There's a new ThunderCats coming in 2011!

Not one to be left out of the 80's revival bandwagon (though they did already release Transfomers: Animated), Cartoon Network has announced that they are working on a brand-new ThunderCats animated series!

The new series will be a collaborative effort between Warner Bros. Animation and Studio 4°C, both of which previously worked together on shorts as part of The Animatrix, Batman: Gotham Knight, and the recently released Halo: Legends. However, despite the previous collaborative efforts, this will be Warner Bros. Animation's first full "anime" series. And I put anime in quotes because going by what I've seen of Studio 4°C's animation, it drifts away from typical anime style and really is just uniquely stylized animation, that just so happens to come from Japan.

Plus, according to the press release, the studios aim to stay true to the original series, which I loved as a kid, so hopefully the new show won't drift too far away from the source material... unlike Transformers: Animated, even though I did somewhat like that show. Hopefully we'll see more of this before 2011 comes around!

Read the full press release at ToonZone

FLCL comes to Funimation

It's rare, and I mean RARE, that I give a crap about anime these days. It's nothing against the medium, I really liked anime back in the day, along with other animation, what ruined anime for me (and if you're a fan of ours and a fan of anime, you might want to look away)... it's the people. The fans of anime are some of the most.. I don't even know how to explain my frustration with people that ONLY like anime. I've lost interest in anime because I was annoyed with being associate with such an awful group of people that liked what I liked.

Regardless, back when I was big into anime, there was one series that really got to me, Gainax's FLCL. Even though it was just six episodes, there was something just so fantastic/imaginative/bizarre about the show that I really connected with. Sure, I might not like anime as much anymore, and I can't say I seek out new anime series anymore; but if it means anything there's only two anime series I ever bought on DVD: FLCL (yes, even at $30 per 2-episodes) and Samurai Champloo (Bebop is great, but Champloo oozes style). Not that it's an achievement, but the fact that I only bought those two kind of says something.. maybe.

Back on topic, the reason I'm rambling here is because, for whatever reason, Funimation now owns the distribution rights to FLCL, which was previously released by Synch-Point. I can't say I'm blown away or anything, but because of Synch-Point's small size, the FLCL DVDs were always incredibly hard to find, and EXPENSIVE. Now that Funimation is in control, that means wide distribution and perhaps affordability. The best news however, is that not Funimation is in control, no. The best news is that the series will be re-released on DVD (yes, all six in just one set) ... and Blu-ray! I'm not one to re-buy something just because it's on a different medium, but, if the Blu-ray contains the commentary, extras, and even more than what Synch-Point's DVDs had, I may consider it.

Man... that is like the most informal writing I've done in a long time. See what anime does to you?

See Funimation's announcement for, not too much news. And you can also visit their teaser website, for a picture.

SDCC 09: Marvel Anime

Yes, you read that right, as announced at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel and Mad House have teamed together for two anime productions, Iron Man and Wolverine. While the details from ToonZone are sparse (I'd tel you more myself if I was actually at the convention), but they do have this poster:

And if posters of a decent looking Iron Man and insanely effeminate Wolverine don't do it for you, then thankfully there's teaser trailers for both the rad looking Iron Man and the kind of lame looking Wolverine online (click the links).

I know, I favor DC over Marvel a lot of the time... but from looks of these right now, Batman: Gotham Knight looks like the more successful translation of 'American superhero to anime' than these two Marvel projects look to be. Only time will tell I suppose... but seriously, the hate is just going towards that awful Wolverine character design, the Iron Man trailer was pretty awesome.

via ToonZone

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Review

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is the best fighter on the Xbox 360. Okay, so that's not really a claim I can honestly make considering I haven't gone in depth with many of them, and the selection is quite varied. Hell, even personal taste comes into play. But it did get your attention didn't it?

None the less, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is Arc System Works' first foray in the fight genre for next-gen consoles, and should be considered as the spiritual successor to the popular Guilty Gear series of fighting games.

Story
If you're like me, you expect a very sparse storyline with your fighters. Yet, quite to my surprise, with BlazBlue that is just not the case. All 12 characters have very interesting stories to be told through their individual story campaigns. The setting of Kagutsuchi is an intriguing one, and the BlazBlue world is very fleshed out as whole. One problem though. The story mode is played out through a series of character portraits accompanied by text. Those familiar with any older RPGs should know what I'm talking about. It's a little slowly paced, and for those of us without HDTVs, the letters are a bit too small.

