"The Transformers" is a great cartoon series from the 1980s. If you're gonna get Season 2, though, get the Season 2, Part 1, boxed set. It contains all four discs of episodes - including bonus materials, which you probably can't get separately on the individual discs. The boxed set is also cheaper overall and a much better value.

"The Transformers" is a great cartoon series from the 1980s. If you're gonna get Season 2, though, get the Season 2, Part 1, boxed set. It contains all four discs of episodes - including bonus materials, which you probably can't get separately on the individual discs. The boxed set is also cheaper overall and a much better value.

"The Transformers" is a great cartoon series from the 1980s. If you're gonna get Season 2, though, get the Season 2, Part 1, boxed set. It contains all four discs of episodes - including bonus materials, which you probably can't get separately on the individual discs. The boxed set is also cheaper overall and a much better value.

"The Transformers" is a great cartoon series from the 1980s. If you're gonna get it, though, get the whole season at once. There's a boxed set available that contains all three discs of episodes and a bonus disc, which you can't get separately. It's a much better value.

"The Transformers" is a great cartoon series from the 1980s. If you're gonna get it, though, get the whole season at once. There's a boxed set available that contains all three discs of episodes and a bonus disc, which you can't get separately. It's a much better value.

"The Transformers" is a great cartoon series from the 1980s. If you're gonna get it, though, get the whole season at once. There's a boxed set available that contains all three discs of episodes and a bonus disc, which you can't get separately. It's a much better value.

This is where the Transformers cartoon saga began. The series started in 1984. I'm not too familiar with all of the aspects of the series. Some of the commercial bumpers may or may not be missing. The audio may or may not be out of sync in some of the opening theme sequences. However, I do know that the episodes on these DVDs were remastered from the original 35mm master prints. What that means is that some animation mistakes, which were corrected prior to airing on television in 1984, were reintroduced. For example, Starscream sometimes has the wrong colors. This doesn't bother me much, but it might bother others. There are numerous white spots on the picture, but this is understandable considering the age of the original master tapes. The extras are nice, but there's not enough focus on the original series. I wanted cast and writer interviews. I wanted all of the scripts, not just one. I wanted Year 1 toy commercials. Now onto the actual story. There are 16 episodes in Season 1. It has surprisingly good continuity for an American cartoon series - especially one made in the 1980s. There are two 3-part episodes, and the single-part "Countdown to Extinction" picks up the story from the three-part "The Ultimate Doom". There is a continuity error between "More Than Meets the Eye" Part 3 and "Transport to Oblivion", however. There are lots of characters, most of which aren't developed beyond stereotypes. Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream, and Spike are the best-developed characters. Also, even though this story is about a war, none of the robots are ever destroyed, and none of the humans are ever killed. Still, this is an entertaining cartoon series and worth the purchase, even though it'll probably be cheesier than you remember from childhood. For those of you that missed it when it was on TV, this is your chance to see it.

I first saw this movie in 1998 or 1999, when my friend, Matt, let me borrow his copy. It was of the standard American home video release. I'm stating right now that I don't own this DVD, so I can't comment on the extra features (such as the Vince DiCola interview and the storyboards, which I'm sure are nice), but I can tell you what's wrong with this DVD. First of all, the movie is in pan & scan. Sunbow has stated that they had located the widescreen print of the movie, so why they didn't release it is beyond me. Second, the movie trailer wasn't included. Third, Stan Bush's music video of "The Touch" wasn't included. Besides these problems, there are problems with the story itself. A lot of Transfans seem to love this movie, but I suspect that it's due to the better-than-TV animation, rather than the plot. There are large plotholes. We never learn what Autobots and Decepticons are. We are given only a very short narrative of the setting. Then we jump straight in, watching lots of battles. This would be confusing to anyone who hasn't seen the TV series. Old characters are killed off (some without even a word), and new characters are introduced in the first few minutes. Adding to all of this confusion, we are never told just who or what Unicron (the giant planet-eating threat) is, why he wants to eat everything in the universe, and why no one has ever heard of a menace that large before. A plot device called the Matrix of Leadership is introduced. It was never seen or mentioned in the TV series before the movie, and now it's suddenly extremely important and the one thing that can defeat Unicron. What is it? We don't know. Why is Unicron vulnerable to it? We don't know. Why is Hot Rod chosen as the new leader of the Autobots? That's right, we don't know. Are you beginning to sense a pattern here? A lot of things are just never explained. In fact, they had to write a five-part episode after the movie to tie up the loose ends. Furthermore, a lot of characters are introduced that just shouldn't have been: Quintessons, Junkions, Sharkticons, Wheelie. This characters should have been saved for the TV series. Instead, they just further confuse the audience. The Autobots wander aimlessly around space, crashing on different planets and recruiting some allies along the way. They are no more prepared to take on Unicron at the end of the movie than they were at the beginning. Yet, Unicron is destroyed, the Autobots (presumably) retake their home planet of Cybertron (without any explanation as to how), and all is well. As you can probably see by now, the movie is a convoluted mess. Yet, somehow, it's a fan favorite. It's also clearly a rip-off of Star Wars. Yes, the movie is uncensored. Spike's swear is intact. Personally, I'm going to hold off on buying this DVD and wait until after Rhino releases the Season 2, Part 2, boxed set. After that, they may release a remastered, widescreen version of the movie with (I hope) more bonus features. If they don't, then I'll get this DVD. My advice to all of you is to wait as well.

