August 7th

Disgaea Complete Series DVD (S.A.V.E.)
Is This A Zombie? Complete Series DVD Limited Edition
One Piece Season 4 Part 1 DVD

August 14th

Oblivion Island: Haruka & the Magic Mirror DVD
Oblivion Island: Haruka & the Magic Mirror DVD/Blu-ray Combo
One Piece Collection 7 DVD
Trinity Blood Complete Series DVD (Anime Classics)

August 21st

Shakugan no Shana Season 1 DVD/Blu-ray Combo
Shangri-La Part 1 DVD Limited Edition
Shangri-La Part 2 DVD

August 28th

Freezing Complete Series DVD/Blu-ray Combo Limited Edition
Kaleido Star Season 1 Complete Collection DVD (S.A.V.E.)
Texhnolyze Complete Series DVD (Anime Classics)

Welcome to the last part of these three part series on anime shows that could use a sequel.

Kare Kano

What is the show about? Yukino Miyazawa is really, really vain, and loves to hear people praise her. She’s always been the best at everything, and always tries to look perfect. But when Yukino goes to high school, she’s finally upstaged–by Souichiro Arima, who scores better on the entrance exams and instantly snatches the attention of the class. By accident, Arima finds out that Yukino is just pretending, and this starts off a series of events that lead to Yukino and Arima falling in love. They then have to cope with a lot of obstacles in their relationship.

Why does it need a sequel or prequel? (SPOILER ALERT) – It is well known and documented that the mangaka hated how Gainax handled the source material so it just ended and not give it a proper ending. (SPOILER END)

What type of sequel does it need? Another twenty four episode series would be great to bring the rest of the manga to life and give it the end it so desperately needs.

Chances of this happening: Well since the mangaka hated the Gainax adaption I doubt it that another series would be allowed or a continuation of the series from where it left off.

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Mobile Fighter G Gundam

What is the show about? In the Year FC 60, much of mankind inhabits space colonies which orbit the Earth. Dominance over the colonies is decided once every four years by a large tournament in which each nation sends a single representative to fight the others with a giant robot called a Gundam. Domon Kashuu is selected to represent Neo-Japan in one of these tournaments, but he fights less to ensure his nation’s victory than to find his brother, who has been blamed for the deaths of Domon’s parents and the disappearance of a very dangerous weapon, the Dark Gundam or Devil Gundam.

Why does it need a sequel or prequel? (SPOILER ALERT) –The series does come to an end but does state about seeing you in the Gundam Fight 14. There were also a manga series of the 7^th Gundam Fight created so there could be some material there to work with, or potentially working with the past fights and giving some information there. It would also be interesting to see the next Gundam Fight championship. (SPOILER END)

What type of sequel does it need? In traditional Gundam fashion at least a forty nine to fifty two episode series would be needed.

Chances of this happening: Since a manga of the TV series came out in 2010 there always could be a possibility of this happening, but I doubt it.

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Sekirei (includes both seasons)

What is the show about? Minato Sahashi is extremely intelligent, yet due to his inability to cope under pressure has failed the college entrance exam twice. As a result he has been branded an idiot and loser by many. One day after talking to his yet again disappointed mother he comes into contact with a girl named Musubi who was under attack. The girl runs but takes him with her and soon finds that Minato, while unknown to him, is an Ashikabi, one of the mysterious set of masters that have the genetic trait that can become partners with some of the 108 cute girls, buxom women, and bishōnen called “Sekirei”. The reason for the partnership allows the Sekirei to use all their power to win in the competition held by the mysterious MBI corporation.

Why does it need a sequel or prequel? (SPOILER ALERT) – Season 2 ends with the bad guy blasting off the MBI building into space. The game is not over by any means. (SPOILER END)

What type of sequel does it need? I would love to see a twenty four to twenty six episode series be created that gives a more in depth look with the cast and the terribleness of the Sekirei plan.

Chances of this happening: Likely, it has some moe elements and is fanservice driven so it would likely sell well in Japan.

