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Anime - W

Interview: Junko Takeuchi
A chat with the voice behind anime's most popular loudmouthed ninja. 2011-11-01

Shelf Life - Sending out an SOS
Erin celebrates Halloween with some ghouls and pumpkins, disappearing persons, and plenty of fisticuffs.
- The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Dragonball Z s6
- Soul Eater - Weapon Collection
2011-10-31

Astro Toy - SH Figuarts Wild Tiger
David checks out one of the hottest (and most difficult to actually find in a store) toys on the market, Bandai's SH Figuarts version of Wild Tiger. 2011-10-30

Gia's List: Anime's 7 Best Frenemies
Sometimes a friend is a friend and an enemy is an enemy. Others...it's a little less cut-and-dry. These are some of the "best frenemies" of anime! 2011-10-29

ANNCast - Tarboxed and Feathered
Veteran manga translator and editor Jonathan "Jake" Tarbox takes us on a ride through his history at Raijin Comics and CMX! Also: Interstella 5555, Oscar season movies with Justin Sevakis and oh, so much more! 2011-10-28

Hey, Answerman! - Hey, Censorman!
This week in Answerman, Brian tries to help a young girl follow her dreams (aw!), signals the death knell of anime specialty shops (boo!), and teams with Justin Sevakis to explore the seedy realm of Japanese TV censorship (aw! I mean, boo!) 2011-10-28

Tiger & Bunny: Build Your Own Hero Contest
ANN is giving away two signed copies of the Japanese Tiger & Bunny Limited Edition Volume 1 Blu-Ray (which has English subtitles and will play in US Blu-Ray players). You just need to design your own hero to win them. 2011-10-24

Himawari! Season 1 Sub.DVD
A girl struggles to become a proper ninja in this innocuous and surprisingly clean 2006 series. Its quirkiness is mildly entertaining, but it only occasionally goes far enough on dramatic or comedy fronts to achieve better than that.

Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection Blu-ray
A sad farewell to a long-running franchise, as well as a very final conclusion.

Hyde & Closer GN 5&6
The major problems here lie in volume six. Volume five is still a romp, albeit is bloody and sometimes scary one, and brings about climactic change in Shunpei's character. Volume six is potentially a game changer for our heroes, but it is so disjointed in execution that the plot suffers.

xxxHOLIC GN 17
While this volume does contain a good helping of the cryptic mystic-babble that has consistently earned this series lower grades, the parallels with Tokyo Babylon give readers something to look for and also force us to question what the ultimate outcome will be.

Lovephobia GN 1
What keeps this volume from falling into the morass of creepy shoujo manga is that Kokoro Natsume does it well. It isn't high art, or even a real standout in the supernatural genre, but this story pulls you in and leaves you wanting the next installment. It's uncomfortable, disturbing, and sometimes leaves you wanting a very hot shower, but despite itself, Lovephobia sinks its fangs in and doesn't let go.

Ray Sub.DVD
Although this adult-oriented 2006 series initially looks like an occasionally goofy patient-of-the-week drama featuring a young, sexy surgeon with x-ray vision, it gradually morphs into a twisted, soap opera-like melodrama.

Butterflies, Flowers GN 8
Butterflies, Flowers has never been the perfect romance, but it has been consistently amusing. With a high humor count, some genuine emotional content, and a very happy ending, the series ends in a way that romance fans will enjoy.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood DVD Part 5
Epic grandeur, vast imagination, real human consequences, and closure all around—you could hardly ask for more from a concluding volume. Except maybe that the grandeur make more sense, but that's nitpicking.

Monster Hunter Orage GN 1
Don't be fooled by this book's T rating or Hiro Mashima's previous works. Despite the hack'n'slash premise and Mashima's busty art style, this is a series for the 8 to 10 crowd, and while older readers can enjoy it, it will find the warmest welcome within that younger demographic.

Arata: The Legend GN 7
While Arata: The Legend is more than a shonen Fushigi Yugi, this by no means its best volume. Watase tries to do too much too quickly, resulting in a rushed, over-packed book that leaves readers feeling like they've just read through a hurricane.

King of Thorn GN 1-3
A decided shortage of originality does not detract from how involving this constantly tense, action-packed story of cryogenically frozen survivors waking up in a hostile environment can be.