There’s anime-inspired martial arts action and adventure for all ages on tap this week as the very adult Afro Samurai meets the kid-friendly Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of the Dragon on retail shelves. Fans of Spike TV’s Afro Samurai can buy the five-episode animated action show as it appeared on television or get the uncensored director’s cut version, which includes 15 minutes of previously unseen footage. Meanwhile, three fourths of the second season of Avatar and the entire first season of Legend of the Dragon are ready for consumption.
Afro Samurai stars Samuel L. Jackson as the voice of a lone swordsman who roams a futuristic but feudal world in search of a gunslinger named Justice (Ron Perlman), who killed his father in a duel years ago. Jackson also provides the voice of Ninja Ninja, a loud-mouthed sidekick of sorts who tags along on Afro’s adventures. In addition to being a hunter, Afro finds himself hunted for his headband, one of several rare pieces of cloth imbued with special powers. The elaborately animated action sequences are accompanied by eclectic hip-hop music by recording artist RZA, who composed iconic music for Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill films.
Boasting a price tag of around $1 million per half-hour episode, Afro Samurai was produced by Japanese animation studio Gonzo, in association/partnership with GHK K.K. and FUNimation Ent. The director’s cut includes an extended ending, exclusive artwork from creator Takashi Okazaki, a featurette on the voice talent, a look at music production with RZA, and character profiles with commentary by co-producer Eric Calderon. That version lists for $39.98 while the edited-for-televsion cut carries a suggested retail price of $19.98.
In Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 2, Vol. 4, Aang, Katara, Sokka and their new friend Toph search for Appa while traveling to Ba Sing Se to tell the Earth King about their attack on the Fire Nation. Along the way they meet up with old friends and fight off the Fire Nation’s evil Princess Azula. Devotees of the Nickelodeon series can pick up the disc today $16.99 or wait until the entire second season set is released on Sept. 11. The show was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Kunietzko.
Legend of the Dragon from global animation company BKN International AG is set in China, a land of ancient mysteries and modern wonders where old meets new, dark meets light and the universal balance of Yin and Yang is held in harmony by The Golden Dragon. When the guardian of the temple passes on, a new Golden Dragon must be chosen from a brother and sister, twins born in the Year of the Dragon. All episodes from the first season are packaged in one five-disc set that retails for 49.95. Those who have been collecting the series piece mail can also pick up the Vol. 4 single disc today for the suggested retail price of $14.95.
