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Check out these Updates from Armchair Commentary for November 30, 2009.

The Best Movies & TV of 2009: Anime November 30, 2009 Amazon contributor Charles Solomon picks his top 10 anime releases of 2009. See more picks in the Best Movies & TV of 2009. Akira [Blu-ray]: Katsuhiro Otomo’s landmark Akira (1988) has been remastered for 1080p HD, which showcases Otomo's flamboyant palette and the translucent colors he uses for the flamboyant signage of Neo-Tokyo and the trails left by the speeding motorcycles. Dust, dirt and scratches have been digitally removed, and the state-of-the-art sampling and bit rates reveal previously undetectable elements in the complex soundtrack. The Blu-Ray edition is a must-have not just for otaku, but for anyone interested in animation. Big Windup: Part 1: Although he's a talented pitcher with exceptional control, Ren Mihashi, the insecure hero of Big Windup! (2007), was treated so badly by his middle-school teammates, he's convinced he's an utter failure. It's a sports series that will even appeal to viewers who hate baseball. The fun continues in Big Windup: Part 2, but the series ends after only 26 episodes, leaving the audience wanting more. Bleach Uncut Box Set, Vol. 3: The Rescue: The third season of the hit fantasy-adventure Bleach concludes the first major story arc. Princess Yoruichi--who's been disguised as a talking cat--takes orange-haired, hot-tempered Ichigo to learn to achieve Bankai, the ultimate power over his Zanpak- tô sword, by dueling with Zangetsu, the spirit of the sword. Case Closed: Season Five: Trapped in the puny body of eight-year-old Conan Edogawa, teen sleuth Jimmy Kudo continues to solve crimes, sometimes aided by the kids in the Junior Detective League. Although Case Closed (1996) ran for more than 500 episodes, directors Kenji Kodama and Yasuichiro Yamamoto keep the series fresh and exciting. Dragon Ball: Season One: Dragon Ball (1986) launched one of the most popular franchises in anime history, with its special blend of male bonding, rigorous training, martial arts fighting, and slapstick comedy. For years, the first episodes of Dragon Ball were only available in the U.S. in a heavily edited form: this new release restores all the excised footage, including scenes of the prepubescent Goku and Krillin running around naked. Evangelion: 1.01 You Are (Not) Alone: The eagerly anticipated Evangelion: 1.01 is the first installment in a four-feature retelling of Hideaki Anno's watershed series Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995). Anno was able to rehire most of the staff from the original series, but the use of computer graphics enables the filmmakers to amp up the visuals. That and the tighter story-telling will win over even skeptics who doubted whether there was any need for yet another version. Naruto Shippuden, Vol. 1: Although he's learned a lot of new skills, Naruto remains the irrepressible knucklehead audiences know and love. Naruto Shippuden reunites director Hayato Date with many of the artists and voice actors from the first series. The results feel familiar yet new: it's just what legions of Naruto fans have been waiting for. Sword of the Stranger: Dynamically staged and animated, Masahiro Ando's Sword of the Stranger (2007) is a no-holds-barred samurai action film that happens to be animated. It will delight devotees of that genre as well as anime fans. Death Note, Vol. 9: Director Tetsuro Araki pulls out all the stops to bring Death Note to a suspenseful conclusion. Death Note proved so popular, it was remade into three live action features in Japan. In the second film, Death Note Movie II: The Last Name, Shusuke Kaneko brings the story a much more satisfying conclusion by keeping the focus on the intellectual duel between Light and L.

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