Anime in the Pipes

We haven't been purchasing hardly any anime DVD's of late. I have a couple more volumes of Ah! My Goddess (TV) to pick up. But overall, we have been getting more manga than anime lately. The higher price of gasoline here in the States means we are having to trim some of our "entertainment" dollars from the budget, so DVD's are on hiatus for a while.

Two anime DVD releases I'm looking forward to soon are:

Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society. Even though this is a "movie" I've heard it may be released as a very short DVD mini-series run. DannyChoo has some screenshot teasers. And a full trailer is here. More GITS:SSS figures and pictures via DannyChoo from the C3 X Hobby show.

FLCL (Fooly Cooly). Word is that an "Ultimate Edition" of FLCL will be released in November--full series on DVD, commentary, stickers, postcards...etc. I have just about every CD soundtrack from this thing and the show is a bizarre mix of rock, wackiness, and attitude--wrapped up in just six-episodes. I'm starting to save now...!

Alvis has discovered my CowboyBebop series on VHS I snagged several years ago off of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. She is really digging it. It's fun to go back and rewatch it with her. It was one of the first series I saw that got me back into anime lovin.

Turner Classic Movies is going to air Grave of the Fireflies on November 12, 9pm CST. Produced by Studio Ghibli, it is a sadly dark but hauntingly warm tale of an orphaned brother and sister struggling to survive on their own in Japan in the final days of World War II. I highly recommend watching this with your children (when they are mature enough and you have watched it first) and discussing it afterwards. Regardless of your feelings on war (I personally fall into the "speak softly and carry a big stick" outlook), it captures a sense of humanity and cost that is very much needed in our insular pop-culture world.

--Claus