There aren’t a lot of home entertainment releases this week, but there are some choice ones including La La Land, which won six Academy Awards, plus the fifth Underworld action horror film, the first season of the gritty TNT series Animal Kingdom and of the hot superhero parody anime One-Punch Man, plus a host of other interesting offerings from Japan.

Theatrical Movies

This week’s top release is La La Land (Lionsgate, “PG-13,” 128 min., $29.99, BD $39.99, 4K $42.99), which was nominated for 14 Oscars and managed to win six.  Damien Chazelle’s jazz musical manages to be both fresh and a great exemplar in the grand tradition of great Hollywood musicals, while Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling cement their places in the front ranks of their chosen profession with sizzling performances.  A rare critical (93% positive rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes) and commercial (it earned $440 million worldwide versus a cost of $30 million) success, La La Land is the best musical of the 21st Century so far--but it is a musical, so folks who don’t like the genre should be aware that there is plenty of singing and dancing.

Not so successful either critically (only 17% positive) or at the box office ($81 million versus a $35 million cost) was Underworld: Blood Wars (Sony, “R,” 91 min., $19.99, BD $26.99, 4K $45.99), the fifth film in the action-packed horror series and the fourth to star the often underestimated actress Kate Beckinsale, (who narrated the other Underworld film, which was a prequel).  With its recurring theme of conflict between werewolves and vampires, the Underworld films have their roots in adventure gaming—and while Blood Wars isn’t the best film in the series, those who enjoyed the previous films in the franchise will like this one too—and Beckinsale is, as usual, impeccable.

Anime

This is a strong week for anime releases led by One-Punch Man: Season 1 (Viz Media, 300 min., $39.99, BD $49.99, BD/DVD Combo $59.99), which collects the 2015 Madhouse TV anime One-Punch Man, which is based on superhero parody webcomic and manga created by the artist known as One.  This series aired on Toonami’s Adult Swim and it is easy to see why it was successful—it is one of the funniest parody anime series ever and the action scenes are very well-choreographed.

Another Madhouse produced series is available on Tuesday in the Prince of Stride Alternative: Complete Collection (Funimation, 300 min., BD/DVD Combo $64.98), which is based on an otome game about teams of six who compete in an extreme, parkour-like sport called “Stride.”

Dragon Ball Z fans will be interested in Dragon Ball Z Kai: The Final Chapters, Part 1 (Funimation, 600 min., $49.98, BD $54.98), which contains 24 episodes (#s 99-121) of the 167-episode DBZ Kai do-over of the classic Toei series based on Akira Toriyama’s manga.  In addition to a high def makeover, DBZ Kai dispenses with the “filler” episodes and hews closely to Toriyama’s original manga.  How many filler episodes were there in the original DBZ series?  Well there are 291 episodes of DBZ, which were reduced to 167 in DBZ Kai.

Another recent release is the 2016 anime from Bones, Snow White With the Red Hair: Season Two Complete Collection (Funimation, 300 min., BD/DVD Combo $64.98), which collects the second season of the fantasy romance series based on the shojo manga by Sorata Akazuki.

Discotek Media has done a great job of releasing new editions of classic anime productions, many of which are out-of-print, and some of which have never been released here on DVD.  This week’s releases include a new edition of the 1983 anime movie Crusher Joe: The Movie (Discotek Media, 125 min., $24.95); the first North American disc release of the Fighting Foodons: Complete Collection (Discotek, 650 min., Dubbed, $39.95); Katshito Otomo’s  2006 Freedom Project: Complete OVA Project (Discotek, 150 min., $29.95); and the magical girl series Ultra Maniac: Complete Collection (Discotek Media, 650 min., $49.95) that was previously released here by Geneon.

TV on DVD

It’s another poor week for TV on DVD releases with the exception of Animal Kingdom: The Complete 1st Season (Warner Bros., 420 min., $29.98, BD $39.98), which collects the first 10-episode season of the TNT crime drama starring Ellen Barkin that is based on the gritty Australian movie.

Another heavy duty drama due on Tuesday is The Affair: Season 3 (HBO, 566 min., $$39.95).  Though the show has failed to maintain the considerable momentum created by its first two award-winning seasons, it remains compelling viewing for those who have been following the show.  Season three takes place three years after the events in season two and introduces a key new character.

This week’s only vintage TV release is Paradise: The Complete 1st Season (Warner Bros., 1023 min., $47.99), the western series that debuted on CBS in 1989 and lasted until 1991 (56 episodes).

Peanuts fans might well be interested in Peanuts By Schulz: Volume 2, Go Team Go (Warner Bros., 224 min., $19.94), a second volume in the new series, which contains 19 flash-animated stories very closely based on the original newspaper strips of Charles M. Schulz.

Power Rangers devotees should note that the entire Power Rangers Turbo: Super Sentai Carranger: Complete Series (Shout Factory, 1040 min., $59.97) is now available in one set.