Cowboy Bebop Remix Complete Collection (Anime Legends) Directed by Sunrise Studios

Product Details

Cowboy Bebop Remix Complete Collection (Anime Legends) Directed by Sunrise Studios List Price: $49.98 Price: $37.49 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details http://astore.amazon.com/anime-manga-forsale-20 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Ships from and sold by Amazon.com 25 new or used available from $28.99 Average customer review:

Product Description

The crew of the Bebop is once again ready to take control of space, bringing bad guys to justice and trying to make some cash while doing it. Join the always cool Spike, investigative genius Jet, the fabulous Faye, the amazing (but weird) Ed and the super-smart Welsh Corgi named Ein as they try to make a buck in the year 2071. How do they do it? They re bounty hunters. But then again, you probably wouldn t be reading this if you didn t already know that...Now, for the first time in North America the entire Cowboy Bebop Remix series in one package!!!

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1062 in DVD
• Brand: BANDAI ENTERTAINMENT
• Released on: 2008-02-05
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 6
• Formats: Animated, Box set, Color, Surround Sound, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English, Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Dimensions: 1.25 pounds
• Running time: 650 minutes

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Customer Reviews

"Satellite from days of old, lead me to your access code!"
Look up the word `cool' in any dictionary and it says "see Cowboy Bebop"...well, not really...but it should, because Cowboy Bebop is the quintessence of coolness. If you don't already know, Bebop is a stylish 26-session masterpiece chronicling the thrilling triumphs and tribulations of those space-sailing, chain-smoking, bounty-hunting buddies, Jet Black and Spike Spiegel. Jet is a bald and burly bonsai tree collector with an artificial left arm and a comma-shaped piece of metal under his scarred right eye. A former ISSP officer--known on his home satellite, Ganymede, as the tenacious "Black Dog"--Jet is now the owner/pilot/mechanic of the spaceship Bebop. The wiry gunfighter and martial arts master, Spike, has fuzzy green hair, mismatched eyes and a checkered past. These two intrepid space "cowboys" hop from one astral gate to another to hunt down wanted criminals all across the galaxy, hoping to earn enough woolongs to enable Jet to finally add some actual beef to his famous "Bell Peppers and Beef" stir-fry. In Session 2, Spike and Jet rescue a Welsh Corgi "data-dog" named Ein from the notorious pet thief, Abdul Hakim. In Session 3, they meet up with an unscrupulous Blackjack dealer who turns out to be the infamous yellow-clad femme fatale, Faye Valentine. And in Session 9, they meet an androgynous red-headed net-diver with an occasionally invisible nose who calls herself Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky, IV. Only by working together can this motley little crew of hungry hunters overcome the ruthless gangsters, senile chess players, broken showers, biting mutants and bad mushrooms that stand in their way as they attempt to nab the endless lineup of bad guys profiled daily on Punch and Judy's Big Shot television show.

Cowboy Bebop showcases phenomenal jazz music and exquisitely detailed animation that perfectly captures the mean streets and spaceways of a future world that's simultaneously strange and familiar, with technology that's grungy and realistic (like the hardware of the original Star Wars trilogy) and a uniquely multi-cultural cornucopia of characters. Unlike most animes, Bebop is primarily episodic, so the shows can be enjoyed individually, without requiring the viewer to watch the entire series in one sitting. My personal favorite is the suspense-filled horror spoof, "Toys In the Attic," which opens with red-tinged video footage of a dingy tunnel, reminiscent of the long-forgotten Sega CD game, Sewer Shark.

The "Remix" of Cowboy Bebop allows you to hear the unforgettably exhilarating opening theme, Tank! (as well as the rest of the exquisitely-scored soundtrack), in speaker-rattling Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. This affordably-priced Anime Legends set collects the entire Bebop series (not the movie) on six colorfully silk-screened DVDs. A plethora of special features are included, among them: three English-language trailers for Cowboy Bebop on DVD; four Cartoon Network promos; interviews with Wendee Lee, the voice of Faye Valentine and Cartoon Network producer, Sean Akins; subtitled commentary on Session 1 with the Japanese voices of Spike and Jet, Koichi Yamadera and Unshou Ishizuka; commentary on Session 5 and 10 with Wendee Lee and ADR producer, Yutaka Maseba; a laughter-filled commentary on Session 17 with director, Shinichiro Watanabe, and legendary composer, Yoko Kanno; Session 24 commentary with the Japanese Faye, Megumi Hayashibara, and the Japanese Ed, Aoi Tada; a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Cowboy Bebop, called Session 0; plus a music video featuring the full-length version of Tank! Audio options consist of the aforementioned Dolby Digital 5.1 mix in both English and Japanese, as well as the original English and Japanese Stereo tracks. The ONLY downside to this release is that all six discs are awkwardly crowded into one plastic keepcase, each held in place with tiny tabs that are easily broken. Shucks howdy, this is an anime collection that would even satisfy those crotchety old geezers, Antonio, Carlos, and Jobim. So come out of your cryogenic sleep and order yours today! Highly recommended to all animation fans, cop show fans, jazz enthusiasts and corgi owners. "Once the channel is set, you will no longer be able to escape!"
Quality and affordability in one Set
Instead of giving some hack review of the story, I'll skip it and assume you either know the story already or know how to google for it.

