Tag: NIS America
Natsume’s Book of Friends: Season 3
Natsume is without a doubt the single most genuinely wholesome and altogether feel-good series I’ve ever encountered, truly as inviting and comforting a program as you could realistically hope for. And this despite focusing largely on one Japanese high schooler’s daily interactions with yokai (spirits, or monsters, of Japanese folklore). As related in my previous [...]
Umineko: When They Cry
This 26-episode anime from Studio Deen, the same company that brought you Fruits Basketand Junjo Romantica, is now available in two, Premium Edition Blu-ray sets from NIS America. Adapted from a popular series of Japanese “visual novels” (which, for transparency’s sake, I have not played/read), Umineko: When They Cry (2009) begins with the murder of virtually [...]
Ghastly Prince Enma Burning Up
Ghastly Prince Enma Burning Up is an anime unto itself. It is funny, quirky, and full of ’70′s pop culture. The animation style harkens back to the anime’s of the ’70′s and in this aspect is quite beautiful. The story telling is strange and full of off the wall characters, although you will find later [...]
Natsume’s Book of Friends
Seasons one and two of the Brain’s Base studio anime, Natsume’s Book of Friends, are currently available in a stunning, 4-DVD Premium Edition from NIS America– a must-own for most any anime fan. Adapted from the manga by Yuki Midorikawa, the series tells the story of Takashi Natsume, who has the ability to see yokai [...]
Bunny Drop: The Complete Series
The 2011 anime Bunny Drop is easily my second favorite series released by anime distributor NIS America, after Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day. Maybe I’m totally calling myself out as a softy by admitting as much, but so be it. This touching slice-of-life story about a 30-year-old bachelor who decides, against his extended [...]
Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
I’ve encountered very few works in my life, whether in film, television, literature, or any other medium for that matter, that so capably capture genuine human emotionality as 2011′s Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai). Not only will this 11-episode anime about childhood [...]
Zakuro
Zakuro is a romantic character driven fighter that no one should miss. From the very first sequence, Zakuro immediately grabs your attention. Whilst the fighting aspect may be what draws you in, it is not what keeps you coming back for more. The characters and their stories are what hooks you in the end. Zakuro [...]
Occult Academy
Occult Academy aired on Japan’s TV Tokyo in 2010 and the complete series is now available in a 2-disc Premium Edition Blu-ray collection from NIS America. The narrative of this 13-episode original anime from A-1 Pictures and Aniplex follows the occult-obsessed students and faculty of the Waldstein Academy, referred to by area locals as the [...]
Katanagatari: Volume 2
Read the review of Katanagatari: Volume 1 here. Katanagatari: Volume 2 opens with the seventh of this anime series’ twelve episodes. In it, government stratagemist Togame and her human katana Shichika face off against Shichika’s sister for the seventh of twelve powerful katana that, in the wrong hands, threaten the power of the Shogunate. These [...]
Katanagatari: Volume 1
Katanagatari, adapted from the light novels by Nisio Isin, is the story of Togame and her “swordless swordsmen” Shichika. Together they travel across Japan in search of the Mastercraft Klesha Brigners, 12 powerful katana that, in the wrong hands, threaten the power of the Shogunate. The series is divided into twelve, 50-minute episodes, or Quests, [...]
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