“The eighth volume of ‘Haruka ~Beyond the Stream of Time~: A Tale of the Eight Guaridans’ continues the  storyline of the Eight Guardians searching for the last two Sacred Talismans, more revelations of one of the demons and much more!”

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DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: Haruka ~Beyond the Stream of Time~ - A Tale of the Eight Guardians Vol. 8

DURATION: Approx. 74 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: COLOR/NTSC / Japanese Audio (Dolby Digital 5.1 ch and Dolby Digital Stereo / English subtitles

CATALOG #: 61509

COMPANY: Bandai Entertainment Inc./Honneamise

RATING: Suggested 13 and Up

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

STAFF INFORMATION:

DIRECTOR: Tsunaki Aki

SERIES PLANNER: Okazaki Junko

CHARACTER DESIGN: Ohnuki Kenichi, Kotani Khyoko

ART DIRECTOR: Sakamoto Nobuhito

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Arakawa Kousuke

COLOR SETTING: Ario Yukiko

SOUND DIRECTOR: Honda Yasunori

MUSIC: Hirano Yoshihisa

EDITOR: Morita Seiji

Original Story by Tohko Mizuno (serialized in LaLa and Lala DX by HAKUSENSHA)

Opening Song: “Haruka Kimi no Moto e” performed by Morimura Tenma (Seki Tomokazu), Inori (Takahashi Naozumi), Nagareyama Shimon (Miyata Kouki)

Ending Song: “flowin’ -Ukigumo-” performed by Sefle (Akikawa Yuu), Ran (Kuwashima Houko)

Animation Created by YUMETA COMPANY

VOICE ACTORS/ACTRESSES:

Motomiya Akane - Kawakami Tomoko

Minamoto-no Yorihisa - Miki Shin-Ichiro

Morimura Tenma - Seki Tomokazu

Nagareyama Shimon - Miyata Kouki

Fujiwara-no Takamichi - Nakahara Shigeru

Tachibana no Tomohmasa - Inoue Kazuhiko

Eisen - Hoshi Soichiro

Abe-no Yasuaki - Ishida Akira

Princess Fuji - Otani Ikue

Akram - Okiayu Ryotaro

Ran - Kawashima Houko

Abe-no Seimei - Matsumoto Dai

Little Tengu - Shimakta Junko

Tengu - Taniyama Kisyo

“The meaning of those words you said when we first met… I now understand.”

Can the demons and humankind ever understand one another?  Where does the final Sacred Talisman, the Talisman of the North, lie?  The power of the Dragon God that dwells within Akane grows stronger with each passing day, while the thoughts of the Eight Guardians weave and clash…

The eighth volume of “Haruka~Beyond the Stream of Time~ A Tale of the Eight Guardians” brings us closer to the group accumulating all Sacred Talismans but also an interesting reveal on the side of the demons.

In Episode 21 titled “Demons and People”, the story focuses on Inori and dwelves deep into finding out why he has a hatred towards demons and also his relationship with his sister.   Especially how his sister has a strong connection to demon Akram’s right hand man Ickiditarl.  Inori, protective of his sister decides to take matters in his own hands to fight the demon.   Also, the curse that Akram has put over the villages have made life much worse with a major drought and no food being produced.

In episode 22 titled “When Demons Appear”, Tenma’s sister Ran wants to know what happened to them and why they are in another land.  Not having remembered that she was summoned by Akram and having worked with the demons, Guardian/android Yasuaki who has no emotions, tells Ran everything.  This sets everything in a tale spin as Ran leaves the compound and makes herself vulnerable to Akram.  Akram’s plan to take the Talismans away from the Eight Guardians begins.

In episode 23 titled “Dusk”, Akram succeeds in his mission in obtaining Ran and also stealing the Sacred Talismans.  But one is still left and that leaves Yasuaki and Eisen the only Guardians who have not obtained a talisman.  When one of the demons tells Yasuaki that there is no chance of getting the final Talisman, Yasuaki feels that because he is an android and lacks any emotion, he serves no purpose. So, Yasuaki tries to understand his worthiness to help Akane.

