Media Blasters

Background
Media Blasters is a video company that distributes anime, Japanese cinema, grindhouse films, and hentai, among other genres. Was formed in 1997 by Software Sculptors co-founders John Sirabella and Sam Liebowitz after they both left Central Park Media the prior year. It's most well-known subsidiaries are AnimeWorks (anime), Kitty Media (hentai), Shriek Show (grindhouse/B-movies), Tokyo Shock (Japanese cinema) and Guilty Pleasures (B-movies and "so-bad-it's-good" cinema).

1st Logo (1997-2000)
Nickname: "Cheap Rollercoaster Ride"

Logo: In a rollercoaster, we see a deserted land with a tunnel with "media Blasters" ("media" is colored fern and is in the bold sans-serif font, while "Blasters" is colored blue-gray and is in the grungy typewriter font). The rollercoaster goes down and enters that tunnel. We see the logos for Anime Works, Kitty Media and Tokyo Shock on the walls. After that, the rollercoaster stops on a land with grass and a brick wall. The camera goes up, and the wall "bursts" so we can see the Media Blasters logo from before. The letters of "Blasters" move up and down.

Variant: An early version of the logo had slightly smoother animation, and worse looking textures.The wall, with less bricks than the later version, fades in behind the grass when the camera pans up. The "media Blasters" text is more spread out, with the "Blasters" text having a slightly different font.

FX/SFX: The camera panning through the tunnel, the wall "bursting".

Music/Sounds: A deep rumble, then an explosion sound.

Availability: Quite rare, as this was only used for a few years. Seen on the first Media Blasters releases, including the censored version of Kite, and Ninja Cadets, which has the distinction of being the first anime title ever released on DVD.

Legacy: This is lackluster CGI at its earliest, but the exploding wall may startle first-time viewers.

2nd Logo (2000-2012)


Nicknames: "Videos in Space", "VHS and DVD in Space", "VHS and DVD Of Doom", "Cerise Text"

Logo: We see a pink-orange space background of the Milky Way galaxy for a few seconds with rotating stars; giant DVDs and VHS tapes later slowly fly at us in a horizontal direction. We see the respective logos on the reflections of the DVDs: the first one has Tokyo Shock, the second: Anime Works, the third: Kitty Media, and the fourth: Media Blasters. The camera turns around and goes inside one of the VHS tapes. A flash, and then a pink-orange star reveals the words "MEDIA BLASTERS" in a font that resembles the font of the logo for the Animorphs series and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movie series, colored cerise with light gleams all over it. The star gradually fades away, and a black background with some stars fades in. A few seconds later, the text zooms in at light-speed.

Trivia: All of the divisions of Media Blasters (excluding Shriek Show and Guilty Pleasures) would follow the same space setting and the drone theme as this logo.

FX/SFX: The tapes and discs flying, the reflections on the discs, the flash, and the text zooming. Decent CGI.

Music/Sounds: A droning, yet triumphant synth theme reminiscent of the 1994 Republic Pictures theme, with whooshes and ending with high-pitched descending chimes as the light shimmers.

Availability: Common. It appears on Media Blasters' DVD releases from the era like, Rurouni Kenshin, Zombi 2, Samurai Deeper Kyo, and namely Invader Zim, among others.

Legacy: This logo is infamous for its in-your-face CGI animation, droning synth music, and rather overdramatic visuals.

3rd Logo (2011-2021?)
Nickname(s): "Blasting Through Space I", "Less Cerise", "Code Blue" (for the 2016 variant)

Logo: On a zooming space background, a red flash appears, revealing the Media Blasters logo from before, but now in a red color, zooms in towards us and the flash turns blue before stretching out and disappearing. The space background disappears, and the logo shines for a few seconds, before zooming in at lightning speed.

Variant: Later on, starting in 2016, the logo became white surrounded by a blue outline. The space background is also slower and doesn't disappear before the logo zooms in.

FX/SFX: The company name zooming in.

Music/Sounds: Starts out with a loud whoosh sound, then a quiet synth note, followed by yet another whoosh.

Availability: Common. Appears on newer Media Blasters releases.

Legacy: Better animation and blander concept than the last logo.

4th Logo (2021-)


Nickname(s): "Media Blasters Renovation"

Logo: Starting out with a fog, clearing up the background, revealing the metallic oval border with the Media Blasters logo mixed up, then the letters unscramble and fixed together in the correct order. then the logo shines with bits of flamed metal for a few seconds and 2 bolts screw itself, then the logo moving in at lightning speed.

FX/SFX: Great CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 3rd logo, but with additional sound effects.

Availability: Brand new.