More new anime has arrived (I mentioned it earlier but now it’s in the catalogue). We have the final disc of the Mushi-Shi series, which is a slow series but well worth watching in its entirety; volumes 1 to 7 of Fullmetal Alchemist; volumes 1 to 3 of Ranma 1/2; and the final three discs in the infinitely awesome Samurai Champloo series, which is now all in the YA area.
Here’s a complete list of anime based on a manga series held by the library. Here’s a list of anime movies, and here is a list of anime television series.
X-Men Origins : Wolverine is now in the library and ready to be reserved. If you want to watch it! You probably have seen it. It doesn’t have Taylor Lautner in it, so I might give it a miss.
Here’s X-Men Origins : Wolverine in only 30 seconds, to save time.
Are you familiar with the Scene-it? series of DVD games? They’re a series of movie quiz games you can play on your DVD player – sort of like Buzz, but don’t require a console. Anyway, the exciting news is that a Twilight one is coming very soon and is even coming to the Nintendo Wii in some sort of super deluxe package. Team Edward can face off against Team Jacob in trivia showdowns very soon then.
As the decade draws to a close more and more websites will start posting top 100 lists looking back on the 2000s, or the noughties, or whatever it was we decided to call it. Other websites will do the opposite and post bottom 100 lists, like Rotten Tomatoes has with this, its worst movies of the decade list. Simon and I noticed we had a fair few of these in the catalogue, so if you’d like to watch something terrible for laughs …
82. Supercross: The Movie
81. Extreme Ops
60. The Perfect Man
46. Material Girls
38. Happily N’Ever After
26. Kickin’ It Old Skool
21. Epic Movie
And worst of them all…. 1. Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever
Enjoy, I suppose.
Have you seen this video? Go on, give it a watch.
If that made you smile, and really how could it not, we have the full story of Christian the Lion on DVD. It’s called A Lion Called Christian and it tells the true story of two men who bought a lion in a London department store, it’s release into the wild and their subsequent reunions. All very sweet and tearjerking.
And if you want some more things to watch we have these two; 17 Again starring the dreamy Zac Efron and Primeval series two which has giant Mastodons in it.
Well, as long as five new DVDs is considered mad it’s madness. All kinds of bases are covered by this selection, and here they are…
Best of Dangerous Encounters with Brady Barr follows a reptile expert as he does all sorts of silly things in the name of science. My favourite bit is when he wears a 200 pound kevlar suit covered in hippo dung to extract sweat from a hippo.
The Most Extreme is a series that follows all sorts of extreme behaviour in the animal kingdom. Fighters, Stinkers, Gluttons and many more are looked at in these fantastically shot episodes originally made for Animal Planet.
Sticking with the extreme, Gravity Games H2O is a four disc box set filled with wakeboarding, tow-in surfing, motorcross, kite surfing and other assorted watery hijinks. Except for the motorcross, I can’t explain it’s inclusion unless they somehow ride on water. Now that’d be extreme.
Ultimate Factories is a National Geographic series that goes to, well, ultimate factories. In this one they go see how Ferraris and M1 Tanks are produced. So if you’ve ever wondered how they put them together, now you can find out.
Naked Science: Surviving nature’s fury is a three disc set in the excellent National Geographic Naked Science series. These episodes look at asteroids, the Bermuda Triangle, alien contact and other popular and controversial scientific topics.
Yes! More new anime, and it’s on the catalogue so you can reserve it now. We have the first fourteen DVDs of Bleach : Agent of the Soul Reaper, which is pretty exciting (it’s very good) (website) and My-HiME : My Otome, which can be read about on Wikipedia (or through the official website in Japanese). Both series should be available from next week.
Some of the others we will be getting are mentioned in this previous post.
(All of the Samura Champloo series will soon become available through the library, although probably as an adult DVD only.)
We (the library) have purchased some new anime series. But they’re not quite ready for the catalogue yet! They are in the building though. (DVDs and CDs aren’t entered into the library catalogue until they’re ready to be issued. Books are catalogued as soon as they’re ordered.) They shouldn’t be too far off, and then you can reserve them.
These are the anime we’re getting (links lead to the v. handy Anime News Network):
Ranma 1/2 - all seven series.
Fullmetal Alchemist
Bleach - (intended for the adult DVD collection, but we hope to wrangle some YA copies.)