This series is based on the hit video game. It's 29 episodes long and spans four DVDs. The first three DVDs contain seven episodes each, and the fourth DVD contains eight episodes. Unfortunately, the DVDs has few extras. There are some anime DVD previews, info on other titles, links to Internet sites, and a remix of the theme song. The fourth DVD has a trailer for "Street Fighter Alpha: The Movie", which is unrelated to the V ("Victory") series. Also, the DVDs (at least my copies, which I watch on my computer monitor) have an annoying flaw. Whenever the camera shot changes, the very top and very bottom of the screen has static or something. The DVDs are bilingual. The English dub is mostly accurate, but there are many differences in the dialogue. My advice is to watch it in Japanese with English subtitles first and then in English. Sometimes, I like to watch DVDs in English with English subtitles. It allows me to easily see the changes in dialogue. The "Street Fighter II V" DVDs don't give you that option, but I'm able to do it using the DVD Player program on my computer. One big problem that I have with the audio is that the theme song has been changed in the Japanese audio track as well. Never mess with the original audio track! As for the series itself, it's a lot better than the movie. There is room for a lot of characters. Blanka fans will be disappointed. He doesn't appear. The series takes some creative liberties, such as making Ken, Ryu, and Chun Li teenagers, but that's fine. The series is mostly about Ken and Ryu, but Chun Li is also developed nicely. Unfortunately, the final episode is mostly about Ken and Ryu's battle with Bison, leaving only a small amount of time for the ending. Several plots go unresolved. Spoilers Ahead. Does Chun Li's father survive, or does he die? This is an important part of the plot, and we'll never get an answer. We don't even see Fei Long tell Chun Li that her father is in the hospital. Does Cammy come to Chun Li and admit that she tried to murder her father? The series wastes a large amount of time with redundancies. Each episode begins with a recap of the previous episode. After that, the final scene of the previous episode is replayed and leads into the current episode. At the end of each episode, there's a preview of the next episode. On the fourth DVD, half of one of the episodes consists of a recap of previous episodes. What was the point? Also, there are lots of instances of panning camera shots of still or nearly-still pictures; Ken and Ryu charging up their special attacks; and characters running around, trying to get someplace. Near the end of the series, I was thinking "They could've shortened this" every minute or so. One episode could easily have been trimmed from this series without any loss in plot or characterization - perhaps more. I'm guessing that the production team was trying to make more money with less animation. If even five minutes had been cut from the final episode (which could have easily been done), then they could have added Fei Long arriving on the island and telling Chun Li about her father, Chun Li at the hospital, Cammy talking with Chun Li, simultaneous funerals for Guile's friend Nash and Chun Li's father Dorai, and Ken being reunited with his parents. Instead, the only thing that's resolved is the threat of Bison. You'd think that, with 29 episodes, they'd be able to finish what they started. Overall, this is an enjoyable series, but Chun Li (and perhaps Cammy) fans will be disappointed with the ending.

