Kevin JOHNSON

Cardfight Vanguard!! Flash Fight Deck Giveaway
We're giving away 1000 Cardfight!! Vanguard Flash Fight demo decks! That's 33 winners a day for 30 days! 2012-11-09

Interview: Henry Goto, President, Aniplex of America
We sat down with the President of Aniplex of America, Henry Goto, to get the skinny on the company's health, their business model and the future. 2012-11-08

Rose of Versailles Haiku Contest
One more week to compose a haiku for your chance to win a DVD boxset of this legendary series or an autograph from creator Riyoko Ikeda! 2012-11-09

ANNCast - Game Show II
In Japan this is Game Show IV, but you'll figure that out later. Todd Ciolek, Dave Riley and Joel White drop on by for the fourth in our Game Show series! We're talking about videogames! And nothing but! 2012-11-09

Hey, Answerman! - Local-Lies
What happens when one man - a man named Brian - answers your questions about Ghibli films and Academy Awards, Crunchyroll in Brazil, and the various methods of localization? I bet it looks and smells an awful lot like this week's Hey, Answerman! 2012-11-09

Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga - Suppli
Jason dives in to Mari Okazaki's romance manga Suppli. 2012-11-08

Anime News Nina! - 2012-10-07
Nina and friends are closer than ever to going home! 2012-11-07

The X Button - Trigger Discipline
This week brings an import grab bag with Sol Trigger, Bravely Default, and more! Plus Hakuoki, Dragon Quest VII, Shining Ark, and the return of an underrated game heroine! 2012-11-07

Kaze Hikaru GN 20
Rich with detail but never overwhelming and full of likeable (and hateable) characters, this is shoujo that goes just a bit beyond the norm to bring us a story that we can really sink our teeth into.

House of Five Leaves GN 7
The flashback in the first half fills out a major character's past better than any conversation could, and a battle in the next-to-last chapter is the perfect payoff after such a long, dramatic buildup.

Detroit Metal City Sub.DVD
Vulgar and mean and misanthropic. Also inspired: a one-trick comedy that runs just long enough that it doesn't wear out its welcome and that contains just enough bitter truth that it cuts even as we laugh.

Bakuman. GN 15
Achieving success in the manga business is like scaling a challenging mountain—and as Bakuman shows, staying atop that mountain becomes its own set of challenges.

Start with a Happy Ending GN 1
Start With a Happy Ending is a charmingly bittersweet collection that presents snippets of people's lives and tells a variety of complete stories. This book is not meant to be read in one sitting – but it is worth picking up again and again.

The Limit GN 1
Treating high school social issues with the harshness they merit, Keiko Suenobu fuses bullying with a survival story, and if the result isn't perfect, then it still manages to be an engrossing read.

So, I Can't Play H! episodes 7-12
While the series remains trashy and fan service-laden, a dramatic shift in tone which pervades much of the second half results in some surprisingly effective serious content. It does more than just wallow in its most base instincts.

Wolf Children
A story of parenthood and childhood, of a boy and girl who can become wolves in a blink, and of the “ordinary” woman, no less amazing, who bears and raises them. It's wonderful.

Bleach GN 48-49
In these two volumes, Bleach dramatically marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new one—and it's about time.

Hunter × Hunter Episodes 27-52 Streaming
This stretch of the series is divided into two arcs. The first, a tournament-fighting waste of time, finds the show at its nadir. The second, detailing Kurapika's revenge, finds the show at its peak. Go figure.

Boys Be... DVD 3/4
The last half of Boys Be isn't one of the more exciting runs in romantic anime series, but it does feature good enough storytelling involving the philosophies of love and methods of teenage relationships to be a worthwhile view.