Funimation January 2010 Release Schedule

For an anime fan, nothing starts the new year better than knowing what new anime titles are coming out as early as January. Glimpsing through the blogs of the anime distribution companies like Funimation, I could say that I can see my wallet starting to empty just looking at the anticipated titles. Well, I would say that if I did not have that side job as an anime critic that primarily reviews Funimation titles.

January 5th marks the continuation of D.Gray-man as part 2 of the second season comes out on DVD. Allen Walker and the Exorcists of the Dark Order continue fighting the Millennium Earl and the Clan of Noah as they plague mankind with akuma weapon platforms. Currently the story seems to have stalled as everyone embarks on character developing fetch quests seeking important generals and a powerful MacGuffin. Hopefully this season decides to return to the primary story that initially held my interest. Since I am already assigned this series, I guess I have to look forward to this next volume.

January 5th also marks D.Gray-man's step into Blu-Ray with the first 13 episodes of the first season now hit this format priced at nearly $70. Feeling slightly different from the current rash of franchise anime that spans dozens of episodes, you can find my review and rant easily.

January 12th gives fans a reduced price for the first season of Dragon Ball GT at $35.Dragon Ball fans may argue that GT was the weakest of the series. Non fans will not be able to tell the difference as the cast fights their way to hunt for Dragon Balls.

January 19th has a lot in store. Bamboo Blade continues its first season and the story of a high school kendo team. My friend Oscar wrote a good review of it on his blog. The popular Japanese detective anime that is underrated in the US Case Closed has its fifth move Countdown to Heaven coming out that day as well. In lieu of creating new original work, the CLAMP melting pot anime Tsubasa yanks characters from almost all of their successful series and makes a new story out of them. Linebarrels of Iron is a mecha anime series that was promptly picked up and translated after its conclusion in March 2009. From the episode director of Serial Experiments Lain comes Rin ~Daughter of Mnemosyne. Like Lain, Rin appears to be "six insatiable hours" of violent mind screwing but now adds erotic visuals. The long running pirate anime One Piece continues with the fifth voyage of its second season. If you have not gotten into One Piece by now, it is probably best to let this ship sail.

January 26th and the final week offers a few live action films, Daytime Drinking is a South Korean comedy where a broken-hearted young man finds himself in the Korean countryside with no shops, a frozen beach, and no cell phone reception. He takes part of the Korean drinking culture in the style of Sideways. The Japanese horror film Synesthesia connects three individuals suffering from the titular condition. Based on the JRPG of the same name that will also be released in January 2010, Sands of Destruction takes place in a fictional world where humans are the slaves of anthropomorphic Ferals and two humans with the power to destroy the world. Rounding out the January releases is the second season of Sgt. Frog. The misadventures of alien frogs attempting to take over Earth is a wildly funny series.