VIDEO:

Video is presented in anamorphic 16:9:LB and presented in 1:71:1 aspect ratio. I watched this DVD twice now on my 52″ inch television and on my 24″ iMac. And as I have mentioned before in my reviews, “HARUKA” has beautiful conceptual art when it comes to the backgrounds and just overall, how the whole land just looks lush. Colors galore! And I also enjoy the character designs. The men of course are quite Bishonen but the overall costumes to the colorful settings of the backgrounds mesh well with each other. Beautiful anime.

AUDIO:

As most of Honneamise releases, there is no English dub track and as most Honneamise releases, the encoding of audio for their DVD’s are top notch as audio is encoded at 448 kbps and clear audio. As for voice acting, I have been so far, very pleased with the Japanese voice acting for the characters.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The “HARUKA” DVD’s do not really come with many special features. Mainly featured on each volume is bonus footage titled “The Demon’s Soliloquy” which is more or less Akram’s voice and his rendition of the teaser trailers.

And as with each volume, there is a four fold, double paged booklet which features episode synopsis, images, character profiles, super deformed characters images, staff interview with Ritsuko Hayasaka (scriptwriter), cast interview after the recording the series part 1 and a section titled “Anthology of the Eight Guardians - Poems Unraveled” which features the poetry shown at the end of each episode.

With volume 8, the series continues with the adventures of the group trying to get the Sacred Talismans but if anything, more background stories that explains a few things such as Inori and his sister and his hatred for demons.  Also, we learn the true nature of the demon Ickiditarl.  Also, a storyline that focuses on Tenma’s sister Ran and of course, a Yasuaki episode that deals with him being an android.

So, volume 8 does focus on character development for Inori and Yasuaki but also a volume setting things up for a major confrontation between the eight guardians versus Akram and the demons.

The series has focused so much on character development and has had its share of action scenes but it’s been a stable ride so far.  No major deaths or consequences but it seems that things are now getting revved up for possibly a major battle between the Eight Guardians and the demons.  So, definitely look forward to volume 9.

+ Beautiful artwork and character designs and continuing Bandai Visual/Honneamise quality for audio and video encoding.

+ Really entertaining storyline so far. I really dig the character development for the series.

+ Really good voice acting from top talent from Japan and easy to ready English subtitles

- Unfortunately no English dub for those that need their anime with that option.

BUY THIS DVD | Netflix Delivers DVDs to your home. NO LATE FEES. Try for FREE!

“The third volume of “HARUKA ~Beyond the Stream of Time~ continues to draw me in with its beautiful, lush settings, beautiful animation, interesting characters and whimsical storytelling.”

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: Haruka ~Beyond the Stream of Time~ - A Tale of the Eight Guardians Vol. 3

DURATION: Approx. 74 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: COLOR/NTSC / Japanese Audio (Dolby Digital 5.1 ch and Dolby Digital Stereo / English subtitles

CATALOG #: BUDH0145

COMPANY: Bandai Visual/Honneamise

RATING: Suggested 13 and Up

Release Date: June 24th

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

STAFF INFORMATION:

DIRECTOR: Tsunaki Aki

SERIES PLANNER: Okazaki Junko

CHARACTER DESIGN: Ohnuki Kenichi, Kotani Khyoko

ART DIRECTOR: Sakamoto Nobuhito

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Arakawa Kousuke

COLOR SETTING: Ario Yukiko

SOUND DIRECTOR: Honda Yasunori

MUSIC: Hirano Yoshihisa

EDITOR: Morita Seiji

Original Story by Tohko Mizuno (serialized in LaLa and Lala DX by HAKUSENSHA)

Opening Song: “Haruka Kimi no Moto e” performed by Morimura Tenma (Seki Tomokazu), Inori (Takahashi Naozumi), Nagareyama Shimon (Miyata Kouki)

Ending Song: “flowin’ -Ukigumo-” performed by Sefle (Akikawa Yuu), Ran (Kuwashima Houko)

Animation Created by YUMETA COMPANY

VOICE ACTORS/ACTRESSES:

