Shinako OKAYAMA

The Spring 2009 Anime Preview Guide
The Spring 2009 anime season is officially underway! Our 24-7 preview guide begins; check back every day for new reviews from ANN's editorial team!

Previews Available Now:
Sengoku Basara
Pandora Hearts
Shin Mazinger Shogeki Z-Hen
Shangri-La
Natsu no Arashi
Dragonball Kai
Saki
Asura Cryin'
Arad Senki -Slap Up Party-
Hayate the Combat Butler season 2
Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~
K-ON!
Queen's Blade
Chi's New Address
Mainichi Kaasan 2009-04-03

Astro Toy with Rob Bricken: Nendoroid Miku Hatsune
Nendoroid's take on the famous animated idol singer comes across Rob's desk. 2009-04-05

The Gallery in Japan - Jamie Lano
New Prince of Tennis assistant Jamie Lano talks about overcoming nerves and English teacher hell to become an assistant to one of the most well-known manga creators in the business. 2009-04-04

Hey, Answerman!
Hey, Answerman is here again this week and it will quite literally assault your senses as it touches on genre confusion, soundtrack confusion, and a dumb stupid internet video. Plus your responses to Hey, Answerfans and more! 2009-04-03

Akihabara@DEEP GN 2
Much of volume two of Akihabara@DEEP takes place in the world of a fictionalized MMORPG world, but if you think you are merely in for a hackneyed version of .hack, you are in for the surprise of your life: One of the top manga series first published in English in 2008 is getting even better.

Ghost Slayers Ayashi DVD Part 1
A novel hybrid of adventure and education: call it a monster-bashing kanji lesson.

Psychic Power Nanaki GN 1-3
Psychic Power Nanaki is a series that you should feel safely empowered to avoid entirely.

Darker than BLACK DVD 3
It's just a shame that Tensai Okamura and his raft of talented collaborators couldn't swing something better than “good enough.”

Claymore DVD 4
Clare encounters one of the “Big Bosses” of her world and gets involved in a major multi-Claymore expedition as she continues to collect new allies and skills and steadily “level up.” The series' shonen roots are becoming more prominent, but it still looks great and still packs a lot of action punch.

Negima!? neo GN 1
It may have the cute girls and the magical combat, but right now it's just going through the motions—and not creating any real magic at all.

Princess Resurrection Sub.DVD
This series about a chainsaw-wielding princess of monsters who turns an 8th grade boy into a half-immortal servant may not be a particularly good series, but it is a fun one. In this case, that's (just) enough.

Berserk GN 26
When you're busy having your mind blown by intense fantasy artwork and massive displays of power, do story flaws really matter all that much?

Twelve Kingdoms Novel 3
The king and kirin of En get the feature treatment in this original source story for the anime's final story arc. Though it takes a markedly different approach than either of the previous two novels, it still delivers an exceptionally well-written tale that will not disappoint fans of the franchise.

Maria Watches Over Us Season 3 Sub.DVD
In some ways it's an extended coda to the first two seasons, a beautifully animated reward for weathering their emotional peaks and troughs. All rewards should be so rewarding.

Ai Yori Aoshi (manga)
It's not adventurous or wildly innovative. Doubtless we've all read this before, and potentially we've read much better. But the quality of the story is certainly there, and the focus on the characters is rewarded by providing a really good romantic story.