This is the third album released by Sailor Moon & The Scouts. I ordered it on Friday, January 24, and it arrived on Tuesday, January 28. Not all of the girls went back into the recording studio this time. This is mostly a "greatest hits" album. Let's take a look at the tracks. 1) Pan Flute - Alan's flute melody. It's nice and relaxing. 2) Sailor Moon Theme (S.A.F. Remix) - a longer mix of the theme song. It's pretty good. There are no extra lyrics. For those of you who have read my reviews of the previous two albums, do you recall my complaints of Mina (Sailor Venus) having no songs of her own? Well, apparently, I was mistaken! She was simply uncredited! The booklet for this new album reveals that the "Sailor Moon" theme song was performed by Sailor Venus and Sailor Mini Moon! That's right! Who would have guessed?! 3) I'm Not Ready - a new, funky song by Raye. It's about how she doesn't want to grow up yet. It's nice that Raye was able to record this new song for this album. 4) My Only Love (S.A.F. Remix) - a very beautiful love song that Serena sings to Darien when he seemingly dies in her arms. This mix is more upbeat and faster-paced than the original. Still nice, though. 5) I Want Someone To Love (RAWer Mix) - Darien joins Serena, Raye, and Lita in singing a cool techno love song. I don't know how to explain it, but this song can warm you up on a cold day. This mix is longer and slower than the mix on Lunarock, but it's still nice. My one complaint about this song is that Darien's singer (RAW) has a way deep voice and distracts from the song. 6) I Want To Hold Your Hand (Hi-NRG Mix) - Serena covers the Beatles' song. It sounds great - fun, energetic, and fast-paced. This mix is longer than the mix on Lunarock. 7) Moon Crystal Power - Serena's standard transformation dub music. 8) Call My Name (And I'll Be There) - a nice friendship song by Raye. It's the same mix as on the first album, but it's louder and clearer. Mystery: In the episode that this song appears in, Raye is shown to sing it. Sandy Howell is the singer for Sailor Mars. However, Jennifer Cihi (Sailor Moon's singer) is credited for this song. This is the second time that this has happened (the first being in the booklet for the first album). Either there's a misprint in both booklets, or they got the wrong person to sing this song. Could someone please listen to the songs carefully and e-mail me if they know who really sings this song? 9) Tiara Action - Serena's standard Moon Tiara Magic dub music. 10) I Wanna Be A Star - a cute song that Serena sings about her dream of being a rock star. It's the same mix as on the first album, but it's louder and clearer. The other Scouts sing the line, "With my Sailor Scouts". It would be more appropriate for them to sing "With the Sailor Scouts" or "With your Sailor Scouts". 11) Receiving Waves, Part 3 - the funky music that plays a lot when the girls go shopping. It's enjoyable. 12) The Power Of Love - A very inspirational battle song by Serena that makes you want to stand up and fight alongside the Sailor Scouts! This song was played during the battle against Wiseman in the English-dubbed next-to-final episode of the R season and in the Sailor Moon R movie. It's the same mix as on Lunarock, and the quality seems to be the same. 13) Tuxedo Mask - This track is only 10 seconds long and does not contain the romantic music, just the sound of his appearance. 14) Rainy Day Man - a touching song by Lita about a guy that offered to let her stand under his umbrella after her ex-boyfriend left her standing in the rain. It's the same mix as on the first album, but it's louder and clearer. 15) Luna - I recognize this music, but I can't quite tell you what it is. It seems kind of like "bad guy" music. 16) Nothing At All - a soft, slow, gentle, lovely song by Raye about her friendship with Serena. 17) Sailor Jupiter - the girls' standard attack dub music. 18) It's A New Day - a fun, optimistic song about life, friendship, and facing the world by Serena. It's the same mix as on the first album, but it's louder and clearer. 19) Melvin - I guess this is supposed to be Melvin's background music. Part of it is a slow instrumental of the "Sailor Moon" theme song. 20) Sailor Moon Theme (S.A.F. Club Mix) - a longer mix of the theme song in the same style as track 2. There are no extra lyrics. This longer mix gets boring. 21) Queen Beryl - the evil Negaverse dub music. So, there you have it. There are twenty-one tracks on this album, twelve of which are songs, one of which is completely original. There are five remixes. The inclusion of the dub score is a great bonus, but they should have included all of it. They could have included all of the songs and remixed all of them. They certainly had the room. This is far short of a "Full Moon Collection", but it's still a highly-enjoyable album. If you don't already have it, go out right now and buy it!