For in-stock notices, Record of Lodoss War showed up at DVD Express again. They've also got copies of Tekken in as well. Strange Love, which we mentioned was delayed earlier, also finally got a new delay date (09/09/9999!). That's definitely in the TBA category!

While no specific dates have been announced, I've been told that the Ranma 1/2 OVA's are indeed on the 1999 calendar. That ought to perk up a few people. The TV series is not scheduled. Yet.

NEWS: 01/28/99

First up today, Steve Brandon has provided us with his first alternate angle review, a very detailed one in fact. Check out his take on the first Tenchi in Tokyo DVD.

I see a bunch of familiar names over at the YUA TV SERIES PETITION PAGE, but not nearly enough yet! Make sure to hit it and show your support for one of the better TV series to be out in recent years.

From what I've heard and seen reported in the forum, there's some strange delay with a lot, if not all, the online retailers for the Tekken disc. This disc will definitely be available for ordering starting at most places on Friday, with a Tuesday release date. And from what I read on the forum, it looks like DVD Express has a bunch of preorders for it (which encourages them to get more copies and get more involved).

Speaking of DVD Express, it looks like they got another 100 copies of Tenchi in Tokyo #1 today. Things should be looking a bit rosier for Pioneer I hope! And you should also be seeing my first freelance article for their companion site, DVD.com sometime in the near future.

Laserviews also updated last night, providing some interesting information. Image looks to be shipping the MD Geist disc out on the 9th. That leaves Project A-Ko and Voltage Fight Gowcaizer left from their original batch from last May or so.

And following what I thought would happen, DVD Inc. announced about 50 new discs, including the three anime titles (Cyber City Oedo, Odin and Tokyo Babylon) all with street dates of next Tuesday. Some days, I just feel like a prophet! ;)

NEWS: 01/27/99

Short term note: DVD Express currently has 55 copies of Tenchi in Tokyo in stock. I know some people out there have had no luck finding it yet.

As some of you will notice as you browse through the site, Divi-Chan has graduated to an upperclassman now, hence the shiny new outfit (though it does cover those great legs...). On some pages, you'll note that she's a bit, well, crushed. It's the weight of the buttons on top of her! I'm doing my best to find and correct those. If you see any, email me with the page. Thanks!

One thing I'm hearing from a couple anime companies is that they're really not hearing much about how we don't like their subtitles all that much. Heck, I've even been lax about it in my reviews. It does fall under that "you can complain only so much" motto. But, let's see if we can be constructive with it. You'll note under the companies page that there's an email address where you can send comments. The important thing is to be constructive and not rude. Before sending off an email, I heartily encourage you to read and use the same guidelines that EX uses for their letter submissions. It's definitely the way to do it.

If you haven't noticed the quick link above for the ADV Poll, notice it now and put in your vote! And don't forget, voting for the new banner concludes on Sunday! Get your vote in now!

I did watch the latest installment of Battle Athletes #2 last night, and it was quite enjoyable. I hope to have a review up sometime soon, though it may not be until Monday due to another abnormally long work week. So I'll do it quick here for now: Good audio, excellent video, and just plain fun storyline. Another great Pioneer disc.

NEWS: 01/26/99

I dropped into my local Suncoast today, and lo and behold, right at the entrance, Tekken DVD & VHS side by side. This is definitely a GOOD THING. So naturally I picked up a copy, and here's my review after the first viewing.

I received an email from Manga today with some follow-ups to some of my earlier questions. The Macross Plus Vol. 1 disc (eps 1 & 2) will be out on May 25th, while Wings of Honeamise has been pushed back to June 29th. I was asked about how they're releasing the Macross shows. One of their comments was, "I know most fans would prefer all episodes on one DVD for a larger price, say $49.95. But our concern is that the high price of a single DVD would scare away casual buyers who would be willing to take a chance on the series, leaving only the hardcore fans supporting the title.". Of course, I completely agree with this. I feel it's more important to do it this way for newer releases, and catalog titles in box sets or compilations. Macross Plus of course is a catalog title, but at least Manga is now looking for some more input. I'll let you know if/when I hear more.

