Encyclopedia

People - N

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.

Baccano! DVD 3
Lively characters, a mix of action, comedy, and intense violence, and a complicated story coming together piece by piece, all backed by great music and good artistry – not much more you could ask for in an anime series. With this volume, there's hardly ever a dull moment.

Silver Diamond GN 4
It's really hard to justify Silver Diamond at all on the basis of this particular installment…so it's a good thing that this epic series as a whole is considerably stronger than the sum of some of its less inspiring parts.

Black Jack GN 5
... even the greatest comic artist of all time just didn't feel like it on certain weeks and decided to mail in 20 pages of slush for his next chapter.

Detroit Metal City GN 1
Each scene is more patently and deliberately ridiculous than the last, and you will not be able to remember the last time the “f-word” (repeated over and over and over again) in a seinen manga made you laugh so hard.

Air Master Episodes 13-27 Streaming
Think of Air Master as a huge anime blender filled with whacked humor and action, set to liquefy. It looks and feels like chaos, and entertains like the love child of Mohammed Ali and Jerry Lewis.

Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei GN 1
Manga fans familiar with Japanese culture and society might be excused for thinking that they have committed ritual double suicide with Zetsubou-sensei himself and gone to a darkly yet deliciously funny heaven.

Death Note DVD
The second half of the series, spanning episodes 21-37, comes complete with a bonus disk of Extras. The story it tells, from the midst of the Yotsuba arc to the series' final confrontations, may be full of overblown melodrama but can still drag a viewer along for the ride.

Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino- Episodes 1-13 Streaming
That many of Gunslinger Girl's considerable charms escape the deadening influence of its new animators is certainly reason to celebrate. That that they have to is a shame.

Rumbling Hearts DVD 2
Though it still tells a good story and features great character development, it is as likely to annoy as to engender sympathy. The romantic complications should be plenty enough to keep the interest of fans of serious romances, however.