Many years ago, when I was a lowly assistant-manager-in-training at Video USA Store #16 in Tarpon Springs, Florida, my supervisor, Stacy, once told me something profound. As we discussed film as an art form, Stacy looked me square in the eye and said, “Paul, sometimes …Read more »
Shonen Jump Alpha , Viz Media's digital home for everyone's weekly Shonen Jump manga fix, is continuing to add incentives for new readers to hop aboard. Previously you kind of had to be knee-deep in long-running series like Naruto , One Piece , Bleach , …Read more »
Let's go ahead and get the obvious out of the way: Sakuran is a completely gorgeous manga from beginning to end. The art of Moyoco Anno— Sugar Sugar Rune , Happy Mania , wife of director Hideaki Anno ( Evangelion )—has its own flow and …Read more »
It's a bit strange to say considering the varied style of shows on Fuji TV's late-night noitaminA anime block, but the second I saw images and trailers for Natsuyuki Rendezvous , I knew where and when it would be airing. Thankfully, the subject matter also …Read more »
The cruelty continues in volume two of The Flowers of Evil , by Shuzo Oshimi ( Drifting Net Cafe ). Pure, unadulterated elation mixes potently with a maddening telltale heart as Kasuga embarks on a dream date with his school crush, Saeki. Despite all the …Read more »
Ranma ½ used to mean something. It was a cornerstone of my early anime fandom, a show that hearkened back to an age long before high-speed Internet and digital distribution, before even the rise and decline of the DVD. It was an example of what …Read more »
In the near future, there is only war. Well, war and a metropolis run by beautiful, emotionally-supressed human clones known as Bioroids. This isn't Warhammer 40K we're talking about here. It's Appleseed , the big budget (by Japanese standards) CG-animated film from 2004 with more …Read more »
Oddly enough, the third volume of Toru Fujisawa's GTO: 14 Days in Shonan turned out to be a perfect Father's Day read, because it kicks off with the resolution of the storyline that finds former troublemaker Miki Katsuragi reconnecting with her dad. Everything's rosy at …Read more »
Beyond the specifics, The Flowers of Evil will probably contain at least some aspects of life to which most can relate. Takao Kasuga is a middle-schooler who isn't quite like his peers. He keeps to himself, finding joys in leisure-time entertainment others around him would …Read more »
Most reviews of Capcom's Devil May Cry HD Collection should read pretty similarly. Devil May Cry and Devil May Cry 3 get the majority of the coverage while the borderline putrid Devil May Cry 2 gets swept under the rug. It's the big, blood-drenched elephant …Read more »
The near future: A cargo plane crashes in Tokyo Bay, scattering debris as it plummets from the sky. Among the wreckage is a ruptured container belonging to a biological research firm—a container that seems to have been torn open from the inside out. Some time …Read more »
Medaka Box follows the misadventures of the Hakoniwa Academy Student Council, ruled with a power-loaded fist by first-year student and fresh elect Medaka Kurokami. The premise is pretty straightforward: folks pop problems in the suggestion box, and Medaka and her council work to resolve the …Read more »
Maria Kawai, the lead character of A Devil and Her Love Song , remains an enigma for the first volume. She’s been expelled from her previous school — for beating someone up, apparently — and at her new high school, she’s quickly the victim of …Read more »
Four years ago, back in 2008, first-time anime series director Sayo Yamamoto debuted with Michiko and Hatchin , a phenomenal television show with solid characterization and a distinct visual and aural style that in my mind seemed like a no-brainer for US release. I was …Read more »
The year is 1966, and Kaoru Nishimi's move from Yokosuka to Kyushu is a bit of a culture shock. Suddenly this honor roll student is inserted into a world that he hardly understands. Seriously, that Kyushu dialect is tricky. It's clear from frame one that …Read more »
Paul Thomas Chapman
Joseph Luster
Danica Davidson
Daryl Surat