Through each characters stories, you have the ability to make choices and see a different part of the story. There are a few branching paths for each character, and all of the ones I've played so far are very interesting. Yet, no matter how interesting they are, it's a bit of a pain to have to go through each multiple times to see the persons entire story. Though, be forewarned, despite all of the flaws with the games storytelling method, I think the story is interesting enough to motivate you to play around the minor quirks. I definitely recommend looking into the story with this one, don't ignore it like you may with other fighters. If nothing else, think of it as a bonus aside from all the standard modes.

Gameplay
Despite the story elements, BlazBlue is first and foremost a 2D fighter. As a spiritual successor to Guilty Gear, a lot of people will know exactly what to expect. Yet for the rest of you, let me explain a bit. BlazBlue is a single planed, extremely fast paced, 2D fighter. You have your super moves, one hit finishers, and much much more. But before I get to all that, I'd like to touch upon perhaps the biggest innovation in BlazBlue. The Drive button.

The drive button is essentially the special button (Think Super Smash Bros.). One press and you're doing a character specific special move. This is touted as “a easy way to do something cool”, and not only is that true, but the one button special adds even more intensity to the already mind blowing intense battles. Being able to fly across the screen, or control the wind, or even shoot swords with just the press of a button really changes things. It both makes the game more accessible to newbies, and adds depth for veterans. If you're new you start off being able to do at least 1 special. If you have experience, you have a quickly accessible move that has more flexibility and freedom then it would if you had to input a button sequence.

But besides the drive attacks, BlazBlue stays fairly close to Guilty Gear. There are Distortion attacks, which are basically super attacks. They take up various amounts of your heat bar (which I will get to later), require a button sequence to perform, and do large amounts of damage.

You also have the option of doing one button air recoveries, which stop you from being helpless while airborne, barrier defense, which depletes your barrier meter yet completely blocks damage, barrier bursts, which push your opponent from you and can break combos, yet deplete your entire barrier meter, lowering your defense. You also have what is referred to as the Guard Libra. This is a meter in the middle that moves to the side while you defend. If it hits your side, you lose your barrier, and are stunned. Another feature to keep you and your opponents active is the penalty you get when you don't attack for a certain amount of time. The opponents damage will do a bit more.

To keep you from spamming these specials, you have your heat bar. The heat bar depletes with special actions (as mentioned above) and is replenished by attacking your opponent, or gradually if your hp is under 20%. Speaking of under 20%. If it's the last round of the game in your favor, and your opponent has under 20% left, you are able to use your Astral Finish. This is a flashy one hit move, and you really wont see many of these, but they're still worth mentioning.

OK, now I haven't even scratched the tip of the iceberg here, and I bet it already sounds overwhelming. But don't worry, it all comes naturally after a few rounds. If it doesn't you can hone your skills in training, or do a few playthroughs of Arcade Mode, just to get the hang of things. Maybe pop in story mode on those slow days, switch it up with a score attack every now and then. The game is packed with different modes. But the most important one of all, is the Network mode. [See below]

Finally in the gameplay department, I'd like to talk about that extremely comprehensive training mode. You can pretty much toggle everything on and off. Display command, regenerating health, damage, set heath at certain points, record actions for the computer, play against AI, set repeated commands to the CPU, toggle special character power-ups to last forever, all of it. It's all you could ask for, and more.

Online
You can play online with your friends, join 6 player lobbies in player matches, battle it out in ranked matches to move up in the rankings, or just go around and spectate matches. You gain experience based on performance in fights, and level up/rank up accordingly. You won't unlock anything new by leveling up, but it is nice to be able to quickly tell a players experience with a glance.

Your records are kept on a very easy to access D-Card. You can look at yours, or your opponents at just about any time in the lobbies. It keeps track of rank, your main character, your secondary, your wins and losses in ranked and player, and a few other stats like that. It's a nice little thing to have so you know what to expect from the other players.

