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La Corda D'Oro ~primo passo~ Collection 1
Magic and classical music mix in this reverse harem story about a teenage girl who gets drawn into a prestigious music competition after an encounter with her school's resident fairy. While the first half only flirts with being good, its musical focus keeps it from ever being bad.

Maria Watches Over Us: Season 4 DVD
Yumi's "soeur problem" moves front and center as the series returns to dramatic form after the restful third season. A sweetly accomplished comedic drama of increasing maturity.

Claymore GN 16
Rubel drops some further revelations, Helen and Deneve make a new friend, a new menace arises, and much beatdown commences as Norihiro Yagi's dark fantasy series gets back on track. Not much Clare this time around, but there isn't much to be disappointed about here, either.

Black God GN 9
Make no mistake, Black God is still a fun supernatural-action thrill ride—but it shows little interest in becoming anything more.

Dragon Ball Season 4
The 22nd World Martial Arts tournament concludes in dramatic fashion, but the heroes barely have a chance to catch their breath before a world-threatening menace – King Piccolo – arrives on the scene. This set features some of the series' best battles in a campy run which also introduces some annoying new habits.

Gurren Lagann: The Movie ~Childhood's End~
With clever editing of its series clips, more than 20 minutes of new footage, and some great video Extras, this movie condensation of the TV series' first 15 episodes offers a lot of bones for established fans. While it should be comprehensible to newcomers, it is clearly aimed at the former audience.

Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler (live-action)
Those who enjoy the Death Note and Liar Game school of psychological suspense will get the most mileage out of this—just don't think of it as a regular movie, lest your brain explode from the one-dimensional characterization and Swiss cheese plot structure.

Vandread DVD Ultimate Collection
Gonzo's sci-fi/harem comedy/mecha action/coming-of-age hybrid gets a second chance at life thanks to Funimation's license rescue. Includes two un-dubbed compilation OVAs.

Samurai Harem (Asu no Yoichi!)
Samurai and martial arts traditions meet harem romantic comedy in this bawdy, silly mix of iconic anime themes. Though the series almost drowns in its clichés, it looks good enough, and does just enough differently, to tread water.

Soul Eater DVD 3
Soul Eater doesn't make any bones about having a plot as thin as a shroud and deep as a pauper's grave, and never will. All the same, if sheer visual ingenuity can compensate for these limitations, Soul Eater has more by far than any other shonen series in recent memory: period.

Kite Liberator DVD
Many will hate Kite Liberator. Its story is nonsense. It chops and splices genres in the silliest way possible. But taken as a gentle, self-reflective Tarantino-style satire, it works. And lord, if it isn't a whole lot of fun...