13 Assassins
Director: Eiichi Kudo
Writer: Kaneo Ikegami
Staring: Chezo Kataoka, Ko Nishimura and Ryohei Uchida
Origianl Release: Dec. 7th, 1963
U. S. Re-Release Date: June 5th, 2012
U. S. Distributor: AnimEigo
Format: DVD / 126 minutes
Genre: Period Piece, Historical Drama, Samurai
Age Rating: Not Rated (suggested PG 13 due to violence)
Overall Personal Rating: B+
Similar Titles: Sword of Desperation, Revenge, The Loyal 47 Ronin
Synopsis:
Sword of Desperation
Directed By: Hideyuki Hirayama
Written By: Based on Novel by Shuhei Fujisawa
Staring: Etsuhi Toyokawa, Chizuru Ikewaki and Koji Kikkawa
U. S. Distributor: AnimEigo
U. S. release date: Feb. 14th, 2012
Format: DVD / 114 minutes
Genre: Edo Period, Drama
Age Rating
Overall Personal Rating: A
Similar Titles: The Samurai I Loved
Synopsis:
Titile: The Loyal 47 Ronin (Chushingura)
Director: Kunio Watanabe
American Distributor: AnimEigo
American Release Date: April 7, 2009
Format: DVD, 166 Minutes + Extras
Genre: Samurai, Action, Adventure, Revenge
Age Rating: 18+
Personal Age Rating: B+
Similar Titles: Revenge of a Kabuki Actor, Lady Snow Blood, Goemon, 47 Ronin, The Seven Samurai
Kira Yoshinaka is infamous for being a rude court official. He mentally tortured a young lord who eventually snapped and assaulted Kira. This young Lord was forced to commit seppuku, leaving his Loyal Samurai behind.
You’re Under Arrest Box Set 2
U. S. Distributor: ANIMEIGO
Original Series Run: 1994-1999
Format: DVD / 400 Minutes
Genrre: Action, Comedy, Romance
Age Rating: 13+
Overall Personal Rating: B+
Similar Titles: Urusei Yatsura
Dealing with high speed chases, crazy visual antics and biker gangs may be hard work for most people, but for Natsumi and Miyuki, it’s just another day on the job at Bokuto Police Precinct.
Synopsis:
Lady Snowblood
Director: Toshiya Fujita
Studio: Toho
Authors: Kazuo Kamimura, Kazuo Koike and Noio Osada
Actors: Masaaki Daimon, Meiko Kaji and Toshhio Kurosawa
U.S. Distributor: AnimEigo
Release Date: Dec. 1st, 1973
Format: DVD / 97 minutes / Japanese with English sub-titles
Genre: Period Piece, Samurai Revenge
Age Rating: 18+ due to graphic violence.
Overall Personal Grade: B
Similar titles: Shogun Assassin, Revenge of a Kabuki Actor
When your very existence is an act of revenge by your mother, the karma you inherit will direct you in the path that only leads to death and destruction.
The Clone Returns Home
Director & Writer: Kanji Nakajima
Actors: Mitsuhiro Oikawa, Eri Ishhida and Hiromi Nagasaku
U.S. Distributor: AnimEigo
U.S Release Date: July 26th, 2011
Format: DVD/ 110 minutes
Genre: Sci-Fi, Psychological Drama
Age Rating: 13+
Personal Rating: A
Similar Titles: 2001 a Space Odyssey
Can you imagine a future where we as a civilization are ready to accept cloning of humans?
Synopsis:
Title: Urusei Yatsura
Original Story: Rumiko Takahashi (Shogakukan)
Studio: Kitty Films
American Publisher: AnimEigo
Format and length: DVD, 5 movies
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Romance, Sci-fi
Overall Personal Rating: A-
Titles in the Radius: Inukami!, Ranma ½ and Rosario + Vampire
Ataru and Lum continue their electrifying relationship with six Urusei Yatsura movies, five of which are contained in the box set (the fifth was previously released by Central Park Media).
Title: Madox-01: Metal Skin Panic
Author: Shinji Aramaki
Director: Shinji Aramaki
American Publisher: AnimEigo
American Release Date: March 9, 2004
Format: 1 DVD, 50 minutes
Genre: Mecha, Action, Comedy
Rating: 13+
Overall Personal Rating: B
Synopsis:
Sugimoto Kouji is an average young Japanese teen until he stumbles upon an experimental battle mech lost by the Japanese Defense Force. As an avid fan of tanks and machines, he tries it on and gets stuck inside the out of control vehicle! To make things worse, the original creator, the “ace female test pilot” Kusumoto Ellie, and the revenge crazed Lt. Kilgore, as well as the entire Defense Force are out to get it back. Poor Kouji just wants to get outta this thing and meet his girlfriend. An action packed, somewhat ridiculous chase is on across Tokyo.
Title: Zatoichi The Blind Swordsman DVD Collector’s Edition Box
Directors: Various (Yauda Kimoyoshi, Katsu Shintaro, Okamoto Kihachi etc)
U. S. Distributor: AnimEigo
U. S. release date: May 17, 2011
Format: 7 DVDs / 671 minutes + Extras
Genre: Samurai, Drama, Historical
Age Rating: 18+ (violence warning on the box)
Overall Personal Rating: A-
Synopsis:
Sleepy Eyes of Death, Collector’s Set Volume 2 
Directors: Tokuzo Tanaka, Kenji Misumi, Kimiyoshi Yasuda, Akira Inoue
Distributor: AnimEigo
American release date: Feb 1, 2011
Format, Genre and length: DVD/Samurai/321 minutes
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: 18+/Contains Violence, Nudity & Nihilism
Overall Personal Rating: A
Similar series or titles to check out: Ultimate Miyamoto Musashi
Can a man conceived from the rape of a Japanese woman by a crazed Christian missionary during a Black Mass find true happiness? Or is Nemuri Kyoshiro doomed to wander forever, with no direction of his own?