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Suzuka

What is the show about? Yamato Akitsuki travels to Tokyo alone to study in one of the high schools located within the area. He lives in with his aunt who operates a public bath solely for the ladies in the local district and begins his normal high-school life. One day, he chances upon a girl in school and is immediately mesmerised by her beauty. He is shocked when he realize later that the girl, Suzuka, is actually living next door to him. From then on, Yamato’s ordinary life begins to change little by little

Why does it need a sequel or prequel? (SPOILER ALERT) – The TV series ends with Suzuka and Yamato finally being together as a couple. The manga however continued after that going on about Suzuka’s leaving Japan to study in the United States for a year and Yamato’s dealings with other females who have an interest in him. There is also Suzuka and Yamato continuing their relationship and eventually ending up starting a family and getting married.(SPOILER END)

What type of sequel does it need? Twenty four to twenty six episodes would be good to bring everything completely to its end.

Chances of this happening: The mangaka has mentioned before that he would like to do more Suzuka but it was not clear if he was referring to doing more of the manga or another TV series. The former is possible the latter is unlikely.

This concludes my three part series on anime titles that need a sequel.  I hope you enjoyed reading these three articles.  Check back tomorrow for a special article regarding sequels.

Welcome to Part Two of my three part article on anime titles that could use a sequel.

High School of the Dead

What is the show about? Takashi Komuro is a normal high school boy, until an infection breaks out that turns people into zombie-like creatures. Along with his friends & the school nurse, they fight their way out and continue their journey to find out what exactly has happened to the world.

Why does it need a sequel or prequel? (SPOILER ALERT) – The TV series ended with the group getting to the mall. There is still more to animate so it is a no brainier there. (SPOILER END)

What type of sequel does it need? – Another twelve or thirteen episode TV series would be great to give more to the fans of the series.

Chances of this happening: If memory serves me correct it sold well in Japan and there is still stuff from the manga to but into an anime so it is possible that another season would be created.

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History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi

What is the show about? Shirahama Kenichi is an average student who has earned the nickname “Weak Legs” from always getting bullied. One day he meets a cute girl named Furinji Miu who helps him build the courage to begin training at a mysterious dojo where she lives. Here Kenichi faces intense training from masters of many different martial arts styles as he attempts to become stronger.

Why does it need a sequel or prequel? (SPOILER ALERT) – The TV series ended with an arc being completed but there is still a lot more of the manga that was not animated. (SPOILER END)

What type of sequel does it need? – Some OVA’s are coming out but what it will do remains to be seen. If another TV series was to be created another fifty two episode series should be created.

Chances of this happening: With the OVA coming out there is a possibility that another series could be create in the future.

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Initial D

What is the show about? High school student Takumi Fujiwara works as a gas station attendant during the day and a delivery boy for his father’s tofu shop during late nights. Little does he know that his precise driving skills and his father’s modified Toyota Sprinter AE86 Trueno make him the best amateur road racer on Mt. Akina’s highway. Because of this, racing groups from all over the Gunma prefecture issue challenges to Takumi to see if he really has what it takes to be a road legend.

Why does it need a sequel or prequel? (SPOILER ALERT) – Stage Four ended with Project D remaining undefeated but the manga is still being made so there is still more material to develop.(SPOILER END)

What type of sequel does it need? Having not read the manga this could be tough one to answer. I would say just to be safe another twenty four to twenty six episode series would be good for the fans of the series.

Chances of this happening: Since there is still source material I guess there is a chance that this could happen. It would be great if it would happen as Initial D is a fun series to watch.

This concludes part two.  Stay turned tomorrow for the third and final part

Recently two polls were created and asked fans what shows they would like to see get a sequel to. The list had me thinking as well about what shows should get either more episodes (another season) or just a few episodes to tidy things up (a few OVA’s). Sequels can be good or better than the previous season (Initial D is a good example) or they can be worse (Comic Party Revolution, To Heart ~Remember my Memories, and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny some good examples of this). Below are some of the shows that I believe could get sequels in terms of another season or just some OVAs. This list is far from complete and this will just include shows that I have finished myself. There is a high doubt that any of this would happen but hey one can dream right?  This will be a several part series since the list that I have come up with is longer than more articles I have written.  Part Two will be up tomorrow and Part Three will be up Saturday, along with a special on Sunday.

