Simon KOUKISSA

Hey, Answerman!
Brian tackles a whole buncha questions, including Peak Anime, the blandness of Japanese apartments as depicted in their cartoons, a brand-new flake and your answers to last week's Hey, Answerfans! 2009-02-13

Girl's High #8 - Watch it free on ANN!
What were the girls like in middle school? And how did they become friends? You can bet it sure didn't come easily, or without sparks flying. (USA/CAN only, TV-14) 2009-02-12

Buried Garbage - Ki•Me•Ra
According to this OAV, vampires are really aliens, lived amongst unicorns and dragons in a generic fantasy kingdom, have tentacles and reproduce like bees. Needless to say, it's not that smart. 2009-02-12

The X Button - Innuendo
This week: why Street Fighter IV is huge, why Dead Rising 2 looks great, why Atlus will conquer the game industry, and why Ar tonelico II is depressing. 2009-02-11

Anime News Nina! - 2009-02-11
This is why Nina & friends can't have nice things. 2009-02-11

Hai Fidelity - Eri Kawai: Himawari
Rachael examines and appreciates the memorial album for Eri Kawai, the singer-songwriter behind themes for Aria, Bamboo Blade and Sketchbook. 2009-02-10

Chicks On Anime - Fansubs (Pt 2)
The fansub debate continues this week, in the final installment of our discussion with Freelance Fansub's getfresh. 2009-02-10

Ramen Fighter Miki #7 - Watch it free on ANN!
Who can be the nicest to their customers, Miki or Megumi? The question, really, is who can hold back from ripping the other's face off the longest? (USA/CAN only, TV-PG) 2009-02-10

Otomen GN 1
As long as you take it for the puffery that it is, do not tire easily of its gimmicky raison d'entre, and are not offended by the implication that the perfect woman can only be a man, Otomen is a fun manga series.

Claymore DVD 3
Though this volume begins to weave more typically shonen-styled elements into the plot, Claymore's ruthlessness lingers, and with it a brutal edge that keeps it perched firmly atop of the action anime heap.

Rozen Maiden Träumend DVD 3
As far as unsatisfying endings go, Rozen Maiden Träumend ranks somewhere on a level with the Major League Baseball All-Star Game that ended in a tie.

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.

My-HiME DVD 7 Special Edition
The final HiME battles rage and the Obsidian Prince brings his scheming to its climax as the series wraps up. Despite some niggling quality control issues in both writing and technical merits, it is nonetheless a fitting conclusion to one of the most entertaining of recent series.