Another big part of the online is the ability to save and upload your match replays. You can save any online match's replay, or go to the leader board and pick up some matches, then watch them in the replay theater. You can go frame by frame, slow, fast, you name it. It's a very nice, very welcomed feature, and coupled with the extremely comprehensive (extremely comprehensive, it must be said twice) training mode, it makes for both good entertainment, and a good way to improve your game.

Graphics
The game is beautiful. Downright gorgeous. The sprites are big and clean, the backgrounds are just plain breathtaking on certain stages, and the character designs are all crazy, and very interesting. All the characters personalities show through their art, and even can be seen in their battle animations. Which reminds me, the animations, they're amazing too. I simply cannot express to you how gorgeous the entire game is. Even the menus are a delight. Something I've neglected to mention thus far, is the gallery. By accomplishing certain tasks, you unlock art and videos, and it's all stunning. This is high resolution, breathtaking stuff. All of it is worth checking out, and it may in fact turn out to be your driving force for playing the game. It's one of mine right now.

To finish off the graphics section, I thought I would tell you, I have always been a big fan of 2D games. It's what I grew up on. So if 3D is more your thing, then you may be a little put off at first, but I beg you to not expect realism, and to love the anime inspired, beautiful artwork.

Sound
Sound is another area where BlazBlue excels. The soundtrack which comes with the Limited Edition is more than worthy of being a regular in my cars CD player, or getting a playthrough on iTunes every once in a while. It's mostly rock, and it does an amazing job of giving the furiously fast and action packed battles a little more umph.

The voice acting is decent overall, and the option to choose the Japanese tracks is very welcomed. On top of that, something that really struck me as impressive was the ability to control settings for each individual character. Hate so and so's voice? Well you can turn it off! This is something I would have loved to have in many, many other games. I'm glad to see it show up here.

Limited Edition Material
This portion is over the Limited Edition material, so if you're not into looking for a LE copy, then go ahead and skip this. Basically, this version of BlazBlue comes in a large cardboard box with two DVD cases. One with BlazBlue (and its full color instruction booklet), and another with 2 CDs and a DVD (on PS3 it's a Blu-ray). The case itself has a nice cover, and the CDs and DVD all have nice art on them. The CDs have, as far as I can tell, all of the game's soundtrack, and a few remixes. The DVD shows combos and strategies for each character, as well as some exhibition matches. It's a great way to introduce you to more advanced techniques. I'd really recommend finding the LE version of the game, especially since it comes at the same price. The CDs are kickass, and the DVD is a great help.

Overall
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is as of now, my favorite Xbox 360 game. Before now I was never serious in any fighters, but BlazBlue is about to change that. The game is just so full of content, depth, and personality. The game is a prime example of 2D fighters at their best, and SHOULD NOT be missed by any fighting game fans (whether you own a 360 or PS3).

Overall Score: 9.5/10

A Seal of Approval. You saw this coming didn't you? I'm awarding BlazBlue the second VFH Seal of Approval to go to a video game. Believe me, it's well deserved. The sheer amount of content itself is astounding. Wrapping all that up in the best 2D fighting system around, sprinkled with lovable characters, and you have a recipe for win.

Dragonball: Evolution review

The other day I went to see Dragonball: Evolution, a "retelling" of the popular manga/anime. Did it surpass my low, yet hopeful expectations?

In short, no, it actually really sucked. What ... you wanted to hear more? OK fine, for those of you who are curious, I'll elaborate.


First off, I'd like to make note that I was never a big fan of the series. I watched Dragonball Z almost religiously when I was younger, but not all that much of the original Dragonball. Yet even with that minimal knowledge of the series, I can confidently say that this movie completely slaughters its source material.

To be honest with you, the plot appears to be ripped straight from Spider-Man. I didn't want to spoil anything from you, but come on, this had to be mentioned. It seems like somebody handed a 10 year old a pencil and told him to scribble out the plot to Spider-Man. Then they just slapped on a few Dragonball elements; and there you have it, Dragonball: Evolution was conceived.

Seriously, let me just compare here...

Goku (Peter Parker) is a nerd at school. He has a crush on the popular girl, Chi Chi (Mary Jane). His grandpa (uncle) is killed by a evil villain (criminal), then soon after he starts to train and gains great power (is bit by a spider).