Ai Yori Aoshi

What is the show about? – Kaoru Hanabishi, a college student who lives alone, met a beautiful but bewildered girl dressed in kimono at train station. He volunteered to guide her way to the address she was looking for, which looked like in his neighborhood but turned out to be an empty lot. Not knowing what to do next, Kaoru invited the devastated girl to his apartment and asked for additional clue — a photo with two children whom Kaoru immediately identified as himself and Aoi Sakuraba, his childhood friend. It turned out that the girl in front of him is Aoi Sakuraba herself, his betrothed fiancée who came all the way to Tokyo to marry him. Her revelation was not only surprising but also reminded the deepest part of Kaoru’s memory for why he left the Hanabishi family in the first place.

Why does it need a sequel or prequel? (SPOILER ALERT) – Enishi ends with nothing being fully resolved. Kaoru and Aoi still love each other, and Tina is the only one of the harem girls to know that Kaoru and Aoi are in love with each other. The manga does give a great ending to the series and fleshes everything out. (SPOILER END).

What type of sequel does it need? – To bring the story to a close several OVA’s would be enough to wrap everything up completely. Three to Four OVA’s would need to be created to bring everything to a complete close that the series deserves.

Chances of this happening: It is an old show by today’s standards so there is a pretty low chance that it would get any OVA’s.

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Angel Beats

What is the show about? In a world after death, angels fight for their fate and their future. Yuri, the leader of the Shinda Sekai Sensen, rebels against the god who destined her to have an unreasonable life. On the otherhand, Tenshi, the chairperson of the student council for the world after death, battles against the SSS members. SSS members utilize armed weaponry to battle it out against the angels harnessing supernatural powers.

Why does it need a sequel or prequel? (SPOILER ALERT) – While the series did end and everyone left limbo to either go on to the next world or get reborn we do miss a few details on some of the other casts members as what happened to them when they were living and why they could not move on initially do the afterlife. (SPOILER END)

What type of sequel does it need? – This is a tough one. On one hand another twelve episode series could be made to wrap everything up complete and see what happens to everyone else after they leave the limbo world. On the other hand having a few OVA’s to explain what happen to some of the others to end of them and what allowed them to move on completely would also be enough. For this one I am going to chalk this up as either or.

Chances of this happening*: Angel Beats got high marks on either list but but since this is a P.A. Works title with Kyoto Animation being involved would at least give it enough interest if a sequel was made.

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B Gata H Kei

What is the show about? - Yamada is a high school student, and a virgin, who aspires to have 100 casual sex partners. Despite this, she soon finds herself targeting and pursuing only one boy.

Why does it need a sequel or prequel? (SPOILER ALERT) The TV series ends with Yamada and Kosuda attempting to have sex only to fail with getting this done. The series ends with just showing that Yamada and Kosuda still care about each other. (SPOILER END)

What type of sequel does it need? – This series needs another twelve or thirteen episodes to bring everything to a close. The manga ended after the TV series was finished but does give a legit ending to the series. The manga also after where the TV shows ends gives more development to the main cast and some to the side cast members.

Chances of this happening: B Gata H Kei flopped in Japan and it pretty well known about the threats the studio got after the show finished airing so the chances of B Gata H Kei getting a sequel would be low, but it did alright in the polling so there is always hope.

[Source: ANN]

Thanks to Reaper_GI for informing me of a mistake

May 15th

Cat Planet Cuties Complete Series DVD/Blu-ray Liminted Edition
D.Gray-man Season 2 Complete Set DVD (S.A.V.E.)
The Woman Knight of Mirror Lake DVD/Blu-ray (Live Action)

May 22nd

Dragon Ball Z Kai Season 1 DVD
Dragon Ball Z Kai Season 1 Blu-ray
Dragon Ball Z Kai Season 2 DVD
Dragon Ball Z Kai Season 2 Blu-ray
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood OVA Collection DVD/Blu-ray

