. His travels lead to the Kamiya Dojo where he discovers the chance to start life over.

Rurouni Kenshin is available in the following territories: North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Africa. The series will be available in both subtitled and dubbed formats (specifically the all-star BangZoom dub that appears on the Media Blasters DVDs!), with all 94 dubbed episodes available right now for Premium Members, and the first four subtitled episodes ready to go for Premium Members. Free members will be able to check the series out in January, and the rest of the subtitled episodes will be added at a later date.

So, yeah... who here's excited? I sure as hell am--I've already explained in great detail how much I love Rurouni Kenshin in the very first Natestalgia! Who here's excited for this longtime favorite being added to CR's library? I even love the dub, with Richard George hamming it up as Kenshin's master, and Steve Blum playing insanely evil as Shishio--sound off in the comments with your favorite Rurouni Kenshin memories!

A self-described libertarian radio host on Monday defended Fox News host Megyn Kelly's assertion that Santa Claus was white, saying he was going to "scream and complain because Martin Luther King is always portrayed as black."

read more

Art by Riyoko Ikeda

There's an awesomely manly project. A series of videos of the hero of fight anime/manga Grappler Baki and his nemesis/father Yujiro Hanma being reproducted in full, life-size have fought their way to near the top of Nico's "Make_it" video tag.

 

Prototype

 

Mold

 

 

The Baki anime was released in North America by FUNimation and some of the manga was released by the defunct Raijin.

 

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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

We were sent another batch of questions from the Anime82 Podcast, so we figured we'd post our responses here across 3 installments. Here are Questions 1-6. Perhaps we should have sent our responses to Anime82 first before posting this ourselves, since our not having sent this audio is probably preventing them from posting in the first place? Details, details. Visit www.animeworldorder.com for full show notes and supplemental links.

A new academic review from the Consortium for Risk-Based Firearm Policy contradicts Fox News' conflation of violence and mental health, finding that the two are only related under narrow circumstances and that the vast majority of people with mental health conditions are not violent. The report calls for developing better "evidence-based criteria" for determining who is more likely to commit acts of violence and prohibiting them from owning guns.

The December 11 report is the work of mental health and gun violence researchers from top universities and research programs including the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research. The report emphasizes a commitment to create evidence-based gun violence prevention policy recommendations that are informed by "the best available research" on gun violence and mental health.

While noting that it is important not to stigmatize those with mental health conditions, the Consortium's report recommends expanding the federal prohibition on gun ownership by individuals adjudicated as having a serious mental health condition to also include persons receiving involuntary outpatient treatment when a court has ruled the person is a danger to themselves or others.

The Consortium's approach, where the recommendation is based on academic research, stands in sharp contrast to Fox News' reporting. Indeed, Fox News' coverage of the relationship between gun violence and mental health has often failed to provide a nuanced picture of what is a complex issue, with the network unfairly stereotyping individuals with mental health conditions as prone to violence and using mental health to distract from the most significant factor in much of gun violence: access to firearms.

As browser game Attack on Titan: Wings of Counterattack Online gears up to launch its open beta this week, a set of Levi and Mikasa in game uniforms has been released.

 

 

 

 

Wings of the Counterattack Online focuses on character customization and cooperation with friends revolving three character types, slow front line Armor, 3D maneuver gear specialist Maneuver and scouting Range.

 

In addition to fighting various Titans with friends, players will be able to sport original costumes and equipment, and there's also a crafting system for weapon enhancement.

Wings of Counterattack Online comes from Strategy & Partners, who previously worked on titles like Fate/Zero: Next Encounter and Black Rock Shooter Arcana. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

via Natalie

 

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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

News that Fox News reportedly paid a former PR executive at the company "approximately $8 million in hush money" after firing him this summer raises questions about why Fox News chairman Roger Ailes apparently feels the need to approve seven and eight-figure payoffs to keep former employees quiet.

