News

Hey, Answerman!
Before heading off to this year's Anime Expo, Brian answers questions about parental neglect, "anime inspired" shows, scuzzy hentai games, plus Hey Answerfans! 2009-06-26

Buried Treasure - Glassy Ocean
One boy's oceanic flight of fantasy becomes an incredible journey over an ocean of glass. 2009-06-25

The X Button - Blade Arts
This week: CLAMP works on the latest Tekken, Golgo 13 trivia hits the DS, Bamboo Blade lands on the PSP, and the secret double life of an old anime series is laid bare. 2009-06-24

Chicks On Anime - Ball-Jointed Dolls
These meticulously sculpted dolls have been enjoying a lot of popularity over the past few years. We talk with an aficionado who also sculpts her own figures. 2009-06-23

RIGHT TURN ONLY!! - After School Geass Time
Kobe's a winner again, but what about Hanamichi Sakuragi? Find out in the review of the latest Slam Dunk. Also in this column: Code Geass: Nightmare of Nunnally, Nabari No Ou, and an Import of the Month that just plain rocks! 2009-06-23

Shelf Life - Sword in the Stranger
It's the end of the world as we know it. Thank goodness for robots.
- Aquarion boxset
- Baccano! v.4
- Izumo
- Sword of the Stranger
2009-06-22

Shikabane Hime: Aka Episodes 1-13 Streaming
Shikabane Hime is no brainless gorefest; it's a hard-hitting action-horror hybrid with an inward bent that keeps its gut-crunching violence anchored in human realities.

Pretty Cure Episodes 1-14 Streaming
Though slavishly formulaic and distinctly kid-oriented, this series about two starkly contrasting 8th graders who become a magical girl duo still looks good enough, and is distinguishable enough in its action components, to warrant at least a sampling by anime fans with diversified interests.

Fushigi Yûgi -VIZBIG Edition- GN 2
Watase's Fushigi Yûgi is without a doubt one of the titles to set the standard for what “manga” in the United States has come to be. For this reason alone, it is a must-read. But even if you couldn't care a whit about its historical significance, it's still a fun story that may be enjoyed purely on its own terms.

Children of the Sea GN 1
It has been said that the deep ocean is the true "final frontier"—and no story makes that notion come alive quite like Children of the Sea.

Heroic Age DVD Part 1
It wants to be a feeling person's space opera, but hasn't the smarts or the skills to be anything but a space-based waste of time.

Tail of the Moon Prequel: The Other Hanzo(u) GN
Tail of the Moon Prequel: The Other Hanzo(u) is best recommended for those who wish to try Tail of the Moon without the multi-volume commitment or for those who have already been sold on the entertainment merits of the Hanzo(u)s and their respective girlfriends.

Clannad Sub.DVD Part 2
Tomoya handles his harem of girls, but ultimately focuses on one of them, as the initial Clannad series wraps up. While hardly masterpiece-level entertainment, it does the job it was intended to do: provide appealing moe entertainment to a fan base who revels in this kind of thing.

Galaxy Express 999 Episodes 1-13 Streaming
... a series that concerns itself more with the triumphs and tragedies of the human condition than with explosion-laden interstellar wars.

Murder Princess DVD
Yes, it's fun, but it's ephemerally so, and you can't help but get pissed at the irreplaceable slice of your life that it eats away.

Rasetsu GN 1
Relatively few manga characters are interesting and memorable enough to carry the weight of a series title on their (typically) ectomorphic shoulders…and Rasetsu of the mediocre disappointment Rasetsu, alas, is no exception.

Kamisama Kazoku GN 1
... a romantic comedy where the main gimmick involves a caricatured interpretation of the traditional monotheistic God-with-a-capital-G. While it gets a lot of the little things right, it remains to be seen whether this story can rise above the genre's standards.