May 29th

Black Cat Complete Series DVD (S.A.V.E.)
Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple Season 2 Complete Set DVD (Anime Classics)
Shiki Part 1 DVD/Blu-ray Limited Edition
Shiki Part 2 DVD/Blu-ray

April 3rd

Black Butler Season 1 Complete Series DVD/Blu-ray Combo
Black Butler Season 2 Complete Series Limited Edition DVD/Blu-ray Combo
Okami-san and Her Seven Companions Complete Series Limited Edition DVD/Blu-Ray Combo

April 10th

Oh! Edo Rocket Complete Series DVD
Sekirei Season 1 DVD/Blu-Ray Combo

April 17th

Legend of the Legendary Heroes Part 1 Limited Edition DVD/Blu-Ray Combo
Legend of the Legendary Heroes Part 2 DVD/Blu-Ray Combo
Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles OVA Collection DVD (S.A.V.E.)
Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles OVA Collection Blu-Ray (S.A.V.E.)

April 24th

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Collection 1 DVD
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Collection 1 Blu-Ray
Fullmetal Alchemist Sacred Star of Milos DVD
Fullmetal Alchemist Sacred Star of Milos DVD/Blu-Ray Combo
Jyu-Oh-Sei Complete Series DVD (S.A.V.E.)

When a prisoner with only a few months left on his sentence breaks out, the Elric brothers set out to track him down. Their search leads them to Table City, a city on the border of Amestris and Creta. When the pair saves a young alchemist named Julia from the escaped prisoner they get caught up in a rebellion to restore the nation of Milos to its former glory.

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos follows in the footsteps of movies like Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door and Trigun: Badlands Rumble. All three are movies for series that had endings that would be hard to follow with a sequel, so they end up being random filler that takes place sometime during the series itself. This means the movie has no bearing, and really no connection at all, to the actual story from the series.

The movie really goes out of its way to hammer this point home by practically taking place in another country and having next to none of the major characters from the series returning. Winry is there, but all she does is worry about Ed, then fixes his arm. Mustang is there, but he just reads documents most of the time and kills a couple chimera’s offscreen. Hawkeye is there, but all she does is shoot a gun out of a guys hand towards the end of the movie. Aside from Ed and Al, no characters from the series really participate in the story.

Instead the story is centred around all new characters. Of the new characters, only Julia and her brother are really given any amount of backstory, with everyone else just kind of doing their thing, usually until they die. Julia, the main character of the story, is the daughter of two alchemy researchers who were killed when she was young. She lives with the other Milosians in a valley underneath Table City, helping with the rebellion to retake the land that used to be theirs. There’s not much to say about the villains, though truthfully the movie doesn’t even have a villain until the climax when one reveals itself, and then another one reveals itself with about 20 minutes left in the movie. Neither one has a real goal. The second one is angry and wants to destroy everything, and the first is just kind of a prick I guess.

The actual story is pretty straightforward stuff. There are two groups, the Milosians and the corrupt Amestris military in Table City, who want to get the power of a Philospher’s Stone (which is known by another name in Milosian mythology but it escapes me at the moment) for their own reasons. The Milosians want it so they can reestablish the nation of Milos, and the Amestris military wants it for no established reason. It’s a Philosopher’s Stone, so why wouldn’t they want it I guess? Ed and Al, knowing how a Philosopher’s Stone is made, are intent on stopping anyone from trying to make one. Stuff happens, plots are twisted, and ultimately the crisis is averted and nothing substantial has changed in the world of Fullmetal Alchemist. It’s a 90 minute filler episode, essentially.

The movie does pull off some noteworthy things though. First of all, there’s not a single short joke in the entire movie, which is great because those are tired and played out. There are also no points where someone mistakes Al for being the Fullmetal Alchemist due to his armour. The movie actually handles all of its comedy better than Brotherhood could ever hope to. Most of the humour comes from visual gags that are never explicitly called out and are just there for you to enjoy. As opposed to Brotherhood, which takes its gags, waves them in front of the camera and shouts, “SEE THIS? IT’S WACKY!” The movie does slightly falter at the very beginning, where it has the eye-roll inducing title drop scene. You know the one, it’s in every Fullmetal Alchemist animated thing. Ed’s shirt and/or pants get torn by bad guy, bad guy sees Ed’s automail arm/leg and says, “Automail limbs… you’re… the Fullmetal Alchemist!”

