On top of the sale, this week’s Blu-ray special is on the first four (of five) volumes of the top-notch anime series, Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Volume one, volume two, volume three, and volume four are all $19.99 each, 64% off the $54.98 MSRP. Volume five, the final volume, releases on August 2nd and is up for pre-order for $27.99, 49% off MSRP. I’d be all over this deal… if I hadn’t already (pre-)ordered all five volumes.

On the other hand, the anime sale I mentioned last week is still running. And there are a few free downloads available – like the premier episodes of the new cable series Breaking Bad and Head Case.

But the bigger news is the new Amazon Unbox Anime Store. A number of first episodes are available as free downloads – Naruto, Death Note, Bleach, Afro Samurai, Basilisk, Samurai 7, Speed Grapher, Solty Rei, Astro Boy, and Street Fighter II V. A number of full season purchases are available at up to 30% off for a limited time. Some fantastic titles are available.

I still want to see The Anime Network available via TiVoCast.

“I think Blu-ray is just a better format,” Stringer said. “Our partners are with Blu-ray Disc because, first of all, we have greater security, which Fox is particularly good at. Disney thinks it’s a better picture. And the sheer amount of bandwidth on the disc gives directors and beyond all kinds of future opportunity, including director’s cuts and who knows what 3-D capabilities will be down the road.

“I think that’s why Steven Spielberg held out his own product from going to HD DVD,” he added. “Ultimately, if you’re passionate about movies, which these DVD collectors are, Blu-ray is the best answer. I think that is true, and we see that in the blogging environment.

“It isn’t the cheaper format, but it is the better format,” Stringer said.

Via Blu-ray.com.

AnimeOnDVD.com had a Q&A with Bandai Visual Japan regarding their high-definition releases. BVJ started releasing on both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD, but with Blu-ray carrying the market 9:1 in Japan, recent releases have been exclusively on BD, even for their US releases. It looks like Blu-ray will be the future for Bandai. Via Blu-ray.com.

Toei Animation Ltd. is also getting into high-def releases, with a limited edition release of the animated feature CLANNAD on Blu-ray Disc. While BD has been outselling HD DVD 2:1 in the US, making it an ongoing war, in Japan Blu-ray is pummeling HD DVD 9:1, with studios dropping HD DVD due to the imbalance. It doesn’t look like the war will be prolonged in Japan. Also via Blu-ray.com.