  Majestic Prince - Episode 15 - Defending Vesta Jul 18th 2013, 15:00 
Simon reveals the ultimate risk behind piloting an AHSMB and Izuru might be the first victim! Elsewhere in space, Amane is leading Team Doberman against Lumes' forces in an attempt to protect Vesta Base. But they are poorly outnumbered!
 |  Naruto Shippuden Season 12 - Episode 321 - Reinforcements Arrive Jul 18th 2013, 11:00 
White Zetsu's ability to mimic people's appearances has wrought confusion and distrust within the Allied Shinobi Forces. Naruto arrives to assist, and using his sensory powers, he identifies all the disguised White Zetsu clones, changing the tide of the battle.
 | | Man of Tai Chi – Review Jul 18th 2013, 00:04 
Keanu Reeves makes his directorial debut with a multi-lingual China-set fight film. Using Tai Chi in the form of a martial art and together with some great philosophy this turned out to be a solid performance all round. Both Keanu and Chen Lin-Hu gave it their all and it was great to see Keanu using his old skills again not quite the Matrix but he still kicks ass. Some of the fight scenes were a little short but amazing styles were used to try to break Tai Chi. Though the fight scenes are ably directed by Keanu Reeves in his helming debut, there’s just not enough of interest here to keep the run-time clipping along, and the actor’s own stiff presence in a supporting role does little to help this. To be fair, one can tell the reverence that Reeves has for his pugilistic source material, and the first half of the film does hold promise that Man Of Tai Chi could have been a credibly entertaining martial arts movie. Famed action choreographer Yuen Wo-Ping brings several entertaining fight sequences to the table, and Tiger is an interesting protagonist, a guy with a chronic bad hair day and badass kung fu chops. Unfortunately, the rest of of the movie is let down by unnecessary subplots (Mok as an ineffectual cop) and some anti-climactic final fight sequences. Intent and execution are two vastly different processes, and one can detect the effort that went into making this movie. Ultimately though, there are too many flaws in Man Of Tai Chi for it to be considered more than a valiant first attempt. 
And when things do start happening, it’s beautiful to watch. Yes, it does have a few stiff and/or formulaic moments but given the genre and it being a directorial debut, this was inevitable  Also, in spite of the genre and the references/homages to other movies,Reeves’ directing style is original.He might have been inspired by the masters, but he doesn’t borrow from any of them. Like Tiger, Reeves created his own style: ironic,realistic, minimalist, sharp, punctual, complex,subtle, multi-layered. Although being promoted as a ‘kung-fu movie’, Man of Tai Chi is much more than that. It’s a meditation on many aspects and trappings of today’s life. But none of them are spelled out in neon letters; it’s up to the audience to recognize them. All in all, it’s like… a Chinese menu: there’s something in it for everyone, but some of the dishes are not everyone’s favorites. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd5WUn2oM8Y It was not a perfect film, but you have to notice how incredibly fluid and fast this guy is and in which proves Tai Chi is more than just a style of meditation and moves. However, this also comes with learning control and not letting yourself be moved by possessed anger. I will tell you the moves were authentic, real and had little wire work, barely any. They were real masters of Tai Chi Kung Fu, both Tiger and his master I can tell you that. Anyone that cannot see that has not been in front of this going on outside of a movie like I have. Remember his teacher said he had to slow down and empty himself. It is not all about fighting and speed. It is about using your Katas, focus for your entire movements and being able to transfer and use your Chi instead of just your physical body. In all of this and the lessons, it was a ten score.
 | | Mobile Police Patlabor TV: Collection 1 – Review Jul 18th 2013, 00:02 
Following the success of the OVA series from 1988, came a TV series, that had all the ingredients for the perfect fighting robot related anime. Patlabor didn’t get the recognition it deserved in North American over other worthy series, because it was not very well promoted and badly represented as a “mecha-action” show. This couldn’t be further from the truth of what this program had to offer. The movies, while technically brilliant, were more about the ideas and less about what made the show so popluar overseas, namely storytelling and character development. Shows such as Neon Genesis Evangelion and Dominion, even Love Hina can trace many of their thematic and character development roots back to this wonderful show where mecha takes a back seat to the world which Headgear (the creative group responsible for the show) creates. In a sense, it’s real success was in part due to the believability which they lent to the whole giant robot genre by popluating it with regular people who happen to use large machines in everyday life. This isn’t a continuation from the Original OVA. It’s an alternate retelling of the story and universe. Noah joining Division 2 is entirely different as well as the encounter of Kanuka Clancey is different. The plot and background story is the though. It takes place in an alternate future. Set in the late 90′s to the early 2000′s. Where robot carriers called Labors are used to make the world progress quicker and cut down manual labor. But it created a raise in crime and terrorism. Which lead to improving the police forces by creating Patlabors. Labors specially used by the police to fight crime and make the public feel safe to roam the streets. The basic premise is at the end of the 20th century, newer more efficient construction methods needed to be developed, and robots were employed to fulfill this role. As a result, the number of crimes committed using these robots, or “labors”, resulted in the need to create a special detatchment of the police force to deal with labor related crime. This is the premise in which we are introduced to Tokyo’s newest section of the Special Vehicles Department and their crew: a crazy mix of personalities. 
The action sequences come quite few and far between (you won’t find it in every episode), but it really delivers. For a TV series, the animation is one of the best looking and the most consistent I’ve ever seen. The character development of each member of SV-2 are also good in sense that all characters are adults and have rational thinking and judgment. The story tends to develop the characters towards being able to trust and work as a team under critical situation also have each other respect. The voice acting quality is also good as the voice reflect the age and personality of each character. The BGM is quite ok and able to blend with the voice acting. The OP and ED suit the taste of viewer during late 80′s, performed by artists and band that maybe famous in that time. The tunes are rather catchy sometimes. Overall, this set has the real meat of the Patlabor TV series; it is here that the major themes (other than comedy) are dealt with, and where the majority of the action takes place. The humor will get better in the final three volumes, but the action reaches its peak here with the Griffin vs Ingram battles, and the characterization remains just as good throughout these as ever. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7ewDo6f4RI If you’ve been disappointed before in the other versions of the franchise, then give this TV version a try. If, on the other hand, you’re a huge fan of Patlabor or of police or mecha anime in general, then this series will please you enormously. The series has been around for more than a decade. Making it worthy of being classified as a classic. And is a highly under-rated anime. Very few people know it’s existence. But those who like unique fighting robot anime, or anything from the 80s. Will likely to enjoy Patlabor. It’s a fine example of its genre and is still a classic of anime that all fans should at least see, if not own.
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