Encyclopedia

Anime - I

Tsubasa, RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE GN 22
It's a beauty to look at, but a pain to follow. But we continue following anyway, because the path of destiny still holds many more surprises.

Destiny of the Shrine Maiden Complete Collection
A love triangle forms between two reincarnated priestesses and a boy who represents part of their nihilistic foe in a series laden with fan service and mecha action but ultimately more focused on the development of the central characters' obsessive love. Not great, but not as trashy as it initially appears to be, either.

Hunter x Hunter DVD Set 3
Despite its new-found fondness for super-powered shonen tropes, it's as thoroughly enjoyable and mature as ever, though with the unmistakable scent of a series waiting for better things to come.

Where Has Love Gone? GN
It is never, ever a good sign when the mangaka herself admits that she “kinda failed at this series.” How do you dispute her own good judgment?

Natsu no Arashi! Episodes 1-13 Streaming
Natsu no Arashi!'s heady mix of silliness, sexiness, nostalgia, romance, melodrama, and the utterly surreal is sure to sweep viewers up and away like a fast moving summer storm.

Rosario + Vampire GN 8
It takes a certain talent to achieve mediocrity in the genres of school comedy, suspense, and action all in the space of one manga volume.

Gestalt GN 1
Only the most devoted of Yun Kouga fans. The rest of the manga reading world is safe sticking with the likes of Loveless and Earthian and leaving Gestalt to its remote little island.

Boys Over Flowers GN 36
Eleven years and thirty-six volumes...for this?! The disappointment is almost inconceivable in its scale. It's awfully hard not to feel cheated as Boys Over Flowers limps dejectedly to an anti-climatic finish line.

Azumanga Daioh The Complete DVD Collection
A must buy for anyone who has not yet had the pleasure of watching Azumanga Daioh in its entirety. Oh, and be sure to pay close attention—it might be on the exam!

Bleach Season 3 Uncut Box Set
This boxed set, which constitutes the second half of the original Soul Society arc, brings the series to its first major plot climax. Along the way it showcases (for better or worse) all of the characteristic traits of long-running shonen action series and how the franchise puts its own twist on them to make this series so immensely popular.

Otogi Zoshi DVD 4
So you've killed off most of the cast of your Heian-era series by the end of the first season. What do you do for the second season? Reincarnate them all in modern times, of course! An incredibly bold mid-run move which turns Otogi Zoshi into a substantially different series.