Something else that they mentioned to me was about their release dates. I'm guessing after the Ghost in the Shell and the Wings delay, they're somewhat gun-shy of announcing a date unless it's firm. So we won't see too many far advance release dates, like what CPM has been doing. So while I'm told that we can expect a DVD of Castle of Cagliostro this summer, and both Patlabor movies over the 3rd and 4th quarters of 1999, the planned dates could change.

Netflix informed me today that Macross II will be out on 2/9. I just laughed.

You know, I'm convinced that whenever I go and work on my day off, things always get announced. Bleach.

According to the Right Stuf news page, Macross Plus will be out "sometime" this summer, with 2 discs in the release. Two episodes per disc (I believe all four episodes were 45-50 minutes each). More information when it comes in....

And as mentioned several weeks ago, Pioneer will be releasing the Funimation version of the Dragonball TV series. The first disc (of 17 volumes) is due out on 4/13/99. Remember, this is the for American TV version. There is no sub (nor will there likely ever be so long as Funimation has the rights). I hate to seem like I'm being a company boy for Pioneer, but there is nothing they can do about releasing a sub version. Direct all complaints to Funimation.

NEWS: 01/25/99

Got this in from Manga Entertainment this evening regarding Ninja Scroll:
 

Please be advised that Manga Entertainment will be discontinuing our free replacement program for newly encoded Ninja Scroll DVDs effective February 15, 1999. Anything post dated before or on will be honored. After that date, exchanges should be made with your local DVD store for the new version, which is differentiated by a round sticker on the front with the letters "QC" in white on a black background. Also keep in mind that exchange and/or return policies vary store by store and will more than likely require receipts.

I saw this over on the Big Picture earlier today. Check out this link here from the Excite web portal personals.

Charles Ingalz supplies us today with a region 2 review of Shoujo Kakumei Utena, otherwise known as the upcoming Revolutionary Girl Utena. Just another disc I'm drooling for.

I've heard from a few people out in the retail world that a possible reason for the lack of Tekken is due to the VHS tape having some sort of audio problem. While it's not confirmed (or confirmed if the DVD contains the same audio problem), it's possible that the delay could be so the DVD would street at the same time as the VHS. If and when I learn more, I'll let you know.

NEWS: 01/24/99

I've heard from a few people that Tekken's showed up at places owned by the Musicland Group (i.e. MediaPlay, Suncoast, Sam Goody, etc) but no other sightings elsewhere. I guess Tuesday will tell in the brick and mortar world.

Okeh, I've received a bunch of submissions for banners and logos. Click on over to the logo display page and vote for which one you want! Be forewarned, it'll take a bit to load!

NEWS: 01/23/99

First up, let me humbly apologize for the lack of updates. It's actually been fairly quiet this week, so I've been enjoying a little less time being as involved as I am with the site. Though I'm still talking a whole bunch on the forum, probably to a few peoples chagrin!

Since we have over 600 signatures for the You're Under Arrest OVA series (Animeigo? You listening?), I expect to see each and every one of those names over at the YUA TV SERIES PETITION PAGE. Animeigo is gauging fan interest in acquiring this TV series and movie. I loved the OVA's. I want the TV series. And I want it on DVD. Go sign!

Tekken looks like it's MIA. I haven't heard anything from ADV, but all the DVD online retailers I've spoken with said it was on their confirmed list, but not available (and sadly, two other titles I wanted were missing this week as well. The Bjork disc was high on my want list, and my wife really wanted Hudson Hawk). Guess the other 6 discs will have to do. Expect a review of the released Battle Athletes Vol. 2 on Tuesday evening though.

I've added the links to the General Anime Forum to the main forum page. Please be sure to hop over there if your post isn't DVD related. Since we're getting a lot of chat on the forums, we need to break it up a bit better (and yes, I'm guilty of it myself).