This box set of a solid anime is finally released in its newest form (improved and cleaned-up picture and 5.1 surround mix) at a very affordable price. Honestly, $40 is a steal considering what you had to pay for all of the discs individually. All 6 discs are in a clamshell case, similar to that of the Back to the Future. No insert inside, just the DVDs.

What I think of the improved picture:
It's not bad. Not perfect but not bad. You'll notice the picture is cleaned up a lot if you compare it with pre-improved releases. Scenes that are brighter or more colorful really come through. But I did notice something that kinda bothered me some. Scenes where there is a lot of black (which are many; the story is mostly in space. who knew?) seem off. What I mean by that is, the black areas aren't a consistent black. This could be a result of the clean-up process but I'm not sure. Either way, it's slightly distracting but by no means a deal breaker. (EDIT: This was an issue I experienced on the first disc and not later ones; not sure if it was with the disc or my TV's brightness setting. Either way, not a big problem.) You're getting a better copy of the show visually.

What I think of the sound:
Ok, if you know anything about Bebop, it's that there is a great soundtrack. Snappy jazz with the opening credits and sad blues penetrate this series. Needless to say, with a diverse score like this one, the surround mix really pays off. Surround effects and bass response are dead on and not overwhelming. Scenes take advantage of the surrounds to create a balanced ambiance and you might even glance behind your shoulder at times. Don't feel dumb if you do; I did it too. Gunfights and action scenes take good advantage of the subwoofer. But nothing overwhelming, it's well balanced and just gives that extra punch you'd expect.

So what should you do?
If you don't have this series, this is probably the best offer you're going to get. If you laid down the money for each remastered disc, nothing is added for you content wise, other than your anger for Bandai not releasing this sooner.

A quality series with an upped picture quality and surround mix, offered at a reasonable price. Til next time Cowboy.
Impartial Review
While I may have gotten this box set elsewhere, I can tell you more about it. First, the commonly known stuff: it's 6 DVDs for a total of 26 sessions (episodes), it's got English and Japanese audio in 5.0 and 2.1 but only English subtitles, and it's total run time is 650 minutes.

Now for the juicyness: some episodes have commentary from the staff. What does this mean? It means that the voice actors themselves commented on the episode. Some episodes have more than one commentary. For example, the first episode has two commentaries, one from the Japanese voice actors of Spike and Jet and another from the English voice actress of Faye. If that weren't enough juicyness, it also contains a bonus Episode: Session 0, which I am not allowed to spoil about.

So, aye, if you liked Cowboy Bebop and were waiting forever for the box set to come out, then why don't you have this yet?

Claymore: Complete Series Box Set [Blu-ray]

Product Details

Claymore: Complete Series Box Set [Blu-ray] Directed by Todd Haberkorn List Price: $54.98 Price: $29.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details http://astore.amazon.com/anime-manga-forsale-20 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Ships from and sold by Amazon.com 35 new or used available from $29.95 Average customer review:

Product Description

A brutal scourge stalks the land. Yoma, monsters driven by a hunger satisfied by only one quarry – Humanity. The dark breed knows but a singular foe: Claymore. Human-Yoma hybrids of extraordinary strength and cunning, the Claymores roam from skirmish to skirmish delivering salvation by the edge of a blade.
Thus begins the twisting tale of Clare, one such sister of the sword driven by pain in both victory and defeat. A child silent and suffering hidden in her past, Clare’s march toward vengeance unfolds along a path marked by violence, solitude and scorn. In a land where even the predator is prey, the haunted hearts of hunter and hunted alike wear the scars of the age.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2254 in DVD
• Brand: Funimation
• Released on: 2010-02-16
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Formats: Widescreen, Color, Box set, Subtitled, Animated
• Original language: Japanese, English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .55 pounds
• Running time: 620 minutes