Is it just me or is that a little to similar? It's the same story with less depth; a.k.a. it just plain sucks. On top of that, the characters spout some of the most ridiculously corny lines I've heard from a movie in a long time; I was cracking up every five minutes. Then adding to that, the acting makes things even worse, and acting deficiencies are especially noticeable for the role of Goku. Yes, the lead role is perhaps the worst portrayed of all the characters. Not to say any of the other characters have much to them either. They almost completely skip any attempt at developing each individual character. Goku is distraught at the thought of losing this new friend after about two minutes of even knowing them. That's just silly. I mean, I know the movie's only an hour and ten minutes or so, but I expected more than that.

Even if you manage to somehow look past all of these flaws, I doubt you'll be able to shrug off the ending. It's anti-climactic, cheesy, and complete nonsense. I don't want to spoil it for those of you still intent on seeing it, but just know that what little is holding up in the movie falls apart at the end.

Speaking of falling apart, I'd like to touch on the adaptation aspect again. It seems like the director just read half the Wiki page and ran out to make the movie. The Kamehameha is used to light candles, revive humans, and as a projectile. Anyone who is even a general fan of the Dragonball series knows this is stupid as hell. One positive point though, is that the special effects used in Dragonball: Evolution are pretty nice; a bit on the cheesy side, like the rest of the movie, but as a whole the effects where quite nice.

I had a hard time expressing my thoughts on this movie. There are just so many things wrong with the movie, and that goes to show how numerous the problems are. I just... I can't even process them correctly.

Overall Score: 4/10

To reinforce my review, Dragonball: Evolution is atrocious. That's all there is to it. The acting is bad, the script is horrible, the adaptation aspect is just really cruel to the fans. Which is a shame, considering how many big fans there are of the series . If you're looking for a stupid movie good for a few (unintentional) laughs, this might be good to catch on cable with a friend later on, but as for paying solely to see this, don't do it. If you're expecting to see a good movie version of that anime/manga you loved so much, you won't. If you're expecting a good movie, you're not getting it. Dragonball: Evolution is anything but.

Street Fighter IV Roster Trailer

Still not too keen on the visual style of this game, as I would have more preferred HD sprites more akin to that of the new King of Fighters title, but it's not up to me. None the less, this new trailer released today by Capcom features Street Fighter IV's entire console roster. Enjoy!



Man, some of those English voices are just ... dreadful. And the dubbing on the 3D Ryu? Ew, that's all I can say. Let's hope the sound of the game doesn't ruin the gameplay.

This Week In Adult Swim - 10/10/08

We're able to report this much earlier this week now that the feature is all set up, that and Adult Swim posted the premieres early today. This week we have the season finale of Shin Chan, a new Superjail!, and the first two episodes of Moral Orel's final season. Just a note, the way Orel's schedule is, the first episode premieres on Thursday night, a day before we write this; therefore there may be some notes on the broadcast.

Shin Chan - Episode 52. The season finale of Shin Chan; not it means much, as there's no major continuity to the series, but it's a finale none the less. The finale is a little different from most Shin Chan episodes in that it's not broken up into shorts; titled "The Epicish Battle Commenceth!", Shin has entered a kendo tournament, but there's something odd about these other folks. The bulk of the episode runs on jokes about feces, orphans, and incest, which is quite the wild bunch. I have to say, the absurdity of this episode made it one of the more amusing episodes for some time.
Overall Score - 8.7/10

Superjail! - Ladies' Night. The series continues its tradition of over the top violence, and interestingly fluid animation and transitions. This week, a female prison (Ultraprison) crashes into Superjail, and it's occupants and staff are awkwardly similar to Superjail's own. After a scuffle, The Warden and his female counterpart then have a bet to see whose prisoners can act the most civilized. As usual, all ends up going horribly wrong; I mean I guess its the point of the show, but there will be a point when the expected violence brings no more humor. However from an animation standpoint, this episode has much more movement the previous ones, and I say it's for the better.
Overall Score - 8.5/10

Only video I could post without 'spoilers'
Moral Orel - Numb. The 'first of thirteen' in Moral Orel's final season, as clearly stated in the show's special opening theme, made special for this season. The episode overlaps some of the footage from Season 2's final episode when Orel and his father go hunting. However, this is viewed from Orel's mother, Bloberta's, point of view. Having issues with her husband, she looks for new ways to pleasure herself. I have to say, it was interesting to watch an episode from Bloberta's perspective, with virtually no footage of Orel. At the same time there was a usage of first person which I've rarely seen in stop-motion animation, so I found that pretty neat as well. As a note, when this aired on TV, there was an opening bump with the show's creator Dino Stamatopoulos, who gave some insight on the episode; a nice touch given the shows cancellation. I assume a similar segment will be added for each episode when it airs.
Overall Score - 8.4/10