Good news.
Did you know Maurice Gee’s Under The Mountain is now a soon to be released movie? I didn’t until I found the trailer, but it looks like it could be quite good. Check out the book and 1982 TV series at the library before you head off to the theatre.
We have a new anime series available in the YA area. (Quite timely, as we’ve just separated the anime out from the other animated DVDs.) Mushi-Shi is about Mushi, supernatural creatures that aren’t noticed by most people, and Ginko, a Mushi master, who is researching them and helping out people who suffer from a case of Mushi infestation. The series has won loads of awards. There are five DVDs containing the first 20 episodes; the last disc isn’t quite here yet.
Here’s the official website, here’s one in English, and here’s a link to the library catalogue so you can check availability and reserve them.
Tomorrow (the 11th of July, from 1pm at the Town Hall) is the Japanese Festival (as mentioned here) and, with that in mind, here’s our Top Ten Japanese-related material (mostly) in the YA area. In no particular order.
1. Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children (ファイナルファンタジーVII アドベントチルドレン) – This is based on the highly-regarded console game, and although it might be a little incomprehensible if you’re not familiar with Final Fantasy it’s still a spectacular CGI film. (Website.)
2. Kino No Tabi (or Kino’s Journey : The Beautiful World, キノの旅), by Keiichi Shigusawa – This is the first in a series of novels about Kino, who travels through many unique lands with her talking motorcycle. That might sound a little twee, but the story looks at some pretty profound themes. We’ve only the first book, for now (sadly).
3. Anything by Studio Ghibli Inc. (株式会社スタジオジブリ) – The films produced by Studio Ghibli are some of the best out there. Most people have seen Spirited Away (the first anime to win an Academy Award), but Princess Mononoke and Howl’s Moving Castle are definitely worth the 50c rental fee. And Ponyo (trailer) is at this year’s Wellington Film Festival (on the 17th and 19th of July).
4. Tekkon Kinkreet (鉄コン筋クリート) – Another anime that I highly recommend; it’s stylistic and lush to look at (the backgrounds are works of art). The story – about two orphans who take on the yakuza – is multi-layered and moving. (Trailer.)
5. Usagi Yojimbo : Volumes 1- (兎用心棒), by Stan Sakai - This epic comic series is about Usagi, a samurai who happens to be a rabbit (everyone is some sort of animal). He’s modelled on the real-life samurai/swordsman/writer/philosopher, Miyamoto Musashi, whose life truly was epic. The 23rd volume is due out later this month.
6. Number9Dream, by David Mitchell – Grimm recommended this book, about 19-year-old Japanese student, Eiji, who has come to Tokyo to search for his father. There’s an excerpt to read here. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2001.
7. Naruto : Volumes 1- (ナルト) – Naruto Uzumaki is a young ninja-in-training. He also has the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox within him, which means that if he can control it he can be a pretty powerful ninja. There are at least 45 in the series (held at the library, anyway) so there’s a lot to keep you going. Failing that, there is …
8. all the other manga we have. Which is loads.
9. Aranzi Aronzo’s books, Cute Stuff and The Cute Book. Aranzi Aronzo is a Japanese company that specialise in ‘cute, strange, cool, silly, a little bit horrible, stupid and comfortable’ design, and these two books show you how to make some very, very cute (kawaii, or Japanese cute) felt toys. Cute! They have a website.
10. Sushi for Dummies, by Judi Strata – Knowing how to make sushi (寿司) is one of those skills that everyone should know, as it’s a) delicious and b) healthy as anything, and c) pretty easy to make. This book isn’t in the YA area but we must include it in this list anyway.
Grimm embedded the trailer to the Avatar film (The Last Airbender) last week, and as I liked it I decided to get out the award-winning and highly-rated Avatar : The Legend of Aang DVDs to watch a couple of episodes. I ended up watching sixteen episodes over two days – it’s that good. So very, very good. If you like Studio Ghibli films you will like Avatar (obviously inspired by Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and so on). There are three series in total, but only the first series is available on DVD; the final two have only been released in the US, unfortunately, so it will be a while before we can watch them.
In the meantime you can visit the official website, which has games, clips, weekly comics, and so forth. The UK site has some similar content, but some of it is different. There’s an Avatar wiki. There is a browser-based MMO called Avatar : Legends of the Arena that is free-to-play.
