Anime Streetwise: 04.29.2008

This week’s offerings have a bit of everything, some beginnings, some endings, and various states of undress.

Viz brings us Buso Renkin Set 1, the entire first thirteen episodes of a show about alchemy, homunculi and guy in a butterfly mask. This from the same creator that put the bad-ass villains in Rurouni Kenshin. I am confused.

I’m sure Viz is also hoping we’ll get jealous this week. Which won’t be hard to do since a collectable figurine of Jealous comes with the Death Note Volume 4 Special Edition. The standard edition is probably all like, yeah but once your gone people will come running to me. Don’t hate.

The first volume of the Genshiken spinoff Kujibiki Unbalance (also available in the 1 + Box variety) isn’t as universally loved around these parts as the show it was spawned from, but Media Blasters is including the Genshiken OVAs as a bonus feature. One on each volume. Sneaky, sneaky MB. I suppose all is fair in love and tv.

Tai Seng may be hoping for a knock-out punch as they throw their weight into the ring with the 1980 boxing anime movie Champion Joe (Ashita no Joe). Support the classics! Yatta!

FUNimation makes it’s final bows for the best-selling Witchblade series with volume 6. Oh my eyes, it has such a shiny.. cover!

Digging into the depths of debauchery (18+ ONLY!) Kitty Media presents The Sleazy Family while Critical Mass offers up it’s second bout of sexy fighters in Variable Geo Neo 2.

On a final note, I seem to have lost a week and my time machine isn’t working. However, April 22 did see the Bandai Visual releases of Freedom volume 5 on it’s HD-DVD/DVD combo format and the first episodes, all two of them, of Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time volume 1.

Dear BV, perhaps the best lessons are learned the hard way but why does it have to hurt the wallet so much in the process.