From 'Grounded'; "F**ked Up" pretty much explains it all
Moral Orel - Grounded. Despite being part of the final season, this episode starts with the opening theme as season in the first two seasons, and not the special opening from "Numb". The episode starts off four weeks before Orel and his father's hunting trip; after more of Orel's usual misunderstandings, his father decides to ban him from church for a month. However, an Orel without church, is like a druggy without his fix, and all Hell breaks loose (get it? church? Hell? ... never mind). As with the previous episode, some questions pertaining to the series are answerd, which is good. Also, this turns out to be one of the darkest episodes I ever seen in the series, and atthesame time it leaves you wanting more.
Overall Score - 9.4/10

A pretty decent week of premieres if I do say so myself. The season finale of Shin Chan will leave us with one less show to cover, and no anime. And I love that we're getting two Orels a week, but at the same time I bummed that it's the final season. Let's see how next week goes!

This Week in Adult Swim - 10/3/08

Here with the first 'episode' of our new feature. This week's Adult Swim premieres are the Season Finale of Robot Chicken, the 2nd episode of Superjail!, and another installment of Shin-Chan.

Shin Chan - Episode 51. The first short of this episode is, stay with me now, 'The Loser Can't Lose It 'Cause He Lost It So He Loses It'; here, Shin meets up with he creepy former neighbor, Yanro, who has lost his "box for higher" ... in a case of miscommunication, the typical Shin-Chan perv humor ensues. The next short is 'Lunch Flake!', Shin invites his friends over for lunch, and that's pretty much it, nothing overly exciting, but Boo might give you a laugh or two. 'Bitey of Evidence' is the third and final short, Shin's mother plots to send Shin off to a "bad kids' camp", the two get into a cosplay fight and well, you'l have to watch. I'd say the last short was the best of the episode, but it's nothing you haven't seen if you're already a fan of the show.
Overall Score - 6.5/10

Superjail! - Combaticus. By far my most favorite of [as]'s latest projects, Superjail! continues to deliver with is fast paced, fluid animation, as well as it's grotesque imagery. The inmates are in a state of depression, and the Warden has unearthed an ancient fighting arena ... this can't go well. Despite being such an animated show, for once there were actually a couple still frames, and one in particular happened to be the best moment for me. I think because the show is so fluid, these still frames catch much more of you attention, and it actually works really well. In the end though, the episode didn't seem to last as long as the Pilot and the first episode, but it was still entertaining.
Overall Score - 8.8/10

Wild animation, meet still frame

Robot Chicken - Chirlaxx. Season 3's finale is finally here, and just four days before the Season 3 Box Set goes on sale, go figure. Let's see what we got; Japanese TV spoof, George W. Bush, poking fun at the handicapped, Star Trek, fake commercials, a musical number, and an ending with Seth Green and Matt Senreich ... yup it's a Robot Chicken finale alright. The season had its hits here and there, and this finale follows suit; some skits are hillarious, but other (yes, you Glow Worm) are just a bore. Until Season 4 ...
Overall Score - 8.5/10

My favorite skit of the finale, it's actually Sir Mix-A-Lot too

A decent set of weekend premieres, though small. With Robot Chicken ending, next week will bring us not one, but TWO Moral Orel premiers, as well as new Superjail! and the season finale of Shin-Chan.

You can watch these episodes of Shin-Chan, Superjail!, and Robot Chicken at AdultSwim.com, however, these will only be available until October 10th at around 6 p.m. EST.

Batman: Gotham Knight on CN

The direct-to-DVD anime collection, Batman: Gotham Knight, will be premiering on Cartoon Network tomorrow night at 9:00 PM EST. This should be good news for any of you unwilling to actually purchase the collected six shorts. No idea how edited this televised version will be, but there was some grotesque violence in a couple shorts, so I'm sure something has to be edited.

If you need some catching up on Gotham Knight, you can check out my review at VFH Classic.

