Roz NOWICKI

Now Streaming: El Cazador De La Bruja 1-13
Sure it means "Witch Hunters", but this is a Bee Train show, filled with them girls with the guns! Here's the first half of the show with subtitles, and if you're real good the second half will be up in a few days. [discuss] 2009-10-20

Shelf Life - Fresh Blood
Erin takes over the column this week with some glowing reviews of pirates.
- Black Lagoon complete set
- Kaze no Stigma s1 pt 2
- School Rumble: 2nd Semester complete set
2009-10-19

Astro Toy with Rob Bricken: Meiya Mitsurugi Figma
Another day, another Figma, this time from a PC game. 2009-10-18

The Gallery - Bettina Kurkoski
The mind behind My Cat Loki drops in to talk about being a female comic artist in the 1980s, American manga creators, and cats. 2009-10-17

Astro Boy
It would feel right at home at 6pm on Nickelodeon after a Jimmy Neutron marathon. Not a bad film, just a pretty flawed and not particularly memorable one, especially for adults. This could've been a lot better than it is.

Chibi Vampire GN 14
Kenta and the Markers rush to rescue the kidnapped Karin, but her fate as the Font of Psyche ultimately depends on something else entirely, as this story about a dysfunctional teen vampire draws to a close. Longtime fans will be treated to a highly satisfying, if melancholy, conclusion.

Clannad After Story Sub.DVD 1
Tomoya helps more girls before progressing on with his own life with Nagisa in this continuation of the popular 2006 anime series. It maintains the style and sentiment of the original but steps up its game when the story moves on past high school years, making it a must-have for franchise fans.

Hot Gimmick -VIZBig Edition- GN 2
Ryoki spends an awful lot of time telling Hatsumi how stupid she is…and by the time Miki Aihara's Hot Gimmick reaches the halfway point, you may well be inclined to agree with him.

Glass Mask Episodes 1-26 Streaming
Glass Mask has been adapted onscreen on numerous occasions. The most recent came in 2005 with the 51 episode televised anime series from TMS Entertainment—and I am happy to report that it is an adaptation that does the vigor of Suzue Miuchi's original story, if not sadly, its visual beauty, justice.

Blood+ Novel 2: Chevalier
Spanning episodes 16-25 of the anime series, this novelization's mediocre writing merits and slavish adherence to the original story make it unlikely to be of much interest to those who have already seen the better anime version.

NANA GN 16-18
Volumes sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen may well be the beginning of the end of NANA…and boy is it going to be one absolutely wild, unforgettable ride.

True Tears Sub.DVD
As the series wears on it builds a scattershot appeal, mainly on the backs of its supporting cast, displaying a periodic tear-jerking power that belies its dreadful beginning.

Aoihana Episodes 1-11 Streaming
There are worse eleven-episode anime series out there, by far, and as yuri anime it is admittedly hard to find better than Aoihana

He is my Master DVD
Two sisters seeking a new home and employment find themselves as maids to an orphaned young teen living alone, only this one is seriously perverted and has an evil streak, in this fan serviced-laden 2005 comedy from Gainax. Despite many typical elements, it has a feisty spirit and delivers on the laughs.

Gankutsuou: Monte Cristo DVD 4
The time for set-up is over; the end run of the Count's master plan has begun. Some have already fallen, but how many more will be destroyed before it's done? If you're not watching this one then you're missing out on one of the year's best series.