Tag Archives: Amazon

What You Should Know About Iron Man

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With the first episode of Madhouse’s Iron Man on the horizon, some of you might be wondering, “What’s the big deal?” And I understand. Comics–with their high issue counts, many crossovers, and daunting pool of titles–can be tough to get into. I was once like you until I took the plunge. But now I’ve been buying comics every week for two years, and have acquired much knowledge of their characters. I pass this on to you, dear reader, so you may understand my excitement. Because, to be frank, Tony Stark is awesome.

Consider this a newbie’s guide to the life of Iron Man: everything you need to know (and more) before you watch Madhouse’s anime adaptation.

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Haruhi’s Blu-ray Appearance Doesn’t Come Cheap

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As reported by Sankaku Complex [NSFW], pre-orders for the October 22 release of the complete Haruhi TV series on Blu-ray have recently gone up on Amazon Japan. With all twenty-eight episodes of Haruhi in high-definition, extra content and English subtitles, it may seem like this is the release fans are waiting for.

But then there’s the price: 30,000 yen (or $338 USD). For eight Blu-ray discs.

The Project Haruhi staff has talked about Japan’s absurd pricing structure multiple times, but it bears repeating. What the heck are they thinking? Here’s a short list of other stuff you could buy from Amazon Japan for that amount of money:

Okay, you probably get my point.

What makes this frustrating is the actual release is great. It’s something I might like to own, and I’m not even that big of a Haruhi fan. The price, however, kills it for me. The even crazier thing is that, compared to the price of the DVD release of Endless Eight, this Blu-ray release is actually a bargain. Collecting the single-volume release of Endless Eight on DVD would cost the equivalent of $288 USD.

So, now the question is: how many people will actually buy the Blu-ray series? And if it sells poorly, will Kadokawa interpret this as disinterest in the Haruhi franchise instead of a rebellion against outlandish pricing?

Gundam Rock Released

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It is the year 0079 of the Universal Century… and Andrew is ready to ROCK!

The original Japanese version of this song, called Soldiers of Sorrow, was first featured as the ending of the second Mobile Suit Gundam compilation movie, and has since become symbolic of the entire franchise. Rock musician Andrew W.K.’s English language cover of it, along with several other iconic Gundam songs, appear on his new album, Gundam Rock. This album, which becomes available on Amazon today, is part of Bandai’s 30th Gundam anniversary marketing blitz, which thus far has included a 60-foot (18.5 meter) tall Gundam replica statue (complete with themed weddings), a new television series, and an epic animated short, among other things.

Gundam Rock follows in the footsteps of Andrew’s 2008 album, The Japan Covers, in which he covered a variety of Japanese pop songs. Although reviews for his latest venture into Jpop are still forthcoming, the clips that have surfaced on YouTube indicate that this will be an album well worth owning for Gundam fans.

A Japanese TV news report about the album, as well as Andrew’s cover of “Fly! Gundam” can be found below.

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