After Brian Lewis was escorted out of the Fox News building in July, and Fox made public allegations against him, Lewis' attorney warned that "any confidentiality obligation" he had with the company no longer applied. "Lewis knows many of Ailes' secrets," noted New York magazine. But the $8 million "hush money" settlement seems to guarantee that Lewis won't discuss his time at Fox.

Lewis however, isn't the only senior Fox News employee who's reportedly been paid handsomely to keep quiet about his or her time working under Ailes.

Lewis' settlement recalls the $10.75 million payoff Judith Regan secured after the former host was fired by Fox News. Like Lewis, who at the time of his firing this summer was publicly accused of "financial irregularities," Regan was also the target of a Fox smear campaign, accused of making anti-Semitic comments. But like longtime Fox News veteran Lewis, Regan appeared to cash in by threatening to release damaging information about Ailes and turned her firing into a big payday.  

Specifically, Regan claimed to have a tape recording of Ailes instructing her to lie to federal investigators in order to protect Ailes' longtime friend and political ally, Rudy Giuliani.  The tape reportedly may have played a role in the settlement Regan secured in her wrongful termination suit against Fox News. (Company officials did not deny Ailes was heard on the tape.)

Question: What other news organization spends nearly $20 million in order to keep two fired employees from talking publicly about their time of employment?

From New York [emphasis added]  

Back in 2007, Judith Regan alleged in a lawsuit against News Corp. that a senior executive there urged her to lie to federal investigators about her affair with Bernard Kerik. Kerik had been nominated for the position of Homeland Security Chief under Bush, but was then dismissed after his personal foibles came to light. The executive hoped to keep Regan quiet because Kerik's mentor Rudy Giuliani was running for the Republican nomination, and further embarrassment might injure the campaign. It was a double-punch scandal: News Corp. was revealed simultaneously to have pressured an employee to lie to the government and also to have thrown its weight around on behalf of a presidential candidate. But at the time, the executive in question remained nameless. Now, he's been identified in court documents that have surfaced due to a filing error in a related case. It was Fox News mastermind Roger Ailes.

If Regan received more than $10 million in part because she had a taped recording of Ailes urging her to lie to investigators, what information does Brian Lewis have that warranted an $8 million payoff?

You may have seen our online review of the new Captain Harlock CG-animated feature film, but you'll want to crack open the latest issue of Otaku USA magazine for a proper look into the past. Resident space pirate Daryl Surat takes a long, stoic look at what makes Captain Harlock a man not to be messed with, from his iconic ship Arcadia to his tendency to ram it into enemies with reckless abandon. There's much more to the man than that, however, and we're lucky to live in a world where we can actually pi...

Forget what cable networks might tell you. It takes a real Hero of Cosplay to emulate the heroines of Kill La Kill, and we're starting to see some pros take up the dare.

 

After that amazing Elite Four shoot, get a look at some more incredible results...

 

via CC-SQUAREブログ

 

A Shooting Star cosplay book will be sold at Comiket 85

 

via Ryōka Yuzuki

 

via @saki_BiS

 

 

via Inushio-Cosplayer

 

 

via

 

 

キルラキルの纏流子ちゃんのコスをしている方がいらっしゃいました！ 一緒に写真撮っていただきました。 ありがとうございました！ #kill_la_kill pic.twitter.com/dlndocPKA3

— 藍井エイル(あおいえいる) (@eir_ruru) November 9, 2013

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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

Hold onto your entrails, because Fist of the North Star (1986) is the Greatest Movie EVER!

Click on the DVD cover or the title above to download our review of the film,

featuring Daryl Surat of AnimeWorldOrder and M.O.M., the Mistress of Malapropisms.

Review in a Nutshell: A compilation film encapsulating a huge chunk of a television series that ran for over 150 episodes, Fist of the North Star is a movie that doesn’t bother to apologize or explain. It’s an acquired taste, and at best an unlikely starting point for budding anime fans.

