Product Watch | April 2026
Phew, it's been awhile! A lot of stuff has come out since the last Product Watch, but I've actually been really intent on clearing my backlog! That's for all three categories. That said, there's definitely a lot of great content on the horizon so let's hop into it. Since the last product watch, the state of physical anime in North America has been interesting to observe. Crunchyroll (CR) has aggressively been reducing the number of titles they carry on their store front (not just for anime, but for manga as well) as well as just not committing to printing/reprinting titles from their catalog. There is a great write up on this you should read by Jerome Mazandarani at Anime News Network that goes into more detail. Right Stuf continues to be very much missed.
Product Watch | September 2025
We’re finally getting a new release of the City Hunter manga with a fresh English translation! Many people may not know, but there was an official English release back in 2003 that stopped after just a few volumes. But it’s not just City Hunter—we’re also getting Cat’s Eye on the same day!?!? It’s a super exciting time to be a Western fan of Tsukasa Hojo’s seminal works. The new English re-release of Infini-T Force has reached its fourth volume and is hopefully selling well enough to warrant adaptations of all ten volumes this time. Also, Square Enix will be releasing Dragon Quest: The Mark of Erdrick on the 23rd. While researching, I realized I had confused this title with Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken – Yuusha Avan to Gokuen no Maou (ドラゴンクエスト ダイの大冒険 勇者アバンと獄炎の魔王), so I’m pretty excited to dive into this one.
A Blind Eye.
Reality is not the only thing that I’ve turned a blind eye to, as I’ve been watching Gravion and its sequel Gravion Zwei. It’s a 2002 mecha anime produced by Gonzo and directed by non-other than the legendary Masami Obari. If you recognize that name, you know what his shows are comprised of. Awesome mecha, character designs who anatomy defy logic, and…a lot of titillation. A lot. The plot is fairly straightforward. An alien race known as the Zeravire are invading the Earth and only the mysterious Sandman and the occupants of his Saint-Germain Castle hold the key to defeating them; the gravity powered, Super Robot Gravion! Secondary to the central plot, all the main cast have their own objectives and histories that slowly intertwine as the plot unravels.
