Anime

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai (PS2) Review

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So kicking off the gaming side of the DBZ movie/game marathon-thingy is the game that feels like it kicked off Dragon Ball games, as it was the first released here in the west that was any good (for context: you can find my reviews of “Ultimate Battle 22” and “Final Bout” by clicking on them here…) Admittedly as with most things that are the start of a series with multiple sequels this game is quite lacking in polish and modes it still created a solid framework to build on, and has a few unique gameplay ideas that I hadn’t experienced before or really since beyond its sequels. Sadly it looks like crap (even at the time I thought it looked off) but hey-ho. Let’s take a look!

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Dragon Ball Z – Dead Zone Review

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Time to kick off the “reviewing films/specials alongside a game after reviewing a chunk of the Z series” thing with the first movie… of fifteen, by my count (even if that last two are more well known as DB Super story arcs at this point…) which sounds crazy until you remember the first thirteen run under an hour and were just shown at summer festivals in Japan, rather than an actual big cinematic thing. Still though, they often offer fun mini-stories with good animation and some fun villains, so I’ve enjoyed them as the side-dish that they are. “Return my Gohan!”, or “Dead Zone” as it’s known in English speaking markets, is a fun one to start with as the characters are set at a pre-Z but post-Original DB state, making this rather unique. Let’s take a look!

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Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie – Infinity Castle Anime UK News Review

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Another one of those rare “cinema screener” reviews from myself (plus a review from a co-writer who actually went to a physical screening!) this time for the latest, insanely high-Japanese-box-office offering from the Demon Slayer franchise. It can be viewed by clicking HERE.

Basically, it’s more of the same, which given its the (first third of the) final arc makes sense!

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes – Season 1 Review

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While everyone is gearing up for the big final season of My Hero Academia in the autumn Toei decided to drop a new series in the meantime with Vigilantes, which was a spin-off prequel manga than ran alongside the main manga for a lot of its run so it’s not something they pulled out of nowhere, more odd that they chose now to start adapting it right before the main show ends. I wasn’t sure what to make of it at first, the humour was spot on as were some of the comic book caricatures / parodies, but a lot of its run time was very “of the week” which did affect the pace somewhat. Let’s take a closer look!

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Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuuuX Review

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While I do plan on covering a Gundam series next in the older anime reviews bit (once I’m done with the first batch of DBZ Movies anyway) a new Gundam show has aired, so let’s quickly dip into that before anything else (Also: why has Seed Freedom still not arrived on UK shores?! I really am going to have to pirate / VPN it at this rate…) “GQuuuuuuX”, pronounced “Gee Qwucks”, is a Gundam show created by the Evangelion team that’s set in an alternate Universal Century Timeline where Zeon won the war, but about halfway through the series it takes an even weirder turn continuity-wise…

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Riding Bean Anime UK News Review

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Believe it or not, we actually got some review discs sent to us at Anime UK News, so I’ve dusted off the old AUKN template to tell you my review of the 80s OVA “Riding Bean” can be viewed by clicked HERE.

It’s a fun homage to cheesy 80s action films… well, given it was made in 89 I guess it was trying to cash-in on the current trend of cheesy action films… Either way, it’s good fun!

Dragon Ball Z – Saiyan Arc (Episodes 30 – 38) Review

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It’s time to wrap up the first story arc in the Z portion of Dragon Ball, although unlike the other story arcs in the series this ends by going straight into the next one, with several plot-threads not resolved until that arc’s ending. Still, the fight between Goku and Vegeta is iconic within anime circles in general let alone Dragon Ball, so let’s have a good look why!

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Dragon Ball Z – Saiyan Arc (Episodes 21 – 29) Review

David HoganLeave a comment

After a long stay in filler land we return to the actual manga source material for more Dragon Ball Z Saiyan Arc… for the most part. This is DBZ after all, there are still some filler added, but at least we get a majority manga stuff section this time. The Saiyans Nappa and Vegeta arrive on Earth and waste no time tracking down the heroes of Earth, but what’s this? The side characters get the spotlight because Goku can’t make it to the battle? Shocker! Let’s take a look…

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