Remember, Sunday is the last day for contest entries!

NEWS: 01/20/99

All right, let's just dig right on in. First up, Jean-Pierre Arevalo brings us his review of Cowboy Bebop Session #1 for our region 2 section.

I noticed on one of the other Anime on DVD sites that someone from the Right Stuf said that there's a week or two delay with the CPM Anime 18 titles. As I mentioned last Friday, there are NO set dates for those titles as well as the 3 mainstream titles that DVD Inc. has sublicensed from CPM. As soon as an actual date is announced, you'll read it here. From my discussions with the people at DVD Inc. as well as checking their track record, they'll most likely announce the release of the discs a week in advance of the street date (This was done with their Mulan DTS disc). There will most likely be a small window between announcement and availability.

And in an effort to keep the dub vs. sub crowd going, Roman Martel has provided us with this lovely article: Like Cocoa for Coffee: Or How to Save us Stupid Americans.

That's all there is for today. We're definitely a post-Holiday slump zone (especially the mainstream DVD sites, there's been little activity to get the juices flowing) but this is definitely normal for this time of year.

Wrath of the Ninja also has a firm street date now. Expect to see this disc out on 4/6/99.

NEWS: 01/19/99

My review for Tenchi in Tokyo Vol. 1: A New Start is now up for your reading pleasure. Be sure to share your feelings on the disc and the show in the forum!

Battle Athletes: Victory TV Vol. 1 now has a more official date. The original date of 3/9/99 was in error, and it should be 4/6/99. So those of you who still have some money left after the Tenchi OVA box set, this is where to put it.

This may be of interest to people in regards to English voice actors getting their due. It came from the gentleman at Pioneer, after reading through the first draft of the Anime DVD Code.

While certain cases do stem from simple omission, I am aware of more than one instance where production companies are contractually not allowed to release the names of individual voice actors involved in the English dub. This is related to the sub contracting of voice talent, stage names, and the legal/economic issues that surround this industry. So when fans wonder why names aren't given, sometimes companies have no choice but to either remain silent or shrug and say, "sorry."

You learn something new every day!

NEWS: 01/17/99

As started in the forum on Saturday, Version 0.1 of the Anime DVD Code is now up and available for discussion in the forum.

NEWS: 01/15/99

Release notice: DVD Express @ 7:30 PM EST tonight lists the following as available and in stock.
 

    A Wind Named Amnesia - 58 copies in stock (see our review)
    Guardian of Darkness: Takegami - 56 copies in stock (see our review)
    Tenchi in Tokyo Vol. #1 - 145 copies in stock (read our Tenchi primer)

Highlighting our reviews today comes an alternate angle on Ranma 1/2: Big Trouble in Nekonron, China by Lord Ashram and Belldandy. *furrow* Oh, wait, I mean Roman Martel and Christine Matkovich. Gomen. :)

I spoke with a few people today at Digital Versatile Disc, LTD. regarding the discs that they have in production from Central Park Media. There are NO firm dates for those titles coming from them. I'm now on a short list of people who will be notified once dates are available, so you can be assured that I'll pass them on ASAP. Not much else to say on that.

You'll note at the top of this page that there's a quick link to the new Pioneer polling page. At present, there's only one poll that they've requested, regarding DVD-ROM market penetration for the anime group. They're looking at seeing what kind of DVD-ROM extras they can put on the discs in the future and want to make sure a good number of fans can actually use them. Be sure to fill it out. Oh, and for those who've asked about having the poll split to say Mac or PC, it doesn't much matter. They just want to know if there are DVD-ROM's out there, regardless of the hardware surrounding it.

NEWS: 01/14/99

Heaps of thanks to Ken Leung who pointed me towards the Manga website where they're getting in gear with 1999. From the FAQ, we have:

    It looks like Macross Plus will be our next anime DVD.
    Wings Of Honneamise has been pushed back to mid 1999 as we want to
    include the recently remastered "sound renewal" version from Japan.
    Other titles will be on the way.

