Normally I don’t care about or understand the Pokemon craze. But this bit of news does give me the opportunity to mention I was almost trampled a couple of years ago at Nintendo’s E3 Pokemon exhibit. They were giving away some Pikachu key chains and the crowd went NUTS. Anyhoo,  the folks at Viz Media have a a new Pokemon movie coming out - In Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai. 

In Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai, young hero Ash may think he’s seen everything when it comes to Pokémon, but is he ready to face the mysterious Darkrai in his latest awesome adventure? While touring Alamos Town - home of the Space-Time Tower - with the beautiful Alice, Ash and his friends discover that the town’s special garden has been decimated! Baron Alberto, a dashing but arrogant fellow, immediately blames the destruction on Darkrai. As if it just overheard the accusation, Darkrai appears and confronts our heroes! Who is Darkrai? Is it a friend… or an enemy in disguise? And as a battle between Legendary Pokémon Dialga and Palkia rages directly above Alamos Town, and threatens to tear a hole in the space-time continuum, will Ash and his friends survive this showdown and learn Darkrai’s true nature?

Let’s be clear on this – I have never seen any of the Speed Racer anime´ nor have I seen any of the manga, and am barely aware of vintage merchandizing. Now that we have that out of the way, I have to say that, as a Speed Racer virgin, the brightly-colored film by the Wachowski Brothers is a lot of fun.

Emile Hirsch rocks as the title character, a boy in the process of becoming a man – and a believer in fair play when it appears that there hasn’t been any in professional racer since, well, ever. His rock solid family [John Goodman as Pops Racer, Susan Sarandon as Mom Racer and Paulie Litt as younger brother Spritel], pet chimp, Chim Chim and girlfriend Trixie [a very anime´ looking Christina Ricci] give him the courage to turn down an offer to sign with the top team – at which point he learns of the real nature of his beloved sport. From there it’s only a matter of winning a couple of races [against an entire field of cheaters] and bringing down the Royalton Racing Team [the team he turned down]. Nothing to it – not!

While there’s not a lot of plot to Speed Racer, there’s almost always lots going on as Speed - with the help of the mysterious Racer X [sure it’s not hard to make the connection between him and Speed’s older brother, who is supposed to have died, but it’s a convention – just like nobody recognizing Superman behind Clark Kent’s specs. Deal with it and move on!]. The races are beautifully staged exercises in gladiatorial driving; the fight sequences really capturing the odd, freeze-frame style of anime´ and manga; the cast is clearly having more fun than should be legal, and the whole thing just feels good. The only real flaw in the film is that it’s just a wee bit too talky – but that hardly matters.

For a movie with a candy-colored world [the bright, shiny color of fresh hard candy – not the pastels of rock candy], the emphasis is on the kind of grounding that a good family provides and the kind of justice that is most deserved – the justice of the untouchable evil being brought down by one man with a mission. This may be my first encounter with Speed Racer but it won’t be my last.

Final Grade: A

Pucca is an animated series about a girl with super strength who loves a ninja with super speed. Sounds pretty basic, doesn’t it? But add a group of renegade ninjas who will stop nothing to destroy Pucca’s One True Love and you get an action-packed, beautifully designed series. These two DVDs are great fun for all ages.

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I fancy myself an avid reader, but I’m hardly “literate.” I generally read magazines and text books but rarely do I sit down and attempt to read something like Shakespeare for fun.  I need it dumbed down and get rid of all thos, thous, etc. Speak English man! Maybe CliffNotes new series of Manga inspired Shakes is what I need. From what I’ve seen the art looks beautiful. I’m in the process of setting up an interview with the author of the books and will be reading them in the next few days. In the meantime check out the press release. I’m actually looking forward to getting these in my grubby little hands. Throwing on a Beret, sip some Expresso and read these. I’ll be part of the literati in no time.

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John Woo’s (Mission: Impossible II, Face/Off) first Anime production, Appleseed: Ex Machina, directed by Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed, Bubblegum Crisis) on DVD and Blu-Ray Disc. Based on the popular science fiction manga from renowned creator Shirow Masamune (Ghost in the Shell), Appleseed: Ex Machina follows partners and lovers, Deunan and Briareos.

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Tonight the Independent Film Channel premieres the anime´ series Speed Grapher [11 p.m. EST] – a series that features an ex-war photographer who stumbles onto the story of the century – a kind of Hellfire Club for the rich and powerful of Japan.

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Anime classic "Akira" is getting the live-action treatment courtesy of Leonardo DiCaprio and Warner Bros. Ruairi Robinson has been hired to direct what would ideally be a two-part epic. Gary Whitta is writing the adaptation.  "Akira" originated in 1988 as a manga and then as an animated film. The story was set in a neon-lit futuristic post-nuclear war "New Tokyo" in 2019 where a teen biker gang member is subjected to a government experiment which unleashes his latent powers.

Bang Zoom! Entertainment, a leading full-service audio post production company and producer of original entertainment content, has announced the exciting finale of the first season of AnimeTV™ with the availability of Episode 12, which will stream for free with never-before-seen content beginning February 8 at http://goanimetv.com/. A special review segment from the episode is now streaming on IGN’s dedicated anime website at http://anime.ign.

The new episode has been eagerly awaited and features an array of compelling segments sure to delight fans. Of special note is a rare sit-down interview with the three lead Japanese voice actresses from the critically acclaimed anime series The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Aya Hirano, who plays the lead of Haruhi, is joined by Yuko Goto and Minori Chihara (who play Mikuru Asahina and Yuki Nagato respectively) for an insightful chat in their hotel room during the 2007 Anime Expo. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya follows a high-school freshman as she forms a quirky middle school club called the SOS Brigade which sole purpose is to find and have fun with aliens, time travelers and espers, resulting in all manner of hilarious escapades. The series, which is distributed by Bandai Entertainment, has become very popular in North America. 

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Cementing its stronghold as the leading video-on-demand (VOD) offering in North America, Anime Network has signed a carriage agreement with Charter Communications. Beginning January 3, Charter Communications launched Anime Network as a subscription-based video-on-demand (SVOD) service. "Anime Network is thrilled to include Charter Communications in our ever-growing list of SVOD affiliates,” said Kevin McFeeley, the company’s Vice President, Affiliate Sales & New Media, in making today’s announcement. "We are now available in over 35 million VOD-enabled households, and the popularity of our independent, niche content has translated into a sustainable on-demand business." Cathy Fogler, Vice President and General Manager of Video for Charter said: “We’re pleased to offer Anime Network to our customers. Charter strives to provide value by offering a wide variety of programming and SVOD is an excellent way for us to provide niche content like Anime Network.” Anime Network has over 95% penetration into all VOD-enabled households in North America.

BLEACH follows Ichigo Kurosaki, an ordinary 15-year-old boy who also happens to be able to see ghosts. His fate takes an extraordinary turn when he meets Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper who shows up at Ichigo’s house on the trail of a Hollow, a malevolent lost soul. Drawn to Ichigo’s high level of spirit energy, the Hollow attacks him and his family, and as a last resort, Rukia decides to transfer part of her Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo. As a result of Rukia’s actions, she is sent back to the Soul Society, where she is condemned to die. In Season 2, a stronger and more powerful Ichigo demonstrates a new resolve to save Rukia from certain death. This culminates in an explosive confrontation with Byakuya Kuchiki, Rukia’s by-the-book brother and his most intense opponent yet! Soon, Ichigo’s journey takes him back to the World of the Living where he must deal with a new assortment of supernatural enemies as well as the rigors of high-school life.

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