Motomiya Akane - Kawakami Tomoko

Minamoto-no Yorihisa - Miki Shin-Ichiro

Morimura Tenma - Seki Tomokazu

Nagareyama Shimon - Miyata Kouki

Fujiwara-no Takamichi - Nakahara Shigeru

Tachibana no Tomohmasa - Inoue Kazuhiko

Eisen - Hoshi Soichiro

Abe-no Yasuaki - Ishida Akira

Princess Fuji - Otani Ikue

Akram - Okiayu Ryotaro

Ran - Kawashima Houko

Abe-no Seimei - Matsumoto Dai

Little Tengu - Shimakta Junko

Tengu - Taniyama Kisyo

“I’m sorry but please don’t look at me for a moment…”

Akane takes her first steps as the Priestess of the Dragon God, while Akram and his Demon clan plot to stop her!

The third volume of “HARUKA ~Beyond the Stream of Time~ A Tale of the Eight Guardians” continues as the search for the remaining guardians continues.

The sixth episode titled “The Vice Minister and the Imperial Palace Demon”, we are introduced to Vice Minister of Civl Affairs Fujiwara-no-Takamichi who meets a dancer named Shirin.

All the nobleman are intoxicated by her beautiful figure and graceful performance (with the exception of Fujiwara-no Takamichi) but of course, it is all part of Akram’s plan as Shirin is a demon who will try to infiltrate the Imperial Palace.

While Akane is granted an audience with the Emperor, she overhears the hypnotized nobles talking about assassinating the Emperor. Will Akane be able to get help in time or will she be caught by Shirin?

Episode 7 is titled “The Night Cry of the Nue”, a white-winged vengeful spirit has appeared at Daimonji Mountain and threatening people there. For Yorihisa, he knows the “Nue” too well. The Nue, since as a child, has been Yorihisa’s target to kill but at the same time, because of their battles, he has looked at him as a friend. But the last living member of the Nue has never been violent? Why is it threatening humans?

Nevertheless, Akane and the vengeful spirit are sent to drive out the Nue and for Yorihisa, a last encounter with his friend/rival.

Episode 8 is titled “The Flame of Demon Hatred” and the storyline focuses on Inori (a character introduced in the first episode). We learn that Inori lives a tough life as an apprentice for a blacksmith and protects his sick elder sister. While delivering a sword to a samurai, Inori meets Akane for the first time but their meeting is interrupted when the demon Shirin returns.

The third volume of “HARUKA” continues to be enjoyable so far. The search for the remaining guardians continues and for this volume, two more are found.

If anything, the focal point in this volume is more on three of the guardians. Fujiwara-no-Takamichi, Yorihisa and Inori.

One of the things I wondered is how much character development can be done, with so many characters involved in the actual storyline. For episode 6, it was good to know Fujiwara-no-Takamichi’s side. Not necessarily a boring character but a character that seems dedicated to his work and keen on logic.

As for Yorihisa, again we see a sensitive side of the character. A dedicated warrior and guardian but obviously a man who very much wants to protect Akane.

As for Inori, he has witnessed countless murders of villagers by the demons that he is literally bent on ridding them.

But in episode 8, it was interesting when Shimon (Akane’s blonde and blue-eyed friend) is accused of being a demon. Reason being is that in Japan, a person with blonde hair and blue eyes is completely different from the norm and also the only person with blonde and blue eyes so far in the series outside of Shimon is the main demon himself, Akram. So, it is going to be interesting to see how Shimon deals with the prejudice towards him, as everyone is going to think he is a demon but also, how he is going to defend himself and even Akane since he is pretty much the weakest of the Guardians due to his fear and his emotions.

VIDEO:

Video is presented in anamorphic 16:9:LB and presented in 1:71:1 aspect ratio. I watched this DVD twice now on my 52″ inch television and on my 24″ iMac. And as I have mentioned before in my reviews, “HARUKA” has beautiful conceptual art when it comes to the backgrounds and just overall, how the whole land just looks lush. Colors galore! And I also enjoy the character designs. The men of course are quite Bishonen but the overall costumes to the colorful settings of the backgrounds mesh well with each other. Beautiful anime.

