Anime Review – ARIA The Origination Season 3 + OVA Collection

ARIA The Origination Season 3 + OVA Collection (Cert PG) 4 Discs Blu-ray (Distributor: MVM) Running time: 353 minutes approx. Release Date: March 6th    For what might be the final time, we set sail for the watery streets of Neo-Venezia on the terraformed planet of Aqua (formally Mars) to drop in on the apprentice …

VOD Anime Review – Lupin III vs. Cat’s Eye

Lupin III vs. Cat's Eye (Rupan sansei vs Kyattsu ai) Japan (2023) Dirs. Hiroyuki Seshita, Kôbun Shizuno & Keisuke Ide Here’s a rare two-for-the-price-of-one anime film in which two different properties are brought together for a singular adventure. This isn’t like The Avengers or Justice League where the individual characters are part of the one …

Anime Review – Liz And The Blue Bird

Liz And The Blue Bird (Cert U) 1 Disc Blu-ray (Distributor: AnimeLtd.) Running time: 90 minutes approx. Release Date: January 30th    Jason Donovan famously sang there were “too many broken hearts in the world”, so leave it to anime to add to the misery by sharing a tale that features two relationships going south …

Anime Review – ARIA The Natural – Season 2 Part 2

ARIA The Natural - Season 2 Part 2 (Eps 14-26) (Cert 12) 3 Discs Blu-ray (Distributor: MVM) Running time: 318 minutes approx. Release Date: February 6th    Concluding this second season of the gentle slice-of-life series set on a terraformed - or rather waterlogged -  Mars now known as Aqua, we have 13 more episodes …

Anime Review – Violet Evergarden: The Movie

Violet Evergarden: The Movie Japan (2020) Dir. Taichi Ishidate One of the more interesting anime series of recent years comes to an end in this epic - by which I mean bum-numbing - film, in the first theatrical outing for Kyoto Animation following the tragic fire at their studios in 2019. Unlike most linear franchise …

Anime Review – Witchblade Collector’s Edition

Witchblade Collector's Edition (Cert 15) 3 Discs Blu-ray (Distributor: MVM) Running time: 568 minutes approx. Release Date: January 23rd    Continuing the raiding of the vaults to give older titles a new lease of life via a fresh HD upgrade, MVM have chosen this lesser known title which is actually based on the premise of …

Anime Review – ARIA: The Natural – Season 2 Part 1

ARIA: The Natural - Season 2 Part 1 (Eps 1-13) (Cert 12) 3 Discs Blu-ray (Distributor: MVM) Running time: 318 minutes approx. Release Date: January 9th    Fancy a trip back to Mars and the waterlogged city of Neo-Venezia to rejoin the Undine water-guides and their daily lives? Well tough, because we‘re going anyway as …

Anime Review – Fruits Basket: Prelude

Fruits Basket: Prelude Japan (2022) Dir. Yoshihide Ibata One of the most beloved manga series, Natsuki Takaya’s Fruits Basket revolves around schoolgirl Tohru Honda and the men of the cursed Soma family, who turn into animals from the Chinese zodiac when touched by members of the opposite gender. It has been adapted into an anime …

MIB’s Top Ten Anime of 2022 (UK)

It’s been another topsy-turvy year for anime in the UK as we come out of the post-pandemic era with more big changes occurring within the distribution sector. First, you may recall that in 2019 Funimation bought out Manga Entertainment, ending Manga’s 30 year run as the UK’s top anime distributor. In 2022, streaming giant Crunchyroll …

MIB’s Top Ten Anime of 2022 (Japan)

They say there are only two things in life that are certain - death and taxes. They clearly overlooked anime because that is something which shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. 2022 was another year in which our Japanese friends scoured manga, light novels, computer games, or put their own pens to …