"Actor: Yuriko Ishida"

• Pom Poko | Blu Ray | (14/04/2014) from £19.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (25.01%)   |  RRP £24.99

  From the acclaimed director of Grave of the Fireflies and available for the first time on Blu-ray in stunning high-definition Pom Poko is a unique window into Japanese folklore a comedy of modern failings and an elegiac tale of unlikely heroes fighting insurmountable odds. Special Features: Storyboards Original Japanese Trailers Studio Ghibli Trailer Reel

• Evangelion 1.01 - You're Not Alone | DVD | (26/04/2010) from £6.59   |  Saving you £11.40 (172.99%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Evangelion 1.01: You're Not Alone

• Evangelion 1.01 - You're Not Alone | Blu Ray | (26/04/2010) from £5.85   |  Saving you £17.14 (292.99%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Tokyo-3 still stands after most of civilization was decimated in the Second Impact. Now the city endures the ceaseless onslaught of the deadly Angels bizarre creatures bent on eradicating the human race. To combat this strange and ruthless enemy the government agency NERV constructs a fleet of towering humanoid machines - the Evas - and Shinji Ikari is called into action reluctantly taking his place at the controls of Eva Unit 01. Living a life of loneliness and questioning his existence Shinji struggles to accept responsibility for mankind's battle for survival in this visually striking rebuild of one of the most important anime of all time. Shinji will fight the Angels alongside the only person who might understand his plight - Rei Ayanami the elusive and frail pilot of Eva Unit 00. In this film experience not to be missed Shinji and Rei will struggle to learn a simple truth: when carrying the burden of humanity's survival on your shoulders you are not alone.

• Princess Mononoke | DVD | (22/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Princess Mononoke has already made history as the top-grossing domestic feature ever released in Japan, where its combination of mythic themes, mystical forces, and ravishing visuals tapped deeply into cultural identity and contemporary, ecological anxieties. For international animation and anime fans, this epic, animated 1997 fantasy, represents an auspicious next step for its revered creator, Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service), an acknowledged anime pioneer, whose painterly style, vivid character design, and stylised approach to storytelling take ambitious, evolutionary steps here. Set in medieval Japan, Miyazaki's original story envisions a struggle between nature and man. The march of technology, embodied in the dark iron forges of the ambitious Tatara clan, threatens the natural forces explicit in the benevolent Great God of the Forest and the wide-eyed, spectral spirits he protects. When Ashitaka, a young warrior from a remote, and endangered, village clan, kills a ravenous, boar-like monster, he discovers the beast is in fact an infectious "demon god", transformed by human anger. Ashitaka's quest to solve the beast's fatal curse brings him into the midst of human political intrigues as well as the more crucial battle between man and nature. Miyazaki's convoluted fable is clearly not the stuff of kiddie matinees, nor is the often graphic violence depicted during the battles that ensue. If some younger viewers (or less attentive older ones) will wish for a diagram to sort out the players, Miyazaki's atmospheric world and its lush visual design are reasons enough to watch. For the English-language version, Miramax assembled an impressive vocal cast including Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup (as Ashitaka), Claire Danes (as San), Minnie Driver (as Lady Eboshi), Billy Bob Thornton, and Jada Pinkett Smith. They bring added nuance to a very different kind of magic kingdom. -- Sam Sutherland, Amazon.com On the DVD: with an impressive widescreen aspect of 2.35:1 and a pleasant 5.1 Dolby digital sound, you cannot fault the transfer of this animation in any way. However, the special features leave a lot to be desired on what is a classic piece of modern anime. The "Behind the Scenes" feature holds no information on the making of Princess Mononoke in its original form--with no input from animator Hayao Miyazaki--and the trailer is taken from the American release of the movie (even though it calls itself an "original" theatrical trailer), complete with the annoyingly hyped-up voiceover that comes with US film trailers. The redeeming feature of this DVD is the ability to watch the anime in its original language with subtitles, a much more passionate and beautiful form--so much of the feeling and lyricism of the movie is lost with the transfer to English language and misplaced casting. After watching the original Japanese version of Princess Mononoke and reading the book you begin to wonder why the West has become such a solitary child of Disney. --Nikki Disney

• Boiling Point | DVD | (25/03/2002) from £4.96   |  Saving you £5.03 (101.41%)   |  RRP £9.99

  When Masaki a gas station attendant and local baseball player incurs the wrath of the local yakuza the notorious Japanese criminal organization he heads to Okinawa to buy a gun so he can stand up for himself. While there he is joined in his quest for revenge by a former gangster (Kitano) who seemingly has his own reasons for revenge. Violence escalates until the mild-mannered Masaki takes an oil truck from his gas station and drives it straight into yakuza headquarters...