A big change between this movie and the previous two series is a dramatic change in artstyle. People were complaining about this when the first trailer appeared, because people are stupid. The change in style comes from the new director Kazuya Murata, who has previously directed episodes of Code Geass and Eureka Seven, among other things. I honestly prefer his style over the previous series. It does have some goofy looking attempts at walking and running, but during fight scenes the loose style allows for more stylish looking action. The only times it really suffers are when characters are far away, where they tend to lose most of their detail. I’ve seen it described as cheap and ugly, but I think it looks better than either of the series and lends itself much better to the kind of action you get in Fullmetal Alchemist. But it’s different, and people hate change, so I see where the complaints come from.

Funimation obviously brought back the old cast for returning characters, so I’ll not dwell on those. Suffice to say, they all have a great amount of experience with the characters and handle them as well as they ever have. New additions to the cast are Alexis Tipton as Julia Chrichton and Matthew Mercer as Ashley Chrichton, both of whom give good performances, though neither role is particularly challenging. Julia has her share of emotional scenes, and Alexis Tipton handles them great, but this isn’t the kind of role that’s really going to draw out a great performance. Mathew Mercer doesn’t really get a chance to shine as Ashley until the climax of the film since the character is fairly calm and composed most of the time, but again he gives as good a performance as is necessary for a fairly shallow character. Patrick Seitz also shows up as the villain near the end and shouts about being angry and wanting to destroy the world for 20 minutes, and he does as good a job as anyone could really.

If what you love about Fullmetal Alchemist was the emotional captivating story, you’re probably going to be disappointed with Sacred Star of Milos. It has none of the engaging story and is basically just a 90 minute filler episode. But if all you want to see is your favourite Fullmetal Alchemist characters (assuming your favourite characters are Ed and Al and no one else) going on another adventure, it’s a fine movie. It may not be emotionally engaging in any way, but it is a nice last hurrah for the franchise.

It’s better than Conqueror of Shamballa at least.

Score: 4/5

If Tomoki doesn’t learn to control his impulses around Ikaros and be more careful with his wishes, the chaos will only get crazier. Luckily, even with such a dirty mind, Tomoki’s heart is in the right place. His hands, however, are a completely different story.

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Plot: 

It should come as no surprise to anyone who follows me on twitter that I love ecchi anime and manga.  Ecchi comedies are a dime a dozen in today’s anime industry and 90% of them are similar or damn near the same to other titles in the genre.  At first glance it would seem that Heaven’s Lost Property fits into the mold of a standard ecchi comedy.  We have a normal teenage boy whose hormones are running wild and who like any heterosexual male his age wants to see panties and female underwear.  We have the standard childhood friend who is potential love interest even if she gets annoyed by his perverted antics.

As much as it may have in common with similar shows in the genre the biggest defining aspect here is the comedy with the series.  There are some truly very funny moments littered throughout the series and it is here where the series is shining the brightest.  Episode 2, Episode 4, and Episode 11 feature some of the funniest moments that the series has to offer.

Of course not everything the series has to offer is humorous and this is where the series starts to stumble.  Mixed in with the comedy are some doses of drama which while itself are not a bad thing to have in a series, you cannot expect to switch between humor and drama and have it seem a bit jarring.  Comedy and drama together can be done in a way that works and not do huge flip flops with comedy then all of a sudden start doing drama.  It disrupts the flow of the series and can be off putting.

There is a little bit of character development here and there.  Ikaros tries to be more human as the show goes a long similar to how Chi does so in Chobits but without all the learning how to talk and clothes once self that Chi has to learn.  The male lead Tomoki does get some development in the first episode after his “wish” to rule the world and what comes of it when he does it.  The rest of the cast sadly does not get much if any development at all.  Sohara the Type B tusndere childhood friend of Tomoki sticks with the whole I want to beat him up/ I want him in bed with me thing all throughout the series but does not really to change any of it or to progress their relationship.  I am not going to really talk about the side characters since there is no development with them, and I wish there was some development with the side cast.

