Yoinking a great idea from the Fandom Post: Why not recommend some DVDs/Blu-rays that are on sale right now, so you can discover new things on the cheap?

Right Stuf, one of my favorite online retailers due to their friendly customer service, is having a 40% off sale until May 19th on DVDs and Blu-rays from FUNimation. (Full disclosure: that’s the company I work for. But there are great titles from other companies, too, so I’ll post those recs as I find out about sales. Also, please note: the content of this post represents my personal opinions, and in no way represents any statements or opinions of FUNimation’s.)

So, here are some 40%-off recommendations from various genres:

Comedy

My Bride Is a Mermaid – Mafia mermaid marriage proposals. I happened to be the translator for this show, and frankly it made me see red while I worked on it, it was so difficult, but everyone else thought it was hysterical, and in hindsight, I agree. Great premise, and a quirky sense of humor that includes lots of characters with sarcasm and deadpan delivery to balance out the over-the-top crazy delivery of the others. (Disclosure: I translated this one.)

Level E – Very old-school comedy anime feel, which is no coincidence: it’s based on a classic mid-1990s manga. Good idea for those who feel nostalgia for the earlier days of zaniness without random harems and obscure pop culture references every other line.

 

Something You’ve Maybe Never Heard Of

Birdy the Mighty Decode and Birdy the Mighty Decode 2 – This show suffers from being based on an older sci-fi premise that it’s hard to suspend disbelief for in the 2000s: after an unfortunate accident, an alien woman and a teenage boy wind up sharing a body. So far so good, except when the two switch off, their physical body actually changes from woman to boy and back again. Viewers who like a lot of realism might have trouble with the premise. But if you can get past that, it’s a very warm and sweet story, and I enjoyed it. It’s surprisingly visually appealing, and I really felt for the characters too. While I rarely have an opinion on watching the subtitles vs. English dub, and I haven’t even seen the English dub of this one, I have to say I particularly enjoyed the Japanese cast’s performances here. (Disclaimer: I translated this one.)

 

What Genre Even Is This?

Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings – I’ve only seen the first season so far, but it is absolutely and unrepentantly ridiculous and it makes my heart sing. It’s, um, feudal-era samurai with demons? And robots? Yet it’s somehow all very Serious and Manly? And the horses have handlebars?! It’s a guilty pleasure I have a hard time even feeling guilty about. Yes, it ties into the Samurai Kings video games.

 

Harem (Comedy, Dirty)

Haganai and Haganai Next – I actually dislike these two shows, myself. So this is not a personal endorsement! However, I’ve been told by various others that, if you’re into harem comedies and can handle lots of gratuitous too-short skirts and jokes that sail blithely past the “extremely offensive and inappropriate and oh God why” line, this is amazingly funny and delightful. So… make of that what you will…

 

Vintage Goodness

Full Metal Panic! – I’ve always liked the nice blend of comedy and seriousness in this series, and the fact that it appeals to viewers of different genders. For most shows I don’t have a subtitles vs. dub preference, but for this particular show, I recommend the highly enjoyable English dub. The Japanese cast performances are wonderful too, if you speak Japanese, but if you don’t, treat yourself to some nice English voice acting. If you like Season 1, there is a full-comedy spinoff called Full Metal Panic!? FUMOFFU and a largely serious sequel called Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid, which should also be on sale.

 

Something Your Child Could Safely Watch

Kaleido Star – In addition to the more famous shows you may already know about, there’s this show about a girl named Sora whose dream is to become a circus star. She manages to join the circus, but she has to work hard, train a lot, and learn what working as a team means before she makes the dream come true. (Disclosure: While I had nothing to do with the first season, about 1/3 of the way through Season 2 I took over and translated the rest.)

 

Bonus Personal Favorite

Princess Jellyfish – Even though it is not in stock at Right Stuf, I just can’t list recommendations without mentioning this show. It’s funny and heartwarming and great social commentary all at the same time. And the majority of the main characters are women! The DVD/Blu-ray release is available at http://www.barnesandnoble.com (probably you’ll get it fastest through its marketplace sellers) or Amazon.com; as with most of these shows, you can also watch it on Netflix and various other streaming video vendors. (Disclosure: I translated this.)

 

Hope that’s useful! I’ve omitted more currently well-known works like Fullmetal Alchemist and Fairy Tail to focus more on titles you might not know much about.