We completely forgot to mention:

This ship.

The Mud Golem scene.

Jeff Tatarek’s Horse.

Every now and then we like to extend a special offer to you fine folks who join us online. That includes those who read the website, follow us on Twitter and Facebook , and subscribe to the newsletter. In other words… YOU! This year our special one-time offer nets you an Otaku USA subscription for just $12! That's one year of the print edition of  Otaku USA magazine; six issues delivered right to your door before they're available on newsstands, all for the price of two regular issues! Head to our ...

Along with shirts from the usual character goods makers, Kill La Kill is now the subject of a design from Hardcore Chocolate, makers of t-shirts inspired by punk, movies and pro-wrestling.

 

The stylized collaboration t-shirt goes for 3,900yen

 

They previously did a Panty and Stocking shirt

Hardcore Chocolate is also added new shirt based on seminal manga auhtor, and key Kill La Kill inspiration Go Nagi

 

and they've introduced Barefoot Gen designs

 

Some of their new movie designs include

 

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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

 

I love social media.  I’m mean, let’s face it: I’m a social networking whore.  Practically anything that shows up with even the slightest bit of home of being a viable social network tool gets me as a user with the name “TomCroom”.

facebook.com/TomCroom

twitter.com/TomCroom

flicker.com/TomCroom

etc.

Being a film nerd and collector of “cool stuff” – I fell in love with GetGlue pretty quickly.  It was a clever social network concept: reward users for using their network to keep them active.  In the case of GetGlue it was these awesome little round stickers.

Yesterday, though, I got this email:

Their “clever” replacement to the sticker program?  ANIMATED GIFS!

How cool is THAT???  I can totally put those bad boys on my Geocities or Myspace page and be the envy of all my friends who check out my website from their dial-up Internet connection.  WELCOME BACK TO 1998!!! </sarcasm>

The website’s name is Get Glue.  GLUE.  As in stickers.  No stickers = no glue.  (Unless they plan to start an incentive program with Elmer’s, but who knows?)  Stickers are a physical manifestation of something fun and creative people come up with creative things to do with their favorite stickers.  I’ve seen some amazing things in the Artist Alley section of a number of fan conventions and many of my friends have done some creative things with theirs.  It’s hard to not walk in geek circles and see someone with a laptop or tablet COVERED in GetGlue stickers.

Here’s how we’ve been using our stickers in the Croom house:

Alas, no more glue… and no more interest in staying involved.

Good-bye Get Glue.  Let me know if you ever get the actual glue back – and then I’ll stick around again.

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart opened his show this Tuesday evening by letting Fox "news" have it for their annual ritual known as the "war on Christmas." Stewart started out mocking them for their over the top fearmongering over a swimming class for Muslim girls, then Sarah Palin's miserable failure of a Christmas book she's trying to peddle this year.

And of course, last but not least, Bill-O and his rantings about how the retail stores are somehow participating in this phony "war" of his as well. As Stewart reminded them at the end of the segment, if Palin and O'Reilly really believe that commercialization of the holiday is what's "spreading Christmas cheer," they may have a new nemesis who is waging the "war on Christmas" as well -- Pope Francis.

Stephen Colbert had a bit of fun during his "Thought for Food" segment this Tuesday evening with Fox's Tucker Carlson, after he and his fellow wingnut, Rand Paul both took up for the restaurant industry after the FDA announced plans to phase out the use of trans fats.

Yoshiyuki "Kill 'Em All" Tomino is at it again. The Gundam creator, known for his brutal treatment of anime characters and brutally honest opinions on the industry, addressed Attack on Titan in his online conversation/column. 

 

While the elder statesman praised the way Attack on Titan creator Hajime Isayama drew from his experiences as a bullied child to create the oppressive titan onslaught, the crude style of illustration didn't do much for him. The depictions of violence did even less.

