Encyclopedia

Manga - I

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.

Ōoku: The Inner Chamber GN 1
This mixture of period drama and alternate universe science fiction is easily the single most highly anticipated new series of 2009, at least among the Western fujoshi contingent, and Viz does it justice. But this isn't just for the fangirls.

Daphne in the Brilliant Blue DVD Collection 1
For all its posturing as a gun-toting flesh-fest, Daphne is more interested in lighthearted fun than sex or violence. Which is to say that it's pretty good at the former, and miserable at the latter two.

Rocket Girls Sub.DVD
It will surprise many to discover that behind the gimmicky premise, chintzy title and cutesy cover art, Rocket Girls is a pleasingly paced, charming tale of commercial space exploration.