![](/cover/16104/ONYXEQUINOXSENTAIBLURAYSET.jpeg)
Hidamari
Sketch: Sae & Hiro Graduation
(2013, plus 2 OVA Specials)/Onyx
Equinox: Complete Collection
(2020)/Taisho Baseball
Girls: Complete Collection
(2009/all Sentai Blu-rays)
Picture:
B/B/B+ Sound: B+/B+/C+ Extras: C Main Programs: B+/A-/A-
Now
for more anime, including the latest in an ongoing series...
One
thing in life is that life always changes, as graduation nears the
girls of Hidamari Apartments realize that one day they will have to
say good bye. After three years, Yuno has found friends and family
at Hidamari Apartments, but now they have to say goodbye to Sae and
Hiro in Hidamari
Sketch: Sae & Hiro Graduation
(2013.)
Hidamari
Apartments is a boarding house for girls in art school, it is filled
with eccentric girls and 'weirdos', they are funny and drive each
other up the walls but, in the end, they become come friends, family
and sisters for life. As Sae and Hiro near graduation, the girls
hold back their tears and remember the times they shared... and hope
one day they will be able to do the same for others in the years to
come.
This
was a short 2-episode OVA about the graduation of 2 of the characters
from the series with a heartwarming farewell with a tear-jerking song
reminding people of friendships and how times shared is precious.
The series is based on short 4 panel comics. Extras include clean
opening and closing animations and trailers, plus you can read about
earlier releases in the series elsewhere on this site.
Episodes
include:
Entrance
Exam Sketch - As Sae and Hiro finish their finals, they wait to
hear from the colleges they applied to see if they got in.
Graduation
Sketch - Sae and Hiro remise about their first days at Hidamari
Apartments and the girls prepare to say farewell.
The
gods are at war fighting each other for blood sacrifices of the
Aztecs, Olmec and Mayan. However, the God Quetzalcoati makes a bet
with the God Tezcatlipoca that he will pick a champion to save
humanity, the lowest of the low, to seal the gates to the underworld
and stop the Gods of the Underworld. Izel, a young boy who recently
lost his older sister to a human sacrifice is now told by the gods he
must seal the gates to the underworld with Onyx which is toxic to the
gods, however if he fails, humanity will be erased in Onyx
Equinox: Complete Collection
(2020.)
Izel
curses the god for taking his sister when she took his place as a
sacrifice to the god, only this time it's war. For the gods to go to
war with one another would require even more blood sacrifices. The
gods send a mystical jaguar Yaotl to guide Izel, but all Izel wants
is to join his sister in death, or have his sister returned from the
land of the dead. Izel is joined by twin brothers Yun and Kin
controlling a magic ball together. Zyanya is a Zapotec huntress
cursed with a monster's body and strength. And finally, Xanastaku a
girl blessed with mystic magic to heal and fly.
This
is a 'Western' animation, (not quite anime) it's style is similar to
Korra the Avatar about non-Western characters and culture.
The series is well drawn and has a very interesting story. However,
the series is for a mature crowd with violence, characters being
dismembered, nudity and swearing. While the story was rich, it is
not surprising it was reviewed more harshly by Western/American
critics because they are afraid of non-Western ideas, the adult
subject matter and minority main characters. It was a pity they
didn't make a second season. Extras include trailers.
Episodes
include:
The
Last Day - The God of the Underworld, Mictlantechutli destroys an
entire city stealing the blood of all the humans and starts war with
the gods. Izel is a boy who recently lost his kind older sister to
the human sacrifice to appease the Gods to protect them. He tries to
commit suicide, but instead he is saved by the gods.
Jaws
of the Jaguar - Quetzalcoati make a bet with Tezcatlipoca on the
fate of humanity. Izel is saved by Yaotl, an emissary of the gods to
help him seal the gates to the underworld.
Thicker
than Water - Izel is sent to find a mystic artifact to lead him
to the gates, but meets again the man who sold him and his sister to
slavery. He joined by Yun and Kin after their city is attacked and
destroyed by monsters.
The
Stranger - Izel, Yun and Kin are saved by the mysterious Zyanya
who tells them she will help them if they come and save her city and
her people. But Zyanya has secrets of her own.
Predation
- Izel, Yun, Kin and Zyanya are hunted and injured by killer apes but
they get help from a mysterious witch.