 

Tomino explained that he felt that Titan's violence and grotesque depictions are on the same level as pornography, making it difficult for him to read the manga or discuss the work.

 

via RocketNews24

 

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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

If I had the power to control the anime industry, everything would look like this:

 

by あーく

 

But because people have common sense and anime producers actually want to make money, they don't, and character designs are a lot cuter and rounder and softer. That's where Pixiv artist Yuusuke Matsuda comes in, remaking classic, hard-edged characters from comics and movies into something a little more visually palatable to the anime fan who prefers slice-of-life comedies based on light novels. I HATE YOU ALL FOR THIS

 

THE XENOMORPH, otherwise known as the titular Alien

 

 

And the H.R. Giger-designed original monstrosity:

 

 

THE TERMINATOR, living tissue over a metal endoskeleton, probably still with an Austrian accent

 

 

And the O.G.:

 

 

THE PREDATOR, badass alien hunter also known as a yautja

 

 

And the original:

 

 

PINHEAD, leader of the horrifying extradimensional torture-fetishist Cenobites

 

 

The very unsettling original Cenobites:

 

 

ROBOCOP, the future of law enforcement. Also, gritty remakes of already-gritty movies

 

 

And the version I grew up with:

 

 

HELLBOY, Mike Mignola's sarcastic, pancake-loving demon-hunting demon

 

 

And Mignola's original design:

 

 

You can insert my "why would you do that to Hellboy" raving here, but Matsuda is an excellent artist, so be sure to check out his full gallery of work! What do you think about these makeovers? Are you a fan of them, or do you prefer the originals?

The Mysterious Cities of Gold, a Studio Pierrot and Dic coproduction that ran in Japan in 1982, aired in the US in the 1980s and was revived in Europe with a sequel from France's Blue Spirit. After Esteban and company's 26 episode travels to China and Tibet concluded this month, talk began on third animated series.

The new 26 episode run is unlikely to start before 2015.

via AnimeLand

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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

Section 23 has another impressively diverse slate of anime scheduled for March release with plans that include Gainax and Hideaki Anno's Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, the final movie in the Mardock Scramble sci-fi trilogy, Shaft and Madoka director Akiyuki Shinbo's second Maria Holic comedy, as well as newer anime like the second half of The Pet Girl of Sakurasou. 

 

Title:                 MYSELF; YOURSELF COMPLETE COLLECTION

Published by:    Maiden Japan

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         325 min.

Street Date:      3/4/2014

Format:             DVD

Language:         Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $49.98

 

SYNOPSIS:  Before his family left the town of Sakuranomori, Sana Hidaka said farewell to his five best friends, thinking that he would never see them again.  Five years later, however, he finds himself returning to Sakuranomori to finish high school while living alone in an apartment owned by his parents.  Can the threads of friendship severed by time be mended?  Will his friends even recognize him?  Or have the changes in their lives as they've grown from children to teenagers made them into different people, pushing them even further apart?  For Sana and his best bud Syusuke, it will be strange enough.  But with Nanaka, Aoi and Syusuke's twin Syuri all being girls, things are going to get even more complex.  That's to say nothing of the sometimes shocking secrets that his four friends know through having lived them, and that Sana will only discover in crossing the minefield of lost years.  What once was can never be exactly as it was in treasured memories, but what could be may become even more precious as life moves inexorably forward.  The past becomes the future as the flames of friendship rekindle in MYSELF; YOURSELF.

 

 

Title:                 NADIA, SECRET OF BLUE WATER COMPLETE COLLECTION

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         975 min.

Street Date:      3/4/2014

Format:             DVD

Language:         English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $79.98

 

SYNOPSIS:  The World's Fair, Paris, 1889: a young inventor crosses paths with an enigmatic girl and her pet lion.  Suddenly they find themselves pursued by villainous trio intent upon stealing the magical Blue Water.  Thus begins an epic adventure inspired by Jules Verne's masterpiece 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  Join Nadia and Jean as they travel the high seas in search of Nadia's homeland and her past, their only clue the mysterious jewel Nadia wears.  Can they unravel the Secret of the Blue Water before it is too late?  Discover Nadia, Secret of Blue Water, the animated series beloved by millions, and find out for yourself!