The film, The Last Airbender, has a fansite (the official site is here).
A new series of Futurama has been ordered. Hooray! It was cancelled in 2003 – a sad year for animated sit-coms – but the newest series should come out in the middle of next year.
In the meantime you can go to the official Futurama website or watch the older episodes by borrowing them from the library. Reserve them through our library catalogue here. We’ve loads of DVDs.
Right now I am looking at a pile of new DVDs. After I am finished looking at them they will be in amongst the YA collection ready for you to look at them.
Learn To Play The Brazilian Way is a soccer skills DVD. It shows you how to do all sorts of fancy tricks like The Ronaldinho and The Rivaldo. I made my indoor soccer team watch it before our final… we lost, but we looked good doing it.
Warbirds Over Wanaka collects together highlights of three of the internationally acclaimed airshows. The 1998, 2000 and 2002 shows are boxed together for maximum airplane trickery watchery.
The Longshots stars Ice Cube as a down on his luck former football star who coaches a kids American Football team and when his 11 year old niece tries out for quarterback heart-warming hilarity ensues.
Kickin’ It Old School is a dance movie with a twist; our hero has been in a coma since 1986 and must breakdance his way out of financial strife and win back his old girlfriend.
Maddigan’s Quest is a locally produced TV series written by Margaret Mahy. There is a post-apocalyptic setting, magical powers, time travel, and, umm, circus performers. All 13 episodes are included.
The Jules Verne classic Journey To The Centre Of The Earth has been given a filmic update starring Brendan Fraser. A T-Rex pops up at some stage and you can watch it in 3D if you have the correct eyewear.
If there’s something I always enjoy it’s a coming of age movie. Newcastle is such a film, set in the coastal Australian town, it’s full of surfing, love and tragedy.
The YA DVD collection will soon be somewhat expanded by the addition of almost all (maybe all; I’m too lazy to confirm) the James Bond films. They’re not quite in yet but you can reserve them – YA DVDs are 50c on a YA card, and reserves for ya’ll are free.
Here they are in our catalogue. If you’ve never seen any of the classic Bond films you really should, as they’re great fun.
The latest additions to the YA DVD collection;
Mirror Mirror (PG) – There are 20 episodes in this double-disc DVD about two girls, separated by 100 years, who can travel through identical mirrors to the other’s time.
Doctor Who – The Next Doctor (PG) – This is the 2008 Xmas special. Cybermen stalk through Victorian London and the Doctor encounters another Doctor.
Archies (G) – A collection of the first series of the Archie animated show. It’s from 1976!
The Clique (PG) – A group of rich girls + one new not-so-trendy girl = this Tyra Banks produced series.
Scary Movie 3.5 (M) This is the ‘longer, funnier’ version of Scary Movie 3.
ReBoot : Daemon Rising & My Two Bobs (PG) – ReBoot was the first full-length CGI television show and ran from 1994 to 2001.
Only three new DVDs this week, but they will be popular.
High School Musical 3 : Senior Year (G) – this is the ‘extended edition’, which means that it has bloopers, deleted scenes, extra scenes, a sing-along, and much more. It had a higher budget than the previous HSM films, so has more oomph as well.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (M) – This is actually based on the fourth book in the series, although it does use bits from the second and third books as well. Stars Ugly Betty, a Gilmore Girl, a Gossip Girl, and Joan, from Arcadia.
Ben 10 Alien Force : Vol 2 (PG) – episodes six to nine of the pretty cool animated series.
The library now has Twilight on DVD. If the book’s popularity is anything to go by, the reservation queue for the DVD will quickly become huge. Here are some links to the catalogue entries; the YA copy is 50c for a YA cardholder, but the adult copy is the full $4 charge. There will also be ‘Select‘ copies, which cost $4, are issued for 3 days, but are available directly from the shelf (when not taken) as they can’t be reserved.
Twilight DVD – YA Copies
Twilight DVD – Adult Copies
We will be getting more copies soon. The film is rated M for supernatural themes and violence. The official trailer is after the Read more …
There are so many new DVDs! So many. Some new CDs, but Jack can make a playlist when he stops touring the country and comes back to work.
The Rocker (M) – This has that guy from The Office playing an aging rocker, who gets another chance to be the rockstar he always wanted to be. A comedy! Quite funny.