It takes a huge effort to check out all the corporate websites almost every day and see if there's any information on them that's new and relevant. Tips like this are the best! Thanks Ken!

For those of you who got the newsletter earlier this month, remember what I said about street dates being like moving targets? Heh. Battle Athletes is now 1/26. Fatal Fury is up to 2/9 and Arslan is now 3/16. On the plus side, Animania says that they have Tenchi in Tokyo #1 in stock. For those, like myself, who shop DVD Express and the likes, I'll keep you posted on the title as they update their site tomorrow night.

I also want to toss out a hello and a thanks for the mention (trust me, I am humbled!) to Mike Toole at the excellent Anime Jump anime webmag. I may not make it often, but I read everything you put up there!

NEWS: 01/13/99

Well, one thing is for sure. The Animeigo announcement has caused plenty of debate on the forum, all of it friendly I'm pleased to say. Here's some of the information that we've managed to learn so far: The sub only titles will be produced in-house at Animeigo (meaning a farther back release date most likely) and the popular ones may (or may not) be done with M2K. There's little firm there, I know, but we'll know more when they start making title announcements.

The other one is that titles like UY will be done via the subscription system for the KOR release.

What does that mean? Robert indicated in an email that they will sell these titles to consumers on their site, just like they did with KOR, and then later on release them to the general market. Personally, I feel this could be a big mistake. I may have misunderstood him though, but this is something that I harped on waaaay back when I started this site. Selling directly to anime fans is a good thing, don't get me wrong, but we need to expand this market. Anime DVD should not be restricted to the usual anime markets. Those who saw/heard about the CPM in Video Business, THAT is what needs to be done. The saving grace that may exist with Animeigo doing things this way is that there will be a good discount (and upgrade for LD owner) program. Will it equate to the 20-30% off most of us would see on places like DVD Express? Hard to say at this point, but it's my primary concern with the announcement right now.

So, how about some brighter news? I received an email from a gentleman at Pioneer. Let me stress right off the bat here that this is not official company policy/information but this persons opinion. He's recently taken over as Pioneer's DVD designer and has gone through all of the Pioneer reviews we have here and offered up a few comments.

First up is the Battle Athletes menu. Take heart in that you won't see it again after this OVA series is done. The shows are much too far into production to alter menus now (and Tenchi in Tokyo does NOT use it), but we won't see its likes again from Pioneer.

Expect to see the return of chapter selection probably closer to mid year releases (again, due to production times). One comment he said about these things is that up until he took up the position, there was no one single unifying vision for anime DVD releases, something that should be changing now.

If you're wondering what he may have worked on in the past, he's responsible for the design and production of the Tenchi Encyclopedia. I'm excited!

And in the humorous side of things, Melanie provides us with this wonderful column: The Otaku Syndrome: Are you at risk?

NEWS: 01/12/99

To help everyone keep track of what titles Animeigo has, and which ones are subbed and dubbed, be sure to check out our handy new Animeigo Title Checklist!

Be sure to check out the new poll on the left after reading the next paragraph.

For the full 'official' scoop, click over to Animeigo. My comments are as follows: Looks like I'll be purchasing their catalog for the 3rd time again (VHS to LD and now DVD). Sub-only releases being done as hard matted, i.e. what we've seen on VHS tapes and early LD's before they did them in close captions. While I'm not particularly thrilled with that (I'm sure there are several people out there who'd like clean animation), it's something that's easy to accept, especially with shows like Lum where there's so much on-screen information that DVD subtitles just can't handle it. Region coding of course hasn't really affected/bothered me, so I can understand the case by case issue. The region coding is becoming a larger concern with the Japanese licensors, who can see their product prices being undercut by the cutthroat US market. The UY TV being done as 8 episodes a disc (essentially one VHS tape per DVD side, double sided single layer disc) is good, if they can manage enough of a bitrate to get the animation quality up to par. I'd rather see a dual layer single side....

