WTF Wednesday! High School of the Dead: Drifters of the Dead OVA

Sentai Filmwork's release of the High School of the Dead: Drifters of the Dead OVA truly exemplifies what WTF Wednesdays are all about. For Wednesday's posts I'd hoped to focus on some of the more weird, bizarre things in anime that defy explanation, and this hits that nail right on the head.

Throwback Ad Tuesday: Gravion Zwei

"Effeminate heroes! Giant fighting robots! Gravity-defying breasts!" It's easy to see the demographic AVD Films was aiming for with this advertisement. Zwei is the second second of Gravion, and in the same way Ikki Tousen is more about ample fan service than fighting, Gravion's robot action takes a back seat to the gratuitous breast-driven humor.

The series was released as 3 separate DVD volumes for $29.98 each. Volume 1 was also available with a collector's box, to store the upcoming releases, for $39.98.

Gameday Sunday: Memories of Metroid Part I

This Sunday I turn over the Gameday Sunday post to a guest blogger, Frank Warden, who wrote and submitted an absolutely incredible retrospective on the Metroid franchise. Since it's such a lengthy piece, it'll be broken up in the span of a few weeks, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled every Sunday for the next several weeks! - Azure

Second only to the rabid fanbase the Alien franchise has spawned is the many works that it has inspired. Sequels, spin-offs and merchandise notwithstanding, the Alien series dished up a host of blatant clones; Galaxy of Terror (1981), Forbidden World (1982), and Creature (1985) are just a handful of films that lift concepts—if not entire scenes—from Ridley Scott’s 1979 masterpiece.

Friday Review! Transformers Headmasters

In the world of animation, few properties have the staying power of Transformers. For the last three decades the franchise has spawned a number of iterations that have graced the airwaves in one form or another (not to mention a toy industry unto itself and four box office smashing films). It all began in 1984 when the Transformers aired on U.S. television and captured the hearts and minds of kids everywhere. The series lasted four seasons and a animated film that, for many, is the benchmark milestone of the entire property. Though the final season of Transformers only consisted of three episodes, it made an attempt to wrap up the series for American audiences, much in the same way that the animated G.I. Joe (1987) movie provided closure to the series.

Throwback Ad Thursday: Robotech Battlecry

Developed by Vicious Cycle Software and published by TDK Mediactive, Robotech Battlecry was released on the Playstation 2, Gamecube and Xbox in fall 2002. I was insanely into this game when I first bought a Gamecube in '03. Battlecry's gameplay felt like it was taken straight out of the anime, right down to the original voice actors and soundtrack. I plan to give a more in-depth review for an upcoming Gameday Sunday article.

Also, some might remember that a collector's edition of Robotech Battlecry was released too. It was a nice package complete with the game, soundtrack, lenticular card of a Veritech, concept art cards, T-shirt, and a dogtag.

Throwback Ad Tuesday: Battle of the Planets Action Figures

In 2002 Diamond Select released a series of 7" figures based on the anime Battle of the Planets (originally released by Tatsunoko in Japan as Gatchaman).

Manga Monday: Animerica Extra

Though Viz Media was already publishing Animerica, they decided to release a monthly manga anthology magazine titled Animerica Extra.