Art and Animation:

Well the background art is nothing innovative and the same can be said about the character designs the show looks great in HD.  The colors are bright and look sharp.  There is some CG used during the shows and the CG is done in a way that does not seem jarring to the non CG stuff.  One of the highlights of the CG is the flying panties scenes that appear in episode two and episode four which is the highlight of the CG used in the series.  Not only does it look great it is also funny to watch a bunch of panties go flying in the air.  Chibi character designs are used a lot in this series especially with the male lead that spends most of the time in chibi form.

There are a few action intense scenes in the show and those are animated nicely and are enjoyable to watch.  These types of scenes are used heavily in episode four, episode eight and the last episode of the TV series.

To say there is a bit of fanservice in the series is like saying the ocean is wet.  Being that this is ecchi show at heart there is a lot of fanservice shown in Heaven’s Lost Property.  Expect to see lots of panty shots each episode and females in their underwear.  While bare breasts are shown in the series the girls however do not have any nipples.  The male lead is the only character in the show to have nipples

Sound and Audio:

The OP Ring my Bell is the best the series has to offer music wise which is played by Blue Drop which include Saori Hayami and Hitomi Yoshida.  The ED is a little different in that each episode has a different ED along with different animation which are sung by different people.  The animation usually has to do with each episode that it is for.  The music score during the episodes is standard J-pop music that you can expect in a ecchi series and is pretty forgettable

Funimation did the English dub for the series and for the most part the dub is good.  Greg Ayres provides the voice for Tomoki and does an a great job of emulating the original Japanese voice actor for Tomoki Soichiro Hoshi (you may remember him for giving Kira Yamato his voice in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny).  While most of the English actors do a good job with their roles the only role that I feel was better in the Japanese than English is Ikaros who in Japanese is voiced by Saori Hayami and Brittney Karbowski.  While Brittney is a great voice actress she does not give the same type of performance for this role has her Japanese counterpart Saori Hayami who does a better job with this role.  That is not to say that Brittney’s version of Ikaros is terrible and unlistenable, which is quite the opposite but Saori does a better job.

For the most part the English script is faithful to the original Japanese script.  There are a few rewrites here and there with some things especially in Episode 5 which renames a hot spring but it works in both languages.  There is more profanity in the English script especially with Tomoki who comes off as more of a jerkass in the English version than in the Japanese.

Final Thoughts:

Heaven’s Lost Property is a funny harem ecchi show that does some things to help it stand out amongst an already flooded market.  While the drama does not blend with the comedy well and cast members who do not get much development, it is still one of the funniest shows to come along in the last few seasons.  Heaven’s Lost Property is not for everyone, but those who do will get a fanservice filled comedy that will leave them in tears.

Score: 3/5

Pros: Lots of fanservice, good English dub and Japanese dub, very funny comedy

Cons: Poor musical score, comedy and drama do not mix all that well, not much in the character development department.

Heaven’s Lost Property is available from Right Stuf

The LE version of the series is also available

March 6th

Hetalia Axis Powers Complete Series DVD (Seasons 1-2)
Sands of Destruction Complete Series DVD (S.A.V.E.)

March 13th

One Piece Collection 5 DVD

March 20th

Dragon Ball Z Kai Part 7 DVD
Dragon Ball Z Kai part 7 Blu-Ray

March 27th

Dragon Ball Z Level 2.1 Blu-Ray
Dragon Ball Z Level 2.2 Blu-Ray
Confucius DVD (Live Action)
Confucius DVD/Blu-Ray Combo (Live Action)

TSUKIMI – Maxey Whitehead
KURANOSUKE – Josh Grelle
BANBA – Mariela Ortiz
CHIEKO – Cynthia Cranz
JIJI – Leah Clark
MAYAYA – Monica Rial

CLARA – Lara Woodhull
SHU – Ian Sinclair
INARI – Jamie Marchi
KOIBUCHI – Charlie Campbell
NEGISHI – Jerry Russell
HANAMORI – Christopher Bevins
TSUKIMI’S MOTHER – Wendy Powell