 

 

Title:                 NADIA, SECRET OF BLUE WATER COMPLETE COLLECTION BLU-RAY

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         975 min.

Street Date:      3/4/2014

Format:             BD

Language:         English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $99.98

 

 

 

Title:                 THE PET GIRL OF SAKURASOU 2

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         300 min.

Street Date:      3/11/2014

Format:             DVD

Language:         Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $49.98

 

SYNOPSIS: The care and feeding of a pet girl is something only those with the most dogged determination should attempt, but Sorata Kanda never really had a choice in the matter.  Tasked with keeping the acclaimed but highly dysfunctional and unfocused artist Mashiro Shiina from forgetting to eat, brush her hair or wear clothes, it's been a long, slow battle to get to the point where he's reached a general understanding of her extreme quirks.  Which doesn't mean that Mashiro doesn't still walk out of the dorm half-naked. It's just that Sorata now understands that it's going to happen.  Unfortunately, the whys, wherefores and how-to's of comprehending the opposite sex aren't going so well on other fronts.  Misaki's attempts to escalate her campaign to win Jin's affections takes a disastrous turn, and Nanami's going to have to learn to come to terms with her feelings for Sorata while adjusting to the third wheel that is Mashiro.  And then there's still Sorata's "problem" of picking up cats that he's not supposed to keep.  Attentions stray, passions play and sanity frays as the housebreaking continues in the second insane volume of The Pet Girl of Sakurasou!

 

 

Title:                 THE PET GIRL OF SAKURASOU 2 BLU-RAY

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         300 min.

Street Date:      3/11/2014

Format:             BD

Language:         Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $59.98

 

 

Title:                 TO LOVE RU SEASON 1 BLU-RAY

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         650 min.

Street Date:      3/18/2014

Format:             BD

Language:         Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $89.98

 

SYNOPSIS: They say that the bathroom is the most dangerous room in the house, but when a beautiful, naked alien princess teleports into Rito Yuki's bathtub, it's a definite case of rub-a-dub-DOOM!  Having no idea that the planet Develuke even exists, Rito is completely unaware that touching a girl's breasts there is how they propose marriage.  Consequently, due to some slippery tile and some extra-prominent female appendages, Rito's suddenly on his way to being a member of the royal family.  Unfortunately, as hot as Lala is, this is one royal family no one wants to become a part of given that her father, King Develuke, bears a suspicious resemblance to the devil!  And then there's the little issue of the very nice human girl that Rito's already interested in, who's probably not going to be too understanding of his sudden involvement in intergalactic affairs.  Will Rito become the next king of the galaxy?  Will he learn the secret of the Big Bang?  Find out in To Love Ru

 

 

Title:                 UPOTTE! COMPLETE COLLETION

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         250 min.

Street Date:      3/18/2014

Format:             DVD

Language:         English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $59.98

 

SYNOPSIS: Kiss kiss, bang bang!  The arms race takes on a startling new development when the arms come with heads, legs and very feminine bodies attached!  Yes, at Seishou Academy every girl is literally a lethal weapon, and they're all gunning for the top shot at getting their own personal serviceman!  Needless to say, it's going to be difficult for newly recruited human instructor Genkoku to adjust to working with a living arsenal of high caliber cuties with tricky names like FNC (Funko,) M 16A4 (Ichiroku,)  L85A1 (Eru,) and SG 550 (Shigu,).  Especially since many have hair triggers and there's no bulletproof vest that can stop a really determined co-ed!  He'll have to rewrite the operator's manual on student/teacher relationships, and pray that his job description won't include having to field strip and reassemble one of his cadets in the dark.  But unfortunately (for him,) FNC's already thinking about becoming HIS personal weapon, and she usually gets what she aims for!  Get ready for explosive situations, amour piercing rounds, cheap shots galore and one VERY shell-shocked homeroom instructor in UPOTTE!