What
She Carries - Izel, Yun, Kin and Zyanya find themselves
teleported to a city where people have wings and they are taken
prisoners. They meet Xanastaku a young girl with mystic powers, they
manage to seal the gate under her city, she leaves with them.
The
Underworld - Izel and his friends get transported to the
underworld and they must find a way out.
Run
- Zyanya returns to her city, but they discover she made a terrible
deal with the god of the underworld. She is given the body of a
monster and told to bring Izel to him in exchange for her people.
They fight and defeat Mictlantechti only to discover it was all
planned by the Queen of the Dead, Tzitzimiti.
Death
From Above - Izel and his friends find sanctuary in a village
protected by the sacred rivers, but then the village is attack by
demons from the sky and completely destroyed down to the last child.
Death
From Below - Izel and his friends after suffering so much and
seeing so much destruction head towards the last gate.
The
Last Year - The past of Yaotl is revealed, he was once human and
the lover of Tzitzimiti. Everything was planned by Tzitzimiti to
free Yaoti's soul and recover his memory.
and
The Bet - Izel and his friends learn about the bet of the
Gods. And their lives were only playthings for the Gods amusements.
Izel makes a choice, that the Gods were wrong and they are no longer
going to follow the will of the Gods. Instead, they reject the gods
and fight against all gods.
Finally,
girls can play baseball too! After the war, baseball was one of the
few things that Japanese were allowed to keep their spirits alive.
It's 1925, and Japan is in the middle of reinventing itself and
westernizations. But it is still a male dominated society, Akiko and
Koume begin an all-girls baseball team going against traditions, when
it was still considered 'immodest' for girls to play sports in Taisho
Baseball Girls: Complete Collection
(2009.)
Japan
was changing, with westernizations and new technologies, trading in
traditional clothes for suits, kimonos for sailor suits... but girls
were still expected to stay at home and become good house wives.
Akiko and Koume start a baseball team after learning Akiko's fiancee
told her that he believes girls should belong in the kitchen. The
girls gather together to prove that girls can play just as well as
boys.
This
was a slice of life anime and about breaking stereotypes a group of
high school girls starting something new, just because it's never be
done before doesn't mean it's wrong. Extras include Tokyo Bushi,
clean opening and closing animations and trailers.
Episodes
include:
That
Which the Boys Do - Koume meets Akiko who asks her if she would
like to start and form an all-girls baseball team.
A
Long, Loversick Spring Day - Koume and Akiko search for other
girls who will join the baseball team.
Nine
Girls Take Their Place - The girls play their first game, but
lose and begin to understand how much harder they have to work if
they want to compete with the boys.
From
Here - After a crushing defeat, the girls get depressed and Koume
must find a way to reignite the spirit of the girls to not give up.
Days
of Racing Through Flowers & Butterflies - The girls begin
their baseball bootcamp and training, but before they start playing,
they need to find a 9th girl to fill their missing position.
The
Ball Flies About the Field - The girls begin practicing and
learning about baseball by practicing with an elementary baseball
team.
Girlish
Pranks in the Streets of Azabu - The girls sneak out at night to
challenge random baseball players to a baseball 'showdown'.
Star
of Azabu - Koume is recruited to fill in a stand in part for a
movie part to the other girl's jealousy.
A
Restaurant Full of Misunderstandings - After finding a baseball
picture of a boy in Koume's room, Koume's father thought Koume has a
crush on another boy.
What
Am I Supposed To Do? - It's before the big game and of course,
the girls have a 'special' training camp at a hot spring and a 'test
of courage'.
Totally
on Edge Despite Ourselves - Akiko's mother finds out about Akiko
on the baseball team and grounds her, it's up to Koume to rescue her
and bring her to the final game.
and
Covered in Dust & Dirt - The girls play off with the high
school boys, but can they prove girls are just as good as boys?
Now
for playback performance. The 1080p
1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image transfers in all three cases
look really good, making us again wonder if Sentai will ever make any
4K discs. Onyx
has an especially good, rich use of color. All three also use
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Stereo lossless mixes in Japanese only,
save Onyx,
in English only. Oddly, it is Taisho that is sonically lacking, which
is a shame since it looks so good.
-
Ricky Chiang