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Dragon Ball Z Movies 7 & 9 DVD
Those who already enjoy DBZ will enjoy these films, and those who don't, won't. Whether they will fork over for a re-issue of DBZ ephemera is another matter altogether.

Death Note DVDs 7 + 8
Although this run of episodes, which involves some key transitions, initially marks a step out of the Dark Age into which the series had fallen, the reprieve proves only brief. These volumes may have some strong content, but on the whole they stray far from the series at its best.

Yatterman (live action movie)
If Miike was out to recreate the parental discomfort of the TV series... well, mission accomplished. It's just too bad he also recreated the aspects that make cartoons like this Kryptonite to anybody who's gone through puberty.

Slam Dunk GN 2
In the age of Kobe, Lebron, and Boston's three-headed monster, can a relic straight from the Jordan era still succeed? As this volume shows, fascinating characters and high-flying action are timeless qualities.

Castle of Dreams GN
Any manga-ka can set out to create a deeply emotional story, but it takes a talent like Tsuda's to make the reader feel it.

Kiba DVD Collection 1
Instead of a rollercoaster of tried-and-true thrills, Kiba is a warehouse full of rollercoaster parts—plenty of potential fun, but without the investment of energy to make it work.

Black Sun GN
Black Sun, Uki Ogasawara's second BL work to be published in English is a seamless blend of historical fiction, comedy, and beautiful boys.

Overman King Gainer DVD Complete Collection
The 26-episode animated television series Overman King Gainer is a mecha fetish extravaganza cooked up according to the following proportional recipe of creative ingredients: 85% action, 10% plot, and 5% character development. So much for the nuanced far future politics that make its director Yoshiyuki Tomino famous.

Song of the Hanging Sky GN 1
Heads up everybody: We have an instant classic on our hands. Song of the Hanging Sky is one of the best new titles to be published in English for 2008.

Baccano! + Artbox DVD 1
Sometimes humorous, occasionally brutal, and nearly always fun, the complex plotting and voluminous casting, combined with strong dubbing, animation, and musical score, make this a must-see series for fans of American mobster stories. It is meant to be an entertaining romp, and that is precisely what it delivers.

Negima! DVD 6
Things turn serious, and one prominent character dies, as the series rattles to a conclusion. Although it still has issues which hamper its quality, it nonetheless closes out a bit better than it has been going so far.