"Actor: Kazuyuki Sogabe"

• Bubblegum Crisis - Vol. 2 | DVD | (08/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The second instalment of the popular Japanese anime, Bubblegum Crisis 2 contains the fourth, fifth and sixth episodes of the eight original videos. In a devastated high-tech Tokyo of a Blade Runner-ish future, four beautiful women disguised by their heavily armed exoskeletons protect society from killer androids and from an ambitious corporation that tries to take over the world, while also having complicated personal lives. The cute teenager NeNe always has a crush on someone or other; flighty Linna has to fit her superhero life into a busy social schedule; and Priss has her career as a rock singer as well as a habit of feeling emotional. Only the austere Sylia is entirely in control of her life--so much so that she needs the others for a bit of productive chaos. In the episodes included they deal with a mysterious car that is riding down motorcyclists, help a tragic android who is vampirising citizens to feed a damaged friend and cope with attempts by an evil conspirator to frame them for mass mayhem. The stories rely rather too heavily on extended sequences of fast bikes and car racing, or mechanised bodysuits and big robots tearing each other apart, but the plotting can be subtle and the emotional scenes tense and fraught. Someone trying to get a sense of anime's strengths and weaknesses could do a lot worse than start here. On the DVD: the disc is presented in a visual aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and has a very loud Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack which presents every screech of tortured metal vehemently and every pounding anthem in the slightly pompous score. There are no extras apart from a very extended documentation of the credits. --Roz Kaveney

• Psycho Diver - Soul Siren | DVD | (05/07/2004) from £8.08   |  Saving you £7.91 (49.50%)   |  RRP £15.99

  In a dark world of private terror Yuki a beautiful pop star is haunted by violent memories and discovers psychic powers she cannot control. It is up to Bosujima a Pscho Diver with exceptional talents to descend into her turbulent soul and set things right before the inner demon triumphs. What he doesn't know is that there are other who will stop at nothing to control Yuki's fate and that he is stepping into a power struggle he will probably not survive... A mind-bendingly origin

• Bubblegum Crisis | DVD | (09/08/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  The second instalment of the popular Japanese anime, Bubblegum Crisis 2 contains the fourth, fifth and sixth episodes of the eight original videos. In a devastated high-tech Tokyo of a Blade Runner-ish future, four beautiful women disguised by their heavily armed exoskeletons protect society from killer androids and from an ambitious corporation that tries to take over the world, while also having complicated personal lives. The cute teenager NeNe always has a crush on someone or other; flighty Linna has to fit her superhero life into a busy social schedule; and Priss has her career as a rock singer as well as a habit of feeling emotional. Only the austere Sylia is entirely in control of her life--so much so that she needs the others for a bit of productive chaos. In the episodes included they deal with a mysterious car that is riding down motorcyclists, help a tragic android who is vampirising citizens to feed a damaged friend and cope with attempts by an evil conspirator to frame them for mass mayhem. The stories rely rather too heavily on extended sequences of fast bikes and car racing, or mechanised bodysuits and big robots tearing each other apart, but the plotting can be subtle and the emotional scenes tense and fraught. Someone trying to get a sense of anime's strengths and weaknesses could do a lot worse than start here. On the DVD: the disc is presented in a visual aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and has a very loud Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack which presents every screech of tortured metal vehemently and every pounding anthem in the slightly pompous score. There are no extras apart from a very extended documentation of the credits. --Roz Kaveney

• The Humanoid | DVD | (06/11/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Body of steel. Heart of gold! Dr. Watson has created his masterpiece - a beautiful woman made of metal. A wonder of science Antoinette is a childlike innocent who holds the key to an ancient civilization that could save the world or destroy it. And when a mad tyrant kidnaps the man she loves Antoinette finally discovers the courage - and the amazing fighting skills - that are her true calling. The Humanoid is a vintage anime science fiction tale of a frustrated female android wit