Surveys

Anime News Nina! - 2010-10-27
Some people have stranger Halloween traditions than others. 2010-10-27

The X Button - Something Sinistral
Todd reviews Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals, chats about The Last Story, looks at Venus & Braves, praises Costume Quest, and discusses Kirby's smile. 2010-10-27

RIGHT TURN ONLY!! - The Arisa Code
Can you handle the suspense and action that'll be coming out of this week's column with Arisa, Code:Breaker and Maoh: Juvenile Remix? Not to mention the grand finale of Nightschool! 2010-10-26

Brain Diving: Cartoon Culture Shock
Brian lights his torch and enters the dangerous dungeon of hacky academic work, exemplified by Cartoon Cultutres. 2010-10-26

A Few Minutes with Takao Kato
A brief chat with the director of Pandora Hearts, including the strongest influences on the series, the creative problems facing the Japanese anime industry and his dream project. 2010-10-25

Shelf Life - Love and Piece
Erin dives into more Dragon Ball this week, and tries to level up.
- Dragon Ball Z Kai pt 2
- Maria Watches Over Us s4
- One Piece s3 pt 2
2010-10-25

The Mike Toole Show - West Quest
Mike explores the strikingly wide world of anime based on western literature - Starship Troopers and all! 2010-10-24

Canaan DVD
A synesthetic young woman must battle terrorists, super-powered virus victims, and even the CIA to protect a beloved friend in this impressively-animated “girls with guns” series. It is a visual spectacle which excels in its action elements and central gimmick but struggles in its storytelling.

Cross Game GN 1
The story's nuances may prove a little trying but Adachi easily proves himself capable of hooking a reader for all 600 pages and everything about his work here is nothing short of effective storytelling.

Tsubasa, RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE GN 27
It's not so much that CLAMP have written themselves into a corner. Rather, they've written themselves into a funhouse mirror maze, and nobody knows the way out anymore.

Mitsudomoe Episodes 8-13 Streaming
Maybe it won't take its place among the comedy greats, but that doesn't mean it isn't great comedy.

Deadman Wonderland GN 3
It may not be entirely coherent who's doing what for who and why but you'd be hard-pressed to find a current series more compellingly able to pull you through without really caring to stop for all those little details.

Chi's Sweet Home GN 3
Those who were not entirely sold on the first two volumes of Chi's Sweet Home may finally find the clincher in Volume 3, which brings out the bittersweet side of owning a pet.

Eden of the East BLURAY
A twisty tale of conspiracies and revolution that plays equally well as action vehicle, character comedy, sweet romance, or speculative near-future sci-fi. The year's first truly great anime.

Toradora! Volume 2 Premium Edition
Though it still boasts some respectable comedy chops, the series' second half triumphs through its frank emotions, credible character developments, and a great sense of timing and dialog. The final episodes may be controversial, but this is still one of the best and most tightly-written of all anime romantic comedies.

Black Gate Omnibus GN 1-3
Dull first volume aside, once you're finally in the thick of it Black Gate really takes advantage of its refreshingly simple-plot to focus instead on a group of well-flawed characters who aren't too hard to look at it either.

Heroman Episodes 14-26 Streaming
Monster entertainment chops don't make the series' abandonment of the ambition and complexities of the Hughes arc go away, but they do make it easy to forget, and ultimately fairly easy to forgive.

Sasami: Magical Girls Club DVD Season Two
Although Sasami: Magical Girls Club continues to be a highly derivative take on the magical girl genre and once again there are no big surprises, it is good, mindless entertainment that you will not be embarrassed to share with the whole family.