The sci-fi anime, Blue Gender, will be released Tuesday, March 4 as a box set in FUNimation's Viridian Collection series.  Consisting of twenty-six episodes on eight dvds, the box set also includes a ninth dvd with the movie, The Warrior.  The dvds are arranged in an album of sorts, with each disc slipping into a pocket on a page, so it is easy to flip through.  The whole album fits into a protective sleeve. 

This release has a great many extras.  There are character profiles, cast bios, audio commentary, textless songs, original trailers and Japanese TV spots, artwork galleries, montages of the various types of Blue in Blue File 1 and 2, a montage of the humans' mecha toys in the Armor Strike Files, and extended versions of the songs "Break Free" and "Love Taught Me."

Waking up to the domination of Earth by giant bugs is not the way Yuji Kaido wanted to begin the rest of his life.  After a number of years in suspended animation, Yuji awakes to find that nothing is as he left it.  His friends, family, and life as he knew it is gone, and all that is left is a difficult struggle to survive with a group of humans who want to reclaim their world.  Known only as the Blue, these giant insect-like creatures have claimed the top rung of the food chain, replacing humans as the dominant species.  Yuji takes up with a small faction of fighters, but struggles to reconcile the current violence with his peaceful past as an everyday, normal guy.  As the conflict progresses, Yuji learns that he may hold the key to humanity's survival.

Blue Gender is a nice combination of sci-fi mecha and a tale about a fish out of water.  It's easy to sympathize with the hapless, confused Yuji, and to understand why it would be so important for him to at least attempt to reclaim what he once knew.  If hardcore sci-fi is your thing, it's worth checking out.