Toonami ends tonight

As reported by gaijinside, and via Toon Zone; Toonami will have it's last airing on Cartoon Network tonight. After 11 years of being a network staple, airing at one point, daily, and then starting in 2004 it became a Saturday night event. After tonight, however, it will be gone, exact reasons are unknown at this point. My guess is the programming, ever since, I'm guessing 2005 when Dual Masters started I personally lost interest in the block. And then Naurto came along, and that really boosted the Saturday ratings, but I never really got attached to it.

I'm going to have to say that the biggest blow to the block was it's most recent make over, in which Toonami's host, TOM, looked more like a Thomas the Tank Engine, robot hybrid. I think when that happened, the main demographic for the block was lost entirely, gone was Gundam, Rurouni Kenshin, even Dragonball. Instead viewers were given Naruto, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Bakugan, Pokemon, and Yu-Gi-Oh. Despite the programming block leaving, it seems the online version, Toonami Jetstream will still be available.

In addition to this, I think I should point out Cartoon Network's recent direction. For one, there's been an utter lack of original content, with shows like My Gym Partner's A Monkey, Camp Lazlo, Class of 3000, Squirrel Boy, and as of next year, Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, all ending or being canceled too early in their time and without notice to the viewers. As I've stated before, now all the network shows is outsourced Flash animation from Canada's Teletoon. The only original shows now are Chowder, Flapjack, Ben 10: Alien Force, and Transformers Animated, all of which have finished their seasons, with no premieres set for a few months.

New shows will becoming for a newly action-oriented Friday block, which hopefully cancels the dreadful Fried Dynamite. This new block will consist of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a continuation of the unnecessary theatrical release, and The Secret Saturdays, a family based action show that follows a similar style to Johnny Quest. Also set for the block is the latest Batman series, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, which you can see the trailer for at VFHvideo. And lastly, new episodes of Ben 10: Alien Force will also be part of this new found block.

I really hope Cartoon Network knows what they're doing, because I've had so much faith in the channel since I was little, in fact, without it, I probably wouldn't be a cartoonist pursuing a career in animation.

Anyways, enough ranting, make sure you watch Toonami tonight, because it will be the last chance you ever get! It's from 9 to 11 p.m. EST. Which is actually a surprise to me because back when the Saturday Toonami first launched, it was from 7 to 11, and there was variety. Now it's an hour of Naruto, yuck, a re-run of Ben 10 ... again. The only special aspect is that they air one episode of Samurai Jack; tonight's episode is "XXVI - Jack's Sandals", so at least Toonami leaves on a good note.

UPDATE: Right after Samurai Jack ended there was a somewhat, heartfelt message from TOM say that it was the final broadcast and thanked the fans. From there, they other bots shut down the system and TOM flew off ... Goodbye to you too old friend...

Batman: Gotham Knight review

Here it is, after two long years, View From Heaven finally has a new anime review! With it you will also notice a new anime banner style. For example:

Old Banner style


New Banner style

I'm still debating whether or not I should make new banners for all animes, even though I know I really should. Anyways, back to why I'm here. I finally got around to purchasing a new anime, it may not be what you'd expect, but it's anime no less. I really enjoyed the Gotham Knight shorts, and i hope you check this review out. Its not like you've read a new VFH Anime review in the last two years right?

Note: The review only focuses on the anime aspect of the set, so nothing about the featurettes on Bob Kane or Batman's Villians in noted, nor are the 4 episodes of Batman The Animated Series, it is strictly the anime part.

Batman: Gotham Knight review - Classic VFH

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UPDATE (3/22/10) VFH Classic is dead; while this review was unrestorable from the web, I luckily somehow had it saved on my computer:

Overview
The third of the DC Universe direct-to-video series, Batman: Gotham Knight is different because it is a series of six short anime films. Each story is by buy a different artist, writer, and staff; with four studios contributing. The studios are Studio 4°C, Production I.G., Bee Train, and Madhouse; with Studio 4°C and Madhouse providing two shorts each. Each segment has a completely different style, but some consistencies are had. For instance, there is a constant story of a power struggle between Italian and Russian mafias, elements and characters of the story appear with in each short, and the voice cast is consistent; with Kevin Conroy ,who voiced Batman/Bruce Wayne in The Animated Series, reprising he role.Instead of covering the film as a whole, I will review it short by short.