On the plus side I guess, we'll be able to remove a few petitions sometime in the near future as their plans get announced. I want to thank everyone who signed the petitions here (and who are continuing to!) and those who went to the Animeigo site to fill out their survey. This is the same feeling I got way back when the domestic companies were small and listened to their fans a lot in regards to what they want. And I want to give a huge thanks to Mr. Woodhead for their plans and wish them the best of luck in their ventures.

Passing along a message from the ADSC manager, Edwin Peregrina, that he's real happy with how everything's going with the campaign. He's gotten a lot of suggestions (and what sounded like a few orders too! Remember, be polite folks!) of titles to add to the petition list and will be getting to them shortly. Like a lot of people, time is a premium! If you haven't checked it out, or just aren't sure what it is, the Anime DVD Support Campaign (or ADSC on the sidebar) is where all the work is being done for the petitions and the surveys that will be making more appearances in the near future. It's the headquarters for letting companies know what we want on our DVD's. Be sure to give it a visit and support.

As a reminder to those who are sending in logos for the contest, any that you had posted on the forum need to be submitted via email to be counted. On 1/24, I will be posting the page that has all the logos on them, and we'll start the voting process then.

Eric Romero has updated his Bubblegum Crisis DVD ROM oriented review. Be sure to check it out as well.

NEWS: 01/11/99

If you sent me mail today and didn't get a reply, send it again. I completely messed up my entire system today and lost a bunch of things.

Color me embarrassed. I realized I never put up a review of the Lupin movie that came out from Streamline and Image late last year. Thankfully, Brian Lever has sent us a review of it!

NEWS: 01/10/99

There'll be more additions throughout the day (and there were bunches late Saturday night), so be sure to keep reading throughout the day.

First up, here's the contest info for January. Check it out!

For those who've asked, I've finally gotten around to setting up review submission information.

While browsing through the new Suncoast in our local mall today, we happened across a copy of Takegami: Guardian of Darkness. We were tempted to pick it up, but the 34.99 price tag is too rich for my blood. While picking up a copy of Myth II from Electronics Boutique though, they had it there for 29.99, so I snagged it there.

And having just finished watching it, read my review of Takegami: Guardian of Darkness.

I've also updated a bit of information for the CPM release of Judge, which I've found out will have an alternate angle on it as well as weblinks for both the PC and Mac systems. They don't say what the alternate angle will be, but I'm curious...

NEWS: 01/09/99

I got an email back from Pioneer regarding the subs for the Tenchi OVA Box Set. From what they were able to tell me, the DVD's will definitely have a new subtitle track, as opposed to the English Hearing Impaired one that has been the scourge of many a laserdisc over the years. Definitely good news in my book.

For those of you that heard rumors (and emailed them to me) of CPM planning to do their own authoring and production run of Record of Lodoss War, I got the word from on high tonight that it is not true. John O'Donnell emailed me from Tokyo where they are currently "banging heads" with licensors on various things, a lot of it DVD related, and said that he'd definitely know about that if it were true.

Take a trip down memory lane with an updated version of the Tenchi Muyo in Love movie review!

Searching high and low, but no sign of the new Pioneer titles yet. Online retailers don't seem to have them (and I've been in touch with a few). There may just be a delay, and they'll get them in on Monday. I'll keep everyone up to date as best as I can.

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to start meshing the new page design changes into the older pages. I'll be focusing on the reviews first, and doing some much needed updating on the older ones. I'll be adding information to them where available, things that I've been asked in emails to provide.

Actually, you can see how they're going to look right now. I've made the changes to this alternate angle review of Battle Athletes Vol. 1 that Ryan Mathews has sent in for us. Check it out and let me know what you think.

NEWS: 01/08/99

Sort of a shortish chaotic update today. After a nice long 14.5 hour day and an equally enjoyable ride home in the snow, lets just say I'm not altogether here at the moment. :)

Conflicting release dates regarding Tenchi In Tokyo and Battle Athletes #2 today. DVD Express lists them as 1/19 releases, but Randy from Pioneer says the dates are still 1/12. If you see them actually in stock at an online retailer or a real world location, be sure to post it in the forum to keep us rabid fans up to date.

