Anime Review Roundup
Warning! Potential Bank Security Issue For Anime Fans
Last weekend it became apparent on the Twitterverse that a whole lot of anime fans had found that their bank accounts had been compromised, and fraudulent activity was taking place with their credit and debit card details. It quickly emerged that the one common factor was that they had all shopped at Anime-on-Line.
Anime-On-Line quickly moved to deal with any possible security issue by closing their online shop, and moving forward an upgrade of the site that instituted new layers of security and added a Paypal option. The new site is now up and running, although not all of their stock is yet listed.
If you have shopped at Anime-on-Line with any of your current cards, then you are advised to be vigilant for any fraudulent activity on your account. It’s also a simple matter to contact your bank and cancel your card just to be on the safe side.
Note that if you paid by credit card, you are usually covered for card fraud. Banks will shift the onus onto the customer when it comes to proving fraud on debit cards, but having gone through the process several times now, I can tell you that my bank at least was very understanding, although the process is a lengthy and laborious one.
It’s been a couple of weeks since my last Review Roundup, and I’ve been cutting it close with release dates. The anime is coming out thick and fast now. First up was Sengoku Basara Season 2, a sequel which has taken a little longer than expected to come to UK shores, long enough for me to revisit the first series on DVD. I raved about the first series when I first watched it, a breath of fresh air in comparison to all the cute and moe that mainstream anime has become of late. The thing about fresh air is that if you leave it be, it can become stale. The second time around with season 1 wasn’t half as thrilling, and that rubs off on season 2 as well.
In comparison to that, Fairy Tail still has the new car smell about it. It’s the shonen action show that eschews all the filler and flashbacks, the stalling tactics of every other shonen show like Naruto or Bleach, or God help us all, Dragon Ball Z. Fairy Tail Part 4 comes to the UK, delivering its entertainment in short, sharp and very sweet doses. It’s forcing me to wheel out the ‘best thing since sliced bread’ cliché with each successive volume, and the good news is that since volume 3, Funimation has licensed even more of the show in the US!
On the other hand, The Wings of Honneamise will never get stale. This classic sci-fi movie is one of my favourite films full-stop. I finally got to take a look at it in the format that feature films need to be seen in, Blu-ray, and since I gave the DVD a 10/10, you can believe that I’m going to go all Spinal Tap on the Blu-ray!
Another week, another sequel, this time to last year’s release of Strike Witches. Strike Witches Season 2 comes to the UK first, beating even the US and Australia. Teenage girls in their knickers fly through the air fighting aliens in a World War II era story. Fan service abounds in a show designed for the male otaku demographic. It’s just like season 1, but with even more boobs. And while I’m disparaging it for the crowd, shaking my head, and tutting like a Daily Mail reader, I’m surreptitiously putting it to the top of my re-watch pile.
It’s like the monsoon after a drought. For years we in the UK had none of the anime collaborations between KeyVisual and KyoAni to marvel at. We had none of the supernatural mystery harem romance comedy angst heartbreak dramas that US and Australian fans have been raving about. Then in one year, we get Angel Beats, Clannad and now we get the first part of Clannad After Story as well. Manga Entertainment keep hinting at the possibility of Kanon or Air as well, so we may just wind up getting it all. Is it worth it? Are these shows any good? Click on the review for Clannad After Story: Part 1 to see just how good.
Sengoku Basara: Season 2, and Fairy Tail: Part 4 came out last Monday from Manga Entertainment. They release Strike Witches: Season 2 and Clannad: After Story: Part 1 today. You’ll have to get your inner bloodhound out to track down the Wings of Honneamise Blu-ray, as the boutique Bandai Visual label released it under the Honneamise marque back in 2007, and it is well and truly deleted now.
Last weekend it became apparent on the Twitterverse that a whole lot of anime fans had found that their bank accounts had been compromised, and fraudulent activity was taking place with their credit and debit card details. It quickly emerged that the one common factor was that they had all shopped at Anime-on-Line.
Anime-On-Line quickly moved to deal with any possible security issue by closing their online shop, and moving forward an upgrade of the site that instituted new layers of security and added a Paypal option. The new site is now up and running, although not all of their stock is yet listed.
If you have shopped at Anime-on-Line with any of your current cards, then you are advised to be vigilant for any fraudulent activity on your account. It’s also a simple matter to contact your bank and cancel your card just to be on the safe side.
Note that if you paid by credit card, you are usually covered for card fraud. Banks will shift the onus onto the customer when it comes to proving fraud on debit cards, but having gone through the process several times now, I can tell you that my bank at least was very understanding, although the process is a lengthy and laborious one.
Sengoku Basara: Season 2, and Fairy Tail: Part 4 came out last Monday from Manga Entertainment. They release Strike Witches: Season 2 and Clannad: After Story: Part 1 today. You’ll have to get your inner bloodhound out to track down the Wings of Honneamise Blu-ray, as the boutique Bandai Visual label released it under the Honneamise marque back in 2007, and it is well and truly deleted now.
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