Features

• Prey for Revenge.A brutal scourge stalks the land. Yoma, monsters driven by a hunger satisfied by only one quarry Humanity. The dark breed knows but a singular foe: Claymore. Human-Yoma hybrids of extraordinary strength and cunning, the Claymores roam from skirmish to skirmish delivering salvation by the edge of a blade.Thus begins the twisting tale of Clare, one such sister of the sword driven by

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Customer Reviews

Fianlly, Claymore Gets the Box Set Treatment it Deserves
I'll come right out and confess it; there is much to be excited about when an anime company like FUNimation decides to release a beloved franchise in a single complete collection box set. Not only does it save the buyer money but it makes a given property much more accessible to viewers who would otherwise be reluctant to track down half a dozen volumes to enjoy the show in it's entirety. Enter Claymore the Complete Series, a property of which I've long been campaigning for a complete box set release. The show, which is really unlike any other anime series out there, has been released to the North American market thus far in a pace that could only be described as "trickling" as in six, 4-episode releases that each ran 95 minutes. I've got them all but won't lie about waiting impatiently for each release to come out so that the story could continue.

Coming in at a total runtime of 650 minutes, Claymore The Complete Series release contains all 26 episodes across 6 discs in three thin packs. The set is housed in a cardboard outer slipcase that is minimally artistically decorated (as should be with a show this mysterious). The show wears a very appropriate TV MA (17+) rating due to some rough language, topless female nudity (or maybe topless monster nudity is more appropriate), and a near-endless succession of violent/gory sequences.

Language options are standard fair sub and dub, which of course means dialog presented in either original Japanese (Stereo) or an English dub in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. And, like always, the choice to run English subtitles exists for either spoken language option.

Extras are surprisingly robust and include a pair of nice 24-page full color books highlighting key characters from the series, six commentary tracks from some of the English voice actresses and creative staff, Japanese staff interviews, original TV commercials, cast audition reels, textless songs, and a crop of Funimation trailers scattered throughout.

The story could best be described as a sweeping supernatural epic set in a grim fantasy environment in which an order of pale, blonde-haired girls are humanity's last hope in a struggle for survival against a race of beasts known as Yoma.

Yoma are incredibly powerful and twisted human/monster hybrids that come in many shapes and sizes and are driven by an endless appetite for consuming human innards.

The story primarily focuses on one of the Claymore sisters named Clare who sets off on a mission of bloody vengeance against the Yoma with hints of a disturbing and suffering-laden childhood popping up periodically along the way.

No ordinary pale girls, these Claymores, however as they are in fact only half-human and half Yoma themselves. Their beastie-half provides them with superhuman abilities (among them: strength, endurance, special attacks and healing capabilities), at the cost of a constant threat of accidentally "going too far" in a battle and hence allowing the Yoma portion of their being to forever consume them.

Should this happen, (a process called awakening here) the sister in question is to be slain by their own commanders-in-arms on the spot. As such the show presents a unique tension in the thralls of battle, as the temptation to push the limits of their fleeting humanity is a constant concern and more than a few Claymores will fall to the charms of the Yoma along the way.

Fighting the Yoma can best be described as a physically grueling hack-fest with blurring blades from multiple Claymores chipping away at the oftentimes massive forms of the flesh-eating monsters. The good news for the viewer is that this means some wickedly cool battle sequences where many (and I do mean many) lovely Claymores meet their gruesome demise in the hopes of taking down a few of the enemy with them.

Almost in a video game style of presentation, the show bides its time with the Claymore girls having to dispose of countless lesser beasts (such as the Abyss Feeders) while reserving the major player (think bosses) bad guy battles for the conclusion of the major story arcs. Among these is the wicked cool Silver Eyed Lion King (Rigardo), The White Silver King (Isley), and the Blood Soaked Warrior (Ophelia).

The show's art is fantastically appropriate with shadowy backgrounds, eerie lighting, and clear-cool skies that are sure to inspire a shiver. The character-model art is deliberately pale, bordering on black and white in fact, which goes a long way to provide an almost vampire-like appearance to the Claymore girls.
The soundtrack is made up of intense musical numbers and subtle stray electric guitar notes that are so well integrated that they tumble away into the creepy sounds of the night.

It should be noted that the finalized cover art is actually a bit different from the photo Amazon has shown here. The box is indeed white and features a depiction of lead character Clare but not quite so closely cropped. Rather she is standing to the right of the frame with her silver cape flowing over the title, "Claymore The Complete Series". A small discrepancy, sure, but not to worry, the finished art works just as well.