Samurai Spy
Director/Studio/Author: Masahiro Shinoda/Criterion/Koji Nakada, Yoshiuka Fukuda
Distributor: AnimEigo
American release date: October 25, 2005
Format, Genre and length: DVD/Samurai/99 minutes
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: Not Rated
Overall Personal Rating: A
“Seal your lips tight.”
Fourteen years have passed since the Tokugawa clan were victorious at the Battle of Sekigahara, but that does not mean that there are still not factions which oppose the new regime. Battle lines are drawn between the supporters of Tokugawa and the supporters of Toyotomi. In broad geographical terms, the Kanto region, which contains the city of Edo, is pro Tokugawa, while those in the Kansai, where Osaka can be found are in favor of Toyotomi. Not everyone has chosen a side. One of these is Sasuke Sarutobi, who belongs to the Sanada clan. He believes that wars are good for no one.
Shinsengumi Chronicles: I Want to Die a Samurai 
Director/Studio/Author: Kenji Misumi/Kadokawa Pictures/Seiji Hoshikawa
Distributor: AnimEigo
American release date: November 9, 2010
Format, Genre and length: DVD/Samurai/93 minutes
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: 18+/Violence
Overall Personal Rating: A
Similar series or titles to check out: Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor
Susumu Yamakazi (Raizo Ichikawa, Sleepy Eyes of Death) is an idealistic young man who wishes to be a samurai, and to uphold the honor inherent in following the Bushido. The time is 1863, the third year of the Bunkyu Period, and the Tokugawa Shogunate is dying. Will the samurai way of life go with it?
Bubblegum Crash: Total Crash Collection
Directors: Hiroshi Ishiodori & Hiroyuki Fukushima
Writers: Emi Arii & Toshimichi Susuki
U. S. Distributor: AnimEigo
U. S. Release Date: Dec. 18th, 2001
Format: DVD / 135 minutes
Genre: Sci Fi, Mecha
Age Rating: 13+
Overall Personal Rating: B+
Similar Titles: Bubblegum Crisis
Director/Studio/Author: Kazuro Mori/Daei Studios/Kosuke Gomi and Daisuke Ito
Distributor: AnimEigo
American release date: October 12, 2010
Format, Genre and length: DVD/Samurai/109 minutes
Overall Personal Rating: A-
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: 18+
Similar series or titles to check out: Samurai Banners, Samurai Assassin, 47 Ronin
Two’s company, three’s a crowd, even in feudal Japan. What you want isn’t necessarily what you get, especially when forces that are greater than you, conspire against you. But isn’t that always the way?
Synopsis:
Shogun Assassin Blu-ray
Director: Robert Houston
Authors: David Weisman, Goseki Kojima, Kazuo Koike and Robert Houston.
Distributor: AnimEigo
Release Date: July 27th, 2010
Age Rating: R
Overall Personal Rating: B+
Similar Titles: All of the Lone Wolf & Cub movies.
During the Edo period, few stood up to the Shogun even though many hated him. The Shogun, being a paranoid man, can’t even trust his own Master Assassin. This leads to the gravest mistake he could have made, make an enemy out of the most talented killer in the nation.
Sleepy Eyes of Death, Collector’s Set Volume 1 
Directors: Tokuzo Tanaka, Kenji Misumi, Kimiyoshi Yasuda, Kazuo Ikehiro
Distributor: AnimEigo
American release date: July 14, 2009
Format, Genre and length: DVD/Samurai/338 minutes
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: 18+/Contains Violence, Nudity & Nihilism
Overall Personal Rating: A
Similar series or titles to check out: Ultimate Miyamoto Musashi
Nemuri Kyroshiro describes himself as “a rogue who slices men like they were radishes”. Does this make him the Top Chef of samurai cinema?
Synopsis:
Toshiro Mifune: The Ultimate Collection 
Directors: Hiroshi Inagaki, Kihachi Okamoto
Distributor: AnimEigo
American release date: August 8, 2006
Format/Genre/Length: Box set DVD/Samurai/639 minutes
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: 18+
Overall Personal Rating: A
Similar series or titles to check out: The Ultimate Miyamoto Musashi, The Miyamoto Musashi Trilogy
How do you take the career of a great actor and reduce it to just five films meant to give a broad retrospect of his work? It isn’t easy to do, but AnimEigo has done just that. They’ve assembled a 5 DVD set of Toshiro Mifune films which includes Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo, Incident at Blood Pass, Samurai Banners, Red Lion and Samurai Assassin. Let’s look at each film individually.
Tora-San Japan’s Most Beloved Loser
Director: Yoji Yamada / Author: Yoji Yamada
Distributor: AnimEigo
Americna Release Date: Nov. 10th, 2009
Format: DVD / 365 minutes / 4 disc box set
Genre: Comedy, Light Drama
Age Rating: 13+
Overall Personal Rating: A
Similar Titles: Charlie Chaplin films.
Wakeful Nights
Director: Masahiko Makino / Studio: Kouwa International Production / Author: Sumio Omori
Distributor: AnimEigo
American Release Date: April 1st, 2008
Format: DVD / 110 minutes
Genre: Comedy
Age Rating: 18+
Overall Personal Rating: B+
Similar Titles: Funky Forest, Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl, and Supermarket Woman
Watching those around us disappear into mortality is not an easy thing to do and learning how to remember them can also produce some odd and disturbing results.
Synopsis:
