Based on the manga series by Jinsei Kataoka, Deadman Wonderland  is a science-fiction/horror drama with a particularly interesting premise. Taking content from the first 21 chapters of the manga, it ran for 12 episode (with one side OVA) between April and July 2011. Ganta Igarashi is the sole survivor of a mass murder by the "red man", who burst into his school one day and violently murdered all of his classmates. Instead of killing Ganta, the red man thrusts a red crystal into his chest, knocking him unconscious in the process. When he awakens in hospital, Ganta finds he is the sole suspect of the murder. Set up by his own defence lawyer, he is sentenced to death and incarcerated at Deadman Wonderland, a massive prison set up like a theme park. Ganta Igarashi is blamed for a crime he didn't commit Inmates of Deadman Wonderland are fitted with a special collar, which monitors their life signs and kills them in three days unless they eat a special piece of cand...

Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan is somewhat of an oddity among the Super Sentai franchise's extensive history. Not only is it the only show to have an all-male three piece cast (with no additions) but also the only one to be a direct sequel to its predecessor, Denzi Sentai Denjiman . While it isn't the only Super Sentai to have had a cast member change mid-series (it isn't even the first in that respect), it is the only one to have changed over its red ranger. It's also the first show to have used an animal motif in the costumes and have combining mecha. That's a lot of milestones for just one series. Sun Vulcan is the fifth Super Sentai series, running for 50 episodes (plus a movie) between 1981 and 1982. When the machine empire Black Magma threatens the world, the United Nations create establish the Taiyo Sentai (or Solar Squadron if you'd prefer) to defend the world against them. Commander Arashiyama assembles three GWP (Guardians of World Peace) specialists...

The second of my Spring anime viewings is a show that I probably wouldn't have had any interest in had I not seen the animation studio name attached to it. Medaka Box is a 12-episode series based on the manga of the same name written by Nisio Isin (the Monogatari series), and animated by none other than Gainax ( Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gurren Lagann ). Before we begin, have some Medaka fanservice. In her first year at Hakoniwa Academy, Medaka Kurokami is elected Student Council President after winning a staggering 98% of the vote. Her first initiative is create a suggestion box, in which her fellow students can make suggestions/requests that the council will attempt to fix 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. With her childhood friend Zenkichi Hitoyoshi behind her, Medaka is determined to fix any problem - including finding lost dogs, cleaning up club rooms and "rehabilitating" students. As the series progresses, she also takes judo club prince Kouki Akune and sw...

First off, anyone reading this blog that hasn't seen Garo really needs to take the time to watch it. Seriously, you won't regret it - it's one of the best tokusatsu series around and definitely worth the time. Now that's been said, after watching Garo myself I've been pining for a poseable version of the titular character for quite some time. While Bandai's Makai Kadou line offers a far wider range of characters, experience with the S.H. Figuarts line swayed me to that version of the character (plus it'll be perfectly in scale with my Sentai and Riders). Figuarts has only released three characters from Garo - the other two being Zero and Taiga (who is almost identical to Garo save different coloured eyes and an extra weapon), both of which were Tamashii web exclusives. Luckily for me, Garo and Zero were really the only two characters I was ever interested in buying. The golden Garo armour is something with quite a lot of detail to it, and than...

While many anime series that seemingly take their influence from a vivid acid trip, those that actually rank highly in terms of quality are less easy to come by. But every so often one comes along and pushes the boundaries of quality, even if it may divide fan opinion in the process. From co-writer/director Kunihiko Ikuhara (creator of Revolutionary Girl Utena and director for many episodes of the Sailor Moon anime series) and animation studio Brain's Base ( Durarara!! , Baccano! ), Mawaru-Penguindrum is a surreal psychological journey that is just as dramatic and it is comedic. Originally released between July and December 2011, the series ran for a total of 24 episodes.  Brothers Shouma and Kanba Takakura live alone with their younger sister Himari in a small multi-coloured house. Their parents have been missing for years and Himari is terminally ill, yet the three live a happy life. But a trip to the aquarium leads to disaster one day when Himari collapses, a...

The first of my 2012 Spring anime season reviews is the second season of 2011's Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? (Is this a Zombie?), now with an added "Of the Dead" tagline. The series ran for a total of ten episodes (two less than the previous season) between April and June, with an one prequel OVA and another due in the near future. Ayumu Aikawa has settled into his turned-upside-down life as a zombie, sharing a home with genius magiclad girl Haruna, necromancer Eucliwood and vampire ninja Seraphim. However his life still has its stresses, and Ayumu takes solace one day in confiding in a drunken girl he finds snooping through his school's nurse office one day. When a Megalo attacks the school, Ayumu is forced to reprise his role as a cross-dressing magiclad girl, but when his magical chainsaw weapon (and source of his power) Mystelltain breaks in the fight, Ayumu's identity is revealed to his horrified and disgusted classmates - and with Mystelltain broken, Ayumu i...

Rounding off the main three mecha of Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters are GT-02 Gorilla and RH-03 Rabbit, belonging to Blue Buster and Yellow Buster respectively. Much like Go-Buster Ace, these Buster vehicles can transform between an animal and vehicle mode, but lack the robot mode that Ace has. Together the three vehicles can form the titantic Go-BusterOh, formed to battle against Gamma-type enemy megazords. The two candy-toy representations of these mecha were released in April in a case along with a re-release of Ace (who came out individually a month earlier). GT-02 is comprised of two boxes, while RH-03 is a single box. GT-02 Gorilla As is the standard with the Super Sentai mini-pla releases, the instructions on how to build the model are printed on the inside of the box in a easy to follow step by step pictorial. The first box is made up of the head and torso/back piece, while the second is the legs and arms. The toy is cast in mostly blue and grey plastic, with the...