Have I Got A Story For You
From Studio 4°C, this first is probably the most creative of the shorts. The story is about how three kids tell their encounters with Batman to a fourth character. Each story creates a different image of Batman; the first being a demonic shadowy figure, the next almost emulating Man-Bat, and the last being a robot. But Batman himself soon crashes in, and smoke fills the room, and the only one who can see Batman is the fourth kid. The direction was very similar to an episode of The Animated Series, "Legends of the Dark Knight". I happened to really enjoy this one because of the variety and style, which makes it much different from the rest.
Score: 9/10

Crossfire
From Production I.G., this follows two cops from Gotham City Police Department's Major Crime Unit (MCU), Crispus Allen and Anna Ramirez. Both are leery of Batman's activity, with Crispus persisting that The Bat is a vigilante, where Anna wants to defend him. Lt. Gordon sends the two out to bring in a criminal, and they soon find them selves in the middle of a fire fight between the Italians and Russians. This one was decent, and it is important as it introduces Lt. Gorden, Crispus, Anna, and the Italian Mafia (led by Sal Moroni) and the Russian Mob (led by a man known as "The Russian"), all of which play important roles in the later shorts. As for the portrayal of Batman, this one is much more traditional, but you don't see too much of him to really get a feel for him.
Score: 6/10

Field Test
From Bee Train, this film focuses on Bruce Wayne more so than Batman. It starts out with Bruce and Lucius Fox testing out a new electromagnetic weapon, with the capability of deflecting bullets. Bruce decides to first use it out on the golf course, in order to make his opponent look bad. After receiving a tip about the Italians and Russians out at sea, he dons his Bat suit and pursues the ships. After rounding the groups together, he grabs old of the two bosses and demands they settle their differences. All is well, but one grunt doesn't gets the message and fire, but with Batman's new gadget the bullet ricochets and hits a nearby thug. It's hear that Batman's human side comes in and rushes the man to the hospital. He later decides that he must put his own life on the line, and no one else's, leaving the gadget behind. It was nice to get to see Bruce for a change, thought hearing Conry trying to sound younger seemed a little forced. The Bat suit of this short is also a little strange, with a beak-like mask and oversized chest plate.
Score: 6.5/10

In Darkness Dwells
From Madhouse, this is probably the darkest film of the set. It portrays Batman as a stout, grumpy, demon-like man, almost contrary to all other portrayals of him in the film. Batman is given word of an 8 foot tall reptilian like creature lurking the sewers, and he believes Scarecrow's toxin gas is causing whatever the creature is, to act this way. Soon after his exploration of the sewers, Batman is attacked by an infected Killer Croc, who bites Batman and injects the Scarecrow's toxins into him. Woozy, he persists on through the sewers, and hears chants being led by the Scarecrow, and sees the group has held a Cardinal hostage. Batman confronts the Scarecrow, blowing up the sewers, and saves the hostage. It was nice to see a short that really referenced Batman Begins in story, even if it didn't do so visually. The dark portrayal of the characters also made it feel closer to Batman Begins.
Score: 7.5/10

Working Through Pain
The second film from Studio 4°C, this starts of with an injured Batman trying to escape the sewers, and realizing he has been wounded in his abdomen. As he tries to heel it, he is overcome with pain and recalls a time when he was aiding a wounded man, and rethinks of how he overcame his pain. It is here he remembers when he was in India, and he met with a spiritual woman named Cassandra. He wanted her to teach him way to overcome pain, but he then learns that he can never escape it. Back as Batman, he persues back to the surface, and gives Alfred a call. But while still in the sewer he starts to find guns, including one thrown in there during Field Test. I personally really liked this portrayal of Batman, because it really shows that he can suffer the same pain as everyone else. I also really and enjoyed the single tone coloring style used, especially in contrast with the heavy black tones of Madhouse's work. I also felt the Indian setting was a nice change from the slums of Gotham.
Score: 9.5/10