Right stuff put up their news today. Just a forewarning here on my part; I've been told that often TRSI jumps the gun with telling people what's coming out when. Case in point are the titles from DVD Inc. that were sublicensed from CPM. No hard firm dates, but we know they're coming. Though not updated on Manga's site, Wings of Honeamise may be due out on 5/18, right along with Utena. March is seeing the release of Fist of the Northstar TV series on VHS, so there may be a chance for a DVD release, but I consider it unlikely as they seem to be very much in the OVA and movie mode.

Also reported on Kevin Cooks excellent DVD Animania site is that Pioneer will release Fushigi in a box set when all 8 VHS tapes are released. No indication of whether it'll be two separate boxes or one huge box (expect the price tag to be the sum total of the VHS series cost most likely). We'll see what develops on that front.

NEWS: 01/07/99

First up, a street date change was sent to me today by the Panime webmaster and all around friendly guy, Randy Carpio. The Tenchi OVA box set isn't actually DVD, it's a VHS set. No, wait, just kidding! Settle down! Instead of arriving on the 23rd, it's coming out on the 30th. There was a communications snafu resulting in the wrong date.

Potential contest? I'm curious as to the number of people who'd be interested in a free DVD for designing the Anime on DVD banner logo. As you notice at the top, we've put in something different, but it's just temporary. There've been a few suggestions in the forums, but I'm looking for some sort of participation level, to see if it's worthwhile. Let me know.

And continuing in an ever popular thread of anime, Melanie has provided us with a new article today. The Eternal Question: Are Dub Writers On Drugs? Some topics you just can't keep down!

Speaking of keeping things down... You'll notice that for many many months, there's been little to no mention on this site, purposely, about Divx. Frankly, there are more than enough places on the net to go on about it, and those who frequent the mainstream sites that I do may have noted my own particular venom for this other format. It's been big in the consumer electronics news world today, as the 1999 Consumer Electronics Show is currently going on out in Las Vegas, with all sorts of numbers and whatnot being bandied about.

To me, this is an abhorrent format and concept. I've done my best to tell people what it's all about that I know, and all agree. The format is totally anti-consumer. To keep this in an anime related way, I feel that anyone who considers themselves an anime fan and has one of these players, regardless of whether they set up an account or not, goes totally against what anime fandom, especially older members, means. Anime is something to be shared, to be watched a lot and enjoyed on many levels. This format does not allow that, and helping it to worm its way into anyone's home is just too much.

In that respect, Central Park Media epitomizes what is good about DVD. Their understanding of a global fandom by using region zero coding shows that they are consumer and fan oriented. I dread the day that just one anime company decides to do Divx. I'm already dreading the day that Pioneer introduces their Divx player this year, as I will rail against them for it.

If you're an anime fan, don't fall for the lies. Don't fall for Divx.

NEWS: 01/06/99

Pioneer announced via their Anime site late last night that in addition to seeing the Tenchi box set on the 23rd of March, and in addition to Pokemon Vols 2 & 3 on the 9th of March, we'll also get the first volume of Battle Athletes TV on March 9th. And there might yet be more coming form Pioneer in march.

You'll have to excuse me if there are few updates for the next few days (though I will post title availability on Friday night) mostly because my secret shame, the Kimagure Orange Road laserdisc box arrived today. I've stopped drooling enough to get this news piece up, but I fear the time has come to crank up the laserdisc player for a few hours.

NEWS: 01/05/99

The hits just keep coming! Literally and figuratively! I know in the end it doesn't mean a lot, but we're just at the tip of hitting 100,000 on our friendly little counter down at the bottom. I just want to say thanks to everyone!

Pioneer made their weekly announcements today, and thankfully it included some anime! Pokemon Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 are due out on March 9th. Pioneers Anime Website has also updated to include the Tenchi Box set in their news section. Be sure to check it out!