 

 

Title:                 UPOTTE! COMPLETE COLLECTION BLU-RAY

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         250 min.

Street Date:      3/18/2014

Format:             BD

Language:         English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $69.98

 

 

 

Title:                 GIRLS, GANGSTERS & ZOMBIES

Published by:    Switchblade Pictures

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         77 min.

Street Date:      3/25/2014

Format:             DVD

Language:         Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $19.98

 

SYNOPSIS: Being a gangster is a dangerous profession, and even when you've escaped the scene of your crime, you need a place to hide out.  Someplace out in the middle of nowhere where you can hide with your loot without worrying about running into another living soul.  Unfortunately, living souls aren't the problem gorgeous mob girl Maki runs into when she and her boyfriend Akio double cross his bosses.  Oh, their triple crossing partners don't make things easy, but the Maki's real dilemma begins when their hideout turns out to be infested with the walking undead!  And while cops and other gangsters die when you shoot them, zombies just look at handguns and laugh.  Well, they would laugh if they had any vocal chords left in their rotted throats and any brains in their heads.  But while they can't fix the vocal chords, they certainly know where brains (and other yummy body parts) are on the menu!  A getaway for the weekend becomes a flesh feast of bloody horror and the dish of the day is gangsters on the run with a side of mob moll ala mode in GIRLS, GANGSTERS AND ZOMBIES!

Title:                 MARDOCK SCRAMBLE THIRD EXHAUST

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         69 min.

Street Date:      3/25/2014

Format:             DVD

Language:         English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $29.98

 

SYNOPSIS: Rune Balot’s struggle to bring the man who killed her to justice continues amid the world of high-stakes gambling and glamour at the Eggnog Blue Casino.  The odds are stacked heavily in the house’s favor and even with the aid of Dr. Easter and Oeufcoque, a universal item capable of turning into anything and everything, Rune’s chances of winning are slim.  But winning the golden chips containing Shell Septinos’ memories is only the next step on a long and treacherous road.  She’ll still have to live long enough to bring those memories before the court, and even that isn’t the end of the journey.  Rune’s search for answers to the questions that haunt comes to a shattering climax in the exhaustive third volume of Mardock Scramble!

 

 

Title:                 MARDOCK SCRAMBLE THIRD EXHAUST

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         69 min.

Street Date:      3/25/2014

Format:             BD

Language:         English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $39.98

 

 

Title:                 MARIA HOLIC ALIVE! COMPLETE COLLECTION

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         300 min.

Street Date:      3/25/2014

Format:             DVD

Language:         English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $59.98

 

SYNOPSIS: Some things never change: Ame no Kisaki, that famous and exclusive boarding school, STILL doesn't accept boys, and Kanako, Kisaki's most romantically unfortunate student, STILL doesn't accept them either.  (They give her the hives.  Literally.)  Sadly, that means that Kanako's STILL trying to connect with ANYONE of the same sex, and having the usual horrid luck.  She's STILL in imminent peril of dying from the constant nosebleeds she gets from being over stimulated by the presence of her fellow classmates.  And she's STILL forced to endure the tragedy of sharing a room with the school's most beautiful girl who is, of course, STILL a guy in drag.  Poor Kanako!  She came hoping to find love and happiness, and all she's found is misery, frustration and a level of desperation so great that she'll even take a chance on a sleepover in a dorm filled with deathtraps.  But what YOU'LL find is non-stop hilarity as the girl least likely to succeed refuses to give up, even if it kills her (and it probably will).  Kanako's quest for love continues in MARIA HOLIC ALIVE! With an all new English dub featuring Jessica Calvello (Saori, Girls und Panzer) & Monica Rial (Nagase, Kokoro Connect)

 

 

Title:                 MARIA HOLIC ALIVE! COMPLETE COLLECTION BLU-RAY

Published by:    Sentai Filmworks

Distributed by:  Section23 Films

Run Time:         300 min.