Deadshot
The second film from Madhouse and finale of this collection, this focuses of the short's titular character, Deadshot, a hired assassin. Cut to Wayne Manor, where Bruce is studying he new found gun collection, and discusses with Alfred of how he refuses to use guns, but can understand their appeal. We then find out that Deadshot is hired by the Mafia to take out Lt. Gordon is order to get Batman's attention. Thanks to Batman, he misses Gordon, but still gets his chance at Batman. They duke it out on a high speed train, and when Deadshot's tool of destruction are ruined, he's left helpless, and Batman rides off. This certainly was the story that Warner wanted to focus on, as it is used on the cover on released versions of the film. And it certainly is the most traditional looking Bat suit of the entire series of shorts. However I personally did like like the art style used, as it just didn't work that well on human characters. But at the same time this was a very good culmination to the set, and should flow well into The Dark Knight.
Score: 8/10

Final Thoughts
Batman: Gotham Knight is the first ever DC Universe anime, and it certainly stands out amongst the other DC animated projects, as there's just nothing like it. And what makes this different from Warner's previous anime project, The Animatrix, is the fact that Gotham Knight follows a consistent story. So that even with an entirely different team working from film to film, the story flows really well, and characters seem to evolve. It creates a great sense of variety while still keeping it self together. It's a must buy for Batman and anime fans alike. Even if you aren't a fan of anime, but like Batman, this is a great way to get you to appreciate the medium.

Overall: 8/10

Happy 4th!

Hey everybody, happy Fourth of July! I'm going to be gone most of the day, but before I go I thought I'd leave you with this little anime clip from Street Fighter IV. It's complete gorgeous, seriously, it single-handedly has revived my interest in SFIV. I don't care if the character designs are completely hideous (oh so hideous!) if I have a chance of participating in something half as beautiful as that I'll totally buy it.

First look at Astro Boy

To be honest, I'm not sure the age of this, but it's news to me. Casting for the upcoming Astro Boy CGI movie was announced today, of which included Nicholas Cage.. so I'm kind of nervous now, but who cares about stars. I'm personally a big fan of Astro Boy, so I am quite interest to see where this film will go. It's being produced by IMAGI, the company responsible for the recent TMNT film (which actually was the #1 movie at the box office when it came out, if that means anything). The studio also has a Gatchaman GCI film in the works, both it and Astro Boy are planned for a 2009 release.

The teaser poster


An admittedly goofy looking Astro, waves with an unnamed bot.

It seems decent enough for now, but I'm still curious to see if the cast will make or break this thing. The cast includes Freddie Highmore as Astro Boy; as well as Nicolas Cage, Nathan Lane, Bill Nighy, Eugene Levy, and Donald Sutherland, each with yet to be named roles.

Batman: Gotham Knight

Quitea bit on the upcoming DVD Batman: Gotham Knight. First off, the site gota major over haul, with more features yet to come, you can view it here. also, with the new site comes two videos. The first is the trailer that released a week or two ago, the second is brand new and features the staff and lots of new footage!

Batman: Gotham Knight - Trailer


Batman: Gotham Knight - Sizzle Reel

Movies, TV, etc. Reviews

These reviews are organized by their specific media. They are listed alphabetically, unless part of a series.

To see how we score click here.

VFH Classic reviews marked with *
VFH Seal of Approval titles in bold


127 Hours
(500) Days of Summer
Avatar
Bananaz
Black Swan
Brüno
Coraline
The Dark Knight
District 9
Dragonball: Evolution
Eagle Eye
The Expendables
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Funny People
Green Lantern 'NEW'
The Hangover
I'm Here
Inception
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Inglourious Basterds
Iron Man 2
Machete
Moon
Quantum of Solace
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
Sherlock Holmes
The Social Network
Star Trek
Sukiyaki Western: Django
Toy Story 3
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Tron: Legacy
True Grit
UP
WALL-E
Watchmen
The Wrestler
Zombieland


Moon
Star Trek
UP
WALL-E


Batman: Gotham Knight*
Batman: Under the Red Hood
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs
Futurama: Bender's Game
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
Green Lantern: First Flight
Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
UP
Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter
Wonder Woman


Doctor Who
The Drinky Crow Show
FlashForward
Fringe
Futurama
Lost
Moral Orel
The Powerpuff Girls Rule!!!
Robot Chicken
Shin-chan
Superjail!
The Xtacles
Young Person's Guide To History


This post will be updated as the reviews come.
Last updated: June 25th 2011 (12:57 AM EST)