AUDIO:

As most of Bandai Visual releases, there is no English dub track and as most Bandai Visual releases, the encoding of audio for their DVD’s are top notch as audio is encoded at 448 kbps and clear audio. As for voice acting, I have been so far, very pleased with the Japanese voice acting for the characters.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The “HARUKA” DVD’s do not really come with many special features. Mainly featured on each volume is bonus footage titled “The Demon’s Soliloquy” which is more or less Akram’s voice and his rendition of the teaser trailers.

And as with each volume, there is a four fold, double paged booklet which features episode synopsis, images, character profiles, staff interview with Honda Yasunori (sound director) and a section titled “Anthology of the Eight Guardians - Poems Unraveled” which features the poetry shown at the end of an episode.

“HARUKA ~Beyond the Stream of Time~” continues to be anime series that has not disappointed me at all.

So, far the first three volumes have featured the search for the remaining guardians, if anything, the only thing we didn’t see on this volume, which I don’t mind so much at all, is Akram and Akane together.

What we do see is the demon Shirin who is dedicated to her master but jealous because he has so much interest towards the Priestess.

But it’s good to see how each episode has had some spacing, in terms of the search for the remaining guardians and in this case, more character development for Yorihisa.

All in all, “HARUKA ~Beyond the Stream of Time~” continues to be a beautiful, well-acted and enjoyable series to follow so far and look forward to how it’s leading up to the possible battle between the forces of good and evil. Not sure how it’s going to play out but I look forward to how the series is progressing so far.

A series worth checking out!

+ Beautiful artwork and character designs and continuing Bandai Visual/Honneamise quality for audio

+ Really entertaining storyline so far. I really dig the character development for the series.

+ Really good voice acting from top talent from Japan and easy to ready English subtitles

- Unfortunately no English dub for those that need their anime with that option.

“The second volume of “HARUKA ~Beyond the Stream of Time~ continues to draw me in with its beautiful, lush settings, beautiful animation, interesting characters and whimsical storytelling.”

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: Haruka ~Beyond the Stream of Time~ - A Tale of the Eight Guardians Vol. 2

DURATION: Approx. 74 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: COLOR/NTSC / Japanese Audio (Dolby Digital 5.1 ch and Dolby Digital Stereo / English subtitles

CATALOG #: BUDH0144

COMPANY: Bandai Visual/Honneamise

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

STAFF INFORMATION:

DIRECTOR: Tsunaki Aki

SERIES PLANNER: Okazaki Junko

CHARACTER DESIGN: Ohnuki Kenichi, Kotani Khyoko

ART DIRECTOR: Sakamoto Nobuhito

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Arakawa Kousuke

COLOR SETTING: Ario Yukiko

SOUND DIRECTOR: Honda Yasunori

MUSIC: Hirano Yoshihisa

EDITOR: Morita Seiji

Original Story by Tohko Mizuno (serialized in LaLa and Lala DX by HAKUSENSHA)

Opening Song: “Haruka Kimi no Moto e” performed by Morimura Tenma (Seki Tomokazu), Inori (Takahashi Naozumi), Nagareyama Shimon (Miyata Kouki)

Ending Song: “flowin’ -Ukigumo-” performed by Sefle (Akikawa Yuu), Ran (Kuwashima Houko)

Animation Created by YUMETA COMPANY

VOICE ACTORS/ACTRESSES:

Motomiya Akane - Kawakami Tomoko

Minamoto-no Yorihisa - Miki Shin-Ichiro

Morimura Tenma - Seki Tomokazu

Nagareyama Shimon - Miyata Kouki

Fujiwara-no Takamichi - Nakahara Shigeru

Tachibana no Tomohmasa - Inoue Kazuhiko

Eisen - Hoshi Soichiro

Abe-no Yasuaki - Ishida Akira

Princess Fuji - Otani Ikue

Akram - Okiayu Ryotaro

Ran - Kawashima Houko

Abe-no Seimei - Matsumoto Dai

Little Tengu - Shimakta Junko

Tengu - Taniyama Kisyo

“You can’t just go around hurting others… That’s unforgivable behavior for anyone!”

