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After long postponement, our new Watcher is finally up and running. In Edition 16, we explore FUNimation’s Fall 2006 release of Trinity Blood. This title will definitely turn some heads, as GONZO did the animation. Remember that our Watcher feature is released on a monthly basis, so check back next month for Edition 17… which will be a Manga Entertainment title :). That’s all I will leak to you. And as always, I got more updates coming :P. Have a nice day minna-san!

http://trinityblood.tv/ - U.S. Official Site
http://www.kadokawa.co.jp/toribla/ - Japanese Official Site

At the bottom of the food chain are producers, prime example plants, which obtain energy from the sun via photosynthesis. A step above them are herbivores like cows and above them are carnivores such as humans. Vampires exist by sucking the blood from human beings. It is logical then for there to be something that thrives off the blood of vampires. Those mythical creatures are called Crusniks.

Abel Nightroad, codename Crusnik 02, was once an Air and Space Force Commander for the United Nations. He is currently employed as a priest of the Vatican in the Special Operations Department of the Division of State Ecclesiastical Affairs (AX). Their responsibility is foreign policy and the maintenance of the overall stability of sovereign states. Helping him in his duties are: Sister Esther, a red-haired nun from St. Matthias Church; Father Tres, a cyborg whose alias is the Gunslinger; Father Leon, an ex-convict; Father Hugue, aka the Sword Dancer; and Lady Catherina, head of AX and Duchess of Milan. A secret society called Rosenkreuz Orden is threatening the world order and it is up to Abel and his allies to stop them.

DVD release Fall 2006

Licensed by FUNimation/Gonzo Digimation in 2005 at the Anime Expo, also hosted a preview of the first episode (subtitled) at AX

ANN
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=4874

Opening Theme:
“Dress (BLOODY TRINITY MIX)” by BUCK-TICK
Ending Theme:
“Broken Wings” by Tomoko Tane

Directed by Tomohiro Hirata

Japanese Cast
Abel Nightroad - Tochi Hiroki
Esther Blanchett - Noto Mamiko
Tres Iqus - Nakai Kazuya
Catherina Sforza - Honda Takako
Leon Garcia de Asturias - Takeshi Koyama
Hugue de Watteau - Shinya Kitade

Thoughts:

Hina:
Trinity Blood is set in a not so distant future where Terrans and Vampires coexist. Abel Nightroad is a priest with a gun. Well, one of the nuns Sister Esther is armed with a gun too. Like Crono from Chrno Crusade, circumstances resulted in the death of a loved one. Abel is able to control the extent of his Crusnik powers by the activation of nanomachines within his body. Both Crono and Able have a passive personality, but when they transform they don’t hold back. The lyrics for the Ending theme song ‘Broken Wings’ by Tomoko Tane are in English. The melody is soft and soothing with the piano accompaniment.

Kefkasou:
Trinity Blood resembles somewhat of a Vampire Hunter D, Hellsing, or Blood type of anime with all the elements to enable the success of reaching an audience of great variety. Where the questions between the struggle for survival be it vampire or human, is where other Anime leave out and a new one begin. Could questions really be solved or will new problems show its face? As I am one eager to watch this, I am also eager to find out what answers Trinity Blood will provide aside from the general cliches seen in others. As far as the characters and designs are, they look richly animated with all it’s orginalites attached (as I am a fan of this style of animation). How good this Anime really is is to be seen. Until then, be on the lookout for Trinity Blood.

Piro^kun:
Another delicious release from the masters at Gonzo, Trinity Blood looks to be more than just your average vampire/gothic anime. With an art style similar to the recent Castlevania games, this quite a stylish series (but that is to be expected from Gonzo). The story looks to be rather wide in scope as well. It involves everything from a simple flight attendant to the Vatican, with quite a few religious references. It does seem that the main character (Abel Nightroad, a peniless priest) is a bit too much like Vash the Stampede (of Trigun fame) for me. Hopefully he becomes a bit more rounded as the series progresses. Overall though, Trinity Blood is sure to be a hit with anyone who is a fan of Hellsing, Trigun, or the Blade movies.

Dark Wind:
Gonzo is back at it again, sweet CG animation and all. This time it’s a vampire anime, not an entirely new genre for Gonzo, which produced the Hellsing anime as well. With that under their belt, they should be able to get the basics right. And from what I see and hear, they seemed to have done at least that much. The character designs look slick, and the animation and CG look great and seem to mix wonderfully (as is par for the course with Gonzo). The story seems to take a page out of Vampire Hunter D, with the backstory consisting of an “armageddon” that occured and then afterwards vampires and other monsters came into being as a result, and now the humans fight them off and have become organized about it, with the creation of “Vaticans” who employ priests to travel the world and defeat these vampires and other horrible beasts as they go along. The main character seems cool-looking enough, stupid name notwithstanding (Peter Abel Nightroad, wtf?). So long as the music is solid, the action badass, and the animation and character designs not too extravagant (i.e. ridiculous looking), then I think this will be one to watch. I know I will be buying the DVD’s from FUNi as they come out. With this, the Hellsing Ultimate OVA, and the Blood+ TV series coming to the US this year, 2006 is the year to be a vampire anime fan.