In all this is a must-have collection that will delight fans of most anime genres. Kudos to FUNimation for putting the fans first with a full boxset release at an asking price of little more than the 4-episode volumes have been going for until now. I simply cannot recommend this collection highly enough.
Mature Anime with Sweeping Vision
Claymore is a series for the more serious anime watcher; I think that should be stated first and foremost. There is no jarring change from the plot with ultimately wasteful filler meant to make you laugh nor is there any comedy involved in the series. It is a very good series to start an adult on if you have a friend who is interested in anime and wants both the plot aspect and the violence that comes from the more mature fare. It is the blending of these two factors, along with the fantastic artistic style of this series that makes it so successful in appealing to both the male and female audience.

Claymore does not start gradually, but it builds to a maturity of storyline that should be envied by other animes that attempt to blend the typical violence of a storyline revolving around combating demons, monsters, or other evil forces and balance it with serious dialogue and characters. Claymore is not a cliché series in any way.

The story starts out with the arrival of a Claymore named Clare who has been sent by a mysterious organization to defeat a Yoma (monster/demon) found in a small town. Though the chief of the city has requested the presence of a Claymore that does not mean she is welcome. This is a running current throughout the series. As the Claymore (derogatorily referred to as Silver-Eyed Witches) are both human and Yoma they are almost universally feared and reviled. While they are needed and even sought out for their unique ability to combat the Yoma they are outcasts of humanity. Ironically their own humanity being the greatest thing they have forsaken in order to become these powerful slayers this sacrifice is not truly appreciated by most of the people they save. Anyone that has come into contact with a Yoma is considered tainted, dangerous, and possible of transforming into one of these ravenous beings that adores feasting on entrails.

Raki is one such individual who is forced away from all he ever knew because of his close proximity to a Yoma. Outcast from his people - who feel they are only doing what they must to protect their village - he ends up falling in with Clare who frostily keeps him at arm's length even as she allows him to accompany her. It is from this starting point; the relationship between the young Clare and her even younger companion that the series begins to build.

There is the usual fighting fare, the fast paced and epic battles that we have all come to expect from anime, but there is remarkably little boasting to be found by the characters (which is not typical) unless it is their honest personality as portrayed by the series. As we travel through the episodes, watching Clare and other Claymores going about their duty of dispatching both novice and aged Yoma we understand more and more the painful relationship and the hard choices they have all made. We also learn more about the mysterious organization that created the Claymore and the way they view the world.

This is not a soft and gentle anime, the stories of these women (all Claymore's are female) and the sacrifices that they make are touching and compelling. They provide an earnest reasoning for why the Claymores continue to fight and why some girls become Claymore. Ultimately this is an anime about relationships and the stark dichotomies of society more than an epic battle between the forces of good and evil, which is in itself a murky concept as the series aptly points out.

Aside from the plot this is a stylistic anime with both the dark overtones and the artistic talent to bring that to life. The series can be light and uplifting in both appearance and story when it needs to be, but the pain is palpable throughout even the happiest of moments for the characters.

The box set is a beautiful addition with beefy extras on both the DVD's (textless songs, original commercials, interviews, et cetera) and in the set which comes with two full color booklets detailing all of the characters and several two page art pieces. The dub is not bad, which is a hard thing to say of many anime, and the Japanese language with the subtitles (that are very clear and easy to read) is of impeccable quality in translation. All in all this is a series worth owning and a box set well worth the price.

If you are looking for a more mature anime that doesn't pander to the audience but instead draws it in, this is certainly a must have for your collection.
Great Anime, Horrible Blu-ray
I'm not going to go into the plot of Claymore, other sites and reviewers have that covered, but here is the deal, Funimation has yet again releases another upscaled piece of garbage.

This release is done in 1080i, which basically translates into "this is a poor quality upscale." For those who don't know what upscaling is, it is basically resizing video or images to a larger size than the original source. This greatly distorts the video and leads to lines that are blurred, artifacting (large squares of ugliness), slow or choppy playback, and all around "eye cancer."

If you own the DVDs, stick with them as they are the best quality available. If you want a HD version of this anime wait for the official release from the studio, not some cheap Funimation weekend project. I'm returning this right away because I am not going to pay for this horrible mess of a release.

EDIT: I added a screenshot to the images section to show how bad this release is. Make sure to look at it full size, as it naturally looks better at a smaller size. Also the screenshot was not altered in any way from the Blu-ray source.