Discotek Media has announced the titles they will be releasing on DVD and Blu-ray this September and October. The announcement includes two new licenses: Gokudo and Koi Koi Seven.
The first announcement is the release of the seasons 1 and 2 collection of Sonic X on DVD on September 27. This release will include the first 52 episodes of the English adaptation. Season 3 will be released later in collection 2.
The North American Street Fighter II animated TV series will also be available on DVD on September 27, as will the Tekkaman Blade II Blu-ray release and the just-announced DVD release of the complete series of Gokudo. The other just-announced title for DVD release, Koi Koi Seven, will also be available in September.
The releases scheduled for October include the complete TV series and movie collection of the Hana Yori Dango anime on DVD and the Street Fighter II animated movie on Blu-ray.
Discotek Media also plans to announce new licenses at their panel at Otakon this August. They will also provide an update on titles that are yet to be released, including the Rayearth Blu-ray release and the release of the second Lupin the Third series.
While the Shinsengumi members initially want to kill Chizuru for what she witnessed, they are quick to let her join the group after learning that she is searching for her missing father who the Shinsengumi also happen to be searching for. After being informed that Chizuru will need to remain disguised as a male and will be given no preferential treatment as a member of the Shinsengumi, she is almost immediately given special treatment and becomes a trusted member of the group.
Things have been reworked in a manner to try and smooth the pacing out but anyone familiar with the Hakuoki series will immediately recognize that Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom – Wild Dance of Kyoto is basically a retelling of the first season of the anime with extra bits of fluff cut away in order to advance the story as much as possible in this first hour and a half long movie. This means that a lot of the events that take place over the course of the film and the various revelations about the world and Chizuru’s history are quickly tossed at the viewer with very little introduction.
Though thanks to the fact that this is only the first of two movies, viewers will need to be prepared for a cliffhanger of an ending that leaves not only the fate of Chizuru but many others hanging by a thread as well as a number of other story elements that are left at face value only to hopefully be explored in the second film. This means that while those who are familiar with the series may be able to keep track of everything and already know what to expect and can enjoy this film for what it is, a new tale of a familiar story, newcomers will be caught off guard and left wondering what will happen next thanks to confusing pacing.
The animation quality is also fairly impressive throughout the film and although the fight sequences are usually finished quickly they are smoothly handled and the level of detail on the character designs manages to hold up through even the faster scenes.
The soundtrack for the film is a bit standard for an otome film which is rather disappointing for the most part as the only time the movie dips into period style music comes during the aforementioned fight sequences.
The thirteenth episode picks up shortly after the death of Kana and how her death is affecting, or shall we say not affecting, Shinichi in any normal manner as he continues to struggle with losing elements of his human nature. This changes quickly however as Shinichi learns that someone has begun investigating him at the behest of Reiko and rather than simply try and continue hide the fact that he is indeed infected with the parasite Migi, he begins to work with the investigator to try and uncover more about the activities of the rest of the parasites in the city.
Previously the actions of the other parasites in the area were kept largely unknown but this second half of the season provides quite a bit of insight into Reiko Tamura. While Reiko may have been a character that was initially portrayed as a cunning enemy, this intelligence begins to evolve throughout these episodes as we see Reiko slowly begin to feel things that no parasite has seemingly ever felt before. Watching Reiko bond, in her own rather cold looking way, with her child and then eventually make the ultimate sacrifice in an effort to keep the child safe makes for one of the most striking moments in the series thanks to well-handled writing and the immediate impact upon the rest of the story.
As the series moves towards its final arc humanity has begun to move forward with a plan to root out an infestation of parasites that was revealed through Reiko’s last words. While proven to be extremely effective for the most part, the actions taken by the police during this section begin to mirror just how callous humanity can be when it is their lives being threatened, going so far as to even kill other humans as long as it means they can stay safe. This nature borders that of the parasite’s desire to survive and their cold calculating methods and this point is driven even harder once Shinichi and Migi are forced to face off against nearly impossible odds in order to survive.
The gruesome nature of the series does simmer down a little bit as well as very few feedings are openly presented like they were originally so this means that while there is still plenty of blood, don’t expect to see too much real horror this time around.
The soundtrack for the series is fairly standard this time around as most of the background music takes on a bit of a simpler vibe during battle sequences though the tracks chosen still work rather well. It is worth noting that the opening and ending themes for this half of the series remain unchanged and while the opening still works well, the ending theme isn’t used nearly as effectively as it was during the first twelve episodes.