Bringing in the new year with his alternate angle reviews for Ninja Scroll and Ranma 1/2: Nihao My Concubine is Roman Martel.

As you may have noticed, some more cosmetic changes have gone on here. The main page is the only one really affected at the moment, as I gauge the usability of the design change and get input from readers.

I spoke with Mike Whybark of Multimedia 2000 today regarding the keepcases. The ship date is still the 18th of January, coinciding the release of the second pressing (which will be keepcase-only). However, this date is their initial ship date, and may be subject to change (but they believe it to be pretty accurate). There should be a press release just on or about the date of the actual shipping. Mike also wanted me to pass this on. "We don't anticipate extending the s&h upgrade offer beyond the release date for the case-packaged discs". So, if you want them, get the order in now.

NEWS: 01/04/99

In what could be our biggest article this month, new staff writer Sean Connolly has provided us with the Tenchi Muyo Primer. This is the definitive resource for those of you who have not seen any Tenchi yet and are wondering if the new Tenchi in Tokyo series due out next week will be something you can get into. Tenchi has a lot of history, but it's the flagship title for Pioneer. This handy article will definitely help!

The January edition of the Anime DVD Resource Newsletter has gone out. An MS WORD version is available here.

And just to get in an article myself today, here's a brief introduction to the spiffy little genre of Super Deformed Anime.

NEWS: 01/03/99

So there I was, all set to write up a great early review of A Wind Named Amnesia. After being informed by our region 2 reviewer, Pete Plank, that it was in a few Suncoast stores, I headed out into the dreary and dangerous weather to find a copy. I rush home, watch it, get ready to write the review, and there's Pete's review of it. And you know what? He said exactly what I felt about. So be sure to read the review for it that he provided!

NEWS: 01/02/99

Well, here's one at least I missed while scouring the recent comics publications. Looks like CPM is also going to release Wrath of the Ninja: The Yotoden Movie in April.

Basic pages have been set up for the "sort of" announced titles of Battle Athletes Victory: TV Vol. 1, Dominion Tank Police and the Tenchi Muyo Collection THX Box Set.

Also up today is a more DVD-ROM oriented review of Bubblegum Crisis by Eric Romero. Check it out!

NEWS: 01/01/99

Naturally, today's bit has to start off with a Happy New Year, at least to those on the same calendar as myself!

First up, check out Jacob Hurtado' s first alternate angle review of Battle Athletes: On Your Mark.

Forum stuff. Some may notice that I put up a few small "rules" today. You'll note that this is the first time I've done this since the forum started waaaay back in March of 98. This was NOT, and I want to stress this, done because of any one or any number of people on there. With the growth of the forum, I felt it was just something that was needed to ensure that the civility that we've all been enjoying continues well into this year.

I haven't set up the full links for it yet, but I've added a General Anime Forum to the site. This should help to alleviate some of the load on the DVD forum, and hopefully continue the excellent discussions to a more diverse number of subjects. I know I've enjoyed posting with a large number of you, and look forward to expanding into anime in general more thoroughly there.

If you've got the time, check out the survey being done by Mandarake USA, the American branch of a Japanese anime/manga distribution company. The prize for the survey includes a DVD player!

Here's something wallpaper junkies should be aware of. Check out Anime Journeys, a venture page started by Anime on DVD forum regular Gary Neuwirth. Check out some of the gorgeous DVD scans from popular shows (especially the widescreen images) as well as some excellent desktop themes. Also be sure to check out Jimmy Tran's Night Warriors scans as well!

>I'm hoping that by the end of next week I'll have the final version of the Anime on DVD Monthly Resource out and in your mailbox. Going through the final revisions and waiting for some last minute information to come in. Not signed up for it? Click on the icon to the left for the Onelist.com.

With 1999 here, anime fans begin their convention planning. I'm actually going to make at least one convention this year. Though we're still waiting for an exact date, I've locked myself into going to Otakon this year, and hope to catch a few people from the site there.