• Takeshi Kitano Collection: Violent Cop, Boilingpoint, A Scene At The Sea, Sonatine, Getting Any?, Kids Return | DVD | (06/10/2008) from £68.83   |  Saving you £-18.84 (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Violent Cop: Japanese superstar Beat Takeshi Kitano makes his directorial debut in this critically acclaimed action film in which he also stars as Azuma an urban cop at the end of his rope. Not above using violent tactics in order to punish the lawless Azuma's daily routine involves a new partner and a mentally challenged sister. When his violent ways cause the death of a friend his short fuse comes dangerously close to reaching its' end... Boiling Point: When Masaki a gas station attendant and local baseball player incurs the wrath of the local yakuza the notorious Japanese criminal organization he heads to Okinawa to buy a gun so he can stand up for himself. While there he is joined in his quest for revenge by a former gangster (Kitano) who seemingly has his own reasons for revenge. Violence escalates until the mild-mannered Masaki takes an oil truck from his gas station and drives it straight into yakuza headquaters... A Scene At The Sea: Kitano relates a touching story about a deaf-mute garbage collector who takes a passion in surfing. His mute girlfriend accompanies him and even though he is hindered at every point he never lets this dampen his passion. The couple does not exchange a single word throughout the entire film Kitano embracing the power of silence and love that transcends words. Sonatine: Takeshi is Murakawa an established and ruthless Yakuza sent outside his usual turf to intervene in a gang war on the tropical island of Okinawa. Things go badly wrong and he and his gang get caught in the crossfire. Forced to retreat to a seaside hideaway they kill time and fool around on the beach but then their enemies start picking them off one by one. Murakawa decides to go on the offensive for a final and breathtaking showdown... Getting Any?: Middle-aged Asao's sole goal in life is to have sex but in order to achieve his dream he is thrown from one wacky situation to the next. From robbing banks to becoming invisible to transforming into a super-sized fly monster Asao will do anything to get any! Kids Return: Two old friends revisit their old schoolyard to remember the times they shared together at school before they left and found their own ways in life one as a boxer and one as part of a local gang. They have done well but revisiting their memories reminds them of their undisciplined ways.

• Boiling Point | DVD | (11/05/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  When Masaki a gas station attendant and local baseball player incurs the wrath of the local yakuza the notorious Japanese criminal organization he heads to Okinawa to buy a gun so he can stand up for himself. While there he is joined in his quest for revenge by a former gangster (Kitano) who seemingly has his own reasons for revenge. Violence escalates until the mild-mannered Masaki takes an oil truck from his gas station and drives it straight into yakuza headquarters...

• Princess Mononoke (DVD and Book) | DVD | (22/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Princess Mononoke has already made history as the top-grossing domestic feature ever released in Japan, where its combination of mythic themes, mystical forces, and ravishing visuals tapped deeply into cultural identity and contemporary, ecological anxieties. For international animation and anime fans, this epic, animated 1997 fantasy, represents an auspicious next step for its revered creator, Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service), an acknowledged anime pioneer, whose painterly style, vivid character design, and stylised approach to storytelling take ambitious, evolutionary steps here. Set in medieval Japan, Miyazaki's original story envisions a struggle between nature and man. The march of technology, embodied in the dark iron forges of the ambitious Tatara clan, threatens the natural forces explicit in the benevolent Great God of the Forest and the wide-eyed, spectral spirits he protects. When Ashitaka, a young warrior from a remote, and endangered, village clan, kills a ravenous, boar-like monster, he discovers the beast is in fact an infectious "demon god", transformed by human anger. Ashitaka's quest to solve the beast's fatal curse brings him into the midst of human political intrigues as well as the more crucial battle between man and nature. Miyazaki's convoluted fable is clearly not the stuff of kiddie matinees, nor is the often graphic violence depicted during the battles that ensue. If some younger viewers (or less attentive older ones) will wish for a diagram to sort out the players, Miyazaki's atmospheric world and its lush visual design are reasons enough to watch. For the English-language version, Miramax assembled an impressive vocal cast including Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup (as Ashitaka), Claire Danes (as San), Minnie Driver (as Lady Eboshi), Billy Bob Thornton, and Jada Pinkett Smith. They bring added nuance to a very different kind of magic kingdom. -- Sam Sutherland, Amazon.com On the DVD: with an impressive widescreen aspect of 2.35:1 and a pleasant 5.1 Dolby digital sound, you cannot fault the transfer of this animation in any way. However, the special features leave a lot to be desired on what is a classic piece of modern anime. The "Behind the Scenes" feature holds no information on the making of Princess Mononoke in its original form--with no input from animator Hayao Miyazaki--and the trailer is taken from the American release of the movie (even though it calls itself an "original" theatrical trailer), complete with the annoyingly hyped-up voiceover that comes with US film trailers. The redeeming feature of this DVD is the ability to watch the anime in its original language with subtitles, a much more passionate and beautiful form--so much of the feeling and lyricism of the movie is lost with the transfer to English language and misplaced casting. After watching the original Japanese version of Princess Mononoke and reading the book you begin to wonder why the West has become such a solitary child of Disney. --Nikki Disney