Alpha:
Trinity Blood is another one of Gonzo Digimation’s many wonderful works. Its story revolves around vampires and humans. Although we have seen that plot used over and over again, the separation from all the other titles begin at how it blends a loose atmosphere at certain periods of the show and then gets serious when the flow of Trinity Blood deems it. I am a sucker for cute female characters, and Esther is forcing me to jot this title on my planner. It certainly is a good looking show, as expected from Gonzo, but what I am looking forward to more is how it will isolate itself from a show like Chrono Crusade, which has a similar theme; a nun and a vampire (or a being other than human). FUNimation really made a quick push to acquire this title. I was surprised that they had completed the deal so fast. I certainly have no problem with FUNimation licensing Trinity Blood. I wonder if it would be in releases like Samurai 7 where there is a collector’s edition and a regular edition. It would certainly be cool to see some sort of collector’s item included with the DVDs. In any case, Trinity Blood has the makings of a bad ass title, and there is not a doubt in my mind that it will appeal to a good number of fans.

Trinity Blood Screen Caps:

RX-78 NT-1 Alex Gundam
Designer/Modeler: Ray
Finished: March 14, 2006
Scale: 1/100 Master Grade
Status: Finished

Review:
Skill Level: 5/10
Quality: 8/10
Design: 8/10

Engineering: 5/10

TokyoPOP will be launching a brand spankin’ new message boards for fans to use in the next few days. So head over to their forums and secure your username first! I already got mine :).

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, announced today that it has secured from the worldwide licensors, TV TOKYO Corporation and Shueisha Inc., the television, home video and merchandising rights to SHONEN JUMP’S BLEACH in the Americas, Europe and Oceania. The appointment of VIZ Media as Master Licensor was facilitated by TV TOKYO Medianet, the licensing arm of TV TOKYO. (more…)

Alrighty, I’ve been pondering how to write my first review pertaining to an anime documentary. And finally, I bring to you, Central Park Media’s Otaku Unite!, which is available now in stores. Here’s your chance to discover the earlier days of anime in the United States. More updates to come, keep checking back :).

Synopsis
Explore the world of otaku, the devoted fans of Japanese animation. Since the introduction of Speed Racer to the U.S., these men, women and children have built a community based on their common love for this uniquely imaginative medium. Through conventions, fan clubs, online forums, and more, they have expanded otaku fandom into a highly popular cultural phenomenon.
Otaku Unite! is the first documentary to follow the evolution of this phenomenon from its humble beginnings to its current state as a major influence of pop culture today.

Review
What is an Otaku? The term otaku in my terms represents a person who is a complete zealot of anime and manga. They would travel around the world just to attend an anime convention or in an even extremer case, make it a habit to spend hours boiling DVDs or comics. In a sense, if you are reading this, you have a bit of otaku you in. I have some in me. And even though the Japanese do not interpret the term otaku as something one should take pride in, we as Americans have evolved the word to our likings. And this documentary here, is just the right show for your curiosity if you have ever wondered to yourself how Japanese animation got so big in a country where Superman, Batman and Spiderman ruled the land.

Otaku Unite, other than a pretty self-explanatory title, digs into anime and how it has changed so much in a decade. I do not know about you… I am not old, but even I still remember the days of anime on copied VHS tapes and the means of distribution was through friends. I liked how this documentary went into this fact. It brought me some fond memories of those days begging to borrow an anime video, and those urges for more. Anime is like crack in a way, but worst. Why would I say that? Well, think of it this way. Crack addicts can go through rehab and all, but where do anime addicts go? Once you are in this community, you are a member for life. Best example I can give is myself. I was an anime fan since I was born. Then there was a time in my life where I have not watched any anime at all for at least a good seven to eight years. Talk about cold turkey. Anyways, somehow this form of art, crept back into my life and ever since I do not feel like what had happened earlier in my life would ever repeat itself again.

This DVD is truly great. It features interviews from various guests that have taken some part or another in the growth of this hobby. For an example, the creator of the infamous anime web links directories webpage, Anipike.com; if you do not know what that website is, take that otaku tag off and go home please. This documentary ventures into the beginning, the days of Robotech and Speed Racer. The information this title delivers is great. For those who just got into this hobby, you are now able to learn a part of why anime has taken such a big leap from small fry to big man on campus all on one DVD.

The Breakdown
Otaku Unite is a fun filled documentary from coverage in Kaiju wrestling to following an anime otaku around to various conventions. I do not know if it was on purpose, but finding an absolute nerd like guy to follow around in anime conventions was a bit… umm… stereotypical. I mean, that guy represents almost every single anime extremist stereotype there is, if he did not fill a certain stereotype, another fan who was interviewed did. I really do not see this as a negative, but in the end, this documentary refreshed me, and it gave me a new perspective to view anime in general. There is more to it than just buying DVDs. Anime is life. It changes on a constant pace. To look back at this hobby and reminisce its growth overtime is astonishing and I thank Central Park Media for bringing us Otaku Unite! Yay!

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