Nozomi YONESHIMA

Shelf Life - Rah Rah Rahmen
Cooking cats and unlicensed medical practitioners round out this week's less-than-stellar selections.
- Black Jack (2004) ep 1-5, Special
- Detective Conan: The Phantom of Baker Street
- Neko Rahmen ep 1-13
2010-03-01

Astro Toy: Under New Management - Figma Deluxe Golgo 13
David Cabrera steps into the massive loafers of Rob Bricken and tries his hand at reviewing a deluxe Figma of anime's baddest mofo, Golgo 13. 2010-02-28

Sands of Destruction Give-Away
Win a copy of Sands of Destruction on DVD, along with the Nintendo DS game and a nifty set of wristbands to keep all that sweat of your DS! 2010-02-27

Hey, Answerman!
This week on another nail-biting edition of Hey, Answerman: Brian brings his usual zest and zeal to questions about how to monetize streaming, identical twins, and bootlegs! Plus a full-on, jam-packed, super-sized edition of Hey, Answerfans! Onward! 2010-02-26

Blade of the Immortal GN 22
Half forward march and half lingering look back, this isn't the series' most focused installment. It is, however, a fulfilling one, particularly for long-time fans curious about where Rin and Manji's relationship may be going.

To Love-Ru DVD Collection 2
More shenanigans involving Rito, his alien princess fiancée, and the bevy of teen beauties surrounding them ensue, generating more consistent comedy and fan service gold than the first half. Not a great series, but as frivolous entertainment goes, you could certainly do far worse.

Slam Dunk GN 8
Slam Dunk overcomes its brief slump and is on fire once again, delivering terrific sports action while continuing to build an engaging story around its characters.

Chu-Bra!! Episodes 1-5 streaming
It's not purposely trying to be tasteless—it simply doesn't know any better.

Genshiken 2 DVD 3
After a second volume that took discomfiting humor so far that it was just plain discomfort, this final volume manages to reclaim some of the show's charm—if only by cutting back on the faux porn.

Linebarrels of Iron DVD Part 1
A student is given control of a powerful robot only to prove as callously cruel as his opponents in this messy, ugly and mercurial mecha offering from Gonzo.

Maria Holic DVD Complete Collection
A lesbian transfers to an all-girls school where her first crush turns out to be an evilly manipulative boy in disguise in an energetic, gleeful comedy which flavors its humor with outright weirdness. If this series fails to entertain some viewers, it certainly will not be for lack of effort.

Hidamari Sketch Sub.DVD
With Hidamari Sketch, Akiyuki Shinbo finally shatters the standard comedy barrier and ends up in the realm of the abstract.

Devil May Cry DVD
From the food gags to the enormous stack of hack-and-slash clichés that form the show's script, “dumb and contrived” are really the best words for this. Just repress the urge to “press A to scroll through the text” because sadly, this is not a video game, and this narrative oatmeal does not work outside of cutscenes.

Glass Mask Sub.DVD
While both the positive and negative influences on Maya make for interesting story and character development, it also shines a big spotlight on the second half of the season's main flaw: the inability to bring a satisfying or timely end to any relationship.

Aria The Natural Sub.DVD Part 1
It will never win over those bored to tears by the deliberately reassuring first season, but those once wooed by the soothing magic of Neo-Venezia will be delighted at the chance for a return trip.