Street Date:      3/25/2014

Format:             BD

Language:         English & Japanese with English Subtitles

SRP:                $69.98

 

  ------
Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

Like most Americans I'm fascinated and horrified by the Kennedy assassination. You learn about it in school, you maybe go to Dallas and peer through the window in the Book Depository and are creeped out. If you're of a certain age you watched Oliver Stone's movie, you read a couple of books, maybe had lunch with a guy who served with Oswald in the Marines, and you started to question not only the Warren Commission but darn near everything official. And that's a good thing, to examine what you're told and where the evidence comes from, to have some skepticism and some doubt. I spent a lot of time in the conspiracy world in the late 80s - early 90s -reading zines, small press books, and mass market paperbacks, watching amateur videos, and immersing myself in the counterculture conspiracy culture. It led to the Phenomicon convention of 1990-91, a gathering of like-minded nerds interested in THE TRUTH behind UFOs, the Kennedy assassination, the Men In Black, the Illuminati, and the Christian Crusade To Stamp Out Science Fiction (the truth of only one of these topics was conclusively determined).

What I learned from my experience in that culture is that many of these people are really annoying. "Truth" takes a back burner to selling whatever amazing story can be sold to true believers through magazines, TV, books, or lectures; evidence presented by doctors, scientists, and universities is rejected in favor of hearsay, wishful thinking, "what if", and outright lies. The same old tired frauds are dragged out over and over again, no matter how many times they're debunked, because there is no money in boring old facts. Nobody feels like a special seeker when everybody can look things up in the library or verify things for themselves.

It's now fifty years since JFK was shot in Dallas, and it turns out the three tramps were just three tramps, that the magic bullet wasn't quite so magic after all, that Oswald was a desperate, troubled man eager for attention and notoriety. That sometimes a nut with a rifle in the wrong place at the wrong time can change the course of history. It doesn't fit in with any grand scheme or pattern, and humans are pattern-seeking animals, so there's always going to be a tendency to try and find connections. Sometimes they aren't there, no matter how many times the book says "Could it be that...?" or "Perhaps..."

The danger in the conspiracy mindset is being forever stuck in the research stage, never having the balls to say, well, we've been looking for flying saucers for 70 years and nobody's found one yet, maybe it's time to move on. They would have caught a Bigfoot or a Nessie by now, let's find something more productive to do. Maybe Oswald really did shoot JFK, time to use my research skills on something else. It's tough to cut your losses, to walk away from the dry hole, to tell the wide-eyed believers that there's no there there; but unless you want to spend all your time in the world of what ifs and could it bes and just supposes, you gotta do it.

This leads to paralysis in just about everything else, too; convinced the world is a giant interlocking criminal conspiracy, that the TRUTH will never be found out because everybody's in on the scam, that nothing can ever be taken at face value, why not spend all your time questioning everything? It absolves you of any responsibility for your own life. Your problems are always the fault of the Illuminati or the MIB or the FDA or the CIA or pick any Evil Conspiracy you like.

And that's where the real fun comes in, because the deeper you dig into conspiracy culture, the more you find the chewy chunk of racism and anti-semitism at its core. Ernst Zundel selling Nazi UFO books along with his actual Nazi propaganda, David Icke and his "lizard people", right on through the John Birch Society and the conspiratorial mindset behind the extremes on both the right and the left. All looking for the puppet masters behind the scenes, the "other" they can hang all the world's problems on, and then hang.

And that, my friends, is stuff I want nothing to do with. We walked away from the "big Sub-Genius" devival in 1991 to see Man Or Astroman? play in the hall, and I haven't looked back. Turns out MOAM? delivers.