Chose as the Priestess of the Dragon God and transported to the capital of an alternate world, Akane now finds herself overwhelmed by the power bestowed upon her by the Dragon God. Until all of the Eight Guardians fated to protect her are assembled, she remains stranded with now way to return to her home world. As if seeing right through Akane’s anxiety ridden heart, Akram head of the Demon clan, lets out a smile…”

The second volume of “HARUKA ~Beyond the Stream of Time~ A Tale of the Eight Guardians” continues with its whimsical storyline as Akane, Tenma and Shimon are reluctant about their new found powers and their desire to return back to their own reality.

The third episode titled “The Sorcerer” features the appeal by the princess to please save their capital but the trio just want to return back to their reality. Akane is unwilling to accept that she is the Priestess of the Dragon and Tenma just think everyone is trying to make them stay in their reality.

During the argument, Akane suddenly feels ill and during her sleep, she is somehow whisked back in the area where she met the demon known as Akram.

But this time, she meets a sorcerer named Yasuaki. Who is Yasuaki and why is Akane dreaming about him? Or is it a dream? And also, a fourth guardian is revealed.

The fourth episode titled “The Flower Purifying Ceremony” is where you learn about the ominously red-stained cherry blossoms. The impurities of the capital are contained in those red cherry blossoms and if by any chance the petals would flow through the city, it would be lead to pure chaos. Thus a flower purifying ceremony must take place and in this ceremony, Yasuaki and Akane will take part, but a mysterious figure awaits them.

The fifth episode titled “The Dewdrop Lodge” is where you learn more about Tenma and his love for Akane. You learn about Tenma’s past and how he and Akane became friends and why Tenma will do whatever to protect her.

I found the second volume equally entertaining as the first volume. With three episodes, really to learn more about the characters and almost similar to anime such as “Fushigi Yugi” and “Hakkenden”, you have a curiosity to how Akane will meet the remaining guardians.

But unlike the two anime, one thing that you get a glimpse of is the devotion of towards Akane, as well as the jealousy of Tenmon. And the devotion by the guardians of wanting to protect Akane, is it because its their duty or perhaps they are also falling for her. That is something that I look forward in seeing played out as the storylines continues.

But most importantly, Akane and her feeling towards Akram. Can the Priestess of the Dragon be falling for the demon? That would be interesting.

Similar to the first volume, I’ve found the animation and the art of the scenery of that period to be breathtaking and vibrant and for a television show, I have been pleased so far with the overall production for this anime. There is a darkness with episode 3 and 4, which I found the animation very cool in covering that atmosphere. It’s not a horror anime but it was well captured in the scenes where darkness and evil emerge. Also, the anime is presented in 16:9LB Anamorphic.

As for the sound, Bandai Visual/Honneamise releases have continued to release their DVD’s in a high bitrate and are setting the standard for quality and thus, everything sounds great. The dialogue is clear and well heard and there are quite a good number of battle sequences for this second volume.

And the Japanese voice acting is well done with Kawakami Tomoko doing a spectacular job as capturing the emotions of Akane. Especially Tomokazu Seki who does the voice for Morimura Tenma and capturing that jealous rage but yet a tender, admiration for Akane. And of course, Okiayu Ryotaro for his voice work as the demon Akram. Well done!

As for special features, included is “The Demon’s Soliloquy” which features Akram doing the teasers for the next episode.

And what is becoming my favorite part of a Bandai Visual DVD is the inclusion of a booklet. The booklet or in this case, more of a double sided, quad fold piece that features a synopsis of the three episodes, character profiles, staff interview with producer Yamaguchi Satoshi and series planner Junko Okazaki and an anthology of the Eight Guardians - Poems Unraveled.

“HARUKA ~Beyond the Stream of Time~” is an enjoyable anime with a storyline that manages to be straightforward and definitely doesn’t skimp on the character development.

Volume 2 definitely shows new sides of the characters that were introduced in the first two episodes and the camaraderie of the group and how they play out like a dysfunctional family. Willing to protect each other but at the same time, watching their emotions get the best of them.

If you enjoyed anime series such as “Fushigi Yugi” or “Escaflowne”, this is one of those anime that has its similarities to those series but yet is very different.

All in all, I found volume two to be entertainingly addicting and I can’t wait for volume 3!

