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I love me some anime. I have since I was a teen. My love and appreciation for the genre has only grown and as much as I love it, I’m often disappointed by the lack of feature films that come out. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good series, but sometimes I don’t want to commit months to watching something. Sometimes I just want a quick fix. Anchor Bay and Manga Entertainment have provided me a much need anime injection of goodness with “Redline” and “First Squad.” Starting with “First Squad: The Moment of Truth” is an interesting project to say the least. Director Yoshiharu Ashino follows in the line of East/West collaborations like “Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust,” “Highlander: The Search For Vengeance,” and even “Afro Samurai,” but where as those were U.S./Japanese collaborations, this is a Japanese/Russian one. Yeah I said Russian.

Sony have announced the UK Blu-ray release of two new anime movies, both of which are set to debut on Boxing Day. First Squad, from acclaimed animation studio Studio 4°C, creators of the thrilling The Animatrix and Halo: Legends, tells the story of a 14-year-old girl with psychic powers who must travel to another world to bring back her team and stop a 700-year-old ghost from leading the Nazis to victory in World War II; and Legend of the Millenium Dragon (aka Onigamiden), from Studio Pierrot, creators of the classic Naruto and Bleach films, which sees a teenage boy travels 1,200 years back in time into an epic and ancient battle.

Yoshiharu Ashino’s dramatic debut feature Fâsuto Sukuwaddo (in Japanese) tells the compelling and dramatic story of Nadya, a 14-year-old girl who despite her tender years is the last hope for her team and country. Gifted animator Ashino (The Tigger Movie,...