DVD Verdict reviews: FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE (VOLUME 3) and more!

Today, DVD Verdict posted reviews of CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL: CROMARTIAN
RHAPSODY (VOLUME 1), CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL: HEY DUDE (VOLUME 2), DRAGON
DRIVE: EMERGING EVIL (VOLUME 6) AND NEW POWER (VOLUME 7), FAFNER:
ARCADIAN PROJECT (VOLUME 1), FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE
(VOLUME 3), THE MELODY OF OBLIVION: ARRANGEMENT (VOLUME 1), NEON
GENESIS EVANGELION: DEATH AND REBIRTH/THE END OF EVANGELION BOX SET,
PATLABOR: THE MOBILE POLICE: THE NEW FILES (VOLUME 1), SCRAPPED
PRINCESS: MELANCHOLY WAGON TRAILS (VOLUME 2), WEDDING PEACH: BLACK
HEART (VOLUME AND WEDDING DAY (VOLUME 9), and WEDDING PEACH DX:
REVIVAL (VOLUME 10):


CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL: CROMARTIAN RHAPSODY (VOLUME 1) (reviewed by Dan
Mancini, overall score 90/100):
"It's to Cromartie High School's credit, then, that it manages to be
hilarious despite the cultural obscurity of some of its humor.
Though much of it is bound to fly over the heads of a Western
audience, the shtick is so dense that plenty of it will catch you
right between the eyes."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/cromartiehsvol1.php

CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL: HEY DUDE (VOLUME 2) (reviewed by Dan Mancini,
overall score 88/100):
"Because propriety is one of the more obvious characteristics of
Japanese society, the humor isn't entirely lost on Westerners. The
satire isn't as biting for an outsider, though. I imagine Cromartie High
School's comedy hits as close to home in Japan as South Park's does in
the States."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/cromartiehsvol2.php

DRAGON DRIVE: EMERGING EVIL (VOLUME 6) AND NEW POWER (VOLUME 7)
(reviewed by Bryan Byun, overall score 80/100):
"Geared towards younger kids, Dragon Drive is, on the surface, pretty
much exactly like your standard Pokemon derivative -- a game/anime
crossover in which players are encouraged to build up the stats of their
fighters and test their skills against their peers."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/dr...vevol6and7.php

FAFNER: ARCADIAN PROJECT (VOLUME 1) (reviewed by Mitchell Hattaway,
overall score 65/100):
"Like I said, it's derivative."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/fafnervol1.php

FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE (VOLUME 3) (reviewed by Joel
Pearce, overall score 93/100):
"Fans of the first few volumes will find plenty more to like in this
third installment. Fullmetal Alchemist has really hit its stride, and
continues to be a treat for a wide range of anime fans."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/fu...hemistvol3.php

THE MELODY OF OBLIVION: ARRANGEMENT (VOLUME 1) (reviewed by Mitchell
Hattaway, overall score 50/100):
"The Melody of Oblivion is a mishmash of ideas -- many of them familiar,
most of them bad. To make matters worse, the show is dour, pretentious,
and dull."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/me...livionvol1.php

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: DEATH AND REBIRTH/THE END OF EVANGELION BOX SET
(reviewed by Bryan Byun, overall score 90/100):
"By the end of the series, narrative coherence has all but completely
surrendered to Anno's surrealistic head trip, making for a
controversial, polarizing, and utterly unique work. Plenty of anime
titles (FLCL, Serial Experiments Lain) have copied Evangelion's style,
but none has surpassed its majestic, breathtaking weirdness."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/ngeboxset.php

PATLABOR: THE MOBILE POLICE: THE NEW FILES (VOLUME 1) (reviewed by Mike
Pinsky, overall score 78/100):
"The series has always featured strong writing that has managed to blend
action and comedy without playing the audience for fools. And it served
as an ideal training ground for the cyberpunk flights of Oshii, who
could probably benefit from a return to this series in order to remember
how to lighten up."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/patlaborvol1.php

SCRAPPED PRINCESS: MELANCHOLY WAGON TRAILS (VOLUME 2) (reviewed by Joel
Pearce, overall score 76/100):
"If you are checking out the series because you heard it's one of the
must-buy titles of the year, you heard wrong. Scrapped Princess is
simply an amusing and confusing journey into a new fantasy world."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/sc...incessvol2.php

WEDDING PEACH: BLACK HEART (VOLUME AND WEDDING DAY (VOLUME 9)
(reviewed by Bryan Byun, overall score 85/100):
"Wedding Peach isn't what you'd call an especially deep or substantive
series -- in this case, you can definitely judge the DVD by its cover --
but if you're in the mood for something silly, lighthearted, and good-
natured, with a healthy dollop of soap opera antics, Wedding Peach is
one of the more enjoyable titles out there."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/we...chvol8and9.php

WEDDING PEACH DX: REVIVAL (VOLUME 10) (reviewed by Bryan Byun, overall
score 85/100):
"These OVAs preserve everything that made the original series so
enjoyable -- the frothy, absurd humor, the soap-opera romance, and the
engaging characters -- and enhance the experience with higher-quality
animation and, yes, a bit more fan service."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/we...achdxvol10.php

Mike Jackson
Editor & Webmaster, DVD Verdict
www.dvdverdict.com

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