+ Beautiful artwork and character designs and continuing Bandai Visual/Honneamise quality for audio

+ Really entertaining storyline so far. I Dig the character development.

+ Really good voice acting from top talent from Japan and easy to ready English subtitles

- Unfortunately no English dub for those that need their anime with that option.

Greetings everyone,

Our interview with director Tsunaki Aki (last name/first name for those new to J!-ENT) is now up on J!-ENT.  We would like to thank Tsunaki-san and the Bandai Visual staff for accommodating us at Sakura-Con.

Tsunaki Aki was the director of “HARUKA: Beyond the Stream of Time-A Tale of the Eight Guardians” (aka “Harukanaru Toki no Naka de”). The first volume DVD was released in the US on April 22nd from Bandai Visual.

Tsunaki’s work include “Zeguy” (Character Designer), “Eat-Man ‘98” (Animation Supervisor), “Pokemon 2000-The Movie” (Animation Director), Yu-Gi-Oh! (Animation Director), “Initial D” (Animation Director) and
many more.

We hope you enjoy the interview!  And also we feature a few photos from Sakura-Con and Seattle.

http://www.nt2099.com/J-ENT/INTERVIEWS/tsunaki_aki/tsunaki-aki.pdf

Torrance, Calif. March 18, 2008 – dot-anime.us, the ecommerce site operated by Bandai Visual USA, announced today the details of their new streaming video service, which will offer fans a legal option to view a full episode of Bandai Visual USA titles.

Starting on March 18, 2008, fans will be able to screen the first episode of HARUKA: Beyond the Stream of Time – A Tale of the Eight Guardians on dot-anime (Full URL:http://www.dot-anime.us/streaming/).

The new video streaming service will be available to fans based in the USA and Canada. Each streamed episode will be available for three months after its starting date. Fans must meet the following computer system requirements to use dot-anime’s new video streaming service:

• Microsoft Windows XP or later
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or above
• Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 or above

For more information on the streaming service and user support refer to the FAQ located on www.dot-anime.us/streaming/help.html

[About HARUKA: Beyond the Stream of Time – A Tale of the Eight Guardians]
‘HARUKA’ is an adaptation of a huge hit Japanese romance adventure video game franchise from KOEI Co., Ltd and has also been made into a successful on-going manga in Japan and is currently being serialized in the girl manga magazine Shojo Beat that is published by VIZ Media. The first DVD volume will hit store shelves on April 22, 2008.

[Story of HARUKA: Beyond the Stream of Time – A Tale of the Eight Guardians]
Beyond the stream of time, there lay a peaceful capital city on sacred ground protected by Four Gods. One day, the Four Gods were stolen away and the capital of this alternate world is overrun by vengeful spirits. This is the tale of Akane, the chosen Priestess of the Dragon God and her Eight Guardians as they clash against the Demon clan in hopes of saving the capital.

[About dot-anime.us]
dot-anime.us is a North American version of dot-anime.com, a Japanese website dedicated to bringing anime directly to fans via the internet. At dot-anime in Japan, fans can watch over 400 titles and 4000 episodes of anime, download thousands of anime songs, and purchase their favorite anime DVDs and CDs with a click of their mouse. dot-anime.us is planning to roll out similar services to the North American fans.

[About Bandai Visual USA Inc.]
BANDAI VISUAL USA INC. was established in 2005 as a wholly owned subsidiary of BANDAI VISUAL CO., LTD. with a mission to facilitate stronger, more active involvement in positioning, marketing and distribution of BANDAI VISUAL programs in North America. From its base in Torrance, California, BANDAI VISUAL USA seeks to form new alliances and reinforce existing ties in an effort to strengthen BANDAI VISUAL’s international presence as a producer and content provider in the ever expanding and diversified specialty programs market.

Hello everyone!

J!-ENT is looking forward to Sakura Con 2008 and we are looking forward to our upcoming interview with director Tsunaki Aki (director of “Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time” (aka “Harukanaru Toki no Naka de”).

As usual for J!-ENT, we give the fans a chance to submit questions to the people we interview and thus, we are giving you a chance to ask Tsunaki-san a question.

Please submit your question in the comments section and please get it to us by March 19th!!!!

Thank you!!!