Oliver Twist (M) – This is an adaption of Dickens’ classic story by the BBC. ‘Gritty and good’, says Grimm, who especially liked Tom Hardy’s Bill Sykes (I dunno if anyone can beat Oliver Reed’s Bill Sykes, however).
Alice (PG) – An adaption of Alice in Wonderland by famous Czech animator, Jan Svankmajer.
The Hills (M) – This is the complete third season of this polarising sort-of-reality show.
Planet B-Boy (M) – A “dazzling documentary [that] makes a compelling argument for breakdancing as an art form”; official website.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (PG) – Anime about a girl who can leap back in time from 2006.
The World According to Miley Cyrus (PG) – An “unauthorised” documentary about the teen actress/singer.
Skyland (PG) -A French CGI series set in a future where the Earth has split into millions of inhabitable floating pieces. This collects 13 episodes of the first series.
Avatar: Book 1 Water, Volume 3 (PG)
Avatar: Book 1 Water, Volume 4 (PG)
Avatar: Book 1 Water, Volume 5 (PG) – Each DVD contains four episodes of the Nickelodeon animated series.
Futurama : Into the Wild Green Yonder (PG) – The latest Futurama film. Instead of a regular television series, Futurama films are being produced.
Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot (M) – Directed by Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, this documentary is about the top high school basketball players in the US competing against one another.
The Ruby in the Smoke (M)
The Shadow in the North (M) – Both are BBC adaptions of the books by Philip Pullman about intrepid Victorian heroine Sally Lockhart, who can ride a horse, shoot a gun, solve crimes and uncover mysteries with the best of them.
And two audio books that I expect will be very popular:
Eclipse (13 CDs) and New Moon (12 CDs), by Stephenie Meyer – both are read by Ilyana Kadushin (whose name is spectacular, we reckon). Reserve ‘em quick, as there aren’t too many holds on them … at the moment.
There aren’t too many new books this week. So sorry!
The Anachist’s Angel, by Gareth Thompson (232 pages) – Samson, scarred by a farm accident and teased by everyone he knows, takes to hiding in an ancient charcoal-burning hut in the woods. He meets and befriends a beautiful gyspy girl who sees past his appearance.
First sentence: ‘I came round to the noise of a grim reaping machine.‘
Evermore, by Alyson Noel (306 pages) – Sixteen-year-old Ever Bloom (that’s her name) is in a car accident that takes the lives of her family. Afterwards she is able to see people’s auras, read their minds and know their life story. Sounds quite useful, but for her it’s a nightmare. She meets another, similarly gifted teen, Damen, who is able to help silence the noise in her head, and she falls in love with him. But who is he really?
First sentences: ‘”Guess who?” Haven’s warm, clammy palms press hard against my cheeks as the tarnished edge of her silver skill ring leaves a smudge on my skin.‘
Bones of Faerie, by Janni Lee Simner (247 pages) – Liza’s mother disappears, and Liza travels through to Faerie – which was once at war with humanity, a war that has left both sides devasted. Liza herself begins to exhibit abilities and powers that only a faerie should have, and her quest may be the key to healing both worlds.
First sentences: ‘I had a sister once. She was a beautiful baby, eyes silver as moonlight off the river at night.‘
Tribal Ash : Chronicles of Stone book 3, by Vincent Ford (239 pages) – Having survived the warring tribe of the North, Trei makes his way back home, leaving his twin sister Souk with the Northmen. After struggling through snowy mountains, he is taken in and looked after for a time by the sea people, before he heads off again on his journey to find his own tribe, the People of the Canyons.
The first book in this series, Scorched Bone, is one of the NZ Post Book Award finalists in the teen category.
First sentence: ‘The Mountain Tribesmen travelled silently, the dark stain of their tattoos blending into the growing night.‘
Oh look, two new DVDs!
Junkers Come Here (PG) – This is an anime about a young girl, Hiromi, whose schnauzer (that’s a breed of dog) named Junkers who can speak, and whose friendship with Hiromi will help her through her parents’ divorce.
Wild Child (M) – Sixteen-year-old poppy is a rich and spoilt American girl, whose father sends her off to an English boarding school to sort her out. She tries to get herself expelled, and in the process learns some responsibility (and meets Alex Pettyfew’s character). Stars the late Natasha Richardson.
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