Peter WHITMAN

Astro Toy with Rob Bricken: Final Fantasy VII Play Arts
Anime News Network's biweekly toy column returns, with a new name and a new author! Rob Bricken dives headfirst into the terrifying world of Japanese collectibles. This week: Final Fantasy VII Play Arts, including Cloud, Aeris, and Tifa. It's a love triangle made entirely of plastic. 2008-05-04

ANNtv - Akemi Takada interview
Illustrator Akemi Takada has been one of anime's most beloved character designers for over two decades. This week she talks about her new book, Princess Collection. 2008-05-04

The Click - May 3 - 9
Brian's concentrated beam of pure TV listings and wry commentary barrels into the chests and hearts of all, causing massive bouts of enlightenment, laughter, and coronary failure. This week, an OAV that sucks, and more! 2008-05-03

Hey, Answerman!
This week on Hey, Answerman: what makes a fan a fanly fan? What is the true measure of a fan? Also: what's up with Hellsing Ultimate, a vastly less misleading photo of Answerman's office, a fox in a hat and your answers to last week's Hey, Answerfans! 2008-05-02

Buried Treasure - Patlabor TV & OAVs
Despite never taking off in the West, this sci-fi sitcom was years ahead of its time, and is considered a landmark show by many. 2008-05-01

Hotel Africa GN 1
A unique work that successfully blends short story, memoir and personal drama ... the writing and characters are so well-developed that it reads more like an illustrated version of a modern literary novel.

Monkey High GN 1
This being a shojo romance, the heroine is surely going to be won over by the tall, lanky prince of the school, right? Not this time. The short, goofy monkey boy charms the girl instead, giving this otherwise-conventional title enough separation to distinguish itself in a crowded field.

The Third: The Girl with the Blue Eye DVD 5
An old enemy accompanies Honoka on a mission to rescue one of The Third as the final plot arc begins. Although these episodes do most things well, they fail to generate much of a sense of urgency about the series' impending end.

Red Garden DVD 3
List the qualifications the series had to pass to improve on its rocky opening—lose the embarrassing theatrics, focus on the mysteries, beef up the characterization—and you'll find that this volume does them all.

Death Note DVD 3
Builds suspense with masterful skill, seizing the attention at the beginning of each episode, and holding it with twisty plot developments and clever mind games until there are simply no more episodes left to watch.

Pumpkin Scissors GN 2
Even without the glamour and spectacle of other military-themed titles, the second volume of the manga is still good entertainment, especially as it starts to reveal new layers of plot.

Witchblade DVD 5
Even those who got into the series originally for the action and sexiness may still find that all of the relationship and story development in this volume makes it the best one yet.

Kite Liberator DVD
Many will hate Kite Liberator. Its story is nonsense. It chops and splices genres in the silliest way possible. But taken as a gentle, self-reflective Tarantino-style satire, it works. And lord, if it isn't a whole lot of fun...

Yozakura Quartet GN 1
It has all the ingredients of greatness: distinctive characters ... action-adventure potential ... But processing those ingredients into something successful is obviously going to take more work.

Strawberry Panic! Sub.DVD 1
If you like seeing girls blushing and getting flustered over other girls (with no guys around) then this may be a series for you. Although it does improve, its merits are otherwise only barely enough to sustain it.

Gantz DVD Perfect Score Collection
If you missed this orgy of extreme graphic violence, foul language, and explicit content the first two times around, and appreciate lots of gore and nudity, then this is your “perfect” opportunity.