Ume AOKI

The Gallery - Emily Warren
Shōjo fan and Marvel Comics colorist Emily Warren stops in to talk about working in American comics while keeping an anime-influenced style. Plus: the first BL art ever featured in the column! 2009-08-29

Hey, Answerman! - I'm Sorry I Wasn't Here Last Week Edition
This week! Hey Answerman apologizes for his sudden absence last week, and plans to make up for it with questions and stuff about light novels, dubbing animal noises, and production costs! All that and a new Flake and Hey Answerfans! 2009-08-28

ANNCast - Bricken the House
Writer and world-famous blogger Rob Bricken joins the ANNCast for a hurricane of jaded, cynical fun! This week: Bluray, plus the R1 industry's biggest and most hilariously misbegotten licenses. It's gripetastic! 2009-08-28

Buried Treasure - One Pound Gospel
As someone who enjoys food way too much, Justin can totally relate to the main character of One Pound Gospel. 2009-08-27

Interview: Toshiyuki Morikawa, voice of D.Gray-man's Tyki Mikk
A chat with famous voice actor Toshiyuki Morikawa from the 2009 Comic Exhibition in Taipei. 2009-08-27

Yoshiyuki Tomino - You be the Interviewer
Yoshiyuki Tomino will be at New York Anime Festival, and Anime News Network readers have the exclusive opportunity to submit the questions for his official Q&A; panel. 2009-08-26

The X Button - The Ninja's Share
We chat with the producer of Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Destiny 2! Then it's on to Fate/Unlimited Codes, Muramasa, Square Enix RPGs, and a game many thought they'd never see in English. 2009-08-26

St. Dragon Girl GN 2-4
St. Dragon Tail might actually have been improved if it were doing something blatantly and ridiculously “wrong”…'cause as banal shoujo puffery, it just isn't doing much of anything right. Don't give it a second thought.

Yokai Doctor GN 2
Some of the stories achieve enough depth to break the mold (or at least, make the best use of the mold), but otherwise, this volume of Yokai Doctor fails to reach its potential.

Hayate the Combat Butler Sub.DVD Part 1
If you're hunting the market for a low-investment comedy that keeps the chuckles coming and never overreaches itself, then Hayate is your man; particularly if your anime trivia is up to snuff.

Moribito DVD 4
Though the story drags a bit through this run of three filler episodes, the series still looks great, offers another amazing action scene, and does its job well in world-building and character development departments. That should be enough to sustain fans until the meat of the main story returns.

Black Lagoon GN 7
Bigger isn't always better, and setting up a massive, all-encompassing storyline sometimes has a way of backfiring on itself.

Madlax DVD Complete Collection
It's an excruciatingly slow narrative striptease; a long and leisurely mystery in which nebulous conspiracies, paranormal bonds and ancient, evil tongues coalesce into something ambitious, messy and absorbingly atmospheric.

Skip Beat! GN 17
Although this is the weakest volume to be published so far, Skip Beat! remains one of the best contemporary shoujo manga series—hands down—that Viz Media is currently releasing in English. It is simply not to be missed…especially if you have a weakness for showbiz stories spiced up with a heroine's epic quest for vengeance.

Gantz GN 4-5
Gore and violence rule the day, Kei gets his heroic moment, and the big-breasted hot girl still appears once per chapter even though she accomplishes absolutely nothing.

xxxHolic DVD Box Set (Hyb) DVD
There may be moments of genuine supernatural wonder in this show, but they're too often drowned out by moments of genuine mediocrity.

Jyu-Oh-Sei GN 1-3
Jyu-Oh-Sei, now fully available in well-adapted (if questionably edited) English, is one of the best manga series to see publication this year. The story, developed over the course of a decade from start to finish, is an operatic example of social science fiction, set in a far future where humanity has taken to the stars and colonized other solar systems.

Blue Dragon Dub.DVD 2
Leave Blue Dragon to the masochists and do the kids, and yourself, a big favor and rent some Hayao Miyazaki instead.